I rushed into the emergency room of the Saranac Hospital, my mind screaming one thing: please don't let her be dead.

I marched up to the front desk, cutting ahead in the line to reach the only lady working there.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you have to wait in the back--" the woman began saying.

"Screw the line! Where's my grandmother?! They said she had a stroke. I need to be in there," I said, my voice sounding hysterical. My hair had fallen out of the neat bun it had been in at the start of the day and now fell wildly around my face. I was sure my make-up had smeared from crying in the car on the way over. But I didn't care what I looked like. I just needed to see my grandmother.

"I realize that you're here for an emergency, ma'am, but you have to wait just like--" the woman.

"Ah, fuck you," I shouted, leaving the window and walking forward. I pushed open the door that led to the emergency room, the woman at the desk yelling after me. Ignoring her, I strode forward, placing my hands on the counter in front of a nurse who was sitting at a computer.

"Can you tell me what room Martha Hansen is staying in?" I asked the nurse, trying to keep my voice level.

"Who are you?" the nurse asked.

"I'm her granddaughter. I was called by a woman named Jennifer," I replied.

"Hey, Jen! Did you call a Miss Hansen here?" the nurse called to a petite blonde looking woman.

"Uh, yeah. She's Martha's granddaughter, right?" the nurse named Jennifer replied, coming forwards.

"Are you Aria?" she asked me.

"Yes, that's me," I said. "Is my grandmother all right?" I asked.

"You have nothing to worry about. They're preparing her for surgery as we speak. Come sit down and I'll explain what happened," Jennifer replied, reaching out and grasping me by my arm. She pulled me toward a row of chairs that were placed against the wall. I guess she had seen how pale I had gotten and decided it was best if I were sitting.

"She had a stroke earlier this morning, but luckily, Dr. Cameron, the heart specialist here at Saranac, had her wearing a medical alert bracelet at all times since she lives alone. Your grandmother was smart enough to activate it and the paramedics were able to get there in time and revitalize her. Dr. Cameron ran some tests and he said that she needs a by-pass surgery," she explained to me in a gentle voice that was supposed to be calming. I took a sharp intake of breath.

"It's all right. Bypass surgery is one of the most common types of surgeries and Dr. Cameron is amazing. Your grandmother is in good hands," Jennifer said.

"When can I see her?" I asked.

"Well, the surgery typically takes a few hours and then she needs to wake up from the anesthesia. I'd give it three or four hours," she replied. I sighed and nodded, wrigging my hands together. "Maybe while you wait, you can go home and change and get comfortable?" she suggested.

I shot her a dark look. How the hell was I supposed to go home and get comfortable while my grandmother was in surgery? I didn't care if it was the most simple kind of surgery in the world. She was still getting cut open and I wanted to make sure she was all right the second she woke up.

"I'm fine," I grunted. "Where's the nearest coffee machine?" I asked.

"Right outside the waiting room," Jennifer said in her sickly sweet voice, smiling at me. I grimaced back and got up to find the machine.

I walked out of the emergency room and into the waiting room. The woman at the front desk, who was now unpreoccupied, glared at me. I bit my lip and ducked my head, making my way out of the waiting room and into the hallway. I spotted the coffee machine to my left and made my way to it. Grabbing a styrofoam cup from the dispenser, I set about filling it with coffee. The aroma of the liquid caffeine filled my nostrils and relaxed me. Just the scent was enough to calm my nerves.

My grandmother was the most important person in my life. She took care of me when I became orphaned. She never once let me feel the loss of having parents. In grade school, she attended all of my parent/teacher conferences. She came to all of my school plays, my choir performances, my soccer games. She was always standing there in the crowd among the other parents, rooting for me. Knowing that she would always be there for me was enough to get me through the difficult times that followed my parents' deaths. Finding out that she was sick and in surgery shattered that image of protection that she had always served for me.

Even though I was much older now, at age 24, and living on my own, it was still frightening to imagine living my life without her. There was still so much I had yet to do, so much she had yet to see me accomplish. She couldn't die. Not now; not yet.

"SHIT!" I hissed, feeling searing hot liquid drip onto my skin. I hadn't been paying attention and my cup had overflowed. I yanked my hand away from the cup and grabbed a handful of napkins, dabbing them at my hand. When I pulled the dirty napkins away from my hand, I realized my pale skin was now throbbing red. "Just f*cking perfect," I grumbled, shaking my hand out and glaring at the cup of coffee that was sitting innocently at the machine.

"Are you all right?" I heard a voice say. I turned around to see who it was and froze. The person who had asked the question also tensed upon seeing me.

Standing in front of me, wearing turquoise scrubs and tennis shoes, was Carter Williams.

