Summer woke up on one of the warm, sunny days in Minneapolis. It wasn't in her plan to move to Minnesota, it really wasn't.
After Marissa died, she felt like she just had to get away from Newport. Brown wasn't an option because she was first going to go there when Marissa was alive.
Minneapolis was great. Sure, it was cold from October to atleast May. Sometimes, every once in awhile, it can be cold until April. They say 'April showers bring May flowers'. Well that's not true because it hardly ever rains in April. It rains more in May, so it should be 'May showers bring June flowers'. Sure it doesn't rhyme, but it's true.
She felt bad leaving Seth. She remembers his face when she told him. He looked heartbroken, shocked, and worst of all,
betrayed. She didn't want to leave him, she just felt like she had too. Even Sandy and Kirsten looked heartbroken. Summer loved them like they were her parents, and for a long time, thought they were going to be her in-laws. But, she just had to leave, start a new life. And that is exactly what she did.
"Babe," Summer rolled over and saw her boyfriend staring back at her.
"Babe, you need to get up and get to work."
Summer rolled her eyes and rolled back over. She really wasn't a morning person.
"Sum, come on."
Her boyfriend got out of bed and walked over to her side. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, then picked her up out of bed. She started kicking his back and screaming but he just turned the shower on and threw her in it.
"Enjoy your shower, I will make breakfast." She gave him a glare before smiling at him.
After she got out of the shower, she went to meet Andrew in the kitchen. Still yawning when she entered.
"Here honey, I made you some coffee." She gratefully took the cup of warm coffee from him.
"Thank you." She put the cup down on the counter and wrapped her arms around his waist. She had to get on her tip-toes to put her head on his shoulder and see what he was cooking. "Whatcha cooking?"
"Some eggs for my wonderful Fiancee, and bacon, and sausage, and of course your favorite, pancakes." Summer smiled at him.
"Mmmm. Sounds delicious." He turned around in her arms.
"Guess what else?" She gave him a clueless look that told him to continue. "I made a special plate for princess sparkles."
She smiled at him shyly, and gave him a kiss on the lips. "You always know how to make me happy."
Summer sat down at the table and he put a plateful of food in front of her. Summer and Andrew happily at their breakfast before they were interrupted by the telephone. Andrew stood up from the table and answered it.
"Hello? Um, yeah she's right here. Can I ask who's calling? Oh, alright." He handed the phone to Summer. "Say's she's an old friend."
Summer whipped her mouth with the napkin then took the phone from his hands. "Hello?"
"Hey Summer."
The voice sounded so familiar but Summer just couldn't place it.
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Oh I'm sorry Summer, I just figured you would recognize me. It's Kirsten. Seth's mom."
Summer's eyes bulged and she almost let the phone slip out of her hands. "Hey How are you?"
"Not good. There was an accident here last week. A boating accident."
Right after Kirsten said 'a boating accident' she immeadiatly grew scared. What if it was Seth? "What happened, is Seth okay"
She could hear Kirsten crying on the other end of the line. "Kirsten?" She heard shuffling and then a new voice on the phone.
"Hello?" It was a gruff voice and she knew that it was Sandy.
"Hi Sandy. It's Summer. Is everything okay?"
She heard Sandy sigh and hesitate.
"Actually Summer. There was a boating accident last week."
Summer grew annoyed, she already knew this part. "Yeah, I heard. What's wrong, is Seth okay?"
"Yeah, Seth's fine." She felt a sigh of relief was over her. "But..." Then it came back just as fast as it went away.
"But, what? Sandy, please."
"It's Ryan. He didn't make it."
Summer felt the phone fall from her hands this time. Ryan? How can it be Ryan? Ryan never went with Seth on the boat. What is going on? She fell to her knees and put her head in her hands. She started sobbing but her sobs turned into uncontroable tears. She felt strong arms wrapping around her and she fell into Andrew's embrace. Andrew picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Who is this?" Sandy asked.
"It's Andrew, Summers fiancee. She's not doing well right now, can I have her call you back?"
