Ryan woke up the next morning, not exactly sure where he dropped his cell phone, and figured he must have dropped it under his bed. He'd have to remember to ask Seth to get it for him.
Since no one had come up carrying a breakfast tray, Ryan figured it was alright for him to go down and join them. After a quick shower, Ryan headed downstairs, and was surprised to find that no one was around.
"Hey, Mighty Mouse," Seth said from behind him, "You're up. I was just coming to get your breakfast. My orders were to bring it up to you."
"Where is everyone?" Ryan asked, ignoring both the Mighty Mouse comment and the fact Seth was supposed to bring his breakfast upstairs.
"The firing squad had to go to work for a little while. They both said they'd be home around lunch time." Seth told him.
"Firing squad? Seth, what are you talking about?" Ryan asked as he took the orange juice out of the refrigerator.
"Well, Ryan," Seth said, sitting at a bar stool, "It seems your girlfriend isn't too bright when she's been drinking. She called here last night, told Dad you called her. She told him how she was supposed to call your cell phone, but that you weren't answering it so she called the house wanting to talk to you. Come to think of it, no wonder Summer thought you two were the perfect couple. Not real bright on your part either calling Marissa ten minutes after Dad told you not to. Definitely not too bright."
Danm, Ryan thought, that was so stupid. Damn.
"How did he know it was ten minutes later?" Ryan asked.
"Didn't you wonder where your cell phone was? He has it. Took it from you last night, and saw what time you called her. Twice." Seth explained, "All I can say, man, is you owe Mom a huge thank you for making you take that percocet last night. I'd hate to think what would have happened if you were still awake last night when Dad went up. Something about your head on a platter or your ass in a sling, maybe both. He was definitely having a Terminator moment. I just know I wouldn't have wanted to be you. Hell, I still don't want to be you. Dude, what were you thinking? Do you like getting in trouble? Listening to the lectures, being grounded?"
"Seth, I just wanted to talk to her. Tell her I was sorry about what happened. See if she wanted to talk." Ryan told him.
"And you couldn't have told her that today, like Mom and Dad said?" Seth said, "Come on, you thought if you called her last night on her cell phone she'd leave Holly's party, and she'd magically stop drinking."
"I'm going to go call her." Ryan said. He didn't want to talk to Seth any more about his reasons for calling Marissa. He knew he'd be going over it again and again when Sandy and Kirsten got home, and he really didn't have much of an answer for them either. He wanted to call her. He wanted to talk to her. That's about all he could say. From there, he knew they would definitely do the talking, followed by the lecturing, probably the yelling, and naturally the grounding. Again.
"Use the phone in here." Seth told him, "You're supposed to eat breakfast and take those antibiotics."
When Ryan just stared at him, Seth added, "I'm just telling you what Mom said. So call Marissa from here so you can eat something and take your pill. I'm leaving so you can have your privacy. I'll be setting up the playstation. Might as well get that in before Dad gets home."
Seth had finished setting up the playstation, getting out the remotes, preparing for their first Ninja battle in months when Ryan came into the den.
"Look, Seth." Ryan said, "I, um, need a favor."
"Depends on the favor." Seth joked. "If you want the good control for the Ninja battle then the answer is no. But if all you need is a kidney or something like that, then of course, bro. Anything for you."
"No, seriously, Seth." Ryan told him, "I need you to drive me over to Holly's. Right now."
"I'd rather give you a kidney." Seth deadpanned.
"Seth..." Ryan started to say, but Seth quickly interrupted him,
"No, Ryan. Are you out of your mind? You're not supposed to leave the house. Hell, they don't even like when you get out of bed, and you want to go over to Holly's? Why?"
"It's Marissa." Ryan told him, noticing the way Seth was rolling his eyes, "No, listen. She didn't come home last night from Holly's party. Julie is freaking out, saying she's going to call the cops, Caleb is threatening to institutionalize Marissa, ship her off to rehab. I need to get over there and get her. But I need you to drive me."
"No, Ryan." Seth said. "First, we don't have a car. Mom has hers, Dad has his and ours doesn't come back for another day or two. Second, it's not your problem. It's Marissa's, and Julie's and Grandpa's and Jimmy's. Not your's. Let them handle it. Third, you're already in enough trouble. If you leave this house, Dad will most definitely kick your ass . You'll be grounded until you're forty. Just stop. Okay. Let's just play some playstation and have some breakfast. Try calling her on her cell phone again. But don't go over there."
