Kirsten called Sandy on his cell phone shortly before he reached the gate
to their neighborhood to tell him that she had tried to reach both boys,
but neither was answering their phones, and no one had answered at home.
She again promised that she would make her meeting with the subcontractor
really quick and come right home.
All Sandy could do was hope and give a silent prayer that Ryan did, in
fact, come straight home from school. Sandy knew Ryan said he had the
previous days, he just hoped today was no different.
He was very relieved to hear both Ryan and Seth talking as he entered the house with Mrs. Dawson right behind him. It sounded like it was an interesting conversation the two of them were having.
"Come on, man," he heard Seth saying, "I'm sure if you just ask Dad, I'm sure he'll say yes."
"I don't know, Seth." He heard Ryan answer, "I don't think it's a good idea. It's only been three days, not two weeks."
"Just ask. Come on. What's the worse thing that could happen?" Seth said, and then after a silent pause, said again,
"Will you just ask Dad?"
"Ask Dad what?" Sandy said as he walked into the kitchen, with Mrs. Dawson still right behind him.
"Well, you see, Dad," Seth started, figuring he'd ask since he knew Ryan wouldn't, "Marissa and Ryan made up at school today...."
"We didn't make up," Ryan interrupted, "We're friends."
"Yeah, ok." Seth answered, "Anyway, we all want to go out to celebrate their friendship. Marissa asked Ryan out for tonight, and Summer wants to double date. So can we? All go out?"
Sandy looked at Ryan first, who just shrugged his shoulders and then at Seth, who seemed more interested in his answer then Ryan was.
"No, not tonight." Sandy said, hoping that would be the end of it.
Seth, not one to take no for an answer, then asked, "Then tomorrow night?"
"No. Ryan knows. Two weeks." Sandy said, before turning to Mrs. Dawson behind him and saying,
"Boys, this is Mrs. Dawson. From Child Services. She's come to talk. To both of you."
As Mrs. Dawson stepped forward, she couldn't help but notice the looks of fear and shock on both boys' faces.
"Hello, Seth, Ryan," she said, "It's nice to meet you both. Seth, I'd like to talk to you first. Mr. Cohen, Ryan, if you don't mind, please excuse us."
As Sandy and Ryan turned to head out the door to the patio, Mrs. Dawson noticed that Sandy put his arm around Ryan's shoulders as they walked out.
After they walked up to the patio, Ryan turned to Sandy and asked,
"Sandy, I thought you said she wasn't coming until next week. What happened?"
"I don't know," Sandy said, with a shrug, "I guess this is the surprise visit we were originally told about. She called my office earlier today and was there by 2 o'clock. Kirsten's on her way home now to meet with Mrs. Dawson after Seth, and then you."
"Why am I last?" Ryan asked.
Again, Sandy could only shrug, before telling him,
"I'm not exactly sure. I talked to my mother earlier today, and she said some social workers like to interview the subject first and then the family and friends. Others, like Mrs. Dawson apparently, like to collect all their information first before talking to the minor in question. Since Nana prefers to talk to the child first, she really couldn't explain why Mrs. Dawson does it the other way."
"The subject? The minor in question? The child? Great. This is just. Great." Was all Ryan could mumble.
"Ryan," Sandy said, "Just do or say whatever she wants. It will be ok."
As Sandy and Ryan continued their conversation, they were unaware that they were being watched, closely.
"Excuse me," Seth finally said to Mrs. Dawson, "but aren't you supposed to be asking me questions?"
"Yes. In a minute." Mrs. Dawson responded, as she pulled out her notepad and pen from her briefcase. "Are your father and Ryan close?"
Seth, shrugged, in much the same way Mrs. Dawson saw Mr. Cohen shrug,
"Yeah, I guess."
"Does that bother you?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
"No, why?" Seth answered.
"Well," Mrs. Dawson said, "You were an only child for over sixteen years, and then suddenly your parents bring home another teenager. A troubled teenager who must require a great deal of time and attention. Doesn't that bother you?"
Seth immediately knew he didn't like this lady. Not at all.
"Ah, no." he told her, "First of all, I wouldn't call Ryan a troubled teenager. And second, he's not a small child or a puppy. He doesn't 'require' a lot of time or attention."
"Well, have you ever found yourself afraid of Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson then asked.
"Afraid?" Seth repeated.
"Yes, afraid." Mrs. Dawson said, "Afraid he would hurt you. Loose his temper. Assault you."
"No!" Seth said, "Ryan would never hurt me. Ever."
"How do you know?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
"Because I know Ryan," Seth snapped, "And obviously you don't, or you wouldn't ask such a retarded question." God, Seth thought, I really, really don't like this lady.
