"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Luke exclaimed, cupping his mouth as he yelled in anxiousness, watching the kids scurry around the field at the sound of his voice.
Anna stood right behind him, in front of the bleachers; a wide smile was plastered on her face, a child rocking in her arms. Luke narrowed his eyes at his 6 year old son, running around the field with the ball securely under his foot, traveling with him wherever he went.
"Come on, Shane," Luke mumbled, his fists clenched tightly in front of his chest in anticipation, a hint of a smile playing upon his lips. Shane stationed himself in front of the goal, fixated the ball under his foot, released it for a second, and forced the side of his foot against it, sending it flying straight pass the goal keeper and slamming into the white thread of the goal.
Luke's fists instantly thrust into the air as he yelled "YEAH!" at the top of his lungs, his hold body stiffening with his holler. And that's what he loved most about coaching – or rather, co-coaching – the little league. Anna laughed and her eyes sparkled as she held out her hand in a thumbs-up, showing her son that she was proud of him. Luke swirled around and smacked his lips against his wife's. Anna giggled into the kiss, holding herself steady by clutching onto the back of his neck.
Luke broke away from Anna and excitedly took his 7 month old son from her hands. He glanced at him for a few moments before he threw him in the air, making him chuckle, and then caught him in his hands again. He positioned him steadily on his arm and pointed out to the wide field. "That's your brother out there, little guy," he told him quietly. And as though he could understand, the little boy's eyes beamed and his lips sparkled with drool as he gave his father a lopsided grin.
Wow was the only word that passed through Luke's mind at that moment. He leaned in and kissed his son's forehead, and then continued to gaze down at him lovingly. Anna smiled warmly at the image in front of her, and she edged closer to Luke. He saw her standing by his side and smiled down at her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him so that he could gently kiss the top of her head. Who would've thought he would end up with a family this perfect?
"Hello?" Anna called out carefully, knocking on the already-open front door. Her eyes peered at the insides of the house, scanning it for residents, but all she saw was the silent furniture, resting in what she assumed was the living room.
A faint whistling sound pierced the air, making Anna turn her head towards the source, but all she saw was the same empty room, only from another angle. But what she wasn't prepared for was the image of Luke, half-naked, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, appear infront of her eyes without warning.
"Oh dear God!" she exclaimed, covering her eyes, but eventually popping her fingers away from eachother and leaving a gap between them to allow her to gawk, wide-eyed, at his six-pack, and perhaps just a bit lower. Luke caught her gaze and she quickly snapped her fingers shut, along with her eyes.
He laughed embarrassedly, his face flushing as he contemplated whether he should run into the room like a mad man and cover his, well he had to admit, extremely toned body, or ask her what in God's name she was doing here. "Anna?" he asked cautiously, inching over, his moist feet creating faint prints on the creaking, wooden floor.
She jumped back, and Luke came to a sudden halt. "W-what are you doing here?" he finally asked. She responded by breathing in and out several times, then slowly lowering her fingers from her eyes, which were still tightly fastened shut.
Gradually, one of her eyelids popped open, soon followed by another. She cringed and her face blushed into a bright pink color. "Sorry I just popped in," she blurted out, instantly regretting her choice of words. "I mean, you know – is Seth here?" she quickly asked, averting her eyes from his body, scratching the back of her neck.
"Um – no?" he answered hesitantly, his lips twitching slightly. "Seth moved out like – a year ago."
"Oh, wow, well – that's awkward. I uh – I'm sorry to just come by like this, I probably should've called. I'm gonna – you know, go now."
"Stay," Luke offered. "I – uh, I was actually planning on barbecuing. There's enough for a whole family. I mean – if you'd like."
Anna slowly nodded, and a smirk emerged on her face. "Yeah, okay."
"Go, Shane!" Ryan yelled, throwing his free fist into the air, smiling at the triumphant kid who just scored a goal.
The boy jogged up to Ryan and flattened his hand out for a high five, which Ryan responded to enthusiastically, slapping the child's hand and then patting his shoulder.
"Thanks couch Atwood!" Shane said, smiling at Ryan before he jogged over to his dad, who Ryan came to know as his co-couch and his best friend. Luke winked at Ryan and Ryan let out a silent laugh, nodding at Luke.
Ryan returned both his hands around the large bump on his wife's stomach, the one that he could just not tear himself away from. The one that hid the most beautiful creature in the world apart from Summer.
"Oooh," Summer sounded anxiously, gripping onto Ryan's hand quickly and lowering it with hers to just below her belly. "Feel it," she whispered, smiling subtly. "It's kicking," she told him, looking up hopefully into his eyes. "Baby, it's kicking," she repeated, unable to control her happiness. Ryan smiled down at her, and for a second he got lost in her eyes that had been glowing non-stop since the day they got married. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly, stroking her stomach all the while.
"There!" Summer exclaimed in a whisper, feeling the unborn baby kick against her womb.
Ryan laughed, feeling the baby hit ever-so-softly against his hand. "He's gonna play soccer for his dad, aint you little kid?" Ryan asked, his eyes fixated on the bump. He kept his eyes and hands on her stomach, but lowered himself to the ground, so that he was squatting down directly in front of her cutely bulging out stomach. Summer smiled down at him, placing her hand gingerly on the top of his head, and enjoying the feeling of his warm hand on the soft skin of her stomach.
He slowly rolled up the material of her maternity blouse, revealing a few inches of her stomach, until he reached her bellybutton. He leant in and kissed it softly, making Summer giggle. He knew that she got ticklish there, and that's why he loved kissing it whenever he got the chance to.
She glanced down at her hand that was resting upon his head, and she couldn't help but smile at the diamond ring that shined from her finger, and her mind traveled back to the perfect day.
