Chapter Twenty-Five: Go On And Cry

Marco

I don't know where I am. I think I might be dreaming. Everything is calm and peaceful. I like it here.

I was back in Toronto, at my favorite place, the park down the street from Ellie's house. There's our special spot, past the woods and down by the river. I was sitting on the bench, looking out into the water when I felt someone's arms around me. I turned, expecting to see Ellie, but instead, I saw Rory.

"How did you know about this place?" I asked him, staring into his eyes.

"You told me about it, remember?" he asked me, sitting down and taking my hand.

"But how did you get here?"

"I followed you Marco. I should have never ended things. I'm sorry. Will you take me back?" he asked.

"What about Andrew?" I asked, lowering my head.

"Andrew's been taken care of. He wants us to be together," he answered, pulling my face up to his and kissing me softly on the lips.

"I love you Rory," I whispered, pushing him down across the bench and lying on top of him, kissing him hard while I ran a hand through his hair.

"Forever?" he asked, his lips grazing mine before he started unbuttoning my shirt.

"Forever," I replied, closing my eyes, waiting for another kiss.

But the kiss never came. And when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

Rex

"Hello?" I asked into the phone. "Who is this?" I demanded, when the person didn't answer me. Then I heard a faint whisper.

"It's me," she said, sighing. "I'm on a pay phone. I have to make this quick."

"What is it Alyssa?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Rex, I can't bring her on Christmas," she said quickly.

"Why not?"

"Because Jeff is getting suspicious. He's not letting us leave. He booked a trip to Maine to visit his parents on Christmas Eve, and then we're going the next day to New York to see my parents. He won't let me out of his sight," she said.

"This is bullshit. You just want to keep her from me!" I protested.

"I gotta go!" With a click, the call was ended.

Lindsey

I finally stepped out of the stupid jail cell. I was led out of the building by an officer and was met by my father.

"I told you I'd get you out," he said, holding his arms open. I quickly hugged him and we got into the car. "Here's what we're going to do," he said, getting right down to business. "I got onto your computer at home, and instant messaged Sarah, pretending to be one of her friends. Don't worry; I didn't use your screen name. Anyway, I told her and Kate to meet me by the bus stop tomorrow afternoon for a trip to the mall. We're going to pull up and get them in the car, so we can explain what they need to do," he said.

"You really think this is going to work?" I asked him.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. I'm just trying not to be too hopeful about any of this," I said, sighing.

"Don't worry. I won't let you be put away for this," he said, clapping me on the shoulder.

Jesse

"Marco," I said to him. Nate talked the doctor into letting us visit him one at a time. But after that, we were supposed to go home for the night.

I was sitting next to his bed, trying not to cry. He looked horrible. I could barely recognize him with all of the bruises on his face. One of his cheekbones was broken, and he had a tube down his throat to help him breathe. He also had a broken arm, four cracked ribs, and a concussion. He had already been into surgery to fix his punctured lung that was hit by a rib. The doctor said he did the best he could, and all we could do was wait. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he's in a coma.

I lost it just then, thinking about what would happen if he didn't make it. Tears streamed down my cheeks for about the fifth time that day. I started getting nauseous at the sight of Marco. I love him. And I hate seeing him like this. But what if this is the only way I can see him ever again?

"God Marco, don't leave me like this," I said. I had no idea if he could hear me or not, but I figured I should try. I grasped his hand in mine, not wanting to ever let go.

"I should have never gotten mad at you. I didn't want to stop talking to you. Rex and I had a great month. We needed it. But I broke up with him for the last time today. It was something that had to be done. But this…this can't be happening. I finally have the chance to tell you how I feel, and I can't. Maybe you can hear me Marco. I love you. I always have. Ever since the day I laid eyes on you. You're all I can think about, so don't leave me now. Just don't," I begged, squeezing his hand.

"I can sing you know," I said, laughing a little at the fact that I was telling him. "I'm gonna sing to you okay? Maybe it'll help, and maybe it won't, but I want to try. It can't hurt, can it?"

Obviously he wasn't going to answer me, so I simply cleared my throat and began to sing. The only reason I was doing it was that I knew no one could hear me.

"Open the curtain,
Let some light in,
I feel so grey,
The world got smashed to pieces,
And put back together
The wrong way.

Why you leaving me now?
There must be some doubt in your mind,
Can't you open your heart?
Don't want to be left behind.

Open the window,
Let some air in,
I feel so old
There - Where we were happy,
Long ago
Yesterday

Why you leaving me now?
There must be some doubt in your mind,
Can't you open your heart?
Don't want to be left behind."

Rory

Jesse oh-so-graciously offered to see Marco first. I couldn't hide the fact that it bothered me, but I let him go without a fight. This is not the time to be arguing over anything. Marco needs us to just be here for him.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, I gave up and slipped out of the waiting room, down the hall, and stood outside Marco's door. I looked in and saw Jesse singing to him. Well, I heard the singing through the door. I didn't know what to make of the situation. If it had been any other situation, I probably would have laughed at him. But I don't think I can even laugh right now. I'll never laugh again if Marco dies. I'll never live again.

Jesse turned to the door and saw me, standing there and watching him. He leaned down; placing a kiss on Marco's forehead, then came toward me. He left the room and walked right by me without even saying a word. Instead of deciding to get annoyed by his actions, I went into the room instead.

The closer I got to Marco, the more I wanted to throw up right there on the floor. He looked so terrible and it was all my fault. I should have been able to stop those guys. Or, it should have been me lying in that bed, and him coming in to see me.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, and then took a quick look around before lying down next to him. There was just enough room if I curled my arms up against me. It was the only way I felt good enough to talk to him.