"But he does have a history of violent behavior." Mrs. Dawson decided to point out.
"Well, he's been in fights, I know that," Seth decided to clarify, "but given where he lived before moving here, I'm not surprised that he knows how to fight."
"What do you know about his past?" Mrs. Dawson asked, noting in her pad Seth's responses to her questions about Ryan's temper.
Again, Seth shrugged and said,
"Not much. Ryan doesn't like to talk about it."
"But what do you know?" Mrs. Dawson pushed.
"I know he was abused. A lot. By a lot of different people. His mother, her many boyfriends, his brother. Maybe his father. I'm not sure about him. I know Ryan was young when his father went to jail." Seth told her, and then after pausing for a moment, continued with,
"I also know that before Ryan came here, he had no one, and now he has us. And we don't abuse him."
After making more notes in her pad, Mrs. Dawson then asked Seth,
"How would you describe Ryan?"
"Describe?" Seth again repeated Mrs. Dawson.
"Yes," she explained, "If someone asked you about Ryan, what would you say?"
Seth didn't pause, didn't take a minute to think of his answer before he told Mrs. Dawson,
"He's my brother."
"And you believe that, after only seven months?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Seth smirked and then snidely told her,
"I knew it after one day."
"How?" Mrs. Dawson asked, curious to see how this young man would answer.
"Get to know Ryan, Mrs. Dawson." Seth said, "He's not some violent, troubled youth, or whatever else it says in that file of yours. And you'd know that, if you got to know him. There isn't anyone else I'd call my brother. Look, when he came here in August, it was because he had no one and needed a place to sleep. But he stayed because we needed him just as much as he needed us. I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid FOR him. I don't want him to leave. He belongs here, with us."
Mrs. Dawson nodded, made some notes on her pad and then asked Seth,
"Well, what about all that has gone on recently, with one Oliver Trask? Why don't you tell me about that."
"What do you want to know?" Seth asked. He had heard Ryan use that line before, and he liked the way it sounded.
"I want to know what happened here." Mrs. Dawson told him, "I want to know what your involvement with Oliver Trask was."
Seth leaned forward and looked at Mrs. Dawson before telling her,
"Oliver was crazy. But no one knew it. Except Ryan. I guess, given what Ryan's been through in his life, he saw something that the rest of us didn't know. We're not used to emotionally unstable people. Plus, you've got to remember, Oliver wanted Ryan's girlfriend, and he was willing to go to the extreme to get Marissa. So Ryan saw more then the rest of us did."
Mrs. Dawson then said,
"But Ryan didn't say anything to you or to your parents."
Seth was quick to point out to Mrs. Dawson,
"Ryan didn't really go to my parents, because he's never had real parents to go to before. But he's trying. Since all of this happened, he's trying to open up more."
"But what about you?" Mrs. Dawson asked, "If he's your brother, like you claim, then why didn't he come to you?"
Seth looked down at his folded hands and then back up at Mrs. Dawson. It wasn't often that he didn't want to talk about something. And this, he definitely didn't want to talk about.
"He did." Seth finally admitted, "And I failed him. He tried to talk to me. He tried to get me to understand, and I wasn't there for him. Believe me, I think about it. All the time. If I could go back, and do it all again, believe me, I would be there for him. I swore to him, and to myself, that I'd never let him down again. So, yeah, maybe the choices he made weren't the smartest, but we really didn't give him much of a choice. But you can't punish Ryan for that. You can't send him away."
Mrs. Dawson again made some notes in her pad. Before she could continue with her questions, however, they were interrupted by who Mrs. Dawson assumed would have to be Kirsten Cohen.
"Hello. Mrs. Dawson?" Kirsten said, extending her hand, "I'm Kirsten. Cohen." It was obvious to Mrs. Dawson that Mrs. Cohen was nervous.
"Mrs. Cohen." Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I'm glad you could make it home on such short notice. Seth and I are almost done here. Mr. Cohen and Ryan are outside. When we're done, I'll send Seth out, and then you and I can talk."
After dismissing Kirsten, Mrs. Dawson watched her walk out the door to the patio towards her husband and Ryan. She also noticed that they both stood up when they saw Kirsten, and Mrs. Dawson further noticed that the first thing Kirsten did was hug Ryan and then her husband before they all sat down at the table.
"Well, where were we?" she asked Seth after she was done watching the scene outside.
"I was begging you not to take Ryan away." Seth answered.
Mrs. Dawson smiled and laughed, a little.
