Hey everybody!! Wow, thanks for all the reviews. I am so happy that people are actually enjoying the story. I've tried hard to stay in character with everybody and sometimes I think I've lost them but if you don't think so then great. :) I hope you like this chapter.
"Taylor!" Ryan called putting his phone back in his hip pocket. He took a step and peeked into the driver's window and gagged as he backed away. "Don't look in there," he warned Julie. She didn't need to see the dead body.
"We'll find her Ryan," Julie said repeating the same mantra ever since Ryan had pulled Taylor's purse out of the taxi.
"Taylor!" Ryan yelled again.
"Ryan!" Kaitlyn yelled on her way down the hill. Once she heard him yelling Taylor's name she knew he'd been right. That taxi was Taylor's. "Where is she?" she asked once she reached her Mom.
"We don't know," Julie said gently placing her hand on her daughter's arm. "But she has to be around here somewhere."
"Totally," Kaitlyn said attempting an optimistic smile.
"I'm going to go this way," Ryan explained pointing off to the side by the driver's side. "Can you take the other side? Branch out and yell if you see her."
"Shouldn't we call somebody?" Kaitlyn asked curiously.
"I'm sure somebody up there called 911 but who knows how many emergency calls they've had tonight," Ryan pointed out. "I can't wait for search and rescue. This is Taylor…I have to find her."
"Okay Ryan," Julie said nodding her head. "We'll go this way."
Ryan nodded and swallowed the lump in his throat. He was terrified of what he would find in the woods. All day today he'd been panicking because he'd told her he loved her. Now he wished he hadn't gotten scared and messed everything up. He was always screwing things up.
Everybody could blame Marissa, it was the easy thing to do since she wasn't here anymore. But he knew that most of the time it had been his fault. He was like poison for relationships. He couldn't keep a healthy one for long, he always had to do something to destroy it. This time it just happened to be a dictionary.
Who gives somebody a dictionary for a birthday present? Even if he hadn't been in love wither her, you don't give a girl you're seeing a dictionary. It was like holding up a neon sign that said I didn't put a single thought into the gift. But after telling her he loved her and then giving her the world's worst present, he was a complete ass. And he just wanted to find her so she could tell him that…over and over if she wanted.
"Ryan!" he heard Summer yell.
"Over here!" Ryan yelled back. He paused and waited for Seth and Summer to catch up with him.
"Where is she?" Summer asked completely out of breath having run from Seth's jeep until she reached Ryan.
"Somewhere out here," Ryan said gesturing towards the woods that surrounded them. "Kaitlyn and Julie are looking in the other direction."
"Do you really think you're going to find her?" Seth asked softly. He held up both his hands when Summer and Ryan both glared at him. "I'm just trying to be the voice of reason here. Do you know how big these woods are? She could be anywhere."
"We'll find her," Ryan said for what seemed like the millionth time.
"We have to," Summer added. "Taylor!" she yelled loudly going off in another direction leaving Ryan and Seth standing together.
"I still think we should wait," Seth said honestly. "We don't know where she is. She could be disoriented and wandering aimlessly somewhere out here."
"Or she could be seriously hurt out here," Ryan said shaking his head at Seth's suggestion. "I can't wait Seth. She's out here because of me. Because of my damn insecurities she was in a taxi on the road during the earth quake."
"I still don't understand why she left," Seth said confused. Both guys started walking together, keeping their eyes peeled for Taylor.
"She needed to get away," Ryan explained even though he didn't understand it himself. "She was sick of carrying our relationship and couldn't do it anymore."
"I just can't see Taylor quitting," Seth said surprised she'd finally saw what he'd been saying from the beginning. That Ryan wasn't ready for anything serious, he probably wouldn't be for a long time.
"Well she did," Ryan said. "She thinks I'm still hung up on Marissa."
"Well aren't you," Seth said surprised when Ryan shook his head no.
"I won't lie and say I don't think about her from time to time," Ryan explained. "But ever since I got that letter from her during Chrismukkah…I've let go of her."
"Seriously," Seth said surprised.
"I'm always going to love her," Ryan went on. "She was a huge part of my life but that part of my life is over. I've started a new life…with Taylor. It's different but a good different. It's lighter and easier…it's pretty great actually."
"Then why the dictionary?" Seth asked chuckling when Ryan's face flushed a dull red.
"Because I was scared," Ryan admitted. "Just because I love Taylor doesn't mean I wanted to. I didn't want to fall in love with anybody ever again. It was so hard the first time."
"Love isn't easy," Summer said from behind them.
"I know it's not," Ryan said.
"Our love isn't easy," Seth said at the same time.
"Shut up Cohen," Summer said rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. "But Marissa and you were too alike to last forever." When Seth and Ryan stared at her she shrugged her shoulders at the uncomfortable silence. "I'm just saying that you were both dark and broody and really, really intense." Summer paused and smiled before continuing. "Taylor is your exact opposite. She brings out a fun playful side to you. It was nice getting to know that Ryan."
"That is true," Seth agreed.
They all walked together in silence, their eyes straining in the darkness to catch a glimpse of Taylor. Ryan was slowly starting to agree with Seth that their whole search was fruitless when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.
"Taylor," Ryan said in a normal tone causing Seth and Summer to freeze and stare at him.
