Chapter Ten

Shattered

The day was proving to be an overcast one, with the graying clouds collecting on the fringes of the horizon, matching the color of the rough waves that crashed against the coastline, stirred by the approaching storm. The weather seemed to hover like a blanket over New Port, banishing most of the residences in doors to wait and see whether or not the clouds meant rain or not. As far as Seth was concerned, the building clouds and oppressive gloom they contained matched the mood his was in perfectly. His emotions crashed like the heavy waves as he sat in the back of the SUV beside Ryan, approaching Summer's house. Seth had no idea to expect when they finally arrived at the Roberts', which worried him; he had known Summer for pretty much his whole life and he had made it a practice to know how she was feeling and how to react. But now he was at a loss; would he be seeing the old Summer or the Summer that he had talked to on the phone the previous night? How would she react when he told her that he was all but forcing her to visit Marissa in the hospital? Seth watched the choppy ocean as these thoughts coursed through his mind, ignoring everything else.

Ryan was lost in his thoughts as well, ignoring the radio that blared from the speaker beside him and Kirsten as she speculated on her sister's new vocation. "Hailey doesn't know how to play tennis." She decided firmly as she fidgeted with the radio and everything else in sight. Picking things up, moving them and simply pushing them around was one of Kirsten's nervous ticks that didn't disappear when they were in the car; she constantly rearranged her seat belt across her chest, switched radio stations and Sandy even thought she was about to go as far as to organize the objects in the glove compartment. Kirsten always worried about her sister, whether she showed it or not and hearing for the younger Nichol seemed to make things worse; now she was forced to wonder whether Hailey was happy as a tennis instructor -if that was really what she was doing-, whether she was and who she was staying with. "I remember because my father tried to get us to take lessons but she refused and every time he made her get onto the court she'd hit the tennis balls at whoever came near enough for her to hit."

Sandy turned to look at his wife. "Maybe Hailey's learned how to play tennis since then." He suggested, trying to ease her mind. There was enough going on in her life right now without the added burden of worrying about Hailey but it was obvious to him that it wasn't going to be that easy to get Kirsten to think about something else.

"But it's not just that." Kirsten pointed out as they pulled onto Summer's street. "All Hailey did was write a postcard about how she's teaching tennis. When have you ever known her to write just to chat and not ask for money or a place to stay?" She pointed out. Hailey's refusal to acknowledge that she needed money meant that she needed it worse then she would say. "It's just not like Hailey."

Ryan finally pulled himself out of his thoughts long enough to ask, "Do you think there's something wrong?" If Hailey was anything like his mother had been, then she hadn't asked for money, or a place to stay or help of anytime because it wouldn't have done any good. There came a point in everyone's life that nothing would be of any use anymore and he just hoped Hailey hadn't reached hers. Look where it had gotten his mother.

Kirsten shrugged. "You never can tell with Hailey." She admitted. "Maybe I'm just getting worked up over nothing."

The topic was dropped when Sandy pulled the SUV into Summer's driveway, which was empty as usual since Summer always kept her pride and joy silver VW Beetle in the driveway and Mr. Roberts was never home long enough for anyone to actually see his car. Seth looked away from the coast and toward the house when the car stopped and noted that most of the lights were off inside, which he didn't think was a good sign. He unbuckled his seatbelt, opened his door and slipped silently out of the car, toward the front door.

Seth rapped on the cherry wood door. "Summer?" He called as he knocked. "It's me." He knocked again, there was silence on the other side of the door.

Just as he prepared to knock again, the door swung open and Summer appeared, in her bathrobe, looking neither annoyed nor happy to see him. There was no emotion on her face whatsoever, something that Seth didn't find very comforting. "Cohen." She greeted.

"I guess I should have called." Seth began, noting the fact that Summer was dressed only in a robe. "But we were going to visit Marissa and thought that you might want to come with us."

Summer considered for a moment; she wanted to see Marissa but she didn't want to go to the same hospital where her mother had died. But it seemed like Seth would never leave her alone if she didn't go; all she had to do was go see her friend once then everyone would leave her alone like she wanted. "Fine." She relented. "Just let me get dressed." Summer shut the door again and disappeared back into her room.

Seth remained on the front stoop for a moment; he turned back toward the car, flashed the passengers a thumbs-up and then turned to face the door again. Summer reappeared moments later, dressed in a wrinkled tee-shirt and jeans; Seth had never known her to get ready that quickly but here she was, not looking very eager to go but ready just the same.

In silence, they headed back toward the SUV; Seth moved into the middle of the car to allow Summer the window seat, which had always been her favorite place to sit whenever she was in a moving vehicle of any kind. However, she just sat down without acknowledging his remembrance and buckled her seatbelt, not even greeting the Cohens in the front seat. Kirsten turned around to smile slightly at the dark-headed girl. "How are you, Summer?" She questioned, simply to see if the girl would answer at all.

