Read Collateral Damage (From the Damage) for Free Online

his elbows on the door, bending down to talk to Kendall. “You’re welcome to join. You, too, blondie.”
    Kelly scowled at him and shoved the gear stick into drive. “We gotta go,” she said to Kendall.
    But Kendall opened her door.
    Kelly grabbed her arm. “You’re not going with him, are you?”
    “Yeah. So?”
    “So you don’t even know him. This is crazy.”
    “Thanks, Mom.” Kendall wrenched her arm free and stepped out of the car.
    “Seriously, Kendall. Get in.” When Kendall only slammed the door in her face, Kelly yelled out the window, “She’s a minor, you know.”
    But the guy just laughed at her and looped an arm around Kendall’s shoulder, leading her over to the jeep. “She’s nuts,” Kelly said, getting out her cell phone. Using the notepad function, she typed in the Jeep’s license plate number as it drove away. “Completely nuts.”
    Since she was alone, she decided to go back up to the hospital to visit Meagan. Stopping by the gift shop, she picked up a cute little stuffed teddy-bear with a ribbon tied into a bow and a box of chocolates. After breaking her leg, she thought Meagan might need the sugar.
    When she walked into her room, she found Meagan and Trevor watching a football game on the small TV. Trevor looked engrossed, but Meagan seemed like she needed a break.
    Fighting a smile, Kelly walked into the room and set the gifts down a table. “I bet Alex is watching that,” she offered. “In 221.”
    “Hint taken.” He turned the TV off and stood up, turning to Meagan. “Are you going to be okay?”
    She nodded, giving him a tight smile. “I’ll be fine.”
    “Okay.” He turned to Kelly. “Can I see your phone for a second?”
    “Sure…”  Kelly narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but handed it over.
    He began pushing away at the buttons as he explained, “I’m just gonna program my number so you can text me when you leave. It’s really important that Meagan isn’t alone right—”
    “Trevor,” Meagan interrupted with a nervous chuckle. “I’ll be fine. You can go.”
    “What’s going on?” Kelly asked, moving past Trevor to sit with Meagan.
    “This guy at school—” Trevor started, but Meagan interrupted him again.
    “The nurses know,” she said, sounding embarrassed. “I’ll be fine while you go downstairs for a few minutes.”
    “Alright,” he said, handing Kelly’s phone back over. “But I programmed the number just in case.”
    “No problem,” Kelly said, turning back to Meagan as Trevor left. “Is someone bothering you?”
    Meagan nodded, “Seth. He caused the car accident.”
    “What? Why?”
    “I don’t know.” She leaned her head back against the pillow, looking tired. “He’s fantasized this…relationship between us. I guess he got mad that I wasn’t playing along.”
    “Seriously?” she asked. “Is he in jail?”
    “Not yet,” Meagan said. “But I really don’t want to talk about that. You don’t look like you’re at the top of your game, either,” she concluded after giving Kelly a thorough once-over. “What’s going on?”
    Kelly shook her head. “I wouldn’t feel right talking about it, with everything you’re going through.”
    “You saw how overprotective Trevor was…well it’s always like that. Seth is all he can talk about. So please, make me feel normal and dish. Let me focus on someone else’s problems for a change.”
    Chuckling, Kelly reached over and grabbed the box of chocolates, handing them over to Meagan. “ Only if you’re sure.”
    “Absolutely ,” she said, breaking into the box. “Is it about Alex? How’s he doing?”
    “He’s fine,” she said. “At least fine enough to be flirting with Kay this morning.”
    Meagan raised an eyebrow in question as she bit into a piece of chocolate. “Are you sure he was flirting with her?”
    “Oh, I’m sure. Trust me, I know when Alex is flirting. He likes her.”
    “You look sad about it.”
    She shrugged. “It just kind of sucks…he’s