*Two weeks later*

I felt a cold breeze on my face as I walked on the sidewalk and saw kids playing in their front yards without a care of the world.

When did it all change? When did it all slip away?

I sometimes feel like, I was that age, doing the same just a few days ago.

But here I am now, in a city that holds too many memories that seem very distant now.

I looked up, squinting at the morning sun before tossing the stick of a cotton candy into a dustbin.

Reaching my destination on foot, I looked up at the sign at the gate.

WELLSPRING CEMETARY

With a blank look on my face and a white rose in hand, I walked in.

The guilt of not having visited him since the accident made me walk here, early in the morning. Or it could have something to do with the fact that it was my birthday today and it's not quite of a surprise that I hate my birthday.

I don't like to be around people, let alone actually celebrate this day.

I reached his grave and slowly placed the rose on it.

"Happy birthday Ethan." I breathed out with a small smile.

I feel like a bad sister as this was my first time visiting his grave since the quiet funeral, right after his accident. And I was a crying mess that day.

I'm pretty sure, if we hadn't moved, I would've spent every one of my birthdays here, by his grave.

I don't know how long I spent, just standing there at his grave.

With no motivation to do anything or go anywhere else, I sat under the shade of a tree near his grave.

It's been exactly two weeks since the Alex incident and this is the first time that I've seen the sun shine.

After I gained consciousness, my first thought was if Ryder was okay.

After a couple of tests, I was told that Ryder had surgery and that he had reached the hospital just in time. The bullet that just missed from piercing his lung and a surgery had to be performed to safely remove it without further damage.

The surgery was successful and he's out of danger but the doctor said that, when he wakes up, is undetermined, since his body had gone into a state of shock.

The guilt I felt was impenetrable, but I also felt undeniable relief because I hadn't lost him, completely.

I refused to leave his side since then, even after I was discharged. I spent the days talking to him about anything I could think of, threatening him to wake up and making several discreet promises.

Come home and shout at me. Come home and fight with me. Come home and break my heart, if you must.

Just come home.

I understood what Cardan must've felt when he kept writing to Jude, all the while not receiving a response.

Even though I wasn't in the hospital, in my head, all I could think of was him. Everyday since the incident, I've only wished for one thing. Him.

I barely got any sleep or food in my system for a few days and it took a yelling from Alec to make me eat.

I knew that today would be extra hard for me to survive, as I have to somewhat mourn the absence of two people, that I literally love more than anything.

I sat under the tree with my eyes closed, feeling the crisp air that blew my freshly washed hair, when my phone started ringing.

I stayed true to my laziness and refused to make a move to answer it.

It's probably Alec, trying to confirm where I am, since I left the hospital early in the morning, before any of them arrived.

I grew annoyed when the ringing didn't stop for 10 minutes straight.

Letting out a frustrated groan, I finally opened my eyes and picked up my phone to see over 15 missed calls from everyone in the group.

I sighed because I was honestly in no mood for meaningless birthday wishes, so I decided to put my phone on airplane mode.

Just as I moved my finger to do so, I got another notification.

One that made me freeze.

Happy birthday, beautiful.

When I was little, I used to believe that birthday wishes always came true but Ryder didn't, and he always made fun of me for being stupid enough to believe that.

My vision grew blurry and my breathing stopped.

I ignored all the other messages that flooded in, after that.

I was in shock, but a bigger part of me, that has craved for his presence, didn't want to waste any time.

I quickly got on my feet and said 'goodbye' to Ethan, before rushing out of the cemetary.

I reached home which was a walking distance and got in my car.

My mind was swirling all the way, till I drove to the hospital.

I already knew which room it was so I ran through the halls of the hospital and got yelled at, at least, 3 times.

I came to a stop right in front of the very familiar hospital room.

I was panting hard from the sprint I made only to come and freeze here.

As I moved to grab the handle of the door I stopped, because of all the overwhelming emotions that just flooded in my head.

I finally took a deep breath and moved to push the door but to my surprise, before I could apply pressure, the door opened on its own.

So, thanks to gravity and my very disfunctional body, I stumbled and fell on the floor, in the room.

I winced and looked up to see Dylan, holding the door and looking at me with an amused smile.

"Oh hey, Asparagus, you seem to be in a hurry." He said, trying to hold back laughter.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"We've all been trying to reach you, Em. Where were you?" Cole asked, extending his hand for me to take.

