Hey y'all, it's ya girl back at it again with another mess of a chapter. Small announcement, but sometime in the upcoming weeks (not sure when, could even be tomorrow) my cable and internet will be shut off until maybe next month. Which means no updates. I'll still be writing, but I probably won't update since updating on my phone sucks. And while I'm announcing things, this story will be coming to an end soon (soon could mean a multitude of things coming from me, y'all). But don't fret, because I'm planning a sequel! Hope you lovelies enjoy this chapter. I honestly had a bit of trouble with it and it's not my best, so please don't hate me. ~Shaymie

Alex's POV

Two weeks had passed since Lo had fallen into her coma. She would occasionally squeeze my hand back or blink. It gave me hope that maybe she would wake up soon. Every glimpse of her beautiful eyes brightened up my day. I'd have so much to apologize for when she woke up. I couldn't protect her. God, every single time I closed my eyes, it was like I was back at the dance. I couldn't even eat lunch in the cafeteria anymore. I didn't eat lunch, period. I felt sick to my stomach most days. Just being at school brought back awful memories, memories of Lo's limp body in my arms or the way her blood felt on my hands…

It's in the past. She's alive.

I spent every afternoon in Lo's room. If Laf was late picking me up, I did my homework in here too. Spending every day in this hospital room made me notice new things about my girlfriend, like the subtle bags underneath her eyes and the fact that she had been losing weight. Wasn't that feeding tube supposed to be giving her nutrients? Were they only giving her enough to keep her alive? Or was her body just not adapting well to the tube?

I scratched at my hair with my pen and stared down at my notebook. I had been going through a terrible bout of writer's block. I had been stuck on this stupid essay for a week now. I could tell that Mr. Conway pitied me, since he gave me as long as I needed to finish it. Everyone pitied me. They treated me like I was made of glass. It wasn't like Lo was dead. She was alive. She was right here next to me. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, my breath catching in my throat when she squeezed back. This was the third time she had done this in an hour.

I set my notebook aside. I'd never be focused enough to work on that dumb essay. I hummed softly to Lo and ran my thumb over the back of her hand. I desperately wanted her to wake up. I could see her eyelids fluttering and kept my gaze intently on her face. The doctors said it could take awhile for her to regain consciousness completely. They said it was a good sign that she was even doing the things she was doing, but told me to not get discouraged if she didn't wake up as quickly as I wanted her to. How could I not get discouraged? I wanted my girlfriend to wake up. Every second she spent unconscious only extended how long her recovery would take.

Two weeks should be long enough, I thought bitterly. I'd heard stories of people staying in comas for years, and I prayed that wouldn't be the case for Lo. I tried to warm her freezing hands and talked to her quietly. I told her about life on the island, before I came here. I told her about my mother and how I'd like to name our future daughter after her. I told her about the hurricane that destroyed my life. She squeezed my hand two more times during my story. And as I was telling her about how I ended up in New York, she opened her eyes for the first time since Valentine's Day.

She looked around the room, her brows furrowing together. I didn't say anything, but I did quietly reach for the call button. Lo tentatively reached a hand up to her throat, frowning as she felt the breathing tube. The heart monitor started beeping like crazy as her eyes filled with tears. I shushed her and brushed some hair from her face. She sobbed as doctors flooded the room and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"Everything's okay, Lo. You're in the hospital. You're safe. Nothing can hurt you here," I murmured soothingly. She opened her eyes and looked at me. I didn't want to look away from her beautiful gray eyes. I had missed them too much. My eyes filled with tears as I looked at her. I still couldn't believe it. She was awake. She was terrified, but she was awake. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. This caused a new bout of sobs, her chest heaving as she started to panic. The heart monitor's beeping only increased in speed.

"Love, you have to calm down. Everything's alright. Breathe with me." She tried to time her breaths with mine, her face red and splotchy. I kissed her forehead and rubbed the back of her hand. It took a few minutes for her to calm down. I was only vaguely aware of the doctors making their way around the room. I didn't know what they were doing, and quite frankly I didn't care. I only cared about Lo.

Once she had calmed down, I grabbed my phone to tell everyone that she was awake. The doctors said that they had some questions for Lo and that they'd call me when they were done. I gave her a final kiss on the forehead and left the room. I was so excited, my hands were trembling. I took deep breaths to calm myself down and opened the group chat. All activity in it had died down since Valentine's Day. The only thing that had been posted that night was a picture of Lo and Darcy's new brother, who I had yet to meet. I stared down at the text box and tried to think of the best way to word the news.

A. Ham: Lo's awake

Those two words caused a cacophony in the chat. My phone lagged from the sheer amount of notifications. I only managed to catch a few messages before the app crashed. From what I could tell, nearly everyone was on their way over to the hospital. Laurens and Darcy were hanging out with his cousin, but they promised to come to the hospital as soon as possible. I shoved my phone into my pocket and went down to the lobby, where I broke down in tears. I wasn't particularly religious, but I thanked every god there was. My girlfriend was back.