Ryan attempted to swallow the lump that was in his throat as he watched Sandy get out of the car and storm over to them.
"You," he said, pointing to Ryan, "Are in a hell of a lot of trouble. And we will discuss this at home. Let's go!"
"Sandy, I..." Ryan started to explain, but Sandy cut him off,
"Now, Ryan!" he shouted.
Ryan looked over at Marissa who just smiled sympathetically at him,
"You better go, Ryan." she said, "I'll talk to you later."
"You know, I am sorry, and I still love you." Ryan told her softly before he turned and walked away.
After he watched Ryan go to the car, Sandy turned to Marissa and told her, "Marissa, I can wait if you want to get your stuff. Then I'll drive you home."
"No thanks, Sandy," Marissa said, "I'm fine here."
He stared at her for a minute. She didn't look fine, but right now, she couldn't be his concern. Sandy was there for Ryan.
"I think you should go home, Marissa." Sandy told her, "But if not, then at least leave here. Your mother told me to let you know that if you aren't home by this afternoon, she's going to have the police come get you. So I suggest you don't stay here. Go to Summer's or come to our house. And let your mother know where you are. This isn't a game anymore Marissa."
When she didn't answer him, Sandy added, "Ryan will call you when he can."
Ryan sat up straight as he saw Sandy approach the car. It was obvious that Sandy was mad, madder then Ryan had seen him in a long time.
"Sandy," Ryan started. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say or should say. He was sorry that he had made them mad again, but he wanted to talk to Marissa. But Sandy just glared at him, which shut Ryan up from continuing his attempt to apologize.
Sandy was quiet for a few minutes. He was trying very hard to calm down and regain his composure. After a few very deep breaths he finally said, "Ryan, do you know what the word no means?"
"Huh?" Ryan asked, not sure if the question was rhetorical or if Sandy actually expected an answer.
"I said do you know what the word no means?" Sandy said, in an even tone. A very angry even tone.
"Um, yes." Ryan answered, still not following what Sandy was getting at, and when Sandy shot him a look, he continued, "Um, no means, well, no. Don't do something."
Sandy only nodded, and then said, "And do you know which one of us is the adult as in the parent and which one of us is the teenager as in the kid?"
"Sandy..." Ryan started to say, but when he saw the look Sandy was still giving him, he just sighed, "Yes. You're the adult, and I'm not."
"Fine, just checking," Sandy said, still with that same even, very angry tone.
"Kirsten was about to call the police," Sandy said after a few more quiet, tense minutes, "We had no idea where you were until Seth finally told us."
"I'm sorry." Ryan said, looking down at his feet.
"You aren't now, but you will be." Sandy said as he pulled into the driveway, "In the house, let's go. Now."
Ryan again just sighed as he got out of the car and headed for the house. He reached for the front door, but jumped when it suddenly flew open.
"Ryan, thank God." Kirsten said, "Exactly what did you think you were doing?"
"I wanted to talk to Marissa." Ryan answered. It was a weak answer, but all he had.
"You wanted to talk to Marissa?" Kirsten shouted, loud enough for half of Newport to hear her. "Where were you when the doctor at the hospital told you to rest or when the doctor here told you to rest, to take care of yourself? Didn't you hear them? Do I need to get your hearing checked, too?"
"Kirsten, I'm sorry," Ryan started to apologize again. But Sandy put his hand on Ryan's back and directed them all into the house, "Okay, the neighbors don't need to hear our business. Let's discuss this inside." Sandy told them both.
Ryan stood in the entrance way, waiting for one of them to continue the yelling, but for a very uncomfortable minute neither of them said anything. They just stared at him.
"Look, I'm sorry. Really I am." Ryan started to explain, "But, Sandy, you saw what Marissa looked like. She needs help. And I thought I could help her. Julie can't. Jimmy can't or won't...."
"Ryan," Kirsten quickly interrupted, "Take a look in the mirror. A good hard look at what you look like. I can get the copy of your hospital records if you'd like. You need to help yourself. You were injured. Seriously injured. I can't believe I would have to remind you of the broken ribs, the concussion, the collapsed lung, the one kidney that wasn't even working when they brought you into the hospital, barely conscious. And yet here you are, out trying to take care of someone else. I just. Don't get it."
Ryan just looked down at his feet. He could tell Kirsten was frustrated, upset, and he was sorry about that. But it wasn't as if he hadn't been beaten up before in the past. He knew Sandy and Kirsten weren't used to it, but Ryan was. He was hurt, but he'd heal.
"I'm fine," he started to tell her, but jumped when she shouted, "You're not fine!"
"Ryan," Sandy ordered, "Go upstairs to your room. We'll be up in a little while to discuss this."
"Yeah, sure." Ryan mumbled as he made his way towards the stairs. He was glad for the reprieve, but knew it would be a short one. They would be coming up shortly, and it would give a whole new meaning to the phrase tag team parenting.
