By the time the sun had been replaced by the moon, I had lugged around all day in my bed. I'd flipped through channels on the television and watched boring soap operas. I'd even stared out the window of my hospital room for a good couple hours.

I'd gotten the IV taken out of my hand. I'd also gotten removed what the doctors had called the nasal cannula. Personally, I just called it the oxygen tube.

Liam had gone back to his place to take a shower and get a change of clothes, as did my mom. He'd never left me even when I insisted that he get something to eat.

I forced Jackson to leave as well, even though he was adamant that he wanted to spend the night with me. He wanted to make sure I was okay, but his constant presence was getting a bit too much.

Now, I sat on the bed, scrolling mindlessly through my phone. Leftover fruits from my lunch sat on the bedside table. The doctors had told me I'd be discharged in a couple of days and I had too much time to kill.

My parents told me that my motorcycle would need some fixing before I could ride in it again. Or actually, they suggested that I stopped riding altogether, which I firmly disagreed to. So they dropped the subject. My dad would take care of the legal side of things with the driver who'd run into me.

The door creaked open and Avery stepped in, shutting the door behind her again.

"Well, I've had an annoying day," she groaned as she took off her backpack, plopping it onto the floor with a thud. She stalked over to the chair next to my bed and sat down.

"What happened?" I raised an amused eyebrow.

"A group assignment happened," she rolled her eyes and my nose crinkled. Then a grin stretched across her lips. "Okay, enough about school. So... you and Liam...?"

"We're okay again," my lips twitched up just as the blood rushed to my cheeks from the thought of this afternoon with Liam. He told me he loved me.

"I called it," she popped a strawberry in her mouth.

"Weren't you the one calling him a skank?" I chortled, teasingly. I regretted that almost instantly, as a small ache spread across my chest.

"The circumstances were different," she smirked, swallowing the fruit in her mouth. "I thought he got super angry on purpose just to break up with you to be with that girl."

My lips pressed flat, "Oh, yeah. I never thought about that. At least we know it's not true now."

"You should have seen him when he came to the hospital," Avery giggled. "He was so worried, I think he thought you died. He hounded the nurse to tell him anything he knew about you."

"Okay, wait what did you tell him?" I shuffled over in my bed, allowing Avery to join me.

"All I said was that you got into a bad car accident," she replied, snatching the remote from the bed and switching the channel to a cartoon.

"You're so dramatic," I rolled my eyes, even though a smile crept onto my face.

"It wasn't a lie," she shrugged. Now a mocking grin appeared on her lips, replacing the cheeky one from before. "Besides, I personally got to see how much he cared about you. He never left your room the whole time you were out, not even to eat. Sam had to get him food. He is in love."

"Please," I rolled my eyes again. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my cheeks that had begun to flare up again. Avery was right about that.

Avery turned around, pressing her finger down on the red call button, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.

"What are you doing," I asked.

She leaned back against the wall, picking up the remote again, "Getting ice cream."

_____________________________

The bright morning sunlight seeped into the room through the curtains in my hospital room. The light had burned my eyes so I'd kept them half closed. The television was switched on, the volume turned down to just a small buzzing noise in the background.

The whole time I'd spent in the hospital, I'd done nothing but sleep. The painkillers took care of my headache at least. As long as I didn't laugh, my chest and my collarbone didn't hurt me. The brace over my chest helped to support my collarbone.

At least Liam was there most of the time, and we'd talk about everything and nothing until I drifted off to sleep again.

I zipped up my backpack after stuffing in what little belongings I had with me for the two days I'd been in the hospital. Just the day before, the doctors discharged me with tons of painkillers and some sleeping pills.

They ordered that I needed to rest, read books and exercise. I was definitely planning to catch up in my classes as best I could.

I set my bag aside on my bed just as my stomach began to churn. I swallowed, sucking in a deep breath. Doctors had warned me about feeling sick, but so far, this was the first time I'd felt it.

Footsteps sounded and I turned to see Liam opening the door.

"Hey you," I grinned. He was dressed in a simple pair of joggers and a white shirt. Even then, he still took my breath away. My brows furrowed, "What are you doing here?"

"To pick you up, of course," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing ever. He nodded over to my bag. "Want me to take this for you?"

I smiled, nodding gratefully. He picked my bag up from the bed.

"I thought Jackson was coming," I frowned. Maybe I'd gotten it mixed up.

"No, I fought him to come here instead of him," he shook his head, chuckling. "Ready?"

I nodded and we headed out of my room. My heart skipped a beat when he intertwined his fingers with mine. He was careful not to touch my bandaged arm or the cast on my wrist.

The hospital was quiet, with a few nurses and doctors hanging around by the front counter. I guess most of the patients were in their rooms.

"So, how much did I miss in class?" I asked as we stepped into the elevator. My eyes widened. "Oh no, you're missing class."

"We're not worrying about that today," Liam told me as he pressed the button to get to the ground floor. The doors slid shut and we began moving.

"B-but school is important," I argued.

He let out a light laugh as he brought his hand up, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, "Not as important as you."

I rolled my eyes, my cheeks heating up to a beet red tomato, "Liam."

"Ophelia," he teased, grinning.

"I'm being serious," I raised an eyebrow at him.

