Everything is ok, everything is fine
I give you everything you ask for don't be so unkind
Well every time you're mad about every little thing
But it's too soon to pull out that wedding ring
…
This little boy is running right back home
I guess it's nobody's fault now but my own
Never had the patience never had the time
…
On your mark get set go
This little boy is running right back home
I guess it's nobody's fault now but my own
Phantom Planet
***
When Ryan arrived at Theresa's house, he saw that the party was already in full swing. He pulled Kirsten's car up to the side of the house and said a quick prayer that the incident in Long Beach wouldn't be repeated.
His heart raced as he got out of the car, so he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It was good to be back in Chino. No more pressure to be perfect, to be someone's fucking hero.
Theresa had seen him pull up and walked out to the front of the house to greet him.
"This is some party huh?" She asked.
"Yeah, Arturo always knows how to throw down. Is the stuff here?"
Theresa stuck her tongue out at him. "Glad to see that living in Newport didn't make you a spokesman for the 'Just Say No' campaign."
They kissed deeply and walked into the house together.
***
Marissa stopped the SUV at the end of the street until Ryan and Theresa walked into the house. She didn't want him to see her and Seth just yet.
Seth had tried to get Marissa to talk on the way there. Now, as she sat behind the wheel on the end of the street, watching her boyfriend making out with his ex-girlfriend, Seth finally shut up.
Gripping the steering wheel, Marissa slowly pressed down on the gas and drove slowly down the street. There was obviously a party in full swing. She parked a few houses down, shut off the engine, and gritted her teeth as she tried to stay calm.
They stayed in the truck for at least 10 more minutes, neither of them saying a word, when Seth finally broke the silence.
"Okay, so I am not going to ask what you know about what's going on, or who that girl was that Ryan was with, but are we going to go in there and bust him or not?"
Marissa slowly turned to look at Seth, her hands still gripping the steering wheel, "yeah, let's go."
***
Ryan and Theresa had gone into her bedroom after saying "hi" to some old friends, making a stop at the bar, and picking up some coke from Arturo. It had been awhile since Ryan had done coke, and it felt great.
Theresa had started kissing him and he felt himself kissing her back, sliding his hand through her hair, and guiding her onto the bed. Her breath felt warm on his face, and they wasted no time in getting each others clothes off and making love.
***
Seth looked around the front room as they walked in. This was like the party in Long Beach he had gone to with that freak from the Crab Shack.
He slid his hand into Marissa's because they needed to look like they were there together. It would be safer that way. He lead her through the crowded living room trying to find his brother.
He couldn't imagine what on earth Ryan was up to. Seth knew that he still felt out of place sometimes, but he was happy in Newport. Ryan was dating Marissa, they were having sex all the time, and he was doing great in school and on the soccer team. He just couldn't understand why Ryan would want to come back to Chino.
He also couldn't figure out what was going on with Marissa. Each time Seth tried to ask her about it she remained quiet and gritted her teeth. She seemed to know where she was driving to, her behavior was just plain strange, and she hadn't even reacted to seeing Ryan kiss that girl. It almost as if she knew about them, but how could that be?
He continued to look around the room and didn't see Ryan, or the dark haired girl he'd been macking on in the driveway. Looking at Marissa, he saw that she was examining the room in front of them as well.
He pulled her over to the bar. "We're gonna stand out even worse if we don't get some drinks to walk around with," he whispered into her ear.
She nodded and then smiled at the guy who was haphazardly assembling drinks at the far end of the living room. The bar itself consisted of some concrete blocks and two beat up interior doors that had been painted dark blue and placed in the shape of an "L".
Marissa asked for a 7&7 for herself, and a rum & coke for her friend.
The bartender gave her an odd smile and then turned to mix their drinks.
As he handed the drinks to her, the bartender asked, "hey you don't look familiar, have you been around here before?"
She didn't want to get caught up in anything, she just wanted to find Ryan and get some answers.
"Yeah, of course I have, thanks for the drinks." She handed Seth his rum and coke and started to lead him away from the creepy bartender.
"There's a bunch of people heading out to the backyard, let's go out there." Seth said.
Marissa took a long swig of her drink to calm her nerves and then followed Seth out back.
***
Ryan and Theresa returned from her bedroom to the party going on in the living room. While their time together was limited, he wanted to see some old friends, make that connection again. They walked into the living room where Arturo, and Ryan's old friend Nick, were smoking some weed.
"Ryan man, where the hell you been?" Nick asked as he got up from the couch and slapped Ryan on the back.
"Hey man, it's good to see you. My mom left. I'm living with some people in Orange County now, but it's not permanent."
As Arturo was watching Ryan, he made the connection to the skinny white chick that was just in here. That was Ry's girl, the one he brought with him to pick up that car for Trey. He wondered why she was here if they weren't together anymore.
Ryan and Theresa sat down on the floor across from the couch. "Hey man, you got anything stronger than that?"
***
Marissa was starting to feel sick. It must be all the stress with Ryan, she thought to herself. However, the more she and Seth hung out in the corner of the backyard, the more she felt like she had in Mexico.
She turned to Seth, tried to tell him she felt sick. Maybe she would feel better if she went and put some cold water on her face.
"Seth, I feel kinda hot, I'm going to get some cold water in the bathroom."
He started to go with her, trying to yell to her that they should not leave each other, but she pulled away and got lost in the stream of people wandering into the backyard.
As she re-entered the back of the house through the slider, she ran into the bartender in the kitchen.
He looked at her with a weird smirk. "Hey, how are you enjoying the party?"
He was standing too close to her, leaning into her, leering at her. She started to back up and bumped her elbow on the countertop causing her to drop her empty glass, which shattered on the kitchen floor.
As she knelt down to pick up the shards of glass, the bartender grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back up to her feet. She was feeling worse, like she was going to pass out at any moment. She swayed back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels and tried to reach out to steady herself. Something was really wrong with her and she couldn't even seem to yell for help. For such a raging party, the kitchen was empty and Seth was still out back.
As she reached out her hand to steady herself, she wound up putting her hand on the bartender's chest and he grabbed that wrist with his free hand and started pushing her backwards towards the laundry room.
"Did you like that mixed drink?" He slurred.
End of Chapter Four