Okay! First things first Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And second, I know I said I was gonna have the Christmas story up by Christmas, but it turns out that apparently I forgot how crazy the holidays can be. So I apologize for lying! And also, sorry for taking so long to update, I'll try not to let it happen again.
Issues
Like the last three mornings, Marissa Cooper wakes up wrapped in Ryan's strong, secure embrace. Ryan Atwood. She smiles to herself for the third morning in a row. She glances at the clock next o the bed that reads 6:00am and settles back into his arms for that extra second. It feels so good. After 10 years of not feeling him even remotely this close, she doesn't ever want to leave the safety that is Ryan. But she knows she has to, because she has to leave before Lily wakes up. That was the deal with her spending the night. Shuffling out of his grasp, she sits up in the large king sized bed, running her hand through her hair. She jumps slightly when his arms wrap around her waist again, sliding underneath her t-shirt.
"Where are you going?" Ryan murmers into her shoulder, dropping a soft delicate kiss onto her porcelain like skin.
"Home," she giggles, leaning into him. "It's six o'clock Ry."
"So?" he murmers, tilting her face towards his, kissing her softly. "Five more minutes."
She giggles, deepening the kiss. "I have to go. Lily's gonna wake up soon," she says, pushing him back lightly. "And you need to get ready."
Ryan groans, falling back on the bed, watching as she peels his boxers off and pulls on her jeans.
Marissa catches him and smiles, throwing the boxers at him. "Perv."
"Can't help it," he says shrugging playfully. He also climbs out of bed in his pyjama pants. "Sneaking around never gets old." She grins, remembering the last time they did just that; he had a bruise on his elbow for a week to prove it.
"Yeah," she giggles, "it's very dangerous."
"Very dangerous," he echoes, pulling her into him.. he kisses her, playing with the fabric of her t-shirt. "Go," he murmers.
"Kay," she murmers back, but doesn't move.
"Go."
"Kay."
"Go."
Laughing, Marissa pulls away. "I have to go. Stop," she says sternly. He steps back raising his hands up in surrender. He smiles, grabbing her purse off of the chair in the corner of the room. "I'll call you later," she whispers, slipping out of the room. She tip toes down the hallway carefully and quietly. She turns the corner, colliding hard with something that she's pretty sure was never there before. With Lily. "Umm, hi," she stutters, waving awkwardly at the 13 year old girl in front of her.
"Hi," Lily replies, smiling awkwardly.
"I was just-I was um...I was..."
"Sneaking out?"
Marissa smiles sheepishly, the colour rising in her cheeks. "Something like that," she whispers. She remembers the first and last time Sandy had caught her sneaking out of the poolhouse after spending the night. 'I won't tell if you don't' he'd said. "I should go," she quickly. "See ya." She waves awkwardly before racing down the stairs. The second she closes the front door she leans against it, letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.
Ryan jogs down the stairs later, showered and ready for work to find Lily in the kitchen, like she is every morning. "Morning kid."
"Morning dad!"
"Sleep well?"
"Yep. You?"
"Yep," she replies, smiling as he pours himself a cup of coffee.
"So I saw Marissa this morning," Lily says casually, smiling in amusement behind her glass of orange juice.
"You uh...you did?" he stutters, unsure of how he's supposed to react.
"Yeah. She was sneaking out-except not really."
"Oh. Uh...." he trails off, his mind racing with thoughts and excuses. After everything that's happened with Theresa, he isn't sure that now is the time...
"Relax dad," Lily says, laughing softly. "It's fine. You guys are adults; you don't need my permission. Although I do approve," she grins.
"I know Lil, it's just...after everything with your mom-"
"Dad it's okay," she says softly, shaking her head at him. "Really."
"Okay," Ryan says, smiling down at his daughter. "Okay good."
"It's funny though dad, you guys act more and more like teenagers every day," Lily laughs, teasing her father playfully.
Rolling his eyes, the father of one makes a playful face at his daughter. Though it isn't much of a stretch these days-he feels like he's 16 again, not 28.
Later that day, Ryan punches out for lunch before calling Marissa. He can only imagine what was going through her head this morning.
"Hello?"
"Hey!" he greets cheerfully, leaning back into his chair.
"Hey!" she says, smiling softly to herself. "I was gonna call you but Kaitlin made me go to the spa with her."
