Clear Skies

Blake's POV

"But dad!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I want the red board."

"Now Blake you have to learn how to share." Dad grinned as he knelt in front of me and placed a glob of sunscreen on my face. Even though I was angry, it managed to get me to smile. I pushed him away and started spreading the sunscreen throughout my exposed body.

"What if there's a shark?" Shawn asked trying to balance the surf board under his arm even if it was significantly bigger than him. "Dad!" He shouted suddenly, "What if it's Jaws dad?! Isn't that like some radioactive shark! No no no, no way dad! I'm not going in there! What if it bites me?" He thought about it for a second, "Oh my god! What if it does bite me? I could be Shark Man!"

Dad laughed and ruffled Shawn's hair, "I'll be Octo-man then."

Shawn frowned, "Why would you want to be a stop sign?"

I smirked, "At least he knows his shapes."

"Now don't be mean Blake." Mom laid down on her towel beside Cole. "Are you going in the water honey?" She directed to Cole.

He was laying down in the sun with his shades on trying to tan I assumed. "Nope," he said, "I just put the sunscreen on. Doctors say I should wait fifteen minutes before going in the water or else the waves wash it off."

Dad chuckled, "Where do you get all these factoids?"

Shawn laughed, "Factoids sounds like Fat Toys." He continued laughing and buckled over, his hands on his knees as he dropped the surf board, "Fat Toys! Yes Cole, where do you get those Fat Toys?"

I shook my head, "Are you coming or not?" I picked up the blue surf board and placed in under my arm. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at my dad. He was smiling looking between Cole, Shawn, and mom. I couldn't help but notice how much Cole looks like dad. Even his figure looks like dad. But mostly the facial structure. The only difference was the nose.

Shawn shook his head, "I'm going to do the Shark dance."

"Shark dance?" Dad asked.

"So it'll come," Shawn commenced in his shark dance. He moved in a circle with his hand on his back as a dorsal fin. He chanted gibberish and continued to dance as he 'summoned' the shark.

Dad laughed before turning me towards the sea. "Come on Blake, race you to the buoy."

I scanned the horizon until I saw the red buoy that was floating on the water. It looked so far away that I felt a small pang of fear. "All the way over there?" I asked.

"Yeah." Dad grinned, "Come on. I'll be right there beside you the whole time."

"But why so far?"

"Because I want to show you the sand bar." Dad grabbed the pair of goggles we had and handed me one. "I'll help you through it, come on."

I sighed as we walked into the salt water. It was refreshing against the hot summer sun. But also help raspy and tasted saltier than usual. "Are we even going to make it with the waves?" I asked as we paddled through the water.

I heard dad laugh behind me, "Just dive if you see a wave."

Whenever a wave came by, I'd do as dad told me and dive underneath it, feeling it tumble above me. The goggles kept some of the water out of my eyes but I ended up slinging them around my neck when they fogged up. Now I had to strain a bit when I kept my eyes open underneath the water because it'd sting more. "Dad we're really far away." I stated as I looked back. The water had gotten colder and by now I couldn't even pin point where the bottom of the ocean was. "Dad..." I said with fear hidden behind my voice.

He paddled in right beside me and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we can stop here if you don't want to keep going." He grinned, "Besides, if the lifeguards see us at the buoy we'll get in trouble. The sand bar is only a couple feet away, we can make it." He grabbed my hand and pushed it through the water jolting us forward. "We're almost there."

The water became warmer and clearer as we pushed on. It was as if the sand took a dip and then rose again, like the bottom of land in between two hills. Dad got off his board and touched down on the sand bar. The water only reached around his stomach. Oddly, it was very calm and relaxing. I had missed coming to the beach to surf, swim, or even eat ice cream at the local parlor. Even though we come often, whenever I head home it's like something is missing. Being landlocked sucks.

I sat up on my surf board, slightly pointing it up. Dad kept diving underwater, getting hand fulls of sand to see if their were any seashells that were still in tact. "Hey dad," I said as he surfaced for air. He placed the globs of sand on his board and started looking through it. "How'd you meet mom?"

He smiled and took his goggles off, placing them on his head. I rocked against the small waves of the ocean as he stared off towards shore with a small smile. "Now I doubt you want to hear that story." He grinned.

I nodded, "I want to know."

He chuckled, "Remember Auntie Sam?" I nodded again. Aunt Sam is dad's twin sister, dad was born first though and always takes it to his advantage that he's almost three minutes older. "Well Aunt Sam invited me to this dance at her college, she had this huge crush on my roommate and was hoping to double date."

I laughed, "Double dating sounds awful. Because one couple is always going to be more active then the other."

"Exactly!" Dad laughed, "I was set up for this blind date. Well...turns out it became a triple date. Aunt Sam with my roommate, me with this girl, and the guy with your mom."

"So mom wasn't your blind date?"

"Nope." Dad grinned, "What happened was, when I saw your mother I noticed how beautiful she was. She wasn't trying to be pretty or-how do I put this in your kid slang," Dad gave a half laugh before snapping his fingers like he got it, "Hot. She wasn't trying to be pretty or hot, she was...elegant."

I smiled and waited for him to continue the story. "What happened next?"

"Well...I didn't like the guy she went on a date with. He just seemed like jerk, you know? So in the middle of the slow dance I just finally had it with his overall face and barged in."

I laughed, "His face?"

"Yes his face!" Dad argued fiercely. "He looked like a constipated toad!"

I almost fell off my board I was laughing so much. "Was he a good guy or no?"

Dad shook his head, "Not even close. He was trying to score big time which is what made me mad." He pushed some water off the surf board to get the sand grains off. "Anyways, I went in and said something on the lines of, 'Excuse me miss, I can't help but wonder why you're dancing with this man when you could be dancing with me instead. I mean I don't know how to chimichanga or anything but I can at least stop stepping on your toes.'"

I smiled, "Did she dance with you?"

Dad looked down at his board with a smile. "Yeah...she did."

"Then you dated, got married, and had the best son in the world." I puffed my chest out. "Me."

Dad laughed and hoisted himself on his board. "I had the three best sons in the world. After all, I expected more than one because of the Parris Curse."

I rolled my eyes, "There's no such thing."

We started paddling back to shore as dad explained the curse to me for the hundredth time. "It is true," He started before going into a mystical voice. "Ever since your great-great-great-great grandfather, there has been a Parris Curse."

I faked a gasp. "You don't say?"

Dad splashed me with water, "Hush now I'm telling the story. Now where was I...oh yeah! Your four times great grandfather was a little kid when he was cursed by some crazy lady. The lady told him that as long as the Parris bloodline continues, the oldest will always have more than one child, only one time. At first, our grandfather thought it was stupid but as the years went on, and the story was passed down, we really do believe there is a curse."

"There's no curse." I said again. "There's no such thing. This isn't a fairy tale dad."

He smirked, "I wish it was. I'd be some royal king and you and your brothers would be the princes. You'd find the perfect princesses and fall madly in love only to live a happily ever after."

"That's not how it works."

He rolled his eyes, "Anyways, I believe in the curse. Aunt Sam and I are twins, our father--your grandfather--was a identical twin and was born first. And me? I was born two minutes and fifty-three seconds before your aunt. Making me the oldest-"

"And you had triplets. Blah blah blah," I waved my hand as if trying to get a pesky fly to move away. "All because of some crazy lady."

"A witch if you will."

"Ha! Now I really don't believe that."

Dad chuckled, "Come on. Let's go ask your mother if we can get ice cream."

Shawn was in the process of digging a hole to China as dad and I reached back shore. Shawn kept digging with the yellow plastic sand shovel as he said he wanted to see the dragons. He implied that our Grandpa James told him that all dragons came from China.

Cole and mom were talking about school as they laid against their towels trying to catch the rays of the sun. "Did you find anything interesting?" Mom asked.

Dad nodded and handed her a shell before kissing her lips quickly. "Brings back memories huh?" He stated with a smile. Mom looked down at the shell, her smiling widening as she nodded. Dad turned to Cole, "We're getting ice cream, you want to come?"

Cole thought about it for a second, "Can I get some tonight when we go to Sherry's? I really just want to sleep."

Dad shook his head with a face that showed fake disappointment, "Spent all night reading again huh?"

"He was going to die dad!" Cole shouted the sentence like it made complete sense. "I needed to keep reading because in the next chapter there was a possibility he would die!"

Dad chuckled and then turned to where Shawn was digging. He yelled over, "Shawn! We're getting scoops of the magically cold delicious substance! You coming or what?"

"They have scoops of the magically cold delicious substance in China too dad!" He shouted back. "I need to get to China!"

"Well how do you know that?" Dad shouted again.

Shawn stopped digging for a moment and turned to face us as he yelled, "Everything is made in China!"

"He's so weird." I stated shaking my head.

"Well it's your guys' fault." Dad said pointing at Cole and I.

"What?" Cole asked, "What did we do?"

"When your mom was pregnant with you three," Dad lent forward and picked up his T-shirt, "You two probably ate all the food in the womb. And I bet you bullied him and kicked him the head. Shame on you two."

Mom laughed, "Jacob stop guilt tripping the boys. Here," She handed dad some spare money. "Could you get me a grape flavored popsicle?"

"I'll take mango if you're bringing something back." Cole stated with a sudden change in thought.

Dad turned to look at me after placing the bill into his pocket. "Race you to the parlor."

"You're on." I started sprinting away from mom and Cole, dad close behind. I laughed and screamed when we reached the sand that was boiling hot from the sun. I ran faster just to get away from it and finally touched down on the wood bridge that connected the beach to the outlet. There wasn't much in the outlet, just a drug store stocked high with supplies needed at the beach in case someone forgets something, there's a small clothing store, and then just restaurants or cafes.

I was panting hard as I placed my hands on my knees waiting for dad. He trudged on until finally reaching where I was resting. "Wow I need to shape up," He stated placing his hand on his chest.

"You ok?" I asked as I noticed his pale face that was tinted in red as if he had just run a marathon.

"Yeah," He breathed hard. "Just need to catch my breath. Probably dehydrated from the saltwater." He pushed a smile and stood up placing his hand on my shoulder. "Come on."

The door jingled as I opened it into the ice cream parlor. The air conditioning hit me with a cold blast along with the sweet smell of vanilla. It was crowded with people from the beach and every time I walked by someone I could smell the combination of saltwater and sun screen, I probably smelled no different. The line spiraled around a table and looked very unorganized. Some of the taken tables looked annoyed and uncomfortable with the crowding people.

We stood in line for about fifteen minutes before we reached the man behind the cash register. In those fifteen minutes, the air conditioning cooled me down to the bone. I was shivering and really wished I had worn a shirt and shoes. Or took the time to dry my hair for a couple minutes. "What can I get you?" The man asked.

"I'll have a double scoop cookies and cream ice cream in a cone." I ordered before adding in, "With gummy worm toppings." I looked up at dad, "Is that ok?"

