Change

In a few days, I had been admitted out of the hospital, but it took Ryan weeks to gain enough strength to finally leave. I remember the first day back at school; everyone was staring at me, talking about me, making fun of me. I found out later that Pete hadn’t been the one who attacked us. He only kidnapped me to freak Ryan out. A few of his friends, led by Brent, came back to the warehouse to beat me senseless. As they were leaving, though, they heard Ryan and locked the doors back up. Somehow, Ryan got in and they beat him up, too.

The thought of Ryan being hospitalized to save my own goddamn ass made the acid in my stomach churn. I could almost taste it. Every day after school I visited Ryan in the hospital, and every day he looked miserable until the second he noticed me in the room. I felt like the whole world was just going to end when I saw that sorrowful look on his face.

He was alone every day, and I couldn’t be there to help him.

-Ryan’s POV-

Every day was a day full of suck, for me. I woke up alone, I ate alone, I watched TV alone, I slept alone. Brendon could only come for a few hours after school, so I was almost always alone. I thought I was going to lose my mind after just the first day.

After 3 weeks of isolation, I was finally released from the hospital.

“Ryan!!!!” he screamed when he came to pick me up. “I have a surprise for you!”

His eagerness and childish hyper aura was rubbing off on me a little, I noticed. I got excited and jumpy, just like he always was. “Bren, I can’t wait!”

He kissed me passionately the second we got in his car. His lips tasted sweet, and I couldn’t get enough. “Ryan, we have to go home now,” he groaned, “but we’ll have plenty of time later.” He winked at me, and as I looked over in the side mirror, I noticed there was an awful lot of pink filling up my cheeks.

Brendon slid his fingers though my hair and started the car. “Ready to come home, Ry?”

“Ready,” I said, and I really was, too. I missed the hominess of Brendon’s house. I missed the comfort of my little twin-sized guest bed. I missed the smell of his mother’s cooking. I even missed her constant whining about us. Brendon’s home was my home now, too, and that’s where I wanted to be.

A few minutes later we arrived, and through the window, I could see party decorations and a banner saying, “Welcome Home!” on it. My eyes lit up in excitement.

“There’s cake, too,” he said. I kissed him again, longer this time. It felt good to be home. We got inside, and even Brendon’s mother seemed somewhat relieved when I was finally back. It was a bit of a shock, but also welcoming to know I was finally accepted as a member of this household. Brendon smiled at me, “Welcome home.”

The rest of the night was just him and I, sitting and talking on my bed. Brendon told me he read my notebook every night when I was gone. “It made me feel like you were still here, just not next to me,” he said.

“How has school been?” I asked. His face grew weary and sullen. “That bad, huh? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there…”

“Naw, Ryan, I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the hospital with you the whole time. That’s where I wanted to be.”

A smile curled up at the corner of my lips, “I love you, Bren.”

“I love you, too.”

We fell asleep on my bed, entangled in each other, finally together again.