Part 11
"So what's up with you? You've been distracted ever since you had that secret meeting with Sydney last night." Shelby said to Scott as they ate lunch.
"Sorry," Scott mumbled as he looked around the dining room for Sydney.
"Scott, what is it?" Shelby asked annoyed. "Did Sydney tell you something major?"
Scott looked back at her. "Yeah, she did," he said. "Shelby, she finally opened up to me. I think Ryan convinced her to, but it doesn't matter. Now I kind of understand why she's here."
"So why is she here?" Shelby wanted to know.
Scott became uncomfortable. "I can't tell you," he said. "You know I would if I could, but I promised Sydney I wouldn't tell anyone."
"Oh," Shelby said. "Does Juliette know?"
"Yeah, she does," Scott said. "Shel, you're not going to be jealous over that, are you?"
"I never said I was jealous," Shelby said defensively. "I was just asking a question. I mean, we've been assuming that Juliette knew something and I wanted to see if we were right."
"Well, we were right," Scott said. "You're not mad because I can't tell you, are you?"
Shelby sighed. "How can I be mad? Your sister asked you not to say anything. It's her own life and if she doesn't want it broadcast, then it's up to her." she said.
"Hopefully, she'll tell everyone soon. I think that if she starts to open up, it will help her." Scott said.
"God, you sound like one of the counselors," Shelby teased.
"I do not," Scott said throwing his napkin at her. He reached over and took her hand in his. "Anyway, thanks for being so understanding."
"Well, I do know some ways you can make it up to me," Shelby said her eyes twinkling.
"Oh? And what are those ways?" Scott asked.
"Meet me in the shed in a five minutes and maybe you'll find out," Shelby said coyly. Before Scott could say anything else, she stood up and walked out of the dining room.
"Hey, Scott," Daisy said sitting down next to him at the table.
"Sorry, gotta go," Scott said quickly getting up and following Shelby out.
Daisy just shook her head and laughed.
***
"I don't want you to go tomorrow," Sydney said. At the moment, Ryan and her were sitting in the gazebo.
"I don't want to either," Ryan said. "I hate being apart from you."
"Hopefully, I'll be home soon," Sydney said.
"I hate to say it, Sydney, but I don't think they're going to send you back until they help you deal with your problems," Ryan said.
"So what? Are you telling me that I should tell them all about my miserable life?" Sydney asked.
"You told Scott about your eating disorder. Maybe now it will be easier for you to tell everyone else." Ryan said.
"But Scott is my brother. It's different." Sydney said.
"Sydney, I just want you to get better. The people here are trained to help you. Don't you want to beat this eating disorder? Don't you want to have a normal life?" Ryan asked.
"I hate telling people, Ryan. The more people that know, the more people there are to force me to eat." Sydney said.
"You just don't want to get better," Ryan said angrily.
"Please don't be mad at me," Sydney said.
"I'm just so sick of this, Sydney. I am sick of you telling me you're going to get better but not meaning it. You obviously don't love me as much as you say." Ryan said harshly. He hated being mean to Sydney but he thought that maybe the "tough love" approach would have an affect on her.
Sydney looked away from him. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"Don't cry," Ryan said knowing that she was fighting back the tears.
"This ED is hurting you more than it's hurting me," Sydney said wiping away the few tears that escaped her eyes.
"Yes, it does hurt me, but it hurt you more. You are killing yourself." Ryan said. "Sydney, just talk to the counselors. They'll find ways for you to overcome it."
"Fine," Sydney said sighing. "I'll tell them – but only for your sake."
Ryan kept himself from making a comment. Hey, at least Sydney is going to tell them. If that's what it takes for her to get better, then I should let it go.
"But you know I can't tell them about Franco. That would be way too dangerous." Sydney said.
"I hate that man," Ryan said feeling his blood pressure rise as he thought about how much Franco has hurt Sydney. "And I hate myself more for letting it go on."
Sydney turned to him and grabbed his hand. "Hey, don't talk like that. You don't have a choice but to keep it a secret. We learned the hard way." she said.
Flashback
Sydney tentatively reached her hand out and touched Ryan's tear-streaked face. "I am so sorry. This is all my fault." she said her voice shaking.
Ryan looked at her, the shock still written all over his face. "No, this is not your fault. That son of a bitch…it's his fault." he said angrily.
