Ryan just stared up at the ceiling of the pool house. He had told Sandy
and Kirsten that he had some homework to finish before he went back to
school the next day. He needed to be alone. He hadn't been alone at all
most of the week, and now he just needed to relax and be by himself for a
while.
They didn't say anything to him about his homework excuse. Kirsten knew it wasn't true. She knew he had already finished it at her office, but she didn't say anything to him. She also knew he needed sometime alone. She had already warned Seth to leave Ryan alone. Let Ryan find him when and if he wanted to talk.
After Ryan went out to the pool house, Sandy went into his office to make some phone calls. He wasn't exactly sure who he could reach on a Sunday, but he still wanted to call some of his old contacts from the P.D.'s office. He wanted to make sure he got everything lined up as quickly as possible, just in case. They all knew it was a big step for Ryan to admit he needed help, but they also knew it probably wouldn't take much for him to change his mind. Sandy needed the name of a good therapist, and needed to line up the appointment before that happened.
As he lay on his bed, Ryan had actually started to think that he had made a mistake. Before he came to Newport, he didn't know anyone who readily admitted to seeing a shrink. They had made his mom go for help a couple of times. Group meetings, AA, things like that. It never worked. She always went right back to drinking. It usually made her drink even more, and then things at home would always get worse. Ryan sat up. He needed to come up with a plan to get out of this therapy thing. He didn't want things with the Cohens to get worse. They were finally getting better. He told them he believed them, that he trusted them and that he wanted to be a part of their family. It seemed like they believed him, too. Now he just had to figure out how to prove it, without a shrink.
Ryan was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear the phone ring, or Kirsten calling him to pick it up. He finally heard her knocking on the door.
"Ryan, phone. It's Theresa," she called through the door.
Ryan called back, "Ok, thanks." "Lo?" as he picked up the line.
"Just thought you'd want to know that I got home all safe and sound." Theresa said.
Ryan just told her, "Fine. Great. I'll talk to you soon."
"I take it things didn't go too great with your folks after I left."
Theresa had wondered all the way home. She saw that Sandy was still standing on the front steps as she drove away, so she figured he was waiting for Ryan, and by the tone of Ryan's voice, she knew he was.
"It went fine" was all Ryan was willing to tell her.
Theresa was starting to get annoyed. Ryan could get so moody when he wanted to.
"So then, stop being so pissy. You may not have liked what I did, but I did what I thought was best. For you. Did you tell them what happened? I bet you did, didn't you." she shot back to him.
Ryan was suddenly getting very tired of talking to Theresa. She could be a real pain in his ass when she wanted to, he thought.
"Yah, I told them. You really didn't leave me much of a choice. I came home at Thanksgiving with a black eye. They knew something had happened. Then you tell them that Trey dragged me back into some kind of trouble. You really think they'd let that drop?"
Theresa could tell she was really starting to make Ryan mad, but since she wasn't sure when she would get a chance to talk to him again, she wanted to make sure he was going to be alright.
"So? What? Are you grounded again?" She asked.
Ryan just snorted, "What is it with you and my being grounded. It's not funny, you know. Me pissing them off all the time. But no, I'm not grounded again. We talked. Again. And now I'm going to see some shrink. Thanks to you."
He couldn't believe it when he heard Theresa respond,
"You're welcome."
Ryan snidely told her, "I was being sarcastic."
Theresa had had enough of Ryan's attitude, so she told him,
"So was I. I told you last night that I didn't think you seeing a therapist was such a bad idea. Ryan, I barely spent any time with your family, and I saw how much you mean to them. But you're so worried about something going wrong that you won't let yourself get close to them. And because of that, you end up going off half-assed and getting into trouble. Think about what's happened. If, at Thanksgiving, you called them and told them what was wrong, what would they have done?"
Ryan admitted, "They said they would have given Trey the money, but."
Theresa interrupted him before he could go on,
"No buts. And with Oliver? If you went to them in the very beginning and told them what was going on, and kept telling them what was happening, what would they have done?"
Ryan thought about it for a second and then said,
"I don't know. I guess they would have tried to get involved. Maybe help everyone see there was something wrong with Oliver, maybe try to help Oliver himself."
"Or maybe," Ryan added, "They would have done nothing."
Theresa knew that last sentence was lame, and she knew Ryan knew it, too. She also knew it was time to let Ryan go.
"I seriously doubt they would have done nothing, and I know you doubt it, too." She told him.
"Look, Ry, I can't be your therapist any more. Your life is in Newport now, and mine is here in Chino. You need to go on with that life, and to do that; you need someone to talk to. I've got to go. I'll call you some time. Bye," and Theresa hung up before Ryan could respond.
Ryan sat on the bed for a while just staring at the phone. She was right, and he knew it. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. God, he was going to go to therapy.
Before he had a chance to think about it any more, the phone rang again. Thinking it was Theresa again, he picked it up quickly.
"Lo?"
He couldn't believe it when he heard,
"Hay, Chino, its Luke. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang for a while."
