Down A Rabbit Hole We Go – Chapter 13
Disclaimer: I do not own the OC or any of its characters.
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Caleb wandered up the stairs to his son's room. He'd heard Ryan and the girls come in as he was finishing up some things in his office. Glancing into the room he saw Haley and Summer laying Ryan's new wardrobe out on his bed, apparently trying to decide if there was anything they had forgotten. From the piles of clothes Caleb seriously doubted it. He could see his credit card had taken a huge hit and Ryan didn't look like he'd faired much better. Poor kid was slumped down in a chair to the side with his head leaning back against the wall. "I see you guys had fun shopping." Caleb smirked, earning a glare from Ryan. He went over and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Did you get everything he needed?" he asked the girls.
"I sure hope so," Ryan muttered.
Haley put her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. "I think we got most of the clothes he'll need, but we need to do something about this room."
"What's wrong with my room?" Ryan asked, suddenly sitting up. He did not plan to go shopping again with Haley and Summer anytime soon.
"It needs things," Haley responded, "like a TV, a stereo, posters for the wall. It still looks like a guest room."
"I have those things at the Anaheim house," Ryan answered. "We can just go get some things from there." Ryan hesitated. He looked up and caught Caleb's eye and then looked down again, mumbling, "I mean, we don't really need them at the Anaheim house anymore, right?"
"Right," Caleb answered, not liking Ryan's insecurity. He squeezed Ryan's shoulder, willing his son to look at him. When Ryan did, Caleb said more firmly, "Your home is here now. Anything you want to bring from the Anaheim house you can bring here. We'll go down later in the week if you want and get your things."
Ryan nodded; his relief evident as he relaxed under Caleb's grip.
"That should work," Summer chirped, sensing Ryan's unease. "Well, I've got to get home. I'm supposed to have dinner with Dad and the stepmother. I'll see you later, Chino."
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Tuesday was declared a day of leisure at the Nichol house. After a late breakfast, Caleb, Ryan, and Haley took a walk on the beach and then decided to lounge by the pool. Haley had almost dosed off when she heard chairs shuffling. She looked up from under her sunglasses to see her dad and Ryan setting up a chess board. Her interest piqued, she moved over to join them at the patio table. "I haven't seen you play chess since Mom died," she commented to her dad. Ryan looked on quizzically.
"There weren't many worthy adversaries around here," Caleb commented, nonchalantly. "But Ryan is an excellent player," he added, grinning at his son.
"I had a good teacher," Ryan acknowledged, making his first move.
Haley watched as the two played in silence. It was obvious that they had done this many times before.
When Ryan won the first match, Caleb huffed. "I taught you too well, it seems."
Ryan chuckled and offered to let Haley have a turn. She declined, enjoying watching the interaction between her father and her new baby brother, near silent as it was.
Caleb won the next match and Ryan won a third.
"You should join the chess team at Harbor," Caleb suddenly said. "You'd be a great addition."
Ryan just shrugged.
"Dad always wanted me to join the chess team," Haley interjected. "And I wasn't nearly as good as you are."
"Maybe," Ryan replied, not committing.
"Of course, you may want to try out for soccer or baseball. Maybe even football," Caleb added. "Whatever you want to do is fine, as long as your old man can come watch."
"Soccer might be fun." Ryan admitted.
"Ryan is an excellent soccer player and he's great at baseball too," Caleb told Haley, beaming with pride. "He played both off and on until last year …" Caleb trailed off. He had not understood why Ryan had stopped playing sports or his increased tendency to fight or his truancy from school over the last year. But the sudden realization hit him hard. Ryan had played sports intermittently as a youth. The seasons he didn't play, Caleb realized, probably correlated with times that Dawn had less than savory boyfriends living with her. During the time that Dave Gordon had lived with Dawn, Ryan had played soccer and baseball, he'd had excellent grades, he hadn't been in any trouble for fighting or missing school, and Caleb hadn't picked him up for the weekend with a black eye. Then AJ had entered the picture, and everything changed. Caleb had questioned Ryan about the sports, about the fights at school and the other times when Ryan had bruises and claimed fights with boys from the neighborhood, and about his grades, but Ryan just waved him off and Caleb thought it was just a teenage phase. How could he have been so blind? Ryan had been too busy secretly working odd jobs to fund his escape plan and trying to avoid the chaos of home to worry about sports or his grades. Caleb couldn't explain the fights at school, but he now suspected that the other "fights" had been with AJ and not kids from the neighborhood. His furry at Dawn and AJ and himself rose and he vowed that his son would never live that way again.
"Uuhhmmm, Dad? Earth to Dad," Haley commented after Caleb seemed to zone out.
Caleb jumped when Haley's hand patted his forearm. "What?" he looked up to see his daughter staring at him.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"I'm fine. Fine." He looked over at Ryan who was looking at him in concern. "How about we take a break for lunch, huh?" he questioned, breaking the tension.
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