He thumped up the stairs after his sister, pizza slice in hand. Going down
the long hallway, he knocked on her door.
"Go away!" She yelled from inside the room.
"I just want to talk to you." He yelled back taking a bite of pizza.
"Well, I don't." She threw a pillow at the door.
"Come on Abs, let me in." He sighed. She was quiet for a while, and he just stood there. Soon he heard her shuffle over to the door, and unlock it.
"What do you want?" She asked, looking down at her feet as to hide for eyes which were almost tearing up again.
"I told you, I wanna talk. What's the problem?" He came into her room, and shut the door behind him, sitting down on the floor in front of it.
"Nothing, I told you already." She avoided his glances.
"Really, you can tell me. I'm sure I understand what it is your going through." He finished his last bite of pizza, and gave her a telling look. Realizing she wasn't going to tell him. He nodded his head, got up and turned to leave. He left her door open as he walked back down the hall. She scurried over to the door.
"Seth?" She stuck her head out the door. He stopped and turned around in this fun spinning motion.
"Yes?" He replied a little dizzily.
"Thanks." She smiled. He returned her smile, and headed back downstairs where he found Marissa and Ryan, who had found the pizza.
-----
"Well, that was one hell of a party!" Seth came in the front door a little too excited. Abby followed, still in a slightly resentful mood, while Marissa and Ryan took up the back.
"You just liked it because not one, but two girls asked you out." Ryan commented sarcastically. He'd had a drink or two.
"Of course that's the reason." Seth replied. He didn't need alcohol. He always had a natural high.
"Well, did you have fun Abby?" This was virtually the first time Marissa had ever spoken to her.
"I suppose, yeah." She faked a smile and Marissa seemed to believe her. She really had had quite a bit of fun. She just didn't want to admit it.
"Well, I better go. See you guys later." She waved and then turned to Ryan. "I will see you, tomorrow." His eyes told her everything as he swooped in for a kiss, or maybe a few. Shutting the door hard on her way out, alerted the parents. It was too late though. Sandy and Kirsten had been doing a little kissing of their own in the kitchen.
"Well, well. Look like the party is still goin' on here." Seth exclaimed as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. "What's up with you guys lately? You are never around." Seth sipped his water and waited for an answer.
Sandy looked and Kirsten and they looked back at their children, unsure of what to say.
"Work has been hectic lately, I'm sorry we've been neglecting you." Sandy replied. Kirsten nodded.
"It's just lately things have been, rough." She added. "But we'll try to be home earlier from now on. Well, actually starting on Monday." Sandy agreed.
"Goodnight all." Sandy finished. Seth kinda waved sheepishly, Ryan still drunk but not terribly noticeably, wandered off to the pool house, and Abby smiled knowing that tomorrow night the house was hers.
-----
Seth was wandering about the house early Sunday morning. He was supposed to do the laundry, which he didn't have the faintest idea how to do, because Rosa usually did it. But how hard could it be, right? Abby's laundry basket was in her room, so up the stairs he went to get it. Entering the white bedroom, he scanned it for her basket. It sat next to her desk. Picking it up, he noticed that her journal was open on the desk. Forgetting that curiosity killed the cat, he began to read the latest entry.
Dear Journal,
Mom and Dad are never home anymore. I should like that, but I really don't. Seth tries to be a parent, but he's really not so great at it. As a brother he's okay, but as a parent, he's not so hot. I'm really getting sick doing good, and not going to parties, when I could do whatever I wanted and Mom and Dad wouldn't even know.
So I was supposed to get Ryan to come in from supper today, but when I got to the pool house he was WITH Marissa. I couldn't handle it. I mean I know they are together, but I couldn't help but feel jealous. Ryan is like my "brother" though; I shouldn't feel that way about him. There's just something about how he looks, how he walks, how he treats me that just makes---
The doorbell rang, and Seth looked up. Frantically he put the journal back on the desk and ran downstairs with the basket. He set it by the door, regained his composure and answered it. To his surprise, Anna Stern was the face that greeted him.