"Just great." Summer answered, voice devoid of any sort of emotion and Seth looked over at his mother with a helpless look in his eyes. See, the look said, I told you there's something very wrong with her.

Sandy looked back at Summer in the rearview mirror as he backed the SUV out of the driveway, heading toward Lakeview Hospital. The ride was taken in silence, even Kirsten had run out of useless things to talk about and the only sound in the car came from the radio. Summer stared at the window, much like Seth had done moments before but there were very little thoughts running through her head as she watched the gulls hover about the ocean.

Summer remained silent and still even after the SUV had been parked in front of Lakeview Hospital. Seth nudged her shoulder once, twice, before she jumped, startled and turned to look at him. "What?" She questioned.

Seth gestured toward the hospital. "We're here." He pointed out and Summer sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt. He stared at her for a long moment before finally asked bluntly, "Summer, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong." Summer said, looking surprised at his question. "Why do you think there's something wrong?"

Seth blinked, unsure of what to say to her remark. Instead, he just got out of the SUV behind Ryan and waited for Summer to do the same. Together, they walked into the hospital and headed up to Marissa's room; Summer was silent throughout the elevator ride and didn't even speak when Kirsten suggested stopping by the gift shop to get something for Marissa. As Seth watched her, it seemed to him like Summer herself didn't even know what was going on or where she was, like her mind was blank and she was just doing what everyone else was doing. It was so strange to see the fiery woman he had fallen in love act this way and he just hoped that he could find someway to help her soon.

Jimmy looked up from the magazine he hadn't really been reading when the group approached and he smiled at them. "We were wondering when you'd be back." He spoke to everyone but his comment was directly mostly toward Ryan. "Marissa's been asking for you."

"Is she all right?" Ryan questioned, relieved when Jimmy nodded. "I'll go in and see her now." He entered Marissa's room, a smile spreading across his face as soon as he saw his girlfriend.

Julie stood and joined the Cohens and Summer, smiling at the girl. "It's good to finally see you here, Summer." She greeted. "Marissa will be really happy to see you."

Summer just nodded; Seth took her hand and together they walked into the hospital room. Kirsten sighed as she watched Summer for a moment, before returning her attention to Julie, Jimmy and Sandy. "She's been acting strange lately." She said, as though to excuse Summer's lack of response to Julie's words.

Julie seemed surprised. "Really?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she peeked into the hospital room. "I didn't notice." She sounded serious. Sandy muttered something that might have been 'that doesn't surprised me' but Julie didn't seem to notice his comment either. "Anyway, Marissa will be really glad that she's come to visit."

Inside the room, Ryan had taken his usual spot beside Marissa, who had brightened considerably when Summer entered the room. "Hey Summer, I was wondering when you'd take time out of your social calendar to visit a poor sick friend." She said this with a smile and it was obvious it was a joke but Summer had no retort for the words.

Marissa frowned when she noticed how quiet Summer was, noticing her change in demeanor and appearance as well; it looked as though Summer didn't have any makeup on, which was a red flag that there was something wrong. "Sum?" She questioned and the dark haired girl looked over at Marissa.

"Hey Coop. How are you feeling?" Summer questioned, sitting down in a chair beside Ryan. She leaned against the back, gazing past the Get Well balloon that bobbed around on its lose string, looking past Marissa and staring at the wall, though she didn't look like she was staring at anything at all.

Marissa looked at Ryan and Seth, who both shrugged helplessly, confused and just as lost at how to react to Summer's strange behavior as she was. "I'm fine." She mumbled, squeezing Ryan's hand. He looked deep into her eyes and saw nothing but worry for Summer inside of them; he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled slightly at her.

"Have the doctors told you anything new?" Ryan questioned and Marissa shook her head. "And you're not in any pain or anything, right?" He pressed, unwilling to think of her in any sort of discomfort.

Marissa couldn't help but smile at his concern. "No, Ryan, no pain." She promised. "Just a little sore."

Summer continued to stare, silent, and no one said anything for a while. Seth finally got tired of standing and walked to the opposite side of the room to retrieve another chair, dragging it over so that he could sit in the middle of Summer and Ryan; the side of the chair bumped against Marissa's bed, rattling the metal guardrail. "God, Marissa, I'm sorry." Seth apologized quickly, feeling like a complete ass for allowing the chair to get away from him like that.

Marissa assured him that it was fine. The balloon that had been tied loosely onto the guardrail was knocked loose by the bump and floated up toward the ceiling. Upon making contact with the sharp grooves that attempted to add a bit of pattern to the bland, white ceiling, the balloon popped instantly, echoing like a gunshot through the room.