Dad looked zoned out. His face was still pale and he stared down at one spot like he was trying hard not to throw up. "What?" He asked when he realized I was talking to him. "Yeah, that's perfect Blake." He turned to the cashier, "I'll have the same as him as well as a mango and grape popsicle."

"That'll be eight fourteen." The man said as his partner when to get the popsicles. Dad stood still and blinked hard. "Sir..."

I pulled on dad's hand. "Dad...are you ok?"

"Can you add a water please?" Dad said pulling the ten out.

"Sure." The man behind the cash register looked slightly worried. I felt the same. Dad had completely blanked out and kept blinking his eyes as if he were seeing something. His face was completely drained and all I couldn't understand why considering we were just having fun a minute ago.

We exited the parlor after we got out ice cream. Dad handed me his ice cream for a moment to chug down the water bottle. "Daddy are you ok?" I asked as he wiped the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand.

He looked down at me and smiled, "Yeah. I think I'm just low on sugar." He took his ice cream and started licking it slowly as if every lick made him sick. He chewed on a gummy worm but slowed down at the end.

We were on the bridge that linked us back to the beach when he dropped his ice cream and gripped the railing. "Blake," he said with a shaky voice as if he were out of breath. "Could you do me a small favor?"

Fear was starting to make its way in me again. Only this time was different then when we were trying to head for the buoy, this time I didn't have dad to encourage me or push down the fear. "Dad?" I asked when he didn't tell me what the favor was. I stepped closer, "Dad!"

His breathing became harder and he lightly swayed from side to side. His eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed. At first I didn't know what to do, I was too in shock as to how dad just fainted that I didn't know whether to run or stay. When I came to my senses I dropped everything in my hands and started backing up towards the beach. "Mom!" I yelled my eyes never leaving my dad. "Mommy!" I cried louder.

The paramedics said it was heat stroke. They told mom to meet us at the hospital and not to worry that it was probably heat stroke. So watching dad being loaded in the back of the ambulance hadn't seemed bad because I really did believe it was heat stroke.

"Is dad going to be ok?" Shawn asked from the backseat as we drove to the hospital.

Mom nodded, "Yeah he just had too much time in the sun."

When we first arrived to the hospital, I finally wished we were home. Not the secluded apartment we owned by the beach, but home. The house I've lived in all my life with the same front yard and the great backyard. Where dad and Shawn were currently trying to build a tree house on one of the old trees we had in the back. I wished we were there, not here, not on this nightmare we considered vacation.

It had felt like forever when we arrived to the hospital. Cole and Shawn didn't seem to be panicking as much as I was but I had never seen dad collapse like that. I thought doctors were suppose to make patients feel better, get better, but when we arrived, dad was hooked up to a bed and machine.

Mom pushed us through the door and we sat around our father as he laid unconscious. The doctor had turned to mom, "Mrs. Parris would you mind me speaking to you for a moment?" He gave the three of us a short glance, "Privately."

Mom looked so confused, she was probably expecting something small. Heat stroke. Dehydration. Something that the doctor didn't want to say in front of kids to avoid scaring us. I watched as he and mom walked out of the room and into the hallway. Cole and Shawn followed my gaze and we looked at each other. It seemed like one look automatically had us telepathically communicate with each other because the three of us moved towards the door trying to listen in.

We held our breaths, trying to fade out the beeping sound of the heart monitor as we listened in. "...We're not sure what caused it." I heard the doctor say. "It wasn't heat stroke. And he seemed well hydrated."

"What if he was just tired?" Mom asked. "Or maybe it was just...something."

"We don't know. We're going to have to run a few tests." The doctor seemed to sigh. "We took a blood sample...we haven't analyzed it yet but..."

There was a pause. "But what?" Mom asked.

"I can't hear!" Shawn whisper shouted. I quickly hushed him and pushed him away from the door to listen in closer. Cole crossed his arms and gave up trying to listen because I was hogging the small crack in the door.

"Do you know if anyone in your husbands family has ever been prone to cancer?" It was like a bomb was just dropped. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach, and my stomach sank to my toes, my toes felt like they were being absorbed by the ground. Everything around me went stale. Legs feeling like lead, heart beating like a drum in my chest, hands starting to sweat.

"N-not that I know of." Mom stuttered. "A-are you su-"

"Like I said, we'll need to wait for the results. We're just trying to cover all possibilities right now."

Mom started explaining our situation. How we were here for vacation and we'd be heading back home in a day or two. The doctor agreed to send results to our state and as he and mom continued talking, I could hear dad stirring in his bed.

"Boys," His voice croaked. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, "What happened?"

"You fainted on the beach." Shawn said walking towards dad and jumping on the bed to sit next to him. "Like a damsel in distress."

Dad chuckled and pulled him under his arm, wincing slightly at the cords wrapped around his body. "You'll just have to get a hero on a Chinese dragon to come save me, yeah?" He turned to look at Cole, "Looks like you got a bit more tan."

Cole smirked, "Not evenly. We had to leave before I got my back done. So now my back looks like paper while my front looks like caramel."

"Well I'm sorry I fainted like a damsel in distress." Dad said with strict eyes but a charming smile. "Sometimes the drama king in me can't help it."

I blinked a few times staring as Cole, Shawn, and dad all talked about the beach as if the incident never happened. But I saw it happen and I wouldn't be able to forget it that quickly. They didn't see him fall the way I did. They didn't see the way his eyes rolled up into his head. They couldn't possibly feel the panic that I felt when that dad had fallen that way. They just wouldn't be able to feel it.

******************************

I could hear dad talking to Cole and Shawn in the other room. After mom and dad sat us down to explain that dad had cancer, I had run up to my room and slammed the door shut. I didn't believe them. I wouldn't believe them. The men in the ambulance had said it was heat stroke. But apparently the hospital had sent the results home. After dad's incident, we just decided to come back. But I still don't believe it.

Dad does not have cancer.

I pulled the bed cover closer to myself and hugged my pillow into my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to listen as hard as I could to what dad was saying. It was muffled, so I just waited for him to leave. I heard him say goodnight to Cole and Shawn, his foot steps walking towards the hallway, the closing of a door. His feet made noise each time he stepped on the ground. I watched underneath my door, where the only light seemed to streak in, as I saw his shadow just waiting outside. He tapped on my door. "Blake?" He called, "Can I come in please?"

I shook my head. "Go away." I said burying my face in my pillow.

He ignored me and walked into my room. He closed the door behind him only for me to hear him come closer to me. I felt the bed dip slightly and a hand on my arm. "Blake..." Dad said softly.

"I said go away." I snapped. "I don't want to talk to you!" He ignored me again, shifting on my bed so he was lying down. He pulled my back into his chest hugging me tightly. His hug was so warm, so inviting. I felt his chin rest on top of my head as I tried to struggle out of grip. He held me closer until finally I gave up. "I'm not going to talk." I muttered.

"I didn't ask you to." Dad muttered back.

I felt a burning sensation in the back of my throat and tried to push it aside. "Then why are you here?"

"I thought you weren't going to talk."

"I thought you didn't ask me to."

"I didn't." Dad chuckled before going silent. "I came in...to ask how you're feeling right now."

"Why should it matter?" I asked closing my eyes. "I'm not the one that's sick."

He sighed, "Blake-"

"No!" I shouted jumping out of his arms. I got on my knees and stared down at my dad as he rested against my bed looking up at me with a despairing gaze. The sensation in the back of my throat felt stronger and my eyes started to burn. "I won't hear it! I won't listen to the same speech you told Cole and Shawn. I won't listen to you say 'I'm sorry', I won't listen to it dad. I just won't! You promised me daddy!" I felt the water accumulating in my eyes and suddenly, it all felt real. Like I had suddenly crashed into a wall. It was real. It was happening. All the energy in me just seemed to fly away, it vanished in a split second as I sat on my legs limp as a rubber band. My voice failed me as I felt the tears start to fall. "You promised."

Dad sat up and pulled me into another hug. This time I didn't try to squirm out of it. I sobbed into his shirt. I hugged him tightly not wanting to let go. I didn't ever want to lose these hugs. I didn't want to forget what it would be like to hug my own father. Just the thought of him never being here for me again had be blubbering like a baby.

I sobbed loudly, losing my breath between each cry. Dad held me close, regardless that I was getting his shirt wet with my tears and snot. Every time I thought it was over, every time I thought I would be ok to talk, I'd break down again. It got to a point, where I felt dad's shoulders start to shake with mine. I heard him suck in his breath and felt his hand go up to wipe his eyes. It didn't matter then because he still cried. When I looked up at him, his eyes were red, nose puffy, and tears streaming down his face.

I shook my head feeling more tears well up. "You're a doctor daddy. Fix this."

Dad tried to push a smile before he looked up and wiped the tears away trying to regain some composure. He sniffled hard and took a deep breath before looking down at me again and pushing that fake smile. "Somethings aren't meant to be fixed Blake."

My lip trembled even when I tried forcing it not to. I kept hiccuping as dad wiped the edge of his shirt against my nose to pick up snot. "Are you going to die?" I finally asked.

He sat quiet for a moment. Probably unsure how to answer. It wasn't a fair question to ask but I needed to know. I had to know. Instead of telling me instantly, he hugged me tightly. When he let go he gently pushed me on my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. He lay beside me, head propped up on his elbow as I waited for his answer. "Everyone dies Blake..." He finally said. "Whether it's now or later."

I swallowed. "Can't it be later?" He grabbed my hand not daring to look up at me. "I don't want you to die." I said in a cracked voice.

Dad shook his head. "I don't want to die either." He placed his arm around my front and laid down beside me, his head next to mine. His thumb lightly drew circles on my cheek wiping away the extra tears. "No more crying ok?" He said. "I don't like seeing my big man so distraught."

I nodded slowly before positioning myself close to my dad as I snuggled up in his chest. "I love you dad."

He held me close. "I'll always love you." In a matter of minutes I had fallen asleep.

It was probably late at night when I felt my bed stir and a sudden source of warmth disappear. My eyelids slightly opened only to notice that dad was heading out of my room. He probably thought I had fallen asleep and even in the state I was in, there was only a matter of seconds before I'd crash again.

Dad slowly grudged against the floor rubbing his eyes like he had taken a nap. I felt guilty for keeping him to myself when I knew he had to comfort mom too. But even then, I wanted him to stay. I tried to speak but it was as if that part of my brain had shut down. My head slightly lifted from my pillow as I reached out to tell dad to stay, but I didn't say anything. So he left. He walked out the door, turned around so I couldn't see him, and slowly his footsteps disappeared.

Tears welled up in my eyes again but I pushed them back, knowing I wouldn't want to cry again after the whole episode. Before my brain shutdown again I muttered a small, "I love you." Then I fell asleep only to wake up to a whole new life.

******************************

I stood frozen in place unsure what to do. Unsure what to think. It was Tori. She actually spoke into the phone and I wasn't sure how or what I was suppose to act and feel. I didn't care that everyone in the classroom was watching, I didn't care what people were going to think or say, right now everything just seemed to come back.