"Hey there, Anna." He gave her one of his sheepish grins. Then he noticed he was only in his boxers and a t-shirt, and got a little flushed.
"Hey Cohen, what's up?" She noted his attire, and she had to admit even though he was a bit skinner than he looked in normal clothes, he looked pretty good.
"Ah, ah, what's up? Um, I'm just doing a little laundry. You?" He stammered a bit.
"Well, what a coincidence, I am good at laundry." She smiled.
"Really, because so am I!"
"Really?" She was very skeptical. He nodded. She followed him to the laundry area of the house. He set Abby's basket down next to his and glanced around trying to figure out what to do next. She noticed his confusion and began to look for the detergent. "Well, let me start." She added taking the detergent and the clothes that needed washing, and putting them into the washer which she had turned on and was now filling itself with water. "You see, reds go together and blues go together in a different load. Oops! Your whites definitely do not go in with the reds." She handed him a white t-shirt. He was both stunned, and turned on at the same time. She closed the washer and handed him the empty baskets.
"Wow, you are good at laundry. Where'd you learn that?" He locked eyes with her.
"Oh, just a little something I picked up in Pittsburgh." She smiled. She was flirting now, and she leaned up to kiss him. He stopped her.
"Wait. You got to do that last time. It's my turn." He pulled her close to him with his free arm, and kissed her soft on the lips. She pulled away, quite blown away.
"Smooth, Cohen." She replied with a giggle.
-----
"All right, I think I have everything." Abby checked things in her head. She'd done the invites, she'd gotten some snack stuff, a bunch of music and some other people were bringing other things.
Her parents were out, working or something as usual. Seth was on one of his "dates", and Ryan and Marissa were doing something she didn't wanna think about. She was alone, but not for long. The doorbell rang, and she ran to answer it. Several guys were carrying things and she pointed them in the general direction that she wanted the stuff. People came steadily after that, and soon the house was hoppin'! The music was blaring away, and Abigail was lost once again in the atmosphere of the party. She had a cup in her hand, a beat to dance to and she was as happy as could be expected. The music blared loud, as the beat pulsed hard and she began grinding with a few random guys.
Soon she was overcome by it all, and was up against a wall grinding hard and kissing some guy. She didn't even know his name. But she didn't care. He made her feel good. This all made her feel really good. She felt his hands roam up her dark black top, and she took one last sip of her drink and threw the cup across the room.
-----
"So Summer, how are you?" Seth wanted to at least give pleasantries a try.
"Oh, you know. I'm good, as well as can be expected I guess." She sipped a coffee. Seth sighed. Ryan had given him the pool house to use for the night, and he was a little distracted by the loud music coming from the house, but too preoccupied with Summer's beauty to worry about it. Just Abby having fun, he figured.
"Well, that's good." He really had no idea what to say. Summer sighed in a bored way.
"Cohen? Are we actually gonna do anything, or we just gonna sit here and drink crappy coffee that you made?" She kind of glared at him. Summer did have an interesting perspective on romance.
"Well, actually you kind of sprung this date thing on me. I had no idea what to do." He looked embarrassed as usual. Summer set down her cup and stood up. He followed suit. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him down the steps, and onto Ryan's bed. She was on top of him, before he could do anything and she was furiously kissing him as if she'd never done so before. At first he enjoyed it, but then he pushed her off onto the bed.
"You like it rough, huh Cohen?" Summer smiled devilishly and pulled him in again. He pulled away from her again.
"That's not it at all. It can't be this way." He insisted.
"What?" Summer asked cluelessly.
"Us! We can't be this way. I need there to be something more to us than kissing. Not that the kissing isn't fantastic, although I don't have much to compare it to, but the kissing is fabulous. But I need a relationship, not just a set of lips, thighs and eyes." He looked like a sad puppy dog.
