Trying to Forget by bibleboymary4ever aka Joan

Disclaimer: Summer Roberts, Seth Cohen and the rest of The OC characters belong to Fox.

Summary: A Seth/Summer future fic. She abandoned them all those years ago, but did she really forget them? Or is she just denying the truth?

Author's Note: A huge thanks to my friend and beta, Summer, for her help with this story.

Summer quickly power walked down the long hallway, tightly clutching her espresso. She was late for work, again. But she was the boss, and it was not her fault she kept having those freaky nightmares.


She stopped at her secretary's desk before entering her office. "Any messages for me, Maria?"


The older Hispanic woman looked up. "No, but your stepmother has been on hold for forty-five minutes."


Summer bit her tongue. Lissa Roberts was not her favorite person. "What does she want?"


Maria shrugged. "Won't say. She claims she must speak to you, and she's been crazily sobbing."


"Ugh." Summer walked into her office, putting down her coat and bag as she picked up the phone. "Lissa?" She asked, pacing around the room.


"Oh, darling!" Lissa was obviously upset. Of the four stepmothers Summer had had following her mother's exit, Lissa was undoubtedly the worst. After her anal Mother, they had just seemed to get more and more annoying, with more issues and less sanity.


"What is it? I'm running on a tight schedule here, and talking to you isn't part of it."


"It's your father, Sum-Sum!" Summer cringed at the awful nickname.


"What is it now? Did he have another heart attack?"


"Oh sweets, if only!" Her sobs were getting louder, and Summer was getting more impatient.


"Just get to the point, Liss."


"He, he, he died!" Her sobbing was so loud that Summer had to take the phone away from her ear.


"Oh. Oh my god." She was obviously in shock. Her Dad was perfectly healthy! He still played golf everyday, and had scotch before dinner! All in all, he was basically the same as always, give or take a few grey hairs.

"You'll have to come out to Newport tonight! The funeral's Thursday, and we have to settle the will." Eek.

"But I have a meeting with William Averley tomorrow! I can't just cancel." Not that she was particularly thrilled at seeing the stuck-up asshole. But he was their number one financial backer.

"Of course you can cancel! Besides, the lawyers want to see you asap!" Oh, no. Sandy. Could this get any worse?

"Can't they just fly someone out to New York?"

"No. You have to see to his investments, the firm, all of the money, and…" Lissa paused. Whatever this next endowment was, she was not thrilled.

"What?"

"The house. He left you the house, the money. Everything. I think he expects you to live in the house." What the fuck? Daddy knew there was no way in hell she'd ever set foot in Newport again.

"I got the house? But why? I mean, don't you live there?"

"Not anymore, I guess." Lissa sniffled.

"Well, what did he leave you?" He couldn't possibly just give Summ everything. He'd been married to Lissa for a year, she at least needed some money. God knows he supported her.

"Nothing." Huh? Did Daddy finally realize what a bitchy bimbo he had married? "He cut me out last week after I filed, Sum-Sum." Well that explains it. He probably was having an affair with the receptionist or whatever.

Summer turned on her laptop. There was no getting out of it this time. Oh, well. She had to face him somtime, right? Maybe he died? Or moved to Mars? 'Wishful thinking,' she thought. 'Besides, if he died, I'd get the kid. I guess I have to see them sometime. Might as well be now.'