Chapter 6

I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the dull throb in my head.

White ceiling. Beeping sounds. Hospital.

A nurse was checking my IV. "Welcome back, Ethan. You gave us quite a scare."

She smiled kindly. "You have a concussion, a nasty cut on your scalp. Stitches. But the doctor said you' ll be fine. No permanent scarring, luckily."

No permanent scarring. Small mercies.

My head felt like it was splitting open.

Liam. That psycho. He' d actually pushed me.

The sheer malice in his eyes when he did it... it was chilling.

He wanted to hurt me. Badly.

The nurse came back. "Your friends, Olivia and Maya, they' ve been here all night. Worried sick. Do you want to see them?"

Friends. The word sounded wrong.

"No," I said, my voice raspy. "I don' t want to see them."

The nurse looked surprised but nodded. "Alright, dear. Rest up."

A few minutes later, despite my refusal, the door creaked open.

Olivia and Maya crept in, looking like they hadn' t slept in days.

Their usual perfect hair was messy, their expensive clothes rumpled. Olivia' s eyes were red-rimmed. Maya clutched a crumpled tissue.

They looked... genuinely distressed.

"Ethan," Olivia whispered, her voice trembling. "Oh, Ethan, we are so, so sorry."

Maya nodded, tears welling up. "This is all our fault. We should have seen what Liam was. We never should have let him near you."

Their remorse seemed genuine. For a fleeting second, I almost felt a pang of the old affection.

Then Olivia spoke again, and it vanished.

"Liam... he' s devastated, Ethan," she said, her voice pleading. "He' s been writing you letters. Apologies. He didn' t mean for this to happen. He' s not a bad person, really. Just... misguided."

She held out a small stack of envelopes. Liam' s loopy handwriting.

I stared at her. Even now? Even after he' d put me in the hospital, she was defending him?

"Misguided?" I repeated, my voice flat. "He pushed me. He could have killed me."

"He' s just so tormented, Ethan," Maya chimed in, her eyes begging for my understanding. "He feels so guilty. He says he can' t eat or sleep."

"Good," I said.

Olivia flinched. "Ethan, please. Don' t be like that. He' s suffering."

"I want him to suffer," I said, my voice cold. "I want him to feel a fraction of what I felt when my head hit that stone. Then maybe I' ll consider his apology."

I turned my head away, facing the wall. "Get out."

"Ethan..." Olivia began.

"We' ll bring you some food later," Maya said softly. "And your favorite books."

They lingered for a moment, then I heard their footsteps retreating, the door clicking shut.

Alone again.

The pain in my head intensified. Or maybe it was the pain in my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back tears.

Not for them. Not for Liam.

For the friendships I thought I had. For the trust I' d so foolishly given.

The door opened again. This time, it was my parents.

My mom rushed to my side, her face etched with worry. My dad followed, his expression grim.

"Oh, Ethan, my baby," Mom whispered, stroking my hair.

That' s when I broke.

The tears came, hot and fast. Sobs wracked my body.

"He... he tried to hurt me, Mom," I choked out. "They... they just let him."

My dad' s hand rested on my shoulder, firm and reassuring.

"Don' t worry, son," he said, his voice tight with anger. "That boy, Liam Spencer. He' s going to pay for this. I' ll make sure of it."

His promise was a balm to my raw nerves.

My parents stayed with me, their presence a silent comfort.

For the first time since I woke up, I felt a flicker of peace.

They would protect me. They understood.

That' s all that mattered.