Ryan just shook his head, "Seth," he said, "I have to. I tried her cell phone. She didn't answer. Julie said Jimmy and Hailey are away so he can't help. She also said Caleb went over there, but they pretended no one was home. But I think she'll talk to me. I have to at least try."
"How are you going to get there?" Seth asked. He was getting mad again that Ryan could be so stupid, again. "We don't have a car. You can't ride your bike. Do you plan on walking? Down to Holly's beach house?"
Ryan thought about it for a minute before telling Seth, "If I walk down along the beach it should only take me about fifteen, twenty minutes. That's not that long. I can talk to Marissa and then drive her home. I'll be back in about an hour, maybe two. Your parents won't even be home yet so they won't have to know."
"My parents." Seth snorted, "Did you ever consider them to be your parents, too? Maybe not by blood, or even name, but they care about you the same way they care about me, and yet, you keep trying to upset them." Seth just shook his head as he continued, "You want to go and chase after Marissa? Save her from whatever she needs to be saved from this week. Fine. Go. But if Mom or Dad calls, I'm not lying for you. I'm telling them where you are. This time I just hope Dad kicks your ass hard enough to finally knock some sense into you."
"Seth, look, I'm sorry you're mad. I'm not trying to piss you off, and I definitely don't want to upset Sandy and Kirsten, but Marissa is drinking because of me. Because I left. She'll end up in rehab because of me. I have to try to help her before that happens." Ryan tried to explain. He really didn't want to upset anyone, especially his family, but Marissa needed help. And Ryan felt like he could help her.
"Marissa is drinking because she's Marissa. Not because of you. Marissa took those pills in Mexico because she's Marissa. She got mixed up with Oliver because she's Marissa. Do you see the pattern here?" Seth told him, "But you go, Mighty Mouse, you go save the day. And good luck to you. You're gonna need it." And with that, Seth walked out of the den and headed for his room.
Ryan thought about what Seth said for a few minutes. He really didn't want to make any of them mad, not again. But Marissa didn't start drinking again until he left Newport. Well, she didn't drink much until after he left Newport. And he knew she didn't do drugs while he was still in Newport. But once he left, she started. And now he was back, and figured if he could just talk to her, he could help her stop.
He walked out the back door and down torwards the beach. As he walked, he continued to think about what exactly he should say to her when he got to Holly's. Unfortunately, it was a longer walk then he first figured, and he was in worse shape then he thought. By the time he finally saw Holly's beach house, he was sweating, out of breath, and in some serious pain. But at least he made it to Holly's. He hoped Marissa would be able to drive him home, because he knew he wouldn't be able to make the walk back.
Ryan knocked on the back door and waited for someone to answer. It took a few minutes before Holly came to the door.
"Well, you really do look like shit." she told him when she let him in.
"Nice to see you too, Holly." Ryan snidely said, "Where's Marissa?"
"Upstairs. Hiding from your grandfather." Holly giggled, "You know, it's good you two don't date anymore. Otherwise you'd be dating your aunt!" And then Holly started to laugh.
Yeah, still the same Holly, Ryan thought, the drunken whore. It didn't surprise him that she'd consider him a Cohen, too. She never thought much of him or Seth so naturally she would lump them together as family.
"Just get her." Ryan told her.
As she stumbled away she called to Marissa, "Hey, 'rissa. Your nephew's here to see you."
Ryan stood there, shaking his head, hoping that Marissa wasn't in the same shape as Holly. It would make it much more difficult to bring her home if she was.
"Oh my God, Ryan, look at you!" he heard from the top of the stairs. He turned around to see Marissa coming down. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she put her hand on his face, "I mean, I know Kirsten said Eddie and his friends attacked you, but I didn't know it was this bad. You look awful!"
Ryan looked at her for a moment before he said anything, "It's just some cuts and bruises. No big deal. They'll heal and go away. I'm fine. But, um, are you okay?" She didn't look okay. She looked like hell. She had bags and black circles under eyes, her makeup was all smeared and her hair looked like she hadn't washed it in some time. She definitely didn't look like the Marissa he remembered from two months ago, the one who cared a great deal about her appearance.
"Fine," she said, "Just enjoying my summer."
"You call this enjoying your summer?" Ryan told her, "Marissa, your mom is threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is threatening to send you to rehab. Come on, let me bring you home."