"Kaitlin's back?" he asks curiously. The last he heard, the youngest Cooper had been travelling Europe with her boyfriend Justin.
"Yeah she got in last night. We had a good time."
"That's great."
"Oh we got busted this morning," she says matter-of-factly. "I ran into Lily, literally. She knows Ry..."
"I know, she told me."
"What? Really?"
He laughs, nodding his head though she can't see him. "Yeah."
"Why are you laughing?! It's not funny," she says defensively.
"Aw c'mon, it's a little funny," he says, continuing to laugh. He can't help it.
"It's embarrassing! It's worse than getting caught by your parents."
"You just suck at sneaking out that's all," Ryan teases.
"Ryan," she groans.
"Okay, okay. But look," he starts seriously. "I talked to her about it and it's okay. It's fine. She's fine with it," he clarifies.
"Really?" she asks sceptically.
"Yeah. She 'approves'," he says, smiling to himself.
"Even after Theresa?"
"Yeah. She doesn't talk about Theresa, or anything to do with her."
"Oh..."
"We're fine," he says reassuringly.
"Okay...good. That's good."
"Yep. Lily's sleeping at Sandy and Kirsten's tonight so we have the house all to ourselves. And probably most of tomorrow too," he says, grinning at all the alone time they'll get.
"Oooooh, very nice," she giggles. "But I can't stay long tomorrow, I promised Summer some girl time."
"Party pooper," he teases playfully.
"Sorry," she laughs, leaning back onto the pool chair. "Pick me up after work?"
"You got it."
Marissa smiles, looking up as Kaitlin walks out of the house and joins her in the backyard. "Kaitlin's here, I should go," she whispers.
"Kay, I'll call you later."
"Kay. Bye," she says hanging up. "Hey Katie."
"That Ryan?"
"Yeah."
"You know I really am happy you guys worked it out. It took long enough," Kaitlin says laying on the chair beside her sister.
"I know, me too," the blond smiles.
"So did I hear you right earlier? Lillian Atwood caught you this morning?" she asks, laughing like the little sister she is.
"Lily," she corrects automatically, "and yeah. I literally ran right into her, it was so embarrassing," Marissa groans.
"Wow, I wish I could've been there. Getting caught by the boyfriend's daughter, you're on a whole new level," Kaitlin jokes.
"Shut up," Marissa laughs, growing anxious for Ryan to finish work.
Clad in a pair of jean shorts and an old Journey t-shirt, her hair in soft pigtails, Lily Atwood walks back to the where Chase is waiting for her on the pier. She hands him a Balboa bar, sitting beside him. "Hey."
"Hey! It's about time," she says, scolding her playfully. He takes a bite of his ice cream. "Mmmm, thanks."
"You're welcome," she replies, laughing softly. "Oh before I forget, I caught Marissa sneaking out this morning. We walked right into each other."
"No way!"
"Yep. She was all flustered and embarrassed. It was funny," she laughs.
"Wow..."
"And I told my dad."
"What'd he say?"
"Well he also got all flustered, so I just told him it was okay," she says, shrugging her shoulders casually.
Chase smiles, eating his ice cream. "Did you tell him you've seen her every other morning too?"
"No," she laughs. "I figured I'd let him think he got away with it."
"Good idea. You don't wanna ruin his manly hood."
"Exactly! I'm such a good daughter."
Chase smiles again, watching as Lily smiles proudly at herself. "You are," he agrees. "Not many kids would do what you did to get your dad with someone who isn't their mom. Most kids want their parents together," he points out softly.
"Well I certainly don't want that," Lily says, taking a bite of her ice cream bar.
"I know," he whispers softly.
"So, what do you have planned?" she asks, changing the subject quickly.
"You bring your bathing suit?"
"Yep."
"Well, I know this place," he says, grinning as he pushes himself to his feet. "It's super top secret, nobody ever goes there."
"Oooooh very mysterious," she giggles.
"You in?"
"Definately."
Later that evening, after having dinner with Sandy, Kirsten and Lily, Ryan and Marissa say good-bye; Ryan kissing his daughters on the forehead before leaving. The ride back to Ryan's house is quiet; comfortable and quiet. It's the kind of quiet that they're used to. They don't need words to communicate-they never have. All they need are looks and simple touches to communicate.
Ryan pulls into his driveway, lifting his hand from the spot on her leg to put the SUV in park.
