Hey everybody! Thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you like this one just as much. :)
Ryan walked into the hospital carrying the biggest stuffed dog he'd found at the toy store. He really hoped that she didn't think it was stupid and cheesy but he'd wanted to get her something she could cuddle and he remembered her saying once how she liked dogs the best. That it was the only animal she knew of that loved you unconditionally. At the time he'd barely registered what she'd said but now he knew that she'd been saying nobody had ever loved her unconditionally.
He froze when he reached the door. He could hear Veronica talking inside but he knew Seth and Summer weren't here and Julie and Kaitlyn were with Sandy and Kirsten. Then he heard her voice "He's really good at caring one moment and then he flips a switch and gives you a freakin dictionary for your birthday."
"She's awake," he mumbled to himself. He stepped back blindly turning so he was leaning against the wall and then lowered himself until he was sitting on the floor. He'd been waiting for this moment since the Doctor had said she'd be okay but now that she was awake and talking, he was terrified.
He'd heard the pain and anger in her voice. She was still angry. She had every right to be angry. He'd been an idiot and he had to apologize…somehow. Ryan looked at the dog and grimaced. He would have felt better if he could have given her the dog while she was still sleeping so when she woke up she would just have seen the stuffed animal. But now he'd have to give a reason and he wasn't sure he had a reason, or at least a good one. He just wanted to see her smile when she woke up.
He sat there for another minute trying to get the courage to walk into that hospital room and face the woman he loved more than anyone. But realized that he was just going to have to face the music. Taylor was going to be angry and when she got angry she got defensive and standoffish. It was just her way.
He stood up and pretended to wipe the imaginary dirt from his pants which was just another delaying tactic. He picked the dog up off the floor and took one last deep breath before turning the doorknob and opening the door.
Ryan stared at Taylor in the moment before she noticed it was him in the doorway. She was staring at her Mother in surprise and unease. She wasn't sure if her Mother's change of heart was a for sure thing and it was written all over her face. But then she turned her head and saw Ryan and he saw the wall come down. Blocking every thought and feeling from his eyes.
"Hey Taylor," Ryan said attempting to smile but he knew it came out like a grimace. He walked farther into the room and looked around desperately trying to think of something else to say.
"Well I've got things to do," Veronica said quickly heading towards the door. As she passed Ryan she whispered, "good luck." Ryan turned his head surprised to hear those words coming out of the mouth of the one person he was sure hated him. Even if she'd changed her mind about Taylor, that didn't mean she had to like him.
"I guess I should say thank you," Taylor said breaking into his thoughts surprising him. She waited until he was facing her once again before continuing. "So thank you."
"For?" Ryan asked walking around the foot of the bed until he was standing beside the chair. He was about to sit down when he changed his mind and set the stuffed dog in the chair instead.
"For saving me," Taylor said simply. "It seems Marissa and I have more in common than I thought."
"Oh Taylor," Ryan said shaking his head.
"No it's okay Ryan," Taylor said quickly before he could say anything else. "I've said time and again that I'm not Marissa. That I can't be her for you and what do I do. Put myself in a situation where you need to come rescue me. If that's not Marissa than I don't know what is." She covered her mouth after she said that having not meant to say it. "I'm sorry Ryan, that wasn't fair. Marissa was-is…she-" she rambled scrambling for the right word to describe his ex-girlfriend.
"Marissa was a mess," Ryan said for her. "She put herself in stupid situations and then relied on me and the other people in her life to save her and fix her life for her. You are not like that."
"Well I'm still sorry," Taylor said smiling sadly at him. "When I left that night, I wanted to give us space. But instead I gave you more reasons to doubt…whatever we had."
"We had a relationship Taylor," Ryan said stepping forward.
"No we didn't," Taylor denied shaking her head.
"How can you say that?" Ryan asked hurt that she would deny something that he knew was true. They had had a relationship. Albeit a complicated and confusing one at times but a relationship none-the-less.
"Because it's true!" Taylor cried out. But then closed her eyes when the pain from yelling went straight to her head where a headache had already formed.
"Look Taylor," Ryan said calming down when he saw that talking loudly caused her pain. He didn't want her to get worked up. "I am sorry about your birthday. It was me being dumb, no an idiot, no even worse, a moron." When she just stared at him he sighed. "I just got scared."
"I know you did," Taylor said. "But that's just proving my point. You aren't ready for a serious relationship. I knew that when I started pursuing you. So it's my mistake, not yours. I pushed you too fast and I'm sorry for that. But now it's time to just take a step back."
"I don't want to take a step back," Ryan said but from the look on Taylor's face she wasn't going to change her mind anytime soon.
"I do," Taylor said staring at him.
Neither said anything else just stared into each other's eyes. Ryan trying desperately to relay his feelings with just a look but Taylor wasn't buying it. They were interrupted when the door opened and one of the nurses came in talking a mile a minute. Ryan looked down at the floor before turning and walking from the room. She wasn't going to listen to anything he had to say.
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"Seth!" Ryan called walking into Summer's house. He could hear his brother laughing from the living room and immediately headed in that direction. He didn't stop until he was in front of the TV where he shut off the video game he was trying to teach Summer how to play. Kaitlyn was on the other chair making sarcastic comments but sat up when she saw Ryan's face.
"Hey!" Seth cried out staring at him. "We were playing that!"
"I need your help," Ryan said pacing in front of him.
"Ryan what's wrong?" Summer asked sitting forward. "Is it Taylor?"
"She's awake," Ryan said shaking his head.
"But that's a good thing," Summer said confused. "Isn't it?"
"Uh oh," Kaitlyn said making a face. "She's still pissed about the birthday present isn't she?"
"Just a little," Ryan said still pacing away.
"How can we help?" Seth asked tossing the remote control on the coffee table.
"Remember how you always come to me needing help with whatever lame plan you have to get back into Summer's good graces," Ryan said before walking over and sitting down in one of the empty chairs.
"No," Seth lied.
"Well I need one of your lame plans," Ryan said taking a deep breath.
"Ooh ooh," Seth said but quit when Summer elbowed him in the stomach. "Okay, what sort of awesome plan do you need?"
"Something to get Taylor to see that I love her," Ryan said simply.
"Hmmm," Seth said steepling his fingers as he tried to come up with something that could win Taylor over.
"Why him?" Summer asked ticked off. "I am a girl, I'd be the better person to go to for something like this."
"Shh," Seth said patting her knee. "Let the professional handle this."
Summer glared at him before turning to face Ryan. "Why don't you do whatever lame-ass plan Cohen has and when it doesn't work, come see me." She stood up and walked from the room and Seth stood up and followed her quickly.
"I have an even better idea," Kaitlyn said from her seat.
"What's that?" Ryan asked curiously.
"Come to me when tweedle dee and tweedle dumb's plans fail and I'll get Taylor back for you," she said smiling at him. She should have just told him right away what he should do but it was going to be fun to see what Seth and Summer came up with.