"Home?" Marissa snorted. "That's not my home. That's a prison. A big, giant prison. And my mom is always threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is always threatening to send me to rehab. They'll get over it. And yes, I do call this enjoying my summer. What else am I supposed to do? You left. Seth and Summer are mad at me. Luke's gone. My dad is off screwing Hailey all the time. Holly and I are friends again. She's the only friend I've got so she and I are having some fun."
"Well, I'm back, and Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. Come on, Marissa. You know you're better then this. You don't need this. Let's just get out of here. If you don't want to go to your mother's then come with me to my house." Ryan tried to gently tell her.
"Your house? Where, in Chino?" Marissa snidely said. "How would you know what I need? You left, with your pregnant girlfriend, and then you didn't call any of us. You can't just show up here and expect me to jump back into your arms. You left me for Teresa."
"You told me you understood why I had to do what I did." Ryan shot back, "You know I'm back in Newport. Not Chino. And I didn't expect you to just jump back into my arms. But I sure as hell didn't expect you to be a drunk or do drugs."
"I'm not a drunk and I don't do drugs!" Marissa shouted, "I told you, I'm just enjoying my summer. And by that, I mean just a little drinking, but I'm not doing drugs. And yes, I understood that you had to go help Teresa with her baby, but I don't understand how you could just forget all of us. Not call any of us. Did you even know Seth left? That he blamed me for you leaving and that Summer blamed me for Seth leaving? That you getting Teresa pregnant was somehow my fault?"
"I didn't forget you guys." Ryan said, softly. "Marissa, I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know I messed up when I didn't call. And I'm sorry. But I didn't forget any of you. I missed you all. But I am home now. Back in Newport, and I'm not leaving again. I'm here to stay. I promise. What happened is not your fault. Not any of it. It's no one's fault but my own that I left. So, can we just go? Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. They're worried about you. So are your parents. We're all worried about you."
"Well, thanks for the concern." Marissa told him, "But I'm fine. I don't need anyone to worry about me. I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm glad you're home. But I don't want to leave. I hate that prison my mother calls home. I hate all the fighting she and Caleb are doing. I don't want to see them. Either of them. My dad and Hailey come home in a couple of days. I'm going to ask if I can live with him again. Now there is nothing Caleb can do. He's powerless. He can't blackmail me anymore. Until then, I'm staying here with Holly, and having some fun. I know you're not a social, but she's having another thing tonight. Maybe you could come by? If Seth and Summer really aren't mad at me, then bring them, too. We can all have some fun."
"I can't." Ryan told her, "I'm not supposed to be out. Not yet. And I don't think you should stay either. I heard about how out of control Holly's parties have gotten. Worse then last year I heard, and I was at a couple last summer, so I can only imagine. So, come on, come with me. Come back to the Cohen's. I'm sure they won't mind if you want to stay in the pool house until your dad gets back."
"If you're not supposed to be out, then what are you doing here?" Marissa asked.
"I came for you." Ryan said, "I came to bring you home. I wanted to talk to you. Make sure you were okay." Ryan looked at his watch before adding, "We really should get going soon."
"Kirsten and Sandy don't know you're here, do they?" Marissa asked. "That's why you want me to leave so quick. They don't know you left."
"No, they don't know that I'm here, and I'd like to get home before they do." Ryan told her, "But that's not why I want you to leave, too. I want you to come with me so you're safe, so we can talk."
"I am safe, and you never want to talk." she said, "You better go, Ryan. It was great to see you, and I hope you feel better soon. But I'm not leaving, not until my dad gets back. Maybe when you're feeling better, we can get together. We can talk then if you want."
"Marissa," Ryan said sharply, "I am not leaving without you. If I don't bring you home, your mother will call the cops. She's not fooling around. You don't need to be at another one of Holly's party. I know it's not just a little alcohol. I know you called Sandy last night, and I know you were drunk. Please just come with me."
Marissa didn't answer Ryan right away. First she walked over to the door and opened it and then she told him, "Get out, Ryan. I'm staying. If my mother wants to call the police then she can. But I can promise you, she won't. Not after the cops came to her house and arrested her husband. She wouldn't have the nerve to call them. Now, go home."
Ryan stared at her for a while, trying to figure out what else to say to get her to leave with him. She may not believe that her mother would call the police, but Ryan did. He talked to Julie on the phone, and he didn't doubt for a minute that she was serious. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't going to get the chance to talk to Marissa any longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that distinctive black BMW screech to a halt in front of Holly's house, and knew his morning was about to go from bad to worse.
