Ryan must have dozed off waiting for Kirsten to stop being so mad. She didn't say anything else to him, and the morphine kept making Ryan fall asleep.
He slowly became aware of the fact that someone was trying to move him. It hurt, and he wanted them to stop. He tried to push them away, but stopped when he heard Sandy's voice.
"Ryan," he heard, "Stop fighting. Wake up."
Ryan slowly opened his eyes and saw two orderlies in addition to Kirsten and Sandy standing over him.
"Hey," he said, "Sorry. What's up?"
"It's time for those tests I told you about." Kirsten told him. She didn't sound really mad anymore, but Ryan noticed she also wasn't calling him "sweetie" either.
Sandy then explained to him, "You need to let the orderlies help you move onto the gurney. You're going down to radiology now. The doctor said he wants another ultrasound and another CAT scan and some x-rays. It should take about an hour or so, and then they'll bring you back to your room. We'll be here when you get back."
As Sandy began to explain to Ryan what was going on, Ryan noticed that he too didn't sound very mad, but it was easy to see that he was not one of Sandy's favorites at that moment. Ryan wondered what Kirsten had told Sandy while he was still asleep. Ryan also couldn't help but notice that "we'll be here when you get back" sounded more like a threat and not a promise. Or at the very least a promise of a long, long talk.
"Thanks, but it's ok, guys," Ryan said, "You don't have to wait around. I know you both have to be tired. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Really."
Ryan wanted them to know that even though he did appreciate their concern, they didn't have to hang out in the hospital. He was fine. They needed to go home and get some sleep. Just as long as they came and got him the next day, he'd be fine. Unfortunately, the looks he got from both Sandy and Kirsten told him they didn't appreciate his offer. Not at all.
"We'll be here when you get back." Sandy told him, with the tone. The tone was most definitely back.
Ryan just looked from Sandy to Kirsten and back to Sandy again and said,
"Um, ok, thanks."
He was really thankful when the orderlies finished moving him and all his attached medical whatnots and began to wheel him out of the room. He'd be safe in radiology for at least an hour.
Ryan wished Seth were there. Seth always knew how to help defuse their anger. Ryan knew he'd still get the lecture. That was inevitable. But Seth could always get them to lighten up. Unfortunately, Seth wasn't there. Kirsten said something about him not being home, but she also said the cop called them at 5:30 in the morning. So Ryan knew, Seth was home, but he was also mad at Ryan. He had to be really mad not to come to the hospital. After all, Ryan left him and then never called. Ryan figured it was quite possible that Seth hated him, and Ryan would never be able to repair their friendship.
Damn, Ryan thought, how was he going to be able to go back to Newport with Kirsten and Sandy both mad at him and Seth hating him? He knew he didn't have a choice. Sandy had told him that. He was going back to Newport. He'd just have to listen to the lectures, endure the grounding he guessed was coming, and try to figure out how to make it up to Seth.
Even though it hurt, a lot, as they moved him around for the various tests, Ryan didn't say anything. He stayed quiet as the radiologists performed each test and the orderlies moved him on and off the gurney. The last thing he needed was for someone to tell Sandy and Kirsten that he gave anyone a problem so he stayed quiet, and was pretty much done by the time he was wheeled back to his room.
"How'd it go?" Kirsten asked as she watched the orderlies move Ryan back into his bed.
Ryan's answer of "fine" came through gritted teeth, so Kirsten knew he was hurting.
"They brought you something to eat while you were gone." Sandy told him as he watched Kirsten arrange the blankets around Ryan before pulling the tray in front of him.
"Not really hungry." was all Ryan could think to say. He was tired and sore and not in the best of moods so he didn't really want to eat.
"Yeah, uh huh," Kirsten said, "The doctor wants you to start on a soft diet. So they brought you some jello, beef broth, apple juice and vanilla pudding."
Pudding.
"How long do you think Seth'll stay mad at me?" Ryan blurted out. He figured now was as good a time as any to find out.
Sandy and Kirsten looked at each other first before Sandy said, "Ryan, Seth's not mad at you."
Yeah right, Ryan thought but only said, "He's not here."
As Kirsten opened all the containers on Ryan's tray and handed him the spoon to start eating she told him,
"I told you, he wasn't home."
"If he wasn't home at 5:30 in the morning then where is he?" Ryan said as he put the spoon down. He wasn't hungry, and he didn't want to eat.
Kirsten picked up the spoon again, and this time stuck it in the pudding before handing it back to Ryan to eat. Then she said,
"Catalina."
"Catalina? Why? For how long?" Ryan asked. He still had no intention of eating, no matter what Kirsten shoved at him. He wanted to know what was going on with Seth.
