Oh my gosh guys, thank you so much for the reviews. They hit two hundred! So, only two more chapters, one after this one! Timing might be off on this chap, but oh well. Get reviewing, I know they are people who don't review and just read...
"What do you mean he's gone?" Sandy didn't understand Kirsten.
"He left. Took his stuff and bolted," Kirsten elaborated.
"Pulled a Seth in other words," Sandy added.
"I can hear you," Seth was a bit offended, but more so he was pissed off at himself. He made Ryan leave. Great. Just great.
"We know. Did he leave anything?" Sandy told Seth and then asked Kirsten.
"Just this," Kirsten showed him the note that barely constituted as a note.
"What about his cell phone?" Sandy didn't want to do this again.
"In the pool house," Why couldn't they have sons that didn't run away?
"So where do you think he ran to?" Sandy asked Kirsten.
"No clue," Kirsten looked at the pool house and Seth sat down at the table.
"How about you Seth?" Sandy looked to his other son.
"He doesn't wanna come back. I yelled at him, and punched him and told Marissa. She headed here and most likely yelled at him. My guess is he's hitching a ride from someone," Seth stared at the ground.
"Should we go look?" Kirsten looked at Sandy with worry.
"Maybe we should wait it out a bit. He might come back," Sandy didn't want to go looking for anyone again.
"You know he won't," Kirsten was about to cry again.
"He might. He expects us to go after him, and plus, his fix is here," Seth offered.
"So you wanna wait too?" Kirsten was getting mad.
"Just a bit Kirsten. Not long," Sandy told her.
"Fine," Kirsten walked out of the kitchen, leaving Seth and Sandy to silence.
"He could be hiding in the pool house for all we know," Seth stated.
"I think your mother looked," Sandy now walked out of the kitchen. Seth felt uncomfortable and stupid. No one had to tell him this was his fault.
Why did he listen in? Why couldn't he have closed the door and walked away like a normal person? Because he was curious. Goddamn curiosity. It always screwed him over. It always worked out for Curious George, never for Seth.
Seth headed up to his room. He didn't know what to do. He should be looking for his brother, not handing around the house.
Kirsten paced around her and Sandy's room. She couldn't take it. She had to look for Ryan. She felt responsible. Kirsten didn't stop him or watch him when she should've.
"Kirsten, calm down," Sandy walked in to see his wife a mess.
"I can't! I have to look for him," Kirsten was falling apart.
"Just give him a bit of space," Sandy remembered when Seth ran off. The first time. Kirsten acted the same way. She was a complete wreck for the first two weeks. Sandy was afraid of what would've happened if they hadn't found Seth.
"No. That gives him more of a lead and then, we won't find him. I am not letting him go," Kirsten was mad at Sandy for making her stay. She was leaving.
Kirsten walked out on her husband.
"Seth, get down here! Let's go!" Kirsten screamed up to her son, who was surprised. She grabbed the Range Rover keys as Seth got down the stairs. He was confused.
"I thought we were..." Seth started.
"We're going Seth," Kirsten told him as Sandy walked into the kitchen. She gave her husband one look before forcing Seth to the car.
Seth could tell his mom was pissed at Sandy, but he didn't think anything about it. They always worked out their problems.
"Where do you think he went Seth?" Kirsten asked as they scanned the street.
"I don't know," Seth looked down the road and saw no Ryan.
"Well, keep looking," Kirsten stopped at a red light.
Ryan was walking down the road closest to the beach, heading to the bus station. He'd get the bus that would take him to Chino.
He knew the Cohens would comb the streets first, so he was okay for now. This street was the most popular. He was hidden amongst the people.
Ryan also deduced that there would be only one car. Kirsten and Sandy didn't trust Seth with the car since the "Imax" incident and Ryan also knew he was really hurting Kirsten. She wouldn't drive.
But she did.
Kirsten would never forgive herself if she didn't look for Ryan. She couldn't understand why Sandy didn't want to look for their son right away. Was it something stupid or something bigger? Kirsten didn't understand her husband sometimes.
