Once I'm out of Laurance's room, the nurse looks down at me and smiles a soft smile. I feel safe, and my pervious conversation with Laurance has made me feel all giddy inside. I'd do a little dance to show how happy I am if it weren't for the fact that I can't get out of this chair. And the thing is, I don't know why I'm in this chair.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking, how did I end up in a wheel chair?"

Her smile falters when she hears my words. She gives it a bit of time before she decides on how she wants to answer. It appears that they may know more than I do. All I remember is being hit with the baseball bat, blanking out, and then waking up to the police.

"Well, Y/N, you had suffered quite the beating. Your legs took most of the blow," she sighs, shaking her head softly when my mood suddenly switches. "But no worries! You'll be able to walk in no time. Nothing a bit of healing can't help." I nod my head at her, and I'm asked once more if there was anybody else I'd like to visit.

I ask if any other of my friends had been cleared for visitors, and she tells me that both Katelyn and Ryder still need some time and that Vylad was resting. Frankly I'm not too sure as of how I am to face Vylad, so I'm glad that he's resting. It gives me more time to think about what had happened today between the bleachers and now. Besides, I've already apologized to him, and I don't feel as horrid like I had before. Our conversation ends once we come in an agreement as of who I'd see next, and I'm taken to another room close by with A. Zvahl written neatly on a whiteboard, just like the whiteboard next to Laurance's room. I'm reminded once again that she'll wait for me outside the door, and I begin to brace myself for what I'm soon going to bring myself into.

Do I really want to do this? Out of everyone, I have probably hurt her the most. From trying to break up her and her boyfriend to beating her to a pulp, I've done some real damage to her that I can't take back even if I tried.

I take a deep breath in and hold it in for a few seconds and slowly let it out in a shaky exhale. The nurse knocks on the door for me, and permission is granted for me to enter. My hand is soon on the door handle and presses down on it only to push it open and bring myself into the room. It's cold just like any other room, but there's other people surrounding her bed, and I come to the conclusion that this is her family when the word "daddy" slips from her lips. They look over at me, and Alex's breath even hitches. She turns to the male and female and tells me that she'd talk to them later on and that Laurance would love it if they would come visit him since he had woken up. She wasn't going to leave anytime soon, so she was okay.

Her father kisses her forehead, and the girl squeezes her hand with a forced smile. I then learn that the female is Cadenza Zvahl, and that she looks like an utter mess. This is a contradiction to her normally perfectly put together appearance she normally bestows, and it's honestly a good change to be around. Cadenza forces out a smile as she looks back at Alex and then glances quickly at me with the smile before they're out the door. Before they're completely out, I can hear them thanking me, and it confuses me as of why they're thanking me.

I wheel over to the side of her bed, and that's when I truly see what damage has been done to her. She's bandaged up all over with bandaids and white gauzes. She looks worn down, and she even musters up a weak smile to give to me. Alex's hair is a mess, but it's wet due to it having what must be the blood washed out of it. An IV is placed into her arm, and her eyes look as tired as she does.

"I heard that Vylad was recovering and resting," she tells me, pulling the multiple blankets up over her stomach only to rest her hand back on top of them. "I'm glad that he's doing better. He really scare me when he didn't wake up for all that time. I'd go and see if I could visit him, but I don't have enough energy or strength to bring myself up onto my own two feet. It's a shame really." I nod my head, unable to produce words, to agree with her. I'm thankful myself that he's able to recover with what had happened to him. I'm thankful that we're all able to recover. "My family and I would like to thank you and your mother for all that they've done to help us. We would also like to thank Ryder for telling us about the air vent. Who knows what could've happened if we didn't know of it."

I ask her what my mother did, but she simply shakes her head dismissively at me saying that it wasn't her place to tell me and that it would sound better coming out of my mother's mouth. I agree nonetheless, even though I didn't want to, and tell her that I'll relay the words along. Alex thanks me for this.

"So um, what brand of red lipstick would you recommend?" I ask her, trying my best to introduce a new topic for us. "You seem to know the best kinds."

She lets out a laugh. It didn't sound forced and instead sounded healthy. It was genuine and a beautiful laugh to listen to that almost made me want to smile and laugh along with her. Alex's eyes crinkle slightly due to her newly found smile as she looks at me.

"Trust me," she begins, running a hand through her hair, messing with the hair parting given to her. "I think I'm done with red lipstick for a while. But hey, you wanna take up that look, be my guest. Don't let me stop you."