"That was nice. I missed dinners with Sandy and Kirsten," Marissa admits, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Yeah," he says climbing out of the car. He walks around to open Marissa's door. "They're pretty stoked that we moved back. We can have family dinners all the time now."
"That's awesome," she smiles, following him to the door.
"Yeah," he says, pulling out his house keys. "Seth's been over the family dinner for years. But I guess when you've had a lifetime of lonely dinners, another lifetime of family ones isn't nearly enough."
She rubs his shoulder affectionately before walking into the house first. He follows her, closing the door behind them and she continues into the kitchen. "Thirsty?" she asks, making herself at home.
Ryan grins, following her lead. He likes that she can do that; that she can be so comfortable with him and Lily, even after all this time. He leans on the doorframe, watching as she pulls out ingredients to make a smoothie. She looks at him questioningly, and he realizes that she's still awaiting an answer. "Oh, no," he replies.
"What are you doing?" she asks curiously.
"Nothing," he says quickly. She turns back to the blender and he continues to watch her. It's been two weeks and he still sometimes needs to pinch himself to make sure he isn't dreaming; to make sure it's real. She turns, throwing a strawberry at him. "Hey," he laughs, throwing it into his mouth. Yep, this is definately still real. He grins, walking towards her slowly. His arms snake around her waist, slipping under her shirt carefully. He kisses her shoulder, making his way to her neck slowly and teasingly.
Marissa smiles, turning to face him slowly. His lips crash into hers and she giggles at how quickly he opens her mouth. He slides his hands up her sides to her arms, wrapping them around his neck. He presses her into the counter softly, wrapping his arms around her waist again.
"My smoothie's gonna get warm," she murmers into his lips, giggle softly.
"So make another one," he murmers back gently. He pulls back slowly, letting his lips linger for a moment before stepping back. "C'mon," he whispers, grabbing her hand and pulling her out into the hall.
"But my smoothie!"she squeals playfully, letting him lead her to the stairs. "Lily would be very offended to know that you ruined my smoothie."
"Mhmm, well, she's not here," he says, grinning as he pulls her up the stairs. He stops at the top of the staircase and backs her against the wall carefully. Crashing his lips into hers, he picks her up and she wraps her legs around his waist in response. "I have a surprise."
"Oh?" she giggles.
Nodding, he wraps his arms around her to support her back and walks towards his bedroom. Coming up to the door, he turns the knob carefully, pushing open the door.
Turning to face the inside of the room, a giant smile curls on her lips and tears spring to her eyes. "Oh my God." She wiggles out of his grip, looking around the room in awe.
Ryan watches her look around at his hard work. Red rose pedals and white candles are scattered around the room and over the bed. It's a lot like their first time in the tiki hut-only without the hut and the sand. he smiles smugly at his own hard work.
"This is awesome," she whispers, skipping into the room. She jumps on the bed and kneels on the mattress, looking at him. "It's not even Valentine's Day. What's it for?"
He shrugs, walking further into the room as he closes the door behind him.
"How did you do this?" she asks, a little bit confused.
He laughs. "I uh...snuck away while you were helping Kirsten with dinner."
She smiles softly, running her fingers through the rose pedals. "Why?"
He shrugs again, walking closer to her. "What's with all the questions?" he asks, smiling softly.
She shrugs in response, shifting to the end of the bed when he stops at the footboard. She sticks her fingers into his two front pockets, kneeling on the mattress in front of him.
Ryan smirks, slipping his arms around her slender frame, his own fingers slipping underneath the hem of her shirt. The truth is, all of this-the roses and pedals and candles-it doesn't really mean anything. It's a nice, romantic gesture to remind her of how much she really does mean to him. Just like the tiki hut. He presses his forehead against hers carefully, pulling her into him. He moves one hand up, burying it in her hair, cupping the base of her neck while his thumbs stroke her cheek softly.
Her breath catches in her throat momentarily while his is hot and quick, tickling her face softly. It's a lot like their first time, the way the air around them gets thick with tension-physical and otherwise. Time doesn't stop, but it seems to slow down a helluva lot. She swallows, nervously, the lump in her throat. She isn't sure why she's so nervous because it's not like they haven't done it before; it's not like they've never made love before. In fact, after the night they spent in the tiki hut, it had never been a problem for them again. She remembers being so nervous-scared to death is more like it-that night. And she remembers wondering (very briefly) is he was nervous too. And then he kissed her and all of the thought that had been floating around in her mind had disappeared. The fact that he was a million times more experienced than she was, had stopped mattering. The fact that she would be leaving in less than 24 hours didn't matter. All that mattered in that moment, much like in this moment, was that she was giving herself to him-totally and completely. She raises her gaze to meet his, slowly and timidly.
