Disclaimer: The only O.C. related things that I own are the CD mixes, tons of posters of Ben McKenzie, and the First Season DVD.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter four. I didn't get a lot of feedback, which was disappointing. However the reviews that I received were awesome! You guys rock!
A few days later Ryan was released from the hospital, after all of his physical wounds had healed. Once Ryan returned home, the boys just moped around the house. Seth locked himself up in his bedroom, talking to Captain Oats, and calling Summer occasionally every few hours. Sandy buried himself in legal work, especially Marissa's case. He stayed in his office all day, only appearing in the kitchen for a few minutes so that he could relieve the sporadic munchies that he got from working so hard.
As for Ryan, he dwelled in his pool house, holed up like a hermit. He hadn't stepped one foot inside the actual mansion since the day of the shooting. Seth came out to visit him every once and a while to see if he was ready to talk, but Ryan always insisted, "He'd be fine," and to "leave him alone." So Seth reluctantly gave up.
He stared out of his gigantic window, watching the wave's crash onto the shore. The foamy suds that the ocean gave off covered the beach. Then he remembered Trey had tried to rape her on that very same beach. Suddenly, the view of the sea wasn't as comforting.
Ryan turned his head when he heard a soft knock on the door. "Seth go away!" he called out, for what felt like the tenth time that day.
"It's not Seth," came a familiar voice.
He recognized Marissa's voice immediately. "Come in," he said.
The door to the pool house opened and closed, revealing Marissa. She wasn't dressed up nicely like she normally was. Her face lacked its usual gleam, and she looked exhausted. Marissa timidly walked over to Ryan's bed, and he patted the edge of it, gesturing for her to sit down.
"Hi," she murmured quietly, searching for the right words to say to him.
"Hey," he replied, looking equally uncomfortable.
"So…um, how are you doing?" she asked, feeling incredibly stupid for not being able to think of anything else to say.
"I've been better," he answered honestly. "You?"
"Same here," she nodded her head, as a lump formed in her throat. She had known that it was going to be hard, confronting Ryan, but nothing could have prepared her for the awkwardness that filled the room, or the guilt that she felt, swallowing her whole.
They sat not saying anything for a few minutes before Marissa decided that she had to break the deafening silence. "Look Ryan, I know that you probably don't want to talk about this but…I am so incredibly sorry for what happened."
He shrugged coolly. "I know you are. Just forget about it, it's over and done with."
Marissa's mouth gaped open slightly. She was shocked by Ryan's demeanor. What was she supposed to say? She had already apologized…twice.
"Ryan, you can't just blow this off like nothing happened. We can't dance around this subject like we do with everything else," Marissa said, blinking back tears. She felt a burning sensation in her eyes as tears built up, like a river dam threatening to break free. "Please tell me what you're thinking!"
He simply stared off into space, his gaze fixed on the comforter of his futon. She placed her hand on his arm, gently stroking it.
"Ry, please talk to me," she begged.
Ryan continued to sit on his bed, not saying anything. He didn't feel like talking, he didn't feel like doing anything. All he wanted to do was wallow, something that Ryan Atwood had never been allowed the pleasure of doing before.
"Fine, I understand that you want to be left alone. This conversation isn't over though," Marissa kissed him carefully on the cheek, and he leaned into her embrace a little bit. She stood, and walked out the door, finally releasing the tears that she had been holding back. As she rounded the corner of the pool house, she literally ran right into Seth.
"Watch where you're going Cooper," Seth teased her lightly. Then he noticed her face was red from crying. "Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. Did you get hurt when we collided?" he rambled on.
Marissa shook her head, indicating that she was not fine at all. "No, you didn't hurt me Seth."
"Things between you and Ryan, are a little rocky?" Seth assumed.
"I've never seen him like this before. How long has he been like this?" Marissa questioned, wiping her wet face with the back of her hand.
"Ever since he came home from the hospital," Seth answered. "Hey, don't feel bad Marissa, he's been treating everyone that way. He's pissed off at the world, not you."
"Thanks, Seth," she forced a smile, and then walked off towards her car which was parked in the Cohen driveway.
Meanwhile Ryan sat in his bedroom, feeling terrible about the way he had handled things with Marissa. He didn't want to fight with her… in fact he needed her. The roles were finally reversed…he needed her to save him, not the other way around. The look of sadness on Marissa's face as she left had killed him. Ryan just wanted to be left alone and he couldn't understand why no one was respecting his wishes.
