You guys are probably not going to be very happy with me...

Scott's P.O.V.

I sat in a hard plastic hospital chair, wringing my hands. Avi paced in front of me. The hospital was bustling with activity, with multiple families in the waiting room. Kevin sat beside me, his head down.

After Avi and I had seen Kirstie's jeep in the driveway, we had gone inside to investigate. As we were going through the house, I heard screaming coming from one of the doors. When I opened it, I saw Troye coming towards Kirstie with a bat, a and I just reacted like any normal person would. I knocked him out.

I shuddered when I thought about how Mitch looked on the ground. He was so broken and small, I thought for sure that he was dead.

Avi called the police, and five minutes later the police showed up with an ambulance. They took Troye into custody after we told them what happened, and then Kirstie and Mitch were rushed to the hospital while Avi called Kevin in the ambulance. Which brought us to right now.

"Avi sit down for a second," I begged softly. He shook his head. "Why not?"

"I can't."

"Well why not?"

"Don't you understand Scott?"

"Understand what Avi?"

"You know how we saw all those broken beer bottles in the room where Kirstie and Mitch were?"

I nodded, looking down.

"Well that means he was drunk when he...you know..."

"So?"

"Avi Kaplan?" Called a nurse from the front of the waiting room.

He quickly walked over to the nurse and they whispered for a few seconds before Avi walked back over to me.

"Kirstie's awake," he said, motioning for me and Kevin to get up and follow him.

The nurse led us down the twisted maze if hospital hallways before stopping in front of one that had Kirstin Maldonado written on the dry erase board next to it. She opened it, then motioned for us to go inside.

Kirstie looked like she had just woken up, her hair messy and her eyes confused. They had cleaned off her face so that there was no more blood dripping down the side of it, but you could still see the damage. Cuts and scrapes. Dark circles under her eyes. The way her body was trembling.

"How are you feeling Kirst?" Avi asked.

"Where's Mitch?" She asked, ignoring Avi and looking directly at the nurse.

"Mr. Grassi is undergoing some tests right now. I'm not sure when he will be out."

Kirstie sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, sitting in the chair right next to her bed. She didn't respond, her body slightly shaking with sobs.

I reached our to touch her shoulder, and the second my hand touched her, she nearly jumped out of bed.

"It's alright Kirstie! It's just me!"

She looked at me blankly.

"I know...I just-I'm sorry," she apologized softly.

"No! Please don't apologize. I'm sorry, I know you just need some time."

She shakily placed a hand over mine, then leaned in close to my ear.

"Why is Avi here?"

I looked at her, confused, but continued to whisper so that Avi wouldn't hear.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

Her eyes darted to Avi, then back to me. "He-he doesn't want me anymore. Scott, is he here as a joke or something?"

"No! He cares about you! He still wants you Kirst. Trust me."

"Then why did he-"

"Scott Hoying?"

I looked up to see the nurse from earlier standing in the doorway.

"I'll be back Kirst. Just stay here with Kevin. And Avi." She nodded, looking down.

I followed the nurse out of the room as she led me down the hallway.

"What are we doing, if you don't mind me asking?"

The nurse stopped outside of a door marked Mitchell Grassi.

"Is Mitch awake?" I asked nervously, reaching out towards the handle. The nurse put her hand on my arm, stopping me.

"What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "There's-there's something I think you should know first."

"What is it nurse..." I had to look at her name tag to finish my sentence. "Nurse Cheyenne! What's the matter? Why can't I just go in?"

"Well...you said that this man had a baseball bat that he was using to beat the two?"

I nodded, trying not to picture the scene in my mind.

"It seems that the bat crushed a few of his vertebrae."

"And...what does that mean?"

She sighed, then showed me the clipboard that was in her hands. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach when I read the doctors note scribbled on Mitch's papers.

In order to fix Mitch's back, he would need a major surgery.