A/N: I know my chapters are short. I feel it is better to leave them that way so that I can post them sooner. If you rather I take an eternity to get anything out at all...poll starts now. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them up! I can't believe people are calling me dude. Wow. I must be cool. Anyway...the story. I guess my readers want to read that. Of all the silly ideas! Well except for my crude insolent reader who feels I need to research and use spell check more. To each his own. I do my best. If you don't like it don't read 7 chapters in and then post a review.

Teresa felt really sorry for Oliver. He seemed so very lost and needy. All he needed was a friend. She could be that to him. That was not much to ask of a person. He seemed like an alright guy. Confused maybe, but decent at his core.

"So. Why are you on this bus Oliver?" She smiled at him gently. He seemed to be warming up to her.

"There was this girl. I really cared for her. She was the only one who really ever cared about me. But I was wrong. She didn't. She had been lying." Oliver's tone grew tenser and fiercer as he spoke. It made Teresa a little uncomfortable.

"Maybe she wasn't. What if she was confused and just pushing you away. Did she tell you directly that she didn't care for you?" Teresa was trying to sort Oliver's situation out in her head. What had happened between him and this girl?

"She didn't trust me. I wouldn't have hurt her. She knew that. But she called him anyway. She wouldn't just leave it between us." Oliver seemed sad and angry at the same time.

"Why did she think that you would hurt her?" Teresa was getting on edge now. Had this guy threatened some harmless girl? What if he actually had hurt her? What if he was on the bus fleeing for a serious, running from the law type reason?

"It was a..a.a mistake. She just misunderstood what I was saying. That's all." Oliver had said to much. He was just ready to combust and couldn't contain it. Now he had to cover his tracks. Teresa's cell phone rang.

Teresa smiled at Oliver and gave him the one second signal.

"Hello?"

"Hi Teresa, it is Sandy Cohen. I found your number in Ryan's things. I felt you needed to know something." He sounded tired and depressed. Teresa was immediately worried. Why was Sandy Cohen calling her? What had happened?

"um..ok. Is something wrong? What do I need to know?" She said slowly into the phone feeling a tight knot filling in her stomach. Oliver was just staring at her as she spoke.

"It's Ryan." Sandy said slowly.

"What happened to him?" Teresa asked quickly. A sound of desperation ringing in her voice. What had happened? She felt like her whole life revolved around whatever Sandy said next.

"Ryan was shot twice in a parking lot near the bus station. We have him at the hospital where he is doing good. Marissa is in with him now." Sandy felt disbelief in the situation while he was telling Teresa. How could the story he was telling her be true? He was still expecting to wake up and for it all to have been a nightmare.

"Oh my God. Is Ryan awake? Is he in pain? Has..has he asked for me? Or I mean for anyone? Has he asked for anyone?" Teresa blurted these words out quickly. She needed answers and the sooner she got the questions out the sooner they would come.

"He hasn't been awake yet. The only response we have gotten out of him at all is with Marissa. She found him." Sandy felt uncomfortable telling Teresa this but she had asked and he didn't want to lie.

"Marissa. That makes sense. I'll get to the hospital as soon as I can. If that is alright I mean." Teresa tried to hide her dread. She was being selfish in a time of crisis. How horrible of her! He was hurt and all she was thinking of was how he wasn't pining for her in his unconscious state. She had reached a new low. She felt awful all over.

"Of course you can come. There was never a doubt about that. But I have to ask you Teresa. Do you know who would have done this?"

"Um...I...no. Nobody I know could do this." Teresa thought of Eddie. He didn't have it in him. He could never hurt someone that way. She was sure of that.

"Alright then." Sandy sighed. "I'll see you when you get here.

"ok then. Goodbye." Teresa hung up. She then let herself fall into feelings of guilt and grief. So absorbed in her problems that she did not even notice Oliver connecting the names Marissa, Ryan, and Sandy in his head.

Ryan was awake. He still had his eyes closed, but awake he definitely was. He wanted to sleep more. Sleep wouldn't come. He didn't want to think about what had happened. He didn't want to comprehend why the bed he was on wasn't the one from the pool house. He didn't want the confirmation on where he was. If he opened his eyes it would be having to face all his problems. That was something he wasn't prepared to do.