Seth knew Ryan had already thought everything through. That was Ryan though. He would develop the plan after instituting it. And that had been like thirty minutes ago, or something. He had good plans, he knew the way people acted. Ryan got good at guessing what people would do by watching them. That's why Ryan didn't walk, he was analyzing everyone. At least that's what Seth thought.
"Are you even looking Seth?" Kirsten barked at her son, who wasn't looking. He knew they wouldn't find Ryan.
"Yeah, I am," Seth wanted to find Ryan, but Seth had said some harsh words to his brother. Even if they did find Ryan, would he want to come back?
"Well, you're not doing a good job at it," Kirsten really wanted to find Ryan. They had to.
Sandy sat in the kitchen, trying to pinpoint exactly where he screwed up. Had to be when he mentioned not leaving.
He wanted to find Ryan, but he was just so sick of going after Ryan and Seth. Why the hell did they have to keep running? Whatever happened to storming to your room and slamming the door?
Sandy supposed Ryan couldn't be blamed for running away a lot. This was actually his first, second if you counted the model home. Seth was the problem. It was getting redundant. Every so often when Seth was little, he'd run off, but usually to outside or he'd hide so they wouldn't find him. Not like this. There was a run off every two weeks.
But in Seth's defense, most of the run offs were just to get space. To clear his head. Seth, if not coaxed, would end up coming back on his own. It was different with Ryan.
Sandy guessed he would stay here to make sure someone got Ryan if he did come back. But he doubted he would.
Kirsten checked her watch. Eleven o'clock. They had been looking for Ryan for a half an hour.
"Call Marissa. See if she's in school. If now, recruit her to look," Kirsten threw the cell phone at Seth. He was a little scared being with his mom alone in the car.
Seth opened the phone and dialed Marissa's cell phone. He hoped he still knew the number. He usually just got it from his phone book in his cell. And he hadn't called Marissa in a very long time.
Marissa laid on her bed, feeling miserable. She had stopped crying for the most part, but droplets did fall once in a while.
Her phone rang and she stared it down. Marissa didn't know if she wanted to answer it. Was she in the mood to talk to anyone? It kept ringing, and Marissa checked the number. It looked familiar, but it didn't register in her head.
"Hello?" Marissa gave in and hoped it wasn't a stalker.
"Hey Marissa," Seth was glad Marissa picked up. He didn't want to know what his mother would do if she didn't.
"Oh hi, Seth," Marissa didn't understand why Seth was calling.
"Listen, I have a question first. Did you flip out on Ryan?" Kirsten looked over at Seth with annoyance.
"Yeah..." Marissa felt worse.
"Thought so. So, um, he left. Gone. Disappeared. Missing. AWOL..." Seth rambled.
"Seth..." Kirsten got pissed.
"Right. Sorry. So, yeah, Ryan left. Do you maybe know where he is?" Seth doubted she did.
"No," Marissa answered.
"Okay. Are you in school?" Seth kept asking.
"No," Marissa was confused.
"Cool. Can you maybe look for him? If you want to," Seth informed her.
"No, I will. I'll talk to you later Seth," Marissa felt responsible.
"All right, see ya," Seth hung up the phone. Now they had another person looking for Ryan.
Mostly it was a lost cause.
"Did you get her to look?" Kirsten remembered the day she learned Seth was gone. She was forcing his out of his room, or at least thought so.
Her world had fallen apart when she saw that empty room.
The two weeks he was gone was mostly a blur now, Kirsten didn't care to remember that time. As long as she had Seth now, that was all that mattered.
Kirsten never took his presence for granted. She had almost lost him and had to suffer watching him lie on that hospital bed for two months.
"Yeah, she's gonna," Seth answered. He knew they wouldn't find Ryan. He didn't want to be found. Of course, Seth hadn't wanted to be found, and he had.
Marissa didn't go right out to look for Ryan. Her thoughts were clouding everything. Ryan ran away. He left. Couldn't she get that through her head?
It was because of her that he left. Her and Seth. She was sick to her stomach thinking about the things she said to him.
"Do us all a favor Ryan. Go back to Chino and leave us alone," The words wouldn't leave her mind. They just kept playing and playing.
Marissa pulled a pillow over her face, and screamed. Why was everything so difficult? No, not everything was hard. Why was everything with Ryan so difficult?
