For Baltimore

Chapter Seven- Everything Will Be Just Fine

Alex's POV

I walked out of the bathroom a few moments later, after I had calmed down. The hallway was eerily quiet. The door to 307, Jack's hospital room, was ajar. I peered in. The machines were off, Jack's things were gone from his bedside table, and he wasn't in the room. "Alex?" I jumped and nearly had another panic attack as I turned around. Jack was standing there, now in his normal clothes. "Hey." He smiled. "They're discharging me. Turns out the broken ribs weren't all that bad, more like hairline fractures than anything. And I didn't get a concussion."

I resisted the temptation to throw my arms around Jack; pretty much the only thing preventing me from it was the fact that I might hurt him more. "I'm so glad." I blinked quickly, trying to keep from crying as I stuttered unsteadily, "I c-can't believe Lisa would do that jus-just to get at me." I couldn't hold the tears back any longer, and Jack took my hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

"Shh," he whispered soothingly. "It isn't your fault. She's a freaking psychopath, Alex, and you had nothing to do with the accident."

"B-but," I choked, "I could've gone to your house, or-" Jack cut me off abruptly with a soft, sweet kiss.

"Not your fault," he smiled. "Now, let's get out of here." He led me to the reception desk, where his mom was waiting, arms crossed.

Jack's POV

I bit my lip as Alex and I approached my mother, lacing my fingers more tightly through his. "Hey, Mom," I said quietly.

"Jack. Alex," she acknowledged with a nod. "I'm taking you home now, Jack. Say goodbye to your friend."

"Mom, Alex isn't just my friend, he's my boyfriend. You know that. And can't he come with us?"

My mom looked about ready to throw punches, but she restrained herself. "Okay, fine, Jack. Your boyfriend can come with us." She rolled her eyes and glared at Alex, making me bite my lip to keep from lashing out at her for her rudeness. She led us both to the car, where I got in the back seat with Alex. There was no way I was going to sit next to my mom. The only downside to where I was was that I couldn't control the radio, and my mother, of course, put it on the pop station.

"Sorry," I mouthed to Alex as SexyBack by Justin Timberlake came on. He shook his head, probably thinking I was talking about the song.

"I kinda like this song," he told me, looking down. "I-if that's not weird."

I smiled. "Of course not." My mom hit the brakes hard and I winced as the seatbelt dug into my chest. Rubbing the spot, I decided not to mention it to her. It wasn't like she would care, anyway.

"So, will there be, like, a court case against Lisa?" I asked leaning against the doorframe. Alex walked past me and sat on my bed, placing his head in his hands.

"God, Jack, I hope so. I know they aren't letting her graduate. They didn't believe it was an accident, especially since she left school to be in the spot where she, um, hit you." It looked like it pained him to say that.

I walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. You're okay. And we're okay." I sat down and put my arm around him carefully, trying not to hurt my ribs. His light brown hair was disheveled, as though he hadn't bothered to run a brush through it in a few days. I smoothed it down with my hand. "I love you," I said, kissing his cheek.

Alex smiled a genuine smile for the first time in a long time. "I love you too, Jacky."