Seth got home a little after 6. He waited at the door for a minute, and
when he didn't hear lecturing or shouting, he headed towards the kitchen.
He was surprised to see Sandy sitting at the table alone, reading
something. Or pretending to read something, Seth wasn't sure.
Sandy looked up when he heard someone walk in.
"Hey, you're home! How was school?" he said.
"Fine. Um, where is everyone?" Seth asked, wondering where Ryan was, praying he was chained to the wall in the pool house, and hadn't blown off detention like Brad wanted him to.
Sandy started to clean up the papers he had been reading,
"Your mom just called. She should be here soon with dinner. Set the table for me, will you."
"And Ryan?" Seth asked tentatively.
"Doing homework," Sandy replied.
Seth was relieved. Truly relieved.
"Oh, so he came home. Good."
Sandy stopped and looked at Seth, wondering what Seth meant.
"Yes. He's home. Detention was over at 5:00, and he got home around 5:30. It's after 6, where else would he be?"
"Um, no place." Seth quickly answered.
"Is he in the pool house? Is he locked in or are visiting hours allowed?" Seth asked as he pointed in that direction.
Sandy really wasn't in the mood for Seth's humor. Not tonight.
"Seth, what are you talking about?"
It really wasn't a question. More of a demand, especially combined with the look on Sandy's face.
Seth noticed the look, and he recognized it as well. He figured whatever happened between Ryan and his dad didn't go well, not for Sandy to be this upset. He figured Ryan refused to go to therapy, and they must have had a fight about it.
"Nothing," Seth answered, "I'm just saying. You said you were going to talk to Ryan. I was wondering how it went. You know, the drinking, the therapy. What Ryan had to say."
"I really think that's between Ryan and me. Not you. If he wants to tell you about it, that's up to him." Sandy informed him.
Sandy's voice softened a little with this, but not enough for Seth to continue to question him. Luckily, he didn't get the chance, as Seth noticed Kirsten coming in, carrying dinner.
"Alright!" Seth exclaimed, "Dinner's here!"
Kirsten laughed, "Nice to see you too, Seth."
Sandy took the bag from Kirsten and turned to Seth,
"Seth, why don't you go tell Ryan that dinner will be ready in half an hour."
"But Dad, dinner's right there." Seth said, pointing to the bag.
"Now Seth!" Sandy snapped.
"Ok, ok, I'm going." Seth mumbled as he walked out towards the pool house.
"What's wrong?" Kirsten asked, "Is it Ryan? What did he say about therapy? About yesterday?"
Sandy told her, "He explained about yesterday. I believe that it was just a one-time occurrence, and he doesn't intend on letting it happen again. I didn't ground him this time, but I warned him not to let it happen again or I would. He promised it wouldn't."
Kirsten then asked, "And about therapy? What did he say about going?"
Sandy shrugged, "He agreed."
"So, what's wrong?" Kirsten questioned.
"I mean, he agreed." Sandy said, "To easily. No arguments. No debates. Nothing. He just said ok, sure."
Kirsten still wasn't sure why Sandy would be upset. Ryan agreed. There was nothing to be upset about then.
Kirsten asked, "So, again, what's wrong?"
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, "We both know Ryan says the things he thinks people want to hear. He never tells you how he feels. I'm just afraid that's what he's doing. He's just telling us he'll go because he knows that's what we want to hear."
"It doesn't matter why he agreed, as long as he goes." Kirsten told him, "You said Dr. Colefield comes highly recommended. If she is really that good, then Ryan won't be able to fool her. He won't be able to just say the words he thinks she wants to hear. She'll be able to draw him out, and get him to talk. She'll be able to help him."
"I hope so." Sandy answered, but Kirsten noticed that he still seemed upset.
"Sandy, what else is wrong? There's something else you haven't told me. What else happened?"
"I was hoping to get a little more information before I said anything, but...." Sandy didn't even know how to continue, and that made Kirsten very nervous.
"What? What is it?" Kirsten asked.
