Heavily Broken (Part Twelve)

[missmara]

Title: Heavily Broken (Chapter Twelve)
Author: Mara
Rating: R
Warnings: Sex, mentions of rape, violence. Language.
Summary: Ryan didn't call Sandy after Dawn kicked him out, but he still finds his way to the Cohen family.
Notes: This totally the Chino Reunion Chapter... lol...


Chapter Twelve



Many thanks to chrissydechagny for the most excellent banner!

There were visiting hours at the prison the next day, and right after lunch Sandy drove Ryan to Chino, staying in the waiting room while Ryan went to see Trey. As soon as Ryan stepped out onto the blacktop where the visitor's tables were, he spotted an anxious looking Trey and felt like running over and throwing his arms around his brother. But that wouldn't go over well, either with Trey or the guards, so he just walked over calmly, offering Trey a smile when he looked up, and being completely surprised when Trey got up and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Don't you ever scare the shit out of me by disappearing again!" he said, his voice angry even though the look in his eyes showed nothing but lingering fear and a lot of relief. "I thought maybe something happened to you!"

Ryan sighed as they both sat down. "Something did happen," he said softly.

"What? Are you okay?" Trey asked, noticing the cast for the first time. "Who?" he demanded, reaching over and turning Ryan's cast over to look at the signatures and drawings that covered it.

"I don't know his name," Ryan said, pausing then closing his eyes and forging ahead. "He was a trick."

A heavy silence came in response to Ryan's admission, then Trey's expression darkened. "You told me you were okay."

"I had a roof over my head and food in my stomach," Ryan replied with a shrug. "I was alive."

"Who made you do that?" Trey asked. "I'll call Arturo and Eddie, get them to..."

"No one made me, Trey," Ryan said. "Who hires a 15 year-old and pays them enough for food and rent? I made the choice, and... and I paid the price for it."

"How bad?"

"I needed stitches," Ryan said. "And antibiotics because of a gash on my side. The broken arm, obviously... The... uh... the HIV exposure..." he added, his voice cracking slightly. "I was trying to be halfway smart, Trey," Ryan said, the words flooding out now. "Condoms everytime. Except this one guy, he refused to wear one, and I tried to walk away. He didn't... he didn't let me."

"So he... he beat you all to hell, and then he...?" Trey asked, not able to say the words.

Ryan nodded. "But, I'm doing a lot better now. The cast comes off in another few weeks, and... and I've got new foster parents..."

"Foster parents," Trey almost spit out the words.

"They're good people, Trey," Ryan insisted. "They've had a lot of opportunities to do something, but they've... they've acted like parents are suppose to. They've taken care of me, and... and they've reassured me when I freaked out... I smashed up a mirror and they didn't even care about it, all they cared about is if I was hurt. And when I told them I wanted to see you yesterday, they set it up for me to come today. My foster dad, Sandy, he's out in the waiting area."

"They're not hurting you?" Trey asked. "Not like that one guy?"

"Nothing like him," Ryan promised. "When Sandy found out about that other guy, he just about killed my social worker."

"You tell them that they better take care of you or they'll have to answer to me when I get out."

"They're good people," Ryan repeated. "I... I trust them. I feel safe with them."

"Okay," Trey said, nodding. "But... but you tell them that I asked them to take good care of you. I need to know my baby brother's okay."

"I am," Ryan said. "Or at least I'm getting there."

"Close enough," Trey said. "What does mom say?"

"Haven't seen her in 7 months," Ryan said. "But... she's in jail. Something about her and her boyfriend dealing and she... let's just say I got my career choice from somewhere."

"Yeah, but you're better than it, she isn't," Trey said. "Ma did one thing well, and that was sleep with whatever guy she could find who could support her bad habits, even if that meant a couple guys a night for cold hard cash to buy her drugs and booze with. You were trying to survive, there's a difference there. You wouldn't have done that to yourself unless you had no other choice."

Ryan smiled sadly. "I really miss you, Trey," he whispered. "You remember how you used to sit by the side of my bed when it was really bad, just to keep the monsters away?"

Trey returned the smile. "Yeah, I do."

