AN: Technically, it's still Wednesday in my time zone. Sooooo yeah. Here.
Sandy was absolutely furious. He was so angry, he couldn't even speak. When Kirsten asked him what was wrong, he only managed to glare at her. Well, he wasn't really glaring at her. At least he hadn't meant to. He sat himself down on the bed eventually.
"His lawyer is saying that I abandoned him. And that I shouldn't have any rights to him. And that he should get him back when he gets out of jail."
"Sandy, what are you talking about?" She sounded concerned, of course she did. She probably looked concerned too, but Sandy didn't look at her. He couldn't look at her or anyone or anything. He couldn't believe what was happening.
"I just got off the phone with his lawyer." Sandy couldn't sit still any longer. He threw himself to his feet and began pacing again.
"Who's lawyer, Sandy?"
"That… that man." He didn't even feel comfortable referring to him as a man. "He…" Sandy didn't even know how to say it. It was all too ridiculous. "That man who raised Ryan, the man who beat him and made him so scared and then got arrested," he paused for emphasis. It wasn't that his wife needed it, it just made the thing sound so much more ridiculous. It couldn't be happened. "Got arrested. For robbing a liquor store. Not even getting arrested for torturing a little kid! I just…"
"You need to slow down. You're not making any sense."
"None of this makes sense! I can't believe it. I absolutely cannot believe it." He finally sat down next to his wife and looked at her. She made everything so much better. She wouldn't be able to fix this though. "Ryan's step-father is up for parole and if he gets out, he wants to take Ryan back. He wants to see Ryan now! He can't be satisfied that he ruined the first sixteen years of his life, he has to try to ruin the rest of it too? Ryan was doing so well! He's smiling! He's laughing! He's talking! He's smart! I told you what Dr. Kim said! He finally has the opportunity to turn his life around, to be a kid, to be happy, and this guy has to try to get him back so he can beat it right back out of him."
"They can't be serious. After everything he's done? No court would actually consider giving Ryan back to him. Would they?"
"Oh, they're gonna try. This lawyer is gonna pull every trick in the book. He knows that if this guy sitting in jail has a son waiting for him who needs his support and his money and everything, then there's a better chance he'll get the parole. He shouldn't even have a lawyer. He doesn't deserve one."
"But Ryan doesn't need anything from him! And didn't they take Ryan away from him before? Isn't there evidence on how much he was tortured? You really think he's going to get away with it?"
"He somehow got ahold of one of those big shot lawyers. They don't care who they're hurting as long as they win. They'll try to convince the judge that 'he's a changed man' or 'it was all a big misunderstanding.' It's going to be complete bullshit."
"So you're actually worried about this? It just seems… so unbelievable that a judge would really take Ryan from us and give him to some monster."
"That monster raised him and we're strangers. I really don't think it'll go through. Hopefully he won't even get parole, but if he does, if it does…"
Ryan stared down at his wrist and wiggled his fingers. He was laying on the couch "hanging out" with Seth and Summer. They had snuck upstairs some twenty some minutes before with instructions to lie if either of his parents asked where he was. He should have told Seth that there was no way he would do that.
He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to understand the relationship Seth had with his parents. He was always joking and talking back sneaking around to do things they told him not to do. There didn't seem to be any major repercussions, at least that Ryan could see. He wondered if they had some other kind of system, just as awful as his dad's, and Ryan just couldn't see it. Neither of them seemed like physically violent people. He couldn't really be sure; they could just be good at being fake nice. Although, they would have to be really good for carrying it on for so long. But just because they didn't act like his dad did for most of the time, it didn't mean that they really were good people.
Maybe they really did beat Seth and everyone was just covering it up. Ryan had plenty of experience covering up bruises and lumps and scrapes. Well, if they were beating Seth, it wasn't working. Ryan knew full well that Seth wasn't supposed to be alone with his girlfriend upstairs. Maybe he should have tried to stop them? Would Sandy hit Ryan for not stopping them? Or would he maybe just kick him out.
Ryan's stomach began to churn thinking that the thing that gets him kicked out of the house might actually be in progress. When he heard Sandy's voice behind him, he thought his heart was going to explode. He had a vague wondering of whether or not Sandy could read his mind and knew everything he had just been thinking. He sat up as Sandy walked into the room.
"Hey, kid. How's it goin?"
"Seth and Summer are upstairs." He didn't even really think about the words, they just shot out of his mouth in a panic. He held his breath, waiting.
"That's okay." Sandy's voice was soft. He made a noise that kind of sounded like a laugh, but it didn't last long. "I mean, it's not okay, but it's not something for you to worry about. I'll deal with Seth later."
Ryan had made the wrong choice. He had made the safe choice, but it hadn't worked. Sandy didn't want him being a tattletale. Was that for just the one instance or would that carry out for everything else Seth asked Ryan to lie about? Would it happen a lot? Was Seth going to be angry at him when he got in trouble because of Ryan? Trey was always pissed off when he got a beating because of Ryan.
"I won't tell Seth you ratted him out, okay?" Ryan quickly shifted his eyes upward. Sandy was close to him, smiling. He turned suddenly. "How about some ice cream? Why don't we go get some ice cream?" Ryan wondered if he was going to get the chance to figure Sandy out before he got sent away.