Sandy looked at Kirsten and told her,
"I received a phone call late this afternoon from one of my old contacts at Child Services, Madeline Jackson. She said that she saw a report, on Ryan. It was from the Harbor School. She said that there's going to be an investigation, because of everything that happened. Ryan's fighting, breaking into the school, Oliver's suicide. She said she doesn't have all the specifics yet, but she'll keep me informed. She thought I should know about it now so we can be prepared."
"Oh, God." Kirsten said, "What did Ryan say? Is he ok?"
Sandy shook his head,
"I didn't tell him. We discussed yesterday and we talked about therapy. I thought it was best to keep this from him for right now. He's been through enough already without this weighing on his mind."
"Why? Why would Dr. Kim do this? I thought this was all finally settled?" Kirsten was getting very upset, again. She couldn't believe Dr. Kim would have it in for Ryan this much that she would report him to Child Services.
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, " Child Services maintains a file on Ryan, and the Harbor School is required to send their reports concerning Ryan's academics to them as part of this file. They've been doing it the whole time Ryan's been going there. Unfortunately this time, the report contained everything Ryan did."
"Look," Sandy continued, "We both knew that there would be follow ups on Ryan's progress, on his life here with us in Newport. They just can't give you custody of a teenage boy and never follow up, especially one with Ryan's background. I had figured, however, that it would be some time before we heard from them. Child Services, on the whole, is very understaffed, and their social workers are very over worked and very under paid. Unless a situation arises, it's usually a while before a routine visit. But with everything that's happened, Madeline said they're starting an investigation now."
Clearly upset, Kirsten asked,
"What kind of investigation? You're not saying that there's a chance we could lose Ryan? I mean, they would never consider taking Ryan from us, would they?"
Sandy hated what he could see this was doing to Kirsten, but they needed to be prepared.
"Yes," he told her, "I think they can take Ryan from us. If they decide he would be better off in a group home or with another foster family, then yes, they could and they will take Ryan from us."
"Sandy, this is crazy," Kirsten cried, "Ryan is happy here, and we're happy having him here. Everything with Oliver is behind us. Why would they do that now? Why would they want to come in and break up a happy home, Ryan's first and probably only happy home!"
Even though he agreed with Kirsten, he had to explain to her,
"All they see right now is what's been reported to them, and Madeline says on paper, it doesn't look good. Ryan was caught breaking into the school, and then was caught attacking another student. He was then with that same student when Oliver committed suicide. According to Madeline, it appears that we have no control over Ryan. That he is a danger to himself and others, and that we aren't capable of handling him. On paper, this is not a happy home, and therefore, Ryan couldn't possibly be happy here."
Now Kirsten was getting angry,
"We have control, and we are more than capable of handling Ryan! You need to tell them that. You need to tell them that we punished Ryan for everything he did. That we talked to Ryan. That he understands what he did wrong. That we're taking him to therapy. That we want what's best for Ryan. That we are what's best for Ryan, and that we love him. Sandy, you need to tell them that. Have their file reflect THAT."
"Kirsten," Sandy said, trying to calm her as best he could, "It doesn't do any good to get upset at this point. Madeline is trying to get the case reassigned to her, or to someone she knows. Either way, we will get a chance to talk to whoever gets the case. Explain our side. Explain to them how we handled the whole situation. Hopefully, the fact that we have Ryan in therapy will help. Show that we realize Ryan has some unresolved issues that we are addressing. They'll also be talking to Ryan as well as Seth."
"No." Kirsten said, "I don't want them talking to either one of the boys. Why can't we handle this without them being involved? I don't want either one of them upset by this until we know for sure what Child Services is going to do."
Kirsten was in her full protective mother mode, but this time, Sandy knew it wouldn't do any good, not this time. As much as he hated it, he knew both boys were going to be fully involved in this, and both were going to be very affected by it as well.
"They need to talk to both boys," Sandy explained, "They'll ask Seth about Ryan. You know, how he feels about Ryan, what he thinks of Ryan living here and so forth. And whether we like it or not, Ryan is involved in all of this more than any of us. It's his life, his future we're talking about. They will interview him extensively. The Social Worker will ask him about what happened. Why he did what he did, as well as our reaction to it all. They'll also ask him how he feels about living here, and being a part of this family."