"Hang?" Ryan asked. Why would Luke want to 'hang', Ryan thought.
Luke seemed real hesitant as well,
"Yah, I mean. I saw you and Marissa talking last night, and then you both left, but not together. I also know you haven't been allowed out much lately with all this Oliver crap so you know, I thought maybe you'd need to hang somewhere. Clear your head."
Ryan actually thought it was a good idea. Hanging out with Luke meant he wouldn't have to talk much about anything. Anything 'meaningful' that is. It also meant he wouldn't have to think. He was tired of talking and he was tired of thinking so hanging out with Luke was a great idea.
"Yah, Luke, sounds good." Ryan said.
Luke actually sounded excited, "Cool. I'll be there in like 15 minutes."
Ryan walked into the kitchen to find both Sandy and Kirsten. They were making lunch together.
"Hay, Ryan," Sandy said, "How's it going? You hungry? You want some lunch?"
Ryan was wondering why they hadn't asked about Theresa. Kirsten knew she had called. Not that he was complaining. He just wanted to tell them about Luke and get out of there. He wanted to not think and not talk anymore.
"Fine, thanks. Uh, no thanks for lunch. Actually, Luke is going to come over. He wanted to hang out for a while, if that's ok."
Kirsten was a little surprised. She knew Ryan and Luke had become friendly, but she didn't know they were actually friends. She looked at Sandy, who also seemed a little surprised.
"Luke?" she said to him, "Uh, yah, ok. If you guys want to hang out here."
But Ryan cut her off,
"Well, actually, he was coming by to pick me up. We were going to go and hang out. out." It didn't make sense to Ryan even as Ryan said it.
"Hang out where?" Sandy wanted to know.
Ryan shrugged. He never asked Luke where.
"I don't know. He didn't say. He said he saw me and Marissa talking last night, and wanted to, I don't know, help, I guess. Is it ok?"
Sandy really couldn't think of a good reason to say no, even though he wanted to, so he said,
"Sure, I guess. Just don't forget to take your phone. And don't be late. You go back to school tomorrow."
"Thanks," Ryan said, "I'll be back by dinner time."
Ryan ran back to the pool house and grabbed his phone. He then walked around to the front of the house, just as Luke was pulling up.
"Hay," Ryan said as he jumped into the truck.
"Hay," Luke said as he pulled away from the Cohen's, "I figured right about now you'd need to get your buzz on, so I stopped and picked up some beers. I figured we could take my dad's boat out, have a couple and just chill out."
"Sounds good. Let's go." Ryan couldn't remember the last time he "got his buzz on" as Luke liked to put it so it really did sound good to him.
They didn't say anything to him about his homework excuse. Kirsten knew it wasn't true. She knew he had already finished it at her office, but she didn't say anything to him. She also knew he needed sometime alone. She had already warned Seth to leave Ryan alone. Let Ryan find him when and if he wanted to talk.
After Ryan went out to the pool house, Sandy went into his office to make some phone calls. He wasn't exactly sure who he could reach on a Sunday, but he still wanted to call some of his old contacts from the P.D.'s office. He wanted to make sure he got everything lined up as quickly as possible, just in case. They all knew it was a big step for Ryan to admit he needed help, but they also knew it probably wouldn't take much for him to change his mind. Sandy needed the name of a good therapist, and needed to line up the appointment before that happened.
As he lay on his bed, Ryan had actually started to think that he had made a mistake. Before he came to Newport, he didn't know anyone who readily admitted to seeing a shrink. They had made his mom go for help a couple of times. Group meetings, AA, things like that. It never worked. She always went right back to drinking. It usually made her drink even more, and then things at home would always get worse. Ryan sat up. He needed to come up with a plan to get out of this therapy thing. He didn't want things with the Cohens to get worse. They were finally getting better. He told them he believed them, that he trusted them and that he wanted to be a part of their family. It seemed like they believed him, too. Now he just had to figure out how to prove it, without a shrink.
Ryan was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear the phone ring, or Kirsten calling him to pick it up. He finally heard her knocking on the door.
"Ryan, phone. It's Theresa," she called through the door.
Ryan called back, "Ok, thanks." "Lo?" as he picked up the line.
"Just thought you'd want to know that I got home all safe and sound." Theresa said.
Ryan just told her, "Fine. Great. I'll talk to you soon."
"I take it things didn't go too great with your folks after I left."
Theresa had wondered all the way home. She saw that Sandy was still standing on the front steps as she drove away, so she figured he was waiting for Ryan, and by the tone of Ryan's voice, she knew he was.
"It went fine" was all Ryan was willing to tell her.
Theresa was starting to get annoyed. Ryan could get so moody when he wanted to.
"So then, stop being so pissy. You may not have liked what I did, but I did what I thought was best. For you. Did you tell them what happened? I bet you did, didn't you." she shot back to him.
Ryan was suddenly getting very tired of talking to Theresa. She could be a real pain in his ass when she wanted to, he thought.