It all started with my dad. Holding onto his hand promising I wouldn't cry in front of my brothers. Remembering the funeral I had to go to with a suit and nice shoes as people went up to speak. I remember being asked to go up there and give some sort of speech of who my father was and I why I thought he was a good person. And then I realized, he was a good father because he loved me.

My brain connected love to pain. Ever since that day I didn't want love. What I wanted was to avoid the pain and anger I felt when my dad died. That's why love was always so overrated for me. It always brought destruction and pain. Yet now as I listened to Tori repeat my name I found myself also believe how it brought peace and hope.

"Cake you there?" She asked.

This was what I least expected. For someone I love to come back. They all left, so I just...assumed I'd add another to the list. I had built the fort around me to prepare for another death but I hadn't prepared myself for this. It was like throwing a baseball at a window, my whole wall just shattered down in crumbles of rock and dust.

"I-you..." I stuttered. "I thought you..." I remembered our conversation before Tori's car wreck. How I said there was no love. How I told her no one loved her. Yet for the last weeks, there was nothing except guilt and loss that hovered over our family.

"Blake," I heard Tori say, "You're like my big brother and I know we fight but I lo-"

I cut her off quickly, "I love you." I smiled to myself after saying it. Cole and Shawn were right, it wasn't difficult saying those words. "I," I repeated slowly, "Loathe only vital excuses you too."

"Yes." I heard Shawn whisper while pulling his fist and arm back. "The power of love." He added quietly. His eyes suddenly widened as if he just realized who I was talking too. Shawn lunged across the desk with his hand outstretched to grab the phone, "Gimme! I want to talk to her."

Cole pulled him back, "You do enough of the talking! It's my turn." He jumped off the desks and I quickly turned only to feel him on my back. I put the phone high above our heads as Cole reached for it, Shawn fell on the ground and hugged my legs together so I couldn't walk.

He even started gnawing on my thigh saying, "It's mine you fools! I am the royal jester!" He hit the inside of my thigh, "I don't give a damn if you're the king, sir! I need to talk to princess!" He continued to eat my leg, getting his saliva all over my jeans.

I thought I could hear Tori laughing but other than Cole's yelling, my struggling, and Shawn's idea of Shakespearean insults, the whole classroom was quiet. Even our teacher seemed to in shock of what was happening. I felt my phone slip out of my hand and realized Mark had taken it. My brothers and I fell silent watching and he placed the phone up to his ear.

I heard Tori give a faint, "Hello?"

"Tori?" Mark asked quietly. There was a silence, a name, Mark's eyes widened, face fallen, and he pulled the phone away from his face hanging up. He stared at his hand for a moment before he snapped out of it. "Fuck!" He suddenly yelled. He looked up at the three of us in complete horror, "What the hell did I just do?!"

"Ay dios mio!" Shawn said with a thick Mexican accent before laughing hysterically. "Did you just hang up on her?"

I smirked trying not to laugh. "Smooth Mark," I muttered, "Real smooth."

He gripped the phone. "I panicked!"

Cole bit his lip containing the laugh, "Well what'd she say?"

Mark's face turned red. "My name."

The three of us started laughing hysterically watching Mark's face flush. "He's right!" Shawn said laughing hysterically, "His heart is bigger than his balls because his balls sure didn't help him there!"

This only caused Cole and I to laugh harder until we all turned to look at Mr. Farlez. He stood so shocked, so frozen, he really did look like a statue. His mouth was slightly agape as everyone also stared. I pointed my finger at my teacher, "You know you could accidentally swallow a fly and chock to death right? Because buddy let me tell you, I do not feel like doing the Heimlich on you."

He closed his mouth, face flaring as he clearly became angry. "Detention!" He yelled.

I rolled my eyes, "Do you really want to be in a room with me another hour?"

"Keep talking and I'll give you ISS." He snapped. At this point, I didn't care what he had to say. I was to relieved that Tori was ok. I wanted to get down to that hospital as soon as I could to hug her and tell her how sorry I was.

I waved my hands in front of me, "Oooh I'm so scared." I grabbed my jacket that was situated on the chair and placed my arms around Cole and Shawn. We headed out the door hearing our teacher yelling at us to get back in the class. I could hear Mark behind us and when I turned around, he was still staring at the phone with such a horror stricken face it looked like he had just killed one of his family members.

"If you leave, I will have the four of you suspended!" Mr. Farlez threatened behind us.

"Suspend my ass." Mark muttered handing me my phone.

Cole looked up at me slightly fearful, "No wait Blake I can't get suspended."

I turned to face Mr. Farlez, the class watching, completely intrigued. Some had their phones out and I knew they were videotaping it. "If you suspend me," I said to our math teacher, "The whole school will hate you considering championships are coming up and I'm the star player. Besides," I took a few steps closer until I was up in his personal space, "My sister just woke up from a coma and I'm going to see her whether you like it or not. And if it concerns anyone else, I kidnapped Cole and Shawn to come with me." I turned to face my brothers and Mark who had a raised eyebrow before turning back to my math teacher, "You could give ISS to Mark though, at least he'd be away from my sister."

"Hey!" Mark yelled.

"Dude," Shawn said, "You hung up on her! That's punishable by death."

I turned around, leaving Mr. Farlez behind to deal with his anger. I put my arms around Cole and Shawn and grinned. "Are we going to the hospital?" Cole asked.

"Not yet." My grin widened.

"Where are we going then?" Shawn asked putting his arm around Mark so we all walked like a large group of four.

My face must have looked like pure evil because Cole's face paled. "Oh my dear little brother," I said, "We're going to spill the peas."

******************************

Mark sat in one of the spinning chairs spinning around while biting his fist. "I can't believe I hung up on her."

"Don't worry," Shawn kept walking around the room, looking through the different trophy's won from the different years. He'd stop to look at some awards with student pictures, picking them up and then setting them back down. He turned to Mark and gave him a thumbs up. "You'll still get some later."

Mark sighed and threw his head back in frustration. "I can't believe I'm in here with the Parris Trips when I should be with my best friend right now."

"You wouldn't even be able to get in," Cole said. He was sitting at the edge of the desk, throwing an apple stress foam ball in the air. He quickly added, "It's not visiting hours."

"But you're visiting!" Mark countered.

"We're family." I smirked taking a seat in the principles chair, thankfully she let us use her room. The perks of being the star students of the school makes it all that better for special treatment. "Alright now everyone shut up," I said grabbing the intercom microphone, "I'm starting." Everyone hushed down and watched me as I placed my feet on the table and laid back in the chair. I turned the button on to commence my speaking, "Attention everyone-"

"You're doing it wrong." Shawn said before walking towards me, "Here let me." I didn't have time before he pulled the microphone out of my hand. He cleared his throat, "This is your captain speaking. Captain Parris the Third, if you don't know who I am, you have been living under a rock. Stop living under a rock. You are not a troll. You do not want to be a troll. Trolls are hairy...I take it back, some of you guys are trolls. Have you seen your legs? They're like jungles! I don't normally say this but shave! It's the 21st century, for some reason women like hairless dudes. Maybe I should shave...like shave my head. Then I'd look like a moon." He laughed, "I could moon people with my head. Like, BAM! Flash you with my head."

"Alright that's enough of that," I took the mic back.

Shawn leaned over so his voice still echoed through the school. "Save me," He yelled. "Captain Shawn the Third is being taken over by the vicious," He paused and looked at me, "Not bloodthirsty, just thirsty, pirate, Blake the BlackHeart."

"Oh for heaven's sake," Cole said. He was in range for the microphone to pick up his voice, causing it to also echo through the halls and classrooms. "Just get to the point."

"You must save me!" Shawn said in a panicked voice. "First to save me gets my booty." He snorted, "Double meaning."

"Shawn shut up!" I pushed him away and he laughed before coughing heavily.

"I think I broke my laugh." He said only going back to more laughing and coughing.

I turned back to the microphone. "Let's see...oh yeah! Over the summer," I started out. I just wanted to get it out, no complicated wording or cryptic meaning. "My mother remarried a man who I'm glad to call my stepfather." Cole grinned my way and Shawn finally settled down watching carefully. "His name is Bill. Bill Linean." I laid my head back and smiled as I talked. I couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to get everything off my chest. I wasn't disappointed, embarrassed, or distraught by the secret anymore. Even from the principles office I could hear gasps coming from staff as they walked by the room while listening in to everything I was telling the school. You'd think they'd know.

I explained everything. Why Tori was hanging out with us so often. Why Cole, Shawn, and I were fond of her. I explained why we love her so much. Most importantly, I told everyone she was our sister. "Wow that felt great to get off my chest." I said when I was done. "Before I conclude this, just going to say, any guy out there that thinks he can get a shot with my sister...you. Are. Wrong. Touch her and you'll have to go through me."

"And me." Cole chimed in.

"Don't forget your loyal Captain who is still being taken over by this BlackHeart demon of a pirate." Shawn said.

Mark chuckled and I gave him a thumbs up. "Besides, my sister is taken. By this awesomely weird guy who can be a jerk," I paused and Mark crossed his arms, "But I'll give him half credit for having more heart than balls. Plus, I could just beat him up. I won't say any names though."

Shawn leaned over, "Mark Bennett." He said in a deeper voice.

Cole and Mark both face palmed and Mark's face turned more red than usual. I laughed, "Well I said I wouldn't say any names."

"Say anything else and I'm telling Emily about your theory of Marshmallow prostitutes." Mark whispered harshly making sure the mic couldn't hear him while glaring at Shawn.

Shawn's eyes widened, "You wouldn't dare!"

I pushed Shawn away and Cole replaced his spot. "While we're telling secrets," He said slightly hesitant before grabbing the microphone. "Faculty, staff, students of this school, just thought you should know that I'm...going to friggin' Harvard! Suck that teachers who said I would never amount to anything! I, Cole Parris, am going to Harvard School of Medicine and Law to become the best damn lawyer you've all ever seen!"

I couldn't suspend the smile off my face as Cole ranted on about being the president of all these academic clubs that I had never heard of. I felt guilty for never realizing how brilliant he is. In a way, I always knew. Since we were kids I knew he was smart one. Maybe that's why I was jealous of him sometimes. He was smart and had dad's looks. He was mom's little boy but had dad's looks as well as the mind to go places whereas I was stuck to muscle. Muscles might be attractive on the outside but they fade. They cripple with age and wear out just like anything else. Not the brain though. Yes, it can wear out, but it lasts much longer than strength. If it ever comes down to choosing one or another, I'd have chose brain.

"And I'm the class Knight in Chess club." Cole concluded. "Wow that felt good."

Shawn, Mark, and I busted out laughing at the last part. "A Knight?" Shawn laughed. "Oh god you need a swirlie..." He laughed harder resulting to him coughing. "Stop making me laugh I can't breathe." He gasped for air with tears building up in his eyes. "You're such a nerd Cole."

Cole stuck his tongue out at us before crossing his arms. "Well you made it seem like confession time."

"I have a confession!" Shawn butted his way in shoving Cole away. He grabbed the microphone just as I saw our school principle outside her office door knocking for us to stop. Shawn held up his index finger asking for a second before speaking into the intercom. "I'm a werewolf."

