Chapter 25
"I Forgot What We were Fighting For"
It had been a week since Lucas was admitted to the hospital, and there was still no change in his condition. There were always people in and out of his room, so Lucas was never alone. His family and friends sat by his side and encouraged him to open his eyes. Each day that went by was filled with heartache was they were beginning to lose hope that Lucas would wake up.
Haley spent the most time with her friend. She was like a mother bear protecting her cub as she sat by his side and kept watch over him. She felt like she had to protect him from all the evils around him. She wanted to be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.
Haley was sitting next to his bed and holding his hand when she heard a soft knock on the door. She smiled when she saw Skills entering the room. "Hi," she said with a small smile on her face.
"How's he doing?" Skills asked.
"There's been no change. All we can do is wait and pray."
Skills nodded his head in understanding as he sat down in the empty chair next to Haley. "I wanted to see him sooner, but I couldn't bear to see him like this."
"I know what you mean," Haley responded.
Skills handed a basketball that he had been holding when he walked in. "The guys from the rivercourt and I signed this for Lucas. It's our version of a get well card."
Haley smiled as she looked through the get well messages from Skills, Mouth, Fergie, and Junk. "Lucas will love this," she said. "You guys mean so much to him."
"He means a lot to us too."
Brooke had spent a lot of her time at the hospital, and now she was taking a break. She had gone home and got cleaned up, and now she found herself sitting at the picnic table at the rivercourt; that was where she and Lucas first met. She should have realized then that Lucas was hiding something. Maybe she could have helped him. She was on the brink of tears when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Peyton standing there. Brooke pulled her friend into a hug, and they held each other for a few minutes.
"I thought you were mad at me," Peyton said when they pulled apart.
"I hat what you did to Lucas, but best friends can forgive each other anything. Besides, if you didn't break his heart, we probably wouldn't have gotten together."
Peyton sat down next to her friend. "How is he?"
Brooke rested her head on Peyton's shoulder. "The same. I miss him, Peyton. I miss the way he laughs at my stupid jokes, I miss the whole brooding thing he does, and I miss the way he yells at me when I steal a French fry off of his plate."
"It sounds like you're crazy about him."
Brooke smiled. "I am…he's the first guy I can truly say that I've ever felt this way about. It's a great feeling."
Peyton nodded her head. "I know what you mean."
"I really missed you, P. Sawyer. Can we go back to being best friends?"
Peyton nodded her head. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Dan and Deb had spent a lot of time together as they waited for Lucas to wake up. When they weren't sitting by his side they were comforting each other in the waiting room, or wherever else they were at the moment. Deb had even let Dan move back in the house since it was closer to the hospital. Dan had become a changed man since Lucas was admitted to the hospital. It seemed as if he had grown a heart, and that made Deb fall in love with him again.
There was an awkward silence as Dan and Deb sat together at Lucas' bedside. They had sent Haley home to get cleaned up and get some rest, and they promised they would call if there was any change. "I don't want to fight with you anymore," Deb blurted out as she broke the silence.
"What?" Dan asked with a confused look on his face.
"We need to pull together and be strong for Lucas and Nathan," Deb responded. "Since Lucas has been like this you've shown me the man I fell in love with."
Dan nodded his head. "It took almost losing my son for me to realize that I care about him, and I'm ashamed of that. I should have been able to tell him that all along, and I should have showed him that I love him. I should've done the same with you and Nathan."
"I never stopped loving you, Dan," Deb admitted. "I want to give us a second chance."
Dan took hold of her hand. "Will you take me back?" he asked.
"Yes," Deb responded before pulling him into her loving arms.
They held each other until they were interrupted by Nathan as he entered the room. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Your father and I have agreed to give our marriage another try," Deb responded. She stood up and approached her son. "Are you okay with that?"
"I think that's great," Nathan responded happily. Then he approached Lucas. "Hey, bro, time to open your eyes." He was a little discouraged when Lucas' still form didn't budge.
"Are you going to stay here for awhile?" Dan asked as he rose to his feet.
"That's the plan," Nathan responded.
"Your mother and I are going to get a cup of coffee. Do you want anything?"
"No…I'm good."
Nathan sat down in the chair that Dan had vacated and a few moments later he felt Lucas' hand brush up against his. He looked at Lucas and saw that he was fighting to open his eyes. "Mom…Dad, get back here!" he shouted.
Dan turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"He's waking up!"
Dan looked down at Lucas and saw his blue eyes staring back at him. Deb grabbed her phone and first called Haley then Brooke. "Water," Lucas said in a raspy voice.
Dan helped Lucas take a sip of water as he said, "Welcome back."
The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song "I Don't Want to Fight Anymore," by Westlife.