Here's the next chapter! I'm not gonna say anything else, cause I'm sure you want to know what happens after the cliffhanger, so yeah.

Disclaimer: Not Mine T-T

Chapter 7: The Day Things Get Serious-er

Katie's POV

Wow. Just wow. I lean against the door after Travis leaves, and just stand there. My heart is pounding, all the emotions are flowing through me at high speeds.

What was he going to tell me? It could go either way: he likes me, he likes me not. Should I do the flower thingy that Ariel did in the little mermaid? No, that won't help at all. I walk up to my room and fall face first on my bed. I should start on my homework, but my mind is just full of everything but homework.

"Hey Katie, you awake?" Miranda calls. I hear her walk into the room, and then th bed dios down besides me.

"Yeah I'm awake," I mumble. I get up and sit criss cross applesauce. She looks at me with a happy look on her face. "What's that look for?" I ask her.

"The party was really fun, I'm happy that Connor got along well with our youth group friends. Connor says he wants to start coming, and I'm so happy because of that. He likes my friends and they like him, so he fits right in!" I smile.

"That's awesome Randa! I'm happy for you!" She gives me a quizzical look.

"Is everything okay Katie? You seem a little, I don't know, not like you usually do I guess. What happened with Travis tonight?" I feel myself blush and she raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, something definitely happened with Travis. What situation are you overthinking?"

"What!? Phh, it's not about Travis- okay it's about Travis." I stop trying to detour when she gives me yet another look.

"Well, are you gonna tell me what happened? I heard some yelling downstairs when I got back, what was going on?" I blush again.

"We had a tickle fight after we got bored of the movie." She raises her eyebrows higher, and I give up trying to hide it since she can obviously see right through it.

"Okay, we really did have a tickle fight. He was tickling me, and then I tickled him and he fell on me cause he was straddling me and then we stared at each other for like, forever and then I looked at his lips and he started leaning towards me and then he kissed me." I say all in one breath. My heart is beating fast, and not just from me speaking quickly. Every time I think of his kiss my heart rate speeds up. Miranda's mouth drops open and her eyebrows almost fly off her forehead.

"You kissed?!" She keeps opening and closing her mouth, but nothing comes out.

"Finally!" she yells. Confusion spreads through me.

"Why finally?"

"Are you for real? Katie? Oh my gosh, please kill me now! It's so obvious!"

"What is?" I must keep overthinking this, because nothing is as clear for me as it is for her.

"Oh my gosh, never mind! You'll have to figure it out yourself, miss oblivious. I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." What is going on? What isn't anyone telling me that is so obvious! I flip back down on my bed and think. Think think think Katie, what are you so oblivious to? All of a sudden my phone rings. It's Connor, so I answer.

"Hey Connor, what's up?"

"Uh, nothing much Katie, but I'm just wondering if Travis is headed back yet, cause hes not back yet." What? It takes him five minutes to get to his house from mine, and he left fifteen minutes ago.

"Yeah, he left at 10:34, a few minutes after you texted him. What if something happened to him?" Oh no, thoughts are rushing through my head. What if he was kidnapped? No, who would want an eighteen year old boy. Plus, he could get himself out of that situation on his own. Unless they had guns. What if he was hit by a car? No, that already happened. What if he was murdered? Just on the side of the road? No, that doesn't happen in our neighborhood. What happened?

"Katie? Katie… Katie!" Connor's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry Connor. What do you think happened? We should probably go out and search the neighborhood, just to be safe. I can grab Miranda and we can all split up, or something like that. Or Miranda and I can team up in case someone is out there. Maybe that someone hurt Travis, what if they kill-"

"Katie, don't think things like that! We gotta stay optimistic! Alright, I'll take the right side of Miller, you take the left. Start at the outskirts and work your way in. Kay?" I nod, then realize that he wouldn't be able to see that.

"Kay, We'll see you in a bit." I end the call, then head upstairs to get some warmer clothes.

