A Scary End to the Triangle

The Battered Hero

Pappy Joe comes to join the teens and notices that they are all laughing together.

Riley notices him and immediately runs to him and gives him a hug.

"Thank you so much for giving me this letter Pappy Joe" She says with her eyes closed.

Pappy Joe is overwhelmed but quietly manages to say, "Take good care of my grandson. He's lucky to have found a woman like you to love. I know you love him as well so just please put that boy out of his misery and tell him. I don't think I can handle another one of his stunts."

Riley looks shocked on hearing that Pappy Joe knows how she feels about Lucas.

She can't bring herself to form a reply so she just smiles and nods.

"You might wanna hurry up if you want to see him now. Visiting hours are almost over but they're not letting anyone stay tonight." says Pappy Joe.

Riley looks at him confused and asks, "Why isn't anyone allowed to stay with him?"

Pappy Joe replies, "They want to keep a closer eye on him today in case they missed something while examining him before. The doctor wants to make sure they haven't missed anything serious like his head injury."

Riley nods understanding the situation and then walks towards the room.

She pauses at the door for a few moments before taking a deep breath and then enters.

-------

"She's gonna be okay with seeing him, right?" asks Maya.

"I'm not sure if she'll be okay but cotton-candy face surely won't like seeing him like that." Zay replies.

"Lucas has always been the strong one out of all of us. He has always tried to protect us in any way he can. But right now he looks extremely vulnerable." Smackle explains.

"That's why it's even harder to see him like this knowing we, in a way, are the cause." Farkle adds.

Pappy Joe looks at them with a sad smile and says, "You kids shouldn't blame yourselves. Lucas certainly wouldn't. He decided to ride the bull to overcome his fears. Regardless of his emotions, he should have known better than to ride without a helmet. He very well knows the reasons for the helmet."

Pappy Joe gives Zay a pat and continues, "Now let's just wait for Riley to come back and then I'll drop y'all home."

-------

Riley walks slowly into the room looking around. Her eyes finally stop on seeing Lucas on the bed with lots of cables.

His head is covered with bandages which have a small spot of blood on them.

He looks extremely vulnerable and yet at the same time so peaceful lying on the hospital bed.

She moves up to his bed slowly and takes his hand in hers.

There was so much she had wanted to say to Lucas after reading the letter he wrote but she now finds herself speechless.

So she doesn't say anything, not wanting to disturb the silence of the hospital room.

Staring at his sleeping face brings back all the feelings she had tried to bury for almost a year.

She remembers all the jokes Farkle used to make about Lucas just being a face.

How she wished he would just wake up and do his Mortimer Twiggle-bottom Smythe impersonation again.

She remembers her constant laughter while Farkle was complaining that Lucas couldn't do accents.

She remembers the time she spent with him in the library just talking.

She had learnt so much about him that night.

How she was so angry to learn that Lucas hadn't told her about being kicked out of school in Texas.

She remembers the time when he had told her the whole story of what had happened in Texas.

She had never seen him look that vulnerable until the day he snapped at the bakery.

She suddenly realized why Lucas seemed to be so mad at her.

When he had hid something about himself from her, she had been angry at him for not telling her.

Then she goes lying to his face for months on end about her feelings for him only for him to learn the truth from Farkle.

He had never really said anything about it so she had simply assumed he got over it.

She now realized that he had just buried his feelings because he felt that they were not important.

He never talked about his feelings so people assumed he was most likely to be okay with anything that ever happens to him, including her.

She was so caught up with her own feelings that she had ignored his feelings and hurt him continuously for months.

Now as he lay unmoving on the bed, she wondered what it would have been like if she hadn't let her insecurities get the better of her.

Would they still end up in a Texas hospital with Lucas lying unconscious on the bed?

If she had talked to him like she had promised she would if she ever felt insecure, would they still be here today?

She bends down to give him a light kiss on his cheek.

With a sigh, she turns and leaves his room.

She meets up with her friends and they all leave without a word.

When they arrive outside Zay's house, Riley finally speaks up, "Can I stay with you Pappy Joe? I just need to pick up my bags from here."

Pappy Joe smiles softly and replies, "Of course. I'll wait here. Go and get your bags."

Riley gets all her bags and leaves for Friar Ranch with Pappy Joe.

He shows her to Lucas' room and tells her to stay there.

Riley thanks him and gets ready for bed.

She lies down on the bed and falls asleep almost immediately surrounded by Lucas' scent.