"I'm so sorry," I cried out, burying my head into his chest. "This should have never happened. If I hadn't had sex with you, there wouldn't have been a reason for you to be at that clinic. Or, if I had protected you from those guys, you wouldn't be lying in this bed.

I love you so much Marco and I don't know how much more of this I can take. I shouldn't have broken up with you, but I can't take it back now. Even if you do…survive…you still have Andrew. It's too late for us."

Nate

Theresa and Thomas disappeared awhile ago. They were probably off having sex or something. After Jesse came out from seeing Marco, he left. And Rory's been in there for over an hour now.

I wasn't in any rush though. I wasn't sure what I'd say to him. And both of them have more of a relationship with him than I do.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Rory rounded the corner, his head down. I could tell he was crying, so I just let him pass by and keep to himself. After waiting a few minutes, I decided to get up and go see Marco.

The sight of him lying in that bed is almost indescribable. He looked so weak; definitely not like the Marco I'd gotten to know. He actually reminded me of myself at the time. I was weak, and so was he.

"Hey Marco, it's Nate. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say, so I guess I'll just talk. I never really imagined you being here like this. I actually thought it would be me," I paused, sighing and rubbing my eyes.

"I know that you've known Craig a lot longer than I have, but…there's something you probably don't know. He's been…hurting me. But it's not his fault Marco, and I don't know what to do. He just hasn't been taking his meds. Oh man, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You have your own problems, and I shouldn't be throwing mine on you."

It was just so easy to talk to someone who I thought couldn't hear me. Well, maybe he could hear me, but I don't think he comprehended it.

"Get better Marco. We all want you to." With that, I stood up and walked out, afraid to look back.

Remy

I came in the house after storming away from Kelly to find a message on the answering machine. I listened to the message:

"Hey Remy and Andrew, it's Nate. Marco's been hurt. He and Rory were attacked. Rory's fine, but Marco's not good at all. Come down to the hospital as soon as you can!"

The message ended with a beep. Nate sounded so upset in the message. I grabbed my jacket and was about to run out the door when I noticed Andrew sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Andrew, did you play that message?" I asked him suspiciously.

"Yeah, like an hour ago," he replied, changing the channel.

"And why aren't you at the hospital?" I asked.

"I'm not going," he said without emotion.

"Why not? He's your boyfriend!" I protested. "Marco needs you there!"

I walked over and turned the television off, crossing my arms in front of my chest and waiting for an answer.

"Don't you get it?" he yelled. "This is just like what happened to Alex! He died Remy! He's dead. I loved him and I hated seeing him that way. My last memory of him is seeing him hooked up to all those machines. He NEVER woke up. I'm not having my last memory of Marco be the same. I want to remember the way he looked when I saw him this morning. I'm not going," he finished, crossing his arms over his own chest.

"You're being so fucking selfish Andrew! What if he doesn't die? And he finds out that his own boyfriend never came to see him? Huh? What are you going to tell him?" I yelled. I was pissed. I'd want my boyfriend and/or girlfriend to visit me in the hospital whether I was dying or not.

"He's going to DIE. And I'll never see him again. There's absolutely no point!" he yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"You're such a selfish asshole! Just remember that Marco would go see you," I said before leaving.

Jesse

I got home and ran upstairs to talk to Rex. I had to tell him that he should visit Marco because he wasn't looking good.

"Rex, you should really…" I trailed off as I pushed the door open. Rex wasn't there. The window was open, but he was gone. All of his stuff was still in the room, so I knew he didn't just leave.

But where could he be?

As I looked out the window for some kind of clue, a light snow started to fall.

Andrew

I couldn't stop crying after Remy left. Jesse came home soon after that, and ran upstairs for some reason and came running back down a minute later.

"Have you seen Rex?" he asked frantically.

"Nope." I cradled my right arm in my lap. After all the cutting I'd done, it hurt like hell.

"Well, he's gone, and the window's open, and I think he ran away or something," he said, plopping down next to me.

"Why would he run away?" I asked, curious. I was also trying to keep Marco off of my mind.

"Because I broke up with him."

"It's not the first time though, is it? Besides, he's eighteen. Do you really think he ran away? Or, if he did, that he'd be in some kind of trouble? I'm sure he can take care of himself," I said.

"You're probably right. What are you watching?" he asked.

"Nothing special." I was relieved that he wasn't asking why I didn't go see Marco. I also wondered why he was even talking to me, considering he 'hates' me for getting to be with Marco.

I saw him start to cry. He hung his head and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't want Marco to die," he cried.

And that just made me cry even harder.

A/N: Okay, the Marco POV is what he's dreaming/thinking about while he's in the coma. I've never been in a coma so I don't know what it's like, but I wasn't just going to leave him out. There is an actual point to Rex's little thing…it leads to something. Lindsey's out of jail…yay! Do you think his dad's little plot will work? The song that Jesse sings is "Left Behind" by Aqualung and they own it. It's in italics cuz it's a song, obviously, and in quotes because he's singing it. As if you didn't already know that lol. Where do you think Rex went? And will Marco live or die? Who agrees with Andrew and who doesn't? There's also a point to the snow.

I was able to finish this chapter earlier than I thought, and I finished the next one too. I have the whole weekend off of work and I have no homework to do so YAAAAY! I'm gonna relax and write some more of this story. I want to finish it soon so I can get on with the sequel. I also have two other story ideas that I need to work on.