He locks eyes with her, swallowing the hugely sized lump in his throat nervously. And he thinks it's ridiculous that he's this nervous; that he's still this nervous with her. With her of all people. He hesitates, staring at her and he's never felt more 17 in his life. The last time he'd been this nervous, this completely terrified was in the tiki hut. At first he hadn't known why he was scared and then at some point between asking for her approval and laying her down, it had dawned on him. It's about the sex or his performance; it was about the girl. It was about the only girl. It always has been. It was about the fact that they'd waited two years to get there. It was about the fact that it would never be just sex with Marissa Cooper. It was about the fact that she was leaving in 24 hours time and while he wasn't sure that he could just let her leave after all was said and done, he couldn't let her leave without showing her either, he had everything to lose back then and he was scared out of his mind. And here he is, eleven years later and he's still scared out of his mind. He smiles softly, letting out a breath he forgot he'd been holding. "You wanna do this? 'Cause we don't have to..."
She nods, smiling nervously. "I want to."
"Yeah?" he whispers. "It's been awhile..."
She snakes her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and playing with the hem of his collar. Nodding again, she shuffles closer to him while on the bed. She closes her eyes, evening her breathing. He grins, pressing his lips firmly against hers. She seems to melt into him and he lips move in perfect rhythm with his. His heart beats faster and faster and he deepens the kiss; holding onto it while his tongue pushes past her lips urgently. She moans into his lips and the way his body reacts to the sound coming out of her mouth drives him crazy. She tugs on his neck and he slides his hands under her shirt, his fingers moving softly but firmly up her sides. They graze the fabric of her bra before pulling her shirt over her head; parting their lips briefly. He opens his eyes, frozen in his movements to find her staring at him and smiling mischievously. His eyes wander over her, taking in her presence in her black lace bra and dishevelled hair.
Confidence washes over Marissa and she starts to unbutton his collared shirt; taking charge in the smallest, sexiest way possible. His lips travel across her jaw and to her neck. She giggles and when she gets to the last button, he rushes to pull the shirt off of his shoulders while she peels off his wife beater. His lips find hers again swiftly and passionately, his hands gripping her shoulders firmly from behind. Their tongues dance together and her knees go weak so she leans back into a sitting position on the back of her legs, her fingers running along the waist of his jeans, bringing him with her.
He leans down, following her as she leans back slightly; moving his hands to cradle her face. Her fingers send shivers through his body; making him moan into her lips. He can feel her fumbling with the bottom of his jeans and he pulls his lips away from her, breathing heavily with his forehead against hers. It's driving him crazy; all of this teasing and touching. She pushes him back slightly, pressing her lips into his chest and a low; satisfied groan escapes his lips as he lets his head roll back on his shoulders. He concentrates on steadying his breathing because he thinks that if he doesn't he'll lose it. He hears the zipper on his jeans unzip and fabric sliding down his legs before her lips crash into his again. She pulls him into her and he grabs her around the waist so that he can climb out of his jeans, leaving them discarded and forgotten on the floor. He pushes her back, guiding her by her hips into a lying position on her back; climbing on top of her. He travels his lips down her throat and chest, over the fabric of her bra and down her tanned and toned abdomen, stopping at the waistband of her skirt. He runs his hands up her legs; from her ankles, up her calves and to her bent knees, then along her thighs and under the light, flowing fabric of her skirt. He hovers over her, watching as her back arches at the simple touches and he pulls the piece of clothing off of her body. Now they're both in their underwear and secretly, he's pleased. He pulls back, dropping the skirt on the floor, staring at her intently. His breath catches in his throat while she stares up at him innocently and he finds it ironic that she can look so pure and innocent, because what they're doing is the complete opposite.
Marissa can feel the colour rising in her cheeks while he stares at her and it creates butterflies in her stomach when he smiles. "What?" she whispers.
Ryan shakes his head, leaning down to press a kiss to her bent knee. He rests his chin where his lips just were, looking at her.
"What?" she asks again, giggling softly.
