I'm so glad people are enjoying this story. Each review is read and appreciated so thank you to everyone who takes the time to do so. I think things are drawing to a close and I should be done in one or two more chapters. Phew. This is the longest fic I've written!
Chapter Thirteen
Seth stood and watched as the students streamed out of the doors. He scanned as many heads as he could, trying to pick out any with short blond unkempt hair. He'd been through this process three times in the last three days. Each day had ended in disappointment. This was the fourth and last high school on Chino. If he wasn't here, Seth had run out of ideas. Just as he was about to give up hope, when the tide of teenagers had reduced to just a small stream, he spotted him, emerging from the school, head low, his familiar gray hoody hanging untidily from his shoulders. Seth leapt up and stepped into his path.
Ryan halted and jerked up his head. The glimmer of pleasure that flashed across his eyes was quickly extinguished and replaced by a look of resignation.
"What are you doing here man?" Ryan eyed Seth coldly.
"Is that the greeting I get when I've spent the last four days searching the dangerous, gun infested streets of Chino?"
Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Just how many guns have you seen Seth?"
"None actually but there could be one trained on us right now and we just don't know it…."
Ryan changed the subject swiftly.
"How're your parents?"
Seth stuck his hands in his pocket and shrugged.
"They're getting there…slowly. They sent you their love," he added tentatively.
"So how'd you know I was in Chino?"
"You're not as stealth as you like to think Ryan. Marissa spotted the postmark on that letter you sent her to forward to my mom. She got it by the way. Totally made her day."
Ryan smiled despite himself.
"So, what do you want?"
"I want to know what's been going on, your version, the non sanitized version that is. I've already had Grandpa's "there was nothing I could do about it, it was out of my hands" speech."
Ryan shrugged.
"Well, maybe there wasn't anything he could do…"
"Oh come on Ryan. We're talking about the most powerful man in Newport here. You're not telling me he couldn't have asked a few favors, pulled a few strings for you?"
Ryan sighed and kicked at a loose stone that lay on the ground.
"Well, what does it matter now right?"
"Of course it matters Ryan! My parents are going to freak when they find out. My dad is going to be so pissed with Grandpa that he just let you go. And I can't even begin to think what this will do to my mom," he added. Ryan turned on him urgently.
"Which is why you can't tell them Seth. Not while they're sick."
Seth eyed him speculatively.
"They're getting better…"
"Promise me you won't tell them.."
"They're gonna find out soon enough dude…" Seth gesticulated.
Ryan pursed his lips and pulled out a packet of smokes from his back pocket.
Seth looked on, his eyes full of disappointment.
"You're smoking now?"
Ryan inhaled deeply and then blew out slowly, watching as the wisps of smoke curled and twisted in the air.
"So?"
Seth scowled.
"Dude, come on. If I tell my parents they may be able to do something.."
"There's nothing they can do. My mom wants me back. She's holding it together. My social worker says in a couple of weeks they'll grant her back full custody," he said flatly.
Seth glared at his friend.
"Is this what you want?"
Ryan avoided Seth's gaze.
"She's doing OK you know, she's not drinking, she's holding down a job…" He took another drag on his cigarette.
"You didn't answer my question…"
Ryan's face shot up.
"Leave it Seth…" Ryan threw the smoke on the ground and scuffed it out with his boot. He began to walk away, his hands thrust deep into his pockets, tired of this conversation going nowhere.
Seth scuttled after him, placing his hand on Ryan's shoulder and pulling him round roughly. Ryan glared at him.
"Just tell me one thing…"
"What?" Ryan folded his arms, aggravated.
"What happened between you and my grandpa that night in the kitchen?"
Ryan shook Seth's arm off irritably and strode on, yelling behind him.
"Nothing happened."
Seth stood forlornly and watched as Ryan continued making his way along the street. He made one last desperate attempt.
"You're lying. You hate it when people lie to you…" He stared uncertainly as Ryan stopped stock-still. If he was ever going to be on the receiving end of the Atwood fist, then this may well be the moment.