"Well, I'm not really good at that." She replied and crossed her arms.
"I've noticed." He replied sarcastically. They ignored each other for a good few minutes.
"Are you sure?" Summer asked.
"Yes, I am Summer. Dead sure." He nodded.
"Fine, goodbye." She replied taking her purse and leaving, making sure to slam the door on her way out. That hadn't gone as he planned.
"Women!" He exclaimed throwing his arms up in frustration. He lay down again on Ryan's bed, and sighed.
-----
Sandy and Kirsten met in the driveway.
"How was work?" Kirsten asked her husband after he kissed her.
"Fine, especially for being a slave to all those demons that you hate so much." Kirsten laughed.
"Do you hear that?" Kirsten asked noticing that their house was filled with loud music.
"Yeah, and it's coming from our house." Sandy replied. They both ran up to find out what was going on. Sandy opened the door, and Kirsten followed. They both crept into the living room quietly, and as the stereo was set up conveniently close to where they were standing, Sandy pressed the power switch. The whole crowd stopped including Abby. "What the hell, do you think you are doing?" He asked the whole crowd, but looked at Abby in particular. Kirsten was stunned by the position her daughter was in, and as she glanced around the room it only got worse. There were empty cups everywhere, cigarette burns and two kegs in the kitchen. Her focus spun back to Abby. Stunned no more, she began to scream.
"Everybody out! That is it. I have had it with you, Abigail Marie Cohen. Go to your room, right now. We'll deal with you in a moment. Everyone out!" Everyone did get out, because Kirsten angry was pretty freaking scary.
"Fine, like I care what you do to me. You are such a terrible mother." She ran through the crowds of people up to her room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Sandy looked at Kirsten, and they both looked around the room. In from the pool house, came Seth.
"Wow, it looks like somebody has been having a little too much spring break- like fun in here." He exclaimed as he looked around.
"Did you know about this?" Sandy asked. Seth shook his head.
"No. Scouts honor." He made the scout sign, and raised his eyebrows a bit.
-----
"Go away!" She yelled from inside the room.
"I just want to talk to you." He yelled back taking a bite of pizza.
"Well, I don't." She threw a pillow at the door.
"Come on Abs, let me in." He sighed. She was quiet for a while, and he just stood there. Soon he heard her shuffle over to the door, and unlock it.
"What do you want?" She asked, looking down at her feet as to hide for eyes which were almost tearing up again.
"I told you, I wanna talk. What's the problem?" He came into her room, and shut the door behind him, sitting down on the floor in front of it.
"Nothing, I told you already." She avoided his glances.
"Really, you can tell me. I'm sure I understand what it is your going through." He finished his last bite of pizza, and gave her a telling look. Realizing she wasn't going to tell him. He nodded his head, got up and turned to leave. He left her door open as he walked back down the hall. She scurried over to the door.
"Seth?" She stuck her head out the door. He stopped and turned around in this fun spinning motion.
"Yes?" He replied a little dizzily.
"Thanks." She smiled. He returned her smile, and headed back downstairs where he found Marissa and Ryan, who had found the pizza.
-----
"Well, that was one hell of a party!" Seth came in the front door a little too excited. Abby followed, still in a slightly resentful mood, while Marissa and Ryan took up the back.
"You just liked it because not one, but two girls asked you out." Ryan commented sarcastically. He'd had a drink or two.
"Of course that's the reason." Seth replied. He didn't need alcohol. He always had a natural high.
"Well, did you have fun Abby?" This was virtually the first time Marissa had ever spoken to her.
"I suppose, yeah." She faked a smile and Marissa seemed to believe her. She really had had quite a bit of fun. She just didn't want to admit it.
"Well, I better go. See you guys later." She waved and then turned to Ryan. "I will see you, tomorrow." His eyes told her everything as he swooped in for a kiss, or maybe a few. Shutting the door hard on her way out, alerted the parents. It was too late though. Sandy and Kirsten had been doing a little kissing of their own in the kitchen.