Seth was standing in his doorway when Ryan came up. "Hey," he said, "You okay?"
Ryan just looked over his shoulder, towards the stairs and shrugged, "So far."
"They're pretty pissed." Seth said.
Ryan nodded, "Yeah."
"Look, man, I'm sorry. They both came home early, and I didn't know what to say." Seth apologized.
"Not your fault, Seth." Ryan told him, "It's mine. I thought I could help her. I thought if I just talked to her, she'd listen. Thanks for trying to cover for me, though. I thought you said you weren't going to, that if they called, you were going to tell them."
Seth only shrugged before smiling. "See, Ry, that's what brothers do. Us against them. We watch each other's backs, even if I was trying to cover up your stupidity. Complete and total stupidity, I may add."
"Thanks, Seth. That means a lot." Ryan joked, then he asked, "Did you know? Did you know how bad she was?"
"Summer told me." Seth admitted, "Mom and Dad know, too. That's why they wanted to keep it from you for a while. They think Grandpa may be right. Marissa may need more help then any of us, including you, can give her. You know, it's not your fault. This whole year has been rough for Marissa, and not because of you. You were probably the one reason she was able to handle it as well as she did before now. But if she's going to have that much trouble handling it all, then there is nothing wrong with her getting the professional help she needs."
Ryan didn't look at Seth as he whispered, "It's just like my mom all over again."
"Yeah, we know." Seth told him, "We just didn't think you knew."
Ryan didn't say anything else as he walked into his room and laid on his bed, and waited for the firing squad.
Ryan eventually fell asleep waiting for them to come start their discussion, unaware that a discussion was already taking place downstairs. It didn't include him, but it was definitely all about him.
"Just so you know," Seth said as he walked into the kitchen, "He now sees the comparisons between Dawn and Marissa. So maybe him going there wasn't such a bad idea."
"Seth, we didn't ask for your opinion nor do we need your input." Sandy told him, "And if you don't mind, your mother is on the phone. So be quiet."
Kirsten hung up the telephone and told Sandy, "Well, the doctor said he didn't think we had to bring Ryan in. Just have him rest and not overexert himself any further. If he starts to run a fever, has any trouble breathing, or appears to be in an extraordinary amount of pain, then we should either bring him in or bring him to the emergency room."
"What the hell was he thinking? It was bad enough that he called her last night after I explicitly told him no, but to leave here and walk over to Holly's house? I just don't get it. Why would he do that?" Sandy was ranting. He really didn't expect an answer from Kirsten or Seth. He was just venting his frustrations, and was surprised when Seth had an answer,
"He's Mighty Mouse, Dad. Seriously, he knew last night that Marissa would be drinking, so he called her, despite what you said, hoping he could talk to her, and she would stop drinking and leave the party. And when that didn't happen, and when Julie threatened to call the police this morning, he went over there to talk to her again. Again to try to save her. It's what he does. He went to Chino to save Teresa and her baby from Eddie. Saved me from Luke and his water polo playing friends, and then saved Luke from the Del Vista soccer team. And he's spent the past year saving Marissa from what ever Marissa needed to be saved from - Oliver, Tijuana, Julie Cooper. You name it, and he was willing to save her from it. At any cost."
"Well, it's time for him to stop being Mighty Mouse and go back to being a kid." Kirsten said.
"Go back to being a kid?" Seth repeated, "Mom, when was Ryan ever a kid? He's never had the chance. What do you expect from him?"
"We've given him that chance, and we expect him to listen to us. When we tell either of you to do something, or not do something, we expect you to listen. You both know how to act, and what we expect from you." Kirsten told him.
"And this is based on what?" Seth asked, "The one year he spent with us, or the other sixteen that he spent fending for himself? Does he even know why you guys are so mad? I mean, really know? Come on, you guys are upset at him because he doesn't seem to take his injuries very seriously, and I doubt he does. We all know this isn't the first time he's been beaten up. Fine, no one likes to talk about it, but to Ryan, this is probably no big deal."
"Seth," Sandy finally said, after being unusually quiet, "This really doesn't involve you. It's nice to see you so concerned about Ryan and all, but this is between me, your mother and Ryan."
"Well, the two of you are sitting down here playing judge, jury and executioner, and you've got Ryan locked up in his holding cell awaiting your verdict. I figured maybe the guy deserved to have a mouth piece working on his behalf." Seth told them. He was only half joking.
"Judge, jury, executioner, holding cell, mouth piece?" Sandy said, "Seth, I think you've been watching way too many Perry Mason reruns."
"I'm just saying..." Seth started to say.
"We know what you're trying to say. And thank you for your input. But your father is right. This is between us and Ryan." Kirsten told him. "Go, do something. Call Summer, clean the pool, do something."