Despite the fact Kirsten didn't like that some Social Worker would be questioning both kids, she accepted that it was going to happen, and figured at least something good would come of it. She told Sandy,
"Ok, then, once we all explain our side to them, then it will all be settled. They'll see that even though things looked bad, we handled it well, and as a family. And everything will be fine. No one is taking Ryan away from this family without a fight."
Sandy said, "Of course, we'll fight. But we also need to be prepared in case it's not enough. Remember, it wasn't that easy to convince Child Services to grant us custody in the first place. They warned us back then that we needed to keep Ryan out of trouble. The fact that after only seven months Ryan was in a great deal of trouble doesn't look good. For any of us."
"Look," Sandy continued, "Rachel and Tim Weaver from my office are both looking into a few things that may be able to help us. We're not supposed to know about this investigation yet. Madeline was doing me a favor, a big favor, by calling me ahead of time. Technically, the investigation hasn't even officially started. Maybe Rachel and Tim can come up with something that may help us when it does begin. I'll know more tomorrow."
Before Kirsten could respond, she saw Seth and Ryan approaching the house. She also didn't want either one of them to know about any of this. Not yet. Not until the last possible moment.
"Is it chow time yet?" Seth groaned, "we hid out in Ryan's room for as long as we could so you get your parental stuff out of the way, but we're growing boys, we need to eat! Feed us!"
Ryan didn't say anything, instead he started to set the table. He knew the 'parental stuff' Seth was talking about concerned him so he thought it was better to let Seth do the whining, not him. He figured he wasn't totally in the clear yet about getting drunk with Luke, since he hadn't seen Kirsten yet. He thought maybe she would have one or two more things to say to him before she would let the matter drop.
Fortunately, no one said anything else about it as they all sat down for dinner. Seth dominated the conversation, as usual, with the latest adventures in the Seth and Summer affair. Ryan noticed that Kirsten seemed upset about something. He figured she was still mad at him for getting drunk with Luke, and maybe mad at Sandy because he didn't ground Ryan for it. He knew he should apologize to her as well, but wasn't really sure how to bring it up.
Seth was actually the one who brought the conversation back to Ryan and his new friendship with Luke, Brad and Chip. He had wanted Ryan to go out with him and Summer on Friday night, and was upset when Ryan told him he already had plans with the three of them. Seth knew his mother also didn't like the idea of Ryan hanging out with Luke, Brad or Chip. If Ryan wasn't willing to listen to him, he knew Ryan would have little choice but to listen to her.
"So, Ryan," Seth asked, even though he knew the answer, "what big plans do you and your friends have for this weekend? What could be so important that you would be so willing to miss Summer's first visit to the IMAX?"
"Batting cages." Ryan grunted at Seth, with a look that could kill.
"Batting cages?" Kirsten questioned, "and with which friends? When were you planning on telling us?"
"Same friends as last time," Ryan answered, "The plans aren't definite yet. It's only Monday. We're not going until Friday. Sometime between now and Friday, we'll firm up the plans, and then I would have asked."
"No." Kirsten told him, "I don't think it's a good idea. I'd rather you go with Seth and Summer to the movies, and not out with the three of them again."
"Kirsten......" Ryan started to say, but was interrupted by Kirsten before he could continue,
"I said no, Ryan. I don't like the idea of you hanging out with Luke, Chip or Brad. They're trouble, and you don't need to be associating with them."
"Kirsten," Ryan started again, "I know you're mad about yesterday, and I'm sorry. I really am. It was stupid, but it was all my fault, not theirs. No one made me get drunk. I did that on my own. And I promise, it won't happen again."
"You're right. It was stupid. It was your fault, and it won't happen again." Kirsten told him, "but I still do not like you hanging out with Luke, Chip or Brad. I would rather you go to the movies with Seth and Summer."
"I'd rather not be the third wheel." Ryan said.
"Then you can stay home." Kirsten told him.
Those were his only two choices? Ryan looked from Kirsten to Sandy who just nodded his head in agreement. He then looked at Seth, again with a look that could kill. A look that said he was going to kill, and Seth was the one he was going to kill.
"Then I guess I'm staying home," Ryan finally said.
