Disclaimer: I don't own the OC, characters, or all the money they make. Thanks for the reviews everyone, and this fic is ALMOST over, not quite though.
"A.J. Thomas." said Ryan quietly, almost to himself. "A.J..." replied Sandy, as if he were trying to match him up with someone. "A.J., as in the A.J. you and your mother-" he was cut off by Ryan. "Dawn." Sandy nodded grimly. "The A.J. you and Dawn were talking about the last time she came? You trust me with this information? But this is huge!" Ryan nodded and smiled. "I trust you. A.J., he's her boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend. I just don't know anymore." He sighed before continuing. "Dawn wanted to case the house, so she brought A.J. to do the, er, dirty work. I don't think they knew I was going to be there, though. Dawn thought I was going to rent the movies. I guess they just thought by the time we were back they'd be done." Sandy listened intently, trying not to miss a word. He couldn't help but his hands into fists whenever Ryan retold his being thrown through the glass doors, or talked about A.J. throwing him against the wall. It was like he couldn't imagine why someone would do something like that. He put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Now you know you're going to have to tell the police what you told me eventually." Ryan nodded. "But thank you for telling me." He nodded again. "You're welcome." Sandy ruffled his hair, as he always did, and walked out.
Sandy came out of Ryan's room with red eyes. He was emotionally drained, and Kirsten gave him a hug. "If I ever get my hands on that bastard, I'm going to-" Kirsten cut him off with a kiss. "Did he give you a name?" asked Kirsten carefully. Sandy smiled. "Yup." Kirsten clapped her hands happily. Seth burst into the conversation. "What, what? What happened?" Seth and Kirsten gave him a simultaneous glare. "You guys are worse than Ryan." he mumbled. Kirsten softened her look. "Seth, you don't understand. Ryan was in a very delicate mental state after his mother attacked him. Anything you said could have triggered some sort of breakdown." she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry" grumbled Seth guiltily.
A few days later, Ryan was on his way out of the hospital. Kirsten wheeled him out. "Do I have to be in a wheel-chair?" he said, blushing as a group of girls giggled and looked at him. "Yes, Ryan, yes you do. Unless you wanna walk a few steps and collapse." said Sandy. Ryan shrugged. They managed to get him in the car. Sandy leaned over the front seat, holding a container. He shook it in front of Ryan's face. It rattled. "These are for the pain, okay?" Ryan nodded. "Take, uh, two every 6 hours, don't take more than the recommended amount, you know the deal." Ryan looked at pills skeptically before taking them. He read all the instructions carefully. It took him more than it normally would have, since his concussion still blurred his vision and made him slower than usual.
"Home, sweet, home." mumbled Ryan, and Kirsten smiled. Seth ooched over to the phone. He pressed the button to check messages. "You have 37 messages" said the voice mechanically. Seth made a mock-shock face. "Message 1- 'Hey, it's Marissa. I was wondering if you knew where Ryan was. He didn't come to school today.'" Seth erased the message just as his parents walked in. "You didn't call Marissa?" Seth tried to defend himself. "I was a little preoccupied!" He waved his hands in the air. He had had the cast removed the day before, but it was still healing. "Message 26- 'It's me. Again. What the hell happened? It's been like, five days, and I'm really getting worried. Please, please, PLEASE call me back.'" They listened to all the messages while Ryan slept, and Seth called Marissa personally so he received her anger headfirst. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? You could've at least called! You haven't told anyone? Well that makes me feel better." Ryan looked at him from the door of his new room in the main house. Poor Seth. He really was a good friend.
"Here's a cup of water to take your medication with, buddy." said Sandy, smiling. Ryan smiled back. He took the container of pills and carefully shook two out. He swallowed them with the water. "You should go to bed. You look like hell." said Sandy, a slight smile on his face. Ryan looked up, his eyes half closed, and a smile on his face. "Thanks." he still had bruises all over his face, and his nose was swollen. He wheeled himself around and rolled into his new bedroom. They were still trying to repair the windows in the pool house, so he couldn't stay there, and even if he could, he wouldn't. It would scare him too much, and he hated being scared.
He lay down and closed his eyes. He was soon asleep. He started to be troubled by his dreams. A.J. and Dawn were with Seth in another room. He was tied to a chair. Ryan watched through the one way window. He screamed for them to leave him alone, kill him instead, but they couldn't hear him. Seth whimpered in the chair, but looked straight ahead, as if knowing Ryan was there. Then A.J. shot him in the head.
