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"I'm fine... I should be," Alex said in a low voice, and Caroline turned to look out the window,w, too... his room had a great view, but she couldn't even admire the view. "I don't know what to say to you right now... I don't even know where to begin" Caroline started... she sighed deeply and glanced at Alex who was slowly been drawn into a daze once again.... his face was neutral and one would only think he had a fever or something, but what was happening was far worse than a fever... it was depleting and could ruin someone... it was a deep feeling of betrayal by one's family and that was the worse thing ever that she didn't wish on anyone... like Michelle, she wished there was a way she could fix everything... "Your mother is here to see you" She told Alex, but didn't get any reaction from him... he sat there in silence and stared at the bird that had landed close to the window... "She regrets what she did...she was terrified of your uncle and was afraid of what he was going to do to her", Caroline said, but Alex was still silent... "Do you think you could forgive her..." Caroline asked the question that had been on her mind since she walked into the room and saw Alex. "Aunt Caro,", Alex said in a low voice and turned to look at his aunt, who was the closest thing he had to a mother. When he was little, she had been the one who checked up on him in the house where his mother had left him all alone... she took him and Patrick to the playground together and always tried to cheer him up... she had made his childhood bearable for him... a warm smile appeared on his face as he stared at his aunt. "Thank you, Alex said... Juliet slowly started to walk to where Michelle was standing, a deep frown on her face... "How is he?" She asked as soon as Juliet was close enough, and Juliet almost scoffed... she was mad at Michelle and mad that she was trying to act like Alex's mother now when it was too late... She was mad that before she met Alex he had to go through so much pain all on his own with no one he could confide in because his mother was too selfish to get close to him... "What do you think?" She answered, trying her best to hold back her anger when she thought about how pale Alex looked when she first saw him at Michelle's house. And she was even more mad about the fact that it took Michelle so long to come to check on Alex. Maybe it was because she had such a good mother, that was why she couldn't quite understand Michelle no matter how much she wanted to... She drew in a sharp breath and let out a deep breath to calm her nerves so she wouldn't snap... "Can I have a word with you," Michelle said in a low voice. Andie nodded, and they both walked to a more silent part where a vending machine was... Michelle took a seat while Juliet bought them both a drink. She handed one to Michelle and Michelle's eyes travelled from her face to Juliet's hand... she took the drink and held it in her hand without opening it, and they both sat there in silence... Juliet didn't open her drink either... "He told me everything", Juliet started, and Michelle turned to look at her, "what did he tell you," She said in a low voice, and Juliet sighed deeply... "About what he saw and how you left him", she answered... "oh", Michelle muttered, and silence found a way between the both of them once again till Michelle broke it. "You know you must hate me then" " she said in a low voice, and Juliet nodded. "I do... anytime I see you, I remember the look in his eyes when he told me everything, and I can't help but resent you", Juliet said and stood up... "You should go in to see him," She said and left Michelle sitting on her own... ________________________ ________________________ When Caroline was done talking with Alex she gave him a warm hug before she finally left him alone in his room... and when she opened the door Michelle was standing right outside with a hesitant look on her face... she patted Michelle's shoulder as she walked past her and gave her an assuring smile and Michelle nodded and walked into Alex room... Alex was still standing by the window when she walked in and like he knew she was in his room, he turned to look at her mad Michelle froze in her tracks... the both of them staring at each other in silence... she walked fully into his room and Alex walked over to his bed and sat down... he said nothing to her and Michelle stood a few feets away from him, her heart racing as she stared at her fingers that she was fiddling with... "How are you feeling?" She asked in a low voice, the first question that came to her mind... "fin,e" Alex answered, ed, and silence returned between them... Michelle wanted to tell him that she was sorry but she couldn't get the words out... "I'm glad you are", Michelle sa, id, and Alex noddeSheShe stood there staring at her son and couldn't even bring herself to tell him that she was sorry... "I should get going," She said soon after and turned to leave... "I don't hate you anymore", Alex said before Michelle could leave, and she froze in her tracks... she stood there for a few seconds before she finally walked out of his room, and Alex let out a deep sigh... Juliet gave him a warm hug after Michelle was gone and Alex hugged her back... and buried his face in the nook of her neck... she smelt nice and he wanted to stay like that for a while to calm himself but he knew Juliet was worried about him "I'm fine,", Alex said and broke the hug... a sad smile appeared on his face as he stared at Juliet. She was so pretty... "Can you call Patrick and tell him that I'm awake now?" he asked, and Juliet nodded. She called Patrick up and told him that Alex was okay and had woken up. "What did your mom say?" she asked after ending the call with Patrick, and Alex sighed deeply. "She didn't say much. She asked if I was okay, and she left soon after", Alex responded. Juliet had expected him to snap when Michelle came in the room, but everything had been quiet the whole time and when Michelle walked out of the room she had a sad smile on her face and left with her sister... "Are you alright?" she asked, and Alex shook his head. "No, I'm not" he didn't lie; how could he be alright after what happened... "I didn't want it to be true at first, but now I'm trying to accept it," Alex explained and Juliet held his hand.. she was worried about him and his health... but Alex looked pretty calm about the whole situation... he barely said a few words which made her even more worried... A knock on the door got both their attention, and Dorothy walked in soon after with a nurse behind her... she did a short Checkup on Alex to make sure he was fine, and Alex's eyes were on Juliet the whole time. Their hand are still intertwined... "Everything seems fine... you can go home tomorrow if you want," Dorothy said, and Juliet sighed in relief... Dorothy smiled at Juliet before she left the couple alone in the room...