"Miranda! Get some warm clothes on and get down here, fast!" I yell as I go to my room.

Two minutes later, she's briefed on the situation and we are heading outside. I don't want to sound stupid by calling his name, but we do it anyway. What if he can't respond? We search the main street, then make our way through all streets after that, criss crossing to get to Miller Road where we will meet Connor.

"Hey, Connor's calling me." says Miranda. She puts the phone on speaker. "Hey Connor, did you find him?" she asks.

"Get to Miller and South, fast." Then he clicks off. That's where I hit Travis when I broke his arm. Miranda and I share a look, and then we run. Fast.

Our flashlights make weird shadows on the dark sidewalk as they bounce with our sprint. We make it to Miller and South, to see Connor standing on a corner sidewalk. Oh no. I see a body laying a few feet to his right, on the road. Same place he was crossing when I hit Travis. I feel the blood leave my face at the sight. No, please don't let this be happening!

"Connor! What happened!" I yell. I run over to Connor, then I change my mind and run to Travis. "No, no no no no no! Travis! Wake up Travis!" I look back to see Miranda in Connor's arms, both looking scared. I turn back to Travis and kneel down beside him.

Lying flat on his back, with his arms and legs splayed out, his face is deathly pale. One of his legs is twisted in a way that is definitely not right, and he's unconscious. One of his arms is also distorted, and very bloody. Blood is running down his forehead, and there are several small scratches on his face. I gingerly touch his forehead, trailing my fingers over the blood. He's cold, very cold. Still and unmoving, he looks dead.

I feel tears prickle my eyes, and I force down the lump in my throat.

I take a deep breath. He's not dead. Yet, the pessimistic side of me says. I push those thoughts away and gently put my ear to his chest, over his heart. A faint beating echoes through his body. I let out the breath I've been holding and rest my head on his chest.

"He's still alive!" I breathe out.

"Oh thank the Lord!" says Miranda.

"I called the ambulance after I called you guys. They should be here any minute." Connor pauses to wrap his arms around Miranda, who is still a little distressed from the sight of the hurt friend.

"Our dad is on this shift!" Miranda suddenly calls out. Oh, Lord, help them to get here faster! Dad will be so worried, I know he really likes Travis and Connor! I turn back to Travis and watch him silently.

How am I keeping this all together? How in the world did this happen? Again? On the same. Street. The fates must have it out for Travis. Or God has this huge plan to bring us closer together through this incident, or, I don't even know.

But, the main question running through my head is why? Why did this have to happen tonight? After we kissed! After he was going to tell me he either didn't mean the kiss or that he liked me! What if I don't even want him to like me, but, I don't know! I'm having a mental breakdown inside but nothing's coming out! Why did this all have to happen!

I can feel my breathing getting shorter, faster. I start feeling lightheaded. Keep it together Katie, keep it together. Deep breath. I do not need a panic attack right now. Not now. Definitely not now. Katie, stop psyching yourself out! I hear the wailing of the sirens as they pull into the neighborhood. I focus back on Travis, and I see his eyelids flutter. I take in a deep breath.

"Travis?" I ask quietly. He groans and mumbles something unintelligible, then squints his eyes open.

"Travis, can you repeat that?" He moans, and tries to sit up, but I gently put my hand to his chest to hold him down.

"Whas goin on?" he says groggily. "Why can't I feel my leg, and why are there two of you?" Oh geez, another concussion.

"And who are you?" Oh no, my worst fear, he doesn't remember me! I start panicking internally.

"Travis, it's me, Katie Gardner." He stays silent for a few moments, the sirens getting louder each minute. He squints at me and then recognition dawns on his face. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Katie, it's you. Okay, I thought it was some random person. What happened? All I remember is walking to your house to hang out? And then, nothing. I think something happened to my head." I squeeze my eyes closed. He forgot tonight. Well, I'll tell him about it later. I see the lights of the ambulance, and Connor starts waving his arms which I see out of my side vision.

