Nicole's POV

I paced back and forth with a worried expression on my face. My heart was beating loudly in my chest as my eyes darted everywhere in the hospital. I was so anxious about his safety.

While we were ordering Ice cream at the ice cream parlour Max took me to, he fainted. I don't know what happened to him. He was acting a little strange earlier but I didn't think he would faint. Mason and I managed to call an ambulance to pick him up instantly. I rode at the back of the ambulance with Max and held on to his hand tightly as the nurses on board kept on telling me not to worry about my "boyfriend". I just decided to brush it off because I wasn't in the best mood to explain he wasn't. I simply nodded my head at their comforting words. When we arrived at the hospital, they instantly admitted him in.

Now I'm out here in the hallways of the hospital, literally clawing my hair out as they try to help Max. I've been standing here for over 3 hours. My heart kept on banging against my rib cage as my breath quickened as every second passed. I felt like it was my fault. Maybe if I didn't disturb him about the ice cream, we won't be in this whole mess.

A nurse walked out of Max's room as I ran up to her. "I-Is he out of danger?" I stammered still trying to get my thoughts together.

A sad smile formed on her face as her hand made her way to my shoulder. I was trying so freaking hard to be optimistic here but she definitely wasn't helping matters. "The doctors are still trying to do everything they can. He keeps on slipping in and out of consciousness." I stared at the ground beneath my feet sadly as her hand squeezed my shoulder a little bit, "But to be on the optimistic side, at least we got a response from him."

I gave her a forced smile before allowing her to continue with her duties. I sauntered back to my seat not feeling as optimistic as before. I don't even know anyone he's close to. His phone has a password, so I can't contact anyone on it. The only other person he might be close to is Wes. And I'm not even too sure if they're actually friends or if they are just being friendly with each other.

As I tried to gather my thoughts together, a doctor walked out of the room where Max was currently in. I staggered up to him quickly and practically begged, "Can you please tell me how he's doing? I've been here for an hour and I don't have any news of him yet. I feel like I could...."

"Your boyfriend is perfectly fine." The doctor beamed as I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding in. I can't even begin to describe the amount of relief I was feeling at this point. "But there seems to be a problem."

My eyes quickly darted back to the doctor as I quickly felt the anxiety flood back to me, "What?" I enquired hesitantly.

"He seems to have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder not too long ago." The doctor reported as I listened intently, "I found out that he hasn't been seeing the therapist that was assigned to him. In fact, he hasn't gone to see him for the past three months. I have recommended another therapist to him. Make sure he comes here every Saturday at 4pm. It's the only way he might get better. You can't really get rid of it but he can overcome the sudden fainting."

I nodded my head slightly, "But why did he faint all of a sudden?"

"Something must have triggered his past memories. It might be a place, an inanimate object, someone or even their behaviour and choices. Anything can trigger his past memories that haunt
him." The doctor explained as I digested all the information in.

Maybe it's the ice cream parlour that reminded him of something. I thought to myself.

"You can go see him now." The doctor said as I smiled widely at him before rushing into the hospital room.

Max was sitting on the hospital bed talking to the nurse I had spoken to earlier. Once I entered the room, she beamed at me before turning to Max, "You are a really lucky guy." She chimed as Max arched his eyebrow at her statement, "Your girlfriend has been here waiting for you to wake up. She was so worried."

Max glanced at me as I felt heat creep up to my cheeks, eyes darting to the ground quickly, "M-My girlfriend?" Max asked with a confused expression.

"Yes, your girlfriend. Did you lose your memories or something?" The nurse giggled as I strolled to Max's bed side.

"I wish I did." He mumbled to himself lowly but I managed to make out the words. I felt really bad as he said those words. Whatever happened in his past must really have a toll on him. I took a seat beside him and placed my hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"I'll leave you kids alone now." She chuckled to herself, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

I turned to Max, who was basically glaring holes at the floor. I didn't want to talk about his mental health so I decided to keep the conversation casual, "A...Are you feeling better now?"