I laugh at her comment, feeling as though more tensions inside of me have been lifted. "I think I'll stay away from it too. But if you don't mind, I'm going to keep that tube of lipstick you dropped at my feet all that time before. Just for a little memory that tells me what happened and reminds me of the lesson I have learned. Which. . ." My words become separated because of my hesitation. I feel terrible for everything I've put her through, but I know all that I can do is promise for it not to happen again and to apologize to her. "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you and to you and Vylad. I was jealous, and that was wrong for me to do. I'm over Vylad, and I want you to be happy. I've realized that there was someone else I'd rather be with." My words end up making me sound like a day dreamer as the thought of Laurance pops into my head. A smile grazes my lips, and it feels good.

"Let me guess, my brother? Laurance?" She asks, and I nod my head nervously at her. Alex smiles more. "Treat him well, alright? And listen, I'm. . . sorry too. I forgive you! I didn't mean to make it seem like I was stringing anyone along, and I apologize for the things I had done. I wanted to make my brother happy and get to know you more. I wanted to be your friend. Although. . . I'm not too sure you'd want to be my friend."

"I want to be your friend, I was scared that you wouldn't want to be mine!"

She lefts out a soft chuckle and let's out a yawn. Today has most likely tired her out, and I'm tired too. I bid her goodnight and give her a small wave to which of my surprise she returns.

I quickly leave the room to see the nurse, and she tells me that my mother is waiting in my room and that she'd like to see me. By the time that I'd finish my conversation with my mother, Ryder should be resting.

I'm righting my wrongs, and that feels amazing.

By the time we make it back to my given room, the door is opened once more to show my mother sitting in a chair near my bed with her head in her hands. She hears the click and instantly looks up. She looks sober, but her eyes are red and puffy. The nurse leaves us and tells me to press the nurses button if we need her. I nod my head and thank her.

"Oh, my baby girl! I'm so sorry for being such a terrible mother!" My mother cries out, quickly running to my side and gives me a hug which I slowly, and extremely awkwardly, return to her. She sniffles by my ear, and it's clear to see that she was crying.

"Mother?" I question, and she looks up at me when she pulls away and kneels down to my height beside me. "Why is everyone telling me to thank you for them? What happened?"

"Oh Y/N, I was so worried when you and Ryder hadn't come home. I begun to worry, and then your friend's, Vylad, mother called me questioning if her little pea was with you at our house. I told her no thinking you were off somewhere else and just didn't tell me, but then she went more into detail about how half of the Zvahls were gone, and so was the Firefist's only daughter, and I begun to panic at the sound of her voice. More time passed and you still weren't home. I ended up calling Zianna again, and she told me that none of the other children had come back either, and no parents heard any news that the children would be back late. She even told me that the school had called her concerning Vylad's disappearance that day during school. Oh baby, I was so worried about you!" She brings me into another hug, and more sniffles are heard. I begin to think that she's breaking down, but she pulls away and places her hand against my cheek. "I thought I lost my babies, so I called the police, worried. They thought this was strange and brought matters into their own hands. They found you, and they soon told me and all the other parents that you were in the hospital and told us what happened. Oh Y/N, I promise from now I will be a better mother! I'm a horrid mother. I'll get my act together and get rid of the drinking problem and all the sleeping around so I can be apart of your life. I miss you calling me mom, sweetheart, I really do."

I try to take in all her words, and it even takes some time for me to believe it as well. My mother was the one who did all of this, and I didn't want anything to do with her beforehand. I burst into tears apologizing to her for everything that has happened and even promise to become a better daughter as well. Our past is in the past, and I won't let it relapse upon us.

That's when I hear some words I wasn't expecting. "The police had told me they're going to make your school forget of the news, but they want to know if you want them to make you forget too. The others said no since that was something that was apart of their past and was something they didn't want to make the mistake of again, but I wanted you to have the choice. Do you want to remember or forget my lovely child?" Her tone is soft, and the concern in her eyes makes me feel guilty because of how selfish I have been.

"No, I want to remember it all," I say, smiling meekly to go along with my words. "It'll help me grow into a better person. I want to remember, and I want to move forward with you all."

She places her hands against both sides of my face on my cheeks and kisses my forehead lovingly. "I love you," Mother tells me, and the nurse knocks on the door to tell us of Ryder now resting.

I'm so happy I can have my family back. And even though she just came back and it will take time to call her "mom" again, I'm glad she's back.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing with the leafs is such a peaceful sound I didn't know I needed. The feeling of Laurance's warmth against my back was also something I didn't know I needed. The smell of autumn makes a smile appear on my lips, and being around my friend's company means the world to me.

I'm fully healed although my legs still ache from time to time. I don't mind this, and I'm
as happy as ever. I have a loving family, an amazing boyfriend, and great friends who I wouldn't trade for the world. All the others are healed, but there's still those emotional, mental, and psychical scars that reminds of of what had happened before now.

