Chapter Twenty
Like It Takes
Caleb showed up at the Cohen household shortly before Marissa made her discovery from the patio behind the house. As soon as he entered, the door shutting almost silently behind him, Julie's head turned in his direction, a large smile stretching across her face and she headed toward him, abandoning her conversation with Kirsten. "Caleb, I didn't know you were coming." She trilled happily, giving him a not so secretive kiss on the cheek.
"I thought I'd come see how Marissa was doing." Caleb told her, shrugging off his coat and handing it Sandy, who happened to be standing close by. "And of course, I wanted to see you, Juju." Sandy rolled his eyes, disgusted.
Julie smiled and allowed him to slip his arm around her waist as they headed toward Kirsten and the others. Sandy tossed Caleb's jacket over the couch and followed after them. "Hello Kiki, Hailey." Caleb greeted, giving both of his daughter's quick pecks on the cheek. He shook hands with Jimmy as well. "I've been meaning to speak to the two of you." His eyes had settled on Jimmy and Julie.
Jimmy's interest peeked in spite of himself; it was unusual that Caleb would want to talk to him outside of making casual conversation and he couldn't help but be interested. Julie looked at her ex-husband for a brief moment before giving Caleb her complete attention; she thought that she knew what he wanted to talk about but kept her mouth shut and her speculations to herself.
"I've decided that I will help pay Marissa's hospital bills." Caleb explained and Jimmy was hit with a surge of emotions. The two most prominent were relief and anger; a part of him wanted to tell Caleb that he could handle it himself, that Marissa was his daughter and he didn't need any help paying for her bills. But he knew that wasn't true, that he couldn't even imagine paying for the staggering bills that he was going to be receiving at anytime.
So, instead, Jimmy extended his hand to Caleb. "We can work out some sort of payment program." He suggested, attempting to hold onto a little bit of his dignity. "I fully intend on paying you back." Caleb waved his hand dismissively before shaking hands with Jimmy, completing the deal.
Julie smiled and looped her arm around Caleb's elbow, leaning close against him. Hailey glared at her and rolled her eyes but Julie didn't act as though she noticed, completing the show but kissing Caleb lightly on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Cal." She said, her smile growing wider. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough."
Caleb assured her that it was nothing and Hailey had a feeling that he was about to assure her of something more then the door to the patio opened and Ryan came hurrying into the living room, with Teresa coming in slowly behind. "Marissa's gone." He said even before everyone had turned to look at him.
Jimmy looked at him with surprise on his face. "Gone?" He repeated. "What do you mean?" Marissa couldn't be gone, he'd just seen her moments before going out to the patio, which was where Ryan had been if he wasn't mistaken.
Ryan sighed. "We got into a fight and she rushed off." He explained. "And now I can't find her."
"Well, she can't have gone far." Julie remarked before she could think better of it. "She can barely walk." Jimmy shot her a look and she fell silent. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."
Ryan looked at Julie for a moment before shifting his attention toward Jimmy and the Cohens, who he figured would be more susceptible to really listen to what he was saying. "She was in a hurry to get as far away from me as she could." He told them.
"She's got to be around." Jimmy said. "But it wouldn't hurt to look." There was no way that he was going to let his daughter be unaccounted for not twenty-four hours after she had just undergone surgery.
Caleb and Julie decided to remain at the house, just in case Marissa showed up here before they could find her elsewhere and everyone had to resist the urge to say something about their decision. As Jimmy and Sandy decided to search the streets heading toward Jimmy's, Ryan noticed that Teresa was gathering her coat and heading for the door. "Where are you going?" He questioned when he got to her.
"I'm going home, Ryan." Teresa told him. "I think me being here any longer is just going to cause more trouble then it already has." She sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened, I really am and when you find Marissa, please tell her that." Teresa headed out the front door, shutting it silently behind her and leaving Ryan staring after her for a moment.
Ryan quickly headed back toward the patio; finding Marissa was more important at this time then anything else.
Hailey decided to go next door, to Julie's, since it made more sense to her that Marissa would have gone to the house she once lived in instead of walking all the way to Jimmy's apartment. She could tell that walking or standing for long periods of time tired the girl out and she doubted she could make it to Jimmy's.
Julie's house was dark aside from a single porch light shining onto the high-rise wooden deck that provided a spacious view of the ocean beyond and Hailey had to squint her eyes to even attempt to peer through the darkness. She was about to turn around and head back to the Cohen house when she heard quiet, clearly muffled, crying coming from somewhere around the deck.