"Oh, is that what you call it?" she said to him,
"Seriously, though, Seth. I'm not here because I want to take Ryan away. I'm here because Ryan and your parents were both told that there was to be no more trouble, and there has been. A great deal of trouble."
"So, you've already decided? You're taking Ryan away?" Seth demanded, "So why bother talking to us? Why bother to find out about the truth?" Seth knew he was right to hate this lady. She was a bitch.
"Seth," Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I haven't decided anything, yet. I'm stating a fact. The fact is Ryan has again gotten into trouble, and we need to see what happened, and see to it that it doesn't happen again. And to make sure it doesn't happen again, I need to decide if it's best for Ryan to be here or another home."
"Well, then, what can I say or do to convince you, promise you, swear to you that we won't fail Ryan again. We won't let anything like this happen again?" Seth asked, clearly frustrated that this woman didn't appear to be listening to him.
"You did all you could, Seth," Mrs. Dawson said, again with a smile, "You answered my questions."
"So Ryan can stay?" Seth asked, finally hopeful about something.
But Mrs. Dawson just smiled and then said,
"It's not that simple, Seth. But I thank you for answering my questions honestly. If you could, please tell your mother that I'd like to speak to her now."
"Fine." Seth said, as he pushed back his chair to leave.
"But you know," he continued before leaving, "If you take him away, he'll be back. On his eighteenth birthday, he'll be back. Even if you decide he can't live here, he's still part of this family." And with that, Seth left and joined his family on the patio.
Mrs. Dawson watched as Kirsten, Sandy and Ryan all stood up when Seth approached. She also watched as Seth gave Ryan a hug before sitting down in a chair, and she watched as Kirsten rubbed Ryan's back and smiled at him before turning to come into the house.
Mrs. Dawson smiled as Kirsten Cohen entered the kitchen.
"Hello again, Mrs. Cohen. Please have a seat." She said. However, before Mrs. Dawson could start her interview of Mrs. Cohen, she noticed Ryan walking away from the table and towards another building next to the pool.
"Where's Ryan going?" she asked.
Kirsten turned towards the door to look before telling Mrs. Dawson,
"To the pool house. It's his room. His pool house."
"The boy lives in the pool house?" Mrs. Dawson exclaimed, "Why?"
Kirsten calmly told her, "He likes it." But then began to talk more, and explain a whole lot faster when she noticed Mrs. Dawson frown and scribble furiously in her pad,
"When Ryan first came here, he was a guest, and our guests were always welcomed to stay in the pool house. It has a kitchen, a full bathroom, and beautiful views of the ocean. It also provides privacy and some peace and quiet. After we decided that Ryan would be staying, we thought it was a good idea to let him stay there. He likes having a place of his own, something to finally call his, and he's still close enough to be here with the rest of the family."
Kirsten had hoped that was an acceptable explanation for Mrs. Dawson, but it wasn't. Mrs. Dawson asked her,
"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep him separate from the rest of you? Honestly, how can you keep an eye on him if he's in a separate building?"
"He isn't separate from the rest of us. Not really. Look, Ryan has the pool house, Seth has the upstairs and Sandy and I have our own suite over there." Kirsten explained, pointing in the direction of her bedroom. Kirsten then continued with her justification of Ryan in the pool house,
"And what you haven't noticed, and what Ryan still doesn't seem to realize is that we can keep better track of Ryan in the pool house then we can keep of Seth upstairs."
A very skeptical Mrs. Dawson asked,
"How so? It's a separate building."
To answer that question, Kirsten stood up and began to point out what she thought was obvious,
"Yes. But a building that we can see from this table, from that kitchen window, from the living room, and most importantly, from our bedroom at night. During the day, the maid opens his blinds so we can see when he's in there, and at night we can see his lights on. We know when he comes home, and we know when he goes to bed. If he were upstairs, I doubt we would be able to see him as much as we do now."
Satisfied with her explanation, Kirsten sat back down at the table. She assumed that Mrs. Dawson would also be satisfied. But apparently she wasn't, as her next question to Kirsten was,
"But he could still sneak out. How would you know?"
"Seth could also sneak out, if he wanted to." Kirsten pointed out, "But I trust that he won't, the same way I trust that Ryan won't. And if they do, and if they are caught, then they are in trouble. They both know that."
"Well, is that what happened with the breaking and entering?" Mrs. Dawson asked, "Did he sneak out of the pool house that night?"
Kirsten stared at Mrs. Dawson for a moment, and then smiled as she told her,
"Mrs. Dawson, if you're that concerned about Ryan staying in the pool house, then it's easy enough to fix. Tomorrow we can move all of his stuff upstairs. Redo one of the rooms up there, and he can call that his room. It really doesn't matter to us what or where he calls his room, as long as he calls this his home."
