I wake up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping, the strong scent of cleaning product invading my senses. A day ago, I thought hangover was the worst headache I've ever had, but the one I have right now proved to be worse. I scrunch my eyes at the bright light above me, a quiet groan escaping past my lips as I adjust to the glaring fluorescent light.

What am I doing at the hospital?

It hits me suddenly, the bright light coming towards me, the sound of tired squealing and glass shattering before everything went dark. "Florence?" I realize I'm not alone at the sound of my mom's voice, wincing in pain as I turn my neck to look at her. Her eyes are red, her skin blotched with tears, "Oh my baby," She sighs in relief, reaching over to hold my hand, "I am so sorry."

"It's okay," I reassure her, shaking my head.

"No, it's not," My mom disagrees, "I'm a bad mom, and I put too much pressure on you. You've always been this little adult, and sometimes I forget you're still just a kid, my first baby. I'm sorry that I forgot that. When I got the call from the hospital, I was so scared. Scared we'd lose you without me being able to say that."

"I'm right here," I reassure her, squeezing her hand in mine. My voice cracks, taking in my words. I could have died tonight without working things out with mom and Belly. If this were a normal circumstance, maybe I'd hold a grudge, but this is so much bigger than that, "and I'm okay. We're okay, mom."

"I love you, baby," Mom cries. I haven't seen her cry like this in ages, not since Susannah's cancer diagnosis years ago. "And I am so proud of you, always."

Mom and I sit for a few minutes, her holding my hand in hers. She informs me that I've been out for a few hours before the doctor walks in. He's an older man, in a white coat the same colour as his hair, his eyes are blue and kind, his smile gentle, "Miss Park, good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Not great," I admit to him, letting a chuckle escape past my lips. My head is pounding still, my arms and chest bruised and burned from the airbag.

He chuckles too before looking down at his sheet, "well, the good news is you don't have any broken bones," He informs me. I sighed, relieved, "but you have a concussion and will experience severe muscle pain over the next few weeks. You can take some over-the-counter pain meds and come back in if anything seems out of the ordinary."

"So, I can go home?"

"As soon as your mom finishes signing release papers," He nods, gesturing for my mom to join him, "her family can come see her now, but only one at a time."

"Okay," Mom nods, squeezing my hand, "I'll be out in a second." The doctor nods one last time at us, shooting me a friendly smile before leaving my room, "Isla isn't going to be happy to hear that," Mom chuckles, referring to the Doctors instructions.

"Isla's here?" I ask, my heartbreaking for my best friend. I couldn't imagine how I'd be if I was in her position, forced to sit in a waiting room while my best friend was passed out in a hospital bed.

"And Jeremiah, Belly, Steven, and Cleveland... Susannah's asleep. I didn't want to scare her." I decide to ignore the way my heart drops at the mention of Conrad not being here, I mean, I know I told him to leave me alone, but I was in a car accident? He seriously didn't show up. "I'm gonna go tell everyone you're awake."

"Cleveland's here?" I ask, my brow quirked in a questioning manner, deciding to ignore the dull ache at the mention of Conrad being absent. Despite her tear-streaked cheeks, my mom's face flushes, a faint blush making her face more red. Was there something going on with them? "Is there something going on with you two?" I ask, excited and curious.

"We-"She hesitates, trying to find the right words. She smiles at me, and things feel somewhat normal between us for the first time in a long time. Well, I mean, besides the heart monitor machine beeping and the fact I'm in a hospital bed, "will talk about this later."

"Over ice cream?" I ask. Mom and I used to go on weekly date nights a lot when I was little. The other kids would be in bed, and she'd sneak into my room, wake me up and take me out for a banana split to share. Back then, it felt like I could talk to her about anything. Maybe things can be like that again.

"I'd love that," Mom nods, leaning over to kiss the side of my head before leaving my hospital room to grab my siblings and inform everyone else that I'm okay.

It didn't take long before someone else appeared at my door, I expected to see Steven, but my little sister stood there instead, hugging her arms around herself. Her face is stained with tears, "Bels?" I question, hesitant, my voice barely above a whisper. Now more than anything, I want to make things right with her.

Without a word, Belly bursts into tears, a sob escaping past her lips as she walks further into the room. I scoot over, my body aching in pain as I do, but I don't care. Belly crawls into my bed, her hand locking with my own, "I thought I was gonna lose you," she sobs, and I squeeze her hand, "I thought I was going to lose you without being able to say how much I love you, and sorry I am." She leans her head on my shoulder, and it takes everything in me not to wince as she leans against a bruise, not wanting to ruin the moment between us and scare her. "You're not selfish, Flo. You're the best big sister, much better than Steven and I deserve. I've been the worst sister this summer. You probably hate me now."

"Hey," I nudge her, making her look at me. Her eyes are red, puffy due to crying, and I'm sure I'm not a much better sight, all cut up and bruised, "I could never hate you," I tell her, seriously. Even when she was ignoring me and accusing me of things that weren't true, the last thing I felt towards Belly was hatred. Her words hurt as much as they did because they were coming from somebody I loved, someone I'd never in a million years want to hurt. "No matter what, okay?"

Belly nods like a little kid, her eyes teary, sniffling as she holds back tears. When we were kids, we'd find ourselves in this position often. Belly would sneak into my room whenever she was sad and cry to me, eventually falling asleep in my bed. "I'm sorry," she says again, shaking her head sadly, "I just want to make things better, but I don't know how."

"Just be here," I say, squeezing her hand. Tears brim my eyes as Belly leans against my shoulder again, but not just out of pain, out of sadness. I can't imagine the pain everyone felt tonight, thinking they were going to lose me. It's things like this that put life into perspective, though. Life is too short to hold grudges and be mad at the people you love. "I love you, Bels, always."

"I love you, Flo, forever."

Ahhhh, Flo finally got the  apologies that she deserves and we got to see her make up with her mom and sister!!

All will be revealed about why Conrad isn't there shortly, but rest assured, it'll all be okay!