Fair bit of an internal look at the characters in this one, I can't help it, it seems important to get a better/real feel of them, so didn't get too far plot wise. Also I don't know anything about what would actually happen in these circumstances, govt/procedure-wise, might be taking some license but hope it is still believable, I think it's ok… :) thanks so much for reviews! 3
Ryan stared resolutely at the man at the door, vaguely recognizing him from yesterday. Inside, his heart was pounding. Did he hear everything? What's he gonna do? Ryan wished he would just ignore it all and piss off. Why the fuck was this guy even back? What did he want?
Under the haze of panic flooding Ryan's mind there was confusion. Under that, which he would never acknowledge existed, lay a faint trace of hope.
He watched the man pull out a chair and sit a distance from him. Heart beating faster, he suppressed the urge to back away. Forced his face to stay neutral, not give anything away.
"Ryan. We need to talk." He heard him say. A fresh wave of dread washed through him starting with the clenching of his heart and spreading out through his limbs making his whole body feel twice as heavy. He couldn't stop his breaths coming faster and cursed his body for betraying him. Talking was never a good idea, the truth was even worse.
Those words though, they didn't seem like they were spoken to intimidate him or force anything out of him. If Ryan didn't know better, which he definitely did, he would say they were spoken with concern. No one wanted to help him, ever. He understood that. It was a life lesson, learned early on along with don't touch the stove when stuff was cooking, don't talk back to drunk assholes (assholes generally, actually) unless you were up for a fight and the big one - weakness was something that's not acceptable.
Early on Ryan had assumed that some people were just worth more. He had a vague awareness that where he was born, where he lived and how he lived, all that crap somehow, obviously meant he wasn't worth the effort. Guess it made sense, he thought, those clean, fancy people certainly acted like they had a god given right to everything, just another of those facts of life. He was looked upon with scorn. Obviously he was trouble coming from the place he did and life he had, better to ignore people like him. Keep them away from 'respectable' society.
Ryan knew this guy wasn't genuine. Guess he didn't know what genuine was for that matter. He must be up to something, Ryan just wasn't sure what. All he knew was that he needed to get out of this somehow.
Sandy was acutely aware of the nurse in the room. He knew from the conversation he wasn't supposed to hear that there was something bad going on in this kid's family – in his life. He definitely suspected abuse. Sandy also knew kids like this were often fiercely opposed to speaking out because of the probability of being put into state care. Sandy knew the horror stories of group and foster homes but believed most of them were a lot better than the situations the kids came from. He was also aware of the threats from parents against telling anyone anything – had witnessed it a minute ago. He was sure there were many other reasons kids kept quiet but from the glimpse he got of Ryan's life, it was clear this was no way to live, even if Ryan couldn't see that.
Sandy knew that if he was going to help this kid, he needed him to trust him. Telling the hospital staff and so having child services involved would be a bad idea. He'd seen it before. The kid would clam up and deny everything. If nothing could be proved then nothing could be done. It sounded like he'd already convinced some people that it was just a fight. He was obviously a good liar, or used to this, Sandy thought sadly. He imagined the authorities in Chino were used to dealing with these kinds of cases, were probably overwhelmed with them and didn't pursue the ones they knew wouldn't lead anywhere.
Sandy wanted the kid to know he would help, that he would be there for him if he'd let him but he had to be careful what he said with the nurse in the room.
Again he spoke in a calm voice "I'm Sandy, do you remember me from yesterday?"
Ryan hesitated a second before giving one tiny nod.
Sandy was glad he'd acknowledged him even that much; it was an improvement from yesterday. He was aware Ryan was still rigid on the bed, balancing on the far side as he was when his mother was in the room. "Try and relax kid, I'm not gonna hurt you. You're gonna fall off if you're not careful." Sandy said, trying to add some humor to his voice. It worked, Ryan moved slightly closer to the centre. "I'm worried about you Ryan. How did this happen?" He asked quietly. Sandy knew the kid would lie but had to ask anyway, maybe if he could just get him talking a bit…
Ryan knew Sandy was testing him, knew he'd heard what he'd said to his mom. The cops had bought his fake anger at his alleged teen attackers, his convincing recount of getting jumped taking a shortcut through an alley. Ryan even demanded the cops catch them and 'mess them up good' – that he wouldn't tell anyone - they were just shit heaps. Ryan had played on the feelings of the cops towards young people in Chino, knew the cops despised dealing with the often violent and abusive kids. He also knew they probably wouldn't bother following it up – they didn't care about him either luckily. Ryan knew he was dead if those guys from the alley found out he'd spoken to cops and lead them there. Wouldn't be as bad as the fallout from leading them to AJ though… But this dam guy, why the hell was he taking an interest? Ryan was getting frustrated.
He knew the best option was to stick to what he'd told the cops, nothing else could be proved and this guy would have to back off. "It was just a fight." He said in quiet, clipped words. Sandy just kept looking at him. "They jumped me in that alley, must've pissed them off sometime."
"Did you see them?" Sandy asked after a moment, playing along for now.
"Nah not really, they came up quick." Ryan replied, hoping that would be the end of any questions. He was feeling real tired again but couldn't show that to this guy.
Sandy racked his brain trying to think of a way to get through to this kid without alerting the nurse to anything. After a minute he leaned forward in the chair and spoke in a low voice with imploring eyes. "If you're in trouble Ryan, there're people who can help. If it's kids ganging up on you or… other stuff… you don't have to deal with it alone." Sandy took a breath, gauging Ryan's reaction. There was nothing but a slight crease of his brow. "It might seem like you can't do anything, that there's no way out but listen, please, what's happening - it's not good, it shouldn't be happening to you." Sandy said with sad eyes. "If you'd let me I could help you" he finished in a quiet but earnest voice.
Sandy saw another glimpse of the hope he'd witnessed earlier when Ryan had seen him behind his mother. It was quickly gone, replaced by the empty stare Sandy was getting too familiar with. Sandy imagined the boy felt strongly but kept everything in check – probably a hard learnt lesson. As from the beginning, he felt again that this kid was something special; he was just so worried about what was happening to him and how long he might last, physically and emotionally.
Sandy easily made the decision, had made it before he came in. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his card with his mobile and home number written on it and held it out to Ryan. When the kid only looked at him with wide eyes, he placed it on his side table. "If you need anything, please call me." Sandy told him "Anytime. About anything." He added.
When it was clear nothing more could be said Sandy left with a "Bye Ryan." The nurse gave him a slightly questioning look, curious about the whole exchange but Sandy ignored it.
Walking outside he prayed the kid would be ok, hoped he would keep the card with him and use it if, or probably when he needed to. He hated that there was nothing he could do right now, that Ryan would be going back to a dangerous environment – the kid didn't deserve it, no one did. He'd seen his vulnerability and fear with his mother, his tenuous hope at Sandy's offer and the way he'd buried it all, like he was resigned to his fate. Sandy felt moisture in his eyes.
At 6pm the next day Ryan had been dressed and ready for an hour and a half, sitting on the end of his bed. Dark bruises still covered his face and movement jarred his ribs. Thank god the nurses had stocked him with a couple weeks worth of awesome pain killers – he need them. His mom came in a bit later and with an irritated "Come on Ryan." he followed her out. As he thought about the hell hole he was going back to, he absent mindedly felt the small square card at the bottom of his pocket.