My Saving Grace

Chapter 17 I Will Remember You

Please don't forget me when I'm gone because I'll always be apart of you heart.

The only thing that could be heard was the pounding of her heart beating in her chest. The doctor was examining her from head to toe at the request of her father. Riley was beginning to become frustrated with the doctor and her father. She just wanted to make sure that her boyfriend was okay. He was the one that was actually hurt.

"Okay," she jumped off the table. "I'm fine."

"Riley," Lucas protested.

"No, dad I have to go find Owen. I am fine, but I'm not sure that he is." She walked to the door. Her entire body was shaking from fear. Thirty minutes ago a man had tried to run her over, and instead her boyfriend had saved her life, and he may have lost his.

Lucas watched his daughter walked out of the hospital room. She was broken and fragile, and he was so afraid that there was nothing he could do to fix her, especially if something happened to Owen.

She made her way down the hall looking for answers that she wasn't even sure she wanted. She stopped by the nurse's station. "Hi, I need to know if Owen Collins is okay."

"I can only release that information to family."

"I am family." It was true. She had been there for him more than anyone in his actual family.

The nurse looked at her and could tell by her facial expressions that she needed answers.

"I'll get his doctor."

"Please her hurry," her voice was broken and torn. The fear could be heard throughout her voice. She kept having visions of the accident. It all happened so fast. She had bent down to get her purse and the next thing she knew Owen had pushed her out of the way, and was lying on the ground almost lifeless.

Lucas wrapped his arm around his daughter. "It is going to be okay Riley." He wasn't sure if it was, but he thought those words sounded better than anything else he could have said. He felt like he had to say something. Something that would make her feel better, but by the look of her face nothing was going to make it better.

"You should call Peyton. She should know what happened." With that said she walked slowly to the waiting room to wait for the doctor.

Lucas picked up his phone.

………………………………….

At the Scott house Brooke and Preston were fanning Peyton. She had finally come to. "Mom are you okay?"

"Yeah Preston I'm fine."

"We should take you to the doctor." Brooke thought.

"No um I have to call Lucas."

"What's going on?" Preston was really worried. He knew that something was wrong. He could tell by the look in his mom's eyes.

"It seems that…." She couldn't finish because the phone rang. "Hello," she answered.

"Peyton, hey it's me." His voice was weak.

"What's wrong?"

"There was an accident."

Before he could finish Peyton chimed in, "Jason." She knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Yeah um you need to come to the hospital."

"Lucas are you okay?" Worry and guilty filled her body.

"I'm fine, but I really need you here."

"I'm on my way." Peyton hung up the phone. "We've got to go to the hospital."

"What's wrong mom? Is dad okay?"

"He sounded really shaken up, but he said he was fine."

"Come on I'll drive," Preston said as he and Peyton walked out of the room. "Come on Aunt Brooke," he yelled.

"I'm coming," Brooke yelled as she walked into the bathroom and looked at the pregnancy test and stuck it in her purse.

…………………………….

Back at the hospital Lucas walked into the waiting room to see his daughter talking to a doctor. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he didn't have to hear it to know what was going on. The look on Riley's face said it all. He couldn't believe that she was going through yet another tragedy so early in her life. He felt responsible for causing her this much pain. It wasn't fair. He was supposed to protect her. It was his job as her father to protect her.

After speaking with the doctor she slowly walked past her father not saying a word. He didn't speak either. He didn't feel that the time was right. He watched her follow the doctor into one of the hospital rooms. He knew exactly what was happening, and it broke his heart.

Riley walked into Owen's hospital room to see him looking more weak than she ever thought possible. There were machines and monitors everywhere. His eyes were closed and his breathing seemed normal.

She walked over to his bed and held his hand. "You've got to be okay baby. The doctors have to be wrong. You are a fighter. I can't live without you Owen."

His eyes opened slowly and he let out a slight smile. Riley could tell that it was hurting him even to smile. "Hey pretty girl. I feel like I just got hit by car."

"That's not funny," she had tears rolling down her face.

"Don't cry," he begged her. "I hate to see you cry."

She sat down on the bed while she was still holding his hand. She never wanted to let go.

"I love you so much Riley Hannah Scott. This past year with you has been incredible. I never thought that I would ever meet someone like you."

"We're supposed to be together forever Owen."

He wiped her tears away. "I'll always be with you Riley."

"You can't leave me Owen. This isn't how our fairytale is supposed to end. Fairytales are supposed to be happy."

He smiled, "I have been happier than I have ever been in my entire life. Our fairytale isn't ending badly because we were able to love each other when some people go through life and never have what we have had."

"I refuse to believe that this is how our story ends."

"Your story is just beginning." He squeezed her hand as tight as he could. "There are so many things I want to tell you."

"Don't leave me," she begged, but they both could feel the inevitable.

