hey now. (matt press).

Chapter Eleven: After the Crash

"Oh my god, is he okay?" I asked Maxine frantically over the phone. It was very late at night, and I'd just been told that Marcus had gotten into a motorcycle accident. I was panicking but trying my best not to wake Abby, who was fast asleep in my bed.

"I hope so. My mom's at the hospital now; she said they're taking him for a CAT scan. I can't believe this is happening. He knows he can't ride that thing," Max said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Jesus, shit." I paced around my room. "He's going to be okay, right?"

"I think so. He should be," Max sniffled.

"Let me know if you need anything. Try and get some sleep, and keep me updated," I said, running a hand through my hair.

"I will, thank you. I love you," Max sighed.

"I love you too," I replied and hung up the phone. I got back into bed, trying to follow my own advice, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fall back asleep. How could I? My best friend was in the hospital, and there was nothing I could do but worry.

I managed to get at least an hour of sleep, which I regretted because now I had to go to school while being sleep-deprived.

"He's okay," Abby reassured me as we walked to school together.

"He better be," I replied with a faint smile as I sipped my coffee. This was my second cup already; I hoped it would give me the energy I needed for today. When we arrived at school, Abby and I spotted Max, Ginny, and Norah in the hall and made our way over to them quickly.

"How is he?" I asked, hugging Max.

"He's... alright. He took a corner too fast and slid off the road. So now he has a concussion," Max explained with a sigh.

"Oh my God, that's so scary," Abby said quietly.

"I had a concussion once when I went skiing. It was the worst," Norah added. "Did he black out or throw up?"

"Do the hokey pokey? Turn himself around?" Max said with a hint of sarcasm. "Yeah, he got the whole fun concussion grab bag."

"But he's going to be okay, right?" Ginny asked.

"He should be back to normal, but it could take a few months," Max said. "It's just so stupid. Why would he ride his bike? He doesn't have his license and doesn't know how to ride. He could've been killed. What would possess him to do that?" Max scoffed. "I blame toxic masculinity."

"Why?" I asked.

"I— I don't know," Max sighed.

"Okay," I said, confused.

"Hey," Sophie called as she walked over to us. "Come here." Max immediately went to her outstretched arms. "Hey, guys."

"It's actually... It's MANG," Abby informed Sophie.

"Ooh, or MANGO if Olivia finally joins us," Norah smiled.

"No," Sophie and I said in unison, shaking our heads.

I wasn't sure why I came to school today—well, I did, and it was only to see Max. By the time the lunch bell rang, I decided I couldn't take any more and would much rather be in bed, so I decided to leave. Of course, I passed Matt in the hallway, just what I needed.

"Olivia." Matt stopped me, holding onto my arm. "I'm sorry."

"I understand that sentence is hard for you to say, but I'm running on very little sleep and energy to deal with this," I said, pulling my arm from his grasp. "Not today, Matt, please." I shook my head at him and continued walking out of the school and back to my house.