1 Ch1: Fresh Start
(AN: Don't expect it to follow story 100% this will be from a different point of View which is Ryan so he won't be apart of everything. Book takes place in future but I am not putting a time line in it so think whatever year you want.)
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Looking at the passing trees Ryan sighed for the tenth time, he had to roll his window down because the case worker next to him was wearing awful cologne. He was an overweight middle aged man and for the past twelve hours they have been stuck in this car.
It all started after his mothers death, it seemed that the drinking finally caught up to her as one day she just didn't wake up from it. He was still staying with the Cohen's when he found out, Sandy had to give him the news the first night after he stayed at their house.
That all led to them getting a call from the social workers office, his only living family that could care for him his grandmother who stayed in a town called Tree Hill. He didn't get a choice since it was his only family who was willing to take him in, he was taken the next day.
Since it was a quick case he was taken that weekend, he was sad that he wasn't going to be able to hang out with Seth but they would stay in touch. If he ever got a cell phone that is.
'I don't want to be
Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me
I'm surrounded by liars
Everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by imposters
Everywhere I turn'
Ryan turned up the song so he could distract himself when he saw that the man wanted to make conversation again, he didn't want to smell that awful breath. When they tell children horror stories about going into the system this is the type of social worker they warn you about.
For the next year and a half Ryan would have to deal with this man, he was going to make sure that Ryan was taken care of where he went. It wasn't something he really cared about though, he knew that no matter where he went it would most likely end the same.
Why else would he just not be meeting his grandmother? She wasn't there for the past seventeen years so why would she try and get custody of him now, he just shrugged it off.
Eventually he would end up in jail just like Trey, he didn't see his future ending up any other way. It wasn't long before he let his exhausted mind finally take him, he didn't sleep since finding out and didn't trust the man next to him to actually want to sleep, he just could take it anymore.
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When he woke up next it was to someone tapping on the glass of the window next to him, looking up it was the overweight social worker, "Come on kid we are here."
Ryan took his bag from the floor board and got out looking around, it was day time at the moment and they were in a pretty upscale neighborhood. It was nothing compared to The O.C but it was a little below it, he could tell the rich people lived in this neighborhood.
Looking forward he could see an older lady who was smiling happily at him, she seemed energized even for someone who looked to be so old. He could see her wringing her hands looking nervous as she watched him, he let out a breath before walking to her.
The social worker stayed back as he moved over to her, "Ryan!" She said not being able to hide the excitement in her voice, it was weird for him but he tried to keep a straight face.
"...Hey." He said awkwardly while trying to look anywhere but her smiling face.
"I am so sorry to hear about your mother, I always tried to get her to move here with me and let me help take care of you all but she never would listen to me. It is a shame Trey can't join us but maybe he will come later if we reach out to him." She said while walking over and grabbing his face to make him look at her.
This was a surprise to him though as he never even heard of her, but he didn't see any tells of her lying though. He really wanted to believe her, there was a small part of him that was begging him to accept her words since he needed to have someone who truly wanted him.
"....She never told us anything about you. Why did you move here? I know mom was from Chino so how did you get here?" He asked holding in his emotions.
"Sigh. That is how she was, she always thought that it would be better to live her own life then to actually follow me. I got a job in Charleston which as you can tell I did some good work at, then never really saw a reason to go back to the place I lost your grandfather. This was a new start for me and I decided to keep it." She said with a sad smile.
Ryan believed her about his mom, she was never good about making decisions and he could see that he might have actually had a better life if they came here. "Why now though? Couldn't you have at least visited, given me and Trey a chance to decide to come live here with you?" He asked trying to stop himself from crying, he could feel it coming.
".....I couldn't," She said after pausing a moment she was actually crying now, "Your mom would never take my calls and you moved to much for me to actually be able to find you. I didn't even get the chance to see you until the cops showed up with your file for me to see and telling my your mom had been buried."
Ryan clenched his fist hearing that, he wanted to hate his mom for what he was hearing but he couldn't, no matter what she would always be his mother. Seeing he was close to breaking down his grandmother pulled him in close, that broke the dam for him though as he cried on her shoulder.
"It's okay sweetheart, let it out. I know that you had it rough but you are home now and won't be going anywhere if I have anything to say about it." She said holding him as his shoulders rocked.
Ryan had already dropped his backpack and was holding her tight but not to tight, he was going to let the emotion out now cause he didn't want it to come out later. The next ten minutes they stood there as she rubbed his back before he got himself back together.