August 7, 2006

She giggled as he took her hand and clasped his fingers with hers, getting their hands in position to have a thumb war. They sat cross legged facing each other underneath the large weeping willow in her grandmother's backyard. The wind blew her wavy dark brown hair back from her face and blew his messy hair into his eyes. She reached out with her free hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. She had told him time and time again that he needed to get a haircut, but he was stubborn. He smiled at her and leaned forward, getting ready to explain the rules of the crazy game he had just made up.

"We're going to play thumb wars and at the end of each round, the loser has to tell the winner something about themselves. But whatever that something is, it can't be stupid, like, what your favorite color is. It has to be something unique and interesting," he explained.

"I think knowing someone's favorite color can say a lot about a person," she said to him, a grin on her lips. He gave her a look and she chuckled. "All right, all right. We'll play it your way," she said, rolling her eyes at him. He smirked and they began the first round.

"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war!" we chanted together. For the next several moments, their thumbs were locked in an intense battle to take the other down.

"Ahh! You're cheating! Sit on your other hand!" she squealed.

"I'm not cheating you are! Stop twisting your arm!" he shouted back.

"Nooo!!" she cried as his thumb victoriously crushed hers. "You suck," she pouted.

"Haha. Score one for The Most Amazing Guy in the World," he said.

"You mean the most annoying," she corrected.

"Sore loser," he said, pinching her nose. "Now tell me something fascinating about yourself," he said. She sighed and then tapped her chin, thinking.

"Ok, how's this: I have a fear of heights," she said. He looked at her thoughtfully, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hmm...good to know," he said slyly. "I know what we're going to do on our next date now," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Bungee jumping," he replied casually. She reached down and grabbed a fistful of grass and threw it at him. He raised his arms to shield himself from the attack.

"You suck!" she said.

"The only way to combat fear is to embrace it," he replied, pointing his finger at her. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Whatever. Round two," she said. He chuckled lightly and they repeated the thumb war chant.

He won.

"Your thumbs are bigger than mine!" she exclaimed.

"Excuses," he replied, folding his arms over his chest. She groaned and racked her mind for something interesting about herself.

"Ok, it has always been my dream to work in a big law firm in New York City," she said.

"Figures you'd want to do that. Being the mock trial captain and all," he said.

"It's more complicated than that," she muttered, looking down at the rich green grass sullenly.

"How so?" he asked.

"Loser gets to say one unique thing about themselves, remember?" she said, forcing a smile.

"Right," he said, holding his hand out again. They played another round and she lost. Again.

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed.

"It's only three times!" he said.

"Still! You haven't lost once yet. I still know nothing about you," she said.

"You know plenty about me. It's you that's a mystery," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, whatever," she said. "When I was younger, I wanted to grow up to be a tiger," she told him. He fell on his back laughing. She frowned at him until he calmed down and sat back up.

"A tiger?" he asked. She nodded. "And how would you have managed that?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"It was very possible in my three year old mind," she replied. He snickered and she grabbed his hand again. This time, she won.

"Success!" she exclaimed, pounding her fist into the air. He laughed lightly.

"All right, all right," he said. "Since you told me what you want to do after college, I'll tell you what I want to do," he said. "I want to be a cardiologist."

"Really? Why?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Seems interesting enough," he replied.

"Out of all the different doctors, why a cardiologist?" she questioned.

"One unique thing each round," he said, looking at her with bright eyes. She huffed.

"Oh, fine," she said and he laughed. "One more round. Loser has to say two things, though," she said.

"Deal," he agreed.

"One, two three four, I declare a thumb war!" they both shouted together. For the next few minutes, the two of them struggled against each other's vices in order to win. They shouted and yelled insults at each other until a winner was determined. It was her.

"Yes! Yay! I won!" she exclaimed.

"I let you win," he said smoothly, a knowing smile on his lips. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure you did," she taunted.

"Ok. Two things..." he trailed off, furrowing his brow. "One is that I've had a crush on you the moment I saw you in Mr. Thompson's geometry class freshman year," he said. She felt her cheeks flush with color and she bit her lip, fighting the goofy smile that was trying to make it's way onto her face. "And another is that I really want to kiss you right now," he said.

She let out the breath she didn't she was holding and blushed violently. He leaned forward slightly and cupped her face in his hands. He hesitated for a moment, his lips just centimeters before hers. Then she closed the remaining gap between their lips and felt the fabled fireworks erupt in her stomach as she shared her first kiss with the Most Amazing Guy in the World.

_________________________________________________________________________

A/N: =) Sorry it took me forever to post this. I've had a busy two weeks. And school started, too, so I've been caught up with hanging out with people I haven't seen in forever. Anyway, I'll update when I get a chance. I promise these chapters will get longer eventually. I just need time to start things off.

Why do you think Carter is at the hospital? Do you think he'll find out about Aria's grandmother? What do you think will happen next?

I still need to find an actor to play young Carter/old Carter.

Leave me a comment! And vote!

XOXO