"Call Summer or clean the pool? Hum?" Seth pretended to think, "Well, if those are my only two options, I guess I'll have to pick calling Summer."
"Just remember," Seth added as he started to leave, "Ryan is the only brother you two appear to be giving me. So go easy on the guy. We do graduate after this year. Don't ground him until then."
"You do know he's right." Sandy said after Seth was gone.
"What, that we can't ground him until he graduates? Probably not. But I'd like to. I'd like to finally be able to keep him safe, uninjured, and loved. I don't think that's too much to ask for, do you?" Kirsten said. She was trying to make it sound like a joke, but she was very serious in how she felt.
"I don't think it's too much to ask for, but it might be for Ryan." Sandy sadly admitted, "He may never accept being just a kid, no matter what we say or do."
"So what?" Kirsten asked, "We just allow him to continue to disregard his own health and well being and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants? No, I can't agree with that. He's a good kid, and he deserves the chance to be a kid, with parents who love him. And because we love him, we need to be willing to ground the life out of him whenever he deserves it."
"No, you're right. I agree. I'm just saying he may not be capable of understanding what it means to just be a kid. Come on, I think we should go talk to him." Sandy said. "And before you go all Mama Mighty Mouse on him, give him a chance to talk, to explain what happened."
"Ok, enough with the Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "I need to get his antibiotic, because I can guarantee that if I ask him, he'll admit to not taking it today."
As she and Sandy headed upstairs, Kirsten asked, "So, what are you going to say?"
Sandy just shrugged, "I don't really know. I figured I'd just ask him what he was thinking and then depending on what he says, go from there."
"Go from there?" Kirsten asked, "So we don't know how long he should be grounded for?"
"Nope, let's see what he has to say," Sandy replied, "how much arguing we end up doing."
"Ryan argue?" Kirsten said, "Sandy, he's not going to argue. He never argues with us. We probably could ground him until graduation, and he won't argue with us."
"But he doesn't always listen to us, either." Sandy told her. "So, let's just hear what he has to say, and see if we can clip Mighty Mouse's wings."
"I said enough Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "Besides Mighty Mouse didn't have wings, he had a cape."
"I guess our super hero could have used a cape today," Sandy said as he walked into Ryan's room and found him asleep on the bed. "Since walking was obviously too much for him."
"Well, I guess we'll have to talk to him later, then." Kirsten said as reached for the throw blanket at the foot of Ryan's bed.
Before Kirsten could cover Ryan, though, he began to stir at the sound of their voices. ''Hey, no, I'm awake." he said as he sat up, "I was just, yeah. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Sandy told him, "If you're not going to listen to us, at least you're willing to listen to your own body when it tells you to rest."
Ryan could only sigh. He was beginning to wish he'd pretended to still be asleep after they came in. As Sandy leaned up against the desk and folded his arms in front of him, Kirsten went into the bathroom and returned with a cup of water.
"Do I need to ask?" she said as she handed him both the cup and the antibiotic.
"No." was all Ryan said.
"No, I don't need to ask, or no, you didn't take it this morning." Kirsten asked.
"Both." Ryan answered, "Sorry."
Kirsten put her hand to Ryan's forehead before asking him, "How do you feel?"
And without thinking, Ryan just said, "I'm fine."
"Well, you don't feel fine. You feel warm." Kirsten told him, "Are you having any trouble breathing, or in a lot of pain?"
Ryan shook his head and told her, "No, neither. Really, I'm fine. I just got a little tired so I laid down. That's all. Really."
Kirsten looked over at Sandy before telling Ryan, "Well, I still think I should get the thermometer. The doctor wants us to make sure you don't start running a fever."
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm fi..." Ryan started to say, but Kirsten just walked out of the room.
Ryan looked over at Sandy. Tag, you're it, Ryan thought.
"So, last night," Sandy started, "I believe I said not to call Marissa, or am I just imaging that conversation?"
"No, you said not to call Marissa." Ryan answered.
"But..." Sandy said.
"But I called Marissa anyway. I wanted to talk to her." Ryan told him. He still knew it wasn't much of an answer, but it really was the only answer he had.
"And then this morning. You left this house, and walked over to Holly's house. You've been told by the doctors and by us not to over exert yourself. To take it easy and take care of yourself. But you didn't, did you?" Sandy told him.
"No." Ryan again answered, "I wanted to talk to Marissa. She wasn't answering her cell phone."
"And all you can say is that you wanted to talk to Marissa. That's it?" Sandy asked.
"I'm sorry." Ryan added.
"Ryan," Sandy started, "We know you're worried about Marissa. We are, too. We've tried to help her over the summer, but she doesn't want help. Not from us. And I'm not going to go into this again with you. You can't help her if you're not first willing to help yourself. I don't know what more I can say, what it will take for you to listen. We are trying to do what's best for you. We want you to stop fighting us every step of the way."
