𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢

My eyes slowly start to open, and I exhale a deep breath. The first sensation I feel is my head perfectly placed on Grayson's chest. His hands are tightly wrapped around my body. I have never slept with a boy before, both platonically and physically. The way my cheeks are already flushed cause me to reach my hand up and press my palm to the burning skin.

I automatically look at his sleeping figure. The way his chest is heaving up and down is so peaceful. He's adorable when he's sleeping, and just the sight of him is making me feel giddy. Seriously, my insides are turning like a kid on Christmas morning.

I can't fight the feelings that Grayson makes me have. He makes me feel happy, brave, like anything is possible. I was terrified to feel that way again, to get close to another human being.

Of course deep down I missed my old self, but I felt guilty for smiling or having fun without Hunter. Grayson made me realize that life goes on, and so should I.

His body begins to shift, and a small grin appears over my face when his eyes slowly start to open. A yawn slips past his lips as his grip around my back tightens.

"Good morning." He says in his deepest voice yet.

"Morning." I say with a smile.

He keeps his eyes on my face. "You look different today."

"I feel different." I say while giggling.

"You're glowing." He sits up on the couch and pulls me closer to his body.

Rubbing my lips together, I muster up the courage to let out a sigh. "I'm happy."

"Me too." He says, his fingers automatically twirling through my hair.

"I really like you, Grayson." The confident words fly out of my mouth.

His cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "I like you too, H."

"I was scared to really accept it, mostly because I didn't know how I truly felt. Now I know." I nod and place my hand on his cheek.

"Every time you touch me, my heart races." He says while taking my hand and planting a sweet kiss on my palm.

"It's weird being in this world with feeling." I look back into his eyes.

"I don't think this was supposed to happen." His voice lowers, which causes fear to grow in my core.

"Do you think this is bad? That we can touch each other?" I bite down on my lower lip.

"It's either really good, or really bad." Grayson says with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I hope for option number one." I reply while slowly moving my hand down the center of his stomach.

"Me too." He says while sucking in a breath.

I've never been the type to be bold and take action. But everything about Grayson lights a fire inside of me. Normally I would feel embarrassed that I'm blatantly touching his body.

"If I'm being honest, I didn't really know how happy you made me until I could feel the emotions running through my body. Of course I was really starting to like you, but now I know that it's real." Grayson speaks his words loud and clear, like they're the most honest words he has ever said.

"I know how you feel." I say while blushing.

"There's that cute smile of yours." He says with a laugh.

"What cute smile?" I ask while chuckling.

"The one that really indents your dimples. It's my favorite."

"So, I have more than one smile?" I cross my arms over my chest.

"Yes, sometimes you grin when you are trying to hide how happy you really are. And sometimes your smile is so wide, I'm surprised your cheeks don't hurt."

"I never realized how much I smiled. It's pretty rare these days."

"Not anymore." He says with a cheeky grin.

"You're right." I say with another smile. God, I really have changed.

"Uh, what's going on?" Hunter's familiar voice appears behind me, allowing a low shriek to escape my lips. My heart is pounding due to his random visit to the cottage.

His dark eyes are wide with confusion as he stands by the front door. He looks between Grayson and I cuddled up against each other, even blinking a few times to make sure what he's seeing is real.

"No seriously, what the actual fuck?" He says in a shocked tone.

"Hunter, Grayson and I can feel each other." I rise to my feet and walk toward him.

"You what?!" He eyes me up and down.

"Yeah, we found a lake and started swimming in it. Then this weird wind storm came out of nowhere and I saved Hope from almost drowning. After that we were able to touch each other and ourselves." Grayson explains while also rising to his feet.

"So, you can feel him?" Hunter says, pointing to Grayson standing behind me.

"Yes." I take Grayson's hand in mine and tightly hold onto it.

"How is it possible? I thought it couldn't happen?" Grayson looks directly at my brother.

"It's rare." Hunter gulps, keeping his eyes locked on our connected hands.

"Well, it finally happened. We gained feelings and all of our emotions back." I say with a happy smile.

"Wow, that's great." Hunter manages to choke out.

My eyebrows immediately narrow at his words. If there's one person I can read well, it's my brother. The way his words are coming out are complete shock. He keeps staring at my hand connected to Grayson's.

"Is everything okay?" I speak up, trying to snap him out of his daze.

"I need to take you guys back to the hospital. It's officially the worst it's ever been."

