Things were moving fast. Too fast for Alexia's liking.

"Well doctor Malone said that he was driven and motivated—almost too motivated for his own good. Apparently Jason has been doing triple of his normal amount of walking exercises, has learned how to wash himself and doesn't need nurse Stella to feed him anymore. Headaches aside, he's all set."

Alexia snorted deeply. "What about his mental health? They can't release him that soon, Ryan. For God's sake, he was in a coma for two weeks!"

"He's good, Alex." Ryan countered, shrugging. Alexia groaned, covering her face with her hands as she pressed her back against the chair. Ryan and her were just talking before the lecture started, but truth to be told, she wished they hadn't. This news about Jason being released from the hospital in a week was admittedly good, but she refused to believe that it was thoroughly thought. How was it even possible?

"Look," he sighed, "I know you're worried about him, we all are, but they know what they're saying. I'm there every day, Lex. He's honestly doing fine. Yesterday we even strolled from his room to the café downstairs. I didn't see him flinch once. You should be happy that he's being released."

"Who's being released?"

Alexia turned around in her seat, seemingly surprised by the blonde woman who'd butted into their conversation. She was pretty, short, straight blonde hair and flawless features. They almost seemed too flawless, which was a flaw at itself.

"That's none of your damn business, Summer." Ryan hissed, his lips transforming into a scowl.

Summer?

That's when Alexia realized she'd seen her before. It almost felt like another lifetime when she'd just transferred back to New York and had a rocky start with Jason. He wasn't keen on being around her again and she knew it, and she also knew that Summer was his fuckbuddy. Didn't she have black hair before?

"Come on, Ryan." She rolled her eyes, annoyingly picking her nails, "From the amount of times we've hung out with each other you'd expect to be a little nicer." Alexia caught the bitchiness and immediately braced herself, ready to get her claws out.

Ryan shook his head, "Hung out? We've never 'hung out'. You were just there to get fucked by Jason in the bathroom and if I'm remembering this right you were always dumped right after."

"Semantics." Summer didn't seem fazed by his words, taking out her lip gloss. She dumped a big clot on her lips and smeared it out before continuing. "The point is that I'm curious about who's being released. I think I can guess."

"What is this, high school?"

Summer cackled, a grin curling her lips. "Jason is coming back. I knew it."

Ryan widened his eyes, "I didn't even say anything."

"You didn't have to. You guys were moping around for months until he was found. Then you were moping again because he was in a coma, then you were kind of happy... now you're excited. I can see it, you know."

He turned around in his seat, shaking his head as he took out his notebook and pens. Alexia thought he was done, but he turned back around to meet her gaze and snapped, "Good job on the hair, by the way. Black was fucking hideous."

So Alexia was right, she did have dark hair before.

Summer clearly didn't take offense as she shifted her attention to Alexia, tapping her shoulders from behind her with the tip of her nail. Alexia turned around, maliciously glaring at her. "Yeah?"

"Watch me take him back."

Alexia blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Jason." Summer deadpanned, batting her eyelashes as if the mention of his name only send her into a daze. "Whatever it is you guys had going on, it's over now. He's mine."

Alexia let out a wholehearted laugh, even putting her hand on her stomach to add on to it.

"I was here first." Summer discarded Alexia's laughter, though she was clearly distraught. Alexia just proceeded to chuckle, stifling the urge to roll her eyes. "Honey, I'm the one who got to suck his face in high school. I think that we're far past the I-was-here-first argument."

Summer clenched her jaw and sat back in her chair with a huff.

Alexia turned back around, her cockiness instantly fading away. She'd undoubtedly gotten her point across now, but she knew that once Jason was back on campus, there was little she could do. Jason was not her boyfriend, nor was he the man she could kiss and have sex with—not that she hadn't kissed him, slip ups were bound to happen—so really, Summer could do whatever she wanted, and if Jason returned the gesture, Alexia was forced to stay mute.

