Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For

I entered the main lobby of the hospital and walked over to reception in a way that was routine to me by now. As I neared the front desk, the receptionist looked up at me and gave me a smile. "Hello, Cassidy," she greeted. "Just come from work?"

I looked down to see she was referring to the logo of the bakery I worked at that was emblazoned on my T-shirt. I nodded before settling my belongings atop the desk and rummaged my purse to look for my driver's license. "Yeah," I answered, then proffered the desired piece of plastic out to her. She merely glanced at it before looking back at her computer to begin signing me in as a visitor, having already seen my license many times before, but was required to look at it due to safety protocol.

Deciding to continue with the small talk I began, "It was pretty busy today, though Fridays usually are. I didn't know you were working today, Carol. If I'd've known then I would've brought you something sweet. Are you working tomorrow? If you are, then maybe I'll be able to snag you a few cream puffs before they're all gone."

The older woman raised her right hand to wave off my offer. "Oh don't worry about it, Cassidy. As tempting as that sounds—because I know how delicious those cream puffs are—I really should be laying off on sweets." She paused to hand me the newly printed visitor's pass with my name on it. "But thanks for offering me anyway."

I took the pass and peeled it from the release liner to stick it on my chest. "Oh, you're welcome," I said before grabbing my things, smiling at the older woman, and making my way over to the elevator. I threw in a quick, "Have a nice day, Carol!" over my shoulder before stepping on the platform and heading up.

I walked the familiar route to the med-surg unit, not needing to ask anyone for help in finding it throughout the many long and complicated hallways of the hospital.

Once I arrived to my destination and was about to enter the room I've been visiting every day for the past month, I halted in my tracks to allow the nurse that was exiting the room to pass through. Noticing that it was Emily, the nurse who was usually the one taking care of my sister whenever she was working, I was about to greet her, but she beat me to it.

"Hi, Cassidy," she said. "How are you today?"

I gave a quick shrug. "All right, I guess. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine thanks," she smiled.

"How is she?" I asked her, a little hopeful despite already knowing her answer.

Her smile wavered a bit but her eyes turned soft. "The same as usual," she answered and put a hand on my shoulder. "But don't lose hope. It is still good that her condition hasn't worsened."

I gave her a small, polite smile and nodded. She patted my shoulder consolingly as I made my way into the room.

"Hey, Brooke," I said as I moved to place my stuff along the bedside table. I sat in the chair next to the bed and slid it closer so I could hold her right hand with both of my own, careful not to touch the IV in her arm.

My eyes surveyed her form as they did every time I visited, looking for any sign, any form of movement. But like each time before, they found none.

I looked from her face down to our hands, noticing that her tanner skin was becoming pale enough to closely match my light olive. My eyes returned to her face, searching for a quirk of her lip or a twitch of her nose, then strayed on her closed eyelids, imploring them to open so I could see the honey brown of her irises that I've missed so dearly.

I let out a sigh and crossed my legs. "So remember how I told you Avery and I were going to the movies last night? Well we did, and before we went into the theater we were waiting on line to get popcorn. So Avery and I were just standing there talking, Avery sipping on her drink, when this super hot guy got in the line next to us with his friends. My back was to him at first, but only when Avery stopped talking did I turn around and, I had to admit, he was pretty cute. Anyway, when he made eye contact with us he winked and, as Avery was taking a sip, she missed her mouth and spilled her drink all over her shirt!"

I forced myself to get the last part out before I chuckled at the memory, remembering my best friend's face after she soaked her white tee. The short blonde was blushing furiously as she zipped up her windbreaker and made a beeline for the restrooms. I was about to follow her, but she made me stay in line so I could still get the overpriced popcorn with extra butter.

My chuckle turned into soft giggles as I continued. "I mean, it was only water, but the outline of her bra became more noticeable and she wore her jacket zipped up for the rest of the night. I felt bad for her and I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it! It was just too funny. Oh, Brooke, I know you would've been peeing yourself if you saw her."

My giggles died down and my temporary amusement turned into woeful longing, my smile turning sad. Save for the IV supplying her with nutrients and the monitor that was measuring her heart rate, one could guess that Brooklyn was only in a deep sleep, not trapped in the dark recesses of a coma.

It was…unusual, her situation. No one could explain or give a good reason as to why or how she entered a coma in the first place.

