Disclaimer – I still own nothing
Apart from the spelling and grammer mistakes they are all mine and the computers!!
The Fourth Wheel
Sandy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and threw down his pen onto the desk. He couldn't believe that the family was stuck in one of Newport group's show homes. The investigation had put the fire down to faulty wiring in the wall cavity. Thank God that nobody was hurt, but the house was badly smoked damaged. So instead of living in a house that was over run with building contractors again. They had moved into one of the show homes.
They had been in the show home for three weeks, This couldn't have come at a worse time. Kirsten was six weeks from her due date. That had come as quite a surprise! They had been so worried about Seth and his disappearing act and with the added worry of Ryan doing the right thing, Kirsten had put her general malaise down to that.
It was only when the boys had both come home after the summer and Kirsten was still feeling under the weather that Sandy had made her go to the doctors, That the truth was revealed. Kirsten was three months pregnant. That had been the last thing on their minds. When they had got their heads around the fact that there was going to be a baby in the family again, they were both ecstatic.
Then had come the delicate task of telling the boys, They pretty much knew Seth would be fine, well to be honest - more than fine with the news. Seth had been asking for a sibling since he was about three years old. They had tried for another baby in those early years but it just hadn't panned out. Then Kirsten had climbed the corporate ladder and the baby had faded from their minds. Seth would probably be freaked out by the thought that his parents still had sex, But hey, he would have to deal with that, Sandy smiled at the thought.
Ryan was a different matter. The kid had just lost his own baby; Ryan had been so set on becoming the sort of father that he had never had. He had lost sight of the fact that the baby might not be his. That didn't enter the equation, all that mattered was keeping the baby safe. Sandy had become worried about Ryan's decision, he had dropped by the construction site a few times over that summer and he had seemed so down. It was clear the closeness between Theresa and himself had dwindled when they were forced to play grown-ups. Unfortunately, Sandy and Kirsten could only feel relief when Theresa had lost the baby and Ryan had come home.
Sandy knew that Ryan was putting on a brave face those first months after the summer, Ryan was the type of boy who, when confronted with things he couldn't deal with, he just locked them away. To an outsider it would seem that Ryan had just walked away from Theresa without a backward glance, that he hadn't cared at all, But Sandy new differently. He would watch Ryan when he was with Seth, all happy and smiling, but there were moments when that mask would slip, In those moments Sandy saw the dead look in his eyes, the clenched jaw and he knew it was an act, that Ryan cared more than any of them would know.
That was one of the reasons that they had been worried about broaching the subject of the new baby.
They needn't have worried. Ryan had been genuinely pleased for them and if he had felt any sadness, He hadn't let it show.
He was being so protective around Kirsten, Fussing around, making sure she had everything she needed. Sandy felt like his job as prospective father had been taken away from him. It was good to see Ryan so involved with normal family stuff.
That was until a few weeks ago. Sandy had noticed a change in Ryan; he'd started to withdraw from them. He was still outwardly cheerful, but he had started to miss dinner with them citing schoolwork and the need to study with Lindsay. On a few occasions Sandy had rung Lindsay's house to speak to Ryan, when he wasn't answering his mobile, He apparently had always just left. He got the impression that Lindsay was covering for him…Shortly after Ryan would come dashing through the door, then dash out again saying he had forgotten a book and not come back for hours.
They hardly saw him now. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes. When Sandy tried to find out what was going on…Everything was 'Fine'…. Subject closed. That was one of the things that Sandy found infuriating about Ryan. If Ryan didn't want to talk, that was it.
Sandy sighed again. He knew that he would have to try again to find out what was going on with Ryan. He wasn't relishing another stonewalling.
tbc
