A/N - Again, I appreciate the reviews. Thank you to everyone that does. You
guys rock.
Hmmm. Should I add this? Maybe so. Ryan's reaction to Marissa is different in this than any other fic I've read. Just in case anyone thinks it's insensitive, you should know that I based this on a real-life situation, while trying to keep true to Ryan.
-Chapter 7-
Ryan decided that after living with Seth's conspiracy theories and love of "stealth mode" for this long, some of it must have rubbed off on him. The three of them had been watching the house for several minutes, nothing had happened, and Ryan was impatient to see her. Maybe Marissa had texted because it was funner than talking. Who the hell knew? He really didn't care at this point. She would have said if they needed to wait, right? He started to open the truck door when Seth stopped him.
"Hold up, man. Someone's coming out."
They watched as a middle-aged woman walked across the street, got into a car, then pulled away. As soon as it was out of sight, the front door opened again, and a tall man, younger than the lady, stepped out and motioned to them. They looked at each other, then headed up to the house.
"Come in. You must be Marissa's friends?" The man asked them at the door.
Ryan stepped forward. "Yeah. We got a text message from her with this address."
"I'm so glad you came to see her. She's been very anxious."
Ryan looked around, seeing nothing more than a sparsely furnished living room beyond the entryway they were currently standing in. "So, uh, Henry. Are we supposed to be here or is this going to get Marissa in trouble? "
Henry smiled. "You must be Ryan. It's good of you to worry about that, but let's just say she's not "not" supposed to have visitors today. She's outside, please follow me."
The three friends followed him through the modest house to the back, where Henry opened a door for them. They stepped outside into a beautifully landscaped area, more of a flower garden with brick paths winding through it than a yard. Marissa was sitting on a bench under a tree. She heard the door and stood up, but didn't move. She looked frightened and tense.
Summer ran to her and hugged her tightly. "Coop, oh my god, it's so good to see you. How are you doing? Are you ok?" Marissa was stiff for a moment, then hugged her back, starting to cry. Summer pulled back and looked at her with concern. "Sweetie, what is it? Don't cry. Everything's ok now."
Seth walked over to them and put his arm around Marissa. "I'm glad you're ok, neighbor. We were worried about you."
Marissa wiped her eyes and smiled. "Thanks. I was afraid, I mean, I didn't think you guys would come."
"Why not? Of course we'd come to see you, we've been going crazy not knowing how you are. Seth's mom tried to get some news out of your mom, but that didn't go so well."
Marissa shook her head and looked at the bricks next to her feet. "I'm sorry you guys. What I did was so stupid, and I figured you were mad at me. I mean, if you were, or if you are, I wouldn't blame you; I realize I put you through hell. It wasn't - "
"Coop, no one is mad at you. We were scared, yeah, but we're your friends. We just want you to get better and come home." Realizing she wasn't paying attention, Summer followed Marissa's gaze. Ryan was seemingly frozen by the door still, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was studying his shoe intently, occasionally throwing a nervous sideways glance their way. Summer grabbed Seth by the hand. "C'mon Cohen, let's go look at the flowers. Way over there."
Ryan looked up then and locked eyes with Marissa. She watched him nervously as he walked toward her. He stopped several steps away from her. "Hey." It was all he could manage right then. He had wanted to get here so badly; he needed to look at her and know she was ok. But seeing her now had dredged up emotions he hadn't expected at all, and it was a struggle to control them.
"Hey. You came. Thanks." There was a silent moment, then she looked away. His blue eyes were unreadable, but there was no mistaking the clenched muscle in his jaw. "You're upset. I understand. I was - "
"Do you? Do you understand?" Ryan interrupted her. She turned to him again, taken aback by the anger in his quiet voice. "I thought you were dead, Marissa. I carried you out of a filthy alley thinking you were dead."
Marissa's hands went to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so -"
His bitter voice rose over hers. "Do you know that Summer thought it was her fault? Don't you know how much-? " He turned away from her suddenly, and lowered his voice, his tone softening. "I'm sorry. I just - don't understand."
Marissa's hands were shaking even though she had expected this from him. He was the only one that ever called her on her bullshit. She took a deep breath.
"It's ok, I get it. My actions have consequences on the people around me. You have every right to be pissed off. What I did was selfish and stupid. I'm sorry you had to pick up the pieces of my mess. I'm sorry for a lot of things, Ryan."
