Last Chapter!!!!! I mean, I'm sad, but I've finished yet another book! Don't worry, there's quite a big epilogue coming.

Erica's POV

"...bye," came a distant, faded voice, and I woke up to a very familiar voice. It took me a moment to realize that I was still in a hospital. The person who was by my bedside wasn't Mom, but Dad. Behind him, Mom was curled up in a ball on the chair in the corner, snoring softly.

"Look who's awake," Dad said with a sly smile. "Shhh. Your mother just fell asleep after my desperate attempts to get her to rest."

I groaned. "When...when did you get here?"

"About four to five hours ago," Dad replied. "Bad weather. My helicopter ride took quite some time."

I tried to move, but my leg sent a shock of pain through my body. I yelped in pain, but Dad covered my mouth with his hand to muffle the sound.

"How long until my leg's recovered?" I asked.

Dad sighed. "Doctor says three months plus a month of physical therapy. You've broken quite some bones, toes and torn some tissues."
I swore under my breath. "Great."

"Hungry?" Dad asked. "You're allowed to have apple juice, a banana and bread with the crusts cut off."

"A banana should do me fine," I said. As Dad handed me my banana, I moved a little too quickly to the side, and the bullet wound in my abdomen sent a piercing pain through my body, making me cry out in pain.

Mom snapped awake. "Erica!" she cried, getting up and running over to me. "Are you okay?"

I tried to nod, but I was too busy biting my lip to keep the pain in.

"Catherine, you need to rest," Dad said slowly. "I'm here for her. You haven't slept a wink."

Mom was sleepy, so she let Dad guide her back to the chair. "But what about you?" she asked.

"I slept through the helicopter ride," Dad informed her. "I'll be fine. You sleep."

Then he turned to me and raised his eyebrows, asking me if I was okay. I silently nodded, and he walked back over to me.

"You know what? I'll just have some apple juice instead," I said. "Not really hungry at all."

Dad nodded, taking the banana from me. "I'll go get some juice."

"Erica!" Zoe cried, throwing the door open. She ran in, followed by the others. "You're awake."

I smiled weakly. "Yeah. Never felt better."

Dad smiled. 'You guys stay with her. I'll go get some juice."

"We already did," Jamie said, coming forward with a glass of juice. "We thought you'd like some."

"Thanks," I said, sipping from the cup. Everyone crowded around the bed.

"Did you...did you tell her?" Zoe asked Dad.

Dad was silent. I sat up a little straighter. "Wait-what? Tell me what? What happened?"

Everyone's expressions darkened. I scanned the room, but no one dared to meet my gaze. That's when I realized that no one had told me anything about Ben yet.

"Did he-did he...Ben...did he survive?" I asked slowly, my fingers trembling.

Dad slowly spoke up. "I'm...I'm so, sorry, Erica."

"He's...he's in...a coma," Cynthia said slowly.

He's not dead. That's all that came to me. "He's...he's not dead."

Then I burst into tears.

I didn't know what triggered it, but tears flowed down my cheeks with the grace of a waterfall. I buried my face in my hands. My face, hands, dress and hair were soaking wet.

Everyone rushed to my side. "Erica, are you okay?" Jamie asked.

"It's a lot for her," Zoe said. I grabbed the towel by my bed and wiped my face dry, but all that did was make way for new tears to fall.

"He'll be fine," Mike said calmly. "I'm devastated too, but it's a miracle he even survived. That's what all the doctors are saying."

"Take your time," Cynthia said softly. "It's all right. We're here for you."

I fought to control my tears and dabbed at my face with a towel. I heard the door close and when I looked up, Dad was on his phone again, starting to walk down the hallway.

"Can I...can I go?" I asked weakly.

"You've broken like, six bones," came Mom's voice. She got up and walked over. "That's quite unhealthy."

"I've had worse," I reminded her. "I'll use crutches. I promise."

Mom sighed, then helped me out of bed. I grabbed the crutches leaning against the wall and stood straight.

Mom walked out of the room. "I'll leave your friends to stay with you. I'm going to go attend some important duties." Then she walked out of the room.

I followed everyone out of the room and down the hallway. "So, how does it feel to walk?" Zoe asked.

I shrugged. "It feels...different."

Jamie laughed. "Yeah. They gave you a truckload of painkillers. It was crazy."

"Where are we?" I asked. "When are we?"

"Charlotte, North Carolina," Mike replied. "It's about four in the morning. You guys were airlifted here."

"Plus, we're all starving," Cynthia grumbled.

"You guys should go eat something. There's a cafeteria, right?" I said as we made a left turn. Mike pressed the button for the elevator and for a while we stared at the metal doors.

When the doors finally slid open, we got in and Zoe pressed the button for the ninth floor.

"You'll see the room," Jamie said. "His name's there. We're all going to go get some food."

I smiled. "Thanks, guys." Then I set my crutches aside. They all leaned in for a group hug. It felt so good to feel my friends' arms around me.

When we pulled apart, Mike gasped. "Oh my god. Did I literally just hug the Ice Queen?"

I laughed. "I love you guys so much." The elevator doors slid open and I grabbed my crutches. "See you later."

They smiled, and I headed out. The doors slid closed. I stared at the elevator for a while, then walked down the hallway. Most of the rooms were marked with the patient's name and status as 'COMA'. I found myself outside a door that was marked 'BENJAMIN RIPLEY'.

My heart skipped a beat as I gave the door a slight push and stepped in, closing the door behind me.

I almost dropped my crutches in shock.

In front of my eyes, on a hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines, was Ben. He was peacefully laying on the bed in a hospital gown with a small blanket over his legs. He wasn't on breathing support either. Just an IV attached to his arm.

I sat down in the chair by his bedside.

"Hi," I said slowly, reaching out to touch his hand. "How are you?"

Silence.

"It's...it's great to see you alive and all," I continued, "but you're not exactly in peak physical condition." I laced my fingers around his. "Come back, please."

Silence.

"I miss you. I kept telling myself you wouldn't die," I said, squeezing his hand. He didn't react. No one was looking, so I got up, leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to visit you everyday and talk to you. You're not going to be lonely." Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

The beeping machines were so loud that I couldn't hear anything else. I took his hand in mine and pressed it to my forehead. When I lifted my head, my face was wet with tears again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I invade a private moment?" came a friendly voice. I looked up to see a woman in her twenties with long brown hair and blue eyes.

I wiped my tears, set his hand down and shook my head. "No, it's fine."

"Oh, okay, alright then," she said, walking over to the bed to change the IV bag. "Are you Erica?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

She smiled. "I'm Dr. Walter. I performed the surgery on Ben. It's a miracle he survived."

"Do you know how long it will be before he wakes up?" I asked.

"I've treated all sorts of coma patients," she replied. "Sometimes it's days, weeks, sometimes moths and even years."

I gave Ben's hand a weak squeeze. "Oh."

"Maybe, if you and your friends keep visiting and spending time, his brain might wake him up from this state. Research has proven that talking to coma patients can help." As she walked out of the room, she turned back and smiled. "I wish you all the best."

This book is officially over! There's an epilogue coming though, and then a little Thank-You note along with some important announcements. Have a great day!