Cami looks so happy with her little girl. What I wouldn’t give to have a love like that, a family like that.

But guys like me don’t get shit like that.

Ella and Suzanne leave, but Suzanne gives me a wink first. She knows what I want, what I’ll ask of Cami one day.

“Can we talk about us moving in with you now?” Cam says, turning to look at me.

“Don't worry about it. I just… I…” I say, pausing, unable to find the right words.

“You, what?” Cami asks. I just shake my head, afraid of her response to what I need to say. “Ok, fine. But I will cook and clean and whatever you need,” she says, as if she knows the words I was trying to spit out. “And thank you.”

“I want you to know everything is taken care of already. I am not doing this for anything in return and if you decide you don't want to live there, then I understand. I’ll help you find somewhere else, but I wanted you to have someplace to go when you were released and not have to worry about anything.”

“Thank you, Jett. I mean that. You don't know how much this all means to me. I ran out on you and our friendship years ago and you just take me back in like I never hurt you… just thank you.”

I stand up to open the blinds and when I turn back, I notice she's watching me. “What?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Nothing… well, um… You just look so cute when you sleep,” she says, looking down at her hands. A smile crosses my lips.

“Cute? That's what you think of me? Cute?” She nods, not looking at me. “Thank you, I think.” I bite my lower lip. Cami looks at me and her soft brown eyes sparkle. Sitting beside her on the bed, I laugh as I slowly put my arm around her. She flinches and looks at me with wide eyes, unable to stop shaking.

“It's ok,” I whisper and pull her closer to me, being mindful of her injuries, and wrap the blanket around us. She lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes.

“Jett? There’s something I need to tell you,” she whispers, trying to fight against the pain meds in her system.

“You can tell me anything,” I tell her and I mean it.

“I love Ella more than anything.”

“She’s beautiful, Cami.”

“She is. Just like you,” she says just as sleep claims her once again. I lay next to her, pondering her words for a moment. Why would Cami be worried about telling me about her?

I just watch her as she sleeps, memorizing every curve of her face. Thick, dark lashes frame beautiful dark, brown eyes against the light pallor of her skin. Even with the gash running down her face and deep purple bruising, she is beautiful. Closing my eyes, I sync my breathing with hers and drift off to sleep, never wanting to leave this peaceful moment again.

Soft whispers wake me and I see Dr. Bennett and Beth in the doorway. “Jett,” Beth says, motioning me to come to them. I carefully move my arm, making sure not to disturb Cami, and kiss her forehead.

“What's up?” I ask, closing the door behind me.

“She is doing well, and we are probably going to release her tomorrow,” Beth says.

“That's great news,” I reply, “I'm sure some fresh air will do her good.”

“Here's the catch, she's been in that bed a week, so I need your help to get her up and moving around. When she’s home, she needs to regularly walk around, just a few minutes at a time is all and then we’ll get it her started on physical therapy too,,” Dr. Bennett says.

“I can do that, I’ll do anything you need, doc.” He nods and pats my shoulder.

I smile back and shake his hand before opening the door.

Cami is still sleeping, so I sit on the stool beside the bed and just hold her hand. After a few minutes, I feel her squeezing my hand. “Hi,” she says with a yawn.

“I have some good news for you. As it stands now, you will be discharged tomorrow.” The look on her face goes through a variety of emotions, from joy to dread.

“Better yet, I’m off tomorrow, so it looks like you'll be stuck with me,” I say, waiting for her to speak.

“Thank you,” she says after a moments pause, “I have the worst luck. If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any.” Standing up, I lean over to hug her. She wraps her arms tightly around me as she kisses my cheek.

“Now you know what you just said, that's not true. You got me and I'm not from bad luck,” I whisper. She smiles at me and hugs me again.

“Here's the deal, you want to break out of here, right?”

“Yeah,” she says with a sigh.

“Well… we've got to get you up and moving around.” In that moment a fire unlike anything I've ever seen fills her eyes. She reaches out for me to pull her up. A painful grimace crosses her face as she stands up. After a few deep steady breaths, she begins taking steps. Her balance is wobbly, but she doesn't let that interfere. She walks confidently towards the door, me by her side in case she stumbles.

With each step, she becomes sturdier. “You know what I want?” she asks.

“I have no idea,” I reply.

“I want to take a shower. You think you could get that Ok'd for me?” she asks, batting her eyelashes.

“Yeah, I think I can do that for you.” She walks back to the bed and sits while I run out to the nurse’s station. After finding Beth, I go back in the room, only to find her undressing. “Oh. I'm sorry,” I say, turning around to face the door.

“It's ok, no need for modesty at this point,” she says with a shiver. “Could you do something for me?” she adds.

“Sure, what do you need?” I ask.

“Could you get me some clothes? I want to feel somewhat normal and these gowns just don't do it.” She pulls on the bulky hospital gown.

“Sure will. Beth will be here momentarily and I'll be back soon. We’re gonna get you home soon, ok?”

I leave her in Beth’s capable hands and head back to my small cottage on the east side of the city. Wilson is sitting on my front porch, drinking a beer.

“Dude, how is she?” he says, looking honestly concerned.

“She’s all right, brother, coming home with me tomorrow.”

“Hey, that’s great. So after you get her settled, you need to come to the clubhouse. Major shit has been going on with those druggies. We need back up. You’ll come by tomorrow night, maybe?”

“Yeah, anything for the Rebels. I can’t tell you how much it means to me, that you guys have been helping me out. Keeping her away from the shit who did this to her.”

“It’s what you do for family, man.”

“Hell yeah, it is.”

He leans back and starts rocking again as I fumble with my keys and open the front door. I rummage through her suitcase until I find some loose fitting comfortable clothes she can wear home, then I lock up the place and head back to the hospital. Almost an hour has passed and when I pull in to park, I notice I'm being watched. A man sitting in a large black truck glares at me from a row over. When he sees me looking, he quickly rolls up his window and starts his engine. As he pulls away, I take notice of the plate number.

Hello asshole.

Beth is standing outside the bathroom door when I get back to the room. I hold up the bag and hand it to her. She smiles slightly, opening the bathroom door and setting it inside. “Cami, your clothes are in there with you. Let me know if you need my help,” Beth says.

“Ok, thank you. Is Jett out there?” Cami asks from behind the bathroom door.

“Yep, he sure is.” She winks at me.

“Tell him I said thank you.”

Beth looks at me and smiles. “Why don't you go home and get some rest?” Beth tells me.

“Yeah, I could use a little rest,” I reply, still holding my helmet in my hands. “Let her know I'll be back later, ok?”

“Certainly,” she says, shooing me away.

My empty house is too quiet, so I get up and head into the living room, flipping on the TV. Wilson must have finished his beer and left when I went back to the hospital. Sitting there, channel surfing, I keep thinking about Cami. Our past and our future. On the surface it feels like a rebound, but deep down it feels like more. I sit here pondering everything as the sun begins to trickle through the blinds. I honestly don't even know if I’ve even slept.

Standing up, I stretch and gather my things to shower. Dressing quickly, I look at the clock and notice it's only seven in the morning. Laughing at myself, I put on a pot of coffee and have a cup before heading out to go see Cami at the hospital.