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes closed and his back to her still. "What were you trying to do?"
She had known he would ask that, too. Most people never would, because they really didn't want to know the answer. It was a subject no one wanted to talk about. But Ryan definitely wasn't "most people". She watched the muscle in his jaw tighten. "I was not trying to kill myself. I know that for sure. I just wanted everything to - stop for a minute."
"And you couldn't talk to me? I couldn't help you? You had to take pills." He tried to keep his voice even, but hurt feelings wrapped around his words.
"I didn't think you'd understand."
He turned on her then, furious. "ME? I wouldn't understand that life is fucked up? No. You're going to have to do better than that. Don't blame this on my lack of understanding. You didn't give me the chance to." He backed further away and crossed his arms.
"It wasn't talking about life! But you're right. I- that wasn't true. I just thought I couldn't talk to you." She looked at the flowers near her feet. "Especially you," she added softly.
He watched her intently. "Why not me? Tell me."
Tears came to her eyes as she looked up at him. "I don't think I know how. It won't make sense to you."
"Try me."
She crossed her arms over her stomach and walked to the bench, sitting down. Ryan followed only with his eyes.
"You know I was already upset about my parents," she started slowly. "Then Luke and Holly, and she said he'd been messing around forever, and that everyone knew. The look on his face - well I knew it was true then. And we had just - well, it was like everything that was normal and stable in my life wasn't anymore. And I still don't understand why I didn't know he was cheating. I was so incredibly embarrassed, and felt SO stupid. 'Everyone' knew. Everyone but me." She looked up at him then. "Don't you see? You were - I was trying to decide between you and Luke for so long. When I was running out of the club, all I could think was that I'd chosen him, after messing with your head and hurting you trying to make that decision, and he'd been cheating the entire time. He didn't care about me and I should have been with you all along. I thought you would be mad that I had stayed with him. I was." She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him again. "So here it is. My boyfriend since 5th grade was not the person I thought he was. I was embarrassed that I had stayed with him and I couldn't face you because of that. My dad had moved out. My mom makes me miserable. I felt like I had no one. It hurt and I wanted it to stop for a little while." It was quiet for a moment. "Does that make sense?"
Ryan dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. "A little. Too many bad things happened on top of each other, and you weren't exactly thinking clearly either. But you have to know the only way I'd be mad is if you'd known he was cheating on you and still stayed with him. You obviously didn't know, Marissa."
"Everyone else did. I should have."
He shook his head. "I wasn't mad at you. I just wanted to help you."
"Ryan, I'm sorry I put you through that. All you guys. I just wanted to stop feeling. I didn't think ahead to how it would affect you."
He watched her quietly. She looked so much better than that last image he'd had in his head for so long. She had color in her cheeks and her eyes were clear. She seemed more focused than she'd been in a long time.
"How are you? Now, I mean?"
"I'm doing very well. This place has been good. I'm learning how to deal with things."
He walked to the bench and sat down next to her.
Marissa looked at him carefully. "My main concern is that I hurt somebody I care about, and he doesn't want me in his life anymore. I understand if that's the case, though."
He was looking away and didn't answer. When he finally turned to her, she saw that his eyes were wet, and he was struggling to hold back tears. " I was so scared. I thought you were dead. I felt so badly for you, what you must have been going through, but I - it was like - I'd been abandoned again. I know it's selfish, but that's what it felt like," he admitted quietly.
Marissa put her hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Ryan. I never meant for that to happen."
He didn't move for a minute, then he pulled her close and held her tightly against him. "I'm sorry too. God, Marissa, you must have been in so much pain. I shouldn't have gotten angry."
"I sort of expected you to. It's a pretty common reaction for families and friends of people like me. That do stuff like this, I mean. And you've never been one to hold back with me." She leaned into him, loving the feeling of being in his arms. He was safe and warm, and this was only place she wanted to be.
They held each other for a while, quiet and happy to be together finally.
"I was afraid you wouldn't want to be with me anymore."
"I thought the same thing about you." They looked at each and smiled.
"Should this wait, though?" Ryan was concerned. "If you already have enough to deal with - "
"Ryan, do you even have to ask that?"
