"I forgave you a long time ago," I whispered.

"You did?" Leo asked.

"Yes, I did even if I didn't know it yet. I think I started to forgive you when your mother died. I knew you were going through so much and I felt bad for you. Since I felt bad for you it kind of pushed away any bad feelings I had about you."

"When you came back I got angry at you because after all those years of you bullying me, I had a lot of pent up anger. As soon as I was done yelling I felt guilty and wished I could take it back. Then I realized maybe it was better you hated me. I don't know what I was thinking."

"We became friends a couple weeks later and that's when I first started to realize that I never truly hated you for what you did to me."

Leo looked at me like I had just told him the best news in the world. "That makes me feel so much better. Thank you, and I promise I will never hurt you again," he told me.

"I know."

Via and my father came back with a bag of Chick-fil-A in their hands. "We thought you could use some of this since you've been in the hospital for a couple days," Via explained.

"Thanks, I was getting hungry anyways and I hate hospital food." I took the bag from her and dug in. They got me a spicy chicken sandwich with waffle fries and a Dr. Pepper. I swear Chick-fil-A's food is the best. I don't care what anyone says. McDonald's can suck it. They'll never beat Chick-fil-A.

"So I just talked to your mother and she said she'll be here in an hour," my dad said. I replied with an 'okay' and continued to eat. I was nervous about seeing my mother again. I hope she didn't hate me for all those things I said to her.

At the time I truly believed everything I said. Now I realize that it wasn't all true. Yes, she abandoned me and my father. Yes, she didn't bother contacting us for years. But at the end of the day she is still my mother. I have half of her DNA. I can't just deny that part of me.

It'll take time. We won't be able to go back to the way things were but hopefully I'm able to see her more.

As I was eating, the doctor came in to give me my daily medicine. He told me earlier that I need to take these pills every day for the next couple of weeks twice a day until my ribs are healed. He eyed my food silently, but didn't say anything.

I popped them in my mouth and drank some of my pop to make them go down easier. There wasn't any water in here for some reason so that's all I had.

When I finished my food, my father took the trash from me and threw it away.

"Leo why don't you take her for a walk outside. I'm sure after being in a stuffy hospital for three days she could use the fresh air. I need to talk to the doctor about some things," my father asked.

"Sure," Leo replied. There was a wheelchair near my room's door and Leo rolled it over to the side of my bed. "Come on," He said.

"No," I stated. "I don't need a wheelchair. I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself."

"Yeah okay," he snorted.

I slapped his arm and he rubbed it in mock hurt. I chuckled to myself as I slid my covers off me and attempted to get out of the crappy hospital bed. Key word being attempted. As soon as I stood up I crumpled into a pile on the floor.

"Athena come one let me help you. You've been laying down for three days, your legs are weak. It's just for today I promise." I let Leo hoist me into the wheelchair. God, this was so embarrassing. And to top it off I probably looked like a dead and half eaten wild animal.

My hair was most likely a mess and I probably looked ten times skinnier than before. I don't even want to know what I look like.

"What's Via going to do while we're gone?" I asked Leo. "I'm sure she'll find something to do. She's Via. She's probably going to start talking to the first person she sees in the hallway."

He wheeled me out of my room. "So where are you going to take me?" I asked.

"You'll see," he responded coyly.

As we walked over to the elevator, I took note of all the people in the hallway and the ones in their rooms. There was a little girl wearing cloth over her head and had a tube in her nose. She probably had some form of cancer. Poor girl, she's too young to deal with something like that. In the room next to mine was a middle aged man that was missing an arm.

I wonder what happened.

He caught me staring and waved with his arm and I waved back. I didn't want to appear rude.

In the elevator was this little girl, in a wheelchair like me, talking to her mom who was standing behind her.

She was talking about some music group and how she really wanted to go see them. "Honey," the mother sadly said, "you know you can't. What happens if you catch a cold or something else. You could die. Trust me I wish I could take you but we just can't. It's a matter of your health."

The little girl looked really disappointed. I wanted to say something to her but the elevator dinged and they got out.

"Put this on." Leo shoved something in my face. "What is it?" I inquired. "It's a blindfold. I want to take you some where."

He just happened to carry a blindfold around? Why?

My gut told me to trust him, and I did. I put on the blindfold with help from Leo and then he pushed me forward. A gust of wind blew across my face. "Why are we outside?" I asked. "Would you chill? You'll see. Just trust me," Leo countered.

What could there be outside a hospital besides a parking lot?

"We're here. You can take off the blindfold now."

My fingers slid around to the back of my head and slowly took off the blindfold.

Before me was the prettiest garden I had ever seen. The path in front of me went on for about 20 feet and then opened up into this beautiful square that had a sparkling fountain in the middle. There was a statue of a mermaid in the middle spitting water out of her mouth.

Surrounding the square was all different kinds of flowers. I spotted roses, sunflowers, and even some different colored tulips. It was beautiful. The flowers were also organized by rainbow order. Red, then pink, then orange, and finally yellow.

