My eyes seemed to be glued shut. The haziness that covered my mind began to lift and I could actually think straight again. I tried to focus on breathing first, since that was the hardest thing to do at the moment. I noticed a dull pain that appeared every time I took a breath. I wondered what else was wrong with me.

Fearing the worst, I began to open my eyes. It took me a moment to realize I had succeeded at first. It was pitch black all around me for a long moment, but soon the soft light from the moon illuminated my surroundings. I looked around for anything that could help me, but all I saw were trees. I attempted to sit up, but I couldn't really move my body.

I took a moment to take in everything. I was laying on my side and I could feel something hard pressing on my back, possibly a tree or a rock. I strained to see ahead of me, but I was only greeted with darkness. Soon, I began to feel my body again.

Which wasn't really a great thing actually.

The dull pains transitioned into sharp ones, causing me to take shallow breaths again. I could feel all the scratches starting to sting and burn. My left bicep was particularly painful. I struggled to lift my other hand from under me and carefully felt my arm. I could feel something hot and sticky covering it. My breath hitched in fear.

I decided to try and ignore that for now so I started to move my legs a little, praying to the goddess that they weren't broken. Slowly, I wiggled my toes and worked up from there. They ached, and there was a sharp pain in my left ankle, but nothing felt broken. I did notice I was missing a shoe, though.

I sighed, letting myself rest for a second. I couldn't help but feel absolutely stupid. What made me have such bad luck? Was I cursed? Or was I just that naïve for believing my life would suddenly turn around after the breakdown I had?

I fought back tears, knowing it would just cause me even more pain. I took in a deep breath, wincing as a sharp pain shot through my side, and managed to get myself sitting upright against what turned out to be a tree behind me. Black dots spotted my vision, and I struggled to remain conscious.

I sat there for who knows how long. I felt defeated. I didn't know what to do. How was I going to get back home like this?

And no one would know where to look for me before it was too late.

Fear stuck my heart. I was going to die out here.

I closed my eyes. I suddenly felt exhausted. I just wanted to sleep.

But I knew I couldn't just give up like that, no matter how much I wanted to. I knew my parents wouldn't want that. I knew Julia wouldn't want that. And the more I thought about it, I knew I didn't want that. If I knew anything by now, it was that I wasn't a quitter.

I forced my eyes open again, trying to sit up straighter. I needed to figure out what to do. But after assessing myself again, I knew I couldn't walk, let along stand, yet. I had no choice but to sit there for a while and try to recover.

I ripped the bottom of my shirt off and tied it around my wounded arm. From the little light I had, I didn't think it looked that bad. I was surprised I wasn't in worse condition after that fall.

I don't know how long I sat there. It seemed like hours to me. I was usually good at keep track of time passing, but I couldn't even determine if a minute went by.

I couldn't help but doze off a few times. My whole body felt heavy and I couldn't hold my head up for long.

I began to notice I could see a little easier now. I looked up and saw that the sky was getting lighter. I was relieved and terrified at the same time. That meant I was out here all night.

I had to try and get back.

I began thinking of a plan. I figured I could find a stick to hoist myself up with and use it as a makeshift crutch. Just as I thought I figured it out, I remembered I had no idea where I was. I'd probably end up getting lost.

Feeling my hope fade fast, I closed my eyes again. Maybe I just had to wait.

I was feeling myself starting to drift back to sleep again when I heard something. My eyes snapped open. Scared, I lifted my head and looked around. But nothing was different. My mind jumped to the worst conclusion: some sort of animal that could kill me.

I focused on listening. It sounded like something walking. Twigs were breaking and leaves were being disturbed. But it also sounded kind of far off. I hoped that it would keep going and leave me alone.

But all my thoughts vanished when I heard a faint voice in the distance.

I jolted, causing pain to rip through my sore body. I cried out from the sudden pain. My vision got spotty and my ears rung.

I heard the voice again, a little louder.

"Help…" I croaked. I coughed and tried to clear my throat.

This time I could hear what the voice was saying.

"Chelsea!"

I didn't know who it was, but I was so happy to hear them.

"I'm here!" I attempted to yell, but the pain in my side caused my voice to be much quieter than I intended. Frustrated, I tried again. "Here!"

"Chelsea!" The voice sounded further away this time.

I panicked, forcing myself to speak louder. "Help!"

I remained as still as possible trying to listen.

"Chelsea?" The voice called.

I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn't yell again. I looked around for something, anything that would get their attention. I picked up a rock and threw it as hard as I could against a tree. The thud echoed, but I wasn't sure if it was enough. I reached for another and tried throwing it in the direction I heard the voice, but it didn't make it that far.

I was starting to cry. I wanted them to find me so badly. I tried to make myself stand up, but I only fell over. I cried out in pain. It was almost unbearable for a moment.

"Chelsea!" I heard the voice much closer now. The ground thudded with their footsteps and suddenly I felt a warm hand on my face.

I forced my eyes open, but the black dots that covered my vision wouldn't clear.

"Oh my goddess." The deep voice sighed. "Chelsea…"

I finally recognized the voice. I mumbled their name. "Vaughn?"

I felt his hands lifting me off my stomach and slowly I was laid on my back.

