Seth returns to the house and sits down in the kitchen to make breakfast.
"Was that Ryan I saw walking down the road toward the beach?" Kirsten asks, appearing in the kitchen.
"Yeah. He said he needed to get some air," Seth replies.
Sandy enters, hearing his son's words. "What? Where was he going?"
"To get some air. He's pissed at me," Seth states, quietly. "He says he's not, but he is."
"You want to tell us why?" Sandy asks, carefully.
"What Ryan said last night was completely true. Donnie works with Ryan at the Crab Shack. But what he didn't say is that Ryan didn't invite him to Holly's, I did. Ryan was at home, he didn't even come to the party until I called him. Ryan warned my about Donnie, said he was a rough dude, but I…I didn't listen to him, I thought he was being overprotective," Seth admits.
Kirsten is flushed. "Why'd you call Ryan, Seth?"
"Donnie pulled up his shirt and showed me the gun. I freaked, I called Ryan to come and get me. When Ryan walked in, Donnie and Luke were fighting already and Donnie pulled the gun out. He was waving it around and Ryan, he tried to talk to him, but…Donnie was just nuts. Ryan rushed him, trying to get the gun away from him and it went off," Seth finishes.
"You said Ryan rushed him? He…he just went after a kid with a gun?" Sandy asks, quietly.
"Everyone was just standing around and Donnie wasn't listening to anything…Ryan said that he had to do something. I mean, if he hadn't went after Donnie, maybe Luke wouldn't have gotten shot, but…maybe other people would have been hurt, too. I don't know." Seth sighs. "Ryan was only there because I called him. It's my fault that Donnie was even at the party. I…I'm sorry."
Kirsten gives her son a hug, which he surprisingly returns.
There is a tentative knock on the door. The Cohens turn around and see Marissa waving, timidly from the other side. Seth opens the door.
"Hey."
"Hey. I just got back from the hospital. Is Ryan around?" She asks.
Seth steps outside with her, closing the door on his parents.
"He took a walk. How's Luke?"
"He's okay, his folks took him home. Luke said…he said Ryan took care of him. What the hell happened last night, Seth?" Marissa asks, concerned.
"This kid, Donnie, that worked at the Crab Shack, I invited him to the party and he lost it. He pulled a gun and started threatening Luke and Ryan intervened," Seth explains.
"Ryan intervened? What exactly does that mean?" Marissa asks.
"He went after Donnie, trying to get the gun," Seth replies.
"Oh my god. Luke said that Ryan was trying to be a hero, but I didn't…where is he?" Marissa asks.
"He's pissed at me."
"Damn, Seth, I wonder why. Is that the same kid whose party you dragged Ryan to the night before? I'm sorry," Marissa apologizes, seeing the guilty look on his face. "But, Seth, you have to remember something. If you get into trouble, your folks will ground you or take away your playstation or something. If Ryan gets into trouble, he gets sent away. You realize that, right? He told me…he can't get into any trouble, Seth."
Seth nods, guiltily. "I know. It was a mistake. I'll apologize to him when he comes back, but he…this morning when I came down, well…he looked like somebody died or something."
"Where do you think he went?"
"I don't know. He said he was going out for a smoke, and that he'd be back."
Sandy and Kirsten glance at each other, watching Marissa and Seth's exchange.
"So. This changes things, a little, right? I mean, at least Seth was smart enough to call for a ride when he realized that the kid had a gun…" Sandy starts, thinking aloud.
"Ryan must have been here. With Marissa. I called Luke's parents this morning to see how he was and they said that Ryan called Marissa from the hospital and she's been there all night." Kirsten pauses. "Ryan was trying to do the right thing and protect Seth." She meets her husband's worried gaze. "But why the hell would he get in the way of a guy with a gun?"
"I don't know, Kirsten. Did you see his face last night when he said that this wasn't the first time he'd seen someone shot? I mean, I grew up poor but I've never seen anyone shot in real life," Sandy replies.