"Talk about a load of horse manure." I smirked. "If you were a wolf we'd know by now. And we'd be one too. You're not a werewolf."

"Yes I am!" Shawn argued. "I have this voice that talks in my head and I'm madly in love with someone who I plan to marry and mate with."

"That doesn't make you a werewolf." Cole shook his head rubbing his face.

"According to Wattpad it does!" Shawn countered.

There was a jingle at the door before it was unlocked. The principle stared at us for a moment. She looked like she didn't know what to do. At least we were entertaining. It's not as if no one in the school didn't enjoy our confessions. Whether they were truth or not. "Boys it's time for class." She finally said.

We all nodded our heads but after we were excused we made a dash for the school parking lot. We got into my car, except Mark who got into his red truck, and headed towards the hospital. Before going to the hospital, Cole had told me to stop by the elementary school to pick up Suzie. When we called her up, she looked terrified, until we broke the news. Then she hurried us to the car and snuggled up with Cole in the backseat, playing Angry Birds on his phone.

It didn't take long before we arrived. Honestly, we were all terrified. We didn't know what to expect. I guess we had constantly been contemplating the worst possibility, we never thought about what to do if she did wake up.

******************************

Tori's POV

Dad was crying out of his mind when I called out his name. He had been getting coffee when I suddenly just bolted up right gasping for air. I hadn't known where I was, only that there were bright lights and suddenly someone was grabbing my arm telling me it was alright. I had panicked and started to cry. I cried out for dad but my throat was raw and dry.

He had bolted into the room and rushed to my side cradling my head against his chest while the nurses checked my vitals. We didn't stop crying. He kissed my head saying, "My little girl. You're ok. I love you so much. I thought I was going to lose you too." He'd just repeat those phrases over and over causing more tears to well up in our eyes. It was, "My baby girl." That really made my chest squeeze.

"What happened?" I had asked. I was so confused. Why was I in the hospital? What happened? Why did dad look so fatigue? Was Suzie ok? The last thing I could remember was a deer in front of the car while I was driving. And I swirved against the road and a huge jolt of pain in my head before blacking out.

It took a couple minutes for everyone in the room to calm down. It was like a sudden bomb had exploded and everything happen all to quickly. Lilly had called Blake and I had talked to him, only to hear Mark and suddenly the line had dropped. There were too many explanations that I wanted so I pushed that incident behind as my doctor walked into the room.

I read his name tag: Garcia. Dad didn't leave my side, he held onto my hand, the one that wasn't wrapped into a cast. "What happened?" I asked.

The doctor smiled. He looked elderly but kind, like he really enjoyed his job. "I'm glad you can speak fine." He pushed his glasses up his nose and wrote something down in a folder. He finally looked up at me after scribbling down. "You've been a coma." He said quietly. "You were in an automobile accident. We believe the causation was head trauma. You're not experiencing memory lose? You know what your name is?"

"Tori." I said slowly. "Tori Linean. I have a little sister and three older brothers. My dad remarried about two weeks after my birthday. I was about nine when my mother passed away." I recalled. Dr. Garcia seemed satisfied and wrote down something on the clipboard.

"Do you remember the accident?"

I looked down at dad and my's hands trying to recall what happened. "Yeah." I finally said licking my lips and trying to swallow to moisten my dry throat. Dr. Garcia noticed and handed me a water bottle telling me to take it slow. "I hit my head against the car window while we rolled," I said after taking a sip.

They had me explain everything that happened. Then they asked me questions about my childhood to make sure I still remembered. Luckily, there weren't any symptoms of amnesia. So Dr. Garcia and a set of nurses started performing a few physical tests. My eyesight seemed fine, smell, taste--which is when I realized I was starving at that point--and hearing. They couldn't do a lot with my left arm because it was wrapped up. My right arm seemed fine, I could bend at my elbow, move my fingers, feel it when they pinched me. It was perfectly fine.

It my leg. My right leg. The nurses helped me stand up and everything seemed working swiftly until I was told to put pressure on my right leg. My muscles seemed to give out and I found myself being completely held up by the nurses. It was as if I couldn't control my leg. Dr.Garcia wrote it down on the papers he held on a clipboard. It wasn't long before I was gasping for breath and I felt completely drained. He had me back in the hospital bed and told me to rest. The nurses said they would bring me something to eat to try and regain my energy.

I was exhausted.

I laid on the hospital bed pulling the heated blankets up to my chin making sure not to get them tangled up with the IV or other wires that were monitoring me. I laid on my back, turning my head to face dad. "Is Suzie ok?" I asked.

He nodded and pushed his chair closer to my bed. "She's fine." He said in a small voice as he grabbed my hand and held it with both of his. "She's been worried about you."

"But nothing happened to her?"

"She has crutches." He said causing my heart to fall. "And she has a couple stitches on her stomach. But she's fine."

I couldn't help the tears that started falling against my cheeks. The thought of my little sister being hurt broke my heart into little pieces. Even though I didn't mean to I knew I was responsible for Suzie getting hurt and I felt entirely guilty. "I didn't mean to get her hurt daddy. I'm sorry."

Dad hugged me close and kissed my head repeatedly. "It's ok Tori. Don't cry. She's fine."

I tried thinking of everything else. That she was ok and that I was ok. Not to mention no one else was hurt. I gained my composure and sniffled. "What day is it?"

"Hump day." Dad said trying to lighten the air.

I laughed for a minute and hit his chest. "No seriously. What's the date?"

He paused. "The twenty-third."

I frowned, "Of what month?"

He hesitated again. "March."

My voice seemed to stop in my throat. It was the end of March, about to be April. That means I've been asleep for almost three months. I felt sick. Like I was going to throw up the little water I had drank. Three months, not exactly three months, but almost three months. That's definitely time I'll never gain back. "Get some rest." Dad said. "I'll wake you up when the food arrives."

For being asleep for almost three months, I sure was tired. It was like waking up on a lazy Sunday morning, looking outside and thinking, I should probably get up and do something. But then you set your head back down on the pillow, call five minutes, and fall asleep only to wake up near noon. That's what it felt like when I set my head back down on the hospital pillow and snuggled up with Mr. Cuddles. Only when I fell asleep, thoughts of  the people I loved started to cloud my mind.

Suzie was my main concern. Dad had already confronted me. He let me use his shoulder while they took my blood pressure or checked my temperature. It was Sue. I felt like I was internally punching myself every time I thought of her getting hurt because of me. Dad told me she has crutches and stitches on her stomach. I tried thinking positive, thinking about the time I went to the hospital after Sue was born. How I looked inside the small rectangle shaped crib that contained my new baby sister. How my grandparents brought me all sorts of gifts so I wouldn't feel like I was replaced but in reality, I was happy.

I remember the first time I saw Suzie's eyes open. She had yawned and opened her eyes like a new born pup. Her eyes had started a dark blue before changing color but I'll never forget her hair. For a baby, she was like a bear cub. Even had black hair coming out her ears. When we took her home, she was already wearing a bow in her hair. And when we arrived home she was placed in her new room, which I had helped decorate. It had been my play room, where all my toys had littered the ground, but as soon as mom got pregnant we changed it to the baby's new room.

We had hoped she'd grow up there. And I would slowly watch as her room transformed from a nursery to a kids room later to a teenagers room. We didn't stay long enough to see all those choices. Mom ran out of time before she saw the change of paint from light yellow to soft pink. Now that I was awake though, I'd be able to see those changes.

My next thought was Mark. The last conversation we had he said to forget. To forget about us. That he'd be shipped off and blow up in a godforsaken desert. It was if it all happened yesterday. I didn't feel like months had passed by. I stilled remember a little bit of it, like I had a dream only everything was dark and all I could do was hear. It was like hearing his voice and Blake's voice and I was so positive it was a dream. Now I didn't know what was reality and what wasn't.

I still remember all the promises we had made: Run together on the track during P.E., never aim for the head in Nerf wars, never cheat during capture the flag, tell each other when they get a boyfriend/girlfriend, not to lose it till we're married, or even, tell each other anything exciting, bad, or sad that happens to us. All swore with a pinky and promise. It was like writing it on stone. For some reason, it was impenetrable, yet I somehow managed to screw it up. And now he hates me. He even hung up when he heard me talking.

I wondered what was happening with my brothers. If Shawn and Emily were ok, how Cole and Jodee were doing, even contemplating if Blake was handling his situation with Cali well. The three of them attracted drama like a firing range attracting bullets. It took years of practice for them to finally hit their targets. I just hoped they were ok too. Blake had said he loved me, I wasn't going to lie, I felt warm inside and pure joy seemed to flow through my body. I guess it's because I love him too. Even though he's a pain the rear end, he's still my brother. And family always finds a way to forgive each other.

Cole and Shawn seemed fine. They sounded like they were fighting for the phone so I imagined they hadn't changed. Maybe they had gotten a new haircut or their eyes looked just as tired as dads but from the sounds of their voices, they seemed to be ok. Now I just had to wait for them to arrive after school.

You know that feeling when you're asleep but still listening to everything going on around you? Or you feel like you're getting rest when really you're listening? As if you were half asleep half awake? That's how I felt now. Slowly drifting from one side to the other. Listening to dad yawn or Lilly sneeze because the room was so cold. At one point I was sure to hear dad was snoring, after all it hadn't looked like he had gotten good rest. There was the beeping of the monitor and the buzz of the air condition as it turned on and off. But I felt...at peace. Like I was finally aware of everything and had a say about it.

I didn't know how much time had passed. It was weird. It could've been hours or minutes but at some point I heard the pattering footsteps outside the door matched with the clank of crutches. They had a distinctive noise. Especially in a quiet hallways when only the small footsteps of the nurses were heard. It's what really stood out, the sharp yet soft noise of the crutches as they touched down on the floor. There was a light knock on the door before it opened slowly. The crutches seemed to be the first to enter, followed by soft whispers I couldn't make out.

"But you said she was awake." I heard a male voice said. It took me a second to register him. "Dang it dad. Next time I'll make you swear by the Order of the Crazed Lion Staff."

I smiled crept up onto my face. "Personally," I said softly, "I'd swear on the Orange Gemstone of the Orangutan Nation." I opened my eyes only for a second before Sue and Shawn had their arms wrapped around me.

"Tori!" They shouted together squishing me so tightly I couldn't breathe. Suzie had her arms wrapped around my torso and Shawn managed to tangle his arms around my neck. I glanced at Cole who was smiling widely before he also decided to come and hug me. I heard him mutter against us, "I wanted to hug you properly but I guess that's not happening."

Sue hadn't seemed to change much. Her hair was still held back by a few bobby pins and her style of clothing remained. Only difference was the brace on her bad leg that prevented her from putting it on the ground. Shawn's hair was starting to look like Cole's. Longer and fuller than the usual short simple cut he had. He wore a green Power Ranger shirt with a thin black vest like he was trying to look good but at the same time be a child. Cole hadn't changed a lot except his eyes that looked exhausted. Like he couldn't fall asleep at night or he'd stay up late tossing and turning.