I took his hand and pulled myself up. "I went to see Ethan."

He gave me a small smile, when Perri walked up to us and stood beside Cole, wrapping her arms around him.

So, apparently Cole really had it all planned. He had planned to ask Perri out, on the day at the ice rink.

Perri had been waiting for that and said yes. But when they found out about the whole gang incident, they were reluctant on actually going on the date.

It took a lot of pressure and threats from me, for them to give in and go have fun.

Cole asked Perri to be his girlfriend on the date in the cutest way possible, with the whole sentence spelt out with her favourite items.

Cole placed a kiss on Perri's forehead before she turned to me. "He's been waiting for you."

My breathing grew irregular again and I slowly turned towards the bed, that was by the window.

The sight was a treat to the eyes.

Ryder was sitting on the bed with a small smile on his face and his eyes fixed on me.

"Yeah, he didn't even pretend to be happy to see us." Lex said, rolling her eyes and snuggled closer to Alec.

I didn't shift my eyes. I couldn't.

I had been wishing for him to open his eyes, so that I can see his beautiful grey orbs. And now that he has, I didn't have it in me to look away.

"Uh didn't we uh... have somewhere to be..." Mia spoke up, after noticing at the exchange between Ryder and I, and I disinterest in anything else.

"What?" Dylan frowned. "I don't thi-"

Mia slammed her hand on Dylan's mouth, pulling him away, while everyone slowly walked out of the room.

To my surprise, Alec left the room without throwing a tantrum as well.

Once the door was closed after everyone walked out, I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in.

"What took you so long?" To my surprise, I was the one to break the silence.

Ryder's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, I made you wait."

I felt a sting in my eye as I heard his voice that I've missed so much.

"Come here." He said, motioning for me to come closer to him.

I didn't waste a second to walk towards the bed. I reached the side and moved back the chair that had become my residence for the past couple of weeks.

As soon as I reached to his arms length, his arms went around my waist, pulling me onto his lap.

I gasped at the sudden movement. "Ryder! You're gonna hurt yourself." I said, trying to pull away from his embrace.

His grip tightened on my waist. "No, I won't. Just stay here." He said, into my neck, making a shiver go down my spine.

I was worried about him hurting himself, since he had suffered some major injuries.

I tried to move again, making him groan. "No, please. I've missed you."

I sighed, as I realised that he doesn't plan on letting go. I slowly loosened up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

We molded with each other like two pieces of clay.

"I've missed you too." I whispered.

"That's good to hear."

"How could you...?" I whispered, as fresh tears pooled in my eyes. "How could you do it?"

I reluctantly let go of him, and he frowned at me. I had angry tears in my eyes.

"What?" He asked, bringing my hands up to his lips and placing a kiss on them both.

"I thought- I thought I lost you." I said, and swallowed the lump in my throat. "I thought I lost another person that I love and it's all my fault. I relived the moment when I lost Ethan."

Tears were flowing freely down my face, while Ryder expression scrunched up to a painful one. "Miles, it's not your fault." He said, pulling me closer to him.

He wiped my tears and cupped my face. "I couldn't say anything about this before, but now I can. I took the bullet for the same reason why Ethan took the fall for you."

I sniffled, with furrowed eyebrows, probably looking like a wet rat. But Ryder still looked at me with such adoration, that it made me feel beautiful.

"I took the bullet because I love you and I would do anything to make sure that you're safe." He said, placing a lingering kiss on my forehead. "And I'm sure Ethan felt the same way."

A sob erupted from my throat.

"I couldn- I couldn't even tell him that I love him."

He looked me right in the eye before speaking with nothing but sincerity. "He knows. I'm sure he knows. It's not your fault and trust me, Ethan wouldn't want you to blame yourself. He would want you live your life happily for the both of you."

"I would've wanted that if I hadn't su-"

I cut him off...

... by slapping him across the face.

Yeah...

I had no idea what I was doing either.

And before he could comprehend what happened I grabbed his face and crashed my lips onto his.

I kissed him with all that I had. With all the emotions, longing and love that I had for him.

It took him a moment to get over the shock but when he did, he kissed me back with the same intensity.

Our lips moved in sync and I wondered how I'd survived so long without him, in the first place.

