" Hey, wake up," Sid says nudging me. I feel his weight shift off the bed as I open my eyes. Sunlight peaks through the blinds in the room; the room is as white and cold as last evening. Sitting up slowly, I try to make my brain work. I wince when a sudden rush of pain shoots through the right side of my head.

"Shit," Sidney whispers. He touches the bandage wrapped around my head; his hand comes back red. "You're bleeding all over. The pillow is soaked. I'm gonna go get a nurse," He states hurriedly while he rushes to the door. I raise my own hand back to my head— my hand also ends up covered in red. I lay back down when I feel some liquid slide down my neck. One of the nurses must have put me back on the IV at some point last night since one sticks out of my left arm.

"Good morning, Miss. Maye." The nurse addresses me when she enters the room. She looks young; average height, brown hair, kind face. She reaches into the pockets of her scrubs and pulls out scissors, tape and some bandages. Sid comes in the room a minute after her with a bag and a worried face. I give him a weak smile. The nurse raises my bed to an upright position. She gently leans me forward, cutting off the old bandage.

"What time is it?" I ask Sidney when he comes to my bed. He looks so much better now than when I saw him last night. His eyes are still brown puddles of sadness.

" 9:30-ish. Your parents will be here soon to say bye," he holds my hand, playing with my fingers while the nurse cleans the back of my head and the stitches in the front.

"You had quite the accident," the nurse grins at me while she reaches for the new bandage. She wraps the fabric around my head once, twice then for a third time. She holds the bandage in place with one hand and gets the tape with another. She swiftly places the tape on the bandage and cuts it off.

"Obviously," I groan. I want nothing more than to leave and go to sleep. My head starts to hurt almost immediately when I think about work.

"Ta da! All done, the doctor will be in soon to see you out. Get well soon, Sera." The nurse smiles at me as she packs her things and leaves the room. Sidney plops down at the foot of the bed; his face is weary.

"You can stop worrying now, babe. I'm fine," I whisper to Sid. I have never seen him worried. We have only dated for almost a month now and this is all very new to us both. We haven't gotten to level four relationship status were we trade tragic back story. I don't know whether or not I should be happy he is so worried about me— I don't think I have ever seen anyone this worried about me.

"I-I," Sidney starts. He brushes his big palm across his face in frustration. "I hate that there's nothing I can do. I hate that I wasn't there."

"There was nothing you could have done, baby. Shit happens. It sucks when it does but that's just how life works; I would like to control as much as I can but I can't. I'm happy you're here now though." Sidney looks at me intently, studying my bandage. He cringes a little.

"I'm fine, I promise. Sorta, I'll tell you when I feel like shit ok? Will you stop making that face?" I playfully scold him.

"Ok, I'll try not to worry over you so much. You just have to cut the "tough girl" shit when you're in pain."

"Deal," I extend my pinky finger to him. "I pinky promise."

"Seriously, Sera?" Sidney says scrutinizing my finger.

"Hey! Don't judge, the Pinky Promise is the most scared of promises used to seal everlasting bonds and shit since elementary school days. Technically, I'm still married."

"Well damn, it is legit," Sidney laughs while he wraps his pinky around mine.

---

After my family came to say their goodbyes with my father nearly threatening Sid's life if he doesn't take good care of his little girl, we take the train back into Greenwich.

"Finally! I'm going home, it feels like forever since I've been home," I state when we emerge from the stairs from the subway. My head starts to hurt because I went up the stairs too fast. I touch the bandage to check for blood and am pleased to see none on my fingers. A few people look at me but I do my best not to worry about them.

" I know, it'll be nice for you home again with me even though we haven't been home in like a day," Sidney says kissing my forehead. "How about we go to one of your favorite places; the bakery. I give a loud gasp, wrapping my arms around his thick frame. The quickest way to my heart is through carbs. Sidney laughs and picks me up gently to gives me a piggyback ride to the bakery.

When we get there, I can already smell the bread. When the door opens, we're hit with a strong smell of bread and pastries. I jump off his back and walk over to the display case in front of the register. Everything has been baked early this morning; you can even see the steam forming on the glass. Chocolate chip cookies, croissants, macaroons and brownies catch my eye.

"Pick whatever you want," Sid tells me. "I think you could use some sweets right now." I jump into his arms once again, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you, Sidney," I say in a girly voice I have acquired since I started dating him.

"You're welcome, Seraphina." I ask the girl at the counter for a dozen chocolate chip cookies, two French breads, four bagels and their homemade Strawberry jam. Sid and I split the bill and I leave the bakery a happy person. The morning is perfect; not a cloud outside with the heat not beating down on the city just yet. I stop at the corner waiting for the light to change when Sid hugs me from behind.

"I love you," he says in my ear. I turn around and he kisses me, catching me off guard. I totally forget where are, just totally engrossed in our kisses. I want to put my arms around him but my left hand has the bag. He pulls away slowly, biting my lower lip, "Let's go home."

"That sounds like a great idea.” On my apartment door, there is a pink sticky note. Grabbing it, I read it out loud.