I tried my best to keep my arms around all three. But already Suzie was being pressed to me by Shawn's body and Cole had his arms securely wrapped around us. I glanced at Blake, who stood by the closed door observing. His expression seemed somewhat neutral. Like he couldn't believe it and it was still processing through is brain. I waved my good hand at him, simply using my fingers. "Hi Cake."

Blake looked the same. Everything about him didn't seem to have changed. He still had the shortest hair, his eyes didn't look as tired, but suddenly he looked older. Like he had straightened up. He was sagging down like usual or keeping his arms crossed. He stood there with his hands in his pockets looking at us like we're his children that came to the park and suddenly got interested in a cute puppy. So yeah, he didn't seem any different. At least not appearance wise.

One more second of analyzing before he broke into a huge grin. "You bitch," He said without breaking his immense smile, "You crashed the car! Do you know how long it took me to save for that thing?"

I grinned back. "Sorry."

He joined in and tried his best to hug me although everyone just seemed to be attached to me as if I were a brother koala. Blake whispered softly. "You're a mess Tobi. I hate you so much."

"No." I smiled. "You love me."

They all broke off except Sue who stayed glued against me. She was sniffling and I noticed the crutches that leaned against the wall behind her. One of her legs was up so she wasn't standing on it and I felt my heart snap. "I thought I was going to lose you." She muttered.

I bit the inside of my cheek feeling a sharp pain behind my eyes. "No Sue I wouldn't leave you."

She sniffled and looked up at me with watery eyes. "You should've seen yourself Tori. I was so scared. You looked dead." She started crying. "When the car flipped over and I woke up I thought you were dead and I thought you were gone like mommy. You're my big sister you can't leave because you're suppose to look out for me and give me advice when I get older and you're not suppose to go and I thought you did. I thought you were gone. I'm sorry." She broke down crying and all I could do was hug her tightly.

I hadn't meant to put her or anyone in this sort of pain. I couldn't think of any words so I simply hugged my little sister close to me. I glanced up at Shawn and saw him looking at the ground with a small smile as a tear rolled down his cheek. Cole gave me a sad smile like he understood how Sue was feel. As for Blake, he gave me a reassuring smile before mouthing the word, 'Bitch.' I did what I had to do and flicked him off.

It felt weird that everyone had said they had been crying or were distraught. Also seeing how they all looked at me with amazement was bombarding. It didn't feel like I was gone for three months. Only like I took a long nap. When Sue finally stopped crying I smiled down at her, "Want to color on my cast?"

She looked at my broken arm, wiped her arm across her face, and smiled while nodding her head. "What do you want me to draw?"

I shrugged, "Whatever you want."

"Ooh!" Shawn raised his hand. "Pick me pick me pick me." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes Mr. Parris?"

He grinned, "Can I draw a man shooting lightning out of his hands and burgers out of his feet all while his hair is a big bundle of flashlights?"

"Is that even possible?" Cole asked.

"You should draw a mushroom." Lilly muttered from the chair she was sitting at.

Shawn faked a laugh. "That's so funny mom. It should be in my comedic notebook. Oh! That reminds me." Shawn grabbed his backpack and started looking through it. He pulled out a large ziploc bag filled with multi-colored sharpies and then kept searching. Finally he found what he was looking for and handed me a small notebook. "I wrote down everything that happened. That way you'll be caught up."

I wasn't going to lie. It lifted my spirits when Shawn handed me the small book. I couldn't help but feel thankful and thought of as I glanced through the pages. Some had printed pictures of Shawn taking a selfie with me as I slept. "What's that?" I asked pointing at one of the pictures.

He looked over and laughed. "One day I got bored and drew a mole on you. The nurse got really upset with me. She tried wiping it off. You still sorta have it marked on your cheek."

My hand instantly went to my face where I assumed the sharpie mole was at. "Shawn!"

******************************

It's been about two hours since we've all been 'reunited.' Although it didn't feel like reunion to me but to everyone else it was special. Dad and Lilly left to go talk to the nurses outside. Apparently Mark, Conlan and their parents were waiting for visiting hours. Because I had just woken up, the doctors wouldn't allow me to be moved out of ICU until they knew for sure it would be ok. "Uno." I said placing the card down.

Blake and Cole grumbled. We've been playing for a while now as Suzie and Shawn make art on my cast. So far I have a rainbow across my palm, butterflies on the back of my hand, and flowers sprouting from the top of the cast. Shawn wrote his name using ninja stars and drew a ninja with cheesy saying under it, You will never get past me for I am the leader of the Ninja Arm-y.

Cole and Blake would keep glancing at me over their cards. They knew I was feeling jittery. So did Shawn. Considering he kept giving small comments to Sue about how the grizzly bear would most likely just charge through the door probably breaking it's hinges off. I hit him for that one. It was weird, every time I would think of Mark my heart would speed up or my hands would get sweaty. The worst part was the heart monitor that beeped faster if I had those thoughts.

Blake smirked and looked down at his cards. "Looks like someone has a crush."

"Shut up." I answered.

Cole grinned, "I ship it."

"The ship sailed a long time ago." Shawn added. "It's just the captain decided to take a detour into the Bermuda Triangle and everything lost connection until it was reestablished."

Blake stared at his brothers with a confused look. "Shipping?"

Cole looked at Shawn horrified. "Shawn we're hanging out with our girlfriends too much."

Shawn laughed, "That's one sided buddy. I would hang out with Em all day if I could." He coughed for a second before going back to my cast. "Besides, you know you like spending time with Jodee."

I was thankful for the attention to be taken away from me so I started reading Shawn's little journal while listening to their conversation. Cole didn't deny Shawn, on the contrary he smiled. "Yeah. She got accepted into her dream college too you know."

"Tell her congrats on my part." I smiled. Although Jodee and I haven't been able to hang out a lot, especially with the fact it's been three months, she applied to me. I admit, she's not angelically nice like Em but she's funny and has a very unique personality. I remember our last conversation was how this generation needs Jesus. She made me laugh as much as Shawn does. Only she's a lot more serious than Shawn.

Cole changed the subject quickly, like he didn't want to talk about. "What about you and Em, Shawn?"

He looked up from his drawing. Suzie kept quiet, almost as if she wasn't in the room. She seemed determined to make my cast look amazing. Shawn looked like a love sick puppy, even I found it to be adorable. A smile just spread on his lips and his eyes glowed. "Awwwww." I cooed.

He didn't even blush, just twiddled with his fingers. "I really love her."

Blake laughed, "No shit. Your face looks like its in heaven. Almost looks like you're high."

Shawn smirked. "Because love is like a drug Blake." He went back to drawing with Suzie. "Hey Sue could you pass the blue?" He gasped. "That rhymed!"

Dad and Lilly walked in seconds later, holding some sandwiches for Sue and my brothers. Blake took a big bite of his sandwich before saying to me. "I feel like you should have a fair warning," He said before swallowing, "The school knows."

My eyebrows scrunched together. "Knows what?"

"About you."

Shawn chimed in, "We went on the announcements. Everyone knows."

"About us." Cole added.

"What?" Lilly's face scrunched up. "I'm confused."

"It's complicated." I said before a huge smile spread across my lips. I didn't understand at first but now I do. They told everyone. They told everyone I was their sister and everything was ok now. I felt a huge weight come off my shoulders and I laid back staring at the ceiling. No more secrets. No more lying. Everyone knows and now they won't think anything weird is going on with the Parris brothers and I because they know. I felt so relieved I started to laugh. I laughed, swaying my good arm behind my head like there was no care in the world. It felt like I was free. Like now I could do anything. It felt good.

"Is there something I should know about?" Dad said looking through a newspaper. He was searching for jobs and I still couldn't believe he quit. I think it was the stupidest thing he could ever do but I was glad he finally got rid of Chief. I just wished he still had the job. I know how much dad loves being a cop. He says half the days he doesn't do anything but the days he does it feels great to help others and the community. Now he would probably have to settle for a job he doesn't like. It made me upset how unfair that was to him.

I glanced at Blake, Cole, and Shawn in union we all said. "Nope."

Dad got a call as the four of us tried drawing stick figures on my cast. Blake signed his name under a football, Cole tried to draw Spock from Star Trek. And Shawn realized he took up to much room so he started drawing hearts and candy canes on his arms. Dad smiled over at me talking into the phone, "Yeah she's awake." He paused listening to the other line. "Yeah room 507. Yup. See you in a few minutes."

"Who was that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Old friend."

I was about to ask exactly who when Shawn grabbed two small figure planes from his backpack and started playing with them shouting. "We're going down! Pew pew pew! Mission abort! Mission abort! I repeat, control tower we are going down." He paused and dropped a plane. "BOOM!"

I reached over and grabbed a Starfighter from his hand. "We cannot fail our mission or the whole world will end!"

Shawn grinned before pretending to be flying a fighter jet. He pretended to grab a radio and put it to his mouth trying his best to talk while falling thousands of feet to the ground. "I've been hit! I've been hit! I'm going down!"

"Eject! Eject!" I yelled and threw the plane at him. "Eject you idiot or you'll never see Foo Foo again!"

"FOR FOO FOO!" Shawn yelled as a war cry before pretending to push a button. He screamed and fell off the bed. Everyone around him started to laugh, including myself. He pretended to float down to the floor before lying on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. Shawn giggled, "I think I'd make the best Disney character ever."

We all turned to look at him as he played with the Power Ranger on the ground and laughed. Lilly said he resemble Goofy if he were a Disney character. Cole said he'd be one of the rollie-pollies from Bug's Life. Blake suggested Donkey from Sherk but that only led to an argument how that was a Dreamworks production and not Disney. Dad finally chipped in and said Shawn was obviously Olaf with bones.

"It's true." Shawn grinned. "I'm comedic relief."

I opened my mouth to object but quickly closed it. "Wow that's so true..."

"Ouch Tori," He put his Power Ranger to his chest as if it were a hand. "That hurt."

"Not as much as this." I threw the Starship figure at him and it bounced off of his neck. I couldn't resist the laugh that came out of my mouth as I watched Shawn yelp and grab his neck. I had to throw it, it was the opportune moment. I had the figure, I had the shot, it was too tempting not to throw it at him. Like when Sue and I used to fight it was mostly because I would purposely try to make each other mad or we thought something would be funny.

"What was that for?" He asked before sticking his tongue out. "You're a meany and you deserve to go to the meany jail." He rubbed his neck, "Jeez Tori that hurt."

"I'm sorry." I said still laughing as tears formed in my eyes. Blake and Cole were watching me closely to a point where they started laughing also. "I just couldn't resist." I held my stomach trying to stop the laughs. When I finally stopped laughing, I noticed everyone was staring at me. They all had smiles on their faces and I looked between them wondering if there was something on my face. Which there probably was because Shawn had drawn a mole on my cheek. "What?" I asked reaching up to rub the back of my hand against my lips subconsciously. "Is there something on my face? Another mole?"

