I was more than happy that Ray was alive. That's all I ever asked for. His condition still wasn't as stable as doctors would have hoped, so he wouldn't be discharged immediately. He was probably going to stay in for New Year's, which was fine. 

We could count down together in his hospital room. No problem. Either way, the year would end on a happy note because I hadn't lost him. I hadn't lost the one person I cared for so much. All was well with the world.

    When Ray had the accident, it was December 27. He regained consciousness on December 28. It's New Year's Eve right now. I have been visiting him everyday and making sure he was okay. I even brought him a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting everyday. 

He's an absolute sucker for those. I took sick leaves from Olive Garden the whole time Ray was recovering. Don't worry. I have too many of those. Plus, any extra sick leaves I have will overlay into the next year. I never get sick. My attendance rate is, sadly, better than my body mass index, so I'm fine.

    I've been staying at Ray's side nonstop for the past several days. I want to keep him entertained. But I can't risk to lose him. Ray also says that nothing much happens in the hospital. Plus, the hospital food tastes like shit. 

I know. I've tried it. Ray was served Jell-O for one of his meals. I tried it, and let's just say that I'm never going to look at Jell-O the same way again. I almost threw up right then and there. It tasted nasty. So Ray is insanely grateful that I bring him cupcakes everyday.

    I'm walking through the halls of the hospital with a carrot cupcake in my hands. Ray also loves those. I'm walking until I get to Ray's room. I knock on the door, and Ray's voice says, "Come in!" 

I walk inside and freeze in my tracks. Ray is standing right next to the foot of his bed. Did I also mention that he's only wearing boxers and that he's drying himself off with a towel? I didn't? Well, he is. I can see the towel run over his 8-packs.

Gosh, those eight packs. It's almost too good to be true. He towels off his biceps. I'm surprised that I haven't died. Because I think those guns have shot me. Ray looks at me. 

"See anything you like, Sophia?" he asks. I shake my head and walk over to him. 

"Since when did you become so horny?" I say as I hand over the cupcake to him. He takes a big bite out of it. "Since when are you so fascinated with my muscles?" he asks. 

"Touché," I say. I watch as he greedily finishes his cupcake like he's been fasting for the last week.

"Gosh, I needed that. Thanks, Sophia," he says. I smile, and I can see a little bit of frosting on his nose. 

"Oh, there's frosting on your nose, Ray," I say. I take my finger, wipe the frosting off of his nose, and suck it off. He smiles, and then puts on some old shorts and a T-shirt. 

"Do you want to taste some more?" he asks, and before I respond, he smashes his lips onto mine. Oh man. He was right. The taste of the carrot cake and frosting tingles my tongue. I made the right choice in choosing the bakery to get this cupcake. He then breaks off the kiss gently.

"Wow. Just wow," I say. He winks. 

"I thought the same thing when I saw you for the first time," he says. I start to blush a little. 

"Ray, stop it.," I say. I'm turning as red as a tomato. He smiles. 

"Mission accomplished," he says, and winks. I roll my eyes and I walk over to his bed. I hear him laugh a little bit. 

"I'm sorry, belle. I didn't mean it," he says. I look him in the eyes, and sincerity is very evident. I sit down on his bed. 

"I know you didn't, Ray," I say, and he sits down, scooting in closer to me.

I look at him. "Ray, I need to ask you something," I say. He nods. 

"Ask away. What is it?" he asks. I sigh. 

"You can't get stabilized and not expect to have side effects. What are the side effects of the car accident?" I ask. He thinks for two seconds. 

"I'm pretty sure that the doctor said irritation is going to be a pretty common side effect. Headaches are too," he says. 

"What about medication? Do you have to take any medication?" I ask. He nods. 

"Yeah, quite a few. I have to take some pills a few times a day. I've already started, and they taste really bad. But I'll manage," he says.

I nod. "Sorry about all the questions. I'm just making sure that everything is fine after the whole incident," I say. He nods. 

