{Love Song For No One}
{A Sequel To Merry Christmas!}
{Disclaimer} I own the OC and Seth Cohen. Oh, and I'm a pathological liar.
{A/N} again, an anti anna chapter. and a longggg one!
{Chapter 7: Things To Say}
Seth blinked his eyes open, thanking god it was a Saturday morning, which meant he got to sleep late. His nostrils immediately perked up, smelling the bacon he could hear sizzling downstairs. He yawned, stretching his arms outward, realizing he was all alone in bed. He glanced at Summer's alarm clock, which blinked 9:05.
Still too early, Seth decided, as he rolled back over in bed.
******
"Ok, now I backed off last night." Summer said as she looked through her kitchen cabinets for a clean plate.
Marissa leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table, eyeing Summer as she pranced around the kitchen like freakin' Martha Stewart.
Wow, how she's changed.
She's so in charge, in the know of what she is and where she is.
Marissa couldn't help but feel jealous as Summer placed some freshly cooked bacon on the plate she had retrieved.
"So you owe me an explanation." Summer continued, as she poured orange juice into a glass and placed it on a tray, along with the plate of food.
Marissa cleared her throat hesitantly as Summer turned swiftly towards the eggs she was scrambling, placing some on the plate as well.
"Hold that thought." Summer said, her cheeks becoming red with embarrassment. "I have to bring this to Seth."
"Oh, you *have* to?" Marissa laughed, taking a plate and helping herself to some bacon and eggs.
Summer just gave her a weary look as she grabbed the tray and carefully made her way up the stairs, only stopping by the stairway to grab a rose from the vase on the hallway table and placing it, very carefully, on the tray.
Summer opened her bedroom door with her foot, placing the tray down on the bench at the end of the bed, placing her hands on her hips.
She knew Seth would still be asleep, but the task of waking him up was somewhat of a debate for her own mind.
She could violently jump on the bed, which she loved.
Or, she could kiss him gently. Although, that type of arousal might make her completely forget about Marissa, who was patiently waiting downstairs for her to come back so she could spill her guts about why she was hiding in their bushes.
Summer opted for a mix of both approaches, sitting on the edge of the bed and pushing Seth's legs, ever so gently.
"Wake up, Cohen!" She shouted into his ear, slowly crawling towards his face, lying on top of him.
"I'm up, Cohen." Seth mumbled. "You do realize it's your last name too, right?" He yawned, amused at Summer's tactics to wake him up.
Summer simply grinned, showing off her pearly whites. What was she hiding up her sleeve?
"You're not pregnant again, are you?" Seth asked, not surprised by the scowl, frown, and immediate slap he had received. "So, what's going on?"
"I made you breakfast."
"Congratulations?" Seth asked, jokingly, wrapping his arms around her. "You didn't have to do that. I know how to pour my own Captain Crunch into a bowl, thank you very much."
Summer placed her hands on his bare chest, tapping her nails on him, impatiently, and then nodded towards the tray of food.
Seth looked towards that direction, his mouth opening slowly with drool.
"You made me breakfast." Seth said softly, in disbelief. "Like, a *real* breakfast."
"You deserve it." She said. "Last night, was," Summer grinned, shuddering at the thought of the pleasures only Seth Cohen could give her.
"You weren't so bad yourself." Seth said, pushing Summer aside as he dug into his food. "And this is actually not bad either."
"I'm going to go chill with Coop. You can eat and when you're done, get dressed and come downstairs." Summer said, before jumping off the bed.
Seth grabbed her arm, placing his fork of eggs down on the tray, and kissing her gently. "I love you."
Summer sighed, running her hands through his curly hair. "Same here."
For as long as they had been married, Summer had real problems saying those three little words. 'I love you'. Even though she did. Completely. It was just. . . hard. She had issues with trust and love and all that stuff. Thank god, Seth understood.
"Go find out why Cooper was rummaging through our front yard yesterday." Seth said as Summer left the room, rolling her eyes lovingly.
*****
Marissa slipped a forkful of eggs into her mouth. Surprisingly, Summer wasn't that bad of a cook.
