missmara13 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
missmara13) wrote2010-12-02 04:47 pm
missmara13) wrote2010-12-02 04:47 pm
Entry tags:
24 Gifts Of 2010 - Day Two - Untitled Snippet Sequel
Last year I wrote this untitled snippet on Day Twenty. Well, this little, also untitled, snippet is the sequel. I didn't establish it in the first one but this takes place when Sophie Rose is almost 14.
Sandy yawned as he went to answer the door in the middle of the night. "This better be really good," he said as he swung the door open, only to immediately wake up completely when he saw Ryan standing there with Lily in his arms and a couple bags slung over his shoulder. "Ryan?"
"Can we crash here tonight? Hotels are booked."
"Of course, Sandy said, taking some of the bags and stepping aside to let his son and granddaughter in, then frowning as he realized Taylor wasn't with them. "Where's..."
"Probably at Henri Michel's hotel room again, just like she was during the first three hours of her party tonight," Ryan replied. "She's been cheating on me for god knows how long."
"Oh, kid," Sandy said. "Come on, I'll pull out the port-a-crib."
"Don't bother, I doubt I'll be sleeping, I just don't want Lily spending the night in a freezing car."
"Ryan..."
"I don't wanna talk, Sandy," Ryan repeated, grabbing the bags he'd brought and heading down the hall to his old room so he could get Lily settled for the night.
~~~
In the morning, Kirsten came downstairs to find an exhausted Ryan sitting at the table, talking on his cellphone.
"John, it's Ryan Atwood, I need you to call me when you get in. I know you're corporate law, but I need a recommendation for a divorce attorney. Taylor's been cheating on me, and I'm not gonna be walked all over. The guy who handled your sister's divorce got her custody, and that's what matters most to me, so... thanks."
When he hung up, Kirsten walked in. "Morning," she said.
"Morning," Ryan replied. "Sandy fill you in?"
"I can't believe she would do this," Kirsten said.
"I can," Ryan said. "To her... it's like I'm a trophy husband, Kirsten. She ignores me and Lily, unless she needs to drag us out to make her look good. Last night... I spent three hours trying to keep her friends entertained, half of them didn't even seem to realize I was her husband not her employee, the other half were speaking languages I couldn't even identify, let alone understand, and then she shows up with Henri Michel on her arm, acting like that's right where he belongs. It was humiliating."
"Honey, I just don't want you to do anything rash..."
"Rash?" Ryan asked, incredulous. "She's been cheating on me for God knows how long, and you don't want me to do anything 'rash'?"
"She loves you..."
"No, she doesn't."
"If she didn't love you, she wouldn't have stayed," Kirsten said, then immediately regretted it.
"Stayed?" Ryan asked. "What do you mean, 'stayed'?"
"Ryan..."
"Did you know?" Ryan asked. "Kirsten, did you know she was cheating on me?"
"A few years ago, she admitted to me that she had... slipped..."
"Slipped?" Ryan asked, scoffing. "What, oops she fell into bed with him?"
"Ryan..."
"How could you not tell me?" Ryan asked.
"Because all it would have done is hurt you, she said it was a one time thing with someone she barely knew, and once the paternity test..."
"The what?" Ryan asked, his chest tightening at the one thing he had been trying to keep as far from his thoughts as possible. "Am... I'm not..." he tried to ask, his voice cracking.
"No, honey, you are Lily's father, the test proved it," Kirsten said. "And if it had said anything else I would have told you..."
"So then you would have told me that my wife was cheating on me? That she might be exposing me to god knows what she picked up from this guy she barely knew?" Ryan asked.
"Hey, look who's wide awake and asking for her daddy," Sandy said cheerfully as he walked in with Lily in his arms. His smile faltered when he recognized the tension in the kitchen. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Did you know that Taylor was cheating on me?" Ryan asked Sandy, looking up at him.
"Of course not."
"Did you know that she needed to run a paternity test on Lily to be sure I was the father?" Ryan pressed.
"What?" Sandy asked, looking between his angry son and his guilty looking wife. "Kirsten? Did you..."
"All it would have done is..."
"Warned me that she was cheating," Ryan snapped, getting up and taking his daughter form Sandy. "We'll find somewhere else to stay," he said, his voice cold as he directed the words towards Kirsten.
"Ryan, don't go," Kirsten began.
"I don't really feel like looking at you right now," Ryan bit out before leaving to get Lily ready to go.
"Ryan?" came a sleepy voice from the bottom of the stairs, and Ryan looked over to see Sophie Rose standing there, looking confused.
"Hey, Soph," he said, trying to hide his distress, she didn't need to know about any of this. "I was just leaving..."