"It's fine, Sophia. I get where you're coming from. My grandpa always said, 'Ti, kteří jsou vám nejbližší jsou ti, co si o vás budou dělat největší starost,' and I find it very true," he says. I look at him. 

"What does it mean?" I ask. 

"The ones who are closest to you are the ones that will worry about you the most. And I really agree. It's one of my favorite things in Czech that my grandfather has said," he says.

I scoot in closer to him and rest my head against his shoulder. "Your grandfather gets me, Ray," I say. He puts his arm around me. 

"He's the best," Ray says, and he lies back on the bed. I lie back as well and just relax. I practically melt in Ray's embrace, and I just let everything that's on my mind vanish. For the next ten minutes, I'm like this. Suddenly, a loud ringtone fills the air. I'm snapped out of the trance that I'm in.

"Sophia, where are you?" a voice inquires. It's my mother's. 

"I'm at the hospital with Ray, Mom," I say. 

"I need you to come home. Have you forgotten that you need to help Anthony with his college work?" she asks. Dammit. I forgot. I was so busy with Ray that I forgot that I need to help Anthony. 

"I'm coming home," I say. I get up. 

"I have to go, Ray. I'll see you tonight. I'll come back," I say. 

"Sure, Sophia. I'll see you," he says. I leave the hospital and go home, slightly upset that I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted with Ray.

    I always wonder why a senior in high school had to help her brother, who's a senior in college, write an essay. He went to school for 20 years yet he needs the help of his younger sister for an essay. Trust me, Anthony's a bright guy, but he can't write an essay for a million dollars. It's just not his thing. When I get home, my mother is waiting there, along with my grandmother. "Nonna! It's so good to see you!" I say, and I hug her.

My nonna always had a soft spot for her children and her grandchildren. I'm pretty sure she didn't come to visit me alone. She brought along her trusty sidekick; cannoli. It's her signature dish, and it's probably one of my favorite Italian desserts of all time. My nonna knows, and she must have brought it.

"Sophia, honey! Look at you! You've become so beautiful! But a little bit on the skinny side! There's cannoli in the fridge, mia bella nipotina," she says, with her Italian accent stretching the i's. What did I tell you? Did I not tell you she'd bring cannolis? 

"Grazie, nonna," I say, and make my way to the fridge. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, and with chocolate chips on the ends. I grab one and start wolfing it down.

Anthony comes in to the kitchen. "Why am I not surprised? Whenever Nonna comes, I always find you in the kitchen, downing cannolis," Anthony says. 

"You're just jealous, Anthony, because Nonna loves me enough to bring me cannolis," I say, while finishing up my cannoli. 

"Anyways, I have to help you with your essay. Again," I say while Anthony grabs a cannoli. He leads me to his room, where I spend the next eternity proofreading his essay.

I just wish that he would hurry up and graduate so that I don't have to keep proofreading his essays. "There, finally," I say. I look at the clock, and it's 10:53. 

"Dammit. I promised that I'd go visit Ray again," I say, and grab my keys. I am heading out of Anthony's room and I can see my mom and grandma still talking. They can go on for hours, to be honest. 

I'm heading out the door, not before I tell my grandmother, "Ciao, Nonna! Grazie per le cannolis!" I yell (Bye, Grandma! Thanks for the cannolis!) . She smiles. 

"Prego! Ti amo!" she yells back, and I get in my car and start driving. (You're welcome! I love you!) 

It's going to take me a bit of a while. Santa Ana, California is the place that I've called home for the majority of my life.  Ray lives kind of on the far side of town, but still close enough for us to be in the same district. Our high school is right in the middle. 

St. Nicholas' hospital is closer to Ray's house, so it will be kind of a long ride. By the time I arrive at the hospital, it's 11:16. I walk up the stairs and make my way to Ray's room. I knock on the door lightly, and he, surprisingly, comes to the door and opens it.

"You're not asleep?" I ask. 

