Careless
Summary: If he'd have known what his actions would've caused, Shane would've never had Neela help him prove what Jack had done. He also never would've thought, that he would ever understand Jack.
A/N: This is based off of a spoiler that said something about how Todd warns Neela, that she won't get away with/will pay for what she did to his son. I'm probably really wrong about what happens. He could easily, just somehow get Neela and her brother, and Rama to leave town. But...the plot bunny bit, after seeing today's episode.
A/N 2: There is sort of hints of a possible Shane/Jack friendship, in this.
ONESHOT!
"Hi, grandma." Shane Morasco said as he walked into her salon. His parents had went on a date, wanting to reconnect, after being apart for so long. Instead of spending all day in the big, empty house, he'd decided to come here to see Roxy. There was no way that you could be around her, and be bored. She was quite the colorful character, and so full of life, that you would swear that she was twenty.
"Hey, Short Stuff!" She greeted brazenly, turning away from the woman who's hair she was working on. She gave him a grin. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I just wanted to get out of the house, for awhile.
Roxy nodded, pointing to a chair with the pink comb, in her hand, gesturing for him to take a seat. She then turned back to her customer. "So, how did you want your hair, again?"
The woman opened her mouth to explain, only to be cut off by a devastated scream, in the back room.
"What in the world, was that?" She cried out, sounding completely startled. She pressed her hand against her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart.
Roxy let out a nervous, yet worried laugh. "Uh...sit tight, Mel. I'll be back in a sec!" She told the brunette, patting her on the shoulder. She reached out, gripping her grandson's arm, a little too tightly, and pulling him with her.
Shane and Roxy's eyes widened, when they caught sight of Rama, in a crouching position on the floor, her cellphone next to her. Her hands were pressed together, as if in prayer. When they looked closer, they could see the tell tell signs of tears, streaking down her cheeks.
"What happened?" Roxy questioned, wondering what had caused her employee to completely break down, like this.
Rama glance up, her dark eyes glossy and sad. "It's Neela. She's in the hospital. She was hurt really bad." She choked out, standing shakily to her feet. "I need to be there with Vimal. Please, Roxy, can I take off? My friend, Aubrey is coming to pick me up."
The older woman nodded, frowning a little bit. "Sure thing, honey. Make sure to call me, and tell me how she's doin', okay? She seemed like such a sweet kid, when I met her."
Rama smiled gratefully, reaching out to hug Roxy, murmuring a 'thank you', in her ear, before she hurried off.
"Roxy?" The woman in the front room, called out, curiously.
"I better go. Wouldn't want Melanie, to have a heart attack." Roxy told her grandson, reaching up to smooth his hair away from his face. "Cheer up, kid. I'm sure your friend wil be fine."
It was only after she'd left the room, that Shane let out the breath that he'd been holding. He turned so that his back was against the wall, leaning his head back, and squeezing his eyes shut. If anything happened to Neela, it was his fault. When he'd got her to get Jack to confess, he hadn't been thinking about her safety. He'd been too wrapped up in wanting to get justice, for his mom. His mom who wasn't even dead, like he' assumed she was, for months. He couldn't help but wonder, how he could've been so stupid. He'd known full well, that Todd Manning was dangerous. Why hadn't it crossed his mind, that the man might want to exact revenge, for his kid?
0000
Shane chewed his bottom lip as his hand that held the bright, yellow and orange flowers, shook. He just stared at the wooden door, completely frozen. He had no idea of how to approach this situation. What her brother was in here? How could he look that man in the eye, after what his actions had caused? Steeling himself, he murmured a short prayer, before pushing the door open.
His breath caught in his throat, as soon as he saw, her. She looked paler than he'd ever seen her, causing the bruisers on her arms and face, to stand out. Her dark hair was spread out upon her pillow, as she lay completely still. His eyes flickerd up her body, seeing the many wires connected to her. There was even a breathing tube in her mouth. He felt as if he was going to vomit. It was disgusting, seeing her in a place like this. She'd been so...alive, the last time he'd set his eyes on her. He'd been so happy for her help, that on a whim, he'd invited her and her family, to dinner at his house. Of course, he had still, not discovered that his mother was alive. How much of a difference, just a couple of days made.
"So, I guess you're here, to see the damage that you caused." A voice said coldly, from the doorway.
Shane whirled around, eyes widening in shock, when he saw Jack standing there.
"Don't worry. It's not like I could hurt you, even if I wanted to. My mom has Starr, basically babysitting me. And I don't really feel like going back to jail." The darker haired boy, told him coolly, walking into the room. He took a seat in one of the chairs, across from the bed. "You know, I don't blame you, for wanting to see me punished. But, why did you need to bring Neela into this whole mess?"
The other boy let out a bitter laugh. "I didn't think about it! I just knew, that I thought that my mom was dead, because of you. I knew you'd never confess, on your own. So I had to use Neela. It was a mistake."
Jack snorted and rolled his eyes upward. "Obviously." He snarled, rudely. His hand reached out to take Neela's. "So, I see you got her flowers."
Shane nodded, walking hesitantly, closer to the bed. "I thought that it would help her, get better."
"I didn't even thnk about that." Jack answered, sounding regretful. "I just wanted to get here, as soon as I heard."
"Where are Neela's brother and Rama?" Shane inquired, looking around the room, in confusion. He spotted a red wool jacket, on another chair.
The other boy shrugged, not moving from his spot, or looking at Shane. "I guess they went to the cafeteria. I waited for them to leave, before I snuck in here. I didn't think that they'd be too happy, to see me."
Shane nodded in understanding, moving to place the flowers he'd gotten for Neela, on the stand, beside of the bed. "Why did you tell her what you did, anyway?" He asked curiously. Of course, he'd been hoping that Jack would confess, when he'd given Neela that tape recorder. But he still wondered about the other boy's reasoning.
Jack smiled a little, his eyes going soft, as he gazed almost adoringly at the girl currently lying in the hospital bed. "I don't know. I guess, because she liked me. My friends always liked me, because I was rich. Or they were nice, because they were scare of me. Neela wasn't like that. From the moment we met, she seemed to only see the best of me. When I started having feeling for her, I wanted to tell her, because I trusted her and I didn't want there to be secrets, between us. I didn't want her to find out from someone else."
Shane swallowed hard, as he took a seat beside of Jack. "You must really like her." He murmured, glancing at the boy, out of the corner of his eye.
Jack grinned, letting out a small laugh. "I do." He whispered. Then, he turned his head to look at his enemy. "Look, I'm sorry. For everything that I've ever done to you. I was a jerk. You never even did anything to me, and you didn't deserve it."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you treat me, the way that you did?" Shane asked, hoping that Jack wouldn't become mad.
The boy in question shrugged his shoulders. "I've always been compared to mother. To Victor and to Todd. People always seemed to think the worst of me. And since I was a kid, people have told me how much I'm like them. I guess I eventually got tired of it, and decided to be exactly who everyone, thought I was." He answered.
Shane swallowed hard, turning his attention back to the girl in the bed. They didn't speak anymore, after that. For once, they weren't arguing or trying to get back at eachother. It took something as horrible as this, for them to finally come to an understanding.
The End