"Hey, sorry." Summer said quickly, making herself a plate of food.
"So, what did I need to explain again?" Marissa asked innocently as Summer sat across from her.
"Let's start with. . .why you were crashing in our front yard."
"I drank on the flight over. . ."
Summer, always quick with her speak, interrupted with her interrogation, "Why did you fly over here? Why isn't Ryan here? Why were you drinking?"
Marissa gave Summer a murderous look to slow down as she chomped on bacon, "I came here to escape California. Ryan isn't here, because, he doesn't know I'm here. And I drank because I couldn't stop thinking about him."
"Did you guys have a fight?" Summer asked, unknowingly and concerned.
"Yes. Over wedding invitations." Marissa said, a tiny spark in her eyes dying slowly.
Summer noticed this and cringed slightly. Here she was, happy as could be and her best friend was suffering.
"How long has this been going on?" Summer asked, placing her hand on Marissa's.
"Three weeks." Marissa said gently, smiling at Summer's concern.
Summer smiled as she cleared the table, watching Marissa's next move.
"Thanks, Sum. For breakfast and for listening."
"No prob, Coop." Summer said. "But don't expect me to cook again anytime soon while you're here. This was just your lucky day."
"That's ok, because my eggs are way better." Seth announced, grabbing Summer from behind.
"In your dreams, Cohen." Summer giggled as she turned to face him, noticing Marissa's longing glare.
"I don't really dream about eggs, Summer." Seth said, contemplatively. "Unless you're covered in them. Or serving them to me. Nude." He had obviously completely forgotten about their visitor until he followed Summer's gaze to Marissa, who was uncomfortably getting up from the kitchen table. "Not that we ever do that type of thing." Seth said, Summer automatically letting go of him and going back to the dishes.
"I'm going to go," Marissa started, but shook her head, giving up. "Sleep."
"Me too." Seth said, ready to follow, noticing Summer's menacing stare.
"You," Summer screeched, pointing a sudsy dish at him. "Stay."
Marissa threw Seth an apathetic look as she made her way upstairs, away from the fighting lovebirds.
"Yes, Summer, darling?" Seth asked.
"Why didn't you tell me Ryan was fighting with Marissa?"
"Because, I didn't know." Seth said confidently, but cracked his knuckles. Of course, he knew. Ryan told him everything, but he swore not to say a word.
"Don't lie to me, Seth." Summer said sternly, putting away the last of the dishes. "Or else what happened last night, won't happen again, for a long, *long* time."
Seth gulped, placing his hands around her once more. "They fight all the time, Summer, it's no big deal."
"Marissa seems to think it's a big deal this time." Summer said wearily, "She came all the way here to escape it."
Seth gave a concerned look upwards, where Marissa was just lying down on Charlotte's bed. From what he knew, Ryan and Marissa were constantly fighting, but they were still on good terms. Unless a very recent fight finally struck a chord with the two.
"She even drank." Summer said. "I'm taking her for a girl's day out. She needs it."
"But," Seth groaned. "I wanted to spend the day with you."
"Well, you could come along and carry our bags for us." Summer said, smiling evilly.
"Uh, no." Seth said quickly. "I forgot that um, Charlotte, I promised her that I would take her to the zoo. Yeah."
"Kirsten could take the kids." Summer slipped her hand around his waist, pulling him in closer, so that her chest popped up against his, something he couldn't resist.
"No, my mom? At the zoo? With children. Not smart, Summer, not smart."
"Fine." Summer said, batting her eyelashes. "Can I have your credit card?"
"Summer," Seth began, and she pressed up against him more, rendering him helpless.
He took his wallet out of his pocket, which was bulging from arousal.
Summer snatched it, sifting through the credit cards, grabbing the VISA she knew had the most cash on it.
"I love these things." Summer said, pointing to her breasts and bounced off, much to the disappointment of Seth, who leaned back against the counter, mystified over the power Summer had over him.
He then glanced at the phone, noticing a blinking red dot, which meant they had messages waiting to be heard.