It was exactly a month to the day since Brooklyn entered this sleep-like state. I remembered how I had entered her room, going in to wake her up for breakfast since our mother thought she slept in late enough. It was strange in the first place since it was usually the other way around; I would sleep in late at any given chance while Brooklyn would wake at a reasonable hour.

At the time I had just thought she wasn't kidding when she said she was tired the night before, and I thought she was messing with me and pretending to be asleep when I first tried to wake her up. Panic only set in once I couldn't get her to wake up no matter how hard I tried.

I had hurriedly run down the stairs to alert my mom and the others. Only when she had seen the distressed look on my face and heard the alarm lacing my voice did she jump out of her chair and bolt up the flight of stairs, closely followed by my dad and aunt.

Suffice to say we had called an ambulance and she was rushed to the hospital, and since then, speculation regarding her entrance into the coma was ongoing.

From what we could tell nothing outwardly prompted her entry, and I was questioned the most since I had spent the majority of the previous night with her. Even so, I had made it clear that she seemed totally fine and that she was just exhausted on our way back to the house.

Her condition hadn't changed since then, and with each passing day she grew less likely to emerge, or even survive, from the coma.

I looked at my sister's stationary form. She was stable enough that she was quickly transferred to a hospital close to home, but even with the fact that she didn't need to rely on a ventilator to breathe, she still refused to wake or give any indication of movement.

My hope was dwindling because nothing had changed. It was possible that she could stay like this for months on end, even for years to come.

Brooklyn was missing out on her life. She was missing out on life stuck in this comatose state while I was able to wake up every day—admittedly struggling to stay positive and dreading what I'd do if she never woke up—yet still able to spend time with my family and friends, going on with everyday life, going to work, and "enjoying" my summer vacation before heading off to start college.

Brooke was supposed to be by my side through all this, not confined within these white walls in this clean setting. She should be surrounded by lavender walls in her own mess of a room.

I fought to keep my despondency from winning out and continued with the one-sided conversation.

"So Avery was thinking about going out again tonight, but I just feel like staying in. Maybe catch up on some reading or watch a movie; I don't know. I haven't really done much of either lately. It took a bit of convincing on Avery's part to go to the theater last night, and it was the first time I've been in a while." I paused to shift back in my seat.

"Well, I'm going to go visit Mom now, but I'll talk to you again tomorrow."

I uncrossed my legs and rested my sister's hand against her side, giving it a squeeze before standing and moving toward her face. I caressed her cheek and leaned in to kiss her brow. "See you later," I said as I pulled away and gathered my belongings.

I looked back at her as I walked out of the room.

Please come back to us.

As I stepped off the elevator and made my way to the ER, I bumped into the exact person I was heading to see.

"Hey, Mom," I greeted and hugged her as best as I could with my hands full. I was taller than her by an inch or so and was able to quickly rest my chin on her shoulder before we both pulled away.

"Hey, Cassidy. Did you just come from work?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I already visited Brooke and was just coming down to see you," I answered and held up the two white paper bags I was carrying. "This," I gestured to the larger bag in my left hand, "is pasta from the bakery. I got you fettuccine with broccoli rabe for dinner. And this," I gestured to the smaller bag in my right hand, "is a mixed berry tart for dessert." I extended my hands to give her the food. "Enjoy."

"Oh, thank you, sweetie." She took the bags from my hands and pulled her cell phone out of the pocket of her scrubs to swiftly check the time. "This is just what I need after the day I've had. It was so busy earlier, about three traumas came in back to back, but it finally died down so I decided to go check on your sister."

I nodded. Whenever my mom was working, she'd take every opportunity she could to go see Brooklyn.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Eh, I'm not sure yet. I may or may not hang out with Avery," I said. "But I'll let you know."

"Alright, sweetheart. I'll see you later at home then." She pulled me in to kiss my cheek and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear that came loose from my ponytail.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll see you at home."

"Are you sure you don't want to go out tonight?" the voice of my best friend asked me through my cell phone.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Sorry, Aves, but I have an even earlier shift tomorrow morning. I can hang tomorrow night though since I don't have work on Sunday." I said as I poured myself a glass of water. I took my cell phone off speaker and walked into the living room, plopping myself on the couch while skillfully avoiding any spillage.

Avery sighed, "Okay, if you say so. Maybe tomorrow we can just go out to eat. I hear there's this new Mexican restaurant nearby that I've been wanting to try out. I'm down if you are."

