I end up staying one more night in the hospital before I'm discharged the next day. As soon as I step outside I breathe in the fresh, albeit polluted air. It is New York after all. Sill, I'm suddenly grateful for all sorts of things, like the sun, air, sky, even the clouds. Trust me when I say being stuck in the hospital, even for a short amount of time, is a nightmare.

My mother forces me to miss school for the next week so I can rest up and heal. It's a blow not only to my perfect attendance, but also to the state of my mental health. Being at school would have at the very least, kept me busy. Now since all I do is lie in bed and be doted upon like some spoiled princess, I'm left alone with my scrambled thoughts. I still don't know what's happening with the case, and I have a feeling I'm being left out of the loop on purpose. It's driving me crazy not knowing anything going on.

On the bright side, Bagel keeps me great company, never leaving my side. I think he's as worried about me as everyone else, if not more. I talk to both Cecilia and Vienna over the phone, and the three of us even have a three way FaceTime call. They too, are being kept in what is starting to feel like solitary confinement. Vienna's injuries aren't even enough to warrant staying home from school for more than a day or two, but her parents insist on it anyway. Cecilia also explains to us her side of the story. After she found the pin, she became engrossed in reading the company records for more information, maybe a clue we missed. She'd been down there for some time when Mr. Warren arrived. The three of us came to the conclusion he came back for Gabriel's lacrosse pin, which he probably realized he left behind and could be used as evidence against him. That's when he discovered Cecilia and put two and two together, holding her hostage and threatening information out of her. Then he forced Cecilia to make Vienna and I meet her down in the archives under the ruse of her finding out more info. It was a complete but scary coincidence that Vienna and I happened to be on our way there anyway, even before she texted.

My mother makes sure to deliver all the work I'm missing at school, and so I also spend my week at home catching up on schoolwork. Just because I'm on forced bed rest doesn't mean I'm letting my grades slip. As for tennis, I'm benched for the rest of the season—to my utter displeasure—so I appoint Tiffany as the captain in charge during my leave of absence.

Winston sends infrequent texts to check up on me, but other than that I don't see him for that entire week. I assume he's busy dealing with the aftermath of this mess. I understand, but it doesn't stop me from missing him like crazy.

Speaking of Winston...

"Knock, knock," my mother says, opening the door. "Can I come in?"

"Why ask if you're just going to come in anyway?" I reply on an eye roll. Being stuck at home has worsened my attitude.

My mother ignores me and Coms to sit at the edge of the bed. "Is dad home?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"No. He's at work. How are you feeling?"

I shrug. "Fine. Great. Ready to get the hell out of this house."

My mother chuckles. "You will soon, I promise. Anyway I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Winston."

Of course. I was waiting for her to bring this topic up.

"You two seemed quite close at the hospital," she starts casually. I roll my eyes again.

"Just ask what you wanna ask mom."

"Are you seeing him Kennedy?"

I look her straight in the eye. "Yes."

She takes a deep breath and exhales. Nods. "Okay."

I furrow my brows. "Okay? That's it? You're not mad?"

"Of course not darling. I'm concerned as any good parent should be, but I'm not mad. I know you're an adult now and old enough to make your own decisions."

"What about dad? Is he mad?"

She shakes her head. "I don't think he's quite caught on yet. You know men are more slow to the uptake."

We both laugh. "That's true," I agree.

"So when did this thing start between you two?"

I think back for a second. "The night of his birthday party," I reply. It suddenly feels like a lifetime ago.

"Does he make you happy?"

A goofy grin finds its way onto my face. "Yeah. He does."

My mother smiles fondly at me. "Good. Then that's all that matters."

I'm relieved she doesn't make a big deal out of the entire thing, but still, there's one thing I'm wondering about. "I'm surprised you haven't mentioned his age to me yet," I say to her.

My mother waves her hand. "It's only a four year difference, hardly anything to bat an eye at. Besides, I understand having a thing for older men," she chuckles. "I'm pretty sure you got that from me." My dad is fifty-two and my mother is forty-five. They started dating when she was seventeen and he was twenty-four. She got pregnant with my brother Austin when she was eighteen and then two years later they got married. That same year she got pregnant with Tristan, then seven years after that she had me. Then my father got a vasectomy because she said she was done having children and it was his turn to shoulder some of the weight of birth control.

We chat a bit more my relationship, and it feels good to finally be able to talk to my mother about it. "On a scale of one to ten, how much do you think dad will freak out?"

"He'll freak out a little, but then he'll get over it,"'my mother assures me. "It's really Austin you should be worried about."

I groan. She's right. Austin is super overprotective. When I was in eighth grade my crush invited me to the movies. Unbeknownst to me, Austin had been tailing us the entire time. He sat in the back of the theater and kept an eye on us during the whole movie. Austin claimed he was just making sure I was safe. Tristan accused Austin of being too overbearing, and Austin argued that Tristan was too lenient.

