To make matters worse, Chuck Ryan arrived before they could get me away safely.

"Imia!" He shouted in horror when he saw me lying on a stretcher.

"I'm all right, Cha-Daddy." I sighed. "I'm fine."

He turned to the nearest emergency medical attendant for additional advice. I simply ignored him and began to think about some of the puzzling images that were spinning around in my mind. As they lifted me out of the van, I saw a deep dent in the bumper—a dent that clearly matched the contours of Roger's shoulders...... It's as if he had been propped up on this car, and the metal frame had been crushed and deformed.

At that time, his family watched from afar, with different expressions, ranging from disapproval to anger, but there was no concern for their brother's safety.

I tried to come up with a logical answer to explain everything I saw – one that would negate the assumption that I was insane.

Naturally, the ambulance, escorted by a police car, arrived at the county hospital. What struck me as ridiculous was that they didn't let me down at all and carried me all the way. To make matters worse, Roger easily slipped out of the hospital gates on his own. I gritted my teeth and gurgled them.

They wheeled me into the emergency room, a long room separated by plastic curtains between the beds in a row. A nurse wrapped a blood pressure monitor around my arm and a thermometer on my tongue. Since no one bothered to pull up the plastic curtain and leave me some **, I am no longer obligated to wear that silly-looking neck brace. As soon as the nurse walked away, I immediately unfastened the velcro and threw it on the bed.

Another group of hospital staff rushed in, and another stretcher was carried onto my bed. I recognized it as Moore Ham, who was in politics class with me, with a blood-stained bandage on his head. Moore looks a hundred times worse than me. But he stared at me uneasily.

"Imiya, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, Moore - you look scary, are you alright?" As we spoke, the nurse began to unwrap his soiled bandages, revealing numerous shallow scars on his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored my words. "I thought I'd knock you to death! I drove too fast and hit the ice by mistake......" he winced as one of the nurses started applying medicine to his face.

"Don't worry, you didn't hit me."

"How can you dodge it so quickly? You were there, and then you're gone......"

"Hmm...... Roger pulled me away. ”

He looked confused. "Who?"

"Roger Wright -- he's standing next to me." I'm a lame liar, and my voice doesn't sound convincing at all.

"Wright? I didn't notice him...... Oh, I guess it's because it happened so fast. Is he okay? ”

"I think so. He's somewhere here, but they didn't immobilize him on a stretcher. ”

I knew I wasn't crazy. What the hell is going on? I have no way of explaining what I'm seeing.

They put me in a wheelchair and pushed me for a head x-ray. I told them I was fine, everything was fine, and I didn't even get hit in any way. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse told me I had to talk to the doctor first. So, I was trapped in the emergency room, waiting, and harassed by Moore's gushing apologies: he promised that he would replenish mine. I tried countless times to convince him that I was okay, but he kept blaming himself. In the end, I closed my eyes and ignored his presence. He continued to talk in frustration.

"Is she asleep?" A heavenly voice asked. I opened my eyes quickly.

Roger stood at the end of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It's not easy – maybe it's more natural to wink.

"Hi Roger, I'm sorry—" Moore started again.

Roger held up a hand to stop him.

"If there is no bloodshed, it is not a foul." He spoke, revealing his neat teeth. He walked over and sat on the edge of Moore's bed, his face facing me. Then, again, he pouted and grinned.

"So, what is their verdict on you?" He asked me.

"I didn't have any problems at all, but they just wouldn't let me go," I complained. "How did you manage to not be tied up on a gurney like we did?"

"It's all the work of the man you know." He replied. "But don't worry, I'm here to get you out of here."

Then, a doctor came around the corner. My mouth opened wide. He was young, blond, and fair-skinned...... Also, he's more handsome than any movie star I've ever met.

However, his complexion was too pale. He looked tired and had black circles under his eyes. According to Chuck's description, this should be Roger's father.

"So, Miss Ryan," said Dr. Wright in a very charming voice, "how do you feel?" ”

"I'm fine." I replied, hoping this was the last time I said it.

He walked over and turned on the wall lamp on my head.

"Your X-rays don't look serious," he said. "Do you have a headache? Roger said your head hit hard.

"My head is fine." I repeated, sighed, and glared at Roger a little.

The doctor's cold fingers scrutinized my head gently. I winced, and he noticed.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"It doesn't hurt, really." I've had a more painful experience.

I heard a sneer, and I looked around, and saw Roger smiling as if he were a benefactor. I narrowed my eyes.

"Alright, your father is in the waiting room—you can go back with him now. However, if you feel dizzy, or have any vision problems, be sure to come back for a follow-up. ”

"Can't I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Chuck trying to show concern.

"I'm afraid you'll have to take it easy today."

I glared at Roger. "Then he can go back to school?"

"Somebody has to go back and spread the good news that we've survived." Roger said smugly.

"Actually," Dr. Wright corrected. "Most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."

"Oh no!" I said, covering my face with my hands.

Dr. Wright raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to stay here?" ”

"No, never!" I persevered, threw my legs off the bed, and jumped off the ground as fast as I could. It was almost too much—I swayed, and Dr. Wright grabbed me. He looked a little worried.