"Well, yeah. I have to ask. If it's something that should wait till you're out of rehab and feeling stronger, then we'll wait."
She kissed him softly. "Now is good. I don't need to wait. I need to have something good to think about while I'm here." She laughed quietly. "This isn't rehab. Did my mother say that's where I was?"
He looked at her, confused. "Yeah. What is this place?"
"This is more like live-in, intensive counseling. We're working on how I deal with things, the things that set me off, and the things I need to avoid. One of which, I've learned, is my mother. But that's where the learning to "deal with things' comes into play." She laughed. "Didn't you wonder why I texted Summer instead of calling?" Ryan nodded. "My mom was here all morning, and I didn't want her to hear me using Henry's phone."
"So we're not supposed to be here? If this is - ?"
"Ryan. It's ok. My mother doesn't want me to see anyone. My doctor is aware of the problems between mom and me. She thought it would be good for me to have a visit with you guys, to resolve things, since I've been so worried about all of you. I guess she's not supposed to go against my parents' wishes, but it was made known to me that what the doctor didn't know, she couldn't tell my mom. Henry said he would watch for you guys and stop you if the doctor was still here, so I texted Summer. I wanted to get a message out early though, cause I didn't know how long it would take Summer to get a hold of you two. On the off chance that you would come, that is."
Ryan smiled. "It took about 30 seconds. She just walked into the kitchen." Marissa looked puzzled. "She's staying with us now. She didn't want to, but now that she and Seth are together, I'm guessing she'll be there till her parents get home."
Her eyes opened wide. "What? They're together? And she's staying with you? How did I miss all this?" She smiled, excited for her friends. "Seth must be so happy."
"You have no idea. Let's go find them." Ryan took her hand and they walked down the path until they found Seth and Summer on another bench, kissing. "I could have told you that's what they'd be doing."
Seth held up one finger, and continued for a minute. Finally they broke the kiss. "Do not mock us, Ryan. This is all a new and glorious adventure."
Marissa was almost jumping up and down. "You guys! How new? When did this happen? This is so cool!"
Seth looked at his watch. "Thirteen hours and 20 minutes ago." He looked at Summer. "Right?" She looked at his watch. "Yep, pretty much." She gave him a fast kiss. Seth smiled, still seeming a little stunned at his good fortune. "If you throw in approximately 6 hours of sleep, that's really only 7 hours and 20 minutes of togetherness. So yeah. New."
Ryan smirked at him. "So new that Seth has just recently started speaking in full coherent sentences again." He turned to Marissa. "He didn't speak for hours this morning."
Marissa looked shocked. "Seth? Silent?"
Ryan nodded. "Then when he did talk, it was incoherent babble. But that's not all that different, I guess."
"Oh Hey. Everyone take note of Ryan's new sense of humor." Seth shook his head.
Summer smiled. "I'm taking note of Ryan holding Marissa's hand. I see double dating in our futures."
"Leave them alone, Summer. It's none of your business. However, since you can see the future, I was wondering if - " Seth leaned down and whispered in Summer's ear. "Will that be happening anytime soon?" Summer hit him. "Ow. Guess not." He looked back to Ryan. "So, you guys together now?"
Marissa looked at Ryan sympathetically. "Wow. You have a fun a ride ahead of you."
Henry called from the back door. "Marissa, Dr. Tate will be back soon."
She thanked him and turned back to her friends. " I'm sorry guys, but you have to go. I wish I'd had more time with all of you."
Seth held up a hand. "Don't worry about us. If Ryan can be counted on for a couple of brood-free hours out of the day now, it was time well spent without Summer and I. We're just glad you're ok."
They walked back through the house and out to the truck. Seth and Summer hugged Marissa goodbye and got in.
Ryan played with a strand of her hair. "So, do I get to talk to you? How long will you be here, anyway?"
"I don't know. Until she thinks I'm ok again. And there's no phone here. Just Henry's cell. Maybe he'll let me text you or call you, though. I'm sorry it's so - "
Ryan stopped her with a kiss. "Do whatever you need to get well. That's what's important. I can wait. Just come home soon."
Marissa smiled at him. "I think my doctor is going find a much happier girl when she gets back. That can only help things." She kissed him on the cheek. " I better go. I'll see you soon."
Ryan kissed her and they held on to each other for a minute, then he reluctantly got in the truck. Marissa waved at them, then disappeared into the house.