From there things went in a blur, his grandmother talked to his case worker before the man left. After he left she led him into the house with a wide smile on his face pulling him by the hand, he aloud her to pull him into the house giving her a soft smile.
"Well some rules first, call me Mema Luna or Granny Luna either of those is fine with me. Next you will not have girls in this house without being in an open space where I can keep my eyes on you. No staying out later then midnight on school nights, two a.m on weekends without a call first about where you are." She started they weren't anything to much for him though.
Ryan was then led to his bedroom, it was the second master bed upstairs the house was way bigger then he was expecting it to be. Out back was a giant pool too that was actually taking up most of the back yard, most of the back property was covered in it.
He wast stunned seeing it, someone really wanted to enjoy a big pool if this was anything to go by, it looked like it was the length of almost half a football field. "Well dinner is in two hours I will let you go ahead and get settled in, call me if you need anything." his Granny Luna said while patting his arm.
He nodded at her while watching her walk out the room, when she was gone he started to look it over. There was a walk-in closet that was empty at the moment and a bathroom that had a shower and bath inside of it, the place was almost as big as his last house.
Letting out a deep breath he tried to calm down while adjusting his mind, it was weird for him to be in this setting and know that this was his new life. He was use to having so little but gaining this all at once was a little overwhelming to say the least.
Sitting down he took out his used Ipod that he had, it was the only valuable thing he held in his position. Putting his headphones in his ears he sat against the headboard in his music.
'We've been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California here we come
Right back where we started from
Hustlers grab your guns
Your shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California here we come
Right back where we started from
California here we come'
Unknowingly he fell asleep again while listening to the song, he didn't wake up until he felt someone shaking him awake. Opening his eyes he looked to the side and saw his Granny Luna shaking him with a light smile as she did so, the sun was already set.
Pulling out a headphone he heard her talking, "Sorry to wake you but dinner is ready." She said with a happy smile.
"No, it is fine. I am starting to feel hungry anyway so thank you." He said while getting out of bed.
He was still wearing his white T alone with his faded black jeans, since he was in the bed he took off his shoes earlier so his feet touched carpet as he stood up. Fiddling with his Choker he followed her out the room and down the stairs, he was still amazed at the side of the place.
He never did ask her what she did for a living but he wasn't going to in the first place.
"Sorry I am not the best chef in the world but I have been cooking since young so it is edible. Hopefully you will like it or can cook something better for yourself later, if you want." She said as they entered into the kitchen.
Ryan suddenly felt a strange amount of knowledge enter his head, it was all about cooking such as the right temperature, seasonings, and how to process the food. Ryan was shocked, he stood there a second and going over his memories he knew that it was real since he could recall everything about food.
He didn't know what was going on but he didn't say anything, he kept his stoic face and moved into the dining room with her after carrying a plate. Digging in he could tell everything done to make the food, although some things were right he could tell her where she could improve with just a taste.
Feeling a stare broke him out of his musings, looking over he saw that she was staring at him with an expectant expression. He smiled, well tried too, "It taste great, thank you."
She let out a breath before smiling, "Great, there is more on the counter if you want seconds."
"Alright." He said going back to his food.
She smiled then remembering something spoke out, "Ahh I forgot that you have school in two days. I saw that all you brought was a backpack full of clothes so we should go shopping tomorrow, we will go to the mall tomorrow so that you can get what you need."
"I don't really have a lot of money for anything." He said awkwardly while moving around his peas.
She paused before laughing at him, "What are you talking about? Of course I am not going to make you pay for anything I will be buying it, as you can tell I have the money."
"I don't think---" he started but was cut off by her.
"Enough." She spoke in a tone that made him keep his mouth shut, it seems she has a commanding side too, "There will be none of that you paying for stuff while you are here. I know you aren't use to hand outs so I don't mind if you get a job or something to have your own money but I will be paying for anything else you might need while you are under this roof. Are we clear?"
Ryan could see that she would go into another rant so he nodded his head without saying anything, seeing her smile again he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. From there dinner was quite but with a little conversation in between which she started every time.
After eating two plate to be nice Ryan went back to his room, when he got there he thought about all the knowledge he just got and was wondering why he even got it. He wasn't a stupid kid and knew that something his granny said made it happen, it was something to do when she talked about dinner.
It didn't take long for him to come to the conclusion that it when she said that if he was a better cook then he could make himself something. That is the only way for that to happen since it was about him or that she was talking about just in general for if either one of them was better cooks.
With that he knew that it was something to do with those words, shaking his head he sat on the bed. He didn't know why it happened or if it would again but he was going to wait and see how it all played out, on the plus side he was basically a genius chef now.