He glimpsed at my expression before his eyes fell back to the floor, "I'm okay, I guess. Just have a headache, that's all." He replied calmly.

"What happened back there?" I asked as his gaze shifted up to mine. He locked eyes with me and quirked up his eyebrow before staring at the ground again.

"I don't know." He stated before locking eyes with me again, "Do you?" I gulped nervously as my eyes darted around the room but refused to land in his figure. "C'mon, just blurt it out. I know the doctor must have told you something." He urged.

I let out a heavy sigh as I stared at the ground beneath my feet. "He...told me that you have about mental health." Max frowned even more as those words left my mouth. "He said that you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that you've not been seeing your therapist, so he signed you up with another therapist, which you'll be seeing every Saturday."

I locked eyes with his and he seemed to be infuriated. "Why do I need to see some stupid therapist when the crap they pay them to say never helps me?" Max spat harshly.

He definitely isn't coming to see the therapist. I thought to myself.

"But the therapist can help you."

He rolled his brown eyes at my statement, "You sound just like my father."

"Then your father is a really sensible man." I shot back, getting angry at his unusually rude behavior.

He must have noticed the tone in my voice because the rage in his eyes died down. He let out a loud sigh before facing the ground, "Look, I get that you really want to help me but...I don't need help."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense up. His eyes glanced at my hand before connecting with my brown eyes, "If you don't get help, things will only get worse." I countered.

Max sighed in defeat as he grumbled, "Fine, I'll go see the stupid therapist. But only because you are being so persistent."

I grinned widely before embracing him out of joy. It just came on instinct, I didn't actually think before doing it. His body tensed up again underneath mine as my arms were around his neck. After a second or two, he carefully pushed me away from him and handed me a tight lipped smile.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat as both our heads turned back sharply. We were faced by the same nurse who insinuates that Max and I are a couple.

"Sorry for interrupting your moment," she began with a slight smirk on her face, "but the doctor said that you are allowed to leave the hospital now."

Max nodded his head before standing up. I stood along side him and we both walked out of the hospital together.

When we got outside, I was greeted by a shining crescent moon right above my head. I didn't even realize how late it was till I came outside. "How are you going to get home?" I asked the tanned skinned male beside me.

He adjusted his black rimmed glasses, "Simple. I'll take a taxi." He replied before turning to me, "Here you are worrying about me, instead of you to ask yourself how you are going to go home."

I smiled at him, "My house is just a few blocks away from here actually."

"Really?" He said, "Then let me walk you home."

I nodded my head with a tight lipped smile. I mean, it was pretty late so I guess I could let him walk me home.

As we strolled down to my house, we talked about a few things like our favourite places, our hobbies, what we prefer and stuff like that. I got to learn stuff I didn't know about Max before.

Like he really enjoys cooking, he loves singing and can play the guitar.

"Did you know that playing the first guitar was created in Ancient Egypt?"

I giggled at his random fact as a smile also crept to his face. It was nice seeing the nerdy side of him. I halted in front of my house and turned to Max again.

"Thank you for walking me home." I beamed with enthusiasm.

He simply shrugged his shoulders, "It's the least I can do. Besides you just saved me so walking you home was no big deal." An awkward silence loomed the air for a minute before Max cleared his throat. "Oh yes, before I forget." He put his hand in his pocket and brought out my phone, placing it in my hand, "You dropped this on your way out of the hospital. I picked it up and figured that since I was holding on to it, I could put my number in there." He remarked with a little smirk on his face.

I nodded my head, "I'll go inside now. See you tomorrow." I smiled, walking to my front door as he watched me quietly.

I pulled out the keys in my backpack and was about to place it on the door when I heard the door unlock from the inside.

I froze on the spot when I was face to face with my father, who looked beyond enraged. His normally warm brown eyes, now looked like fire was burning inside of them.

