A/N: Hellooooo people! Well, I know a lot of you have questions about what
exactly is going on and I promise, that soon, some of them will be
answered. Until then - suffer.
Chapter 6: Promised
Kirsten sighed deeply as she glanced down at the caller id. The phone has been ringing a few times now, and out of annoyance, Kirsten finally answered.
"Kirsten. I'm outside. We need to talk." Her father instructed and abruptly hung up, before Kirsten could say a word.
Kirsten threw the phone down on the couch and went to the front door, hesitantly.
"Hi dad." She muttered as he barged in.
"Kirsten." He greeted her rudely as she shut the door behind him.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kirsten asked sweetly as she and Caleb made their way to the kitchen.
"No." Caleb spat out, sitting on one of the chairs. Kirsten rolled her eyes, pouring herself some coffee and sitting down across from him. "We have a problem."
"Something wrong at work?" Kirsten asked, concerned.
"No. This is family related."
Kirsten gave him a clueless sigh and he started up, the rage growing with every word, "I cannot believe your reckless behavior Kirsten. First, you marry that Sandy Cohen. Second, you let in the Chino delinquent. And now, you're harboring teenage mothers for free. Do you even think about how this all makes me look?"
"No." Kirsten said flatly, rolling her eyes. She had grown patient with her father, and half expected a rant from him about every flawed decision she makes. The whole Summer issue, was different though, he had never mentioned it before. Why did this have the stench of Julie Cooper's doing behind it? "First of all, Summer is paying rent for the apartment. I just reduced the rates a little."
"From what I heard," Caleb bellowed down, trying to intimidate his daughter, "Ms. Roberts shouldn't be receiving any help from us."
"Sorry I have a heart, dad." Kirsten muttered, pouring the rest of her coffee down the drain. "And she's not receiving any help from us, just me."
"What about Seth?"
"What about him?" Kirsten retorted, tired of her father's complaints.
"You have been lying to him!"
"I have not. . ."
Caleb interrupted briskly, "And his reputation, god dammit Kirsten. If this got out, his whole future might be at stake."
"His reputation? Don't you mean YOUR reputation? Let's face it Dad, Seth doesn't really care what Newport thinks of him." Kirsten stood up, practically screaming.
"Kirsten, don't raise your voice at me. You may be childish in your endeavors, but I am still your father!"
"Then start acting like one." Kirsten yelled, frustrated. Caleb stared at her blankly, then stood up.
"I'll show myself out." He headed off towards the door.
"Wait," Kirsten stood up, walking over to him. "What happens with Seth and Summer is their business, not yours." She spat at him, and he glared at her with his beady eyes until she opened the door for him. "Or Julie's."
"What does Julie have to do with this?" Caleb asked, and by Kirsten's obvious expression, he continued. "We are in love, Kiki."
"She's in love with your bank account."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Caleb stated, shaking his head and exiting the house. "Oh, and Kiki, eventually, Seth will find out."
She slammed the door; cursing the minute she answered the phone today, and went off to go find Sandy to seek some comfort.
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Seth shielded his eyes towards the front door and was surprised to see Caleb exiting. Caleb's scowl disappeared at the sight of his grandson and he hugged him quickly.
"Seth!"
"Hey Grandpa." Seth smiled, nervously. He personally didn't like Caleb that much, but hey, no one really did. Except, Julie, of course.
"Where were you?" Caleb cocked his eye in question.
"I was kind of, um, looking for someone."
"A girl?" Caleb roared evilly.
"Perhaps." Seth said, walking towards the door.
"Seth," Caleb hollered, and Seth turned around to face him. "Your mother has something to tell you."
"I have something to ask her." Seth muttered so only he could hear, waving at Caleb, who left. Seth opened the door, confused and frustrated, and went in search of Kirsten.
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"Summer, slow down!" Marissa screamed into her cell phone. Ryan glared at Marissa with contemplation, watching her spread out on the bed, on her phone with Summer. He picked up a magazine, some girl's one, and flipped through the pictures as Marissa squealed.