"Jeffory and I ended up breaking up a little before prom, and Garroth even threatened to beat him up. Actually, he did beat him up," Katelyn sighs, remembering the time at prom where she shook her head at Garroth's silliness. Katelyn knew that Garroth was only trying to help her, but he was thinking more out of his butt than his head. It was a sad fight really. They're too nice of guys to actually fight each other.

The students of Phoenix Drop High have forgotten all about what we once were, and we have even gone back to our normal lives, but everything has somehow managed to become better.

Laurance and my relationship has only improved, and we have gotten closer, and Ryder has even gotten over Alex and is batting eyelashes towards Katelyn who seems to be doing the same. He's still a tad bit of a tough guy, but he's vulnerable, and Katelyn likes that. Ryder likes how Katelyn is a softy but is also a little bit of a challenge, so it ends up being perfect when you think about it. They end up balancing each other out. Although, there's no label between them yet, I'm sure they're going to happen soon.

My mother has even found a boyfriend of hers she really likes, and we've moved out of the old house for a fresh start. She kept her promise and now is an amazing mother, and our relationship has become stronger and healthier over the time from now and the hospital. It only seems to grow as well. Ryder is able to enjoy himself more since he doesn't have to look over me, and we've all forgiven each other, and strangely even forgiven our father for leaving us. My mother even thanks him for leaving at times or else she wouldn't be at this high point in her life with us.

Laurance nuzzles his face into my neck, and I giggle as I lift my hand and place it against the top of his head. He leaves a small kiss in his place and smiles down at me warmly as I smile up at him. He then pecks my lips and smiles before he puckers his lips and leans forward once again only to leave a longer kiss against my lips. I feel him take my hand and rub circles into the back of my knuckles.

He pulls away and his expression brightens for some strange reason. "Y/N's lips taste like pumpkin spice lattes!" He announces, proud of himself for being able to recognize the drink that's sitting nearby us in his little hide away with the tree I didn't appreciate enough when he showed me that time before.

"Alex tastes like apple cider," Vylad mentions, and Alex squeaks out his name after she slaps her hand against her leg in shock. She snaps her head over to look at Vylad to scold him but only covers her pink face up with her small hands. He takes them away, and she tries to take his scarf away that was wrapped around the two calling it hers. That's until he kisses her lips and smiles when he leans his forehead against hers. "What? I like it, and I like you!"

She giggles, and I smile fondly at the couple. I'm over Vylad, and I'm extremely happy for the both of them for being able to be so happy with one another. Katelyn tries to yell at Vylad for being so touchy with Alex with how they're so cuddled up against each other with her pressed up against his front and his arms around her, but Ryder teases Katelyn and places his arm around her which only makes her blush a light hue of pink. Laurance on the other hands scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"That's my little sister! Can you not?" He sasses, disgusted by the sight. He continues to grimace until I peck his cheek to calm him down. He smirks and kisses the top of my head, content with my method to everything with him.

"That's my best friend! Can you not?" Alex mocks, narrowing her eyes at Laurance where she then has to listen to Vylad question what he is to her. "You're my boyfriend, but you're my first best friend, and nothing will ever change that!"

Ever since our conversation in the hospital, Alex and I have made amends and have gotten closer to one another. We've gained trust from one another, and I even think of her as the sister I had never gotten. Cadenza has warmed up to me, and Hayden has as well. My mother loves Alex to pieces, and she even thinks as her as another daughter which is strange to me because Laurance is my boyfriend and he's Alex's brother.

Ryder looks down at his phone and sighs. "I'd hate to ruin this sweet moment," he starts, rolling his eyes playful because he knows that he actually enjoys ruining these kinds of things. "But mom wants to know if Laurance would like to come over for dinner."

I look up at Laurance, and he tells me that he was on his own anyways since Alex would be over at the Ro'meaves house, and both Cadenza and Hayden had been away. Cadenza was at a friend's house, and Hayden had been somewhere for work. They'd both be back tomorrow, but now he's not alone anymore since he agreed with a smile on his face to come over if we'd let him.

I smile and face towards Ryder. "Tell mom that Laurance will be joining us tonight!" I end up giggling, and Laurance begins to tickle my sides. I end up on the floor and leafs crunch in my hair as Laurance pins me against the ground. "What?" I ask him, slightly confused as he stares at me in admiration."

"You look so gorgeous, and I can't believe how you ended up with me. What did I do to deserve you, beautiful?" He asks me, smiling softly as the sun hits him in the right angle to make him glow in front of me and for everything else around him to blur out. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Laurance. Thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Thank you so much.