"Wait, what?" Grayson's voice cracks with fear.

"The clock is starting to tick." Hunter gulps.

"Are we going to die soon?" I force myself to ask.

"That's up to you." He says.

"I'm so confused." Grayson places a hand on his hip.

The familiar sound of beeping fills my ears the second the three of us are transported to the hospital.

My eyes immediately latch onto my still body, the same as it always is. God, I can't believe I'm lying in a hospital bed, in a coma. The oxygen tank is still hooked up to my nose.

"I hate seeing her like this." My mother's voice catches me by surprise.

I turn around and see both of my parents sitting in the corner of the room, the same nurse that always checks on me is with them.

"It's never an easy sight." The woman lets out a sigh.

"And you're sure she won't get any better?" My father asks her with his monotoned voice.

"They have been in a coma for a few weeks now. Their brains can't handle this much oxygen to it without having severe issues."

"I was hoping he would wake up by now." Grayson's mother says from across the room.

I turn my head to look at his side. It hurts me to watch him lie in the hospital bed, even though his spirit is right next to mine.

Ethan, Linda, and both of Grayson's parents are surrounding his body. Ethan looks distraught, as always. His loyalty to his brother is insane and reminds me of mine. He's always here.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the best option is to take them off of oxygen." The nurse's voice actually sends jabs through my body. Now that I can feel everything, it's like I can physically hear my heart cracking and breaking into a thousand tiny pieces.

"We didn't want to." Grayson's father says while shaking his head.

"If the nurse says that's best, maybe she's right." My own father rises to his feet.

"How can you say that about your daughter?" Mr. Dolan flashes my old man a look of disgust.

"Because we have to be realistic here. The chances of them waking up are extremely rare. And if they do wake up, they will have major issues. They won't ever be able to have normal lives."

"Shit." My shaky voice whispers as I look at Grayson. He's hysterically crying. I'm talking full-blown hyperventilating.

"Grayson." I choke out, tears filling the brims of my eyes.

"I don't want to die." He says in between his sobs.

"I know." I immediately wrap my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into the tightest hug ever.

He reciprocates the embrace by clinging onto my body. Squeezing my eyes shut,  I hold onto him with every ounce of my soul. We loudly cry into each other, practically molding our bodies together.

"I can set up an appointment for tomorrow evening to take them off of oxygen, if you choose to." The nurse says.

"If she really won't wake up, then yes. That's the best option for her to find peace." My mother says with a trembling voice.

"No, I refuse to lose my brother." Ethan runs his hands through his hair, his entire face is bright red.

"Ethan, he's not going to wake up." Grayson's mother says while pulling her son into a hug.

My entire body feels like it's breaking down, not just for my fate but also Grayson's. He had so much of his life left to live. He was supposed to go back to New Jersey, and continue college.

The protective force of his body suddenly lets go of my own, and his sad features turn into angry ones as he points a finger at my brother.

"You said we had a choice, Hunter. You said we were able to go back." His voice is deep as he takes a step closer to him.

"Time is running out." My brother quietly says.

"Yeah, no shit! I can clearly see that." Grayson yells while pointing at his bed.

"Look, this wasn't supposed to happen. Normally it is up to you to go back, but they're deciding for you. It's out of your control."

"So, that's it? Tomorrow night we're going to be transported to heaven?" His voice shakes.

"Theoretically, yes." Hunter slowly says.

"Why did this happen? Why are we unable to control it?" Grayson's voice gets louder and angrier.

"The universe works in mysterious ways, Grayson. Sometimes things happen that we don't want, that we didn't plan. That's just the way life is." Hunter says while looking back at me.

"That's not fair!" He screams.

"Grayson, calm down. It's okay." I try to snap him out of his angry state by grabbing onto his hand.

Interlocking our fingers, I gently rub the pad of my thumb across his smooth skin. He looks down at me and lets out a deep breath.

"This is bad, H. really bad." He says while placing his hand on my cheek.

"I know, Grayson." I whisper, nodding my head.

"Your purpose needs to be found. And I think you finally found it." Hunter speaks up.

"Meaning what?" Grayson asks.

"I think you guys are extremely close to going back." My brother admits after a moment of silence.

"What makes you say that?" I look at him.

"Because.." His voice trails off as his rubs his lips together. "The only time you can feel human contact in the space between heaven and earth is when you fall in love."