fic : Shattered Faith
title
Shattered Faith
fandom
The OC
summary
Sandy doesn't believe Ryan
timeline
AU, shortly after "The Truth"
beta
If it counts, MS Word 03
disclaimer
Sadly "The OC" isn't mine, but belongs to others (Josh Schwarz, FOX, ...)
previous
Part 1
Part 2
School
It wasn’t easy but somehow Ryan managed to get to school in time. Days like that let the practice he got by dealing with the fallout of Dawn’s boyfriends come in handy. It also helped, that he was foresighted enough to take some Tyneol with him when he had left the Cohen’s.
“Good morning, Ryan” Dr. Kim greeted him as she stepped out of her office. Ryan stood up from the chair he was waiting in and shook her hand.
“Aren’t the Cohens here yet? You know they were supposed to attend this meeting?” Dr. Kim asked as she realized that he was there by himself.
“I don’t know. I didn’t spend last night there. …Though it might be possible that they are still at the hospital, but I figured that they’d call if they couldn’t make it to the meeting.” he replied while she led him into her office.
He wasn’t sure if he should worry about Seth, that his condition might be so serious that his parents hadn’t even thought of informing the school or that he, Ryan was at least now simply to unimportant for them.
“Has, them being at the hospital, something to do with the bruises and injuries on your head?” Dr. Kim’s asked him suspicious while she motioned for him to sit down.
He really hoped she wouldn’t touch upon his injuries, but whom was he kidding - it was only two weeks back that he had beaten up Oliver in the students launch and now he was again sitting in the dean’s office with clearly visible traces of a fight.
“It has. … Seth was beaten up yesterday by some guys. … He called me, but I didn’t get him out without taking a few hits myself. … Aside from the two stabs in my side I got off lightly. … Seth hadn’t that much luck. The last I know is that he was moved to the ICU.” “and that it wasn’t sure if he survives” Ryan finished in his head, trying to block all fears about Seth dying or maybe already being dead.
His explanation left Dr. Kim speechless. It seemed to him that what he told her wasn’t anything she had expected.
“Dr. Kim, may I ask why I’m here today?” Ryan asked trying to change to a “safer” topic before she could ask any more questions.
She needed a few more seconds to recover from the news, but eventually answered “A few of your teachers have approached me independently, informing me of your exceeding achievements in class and recommending you for more challenging classes.”
At that moment it was Ryan who was more than surprised. Truth to be told he hadn’t had any idea about what to expect from this meeting, but that was definitely something new for him. He had had a lot of meetings with his different deans over the years, but never had it been about him outstanding in class. It made him proud and sad at the same moment. It was typical that once he achieved something that there was something or someone keeping him from his reward. Just like most of the other times in his life when something good was happening to him.
Observing his change from surprised via happy to slightly sad Dr. Kim asked concerned “You don’t seem too happy about these news?”
Ryan hesitated, deciding how much he could tell her. “Actually it’s great, but I’m not sure how much longer I’m attending Harbor.”
“I’m not quite with you. You seemed to be happy when I told you that your suspension was lifted. Did something happen that changed your or the Cohen’s mind about you attending Harbor?”
Ryan was still pondering if he should tell her. Could he trust her enough that she wouldn’t turn the truth against him, like Sandy did?
“Yeah, it did, Oliver happened and me punching him in the face.” Ryan explained after he made up his mind.
“I thought that the lifting of your suspension and dropping of all charges made it clear that we want you to continue your education here?”
“It did, but because of my behavior regarding Oliver, Sandy apparently lost his faith in me. And I don’t think that the options I have due to Seth’s parents outweigh the lack of trust. So I might not live with them much longer.”
“They didn’t believe you, but neither did I and still you seem to feel comfortable enough around me to have this conversation.” Dr. Kim remarked and Ryan could only wonder why everyone called her “Dragon Lady”. At the moment she seemed to care more about him than Seth’s parents did.
“You might not have believed me either, but you are my dean, not my guardian. To be honest I was and am still disappointed that the word of a rich kid counted automatically more than mine, but your responsibilities are different and you have told me upfront that you would keep an eye on me. So your actions didn’t surprise me. Whereas the Cohens, especially Sandy wanted me to believe that I’m a real member of their family, not only a charity case. So the least I had expected was that he would really listen to me and not only dismiss my dislike for Oliver as jealousy.” Ryan explained carefully.
“Ryan, under this circumstances I think it’s the best to postpone this meeting until you’ve made your decision. I hope for you that everything works out with the Cohens and also that Seth gets better. I let the teachers know that you are excused if you want to visit Seth and that’s enough if you hand in your assignments.” Dr. Kim finished their meeting while she stood up and guided Ryan to the door.
After his meeting with Dr. Kim Ryan enjoyed the distraction his classes provided. He even managed to avoid Marissa, which wasn’t an easy task these days. She still didn’t get that there was no chance for a fresh start between the two of them and used every chance to get him back. If he ran into her between classes she wouldn’t back off until she was forced to do so, which usually wasn’t until the next class began.
It was the end of lunch break. Ryan had just finished his calculus assignment and oddly enough was happy for the first time in the last days. He had always liked math, the systematic; the fact that there were only right and wrong answers, but nothing in between; nothing open for interpretation. It was after he put his notebook back in his bag and looked up again that he recognized two officers accompanied by Dr. Kim approaching him.
In that moment the last remains of Ryan’s world shattered. He thought that Sandy was capable of many things, but not that. Never had he imagined that Sandy would send him back to juvie, especially not after he’d worked so hard to keep him out of it during the Oliver incident. They’d promised that they wouldn’t kick him out, no matter how much he’d screw up and still there were to cops headed towards him.
“Ryan Atwood?” one of the cops asked and all he could do was nod.
“You are under arrest for assault and violation of your probation. Put your hands behind your head.”
next
Part 3