The weekend had arrived in a flash and Marissa found herself more and more relieved, a couple days by herself seemed like the best way to relax and let her mind rest. The incident with Ryan's mother that had occurred earlier in the week had seemed to fade between them, leaving what seemed like distance between them. Something that Ryan completely detested. The last thing that Ryan wanted was for distance to come between them because he knew what would happen if it did. She'd push him away and then it'd all be over, which was exactly what Ryan didn't want. Ryan remembered her words from their first date, some of the things that she said still rung in his mind to this day…
"My flaw is that I can't get close to people…I put up walls and don't let people in…so whenever I would try to form a relationship with a man, halfway through, I just stopped and pushed them away…it's a repetitive process that I still can't overcome"
His job was almost done on the roof, he had purposely taken a slow time so he could spend time with her but now there were only a couple days left and he felt as if he never wanted to stop working there. Marissa was the first girl in a long time that he felt truly happy with in a long time.
Marissa walked through the aisles of the supermarket, picking up some comfort foods for the weekend that she would be spending with her television and pajamas. She grabbed a bag of chips and placed them in her carriage as a voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Marissa" she heard and turned to see Laura, Ryan's mother. "Hi Mrs. Atwood" Marissa said with a smile and Laura shook her head, "I told you, call me Laura" she said and Marissa nodded her head.
"How are you?" Laura asked as she grabbed something and placed it in her carriage. "I'm good…and you?" Marissa asked. "I'm fine…" Laura said with a smile. Marissa played with the bottom of her t-shirt, wondering what to say next. "My son really likes you" Laura abruptly said, genuinely surprising Marissa, causing her to turn to Laura. "How…" Marissa started to say and Laura cut her off, "I can just tell…he came over to have dinner with me the other night and the way he talks about you" Laura said trailing off. "I know my son and I know that he likes you…" Laura said with a small smile, causing a smile to appear on Marissa's face.
Laura kept a content smile on her face. "For some reason, Ryan has never had good luck with women. I mean of course they all ran to him because my son is very handsome" Laura said and was cut off by Marissa, "and because he's a great guy" she added with a smile. Laura smiled, "that too. But he just never found the right girl for him but he really likes you…just do me a favor and don't hurt him" Laura said. Marissa felt her mind spin with her words, not hurting him…that's all she feared. She did not want to hurt Ryan, not by any means. Marissa smiled as genuinely as possible, "I'll try not to" she said and Laura smiled and placed her hand on Marissa's arm. "Thank you…and please, any time Ryan is coming over for dinner, join him…I'd love to talk more with you" she said and Marissa smiled and nodded as Laura walked away.
Marissa turned back to her carriage and took a deep breath wondering how one man had managed to change absolutely everything in her life.
Marissa sat on the couch in her living room watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, smiling as watched the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. She took a sip of her Pepsi and groaned when she heard the doorbell ringing, wondering who was here, and ruining her night with Audrey. She stood up and stretched her pajama clad body, as she paused the movie and made her way to the door. She opened the door and felt a small smile adorn her face, "what are you doing here?" she asked Ryan, who had a bag of what looked like Chinese in his hand.
"I know we didn't make plans or anything but I got home and it felt strange…to be alone…I'm so used to being with you at night, is that okay?" he asked. Marissa smiled and leaned in and kissed his lips softly. "That's fine…I'm just sitting and watching movies anyways. Come on in" she said and opened the door for him to come inside. He went in and placed the bag on her coffee table, as he turned and pull her into his strong arms. Marissa giggled as she snuggled into his chest, smelling his cologne and feeling comfortable once again.
Marissa looked down at his outfit, jeans and a polo shirt, something simple looked so great. "You're way too overdressed for Oldie Night" Marissa stated and Ryan looked down at his outfit, completely puzzled by what she meant. "What do you mean? What's Oldie Night?" he asked with a chuckle, Marissa smiled, "Sorry, Seanna and I used to have, what we liked to call, an Oldie Night. We'd wear pajamas, watch old movies, and sit around like old people…so we just referred to it as Oldie Night. We had it every Friday night, and then Saturday night was Party Night, which we'd go to parties, bars, clubs, wherever we wanted to go. Oldie Night was more of her thing, Party Night was my night" Marissa finished causing Ryan to laugh.