Ryan stirred in his sleep. "No, leave him alone, don't hurt him..." he mumbled in his sleep. His dream had suddenly changed. A.J. was hitting his Kirsten. She was crying, her cheeks red with tears and the slaps he had dealt her. Ryan went to pull him away, and he pushed him into Trey's arms. Suddenly, he was 8 again, and Trey was holding him back because his father was beating his mother and he didn't want Ryan to get involved. But instead of Dawn, it was Kirsten. Ryan struggled against Trey's grip, but he couldn't break free. He just watched Kirsten get battered, tears running down his face.
He woke up sweating. He shook his head slightly, but he still got dizzy. He grabbed his head, the pain pulsing through his temples. So apparently the pills didn't work. He knew it had been a bad idea to take the damn things. They always gave him nightmares. He grabbed the container. He didn't want to throw them in the garbage, they might think he overdosed. Instead, he left them there. He felt nauseated. He got in the wheelchair and went over to the bathroom. He purged his system and collapsed on the ground. He slept soundly for a short while before sitting back down in the wheelchair and lay down in bed again. He hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
He woke up and narrowed his eyes as the sun hit his face. He hadn't seen the sun in a while. Even though it was June, the sun had barely been seen. He groggily sat in his wheelchair and rolled into the kitchen. "Hello sunshine!" said Kirsten happily, putting some food on a plate and handing it to him. He looked at her. He suddenly remembered his dream and grimaced. "You okay?" asked Kirsten, her smile fading. She always asked that. "Are you okay? Are you alright? How do you feel? You feel better? Do you need anything?" He thought about all the things she asked him. His mother never asked him how he was, how he felt, or if he was even hungry. She figured Trey would take care of him or he could take care of himself. Ryan coughed to hide the emotions he felt. "I'm okay." he said with a genuine smile.
Kirsten took in a breath. She was relieved. Seth walked down the stairs rubbing his eyes. He patted Ryan on the back. It normally wouldn't hurt him, even after the injuries, but today it hurt. He grimaced. Kirsten was by his side in an instant. "Seth, don't be so rough." she hissed, running into Ryan's room and getting the pills. Here sweetie." she said, handing him two pills and a glass of water. Ryan pushed them away. "I'm okay. Really. Just tired." Kirsten still looked concerned, raising an eyebrow and squinting her eyes. "Ok. Just have breakfast and then you can sleep for a while. At around noon you have physiotherapy though, so I'll wake you up." Ryan smiled as he ate his cereal. Seth's meal looked much better, but he knew he couldn't eat that because of his stomach. He could barely eat the little amount of food Kirsten had for him.
He sat on the couch watching tv. Someone knocked at the door. Kirsten smiled at him. "I'll get that!" she said. "Marissa! HI!" she said loudly so Ryan could hear. Marissa seemed worried. "Is Ryan, is he ok?" Kirsten nodded. "As ok as can be expected...considering." Marissa looked confused. "Considering what? Seth didn't tell me what happened." Kirsten made a face. She really didn't want to tell Marissa what happened. She didn't know why, but she didn't. "Why don't you come on in." she said and let Marissa through. She took off her shoes and ran into the living room. Ryan looked up at her and smiled. "Marissa! Hey!" Marissa was shocked. Ryan's smile turned forced. "Do I look that bad?" Marissa knelt down next to him. "No, Ryan. You look great." She kissed him. Ryan kissed back, seeming to have forgotten how nice it was to kiss with her.
She tried to hug him, and he grimaced. He let out a small groan that he couldn't keep in and she pulled away. "Sorry..." she whispered, touching his chest. The hug was small, but Ryan could still feel the pain of his ribs digging into him. Her hand moved down his chest and onto his stomach where Ryan finally pushed it away. He frowned and pulled up his shirt to reveal the bandages covering his stomach. She gasped. "What happened?!" He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "I got shot." he sighed out, his voice barely above a whisper. She held back tears as she breathed out to calm herself. She pointed to his leg. "And this?" Ryan shrugged. "Broken leg." She cried. "I'm okay, Marissa, I really am. Don't worry." They fell asleep together, Marissa's head in his lap. He woke up and she was gone. The house was still in ruins, but he couldn't figure out if it had just happened or if it was still from the previous break-in.
