Chapter Fourteen

Polite Society

Shortly after Hailey and Seth left Lakeview Hospital, Dr. Browning entered Marissa's room and chased out the gaggle of people that had gathered in the room, declaring that Marissa had best get her rest before her operation the following day. In the waiting room, Jimmy sat next to Kirsten, who did her best to ignore him as she flipped through a doctor's journal, knowing exactly why he had sat down beside her. Jimmy was full of questions about Hailey, questions that Kirsten couldn't answer even if she wanted to; the same questions that she had wanted to ask her sister.

"So, I guess Hailey's back in town." Jimmy said, as though he didn't sense Kirsten's purposeful silence. "Do you know how long she'll be here?"

Kirsten sighed and set the magazine aside. "No, Jimmy. She just showed up outside my front door." She explained. "I don't even know where she's been these past months."

Jimmy frowned "I'm glad she's back, you know?" He questioned and Kirsten didn't say anything. "I was worried about her."

I still am, Kirsten thought but didn't say. "I know what you mean." She muttered instead, shifting her weight in her chair. Jimmy didn't know about the neatly concealed bruises and bumps on Hailey's face and she wasn't going to tell them, that was Hailey's department; he had no idea just how worried she was about her sister.

As though sensing Kirsten's unwillingness to talk about Hailey, Jimmy leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze across the waiting room. Ryan was pacing around the room, going from one end to the other and Luke was watching him from where he sat next to Julie, looking as though Ryan was making him extremely dizzy. Sandy was filling two Styrofoam cups full of chalky, thick liquid that the hospital tried to pass off as coffee and watching his adoptive son out of the corner of his eye.

"Ryan, you're making me nervous." Sandy said finally and the boy stopped walking and turned in his direction. "Wearing a hole in the floor isn't going to help Marissa."

Ryan sighed. "I can't help it; I'm a pacer." He muttered wearily. "I'm just worried about her."

"We're all worried about Marissa." Jimmy said with a sympathetic smile. "But tomorrow she's going to get that operation and things will start going back to normal."

Ryan was silent; why was everyone always saying that things would go back to normal? Was he the only one that saw that things would never be normal again, for any of them? But instead of saying these things, he just forced himself to nod and started pacing again. Pacing helped him think, but all he could think about was Marissa. When did things get so confusing? Was there ever a time when things were absolutely perfect between them? There was always Luke, then Oliver, always someone standing in their way; all he had ever wanted to do since the moment he saw her standing at the end of her driveway so many months ago was be with her. Was that ever going to happen?

Maybe Ryan just needed to tell Marissa how she felt, once and for all, before things took another turn for the worst and another blockade established itself in the middle of their relationship. He stopped passing again and glanced over at Sandy. "I'm just going to go to the restroom." He muttered, knowing right away that everyone in the room could see through his excuse. "I'll be right back."

"Hey," Sandy said before Ryan could get out of the waiting room. "If she's asleep don't wake her up." He smiled slightly to let Ryan know just how poor a liar he was.

Ryan couldn't help but smile back. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said and headed out of the waiting room and down the hallway toward Marissa's room.

Julie rolled her eyes. "That boy cannot stay away; he's like a pathetic little puppy dog." She remarked.

Jimmy looked at his ex-wife. "It's okay, Jules, we don't hold your comments against you. We understand that you have no idea what it really means to be in love." He said and Julie narrowed her eyes.

"Very funny, James." Julie retorted. "And I don't hold it against you that you confuse a piece of ass for love."

Now it was Kirsten's turn to narrow her eyes. "Don't talk about my sister that way." She commanded and Julie looked over at her, as though she hadn't expected any comment from the peanut gallery.

"All right now, do you think we can all act like adults for once?" Sandy questioned, though it was clear his comment was mainly directed toward Julie. "We are in a hospital, don't forget that."

Julie leaned back in her chair, trying to appear higher and mightier then she really was. "Really James, you should learn to control yourself."

Jimmy's mouth fell upon at her words and he stared at the woman with a look of complete disbelief on his face. "Will someone please tell me how I ever lived with Julie?" He questioned and Julie didn't look very amused.

Kirsten patted his knee. "It's okay, Jimmy, no one blames you." She assured him, looking pointedly at Julie who gave her the finger.

