A/N: Oh my, gosh, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! It's just that it's almost the end of the school year and I've been really busy turning in final projects and stuff. I had to be in a book competition (which we lost!), a recognition ceremony, a choir concert, a bar mitzvah and a christening. I did those all in one week! And I was so exhausted! So, I hope you all forgive me! Thanks for the reviews!
megan: thanks! and no need to apologize, I should be the one apologizing. I just hope you didn't give up on my story.
-Millie Keane-: well, you're gonna have to read to find out!sorry for the delay!
ILuvLucasGrabeel: thanks! and I can't wait for the CD too! I love his voice, it's so soothing!
Tigerlily Brown: haha, you're gonna have to read to find out what happens!
thunderyoshi: thanks! and yes, I love my cliffies. Cliffies are heaven. lol.
TheFabMax: haha, maybe you need a new spleen by now. I'm so sorry I took so long to update! Is your spleen okay?
you go girl: i know! i'm plenty evil!
lol925: thanks! you're gonna find out real soon! I'm terribly sorry for the long delay!
Corbin's My Man: Sorry for the long delay! I hope you haven't given up on my story yet!
Queen Desvel: is it swolen? put some ice on it! lol. Sorry for the wait!
Well, here's the next installment. I hope you all are still reading even after... what... three weeks? Yeah, I hope you all would forgive me. But you probably won't because I'm a horrible updater. Let me shut up now so you can enjoy the nice story.
This Is War
Chapter 29: The Language of Love
"Mr. Evans, I'm afraid we have bad news." Ryan heard the doctor say. He gulped and sucked in a whole lot of air. The rest of the gang circled in around them. Taylor came by his side and started rubbing his back.
"Yes doctor." Ryan answered and nodded. He almost didn't want to hear the bad news. He wanted to shut his ears off, cut them off even, to lose all sense of hearing. He was afraid that he might hear something so vile and repulsive. But he knew he couldn't just get a knife and cut them off. So there was no point in delaying the news.
"Ms. Montez is in stable condition, she stopped shaking, her heart beats are now normal, faster than before but slower than when we came in, and her temperature is just right. We took off her neck brace as she doesn't need it anymore." The doctor informed them. Ryan didn't get it. What was the bad news?
"But I thought you said you had bad news? Those are all good news." Ryan said. The doctor nodded.
"I know. The bad news is that we have restrained your sister to the hospital bed. Several times, she tried to get up from her bed to take a peek at what we were doing with Ms. Montez. She cannot keep still and she kept pestering us with questions and concerns. So we had no choice but to have restrained her, so we did. We hope it's okay with you."
"That's fine. She can be a handful at times, I understand. But what did you use to restrain her?" Ryan asked.
"Handcuffs and duct tape." The doctor answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "We keep handcuffs because there are always stubborn patients out there who just cannot mind their own business." The doctor explained. Ryan sighed of relief.
"At first I thought the bad news was that something bad happened to Gabriella." Ryan said as he wiped his brow with his sleeve.
"I wasn't finished." The doctor continued. Ryan froze on the spot and stared at the doctor as if he was some sort of maniac. "Ms. Montez is still in a coma and you cannot visit her right now. What happened was, when you were giving her affection, she could hear you and feel you, but she cannot open her eyes to respond. She wanted to do something but she couldn't so her body started shaking vigorously in response to her emotions. Her emotions are still highly unstable, so she might not make it the next time you come near her." The doctor informed Ryan.
Ryan scrunched his brow. "What? No! That doesn't make sense! I'm her boyfriend! I'm supposed to give her affection! What if she wakes up and I'm not there? She'll be all alone!"
"You don't need to be there when she wakes up, sir."
"Yes I do."
"No you don't."
Ryan didn't bother to argue. He pushed past the doctor and barged in the room. The rest of the doctors and nurses tried to block him from getting any closer to Gabriella. They succeeded for a bit but then he eventually got past them.
