Molly hangs up her phone and grabs her keys, she runs down the stairs so fast that Pam and Daniel start yelling at her. She ignores them and gets into her car, driving to the supermarket a few blocks down. She doesn't know which supermarket he was at but she follows the sound of sirens and flashing lights. There's police everywhere, they've cornered off the entrance and Molly can just make out the ruins of a car that's been left at the far end of the parking lot. She gets out and runs over to an officer that's standing guard on the street. She tries to slip by him but he pushes her backwards.

"You can't go in there," he says.

"I need to get in there," she says. "My boyfriend is in there. Was he hit? Is he okay?" Molly holds her mouth as she sees a team of paramedics kneeling down near the car. Charlie's car is still in the lot, and she cries when she looks at it. "Please tell me something!"

"That's your boyfriend?" the officer sighs. "He's involved in a hit and run, he's badly hurt."

"Let me pass, please," she begs. "Please."

He looks at her sadly and then says something into his radio, stepping to the side to let her pass. She runs so fast that she almost falls. The paramedics are lifting someone onto a stretcher and she crashes into the trolley as she looks upon Charlie's unconscious face. There's blood all over him and the wound to his head is severe. She travels in the direction that they push him and she waits as they lift him into the back of the ambulance.

"Can I go with him? Please?" Molly says.

One of the paramedics nods and she jumps up, moving to sit right beside him. She takes his hand, it's cold.

"What's his name?" the paramedic asks her.

"Charlie Park," Molly says.

"Okay, we found his phone but there wasn't any emergency contacts listed. Is there anyone we need to call for you?"

"His mother," Molly sobs, she takes out her phone and scrolls until she finds Samantha's number. She passes him her phone because she wouldn't be able to get a word out right if she had to do it.

The paramedic places the phone to his ear and Molly looks back to Charlie. She squeezes his hand a little tighter, hoping somehow he can feel it so he knows that he isn't alone. The paramedic talks for a few moments and then he passes the phone back over.

"He's going to be okay isn't he?" Molly asks him.

"He's in the best hands," he says.

"But you see these kind of things all the time right? Lots of people survive right?"

"He's sustained some really serious injuries," the man whispers. "Unfortunately, there's no way to tell how bad the damage is until they run tests at the hospital. But they're going to do everything in their power to help him."

Her breath shakes as she looks back to him. Charlie is strong, he's a fighter, and seeing him so vulnerable and helpless doesn't make any sense. She wonders if this is what she looked like to him all those weeks ago and now she is the one that has to hope he finds the hidden strength to live.

When the ambulance stops the paramedic opens the doors and politely gestures for Molly to get out first. She waits further back as a team of doctors come rushing out of the hospital doors and frantic words are exchanged that Molly doesn't understand. They push Charlie through the hallways quickly and she has to jog to keep up. They take him through some double doors and then a doctor stops her from entering.

"You can't go with them," the doctor says. "But we have a private waiting room for family and friends if you wouldn't mind waiting there?"

Molly just nods. He takes her into a spacious room with wooden chairs, a coffee and snack machine and a water dispenser. She goes straight for the water because she feels like she's going to pass out from the dizziness.

"I'll keep you updated as much as I can," the doctor says. "Is there anyone we can call for you?"

She shakes her head and sinks into a chair. She messages Lauren to tell her what's happened and then Pam and Daniel because they've been calling her out of worry. Her words don't seem real yet, none of it does.

Sometime later, Samantha arrives. She's calmer than Molly is and Molly stands up slowly as Samantha pulls her into an embrace.

"What happened?" she asks her.

"I don't know," Molly cries. "He called me and said something about seeing a BMW again like it had been following him and then he said he was going to approach it and. . . I heard this smash. It drove right at him."

"It doesn't make any sense," Sam says, taking a seat on a chair. "Who would want to hurt him?"

Molly suddenly remembers the voice. In her hysteria she had forgotten about it. There was a man's voice, he knew her name, he said he'd be seeing her soon. Her body starts to stiffen. She can't bring herself to say it out loud because that would mean admitting it, it would mean believing in something that will throw her into a world of darkness that is darker than the one she's in now. She knew he was coming for her but he's in prison. It was supposed to be over. But it's far from over.

A lot of time passed. In that time more people arrived. First Perry and Lauren and Lauren just sat beside Molly and took her hand. Then Charlie's friends James and Michael arrived, they sat quietly in the corner with Perry whispering to each other. Pam and Daniel walked in shortly after, they sat on Molly's other side and Pam took Molly's other hand.

"We saw your car on the way here," Daniel says. "You left the keys inside, I brought it here." Daniel passes Molly her keys and she takes them slowly.

The door opens again and everyone looks up, impatiently anticipating the doctor. Instead, two police officers walk inside.

"Hi, Sam," an officer says, greeting her sadly. "Any news yet?"

