Chapter Fourteen

When I opened my eyes again, everything was muted and soft around the edges. The light coming in through the dusty blinds was sparkling. I was floating on a cloud of opiates, probably. I never understood the appeal of them until this moment. Maybe JJ had the right idea.

I swallowed against my sandpaper throat and rolled my head to the left. The upper half of Fang's body was on my bed, his cheek cradled by his folded hands. He was sleeping with his mouth slightly open, snoring a bit. The top of his head was pushed against my thigh.

My hand was taped up with tubes and IV's, but I moved it gingerly so I could push my fingers through his hair. He shifted, blinking, and looked at me.

"Hey." He looked pretty rough. The circles under his eyes were dark, as if he hadn't slept properly since I'd been here, and his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. There was a cut across his cheekbone, long and shallow, and a large bruise colored most of his forehead.

"Hey." My voice was hoarse, and I swallowed again, eyes flicking towards the pitcher of water on the table by my bed. Fang silently sat up and leaned over to pour me some, then pressed the plastic cup into my hand. "Thanks."

I drank until the cup was empty, then gave it back and settled into my thin pillows.

"What happened?" I asked.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Guy was driving home, fell asleep at the wheel. Hit my tail end and spun us, and we went off the road and over a guardrail. Truck was fine once they got it up; I was able to drive it here that night. They gave me a rental, though. Busted my windshield."

He scooped my hand up, careful to avoid the wires, and held it gently in both of his.

"You broke your arm, and you have a concussion. They said you were lucky. It's been two days, but they had to keep you here. Every time you woke up you were screaming so they had to sedate you so you wouldn't hurt yourself. But then they also had to be careful that the sedation didn't put you in a coma because of the concussion, so they had to keep you for observation. You're stable now, so they'll probably send you home tomorrow morning."

My face reddened. "Screaming about what?"

His mouth was pulled down, and his eyes seemed sad. "A lot of things. You said my name a lot. And Ari's."

I closed my eyes. He pressed his lips against my fingertips, and I clung to that point of connection, of warmth between us. I used it to keep me present, to keep the panic away. I fingered the thick bandage over my right eye and sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Max." He said my name like it was a secret, like he wasn't allowed to say it. It broke my heart all over again. His face was gray and drawn, like he was in pain.

I slid my hand out of his and put it on the back of his neck, pulling his head down to rest on my thigh. "Don't apologize. None of this is your fault."

He didn't answer, and I took the quiet moment to just breathe with him.

He said I was stable.

My heart was a shattered mess behind my ribs, my head was a graveyard of broken memories and ghosts just waiting to jump out and yell boo, and I was slowly falling for a boy who would never understand any of it. Thank god I was stable.

There was some awful game show playing on the tiny TV hanging in the corner of the room, the pictures flashing in the dark room. My blinds were tightly drawn against the mid-afternoon light. The smell of antiseptic was burning my nose and I was burrowed under the covers because hospitals were always so freaking cold, you know? I had to stay one more night to make sure I didn't, I don't know, spontaneously combust or something.

Fang had gone down to the cafeteria to find something possibly edible to eat for lunch in this place, so I was alone. It was actually the only time he'd left me alone since I'd woken up, and I was thankful for the breathing space.

There was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called, assuming it was Fang.

"Hey, Maxie."

He stood in the doorway. The light from the hallway was too bright and my little room was too dark, so I couldn't see his face, but I just knew he was grinning in that way that made my fucking skin crawl.

My heart rate shot up, and the machine to my left started to beep frantically and I wanted to scream at it, I know, okay, I know that he's here and we're scared! I know! Shut up!

"What the hell do you want?" I snarled, fear just barely concealed by the anger in my voice. My fingers curled into the itchy wool blanket over my lap. I couldn't defend myself; I was too slow with the pain meds in my system. I couldn't even run. My fingers and toes felt like ice as I realized I was totally trapped here with this sociopath.

"I just wanted to pay you a visit, since you're all cooped up here in this stuffy hospital."

He moved into the room and closed the door behind him, the latch catching with a soft snick. It sounded like the noise handcuffs made when someone slapped them around your wrists. He sat next to me, in Fang's chair, and planted his elbows on the bed and cupped his chin in his hands. He looked more sinister than usual with the shadows painted across his face and the flashing light from the TV turning the ends of his spiky hair white. His weight on my bed made me want to rip my own skin off.

"Get out of here." My hand moved to the 'call nurse' button on my bed frame, my fingers trembling. "Fang is going to be back any second."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He moved the hem of his coat back to reveal a small handgun clipped to his belt, glinting silver. A chill ran up my spine, and I stiffened.

"What do you want?" I asked, the threat of tears spilling through my bravado. "How did you even find me?"

He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a folded newspaper article. A black and white photo of Fang's crushed truck stared out at me from the page.

"You made the news." He grinned, and the sight of it made my stomach twist and I was really worried I'd be sick. "As for what I want: nothing, really. I just wanted to prove to you that even here, even with that dumbass looking out for you, I can still reach you. You'll come back to me, Maxie. I know you will."

He smiled at me, his eyes roaming up and down my body. My hospital gown felt too thin; I was totally exposed. My skin crawled as he literally licked his lips like some sort of cartoon villain.

"Anyways." He stuffed the paper back into his jacket and stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Catch you later, Maxie."

He winked, and disappeared out the door, leaving me shaking behind him. My stomach cramped with the need to vomit, my body physically wanting to expel that experience.

I sat there, shaking, for thirty seconds. I counted, out loud, to the empty room. When I hit thirty, I sucked a huge breath in and let it out through my teeth, then ripped the IV out of my arm. The adrenaline in my veins kept me from feeling the burn as the needle slipped out. I pressed my fingers against the spot to stop any bleeding, then pushed myself up and out of the bed.

The floor was cold through my thin yellow socks, and my wrist throbbed, the cast making my right arm heavy and awkward. I wasn't supposed to be up walking around unless it was an emergency, but with the way my heart was still pounding out of my chest, this sure seemed like an emergency.

I had to get out of there.

I found my bloody, dirty clothes in a drawer across the room and changed quickly, grimacing at the way my shirt collar was stiff with dried blood. I jammed my feet into my shoes without tying the laces.

I was buttoning up my coat when the guilt got me, so I found a pad of paper and a pen in the bedside table and scribbled a quick note out on it, my trembling fingers making my handwriting almost illegible.

Fang,

I'm sorry. He found me again. I can't live in a world with him in it. I have to do this.

It's for the best. If I loved you, I'd probably ruin you. And you deserve better.

Forgive me.

-M

I zipped up my jacket, pocketing the car keys that Fang had left on my bedside table, and set my jaw. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't.

I had to do this. There was no other way. It wasn't just about me anymore; he would hurt Fang. Nudge. Anyone close to me, and he would do it without even batting an eye, just to get to me. This was the only way. It was coming down to the two of us, and only one could walk away.

This was my vanishing point.

A/N Sorry it was so short. You guys will like the next chapter (and also possibly hate me for it). We're getting super close to the end, guys! Hang in there just a little longer. Remember, I promised a happy ending.