I stared down at the phone for a moment before quickly rejecting the call and tossing the phone onto the bed as if it was burning. When is started to ring again, I pushed myself off the bed and I practically ran out of my room.

            Tonto followed behind me as I hurried to the other side of the house. I went into the living room and sat down on the couch, resting my head in my hands as memories assaulted me.

            I must have sat there for a long time, because suddenly Jared was there, crouching in front of me and pulling my hands away from my face. “Hailey? What’s wrong?”

            I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. He grunted in surprise, but quickly wrapped his arms around my waist. He shifted until he was sitting on the couch as well and then he pulled me onto his lap. He rocked me gently, talking soothingly even though he didn’t know what had happened.

            After about ten minutes, I was able to compose myself. I pulled back slightly and looked at Jared. “He called,” I whispered.

            It took him about two seconds to realize who I was talking about. Rage quickly filled his eyes and his whole body went stiff. “Did you talk to him?”

            I shook my head. “No way. I ignored the call and left my phone in my room. How did he get my new number, Jared?”

            He sighed. “I don’t know, Hales.” One of his hands rubbed up and down my back gently. “Do you want me to call him and talk to him?”

            I hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know. Not yet, I guess. Maybe he’ll just give up.”

            “And if he doesn’t?”

            “Then we’ll deal with it then. I’m not going to let him harass me, so if it comes down to it, you can talk to him or something.”

            “Fine, but I think maybe we should get your phone number switched again.”

            I sighed. “What’s the point? If he was able to get this number, he’ll be able to get any other one as well.”

            “I guess you’re right.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze before lifting me off of his lap and placing me on the couch. “It’s getting late, so why don’t you go and try to get some sleep?” 

            I nodded and stood up. “Oh, how did your date go?”

            “It was good. I can see myself really liking this girl.”

            I smiled softly. “That’s good. You deserve to be happy.”

            He stood up and put his arm around my shoulder. “You deserve to be happy too, Hailey. Don’t let this get you down again.”

            Tears stung my eyes, but I managed to keep them at bay. “I’ll try, but it’s hard when all the memories come rushing back.”

            He started walking out of the room, keeping me at his side with his arm around me. “I know. But you can’t let him win. You can’t let him take away this happiness that you’ve found.”

            “I won’t. It just might take me a day or two to get over this, that’s all.”

            We stopped in front of my bedroom door and he turned me to face him. “Well, you know you can always come to me if you need to talk.”

            I smiled gratefully. “I know. Thanks Jared. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

            “Sleep well Hailey.”

            I didn’t sleep well. I tossed and turned for most of the night, causing my back to be sore in the morning. It was tolerable though, so I went through my normal morning routine. I was tired, stressed, pissed off and sore. To sum it up, I was NOT in a good mood.

            I barely spoke to Jared when I saw him in the kitchen. I was too cranky to risk talking to another human being and he seemed to sense that. After I ate my breakfast, I drove to school. I was tempted to just stay home, but I decided against it. I didn’t really want to become behind in any of my schoolwork.

            When I got to the school, I went straight to my biology class so that I didn’t have to talk to anyone. I took my seat and put my arms on the table, resting my head on top of them. I closed my eyes and nearly drifted off to sleep when I heard the chair being pulled out beside me. I decided to continue to pretend to sleep, not really ready to talk to anyone yet.

            When the bell rang, I forced myself to straighten in my seat and face the front of the class. From the corner of my eye, I could see Blake doing the same, and I was grateful that he hadn’t tried to talk to me yet.

            Mr. White came into the room, pushing a cart with a TV on it. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I wouldn’t have to pretend to pay attention in this class. Mr. White turned off the lights and then faced us. “Okay class, we’re going to watch this video for class today. Try and stay awake, alright?”

            A few people chuckled and then quieted down when the teacher started the video. I laid my head on my arms again. I must have dozed off for a while, because I was suddenly jerked awake when the lights flicked back on. I looked around blearily and realized that class was almost over.

