NOTE: I do not own any of these characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com or post a review.
(P.s. thanks for the reviews!)
Chapter Seven
"Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt…"
Wonderwall-Oasis
Seth, Luke, and Summer all headed back to the waiting room and sat down in the empty chairs.
"I'm going to give Marissa a call." Summer said, pulling out her cell phone and walking away from Seth and Luke.
She dialed Marissa's number. "Hey Coop!" Summer said, as soon as she recognized Marissa's voice. "How are you?"
"Fine. How's Ryan?" Marissa asked, cradling the phone on her shoulder.
"He's going back into surgery…I'm at the hospital now. Why don't you come on down? I'm sure he wants to see you."
"Well…I don't know. Everything is weird, Summer…I mean, Oliver shot himself and…"
"Coop, come on, don't leave me alone with Seth and Luke!"
"Luke's there?" Marissa asked. She was a little surprised.
"Yeah, for moral support! Like you should be doing right now!" Summer urged. "You can't just sit there at home…you need to be around you're friends."
"Ryan's mad at me…I think. I don't think I should be there." Marissa said.
"Okay, whatever Coop…Do what you want. I give up." Summer said, flipping her cell phone off. She walked back into the waiting room. Kirsten and Sandy were in the room now.
"He just went in…should be no more than three hours. Why don't you kids go home? I'm sure Ryan would want that." Sandy said, pulling out his cell phone and checking the caller id list. His office had been calling him all day.
"No, Dad…We promised Ryan that we would stick around." Seth said.
"Fine." Sandy gave up and sat down next to Kirsten.
Seth turned to Summer, "How is Marissa doing?"
"It's hard to tell…She thinks Ryan's mad at her." Summer explained. "She didn't want to come down. Hey, do you want to come with me to go get something to drink?" Summer asked Seth.
"Um, sure…You want anything Luke? Mom, dad?" Seth asked.
They all shook their heads and Summer and Seth walked down the hallway to the vending machine.
Seth put some coins in the machine. "What do you want?"
"Mountain Dew." Summer replied
"You read my mind."
Summer laughed and Seth gave her a serious look and handed her a mountain dew. "Cheers." He said lifting the can up and taking a sip.
"Oh god…" Summer mumbled to herself and laughed. She was in love with Seth. Everything he did, she loved about him. "Cohen, why don't we go do something…it's going to be a long wait."
"Um, sure. What about Luke, should I go get him?" Seth asked, gulping down more Mountain Dew.
"No, just us. Come on, lets go!" Summer said, dragging him by his shirt.
Just as they stepped outside, Anna was walking up the steps to the hospital. Seth hadn't talked to her since she had dumped him yesterday. He felt weird around both Summer and Anna at the same time.
"Anna…" Seth went on.
"I came to see Ryan. I heard what happened at school today. How is he?" Anna asked.
"He's in surgery right now…They're trying to give him use of his arm. He has nerve damage." Seth said, trying to make Anna jealous by throwing his arm over Summer's shoulder.
"Oh—well I guess I'll—" Summer cut her off.
"The Cohen's and Luke are in the waiting room." Summer added.
"Well, I'll go see them, then. Bye." Anna said, as she continued up the steps to the hospital. She was a little overwhelmed that Seth had his arm around Summer's shoulder. She thought for sure that Seth wasn't into Summer anymore.
Summer pulled away from Seth. "You just didn't do what I think you just did, Cohen. Did you?"
"What are you talking about, Summer?" Seth asked, he knew what she was talking about but didn't want to admit it.
"You were trying to make her jealous! And with me…"
"Can't argue there." Seth said, throwing a smile. "So where are we off to?"
"Well…I thought maybe we could go see Marissa. I want to see if she's really okay. Then I thought that maybe we could go back to your house." Summer said, adding in a little hint.
"My house, huh?" Seth said. "Do you and Captain Oats have something going on that I don't know about? Cause if you do, I think I have the right to know."
Summer laughed. "Whatever, Cohen. Let's go."
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Anna walked into the hospital and a receptionist guided her to the waiting room where the Cohen's and Luke were waiting. She went up to the Cohen's first.