"I'm fine." I reassured him. There's no need to tell him that my balance problems have nothing to do with hitting the head.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain." He suggested as he steadied me.

"It didn't hurt that much." I persisted.

"Sounds like you're pretty lucky." Dr. Wright said, smiling and signing my form with an elegant gesture.

"Lucky Roger happened to be standing next to me." I corrected, glaring hard at the title of my medical record.

"Oh, well, yes." Dr. Wright agreed, suddenly taking a keen interest in the piece of paper in front of him. Then he looked away, looked at Moore, and went to the next bed. It struck me: the doctor knew the inside story.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay here a little longer." He said to Moore and began to examine his wounds.

As soon as the doctor turned around, I immediately moved to Roger's side.

"Can I talk to you?" I whispered. He took a step back, his jaw tightening.

"Your father is waiting for you." He squeezed the words out between his teeth.

I glanced at Dr. Wright and Moore.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you alone." I emphasize.

He glared at me, then turned around and strode across the long room. I almost had to trot to keep up with him. We turned the corner and had just come down a short hallway when he turned to face me.

"What do you want to do?" He asked, sounding angry. His eyes were cold.

His unfriendliness made me feel threatened. What I said was far from the gunpowder effect I wanted. "You owe me an explanation." I reminded him.

"I saved your life - I don't owe you anything."

The resentment in his voice made me flinch. "You promised."

"Imia, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." He said categorically.

I was enraged. I glared at him boldly. "I don't have any problems with my brain."

He glared back. "What do you want from me, Imia?"

"I want to know the truth." I say. "I want to know why I'm lying to you"

"What do you think happened?" He shouted.

I couldn't hold back any longer, and blurted out like a cannon.

"All I know is that you're not next to me at all - Moore doesn't see you either, so don't tell me my head hit too hard. The van was going to hit us - but it didn't, your hand got a dent on it - you got a dent in the other car, but you didn't hurt at all - the van would have crushed my legs, but you lifted it up...... "I know how crazy those words sound, but I just can't stop." I was so angry that I could feel the tears about to fall. I gritted my teeth and tried to push the tears back.

He looked at me in disbelief. But his face tensed, defensive.

"You think I lifted a wagon off you?" His tone was questioning my sanity, but it made me even more suspicious. It sounds like the perfect guts words of a skilled actor.

I just nodded, my jaw tightened.

"You know, no one is going to believe that." His voice was now almost mocking.

"I'm not going to tell anyone." I said word for word, trying to keep my anger under control.

A look of surprise flashed across his face. "What's the use, then, of saying that?"

"It's important to me." I persisted. "I don't like to lie - so it's better to have a reason for me to do it."

"Can't you just say thank you and let this pass?"

"Thank you." I waited, expecting with rage.

"You're not going to leave it at that, are you?"

"Yes."

"In that case...... I hope you enjoy the disappointment. ”

We were silent, glaring at each other. I was the first to open my mouth, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his beautiful, iron-clad face. It's like staring at an angel of destruction, trying to make him lower his eyes.

"Why are you asking for such trouble?" I asked coldly.

He paused, and for a moment a look of unexpectedly fragility appeared on his bewildered face.

"I don't know." He whispered.

Then, he turned his back to me and walked away.

I was so mad that it took a few minutes for me to control my emotions and force myself to leave. It wasn't until I could walk that I slowly walked towards the end of the hallway.

I was worried, but the waiting room was more unpleasant than I had imagined. Looks like all the people I know in Victoria are here, and they're all staring at me. Chuck rushed at me, and I had to raise my hand in surrender.

"I'm fine." I grimaced him. I was still angry, and I had no interest in small talk.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Wright showed me and he said I was fine and could go home." I sighed. Jack, Mary, and Ike were all there, and they started to move closer to us. "Let's go." I urged.

Chuck reached out a hand and put it behind my back, but it didn't touch me, and led me towards the glass door of the exit. I awkwardly waved goodbye to my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't have to worry. It's a great relief to be in a police car, and it's the first time I've felt that way.

Along the way, we were all silent. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I could barely notice that Chuck was still there. I'm sure Roger's self-preservation in the hallway only proves that the extraordinary things I see are real, even though I have a hard time believing them to be true.

When we got home, Chuck finally spoke.

"Hmm...... You'll have to give Tia a call. He hung his head and said with a weak heart.

I was terrified. "You told her!"

"I'm sorry."

I stepped out of the car and slammed the door of the patrol car with an unnecessary force.

Of course, my mom had a seizure. I had to tell her over and over again that I felt good, and said at least thirty times before she calmed down. She begged me to go home—completely forgetting the fact that there was no one at home at this time—but her pleas were more easily rejected than I had thought. I was fascinated by Roger's mysterious behavior. And, I'm also obsessed with Roger himself, more than a little. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I should, like any normal, clear-headed person would do, flee from Victoria. But I didn't.

That night, I decided to go to bed early, as usual. Chuck kept looking at me worriedly, which made me even more irritable. Halfway through, I stopped and went to the bathroom to get three tablets of Tylenol. The pills were really helpful and when the pain was no longer so bad, I fell into a deep sleep.

That night, I dreamed of Roger Wright for the first time......