A/N: Brief take on how Ryan could learn about the attempted rape. Essentially a what if Seth did not tell Ryan but spoke to Marissa instead. Hope it works!
…
"I know what happened," Seth says and watches Marissa's face fall. There's horror and apprehension, and suddenly he's regretting this conversation.
"Summer," she says quietly when understanding dawns.
"Don't blame her," he readily defends.
"I told her in confidence," Marissa states. Old emotions feel like they're about to flood. It's too hard thinking about Trey, even in a peripheral sense. Her eyes moisten and any fighting spirit that Seth had begins to dissipate. He tentatively sits next to her on the bed.
"I'm sorry," he says, voice shaking a little. It feels like a blanket statement but for once, he can't muster up the words.
She knows why he is here. It was obvious from his first sentence. But she still waits for him to speak, to formally ask.
"You need to tell him," Seth tells her gently.
"No, I don't, Seth," Marissa insists. "It will destroy him."
"He needs to know."
"It's going to devastate him. And you know how he gets, he's going to try and fight him-"
"Trey left last night," Seth points out.
"What?" Marissa looks surprised.
"Ryan didn't mention?"
Marissa shakes her head, "We've been avoiding talking about Trey."
"Well, Ryan told him to leave after what happened in The Bait Shop. Trey left last night."
Marissa absorbs the news, reeling from the revelation that Trey is potentially out of their lives for good.
"Look, if Trey's gone now, then we can finally move on from this."
"Marissa, you cannot keep such a big secret from him." Seth warns. "Take it from me and my mistakes, secrets never lead to anything good."
Tears begin to accumulate in Marissa's eyes.
"How am I supposed to tell him? I can't do it, Seth."
She's sobbing softly now and Seth's approaching a loss once again. He anxiously places an arm around Marissa, trying to comfort her whilst feeling shitty for pressuring her.
"He'll understand, you know. He'll have your back," Seth says, referring to Ryan. Marissa nods faintly, a mumbled I know, buried amongst tears.
"He loves you," Seth emphasises. Minutes pass and Seth sits there, holding her as the tears subside. When she composes herself, she swiftly shies away. Her eyes avert far away from his gaze, hiding in embarrassment.
"You need to let me do this at my own pace," she requests.
"But you'll tell him?"
Marissa glances at floor and nervously tucks her hair behind her hair. She takes a deep breath and confirms, "Yeah, I'll tell him."
Seth feels like smiling but it takes one look at Marissa's broken and sad frame to deflate his spirits right down.
"It's going to be okay," he attempts and the futility of his words deafens the room.
…
Merely three days pass and Marissa senses her secret is threatening to burst at the seams. The awkwardness which had lingered between her and Ryan has now spread to Seth and Summer and all their relationships. No one is their usual self, and she knows Ryan notices. It's in the diner, on a Tuesday afternoon, that she decides this cannot go on.
The four of them are sitting in their familiar booth, waiting for the waitress to bring the bill. Marissa turns to Ryan, lightly touching his hand and telling him that she doesn't feel great and asks him to take her home. He's surprised but he catches the look in her eye, begging him to comply. In the corner, Seth and Summer nervously eye them and it feels like they know something he does not. In the end, he obliges without any questions.
…
The drive to Marissa's place is silent and foreboding. When they get to her place, she does not even bother with an excuse. She asks him to come inside. He is confused and has so many questions but her fearfulness quietens them. He simply follows her lead.
Marissa pulls him into the living room, barely registering how her grip on his hand gets harder by the second. He knows something is not right. He has sensed it since he got back from Miami. Now, the uneasiness is back with full force. By the time they're sitting on the sofa, the apprehensive ache in the pit of his stomach is more distinct than ever before.
He waits for her to speak but Marissa is quiet, gazing down at the coffee table in front of her.
"Marissa?" he prompts.
"I need to tell you what happened when you went to Miami," she says finally and the ache in his stomach doubles over instantly. His mind is already thinking about Trey. He observes Marissa's profound nervousness and even though the thought does not materialise consciously, in the recesses of his subconscious, the dots begin to surface.
"When you were gone," she begins and wills herself to find the strength to continue. This is the third time she's rehashing the memory for someone else. She tells herself, it has to get easier.
"I was with Trey to celebrate his new job, and then, he, he-"
She has to pause, take a breath and wipe at the tears that are once again beginning to form. Ryan's looking on in fear, his mind trying to fight the worst possibility. Suddenly, he remembers a petrified Marissa pushing him away. Her palpable discomfort at being around Trey.
Trey couldn't have…
"What did he do?" Ryan asks, voice low and unsteady.
"He thought I liked him, and I told him no," Marissa says and they both wish that the sentence could end there. Marissa looks at Ryan, tearful and anguished, and he knows the truth is uglier than his brother simply coming on to his girlfriend. The dots finally connect and his own eyes are watering.
"Did he..?" he manages to choke out.
Marissa shakes her head and there's a momentary respite, only to be dashed by her next statement.
"He tried to but I fought him off," she explains.
She furiously wipes at her tears, desperately trying to keep it together. For the first time ever, she sees tears coming down Ryan's cheeks. His head hangs low, body slumped helplessly.
She reaches for his hand, pleading, Ryan, without even knowing what her plea is. He looks up at her, his heartache matching her own. He squeezes her hand back and moves his arms around her. He pulls her closer and she readily leans in.
"I'm so sorry," she murmurs against his neck.
"Don't, please don't apologise," he says firmly. She settles into his embrace and for the first time in a while, the silence is not excruciating.