Face Up
Something that came to mind because of something that happened in my area. Basically Seth and Summer have a great life but things change when a tragic accident occurs. I don't know what I'm going to do with this, so please bear with me. The title of the story is a song called Face Up by Lights, which I highly recommend.
Part One
Seth Cohen had had everything. A beautiful wife, a great kid as well as one on the way, a growing company, a nice house, nice cars, a 9-5 job and more money than he had ever imagined coming in on a daily basis. Since the accident nothing had been the same, no one could expect things to be same. Despite still having a beautiful wife and material things that didn't matter he had lost the one thing that had given him real purpose and there was no one to blame for that loss except himself.
Seth rubbed his eyes wearily before sitting up in bed, alone again. He glanced at the bedside table and wasn't surprised that the clock read 3:00pm. Swinging his legs over the bed, he reached into the bedside table drawer. He cursed under his breath as he realized there was no bottle in the drawer contents. Seth got out of bed and made his way towards his dresser drawer, hoping that Summer hadn't found the bottle he had kept hidden there.
Each step he took produced a creak from the wooden floor beneath his feet. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror and cringed; his hair was unruly and looked to be going everywhere while his facial hair just seemed to age him significantly. He wasn't the same old clean cut Seth anymore.
Once Seth reached the drawer he dug around for a few moments before pulling out a half empty bottle of Everclear. Holding the bottle Seth made his way out of the bedroom and towards the second level deck, stopping momentarily in the hallway to look inside Jameson's bedroom. He hadn't dared step foot inside not since everything that had happened.
Stepping into the afternoon air, Seth squinted from the brashness of the sun. He took a seat on one of the lawn chairs that was situated on the deck which overlooked the enormous backyard and swimming pool. Unscrewing the bottle cap he let it fall to the ground before bringing the bottle to his lips. The liquor burned as it went down his throat but he didn't care, he didn't seem to care about anything anymore. He set the bottle down next to his sock clad feet and leaned back in the chair, letting the sun warm him.
Seth felt tears prick his eyes as he recalled the moment that had ruined everything, that had changed him. It had been exactly one month since the accident, but it still felt like it was only days ago. He remembered the pain in his heart as he heard the thump of a body hit the car. Clenching his eyes shut, the tears spilled freely onto his face and disappeared into his beard. He heard Summer screaming and he remembered how his legs had felt when he leapt out of the SUV and towards the little boy that lay at the end of the driveway.
Opening his eyes Seth tried to rid the memories from his mind but he kept hearing Summer's cries and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to shake the look on his son's face as he held his lifeless body.
Picking the bottle up Seth polished the rest of the contents in one long swallow. He needed to forget and he needed it now more than ever.
--
Summer stepped into the house quietly as not to disturb the peace. However as she made her way into the bedroom, she came to realize how fruitless her efforts were. The stench of liquor lingered heavily in the air. She wasn't surprised to see her husband had drunken himself to sleep once again.
She closed the door gently and gave a deep sigh. She made her way towards Jameson's bedroom and proceeded to take a seat on the little bed that sat in the corner. She fingered the Toy Story themed blanket lightly, she glanced at a picture of Jameson and Seth that sat on the bookshelf and let the tears fall. Placing one hand on her ever growing stomach Summer wondered if things would ever get easier and if the pain in her heart would ever subside.