Chapter 7
Ryan drove the Rover as fast as he dared back to the house. After going through the motions of a family dinner under the edict "we won't discuss what we don't know", Seth and he had been sent on a bogus errand for items they knew wouldn't be found in the numbered streets.
"Guys, we need to work. Please, a banana FroYo and Post-It Notes. Your mom thinks better with some sugar, and I'm lost without the yellow stickies."
Ryan had stared hard at Sandy's obvious and patronizing ploy to get rid of them so they could speak privately. All through a dinner where nobody had eaten, his mind had raced, analyzing the scant facts and craving more. Had Caleb set up Kirsten to take a fall? How much information did the DA have? What should he do?
"Sandy, I have to stay, help." Ryan had wanted his voice to sound reasonable and resolute, but his throat had been dry and it had come out like a bleat.
"No arguments," Sandy had replied sternly. Ryan had debated whether to obey or not, pissed at Sandy for not listening. Usually Ryan liked pretending to be a teenager who's biggest worry was getting grounded for missing curfew. But he had never been a normal kid – he had already seen too much to need to be shielded from some hard truths now.
"Don't forget the chocolate sprinkles," Kirsten had added with forced lightness.
Ryan had hesitated, torn between doing what they wanted, and a need to know what Sandy would find out from his old legal colleagues. A glance at Seth's shattered expression had forced Ryan to relent. Seth had needed to get away.
Ryan turned the engine off in front of the house and glanced at Seth in the passenger seat. Getting away hadn't helped; he hadn't said a word during the whole trip.
Seth opened his door and was about to get out when Ryan stopped him. "Hey, Seth?"
Seth looked back neutrally. When Ryan didn't continue, he opened his mouth and made a strangled sound before clearing his throat and asking, "Yeah, what?"
"You okay, man?"
Seth jerked his head and continued his silence. Ryan found himself babbling, "I know things are crazy. I think it's good to get things out. If you want to talk …"
Seth shook his head.
Kirsten might be going to jail, Sandy was pissing him off by treating him like a child, and Seth was eerily quiet. Things were out of control. Ryan waited, hoping Seth would snap out of his daze. Before he had never needed to try to read Seth who had always showed or said exactly what he was thinking, but Seth's face was a tight blank now. Talking had never helped him but a normal Seth was a talking Seth. "Bro, talk to me. I need to know you're good."
Ryan felt bad dropping the B-word for the first time in this way but Seth was scaring him. He had tried before to use the word casually in conversations like Seth did but it had always stuck in his throat. Brother was loaded with memories of Trey getting himself and Ryan into serious trouble. From another person, Ryan might have wondered if he had been waiting for him to call him brother – like Marissa waiting for him to return her declaration of love. But he knew Seth was guileless.
"Your dad will figure it out. Your mom's gonna be fine. It will all work out." Ryan said with as much conviction as he could muster. He undid his seatbelt and looked for a response from Seth. "We're going to go inside to find out it was some kind of mix up. Seriously, man, shit doesn't happen to good people in Newport. Your mom's got your dad and friends. And us. Together we're unstoppable. Right?"
Seth shook his head and his lips pursed in a grimace. "We can't do anything." He sank back into his seat and hung his head a moment. "Mom and Dad treating me like a child I understand, but you? Nobody knows what is going to happen and I don't need you to blow smoke up my ass. Okay?" Seth's eyes narrowed with anger and his face flushed. "Saying it's going to be okay doesn't make it so, so just shut up, Ryan." He slammed the car door getting out.
Ryan quickly followed, and saw Seth was leaning against the car door breathing heavily. He had been surprised by Seth's sudden torrent of words and realized just how true the words were. Ryan didn't know what was going to happen. He was a punk from Chino who couldn't help when he was seven and they took his dad away, and he couldn't help now that he was seventeen.
Ryan approached slowly. "Okay, you're right. We don't know anything. But this time, I'm deciding how we're going to do this part - we're brothers so we're going to get each other through no matter what."
Seth was deathly still staring at the ground, and then he looked up sadly but nodded quickly once.
"Cool, 'cause I can't lose another brother," Ryan said hoarsely. He grabbed Seth and pounded on his back with his fists. Seth seemed surprised at first, but quickly returned the clasp. They quietly walked up to the sidewalk resigned to the dark times ahead, but united.
Seth opened the front door.
"Marty says the D.A. thinks he has a smoking gun," Sandy's voice was heard to say anxiously, "a check with your signature took a circuitous route to end up in a clerk's pocket in the Permitting Department. A clerk who later approved the Newport Group's stadium deal. They believe it is one example of a pattern – of you being more involved with your dad's bribes. They've already subpoenaed and sealed off the files at the Newport Group. I'm calling in all my favors. Samuel Weinstein, the best lawyer in town, will join your team of lawyers."
Kirsten's voice was harder to hear. Ryan and Seth had frozen in the doorway and strained to hear "I have a team? Okay, but whatever Team Kirsten decides to do, we will not compromise you." There was a long pause. "Promise me you won't do anything illegal even if it might mean saving me. The boys will need somebody if I really have to … go away. They are our first priority."
Seth dropped the bag with the frozen yogurt. Ryan picked it up, pushed Seth through the door, and shut the door loudly. Ryan said in a raised voice, "Uh, yeah pudding does sound better than FroYo."
Kirsten and Sandy stood in the archway leading from the living room to the dining room, and cast worried glances to each other.