His arms went back around my waist and he pulled me to him, leaving no space between us.

He bit my bottom lip asking for entrance and I gladly granted him that. His tongue slipped into my mouth making me moan into the kiss.

I slowly pulled away, panting slightly, while Ryder placed small kisses on my cheek and nose before pulling away.

"That slap was almost as intense as the kiss, babe." He said, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"I didn't say it to you either." I said, raising my hand to move the hair on his forehead.

He frowned.

"That I love you, I didn't get to tell you that I love you either." I said, looking down at his hand in mine. "It all happened so fas-"

"Tell me now." He suddenly said, making me look up at him.

He nodded with a small smile. "Tell me now. I'm right here."

A smile grew on my lips, and he slowly pulled me closer to him.

"I love you." I said, putting in all my emotions. "I love you so much that it hurts. I've loved you since we were kids and you were the only person I could rely on. And everytime I think that I can't love you anymore, I'm proven wrong."

I traced his face as I spoke, moving my finger down the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones, his eyes and his lips.

"I love you." I shrugged, not holding back anymore, showing him my absolutely vulnerable side.

He looked at me with the most endearing smile, before lips broke into the biggest grin, showcasing his dimples.

"I love you too." He said, cupping my face and placing wet kisses all over it, while he spoke. "so so so so so much."

I giggled as his kisses tickled my face, making him laugh and pull away.

"You have no idea, how happy I am to hear you say that." He said, still grinning. "And now that we're together, I'll get to hear it more often."

I raised my eyebrows at him, making him pause, briefly. "We're what, now?" I asked, masking the humor in my voice.

I pulled away from him slightly, putting some distance between us.

It's time that I put him in a dilemma.

"We- uh we're not together?" He stammered, before his eyes widened. "Are you still stuck in some dangerous ac-"

"If you mean streetfighting, no. I haven't faught since that day and I don't know if I will." I shrugged.

"So, why aren't we uh-" He saw me roll my eyes and his eyes widened. "But you told me that you love me!"

"I do." I said, with a straight face.

He frowned, but I continued speaking. "But I don't remember you asking."

His frown smoothened before he shut his eyes and smiled, along with me.

"Anything for you, beautiful. You just wait." He said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

He patted the spot beside him and I rolled my eyes before shifting to sit there.

He pointed at a plate with fruits and I looked at him in disbelief when he signalled for me to feed him.

But I did it, anyway.

After a while, Ryder's mom, dad and Grace came to visit. They came back from a business trip as soon as they got to know that Ryder woke up.

I walked out to give them some privacy, only to notice Alec dozing off on a chair alone.

I walked towards him and sat on a chair beside him.

I cleared my throat in an exaggerated way, making him jerk up and look around in alarm. "What? Where?"

I tried to control my laughter when he glared at me, but in vain.

I burst out laughing as I looked at his disheveled state, looking so done with me.

When I didn't hear a crude response in return I looked up to see him staring at me with a small smile.

My laughter died down a little. "What?" I asked.

"You're back." He said, before rolling his eyes.

I scoffed. "You're saying it like it's a bad thing."

He chuckled. "It's not. I'm glad you're back though." He said, slowly growing serious. "I was starting to get worried about you. It was almost like a repeat of three years ago."

"I know." I said, staring at the wall ahead. "I just can't afford to lose him."

"I know." He said, surprising me.

I turned to face him. "Yeah? You okay with us, now?"

He shrugged. "I was never the one to make a decision for you. I just based my judgement off of what happened back then."

I nodded.

"But that guy took a bullet for you. I mean, even I would've, but it doesn't change the fact that he was faster than me." Alec said, making my eyes widen. "That guy's got your back."

I didn't know what to say. I always knew that I was really lucky to have a brother like him but the respect he's earned as an older brother is one keeps growing.

"Anyway, you want chips or something? I'm gonna go get something for myself." He said, getting up from his seat.

He didn't have a chance to step away when I got up and pulled him into a hug. He was tense at first but soon he relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.

"Thank you." I said, making him chuckle.

"Anytime, loser." He ruffled my hair, before stepping away from me. "Also, happy birthday."

"Thanks and yeah I'll have chips, please." I added, making him roll his eyes.

I saw him walk away with a smile on my face.

Birthdays aren't that bad, after all.