Disclaimer: Does anyone ever read this? I don't own it, I never will own it, and when you hear that I do own it, the people who told you are fat ugly liars!!!! But I do own Shayla. And this plot, so haha!
A/N- Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My computer wouldn't get on the internet. I have like eleven chapters written though. I'll try to update quickly.
Kirsten stared at Shayla with her mouth open. "Are you related to Ryan?"
"Yeah, I'm his sister." Shayla said looking at her fingernails as she was continuously stared at.
At that moment, Ryan walked into the room, holding his book bag. When he saw Shayla he dropped the bag and quickly ran over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her in the air. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?"
She giggled and cried a little into his shoulder. "I missed you. I went home and Mom wasn't there, so Theresa told me where you were. What are you doing here?"
Ryan kissed her forehead in a protective brotherly way and then released her, leaning on a counter behind him. "Well, Trey and I got caught stealing a car. Sandy, that man over there, was my lawyer, I got off, and Trey went to prison. Mom kicked me out, so this was the only place I could go, since everyone else was either full or out of town or in jail. And this just became home."
Shayla looked around the house that being was remodeled. "Very Oliver Twist."
He laughed and then hugged her tightly. "Oh, let me introduce you to everyone. This is Kirsten, Sandy, and Seth. This is Shayla, my younger sister."
Everyone greeted her politely. Seth scratched his chin, as he quickly looked her up and down. "So, how long do you plan on staying?"
"Oh, I'm not staying. I just wanted to drop by and see Ryan. But it looks like you have to go to school, so I better leave. It was great seeing you again." Shayla said nervously. She hated that she was in the spotlight. She also hated the way Seth was checking her out. Shayla was done with men. They were all dogs and jackasses, in her opinion.
"No, you can stay." Kirsten said standing up and walking over to the girl. "I would love to hear some embarrassing stories about Ryan while he's not around to protect himself."
"If it's not an inconvenience. I would love to stay. I just don't have any clothes." Shayla said smiling.
"Well, that is what a credit card is for. You can stay in the guest room on the third floor. Now you guys need to go or you'll be late." Kirsten said smiling widely at the girl.
"Oh right next to Seth, I hope you don't mind the loud screams in the middle of the night. Seth has nightmares about evil bunnies." Ryan said, jokingly punching Seth's arm.
"Hey Ryan, Ow!" Seth said rubbing his arm. He felt better when Shayla laughed at him, even though he had to suffer the bruising of his pride.
"I'll take 'em to school. Bye dear." Sandy said standing and kissing his wife. "Very nice to meet you Shayla."
"Nice to meet you too. And thank you for letting me stay." Shayla said smiling shyly.
Sandy walked out of the room and Seth followed hi, but Ryan stayed behind.
"Bye Little Atwood." He said, smiling sweetly at the young girl. He then hugged her tightly and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Bye." Sh said, smiling back at him. Ryan then left the room, leaving Kirsten and Shayla alone.
"So, I'm curious. Why weren't you in Chino?" Kirsten said leaning on the same counter top that Ryan had been leaning on earlier.
"Well, I hated my mom, and I hated her newest man even more. So I got emancipated, and moved to New York. I was going to college, trying to become a teacher, and then I started to miss Ryan a great deal. So I came back, just to visit him, but he was here. So I came here. I honestly expected him to have been in jail or married to Theresa or something." Shayla said shyly. She crossed her arms and would never keep eye contact with Kirsten; instead she would stare at the floor, the pool outside, or enormous meal on the oven.
"Wow, New York. You know that's where Sandy used to live, and then he got emancipated and moved here. So I guess you have a lot in common, only backwards." Kirsten said quietly.
Shayla nodded quickly, her eyes started to water and she placed her gently on her face. "I'm sorry."
"Sandy's not a bad guy, so it's okay if you have a lot in common with him. Or is that not what you're crying about?" Kirsten said, slightly touching her shoulder.
"It's something else. I'm sorry. I just hate talking about New York. I'm never going back, I have to go somewhere else." Shayla said lifting her head from her hand, revealing a red face with damp cheeks.
"Do you mind me asking you why?" Kirsten said, grabbing a tissue for the girl. In a very motherly gesture, she wrapped her arm around her shoulder and led her to the kitchen table.
Shayla laid her head on Kirsten's shoulder and wept harder. She slowly calmed, taking deep breathes, until she could finally speak. "I was walking home and I stopped at this coffee shop. There was always this guy there that flirted with me, and I flirted back with I him. It was innocent and I didn't think anything of it. He sat with me that day, and we talked. He told me about himself, but I don't think he ever said his name. He offered to walk me home, and since it was dark I let him. For protection." She said scoffing. "When I turned my back to step into my apartment, he grabbed me. He pushed me inside and into a closet." Shayla started to shake uncontrollably. Kirsten held her tightly, trying to keep her still, but the tighter her grip, the more she shook. "He raped me." Was all she could say. Her eyes were dark, and she seemed to not be there mentally.
Kirsten pulled the girl to her feat, and walked her to the pool house. Se laid her on the bed and set a big blanket across her. Kirsten sat next to her, silently stroking her hair and whispering comforting phrases like, "It's okay now" and "Don't worry, you're safe here."
After an hour of sitting there, the only thing that Shayla said was. "Don't tell Ryan."