"Ryan?"

He opened his eyes and recognized Hailey by his side. "Hey, Hailey."

"I know you were sleeping but…" Hailey was shaky and pale.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Ryan asked, sitting up slowly. His stitched side was so painful that he lost his breath by the slight movement. He had fallen asleep before taking any of the pain medication prescribed at the hospital.

"No…" She collapsed into tears. She sat down beside him on the couch and he put his good arm around her shoulders and let her cry into his chest.

"Shh…it's okay…" He murmured, letting her sob as he slowly rubbed her back. He glanced up as Sandy walked into the room.

"I'm so sorry…this is just so hard…"Hailey cried.

"Shh…it's going to get easier, okay?" Ryan said quietly. "You'll get through this, Hailey." He winced in pain as she put her arms around him, still crying.

Sandy was watching them silently. He disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water and a couple of prescription bottles. Ryan acknowledged his presence with a tired nod but continued to comfort Hailey.

Finally after several minutes, Hailey seemed to be more composed. She straightened up and noticed Sandy sitting silently in the chair beside the couch. "I'm sorry, Sandy…"

"It's okay. You're having a rough time. But Ryan needs his rest, too," Sandy said gently. He held out the water bottle and the pills.

Ryan accepted them silently. "Thanks."

"Oh god, did I hurt you?" Hailey gasped.

"No, Hailey. Why don't you try and get some sleep? Isn't your appointment with Jake at nine?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah…thanks, Ryan…" Hailey left the den.

"Do you want to go to the poolhouse, Ryan?"

"Yeah," Ryan replied with a sigh. He gingerly got to his feet and didn't protest when Sandy offered his arm for support. He steadied himself using Sandy's arm.

"You okay?" Sandy asked.

"Sore," Ryan replied.

"Still mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you, Sandy. I'm just tired," Ryan sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry for being so harsh today. I was really worried about you. I'm still really worried about you," Sandy said quietly.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you," Ryan sighed. "But she's in over her head and she doesn't even know who she's dealing with, you know?"

"You can't save everyone, Ryan."

Ryan lowered his gaze. "Well, Sandy, I think I know that pretty well already. I mean, my mom's still a junkie, wherever she is and my brother's in jail. I know that I can't save everyone." He looked at Sandy again. "But I shouldn't give up, right? I mean, don't you think Hailey's worth a shot?"

"Of course, Ryan, but you're sixteen. You can't go head to head with drug dealers."

"I couldn't go to the police, not about something like this. There's not many ways to handle situations like this and I did the best I could…" Ryan said quietly as they walked into the poolhouse.

Sandy sighed. Ryan sat down on the poolhouse and took a deep breath.

"What time is it?" Ryan asked.

"Late. Or early."

"I think I'm going to get cleaned up and lie down," Ryan said.

"I'm going to stay right here in case you need something," Sandy said, sitting down.

"I'm okay."

"Ryan, listen. I know you don't understand and I don't know how to make you understand," Sandy said seriously. "You are not my son but you're a part of my family. I don't want you to get hurt. You should never be hurt. You should never be in danger. I want to protect you…"

"Sandy…"

"Just hear me out, Ryan. I want you to be safe. That's the whole reason I brought you here in the first place was to make a real home for you…"

"And this should never happen in your home," Ryan said quietly. "I put Seth in danger…"

"What about you? You were in danger too…"

"But Hailey's family, too, right?"

Sandy nodded. "Yes, Ryan. But if she's in trouble, she should have come to an adult for help. You are not an adult. You're mature and smart as hell, but you're only sixteen years old. If you're in trouble, I hope that you'd come to me…"

"I've never really had someone that I could go to Sandy. And this…it was like something that should never touch you guys…Tony, he should never be involved with anything that has to do with your family…" Ryan murmured quietly.

"Tony?" Sandy asked quietly. Ryan lowered his gaze. "Who's Tony?"

"He's…he's Hailey's dealer."

"You know him? How do you know him, Ryan?" Sandy asked gently.

Ryan sighed. "It doesn't change anything…"

"I know. But I'd like to know anyway," Sandy replied.

"I've met him before. He had some dealings with Trey a couple of years back," Ryan said slowly. "He almost killed Trey."

"Does he know you? Do you think he'll come after me?"

Ryan shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think he recognized me."

"Would he recognize you? I mean…how were you involved with him before?"

"I came home and found Tony beating the hell out of Trey. So I got him out of there," Ryan said quietly.

"You got him out of there…how?" Sandy questioned.

"God, Sandy, he was almost dead…I'd never seen him that messed up…I freaked out. I just snapped and…and I got Trey out of there…I beat the fuck out of Tony…" Ryan whispered. "It was a long time ago."

"He didn't come after you then?" Sandy asked gently.

"No. Trey was in the hospital a few weeks and as soon as he got out, he got arrested and sent up to juvie. We never really kept a house for long and we moved while he was in the hospital so I don't think Tony could find us," Ryan said slowly.

"Ryan. From what I know, this man knows where you live, where Hailey lives…"

"He's paid off, he's not stupid. He won't come after me."

Sandy was watching Ryan carefully. "Are you sure?"

Ryan didn't respond.

"Ryan. What are you planning on doing?" Sandy asked.

"I'm done. I'm not planning on doing anything, Sandy," Ryan replied. He looked at Sandy with pale blue eyes. "I…I'm scared of him, Sandy. He's one of the few people that I'm really fucking scared of."

Sandy realized that Ryan was really frightened.

"And I really hope that he didn't recognize me," Ryan whispered.

"You should try and get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning," Sandy said quietly.

Ryan stood up unsteadily and went to get a shower. He knew that asking Sandy to leave would be a lost cause.