Sandy sighed and threw his arms in the arm as a signal of surrender. "I'm glad everyone is mature enough to sit in the same room and have decent conversations." He muttered. He looked over at Luke and wasn't surprised to see that the kid was watching the whole exchange like a five-year-old watching his first wrestling match.

With another sigh, Sandy sat down on the opposite side of the waiting room. Just another day in polite society.

When Ryan arrived back at Marissa's room, he found that she was, indeed, asleep. He stood for a moment in the doorway, simply watching her lay, motionless, lost in dreamland where none of her current problems were anything more then a distance memory. Ryan wished he could find away to keep her like that forever, peaceful and beautiful, the girl he had fallen in love with all of those months ago.

Quietly, Ryan entered the room and sat down in the chair that he seemed to be spending most of his time, taking her hand and gently entwining their fingers. Marissa stirred, a smile briefly flickering across her lips but she remained asleep; Ryan knew that she needed all the sleep she could get and he'd hate to wake her from whatever pleasant dream she was experiencing.

"You know, Marissa, I actually came to talk to you." Ryan whispered, kissing her knuckles as he had done earlier. "I wanted you to know that I love you and no matter what happens, I'll always love you."

Marissa muttered something in her sleep, as though she could hear what he was saying. Ryan hoped that a part of her could hear him and heard the sincere love in his words.

"I know we haven't always had the best relationship, what with Luke and then Oliver. And I'm sure I haven't always been the best boyfriend, or whatever, but all that's going to change. No matter what happens next, I'm always going to be there and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again." Ryan leaned forward and gave Marissa a light kiss on the forehead.

Marissa's eyes fluttered open, catching Ryan off guard for a moment; she looked over at him and smiled faintly. "I know." She told him. "I love you." She gently brushed her fingers across his cheek.

Ryan smiled at her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, still holding onto her hand. He found it strange that things could be so perfect when everything else around them was so wrong.

"Will you lay with me?" Marissa questioned, her fingers still brushing against Ryan's cheek. "Until I fall asleep again."

Ryan managed to maneuver himself over the metal guard rail on the side of the bed and slowly lay down on his side beside Marissa, being careful not to sit on her in the process. He laid his head on the mountain of pillows beside her and kissed her forehead when she managed to snuggle closer to him. "I love you, Ryan." She said again, resting her head against his chest and draping one arm around his waist.

Ryan held her against his chest long after she had fallen asleep again, resting his cheek against her hair, which still smelled of coconut shampoo. Marissa's breathing was slow and rhythmic and he could fell her heart beating against his chest. Ryan let his own eyes slowly close, wishing that he could stay like this forever.

Hailey was pulling the Cohen SUV into the parking lot of the Lakeview Hospital at the same time her father, pristine business man Caleb Nichol, was pulling in with his Escalade, new off the assembly line. Hailey was checking her concealer in the rearview mirror while Caleb was shouting on his cell phone at one of his unwitting business partners, who he had half a mind to fire. Hailey happened to look away from the mirror in time to avoid slamming into the side of the Escalade and quickly yanked the wheel to the left, sending the SUV bumping into the cement side of the planting bed. Hailey was thrown against her seatbelt before being jerked back against the seat as the car crashed into the planting bed. "Just great." She grumbled to herself, taking a deep breath.

Caleb hadn't noticed the near miss and was pulling his Escalade into the parking space Hailey had intended on taking, still on his cell phone. Hailey saw the car come to stop and narrowed her eyes; whoever was inside was going to get a piece of her mind. She hoped they had insurance.

Rolling down her window, Hailey stuck her head out and shouted, "Hey, asshole, learn to drive!" She was just not having a good day. Kirsten would kill her if the SUV sustained any damage from the planting bed and she didn't have any money to pay for the repairs.

Caleb, who was also not having the best day, hung up his cell phone and whirled around to face whoever had shouted at him. Hailey felt her cheeks blanch; that asshole was her father. "Excellent." She grumbled, slipping back inside the car and knocking her head against the steering wheel. She had hoped that she could go an entire visit in Newport without seeing her father but she hadn't even gone four hours.

"Hailey?" Caleb called across the parking lot. His youngest daughter knocked her head against the wheel again, this time making the horn honk. He started across the parking lot and stopped beside the SUV, which he recognized as Sandy's. "Did you get in an accident, honey?"

Hailey looked up at him with a look of disbelief on her face. Caleb ignored the look and said, "I didn't know you were back in town, why didn't you call me?" So he was trying out the loving father bit, it was certain a welcome change from being shouted at all of the time.