"But he did sneak out to go break into the school that night, didn't he?" Mrs. Dawson asked, again.
"Not the school, just the file room," Kirsten corrected, "But yes, he snuck out. And when he was caught, he was punished."
Mrs. Dawson made another note in her pad, and then asked, "How so?"
"He was grounded," Kirsten explained, "He lost all of his privileges, and he had to come straight home after school. He wasn't allowed to go any where or do anything or see anyone unless Sandy or I knew about it."
"Well, it obviously didn't work. He still attacked that boy a few days later." Mrs. Dawson pointed out.
Again Kirsten just smiled before answering,
"There were extenuating circumstances. Ryan said Oliver provoked him, goaded him into attacking. I'm not excusing Ryan's behavior, or justifying it. I'm just explaining it. Ryan was wrong, and he knows that. And again, after the school called and told us what happened, we again talked to Ryan, and yelled at Ryan and again we grounded him."
"But you didn't hit Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson asked the same question she had previously asked Mr. Cohen.
"No, of course not. We'd never hit either one of them. Not ever." Kirsten responded. Sandy had told her outside that Mrs. Dawson had asked him that question, but she was still shocked to be asked.
Mrs. Dawson made some more notes in her pad and then asked,
"What about after Oliver's suicide? Was Ryan still grounded?"
Yes, of course," Kirsten told her, "Ryan may have been right about Oliver being.... unstable, but he wasn't right in the way he handled it. Ryan was punished for his behavior. That wouldn't change because Oliver committed suicide. What happened to Oliver was sad. Very sad. But our concern was for Ryan, not Oliver."
"Have you ever found yourself afraid of Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson then asked.
Kirsten was, at first, taken back by Mrs. Dawson's question,
"You mean physically afraid?" She asked her.
"Yes. Physically afraid that he would hurt you or Seth." Mrs. Dawson said.
Kirsten couldn't help but snicker, even laugh a little at the very thought.
"No." she answered, "I have never been physically afraid of Ryan."
"I fail to see what is so funny, Mrs. Cohen." Mrs. Dawson said, slightly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dawson," Kirsten said, "Its just. Well, you don't know Ryan. He's.... Look, for as big and tough as Ryan likes to pretend to be, I know that inside he's still very much a lost little boy who needs us. Who needs a family to love him unconditionally, parents to take care of him, and people he can trust and love. We are those people, that family. So no, it is not possible for me to be physically afraid of Ryan, any more then I'd be physically afraid of Seth. If you take him away from us now, you will destroy him. You'll also destroy us."
When Kirsten noticed that Mrs. Dawson was making more notes in her pad, and did not immediately answer, she continued,
"I'm not saying we're perfect. We're not. No parent is. But we try, with all our hearts. But because we're not perfect, mistakes were made. But we've learned from those mistakes. We've moved on, and we've all grown. Together. As a family."
Mrs. Dawson nodded, made another notation in her pad and then said, "Describe Ryan."
"Describe?" Kirsten only thought for a second before continuing, "Well, he's a good kid. He's quiet, sweet, thoughtful, funny. He has a huge heart. He's kind, considerate, helpful..."
"You don't think he's troubled?" Mrs. Dawson questioned.
Kirsten's first response was going to be "did I say troubled?" but decided sarcasm wouldn't be the best response to Mrs. Dawson. Instead she said,
"No, nor do I think he's violent. He's had a lot to over come in his life, and personally, I'm surprised at how normal and well adjusted he is. Yes, he has some problems. He has a quick temper, sometimes, and he tends to act impulsively, on occasion, but we're working on that."
"With Dr. Colefield?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Kirsten again smiled at Mrs. Dawson and said,
"Yes. With Dr. Colefield. Trust me, Mrs. Dawson, we want what's best for Ryan."
"And you believe you're what's best?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Kirsten nodded and told her,
"Yes. Without a doubt."
Mrs. Dawson put her pen down, smiled back at Kirsten and told her,
"Thank you. That's all I have for right now. I'd like to speak to Ryan privately, if you don't mind."
Again, Kirsten found herself biting her tongue, and not give Mrs. Dawson the sarcastic answer she was thinking. Instead she sweetly asked Mrs. Dawson,
"When will we know your decision?"
"I promise, Mrs. Cohen," Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I'll render my report as quickly as possible. Now, could you please ask Ryan to come in."
And with that, Kirsten was dismissed. As she walked out of the kitchen to go get Ryan, she couldn't help but think Sandy was right. Mrs. Dawson was cold. Definitely cold. And Seth was right. She also was a bitch. She also hoped that Ryan would be able to get through her interrogation without losing it. Some how though, she doubted it.