Which she doubted she would pull off. Staying away from him while he was in the hospital was one thing, but staying away from him while he was on campus, hanging out with her friends and shoving girls into her face? That was a whole damn different thing.

Perhaps that's why she didn't want him to be released so soon. She wasn't ready to face him five days a week.

God, she's a selfish bitch, that's what she is. It's great he's being released and he deserves a somewhat normal life, as normal as his life will get.

Luckily for Alexia, the professor cleared his throat and everyone around her quieted down. He started talking and she pushed all of her thoughts aside, giving the professor her undivided attention.

Finals were in the last weeks of June, and it was time she got a grip and started taking the lectures serious. With the chaotic and unsettled incidents of the past month, studying wasn't on her mind and it should have been. She wasn't ready for her finals and she truly wanted to pass this year.

But she couldn't help but think; would Jason pass?

-

She hadn't seen the boys all weekend, which wasn't that much of a surprise. She was under the wrath of Damian Albarran and that included her seeing the least possible of her friends, albeit he couldn't control that when she was on campus. Anyhow, she did see Jason in the hospital when Chloe and her had gone to Chloe's appointment, and she was certain that she'd hear all about it when everyone was together again.

Hence the 'surprise' on Alexia's face when Chaz invaded her and Chloe's room with Ryan hot on his heels, both visibly outraged.

"You have some explaining to do!" Ryan yelled, his face hotly angered. Alexia sighed, "Mom, turn it down a notch, will you?"

Chloe giggled, watching Chaz and Ryan circling around Alexia, fully aware of why they were acting this way. Little did they know, Chloe was the one to make the suggestion of what Alexia had done.

Alexia chuckled. Chloe was smart, they wouldn't hurt her and the baby anyway.

"Did you know that Jason has called my cell seventy six times since Saturday? I declined the call the first twenty times because it was an unknown fucking number and I was scared as hell, but when I picked up it turned out to be Jason trying to reach me with nurse Stella's frickin' phone because you flashed your God damned ribs! You do know he saw the tattoo, right?" Chaz was going on a rampage, pacing around the room.

"That was the point, Chaz." Alexia grinned. Chaz and Ryan had told her in details about Jason's mission to find out who he shared the tattoo with, especially after Chloe's unfortunate word vomit. She couldn't help it—she really wanted him to know that it was her.

Chaz groaned loudly. "He was so happy, Alexia! He kept saying 'I knew it! I fucking knew it! Man, something really happened between us in those months, huh? Chaz, bro, I'm telling you, we belong together!' and me, as the good best friend I am, proceeded to hype him up because I'm absolute shit when I'm being put in situations like these!"

Alexia's smile faltered. It was like the consequences of her actions only now hit her, a pang of realization washing over her. What had she done? She'd thought of it as something fun, so Jason would have something to think about. Chloe said it as a joke, but Alexia was the one who went out and did it.

Who was she kidding, anyway? She wanted Jason to know. It was their tattoo, together, and a part of her just couldn't let him go. Not only did she still want to feel connected to him, she wanted him to feel connected to her.

A mess. That's what she was.

"Fuck." She mumbled, agitatedly running a hand through her hair. If Damian found out about Jason somehow reaching out to her he would stab a hole through his chest and wear his skin, just to mess with her. Crap, what if he found out she'd visited him in the hospital? Or if he found out that she'd kissed him? Twice?

Fucking hell, Alexia.

"It's just that we thought that you wanted to keep everything a secret." Ryan muttered. Alexia nodded wildly, "Yeah I did. I mean I do. I really do."

"Then why did you do that? You know he loves you, Lex. Whether he admits it or not, the guy will forever love you with everything inside of him. This is not going to help him forget."

Alexia puffed out a breath, completely repulsed by herself. Everything Ryan had said was right. She'd made matters worse by showing him the tattoo, even if she'd convinced herself that she wouldn't see him again anyway. She knew that wasn't true.