"Your playing Possum." He heard Marissa say. Damn her. How did she know?

"I've seen you do it before. You can't fool me." Marissa's voice had a cheer in it. It seemed as if she was joyous to be there. How could that be? He would have to open his eyes to find that one out!

Marissa looked tired and had here make-up from yesterday smeared on her face. She had obviously been crying. Ryan suddenly realized her happy tone was an act for his benefit. He felt bad. She shouldn't be worrying over him.

"You caught me." He mumbled. Giving her a playful glare.

"Of course I did. I'm to smart for that silly trick to work on me." She smiled at him. Relief was shining in her eyes. She was so happy that he was awake. He would be okay now.

"How long have I been..." He motioned around the room to imply the word hospital.

"Since last night. You haven't been out to long. In fact the doctors had to keep forcing you to sleep. You seemed determined to stay awake." She laughed.

"Um. Sorry? I guess I'm a bad patient?" He looked up at her questioningly.

"A tolerable one. Maybe a little on the cranky side." She emphasized the word cranky to add effect.

"Oh really. What else have I done to be difficult?" He prodded.

"Well, I haven't been able to leave your site without you going nuts." She felt off the minute those words went out of her mouth. Should she have told him that? She had a bad feeling she shouldn't of.

Ryan went quiet. What had he been doing? He felt outside himself. He felt like he had been outside his life for a week instead of a night. He needed clarification. What exactly had Marissa had to do to keep him from doing something? What did going nuts entail exactly? How bad had he embarrassed himself?

"What? What did I do exactly?" His tone was serious and so was his expression.

"Well, your vitals were going haywire and it was kind of like you were having panic attacks." Marissa said gently.

"You needed my presence to soothe you and keep you calm. They said it was probably because I found you. I was there to give you comfort right after you were shot and that made my voice especially helpful." Marissa had learned all the details from a doctor earlier in the morning. She felt bad having to tell Ryan this after he had been awake for five minutes. Why had she had such a slip of the tongue?

Ryan had flashes of memories from the previous night. He had forgotten Marissa had found him. Suddenly he remembered her running towards him. He had seen her like an angel or a glorious vision at that time. He remembered saying he loved her. Had he actually said that? Or had he merely envisioned saying that. Damn. He needed to know. He felt embarrassed again. A little blood loss and he couldn't keep his feelings inside. If those were his feelings. He still didn't know. There was still Teresa. Teresa. He had never gotten to Teresa. She was probably long gone. Damn. He didn't know what to do or what to feel. Had he said he loved Marissa to Marissa? He didn't even know that and he couldn't ask her in the fear that he hadn't actually said it. Why couldn't he have kept a clear head while being shot? He had needed Marissa's presence? That was embarrassing as well. He was sending Marissa signals all over the place that he didn't mean to send! They were not together but his unconscious state was sending the message that they were. Was his subconscious trying to make his decision for him? Should he listen to the messages he was accidentally sending to Marissa? Perhaps he was trying to tell himself something? He didn't know. He couldn't think or comprehend. The situation was to difficult to figure out. At least at that moment.

"I should tell your family your awake. The have been worried sick about you too. I have been bad by not running out to get them when you were playing possum. I'll go get them." Marissa smiled at him. She got up to leave his room. Ryan remained silent. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. How could he take everything that had happened to him? She went to go get his family.

Eddie still hadn't gone to see Ryan. He kept chickening himself out. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt like he had gone insane. Probably a sign that he had. He had attempted to murder someone. He was still considering it. What had become of him? He used to be stable individual. But he loved Teresa with everything that he was. If she left him there was nothing left of him. Teresa had it all. She was his everything. She had to be with him. He just needed to find her. He knew she would be here or she would be coming here. She couldn't stay away. He would find her and they would be together. Till death do they part. She had promised him that when becoming his fiancée. He had envisioned such a happy life between them. He never suspected that there was a monster within him with the capability to kill. But he hadn't killed. He could have finished the job earlier but hadn't. Perhaps he had missed shooting Ryan in the head on his first shot on purpose. Maybe just maybe he was still salvageable. Maybe there was still some good left in him. If there was, he knew Teresa would see it.