Amelia

"She's going to be okay, though?"

"Well, she fell out of a third floor window and broke thirteen bones, Mrs. McDougall."

Silence.

"But, she'll be fine. She just has to refrain from any activity for the next two months, while her ribs heal."

My mom sighed. "She can't miss school, Doctor."

"I suggest homeschooling for the duration of the year.

Inside, I felt my heart skip a beat, excited that I wouldn't have to go to school for the rest of the year, but then I realized I would probably be grounded. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep.

Footsteps left the room, and my mom pulled back the curtain to give us some privacy. I could only hear her steady breathing, meaning my father wasn't in the room. This makes sense, because he's in Los Angeles on a business trip, and he probably wouldn't leave, even if I died.

Growing bored, I slowly opened my eyes and watched my mother text somebody in the chair next to me. She looked past the device and at me. "She lives," she joked.

I pulled up a corner of my mouth, but quickly stopped myself.

"How are you feeling?"

I shrugged. "Sore," I mumbled, my voice cracking. Mom handed me a glass of water with a straw and I drained half of the glass in one gulp. "How long have I been asleep?"

"You were unconscious for 20 hours, Jen."

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Then I sat up. "Oh my God, Amy."

Mom grabbed my hand, and forced me to lay back down, seeing the pain in my eyes. "It's alright, Jenna. I called her last night, and she said she'd come in today at some point."

I stared at my mom. "Um. What do you mean you called Amelia?"

"I was thinking you might want to see her when you woke up."

I didn't say anything. I stared at Mom for a really long period of time.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. I nodded my head, and she pulled out a few granola bars from her purse. "I figured this is better than any of the food the hospital has." Mom laughed a little, and returned a smile.

"Am I grounded?"

My mom smiled and shook her head. "Why on earth would you think I'd ground you for hurting yourself?"

"I tried to sneak out."

"No, Jenna. You aren't grounded. But you do have to stay in bed for the next few months."

Right on cue, my best friend walked into the room, a nurse following behind her.

"Miss, you can't go in there."

"Too bad," she replied.

"It's family only." The nurse was putting up a good fight until...

"Oh, fuck off. No, I'm not family, but I'm the closest thing to it," Amelia snapped and finished walking over to my hospital bed. My mom shooed the nurse away, saying it was alright.

"Jesus, Jenna. How in the hell do you fall out of a window?" my friend joked.

"Very carefully." We both laughed, and Amelia leaned down to kiss me on the cheek and gave me a hug, then settled for the edge of my bed as a seat.

"How are you feeling, lovely?"

"Pretty shitty, but what can I say?" I shrugged.

"Don't they give you some intense pain killers? Morphine? Coedine? God, I bet coedine is good." My mom glared at her. "Kidding." But then she turned toward me and whispered, "No, seriously."

"I'm going to go get some coffee." Mom left the room, giving Amy and I space.

"Has she blown up yet?"

"Not yet. She's actually being nice, but it could come at any moment. You never know."

We talked for a fifteen minutes about almost nothing, until I brought up the subject.

"Are you okay, Amy? I'm really sorry I couldn't be there yesterday..."

"Don't even worry about it." She swatted the subject away. But my eyes roamed down to the spot of skin that showed when her sleeve pulled up slightly, and I started feeling sick. She didn't seem to notice me, just carried on her conversation.

"So, I met a guy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Ya. He's nobody you know, though. I met him at your first show. He tried to be really smooth, but that stuff doesn't work on me anymore."

She continued talking, but I could see something more behind her eyes. She was holding something in. I have this down to the tee. Amelia will pick at the scars on her arms, and blink almost not at all when she's anxious, but today, she was doing all of this and tapping her foot on the side of the bed.

"His name's Callan, and he's perfect-"

"Amelia."

She looked me in the eyes, her left eyebrow raising. "Ya?"

I sat up. "Something's going on with you."

She shook her head fast. "No there isn't?"

"Amy. I fucking know you. Don't pull that bull shit."

Amelia dropped her head and rubbed her eyes. Soon enough, two tears ran down the side of her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Jenna. I didn't know what to do." She stepped onto the ground, and slowly took off her leather jacket, wincing at the sliding fabric.

But I could already see the bruises. She turned around and grabbed the sides of her shirt, and gently pulled the material up over her shoulders.

I couldn't stop the sob that came out of my mouth. "Oh, Amy."