The doors opened and we stepped out of the elevator. He turned to me as we made a beeline for the sliding doors to exit.

"Look, now I'm being serious. Can you please stop driving so recklessly?" he asked. His eyes were swimming with concern, the rims red. "No more speeding, or driving in between cars or dangerously passing."

I sighed, looking away from him as we stepped outside. I flinched at the bright sunlight that assaulted my eyes as we walked to his car, our shoes pounding against the pavement.

"I don't want you to get hurt again," he continued. "And... I don't know what I would do if you—"

"I promise I won't," I said, cutting him off. I didn't want Liam to go there. "Not anymore."

Liam's car came to view as his lips twitched up, "Good."

We slid into our respective seats and shut the doors simultaneously. Liam tossed my bag in the backseat before he stuck his keys in the ignition and started the car, backing out of his spot. All the while, my hands fiddled with the buttons on his dash, trying to find a radio station with a good song playing.

"So if we aren't thinking about school, then what are we doing today?" I asked, sitting back.

"We are spending the day together," he grinned, his eyes focused on the road. I found my face stretching out into a matching grin at that thought.

We drove in silence, accompanied by the radio. Thankfully, the streets were quieter than usual, since it was after rush hour. I leaned against the window, pressing my eyes shut to alleviate the piercing brightness of the sun.

At last, he pulled up at my house, shutting his ignition off. My mom's car was the only one that sat on the driveway.

"Come on," he said, getting out of the car. He was grinning like a little boy, excited for whatever he had planned — at my own house.

I followed him out the car and we strolled to the front doors. They opened before I had the chance to place my hand on the knob.

My mom stood on the other side of the threshold. She looked between Liam and I.

"Mom, hey," I blinked, smiling over my surprise.

"Thalia, I was just about to head out to get some things from the grocery store," she told me, stepping out of the house.

"Oh, Liam was just..." I trailed off, not being able to come up with a plausible excuse. Liam shuffled between his feet, awkwardly.

My mom only chuckled, "I know you two are together. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"And you're okay with that?" my brows furrowed. It was unlike my mom to be so calm about things like this. Especially how pushy she'd been about Hunter.

"Of course Thalia," she said, brushing past me as she stepped away from the door. "I've got to go now, see you in a couple hours."

Liam and I watched as she walked off, hopping into her car and shutting the door. We didn't move until her car left the driveway.

"Okay then," I said as I strode into my house, shutting the door behind Liam.

"That's a good thing right?" Liam asked as he dropped my bag onto the floor. He looked up at me, grinning. "She likes me."

"She's always liked you," I rolled my eyes.

"True, what's not to like," he said, cockily and again, my eyes rolled to the back of my head. Out of habit, I entered the kitchen, stopping short at all the ingredients that sat on the counter.

"What's all this?" I asked, turning to Liam.

He leaned against the doorframe, a smirk on his face, "We are going to cook lunch together."

"I can't cook to save my life," I chuckled dryly. "My mom hires a chef most of the time, or we go out."

"Good thing I can since my mom doesn't," he said, opening a random drawer in my kitchen. "Where are the pots? We're making spaghetti, it's easy to make."

"Over there," I nodded to the drawer behind Liam. I watched him take a medium sized pot out of the drawer and fill it with water.

"Wanna make the sauce? I can walk you through it," he asked, as he turned on the stove.

"Uhh sure," I agreed reluctantly. I would definitely need Liam's help to make anything, and I was more than willing to take it.

Liam walked me through it as I sautéed the onions, and poured in the ground beef. He worked next to me, boiling the pasta before he strained the water out.

I smirked, realizing that I was getting the hang of cooking. It wasn't all that bad, you sort of just swished things around with a big spoon. I jumped when Liam's arms snaked around my waist, gently like I was made of glass.

"What are you doing?" I asked, not bothering to hide my smile.

He didn't answer and instead, I felt the light, feather-like brush of his lips against my shoulder, all the way up to the crook of my neck. I shuddered under his touch.

"I'm just enjoying my time with you," he said, spinning me around to face him and I set the spoon onto the counter.

My eyes travelled along his face, admiring the familiar sight of his tousled hair, with rebellious strands draping over his forehead. My eyes then moved to his strong jaw, and finally to his soft lips. His cologne wafted up my nose, accompanied by the sweet scent of his shampoo.

Without thinking, I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him in, crashing his lips into mine. He responded, his hand lacing into mine as he deepened the kiss and I melted into his touch.

Liam pulled away a moment later, grinning at my irritated expression. His lips were still just a whisper away.

"It's time to add the tomatoes," he mumbled against my mouth.

I groaned as we separated, turning back to the pan on the stove. I did as Liam had briefed, dumping the tomato paste and sauce into the pan, along with some water, basil and oregano. Beside me, Liam plated the pasta.

"You know, this is actually really easy," I chuckled, over-confidently, more to myself than to Liam.

"Told you so," he smirked. 

The sauce was finally looking like a spaghetti sauce and I sniffed, inhaling the mouthwatering scent of tomatoes and spices that drifted up my nose.

Last, was the salt and pepper. I snatched the salt shaker from the counter, and began sprinkling in the tiniest amount until I was satisfied.

I gave one last shake and gasped, my eyes widening when the lid of the shaker popped off, and all the salt plummeted into the sauce.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼'𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑡!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