𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎

A loud gasp escapes my lips as I jolt my body forward. The first sight my eyes latch onto is the terrified expressions on the nurses around me. They all yelp, covering their mouths with their hands. This looks like a scene straight out of a horror movie, where the dead corpse wakes up and murders all of the victims around them.

Their eyes widen even more when Grayson also gasps for air, sitting up in his hospital bed. He's frantically looking around, seeming confused.

"Hope?" Is the first word he calls out.

"Grayson?" I breathlessly answer while turning to look at him.

"Oh my god! They're awake!" One of the nurses yells before rushing to my side. "Are you all right? How are you feeling? Any head pain?"

The tubes of oxygen shoved up my nose are causing an uncomfortable pressure in my nostrils.

"Can you take this tube off of me?" I plead with my eyes.

"Are you sure you can breathe on your own?" The woman frantically asks.

"Yes." I manage to say.

She nods and turns the machine off, helping me free the tubes from my body. The minute they are off, I inhale a deep breath through my nose, then my mouth. I can actually feel the air filling up my lungs.

They do the same to Grayson and he instantly starts breathing on his own. Using the same tactics that I am, he's breathing deeply in and out.

"You both have been in a coma for almost a month. Do you know that?" A male nurse on Grayson's side of the room asks us.

"Almost a month?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"Yes, you were in a terrible car accident." He confirms.

"Car accident." Grayson mumbles.

"How did you both wake up at the same time?" Another nurse speaks up.

Grayson and I look at each other, gulping nervously.

"I don't know." I slowly say, trying to piece everything together.

Looking straight past the people in the room, my vision makes out an outline of a tall figure standing in the corner. Hunter.

Sitting up in the bed, I look down at my hands. I start to touch my arms, my neck, my face. I feel okay, better than okay. I feel fine.

When my eyes look back at the corner of the room, the figure that I thought I saw is now gone. And that's when the intense realization hits me. It wasn't a dream.

Being with Hunter in that magical world was somehow real. I remember the cottage, the lake, the carnival. My mind flashes me pieces of kissing Grayson, writing in my diary about him, feeling my heartbeat for the first time.

I don't know if he remembers, but I'm starting to gain recollection of everything. My white dress is replaced with a hospital gown, and the sandals I wore everyday are completely gone.

"I think you're in shock, sweetheart." One of the nurses places her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm okay." I nod my head.

"Where's my parents? Ethan?!" Grayson loudly shouts, his voice cracking.

The wooden door swings open with a force, and my eyes are met with Ethan standing in the doorway. "Gray?"

"I'm back, E. I'm fucking back." The joy in Grayson's face is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

"You're awake!" The boy rushes over to Grayson's side of the bed, throwing his arms around him while letting out loud sobs.

"Grayson?" A female voice says from the door.

I watch his parents look at me with shocked expressions, and then look at him. He's being smothered by his twin, not that I expected anything less.

"Mom, dad. I'm back." Is all Grayson keeps repeating.

"Oh my gosh!" His mother is already crying when she wraps her arms around him.

"How is this possible? It's been weeks of nothing." His father says, placing his hand on his forehead in surprise.

"I had to come back. I couldn't leave you guys." I hear Grayson's muffled voice say through all of the love he's receiving. I can't help but watch in admiration.

"Hope?" A voice calls out.

My head turns toward the door, and both of my parents are staring at me as if they'd seen a ghost. Their wide eyed expressions and gape mouths show how shocked they are.

"Hi." I manage to smile.

"How are you awake right now?" My mother walks over to the bed.

"They were taking you off of oxygen." My father gulps.

"I just woke up." I shrug, acting as if it's a totally normal response.

"This is incredible." My crying mother pulls me into a hug. It's the first hug we've shared since before Hunter died.

I wrap my arms around her and shut my eyes, feeling tears trickle down my cheeks. My father joins in on our little love fest and hugs the both of us tightly.

"We were so worried we were never going to see you again, that you were gone for good." My mother says through her sobs.

"I'm okay, mom. I'm okay." I say while embracing them both.

"I'm so sorry, Hope. For everything. You were right, we were pushing your brother under the rug. We figured it would be easier to grieve if we moved on, but that wasn't fair for you." My mother says while holding onto my hand.

A low knock is heard on the door, and everyone in the room turns to look at a tall man with salt and pepper hair. He's wearing scrubs, and a clipboard is in his hand.

"Wow, talk about a miracle." He says while looking back and forth between Grayson and I.

"Tell me about it." Grayson mumbles while sitting up.

"My name is Dr. Michaels, and I have a few questions to ask both Hope and Grayson."

My parents get off of my bed and take a step back, Grayson's parents do the same thing. I nervously gulp and stare at the man.

