I'm Right Here by Rose Haze
Disclaimer I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
Author's Note: This chapter is brought to you by the powers of insomnia. It's not my favorite chapter. I'm not a "shipper" so to speak, but I thought the story needed at least a hint of romance so… yeah. And it's not really romance unless you interpret that way. It could also be interpreted as friendship. Also, you might want to reread Chapter 10 because this chapter ties back to that one. This one is long, I hope you everyone likes it. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 18
Precious Moments
'The Moments of Happiness… we had the experience but missed the meaning. And approach to the meaning restores the experience in a different form, beyond any meaning we can assign to happiness . . .' –Cats
Once they finished their dinner, Carey and Mrs. Lloyd went upstairs. Lydia and David, who had checked in to a nearby motel, left the hospital moments before. "So there haven't been any changes at all?" Mrs. Lloyd asked as they stepped out of the elevator.
Carey sighed sadly, "Dr. Harrison—that's Cody's doctor—he said that Cody might have brain damage if… when he wakes up. Or there's a chance that he'll remain in a persistent vegetative state. That means he would be the way he is now for the rest of his life."
Mrs. Lloyd stared at her, "Oh, Carey, I'm so sorry."
Tears filled Carey's eyes, "But he might be fine. He could wake up tomorrow and everything could be fine."
They rounded a corner and saw Max standing by Cody's door. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. Her cheeks were pale and she was shaking.
Carey and Mrs. Lloyd hurried toward her.
"Max, sweetie, are you alright?" asked Carey, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Max said softly, "I'm fine. I just needed some fresh air."
Carey smoothed Max's hair, "Well if you're okay now do you want to go back into Cody's room with us?"
"No!" she blurted out. She blushed, "I mean no thank you. I—I can't see Cody right now. Not like this."
Carey and Mrs. Lloyd nodded in understanding.
"I'll go get Christopher," Mrs. Lloyd said gently, "I should get you back to your house. You two have school tomorrow."
But just as she said this, Tapeworm emerged from Cody's room.
"Max, what's the matter?" he asked. His eyes were clouded over.
"She's fine, honey," Mrs. Lloyd said as she put her arm around Max's shoulders, "But I think it's time for us to go."
"Thank you guys for visiting Cody," said Carey, "And than you for bringing us lunch and dinner."
"Oh, it was no problem at all," Mrs. Lloyd assured her, "I'll call you tomorrow to see how Cody's doing."
Carey thanked them again and watched them leave before going into Cody's room.
"Hi," she said to Zack and Kurt, "Max and the Lloyds just left."
"Is she okay?" asked Kurt, "She seemed very upset."
Carey furrowed her brow, "yes, Mrs. Lloyd was fine."
"No, the girl. Max," said Kurt, "She ran out of the room…"
"Oh, yeah, she's fine. She just got a little scared. It was hard for her to see him like this."
She gave Cody a soft kiss, and then sat down in the chair next to Zack. Zack was in the chair closest to Cody. He was stroking his cheek with his thumb. He noticed the day before that Cody seemed most at peace when he did this to him. He tuned his parent's voices out and tried to think of something to Cody.
'I'm here, Cody,' he said silently, as if he were praying, 'I'm right here.'
"Where's Samantha?" Carey asked in a would-be apathetic voice.
"She's making some phone calls," Kurt replied, "Where are your parents."
"They left. They are staying at the Super 8 Motel down the street for a couple days."
Zack looked at his Dad. He was staring at Cody. So was his mom. For the first time in a long time, Zack felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It was like happiness—only more. He felt happy, comfortable, safe, and hopeful all at the same time. And suddenly, he knew what that weird sensation was. Completeness. He was with his family and nobody else. Ever since his parents divorced, Zack felt that there was something missing. It was never a huge problem for him. He was always finding different ways to have fun so he could ignore that small feeling of longing. 'Maybe that's why I'm always getting in trouble,' he realized.
Besides keeping busy, his mother and Cody were always there for him when he felt lonely and sad. He had been able to keep himself content. He was able to ignore the nagging feeling of pain, caused by missing his dad.