Ryan swallowed deeply. He had to admit it. That was a good call on Seth's part.
He turned heavily and began to retrace his steps.
Seth stood his ground, his eyes flashing darkly. Anger? Fear? Ryan wasn't sure.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied."
"So?" Seth wasn't about to let it go.
Ryan looked helplessly at him.
"I just…this is your grandfather Seth, and your mom's dad. I know too well what it's like to feel let down by your family. You and your mom? You shouldn't have to feel like that, not because of me…"
Seth's eyes softened.
"Look Ryan. Nothing you could tell me about my grandfather would surprise me. My mom's a different story, I get that, but dude, I haven't forgotten the whole secret love child thing, and although she's never said so, I'm pretty sure Marissa didn't leave her dad and go to live with the Gruesome Twosome out of choice. I'm not completely stupid you know."
Ryan gave him an apologetic look. He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoody.
"That night in the kitchen? Caleb told me that your mom had told him about your parents' plan to adopt me."
"And?"
"And he said there was no way he was going to see that happen…" Ryan finished reluctantly. He bit his lip and regarded Seth anxiously.
The cogs in Seth's mind were circling rapidly.
"So do you think he's somehow…"
Ryan shrugged. "I don't know Seth. All I know is that my mom changed her mind about signing those papers and I don't know why. And all of a sudden she's got a job that pays twice what she's ever brought home before and a fancy house to boot."
"And you're wondering how she's managed it right?"
Ryan sighed again. "Seth, even when she's sober she's still a train wreck. I just can't see her getting her shit together enough to pull it off you know?"
"So there must be someone helping her…"
Ryan raised his eyebrows but stayed silent.
"And I think we can guess who…" Seth finished.
He heaved himself up onto a nearby wall and Ryan joined him, swinging his bag off his shoulder and allowing it to drop to the ground. Ryan watched Seth curiously as the boy sat in uncharacteristic silence, apparently deep in thought. Ryan was unsure what to do or say next. Suddenly snapping out of his reverie, Seth swung down from the wall and looked up at his friend.
"So Ryan, are you going to invite me home? I could say Hi to your mom, we could play a little Play Station?"
Ryan hesitated. He still couldn't quite get used to a sober Dawn. Each night, when he let himself into the house after school, he'd steel himself, fully expecting to see an empty bottle of vodka and his mom passed out on the couch. So far, his fears had been unjustified but he wasn't about to risk Seth seeing his mother drunk again.
Ryan scratched the back of his head. "You know what buddy? I have a lot of homework…" He felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look of hurt flit across the other boy's face. He relented a little.
"Look, how about we catch up at the weekend? You could pick me up, we could go to the Imax?"
Seth looked a little better.
"Well, I never did get to see that shark movie…" he mused.
Ryan grinned.
"Deal! Pick me up here at say, eleven?"
Seth nodded. Clearly Ryan didn't want him to go to his mom's, but he knew better than to push it. He'd just have to be satisfied that they had an arrangement to meet up again for the moment.
"'kay man," Seth agreed, slapping Ryan's proffered hand.
"And you won't say anything to your parents right?"
"It's cool," Seth replied, deliberately non-committal.
Ryan eyed him sharply.
"Seth?"
Seth shifted uncomfortably.
"I promise I won't say anything until they can handle it OK?"
Ryan scowled. He had a feeling that was about as much as he was going to get from Seth at this point. It would have to do.
The two boys nodded to each other and turned their separate ways.
Seth returned to his mother's Range Rover, pulled on his seatbelt and turned up Death Cab as loud as the stereo would allow. Driving out of Chino he deliberated on what to do next. By the time he reached the freeway, he'd made his decision.