"Anna! What a surprise!" Sandy said.
"Hi, Mr. Cohen! I just came to check on Ryan, but Seth just told me that he just went into surgery."
"Yeah, he just went in…Should be out by five o'clock."
"Oh, okay, well…I hope he gets better and tell him I dropped by."
"Will do." Sandy replied and Anna walked away and took a seat next to Luke.
"Hey Luke, I heard what happened to you guys at Oliver's place. It's all around school. How are you?"
"Oh me? I'm good. Ryan's the one…Well, he's the one in surgery right now. Not me." Luke said.
Anna slouched in the seat and put her purse on her lap and turned to Luke. "Is Seth going out with Summer?"
"I think so." Luke replied. "Why you asking?"
"No, reason…Well, I just saw them flirting with each other when I came in…and I was a little surprised. He's definitely on the rebound, if you ask me." Anna said. "How can he like Summer, anyway? They are total opposite of each other and—" Anna was cut off by the yelling in the room.
"Kirsten, this has nothing to do with you!" Sandy yelled. "Don't do this to yourself." Sandy said, lowering his voice.
Anna and Luke looked at each other.
"I think we should let them be alone." Luke said to Anna. "Want to get out of here?"
"Good idea." Anna said.
Luke and Anna left the waiting room and headed outside.
Meanwhile in the waiting room Sandy was still up from his seat, pacing the room back and forth.
"He's in there because of me, Sandy." Kirsten whispered. "This is all my fault. I should have never let him go out!" She shook her head. "God, what was I thinking? Now look what he is going through. It's all my fault." Kirsten said, burrowing in a wet tissue.
Sandy stopped pacing and knelt down beside his wife. "This is no one's fault. You have to understand that, Kirsten." Sandy looked up at the clock. "Why don't we go grab a cup of coffee?"
Kirsten shook her head. "No thanks. I just want to sit here…You can go."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Sandy said and walked away.
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"So, are we like girlfriend and boyfriend now?" Seth asked, keeping his eyes on the road. They were on their way to Marissa's house.
Summer sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window. She smiled to herself before she spoke. "Cohen, this music is really annoying me." She flipped off the CD player and looked at him. "Do you still like Anna?"
"Uh, no, Summer…I don't. That is why I broke up with her to be with you…Not to be by myself." Seth took his eyes off the road. "So how about it? Are we girlfriend and boyfriend?"
"Cohen, eyes on the road! I want to make it to Coop's house alive!" Summer said, turning the music back on. Death Cab filled the SUV and Summer shifted her body and faced Seth. "Okay."
"Okay?" Seth said, with a smile.
"Yes…I'm your girlfriend now…Now let's hurry up and get to Coop's." Summer shifted back in her seat and starred out the window. "What is this song called?"
"Blacking out with Friction…Hey it kind of reminds me of someone I know." Seth said smiling.
Summer shot him a glare. "I like it…" Summer smiled at him and went back to the scenery of her window.
Seth pulled up to Marissa's house and Summer ran out of the SUV and knocked on the door. Seth followed her inside when Marissa opened the door.
"Hey…I didn't know you were coming." Marissa said, returning the hug Summer had given her.
"I didn't want you to be alone." Summer said. She could tell that Marissa was sick. Her face was pale and it looked like she hadn't eaten anything all day. "You don't look so good…Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Marissa assured her. "How's Ryan?" Marissa asked, turning to Seth who felt a little out of place.
Seth shrugged. "Good, I guess…I mean, he is in surgery."
Marissa nodded and sat down on the couch. Summer followed her and sat down next to her. "Hey, want to come over to Seth's place? We were just going to hang…You can come too." Summer said.
Seth was shaking his head violently at Summer. He wanted to be alone with Summer at his house, with no interruptions. "You know what," Seth looked at his watch. "I think we should go back to the hospital. Incase, Ryan gets out early…you know, we should be there for him as soon as he gets out." Seth said. He didn't want to be stuck with Summer and Marissa chatting, especially if they were going to talk about Ryan.
