32 Chapter 32 (1/2)
”You free?” Rose asks as her and Refus enter Ryan's office.
”You're not asking about that again, are you?” Ryan asks. ”Look, I told you, you're the one I see fit for the job of being principal, if and when I have to leave”.
”I'm here to ask about a couple things” Rose asks, ”and yes, that is one of them. I just can't shake this bad feeling. You know something is going to happen, don't you?”.
”No, none of us know what the future holds for us” Ryan says. ”I made my decision based on a hunch, that is all”.
”Then, since you're so abstinent in your response” Rose says, ”on to the next thing. Why was Sarah here? What did she need to talk to you about, that was so important that she had to go behind the family's back to talk with you about?”.
”Now Rose” Refus says, ”she said she couldn't talk to you or your family about it for a reason”.
”How many times do I need to tell you to shut up before you finally get the idea?” Rose asks.
”I'm afraid Refus is right in this situation” Ryan says. ”That is something I can not tell you, Rose. As much as it hurts, it was never my choice to tell you. I hope you'll forgive me, but most of all, I hope you'll forgive your sister. It is a delicate matter, and for that reason, she's trying to handle it the very best she can. Please don't feel poorly about Sarah. One day, you will get to know about this situation. On that day, I hope that you take the time to consider how Sarah felt when she had to do what she did”.
”What did she do!?” Rose asks.
”It's nothing that'll fall on your shoulders” Ryan says. ”Just know that I've been trying to help her for a long time”.
”And why am I supposed to believe that, if you refuse to tell me?” Rose asks. ”You've elected to have me take over your seat one day, but you won't tell me why that is, or even why... whatever it is that's happening with Sarah! You know I hate being kept in the dark like that!”.
”You're one to talk” Ryan says. ”I've seen yours and Refus's signatures on the bill already. I thought I told you I'm handling this”.
”And I told you, it's personal for me!” Rose says. ”Of course I'm going to help with this bill!”.
”Then we can come to an understanding?” Ryan asks. ”For reasons personal to you, you decided to help my position without telling me about it. For reasons personal to Sarah, I can't tell you why I'm helping her, just like how there's reasons I can't tell you why I have a hunch about my position being in danger as principal”.
”So it is endangered!?” Rose shouts.
”Rose...” Ryan says calmly, ”all of this in due time. The universe works in mysterious ways. We can only hope worse doesn't come to worst, but at the same time, just sitting around and hoping does no good. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”.
”May I ask a question?” Refus asks. ”Why can't you tell us about the situation?”.
”Because, you guys are working hard enough” Ryan says. ”Adding to that burden will only make moving forward with everything harder, as well as increase the likelihood of the worst case scenario occurring. All of the matters at hand are delicate, and must be handled as such. You guys can understand, right?”.
”No, not really” Refus says.
Rose pauses, then asks ”One condition... we'll continue doing our side of the support, regardless of what you want us to do. Since you're keeping information hidden from me, that makes us even. However, you must eventually tell us about everything. Can we at least agree on that?”.
”My dear Rose” Ryan says, ”I never planned to hide everything from you forever. Otherwise, I wouldn't even let you know anything was going wrong to begin with. I would've kept everything hidden from the very beginning”.
”Yeah... I figured that'd be your response” Rose says as she turns around and begins to leave.
”Wait!” Ryan says. ”Can you at least try to overlook Sarah's disposition? If not for her, do it for me? Please don't think so poorly of your sister. I know she probably said this before, but hard decisions had to be made”.
Rose looks over her left shoulder and says ”I make no promises that I can't keep. I'll let you know what I think when I understand what's going on”.
Rose then leaves, and now just Ryan and Refus stand in the room. ”Did you also have something you needed to talk about?”.
”I know it's a long shot” Refus says, ”but can you at least inform me about... Sarah's disposition?”.
”I can not” Ryan says.
”I figured” Refus says. ”I just... felt like maybe I should help as well. Rose seems really bent out of shape about this, and-”.
”And you feel close to her in a sort of sense?” Ryan asks.