"What should we do? Punish Seth for making a bad judgement call? Punish Ryan for trying to keep people alive?" Kirsten asks, looking to Sandy for input.
"He tried to run off last night, I caught him in the driveway." Sandy sighs. "I'm going to take a walk and see if I can find Ryan…"
"You might want to wait on that. There he is," Kirsten nods out the window.
Ryan walks up, surprised to see Marissa on the patio. "Hey."
"Hey." She says, turning and punching him in the shoulder.
"Ow. What was that for?" Ryan asks, confused.
"What the hell did you think you were doing last night?" Marissa accuses, angrily. "You could have been killed! Why didn't you call the police and let them handle it?"
Ryan's face shows no emotion, but his eyes dull slightly. "Thanks, Marissa. That's really what I needed to hear." He walks past them toward the house.
"Ryan, wait…" Marissa gasps, not expecting his answer. Ryan doesn't stop walking. He goes into the house.
"I told you something was up with him," Seth says to Marissa.
Ryan sits down at the counter, not speaking to the Cohens who are watching him, concerned. "Okay. What's the verdict?" He asks, quietly.
"Seth told us what happened, Ryan. What really happened. Do you want to tell us, now?" Sandy asks, cautiously to try and get the teenager to talk to them.
"I thought you said that he just told you," Ryan replies. "Whatever he said is what happened."
"So you did try and get the gun away from the other kid," Sandy states.
Ryan nods. "Yes, sir."
"Why? Why would you do that?" Kirsten asks, concerned.
"He was going to shoot the place up. You could see it in his eyes…" Ryan's eyes lose focus for a moment. "I…I had to stop him. I couldn't…I couldn't let it happen again." His eyes clear and he seems to realize what he has said.
"Let what happen again, Ryan?" Kirsten asks, softly.
Ryan stands up, not meeting either adult's gaze. He pulls his shirt up slightly to reveal the small circular scar on his stomach. "I got this when I was thirteen. A kid walked in and started shooting. He killed my best friend. I held my hands over his neck while all the blood in his body drained out through my fingers. So I'm sorry that I scared Seth. I'm sorry that I was impulsive and tried to take action but I won't stand by and let that happen again." His gaze is steady as he glances up.
"Ryan, I had no idea…" Sandy gasps, pale.
"It's nothing. It was a long time ago. I tried to talk to Donnie, but it wasn't working…" Ryan starts.
"But Ryan, you could have been killed," Kirsten interrupts.
"Everybody in that house could have been killed. No one else was doing anything. When Luke was on the floor bleeding, no one was doing anything. It was like everything stopped when the gun came out. Those kids didn't know what the hell to do. Somebody had to do something," Ryan says, his face blank.
"Okay, Ryan. At least now, we understand a little better."
"Should I pack my things?" Ryan asks, quietly.
"No, Ryan," Kirsten scolds. "You didn't do anything wrong. Except for trying to run away last night. You have to learn to talk to us before you do things like that," She adds.
"Sorry."
Marissa and Seth are still outside, still stunned by Ryan's appearance.
"That was so weird, Seth. Something must really be bothering him…" Marissa realizes.
"Last night, I think…my dad stopped him from running away again. Dad didn't tell me that was what was going on, but I'm not blind," Seth says, quietly.
"Why would he do that?"
"Last night, Mom and Dad found out what happened because Ryan had blood on his clothes and Ryan told them what happened…but he didn't tell them everything, he just told them enough to make it seem like his fault. I guess he thought that they would kick him out…and I said some things to him…sort of like what you just said and he…it was like he shut down," Seth explains. "There's something more going on with him than we know about."
Back in the house, Sandy glances at Kirsten with a worried glance. "Ryan, are you okay? You seem really upset…"
"I don't like guns. They bother me. Last night bothers me. It just brought up a lot of old memories," Ryan admits, quietly.