'I guess with Cooper being here and the fact that I completely tired out Summer last night, she forgot to check the messages.' Seth thought, with a crack of grin, as he pressed the flashing light.
The recording started speaking, stating that the Cohen's had two new messages.
Seth smiled excitedly. They really didn't know many people in Boston, so whoever left a message was either a ) a hang up, b ) a wrong number or c) an oc resident.
"Hey, it's Ryan. Just wanted to see what's up. Call me back. Um, bye."
Ryan. A man of so, few words.
"Next message," The recording stated and Seth kept his ears keen.
"Hi Seth." The voice screeched and he quickly jumped up in realization, glancing towards the stairway, where Summer had disappeared. "It's Anna. I think we should really talk about the other night. There is a lot to talk about. Please, call me back at this number," She continued to flirtatiously say the numbers as Seth frantically ran to the answering machine, trying to find the 'delete' button. "Oh and Seth, I love you. Say hi to Summer for me!"
A loud beep followed and an abrupt 'end of messages' from his automated friend.
Seth stared at the phone in shock, quickly pressing delete.
"Hey, Seth, where are the keys to the car?" Summer's voice called.
"Would you like to delete this message?" The answering machine asked him.
Seth glanced at Summer, who appeared in the doorway, smiling sweetly at him.
Yes, I'd like to delete this message, he thought.
And delete Anna's existence for that matter.
He pressed 'enter' and sighed as the automated voice told him his message was indeed, deleted.
"Who called?" Summer asked.
"Ryan." Seth said quickly. "I'll call him back later."
"Where are your keys?" Summer asked again, adjusting the purse on her shoulders.
"Here." Seth searched his pocket and produced his car keys for her. "Drive carefully."
"Are you ok?" Summer said, raising her eyebrow.
Before he could reply, Marissa came behind Summer, dragging her feet.
"Are we doing this or what?" Marissa asked.
"Coop, don't be such a downer. This will be so much fun!" Summer said brightly, pushing Marissa towards the door as she grabbed the keys from Seth.
"Summer," Seth said quickly, grabbing her arm before she left. Marissa rolled her eyes at the couple and went on towards the car. "Do you like the luxuries we enjoy, Summer? Because, that credit card is not a toy."
"Seth," Summer chided him, "I grew up in California. I think I know how a credit card works!" She kissed his lips quickly and he grabbed her arm again.
Summer stared at him, crossing her arms, impatiently.
"Seth, as a former shopaholic, I am well aware of what stress this is causing you; your credit card in my palm, but really, I'll be fine." She waved off his concern. "I'm well aware that we aren't in Newport. I'm just going to get some things for the kids." She kissed him again, hinting that she was done and ready to get going.
"Socks." Seth said, giving up. "I need socks."
"Ok, we'll be back in a few hours." Summer called as she climbed into the car, where Marissa was dozing off, restless and impatient. "With socks!"
*******
Summer let her cheerleader, award winning smile vanish as soon as Seth was back in the car.
"Marissa!" She wailed, and the girl tumbled awake, eyeing Summer with concern.
"What's wrong?" Marissa asked slowly, wondering if Anna had paid another visit to the household.
Summer shuddered, starting the car up.
"I was just thinking of how disappointed Seth is going to be when I max out his credit card on those Gucci shoes I was telling you about." Summer said, putting on her comfortable, evil grin.
"Oh, I thought it was something serious." Marissa laughed.
Summer looked at Marissa with shock. "What could be more serious then breaking my husband's heart after buying killer shoes that I'll wear, oh, once for 300 bucks, which is really a steal compared to Newport's prices?"
Marissa shrugged as Summer pulled out of the driveway, ready to invade the mall.
"I'm not going to worry about it, though." Summer said, patting the credit card in her pocket. "I mean, it's not like we're poor. And I'll just bribe him with sex. Or food. Either one works."
