Sorry for the long update, but life has been hectic...I actually have a lot written in this, way farther than what I'm posting, but oh well.
Neil sat next to his daughter as they injected the medicine. He couldn't believe this was happening again. The Roberts have had to deal with this for too long. Neil had seen his daughter at her worst, and this, compared to other times, was quite bad.
"Now, were there any episodes earlier?" the doctor asked Neil.
"I wouldn't know, I've been out all week," Neil answered, still staring at his daughter. You could see nothing wrong with her, except her pale face.
"Is there anyone who might know?" the doctor was friends with Neil, knowing him since before Summer had been born.
"My wife. Let me call her," Neil excused himself and walked out, producing his cell phone. He called Emilia, who probably was passed out.
"Hello?" Emilia finally answered at the fifth ring, right before the machine started.
"Hey," Neil greeted his wife.
"Hey baby. Where are you?" Emilia was only half awake.
"At the hospital," Neil walked around as he spoke.
"Why?" Emilia rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"Summer," Neil remembered when Summer rebelled against him and didn't take her medication. She nearly killed herself when she had a seizure in her closet. Her initial scream was that thing that saved her.
"What happened?" Emilia had a bad feeling when Summer left that morning.
"She had a seizure. Cracked her head on the way down," Neil replied.
"Is she okay?" Emilia wondered.
"She'll be fine. They put her in a coma, though. But I need to know if she had any other episodes," Neil said.
"She had one this morning. Just a small one, at her friend's house," Emilia told him.
"I have to go talk to the doctor, so I'll see you at home," Neil sighed.
"What does the doctor think happened?" Emilia and Summer had never gotten along, except when they needed medication. It was strange, granted, but it worked.
"He thinks she might be immune, which makes the most sense. She did take her Dilantin, right?" Neil asked. He loved his two girls to death, but lately, he always had to leave them.
"She took it. That's what I told her, the immunity thing, but she didn't listen," Emilia complained as she strode into the kitchen.
"Well, it almost killed her," Neil stated.
"The seizure was that bad?" Emilia opened a bottle of Klonopin.
"I'm not sure. But when she fell, she cracked her head bad. She had to get stitches, and it's gonna be bad for a while. But, I warned her before, she never was tested, but she could be sensitive to those strobe lights in clubs. That also is a possible explanation," Neil continued to complain.
"Neil, she's seventeen. She can make mistakes. That's what those years are for," Emilia swallowed two more pills.
"Yeah, but not with this. She can get seriously hurt. But she already did," Neil was growing even more upset.
"Calm down. Talk to the doctors, see Summer, and come home. Nothing's going to change with her, you know that. Just come home and relax," Emilia drifted back to the couch.
"Okay," Neil finally conceded. "I'll see you soon."
Seth woke up early; something he never did without a radio. He purposely put it on a station he despised, just so he knew to wake.
All he could think about was Summer. He kept worrying about her. The scene last night had scared him. Would Summer be okay?
He got dressed and pushed himself to get downstairs. He had to see Summer. He had to know if she was all right. He'd kill himself if she wasn't. It had been his idea to go to the Bait Shop.
Ryan was already in the kitchen. He rarely slept now.
"Hey man," Seth greeted his brother, who nodded. "So, I was thinking we could go to the hospital..."
"Yeah. Marissa already called this morning," Ryan replied.
"Oh, cool. Is she coming over?" Seth was subconsciously trying to get Ryan and Marissa back together.
"We're meeting her there," Ryan took a sip of coffee and that was when Seth saw the wound.
"Wow, Summer really took a chunk out of ya," Seth joked and Ryan just stared.
"Sure."
Both sipped their coffee silently, an unusual activity for Seth. He didn't even pick up the Arts and Leisure section.
Sandy had been attempting to get ready for an hour now. He still wasn't used to mornings without Kirsten. His whole system was off. Sometimes he'd find himself waiting to get into an already empty bathroom.
He eventually finished and walked out of the silent room. He hadn't realized how much life Kirsten had put in the house.
"Morning boys," Sandy put on his facade, and walked into the kitchen and greeted the boys.
"Morning," Ryan and Seth both said unenthusiastically.
"What are you doing today?" Sandy had never known how much Kirsten livened up the house. It felt dark and drab now.
"Uh, we're going to see Summer," Seth explained to his dad.
"Well, I hope she gets better. I'm gonna go down to my office and start early," Sandy informed them.
"Oh. I think we gotta go because we're supposed to meet Marissa. See ya Dad," Seth laid his cup in the sink.
"Bye Sandy," Ryan followed Seth as they again left Sandy alone. He usually was alone. His first thought was to call Kirsten, but he went against it. He had to be strong.
Ryan drove, and both him and Seth were silent. Once again, they were headed to the hospital. It wasn't fair.
"Think she's okay?" Seth hadn't slept at all that night. Every time he shut his eyes, he saw Summer shaking.
