I wanted to point out that I am from Canada so if the speeds I was saying in the first chapter seemed a little crazy it's a normal speed for a Canadian highway. Yes, I know the OC isn't in Canada but I didn't think about that. So thanks to Rachel Carter McKenzie for pointing that out to me. Sorry for the confusion it may have caused.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the OC.
"Ryan Atwood. You have a visitor in the waiting room. Get off your ass, visiting hours are almost over." A guard clanged his baton against the cold metal bars waking Ryan from his restless slumber.
Ryan sighed. He knew that today was the day he'd be transferred over to the adult prison. And he wasn't looking forward to that. His brother had told him stories about when he was in lock-up and just hearing the stories sent chills up his spine. Before standing up and walking to the entrance to the visitor's area he sent a prayer up to God that it would be Sandy to get him out of this hell hole. Luck must have been on his side that day because what he saw was enough to send tears to his eyes. All three Cohen's were sitting there waiting for him. As soon as he got in the room they all stood up and ran over to him and enveloped him in a huge hug. Once Ryan's first sense of euphoria passed he noticed their expressions. Seth seemed to be a mix of relief and worry. Kirsten seemed to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Ryan remembered the first time she had come to see him in juvie and it reminded him of why she would be freaked out. Sandy looked stressed to the max but otherwise he had a sense of calm about him. Ryan figured it was probably because he dealt with places like these all the time. Getting kids like Ryan out and trying to set them on the right path in life. Ryan knew he'd be in trouble for taking the car without asking and then running away and getting arrested but all that was pushed to the farthest corner in his brain.
"Sandy, why am I in here? They wouldn't tell me anything,"
"That girl you were trying to pick up? She had 6 ounces of cocaine on her and for some reason the cops think that you were involved in the dealing of it. Don't worry about a thing though, kid. We're gonna get you outta here." Ryan was thankful that Sandy wasn't being too forward with the information but he wanted to know what could happen to him. He hated being treated like a child that wouldn't be able to handle the truth.
"K, well I think you need to know the full story. I wasn't trying to pick up that girl. She wa…" Ryan was interrupted halfway through his explanation by Sandy.
"Well, then what the hell were you trying to do? Did you decide you wanted to bring her home with you? I know you have some sort of white knight thing going on where you have to save everybody," Ryan noted how Sandy emphasized the word everybody, "but you have got to think of yourself too. Do you have any idea of what could happen? You are not being charged for one offense but two, which are both very serious I might add. I'm going to work my ass off to get out of here but I don't know how soon I can do that. You screwed up Ryan. Even if you didn't mean to."
"Dad," Seth spoke up for the first time. "Give the guy a break. I think he's the one whose gonna be going to be having the hardest time here."
Ryan was thankful for Seth standing up for him. He wasn't sure how much more of Sandy's disappointment he could take until he started to cry.
Kirsten must have sensed his sadness because she also came to his rescue. "Ryan, don't worry about a thing, sweetie. You won't be here long. There's nothing to worry about. We'll find a witness and if we can't do that I'm sure the girl will confess."
Ryan knew she was just saying that to make him feel better. There wasn't even a stray cat on that street when he was taken in. His only chance of getting out was Theresa. He just hoped that she still loved him enough to tell the truth. But after getting her pregnant and not sending any letters or even calling once in a while after he left he wasn't too clear on any bitter feelings that might be there. He knew that if he was in her shoes he'd be holding a grudge for a very long time with him. Fuck, he though to himself, there's no chance she's gonna confess.
A loud bell signaled the end of his time with the Cohen's. As he stood up to leave Kirsten ran over to him to give him one more hug and as she got closer it was very visible that she was trying to hide her tears. Sandy also came over and gave him a hug. Once Sandy let go Seth came over and bumped knuckles with Ryan.
"I'll see you soon, man. As soon as you get home you are gonna be up for the ass kicking of a lifetime. I got a new game and, man, am I good." With that the guard took Ryan by the elbow after putting the handcuffs back on and started leading him back to his cold, ugly cell.
