Jeremy woke up to the sound of footsteps and beeping. “Where am I?” he said. He looked around for a moment. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I’m in the hospital.” He sat up and looked at Mandy again. His hand still held its grip on hers. He let go and leaned over the bed. He kissed her on her forehead and sat back in the chair, slouching and leaning his head on the back of the chair. He suddenly sat up again when he heard a different noise. This time, the noise was Mandy, her head moving from side-to-side on the pillow. She groaned and her eyes began to flutter open. “Mandy?” Jeremy said as he got up and held her hand. Mandy felt groggy and her eyelids were heavy. She heard her name and fully opened her eyes. She saw Jeremy standing over her and became confused. “Mandy,” Jeremy said, sounding relieved. She saw the room and heard the many noises coming from inside and outside. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice sounding far away and extremely weak. “You fainted and hit your head. You’re in the hospital,” he replied. “I’m so glad you’re ok. Mandy smiled and reached her right hand up to touch his face. “You sound like a sappy romance movie,” she told him. Her humor was helping her wake up more. “Can you help me sit up?” she asked him. He nodded. He put the bed remote in one hand and supported her with his other hand. He laid her head back on the pillow. She smiled again. “I’m going to go get the doctor,” he said and left. Mandy looked around the room. She wondered why she had fainted and how long she and Jeremy had been there. Jeremy appeared with the doctor before she could think any longer. “Well, you had quite an accident,” Dr. Jones said. “What do you remember?” “I remember collapsing and Jeremy holding me,” she replied. “Do you know why I fainted?” Dr. Jones smiled. “We did figure that out,” he replied. “You had a sudden drop in blood pressure, which caused you to become light-headed and faint. It was a lucky thing that Jeremy was there to pick you up because you had a slight head injury that was less severe because your head was elevated.” “How much longer will I be here?” Mandy asked. “We decided to keep you until tomorrow to make sure that the head injury didn’t cause any serious damage. By the way, you have more people here to see you.” The doctor walked out of the room. Mandy turned her head to face the door. Alex and Jake appeared. “Mandy!” Alex screamed. She ran into the room and straight to Mandy. They hugged. “I thought you were dead!” she continued. “Well, I’m definitely not!” Mandy laughed. Jake came over to give her a hug. “I’m sorry you couldn’t be at school today. I want you to be there when I make the announcement to the school,” he told her. She smiled. “By the way, we don’t have homework,” Alex said. “I told all of our teachers what happened and they told us that you should be ok since no homework is planned until Wednesday.” “That’s a relief,” Mandy said. “Did you guys go to school?” “Yes. We went by Jeremy’s house to pick up his stuff early this morning. He spent the entire night here with you,” Jake said. She turned to Jeremy. “You did?” she asked. He nodded. “I was worried about you and your head. I stayed here all night until Jake came by at 5 this morning and took me back to my house to get a shower and my backpack. I couldn’t pay attention in class that well. I came back here after practice and I finished my homework at home. It’s 5 P.M., by the way.” “You just proved that you had dreamed about me since the day you met me,” she replied. Jeremy smiled at her. “I actually dreamed about you in the waiting room yesterday,” he said. “I dreamed about the first time we met and the time I asked you to be my girlfriend. You said that I had to write a song about you to prove it. I did write that song.” “You just proved it,” she replied. “If you play me the song, then you will have proved it twice.” Everyone laughed. “We’ll come by tomorrow,” Alex said. They all gave Mandy a hug. Jeremy kissed her forehead and the group left. Mandy relaxed again and drifted off to sleep.

Mandy woke up the next day, rested and relaxed. She was happy. Whatever was bugging her seemed to be gone. It felt good because it had felt like the weight was on her shoulders before. A nurse came in. She took out Mandy’s IV and took off her monitors, also taking her breakfast order. Mandy ate breakfast and was watching TV when at 4:00 P.M., Jeremy, Alex, and Jake walked in. “Hey guys,” she said. “We talked to the doctor and he is releasing you today. I stopped by your house and grabbed some clothes and stuff so we can take you home,” Alex said, holding up the messenger bag she was wearing. The doctor came in to check on Mandy one last time. “You’re ok,” he said. “You can take a shower and get dressed. Come get me when you’re ready to leave.” He left and Jake and Jeremy helped her out of bed. Alex handed her the bag. “We’ll be in the cafeteria,” Jeremy said. “When you’re ready, just call.” They left and shut the door. Mandy went into the bathroom and took a shower. She pulled her hair into a twist and got dressed. She didn’t feel like putting on make-up. She put all of the things back in her bag. Alex had picked out a great outfit. It was rocker, yet comfortable and not tight. She made sure she had everything and sat on the bed again. She called Jeremy and told him that she was ready. The group came back with a nurse who had a wheelchair. Jeremy helped her sit in the wheelchair and pushed her to his car. Mandy was put in the passenger seat, with Jake and Alex in the backseat. Jeremy drove to Jake’s house first, then Alex’s house. He parked in the underground garage and helped Mandy all the way up to her apartment. He unlocked the door for her and scooped her in his arms, like a groom holding his bride. “We’re finally home!” he said. Mandy couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re making it sound like we’re married,” she said. “If we weren’t so young, I would have proposed already and we would be married,” he replied. “That’s only if I said yes,” she replied as he put her down. He pretended to clutch his heart. “She just killed me. She broke my heart,” he responded dramatically. Mandy laughed again. It felt good to laugh. She had done more laughing in the last two days than in her whole life. “What?” she said. “I would have said yes.” He laughed. “I knew that. Are you going to be ok alone or should I stay here with you until your uncles get home?” “I’ll be fine,” she said. “You need to go home.” “Ok,” he said. He kissed her on the cheek and left. Mandy got ready for bed and ate dinner. It tasted much better than the hospital food did. She went to bed. As she got under her covers, she thanked God for keeping her safe.