"Ryan, you idiot, don't touch her! Listen to me! Jesus Christ, Ryan, you are so stubborn! I'm your older sister! Will you just listen to me for once?" Sharpay shouted after she miraculously managed to rip the duct tape off of her mouth just as Ryan was inches away from Gabriella.
But Ryan never got to touch her. Just as his fingers were mere centimeters away from her face, someone grabbed his hand and put it around his back.
"Let go! I need to see if she's okay!" Ryan shouted as he struggled to break free of the tight grip, trying to get his broken arm to beat the person clutching him. Suddenly, multiple hands grasped his shoulders, his arms, and his torso, pulling him farther back.
"Ryan, you heard the doctor! They said she was in stable condition! You don't need to be making it worse than what it already is!" Jason shouted as he pulled on Ryan's shoulders. Ryan just fought back and pulled forward.
"She's stable, but that doesn't mean she's okay!" Ryan shouted and struggled.
"You're worried she won't be okay. Well, she'll be in worse condition if you touch her! Didn't you listen to the doctor? Her emotions are unstable. Touch her and she might die!" Chad shouted as he pulled harder on Ryan's arms, careful not to hurt his broken arm. This made Ryan stop struggling and just stare at Gabriella.
"But-"
"Ryan." Zeke said, spinning Ryan around and looked him straight in the eye. "The doctors are doing everything they can to make sure Gabriella wakes up. They're doing everything they can to make sure she doesn't die. You've always trusted Gabriella. So, why can't you trust that she's going to be okay?" Zeke said. Ryan's eyes softened. He knew Zeke was right.
He sat down on one of the waiting chairs outside of the room, crying and sniffling. The rest of the gang circled around him. Kelsi sat down and made him put his head on her shoulder.
"Ssshhh. It's going to be all right." Kelsi comforted him. She started rocking him back and forth.
Kelsi giggled. "When we were back in high school, before Gabriella came, you were so cold – ice cold – I couldn't even come near you. You never cared about anybody but yourself. Then Gabriella came, and she and Troy took the musical away from you and Sharpay. By then, one would think that you hated her for doing that. But here you are now, ten years later, doing everything you can to get to her, grieving over her fragile structure, doing everything you can so she wouldn't die. Who'd a thought?" She said, still rocking him back and forth. Ryan still sniffled and cried, dampening Kelsi's shirt.
"I guess love has a way of changing things and making the impossible happen." Kelsi finished. Ryan pulled his head up.
"You guys don't understand. I promised her. I promised her that I would always have her back. I will never forgive myself is she dies and I didn't do anything about it. If she wakes up and she doesn't find me there beside her, she might get mad at me and she might not want to see me again because she knows I made that promise. I don't want her to stop seeing me. I love her."
"We know you love her, dude. And if you really love her, you'd stay away for a while, for her sake. When she wakes up, she's gonna thank you. Thank you for not endangering her life. She'll understand why you weren't there." Troy said.
"But what if she doesn't?"
"Then she doesn't. It's not your fault, man. You can't make a person love you. They either do or they don't." Chad said.
"That's the point! I can't live without Gabriella. She's my everything and I-" Ryan paused for a while. "I might just kill myself if she dies."
"Ryan, you've trusted her before. Why can't you trust her now? Why can't you convince yourself that she'll wake up? Why can't you convince yourself that she'll forgive you? She loves you too Ryan, and I don't think she can live without you either." Taylor said. Ryan sighed.
He put his forehead in his hand. "I'm just-" He breathed deeply. "I don't know what to do, what to think, or what to say."
"You don't have to do anything. All you have to do is keep believing and keep loving her. You do that and she'll wake up eventually." Jason said.
"Ryan, can you come with me? I think someone might want to see you." Troy said as he signaled for a walk. Ryan wiped his eyes and looked at his watch.
"It's time for Sharpay's daily stroll around the hospital on the wheelchair. I need to take her." He said while standing up but Zeke grabbed his arm.
"I'll take her. You go on ahead with Troy." Zeke said.
"You sure?" Ryan asked, making sure Zeke really wanted to do this. He nodded. "That way, I can spend more time with her. She's my wife after all."
