Ryan stormed straight into the poolhouse and collapsed on the bed. What the hell just happened? Why didn't she show up?
Seth ambled into the poolhouse, whistling cheerfully. He came through the door and stopped abruptly when he saw Ryan hunched up on the bed.
"Woah, buddy, aren't you s'posed to be out with Marissa?" Seth enquired.
Ryan gave him a look. "She didn't turn up."
"Ouch. Well, I'm sure she has a good reason; maybe her mom locked her up…or she broke a nail…or her heel snapped," Seth twittered.
"Seth, shut up. What are you doing here anyway?" Ryan barked.
"Hmm…what? Oh, right, I came to see if you had the latest Legion in here…which you do." Seth walked to the table and picked it up, then sat down in a chair.
Ryan raised his eyebrows and inclined his head towards the door. Eventually Seth got the hint.
"Okay, I'm gonna go and read this in the comfort of my room…get some privacy, you know. Don't worry buddy, Marissa will be fine."
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"Julie Cooper?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, ma'am, but there's been an accident. Your daughter, Marissa, is in a critical condition."
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"A lorry went into her car. The driver was heavily under the influence of alcohol. Can you come down to Newport Hospital?"
"Yes, of course, I'm on my way."
Julie set the phone down and stared into space. Her family was falling apart. Caleb was dead, and Marissa could be following him. She had to get to that hospital; she couldn't let Marissa leave her.
So she jumped into her car and drove off.
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Julie followed the directions the woman at reception had given her and found herself outside Room 4. She went in and her heart skipped a bit. Her beautiful daughter Marissa was lying unconscious on the bed, covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises. Her arm was in a cast and there was a bandage round her head.
A doctor came in and found Julie glued to Marissa's side, tears trickling down her face.
"She won't wake up." Julie sobbed.
"It's ok, ma'am, that's to be expected. It could be a while before she does wake up, but she'll do it in her own time."
"And then will she be okay? What's the damage?"
"Aside from the cut on her head and a broken arm, there are no other visible injuries. She's been incredibly lucky. We don't know how her brain has been affected though; there could be some damage or amnesia. We won't know that till she wakes up, but I'd say the odds are in her favour that she'll be fine. However, we won't know for certain until she wakes up."
What do you think? Let me know. And no, this isn't going to be a story where Marissa wakes up but can't remember Ryan – I've got something different planned.