"Marissa?" Hailey questioned, stepping closer toward the deck, which towered above her, creating one large shadow that made it nearly impossible to see anything. "Marissa, it's Hailey."
The crying stopped. "Go away." Marissa muttered from the darkness that enclosed her. "I want to be left alone."
Hailey remained where she was. "Are you okay?" She asked. "What happened? Ryan said you got into a fight and then took off."
Marissa scoffed from the darkness. "Did he tell you why we got into a fight?" Hailey told her that he hadn't but Marissa remained silent, as though she wasn't too inclined to tell her either.
"Your dad's really worried about you." Hailey said, her eyes finally adjusted enough to the darkness beneath the deck for her to vaguely see Marissa in the shadows. The girl was sitting on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees, looking as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible. "You should come out and let him know you're all right."
Marissa was silent for a moment. "You can just tell him I'm all right." She said finally. "I want to be alone right now."
Hailey stepped into the darkness beneath the deck, hoping that there weren't any spiders or other creepy-crawlies under her to drop onto her shoulders or get tangled in her hair. She shuddered at the thought. "I think there are better places to be alone then under here." She muttered, stopping when she saw that she was close to Marissa. She dropped down next to the girl, pleased to see that she wasn't sitting in the dirt but on soft grass. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Marissa took a deep breath, looking away from Hailey and out toward the sweeping, sloping backyard that had once been hers. "I thought that Ryan loved me." She mumbled. "But I saw him kissing Teresa."
Hailey sighed, knowing exactly what Marissa was going through; her first boyfriend had cheated on her in the ninth grade and a part of her still hadn't gotten over it. It was the part of her that constantly wondered what about the other girl was better then her? Why had he chosen someone else? "Maybe it wasn't what it looked like." She suggested. "They have been friends for a long time, maybe it was just a friendly kiss." Even to her, the words sounded hollow and pointless.
Marissa shook her head. "Trust me, it was no friendly kiss." She told Hailey with a heavy sigh. "I just don't understand."
Hailey looked over at Marissa, who was staring straight ahead, her face hidden by the darkness around her. "Sometimes these things happen and it sucks; life's shit sometimes, take it from me." That was an understatement. "I know that's not what you want to here, but it's true."
Marissa looked over at her, unable to think of anything to say and Hailey took that as a sign to go on. "Bad things happen but sometimes they aren't as bad as they seem."
"You think I'm over-reacting?" Marissa questioned and Hailey shook her head. "Believe me, I know plenty about bad things happening; I was shot remember." She sighed, her voice losing its edge. "I just thought that maybe I was entitled to something good happening for once."
Hailey rested a comforting hand on Marissa's shoulder. "I know what you mean but a lot of the time you get more bad then good. Life's not fair, it doesn't always give like it takes."
Marissa sighed again, looking over at Hailey. "You're sure good at uplifting pep talks." She muttered sarcastically.
Hailey shrugged her shoulders. "That's the way life is. Take it from me." There was a beat of silence. "But if you my advice: talk to Ryan, maybe there's an explanation for what happened."
Marissa scoffed. "What explanation?" She questioned, staring down at the ground. The only explanation she could think of was that Ryan was bored with her, that he didn't really love her after all.
"I don't know." Hailey answered. "But you won't know either until you talk to him." She stood then, extending her hand to help Marissa to her feet as well. "Come on, let's get back to the house."
Marissa seemed to consider for a moment before taking Hailey's hand and slowly getting to her feet. Her back was aching slightly, unaccustomed to the sudden surgery and strain that she had recently been putting on her legs. But she could feel her body beginning to adjust again, to slowly switch back to normal, as though it was remembering just what it was supposed to be doing.
Hailey and Marissa left the deck and headed back to the Cohen house, where Marissa made it perfectly clear that she wanted nothing to do with Ryan. Jimmy and Sandy returned shortly and, with few goodbyes, father and daughter headed back to their apartment, leaving Ryan completely at a loss of what to do next.
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Seth didn't even realize he had fallen asleep until he felt someone roughly nudging his leg, which was suddenly alive with pricks and tingles; he slowly opened his eyes to see who was prodding. He nearly jumped in surprise to see Summer's father glaring down at him with his arms crossed over his chest and a not too pleased expression upon his face.
"Hello sir." Seth said, quickly getting to his feet, doing his best to ignore his leg, which was asleep and therefore, not ready to support his weight. "How are you doing, sir?"
Ian continued to glare at him. "What are you doing in my house?" He questioned, his voice low and level. "Where's my daughter?"
