Chapter 15: Broken Trust
"Are you kidding?" Summer giggled, laughing as she dove her fork into one of the containers of Chinese take out Seth and her had ordered and brought back to her apartment.
"Not at all. He talks in his sleep all the time. The other night," Seth adjusted his uncomfortable position on the living room rug, "He said something about being scared of me."
"Why would anyone be scared of you?" Summer laughed again, slurping up some lo mein. "You're so scrawny."
Seth rolled his eyes at Summer's insult and she quickly corrected herself.
"And by scrawny, I mean insanely tough." She cracked a smile and he laughed.
"Insanely tough?" He asked, grabbing the lo mein from her.
"Yeah, I mean, who knows what lies underneath that bony exterior?" She laughed sarcastically, moving closer to him on the floor.
"Very funny." He said, watching her scoot over, extremely tempted to grab her and start making love to her right here on the floor. Although, that wouldn't be extremely comfortable on his so called bony exterior.
"Anyway, Ryan talking in his sleep." Summer said quickly, realizing the short amount of silence between them. "I think I talk in my sleep sometimes."
"A new development?" Seth asked, thinking hard if her ever heard Summer mumbling all those nights he woke up in disbelief that he was actually sleeping next to her.
"Yeah." Summer shrugged, not really wanted to bring up her problems.
"I can't believe how much you've grown." Seth practically hushed to whisper, pushing his food away.
Summer frowned a little, again, not wanting him to feel sorry for her.
"Yeah, I never really skimmed down fully from having Charlotte." She smiled.
"That's not what I meant." Seth said, seriously. "Besides, you look amazing."
Summer blushed at his compliment but cast it aside.
"Tell me more about you. Have you changed?" Summer stated, quickly getting up to put the food away.
She rummaged through the kitchen as Seth sighed and opened his mouth to speak.
"Not really. Not as much as you have." Seth curved his lips into a knowing smile, forcing Summer to talk about what he knew she didn't want to.
"Seth," Summer whimpered. "I know I've changed. Everyday is a reminder of how shallow I used to be. When I go to the supermarket, with my clipped coupons because I can barely afford getting Charlotte the exact type of juice she wants. When I go to work and have to serve people who I used to rub elbows with. When I see that beautiful two hundred dollar sweater that I want so bad, but know I can't have. Not anymore." She didn't realize how much she was rambling and she smiled, knowing it was something she had picked up from Seth.
Seth watched her with an intense grin on his face. "What sweater?" He asked, grabbing her hand and whisking her out of the apartment.
***********
"Ryan?" Julie blinked widely at the boy standing in her doorway as she opened the door. "I thought Marissa was with you."
"You mean she's not here?" Ryan asked, nervously.
Julie shook her head and he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from punching any walls.
"Are you ok?" Julie asked, in what seemed like a sincere attempt.
"Um, I'm not sure." Ryan said. "Just tell Marissa I'm looking for her, ok?"
"Sure." Julie said, waving goodbye as he walked back to the Cohen's.
Julie shut the door behind her, smiling obnoxiously.
"Mom," Marissa's voice called from the kitchen. She walked towards Julie, "Who was that?"
"No one important, sweetie." Julie chimed, wrapping her arm around Marissa. "Are you ok, you look a little flushed?" She noticed the tear stains on her daughter's cheeks and couldn't help but feel bad about the thing she had to do in order to keep her daughter safe from her ridiculous friends.
"I don't know." Marissa struggled to get even that much out of herself and she trudged back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
***********
"You did what?" Sandy screamed, but then shut himself up, remembering Charlotte was sleeping in Seth's room.
"I think I told Ryan we knew about Charlotte, in front of Marissa." Kirsten whined, rubbing her aching forehead, Hangovers are the worst. Add a guilty conscious, and it's torture.
"How could you do that Kirsten? We aren't even positive about all this."
"I wasn't really in my own state of mind, Sandy." Kirsten said angrily.
"I'm sick of you using the drunk thing as an excuse. Were you drunk when you decided to help Summer out too? How about when you lied to our son?"
"You could have told him if you had felt that horrible about it." Kirsten quipped.
"Fighting like this won't make things better."
