Kirsten saw Sandy's eyes flicker before he addressed his dark haired son
"It's funny though." He mused "Because it was working fine when you guys climbed out of it earlier, right Seth?"
Seth blinked once. Twice.
"Yeah... I mean, No. Father. What I mean is, it was working earlier when we were getting fresh air...into the room. Before this happened. Two, totally unrelated incidents… You know Dad, I've been thinking. You should really consider interviewing your handymen better before you hire them. Mom's a professional, how would it look if-"
"Knock it off, Seth." Kirsten chided "Tell the truth. You were trying to sneak out the window, weren't you?"
"-Yes." The child above and slightly to the left of them interrupted before his brother could reply,
"It was Seth's stupid, stupid idea. I'm sorry and I don't care if you kill us, just… get me down"
Seth looked horrified.
"Parentals, it's obvious Ryan's become delusional with fear. He doesn't know what he's saying-"
"Seth" Sandy warned
"Okay, alright … Dad, would you believe Ryan and I were reenacting-"
"Seth Ezekiel. I've. Had. Enough." The Kirsten thundered
His eyes widened.
"Woah! Chill, Mom. Don't middle name me... just, alright. I admit it, okay? We were going to -to take a study break. A teeny, tiny one. I'm talking ten, fifteen minutes tops. And I got down fine but then Ryan started flipping a shi- I mean, freaking out. Even though it's so easy. I mean, seriously, Bro? Honestly, I've never seen anybody so – Never mind, not the point… Oh yeah. I couldn't just leave him there because you're always telling us to watch out for each other. See Dad, I listen to you. And besides, I was trying to get him down but then Mom came along. So then I tried getting Ryan to go back through the window but apparently the universe is against us tonight and… in our defense, what were those garbage cans doing in front of the garage door anyway?"
Kirsten shook her head, taking the time to mentally sort out what Seth had said. Flashing images of hypothetical broken bones, concussions and trips to the emergency room raced through her mind before she shouted,
"Of all the stupid things to do! Both of you!"
"Not to mention dangerous" Sandy added, punctuating the last word with a well aimed clout to the back of Seth's head.
"Ah! Geez. Let's not get physical here. It wasn't danger-Ouch! Come on" Seth groused "It's not even that high up. I climbed down. I mean, Ryan's break down aside-"
"-Guys? I'd really like to be on the ground for this family meeting.", their trapped son practically pleaded
"Hold on, Ryan" Kirsten called. "Sandy, can we put the lecture on hold for a while? We still have a child stuck on a roof"
Kirsten was suddenly struck with an idea so obvious it made her want to kick herself for not thinking of it sooner. The talk about Archie made her remember something but with the fear and excitement it didn't register.
"The Kellers"
Seth stared at her incredulously "Mom, you want to call the Kellers for help? I know their son looks like King Kong but I doubt he's smart enough to up climb the tree and save Ryan. Odds are he'd mistake him for a banana"
Kirsten rolled her eyes
"No. The Kellers might have a ladder. Remember the charity function for endangered marsupials they had Thursday night? Maybe the decorators haven't taken everything down yet. I'll call Diane."
After a very unpleasant phone call and some wheedling, Kirsten managed to get permission to use their ladder.
"Alright, guys. All set. Sandy, the ladder will be pretty heavy so be careful and please, try not to insult Diane. She's doing us a favor. Seth, you go with him"
Seth frowned "Aww, Mom. You know me and heavy objects don't really…"
Kirsten leveled a glare at him second only to Ryan's
"-On second thought, I think I'm going to help Dad."
Seth followed his Dad across the street but not before calling back,
"Stay right where you are Ryan. I'll be right back, okay buddy? Don't you move a mus- Ow! Dad! If I get a concussion, how will you feel?"
"Since you obviously don't use your head, Seth, I didn't think it'd be much of a problem" Kirsten heard Sandy answer
Once they got far enough that she could no longer hear their voices she looked up at Ryan- still in the same position he'd been in 20 minutes ago. It pained her to see him so distressed and she felt a nagging guilt for not knowing the intensity of his phobia.
The ever-present 'what ifs' left a wriggling mess in the pit of her stomach that she knew wouldn't go away until her child was safely on the ground. Crossing her arms to stop the shaking she called up to him.