            I turned to Blake and saw that he was facing me with a questioning look on his face. “What?” I asked him.

            “Did you have a good nap?”

            I grunted. “No, it was too short.”

            He smiled a little. “Bad night?”

            “You could say that.”

            “You’re not going to want to talk about it and make me pretend to listen, are you?”

            I chuckled a little. “No, I’m not going to do that. I just couldn’t sleep, so I’m in a bad mood. No big deal.”

            “Sucks for you.”

            The bell rang at that moment, and I grabbed my bag, ignoring the twinges in my back. I turned back to Blake. “Come on, let’s get the rest of this day over with,” I said.

            Blake slung his bag over his shoulder and waited until I had some around to his side before he spoke again. “You know, it’s kind of nice to know that you aren’t always so chipper.”

            “Seriously?”

            “Yeah, it makes you seem more human.”

            I pondered that for a moment. “I’ll remember that if you ever snap at me for being in a bad mood.” I linked my arm through his and headed out of the classroom.

            “How will you know that I’m snapping at you for that and just not being an ass?”

            “Hmm, good point,” I replied. “Maybe I’ll just have to start paying more attention to your moods.  Then I’ll be able to tell the difference.”

            “Doubtful. I’m always an ass.”

            “That is very true. But I’m pretty observant, so I should be able to figure it out.”

            “If you say so,” he said.

            We were almost to his classroom when I heard my name being called. I groaned. “Crap, I really don’t have the energy to deal with Rachel right now,” I whined.

            Blake surprised me by leaning his head down closer to mine. “Well, just pretend we’re deep in conversation. Then you can just tell her that you didn’t hear her.”

            “Look at that, you being an ass is finally coming in handy. I’m thinking I may just go home rather than go to any of my other classes. I’m really not fit to be around people.”

            “I’m not people?”

            “No, you’re in your own category. Since you’re a jerk, I won’t feel bad if I take my mood out on you.”

            “I should probably be offended by that, but strangely I’m not.”

            I smiled. “That’s because you aren’t normal. It’s why we get along so well.”

            “Again, I should be insulted, but I’m not. I should probably be worried.”

            “Probably. But since we’re at your class now, you’ll have to deal with it on your own.” I led him into the classroom and brought him to his seat. “I’m going home now. I might be at the park later if you’re not busy. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

            “Talk to you later.”

            I walked out of the room and was relieved to see that the hallway was nearly empty. I made my way to my car without running into anyone and I let out a sigh of relief. I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. I’d had every intention of going straight home, but for some reason I found myself headed to the hospital.

            When I got there, I went straight up to Jake’s room. I was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone though. “Amanda?”

            The blonde woman looked up at me, obviously surprised to see me. “Oh, hi Hailey.”

            I furrowed my brow as I walked closer to the bed. “What are you doing here?” I wasn’t unhappy to see her; it was just a shock.

             She sighed. “I come here twice a week, but I don’t usually see anyone else.”

            I sat in the other chair. “Why didn’t you tell me that you come here?”

            She smiled sadly. “I wasn’t sure what your reaction would be to me being here.”

            “Amanda, you and Jake were together for four years. You’re like a sister to me. Just because you broke up doesn’t mean I don’t want to still se you.”

            She looked relieved. “I’m glad to hear that. Since the accident, I’ve done a lot of thinking. And I now realize how stupid it was to let him go.”

            “I can’t really blame you. I mean, after four years he still didn’t propose. You told him from the start that you wanted marriage and he didn’t step up.”

            “I know, but I really love him. Did you know that he had called me that night?”

            I looked at her in surprise. “No, I didn’t. What did he say?”

            “That he’d been doing a lot of thinking and he wanted to see me in person. I’ve wondered since then if he was going to ask me to come back to him.”

            “It wouldn’t surprise me if he was. He wasn’t really happy without you. Whenever I saw him, he moped around a lot,” I told her.