Everyone was quiet for the rest of dinner. Kirsten and Sandy kept looking at each other and then at both Ryan and Seth, without saying much more. Seth didn't say anything else because he felt a little guilty about the trouble he caused for Ryan. He didn't want Ryan to become close with three of the jocks who had made his life so miserable, but he also didn't want to be the reason Ryan was now miserable. And Ryan had nothing else to say, because he was mad. He was mad at Seth for opening his big mouth. He was mad at Kirsten for basically grounding him without saying so, and for taking Seth's side in the whole Luke, Brad, Chip debate. And he was mad at Sandy for letting it all happen.
After dinner, Ryan left for the pool house, claiming to have more homework to finish, and Seth went up to his room, claiming to have homework to finish. And Sandy and Kirsten were again alone in the kitchen.
Once he was sure both boys were gone, he turned to Kirsten and said,
"You can't keep him under lock and key from now on."
"I'm not keeping him under lock and key, Sandy." Kirsten answered, "I told him he could go with Seth and Summer to the IMAX. I don't like those kids. They're trouble, and Ryan does not need any more trouble. You said it yourself, we need to be prepared for when this investigation starts. Therefore, we need to keep him away from any possibility of trouble and that means Luke, Brad and Chip."
"Yeah, and how do you plan on doing that without telling him about the Child Services investigation?" Sandy asked.
The question was more rhetorical. Both Sandy and Kirsten knew that "because I said so" wasn't an acceptable reason for any 16 year old boy, and would definitely not work on Ryan.
Kirsten thought about it for a minute and then told Sandy,
"Maybe we should tell him. Tell them both. It'll be hard for them to hear, but maybe if they know what we're facing, they'll know to behave. Especially Ryan. He will know that he has to stay out of any kind of trouble."
Sandy shook his head,
"Kirsten, we can't. That's too much for any 16 year old to handle, but especially Ryan. He'll blame himself for everything, and I think it would cause more harm then good. Let's just wait to see what Rachel and Tim can come up with. And wait to see what Madeline finds out."
When Kirsten looked like she was going to cry, Sandy hugged her as tightly as he could and told her,
"I promise, we'll get through this. I don't know how, but we will get through this."
He said it even though he didn't really believe it, and Kirsten listened, even though she didn't believe it either.
Sandy looked up when he heard someone walk in.
"Hey, you're home! How was school?" he said.
"Fine. Um, where is everyone?" Seth asked, wondering where Ryan was, praying he was chained to the wall in the pool house, and hadn't blown off detention like Brad wanted him to.
Sandy started to clean up the papers he had been reading,
"Your mom just called. She should be here soon with dinner. Set the table for me, will you."
"And Ryan?" Seth asked tentatively.
"Doing homework," Sandy replied.
Seth was relieved. Truly relieved.
"Oh, so he came home. Good."
Sandy stopped and looked at Seth, wondering what Seth meant.
"Yes. He's home. Detention was over at 5:00, and he got home around 5:30. It's after 6, where else would he be?"
"Um, no place." Seth quickly answered.
"Is he in the pool house? Is he locked in or are visiting hours allowed?" Seth asked as he pointed in that direction.
Sandy really wasn't in the mood for Seth's humor. Not tonight.
"Seth, what are you talking about?"
It really wasn't a question. More of a demand, especially combined with the look on Sandy's face.
Seth noticed the look, and he recognized it as well. He figured whatever happened between Ryan and his dad didn't go well, not for Sandy to be this upset. He figured Ryan refused to go to therapy, and they must have had a fight about it.
"Nothing," Seth answered, "I'm just saying. You said you were going to talk to Ryan. I was wondering how it went. You know, the drinking, the therapy. What Ryan had to say."
"I really think that's between Ryan and me. Not you. If he wants to tell you about it, that's up to him." Sandy informed him.
Sandy's voice softened a little with this, but not enough for Seth to continue to question him. Luckily, he didn't get the chance, as Seth noticed Kirsten coming in, carrying dinner.
"Alright!" Seth exclaimed, "Dinner's here!"
Kirsten laughed, "Nice to see you too, Seth."
Sandy took the bag from Kirsten and turned to Seth,
"Seth, why don't you go tell Ryan that dinner will be ready in half an hour."