"Are you okay? What the hell happened?" He asked. The concern and anger in his voice were clear.

"I fell." I managed to say, opening my eyes finally. I saw his face leaning over mine. His brow was scrunched together and he had a frown on his face. His eyes were wide instead of narrow, though.

He leaned back and breathed out. "I know that much. But how could you…why…"

"I went to the overlook…" I told him quietly. It was painful to talk any louder. "I was sitting by the edge. When I got up…I lost my balance. I don't know."

He made an aggravated sound. "You could have died. As a matter of fact, why aren't you dead?"

I smiled a little. "How did you know where to find me…?"

He took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. I realized he looked extremely tired and roughed up. He replaced his hat. "When you never showed up for dinner at Mirabelle's, she got worried and asked Julia to stop by your farm and see what was up. But obviously, you weren't there. Julia came back to the shop all freaked out because she noticed you never finished picking your crops."

He paused for a moment.

"So they got all worried since it was so late and started checking around town. When they couldn't find you, they asked around. Eventually, they talked to Denny who told them he saw you going into the forest."

I took a moment to take it in. I was surprised everyone was so worried about me. It made me actually happy. Usually I hated people fussing over me. I looked at Vaughn. "Why are you here then?"

He was silent.

"Vaughn?"

"Mirabelle forced me to join the search party. They told me to check the overlook while they looked on the lower part of the mountain. When I got to the overlook I found your shoe by the edge. So I knew that you…had fallen."

I felt a little disappointed that he had been forced to look for me, but I was glad he found me all the same.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

"If I could, don't you think I would have been walking by now?"

He scowled at me. He was quickly returning to his normal self. "I guess I'll have to carry you then."

Before I could say anything, he gently scooped me up into his arms and stood up. I cringed as I felt my ankle jar. The weight from it dangling made it hurt even more.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"My ankle. I think it's sprained." I told him through gritted teeth.

He seemed to understand my discomfort and shifted me onto his back. He secured my legs so that my ankle wouldn't move as much. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying not to think about how close we were.

"Better?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah." I nodded.

He began to walk, going slowly so that he wouldn't jar me too much.

"How long is it until we're back in town?" I asked.

"Dunno. I've been out here all night."

"I'm sorry…" I said softly.

"You should be." He said harshly.

I fell silent. I wasn't sure what else to say.

After a minute, he sighed. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault really…"

"Okay…" I said. I was trying to keep myself from leaning against him all the way, but it was getting hard. I gave in and leaned my head against his neck. My cheek rested against the base of his neck. The warmth comforted me a little and I closed my eyes, sighing.

Vaughn let go of one of my legs. Wondering what he was doing, I opened my eyes to see him taking off his hat. He replaced his grip on my leg again and kept walking. I guessed I was making his hat fall off.

For a while, we remained in silence. I relished in the moment of feeling safe and content again. I was so glad someone found me. I knew I wasn't going to let myself die; I would have found a way to get home and find help. But for once, I was okay with letting someone else help me. Without anyone else's help or pity I would still be laying on the ground willing myself to fight.

It felt nice to give in and let someone else take responsibility.

"Hey, Vaughn." I said.

"What?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't hold anything against you for my parent's death. I forgive you."

He halted in his steps. His grip on my legs tightened. "I don't want to talk about that."

I lifted my head a little. "We don't have to. I was just saying I –."

"Stop." He growled.

"Vaughn…"

"Just stop. I don't want your forgiveness. It doesn't mean anything to me. So shut up."

He started walking again, this time his pace wasn't as slow. My ankle knocked against him a few times, but he didn't seem to care.

I frowned. "You just won't forgive yourself. That's it."

He stopped again. "You're seriously making me regret finding you."

"Vaughn!" I gripped his shirt, trying to get him to listen. "You don't have to feel guilty. You really didn't cause it…it wasn't your fault. Please."

"Fine. Whatever. Just shut up about it." He began to walk again at the same pace.

I winced as my ankle hit him again. "You're hurting my ankle…"

He immediately slowed down. I leaned my cheek against his neck again, frowning.

"I just want us to be normal with each other." I mumbled. "Well, as normal as they were before this mess."

He remained silent.

"I went to that overlook because I was so filled up with all this built up emotion that I've been carrying around for weeks. I realized a lot of things up there, and one of those things was that you're a part of my life now, Vaughn. And it's always going to be like that. It has to be."

"Why?" He asked after a moment. "What does it matter?"

"Because I want you in my life." I said, feeling my face get warmer. I wasn't sure, but it felt like his neck got warmer as well. "I don't know how to explain it."

He was silent for a long time before he said, "Get some rest. We'll be there soon."

Seeing nothing else I could do, I closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I felt myself drifting away.

A/N: Hey guys. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do for this chapter. I was going to write it in third person, but I decided against that. I changed my mind A LOT on this. Sorry if it's too cliché or stupid, but I didn't really see it happening any other way.

Anyway, there are bound to be errors in here. It's 1:30am, and I've been up for almost 20 hours. I'll try to get around to editing it, but don't hate me if I don't.

Please review!

Okay I edited it! Special thanks to Maymist for telling me how to because I'm dumb. Also, thank you Blufirewing for pointing out another error I made. It's fixed now! :)