"I would rather die than let you go,"

"She's been passed out for quite a few hours," The doctor explained to Ken. "She lost a lot of blood, it's miraculous she didn't die from the loss. She had an infection, but we've given her all the medicines we could. It should be gone within a few days. We'll need to keep her here for evaluation and to watch over her."

"Are you worried?" Ken quietly asked. He looked through the window to the room, his eyes landing on the sleeping girl.

Amanda and Cleo sat next to her, sharing sad eyes as they stole numerous glances at Lia. Tara and Sam were visiting Chad and Mindy's room, where they were currently being treated for their wounds. Tatum was in Kirby's room, thanking her for helping in the way that she did.

Danny sat in the waiting room with Jonah, who had come up to the hospital as soon as he heard the news about what had happened.

"We're a little worried, I won't sugarcoat it for you. Due to the amount of blood loss on top of the infection, although she's steady and alright right now, that doesn't mean she might fall back again. There's a high chance she could fall into a coma, we just want to make sure we're taking the correct precautions and not risking anything."

"Is Ophelia going to die?" The sound of Ethan was heard, and the two older men looked over to see the boy limping toward them.

He had bandages all around his torso, but they were covered due to the hospital gown he wore. His eyes were sunken in and he looked to be in pain, but he ignored it as he waited for an answer.

"No, we don't think so." Ken glanced from the doctor to the younger boy. "Thank you, doctor."

The other man just nodded as he tapped his pen on the clipboard, walking away. Ethan finished the short walk to where Ken stood outside of the room, a stern look on his features as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I understand if you don't want Ophelia to have anything to do with me, sir," Ethan mumbled, feeling nervous under his hard gaze. "I know I promised I wouldn't hurt her, and now there's a chance she could fall into a coma."

"Look, kid. I can't say I'm exactly happy that you knew all along what was going on." Ken sighed, motioning for him to sit down in a plastic chair. "But, we probably would have died if it weren't for you."

"As much as I'm glad to hear you don't absolutely hate me, it wasn't me that saved the day. I think everyone who was there played a pretty big part in surviving." Ethan denied, "I tried to leave Lia here and tried to save you guys but they got to me when I found Mindy on the subway. She wasn't supposed to be there."

"One thing about Lia is that she's the most selfless person you could ever meet." Ken let out a dry laugh, "She doesn't seem to listen to people, either. If she's determined to do something, she's going to do whatever she can to do it."

"Yeah," Ethan said. "I'm really sorry. I should have stopped all of this from happening," Ethan spoke, staring down at the bloodied blue band on his wrist.

Ken watched as he ran his fingers over the sewn-in O, tears filling the boy's eyes.

"What exactly did you think you could do? You watched your family kill the only other logical person in your family, then they proceeded to threaten you anytime you didn't want to be involved. Not to mention your dad had a pretty high position, he could have easily just killed you or thrown you in an institute." Ken explained, stretching his legs out.

"I guess," Ethan said. "They kept threatening me with Lia's life, I couldn't let them kill her."

Ken couldn't respond due to Lia's door opening. They glanced up to see Amanda and Cleo finally exiting the room, solemn looks on their faces.

"She doing okay?" Ken asked the girls, sitting up straight.

"Like before, just sleeping." Amanda sighed, before noticing Ethan in the chair next to the older man. "Cute boy, I see you survived."

Ethan just made a face, causing both Cleo and Amanda to smile softly. "She's all yours," Cleo said, moving to the side.

Ethan glanced over at Ken, who just nodded slightly at him. The boy winced as he stood up from his chair, limping in the direction of the hospital room. It was silent as he entered the room, minus the beeping of the machines Lia was hooked up to.

He found himself just sitting on the bed next to Lia, his hand grabbing hers tightly. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he watched her still body, almost looking lifeless as she lay there.

"I'm so sorry, baby." He mumbled, pulling her hand to his lips. He pressed a shaky kiss to her hand before holding it to his chest.

He shut his eyes as he sat there silently, hating himself for letting things get as far as he did. He was so caught up in his feelings, he didn't even notice when she'd gripped his hand.

"What are you sorry for?"

Ethan's eyes shot open, almost as if he was afraid he was imagining her being awake. There was Lia, staring right back at him with her beautiful ocean-colored eyes. The bags under her eyes were dark, and her lips chapped, but she still looked beautiful to him.

"Oh my god, you're awake." He breathed out, gently reaching forward and hugging her tightly.

She gratefully took his embrace, shutting her eyes as she smiled lightly. "I don't remember getting here," She admitted, sniffling as he pulled away from her.

"You passed out after you saw Chad lying on the floor." Ethan explained, "I tried my best to keep you awake, but all of us were pretty wounded. I think the only ones that didn't have to be hospitalized were Tatum, Tara, and Sam."