"Ok, well, why don't I come over?" Marissa laughed, glancing up at Ryan. "Ok, tonight. See you." She threw the phone into her purse and walked up to Ryan. "I'm going to Summer's, so I'll be at the pool house a little late."
"Whatever." That seemed to be his new favorite word, thought Marissa.
"Ok." She paused. "Are you pissed off at me or something?"
"No." He smiled, looking up into her brown eyes. "I'm just not feeling that well, is all."
"Oh," She smiled, hugging him. "Maybe I shouldn't come, then?"
"Yeah, I don't think you should." He said, kissing her lips gently.
"Ok." She said sadly. "Can you give me a ride to Summer's?"
Ryan glared up at her and nodded, slowly, and she interlaced her hand with his as they went down the stairs to the Rover.
"Where are you two off to?" Julie asked, from the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm going to Summer's, Ryan's taking me." Marissa smiled anxiously.
"Oh," Julie's smile faded. "Marissa, can I talk to you for, just a second." She looked at Ryan, who shrugged indifferently, and Marissa nodded.
"I'll go start the car." Ryan suggested, leaving the Cooper's house.
"What's up Mom?" Marissa asked, grabbing her denim jacket from the closet.
"I was just wondering how Summer was."
"She's ok."
"It must be tough, having a baby and all. And not knowing who the father is, that's just awful!" Julie smiled deliciously, waiting for Marissa's response.
Marissa's head jerked up. "She knows who the father is." She said sternly, opening the door.
"Oh," Julie clapped her hands. "Good."
Marissa smiled, ignoring the weird actions of her mother, and started to leave the house.
"I just thought, a girl like Summer, couldn't keep up with details like that." Julie said softly, standing in the doorway behind Marissa, who spun around and glared at Julie, maliciously.
"What do you mean, a girl like Summer?"
"Oh, sweetie. I just meant, well, she gets around."
"You don't even know her! She's not like that at all!" Marissa screamed, defensively.
"I was just going by what I heard, Marissa." Julie stammered, seemingly confused by Marissa's rage.
"I'm sorry." Marissa calmed herself down. "She knows who the father is. It's the only boy she ever slept with." Marissa bit her lip, knowing she had said too much, and went to the Rover, before another word could slip out.
But it was too late, as Julie put two and two together and laughed hysterically, watching Caleb walk back from the Cohen's mansion. Finally, she could get revenge on Ryan AND Kirsten. Life was just too good for Julie Cooper.
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"Mom!" Seth called out into the large, empty house.
"Coming!" He heard his mother laugh from upstairs. He shuddered, not even wanting to think about what his parents were doing. He sat down on the couch, waiting for his mother, when finally he heard a parade of light footsteps down the stairs and Kirsten appeared in the living room.
"Sweetie?" She asked, collapsing on an armchair.
"Guess who I ran to." Seth smiled sarcastically, kicking his shoes off.
"Your grandfather?" Kirsten rolled her eyes, sympathetically.
"He said you needed to tell me something." Seth stared at her, patiently. She froze and then revived her movement by crossing her legs. "Well, he's insane." She laughed.
"Ok, well I need to ask you something then." Seth stated, ignoring Kirsten's frozen awkwardness, figuring it was one of those weird mom things.
"Shoot." She sighed, closing her eyes.
"I met Charlotte's mother." Seth let his voice linger, and Kirsten's eyes shot open.
"Seth," She bit her tongue, trying to ignore what Caleb was saying about Seth eventually finding out. "I meant to tell you." Seth stared at her, a confused reaction spread across his lips and Kirsten let her words sink in.
"You were going to tell me that Charlotte's mom works at the Crab Shack?" Seth asked, out of confusion and suspicion.
"Wait." Kirsten looked at him intensely, trying to figure out if he knew.
"Waiting. . ." Seth sighed, giving up all hope on making sense out of nothing.
"I thought you said you met Charlotte's mother." Kirsten's eyes got all squinty, which happened when she was confused and bitter.