Since no one had come up carrying a breakfast tray, Ryan figured it was alright for him to go down and join them. After a quick shower, Ryan headed downstairs, and was surprised to find that no one was around.
"Hey, Mighty Mouse," Seth said from behind him, "You're up. I was just coming to get your breakfast. My orders were to bring it up to you."
"Where is everyone?" Ryan asked, ignoring both the Mighty Mouse comment and the fact Seth was supposed to bring his breakfast upstairs.
"The firing squad had to go to work for a little while. They both said they'd be home around lunch time." Seth told him.
"Firing squad? Seth, what are you talking about?" Ryan asked as he took the orange juice out of the refrigerator.
"Well, Ryan," Seth said, sitting at a bar stool, "It seems your girlfriend isn't too bright when she's been drinking. She called here last night, told Dad you called her. She told him how she was supposed to call your cell phone, but that you weren't answering it so she called the house wanting to talk to you. Come to think of it, no wonder Summer thought you two were the perfect couple. Not real bright on your part either calling Marissa ten minutes after Dad told you not to. Definitely not too bright."
Danm, Ryan thought, that was so stupid. Damn.
"How did he know it was ten minutes later?" Ryan asked.
"Didn't you wonder where your cell phone was? He has it. Took it from you last night, and saw what time you called her. Twice." Seth explained, "All I can say, man, is you owe Mom a huge thank you for making you take that percocet last night. I'd hate to think what would have happened if you were still awake last night when Dad went up. Something about your head on a platter or your ass in a sling, maybe both. He was definitely having a Terminator moment. I just know I wouldn't have wanted to be you. Hell, I still don't want to be you. Dude, what were you thinking? Do you like getting in trouble? Listening to the lectures, being grounded?"
"Seth, I just wanted to talk to her. Tell her I was sorry about what happened. See if she wanted to talk." Ryan told him.
"And you couldn't have told her that today, like Mom and Dad said?" Seth said, "Come on, you thought if you called her last night on her cell phone she'd leave Holly's party, and she'd magically stop drinking."
"I'm going to go call her." Ryan said. He didn't want to talk to Seth any more about his reasons for calling Marissa. He knew he'd be going over it again and again when Sandy and Kirsten got home, and he really didn't have much of an answer for them either. He wanted to call her. He wanted to talk to her. That's about all he could say. From there, he knew they would definitely do the talking, followed by the lecturing, probably the yelling, and naturally the grounding. Again.
"Use the phone in here." Seth told him, "You're supposed to eat breakfast and take those antibiotics."
When Ryan just stared at him, Seth added, "I'm just telling you what Mom said. So call Marissa from here so you can eat something and take your pill. I'm leaving so you can have your privacy. I'll be setting up the playstation. Might as well get that in before Dad gets home."
Seth had finished setting up the playstation, getting out the remotes, preparing for their first Ninja battle in months when Ryan came into the den.
"Look, Seth." Ryan said, "I, um, need a favor."
"Depends on the favor." Seth joked. "If you want the good control for the Ninja battle then the answer is no. But if all you need is a kidney or something like that, then of course, bro. Anything for you."
"No, seriously, Seth." Ryan told him, "I need you to drive me over to Holly's. Right now."
"I'd rather give you a kidney." Seth deadpanned.
"Seth..." Ryan started to say, but Seth quickly interrupted him,
"No, Ryan. Are you out of your mind? You're not supposed to leave the house. Hell, they don't even like when you get out of bed, and you want to go over to Holly's? Why?"
"It's Marissa." Ryan told him, noticing the way Seth was rolling his eyes, "No, listen. She didn't come home last night from Holly's party. Julie is freaking out, saying she's going to call the cops, Caleb is threatening to institutionalize Marissa, ship her off to rehab. I need to get over there and get her. But I need you to drive me."
"No, Ryan." Seth said. "First, we don't have a car. Mom has hers, Dad has his and ours doesn't come back for another day or two. Second, it's not your problem. It's Marissa's, and Julie's and Grandpa's and Jimmy's. Not your's. Let them handle it. Third, you're already in enough trouble. If you leave this house, Dad will most definitely kick your ass . You'll be grounded until you're forty. Just stop. Okay. Let's just play some playstation and have some breakfast. Try calling her on her cell phone again. But don't go over there."
