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 | Part 3
Part 4
Tuesday Morning
It had taken Ryan by surprise when one of the guards had informed him that he would be released. Considering the events of the previous weekend, the fact that Sandy surely couldn’t be interested in getting him out this time, Ryan hadn’t dared to hope that he would get out of juvie soon. But there he was now, waiting in front of a massive metal door; the last door that separated him from freedom; but also the last door separating him from a more than ever uncertain future.
Sandy was anxious while he was waiting for Ryan’s release. He really hoped that his foster son had survived the night in juvie unscathed. He breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that the boy in fact seemed to be alright when he finally caught sight of him stepping through the door into the hall.
But his relief vanished the moment that Ryan raised his head and looked in Sandy’s direction. He wasn’t in the slightest prepared for the glance he got from the boy. Ryan’s usually sparkling blue eyes showed nothing but disappointment, resignation and disgust plus a coldness that sent a shiver down Sandy’s spine. He had never seen his foster son so defeated. And the fact that Ryan was showing his emotions so openly, not hiding them behind his usual mask, didn’t make it any better.
“I’m glad that you are ok” Sandy said when Ryan had finally walked over to him.
“Like you give a shit” the boy replied coldly, starting on his way out of the building.
“Watch it young man!”
Sandy surely didn’t know this new Ryan and how to handle him, but he didn’t want to risk any sort of scene in or in front of the juvenile detention center and so he forced himself to stay calm and silent. Ryan on the other hand had simply nothing to say to his foster father at all.
However, once they reached the parking lot, it surprisingly was Ryan who broke the silence by asking “Have you talked to Seth?”, wanting to know if it had needed Seth’s word for Sandy to get him out of juvie or if it had been at least Sandy’s own decision.
“He told me what happened. … I’m really sor…”
“Save it. I don’t wanna hear it.” Ryan interrupted pissed.
“I get it that you are angry at me, but that doesn’t give you the right to talk to me like that.” Sandy said firmly while unlocking the car.
“Whatever.” the boy shrugged and climbed into the passenger seat.
“What else do you want me to do than to say that I’m sorry?” the man asked once he was seated in the driver’s seat.
“There isn’t anything you can do Mr. Cohen” Ryan said still cold and emotionless, stressing the last words.
“So, we are back to Mr. Cohen?” Sandy asked surprised.
“I might as well call you ‘dad’, since you are definitely not acting any better than him lately, but I don’t think that it’s appropriate.”
Sandy was stunned at his foster son’s last confession. He knew that he’d love it if Ryan would be able to call him dad some day, but he was realistic enough to know that that might never happen. Still he hadn’t thought that Ryan associating negative experiences with the word ‘dad’ would be the blocking reason. It made Sandy realize just how much he must have hurt Ryan, for the boy to think that way, let alone openly make this painful comparison.
“Are we getting out of here soon, or are you already thinking of giving me back or even trying to exchange me for another juvenile delinquent to give false hope to?!” an impatient Ryan asked his still pondering foster father after a few moments.
“What makes you think that I’d ever do that?”
“Well what makes me think that?! Might it be the fact that you just had to get me out of juvie, though I shouldn’t have even been there in the first place? That I wouldn’t have been there if YOU really hadn’t wanted me there?!”
What could he say to that? Ryan was right. He wouldn’t have been in juvie if Sandy had trusted him. If he’d taken the time to listen to what his boys tried to tell him the previous evening after he caught them ‘fighting’ in the backyard; or at least had given Ryan a real chance to explain what happened that they both ended up in the hospital.
“Ryan, just give me a chance to explain …” Sandy tried again.
“Yeah, like the one you gave me at the hospital?” Ryan snorted back.
“I didn’t send the cops after you.”
“You really think that it matters to me if you called the cops yourself or not?”
Sandy looked surprised; he’d truly hoped to regain some trust if he told Ryan that it wasn’t him, or at least not directly him, who had caused his overnight stay at juvie.
“You really don’t have a clue, do you?” Ryan asked after noticing Sandy’s expression.
“This isn’t about me spending a night in juvie, whether or not you caused it. … This is about you telling me to accept my place in your family, … to trust you, … to let you in, … only to have you breaking me to pieces once I’ve finally done it.” Ryan finished before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car.
“Where are you going?” Sandy asked stunned.
“I’ll take a cab, the bus, or even walk, but I’ve done with this.” the teenager said gesturing between himself and his foster father.
“You aren’t thinking of running away, are you?” Sandy asked, afraid of the answer he might get.
“Now you think I’m stupid as well?!” Ryan replied head-shaking and started to walk away, but stopped after a few meters, turned around and yelled to Sandy “Tell Seth that I’m sorry”.
With that he continued his way out of the parking lot, leaving behind his desperate foster father.
next Part 5