Sandy lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking. Usually he did his
best thinking while surfing, but lately, he had no desire to surf. It had
been another long weekend, and it was the start of yet another long week.
At least they had been able to talk to Seth the day before. He was doing
well. Still enjoying Catalina. It wasn't Tahiti, but it wasn't Newport
Beach either. Seth admitted though that he was a little home sick. Just
not homesick for the way their lives were now, but homesick for the way it
used to be, before Ryan left.
Ryan. Sandy sighed. They still hadn't been able to get in touch with Ryan. Kirsten had tried again the night before, but Teresa said Ryan was out. She wouldn't say where, just that he was out. Since they weren't sure if Teresa was lying or not, all they could do was leave a message, again.
Sandy reached over and touched Kirsten. He knew she was awake. But he also knew she wouldn't want to talk. Lately, she never wanted to talk. Not that Sandy could blame her. Over the course of one summer, she watched both her boys leave and watched her father go bankrupt and be arrested for fraud and numerous other charges. It had been a miserable summer. For both of them.
Sandy jumped at the sound of the phone. So did Kirsten. It was only 5:30 in the morning. No good news every came from phone calls that early in the morning. Kirsten reached over and picked up the phone, but she handed it to Sandy to answer. She couldn't bare any more bad news.
Sandy looked at her for a minute and then answered, preparing for bad news on someone.
"Hello?"
He heard a man on the other end of the phone say,
"Yes, hello. I'm looking for a Sanford Cohen, please."
For some reason, Sandy nodded to the man in the phone before saying,
"Yes. This is Sanford Cohen."
"Mr. Cohen," the man said, "This is Officer Jim Greene from the Chino PD. We found your name on an insurance card belonging to a Ryan Atwood. Is he any relation to you?"
Sandy swallowed hard. He couldn't speak for a moment. The police had Ryan's insurance card, which means they had Ryan's wallet. But where was Ryan?
"He's my foster son." Sandy said, "Is he ok? Why do you have his insurance card? Where is he?"
Officer Greene always hated to call the parents. He always struggled to find the right words when telling them a child had been injured.
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene explained, "Your son was found early this morning in Prada Regional Park. In Chino. He was injured. In an accident."
"What kind of accident?" Sandy demanded to know. "Where is he? Can I talk to him?"
Officer Greene didn't really want to continue this conversation over the phone, especially since he knew the family was an hour away.
"Ryan's been taken to Chino Valley Medical Center. The doctors are with him now. I would suggest that you get down here as quickly as possible."
"Why? Is he...? He isn't..." Sandy couldn't even get the words out.
"No. He's not. But he has been badly beaten." Officer Greene quickly said, realizing that he had given Mr. Cohen the wrong idea.
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene continued, "Please, if you could just come down to Chino, we can explain everything to you then."
Sandy again nodded to the phone, and finally looked at Kirsten before saying,
"My wife and I will be there within the hour."
Kirsten was frantically getting her clothes out. She didn't know what was wrong. She just knew something had happened to Ryan. When she saw Sandy put the phone down, she finally asked,
"Sandy. What's wrong? What happened to Ryan? Where is he?"
Sandy looked at her and told her,
"Chino Valley Medical Center. The police found him in the park. He's been beaten up."
"Bad?" Kirsten asked.
Sandy stared at Kirsten for a minute, wanting to tell her it would be ok, that Ryan would be ok, but he had no idea if that were true. He seriously doubted it was true so he told her, "Bad enough to be in the hospital, and knowing Ryan's dislike for the hospital, I'd guess that would be pretty bad. We better hurry. I told the Officer we'd be there in an hour."
They both dressed quickly. As they left for Chino, Kirsten began to rant about how she knew it was a bad idea to let him go off to Chino. She knew something bad would happen. She just knew it. And now she just wanted Ryan to come home.
At first, Sandy didn't try to stop Kirsten's ranting. He agreed that Ryan needed to come home, and he knew that no matter what Ryan said, Sandy was bringing him home. It was time for Ryan to stop trying to be the adult, and it was high time Sandy put his foot down and acted like the parent.
"I knew it. I just knew it. I knew letting him go back to Chino was a mistake." Kirsten said for the third time in less then ten minutes.
"Kirsten," Sandy said, "We had to let him go. He felt he needed to do this."
"And we just let him go, and now look!" Kirsten continued, "We haven't heard from him in over two months, and now he's in the hospital. We have no idea how badly he's hurt. We don't know anything!"
