"What are you going to do about this?" Hailey asked quietly.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No. I seem to remember vaguely that you kept him away from me…"

"How much do you owe him?"

"I don't owe him anything. He works for my…my dealer," She said slowly.

"How much do you owe him, Hailey?"

"Two grand," She replied.

"How the hell do you do two grand worth of heroin when you've only been in town, like, a month?" Ryan snorted. "Don't answer that." He paused, holding a tissue against his bleeding nose.

"How did you know I was on something, Ryan?" Hailey asked.

"What did Sandy and Kirsten tell you about me?" Ryan asked, getting up and going to his dresser to get fresh clothes.

"That you were Sandy's client and your mom abandoned you so they took you in. Why?" Hailey questioned.

"My mom's a junkie," Ryan said with his back to her. She watched him as he pulled his wet shirt off and pulled a clean wife-beater on instead.

"Oh," Hailey said quietly.

"So let's just say I have first hand experience at taking care of situations like this. Can you tell me what's going on? I mean, I'm not your sister or your dad, I'm just a kid…but I'll probably understand a lot more than they would. Maybe I can help," Ryan said.

"You've already helped enough, Ryan," She said slowly.

"Listen." Ryan sat down beside her on the couch. "I have experience dealing with shit like this. If you go to Kirsten, you're going to have to tell her all about this drug thing and the two grand and you know that shit will hit the fan. Tell me what's going on, promise me that you'll quit shooting up and I promise that I'll help you."

"How could you possibly help me?" Hailey asked.

"I've had a lot of experience, Hailey, dealing with fucked up shit like this. You can look down on me all you want, but you're out of your fucking league. That man outside, he was going to kill you. If you won't go to your dad for money, you're going to get killed. Do you realize that?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "Okay, Ryan. But you're a kid, what are we going to tell Sandy and Kirsten?"

"Your boyfriend roughed you up and I intervened for you. That'll explain our faces. Everything else, well, we'll work it out." Ryan paused. "I won't help you if you won't quit."

"I've been trying…" Hailey whispered.

"Have you tried NA? Rehab? Anything?" Ryan asked. She shook her head.

"Okay. I helped my brother and my mom get clean. Of course, they never stayed clean but I went through all the routine. But you've got to mean it, Hailey."

"Look at my face, kid. I have to do something. I can't keep living this way…" She whispered.

"You're going to have to tell me everything, Hailey. Seriously. Who you owe, how much, what you owe them for…I need to know everything…" Ryan said slowly.

"Why are you willing to help me?" She asked, gaining new respect for him.

"Because Kirsten and Sandy have done more for me than I could ever repay. And you're Kirsten's sister. Do you really want to put her through this if you don't have to?"

Hailey sighed. "You're right. Thank you."

"I'll make up a couple of icepacks for us while you tell me the details of this deal."

"What do you think you'll be able to do, Ryan? You going to beat up my dealer for me?" Hailey grinned.

"Hell no. But once I know the details, I'm sure we can work something out. We'll figure something out. How deep in are you? Are you using daily? Several times a day? Talk to me," Ryan said as he went to the freezer.

*****

The next morning, Ryan explained to Seth the lie that he had set up with Hailey about the violent boyfriend. Seth agreed to go along with the story. Ryan had explained to Hailey that he wanted to tell Seth about the situation but that the final decision was hers. She told him that she would talk to Seth because she wanted him to hear it from her.

The night before, he had discussed with Hailey and managed to sort out all the financial basics. Her job for the day was to set up an account to pay for the rehab that only Ryan had access to. That way, she wouldn't be using the money to buy drugs.

Ryan accepted the lecture from the Cohens about fighting and told Marissa that he was grounded for a couple of weeks. He was slightly relieved when Marissa got upset and hung up on him. One less worry for him for the day. Hailey was waiting for him in the pool house after school.

"Hey," Ryan nodded.

"Hey," Hailey smiled. She was shaking.

"How're you feeling?" Ryan asked.

"I'm shaking like a leaf…I need a fix, Ryan…" Hailey admitted.

