Spring Clean

A/N- "The OC" is not mine. A/N- Marissa is not my favorite character, but I want to include all of the characters, so it took me a little longer to write this entry. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think it's my best work.

Saturday, March 21

Robert's House

"Come in." Summer said, hearing a soft knock on her door.

"Hey, Summer, do you have a sec?" Julie asked, slowly pushing the door open.

"Of course. What's up?" Summer asked, sorting through a pile of clothes, "I thought I'd use my time off to clean out my closet."

"Hmmm, that's actually a great idea," Julie said, sitting down in the desk chair.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Summer asked, hopping onto the bed.

"Marissa." Julie replied, "I know I don't have the best relationship with my daughter, and I know she's going through a hard time after her friend died, but I'm very concerned about her right now."

"I'm worried too." Summer admitted, picking at her nails, "Ever since her friend Johnny died, she's sort of gone AWOL."

"Ahhh… That makes sense." Julie nodded, "But it seems like it's more than that."

"It is." Summer paused, contemplating whether or not she should continue.

"It's that guy on the motorcycle, isn't it?" Julie asked, "What's his name?"

"Volchok. I think she's using him to avoid dealing with Johnny's death." Summer explained.

"That sounds like my daughter." Julie sighed, "Unfortunately, she seems to have inherited the 'destructive choices' trait from me. I just don't know how to help her."

"Well, this lockdown might help bring everyone back together." Summer shrugged, "I know I miss my friend."

"I can only imagine." Julie nodded, "So tell me, what exactly are you doing?" Julie asked, changing the topic of discussion to the large piles of clothes spread across Summer's bed.

"I am sorting my winter clothes into two piles; one for Goodwill and one for Poshmark." Summer explained.

"Poshmark? What's that?" Julie asked, examining the sorted clothes.

"It's an app where you sell gently used designer clothes." Summer said, "I've made over $2,000 over the last year."

"Wow, I didn't know something like this existed." Julie replied, "I've got some Fendi pumps stuffed somewhere in the back of my closet. How much would something like that sell for?"

"It depends on the condition and demand." Summer shrugged, "I've seen some sell for $500-$700. Poshmark takes a 20% cut, so you'd get $400 if you sold something for $500."

"That's still not bad." Julie was already thinking about what she could sell.

"Hello?" Julie and Summer looked up when they heard a familiar voice enter the room across from them.

"Marissa?" Julie stood up and headed towards the bathroom that connected the two bedrooms, "We're in here."

"Hey, guys." Marissa said, glancing at the two others in the room, "What are you guys talking about?"

Summer felt a pang of guilt form in her gut. Was she a bad friend for sharing her concerns with Julie? "Oh, I was just telling your mom about Poshmark and how I thought this lockdown is the perfect time to clean out my closet." She grinned.

"Oh, OK." Marissa nodded, kicking off her flats climbing up onto Summer's bed

"I'm glad you're home, Sweetie." Julie smiled, heading for the door, "You two have fun."

"Bye." Summer waved as Julie closed the door, "So, what do you want to do Coop? We could watch 'The Valley', or 'Full House… Start our homework." She suggested sarcastically.

"Homework? Really, Summ?" Marissa asked, "There's no way I'm doing homework the next two weeks. Let's watch 'Full House.'"

"Seriously Coop, you sound like Cohen right now. He thinks he's just going to skip all the assignments and get away with it." Summers sighed, reaching for "Full House"-Season 1.

"Give me just a second. I want to get out of these clothes." Marissa said, hopping off the bed.

Marissa noticed she had a new voicemail when she got to her room.

"Hey Marissa, it's Volchok. I just wanted to say sorry for what I said earlier." Marissa bit her lip, listening to the message, "Just give me a call so we can talk. I just… Just call me. OK. Bye."

Marissa looked at her phone when the message ended. He was fun, and the sex was great, but she couldn't continue to see him or his friends after what they did to Heather.

"HEY, COOP! COME ON!" She heard Summer call out, "What are you doing?"

"I'll be right there! I'm just throwing on a sweatshirt." Responded, still staring down at the phone, her thumb hovering over the 'delete' button, "Be there in a minute."

Taking a deep breath, she hit the delete button and tossed it on her bed. It was time to try again.