AJ burst through the door of his house, slamming the door into the wall and throwing his phone across the room.  He was beyond mad and he didn’t even notice the person waiting for him in the living room.

“Hi AJ.”

“Mom! What are you doing here!” AJ yelled.

“Marcus called me and said that you might do something stupid tonight and by the look on your face, I’d say you already did it. Want to tell me what happened?” Denise asked calmly.

“No, I don’t want to talk it!”

Denise sat there for a minute and then asked “Is it that woman?” She asked but she already knew the answer. There was only one person who could make her son that angry.

“Yeah it’s her.” AJ sighed.

“What happened sweetheart?” Denise asked again.

“I found her. Well, Marcus found her. We set up a dinner so I could talk to her and get some things off my chest. Only no one told her I was coming and as soon as I saw her, I went off like a caged animal. I think I said some awful things and, after her cousin told me off, I just left.”

“That’s not like you AJ. I’m surprised” said his mom.

AJ hung his head. As much as his mother was surprised, he was more so. He had never gone off on someone he had never even met. Sure, he’d had his fair share of fights but at least he knew those people first!

“Maybe you should apologize to her and clear the air a little after you’ve cooled off some. It’ll give you both some time to think and for you to figure out some things.”

“What do I need to figure out Ma? There is nothing left for me to figure out.” AJ collapsed onto the sofa next to his mother.

“It seems to me that you have a lot to figure out AJ. You’ve said to all of us that the card is no big deal and this woman means absolutely nothing to you. If that’s the case, why are you acting like this? I’ve seen you date women and break up with them and none of them had made you this crazy. There must be something about this woman.” said Denise.

AJ thought about what his mother had said and decided that he was completely wrong about what he had done. This woman was only trying to be supportive and she had done nothing to him.  But he was still driving himself crazy trying to figure out why she got under his skin.

AJ started to speak but was cut off by pounding on his front door. It sounded like someone was trying to break down the door.

“J, it’s me Marcus! You have to let me in right now!”

AJ ran to the door and it flew open with Marcus just charging right in.

“What is wrong with you man? You look like you just saw a ghost!” AJ said trying to calm the big man down.

“Have you seen the news tonight? Have you watched it yet? Did you see what happened?” yelled Marcus.

“No, I just got home. What’s the matter? What happened? Was it one of the guys?” AJ asked frantically.

“No, no, turn on the news.” Marcus said trying to catch his breath.

“Mom, turn on the news will you?” AJ asked him mom and finally got Marcus to sit down.

As AJ sat on the sofa by his mother, the news reporter came on and was standing next to the scene of a car accident. The car had been mangled and was completely totaled.

Denise whimpered and said “On my god! Who was in that car? Are they ok? Was it someone we know?”

All of a sudden, the news brought up the license of the person who was in the car. It was Alissa Emerson!

_________

Brooke and Lucas raced to the hospital to be with Alissa when she woke up. They rode up to the 4th floor where the officer said he would meet them and answer their questions.  As they ran down the hallway to the waiting room, a doctor was leaving.

“Officer Burgos! What happened? Where is my cousin?” Brooke said frantically.

“Alissa was in a very serious car accident. She is coming out of surgery now. The doctor just left. She’s a lucky girl to be alive. Where was she coming from when the accident occurred?” the officer asked gently.

“She was at Martelli’s with us for dinner and there was a fight and Alissa ran off before any of us could stop her!” Brooke cried out and burst into tears. “It’s all his fault! He started yelling at her and insulting her and she just couldn’t take it. It’s all HIS fault!”

“Who started a fight? Was this at dinner?” Officer Burgos asked.

“AJ McLean! He started a fight with my cousin and she was so upset when she left. It’s my fault too. We kept arguing and none of us noticed her leave! What did we do?” Brooke was hysterically crying at this point. Lucas sat her down and was trying to calm her down when the doctor came back in.

“Is Alissa ok? Is she alright?” Brooke yelled.

“Alissa is a lucky girl.  It was a good thing that she had been wearing her seatbelt or she may not survived the crash.  She just came out of surgery. She has a broken arm, fractured ribs, a concussion, and some facial abrasions. We were most concerned about the gash in her leg.  We got the bleeding under control and thankfully, it didn’t damage any arteries. She’s going to be fine but it’s going to take a while to heal.” the doctor said.  

“We’re going to keep her here for a few days to make sure that everything is healing well and when we send her home, she is going to need someone to watch over her. Does she live with you or on her own?”

Brooke, finally breathing again, said “She lives next to us but she can stay with me at my house. We’ll keep an eye on her and make sure that she is doing whatever she needs to do to heal. Can I see her?”

“I would give her a few minutes to get settled into a room and then you’re more than welcome to come down. You won’t be able to stay very long though.”

“That’s fine. I just need to make sure that she’s ok for tonight and to tell her I love her!” Brooke started to cry again.