Sam folds her arms and shakes her head. "Tell me what you know."

"We've run the plates through the system," the officer says as he walks over to the left row of chairs. Sam takes a seat beside him. "The car was reported stolen a few weeks back. The owner lives up in Granite Bay. We've already questioned him and his alibi checks out. Whoever stole this car and hurt your son, they didn't leave anything behind, not even a food wrapper. The car's clean."

"That's not good enough," Sam says through clenched teeth. "Have you checked the CCTV from the grocery store?"

"The cameras weren't in operation; they've been broken for a while. We only have the footage from the street cameras but our analyst is currently still going over them. Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt your son?"

"No," she says. "He used to get into fights and maybe he made a few enemies but he's past all of that now."

"Okay, well if you think of anything then give me a call."

"Thanks, Bill."

Perry suddenly stands up. "You should question Roy Tanner. He and Charlie had a bit of beef a few months back, Charlie pretty much humiliated him in front of half the school."

"Roy Tanner?" the officer says, lightly sighing. "Yeah, I know of him. Alright, I'll stop by his house. Thanks."

Molly watches the officers leave. She wants to tell them but who would believe her? The killer is in custody, he's been charged, he confessed. They'd think she was mad, paranoid. And what if it was Roy? She could be sending the police in a different direction. But the voice, the man, his threat towards her. . . she doesn't know what to do.

"What happened with Roy?" Sam demands from Perry.

"They had a fight," Perry says. "It was put on social media."

Sam falls back into the chair and holds her head in her hands. The door opens again, and Molly stares in confusion as Aubrey walks through slowly. She plays with her fingers at her stomach, her eyes are red as she looks towards Sam.

"Perry told me," she whispers. "I just needed to come; I hope that's okay."

Sam nods, not caring either way. Aubrey looks right at Molly and smiles and then takes a seat in the corner. The waiting is what's killing Molly the most, the knowing that at any second her entire world could be ripped apart when the door next opens.

"Finally," Sam breathes out as she stands up.

The doctor walks in, glancing around the room. "Is Charlie's next of kin here?"

"I'm his mother," Sam says. "Is he okay?"

Pam holds Molly's hand tightly and Molly pinches her eyes closed.

"Your son did sustain some severe injuries," the doctor says. "Two of his ribs were fractured and we had to carefully remove shards of glass from his stomach and his spine. No vital organs were damaged but our main concern right now is Charlie's head injury. Our tests haven't indicated any bleeding on the brain or trauma to the brainstem but there is a slight pressure to his cerebral cortex that we're worried could lead to swelling."

"What does that mean?" Sam asks.

"It means that in order to prevent Charlie's brain from swelling we've had to induce him into a coma. It'll give his brain time to heal and recover and we'll slowly bring him out of the coma in a few days once the pressure subsides."

"What about his memory?" Sam says.

"Unfortunately head injuries are a grey area. It'll be impossible to tell if there's any short-term or long-term effects until he wakes up. We are confident he'll make a full recovery though; your son is very lucky."

Molly takes a deep breath of relief. It's not the best news but it's better than the alternative, the unimaginable.

"Can I see him?" Sam asks.

The doctor nods. "Of course. Just two for now."

Sam instantly looks at Molly and she dries her eyes as she walks across the room. The room is down a few hallways inside the ICU unit, it's a private room and the blinds are drawn. Molly is shaking when she enters, he's so still that he looks dead. They've removed his shirt and his body is covered in stitches and bandages. There's a long line of stitches across the side of his head and small, dry cuts on his face. She stares at the tube that is lodged inside of his throat, it's attached to a ventilator, she knows that it's to help him breathe but she just wants to pull it out. There's so many tubes and wires all across his body but she doesn't focus on that, she stares at his chest as it moves up and down.

"He'll be okay," Sam assures her as she sits beside him. "He's a fighter."

Molly places her hand to his as she sits on his other side. There's a needle stuck into it and another wire that feeds to a bag that hangs above the bed. "He hates hospitals," Molly whispers. "He shouldn't be here."

"Well he doesn't have a choice. This is going to be his new bed for a while."

"I don't know how you've stayed so calm," Molly says. "I've been a wreck for hours." She takes a deep breath and glances down at Charlie's hand. Sam is observing her.

"I'm glad he has you," Sam says. "I used to be so worried about him. But since meeting you, he's changed. I've never seen him as happy as he's been these last few weeks. You made him a better person, Molly and I haven't said this before but. . . thank you."

Molly smiles. "I didn't do anything."

"You did more than you'll ever know. I need to call Jaz, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

When Molly's alone she takes one look at him and falls apart. Charlie is usually the person that puts her back together but not this time. This time she's on her own and she's never been more afraid. But he's alive and he'll recover, that's the main thing, that's the most important thing. Whoever did this won't win. They tried to take him from her, to isolate her, but he's holding on and she has to hold on too.