"She'll be fine Seth," Ryan felt bad that he was keeping a huge secret from Seth. Summer would be Seth, so shouldn't he know?
"Yeah, sure. I wonder what set it off," Seth was still confused on his ex-girlfriend having a seizure. What had she done to get it?
"I don't know. I think they're caused by a chemical imbalance," Ryan wanted to know also, but he didn't want to snoop.
"Maybe the doctor'll know," Seth replied as they pulled into the hospital. Ryan searched for a spot as Seth called Marissa, who was waiting in the lobby.
Ryan didn't ever remember entering the hospital other than the emergency room. Kirsten had even been there. Maybe Luke hadn't.
Marissa had found herself in the hospital gift shop. She hated being at hospitals, but she loved the gift shop. It was fun to look at gifts that would take away some of the pain. Only once had she been there for a happy reason, but it hadn't been happy for her back then. It was when Kaitlin was born, and Marissa swore that's when her problems started. But then again, she always had problems.
Ryan and Seth walked in, and immediately searched for Marissa. She saw them through the glass, and quickly paid for the balloon she picked out.
"Hey guys," she came out and greeted them.
"Hey," both replied and an awkward silence hung over them. What could they say?
"I think we should, um, go.." Marissa began.
"Yeah," Seth quickly agreed and Marissa led the way to the elevator. She knew Summer was on the fourth floor, an angry receptionist had informed her.
Hospital elevators were always crowded, and today was no exception. As they went up a level Marissa was continually pushed more into Ryan, who wouldn't look at her. She couldn't understand why, but he blew it off.
After reaching the fourth level, they pushed their way out, and Marissa tried to lead the way, but she had no idea where she was. Luckily, she saw Neil and Emilia Roberts standing outside a room. Marissa headed that way, figuring that room belonged to Summer.
"Hi Dr. Roberts, how's Summer?" Marissa approached Summer's parents, who looked worn out.
"They're going to wake her up in two days," Neil informed them.
"Can we see her?" Marissa asked.
"Yes, but only one at a time. And you'll have to wait, her mother is in there," Neil replied sadly. He hated seeing his ex-wife.
About three minutes later, Summer's mother appeared, gave them all a look, and left.
"I'll go first," Marissa announced and walked in. The sound of the heart monitor quickly began to annoy her, and she braced herself.
When she first saw Summer, it just looked like she was sleeping. But at a closer look, Summer looked small and drained. Marissa felt bad for seeing Summer like this.
"Hey Sum," Marissa choked out. "It's Coop. Um, I can't wait until you wake up. We really hope you're gonna get better fast. I don't really know what happened, but you really scared us. You better not do that again. Um, we miss you, and come back soon."
Marissa had never felt more awkward in her life than now. She left without another word. She gave Ryan a look indicating it was his turn.
Ryan and Summer were never close, except for lately. She tried to cheer him up a lot, and it helped. Sometimes. He hadn't told anyone about her previous episode, though he thought someone should know. He supposed her parents knew, but there hadn't been much time to tell them.
He walked in, and didn't feel awkward. Ryan had been in hospitals too many times. Only four times had he been a patient, not including the last time a month ago. Most of the incidents were abuse gone overboard, and only one time it had been an accident.
It was pretty pathetic.
Summer just lie there, not a single movement. A tube had been injected in her arm, and a heart monitor held its place on her finger and in the corner.
"Hi Summer, it's Ryan," he began. He had no idea what to say to the girl. She looked so at peace, it reminded him of when he had spoken his last words to Trey. Both people looked so serene. "Uh, I hope you wake up soon, because what you did was scary. I know this is procedure, but it just seems to me something else is gong on. But it's probably nothing. Can't wait until you wake up. Bye Summer."
If only this had been the situation with Trey. If only Trey was just in a coma, and bound to wake up. If only.
Ryan sped out, feeling himself being sucked in by memories. He took a seat outside the door, next to Marissa.
"This is so scary," she began, glad to be talking to Ryan.
"Yeah," Ryan half-agreed.
"I mean, she never had any alcohol last night, and that's my only explanation for this," Marissa had only ever seen Summer have one episode, and it was so long ago, she couldn't remember it.
"Did she ever have any seizures before?" Ryan asked.
"Not that I can remember," Marissa blocked the memory out. She never wanted to remember it.
Seth took a deep breath and stepped into Summer's room. She looked so vulnerable.
"Hey Summer, it's Seth. I feel so bad about this. I wish I could talk to you, because I'm really sorry. I know you never want to get together again, but I'd like to try again. Third time's the charm, right? It's just, seeing you here makes me realize how stupid I've been. Well, I can't wait to talk to you again. See ya Sum," Seth said this quickly so he could get it all out. He didn't want to go too deep.
So he walked out, and received a strange look from Neil Roberts. Seth sat on the opposite side of Marissa and stared into Summer's room. They all did, waiting for it to be over.
Hope you enjoyed the update, and please, review!