AN: Okay, well, I know I have a lot of unfinished stuff and I promise that I'm working diligently to get some new chapters out of Rain and Secondhand Smoke (I actually have about 30 handwritten pages I'm trying to type in) but this is a story that kind of started nibbling on me yesterday and took a totally random (and I think, unique) turn. I started writing it because of the 2nd line in this chapter but I'm posting it because of the 'strange trip' that happens in chapter 2. This is a stand-alone, these chapters will be all you'll get from me on this one. I swear. Let me know what you think.

Ryan hung up the phone with a heavy sigh.

"He said he'd kill you if I didn't come home…"

What was he supposed to do? He wasn't a white knight, he couldn't keep risking his life for the damsel in distress.

"I'm scared, Ryan…"

She wasn't his responsibility. They weren't neighbors anymore. They weren't boyfriend/girlfriend anymore, they were just casual lovers. Old friends. He had walked away from her, from that life.

"He said he'd kill you, Ryan. He knows where you live, he knows what your new parents drive…I can't let him hurt you, you're too important to me…"

Dammit. He couldn't just leave her there. Not with Eddie. He knew that Eddie wasn't a bad guy, he just wasn't enough for Teresa. Eddie, well, he could be a little hotheaded but that wasn't anything Ryan wasn't guilty of himself. But Ryan wouldn't threaten someone, he'd never force a girl to stay with him, not like this. It wasn't fair.

Shit, he wasn't responsible for Teresa, not anymore. But she was doing this for him. She was trying to protect him. She's not responsible for him, she shouldn't be trying to protect him.

He couldn't just stand by and let this happen. He has to do something.

What? What's he supposed to do?

He couldn't go to Eddie. "He said he'd kill you…"

He couldn't go to Teresa. "If he knows I'm talking to you, he'll snap…I'm scared, Ryan…"

Sandy would tell him to call the cops. What charge? What could the police possible do, they wouldn't be able to protect the Cohens or himself from something like this.

Seth, well, Seth probably wouldn't have time to even listen and he wouldn't know what to do. Ryan dialed Seth's number anyway. He got the voicemail and left a message for his friend to call him.

Shit, he had to do something. He couldn't just wait for Seth to return his call, he'd wait forever.

He couldn't run off without giving the Cohens some sort of explanation. Not after the Oliver fiasco. They hadn't understood why he hadn't come to them but he knew that they couldn't help. They couldn't help this time but he had to…maybe he should try it their way.

He picked up the phone and dialed Sandy's cell phone. It rang a couple of times before he recognized Sandy's voice.

"Sandy Cohen."

"Hey, Sandy. It's Ryan."

"What's up, kid?"

"I need to talk to you."

"What? Really? Oh, okay, Ryan. Go ahead," Sandy said, clearly surprised.

"Do you have a second?" Ryan asked. He could hear a lot of commotion in the background of Sandy's voice.

"Yeah, I'm at the courthouse and my recess is almost up so I only have a second…"

"Oh. Okay," Ryan said. "I'll just talk to you when you get home…"

"No, it's fine, Ryan. What's up?"

"Well, I just heard from Teresa and…"

"I thought she left…"

"She did. But she told me why she left…" Ryan started.

"Why?"

"Eddie said that he'd kill me if she didn't go back to him…" Ryan stated quietly. Sandy was silent.

"What are you thinking?" Sandy asked.

"I don't know yet…I'm thinking I should go down there and kick his ass and get her the hell away from him…" Ryan admitted.

"Definitely don't do that. You did the right thing calling me, we'll figure something out…" Sandy started.

"She's scared, Sandy and I can't just leave her there…" Ryan interrupted.

"Listen, I've got to go finish this case, don't do anything, okay? I'll be home right after court. Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything until I get home."

"Okay."

"Promise me, Ryan."

"I…I promise, Sandy."

"Sit tight. I'll be home as soon as I can," Sandy promised. Ryan hung up the phone. Why did telling Sandy make him feel so much worse. As if Sandy didn't have enough to worry about, Ryan had to keep throwing complications his way. Sandy shouldn't have to rush home to help solve his problems, Ryan could handle it himself. He stood up, dropping the phone back onto the cradle.

Last minute rushes to the rescue seemed to be his forte lately. God forbid, he'd actually have time to sit back and think about something. He had to do something, he didn't have time to think about it. He had to go now. Teresa wouldn't have called him if it wasn't urgent. "I'm scared, Ryan." God, it was killing him that she was getting hurt because of him.

