More dearly beloved drabbles
Sooner or later, I'll be able to stop writing TDB drabbles.
Certainly.
In the meantime...
Tainted
Sometimes, it feels like Trey has left his mark everywhere in Newport.
The Cohens house, and the town at large, used to be a refuge for Ryan. It was a place his dysfunctional family hadn't touched. It was a place where Ryan could reinvent himself, experiment with harmless stuff, give innocence another shot.
It was shiny.
It was new.
It was safe -- not so much from psychos and guns and drugs, but emotionally safe. No one here tried to mindfuck Ryan, and he has to admit, he enjoyed the break while it lasted.
And then…
And then, Trey got out of jail, came live in the poolhouse, walked on the beach, ate in the Cohens' kitchen, went to the Bait Shop, went to… well, went to all of Ryan's favourite places, because they're also Seth's favourite places, and Seth couldn't resist showing them to Trey.
And now, nothing is shiny anymore.
Nothing is new.
Nothing is safe.
Everything seems dull and dark in Ryan's eyes.
Tainted.
Trey touched this place, and it can never be safe or innocent anymore.
Even worse, Trey touched Ryan's loved ones and changed them.
There's more grey in Sandy's hair than there was two months ago. There are new wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. Sandy smiles less often than before and seems drained of all energy, with Kirsten gone and the rest of his family falling apart.
Seth looks tired and sad all the time, and he doesn't talk as much, and he certainly doesn't ramble anymore about comic book heroes or books or emo, or stupid, teenager stuff.
Summer looks serious and hasn't talked about shopping in more than a week. She hugs Ryan sometimes, when they're alone in a room, but never says a word, for which Ryan is grateful.
Marissa looks haunted.
Marissa looks ready to drown herself in the nearest bottle of vodka. Jimmy told Ryan that Julie threw away every single drop of alcohol in the house, and tried to smile when Ryan paled, and said reassuringly, "I'm sure she'll be fine. She has us. She has you."
But Ryan isn't there anymore. Ryan is back in Chino, back in that bar where Trey said, "I swear on Mom."
Apparently, Shakespeare was right -- Ryan shouldn't have believed a promise sworn on something unstable and changing.
Ryan, it seems, isn't very good at learning history's lessons.
And now, after two years spent deflecting questions about his past -- spent protecting the Cohens, and especially Seth, from the train wreck that is the Atwood family -- the Cohens saw.
They now know exactly what and who Ryan is, where he comes from, what runs in his veins. What he's capable of.
Ryan tried to kill Trey. Trey tried to kill Ryan. Well, Atwood men are not known for their ability to stay level-headed.
Theresa once said that Trey killed everything he touched. She was right, and Ryan will never forgive his brother for touching the Cohens and Marissa.
END
Certainly.
In the meantime...
Tainted
Sometimes, it feels like Trey has left his mark everywhere in Newport.
The Cohens house, and the town at large, used to be a refuge for Ryan. It was a place his dysfunctional family hadn't touched. It was a place where Ryan could reinvent himself, experiment with harmless stuff, give innocence another shot.
It was shiny.
It was new.
It was safe -- not so much from psychos and guns and drugs, but emotionally safe. No one here tried to mindfuck Ryan, and he has to admit, he enjoyed the break while it lasted.
And then…
And then, Trey got out of jail, came live in the poolhouse, walked on the beach, ate in the Cohens' kitchen, went to the Bait Shop, went to… well, went to all of Ryan's favourite places, because they're also Seth's favourite places, and Seth couldn't resist showing them to Trey.
And now, nothing is shiny anymore.
Nothing is new.
Nothing is safe.
Everything seems dull and dark in Ryan's eyes.
Tainted.
Trey touched this place, and it can never be safe or innocent anymore.
Even worse, Trey touched Ryan's loved ones and changed them.
There's more grey in Sandy's hair than there was two months ago. There are new wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. Sandy smiles less often than before and seems drained of all energy, with Kirsten gone and the rest of his family falling apart.
Seth looks tired and sad all the time, and he doesn't talk as much, and he certainly doesn't ramble anymore about comic book heroes or books or emo, or stupid, teenager stuff.
Summer looks serious and hasn't talked about shopping in more than a week. She hugs Ryan sometimes, when they're alone in a room, but never says a word, for which Ryan is grateful.
Marissa looks haunted.
Marissa looks ready to drown herself in the nearest bottle of vodka. Jimmy told Ryan that Julie threw away every single drop of alcohol in the house, and tried to smile when Ryan paled, and said reassuringly, "I'm sure she'll be fine. She has us. She has you."
But Ryan isn't there anymore. Ryan is back in Chino, back in that bar where Trey said, "I swear on Mom."
Apparently, Shakespeare was right -- Ryan shouldn't have believed a promise sworn on something unstable and changing.
Ryan, it seems, isn't very good at learning history's lessons.
And now, after two years spent deflecting questions about his past -- spent protecting the Cohens, and especially Seth, from the train wreck that is the Atwood family -- the Cohens saw.
They now know exactly what and who Ryan is, where he comes from, what runs in his veins. What he's capable of.
Ryan tried to kill Trey. Trey tried to kill Ryan. Well, Atwood men are not known for their ability to stay level-headed.
Theresa once said that Trey killed everything he touched. She was right, and Ryan will never forgive his brother for touching the Cohens and Marissa.
END