I remember waking up in a hospital bed. At first I didn’t know where I was, so I looked around feeling confused. Then I saw Taylor seated in a chair by my bed. He was fast asleep with his head was on the side of the bed, and his hand was in mine.

“Tay? Taylor?” I said hoarsely as I shook him gently.

Taylor looked at me groggily as he sat up. “You’re awake,” he said with a smile spreading across his face.

“Is the baby okay?” I asked worriedly.

“You’re fine. The baby’s fine,” Taylor replied.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I sighed. “How’s Zac?”

“He’s unconscious,” Taylor said.

“Oh no,” I cried.

“But the doctor’s think he’s going to be fine,” Taylor added quickly.

“This is all my fault,” I whispered.

“Hey, nothing’s your fault,” Taylor said softly as he sat down on the bed with me. “Zac is going to be fine. It was just an accident.”

“An accident?” I exclaimed. “That car rear-ended us on purpose.”

“What?” Taylor gasped.

“Yeah, Zac said he thought the car was following us, and when we stopped at the light, it rear-ended us,” I explained. “Who was in the car?”

“We don’t know,” Taylor said shaking his head. “They fled the scene before the ambulance and police got there.”

“Oh, and that wasn’t your first hint that this was intentional?” I asked sarcastically.

“Ede, settle down,” Taylor sighed. “I’m going to go get a doctor so they can check on you, and I’m going to see if there’s any news on Zac.”

“Maybe you should call the cops while you’re at it,” I suggested.

“I will, baby,” Taylor nodded as he kissed me softly on the lips before he left the room.

After the cops came and asked me several questions, I was quite tired.

“When do I get to go home?” I asked Taylor with a yawn.

“Tomorrow morning,” Taylor replied.

“Ugh, I don’t wanna stay here tonight,” I whined.

“I know,” Taylor nodded. “But the doctor’s just want to keep you here for observation in case there are any complications with the baby.”

“I thought the baby was fine,” I said worriedly.

“Oh, it is,” Taylor replied. “It’s just a safety precaution, okay?”

“Fine,” I sighed. “So, any news on Zac?”

“Not yet,” Taylor replied.

“How’s your mom handling this?” I asked.

“She’s a little worried, but she wouldn’t be herself if she wasn’t,” Taylor shrugged.

“That’s probably true,” I nodded. I sighed softly.

“You feeling okay?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Just a little backache and headache. Nothing I can’t handle,” I replied.

“God, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Taylor commented after a brief silence. “You had me really worried.”

“Well, you know I’m a pretty tough girl,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah,” Taylor nodded. “That’s what I like about you.”

“Really? I thought it was the sex,” I joked.

“Well, that too,” Taylor grinned as a nurse came into the room.

“Visiting hours are over, sir,” she said.

“Well, I’m staying here with my wife,” Taylor replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the nurse said before she left the room.

“Tay, you don’t have to stay,” I said. “You look exhausted.”

“I wanna be here with you,” Taylor replied looking into my eyes.

“Well, I want you here with me too,” I said.

“Good, because you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” Taylor smiled.

“I know,” I nodded.

The truth was I didn’t want Taylor to leave. I didn’t want to be left alone. I couldn’t believe someone had actually rear-ended Zac’s car on purpose, and now we were stuck in the hospital. I had no idea who would do such a thing. Why would anyone want to hurt Zac or me?

I thanked my lucky stars that the baby was okay. I don’t think I would have ever got over it if I lost the baby, and I knew Taylor would have been heartbroken as well. Just when things were beginning to get settled and straightened out, something like this had to happen.

“Taylor?” I said softly after awhile.

“Hmm?” he said looking up from the magazine he was reading.

“Why would someone do this?” I asked.

Taylor raised an eyebrow uncertainly. “What, baby?” he asked.

I sighed softly. “Why would someone try to hurt me or Zac like this?” I asked.

“I don’t know, baby,” Taylor replied honestly.

That wasn’t the answer I had wanted. I mean, knowing why someone would try to hurt me probably wouldn’t be very comforting, but at least I would have a clue as to why this was happening.

Then I got to thinking, and when I started thinking, a million ideas began pop into my mind, and I started interrogating myself over why this had happened. I asked myself what I had done. I wanted to know who did this. I knew it wasn’t going to help my nerves, which were already completely on edge, but finally I wore myself into a fitful sleep.

The next morning I woke up feeling a little refreshed. I still felt a little stiff and sore, but my body wasn’t throbbing with pain like it had the day before.

Shortly after I woke up, Taylor came into the room whistling and smiling.

“Sounds like you’re in a good mood,” I commented.

“Zac woke up early this morning, and he is doing perfectly fine,” Taylor said.

“Oh, that’s great,” I smiled.

“After you get up and are released, we can go down and see him,” Taylor said.

“So there’s nothing wrong with him?” I asked.

“Well, he’s got a sprained ankle and some bumps and bruises, but the doctor says he’ll be fine,” Taylor explained.

“What a relief,” I sighed. “I don’t know if I could have ever forgiven myself if Zac were hurt very badly,” I said.

“Oh, Eden, it isn’t your fault any of this happened,” Taylor commented.

“But I can’t but help feel like it is,” I said. “If I had just waited for you and Isaac to finish talking, none of this would have happened.”

“Ede, you don’t know that for sure. It could have just as easily happened to you and me,” Taylor said.

“I suppose you’re right,” I nodded.