*****
Hmmm. Should I add this? Maybe so. Ryan's reaction to Marissa is different in this than any other fic I've read. Just in case anyone thinks it's insensitive, you should know that I based this on a real-life situation, while trying to keep true to Ryan.
-Chapter 7-
Ryan decided that after living with Seth's conspiracy theories and love of "stealth mode" for this long, some of it must have rubbed off on him. The three of them had been watching the house for several minutes, nothing had happened, and Ryan was impatient to see her. Maybe Marissa had texted because it was funner than talking. Who the hell knew? He really didn't care at this point. She would have said if they needed to wait, right? He started to open the truck door when Seth stopped him.
"Hold up, man. Someone's coming out."
They watched as a middle-aged woman walked across the street, got into a car, then pulled away. As soon as it was out of sight, the front door opened again, and a tall man, younger than the lady, stepped out and motioned to them. They looked at each other, then headed up to the house.
"Come in. You must be Marissa's friends?" The man asked them at the door.
Ryan stepped forward. "Yeah. We got a text message from her with this address."
"I'm so glad you came to see her. She's been very anxious."
Ryan looked around, seeing nothing more than a sparsely furnished living room beyond the entryway they were currently standing in. "So, uh, Henry. Are we supposed to be here or is this going to get Marissa in trouble? "
Henry smiled. "You must be Ryan. It's good of you to worry about that, but let's just say she's not "not" supposed to have visitors today. She's outside, please follow me."
The three friends followed him through the modest house to the back, where Henry opened a door for them. They stepped outside into a beautifully landscaped area, more of a flower garden with brick paths winding through it than a yard. Marissa was sitting on a bench under a tree. She heard the door and stood up, but didn't move. She looked frightened and tense.
Summer ran to her and hugged her tightly. "Coop, oh my god, it's so good to see you. How are you doing? Are you ok?" Marissa was stiff for a moment, then hugged her back, starting to cry. Summer pulled back and looked at her with concern. "Sweetie, what is it? Don't cry. Everything's ok now."
Seth walked over to them and put his arm around Marissa. "I'm glad you're ok, neighbor. We were worried about you."
Marissa wiped her eyes and smiled. "Thanks. I was afraid, I mean, I didn't think you guys would come."
"Why not? Of course we'd come to see you, we've been going crazy not knowing how you are. Seth's mom tried to get some news out of your mom, but that didn't go so well."
Marissa shook her head and looked at the bricks next to her feet. "I'm sorry you guys. What I did was so stupid, and I figured you were mad at me. I mean, if you were, or if you are, I wouldn't blame you; I realize I put you through hell. It wasn't - "
"Coop, no one is mad at you. We were scared, yeah, but we're your friends. We just want you to get better and come home." Realizing she wasn't paying attention, Summer followed Marissa's gaze. Ryan was seemingly frozen by the door still, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was studying his shoe intently, occasionally throwing a nervous sideways glance their way. Summer grabbed Seth by the hand. "C'mon Cohen, let's go look at the flowers. Way over there."
Ryan looked up then and locked eyes with Marissa. She watched him nervously as he walked toward her. He stopped several steps away from her. "Hey." It was all he could manage right then. He had wanted to get here so badly; he needed to look at her and know she was ok. But seeing her now had dredged up emotions he hadn't expected at all, and it was a struggle to control them.
"Hey. You came. Thanks." There was a silent moment, then she looked away. His blue eyes were unreadable, but there was no mistaking the clenched muscle in his jaw. "You're upset. I understand. I was - "
"Do you? Do you understand?" Ryan interrupted her. She turned to him again, taken aback by the anger in his quiet voice. "I thought you were dead, Marissa. I carried you out of a filthy alley thinking you were dead."
Marissa's hands went to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm so -"
His bitter voice rose over hers. "Do you know that Summer thought it was her fault? Don't you know how much-? " He turned away from her suddenly, and lowered his voice, his tone softening. "I'm sorry. I just - don't understand."
Marissa's hands were shaking even though she had expected this from him. He was the only one that ever called her on her bullshit. She took a deep breath.
"It's ok, I get it. My actions have consequences on the people around me. You have every right to be pissed off. What I did was selfish and stupid. I'm sorry you had to pick up the pieces of my mess. I'm sorry for a lot of things, Ryan."
