After dropping Xiu off at the airport and saying goodbye to her, her parents take us back to their house to treat us to some authentic Chinese cuisine. We all sit at the table, and I pet Mei while our plates are being placed in front of us.

Xiu's parents take their culture very seriously, and I admire how zealous they are to it. We dig into the delicious pork and noodles, and we do it in silence. After finishing the meal, Xiu's mother looks at me and smiles.

"Oh my, Alexandrianna!" She exclaims, and her eyes are as wide as saucers.

"What, Mrs. Lee?" I ask, confused at her surprise.

"I'm just now noticing that your skin is looking so much clearer than before! Not saying that you had bad skin or anything, but you're radiating." Mrs. Lee says, and I blush.

I don't see how. I forgot to wash my face today, and I haven't been blessed with the sex afterglow.

Savannah just smirks at me, which causes me to blush even more, and I'm sure that my cheeks are extremely pink or about to transform into the deepest shade of red possible.

"Don't be embarrassed, Alex. It's a complement!" Savannah says, and I glare at her.

"I know that, Savannah." I say quickly, and I return my eyes to my lap.

"I just can't believe that Xiu's going to college. It seems like yesterday she was just learning how to walk." Mr. Lee says, changing the subject.

Thank you for getting us out of that conversation.

"I know, honey. I'm so proud of her, she worked so hard and now she'll be even closer to reaching her dream career." Mrs. Lee says, becoming teary eyed again.

"Yeah, we knew that she'd get accepted into any college, really. She's extremely smart, which is not something you could say about me." Savannah jokingly adds, and we all laugh.

"You all are very smart ladies." Mr. Lee says, and we thank him.

"You all should be proud of yourselves. You've graduated high school, and now you're all independent and ready to succeed in whatever you plan to be." Mrs. Lee says, giving us her warm smile.

Xiu definitely got her solicitousness and politeness from her parents, and I always love to visit them. Besides Rian's parents, Xiu's parents have become another home to me. They're so loving and respectful and they treated me like I was their own daughter, and whenever I'd come over after my mother would abuse me, they'd comfort me.

We all stand up, and suddenly I'm pulled into Mrs. Lee's arms for an embrace, and Mr. Lee is hugging Savannah. The both of us say goodbye to them, and we make our way to my car.

The yellow of my car is shiny and the light shines through my tinted windows, slightly making the interior visible. I unlock the car, and the headlights flash before we both get inside. Savannah and I sit in silence before I stick the keys in the ignition, and she turns on the radio, blasting our favorite radio station. One of our favorite songs plays, but we don't sing along because it just isn't the same when Xiu isn't with us.

Already, there are differences.

"Man, it feels so different without Xiu." Savannah sighs, and I nod.

"I know, but then again, you and I still have each other. There's just one puzzle piece missing, and we'll all come back together." I say, and she smiles.

"Damn dude, that was so poetic. You should be a fucking writer or some shit." Savannah says with a chuckle, and I laugh too.

I guess the sadness of Xiu's departure wasn't meant to last very long. I mean, we're already cracking jokes and back to our happy selves again.

I think that's what Xiu would want. She wouldn't like for us to mope nonstop, because then she probably wouldn't enjoy being in such an amazing city.

I wouldn't want to ruin her whole experience.

"I don't think I'd be very good at that. That was just something in my head that I think about when I'm with Rian." I admit, and her smirk is plastered on her face again.

"Oooh, girl! You think that you two fit like a puzzle piece? In what way?" She asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Not in a sexual way, a romantic way." I clarify, and she shakes her head.

"Sexual things can be romantic." Savannah adds, and I smile.

"You're so dirty minded, Vannah." I chuckle.

"Yep," She exclaims. "It's gonna stay that way, too."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't want you to change that about yourself. It'd be kind of weird to not hear you make sexual innuendos every few minutes. It's kind of endearing." I remind her, and she winks.

"You're damn right it is."

I pull out of the driveway, and I slowly start to drive along the road and Xiu's house continues to get smaller and smaller through my rear view mirror before it disappears.

"You want to hang out tomorrow? You can come over, or I can come over and we can just chill." I suggest, and she snorts.