"Ryan. Where are you going?" Kirsten's voice stopped him from picking up his jacket.

"Hey, Kirsten…"

"Sandy just called. He wanted me to make sure you weren't going anywhere. He didn't tell me why, but it looks like you're going somewhere…"

"I…yeah. But…" Damn, he never could talk to Kirsten. He couldn't lie to her but he couldn't talk to her either. He couldn't read her and he never talked to anyone that he couldn't read.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Kirsten sat down in the chair across from his bed.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"Ryan. It's not nothing. You've got that stricken look on your face like you're about to bolt. Sit down. Relax. Tell me what's going on."

The phone rang before Ryan could respond. He gave Kirsten an apologetic look and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me again."

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked immediately.

"Yeah. I'm going to leave him, Ryan."

Ryan didn't reply immediately. He glanced at Kirsten who was watching him carefully.

"I won't if you…"

"No, if you're scared, you have to leave him, it doesn't matter…"

"But what about…"

"It doesn't matter. Don't worry about me, just go."

"I'll call you when I get settled…"

"Be careful…"

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"Don't worry about me. Just go."

"I love you, Ryan…"

Ryan didn't respond, he sat down on the bed. "Okay, Teresa."

"Bye."

Ryan set the phone beside him on the bed.

"Ryan?"

"You know Teresa went back to Eddie, right? After your dad's party."

"Yeah, Seth filled us in," Kirsten nodded.

"Yeah. Well, she's leaving him."

"Why did she go back to him if she was just going to leave him?" Kirsten asked quietly.

"Because he said he'd kill me," Ryan replied frankly. He didn't look at her when she gasped. He kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"God, Ryan…I…" She stammered.

"I have to go," Ryan said quietly.

"Where? What can you do, Ryan?"

"He knows where I live, he's been here, he's been to my school. I have to talk to him. Before he shows up here again," Ryan said slowly.

"Ryan. Can't you wait for Sandy? I don't think you should run off to Chino to pick a fight…"

"I've known Eddie my whole life. I need to talk to him."

"And you think that he'll listen. Even after he said he'd…he'd kill you. You still think he'll listen?" Kirsten asked, clearly upset.

"I…I have to try," Ryan said quietly.

"I think you should wait for Sandy," Kirsten replied.

"She's leaving, Kirsten. He's going to come home and find her gone and the first thing he's going to do is haul ass over here…" Ryan started.

"And we'll deal with that," Kirsten replied immediately.

"I don't…I don't want to bring any more of my problems here, Kirsten. I won't put you guys in danger." He glanced up at her and saw her pale a shade. Great, he'd upset Kirsten even more.

"You think we're in danger?"

"I don't know. I won't know until I talk to him," Ryan replied honestly.

Kirsten got up and sat down beside him on the bed. He managed not to flinch as she put her hand on his leg. "You know, Ryan…you are a member of this family now. You count. I don't want you to get hurt any more than I want anything to happen to Seth or Sandy. If you're in danger…that matters, too. I don't want you in danger."

"He won't hurt me," Ryan said quietly.

"He gave you a nice black eye the other night when he pushed you into the pool…"

"I can take care of myself, Kirsten," Ryan said quietly.

"I know. But I don't want you to do anything until you talk to Sandy."

Ryan met her gaze steadily. "I have to go."

Kirsten looked into his eyes, searching. Finally, she nodded. "I can't stop you."

"You…you're going to let me go?" Ryan asked. He wondered if she was scared of him. Right now, it didn't matter. He couldn't disobey her, no matter how bad he needed to get to Chino. He needed her to let him go.

"I can't stop you. Be careful. You'll call…"

"I will call you," Ryan nodded. He gave her an impulsive hug and then bolted from the poolhouse.

*****

That kid was going to be grounded forever when he got back. Sandy couldn't believe that Ryan had run off after promising him that he'd wait. Sandy had rushed home after court only to find his wife crying softly in the Jacuzzi. Seth was off with Summer or one of his ladies and Kirsten hadn't stopped Ryan from going to Chino.

"He said he had to go, Sandy. I couldn't stop him. What did you expect me to do?"