"Travis, the ambulance is here to take you to the hospital, okay? Connor, Miranda and I will be there soon, okay? My dad is gonna be on the ambulance with you, it's his shift tonight, so don't be scared, kay? He's gonna take good care of you."

"Katie!" I look up to see my dad and some of the other paramedics running towards us. One of them walks over to Travis and Miranda, the other pulls open the back of the ambulance to get the cart out.

"Katie, did you hit Travis again?" My dad calls.

That's it. The dam of emotions I've been holding back flows through me, and I jump up.

"Dad, this is not a drill! Something serious happened, Travis got hit by a car, but it's serious this time! He has a concussion, it looks like his knee is fractured, his arm is also fractured, and bleeding, but I couldn't see if there was bone through the blood. But dad, I'm freaking out and I can't hold it together for much longer and-"

"Katie, Katie, calm down! Travis will be okay! We'll get him to the hospital on time, he's not dying, unless he has internal bleeding somewhere." I feel my face blanch, and he gets a worried look on his face. He probably doesn't Katie. Don't worry. The doctors will take good care of him, kay sweetie?"

I nod, and look back to where the paramedics are gently laying Travis on the bed. I see him grimace in pain, and as soon as he hits the cot, he's gone again. I pull out of my dad's arms and run over to the cart. The paramedics are doing their stuff, but find a way to squeeze in besides them to grab Travis's good arm and hand.

I say a silent prayer for his safety, and then gently kiss his palm before laying it back beside him. He's still out, so I step back and let the paramedics do their job. Before they close up, my dad comes back to Connor, Miranda and I.

"He's going to be okay, kids. Connor, I'd go get your mom and head to the hospital. Katie, Miranda, you go grab the truck and come too. I'm sure you'll want to see how he's doing. So far, he might have to have surgery on his knee and arm, but most likely he won't have to. That's the worst case scenario. I've told the cops to keep an eye out for a drunk driver, as that's the most probable explanation. I'll see you kids at the hospital, okay? Be safe." He kisses the tops of Miranda and my head, and shakes Connor's hand.

As the ambulance pulls away, the waterworks start.

Miranda and Connor have to lower me to the ground so I don't hurt myself falling. I just sit there, everything going by in slow motion. He's going to be okay, but what if he has brain damage from his concussion?

Thousands more what ifs flow through my head as the tears fall rapidly. I'm almost full on sobbing, but something tells me to hold it back. That I don't need to cry, that Travis will be alright. As the crying subsides, a nagging deep in my chest starts to make its way to the front.

Why am I so worried? I'm just a friend, and I only like him, right? I mean, Connor is his brother, and I'm sure that he loves Travis, but even he isn't freaking out like I am! If it was Miranda, I would do just the same as I am now! Then why are you like this if you only like him. My eyes widen as tears fall fast again. I'm only crying cause I'm a girl. Girls cry a lot when things happen, right? But then why isn't Miranda crying? There is seriously something wrong with me, unless, I. I gulp. Unless, I love him.

Finally! You figured it out! My heart tells me. This brings forth sobs. Full body, racking, sobs. Panic attack sobs that should have come way earlier.

Slow motion. That's how everything feels. I remember Connor leaving, and Miranda comforting me in slow motion. Connor pulling up our truck in slow motion, and then both of them helping me into the front seat before Connor runs off to get his mom. Miranda asking me to drink some water, but all I can do, all I can think is that I love Travis Stoll.

The ride to the hospital is a blur, but Miranda manages to get us there fast. I hop out of the truck and run over to a garbage can outside of the ER. All the nauseous feelings in the car resurface and I hurl the cookies we made into that trash can. It's so lucky, it has cookies that were made with love now rotting in it. What in the heck is wrong with me?!

Miranda parks after I hop out, and runs over to me to give me some water. I drink in greedily, then hand it back to her. She looks at me with a sad expression on her face, but doesn't say anything. Then Connor and his mom get out.

