“She’s waking up,” a voice yells next to my ear.  

I bring a hand up and push her away weakly. “Can you not be so loud, Alex?” I cough a little and open my eyes just as I’m rushed into a hug. Alex’s hands wrap around my back and pull me into her chest. She’s always been such a worry- wart.

“You had me worried for a little bit,” Alex cries out. “Don’t you ever do that to me.” She pulls back and look me over, running her hand along my cheek.

“Ouch, that hurts.”

Alex holds her hands up and shrugs. “Sorry,” she mutters.

I bring a hand to my cheek and feel the burn. The welt is the size of a quarter, at least. I bring my hand out in front of me. There are small burns running up and down the side of my arm. I grab hold of my hair, only to reach for air.

“We had to cut it.” Alex leans over and grabs a mirror off the desk. “I did it myself. I hope you like it.”

I hold my breath and turn my head from side to side. It’s a pixie cut. It’s something that I always wanted to try, but never had the balls to do. Glad that something good came out of this.

I shake my head. I should have more careful. I should have known a in-school fire demonstration was not a smart idea.

I hold my breath and can feel the tears biting at the corners of my eyes. “Are all the kids okay?” I ask and look at Alex.

“Everyone is fine. They all made it out.” She opens her mouth to say something, but stops herself.

“We were so worried about you, Ro.” Daddy pops up from behind her and brings his hands around me. He hugs me tight and runs his hand through my hair. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you,” he whispers into my ear. He holds me tight for a little longer.

“I’m okay, Daddy.” The tears fall into his shoulders, but he doesn’t say anything. He just holds me tight and hard. I hadn’t heard or seen him since the whole debacle started. It felt good having him back here.

He holds a hand to my cheek and I can see the tears forming in his eyes. I look away. If he cries I know it won’t be long until I break down.  

Meredith opens the door and pops her head inside. “Is she awake?” Her eyes scan the room and fall on me. She walks into the room and puts the phone into her purse. That’s the first time that I’ve ever seen her do anything like that. “How are you feeling? Do you need water or anything?” She takes my hand and caresses it.

“No, I’m okay.”  I look around the room and my eyes fall on the door. Part of me is hoping that the door opens and they pop their heads in. Max with a concerned look on his face and Blake with his signature smile. I hold my breath, but it doesn’t open.

It might be too much for me to hope for them to be here. I’m sure that they’ve moved on with their life. I’ve been avoiding them for the better half of a month.

“What’s the matter?” Daddy asks, running his thumb down my cheek.

“Nothing,” I mutter under my breath. For the second time, Alex opens her mouth and closes it. That’s weird. I’ve never seen Alex ever hold back when she has something to say. “What is it, Alex?”

All the eyes around the room turn to her. Alex looks at me and then to Meredith. Meredith gives Alex the worst death stare that I’ve ever seen.

“What’s going on?” I ask. I lift myself up and look at both of them, settling on Meredith.

“Nothing,” Meredith says before shooting another look at Alex. Meredith reaches out and takes my hand. “Nothing is going on.” Her voice breaks for the first time and she turns away from me.  

I don’t believe her. She’s acting too nice right now. Something isn’t right.

“Stop lying to me,” I croak out. I reach out and take a sip of water from a glass. “Someone tell me what’s going on?”

“Blake and Max were here to see you,” Alex blurts out.

I spit the water out of my mouth. “And where are they now?” I ask, sitting up in my bed and trying to look out through the window into the hallway. “Why did they leave?”

Alex looks over to Meredith.

“There were a lot of reporters outside the office. I didn’t want them to snap a photo. I’m doing it for your own safety.” She reaches into her pocket and grabs her phone.

I can feel the anger welling up inside of me. I grab at the sheets at my side.

“And you sent them away?” I shout.

“That’s not all she did,” Alex mutters under her breath. Meredith looks at Alex and walks toward her, trying to put her hand on Alex’s mouth to shut her up.

“What happened?” I get between the two of them and almost fall over. I didn’t expect to be so tired. My father rushes over to my side and holds me up.

“Nothing h-happened,” Meredith stutters. She tries to get around me and grab hold of Alex.  

“Enough,” a voice roars next to me. I turn to see my father’s face red as a tomato. I’ve never seen him this angry before. He grabs a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the sweat on his brow. “Enough.” He sits down next to me and takes my hand. “Blake and Max were the ones who saved you from that burning building.”

I hear his words but they don’t register. Max and Blake did all of that for me? Why would they risk their lives for me?

He squeezes my hand and I look up at him. “They saved the most precious thing that I have left in this world.” He pats my hand and smiles at me. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you, Ro.” He wraps his hands around me and holds me still.

I nestle my head into his chest and let the tears flow.

“I miss them, Daddy. I want to see them.” I don’t care about anything anymore. The only thing I care about is Blake and Max.

The last month without them has been hell. I should have never agreed to my stepmother’s plan. I thought that I could live without them, but I couldn’t.