Chapter 9 - The Past Becomes Present
Summer was pushing Seth off the cliff. She had pulled her strings with him one too many times already, and it was barely past the first month that he was there. Other than the fact that she treated him with complete disrespect, she said hurtful things towards him, and about Jane. She was sarcastic to him all the time, and she was making an immature fool out of herself. Summer wasn't sure why she was acting the way that she was, but since that night at the club she hasn't done anything towards Seth that was remotely her age. She would never speak to him directly unless he had spoken to her first. She would always make some kind of rude comment in the background when he was on the phone with Jane, or if she stopped by for lunch. Eventually, Seth had to explain to Jane that Summer just did not want to introduce herself to new people because she had seen her at Aiden all the time.
"I just don't get why she is acting like this Leah... I don't want you to give anything away that you aren't supposed too, but will you please tell me what's going on?" Seth said.
Leah and Seth were having a private meeting with one another in Loralyne's office, however, Loralyne was stuck in traffic, and Summer was on the other side of the building.
"Okay... I am tired of all of this, so I'm just going to tell you everything." Leah said, pausing and looking behind her. "So, it was about 5 weeks ago Summer fell up the stairs and spilled coffee all over herself. Totally Summer. I was introduced to you that day, right after she was in her office. However, I had only heard stories of you, not seen pictures, so when I was speaking to you I had no idea that you were that Seth. Summer walked out of Loralyne's office, and saw your backside, and basically collapsed on the ground. Over the next few days she was really sick with a high fever and dehydration. She laid in bed, and then at the office meeting to meet you, she went nuts. She sat there with her head turned towards me the whole time, and finally when Loralyne got tired of it, she made her turn towards the front where you guys saw each other face to face for the first time since High School. She flipped out. Seth... she is still in absolute love with you, and she always will be. Can you blame the girl? You were hers for 3 years, you were her man. She thought you guys were going to be together until the end of time. Then out of NO WHERE you tell her you don't want to date anymore, and then a few days later say right to her face that you don't love her anymore. The girl was traumatized. She didn't know what to do with herself. She cried herself to sleep most nights for a year and a half. It took her nearly all of college to finally be able to be okay with you not being around, and you guys not dating. Finally, she met Logan and her life was complete. Then, you come back into the picture, and she is all kinds of wacky. She doesn't know what to do with herself. She doesn't want you to think she still loves you, because she doesn't know how you feel. And she doesn't want to love you herself, and it drives her insane because you hurt her so badly. She is incredibly jealous of Jane, and of how well you're doing without her. She just is going nuts inside of her head trying to figure out what she is going to do. It isn't the easiest thing to have your first love that broke your heart into a million pieces shoved back into your life as a permanent one day of the blue."
Seth was stunned. He couldn't believe the words pouring out of Leah's mouth. All of it made sense though. Now that Leah had explained everything it was so much easier for Seth to understand why Summer was being the way that she was. She had no idea that he had broken up with her for the reasons he did, and on top of that, she was still in love with him, just like he was with her. It is extremely hard to have gone so far in your life and then get it turned back around in just a few moments. Seth had graduated High School without Summer, graduated College without Summer, he started what he thought was a solid career without Summer. He had other girlfriends, and then there was Jane; all without Summer. On the same end, Summer had done all the same things without him. They had built separate lives, and then one day they are just pulled back together like they had elastic attached to each end of their backs, and they were finally pulled back.
"Aloha, earth to Mr. Cohen!" Leah said, slightly laughing.
"Oh, yeah... sorry. I was just thinking about a lot of stuff. I think that it's time that I go tell Summer everything, I think I'll stop by her loft today after dinner with Jane."
Leah didn't know how good of an idea that was, but she shook her head yes anyway. After their meeting with Loralyne, Seth and Leah headed back into the design room to find Summer finishing a beautiful layout of what their add could be in the Elle magazine. It was complete with exquisite detail, and amazing graphics. The color choices were elegant and beautiful; the entire thing look professional, and well done. Seth was stunned. Summer looked over at Leah and Seth smiling big.
"I think I did good! I love the way it turned out." Summer said with a huge grin.
"Are you joking?" Seth said. "It's amazing."
Leah smiled at her, and shook her head yes. "Beautiful work Summer, I knew you had it!"
Around 5:30pm Summer headed for the elevator and down to get a cab. Seth and Leah followed but not at the same time. Summer went home, to find Logan drunk, and in a bad mood. See, Logan and Summer didn't have the healthy relationship that you might think. Due to Summer's attitude and stubbornness and the fact that Logan was pretty much the same way, they clashed. Especially if they were both in bad moods, but it Logan was in a bad mood, it was pretty much tune for a fight between the two of them.
