As soon as I was given the "okay" to drive the next day, I borrowed my brother's car and drove to Ryan's. I walked inside and saw him sitting on the couch playing video games.

"Hey." He seemed surprised that I was the first to speak.

Ryan looked at me. "Hey." I stared at him, and he stared back. He paused his game and got up from the couch. He walked over to me and stopped just inches away from my face. Or rather, when his chest was just inches from my face. He noticed this and bent his knees a little so we were finally eye-to-eye and said, "Did you make up your mind?"

Instead of giving him an answer, I just kissed him long and hard. I had missed the way our lips fit together perfectly and how just kissing Ryan made me happy. I pulled away from him and poked his nose. "You're not forgiven just yet." Ryan smiled at me and kissed me again. When we stopped around eight minutes later, I asked, "Are you home alone tonight?" Ryan nodded solemnly. "You're such a loser, playing video games by yourself on a Saturday night."

"I was waiting for you."

I scrunched my nose at him. "Are you psychic?"

"Yep, I always know what you're going to do next," Ryan joked as he gently took my non-broken hand and led me to the couch.

"Oh, really?" I asked. Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Then did you know I was going to do this?" I asked as I pulled my shirt over my head, careful not to bend my neck too much or get my shirt caught on my cast.

He smiled wickedly. "I had a feeling…" Ryan's voice trailed off. He kissed me again. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too."

Ryan's hands wandered around my body; they skimmed my stomach, careful not to hurt my injured ribs, they traveled under my bra and felt me up, and squeezed under my waistband and fingered me, and all the while Ryan's lips never left mine. He knew exactly what he was doing and where his hands were going.

Soon after we were done, Ryan pulled The Hills Have Eyes out and put it into the DVD player. I had never seen it before, and Ryan said it was the only scary movie that had actually scared him. I was doing fine until the rape scene, when I started crying when memories of Luke flooded back to me.

"Oh, shit," Ryan said as he shut it off. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that part." He pulled me up on his lap with one of my legs on each side of him and wiped away the tears on my cheeks. He grabbed my face and pulled it towards him in a sad, sorry kiss. "He's not coming near you, ever, okay? Not when I'm around."

I was so scared, still. How could I have forgotten? Ryan had hurt me emotionally, and the car crash had hurt me physically, but neither of those could even compare to the physical and emotional pain Luke had caused.

Ryan got up and lay me down on the couch and covered me with a blanket. I closed my eyes. I heard him walk down the hallway, probably towards his room. He came back a minute later, on the phone.

"Hey, Mrs. A, it's Ryan." Pause, most likely my mom telling him how much she misses his cute face. "Is it alright with you if Caroline sleeps over tonight? I don't think she's feeling too well." Another pause, my mom saying of course I can stay with him, because she loves him so much, he's practically family. "Alright, thanks. I'll have her call you tomorrow; she's asleep on the couch right now." Pause. She's telling him she loves him and can't wait to see him and to tell me that she also loves me. "Okay, I will. Bye."

When Ryan lifted my head tenderly and slid his body underneath, I said, "You would call my mom."

He laughed. I opened my eyes. Ryan was looking right at me. "All those cuts and bruises and you're still beautiful."

I smiled at him. "I love you."

He smiled back and kissed me. "I love you too." Ryan started playing with my hair and I drifted off to sleep.