PROLOGUE

WARNING: This chapter contains a very sensitive topic.

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"How do you get over this kind of loss?"

She wished she could turn back time. Hours before they got in the car. Hours before they got to work. Hours before that morning's argument.

"How do you cope up with this feeling?"

She wished she didn't yell at him that day. She wished they could have patched things up earlier. She wished they could have just turned around.

It has been three months but still feels like yesterday. Her physical wounds might have healed but the invisible ones remain fresh. These wounds hide somewhere inside her chest, cutting deeper and deeper everyday.

She turns to the nightstand where their pictures are lined up, facing the bed. She convinces herself to smile and laugh for a while but tears won't stop from falling.

"Damn you…"

She grabs the first picture frame from the right, taking a good look at it before placing it across her chest then free falls in bed.

It's their first picture together. Just a pair of lost souls trying to having a good time, unsure about the path they're heading to. Those days when all she could hear is his singing and she didn't mind hanging out at the backstage.

It's just a candid snap shot taken backstage by the club's owner. Not that much into it. They're not even that close back then. But this picture definitely became very memorable. It's like the spark already exists between them way before they even notice it.

She rolls in bed, laying beside his crumpled shirt. This is his favorite shirt. An original merchandise shirt of Guns n' Roses he got himself on his first ever concert. It's already worn out by how often he wore it.

She kept it close to her, taking a whiff off his scent. It still lingers, the strong smell of his perfume. The perfume that makes her sneeze so much but still loves sniffing off him. There's a hint of root beer somewhere. A flavor they both love.

She spreads her arms wide open as she lays his shirt on her. Closing closes her eyes as she imagines him on her. She could see his smile as clear as day, just before he leans down to kiss her.

"Why can't I feel you anymore?"

She threw her hands to cover her face. The emotional walls finally broke. She can't stop sobbing now. Tears overflowing.

She turns, curling up her knees up to her chest.

"Please come back! Please!"

She turns again now laying face down, screaming at the top of her lungs while the mattress muffles the sound. She kept on punching the mattress and pulling the sheets.

She feels numb. Every memory with him flashes right before her eyes. His smile, his laugh, his kisses, his touch. It's all coming back but she can't feel them.

She wishes it's all just a bad dream. That she'll wake up from this nightmare and she'll wake up beside him again.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

The invisible wounds start bleeding out. It's thousand shards of glass piercing through her heart. It's endless thorny vines wrapping tight around her, cutting through her skin.

She wished she shared the same fate as him at night. She wished she doesn't have to suffer this way anymore.

The digital clock makes a beep as soon as it strikes 12:00.

Behind her hard sobbing, she forces a smile. "Happy birthday, Theo."

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Ayden knew something is wrong when his sister didn't answer his call that evening. He promised that he will be home before dinner. But tonight's heavy rain took most of his time at work, responding to multiple accidents on the road. The traffic along the way made it worse. It's Theo's first birthday since he died and he knows that it's going to take a heavy toll on her.

Though his sister may appear okay now, he knows that Theo's birthday could trigger her. Ayla is strong but losing Theo really broke her into pieces.

He immediately calls his friends, Rev and Rocco, to meet him along the way. They don't care if it's in the middle of the night. They'll wake up the whole neighborhood if they have to.

The street's silence was broken by Ayden's roaring car, screeching its tires as he parks it recklessly in front of the her home.

"Ayla!" He kept on banging the door but no one answers. He quickly pulls out the key from his pocket then opens the front door. The house seems empty.

"Ayla, are you there?" Rocco calls out as he goes straight to the kitchen then down to the basement.

Rev and Ayden went straight towards the bedroom but it is locked.

"Ayla? Please, open the door!" Rev calls out. Ayden hands him over the keys. The knob clicks but the door still won't budge. "Something's blocking it." He frustratingly slams the door but it won't move.

Rocco came back, catching his breath. "We should try the windows." he suggests then runs outside. Ayden follows him.

Rev stays by the door, still attempting to open it in case Plan B doesn't work.

