They drove to the hospital, Claudia speeding the entire way there. Faith couldn't think clearly. Couldn't breathe. Everything was spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick.

She rolled down her window and tried to gasp for air, but even with her mouth wide open, lungs inhaling oxygen, she still felt as though she was suffocating.

It took them forty-five minutes to get to St. John's Hospital in Caledon. Claudia parked the car and Faith threw open the door, running through the parking lot and through the front doors of the building. She looked around in a panic, searching for someone who could help her out. But no one was there to do such a thing.

Claudia and Mike came in after her, rushing to Faith and trying to calm her down. "Where is she!?" Faith yelled in a panic. "Where is she?"

Mike took Faith over to the chairs to sit while Claudia went to the reception desk and inquired. She returned minutes later, saying that Hope was on the fourth floor, in the ICU.

Faith tried to bolt from them, but Mike held her arm tightly. He wouldn't let her out of his sight.

They made it to the fourth floor and searched frantically for Hope's room number. Once they arrived there, the door was open, Gabriel and Joana Chamberlain seated beside their daughter's hospital bed. The first thing that Faith noticed upon entering the room was that the blinds were open and bouquets of flowers lined the tables. The second thing she noticed was that Hope's eyes were closed and she looked like Sleeping Beauty, with a tube in her mouth.

Faith rushed over to the side of the bed and grabbed Hope's hand, ignoring the glares that the Chamberlain's were giving her. "Hope," she said desperately. "Please wake up."
Gabriel and Joana stared at Faith, thinking horrendous thoughts, but not saying a word.
"Hope," Faith repeated. "Please. Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."
"She can't hear you," Joana said. "She's in a coma."
Faith looked up and met her eyes. She saw this woman and despised her with everything in her entire body. She wanted to slap Joana Chamberlain across the face. Throw a flower pot at her head. She wanted to yell, scream, cry.
"This is all your fault," Faith found herself saying. "You know that, right?"
"How dare you?" Gabriel stood and Joana quickly grabbed his hand to pull him back down.
"Faith," Claudia said sternly. "Let's give them some space."
"No," Faith said, standing up straight and releasing Hope's hand. "No, they need to know. This is their fault. Hope wouldn't have been in fucking Caledon at that fucking facility if it wasn't for them."
"Oh, on the contrary," Gabriel said. "I believe she was at that facility because of you."
"What is he talking about?" Claudia asked, looking between them.
Mike stood there staring at his sister and the Chamberlain's. "Mom, let's go," he tried to pull her out.
"No," Claudia pulled away from her son and stared at Faith.
"You two are horrible people," Faith continued. "When she wakes up, she will never forgive you."
"If she wakes up," Joana said, tears forming in her eyes. "She's on life support. All we can do is pray."
"Fuck your prayers," Faith said. "You should have accepted her for who she was rather than trying to change her. I swear to God, if anything happens to her... that's on you. I hope you can live with that."

_______

They sat in the waiting area for a long time, Claudia and Mike staring at Faith, waiting for an answer. Faith was fuming. Her entire body was shaking and all she wanted to do was hurt someone. The Chamberlain's, in particular.

"Well?" Claudia said, staring at her daughter. "What the hell is going on?"
Faith took in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the words that would change everything.
"I'm gay," she finally said. "Bisexual, actually. And Hope and I, well..."
Claudia's eyes widened. "What?"
"I'm not repeating it."
"Hope is gay too!?" Mike gawked.
"She's bisexual as well I guess. I don't know. We both didn't know. Until, like, the end of July."
Mike and Claudia sat there in silence, not knowing how to process this information.
"Are you sure?" Claudia asked.
"Yes, mom, I'm sure. Why do you think I broke up with Sebastian?"
Mike nodded slowly. "It all makes sense now."
"Yeah," Faith said.
"Spending so much time together," he said. "We thought it was odd that you developed such a close friendship that quickly. Especially with a girl. But then again, we thought you two were just friends."
"We're more than friends," Faith said. "I'm in love with her."
"And I'm assuming her parents know," Claudia said.
"Obviously. You want to know what they did when they found out? They sent her to one of those gay-conversion facilities."
Claudia looked appalled again. "That's horrible."
"I know. And I don't even know what happened. How did she get hit by a car if she was at the facility?"
Neither of them said anything.
"It's just so fucked up," Faith continued. "This is their fault. None of this would have happened if they had never sent her away."

_______

They waited around for hours. Faith didn't even think about the fact that it was her birthday. None of that mattered anymore. All she wanted was for Hope to be okay. She even prayed, together with her brother and mother, for Hope to pull through and be alright.

The hours passed slowly. Faith watched as people came and went, entering the hospital, then leaving again. She saw people crying tears of joy, and tears of sorrow. Her heart ached and her stomach felt nauseous.

The waiting was the worst part. She wished that she could go in there and see Hope. Be with her, hold her hand, anything. It angered Faith that instead of her being in there with Hope, Joana and Gabriel would be there, watching over their daughter, when it was them who were responsible for her even being in that state.

It was nearly seven o'clock when Claudia went to the cafeteria and got them all sandwiches and water. Mike devoured his, chugging his water bottle afterwards, and Claudia nibbled on hers methodically. Faith didn't bother touching hers. She knew she wouldn't be able to eat. Her stomach was in knots, and if she had a single bite of food, she feared she'd throw up everywhere.

Nine o'clock passed and there was still no news. Faith flipped through a magazine, trying to distract herself, thinking of thoughts other than Hope, but it proved to be impossible. She thought about everything they had ever done together, every word they had ever exchanged. She thought about the good times, the happy times. But she also thought about the bad. And she hated herself so much. She resented the fact that she had pushed Hope away, forced her to do the unthinkable, which ended up leading her to that fucking facility.

If only things had been different. If only Faith had stayed with Hope that night at the lake instead of walking away. Held her hand and made sure that she was okay. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. Maybe the Chamberlain's were right.

What if all of this was Faith's fault?

It was nine-thirty when the doctor finally came out. Faith wasn't expecting anyone, seeing as they had been there nearly all day with no news. She almost thought no one was coming at all. But then he came. He was wearing turquoise scrubs, holding something in his hands. Faith couldn't quite identify what it was.

He walked towards them and Claudia looked up first, meeting his eyes. She nudged Faith, who was beginning to dose off, and she and Mike both sat up straight, waiting for the news.

All Faith remembered after that was the shake of his head. It came in slow motion. His mouth was open – words must have been coming out – but Faith didn't hear any of them. It was just that simple head shake that was enough to put her over the edge. And after that, everything went dark.