Chapter 7

A Pivotal Year – Relationship Wedges

Nolan 17, Lissa 17, Ryder 13, Olivia 10

Annabelle 5, Victoria 5, Lucas 4

September 22

While Owen and Amelia dealt with the other kids, Ryder stepped outside to call Nolan. "I've never seen her fuming like that Nolan. She yelled at Livs and cussed at Dad. It's like it wasn't her," Ryder shared with his brother shortly after Lissa had stormed off.

"Just a sec, Ry, I'm getting another call," Nolan calmly stated. The caller ID showed a picture of Lissa's happy and smiling face that Nolan had assigned to her contact information. Quickly, he shared, "It's Liss. Let Mom know I'm talking to her."

Switching lines, Nolan began flatly and without a greeting, "Tell me you are not driving."

Lissa, her words indecipherable, was bawling with gusto.

"Baby, I can't understand you. Hey… shh… shh...," Nolan attempted to soothe.

While sobbing, Lissa tried to sputter out an explanation of where she was and what was going on. Nolan still could not make out what she was hoping to communicate.

Clearly but without a sense of anger, Nolan insisted, "Lissa." A few seconds later, he repeated her name again in the same manner, adding, "Listen to me."

"What?" Lissa cried.

Nolan asked a question, afraid what he might learn, "Are you ok?"

"Yes," she began, then adding, "Well, no…kind of. I dunno."

"Are you hurt physically? Are you safe?" he tried to clarify, praying she had not been in an accident of some sort. Based upon what Ryder had shared, Lissa's fury was so hot when she left the house that a car accident was within the realm of possibility.

"I'm safe," she wept. Sniffling, she explained, "I'm at the dock where we went to dinner the night you gave me the ring."

"Okay," Nolan breathed a sigh of relief. "Ryder called me. He told me that you and Dad were fighting."

"He was fighting with me, Nolan," Lissa insisted as her tears resumed. "He hates me. That's all there is to it." She paused before ramping up with a mixture of anger and desperation, "No matter what I do, it's wrong. No matter what I say, it's wrong. No matter what, I'm just a pain to them."

"Liss…" Nolan sounded slowly. "Whatever's going on… just, whatever, okay? Whatever."

With pain, she added, "Nolan, it doesn't work without you here."

"Blondie…" Nolan whispered with tenderness. "You sound so sad, baby."

With gloom, Lissa shared, "Nole…they accused me of lying, of taking a pregnancy test and lying about it."

"What?" Nolan exclaimed with frustration and surprise.

"Olivia found the box for Linnea's pregnancy test in my bathroom and asked Mom why I would need it," Lissa sniffled.

"Oh for F*&#'s sake," Nolan groaned. "Baby, I'm so sorry. They care so damn much that they forget to think sometimes."

"They don't care about me," Lissa snapped with contempt, still far too upset to consider the situation logically.

"Dammit, Lissa, yes, they do. Knock it off," Nolan grumbled with attitude.

Lissa began crying again and spouted, "Now you're mad at me too?!"

Closing his eyes and resting his head in his hands, Nolan exhaled loudly as he calmly insisted, "Larissa… I'm not mad at you."

"Then don't tell me what to do," Lissa fought.

"Blondie, I'm not…" Nolan paused, feeling helpless from so far away. He was convinced that nothing he said was going to help Lissa in her current state. More than anything, she simply needed to be held. She was far from the point of being able to process what had occurred.

"Not what?" Lissa inquired as Nolan's voice drifted into silence.

"Nothing, Lissy. I wish I could be there and hold you," Nolan admitted with emotional exhaustion.

Without responding to his words, Lissa shared, "Your dad is trying to call me. I don't want to talk to him."

"Then don't," Nolan suggested.

Still spiraling, Lissa resumed crying and disclosed, "I don't know what to do."

"Then don't do anything," Nolan shrugged. His phone signaled another incoming call. When he checked, he saw it was Amelia. "Lissa? Hey, my mom's calling me. Can I let her know you're safe?"