"I'm down," I said as I flipped through channels on the TV. Damn, I thought, there are no good movies on tonight. Should've just went straight to Netflix.

"Good," she paused and I could hear her doorbell ringing through the phone. "Kay, girl, Ryan just got here," she said, referring to our mutual friend. "I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later," I said and then hung up the phone. I turned off the TV and made my way into the kitchen to put my empty glass into the sink before heading upstairs, determining whether I felt like catching up on reading or not.

As I reached the second floor landing, I stopped in my tracks on the way to my room, staring at the door that was adjacent to my own. After contemplating for a moment, I opened the door and trailed toward the bed.

I laid in the unmade bed and snuggled into the lavender comforter that matched the walls, nuzzling my face in the soft pillow as I rested on my side. Closing my eyes as I let out a deep breath through my nose, I surrounded myself in the scent that was undeniably Brooklyn. Despite her fascination with the color lavender, Brooke usually smelled of vanilla, and I would sporadically come in her room from time to time when I missed her most to enclose myself with her former presence.

I was afraid of how long it would take for her scent to fully disappear, as I could tell it was slowly fading, but I parried my fear with thoughts of her smile and laughter. I thought of our squabbles and shenanigans, and of our affectionate raillery, and tried to soothe the ever-present ache in my heart that made itself known a month ago today.

Like many times before, I thought of the night I spent with her prior to her entrance into the coma. I thought of us stargazing, amazed by the beauty the night sky provided, and my explanation to her about the phenomena of supermoons.

Funny, I thought. I forgot to mention that they usually occur in a series of three.

Tonight happened to be the second of this particular series, and next month would be the last.

I eased myself up and out of Brooklyn's bed to look out the window. There was still about an hour and a half of daylight left thanks to the longer days that summer granted. After nightfall, I'd be able to admire the stars once again.

But it probably wouldn't be as pretty as it was that night.

No, it probably wouldn't. Unless…

It was around seven o'clock now, so by the time I would arrive at Aunt May's it would be a little after nine.

I turned on my heels and briskly walked out of Brooke's room and into my own, changing out of my cotton shorts and tank top to don a pair of jeans and a V-neck tee. Knowing my mom would come home from her shift at the hospital within the hour, I sent her a quick text to tell her I'd be sleeping over at Avery's. I knew the short blonde wouldn't mind if I crashed at her house, so that was true, but I decided to leave out the fact that I was first making a trip further upstate.

I could feel the incipient guilt building up inside me from the lie of omission, since I was always honest with my mother, but I knew she wouldn't have allowed me to drive up this late, and I felt like I just had to go see the clearing again.

After lacing up my Vans, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door before stopping and turning back to grab a hoodie from my closet. Just in case it gets chilly.

As I ran down the stairs and neared the front door, I heard my dad call me from the living room. "Hey, Cassidy! Where are you going?"

I backtracked a bit so I could see he turned his head to look at me and not at the TV. "Oh, I'm just going to hang out with Avery. I'm sleeping over her house tonight." Another half-truth.

Satisfied with my answer, he nodded and said, "Okay, lovebug. Have fun," then turned his head to look back at the screen.

"Thanks, Dad. I will," I said and then ran out the door. I got in my car and drove to the gas station to fill my tank for the long ride, made my way onto the highway, and headed to the place I've only visited once before.

Once I parked my car I grabbed my hoodie that I threw on the passenger seat, along with my phone and keys, and a flashlight from the glove compartment. I shut the car door, tied the hoodie around my waist, and turned on the flashlight before I walked out of the park area and headed to the clearing.

I parked my car in the public playground and picnic area near my aunt's house. I decided the longer walk was worth avoiding having Aunt May discovering my whereabouts and telling my parents I was here.

Around twenty minutes into my walk I began to get irritated.

I could've sworn that it was somewhere around here, I thought as I was searching for an opening in the brush. I'm pretty sure Brooke said it was somewhere around here when she found it.

As ten more minutes passed, I was close to giving up until I walked a little further down to find a break in the undergrowth and trees that made way for a narrow path.

Finally! I thought as I followed the trail. I checked my phone to see that it was a little after ten before sticking it in the back pocket of my jeans.

When I finally reached the end of the trail that led to the opening of the clearing, I was awed at what I saw. It was as beautiful as I remembered it, with the pond in the center and the stars glittering across its surface. I walked until I was at the edge. It seemed as if the whole night sky was reflected in the still water, and if I were to touch it, I would make ripples in space.