This the first time I've seen their mom. Nothing like Travis ever said. No sullen, out of body looks. Just panicked mother. In slippers and a bathrobe, she runs into the ER with all of us on her heels.

"My baby, where is he?" she yells to the nurse at the desk. "Where is Travis!" This just brings me tears back, and I can see that Connor is teary too. He probably hasn't seen his mom like this in a long time. It makes me cry because it's sweet that she still cares. Maybe this is what she needed to bring her out of her funk. I block out the nurse talking, and then we are taken to the waiting area. Miranda rubs my back as I continue to cry, this time quietly. A man walks up to our small group.

I look up and focus on Dr. Samberly, the same ER doctor that helped Travis last time.

"Hello, are you Mrs. Stoll? Travis's mother? And hello Katie, are you alright?" I nod solemnly and so does Mrs. Stoll. He takes in Connor and Miranda, who are separating me and Travis's mom. "I'm guessing you are all immediate family or close friends, and won't separate, so would you all follow me so we can talk about what's going to happen." We all stand up in unison and follow the doctor. He leads us into a small room a few halls down. There are a few small chairs in the room, and Connor motions for us all to sit while he stands. Dr. Samberly clears his throat to speak.

"Alright, so from what our medics and doctors have found so far from the x-rays, is that your son has a comminuted distal knee fracture. That means that the thigh bone, or femur," he pauses to point to the spot on the lit up screen of Travis's leg, "has shattered and will need surgical treatment over the next few days. It is not an open fracture, or where it is bleeding and bone shows through, so we have time to sort out a plan for what is needed." Dr. Samberly pulls out another x-ray, this time of his arm.

"His arm is another case. He is in surgery right now to fix a type three open elbow fracture." He points to the correct places on the x-ray, and then sits down in his chair. "We have not had much time to assess his concussion, but it is most likely going to be more severe than when he broke his arm. He may not remember some things, or-" I raise my hand, and he nods to me.

"When we found him, he woke up for a bit. He said that the last thing he remembered was walking to my house to hang out tonight. The thing is, he was walking home from hanging out at my house. We made cookies, and watched a movie, but he didn't remember that. And he didn't recognize me at first, only when I said my name did he remember."

"Thank you for being observant, Katie. That helps a bit with what we know now, but we will find out more when he comes off the anesthetics of his surgery. As for you all, you have plenty of time to wait. And Mrs. Stoll, you have some paperwork to fill out. For insurance. The cops haven;t found the driver yet, but they assume he or she was drunk, due to the damage on your son and some other people's property in your neighborhood." He stands up. "Mrs. Stoll, if you'll follow me, I will show you to the desk for the paperwork."

Mrs. Stoll stands up and follows Dr. Samberly out of the room. I let my head drop to my hands, and run them through my tangled hair. Connor also gets up and walks out into the hall to wait or something. Miranda turns back to me.

"Katie?" Miranda asks softly. "Did you realize something an hour ago? I saw you holding it together, and then you let loose. Is everything okay?" Miranda looks at me like she could hurt me with a stare. I sniff and wipe my nose on my sleeve. I nod my head, and tears make my eyes prickly again.

"Katie, you love Travis, don't you?"

"But? How did you? Was it that obvious?" I groan and put my head in my hands again. I hear her both laugh gently.

"It is to everyone but him, and his idiot brother, so don't worry. I'm sure it will all come out in due time." Miranda smiles at me and rubs my shoulder.

"You just called your boyfriend an idiot." I say pointedly. She laughs again.

"Yeah, but he's oblivious to other's feelings of romance sometimes. Try watching movies with him, oh wait you have!" she says sarcastically. I smile. He was pretty oblivious with character romances, who's to say he isn't in real life?

"I think you have some things to think about, would you mind if we walk to the cafeteria and get some pizza? We can bring something back if you want." I nod.

"I don't want anything though. I threw up my cookies in the trash, I don't want that happening again." They look at me caringly.

"Alright then, Katie. We'll be back soon. Text me if he gets out sooner than expected." Then she walks out the door. I curl up into my chair and try to fall asleep, but the thoughts racing through my head keep me awake.