"I know." She guiltily murmured, not looking at Ryan and Chaz. She got up instead and walked over to her bed, flinging herself on it. She buried her head into the sheets and screamed. Alexia was pissed as hell that she'd gone that far. She was supposed to protect him!

But she couldn't stay away from him. Her body physically couldn't do it.

"Get out. You're upsetting her again." Chloe voiced crabbily. Alexia couldn't see her, but she could imagine the glare she was shooting their way.

Chloe was very protective over her these days.

"Babe..." this voice was Chaz'.

"Don't 'babe' me!"

Chaz' grunt was loud and clear and he started to argue with Chloe, who frantically argued back. Alexia just blocked it out by cursing at herself in her mind, her head still buried in the sheets.

"You know we're not trying to upset you." The voice was Ryan's, and it was nearby. She carefully lifted her head out of the sheets and watched as Ryan made himself comfortable on her bed, leaning his back against the wall.

"I know." She responded, "It's not your fault anyway. I don't know what I was thinking."

Ryan shrugged, meekly smiling. "I think you just wanted to show him that there was still something between you two. Or that something had happened before the accident. Either way, we're not blaming you. I can't imagine going through this with Sienna."

Alexia nodded. "How are you guys dealing with everything? Like, when he asks about something you're not supposed to tell him. Do you lie?"

"Yeah. We have to." But he looked ashamed.

Alexia nodded again and dropped her head back into the sheets.

Ryan awkwardly cleared his throat and she looked up again.

"I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"Um..." he hesitated.

"Just spit it out!" she snapped impatiently. Ryan um'ed again but seemingly got himself together after she shot him a dirty look.

"Last week I was checking my mail and it appeared that I had gotten an invitation. There was a little note which said 'Our apologies for sending this on such short notice, you weren't on the guest list before. Love, Alexia and Damian.', it was an invitation to your wedding, Lex."

Her heart sunk into her stomach, anguish infiltrating her mind. She buried her head back in the sheets, stifling the urges to scream. "That bastard!"

Ryan hummed, gently rubbing her back. "That bastard, indeed."

-

On Wednesday night, Alexia got a weird call. The clock read 02:53 and her room was raven black aside from a part of the floor being illuminated by the moon. She groaned drowsily, her eyes still partially closed as she clumsily grabbed her phone and looked at the caller ID.

Unknown.

Too bad, she thought, declining the call. She dropped her phone on the floor with a faint 'thump', already dozing off when her ringtone galled through the room again, loud and demanding.

"Pick up your damned phone. I'm pregnant." The voice belonged to Chloe. Alexia ignored her comment and narrowed her eyes, grasping her phone off the ground. The caller ID was unknown again. For Chloe's sake, she tapped 'accept' and put the phone to her ear, struggling to keep herself awake.

"Is this Alexia?"

"Yes," Alexia let out groggily, "Who's this?"

"Nurse Stella. I know this is a bad time but please, Jason is freaking out. He just had another nightmare and woke up screaming and hyperventilating and nothing I do is calming him down. Please. If he doesn't calm down the doctors will sedate him, and I don't want to see that happening."

Smack. Alexia was wide awake, up straight in her bed as she shoved the sheets off her body, clutching the car keys on her bed stand tightly. "Ten minutes. I'll be there in ten minutes. Keep the doctors away from him."

She hung up without waiting for an answer. Her heart was pounding in her chest, stumbling towards the door. She didn't bother with anything and ambled through the endless hallways of her dormitory in her pyjamas and on bare feet. She couldn't help but worry about him, and by the time she'd reached the parking lot, she was running.

As always, the road to the hospital didn't take up more than six, seven minutes. She neglected the safety of her car and wasn't even sure whether the door to the driver's seat was closed when she ran over to the entrance of the hospital, her feet hitting the cold pavement. She felt kind of silly now, staggering through the white, stoic corridors of the hospital while the night-staff eyed her incredulously. But then she remembered nurse Stella's reason to call and immediately pushed the thought away, scurrying up the stairs to Jason's room.