"All right. Come on Troy." He said as he stood up. He and Troy started walking down the hall. They stopped and called an elevator. They entered it when it came.
"So where are you taking me? Who wants to see me?" Ryan asked as the elevator doors closed behind him.
"You'll see."
"Good afternoon officer Grant. Mind if my friend comes and visits her with me?" Troy asked the officer standing guard at one of the hospital room doors.
"Not at all son, go on ahead. Just make sure she stays where she is." The middle-aged cop tipped his hat and opened the door for them. Troy and Ryan thanked him and walked in.
"Troy, where are we?" Ryan said as he entered the room, noticing something under the sheets, sleeping on the hospital bed. "Who is she?" Ryan asked, noticing the long blonde hair from under the covers. Troy tapped the person. The shape moved and wriggled, having difficulty sitting up with her leg in a cast.
"Who-" Leslie said as she stirred awake and noticed Ryan looking at her. "What's going on?" she asked Troy.
"Why'd you bring me here?" Ryan asked Troy.
"I figured you guys need to talk."
"There is no way in hell am I going to talk to that piece of-" Leslie started but Ryan cut her off.
"Oh, really? Well what makes you think I'm going to talk to you?" Ryan countered. Leslie just glared at him.
"Just sit down Ryan." Troy said as he forced Ryan to sit beside Leslie.
"What the hell man? What the hell are you trying to do? Are you trying to set me up here, is that it? You're trying to set me up to the girl who's responsible for putting Gabby in a coma? Oh hell no-" Ryan ranted as he sat on the chair reluctantly.
"RYAN, SHUT UP!" Troy finally said. He's had enough of Ryan's stubbornness. "I'm not setting you up okay. I'm just trying to get you two to talk. I know it might be hard because she injured Gabby, but I found out why she's so mad at you. So maybe if she told you, you'd understand too. All right? So, I'll be right outside if any of you need me." Troy said before standing up and exiting the room, leaving Leslie and Ryan to talk.
"He really thinks we're going to talk, doesn't he?" Leslie said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do? It's not like he's going to let me get out of here without saying anything to you. So, might as well get over it."
"Well, you can talk all you want, but don't expect me to listen."
"You know, I'd get out of here a lot faster if you listened to me." Ryan said, making Leslie perk up.
"Fine, let's get this over with."
"I'm not getting in the damn chair! How many times am I supposed to say that?" Sharpay shouted as she struggled to get free of Zeke's grip.
"Sharpay, be quiet! You'll disturb Gabriella!" Zeke whispered loudly as he tried to get Sharpay in the chair.
"Oh for heaven's sake, she's in a coma, don't you want her to wake up?"
"Sharpay! Ryan said it's time for your daily strolls. He's gonna be really mad at me if I don't take you strolling!" Zeke said, taking Sharpay in his arms, being careful about her broken leg and putting her in a wheelchair. Sharpay tried to get up from the chair but her leg forbids her to.
"Ryan also wants me to look after Gabriella! And he's gonna be really mad at me if I don't do it!" She screamed.
"Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, and Jason are here to look after her! She'll be fine! And we don't need Ryan to be worrying about you too! So please Shar, just let me push you around the hospital!" Zeke said forcefully. Sharpay groaned and gave in to Zeke's command. Zeke raised Sharpay's leg up and started wheeling her around the hospital.
"So, why'd you leave us?" Ryan asked Leslie. They never thought they'd be in a heated conversation with each other.
"I left because I really wanted to fulfill my dreams of becoming a film maker. So I thought that children would stop me from getting to that dream. I left you and the girls and moved to Los Angeles. Only a few months after I moved, I became broke. Maybe because of all the parties I threw and stuff. So, I managed to get back to the East Coast in hopes of doing what I wanted to do. That's where I first met Troy. I really liked him and he liked me too so we hit it off. Finally, Mr. Preston, the theatre director, read one of the plays that I wrote and wanted to do it. So that's how I became a playwright. That's the first time I saw you and the girls again."
"But why did you take the girls from me?"
