The Perfect Date *Completed*

Two Months Later

It was supposed to be better now, at least that's what Ben had been telling himself for the past one month. He finally had Samantha back in his life so he should be happy, right? In a way he was but it just wasn't the same.

Of course he didn't expect her to be jumping on her feet with joy and laughing at his every joke but he never anticipated that her recovery would be this slow. No one did. Even her therapist told us she wasn't making much progress. She had even diagnosed her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and mild Stockholm Syndrome.

Ben had never been more worried about the girl he loved. She had been exempted from college for a year so she could spend time recuperating at home with her parents and she was subjected to therapy twice a week which was recommended immediately after her medical check ups.

If he had the chance Ben would have spent every waking moment by her side but however much Ben wanted to take a gap year and spend it with her, he knew he couldn't. His parents would have killed him. So he drove down every weekend and stayed at the Greenbergs every chance he could. Apparently the only time she ever slept peacefully was when he visited.

The rest of the days she would wake up screaming and crying in hysterical fits. She had also become extremely anti social, barely talking to anyone besides her parents and Ben. But sometimes she would look at Ben like he was a stranger or a figment of her imagination. That ghostly look in her eyes was enough to give even Ben nightmares.

Another thing he was slowly getting used to was the fact that she had become scared of his touch. It was habitual for him to comfort her by putting his hand on hers or his arm over her shoulder but she constantly flinched when he did so and in the beginning that hurt like hell.

It infuriated him that that psycho Jerry had affected her so much. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what she must've gone through locked away in his house. The thought itself made him want to kill that freak. He'd never hated someone so much before. He deserved to die but instead he was lying on a hospital bed in a coma. Ben could not see the justice in that.

He also noticed the way Samantha had perked up slightly when the inspector told them he was still alive but in a coma. Apparently when he shot himself he was shaking so badly he had missed all the vital structures. All he had gotten was a deep graze along his cheek and head which wasn't enough to kill him but the impact had injured him badly. No one knew if he was going to wake up.

Right now he was on the road, on his way to the Greenbergs house. It was finally the weekend and he couldn't wait to spend it with Samantha. He didn't care if she needed time, he would give her all the time in the world if she wanted it but he hoped she would get better soon. He needed her to get better soon.

Ben parked in their driveway and practically ran to her house, eager to see her after five days. Her mum was at home and the house smelled of freshly baked cookies. Ben felt the saliva pooling in his mouth.

"Hey Mrs Greenberg!," he skipped towards the kitchen and hugged Samantha's mother lightly. "I brought some bagels from the cafe you like."

"Thank you dear," she gushed taking the bag from him. "I absolutely love these."

She looked so much better now than she did a month ago. Her face finally looked happy but her eye bags were a clear indication of the sleepless nights the Greenbergs had been having due to Samantha's fits.

"How is she?" Ben asked the question that had been on his mind since he left her five days ago.

"She's doing better actually. Last night she slept soundly, no screaming, no crying. I think we're slowly getting her back,"Mrs Greenberg said hopefully.