Chapter 8
Ryo bit his lower lip, knowing, but not really understanding why he wanted to tell Dee yes. He liked Dee, yes, but how much, honestly?
Dee glanced up at Ryo, his eyes wondering. Why hadn’t Ryo answered yet? Was he so mad, that he couldn’t think of anything to say? Was he considering it? What was going through the sandy blond’s head?
“Sorry, Ryo.” Dee stood up. “I guess… I spoke without thinking…”
He’d really, really wanted to ask Ryo that and knew he liked Ryo, but he’d told himself to not do anything. He didn’t want to lose Ryo as a friend.
Now he’d gone and screwed everything up.
Dee walked toward his door, “I’ll just leave…” His hand on the doorknob, Dee was almost out the door when Ryo’s soft voice stopped him.
“Dee… wait…” Ryo whispered.
Dee stopped, his heart jumping into his throat. “What?” he asked.
Ryo slowly got up from the bed, and walked over to Dee. Standing close behind him, he slightly smiled. “This is your room… and your house… if anyone should leave, it’s me… but…”
Dee looked at Ryo, his face flushing. How stupid could he be? ‘I’ll just leave…’ He rolled his eyes, ‘yeah, I’ll leave my own room.’
“…I don’t want to leave…”
I don’t want to leave
‘What?’ Dee blinked.
I don’t want to leave
“Did you just say…?” Dee was confused; why would Ryo want to stay after he’d just hit on him.
“You know, Dee, you’re the only person since I’ve gotten sick to treat me like a real person.” Ryo smiled, though he was still blushing brightly.
“You are a real person…” Dee started.
“I don’t know when I started to li… umm, well that is…” Ryo looked down, getting tongue-tied. “I think… well, Dee… uhh…” Ryo groaned, grabbing his head. ‘Why can’t I just say it?’
“Ryo, are you okay?” Dee asked, feeing worried. Ryo wasn’t in pain was he? Dee sure hoped not.
“No, I’m not. My mind’s all discombobulated. I don’t know up from down. I don’t know how to say what I want to say. I don’t even know what it is I truly want to say.”
Dee blinked.
“In other words, I’m confused…” Ryo whispered.
“Ryo… I won’t lie… I do like you, but I guess that’s already a known fact. I’m sorry. I will never push you into anything…” Dee smiled, “we can go back to the way things were before. I don’t want my feelings to confuse you.”
Dee sighed, “I’m sure in time, I’ll be able to move on.” ‘Or at least pretend to…’
Ryo quickly shook his head, “no… that is… I’m confused because… because… ahh… I think I like you, too, but I just don’t know, because I’ve never thought of anybody this way, let alone another guy.” Ryo said all in one breath, his face getting redder and redder.
Dee felt his heart flutter… Ryo liked him! Him! Was what Diana said true?
“…and… and… yes.” Ryo gave Dee a shaky smile.
Dee blinked. Huh? Yes what…?
“I’m sorry, what do you mean… yes?”
“You asked if you could kiss me… remember?”
Remember! Of course Dee remembered.
“You really don’t mind…?” Dee started, moving closer to Ryo.
Ryo shook his head, “no… I think getting my first kiss from you would be nice…”
Dee grinned, reaching out to cup Ryo’s chin, “yeah, really nice…”
Tilting Ryo’s chin up, Dee bent down bringing his lips so close to Ryo’s that he could feel Ryo’s breath hitting his face; their lips were almost touching, making Dee’s heart do flip-flops.
“Dee!” A loud male voice barked.
Letting out a surprised and embarrassed yelp, Ryo quickly jumped away from Dee, as if they’d been caught doing something illegal.
Dee slapped a hand over his face, groaning.
Jesse!
Why did his adoptive father have the worst timing in the world?
“Upstairs.” Dee yelled, throwing Ryo an apologetic smile, mouthing ‘sorry.’
“Is your friend Ryo with you?” Jesse asked, poking his head in Dee’s room.
Dee nodded, pointing to Ryo, who smiled politely at Jesse.
Jesse gave the fifteen year old a sympathetic look, walking over to him. “Your father’s on the phone.” He said, handing a cordless phone to a very confused looking Ryo.
---
“What’s happening?” Diana whispered. She, JJ Drake and Dee were sitting in a waiting room in the Clover Bell Center for Women.
Dee shrugged. “I dunno; Mr. MacLean talked to Ryo for a moment, then Ryo took off, running out of my room. I, of course gave chase, but Jesse stopped me.” Dee sighed. “Jesse said Mr. MacLean was on his way to pick up Ryo, and I should let him go. It’s a family thing.” Jesse then told Dee all that he knew; which wasn’t much. All he knew was that Mrs. MacLean had been taken to Clover for some reason. Dee then in turn called all his friends and they’d hurried over. So far, they hadn’t seen Ryo or Mr. MacLean; they were most likely with Mrs. MacLean.