"Well I guess it's good to know that my girlfriend used to be partier" he said as he started to walk towards the stairs. "Trust me, I was like a professional partier, I was the MVP of Parties" Marissa said with a smirk. Ryan laughed, "I'm so proud…some of my clothes are still upstairs so I'll go get changed for Oldie Night" he said with a smile as he made his way upstairs. Marissa giggled and turned towards the coffee table where she unloaded the cartons of Chinese food, plates and utensils.
Soon enough, they resulted to be sprawled out on the couch, snuggling with each other as they ate food and watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. As they finished eating, they heard the doorbell ring. Marissa started to stand up when Ryan held her down, "I'll get it" he said as he stood up. Marissa smiled and savored his warm hand as it slowly fell from her grasp. Ryan opened the door to two people he knew, although the girl looked quite familiar. "Are you Ryan?" asked the girl and Ryan smiled, "yeah…and you are?" Ryan asked but was given his answer when he heard Marissa yell from behind him.
"SEANNA!" she yelled as Seanna burst through the doorway and jumped into Marissa's open arms. The best friends hugged as the man in the doorway holding the luggage placed out his hand to Ryan, "I'm Mike, Seanna's boyfriend" he said with a smile. Ryan accepted his hand, "I'm Ryan, Marissa's boyfriend…nice to meet you" he said with a smile. They firmly shook hands, "Nice to meet you too man" he said and came inside the house with the luggage, watching the girls as they still stayed in each other's arms, talking about events that either of them had missed.
As everyone was introduced and Seanna and Mike were given a tour of the house, they ate the rest of the food in the living room, they all sat around, talking quietly. "So were you surprised that we came?" Seanna asked Marissa, as Mike wrapped his arm around her waist. "Of course, I cannot believe that you're here…" she trailed off as she leaned her head back against Ryan's chest. "Well believe it because we'll be shacking up here the entire weekend" Seanna said with a laugh.
"So what were you two doing before we came?" Seanna asked as she grabbed her drink and took a sip. "We were just watching an old movie" Ryan merely said and Seanna's eyes bulged out, "you were doing Oldie Night without me?" Seanna asked and Marissa laughed. "I couldn't help it…its instinctual for a Friday night" Marissa said with a wide grin. "Just like parties on Saturday nights…which by the way we are going out. I've checked out the area and there is a really great bar not too far from here that we can all go to" Seanna said with a smile.
Marissa felt her jaw drop, "you want to go to a bar? That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard" Marissa stated. "Almost as weird as seeing you doing Oldies night when it clearly was never your thing" Seanna retorted with a smirk and Marissa just grinned. Marissa grabbed the remote from the table, "it is now" she simply said as she played the movie and put the remote down on the coffee table and snuggled back into Ryan's grasp who only pulled her in closer so he could whisper sweet nothings in her ear, causing Marissa to giggle, which Seanna watched in awe to see her best friend act completely different with Ryan than she had done with any other guy. Wondering what this guy could have done to change her best friend for the better.
The next morning, Marissa slowly opened her eyes, looking over at Ryan who was standing on the balcony, looking at the early morning ocean. Marissa rubbed her sleepy eyes and quietly went to her bathroom to quickly brush her teeth. She exited the bathroom, adjusting her tank top as she stepped onto the balcony and wrapped her small arms around Ryan's waist. Ryan smiled and turned his head to face her, "morning" he said and she lightly kissed his shoulder blade.
"Morning" she replied as she joined him at his side. "Its beautiful out…" he said quietly and she nodded in agreement, he grabbed her hand in his and pulled her closer to him, joining their lips together. Marissa wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to her as his arms encircled her. They slowly made their way back to her bed as he fell back against the pillows, feeling her trail her fingers allow the hem of his wifebeater as she lifted it up. He sat up and pulled off his wifebeater as he flipped her over on her back as he hovered above her.