Ryan let himself into the house and flung his backpack down onto the couch. He ventured through to the kitchen wondering if his mother was home from work yet. Finding it empty, he helped himself to the carton of milk left on the side, sniffing it tentatively. His mother may still be sober but her housekeeping skills were still not quite up to Rosa's standards and she had a habit of leaving the milk out for hours so that it soured in the afternoon heat. Satisfied that on this occasion it was drinkable, he poured himself a large glass and moved back into the living room. He switched on the TV screen and grabbed a Play Station controller. He spent a few minutes annialating ninjas but soon grew tired of it and threw the controller down. Somehow Play Stationing was so much more fun when he was kicking Seth's ass. Wandering through the empty house aimlessly, he wondered what Seth was doing. He hated to admit it, but the silence in the house was deafening. Seth's constant babble had become part of his life and without it, he felt kind of lost.
Sighing to himself, he returned to the kitchen, sat down at the table and drew out his schoolbooks. He had a huge pile of homework. Apparently Dr Kim was in cahoots with the principal and he'd received a long lecture earlier in the week about not wasting his chances just because he was no longer in private school. Then the principal had thrown in some extra assignments for good measure.
Ryan was an hour into his homework when he heard the door slam and his mom appear in the kitchen weighed down with groceries. He put down his pencil and leapt up to relieve her of the bags.
"Having a party mom?" he joked dryly.
She gave him a flustered smile and swept her untidy hair back from her forehead.
"No sweetie, but I just bought a few of your favorite things, you know, cheer you up..."
Ryan looked at her suspiciously.
"Cheer me up?"
Dawn shrugged nonchalantly as she began to store away items in the refrigerator.
"You just seem, I don't know, distant, unhappy…"
Ryan sucked on his lip. "Who's fault is that?" he thought to himself.
Dawn risked a quick glance at her son. She wasn't about to tell him about the meeting today with his school principal and his social worker. How they'd spelled it out to her how concerned they were about his welfare. How he barely spoke in class, how he'd made no effort to make friends or get involved, how he appeared withdrawn and depressed. His principal had gone further and made it clear that Ryan's work was not up to par, that from his discussion with Ryan's previous principal it was clear that he was doing just enough to get by and nothing more. Marlene had ended the meeting with a warning to Dawn. If Ryan continued to show signs of unhappiness then she would have serious concerns about allowing him to live with her permanently.
Her words had made Dawn shiver. Although she wasn't about to admit it to anyone else, especially not Marlene, she and Ryan were struggling at home. He didn't speak more than the odd word to her and she had no idea what to say to him. She knew he was missing the Cohens. He didn't say so but it was obvious in the way he behaved. He hung around the house aimlessly, staring at the TV but not really watching, eating his meals in virtual silence, shutting himself in his room for hours on end doing God knew what. When she'd suggested inviting some of his friends from the Harbor School over he'd shrugged his shoulders and asked what would be the point? She hated to see what she was doing to her own son. Two years ago she'd made the hardest decision of her life and given him up, knowing that he'd be so much better off without her as a millstone round his neck. And he had been better off, and now she'd dragged him back and screwed his life up again. Her heart ached and she wanted to scream at him that it wasn't her fault and that if she wasn't so shit scared about what those thugs would do to her, to Trey, to him, she'd sign those goddamn papers and take him back to Newport there and then.
But instead she stayed quiet and continued unpacking the groceries. Ryan went back to his schoolwork.
"I thought you and I could do something this Saturday?" she said brightly. Ryan looked up from the Spanish textbook. "Actually I kind of have plans.." he murmured.
Dawn shook her head. "Oh right, no, don't worry. We can go out some other time."
"Are you sure?" Ryan asked dubiously.
Dawn smiled. "Of course, go, out with your friends…"
Ryan nodded and returned to his studying. Dawn made herself a cup of coffee and retreated into the living room, sitting down heavily on the couch, wondering if she was ever going to be able to regain the bond of trust with her son again.
Summer and Marissa were both in Marissa's room painting their toenails when Seth arrived back from Chino. Summer leapt up as he poked his head round the door.
"Cohen! You've been gone ages. Did you find him?" Seth kissed her lightly on the forehead and fell exhausted onto Marissa's bed, leaning heavily against a fancy cushion and tossing Share Bear aside.