"Do you see her?" Summer asked looking around without seeing anything. She stared at Ryan with her mouth hanging open when he took off running. "Ryan Atwood!"
"Taylor," Ryan said as he reached her. He wanted to cry when he saw the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. He gently touched the bump on her head that was still oozing blood. He was afraid to move her in case she was seriously hurt.
"Oh my God Taylor," Summer said crouching down on the other side. She had to wipe away her tears before she could grab her cell phone to call 911.
"911 emergency, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher asked after only one ring.
"Yeah hi, I just found my friend and she's unconscious with a big bump on her forehead," Summer said watching Ryan gently stroke her face and call her name trying to wake her up.
"How long has she been unconscious?" the dispatcher asked.
"I said I just found her!" Summer yelled into the phone. She stared up at Seth in shock when he ripped the phone out of her hands this time.
"Yeah we just found her. It looks like she crawled away from the car accident she was in," Seth explained more calmly. "The taxi she was in went through a guard rail and down into a ditch."
"Sir there is a long list of emergencies and we are working our way through them," the dispatcher said. "The ambulances ETA is approximately 20 minutes."
Seth nodded his head as he closed the phone and handed it back to Summer. "So yeah the ambulance isn't going to be much help. We're going to have to get her to the hospital ourselves."
"I don't know if we should move her," Summer said softly.
"She got herself out of the taxi and got herself this far away from the taxi," Seth pointed out. "I'm sure she doesn't have a back or neck injury honey."
"We don't know that for sure though," Summer said shot back.
"Guys!" Ryan barked their bickering getting on his nerves. "Arguing about it isn't going to do any good. Now Seth's right, we can't wait Summer." He placed his left arm under Taylor's neck and his right under her legs and lifted slowly. When she didn't even wake he sighed in relief. "Now we just have to get to the car."
"This way," Summer said standing up taking the lead.
"Uh…honey…it's that way," Seth said pointing in the opposite direction.
"I know where the car is Cohen," Summer snapped. "And it's this way."
"You're both wrong," Ryan said rolling his eyes. He lead the way and as soon as they reached the burning taxi he started climbing the hill as he said, "go find Julie and Kaitlyn. Meet me at the hospital."
"I'm going with you," Summer said leaving Seth to find the Cooper's.
Ryan swore when he started slipping. The hill was steep and trying to carry somebody up it wasn't the easiest thing to do. "Summer I need your help," he mumbled.
"Anything," Summer said out of breath once again.
"I need you to help carry her," Ryan said pausing until Summer was beside him. He readjusted his hold on Taylor until Summer was supporting her back and head. "Be careful, we can't jar her anymore than we already are."
"Let's just go," Summer said staring down at her best friend. She didn't look real good. She was deathly pale with blood caked in her hair. Her face was covered in dirt and blood mixed with it.
Once they reached the road the crowd of people separated clearing them a path to Julie's SUV. Ryan took all of Taylor's weight while Summer climbed into the backseat first. Then he placed her gently across with her head in Summer's lap. He stared at her for another second praying to God that he didn't lose another person he loved.
"Ryan, lets go," Summer said breaking into his thoughts.
Ryan ran around the front of the SUV and jumped in the car in a matter of seconds. He pulled onto the road and started the short trek to the hospital. There was an uncomfortable silence in the car and it was driving Ryan nuts. He kept glancing back in the rearview mirror at an unconscious Taylor and Summer who was running her hand through Taylor's hair. But seeing the two of them together, he couldn't help but wonder what Taylor had said on Summer's voice mail.
"What did the message say?" Ryan asked breaking the silence.
"Huh…what?" Summer asked looking at him in confusion.
"You said Taylor left you a message," Ryan said slowly so she didn't misunderstand. "What did the message say?"
"Look Ryan," Summer said trying to put him off. She searched for the right words but couldn't find them. "Does it really matter?"
"It was the last thing she said before the accident," Ryan said wondering how bad the message was if Summer didn't want him to hear it. "I know she's angry with me but I just need to know."
Summer stared at the back of his head before reaching into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. She didn't know if it was a good idea to let him listen to the message but she honestly didn't think the communication between Taylor and Ryan could get any worse. "Just dial one and follow the directions."
Ryan took a deep breath as he took the cell phone from Summer's hand. He was nervous to hear the last words Taylor had uttered to anybody. He followed Summer's directions and placed the phone to his ear.
"Hey Summer I just wanted to let you know that…I'm okay. I know it wasn't nice of me to run out on my party but under the circumstances." Ryan could hear the pain in her voice and he swallowed the lump in his throat as she continued. "Anyway, I won't be at your house when you get there. I packed a bag and I'm on my way…I don't even know where I'm going actually. I'm sorta being spontaneous again…kinda like I did in Paris and look how well that turned out." Ryan winced when she mentioned Paris. If she was lumping him with Henri-Michel, he would definitely be groveling. "Everybody was right Summer. I should have left him alone. He wasn't ready, hell I don't even know if I was ready. I forgot one thing when I chased after Ryan….you can't compete with a dead girl. My mistake right? Well, I'll call you when I get wherever I'm going. Night Sum."
Ryan handed the phone back to Summer as he blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall. He hated that Taylor thought she was competing with Marissa. Because she wasn't. There was no competition between the two girls. He needed her to wake up so he could tell her that.