"I just got in." Hailey muttered, sighing and unbuckling her seatbelt. Caleb stepped back to allow his daughter to step out of the car; she pushed past him and headed to the front of the car, almost afraid to see what had happened to the SUV. Aside from a scratch or two on the grille, the car appeared to be no worse for wear.

Caleb studied the car for a moment as well before saying, "So I guess you're here to visit Marissa too." Hailey didn't respond. "Just horrible what happened to her, she's a sweet kid." Hailey wondered if Caleb even really knew Marissa.

Ignoring her father as best she could, Hailey got back into the SUV and backed it slowly away from the planting bed before tucking it into a parking spot on the complete opposite end of the hospital. Caleb was waiting for her by the entrance of the hospital when she returned from parking the car and she sighed; it wasn't like Caleb to be so nice to the daughter he sometimes denied having. Business must be going really well. Either that or it was going great with Julie Cooper.

Before heading up to Marissa's floor, Caleb insisted on stopping by the gift shop and buying two bouquets of flowers; Hailey assumed the smaller one was for Marissa. "So, have you already seen Marissa?" Caleb questioned on the elevator ride up to the third floor.

"For about a minute." Hailey answered, shifting her weight with a sigh and wondering how much longer the elevator ride was going to last. It hadn't seemed this long before.

A few seconds passed before Caleb said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "Then you've seen Julie."

Hailey sighed again. "I knew it." She grumbled. "You and Julie Cooper are still doing it like bunnies. She is such a skank." She was certain it wasn't the most mature comment to make but it was the only one that managed to leave her lips.

Caleb glared at her. "I will not have you speak about Julie that way." He commanded harshly and Hailey wasn't surprised. She had known that his good-dad routine wasn't going to last very long.

The elevator doors finally slid open and Hailey all but rushed out of the elevator, heading down the hallway before Caleb could even get out of the cab. She saw Kirsten, Sandy, Luke, Jimmy and Julie sitting in the waiting room; Kirsten turned in her direction and took one look at her little sister's face before saying, "Uh oh, Dad must be here."

Jimmy looked at her. "How do you know?"

"Because Hailey looks like she wants to strangle someone." Kirsten answered. "We're all going to feel that way in about five seconds."

Sure enough, Caleb entered the waiting room seconds after Hailey, who had seemed to have taken refuge beside Jimmy without even realizing it. The second Caleb entered the waiting room, Julie jumped to her feet and rushed to meet him; with a grin, he offered a bouquet -the larger one, just as Hailey had assumed- to the woman. "Oh, Cal, they're beautiful." Julie cooed and buried her face in the flowers. "You shouldn't have."

Hailey rolled her eyes and made a gagging sound and Jimmy couldn't help but laugh; Julie looked over at her ex and narrowed her eyes. "Jealous, James, that some mean actually know what it means to be romantic?" She questioned.

Sandy sighed again. "God, here we go again." He grumbled and Kirsten patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It's okay, honey." She cooed. "They'll remember to be adults again in a minute."

Jimmy looked over at Hailey and she turned away, looking down at her feet; being next to Jimmy reminded her of another reason she was uneasy about returning to New Port: she always felt like she was below Jimmy by just being around him. She still smelled of smoke, smog and L.A., her clothes hadn't been washed in almost three days and neither had her hair, she just hadn't had time to do those things, with her mind occupied with other topics. But Jimmy was dressed in a three-piece suit that wasn't even wrinkled and he smelled of crisp, fresh aftershave. Hailey continued to stare down at her feet; how could she have ever thought she was good enough for the New Port life?

"So, Juju," Caleb said, causing Julie to give him her attention again. "How 'bout I take you to lunch."

Julie had to suppress the pleased, almost smug, smile that threatened to pull up the corners of her lips. "Well, I'm sure Marissa would be alright for an hour or two..."

Caleb slipped his arm around her waist. "Of course she can." He said and Julie did smile at this. "We'll be back shortly." He told the rest of the adults in the room before heading out of the waiting room with his arm still around Julie. "Where would you like to go, Juju?" Jimmy heard Caleb ask as they disappeared.

"Somewhere expensive." Jimmy muttered, certain that Julie's answer would be along those lines. He turned to look at Hailey and said, "It's the gruesome twosome together again."