Marissa kept silent as Summer babbled on about how Seth seems to enjoy her cooking more then her loving, which Marissa couldn't really care less about. All she kept thinking about was how she had heard Ryan's voice last night, leaving a message for Seth. The couple was too busy getting 'busy' to hear the phone ring. Marissa had made a run for it, thinking maybe Kirsten called and one of the kids may be sick or hurt, or something. But, thankfully, the machine picked up right before she did.
His voice felt soothing, but scary at the same time.
What would she have done if she had picked up?
Oh, hey Ryan. It's your ex. Why didn't you tell Seth we broke up? Do you still love me? I love you.
Could she be any more stupid? Marissa argued with herself that that's probably what she should have done. Salvage what they had, instead of sheepishly watching the answering machine as his voice boomed through it.
His voice sounded unsure, but steady.
One thing she did notice, as she glanced down at the phone she almost picked up.
"Ocean Motel" was brightly displayed on the caller id.
Something was up. Was he with another girl? But why would he call Seth if he was with another girl?
Marissa had thought so much, she fell asleep, barely noticing that someone else was leaving a message.
"And so, like, you would think that by wearing chocolate flavored panties we would be compromising. But no," Summer rolled her eyes. "Seth said it's not like *real* food. Let me tell you something, that boy has no idea what *real* food is."
"Wait, chocolate flavored what. . ." Marissa grimaced.
Summer blushed, but quickly made a sharp turn, causing both the girls to forget what had just been mentioned.
"Yeah, I kind of acquired Seth's rambling over the years." Summer said. "It's annoying."
Marissa nodded in agreement and both girls laughed as they pulled up to the Boston Harbor Mall, ready to shop till they would drop.
Or max out Seth's VISA, whatever came first.
******
Why the fuck did Anna call him?
And what the hell was with that message?
Was she purposely trying to get Summer pissed at him?
Dumb question, he thought.
Easy answer - yes.
Anna wanted Summer out of the picture.
Seth thought about his uneasily as he picked up the phone, searching the caller id for Ryan's celll number and pressed 'talk', listening as it dialed.
"Hello?" A groggy voice responded.
"Atwood, it's me. And I have a huge problem."
"Summer maxed out the visa again?"
"Well, that's happening as we speak, but no. Anna's stalking me. She called me."
"She called you?"
"At home. And left a message. And ended it with a perky, 'say hi to Summer for me'."
"Wow."
"She's a home wrecker, it's official."
"Yeah."
"So, Marissa's here."
"Yeah, Jimmy called me to ask what was going on. So I figured."
"What is going on, man?"
"We broke up." Ryan said uncomfortably. "Three weeks ago."
"Well," Seth's head was over flooding with thoughts. "Summer's taking her back to the airport now. Yup, back to Orange County." Seth tapped his fingers on the kitchen table, letting his plan unfold, "So, what are you doing this week, Ryan?"
Ryan didn't answer.
"Moping. I see. Ok, well why don't you come visit us? You need to get away from California, man, trust me. Boston air is so pure, it'll free your mind."
"I don't know, planes, aren't my thing."
"Nothing's, 'your' thing, Ryan."
"True. Still. . ."
"You're coming." Seth whined. "I miss you."
"Fine." Ryan said, figuring Seth was right, Boston would do him some good. Getting away from California, from Orange County, from Newport, would do him good. Getting away from her. "Marissa's gone, right?"
"So gone." Seth said, biting his lip and cracking his knuckles.
"Ok, well I have to wait for Kirsten to get back and take over at work."
"So, in two days then?" Seth asked excitedly.
"Two days." Ryan confirmed, wondering if he was making a bad choice.
"Later." Seth quickly hung up before Seth could change his mind.
He was rubbing his hands together, congratulating himself at being so menacing and good willed when he heard the doorbell ring.
He swung the door open, expecting to see his mother and kids, but instead found that tiny blonde, beaming up at him, seductively.
"Can I come in?"
"Anna, no." Seth said strongly. "That little thing you pulled with the message. That wasn't nice."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just," She started to tear. "I really need to talk."
"Ok." Seth ushered her inside, making sure Summer was long gone. He closed the door behind her, "Let me talk first, because I have a hell of a lot to say to you, Anna Stern."