Leslie sighed, exasperated. "Because!" She shouted and sighed once more. "Because I was jealous. I was jealous that you got to be this big-time actor, even though you still had children to take care of. You got to follow your dreams while I was stuck working my ass off doing different kinds of things just so I could earn a little money." Leslie looked Ryan in the eye. "I thought that maybe if I took the girls, I would have the same kind of life as you and in turn, you'd be miserable."
"Maybe if you told me this when you left, I wouldn't have hated you all these years." Ryan told Leslie. She looked him right in the eye once more, this time tears in her eyes.
"You hated me?"
"Well, how are you supposed to feel if you got someone pregnant unexpectedly, then they give birth, and then they abandon you with twin girls? It's hard being a single dad to twin girls you know. They needed a mother in their life. And you left without even saying goodbye." Ryan said before looking down.
"That was my mistake. Maybe if I had stayed, we wouldn't be in this predicament, and I still could've fulfilled my dream."
"That's your problem. Instead of taking the girls, you could've just apologized to me when we met in New York. You could've just asked me if I knew anybody that would give you a job. I have tons of people asking me if they know any good film makers."
"Really?" Leslie said, wiping her eyes putting her head down in shame. "I'm so stupid!" She said, as she banged her fist on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so damn stupid! Now I look like a greedy bitch that deserves to die. God, I'm sorry Ryan, I'm so sorry! I just don't know what got into me these past couple of months. I'm sorry!" She shouted, more tears coming from her eyes.
"Did you just apologize?" Ryan asked as Leslie nodded and sniffed. "That's the Leslie I know and like." Ryan said as he reaches out and hugs Leslie. He actually hugged her. She was shocked for a while; not expecting Ryan to hold her like this, but she promptly hugged back.
"I really am sorry Ryan. I don't even deserve to be alive right now, goddammit!" Leslie said as she cried onto his shoulder, dampening his sleeve.
"No, don't talk like that, Les." Ryan said, remembering his old nickname for her. "Everybody has a reason to live. I think yours was to make me realize that I should be happy with what I have before it gets taken away from me. Thanks for teaching me a lesson." He said before letting go and wiping Leslie's face with his thumbs.
"Hey maybe you could ride in a wheelchair and I could push you around. What do you say?" Ryan offered. Leslie shook her head. "No thanks. I don't think I'm ready yet. Why don't you just call Troy in and tell him that we're done talking." Leslie said before lying back down on her pillow and closing her eyes.
"Okay, I'll go and tell Troy." Ryan walked out of the room and nodded his head in salute to the officer. He found Troy waiting patiently on one of the cushioned chairs, fiddling with his fingers. He looked up and smiled.
"Still alive, huh? I thought she would've killed you by now." Troy joked, standing up so he was level with Ryan.
"So how'd it go?"
"It went pretty well. We talked and we wanted you to know we were done talking."
"So what happened?"
"We made up and we're friends again."
"That fast? I thought you guys would've taken longer."
"Well, why don't you see for yourself? Come on, Leslie wants to see you." Ryan said, leading Troy back into the hospital room.
Their eyes fly over to the object that is placed in Leslie's hands. It was a butter knife. The knife was pointed towards her chest.
"Leslie, what are you doing?" Troy asked, looking around, trying to find where she got the butter knife. He looked over her bedside table, the breakfast tray still not cleaned up.
"Leslie, put the knife down." Ryan said and walked towards Leslie. He stopped soon in his tracks when Leslie pointed the knife at him.
"Don't one of you try to stop me. Because if you do, you're going to hell along with me." Leslie said, crying her eyes out, pointing the knife back to her chest. "I know I don't deserve to live, so I might as well end it right here, right now. Ryan, tell the girls I love them. Troy, I really did love you, it's not just a fling or whatever. I loved you. And I'm sorry for doing this but I know that your lives would be easier if I wasn't here. So… goodbye." Leslie said.
She stabbed herself right in the chest.