Seth gestured toward the closed bathroom door. "She's in there." He explained. He studied Ian carefully, trying to gauge his reaction and then cleared his throat. "She told me about her mother, about what happened." Ian looked surprised. "Why didn't she tell me?" Seth knew that asking Ian wasn't exactly the right person to ask but he couldn't help himself.
"You can't understand what it was like for her." Ian accused. "She worked so hard to put it behind her and to move on with her life. And then something like this happens." He trailed off, as though 'this' was something substantial that he could see, that he could punish or hurt for what happened to his daughter.
Seth was silent, he didn't know what to say. "Well, maybe talking about it would have helped." He suggested, deciding not to say anything more when Ian glared at him.
"I don't have to listen to what you have to say, young man." Ian said, voice still controlled and level. "You can't tell me how I should have raised my daughter." Seth remained silent, trying not to buckle beneath the man's stare. "Now get out of my house."
Seth looked back at the bathroom door, but it remained closed and if Summer was awake inside, she wasn't going to come to his aid. Without another word, he pushed past Ian and headed out of Summer's bedroom and down the stairs. The house was silent as he reached the lower level, he couldn't hear any sounds of a father trying to comfort or speak to his daughter and he suddenly wasn't at all surprised. Though it seemed like Ian loved Summer, he also seemed like he didn't understand her or how to handle her and a situation like this was past his comprehension at the moment.
With a sigh, Seth stepped out of the house and headed down the driveway toward the SUV he'd left parked there, surprised to see that the sun looked like it was beginning to rise in the horizon. He could already tell the day was going to be overcast, the sun already hidden behind a blanket of gray clouds and he was surprised that he'd spent nearly the entire night asleep against Summer's bathroom door.
Seth got into the driver's seat of the SUV, casting another glance toward the Roberts house but there was no sign of Summer. So Ian didn't want him around right now but the day was still young.
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When Ryan woke the next morning, the first thing he thought of was Marissa. After spending many nights in the hospital, it was strange to suddenly wake up in his own bedroom but he didn't allow himself too long to dwell upon that fact. His mind was too busy reminding him of the events of the previous night, reminding him about the hurt look on Marissa's face when she had seen him kissing Teresa. Now, Ryan wasn't even sure why he had done such a thing and wished it had never happened; he couldn't bare the thought of Marissa being hurt because of something he had done. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to leave things they way they were.
Yawning, Ryan climbed out of bed and quickly changed out of his wrinkled clothes and into a fresh outfit, forgoing the shower for the moment. It was already late in the morning and he didn't want to waste any more time getting in touch with Marissa.
In the kitchen of the Cohen house, Ryan found Kirsten and Hailey sitting at the dinner table, with the eldest sister talking into her cell phone as she hurriedly jotted notes into a notebook in front of her. Hailey watched with half-interest, as though she had seen this side of her sister before and found it too boring to entertain.
Hailey looked up when Ryan entered the kitchen, the patio door closing silently behind him. "So, how does it feel the morning after?" She questioned and Ryan looked at her with a confused look on his face. "After a big fight." She clarified.
"Like hell." Ryan answered with a sigh, pulling a coffee mug out of the cabinet and filling it almost to brim with steaming coffee. "I've got to talk to her, try and straighten things out."
Hailey nodded; that was the right idea. "Don't be surprised if she's not ready to talk." She advised, thinking back to conversation she'd had with the girl in question the previous night. "She's pretty pissed."
From her side of the table, Kirsten held a single finger up to her lips, signaling for quiet. Ryan looked over at his surrogate mother and raised a questioning eyebrow. "She's hosting a lunch party." Hailey explained in a hushed voice. "Very stressful."
Ryan nodded knowingly; Kirsten hated throwing parties for New Port's elite but she did it time and again. Kirsten said a few more sentences into the phone and then happily hung up, tossing it onto the table. "Who knew ordering three dozen salmon was so complicated." She mumbled, taking a deep breath.
Hailey made a face and stood up, taking her coffee mug toward the pot for a refill. "I hate salmon." She remarked and Kirsten looked up at her sister.
"I know." She said, flatly. "But you're not going to be here." Hailey looked at her sister. "Can't you go spend the day with Jimmy? Please Hailey." She gave her sister a miniature version of a puppy dog face.
"Sure." Hailey assured her sister, refilling her coffee cup. "Not a problem." Kirsten smiled happily.
Ryan looked at Hailey. "Good, if you're going over to Jimmy's then I can go with you and talk to Marissa." He suggested and Hailey shrugged, telling him it was his call as she headed toward the guest bedroom on the first level of the house.
