Chapter 4

Ryan fell asleep after they finished eating and he didn't wake up when Seth's dad called.

Seth came into the room and looked at the girls with as blank a look as he could manage.

He hadn't expected this.

"Well?" Summer asked. "What did he say?"

"I need to talk to him."

"Seth…" Marissa started.

"I'll explain everything later," he said. Ryan opened his eyes and looked at him, glazed from the short sleep.

Marissa led Summer into the hallway and Seth closed the door behind them. He sat down in the chair beside the bed. Ryan sat up, sensing the importance.

"So. I, sort of, have a plan for you now," Seth said. He didn't think Ryan would hurt him, but he had no idea what to expect.

"Shit. You told your dad, didn't you?" Ryan realized.

Seth didn't know how Ryan just read his mind or his face like that, but he knew that he had to run damage control before his friend judged him as a narc. "Ryan…"

"Why would you do that?" Ryan asked, breathing fast.

"Because he's the only person that can help you. I'm not a lawyer, I don't have money at my fingertips, I don't know anything about social services or juvenile hall," Seth replied. "Dad…he wants to help you."

Ryan covered his face.

"You can stay with us. All you have to do is come home with me. Sign the papers…"

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked, confusion flashing in his eyes.

Seth was getting ahead of himself. His dad had told him to just get Ryan home and that he'd take care of the rest. But now Seth had mentioned papers.

"What kind of papers?" Ryan demanded.

"Um, we want you to stay with us," Seth admitted. He wished he knew more about the restrictions but he had to tell him what he knew. "Stay with me and my parents. You can stay in the poolhouse, and he says that you can get into my school with your test scores…and you won't have to run away, you won't have to hide…"

Seth watched Ryan for some sort of response, but Ryan was completely still, the only movement was the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

"What about your mom?" Ryan asked suddenly.

"She doesn't want you on the street. Mom…she's going to like you, to. She wants you somewhere safe and our house…it's safe."

Ryan was silent.

"Just…just come home with me and listen to what they have to say," Seth said.

"I don't know, Seth…"

But Seth could see that he was on the fence.

"Please. This is the best plan. Dad…you know he wants to help you, right? I wouldn't have called him if he didn't want to help you…"

Ryan sighed. Seth knew that Ryan respected his dad, otherwise Ryan would have never met Seth in the first place.

"Get your stuff. This is going to work out, I promise."

"Trust you, right?" Ryan murmured.

"Yeah. Trust me," Seth said.

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Sandy shot out of his chair when he heard the door open.

Seth walked into the den and after a beat, a very bruised Ryan followed him into the room.

"Ryan…" he whispered. He hadn't expected him to look quite so…beaten. Someone had really hurt him and if the sparse story Seth had told him was true, he was probably hurting even more on the inside.

"Hey," Ryan said, his eyes down.

"Honey, are you all right? Have you seen a doctor?" Kirsten asked.

"I'm okay," Ryan replied, clearly surprised by her concern.

"Seth, thank you for bringing him home. Why don't you go out to the poolhouse and wait for him? We need to talk to Ryan."

Seth nodded and turned to Ryan. "It'll be okay, dude."

Ryan put down his backpack and hesitantly sat down on the edge of one of the seats.

"Where have you been staying?" Kirsten asked quietly.

He shrugged and Sandy could see that the simple gesture hurt him.

"Seth said you found your mom," Sandy stated.

Ryan looked at him with a slight nod. "You saw the letter, right? I should've taken her word for it instead of seeing for myself how much she didn't want me around," he said quietly.

"Did your father…" Kirsten started but Sandy glanced at her and she stopped in mid-question.

"Her boyfriend. My dad's in jail," Ryan said, straightening himself in the seat. "Look, I know that you guys are trying to be nice because of Seth, but really…if you can just tell me what I'm supposed to do, I'll get out of your hair. Is there a social worker or a shelter I need to go to?"

"You think we want to help you because of Seth?" Sandy asked, surprised.

Ryan shrugged.

"Everyone needs a little help sometimes," Kirsten said quietly. "We want you to stay here with us."

Ryan held her eye contact. "No, you don't."

"I think I'm capable of making my own decisions. You're Seth's friend and Sandy seems to think you're worth helping. We have the room and the resources to give you a home. All you have to do is accept it," Kirsten replied.

