"You're awake," said a familiar voice. "I brought you Tyler's hangover remedy – kale, pickle juice, French salted butter and ginger."

I groaned and turned to see Reid. He was leaning against the door frame of the bedroom that I must've been delivered to after passing out in the early hours of the morning.

He gestured for me to take the glass and I did, taking a sip. It tasted overwhelmingly like ginger, which made my eyes water. Quickly, I downed the rest of the concoction and Reid almost laughed at my expression of disgust.

"Feeling better?"

I blinked and frowned. "A little, actually."

"Good." There was a pause and Reid seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. "You know, I admire the people who take the time to make grand, romantic gestures. I don't think it can ever be me - but I do admire them."

I swung my legs out of bed, wondering where this was going. "Right."

"This girl wrote me a love letter every day from third grade onwards," he continued. "She mailed them all to me last week along with rose petals frozen in ice, asking me to prom. My brother, Will, accidentally let them melt in the foyer. It took hours to clean up."

"Okay," I said slowly, uncertain.

"Sorry." He sighed, cursing under his breath and I raised an eyebrow in confusion. He looked at me for a moment and then changed course. "I - will you go to prom with me?"

For a moment, I considered asking him to repeat himself but saw Reid grimace and knew I heard him correctly. It took a few seconds for the words to register in my brain and as it did, a giddy disbelief took over me. Seeing the heat rise to my cheeks, Reid quickly regained his cocky demeanour. Even so, he looked like he was holding back a smile.

Reid Castellan, a member of America's royalty, had just asked me to prom.

"Any day now, Lex. The offer will expire..."

"Okay," I said quickly before I could dwell on it further. "I'll go to prom with you."

This time he did smile and nodded before backing out of the room and closing the door.

Once his footsteps faded and I heard Tyler's distant shouting, I placed my head in my hands and laughed incredulously. I wasn't sure how long I sat there, on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom of the rented apartment, not quite believing life as it was.

The world must be ending because I was going to prom with Reid.

"There she is!" Tyler paused halfway through his argument with Dennis about the vomit on the Persian rug, grinning broadly when I walked into the room. "Happy birthday!"

There was a bang as Dennis tried to get up too quickly and hit his head on the table. He had been sweeping up the broken glass with a dustpan and Tyler chortled with glee.

"Fuck," Dennis groaned, massaging the back of his head. "Happy birthday, Lex. And can someone tell Reid that his phone is going off like crazy? It's in the cake."

"Why didn't you say so?" Reid stalked out from the bathroom and dumped an unconscious Jarred onto the floor. "I've been looking everywhere."

Dennis plucked the phone out of the frosting. "Incoming call from Kade."

Reid sighed, walking over and answering it. "Hey, what do you –?"

He fell silent, the colour draining away from his face. There were a few beats of silence, where Tyler and Dennis looked at each other with worry and Reid's expression made my heart grow cold.

"I'll be there soon," Reid breathed.

"What happened?" Tyler grabbed the phone from him. "Kade?"

Reid leaned against the countertop, head dipped as he tried to pull himself together. I felt slightly sick because suddenly, I recognized that look. The shattered look in his eyes was the only way to fully describe how I felt on this very same day, three years ago.

"It's Savannah – she's gone."

-

When we arrived at the hospital, there was a swarm of paparazzi and news reporters waiting outside for the official prognosis on the death of Savannah Castellan.

They closed in on Reid like predators but bodyguards were able to successfully escort us inside. Tyler did end up attacking a particularly nosy journalist and Jarred was almost swallowed by the crowd but Dennis grabbed both of them and dragged them inside.

Valentina was already there and spotted her son immediately. She moved forward but when Reid flinched, she frowned and her gaze turned to the rest of us. All of the Castellan clan were present except for the two youngest. There was another man that I didn't recognise but assumed was Blair's husband.

Lee was staring out the window, stoic as Kade furiously rubbed his puffy eyes and Blair was openly sobbing into a wad of tissues. Lee turned his unnerving gaze to me, then Kayley whom he didn't recognise. Dennis was the only one brave enough to approach him and out of the corner of my eye, Jarred and Kayley sat down on either side of Kade.