"Sandy, look, I'm sorry. That's about all I can say." Ryan said, "I know what you said. I heard you, but I wanted to talk to Marissa. To see for myself if I could help her, but you guys wouldn't let me. And I know what you said about it not being my fault. But it is. At least partially. None of this would have happened if I hadn't left with Teresa."
"Last summer, when you first got here," Sandy said, "What did Seth tell you he was going to do this summer? And what was Marissa doing when you met her?"
When Ryan didn't immediately answer but only look down at his hands, Sandy asked, "Well?"
Ryan looked away, and answered, "Seth was going to sail to Tahiti. In forty two days."
"And Marissa?" Sandy asked.
"She was drinking, partying with Holly. Dating Luke." Ryan answered.
"So the only thing that's different is that Marissa is no longer dating Luke. And at least for the past year, everybody's lives had improved, because you were here. So this summer you weren't here, and everything happened that we knew was going to happen. How is that your fault?" Sandy told him.
"If I hadn't left..." Ryan again started to say.
"But you left. Okay? You left. You were gone for two months, and now you're back. I think we've covered that already. You left, Seth left and Marissa started to drink again. I'd say all three of you have made some pretty bad decisions this summer. So stop trying to blame yourself for other people's mistakes. Ryan, you've only been seventeen for what, two weeks? Stop trying to take the weight of the world on your shoulders and enjoy being seventeen." Sandy lectured.
Ryan could only make a face, then look down at his hands and then look away. It's not that he didn't understand what Sandy was trying to say. He just didn't know if he knew how. And despite what Sandy said or what Kirsten said, Ryan still felt that if he hadn't left, none of this would have happened.
"Look," Sandy told him, "We could keep going around and around with this. But the bottom line is we make the rules and you and Seth follow them. And if you don't then there are consequences to pay. Maybe that's not how it works in Chino, but that's how it works in Newport. And you live in Newport now. With us. Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it." Ryan mumbled. "Sorry."
"Don't always be sorry." Sandy told him, "We actually do know what's best for you both, despite what you might think. Understand?" When Ryan only nodded in response, Sandy continued,
"Fine then. For the remainder of the summer, I want to know where you are and where you're going at all times. I don't want you just taking off on your own without first telling Kirsten and me where you're going. And if we say, no, we mean no. And that means you don't go. Is that understood?"
Ryan again just nodded. He wasn't about to argue with Sandy. Given how mad Sandy was when he picked Ryan up, Ryan figured he'd be grounded for a whole lot longer then that.
Sandy continued to explain, "This gives you an entire month before school starts to practice how to answer to parents. Hopefully by the end of that time, you'll remember to ask us before doing something, and unless you want to spend more time at home, you'll listen to us when we say no."
"So I can't go anywhere for the rest of the summer?" Ryan asked.
"No, see, you're not listening." Sandy told him, "You can go out, but we have to know where and with whom, at all times."
"Ok." was all Ryan could think to say. He wasn't sure what else they were going to have to talk about. He figured something must have happened between the time Sandy sent him to his room and when he came in to talk, because Sandy no longer seemed mad, just annoyed. So Ryan was actually considering himself lucky that Sandy didn't yell, the lecturing was kept to a minimum, and his additional punishment consisted only of having to tell them where he was going when he went out. Unfortunately, his luck diminished slightly when Kirsten returned to his room, carrying the thermometer.
"Here, put this under your tongue." she told him.
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm..." Ryan started to tell her.
"Ryan, so help me, if you say you're fine, this will not go in your mouth." Kirsten threatened as she held the thermometer up in front of him. Sandy couldn't help but snicker at the sheer look of panic on Ryan's face and the complete look of determination on Kirsten's.
"99.9, so you are running a fever." Kirsten told him before turning to Sandy and asking, "Should we go to the doctor's or over to the emergency room?"
Ryan started to open his mouth and tell her that he didn't need to go to the doctor's and definitely not to the hospital, that he was fine, but decided against it. She was in her parenting mode, plus she was mad at him. That was a dangerous combination, and Ryan knew it wouldn't be a good idea to argue with her.
"I think you should probably call the doctor first. 99.9 isn't much of a fever." Sandy told her, much to Ryan's relief, "Could just be from walking down the beach in the heat. Ryan may just need to rest in bed for the remainder of the day."
Ryan knew Sandy's last line may have been said to Kirsten, but it was directed at him.
Ryan was relieved when Kirsten came back a few minutes later and told him to change into his sweats, he didn't need to go to the doctor's unless his fever went higher. But he was going to stay in bed. And this time, Ryan decided not to argue, not to whine and definitely not to ignore their orders. This time he figured the best thing he could do was listen to them and stay in bed. Try for at least the remainder of the day not to make them mad again.