He leaned down and kissed her passionately, adjoining their tongues together. Marissa slowly played with the elastic of his boxers, teasing him as she let her hand travel downward south, causing him to moan in her mouth. He pulled down her shorts slowly, followed by her panties and threw them to the ground without hesitation. Marissa felt Ryan nip at the skin of her neck and adorn her collarbone and neck with kisses. Marissa sat up and pulled off her tank top, leaving her naked as she laid back down. Marissa could feel his fingers trail down her stomach to her core, causing her to throw her head back in pleasure. Marissa pulled Ryan up to her and roughly kissed him lips as she pulled down his boxers, throwing them on the ground.
Their bodies moved swiftly against one another and they joined as one. And as they made love, Marissa felt all his worries leave her mind. She didn't care that Seanna and Mike were a few rooms down the hall. She didn't care about what'd she done in her life and she didn't care if life had dealt her the worst cards, because at the moment, she felt as if those cards had magically turned into a full house, as Ryan made the deepest love to her, filling her with passion she didn't know existed.
That night, Ryan, Marissa, Seanna, and Mike all surrounded a table in the bar, talking loudly over the band that was playing. Marissa finished her first cosmopolitan with ease as she placed the glass back down on the table, smirking and winking at Seanna before watching Seanna take a sip of her beer. Ryan turned to Marissa, "I'm going to go get another beer with Mike…do you want another drink?" he asked and Marissa nodded, "sex on the beach please" Marissa said with a wide grin. Ryan chuckled and kissed her lips, "be right back" he said as Mike stood up and followed Ryan to the bar to get more drinks.
Marissa watched as Ryan and Mike talked, looking closely at his face and letting her eyes travel down his body. His black dress shirt and nice jeans looked great on him. "I can't lie…you picked a great one" Seanna said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "He's amazing Marissa" Seanna said as she took another sip of her drink. Marissa smiled, "I know…" she said with a dreamy look on her face, which immediately caused a reaction from Seanna. "Oh my God, you had sex with him didn't you?" Seanna asked loudly. Marissa abruptly turned to Seanna, "shhhh! And no…we didn't" she answered Seanna quietly.
"How was it?" she asked and when Marissa didn't answer, her jaw dropped. "It was absolutely amazing, wasn't it? I mean you always talk about sex…I can hardly get you to shut up." Seanna said and Marissa smiled and turned back to her, knowing she was going to lose anyways. "It was….incredible" Marissa stated softly, but Seanna still heard her. Seanna shook her head, "I hate you…the man's perfect enough and he's great in bed…that's unfair" Seanna said, causing Marissa to laugh.
Seanna watched the content smile on her face as she played with her hands, and she watched as she glanced over at Ryan, witnessing her eyes light up and her smile expand dramatically. Marissa turned back to face Seanna, feeling that she had staring at her all that time. "What?" Marissa asked, noticing the look on Seanna's face. A face she had never seen Seanna make before. "You love him…don't you?" Seanna asked and Marissa's look down immediately, giving Seanna her answer. "Seanna…I do not-" Marissa started to say but stopped herself as Ryan placed her drink in front of her and took the seat next to her.
Marissa turned to face Ryan and thanked him quietly, and he leaned in to kiss her but was shocked when she turned her head at the last second, letting his lips fall on her cheek. Ryan merely looked at her confused and as he tried to grab her hand, she moved her hand up to brush an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear. Seanna watched the both of them and felt anger rise up inside her, "Marissa…I've got to go to the bathroom, come with me" Seanna demanded as she stood up, Marissa following behind her. Seanna grabbed her wrist and dragged her to an empty hallway, "hey the bathrooms are over there" Marissa protested but stopped when she saw that Seanna was mad, madder than she ever saw her.
"I'm going to say this once Marissa…and only once. I've watched you for years…going out with guys and hurting them. Doing the same routine over and over again and I thought that maybe you might stop at some age but you know what, I've lost all that hope for you" she said loudly, Marissa stood stunned by her actions, she crossed her arms across her chest. "That man loves you Marissa, it's so damn obvious and I'm not going to stand here and watch you screw up another relationship that could actually be good for you" Seanna said loudly. "I understand what you've been through but most people would have moved on and embraced life as well as they could…but all you've done is built a wall to hide behind…" she said. "Why are you saying this to me?" Marissa said back, feeling tears come to her eyes.