"Kirsten, give us a minute?" Sandy asked.

She nodded, standing up. "I'll get the poolhouse set up for you, make sure you have everything you need."

Ryan watched her walk out of the room.

"She doesn't have to do this, you don't have to do this…"

"Ryan. I want you to remember something," Sandy said, leaning forward. "You didn't ask us to do this for you. We want to do this. You need a place to stay and we have one. You are too smart, you have too much potential to drop out of school and have to…live on the streets. That's where you were, isn't it?"

Ryan looked away. "I didn't sleep in alleys or anything. There are lots of 24 hour places around."

"And how long were you going to be able to keep that up? Kid, let us help you. We all want you here."

"What if it doesn't work? What if something happens and you guys change your minds?" Ryan asked.

"This isn't something that we do every day. You're already a criminal, it's not like we don't know what we're getting into. I believe in you. I believe if you're given a chance that you'll be able to be the man I know you're meant to be," Sandy replied.

Ryan didn't say anything.

"Come on, kid, you're not going to find a better offer than this," Sandy said.

Finally, Ryan sighed and nodded his assent.

"Are you really willing to try this? To make this work, it's going to take all of us," Sandy said.

"Yes. I'll…I won't let you down. If you want me to go to school, or work…"

"We're not making you clean our house or anything, Ryan, we pay people to do that here," Sandy said, standing up. "Kirsten and I will be your guardians. We'll be here to take care of you."

"And first on the agenda tomorrow is a trip to the pediatrician's," Kirsten said, reappearing with a bottle of ibuprofen. "Are you allergic?"

"Um, no, I don't think so," Ryan said, accepting the bottle. "Thanks."

"Seth's pacing a path into the carpet in the poolhouse. You better go check on him, tell him the good news," Kirsten said. She hesitated and then stepped forward to give him a gentle hug. "It's going to be nice to have you here."

"Thanks," Ryan replied.

**************************** ********* ********************************

Ryan was still spinning a little by everything after Seth left him alone in the poolhouse.

He was staring at the bed. His bed.

He was going to stay here.

In this place where the pillowcases probably cost more than his entire backpack of belongings.

With the hyperactive kid and the jolly father figure and a proper lady of the house.

His brother would never believe this. Trey got sent to jail and Ryan ended up in a house with an infinity pool.

There was a timid knock on the door. That was different, too. Nobody knocked in Chino, he'd never lived in a room with a lock on the door that didn't include the movement of a heavy object.

"Come in," he said.

Kirsten stepped in with a paper bag. "Hi. I saw your light was still on. I brought you some food, snacks for your minifridge. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, thanks, everything's fine," Ryan said.

She walked over to kitchen area and started emptying the bag. "We'll get you some furniture, some places to put your things…and we'll get you things," she said, her eyes falling on the backpack.

"I have everything I need," Ryan said. He could get a job and get some clothes.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow. It's part of the deal." She paused. "I think we should probably talk."

"Talk?"

:"Seth and Sandy swear you don't say much, but I think we need to do this. I need to explain some things to you," she said.

"You don't have to…" he started.

"I need to. See…Sandy didn't tell me much about you. He just said that you needed a place to stay for the weekend and he didn't tell me why. That your mom…he didn't tell me everything that he knew, Ryan," Kirsten said quietly, standing behind the counter. "He wanted me to get to know you but I've been in this sheltered little place so long that I didn't even give you much thought."

Ryan was silent. She didn't have to explain anything to him.

"And then you were so nice to Seth, he doesn't have many friends, and you just…brought him to life. But he got hurt…and Seth…I know I've probably spoiled him, but he's never really been in a fight before where he actually bruised," she continued, looking at him and his bruises. "I'm sorry about your mother. And I'm sorry that I didn't take the time to consider that you were going to turn out to be such a large part of my life. Because you are. You're my responsibility now, just like Seth."

"Kirsten…"

"Sandy was right about you," she said, folding the paper bag and putting it in the trash. "I learned a long time ago to trust his instincts. I'll see you in the morning," she said, starting back toward the door.

"Kirsten. Thank you," he said, quietly.

She gave him a relieved smile and nodded. "Good night, Ryan. Try and get some rest."