"I'm sorry I tried to make you climb down earlier"
Ryan looked up long enough to flash her a brief smile "It's okay. You thought of the ladder"
Kirsten sighed sadly. It didn't really matter what she did or didn't do, things would always be 'okay' in Ryan's book.
"Wish I'd thought of it sooner"
"I'm alright. So long as I don't look at the ground"
"Just a few more minutes now, Ryan"' Kirsten promised. Ryan's vulnerable tone and resignation at his predicament brought out her protective nature full force "You're safe. We're- I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?"
She held her breath, berating herself for impulsively crossing that line even as she counted the seconds.
"…Yeah…I trust you."
Although the words were soft they were spoken with a confidence that made a brief flicker of pride appear on Kirsten's face alongside the fear. She was about to respond when her cell phone rang. Thinking it was Diane and too distracted to look at the screen, she picked it up
"Hello?"
"Hi, Kirsten? It's me, Liz, your next door neighbor to the right? Anyway, I'm calling because I was looking out my window and I thought I saw someone standing on your rooftop. I was just wondering if you knew"
Kirsten blushed
"No need to worry, Liz. That's just my foster son"
Ryan groaned.
"Oh, the one that burnt down that lovely house? Well, I'm not one to judge, Kirsten. You know that. But if I were you I'd keep an eye on that boy. Richard, is it?"
Kirsten bit the inside of her cheek
"Ryan"
"Yes. Ryan. It looks like he might be practicing for some type of future… endeavor"
"I can assure you. Nobody is planning to break into your house, Liz" Kirsten answered, the stress of the evening making her less polite than usual.
"Now, don't take it the wrong way, Kirsten, please. I'm speaking only as a concerned neighbor. You can never be too careful with those types. I'm sure you know that. Do you by any chance know what he is doing?"
Seth and Sandy stumbled into the yard with the ladder
"Sorry Liz, can't talk now. I'll see you at the next club meeting." She snapped the phone closed with more force than necessary as the boys set the ladder up.
"Okay, Ryan" Sandy called up to him once they had it position, "Seth and I will hold the ladder. You just take it slow. Come down one step at a time."
Ryan looked up and over at them briefly, swallowed and dropped his forehead to his knees again
"Ya know, come to think of it being on the rooftop isn't that bad" he said
"Come on, Ry. You've got the easy job here. Seth and I did all the hard work.", Sandy teased lightly "Just ease yourself down to the ledge"
"That's easy to say when you're not one wrong step away from a broken neck"
"Come on, Ryan"
"I'll slip"
"You'll be fine"
Ryan shook his head from between his knees "Too steep"
"Time to man up, Ryan" Seth hollered "Where's your Chino spirit?"
"Seth, you're not helping" Kirsten admonished
"Ryan, I know you're scared-" Sandy started
"Not scared. I'm fine"
" It's all in your head, kid. You won't slip" Sandy said adamantly
"I only have one shoe on. No traction." Kirsten heard his voice shake.
"You are not. Going. To fall. I promise" Sandy said.
Ryan turned his head away.
Sandy sighed, "There's no other way to do this, Ryan"
" I know. Just… give me a second" Ryan breathed.
He started to get up, taking fast, shallow breaths. Ryan took two steps towards them before he looked down, wobbled a bit and sat back down again. He ducked his head down all the while shaking it furiously.
"You know, I think I'll just wait for Archie to fix the window"
Sandy frowned
"Kid, look at me"
Ryan wouldn't look up.
"Ryan?" Kirsten tried as her cell phone buzzed for a fourth time.
"Dude, seriously. It's getting cold out here. I thought you wanted to get down" Seth added but still got no response
Another idea came to her that she didn't like at all, and she wrestled with it for a couple minutes before deciding it was their best shot. They would do anything to keep Ryan safe. She looked over at Sandy and he saw immediately what she was thinking. They communicated silently for a few moments and once they were in agreement Sandy nodded once to her and again to himself before turning to his eldest.
"Seth, you hold the ladder and hold it steady. Ry? I'm coming up, kid"
Sandy Cohen, to the rescue! Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of 'Heights' :)