Seeing that a battle over the food tray was beginning between Kirsten and Ryan, Sandy decided to explain it to him as quickly as possible. This way Ryan would get the answers he wanted, and Kirsten would get him to eat.
"He really wanted to go to Tahiti, but after the Coast Guard found him, he had to settle for Catalina. It's just for the summer. He has a job there, and is staying with some friends of the family. Now I think Kirsten would prefer if you started eating on your own, or I do believe she will feed you."
Tahiti? Coast Guard?
"He tried to sail his boat to Tahiti, didn't he?" Ryan asked, "I should have known. This is all my fault."
"No." Sandy said, "You're only responsible for your own actions. Seth is responsible for his."
Ryan pushed the tray of food away. It was his fault. Seth had told him that he no longer had the need to sail off to Tahiti as long as Ryan was in Newport. But Ryan left Newport, and that made Seth leave, too.
"But he would never have tried to go if I hadn't left." Ryan said.
"You are not responsible for Seth's actions." Sandy again stated. But this time he said it in a way that left Ryan with no room to argue.
"When is he coming home?" Ryan asked.
Sandy and Kirsten exchanged looks again as Kirsten again picked up the spoon, but this time she put it up to Ryan's mouth for him to start eating. He could ask all the questions he wanted. Kirsten was done waiting for him to eat by himself.
"Soon. No later then the end of the week. I called him earlier and explained everything to him. He has to give his job notice, pack, and then I'll go down and get him. Now, eat." Sandy told him.
Ryan finally gave in and accepted the spoon from Kirsten. He'd eat the food even though he wasn't hungry because he knew otherwise Kirsten would continue to feed him like a baby.
"Can I talk to him?" Ryan asked as he began to eat.
Sandy just shook his head and told him,
"You can talk to him when you're home. Believe me, when you're both home, we're all going to talk, and you'll both have plenty of time to catch up with each other."
Ryan looked from Sandy to Kirsten and then back to Sandy again. They'd obviously talked when Ryan was asleep. Ryan looked down at his tray. He had been taking small bits of this soft diet of his, but decided it would be a smart idea to really eat this mush. He could tell he was in deep with Sandy and Kirsten and didn't want to add to it by refusing to eat.
"So, I'm going to guess Kirsten told you already, so there's nothing left to say." Ryan said as he finished off both the pudding and the jello. Damn, he hated jello.
"Oh, no, you still have a lot of explaining to do. But this isn't the time or the place, nor are you in any condition to go into it with me right now. But you will, I can promise you that." Sandy advised him.
Ryan was finally able to put his spoon down. He ate the mush off his tray. That had to count for something.
"Sandy..." he started to say, but Kirsten cut him off,
"Ryan, I think it's time you rested. You're tired, and you need your rest."
Ryan started to say, "No. I'm...." but then he realized it wasn't a request. Kirsten wasn't asking him to rest. She was telling him.
Ryan just sighed and put his head back on his pillow. They were both in full parenting mode, and Ryan figured it would be pointless to argue.
A few minutes later, Ryan finally got up the nerve to ask,
"I take it this means I'm banished to the pool house for an indefinite amount of time?"
"No. No pool house." Sandy told him.
"Really?" Ryan asked.
Alright, he thought, maybe I'm not grounded after all.
"Nope." Kirsten told him, "Hailey lives in the pool house."
"Hailey!" Ryan exclaimed, "But it's mine!"
Sandy had to hide his smile. He would have never guessed Ryan would be attached to the pool house. Too bad for Ryan because he wasn't going to live in the pool house anymore. He was living in the house, in a regular bedroom from now on, just like Seth. Kirsten and Sandy had already agreed on that, and nothing Ryan said would change their minds.
"Not any more." he told Ryan, "You moved out and Hailey moved in."
Ryan was shocked. They gave Hailey the pool house. They always told him it was his pool house, and they up and give it to Hailey.
"But I'm coming home. You said so yourself. I have to come home." Ryan knew he sounded like a child. A whiny, tired, hurt little child.
"Yes, you are." Kirsten told him, "But not home to the pool house. Hailey is the adult. She lives in the pool house now."
Ryan was getting annoyed. Kirsten was right that he was tired, but not too tired to fight for his pool house.
"So, what?" Ryan whined, "I have the air mattress on Seth's floor again?"
"No, of course not." Kirsten told him, "I had the painters come this morning to redo the room across the hall from Seth. That's your room."
"But I like the pool house." Ryan said defiantly.
"Really?" Sandy said, "That's funny. Hailey said the same thing."
"But...." Ryan started again, but was quickly cut off by Kirsten,
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
Ryan laid his head back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling, thinking to himself. So I no longer have the pool house, I'm probably grounded for who knows how long, and every time I open my mouth, I get The Tone, from both of them. And I'm excited about going back to Newport for what reason?