Sandy hesitated. "ummm...no. Just let her know that we e-mailed a ticket for her to come back. His funeral is this Saturday.
I hope she can make it."
Andrew heard the click then hung the phone up on the wall. He picked Summer up and walked over to the couch. He sat down,
with her on his lap and let her fall into him. He rubbed her back and told her it would be alright.
After awhile, she quit crying and looked at Andrew. He whipped away the few remaning tears.
"Hey..." He said sincerly. "You wanna tell me what happened?"
"One of my best friends from high school. He just died last week."
Andrew was shocked. He didn't exactly know what to say so he just held her and told her he was sorry. He figured he would tell her about the plane ticket later.
"What else did they say?" She asked him.
Ok, maybe he won't wait until later. "He said he e-mailed a ticket for you to come back for his funeral. The funeral is on Saturday."
She nodded her head then stood up. She walked over to her laptop and opened it up. Sure enough, she did have new mail. Some from work, a few from random websites, then one from Sandy. She opened it up and saw that the plane was to leave tonight!
She would leave Minneapolis Airport at noon then arrive in L.A at 3. Not to long of a flight. A note was attached that said they would be there to pick her up at 3.
They? Was Seth going to be there? Oh no. Seth. She just left him. Was he going to want to talk to her after that? She didn't even give him any time to argue. Her plane left 2 hours after she told him. She cried the entire way to Minneapolis and for months after she arrived. He kept trying to call her cell phone but she changed her number after a few weeks. She couldn't deal with him. She loved him, sure, but she just needed to move on and get a new life.
She clicked print on the printer and went into the bedroom. She opened her suitcase and started throwing clothes into it. She didn't care if they were folded or not.
Andrew was standing in the doorway watching her pack. "So when you leaving?"
Summer stopped for a few seconds to look at him before continuing to throw clothes into the suitcase. "Today at noon. And it's 10, i have to get moving. Minneapolis airport is a bitch."
"Sum, Did you forget what today was?"
Summer stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Andrew. "Aww, honey. I'm sorry. I have to go though. Can we reschedule?"
Andrew looked down at the ground sadly. "Yeah." He turned to walk out of the room before Summer grabbed his hand.
"Honey. I wish I could stay, but Ryan was one of my best friends. I have to go."
"Yeah. I know." He took his hand away from Summer and left the bedroom. She took a step forward before realzing that she had to finish packing before she missed her flight.
She finished packing then went out into the living room to find Andrew. He was sitting on the couch watching tv. She picked up the phone and called her work and told them she wouldn't be able to make it in for a few days. Then she called the U of M and told them that she would be away for a week because of a death in the family.
She looked at Andrew. "Andrew? Honey, can you give me a ride to the airport please?"
"Take a cab." He said plainly.
"Andrew...come on. I'm sorry, I don't mean to cancel but I have to." She looked at the ground sadly. "This is the second best friend i've lost since high school."
He turned the t.v off and stood up. "Let's go." He went into the bedroom and took her suitcase and walked out of the apartment.
She looked around the apartment sadly before following him out the door.
-
The ride to the airport was silent. She looked at him a few times hoping to catch his gaze but he just kept staring at the road. She looked out the window at the beautiful scenery and the planes above that were landing and taking off. Knowing that that would soon be her.
When they got to the airport, Andrew got out and helped her take her bag out. He closed the trunk then faced her. She hugged him tight.
"I'm going to miss you."
"I"m going to miss you too Sum." He returned the embrace. After she pulled away he gave her a passionate kiss.
"I'll call you." Summer said. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Summer let go of him and grabbed her bag. She wheeled it into the airport. Once she was in she looked back and waved at Andrew who waved back.
Summer walked through the crowds of people and stood in line for her ticket. Once she got it, she contiued to the bag check and security. After she gave them her back except for her carry on, she settled down in a chair outside her gate. After 5 minutes they started calling first class. She checked her phone for missed calls and then turned it off. She stood up when they called the rest of the plane and gave them her ticket. She got on the plane, found her seat, which was thankfully a window seat. The plane started moving down the run way and she was off to Newport, again.