"They couldn't fix me in surgery Riley. There is nothing more they can do, but there is something you can do. It is something that I have wanted since the moment I laid eyes on you."

"I'll do anything for you," her tears were growing heavier and heavier. They weren't sure how much time they had together, but they were both sure that it was the end of the road for Owen.

"I had always planned to marry you and have a big family with a white picket fence. We were gonna be the dream couple with the dream kids and the dream house. We were going to have everything. I wanted everything with you."

"I would have said yes." She had dreamed the same things.

"Can I tell you what I what have said?"

She bit her bottom lip hoping to control the tears that kept flowing down her face. "Why don't you wait?" She refused to believe that it was over for them.

He could barely look at her because he knew that this was hard for her, and once he was gone it was going to be even harder for her. "I never thought that when I first met you that I would have these feelings that never went away. You make me happy, mad, confused, and you honestly made me feel loved, and that is something that I have never really felt. I always thought that I could read people, but you were always so hard to read. You weren't an open book for me, and I think that I just cracked the surface with you."

She was shaking and he rubbed her arm to calm her. "I know that there is so much more for us to do together, but I want you to remember all the happy times we had. I don't want you to remember me like this. I don't want you to think about all the time that we are going to lose but think about how happy we made each other. I love you and that will never stop. You gave me my fairytale Riley, don't you ever forget that."

She leaned in and kissed him. "I'll never forget you Owen."

"You can still have your fairytale Riley. Don't ever stop dreaming because they do come true. Will you lay with me?" He extended his hand and she laid next to him. This would be the last time that she would lay next to the guy she loved. Their story was ending, and it wasn't a happy one.

She whispered in his ear, "You save me, and for that I will always be grateful."

"I would do it again a thousand times if I had too. It was always meant for you to save me…..Think of this way people will be talking about our love for years. We have the greatest most amazing love story, and it doesn't have to end just because I'll be gone." He gave her one final kiss.

Lucas watched from the window as his daughter laid next to Owen. It crushed his heart. Peyton saw him as she, Preston, and Brooke walked down the hall. "Luke," she said as she hugged him. "What happened?"

He held her tightly, and then finally looked into her beautiful green eyes. "Jason tried to kill Riley tonight."

"Oh my God, where is she?" Her heart dropped into her stomach.

"She's fine well physically she's fine, but emotionally she is a major wreck. Owen saved her life, but he's gonna lose his."

"No, that can't happen," Preston shook his head. "He can't die." He and Owen were good friends, and he didn't want to lose him.

Lucas looked through the window and then back at Peyton. "I'm gonna need you now more than ever."

"We're in this together." She looked at the scene before her and it broke her heart. "She's gonna need all of us now."

About thirty minutes later Riley walked out of Owen's hospital room. Her face was puffy red with tears streaming down her face. She didn't say anything, and neither did anyone else. Lucas just took her in his arms. He fell to the floor with her as she cried her eyes out.

……………………

Later that night Brooke had decided to spend the night with them. She figured they could use the help. Lucas was upstairs with Riley hoping to get her to sleep. The doctor had given her some medicine, but she refused to take it. She didn't want to take anything. She didn't want to forget what had happened. She wanted to remember her last moments with Owen forever.

Downstairs Peyton sat down for the first time all night. Brooke walked into the kitchen. "Hey, how are you holding up?"

"I can't believe that Jason did all of this. It was okay when he was hurting me, but it is not okay for him to hurt Riley. She didn't deserve this."

"At least he's dead, and you never have to worry about him ever again."

Peyton rested her head on Brooke's shoulders. "Can things get any worse?"

"No, but they can get better." Brooke reached for her purse and handed her the pregnancy test.

"Oh God I totally forgot that I took that. It seems like years ago."

"You're pregnant Peyton." Brooke smiled.

Peyton had tears in her eyes. It was bitter sweet for her. Someone's life had been taken because of her horrible past, and now a new little life was going to be brought into the world. Peyton couldn't believe it. It was exactly what she and Lucas wanted, but she didn't feel right telling him while Riley was going through the worst kind of tragedy.

Upstairs Lucas watched as his heartbroken daughter tossed and turned all night long. Peyton walked upstairs and held his hand through the night. They were going to get through this tragedy together as a family.

Okay so I know that ya'll probably hate me now. It took me a while to get this chapter written because I wasn't sure what I was going to do because of so many of your reviews. This was part of the plan from the very beginning. This is how it was supposed to go, but so many of you didn't want anything to happen, but I decided to do what i already had planned because I didn't want to mess with my vision. I hope you guys aren't too mad, and will continue to read the story because there is some more good stuff left.

Thanks so much for the reviews you guys are awesome, and one of you is always able to figure out what is going to happen. I'm not gonna say who, but good job. You are always able to read me. I really appreciate you guys sticking with me, and I really hope I don't dissapoint your expectations.

Let me know what you thought, good or bad, I think I can take it.

I'll try to update faster this time.