MAX'S POVThe paramedic came rushing up to my stretcher and checked my vital signs.“We’ll have you fixed up in no time,” he said reassuringly.I opened my mouth to say something but instead of speaking I coughed heavily, a painful hacking sound filling the silence that followed. The paramedic glanced at me briefly but soon returned back to checking my vitals again, ignoring me.After a minute I finally spoke, “I hate hospitals...”The paramedic frowned at my words, then shook his head, chuckling dryly.“Yeah... Yeah I guess we all do.”After a few seconds of silence he continued, “How are you feeling?” He asked, concerned.“Tired... A little bit hungry.. But not too bad. Nothing I can't handle...” I responded, my voice hoarse.He nodded, looking somewhat relieved. “Well I' m glad you're okay. I need to check your pupils now...”I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. As the paramedic held one of my eyes he carefully opened it, checking my pupil reflexes and checking the other eye, jus
MAX'S POV"We're here now," my mom said, her voice steadier as she walked beside my stretcher. "You're in good hands."As the ER doors were swung open with a sense of urgency that seemed to have matched the rapid sound of my heart racing, the whirl of lights and the blur of faces made the world seem like it was spinning to me. My stretcher was pushed through the controlled hallway of the hospital, with my mom and a team of doctors clad in white and they were all moving as one entity around me."We have got a live one here," one of the paramedics joked, to him, he was probably trying to cut through the tension as we entered the brightly lit trauma bay."Define 'live,'" I muttered through gritted teeth because I was still in pain and i earned a soft chuckle from my mom and a wink from the paramedic.After what felt like an eternity of prodding, poking and being asked to rate my pain on a scale from 'one to stepping on a LEGO', they decided I was stable enough for a full on, body checkup
MAX'S POV"A message?" My mom's voice scaled higher in disbelief. "So that gives you the right to barge in? You have no place here, do you understand? No place with us!"I stood there, I was frozen in shock, I was like a silent witness to the disturbing scene. I felt the urge to step forward, to defend Bentley and to explain that I was the one that had invited her but I was held back with a paralysis of shock and disbelief.My mom's words turned even sharper, each one was like a dagger. "I've seen the way you look at each other. You think I'm blind? You're a distraction, a bad influence. Stay away from my child. Stay away from us!"Bentley's face crumpled in pain, the hurt in her eyes was mirroring the ache in my heart. She didn't retaliate, didn't try to defend herself. Instead because she was already used to this kind of treatment from even her own family, with one last look in my direction, even though she couldn't see me because I was hidden by the doorway. She then turned and fle
BENTLEY'S POVJust 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
BENTLEY'S POVThe lobby buzzed with the low hum of tension and concern that always seems to hover like a cloud in places like this. I straightened my posture, trying to blend the aura of confidence with a dash of concern, appropriate for a hospital visit but not overly dramatic.Approaching the reception desk, I noticed the nurse, her eyes flicking up to meet mine, a spark of recognition lighting them up. It's funny how being the daughter of someone 'elite' can sometimes feel like you're wearing a neon sign on your forehead."Hi, I'm here to see Max," I said, aiming for casual but probably hitting somewhere closer to awkwardly formal.The nurse's attitude softened, perhaps picking up on my barely concealed nerves beneath the facade of calm. "Of course," she replied, her fingers dancing across the keyboard as she looked up the room number. There was no hesitation, no request for ID or a barrage of questions about my relationship to the patient. The perks of a recognizable last name, I
BENTLEY'S POV"Bentley? What happened?" Max's voice cut through the haze of my shock, pulling me back to the moment.I opened my mouth to speak, to somehow summarize the whole of insult and injury, but words failed me. How could I explain the hurt without making things worse between him and his mother?Max's gaze shifted from me to his mother, it was like he was piecing together the scene before him. "Mom, what did you do?" His voice was a mix of disbelief and anger, it was a rare edge that I had never heard before.His mother who was still filled with righteous self, opened her mouth, possibly to justify her actions, but Max raised his hand, stopping her mid-sentence. "This is not how we treat people. Especially not Bentley. She's here because she cares," he said firmly, his disappointment in his mother clear.The room fell silent, a long pause that seemed to stretch for an eternity. Max turned back to me, his eyes softening. "I'm so sorry, Bentley. You didn't deserve that. None of t
BENTLEY'S POVAs I walked along a path that was lined with old, towering oaks, I took in deep breaths, the fresh scent of grass and blossoms was acting as a balm to my shattered nerves. I spotted a group of elderly women practicing Tai Chi, their movements so in sync it looked like an planned slow-motion dance battle against an invisible foe. I walked a little further and I saw a street performer juggled fire sticks, his act was drawing tha attention of small and mesmerized crowd who has their expressions flickering with the reflected light of the flames.I continued to walk along the winding path, I couldn't help but smile at a particularly determined squirrel that was wrestling with an acorn almost as big as itself. Its efforts were a comical dance of persistence and frustration, I continued to watch as i welcomed the distraction from my own troubles.I found a bench by a small pond, I looked into the pond and the water was like a mirror reflecting the sky’s soft pastel hues. Ducks
BENTLEY'S POVHe shrugged, a twinkle in his eye. "You tell me. I'm just the hopeful hero in this chapter.""Hopeful, maybe. But this hero might need a better script," I teased, standing up. "I appreciate the effort, but I think I'll keep my story solo for now.”He paused, taken aback by my retort, then laughed, a hearty, genuine sound. "Fair enough. Can I at least offer you a coffee as an apology for my terrible astronomy?"I couldn't help but laugh, shaking my head. "I think I'll survive the cosmic loss, but thanks for the offer. Maybe try leading with something less celestial next time?"He tipped an imaginary hat, still smiling. "Will do. Have a wonderful day, Miss Universe."As I watched him walked away, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, the encounter was definitely a much-needed distraction from the day's earlier events. The park, with its vibrant life and unexpected demeanor, reminded me that the world was full of surprises, some complicated and painful, others simply amusi