Heavily Broken (Chapter Fifty Seven)

[missmara13]

Title: Heavily Broken (Chapter Fifty Seven)
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: It's been a while, but here's my latest offering for this one... enjoy! And, as much as I LOVE the banner that chrissydechagny made for me for this, I think I'm gonna make one myself soon... lol... just because I can now... lol...


Heavily Broken (Chapter Fifty Seven)


Many thanks to chrissydechagny for the most excellent banner!

Ryan didn't sleep much during what was left of the night, his heart pounding too hard as he wondered whether his mother was going to come back again. Finally, the sun came up and Ryan shuffled inside for breakfast with an equally tired looking Sandy and Kirsten and a refreshed and oblivious Seth, who left not long after, getting a ride from Che, who seemed to have moved back to Newport now.

"Can I go see Trey today?" Ryan asked once he was alone with the Cohens. "Since apparently school is out of the question?"

"I can take you tomorrow," Sandy said. "I've got court today, though."

"I can take the bus," Ryan replied quickly. "It's not a big deal..."

"I don't want you going alone," Sandy said.

"Then I'll drive him," Kirsten said. "I certainly wouldn't mind a day away from my dad."

"No, I'll do it tomorrow," Sandy said, nodding before he kissed her cheek and grabbed his briefcase. "I'll see you two tonight."

Kirsten glared at Sandy's retreating back then looked back at Ryan and raised an eyebrow. "Well, how about you go get dressed and we'll go see your brother?" she said.

"But Sandy..."

"He may be my husband, but he's not my boss," Kirsten said. "I'm his partner here, and if you want to see your brother, then I'm going to take you."

"He just doesn't want you in Chino," Ryan said. "I don't want you in Chino..."

"Why not?" Kirsten asked. "I have been there before, when you were in the hospital and day before yesterday, too."

"Chino Correctional is different," Ryan said. "I don't like the idea of what those guys might say to you."

"I may have grown up rich, but I can handle some catcalls. I have visited lots of construction sites, and there aren't guards there to stop them from acting on what they say."

Ryan sighed, but the need to see Trey overwhelmed his doubts. "Okay," he agreed, getting up. "I'll be right back in." He left and went back out to the poolhouse to get dressed, pulling on jeans, a black t-shirt, and a blue button down shirt. He tucked his old wristcuff, the one that had been Trey's until Ryan had 'officially', meaning willingly, lost his virginity to Theresa and Trey had decided Ryan was a 'man' and needed 'manly' jewelry. It had been a stupid brother thing, but right now Ryan needed to draw some strength from that. Right now he really needed his brother.

~~~

"Take a right here," Ryan said as they drove through the streets of Chino. "Umm... there's a waiting room for people who just did the driving. Eva drove me the first couple times, waited there for me."

"I'd like to meet Trey, if that's okay?" Kirsten said. "It can wait if you'd..."

"I just..." Ryan said. "We usually meet in the yard, and there'll be a bunch of guys out there, and... they're gonna say stuff... I know Trey, he doesn't respect women much 'cause of Ma, but he'll defend you, and then he'll get in a fight, and... I really need to know he's okay, you know?"

"I'll wait in the waiting room," Kirsten said, nodding in understanding.

"Thanks," Ryan replied as they turned into the parking lot.

~~~

"Hey, LB," Trey said, a little more reserved than usual as he embraced Ryan. "I got a visit from 'Turo yesterday, told me about Theresa, and how Eddie did it."

"It was a nice service," Ryan replied, sitting down. "Look, there's something I gotta tell you..."

"What?" Trey asked, frowning as he studied his brother's face. "Ry?"

"When we got home after the funeral, there was a message from my doctor," Ryan began. "So yesterday morning we went in, and... I tested positive, Trey."

"What?" Trey asked, his entire face crumbling. "No... that's not funny, Ry..."

"It's not a joke," Ryan replied. "I'm HIV Positive."

"Son of a..." Trey began, slamming a fist on the table.

"There a problem, Atwood?" a guard asked, his tone conversational rather than threatening.

"Besides my little brother being sick, no, there's not a problem," Trey said, head in his hands.

"Trey, I'm on the cocktail, alright? I'm not gonna die tomorrow, I'm gonna do everything possibly to stay healthy and... and I just need you to not freak out on me, because if you freak, there's no way I'll stay calm, okay?"

"Right, right," Trey said, taking a deep breath. "The Cohens, they still taking good care of you?" he asked.

"Yeah, they are," Ryan said. "Kirsten drove me this time, Sandy had court."

"You let a rich lady come here?" Trey asked, snorting. "How'd you convince her?"

"She volunteered when she saw how much I wanted to come."

Trey smiled softly. "When I get out, I'm gonna do something to thank these people. Don't know what yet, but I'll think of something."