Marissa scowled, irritated and picked it up protectively, hugging it to her chest.
"Come on Seth, spill. I can tell from that stupid gloating look that you found him. How is he?"
"Is he OK? How come he hasn't answered our calls?"
Marissa sat on one corner of the bed, Summer on the other, both looking ready to slap him if he didn't answer their questions in five seconds flat.
"He's fine. Well, at least he's OK, not sure that he's fine actually," Seth mumbled.
"Is he with his mom like he said?"
"Yeah, I think he's been there about a week. Wouldn't take me to his house though."
"So what happens now?" Marissa asked.
Seth sat up and looked seriously at both girls.
"He wanted me to promise that I wouldn't tell my parents what's happened to him."
"Stupid Chino and his stupid promises…" spat Summer.
"But you didn't promise did you?" Marissa asked hopefully.
Seth sighed. "I said I wouldn't tell them till they could handle it. And then as soon as I was out of Chino, I called my dad.."
The girls' eyes widened.
"You called your dad? But I thought you told Ryan…."
"I know what I told him. But I couldn't do nothing," Seth responded defensively. "I don't know about all this legal stuff but I have a feeling that once Ryan's mom gets permanent custody it'll be impossible for him to come back to Newport. And if anyone will know what to do to stop it, then it's my dad. I just hope Ryan understands."
Summer shimmied over to her boyfriend and put her arm around him protectively.
"Ryan knows you'd do anything for him Cohen. He'll understand."
Marissa caught Seth's eye. She gave him a pitying smile. They both knew what an impossible situation Seth was in. Even though it seemed clear cut to Summer, Marissa knew that Ryan's trust in Seth was on the line.
Sandy lay on the bed glancing at the clock every few minutes and running ideas over in his mind in between. Only thirty minutes until Kirsten was scheduled for her twice-daily physio session. That would give him a clear hour to make some calls and attempt to sort out this whole mess at home without her knowing. He and Seth had agreed that she was in no fit state to be told what was going on. And anyway, it was pointless to have a fourth member of the Cohen household worrying when she was incapable of doing anything about it. Mentally he made a list of what he needed to do while trying to keep his fury with Caleb in check. The last thing he needed was for the nurses to spot a sudden rise in blood pressure and force him to rest.
"Are you OK Sandy? You seem distracted…" Sandy turned to look at his wife, still swathed in plaster. Fortunately she had been asleep when Seth had called and after a warning from his son, he had kept his voice low and calm throughout the whole conversation.
"I'm fine Kirsten. My mind is getting active again I guess. I have lots of ideas buzzing through my head. I'd like to get them down on paper, before I forget them!"
Kirsten appeared satisfied and turned her attention back to the CNN news on the cable TV Hailey had arranged for their room. Kirsten had never watched so much television in her life. And none of it was much good. She was actually looking forward to the physio session. It was always painful and she was always exhausted afterwards, but it brought a welcome change from the four walls she was surrounded by for the other twenty-two hours of the day.
A nurse popped his head around the door.
"Ready for your physiotherapy Mrs. Cohen?"
Kirsten smiled with delight. She loved Gino and was glad he was on duty. Not only did he speak almost perfect English, albeit with a thick Italian accent, but in his spare moments he would sit with her and recount slowly and carefully age old family recipes for pasta and gnocchi in the hope that Kirsten would be able to try them out at home in Newport. Sandy had tried in vain to explain to Gino that even with a recipe book and detailed verbal instructions his wife would still be unable to cook much that was actually edible. Gino had refused to accept this and even Kirsten had begun to believe that she could really do this and was itching to escape the confines of the plaster and put the recipes to the test.
Gino and two orderlies transferred Kirsten gently and swiftly to a trolley and she waved goodbye to Sandy as she was wheeled out.
As soon as she had gone, Sandy pressed the bell for attention urgently. A nurse came scurrying in, in alarm.
"Is there a problem Signore Cohen?"
"I need a telephone quickly, before my wife comes back!"
tbc
