Thanks for the reviews. I love to read everyone's thoughts and predictions. ;-)
This is rated R.
Ryan woke slowly. His head pounded like a motherfucker. He tried to lift it, receiving sharp jabs of pain that ran through his neck when he finally succeeded. The clock on the night stand was old and broken, it blinked 12 o'clock with its ominous neon green light. His mouth felt like cotton, dry and hot. His throat constricted. All he could taste was the copper flavour of his own blood. Ryan brought his hand to his face, touched his bloody lips. He checked the time on his cheap plastic watch. 3:23 am. Fuck.
He'd spent almost the whole night here. Theresa was going to be beside herself with worry. He knew he should get up and get dressed, make sure she was okay, but he couldn't make his limbs work. Everything felt heavy and sore. He buried his face back into the pillows. They smelled like sweat and sex. It made him gag. Rolling over onto his back, he winced as the pain threaded through his body.
Everything from the night before came back to him with degrading clarity. He shuttered. It was always the quiet, even-mannered ones he had to worry about. He should have been more careful.
There was money on the table. At least that was something to be thankful for.
With effort, he pulled himself out of bed and stood on shaking legs. He gathered his clothes form the floor and brought them with him into the cramped bathroom. It was disgusting. The hotel hadn't cleaned up the place in a while it seemed. Not that he was really surprised, most people that checked in weren't looking to spend the night.
The shower was small and dirty, infested with cockroaches and spider webs. Ryan turned on the water. The pressure was horrible, it came out in a thin drizzle. He stepped under it regardless, letting the water rinse away the previous night.
There was no towel to dry himself so Ryan slipped back into his clothes and swiped the money from the table, stuffing it into his pocket.
The night was just beginning to fade away when he exited the motel and started down the street toward home. The streets were empty and quiet. It was weird.
He wouldn't tell Theresa what had happened; she didn't need to know. It would only worry her. The memories were for himself alone. He kept the good ones and kept the bad ones, otherwise everything would be a lie.
Theresa was still sleeping when he slipped through the door. He smiled. She looked so young. It was sometimes hard to remember that they were both still teenagers. Usually he could forget that, but not right now; right now he felt like a child and he just wanted to be wrapped up in Theresa and have her tell him everything was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.
Carefully, he maneuvered onto the couch, sinking in behind Theresa.
Theresa moved to accompany him. "What time is it?" Her voice was low and groggy.
Ryan could tell she was only half awake and vaguely aware of what was going on. "Late. Go back to sleep," he whispered.
"You okay?" she asked sleepily.
Ryan nodded. "I'm okay."
And if he said it enough...eventually, he might even believe it himself.
Seth had to be bribed to go to school when they first moved to Newport. The kids were so different. All they cared about was money and designer labels. Seth knew he was never going to be in the 'in crowd.' He learned that on the third day of second grade when Jenna Swane handed out invitations to her birthday and he was the only student in the class that didn't get one. They made fun of his hair, his shoes, the way he talked...everything. He was miserable. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't want to live in Newport. So his mother came up with a plan.
Kirsten would tack up stars on a chart next to his name on the days he went to school without a fuss and after a week, if all five stars were under his name, he'd get a special treat. It had made things bearable...for a little while.
Ryan was like that. Like a prize. A bribe he cajoled out of himself. His grades were going back up. His shoes were still wet and none of the girls in his grade ever talked to him, but he was making it through because he had Ryan to look forward to. A light at the end of a very dark and lonely tunnel.
And he knew it was wrong. So very wrong. But he couldn't stop going to see him; couldn't stop wanting him no matter how much it hurt.
He knew his mother and father weren't worrying about him anymore. Not like they used to. He didn't hear the late night whispers of 'what are we going to do?' and 'it's just not normal,' 'how can he not have any friends? I know the kids here are...different, but...' Now they smiled at him over breakfast and exchanged secret glances with each other. His mother didn't look tired all the time anymore. They joked about where he went. Seth knew they thought he had some secret girlfriend stashed away somewhere and he let them believe it. It was easier than telling the truth.
Seth came down the stairs, immediately heading for the kitchen to fix a snack. He was surprised to find his mother sitting on a stool around the island, reading the paper.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be at work?" he asked, pulling out the milk from the refrigerator. "Does grandpa know you're slacking on your responsibilities?"
"Your grandfather's the one that sent me home. He told me I was smiling too much."
"He's a real fun guy that grandpa." Seth opened up the cupboards and pulled out a box of Fruit Loops.
"He has his moments," she said, laughing. "What about you? Are you going out again tonight?"
"Uh, yeah. I was thinking about it. I can still take the car, right?" Dumping some cereal into a bowl, Seth concentrated on pouring milk over it so he wouldn't have to look his mother in the eye. That had become harder and harder to do since he'd started his trysts to Chino.
"Sure, honey. You know, I think it's nice that you've made a friend." She smiled at him, so warm and full of love that Seth nearly spit out his cereal. She'd hate him if she ever found out the truth. Suddenly he didn't feel so hungry.
"Well, I think I'm going to take a nice long bath and try to relax." Kirsten stood, touching his shoulder as she walked past. "Have a good time, sweetie."
"Yeah. Thanks, Mom." Seth shook his head, dumping the rest of his snack into the trash. God, he felt like a complete ass. A sexually-charged, law-breaking, lying ass.
Seth had been beat up at school before, but never like this. A few bruises, cuts or scraps, but not this stark brutality he saw on Ryan.
"What happened to your face?" he asked before he could control his tongue.
"I walked into a door," Ryan dead-panned, rolling his eyes.
"Seriously, who did that to you? Was it..." Seth stopped before he said something stupid and made Ryan mad enough to walk away.
Ryan's eyes were hooded, distant. "Look, some guys like it a little...rough. They pay extra, so..."
Seth felt his anger rise. "They hit you? What kind of-"
"You want me to get in the fucking car or not?" Ryan snapped, his eyes on the road.
Seth recognized the shame and it took all the air out of his lungs. When he finally remembered to breathe, he nearly choked over his words. "Yeah....yeah, no...what I mean...is yes, uh, you know...if you wanted to..." Seth shook his head, closed his eyes in embarrassment. "Get in, please."