A/N: Last chapter!!!! I may or may not post an epilogue after this:) Thank you so much if you've actually made it this far in the book, it means so much to me <3 Also, the extremely talented sunflowerin made a trailer for this book! I've linked it above if you guys are interested in watching it:) (don't forget to watch it in HD guys, 1080p is your best friend;)) Now without further ado, the last chapter :)

A week later, Isaac and I found ourselves on our way to the hotel he had stayed at in 2004. It was one morning while watching the sunrise when we had decided to take a day off of volunteering to visit the places we had been at when the first wave had hit. Isaac didn't like the idea at first; it made him anxious and he thought it'd be too much of a reminder. He had his mind set on avoiding everything that made him think too much of the disaster, but after a while of talking to him, he'd finally agreed.

His hotel was close to the beach. On the way there, I could spot a blue hue hiding behind the trees as we drove down the road. Isaac had told me that if you stood on the balcony of his hotel room that day, you could see the Indian Ocean. The first few days they were in Thailand his mother had spent most of her time sitting outside on the balcony with the view of the ocean, either reading or drawing. His mother was an artist, apparently. His aunt and uncle kept her paintings framed on the walls of their home.

Driving to our destination, I watched Isaac closely, noticing the way he fidgeted and avoided looking out the window. He wasn't really speaking; it was something I had noticed he'd do whenever he was in deep thought or feeling anxious. He stared down at his hands, chewing his lip. "Isaac?"

"Yeah?" he breathed, his gaze meeting mine.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm uh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded again, offering me a smile. "I'm fine, Ava. I promise. Actually..." He reached for his bag which was sitting in front of him and unzipped it.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"I got you something."

"Got me something? What'd you get?"

"You'll see," he said. He took out a black velvet box and handed it to me, smiling. "Open it."

I stared at him for a few seconds, then opened it gently. Inside of the box was a necklace, the letter A dangling off of the silver chain. "Isaac, you really shouldn't have..."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. Want to help me put it on?"

He sat closer to me, taking the necklace and placing it around my neck. "There," he said, clasping it together.

"Thank you," I said, leaning closer to him and planting a kiss on his lips. When we pulled away from each other, he smiled a little. I did, too.

--

Stepping out of the vehicle, I felt a refreshing breeze dance across my skin. It was early; the air was cool and I could hear the sound of the trees rusting and the birds singing. His hotel was being rebuilt; similar to mine, and Isaac just kept staring at it without saying anything. I didn't really know what to do or say, so I just stood there quietly, watching him carefully. He stared at it for a very, very long time.

I couldn't imagine how he must have felt. Isaac had lost the both of his parents, and now he was just living with his aunt and uncle. He'd told me about them. He'd said when he'd first arrived there, he didn't really know how to feel. Maybe it was denial, he supposed, or it could have been shock. He wasn't really sure, but when it became official that he and Harper were living there, it dawned on him that his parents were really never coming back -- that he'd have to restart in a completely new environment with new parents who had new parenting styles in a new home. 

He was never really close to his aunt and uncle. He was still trying to adjust to living with them, and he was still trying to learn how to cope with the loss of his parents.

He continued to stare at the building. I couldn't really tell how he was feeling; his expression was blank. Then, he swallowed hard, took a deep breath and turned to me, his eyes glassy. "Want to head to our next stop?" he said quietly.

"The beach?" I asked.

He nodded.

--

The beach I had been at when the first wave had hit wasn't very far away from Isaac's hotel. On the way there, I could feel my heart beating inside of my ears. I couldn't erase the memories of the wall of water approaching the shore and being trapped in the tsunami -- couldn't stop remembering the feeling of the bark on the palm tree scratching my palms as I clung to it.

By the time I got to the beach, I didn't know how to feel. I guess you could say that it was a mixture of emotions; sadness, anger, confusion... I didn't know. There I was, standing on the same beach that I had been to on December 26th, 2004.

I took a couple of steps closer to the ocean and stopped right at the shoreline, letting my feet sink into the soft sand that stretched across the beach. I felt my heart drop a little when I remembered that it was the same sand Mason had run around the day the wave hit. I listened to the water roll onto the shore, picturing my little brother walking along the beach with a grin stretched from ear to ear, calling my name. Then my father was there, sitting under the parasol with his favourite book, looking up at Mason and I and smiling to himself. He waved. Mason kept grinning.

Then I was back to reality, standing in front of an ocean that had taken their lives.

"Ava?" Isaac whispered, taking my hand.

I nearly flinched at the feeling of his hand coming into contact with mine -- nearly pulled my hand away. But I didn't. I drew in a deep breath and told myself to calm down, then looked at him, feeling my throat tighten.

The memories came flooding back again, and they felt so real. I remembered Mason running around the beach, giggling and wearing a beam so bright and unforgettable. Piper was lying out in the sun in an attempt to get tanned, and Mom was sitting next to Dad, who still had his nose glued to his book. Then the first wave struck, and before I knew it, everyone was gone.

Flash forward a day or two and I met Isaac -- his face all scratched up and wounded, but still, he wore a smile. I had no interest in speaking to him, but he kept talking anyway. One morning he'd waken me up and showed me the sunrise. It was beautiful, and for the first time in a while, I'd been able to block out all of the chaos happening around me.

Then I saw Mason's corpse, and I couldn't get the image out of my head. Isaac had found out he had no more parents and I found out that Dad was gone too. But their deaths didn't feel real. A wave, killing thousands of people didn't seem real. None of it felt real.

Soon, I was leaving Thailand with only Mom and Piper. We'd arrived as five and left as three. Little did I know that I'd wake up every morning with the same pang of guilt. Out of the thousands of people that had been killed, I was still here. Why was I still here?

Isaac pulled me closer to him and cupped my face, wiping a tear away from my cheek with his thumb. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. He leaned in, closing the gap between our lips. When he pulled away, our gazes locked. His eyes were soft and gentle, and I couldn't help but stare. "Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded once more and rested my head against his chest. I tried to think of something else -- anything else -- and so I thought of the sunrise. 

I pulled away from him, still holding onto his hand and taking another step closer to the ocean. He followed, sticking close behind me. The tide washed up along the shore, the cool water brushing my toes.

I took a deep breath, glancing at the sky. The sunrise, the sunrise... A ray of light shone through the clouds and glinted against the water. I remembered the way the daylight climbed into the sky; the clouds orange. I thought of Mason and Dad, wondering if they were on the other side. I felt the presence of my little brother, telling me that it was, in the end, going to be okay. And out of a pure miracle, the hope that had once vanished, reappeared.

I pictured the way Isaac sat on the lawn next to me that day, wearing a smile so bright and happy, despite the situation we were tangled in. It was a quiet morning, the sun brightened the sky, and for a moment I had been able to forget reality. Isaac's words echoed through my head. "Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise."

Tomorrow was a new day -- a fresh start, and I was on the road to recovery.

I let the cold ocean water run along my feet, and decided that I couldn't be afraid of it anymore. I finally came to the realization that I could move forward and leave my past behind. I had survived. I was alive, and breathing, and I had fought my battle. It was difficult, yet I had managed to pull through. And though it got hard and the nightmares and flashbacks still haunted me, I realized that it wasn't something that could keep me from propelling forward.

The grey clouds broke apart, and I squinted as the sun hit my eyes. As the golden rays illuminated the sky, I came to a realization. I was strong -- strong for limitless reasons.

And I could finally consider myself a survivor.