Over the years, Ryan had learnt some important lessons. But right now, the one that seemed most important to him was this: when you've got something, you've got something to lose.
And he had nearly lost it. Growing up, whenever Ryan received or found something, there was always someone there to take it away from him. If he had money, his mom would take it to pay the bills or (more usually) to buy drink.
Anything else he had, Trey would take. Trey couldn't stand Ryan having something that he didn't; Trey was used to always getting his own way. He hated the fact that Ryan was viewed as the smart one and he used this to make Ryan feel bad.
Ryan knew he could have fought back all those years ago; occasionally he did. But another thing he had learnt was that there wasn't really much point; he had nowhere to go even if he had won those fights against the brother who stole everything Ryan had. There was no point in fighting back because it didn't get you anywhere; it didn't allow you to leave, it just made things so much harder at home.
But then he'd got his big break; the Cohens had taken him in, and he'd found love. Real love. Not just "oh, well, you're my son, so I guess that means I'm supposed to love you." Real love. Love that was unconditional. Love that Ryan couldn't exactly describe. Family love; from the Cohens.
And then there was Marissa. His girlfriend. His woman. His soulmate. With her, he'd thrown his fears out of the window. He knew that he'd gained something special; something that he didn't want to lose. But he also knew that if someone tried to take her away from him, he would fight. He would fight. Because this wasn't like Chino; he had a future worth fighting for with Marissa.
It was the opposite of Chino and the house; here, if he did nothing, things would get so much worse because he wouldn't have Marissa by him. Yet if he fought, he could gain so much.
Here in Newport, they would play by his rules. Trey couldn't just enter the picture and expect Ryan to give up everything he had. Trey couldn't claim that he had a right to Ryan's things anymore.
Because now, Ryan had a lot to lose. But he had a lot more to fight for.
So when he heard that Trey hadn't changed his habits at all, and had tried to take the most important thing in Ryan's life: Marissa, Ryan was angry. Very angry. And he was prepared to fight.
This wasn't just about Trey going after Ryan's girlfriend; it wasn't just about Trey attempting to rape someone. It was about Trey thinking that this was another thing he could take off Ryan.
Ryan wasn't going to play that game anymore. Ironically, he thought, he was going to show his brother that Trey's motto was true. You don't mess with an Atwood.
So when Ryan went over there, the anger in him wasn't just from having spent all year as a non-violent person. It was from all those years of putting up with Trey taking every single thing Ryan had. Now it was time to show Trey that he couldn't have everything anymore. And he especially couldn't have Marissa.
Because Ryan had come to realise that Marissa was his life. And there was no way he was letting Trey dominate his life; at least, not anymore.
Just my idea on some of the more underlying thoughts Ryan was having after he found out what Trey did to Marissa. One shot, probably, although I could extend it by a couple of chapters if people want me to.
Review please :)