"Well, well. Look like the party is still goin' on here." Seth exclaimed as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. "What's up with you guys lately? You are never around." Seth sipped his water and waited for an answer.
Sandy looked and Kirsten and they looked back at their children, unsure of what to say.
"Work has been hectic lately, I'm sorry we've been neglecting you." Sandy replied. Kirsten nodded.
"It's just lately things have been, rough." She added. "But we'll try to be home earlier from now on. Well, actually starting on Monday." Sandy agreed.
"Goodnight all." Sandy finished. Seth kinda waved sheepishly, Ryan still drunk but not terribly noticeably, wandered off to the pool house, and Abby smiled knowing that tomorrow night the house was hers.
-----
Seth was wandering about the house early Sunday morning. He was supposed to do the laundry, which he didn't have the faintest idea how to do, because Rosa usually did it. But how hard could it be, right? Abby's laundry basket was in her room, so up the stairs he went to get it. Entering the white bedroom, he scanned it for her basket. It sat next to her desk. Picking it up, he noticed that her journal was open on the desk. Forgetting that curiosity killed the cat, he began to read the latest entry.
Dear Journal,
Mom and Dad are never home anymore. I should like that, but I really don't. Seth tries to be a parent, but he's really not so great at it. As a brother he's okay, but as a parent, he's not so hot. I'm really getting sick doing good, and not going to parties, when I could do whatever I wanted and Mom and Dad wouldn't even know.
So I was supposed to get Ryan to come in from supper today, but when I got to the pool house he was WITH Marissa. I couldn't handle it. I mean I know they are together, but I couldn't help but feel jealous. Ryan is like my "brother" though; I shouldn't feel that way about him. There's just something about how he looks, how he walks, how he treats me that just makes---
The doorbell rang, and Seth looked up. Frantically he put the journal back on the desk and ran downstairs with the basket. He set it by the door, regained his composure and answered it. To his surprise, Anna Stern was the face that greeted him.
"Hey there, Anna." He gave her one of his sheepish grins. Then he noticed he was only in his boxers and a t-shirt, and got a little flushed.
"Hey Cohen, what's up?" She noted his attire, and she had to admit even though he was a bit skinner than he looked in normal clothes, he looked pretty good.
"Ah, ah, what's up? Um, I'm just doing a little laundry. You?" He stammered a bit.
"Well, what a coincidence, I am good at laundry." She smiled.
"Really, because so am I!"
"Really?" She was very skeptical. He nodded. She followed him to the laundry area of the house. He set Abby's basket down next to his and glanced around trying to figure out what to do next. She noticed his confusion and began to look for the detergent. "Well, let me start." She added taking the detergent and the clothes that needed washing, and putting them into the washer which she had turned on and was now filling itself with water. "You see, reds go together and blues go together in a different load. Oops! Your whites definitely do not go in with the reds." She handed him a white t-shirt. He was both stunned, and turned on at the same time. She closed the washer and handed him the empty baskets.
"Wow, you are good at laundry. Where'd you learn that?" He locked eyes with her.
"Oh, just a little something I picked up in Pittsburgh." She smiled. She was flirting now, and she leaned up to kiss him. He stopped her.
"Wait. You got to do that last time. It's my turn." He pulled her close to him with his free arm, and kissed her soft on the lips. She pulled away, quite blown away.
"Smooth, Cohen." She replied with a giggle.
-----
"All right, I think I have everything." Abby checked things in her head. She'd done the invites, she'd gotten some snack stuff, a bunch of music and some other people were bringing other things.
Her parents were out, working or something as usual. Seth was on one of his "dates", and Ryan and Marissa were doing something she didn't wanna think about. She was alone, but not for long. The doorbell rang, and she ran to answer it. Several guys were carrying things and she pointed them in the general direction that she wanted the stuff. People came steadily after that, and soon the house was hoppin'! The music was blaring away, and Abigail was lost once again in the atmosphere of the party. She had a cup in her hand, a beat to dance to and she was as happy as could be expected. The music blared loud, as the beat pulsed hard and she began grinding with a few random guys.
