~*~ Matt's Point Of View ~*~
"In other news today, early this morning a house in the Richmond Forest, Vermont, collapsed due to a large fire. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but it is likely it was caused by a gas leak..."
"Gas leak?" I repeated in a snort. "Yeah, right. Try bombs."
"Two were injure in the fire, one dead, and one body missing. The names of those involved in the accident are not being released. Firefighters are still looking through the rubble for the missing body. It's very possible that it could be buried under the incredible amounts of rubble. Investigators believe there is little to no chance of the missing person to be alive--"
I immediately pressed the power button on the remote. I didn't want to hear any more. I carefully placed the remote on the side table, cautious to not rip out my IV again. I had already done it once, and I didn't want to have to suffer through getting it put it again.
"No chance, huh."
I whipped my head around to see Hudson staring at the T.V with a blank expression.
"Hudson, you're up," I said in surprise.
"Thank you for informing, captain Obvious."
"You're welcome, lieutenant Sarcasm."
Hudson turned and scowled at me for a moment, before he lowered his eyes to the floor.
"What am I doing?" he muttered, looking at his wrist, where he also had an IV implanted.
"Sitting in a hospital room, recovering from your injuries."
"I should be dead."
"What?" I responded, narrowing my eyebrows.
"I should be dead. Not Willow. I'm the one who was supposed to die!" Hudson started, his voice growing louder as he continued. "Now she's dead! And it's my fault!"
"Hudson, shut up!" I shouted, chucking a box of tissues from my side table at him.
The box hit him in the gut and he haunched over letting out a surprised gasp of air.
"What the hell?"
"Why are trying to do? Make me pity you?" I demanded.
"No!"
"Then stop saying that this is your fault and that Emmery's dead and that you should have died!" I said, giving him a harsh look. "We don't know for sure that Emmery is dead. And if, and I'm praying this isn't true, she is... do you think she'd want you blaming everything on yourself? The way you're acting now makes it seem like Emmery's sacrifice to save us was a waste."
Hudson stared at me for a moment, his mouth pressed in a firm line. He frowned slowly, turning his attention to the floor.
"I know," he whispered, so quietly I had to strain my ears to hear him. "I know! But it's not fair."
"Life isn't fair."
"Willow didn't do anything to deserve to die though!" Hudson cried, glaring at me angrily.
I stared at him in shock when I realized his eyes were wet. He glared at me for a moment more before looking away.
"Uh," I started, unsure what to say.
I never pinned Hudson as the weepy type, so seeing him look like he was about to was new to me. And I had no clue what to say. Luckily, a knock at the door saved me.
"Come in," I said, a little too eagerly.
The door opened and in came a familiar person. My eyes widened in shock, my mouth going dry.
Emmery smiled hesitantly at me, a sheepish smile spreading onto her face.
"Er... hey Matt."
~*~ Emmery's Point Of View ~*~
A constant beeping filled my ears. I groaned, lifting my arms to cover my ears in attempt to drown the noise out. Pain shot through my arms as soon as I lifted them.
My eyes shot open and all I could see was white. I winced from the brightness, and blinked a couple times to try to adjust to it. When I finally did, I realized I was in the hospital room.
I sighed softly to myself. How many times had I woken up in the hospital now? I really didn't want to make this a habit.
Suddenly a wave of memories from the night before flashed through my mind and I gasped. I looked at my right arm, and sure enough, a cast encased it. I smirked in wry amusement. I couldn't have that becoming a habit either.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to remember exactly what happened after the building exploded. I remembered passing out, but that was it. How could I have survived? The place had exploded!
I heard the opening of a door and quickly turned to look at it. A middle-aged doctor came in, smiling gently at me.
"Good to see you're awake," he greeted, pulling up a chair next to my bed. "I'm Dr. Kohl. I hate to interrogate on you already, but I need to ask you a few questions."
"Can you answer one of mine first?" I asked.
The doctor nodded. "What would you like to know?"
"How did I get here?"
Dr. Kohl stared at me in surprise for a moment. "You don't remember?"
I shook my head. "No..."
He looked at me worriedly for a second. "What's your name?"
"Emmery Willow."
"What's today's date?"
"June 18th," I responded, staring at him with an eyebrow raised. "Why does this matter?"
"Just making sure you don't have amnesia," Dr. Kohl responded with a frown. "You don't remember coming here at all?"
I shook my head.
"One of the doctors found you outside the building, passed out on the ground," Dr. Kohl informed me. "You have minor burns almost all over your body, a broken wrist, and a few bruises and cuts."
"Huh?" I responded. "A doctor found me here? Where are we?"
"Vermont Valley Hospital," the doctor responded, frowning deeper.
"Vermont?" I repeated in surprise. "How in the world did I get here?"
"Maybe you do have a case of amnesia," Dr. Kohl said, his eye brows furrowing.
"No. All I remember was the house exploding, and I was inside... and I passed out, and now somehow I'm in a hospital in Vermont!" I responded, my eyes wide.
"Wait. The house in the forest?"
"Yes?" I responded in a confused voice.
"The one that caught on fire last night?"
"If we are talking about the same house, then yes."
