𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎

My eyes slowly drift open, immediately catching a glimpse of Hunter standing over the bed. I slightly jump, letting out a shriek.

He leans his head back and starts laughing, the old familiar sound vibrates through the room. Blinking a few times, I fully sit up on the mattress.

"Good morning to you, too." I sigh and look at him.

"Good morning little sis." His white teeth are on full display as he sits down on the bed. "We have a full day ahead of us. I'm taking you somewhere."

"Where are we going?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"Get up and I'll show you." He rolls his eyes before standing up and walking away.

Rising to my feet, I rush out of the bedroom. Grayson and Hunter are standing by the front door, acting as if we're all going on some vacation.

"Morning, Hope." Grayson says while eyeing me up and down.

"Good morning." I flash him a small smile.

"You guys need to see what's happening in the real world. I have to warn you, it isn't pretty." Hunter's serious voice puzzles me.

It was always pretty rare for my brother to get angry or snap an attitude, so when he does I'm caught off guard.

"Do we even want to see it?" Grayson's facial expression drops.

Instead of responding, we are immediately transported to my small bedroom back in Renton. My eyes widen as I look around the quiet area. It feels like I haven't been here in decades.

"My room." I mumble and go straight towards my bay window. God, I miss it so much.

"Our first stop - home." Hunter lets out a sigh.

My black diary is perfectly placed on the seat, and I can't help but let out a breath. I wrote in it every single day, it's an important part of my grieving. I hate not having it with me anymore.

"Why are we here?" I slowly ask, looking across the street to Linda's house.

Before Hunter can answer, I hear a loud scream coming from downstairs. I snap my head to the right, the sound of commotion is ringing through my ears.

"What's going on?" Grayson looks back at my brother.

Ignoring his comment, I rush down the steps and head for the kitchen. My parents are standing in the middle of it. My mother is hysterically crying, my father is holding an angry expression.

"What's happening to them?" I yell while turning to look at Hunter.

"I'm sorry, Hope." He whispers.

"Sorry about what?" Grayson speaks for me.

"No, we can't do that!" My mother's loud and distraught voice shakes the entire house. My eyes widen at the power behind her sobs.

"It's been two weeks of absolutely nothing." My father says while running his hands through his hair.

"We've been here for two weeks?!" I yell while turning back to Hunter.

"No way, it's been, like, two days." Grayson disagrees.

"In the real world, the accident happened two weeks ago." My brother lowly speaks.

Two weeks?! How is that possible. I understand time is slower where we are, but shit. How have we been away for two weeks already?

"She's a fighter, she'll wake up!" My mother covers her mouth with her hand.

"Honey, the doctors said there's a rare chance she will ever break from this coma." My father shakes his head back and forth.

"We can't just give up on her, Jim." She goes back at him.

"Wait, what are they talking about?" I keep my eyes on my arguing parents.

"It might be the best solution." My father places one hand on the kitchen counter, the other on his hip.

"Shutting off her oxygen machine is not the best solution! How dare you say such a thing, she's your daughter!" My mother screams at the top of her lungs, her entire face is red from crying so hard.

The words hit me like a hurricane, shaking my entire core. "They want to take me off oxygen?" My voice whispers as I look at Hunter.

"Yes." His eyes glimmer with sadness.

"She can't breathe on her own yet, she'll die." Grayson says while stepping closer to me.

"That's the point." Hunter gulps.

"Pulling the plug on her is not an option, I won't allow it." My mother says through her sobs.

"Mom!" I yell while stepping in front of her. "I'm right here, I'm still half alive!"

"We have to come to a decision soon, it kills me to look at her helplessly lying in there." My father shakes his head.

"We don't need to pull the plug just yet, we can wait it out. I refuse to lose both of my children."

"It might be what's best for her, Corynn. Her body is not responding."

"Her brain activity is still strong." My mother wipes a few of her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Not strong enough. Who knows how long it will take for them to wake up. Linda suggested the same thing about her grandson." My father's words cause Grayson's eyes to practically pop out of their sockets.

"Wait, what?!" He yells with a terrified tone.

I look back at Grayson, who is already storming out of my house. "Grayson." I call after him, following him out the door.

Linda and Ethan are outside, getting out of their rental car. Since the Sedan was totaled in the accident, I guess they found a new way around town.

"The doctors are saying they aren't getting any better." The elderly woman says with a small voice.

"They have to, I refuse to lose my brother." Ethan angrily crosses his arms over his chest.