”N-no... that's not it” Refus says. ”I just... feel sorry for Sarah, I guess. When she spoke, she had this... this look in her eyes. Like she yearned to turn back time and undo everything”.
”Sarah isn't good at hiding things like that” Ryan says. ”If I'm to be completely honest, it's why she couldn't face her family for so long. She felt ashamed, and incredibly saddened about her situation. She didn't want to drag her family down with her actions”.
”Yeah... I had a feeling it was something like that” Refus says.
”Is it a kind of feeling you're familiar with?” Ryan asks.
”That's one way to put it...” Refus responds. ”I'll be taking my leave now, Ryan”.
”Alright” Ryan says. ”Make sure you're keeping yourself in check. You're a good teacher, and I don't want to see that ruined for such a silly reason as a quarrel with... I'm going on a whim here when I say this, but Quincy's deal you made with him”.
”Yeah...” Refus says. ”I know what I've gotten myself into, Ryan. Don't worry about my issue, it's not going to get out of hand”.
”That's reassuring” Ryan says calmly.
”Anyways” Refus says with a quick bow, ”I'll leave you to your work now”.
”Take care, Refus” Ryan says. ”And take care of Rose while you're at it. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but you might end up seeing a side of her that she'll never show anyone”.
Refus laughs softly and says ”I'm not that close to Rose. I'm just... trying to help whenever I can. I don't see her under that kind of light, but... well, it's better to work with people when they're at their highest. Not when they're at their lowest”.
”Well said” Ryan says. ”Then you understand after all, as to why I can't tell either of you about these issues in detail”.
”Yeah... I guess so” Refus says as he leaves.
After Refus leaves, and Ryan was left alone in his office, Ryan pulls out some paper and a pen. ”A deal is a deal” Ryan says to himself. ”I've agreed to let Rose know about everything at some point, so I'll write down the details for her. I'll likely not be able to give her this myself, if worse does come to worst”.
As Ryan writes down this story on the paper, all of the memories of what happened started to come back to him, overwhelming him like a tsunami. Over 20 years ago, Sarah graduated high school. One day, she came up to talk to Ryan at his house, which was next door to their mother's house at the time. ”Heya, gramps!” Sarah says as Ryan answers the door.
”Sarah, what're you so-” Ryan begins to ask.
”My boyfriend asked me to move out of town with him!” Sarah says. ”We're finally moving forward with our relationship! Maybe some day, he'll ask me to marry him!”.
”Oh ho!” Ryan says. ”So that's what has you so excited? You're really crazy about your high school sweetheart”.
”W-well” Sarah says, ”I-I just-”.
”Don't worry, I get it” Ryan says. ”You've talked to your mother, I trust?”.
”Yeah” Sarah says, ”although, Rose would probably scold me for being so reckless. She's too busy with college anyways, so she won't likely take the time to talk about something she doesn't even... approve of”.
”Does Rose have a problem with your boyfriend?” Ryan asks.
”She's never trusted anyone” Sarah says. ”Is that a surprise?”.
”Well, be careful out there” Ryan says. ”It's a big world, so you know your mother will be worried. Make sure you call her whenever you can, alright?”.
”Yeah yeah” Sarah says, ”don't worry, I plan on it. This is why we keep calling you gramps... you're always so worried”.
Sarah left to Genovyra a few days later with her boyfriend, Henry Hannebe. Every day, she would call her mother, and at least once a week, would call Ryan as well. However, after a couple months, the phone calls suddenly stopped. Ryan and her mother, Jaqueline Weber, began to panic. The two would work together trying to find a way to get in contact with her. They would call her phone, but there would never be an answer. They would write to her, but she never responded. Eventually, Ryan moved to the south side of Terrio, where he were to start working as a teacher at a college called Harrison University. Suddenly, when he was at home, he got a phone call from an unknown number. Ryan ignored the call at first, but the number kept calling him over and over. ”Hello?” Ryan asks as he finally picks up the phone.
After Ryan spoke, he could hear sobbing on the other side of the line. ”G-gramps? Is that really you?” A familiar voice asks.