"Something that won't get you arrested," Ryan amended with a smile. "There's one other thing... Ma showed up late last night to... she wanted me to go with her."

"Fuck," Trey swore. "Obviously you didn't."

"I was freaked, but Kirsten and Sandy must have seen my light on and come out to check, because they stopped her, and Kirsten stayed between Ma and me."

"Tell her I appreciate her lookin' out for you," Trey said. "I hate that I can't do it myself."

"I realized that every single childhood milestone involves you," Ryan said. "My first word was your name, you taught me to walk, and ride my bike... I love 'Lights' because you got it stuck in your head and kept singing it in the car."

Trey chuckled. "Don't spread that one around, LB."

"Yeah, yeah, gotta preserve your rep," Ryan replied with a smile. "But seriously... did I ever thank you for taking care of me?"

"I messed you up as often as I took care of you," Trey replied, shrugging.

"You raised me Trey," Ryan said firmly. "Not Ma, not Dad, you. Like I told Ma last night when she kept saying I was her boy, if I'm anyone's kid, I'm yours because you had to become my parent when you weren't even old enough to really take care of yourself. Thanks for that, Trey."

"You never gotta thank me for lovin' you, Ry," Trey replied. "It's the easiest thing in the world."

"Easier than crashing a stolen car?"

"Much."

Ryan smiled. "I'll try to come more often, okay?"

"You don't have to," Trey said. "You've got this good life now, you shouldn't be coming to this place..."

"I need you in that life or it's gonna suck," Ryan replied firmly. "I need to see my big brother."

Trey nodded, looking down and chewing on his lower lip. "Just... take care of yourself, take the meds, stay out of trouble. And when I get out of here, we'll go hustle pool and throw you into a high stakes poker game to fund my own new life."

Ryan chuckled, nodding. "Deal."

"So, how's that hottie girlfriend of yours?"

"As of yesterday, not my girlfriend," Ryan said.

"What? The bitch dumped you because...?"

"No, I dumped her," Ryan said with a sigh. "See... okay... one of my friends, who Summer barely tolerated anyway, she was assaulted at a party a long while back, so she figured out what happened to me from how I reacted to stuff. I figured if anyone could get how much this shit terrified me, it would be her. So I asked her to head off campus for lunch with me so I could talk to her and get her advice on how to tell Summer, since they used to be friends. But when we got back to school, Summer started yelling at me and accusing me of cheating on her with Holly, and I got pissed and broke up with her because really how do I deal with girlfriend drama when I'm still processing this shit? But right now... I haven't spoken to anyone but Sandy, Kirsten, and Ma since the fight with Summer."

"Shit, Ry..."

"I have enough drama without her adding to it," Ryan said, his voice almost pleading with Trey to understand.

"I know," Trey said slowly. "But you need friends, too. You can't just cut yourself off from people, Ry."

Ryan sighed. "I know, but... Marissa is Summer's bestfriend, Luke and Summer are good friends, Taylor loves Luke so she's gonna be loyal to him and whatever he does... All my friends are gonna be on her side and try to get me to forgive her and take her back, and I just... I can't deal with that right now."

"What about this Holly chick you mentioned? She gonna be on Summer's side?"

"I don't know, they were friends before... she might choose to get back in Summer's good graces..."

"Stop selling yourself short," Trey snapped. "You've always been the best kinda friend anyone could want, you take care of the people you care about, and if they can't stay loyal? Fuck 'em! They aren't good enough to be your friends!"

"Settle down, Atwood," the guard said.

"Fuck off," Trey muttered.

"Trey, don't," Ryan pleaded.

"Time's up," another guard said.

"We got at least another ten minutes!" Trey protested.

"Not with that attitude you don't," the second guard said.

"Cut him some slack, his brother's sick," the first guard said. "Give them a couple minutes."

"I said, time's up," the second guard repeated. "On your feet, Atwood."

"Just do it, Trey," Ryan said, standing with his brother. "Don't get in trouble, okay? I need to know you're safe."

"I am, I promise," Trey replied. "Love ya', LB," he continued, pulling Ryan into a hug, tighter than before. "Eddie's in solitary for his own protection," he whispered in Ryan's ear before pulling back. "I meant it when I said to thank the rich lady for keeping Dawn away from you," he added in a louder voice that the guard's could hear. "Tell her I'm glad she's looking out for you."

"I will," Ryan agreed. "I'll come back soon, okay?"

"Can't wait," Trey replied with a tight smile. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You got it," Ryan said, nodding and trying to keep himself composed. "I'll see you, Trey." He followed the friendlier guard to the waiting room, and he forced himself to take one last deep and calming breath before he walked in and found Kirsten. "Okay, we can go," he said.

"Is everything okay?" Kirsten asked, putting a hand on Ryan's back as they walked out.

"I just really miss him."

To Be Continued...