But now he was with his family—just his family. And despite the devastating circumstances that brought them together, Zack felt complete. It was the first time in years that he felt this way. He almost forgot what it felt like to be truly content.
A second later Samantha walked through the doorway, snatching Zack's moment of happiness away.
"Hello," she said breezily, oblivious to the fact that she ruined Zack's good mood. She went to Kurt's side of the bed and sat down next to him, "Carey, there are two teenagers at the receptionist's desk down the hall from the elevator. I overheard them telling the lady at the desk that they were here to see you, so I offered to come and get you for her."
"Oh," Carey said, surprised, "two teenagers?"
"Yeah," Samantha replied, "A girl and a boy."
Carey stood up, "Okay… I'll go see what this is all about."
She left and Zack stared at Samantha. She was holding his Dad's hand. They were in love. Zack knew that. It did not bother him at first. He realized a long time ago that his parents would not be getting back together. But he did not realize that he wanted them to get back together.
'They don't love each other anymore,' Zack reminded himself, 'They aren't going to get back together.'
---
Carey walked down the hall and saw Maddie and Chuck standing by the reception desk.
"Maddie!" she said happily as she gave her a hug, "What are you guys doing here?"
"We came to visit Cody," Maddie answered, "Is that okay?"
The three of them walked back to the room, "Of course it's okay," said Carey, "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from you guys. How's everyone from the hotel?"
"They're all thinking of you," Chuck said.
"You should see Mr. Mosby," Maddie said, "He's so depressed. I know he feels bad for yelling at the boys all those times. And London sends her love."
Carey led them to Cody's room and they walked in.
Zack, Kurt, and Samantha all looked up as Chuck closed the door. When Zack saw Maddie he felt an embarrassed blush creep across his cheeks. He felt stupid for blowing up at her the day before. But at the same time, he was angry that she brought Chuck to see Cody.
'He's not some circus sideshow freak for them to gawk at,' Zack thought as anger seared through his body, 'Maddie has no right to bring him here.'
"Kurt, Samantha, this is Maddie and Chuck," said Carey, "They work at the Tipton with me," she turned to Maddie and Chuck, "Kurt is Zack and Cody's father. Samantha's his girlfriend."
Little did Carey know, Samantha and Kurt recognized each other."
"You guys have been staying at the Tipton," Maddie said, "I've seen you everyday."
"Yeah," said Samantha, with a smile "I buy mints from you every night."
"And we've ran into you a few times too," Kurt said to Chuck, "What do you do at the Tipton?"
"I'm a waiter," said Chuck, "at the restaurant where Carey sings."
"That's so weird," Maddie said, "I had no idea that you were staying there to see Cody."
Zack rolled his eyes, "it's a small hotel after all," he retorted, "If you're just going to talk about yourselves can you take it outside?"
"Zack!" Carey snapped, "What's wrong now?"
"Nothing!" he shouted. He stood up, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Maddie watched him go and she was filled with sadness.
"What was that all about?" Samantha asked.
Carey stared at the door that Zack just slammed in disbelief, "I don't know."
Kurt sighed, "Maybe I should go talk to him."
"I can do it," Maddie offered.
Carey nodded, "Yeah, that's a good idea. Maddie talked to him yesterday when he flipped out like this."
Maddie quickly walked out of the room with a sense of déjà vu in her head. This was eerily similar to the scene that Zack caused when she visited the day before. Maddie crossed her fingers and prayed that Zack's reaction to her coming to talk to him would not be the same as last time.
She hurried down the hall, looking for Zack. She found him waiting for the elevator at the end of the hall.
"Zack!" she called.
Zack turned around and shook his head. Just then, the elevator arrived and the door opened. Zack walked inside of it and pushed a button.
Maddie ran so that she could get on the elevator with him before the doors closed.
"Zack, what's wrong?" she asked softly.
He looked at her and frowned, "That's a stupid question."
She gaped at him. Hot tears stung his eyes. Why was he being so hurtful?
"Why won't you talk to me?" she asked thickly.