Ryan feigned dumb. "They didn't have banana so we got you chocolate." Ryan nudged Seth toward them and gave Sandy the office supplies. He headed for the kitchen behind the dining room with the frozen yogurt asking, "What did you find out Sandy?" Ryan's heart pounded as he waited to know whether Sandy would tell them the truth.
Seth was shell-shocked and sat dumbly at the table, inspecting the tablecloth intently. The dining room table had papers spread about it.
Sandy frowned and paced the small dining room. "I don't know everything yet but tomorrow morning we're going in to talk to the DA, clear things up."
Ryan's hand paused as he scooped the frozen yogurt into a bowl. He fought the flush of disappointment churning his stomach and took a deep breath. He opened a drawer and found a spoon. Sandy was wrong to sugarcoat things even if he did it to protect them. The Atwoods had been no Brady Bunch but being blindsided at its disintegration sucked. It wouldn't happen again.
He walked back into the dining room as Kirsten leaned over and kissed Seth on the forehead. "I love you." Seth smiled back wanly. She turned to Sandy. "I'm going to call my dad and enjoy my FroYo upstairs. Thanks, Ryan," she said taking the bowl he offered. She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."
Sandy seemed reluctant to let her go, but she was already headed upstairs. He stared at her back a moment before seeming to shake himself back to his task. He looked down at this address book and dialed the phone. There was a pause as he waited for a response. "Hello Jason. Sandy Cohen here. … We go back how long? I don't deserve a heads up?" Sandy asked with his neck bent speaking into the cell phone.
The conversation flowed from Jason for a while. Ryan went back to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee and some chocolate pudding - from the cheaper powder - not the ready made pudding packs. He measured out the coffee grounds and set the machine going. Then he mixed some milk with the pudding powder in a bowl, and turned to watch Sandy through the archway.
Sandy leaned forward past his legal pad and reached to flip through his address book. Something Jason had said made him stop. "Tired of waiting? We were going to go in tomorrow. That's a bit too coincidental." He frowned and looked up at Seth, forlornly sitting at the opposite end of the table. He rubbed his eyes and motioned for Seth to come over.
Putting his hand over the phone, he said, "Seth, I really need your help. Can you get the numbers of these guys and write it next to their names?" He handed a legal pad and a stack of papers to him. "And put these records in chronological order, please. Thanks," Sandy said peering into Seth's face.
Seth nodded eagerly at the instructions, seemingly grateful to be helping. Back into the phone Sandy said, "That's bullshit, she's represented. Self-surrender- not unheard of here!" His eyes flitted anxiously to Seth, and he dropped his voice. "No way; that's bullshit. You guys are playing to the cameras."
Ryan's heart skipped. Would they put Kirsten in handcuffs like they had with Caleb in front of Seth and Sandy? He, too, glanced at Seth but he was absorbed with the address book.
Sandy made quick notes on the pad in front of him. "Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. We're coming in the service doors; have someone meet us – black Range Rover."
Ryan put a mug of coffee beside Sandy and a bowl of pudding beside Seth. Seth was busy collating papers now, and Sandy was still on the phone. He sat across from them, watching them work together. Sandy had understood Seth would feel better doing something to help, and Seth for his part had never been more serious and concentrated now that it mattered. Ryan's chest tightened at the thought of anything happening to them.
Ryan couldn't sit still any longer. Sandy's conversation had delved into legal minutiae he didn't understand. He didn't want to distract Seth so he went to get himself a cup of coffee. On the counter buy the mugs he found the chocolate sprinkles where he had forgotten it earlier. He stared at it for a moment before deciding to deliver it to Kirsten. She might be more open with him.
He passed Sandy and Seth unnoticed in the dining room. He stomped up the stairs and knocked at the door. As much as he wanted to, Ryan didn't try to overhear Kirsten's conversation with her father.
Kirsten opened the door quickly, her face contorted in pain. "Sandy?" she asked hopefully. Her eyes were red, and a glass of wine was in her hand.
Ryan showed her the sprinkles and motioned with his free hand down the stairs. "I'll get Sandy?" He searched her face to know what condition she was in. Then, he saw the FroYo melting on the bed stand by a half empty bottle of wine.
Kirsten burst into tears. "It just hit me. Oh God, I really might have to go to jail." She turned her back to Ryan, put the wineglass on the table, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Dad said he couldn't talk because the phones might be tapped. I can tell he's worried, too." Kirsten's body rocked back and forth, racked by pain.
"What did your dad say exactly?" Ryan asked softly, standing by her.
Kirsten didn't answer but pulled him down to sit by her and hugged him fiercely, almost knocking the breath out of him. Ryan's hands hovered above Kirsten's back then clutched her gently. He closed his eyes, and his heart ached for her as his anger for Caleb grew.
Kirsten withdrew slightly. She closed her eyes but the tears streamed through them anyways. "Seth has grown a lot this year. He'll be alright," she whispered. Her voice caught as she said, "Aaand Sandy will take care of you boys. Oh, Ryan. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to go through this after all you've been through already." She covered her face and cried in gasping breaths.
Ryan bit his lip, not sure what to do or say. "You're not going anywhere. I swear it." The Rover's keys, forgot until now in his pocket, dug into his thigh. Caleb had some answering to do …
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Authors note: I know I have no acceptable excuse for the long delay. It was a combination of work travel (Texas but nowhere near Austin), my laptop dying (an losing chapter 7), and no motivation to write. This season just had me so down, but I'm bouncing back with the latest Trey induced angst. I promise I have a reasonable outline to the end.
