A/N: This is a climatic chapter....review it! I think it might be a long
one for me too!
Ryan was feeling happier. A nurse had come by and taken him off his equipment. They said he was doing better and they would allow him to go home tomorrow. He was looking forward to this immensely. When he got home he would have more time to himself and less people worrying about him. He hated that the Cohens and his friends had spent so much time here with him. He didn't like disturbing their normal routine or getting in the way of their plans. He was also just plain sick of being in the hospital. It made him on edge and uncomfortable. Ryan also didn't like that he couldn't run away from conversations he didn't like. He was easy to corner. That was never good thing.
It suddenly occurred to Ryan that he was alone in the room for the first time in what seemed like ages. He found it nice. He could contemplate and relax without fear of being asked questions he wasn't ready to answer. At the moment, the only one he could think of that he would particularly want to see was Marissa. He needed to make sure she didn't say anything about Eddie. He also wanted to see what was left between them. He wanted to be with her. He wondered where she was at that moment. Was she somewhere he could get a hold of her? He knew he would be contemplating how to talk to her until he did it, so he was hoping to get it done before he worried himself enough to officially call it a panic attack. He needed to think about something else. What would he tell Teresa? He would say that they were friends. After all, that is what they were. It was true that there was a deeper spark possible there, but she had left. She had made the choice for him that the spark wasn't big enough to explore. Why did he keep reminding himself of this? He had made his choice. He needed to keep it. Marissa was manipulated into not trusting him. Teresa had left on her own choice. The decision was clear. Plus, he loved Marissa. He liked Teresa, but he didn't love her that way yet. Where was Marissa?
Teresa heard something. It came from Marissa's direction. It didn't sound right. Her immediate suspicion was that Marissa was sneaking off to see Ryan, but her gut feeling told her that Marissa wouldn't really do that. Teresa decided to check it out. She turned around the corner. She didn't see Marissa or any sign of a disturbance. She decided to check inside the Ladies room. "Marissa?" Teresa asked. There was no response. Where had she gone? She decided to check up by Ryan in case her gut feeling had misjudged Marissa. She turned towards the elevator just in time to see Oliver get out. He held a brown paper bag. "Oliver!?" Teresa exclaimed in a little shock at his presence. "Teresa!" Oliver said with fake enthusiasm. Damn. He had bad timing. He had been seen and recognized. What would he do now? "Wh..what are you doing here? The last I saw you...last night...you were on your way out of town." Teresa asked confused. "Well...after talking to you...I thought about it more...and decided that I had unfinished business here and that the girl I love I just need to explain things to. There are people and situations that I need to set strait. Even a few scores...you know the deal." Oliver smiled after saying this all very calmly. "Why are you at the hospital?" Teresa was on edge. Oliver had scared her a little before, his presence here now made her very suspicious. "The girl I love is visiting someone and I came with her." Oliver smiled. He saw that Teresa was suspicious of him. He needed to lie. Start creating a story that made him seem more trustworthy. "So you're back together!" Teresa smiled at him. It seemed many people getting back together at the hospital this morning. Yet Oliver being one of them seemed unlikely. She didn't like him showing up so quickly after Marissa disappeared. It seemed a strange coincidence. Hadn't Ryan mentioned an Oliver? Or maybe it was Marissa? She wasn't sure. She couldn't remember exactly. Damn it. She would have to ask. But she didn't want to lose Oliver. "Yup. We are as strong a couple as ever." Oliver's smile's fake nature showed more. "Well that is just great! I would love to meet the lucky girl! What's her name?" Teresa smiled equally fake. "Um...Nicole. I don't know where were she ran off to right now, so meeting her might be a problem." Oliver laughed. "Ahh...that is okay. I'll keep you company until you find her." Teresa said with a hidden enforcement behind it that told Oliver that Teresa would be on his tail until he produced the girlfriend. "I would love that...but I really have to go." Oliver continued, "Plus I think my girlfriend would be jealous of you. I don't think she would like to think that I was talking to such a pretty girl while we were apart." He laughed. Teresa couldn't help but soften. Perhaps she was jumping to conclusions about him. But she couldn't risk that she had real reason to be suspicious of him. "Oh. I see. Well that I can understand." Teresa joked. "I am really pretty." She laughed. Oliver smirked to himself. People were so easy to manipulate. Give them a compliment and they are putty in your hands. Oliver laughed with her, or at her in reality. "Well, if me meeting your girlfriend is the problem, you can come with me to see my friend. You see I really just don't want to be alone. He is kind of in bad shape and I just really don't want to face him alone." Teresa used a pleading voice she felt was expertly applied. Oliver felt trapped. How could he say no to that? He defiantly couldn't say yes. "Um...could it wait like thirty minutes?" He held up the paper bag. "I have some friends waiting for this bag of junk. Magazines and stuff....I just don't want to leave them waiting. You could wait for me in the cafeteria." Oliver smiled already trying to steer her in that direction. "Why don't I just go with you to drop them off?" She smiled. "My girlfriend could be there." Oliver reasoned. "Ahh." Teresa was stumped on what to do. How could she stay on his tail? She could follow him perhaps? It was worth a try. "Okay. So you will meet me in the Cafeteria in like thirty minutes?" Teresa looked at him. She made herself appear very vulnerable. "Of course!" He smiled at her reassuringly. No way would he actually go he thought to himself. "Alright...well, I might run a few errands in between now and then, but I'll be there to." She acted more reassured. She couldn't help but think that she should take up a career in acting. She was good at it! "Okay, see you then." Oliver smiled and turned to leave the cafeteria they had reached a minute ago.
