Jaxon returned a bit later that day, around the moment I started waking up from a drug-induced sleep, and he continued to come visit me during the days that followed.

And around that time, I came to know we were in July, which was around the middle of summer break.

So I did not have to worry about any potential interactions with the main characters.

"Which pair do you prefer?" Jaxon asked, turning his phone to show me images of luxury sunglasses.

A part of me did not want to be in the same room with him, but another part was relieved not to be alone in that hospital room. 

Mostly because I didn't want to risk bringing up the subject about my supposed uncle or any other person who could potentially become my parent at least until I turned 18. Thankfully, Jaxon’s presence had given the nurses the thought that he was my uncle, or at least he was my uncle’s son.

However, his presence, combined with the sleep-inducing medications I was given intravenously, made it difficult for me to plan my next move. 

And I needed to think quickly, because the way things were going, I was going to end up at the Barretts. I still didn't know how to feel about that.

“Emma?” Jaxon called out. 

“How about this one?” I suggested, pointing at a pair that had a golden frame. 

Jaxon gave me a look. 

“What?”

“I should have known you don't have much of a fashion sense,” he sighed. “Why did I think I'd get a good answer from you?”

“But it looks good–”

“Yes, but I don't want to go around and have everyone think I’m rich.”

“But you are,” I stated. 

“Yes, but that's not the point. Pick another one.”

See what I mean about his presence being bothersome?

Many minutes later, after an unwanted conversation —no, lecture— about brands, Jaxon returned to the question I would rather not answer:

“But seriously. What happened to you?”

I sighed, as it had become a habit whenever he asked. 

Fortunately, during the days that had passed, my body was healing. But there were still marks left here and there. Especially because Alice hadn't done a perfect job treating all that I had when I woke up as Emma.

“You do know you can just tell me to back off if I'm coming on strong, right?” he then said.

"I know I said I am nosy, but I also know when to stop when it becomes bothersome.

‘Might as well get it off my chest.’

Then I told him about James.

“Your father hit you?” then yelled Jaxon. 

“Yes,” I nodded. 

At first, I thought he was faking his reaction, but he really didn't know why I was at the hospital. 

‘So he didn’t ask the nurses.’

That put him in a positive light. But I still had to be careful around him.

“I figured you got into an accident or something,” Jaxon said. 

The guy looked at me with a mix of guilt and sympathy. That was one of the reasons I did not want to tell him anything; his reaction made me feel unworthy of his concern. 

The original Emma was the person who truly deserved it. She had endured the abuse for far longer than I had.

“I'm sorry, Emma,” Jaxon then said, making me feel uncomfortable. “I didn't know. But he's in jail, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank God.”

Jaxon continued looking at me. 

“What?”

“And you have amnesia to boot. Maybe it's a good thing you don't remember,” he said. 

I tensed for a moment, having forgotten the amnesia lie. 

‘Wait. Where does he assume the amnesia ends? Does he think it happened before I knew my father did this to me?’

“I don't want to think about it,” I shrugged. “I don’t want to remember.”

“That's why you hesitated in telling me,” Jaxon seemed to fill out for himself. 

“Yeah,” I replied, then an awkward silence descended upon the room. 

“Anyway, how am I like at school?” I asked. 

I didn't want to continue talking about Emma's abuse. So I moved on to ask a question about which I had been curious.

“What do you mean?” Jaxon said.

“Like do I have friends? Do I get good grades? Something like that.”

“... Oh.”

He stammered, not knowing what to say. 

‘Oh crap. That bad?’

I knew Emma's situation at school was bad, but there had been something I wanted to confirm. Most bullied romance books drew the line at mental abuse, which mostly constituted insults. Maybe some light physical abuse from cheerleaders for shock value. However, there was also abuse that bordered on physical violence, as seen in some of the rainbow community's version of bullied romance novels.

I wanted confirmation that the male lead did not strike Emma. Because if he did, it would confirm a previous concern I had: about the novel having been written by an inexperienced writer; that it might as well have been like the at-least-average bullied fics I saw on Watt… Book.

The door to my ward suddenly opened. A nurse was bringing in my meal. 

Jaxon appeared relieved at the interruption.

“Thank you,” I said. 

If there was one thing I liked about the medications, it was that they did not have a significant impact on my appetite. 

After the staff finished serving me, I returned my attention to Jaxon and the topic we were discussing. But then his phone rang. 

He gave an uneasy smile as he stood. 

“I'll be back,” he said, looking glad about the excuse to leave the room and not answer my question. 

‘I bet he’s hoping I forget about what I asked and won’t bring the subject up again.’

I did not understand why he did not tell me straight up. It wasn’t like he was the one getting hurt at the school. 

But his reaction was enough. If there was physical abuse, I needed to be ready to avoid everything Emma went through in the novel.