Note: I don't own The O.C. In fact, I do NOT own anything pertaining to or dealing with or based on or related to The O.C. or any of it's characters.
Okay, more darkness in this chapter (sorry, next chapter is happier though) Ryan has unexpected feelings and Seth hits a low point. Please R&R! Thank you.
Marissa answered the door at her dad's house. It was Ryan.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
"I moved back," she said, not inviting him in.
"Really?" he smiled, hoping this meant all her issues with her mother would end soon.
"You shouldn't have told her," Marissa said, referring to Caleb's blackmail.
"No, I shouldn't have," Ryan said, getting frustrated. "You should have, a long time ago."
Before she could say anything, he turned around and left. She called after him, but kept going. She lived with her dad now, where she wanted to be, and Ryan had helped. But she didn't appreciate his help, nor did she realize how much anguish she had put him through over this. Right then, Ryan needed a break. From Marissa, from her mother, from all the other issues. He went home to see Theresa, knowing that she could always calm him down and bring him back to his sanity.
Seth found his way back into the kitchen, then the liquor cabinet. He grabbed the first bottle he could, not caring what it was. He took a huge gulp, and held back a gag. He did it again, holding his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't throw up. He continued until the half-empty bottle was nearly gone, then he threw the bottle into the sink, shattering the glass. Seth had never drank much, and that half bottle of liquor was enough to get even the most experienced drinkers, like Marissa, drunk and passed out. But Seth had rage inside him and he didn't pass out. He got a surge of energy and left the house in search of something, but he didn't know what.
A few minutes later, Ryan pulled his bike up to the house and went in the front door. He walked past the study, and noticed Layla, the nanny, feeding the baby Samantha.
Damn it, he thought, Theresa was probably out shopping with Kirsten. It was their new hobby; they went to the mall together nearly every weekend.
"Where's Theresa?" he asked Layla, "Is she out with Kirsten?"
"No," she replied quietly, not wanting to disturb the hungry baby, "Mr. and Mrs. Cohen are both working today. Theresa's in the poolhouse, but-"
He didn't let her finish. He quickly made his way to the back door and around the pool to Theresa's living space. Without thinking, he flung the door open. "Theresa?"
Theresa and Evan were sitting on her bed, their arms around each other, kissing softly.
"Oh, oh God, I'm – I'm sorry," he said as he backed out of the room and closed the door. He stood there, embarrassed for a moment, then turned to leave.
"Hey," Theresa said coming out of the poolhouse. She closed the door behind her. "What's wrong? You seem…I don't know, are you okay?"
"No," Ryan shook his head. "It's just, I – I don't know…everything….. What's going on with that guy, are you seeing him?" Theresa could hear a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Ryan," she said sensibly, "What's really going on? Is it Marissa?"
His hand on his hip, Ryan looked up from the ground and nodded.
"Wait here," She said before disappearing back into the poolhouse. When she reappeared, Evan was with her.
"See ya later," he said as he kissed Theresa's face, right next to her ear. She just looked at him and smiled.
"Come on in," she said to Ryan. "We'll talk."
Seth was drunk. He was very drunk as he wandered in and out of shops and restaurants. He still didn't know what he was looking for and he wasn't finding it anywhere in Newport. He stumbled along the beach and fell to his knees. He thought he would never be able to cry again after all the tears he shed at his house. Summer was gone, he thought, and there was no reason for anything anymore. He cried again, as much as he had before. Parents pulled their kids away from him on the beach. Other teenagers whispered and pointed. Women said "poor thing" as they passed by and the men with them said "freak."
After Ryan spent half an hour venting to Theresa about his problems with Marissa, she spent another half hour comforting him, telling him it would be alright, explaining that women see that kind of thing as a betrayal, but she would get over it.
"What if I can't?" he asked. "Get over it, you know?"
"She's going through a tough time," Theresa said.
"She's always going through a tough time," Ryan said bitterly.
"She needs you, though. Even if she won't admit it, you have to be there, on the sidelines, waiting. If you really want to make it work, you just have to wait." Ryan had once been the love of Theresa's life, or so she thought at the time. Maybe he still was, but she knew he needed good sound advice and not an escape. She had given him that escape from Marissa once before and didn't want to make the mistake again.
Ryan smiled. "How do you always know what to say?"
"I just know you," she replied, a sly smile taking over her lips.
Ryan stared at her voluptuous lips and remembered the neighbor who had been kissing those lips a little while ago. "So you and Evan…"
"I don't know," she responded to the question he hadn't even asked yet. "We just…really like each other. We have a lot in common."
"Like what?" Ryan asked skeptically. "He's just another rich kid."
"There's more to him than that. I can't really get into it, but everyone has a past, no matter what kind of money they come from."
Ryan chuckled at Theresa's dreamy grin. "You gonna tell me what that means?"
"No," she said laughing at him. They playfully pushed each other and Ryan grabbed all of Theresa's massive hair and pulled it up behind her. Their faces were less than an inch apart before they both realized their proximity to each other.
"Hm," Ryan cleared his throat as he let her hair down and backed away. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Theresa said fumbling for words. "I guess some things will never be the same."
"I guess so," Ryan said, still looking at Theresa's lips. He wished that even though he wasn't kissing them, no one else would either. He didn't want Theresa to be lonely, but he didn't want to have to see her with someone else, after all they'd been through together. He knew he had to let her live her life, he just wished he didn't have to watch.