Be There [Riley]

[Shelby Crescent]

This has to be a lie. Why would Riley be in the hospital with internal injuries? Nothing could have happened to him right? Riley's parents or her aunt and uncle told her what happened when she went over for some tea because they had something to tell her. Shell wouldn't guess it was that he was hit by a car and now he was going to die. They wouldn't go much further than that as her aunt started to cry.

Walking in with a potted yellow orchid plant, she sets it down on the side table of his bed as he was sleeping. Shell faintly smiles at him before sitting down in the chair and takes his hand, waiting for him to wake up. She knew they always had fights in the past and still but they were family still and she was going to be there for him.

[Riley Pearson]

I woke up when I felt someone touching my hand and I opened my eyes slowly, looking over in that direction. I was expecting to see my mum.. or maybe Arden coming back again, but I was, for some reason, slightly surprised to see Shelby sitting next to me. Or well, at least who I hoped was Shelby, becuase I really didn't want to deal with Rubalyn.. actually, if it was Rubalyn, I think I would just call a nurse and make her leave.

I smiled weakly over to her though, "Hey.." I said, wondering if she already knew about what happened or if they decided to leave me to say it again. Hopefully she knew. "This is Shelby, right?" I asked a moment later, just checking.

[Shelby Crescent]

Shell smiles lightly at him before nodding faintly. "Yes it is. Sorry ahead of time for whatever Rubayn has caused. I'm still trying to figure that out to be honest." she says softly before tilting her head to the side. "How are you feeling... I know it's a dumb question." she adds quickly as she smiles weakly at him again.

She had been in plenty of hospital beds in her time, but not for this kind of reason. No one should be, let alone her family. "Has anyone else visited you besides your parents? They told me you were hit by a car and you're suffering from internal injuries..."

[Riley Pearson]

I shook my head faintly, "It's not your fault." I said, waving off her apology, even though, now that I was thinking about it, she was sort of the reason I went drinking, which sort of started the whole chain reaction of events.. but for all I know it would've happened either way. "Um.. Not too great, to be honest.." I said, watching her smile weakly to me. "It's better if I don't move.. or breathe." I added with a weak chuckle.

I nodded faintly. "My kids've been here.. and Lilian asked Arden to come by. So she was here too." I told her before nodding again, "Yeah... A few." Or a couple more than a few.

[Shelby Crescent]

Shell bites her lip before looking to the ground for a brief second. She knew it wasn't technically her fault but at the same time it was. "I still think it is my fault but if you say so Riley." she says feeling her weak smile fall when he said he shouldn't move let alone breathe. "It's that bad... are you." dying? She couldn't force herself to say it. Shell was pretty sure he was sick of this routine of answering questions and didn't want to bother him about it.

"That's nice of them. Arden came by then?" she asks curiously wondering how that could have went before looking over at the plant she brought him. "I know you like flowers, so I brought you that yellow orchid from my garden." Shell says lightly before looking back him. "Figured you could use some color in the room."

[Riley Pearson]

I shook my head. "It's not your fault." I said giving her a weak smile. And it really wasn't. Not in my opinion at least. My choices, my consequences. Well, and maybe whoever hit me. Then again, maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yeah, I think I like that explanation the best.
She didn't finish her sentence, but I was pretty sure that I knew what she was going to ask anyway. So I nodded a bit. "They don't think they can heal it." I said as I looked over to her. ".. Healed one of them today.. but I don't have much of a chance." I shook my head faintly.

I nodded with a weak smile. "Yeah... I'm hoping she'll make her way back again.." Before I'm gone... I sort of zoned out for a couple seconds, but came back after I heard Shelby's voice again. I looked over to where she was looking and smiled a bit towards her. "Thanks, Shelby. That was nice of you." I commented, thinking about how if I only had about a week left, the flower would probably last longer than me.

[Shelby Crescent]

"What exactly is bleeding on the inside or is it everything?" she asks squeezing his hand lightly. This still couldn't be happening. Her cousin, one that she still talked to and the one who she disliked was in the hospital, dying.

"That would be nice. I could come by a few more times, in fact I will. That is if you want me to. I want to make amends with you if you're going to pass or not. I don't think you will, but I'm saying if. Unless you rather keep fighting with me occasionally then that's fine too." she laughs a little before nodding faintly. "Your welcome and stop thinking like that. You're going to be okay. Everything is."