We all love you, get well soon! Morgan.

“I guess we should go inside to see what that is all about,” Sidney states as he turns the key to my place. The minute the door swings open, me and Sidney’s jaws drop.

" Holy shit," Sid says. The dining area and kitchen are full of flowers and stuffed animals. I go to the kitchen and place the bakery bag on the counter. There are flowers from Anna, my boss, with a card. Many flowers from coworkers and friends. Morgan and Jon got me a big teddy bear in a number 19 Toews kids sized jersey. Flowers from Sid's teammates and more stuffed animals and more from my family. I can't even comprehend all of this. I immediately start tearing up as I one of the bouquets of flowers.

" I didn't know they guys would send over this much stuff! Where are we gonna put it all?" Sidney asks me but I can't answer him without potentially sounding like a blubbering idiot. Sidney walks over to me at the counter and wraps his arms around me.

" I didn't know how much people cared about me. I've kinda always lived my life thinking no one cares but I guess they do..." I do everything in my life on my own; take care of my own mental health, be my own cheerleader and biggest critic. Having a lot of people care about me even if it's just this once, is a lot for me to comprehend.

" Of course they do! I do! I don't think you understand how many people you've affected with your awesomeness. You're a special girl, you know that right?"

" I guess..."

"Well I know. And so does everyone else and some of them don't even know you personally! If we didn't care, no one would've sent you things or even given you the light of day." He grabs the sides of my face in has hands, wiping the tears away. I lean into his hand for more comfort.

"How'd I get you for a boyfriend? This obviously must be a joke," I say to him.

"It's not a joke and you better believe it, babe. And I'm you're boyfriend because you have something I like."

"Oh?" I pull back in surprise and interested in what he has to say. " And what would that be?"

" Your personality," then he turns my face upward to look at him and says, " Then there're other things which I think you know," he says with a grin.

"You are something else, you know that? I'm hungry help me move all this stuff somewhere." We find vases for the flowers that didn't come in one and place the stuffed animals in my room for now. I set the table for us while he makes coffee.

" We should probably start packing huh?" I ask him while grabbing plates and cutlery.

" Yea, that would be a good idea."

" How's the weather up there during the summer?" For someone who is becoming well traveled, I've never been to Canada. What better way to go to Canada than with the
Golden Boy?

"Uh, not very hot. You can bring summer clothing but also like a few light long sleeves, jeans obviously."

"Ok, anything else I need to know?"

"My friends are interesting. Don't tell Taylor or my mother anything about us that's too personal," Sidney blushes into his coffee.

"Of course not! Like they need to know what goes on in here. Where are we staying?"

"It's a surprise! You'll just have to wait and see," Sidney says with a playful smile.

" I hate waiting." We continue eating and he doesn't say much. This is weird because He's usually talking my ear off whenever we eat together. "What's up?" I ask him.

"Nothing,why?" He avoids eye contact and takes another awkward bite of his bagel.

"You're awfully quiet. Is there something you have to tell me?" I reach across the table and hold his hand in my right hand.

"No! Nothing I'm just tired, lots of conditioning planned and then what happened with you stressed me out. I'm just tired," He looks outside, concealing his face.

"Sidney, I know you. What aren't you telling me." He, like me, is not one to express his feelings often. It's an area in our relationship that we will have work on if this is going to work.

He turns and looks me in the eyes. His light brown eyes are soft while I feel like mine are intense. He gives a sigh, " I give up. Geez you women can be scary."

"Very funny,now what is it?" I push for an answer.

"Well...Before I left Cole Harbor, I had a girlfriend. Kind of a serious relationship. I had to break it off because I was leaving and she had a thing for one of my friends and I found out so what was the point of being in a realistic ship that was one-sided. So I broke it off, a few years ago she got my number, probably from one of my jackass friends back home. I mean we talked but I made it clear that she wasn't and still isn't what I'm looking for."

"Oh, well that's not too bad I guess. As long as she's not a crazy ex or something." I must admit that I was worried that it was something actually serious. Leave it to Sidney to make a big deal out of something small.

" She was a lifeguard. We met at a local lake me and my friends used to hang out at."

"If she comes near you and tries to lay a hand on you, I swear to God I'll deck her." I proclaim, sipping my tea.

"There's no need for that. It's all good, she's not crazy or whatever I guess. She won't do anything."

"Ok. There's no need for you to worry. I understand it's a small area and you may run into her. Just act normal or your version of normal," I tease him.

"Ouch, that hurt," Sidney clutches at his heart. "I'll be fine I'm just worried what you might do."

"Oh, don't worry about me. As long as she stays in her lane if we see her, it's going to be a nice trip."

Notes

I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in awhile. I started my sophomore year at my university and I'm a bio pre-med major and writing for three different magazines/newspaper so I'm up to my ears in work.

Not my favorite chapter since I've been suffering from writer's block with this chapter. The chapters after this should be better (i hope). Feel free to comment and give me ideas, I live for that stuff. Thanks for reading!