"Don't worry Ryan. You'll be out in no time." Sandy called out just as Ryan turned the corner.
Once Kirsten, Sandy, and Seth got outside Kirsten broke down and started weeping onto Sandy's shoulder.
"What are we going to do Sandy? We need to get him out of there. I can't stand seeing him in there. Did you see the look in his eyes? It was like there was absolutely no life left. We have to get him out." Kirsten's voice was shaky because of the sobs.
"Don't worry. He'll be out soon enough. I just need a chance to talk to that girl. And we didn't get enough time with Ryan. I can't start working on his case until I have the full story. I'm going to see if I can go in early tomorrow so I can get a longer chance to hear the full story from Ryan's side. Then I'll go to the girl. See if she'll confess." Sandy sounded confident in his plan. Even if he wasn't so sure it would work he needed to be strong for his wife and son.
"I want to go with you," Seth spoke up as he climbed into the backseat of the BMW.
"Absolutely not, Seth. There is no way you are going to set a foot in that place unless you have to," Kirsten was back to being the strong mother figure again.
"So are you trying to tell me I can't visit him at all? That's bullshit!" Seth didn't realize he was yelling until both his parents swiveled around to look at him.
"Don't speak to your mother like that, Seth." Sandy barked to his son as he turned around again and continued to drive.
"Sorry," Seth murmured so quietly you could barely hear it. He didn't understand why these things kept happening to Ryan. He'd already been through way too much and now to top it all off he was being sentenced for dealing drugs.
"Honey, I don't mean you can't visit him. I just want to wait until there isn't as much stress. I just want you to wait until we have a better idea of what's going to happen and what we're doing. Okay?" Kirsten said in a gentle voice trying to take control over the situation.
"Yeah, okay. How long I he going to be in there?" Seth directed this question at his father.
"If the girl doesn't confess he'll be in there for a minimum of 10 months. If she does confess, we'll be free to take him home." Sandy prayed to God that the girl would confess. He knew Ryan would able to handle jail... he wasn't so sure about the rest of his family though.
Ryan sat with his head in his hands. For the past hour thoughts had been swirling around in his head. Why was he still here? Wouldn't Theresa have told the officers he wasn't involved in this yet? Were the Cohen's mad? What the fuck was that red stain on the wall next to his bed? As an officer passed making sure all the inmates were in their cells for the night he decided he'd try to find out.
"Officer," Ryan called. "Could I ask you something?"
"Make it quick. I have things to do."
Ryan scoffed. His cell was near the end so the officer only had about 2 more cells to check. Once he was finished he'd be able to go home, be with his family.
"That girl you brought in with me. Has she said anything yet?" Ryan hoped it was something good.
"She just said were trying to sell her drugs after you beat her a few times. Your gonna be in here for the long haul, punk. You gave her a couple of nasty bruises."
What the fuck, Ryan thought. "What are you saying? She was an old friend I was trying to help her out. I wa..."
"I don't care. I'm not a lawyer. Save the story for the people that actually care. But let me tell you this," the officer leaned in closer to the bars causing Ryan to lean back. "If I have anything to say about this," the officer sneered making Ryan want to hit him, "your gonna be in here for a veerrrryyyy long time."
The officer started to walk away making Ryan want to cry. He was in way over his head. "Wait!" he called out to the officer's retreating back. "Is she still in here?"
"Of course. She's being charged for prostitution as I'm sure you already know." With that he turned around and the lights were switched off leaving Ryan in the pitch black.
How could Theresa do this to him? They had grown up together. They had been best friends for the first 16 years of their lives. If the judge believed what she said then Ryan knew he'd be in here for a much longer time then he thought. With that as his last thought of the night he fell asleep dreaming about being trapped in a cage forever and never seeing the sun shine through the pool house windows again.
Thank you so much to all the people that reviewed, it really means a lot. Sorry if this chapter wasn't good but I felt like I should post something. Hope you like it! And please remember to review!