"There he is, there's Cohen!" Summer cried as she and Marissa wandered along the corridor looking lost. Marissa spun around her heart pounding as they quickened their pace and run towards Seth. He was sitting in a chair, his shoulders hunched and his head down eyes to the floor.
"Seth!" Summer said loudly causing him to slowly look up in their direction and to frown before he got to his feet shakily as Summer broke into a run. She threw herself into his arms causing him to stumble backwards, gasping as the breath was knocked out of him. After getting over the initial shock of the tiny brunette launching herself upon him he curled his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug as she began to babble quickly.
"Cohen, I am so sorry. I didn't know and when I was on the phone I thought you had stood me up and I was so mean and if you'd have just told me, I mean usually you're the first to get a word in and if you'd just told me then maybe I wouldn't have put my foot in it in a true Coheny fashion but I am so sorry…I"
Seth cut her off in mid sentence with a slight smile despite himself.
"You're babbling Summer." He said looking down at her as she flushed slightly. Marissa stood awkwardly to the side watching the two of them and shifting from foot to foot obviously waiting to find out about Ryan.
"Sorry." She said her cheeks still tinged with pink as she pulled away from Seth and studied him, he looked exhausted.
"It doesn't matter Summer, I was upset. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that, it wasn't fair on you." He said before kissing her softly on the forehead. Marissa sighed, she couldn't take it anymore now they had kissed and made up she could find out how her boyfriend was. As Seth and Summer began to kiss she cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"Yeah guys? Sorry to break up the love-fest here but how is Ryan? What's going on?" She asked causing Seth and Summer to break apart in embarrassment.
"Sorry, well he had some tests and I think he's sleeping right now but they should get the results back soon. So maybe they can find out what is actually wrong with him." Seth said as Marissa nodded holding back tears again. She wasn't going to cry, crying wouldn't help anything, it wouldn't help Ryan.
"Can I go see him?" Marissa asked in a small voice looking hopefully up at Seth who chewed on his bottom lip uncertainly. The last thing Ryan would need was a sobbing Marissa but he didn't have the heart to say no…
"Uh…yeah sure." He said at last. Marissa smiled and Summer put an arm around Seth supportively.
"I'll uh, take you to him." He mumbled before shuffling down the corridor. He was glad Summer was here, his dad was too busy worrying about Ryan and he needed someone to talk to. He needed someone to be there for him too…he couldn't get the image of Ryan lying on the poolhouse floor out of his head..
He didn't even notice that they had reached the door already, he was too busy replaying that moment over and over, feeling sick. He just wanted his brother to be okay. He let Marissa rush past him into the room and Summer shot him a sympathetic smile before leaning into him.
"He'll be okay Cohen, he's kid Chino. He's tough, he'll be fine." She said reassuringly as Seth nodded slowly wishing he could believe her.
"I hope you're right Sum.."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Marissa closed the door behind her, her hands trembling as they gripped the doorhandle. He was lying in the bed, eyes closed as he slept peacefully. He looked fine, it looked like there was nothing wrong with him but she knew that wasn't true. People didn't pass out if there was nothing wrong with them. She made her way slowly over to the bed, her legs shaking unsteadily beneath her as she looked down at his sleeping form, fighting to hold back the tears that burned in her eyes.
He stirred slightly, his head moving to the side as his eyelids fluttered. He groaned slightly and his eyelids fluttered open. His blue eyes darted around before finally focusing in on the girl in front of him. He swallowed, his throat dry and looked up at her, his blood rushing in his ears.
"Hey." She whispered her voice cracking slightly as she drew nearer the bed. Ryan flushed slightly, he had hoped she wouldn't have to see him in here but he was glad to see her none the less.
"Hey" He said back, sitting up slightly…being careful not to disturb the IV attached to the back of his hand. She shifted on the spot awkwardly. She looked as if she had been crying and suddenly he felt guilty. This was so awkward, it was then that he remembered he had technically stood her up.
"I uh…I'm sorry I sort of stood you up I.." He began but he was quickly cut off by her as she sat at his bedside.
"Ryan don't be stupid. This isn't your fault okay. Don't worry about it, I mean I didn't think our first date after…I didn't think it would be at a hospital but hey you've always been full of surprises." She said with a smile which Ryan returned, flushing slightly.
"Well you know me…" He said, suddenly it was like he had forgotten he was stuck in hospital waiting to find out what was wrong with him and it was like things were back to normal and it was just him and Marissa. He swallowed trying to get rid of the weird feeling that had now overtaken him, he was suddenly embarrassed and he flushed again. Marissa smiled as she watched him turn red, he was so cute. But she was sorry worried about him right now, she needed to know that he would be okay.