"Netflix and chill?" She replies before bursting into laughter.

I pull over due to how much I'm laughing, and I smack on the steering wheel as my laughter goes silent. Savannah cackles loudly, clapping her hands and stomping her feet. We slight resemble those hyenas from The Lion King as we continuously guffaw and snort in a maniacal way.

This is one of the many reasons why I'd also go to Savannah if I was in a bad mood.

She's fucking crazy, and she knows how to make me laugh.

"I'm actually crying tears! Dude, stop! Seriously, stomach hurts." I exclaim, wiping the tears from my eyes.

We both stop after a while, sighing and coughing and trying to relax ourselves after our laughing episode. I begin to drive again so that I can drop her off at her house.

"No, I have work tomorrow." Savannah informs me, and I frown.

"Ugh, you always work. We need to hang out on a day that you're off." I say, and she nods.

"I totally agree."

Once we arrive at her apartment complex, we both hug each other and I watch her until she's finally inside. I pick up my phone, and I decide to call up Rian, but he doesn't answer, so I decide to leave him a voicemail.

I get back home, and Bruno stands at the door with his food bowl in his mouth. I smile as he looks up at me with his wide eyes, and I pour his food in the bowl while he eagerly bounces around.

I sit down on the couch, and I sigh. Lately I've been thinking about Daniel and Emmanuelle, and wondering how they've been doing. You'd think that after spending so much time with them that I'd try to focus on myself or my friends or Rian, but everybody has been on my mind.

I grab my phone, deciding to dial Vanessa. I wait for what seems like a while before I can hear voices in the background.

"Hello?" Vanessa and I say in unison, and I chuckle.

"It's me, Alex." I say.

"Hi Alex! How've you and Rian been doing?" Vanessa cheerfully asks, and I smile.

"Fine, we've been great." I say hesitantly, and I frown.

"Are you sure? You don't sound so great." She asks, sounding genuinely concerned about me.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I reply, and she sighs.

"I was just calling to let you know about my dad. He's in the hospital again, but my mom said that you guys shouldn't come up again. She wouldn't want you guys to be burdened by this again, especially Rian because he's back at work." Vanessa explains.

"Are you kidding? We can come back up there again. This is your father, and we wouldn't want to—"

"The people at the hospital say that it isn't serious, and that he should be out by morning. That's why our mother recommend that you guys not come." Vanessa finishes, and I do a sigh of relief.

"How is your mom, by the way?" I ask curiously.

"She's been doing good, despite him being in the hospital again, she's a lot better. I don't think her depression will relapse for a while." Vanessa says, but I disagree.

How does she know that's entirely true?

"Should I tell Rian?" I ask her, and she gasps.

"No! Don't tell him, I don't want him to be worried."

"I don't want him to be worried either, but I don't want him to be in the dark about what's going on." I add, and she's about to say something, but then stops.

"Shit, you're right." Vanessa mutters.

"So you agree that I should tell Rian?" I repeat.

"I'm not stopping you." Vanessa says.

Rian is just now getting back to his normal self, and he isn't so stressed out about his father. I don't know if I do want to tell him, simply because I don't want to make his happiness short lived.

Maybe I shouldn't, maybe I should.

