I do not own any of the original characters from the OC.

Chapter 3

Emily pulled into the garage only to discover no one else was home. Entering the kitchen she checked for notes on the frig then made her way to her room. The house was far nicer than any other she had ever lived in was. It made her feel somewhat intimidated but then maybe that was just because everything was so new. She walked into her room and the first thing she saw was the picture. Four smiling faces looked back at her, one almost identical to her own but a boy. She walked to the picture, picked it up and gently touched the faces, tracing each one softly with her fingertips. She pressed the frame to her chest and a sob slipped from her lips. Her mother, father and brother.. all gone. No one left. Taken from her on a beautiful sunny afternoon, where no danger was foreseen or should have been allowed. More sobs erupted and she sat suddenly on the bed, her knees too weak to support her. How long she stayed there she wasn't sure but slowly her sorrow turned to anger and she knew she had to get up.. do something to redirect her feelings.

She put on her running shorts and headed outside.

She began running slowly trying to clear her mind of the thoughts that crowded in but no matter how hard she tried the images came. The car... the blood... the crash.. her brother lying on the highway...She ran faster trying to out run her thoughts but they easily overtook her. He had died in her arms fighting for a last breath of life. Her parents were already gone. How long she sat there holding him she didn't know. The ambulances arrived... the police with their questions, some she couldn't answer because she had been a ways behind them on her bike. She ran faster, her feet becoming a blur... her heart pounding so hard the beats were inseparable. The blood... the death.... the drunk that had caused the accident. There he had sat. Blood streaming down his face, missing an eye but otherwise unscathed. How could that be? Her family was gone... taken away by this man, this demon.

She could run no more. She collapsed on a deserted stretch of beach and salted the sand with her tears.

It was dark when she awakened. Disoriented, she sat up and looked stupidly around. It came back to het and she slowly rose and made her way home.

Ryan unloaded his bike from the back of the truck. He silently let himself in with Marissa's keys. He listened for any sounds that might indicate someone was around. Softly he laid Marissa's keys on the table and headed for the door. He didn't want to talk to her. He needed to think.

Marissa cowered, in the shadows, at the head of the stairs. She had heard Ryan drive up and had watched him from the window of her room. She waited now for the direction this situation would take. She was terrified he would come to her room and what might be said but she was equally terrified of what it might mean if he did not come to her. "Please", she silently prayed. "Please don't let him leave me". She watched from her hiding spot as he laid the keys down and silently went out the door. Seeing through a blur of tears she made her way to her room and to her closet. Opening a shoebox and removing the tissue paper she found what she was seeking. "Just a little to help me think", she thought to herself. "I won't drink much but I really do have to clear my mind and think more clearly and I know this will help". Hesitantly she removed the lid and looked into the bottle. "Just a little", she thought as she tipped the bottle to her lips..

At the pool house he paced around the room his mind a spin. Why does this cloud follow him everywhere he goes. Was there no peace to be had for him? Memories of his mother Dawn, drunk, passed out, the men in her life that brought nothing but pain and violence to her and her children. The nights sleeping in unlocked-parked cars so he didn't have to go home. No more.... No more... he would do all he could for Marissa but never again would he feel like that again, for her or anyone else. He knew they needed help, that they could not do this alone and he knew where to fight that help. He, Ryan Atwood, was no longer alone. He smiled and headed off to find his family.

Ryan looked at his family, searching their faces for a clue as to what was going through their minds. It had been a little hard finding the words to begin but soon it was like a dam had burst and the words had flowed out of his mouth. He felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his young shoulders and had be divided amongst his family. "God how had he ever lived without them," he thought as Kristen enveloped him in a warm hug.

Sandy: I can't imagine how this has gone undetected for so long but Marissa needs professional help and she needs it now. I understand your desire to avoid Julie, but she and Jimmy are her parents and she is a minor so they'll need to be involved.

Ryan understood that, even if he didn't like it. The thought of dealing with Julie Nichol was not at all pleasant. He knew this would be a long hard process and he hoped with all his strength he was strong enough to see it through. He continued to study his hands for a moment more then raised questioning eyes to meet Sandy's.

Ryan: Where do we start?

Sandy: The first step will be to get Julie and jimmy involved. Marissa needs to tell them. I know it will be difficult and I am willing to be there with the two of you, if you would like.

Relief flooded through Ryan's body and again he thought, "how did I ever make it without them". It wasn't late so Ryan dialed Marissa's cell phone. He let it ring for almost a minute but no one answered. He mentally debated going to her house but the fear of a confrontation with Julie kept him from it. It would do no good to have a defensive Julie Nichol to cope with. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough. His head still ached and his feet felt like lead. He decided turning in early was exactly what he needed.

Ryan: Marissa isn't answering. I'll talk to her tomorrow... think I'll hit the sack.

Kirsten hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. She seemed trying to lend him her strength and he gratefully hugged her back. Sandy engulfed both of them in his arms and they stayed that way for a time just feeling the closeness.

Kirsten: Night hon. It will be all right.

Sandy: Night son. We are with you.

Ryan entered the pool house and shuffled to the bed. He lay down, closed his eyes and know no more until his alarm signaled the start of another day.

At the Nichol house, a drunken Marissa lay passed out on her bed. She still wore the same clothes she had put on for school that morning. A soft snore escaped her lips but other than that she slept as if in a coma. She was unaware her phone rang and rang or that tomorrow events would be set in motion that would change her life forever.

Seth came awake before the alarm clock sounded. Still lying in his bed he timidly explored issues he buried and ignored in his more alert moments. Since his return he had become increasingly aware that he was not the same boy that had left at the beginning of the summer and he wasn't sure he could fit into his old life again. Nowhere was this more apparent that in his relationship with Summer and he didn't know what to do about it. She harbored guilty feeling about her assumed role in his running away and she constantly sought out ways to "make it up to him". The more she tried to hold him, the more he seemed to want to move away. Before he left he had been consumed with want and need of her. This evolution was so alien to him, he was powerless to understand it. The sound of his alarm brought him back to the present and sighing he climbed out of bed.