"Who says we're fighting?" Kirsten swallowed down some Tylenol.
"I'm going to go check on Charlotte." Sandy said, trying to maintain his calm with a still slightly drunk and bitter Kirsten.
"Good idea." Kirsten said, forcing a smile and placing her head down on her pillow.
***********
"Cohen, where are we going now?" Summer laughed, her stomach aching from eating way too much take out.
Seth had taken her to the Newport boutique where she had seen that beautiful sweater, demanding that he buy it for her. Who was she to resist? One sweater, two pairs of shoes, and a necklace later, Seth was busy swiping his credit card with the cashier, grabbing Summer's hand.
"All this shopping has made me kind of hungry." Seth said, shoving the bags into the Rover and kissing Summer's hand as she looped it in his.
"Seth," Summer felt a guilty surge run through her body as she looked at the bags of expensive items. "Thanks." She looked up at him and he smiled.
"You deserve it, Summer." They walked past a row of stores, heading off to the ice cream shop that Seth loved as a kid.
"Wait," Summer screamed, turning around abruptly, forcing Seth to lose his train of thought. He looked at her gleaming eyes, following their gaze to a children's store.
"I should get Charlotte a Christmas present." Seth said.
"Same here. But," She patted her pockets, trying to show the lack of money. He laughed.
"It can be from both of us." He nodded and they ran in, sifting through a bunch of teddy bears.
"This is so cute." Summer smiled, picking up a tiny horse. "It's her favorite animal."
Seth burst out laughing, nodding his head and heading off towards the cash register to pay for it. Summer watched him, quite amused at his random behavior, smiling at the pile of teddy bears to her right.
He grabbed his free hand and they walked on to the ice cream shop.
As they waited in line so Seth could get a vanilla cone, Summer tapped her foot impatiently.
"What's on your mind?" Seth asked, knowing this was Summer's way of letting him know she had something to say.
"Why did you crack up like that before?"
"This horse doesn't look familiar to you?" Seth asked, holding up the horse out of the bag, then placing it back inside. Summer shook her head slowly then let it dawn over her.
"Captain Oats?"
"Captain Oats." Seth confirmed. "Charlotte and I have the same taste, I see." He said smugly.
"Coincidence." Summer rolled her eyes playfully. She realized that her hand had not left his, not once. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, reassuring her that this was real.
*************
"Ryan?" Sandy called as he entered the pool house.
"Hey." Ryan said, looking up from one of the old comic books he had found behind the bed.
"Hey." Sandy said, sitting down. Ryan cast aside the comic book, watching Sandy. "So, um, what's up?"
"Is Kirsten sober yet?" Ryan asked, clearly ticked off.
"Not just yet." Sandy grinned with some annoyance.
Ryan sighed, "She screwed up, big time."
Sandy nodded and Ryan continued, "I can't stand her when she's drunk."
"Me neither." Sandy nodded once more. "So things with you and Marissa. . ."
"I don't know where she is. Things are pretty bad right now."
"I'm sorry Kirsten ruined things."
"It wasn't her. Things have been weird for awhile."
"Really?" Sandy asked, trying hard not to mention anything about Summer. The last thing he wanted to do was bring up any bad emotions from Ryan.
"Ever since," Ryan's eyes gleamed at the realization of this, "Since Summer left."
"Marissa must have took is pretty hard. She's her best friend."
"Yeah," Ryan winced at these words which Marissa herself had screamed to him before she ran out. She's my best friend. "Plus, Seth had become so morbid. Everything's been weird. But, maybe, there's some hope now that Seth and Summer have reunited."
"Maybe." Sandy stood up, smiling at Ryan with some hope.
"Oh, yeah, Sandy?" Ryan asked as Sandy exited. Sandy paused, waiting for Ryan to speak.
"Where did Kirsten get the idea that I was Charlotte's father?" Ryan looked very serious, a little suspicious as well.
"I really don't know." Sandy tried a laugh and Ryan smiled unsurely. This all but led to more convincing that Ryan might in fact be the father of Summer's child. He seemed so guilty, so quick to make sure he wasn't found out. Or was that just Julie Cooper's voice screeching assumptions in Sandy's brain?