"Yah, I told them. You really didn't leave me much of a choice. I came home at Thanksgiving with a black eye. They knew something had happened. Then you tell them that Trey dragged me back into some kind of trouble. You really think they'd let that drop?"
Theresa could tell she was really starting to make Ryan mad, but since she wasn't sure when she would get a chance to talk to him again, she wanted to make sure he was going to be alright.
"So? What? Are you grounded again?" She asked.
Ryan just snorted, "What is it with you and my being grounded. It's not funny, you know. Me pissing them off all the time. But no, I'm not grounded again. We talked. Again. And now I'm going to see some shrink. Thanks to you."
He couldn't believe it when he heard Theresa respond,
"You're welcome."
Ryan snidely told her, "I was being sarcastic."
Theresa had had enough of Ryan's attitude, so she told him,
"So was I. I told you last night that I didn't think you seeing a therapist was such a bad idea. Ryan, I barely spent any time with your family, and I saw how much you mean to them. But you're so worried about something going wrong that you won't let yourself get close to them. And because of that, you end up going off half-assed and getting into trouble. Think about what's happened. If, at Thanksgiving, you called them and told them what was wrong, what would they have done?"
Ryan admitted, "They said they would have given Trey the money, but."
Theresa interrupted him before he could go on,
"No buts. And with Oliver? If you went to them in the very beginning and told them what was going on, and kept telling them what was happening, what would they have done?"
Ryan thought about it for a second and then said,
"I don't know. I guess they would have tried to get involved. Maybe help everyone see there was something wrong with Oliver, maybe try to help Oliver himself."
"Or maybe," Ryan added, "They would have done nothing."
Theresa knew that last sentence was lame, and she knew Ryan knew it, too. She also knew it was time to let Ryan go.
"I seriously doubt they would have done nothing, and I know you doubt it, too." She told him.
"Look, Ry, I can't be your therapist any more. Your life is in Newport now, and mine is here in Chino. You need to go on with that life, and to do that; you need someone to talk to. I've got to go. I'll call you some time. Bye," and Theresa hung up before Ryan could respond.
Ryan sat on the bed for a while just staring at the phone. She was right, and he knew it. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. God, he was going to go to therapy.
Before he had a chance to think about it any more, the phone rang again. Thinking it was Theresa again, he picked it up quickly.
"Lo?"
He couldn't believe it when he heard,
"Hay, Chino, its Luke. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang for a while."
"Hang?" Ryan asked. Why would Luke want to 'hang', Ryan thought.
Luke seemed real hesitant as well,
"Yah, I mean. I saw you and Marissa talking last night, and then you both left, but not together. I also know you haven't been allowed out much lately with all this Oliver crap so you know, I thought maybe you'd need to hang somewhere. Clear your head."
Ryan actually thought it was a good idea. Hanging out with Luke meant he wouldn't have to talk much about anything. Anything 'meaningful' that is. It also meant he wouldn't have to think. He was tired of talking and he was tired of thinking so hanging out with Luke was a great idea.
"Yah, Luke, sounds good." Ryan said.
Luke actually sounded excited, "Cool. I'll be there in like 15 minutes."
Ryan walked into the kitchen to find both Sandy and Kirsten. They were making lunch together.
"Hay, Ryan," Sandy said, "How's it going? You hungry? You want some lunch?"
Ryan was wondering why they hadn't asked about Theresa. Kirsten knew she had called. Not that he was complaining. He just wanted to tell them about Luke and get out of there. He wanted to not think and not talk anymore.
"Fine, thanks. Uh, no thanks for lunch. Actually, Luke is going to come over. He wanted to hang out for a while, if that's ok."
Kirsten was a little surprised. She knew Ryan and Luke had become friendly, but she didn't know they were actually friends. She looked at Sandy, who also seemed a little surprised.
"Luke?" she said to him, "Uh, yah, ok. If you guys want to hang out here."
But Ryan cut her off,
"Well, actually, he was coming by to pick me up. We were going to go and hang out. out." It didn't make sense to Ryan even as Ryan said it.
"Hang out where?" Sandy wanted to know.
Ryan shrugged. He never asked Luke where.
"I don't know. He didn't say. He said he saw me and Marissa talking last night, and wanted to, I don't know, help, I guess. Is it ok?"
Sandy really couldn't think of a good reason to say no, even though he wanted to, so he said,
"Sure, I guess. Just don't forget to take your phone. And don't be late. You go back to school tomorrow."
"Thanks," Ryan said, "I'll be back by dinner time."
Ryan ran back to the pool house and grabbed his phone. He then walked around to the front of the house, just as Luke was pulling up.
"Hay," Ryan said as he jumped into the truck.
"Hay," Luke said as he pulled away from the Cohen's, "I figured right about now you'd need to get your buzz on, so I stopped and picked up some beers. I figured we could take my dad's boat out, have a couple and just chill out."
"Sounds good. Let's go." Ryan couldn't remember the last time he "got his buzz on" as Luke liked to put it so it really did sound good to him.