"Pulmonary complications," said Blair quietly, wiping her tears. "They suspected pneumonia or some sort of lung infection from the coma."

Valentina sighed, murmuring something to James, who was standing behind her. All seriousness now, James nodded curtly and left the room.

Despite losing her daughter only an hour ago, Valentina still looked as beautiful and composed as always, in her nude Burberry coat and red-soled Louboutin heels. There wasn't a single hair on her head out of place.

Demetrius Castellan walked into the room, zeroing in on Reid first before acknowledging there were other newcomers too. His eyes narrowed when they landed on me but unlike the rest of our friends who avoided looking at him altogether, I met his gaze evenly.

"Reid," said Demetrius stonily. "I was beginning to question your integrity."

Reid's knuckles were white, nails digging into his palms. "Really? After you shunned your own daughter for years, Savannah's death is only convenient for you."

"You would start a fight even before your sister's body has gone cold?"

"Shut up, both of you!" Lee burst out, unforgiving gaze rounding on his father and brother and Reid recoiled in shock. "I am so fucking sick of this. See you all at the funeral."

"Lee!" Valentina patronised, aghast. "That is disrespectful!"

He shoved past with a bitter laugh and Demetrius nodded at Valentina to let him go. After exchanging glances, it was Jarred and Tyler who went after him.

The look that Reid levelled at his father was terrifying, to say the least, but he sat some distance away, leaning his elbows on his knees. I ignored Valentina's deadly glare and joined him, knowing the worst thing was to feel alone in a room full of family and friends. At this stage, Reid was a ticking time bomb but I was used to it by now.

"She was the first person I told when I lost my virginity," Reid said quietly and then laughed a little. "I was thirteen and I was freaking out. She was less than a year older than me - we're Irish twins - so she didn't have any good advice but we panicked together for hours."

I leaned over and squeezed his hand. "I know it doesn't feel real."

"What will I do when it does?" Reid queried, fixated on the gleaming hospital floor. "Because right now, Lex, I'm so angry that I can't fucking breathe."

"Do you want the honest answer?"

"You know I do."

I pulled out of his tight grip, clasping my hands in my lap. "You'll think of the good memories, years and years of them until it drains you empty. Then you continue on with your life, using other things to fill the void."

He looked at me then, tortured green eyes full of hurt and rage and something a little more sinister. I thought there was also a glimmer of tears perhaps but he blinked and it was gone.

"Sometimes you'll fill the void with drugs and alcohol or self-deprecation." The words came out a little wobbly but he didn't seem to notice. "Other times, you'll find a purpose. I hope you'll find yours, Reid. Because you helped me find mine."

He let out a long breath. "You give me too much credit."

"You don't give yourself enough."

To my surprise, his expression cleared and he caught himself just as he was about to say something. He never got the words out but that was when I knew Reid would survive.

The Castellan family, along with Dennis, Kayley and I sat in silence for quite some time. It could've been minutes or hours that passed but they were all too swept up in their own grief to notice. Eventually, I squeezed Reid's hand one last time and let go, ready to take my leave. The look on his face had changed to one of quiet composure.

I left the waiting room with Dennis a few steps behind me and Kayley finally letting herself burst into tears after we were safely inside the elevator. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders but when the elevator doors opened, we all went our separate ways.

The second I set foot outside the hospital doors, the paparazzi closed in.

"What is your relationship with Reid Castellan?"

"Can you give a statement on behalf of the Castellan family?"

"Was Savannah Castellan's accident staged?"

I halted, taking in the bright lights, camera flashes and microphones that were shoved in my face. I felt the world closing in around me as mayhem broke out, but a strong hand gripped my arm and pulled me through the crowd. I was helped inside a cab, my heart racing.

Valentina smoothed the hair away from my face. "Take care, Alexa."

-

A/N:

As always, thank you for reading,
Sophie xx