House of Straw by Joan


Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with the OC.


Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I'm really liking this story, and I hope you will too. Let me know what you think, good or bad. The title comes from David Gray's song, Easy Way to Cry. I'd like to thank Summer for all of her help with this


Summary: Growing up, Elle Atwood lived the perfect life. She had perfect parents, perfect clothing, and the perfect best friend. At least, for a while. Now, with her parents divorced and the boy she used to call her best friend is becoming distant just as she is finding new feelings for him. Now, she's scrambling to pick up the pieces to her charmed life.

Prologue:

Elle Atwood absentmindedly played with the hem of her denim skirt. As she unraveled the thread, she wondered where her father was. He was supposed to pick her up at school an hour ago, after her community service club meeting.

She reached into her purse and fumbled for a cell phone. Glancing at the address book of numbers, she vetoed calling her best friend, Caroline. Caroline's mother would have to get her that way, and Elle couldn't stand another of minute of her botox'd sympathy.

No way would she call her Mom. Marissa would want to know why her father hadn't gotten her yet, and if she knew why he would keep her waiting. She'd probably assume he had a new girlfriend.

Seth? He had been there for her since forever. She used to secretly wish he was her Dad, since he was so fun and always ready to play. Pressing down on the number three of her speed-dial, she waited for it to ring.

"Hey?" Seth picked up his phone, sounding frazzled.

"Seth?" She bit her lip, hoping he was magically a block away and could be there for her in seconds.

"Hey Elle, how goes it?" She smiled at his nickname for her, as she heard Rachel whining in the background, something about a pink tutu.

"Um. Dad was supposed to come get me at school like an hour ago and I can't call Mom 'cause she'll freak and I was hoping you could come get me and take me to Mom's? Please?" Seth could sense her pout through the phone,

His voice was muffled, "Rachel, sweetie, I don't know where the pink tutu is. How about the one with sequins? I think it's veeeeery pretty." He paused, and she knew he had won yet another battle against his five year old daughter.

"Sorry, sweetie, I have to take Rach to ballet and then I have to go over to the hospital and check up on some of my patients, see how they're doing."

"Oh."

He knew she was disappointed in him. And her Dad. And, well, everyone. "Maybe you could call Summer? She's over at South Coast Plaza buying your Mom's birthday present."

Elle giggled. "Her birthday's not until July."

"Seriously? Shit."

"What, another shopping ban?"

"Hey, not my fault we're running out of room." Elle giggled again, her aunt and uncle were easily the funniest people she knew. She heard Rachel whining again, "Sorry, I had to have Rachel in Brentwood like ten minutes ago. Call me if you don't have a ride in twenty minutes."

"Thanks! Bye."

"Bye."

Elle clicked the off button with a sigh. Maybe Grandma could get her? No, she'd just wait. She knew her Uncle Seth would get her later if need be.

Clicking her cell phone back on, she started to play pinball.

Ryan swerved his black Mercedes into the driveway of Harbor. Searching the empty campus for his daughter's familiar face, he saw her sitting on a bench in front of the middle school.

She looked up, obviously surprised and walked over to the car. She sat down, silently, slipping her cell phone back into her bag and buckling the seat belt.

"You're late."

"Yeah. I'm sorry." What Ryan was so desperately trying to avoid was the fact that he had completely forgotten he was supposed to take his daughter out to dinner. "I was, uh, working."

She rolled her eyes, and he pretended not to notice. Since she was obviously not up for conversing, he continued, "So, Danielle…dinner? Is the Lighthouse good? Or do you want to go to that French place?"

"I told you not to call me that." She glanced out the window as the stores whizzed by. She thought she saw Jake and Mike outside Starbucks and suddenly desperately wanted to join them, to be anywhere but in her father's car.He ignored her request. "Lighthouse or no, Danielle?""No.""Where do you want to go?"She didn't answer and continued to stare out the window.

"We could go to that diner in the mall and then go to Neiman Marcus? Do you want some more clothes?" Ryan had lived in Newport Beach for long enough to know that his daughter could never have enough clothes and coordinating accessories. Even when she was broke, Marissa had always had the season's chicest handbags.

"Just take me home, okay?" The distaste was evident in his daughter's voice, and Ryan knew he had no other options.

But home was no longer a simple word to the Atwood family, and he needed her to elaborate. "Uh, to your Mom's place or to mine?"

"Mom's, of course. She at least remembers to pick me up on time." Not like Marissa had anything else to do, Ryan thought bitterly. Oh, wait! She could squander away his trust fund on shoes.

She began to dial her cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Ryan turned the car onto Ocean Avenue, not making eye contact with his daughter.

" Seth. I have to tell him not to come get me."

"Oh." Damn, Ryan thought. Now Seth would be on his back about "abandoning his flesh and blood." He thought he was some sort of parenting expert now that he and Summer had two kids.

"Hey Seth! [pause] Yeah, Dad got me. [pause] 'Kay. [pause] Aw, tell Rachie I said to feel better! Bye." She clicked off her cell phone, and slipped it back into the pocket of her purse.

"What's wrong with Rachel?"

"She barfed on the way to ballet."

"I told them Brentwood was too far."

"That's where I used to take ballet."

"You were different though. Rachel's wimpier, she's Seth's daughter."

Elle stifled a laugh. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of amusing her, she had never understood his sense of humor, and jokes were rare. She reminded herself how long she had waited for him.

"Bye." Ryan braked the car in her mother's circular driveway. He gave Elle a small smile.

She slammed the door, reminding herself of how many other times he had let her down in the past year. She remembered how she used to never worry about who was picking her up, or have meetings with her attorney. It had been so much easier before the divorce.As she walked up to the front door, she was surprised to not hear her father's engine blaring, signaling a departure. After finding the door locked, she rang the doorbell, three times in succession.

Her Mom opened the door, moments later, "Elle? What are you doing here? I thought you…" She stormed past her, and ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

Marissa walked out to Ryan's car, crossing her arms against her chest. "What did you do to her?" She demanded.

Ryan tried to hide his embarrassment. "I was late to pick her up."

Marissa furrowed her brow, looking confused, "An hour and a half late?!"

He attempted to explain, but she was already leaving. "Marissa, I—"

"You know, she's your daughter too. You might at least show some feelings toward her, other than regret." Marissa turned to re-enter the house, as Ryan turned the car back on. Regret, he thought, was the only feeling he didn't have about his daughter, and his former marriage.