"Please, don't," Kirsten said.
"I'm not staying," Ryan replied.
"What's going on?" Sophie Rose asked, crossing the living room to stand beside her favorite brother and kiss her niece on the cheek. "Ry?"
"Taylor and I are getting a divorce," Ryan said bluntly. "And I found out that... I found out that the problem's been going on a lot longer than I knew."
"Ryan, if I thought it would have served a purpose, I would have..."
"You didn't think I needed to know that I should have a STD test?" Ryan snapped before he could stop himself. "Yeah, that's great parenting there Kirsten. Screw over your own son for the sake of protecting your cheating daughter-in-law."
"What?" Sophia Rose asked, horrified. "Ry? Are you..."
"I haven't gotten tested yet, but that's on my to-do list, right after I hire a lawyer," Ryan said, placing a kiss on his sister's temple and marveling again at the fact that at not quite 14, she was already almost as tall as him. "I'll let you know where we're staying later, okay Soph?"
"Okay," Sophie Rose said, waiting until they all heard the door of Ryan's old room close before she turned on her mom. "How could you?" she demanded, angry.
"Don't use that tone with me, Sophie," Kirsten said.
"No, I think that's the exact right tone for the situation," Sandy said. "I'm with her, how could you?"
"Sandy, I..."
"You know what? I don't want to hear excuses right now," Sandy said. "Sophie, go get dressed, okay? I'm gonna ask Ryan if he'll let you and me take them out to breakfast."
"Okay," Sophie Rose said, shooting one last angry glance at her mother before running upstairs.
"Sandy..."
"Don't," Sandy repeated. "I need to worry about my son right now, since his mother obviously isn't."
<The End
There may be more of this universe, either for this years gifts or at some point in the future....
Also... I really didn't start this sequel with the intent that Kirsten had known about Taylor cheating at least once, but as I wrote, suddenly Kirsten was accidentally admitting it... and then it just became too good to ignore... She didn't intend to hurt Ryan by hiding it, she really thought it was just a one time thing, and she never considered the STDs thing... which honestly I can see Kirsten doing on the assumption that Taylor wouldn't sleep with someone disease ridden... which is majorly faulty logic, but... yeah... Kirsten loves Ryan and she meant well, but she fucked up. Big time.
And yes, Ryan is of course Sophie Rose's favorite brother, because seriously? The competition is Seth... who can occasionally be kinda cool, but Ryan is always awesome... lol
Sandy yawned as he went to answer the door in the middle of the night. "This better be really good," he said as he swung the door open, only to immediately wake up completely when he saw Ryan standing there with Lily in his arms and a couple bags slung over his shoulder. "Ryan?"
"Can we crash here tonight? Hotels are booked."
"Of course, Sandy said, taking some of the bags and stepping aside to let his son and granddaughter in, then frowning as he realized Taylor wasn't with them. "Where's..."
"Probably at Henri Michel's hotel room again, just like she was during the first three hours of her party tonight," Ryan replied. "She's been cheating on me for god knows how long."
"Oh, kid," Sandy said. "Come on, I'll pull out the port-a-crib."
"Don't bother, I doubt I'll be sleeping, I just don't want Lily spending the night in a freezing car."
"Ryan..."
"I don't wanna talk, Sandy," Ryan repeated, grabbing the bags he'd brought and heading down the hall to his old room so he could get Lily settled for the night.
~~~
In the morning, Kirsten came downstairs to find an exhausted Ryan sitting at the table, talking on his cellphone.
"John, it's Ryan Atwood, I need you to call me when you get in. I know you're corporate law, but I need a recommendation for a divorce attorney. Taylor's been cheating on me, and I'm not gonna be walked all over. The guy who handled your sister's divorce got her custody, and that's what matters most to me, so... thanks."
When he hung up, Kirsten walked in. "Morning," she said.
"Morning," Ryan replied. "Sandy fill you in?"
"I can't believe she would do this," Kirsten said.
"I can," Ryan said. "To her... it's like I'm a trophy husband, Kirsten. She ignores me and Lily, unless she needs to drag us out to make her look good. Last night... I spent three hours trying to keep her friends entertained, half of them didn't even seem to realize I was her husband not her employee, the other half were speaking languages I couldn't even identify, let alone understand, and then she shows up with Henri Michel on her arm, acting like that's right where he belongs. It was humiliating."
"Honey, I just don't want you to do anything rash..."
"Rash?" Ryan asked, incredulous. "She's been cheating on me for God knows how long, and you don't want me to do anything 'rash'?"
"She loves you..."
"No, she doesn't."
"If she didn't love you, she wouldn't have stayed," Kirsten said, then immediately regretted it.