It's not long before Mrs. Stoll walks into the room. She sighs deeply as she sits down, her eyes are puffy.

"You're Katie, aren't you?" she asks sadly. I sit up and nod. She sighs again. "Travis talks about you at home. I hear it in his conversations with Connor. Not that I've paid any attention these last few years." She pauses and I see her eyes fill with tears.

"I've been a horrible mother! I've let them fend for themselves for six years, and I've done nothing but order them around lifelessly! I didn't even order them around, I just told them to get things for me once in a while!" She sobs and buries her face in her hands. I scooch my chair over to hers, and rub her back.

"It's okay, Mrs. Stoll. You must have taught them well enough before you stopped paying attention, because the house was clean, the boys know how to take care of themselves, and Travis knows how to bake, and-" I pause and Mrs. Stoll looks up. "They have grown up into wonderful young men, even if their father wasn't there and you weren't always either." I don't know what effect these have on her, but she stops crying, so it must be fine.

"Their father just up and left, for some other woman! He was the love of my life! How dare he leave us like that! It broke my heart, and I guess I forgot that I had boys to take care of. I've been the worst mother ever, and know, my baby is seriously injured and I wasn't the first one to be called! If I had been in their life more, in all of your lives until now, I would have been the one to help him. I'm so thankful for you girls, that you became good friends, or girlfriends, I should probably say." She rubs her face. "I have a lot to make up for, don't I?"

"Yes, but they will forgive you, I know they will. They will be happy that you've come back. And yes, Miranda is Connor's girlfriend, but Travis and I are just friends." Pain goes through my chest. I wish we could be more!

"Oh. Okay. I don't really know what Travis is like now," she pauses to wipe a tear away, " but you seem like someone he would like. What's your name again?"

"Katie Gardner, ma'am."

"You're Demeter's daughter, aren't you? You used to play with Travis and Connor at the park, right? My, how you've grown into such a beautiful young lady." I nod and blush. "I think Travis's first crush was one you." she laughs. I blush again. "He would never stop talking about you after you played together, and there was always this light in his eyes when you were around. It was adorable, and your mom noticed it too. How's she doing?" Right, their dad left before my mom died, so she wouldn't remember.

"She, um, she died of leukemia about three years back." A pained look comes over Mrs. Stoll's face, and tears come to her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Katie. She was a great friend to me. She always called to see how I was doing, but I always pushed it away. I closed myself off from the grief, and just caused grief for more people. I'm a horrible person!" She sobs again, and it tears my heart out to see a woman I barely know so raw and open.

"It's alright, Mrs. Stoll. We all deal with grief in different ways. I have a counselor who knows how to help with grief, I can set you up with her if you would like." My youth leader from church is a really nice lady, and a great counselor. Mrs. Stoll nods and wipes her eyes.

"So how did you all become friends?" I smile, thinking about that day.

"Well, it all started when I hit Travis on the worst now best day of my life…"

Half an hour later, I pull out my phone to show her the pictures of us all, the pictures of the pranks, and whatnot. She loved the story of the dyed hair. And she thought it was adorable and sweet how he took me out to ice cream after I paid for his broken arm, which she wants to pay me back for. Then Dr. Samberly came in and told us that Travis was out of surgery and we could see him.

I text Connor and Miranda and tell them to meet us at room 109 in the ER. Mrs. Stoll and I rush to the room, and we find Travis in there with a nurse watching him. He's giggling at the nurse, which makes me laugh, and his mom turns to me.

"Is Emily, his girlfriend?" she asks, confused. Travis was calling the nurse Emily, but the nurse left when we came in.

"No," I say through my laughter. "She's the waitress he flirts with at the diner! And she's twelve years older than him!" His mom looks horrified.

"He flirts, with older women?" Her eyes are wide, and she seems embarrassed for her son. It's so funny that it makes me laugh harder.