"You," he said, pointing to Ryan, "Are in a hell of a lot of trouble. And we will discuss this at home. Let's go!"
"Sandy, I..." Ryan started to explain, but Sandy cut him off,
"Now, Ryan!" he shouted.
Ryan looked over at Marissa who just smiled sympathetically at him,
"You better go, Ryan." she said, "I'll talk to you later."
"You know, I am sorry, and I still love you." Ryan told her softly before he turned and walked away.
After he watched Ryan go to the car, Sandy turned to Marissa and told her, "Marissa, I can wait if you want to get your stuff. Then I'll drive you home."
"No thanks, Sandy," Marissa said, "I'm fine here."
He stared at her for a minute. She didn't look fine, but right now, she couldn't be his concern. Sandy was there for Ryan.
"I think you should go home, Marissa." Sandy told her, "But if not, then at least leave here. Your mother told me to let you know that if you aren't home by this afternoon, she's going to have the police come get you. So I suggest you don't stay here. Go to Summer's or come to our house. And let your mother know where you are. This isn't a game anymore Marissa."
When she didn't answer him, Sandy added, "Ryan will call you when he can."
Ryan sat up straight as he saw Sandy approach the car. It was obvious that Sandy was mad, madder then Ryan had seen him in a long time.
"Sandy," Ryan started. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say or should say. He was sorry that he had made them mad again, but he wanted to talk to Marissa. But Sandy just glared at him, which shut Ryan up from continuing his attempt to apologize.
Sandy was quiet for a few minutes. He was trying very hard to calm down and regain his composure. After a few very deep breaths he finally said, "Ryan, do you know what the word no means?"
"Huh?" Ryan asked, not sure if the question was rhetorical or if Sandy actually expected an answer.
"I said do you know what the word no means?" Sandy said, in an even tone. A very angry even tone.
"Um, yes." Ryan answered, still not following what Sandy was getting at, and when Sandy shot him a look, he continued, "Um, no means, well, no. Don't do something."
Sandy only nodded, and then said, "And do you know which one of us is the adult as in the parent and which one of us is the teenager as in the kid?"
"Sandy..." Ryan started to say, but when he saw the look Sandy was still giving him, he just sighed, "Yes. You're the adult, and I'm not."
"Fine, just checking," Sandy said, still with that same even, very angry tone.
"Kirsten was about to call the police," Sandy said after a few more quiet, tense minutes, "We had no idea where you were until Seth finally told us."
"I'm sorry." Ryan said, looking down at his feet.
"You aren't now, but you will be." Sandy said as he pulled into the driveway, "In the house, let's go. Now."
Ryan again just sighed as he got out of the car and headed for the house. He reached for the front door, but jumped when it suddenly flew open.
"Ryan, thank God." Kirsten said, "Exactly what did you think you were doing?"
"I wanted to talk to Marissa." Ryan answered. It was a weak answer, but all he had.
"You wanted to talk to Marissa?" Kirsten shouted, loud enough for half of Newport to hear her. "Where were you when the doctor at the hospital told you to rest or when the doctor here told you to rest, to take care of yourself? Didn't you hear them? Do I need to get your hearing checked, too?"
"Kirsten, I'm sorry," Ryan started to apologize again. But Sandy put his hand on Ryan's back and directed them all into the house, "Okay, the neighbors don't need to hear our business. Let's discuss this inside." Sandy told them both.
Ryan stood in the entrance way, waiting for one of them to continue the yelling, but for a very uncomfortable minute neither of them said anything. They just stared at him.
"Look, I'm sorry. Really I am." Ryan started to explain, "But, Sandy, you saw what Marissa looked like. She needs help. And I thought I could help her. Julie can't. Jimmy can't or won't...."
"Ryan," Kirsten quickly interrupted, "Take a look in the mirror. A good hard look at what you look like. I can get the copy of your hospital records if you'd like. You need to help yourself. You were injured. Seriously injured. I can't believe I would have to remind you of the broken ribs, the concussion, the collapsed lung, the one kidney that wasn't even working when they brought you into the hospital, barely conscious. And yet here you are, out trying to take care of someone else. I just. Don't get it."
Ryan just looked down at his feet. He could tell Kirsten was frustrated, upset, and he was sorry about that. But it wasn't as if he hadn't been beaten up before in the past. He knew Sandy and Kirsten weren't used to it, but Ryan was. He was hurt, but he'd heal.
"I'm fine," he started to tell her, but jumped when she shouted, "You're not fine!"
"Ryan," Sandy ordered, "Go upstairs to your room. We'll be up in a little while to discuss this."
"Yeah, sure." Ryan mumbled as he made his way towards the stairs. He was glad for the reprieve, but knew it would be a short one. They would be coming up shortly, and it would give a whole new meaning to the phrase tag team parenting.