I don't know how it was funny but my family started to laugh as if it were their own inside joke. I became so self conscious I grabbed Cole's phone which had been resting in his lap and stared at the black screen to see my reflection. "What's so funny?" I asked when I didn't understand what was happening. "You can't just laugh and not tell me! It's my right to know."

"You." Cole reached over and grabbed his phone back.

"Haven't seen you laugh in a while." Blake smiled.

"Ok..." I waited for them to go on and when no one answered my gap of silence I continued. "And...?"

Blake shrugged, "That's it."

"But it's not funny."

"It doesn't have to be funny." He countered.

"Yes it does."

"Why?"

"Because you were laughing!" I threw my hands in the air like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Blake rolled his eyes. "Tobi, just because someone laughs doesn't mean it's because they find it funny. Laughing is just smiling with noise. And smiling is when you're happy. So we're happy and making a noise."

I looked between Blake and Shawn before resting my eyes on Blake. "You sound like Shawn right now."

"I am his brother."

I crossed my arms. "It still doesn't make any sense."

"That I sound like Shawn?"

"No that you would all laugh like that."

"I just told you." Blake pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think you just hit your head to hard."

I gave him a flat look. "Don't even go there, I could say stuff about you too."

He snorted. "I dare you."

We held eye contact for a few seconds, hoping the other would bluff. When I decided his eyes weren't going to give in I turned my attention to Shawn. "Cake was the one that broke your PS3 camo controller."

"I knew it!" Shawn stood up abruptly. "You lying son of a gun!" He pointed his Power Ranger to Blake who looked as confused as a grandparent trying to learn how to use advanced technology.

"What?" Blake nearly shouted putting his hands up in surrender. "I didn't do it!"

"Yes you did!" I said.

"No I didn't!" He snapped at me. "Stop lying Tobi I didn't do it."

"You did!" Shawn slammed the Power Ranger down and pulled the back of his shirt until it was completely off. He took a stance and started bouncing on his feet while awkwardly holding his hands out like an old fashion boxer. "Fight me like a real man!"

"Boys calm down." Lilly said holding her hands out. "We're at a hospital."

"He broke my controller mom." Shawn complained without lowering his hands.

While Blake, Shawn, and Lilly all argued together Cole lent over and whispered to me. "Blake didn't break it," He said with a confused expression. "I did."

I whispered back, "I know but look at Blake's face. It's priceless." We both stared at Blake who was slowly becoming more angry by the second. His frustration clear on his face when Lilly made him apologize for doing something he didn't do. Cole and I covered our mouths to stop the laughs from escaping. Suzie sat by the bed with a confused expression while continuing playing games on my phone.

Cole and I were about to start laughing hysterically when there was a knock on the door. Everyone in the room went silent, guessing it was a doctor coming in to tell us to be more quiet for disturbing other patients. Instead a young nurse walked in and gave a small smile. "Miss Linean has a few visitors, is it alright to bring them in?"

Before I could answer dad waved his arm beckoning the people in. "Yes yes of course."

I felt as if my heart stopped but apparently it didn't according to the heart monitor that decided to start beeping faster. I wasn't the kind of person that was embarrassed often, if I were I wouldn't have half the courage I learned to conjure. But the moment the heart monitor increased in speed, in a room filled with people, it was basically like having a red glowing sign over my head that read: She has feelings!

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as everyone turned their attention to the red line that rose and fell. I contemplated whether to rip the stickers off my chest just so the machine would stop. The Bennett's slowly walked in. Mrs. Bennett was pushing Mr. Bennett into the room as Conlan stood to the side with a bouquet of flowers. He had a small goofy smile on his face, his eyes would switch over from me to Suzie and I knew even though I was awake he was glad to see my sister. Probably more than me but I was a hundred percent ok with that.

My smile had fallen as my eyes came into contact with the simple green ones. Mark had walked in last like he was being cautionate. Scared almost. It was how my brothers had reacted, scared and amazed I was awake. It was strange how he was so close but far and still I could see the color of his eyes as if they were inches away from me. Mark had changed from the last time I saw him but at the same time he didn't. His hair seemed in dire need of a haircut as if he had let it go without thinking about it. His body looked almost bulkier but still small and eyes looked tired yet relieved. There were small bags under his eyes and it was strange seeing everyone have lack of sleep. Even with the small changes he still wore a t-shirt with a corny saying. There was a cheese grater in the middle of the blue shirt with captions that circled and said I know it's cheesy but I feel grate.

I remembered the last time I had a conversation with Mark. I'm probably going to blow up in a godforsaken desert anyways. He had said. I gripped the bed sheets with my free hand and looked down at my lap for a second. When we had made eye contact I felt my heart speed up and my hands started to sweat and shake. I had never felt a desire for someone ever before but the moment I looked up at him it was like an explosion of butterflies and gitters in my stomach. I had pictured myself talking to him again but now that he was in the room I felt my tongue still and throat go dry.

I wish I could shut off the heart monitor. I wish my heart had stopped like I thought it did but the stupid machine kept beeping faster than a normal heart rate and with everyone suddenly becoming deadly silent every beep was like a mini explosion. I looked back up only to see my whole family with smiles that looked like they became part of an evil cult. It looked like they were all thinking the same thing, Oh! Oh! We got her now!

Mark slid past his family and moved to the side of my bed. I wanted to say something, anything at all but everything was lodged in my throat. I felt like Blackbeard in that episode of Fairy Oddparents when he had a chicken bone stuck in his throat and couldn't speak. I didn't have a parrot to talk for me though.

Mark placed his hand on my shin that was covered up by the layers of heated blankets the hospital supplies. His face was completely blank and I felt my heart slowly crumpling down into pieces. Now I was happy I didn't say anything, I waited for him to say something. Anything that would make me feel better or worse, just a few words to reassure me he was ok.

I wanted to tell him I loved him. I wanted him to hold me like he always did and tell me it's ok.  How I depended on his voice to tell me the world isn't ending. I wanted him to hold my hand and make fun of it because they weren't as soft as his. He always used to say I had man hands but whenever I'd let go he'd always grab my hand again and rub little circles on the inside of my palm telling me it was ok because it made me special.

Wow Tori you really are stupid, I thought to myself. I couldn't believe I wasted my whole life being Mark's friend when I could have been more.

His hand moved up to my knee before going limp to his side. He turned his head to look at me and we made eye contact again. He stepped closer and leaned over putting this left hand on my right cheek and blocking my view of everyone else but him. He placed his forehead against mine without breaking eye contact with me. We stared at each other what seemed forever but I didn't care because right now it was just me and him. That's all that mattered.

Mark's eyes got watery as he shed a tear and great smile formed on his face. "I never got to properly tell you three little words." He whispered so only I could hear.

I bit the inside of my cheek trying to calm my heart that was going ballistic inside me and on the monitor. Mark seemed to ignore the machine and kept digging deeper into my eyes as if he were looking down to see if it were all true.

I searched for my voice and finally found it. "What?"

It didn't take more than a second for his lips to press against mine. If I could re-live any moment of my life I'd want to live this one on constant replay. It was something I'd never felt before, everything in my body melted down to my feet before a sudden wave of warmth enveloped me entirely. I felt like an ocean that I was drifting in with pure bliss. Every wave that swept my body was nothing like the last. Tingles, fireworks, warmth, or shocks. It didn't matter because it was all there. Every time Mark and I would move our lips together I craved more. I wanted to feel the wave again. To savor the feeling completely but it'd be swept away by something different.

I placed my hand on Mark's chest crumbling up his shirt in my fist. His heart was pounding underneath my hand making me hope he was having the same effect. The waves started crashing down faster. Before that everything was more filling. The sparks would have reach all the way to my toes or the ecstasy would send a chill down my back. When Mark moved faster I felt chills and warmth at the same time. I could tingle with anticipation and melt with heat all at once. We both knew we wouldn't last much longer without surfacing for air but we did everything to try and make the pleasure last. I had never felt so much bliss in so many different ways before. And it was only a kiss that had my head spinning.

Mark pulled away leaving a satisfying buzz on my lips. My head was spinning in circles like a whirlpool. Around and around making me feel dizzy. I was so glad I wasn't standing up or my legs would have given out from under me. Or at least the one leg I could stand on would have ended collapsed. Everything in me felt like jelly and my stomach hurt with butterflies.

Mark kept his face close to mine flicking his eyes every second or two from my eyes to my mouth. He was so close our breaths mixed in with the air together. Mark's thumb drew a circle on my cheek. "I love you." He whispered softly.

It was as if a volcano of everything erupted inside my stomach and the jitters spread throughout my whole body. I stared into his eye's, throat and tongue dry. "I didn't know the white of your eyes were so white." I blurted out. "They always looked a bit beige to me."

Mark smiled even more and laughed softly while my cheeks felt like they had suddenly caught fire. "You always kill the mood, don't you Tori?" Mark smiled.

"I'm sorry I jus-" He didn't let me finish the sentence before he pressed his lips to mine again. My toes curled up and a felt my body relax against the pillows.

"Don't ever feel sorry." Mark said against my lips. I wished I could stay here forever. Just me, Mark, even the stupid heart monitor. I wanted to pause time and never move.

"Look I got it on video." I heard Shawn say. Mark turned around and I looked over his shoulder as we both stared at Shawn who was holding his phone up with a happy smile. "We can put it in the wedding video."

I glared at Shawn, "You really are comedic relief."

Shawn giggled. "I don't know about you but I never knew these walls were so...white."

My three brothers grinned and in union basically shouted,  "They always looked a bit beige to me."

"Dammit Tori." Mr. Bennett said before I could make a comment. I covered my face with my hands as he pulled out his wallet and flipping through some cash. "You let me down."

Dad grinned before he started laughing. "That's four hundred  Mike."

"Three-fifty." Mr. Bennett said. "It hasn't been a full year."

"I'm lost." Mark managed to mutter for the both of us.

"Your father and I," Dad said looking at Mark, "Made a deal your freshmen year. I bet that you would kiss Tori first, your dad bet Tori would kiss you first. Hundred bucks a year. Thanks Mark. I told your dad you had balls."

"Dad!" I shouted my cheeks burning.

Mr. Bennett shook his head. "I know my boy...I thought Tori would be the one to wear the pants."

"Dad!" Mark yelled his face turning red.

Mr. Bennett brought his arms out in surrender. "Don't get me wrong kiddo, I'm your father. I of all people know you have the balls, I mean I was there when you were born and all, it's just you're too much of a...gentlemen sometimes. Or  wimp. You're just that guy when it comes to women."

Mrs. Bennett hit her husbands shoulder. "Don't listen to your father." She looked towards Mark. "He wasn't any better. He was shy and quiet. Couldn't even ask me out for months."

Mr. Bennett smirked and whispered under his breath. "It's less than four years."

"I hate you all." I said as I looked over to my brothers who were trying their hardest not to laugh. I would have thought dad would have been upset with me getting a boyfriend but he seemed pretty enthusiastic about earning three hundred and fifty dollars from a bet that was apperently made about three years ago.

"Could I write you a check?" Mr. Bennett said.

