These Walls - Chapter Three
Title: These Walls
Author: missmara
Fandom: The OC/OTH
Rating: R
Warnings: Angst. Mentions of child abuse, violence, possibly sex in later chapters.
Summary: A decade after being kidnapped by the abusive Atwoods, 15 year-old Ryan Cohen is coming home to a family he doesn't even remember.
Notes: Title comes from the song 'These Walls' by Trapt. Such a good song, and it kinda fits if you look at some of the lyrics.
These Walls - Chapter Three
Ryan sat silently while Sandy and Kirsten talked to the social worker in charge of his case, wishing that he could hear them through the glass. Finally, when Kirsten seemed about to explode, an older man who looked vaguely familiar appeared and suddenly the social worker became gracious, acting almost coy and flirtatious. After the woman shook the hands of all three of the other adults, she hurried off, leaving Sandy to turn on the older man, looking annoyed. Kirsten spotted Ryan watching and smiled before rolling her eyes and coming back into the lounge.
"We had things under control, we didn't need you showing up and..." Sandy was saying, but Ryan didn't hear the rest as Kirsten closed the door again.
"Do you know who that man is?" Kirsten asked, obviously trying not to sound too hopeful.
"Someone Sandy doesn't like?" Ryan replied, glancing over at her and smiling when he saw she was.
"That's Caleb Nichols," Kirsten explained, sitting beside Ryan to watch the bickering. "My father. He always wanted me to marry a rich man, not a, and this is a direct quote, bleeding heart liberal do-gooder."
"Charming man," Ryan said.
"That's... about right," Kirsten admitted. "But he's my dad, and..."
"I'll be polite," Ryan said.
"I don't expect you to be any more polite than I expect Seth to be..." Kirsten began. "And even Seth doesn't usually live up to those expectations, so..."
Ryan smiled shyly at her, then looked out the window. He caught Caleb's... his grandfather's... eye and they stared at each other for a long moment, the older man's expression softening as he said something to Sandy.
~~~
"He looks just like Kiki," Caleb said.
Sandy turned to see Ryan watching them while Kirsten watched him, and he nodded. "Yeah, he does," he said softly. "And he's been through a lot, Cal. He doesn't even remember us... Last thing he needs is out mutual dislike of each other making things even harder. He's dealt with enough yelling and anger in his life so far."
"You do realize that the media will be all over this, don't you?" Caleb asked, reluctantly turning his gaze back to Sandy. "Especially with my latest business acquisitions..."
"Which is why we want to keep this quiet for as long as possible," Sandy said. "Let him get settled before..."
"Sandy, I had to come in the back way because of the reporters out front," Caleb said. "I think word is out."
"Damn it," Sandy said, going into the lounge and grabbing the remote for the small tv.
"What's going on?" Kirsten asked.
"The media might have picked up on it already," Sandy said as he turned on the news.
Sure enough, the reporter was talking about them.
"We're still waiting outside the Chino Police Precinct, waiting for the Cohen family to make their exit, which should be this morning. For those just tuning in, yesterday evening, police stumbled upon the long missing son of Kirsten Nichols-Cohen and her husband, Sandy Cohen, in the home of a man they were arresting on murder charges. The boy was only 4 years old when he was abducted from his family's Berkeley home, presumably by the man arrested last night and his wife. We've learned exclusively that the couple are Frank and Dawn Atwood, both with criminal records stretching back to their teenage years..."
A pair of mug shots appeared, making Kirsten flinch as she saw the angry looking man and the defeated woman, and she couldn't resist the urge to put an arm around Ryan's shoulders. "Sandy, turn it off," she said quietly. "We don't need to watch this."
"I can have my car brought around to the back," Caleb said. "Get the three of you out that way, and I'll drive your car back to Newport. I'll confirm it's true and give them a simple 'please respect our privacy' statement, hopefully it'll keep the vultures at bay a little longer."
"Ryan, this is my dad," Kirsten said. "Dad, this is Ryan."
"We'll have time to get to know each other later," Caleb said, though he offered Ryan a smile. "Right now, I'm more concerned with getting you out of here without those vultures tearing you apart."
"Don't scare him, Cal," Sandy said sternly.
"You'd think a guy as old as him wouldn't be so over dramatic," Sandy said to Ryan, trying to get the tension in Ryan's body to fade again.
Caleb huffed. "I am not over dramatic," he protested.
"You made yourself out to be a super spy getting in here," Sandy pointed out.
"All I said is I had to sneak in the back way..." Caleb began, huffing again, but Sandy could tell he'd caught on and was playing it up.
"And that's not a remotely dramatic way to describe it," Sandy said, rolling his eyes. "And we wonder where Seth gets the habit of dramatics from," he said to Kirsten.
"You folks ready to get out of here?" Malcolm said as he came in, spotting Caleb and suppressing a groan.
"Dad, call your driver," Kirsten said, standing with Ryan by her side. "We're going out the back, Dad's going out the front to handle the press."
