I own nothing of value.
Ryan is now 26. He is married to a sweet girl named Naomi he met in college. Naomi is a nurse and came from an average, loving, middle class family. She knows a little about his childhood but does not know the extent to the abuse. They have two children: James Cohen Atwood age 3 and Kristen Marie Atwood age 7 months. Chapter 1:
Naomi loved being a nurse. She loved being able to take people's pain away. That was probably what first peaked her interest in Ryan. Even when he seemed happy you could still see pain in his eyes. She saw the fear and hurt in his eyes when a asshole calculus professor had yelled at Ryan for attempting to correct him. She knew then that he was not the average freshman and UCLA . She knew there was more depth to him then the usual liquor driven frat boy. He was so shy when she approached him for help with the calculus that was driving her insane. It took a while for Ryan to finally make a move and Naomi did not want to push him; but people could tell they loved each other.
A relationship grew based on respect and love but Naomi never could penetrate the part of him that would reveal to her all his fears, all his built up pain.
She thought about their relationship and his bottled up emotions during the long shifts at the hospital. That is what she had been thinking about all day on Saturday when she wanted to be with her family. To watch Ryan with his children. To see him show the love and devotion and kindness he never had as a child. She was expecting to find them all asleep on the couch after watching Jamie's favorite Disney movie for the umpteenth time that week like she did when she came home from an usual Saturday shift.
That is not what she found when she walked in the house. Well, truth be told she heard the difference first. Kristy was crying at the top of her lunges. Ryan was so Attentive tht her screams never got loud. She also heard Jamie screaming and crying, something the happy go lucky child rarely did especially when he got to spend all day with his Daddy. She walked in nervous to what she would find in her normally calm house.
The first thing she noticed was that Ryan was no where to be found. She let her curiosity rest for awhile though because she had to be a mother first. She ran to Kristy's room and found her sitting in her crib with a full diaper. She expertly changed the diaper and calmed Kristy into a light sleep. She then went to Jamie to find out his problem. But he had worn himself out before she reached his room. She saw him hiccupping and sucking his thumb in his sleep and decided it was best not to disturb him.
She had a hard day at the hospital. She decided to change out of her scrubs before she searched out Ryan and found out why the hell he had left both kids alone and screaming. She walked into their darkened bedroom and found something that never would have occurred to her. Her stoic husband was crouched in the corner of the room sobbing.
Ryan is now 26. He is married to a sweet girl named Naomi he met in college. Naomi is a nurse and came from an average, loving, middle class family. She knows a little about his childhood but does not know the extent to the abuse. They have two children: James Cohen Atwood age 3 and Kristen Marie Atwood age 7 months. Chapter 1:
Naomi loved being a nurse. She loved being able to take people's pain away. That was probably what first peaked her interest in Ryan. Even when he seemed happy you could still see pain in his eyes. She saw the fear and hurt in his eyes when a asshole calculus professor had yelled at Ryan for attempting to correct him. She knew then that he was not the average freshman and UCLA . She knew there was more depth to him then the usual liquor driven frat boy. He was so shy when she approached him for help with the calculus that was driving her insane. It took a while for Ryan to finally make a move and Naomi did not want to push him; but people could tell they loved each other.
A relationship grew based on respect and love but Naomi never could penetrate the part of him that would reveal to her all his fears, all his built up pain.
She thought about their relationship and his bottled up emotions during the long shifts at the hospital. That is what she had been thinking about all day on Saturday when she wanted to be with her family. To watch Ryan with his children. To see him show the love and devotion and kindness he never had as a child. She was expecting to find them all asleep on the couch after watching Jamie's favorite Disney movie for the umpteenth time that week like she did when she came home from an usual Saturday shift.
That is not what she found when she walked in the house. Well, truth be told she heard the difference first. Kristy was crying at the top of her lunges. Ryan was so Attentive tht her screams never got loud. She also heard Jamie screaming and crying, something the happy go lucky child rarely did especially when he got to spend all day with his Daddy. She walked in nervous to what she would find in her normally calm house.
The first thing she noticed was that Ryan was no where to be found. She let her curiosity rest for awhile though because she had to be a mother first. She ran to Kristy's room and found her sitting in her crib with a full diaper. She expertly changed the diaper and calmed Kristy into a light sleep. She then went to Jamie to find out his problem. But he had worn himself out before she reached his room. She saw him hiccupping and sucking his thumb in his sleep and decided it was best not to disturb him.
She had a hard day at the hospital. She decided to change out of her scrubs before she searched out Ryan and found out why the hell he had left both kids alone and screaming. She walked into their darkened bedroom and found something that never would have occurred to her. Her stoic husband was crouched in the corner of the room sobbing.