{A Sequel To Merry Christmas!}
{Disclaimer} I own the OC and Seth Cohen. Oh, and I'm a pathological liar.
{A/N} again, an anti anna chapter. and a longggg one!
{Chapter 7: Things To Say}
Seth blinked his eyes open, thanking god it was a Saturday morning, which meant he got to sleep late. His nostrils immediately perked up, smelling the bacon he could hear sizzling downstairs. He yawned, stretching his arms outward, realizing he was all alone in bed. He glanced at Summer's alarm clock, which blinked 9:05.
Still too early, Seth decided, as he rolled back over in bed.
******
"Ok, now I backed off last night." Summer said as she looked through her kitchen cabinets for a clean plate.
Marissa leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table, eyeing Summer as she pranced around the kitchen like freakin' Martha Stewart.
Wow, how she's changed.
She's so in charge, in the know of what she is and where she is.
Marissa couldn't help but feel jealous as Summer placed some freshly cooked bacon on the plate she had retrieved.
"So you owe me an explanation." Summer continued, as she poured orange juice into a glass and placed it on a tray, along with the plate of food.
Marissa cleared her throat hesitantly as Summer turned swiftly towards the eggs she was scrambling, placing some on the plate as well.
"Hold that thought." Summer said, her cheeks becoming red with embarrassment. "I have to bring this to Seth."
"Oh, you *have* to?" Marissa laughed, taking a plate and helping herself to some bacon and eggs.
Summer just gave her a weary look as she grabbed the tray and carefully made her way up the stairs, only stopping by the stairway to grab a rose from the vase on the hallway table and placing it, very carefully, on the tray.
Summer opened her bedroom door with her foot, placing the tray down on the bench at the end of the bed, placing her hands on her hips.
She knew Seth would still be asleep, but the task of waking him up was somewhat of a debate for her own mind.
She could violently jump on the bed, which she loved.
Or, she could kiss him gently. Although, that type of arousal might make her completely forget about Marissa, who was patiently waiting downstairs for her to come back so she could spill her guts about why she was hiding in their bushes.
Summer opted for a mix of both approaches, sitting on the edge of the bed and pushing Seth's legs, ever so gently.
"Wake up, Cohen!" She shouted into his ear, slowly crawling towards his face, lying on top of him.
"I'm up, Cohen." Seth mumbled. "You do realize it's your last name too, right?" He yawned, amused at Summer's tactics to wake him up.
Summer simply grinned, showing off her pearly whites. What was she hiding up her sleeve?
"You're not pregnant again, are you?" Seth asked, not surprised by the scowl, frown, and immediate slap he had received. "So, what's going on?"
"I made you breakfast."
"Congratulations?" Seth asked, jokingly, wrapping his arms around her. "You didn't have to do that. I know how to pour my own Captain Crunch into a bowl, thank you very much."
Summer placed her hands on his bare chest, tapping her nails on him, impatiently, and then nodded towards the tray of food.
Seth looked towards that direction, his mouth opening slowly with drool.
"You made me breakfast." Seth said softly, in disbelief. "Like, a *real* breakfast."
"You deserve it." She said. "Last night, was," Summer grinned, shuddering at the thought of the pleasures only Seth Cohen could give her.
"You weren't so bad yourself." Seth said, pushing Summer aside as he dug into his food. "And this is actually not bad either."
"I'm going to go chill with Coop. You can eat and when you're done, get dressed and come downstairs." Summer said, before jumping off the bed.
Seth grabbed her arm, placing his fork of eggs down on the tray, and kissing her gently. "I love you."
Summer sighed, running her hands through his curly hair. "Same here."
For as long as they had been married, Summer had real problems saying those three little words. 'I love you'. Even though she did. Completely. It was just. . . hard. She had issues with trust and love and all that stuff. Thank god, Seth understood.
"Go find out why Cooper was rummaging through our front yard yesterday." Seth said as Summer left the room, rolling her eyes lovingly.
*****
Marissa slipped a forkful of eggs into her mouth. Surprisingly, Summer wasn't that bad of a cook.