Sandy reached over to squeeze her hand, but Kirsten pulled it away. She was in full ranting mode, and she wasn't about to let Sandy placate her. Sandy put his hand back on the steering wheel and tried again to talk to her,
"We know he's alive, and we know where he is. We'll be there soon enough to see for ourselves how badly he's been hurt."
Kirsten looked at Sandy and asked,
"You know who did this, don't you?"
Sandy shrugged,
"Well, I have my suspicions, but we don't know for sure."
"Of course we know!" Kirsten said, "It was Eddie. You know it, and I know it. He swore that if Ryan ever went back to Chino, he was dead, and we just let him go."
"Ryan felt he needed to go back." Sandy tried to explain, again, "He needed to be there with Teresa. Be there for the baby. It was his decision. He chose to go to Chino."
Sandy didn't know why they were having this conversation, again. They had already gone over it again and again during the past two months. Unfortunately, now that Ryan had been hurt, Kirsten was ready to go into it again.
"Well, this is no longer Ryan's choice." Kirsten continued, in full rant, "He's still a minor, and we're still the adults. From now on, we're making the choices, and I chose for Ryan to come home. Now."
"And what happens if Ryan doesn't want to come home? Then what?" Sandy asked.
Kirsten stared at Sandy. She couldn't believe what he was saying. Yes, he always defended his reasons for letting Ryan leave, but now it was different. Now, Ryan was hurt and in the hospital. She glared at Sandy before asking him,
"Are you saying that if Ryan wants to stay in Chino after this that you'll support him?"
Sandy finally laughed a little. He realized that by continuing the same old argument, he was giving Kirsten the wrong idea.
"Hell no!" he told her, "Ryan's coming home. I'm just saying that if you go in there yelling and screaming and telling Ryan what he's going to do, he'll do the complete opposite. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands getting him to come back. Remember, he's spent the past two months, hell most of his life, being the adult. If we go in there and treat him like a little kid, he's going to resent it. And us."
"So, what do you suggest?" Kirsten asked, "We asked him to stay before, and he said no. What if he says no again?"
Sandy reached over and attempted to squeeze Kirsten's hand again. This time, though, she let him.
"I'm not going to let him say no. Look, I was all set to go down to Chino this afternoon to talk to him anyway. At least now I'll have the advantage of him being in a hospital bed. It's less likely he'll walk away from me!" Sandy attempted to make light of the situation.
"Very funny." Kirsten told him, "I just want him to come home."
"He will. I promise." Sandy told her, as he drove just a little faster to the hospital, and to Ryan.
Ryan. Sandy sighed. They still hadn't been able to get in touch with Ryan. Kirsten had tried again the night before, but Teresa said Ryan was out. She wouldn't say where, just that he was out. Since they weren't sure if Teresa was lying or not, all they could do was leave a message, again.
Sandy reached over and touched Kirsten. He knew she was awake. But he also knew she wouldn't want to talk. Lately, she never wanted to talk. Not that Sandy could blame her. Over the course of one summer, she watched both her boys leave and watched her father go bankrupt and be arrested for fraud and numerous other charges. It had been a miserable summer. For both of them.
Sandy jumped at the sound of the phone. So did Kirsten. It was only 5:30 in the morning. No good news every came from phone calls that early in the morning. Kirsten reached over and picked up the phone, but she handed it to Sandy to answer. She couldn't bare any more bad news.
Sandy looked at her for a minute and then answered, preparing for bad news on someone.
"Hello?"
He heard a man on the other end of the phone say,
"Yes, hello. I'm looking for a Sanford Cohen, please."
For some reason, Sandy nodded to the man in the phone before saying,
"Yes. This is Sanford Cohen."
"Mr. Cohen," the man said, "This is Officer Jim Greene from the Chino PD. We found your name on an insurance card belonging to a Ryan Atwood. Is he any relation to you?"
Sandy swallowed hard. He couldn't speak for a moment. The police had Ryan's insurance card, which means they had Ryan's wallet. But where was Ryan?
"He's my foster son." Sandy said, "Is he ok? Why do you have his insurance card? Where is he?"
Officer Greene always hated to call the parents. He always struggled to find the right words when telling them a child had been injured.
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene explained, "Your son was found early this morning in Prada Regional Park. In Chino. He was injured. In an accident."
"What kind of accident?" Sandy demanded to know. "Where is he? Can I talk to him?"
Officer Greene didn't really want to continue this conversation over the phone, especially since he knew the family was an hour away.
"Ryan's been taken to Chino Valley Medical Center. The doctors are with him now. I would suggest that you get down here as quickly as possible."