"I did. The blonde waitress at Crab Shack." Seth continued, watching the words hit Kirsten.
"Blonde? Oh, yes!" Kirsten nodded, confused even more, but hid it well. Maybe, he didn't know.
"Mindy." He said, recalling the girl's name tag.
"Right, Mindy." Kirsten laughed.
"What's Mindy's last name?" Seth asked, smiling eerily at Kirsten.
"Um," Kirsten paused.
"Mindy isn't Charlotte's mom, is she?" It had dawned on him, slowly, but he had started to put the pieces together. "I also bumped into someone else, today." He mouthed the words, leaning back on the couch, watching Kirsten's every move. "Nicole Roberts."
Kirsten's stomach dropped. "Oh, how is she?"
"Fine. I asked her about Summer, and she told me to ask you." He just remembered Nicole's words, which he had misplaced amongst all the "who's Charlotte's mommy" confusion.
"Oh." Kirsten adjusted herself, clearly uncomfortable with this.
"Why would she say that? Why would you know something about Summer that her own stepmother wouldn't?" Seth asked, angrily, trying to fill the holes of this problem.
"Because," She started, trying to find the right words. "Because I rented Summer an apartment."
Now it was Seth's stomach that dropped and he jumped up, his rage building up. He was practically having one of Summer's famous rage blackouts, which would have been funny if he wasn't so pissed off at his mother.
"How could you not tell me?" He asked, his face contorted from anger.
"Because she begged me not to!" Kirsten stood up, her eyes pleading with Seth. "I promised her, Seth."
"I'm your son!" Seth screamed at her, quickly putting his shoes back on.
"I'm so sorry Seth, but she made me promise. She had a reason behind it."
"And what was that, to hurt me?" Seth shouted once more, his eyes feeling sore, as if they would over flood with tears.
"Seth," His mother said gently. "That's the last thing she would ever do, and you know that."
"That's funny." Seth said, walking towards the door of the house. "Because that's exactly what she did." He slammed the door behind him, leaving Kirsten a nervous wreck on the couch.
Chapter 6: Promised
Kirsten sighed deeply as she glanced down at the caller id. The phone has been ringing a few times now, and out of annoyance, Kirsten finally answered.
"Kirsten. I'm outside. We need to talk." Her father instructed and abruptly hung up, before Kirsten could say a word.
Kirsten threw the phone down on the couch and went to the front door, hesitantly.
"Hi dad." She muttered as he barged in.
"Kirsten." He greeted her rudely as she shut the door behind him.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kirsten asked sweetly as she and Caleb made their way to the kitchen.
"No." Caleb spat out, sitting on one of the chairs. Kirsten rolled her eyes, pouring herself some coffee and sitting down across from him. "We have a problem."
"Something wrong at work?" Kirsten asked, concerned.
"No. This is family related."
Kirsten gave him a clueless sigh and he started up, the rage growing with every word, "I cannot believe your reckless behavior Kirsten. First, you marry that Sandy Cohen. Second, you let in the Chino delinquent. And now, you're harboring teenage mothers for free. Do you even think about how this all makes me look?"
"No." Kirsten said flatly, rolling her eyes. She had grown patient with her father, and half expected a rant from him about every flawed decision she makes. The whole Summer issue, was different though, he had never mentioned it before. Why did this have the stench of Julie Cooper's doing behind it? "First of all, Summer is paying rent for the apartment. I just reduced the rates a little."
"From what I heard," Caleb bellowed down, trying to intimidate his daughter, "Ms. Roberts shouldn't be receiving any help from us."
"Sorry I have a heart, dad." Kirsten muttered, pouring the rest of her coffee down the drain. "And she's not receiving any help from us, just me."
"What about Seth?"
"What about him?" Kirsten retorted, tired of her father's complaints.
"You have been lying to him!"
"I have not. . ."
Caleb interrupted briskly, "And his reputation, god dammit Kirsten. If this got out, his whole future might be at stake."