"Kirsten?" he asked, worry in his voice. "Kirsten?!" a little louder that time. He started hyperventilating. His worst nightmare might be coming true and he couldn't do anything to stop it. "KIRSTEN!" he screamed. He tried to get out of the sofa he was in. He stumbled into the wheelchair and went forward a bit. Marissa's shoe was on the ground, and the wheelchair went over it. He fell forward and hit the ground. He felt the full pain of the impact, and his head spun. He saw double of everything, and he suddenly felt nauseous. He reached out to crawl, but the pain and the cast won't let him. Instead, his arms buckle and he falls back to the ground. He closes his eyes, defeated again.
Kirsten and Marissa were outside, taking in the sun. Marissa had woken up and decided to leave Ryan to rest. She took off her shoes and walked outside, where Kirsten was grilling up some food. "Hello Marissa! How's Ryan?" Marissa smiled. "He's fine. I just wanted to let him sleep." Kirsten nodded, smiling. Through the grilling, she heard her name. "What did you say, hon?" Marissa looked up from her book. "I didn't say anything Mrs. Cohen." Kirsten leaned in closer to the house. She heard her name. She heard it again. "KIRSTEN?!" that time she sure as hell knew it wasn't her imagination. She turned off the grill and gave her flipper to Marissa. She took off her oven mitts and ran inside, fighting the nagging feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Ryan on the ground. She tripped over to him, taking his head in her hands. "Ryan? Sweetie, wake up." Ryan opened his eyes slowly. He looked at Kirsten, who's blonde hair was over his face. "You're ok...I thought, I thought something happened..." Kirsten shook her head. "Nope. I'm fine, Marissa's fine, and you obviously are not." Ryan sat up quicker than he had anticipated he would, and got a headache. He grabbed his head, scrunching his eyes.
Kirsten gave him two pills and wheeled him off to bed, despite his pleading for her not to. She turned off the light and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She left and closed the door. Ryan closed his eyes, defeated by his nightmares.
How was that? More in about a week, I'm going to Vancouver for spring break. Thanks for the reviews, guys!
"A.J. Thomas." said Ryan quietly, almost to himself. "A.J..." replied Sandy, as if he were trying to match him up with someone. "A.J., as in the A.J. you and your mother-" he was cut off by Ryan. "Dawn." Sandy nodded grimly. "The A.J. you and Dawn were talking about the last time she came? You trust me with this information? But this is huge!" Ryan nodded and smiled. "I trust you. A.J., he's her boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend. I just don't know anymore." He sighed before continuing. "Dawn wanted to case the house, so she brought A.J. to do the, er, dirty work. I don't think they knew I was going to be there, though. Dawn thought I was going to rent the movies. I guess they just thought by the time we were back they'd be done." Sandy listened intently, trying not to miss a word. He couldn't help but his hands into fists whenever Ryan retold his being thrown through the glass doors, or talked about A.J. throwing him against the wall. It was like he couldn't imagine why someone would do something like that. He put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Now you know you're going to have to tell the police what you told me eventually." Ryan nodded. "But thank you for telling me." He nodded again. "You're welcome." Sandy ruffled his hair, as he always did, and walked out.
Sandy came out of Ryan's room with red eyes. He was emotionally drained, and Kirsten gave him a hug. "If I ever get my hands on that bastard, I'm going to-" Kirsten cut him off with a kiss. "Did he give you a name?" asked Kirsten carefully. Sandy smiled. "Yup." Kirsten clapped her hands happily. Seth burst into the conversation. "What, what? What happened?" Seth and Kirsten gave him a simultaneous glare. "You guys are worse than Ryan." he mumbled. Kirsten softened her look. "Seth, you don't understand. Ryan was in a very delicate mental state after his mother attacked him. Anything you said could have triggered some sort of breakdown." she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry" grumbled Seth guiltily.