"I... uh... they said you can't keep it, but I can show you," Ryan said after a long moment, pulling several folded sheets of paper from his pocket. "I've been drawing a lot lately," he said as he smoothed the shoots and pushed them towards his brother. "The top one's the poolhouse, where I live. I've got it all to myself."

"Damn, you've got it made, LB," Trey joked as he studied the image. He slowly set that page aside and looked at the next one, of a smiling couple. "These them?" he asked.

"Yeah, Sandy and Kirsten," Ryan said. "They're really nice."

"As long as they're taking good care of you, they're okay in my books," Trey replied, turning to the next page.

"Those are some new friends of mine," Ryan said. "The guy's Luke, he's kinda dumb, but... he's a good guy. The the darker haired girl is Summer, and the other girl is Taylor. Taylor's actually tutoring me so I don't flunk social studies at the stupid private school I'm stuck at."

Trey grinned. "Please tell me there's a uniform I can mock you for wearing?" he said.

"Sorry, they got rid of the uniforms a while back," Ryan replied.

"When I get out of here," Trey began, putting the sketches back into a neat pile. "I'm gonna clean up my act. No more stealing cars and no more drugs. I'm gonna take care of you, and be the brother you deserve."

"You're already the brother I want," Ryan replied.

"You forgive and accept way too easy, LB," Trey said. "Stop being a fucking doormat. Stay away from Ma, no matter how much she claims she's changed, don't trust her. If these people are so great, then you stick with them, at least until I get out of here."

"Okay," Ryan agreed as the guard came over to say their time was up and they both stood.

Trey stepped forward again, cradling Ryan's face in his hands. "Let them take care of you," he instructed. "Tell them when something's wrong. Tell Arturo and Eddie where the fuck you are so if you need help they can be there. Call me or write, let me know how you're doing."

"I will," Ryan said. "Love you," he whispered.

Trey patted Ryan's cheek before dropping his arms. "Love you, little brother," he echoed.

~~~

Sandy glanced at Ryan out of the corner of his eye and saw the teenager staring out the window, only slightly less anxious than he had been before the visit, and just as untalkative, having only said maybe a dozen words to Sandy all day long. Finally, the silence got to be too much and Sandy spoke up. "So, how'd it go?"

"He told me to tell you that you better take good care of me or he'll kick your ass," Ryan said quietly.

Sandy couldn't help smiling slightly, glad that it seemed taking Ryan to see Trey had been a good thing. "Well, I guess we better make sure we do then, huh?"

"Trey's... protective," Ryan said. "He's the one who used to take care of me when I was little and got hurt. Everyone knew, you don't mess with Trey Atwood's little brother."

"I'm glad you had him," Sandy said honestly.

"If you guys are gonna insist on a party, could I... could I invite some of my old friends from Chino? No one with a criminal record..." Ryan said, but trailed off as it seemed to occur to him that he didn't have many friends who didn't have a record.

"How about no one ever convicted or charged with a felony?" Sandy offered with a smile.

"So committing but not getting caught is okay?" Ryan replied, the corner of his mouth twitching with amusement.

"Sure, why not," Sandy agreed. "Do you want to stop and see anyone while we're here?" he added.

Ryan took a deep breath, then nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said, and he began giving Sandy directions.

~~~

It was a small one story house, with a lawn of patchy grass that had a rusty car parked on it, and to Ryan it was like being home again. Even if his old house was actually next door, the house with the broken out windows. He and Sandy climbed out of the car, and when the doors closed a bit too loud, a boy a little older than Ryan popped out from around the side of the rusted car on the lawn, frowning at first, then breaking out in a big grin.

"Ma! Theresa!" he called. "Ry's here!" Then he was crossing the distance to pull Ryan into a friendly hug.

Ryan tensed for a moment, but it was also familiar, the same kind of hug Arturo gave him when they'd last seen eachother at Christmas, when his old friend had hunted him down and brought him food and gifts. "Hey, 'Turo, what's up?" he said.

"You tell me, I went by your place a couple weeks ago and it was cleaned out, the landlord, creepy slime bag that he is, said some guy with crazy eyebrows packed up your stuff!"

