1I just want to thank you guys so much for replying! Ya'll are so awesome and make my little ole heart swell–and then want to right more! Hope you like these chapters!

Chapter 6

"In Need of Saving"

There really wasn't much to see in Tree Hill, North Carolina. A small little café that looked cozy, an Italian restaurant, an auto/body shop, car dealership, some fast food places, a mall... just the usual. Nothing too uptown-y, just a small little town getting by. It was actually a reassuring thing when I crossed the road and there weren't any cars honking or trying to run you down.

An hour later, I was back at David's house. I opened the door and went inside, looking around for Ryan and David. I made my way to the kitchen, looking in each of the rooms. They weren't in David's bedroom or the game room, so they must be in his office, I concluded. Which they were. As I passed by, I heard them talking. It was one of those conversations you don't mean to overhear, but once you do hear, you can't stop listening. And this was totally the case here.

Forgetting all about the water, I stopped and stood past the door, on the other side so I wouldn't be seen.

"Alright, let's cut the crap here Ryan, because you never were one to bullshit around the corner and we both know it. Tell me what is really going on and tell me why you're really here."

I heard Ryan sigh, and then there was silence. "I'm in trouble David." his sentence startled me. I was expecting something like 'I'm failing English' or something. Not... what I heard.

"What kind?"

"The worst kind," he said with a rugged laugh, not really a laugh at all. "The kind you thought I wasn't stupid enough to get into, but I did. There's this guy, Lenny, who pushes drugs on the street and a buddy of mine got me his number. Anyway, I had this high. I was scoring double digits in every game. I was on fire. I was hitting the party scene, getting drunk after every game, and then it all started getting out of control. I had too much on my plate at once and between going to practice, hanging out with my friends, living up to mother's perfect expectations, and partying... I needed a boost. Something to help me juggle it all. And I found it... in drugs. Enhancers mostly, but I did do X a couple times. Anyways, I ran up this huge tab with him that I couldn't pay. And when I decided I didn't want to jeopardize this chance that I had, I stopped. And I, um, still have that little tab and there is no way I can pay it off. He's after me, too, David. I had to get away from Duke. So I came here. You're the only one I can trust with this, you realize that, right?"

I heard a chair scoot back, which startled me, I backed up and into the door of the kitchen, peeping around the corner, but David wasn't coming out of the room. "What in the hell were you thinking, Ryan!" he yelled. I had never ever seen him get mad. But he was pissed now. There was venom in his voice. "No, forget that, because I know that you weren't thinking. Because if you were you would have realized, even with the thick skull you have, that you have everything going for you. You have three years left of basketball, and you can only get better. Why are you throwing it away like that? You have friends that adore you, fans that worship you, and family that admires and cares for you. Why would you even want to mess with drugs? After all the things I've preached to you over and over again, it just went through one ear and out the other."

"I promise you that I've stopped doing that stuff. I haven't done that since the middle of the summer, and I've stopped drinking. I want to be totally committed to basketball. But, I can't do that having to look behind my back every time I'm in a dark alley. I made a mistake, I will be the first one to admit that, but–"

"But what?" David interrupted him. "There is no but. I know you made a mistake, too, but just admitting that mistake isn't going to help anybody. What happens when you get a drug test before basketball? Do you think it will be all out of your system?"

"I hope so. I haven't done that in at least three and a half months. And I don't wanna do that anymore. I just... I need somebody to kick me in the ass and then help me out. I need... a father. You're the closest thing to a father I have, David. Where else was I supposed to go? To my mom? You know her! You know how she is. She thinks I'm the greatest thing on earth. That I'm just like Dad. I don't want to disappoint her. I don't want her to be ashamed of me. I don't think I could live with that."

"You know, this isn't going to be easy. In fact, I'm going to make it as hard as I can on you. I'm going to give you hell about this and you will never be able to live it down..." he said harshly, then paused, "but... I made a promise to your father that I'm going to keep. I'm going to look after you, take care of you... protect you," David sighed, suddenly in a weak state. "How much do you owe?"

"Well, I, ugh, need a place to stay for a couple of days. I sold my house and gave all of that money to Lenny. But I still owe about 5,000. And I think once I pay that I'll be able to get my life back."

"5000? I'll just go check my piggy bank," David joked. I smiled lightly, even though the joke was stupid, it lightened the mood.

"Thanks," Ryan laughed. "Thank you so much David."

"And as for crashing here," he sighed. "Your room is where you left it. Messy as ever, but its still up there waiting on you."