"Are you kidding?" Summer giggled, laughing as she dove her fork into one of the containers of Chinese take out Seth and her had ordered and brought back to her apartment.
"Not at all. He talks in his sleep all the time. The other night," Seth adjusted his uncomfortable position on the living room rug, "He said something about being scared of me."
"Why would anyone be scared of you?" Summer laughed again, slurping up some lo mein. "You're so scrawny."
Seth rolled his eyes at Summer's insult and she quickly corrected herself.
"And by scrawny, I mean insanely tough." She cracked a smile and he laughed.
"Insanely tough?" He asked, grabbing the lo mein from her.
"Yeah, I mean, who knows what lies underneath that bony exterior?" She laughed sarcastically, moving closer to him on the floor.
"Very funny." He said, watching her scoot over, extremely tempted to grab her and start making love to her right here on the floor. Although, that wouldn't be extremely comfortable on his so called bony exterior.
"Anyway, Ryan talking in his sleep." Summer said quickly, realizing the short amount of silence between them. "I think I talk in my sleep sometimes."
"A new development?" Seth asked, thinking hard if her ever heard Summer mumbling all those nights he woke up in disbelief that he was actually sleeping next to her.
"Yeah." Summer shrugged, not really wanted to bring up her problems.
"I can't believe how much you've grown." Seth practically hushed to whisper, pushing his food away.
Summer frowned a little, again, not wanting him to feel sorry for her.
"Yeah, I never really skimmed down fully from having Charlotte." She smiled.
"That's not what I meant." Seth said, seriously. "Besides, you look amazing."
Summer blushed at his compliment but cast it aside.
"Tell me more about you. Have you changed?" Summer stated, quickly getting up to put the food away.
She rummaged through the kitchen as Seth sighed and opened his mouth to speak.
"Not really. Not as much as you have." Seth curved his lips into a knowing smile, forcing Summer to talk about what he knew she didn't want to.
"Seth," Summer whimpered. "I know I've changed. Everyday is a reminder of how shallow I used to be. When I go to the supermarket, with my clipped coupons because I can barely afford getting Charlotte the exact type of juice she wants. When I go to work and have to serve people who I used to rub elbows with. When I see that beautiful two hundred dollar sweater that I want so bad, but know I can't have. Not anymore." She didn't realize how much she was rambling and she smiled, knowing it was something she had picked up from Seth.
Seth watched her with an intense grin on his face. "What sweater?" He asked, grabbing her hand and whisking her out of the apartment.
***********
"Ryan?" Julie blinked widely at the boy standing in her doorway as she opened the door. "I thought Marissa was with you."
"You mean she's not here?" Ryan asked, nervously.
Julie shook her head and he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from punching any walls.
"Are you ok?" Julie asked, in what seemed like a sincere attempt.
"Um, I'm not sure." Ryan said. "Just tell Marissa I'm looking for her, ok?"
"Sure." Julie said, waving goodbye as he walked back to the Cohen's.
Julie shut the door behind her, smiling obnoxiously.
"Mom," Marissa's voice called from the kitchen. She walked towards Julie, "Who was that?"
"No one important, sweetie." Julie chimed, wrapping her arm around Marissa. "Are you ok, you look a little flushed?" She noticed the tear stains on her daughter's cheeks and couldn't help but feel bad about the thing she had to do in order to keep her daughter safe from her ridiculous friends.
"I don't know." Marissa struggled to get even that much out of herself and she trudged back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
***********
"You did what?" Sandy screamed, but then shut himself up, remembering Charlotte was sleeping in Seth's room.
"I think I told Ryan we knew about Charlotte, in front of Marissa." Kirsten whined, rubbing her aching forehead, Hangovers are the worst. Add a guilty conscious, and it's torture.
"How could you do that Kirsten? We aren't even positive about all this."
"I wasn't really in my own state of mind, Sandy." Kirsten said angrily.
"I'm sick of you using the drunk thing as an excuse. Were you drunk when you decided to help Summer out too? How about when you lied to our son?"
"You could have told him if you had felt that horrible about it." Kirsten quipped.
"Fighting like this won't make things better."