"Don't worry, he does it just to make her laugh, she thinks it's funny. He also does it to save her from the rude old guys who actually flirt with her." A relieved look comes over her face.

"Whew, for a second there, I thought he needed training to be a gentleman, but I guess he's doing just fine." Travis looks up as he hears us talking and Connor and Miranda come in at the same time. His face lights up as he smiles at, uh, one of us. His eyes are all over the place. I don't know how he's not tired after the surgery.

"Guysss, look at my arm! It'sss huuuge!" He points to his arm, which is wrapped in a soft cast, and is definitely huge. Connor whips out his phone, to get whatever he says on camera. The cast is yellow. I have a feeling I know what he's going to say next.

"Guys, my arm'sss a banaaana!" Yup, there it is. Then a horrified look settles on his face. His eyebrows twist up in the way that they do when he's worried, and his eyes widen.

"Why iss my arm a banana! I don't want a banana arm, now I can't draw pretty picturesss of Katie during classss anymore!" I see his eyes fill up with tears. Why is he sad?

"Katie'ss sso pretty, and my drawings, they make me feel happy when I'm not with her. I don't want Katie to be gone!" A tear rolls down his cheek before he can blink it and the others away.

"Awwww." Mrs. Stoll says quietly. Aww is right. He's adorable, and it makes me smile. He looks around the room, and then his eyes settle on me.

"Katieeeeee." We've all been standing around the edge of the room, so I edge closer. He uses his good arm to direct me where to go, and pats the bed beside him.

"Sit, Katie, sit." I hear Connor and Miranda snigger in the background, and I shoot them a glare. Miranda mouths, 'He treats you like a dog' to me, and I roll my eyes, but sit anyway.

"Katieee." he says again. I look at him, his eyebrows are twisted up again above big blue eyes. "Kiss my arm better?" he asks. He uses one finger to point to his hurt arm. I blush furiously and look around the room. Connor and Miranda are staring with wide eyes, and Mrs. Stoll gestures to do it. This is embarrassing. I lean down and gently press my lips against the cast on his arm.

When I sit up, I see Connor and Miranda making kissy faces to each other, still recording, and I blush again. I feel a hand tap my shoulder, so I turn around to face Travis. He motions me closer so he can whisper something in my ear.

"Katie, now tell me you love me, so I can tell you I love you too." I freeze and shoot up from the spot next to him. I can sense that everyone else has frozen too. Because that was not a whisper. A horrified look crosses his face, and tears start forming in his eyes again, making them sparkle with sadness. Why, how would he know to ask something like that? Is it subconscious? Is it just him pranking me again? No, he's on anesthetics. What just happened? I must have stared for a while, because he starts to whimper.

"Katie, do you not love me?" he asks, his voice cracking. I run a hand through my hair, my eyes wide. What do I say? I can say yes, and have everyone but Miranda take it as me calming him down, and Miranda seeing right through it, or they could all see right through it. I decide to risk it, but before I answer, he says, "Cause I love you very much Katie." Then the regular light is back in his eyes, and he wraps his good arm around my waist. "Now kiss me Katie, cause I love you and you love me." My eyes are at maximum widening capacity now, as he leans towards me, his lips puckered and eyes closed. He didn't even wait for a response! I gently ease out of his arm and walk backwards to the door. He doesn't even notice that I left, he just turns to his mom and starts talking animatedly. I walk out the door, and Connor follows. He pulls me aside just outside the door and gives me a stern look.

"You better not break his heart Katie Gardner. If he loves you, and you obviously don't love him in that way, then, you better find some way to let him down easy. Cause if you break his heart after this, I don't know what I'll do. Kapeesh?" he says sharply. I nod, and don't even bother telling him that he's got it all wrong. I just hurry to the bathroom, to get myself back to normal. I splash water on my face, and run my hands through my hair. What is happening?

So here it is! What'd ya think? Is it making Travis seem to babyish through the anesthetics, or is it just right? I hope y'all like this chapter! The next one will be up soon!