*New Cargan story, enjoy! :)

*Carlos' POV*

One year. I've been sleeping for one year. Well…actually I'm not sure I'd really call it sleeping. The doctors said that I was in a coma but it didn't seem like it. I couldn't move my body, talk, or even see but I could hear everything. Maybe that's what it's like to be in a coma…I'm not sure. I've only been awake for a few minutes. I think I scared myself awake. The doctors had told my mother that it didn't seem like I was getting better. Mayville Hospital has a policy that says after a patient has been in a coma for a year or more, the family has the right to pull the plug and basically let them die. I had to listen to my mother say she wanted to end my life and I couldn't do anything. I knew the doctor would be back soon to do his job. All of the sudden I had opened my eyes and I was awake. I had machines hooked up to me so I really couldn't get up. I sat there for a moment and once again thought about the accident.

-One Year Ago-

"Hey, Carlos! Are you going to Lizzie's Party tomorrow?"

"Can't. I have to babysit."

"Babysit?! You're missing what will be the best party of the year just because you're babysitting?!"

"Sorry, James. I promised my mom I'd babysit for her friend Janis."

"Janis Hunter?"

"Yeah."

"DUDE! She and her husband are like millionaires! I hear they have a huge pool and a theater in their house!"

"I know. They do."

"Can I come?!"

"I'm going there to watch their kids, not to hang out and have fun."

"Fine!" James stormed away once again. He has been acting so bipolar lately. I walked home from the mall and went straight to bed. When I woke up in the morning I got dressed, ate, and then left for the Hunter's house. It was a little bit out of town and basically a mansion. They have three kids. Their oldest is Kailey. She just turned eight and is very creative. Then there's Jayden. He's five and trouble always seems to find him. Mrs. Hunter is six months pregnant with their next child. When I got to the house, the kids were still sleeping. I laid around watching TV until they got up. I gave them breakfast and once they were dressed, we decided to play in the backyard. It was about the size of my entire house. They had a pool, hot tub, playground, garden, and a decent sized tree house. They wanted to play in the tree house. This kind of bothered me because it was broken. Not the whole thing, just the stairs that lead up to it. The tree house it connected to a set of monkey bars. The ladder on the left side is built in to the structure keeping the tree house up. To get inside right now, you have to climb up the ladder and then sit on top of the monkey bars. Then climb in the window opening. Mrs. Hunter doesn't mind them doing this because they are always careful. I never like going up there because I'm afraid I'll fall. It's not too high off the ground but if you fall, it will hurt. Also the ground is covered in tiny rocks. The kids convinced me into going up. I climbed the ladder and sat down on top of the bars. I was too scared to stand so I just waited for a while.

"Jayden! Get back in here! You're going to fall." I froze when I heard Kailey yell that. I carefully looked around the corner and sure enough Jayden had climbed out the other window and was standing on the ledge. It just barely fit his feet. One wrong move and he would fall. I quickly stood up.

"Don't move Jayden!" My knees were shaking and I couldn't stay balanced. I heard something hit the ground. I looked over and saw a black object on the ground. Jayden had been wearing black. My legs went weak and before I could grab onto something I fell to the ground and everything went black.

-End Flashback-

The door opened and the doctor stepped in. He looked like he might faint when he saw that I was awake.

"You're awake! Oh my god! It's a miracle!" He quickly hurried out of the room. He returned in a few moments with two nurses. They began examining me and asking questions. After a few hours they left me and the doctor alone.

"Where's my mom? " I had been so caught up in answering question that I hadn't even thought to ask about her until now.

"We've tried to contact her but there's a slight problem. Her cell phone has been deactivated and she disconnected your home phone. We sent one of the nurses over to see if she was there but the house was empty. She never left a number for work or anything but I'm sure we'll reach her somehow."

"So when can I go home?"

"Well…I'm not sure when we will get in contact with her but you are in a stable enough state to leave. We really don't want to keep you here more than we have to. A year in the hospital costs a lot. If you wish to leave we can send you to Ms. Valentines."

"Where?!"

"It's a foster home in Northridge. You could temporarily stay there."

"Okay. I guess that will work."

"Okay. I'll go make some calls."

"Wait!"

"Yes, Carlos?"

"What day is it?"

"August 31st."

"That means school starts tomorrow. What am I going to do about that?"

"You go to Morton High right?"

"Yeah."

"Well there have been a few changes there. Do to some remodeling they don't have enough room for everyone so they have teamed up with the Northridge school. For this year, the 12th and 10th graders from both schools will go to school in Morton since they have less people in those grades. The 11th and 9th graders are at Northridge, so you will be going to school there this year."

"But I'm a senior!"

"You were in a coma for a year. You missed your whole junior year. They can't technically hold you back but you need to take all of you junior year classes still."

"So I basically have to wait for two more years to graduate!"

"I don't know. We'll have to talk to the school. I'll be back in a bit." He walked out of the room to go make calls. I stayed the night at the hospital and was to start school in the morning. The principle of Northridge said that I can still graduate this year if I put in more work. I have to take my required classes for my junior year and the other three class periods of the day I have study hall. I have to take my classes for senior year online. It's going to be challenging but I want to graduate no matter what.

I woke up in the morning and got dressed. The doctor had been nice enough to buy me a backpack and get me supplies. My car was at home so one of the nurses drove me to go get it. On the way, a thought popped into my head. "JAYDEN!"

"Excuse me?" The nurse seemed seriously confused.

"The little boy I was babysitting when I had my accident. He fell from the tree house."

"Oh you mean the Jayden Hunter? He's fine. He never fell. His jacket got stuck on the tree house ledge when he threw it out the window. When he climbed out the window to get it, he kicked it to the ground. He made it back inside just fine. There were some toys in the pockets so that's why it sounded like someone had fallen."

"Oh. Well I'm glad he's safe." The rest of the car ride was silent. She dropped me off at the house and drove away. I grabbed the spare key and went inside. After grabbing some stuff, I headed off towards school. The day completely sucked. No even talked to me and for almost half the day I was alone in the tech lab. I got about a week's worth of stuff done in just one day so I felt pretty confident about graduating on time. I had just gotten into my car when a lady tapped on my window. I cautiously rolled down the window.

"Can I help you?"

"You're Carlos, right?"

"Yes…"

"Hi. I'm Ms. Valentine. You'll be staying at my place."

"Oh. It's nice to meet you."

"You too. Now, I was wondering if you could give my nephew a ride home. I have a school board meeting to get to and he doesn't really have any friends so…"

"yeah I can give him a ride."

"Thanks! He'll give you direction. Get yourself settled in. I'll be home late so don't wait up." She walked over to a guy with dark hair. He nervously walked over to the car and got in.

"H-hi."

"Hey. I'm Carlos."

"I-I'm Logan."

"Okay then Logan…mind if we drive over to Morton real quick."

"Um...I don't know. My aunt will want us to be home."

"Please! I need to see my friends!"

"No you don't. A day away from them won't kill you. It's not like they're going to think you're dead if you don't visit."

"I was in a coma for a fucking year! I just woke up yesterday! I want them to know I'm okay! I'd call or text them but my mom cancelled are phone contract!"

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I had no idea. My aunt had just said that you were staying for a little until your mom got back so I figured she was on like a business trip or something. We can go."