Kirsten looked over at her adopted son. "You and Marissa having hard times, huh?" It was the sort of question that didn't need an answer. "You guys were so close a few days ago. What happened?"
Ryan sighed. "I really don't know."
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When Hailey knocked on the front entrance to Jimmy's apartment, she was surprised when Marissa answered. "Hi Hailey." The girl greeted. "My dad stepped out to run some errands." Hailey frowned slightly. "But you're welcome to hang out here until he gets back. I could use the company."
Hailey smiled. "All right." She agreed happily. "Thanks Marissa." The teenager nodded with a smile. "Oh, Ryan wanted me to tell you that he wanted to talk to you."
Marissa frowned. "Tell him I don't care what he wants, I don't want to talk to him." She answered venomously as though she was speaking to Ryan himself and not the messenger.
"You can tell him yourself, he's right outside." Hailey told her. "He insisted on coming along. To talk to you."
Marissa narrowed her eyes and peered past Hailey's shoulder, spotting Ryan easily. "Go away." She told him sharply, stepping aside to let Hailey into the apartment. "I don't want to talk to you." She slammed the door as he began his protest.
With a sigh, Marissa turned away from the door and shuffled back over to the couch, where the television was showing the latest exploits of the misguided teenagers from The Valley. Hailey looked at her for a moment, trying to read her emotions. "Maybe, you should at least listen to what he has to say." She suggested.
Marissa turned up the volume on the television set. "I don't care what he has to say." She muttered.
Hailey sighed under her breath; Marissa was going to listen to Ryan until she was good and ready and there was nothing anyone else could do about that. Hell hath no fury... she thought as she sat down on the couch next to the teenager.
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Kirsten was trying to figure out if a simple bowl filled with potato chips would have the woman of New Port talking for days when the doorbell rang. She looked up, frowning slightly; no one, not even the sea food caterer was due for another hour. She was going to kill whoever was on the other side of the door if it was party guest deciding to show up early.
But it wasn't a party guest, it wasn't even a woman; Kirsten had never seen the man standing on her doorstep before in her life, there was nothing even remotely familiar about him. Everything about him was greasy, from his skin to his bangs and his eyes appeared almost pure black. Kirsten cleared her throat. "Can I help you?" She questioned. He probably had the wrong house.
"Yes," the man began. "I'm looking for Hailey, I was told that she lived here." He explained.
Kirsten watched him for a moment. "And what do you want with my sister?" She questioned, trying to figure out just who this man was. And why did he say that Hailey lived here? His source must not have been very reliable.
The man extended his hand but Kirsten didn't take it. "My name is Jacob, I was your sister's employer in L.A. There's just a few things I need to clear up with her, since she left so suddenly." He said, a grin stretching his lips apart, revealing the grimy teeth behind them.
Kirsten nodded; the man showing up made sense now, it was just like her sister to cut out of a job without even a word because she felt like it. This needed to be straightened out now and she had no idea when Hailey was due back from Jimmy's. "Of course." She said. "She's actually with a friend right now." She gave him Jimmy's apartment number and directions.
The man, Jacob, smiled again. "Thank you, Mrs. Cohen." He said before turning away and heading back down the driveway.
Kirsten raised an eyebrow, about to call after him, asking him how he knew her name but he was too far away. She couldn't see a car anywhere around either, which was strange. Still confused, she turned and headed back into the house, shutting the door behind her. Oh well, L.A. was full of weird characters.
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Seth had stopped by his house for a few minutes before being shooed away by his mother once again, since she didn't want any teenage distractions or possible drama to ruin her lunch party. The women she had invited already looked down on her for the fact that she associated with Jimmy and Julie Cooper, and, while she wasn't quite sure why she cared so much about what they thought, she didn't want to give them any other things to talk about.
It wasn't as though Seth needed any excuse to go back to Summer's, but at least this way he didn't feel so guilty about not spending any time at home. After he'd gotten a change of clothes and a quick shower, his mother was ready for him to get out of the house. "Your aunt took the car and she took Ryan with her." Kirsten explained as she tried to figure out how she was going to store three dozen salmon until the guests arrived.
Seth kissed his mother goodbye on the cheek and headed into the garage to retrieve his skateboard, before heading toward Summer's house. A skateboard wasn't as fast as a car but it was better then walking.