"Why? Is he...? He isn't..." Sandy couldn't even get the words out.
"No. He's not. But he has been badly beaten." Officer Greene quickly said, realizing that he had given Mr. Cohen the wrong idea.
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene continued, "Please, if you could just come down to Chino, we can explain everything to you then."
Sandy again nodded to the phone, and finally looked at Kirsten before saying,
"My wife and I will be there within the hour."
Kirsten was frantically getting her clothes out. She didn't know what was wrong. She just knew something had happened to Ryan. When she saw Sandy put the phone down, she finally asked,
"Sandy. What's wrong? What happened to Ryan? Where is he?"
Sandy looked at her and told her,
"Chino Valley Medical Center. The police found him in the park. He's been beaten up."
"Bad?" Kirsten asked.
Sandy stared at Kirsten for a minute, wanting to tell her it would be ok, that Ryan would be ok, but he had no idea if that were true. He seriously doubted it was true so he told her, "Bad enough to be in the hospital, and knowing Ryan's dislike for the hospital, I'd guess that would be pretty bad. We better hurry. I told the Officer we'd be there in an hour."
They both dressed quickly. As they left for Chino, Kirsten began to rant about how she knew it was a bad idea to let him go off to Chino. She knew something bad would happen. She just knew it. And now she just wanted Ryan to come home.
At first, Sandy didn't try to stop Kirsten's ranting. He agreed that Ryan needed to come home, and he knew that no matter what Ryan said, Sandy was bringing him home. It was time for Ryan to stop trying to be the adult, and it was high time Sandy put his foot down and acted like the parent.
"I knew it. I just knew it. I knew letting him go back to Chino was a mistake." Kirsten said for the third time in less then ten minutes.
"Kirsten," Sandy said, "We had to let him go. He felt he needed to do this."
"And we just let him go, and now look!" Kirsten continued, "We haven't heard from him in over two months, and now he's in the hospital. We have no idea how badly he's hurt. We don't know anything!"
Sandy reached over to squeeze her hand, but Kirsten pulled it away. She was in full ranting mode, and she wasn't about to let Sandy placate her. Sandy put his hand back on the steering wheel and tried again to talk to her,
"We know he's alive, and we know where he is. We'll be there soon enough to see for ourselves how badly he's been hurt."
Kirsten looked at Sandy and asked,
"You know who did this, don't you?"
Sandy shrugged,
"Well, I have my suspicions, but we don't know for sure."
"Of course we know!" Kirsten said, "It was Eddie. You know it, and I know it. He swore that if Ryan ever went back to Chino, he was dead, and we just let him go."
"Ryan felt he needed to go back." Sandy tried to explain, again, "He needed to be there with Teresa. Be there for the baby. It was his decision. He chose to go to Chino."
Sandy didn't know why they were having this conversation, again. They had already gone over it again and again during the past two months. Unfortunately, now that Ryan had been hurt, Kirsten was ready to go into it again.
"Well, this is no longer Ryan's choice." Kirsten continued, in full rant, "He's still a minor, and we're still the adults. From now on, we're making the choices, and I chose for Ryan to come home. Now."
"And what happens if Ryan doesn't want to come home? Then what?" Sandy asked.
Kirsten stared at Sandy. She couldn't believe what he was saying. Yes, he always defended his reasons for letting Ryan leave, but now it was different. Now, Ryan was hurt and in the hospital. She glared at Sandy before asking him,
"Are you saying that if Ryan wants to stay in Chino after this that you'll support him?"
Sandy finally laughed a little. He realized that by continuing the same old argument, he was giving Kirsten the wrong idea.
"Hell no!" he told her, "Ryan's coming home. I'm just saying that if you go in there yelling and screaming and telling Ryan what he's going to do, he'll do the complete opposite. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands getting him to come back. Remember, he's spent the past two months, hell most of his life, being the adult. If we go in there and treat him like a little kid, he's going to resent it. And us."
"So, what do you suggest?" Kirsten asked, "We asked him to stay before, and he said no. What if he says no again?"
Sandy reached over and attempted to squeeze Kirsten's hand again. This time, though, she let him.
"I'm not going to let him say no. Look, I was all set to go down to Chino this afternoon to talk to him anyway. At least now I'll have the advantage of him being in a hospital bed. It's less likely he'll walk away from me!" Sandy attempted to make light of the situation.
"Very funny." Kirsten told him, "I just want him to come home."
"He will. I promise." Sandy told her, as he drove just a little faster to the hospital, and to Ryan.