"Hey, sorry." Summer said quickly, making herself a plate of food.
"So, what did I need to explain again?" Marissa asked innocently as Summer sat across from her.
"Let's start with. . .why you were crashing in our front yard."
"I drank on the flight over. . ."
Summer, always quick with her speak, interrupted with her interrogation, "Why did you fly over here? Why isn't Ryan here? Why were you drinking?"
Marissa gave Summer a murderous look to slow down as she chomped on bacon, "I came here to escape California. Ryan isn't here, because, he doesn't know I'm here. And I drank because I couldn't stop thinking about him."
"Did you guys have a fight?" Summer asked, unknowingly and concerned.
"Yes. Over wedding invitations." Marissa said, a tiny spark in her eyes dying slowly.
Summer noticed this and cringed slightly. Here she was, happy as could be and her best friend was suffering.
"How long has this been going on?" Summer asked, placing her hand on Marissa's.
"Three weeks." Marissa said gently, smiling at Summer's concern.
Summer smiled as she cleared the table, watching Marissa's next move.
"Thanks, Sum. For breakfast and for listening."
"No prob, Coop." Summer said. "But don't expect me to cook again anytime soon while you're here. This was just your lucky day."
"That's ok, because my eggs are way better." Seth announced, grabbing Summer from behind.
"In your dreams, Cohen." Summer giggled as she turned to face him, noticing Marissa's longing glare.
"I don't really dream about eggs, Summer." Seth said, contemplatively. "Unless you're covered in them. Or serving them to me. Nude." He had obviously completely forgotten about their visitor until he followed Summer's gaze to Marissa, who was uncomfortably getting up from the kitchen table. "Not that we ever do that type of thing." Seth said, Summer automatically letting go of him and going back to the dishes.
"I'm going to go," Marissa started, but shook her head, giving up. "Sleep."
"Me too." Seth said, ready to follow, noticing Summer's menacing stare.
"You," Summer screeched, pointing a sudsy dish at him. "Stay."
Marissa threw Seth an apathetic look as she made her way upstairs, away from the fighting lovebirds.
"Yes, Summer, darling?" Seth asked.
"Why didn't you tell me Ryan was fighting with Marissa?"
"Because, I didn't know." Seth said confidently, but cracked his knuckles. Of course, he knew. Ryan told him everything, but he swore not to say a word.
"Don't lie to me, Seth." Summer said sternly, putting away the last of the dishes. "Or else what happened last night, won't happen again, for a long, *long* time."
Seth gulped, placing his hands around her once more. "They fight all the time, Summer, it's no big deal."
"Marissa seems to think it's a big deal this time." Summer said wearily, "She came all the way here to escape it."
Seth gave a concerned look upwards, where Marissa was just lying down on Charlotte's bed. From what he knew, Ryan and Marissa were constantly fighting, but they were still on good terms. Unless a very recent fight finally struck a chord with the two.
"She even drank." Summer said. "I'm taking her for a girl's day out. She needs it."
"But," Seth groaned. "I wanted to spend the day with you."
"Well, you could come along and carry our bags for us." Summer said, smiling evilly.
"Uh, no." Seth said quickly. "I forgot that um, Charlotte, I promised her that I would take her to the zoo. Yeah."
"Kirsten could take the kids." Summer slipped her hand around his waist, pulling him in closer, so that her chest popped up against his, something he couldn't resist.
"No, my mom? At the zoo? With children. Not smart, Summer, not smart."
"Fine." Summer said, batting her eyelashes. "Can I have your credit card?"
"Summer," Seth began, and she pressed up against him more, rendering him helpless.
He took his wallet out of his pocket, which was bulging from arousal.
Summer snatched it, sifting through the credit cards, grabbing the VISA she knew had the most cash on it.
"I love these things." Summer said, pointing to her breasts and bounced off, much to the disappointment of Seth, who leaned back against the counter, mystified over the power Summer had over him.
He then glanced at the phone, noticing a blinking red dot, which meant they had messages waiting to be heard.