He smiles. "You're so beautiful," he whispers, leaving a trail of kisses along her thighs and across her stomach. Then he pauses, hovering over her, his gaze locking with hers "I love you," he says, his voice low and husky; like at any minutes he's going to break. It's been years since he's said those words to anybody but Lily. It's been ten long fucking years since he told her how he really, truly feels. It feels good. It feels so good and when she smiles he almost faints.
"I love you too," she whispers back. The words are barely out of her mouth when his lips crash into hers.
And just as quickly as it started and paused, it starts again. They roam each other's bodies, slowly and torturing and passionately. Soon enough, his white sheets are draped over their naked, sweaty, sticky bodies while they move in perfect timing with each other.
The next morning, Ryan wakes up with his arms wrapped securely and protectively around his girlfriend; his face buried into her back of her neck. His body is pressed firmly against hers; much like it's been every other morning. Except this is different. This is special. Last night was special. And it was amazing and perfect and completely mind-blowing. He can't remember the last time a woman made him feel like hat-actually he can, and it was long overdue. He raises his face, glancing a the clock on the other side of her; the red numbers reading 9:36am. He catches a glimpse of the rose pedals and smiles to himself, dipping his face into the crook of her neck, pressing his lips softly to her skin. She moves and he grins into her shoulder trailing soft kisses over her. "Hey," he whispers.
She moans, burying her face into the pillow and squeezing her eyes shut.
He laughs softly, continuing his passionate assault on her shoulder and down her arm. "Wake up," he murmers.
Smiling, Marissa opens her eyes and shifts so that she's facing him. "Hi," she whispers.
He pushes his forehead into hers. "Hey."
She pulls him down, kissing him on the lips softly. "What time is it?"
"Mmmm, 9:30," he mumbles, nibbling softly on her bottom lip. "What time do you have to go?"
"Lunch," she whispers.
"You sure you can just skip it?" he asks, pulling back to look at hr properly. His right arm is around her waist still; his left is holding himself up.
"I'm sure," she giggles softly. "Besides you're already on thin ice with Summer."
"Me? Why?"
"Yes you. And because," she pauses, laughing softly, "You're taking up all my time. Her words, not mine," she adds.
"Poor Summer," her murmers, leaning in to kiss her. She accepts, kissing him back as she opens her mouth to him. He rolls on top of her, holding himself up with both hands.
"Mmmm move," she mumbles into his lips, pushing on his chest softly. "I'm hungry."
He groans, allowing himself to fall off of her. "Now?"
"Yes, now," she laughs sitting up, holding the blankets to her chest. "If you let me eat, I'll let you do whatever you want to me until noon," she reasons suggestively.
He grins, jumping out of the bed and into his boxers. "Works for me," he responds, throwing his t-shirt at her to put on.
Later that afternoon, Marissa walks out of the Roberts house clad in her favourite pink and white bikini, carrying a tray with two tall glasses of iced tea. Her mother and Dr. Roberts are away in Cabo for the weekend and Kaitlin and her boyfriend are apartment hunting then spending the night at his parent's house in Long Beach. So she has the whole house to herself; and right now, Summer. She walks around the pool to where her brunette best friend is laying on one of the two pool chairs. "Two Iced Teas," she announces, handing one to Summer and taking the other as she lays down in her own chair.
"Mmmm," Summer murmers, taking a sip through the green bendy straw. "Perfect."
Marissa smiles and takes her own sip, settling back into the chair. She remembers all of the days they used to do this-lay beside the pool and drink iced tea-in high school. Two memories instantly stick out at her; the summer after Ryan and Seth left when she would spike it with vodka-and lots of it, and then the summer after she shot Trey. To this day his name still makes her shudder.
"Alright Coop, what's the deal?" Summer asks, glancing at her best friend out of the corner of her eye. She knew that something was up the minute she picked her up at Ryan's.
"About what?"
"You tell me."
"It's not a big deal," the blond shrugs indifferently. "Ryan and I slept together."
"And...?"
"And, I mean, before last night we hadn't been together in like 10 years-"
"What?!" Summer screams, sitting up quickly in a sitting position.
"What?" Marissa ask, confused.
"Last night? I thought...wow that's so not what I thought," Summer muses.
"I know," the blond whispers. "It was...amazing Sum. It was absolutely mind-blowing. And it's been 10 years! I mean is that even possible?"
"Obviously! Coop c'mon," Summer says reasonably.