Marissa was terrified and huddled in a corner of the janitor's closet. Her wrists were tied together and so were her ankles. She was not comfortable. Eddie was just staring at her. She felt suspense about what was to come and was curious what he planned to do with her. She felt the need to ask and by not gagging her she decided he might as well of invited her to do so. "Why am I here?" Her voice was shaky. "Because we have a common want." Eddie smiled. It made Marissa nervous. "We have nothing in common." Marissa said sharply. "We do. You want Teresa and Ryan apart and so do I. We have a common interest." He said calmly. "And?" Marissa wanted to know what he was getting at. "Ryan needs to worry about you. The only way he will do that is if you're in danger." "So I am in danger?" Marissa scowled at him. She hated his guts. He had hurt Ryan and was now going to hurt her. "That all depends on how you behave." He laughed to himself. Oliver slipped in through the door. Marissa's mouth dropped in shock. Oliver? What did Oliver have to do with this? Surely he wasn't capable of hurting people? She thought he was getting help! "It took you long enough." Eddie scowled at Oliver. "I was delayed." He said simply. "Give me the bag." Eddie said grabbing it. He pulled out some food and sorted through the rest of the contents. "Where is the tape?" Eddie said sharply. "I didn't think we needed it." Oliver said quietly. "You want to use something else to gag her?" Eddie said raising his voice. He could not stand Oliver. He was incompetent and annoying. "I felt we didn't need to gag her at all." Oliver said lowering his own voice. Oliver needed Eddie to misjudge him for his own plans to work. Eddie needed to see him as weak and more of a stooge figure. "So anyone could here her if she started to scream." Eddie smacked Oliver. "You're and idiot. I'll go get the damn tape myself. It does have more than one use you know! We will probably need it for more than this!" Eddie gave Oliver one last scowl before he hooded himself and left the closet.
Oliver turned and started to untie Marissa. "Sorry about this. I heard about Ryan and I stopped by the hospital to see if he was ok. I saw Eddie and I over heard him plotting. I knew he was going to hurt you so I pretended to have the same agenda so he would include me in his plans I could have a chance to save you. I didn't know what else to do. Are you okay?" Oliver looked at her very attentively and rubbed her wrists were the bands had been too tight.
Marissa had been so panicked that his saving her didn't even register as being suspicious. She was just so relieved to be out of danger that she started to cry and just hugged him in her after shock of the experience. "Get me out of here Oliver. Just get me out." She whimpered as he helped her up and through the door. "Go tell someone where he is and what he did. I can't. No one would believe me. I'm considered insane now. Don't tell anyone I'm here! Tell them you escaped on you own, okay? I don't want to be around people who hate me. My doctors say I should try and avoid that right now, self-esteem issues or something." He laughed. "I'm going to go to the cafeteria. Meet me there if you need me. I'll stick around until we can talk more. You need to hurry so that we can have people waiting here for when Eddie gets back." Marissa just nodded. It was a good idea. She would have Eddie put behind bars for this! She was jittery and freaking out but she made it to the elevator where Oliver whispered a quick goodbye and gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek. Teresa watched this confused from behind the corner of the hallway.
Marissa rushed to Sandy and told him everything about Eddie. That he shot Ryan and that he had tried to hurt her but that she had escaped. She showed her wrists to give proof of the encounter. "It's okay Marissa, it is okay." Sandy said gently wrapping the panicked girl in one arm and dialing the police with the other. The scum who had shot Ryan would feel the wrath of justice now. The police sent officers into the closet were they waited until Eddie showed up. He was caught off guard and arrested and taken away. Teresa missed this scene for she was too busy talking with Oliver in the Cafeteria. She was talking to him about Marissa and their common goals. He wanted Marissa. She wanted Ryan.