"His reputation? Don't you mean YOUR reputation? Let's face it Dad, Seth doesn't really care what Newport thinks of him." Kirsten stood up, practically screaming.
"Kirsten, don't raise your voice at me. You may be childish in your endeavors, but I am still your father!"
"Then start acting like one." Kirsten yelled, frustrated. Caleb stared at her blankly, then stood up.
"I'll show myself out." He headed off towards the door.
"Wait," Kirsten stood up, walking over to him. "What happens with Seth and Summer is their business, not yours." She spat at him, and he glared at her with his beady eyes until she opened the door for him. "Or Julie's."
"What does Julie have to do with this?" Caleb asked, and by Kirsten's obvious expression, he continued. "We are in love, Kiki."
"She's in love with your bank account."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Caleb stated, shaking his head and exiting the house. "Oh, and Kiki, eventually, Seth will find out."
She slammed the door; cursing the minute she answered the phone today, and went off to go find Sandy to seek some comfort.
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Seth shielded his eyes towards the front door and was surprised to see Caleb exiting. Caleb's scowl disappeared at the sight of his grandson and he hugged him quickly.
"Seth!"
"Hey Grandpa." Seth smiled, nervously. He personally didn't like Caleb that much, but hey, no one really did. Except, Julie, of course.
"Where were you?" Caleb cocked his eye in question.
"I was kind of, um, looking for someone."
"A girl?" Caleb roared evilly.
"Perhaps." Seth said, walking towards the door.
"Seth," Caleb hollered, and Seth turned around to face him. "Your mother has something to tell you."
"I have something to ask her." Seth muttered so only he could hear, waving at Caleb, who left. Seth opened the door, confused and frustrated, and went in search of Kirsten.
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"Summer, slow down!" Marissa screamed into her cell phone. Ryan glared at Marissa with contemplation, watching her spread out on the bed, on her phone with Summer. He picked up a magazine, some girl's one, and flipped through the pictures as Marissa squealed.
"Ok, well, why don't I come over?" Marissa laughed, glancing up at Ryan. "Ok, tonight. See you." She threw the phone into her purse and walked up to Ryan. "I'm going to Summer's, so I'll be at the pool house a little late."
"Whatever." That seemed to be his new favorite word, thought Marissa.
"Ok." She paused. "Are you pissed off at me or something?"
"No." He smiled, looking up into her brown eyes. "I'm just not feeling that well, is all."
"Oh," She smiled, hugging him. "Maybe I shouldn't come, then?"
"Yeah, I don't think you should." He said, kissing her lips gently.
"Ok." She said sadly. "Can you give me a ride to Summer's?"
Ryan glared up at her and nodded, slowly, and she interlaced her hand with his as they went down the stairs to the Rover.
"Where are you two off to?" Julie asked, from the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm going to Summer's, Ryan's taking me." Marissa smiled anxiously.
"Oh," Julie's smile faded. "Marissa, can I talk to you for, just a second." She looked at Ryan, who shrugged indifferently, and Marissa nodded.
"I'll go start the car." Ryan suggested, leaving the Cooper's house.
"What's up Mom?" Marissa asked, grabbing her denim jacket from the closet.
"I was just wondering how Summer was."
"She's ok."
"It must be tough, having a baby and all. And not knowing who the father is, that's just awful!" Julie smiled deliciously, waiting for Marissa's response.
Marissa's head jerked up. "She knows who the father is." She said sternly, opening the door.
"Oh," Julie clapped her hands. "Good."
Marissa smiled, ignoring the weird actions of her mother, and started to leave the house.
"I just thought, a girl like Summer, couldn't keep up with details like that." Julie said softly, standing in the doorway behind Marissa, who spun around and glared at Julie, maliciously.
"What do you mean, a girl like Summer?"
"Oh, sweetie. I just meant, well, she gets around."
"You don't even know her! She's not like that at all!" Marissa screamed, defensively.
"I was just going by what I heard, Marissa." Julie stammered, seemingly confused by Marissa's rage.