"Everyone's okay though?" She asked, "My- my dad?"

"He's outside. He was in here along with Mandy and Cleo, but they wanted to give me some time with you." Ethan trailed his fingers along Lia's arm. "It's over now."

"Thank god," Lia spoke, letting out a deep breath. "Thank you for saving me, Ethan."

"No, baby you saved me." Ethan shook his head, "I'd have been dragged in that if it weren't for you. You might not realize it, but you made me realize just how much I wanted a normal life. I wanted a life with you. I told you I'd do anything for you. A life without you means nothing to me."

Lia just smiled at the boy sitting in front of her, gripping his hand tighter. It was silent between the two, Ethan even going in and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

They sat in silence until the hospital room door slammed open, the familiar brunette frantically running in.

"Lia, oh my god!" Alyssa cried out, "Kenny, she's awake!"

The brown-haired girl ran over to the other side of Lia's bed, pulling her in for a hug. "I can't believe you almost died."

"I'm fine," Lia spoke, although winced at the sudden contact on her stomach. "Although I did need stitches."

"Jesus, your whole body is going to be covered in stitches at this point." Alyssa joked, sending her friend a sad smile. "I'm sorry you lost Ozzie."

Lia looked away from her friend, tears immediately filling her eyes as she thought of the boy. Alyssa gently sat on the other side of her, sending a solemn look her way. She didn't say anything, as she didn't know what to say.

The girl in the hospital gown said nothing as well, causing a slightly uncomfortable silence to grow between the three. Nobody knew what to say.

"When you think- when you get to leave this place?" Alyssa asked, glancing around the room. Despite being friends with Lia for years, she felt out of place. She knew she'd interrupted a moment between Lia and Ethan, but she didn't quite care because of the fact that her best friend had almost died.

"I'm not sure," Lia said. "Probably not for a good minute, though."

"I heard the doctor tell your dad that they're keeping you for a few days to make sure you don't fall back into unconsciousness or something like that," Ethan admitted, running the hand that wasn't holding onto Lia through his hair.

"Gross, do they let visitors stay?" Alyssa asked.

"I'm not sure," Lia said again.

"Well, I'm staying whether they like it or not," Ethan mumbled.

"Aren't you in another room?" Alyssa asked.

"They're discharging me today. My wound was bad, but not stay here bad. Isaiah didn't get me as good as he thought he did." Ethan shook his head.

"I just can't fucking believe Isaiah was partially behind this. That's just- Jesus. I knew the boy was psycho but I didn't know he was Michael Myers psycho." Alyssa's eyes widened as she spoke. "W-what did he seriously think he was going to gain out of that?"

"That I'd go back to him," Lia muttered. "He thought if he killed everyone who stood in 'our' way, that I would go running back to him."

"That's sick!" Alyssa exclaimed, her eyes bouncing from Lia to Ethan. "I'll be honest, I never understood what you saw in him. I mean he had muscles but he was a grade A douchebag who stuck it in anything that walked."

Lia just sent a look to her best friend, whose face fell. "Sorry," She said, removing herself from the bed. "I'm hungry, so I'm gonna go see what bland snacks they have in the vending machine."

"They also have a cafeteria on the lowest level," Ethan said.

"Seriously? Hell yeah! I mean it's still probably going to be shitty, but still." Alyssa tapped her knuckles to Lia's own. "I'll go see what Kenny's doing as well, heard he's got a gnarly scar in his chest."

Ethan and Lia shared a look, both containing smiles as Alyssa spoke one last goodbye and made her way out of the hospital room.

"Hey, Ophelia?" Ethan spoke after a few moments of silence, his fingers tracing shapes along her palm. "They're going through the house right now to gather more evidence, all that sad junk." He began, "When it goes time to get my things, will you come with me? Like the stuff that I didn't take to the dorm."

"Of course," Lia said. "W-where are you going to go? Like between semesters."

"I don't know, honestly. I'll probably have to drop out and get a couple of jobs, find a cheap apartment somewhere." Ethan mumbled as his sad eyes looked up at her, "I haven't thought much about it, I'm too afraid to if I'm being honest."

Lia nodded, knowing she couldn't help out much. She had ideas, but she couldn't just bounce them on him. He was over the age of eighteen, so he wouldn't be taken into a foster home or anything, and now that both his parents were killed he technically didn't have a home anymore.

The girl yanked on his hand lightly, indicating she wanted him to come closer to her. Ethan obliged, turning so he could lay next to Lia and hold her. The bed was uncomfortable, but neither of them cared. All they really cared about was the fact that they were in each other's arms, finally safe from Ghostface.

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1885 words.

Shorter chapter, but that's because there's one chapter left for this story, and if it turns out as I hope it does, it'll be a longer one. Thoughts?

* This chapter is not edited *