Only had one review for the last chapter, thanks thekiller00, hopefully get a few more for this one. Let me know whether you like it or not, just nice to get some feedback when you post.

Somewhere between dawn and early morning Ryan must have drifted off, though the sleep was light and the nightmares plenty. He jumped at the touch, instinctively spinning upright as his hands formed into fists and ready to hit, but he let his arms drop when he saw his attacker was Marissa. He slumped back onto the bed, the lack of sleep giving him a headache.

The only thing he wanted to do, besides turn back time, was to roll into a ball in complete darkness and sleep until life could be normal again. Everything was still too fresh and with limited sleep, his mind was going in thousands of directions. He wasn't even sure if Eddie's body had been identified by the authorities, if Theresa and her mom were safe some place, or if Eddie's killers knew that he had been an accomplice.

He raised his hands off his face and opened his eyes to see Marissa sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him nervously. He tried to force a smile but as he didn't smile all that much anyway, it didn't work. Instead he patted the bed next to him, inviting her to lay next to him. She scooted across, pushing herself up against him as he pulled her in tighter with his arms.

"I tried calling you a few times last night," she said quietly after a few minutes had gone by, not knowing if he was sleeping as she was faced away from him.

"I had to go out of town and take care of a few things," he replied, his face buried in her hair.

"For Eddie?"

"Yes," he said when his voice allowed him, hearing the name bringing flashes of last night's events to his mind.

"Are you done now?" she asked, rolling over so their noses nearly touched, their breaths on the other's face, "Promise me this is over, no more dangerous stunts."

"I don't know Riss," he said, wondering how much he should tell her, "I hope it is but I can't say for sure."

He held her tighter, not wanting to continue with their discussion. The less she knew, the less she had to worry about and he didn't want her to start looking over her shoulder again. Her life was beginning to settle down, no longer having to worry about anyone coming after her and he didn't want to be the reason that disappeared – especially if it was all for nothing.

Sometime while holding her, Ryan had drifted back to sleep. When Marissa was in his arms, he felt relaxed and at peace; she was the definition of happiness to him and when she was near, the world was a better place for him. While he was sleeping though, his subconscious took control and soon he was yelling out in his sleep as the nightmares played through his head like a bad movie that he couldn't shut off.

His eyes finally snapped open, his body covered in sweat as he tried to remember where he was at and why his heart was pounding so badly. He looked up and saw Marissa with her hand on the door, looking as if she were running for something. He softly called out her name and she stopped to look back, her face quickly changing from terror, to relief, and then to concern.

"Hey, I was going for help there," she said, quickly coming back to sit next to him, "You were screaming and yelling and I couldn't wake you up. What's going on Ryan?"

Before he could say anything, Seth and Sandy burst through the door, skidding to a halt as they saw that everything was normal in the pool house though seconds earlier it had not sounded like it. Sandy looked at his questioningly, the lawyer in him searching Ryan's face for answers and it all clicked together.

"Ryan, I was going to wait and tell you a little later but I'm guessing you already know what happened in Chino last night?" Sandy said with a raised eyebrow.

Ryan nodded, ashamed of what he had tried to do last night and for screaming in his sleep, and he couldn't look Sandy in the eye. The last thing he ever wanted to do was let the Cohens down, after all they had done for him it was the least he could do, but he knew that last night was exactly the sort of thing he had moved to Newport to avoid.

"Seth, Marissa, could you give us a moment here?" Sandy asked though it was more of a direct order.

Marissa kissed Ryan softly on the cheek before standing up and exiting the pool house with Seth, both still had worried looks on their faces. They were not used to seeing anything bother Ryan as badly as whatever had happened last night, and not knowing didn't help but their fear to rest. Sandy came over and sat down on the bed next to Ryan, waiting a few minutes to give his son a chance to calm down his breathing.

"What happened last night Ryan?" Sandy asked.

"Eddie called for a favor, said after what happened on the beach this summer that I owed him one. I drove up to Chino last night…"

Ryan sat there with his hands clasped tightly together, starring down at them as he told Sandy everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. He left nothing out, even though as he spoke he knew how stupid both he and Eddie had been last night. Hearing the words out loud usually had that affect and if he would have slowed down last night and thought everything through, then he wouldn't be here right now having nightmares and Eddie would still be alive.

Instead of getting mad at Ryan, Sandy pulled him into an embrace. Ryan was still a good kid, always trying to help out others even though some of the circumstances weren't always the best choice. Sandy had been there that night when Eddie had shot Jimmy and because of that, he knew that Ryan believed he truly owed Eddie whatever he asked for. Eddie had saved all three of their lives and Sandy was truly grateful to him for that but also truly grateful that Ryan had been the one to come home last night.

"The funeral is on Tuesday if you want to go," Sandy said as he stood up, knowing that even if he did feel like punishing Ryan by grounding him that Ryan would punish himself worse, "If you need to talk kiddo, I'm always here or my cell phone is always on."

…

Tuesday morning Ryan found himself once again driving up to Chino, this time with a light mist dusting the windshield so that every once in awhile the wipers had to get flicked on. The only difference was that this time no one was trying to call him on his cell every few minutes to see where he was at, as Marissa, Seth, and Summer had joined him out of respect for Eddie helping them not so long ago.