"Three other people were there?"
I gasped in realization, my eyes widening. "Oh my God! Hudson and Matt! Are they okay? Are they here?"
Dr. Kohl nodded looking like he was in shock. "They're here... they aren't in the best shape but they're alive. But I've got a call to make. I do believe you are the missing person."
"I'm a missing person?" I repeated as the doctor stood up.
"I'll be back," he informed me. "Stay here."
I nodded, watching the doctor leave the room. I waited a few moments before hauling myself over the edge of my bed. I tested my weight on my feet carefully before taking a cautious step. When I realized I could support my weight, I headed towards the door. I had to go find Matt and Hudson.
I stuck my head into the hall, making sure no one was around. It was empty, so I quickly slipped out of my room, and made my way down it. At the end I came to what looked to be like a reception counter.
"Excuse me?"
A blonde woman who was typing on a computer looked up at me, a polite smile forming on her face. "How may I help you?"
"Can I have the room numbers for, um, Hudson Matthews and Matt..." I trailed off, frowning. What was Matt's last name?
"Matthew Rivard?"
"Sure," I responded slowly.
"They are both in room 203," the woman told me. "If you keep going down the hall, it's the last room on the right."
I nodded in thanks, and continued down the hall at a brisk pace. When I came to room 203 I took a deep breathy, trying to calm my nerves. After a second, I knocked on the door.
"Come in," Matt's voice called from inside the room.
I opened the door, and shock immediately passed across Matt's face. I grinned sheepishly at his look.
"Er... hey Matt."
"Emmery!" he gasped, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor.
At the mention of my name, Hudson's head snapped towards me. His eyes widened in shock and his mouth formed a small "o".
"Willow?" he said in disbelief.
"The one and only," I responded, giving him a cheeky grin. I surveyed the pair of men with a frown. "You guys are in really bad shape."
"Look who's talking," Matt responded, eying my cast.
"We're in bad shape?" Hudson commented, not letting me respond to Matt. "Willow, you're dead!"
"Eh?" Matt and I responded at the same time, staring at him with an eyebrow raised.
"On the news, it said you were missing! And the whole house collapsed on you," Hudson explained, sounding solemn and serious.
I stared at him for a moment. Hadn't this happened before? Except this time the roles were reversed.
"Hudson... I'm alive and well," I explained, holding up my arm. "Well... not perfectly well, but you know what I mean."
Hudson just shook his head with a deep sigh. "I should have figured you'd haunt me... you were always so stubborn."
I narrowed my eyes. "Don't talk about me in past tense."
"You're going to have to get use to it if you're going to haunt me," he responded.
"I'm not dead!"
"I'm sorry," he apologized suddenly. "I should have never let you go, you wouldn't have died."
Matt started laughing and I glared at him. So did Hudson.
"Shut up Matt! Willow dying isn't funny!"
"Dude, she's right there. I can see her," Matt responded, still cracking up.
I walked over to Hudson and put my hands on my hips. I stood on the tops of my toes, but still only came to his chin height. He watched me warily.
"Will you forgive me?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm alive, Hudson."
Hudson scoffed. "You can't fool me."
I sighed, slapping my hands to his face. His eyes opened in shock as I pulled his head down and closer to mine. I gently pressed my lips to his, and quickly pulled away blushing.
"Do you still think I'm dead?"
I watched as Hudson's face turned red.
"Ghosts can kiss people too, you know."
I huffed in impatience and jabbed my finger into his gut.
"Ow," he moaned, retracting from me slightly.
"Fine. If you want me dead so much, I'll go kill myself," I told him, turning around on my heel.
As soon as I took a step I felt a hand on my upper arm. I was yanked backwards, and I turned slightly, falling into Hudson's chest. He smirked down at me.
"Willow, did you really think I thought you were a ghost?"
I blinked in shock, staring at him. Was he serious?
Hudson laughed at my expression. "This is payback for the time you thought I was dead. I have to admit, it was quite amusing."
I blushed and glared at him angrily. "You're such a jerk!"
Hudson pulled me closer to him and hugged me tighter. I felt his breath and my ear and I sucked in quick breath of air.
"I'm so relieved your alive," he whispered. "I really thought I'd lost you..."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, a little confused by his sudden turn of emotion. "I'm sorry..."
"I love you too, Emmery," he whispered, pulling me away so he could look in my face.
I gave him a confused look. "I know that?"
He broke out into a grin. "You don't remember? I said I'd say I loved you back when we met again after you went to distract the Butterfly."
The memory flashed into my head and I smiled. "I remember."
"Ahem."
Hudson and I turned to see Matt frowning at us.
"If I wanted to see a cheesy romantic scene," he started, "the T.V would be on the soap opera channel."
"You're just jealous," Hudson commented with a grin, holding me tightly again.
"And if I really am?" Matt responded, raising an eyebrow.
Hudson scowled at him. "What?"
"You deaf?"
"No!"
I sighed, shaking my head as the two began to bicker. But even though I was sighing on the outside, I was smiling widely on the inside.
Everything was exactly how it should be.
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Two more chapters! But they are more like epilogue chapters.
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