The image above is what Erica's wearing btw

10 months later...

Erica's POV

"Erica!" Luke yelled. "How long will you take? I can't wait forever!"
"Then don't wait," I yelled back. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I checked my outfit one last time before securing my hoop earrings in place. "I'm ready. I just need my phone."

"Girls take forever," Luke complained. "Come on!"

Luke and I were headed to the Annual Hale Family Reunion. By 'headed', we were upstairs in the giant four-floor mansion Grandpa Cyrus owned, and we had to go downstairs. We were on summer break in the mansion, which Grandpa had nicknamed 'safehouse'. It was large with about twenty bedrooms.

"Erica! Luke!" Dad called when we descended the stairs to the ground floor. The giant open area at the base of the stairs was lined with food tables, and people, all Hales, stood in clustered groups, eating, drinking and talking. The front door was open, revealing the gardens and the enormous parking lot. Hales came in and went out, greeting and smiling.

"Hi, Dad," I said casually. As usual, he was dressed in a bespoke three-piece suit.

"Hey, Uncle Alexander," Luke said with a smile, shaking his hand. "It's good to see you."

Dad smiled. "How's school?"

Luke is my dad's sister's son, and his Dad works for Mi6, so he attended the Mi6 version of Spy School.

"Hard," he replied. "I've failed my parachuting classes three times in a row."

"Just like Erica," he said. "Apparently it runs in the family."

I nudged Luke, dragging him away from Dad before more embarrassing secrets got revealed.

"Erica!" came a voice. "Lucas! How are you?"

We spun around. "Aunt Catherine!" Luke yelled. I smirked.

"You look lovely," Mom commented. "The family reunion is the only time you opt for a dress with lace. Though it's black, and full-sleeved."

"I can't help it," I said. "Black is my thing."

She laughed. "You still look stunning."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"Where's Cyrus?" Mom asked. "I haven't seen him around."

Luke smiled. "He's probably sitting in a corner of the house, sulking. Grandpa hates people."

As Mom walked away, I turned to Luke. "Where's your family?"

"Dad's over there," he replied, pointing in the general direction of people. Still, I could see Uncle Robert's blonde hair poking out of the cluster of Hales. "Mom's dealing with Hannah outside. She's having a fit."

"I mean, she is four years old," I said. "Of course she's throwing a fit."

"Weird that's coming from you," he replied. "You're definitely less icier than the last time I saw you."

I laughed. "Yeah. It's also weird that you're in formal wear. I bet if you could pick what you wanted to wear, you'd show up in Basketball shorts and a t-shirt."

He nodded. "Instead, Mom made me wear this disgusting tie." He tugged at his collar uncomfortably.

"Family reunion is the only time everyone leaves their work to come together. As a family." I smiled at Great-Aunt Martha as we moved to stand in a corner of the house.

Then, as if to prove my point, Dad's cousin Uncle Morris burst into the house. Cheers erupted as people greeted him. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "Those folks at the NSA couldn't find me a private jet on time."

I grabbed Luke's hand and walked around. "Look. Aunt May from Australia. Uncle Tim from Canada. Your parents. Great Uncle Jim from Greece. Our cousin Shelly and her husband whose name I keep forgetting."

He squeezed my hand. "You're right."

"Being older by three weeks, of course I am right," I replied with a sly smile.

He laughed. "Anyways, how's your boyfriend doing?"

I stiffened. It's been ten months since Ben fell into a coma. Shortly after it began he was transferred to a hospital in D.C., and I visited him every week.

"He...he still hasn't woken," I responded, turning around for a brief moment to wipe my tears. I was the one to tell Luke when it first happened, Being the only closest member in my family to my age, I trusted him with almost everything.

There were downsides to that. Like how he knew I'm crying. He stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, Erica."

I nodded. "It's fine," I said, swallowing and turning his way. "It's actually fine. Just...just don't call him my boyfriend, okay?"

Luke nodded. "Alright. Now cheer up. This isn't the Erica I know."

"Right."

We each made weekly trips to visit Ben. I went on Sundays and Wednesdays, Mike on Tuesdays and Fridays, Zoe on Saturday, Cynthia on Thursday and Jamie on Mondays.

"Sneak attack," came a voice behind me. "I'm going to-"

I cut the voice off by spinning around and judo flipping my attacker, who turned out to be Uncle Tim, who groaned painfully on the floor. Everyone spun our way.

"Erica!" Mom gasped. 'We do not judo flip our elders in this family like that!"

"Uncle Tim was the one who sneak attacked me in the first place," I protested defensively.

Mom turned to Uncle Tim. "Timothy!" she said. "We do not sneak attack young children in this family. Especially not Erica."

"I mean, you know the kid can judo flip you, right?" Grandpa said coyly, raising his eyebrows.

Uncle Tim only groaned. "Who knew a mere seventeen year old girl could do that?"

"She's not 'mere'," Grandpa said. "She's a Hale, for Pete's sake. So are you. I trained her when she was in diapers."

I laughed as people got back to their conversations. "Anyways," I said to Luke, "I'm starving. You coming?"

He shrugged. "I'm stuffed with breakfast, but okay. My mom made the ravioli, by the way."

"Oh god," I said. "Now I'm definitely taking that. Aunt Lucy's food is the best."

We loaded our plates, and all of a sudden, my phone started ringing. Dad shot me a look that clearly said No phone calls during Family Reunion.

I glanced at the caller ID before silencing it. Zoe.

"Isn't that the girl with the big green eyes?" Luke asked. I nodded. Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I dug into my food as we found a nice spot on the stairs.

"It's good to see you after a long time," I told Luke. "I don't have any siblings, and you're the closest person who's blood-related to me."

