The Broken Girl and The Golden Boy

When the Walls Come Down

Chapter 19: Piper

The doctors had me stay overnight for observation. And Justin refused to leave my side the entire time. I'm sure the nurses had a field day with that.

Honestly, though, I was just grateful that I was released from the hospital the next morning. They told me that putting the cast on my wrist and wrapping up my ribs was all they could do for me. That was okay, the medical bills would be enormous enough as it was.

I was a lot less enthusiastic when Justin offered to drive me home. But since I had a fractured wrist and three broken ribs, I didn't have much of a choice. In fact, it was actually one of my restrictions; I couldn't drive until they took off my cast. Which meant that Justin would probably be chauffering me around for a while. Unfortunately.

It might sound ridiculous, but I still really wanted to avoid him. After all, why bother staying away when I'd already spilled my guts to him last night? The answer was in the question. I hated that he'd seen me vulnerable like that - not even Sadie knew how weak I was, how bad things really were. And now I'd given up all of those secrets in a matter of hours.

And... there was another problem. I might be, kind of, sort of... attracted to Justin, maybe... a little. I'd never really felt like this about anyone - not Sean or anyone else - so it was making me really nervous and uncomfortable. It was like I had convinced myself I couldn't possibly feel anything for him because he knew nothing about me... and now that he knew, I started noticing all these little things that I really liked about him. Like the way he always listened to me - even when he was pissed off at me, like he was last night. Or the way that he refused to stop pushing me, when it would've been easier to just let things slide. Or how he always seems to be there for me whenever I need him to pick me back up.

I like his cheerful smile, his laugh, his deep blue eyes, his inherent nice-guyness, and his mischievous side. I like that he talks to me like I'm a person instead of a lower form of life, even though his family is rich and mine is poor and broken. I like that he defends me when I need his protection and lets me fight my own battles when I don't. I like that my life is never boring with him. I like him. Maybe more than a little.

It was like all of these feelings had been shoved back for so long, but now that the dam had burst, they wouldn't stop pouring out. If I could just have some time away from him, maybe I could figure things out and we could actually be friends. But that wasn't likely to happen, especially since I had to see him in chemistry and math class, at lunch, to work on our project, and on the way to and from school. And part of that time, we'd be alone together. I hated that a part of me liked the sound of that.

I sighed aloud as Justin and I walked out the front doors of the hospital. He kept shooting worried glances at me even though I was being careful not to let the pain I was feeling show. It was kind of sweet how concerned he was about me - damn it, no it wasn't! We made it to his car a few minutes later - Justin forced me to walk slowly so I wouldn't strain myself - and he helped me into the passenger seat. Then he crossed around the front and got in on the driver's side.

We pulled out of the hospital parking lot and drove in silence for about five minutes. Long enough for me to realize that Justin's car smelled like him. And I know that this is going to sound really creepy and stalkerish and weird, but... he smelled really good. Kind of like sandalwood and some citrusy aftershave blended with green apple and - this is where the creepy part comes in - just the faintest hint of salty sweat. It's not that I liked the smell of sweat, because trust me, I find sweaty guys just as gross as the next girl, but there was something about it that just made him seem more real and less like some different class of human being. I was obsessing over his scent. Pathetic, I know.