A/N: Review it!
Ryan was feeling happier. A nurse had come by and taken him off his equipment. They said he was doing better and they would allow him to go home tomorrow. He was looking forward to this immensely. When he got home he would have more time to himself and less people worrying about him. He hated that the Cohens and his friends had spent so much time here with him. He didn't like disturbing their normal routine or getting in the way of their plans. He was also just plain sick of being in the hospital. It made him on edge and uncomfortable. Ryan also didn't like that he couldn't run away from conversations he didn't like. He was easy to corner. That was never good thing.
It suddenly occurred to Ryan that he was alone in the room for the first time in what seemed like ages. He found it nice. He could contemplate and relax without fear of being asked questions he wasn't ready to answer. At the moment, the only one he could think of that he would particularly want to see was Marissa. He needed to make sure she didn't say anything about Eddie. He also wanted to see what was left between them. He wanted to be with her. He wondered where she was at that moment. Was she somewhere he could get a hold of her? He knew he would be contemplating how to talk to her until he did it, so he was hoping to get it done before he worried himself enough to officially call it a panic attack. He needed to think about something else. What would he tell Teresa? He would say that they were friends. After all, that is what they were. It was true that there was a deeper spark possible there, but she had left. She had made the choice for him that the spark wasn't big enough to explore. Why did he keep reminding himself of this? He had made his choice. He needed to keep it. Marissa was manipulated into not trusting him. Teresa had left on her own choice. The decision was clear. Plus, he loved Marissa. He liked Teresa, but he didn't love her that way yet. Where was Marissa?
Teresa heard something. It came from Marissa's direction. It didn't sound right. Her immediate suspicion was that Marissa was sneaking off to see Ryan, but her gut feeling told her that Marissa wouldn't really do that. Teresa decided to check it out. She turned around the corner. She didn't see Marissa or any sign of a disturbance. She decided to check inside the Ladies room. "Marissa?" Teresa asked. There was no response. Where had she gone? She decided to check up by Ryan in case her gut feeling had misjudged Marissa. She turned towards the elevator just in time to see Oliver get out. He held a brown paper bag. "Oliver!?" Teresa exclaimed in a little shock at his presence. "Teresa!" Oliver said with fake enthusiasm. Damn. He had bad timing. He had been seen and recognized. What would he do now? "Wh..what are you doing here? The last I saw you...last night...you were on your way out of town." Teresa asked confused. "Well...after talking to you...I thought about it more...and decided that I had unfinished business here and that the girl I love I just need to explain things to. There are people and situations that I need to set strait. Even a few scores...you know the deal." Oliver smiled after saying this all very calmly. "Why are you at the hospital?" Teresa was on edge. Oliver had scared her a little before, his presence here now made her very suspicious. "The girl I love is visiting someone and I came with her." Oliver smiled. He saw that Teresa was suspicious of him. He needed to lie. Start creating a story that made him seem more trustworthy. "So you're back together!" Teresa smiled at him. It seemed many people getting back together at the hospital this morning. Yet Oliver being one of them seemed unlikely. She didn't like him showing up so quickly after Marissa disappeared. It seemed a strange coincidence. Hadn't Ryan mentioned an Oliver? Or maybe it was Marissa? She wasn't sure. She couldn't remember exactly. Damn it. She would have to ask. But she didn't want to lose Oliver. "Yup. We are as strong a couple as ever." Oliver's smile's fake nature showed more. "Well that is just great! I would love to meet the lucky girl! What's her name?" Teresa smiled equally fake. "Um...Nicole. I don't know where were she ran off to right now, so meeting her might be a problem." Oliver laughed. "Ahh...that is okay. I'll keep you company until you find her." Teresa said with a hidden enforcement behind it that told Oliver that Teresa would be on his tail until he produced the girlfriend. "I would love that...but I really have to go." Oliver continued, "Plus I think my girlfriend would be jealous of you. I don't think she would like to think that I was talking to such a pretty girl while we were apart." He laughed. Teresa couldn't help but soften. Perhaps she was jumping to conclusions about him. But she couldn't risk that she had real reason to be suspicious of him. "Oh. I see. Well that I can understand." Teresa joked. "I am really pretty." She laughed. Oliver smirked to himself. People were so easy to manipulate. Give them a compliment and they are putty in your hands. Oliver laughed with her, or at her in reality. "Well, if me meeting your girlfriend is the problem, you can come with me to see my friend. You see I really just don't want to be alone. He is kind of in bad shape and I just really don't want to face him alone." Teresa used a pleading voice she felt was expertly applied. Oliver felt trapped. How could he say no to that? He defiantly couldn't say yes. "Um...could it wait like thirty minutes?" He held up the paper bag. "I have some friends waiting for this bag of junk. Magazines and stuff....I just don't want to leave them waiting. You could wait for me in the cafeteria." Oliver smiled already trying to steer her in that direction. "Why don't I just go with you to drop them off?" She smiled. "My girlfriend could be there." Oliver reasoned. "Ahh." Teresa was stumped on what to do. How could she stay on his tail? She could follow him perhaps? It was worth a try. "Okay. So you will meet me in the Cafeteria in like thirty minutes?" Teresa looked at him. She made herself appear very vulnerable. "Of course!" He smiled at her reassuringly. No way would he actually go he thought to himself. "Alright...well, I might run a few errands in between now and then, but I'll be there to." She acted more reassured. She couldn't help but think that she should take up a career in acting. She was good at it! "Okay, see you then." Oliver smiled and turned to leave the cafeteria they had reached a minute ago.