He smiled. "That goes for you too. But you're lucky. You get to go on fancy missions with your boyfriend and-" Luke was cut off by my phone vibrating again.

"Zoe again?" I exclaimed, dumbfounded. "What does she want?"

Luke suddenly put his plate down. "Erica!" he said. "Today's Saturday!"

"So?"

He grabbed my phone. "Don't you understand? Today's Saturday. Zoe's turn to visit."

The hospital. Ben.

"Oh my gosh," was all I could manage. "You're...you're right!"

"Being younger by three weeks, I am," he said. "Now answer it!"

I answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey. Dang, Erica, that's a lot of voices." Zoe's voice was blank.

"Huh? Oh yeah, today's Hale Family Reunion day."

"Nice. Anyways, I have...news."

I almost dropped the phone. "News? What kind of news?"

"Just...just come here." Then she hung up. I looked at Luke, worry seeping through my body.

"Is everything okay?" Luke asked.

I stood up. "We have to go to the hospital. Now. Looks like there's an emergency."

"We?" he asked. "What am I going to do?"

"Come on," I said, rushing down the stairs. "You might as well come along."

I raced past everyone and got to the front door, then slipped out into the open. The parking lot was so full of cars, it took me a while to find the Mercedes.

I fished the car keys from my purse and hopped into the shiny black car. Luke climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut just as I started the engine, pulling the car out of the lot.

"You're a good driver," he said as I charged through the road. "Man, I got my license last year and I'm not even half as good."

"That's because I've been driving since I was twelve," I replied, making a left turn. I had been to the hospital so many times that I had memorized the trip and could drive there blindfolded. "Plus, we need to get there in five minutes flat."

"We're sneaking away from a family reunion," he protested. "Couldn't we have at least told someone?"

Just as he said that, though, his phone rang. I groaned. "Answer it."

"Hi, Uncle Alexander," he said meekly, turning the phone on speaker.

"What were you two thinking, leaving a family reunion?" Dad asked. "In my Mercedes?"

"Dad, we're headed to the hospital. Something came up, alright?" I said, losing my patience. I turned right and entered the hospital parking lot, searching desperately for an empty lot.

"Oh." Dad was silent, then he sighed. "Well, some back soon."

As he hung up, I parked the car and got out, running to the doors with Luke on my heels. we reached the entrance, and I practically shoved my way in.

"Hello," the woman at the front desk said. "How may I help you?"

"Uh, Ben Ripley, I need to see him," I said, almost out of breath. She pointed to the elevators, and I rushed there with Luke.

"Tenth floor," he announced after reading a sign. "Come on."

Once inside the elevator, I couldn't stop thinking about Ben. It made me so nervous, I didn't realize Luke's hand on my shoulder until he squeezed it.

"Calm down," he said. "It's not like he's dead." then he paused for a moment. "Never mind. Not the most appropriate time to use that."

I swallowed hard. I was trying not to think about that word. The elevator doors finally opened, and I rushed to the door with Ben's name.

I swung the door open, and nearly collapsed. Surrounding the bed were Cynthia, Jamie, Mike and Zoe. On the bed was Ben.

Wide-awake.

Ben was awake, and he was staring right into my eyes with a surprised expression I assumed I had on my face as well.

"Wha-" I began, but I had lost the ability to speak. Is it a dream?

"It's not a dream," Zoe gushed with tears in her eyes. "It's a miracle."

Ben's face had nothing but surprise and shock. I stayed glued to my spot in the doorway, not taking my eyes off of him.

Cynthia looked at her phone and sighed. "Oh well, Jamie and I have to go," she said, then leaned in to kiss Ben on the cheek. Jamie thumped his back and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Okay. See you later, then," Ben replied, taking his eyes off of me for a brief moment.

I had completely forgotten what Ben's voice sounded like.

"Well don't just stand there in the doorway," Mike said. "Come in!"

I slowly walked in, and only when Luke brushed his shoulder against mine did I realize that he was still standing there.

"Uh," I started nervously. "Luke, that's Mike, Zoe and...and Ben. Everyone, this is Luke."

He politely waved, and everyone else murmured hellos. Luke squeezed my hand. "He's alive, Erica."

My eyes welled up as I walked over to the chair by the bedside. I sat in it, not taking my eyes off Ben. "Hi."

A moment passed...and Ben pulled me into a hug. I didn't know what else to do, so I hugged him right back.

I didn't realize I was crying until we pulled apart. Based off of my damp neck, he had been crying too.

"Erica," he whispered, so softly. "Oh, Erica."

"You're alive," I whispered. "I was so worried. I kept telling myself you wouldn't die. Why is it that you always die?"

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I just don't know. You've changed."

"How?" I asked.

"For starters, in ten months, you've gotten ten times prettier," he said. I started to say something, but he leaned in close and whispered, "I see you've moved on in life. Will your boyfriend mind if I steal a kiss?"

I looked to Luke before pulling away. "Luke? No way. Luke's not my boyfriend. No."

Luke recoiled. "What-no! I could never. Erica's my cousin."

"Yeah," I added. "His mom is my dad's sister."

Ben exhaled. "Oh."

I smirked. "I knew you wouldn't die."

"It's good to have you back, Ben," Mike said.

Ben smiled. "It's good to be back."

"Anyways," I said, motioning for Luke to come closer, "it's time you get to know Luke. I dragged him away from a family reunion, you know."

"Ah," Mike said. "That explains the fancy getup."

As Luke engaged in a conversation with the others, I smoothed out my dress and admired Ben. There was only one thing on my mind. The thought brought me relief, happiness and a feeling that everything was finally okay.

He's alive, and that's all that matters.

THE END!!! I mean, it's kinda sad, but I have officially finished another book!