Ryan kissed his girlfriend of three years, Taylor Townsend, lightly on the lips before he walked out of their apartment and drove off to work. As soon he was out of sight, his face lost its smile and his eyes lost their gleam. As he eased to a stop at a red light, his phone began to ring. He glared at the screen that read Seth before answering it, "What do you want Seth?"

"Hey, Ryan, buddy." Seth said, ignoring his friends tone of voice, "Tell me, hows Taylor? Have you proposed to her yet? Come on man, weve all been waiting forever."

Truth was, the whole Cohen family had been wondering when Ryan planned to pop the question. They just wanted him to finally be happy and he was; so they thought.

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose between two of his fingers of his free hand, "I dont know. Tonight, maybe?" he sighed.

Seth, obvioulsy pleased replied, "Alright man, let me know how it goes. Talk to you later bro!"

They hung up the phone and Ryan threw his at the floorboard. He parked the car and locked it before heading up to his office. He resumed his mask; mingled with people in the elevator, smiled at the adoring interns, and greeted his secretary as he began his work day. LIke everyday, he poured himself into his work from 9 until 5 or sometimes 10. 5 o clock rolled around and he grabbed his briefcase and left the office, not looking forward to what he had to do once he got home. He closed the door behind him and dropped his keys into the tray they had. "Taylor? Babe?" he asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Out here!" She called from the back yard.

Ryan put on his smile and walked out, ring in his pocket. He greeted her with a kiss, which she deepened and he complied.

"Hi." She breathed, turning back to the grill she was cooking on, "I was thinking grilled chicken with baked potatoes." she mulled, turning around to face him once more and hitching her breath. Ryan was down on one knee, presenting a three karat engagement ring. Unable to find her voice, Taylor nodded her head vigourously, bringing her mouth to his.

Later that night, after Taylor had gone to sleep, Ryan rested his forearm against his forehead and stared at the phone, remembering all of the calls Marissa had made when he was with Teresa. But that was a long time ago, and Marissa was dead. He remembered hearing that ring and answering it, knowing she was on the phone but neither one of them had said a word. He sighed and closed his eyes; hopefully he would get a few hours of sleep tonight.

3 months later--wedding day

"Seth, I cant do this." Ryan said, pulling at his bowtie for the twentieth time that morning.

"Ryan, buddy. Look at me, yes you can. I thought the same thing on my wedding day, but look at me now."

"Ive got to get out of here." Ryan said, grabbing his keys and bottle of liqour and heading for the door, "I cant go through with the wedding." With that he walked out the door and drove off in his red mustang.

Seth ran his hands through his hair and gaped in disbelief. Just then, Summer came busiling in, "Cohen, where is Atwood? The wedding starts in 10 minutes."

Seth smiled, putting his arm around his wife, "Hes just in the pool house, going through his vows again. Lets go find our seats." He guided them out of his room and out to the wedding area(backyard).

Ryan killed the ignition and fought with himself before getting out of the car. He threw his now empty liqour bottle on the ground as he walked between the rows of grass and stones. He stops beside one in particular. One that reads Marissa Cooper; beloved daughter, sister, friend. He glared at the DOD May 16, 2006. He closed his eyes, reliving that day. He dropped onto his knees, his eyes burning. "No, no...." he began repeating, his voice faltering. "It was supposed to be you." he said, a tear rolling down his face. "I was supposed to marry you." he whispered, his head falling into his hands. "Marissa.." He passed out against her headstone.