"I'm doing this because I care…you're the sister I never had and I know…I know that it's hard" Seanna said, the anger disintegrating, and being replaced by sadness. Her eyes clouded over with tears, "You don't think I wanted to do the same thing you do when my older brother died four years ago…take the easy way out and not get close to anyone…I did but I knew that I'd be hurting my brother even more if I did that…and I think you're hurting your mom too. She wouldn't want to see you like this, she'd want you to move on…because what's the point of being alive if you don't?" Seanna asked as more tears escaped her eyes. Seanna wiped her eyes the best she could before returning back to the table, leaving Marissa alone…just like usual.
That night, Marissa laid in her bed alone. Ryan had decided to go home and sleep, utterly shocking her considering that they with each other just about every night. Why would he want to stay? Marissa asked herself, she had been horrible to him at the bar after Seanna had yelled at her, merely pulling away from his grasp and moving away from him when he would try to grab her hand or kiss her. She didn't know why she did it but she did and she couldn't take it back.
All her life she had done this…and every word Seanna had said was right. She had built a wall and she was hiding behind it. She was right about hurting a relationship that could be good for her…that relationship was the best thing for her and she was ruining it. But the worst thing was the truest thing. She was hurting her mom…she knew that she was…her mom would have never wanted her to dwell over this for so long and she wouldn't have wanted her to hurt innocent guys that did nothing but try to get close to her. Seanna's words may have been cruel but they were the most honest words that she'd ever heard.
She didn't know when she decided to leave and she didn't know why…but the next morning, Marissa packed. She grabbed a small travel bag and filled it with clothes, shoes, and other toiletries. She printed out the directions from the computer in her bedroom, folded them, and put them in her pocket. She wrote on a piece of paper and placed it on the pillow as she stepped out of the room quietly and out of the house and into her car before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway and onto the main road to the destination she needed to make.
A few hours later, Ryan, Seanna, and Mike all sat in the living room, wondering where she would have gone, the note still placed in Ryan's hand…the uneaten breakfast food still placed on the coffee table. "I just don't understand why she left…" Ryan said quietly as he sighed. Seanna sighed, "this is my fault…I yelled at her last night in the bar and said some things that I shouldn't have said…I thought they might have helped her and made her see things more clearly…I would not have said anything if I had known she would have left…" Seanna admitted quietly as Mike pulled her closer to him to comfort her.
Ryan read the note once again:
Ryan,
I'm sorry that I'm leaving so suddenly like this. I know you're probably confused but I just need to do this…I need to clear my head. I won't be gone long…just a few days. I'll be in touch.
Marissa
Ryan pulled out his cell phone and called her once again, getting more annoyed as the answering machine immediately picked up. Ryan put his phone down and placed his head in his hands. "Is there something I could have done?" Ryan mumbled. "No…there's nothing you could have done. Marissa's parents broke her. When her mom died, it was a time that she needed her dad the most and he just abandoned her like she meant nothing to him…she's just never gotten over that and I thought that you would be able to change her for good" Seanna said, "but now…I don't know what to think" she whispered. Ryan nodded his head in agreement, "neither do I…" he said.
-2 Days Later-
After a long drive and a night spent in a hotel, Marissa slowly pulled into the parking lot and into a space near the front doors. She slowly exited the car, checking her outfit to make sure she looked okay. She made her way into the building and into the lobby; the secretary's desk was empty so she took a seat. She felt her nerves go haywire and she felt as if she would burst at any moment. A woman she didn't recognize came down the hallway and sat at in the secretary's desk. She stood up and went over, "Hi…is Susie here?" Marissa asked politely. The secretary looked up with a kind smile; she was young…in her thirties perhaps. She had long red hair and kind green eyes; she had soft features and bore a striking resemblance to her own mother and for some reason that eased some of her nerves.
"No…I'm sorry, she's out sick today…but is there anything I can help you with?" she asked nicely. Marissa looked to the office door, looking at the name on the door, feeling all the fear come to a stop. She spoke the words she never thought she would, she thought she was done with this…she had thought it was all over…but she was far from over…"Is Jimmy Cooper in?" she asked. "Yes…he's right here" the strong voice answered from behind her, obviously not recognizing her voice, she turned around to face him and his face seemed to pale as soon as he realized who it was, "Marissa" he said quietly, clearly shocked. "Hi dad" Marissa said, saying words he never thought he'd hear again.
Things had definitely changed.