He slowly became aware of the fact that someone was trying to move him. It hurt, and he wanted them to stop. He tried to push them away, but stopped when he heard Sandy's voice.
"Ryan," he heard, "Stop fighting. Wake up."
Ryan slowly opened his eyes and saw two orderlies in addition to Kirsten and Sandy standing over him.
"Hey," he said, "Sorry. What's up?"
"It's time for those tests I told you about." Kirsten told him. She didn't sound really mad anymore, but Ryan noticed she also wasn't calling him "sweetie" either.
Sandy then explained to him, "You need to let the orderlies help you move onto the gurney. You're going down to radiology now. The doctor said he wants another ultrasound and another CAT scan and some x-rays. It should take about an hour or so, and then they'll bring you back to your room. We'll be here when you get back."
As Sandy began to explain to Ryan what was going on, Ryan noticed that he too didn't sound very mad, but it was easy to see that he was not one of Sandy's favorites at that moment. Ryan wondered what Kirsten had told Sandy while he was still asleep. Ryan also couldn't help but notice that "we'll be here when you get back" sounded more like a threat and not a promise. Or at the very least a promise of a long, long talk.
"Thanks, but it's ok, guys," Ryan said, "You don't have to wait around. I know you both have to be tired. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Really."
Ryan wanted them to know that even though he did appreciate their concern, they didn't have to hang out in the hospital. He was fine. They needed to go home and get some sleep. Just as long as they came and got him the next day, he'd be fine. Unfortunately, the looks he got from both Sandy and Kirsten told him they didn't appreciate his offer. Not at all.
"We'll be here when you get back." Sandy told him, with the tone. The tone was most definitely back.
Ryan just looked from Sandy to Kirsten and back to Sandy again and said,
"Um, ok, thanks."
He was really thankful when the orderlies finished moving him and all his attached medical whatnots and began to wheel him out of the room. He'd be safe in radiology for at least an hour.
Ryan wished Seth were there. Seth always knew how to help defuse their anger. Ryan knew he'd still get the lecture. That was inevitable. But Seth could always get them to lighten up. Unfortunately, Seth wasn't there. Kirsten said something about him not being home, but she also said the cop called them at 5:30 in the morning. So Ryan knew, Seth was home, but he was also mad at Ryan. He had to be really mad not to come to the hospital. After all, Ryan left him and then never called. Ryan figured it was quite possible that Seth hated him, and Ryan would never be able to repair their friendship.
Damn, Ryan thought, how was he going to be able to go back to Newport with Kirsten and Sandy both mad at him and Seth hating him? He knew he didn't have a choice. Sandy had told him that. He was going back to Newport. He'd just have to listen to the lectures, endure the grounding he guessed was coming, and try to figure out how to make it up to Seth.
Even though it hurt, a lot, as they moved him around for the various tests, Ryan didn't say anything. He stayed quiet as the radiologists performed each test and the orderlies moved him on and off the gurney. The last thing he needed was for someone to tell Sandy and Kirsten that he gave anyone a problem so he stayed quiet, and was pretty much done by the time he was wheeled back to his room.
"How'd it go?" Kirsten asked as she watched the orderlies move Ryan back into his bed.
Ryan's answer of "fine" came through gritted teeth, so Kirsten knew he was hurting.
"They brought you something to eat while you were gone." Sandy told him as he watched Kirsten arrange the blankets around Ryan before pulling the tray in front of him.
"Not really hungry." was all Ryan could think to say. He was tired and sore and not in the best of moods so he didn't really want to eat.
"Yeah, uh huh," Kirsten said, "The doctor wants you to start on a soft diet. So they brought you some jello, beef broth, apple juice and vanilla pudding."
Pudding.
"How long do you think Seth'll stay mad at me?" Ryan blurted out. He figured now was as good a time as any to find out.
Sandy and Kirsten looked at each other first before Sandy said, "Ryan, Seth's not mad at you."
Yeah right, Ryan thought but only said, "He's not here."
As Kirsten opened all the containers on Ryan's tray and handed him the spoon to start eating she told him,
"I told you, he wasn't home."
"If he wasn't home at 5:30 in the morning then where is he?" Ryan said as he put the spoon down. He wasn't hungry, and he didn't want to eat.
Kirsten picked up the spoon again, and this time stuck it in the pudding before handing it back to Ryan to eat. Then she said,
"Catalina."
"Catalina? Why? For how long?" Ryan asked. He still had no intention of eating, no matter what Kirsten shoved at him. He wanted to know what was going on with Seth.
Seeing that a battle over the food tray was beginning between Kirsten and Ryan, Sandy decided to explain it to him as quickly as possible. This way Ryan would get the answers he wanted, and Kirsten would get him to eat.