"You really scared me today Ry…when Summer called I…I didn't know what to do. I just kept thinking what I'd do if I lost you and…I don't want to lose you Ryan. After everything that happened this Summer we kind of drifted apart and this made me realise that I don't want that to happen again. I can't lose you again Ryan…I love you."
Ryan looked up at her his eyes wide, he didn't know what to say. There was a long silence and Marissa looked away suddenly flushing and wringing her hands as Ryan looked down at his lap. Oh god what had she done? It was too soon, why was she so stupid? Ryan tried to speak but nothing came out, blood was pounding in his ears and his heart racing…
"I…I'm sorry I didn't mean…I"
"No…I…I love you too." Ryan stammered tripping over his words, Marissa's gleaming eyes met his and a smile crept across her face, he returned the smile as she reached for his hand. She leant slowly forward and their lips met softly, before they enveloped each other in a passionate kiss. He curled his free hand around the back of her neck and she smiled into his mouth. They were interrupted by the door opening and they sprung apart.
"Oh I'll uh come back later." The Doctor said as they both shifted away from each other embarrassedly.
"No uh it's fine." Ryan mumbled feeling heat rush to his cheeks. Sandy, Seth and Summer appeared behind the doctor. Summer offered a small wave which Ryan returned with a smile. They would have greeted each other better but the doctor was there and looking serious.
"Can I talk to Mr Atwood and Mr Cohen alone please?" He asked politely with a smile, Marissa glanced at Ryan worriedly before kissing him on the cheek and leaving the room slowly behind Summer and Seth. Sandy glanced across at the doctor as the door shut behind them and sighed looking back at Ryan and offering him a reassuring smile.
"So how are you feeling Ryan?" Dr Murray said cheerfully as Ryan looked up and offered a weak smile.
"Okay I guess." He said as Sandy walked over to the bed and stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder supportively.
"Good, well we have your test results back and I'm sure you want to know what's going on." He started peering over his glasses. Sandy looked down at Ryan and smiled weakly and Ryan swallowed feeling sick as his stomach churned, tying itself in knots.
"Well after the ECG and Echo tests it has become apparent what has been causing your symptoms…You have Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, otherwise known as HCM. I know that will probably mean nothing to you so let me explain. Basically it is a heart disorder which causes the muscle around the heart to grow at an increased rate meaning the muscle around the heart becomes thicker which results in the heart having to do more work to pump blood around the body. This is what has been causing the blackouts and chest pain you've been experience. I know this sounds alarming but thousands of people live normal lives with HCM."
Ryan blinked, looking down at his hands uncertainly as he tried to process all the information he had just been given…HCM? A heart condition? Why had it only just happened now? It seemed Sandy could read minds as he voiced his thoughts, his voice shaking slightly. Ryan couldn't bring himself to look at him…
"Why has his…c…condition only become apparent now?"
"That's a good question, with a disorder such as HCM it usually only becomes apparent in late teens or in athletes or those who take part in a lot of sport. It's sometimes known as Sudden Death Syndrome as many patients don't know they have it until it is too late but Ryan was very lucky that his symptoms became apparent before it was too late."
Silence fell on the room as Ryan closed his eyes and fought back a sigh, he couldn't take this in. He had a heart condition?
"I know this is a lot to take in right now but like I said many people live normal lives with this condition. Now there are two options for treatment…The first is that you take medication daily but this would prevent you from playing sport excessively as the job of the medication is to slow things down for you so your heart doesn't have to work hard. The drugs usually cause fatigue as a side effect. The other possibility is surgery, it's a procedure in which small pieces of the muscle around the heart are removed to allow freer movement however the surgery carries its own risks."
Ryan began to shut down as the doctor explained the prospects of surgery to Sandy. He could have to have surgery? He had only had surgery once in his life when he was about six and he had his appendix out, but he had a bad reaction to the anaesthesia and ended up spending weeks in hospital…A few weeks…no days ago he had felt fine but suddenly he was being told there was something wrong with his heart? He could hear the doctor talking but he wasn't taking in anything he was saying and it wasn't until Sandy called his name and shook him slightly that he realised he was being spoken to.
"Ryan? So I said I'd give you a while to think about it…I'll be back later to check on you and talk over some more things whilst this sinks in…" He said with a smile before leaving. The door shut and silence filled the room again. Sandy looked down at Ryan and he gave his shoulder a slight squeeze.
"You alright kiddo?" He asked softly not expecting an answer. Ryan shook his head gently.
"No" He whispered and that was when Sandy pulled him into a tight hug…
A/N So guys what do you think? i know it was short but oh well, you finally know what is wrong with Ryan. BTW Just to let you know I didn't copy this from One Tree Hill, I knew about HCM way before OTH because A close friend of mine has it! So this is for him, dedicated to Matt! Hope you guys liked it, please review!