"But Dad, dinner's right there." Seth said, pointing to the bag.
"Now Seth!" Sandy snapped.
"Ok, ok, I'm going." Seth mumbled as he walked out towards the pool house.
"What's wrong?" Kirsten asked, "Is it Ryan? What did he say about therapy? About yesterday?"
Sandy told her, "He explained about yesterday. I believe that it was just a one-time occurrence, and he doesn't intend on letting it happen again. I didn't ground him this time, but I warned him not to let it happen again or I would. He promised it wouldn't."
Kirsten then asked, "And about therapy? What did he say about going?"
Sandy shrugged, "He agreed."
"So, what's wrong?" Kirsten questioned.
"I mean, he agreed." Sandy said, "To easily. No arguments. No debates. Nothing. He just said ok, sure."
Kirsten still wasn't sure why Sandy would be upset. Ryan agreed. There was nothing to be upset about then.
Kirsten asked, "So, again, what's wrong?"
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, "We both know Ryan says the things he thinks people want to hear. He never tells you how he feels. I'm just afraid that's what he's doing. He's just telling us he'll go because he knows that's what we want to hear."
"It doesn't matter why he agreed, as long as he goes." Kirsten told him, "You said Dr. Colefield comes highly recommended. If she is really that good, then Ryan won't be able to fool her. He won't be able to just say the words he thinks she wants to hear. She'll be able to draw him out, and get him to talk. She'll be able to help him."
"I hope so." Sandy answered, but Kirsten noticed that he still seemed upset.
"Sandy, what else is wrong? There's something else you haven't told me. What else happened?"
"I was hoping to get a little more information before I said anything, but...." Sandy didn't even know how to continue, and that made Kirsten very nervous.
"What? What is it?" Kirsten asked.
Sandy looked at Kirsten and told her,
"I received a phone call late this afternoon from one of my old contacts at Child Services, Madeline Jackson. She said that she saw a report, on Ryan. It was from the Harbor School. She said that there's going to be an investigation, because of everything that happened. Ryan's fighting, breaking into the school, Oliver's suicide. She said she doesn't have all the specifics yet, but she'll keep me informed. She thought I should know about it now so we can be prepared."
"Oh, God." Kirsten said, "What did Ryan say? Is he ok?"
Sandy shook his head,
"I didn't tell him. We discussed yesterday and we talked about therapy. I thought it was best to keep this from him for right now. He's been through enough already without this weighing on his mind."
"Why? Why would Dr. Kim do this? I thought this was all finally settled?" Kirsten was getting very upset, again. She couldn't believe Dr. Kim would have it in for Ryan this much that she would report him to Child Services.
"Kirsten," Sandy explained, " Child Services maintains a file on Ryan, and the Harbor School is required to send their reports concerning Ryan's academics to them as part of this file. They've been doing it the whole time Ryan's been going there. Unfortunately this time, the report contained everything Ryan did."
"Look," Sandy continued, "We both knew that there would be follow ups on Ryan's progress, on his life here with us in Newport. They just can't give you custody of a teenage boy and never follow up, especially one with Ryan's background. I had figured, however, that it would be some time before we heard from them. Child Services, on the whole, is very understaffed, and their social workers are very over worked and very under paid. Unless a situation arises, it's usually a while before a routine visit. But with everything that's happened, Madeline said they're starting an investigation now."
Clearly upset, Kirsten asked,
"What kind of investigation? You're not saying that there's a chance we could lose Ryan? I mean, they would never consider taking Ryan from us, would they?"
Sandy hated what he could see this was doing to Kirsten, but they needed to be prepared.
"Yes," he told her, "I think they can take Ryan from us. If they decide he would be better off in a group home or with another foster family, then yes, they could and they will take Ryan from us."
"Sandy, this is crazy," Kirsten cried, "Ryan is happy here, and we're happy having him here. Everything with Oliver is behind us. Why would they do that now? Why would they want to come in and break up a happy home, Ryan's first and probably only happy home!"