The last time he was driving he remembered telling himself that it would be his last trip to Chino, he would have to cut all ties so that he could continue in working toward a better future. This time he knew it would be the last as there was no one left for him to come visit. Theresa and her mom were still on the run as far as he knew and today he would be saying the final good-bye to Eddie.

The car was way too quiet as they drove, Ryan turning on the radio to help fill the void of the silence. Normally he was telling Seth to keep his mouth shut every few minutes and Summer and Marissa would be chatting about the latest fashion and gossip but not today. The three of them were still worried about Ryan, who wouldn't talk to anybody about what had happened or what he had been up there to do. He had spent the last few days by himself, holed up in the pool house and when they did try to reach out to him, he kept his distance. It was hard to continue a one-sided conversation and eventually they stopped trying and left him to his brooding.

The drive was long, the uncomfortable stuffiness inside the SUV making it nearly intolerable, but eventually they arrived at the cemetery to pay their finally respects to Eddie. The sky was cloudy and overcast as light rain fell down upon them, and Marissa took Ryan's hand as they walked over to the gravesite where a handful of people had begun to gather. She squeezed it, wanting him to know that she was here for him if he wanted it, but instead of responding he starred straight ahead, his eyes fixed upon the hold that had been dug that morning.

An older women dressed in black was standing near the casket, trying to keep her shoulders from heaving up and down but finally relented and her sobs became audible. Ryan broke free from Marissa and went over to her, bending down as the lady saw him and embracing her tightly. Marissa watched from a distance as Ryan held onto Eddie's mother, seeing the pain in his face as he let the woman cry into his shoulder. She knew he still believed it was all his fault, it was what a surviving person did when a friend didn't make it out of a situation they were both in, but watching him sink deeper and deeper worried her.

When the crowd was assembled, a lot of people from Ryan's old crowd coming to pay their respects even though contact had been lost among them for awhile, Ryan continued to stand next to Eddie's mother, holding her up as she listened to the prayers being offered and then finally her son being lowered into the ground. The look of pain on his face had been replaced with a determined look, his eyes locked and fierce, and that scarred Marissa more than the earlier look.

The service was over, but the three friends kept their distance as Ryan shook hands with former friends, speaking a few words with some of them, and then saying his good-bye to Eddie's mother. By the time he joined them, his clothes were soaked even though the rain had not come down hard. He took Marissa's hand and began leading them back to the vehicle.

"Hey Atwood, that you?" a voice shouted too loudly for a cemetery, startling the group as they had their heads down.

Ryan looked up and saw unfamiliar faces though something told him he knew these guys. A lot of the faces had looked unfamiliar today even though they had spent their childhood together. He watched as the car pulled slowly up to them and stop a few feet away, two guys emerging from the vehicle who were not wearing smiles of long-lost friends.

"Get back to the car Marissa," Ryan warned her, pulling his hand from her grip.

"We need to talk to you Atwood," the shorter guy said as he walked up to Ryan, the taller man standing behind with his arms folded across his chest and a sneer on his face.

"So talk," Ryan said, his eyes trying to remain locked on the man in front of him.

"See, your friend Eddie here got himself into a little problem but he wasn't the only one there," the shorter man said, "We know the two of you were always close. If you were there, you better go into hiding because when we find out who was with him and blew up all our drugs, we're going after them."

"Me and Eddie hadn't talked in awhile," Ryan said, "so if you got something to say, I'm right here now. I'll save you the trouble of trying to find me."

"I don't think you quite understand Atwood," the littler guy snarled, stepping up so he was right in Ryan's face, "If we find out you had any part in this, it won't be just you we'd be after. We'll come after your entire family and after we're through with them we'll get that little girlfriend of yours as well."

All of the feelings Ryan had been bottling up for the last few days flew to the surface. Hearing about his family and Marissa being hurt had finally gotten him to snap. Without moving a hand, his head tilted back and then snapped forward in a blink of an eye. Before the guy had time to bring his hands to his nose, the blood spilling down as the cartilage snapped, Ryan was past him. His right arm flung forward, landing solidly into the jaw of the bigger man. His head was snapped to his right and Ryan was already pouncing on him, taking him to the ground while slamming his fist into any possible location as he tried to inflict as much pain as possible. The anger he felt watching Eddie's car blow up, for hearing about his family being threatened, was being released and he continued to rain blows down onto the guy until he was too tired to throw anymore.

When his rage subsided, he stood up, looking down at the two men he had beaten into bloody messes. He felt no remorse, nor did he feel any better. He would not stoop to their level and take out his revenge anymore than a beating, even though they deserved to be in the hole Eddie was now occupying. He walked over to the one who had threatened him, pulling him up off the ground by his collar so that their faces were inches apart.

"Threaten my family or anyone I care about again, and it will be your last. Do you understand that?" he growled, shaking the guy when he didn't answer, "Do you understand!"

"Yeah, but don't come back to Chino Atwood cause we'll be waiting."

"Don't worry, this place no longer exists to me," Ryan said before throwing him back down to the ground roughly.