"Meet the guy with the crazy eyebrows," Ryan said, gesturing back at Sandy. "He's my new foster dad." When Arturo's eyes narrowed warily, Ryan quickly shook his head. "He's a good guy, 'Turo. Him and his wife, they're taking care of me they way they're suppose to. The way your mom takes care of you and Theresa."

No sooner did he saw the girl's name than Theresa was jumping at him, almost tackling him with her enthusiastic hug, and then she and Arturo's mother, Eva, was joining her daughter. "Where have you been, hijo?" Eva asked, scolding slightly.

"Believe it or not, in a poolhouse in Newport," Ryan replied with a smile.

~~~

They stayed until it was getting dark, Ryan happily chatting with the Diaz's, and in return them sharing stories with Sandy about Ryan's childhood. And the main thing Sandy realized is that he wanted to see this Ryan, the happy and smiling one who laughed freely, more often. He didn't worry when Ryan pulled Arturo and Theresa out on the backporch to talk for a little while, leaving him and Eva to talk more, and took the oppurtunity to ask Eva what sort of foods Ryan liked best. He was just inviting her to Ryan's birthday, and agreeing that of course Eva could bring some food, he was sure Ryan would appreciate it, when they heard Theresa let out a strangled sob and both jumped up to go out and find out what was wrong.

Theresa was clutching Ryan to her, seemingly trying to comfort him even as she sobbed and he tried to comfort her. Arturo, meanwhile, was pacing and looking like he wanted to hit something as he spoke in rapidfire spanish, including what had to be several swear words and curses against someone, and Sandy knew immediately what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Eva asked, obviously trying to decide which of the three teenagers she should be trying to take care of.

"You told them?" Sandy asked Ryan, who nodded in response.

"Yeah, I did," Ryan said. "Trey told me I should, so... I did."

"Told them what?" Eva demanded.

"He was... he was..." Theresa tried, wiping the tears off her face as she pulled back.

Arturo said something in Spanish, his rage clear, and Sandy recognized the phrase 'Hanlin Street', and saw how Eva visibly wavered on her feet at the words. Then the woman was moving to embrace Ryan, smoothing his hair and rubbing his back as she murmured something that seemed to have a calming effect on Ryan, who replied in spanish, and it seemed to calm the woman slightly, though she kept brushing her fingers through his hair and whispering her own reassurances. It took almost an hour for everyone to calm down, most of the calming words being said in Spanish so Sandy had no idea what was going on, but finally everyone was calm, and the tears had mostly dried up, so it was time to leave.

"So, we'll see you in two weeks," Eva said as she smoothed Ryan's hair back on more time. "And I am bringing the food."

"Enchiladas?" Ryan asked hopefully, and smiled as Eva nodded. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Thanks," he said.

Arturo gave Ryan another quick hug, saying that if he ever found out who did it, he'd give the guy a free sex change, then pulled back and let Theresa take her turn.

"So, when I come for your birthday, I'm suppose to be your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ryan replied. "Especially around a little brunette named Summer. She's... she's gotten think I'm taken."

"Okay," Theresa said, nodding. "I think I can pretend to be your girlfriend. I've had practice," she added, smilling.

Ryan returned the smile. "Yeah, you have," he said before giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And you know I love you, Theresa."

"Love you, too, Ry," Theresa said. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed before climbing into Sandy's car and sitting back as they pulled away.

"So, that was nice, hearing all those stories," Sandy said.

"Arturo's gonna massacre the guy if he ever finds out who he was," Ryan interjected. "Said he knew Eddie would be with him on that."

"I shouldn't encourage that, but..." Sandy said, shaking his head.

"Can you go along with the whole Theresa's my girlfriend thing?" Ryan asked quietly.

"If that's what you want, though I don't understand why you want to lie to Summer."

"I'm protecting her," Ryan said in a tone of voice that made it clear the conversation was over.

Sandy nodded slightly. "Okay," he said. "So, Eva said you like chocalate cake with chocolate icing," he said.

Ryan smiled. "Theresa and me were always in agreement that chocolate can fix any situation. Or at least make it seemed fixed for a little while."

"Kirsten's gonna love her, then," Sandy said with a smile.

To Be Continued...