He decided that he needed to get out of the house for a while. Ryan had been lying in his bed for so long that he was sure his body would be permanently imprinted in his mattress. He got up and changed into halfway decent attire. Then he went into the kitchen and grabbed the keys to the Range Rover off of the table. Seth came into the room, with his trusty plastic horse in his hands and eyed Ryan suspiciously.
"Where are you going man?"
"Out," Ryan answered shortly, walking out the door.
Seth followed after him. "Out where?" he asked again.
"I don't know, Seth," Ryan said impatiently, unlocking the car and getting inside of it.
"Of course you know where you're going. You can't just drive off in any old direction," Seth insisted.
"I'm going for a ride, okay? I'll be back later."
"What time?" Seth retorted.
"What are you writing a book or something?" Ryan fired back. "Probably around dinner, is that all right with you mom?" With that, Ryan backed the car up and pulled out of the driveway, Seth staring after him.
Ryan had no idea where he was headed. All he knew was that he needed to clear his mind, and being cooped up in the house with Seth wasn't helping whatsoever. He continued to drive, until he realized that he was advancing toward Chino. Ryan considered turning back around, why go to Chino and stir up old memories? Then again…why not? He wondered why he always ended up visiting his old home, whenever he was in a rut. There really wasn't anyone there for him anymore.
Ryan pulled up in front of Theresa's house. He hoped that she wouldn't be upset with him for stopping by—after all the last time he had seen her she didn't even allow him inside. Ryan gazed out the tinted windows of the Range Rover, and noticed his longtime friend sitting in a plastic chair, holding a baby in her arms. He saw Arturo flipping some type of food that Ryan could only assume was hamburgers, on the grill. Theresa's mother Rosa was talking with a group of ladies, as they watched a group of rambunctious kids run around the front yard. It looked to him like they were having a barbeque of some sort. Ryan got out of the vehicle and cautiously approached Theresa. She was so focused on the little one in her arms that she didn't even know that Ryan was headed towards her. Rosa noticed him, and immediately stopped talking to her friends, her attention focused directly on him.
"Hey you," Ryan said brightly, waiting for Theresa to look up at him.
Her head shot up the second she heard his voice. "Ryan?" she croaked out, her face panic stricken. "Um, what are you doing here?" she asked, rising from her seat.
Their conversation was interrupted by Arturo slapping Ryan heartily on the back. "Hey man, what brings you here?"
"Arturo, buddy. Good to see you," Ryan greeted.
"Did you hear Trey got out on parole?" Arturo announced, not sure if Ryan knew or not.
"Yeah, actually I have some bad news," Ryan said, his throat constricting. He didn't exactly know what to say. Arturo and his brother had been good friends, and he wanted to break the information to him as gently as possible.
"What's up? Oh no, don't tell me that he's back in jail again?" Arturo suspected.
"No, it is about Trey though."
"Spill it man!" Arturo demanded, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"Is he all right?" Theresa asked, after noticing the expression of grief on Ryan's face.
"He finally got what he deserved," Ryan deadpanned.
Theresa stared at him in shock, and Arturo looked at him peculiarly.
"I don't follow, man. What are you getting at?" Arturo inquired.
"Trey's dead," Ryan announced bluntly.
Theresa gasped. "Oh my God, Ryan what happened?"
"Remember the night we were talking about him?" Ryan began to explain.
"Yeah, you were having some trust issues," Theresa replied.
"Well, turns out you were right. I should have believed Marissa," Ryan stated bitterly.
"Did he hurt her?" Arturo wondered aloud.
"The bastard tried to rape her," was all Ryan could muster.
"Damn him to hell," Theresa whispered quietly. "Are you okay Ryan?"
"I will be...eventually. I'm sorry you had to find out this way," he said, glancing towards Arturo.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Arturo stalked back over to the grill and resumed cooking.
"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to have a monster like him for a brother," Theresa said solemnly, looking down at the baby in her arms.
"Thanks," he murmured. He decided it might be best to change the topic of discussion. "Are you babysitting for someone?"
"No," she said, her voice barely audible.
"Whose baby is it then?" Ryan asked, a feeling of nervousness overtaking him.
Theresa gulped, a few tears trickling down the sides of her face.
"Mine."
A/N: Muhahaha, I left you with a cliffhanger. Although, it's probably not a very good one…I suppose it's slightly obvious where the direction of the story has shifted. By the way, I couldn't remember what Theresa's mothers name was, so I decided to just go with Rosa, even though I believe that's the Cohen's housekeeper…oh well. Arturo is Theresa's brother, in case anyone was wondering. Anyway, I need feedback to keep writing, so please review and let me know what you think! Also, just a reminder, this is a RM fic, and in no way am I a Theresa/ Ryan shipper, lol.