[Riley Pearson]

"My stomach and lungs mostly.." I said after a moment. "Healed a bit of my lungs though." I added as she squeezed my hand lightly.
I nodded faintly, "You can stop by as much as you want." I said looking over to her. I was chuckled faintly and shook my head. "I don't have much of a reason to fight with you now." I told her, with a weak shrug.
I smiled weakly and nodded. "Thank you.." I said quietly. Arden wouldn't tell me that, so it was nice hearing it.. but at the same time, maybe Arden was right anyway. "There's not a very good chance, Shelby.. but I needed to hear that.."

[Shelby Crescent]

"That's good, good..." she says unsure what else to say to that other than she was sorry again for what had happened to him. "How did you even get hit Riley? Well, I know how but you get what I mean." she says softly still before smiling at him.

"Then I'll come by everyday so you won't get lonely. I'll bring you any sandwich you'd like." she says before laughing a little as he did. "Okay then. Truce then." Shell nods before squeezing his hand again. "Don't say that. That doesn't matter. It's a miracle that you're still here. You'll make it if you went through that, so everything will be okay."

[Riley Pearson]

I shook my head faintly. "I don't remember.. Last thing I remember was that I was walking with Arden and then I was gonna walk some more before going home." I stopped for a moment and coughed a bit, this time into a tissue, just in case. ".. And um.. I don't know, it was getting dark, maybe they didn't see me or something." I shrugged weakly.

"Alright.. and um, I'll pass on the food.." I said shaking my head a bit. "It's nothing against you.. just they've got me on a specific diet.. and I don't have much of an appetite anyway.."
I shrugged weakly again. "It's only about a fifteen percent chance, Shelby.."

[Shelby Crescent]

Shell's frown went from small to nearly crying in the matter of a few seconds. She sits there in silence until she jumped at the sound of him coughing. "You alright?" she asks biting her lip so she would quit frowning so much. She didn't come to be upset she came to make him smile and forget for a while he was dying. Obviously it was going to be harder than she thought.

"Oh that's no problem, I understand. Then I will bring um... a new flower everyday. Soon this will be a greenhouse instead of a dreary hospital room." she says with a light smile until she sighs lightly. "Riley. Even if you had one percent, you should still fight. Fifteen is better than nothing and you have to hold onto that and have hope."

[Riley Pearson]

I nodded, being sure to crumple the tissue and throw it out before she could see it. I don't think she would react very well to blood at the moment. I noticed her jump after I coughed, "Aside from the general.. I'm not better or worse than usual." I said with a faint shrug. ".. You okay, Shelby?"

I chuckled weakly with a weak smile and shook my head faintly. "If you really want to.." I said keeping the weak smile. "I didn't say I wasn't fighting.. I'm just telling you Shelby.. It's not a very good chance..."

[Shelby Crescent]

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." she says before figuring out what he was hiding from her. "What we should be focusing on is you. I wish you would quit saying that. I know it's the truth Riley but that's not why I'm here. I'm here to spend some time with you."

[Riley Pearson]

I nodded faintly. "... Alright.." I said sort of quietly as I looked over to her. "And I know, Shelby.. I just wanted to let you know.." So that when you show up one day and I'm dead you won't be completely surprised.. I thought instead of telling her. She didn't want to hear it and I didn't want to argue with her.
"And we are spending time.." I said with weak nod. ".. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

[Shelby Crescent]

She nods faintly before looking at the floor. "How are the girls taking this? If you do die... are they really going to be split up because if I remember right, I'm one of their godmums and Arden is the other. I really don't remember which is mine... sadly. And what about Justin?" she asks sighing a little. "Is there anything you want to tell me or say to me or even just talk about?"

[Riley Pearson]

".. They um.. They don't know yet." I said shaking my head faintly. ".. Unless my parent's told them." I added as an afterthought, shrugging faintly. "And I've already started my will, Shelby.. They're staying with my parents." I said quietly with a weak nod. No way was I going to split them up.. and I doubt Arden wanted them.. and well, no offense to Shelby, but I didn't want to leave them with her.
I shrugged faintly, ".. I don't know really.. You know me, can never think of anything to say..."

[Shelby Crescent]

"I see. Well at least they're not separated then." she says feeling a little hurt by that. After all, Riyann was the one that chose her to be Charlotte's godmother, not Riley. "So um. how's the whole Arden situation?"