"Ethan, you won't lose me!" Grayson yells while standing in front of his twin. The heartbreaking look on his face is making my non-beating heart ache for him.

"Maybe the Myer's are right. Maybe it's better for them to find peace, they aren't making any progress. It's already been two weeks since they fell into a coma." Linda lets out a sad breath.

"No fucking way!" Grayson screams while stepping in front of his grandmother. "You better not kill me, I swear to-"

"Grayson." I speak up, hoping he'll listen to me.

His eyes meet mine, and he lets out a long breath. "This can't be happening."

"This can't be happening." Ethan repeats his words. "Why Grayson out of all people? He doesn't deserve this."

"Yeah, why me? Why us, Hope?" Grayson starts to panic as he rushes over to where I'm standing.

"I don't know, Grayson. I really don't." I wish I had all of the answers, but that's impossible.

It's still confusing to me. Why did the car accident happen? Why are Grayson and I stuck in our own personal heaven? Why can't we feel human emotions? The list goes on and on.

"After dinner I'm going back to see him." Ethan states.

"Okay, I'm going to call your mom again. She said they're hopping on the next flight to Washington." Linda sadly responds.

"Oh my god, my parents." Grayson places his numb hand on his forehead.

"Grayson, it's okay." I step closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He looks down at my arm and sighs, knowing the sensation isn't actually there.

"I want to go back." He says with a frustrated tone.

"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"To the cottage, I want to go back." His voice is loud and clear.

"We have to get Hunter to-" Before my sentence can be finished, we are standing back inside of the small cottage. I look around with a low gasp.

"Don't worry, I hear you loud and clear." Hunter says while appearing next to us.

"That was-"

"Intense? I know, but you guys needed to see the problems going on in the real world. Tough decisions are being made."

"Isn't that against the rules? If they pull the plug on us, then we can't decide when to come back, they would decide for us." Grayson says.

"It's still up to you guys." Hunter says with a sigh. "They're just confused, and scared."

"What's going to happen if they actually do it?" I lowly ask.

My brother keeps his eyes on me, letting out a small breath. "Then you fully die. You'll be brought to heaven with everyone else."

I don't know how those words make me feel. The thought of dying seems scary, to pass on to the full after life. I keep my eyes on Hunter, staying completely frozen as I really think about everything.

"Not an option." Grayson interrupts my running thoughts by scoffing. "I am not dying."

"That's your choice to make." Hunter shrugs.

"Great, that's exactly what I want to hear. I choose to go back, so let me." Grayson steps closer to my brother.

"You can't."

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows narrow.

"You can't go back yet, it's not time."

"What the fuck do you mean? I just told you that I choose to leave."

"It's not time yet. It's too soon." Hunter slowly tells him.

"Too soon? Too soon for what?" I can tell his voice is raising, he's trying to showcase his anger.

"I don't know, I don't make the rules, remember? All I know is that you guys have more time here, you can't leave yet. You have to find your purpose." Hunter looks back at me, while I stay silent.

"I am so sick of hearing you say that." Grayson mutters under his breath, which Hunter simply ignores.

"Hope, are you okay?" My brother finally asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I nod my head slowly.

"I know this is hard, but you guys will figure it out." Hunter looks between Grayson and I. "Anyway, I should head out before it gets dark. See you guys tomorrow?" He asks in the form of a question.

"Duh." I say with a lighthearted grin.

With a nod, my brother disappears before I can even blink. Now, Grayson and I are alone in this cottage with our rapid thoughts.

"Some day, huh?" He mutters while looking at me.

"It's been an emotional one." I nod in agreement.

"That's ironic, considering we can't actually feel anything." He scoffs.

I inhale a breath, keeping my eyes on his. "I'm sure everything will be okay. It has to be."

"Yeah, maybe if we say it enough, we'll head back to the real world."

Once again I stay quiet, trying to formulate words in my head.

"I'm going to take another nap. That cool?" Grayson announces while walking toward the bedroom.

"Sure, go ahead." I nod.

He gives me a helpless grin before heading to the door. Before he can fully enter the room, he turns to look back at me. "Hey, Hope?"

"Yeah?" My eyes shift to his

"I'm really glad I have you here with me." The sincerity in his voice would light a fire in my core, but unfortunately my numb body can't react to the way he just said my name, or the way he's staring at me with his intense eyes.

"Me too." I nod with a genuine smile.

And with that, Grayson enters the bedroom and closes the door behind him.