Seth was standing in his doorway when Ryan came up. "Hey," he said, "You okay?"
Ryan just looked over his shoulder, towards the stairs and shrugged, "So far."
"They're pretty pissed." Seth said.
Ryan nodded, "Yeah."
"Look, man, I'm sorry. They both came home early, and I didn't know what to say." Seth apologized.
"Not your fault, Seth." Ryan told him, "It's mine. I thought I could help her. I thought if I just talked to her, she'd listen. Thanks for trying to cover for me, though. I thought you said you weren't going to, that if they called, you were going to tell them."
Seth only shrugged before smiling. "See, Ry, that's what brothers do. Us against them. We watch each other's backs, even if I was trying to cover up your stupidity. Complete and total stupidity, I may add."
"Thanks, Seth. That means a lot." Ryan joked, then he asked, "Did you know? Did you know how bad she was?"
"Summer told me." Seth admitted, "Mom and Dad know, too. That's why they wanted to keep it from you for a while. They think Grandpa may be right. Marissa may need more help then any of us, including you, can give her. You know, it's not your fault. This whole year has been rough for Marissa, and not because of you. You were probably the one reason she was able to handle it as well as she did before now. But if she's going to have that much trouble handling it all, then there is nothing wrong with her getting the professional help she needs."
Ryan didn't look at Seth as he whispered, "It's just like my mom all over again."
"Yeah, we know." Seth told him, "We just didn't think you knew."
Ryan didn't say anything else as he walked into his room and laid on his bed, and waited for the firing squad.
Ryan eventually fell asleep waiting for them to come start their discussion, unaware that a discussion was already taking place downstairs. It didn't include him, but it was definitely all about him.
"Just so you know," Seth said as he walked into the kitchen, "He now sees the comparisons between Dawn and Marissa. So maybe him going there wasn't such a bad idea."
"Seth, we didn't ask for your opinion nor do we need your input." Sandy told him, "And if you don't mind, your mother is on the phone. So be quiet."
Kirsten hung up the telephone and told Sandy, "Well, the doctor said he didn't think we had to bring Ryan in. Just have him rest and not overexert himself any further. If he starts to run a fever, has any trouble breathing, or appears to be in an extraordinary amount of pain, then we should either bring him in or bring him to the emergency room."
"What the hell was he thinking? It was bad enough that he called her last night after I explicitly told him no, but to leave here and walk over to Holly's house? I just don't get it. Why would he do that?" Sandy was ranting. He really didn't expect an answer from Kirsten or Seth. He was just venting his frustrations, and was surprised when Seth had an answer,
"He's Mighty Mouse, Dad. Seriously, he knew last night that Marissa would be drinking, so he called her, despite what you said, hoping he could talk to her, and she would stop drinking and leave the party. And when that didn't happen, and when Julie threatened to call the police this morning, he went over there to talk to her again. Again to try to save her. It's what he does. He went to Chino to save Teresa and her baby from Eddie. Saved me from Luke and his water polo playing friends, and then saved Luke from the Del Vista soccer team. And he's spent the past year saving Marissa from what ever Marissa needed to be saved from - Oliver, Tijuana, Julie Cooper. You name it, and he was willing to save her from it. At any cost."
"Well, it's time for him to stop being Mighty Mouse and go back to being a kid." Kirsten said.
"Go back to being a kid?" Seth repeated, "Mom, when was Ryan ever a kid? He's never had the chance. What do you expect from him?"
"We've given him that chance, and we expect him to listen to us. When we tell either of you to do something, or not do something, we expect you to listen. You both know how to act, and what we expect from you." Kirsten told him.
"And this is based on what?" Seth asked, "The one year he spent with us, or the other sixteen that he spent fending for himself? Does he even know why you guys are so mad? I mean, really know? Come on, you guys are upset at him because he doesn't seem to take his injuries very seriously, and I doubt he does. We all know this isn't the first time he's been beaten up. Fine, no one likes to talk about it, but to Ryan, this is probably no big deal."
"Seth," Sandy finally said, after being unusually quiet, "This really doesn't involve you. It's nice to see you so concerned about Ryan and all, but this is between me, your mother and Ryan."
"Well, the two of you are sitting down here playing judge, jury and executioner, and you've got Ryan locked up in his holding cell awaiting your verdict. I figured maybe the guy deserved to have a mouth piece working on his behalf." Seth told them. He was only half joking.
"Judge, jury, executioner, holding cell, mouth piece?" Sandy said, "Seth, I think you've been watching way too many Perry Mason reruns."
"I'm just saying..." Seth started to say.
"We know what you're trying to say. And thank you for your input. But your father is right. This is between us and Ryan." Kirsten told him. "Go, do something. Call Summer, clean the pool, do something."