"So you were shot when you were thirteen?" Kirsten asks, quietly.
"The first time, yeah. I got tagged accidentally in a drive-by when I was fifteen. Another flesh wound in my leg," Ryan replies, looking down.
"Ryan…" Kirsten gasps.
"It was a long time ago, guys. A very long time ago. But I owed you guys an explanation and now you have one," Ryan sighs.
"Ryan, I'm glad you told us. None of that information was in your records…" Sandy states quietly.
"There's a lot of stuff that's not in my records," Ryan replies, deadpan. "There's a lot of stuff I'm not proud of. I'm just sorry that Seth had to see that. I'm sorry any of those kids had to see that. And I appreciate your leniency."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Ryan. Why don't you go out and talk to Seth and Marissa? It looks like they're worried about you," Sandy says, finally.
"You want some breakfast?" Kirsten asks.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry. I'll get something later. Thanks." Ryan turns and steps outside, aware of Kirsten and Sandy's eyes on him.
"Ryan?" Seth calls, seeing his solemn face. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Okay. It's okay," Ryan replies, thoughtful.
"Are you okay?" Seth asks.
"Yeah. What's with the looks? Marissa?" Ryan asks, glancing from Seth to Marissa.
"Something's up with you. You're off," She states.
"I'm off? Like to see the wizard?" Ryan retorts coldly. He starts to walk away.
"Ryan, no dude. Stop," Seth calls, upset.
Ryan stops. He puts a hand to his head and turns around, his face flickering with emotion for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm all fucked up." He puts his hands out as if surrendering. "So I'm sorry. I'm just not making any sense today."
Kirsten steps outside, sensing the tension. "Seth. Ryan's tired…" She starts.
"Mom, what's going on?"
"Ryan will tell you everything, honey, I'm sure, but he's tired. Tell your parents I said hello, Marissa," Kirsten says, leading Seth inside.
Marissa ignores Kirsten's obvious intention for her to go home and goes to the pool house, letting herself inside.
"Marissa, go home." Ryan's voice is weak and distant.
"No, Ryan. Talk to me. Please. Where are you?" She walks around the room until she finds Ryan in a shaded corned, sitting on the floor beside his bed.
"You want to sit?" Ryan asks. She hesitates and he shrugs, retracting the invitation for her to join him in the floor.
Marissa sits down on the bed and looks down on him. He is in the shadows but she can sense something on his face. Anguish.
"There's too many windows here."
"What?" Marissa asks, confused.
"It's like everything is on display here. You have to look clean and perfect because you never know who is looking in your windows," He mutters.
"So you hide in the dark where no one can see you?" Marissa asks.
"The dark is comforting. I'm tainted already," Ryan states.
Marissa is chilled by his tone. "Ryan…"
"I'm just really tired. I didn't get any sleep," Ryan says, after a pause. "Sorry. I know you were up all night with Luke. How is he?"
"He's home."
"Good."
"So what's up, Ryan?" Marissa puts a hand on his shoulder and he flinches, shrinking from her touch. "Ryan?"
"I'm tired, Marissa. If I think anymore I think I might shut down completely." He leans his head against the wall.
"Ryan…"
"Just go, Marissa…" He covers his face and doesn't look up again.
"I'll be back for you," Marissa promises, leaving.
Inside the house, Ryan senses something about his parents' silence. "What is going on?"
"Nothing, Seth," Sandy answers immediately.
"Ryan. Is he staying?"
"Yeah, he's not in trouble," Sandy replies.
"Then why is he so upset?" Seth questions.
"Upset?" Sandy asks.
"Yeah," Seth replies, honestly.
"He's tired, Seth. He's got a lot of things on his mind…" Sandy starts.
"And it's not our story to tell, Seth. Just give him some time. Okay?" Kirsten interrupts.
"Okay. I'll give him until lunchtime," Seth sighs. "But he's okay?"
"Yeah," Sandy says after a long beat.