Blood spread everywhere, staining her hospital gown. Her hands held the knife tightly as she kept pushing it down. She gasped for air as her hands trembled and blood trickled on her hand. She was still alive. She pulled the knife out from her chest as Ryan and Troy looked on, completely shocked, and too stunned to do anything about it.
She stuck the knife in her stomach. Her hands and fingers trembled as more blood stained the gown. Fresh blood comes trickling down from the side of her mouth, and final tears fell from her bloodshot eyes.
"I love you Troy." Those were the last words that came out of her limp mouth. Her hands fell from the knife to her sides, stained from the blood that she was secreting. The knife was still in her abdomen.
It took a while for Troy or Ryan to react. Troy was the first one to move. He rushed over to Leslie's side and pulled the knife out. He kept calling her name, caressing her face, and rocking her back and forth.
"Leslie? Leslie! Les! Talk to me! Leslie!" Troy shouted into Leslie's lifeless form. "Ryan, help her!" Troy commanded.
Ryan didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing he thought was sensible.
He ran from the room and never came back.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" Gabriella shouted. She found herself in the middle of an endless field of sunflowers, trying to find a way out. She was wearing her favorite yellow sundress and her hair was in a ponytail.
She ran for more than five minutes before finally settling on the fact that it was never going to end. She put her hand on her knees and panted, pushing some of her locks behind her ear.
"There's no use, Gabby. There's no use." Gabriella heard a subtle voice say. She turned around and saw her father, wearing white pants, white shoes, and a yellow button up shirt.
"Papa?" Gabriella said. She ran towards her father but she couldn't touch him. She felt as if there was a wall blocking her from getting to her father. "You can talk now! Where are we?"
"You are sleeping. I am just a part of your memory. Glad to know you still remember your old man."
"I've missed you Dad." Gabriella said, her voice cracking.
"I know honey. I'm sorry I haven't been with you all those years. I wish I did."
"I need you right now."
"I can see that. You are in love with this boy, Ryan Evans, is it? And you feel as if it's all your fault all this chaos is happening, is that it?" Gabriella's father asked. Gabriella merely nodded.
"Gabby, it's not your fault. It's not your fault you fell in love."
"I know, but it's my fault that Sharpay and Leslie are hurt. If I didn't get involved, they'd both be fine."
"But if you hadn't gotten involved, Ryan's children would've been in a bad situation right now. You need to think about the positives Gabriella, remember what I taught you. Always be optimistic. Look at the bright side."
"I know, Papa, it's just it's hard to do that when everything around you is going wrong."
"You know what's wrong? You are still here. Why are you not awake?"
"I'm afraid Ryan will never forgive me."
"Honey, Ryan already forgave you a long time ago. You have to stop thinking that he hasn't. And you're just causing him more worry and distress by not waking up. He wants you to wake up sweetie. If he doesn't want to forgive you, why would he want you to wake up?" Gabriella's father pointed out. Gabriella merely sniffled.
"And besides, if he loves you like I know he does, he wouldn't care. Now you have to wake up, Gabby."
"What?"
"Wake up Gabby, wake up Gabby…" Gabriella heard her father say. Her father's image was quickly fading, his voice floating in her mind.
"Dad, wait!" She shouted, but it was no use. She was being pulled back. She reached her hand out but only managed to grab air. Darkness came over her.
"Wake up, Gabby, wake up, Gabby." Taylor was repeating over and over as she, Chad, Kelsi, and Jason looked over Gabriella at a respectable distance, as the doctor said.
"Tay, do you actually think she'll wake up if you say that over and over? You've been saying those exact words for the past ten minutes." Kelsi pointed out.
"Hey, you never know, it might work." Taylor responded and resumed on chanting. Suddenly, the blanket over Gabriella moved. Taylor lurched forward but Chad held her back.
"She's actually waking up!" Taylor shouted. Gabriella stirred. She opened her eyes and spoke up.
"Ryan… I love you…"
Okay, so I know it's a little bit rushed. I apologize once again. Darn, I've been apologizing a lot lately. But I hope you all still like it! I definitely enjoyed writing it.