"Sounds like a plan," Malcolm said. "I'm suppose to make a statement about it later today, but I'll keep it brief and try to emphasize that they should leave you alone."
"Thank you, Malcolm," Kirsten said, offering him a smile.
~~~
It was almost an hour before they actually left, and Ryan hadn't known what he was expecting when they walked out the back, but a limo wasn't it.
"Dad likes to flaunt his wealth," Kirsten said as they walked to the limo, her hand lightly resting between his shoulder blades to guide him.
"Caleb owns The Newport Group, it's..."
"They built the Civic Auditorium," Ryan said, surprised. Now he knew where he'd seen Caleb before, the man had visited the site while Ryan had been working it the previous summer. They actually been in the same room for a few minutes as Ryan told the foreman that some of the guys had a problem. Hell, the foreman had introduced them, called Ryan one of his best workers.
"Yeah, we did," Kirsten said. "I'm head of the residential division for the company," she added.
"We should probably call Seth, let him know what's going on, make sure he doesn't immediately start bouncing around," Sandy said.
"He... bounces?" Ryan asked, not sure whether to be horrified or amused that he had a brother, a twin brother, who 'bounced'.
"Sometimes," Sandy said.
"He's going to be excited that we got you back," Kirsten said. "He missed you."
"Does he remember me?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Yeah, he does," Kirsten said.
"I... I don't remember him," Ryan admitted. "I mean... when that detective showed me the picture, I remembered something about a stupid toy horse..."
"He still has it," Kirsten said, laughing. "Keeps it on his nightstand."
This time, Ryan was just horrified.
"No answer," Sandy said, putting his cell back in his pocket.
"He's probably still asleep, and Rosa doesn't come in until noon today," Kirsten said.
"Rosa?" Ryan asked.
"Our housekeeper," Sandy said.
"Oh."
"When we get home, we'll show you your room so you can get some more sleep, okay?" Kirsten said.
"Okay, thanks," Ryan said, nodding.
~~~
He ended up pretending to fall asleep in the limo, wanting to avoid any more awkward conversation until he felt more like he was on an even keel. Kirsten softly said his name and touched his shoulder when they got to the house, and Ryan got out of the limo to look up at the nice house they'd stopped in front of. He smiled slightly, not sure what they wanted him to say and preferring to stay quiet instead of saying the wrong thing.
"Come on, kid, your room's upstairs," Sandy said as they opened the door and started up the stairs.
Ryan tried not to be obvious as he looked around, taking in the expensive furniture and decorations and feeling completely out of place. Sleep would be nice, give him more time to figure out how he was suppose to act.
To Be Continued...
Author: missmara
Fandom: The OC/OTH
Rating: R
Warnings: Angst. Mentions of child abuse, violence, possibly sex in later chapters.
Summary: A decade after being kidnapped by the abusive Atwoods, 15 year-old Ryan Cohen is coming home to a family he doesn't even remember.
Notes: Title comes from the song 'These Walls' by Trapt. Such a good song, and it kinda fits if you look at some of the lyrics.
These Walls - Chapter Three
Ryan sat silently while Sandy and Kirsten talked to the social worker in charge of his case, wishing that he could hear them through the glass. Finally, when Kirsten seemed about to explode, an older man who looked vaguely familiar appeared and suddenly the social worker became gracious, acting almost coy and flirtatious. After the woman shook the hands of all three of the other adults, she hurried off, leaving Sandy to turn on the older man, looking annoyed. Kirsten spotted Ryan watching and smiled before rolling her eyes and coming back into the lounge.
"We had things under control, we didn't need you showing up and..." Sandy was saying, but Ryan didn't hear the rest as Kirsten closed the door again.
"Do you know who that man is?" Kirsten asked, obviously trying not to sound too hopeful.
"Someone Sandy doesn't like?" Ryan replied, glancing over at her and smiling when he saw she was.
"That's Caleb Nichols," Kirsten explained, sitting beside Ryan to watch the bickering. "My father. He always wanted me to marry a rich man, not a, and this is a direct quote, bleeding heart liberal do-gooder."
"Charming man," Ryan said.
"That's... about right," Kirsten admitted. "But he's my dad, and..."
"I'll be polite," Ryan said.
"I don't expect you to be any more polite than I expect Seth to be..." Kirsten began. "And even Seth doesn't usually live up to those expectations, so..."
Ryan smiled shyly at her, then looked out the window. He caught Caleb's... his grandfather's... eye and they stared at each other for a long moment, the older man's expression softening as he said something to Sandy.
~~~
"He looks just like Kiki," Caleb said.
Sandy turned to see Ryan watching them while Kirsten watched him, and he nodded. "Yeah, he does," he said softly. "And he's been through a lot, Cal. He doesn't even remember us... Last thing he needs is out mutual dislike of each other making things even harder. He's dealt with enough yelling and anger in his life so far."
"You do realize that the media will be all over this, don't you?" Caleb asked, reluctantly turning his gaze back to Sandy. "Especially with my latest business acquisitions..."
"Which is why we want to keep this quiet for as long as possible," Sandy said. "Let him get settled before..."