A few days later, Ryan was on his way out of the hospital. Kirsten wheeled him out. "Do I have to be in a wheel-chair?" he said, blushing as a group of girls giggled and looked at him. "Yes, Ryan, yes you do. Unless you wanna walk a few steps and collapse." said Sandy. Ryan shrugged. They managed to get him in the car. Sandy leaned over the front seat, holding a container. He shook it in front of Ryan's face. It rattled. "These are for the pain, okay?" Ryan nodded. "Take, uh, two every 6 hours, don't take more than the recommended amount, you know the deal." Ryan looked at pills skeptically before taking them. He read all the instructions carefully. It took him more than it normally would have, since his concussion still blurred his vision and made him slower than usual.
"Home, sweet, home." mumbled Ryan, and Kirsten smiled. Seth ooched over to the phone. He pressed the button to check messages. "You have 37 messages" said the voice mechanically. Seth made a mock-shock face. "Message 1- 'Hey, it's Marissa. I was wondering if you knew where Ryan was. He didn't come to school today.'" Seth erased the message just as his parents walked in. "You didn't call Marissa?" Seth tried to defend himself. "I was a little preoccupied!" He waved his hands in the air. He had had the cast removed the day before, but it was still healing. "Message 26- 'It's me. Again. What the hell happened? It's been like, five days, and I'm really getting worried. Please, please, PLEASE call me back.'" They listened to all the messages while Ryan slept, and Seth called Marissa personally so he received her anger headfirst. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? You could've at least called! You haven't told anyone? Well that makes me feel better." Ryan looked at him from the door of his new room in the main house. Poor Seth. He really was a good friend.
"Here's a cup of water to take your medication with, buddy." said Sandy, smiling. Ryan smiled back. He took the container of pills and carefully shook two out. He swallowed them with the water. "You should go to bed. You look like hell." said Sandy, a slight smile on his face. Ryan looked up, his eyes half closed, and a smile on his face. "Thanks." he still had bruises all over his face, and his nose was swollen. He wheeled himself around and rolled into his new bedroom. They were still trying to repair the windows in the pool house, so he couldn't stay there, and even if he could, he wouldn't. It would scare him too much, and he hated being scared.
He lay down and closed his eyes. He was soon asleep. He started to be troubled by his dreams. A.J. and Dawn were with Seth in another room. He was tied to a chair. Ryan watched through the one way window. He screamed for them to leave him alone, kill him instead, but they couldn't hear him. Seth whimpered in the chair, but looked straight ahead, as if knowing Ryan was there. Then A.J. shot him in the head.
Ryan stirred in his sleep. "No, leave him alone, don't hurt him..." he mumbled in his sleep. His dream had suddenly changed. A.J. was hitting his Kirsten. She was crying, her cheeks red with tears and the slaps he had dealt her. Ryan went to pull him away, and he pushed him into Trey's arms. Suddenly, he was 8 again, and Trey was holding him back because his father was beating his mother and he didn't want Ryan to get involved. But instead of Dawn, it was Kirsten. Ryan struggled against Trey's grip, but he couldn't break free. He just watched Kirsten get battered, tears running down his face.
He woke up sweating. He shook his head slightly, but he still got dizzy. He grabbed his head, the pain pulsing through his temples. So apparently the pills didn't work. He knew it had been a bad idea to take the damn things. They always gave him nightmares. He grabbed the container. He didn't want to throw them in the garbage, they might think he overdosed. Instead, he left them there. He felt nauseated. He got in the wheelchair and went over to the bathroom. He purged his system and collapsed on the ground. He slept soundly for a short while before sitting back down in the wheelchair and lay down in bed again. He hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
He woke up and narrowed his eyes as the sun hit his face. He hadn't seen the sun in a while. Even though it was June, the sun had barely been seen. He groggily sat in his wheelchair and rolled into the kitchen. "Hello sunshine!" said Kirsten happily, putting some food on a plate and handing it to him. He looked at her. He suddenly remembered his dream and grimaced. "You okay?" asked Kirsten, her smile fading. She always asked that. "Are you okay? Are you alright? How do you feel? You feel better? Do you need anything?" He thought about all the things she asked him. His mother never asked him how he was, how he felt, or if he was even hungry. She figured Trey would take care of him or he could take care of himself. Ryan coughed to hide the emotions he felt. "I'm okay." he said with a genuine smile.