All curtains are down and the window hinges are locked. Rocco grabs a brick from the garden then throws it to the glass window. Ayden immediately slips his hand though the smashed glass, cutting his arm in the process, then grabs the hinge to open the window. The two then jumps through it.

The room is all messed up. Pictures and glass shards are all over the place. The bed is empty but in chaos. Its sheets, almost completely pulled out of the mattress. The pillows are lying on the other side of the floor.

The sight alarms Ayden. He ran straight to the bathroom while Rocco removes the chairs that have been blocking the doorway and lets Rev in.

"Ayla--" Ayden's faint voice echoed.

Rocco and Rev immediately went to him and saw Ayla lying unconscious on the floor. Her wrists cut open and bleeding nonstop.

Ayden, who is on his knees gripping both of his sister's wrist, looks back at his friends. His face pale and trying to contain emotions. His eyes seeming to ask them what to do. As an EMT, he should know so well how to deal with this situation without panicking. But the moment he saw her, everything that he has learned just blanked out, taken over by fear.

Rev immediately grabs Glad wraps from the kitchen then hands it over to Ayden. They both wrapped each wrists then lifts them both high.

"You're doing good. Remember. Higher than the heart." Rev calmly said as he kneels down, his free hand checking the pulse on her neck. "It's really faint." he mutters.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Ayden said, his voice broken and tear-stained.

"She'll pull through, okay? She's strong. He won't let her die. You hear me? We won't."

"Right," he answers under his breath. "Please don't leave me…" he whispers to her. Furrowing his brows, now focusing on his task which is to keep pressure on his sister's wrist.

"The ambulance is just a few minutes away." Rocco said as he ends the call on his phone. He remains composed despite the fact that his heart is racing. "I'll go wait by the door. Shout if you need me."

It didn't take long until the ambulance came and took Ayla to the hospital.

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It has been days since Ayla's suicide attempt and she still remains unconscious. The doctors said that it is Ayla's mental state that has been keeping her from waking up. It's like reality had damaged her so much, her consciousness is keeping her from going back to it.

Ayden stays with her every night after work. Sometimes Rev and Rocco takes the shift whenever they're free.

Ayden is expecting their parents to visit tonight but was postponed for another week due to an important meetings.

What could be more important than their daughter who is currently in coma?

Their parents never fail to disappoint them. Despite living a luxurious life, being loved is still something that the twins long for. Their parents love them the way they know how. Materialistic. They thought that by providing everything they need, that's already love. But any personal moment with them is quite rare. For their parents, everything is all about business, and they're a part of it.

It has been years since Ayden last talked to them and if it wasn't for Ayla, he won't contact them at all. He was immediately cut off from the family the moment he decided to take his own path.

He is already used to tolerating their parents' insensitive acts. But his sister needs all the support she can get now. And it would mean a lot if they're beside her. But they just won't. They can pay all the bills for all her treatments but it'll never be the same if she can't even get at least a parent to cry on.

He takes a look at his sister again before getting himself comfy on the sofa and doze off. He almost jumped out of his seat when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Hey. How is she?" Rev takes a peek, keeping his voice down. He kept his footsteps light as he enters the room. He pulls out dried flowers from the vase then replaces them with the fresh bouquet he just brought.

Ayden chuckles. "Sunflowers. Of course."

"She needs these." Rev walks by the bed side, staring at the Vital Signs Monitor then to Ayla. "He'd want her to have these. She deserves a bit of sun in her life."

But it has been raining way too long in Ayla's world. Since that night, the rain never stopped at all. It's all dim skies and thunderstorms. And she kept herself secluded in a room where the darkness is slowly cloaking over her. Eating her up slowly.

Tears flow at the edge of Ayla's eyes as she regains consciousness. "Theo…" she whispers. "Theo…" She slightly opens her eyes and sees blurred faces of Ayden and Rev staring back at her. She starts to cry. "I'm so sorry."

"Ayla." Ayden immediately leans down to embrace his sister. "It's not your fault. We're here. I'm here now. I won't leave again."

Rev holds her hand really tight. "We're here, Ayla," he whispers as he tries to hold back tears and smiles. "We're here."