"Please wake up, sweetie." I hear my mom say. She continues to sob and says, "Your father and I really miss you."

I try to open my eyes, but it's like I can barely move. I hear a monitor start to speed up and listen to people shouting.

"My baby!" My mom shouts.

"Ma'am, we will do everything we can to save her." I hear another person say. I start to lose consciousness again and just see darkness.

I hear someone talking again, but this time I think it's Ashton. "I really miss you, Lynn." He says. I try to move but still feel weak.

"I'm sorry for not being there. I said I got your back. I guess I should have protected your front." He says, laughing humorlessly.

"God Lynn." I hear him sob. "Please wake up." I try to squeeze his hand at least, and he pauses. He kisses my hand and says, "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

My eyes slowly open, and I see a bright light. I'm dead, aren't I... Hey!

I glance to see a door open, and Ashton walks in without looking at me. "You look like shit." I croak out, grinning.

His face whips towards my face, and he's immediately by my side. He grabs my hand and whispers, "I'm so sorry."

"For w-what?" I rasp out.

He hands me a cup of water, and I chug it all.'"I could've saved you from being shot, but I didn't react quickly enough." He says, breaking down.

"Hey!" I say, trying to stop him. "If I had to go back, I wouldn't have done anything differently."

A tear falls down his cheek, and I shakily lift my good arm to wipe it away. He cups my cheek and leans down to kiss me. He lightly brushes his lip against mine, careful not to hurt me.

He rests his forehead against mine and whispers, "I missed you so much. I thought I was going to lose you."

I scoot over to make some room for him, and he lays down beside me. "I almost did." He whispers. "They lost you for a few seconds, but you pulled through."

I snuggle into his side, and he wraps his arm around me, careful not to hurt my stomach.

I look up at him and ask, "When was the last time you slept?"

"I-I don't know. I'm just glad you're alive." He mumbles, pulling me closer.

"You can rest now, okay?" I say, grabbing hold of his hand. Not hearing a response, I see he already fell asleep.

I examine his tired face and frown. I feel my heart break, knowing I caused this. "It's not your fault, Lynn." He whispers.

"It's not yours either," I murmur, falling back asleep in his arms.

After my parents signed me out of the hospital, we returned home. I try to take a shower, but it's kind of difficult when you have stitches on your stomach and a cast.

When I'm done showering, I lie down on my bed. I hear someone knock on my door and say, "Come in."

"Here's some water." My mom says, placing the cup on my side table. "We got you a new phone since Mila destroyed your old one. And there's one more thing... Tristian was the mole in Ashton's gang. But he got away." She says.

"We have to find him," I say, starting to sit up.

"You need to rest." She says seriously.

"It's not over," I stress.

"You don't think I know that?" She asks.

"How can we rest if he can still attack us?" I ask.

"We're all trying our best. Evanescent doesn't seem as organized anymore since their leaders are dead or missing." She says, placing my blanket over my body.

"He's not going to stop. He's going to try and kill us all." I say.

"But we are prepared this time. He has no backup, and we all know he wasn't the brains in their gang." My mom counters.

"My ex-best friend is dead," I say.

"I know." She says, reaching for my hand.

"How could she do that? We treated her like family." I say.

"Her parents are on the run. I don't think they knew what she was capable of until we told them." She says.

"They're not trying to get revenge on us? Ashton killed her, and if he didn't, I would have." I say.

"When they heard what happened to you, they understood why you would defend yourself. It isn't easy to accept that your child is not a good person. Especially trying to torture and kill someone you were close with." She says.

"I know they're trying to flee the country, but I'll keep tabs on them the whole time. They're not as good as us going off the grid." She says.

I sigh and try to focus on myself. "Thanks for saving me," I say tiredly.

"I am your mother. It's my job to keep you safe, and I failed. But I'm going to earn your trust back." She says, holding in tears. "I know I let you down, but I would never purposely hurt you."

"I love you, mom. You got me back, and that's what matters. You rarely talk about your parents, but you did not let me down." I say seriously.

"I love you, Sweetheart." She says, leaning down for a hug.

My dad sees us from the hallway and runs towards my room. "Family hug without the dad, huh?" He asks, joining the hug.

We all laugh, and I pull away. "I love you guys," I say, snuggling into my blanket.

They both stand up and kiss my forehead. "If you need anything, just call us." My mom says, closing the door as they exit.

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