"Call Summer or clean the pool? Hum?" Seth pretended to think, "Well, if those are my only two options, I guess I'll have to pick calling Summer."
"Just remember," Seth added as he started to leave, "Ryan is the only brother you two appear to be giving me. So go easy on the guy. We do graduate after this year. Don't ground him until then."
"You do know he's right." Sandy said after Seth was gone.
"What, that we can't ground him until he graduates? Probably not. But I'd like to. I'd like to finally be able to keep him safe, uninjured, and loved. I don't think that's too much to ask for, do you?" Kirsten said. She was trying to make it sound like a joke, but she was very serious in how she felt.
"I don't think it's too much to ask for, but it might be for Ryan." Sandy sadly admitted, "He may never accept being just a kid, no matter what we say or do."
"So what?" Kirsten asked, "We just allow him to continue to disregard his own health and well being and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants? No, I can't agree with that. He's a good kid, and he deserves the chance to be a kid, with parents who love him. And because we love him, we need to be willing to ground the life out of him whenever he deserves it."
"No, you're right. I agree. I'm just saying he may not be capable of understanding what it means to just be a kid. Come on, I think we should go talk to him." Sandy said. "And before you go all Mama Mighty Mouse on him, give him a chance to talk, to explain what happened."
"Ok, enough with the Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "I need to get his antibiotic, because I can guarantee that if I ask him, he'll admit to not taking it today."
As she and Sandy headed upstairs, Kirsten asked, "So, what are you going to say?"
Sandy just shrugged, "I don't really know. I figured I'd just ask him what he was thinking and then depending on what he says, go from there."
"Go from there?" Kirsten asked, "So we don't know how long he should be grounded for?"
"Nope, let's see what he has to say," Sandy replied, "how much arguing we end up doing."
"Ryan argue?" Kirsten said, "Sandy, he's not going to argue. He never argues with us. We probably could ground him until graduation, and he won't argue with us."
"But he doesn't always listen to us, either." Sandy told her. "So, let's just hear what he has to say, and see if we can clip Mighty Mouse's wings."
"I said enough Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "Besides Mighty Mouse didn't have wings, he had a cape."
"I guess our super hero could have used a cape today," Sandy said as he walked into Ryan's room and found him asleep on the bed. "Since walking was obviously too much for him."
"Well, I guess we'll have to talk to him later, then." Kirsten said as reached for the throw blanket at the foot of Ryan's bed.
Before Kirsten could cover Ryan, though, he began to stir at the sound of their voices. ''Hey, no, I'm awake." he said as he sat up, "I was just, yeah. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Sandy told him, "If you're not going to listen to us, at least you're willing to listen to your own body when it tells you to rest."
Ryan could only sigh. He was beginning to wish he'd pretended to still be asleep after they came in. As Sandy leaned up against the desk and folded his arms in front of him, Kirsten went into the bathroom and returned with a cup of water.
"Do I need to ask?" she said as she handed him both the cup and the antibiotic.
"No." was all Ryan said.
"No, I don't need to ask, or no, you didn't take it this morning." Kirsten asked.
"Both." Ryan answered, "Sorry."
Kirsten put her hand to Ryan's forehead before asking him, "How do you feel?"
And without thinking, Ryan just said, "I'm fine."
"Well, you don't feel fine. You feel warm." Kirsten told him, "Are you having any trouble breathing, or in a lot of pain?"
Ryan shook his head and told her, "No, neither. Really, I'm fine. I just got a little tired so I laid down. That's all. Really."
Kirsten looked over at Sandy before telling Ryan, "Well, I still think I should get the thermometer. The doctor wants us to make sure you don't start running a fever."
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm fi..." Ryan started to say, but Kirsten just walked out of the room.
Ryan looked over at Sandy. Tag, you're it, Ryan thought.
"So, last night," Sandy started, "I believe I said not to call Marissa, or am I just imaging that conversation?"
"No, you said not to call Marissa." Ryan answered.
"But..." Sandy said.
"But I called Marissa anyway. I wanted to talk to her." Ryan told him. He still knew it wasn't much of an answer, but it really was the only answer he had.
"And then this morning. You left this house, and walked over to Holly's house. You've been told by the doctors and by us not to over exert yourself. To take it easy and take care of yourself. But you didn't, did you?" Sandy told him.
"No." Ryan again answered, "I wanted to talk to Marissa. She wasn't answering her cell phone."
"And all you can say is that you wanted to talk to Marissa. That's it?" Sandy asked.
"I'm sorry." Ryan added.
"Ryan," Sandy started, "We know you're worried about Marissa. We are, too. We've tried to help her over the summer, but she doesn't want help. Not from us. And I'm not going to go into this again with you. You can't help her if you're not first willing to help yourself. I don't know what more I can say, what it will take for you to listen. We are trying to do what's best for you. We want you to stop fighting us every step of the way."