"He really wanted to go to Tahiti, but after the Coast Guard found him, he had to settle for Catalina. It's just for the summer. He has a job there, and is staying with some friends of the family. Now I think Kirsten would prefer if you started eating on your own, or I do believe she will feed you."
Tahiti? Coast Guard?
"He tried to sail his boat to Tahiti, didn't he?" Ryan asked, "I should have known. This is all my fault."
"No." Sandy said, "You're only responsible for your own actions. Seth is responsible for his."
Ryan pushed the tray of food away. It was his fault. Seth had told him that he no longer had the need to sail off to Tahiti as long as Ryan was in Newport. But Ryan left Newport, and that made Seth leave, too.
"But he would never have tried to go if I hadn't left." Ryan said.
"You are not responsible for Seth's actions." Sandy again stated. But this time he said it in a way that left Ryan with no room to argue.
"When is he coming home?" Ryan asked.
Sandy and Kirsten exchanged looks again as Kirsten again picked up the spoon, but this time she put it up to Ryan's mouth for him to start eating. He could ask all the questions he wanted. Kirsten was done waiting for him to eat by himself.
"Soon. No later then the end of the week. I called him earlier and explained everything to him. He has to give his job notice, pack, and then I'll go down and get him. Now, eat." Sandy told him.
Ryan finally gave in and accepted the spoon from Kirsten. He'd eat the food even though he wasn't hungry because he knew otherwise Kirsten would continue to feed him like a baby.
"Can I talk to him?" Ryan asked as he began to eat.
Sandy just shook his head and told him,
"You can talk to him when you're home. Believe me, when you're both home, we're all going to talk, and you'll both have plenty of time to catch up with each other."
Ryan looked from Sandy to Kirsten and then back to Sandy again. They'd obviously talked when Ryan was asleep. Ryan looked down at his tray. He had been taking small bits of this soft diet of his, but decided it would be a smart idea to really eat this mush. He could tell he was in deep with Sandy and Kirsten and didn't want to add to it by refusing to eat.
"So, I'm going to guess Kirsten told you already, so there's nothing left to say." Ryan said as he finished off both the pudding and the jello. Damn, he hated jello.
"Oh, no, you still have a lot of explaining to do. But this isn't the time or the place, nor are you in any condition to go into it with me right now. But you will, I can promise you that." Sandy advised him.
Ryan was finally able to put his spoon down. He ate the mush off his tray. That had to count for something.
"Sandy..." he started to say, but Kirsten cut him off,
"Ryan, I think it's time you rested. You're tired, and you need your rest."
Ryan started to say, "No. I'm...." but then he realized it wasn't a request. Kirsten wasn't asking him to rest. She was telling him.
Ryan just sighed and put his head back on his pillow. They were both in full parenting mode, and Ryan figured it would be pointless to argue.
A few minutes later, Ryan finally got up the nerve to ask,
"I take it this means I'm banished to the pool house for an indefinite amount of time?"
"No. No pool house." Sandy told him.
"Really?" Ryan asked.
Alright, he thought, maybe I'm not grounded after all.
"Nope." Kirsten told him, "Hailey lives in the pool house."
"Hailey!" Ryan exclaimed, "But it's mine!"
Sandy had to hide his smile. He would have never guessed Ryan would be attached to the pool house. Too bad for Ryan because he wasn't going to live in the pool house anymore. He was living in the house, in a regular bedroom from now on, just like Seth. Kirsten and Sandy had already agreed on that, and nothing Ryan said would change their minds.
"Not any more." he told Ryan, "You moved out and Hailey moved in."
Ryan was shocked. They gave Hailey the pool house. They always told him it was his pool house, and they up and give it to Hailey.
"But I'm coming home. You said so yourself. I have to come home." Ryan knew he sounded like a child. A whiny, tired, hurt little child.
"Yes, you are." Kirsten told him, "But not home to the pool house. Hailey is the adult. She lives in the pool house now."
Ryan was getting annoyed. Kirsten was right that he was tired, but not too tired to fight for his pool house.
"So, what?" Ryan whined, "I have the air mattress on Seth's floor again?"
"No, of course not." Kirsten told him, "I had the painters come this morning to redo the room across the hall from Seth. That's your room."
"But I like the pool house." Ryan said defiantly.
"Really?" Sandy said, "That's funny. Hailey said the same thing."
"But...." Ryan started again, but was quickly cut off by Kirsten,
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
Ryan laid his head back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling, thinking to himself. So I no longer have the pool house, I'm probably grounded for who knows how long, and every time I open my mouth, I get The Tone, from both of them. And I'm excited about going back to Newport for what reason?