She should leave. But where would she look for him? Marissa had no guesses. Maybe a year ago, she'd know where he would go, but a lot had changed since then.
Of course Chino was his home, and you couldn't ever run away from that forever. He might head there.
Marissa consented. If she didn't look for Ryan, she'd regret it for the rest of her life. So she grabbed her purse and cell phone and left her Parisian paradise.
"I'm going out Dad," Marissa announced to her father, who walked in.
"Well, hold on. Where are you going?" Jimmy didn't know what on between Hailey and Marissa, but he was still worried.
"Just...out. A few places, don't freak out. I'll be back," Marissa assured him.
"Actually, if it'll be late, you should go to you mom's. Me and Hailey have some things planned," Jimmy told her.
"Right. It's Valentine's Day, how could I forget the loneliest day of the year," The last Valentine's Day wasn't that great.
"You'll find someone," Jimmy wished he could help his daughter more.
"Sure, whatever. I'll leave you alone to whatever you were doing. Bye," Marissa headed out the door.
"Bye kiddo," Jimmy watched his first born leave the house.
Marissa got in her car and headed out. She wasn't even looking for Ryan, she was just driving. No clue as to where, just some place.
It was twelve o'clock when Marissa realized she was way off. She had been driving down the highway for a while. Stupid idiot. Where was Ryan?
He was almost done with his walk to the bus station. He was shaking, he had no fix. When he'd get there, he'd look for cigarettes.
Kirsten had a mental breakdown while driving, so now they were off track. No one looking for Ryan at the moment.
Twenty minutes later, Ryan made it to the bus station. He was getting out of here. Laying his things down, he searched for cigarettes. The shaking was pretty bad. Bingo. Ryan produced a pack and a lighter. It was the only thing that was going good for him today.
He took a drag off the cigarette and watched as happy families came and went. Life was simple for them. If only he had that.
Then the guilt hit Ryan. He had had that. He suddenly felt horrible for leaving Kirsten and Sandy. But he caused this all, he had to pay. He refused to let his guilt get to him too much.
Ryan took another drag. The shaking was stopping. When had he become such an addict? Three weeks ago, everything was fine, Ryan was leading an okay life. And now, he was a full blown addict, skipping town. At least he wasn't stealing anything.
One last drag and Ryan threw the cigarette down and stomped it out. Time to get moving.
"I need a ticket for Chino," Ryan didn't even know if Chino had a bus station.
"Another runaway," The attendant mumbled under their breath.
"I'm not running away," Ryan heard her.
"Sure, that's why you've got your life packed in that bag next to your feet and you're with no one else," The woman commented.
"I'm not running away," Ryan reiterated.
"Sure, whatever. Don't know what you're running from, but just face it, you're running," Ryan paid for his ticket and walked away. He checked the time and went back over.
"I need an earlier time. This is too late," Ryan would have to wait another two and a half hours.
"Nope,"The person refused.
"I need an earlier time," Ryan was getting pissed.
"That's the only bus heading to Chino. Let them find you," The woman told him.
"I am not running away," Ryan kept telling the lady, but he was.
"Sure," She didn't believe Ryan at all.
"I'll go somewhere else. Another bus station," Ryan figured that'd be a good idea. He could get farther away.
"No you won't. Because you probably spent all your money on that ticket and I'm not refunding it," She stared at Ryan, who gave in, not wanting to fight.
"Damn," Ryan walked away. He was too weak to fight anymore. He located a place he could hide. Ryan looked up at the huge clock. 1:10.
"Where could he be Seth? Where?" Kirsten was frantic again.
"I don't know," They were parked in a parking lot. Kirsten was pacing as Seth sat on the ground, leaning on the tire.
"Well damn it, Seth, you should! Where is he? He couldn't have gotten far," Kirsten couldn't take this pressure, she was snapping at her son, who wasn't used to it.
"Yes he could Mom, it's one ten. He's probably in LA by now. I hear they have some good..." Seth tried to joke to cover up the feelings he had.
"Seth, not the time!" Kirsten screamed.
"Sorry. But Mom, we can't find Ryan. Let's go back. Marissa can look," Seth didn't want to stay in the car with his mom anymore.