"Why do you need me to talk to you? If you want to talk to someone so badly you can just talk to Chuck."
"Is that what this is all about?" she asked, "Zack, we've talked about this. You're too young for me."
The doors closed and the elevator began to descend.
"Can you stop thinking about yourself?" he asked irritably, "this isn't about you. Not at all. It's about Cody."
Maddie put her arms around his shoulders, "I know you're worried about Cody, Zack. I am too. But why are you so mad at me?"
Zack glared at the floor, "I'm not mad at you." He muttered.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Two men got in. Maddie and Zack fell silent for the rest of the ride. It was only a matter of seconds until they reached the first floor. Everyone got out, including Maddie and Zack.
"Let's go outside," Maddie suggested, "We can talk in private."
Zack did not argue with her. He followed her out to the door.
It was dark outside. The stars and the moon lit up the velvety black sky. Zack followed Maddie to the courtyard by the parking lot. They sat down on a park bench and for a few minutes, neither of them spoke. They listened to the loud, chirping crickets and stared at the glittery stars.
"Will you tell me why you're mad at me now?" Maddie asked.
"I told you, I'm not mad at you," said Zack.
"Then why are you acting like this? I thought we were friends."
Zack shrugged. For a second he was surprised that Maddie called him her friend. 'Does she really think of me as her friend?' he wondered. He always thought that she just saw him as some annoying kid who she sometimes babysat for. He looked at the grass, avoiding eye contact with Maddie.
"I guess because-because of… I don't know."
That was a lie. He did know why he was alienating Maddie—but how could he tell her that one of the reasons that he was acting so weird around her was because he was embarrassed that she saw his underwear? Just thinking about it made him realize that he was being petty and immature. There was no way he could say it out loud.
"I'm sorry," he said finally, "I guess I'm just worried about my brother."
"It's okay," Maddie said, "But you can talk to me, you know? You don't have to push me away."
"I know," Zack admitted. "I just want him to be okay. He—I am always so mean to him," his voice cracked, "I never thought anything like this would happen to him."
"Of course you didn't," Maddie whispered.
"What if I never get to tell him that I'm sorry?" a tear slid down his cheek, "I can't lose him. He's my best friend."
"Zack…" she said gently. She wiped the tear away, "It's okay."
"No. Don't try to make me feel better. I don't deserve to feel better. This is my fault."
"No it isn't."
He stood up, "Yes it is! I'm being punished for taking him for granted and now—now he…" he trailed off; it was hard for him to talk. He realized then that he was crying…hard. He collapsed to the ground. He balled his fists in the grass pulling it from the soil, "He's never going to be the same. Even if he does wake up he'll have brain damage."
Maddie sat down beside him and put her hands over his, "It's not your fault Zack."
"Yes it is."
She cupped his face in her hands, "No it's not. Siblings fight with each other. It's natural. Trust me. I have nine of them."
He smiled wearily.
"You're Cody's best friend too," Maddie continued, "He knows that you care about him."
Zack wiped his eyes. "I hope so," he whispered.
She helped him up, "Do you want to go back inside? Your parents are probably wondering what's going on. And Chuck probably feels weird since he doesn't know your mom as well as I do."
Zack was glad it was dark so Maddie couldn't really see the frown that crossed his face when she said, 'Chuck'.
He stood up, "Yeah, we can go in now."
Maddie put her hands on Zack's shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
"I know you're going through a lot right now, Zack," she said, "But I'm here for you." She kissed his cheek then pulled him into a hug.
Once again he was thankful for the darkness. Maddie could not see the deep pink tinge that covered his cheeks.
Maddie put her arm around him and they walked inside. Even though Zack was worried about Cody, he could not help but feel a little bit happy.
To Be Continued
A/N Can I just say that I was completely overwhelmed by the reviews? You guys are like my favorite people in the world. As for those of you who guessed what Cody said, most of you were either right or you had part of it right. A prize awaits you…
Please keep reviewing. That is what makes me happy :D
Up Next: Chapter 19 Time to Go