Sydney turned and looked through the glass on the emergency room doors. In there was the dead body of James, Ryan's younger brother. He had been hit by a car as he played outside of school. The car had come swerving out of nowhere right on to the playground. No one was hit except for James.
Ryan and Sydney were at the police station waiting to talk to a detective about Franco's abuse when Ryan had gotten the call on his cell phone. Soon after they had arrived at the hospital, Franco's right-hand man had shown up. He had made it clear that if Ryan ever again thought about telling anyone that Franco was abusing Sydney or that he was in the mob, the rest of Ryan's family would start dropping off as well.
"Nice try, Ryan, but it is partially my fault. It was my stepfather that did this and it was done because you were trying to protect me. I'll never forgive myself for this." Sydney said starting to cry.
End flashback
Ryan felt a painful lump form in his throat as he fought back the tears. It was two years since James had died and while he had accepted his brother's death, thinking about it brought back the pain.
"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Sydney said rubbing the back of his neck.
"I hate how he was making me choose between my family and you," Ryan said hoarsely.
"There was no choice. I would rather be hurt by Franco than have anyone else in your family killed." Sydney said.
"Of course I don't want anyone in my family dead, but I also can't stand to see you hurt," Ryan said. He thought back to the first time he had seen a beaten Sydney.
Flashback
Ryan angrily walked up the stairs to Sydney's bedroom. He was sick of her constantly standing him up. They had been dating for a few months already and he was crazy about Sydney, but she had this habit of suddenly calling off dates or blowing him off. This time, after she had called saying that she was not feeling well, he decided that he was going to demand an answer. He was going to find out if she really liked him or if she was just playing around with him. He did not want to fall in love with her, only to get hurt soon after. He knew he was already falling in love with her.
"Sydney," he said knocking on her bedroom door.
"Ryan, what are you doing here? I told you I wasn't feeling well." Sydney said through the closed door.
"I need to talk to you," Ryan said.
"We can talk in a couple of days," Sydney said.
"A couple of days? What is up with you, Sydney?" Ryan asked annoyed. He turned the doorknob. It was not locked so he opened the door and walked into the room. He was about to start laying into Sydney but stopped when he took one look at her.
"You shouldn't have come in," Sydney said standing up from her bed and walking towards the bathroom.
Ryan ran over and stepped in front of her to stop her. She was looking down at the floor so he put his hand under her chin to lift her face up. He cringed as he saw the big black and blue bruise on her cheek.
"Please go. Just forget you ever saw this." Sydney begged.
"How can I forget? My God, Sydney, you have bruises all over." Ryan said looking her up and down.
Sydney was only wearing denim blue boxers and a white tank top so her bruises were very visible. There were bruises on her arms from where Franco had gripped her tightly and there were bruises on her legs from where he had kicked her. There were also bruises on her neckline.
"Who did this to you, Sydney?" Ryan asked tears filling his eyes.
"Go away. This doesn't concern you." Sydney said.
"Like hell it doesn't. You've been hurt and I want to know who did it. We have to go to the police." Ryan said.
Fear instantly flickered in Sydney's eyes. "No, you can't do that! No one can know!" she said.
Suddenly Ryan figured out who had beaten her. He thought back to the times when Franco would grab Sydney's arm or give her stern looks. He realized he had missed all the scared looks Sydney would get when Franco would yell at her or when she knew she was going to be home too late. And now he understood why she would stand him up all the time – she was staying home to hide her bruises.
"I'm going to kill Franco. I'm going to kill that bastard for hurting you." Ryan said through gritted teeth.
"You can't do anything about this, Ryan. Just let it go." Sydney pleaded. She knew Franco's power and she did not want Ryan to get hurt.
"How can you say that? How can you let him get away with this?" Ryan asked.
"This isn't any of your concern," Sydney said trying to get him to back off.
"Yes, it is. Don't you see, Sydney? I can't let you be hurt like this. I love you too much." Ryan said letting his feelings come out.
Sydney broke down into tears at those words. She fell down on to her knees and cried. Ryan kneeled down in front of her and put his arms around her, careful not to press too hard against her bruises.
"I…love you…too," Sydney said through her tears.
"It's going to be all right now. I'm going to protect you." Ryan said rubbing her back up and down.
End flashback
"I hate that I can't protect you from that monster. I hate that he has so much power over us." Ryan said slamming his fist on to the bench.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Ryan. All I want is for you to hold me." Sydney said.
Ryan pulled her into his arms and held her close. "You will get better, Sydney. Just let them help you." he said.