'I guess with Cooper being here and the fact that I completely tired out Summer last night, she forgot to check the messages.' Seth thought, with a crack of grin, as he pressed the flashing light.
The recording started speaking, stating that the Cohen's had two new messages.
Seth smiled excitedly. They really didn't know many people in Boston, so whoever left a message was either a ) a hang up, b ) a wrong number or c) an oc resident.
"Hey, it's Ryan. Just wanted to see what's up. Call me back. Um, bye."
Ryan. A man of so, few words.
"Next message," The recording stated and Seth kept his ears keen.
"Hi Seth." The voice screeched and he quickly jumped up in realization, glancing towards the stairway, where Summer had disappeared. "It's Anna. I think we should really talk about the other night. There is a lot to talk about. Please, call me back at this number," She continued to flirtatiously say the numbers as Seth frantically ran to the answering machine, trying to find the 'delete' button. "Oh and Seth, I love you. Say hi to Summer for me!"
A loud beep followed and an abrupt 'end of messages' from his automated friend.
Seth stared at the phone in shock, quickly pressing delete.
"Hey, Seth, where are the keys to the car?" Summer's voice called.
"Would you like to delete this message?" The answering machine asked him.
Seth glanced at Summer, who appeared in the doorway, smiling sweetly at him.
Yes, I'd like to delete this message, he thought.
And delete Anna's existence for that matter.
He pressed 'enter' and sighed as the automated voice told him his message was indeed, deleted.
"Who called?" Summer asked.
"Ryan." Seth said quickly. "I'll call him back later."
"Where are your keys?" Summer asked again, adjusting the purse on her shoulders.
"Here." Seth searched his pocket and produced his car keys for her. "Drive carefully."
"Are you ok?" Summer said, raising her eyebrow.
Before he could reply, Marissa came behind Summer, dragging her feet.
"Are we doing this or what?" Marissa asked.
"Coop, don't be such a downer. This will be so much fun!" Summer said brightly, pushing Marissa towards the door as she grabbed the keys from Seth.
"Summer," Seth said quickly, grabbing her arm before she left. Marissa rolled her eyes at the couple and went on towards the car. "Do you like the luxuries we enjoy, Summer? Because, that credit card is not a toy."
"Seth," Summer chided him, "I grew up in California. I think I know how a credit card works!" She kissed his lips quickly and he grabbed her arm again.
Summer stared at him, crossing her arms, impatiently.
"Seth, as a former shopaholic, I am well aware of what stress this is causing you; your credit card in my palm, but really, I'll be fine." She waved off his concern. "I'm well aware that we aren't in Newport. I'm just going to get some things for the kids." She kissed him again, hinting that she was done and ready to get going.
"Socks." Seth said, giving up. "I need socks."
"Ok, we'll be back in a few hours." Summer called as she climbed into the car, where Marissa was dozing off, restless and impatient. "With socks!"
*******
Summer let her cheerleader, award winning smile vanish as soon as Seth was back in the car.
"Marissa!" She wailed, and the girl tumbled awake, eyeing Summer with concern.
"What's wrong?" Marissa asked slowly, wondering if Anna had paid another visit to the household.
Summer shuddered, starting the car up.
"I was just thinking of how disappointed Seth is going to be when I max out his credit card on those Gucci shoes I was telling you about." Summer said, putting on her comfortable, evil grin.
"Oh, I thought it was something serious." Marissa laughed.
Summer looked at Marissa with shock. "What could be more serious then breaking my husband's heart after buying killer shoes that I'll wear, oh, once for 300 bucks, which is really a steal compared to Newport's prices?"
Marissa shrugged as Summer pulled out of the driveway, ready to invade the mall.
"I'm not going to worry about it, though." Summer said, patting the credit card in her pocket. "I mean, it's not like we're poor. And I'll just bribe him with sex. Or food. Either one works."