"Stayed?" Ryan asked. "What do you mean, 'stayed'?"
"Ryan..."
"Did you know?" Ryan asked. "Kirsten, did you know she was cheating on me?"
"A few years ago, she admitted to me that she had... slipped..."
"Slipped?" Ryan asked, scoffing. "What, oops she fell into bed with him?"
"Ryan..."
"How could you not tell me?" Ryan asked.
"Because all it would have done is hurt you, she said it was a one time thing with someone she barely knew, and once the paternity test..."
"The what?" Ryan asked, his chest tightening at the one thing he had been trying to keep as far from his thoughts as possible. "Am... I'm not..." he tried to ask, his voice cracking.
"No, honey, you are Lily's father, the test proved it," Kirsten said. "And if it had said anything else I would have told you..."
"So then you would have told me that my wife was cheating on me? That she might be exposing me to god knows what she picked up from this guy she barely knew?" Ryan asked.
"Hey, look who's wide awake and asking for her daddy," Sandy said cheerfully as he walked in with Lily in his arms. His smile faltered when he recognized the tension in the kitchen. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Did you know that Taylor was cheating on me?" Ryan asked Sandy, looking up at him.
"Of course not."
"Did you know that she needed to run a paternity test on Lily to be sure I was the father?" Ryan pressed.
"What?" Sandy asked, looking between his angry son and his guilty looking wife. "Kirsten? Did you..."
"All it would have done is..."
"Warned me that she was cheating," Ryan snapped, getting up and taking his daughter form Sandy. "We'll find somewhere else to stay," he said, his voice cold as he directed the words towards Kirsten.
"Ryan, don't go," Kirsten began.
"I don't really feel like looking at you right now," Ryan bit out before leaving to get Lily ready to go.
"Ryan?" came a sleepy voice from the bottom of the stairs, and Ryan looked over to see Sophie Rose standing there, looking confused.
"Hey, Soph," he said, trying to hide his distress, she didn't need to know about any of this. "I was just leaving..."
"Please, don't," Kirsten said.
"I'm not staying," Ryan replied.
"What's going on?" Sophie Rose asked, crossing the living room to stand beside her favorite brother and kiss her niece on the cheek. "Ry?"
"Taylor and I are getting a divorce," Ryan said bluntly. "And I found out that... I found out that the problem's been going on a lot longer than I knew."
"Ryan, if I thought it would have served a purpose, I would have..."
"You didn't think I needed to know that I should have a STD test?" Ryan snapped before he could stop himself. "Yeah, that's great parenting there Kirsten. Screw over your own son for the sake of protecting your cheating daughter-in-law."
"What?" Sophia Rose asked, horrified. "Ry? Are you..."
"I haven't gotten tested yet, but that's on my to-do list, right after I hire a lawyer," Ryan said, placing a kiss on his sister's temple and marveling again at the fact that at not quite 14, she was already almost as tall as him. "I'll let you know where we're staying later, okay Soph?"
"Okay," Sophie Rose said, waiting until they all heard the door of Ryan's old room close before she turned on her mom. "How could you?" she demanded, angry.
"Don't use that tone with me, Sophie," Kirsten said.
"No, I think that's the exact right tone for the situation," Sandy said. "I'm with her, how could you?"
"Sandy, I..."
"You know what? I don't want to hear excuses right now," Sandy said. "Sophie, go get dressed, okay? I'm gonna ask Ryan if he'll let you and me take them out to breakfast."
"Okay," Sophie Rose said, shooting one last angry glance at her mother before running upstairs.
"Sandy..."
"Don't," Sandy repeated. "I need to worry about my son right now, since his mother obviously isn't."
<The End
There may be more of this universe, either for this years gifts or at some point in the future....
Also... I really didn't start this sequel with the intent that Kirsten had known about Taylor cheating at least once, but as I wrote, suddenly Kirsten was accidentally admitting it... and then it just became too good to ignore... She didn't intend to hurt Ryan by hiding it, she really thought it was just a one time thing, and she never considered the STDs thing... which honestly I can see Kirsten doing on the assumption that Taylor wouldn't sleep with someone disease ridden... which is majorly faulty logic, but... yeah... Kirsten loves Ryan and she meant well, but she fucked up. Big time.
And yes, Ryan is of course Sophie Rose's favorite brother, because seriously? The competition is Seth... who can occasionally be kinda cool, but Ryan is always awesome... lol
no subject
no subject
no subject
Even as I work on a more nurturing version of Kirsten in my own fics, I love how you color her clueless and less-than-involved w/ Ryan.
no subject
no subject
(Anonymous) 2012-02-01 07:14 am (UTC)(link)