You wake up almost immediately after you fall, or so you think. It feels like no time has passed, although somehow within a few seconds you have gone from lying on a cold and hard rock in the middle of nowhere to lying on a suspiciously comfy bed in an unfamiliar room. There's still a dull ache in your side, but the pain appears to be washed out by a weird feeling that makes your head feel fuzzy. You blink awake, clearing the fogginess from your eyes with a yawn, which apparently signals to the other people in the room that you're awake; there's a small scrambling before a voice is heard.
"Y/n?" a soft voice called out. "Are you awake?"
You nod, although you're not sure if the movement actually amounted to anything, as no one responds to your answer. You feel weak.
"Go get the..." you hear the start of the sentence - there must be someone else in the room too, or who else would they be talking to? Someone shuffles around the room for a while, before leaving you in peace. Your eyes flutter open and you blink against bright lights, fighting to keep them open.
When you properly awaken, the room is empty, and you glance around in panic at your surroundings - you guess Stairways didn't end as well as you'd hoped it would, as you're now lying here in hospital with a four inch-long gash on your side. You reach down and touch the sight of the wound - it's concealed by a thick gauze pad with a pale red stain below it.
You glance around: despite the bustling corridor outside, there's no one you can call or ask for information as to why you're here. You guess you passed out, but how did you get here? Who brought you? You pick up your phone and go into your contacts, scrolling past your mum and Marlon's names (although you are wondering where on earth they are), and click on Ari's profile.
He picks up after only one ring, and he speaks straight away, his anxious voice piercing your ears causing you to move the phone away slightly.
"Hello?!" he exclaims. "Is that you?"
"Yes, where the hell are you?"
"Literally eight feet away just outside your room - your mum said we weren't allowed in 'til you woke up." he responds.
"Where is my mum? And Marlon?" you add.
"Your mum went downstairs to get a coffee, but I haven't seen Marlon since we got here."
"And when did we get here?" you ask, feeling sorry for Ari as you bombard him with questions, but after talking to him for only a few seconds it seems like you've missed so much in such a short amount of time.
"Yesterday evening. My dad came out in a boat and found us. Apparently someone saw us all heading towards Stairway and they told my dad."
"Okay," you say, taking a moment to let all this new information sink in. "So are you going to come and see me or are you going to keep hanging around outside?"
His answer comes in the form of him immediately barging through the wooden door. The look on his face makes it hard to tell if he's happy to see you - he looks vaguely pleased but any smile is masked by worry as he moves towards the right side of the bed and pulls up a flimsy plastic chair.
He doesn't seem very pleased by your first question however.
"Do you have any idea where Marlon could be?" you ask desperately - this whole ordeal has, for some reason, made you long for your brother; his absence is making you realise how much you would have taken him for granted if he was here.
"I don't know. I suppose he's back at your house," he says, then gives you a pensive look. "I guess history repeats itself."
You tilt your head and raise one eyebrow, giving him a look that says 'Really?'
"What?! I'm just saying, the same thing happened last year: I got hurt, and he ran."
"He probably just had something to do, or..." you offer, but find it difficult to hide your disappointment.
"Sure." he replies dismissively.
"Ari, let's not talk about it now. Talk to me about something else."
"Err, well..." he thinks for a moment. "It's the Jarrah Island comp next week, but in case you haven't guessed I'm grounded for life, so I was thinking of sneaking out."
"Oh really?" you smile. "And you think that's going to work?"
"Well, Margot's coming to get Summer, and my mum's going to meet her at the airport next week, so I was thinking I'll just sneak out and tell my dad-"
"Wait, Summer's leaving?" you jolt upright, which makes you nearly double over at the pain - the medication is wearing off now, leaving a sharp pain jabbing at your side.
Ari looks concerned but keeps talking after you slump back down in the bed. "Err...yeah, my mum called Margot about what happened and she agreed it was best that Summer goes back to New York."
"And you let them agree to that?" you reply incredulously.
"Well, yeah. And I don't mind that she's leaving - all she's done is mess things up for us."
"C'mon, Ari. You like her being around really." you say, slightly desperately hoping he'll say yes.
"No! No, I don't! She messed up Stairway, she messed up Bodhi's comp at Jackson Bay - and speaking of Jackson Bay she's the one who made us play that 'shame' game on the roof."
"Well, that was kind of fun," you offer. "And it did help us sort all of that stuff out from last year."
"Yeah, but things will just be better when she's gone. I promise."
"Don't promise that. Not when Summer's your friend."
"Whatever. She won't be around next week to mess up the Jarrah Island comp for me."
"Why does it matter, you're grounded," you say, then suddenly hear a noise in the corridor outside. "I think my mum's coming back; you need to go."
"Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Sure." you say, picking up your phone and scrolling absently as you watch him leave the room, barely looking back.