Hailey stood abruptly and this action surprised Jimmy. "I'm going to go...visit Marissa." She muttered and headed out of the waiting room like she was running away from Caleb Nichol.

Jimmy watched her go, his brow knitted in concern. When Hailey had first arrived, she had looked almost happy to see him and he was more then happy to see her; now it was like she couldn't stand to be around him. "What am I doing wrong?" He questioned, looking at Kirsten.

But it was Sandy who spoke. "Don't worry about too much, Coop. It is Hailey, after all, you can never tell what she's thinking."

Ryan wasn't quite sure why he woke up but when his eyes finally fluttered open, he saw Kirsten's sister, Hailey, standing in the doorway. Marissa was still asleep in his arms, warm against his bare arms, her hair tickling his cheeks and an utterly content and peaceful look on her face.

Hailey smiled when she saw that Ryan had woken. "I wish I had my camera." She remarked and Ryan couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

Ryan didn't say anything, simply remained with his arms wrapped around Marissa; he wouldn't have left Marissa and this moment for anything. "So, how are you, Hailey?" He questioned instead, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Marissa.

Hailey wasn't quite sure how to answer, so instead she just shrugged. "How's Marissa?" It was better to change the subject she had always found then simply avoid the question.

"Well, she's possibly paralyzed from the waist down but she's going to have an operation tomorrow so that she might be able to walk again." Ryan explained, kissing her forehead and resting his cheek against the top of her head.

Hailey looked shocked. "Oh my God, poor Marissa." She whispered and she actually looked sincere, something that Ryan hadn't seen on Julie Cooper's face and Marissa was her own daughter. "Well, I'm wouldn't worry too much, Ryan, Marissa's gonna be-"

"Fine." Ryan finished sharply and Hailey raised an eyebrow. "Everyone says everything in going to be fine but how do they know? What if everything's not fine?" He questioned and Hailey wasn't quite sure that he actually wanted an answer. "I'm tired of everyone saying that Marissa is going to be fine."

Hailey's brow knitted. "Uh, Ryan, 'everything's going to be fine' is just something you say in times like these. No one really knows that everything's going to be all right. But if I went up to Marissa and said 'there's a chance you might not walk again, tough luck kiddo' would that make you feel any better?"

Ryan sighed. "No, I guess you're right." He muttered, looking down at Marissa. "I just love her so much, you know, and I want her to really be fine more then I've ever wanted anything in my life." He sighed again and closed his eyes, his thoughts swarming through his head quicker then he could sort them out. "I just...I just feel like this is all my fault."

Hailey looked shocked. "Ryan, why would you think that?" She questioned, though she knew all about undo blame. She'd been experiencing a lot lately.

"I just can't help but wonder if there was something I could have done, something to protect her." Ryan answered. "Maybe it should be me in the bed instead of her."

Hailey raised an eyebrow again. "Do you really think that Marissa would like to hear you say those things?" She questioned. "Do you think that will make her feel better?" Ryan didn't answer. "I might not know the whole story about what happened, but I'm sure things would have been a lot worse if you hadn't have been there."

Ryan couldn't deny what she was saying; did he really think it would help matters to feel sorry for himself? Marissa needed him right now and she needed him to be strong, not constricted by misplaced guilt. "You know, Hailey, you're a lot smarter then you give yourself credit for."

Hailey looked flattered; no one had ever said something like that to her. "Thanks, Ryan." She muttered, her words genuine. He wasn't such a bad kid after all.

"And you were smart to leave that guy that hit you." Ryan added and Hailey was shocked to the point that her mouth dropped open. "That was something my mom really never figured out."

"How did you-" Hailey questioned. She had checked the concealer on her face before coming into Marissa's room and not a bruise was visible.

"Trust me, I've spent my whole life watching my mom try and cover up her bruises and black eyes." Ryan explained. "I've gotten used to seeing the bruises beneath the makeup."

Hailey didn't say anything; like it or not, she and Ryan had a lot in common. Maybe that was why she liked him so much. "I'm going to leave you and Marissa alone now." She said, hoping that Ryan wasn't going to ask the same questions Kirsten and Sandy had been asking. "And don't worry, Marissa's going to be-"

"Fine, right?" Ryan raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. Hailey smiled slightly and nodded.

"Right, everything's fine."

I've been getting a lot of reviews for my story "Broken Angel" about how I should continue. If anyone has any ideas for how I should continue (I wasn't planning on it) then please leave them in this review.