"I know," Marissa laughs.
"Was Lily around?"
"No, she stayed at Kirsten and Sandy's, thank God. Last time was awkward enough."
"Come again?"
"Oh right I didn't tell you yet!" Marissa remembers. "You know how I've been staying over?" When Summer nods, the blond continues. "Well she caught me one morning-"
"No way!"
"Yep. It was so awkward. I haven't even seen her since."
"Oh my God!" Summer laughs. "That's so funny!"
"It was humiliating Sum!"
"Exactly. Hilarious."
Rolling her eyes playfully, Marisa takes another refreshing sip of her iced tea.
"So what happens now?"
"I dunno," the blond replies truthfully. "We wanted to keep it from Lily for as long as possible 'cause of everything with Theresa you know? We didn't want her to think-"
"Are you kidding Coop?" Summer asks, looking at her seriously. "That girl is awesome. She's the one who wanted you together, remember?"
"I know, it's just...we didn't want it to be weird..."
"Well it is a little weird."
"It's a lot weird."
Shortly after calling Lily to tell her that he'll be there to pick her up in about an hour, Ryan pulls into the Robert's driveway to get Marissa. He places the car in park and climbs out quickly. He starts up the stairs just as Julie walks out the front door in a rush.
"Hey Ryan!"
"Hey Julie," Ryan greets, waving at her carefully.
"Marissa's in the living room," Julies says, patting him on the shoulder on her way by.
He smiles, walking through the open front door. Closing the door behind him, he continues through the house into the living room where his girlfriend is lying on the couch on her side. "Hey."
Marissa sits up, looking behind her at the source of the familiar voice. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
He grins, plopping onto the couch next to her, resting his arm on the back. "I'm picking Lily up in about an hour and I was thinking that we could get her together. Maybe get a little Thai?"
"You know that Thai is not a food group right?" she teases, climbing onto his lap.
"It should be," he jokes, wrapping his arms around her waist. He brings their lips together slowly and passionately. Shifting carefully, he pushes her onto her back before climbing between her legs and hovering over her.
She giggles as his lips find her neck, leaving a slow, tempting trail across her collar bones. "Is it just me, or is this all very high school?"
"Very high school," he confirms, murmuring into her neck.
She runs her fingers through his hair, tugging softly to his lips back towards hers. The doorbell rings but they both ignore it. Less than five seconds later there's a loud, constant banging on the front door. Marissa groans, pushing Ryan back. "I have to get that."
"People have terrible timing," Ryan mumbles grumpily.
Marissa smiles and walks out into the hallway, the constant banging echoing throughout the entire house. "I'm coming!" she pulls open the door, her mouth dropping at the man in front of her. "Brad..."
"Where is he?!" the brunette ex-boyfriend yells, pushing past her into the foyer.
"Brad, what-"
"You," Brad growls, as Ryan joins the commotion in the front hall.
"Whoa, hey," Marissa says, jumping between the men quickly. "Stop it! What are you doing here?" she asks, looking at Brad incredulously.
"I came to find you, to bring you home."
"I am home."
"Uh, maybe I should go," Ryan says, looking between them awkwardly.
"No, Ryan-"
"Don't tell him to stay!"
"Don't tell her what to do," Ryan says protectively, standing in front of Marissa.
Marissa touches his shoulder softly. "Ryan it's okay. Maybe you should go."
He looks her, locking his gaze with hers to make absolutely sure. She nods and he kisses her cheek before walking past an angry 'Brad'.
"He's why you left, isn't he?" Brad accuses her the second the front door closes.
"I left because I had to Brad! I wanted to come home-"
"So it's just a coincidence that you hook up with him barely a week later right?"
Marissa sighs, sitting on the staircase. She doesn't know how he knows; but she's pretty sure that Claire must've let it slip. Claire isn't exactly one for secrets. "We broke up Brad. And Ryan...we have history together."
"So I've heard."
"I'm sorry. I'm not going back with you."
Ryan sits down on the couch in the living room. He grabs the remote off of the coffee table and turns the local sports channel on. Lily and Chase have since gone to the pier after the two of them had dinner-without Marissa. Sandy and Kirsten are having dinner with Julie and Niel now that they're back from Cabo. Summer and Seth are with the boys. And he hasn't even heard from Marissa since he left her alone with 'Brad'.