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes closed and his back to her still. "What were you trying to do?"
She had known he would ask that, too. Most people never would, because they really didn't want to know the answer. It was a subject no one wanted to talk about. But Ryan definitely wasn't "most people". She watched the muscle in his jaw tighten. "I was not trying to kill myself. I know that for sure. I just wanted everything to - stop for a minute."
"And you couldn't talk to me? I couldn't help you? You had to take pills." He tried to keep his voice even, but hurt feelings wrapped around his words.
"I didn't think you'd understand."
He turned on her then, furious. "ME? I wouldn't understand that life is fucked up? No. You're going to have to do better than that. Don't blame this on my lack of understanding. You didn't give me the chance to." He backed further away and crossed his arms.
"It wasn't talking about life! But you're right. I- that wasn't true. I just thought I couldn't talk to you." She looked at the flowers near her feet. "Especially you," she added softly.
He watched her intently. "Why not me? Tell me."
Tears came to her eyes as she looked up at him. "I don't think I know how. It won't make sense to you."
"Try me."
She crossed her arms over her stomach and walked to the bench, sitting down. Ryan followed only with his eyes.
"You know I was already upset about my parents," she started slowly. "Then Luke and Holly, and she said he'd been messing around forever, and that everyone knew. The look on his face - well I knew it was true then. And we had just - well, it was like everything that was normal and stable in my life wasn't anymore. And I still don't understand why I didn't know he was cheating. I was so incredibly embarrassed, and felt SO stupid. 'Everyone' knew. Everyone but me." She looked up at him then. "Don't you see? You were - I was trying to decide between you and Luke for so long. When I was running out of the club, all I could think was that I'd chosen him, after messing with your head and hurting you trying to make that decision, and he'd been cheating the entire time. He didn't care about me and I should have been with you all along. I thought you would be mad that I had stayed with him. I was." She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him again. "So here it is. My boyfriend since 5th grade was not the person I thought he was. I was embarrassed that I had stayed with him and I couldn't face you because of that. My dad had moved out. My mom makes me miserable. I felt like I had no one. It hurt and I wanted it to stop for a little while." It was quiet for a moment. "Does that make sense?"
Ryan dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. "A little. Too many bad things happened on top of each other, and you weren't exactly thinking clearly either. But you have to know the only way I'd be mad is if you'd known he was cheating on you and still stayed with him. You obviously didn't know, Marissa."
"Everyone else did. I should have."
He shook his head. "I wasn't mad at you. I just wanted to help you."
"Ryan, I'm sorry I put you through that. All you guys. I just wanted to stop feeling. I didn't think ahead to how it would affect you."
He watched her quietly. She looked so much better than that last image he'd had in his head for so long. She had color in her cheeks and her eyes were clear. She seemed more focused than she'd been in a long time.
"How are you? Now, I mean?"
"I'm doing very well. This place has been good. I'm learning how to deal with things."
He walked to the bench and sat down next to her.
Marissa looked at him carefully. "My main concern is that I hurt somebody I care about, and he doesn't want me in his life anymore. I understand if that's the case, though."
He was looking away and didn't answer. When he finally turned to her, she saw that his eyes were wet, and he was struggling to hold back tears. " I was so scared. I thought you were dead. I felt so badly for you, what you must have been going through, but I - it was like - I'd been abandoned again. I know it's selfish, but that's what it felt like," he admitted quietly.
Marissa put her hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Ryan. I never meant for that to happen."
He didn't move for a minute, then he pulled her close and held her tightly against him. "I'm sorry too. God, Marissa, you must have been in so much pain. I shouldn't have gotten angry."
"I sort of expected you to. It's a pretty common reaction for families and friends of people like me. That do stuff like this, I mean. And you've never been one to hold back with me." She leaned into him, loving the feeling of being in his arms. He was safe and warm, and this was only place she wanted to be.
They held each other for a while, quiet and happy to be together finally.
"I was afraid you wouldn't want to be with me anymore."
"I thought the same thing about you." They looked at each and smiled.
"Should this wait, though?" Ryan was concerned. "If you already have enough to deal with - "
"Ryan, do you even have to ask that?"
"Well, yeah. I have to ask. If it's something that should wait till you're out of rehab and feeling stronger, then we'll wait."
