The O.C
A Life Half Lived
A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay with updates. I've had internet troubles, which basically ended up meaning that I needed a new modem. I'm not one hundred percent sure about this chapter but it does finally and obscurely show what they did to Zach. Sorry if it's confusing or if it stops abruptly. Happy reading! Genevra xxox
Summary: "I don't look sick. I am sick."
Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with The OC. Sigh. I do however own any characters or scenarios you don't recognize. Yay!
Chapter Fifteen: SNAP
"Summer, I'm going to insert this needle into your arm. I need you to tell me if it's overly painful or if you think I've hit something."
"I'm going to make you feel so much pain, you'll wish you never touched her. And by the time I'm through with you, you'll never want to touch a girl again."
"Summer, you're being awfully quiet. How do you feel?"
"Ryan! Stop it. You're going to kill him."
"Seth? Where's Seth? I need him. Get me Seth."
"I swear to you, if you so much as think about her again, I'll come back for you. What was that? You're sorry? It's a little late for sorry now. She didn't deserve that but you do."
"I just feel so sorry for her. Her life's been hard enough as it is, what with her parents splitting up, her stepmother being a total nightmare, that boy Zach trying to rape her and to top it all of, there's this cancer. If anyone doesn't deserve this, it's her."
"Marissa, I think you've done enough."
"I think that's enough anesthesia."
"No, I don't mean I think we've hurt him enough, I think you've done enough. It's my turn."
"Ryan and I will be in the waiting room. You are being so brave, Summer. I love you so much."
"Look who's brave now that he has Mr. Juvie over here to protect him. You're weak, Cohen. There's no way you can hurt me."
"Summer, we're going to lie you down now. If you feel any nausea or dizziness, I need you to tell me straight away. Are you ready? On 1, 2, 3. Go."
"What, Marissa? Do you want a go to? I tell you what. I'll give you three punches and if you can knock me out, you win. Are you ready? I'll count them for you. 1, 2, 3."
"I hate this."
"Feel sorry yet?"
"The whole waiting thing. I was never good at it. I mean, you saw what I was like when Alexis was born and she's my own daughter. If Marissa hadn't needed me, I would have left."
"He's not going to back down, you guys."
"I'm not going to give up on you. There is no way I'm giving up on you. You are not dying tonight. You and your baby are not dying tonight."
"He's not worth it."
"Are you scared?"
"Are you scared?"
"Petrified. That's my wife in there."
"Scared? He looks petrified."
"Are you ok?"
"Is he ok?"
"My wife is in there and I can't even be with her. I'm not ok at all."
"He's breathing. He's moving. He's still trying to fight. The only thing that's wrong with him is he's stupid."
"Can't your father do something about it?"
"I will get you all for this."
"If you don't let my son in there, I'll sue this hospital for all it's worth. I know the codes. And I know my daughter in-law. She will die without him in there. And that baby needs it's father."
"You forget, Zach. You hit me first. This is just self defense, man."
"You should go. She's waiting for you. Don't look at me like that. I'm your father. I do what's right for you. Now, go. Tell her I love her. Tell her, it's going to be ok."
"Like anyone will believe you."
"I hope she's ok."
"You think no-one will believe you attacked Summer either? She has the bruises to prove it. And I have evidence to prove you hit me first. Wanna see? My guardian's a lawyer. I know how to cover myself. We photographed it. Don't believe me? Think that makes it too easy? Think again. You're going down."
"It's ok, Summer. Just breathe. Your husband's here now. It's ok. Relax. I'm going to count down from ten. With each number, I want you take a deep breath and relax. Remember what I told you. If there's no reaction to the anesthesia, I will continue to administer it but if there is, I'll wake you. You will feel some pain and discomfort but believe me, you're getting it easy."
"Believe me, Zach. What you feel now is nothing compared to what we'll do to you if you come near any of us again."
"My wife has not had it easy. She has leukemia for goodness sakes. She could bleed out on the table."
"Do you think that cut's ever going to stop bleeding? He hit you pretty hard."
"What is something goes wrong, Ryan? What am I going to do without my best friend? What are you going to do without yours? If anything happens to her, it'll kill him."
"It's not me I'm thinking of right now."
"It's not me I'm thinking of right now."
"You're amazing, Ryan. I love you."
"You're the best person I know."
"Do you think we're taking a bit too far? I mean, a camera? I don't know about you but it seems a little too much for my liking," Seth asks, his face screwing up into a ball.
"Marissa just needs to take a few pictures that show it was Zach who attacked us first and we were just retaliating. Trust me, Seth. This is the ultimate in stealth," Ryan replies, handing Marissa the digital camera he received for his birthday.
"Ryan, now is not the time to joke," Seth retorts, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, man. I guess I really am a Cohen."
"Ryan," Marissa tugs on his shirt and pulls him around to her. "I want to be there. I want to help."
"I don't know, Riss. It might be dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt," he says, clearly thinking of her.
"Ryan, she's my best friend. I love her too," Marissa explains. "And besides, why should you get to have all the fun?"
"Fine," he eventually gives in. "But I need you to stay out of sight to take the pictures and then, if it's safe, you can come in."
"You're only saying that because you know she'd come with us anyway," Seth sighs.
"Stay safe, ok," Marissa says, staring up into Ryan's eyes. "And don't let your anger get in the way. I love you. Both of you."