"Sandy, look, I'm sorry. That's about all I can say." Ryan said, "I know what you said. I heard you, but I wanted to talk to Marissa. To see for myself if I could help her, but you guys wouldn't let me. And I know what you said about it not being my fault. But it is. At least partially. None of this would have happened if I hadn't left with Teresa."
"Last summer, when you first got here," Sandy said, "What did Seth tell you he was going to do this summer? And what was Marissa doing when you met her?"
When Ryan didn't immediately answer but only look down at his hands, Sandy asked, "Well?"
Ryan looked away, and answered, "Seth was going to sail to Tahiti. In forty two days."
"And Marissa?" Sandy asked.
"She was drinking, partying with Holly. Dating Luke." Ryan answered.
"So the only thing that's different is that Marissa is no longer dating Luke. And at least for the past year, everybody's lives had improved, because you were here. So this summer you weren't here, and everything happened that we knew was going to happen. How is that your fault?" Sandy told him.
"If I hadn't left..." Ryan again started to say.
"But you left. Okay? You left. You were gone for two months, and now you're back. I think we've covered that already. You left, Seth left and Marissa started to drink again. I'd say all three of you have made some pretty bad decisions this summer. So stop trying to blame yourself for other people's mistakes. Ryan, you've only been seventeen for what, two weeks? Stop trying to take the weight of the world on your shoulders and enjoy being seventeen." Sandy lectured.
Ryan could only make a face, then look down at his hands and then look away. It's not that he didn't understand what Sandy was trying to say. He just didn't know if he knew how. And despite what Sandy said or what Kirsten said, Ryan still felt that if he hadn't left, none of this would have happened.
"Look," Sandy told him, "We could keep going around and around with this. But the bottom line is we make the rules and you and Seth follow them. And if you don't then there are consequences to pay. Maybe that's not how it works in Chino, but that's how it works in Newport. And you live in Newport now. With us. Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it." Ryan mumbled. "Sorry."
"Don't always be sorry." Sandy told him, "We actually do know what's best for you both, despite what you might think. Understand?" When Ryan only nodded in response, Sandy continued,
"Fine then. For the remainder of the summer, I want to know where you are and where you're going at all times. I don't want you just taking off on your own without first telling Kirsten and me where you're going. And if we say, no, we mean no. And that means you don't go. Is that understood?"
Ryan again just nodded. He wasn't about to argue with Sandy. Given how mad Sandy was when he picked Ryan up, Ryan figured he'd be grounded for a whole lot longer then that.
Sandy continued to explain, "This gives you an entire month before school starts to practice how to answer to parents. Hopefully by the end of that time, you'll remember to ask us before doing something, and unless you want to spend more time at home, you'll listen to us when we say no."
"So I can't go anywhere for the rest of the summer?" Ryan asked.
"No, see, you're not listening." Sandy told him, "You can go out, but we have to know where and with whom, at all times."
"Ok." was all Ryan could think to say. He wasn't sure what else they were going to have to talk about. He figured something must have happened between the time Sandy sent him to his room and when he came in to talk, because Sandy no longer seemed mad, just annoyed. So Ryan was actually considering himself lucky that Sandy didn't yell, the lecturing was kept to a minimum, and his additional punishment consisted only of having to tell them where he was going when he went out. Unfortunately, his luck diminished slightly when Kirsten returned to his room, carrying the thermometer.
"Here, put this under your tongue." she told him.
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm..." Ryan started to tell her.
"Ryan, so help me, if you say you're fine, this will not go in your mouth." Kirsten threatened as she held the thermometer up in front of him. Sandy couldn't help but snicker at the sheer look of panic on Ryan's face and the complete look of determination on Kirsten's.
"99.9, so you are running a fever." Kirsten told him before turning to Sandy and asking, "Should we go to the doctor's or over to the emergency room?"
Ryan started to open his mouth and tell her that he didn't need to go to the doctor's and definitely not to the hospital, that he was fine, but decided against it. She was in her parenting mode, plus she was mad at him. That was a dangerous combination, and Ryan knew it wouldn't be a good idea to argue with her.
"I think you should probably call the doctor first. 99.9 isn't much of a fever." Sandy told her, much to Ryan's relief, "Could just be from walking down the beach in the heat. Ryan may just need to rest in bed for the remainder of the day."
Ryan knew Sandy's last line may have been said to Kirsten, but it was directed at him.
Ryan was relieved when Kirsten came back a few minutes later and told him to change into his sweats, he didn't need to go to the doctor's unless his fever went higher. But he was going to stay in bed. And this time, Ryan decided not to argue, not to whine and definitely not to ignore their orders. This time he figured the best thing he could do was listen to them and stay in bed. Try for at least the remainder of the day not to make them mad again.