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Hope slowly wakes to the annoying sound of something beeping at a steady pace. She groggily opens her eyes before catching sight of an I.V drip and remembering the accident rather suddenly. "Lucas." She gasps out his name as her heart rate elevates while she tries to sit up.
"Hey, it's okay." Ethan soothes her from the chair beside her bed before standing and walking closer to her. "His surgery went well and now we're just waiting for him to wake up."
"Oh, thanks." She nods before relaxing back against her pillows. "What are you doing here, Ethan?"
"You were in a car accident, Hope. Why wouldn't I be here?" He looks at her incredulously before taking her uninjured hand in his. "I know our last conversation wasn't exactly pleasant and we haven't really resolved anything but you have to know that I'm always going to care about you."
"Ethan," Hope sighs and feels her eyes fill with tears.
"No, look I've had a crush on you since like forever but you only saw me as a friend, and then you didn't see me as that. But then, the night of the burning boat you came up to me and I thought that maybe this was my second chance to be honest with you." Ethan sighs eager to relieve everything that's on his chest.
"Ethan, you don't have to do this." Hope interrupts the boy once again and squeezes his hand.
"No, I do. I need to be honest." He squeezes it back and moves the chair closer to be more comfortable without letting go of her hand. "That night at the beach house, I was so happy when you asked me to stay because I didn't know if I could go home without knowing you were gonna be okay. And then suddenly we're best friends again and it's like no time has past and I'm falling harder for you everyday."
He takes a deep breath as his voice becomes shaky with emotion and his eyes shine from the tears threatening to spill. "And then you introduced me to Riley and she caught me off guard, and yeah it makes sense with her and yeah I'm a little bit in love with her too but that didn't matter if it was causing you pain. So we broke up."
"I don't want to have to pick between you too, I don't care if that makes me sound like an asshole. But I'm not willing to lose either of you." He pauses and steels himself. "Can we all just be friend again, is it possible to be like before?"
"I don't know, Ethan." Hope sighs back at him. "I don't know."
"You're awake!" Nathan gasps from the hallway and drops his coffee in surprise. His eyes are red with exhaustion and his clothes are wrinkled, evidence of him spending the night at the hospital. "You're awake." He repeats quieter, almost to reassure himself.