I put on my hoodie and wrapped the lanyard attached to my keys around my left hand, laid on the ground, and set the flashlight beside me.

Truly a sight to behold, I thought as I looked up at the stars. I felt that my hair was fanned around my face, and I reached up to twirl a loose, S-shaped curl around my finger before spreading my arms out by my sides and imagining that a certain snarky brunette was right next to me.

Oh, Brooke, why did you have to go?

I laid like that for several minutes before sitting up and turning my body so I was parallel with the pond. I let go of my keys and rested on my right side with my arm holding my head up, and dipped the fingers of my left hand into the water. Ripples in space indeed.

I wiped my fingers on my hoodie and proceeded to lay down again, looking at the stars as they looked back at me. It was…serene. I should have felt vulnerable lying supine out in the open as I was, but I couldn't help but feel safe and at peace as I ran my fingertips through the blades from the turf at my sides.

After I was done twiddling with the grass, I rested my hands on my stomach and closed my eyes.

Alas, my peace was short-lived as loneliness crept its way up to grab me by the shoulders. It seemed like no matter what I did or wherever I went, I would always feel Brooke's absence, and its effects were lasting.

I felt my eyes tear up, and I blinked to let a single tear roll down the outer corner of my eye to meet my hairline.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Brooklyn, I miss you so much. Please, please come back to us. You have to wake up. I need you to wake up. I need to see your smiling face again and hear your voice, hear your laugh. Mom, Dad…I can tell they put up a front for me, but it's not the same without you. I squeezed my eyes tighter. I wish…I wish, I paused. I wish we can be together again.

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. The night sky looked blurry through my tears. I wiped away any before they could fall.

Right then I felt fatigue drape over me like a blanket, so I turned on my side and closed my eyes.

It wouldn't hurt just to rest my eyes for a few minutes, right? I mean, I'll just take a quick nap before I drive home. If anyone comes and tries to pull one over on me I'll just aim for the vitals.

The last thing I saw was the pond shimmering in the starlight before I was lulled into a deep sleep.

"Oh Yuki, darling, would you please pass me the chocolate chips?" Kaien Cross asked as he poured more flour into the large bowl on the countertop.

Yuki left her spot at the doorway and entered the kitchen, picking up the bag of chocolate chips on the table and placing them into her adoptive father's hands. She watched as he poured the chocolate chips in the bowl, paused to examine its contents, then continued to pour some more.

"Um, Headmaster? As much as I appreciate you making cookies for me, you really don't have to. Dinner wasn't that bad, I swear. I honestly enjoyed it." Yuki knew that the headmaster was only going through all this trouble because he thought he failed at dinner and wanted to make it up to her through dessert. In reality, the exotic soup he brought out for her and Zero wasn't bad at all. She was just too quick to eat it without letting it cool down first, resulting in the hot liquid burning her tongue and her spitting it back into the bowl.

When Kaien saw Yuki's reaction to his hard work, he began "crying" in his usual melodramatic fashion and vowed to remedy his mistake by making something that Yuki would enjoy. He wasn't appeased when Yuki tried to explain her reaction, or even when she finished her entire bowl and asked for another. He had thought she was just trying to spare his feelings like she usually did.

"Oh, Yuki. There is no need to soothe me any longer! I will make it up to you no matter what; I promise you that." Yuki sighed as he continued, waving the wooden spoon in his hand around as he gesticulated. "I would do anything for my precious daughter, and if that means baking her chocolate chip cookies, then so be it!" He stopped in his soliloquy and gesticulations to begin stirring the mix in the large bowl. "That is," he hesitantly asked over his shoulder, "chocolate chip is your favorite, right?" He wanted to make sure he didn't get that wrong too.

"Yes," Yuki answered, trailing off, "chocolate chip is my favorite…" She could vaguely recall the headmaster humming in joy and going off on some tangent, before her surroundings changed and she succumbed to the new perception.

"Brooke!" a man called, and he looked to be wandering through a kitchen. "Brooke, I know it was you who ate all my cookies. I'm not mad; I just want you to come out and confess." He gave up on looking in the kitchen and turned around to head into the dining room before he heard a giggle come from behind the island. He was able to catch a glimpse of a small foot before he heard tiny footsteps dash into the living room.