Sandy tried calling Ryan's cell phone again. He hadn't yelled at Kirsten, but he'd wanted to. She should have stopped him, god knows that the kid found trouble, he seemed to attract bruises. But Ryan had a mind of his own. He was going to save the world, one girl at a time.

What did he think he'd be able to do in Chino besides get his ass kicked?

"He said he could talk to Eddie, that they were friends once…"

Eddie said he'd kill Ryan. That's why Ryan had called Sandy in the first place. He knew he needed help and he'd called Sandy. So why would he run off to Chino? God, that kid…he's a good kid but he had serious problems with decision-making.

Sandy sat down at the counter and dialed Ryan's cell phone again. He had to answer. The phone was on because it was ringing but the voicemail kept picking up. At least he took the phone with him. Kirsten had said that he promised to call, but what if he couldn't call because something happened to him? God knows what could happen to him out there. He thought he could take care of himself but that's the whole reason that Sandy took him in. Sandy was supposed to take care of him now. If only the kid would listen to him.

*****

"Damn, Eddie, leave the kid alone!"

"It's your fault! It's your fault she left me! Goddammit…"

"Eddie! Get off him, you're killing him!"

"You come around here, trying to take her from me…she's not yours…she's mine…she's always been mine…"

"Somebody call the police, Eddie's gone apeshit!"

"She's mine, you fucker…she's not yours…Ryan? Oh shit…Ryan, are you okay? Oh shit…"

"Eddie, what did you do?"

"Oh shit, Trey's going to kill me…"

"You cut him? Fuck, Eddie…that's Ryan! How could you do that to Ryan?"

"Oh shit…Ryan? Ryan, talk to me, kid…I'm sorry… you know I didn't mean it…"

"We have to get him to a hospital, Eddie…"

"Shit, Arturo, I didn't mean…"

"Fuck what you meant, we have to go now!"

*****

Sandy answered the phone as it rang on the counter beside him. "Hello?" It'd been hours since Ryan left. It was dark now. Kirsten was upstairs, worried and avoiding his anger. Seth still wasn't home. At least with Seth, Sandy knew he was okay.

"Hey."

"Thank god. Are you okay?" Sandy asked.

"That's a matter of perspective," He muttered.

"Where are you?"

"I'm actually driving back now. I'm on my way home."

Sandy could tell that something was wrong by the muted tone of Ryan's voice. "What happened?"

"Can you wait until I get there? I don't want to have to run through it more than once."

"But you're okay?"

"I'm relatively intact. I'll see you in a little while."

Sandy stared at the phone as the dial tone started to echo in the kitchen. He had to get Ryan to start talking more. He couldn't handle just the bare facts. Not like this.

*****

Ryan parked the Rover in the driveway and took a moment to sink into the seat. Fucking Eddie had stabbed him, twice in the side before stopping and driving him to the hospital. Fucking Eddie was crying when Ryan finally woke up. He was sorry, he didn't mean it, he was just crazy about Teresa. Ryan had gotten up off the examining table and knocked the bastard to the floor. Eddie had cried all the way to the exit, Arturo by his side.

At least it was over. Teresa was safely away from Eddie, as long as her common sense held out. Eddie wasn't going to try and beat him senseless anymore. Ryan's near-death encounter had been enough to scare some sense into Eddie. He had two new holes in his side but the doctors had sent him home with forty stitches and a bottle of painkillers. Luckily, Eddie had felt guilty enough to pay the ER in cash so he didn't have to worry the Cohens.

His side was killing him. It hurt like hell. Ryan had turned down the painkillers at the hospital, he knew he'd be driving home. He wished he could avoid Sandy and just hide out in the poolhouse, at least until he could diminish the pain in his side, but he knew better. He slipped the bottle of pills into his pocket and slowly got out of the Rover. He'd filled it up with gas but he knew that it wouldn't matter. He was in trouble.

"Ryan? Hey, man, what's up?" Seth had pulled in while Ryan was getting out. Damn, he was out of it.

"Shit, what happened to you?" Summer noticed his swollen face and bloodied clothes and her voice seemed actually concerned.

"Long story," Ryan muttered.

"Dude, what happened?" Seth asked.

"I'll tell you later. I have to deal with your Dad first," Ryan said. He ignored Seth's curious glance. He couldn't stop his hands from covering his side as he walked to the door and walked in.

