Rylee walked outside to where she had sat the day before, along the low brick wall. The first thing she did when she got outside was call Alexa. She hadn't really gotten to speak to her since Sebastian was admitted to the hospital.

She answered on the second ring.

"Hey Ry, how's it going?"

Rylee hesitated over the line. She absolutely didn't want to cry. But she could feel the tears trying to pool.

"Ryles? Hey, where are you?"

"The hospital still."

"Did something happen? Is Sebastian okay?"

"N-no. He's okay..."

"What's going on hun?"

Rylee still stayed silent. She wasn't sure how to put anything into words.

"How about, when Chris gets back in like...five minutes, we come down and see you two."

Rylee nodded but then realized Alexa couldn't see her, "yeah...Sounds good."

"Alright, we'll see you soon, okay? Love you."

"Okay, love you too."

And with that, Rylee hung up. She shoved her phone and both her hands into her hoodie pockets to fend off the slight November chill.

She then thought about Lindsay. She didn't know her well at all, but she had been so kind. Maybe...

She took out her phone again, went into her messages, and started a text to Lindsay. She wasn't sure what to say, but she at least tried to manage to break the ice.

Hi Lindsay, this is Rylee. We met at the hospital a few days ago. Just wanted to say thank you for the flowers. They were very thoughtful.

There was barely a pause between Rylee hitting send and Lindsay responding.

Hey there 😊 you're absolutely welcome! How is your boyfriend doing? How about you?

The two questions that led Rylee to reach out in the first place...

He's doing okay. He's been awake a handful of times. But...he's..um. Idk.

What do you mean exactly?

He just got a bunch of blood work and tests done but when we got back from them he said he wanted to be left alone.

Ah. I get it. I mean it can be stressful. Kaitlin felt that way a lot, especially halfway through her treatments. She was tired of never having a moment for herself. It can be overwhelming.

I dunno. He just seemed overall upset, and like it was directed at me.

It honestly probably wasn't. I obviously don't know your boyfriend but most of the time things like that are said out of frustration and they don't literally mean what they're saying.

I bet it's all just a miscommunication. Maybe just give him a few minutes. But you didn't answer my second question. How are you?

Rylee pondered for a moment. She had barely thought of herself this whole time. She'd been so solely focused on Sebastian's wellbeing that she hadn't really reflected on hers.

Okay.

Rylee..

I'm honestly good...now that I know that Seb's going to be okay, I've been relieved more than anything.

As soon as Rylee sent the text she froze. Shit. She dropped his name and she didn't even realize it.

I'm glad you guys get so much comfort from one another. That's some true love right there.

She hoped Lindsay wouldn't have noticed or put two and two together. She liked knowing that she could just chat with someone who didn't look at them as some media couple.

Since you two have that comfort with one another, just talk to him about what he said, how it made you feel. Yah know?

Thanks for listening Lindsay. I appreciate it.

Rylee wasn't sure what else to say. She was still upset with Sebastian, And at the end of the day Lindsay doesn't know him or her. She had hoped talking to Lindsay would help, and it should have, but she was just still so hurt.

Anytime :)

——————————

About twenty minutes later, Rylee saw Alexa and Chris pulling into the hospital lot. And another few minutes after that they were walking up to where Rylee was sitting.

They both hugged her and shared quick greetings.

"Why don't we head inside?" Chris said as he poked his thumb over his shoulder towards the entrance.

"I'm good." Rylee said shortly, her hands still shoved deep into her hoodie pocket.

Chris and Alexa shared a glance and Alexa spoke up, "How about you go in and say hi. Rylee and I will be in in a bit."

Chris nodded and headed inside towards the nurses station.

"What's going on, Rylee? This isn't like you." Alexa asked as she sat on the wall next to Rylee.

"Sebastian said he wanted to be left alone, so I'm leaving him alone." Rylee tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"What are you talking about?" Alexa asked confused.

"I asked Sebastian how he was feeling and he said everything sucks ass, and he's tired, and he wanted left alone. So here I am." A single tear rolled down Rylee's cheek as she counted out on her fingers all the things he said.

"Oh, hun. He's just having a really hard time right now. I don't think he meant anything personal by it." Alexa said, curling her arm through hers to scoot closer.

"I know he's having a hard time...he's allowed to...but I've been here every second of this too...and believe me...I'm having a fucking hard time too. And I know I'm not the one in the hospital bed so I should just suck it the fuck up but it just flat out hurt for him to say that to me."

"I understand. Maybe if we go back in there in a couple of minutes it will have blown over."

Rylee nodded and leaned against Alexa who was now leaning her head on her shoulder.

——————————

Chris walked into Sebastian's room and quietly cursed into the air. He hasn't seen his friend awake in so long. Last time he was here, Sebastian was still unconscious from the initial fall, and now he was asleep again.

He decided he would just pull up a chair and sit by the bed, looking through his phone until Rylee and Alexa made it back.

"C-Chris?" Chris heard a voice say quietly from in front of him.

He looked up to see Sebastian looking his way, blearily, through his one good eye, though he looked on the verge of tears.

"Hey man. Are you okay? Should I get a nurse?" Chris said about to stand up for the button.