Either way would tear him apart.

~~~

"Rian motherfucking Peterson!" Jordan exclaims while smacking my back, and I chuckle.

I didn't even have to turn myself around to recognize Jordan's voice, and he pops up in my vision right in front of me. His dark brown eyes look like he's going through an adrenaline rush, and his smile is wide.

Did he do some drugs or something? He's usually never this excited in the morning.

"Yes, Jordan?" I ask while busying myself with some CT scans that I just received.

"It's nice to finally see you back in the hospital!" Jordan says.

"It feels good to be back. I actually kind of missed it while I was in Sacramento." I admit, and he chuckles.

"Yeah, you missed it. Dr. Raymond almost had a breakdown due to the stress." Jordan whispers, and my eyebrows raise.

"Why was he so stressed?" I ask monotonously, not really caring about hospital gossip.

"Oh, come on. You know how Dr. Raymond is always under your ass and kissing your ass, and without you here, the hospital was kind of a wreck." Jordan admits, and I look at him again.

"The hospital must've been busier when I was gone, huh?" I ask, beginning to type information into the computer.

"I've never seen it so packed, man. I guess Dr. Raymond believes that you're the doctor that keeps everything flowing." Jordan sarcastically adds, and I give him a glare.

"Dr. Raymond doesn't kiss my ass, thank you very much, and it's just because the both of us have formed a special bond." I inform him, and he rolls his eyes.

"Ah, that's what it is." Jordan says in fake surprise.

I walk away from him while holding a file, and Jordan walks next to me. He beckons to someone, and I see Elijah burst out of a room and speed walk over to us.

"Rian, it's nice to see you back from Sacramento!" Elijah cheers, and I smile.

"How's your dad?" Jordan asks, and my smile transforms into pursed lips.

"He's fine. He's finally out of the hospital, and he was looking great so I don't think we have to worry anymore. Not yet, anyway." I say, and they nod simultaneously.

"Not yet? What's that supposed to mean?" Jordan asks, and I roll my eyes at him.

"You're a doctor, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to know that means."

"His condition's—" Jordan stops briefly, taking a moment to think. "Terminal?"

"Unfortunately, that's what it has come down to."

The both of them are silent, and I'm guessing that they're trying to process the information that I just fed them. We continue to walk side by side, and Elijah sighs.

"Damn man, I'm sorry." Elijah mumbles.

"Don't be. We all knew that it was going to come down to that at some point." I gloomily reply.

"We can't be sorry for you?" Jordan asks, arching his eyebrow at me.

As I'm about to answer him, someone taps my shoulder. I turn around, and my jaw instantly clenches and my cheeks heat up out of anger.

"Could you please help my son? He's very sick." Mrs. Hawkins pleads, but then her eyes widen once she recognizes me.

Alex's mother.

Oh, hell no.

"Help your son? After you abused your daughter, the woman who I love? I don't think so." I say through gritted teeth.

"Look, I know that you probably won't forgive me for breaking into your flat and hurting Alex, but I need you to help me."

"You know there are plenty of other doctors, right? Why come to me, huh?" I ask, full out outrage.

I hand the files to Elijah, and his eyes are filled with confusion. Jordan just shrugs before walking off to flirt with a nurse, and Elijah also goes off down the corridor. I grab Mrs. Hawkins by the wrist so hard that my knuckles turn white as a result of how deep my nails are digging into her skin, and I drag her into a room. She sits down in a chair, looking more than embarrassed and ashamed of herself.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen closely." I admonish.

"Dr. Peterson—" Mrs. Hawkins starts, but I slam my hand on the table which makes her jump.

"Don't talk! You will not march into my workplace and try to put what you did to Alex and I in the past, because you've messed her up so bad!"

"I—, I know." She admits, and my jaw drops.

"Wow," I say, shocked. "You actually admitted to your fucked up mistakes. I get that you're trying to be noble, but it's too late for that."

"Please, don't curse in front of my son. I wouldn't just curse in front of someone you know and care about." Mrs. Hawkins squeaks, and I groan.

I look down, finally noticing the little boy. He also has brown eyes and brown hair, and his cheeks are still chubby like he still has baby fat. He just stares up at me inquisitively before resting his head on Mrs. Hawkins's shoulder.

So innocent, so pure, so naïve.

This poor little boy is probably so unaware of the damage that his mother has caused.

"Oh, so you wouldn't curse in front of someone I love, but you'd break into my house and abuse them to the point of bruising?!" I shout.

"You're right, I'm sorry. That was kind of contradictory compared to the heinous actions that I've done over the past few years." Mrs. Hawkins adds.

"There is something wrong with you. You lost your husband in a horrible accident, and instead of comforting your daughter, you physically, mentally and emotionally scar her?" I ask, gesturing angrily.