Ryan nodded and sat down beside her. "Okay. I made some calls at lunch and we have an appointment. Seth's going to cover for me since I'm grounded. We're going to go to an outpatient place where we can get some advice for you, all right? They'll be a counselor…" Ryan paused as Hailey scoffed. "I know it sucks, but you're going to have to talk to somebody besides me…"

"I know," Hailey sighed.

"So you ready?" Ryan asked. She nodded slowly. She accepted his offered hand and they left the pool house together.

Ryan knew one of the counselors at the clinic due to his attempts to help his mother and brother clean in the past. The counselor was now working at an elite rehab clinic right outside of Newport and Ryan had gotten extremely lucky to find him. He had explained his new situation and his 'foster aunt's' plight. He had enrolled Hailey under an assumed name. He pulled up to the front of the clinic and parked.

"You ready?" Ryan asked.

"No. I don't want to do this," Hailey said suddenly.

"Yes, you do." Ryan looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. "You have to do this."

She shuddered. "Okay."

"I'll take you inside, all right? Jake's a cool guy, you'll like him. And when you're done at least we'll have some things to help, okay?"

"Help. I can only think of one thing that's going to help me," Hailey snorted.

"Look. I'm the bad guy here, okay? You can blame everything on me," Ryan said, getting out and opening her door. He pulled her toward the clinic. "I'm making you do this. You are going to do this because of your sister and your father and because I'm going to tell on you if you don't."

Hailey seemed to realize that Ryan was willing to let her blame him if that's what it would take for her to get well. Her view of Ryan was changing by the moment. She had been overwhelmed by his personal attention to her plight.

Ryan introduced her to Jake, the counselor, and then walked outside with Hailey's cell phone. He had thought that taking Hailey to counseling would be easy but it was bringing back memories of his mother and his brother's long battles with addiction. He sat in the sun and tried in vain to work on his homework. Finally, after an hour, he bummed a cigarette from someone else waiting and used Hailey's cell phone and dialed the number that she had given him the night before.

"Hailey Nichols, what a fucking surprise," A man answered.

"I've got another fucking surprise for you," Ryan said to the voice on the phone.

"Who the fuck is this?"

"I'm taking care of Hailey now. Anything you have to say to her you say to me, now," Ryan replied.

"She's got a new boyfriend?"

"Worse."

"You're going to pay me the two and half grand she owes me?"

Ryan inhaled deeply off the cigarette. "Two grand."

"Interest," The man replied.

"Fuck your interest," Ryan snapped.

"Two thousand and five hundred dollars and Hailey's slate is clean."

"When and where?" Ryan asked after a pause.

"You have the money?"

"I'll have the money when you tell me when and where to meet you," Ryan replied. "Public."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"It doesn't matter who the fuck I am. You want your money, right?" Ryan snapped.

"Meet me at the plaza tomorrow. Hailey can point me out. Twenty five hundred."

"Time?"

"Noon."

Ryan hung up the phone. He turned and saw Jake standing with Hailey behind him on the steps.

"Who was that?" Hailey asked immediately.

"Seth. How's everything?" Ryan asked.

"Your aunt has a long road ahead of her," Jake replied.

"He wants me to go to meetings," Hailey said quietly, holding out a pamphlet that listed the local NA meetings with trembling hands.

"Sounds reasonable. Are you going to go?" Ryan asked.

She hesitated and glanced between the two men. "Yeah. I think I should."

"Thanks, Jake. For taking care of her," Ryan said, shaking the man's hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Hailey," Jake said. He gave Ryan a reassuring smile.

"Ryan? I didn't know you smoked," Hailey remarked as Jake left. She plucked the cigarette from his hand and took the final drag off it before slinging it into the street.

"I don't," Ryan said innocently. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah. But I don't think I can go back to Kirsten's yet…"

Ryan was watching her carefully. He put an arm around her and guided her to the car. "You want to try and take in a meeting before we head back?"

"Yeah. Jake says it'll help," Hailey replied quietly. Ryan opened the door for her and she sat down. She looked up at him before he closed the door. "Will you come with me?"

"Sure."