"Nuh nuh nuh. Mm okay...Did Rygo home?"

He hated how slurred he sounded from the morphine but he needed to fix this.

"No, she's outside with Alexa."

Sebastian sighed in relief. He would've been crushed if she had gone home. "I fucked up man," Sebastian stated.

"What're you talking about Seb?" Chris asked curiously.

"Today's been realfuckin hard...It's the wors- feeling to not - not be able todo anything yourself...N' everything just hurts...So bad...And you never get time for yourself."

"Okay," Chris said, still listening intently.

"We dida MRI and blood work and then I fucked up getting back to bed... so everything double hurt yahknow?"

Chris nodded for him to continue, though he was a little lost. He just wanted to support his friend however he could.

"Ryles asked me how I was and I snapped...Sayin everything hurt and I...was tired and I wanted left alone...But ididn' mean it toward her...I need her here. Chris I need her here." Sebastian started to tear up.

"Hey, relax, take a breath, it'll be okay. Shes just outside. She didn't go home. She was probably just trying to be respectful of your feelings."

"She's prolly so mad...I dunno how to explain what I meant. I'm juss tired of...nurses...and bein poked n' prodded...Not tired of her...Never tired of her...n' I wish I could juss breathe..." Sebastian threw his head back lightly in frustration, still trying to catch a deep breath but just not quite being able to do it.

A single machine to the side started to beep more rapidly.

Sebastian rolled his good eye and said "and then that shit happens." He went to pry off his IV and other wires but Chris put his hand over his, effectively stopping him.

"Sebastian, stop. It'll be okay. Everything will end up okay. You'll be out of here soon, and feeling better soon, and you and Rylee will go back to living your normal everyday lives."

Sebastian just sighed. His brain was everywhere right now. He was emotional. Exhausted. Annoyed. And just plain out of it from the morphine. All he could do was nod.

"Do you want me to go talk to her?"

"No...I'll do it...Juss need her back."

"Well how about you sleep a little bit...and when she comes back you'll be ready." He stood up and patted Sebastian lightly on the shoulder.

Sebastian couldn't really focus on the conversation anymore. He kept zoning in and out from the weight of the morphine and the stress of his emotions being built up.

"'Kay..." he said, already losing the fight with his tiredness.

And before Chris could even turn around, Sebastian was asleep. He wondered if he'd even remember their conversation when he woke up.

Chris walked outside and saw the girls still sitting on the wall and sat beside them.

"Hey."

"Did he say anything?"

"He was really tired. He said he had just gotten morphine before I came in. But he was pretty upset. He thought you had left and gone home. He said he didn't mean to say he wanted you to leave him alone. He wanted everyone else to leave him alone, like nurses and stuff."

Chris continued, "He's just hurting and wants people to stop poking and prodding him. He wants to be home."

"Well it sure didn't sound that way when he said it." Rylee said trying to sound angry but she was still mainly just hurt by it.

Alexa put her hands on either side of Rylee's face and turned it towards her own, "Rylee Ann. You know I love you, but y'all act like idiots sometimes. He needs you. And you need him. You get in there and talk to that boy. Right. Now."

Alexa dropped her hands from Rylee's face and waited for her to retort, but she didn't. She just looked at Chris, seeming to be looking for confirmation of her idiocy. A small smirk slid onto his face and he put up his hands lightly in defense.

Without another word, Rylee hopped off the wall and went inside. She made her way to Sebastian's room but paused in front of the door. As she laid her hand on the handle for a moment, took a deep breath, and went inside.

When she entered, the lights were dimmed and Sebastian was asleep. Great. So much for talking it out.

She continued inside and sat in the chair beside his bed, habitually taking his splinted hand in her own.

With the movement, Sebastian was groggy and opened his eye slowly to see what the disturbance was. When he eventually comprehended that it was Rylee, he almost cried.

"Ryles...oh god...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Rylee gave his hand a light squeeze and his arm a pat. "Shhhh, baby, it's okay." She stood up, leaning over him, to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I thought you left."

"I could never do that, Seb. Sure I was upset, but I wouldn't do that."

Sebastian nodded slowly, squeezing her hand in his, not caring that it hurt.

He took his hand back for a moment and with a small bit of oomph, he scooted over a few inches towards the left side of the bed. He patted the now Rylee-sized space he created next to him on the right side of the bed, beckoning her to climb up.

And Rylee did just that. Slowly and methodically she climbed into the bed next to him, careful of every breath and move she made. She laid her head on his right shoulder and gently placed her hand on his abdomen.

"I love you Seb."

"I love you too Ry."

And just as quickly as she had climbed into bed, she fell asleep enclosed in Sebastian's arm. And Sebastian drifted off to sleep just as quickly, loving the embrace he had with Rylee and how he could feel her heartbeat.

A few minutes later, Chris and Alexa entered the room, unsure of what they were going to walk into. A fight? Silence? They were surprised to see the sight in front of them, both Rylee and Sebastian sound asleep in the bed. They looked at one another and smiled, tiptoeing back to the hallway.

"Well that worked out okay then." Alexa laughed in relief.

"Thank God." Chris said, clasping Alexa's hand in his as they walked back out of the hospital to head back to Alexa's apartment.