I'm so sorry for the constant delay of my stories you guys…its just that my schoolwork is getting WAY worse than it used to be oo but I'm not giving up on my stories and I hope you guys won't either….here's the next chappy…It's quite long and I think you guys will like it so I hope that makes up for the wait
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Marissa got out of her car and made her way to the Robert's mansion after her first day of work. She opened the big white door that she had known so well when she was living there 4 years ago. She smiled at how everyone had changed over the past years, her mother really developed into a better person and now she was Mrs. Roberts. Marissa slightly laughed at herself, now she was a Roberts as well, she had a family again and she was thrilled about it.
"Mom? Kaitlin?" She called out as she entered the mansion.
She heard footsteps approaching her but it definitely wasn't her mother nor her sister. The tall man with grayish hair approached her and greeted her with a fatherly smile.
"Hello Marissa." He said. "It's so good to see you after all these years."
"Hey Mr. Roberts." Marissa said quietly.
"Please, call me Neil."
"Okay, umm…Neil." Marissa said trying to adjust to the name.
Neil smiled when she called her by his first name; she was accepting him into their family. "We're actually about to eat dinner, care to join us?"
"Sure." Marissa said following him to the dinner table beside the pool. She saw her mom and Caitlin setting up the table.
"Oh, hi Marissa." Julie said as she saw Marissa and her husband walk in. "How was your first day?"
"It was great," Marissa said as she took her seat. "Summer happens to be my new partner."
Julie smiled at her. "We know."
"What? You guys knew and you didn't tell me?" Marissa said. "How did you know anyways?"
"Well, when you told us that you were working for Chic magazine we knew that Summer works their as one of the most valued editors." Julie started.
"Yes, then when I asked her if they were getting a new employee, she said that she would be getting a new partner." Neil said smiling. "She was really excited about it too."
"Yeah, we knew that it would make you more nervous than you already are." Kaitlin said from across the table. "Besides, we wanted it to be a surprise."
Marissa didn't reply and just smiled at them. They had become a really good family and now she was part of that and she couldn't be happier.
"So how long will you be staying here Marissa?" Neil asked.
"Oh. Well actually I'll be moving in with Summer tomorrow." Marissa said. "We're really excited about it."
"Oh, that's great, although, we were hoping that we could spend more time with you here." Neil said.
"Yeah me too." Marissa said sadly. She had just gained a new family and she wanted to spend more time with them. "But me and Summer could come here every now and then to visit." Marissa offered.
"That would be wonderful." Julie said.
"Yes, it would be the perfect way to spend our Sundays as a family." Neil said.
"Yeah, too bad I can't be here to see it." Kaitlin said.
"Why not?" Marissa asked her sister.
"Because I have to go back to Berkeley." Kaitlin said.
"You go to Berkeley?" Marissa asked intrigued. "I knew that you were in college but I didn't know that you go there."
"Yeah, I decided to go to Berkeley for college kind of ironic that you wanted to go there too, Sandy and Kirsten were really thrilled about it though." Kaitlin said.
"How are they?" Marissa asked. "I really missed them."
"They missed you too." Julie said. "You should visit them sometime."
"Yeah, they will be pretty shocked though." Marissa said.
"Well, they think of you as their daughter anyway, it's like you're a part of their family." Kaitlin said.
"Yeah, I'm glad to be a part of that," Marissa replied. "I'm glad to be a part of this one too."
They all smiled at her. "So you're not mad that we didn't tell you?" Julie asked.
"No, I'm just bummed that I missed the wedding." Marissa smiled. "I think I could have been a pretty good maid-of-honor."
"I'm sure you would have." Julie said. "But we didn't think you would have come if we invited you."
"Of course I would have come." Marissa said. "I wouldn't want to miss your third wedding march."
Julie giggled. "Yeah, that may be true." Julie said looking at Neil. "But it was my last wedding march."
"Don't we know it." Neil said smiling back at Julie.
"Okay, that's our cue to leave before things get gross." Caitlin said grimacing at Julie and Neil's affection. "Honestly you guys, get a room."
"Very funny Caitlin." Julie said sarcastically.
Marissa laughed at her sister and mother. "I have to pack soon though." She said. "Summer's really excited about me moving in tomorrow, I am too but I would hate to miss out on 'family time'."
Neil smiled and got up his chair as Marissa got up from hers. "There'll be plenty of time for that." He said. "Oh, and by the way," he said extending his hand to her. "Welcome to the family."
Marissa stared at his hand which made both Julie and Neil nervous that she might have not accepted Neil as a step dad. To their surprise, instead of shaking his hand she gave him a heartfelt hug.
