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BENTLEY'S POV

Just as I was about to step into the shower to wash up, I heard my phone buzzing insistently from the counter. I then wrapped a towel around myself. At first, I contemplated ignoring it, I guessed that it was just another group chat chatting about who-knows-what.

I let out a sigh as I considered ignoring it—my hair was doing that weird thing where half of it had decided to become a rebellious curl and honestly, it needed taming more than I needed another notification.

But curiosity—or maybe it was fate—nudged me to check.

When I opened the message and I saw it was from Max. A simple text, but the underlying urgency was as obvious as the steam filling the room. "In the hospital. Could use a friend."

Hospital? The word echoed in my mind, bouncing off my inner walls of panic and concern. Max, in the hospital? My heart did a little skip—not entirely out of worry, though. See, Max has this not-so-secret crush on me. Adorable, really, if a bit overwhelming at times. And now h