“No. Olivia, don’t touch it.” I pushed at the arm hovering way too close to the side of my face. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

She sat back on her heels, dipping the bed. “Emmie, why are you hurt?”

I turned my head slowly and stared up at the ceiling. How could I tell a five-year-old that my crazy English teacher had wanted to kill me? I couldn’t. So I settled on the same thing I’d told her ever since I’d woken up with her next to me. “I was in an accident.”

“With Hayden?”

My heart squeezed. I’d only been awake for a little while, and Olivia was the only person I’d seen. “Yes, with Hayden.” Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t like accidents.”

“I know, honey, but everything is okay now.”

“You promise? No more accidents?”

I smiled, but it was more of a wince. When I’d first woken up, I’d hobbled into the bathroom and gotten a good look at myself. Half my face looked like someone had pummeled it. I had a knot the size of a golf ball on the side of my head. Even now, every inch of skin hurt, every muscle felt torn, and every bone ached, but my leg and wrists had suffered far worse. Olivia said I had over a hundred stitches, so I deducted eighty from that. I couldn’t see most of my hands; they were wrapped in heavy gauze.

“Emmie?”

“No more accidents. I promise.” I started to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced me back down. I hit the pillow, grimacing. I felt out of it, tired and so damn thirsty. “Olivia, want to do me a favor?”

Her head bobbed eagerly.

“Can you get me something to drink?”

“I can get you juice. I can help.”

“Juice would be great. Olivia” She was already off the bed and at the door. “Olivia, I love you.”

“I love you, Emmie!” Then she took off flying from my room. I could hear her little footsteps all the way down the stairs.

Slowly, I tried to push myself back up again. It didn’t work. I stared at the ceiling until my eyes started to drift shut. The next thing I knew, Cromwell was pulling my desk chair across the room and sitting by the bed.

“Where’s Olivia?”

“You were asleep when she brought the juice up.” He motioned at the bed stand. There my juice sat. My mouth watered. “She’s with Liz. Do you think you can sit up?”

With his careful help, I was able to sit up long enough. My throat burned, but I downed the entire glass before lying back down. “I feel… weird.”

“You were given some pain medication at the hospital, and again this morning. You don’t remember that?”