Neil was surprised by Marissa's gesture but he was really happy that she accepted him. He hugged her back for a while then they both pulled away. Marissa was so happy to hear those kind words. She knew that this was a whole new start, and she had her hopes that everything will work out great this time.
"Thanks Neil." Marissa said quietly.
They turned to Julie who was crying out of joy and Kaitlin was happy for them as well.
"Family hug?" Julie said extending her arms.
Everyone gathered around her and had a big family hug. Once they pulled away everyone had smiles on their faces. They were a family again.
"I'm so happy that we're all here together." Julie said.
"Mom," Kaitlin said rolling her eyes on her mother. "Can we please just help Marissa pack before it gets even more cheezy?"
Marissa laughed at her sister's embarrassment at their mother. She could definitely see her younger self in her.
"Alright then, Kaitlin." Julie said. "We'll help your sister pack after dinner."
"Great." Kaitlin said as they sat down again. They spent the rest of the night talking about each other's experiences over the past years and having a blast. They wanted to make up for lost time and they wanted to make sure Marissa's stay would be memorable.
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Summer woke up the next day with a headache and sore body parts. She got up from her bed and rubbed her head, hoping that it would be less painful. She checked the time to see that it was already 10:00 and she had overslept again.
She threw the covers off her body and rushed out of bed and ran into her bathroom. She picked up her toothbrush and stated brushing her teeth so hard that her gums were practically bleeding.
"Morning Summer!" Taylor said in her usual upbeat tone as she entered the bathroom.
"Taylor! Why didn't you wake me up? It's already 10:00 and I'm late for work!" Summer said after spitting out the toothpaste foam from her mouth. "I know that you go to your work a little later than I do, but it would be nice if you woke me up so I don't have to worry about getting fired."
"What are you talking about? You don't have work today." Taylor said giggling at her friend's sillyness.
"What?" Summer asked still panicking.
"Hello? Earth to Summer, you have your day off remember? You even told me how excited you were since Marissa would be moving in with us and personally, I'm really excited as well-"
"Oh my god, Marissa!" Summer interrupted, remembering the arrival of her best friend. "Is her room ready yet? She should be here any minute and-"
"Summer relax," Taylor said putting her hands on Summer's shoulders and shook her to stop her from panicking. "I already took care of it."
"You did?" Summer asked surprised.
"Yeah, you're not the only one excited about Marissa being our new roomie!" Taylor said jittery.
"Taylor don't call her that." Summer said. "But thanks for fixing it up."
They both turned their heads to the door when they heard the doorbell ring.
"That must be her." Summer said rushing to the door.
"Ooh! Wait for me!" Taylor said running after her.
Summer opened the door to see Marissa standing there surrounded by all her luggage.
"Coop!" Summer said excitedly as she greeted her with a hug. Marissa hugged her back and spotted a very excited Taylor who was standing behind her.
"Hey Taylor!" Marissa said as she gave her a hug as well.
"Marissa! Oh my god it's been years since I last saw you." Taylor said as she hugged her back.
"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of those greetings lately." Marissa said as they pulled away.
"But it's gonna be so much fun though now that you're here!" Taylor said. "We're all gonna be roomies!"
"Roomies?" Marissa asked.
"It's a Taylor thing." Summer replied. "You'll get used to it don't worry."
"I hope I do." Marissa laughed.
"Come on in to your new home," Summer said warmly as she and Taylor helped Marissa carry her bags inside. "We can give you the grand tour later but, first let's go help you settle in your new room."
As they walked in, Marissa took a better look at her new home and noticed that their house was absolutely gorgeous. Their walls were peach and it had all sorts of artworks hanging on the walls. There were great pieces of furniture and pretty decorations everywhere which made it look even better. It looked really big and it was really near the beach which gave it nice views. Everything looked spotless and absolutely amazing.
Summer and Taylor led her in front of one of the rooms. Summer opened the door and Marissa's jaw dropped. Her room was just as beautiful as the apartment; it had pink walls and frilly curtains hanging from the windows which had an amazing view of the beach and not just that but she had a balcony as well which you could see the sunset from. Her furniture was well-crafted as well, just like the rest of the furniture in the house. She was completely speechless.
"Is it okay Coop?" Summer asked.
"O-Okay? Sum, this place is beautiful!" Marissa said as she walked in her room and started looking around a little closer. "And the views are awesome! And I get to have a balcony too?"
"Yeah, we all have balconies." Taylor said cheerfully. "It makes it easier to check out hot guys on the beach."
"We all have walk-in closets too." Summer said.
"Are you serious?" Marissa asked excitedly.
"Go check it out." Summer said pointing towards the closet.