The man gave a small smile and a shake of his head before playing along. "Oh, where could Brooke be?" he said and glanced around the island and looked under the kitchen table. "Well she's not in the kitchen," he affirmed and walked further away from the living room. "Maybe she's in the dining room," he called out.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a cute "No" peep from the living room. His smile grew and he spun around, pivoting on his heel. "Or maybe," he drawled as he reached his destination, "she's hiding in here."

He heard her giggle from behind the couch and slowly entered the room. "I wonder if she's hiding under the lamp." He bent to look under the stand as he heard her muffled laughter, then stood upright. "Hmm," he tapped his chin, "Maybe she's behind the TV." He looked behind the TV and stated, "Nope, not here either. Am I getting hotter or colder?"

"Colder," she replied. He went to peek behind the window curtain and gave a big sigh.

"I'm never going to find her!" he exclaimed, and her giggling only increased. "Unless…," he drew out, "she's behind the couch."

The little girl squealed with delight as he scooped her up in his arms, her giggles mixing with his own laugh as he twirled her around. When he stopped, the girl smiled up at her father, happy that he was able to find her.

"Well I've been looking everywhere for you, you little rascal." He smiled down at her. "It seems that somebody has gone and eaten all of my cookies." She gave him an innocent look. "I didn't know we had our very own Cookie Monster in our midst!" She giggled and he continued. "What I did know was that a certain little girl with a sweet tooth has an affinity for cookies, hmm? Specifically chocolate chip?" She nodded. "Chocolate chip is your favorite, right?"

"Yes," she answered, "chocolate chip is my favorite."

His smile widened as he gazed at his beautiful girl. He couldn't deny that she had him wrapped around her little finger, he loved her so much. His eyes even lit up with mirth as he noticed cookie crumbs spread along the front of her dress, and he couldn't help but chuckle as she tried wiping them off.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," his little angel said. "I really love cookies."

His eyes turned soft. "I know, sweetheart. Brookie loves cookies." He leaned in to kiss her forehead tenderly. "My little cookie."

The scene faded out and Yuki had to grip the table behind her to stay balanced. That was the most vivid one yet, she thought.

As she straightened herself, she noticed Kaien depositing the last dough ball on the cookie sheet and then place the tray in the oven.

For the past month Yuki had been getting visions similar to the one she just had, though she had yet to decipher any of them or understand why she was having them in the first place. They would come at random and she tried her best to keep it a secret, especially from Zero, because he could always sense when something was bothering her.

In the beginning, the visions would be blurry and muffled and Yuki would suffer from headaches—which made the secret especially difficult to conceal—but over time, the visions began to clear up and come into focus.

At first, she had thought that they were memories from the first five years of her life she had forgotten, until she realized they always included the same girl, and that English was the primary language spoken.

Yuki was able to understand most of what was said in her visions—thanks to Kaien's English lessons along with her classes at school—but there were still bits that she couldn't keep up with since she wasn't fluent.

The visions were inconsistent, sometimes Yuki would get a sense of déjà vu and sometimes she wouldn't before one began. Her visions usually involved the same girl at various ages—Brooke, she had just learned—showcasing different periods of her life, and she recognized a girl with similar features whenever she saw her, since she appeared in many of her visions along with Brooke as well. Her sister, she presumed.

Yuki saw quick snippets of shared moments between them, and she could tell that the beautiful sisters seemed happy for the most part, but she was still stumped as to why she was seeing what she guessed were another girl's memories. And she couldn't help but wonder—how were they connected?

Yuki shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, and focused on what Kaien was saying.

"…and they should be out of the oven in about eight more minutes. Oh, I know you're going to love them, Yuki! They already smell delicious," Kaien finished as he was cleaning up.

Yuki moved to help him, washing the large bowl he used to mix everything together. "They do," she agreed. "Thank you, Headmaster."

Kaien cried out, "Ah, my precious Yuki, you're very welcome! But please," he looked at her with big eyes, "call me 'Dad.'"

"I'm sorry." Yuki corrected herself. "Thank you…Dad."

A/N: And that's it for Chapter 1! I'd say things are about to get even more interesting from here on out. A certain someone *wink wink nudge nudge* is going to be entering Cross Academy very soon.

BIG thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited so far! I'm happy to know that people are enjoying the story, and don't hesitate to let me know if you spot any mistakes!