Chapter 24

""Hold On if you Feel Like Letting Go"

The tension in the waiting room could be cut with a knife. Doctor Martin Pyatt scanned the waiting room before announcing, "Who's here for Lucas Scott?"

Nathan rose to his feet as he asked, "How's my brother?"

Dan approached Doctor Pyatt and said, "I'm his father…how is he?"

"He's stable right now, but your son is in serious condition," Dr. Pyatt responded. "We pumped his stomach just in time. However, there was a complication. Your son lost a lot of blood from the injury to his wrist. His heart rate dropped and we lost him for a few seconds. It was long enough for him to slip in a coma."

"When will he wake up?" Haley asked nervously.

"It's too soon to tell…it could be a couple of days, or it could be a little longer. Lucas' body has been through a lot; right now I think that sleep is the best thing for him."

"Can we see him?" Brooke asked.

"I've moved him to ICU. We're asking that only family go in right now."

"We're all family, doctor," Dan stated.

Doctor Pyatt nodded his head. "Right this way."

Everyone followed Doctor Pyatt up to the third floor and to Lucas' room. The doctor excused himself so that they could have some time alone with Lucas. "Thank you, Doctor," Dan said before entering the room.

The room was dark and quiet except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Lucas lay lifeless in the bed; hooked up to a bunch of machines. He had oxygen to help him breathe and his wrist was all bandaged up. His skin was pale from when they pumped his stomach. Dan couldn't bear to see his son like that. He ran out of the room.

"Are you okay?" Deb asked as she followed Dan. She found him slumped against the wall in the hallway.

"Lucas is lying in that bed because of me," Dan whispered.

"You can't blame yourself, Dan," Deb responded.

Dan let out a small laugh. "Look at all I've done to hurt that boy…my son. I pushed him away when he needed me the most. I ignored him and treated him like he was nothing."

"But you learned from your mistakes; that's got to count for something."

Dan shook his head. "Not if my son isn't awake to hear my apology. I've got to get out of here." Dan walked away without looking back.

"Dan!" Deb called out to him, but he kept going.

Haley couldn't stand to her best friend lying in a bed hooked up to machines, so she and Nathan went to the hospital cafeteria to get something to drink and to catch a break. "How are you holding up?" Nathan asked while rubbing Haley's back.

"Not too good," Haley responded. "I can't stand to see Lucas lying there so helpless. I want the old Lucas back…the one who was so full of life; the one I shared all my secrets with."

"You and Lucas must have a special connection," Nathan stated.

Haley nodded her head. "Like I said earlier, there was a time when it was Lucas and me against the world. We shared so many inside jokes. Have you ever seen the golf course we made?"

Nathan shook his head. "Will you tell me about it?"

"For a year when we were in junior high Lucas and I collected all kinds of weird things. His mother thought it was all junk, but to us it was treasure. We used our treasure to build a miniature golf course on the roof of the café. We used to spend hours up there playing gold and just hanging out." Haley smiled as she remembered those days. "Those were some of the best days of my life."

"I wish I had a friend like that," Nathan admitted. "Did you know that Lucas and I used to play together when we were younger?"

"I had no idea," Haley responded.

"Well, it was only a couple of times, but we had fun. We played on the playground together at the park. We were having a lot of fun, but then my dad showed up and called me over. He told me that he didn't want me to play with Lucas anymore. I asked him why and he explained everything about how Lucas was my brother. He told me that Lucas was just using me to get closer to him, and that Lucas just wanted to take away everything we had."

Haley had a look of horror on her face. "I can't believe how cold Dan can be. You know…Lucas never talked about him when he was younger. He always said that he didn't want to know his father."

"Lucas and I didn't cross paths again until we got to high school. By then my father had poisoned my mind against him. He forced me to hate Lucas by telling me all kinds of lies about him. When Lucas joined the basketball team my father told me to make his life a living hell."

Haley nodded her head in understanding. "You proved that you're a better person than that."

"I'm just grateful that Lucas gave me a second chance to make things right."

Brooke climbed into bed with Lucas and held him close. Being close to him was the only thing keeping her from breaking down. She stroked his spiky blonde hair as her head rested on his heart.

"Hey broody," she whispered. "I need you to open your eyes, and tell me what a drama queen I'm being." She wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. "I should have been a better girlfriend…I should have seen that you had a problem and helped you before it got this far. I love you so much, Lucas. You have to come back to me."

There was a soft knock on the door and then Deb entered. She walked up to Lucas and gently kissed his cheek. "How are you doing?" she asked Brooke.

Brooke wiped away another stray tear. "This is all surreal to me," she whispered. "I can't believe this happened to Lucas."

Deb nodded her head. "He's been through so much these past few months. I feel like I should have been there more for him."

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked.

"I should have fought harder to keep Dan from taking Lucas away. I feel like I betrayed Lucas."

"Lucas knows that you care about him. He knows that you didn't want him to leave, and he understands why he had to."

"Thank you for saying that, Brooke."

Brooke shrugged her shoulders. "It's the truth."

"Lucas really loves you, Brooke. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you."

Brooke looked at Lucas. "I love him too."

Dan went back to the beach house after leaving the hospital. He cleaned up the downstairs, but didn't go upstairs. It would just bring back the horror of seeing Lucas take those pills with the alcohol. He sat at his desk in the den and poured himself a glass of scotch. He started to take a sip, but then stopped and just stared at the liquid. He realized that he was setting a bad example. He wasn't helping Lucas by drowning out his sorrows. "What am I doing?" he asked himself. "I should be with me son."

Lucas was all by himself when Dan entered the room. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds before approaching his son. He sat down next to the bed and took hold of Lucas' hand. "I'm here son," he whispered, "And I promise that I'll never leave you again."

This chapter title is a lyric from the Good Charlotte song "Hold On"