Chapter 2

As Ali lay in the hospital bed she was finding it hard to concentrate on what her parents were saying to her. Every few seconds she looked up and scanned the window into the corridor looking for him, it had been three days since the accident, why hadn't he come yet? She sighed and looked back at her parents, smiling at them

"I'm all right mum really, just tired that's all, you've had enough concussions to know how my head is right now" she answered wryly in response to her mother's question. Then looking back at the window she froze. He stood in the corridor with his shoulders bowed, shuffling anxiously, then he looked up and caught Ali's gaze. Her mother saw where she was looking, and with a conspiratorial smile at her daughter, shepherded her husband out of the room on the pretext of letting Ali rest. As they were leaving Dom entered the room and sat in one of the chairs that had just been vacated.

" I just came to see how you are..." he began quietly

"Dom stop acting like you're walking on eggshells round me, at least lets talk about what happens now. I know how you feel about me, you made that very clear when you kissed me back like that, and I thought it should be obvious how I feel about you" she smiled briefly at him at the last comment.

"Ali you're 16 years old, and I'm a teacher!" he exclaimed "For Christ's sake I'll be teaching people your age in a couple of months - "

" - and you've said often enough that you wish they were as mature as me," she retorted " stop looking at me as a 16 year old school-girl because I am not one, you've seen enough people be surprised when they find out how old I am.".

She sighed seeing his mind was clouding his judgement, after a few minutes had passed in silence she spoke again.

"Is it really that bad to be in love with me? You know my parents think the world of you and would be happy for us, the school never need to know, why can't you let yourself go?"

he looked back at her with eyes full of conflicting emotions,

" I can't talk about this right now" and with that he got up and walked to the door, he paused, "i'm glad you're ok" and with that he was gone.