Marissa was terrified and huddled in a corner of the janitor's closet. Her wrists were tied together and so were her ankles. She was not comfortable. Eddie was just staring at her. She felt suspense about what was to come and was curious what he planned to do with her. She felt the need to ask and by not gagging her she decided he might as well of invited her to do so. "Why am I here?" Her voice was shaky. "Because we have a common want." Eddie smiled. It made Marissa nervous. "We have nothing in common." Marissa said sharply. "We do. You want Teresa and Ryan apart and so do I. We have a common interest." He said calmly. "And?" Marissa wanted to know what he was getting at. "Ryan needs to worry about you. The only way he will do that is if you're in danger." "So I am in danger?" Marissa scowled at him. She hated his guts. He had hurt Ryan and was now going to hurt her. "That all depends on how you behave." He laughed to himself. Oliver slipped in through the door. Marissa's mouth dropped in shock. Oliver? What did Oliver have to do with this? Surely he wasn't capable of hurting people? She thought he was getting help! "It took you long enough." Eddie scowled at Oliver. "I was delayed." He said simply. "Give me the bag." Eddie said grabbing it. He pulled out some food and sorted through the rest of the contents. "Where is the tape?" Eddie said sharply. "I didn't think we needed it." Oliver said quietly. "You want to use something else to gag her?" Eddie said raising his voice. He could not stand Oliver. He was incompetent and annoying. "I felt we didn't need to gag her at all." Oliver said lowering his own voice. Oliver needed Eddie to misjudge him for his own plans to work. Eddie needed to see him as weak and more of a stooge figure. "So anyone could here her if she started to scream." Eddie smacked Oliver. "You're and idiot. I'll go get the damn tape myself. It does have more than one use you know! We will probably need it for more than this!" Eddie gave Oliver one last scowl before he hooded himself and left the closet.
Oliver turned and started to untie Marissa. "Sorry about this. I heard about Ryan and I stopped by the hospital to see if he was ok. I saw Eddie and I over heard him plotting. I knew he was going to hurt you so I pretended to have the same agenda so he would include me in his plans I could have a chance to save you. I didn't know what else to do. Are you okay?" Oliver looked at her very attentively and rubbed her wrists were the bands had been too tight.
Marissa had been so panicked that his saving her didn't even register as being suspicious. She was just so relieved to be out of danger that she started to cry and just hugged him in her after shock of the experience. "Get me out of here Oliver. Just get me out." She whimpered as he helped her up and through the door. "Go tell someone where he is and what he did. I can't. No one would believe me. I'm considered insane now. Don't tell anyone I'm here! Tell them you escaped on you own, okay? I don't want to be around people who hate me. My doctors say I should try and avoid that right now, self-esteem issues or something." He laughed. "I'm going to go to the cafeteria. Meet me there if you need me. I'll stick around until we can talk more. You need to hurry so that we can have people waiting here for when Eddie gets back." Marissa just nodded. It was a good idea. She would have Eddie put behind bars for this! She was jittery and freaking out but she made it to the elevator where Oliver whispered a quick goodbye and gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek. Teresa watched this confused from behind the corner of the hallway.
Marissa rushed to Sandy and told him everything about Eddie. That he shot Ryan and that he had tried to hurt her but that she had escaped. She showed her wrists to give proof of the encounter. "It's okay Marissa, it is okay." Sandy said gently wrapping the panicked girl in one arm and dialing the police with the other. The scum who had shot Ryan would feel the wrath of justice now. The police sent officers into the closet were they waited until Eddie showed up. He was caught off guard and arrested and taken away. Teresa missed this scene for she was too busy talking with Oliver in the Cafeteria. She was talking to him about Marissa and their common goals. He wanted Marissa. She wanted Ryan.
A/N: Review it!
