"Oh, good your home." Sandy said, barely looking up when Seth walked in the door, toting his big duffle bag of ski stuff.
"Uh, yeah… Hi Dad…" Seth already knew he was going to be in trouble.
"Hi Mr. Cohen," Marissa said timidly from where she was lingering slightly behind Seth.
"Oh hey Marissa," Sandy said, "How was skiing?" He asked, pretending to be interested.
"Yeah Dad, thanks for the sarcasm." Seth said, turning and starting up the steps to his bedroom. Marissa was close on his heels, clearly afraid to be left alone with Mr. Cohen.
"Where do you two think you're going?" Sandy asked, if is he were genuinely intrigued.
"To put my stuff down, then we were going to go say hi to Ryan."
"Oh yeah?" Sandy asked, standing up straight, and crossing his arms. "Going to check on him, see how he's doing?"
"Uhmm… yeah?" Seth asked.
"Because you were so concerned on the mountain… Now your concerned?" Sandy asked, in slight disbelief.
"Well uh…" Seth stuttered, unsure what to say. He felt like he had shown some concern- alright maybe he could have been a little more helpful, but it wasn't like the guy had asked for help or acted like he wanted anyone else around him.
"He's sleeping right now, don't bother him." Sandy ordered, "Seth, you can take Marissa home, after that, you're coming back here and we're going to have a little talk about responsibility."
"Can I take my stuff to my room first?"
"Sure, but Marissa, do you mind staying here a moment?" Sandy asked, sounding almost nice.
"Uhmm… Sure Mr. Cohen…" Seth gave her a look, but he couldn't save her, and scampered off to his room with all his gear.
"So, Marissa, how was skiing?"
Kirsten came in from the outside, and found Sandy and a scared looking Marissa. "Hi Marissa, yes, how was skiing?" She went and stood next to Sandy and also folded her arms.
"I uh, I just came by to see how Ryan was doing…"
"He's sleeping,"
"Right, well, maybe I'll come back later."
"He told me you two broke up," Sandy said, "Kind of strange that you're coming to visit your ex, don't you think?"
"Well, uh, he's my friend and uh…"
"You didn't treat him like a friend." Sandy said, bluntly. "He told me about the trip, and frankly, I'm disappointed by you. I really thought you would know better."
"I uh, Ryan seemed like he really didn't want me around…"
"And you think he'd want to see you now?" Kirsten asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I thought I could explain and tell him that I care about him."
Seth reappered on the steps, "We'll tell Ryan you stopped by and to give you a call, if he feels up to it." Sandy told Kirsten, "Seth, I want you back here in fifteen minutes, got it?"
"Right…" Seth muttered.
When Seth appeared shortly there after, Sandy and Kirsten were laying in wait. "Do you have any idea what your brother has been going through? He's been in horrific pain, for days, and what did you do? Nothing!" Sandy was off and running with his rant. "You should have been there for him, you should have turned and driven him home the second he got hurt. You should have been the one taking him to the ER- not Luke!"
"And then to not help him with anything once you were back at the lodge?" Now it was Kirsten's turn, "He practically collapsed by the time he got home he was so exhausted and dehydrated, and he'd been sleeping on a couch! You couldn't help him find a bed?"
"I'm sorry…" Seth did indeed look miserable, but Sandy and Kirsten weren't sure if it was actual guilt or just self- pity.
"Well, we already have your punishment planned." Kirsten said, producing a walkie- talkie from behind her back. "Ryan has the other one, if he needs anything, you're on it. Got it?"
"And you'd better not act like this is punishment either, you should be GLAD to help your brother." Sandy added, "And your grounded, for as long as it takes Ryan to be able to get up and around! And no car- except to help Ryan!"
"Okay…" Seth said dejectedly, but he didn't argue, he deserved the punishment, he really had failed Ryan. He didn't know how bad it had been, and clearly he had failed him as a brother. Sandy and Kirsten exchanged a look- maybe Seth really did get it. The walkie- talkie crackled to life.
"Kirsten?" Ryan's voice asked.
"Hey buddy, it's me." Seth said.
"Oh hey… You're home…"
"Uh yeah…"
"Where's Kirsten?"
"I uh, asked to take over Ryan- duty for awhile," Seth lied, but his parents didn't correct him.
"Oh, okay."
"Do you need anything?"
"Uhmm… Is Kirsten there?" Ryan asked.
With a sigh, Seth handed the radio back to his mom. "He wants you, not me."
"Well, clearly you're going to need to win back his trust," Sandy muttered.
"Right…" Seth said, dejectedly listening as Ryan asked Kirsten for a glass of water. Really, that was all he wanted? And he didn't feel like he could ask him? Seth dejectedly slunk into a kitchen chair.
"Don't look so miserable," Sandy said, "Your leg's not even broken."
"Dad, I'm sorry…"
"Don't tell me you're sorry," He gestured towards the pool house, "Ryan is the one you should apologize to."
"He doesn't want to see me…"
"No, you're right, he doesn't. You screwed up and you're just going to have to figure out how to make it up to him."
Fin.
A/N: I know- cliffie! But I'm gearing up for a Part 2 (coming soon) so have no fears! In the meantime, a new (unrelated) story "Sk8tr Boy" is on it's way shortly... Alright, one little hint: Seth attempts to teach Ryan how to skateboard