Even though he agreed with Kirsten, he had to explain to her,
"All they see right now is what's been reported to them, and Madeline says on paper, it doesn't look good. Ryan was caught breaking into the school, and then was caught attacking another student. He was then with that same student when Oliver committed suicide. According to Madeline, it appears that we have no control over Ryan. That he is a danger to himself and others, and that we aren't capable of handling him. On paper, this is not a happy home, and therefore, Ryan couldn't possibly be happy here."
Now Kirsten was getting angry,
"We have control, and we are more than capable of handling Ryan! You need to tell them that. You need to tell them that we punished Ryan for everything he did. That we talked to Ryan. That he understands what he did wrong. That we're taking him to therapy. That we want what's best for Ryan. That we are what's best for Ryan, and that we love him. Sandy, you need to tell them that. Have their file reflect THAT."
"Kirsten," Sandy said, trying to calm her as best he could, "It doesn't do any good to get upset at this point. Madeline is trying to get the case reassigned to her, or to someone she knows. Either way, we will get a chance to talk to whoever gets the case. Explain our side. Explain to them how we handled the whole situation. Hopefully, the fact that we have Ryan in therapy will help. Show that we realize Ryan has some unresolved issues that we are addressing. They'll also be talking to Ryan as well as Seth."
"No." Kirsten said, "I don't want them talking to either one of the boys. Why can't we handle this without them being involved? I don't want either one of them upset by this until we know for sure what Child Services is going to do."
Kirsten was in her full protective mother mode, but this time, Sandy knew it wouldn't do any good, not this time. As much as he hated it, he knew both boys were going to be fully involved in this, and both were going to be very affected by it as well.
"They need to talk to both boys," Sandy explained, "They'll ask Seth about Ryan. You know, how he feels about Ryan, what he thinks of Ryan living here and so forth. And whether we like it or not, Ryan is involved in all of this more than any of us. It's his life, his future we're talking about. They will interview him extensively. The Social Worker will ask him about what happened. Why he did what he did, as well as our reaction to it all. They'll also ask him how he feels about living here, and being a part of this family."
Despite the fact Kirsten didn't like that some Social Worker would be questioning both kids, she accepted that it was going to happen, and figured at least something good would come of it. She told Sandy,
"Ok, then, once we all explain our side to them, then it will all be settled. They'll see that even though things looked bad, we handled it well, and as a family. And everything will be fine. No one is taking Ryan away from this family without a fight."
Sandy said, "Of course, we'll fight. But we also need to be prepared in case it's not enough. Remember, it wasn't that easy to convince Child Services to grant us custody in the first place. They warned us back then that we needed to keep Ryan out of trouble. The fact that after only seven months Ryan was in a great deal of trouble doesn't look good. For any of us."
"Look," Sandy continued, "Rachel and Tim Weaver from my office are both looking into a few things that may be able to help us. We're not supposed to know about this investigation yet. Madeline was doing me a favor, a big favor, by calling me ahead of time. Technically, the investigation hasn't even officially started. Maybe Rachel and Tim can come up with something that may help us when it does begin. I'll know more tomorrow."
Before Kirsten could respond, she saw Seth and Ryan approaching the house. She also didn't want either one of them to know about any of this. Not yet. Not until the last possible moment.
"Is it chow time yet?" Seth groaned, "we hid out in Ryan's room for as long as we could so you get your parental stuff out of the way, but we're growing boys, we need to eat! Feed us!"
Ryan didn't say anything, instead he started to set the table. He knew the 'parental stuff' Seth was talking about concerned him so he thought it was better to let Seth do the whining, not him. He figured he wasn't totally in the clear yet about getting drunk with Luke, since he hadn't seen Kirsten yet. He thought maybe she would have one or two more things to say to him before she would let the matter drop.
Fortunately, no one said anything else about it as they all sat down for dinner. Seth dominated the conversation, as usual, with the latest adventures in the Seth and Summer affair. Ryan noticed that Kirsten seemed upset about something. He figured she was still mad at him for getting drunk with Luke, and maybe mad at Sandy because he didn't ground Ryan for it. He knew he should apologize to her as well, but wasn't really sure how to bring it up.