To be honest, I wasn’t so sure Taylor was right. I was still convinced that car had rear-ended us on purpose, but I decided to drop the issue for now because I didn’t want to ruin Taylor’s good mood. After all, Zac was alive and well and so was I. It was a time to celebrate – not worry. So I just decided to keep my paranoid feelings to myself for now, but I knew I would just have to be extra careful about where I went and who I trusted.

After I was released, Taylor and I went down to Zac’s hospital room to join the rest of the family who was celebrating.

“Hey, Tay! Hey, Eden!” Zac smiled as we walked into the room.

“Hey, man!” Taylor smiled as he went over and gave Zac a gentle hug.

After Taylor moved away, I gave Zac a quick hug as well.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” I commented.

“I’m glad you are too,” Zac smiled. “And the baby too.”

“So when do you get to get out of here?” I asked.

“Tomorrow,” Zac sighed. “Until then I’m stuck eating this disgusting hospital food.”

“Well, I’ll think of you when I get home and sink my teeth into a cheesy slice of pizza,” I grinned.

“Hey, that’s not very nice to rub that in my face,” Zac pouted. “I am, after all, injured,” he said motioning toward his ankle.

“I’m sorry,” I laughed. “But I think you’ll survive.”

“Yeah, well, Zac has his eye on one of the nurses anyway,” Isaac, who had been listening to our conversation, commented with a laugh. “So I don’t think he minds staying nearly as much as he wants us to think.”

“Hey, that’s supposed to be a secret,” Zac grinned.

“Well, I’m happy to see you’re in good spirits,” I smiled.

“Hey, Ede, are you ready to go, baby?” Taylor asked as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

“Sure,” I nodded. “I’m ready to get home and sleep in my own bed and eat some real food.”

“Oh, shut up!” Zac smiled.

“We’ll see you later,” I waved as I took Taylor’s hand in mine and we headed toward to door saying goodbye to the other members of the Hanson family.

Once we got home, I immediately went upstairs to my room, changed into my pajamas and got into bed. I fell asleep almost immediately.

But when I woke up, Taylor was lying on the bed beside me looking at me.

“What you doing?” I asked.

“I was just watching you sleep,” he smiled. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Why thank you,” I blushed as I sat up.

Taylor sat up and walked over to the desk in the room. “I’ve got some stuff for you,” he said.

“What is it?” I asked as he came back over to the bed carrying some envelopes.

“Letters from fans,” he smiled. “When they found out you and Zac were in a car accident, they sent you get well cards and letters.”

“Really?” I smiled.

I was surprised. I figured Taylor’s fans all hated me. I was relieved to find that not all of his fans hated my guts.

“There’s some more downstairs,” Taylor commented. “I haven’t got a chance to read through all of them. I’m going to go get some of the others,” he said as he stood up.

Once Taylor was out of the room, I began to look through some of the letters. But then I came to one envelope that stood out from all the others. I picked it up and looked at the front. It was addressed to me, but there was no return address. I carefully opened the letter to take a look at its contents, but what I found was not what I expected.

I stared at the letter for a moment trying to let the message sink in. It said: You won’t be so lucky next time! And there was also a picture of me on the campus courtyard, and my face had a big red X over it. I dropped the letter onto the bed as tears began to fill my eyes. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I could deal with the fact people hated me because I was married to Taylor, but I could not handle the fact someone wanted me dead.

A few minutes later Taylor reentered the room humming softly and reading a piece of paper. When he looked up from the paper, he realized I was crying.

“Ede, what’s wrong?” he asked immediately rushing over to the bed.

I merely motioned toward the letter lying on the bed in front of me. Taylor came over and picked up the letter.

“Oh my god,” he whispered softly.

“Now do you think I’m just paranoid?” I asked.

“No,” Taylor replied as he stood up. “I’m going to go to the police station right now and let them know about this.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said as I stood up slowly.

“No, you should stay here,” Taylor said. “You just got out of the hospital.”

“Taylor, I am coming with you,” I said sternly. “I want to hear whatever the police have to say, okay?”

“Okay, fine,” Taylor nodded. “I’m going to get a plastic bag to put this in. Maybe the police will find some prints on it.”

Once we arrived at the police station, we spoke with several different men and women. It seemed as though they were taking the situation very seriously because Taylor was a high profile person in Tulsa. I was just glad people actually believed me when I said I thought the car accident was not an accident.

“Now, Mrs. Hanson, you said this picture was taken at the courtyard where you go to school,” one policeman said. “Is there anyone at school who you’ve been having any problems with?”

“No,” I replied. “I only had a few friends at school, but I got along with everyone just fine. Plus, I’ve been out of school since Christmas.”

“Do you have any ideas of who may have a problem with you?” the officer asked.

“Thousands of people do,” Taylor broke in. “There were a lot of fans who were upset when they heard about my being married.”

“So, we may have an obsessed fan on our hands,” the officer sighed. “Have you seen anyone suspicious hanging around lately?”

“No one that I can think of off the top of my head,” I shrugged.

“Well, we will put a car outside of your house for the next few days, and if you can think of anything else that might be helpful, don’t hesitate to call me or my partner,” the officer said.

“Okay, thank you,” I smiled weakly as I stood up.

“Ede, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before,” Taylor said on the way home.

“It’s okay,” I sighed softly.

“No, it’s not,” Taylor said. “Someone was trying to kill you, and I didn’t listen. I don’t know what I would have done if someone were to really hurt you or the baby. I love you both so much.”

“I love you too,” I said. “And all that matters now is that you do believe me.”