Soon she was overcome by it all, and was up against a wall grinding hard and kissing some guy. She didn't even know his name. But she didn't care. He made her feel good. This all made her feel really good. She felt his hands roam up her dark black top, and she took one last sip of her drink and threw the cup across the room.
-----
"So Summer, how are you?" Seth wanted to at least give pleasantries a try.
"Oh, you know. I'm good, as well as can be expected I guess." She sipped a coffee. Seth sighed. Ryan had given him the pool house to use for the night, and he was a little distracted by the loud music coming from the house, but too preoccupied with Summer's beauty to worry about it. Just Abby having fun, he figured.
"Well, that's good." He really had no idea what to say. Summer sighed in a bored way.
"Cohen? Are we actually gonna do anything, or we just gonna sit here and drink crappy coffee that you made?" She kind of glared at him. Summer did have an interesting perspective on romance.
"Well, actually you kind of sprung this date thing on me. I had no idea what to do." He looked embarrassed as usual. Summer set down her cup and stood up. He followed suit. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him down the steps, and onto Ryan's bed. She was on top of him, before he could do anything and she was furiously kissing him as if she'd never done so before. At first he enjoyed it, but then he pushed her off onto the bed.
"You like it rough, huh Cohen?" Summer smiled devilishly and pulled him in again. He pulled away from her again.
"That's not it at all. It can't be this way." He insisted.
"What?" Summer asked cluelessly.
"Us! We can't be this way. I need there to be something more to us than kissing. Not that the kissing isn't fantastic, although I don't have much to compare it to, but the kissing is fabulous. But I need a relationship, not just a set of lips, thighs and eyes." He looked like a sad puppy dog.
"Well, I'm not really good at that." She replied and crossed her arms.
"I've noticed." He replied sarcastically. They ignored each other for a good few minutes.
"Are you sure?" Summer asked.
"Yes, I am Summer. Dead sure." He nodded.
"Fine, goodbye." She replied taking her purse and leaving, making sure to slam the door on her way out. That hadn't gone as he planned.
"Women!" He exclaimed throwing his arms up in frustration. He lay down again on Ryan's bed, and sighed.
-----
Sandy and Kirsten met in the driveway.
"How was work?" Kirsten asked her husband after he kissed her.
"Fine, especially for being a slave to all those demons that you hate so much." Kirsten laughed.
"Do you hear that?" Kirsten asked noticing that their house was filled with loud music.
"Yeah, and it's coming from our house." Sandy replied. They both ran up to find out what was going on. Sandy opened the door, and Kirsten followed. They both crept into the living room quietly, and as the stereo was set up conveniently close to where they were standing, Sandy pressed the power switch. The whole crowd stopped including Abby. "What the hell, do you think you are doing?" He asked the whole crowd, but looked at Abby in particular. Kirsten was stunned by the position her daughter was in, and as she glanced around the room it only got worse. There were empty cups everywhere, cigarette burns and two kegs in the kitchen. Her focus spun back to Abby. Stunned no more, she began to scream.
"Everybody out! That is it. I have had it with you, Abigail Marie Cohen. Go to your room, right now. We'll deal with you in a moment. Everyone out!" Everyone did get out, because Kirsten angry was pretty freaking scary.
"Fine, like I care what you do to me. You are such a terrible mother." She ran through the crowds of people up to her room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Sandy looked at Kirsten, and they both looked around the room. In from the pool house, came Seth.
"Wow, it looks like somebody has been having a little too much spring break- like fun in here." He exclaimed as he looked around.
"Did you know about this?" Sandy asked. Seth shook his head.
"No. Scouts honor." He made the scout sign, and raised his eyebrows a bit.
-----