"Ryan…oh god…" Kirsten spotted him first and her voice was laced with something Ryan thought must be guilt. She regretted letting him go. She shouldn't, he would have went anyway, but she was by his side, concerned. "Are you okay? What happened? Why are you holding your side?"

"It's okay, Kirsten, I'm fine," Ryan said. He let her lead him into the kitchen and he sat down at the counter. Sandy walked in. Instead of anger, his face was drawn with worry. Seth and Summer wandered into the kitchen.

"Seth, we need to talk to Ryan…" Sandy said.

"We just wanted to get something…" Seth started as he went to the refrigerator.

"Later. We need to talk to Ryan," Kirsten agreed. Seth gave Ryan a worried look and led Summer upstairs. He knew that Seth would be dying of curiosity.

"Ryan. What happened? You promised me you wouldn't go until you talked to me…" Sandy said quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't wait…she called and said that she was leaving him…"

"And that meant you had to go right then?" Sandy demanded. Now the concern was turning into something he recognized, the anger. Ryan glanced beside him and saw that Kirsten had approached him. She pulled at the cuff of his shirt, exposing the heavy bandages on his side.

"What happened?" Kirsten whispered. "Did you go to the hospital?"

"I had to get some stitches…" Ryan started.

"Ryan…" Kirsten gasped.

"It's nothing."

"Go on, Ryan. You had to go."

"I went to Teresa's mom's house. I knew that Eddie would go to Arturo's first thing after finding out that she was gone…"

"Arturo?" Kirsten asked.

"Teresa's brother. Eddie, Arturo and Trey, they're all good friends. Anyway, a few minutes after I got there, Eddie showed up. He was pretty pissed and wouldn't listen to me…I guess I should've known that but anyway, we started to fight," Ryan sighed. "He cut me…"

"He cut you? As in stabbed?" Kirsten gasped.

"I was out cold by the time he cut me," Ryan continued without answering. "Anyway. He saw the blood and realized that he didn't want to be a killer so he drove me to the emergency room. They stitched me up and sent me home."

"Eddie stabbed you and then drove you to the hospital?" Sandy asked.

Ryan sighed. Sandy and Kirsten couldn't understand. Eddie hadn't meant to hurt him, he was just desperate over losing Teresa. Eddie had always been crazy over Teresa. Shit, when Eddie found out that Ryan and Teresa were having sex for the first time, he'd broken Ryan's collarbone. Eddie had always been crazy over Teresa.

"Ryan?" Kirsten called his name, trying to get his attention.

"Yeah. He cut me and then drove me to the hospital," Ryan said quietly.

"God, Ryan, what the hell were you thinking? Don't answer that, because you weren't thinking," Sandy snapped. He was really angry.

Ryan sat silently.

"Sandy. He's tired. Are you in pain, Ryan?" Kirsten asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Ryan lied. She clucked her tongue at him, disapprovingly.

"You could have been killed…" Sandy said with a sigh.

"I'm fine…" Ryan started. He'd be fine in a couple of days.

"You're not fine. You were stabbed…" Kirsten interrupted, frustrated.

"I'm fine," Ryan repeated.

"Go to your room, Ryan," Sandy said after a long pause.

Ryan stood up and walked out of the kitchen without a word. He never thought he'd appreciate the silent treatment but he had learned to appreciate the beauty of silence since moving in here. He closed the door to the poolhouse and went straight to the bathroom. He opened his prescription bottle and chewed several pills without glancing at the label. He set the bottle on the counter and washed them down with a handful of water from the sink. He hoped they started working soon.

He knew that he messed up. He shouldn't have been so impulsive but he couldn't have handled it if Eddie had showed up here. His life from Chino kept bleeding through to his life here. He had to keep them separate. Sometimes he felt like he was coming apart trying to separate his lives. Dawn and Trey. Teresa and Eddie. They had no place here, not now. Ryan discards his bloody shirt and jeans and got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a wife-beater. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. The pain in his side got worse but finally he succumbed to sleep. Everything would be better tomorrow. Everything would be all right.

*****

"Ryan. Ryan. Wake up, Ryan. Come on, kid…wake up…"

"Something's wrong, Sandy…"

"Ryan, wake up…open your eyes…"

"Mom? Mom, I think he took some painkillers…"

"How many?"

"I don't know…"

"Count them, Seth. It's important…"

"Wake up, Ryan. Open your eyes, Ryan…"

*****