the photographer. [zdh]

nine

at my request, corbyn had texted tyler and asked him to come to the hospital.

and as tyler walked over to me, i knew that whatever he said would determine where i would be going next.

"leah," he began, "i'm glad to see you awake."

i nodded slowly. "thank you, ty."

tyler sat down on the chair next to my bed. "why did you call me here?"

i hesitated and took a deep breath. i knew that there was no point waiting. tyler knew what i was going to ask, and had probably made up his mind already.

"with this injury," i gestured to my waist, with the bandage over it, "i won't be able to do photography for you guys. so i was wondering...i was wondering if i would have to return to dallas, or i could continue staying with you guys."

tyler sighed. "if i'm being honest, i don't know if i should keep you on tour or not. if you can't do photography, there's no point in you staying on."

time almost seemed to stop as tyler considered my question. he turned to corbyn and daniel, who were trying to be insignificant statues at the corner of the room.

"boys, what do you think?"

daniel responded immediately. "although she won't be doing much while on tour with us due to her injury, leah has become a great friend to all of us, and we would like her to continue staying with us."

corbyn nodded in agreement. "she could be backstage during the performance, and we do have room for her on the bus. and like what daniel said, she means a lot to us."

touched. i meant a lot to them.

tyler looked at me thoughtfully before turning back to the boys. "corbyn, daniel, can you guys wait outside for a while? i have some things to ask leah."

they nodded and gave me an encouraging smile before walking out of the room, sliding the door shut behind them.

"leah, i'm going to ask you this question but not as the boys' manager. why do you not want to go back to dallas? is it because of the boys?"

i met his gaze and felt a tear slip down my cheek.

"i'm sorry, but i need you to answer me truthfully."

and i told tyler everything. at the end of my story, he nodded.

"in any other circumstances, you would have to go back to dallas. but i'm letting you stay."

**

ethan forrester looked around the police station.

this place was where leah gray got him in.

leah gray and her bunch of famous friends.

jonah marais.

jack avery.

daniel seavey.

corbyn besson.

and zach herron.

out of all the five, ethan hated zach the most. in his eyes, zach was the reason that leah rejected him. in his eyes, it was zach's fault.

he believed that if not for zach, he could be dating leah.

what he didn't know was that leah would never have chosen him.

what he did know, however, was that he wanted revenge.

**

it was the first time they were all in the same room after the encounter with ethan, and they were having as much fun as they could while stuck in leah's hospital ward. mainly, they were celebrating the fact that leah could continue going on tour with them despite her injury.

luckily, it was a private room, and no one could complain that they were making too much noise.

upon leah's request, no one back home in dallas had been informed of the incident, except the forrester family. leah did not intend to tell them about it, but seeing that ethan was in jail because of that, it was inevitable that they would know about it sooner or later.

the forresters had flew down to denver international airport on the next flight and drove the short distance to broomfield after they heard the news. while mr and mrs forrester went to the police station, emma chose not to go and went to visit leah at the hospital instead.

**

emma dashed into my hospital room, closely followed by a nurse.

"leah!" she said, as soon as she saw me. walking closer to me, she stopped at the side of my bed. when she saw my bandage, tears slowly leaked out from her eyes. "leah."

"excuse me, miss, you do not run the hospital!" she said, clearly annoyed. when emma ignored her, she sighed and headed out of the room.

the boys had gathered at a corner of the room, watching emma with wide eyes, as if afraid that she would pull out a knife and murder me at any time.

"i am so, so sorry," she whispered to me. "my idiot brother...i heard that you rejected him from some guys on the soccer team, and he was angry for quite some time. when his mood was back to normal, he told us that he was going to colorado. i should've known that he'd come after you. i'm so sorry, leah."

i looked at my emma silently, waiting for her to finish. when she did, i held her gaze for a long moment, my face blank and expressionless.

"it's not your fault," i said slowly. "i'm sorry, em. i love you, but i might need to take a break for now. with your brother, uh, stabbing me, i can't do this."

emma nodded, as if she had already expected this response from me.

"i love you too, and again, i'm so so sorry for ethan. text me when you think we can talk again, okay? take your time," she said gently, smiling at me.

i nodded, and gave her a small smile before she turned around and left. as soon as the door shut behind her, the boys walked over to my bed and sat down in the same position as before.

"leah, i know that must've been hard, but it was the right thing to do, i think."

i nodded.

"i think it is."

✎

a/n honestly wanted emma and leah to continue to be best friends but logically it's impossible