Marissa opened the door and saw empty closets just waiting for her to use. It was so big that she wasn't even sure if she had enough clothes to fill this up.
"I must be dreaming." Marissa said "I don't even think I have enough clothes for a closet this big."
"Well, being a top-editor in Chic magazine means that you get a lot of clothes too." Summer said smiling.
"It also means that I get them as gifts for Christmas from Summer." Taylor said smiling as well.
"We're really glad that you like it." Summer said.
"Like it? I'm in love with this place! It's absolutely beautiful! Whoever your interior designer is must be really good." Marissa said.
"Thanks, actually you're looking right at her." Taylor said. "I work in interior design and I designed this place."
Marissa looked at her shocked. "Wow Taylor, I didn't know you were interested in design before."
"Neither did I." Summer said. "That's why I was just as surprised as you are now when she decided to take up interior design in Providence."
"Well, you're really good at it." Marissa said.
"Thank you, what can I say? It's a gift." Taylor said proudly.
All three girls were laughing when they heard the doorbell ring the second time.
"I'll get that," Summer said. "You guys can fix Marissa's stuff while I answer the door."
She smiled at the happy sight before leaving the room. She made her way to the door and opened it to see Seth at their doorway.
"Hey" he said leaning for a kiss
"Oh, no you don't Cohen." Summer said backing away from him. "I can't believe that you can't even keep a secret for like, fifteen minutes."
"I didn't tell Ryan anything." Seth protested.
"Yeah, but now he's suspicious." Summer said.
"Come on, you know that he's gonna find out anyway." Seth said.
"Yeah, I know but thanks to you, he's gonna find out sooner." Summer said.
"What's the big deal anyway? I mean, he's got Lauren now and they've moved on from each other, right?"
Summer thought for a while about what Seth had just said. "I hope so…"
Summer and Seth's conversation was interrupted by a fit of giggles that were approaching them. They turned to see that it was Taylor and Marissa who were coming out of Marissa's room. Taylor and Marissa made their way to Summer and Seth still laughing while Seth and Summer were completely oblivious to why they were laughing so hard.
"Hey Seth." Taylor and Marissa said as they spotted them.
"Hey," Seth said. "What's so funny?"
Taylor and Marissa looked at each other and started laughing again. They were laughing so hard that they couldn't say anything in between their laughter.
"Okay…" Summer said still confused. "Well, you can tell us later, but for now we have to finish unpacking Coop's stuff so we can show her around Newport to show her what she's been missing."
"Okay." They both said trying to control their laughter.
They all made their way back to Marissa's room when they heard the doorbell ring the third time.
"We've been getting a lot of visitors this morning, most of which are unexpected," Summer said. "Taylor could you get that?"
"In a minute." Taylor said as she and Marissa looked through old photographs of when they were in high school.
"I'll get it." Seth said to Summer as he made his way to the door. "I don't think I could stand you guys talking about clothes or fashion or something anyways."
"Alright Cohen, thanks." Summer called out to him.
Seth made his way to the door expecting the mailman or newspaper boy but he opened the door to someone completely different. Seth's eyes widened when he saw him standing there.
"Ryan? Hey man, what are you doing here?" Seth said, his nervousness creeping out once more.
"I decided to stop by, you don't look too happy to see me." Ryan said with a sly smile.
"Oh, no it's just that I wasn't expecting to see you here," Seth said.
"Well, I remembered that we had a little conversation that we hadn't finished yet." Ryan said smirking at Seth's uneasiness, he was gonna crack soon and Ryan would finally know what the big secret is. "And since you weren't at your apartment, I figured that you'd be here."
"Yeah, about that…" Seth started to say but he was interrupted by laughter coming from Marissa's room which he figured was Summer, Taylor and Marissa. Oh, god. He can't let Ryan see her or Summer would kick his ass…literally.
"What's that?" Ryan asked curiously trying to look over Seth's shoulder.
"Nothing." Seth said as he blocked Ryan's view.
Ryan was about to say something but they were interrupted by a very perky voice.
"Hey Seth wanna join us we're-" Taylor stopped when she saw Ryan in the doorway.
"Hey Ryan, didn't expect to see you here." Taylor said getting quite nervous herself.
"Just decided to stop by," Ryan said even more confused that even Taylor seemed like she was keeping something from him.
"Wonderful," Taylor said giving Seth a look. "Hey, why don't you sit on the couch while me and Seth can get you something to drink?"
"Sure, thanks." Ryan said as he made his way over to the leather couch.
"Okay, great just stay there and we'll be back in a flash." Taylor said grabbing Seth by the hand.
