Luke, Summer and Seth watched Ryan disappear into the night.
"Wow, he's really messed up."
"Understatement of the year, Luke."
Summer looked at Luke and Seth. "We'd better go find him – make sure he doesn't wander into the water."
"I've got some flashlights in my truck. I'll go get them." Luke ran up to the parking lot, leaving Seth and Summer to wait for him.
"He said he was fine with everything." Seth looked at Summer for confirmation. "After he talked to his mom? He said he felt better than he had since she first left him."
"Obviously, he was lying."
Once Luke got back, they walked down the beach, swinging their beams of light back and forth, until Summer spotted a huddled form near the dunes. He looked like he was passed out, but then Luke thought he was convulsing and got freaked out. Summer was surprised at the stupidity of boys and explained that it looked like he was crying.
Seth was adamant. "Ryan wouldn't cry."
"Ryan is beyond drunk, he's upset enough that he pushed you. Ryan may not cry, but drunk Ryan obviously does."
Since Seth and Luke didn't know what to do next, Summer went over to try to talk to Ryan. She figured the best thing would be to get Ryan home. The problem with that plan was that Ryan was too drunk and upset to listen to her. So she put her arm around him and tried to get him to calm down first.
She couldn't understand all that he was saying. He wasn't really talking in sentences. She couldn't believe someone could cry for as long as he was crying. She thought it was probably two years of anger and frustration at his mother finally manifesting itself. Because this was about his mother. That much she could make out. How she had abandoned him first and he only did what he did because she had made her choice first and it wasn't his fault she was selfish, and needy, and alcoholic – so why did he feel guilty for doing what she did first?
At some point, she noticed she wasn't as cold anymore and she realized Seth and Luke must have gone back to the bonfire to get blankets. Ryan was finally calming down and falling asleep. She looked over to where Seth and Luke had fallen asleep on blankets beside them. She woke them up and told them they should get Ryan back to the house now.
Seth expressed his worries about bringing an obviously passed out Ryan back to the house, but Summer insisted that she wasn't going to sleep on the beach waiting for Ryan to wake up.
Luke shook Ryan's shoulder. "Come on, man. Wake up. We've got to get you to the car."
Ryan pushed Luke's hand away and mumbled something that sounded like "Leave me alone."
Luke gestured to Seth. "Help me get him up." The two boys grabbed Ryan on either side and slipped their heads under his arms. Summer picked up the blankets and led the way down the beach.
Seth was struggling in the sand. "Move your feet, Ryan. You know I'm not into the heavy lifting. You are so going to owe me tomorrow."
"I owe you for everything else. What's one more thing?"
Summer jumped in. "Ryan, you don't owe Cohen for anything." She turned to Seth. "If you get him started again, so help me, I will hurt you bad. Get him to the car and quit your complaining."
Luke was trying to walk too fast, Ryan wasn't trying to walk at all, and Seth was doing all he could to keep up. He tripped and fell, leaving Luke trying to keep Ryan upright. "Damn, Cohen, can you help at all?"
Summer ran back to help Luke hold Ryan up as Seth lay in the sand. "Seth, get up."
"Why does he get to be carried? I'm tired too."
Summer was getting tired of dealing with drunks. "You can either get up and help us get him home, or I'll leave your sorry ass here on the beach and you can walk home."
"I'm getting up; I'm getting up." He got up and put Ryan's arm back over his shoulders. "OK, Ryan. You've got to work with me, or we'll both be sleeping on the beach tonight. And while I realize you might think that's not a bad idea right now, I guarantee you won't be thinking that in the morning. So pick up your feet and help me get you to the car."
To Summer's relief, Ryan started moving his legs and supporting himself, Seth started carrying more weight, and Luke slowed down so Seth could keep up. They finally made to the car and got Ryan into the backseat.
When they got to the Cohen house, Seth and Luke half dragged him around back towards the pool house. They were just about to the door and Seth was breathing a sigh of relief that they made it without his parents seeing Ryan, when the light from their bedroom flooded out onto the pool.
"Hey! You boys came home early." Seth turned to see his robe-clad dad walking towards him.
"Yeah. Ryan was feeling pretty tired, so we decided to call it a night."
"I see. Why don't you put him into bed then, and then come out and tell me about your night?"
"I'm kinda tired too. I was just gonna go straight to bed…"
Sandy raised his eyebrows at Seth. "It's 3 am now. What's half an hour going to hurt?"
TBC