**
There was a place under the boardwalk that people only talked about and as far as Summer knew, no one she knew had ever tried to venture into the uncharted territory.
Until now.
Summer felt her feet sink into the sand as she walked past sleeping homeless people. The stench was overwhelming to her. She tried not to inhale the stale odor that reminded her of the one time when the gardener found a dead cat in the bushes, solving the mystery as to why there was a foul smell coming from the rose bushes. She wrapped her arms around her naked arms; it was much colder underneath the boardwalk, away from the sunlight.
"You lost your way, sweetheart?" A man dressed in sweatpants and a black trenchcoat stood beside her. He smiled at her, showing rows of plaque and gingivitis. "Or are you here to tell us folks that your church is giving out free food today?"
"I was wondering where I can get something," she said. Her voice came out raspy; she didn't even recognize the sound of it.
The man raised an eyebrow. "What you looking for, darling?"
Summer took out a prescription bottle filled with Gloria's medication. "I want a trade."
The man read the bottle's label in Summer's hand. "That's some heavy stuff, kid. Expensive too. What you willing to trade for it?"
"Anything that can help me stop feeling," she said.
The man laughed. "Shit. You can get your boyfriend to drive you up to some college's campus and get wasted at a frat house for that."
"Alcohol won't work," she said. "I want something that will make me stop feeling forever."
The man turned serious at Summer's request. "You really want something, huh?"
She nodded.
He looked at the bottle. "What you got there will help me out with the cash flow. Junkies love that stuff."
"So, you want a trade?"
"Give me the stash first."
Summer gripped the bottle tightly in her hands in protest.
"I gotta make sure it's the real stuff, kid," he said. "Let me sale some tonight and if it's the real deal, we got a business agreement, alright?"
"I'm not gonna give you the whole bottle," she said. "What if you don't give me the real stuff?"
"I run a fair business." He took in a deep breath. "Fine. Here's what we do. Give me a couple pills. I'll sell them, see how it goes. If it goes well, I'll give you some stuff."
Summer looked at him skeptically.
"You can always go somewhere else, kid," he said, turning.
"Wait." Summer was desperate. She needed to stop her emotions, shut them off for good. "I'll give you some of the pills."
"All of it," he said, walking into the shadow.
Summer saw the sunlight from above split his face in half as he stood half in light and half in shade. She bit her lip in hesitation.
"So, what is it gonna be darling? We got a deal or what?" he asked with his hand extended.
"We meet back here tomorrow night, alright?" she said.
"Alright."
"Promise?" Summer knew having a drug dealer make a promise was like asking the world to stop turning. It was impossible. Still, she needed to hear it.
The man smirked. "I promise." It was as hollow as Summer predicted. His hand still waited for the bottle.
Summer placed the orange bottle in his hand. He grinned and placed it in his coat pocket.
"Ask for Danny tomorrow," he said.
"Eight o'clock?"
"See you then, sweetheart."
Summer stood still for a moment after the man left her. Her body seemed to go numb all of a sudden, questioning her actions. A sleeping woman nearby moaned and shifted her position on her bed of newspapers. The sound woke Summer from her reverie. She wrapped her arms around herself again and quickly fled the scene.
**
Ryan opened the front door to find Marissa on the other side. She smiled at him and peeked over his shoulder.
"Is Seth here?" she asked.
Ryan was surprised to hear her ask for Seth. Get a grip, he told himself, Marissa can talk to anyone she wants.
"He's in the living room," he said.
He led her into the room, where Seth was playing a video game. Seth looked up at her and motioned to the other controller.
"Here for your rematch?" Seth said.
"Actually, I came here to talk," she said. She turned to Ryan. "Can we be alone for a moment?"
"Sure," Ryan said with a shrug. He watched Seth turn off the television set in the middle of his video game, something that even his parents had never accomplished, and turn to Marissa as she sat down next to him.
In the pool house, he put on his headphones. He laid on his bed, tapping his fingers to the beat and singing along in his head. The loud rock music blared in his ears and soon enough, he was fast asleep.
**
"She said that?" Marissa's lip trembled at the news of Seth's run-in with Summer that morning. "She said she was the worst friend I ever had? Why would she say something like that?"
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you two fighting about?" Seth asked.
"That's just it," she said. "I have no idea what is going on. One minute we were out shopping, having a good time, and then the next thing I know, she's ignoring me."
"So, nothing happened to make her start acting this way?"
"I don't know," she said. "I mean, I can't think of…" Her eyes became filled with distress. "My dad."
"Your dad?"
"What if she's mad at me too?" Marissa felt the heaviness of tears in her chest. "Every single person I know has some kind of grudge against me now ever since they found out what my dad did to their parents' money. What if Summer hates me because of that?"
"Everyone knows Mr. Roberts does all his own finances," Seth said. "My dad told me that he's, like, paranoid about his money."
"Seth, I don't know what to do anymore." A tear slid down Marissa's cheek. "Everything is falling apart around me."
Seth sat uncomfortably as Marissa wiped away her tears. He placed a hand on her arm for support. She learned in and rested her head on his shoulder.
**
The sound of the pool house's door opening woke Ryan up immediately. He took the headphones off his head as Seth sat down on the edge of his bed.
"What time is it?" Ryan asked, still half-asleep.
"It's almost eleven," Seth said. "What happened? Did you pass out or something?"
"I must have been tired." Ryan sat up. "Did Marissa leave?"
"A few minutes ago," Seth said. He frowned at the memory of her unhappiness. "She wanted to talk about Summer."
"How did it go?"
"Not so good. All I know is that it goes way deeper than fighting over a boy. Marissa said it might be because of what her dad did, you know, with the money stuff."
Ryan thought back the night he walked Summer home. She had told him about her father demanding her to stop being friends with Marissa. She said it again on the beach at the party. He made me stop being friends with Coop.
"Maybe I can talk to Summer," Ryan said.
"You?" Seth couldn't hide the shock in his voice. "I mean, I'm glad you want to help or whatever, but why do you think Summer will talk to you at all?"
"She will."
"Come on, Ryan, now is not the time to be egotistical," Seth said with a smile. "I mean, Summer has that down pretty well."
"I'm serious," Ryan said.
Seth looked him over. He was definitely getting a serious vibe from him. There was some brooding too, but that always seemed to come with the Ryan Atwood package. "Okay. Talk to Summer. I'll talk to Marissa."