Her heart drooped when she heard the distant, husky roars of the man she loved. She made her way over to his room and barged in, dumbfounded by the three men dressed in white coats hovering over him.

"Do something!" Nurse Stella's cry snapped Alexia out of it and she stomped over to Jason's bed, roughly pushing the doctors and their freaking needles out of the way as she fixated her gaze on Jason, who admittedly, looked terror-stricken.

His eyes were open—but they were unrecognizable. Dark and frighteningly wide, another screech emitting his throat. His arms were wrapped around his legs and he was curled into a ball, his breathing low and fast. Too fast.

"Jase," Alexia whispered, planting her ass on the bed. Jason proceeded his yelling, not giving her any sort of recognition. The doctors leapt forward, but Alexia cloaked her arms around Jason's tense body, "Don't you dare! He is not some fucking animal!"

The doctors backed away.

"Shh, baby," she breathed, glaring at the doctors whilst holding Jason tight. His breathing had slowed down a bit, his eyes dully going back to their own colour. "It's okay, I'll get you out of here." He croaked out, not looking at her—more like looking through her.

Alexia's mouth gaped.

"It's okay, I'll get you out of here."

It was the sentence that had kept her sane when Jason disappeared after the fire, when he'd gone to hide for the first time. The fire was a blur in her head, but his determined words were burned in her mind.

And then, he said it again. "It's okay, I'll get you out of here."

"Jason," she squeaked, "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay, I'll get you out of here." He gruffly murmured, "I said that in the dream. I said that. There was someone else in the fire, I'm not stupid." He kept his head safely tucked on Alexia's chest, gradually calming down. Her soothing words and gentle touches were enough to fully keep him restrained.

Nurse Stella had shoo'ed the doctors away and followed them outside, but not before zealously glancing at Alexia and Jason.

"The fire?" Alexia tried, her hand running through his wild mane. Jason loved it when she played with his hair, she knew that. Jason sighed in exhaustion, looking up at her. "Yeah. When I dropped the candle."

That's the lie Ryan had come up with? "Right."

"Ryan said I was alone."

"But..."

"But I keep dreaming about it. I wasn't alone. Someone was calling my name and I kept repeating that sentence." Jason lipped tiredly, his eyes closing. Alexia hummed, massaging his scalp. "Does it matter?"

"Yes, because I have the feeling that a lot happened in the past few months, and it's killing me that I can't remember anything."

Alexia suppressed the urge to cry and nod yes, spilling all about the difficult few months they'd had. Jason was to be protected—from her, from her fiancé and from the truth. She would not be the person who ruined it all for him, not again.

"Just sleep, Jase."

"We'll discuss the tattoo later. I understand why you were so confused that first night when I told you the last time we saw each other was three years ago. Something happened between us, huh?"

There was nothing wrong with a little bit of truth. "Something. It's over now."

"Don't believe it."

"Well you should. It's true."

Jason snorted, "Everyone's been feeding me lies ever since I woke up. It's sad that you're part of them, I thought you were the one person that would never lie to me."

"It's for your own good, Jason."

"Bullshit."

"Just go to sleep."

Jason pulled himself out of her embrace, draping the sheets back over his body as he rested his head on the pillow, suddenly wide awake. "I'm not letting you go." His eyes pierced holes through her skin, but to be fair she looked back just as defiantly. "I honestly don't know what the hell you guys are hiding from me, it's pissing me off, but I know that you're a part of it, and fuck, I swear that I will find out."

Alexia grimaced, shaking her head. "Don't try." She urged, "I'm serious, Jason. It's not worth it and there's a reason that we're bending the truth."

"So you admit?"

"You're not stupid." She shrugged, "You knew it already anyway."

Jason pressed his lips into a thin line, averting his gaze. "I deserve to know. It's my life."

"I know." Alexia licked her lips and shuffled on the bed to sit closer to Jason. Cautiously, she lowered herself to kiss his cheek, but Jason sharply turned around and her lips met his. They engulfed each other in another heated kiss, both excessively enjoying it for as long as it lasted. Jason was the one to break it for a short second, the tip of his nose softly touching the tip of hers. "I know you, Alexia. If it wasn't really for my own good, you wouldn't lie to me. I trust you and I believe you."

