Is he....?

**Sebastian’s POV**

The mission had been a success, but the tension was still thick in the air as we made our way back to the mansion. The silence inside the van was heavy, everyone lost in their thoughts. I could feel the fatigue settling into my bones, but there was no room for weakness now. We still had to get home, and that meant staying alert.

As we drove along the winding road, the sky began to darken, the sun dipping below the horizon. The road was empty, just a long stretch of asphalt cutting through the dense forest. I kept my eyes on the road, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. The adrenaline from the mission was starting to wear off, replaced by a deep exhaustion.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, headlights appeared in the distance, coming from the opposite lane. A large truck was barreling down the road, its speed far too fast for the narrow curves. My instincts kicked in, and I swerved to avoid it, but the truck still managed to clip the rear of the van. The impact was jarring, the force of it sending the van spinning out of control.

"Hold on!" I shouted, trying to regain control of the vehicle, but it was too late. The van spun wildly, the world outside becoming a blur of colors and motion. I could hear the others shouting, but their voices were distant, muffled by the screeching of tires and the grinding of metal against asphalt.

The van finally came to a stop, slamming into the guardrail with a sickening crunch. The impact threw me forward, my head slamming into the steering wheel with brutal force. Pain exploded in my skull, and the world went dark as I lost consciousness.

The last thing I remembered was the sound of glass shattering, the taste of blood in my mouth, and the thought that I had failed to protect my crew.


**Ariella’s POV**

I woke up that morning with a sense of unease that I couldn’t quite shake. It had been two days since Raven and I had talked about the upcoming mission, and the mansion had been buzzing with activity ever since. Everyone was on edge, preparing for whatever was to come. But now that the mission was over, I hoped things would finally calm down.

After finishing my morning chores, I joined Sofia in the common room. We sat together, chatting casually about everything and nothing. It was a rare moment of peace, and I tried to savor it, but something in the back of my mind kept gnawing at me. I couldn’t stop thinking about Sebastian and the others. They were supposed to be back by now.

"Do you think they’re okay?" I asked Sofia, trying to keep my voice light, but the worry slipped through anyway.

Sofia gave me a reassuring smile. "They’re fine, Ariella. They’ve done this a hundred times before. Besides, Sebastian knows what he’s doing. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them."

I nodded, but the unease didn’t go away. We continued talking, trying to distract ourselves from the tension that hung in the air. But then, a knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

One of the girls, Maria, got up to answer it. As she opened the door, I saw her expression change from curiosity to shock. She quickly stepped aside, and Raven walked in, her face ashen and serious.

The room fell silent, everyone’s eyes on Raven. My heart began to race, a cold knot of fear tightening in my chest. Raven never came to our quarters unless something was wrong.

"Ariella," Raven said, her voice steady but grim. "I need to talk to you."

I felt a lump form in my throat as I got up and followed her into the hallway. My legs felt like lead, and my heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. Raven stopped and turned to face me, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite place—was it pity? Fear?

"What happened?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. My hands were shaking, and I clenched them into fists to steady myself.

Raven took a deep breath before she spoke. "There was an accident on the way back. Sebastian’s van was hit by a truck. They managed to avoid a direct collision, but the impact was bad. They spun out of control and crashed."

Her words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I felt my knees go weak, and I had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing. The world around me seemed to blur, the sound of my own heartbeat drowning out everything else.

"Is he..." I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence. The thought of Sebastian being gone, of never seeing him again, was too much to bear.

"He’s alive," Raven said quickly, sensing where my mind was going. "But he’s not responsive to the medication they’ve given him. He’s unconscious, and the doctors don’t know when he’ll wake up."

Relief washed over me, but it was quickly followed by a wave of fear. He was alive, but for how long? The image of him lying there, helpless, vulnerable, made my chest tighten with a pain I couldn’t describe.

"I need to see him," I said, my voice trembling.

Raven nodded. "I’ll take you to his room."

We walked in silence, the hallway feeling longer than it ever had before. My mind was racing, a thousand thoughts swirling in my head. What if he didn’t wake up? What if he never opened his eyes again? I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, not now, not when I had finally started to understand how much he meant to me.

We reached his room, and Raven pushed the door open. I hesitated for a moment before stepping inside. The sight that greeted me made my heart sink.

Sebastian lay on the bed, his body covered in bandages. His head was wrapped, a deep cut visible above his brow where the blood had already dried. His face was pale, almost lifeless, and there was an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room, a constant reminder that he was still with us.

But it didn’t feel real. Seeing him like this, so still, so fragile, it didn’t seem like the Sebastian I knew. He was always so strong, so in control. But now... now he looked like he could slip away at any moment, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I walked over to the bed, my legs trembling with each step. I wanted to reach out, to touch him, to feel the warmth of his skin, but I was afraid. Afraid that if I did, I would lose what little composure I had left. My heart ached with a grief that felt too heavy to carry, and I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down my cheeks.

"Sebastian," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please, you have to wake up. You can’t leave us, you can’t leave me."

But he didn’t move. He didn’t respond. He just lay there, lost in whatever darkness had claimed him.

I sank into the chair beside the bed, my head in my hands, trying to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape. The room felt cold, empty, like all the warmth had been sucked out of it. I was overwhelmed with helplessness, knowing that there was nothing I could do to bring him back.

Raven stood by the door, giving me space but also watching over me, making sure I was okay. I was grateful for her presence, but it didn’t make the pain any easier to bear.

As I sat there, staring at Sebastian’s still form, I realized just how much I had come to care for him. He had been cruel to me, yes, but he had also shown me glimpses of kindness, of vulnerability. And now, seeing him like this, I knew that I couldn’t imagine a world without him in it.

I stayed by his side for what felt like hours, hoping, praying that he would wake up. But as the minutes ticked by and the night grew darker, my hope began to wane.

All I could do was sit there, watching over him, my heart breaking a little more with each passing moment.