[Riley Pearson]

I nodded faintly. "No offense or anything.. I just think they're most comfortable with them. We were living there for a long time." I said sort of quietly.
I'm guessing 'The Arden situation' was well.. I don't think I knew how to describe it, but I was pretty sure what she meant by that. "She loves me like a friend, a brother, or whatever the hell I am anymore." I said with a weak chuckle, even though I was really trying to stop that just before it hurt my ribs. "That's a quote." I added, smiling a bit. "What about it do you want to know, exactly?"

[Shelby Crescent]

"It's fine, as long as I can still see them all." she says with a faint nod before sighing lightly. "I don't see what she sees in him, but I'm not one to judge." she adds before laughing mostly at herself. "Interesting choice of words Arden has. She's always bold and painfully honest it seems whenever I speak to her. I guess that's all really if she was with Logan or you now but I guess that just answered it."

[Riley Pearson]

"'Course you can see them.." I said nodded faintly. "I'm not even keeping Riyann away if she wants to.. or well, I dunno what my mum would do if she showed up.." I said quietly. Riyann didn't even know I was here.. I didn't think at least.
"She's with Logan.. And no, I don't like him either." I said before coughing a bit again, into another tissue. "She told me a few days ago that if she had a choice.. she'd be with me." I shrugged faintly.

[Shelby Crescent]

"I'll probably go with Riyann... she told me what happened when she went over the last time or whenever she was there..." she says barely above a whisper. Shell cringes lightly when he coughs knowing what was happening but it wasn't like he could help it. "That sounds like Fitzy. He said the same thing to me. I think they must hate our family or something..." she says with a faint laugh to get a smile out of him.

[Riley Pearson]

"You probably mean the time when my mum thought that Lilian was still dead?" I asked, moving faintly to get more comfortable, wincing slightly as I did. I shrugged faintly. "It's not hate.. they just love other people more. I'm sure he loves you just like Arden loves me." I said sort of quietly with a faint shrug.

[Shelby Crescent]

"Yeah, I think so. She came over and told me all about it." she says with a faint frown. "I haven't seen her since really." as Shell shrugged lightly. "I guess. It's still funny to me that they're from the same family and we're from the same family." she shrugs again.

[Riley Pearson]

"She stopped by after that.. It was okay." I said with a faint nod. "She hasn't been back since then though.." I did wonder where she went though.. I thought that she wanted to try us again.. I was going to try. But then she just.. left.
I shrugged weakly. "Yeah, I guess so." I said with a faint nod. "... I dunno, it's difficult for me to really find that too humorous."

[Shelby Crescent]

"Sorry, maybe I should just shut up." she says looking down at her hands. "I just really don't know what else to say Riley besides I hope you get better from this."

[Riley Pearson]

I shook my head faintly. "Don't be ridiculous." I said shaking my head a little bit. "And I hope I get better too." I added, before ending up coughing again, into the same tissue as a few moments ago. ".. Maybe Fitzy will change his mind." I said with a faint nod. "There's not much hope for Arden and me anyway. I know she loves me, and right now, that's all that matters."

[Shelby Crescent]

Shell looks up at him before shaking her head. "No, he's in love with someone else. It's fine. We'll find who we're supposed to be with." she says with a light smile before leaning forward a bit and kissing his cheek. "I know we will and that's another reason why you should fight."

[Riley Pearson]

I frowned slightly and shook my head weakly. "Shelby.. I think I'm out of true loves.. And I've already told you that I'm trying to.. but it's not like I have.. cancer or something." I explained quietly.

[Shelby Crescent]

"Riley... I know. Look at me. I've been married four times. Four. I still think someone is out there for me so there has to be someone for you. And by the way, who in the hell is Madds? She left me flowers at the quidditch office..." she asks raising an eyebrow. "She said something about you in the card, but anyway. No matter what you think, I know you're going to make it."

[Riley Pearson]

"I don't want there to be anyone else, Shell." I said quietly. "Not yet." And that, in my mind, meant that I wasn't going to be finding anyone. I was, somewhat attached you could say, to loving Arden.. and I wanted it to stay that way.
She mentioned Madds and I cracked a faint smile, shaking my head a bit. "That's Charlotte's roommate." I said, shaking my head a bit. Lying roommate.. I wasn't too fond of her right now..