My phone rang all that morning, and slowed down to about once an hour after that. I regretted giving her my phone number now, because I knew at some point I was gonna crack and have to talk to her again. I don't see why she bothered with me, now that her precious boyfriend was here, probably to take her back to the states once she gets released.

        I was left to my bitter thoughts as I worked on the videos all morning. It was a Sunday, yet I had nothing better to do today and it was the only thing that kept me occupied... somewhat...

        I couldn't get the image of them out of my mind, the way he looked so worried about her and held her tight as if she might disappear at any moment, the surprise on Amanda's face when she saw him; it was all too much for me. And that kiss, the way he threaded his hands through her hair and tilted her head towards him, cutting off her words with an intimate gesture. I had imagined myself doing the same thing, and I couldn't help feeling jealous that the kiss I had shared with her would probably be an isolated occurrence, one that she hadn't even been awake to acknowledge.

        I rubbed my eyes with the back of my palms, willing the thoughts to leave me. I didn't like her anymore, I couldn't, and at some point I would need to get over it. Still, I was torn by jealousy and self loathing as images flashed through my head of Amanda, all the things I envisioned us doing together now replaced by that freak with the tattoos. I hated him, even if he really hadn't done anything wrong.

        I turned on Pandora, kicking myself for letting my mind wander to those two again. I had to focus on the editing and not about the formerly comatose girl that kept calling me from the hospital. I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn't doing anything wrong, since she had her boyfriend there to keep her company in my absence.

        I wondered how long he had been keeping her company. Months? Years? What had they done together? I think they were roommates at uni, but I wasn't sure. I hoped not; it only made my jealousy flair up to think that he had potentially slept with her. The thought made me sick, she was pretty thin right after the accident, and there was almost nothing to her now, I had felt it in the hug. Call me judgmental, but I much preferred smaller girls. The thought of my arms around Amanda's small hips and even smaller waist caused something deep and primal to stir in the pit of my stomach...

        I buried my face in my hands, hating myself for thinking such a thing when it wasn't ever going to happen. "Fucking hell," I muttered to myself, "just stop..."

        I was shocked out of my pathetic self castigation by a loud banging on my door. Having an inclination to who it was, I quickly smoothed down my hair and striated out my clothes, trying to look a little less deplorable.

        "Mate!" Smith called when I opened the door.

        "Good day!" Tom said, popping his head out from behind Smith in the doorway. I didn't know Smith's flatmate very well, but I can promise that those two were cut from the same cloth. Dealing with two, possibly drunk, Smithys was not something I was looking to do, but they both pushed passed me into the flat anyway.

        "Ross, what have you been doing all day?" Smith asked, falling onto the couch and looking around at the mess of beer cans, soda bottles and crisp packets that were littered around my computer desk. "Have you been working?" he asked, fixing me with an accusing look.

        He should have appreciated the fact that I had been putting some time into the overwhelming amount of work that we had now that Christmas was coming up. "There's nothing wrong with that," I scolded a very chill looking Smith as he stretched and threw his arms onto the back of the couch. Tom didn't seemed bothered by the motion, and I assumed he was as used to Smith's affection as much as me and Trott were.

        "You work too hard mate," Smith mused, "Come out and get lunch with us."

        "Yeah," Tom agreed, "Get some alcohol into you, it will help with the stress." He shot me a devilish smile, thinking that that would get me to go out with them.

        "Where's Trott?" I asked, trying to divert the subject away from me. 

        "With his girlfriend," Smith said absently, scratching at his stomach. "Look, are you coming with us or not?" he asked, ignoring my attempted deviation.

        "I have a lot of work to do," I said simply, returning to my editing and ignoring the two on my couch.

        I heard them talking quietly to each other, and then Smith stood up and walked over to me. "Did something happen with Amanda?" he asked, making my breath catch in my throat and bringing up the memories and torment all over again.

        "No," I said weakly, not convincing him at all.

        A worried expression crossed over his face. "Is she alright?" he asked, somewhat panicked.

        "She's more than alright," I muttered resentfully.

        "What are you on about?" Smith asked, just in time for Amanda to start calling again. Smith looked down at me, waiting to see what I'd do. There was a second hesitation before we were both wresting for the phone, muttering curses at each other as I tried to pry it out of his grasp.

        Smith won out, and held me back with a forearm as he answered. "Hello?" he asked.

        "Smith... stop," I growled, still trying to steal the phone back. He elbowed me in the chest as I reached for it and bent over, shielding it away from me as he listened to the girl on the other end.

        "Smith," he said, answering some question unheard to anyone but him. Again there was a pause, all the while I still struggled with my coworker to get to phone or at least shut him up. I grabbed for his mouth, hoping to cut off the conversation. He suddenly slipped from my hold and quickly walked away from me, saying, "Yeah sweetheart he's right here, one second."

        I followed him, but he suddenly whirled on me and thrusted the phone into my face. I glared at him, my thumb hovering over the red button ready to hang up. "Don't," he said in a gruff whisper.

        I looked between him and Tom, who only looked bemused by the whole thing, and quickly strode into the kitchen to give us privacy. "What?" I spat a little too harshly into the phone.