She led him to the kitchen which was luckily separated from the living room with a door so no one could hear or see them from there.
"Seth what is he doing here?" Taylor said whispering to make sure Ryan doesn't hear them. "Did you invite him?"
"What? No." Seth said. "He just kinda showed up."
"Yeah? Well he's just gonna freak out if he bumps into Marissa."
"Yeah, I know I'm working on it." Seth said. "He won't suspect a thing."
"You've got to be kidding me." Taylor said almost laughing. "Seth, no offense, but all of us know that you can't keep a secret to save your life."
Just then, they heard someone come in the kitchen and turned to see a slightly pissed Summer standing there.
"Summer hey." Seth said nervously. "What's up?"
"'What's up' Seth? Hmm, let's see, I'll tell you what's up maybe the fact that Ryan is in our living room couch while Marissa is moving into her new room." Summer said.
"Okay, I can explain." Seth said to the two girls, both with crossed arms.
"Save it Cohen, we don't have time for your excuses, we have to find a way to get Ryan out of here before Marissa sees him." Summer said opening the kitchen door.
They walked into the living room and went in front of the couch.
"Hey, so what are you guys doing?" Ryan asked.
"Wow Atwood, that's the first time you've been frank." Summer said. "Umm…we were actually just talking about Taylor's unusual day at work, right Taylor?"
Taylor gave a fake uneasy smile. "What unusual day at work Summer?" she said giving her a glare.
"Oh, you know, the one with umm…you guys doing your jobs."
"Well of course we do our job that's why it's called work." Taylor said stiffly.
Ryan was about to ask something when he heard his cell phone ring.
"Will you guys excuse me for a minute?" They all nodded with relief as he quickly answered his call.
"Unusual day at work?" Taylor whispered to Summer.
"I couldn't think of anything else." Summer whispered back. They saw Ryan finishing his call and quickly gave him fake smiles, making it look like nothing was wrong.
"Okay, so that was Lauren." Ryan said. "Sorry to be rude you guys but I gotta go."
"Oh, no it's fine we understand." Summer said relieved.
All three started talking at the same time but they were soon interrupted by a voice behind Ryan. They exchanged nervous looks and their eyes widened when they saw who it was.
"Hey you guys have to see this-" Marissa stopped dead in her tracks when she saw someone get up from the couch to turn and face her. She couldn't see who it was at first but realized that it was someone from her past which truly shocked the hell out of her to see.
"Ryan…"
Ryan heard a feminine voice over his shoulder and could have sworn that he knew that voice. He saw Seth, Summer and Taylor's eyes widen when they saw the person, which made him curious to see who it was. He turned to see Marissa standing there, right in front of him and for a minute, he almost thought that he was dreaming. He was really shocked to see her, questions were filling his mind right about now but he knew that they would be answered later.
"Marissa…"
Seth, Summer and Taylor just looked from Marissa to Ryan, watching their reactions like they were watching a movie being played right in front of them. There was a long awkward silence that stretched between them before Ryan decided to speak.
"I thought that you were in Greece." Ryan said still frozen with shock. He took a good look at her and realized that she had changed over the years. She had the same face, the same eyes, the same smile that used to make his days brighter. But that was then, I have Lauren now he reminded himself.
"Yeah, it's kind of a long story." Marissa said quietly. She saw that Ryan was the same guy that she knew 4 years ago, aside from a tan and a more built body, he was the same old Ryan that she fell in love with years ago. She remembered those days back then when he was the only reason she wanted to live through each day, but she knew that those days were over and now they were no more than just friends.
"Well, it's great to have you back." Ryan said as he pulled her into a hug. He definitely missed her and it was so nice to have her back in his life again. He forgot how delicate her body was; he hugged her tight feeling his 'savior' mechanism coming back after such a long time.
"It's great to be back." Marissa said as she hugged him back. It was so nice to feel his arms wrapped around hers again, just like old times.
They pulled away and there was a momentary silence in the room.
"So, we were going to the pier to catch up on everything…wanna join us?" Marissa asked him.
"Yeah, sure if that's okay with you guys." Ryan said looking at the three who were still standing there.
"S-Sure let's go." Summer said as she opened the door for them. She waited for Ryan and Marissa to go out first and when they were gone she turned to Taylor and Seth.
"How long do you think they'll last before Marissa finds out about Lauren?" she asked.
"I'd give them a week." Taylor said.
"A week? I'd give them three days." Seth said.
"Please, I'd give them 30 minutes." Summer said.
They were interrupted by Marissa calling them from outside.
They all laughed quietly to themselves as they went out knowing that things will really start to get interesting now.
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What did you guys think? Review please and I will update sooner :D
den