"The tragedy of life is not death ... but what we let die inside of us while we still live."
Adalynn Stanton is accepted into one of the highest competitive schools in her state, the Greenhouse Academy. At first, all she thinks she will have to do...
"Take a piece of my heart And make it all your own So when we are apart You'll never be alone You'll never be alone."
~ Never be Alone by Shawn Mendes
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"Adi? Adalynn darl. Are you okay?"
Adalynn suppressed a groan as she slowly, ever so slowly, opened her eyes. Images of warmth and figures of colour surrounded her, but her vision was so blurry she couldn't tell one from the other.
With a slight grimace, she sighed and closed her eyes again. Just then, she felt the tingling sensation of someone's hand enclosing her own.
Surprised, Adalynn opened her eyes again and blinked a couple of times, relieved to see that everything around her was slowly coming back into focus. "W-what happened?" she croaked out before succumbing to a fit of coughs.
"Oh my god. Jackie can you get her some water, please? And hurry."
Adalynn stared up into the worried face of her mother. "Mum? W-what are you doing here?"
"We - your father and I - thought we'd come to the Eagles' game to surprise you," Mrs Stanton began in a trembling voice. "We - we had no idea where you really were, though, sweetie. I-I'm so sorry."
Adalynn shook her head, memories from the past few hours hitting her like a flood. "No ... no ... it wasn't your fault. Don't be sorry."
Mrs Stanton bit her lip and looked away as the sound of a door opening and closing carried over the air. "Thanks, Jackie," she said as she took the glass of water offered her. Lifting Adalynn's head up, Mrs Stanton held the glass near Adalynn's chapped, dry lips. "Here drink."
Adalynn nodded and greedily gulped down as much water as Mrs Stanton allowed her to have. Pulling away the glass, Mrs Stanton placed it down on a nearby table and turned around to face her daughter. "I cannot believe you, Adalynn. This entire time ... you never told me what was really going on!"
"W-what? How did you ...?"
"Your friends filled me in."
Adalynn's eyes travelled across the room. Jackie, Hayley, Leo, Alex, Brooke, Daniel and Max were huddled up on a set of couches just across from her makeshift bed. The school's white-clad nurse hovered nearby and through a set of transparent windows, Adalynn could make out Louis and her father in deep conversation.
"Wait ... where's E-Ethan?"
A slight movement caught the corner of her eye and Adalynn turned her head and saw him.