Everyone jumped, aside from Summer, whose eyes suddenly grew wide and her face pale and she sat rigid. The pop had sounded too much like a gunshot for her liking and suddenly her head was filled with memories that she had never wanted to experience again in her life; images of her Oliver, pulling the trigger with the muzzle of the gun against his temple and of her mother, who had been shot when she had been six. And suddenly, Summer just couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't take the memories and the pictures that would never go away and she couldn't take the way her head felt heavy every time she tried to think of something besides her mother, or Oliver or Marissa.

Summer crumpled, burying her face in her hands and crying like she hadn't in years, shoulders shaking with every sob that escaped her lips. Marissa looked at her friend with growing concern. "Summer? Are you all right?" She questioned, trying to lean forward but the growing ache in her back stopping her from doing so.

Ignoring her words, Summer continued to cry, sucking in deep breathes, unable to stop herself and not really wanting to. Seth got to his feet, putting his hand on her shoulder but she just recoiled and pulled further away from him, pressing herself against the wooden hand rests of the chair. "Summer, what's the matter?" He didn't know what to do, he'd never seen her act like this before. "Summer." She continued to sob.

Marissa watched her friend with eyes wide with worry; Summer had never been one to cry, especially not in front of anyone because the one thing her dad had managed to teach her whenever he had been around was that it was never good to show weakness. And Summer hadn't gotten to be one of the popular and respected girls at school by showing how much certain things bothered her; strength was a Roberts virtue. But now, Summer was completely lost in her sobs, shuddering and shaking as though she was seeing something that really frightened her. Something no one else could see.

As Marissa, Seth and Ryan continued to watch Summer, unsure of what to do or what was going on, Marissa's doctor, Dr. Browning, walked into the room, holding a clipboard under his arm and a slight smile on his face. He had good news for his patient but it looked like he would have to wait to give it to her; his eyes settled on Summer and he set his clipboard aside, walking over to her. "What happened?" Browning questioned, looking at Ryan since he seemed to be the teenager that always had something to say.

"I'm not quite sure." Ryan answered, continuing to look at Summer and Seth, who looked more confused and worried then he had ever seen him look before. "Marissa's balloon popped and then she flipped out, for lack of a better term."

Browning looked at Summer, who was shaking more then she was crying now, and asked, "Was she with you when you were shot?" He looked at Marissa and she nodded. "I'm not really an expert, but I think your friend needs a therapist." He remarked, causal because his years as a doctor had left him unable to deliver grave news with a grave attitude. It was all the same to him, something that he wasn't proud of but couldn't help.

Seth looked up at him. "Why? What's wrong with her?" He asked, helpless, remaining by Summer's side as she continued to draw in deep breathes, as though she was trying to gain control of her herself.

"Like I said, I'm no expert, psychology isn't my field of study but your friend might be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress." Browning answered, offhandedly, kneeling down in front of Summer. "Miss-"

"Her name's Summer." Marissa interjected, searching her memory for the diagnosis that the doctor had just given her friend. She had taken a psychology class during her freshmen year and was almost certain that they had at least talked about Post Traumatic Stress but she couldn't remember exactly what it meant.

Browning managed to convince Summer to get to her feet and she allowed him to lead her out of the room; Seth followed, worried, ignoring his mother's questions as he walked beside Summer. "Where are you taking her?" He questioned, looking worriedly from the girl to the doctor.

"We have a therapist on call, and I think she might be able to calm your friend down." Browning answered.

The office was on the third floor, which was the floor they were on, the trauma unit, and Seth figured that was because the people that would need the most therapy would be on this floor. Browning escorted Summer into the room but slammed the door in Seth's face before he could follow without another word. Seth was shocked and even a little hurt but the doctor's action but he was too worried about Summer to think much about anything else. What was wrong with her? And what the hell was Post Traumatic Stress? It didn't sound very promising.

But all Seth could do was sit outside the office and wait for Summer to return. He knew there was nothing else he could do, but it wasn't going to be easy. And so, Seth sat down on the floor with his back against the wall, waiting for the woman that he loved.

The city of Los Angeles was long at her back but Hailey Nichol couldn't help but constantly look out the grimy, dirt covered window of the bus she was on, constantly checking just to make sure. Her face was hidden by her long, sugar-brown locks but she could see her reflection in the window whenever she turned to assure herself that the city was in the distance and she didn't like what she saw.

Hailey had been on the rattling bus bound for New Port since five that morning and had been glancing behind her shoulder ever since. She was still shaking, even though he was miles behind her; she hated that he could have the effect on her.

But he was back in Los Angeles and she was going to be in New Port within the hour. Everything would be all right in New Port. She hoped.

So, I know this wasn't the best chapter, but I just wanted to get it posted since the reviews for this story have been so great. I also wanted to establish why we haven't been seeing a lot of Summer lately. I hope it was good enough; I'll try and have the next chapter soon.