She exhaled in relief. Good, he wasn't going to try to find out. Her heart still beat like crazy, loving their closeness. Jason's did too, which she knew because his heart monitor indicated it.

"But," his eyes were big and brown and let her know that he wasn't going to stop, "We have different opinions on what's good and what's not good. For example, I believe that you're good for me. I take what I want, Lex. I know you want me too."

"Of course I do." She snapped, ignoring the clenching feeling in her lower abdomen. "It's just different now. Things... changed. If you trust me like you say you do, please, stop this." It was weird how fast Jason changed moods. He was going crazy just minutes ago, and now he was fighting Alexia on what was good and what wasn't.

"Stop what?"

"This. You can't look into it, just go with whatever everyone tells you and move on."

Jason stubbornly shook his head. "No."

"Jason..."

"I said no."

They stared at each other, both starting to get worked up. It was a mistake coming here, Alexia thought, not looking away from him. Jason clenched his jaw.

"Whatever." He sneered, "If you won't help me, I'll just find out myself."

"Jason, no. You can't fucking risk your life again!"

He shrugged. "Nothing you say or do will change my mind. Prepare to see a lot more of me, princess."

Alexia was about to fire back, her stomach dreamily prickling at the mention of his nickname for her when she realized Jason had his fingers firmly pressed against his temple, his eyes squeezed shut. Alexia furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him as he appeared to have some internal battle—or just a manic headache.

"Are you okay?"

He quickly shushed her, not changing his demeanor. Alexia obediently stayed quiet, observing him as he proceeded to grunt lowly and squeeze his eyes some harder. Was it a headache? It looked like one.

Jason slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times before he focused on Alexia.

"What? What is it?"

"It's just..." he pondered, frowning too. "I don't know. I just got this weird memory when I said princess."

"As in, you're gaining your memory back?"

Jason looked a bit in pain, "A little. Sometimes when people say certain words, it comes randomly. So far it's all been useless anyway."

"So what did you remember?" Alexia held her breath, ignoring the fluttering feeling of butterflies erupting in her stomach. It was stupid, he probably hadn't even remembered anything that included her.

Jason shook his head, visibly confused. "I don't know." He whispered, "Someone was talking to me... he said that he knew I called you princess, that a birdie told him that. I don't know. It was vague."

Alexia nodded. See? Not her.

If only she knew.

-

Alexia left the hospital when she was certain that Jason was in a deep slumber. Her legs were cold and her feet were numb and filthy. She arrived in her dorm room at 04:03, immediately falling asleep.

Her alarm went off two hours later, only for it to be thrown against the wall by Alexia's tired arm. Her head was pounding, she was cold and her heart throbbed repeatedly. She just wanted to go back to the hospital and crawl next to Jason into the bed. She missed him. She's been missing him the entire time, but this time it hit her like a brick wall.

Chloe was up, yawning while she moved throughout the room, showering, changing and packing her bag. By the time she was done, Alexia was still in her bed, unmoved.

"Lex, come on. You don't want to be late."

Alexia pretended to be asleep. It wasn't that hard to pretend, anyway. She was just seconds away from truly dozing off. Chloe sighed deeply, "We have finals in less than two months. You have got to get up."

"I don't want to."

"You don't have a choice."

Silence. Alexia kept her head on the pillow and her eyes closed.

"I'll drag you out, if I have to."

"You can't." Alexia mumbled, "You're pregnant."

"I'll get Chaz and Ryan to do it."

"I'm not coming out of my bed today, Chlo."

There was another silence. Chloe cleared her throat and then proceeded to walk away, Alexia knew because she could hear her.

"You know," Chloe opted, "You keep telling him to move on, but you're not doing it yourself. It's either both of you or none, Lex."

The door slammed loudly.