Title: Apples and Trees

Description: Ryan is in danger of following in his brother's footsteps.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C.. Not for profit.

Chapter 3

Ryan shifted his eyes slightly to the left and looked past Sandy and out the French doors, to the pool house and back yard. He really didn't know how to answer Sandy's question. He hadn't thought of it that way. As "dropping out of school". He wouldn't be going to school for the rest of this year, but he hadn't really thought much past that. Maybe next year, he could finish high school. But... wait... he'd be 18 then. How would that work? He needed some time to think this out...

Unfortunately, Sandy didn't give him time. He took Ryan's silence as "yes, I'm dropping out of school". Ryan could see Sandy's anger taking over.

Sandy raised his voice. "I don't believe this! So you want to throw away your future?"

Sandy's anger sparked something in Ryan, and he met Sandy's anger with his own.

Ryan raised his own voice. "I'm not throwing anything away! This is my future, my life, my decision!"

"Ryan –"

"Sandy. Ryan." Kirsten interrupted. "Why don't we all calm down? We're not going to get anything accomplished by yelling at each other."

Ryan glanced at Kirsten. She was looking at both him and Sandy, with a pleading look on her face, obviously trying to get things under control. A quick look at Sandy revealed that he now had his head down, eyes closed, and was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. And Seth – well, he was looking a little shell-shocked. His eyes were darting between Ryan and his dad, like he didn't know how to handle this, Ryan and his father arguing. And Ryan couldn't blame him. He and Sandy almost never argued, and Ryan couldn't remember a time that they had done so in front of Seth.

Ryan put his head down himself and took some deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"Ryan."

At least Sandy's voice was calmer now. Ryan looked at him. But he still looked pissed.

Sandy leaned forward, arms on the table. "Ryan, when you came to live here, with us, you were given a second chance. A chance to finish high school, go to college, have a real future. I just don't understand how you could take that opportunity and just throw it away."

Ryan sighed. "That's not what I'm doing."

Ryan shifted his gaze. That wasn't what he was doing, was it? He didn't know any more. He really needed time to think.

Sandy continued as if Ryan hadn't spoken. "And what we're here for ..." Sandy indicated himself and Kirsten. "... is to help you stay on track, have that rosy future that you deserve. But you need to listen to us. If you're not going to take our advice, what's the point in you being here at all?"

As Sandy had spoken, his voice had been rising, getting more insistent. And Ryan found himself getting more pissed off again in response.

"I tried it your way. It didn't work."

"You have to keep trying!"

"No, I don't!"

Ryan couldn't believe Sandy's attitude. He still wasn't listening to him. Ryan knew if he didn't get out of there, and soon, he and Sandy would both say things they'd regret. So he forcefully pushed his chair back and stormed from the kitchen, out to the pool house. Kirsten tried to call him back, but he couldn't go back, not yet. He needed time and space to think.

Ryan stood in the center of the pool house for a moment and knew that he was still too close to the Cohens there. He needed to get further away. He grabbed his jacket, headed around the house to get his bike, and took off for the beach, for Marissa's favorite hideout at the lifeguard tower. Well, Marissa's former favorite hideout. She'd been going there less and less in the last few months, maybe because she lived with Summer now instead of her mother and Caleb, so she didn't need to escape the house so much. Ryan found himself using it more and more lately instead.

Ryan settled in on the lifeguard tower and stared out at the ocean, listening to the waves coming in and out, letting them soothe him.

He thought about what Sandy said. It sounded an awful lot like "my way or the highway". But Ryan knew that Sandy couldn't possibly have meant it like that. Sandy and Kirsten weren't like his mother. They wouldn't kick him out for any reason, even quitting school.

Ryan could remember when Trey quit school, after several years of doing the same things that Ryan did at Chino Hills: not studying, getting into fights, skipping school, getting suspended for fights and truancy. Finally Trey just stopped going altogether. He remembered how his mother had yelled at Trey about what a good-for-nothing loser he was, just like their father. How he'd end up in jail, just like their father. He can remember his mother also saying that Trey had better get a job, then, if he wasn't going to go to school.

Was Ryan going to end up just like Trey? A high school dropout who left home at 17 and ended up on the other side of the law? Of course his situation now was totally different than Trey's was then. If he did drop out of school and leave home, it would be for different reasons, under different circumstances. Ryan sure as hell hoped he didn't end up like Trey, but the way things were going, who knew. Ryan sighed and watched the waves, trying to clear his mind enough to figure this thing out.

"Hey, man."

Ryan snapped out of his reverie and looked up to see Seth standing over him. He hadn't even heard him come up.

"There you are. You're not answering your phone." Seth sat down next to Ryan. "Mom and Dad are worried. Is everything okay?"

Ryan shrugged. "Not really."

Seth nodded and joined Ryan watching the waves. After a minute, Seth spoke.

"You know my dad didn't mean that the way it sounded, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"He was just upset about you quitting the home schooling thing. You know how he is about school and working towards your future –"

Ryan was getting a little irritated now. "I said I know, Seth."

Seth looked down. "Okay."

They both sat in silence for a few minutes. And while Ryan appreciated Seth being quiet, it wasn't enough.

"Seth, I appreciate you coming out here but... I really need to be alone."

"Yeah, okay."

Seth sighed and stood up. He took a few steps down the tower ramp then stopped and turned around.

"Mom said to remind you about your curfew."

Ryan looked at Seth, incredulous. He could give a rat's ass about Sandy and Kirsten's curfew right now.

Seth smiled. "I know, I know. But she's worried about you. She wanted me to bring you back as soon as I found you, but I told her that you needed time. The curfew is a compromise, so…"

Ryan sighed. "Yeah, okay, thanks."

Seth smiled. "No problem."

And with one last nod, Seth headed home.

To be continued.