"Summer! We're late!" he exclaimed, glancing down at his watch impatiently. He sighed loudly as he looked up at the stairs that were still not occupied by her presence. "Summer!" he repeated, this time more anxiously and firmly. "You know what? Why don't I just rip up these perfectly good tickets and we can just miss the game – completely!"
Summer emerged, trotting slowly and grimly down the stairs, her hair covering the sides of her face, and her body wrapped up in her light blue, loose flannel pajamas.
Ryan's eyes cringed with concern. Something wasn't right with the picture. His speculations that there was something abnormal going on were confirmed when he heard her sniffle slightly, and when a soft sob escaped her lips, she stopped moving down the stairs.
Ryan instantly walked over, his whole body overtaken by worry. He met her halfway up the stairs and wrapped his arms around her, no questions asked. Her rubbed her back as she nuzzled her head into his chest, her sobs now escaping freely and loudly.
He whispered soothing words to her, but they seemed to get her even more emotional. "Summer," he whispered in her ear. "Baby, calm down," he told her. "What's wrong?" he questioned, loosening his embrace on her so he could wipe away her rolling tears.
"Do you love me?" she asked bluntly, looking up straight into his eyes, her own eyes weary and blood-shot from all the crying. Ryan shook his head feebly and his eyes narrowed. He looked down at her, his face stunned and dead-serious.
"Ofcourse I do, Summer," he declared, his voice filled with pain that she would question that. "You're my fiancé… you're everything to me, you know that?"
"Well, not for long," she stated, shaking her head and looking down. Ryan squinted down at her and tried to make out what she was saying, but it didn't help that she was looking away from him. He softly placed his index finger under her chin and gently pulled Summer's face up and allowed their eyes to connect again.
"What do you mean?"
Summer paused, searching in his eyes for some kind of reassurance. She bit her slightly trembling lip as she prepared herself for the words she didn't expect she'd have to say this early. "I'm pregnant."
Marissa lowered the volume of the blaring music completely, hoping that Seth would get the goddamn hint and see that she had a splitting headache and that "Death Cab for Cutie" weren't exactly helping at this point.
Seth removed his eyes from the road and glared at Marissa. "I was listening to that," he stated, annoyed, returning his eyes to the road.
"Well, not anymore," Marissa mumbled, her eyes fixated on the passing by vehicles as her head rested heavily against the seat of the car.
Seth sighed deliberately and slammed the off button of the radio, angered by her constant annoying reminders that she hasn't changed.
"Hey, watch it!" Marissa snapped, glaring at him. "It's my car, remember?" she announced, her voice irking Seth. "I don't even know why I let you drive it."
"Let me?" he asked promptly. "What the hell does that mean, now I can't even drive your car?"
"Well, yeah, if it wasn't for your damn driving my left leg wouldn't be completely paralyzed right now!" she retorted, glaring at him with a sarcastic look on her face, her eyes narrowed with anger. She had lost the sparkle in them a very long time ago. When the fact that what she did was stupid had settled in and the excitement of living on her own with Seth faded out, that's when the lust in her eyes died out.
Marissa couldn't believe the words Seth was spitting at her. She didn't even know he was capable of such anger. When Summer had been going out with him, she didn't mention any of this. But then again, she didn't think Summer was capable of hating her either, nor Ryan.
But when Summer found out that Marissa deserted her to go 'sailing' to Portland with Seth just because Ryan had gone to Theresa, she found it useless to call her a 'best friend' or even a 'friend' at all.
"Would you just stop your endless whining?" Seth pleaded, dragging his words as though they had been on his chest for the longest while. "Do you think it's Ryan's baby?" He copied her, mimicking her high-pitched voice. "Do you think he went back to Newport? Do you think he misses me?" He stopped abruptly and stared at her. "I don't give a f.uck, Marissa. It's as if you want Ryan to be the one holding you at night and not me. Well f.uck that!"
Marissa was stunned, and her eyes immediately began to water as an invisible lump formed in her throat, holding her back from responding to his harsh comments. "Well, I'm sorry Seth…" she managed after several moments of sobbing. "I mean, I love you! But, do you think it was easy leaving my best friend behind? Ryan was my first love… you know how that feels… Summer…"
"Yeah, well, now things have changed. You can't come home, tell your boyfriend that you miss another guy cause he was your first love, Marissa. It just doesn't work that way. This is not a game. I'm not temping for Ryan," he stated, emphasizing each word.
"Well, what am I supposed to do?"
"Right now we're gonna go to Newport and we're gonna see if they'll forgive us and we're gonna try to get some money, cause if we don't pay for rent, we're screwed."
"Fine."
"Great."
"Slow down!" Marissa hissed, absently hitting Seth's shoulder to catch his attention, her eyes glued to a park in the distance. "Isn't that… isn't that Ryan?" she asked reluctantly, her eyes squinting in denial at the figure.
Seth's eyes narrowed in the direction Marissa was staring at, and his eyes caught what he thought was – Summer, wrapped around in Ryan's hands; her stomach – bulging out. She was pregnant.
Seth shut his eyes as he added two and two together. Even though it had been years, it hit him harder than ever that he had lost every single thing that could've been good in his life.
Marissa's cold face twitched when she felt a warm tear roll down to her chin. Ryan was with Summer now, and Marissa didn't even have the right to be angry. Here she was, living the life of hell with Seth, and the arms of the 'love of her life' are wrapped around what used to be her best friend.
Seth pressed down on the gas and reversed the car, turning it 360 degrees and speeding past the park before anyone could notice their presence, Marissa was still and didn't seem to object.
The car remained silent. So silent, it was deafening. But it was what they deserved. It was their fate that they had brought on to themselves.
It was the story of their lives.