Ryan just shook his head, "Seth," he said, "I have to. I tried her cell phone. She didn't answer. Julie said Jimmy and Hailey are away so he can't help. She also said Caleb went over there, but they pretended no one was home. But I think she'll talk to me. I have to at least try."
"How are you going to get there?" Seth asked. He was getting mad again that Ryan could be so stupid, again. "We don't have a car. You can't ride your bike. Do you plan on walking? Down to Holly's beach house?"
Ryan thought about it for a minute before telling Seth, "If I walk down along the beach it should only take me about fifteen, twenty minutes. That's not that long. I can talk to Marissa and then drive her home. I'll be back in about an hour, maybe two. Your parents won't even be home yet so they won't have to know."
"My parents." Seth snorted, "Did you ever consider them to be your parents, too? Maybe not by blood, or even name, but they care about you the same way they care about me, and yet, you keep trying to upset them." Seth just shook his head as he continued, "You want to go and chase after Marissa? Save her from whatever she needs to be saved from this week. Fine. Go. But if Mom or Dad calls, I'm not lying for you. I'm telling them where you are. This time I just hope Dad kicks your ass hard enough to finally knock some sense into you."
"Seth, look, I'm sorry you're mad. I'm not trying to piss you off, and I definitely don't want to upset Sandy and Kirsten, but Marissa is drinking because of me. Because I left. She'll end up in rehab because of me. I have to try to help her before that happens." Ryan tried to explain. He really didn't want to upset anyone, especially his family, but Marissa needed help. And Ryan felt like he could help her.
"Marissa is drinking because she's Marissa. Not because of you. Marissa took those pills in Mexico because she's Marissa. She got mixed up with Oliver because she's Marissa. Do you see the pattern here?" Seth told him, "But you go, Mighty Mouse, you go save the day. And good luck to you. You're gonna need it." And with that, Seth walked out of the den and headed for his room.
Ryan thought about what Seth said for a few minutes. He really didn't want to make any of them mad, not again. But Marissa didn't start drinking again until he left Newport. Well, she didn't drink much until after he left Newport. And he knew she didn't do drugs while he was still in Newport. But once he left, she started. And now he was back, and figured if he could just talk to her, he could help her stop.
He walked out the back door and down torwards the beach. As he walked, he continued to think about what exactly he should say to her when he got to Holly's. Unfortunately, it was a longer walk then he first figured, and he was in worse shape then he thought. By the time he finally saw Holly's beach house, he was sweating, out of breath, and in some serious pain. But at least he made it to Holly's. He hoped Marissa would be able to drive him home, because he knew he wouldn't be able to make the walk back.
Ryan knocked on the back door and waited for someone to answer. It took a few minutes before Holly came to the door.
"Well, you really do look like shit." she told him when she let him in.
"Nice to see you too, Holly." Ryan snidely said, "Where's Marissa?"
"Upstairs. Hiding from your grandfather." Holly giggled, "You know, it's good you two don't date anymore. Otherwise you'd be dating your aunt!" And then Holly started to laugh.
Yeah, still the same Holly, Ryan thought, the drunken whore. It didn't surprise him that she'd consider him a Cohen, too. She never thought much of him or Seth so naturally she would lump them together as family.
"Just get her." Ryan told her.
As she stumbled away she called to Marissa, "Hey, 'rissa. Your nephew's here to see you."
Ryan stood there, shaking his head, hoping that Marissa wasn't in the same shape as Holly. It would make it much more difficult to bring her home if she was.
"Oh my God, Ryan, look at you!" he heard from the top of the stairs. He turned around to see Marissa coming down. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she put her hand on his face, "I mean, I know Kirsten said Eddie and his friends attacked you, but I didn't know it was this bad. You look awful!"
Ryan looked at her for a moment before he said anything, "It's just some cuts and bruises. No big deal. They'll heal and go away. I'm fine. But, um, are you okay?" She didn't look okay. She looked like hell. She had bags and black circles under eyes, her makeup was all smeared and her hair looked like she hadn't washed it in some time. She definitely didn't look like the Marissa he remembered from two months ago, the one who cared a great deal about her appearance.
"Fine," she said, "Just enjoying my summer."
"You call this enjoying your summer?" Ryan told her, "Marissa, your mom is threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is threatening to send you to rehab. Come on, let me bring you home."
