"Understandable. Who are you angry at? His dad?"
"Chad. Jane. My mom. They all keep telling me I shouldn't be with Dean. They think he's trouble and I should stay away. None of them care that Dean makes me happy. It's like that doesn't even matter."
"You talked to Chad?"
"No. I blocked his number, but he called my mom. He wants to talk to me."
"About what?"
"He didn't say. He made it sound like it was urgent so my mom would make me call him, but I'm not doing it. I don't have anything to say to him."
"Do you think he wants to get back with you?"
"Jane said he does. She called when I got home. She said Tamara moved back to LA, which explains why Chad is suddenly interested in me again. He doesn't want to have to put the effort in with someone new. With me, it was easy. He could just ignore me and I put up with it."
"He doesn't know you're with Dean? I thought that girl from your old school saw you two together."
"She did, and she told everyone at school, but people thought it was a joke, including Chad. He thinks I'm pretending to be with Dean to make him jealous. Even when I told Jane tonight that I'm dating Dean, she didn't believe me. And when I finally convinced her, she told me to break up with him and go back to Chad."
"And you're friends with this girl?"
"Not really. Not anymore. I don't know why we ever were. When I think back to all the years we were friends, I don't even know who I was back then. I feel like it was someone else. Moving here and going to a new school, I feel like a different person."
"Which is better? The old you or the new one?"
"The new one. The old one wasn't even real. It was just me being who everyone told me to be. And the thing is, I don't think that ever would've changed if I hadn't gotten away from those people."
"So being rich isn't so great, huh?"
"It is in some ways, but it's not as great as people think." I stare up at the ceiling. "I hope he's okay."
"He's good. He's sleeping."
"What if he doesn't get better?"
"He will. Dean will go crazy lying in bed all day. There's no way he'll put up with being stuck in a hospital."
"He may not have a choice."
"He wants to be with you, and be with Jake. He'll do anything to make that happen, even if he has to force himself to get better."
"I don't think that's possible."
"Maybe not, but if it were, he'd do it."
"He'd leave right now if he knew about Jake. He'd be trying to hunt down his dad and get Jake back."
"When are you going to tell him what happened?"
"I'm hoping they find his dad before I have to."
"He's going to ask about Jake once the drugs wear off and he's more alert."
"I know, but I don't think that's happening in the next few days. He's in a lot of pain. They're going to keep him on those drugs."
"Dean's used to pain from playing football. He can handle a lot more than we could. If he tells them to back off on the drugs he could be asking questions by tomorrow, or today."
"You're supposed to be making me feel better. Now I'm freaking out."