"I guess," Lissa agreed reluctantly. "Call me back."

Nolan answered the other call, "Mom…hi."

"Hi, Nolan. Ryder told me you know what's going on and that you've spoken to Lissa," Amelia stated plainly.

"I just hung up with her. She's safe. She's ridiculously upset and a little irrational, but she's safe. What the hell happened to flip her out?" Nolan questioned.

"A series of poor word choices and misunderstandings, Nolan. I'm so sorry," Amelia apologized. "I'm sorry you've been dragged into this."

"Me too," Nolan quipped. "You two need to fix this, Mom."

"Where is she?" Amelia asked with authentic concern.

Nolan paused before explaining, "I'm not sure I should share that information. She needs some space."

As Nolan and Amelia spoke, Lissa decided to sit on a bench by the water. John, Nolan and Lissa's longtime friend, happened to walk by after she'd been sitting outside for five minutes. "Lissa?"

With reddened eyes, Lissa removed her gaze from the water and caught John's eye, "Hey."

"Man, Liss…what's wrong? You look upset," John wondered as he moved his brows inward and sat on the other end of the bench.

"I'm ok. Did Nolan send you here to check on me?" she grinned with loving suspicion.

Looking perplexed, John responded, "Umm…no. Nolan and I haven't talked since he left for school. I work at the dock over there and my shift ended a few minutes ago. Why would he send me to check on you? What's going on?"

A little embarrassed, Lissa smiled softly. "Nolan's parents and I just had a big blow up. I stormed out and…" Without meaning to, Lissa began crying and had to pause.

With the pure intent of a caring friend, John slid closer to her and hugged her. She sobbed on his shoulder as he held her. He swayed slightly back and forth, just like Nolan often did. Of course, he had no idea his unconscious action was exactly what she sought and needed. Without a word, John held Lissa and rubbed his hand up and down her upper back about an inch or two either way. His cheek rested on her hair as he closed his eyes and soaked in her pain.

After the two had sat together for ten minutes, Lissa's phone rang. Jumping from John's embrace with surprise when she heard Nolan's exclusive ring tone, Lissa smirked quickly as she dabbed her eyes and answered the phone. "Hi, Nolan," she eeked out.

"How are you, Shorty?" Nolan inquired with gentleness.

"A little better, I guess," Lissa responded. "I'm not sure what to do next, though."

"Can Dad come talk to you?" Nolan questioned. "Mom called me and wants to know where you are. Dad's feeling really horrible, Liss. He's really, really sorry for everything."

"I dunno…" Lissa pondered with hesitation. "I need a break from his intensity."

Chuckling, Nolan proposed, "He might be saying the same thing about you, Blondie. That's one way you two are a lot alike."

"I don't want to hear that, Nolan," Lissa sighed.

"That you guys are alike? Umm…okay," Nolan quipped as he held back a laugh.

Changing the subject, Lissa shared, "John is here. He just finished work. He walked by and saw me."

"What a coincidence, huh?" Nolan observed with a mixture of jealousy and relief. The possessiveness flowing through his veins surprised Nolan and he wasn't sure how to process the unfamiliar feelings.

John asked Lissa if he could speak to Nolan. Lissa nodded and handed him her phone. As Nolan rambled around his brain wondering what to do or say next, he heard John's voice greeting him, "Nolan, hey."

"Hi John," Nolan responded. "Thanks for sitting with Liss. Sorry you happened upon all the drama."

"Not a problem," John offered. "I… uh… just wanted to say hi so there wasn't anything weird about me being here with her, you know? I was walking to my car and saw Lissa sitting here…"

"She told me," Nolan interrupted without emotion.

"Anyway," John replied awkwardly, "I guess I should head home. Good to talk, Nolan. Take care down in LA."

"Yeah, you do the same," Nolan offered without much expression. "Can you put Liss back on?"