"Home?" Marissa snorted. "That's not my home. That's a prison. A big, giant prison. And my mom is always threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is always threatening to send me to rehab. They'll get over it. And yes, I do call this enjoying my summer. What else am I supposed to do? You left. Seth and Summer are mad at me. Luke's gone. My dad is off screwing Hailey all the time. Holly and I are friends again. She's the only friend I've got so she and I are having some fun."
"Well, I'm back, and Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. Come on, Marissa. You know you're better then this. You don't need this. Let's just get out of here. If you don't want to go to your mother's then come with me to my house." Ryan tried to gently tell her.
"Your house? Where, in Chino?" Marissa snidely said. "How would you know what I need? You left, with your pregnant girlfriend, and then you didn't call any of us. You can't just show up here and expect me to jump back into your arms. You left me for Teresa."
"You told me you understood why I had to do what I did." Ryan shot back, "You know I'm back in Newport. Not Chino. And I didn't expect you to just jump back into my arms. But I sure as hell didn't expect you to be a drunk or do drugs."
"I'm not a drunk and I don't do drugs!" Marissa shouted, "I told you, I'm just enjoying my summer. And by that, I mean just a little drinking, but I'm not doing drugs. And yes, I understood that you had to go help Teresa with her baby, but I don't understand how you could just forget all of us. Not call any of us. Did you even know Seth left? That he blamed me for you leaving and that Summer blamed me for Seth leaving? That you getting Teresa pregnant was somehow my fault?"
"I didn't forget you guys." Ryan said, softly. "Marissa, I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know I messed up when I didn't call. And I'm sorry. But I didn't forget any of you. I missed you all. But I am home now. Back in Newport, and I'm not leaving again. I'm here to stay. I promise. What happened is not your fault. Not any of it. It's no one's fault but my own that I left. So, can we just go? Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. They're worried about you. So are your parents. We're all worried about you."
"Well, thanks for the concern." Marissa told him, "But I'm fine. I don't need anyone to worry about me. I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm glad you're home. But I don't want to leave. I hate that prison my mother calls home. I hate all the fighting she and Caleb are doing. I don't want to see them. Either of them. My dad and Hailey come home in a couple of days. I'm going to ask if I can live with him again. Now there is nothing Caleb can do. He's powerless. He can't blackmail me anymore. Until then, I'm staying here with Holly, and having some fun. I know you're not a social, but she's having another thing tonight. Maybe you could come by? If Seth and Summer really aren't mad at me, then bring them, too. We can all have some fun."
"I can't." Ryan told her, "I'm not supposed to be out. Not yet. And I don't think you should stay either. I heard about how out of control Holly's parties have gotten. Worse then last year I heard, and I was at a couple last summer, so I can only imagine. So, come on, come with me. Come back to the Cohen's. I'm sure they won't mind if you want to stay in the pool house until your dad gets back."
"If you're not supposed to be out, then what are you doing here?" Marissa asked.
"I came for you." Ryan said, "I came to bring you home. I wanted to talk to you. Make sure you were okay." Ryan looked at his watch before adding, "We really should get going soon."
"Kirsten and Sandy don't know you're here, do they?" Marissa asked. "That's why you want me to leave so quick. They don't know you left."
"No, they don't know that I'm here, and I'd like to get home before they do." Ryan told her, "But that's not why I want you to leave, too. I want you to come with me so you're safe, so we can talk."
"I am safe, and you never want to talk." she said, "You better go, Ryan. It was great to see you, and I hope you feel better soon. But I'm not leaving, not until my dad gets back. Maybe when you're feeling better, we can get together. We can talk then if you want."
"Marissa," Ryan said sharply, "I am not leaving without you. If I don't bring you home, your mother will call the cops. She's not fooling around. You don't need to be at another one of Holly's party. I know it's not just a little alcohol. I know you called Sandy last night, and I know you were drunk. Please just come with me."
Marissa didn't answer Ryan right away. First she walked over to the door and opened it and then she told him, "Get out, Ryan. I'm staying. If my mother wants to call the police then she can. But I can promise you, she won't. Not after the cops came to her house and arrested her husband. She wouldn't have the nerve to call them. Now, go home."
Ryan stared at her for a while, trying to figure out what else to say to get her to leave with him. She may not believe that her mother would call the police, but Ryan did. He talked to Julie on the phone, and he didn't doubt for a minute that she was serious. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't going to get the chance to talk to Marissa any longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that distinctive black BMW screech to a halt in front of Holly's house, and knew his morning was about to go from bad to worse.