A few minutes later there is a knock on the door before it opens, and Tyler's dad walks in with another guy around his age. All eyes are on the two of them as we wait for them to tell us how surgery went for Isla.

Hayden's POV

Mr. Constable smiles. "Isla's surgery went well. We were able to stop the internal bleeding. For a while, surgery was touch and go, but overall, was a success. She woke up about an hour ago and should be brought into her room soon. She is still experiencing a great amount of pain, but that is expected with her being shot twice. We are expecting her to stay in the hospital for about a week, and my wife and I have already spoken to your new school to let them know that y'all will be starting a week late." Everyone's spirits in the room seem to be lifted immediately at the good news.

Tyler's dad and his colleague walk out of the room to discuss Isla's care plan while Mrs. Constable walks in to talk with us. "So, I'm guessing my husband told you all that Isla is awake." We all nod our heads, excited to see her. Mrs. Constable sighs, "I think it would be best if y'all weren't in her room when they bring her in here."

"Why?" Nick says jumping out of her seat. "We all want to see her. You can't kick us out of her room. Please don't make us leave. We need to see her, and she needs to see us."

Mrs. Constable gulps. "You see, that's the problem. She doesn't want to see any of you at the moment."

Wow, this lack of sleep must be messing with my hearing. "I'm sorry, but I must have heard you wrong. Did you say Isla doesn't want to see us?" I ask.

Mrs. Constable frowns at us. "That's correct. Isla's mind isn't in a good place at the moment. She thinks that you all hate her and that y'all will yell and scream at her when y'all see her. I've tried telling her that you all love her and really want to see her, but she's having a really hard time believing that at the moment. It's not unusual for people in her position to try and isolate themselves. She's been through a really traumatic event and she is falling deeper into her depression."

We all look at each other, not knowing what to say or do. "Maybe if she sees us, it will help her know how much we care for her." Sofia says with hopefulness.

"Kids," Tyler's mom sighs. "Just don't get too upset if she rejects all of you or if she tells y'all to leave. The past couple of days have been really hard for her and she's not coping well. I really think you should all leave her room and give her some time to settle in before seeing her. Her mind is so mixed up at the moment that when she woke up, she was asking for her parents. It took her about thirty minutes for her to remember that they had passed away."

"Are you saying she l-lost her m-memory?" I ask, scared that she has forgotten how much she means to me and how much I mean to her.

"No." Tyler's mom says, causing me to sigh in relief. "She's just experiencing shock. While she was out, she probably experienced some dreams that felt real. She is just trying to figure out what's real and what's not. That's another reason she's acting the way she is."

"She'll eventually want to see us, right?" Nick asks. "She's like a sister to me. I can't stay away for forever. I can barely stay away now."

"Only time will tell. Now I need to get back to Isla. I told her I would be with her when they bring her to her room."

Feeling defeated, we all walk into the room that Sofia and Nick are staying in. "This is awful." Sofia cries into Nick's chest. "She's so important to all of us. How could she think that we would be mad or hate her?"

My head is spinning. I would never hate her; I could never hate her. For fuck's sake, I am madly and deeply in love with her. "I don't think I can handle this!" I scream out before running down the hallway to the nearest set of elevators.

A pair of footsteps chase me down the hallway and I expect it to be either Nick or Killian, but to my complete and utter surprise, it's Luke. "Hayden, don't go. You love her and she--" Luke sighs with a sad expression on his face, "--loves you. Even if I hate to admit that, it's the truth. Isla really does love you. She'll get through this, but she'll need you by her side."

"Yeah, but she doesn't want to lose your friendship. She could care less about being in a relationship with me if she loses you. She needs you, Luke. She may not love you the same way you love her, but she does love you. You will always hold a special place in her heart that no one can take. You always talk about how she was always there for you when the two of you were kids. Be there for her now. She needs you now more than ever."

Luke rakes his hand through his hair. "I'm going to try. I will, but it's hard seeing the girl that I'm in love with being in love with you. I can't just get over her. She's been the love of my life for years. You get to hold her. You get to kiss her. You get to be the one that she wants to be with it and in my head, I'm supposed to be that guy, not you. For Isla, I'll stay around for a little bit, but I won't promise that I'll stay forever, but I'll stay long enough to make sure she's okay at least."

