A/N: Well, here I am again, back with another O.C. fanfic! Another Trey/Ryan thing lol. This has been in production for awhile, me and my lurv-e-ly co-authoress Kerry have been drafting it over and over until it was perfect! Or close to perfect, and here is the result! Another chapter is already in the works, but read and review and tell us if you think we should continue! Credit goes to myself, and KoolKerry25! Enjoy!

Unresolved
A 'The Dearly Beloved' fiction.

"No!"

Another bad dream.

Ryan Atwood had been having a lot of those lately. Yesterday, for example, he'd dreamt that his girlfriend, Marissa Cooper, had left him and gone off with some random little rich boy.
But that was just a nightmare. Ryan knew the difference between nightmares and bad dreams.

A nightmare was just a fear of the unknown, a frightening illusion of something fictional, something contrived out of subconscious ponderings. But it wasn't real, that was the main thing. Ryan knew Marissa would never leave him despite his tendency to worry. They'd been through so much this past year, they were strong.

Yesterday night his sleep was uncomfortable, nightmares always are, but the good thing is that when you wake up in the morning you feel relieved because then the whole situation disappears.

It isn't real.

But tonight was different. Tonight Ryan had woke up panting, laced in sweat and feeling nauseous. He had woken up crying, crying out for his brother.

Trey.

It had been months since the shooting and Ryan was sure he'd put it all behind him. But that's the trouble when you try to forget the unresolved, it never happens. It's always there lurking in the background, like a dark cloud that never rains. One things for sure though, no matter how much you tell yourself it's over it will always show up to haunt you later and tonight it had, in the shape of a bad dream.

A bad dream mixes reality with your subconscious. A bad dream recalls the most traumatic events in your life, memories you've tried so hard to oppress, are ruthlessly dredged back up in your mind, forcing you to watch them over again. Forcing you to realize things you once tried to ignore.

Ryan couldn't ignore the coincidences anymore.

That night he had tossed and turned in a restless whirlwind that mingled together the memories of the two worst experiences Ryan had even had. One happened over eight years ago while the other, well I'm sure you can guess what the other event was…

---------------------------Flashback, Trey's POV---------------------------

A gunshot echoed through the small Newport apartment, and everything seemed to go in slow motion.

Trey Atwood looked back at Marissa Cooper, sheet white and gun in hand, as he tasted the blood on his lips and felt the shock slowly surging through his body, but then... Marissa was gone.

He couldn't see her. But all of a sudden his eyes widened in a startled expression when he saw the figure that was now standing before him in Marissa's place.

A small, sandy haired boy with a button nose and timid blue eyes, of the sort that Trey could never mistake. The eyes belonged to the ten year old Ryan Atwood that was now looking back at him….

Trey opened his mouth as if to speak but found himself perplexed by emotion, he watched on in horror as the young boy just stared back at him with the saddest expression on his face as he slowly began to shake his head in disappointment "Why'd you do it Trey?"
Trey's mouth contorted in sheer disbelief, then Ryan's expression hardened and anger now flashed through the ten year olds eyes, "I said, why'd you do it RAY?"

--------------------------------Flashback, eight years ago---------------------------------

A vodka bottle flew through the air at an alarming speed, aiming for thirteen year old Trey and ten year old Ryan Atwood, the bottle thrown by their mother Dawn's boyfriend-of-the-moment, Ray. Ray had caught Trey selling his pot off to high school kids, and was now a very pissed off drunk.

The two boy's clambered to their feet, the bottle narrowly missing Ryan. Trey yanked him by the hand and out of the way.
"I wan't a word w' th you," slurred Ray to Trey, swaying dangerously as he advanced on the brothers.

Ryan looked up at Trey and saw fear in his brother's eyes as they darted about furiously searching for an escape route. The only way to get to the door was by past Ray.

"Stay away from us Ray!" shouted Trey, stepping backwards with a scared Ryan thrust behind him. "You're gonna pay for stealing my weed you little shit!" threatened the towering drunk as he made a swipe for the front of Trey's T-shirt.

Trey dodged out of the way just in time then Ryan felt himself being half dragged, half lifted to the end of the room as Trey tried desperately to get his brother to safety.

Ray had spun round and was now hot on their tracks looking very, very angry.

Trey pushed Ryan out the screen door, "Run, Ry!" he yelled at him desperately while Ryan clung and pulled at his brother's arm. But it was too late, Ray had made it up the hall and had now got hold of Trey's other arm before he'd been able to exit the house. Trey looked down at Ryan who was still holding onto him tightly, trying to get him outside. Trey knew once Ray had gotten hold of him that it was no use, he was beat. But he wasn't going to let Ryan be beat as well, so he let go of Ryan's grasp and, with his renaming free hand, gave his little brother a shove backwards. Ryan stumbled back and lost his hold on Trey, who had now disappeared behind the threshold. The door slammed shut and immediately locked behind him with a click.

Ray grabbed Trey's hair, yanking him around. He sneered down at him, his breath stinking of Vodka. "I'll teach you to sell my stuff..." he slurred, smashing Trey's head against a wall. Trey tried to fight back, but that only caused him more pain, now getting punches to the face and kicks to the ribs.

Ryan rushed forwards, watching in horror through the screen door as his big brother, his hero, was viciously beaten. Suddenly, Ryan began hitting and banging at the window, shouting out for Ray to stop…

---------------------------------

"Stop it, your killing him!" screamed Marissa helplessly as she watched in a dead fear as her boyfriend lay choking at the hands of his manic brother. She needed to stop him, she needed to save Ryan.

---------------------------------

Ryan's eyes grew huge with fear as he saw Ray push down on Trey's throat with his foot, cutting off Trey's air supply.

---------------------------------

That's when Marissa spotted the gun on the apartment floor...

That's when Ryan spotted the brick on the porch floor...

---------------------------------

Trey continued to strangle Ryan, who was now in desperate need of some oxygen, so Trey loosened his grip slightly and for a split second, it looked like Trey had come to his senses. But then Trey began slashing his arms around in a wild search for something...For a weapon.

He quickly spotted the telephone on the table and without a second thought, he had grabbed it and was preparing to smash it down against his gasping brother's skull.

--------------------------------

Ray, still with his foot on Trey's throat, reached over and picked up the first blunt object that came into his hands. Ryan's baseball trophy.

He clasped the heavy instrument tightly before turning back, clearly intending to end Trey once and for all, and for the first time in his short life, Trey Atwood feared he would die. Just as Ray pulled back to give Trey a final, fatal blow...

--------------------------------

Marissa picked up the gun and pointed it at Trey's back...

Ryan grabbed the brick and heaved it through the door's window...

And then...'BANG!'

-------------------------------

Ryan looked up at Trey, and Trey looked down at Ryan….

And that's when Ryan woke up.

End Chapter One.

A/N: There ya go! End of Chapter one! Remember: Read and Review to tell us if you think we should continue! Peace out!