She kissed him softly. "Now is good. I don't need to wait. I need to have something good to think about while I'm here." She laughed quietly. "This isn't rehab. Did my mother say that's where I was?"
He looked at her, confused. "Yeah. What is this place?"
"This is more like live-in, intensive counseling. We're working on how I deal with things, the things that set me off, and the things I need to avoid. One of which, I've learned, is my mother. But that's where the learning to "deal with things' comes into play." She laughed. "Didn't you wonder why I texted Summer instead of calling?" Ryan nodded. "My mom was here all morning, and I didn't want her to hear me using Henry's phone."
"So we're not supposed to be here? If this is - ?"
"Ryan. It's ok. My mother doesn't want me to see anyone. My doctor is aware of the problems between mom and me. She thought it would be good for me to have a visit with you guys, to resolve things, since I've been so worried about all of you. I guess she's not supposed to go against my parents' wishes, but it was made known to me that what the doctor didn't know, she couldn't tell my mom. Henry said he would watch for you guys and stop you if the doctor was still here, so I texted Summer. I wanted to get a message out early though, cause I didn't know how long it would take Summer to get a hold of you two. On the off chance that you would come, that is."
Ryan smiled. "It took about 30 seconds. She just walked into the kitchen." Marissa looked puzzled. "She's staying with us now. She didn't want to, but now that she and Seth are together, I'm guessing she'll be there till her parents get home."
Her eyes opened wide. "What? They're together? And she's staying with you? How did I miss all this?" She smiled, excited for her friends. "Seth must be so happy."
"You have no idea. Let's go find them." Ryan took her hand and they walked down the path until they found Seth and Summer on another bench, kissing. "I could have told you that's what they'd be doing."
Seth held up one finger, and continued for a minute. Finally they broke the kiss. "Do not mock us, Ryan. This is all a new and glorious adventure."
Marissa was almost jumping up and down. "You guys! How new? When did this happen? This is so cool!"
Seth looked at his watch. "Thirteen hours and 20 minutes ago." He looked at Summer. "Right?" She looked at his watch. "Yep, pretty much." She gave him a fast kiss. Seth smiled, still seeming a little stunned at his good fortune. "If you throw in approximately 6 hours of sleep, that's really only 7 hours and 20 minutes of togetherness. So yeah. New."
Ryan smirked at him. "So new that Seth has just recently started speaking in full coherent sentences again." He turned to Marissa. "He didn't speak for hours this morning."
Marissa looked shocked. "Seth? Silent?"
Ryan nodded. "Then when he did talk, it was incoherent babble. But that's not all that different, I guess."
"Oh Hey. Everyone take note of Ryan's new sense of humor." Seth shook his head.
Summer smiled. "I'm taking note of Ryan holding Marissa's hand. I see double dating in our futures."
"Leave them alone, Summer. It's none of your business. However, since you can see the future, I was wondering if - " Seth leaned down and whispered in Summer's ear. "Will that be happening anytime soon?" Summer hit him. "Ow. Guess not." He looked back to Ryan. "So, you guys together now?"
Marissa looked at Ryan sympathetically. "Wow. You have a fun a ride ahead of you."
Henry called from the back door. "Marissa, Dr. Tate will be back soon."
She thanked him and turned back to her friends. " I'm sorry guys, but you have to go. I wish I'd had more time with all of you."
Seth held up a hand. "Don't worry about us. If Ryan can be counted on for a couple of brood-free hours out of the day now, it was time well spent without Summer and I. We're just glad you're ok."
They walked back through the house and out to the truck. Seth and Summer hugged Marissa goodbye and got in.
Ryan played with a strand of her hair. "So, do I get to talk to you? How long will you be here, anyway?"
"I don't know. Until she thinks I'm ok again. And there's no phone here. Just Henry's cell. Maybe he'll let me text you or call you, though. I'm sorry it's so - "
Ryan stopped her with a kiss. "Do whatever you need to get well. That's what's important. I can wait. Just come home soon."
Marissa smiled at him. "I think my doctor is going find a much happier girl when she gets back. That can only help things." She kissed him on the cheek. " I better go. I'll see you soon."
Ryan kissed her and they held on to each other for a minute, then he reluctantly got in the truck. Marissa waved at them, then disappeared into the house.
*****