When the Roberts house came into view, Seth hopped off his skateboard and nudged it along slowly, relieved to see that Ian was heading out of the house, cell phone against his ear and briefcase in hand and toward his car. As he waited for Ian to pull out of the driveway, Seth gazed toward the sun, which was full of nothing but black clouds, and the temperature was beginning to drop. Though he had doubted it before, there was no denying now that a storm was on the way; he could even hear thunder softly rumbling in the distance.
Seth's eyes left the sky when he heard Ian's car start and rumble out of the driveway, heading the opposite way down the street and leaving the Roberts house behind. Leaving his skateboard on the sidewalk, he crossed through the yard and headed toward the front door.
As soon as he knocked, the door swung open and relieved Summer standing in the threshold; she frowned when she saw him. "What are you doing here, Cohen?" She questioned.
"I came to see how you were doing." Seth answered. "If you wanted to talk about-"
"No." Summer snapped before he even had the chance to finish his sentence. "I don't want to talk about anything. Please, leave me alone." She started to close the door but Seth stuck his foot out and the door bumped against his sneaker.
Seth reached out and took Summer's arm, pulling out of the house and onto the stoop so that they were eye to eye. "Listen, Summer, you can't do this for the rest of your life, you can't ignore people who want to help you."
Summer glared at him, pulling her arm lose. "And how can you help me?" She questioned. Seth didn't give her an answer right away.
"Maybe," he said finally, "just talking about it will help. It'll help you realize that what happened to your mother wasn't your fault."
Summer took a step back, off the stoop and into the yard. "No." She said, shaking her head, seeming almost panicked all of the sudden. She continued backing up, heading toward the road. "I don't want to talk about it. Just leave me alone." She turned around and took off running down the road.
Seth stared after her for a moment, surprised by her reaction; he hadn't expected her to run. "Summer!" He called after her, running the same direction she had taken. "Wait!" He snatched up his skateboard and pushed off with one leg.
But, he could no longer tell which way Summer had gone, it was like she had vanished completely. Seth sighed, letting his skateboard coast to a stop. He stared down the street for a moment, trying to figure out which way she had gone but it was no use.
Dejected, Seth headed back the way he'd come, hoping, maybe, that he'd run into her. He needed to come up with a better strategy when it came to talking to Summer because, so far, it didn't appear that he was helping her at all.
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When Seth returned home, his mother was in the kitchen with several of her lunch party guests. She looked up at her son. "What happened to going to Summer's?" She questioned, looking worried.
"Summer ran off." Seth answered, leaving his skateboard by the door. "She's really upset, Mom." He sighed. Kirsten gave her a sympathetic smile. "If she calls, let me know, okay?"
Kirsten assured him that she would and Seth headed upstairs to his room, shutting the door behind him. He flopped down onto his bed, picking up his plastic horse, which had been resting on his bedside table. "I tell you," he said to Captain Oats. "I need to get better at this supportive friend thing." He sighed. "Any pointers?"
Captain Oats was silent and Seth sighed again. "That's what I thought."
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The storm had broken, showering New Port Beach with torrents of rain, thunder rattling the windows and lightning streaking across the sky, by the time the phone rang for the first time since Seth had left Summer's four hours earlier. Seth lay in his room, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the muffled ring of the phone from down the hallway. He knew by that time that Summer wasn't going to call, that she didn't seem to want to talk to him ever again and he didn't even move from his spot.
"Seth!" Kirsten's voice shouted from downstairs. "It's Summer's father." This caused Seth to sit upright, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. Why was Summer's father calling him? Was Summer all right?
Seth hurried from his bedroom and down the hallway, toward the phone in his mother's office. "Hello?" He answered quickly. "Mr. Roberts? Is Summer all right?"
There was a brief pause before Ian spoke. "Then you don't know where my daughter is?" He muttered, sounding just as worried as Seth felt. "I came home thirty minutes ago and couldn't find her; she didn't leave a note and I thought maybe you'd know where she's gone."
Seth sighed. "No." His heart was beating rapidly. "I don't know where she is." This wasn't like Summer at all. "If I see her, I'll make sure she gives you a call."
There was another pause. "Thank you, Seth." Ian said before hanging up the phone, leaving Seth listening to a dial tone.
Summer had gone missing and a chill was developing in the pit of Seth's stomach; somehow, he knew he was responsible for what had happened. If he had never gone to Summer's house, then she would have never gotten as upset as she did and wouldn't have rushed off. Now she could be anywhere and in her state of mind that wasn't a safe thing, especially with the storm raging outside.
As he put down the phone, heading out of the office, there was one thing Seth knew for sure: he had to find her.