(Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. So don't sue me. Please.)
A Note from the Author: This is more like Chapter Twenty, part two. I couldn't very well fit Chrismukkah into two chapters; it is two holidays in one, after all! But anyhoo, sorry to you hopefuls, but Ryan is not going with Summer to New York City. It would look too suspicious if they both went there, don't ya think? And plus, angst! Remember that? It'll inevitably grace you with its presence soon, kind of like a hangover from a Chrismukkah party or sore feet from Boxing Day. And, geez. Twenty-one chapters now. I really do not have any idea when this fic will be finished, so, curse the hotness of Ryan and Summer for making me write so much! This chapter might sound a bit rushed even, because I had so many events to cover but I didn't want to have to spend so many chapters on like, two days. Ah well. Onwards. (Btw, OCqt04: sorry, but there was no way I can update twice before Wednesday because I have exams going on.)
Chapter Twenty-OneHe just stared at her, silent and expressionless. Cold, like he had always been ever since she could remember.
"Didn't you hear me, Dad?" she questioned.
"Yes, I heard you." He had might as well been discussing the latest weather forecast.
"She's dead. As in, like, six feet under. Well, she will be, the day after tomorrow," Summer remarked bitterly. She wanted, needed, those words to sting him. Really, any reaction at all would have been appreciated as a nice change from the usual.
"Uh huh," her father replied inattentively as he jotted some notes down on a document. "Listen, muffin, Daddy's got some work to do here. Do you need any money for New York? I know I cut down on your allowance, but I made up for it yesterday, didn't I?"
Money. It had always been about money for him, money for his daughter. The other rich daddy's girls were always given pretty little ponies and giant stuffed bears for their birthdays, but what Summer had always received was a thickly wadded envelope stuffed full of cold hard cash. He had always said that she could buy her own ponies and bears, but it wouldn't have been the same. His affection became currency, doled out twice a year on holidays, measured by his moods. Summer was sick of it, but she had to play along. If she couldn't have his love, she'd take every last cent of his money.
It was only fair.
"Yeah… I'm thinking of hitting all of those totally famous stores, so I'm going to like, need a lot. Okay, Daddy?" she answered with a syrupy tone in her voice. She wanted to believe that she was patronizing him, humouring him. But she knew that it was probably the other way around.
"Sure, muffin. You can take that credit card, the one with the dove on it. Leave the gold one, though, for your step-mom."
"Alright." She flipped expertly through his wallet, finding the right card. "Love ya," she called over her shoulder as she strolled out of his office. Of course she didn't mean it.
She didn't wait for a reply. Summer's stomach was still doing flip-flops; although she never showed it, she had always felt nervous around her father. It would be nice to hear Ryan's voice now, just like it would always be nice to hear his voice. But especially when she felt… like this.
Summer didn't want to be a clingy sort of girlfriend (oh, God, could they even be considered a couple yet?). In other words, she didn't want to just be another Marissa, running to Ryan whenever she had the slightest problem. But the way he made her feel with just his presence, just by being there with an arm slung around her shoulders… like that. That was different, somehow.
She scrutinized the packed suitcase in her room, making sure that she brought all the essentials. Underwear. Socks. Picture of Ryan (when did she get so soft?). They were spending her last day in Newport (Boxing Day), apparently shopping for the present that he hadn't bought her yet. "It's a matter of personal choice," he had said. And then it would be one whole week in New York City away from Newport. Away from Ryan. She tried not to think about it.
Meanwhile, in the pool house, Ryan was back to his old familiar brooding habits.
Summer would be gone one whole week. Away from Newport. Away from him. He tried not to think about it.
Seth wouldn't let him anyway. Today the boy had brought out the PS2, declaring it a day of solidarity, of celebrating their lack of girlfriends. "Fight the power!" he had proclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. It was strange. After spending more than a year living with the Cohens, sometimes Ryan still had no idea what Seth was talking about.
The two were currently engrossed in a ninja game, their two players against the entire Chinese army, when Seth decided to curb some irrational thoughts he had been having. They had become doubts, then fears. It was now or never.
"So…" he began as the game finished loading, "what did Summer get you yesterday? Was it big or small? Shiny and flashy, or demure and prudish? Something you display in your room or… something you hide in your closet?"
Ryan's hands froze briefly on the controller. An enemy took a swipe at his player. "Nothing special, man. It was… It was nothing."
"You looked like you liked it though. Like you had seen the light and opened your first comic book or something. Like you were Lois Lane, and you had found out who Superman was." Seth's player acquired a power-up, and it was currently charged enough to take five enemies out at once.
"What? I was just, uh, pretending to like it. You know how Summer gets," Ryan protested, his character currently riding up to encounter one of the sub-bosses. "Fuck!"
Seth used his player's pike to charge through a clustered group of gatekeepers. He was too far away to help Ryan now. "But you guys looked comfortable. I didn't want to interrupt your kiss-me-now-Eduardo lovefest."
Ryan let out an empty chuckle. "Funny." His player was being pummelled by the sub-boss, and there were no saving food items in sight.
Seth's tone changed from joking to serious. "Yeah. It's not."
With that, Ryan regarded him, stunned, his hands motionless. His character promptly died at the hands of the henchman. "Do you mean – Oh shit!" he remembered. "What time is it?"
His 'brother' glanced at the clock briefly. "One o' clock. Got somewhere you need to be?" His player rode up to the last boss.
"Uh yeah. Last-minute Chrismukkah present. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, man, take all the time you want. Anything you want," Seth replied cryptically, as his pike-wielding character initiated the final battle.
Ryan grabbed his jacket and the keys to the car, rushing out of the house. He was so tempted, but he couldn't tell Seth the truth now. He had to pretend that everything was still the same, that he wasn't dating the ex-girlfriend, and that he didn't have feelings for her. He felt that Seth deserved this, this moment of consolation, before the truth came out.
It was only fair.
Summer noticed how quiet Ryan was being at the noisy mall full of shoppers looking for bargains. Quieter than usual, at least. It was unsettling. She wondered if something had happened at the Cohen residence, (did Seth say anything about yesterday?) but decided not to press further. Whatever it was, it must be pretty important and complicated, and she couldn't deal with that now, not when she had to endure a plane trip and a week away from everyone she knew, in order to attend her mother's funeral.
Her train of thought ended when they stopped in front of a pet store.
Summer looked at the displays, then at Ryan, then back to the store. "Oh… my… God."
"Merry Chrismukkah," he simply stated.
They toured the store, Ryan's intimidating presence looking out of place among the furry little animals. He occasionally made a joke here or there, like how she'd have to start with something small or otherwise she'd kill it, but Summer knew his mind wasn't really on her skills as an animal caretaker.
They decided on a gerbil, which was expensive enough as it was, as Ryan only had the meagre wages he had received while working at The Crab Shack. There was the cage to buy, and the wood shavings, and the food pellets, and a wheel… It probably had more knickknacks in its room than Summer's.
As Ryan dropped her off at her house, promising to pet-sit while she was away, the two looked longingly at each other in the car, and then realized that they'd have to part at some time. They shared a lingering good-bye kiss and reluctantly pulled away. Neither wanted to say 'good-bye' out loud. Ryan tried to keep their minds off of it, and remarked that the gerbil needed a name before she left, because he was not just going to call it 'Gerbil'.
Summer lowered her face, scrutinizing the contents of the cage sitting between them.
"Gerbil. I dub thee Chino."