"I'm sorry." Marissa calmed herself down. "She knows who the father is. It's the only boy she ever slept with." Marissa bit her lip, knowing she had said too much, and went to the Rover, before another word could slip out.
But it was too late, as Julie put two and two together and laughed hysterically, watching Caleb walk back from the Cohen's mansion. Finally, she could get revenge on Ryan AND Kirsten. Life was just too good for Julie Cooper.
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"Mom!" Seth called out into the large, empty house.
"Coming!" He heard his mother laugh from upstairs. He shuddered, not even wanting to think about what his parents were doing. He sat down on the couch, waiting for his mother, when finally he heard a parade of light footsteps down the stairs and Kirsten appeared in the living room.
"Sweetie?" She asked, collapsing on an armchair.
"Guess who I ran to." Seth smiled sarcastically, kicking his shoes off.
"Your grandfather?" Kirsten rolled her eyes, sympathetically.
"He said you needed to tell me something." Seth stared at her, patiently. She froze and then revived her movement by crossing her legs. "Well, he's insane." She laughed.
"Ok, well I need to ask you something then." Seth stated, ignoring Kirsten's frozen awkwardness, figuring it was one of those weird mom things.
"Shoot." She sighed, closing her eyes.
"I met Charlotte's mother." Seth let his voice linger, and Kirsten's eyes shot open.
"Seth," She bit her tongue, trying to ignore what Caleb was saying about Seth eventually finding out. "I meant to tell you." Seth stared at her, a confused reaction spread across his lips and Kirsten let her words sink in.
"You were going to tell me that Charlotte's mom works at the Crab Shack?" Seth asked, out of confusion and suspicion.
"Wait." Kirsten looked at him intensely, trying to figure out if he knew.
"Waiting. . ." Seth sighed, giving up all hope on making sense out of nothing.
"I thought you said you met Charlotte's mother." Kirsten's eyes got all squinty, which happened when she was confused and bitter.
"I did. The blonde waitress at Crab Shack." Seth continued, watching the words hit Kirsten.
"Blonde? Oh, yes!" Kirsten nodded, confused even more, but hid it well. Maybe, he didn't know.
"Mindy." He said, recalling the girl's name tag.
"Right, Mindy." Kirsten laughed.
"What's Mindy's last name?" Seth asked, smiling eerily at Kirsten.
"Um," Kirsten paused.
"Mindy isn't Charlotte's mom, is she?" It had dawned on him, slowly, but he had started to put the pieces together. "I also bumped into someone else, today." He mouthed the words, leaning back on the couch, watching Kirsten's every move. "Nicole Roberts."
Kirsten's stomach dropped. "Oh, how is she?"
"Fine. I asked her about Summer, and she told me to ask you." He just remembered Nicole's words, which he had misplaced amongst all the "who's Charlotte's mommy" confusion.
"Oh." Kirsten adjusted herself, clearly uncomfortable with this.
"Why would she say that? Why would you know something about Summer that her own stepmother wouldn't?" Seth asked, angrily, trying to fill the holes of this problem.
"Because," She started, trying to find the right words. "Because I rented Summer an apartment."
Now it was Seth's stomach that dropped and he jumped up, his rage building up. He was practically having one of Summer's famous rage blackouts, which would have been funny if he wasn't so pissed off at his mother.
"How could you not tell me?" He asked, his face contorted from anger.
"Because she begged me not to!" Kirsten stood up, her eyes pleading with Seth. "I promised her, Seth."
"I'm your son!" Seth screamed at her, quickly putting his shoes back on.
"I'm so sorry Seth, but she made me promise. She had a reason behind it."
"And what was that, to hurt me?" Seth shouted once more, his eyes feeling sore, as if they would over flood with tears.
"Seth," His mother said gently. "That's the last thing she would ever do, and you know that."
"That's funny." Seth said, walking towards the door of the house. "Because that's exactly what she did." He slammed the door behind him, leaving Kirsten a nervous wreck on the couch.