"Seth, don't be a hooligan!" Summer spat out at him and motioned for him to sit next to Marissa on the couch. "Marissa needs friends right now, and we are her friends!"
"Hooligan?" Seth laughed. "How am I a hooligan? And who uses the word hooligan?" Seth said, taking a seat next to Marissa.
Summer ignored Seth and took a hold of Marissa's hand. "How are you? Seriously Coop, you look like crap."
"Uh, that was nice of you, Summer." Seth said, rolling his eyes.
"Cohen, be a friend and go make her something to eat." Summer said. Seth got up and went into the kitchen to make her a sandwich.
Marissa started to cry. "I can't believe he's dead, Summer. I was just over at his house, and now he's gone! This is too weird…And Ryan must hate me."
"No, Coop, he doesn't. You have to go talk to him." Summer said.
"Why did he go over to Oliver's place with Luke? What were they thinking of? Ryan was just suspended for fighting him and Luke hated him too. They meant for Oliver to be unhappy and kill himself…Just like he did." She wiped away her tears. "I can't even go to Oliver's funeral!"
"Why not, Coop?"
"Cause I just found out it's being held in Paris! That's where his parents are, and they don't want me there."
"Why wouldn't they want you there? You were his friend."
"They think I had something to do with his suicide. They told me that he liked me and that I caused him to go off and kill himself." Marissa said.
Seth walked into the living room and gave Marissa a turkey sandwich. "Should I, um, go?" Seth asked. He was a little uncomfortable being around girls, especially one's that cried.
Both girls ignored Seth. "You had nothing to do with Oliver's suicide! He did it himself, Coop. And once we find Ryan's tape recorder…" Seth shook his head at Summer. "…we will prove to you how messed up he was. It wasn't your fault."
"What tape recorder? What are you talking about?" Marissa asked.
"Nothing, Marissa. Summer, I think we should go." Seth spat out, taking his car keys out from his pocket.
"What aren't you guys telling me?" Marissa demanded.
"Ryan went there to prove to you that Oliver is crazy. And in doing that, he brought a tape recorder along with him. He just wanted you and everyone else in Newport to trust him."
Marissa started to cry again. "Oh my God, I don't know what to think anymore…"
"Don't think anything, Coop. You don't have—" Summer's cell phone rang from her purse. She let out a growl of frustration and rummaged through her purse looking for the cell phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Luke. Where are you?"
"I'm at Marissa's with Seth." Summer heard Anna's voice in the background. "Is Anna with you?" Summer asked, Seth looked up from the ground and starred at Summer.
"Yeah, we're on the road. I was heading over to…Well, I really don't know where exactly. We were just bored and wanted to get out of the hospital."
"Well, why don't you come over here?" She looked at Marissa and could tell she didn't want anymore visitors. "I'm sure Coop would love to see some more faces!"
"Okay, we'll be there in five. Bye." Luke said, then turned off his cell.
"Summer! I don't want Luke over here and I think you two should leave too." Marissa said.
"No, I'm staying. We need to get out minds off Oliver. Plus, we have two hours to spare until we go back to the hospital to check up on Ryan. And you are coming with us, whether you like it or not. You need to talk to him." Summer insisted.
Marissa didn't complain.
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Seth let out a sigh. "There's nothing on TV."
"That's because we're not here to watch TV, Cohen." Summer said, just then the doorbell rang. "Be a gentleman and get the door." Seth got up and opened the door for Luke and Anna.
"Hey, nice of you guys to drop by." Seth said, sarcastically. Luke and Anna went into the living room with Seth trailing behind them, making faces. Summer laughed out loud and Anna turned her head and shot Seth a look.
"Hey, Marissa."
"Hey, Luke…Hey Anna." Marissa gave them both a smile. She turned to Summer. "Can we just watch a movie or something? I really don't feel like talking anymore about Oliver or Ryan."
"Fine." Summer gave up on trying to get Marissa talk. "What movie do you want to watch, Coop?"
"Notting Hill? I love Hugh Grant!" Marissa said, both Seth and Luke rolled their eyes.
"Oh my God, I love him too! I loved him in Bridget Jones Diary!" Anna squealed.
"Oh, I love that movie! Do you have it, Coop?" Summer asked.
"Yeah, I think so. Let's watch that then." Marissa said, searching her bookcase for the movie.
Seth sighed. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"Hey, don't you have Scarface, Marissa? Let's watch that." Luke asked.
"Actually, why don't we watch the Caddyshack…I love that movie!" Seth added, "Hey, everybody, we're all gonna get laid!" Seth laughed to himself. "I love that line."
Everyone looked at Seth.
"Right…Anyway, I hate both of those movies." Summer said. "Why don't you boys go make us some popcorn?"
Both Luke and Ryan rolled their eyes and went into the kitchen.
"This is torture!" Luke complained to Seth, who was rummaging in the cupboards looking for popcorn.
"Torture? This is more than torture!" Seth whispered to Luke, making sure the girls wouldn't hear him. "And hour ago Summer and I were supposed to go over to my house alone. Now look where I am! I'm watching a movie with both Summer and Anna. Oh and can't forget Marissa, of course."
"Are you going out with Summer?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, we finally decided that we were boyfriend and girlfriend today."
Luke laughed. "Dude, that's awesome. So you and Anna are done for sure?" Luke asked.
"Uh, yeah." Seth gave Luke a look. "You aren't interested in her are you? She's not even your type."
"Hey, how do you know my type, Cohen." Luke shot back.
"Well I know Anna's type, and it's not you." Seth pulled out the popcorn. "Found it." Seth threw it in the microwave and both boys stood there in silence listening to the popping of the corn.
Seth finally spoke. "This has got to be the weirdest day of my life."
"How's that?" Luke asked.
"I wake up and I find out that I'm home alone, but it turns out Ryan is actually in the hospital. Oliver is dead, then Summer and I decide we are together and now…Dude, you want to go out with my ex-girlfriend!"
"I never said that, I was just thinking about it."
"Okay, whatever, Dude." Seth said.
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Sandy and Kirsten sat quietly in the waiting room; both were deep in their thoughts. Kirsten was still blaming herself for what happened to Ryan. No matter what Sandy told her she still believed that it was her fault. She was never very fond of Ryan when he first showed up at her house, but now she can see what Sandy first saw in him. Ryan was still a boy inside and he needed a family to love him and take care of him. And that is exactly what Kirsten is going to do.
Sandy, on the other hand, was thinking about Ryan's mother. He knew he didn't want to get in contact with her, but he also knew Dawn had the right to know that her son was injured. Sandy promised himself that as soon as Ryan wakes up he is going to ask him if he wants his mother.
Dr. Shorans walked into the waiting room and both Kirsten and Sandy came out of their daze. "Good news, the surgery went well, as suspected, and Ryan is back in his room. He should be waking up shortly."
"Can we see him?" Kirsten asked.
"Yes, of course." The doctor walked Kirsten and Sandy to Room 27. "We are giving him some pain medications that are going to make him sleepy for a couple of days. He should be fine within a week."
"When is he going to be able to regain the use of his arm?" Kirsten asked. She already knew the answer but wanted to make sure she was wrong.
"Well, we'll see how the nerve does in his arm. His body could reject the nerve. If all goes well, then within weeks he should be feeling a tingling sensation in his arm and soon enough, he will feel his arm as a whole. He's also going to have to come back here every month or so and take some tests to see how the nerve is working." Dr. Shorans said.
"What about therapy?" Sandy asked.
"He's going to have to go through therapy to regain the use of his arm, there's no doubt about that. You also have to realize Mr. Cohen that Ryan is going to feel as though he can never use his arm. It is a very long and hard process. Like I said before, it could take weeks, months or even years. But for now, we just have to encourage him to use his arm as much as possible. The more he uses his arm, the better the results."
"Thank you, Dr. Shorans." Sandy said, and shook his hand.
Dr. Shorans smiled at Kirsten. "I'll be checking up on him shortly after he wakes up. If you two need anything just ask any of the nurses."
"Thank you." Kirsten responded.
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Seth, Summer, Luke, Anna and Marissa were all in Seth's SUV.