"You love both of us or you want both of us to not let our anger get in the way," Seth asks. She kisses Ryan's cheek and then turns to Seth and smiles.
"Both."
"Of you," Seth finishes. He sighs again and looks at her. "You too."
"Wish us luck," Ryan says. She calls out good luck and then takes her place behind the big, black four-wheel drive. Ryan turns to Seth. "You sure you're ready for this man?"
"Readier than I'll ever be," Seth answers right behind Ryan as they move towards the lone figure that's drinking from a beer bottle and hurling rocks over the fence and into the water.
"What are you thinking about?" Marissa asked as her husband looked blankly at the wall.
"Zach," he answered. She reached over and interlaced her bony fingers with his.
"Why?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. It was always the same.
"It's just that every time she's in a position like this, I keep thinking about it," he answered.
"I know," Marissa said. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. If she was true to herself, she would admit that she was sick of talking about that night. Sick of her husband's preoccupation and reluctance to let go. Outsiders would find her selfish and think the only reason she was like this was because this incident wasn't centered around her but she knew it wasn't true. Her life was Summer now. Her life was her sickness and when it was born, her life would be this baby.
"He looked so bad when we were done with him."
"It's not like we killed him," Marissa said. She sighed, imperceptibly, and settled down to have yet another conversation about the night they nearly killed Zach. The night everything changed and their futures were forged and that's what it was. Marissa was happy the way things had changed and had turned out. She didn't want to dwell on what could have been anymore.
"I know. But that doesn't change the fact we almost did. We broke his nose, his leg and his nose. He had bruises all over his stomach and yet, he fought back," Ryan was saying. Marissa leant over and put her head on his shoulder. The hand that wasn't laced with his made its way around his back and she circled him.
"He shouldn't have hurt her," she whispered, wary of being heard. "What he tried to do to her was worse than what we did to him. He hit you first and then he hit Seth and then he hit me. We did what anyone would have done."
"What are you doing here?" Zach snarls as Ryan and Seth stalk towards him.
"We know what you did to Summer," Ryan tells him.
"And what are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing," Ryan answers. He is unperturbed. "But what you're going to do is get in your, drive yourself to the police station and turn yourself in."
"And why would I want to do that?" Zach laughs. Ryan can smell the alcohol from where he stands. Zach takes a step towards him and he steps back, knowing this is the right thing to do. Zach steps towards him again, again, again and finally, stands in front of Ryan, their faces pressed together.
"Fine," Ryan says. "I'm going to make you feel so much pain, you'll wish you never touched her. And by the time I'm through with you, you'll never want to touch a girl again."
SNAP. Zach pushing Ryan.
SNAP. Ryan holding his hands up and taking a half step backward.
SNAP. Zach pushing Ryan again and again. SNAP. Zach punches Ryan. SNAP. Ryan punches him back. SNAP. SNAP. SNAP.
"I swear to you, if you so much as think about her again, I'll come back for you. What was that? You're sorry? It's a little late for sorry now. She didn't deserve that but you do."
SNAP. Zach turns to Seth. SNAP. Seth takes his punch and then his tackle. SNAP. Ryan tries to pull him away.
"Look who's brave now that he has Mr. Juvie over here to protect him. You're weak, Cohen. There's no way you can hurt me."
SNAP. Seth smacks him back and Ryan steps in again.
The photos end there. Marissa screams and runs towards them as Ryan and Zach fight. Seth tries to break them apart and then turns away.
"Ryan! Stop it. You're going to kill him."
Zach hears Marissa calling for them to stop but he knows she doesn't mean and he finds her voice just grates on him so he turns to her and that's it. All bets are off. The winner takes all.
"What, Marissa? Do you want a go to? I tell you what. I'll give you three punches and if you can knock me out, you win. Are you ready? I'll count them for you. 1, 2, 3."
He doesn't understand the way adrenaline works. Marissa, in her fury, in her anger, is unbeatable. He doesn't understand that girls are dirty fighters. She digs fingernails, she pulls her hair, and she kills.
"Marissa, I think you've done enough," Seth says. She stops and looks at him.
"He's breathing. He's moving. He's still trying to fight. The only thing that's wrong with him is he's stupid," she says, still angry.
"No, I don't mean I think we've hurt him enough, I think you've done enough. It's my turn."
Zach tries to fight back. He threatens them and manically laughs when he finds out they covered themselves. Typical. But he will not give up and still they fight.
And they win. He tries to fight them off, he tries to get away but he fails. He always will.
And they drag Zach's lifeless body to the car and they drive him towards Newport General where they check him in, using Trey's name, and then they leave.
No one can fault them on what they did. They have evidence, they have proof. It was self-defense, not revenge. But it doesn't matter because Zach never presses charges. He takes what he gets.
Bruised. Bloody. Broken. Traumatized.
"I think you're the only one that needs to let go of that now," Marissa whispered to her husband. She kissed his shoulder and nudged him reassuringly. "What's done is done. We cant take that back."
"But, Riss…"
"Ryan, we can't deal with this right now. We have to live in the here and the now. Summer and the baby. This is what we have to focus on. You need to let it go," she says, her voice slightly shrill.
"Ok," he says. She turns to him and he offers her a smile. "Ok. I will let it go."
"Good," she says.
"But that doesn't mean I have to forget it," he said. "This is a part of our life and it always will be."
"I understand," she said. And they spoke of it no more.