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Ryan and Gaby were still nibbling on the cold Chinese food when Seth returned with his parents a few hours later. Kirsten and Sandy sat down at the table while Seth went to wake Summer, Luke and Kaitlyn.
"So. What's on the schedule for today?" Ryan asked.
"Jimmy's expecting us. I might as well let you know that Julie's there, too, in all her glory," Sandy muttered.
"Who's Julie?" Gaby asked.
"Marissa's mother, the bitch queen of Newport," Kirsten said.
Ryan and Sandy glanced at her in surprise.
"Well, she is," Kirsten shrugged.
"How's your armor?" Sandy asked Ryan pointedly.
"She's on the warpath?" Ryan replied.
"Oh yeah, Mom's definitely out for you," Kaitlyn said, walking in with Seth and Summer. "But don't worry, Dad and I have your back."
"I don't want you going against your mother's wishes, Kaity. I don't want you to fight with her about me," Ryan said.
"Don't worry. It's not like she listens to me anyway," Kaitlyn replied. "But she doesn't get a say in my life anymore."
"What are you talking about?" Kirsten asked.
"I'm moving in with Dad. We've been plotting it for months now but we didn't get final approval until about a week ago. Before all this happened. So she's not even an issue anymore. And I get to come home," Kaitlyn smiled.
"That's great, Jimmy must be thrilled!" Sandy grinned.
"Yeah. Pretty much," Kaitlyn replied. "But Mom is pretty pissed off. It's like I'm a prize and she's pissed off that she doesn't get to show me off..."
"Kaity…" Ryan started.
"You know how mom is. I'm over it," She smiled, perching on Ryan's lap.
"You all ready?" He asked.
"Sure. I'm sure Dad's pulling his hair out by now," She replied.
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Jimmy's house was packed with Newport well-wishers and distant relatives. Summer had tried to stick with Ryan but several of the girls that went to Harbor with her had pulled her off Ryan's arm. He was wading through the mass of people with Gaby holding tight to his belt loops.
"You need to get some air," She whispered in his ear when they finally reached the kitchen. Ryan realized that she was right because he hadn't taken a breath since he walked into the house.
Gaby didn't wait for him to respond, she met Kirsten's gaze across the room and nodded to the door. She pulled Ryan out onto the patio.
"Okay, kid. Let's take a breather," She said as she straightened his dress shirt and ran her hands down his shoulder to try and get him to relax.
"Breathe…yeah…that's a new concept…" Ryan whispered.
"You knew this was going to be hard, kid…are you sure you want to do this?" Gaby asked.
"I have to…" He replied. Kirsten appeared behind him and put an arm around him.
"You okay?"
"There are a lot of people here…" Ryan whispered.
"Can't face the people that know what you did to my daughter?" Julie Cooper's voice startled them all. Ryan tensed up immediately.
"Mrs. Cooper," Ryan nodded as he turned to face her.
"I'd like a moment alone with Ryan."
"Hell no," Gaby snapped immediately. Kirsten put her hand on the model's arm to calm her.
"Julie, what would you possibly have to say to Ryan that we can't hear?" Kirsten asked sweetly.
"It's okay," Ryan said. Kirsten and Gaby glanced at each other. "Really. I'll be right in."
Ryan appreciated Gaby's courtesy squeeze as she followed Kirsten into the house.
"I heard the guilt finally got to you."
"Guilt?" Ryan questioned. Julie stood beside Ryan and kept her voice quiet so only he could hear her.
"You killed my daughter. You broke her down, drove her to drink and then tortured her for months while she couldn't even talk until she was finally too weak to fight you. Jimmy said you tried to kill yourself. You couldn't live with what you did to Marissa…" Julie hissed.
Ryan didn't react as Julie leaned in closer.
"You'll pay for how you treated my daughter. You might not pay while you're on this earth but you'll pay…" Julie continued.
"When's the last time you even saw Marissa?" Ryan whispered.
Julie slapped him across the face and Ryan was clearly startled. "Don't you dare talk to me about my daughter! You didn't know her, you only wanted to ruin her life…"
Ryan caught her by the wrist before she could hit him again. He released her and stepped back. She immediately took a step toward him.
"You shouldn't be here…you should try harder next time to kill yourself…" Julie snapped. "This is all your fault…"
"Julie, if you say one more word, I'll have you physically removed from my property." Jimmy's voice startled Julie into silence. He approached and put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "It's good to see you. Why don't you step inside and I'll be right there?"