"Yeah, sure," John sputtered. As he handed Lissa the phone, he pointed at his watch and motioned toward his car. He whispered, "Call me if you need to talk later. I'm around." He heard the words come out of his mouth before his brain had processed them, then he wondered if he should have spoken them at all.

John walked toward his car. Glancing back once, he noticed Lissa smiling as she gazed at the water and chatted with Nolan. While Lissa and Nolan spoke, John sat in his car watching Larissa, convincing himself that he should stay nearby to ensure Lissa's safety.

"Here's what I'm thinking," Nolan shared with Lissa after John stepped away. "How about if I come home next weekend? My Friday class is cancelled, so I could catch a flight early Thursday and stay until Sunday night."

Beaming, Lissa giggled and exclaimed, "Really? Oh, Nolan, that would be so fantastic. I miss you so much. Can you really do that? Can you get a ticket this close to the flight?"

"I'll check into it," he promised. "Can you promise me something?"

"What?" Lissa questioned with wonder.

"Keep it mellow with Mom and Dad the next few days. I asked Mom to do the same. Dad and I haven't talked. But, Shorty, we're all family. We gotta sort this all out and find a way to co-exist. Even when you go to school and move away, we're all still family, right?"

With her familiar gentleness and tender demeanor, Lissa uttered, "Yeah. You're right. We are." A pause entered the conversation before Lissa added, "I love you, Nolan."

"I love you, Larissa. You'll be able to drive home? To be safe and everything?" he asked.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Thanks, Trems. I'll see you Thursday." She ended the call and grinned as she became lost in her thoughts. Becoming mesmerized by the rippling water, Lissa found herself yawning. Her blinks became more and more extended until she caught herself nearly falling asleep.

Shaking her head to wake herself up, Lissa stood up and headed back to her car. She sat in the driver's seat and locked the door, considering her next action. Without a doubt, she was certain that she did not want to return home. Picking up her phone and thumbing through her contacts, she hesitantly pressed Clarisse's name and waited to see if her mother would answer.

After four or five rings, Clarisse's familiar voice sounded as her outgoing greeting explained that she was unable to come to the phone. Lissa hung up rather than leaving a message, unsure what to say. She pondered her next step and considered calling her case worker. She'll flip out and insist I go back home, Lissa thought to herself. If she doesn't do that, she might make me go to some foster home or something. Yeah… there's no way I'm calling her.

Again, Lissa's phone lit up and indicated that Owen was attempting to reach her. She pushed a button to refuse the call and sent Owen to voicemail. Shortly thereafter, Ryder sent a text that read, Hey, Dad's worried about you.

Lissa huffed and typed, Then tell him to text me himself. This isn't your problem, Ry.

Maybe I'm worried about you too, you idiot, Ryder responded in true Ryder form.

Thanks…I guess, Lissa wrote back.

As if Ryder had told Owen about Lissa's response, which he hadn't, Owen sent a text to Lissa that read, I'm sorry our words got so out of hand, Larissa. I know you're furious with me. We'd all sleep better tonight if we knew you were safe and at home.

I'm not coming home, Lissa typed. She didn't know where she was going, but she was not willing to return to the Shepherd-Hunt house.

Owen sighed as he read Lissa's words and showed the text to Amelia, asking, "Now what?"

"I think we've managed to cross the line," Amelia proposed.

"She can't sleep in her car," Owen protested and fretted.

Amelia nodded, "I agree, but I'm not sure we can do anything about it, Owen."

"We could call Nolan," Owen proposed.

"And say what?" Amelia wondered. "Owen, we can't rope him into our drama when he's so far away and can't do anything about it."

"What about calling one of her friends?" Owen suggested.

Amelia grimaced and resigned herself to reality, "She has a key. She can come home whenever she likes. She has a phone and her car. Maybe we need to let her sort this out on her own. If we run in and fix the situation for her, she won't learn anything. Larissa put herself in this situation, and she needs to figure out her next steps."