        She sounded like she was going to say something, but I could almost picture her flinching and shrinking away at the comment. It took a moment before she continued. "Ross Hornby," she said weakly, "Why did you leave yesterday? You can't just keep running away like this..." 

         I was furious that she thought I was running away, like I had an obligation to be there. "Sorry, I thought you might want to spend time with you're boyfriend," I said, intending it to come out harsh but just ending up sounding bitter and resentful. 

        She sighed, gaining a bit of her confidence back. "He broke up with me months before we finished school!" she said, exasperated and raising her voice to not quite a yell.

        I laughed, trying not to get my hopes up with that statement. "That's not what it looked like," I scoffed.

        "I don't know why he did that Ross Hornby but I can promise you there is nothing going on between us!" she insisted. "Look, will you at least come over and talk to me? Or are you gonna wait another four days and then act like you care again?" she accused, sounding as vitriolic as I felt.

        I paused, knowing that she was right. I shouldn't have ignored her all those days, and I regretted treating her like that. On the other hand, it was different now; she didn't need me now that Nick was there, whatever relation to her he was. "Sorry, I just don't feel like being lead on today," I said cynically, my pride not yet allowing me to apologize.

        She click her tongue. "I really don't think it's considered leading on if you're actually interested in the person," she said, annoyed.

        My next retort was caught in my throat at that. I didn't know what to think anymore. Everything suggested that they actually wern't together, and though it could all be excuses, I had a feeling Amanda wasn't that type of person. She was honest and thoughtful, not very impulsive or outspoken; each statement or action was thought about before executed, and therefore wern't regretted by her. Besides, it wasn't like she had kissed him.

        Except I didn't know where to go from here. I still couldn't just apologize, yet I didn't want to be upset with her anymore. In all honesty, I really just wanted to see her and talk to her for hours like I did Friday night and yesterday morning.

        I had waiting too long to say something, so she asked quietly, "Are you still taking me back to my dorm next week?"

        I took a deep breath, stalling. I didn't want to wait an entire week before seeing her again, but it looked like it would have to be if I wanted to save a shred of my dignity. "Be ready by 12 on Saturday, I'll see you then," I said, hanging up before she could say anything else.

        I turned, startling at the two men with their heads poke through the door way. "You guys are twats," I told them, rubbing my temple with my free hand.

        "Did you guys make up?" Tom asked, his iconic devilish smile still plastered across his face.

        "There is such a thing called privacy," I pointed out, walking back into the living room fully intended to ignore them until they left.

        Smith clasped my shoulder with a strong hand, pulling me back to the couch as I tried to sit down at the computer. He shook his head, "No way we're leaving until you tell us what the hell is going on."

        I leaned my elbows onto my knees, dropping my forehead into a hand as I sighed, knowing that they will be gone quicker if I just give them the story. "Nick, from acidburngaming," I said, giving Tom some background as he probably didn't know who he was, "showed up yesterday to the hospital."

        Smith gave me a questioning look. "But he's in America," he pointed out.

        "That's what I thought," I said quietly. "He..." I paused, not wanting to relive everything in detail, "There was a misunderstanding..."

        "They're not...together are they?" Smith asked, beating me to the point.

        I sighed, knowing these two would overreact if I said the wrong thing. "They... used to date..." I trailed, not enjoying the thought.

        "What is he planning on doing?" Tom asked suspiciously.

        I didn't know the answer to that. She still needed me to drive her home, so I don't think she was planning on going back to America, at least not any time soon. Maybe he was going to move here, or try to rekindle the relationship. Though it seemed a bit irrational, near death experiences can make people wake up. If he broke up with her, hearing of the accident might have made him realize what he had, and from my observations he gave up an amazing thing. 'I have no idea," I told him, "she didn't mention him..."

        'What you need to do is win her back!" Smith said suddenly, breaking out of his thoughts. I rolled my eyes, knowing that wasn't actually the issue here. Smith held up his hand as I was about to reject his idea. "No no, listen," he said, "If you do something super romantic, she'll forget all about the guy who previously broke her heart." He leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms, happy with the vague plan. "He's out of the picture, you guys are no longer fighting, and you get the pretty girl to fall in love with you," he shrugged as if it were that simple.

        That was easy for Alex Smith to say, someone who could make a girl swoon with a smile and a wink. Still, even if it didn't magically make her fall in love with me, it would give me a chance to apologize and make up for my behavior in the past week. I couldn't believe I was agreeing with another insane plan so quickly and easily, but I found myself saying, "Alright... but I don't know what I'd do..."

        Smith and Tom looked at each other, exchanging some type of silent communication between the two of them. I felt uncomfortable as they both turned their heads back towards me, a mischievous grin spreading across their faces as if they were mirrors. I sighed; this was going to be...

        ...something.

A/N So I've really been inspired to continue this story, so I apologize if my other books slow down a bit. I wanted to include Tom (Smith's irl flatmate) into the story because I might be starting a new story soon that will be paralleling this one, though I make on promises. I want to thank mintyjai for giving me the idea of a romantic plan; I had originally planned just for them to make up but this is way cuter and more interesting. Lastly, I want to thank you for all the votes and comments, it means so much and I love seeing that you guys enjoy this story. Happy reading!