He was very relieved to hear both Ryan and Seth talking as he entered the house with Mrs. Dawson right behind him. It sounded like it was an interesting conversation the two of them were having.
"Come on, man," he heard Seth saying, "I'm sure if you just ask Dad, I'm sure he'll say yes."
"I don't know, Seth." He heard Ryan answer, "I don't think it's a good idea. It's only been three days, not two weeks."
"Just ask. Come on. What's the worse thing that could happen?" Seth said, and then after a silent pause, said again,
"Will you just ask Dad?"
"Ask Dad what?" Sandy said as he walked into the kitchen, with Mrs. Dawson still right behind him.
"Well, you see, Dad," Seth started, figuring he'd ask since he knew Ryan wouldn't, "Marissa and Ryan made up at school today...."
"We didn't make up," Ryan interrupted, "We're friends."
"Yeah, ok." Seth answered, "Anyway, we all want to go out to celebrate their friendship. Marissa asked Ryan out for tonight, and Summer wants to double date. So can we? All go out?"
Sandy looked at Ryan first, who just shrugged his shoulders and then at Seth, who seemed more interested in his answer then Ryan was.
"No, not tonight." Sandy said, hoping that would be the end of it.
Seth, not one to take no for an answer, then asked, "Then tomorrow night?"
"No. Ryan knows. Two weeks." Sandy said, before turning to Mrs. Dawson behind him and saying,
"Boys, this is Mrs. Dawson. From Child Services. She's come to talk. To both of you."
As Mrs. Dawson stepped forward, she couldn't help but notice the looks of fear and shock on both boys' faces.
"Hello, Seth, Ryan," she said, "It's nice to meet you both. Seth, I'd like to talk to you first. Mr. Cohen, Ryan, if you don't mind, please excuse us."
As Sandy and Ryan turned to head out the door to the patio, Mrs. Dawson noticed that Sandy put his arm around Ryan's shoulders as they walked out.
After they walked up to the patio, Ryan turned to Sandy and asked,
"Sandy, I thought you said she wasn't coming until next week. What happened?"
"I don't know," Sandy said, with a shrug, "I guess this is the surprise visit we were originally told about. She called my office earlier today and was there by 2 o'clock. Kirsten's on her way home now to meet with Mrs. Dawson after Seth, and then you."
"Why am I last?" Ryan asked.
Again, Sandy could only shrug, before telling him,
"I'm not exactly sure. I talked to my mother earlier today, and she said some social workers like to interview the subject first and then the family and friends. Others, like Mrs. Dawson apparently, like to collect all their information first before talking to the minor in question. Since Nana prefers to talk to the child first, she really couldn't explain why Mrs. Dawson does it the other way."
"The subject? The minor in question? The child? Great. This is just. Great." Was all Ryan could mumble.
"Ryan," Sandy said, "Just do or say whatever she wants. It will be ok."
As Sandy and Ryan continued their conversation, they were unaware that they were being watched, closely.
"Excuse me," Seth finally said to Mrs. Dawson, "but aren't you supposed to be asking me questions?"
"Yes. In a minute." Mrs. Dawson responded, as she pulled out her notepad and pen from her briefcase. "Are your father and Ryan close?"
Seth, shrugged, in much the same way Mrs. Dawson saw Mr. Cohen shrug,
"Yeah, I guess."
"Does that bother you?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
"No, why?" Seth answered.
"Well," Mrs. Dawson said, "You were an only child for over sixteen years, and then suddenly your parents bring home another teenager. A troubled teenager who must require a great deal of time and attention. Doesn't that bother you?"
Seth immediately knew he didn't like this lady. Not at all.
"Ah, no." he told her, "First of all, I wouldn't call Ryan a troubled teenager. And second, he's not a small child or a puppy. He doesn't 'require' a lot of time or attention."
"Well, have you ever found yourself afraid of Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson then asked.
"Afraid?" Seth repeated.
"Yes, afraid." Mrs. Dawson said, "Afraid he would hurt you. Loose his temper. Assault you."
"No!" Seth said, "Ryan would never hurt me. Ever."
"How do you know?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
"Because I know Ryan," Seth snapped, "And obviously you don't, or you wouldn't ask such a retarded question." God, Seth thought, I really, really don't like this lady.
"But he does have a history of violent behavior." Mrs. Dawson decided to point out.
"Well, he's been in fights, I know that," Seth decided to clarify, "but given where he lived before moving here, I'm not surprised that he knows how to fight."