"Of course not. I wanted to watch the countdown," he says, and I go inside. We sit down on his bed. 

"I have news, Sophia," he says. The little glow in his eyes tells me it's something good. 

"I'm listening," I say, hopeful. 

"The doctors say that I can be discharged on January 6. I'll be coming home," he says.

Oh thank goodness. I'm really happy. I won't have to worry about him not ever recovering. This is great. But I don't think he can see the happiness on my face. He looks at me confused. 

"What's wrong, Sophia? Something's bugging you," he says. I sigh. 

"This year had me so worried. I thought I would end the year planning your funeral, Ray. I thought I would end the year depressed. This hasn't been easy," I say. Ray comes closer.

"Don't worry about that, Sophia. I'm alive. I'm right here. I wouldn't leave you if I had the choice. I'd fight and fight until I couldn't anymore. Don't you worry about me leaving you. Because that will never happen," he says. I nod. Ray's strong. He's the strongest person I know. He won't die, and if he has to, he will fight. He'll do it.

 "I think I need to take your mind off of this. Get up," he says, and I get up.

"Ray, you're still pretty weak. I don't want you to stress yourself," I say. Ray looks at me. 

"The doctors said that my condition was stable enough for me to get up and move around. I'm taking advantage of this," he says. He's the sweetest ever. He'll always try to make me happy no matter what. Ray grabs his phone and turns on music. He had really great taste in music, and he chose a really romantic song today. He gets up, and holds his hand out.

"Can I dance with you, Sophia?" he asks. I nod, and take his hand. Ray rests his free hand on my shoulder and I rest mine on his waist. He starts taking steps to the left and right, and I follow his lead. He makes this seem so easy, and all my worry of dancing washes away. 

Dancing is not one of my specialties. I'm decent, but I could be better. But Ray somehow shoves the ability to dance in me. He even chose the perfect music to go along with it.

"When I look in your eyes, they're like stars in the sky. When I hold you in my arms, you make me feel so calm. You're the most beautiful person I've seen. I'm determined to make you my queen."

    I'm getting lost in the lyrics and in his eyes. I don't know what's going on. All I know is that I'm on cloud nine. I couldn't ask for anything else. I don't want this night to end. 

"You know what, Sophia?" he asks. 

"What?" I ask. 

"I think this has been one of the best years ever. I think you made it one of the best years ever," he says. 

"You being my boyfriend just made my year 10x better," I say.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6," we hear. I hear people counting. Ray and I join. 

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1," we say. We stop dancing. 

"Happy new year, Ray," I say. 

"Happy new year, Sophia," he says, and he leans in. He presses his lips onto mine, in what is the best New Year's kiss ever. Cheers to a new year. With my boyfriend. I'm determined to make this new year a good one. With Ray by my side.

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The ending is so sweet! I'm going all crazy inside because they're such a cute couple. Do you think Sophia deserves to worry so much about Ray? Let me know in the comments!

Hello, my dears! How are you all? I hope you guys are having a great day. I have another request from you guys. I'm so sorry to keep on asking you guys for these requests. And I'm so sorry if I am annoying and repetitive. I incorporated Italian into this chapter. I don't know any Italian other than ciao and arrivederci, so I used a translator. I'm a lot better at French than Italian. So, if any of you guys are fluent in Italian and I made mistakes, then please let me know so I can correct them.

Also, a huge thank you to Chewton and Salintha for helping me out. Chewton recommended me to Salintha when I wanted to *check* my *Czech* (I'm sorry I had to make that pun). Salintha helped me out and corrected the Czech I used in this chapter. So thank you thank you guys. I appreciate it.

Also, (I promise this is the last one) I actually made up those song lyrics. So if you ask me what song is that, I'll just say that it's my song. It's the best I could come up with, because I do write poetry as well. That's pretty much it. I hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/follow/share/message if you like my work! I'll see you all next Sunday with a new chapter of I Never Imagined! Have a great week!

Love you all,

S.V.T.S