"No. We have to keep looking. He has to be out there. We gotta find him, Seth," Kirsten said.
"Fine. Let's go," Seth reluctantly got up and went in the car. Kirsten also stepped in, and started the car. Seth kept his mouth shut.
Marissa made her way back to Newport and began to check the street. Ryan was probably gone. Why would he still be here? He was probably miles and miles away. All because of her.
She thought back to the first time she saw him. He seemed like such a normal kid, but he was so much more than that. If someone was to tell her back then at that moment, that this guy would sweep her off her feet and change her entire existence, she'd laugh. She was with Luke and life was perfect. Marissa didn't need to worry about anything then.
And that life had crumbled away so fast.
She had been so innocent, yet not at the same time. She had been stuck in that bubble, and was Daddy's Little Princess, and could smile about the way her life was headed.
But Marissa had wanted more back then, so much more. Sh wanted to see life outside her bubble. She definitely saw it. Ryan brought along such a whirlwind of things. Better and worse.
Sometimes Marissa wished she hadn't borrowed that cigarette off him. Would they have ever really met each other? So many things would be different. The model home. Would that have happened? And everything with Luke, and the stuff with Seth, and what would life be like? Marissa could only guess she'd still be with Luke, Seth wouldn't exist to anyone but his family, and Summer would be happy and bitchy and have dated Ryan. Maybe Marissa would've grouped Seth and Anna, and Summer and Ryan at the Cotillion. Maybe there'd be three happy couples instead of barely one.
Marissa focused back to the road and looking for her ex-boyfriend. This was hopeless. It was almost two o'clock already.
Then the thought hit her. Why the hell was she searching for Ryan here where he mostly likely wasn't? She had a guess at where he was and she raced there, hoping she wasn't too late.
Ryan was hiding at the bus station. He didn't want anyone to find him. The ticket lady would walk by every so often and tell him, "You can't hide forever. They'll find you." Ryan begged this wasn't true.
He wanted to go back to the Cohens, but he didn't want to see their faces. He felt like such a failure. Ryan Atwood, drug addict and failure. Yeah, that had a nice ring to it.
Goddamn drugs. All they brought was pain. A lot of pain. Withdraw was worse. Ryan was already feeling the effects. He had had a few cigarettes to stop the craving. The effect of them was wearing down.
Marissa parked her car. She hoped she would find him. It had turned to two forty five suddenly. She rushed in. Minutes were suddenly seconds. They were flying by like nobody's business.
How big was this bus station? She swore it had a million seating areas. She kept looking. Marissa knew Ryan was here. Somewhere.
Ryan had hidden really well. He didn't even know where he was. Marissa had been looking for him for a half an hour.
"Excuse me," Marissa had to ask someone. She knew he was here, just no clue where. "Um, I'm looking for someone."
"Who?" The woman began to help.
"He's a little taller than me, seventeen, blond hair..." Marissa tried to describe Ryan.
'Running away?" The ticket lady knew someone would come for Ryan.
"Yeah," Marissa hoped the lady knew Ryan.
"He's back that way," The lady pointed in a direction. At that moment, 3:15, Ryan got up. His bus would be leaving soon. He was getting out of here. He'd stay with Pete, and then get his own place, even farther away from Newport.
"Thank you," Marissa raced down the hall to where Ryan should be. She would stop him.
He wasn't there.
Marissa's spirits fell as she saw the empty room. No. Where could he be? The woman told her he'd be here. Why would she lie? Marissa wasn't going to lose Ryan.
She turned away from the room and continued to walk down the hall. She wasn't the only one there.
Ryan was at the end of the hall, barely visible. But Marissa could only guess it was him. She quickened her pace as he opened the door.
No one was watching the bus. He'd sit on the bus until they were off. He didn't care. At least the bus seats were more comfortable than the one he was in.
This was it. All these moments with Ryan were consummating here. Now or never. If she turned away, she'd lose him forever.
"Wait."
So? What do you think? Only one more chapter to go! And a sequel is indefinitely in the works. Got the first like three or four chapters planned out. How does that sound? Please review, all of you, we're nearing the end of The World Forgotten!