            “Is it bad that I’m happy he was miserable without me?” she wanted to know.

            “Not really. I can understand where you’re coming from.”

            She was silent for a few minutes. “How have you been, Hailey?”

            I shrugged. “I’ve been doing okay I guess. My back is still really messed up, but it doesn’t bug me all the time.”

            “Is Jared still living with you and Liam?”

            “Yeah. I still need his help sometimes, so he’s probably going to be there for a while. I don’t think he minds though. My uncle’s house is huge and has every game system imaginable. Add in the pool, Jacuzzi and access to really expensive cars, and he’s in heaven.”

            Amanda chuckled. “I can imagine. How’s Liam doing?”

            “As crazy as usual. He’s gone to some conference for a few days, so at least he won’t be bugging me every morning, wondering where he put his cell phone. Or his keys. Or his wallet.”

            “He really hasn’t changed then,” she said with a laugh. “I still remember one time when Jake and I stayed there and Liam misplaced his car. Who the hell misplaces a car?”

            I laughed. “Only Liam, I’m sure.” I looked over at Jake. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever laughed while being in this room. I’ve always come alone before and I always get depressed.”

            “I know what you mean. I try talking to him, but it makes it worse almost.”

            “Exactly. Maybe we should start coming together all the time,” I suggested.

            “That’s not a bad idea. But why are you here right now? Shouldn’t you be in school?”

            “I had a bad night and didn’t get much sleep. I went for first period, but that was mainly so I could take Blake to his second class. After that, I just didn’t really feel like being around people.”

            “Who’s Blake?”

            I quickly explained who he was to her. “I think I’m starting to wear him down, but it’s hard to tell.”

            “Hmm, maybe I should meet him,” she mused.

            I laughed. “I don’t think he’d take too kindly to that.” Amanda was a psychiatrist and somehow I didn’t think Blake would want to talk to her.

            “Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, I’m glad you decided to befriend him. It sounds like he doesn’t really have anyone to talk to who understands what it’s like having a disability.”

            “Well, he doesn’t really know that I have a disability. I mean, he knows there’s something… off about me, but he doesn’t know what.”

            Amanda frowned. “Why don’t you tell him? He’ll likely be more receptive to your friendship if he knows you went through something similar.”

            I looked at the ground. “I don’t want him to be my friend just because he feels sorry for me,” I replied quietly.

            “Oh. I can understand that. But you said you’ve made some progress with him already, right?” When I nodded, she continued. “Then do you really think he’d be your friend just because he pity’s you?”

            I sighed. “No, probably not. I’m just not ready to talk about it to anyone yet.”

            “Well, I’m always available if you want to talk.”

            “Thanks Amanda. It’s nice knowing that I have a woman I can talk to. Jared and Liam mean well, but, well, they’re guys.”

            She laughed. “I know exactly what you mean.” She looked at her watch. “I should get going. Why don’t you give me a call in a few days and we’ll set up a time to come see Jake together again?”

            “Sounds like a plan. I should get going too.” We both stood up and I leaned over to kiss Jake’s cheek. “See you later, big brother.”

            Amanda and I walked down to the parking lot together and she raised an eyebrow when she saw the Camaro. “Nice ride.”

            I grinned. “I know. The advantages to having a rich uncle.”

            “Well, have a safe drive home. I’ll talk to you later.”

            “Yeah, see you around.”    

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Hey guys, sorry it took so long. I had writers block until Amanda popped into my head and demanded that I write about her lol. What did everyone think of her? Do you think Hailey should take her advice and tell Blake what happened?

I am loving all the comments guys! Makes me so warm and happy to read all of them. And I do read every single one.

So everyone knows, I'll be leaving on Sunday for three days, so I won't be updating anything until next Thursday. I might try and get another chapter up before I go though, if I get the time. My mom is up visiting, so I can't write as much as usual. But I will try. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter!