"Ryan, I didn't know who to call" Summer tone was much different then that of her usual rich girl condescending attitude. Her tone was one of helplessness, worry.
"Calm down Summer, now tell me what's wrong"
"It's Coop, we were driving to the mall and all of a sudden Coop, she passed out, now the car's in a ditch and Coop won't wake up!" God she hoped Ryan understood her, she was talking so fast she wasn't even sure what she had said
"You need to calm down Summer, now tell me did you call 9-1-1?"
"Yeah, they said they were on their way"
"I need you to tell me where you are."
"I don't know some road on the way to the mall" Summer know where she was she had driven this road a million times before on her way to the mall, she just couldn't remember her head was spinning with everything that happened. It all happened so fast.
"Okay then Summer, I need you to listen to me, when the ambulance gets there you need to go with them and when you get to the hospital wait in the lobby for me and Seth, Okay Summer?" Since he never really had caring parents he took care of himself and now he wanted to take care of Summer
"Ohh, okay but Coop I need to be with her at the hospital!" Summer shouted she knew it wasn't Ryan's fault; she was just so mad that she didn't drive. Then maybe the two of them would be at the mall right now, and none of this would have happened
"The doctors will be there, she'll be taken care. Don't worry Summer. Now Summer I'm going to hang up the phone now so Seth and me can get to the hospital"
"Oh okay, well hurry then" Summer didn't know what it was about Ryan, she just felt better after talking to him, like everything was going to work out. She was sure she would have had the same reaction had Seth answered the phone. She couldn't possibly have feeling for Ryan
"Why was Summer calling?" he knew she never called, if she wanted to talk she just would come over. He didn't know if he wanted to know the reason, he wanted to live in his disillusioned world just a little longer; anyways it was Newport bad stuff didn't happen.
"We've got to get to the hospital" Ryan yelled as he went out to the pool house to grab his black hooded sweatshirt that he had thrown on his bed last night. He put each arm into the sleeves until his wife-beater was almost nearly covered
Ryan and Seth left the pool house and went into the Cohen's house. Ryan grabbed the keys sitting on the island in the kitchen. Kirsten and Sandy told them that the Range Rover was off-limits after Seth took it to an "IMAX" movie and the Range Rover got vandalized. Then again they might not get caught, he liked those odds and figured he would risk it because Marissa was hurt and Summer was worried and that was worth it to him.
"Okay Ryan clue me in why are we going to the hospital?" Seth know inevitable it was because of Summer's phone call and he didn't dare tell Ryan this but he was so happy that Summer called because that meant she probably wasn't hurt in what ever had happen in their car
"There was an accident, something is wrong with Marissa. She passed out behind the wheel, she won't wake up" Ryan's voice was angry but not angry like he wanted to kill someone, angry like he wished he would been with Marissa instead of at home playing video games with Seth. God he hope nothing was wrong with her, she was the first person that made him feel good about himself. He was a different Ryan then he was in Chino because of her.
"Well, it could be worse" Seth wasn't very good at comforting; before Ryan came to Newport he didn't have much social interaction he never needed the skill. He was trying though, and his trying also seemed to make things worse.
"Oh yeah, How's that?" Ryan had learned that Seth had screwed up logic, it never made sense to anymore but him. He wanted to kill Seth for suggesting, "things could be worse"
"Well…Well Oliver could have killed Marissa when he had the chance, but he didn't"
"God, Seth is that supposed to make me feel better "your girlfriend could have been killed by a raving lunatic but she wasn't"?" Ryan stopped talking as he is sensing his voice cracking, and if he started to cry over Marissa that would be so un-Chino like.
"Sorry, Its just I I know I know how I would feel if anything happen to Summer or even to Anna"
"Seth, I don't want her to die, I don't think I could handle her almost dying again"
"Dude, she not going to die, yeah what happened in TJ was intentional and I'm sure she feels really bad for putting you through that. She almost died once and she came back to you Ryan, she'll come back to you again" Seth hoped he didn't sound like an ass- an unsympathetic ass- but it was what he felt.
"How do you know that? You can't promise me that!" Obviously Ryan was choosing to see him as an unsympathetic ass. He couldn't help but wonder if he would see Ryan as an unsympathetic ass if they were there because of Summer
"Summer did everything right, she called 9-1-1, got an ambulance that would take them to the hospital, and then called the house to tell you. How about we hold off on planning that funereal until we talk to the doctors?" Seth figured since Ryan already saw him as an unsympathetic ass that he should tell him that
"I don't care about the doctors, I'll feel better when I'm sitting next to her hospital bed"
Seth and Ryan approached the automatic door and turned off their cell-phone as you aren't allowed to have them in the building. As they approached, they notice a lone female standing in the lobby standing looking around as if she is waiting for someone. As she turned her back they knew it must be Summer waiting for them, standing in a mini-skirt and low tank-top. They walked up to Summer, and immediately noticed that her eyes were puffy, swollen, bloodshot, and blackened. She quickly wiped a tear off of her right cheek with the palm of her hand
"I must look a mess, Cohen. Don't look at me"
"No, No I think you look beautiful, Summer" Seth reached a hand up and ran a hand then her black hair, and caught the scent of her shampoo and noticed the softness of her hair. Seth was going into a fantasy world where it was just him and Summer and nothing else. Everything was perfect, of course it was all just a dream, a fantasy really and Seth was brought back to reality by Summer
"I am so happy to see you! I'm glad that you're here and I'm not alone" Summer originally only planned on hugging Seth but she got caught up in the moment and hugged Ryan too. She then realized that he didn't seem like a hugging type person. She didn't want to offend him especially since he was so nice on the phone. "I don't know what I would do with out you Cohen, you too Chino" Summer didn't actually mean to say Chino, she didn't start using nicknames until the person was close to her and she trusted them. Summer figured on a subconscious level Ryan had become close to her just by hanging out with Seth, because Ryan was basically Seth's only friend. "Just knowing you are here, makes me feel better, comforted" Summer finally smiled for the first time since the accident.
"Well, I would do anything for you Summer" Seth didn't want to kill the sweet mood with his sarcasm; he was smart enough to know when to keep his jokes to himself. He was laughing on the inside. Really. Not about the hospital but about what he could have said to Summer
"Me, too" Ryan hadn't know Summer for as long as Seth did, but if Seth cared for as much as he did then she was worth it
"Yeah, I know why you feel better having us here, It's because I'm awesome isn't it Summer?"
Maybe Seth didn't always know when to bite his tongue, but his witty banter seemed to make Summer happy and if it made Summer happy, he'd do anything to see her smile
"Your so full of yourself, Cohen" Summer didn't realize she was laughing until she realized her mouth was no longer closed and abruptly closed her mouth.
"See, See I made you laugh, Summer"
"So, Summer did the doctors tell you anything yet?"
"No, Not yet. They said that information was limited to just family members at the moment. Can you believe that they didn't believe me when I told them I was Coop's sister?"
"Yeah, Shocking" Seth didn't know what to say to that comment, but if Summer was Marissa's sister she probably have blonde hair, that'd be hot.
After about two hours of an agonizing, silent wait Ryan, Seth, Summer looked over to see the ER doors swing open, the guy that emerged whom they assumed to be a doctor, which would have been a safe assumption seeing as well he looked like a doctor
"Are you the friends of" the doctor paused until he found the right patient sheet "Marissa Cooper?"
"Yes, Yes we are, What can you tell us Doctor?"
"Marissa seems to be doing fine, she's stabilized as far as now. She is not awake yet but we are confident it is nothing serious"
"Thank, God did you hear that Cohen, Chino?" This time she didn't think would be as bad since Ryan already knew that that's what Summer called him. This time he looked very uncomfortable. uneasy.
"You don't mind if I call you Chino, do you? I'm kinda big on nicknames if you didn't already noticed"
"She is, it means she likes you" Seth nodded at least Seth hoped it was because Summer liked him because if she was doing it because she was angry, well then she could very easily be angrier then Ryan
"Shut up Cohen, I'm trying to talk to Ryan" Summer actually got a kick out of intimidating Seth, only because she found it entertaining. She also knew that the only way to get stuff out of people was to be forceful
"Its fine Summer, really that's not why I feel a little uneasy" Did he just admit he was uncomfortable, Ryan instantly knew Seth was going to ask why because he always need to know everything
"Oh okay then Ryan" Summer was just now getting comfortable around Ryan and didn't want to blow it. Summer knew she hated it when people asked her about her step-mom and was sure Ryan didn't want to talk about his life in Chino.
"Hey Ryan, one has to wonder why hospitals make Ryan Atwood uncomfortable, but Julie Cooper does not, yes one must wonder" Seth quipped
"I don't know, maybe later Seth"
"Yeah, maybe back at the po-"
"I was in and out of hospitals a lot back in Chino growing up, first it was my father, then when he got arrested, it was my mom's boyfriend AJ. I'd be in hospitals days at a time while they made sure there was no internal bleeding or anything from all of the punches thrown at me. I was always surprised at how fast the bruises and cuts healed. That's why I was always hanging out with Trey, he wasn't much better, still abusive but at least he didn't land me in the hospital. The night I was with Trey, when I got arrested for stealing that car, I was only with him because I needed to get out of the house. I was afraid that AJ would kill me that night; he was so drunk and pissed. I never wanted to steal that car"
What followed was that of silence, Seth and Summer didn't know much about Ryan's life before Newport and they never really asked. Neither of them wanted to talk, what do you say to someone who just told you he got beat up and was in a hospital all the time. Summer finally got up the nerve to say something
"Oh my god I guess I never realized how bad your life in Chino was, Chino" Summer felt so stupid, she was making the attempt to rectify everything and then she goes and calls him Chino again "I guess I'm just used to calling you Chino. If you don't want me to call you Chino anymore I could call you Ryan or do what I do with Cohen and call you by your last name Atwood?"
"You're very sweet Summer but you calling me Chino doesn't bother me" Ryan could see why Seth would have liked her for such a long time. Once you actually spend time with her, she could be bubbly, emotional, and if he didn't already have a girlfriend, he would venture to say cute but Marissa would have killed him.
"Are you sure, because I am a little slow and can't always tell when people are being serious and when they aren't"
"Summer, really its okay, you don't have to worry about me. You should be worrying about Marissa's, she's the one in the hospital" Ryan let a laugh slip out, he didn't want Summer to think that he was making fun of her. That was another reason Seth must like Summer, she could make you laugh and most of the time it was unintentional.
Summer composes herself and Seth handed her a tissue. Summer took the white Kleenex and dabbed at her puffy red eyes, rubbing the smeared black eyeliner/mascara combination off her face
"It's okay Summer, really its kinda cute you're so worried about Ryan especially since I'm your boyfriend " Ryan noticed the chemistry between Seth and Summer and wondered why it took so long for them to hook up. The way Seth rubbed Summer's back, the way he ran his finger through her hair and made a shoo noise telling her that everything will be okay. He never noticed that type of chemistry with Seth and Anna. Ryan also noticed that Seth didn't treat Summer the way the other guys did at school, she wasn't an object that you could win and she wasn't just a sex toy like all the other guys at school think. Too bad there weren't more Seth Cohen's in the world
"Thanks Cohen, you're really sweet" Summer looked up into his eyes and then put her head into his chest
"You're so sweet Summer"
"Now that everything is calmed down how about we ask the nurse if we can see Marissa now" Ryan wanted to sit by her bedside and hold her hand all night long
"That sounds like a very good idea" Seth lips started to curl up in a small grin "Chino"
"Hey, I told Summer she could call me that not you" Ryan reached over and playfully punched Seth in the arm
"Oh really?"
"Really"
"Guys, come on" Summer grabbed Seth and Ryan by the sleeves of their shirt until they got the idea that they were supposed to move with her
"So where did the boys go today, Kirsten?" Sandy questioned his wife
"I don't know probably out with Summer and Marissa"
"Yeah you're probably right" Sandy kisses his wife on the forehead on his way over to the sink "Since we're home alone you want to do something exciting?"
"Yeah I would like that" Kirsten walks over to Sandy who is leaning against the sink. She brushed up against him and Sandy moved his hands over to Kirsten neck. They started to make-out moving around the kitchen area
"You know what, we can do whatever we want and we don't even have to do it in the bedroom" Kirsten managed to say between kisses "But uh shouldn't we make sure the boys just aren't hanging out in the pool house?"
"Good point, we probably should"
Sandy and Kirsten walked out to the pool house holding hands while talking about what they could to do during the day. As Sandy and Kirsten approach they noticed a yellow note on the door
Went to the hospital, be back later.
Love, Seth and Ryan
"Oh god!"
"What is it Sandy?"
"The kids are at the hospital"