"Who says we're fighting?" Kirsten swallowed down some Tylenol.
"I'm going to go check on Charlotte." Sandy said, trying to maintain his calm with a still slightly drunk and bitter Kirsten.
"Good idea." Kirsten said, forcing a smile and placing her head down on her pillow.
***********
"Cohen, where are we going now?" Summer laughed, her stomach aching from eating way too much take out.
Seth had taken her to the Newport boutique where she had seen that beautiful sweater, demanding that he buy it for her. Who was she to resist? One sweater, two pairs of shoes, and a necklace later, Seth was busy swiping his credit card with the cashier, grabbing Summer's hand.
"All this shopping has made me kind of hungry." Seth said, shoving the bags into the Rover and kissing Summer's hand as she looped it in his.
"Seth," Summer felt a guilty surge run through her body as she looked at the bags of expensive items. "Thanks." She looked up at him and he smiled.
"You deserve it, Summer." They walked past a row of stores, heading off to the ice cream shop that Seth loved as a kid.
"Wait," Summer screamed, turning around abruptly, forcing Seth to lose his train of thought. He looked at her gleaming eyes, following their gaze to a children's store.
"I should get Charlotte a Christmas present." Seth said.
"Same here. But," She patted her pockets, trying to show the lack of money. He laughed.
"It can be from both of us." He nodded and they ran in, sifting through a bunch of teddy bears.
"This is so cute." Summer smiled, picking up a tiny horse. "It's her favorite animal."
Seth burst out laughing, nodding his head and heading off towards the cash register to pay for it. Summer watched him, quite amused at his random behavior, smiling at the pile of teddy bears to her right.
He grabbed his free hand and they walked on to the ice cream shop.
As they waited in line so Seth could get a vanilla cone, Summer tapped her foot impatiently.
"What's on your mind?" Seth asked, knowing this was Summer's way of letting him know she had something to say.
"Why did you crack up like that before?"
"This horse doesn't look familiar to you?" Seth asked, holding up the horse out of the bag, then placing it back inside. Summer shook her head slowly then let it dawn over her.
"Captain Oats?"
"Captain Oats." Seth confirmed. "Charlotte and I have the same taste, I see." He said smugly.
"Coincidence." Summer rolled her eyes playfully. She realized that her hand had not left his, not once. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, reassuring her that this was real.
*************
"Ryan?" Sandy called as he entered the pool house.
"Hey." Ryan said, looking up from one of the old comic books he had found behind the bed.
"Hey." Sandy said, sitting down. Ryan cast aside the comic book, watching Sandy. "So, um, what's up?"
"Is Kirsten sober yet?" Ryan asked, clearly ticked off.
"Not just yet." Sandy grinned with some annoyance.
Ryan sighed, "She screwed up, big time."
Sandy nodded and Ryan continued, "I can't stand her when she's drunk."
"Me neither." Sandy nodded once more. "So things with you and Marissa. . ."
"I don't know where she is. Things are pretty bad right now."
"I'm sorry Kirsten ruined things."
"It wasn't her. Things have been weird for awhile."
"Really?" Sandy asked, trying hard not to mention anything about Summer. The last thing he wanted to do was bring up any bad emotions from Ryan.
"Ever since," Ryan's eyes gleamed at the realization of this, "Since Summer left."
"Marissa must have took is pretty hard. She's her best friend."
"Yeah," Ryan winced at these words which Marissa herself had screamed to him before she ran out. She's my best friend. "Plus, Seth had become so morbid. Everything's been weird. But, maybe, there's some hope now that Seth and Summer have reunited."
"Maybe." Sandy stood up, smiling at Ryan with some hope.
"Oh, yeah, Sandy?" Ryan asked as Sandy exited. Sandy paused, waiting for Ryan to speak.
"Where did Kirsten get the idea that I was Charlotte's father?" Ryan looked very serious, a little suspicious as well.
"I really don't know." Sandy tried a laugh and Ryan smiled unsurely. This all but led to more convincing that Ryan might in fact be the father of Summer's child. He seemed so guilty, so quick to make sure he wasn't found out. Or was that just Julie Cooper's voice screeching assumptions in Sandy's brain?