Diana frowned, “since were here at Clover, you know what that must mean, don’t you?”
The boys shrugged, not really knowing what kind of center Clover was. Diana rolled her eyes. “Clover specializes in delivering high risk babies.”
“What?” Dee shook his head, “but Mrs. MacLean isn’t even pregnant… sure, she’s a little plump, but not…”
“Well Einstein, if we’re here, then it has to mean somebody is pregnant and I’m sure it’s not Mr. MacLean.”
---
“Tell him, Koji…” Hana whispered, breathing hard. She was heavy in labor; so much in pain.
Ryo hung his head, a heavy feeling in his heart. He was so confused. He hadn’t even been told that his mother was six months pregnant; he’d always thought she was just gaining weight or something.
Turns out, Hana and Koji never told Ryo they were expecting a child, because it had been known since day one that the birth could be very risky. Hana’s heart just wasn’t very strong; birthing a baby would surly put her at death’s doors.
But Hana resisted having a abortion. She’d have this baby; she wanted this baby and she’d make it no matter what.
Ryo felt tears in his eyes. Why hadn’t he been told? He hated to think his parents had been holding something from him.
Koji MacLean sighed. They’d just told Ryo one secret… and now he was about to do another.
“Hana…” Koji whispered.
“What?” Ryo gave his father a pleading look. “Dad, what?”
“Look, Ryo… this is hard…” Koji sighed. “I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”
“I was just a baby, who’d been taken in by an American family. The MacLean’s.”
Ryo nodded. He always had wondered why they had a American last name.
“So… well, this family had a son. Frank MacLean…” Koji looked away from Ryo, taking his weak wife’s hand in his. “Frank, when he was about seventeen met this Japanese woman… we don’t know her name or anything about her… well, eight months after he and this girl started dating… a baby boy was born… you. The girl, only fifteen or so, panicked. She was much too young to care for you… She threw you off onto Frank and fled with her family.”
Ryo looked at his dad with wide eyes, a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Frank was also young, but did his best to be a good father… He w-was very fond of you… He loved you a lot. Frank left you with me and my new wife, Hana, when he had to travel somewhere for his job. You were about three then. You don’t remember, do you?”
Ryo shook his head.
“You were crying and clinging to Frank, but finally you came with Hana and me.” Koji looked up. “We already loved you, of course, but we fell even more in love with you; you lived with us for a whole year as your father worked overseas.”
“I had just had my first miscarriage, and been told by doctors I should never get pregnant or I’d risk my health or even my life, when we got a call from one of Frank’s colleagues.” Hana said, in-between gasps. The baby was so ready to be born. Hana could feel the small life in her begging to be set free.
“Frank had been shot, mistaken for somebody else.” Koji sadly said.
“That was when we adopted you. There was no question about it; we knew we loved you and even thought of you as our own. You’d lived with us for so long and even came to call me ‘mama’.” Hana smiled. “You never wondered why you didn’t look fully Japanese?”
Ryo shook his head, “no. I didn’t question why I looked different; I didn’t have any reason to.”
“We should have told you from the start, Ryo.” Koji placed a hand on Ryo’s shoulder. “We’re sorry.”
“You’re still my parents…” Ryo blinked back tears. “Still my mom and dad…”
“Ahha! Koji!” Hana screamed, grabbing her stomach. “Get… doctor!” Ryo’s eyes went wide when Hana’s heart monitor flat lined.
A lot of things happened at once; doctors rushed in the room, going to Hana’s side. They worked hard, doing everything they could to bring the woman back. Ryo was roughly pushed from the room, crying for his mother. What had happened to her? Was she going to be okay? Why wouldn’t they let him stay?
“Hana… baby!” Ryo heard Koji yell. There was the sound of sighing from all the doctors and nurses in the room.
‘It’s beating again…?’ Ryo bit his lower lip.
“Hana, stay with us…” Ryo heard someone say.
“Hana, don’t leave me…” Koji could be heard crying.
Ryo glued his face to the little window on Hana’s door, trying to see what was going on, but of course he couldn’t see anything.
The room went completely silent, making Ryo cringe, worried. Then the most angelic sound could be heard. The crying of a baby.
A/N Please review. So now you know why both of Ryo’s parents are Japanese, but still have the American last name of ‘MacLean.’
Aww, darn, the kiss was interrupted. Maybe they’ll kiss in the next chapter.