"L-Liam—" I croaked, pushing down on my hands as I attempted to lift myself up from the bed. My arms gave up on me halfway and I collapsed back onto the bed, groaning.

A dull throbbing pain shot up my chest all the way to my collarbone and I bit down on my lower lip hard to prevent another groan.

"Don't do that, please," Liam said, standing up from his chair next to the bed. "Give me one second."

He leaned over the bed, pushing a button and the bed began to incline, until I was able to sit at a comfortable angle. When he was finished, he plopped back down on his chair, running a hand through his hair.

We were in a private room. It was as white as it had seemed when I first opened my eyes, with a window to the side, letting in the bright afternoon sun which I flinched to. The door was shut.

"Y-you're here," I let out a shaky breath, glancing up at him briefly. I combed a finger over a strand of my tangled hair, my eyes focused on the coarse hospital sheets draped over my legs.

"Of course," his mouth twitched up. We sat in silence, and the monotonous beeping of the machines were the only thing that sounded in the room.

"Look Liam, I—" I started but he shook his head.

"We'll talk later, you need to rest," he said, softly. His eyes were red, as were the rims, with dark circles under them. His skin was pale, almost ashen much unlike his usual complexion. Liam looked exhausted and worn out.

I sighed, nodding as I glanced down at myself, scanning the hospital gown I had on. My eyes moved to the cast on my wrist, and the large bandage wrapped over my right arm.

From the corner of my eye, I caught Liam shuffling in his seat, gnawing at his bottom lip.

"How long was I out?" I cleared my throat, my brows furrowing as I broke the thick silence between us.

"Almost two days," he answered, finally meeting my eyes.

Crap. I sighed. I had missed a lot — not just in school. My mind flitted to the dream I had during that time and I shivered, glad that it was just that, a dream.

"And my parents?" I asked, swiping my tongue over my chapped lips.

"Your mom went to the cafeteria with Avery, your brother had left for school. Your dad was called to work for an emergency," he explained all in one breath.

I nodded, letting the information sink in. My temples throbbed from processing too hard.

"Here, you should read this," Liam grunted as he leaned forward to the foot of my bed. A folder appeared in his hand when he sat upright.

He handed it over to me and I took it into my hands gingerly, opening it up.

It was my file. My eyes skimmed over the piece of paper. It took a moment for me to process the words plastered on the page, only for my brain to come up empty.

"I can't understand this," I sighed in disappointment, setting the folder down on my lap. I rubbed my hands over my face. A piercing pain suddenly shot through my temples.

"Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. It's mostly medical terminology," Liam gave me a sheepish smile. "I'll tell you what the doctor told me."

I nodded eagerly, waiting for him to continue.

"You have a concussion, not severe at least, a fractured wrist," he began, eyeing over at the cast. "A broken collarbone and two broken ribs. And some scrapes on your arm."

"I-I don't understand," my brows furrowed. "I barely have a headache. I don't really feel any pain."

"Ophelia, they gave you many painkillers," he said, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Right, oh my gosh," I groaned and Liam chuckled.

Silence fell over us again, and I swallowed hard. My hand travelled to my temple, where a small bandage was plastered over.

Liam was here with me. I'd tried so hard to get to him two days ago, and yet he was the one who found me instead. With him here, I could barely feel the dull ache of my wrist, or my headache. He made me feel as though nothing could ever hurt me.

I perked up when I remembered the reason why I'd been looking for him.

I spun around to face him, only to see that he was watching me expectantly too, his mouth opening and shutting as if he had something to say.

But I needed to get out what I had to say.

"I'm sorry," I said, my hoarse voice cutting through the thick, awkward silence. He ran his hand through his hair.

"No, I should be—" he immediately piped up, shaking his head.

"Let me finish, please. I just need to say this," I cut him off.

It wasn't often that I was this brave, and I needed to get out what I needed to while I still had the courage to. Liam nodded, running a hand through his ruffled hair.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted when you tried to help me with Hunter, my mom and... other things," I said, wringing my fingers together tightly. I took a deep breath, gathering myself as I kept my eyes lowered. "I guess, it bugged me so much because you know, two hundred years ago, when you were still Noah and I was Ophelia, I didn't have that choice."

Finally, I peered up at him, meeting his warm eyes. He didn't say anything, his lips pressed flat.

"I couldn't speak for myself. I couldn't make decisions for myself, do things for myself," I told him, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks and my heart sped up again just from the thought of it. "Like, even at balls, guys couldn't ask me to dance directly unless they knew me or my parents."

He only stared at me, his jaw tight and shoulders stiff. I could barely feel my headache and the dull ache in my chest. It was all clouded by my anxiousness as I waited for him to react.

I took a deep breath, continuing, "I guess that's why I got so angry when you tried to speak for me. I know now that I was being stupid. I know that I was wrong, and that I shouldn't have been so pissed. You were trying to help, not trying to... control my life or anything like that."