There were a couple benches littered around the square. A couple paths branched out from the square, presumably to other parts of the garden.

"This is beautiful," I whispered. It really was. It was by far the prettiest garden I had ever seen. It seemed like the type of place Via would come to pose for pictures.

"I found this place yesterday. While you were unconscious I needed to stretch my legs so I came outside for some fresh air. I was wandering around and stumbled upon this place. I think it's hidden so that way if you come out here you can have some privacy."

"I knew as soon as I found it that I wanted to take you here. I had a feeling you would like it. Am I right?" he wondered looking down at me.

"Yes you are," I smiled. My smile made Leo smile. He really was pretty. Some boys might take that the wrong way but it was the truth. His face was pretty when he smiled. It was a fact. If you asked me to explain why I wouldn't be able to. It just is.

Some things don't need explanations.

"Come here I want to show you something else," he said. When we got closer I peered into the fountain. There was a bunch of water lilies floating on top of the water. They looked beautiful, just liked the rest of the garden.

At the bottom of the fountain there was coins. All different kinds. Quarters, pennies, dimes, and nickels.

"I asked one of the nurses about this place when I got back inside and she said there is a special meaning behind this place. She said when this hospital was first built, the CEO's wife, her name was Mary, was very sick and couldn't be at home any more. She had to stay at the hospital."

"She loved looking at flowers so he had them build this garden. She came out here all the time. Looked at the flowers, thought about life, and prayed that she would get better. One day she wished that she would get better and flipped a coin into the water. The next day, she was perfectly healthy. None of the doctors could explain it."

"They said it was a miracle. Well, ever since then kids come out here and make a wish and some even pray to her. Sometimes they get better sometimes they don't. It gives the people hope and hope is the best medicine."

That was a heartwarming story. Because of one lady, so many people have held onto their hope. It's amazing.

Hope is an amazing thing. Sometimes it's the only thing people have left to cling on to. Just a little bit of hope can go a long way.

Leo dug something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a quarter. "Thanks," I told him. He nodded his head in response and sat down on one of the benches a couple feet away.

I clasped my hands around the coin in a praying position and closed my eyes.

Dear Mary, please protect my family. Including my mother. I love them. They are my whole life. Even if my mother hurt me, it's time to get over it. I don't want my dream to come true.

Also, protect Leo. He's been through so much and so has Via. They deserve the world. I wish to have happiness and love until the day I die.

Thank you and I hope whoever is lost in the world finds their place.

Everyone has a place.

The coin made a splashing sound as I threw it into the fountain.

I pushed myself over to where Leo was sitting. "I'm done making my wish. Thank you for bringing me down here. I feel better already."

---

We stayed in the garden for another hour before we went back inside. When we got back, I was half expecting my mother to be there since it's been an hour already.

Via was outside my room talking to one of the patients about god knows what. "Via come one," I nudged her. "Stop bothering the other patients."

"I'm not bothering anybody. Am I bothering you?" Her question was directed at the person in front of her. He looked to be our age. "No she's not. I love her company," the person responded.

Leo grabbed her and dragged her back into the room with us. My father was sitting in a chair looking out the window.

"Where's mom? Shouldn't she be here now?" I asked him. "She's probably just stuck in traffic or something," my father replied. Probably.

While we waited for my mother to come, we played Uno to pass the time.

Via went home while Leo and I were out and brought back some clothes for me and some games in case I got bored lying in the hospital. Thank god for her. I get bored so easily, especially in hospitals.

"HA! UNO!" Leo screamed as he laid his second to last card down. I looked over and saw that he only had a blue 2 left. Via and me made eye contact with my father and wiggled our eyebrows. "Not so fast dear brother," Via replied. She laid down a red draw 2, followed by my father laying down another draw 2, and ended with me laying down the final draw 2.

"Come on!" Leo exclaimed. "You can't let me win just once?" he whined. "Nope," I replied, popping the 'p'. It continued on like this until eventually my father won.

"Suck it losers. You'll never be able to beat me." I rolled my eyes at my dad. Why was he so immature? It wasn't right that a grown man was making fun of teenagers.

Suddenly, my fathers phone rang. It was my mother. "You are walking in now? Okay. We are all in the room waiting for you."'

I looked at the window for my mom. My room faced the front of the hospital so I had a view of the parking lot and anyone who was walking in the hospital. I saw my mother getting out of her car across the street.

She put her phone and keys in her purse and headed towards the hospital. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, white blouse, and black blazer. She looked like she just came from work.

Her foot stepped out into the street and then she was gone.

-----

What happened to her mother? Will she be okay? When will Leo and Athena finally talk about their feelings?

Sorry that this chapter is shorter than normal. I felt if I tried to write more at the end it wouldn't be good. I hoped you guys liked this chapter. Share this story with your friends and anybody you know who uses Wattpad. I want to get more views on this story.

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