"What do you know about his past?" Mrs. Dawson asked, noting in her pad Seth's responses to her questions about Ryan's temper.
Again, Seth shrugged and said,
"Not much. Ryan doesn't like to talk about it."
"But what do you know?" Mrs. Dawson pushed.
"I know he was abused. A lot. By a lot of different people. His mother, her many boyfriends, his brother. Maybe his father. I'm not sure about him. I know Ryan was young when his father went to jail." Seth told her, and then after pausing for a moment, continued with,
"I also know that before Ryan came here, he had no one, and now he has us. And we don't abuse him."
After making more notes in her pad, Mrs. Dawson then asked Seth,
"How would you describe Ryan?"
"Describe?" Seth again repeated Mrs. Dawson.
"Yes," she explained, "If someone asked you about Ryan, what would you say?"
Seth didn't pause, didn't take a minute to think of his answer before he told Mrs. Dawson,
"He's my brother."
"And you believe that, after only seven months?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Seth smirked and then snidely told her,
"I knew it after one day."
"How?" Mrs. Dawson asked, curious to see how this young man would answer.
"Get to know Ryan, Mrs. Dawson." Seth said, "He's not some violent, troubled youth, or whatever else it says in that file of yours. And you'd know that, if you got to know him. There isn't anyone else I'd call my brother. Look, when he came here in August, it was because he had no one and needed a place to sleep. But he stayed because we needed him just as much as he needed us. I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid FOR him. I don't want him to leave. He belongs here, with us."
Mrs. Dawson nodded, made some notes on her pad and then asked Seth,
"Well, what about all that has gone on recently, with one Oliver Trask? Why don't you tell me about that."
"What do you want to know?" Seth asked. He had heard Ryan use that line before, and he liked the way it sounded.
"I want to know what happened here." Mrs. Dawson told him, "I want to know what your involvement with Oliver Trask was."
Seth leaned forward and looked at Mrs. Dawson before telling her,
"Oliver was crazy. But no one knew it. Except Ryan. I guess, given what Ryan's been through in his life, he saw something that the rest of us didn't know. We're not used to emotionally unstable people. Plus, you've got to remember, Oliver wanted Ryan's girlfriend, and he was willing to go to the extreme to get Marissa. So Ryan saw more then the rest of us did."
Mrs. Dawson then said,
"But Ryan didn't say anything to you or to your parents."
Seth was quick to point out to Mrs. Dawson,
"Ryan didn't really go to my parents, because he's never had real parents to go to before. But he's trying. Since all of this happened, he's trying to open up more."
"But what about you?" Mrs. Dawson asked, "If he's your brother, like you claim, then why didn't he come to you?"
Seth looked down at his folded hands and then back up at Mrs. Dawson. It wasn't often that he didn't want to talk about something. And this, he definitely didn't want to talk about.
"He did." Seth finally admitted, "And I failed him. He tried to talk to me. He tried to get me to understand, and I wasn't there for him. Believe me, I think about it. All the time. If I could go back, and do it all again, believe me, I would be there for him. I swore to him, and to myself, that I'd never let him down again. So, yeah, maybe the choices he made weren't the smartest, but we really didn't give him much of a choice. But you can't punish Ryan for that. You can't send him away."
Mrs. Dawson again made some notes in her pad. Before she could continue with her questions, however, they were interrupted by who Mrs. Dawson assumed would have to be Kirsten Cohen.
"Hello. Mrs. Dawson?" Kirsten said, extending her hand, "I'm Kirsten. Cohen." It was obvious to Mrs. Dawson that Mrs. Cohen was nervous.
"Mrs. Cohen." Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I'm glad you could make it home on such short notice. Seth and I are almost done here. Mr. Cohen and Ryan are outside. When we're done, I'll send Seth out, and then you and I can talk."
After dismissing Kirsten, Mrs. Dawson watched her walk out the door to the patio towards her husband and Ryan. She also noticed that they both stood up when they saw Kirsten, and Mrs. Dawson further noticed that the first thing Kirsten did was hug Ryan and then her husband before they all sat down at the table.
"Well, where were we?" she asked Seth after she was done watching the scene outside.
"I was begging you not to take Ryan away." Seth answered.
Mrs. Dawson smiled and laughed, a little.
"Oh, is that what you call it?" she said to him,
"Seriously, though, Seth. I'm not here because I want to take Ryan away. I'm here because Ryan and your parents were both told that there was to be no more trouble, and there has been. A great deal of trouble."
"So, you've already decided? You're taking Ryan away?" Seth demanded, "So why bother talking to us? Why bother to find out about the truth?" Seth knew he was right to hate this lady. She was a bitch.