Seth was actually the one who brought the conversation back to Ryan and his new friendship with Luke, Brad and Chip. He had wanted Ryan to go out with him and Summer on Friday night, and was upset when Ryan told him he already had plans with the three of them. Seth knew his mother also didn't like the idea of Ryan hanging out with Luke, Brad or Chip. If Ryan wasn't willing to listen to him, he knew Ryan would have little choice but to listen to her.
"So, Ryan," Seth asked, even though he knew the answer, "what big plans do you and your friends have for this weekend? What could be so important that you would be so willing to miss Summer's first visit to the IMAX?"
"Batting cages." Ryan grunted at Seth, with a look that could kill.
"Batting cages?" Kirsten questioned, "and with which friends? When were you planning on telling us?"
"Same friends as last time," Ryan answered, "The plans aren't definite yet. It's only Monday. We're not going until Friday. Sometime between now and Friday, we'll firm up the plans, and then I would have asked."
"No." Kirsten told him, "I don't think it's a good idea. I'd rather you go with Seth and Summer to the movies, and not out with the three of them again."
"Kirsten......" Ryan started to say, but was interrupted by Kirsten before he could continue,
"I said no, Ryan. I don't like the idea of you hanging out with Luke, Chip or Brad. They're trouble, and you don't need to be associating with them."
"Kirsten," Ryan started again, "I know you're mad about yesterday, and I'm sorry. I really am. It was stupid, but it was all my fault, not theirs. No one made me get drunk. I did that on my own. And I promise, it won't happen again."
"You're right. It was stupid. It was your fault, and it won't happen again." Kirsten told him, "but I still do not like you hanging out with Luke, Chip or Brad. I would rather you go to the movies with Seth and Summer."
"I'd rather not be the third wheel." Ryan said.
"Then you can stay home." Kirsten told him.
Those were his only two choices? Ryan looked from Kirsten to Sandy who just nodded his head in agreement. He then looked at Seth, again with a look that could kill. A look that said he was going to kill, and Seth was the one he was going to kill.
"Then I guess I'm staying home," Ryan finally said.
Everyone was quiet for the rest of dinner. Kirsten and Sandy kept looking at each other and then at both Ryan and Seth, without saying much more. Seth didn't say anything else because he felt a little guilty about the trouble he caused for Ryan. He didn't want Ryan to become close with three of the jocks who had made his life so miserable, but he also didn't want to be the reason Ryan was now miserable. And Ryan had nothing else to say, because he was mad. He was mad at Seth for opening his big mouth. He was mad at Kirsten for basically grounding him without saying so, and for taking Seth's side in the whole Luke, Brad, Chip debate. And he was mad at Sandy for letting it all happen.
After dinner, Ryan left for the pool house, claiming to have more homework to finish, and Seth went up to his room, claiming to have homework to finish. And Sandy and Kirsten were again alone in the kitchen.
Once he was sure both boys were gone, he turned to Kirsten and said,
"You can't keep him under lock and key from now on."
"I'm not keeping him under lock and key, Sandy." Kirsten answered, "I told him he could go with Seth and Summer to the IMAX. I don't like those kids. They're trouble, and Ryan does not need any more trouble. You said it yourself, we need to be prepared for when this investigation starts. Therefore, we need to keep him away from any possibility of trouble and that means Luke, Brad and Chip."
"Yeah, and how do you plan on doing that without telling him about the Child Services investigation?" Sandy asked.
The question was more rhetorical. Both Sandy and Kirsten knew that "because I said so" wasn't an acceptable reason for any 16 year old boy, and would definitely not work on Ryan.
Kirsten thought about it for a minute and then told Sandy,
"Maybe we should tell him. Tell them both. It'll be hard for them to hear, but maybe if they know what we're facing, they'll know to behave. Especially Ryan. He will know that he has to stay out of any kind of trouble."
Sandy shook his head,
"Kirsten, we can't. That's too much for any 16 year old to handle, but especially Ryan. He'll blame himself for everything, and I think it would cause more harm then good. Let's just wait to see what Rachel and Tim can come up with. And wait to see what Madeline finds out."
When Kirsten looked like she was going to cry, Sandy hugged her as tightly as he could and told her,
"I promise, we'll get through this. I don't know how, but we will get through this."
He said it even though he didn't really believe it, and Kirsten listened, even though she didn't believe it either.