I nod my head. I don't want Luke to go either, but I get it. It would be hard for me to stay if Isla was in love with one of the other guys. Now I'm worried she won't love me like she did. I'm still scared that her fear of losing Luke will outweigh her love for me. Luke and I walk side by side to Nick and Sofia's room. This has been the first time in the past few days that Luke and I have been able to talk, and it makes me feel a little better.

Isla's POV

"Are you feeling better, Isla?" Mrs. Constable asks me.

"A little. My chest still hurts, and my head is spinning." I mumble softly. "No one is going to be in my room when I get there, right?" I'm not ready to see my friends. I'm not even sure if they are still my friends. They all seemed so angry and upset the last time I saw them and it's my fault. Plus, what if Chelsea's right? What if they're just using me? They wouldn't really use me, would they? Either way, I don't deserve friends.

Mrs. Constable frowns at me. "I told them all to give you some time alone, but Sweetheart, none of them are mad at you. They've been worried and have missed you deeply. They all love you." Lies. No one loves me.

"N-no they d-don't." I say as I start to cry. "C-Chelsea was r-right. I don't deserve friends. I cause nothing but t-trouble and n-no one truly cares for me now that my p-parents are gone." I sob even louder, as Mrs. Constable wraps herself around me in a hug. "They hate me, don't they? I destroyed Luke and Hayden's friendship, I made everyone at school hate all of them. I then forced them to move away to a different school. They all had great lives before me." As I try to speak more, it feels like my throat is closing in on me. I try to catch my breath, but I can't. As I run out of air, I start seeing stars.

"Isla, darling, I need you to calm down and breathe. In and out. In and out. I'm going to put some medicine in your IV, that will help you relax and sleep."

Mrs. Constable hooks a syringe to my IV and slowly presses down on the plunger. I try to fight it as the medication flows through the wires and into my arm, but I start to feel very sleepy. The last thing I hear before plunging into complete darkness is someone's voice saying, "Isla, everyone is here, because we all love you."

Nick's POV

It feels like a lifetime as we wait for Mrs. Constable to bring Isla to her hospital room. The door to my room is left open so we can hopefully get a glimpse of Isla when they bring her to her room. Mrs. Constable and a young nurse rolls Isla's hospital bed into her room and it looks like Isla is asleep. A few minutes later, Mrs. Constable walks across the hall into my room. "Isla is asleep for now. She'll probably stay asleep for a few hours. Unfortunately, her depression is really getting to her. Like I said earlier, she thinks all of you are mad at her and that she doesn't deserve any of you. A nurse will be checking on her every thirty minutes to make sure she's okay. Once she wakes up, give her an hour or two before visiting with her. Also, don't all go in there at once. You will overwhelm her, and she doesn't need that. Remember, she may reject your company, but it's because of her depression. Her state of mind isn't in a good place. She is going to need a lot of support and love to get better." Mrs. Constable says before walking out of the room to go and talk with the nurse.

"Who do you think should go in to see her first?" Killian asks.

I can read Luke and Hayden's faces and know just by looking at them that they both want to go first, but I don't think that's a good idea. "Um, since I see her as a sibling, I think I and maybe Sofia should see her first." I speak up.

No one seems very happy about my idea. Everybody wants to be the first person to see Isla, but Isla and I really do share a sibling bond. After a pregnant pause, everyone finally agrees to allow me and Sofia to be the first ones to visit her. Since Isla is not expected to wake up for at least three hours, Luke and Hayden go downstairs to visit the gift shop while Tyler and Killian go out to get dinner.

Sofia and I lay together in my bed watching TV until the nurse knocks on our door. "Come in." Sofia calls out.

"Sorry to bother the two of you, but your friend has just woken up." The nurse says before walking back out.

"Aren't we supposed to wait a while after she wakes up before we go and visit her?" Sofia questions me.

"Yeah, but the nurses have had a shift change and the new nurse probably doesn't know." I say quietly, just in case the nurse walks back in. "I'm not going to wait. I want to see her now."

"Nick, but what if it makes it worse for Isla?"

"Sofia, she needs to know that we all care and love her. She's sitting in there alone, probably letting her thoughts consume her."

Sofia stares at me for a minute as she thinks about what I say before a smile appears on her face and she agrees. I turn off the TV and we both check the hallways to make sure the coast is clear. Once we are, we both walk into Isla room's without even knocking on the door. I wanted to knock, but Sofia isn't the type of person to do so.