He doesn't know who this guy is, nor does he want to; but it's pretty obvious from their conversation that he's an ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend? Why was he never told about the guy? 'Brad' was clearly told about him.
His mind has been racing for hours with possibilities of what could've happened; what might still be happening. Brad was clearly angry. And Marissa didn't seem very anxious to get rid of him. He tells himself he's being paranoid.
The doorbell rings throughout the house and he groans, pushing himself to his feet. He shuffles towards the front door in his sweat pants, wife beater and bare feet. He can see the fuzzy outline of Marissa's tall, slender frame waiting for him. Sighing softly, he pulls the door open.
"Hey," Marissa whispers, waving awkwardly at him.
"Hey." He steps aside, letting her in before closing the door behind her.
"So I owe you an explanation," she says softly, turning to face him in the foyer.
"Yeah I guess," he mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. It's more for preparation than anything else.
"He's my ex-"
"Yeah I got that."
Nodding, the blond continues. "From New York. I broke up with him before I left but-"
"He wants you back," he guesses, smiling sarcastically at her. It's the story of their lives.
"Yeah but-"
"Look Marissa...this just isn't gonna work," he whispers hesitantly.
"What? Ryan-"
"I can't do this Marissa!" he yells, opening his arms. She jumps slightly at his outburst in shock. "I can't keep fighting for a spot in your life all the time," he says calmly. "And I can't drag Lily through this."
Marissa looks down, tears glistening in her eyes. She doesn't know what to do or say to that. Because what do you say to that?
Ryan breaths out steadily. "You should go."
Nodding quickly, she crosses her arms over her chest protectively. She avoids his gaze, rushing past him and out the door.
Ryan watches her go tearfully and groans loudly. He walks back to the family room and sits on the couch, staring but not watching the game. He thinks back to the last time he watched her leave like that. It was because of Oliver and the fact that it was so damn easy for him to weasel his way into their relationship. And then it was DJ and Johnny. It's always about a guy. Somebody always falls in love with her. And he can't drag Lily into that. He can't go through it himself again either, but now that he has a daughter, he has to do what's best for her. She needs stability-now more than ever. And his relationship with Marissa has always been anything but stable.
"Dad?"
Ryan looks up quickly to see his daughter standing in the kitchen staring at him. "Hey Lil. How was your ice cream?"
"Good. I saw Marissa leaving, is everything okay?" she asks, worried. When her father doesn't answer, she knows that those tears trickling down the blonds cheeks weren't for nothing. Ryan looks away and she presses. "Dad-"
"Just drop it Lil," he says, his tone warning.
"But dad-"
"Drop it Lillian! It's over."
Lily shrinks back slowly at her dad's outburst. "I'm gonna go change." She doesn't wait for a response before leaving him alone and running upstairs. She pulls her new phone (the one her dad got her to make it easier for him to check up on her) out of her pocket. Once she's in her room she dials Chases' cell phone number and waits patiently for him to answer, lying back on her bed.
"Hey, didn't I just leave you?" Chase teases into the phone.
"Yeah, sorry."
"What's wrong?" he asks quickly, realizing through her tone that something is wrong.
"Um...I don't know. I saw Marissa leaving the house and she was crying and, but when I asked my dad he...yelled at me." She says, taking a deep calming breath. "Chase he never yells at me. I mean he does but never like that."
"You think something happened?"
"I know something happened."
"Just give him time Lil. He probably just needs to think about it; to calm down."
"Yeah," she whispers reasonably.
Marissa pushes the front door to the Roberts house open and slams it hard behind her before rushing upstairs. She makes it to her room in record timing and throws herself onto her bed. She grabs Sharebear and hugs her close to her chest. When all else fails; aka when she fights with Ryan, Sharebear fixes everything.
She isn't sure what's worse; the fact that not even 24 hours after having everything perfect for them, it turned upside down in a single second, or that yet again it was about another guy. She doesn't blame him, not really; especially where lily is concerned. But he didn't even give her a chance to explain.
Brad is nothing. Brad means nothing. Sure she cares for him, but not nearly enough. Brad was her escape after flying to New York; after Ryan, rather than drowning in alcohol like she always does. Brad was an excuse. Brad was lie she told herself for four and half years.
And now because of that lie, she may have just lost the love of her life forever.
There it is! I know, I ruined things, but don't worry! They shall be fixed! I hope you enjoyed it.