"Seth," Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I haven't decided anything, yet. I'm stating a fact. The fact is Ryan has again gotten into trouble, and we need to see what happened, and see to it that it doesn't happen again. And to make sure it doesn't happen again, I need to decide if it's best for Ryan to be here or another home."
"Well, then, what can I say or do to convince you, promise you, swear to you that we won't fail Ryan again. We won't let anything like this happen again?" Seth asked, clearly frustrated that this woman didn't appear to be listening to him.
"You did all you could, Seth," Mrs. Dawson said, again with a smile, "You answered my questions."
"So Ryan can stay?" Seth asked, finally hopeful about something.
But Mrs. Dawson just smiled and then said,
"It's not that simple, Seth. But I thank you for answering my questions honestly. If you could, please tell your mother that I'd like to speak to her now."
"Fine." Seth said, as he pushed back his chair to leave.
"But you know," he continued before leaving, "If you take him away, he'll be back. On his eighteenth birthday, he'll be back. Even if you decide he can't live here, he's still part of this family." And with that, Seth left and joined his family on the patio.
Mrs. Dawson watched as Kirsten, Sandy and Ryan all stood up when Seth approached. She also watched as Seth gave Ryan a hug before sitting down in a chair, and she watched as Kirsten rubbed Ryan's back and smiled at him before turning to come into the house.
Mrs. Dawson smiled as Kirsten Cohen entered the kitchen.
"Hello again, Mrs. Cohen. Please have a seat." She said. However, before Mrs. Dawson could start her interview of Mrs. Cohen, she noticed Ryan walking away from the table and towards another building next to the pool.
"Where's Ryan going?" she asked.
Kirsten turned towards the door to look before telling Mrs. Dawson,
"To the pool house. It's his room. His pool house."
"The boy lives in the pool house?" Mrs. Dawson exclaimed, "Why?"
Kirsten calmly told her, "He likes it." But then began to talk more, and explain a whole lot faster when she noticed Mrs. Dawson frown and scribble furiously in her pad,
"When Ryan first came here, he was a guest, and our guests were always welcomed to stay in the pool house. It has a kitchen, a full bathroom, and beautiful views of the ocean. It also provides privacy and some peace and quiet. After we decided that Ryan would be staying, we thought it was a good idea to let him stay there. He likes having a place of his own, something to finally call his, and he's still close enough to be here with the rest of the family."
Kirsten had hoped that was an acceptable explanation for Mrs. Dawson, but it wasn't. Mrs. Dawson asked her,
"Do you really think it's a good idea to keep him separate from the rest of you? Honestly, how can you keep an eye on him if he's in a separate building?"
"He isn't separate from the rest of us. Not really. Look, Ryan has the pool house, Seth has the upstairs and Sandy and I have our own suite over there." Kirsten explained, pointing in the direction of her bedroom. Kirsten then continued with her justification of Ryan in the pool house,
"And what you haven't noticed, and what Ryan still doesn't seem to realize is that we can keep better track of Ryan in the pool house then we can keep of Seth upstairs."
A very skeptical Mrs. Dawson asked,
"How so? It's a separate building."
To answer that question, Kirsten stood up and began to point out what she thought was obvious,
"Yes. But a building that we can see from this table, from that kitchen window, from the living room, and most importantly, from our bedroom at night. During the day, the maid opens his blinds so we can see when he's in there, and at night we can see his lights on. We know when he comes home, and we know when he goes to bed. If he were upstairs, I doubt we would be able to see him as much as we do now."
Satisfied with her explanation, Kirsten sat back down at the table. She assumed that Mrs. Dawson would also be satisfied. But apparently she wasn't, as her next question to Kirsten was,
"But he could still sneak out. How would you know?"
"Seth could also sneak out, if he wanted to." Kirsten pointed out, "But I trust that he won't, the same way I trust that Ryan won't. And if they do, and if they are caught, then they are in trouble. They both know that."
"Well, is that what happened with the breaking and entering?" Mrs. Dawson asked, "Did he sneak out of the pool house that night?"
Kirsten stared at Mrs. Dawson for a moment, and then smiled as she told her,
"Mrs. Dawson, if you're that concerned about Ryan staying in the pool house, then it's easy enough to fix. Tomorrow we can move all of his stuff upstairs. Redo one of the rooms up there, and he can call that his room. It really doesn't matter to us what or where he calls his room, as long as he calls this his home."
"But he did sneak out to go break into the school that night, didn't he?" Mrs. Dawson asked, again.