"Sandy, I had to come in the back way because of the reporters out front," Caleb said. "I think word is out."
"Damn it," Sandy said, going into the lounge and grabbing the remote for the small tv.
"What's going on?" Kirsten asked.
"The media might have picked up on it already," Sandy said as he turned on the news.
Sure enough, the reporter was talking about them.
"We're still waiting outside the Chino Police Precinct, waiting for the Cohen family to make their exit, which should be this morning. For those just tuning in, yesterday evening, police stumbled upon the long missing son of Kirsten Nichols-Cohen and her husband, Sandy Cohen, in the home of a man they were arresting on murder charges. The boy was only 4 years old when he was abducted from his family's Berkeley home, presumably by the man arrested last night and his wife. We've learned exclusively that the couple are Frank and Dawn Atwood, both with criminal records stretching back to their teenage years..."
A pair of mug shots appeared, making Kirsten flinch as she saw the angry looking man and the defeated woman, and she couldn't resist the urge to put an arm around Ryan's shoulders. "Sandy, turn it off," she said quietly. "We don't need to watch this."
"I can have my car brought around to the back," Caleb said. "Get the three of you out that way, and I'll drive your car back to Newport. I'll confirm it's true and give them a simple 'please respect our privacy' statement, hopefully it'll keep the vultures at bay a little longer."
"Ryan, this is my dad," Kirsten said. "Dad, this is Ryan."
"We'll have time to get to know each other later," Caleb said, though he offered Ryan a smile. "Right now, I'm more concerned with getting you out of here without those vultures tearing you apart."
"Don't scare him, Cal," Sandy said sternly.
"You'd think a guy as old as him wouldn't be so over dramatic," Sandy said to Ryan, trying to get the tension in Ryan's body to fade again.
Caleb huffed. "I am not over dramatic," he protested.
"You made yourself out to be a super spy getting in here," Sandy pointed out.
"All I said is I had to sneak in the back way..." Caleb began, huffing again, but Sandy could tell he'd caught on and was playing it up.
"And that's not a remotely dramatic way to describe it," Sandy said, rolling his eyes. "And we wonder where Seth gets the habit of dramatics from," he said to Kirsten.
"You folks ready to get out of here?" Malcolm said as he came in, spotting Caleb and suppressing a groan.
"Dad, call your driver," Kirsten said, standing with Ryan by her side. "We're going out the back, Dad's going out the front to handle the press."
"Sounds like a plan," Malcolm said. "I'm suppose to make a statement about it later today, but I'll keep it brief and try to emphasize that they should leave you alone."
"Thank you, Malcolm," Kirsten said, offering him a smile.
~~~
It was almost an hour before they actually left, and Ryan hadn't known what he was expecting when they walked out the back, but a limo wasn't it.
"Dad likes to flaunt his wealth," Kirsten said as they walked to the limo, her hand lightly resting between his shoulder blades to guide him.
"Caleb owns The Newport Group, it's..."
"They built the Civic Auditorium," Ryan said, surprised. Now he knew where he'd seen Caleb before, the man had visited the site while Ryan had been working it the previous summer. They actually been in the same room for a few minutes as Ryan told the foreman that some of the guys had a problem. Hell, the foreman had introduced them, called Ryan one of his best workers.
"Yeah, we did," Kirsten said. "I'm head of the residential division for the company," she added.
"We should probably call Seth, let him know what's going on, make sure he doesn't immediately start bouncing around," Sandy said.
"He... bounces?" Ryan asked, not sure whether to be horrified or amused that he had a brother, a twin brother, who 'bounced'.
"Sometimes," Sandy said.
"He's going to be excited that we got you back," Kirsten said. "He missed you."
"Does he remember me?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Yeah, he does," Kirsten said.
"I... I don't remember him," Ryan admitted. "I mean... when that detective showed me the picture, I remembered something about a stupid toy horse..."
"He still has it," Kirsten said, laughing. "Keeps it on his nightstand."
This time, Ryan was just horrified.
"No answer," Sandy said, putting his cell back in his pocket.
"He's probably still asleep, and Rosa doesn't come in until noon today," Kirsten said.
"Rosa?" Ryan asked.
"Our housekeeper," Sandy said.
"Oh."
"When we get home, we'll show you your room so you can get some more sleep, okay?" Kirsten said.
"Okay, thanks," Ryan said, nodding.
~~~
He ended up pretending to fall asleep in the limo, wanting to avoid any more awkward conversation until he felt more like he was on an even keel. Kirsten softly said his name and touched his shoulder when they got to the house, and Ryan got out of the limo to look up at the nice house they'd stopped in front of. He smiled slightly, not sure what they wanted him to say and preferring to stay quiet instead of saying the wrong thing.
"Come on, kid, your room's upstairs," Sandy said as they opened the door and started up the stairs.
Ryan tried not to be obvious as he looked around, taking in the expensive furniture and decorations and feeling completely out of place. Sleep would be nice, give him more time to figure out how he was suppose to act.
To Be Continued...