“I’ve been better.” He said weakly, a sharp pain ripping through his arm even at her gentle touch.   “I’ve got some Advil here.” She handed him two pills and a glass of water. He gratefully accepted and downed the rest of the water.

   “Thanks a lot Alex.” He said, handing her the glass. He wanted to pour his heart out to her right now, tell her everything he was thinking, ask her every question that came across his mind and learn all of the secrets that she hid behind those beautiful blue eyes. But he didn’t. He didn’t want to scare her away, and getting her to open up as much as she had was a miracle.   “Don’t thank me please. I was the one that got you into this mess, and now you have a broken hand because of me.” She started to get up but Justin grabbed her with his good arm and kept her down. A flash of slight anger flickered in his eyes as he looked at her.

   “Don’t say that. Alex, this…” He held up his hand, “is not your fault. You did everything you could to save me, and the only reason I have a broken hand is because Seth is an asshole and he was drunk. I don’t ever want to hear that it was you that caused me pain. Alex, you could never cause me pain.” The anger had left just as soon as it appeared, and now his eyes were filled with compassion and softness. Alex shifted slightly under his gaze, her eyes fixed on the fingers that had become intertwined with hers somewhere in the middle of his speech. She swallowed hard and looked up at his mesmerizing cobalt eyes.    “What are you doing here?” The question escaped before she could stop it. Justin sat up straighter and gave her a strange glance. When he did this, she stood up and started to pace.

   “You asked me to stay, remember?” He said slowly. Jamie knew the question was stupid, but she had already started, she might as well finish.   “No, what are you doing here, with me?” She waited for an answer, and when he stayed silent, she elaborated. “Why did you ask me out to dinner, why are you being so nice to me…I don’t mean to sound critical, but you’ve never said a word to me before now, what changed your mind? What rumor did you hear that made you need to get close to me?” Her eyes burned with fire and fury and Justin was taken aback.

   “Alex it was never like that. I mean, I’ve heard the rumors, but I never wanted to get to know you because of what I’ve heard.” He stopped and looked down at the rug, searching for the words that would make sense, and not sound too callous. “I saw you first, when we were in 9th grade. You were the class genius, and everyone said that you were a goody two shoes, and that I needed to stay away. But I knew that it wasn’t like that. I though you were beautiful from the moment you walked into my classroom and smiled at the teacher. From that day on I had wanted to talk to you, and get to know what it took to make you smile, so I could see it more often.   “I know I never seemed to show interest before, but I never had the opportunity. Alex, getting your attention is harder than escaping from Alcatraz. And it was never right for me to approach you. I was the star of the basketball team, and I was supposed to be attracted to the head cheerleader, I wasn’t supposed to look at you. So I was stupid, and I didn’t talk to you like I had wanted. But even if I had tried, can you honestly tell me you would have given me the time of day?” By now Alex had sat down on the couch and proceeded to stare at Justin throughout his tale. When he paused to wait for a response, she started to twist her fingers in a nervous gesture.

   “I always thought you hated me. I thought your whole group of friends hated me, so I was cold to them. If I acted as though what they said didn’t bother me, it would stop. And I was right. When they couldn’t get a reaction from me, they left me alone, and that’s just what I wanted.    “When the teacher asked me to help you, I was going to say no, but I remembered how you had smiled at me in class that day, and no where in that smile had I found malice. So I decided to give you a chance. But I forgot that getting involved with you, in any way, meant that your friends were also brought into this. I knew they were going to be mad, but I never knew they hated me enough to hurt you.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Suddenly she was very tired, and she didn’t feel like going any deeper than they already had.

   “Alex…” Justin started but she held up her hand to stop him.   “I think we should end this now, before we say things we’re going to regret in the morning. We’re both tired, and you’re hurt…I say we go to bed now, and if we’re still up to it, we can talk about it in the morning.” They both knew that it wouldn’t be discussed in the morning, but there was nothing Justin could do now, so he agreed. “I’ll show you to your room.”

    Justin followed Alex upstairs and into the guest room that would be his for the night. He wanted so badly to say something, but he just didn’t know what. So instead of fighting with himself, he just let it all go and he decided that right now, all she needed to hear was a good night.    “Thanks for letting me stay Alex. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stood in front of her, and she stood in the door way. Without thinking, he leaned down and kissed her cheek gently and then turned to retreat back in the room. Alex mumbled a good night before walking towards her room. Neither of them had really paid attention to what he had done until the clicking of her bedroom door snapped her out of the trance like state she was in. Justin sat shocked on his bed, and Alex touched her cheek lightly. He had kissed her.

Alex awoke early the next morning, her head pounding. She hadn’t slept very well, knowing that Justin was just down the hall, and he was in terrible condition. She should have made him go to the hospital last night, but the look he gave her made her relent. She knew that no matter what, he was going to go to the emergency room today, even if she had to drag him there herself. 
She walked down stairs to the kitchen and was surprised to see Justin already awake and making breakfast for Steven. The aroma of pancakes was strong and Alex realized for the first time how hungry she was.

   “Hey Alex…Justin made me Mickey Mouse Pancakes!” Steven squealed through a mouth full of food.   “That’s very nice of him, but don’t talk with your mouth full.” She smiled at her little brother and then looked up at Justin. He was watching her. “You don’t have to do that…in fact, you shouldn’t be doing that.” She walked over to him and gently took his hand to asses the damage. It was swollen and bruised, and it looked very nasty and painful.

   “I’m fine, it looks worse than it really is.” She glanced up and raised an eyebrow, giving him a very skeptical look.    “Yea right, and I’m really a man.” His face lit up with surprise and he managed a small grin.

   “I could be gay…what do you think…wanna be my boyfriend?” She shook her head and sighed.   “Sit down lover boy, and let me finish breakfast. You need to rest, and as soon as you’re done eating, I’m taking you straight to the hospital.”  She smiled as Justin grumbled playfully on his way to the counter. He sat gingerly next to Steve and Alex’s heart went out to him when she saw him cringe in pain.

   “How did you sleep last night?” She asked, setting a plate in front of him. He took a sip of orange juice before answering.   “To be honest with you…terrible. I couldn’t move because of my ribs, so I had to sleep on my back, and even that was uncomfortable because of our little friend called ‘gravity.’ ” Alex frowned as she watched him pick at his food. She didn’t know what to say, and although he had told her it wasn’t her fault, she still felt responsible.

   “Justin, I’m so-” Justin help up his good hand to silence her.   “Don’t even go there again. Alex, it’s not your fault, and I don’t want to hear another word, especially I’m sorry. You can’t feel guilty for this…OK?” Alex nodded her head silently but Justin wasn’t satisfied. “Uh uh…Not good enough, I want to hear you say it Alex.”

   “I won’t bring it up again, I promise.” He smiled tenderly at her and was about to say something else when Steven spoke up.   “Why is your hand blue Justin?” The little boy stared in awe at Justin’s hand.

   “Um…well…” Alex started to reach for an explanation but Justin beat her to it.   “I was fooling around with some guys I know, and I fell and hurt myself. Pretty gross huh? You wanna see something really gross?” When Steve nodded his head Justin lifted his shirt to expose the gashes and bruises that adorned his torso.   Steve gasped in awe and Alex cringed. You could see the outline of his ribs through the bruises, and there were cuts and gashes everywhere. Alex could see the strain that Justin was struggling to hide, it was written all over his face. She cleared her throat and looked up at Justin’s face.

It was going to be a very long day.