Kirsten took in a breath. She was relieved. Seth walked down the stairs rubbing his eyes. He patted Ryan on the back. It normally wouldn't hurt him, even after the injuries, but today it hurt. He grimaced. Kirsten was by his side in an instant. "Seth, don't be so rough." she hissed, running into Ryan's room and getting the pills. Here sweetie." she said, handing him two pills and a glass of water. Ryan pushed them away. "I'm okay. Really. Just tired." Kirsten still looked concerned, raising an eyebrow and squinting her eyes. "Ok. Just have breakfast and then you can sleep for a while. At around noon you have physiotherapy though, so I'll wake you up." Ryan smiled as he ate his cereal. Seth's meal looked much better, but he knew he couldn't eat that because of his stomach. He could barely eat the little amount of food Kirsten had for him.
He sat on the couch watching tv. Someone knocked at the door. Kirsten smiled at him. "I'll get that!" she said. "Marissa! HI!" she said loudly so Ryan could hear. Marissa seemed worried. "Is Ryan, is he ok?" Kirsten nodded. "As ok as can be expected...considering." Marissa looked confused. "Considering what? Seth didn't tell me what happened." Kirsten made a face. She really didn't want to tell Marissa what happened. She didn't know why, but she didn't. "Why don't you come on in." she said and let Marissa through. She took off her shoes and ran into the living room. Ryan looked up at her and smiled. "Marissa! Hey!" Marissa was shocked. Ryan's smile turned forced. "Do I look that bad?" Marissa knelt down next to him. "No, Ryan. You look great." She kissed him. Ryan kissed back, seeming to have forgotten how nice it was to kiss with her.
She tried to hug him, and he grimaced. He let out a small groan that he couldn't keep in and she pulled away. "Sorry..." she whispered, touching his chest. The hug was small, but Ryan could still feel the pain of his ribs digging into him. Her hand moved down his chest and onto his stomach where Ryan finally pushed it away. He frowned and pulled up his shirt to reveal the bandages covering his stomach. She gasped. "What happened?!" He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "I got shot." he sighed out, his voice barely above a whisper. She held back tears as she breathed out to calm herself. She pointed to his leg. "And this?" Ryan shrugged. "Broken leg." She cried. "I'm okay, Marissa, I really am. Don't worry." They fell asleep together, Marissa's head in his lap. He woke up and she was gone. The house was still in ruins, but he couldn't figure out if it had just happened or if it was still from the previous break-in.
"Kirsten?" he asked, worry in his voice. "Kirsten?!" a little louder that time. He started hyperventilating. His worst nightmare might be coming true and he couldn't do anything to stop it. "KIRSTEN!" he screamed. He tried to get out of the sofa he was in. He stumbled into the wheelchair and went forward a bit. Marissa's shoe was on the ground, and the wheelchair went over it. He fell forward and hit the ground. He felt the full pain of the impact, and his head spun. He saw double of everything, and he suddenly felt nauseous. He reached out to crawl, but the pain and the cast won't let him. Instead, his arms buckle and he falls back to the ground. He closes his eyes, defeated again.
Kirsten and Marissa were outside, taking in the sun. Marissa had woken up and decided to leave Ryan to rest. She took off her shoes and walked outside, where Kirsten was grilling up some food. "Hello Marissa! How's Ryan?" Marissa smiled. "He's fine. I just wanted to let him sleep." Kirsten nodded, smiling. Through the grilling, she heard her name. "What did you say, hon?" Marissa looked up from her book. "I didn't say anything Mrs. Cohen." Kirsten leaned in closer to the house. She heard her name. She heard it again. "KIRSTEN?!" that time she sure as hell knew it wasn't her imagination. She turned off the grill and gave her flipper to Marissa. She took off her oven mitts and ran inside, fighting the nagging feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Ryan on the ground. She tripped over to him, taking his head in her hands. "Ryan? Sweetie, wake up." Ryan opened his eyes slowly. He looked at Kirsten, who's blonde hair was over his face. "You're ok...I thought, I thought something happened..." Kirsten shook her head. "Nope. I'm fine, Marissa's fine, and you obviously are not." Ryan sat up quicker than he had anticipated he would, and got a headache. He grabbed his head, scrunching his eyes.
Kirsten gave him two pills and wheeled him off to bed, despite his pleading for her not to. She turned off the light and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She left and closed the door. Ryan closed his eyes, defeated by his nightmares.
How was that? More in about a week, I'm going to Vancouver for spring break. Thanks for the reviews, guys!