"Dad, I..."

"Where have you been?" He hissed at me as I felt my body go numb in fear. I can vividly remember the last time he spoke to me like this. I mistakenly fell the TV remote in the toilet because I was playing pirates with my dolls and the remote was the plank. It's not my 8 year old self's fault that it fell in the toilet but my dad was furious. He grounded me for 3 months and I got the scolding of my life that day.

"Uh...I was..."

"She was with me." Max voiced out behind me. I literally forgot he was standing there.

My dad's eyes landed on Max's form and his frown grew deeper. Just then, my mom peeked through the door. Her eyes landed on me as a smile formed on her lips, "Mon Dieu! Where have you been? I was so worried." She quaked in a French accent as her arms wrapped around my form.

"And who are you?" My dad demanded, his brown eyes not leaving Max, "What are you doing with my daughter?"

"Dad, it's not what you th..." He raised up his finger to silence me. I did as I was told as my mother's eyes also landed on Max.

"Who is he?" My mother asked as my father replied sharply.

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

"My name is Max Humphrey." He spoke without a single hint of fear in his voice while I, on the other hand, was shaking like a leaf. I know how my dad can be when I'm with guys. "And your daughter practically saved my life today."

I watched the scowl on my dad's face soften as my mom simply smiled at what he said.

"We are partners for a science project in school. We were supposed to meet and discuss what we are going to do for the project but I fainted and your daughter took me to the hospital and stayed there for about 4 hours. That's the only reason why she has been absent and came back late. Please don't be mad at her for doing good. She's perfectly fine and I know, because I walked her home."

A small smile crept to my face as Max spoke to my father with confidence. "But are you alright?" My dad asked with worry.

"Yes, don't worry about me sir. I am perfectly fine." Max said.

"Well, why don't you join us for dinner?" My dad suggested happily but Max shook his head.

"I would love to but I really need to get home. My...parents would definitely be worried about me." Max declined before turning to me. "See you tomorrow."

With a small wave, he departed. I turned to my dad, who handed me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Lucille." My dad whispered his apology as I felt my anxious nerves calm down.

I shook my head, "There is really no need to apologize dad. You were worried that's all. I completely understand."

As I walked into the house, my mom said, "What you did was really kind but why did he faint all of a sudden?"

"I don't think that's my story to tell."

My mother nodded her head understandingly as my father piped up, "Go take a shower and join us for dinner quickly."

I bolted up the staircase and quickly took a bath, wore my pajamas and ran downstairs for some family time, aka dinner.

After dinner, I cleaned up and we all retired to our rooms. I plugged in my phone but noticed I had a few unread messages and a dozen missed calls. Most of them were from my mom and dad, 2 were from Wes and 1 was from Lilac. I quickly scanned through my messages.

Wes:
Where were you after school?
~15:16

I searched everywhere.
~15:23

Hey! Are you alright?!
~16:57

I'm starting to get worried.
~16:59

I know you're mad at me but please reply....
~17:53

I rolled my eyes at his overdramatic behavior.

Me:
I'm perfectly fine...no worries.
~20:58

The other message was from Max.

Max:
I hope you were not in too much trouble.
~20:16

You shouldn't have even waited
for me if you were gonna get in trouble.
~20:24

Me:
It was no biggie. And no I wasn't in trouble thanks to you. So thank you.
~21:01

With that being said, I placed my phone on my nightstand and locked my windows tightly, before going to sleep.

I don't want another Wes incident to happen again, do I?

A/N:

Here's another update from your not so favourite author...LOL. I always fail you guys on updates and I'm sorry.

I am currently writing a few very important exams that is why I couldn't update quicker. I will be on vacation really soon so don't worry about updates.

Don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts on this chapter. I hope there was enough drama for you to enjoy.

Next chapter might be in Max's POV. Do you want to see a glimpse of his life?

Till my next update...