"Oh, well would you look here, the BITCH of them all!" Logan said, not joking around. "You think that you can just sit around with some tall lanky guy at a bar and spend endless hours at the job and think that I won't notice that you're cheating on me! SLUT!"
Summer stood there trying not to laugh.
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY BITCH!" Logan said, grabbing her wrists tightly.
"Okay Logan, get off. I didn't do anything. You're being a drunk idiot." She said.
With that Logan punched her right in the face. Leaving her with a black eye. This wasn't the first time that Logan had hit her, or the second, or the third. She punched him right back in the throat making him drop to his knees. She then kicked him as hard as she could in the nuts, and threw his beer bottle at his nose, cutting it open and leaving a big gash. She yelled some selective words, and grabbed a few things and headed for Leah's. Knock. Knock. Knock.
"OH MY GOD. SUMMER WHAT HAPPENED?" Leah yelled. "Oh my god, Baby! What happened?"
Summer stood there with a huge black eye and her face pounding with pain, and just cried. All she could do was cry. "He hit me." She said. "Again."
Leah knew that Summer and Logan fought, and she also knew that they were abusive towards each other, however she also knew that Summer only got physical after he had done something to her. "Well, come in honey, go take a shower... you will need the cleansing! And you're not going back there, EVER. This is the last time that I open up my door to see you battered and bruised, with a bag full of clothes. I refuse. I will go over there tomorrow at my lunch break and grab all of your things. I will clean that whole thing out. I will get a moving truck and have everything that it is yours moved into my storage locker. Now, go take your shower and I'll make you something to eat." Leah said, concerned.
As Summer gave Leah the biggest hug in the universe, Leah remembered that Seth was going to head to Summer's loft to talk to her. "Go on honey!" She said, and pushed Summer into the bathroom.
"Hey Seth, it's Leah."
"Oh, hey... what's up?" Seth asked.
"Well you know, don't go over to Summer's tonight..." Leah said, sounding scared.
"O-k-a-y... why what happened?" He was curious.
"Oh you know.. Her and Logan got into a BIG fight, and now she's going to stay here. She's really fragile right now, and I don't think it is the best idea that you go over there, just because Logan is over there and drunk, and on top of that he thinks you're having sex with her cause he saw you guys sitting together at the bar the other night..." Leah said.
Seth could feel the anger burning inside of him. "Did he hit her?"
Leah knew that if she said yes Seth was going to head over there and try and bust whatever move it was he thought he had. "No, he didn't hit her, they just yelled." Leah said.
"Okay, well I'll talk to you later." Seth said
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Leah opened the door to find Seth sweaty and standing there. She knew that he had come to see for himself what Logan had done to Summer. He probably had already thought about going to the loft to talk to Logan, but then decided that he didn't want to either get beat up, or get the cops called for yelling and different things of those sorts. Seth still stood there waiting for Leah to let him in. She was scared though, she didn't want Seth to see Summer's black eye and flip out. The funny thing was, that Leah was the only one who knew how Seth felt about Summer, and how Summer felt about Seth. They were both in complete head over heels love with one another, and yet both committed to other people, and living separate and different lives.
"Are you going to let me in?" Seth asked, catching his breath from the run up the stairs.
"Yeah, come in." Leah said.
Seth walked over to the couch and took a seat. He took off his converse and relaxed. It was going to be a long night. Summer walked out of the bathroom with her hair wet and dripping on her shoulders. She was in one of those towels that are like robes too. She saw Seth, and freaked out. Seth looked up at her and saw her huge shiner. He freaked out too.
"OH MY GOD, What the hell did he do to you?" He said, grabbing Summer's arms and looking at her.
Summer started to cry, and pulled away from him. "Just go Cohen."
She had called him Cohen. She never calls him Cohen unless she isn't mad at him.
"No, I'm not going. Did he do this to you, did he punch you?" Seth said, turning her back around.
"Why do you even care, you're not in my life, so it doesn't matter!" She said, raising her voice.
"Yeah, I do care Summer. And whether you want to accept it or not, I am in your life. And YEAH IT DOES MATTER!"
Summer looked up at him with tears rolling down her face. She wiped them away, touching her black eye and winced. Leah had gone for a walk, leaving just Summer and Seth to talk. It was time that they had their conversation.
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Next Chapter:
The conversation is coming.
Is Logan done?
Where's Jane?