Before Ryan could get to the door, Gaby was beside him.
"What did that bitch say to you?" She whispered as she pulled him inside.
"Gaby…"
"Ryan, are you okay?" Kirsten asked.
Before he could answer, Seth spun him around. "Did she get you?"
"Can I get a breath, please?" Ryan said and took a few steps back from his smothering friends. He turned his back on them and leaned heavily against the counter.
"Give him some space, guys…" Seth said quietly. He went to Ryan's side. "You okay?"
"I need to get out of here…" Ryan said after a short pause.
"Do you want to talk to Jimmy first?" Seth asked, keeping his voice low so only Ryan could here him. He nodded. "How about we go upstairs to the game room where it's not so crowded, okay?"
"Thanks…"
"Come on, man," Seth said urging Ryan toward the stairs. He followed him up the stairs and into Jimmy's rec room.
Ryan was shaking by the time he sat down. He ignored Seth and lowered his head to his hands.
"Dude…do you need anything?"
"I need a stiff drink and a cigarette…" He muttered.
"Well, you can't drink and Jimmy doesn't let you smoke in here, so is there anything else?" Seth offered.
Ryan took a deep breath and tried to get his emotions in check. It'd been a long time since he put any weight in what Julie fucking Cooper said to him but he had been unprepared for her assault. She was right…
"She's wrong, you know. Julie Cooper wouldn't know love if it bit her on the ass," Seth said suddenly. Ryan glanced up at him. "She abandoned Marissa as soon as she went into the hospital. She might have said that it was too hard for her to see her, but it's because Marissa couldn't be her little accessory anymore. She flaunted Marissa like little miss Newport and as soon as the girl had a few flaws, she dumped her on Jimmy. You did more for Marissa than anyone could have ever asked you to. You cared about her, you took care of her, you stood by her when no one else did. None of this was your fault."
Ryan was listening but his friend's words did nothing for the growing guilt in his stomach. He'd failed again.
"Hey, guys. What's going on up here?" Summer stepped into the room, timidly.
"Nothing. Ryan ran into Julie…" Seth said quietly.
Summer's eyes narrowed immediately. She turned and left in a rush.
"That can't be good," Seth realized.
"You better go after her. I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Seth hesitated.
"I just need a minute."
Seth accepted it and stood up. "I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes, okay?"
"Thanks, Seth." Ryan was surprised by his friend's support. He knew that Seth regretted what had happened between them and that he didn't care about Marissa the way that Ryan did, but it meant a lot that he would stand by him. He needed his family. And Seth was his brother.
Ryan returned his face to his hands and didn't look up as the door closed.
"Hey, kid." Jimmy sat down across from him. "This is pretty awful."
"Yeah. I'm sorry that I wasn't here…"
"I'm not sorry that you weren't here. There was nothing you could have done. There was nothing left to be done," Jimmy said quietly. "I wouldn't have been able to make it through this without you, kid. I lost Marissa…I lost her a long time ago, Ryan and if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have had these last few months with her."
"Jimmy…"
"You're like a son to me, Ryan. I feel like I lost Marissa…but it was all worth it because I met you. I don't want this to destroy you," Jimmy said urgently, leaning forward. "I don't want this to destroy you, Ryan. This isn't your fault, you've done so much, you've come so far and to have Marissa drag you down like…like this…"
"Jimmy…" Ryan started again.
"Kaitlyn's coming to live with me. I plan on moving on with my life and not making the same mistakes with her that I made with Marissa…"
"That's great, Jimmy," Ryan said quietly.
"I'm glad you're here."
"I wish I could stay," Ryan said after a pause. "But this…I don't think I can be here…not with all these people."
"I'm sorry about Julie…" Jimmy started, standing up. "She's a…"
"She's getting a beating, you better get down here, Jimmy," Sandy's voice startled them both. Ryan followed Jimmy down the stairs where Kirsten and Hailey were trying to pull Summer and Gaby off a struggling Julie Cooper.
"You bitch!" Gaby hissed as Ryan picked her up by the waist and pulled her outside. Jimmy pulled a struggling Summer out to join them.
"Ryan, I'm so sorry, but that woman…" Gaby started.
"She's not a woman," Summer snapped, still angry.
"Let's get the hell out of here before someone gets hurt…" Ryan said.
Summer held up a fistful of red hair. "Heh, too late for that," She grinned.