"Hurry it up, Cohen!" Summer yelled from the passenger seat. "I don't want another flashback from our trip to Tijuana; where those nuns were driving passing us."
"Have you seen any nuns?" Seth demanded.
"No."
"Well then, I think I proved my point." Seth pointed out, turning into the hospital parking lot.
"Hey, there's a nun." Luke pointed out, from the back seat. The nun was walking into the hospital.
Seth glared at Luke. "Thanks." He replied, sarcastically.
"Told you, Cohen." Summer said, as she stepped out of the SUV.
Anna rolled her eyes and walked with Luke up the steps of the hospital. "Those two are driving me nuts." She commented.
Luke gave her a smile. "You have to admit though, it's kind of funny."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Well then, as Summer would say, 'ew'." They both laughed.
The five of them reached the waiting room. Sandy and Kirsten were no where in sight. Everyone took a seat except Seth, who walked over to the receptionist desk.
"Why hello there," Seth said with an encouraging smile. "Would you by any chance know if Ryan Atwood is out of surgery?"
The receptionist looked up from the computer. "He's been out of surgery for at least a half hour now." The receptionist looked over at the four kids in the waiting room. "I'm afraid you guys can't see him right now. His parents are already in the room with him and he is still sleeping. Visitor hours are over."
Seth read the receptionist's nametag. "Well…Lisa, maybe you can make an exception?" Seth's smile was still painted on his face.
"I'm afraid not. But tell you what, I'll go page his parents to come and talk to you. How's that." Lisa replied, with a smile now on her face.
The smile on Seth's face vanished. "If that's how it's gonna be, Scrooge…" Seth mumbled to himself, then walked away.
The receptionist paged Sandy and Kirsten and within seconds Sandy appeared in the waiting room. Sandy looked like he hadn't slept in days. It was amazing how much one day in a hospital can drain the life of a person.
"Dad, how's Ryan?" Seth asked.
"Good. Before I left he was starting to wake up."
Summer squeezed Marissa hand. "That's great!" She yelled out.
"Can we see him, Dad?" Seth asked.
Sandy looked over at the receptionist. "You guys are minors and visiting hours are over."
"When can we see him then?" Summer asked.
"Tomorrow." Sandy replied.
"What? You've got to be kidding me! We promised him that we would be here when he wakes up." Seth said, in a fit of anger.
"And he will…I will tell him that all of you stopped by." Sandy said. "And I think you guys should all go home, eat some supper and relax."
Seth shook his head and laughed. "This is nuts…Just nuts." Summer came up to him and grabbed his hand.
"Your dad is right, lets just go home. I'm sure Ryan won't even be awake enough to realize that we are here anyway." Summer said. Luke, Anna and Marissa all stood up at once and left the waiting room.
Summer's hand was still in Seth's. "Are you and mom coming home tonight?" Seth asked.
"Your mom won't leave Ryan's side. She's glued to that kid like you wouldn't believe." Sandy laughed and ran his hands through his hair. "And there's no way I'm leaving your mother here. I think a male nurse already hit on her!" Sandy said.
"How minty…" Seth replied. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then."
"What about school, Seth?" Sandy asked. "You can't miss any school."
"Dad, tomorrow's Saturday." Seth laughed at his dad. "See you later."
"Bye." Sandy left and went back to Room 27.
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"I feel like a bus driver." Seth said, as he dropped Luke off at his house. It was only Summer and him left in the SUV. "You live at 2378 Appleseed Dr., right?"
"How do you know where I live?" Summer asked. Seth was a little surprised by her tone. He wasn't sure if she was happy that he knew where she lived, or mad.
"No reason, wild guess." Seth said, turning up the volume of the CD player.
"Right…Actually Cohen, I was thinking maybe I could spend the night at your place. My step-mom is driving me nuts right now." Summer lied.
"Uh, sure." Seth smiled to himself and made a U-turn in the middle of deserted side road and headed home.
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Okay well I hoped you guys liked that chapter. Not a lot of Ryan in it though… but I promise next chapter will have more Ryan AND Marissa too…. Stay tuned!