"Not the school, just the file room," Kirsten corrected, "But yes, he snuck out. And when he was caught, he was punished."
Mrs. Dawson made another note in her pad, and then asked, "How so?"
"He was grounded," Kirsten explained, "He lost all of his privileges, and he had to come straight home after school. He wasn't allowed to go any where or do anything or see anyone unless Sandy or I knew about it."
"Well, it obviously didn't work. He still attacked that boy a few days later." Mrs. Dawson pointed out.
Again Kirsten just smiled before answering,
"There were extenuating circumstances. Ryan said Oliver provoked him, goaded him into attacking. I'm not excusing Ryan's behavior, or justifying it. I'm just explaining it. Ryan was wrong, and he knows that. And again, after the school called and told us what happened, we again talked to Ryan, and yelled at Ryan and again we grounded him."
"But you didn't hit Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson asked the same question she had previously asked Mr. Cohen.
"No, of course not. We'd never hit either one of them. Not ever." Kirsten responded. Sandy had told her outside that Mrs. Dawson had asked him that question, but she was still shocked to be asked.
Mrs. Dawson made some more notes in her pad and then asked,
"What about after Oliver's suicide? Was Ryan still grounded?"
Yes, of course," Kirsten told her, "Ryan may have been right about Oliver being.... unstable, but he wasn't right in the way he handled it. Ryan was punished for his behavior. That wouldn't change because Oliver committed suicide. What happened to Oliver was sad. Very sad. But our concern was for Ryan, not Oliver."
"Have you ever found yourself afraid of Ryan?" Mrs. Dawson then asked.
Kirsten was, at first, taken back by Mrs. Dawson's question,
"You mean physically afraid?" She asked her.
"Yes. Physically afraid that he would hurt you or Seth." Mrs. Dawson said.
Kirsten couldn't help but snicker, even laugh a little at the very thought.
"No." she answered, "I have never been physically afraid of Ryan."
"I fail to see what is so funny, Mrs. Cohen." Mrs. Dawson said, slightly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Dawson," Kirsten said, "Its just. Well, you don't know Ryan. He's.... Look, for as big and tough as Ryan likes to pretend to be, I know that inside he's still very much a lost little boy who needs us. Who needs a family to love him unconditionally, parents to take care of him, and people he can trust and love. We are those people, that family. So no, it is not possible for me to be physically afraid of Ryan, any more then I'd be physically afraid of Seth. If you take him away from us now, you will destroy him. You'll also destroy us."
When Kirsten noticed that Mrs. Dawson was making more notes in her pad, and did not immediately answer, she continued,
"I'm not saying we're perfect. We're not. No parent is. But we try, with all our hearts. But because we're not perfect, mistakes were made. But we've learned from those mistakes. We've moved on, and we've all grown. Together. As a family."
Mrs. Dawson nodded, made another notation in her pad and then said, "Describe Ryan."
"Describe?" Kirsten only thought for a second before continuing, "Well, he's a good kid. He's quiet, sweet, thoughtful, funny. He has a huge heart. He's kind, considerate, helpful..."
"You don't think he's troubled?" Mrs. Dawson questioned.
Kirsten's first response was going to be "did I say troubled?" but decided sarcasm wouldn't be the best response to Mrs. Dawson. Instead she said,
"No, nor do I think he's violent. He's had a lot to over come in his life, and personally, I'm surprised at how normal and well adjusted he is. Yes, he has some problems. He has a quick temper, sometimes, and he tends to act impulsively, on occasion, but we're working on that."
"With Dr. Colefield?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Kirsten again smiled at Mrs. Dawson and said,
"Yes. With Dr. Colefield. Trust me, Mrs. Dawson, we want what's best for Ryan."
"And you believe you're what's best?" Mrs. Dawson asked.
Kirsten nodded and told her,
"Yes. Without a doubt."
Mrs. Dawson put her pen down, smiled back at Kirsten and told her,
"Thank you. That's all I have for right now. I'd like to speak to Ryan privately, if you don't mind."
Again, Kirsten found herself biting her tongue, and not give Mrs. Dawson the sarcastic answer she was thinking. Instead she sweetly asked Mrs. Dawson,
"When will we know your decision?"
"I promise, Mrs. Cohen," Mrs. Dawson said, with a smile, "I'll render my report as quickly as possible. Now, could you please ask Ryan to come in."
And with that, Kirsten was dismissed. As she walked out of the kitchen to go get Ryan, she couldn't help but think Sandy was right. Mrs. Dawson was cold. Definitely cold. And Seth was right. She also was a bitch. She also hoped that Ryan would be able to get through her interrogation without losing it. Some how though, she doubted it.