"Nope." Dad answered. "We agreed on cash."

"Well I'm so sorry that I don't carry three hundred bucks in my wallet, Bill." Mike said.

Everyone seemed to errupt in a commotion. Mary and Lilly started talking while Conlan and Sue were high fiving and pointing at us singing the 'I told you so' song. My brothers weren't any better because they were singing the 'I knew it' song. And our dad's were arranging the money issues with the long placed bet.

Mark coughed for a second catching everyones attention. "Could you take this all to the hallway and give me a second?" Everything I tried to do or say made this situation even more embarrssing. My heart skipped a beat and I'm pretty sure everyone noticed. They all smiled like it was some part of their big scheme. I don't think the situation could have been any worse. I was just drowning in a pool of humiliation.

Blake sat down on one of the chairs and laid back. "But I just got comfortable." Out of all the people in the room, the only one's that didn't want to leave were Blake, Cole, and Shawn. I wasn't sure if I should be annoyed or happy. I wasn't used to over protective brothers. It kinda made me feel warm inside. But at the same time I wanted to chew their heads off to leave me alone.

It took convincing but they finally agreed to leave because there were chocolate chip muffins in the cafe and Lilly guilt-tripped Blake into buying Shawn a new controller for the PS3. Cole said he had to head to work or Dalton would fire him. I don't know why that was so funny but he walked out of the room laughing to himself like it was some kind of joke. Suzie wanted to play with Conlan, Mr. Bennett and dad wanted to talk, and Mrs. Bennett and Lilly were probably going to gossip and giggle like little school girls.

"So..." I said when they left the room. Mark turned to look at me and I felt a weird silence fall between us. All I could hear was the heart monitor and clock that was poised above my bed. I pulled the bag of sharpies up bouncing the markers together. "Want to sign my cast?" I asked with an inviting smile.

Mark grinned and walked over to the side of the bed where my broken arm was. He quickly looked at the door before kicking his shoes off and pushing me to the side while moving around some of the wires so he could lie down next to me. "I thought you'd never ask." He said getting comfortable on my bed. His arm went around my shoulders as I settled against him.

"This is probably not allowed." I fought stupidly. It's not like I wanted him to go.

He shrugged. "A lot of things aren't allowed. People still do them. Plus," He looked down at me with a grin. "Do you want me to leave?"

I shook my head and laid against him closing my eyes. I could hear the small scraping of sharpie pen against my cast as Mark probably signed his name. A wave of emotions suddenly felt like they crashed down at me. Like I finally realized he was here with me and his arm was holding me close to him. He had a grip too. As if he were afraid he wouldn't be able to hold me again. I could hear our last conversations in my head, the way he had looked at me and the way he had talked to me. To him everything seemed to have changed but to me I felt like it all happened yesterday.

I gripped his shirt into a fist. "You're not really going to die, right?"

The sound of sharpie against my cast stopped but I kept my eyes closed and pretended I didn't feel Mark tense underneath. "Tori-"

"I'm sorry." I blurted out my hysteria kicking in. I didn't want to know the answer. I didn't want Mark mad at me. And I definitely didn't want him to leave. Not when everything felt right again.

God Tori, I thought to myself. You really do ruin everything.

"I'm sorry." I repeated, "I didn't mean to. I ju-"

Mark put his hand over my mouth. "Don't. I already told you. Don't be sorry for anything."

I tried moving his hand but failed so I muffled against his hand. "But-"

"Tori...shut up." He said bluntly. "Next time you say sorry I'm going to tickle you."

"Sorry." I said unaware of what it meant. "No wait I didn't mean it!" It didn't matter then. Mark had already started tickling me carefully so I wouldn't mess up any of the wires. "Stop it!" I shouted quietly so people outside couldn't hear. I tried shoving his hands away but it was impossible to get them both away at the same time.

My heart monitor was beeping fast and I was scared the nurse or someone would come inside to check on me. The bed was way to small and Mark was only laying down half of his body so I could have easily pushed him off. I knew my IV minimized my movement but I didn't want to push him away, so I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Mark's smile. His hands slowly came to a stop falling onto my waist as he gripped me softly to hold me in place while our lips moved together.

I thought it would be weird to kiss my best friend but it was the complete opposite. It felt so right. Like the final piece to the puzzle. After all the hard work of putting it together, the final piece finally fit right in the middle just like it was suppose to. All those years of Mark and I was now left by one tiny puzzle piece. It was as if we were trying to put the whole picture on that one bit.

He sighed against my lips when we finally ran out of breath. His forehead laying against mine, "You know you're my best friend, right?"

I nodded before giving him a skeptical look. "You're not friend-zoning me right now, right?"

He laughed, "Hell no."

"Good," I cuddled up into his side. "Dad told me the date."

Mark shifted again so he had his arm around me as I laid against him while he wrote or drew stuff on my cast. He scribbled something on the cast before shrugging, "What about the date?"

"I missed your birthday." My hand fiddled with the edge of his shirt as I listed everything that could have happened. "I missed Valentine's, I missed several taco dinners, a lot of bowling nights, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to graduate this year considering what I'm behind in, and I missed a lot of soccer. But still, I missed your birthday and that's not ok because you turned eighteen."

"Yes." Mark looked up a moment faking a shudder. "The voting age. Now I actually have to pay attention to politics. It's death with a name."

I laughed softly. "Well I wanna make up for it. So I was thinking paintball or camping."

"Camping sounds nice," He scribbled something else on my cast. "I went to laser tag with Sue, Conlan, and some of your brothers on my birthday. It was a uh...interesting experience." Mark smirked.

"What'd Shawn do?" I asked slightly mortified. It was unusual listening to Mark say he hung out with my brothers. I guess they had time to create a friendship while I was sleeping.

"Got ice cream cake and tried face planting me into it." Mark laughed slightly. "Now it's kinda funny but at the time I was about to chop his head off."

"We should put a leash on him."

"No. He'll probably become rabid. Start attacking the city or something. Putting Shawn on a leash is like having-"

"A miniature King Kong jumping around putting ice cream cones on his head and blantly stating he's horny." We both laughed at my reference. "He is very monkey like."

"Which only makes sense why he calls you a gorilla." Mark smirked.

"He calls you a bear."

"Apparently so do you."

"But you're my teddy bear."

Mark put his forehead on the side of my head. "Your teddy bear? I like the sound of that."

"Bet you do." I smiled looking down at my hands. Wondering how we ever got here.

"You know how at Build a Bear Workshop you go through the whole process of making a stuffed animal?" Mark smiled back like he was thinking it all through. You pick the animal first, get it stuffed, put the heart, dress it, then get the certificate?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Yeah...we went there to get graduation bears because we finished elementary school."

Mark nodded. "The way I see it is, you might have not adopted me like at Build a Bear but you filled me up with stuffing. And when you tell the bear a secret and seal the secret with a kiss to the heart, that's how I feel. That even though, before I had these feelings and...other stuff," He blushed for a moment, "You always had my heart one way or another."

I wish, I sincerely wish, I was good with replying to those kinds comments but I wasn't. I was not good when it came to come backs when someone says something incredibly sweet. I always look down, look away, maybe just stay quiet and change the subject, or say something that ruins the moment. "You were going to say urges weren't you?"

Mark's face turned red and he shook his head putting through a nervous laughter. "You are such a mood killer." He shoved my shoulder playfully. "I made a freaking metaphor with Build a Bear and you get stuck on that part."

"Well I don't know how to answer to that." I grabbed a pillow behind me and planted it on my face muffling out, "I'm sorry."

Mark poked his finger under my rib cage making me jump. "I told you not to say sorry."

"You're taking this seriously aren't you." I pushed the pillow away and looked up at Mark's face. I placed each finger at the corners of his lips and curved them upwards. My eyebrows crunched down and my voice deepened. "Why so serious?"

He licked his lips excessively and pointed at his cheeks. "You wanna know how I got these scars?"

I chuckled changing the topic before we could reenact a Batman scene. "Now you're going to take me to Build a Bear."

Mark's hand stayed against my cast covering up whatever he was writing or drawing. "Is that so?"

"Mhmm." I nodded. "Because I'm gonna make a bear now with a nice camo outfit and whenever you're gone I'm going to cuddle up with it till you come back home."

The playful mood in Mark dropped almost instantly. His smile turned into a straight line, wrinkles appearing on his forehead like he was thinking hard. He opened his mouth several times to say something but would end up not saying anything at all. His body shifted underneath and he wouldn't make eye-contact.

I hadn't meant to change his mood. If anything I was being honest. "I'm just saying." I shrugged for a second. "If you're not there to cuddle with me then there has to be some sort of teddy bear that can."

"Tori-"

"Don't." I stopped him before he could keep going. I knew it was coming. I knew it was going to come up. Basically the whole military discussion and I wasn't going to lose this conversation again. "I'm sick and tired of the lame excuses." I snapped. "They're dumb."

"Um..." Mark seemed out of words. "You're dumb..."

"Mark." I said sternly.

"Can we just talk about it for a second?"

"No let me talk first because I know what you're going to say." I said first. He was going to tell me about all the different factors. Give me a rant about how college is suppose to be spent making mistakes. How I shouldn't have to worry about him or how I might find someone else. It hurt that he could be thinking all those different things. "You can't just come in here, kissing me, telling me I own your heart, giving Build a Bear metaphors, and then basically tell me to go around next year forgetting about you. That's a load of bullshit Mark. You don't do that."

I turned my head away from him and watched the red line of my monitor rise and fall with my heartbeat. It was an annoying little beep and only seemed to get my blood boiling more. It hurt he still thought I would cheat or get bored, even though he hadn't said it I knew he was thinking it. It was irritating how even with everything that's happened we're back to square one with this conversation. I wanted to hit something. Maybe punch a pillow so I wouldn't break my good hand.

Mark laughed. He plain out laughed and I couldn't help but look over at him. "You are dumb. You didn't let me finish hot shot. Miss I'm-Going-To-Start-Ranting-Now-Without-Hearing-What-He-Has-To-Say. Is the morphine getting to your head, baby?"

I lightly punched his stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you ever wonder what'd it be like not having me around?" Mark asked. Before I could answer he kept going. "Because I know what it's like not having you around. It sucks. It sucks ass, Tori. I don't ever want to go through that again." He pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. "I love you and never want to let go."

My heart rate increased and I could I feel a pounding in my chest as well as it hear it on the monitor. "I feel stupid now." I said lamely.

He smiled kissing down my cheek and neck stopping midway. "I want you to think about this, ok? Like actually think, please." Mark twirled a sharpie between his fingers before handing it to me. His hand moved away from my cast and I brought it to me to see what he wrote.

Be mine? Was written in bold letters a cloud bubble around it. There were little boxes next to the answers and I couldn't help my heart melting. Yes. Yes. Definitely. Were what the answers read.

I smiled so much my cheeks started hurting. He wanted me to think it through even though he didn't leave much choice anyways, I already knew my answer. I could tell Mark was nervous, probably over thinking like usual. He was biting his lip and his finger was tapping against his leg. He watched me closely and if it weren't for the freezing temperature at the hospital he probably would have started sweating. I smiled and covered up my answer as I circled it. "You're dumb." I said.