After my mother leaves, I scroll through social media for a bit to update myself on what's been going on at school. This has truly been the longest week of my life and I can't wait to get back to my routine. Even though I spent all week resting, it'll take at least a month and half for my ribs to fully heal, and twice as long for my vocal cords.

Once I become tired of social media I set my phone aside. With nothing else to do I put on some relaxing music and take a nap.

...

When I wake up it's dark outside. I sit up groggily and rub the sleep from my eyes. I notice my lights are on and set to blue, which is weird because I don't remember turning them on before I fell asleep.

I feel a warmth emanating from beside me and turn to see Winston lying on his back, fast asleep. Huh? When did he get here? I check the time. It's almost eight o clock. It takes a moment for my brain to piece together he must have came when I was sleeping.

I study him. He's still in his work clothes minus the jacket, and his tie is loosened. He must have come straight from the office. Even sleeping I can tell he's exhausted. His mouth is slightly parted and small, uneven snores sound from his lips. I laugh quietly to myself. He's so cute. 

I lightly pat his cheek to wake him. His eyes blink open as his snores come to an abrupt stop. 

"Hi," I smile down at him.

"Hey," he sits up and yawns, rubbing his eyes.

"How'd you get in?" I ask curiously.

"Your mom let me up," Winston answers. "You were sleeping when I came in. I guess I ended up falling asleep too."

"I missed you," I scoot my body closer to his and hug him.

"I missed you too," he squeezes me back, gently enough so it doesn't hurt my ribs. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh. If I had a dollar every time someone asked me that..."

"It's a legit question," Winston chuckles.

"I also have a legit question," I tap his chest. "What's going on with the case?"

Winston's smile fades. "It's being handled."

"Okay..." I trail off. "How? Was Mr. Warren arrested? Did you get your money back?"

He shrugs. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" I draw back, becoming pissed. "I was almost shot by my ex's boyfriends dad, and he almost choked me to death. I'm benched for the rest of the tennis season because of my bruised ribs. I have to go to voice therapy twice a week for two and half months to get my vocal cords back to normal. So don't tell me not to worry about it. The least you can do is tell me what's going on."

I stare at him, breathing hard. My throat starts hurting again and my breaths become shallow. I turn away for a second and grab the medication I'm supposed to use to help with the pain, taking two of each prescription and washing it down with water. By the time I'm finished, Winston doesn't look any happier than he was before. I raise a brow, waiting for his response. He runs a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It's not like the movies where you catch the bad guy and suddenly everything goes back to normal and everyone lives happily ever after. There's a lot of fallout from this shit."

I frown. "Such as?"

"Well for one, we lost the Hudson Deal."

My heart sinks. No. No way.

"Isn't there anyway you can get it back?" I ask tentatively.

"Not unless you can turn back time," Winston smiles grimly. "Apparently if something like this could happen to us, our company isn't 'safe' to merge with. As for the money, well that's long gone."

My mouth falls open. It's gone?!

"And could you believe what he spent it on?" Winston let's out a humorless laugh. "Gambling. The man has a gambling addiction, and he owed the wrong people some money from a bet got wrong. He's got some other skeletons in his closet too. Apparently he likes to go behind his wife's back and fuck prostitutes."

My head is spinning. What the actual fuck? I had no idea Gabriel's dad even worked for Winston's company, let alone that he was a gambling addict or that he was cheating on his wife. Did Gabriel know about any of this? The minute I think it, I realize the answer. Of course not.

Poor Gabriel.

"The only good thing about this situation is that we've been able to handle it quietly and keep it under wraps from the rest of the public," Winston shakes his head. "Even now, sometimes it surprises me what money and a good legal team can do. Oh, and that fucker is going to jail for a very long time. I'll personally make sure of it."

I bite my lip. "So now what?"

Winston shrugs. "We salvage what we can and move on from this mess. My father has been firing employees left and right. He's convinced we need to clean out the company and for once, I agree with him."

I'm at a loss for words, having no idea what to say. Mr. Warren's actions have not only hurt himself, but a lot of other people. Gabriel. His wife. Me. Vienna. Cecilia. Winston and his father, and the hundreds of poor employees who now have to lose their job. This is a devastating blow for all parties involved.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, unable to find the right words to make this better. I don't think I could anyway.

Winston shrugs again. He's trying to play it off like it's whatever, but it's not. I know this is eating away at him, and he feels responsible somehow.

"It's not your fault," I speak softly. "You didn't know this would happen."

"That's the thing Kennedy, it is my fault," Winston replies. "This is my legacy. I'm supposed to inherit this company. It's my responsibility to keep it afloat. I'm supposed to know everything that goes on, and I'm always supposed to be ten step ahead. I should be able to sniff out bad deals and know when something is wrong. And I sure as hell should know when someone is stealing from me."

My lips part, but nothing comes out. I wish there was something, anything, I could do to take the pressure off him. But I can't.

I can't solve everything. Some things just can't be fixed.

We both sit in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Everything feels so bleak and depressing now. I can't find anything to look forward to or even be excited about.

Sometimes life is great. And other times, it's not.

...