"This is a rare case, waking up from a coma with full memory and no head trauma. Your bodies have also miraculously healed from the four weeks your were in here, proving the surgeries we did to be successful." He says while looking at both of us. "I need to ask you guys a set of questions to make sure you aren't just in a state of shock. Let's start with something easy. What was the last thing you remember before slipping into this coma?"

Grayson clears his throat, indicating he's answering first. "I remember Hope and I were hanging out at the carnival, and then it started to rain. I insisted I take her home since we live across the street from each other. My grandmother's car is old and the windshield wipers stopped working. The rain was so heavy and I couldn't see anything."

"That's when another car collided into ours." I finish the story for him.

"What do you remember after you were hit?" The doctor asks.

Both Grayson and I stay totally silent for a moment, until I speak up. "Nothing. That's where everything blacks out."

"What happened to the driver of the other car?" Grayson asks.

"He died on impulse." The doctor informs us.

"Oh wow." I mumble, feeling horrible that a life was lost.

"Ma'am, what is your full name?" Dr. Michaels asks me.

"Hope Elizabeth Myers." I answer him.

"When is your birthday?"

"January 12th." I let out a breath.

"What are your parents names?" He asks.

"Corynn and Jim."

"How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen."

"What state do you live in?"

"Washington, in the town of Renton." I add while lifting an eyebrow.

He looks impressed by my sharp memory. "Very well, then." He moves over to Grayson and goes to open his mouth, but Grayson cuts him off.

"My full name is Grayson Bailey Dolan, thanks mom. My birthday is December 16th. Sean and Lisa are my parents and Ethan is my twin brother. I'm nineteen and I live in New Jersey."

"Oh my god." Sean gasps.

"Wow, your memory seems to be in tact." Dr. Michaels looks down at his clipboard.

"How is that possible? You said they could have issues with their brains?" My mother speaks up.

"Normally they would. Actually, normally they wouldn't wake up this late into their comas. I don't know if you believe in angels, or God, or just luck. But something, or someone, was definitely on their side."

Hunter. My mind immediately flashes to our conversation in the sunflower field. He wants me to let go, to move on with my life. My life with Grayson.

He saved us from going through that unfortunate pain of head trauma. He allowed us to remember the world we were placed in. At least, I remember.

"Can Grayson and I have a minute alone?" I speak up, watching everyone in the room turn to look at us.

"Honey, we want to spend time with you." My mother shakes her head.

"And that's fine, but I really need to talk to Grayson." I say, turning to look at him.

He nods his head, almost like he knows exactly what I'm going to say.

"Sure, we'll be outside." Ethan says while motioning toward the door.

My parents hesitantly agree, but eventually the room empties out and it's the two of us.

The silence consumes us for a brief moment, until I turn to look at him. "Hi."

"Hey." He says with a low smile.

Before I can get another word in, he rises to his feet. My eyes widen as I watch him walk over to my bed, taking a seat onto it.

"Are you okay?" I ask while sitting up.

"I feel okay, a little sore, though." He says while placing his hands into his lap.

"Me too, my mouth is dry." I run my tongue along the outline of my lips.

"I can't believe we're awake." He says barely above a whisper.

"So, uh." I awkwardly clear my throat, looking down at my hands. Where do I start? "I had this crazy dream."

"Me too." He says with a low grin forming on his face.

"You did?" I lift my head up to look at him.

"Yeah, we were stuck in our own personal heaven and I met your brother. We lived in this cottage and-"

"It was real, Grayson." I blurt out.

His face drops with relief as he lets out a laugh. "I didn't know if you remembered."

"I do, I remember everything."

"Even the butterflies? And the carnival?" He raises an eyebrow.

"And the kiss." I whisper.

A blush swipes across his cheeks as he holds onto my hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "We made it through everything, H."

"You called me H." My eyes light up in wonder.

"Of course, that's still your nickname." He says with a smile.

"So, it was real." I bite down on my lower lip.

His eyes move down to my bed, landing behind my pillow. "I think this is conformation of it being real." He reaches behind me and picks up a sunflower pedal. A light gasp leaves my mouth as he holds it in front of me.

"I believe this belongs in your hair." He says, brushing my locks behind my ear to place the sunflower between my strands of hair.

A small amount of tears threaten my eyes as I place my hand on his cheek, forcing his body closer to mine.

"Thank you for everything." I whisper.

"It was my pleasure, H." He grins before slowly connecting his mouth to mine.

My breath is completely taken away as I kiss him back, never wanting this moment to end. It's sweet, sensitive, and gentle. Everything I have ever dreamed a kiss could be.

"That was way better in real life." I giggle, parting my lips from his.

"I have a feeling everything's going to be better in real life." His small smirk says it all: I'm ready for this adventure with him.