One side of his lips curled, "Why's that?"

"You should already know the answer." There was a small thump on the door but we ignored it. "You know this is cliche." I said trying to keep his suspense up.

"What?" He smiled. "Two best friends liking each other?"

"Yeah."

"Well have you seen your step-brothers?" He licked his lips. "Blake is the player who changed. Cole is the popular who's secretly smart. And Shawn is the other popular who fell for the nerdy girl. Not to mention they're all slightly rich. It's not the first cliche in this story. And Sue and Conlan are meant to be so that's another cliche. Guess you're so focused on yourself you never noticed that, huh?"

Honestly I was slightly surprised. "I hadn't even thought of Shawn being cliche. That's like the ultimate cliche."

Mark nodded, "Oh and he declared himself a werewolf at school. It's just going downhill for that kid." Mark's eyes went to my broken arm. "Alright now show me." He tried prying my hand off the cast.

"Not until you promise to take me to Build a Bear."

He pretended to think about it, stroking his imaginary beard. "Deal."

"Pinky promise?" I held out my pinky.

Mark wrapped his pinky with mine. "Pinky promise."

I smiled taking my hand off the cast. After he read my answer I cupped his face in my hand and kissed him softly. "Yes." I said breaking off with a wide smile.

Mark grinned so widely it felt like he was glowing. He looked so happy I wished I had my phone to capture it. He kissed me again and again and again until we couldn't breathe at all. Now I knew what it felt like when people say 'they're the one.' Even from a simple little kiss it had me knowing that Mark was the one. "You know," He said when we went quiet again, "This means I'm gonna drag you to prom."

"No!" I yelled so loudly he slightly jumped.

Suddenly the door bursted open and Shawn jumps in with a belt tied around his forehead. "We going to Prom baby!"

"How long have you been there?" I said slightly mortified.

"Dude were you ease dropping?" Mark asked. He also looked embarrassed. Cheeks partly flushed but I could tell the other reason his cheeks were red was because he was somewhat mad.

Shawn gave a face that looked a lot like the Grinch's evil happy face. "Nope. You just forgot to hang up." He walked to the chair where Blake had sat at and grabbed Blake's phone. Blake popped his head in and at that moment I wanted to kill them both. Cole must had left for work because he wasn't there, it still didn't matter considering Shawn and Blake are most likely going to tell him what we said anyways. Shawn picked up Blake's phone and clicked the END CALL button.

"Oh my gosh Shawn Lewis and Cake Xavier Parris you three are so effing lucky I'm crippled right now!" I yelled. "Just wait till I can freaking walk you two idiots!"

Blake smirked, "Sorry Tobi. Had to make sure this stayed PG rated."

"Since when have you cared when something is PG?! You're freaking NC-17!" I threw a pillow at him.

He shook his head and took a moment to consider something. "Tobi I should horrify you with one of my sex stories."

"No!" Shawn yelled cupping his ears. "Yes I've had sex but I don't need another version that involved whips please stop right there right now! It's bad enough you dreamt about stuff while we had to share a bed during vacation. There was so much I thought you were part ape dude!"

"I'm with Shawn." Mark said. Everyone turned to look at him for a second. "Not about the sharing a bed thing! About stopping right there right now. I don't need to hear this."

Blake clicked his tongue. "I could give you tips Mark. Like move your tongue like this," He opened his mouth but before I could watch how he wiggled his tongue Shawn hit him in the head.

"Stop it!" Shawn said with a scrunched face He proceeded blocking out noise by saying, "La la la la la la." Over and over trying to tune it out while cupping his ears with his hands.

"Gosh your brothers are weird." Mark added.

"Yeah..." I said slowly. My head was tilted slightly as I watched the two of them doing their own thing. Blake was wiggling his tongue in front of Shawn while he kept acting like he couldn't hear anything by loudly humming the Indian Jones theme song.

It was weird. They were weird. But I still loved the two of them. Cole too. In an odd messed up way we were all somewhat alike. I know they missed me, I couldn't say I missed them because I didn't feel like I was asleep a long time. But I still love them. Even though Blake did mess up he's trying to fix it, Cole might not be Mr. Perfect but he's doing his best, and Shawn...Shawn is perfect in his own little dream land way and I love him.

"Yes we are weird. Bet you didn't think the Trips are a bunch of weirdos. Now," Blake kicked his shoes off. He waved Mark off the bed. "Get off you're too close to her."

"Excuse me?" Mark gawked. "I was here first."

"I was born first." Blake pulled that card. He pulled that card. "Now move before I never let you step foot inside my house again."

"Uhm," Shawn interrupted, "What if I want to snuggle with Tori?"

"Wait in line." Blake said like it was obvious.

"But I'm always in the back!" Shawn crossed his arms like a child. He put on an upset face before rummaging through his backpack and pulling out a rubber chicken. He hugged it to his chest. "Whatever I have Patatas here."

Mark looked at his Shawn strangely. "You know that means potato in Spanish, right?"

Shawn slammed the chicken on the ground like a football. "Why are you so racist  Mark!?"

I couldn't help breaking out into laughter. The whole argument made no sense. Pain on my side shot up from too much laughter. While I had been laughing I wasn't sure if I was the drugged one or if Shawn was. Blake had successfully managed to move Mark away from me and take his place. "So you don't like prom, do you Tobi?"

"It's not that I don't like it..." I said with an eye roll. "I just don't want to have to prep the whole day for it."

"It's prom," Blake smirked. "Not your wedding."

"It's prom," I mimicked in an annoying voice. "Not your wedding."

Blake flicked my head. "Weirdo."

I flicked him back. "Asshole."

He grinned, "One and only."

I smirked, "I would hope you only have one. I recommend seeing a doctor if you have more."

"Ew..." Shawn said when he heard that. "Hey Tori guess what?"

"What?"

"Patata's butt." He laughed hysterically for a moment, slapping his knee too. It took me a minute to understand it.

"He means chicken butt." Mark said shaking his head.

I chimed in. "W'hat if he means potato butt?"

******************************

It took a couple days for them to say I can leave the hospital. Once they did I was so glad I could finally go home. Of course I still had trouble walking. They recommended I use crutches and give my leg a little bit of pressure as I walked. Also I would have to attend physical therapy. Everyone was nice and the nurses always gave me popsicles and honey graham crackers. But it felt good to finally go home.

When I arrived Lilly had a big feast where we all sat around like a family again. Everyone caught me up on what happened and it was great yet odd seeing Mark at the dinner table with us. We all talked and laughed, retelling stories of what happened when we were younger. Like when Cole apparently placed a diaper on his head and ran naked through the house. It was ten times funnier thinking Cole had done such a thing when people would assume Shawn would.

Everything seemed normal to me but I knew that they were all just incredibly happy. Em and Jodee had also been invited to join us for dinner. Apparently they had all talked while I was asleep so Lilly and Em were best friends while dad got more along with Jodee due to their conversations about 'legal issues' around the globe. Dad kept saying it woudn't matter now anyways because technically he wasn't a cop anymore. I knew he tried hiding his disappointment and really did miss his job.

After dinner I felt physically and mentally exhausted. I took a blanket to the couch in the living room and decided to try and fall asleep while watching some old re-runs. Everyone had gone home, including Mark who apparently spent most of his nights here when I was in the coma. But suddenly after my awakening the boys became super brothers and wanted him out of the house.

Guys, I thought to myself. Then they think we have mood swings.

I yawned and curled up with Mr. Cuddles while watching The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Billy was in the middle of picking his enormous nose when I heard footsteps coming into the living room.

"Whatcha' watchin'?" Cole asked rubbing his eyes. He wore a long pair of sweats with a white t-shirt and his hair was slightly wet like he had just gotten out of the shower.

I shrugged, "They weren't showing Danny Phantom."

He came forward and laid down beside me. "What about Courage the Cowerdly Dog?" He asked.

"I think that comes on around midnight." I yawned again. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Mhmm." He mumbled half asleep while laying his head against mine. "I'm just happy you're ok."

"Guys," We heard Shawn say as he came our way. He was wearing a pair of fuzzy pants with a shirt that read: I'm a hot sizzle. Szzzzz. "Why aren't you watching Ed, Edd, and Eddy?"

Blake was just behind him stretching his arms. "Flapjack is where it's at."

"Take back to the ninty's you guys." Shawn yawned and took a seat at my feet before laying back on me. He placed his head on my stomach facing the TV as he watched it intently. His breathing seemed more fast paced which had me wondering if he ran down the stairs. Knowing Shawn he probably skipped down the stairs.

Blake took a seat on the ground and we all sat in silence watching the old re-run. "Don't ever get into another coma." Blake said after a couple minutes. "You scared us a lot."

"I know." I said softly. I was kinda ashamed I got into the accident. I didn't want people to always be worried about me. It wasn't something I had meant to do though.

"Really Tori don't ever do that again." Cole added.

"Seriously." Shawn yawned. "Who else am I suppose to play with? These two don't like me."

Another comfortable silence while we thought about everything. "School's gonna be different now, you know that right?" Blake said.

"Yup." I answered not really caring that school was going to change. Who knows, it might be good. We've been through too much to think school is the big deal now.

"Hey but now they know the truth." Cole said. "I don't think they'll say anything else because incest between siblings is weird."

Blake sounded like he was about to crash but managed a short, "You're weird."

"I'm weird too." Shawn added.

"Tori's weird." The three of them said in unison.

"I hate your weird triplet telepathy...I love you guys though." I closed my eyes listening to the show. We all fell into a silence that only the TV was breaking.

We were all about to fall asleep. Or at least I was. I could feel Cole's breathing underneath me and he also seemed at bay. But then it came all of a sudden. Like a small loud bomb. The three of us jerked our heads up and stared at Shawn who held a smug face. He giggled, "I farted."

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I don't know what to say you guys. Honestly I've been trying to write this chapter over and over and it just kept coming out bleh. I know you all expected some insanely good chapter and I'm sorry because I have to admit it let down some of MY expectations but I just couldn't find a way to do it. Next chapters should be better though.

I think I'll be doing Prom next chapter. I don't know. There's about three chapters left. Two more and the epilogue. Yes, 3S is coming to an end but I'll continue writing stories after this. Again, sorry if your expectations for this chapter wasn't met. I'd love to get feedback on how I could make it better.

For those Mark-nonlovers, I'm sorry! I know you guys really didn't want the whole 'best friend cliche' story but I promise it'll get better as it goes on. I mean at least it's not JUST about that kind of story.

Uhm...we still have a few things to deal with in the book and it'll be wrapping up soon. Sorry I haven't updated for a long time and then gave you this cruddy chapter. I just couldn't figure it out. I will try not to take four months to update again. I hit a bump and hopefully I'm over it. It should go smoother now that I have it all thought out in my head.

Please give me feedback and comments! And forgive my ghost update. Love you guys! Even if some of you are sorta impatient.

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