Now I knew that there was a fine line between being controlled in an unhealthy way and having a healthy support system, like with Liam or Avery.

Liam stayed silent for a short, agonizing moment, his eyes trained on his hands. My fingers continued to wring together and butterflies began to swarm in my stomach.

"So I guess what I'm saying is I'm sorry and I still want you to be mine, if you'll still have me as yours," I let out in one quick breath.

"I'm... I'm also really sorry. I overreacted and said many things I didn't mean," Liam added, glancing up at me and I almost sighed in relief. "Right when I left your house I regretted what I said. But I wanted you to understand why I was so angry, and I wanted you to come to me when you did."

I gazed into his eyes, my lips stretched into a small smile. The weight had been lifted off my chest and it felt as though I were floating now.

I sucked in a deep breath when Liam leaned in. His lips brushed against my forehead in a gentle kiss that lasted a second, before he pulled apart.

"I want you more than anything in this world," he locked his eyes with mine, his lips curling up. "And you'll always be Ophelia to me."

My cheeks grew hot as I shuffled over to make room for Liam, "Come here."

He got up from his seat, joining me on the bed as he pulled me closer to him. Liam wrapped his arms around me and I rested my head on his shoulder. He combed his fingers over my messy, unkempt hair. I got comfortable, snuggling up next to him.

"For the longest time, I didn't know if you were okay or not," he said quietly, his voice vibrating through me.

My brows furrowed as I glanced up at him, "What do you mean?"

"Avery called me, and all she said was that you got into a car accident. I don't think she knew anything else either," his voice was shaky. "You were in the emergency room when I got here."

"You always think the worst," I smiled.

"I know how recklessly you drive," he chuckled, then he grew solemn. "I thought you died."

Same. I frowned to myself, wrapping my arms around his waist to pull him closer. I didn't exactly know how badly I was hurt until I woke up.

I sighed, "Well, I'm fine now."

"Thank god," Liam said in a soft tone and his arms tightened around me. He turned his head, and with his lips on my forehead, he mumbled, "I love you. I couldn't stop thinking about you when we were apart."

My eyes widened, my heart skipping a beat. I pushed myself up, loosening my grip on Liam as I peered up at him.

Without thinking, I leaned in, pressing my lips against his. My body slackened, relaxing against his touch.

"I love you too," I murmured against his mouth.

He grinned. His hands moved away from my waist, cupping my face as he connected his lips with mine again. Time seemed to stop as my fingers trailed along his forearms, my stomach fluttering.

His hand stayed, caressing my cheek lightly while his other snaked around my neck, pulling me closer to him. He deepened the kiss and my senses were subdued by the rush of adrenaline. I inhaled his cologne and the scent that was only his.

I didn't even flinch at the throbbing pain that shot up from my chest and collarbone.

His kiss was gentle and careful as if he were afraid to hurt me, and I melted into his touch, a shiver running up my spine.

This was where I was meant to be. I was meant to be with Liam. After two hundred years and two different lives, my home was still with Liam.

Even though I was at the hospital and drugged up on painkillers, there was nowhere I'd rather be.

We finally pulled apart and I snuggled up next to Liam, resting my head on his chest.

"Wanna watch something while we wait for your mom to come back?" he asked. I nodded and he reached for the television remote on the bedside table, switching it on.

A random cartoon show began playing as we watched in a peaceful silence, his hand stroking my hair ever-so-slightly.

"So... who was that girl you were talking to the other day?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Liam chortled, "She is my mom's friend's daughter."

"Oh," was all I said, my lips curving down. My stomach dropped slightly. As bad as it sounded, I hoped she wasn't too important to Liam.

"Wait, are you jealous?" Liam smirked.

I scoffed, "So what if I am, you're my boyfriend."

"You have nothing to worry about," he shook his head, letting out a laugh. He index finger found my chin and he tilted my head up to meet his twinkling eyes. "I like it when you say that word though."

I grinned teasingly, "Which word?"

"The one that starts with a 'b'," he replied, enveloping his lips over mine in the most gentle kiss I'd ever experienced.

I giggled, feeling my face heat up to a thousand degrees again.

"God, I missed you so much," Liam mumbled when he pulled away.

I hummed in agreement, laying my head down onto his chest again. I listened to the steady thump of Liam's heart, my head rising and falling with his breaths. My eyes began to droop, the cartoon on the television completely flying over my head.

I began to drift off into a peaceful slumber, my eyes fluttering shut. I stiffened at the weight of the bedsheets being pulled over my shoulder, but my body relaxed again almost immediately.

"I love you Ophelia," Liam whispered, just loud enough for me to hear. The light pressure of his lips on my temple and his soft voice lulled me to sleep.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