"Don't you dare bring my husband into this!" She yells, rising to her feet.

"I'm only bringing him into this because this all ties in with the abusive environment that Alex was imprisoned in for years. I've healed her, not only by bandaging up her physical wounds, but I've also brought back the life in her that was almost completely gone."

Mrs. Hawkins stays silent, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"She had to have constant reminder that she was a person and that her life had meaning. Nobody should ever have to go through that, especially by their own mother!" I spit.

She opens her mouth to say something, but then taps her feet nervously before remaining quiet.

Of all of the people that I dislike in this world, never has my contempt been so high because of my girlfriend's mother.

I'm so glad I decided to take Alex back to my flat, because who knows what else would've happened to her.

"No one should have nightmares about their mother coming back to hurt or possibly even kill—"

"I'd never kill Alexandrianna!" She exclaims, placing a hand on her chest.

"Don't even try to lie to me! You traumatized that girl so much, that she couldn't even sleep without nightmares." I say, and she weakly nods.

I still remember the tears that formed in her eyes when she had a nightmare about her mother back when we weren't a couple, and my heart continued to break for her.

Sometimes it still does.

"I just wish that I could turn back time and just make all of this disappear." Mrs. Hawkins mewls, but I roll my eyes.

"You always say that, but you never live up to what you promise." I continue, and a tear rolls down her cheek, but that doesn't stop me.

I won't show her any mercy.

"I stupidly let her go home because you genuinely looked like some who would take care of her. But I guess you were a book cover that I blindly judged." I growl.

"I understand that you hate me but—"

"Hate? They say hate is a strong word, but it isn't strong enough to describe my feelings towards you."

"You have every right to hate me, Dr. Peterson. I'm actually admitting to you and to myself that what I did was horrible." She exclaims, and I cross my arms.

"Yeah, after all of the damage has been done you finally realize that you were in the wrong. Man, I can't even stand to look at you."

"I just need the chance to truly apologize to Alexandrianna. This time, it'll be a genuine apology, not a fake one just so that I can lure her into my trap again." Mrs. Hawkins says, and my jaw drops at what she just said.

I don't even care if she's genuinely sorry this time.

I don't even care if she is Alex's mother. I won't let this psychotic woman around my girlfriend.

"If you think that I'm letting you anywhere near Alex again then you're even crazier than I knew you already were." I scold, furrowing my eyebrows at how ridiculous she sounds.

She doesn't retaliate back, so she just stands there while looking defeated. Her son looks up at the both of us, and I feel even more angry for some reason.

He shouldn't have to witness this.

He stands up, and she runs her hand through his hair, but I reach out to grab her wrist to stop her.

"Let go of me, Dr. Peterson." Mrs. Hawkins says quietly, and I wipe my hand on my pants.

"Just get out and find another doctor to take care of your son. Or better yet, maybe you should take your ass to another hospital so that we won't have to deal with you." I suggest.

"Dr. Peterson please just—"

"I said get out!" I yell, and my voice echoes slightly in the room.

She grabs his hand, walking quickly past me and out of the room. I shut the door, and I run my finger through my hair and try to think about what the hell just happened.

I take out my phone, and I see that Alex called me and left me a voicemail. I take the phone and press it to my ear and listen to Alex's voice, and I'm already calmed down.

"Hey baby, I just wanted to call you and ask you how your day has been going. I—," She stops, chuckling briefly before sighing. "I miss you."

I smile as her voice continues, and she makes a kissing noise before the voicemail ends.

I've missed my girl.

With all of the work that I've had recently and Alex spending as much time with Xiu as possible, we haven't really had the time to just be together. Not be together in a sexual way, but just being in each other's presence. It's been a while since we've been on a date, and we definitely haven't been as intimate with each other as we used to be.

I've really missed my girl.

I leave the room, and I'm slightly startled to see Jordan and Elijah both standing there with the same widened eyes and dropped jaw on their faces.

"Dude, what in the actual hell just happened with you and that lady?" Jordan asks, obviously very flabbergasted.

"That woman is Alex's mother." I blatantly say, but then I feel a twinge in my chest.

I don't think Alex would like the fact that I'm just telling them about her mother.

"Your girlfriend Alex?" Elijah asks, raising his eyebrows.

"What other Alex do I know?" I ask, and he shrugs.

"What's the deal with her mother? Is she like an alcoholic or something? Druggie?" Jordan asks curiously, and I shake my head.

"Abuse." I say flatly.