I woke up in an unfamiliar place. 

I woke up in... a hospital?

"She's awake!" Daniel shouted. 

"Please keep your voice down." The nurse said. 

"Oops, okay. Sorry," Daniel said. 

The nurse nodded and continued writing. 

"Where's Noah, Max, and Jack?" I asked. 

"They got hungry so they went to get food. They said I should go with them. But, I said that I should stay here in case you woke up, so you would have someone to talk to and have some support." He said. 

That's actually....pretty sweet. 

"Thanks, big bro," I said. 

"Of course, little sis," he said. 

We haven't used those nicknames in a long time. 

"Where's mom and dad?" I asked him. 

"Well, they couldn't get out of work. They wanted to come over but they just couldn't. They apologized." Daniel said. 

"Oh.." I said, putting my head down. 

"Yeah, but...Ellie," he began. 

"Mhm?" 

"They care. They really do." 

My head shot up. "Really?" I asked. 

"Yeah, we all care." He paused. "I care." 

"Seriously? After the way you've treated me all these years?" 

"I'll leave you two alone," the nurse said and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. 

"I know the way I treated you was awful. I'm so sorry, El. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you," he said.

"Then, why did you?" I said with tears forming in my eyes. 

"It was Max. He started it. When he was younger he was very depressed. Like, you, I guess. And he didn't know how to deal with it. When you were born, he took his anger out on you, because mom and dad payed more attention to you, then Max. And Max felt like no one cared. He began hurting Noah, Jack, and I but we decided to help him in hurting you, just because we didn't want to have to get hurt again. He was strong when he was younger. He still is. That's why, after all these years we've been treating you the way we have. None of us want to. We just make it look that way." Daniel said. He looked sad. Like, really sad. 

"I'm so sorry, Ellie. I really am. I didn't mean to hurt y—"

Max walked in. 

Wow. Perfect timing. (Note the sarcasm.)

I started crying. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here. You're okay, El. You're okay," Daniel said. He comforted me. 

He rubbed my shoulder. Then, he sat down next to me on the hospital bed. I leaned my head into his chest. He didn't seem to mind. "There you go, breathe. Take a deep breath in," he began. I listened. I took a deep breath in, like he said. "Then, breathe out," he continued. 

"Why are you comforting her?" Max asked. 

"Because she's my sister," Daniel answered. 

"Well, she's my sister too. So, she's our sister." Max said. 

"Max, please leave." Daniel said. 

"No, she's my sister too. I'm staying, and that's final." 

I looked at Max. 

He seemed...calm. Strange. 

"Max, Daniel told me about your depression. Why didn't you tell me?" I said. I know I probably shouldn't have brought that up to Max. But, I needed to talk to him about it. 

He just rolled his eyes.

 "Please answer me," I said. 

"Fine. I didn't want to tell you because I thought you'd make fun of me," Max said. 

"Why would I make fun of you for having depression. I mean, I do too." I said. 

"You do?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I mean, I cut myself. And I overdosed myself. I smoked. I cry...a lot. I get bullied...a lot. Why wouldn't I be depressed?" I said. 

"Oh. Listen, El I'm so sorry. I promise, I'll stop. I just want you to know that we all care about you. I did not have the best childhood and I'm sorry. I really am. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, then please tell me." Max said. 

I looked at Daniel and then back to Max. 

"Leave." I answered.

"Leave where?" Max asked.

"Go home. I want to talk to you when I get back." I said. 

Right now, I'm spending time with Daniel. Not Max. I'll see Max when I get back home. 

"Okay, I'll see you at home, little sis." Max said. 

"Okay, bye." 

Then, Max walked out of the room. 

To be honest, I think he was crying. 

"Hey, Danny..." 

"Yeah?" Daniel said. 

"I'm glad you said what you said."

"Me too, baby sis." He said. 

To be honest, I like it when he calls me that. 

"I love you, El." He said. 

That kind of caught me off guard. 

He hasn't said that to me in years. None of brothers had. No one had, except maybe Zach. 

"I love you too, Danny," I said. 

He smiled. So, I smiled back. 

The nurse walked back in. 

"Miss Ellie, you are free to go." She said while unhooking the equipment. 

I nodded. "You just have to sign out at the front desk. Have a great day!" She said. 

"Thank you, you too!" Daniel said. I smiled...again. 

Wow, I've smiled a lot today. That's new. 

"Let's go, baby sis." 

"Okay, big bro." I said. 

Then, we walked out of the hospital room and signed out at the front desk. 

Noah came and picked us up and drove us home. Then, I told all my brothers that I need to talk to them. Well, here we go...