Sheets
A/N: This is just a one-shot I created in less than a half hour. Just
random thoughts I had in my head, that probably don't even make sense. This
is Kirsten's reaction to Ryan leaving.
Kirsten sat on Ryan's bed, clutching onto his sheets and resting on Sandy's shoulder. They sat in silence as Kirsten went from bawling, to gently weeping. Sandy held her tight and rocked back and forth, putting his fingers through her hair and telling her everything would be ok, that Ryan would come back to visit and they could go to Chino sometimes.
This whole time, Kirsten saw the last year flash before her eyes. Last summer, her husband brought home a kid from juvie. From JUVIE! Into Newport. Into her home. She remembers acting fake as Sandy led him into the pool house that night. She remembers that boy burning down her model home, making bacon for the Cohens and only making a place setting for three. Why did he defend her in juvie that morning? She hadn't known him well at all, and she didn't want to be there anyway. But he still stood up for her, and she couldn't leave him in that hell hole. She remembers having her first real conversation with him at Vegas Night and she was amazed at his knowledge of architecture and the next morning seeing how easy it was for a mother to leave their son. The boy just stood there and waved as his mother left for good. She would never understand it. She remembers the awkward hug as Sandy announced that they legally adopted him. As the year went by, they got closer and closer. He wasn't the boy anymore, he was Ryan. Her other son. The brother Seth never had. Getting Ryan into Harbor and seeing the determination on his face as he fought Dr.Kim for his place in one of the top schools in the nation. How could she forget that night when she walked in on him and Marissa? She remembers his first Thanksgiving and Chrismukkah. God, the look on his face when we hung up his stocking. Who ever knew that there would be four stockings on that mantle?
Look how close Seth and Ryan had gotten. Before Ryan, her son was a social outcast. A boy who gave sailing lessons to children and sat cooped up in his room, blasting crazy music. Seth Cohen wasn't popular, that wasn't a secret. All she wanted was for her son to be happy. And she saw that happiness come into his life once Ryan arrived. Seth got more confidence, and even though his first night there they got drunk and bruised, Seth still enjoyed it. He had a friend. A real friend, not one of those pod people as he liked to call them. Life with Ryan was first just a crazy concept her husband floated a year ago, but now life without him is something out of her grasp.
Yet, that boy. That boy she has grown to love as her own son suddenly walks out of her life as easily as he came in. When Ryan hugged her, she wished she could stay attached to him forever and never let go. Kirsten Cohen is not a woman that shows emotion. But the second he let go, she knew that he was gone and he had to figure things out on his own. She packed a little lunch for him and even made one last plea on behalf of her cooking skills. But Ryan had to go.
Back to reality, Sandy is still rocking back and forth and she is still hanging on to Ryan's sheets because if she lets go, it's like letting go of Ryan all over again. She stops crying and looks into Sandy's eyes. Those blue eyes that she fell in love with so many years ago were starting to tear up. She looks down and buries her head in his shoulder once again, and he holds onto her tighter than ever. She starts to stand up, and he gets up with her. She takes a moment to look at the house that was once a storage area, that turned into a bedroom, and is now just an empty space. Sandy takes hold of her free hand and leads her into the house. She finally lets go of the sheets, and lets go of Ryan. He'll be back, she thinks. There isn't anything Ryan wouldn't do for his family. And that's what they were - a family.
Kirsten sat on Ryan's bed, clutching onto his sheets and resting on Sandy's shoulder. They sat in silence as Kirsten went from bawling, to gently weeping. Sandy held her tight and rocked back and forth, putting his fingers through her hair and telling her everything would be ok, that Ryan would come back to visit and they could go to Chino sometimes.
This whole time, Kirsten saw the last year flash before her eyes. Last summer, her husband brought home a kid from juvie. From JUVIE! Into Newport. Into her home. She remembers acting fake as Sandy led him into the pool house that night. She remembers that boy burning down her model home, making bacon for the Cohens and only making a place setting for three. Why did he defend her in juvie that morning? She hadn't known him well at all, and she didn't want to be there anyway. But he still stood up for her, and she couldn't leave him in that hell hole. She remembers having her first real conversation with him at Vegas Night and she was amazed at his knowledge of architecture and the next morning seeing how easy it was for a mother to leave their son. The boy just stood there and waved as his mother left for good. She would never understand it. She remembers the awkward hug as Sandy announced that they legally adopted him. As the year went by, they got closer and closer. He wasn't the boy anymore, he was Ryan. Her other son. The brother Seth never had. Getting Ryan into Harbor and seeing the determination on his face as he fought Dr.Kim for his place in one of the top schools in the nation. How could she forget that night when she walked in on him and Marissa? She remembers his first Thanksgiving and Chrismukkah. God, the look on his face when we hung up his stocking. Who ever knew that there would be four stockings on that mantle?
Look how close Seth and Ryan had gotten. Before Ryan, her son was a social outcast. A boy who gave sailing lessons to children and sat cooped up in his room, blasting crazy music. Seth Cohen wasn't popular, that wasn't a secret. All she wanted was for her son to be happy. And she saw that happiness come into his life once Ryan arrived. Seth got more confidence, and even though his first night there they got drunk and bruised, Seth still enjoyed it. He had a friend. A real friend, not one of those pod people as he liked to call them. Life with Ryan was first just a crazy concept her husband floated a year ago, but now life without him is something out of her grasp.
Yet, that boy. That boy she has grown to love as her own son suddenly walks out of her life as easily as he came in. When Ryan hugged her, she wished she could stay attached to him forever and never let go. Kirsten Cohen is not a woman that shows emotion. But the second he let go, she knew that he was gone and he had to figure things out on his own. She packed a little lunch for him and even made one last plea on behalf of her cooking skills. But Ryan had to go.
Back to reality, Sandy is still rocking back and forth and she is still hanging on to Ryan's sheets because if she lets go, it's like letting go of Ryan all over again. She stops crying and looks into Sandy's eyes. Those blue eyes that she fell in love with so many years ago were starting to tear up. She looks down and buries her head in his shoulder once again, and he holds onto her tighter than ever. She starts to stand up, and he gets up with her. She takes a moment to look at the house that was once a storage area, that turned into a bedroom, and is now just an empty space. Sandy takes hold of her free hand and leads her into the house. She finally lets go of the sheets, and lets go of Ryan. He'll be back, she thinks. There isn't anything Ryan wouldn't do for his family. And that's what they were - a family.