Marissa kept silent as Summer babbled on about how Seth seems to enjoy her cooking more then her loving, which Marissa couldn't really care less about. All she kept thinking about was how she had heard Ryan's voice last night, leaving a message for Seth. The couple was too busy getting 'busy' to hear the phone ring. Marissa had made a run for it, thinking maybe Kirsten called and one of the kids may be sick or hurt, or something. But, thankfully, the machine picked up right before she did.
His voice felt soothing, but scary at the same time.
What would she have done if she had picked up?
Oh, hey Ryan. It's your ex. Why didn't you tell Seth we broke up? Do you still love me? I love you.
Could she be any more stupid? Marissa argued with herself that that's probably what she should have done. Salvage what they had, instead of sheepishly watching the answering machine as his voice boomed through it.
His voice sounded unsure, but steady.
One thing she did notice, as she glanced down at the phone she almost picked up.
"Ocean Motel" was brightly displayed on the caller id.
Something was up. Was he with another girl? But why would he call Seth if he was with another girl?
Marissa had thought so much, she fell asleep, barely noticing that someone else was leaving a message.
"And so, like, you would think that by wearing chocolate flavored panties we would be compromising. But no," Summer rolled her eyes. "Seth said it's not like *real* food. Let me tell you something, that boy has no idea what *real* food is."
"Wait, chocolate flavored what. . ." Marissa grimaced.
Summer blushed, but quickly made a sharp turn, causing both the girls to forget what had just been mentioned.
"Yeah, I kind of acquired Seth's rambling over the years." Summer said. "It's annoying."
Marissa nodded in agreement and both girls laughed as they pulled up to the Boston Harbor Mall, ready to shop till they would drop.
Or max out Seth's VISA, whatever came first.
******
Why the fuck did Anna call him?
And what the hell was with that message?
Was she purposely trying to get Summer pissed at him?
Dumb question, he thought.
Easy answer - yes.
Anna wanted Summer out of the picture.
Seth thought about his uneasily as he picked up the phone, searching the caller id for Ryan's celll number and pressed 'talk', listening as it dialed.
"Hello?" A groggy voice responded.
"Atwood, it's me. And I have a huge problem."
"Summer maxed out the visa again?"
"Well, that's happening as we speak, but no. Anna's stalking me. She called me."
"She called you?"
"At home. And left a message. And ended it with a perky, 'say hi to Summer for me'."
"Wow."
"She's a home wrecker, it's official."
"Yeah."
"So, Marissa's here."
"Yeah, Jimmy called me to ask what was going on. So I figured."
"What is going on, man?"
"We broke up." Ryan said uncomfortably. "Three weeks ago."
"Well," Seth's head was over flooding with thoughts. "Summer's taking her back to the airport now. Yup, back to Orange County." Seth tapped his fingers on the kitchen table, letting his plan unfold, "So, what are you doing this week, Ryan?"
Ryan didn't answer.
"Moping. I see. Ok, well why don't you come visit us? You need to get away from California, man, trust me. Boston air is so pure, it'll free your mind."
"I don't know, planes, aren't my thing."
"Nothing's, 'your' thing, Ryan."
"True. Still. . ."
"You're coming." Seth whined. "I miss you."
"Fine." Ryan said, figuring Seth was right, Boston would do him some good. Getting away from California, from Orange County, from Newport, would do him good. Getting away from her. "Marissa's gone, right?"
"So gone." Seth said, biting his lip and cracking his knuckles.
"Ok, well I have to wait for Kirsten to get back and take over at work."
"So, in two days then?" Seth asked excitedly.
"Two days." Ryan confirmed, wondering if he was making a bad choice.
"Later." Seth quickly hung up before Seth could change his mind.
He was rubbing his hands together, congratulating himself at being so menacing and good willed when he heard the doorbell ring.
He swung the door open, expecting to see his mother and kids, but instead found that tiny blonde, beaming up at him, seductively.
"Can I come in?"
"Anna, no." Seth said strongly. "That little thing you pulled with the message. That wasn't nice."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just," She started to tear. "I really need to talk."
"Ok." Seth ushered her inside, making sure Summer was long gone. He closed the door behind her, "Let me talk first, because I have a hell of a lot to say to you, Anna Stern."