Title: Home
Author(s): Sara and Lizzie
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The only thing we own is the psychotic plot that came from reading way to many Mary Higgins Clark books.
"I need you so much closer." - Death Cab For Cutie
Seth had swiftly tucked Summer into bed as soon as they reached his house. In the first floor guest bedroom, he covered her with blankets and tried to calm her down.
He took both her hands. "Summer, I am so sorry. About the letter. If I hadn't acknowledged it, none of it would have happened and-"
Summer cut him off. "Oliver wrote it." her eyes filled with tears again. "I'm the one that's sorry, Cohen."
"Summer what could you possibly have..."
"Seth." She said. Seth winced. It was serious now. She called him Seth. "He, Oliver, he made me do things to him." Summer choked, crying again. "And I swear I didn't want to, and I wouldn't have, but he always had a gun." She was crying for real now.
Seth wrapped his arms around her. "I love you." He stroked her hair and stayed there until she fell asleep. Then he calmly covered her with more blankets and eased off the bed.
He stalked into the kitchen where Ryan and Marissa were talking at the table in hushed tones.
"The police called." Ryan informed him. "They found enough on the boat to convict Oliver, but they couldn't find him."
Seth slammed his fist down onto the table. "There is nothing I want more than to make that son of a bitch wish he pulled the trigger." Seth said.
Marissa's eyes bugged. This was a side of the usually tranquil Seth Cohen that she hadn't seen before. "Don't say that Seth." She whispered. "He's sick. He doesn't know-"
Seth slammed his fist into his hand this time. "He didn't know what he was doing?" Seth shouted. "Tell that to Summer. He raped her Marissa. He made her do things to him. He knew what he was doing."
Ryan winced. Seth was right. But he could tell something was up with Marissa and adding to it was only going to make things harder.
"Don't fight guys. That's not going to help."
Seth punched his hand again. "Damn it Marissa." He shouted, ignoring Ryan. "Why are you still defending him?"
"He's so sick, Seth. I swear, he really has an illness."
"Yea, tell that to Summer." Seth said violently. Marissa looked down.
"Look." Ryan said firmly. "The important thing is that Summer is here now. Seth, she should stay here for awhile. Till her Dad gets back."
Seth nodded. "Obviously."
Marissa picked up her keys, eager to help out and redeem herself. "Should I run to her house and pick up some clothes?"
Seth shook his head. "She has plenty here."
"Here?" Marissa echoed, her voice taking on a strange tone.
Seth nodded. "She's been staying here you know. Since her Dad left. She stays here a lot when he's home too."
Marissa nodded. "Oh."
It was silent for a long time. Then they heard Summer calling out from the bedroom. Seth bolted to the side of the bed.
"Cohen..." Summer was saying. Her eyes were closed, but tears were streaming down her face. Seth eased onto the bed and gently shook her.
"Hey, beautiful, wake up. Summer. I'm here." Her eyes snapped opened and she began to sob. Seth laid down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shhh, its all okay baby. I'm right here." Marissa watched in a combination of awe and agony as Seth calmed down Summer. She felt Ryan hand reaching for her, but she pulled back and left the room.
She wandered upstairs, to the spare bedroom on the second floor and found it littered with Summer's clothes. She strode to the bed and began folding them without even thinking.
In addition to all the designer labeled clothes she had been helping Summer pick out since 5th grade, she noticed new items. Tanks tops from Roxy and Hurley, belts from Volcolm. Marissa moved to inspect the CD's lying on the desk and almost tripped over a pair of Reef sandals.
She flipped through the cases of her best friend's CD's. She set aside all the old ones, and studied the new ones. CD's she didn't know Summer had. Death Cab, New Found Glory. Matchbook Romance.
Marissa sighed. Summer had changed so much since she started dating Seth. Not just her clothes and music interests. She was so happy now. Here dad, her step mom, she took it in stride. She laid off the substance abuse since she found Seth too.
That's what real relationships were supposed to do. Change you. Impact you. Make you better.
"Hey." Ryan said in a concerned tone, interrupting her thoughts. "What is it?"
She turned around and forced a smile. "What's what? There's nothing."
Ryan's face didn't change. "You can't trip me up with your fake smiles, Marissa. Tell me what's wrong."
Her smile disappeared. "I look at them," she started, "Seth and Summer, and it just strikes me. How intense they are about each other. How passionate. Were we ever like that Ryan?"
Ryan closed his eyes. So this was the problem. He was thinking about how he should answer this question when he heard Seth calling him. "I'll be right back." He told Marissa.
"What is it?" Ryan asked Seth. He watched as a frown deepened on his friend's face.
"Um, could you, you know, lock all the doors and set the security system? According to what he told Sum, he's been watching us. I just want to be set if he decides to come back."
Ryan nodded. He locked the back and side doors, and set up the security system, then head back upstairs to Marissa.
He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Marissa was picking clothes off the floor and piling them onto the bed. "They're Summer's." She said by way of explanation. "She practically lives here. She goes shopping with Kirsten. She and Seth help Sandy cook. She's got their cell phone numbers, their work numbers. She fits right in here."
"Is that what the problem is?" Ryan asked her. "I never gave you Kristen's cell phone number?"
"Of course not. It's just... Ryan, I think back to a year and a half ago. Summer was a bigger partyer than I was. She would drink, make out with random boys. And if she felt like doing coke lines, she did. I used to worry about her."
Marissa paused, and Ryan waited, wondering where this was going. "Now she's content. Healthy. Happy. Seth, he, changed her. Made her feel. She's not the Ice queen she used to be, but I feel frozen."
Ryan closed the gap between them in one step, and kissed Marissa the way he'd wanted to kiss her all the months he spent in Chino.
When he pulled away and studied her face, he still couldn't determine what he saw.
Author(s): Sara and Lizzie
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The only thing we own is the psychotic plot that came from reading way to many Mary Higgins Clark books.
"I need you so much closer." - Death Cab For Cutie
Seth had swiftly tucked Summer into bed as soon as they reached his house. In the first floor guest bedroom, he covered her with blankets and tried to calm her down.
He took both her hands. "Summer, I am so sorry. About the letter. If I hadn't acknowledged it, none of it would have happened and-"
Summer cut him off. "Oliver wrote it." her eyes filled with tears again. "I'm the one that's sorry, Cohen."
"Summer what could you possibly have..."
"Seth." She said. Seth winced. It was serious now. She called him Seth. "He, Oliver, he made me do things to him." Summer choked, crying again. "And I swear I didn't want to, and I wouldn't have, but he always had a gun." She was crying for real now.
Seth wrapped his arms around her. "I love you." He stroked her hair and stayed there until she fell asleep. Then he calmly covered her with more blankets and eased off the bed.
He stalked into the kitchen where Ryan and Marissa were talking at the table in hushed tones.
"The police called." Ryan informed him. "They found enough on the boat to convict Oliver, but they couldn't find him."
Seth slammed his fist down onto the table. "There is nothing I want more than to make that son of a bitch wish he pulled the trigger." Seth said.
Marissa's eyes bugged. This was a side of the usually tranquil Seth Cohen that she hadn't seen before. "Don't say that Seth." She whispered. "He's sick. He doesn't know-"
Seth slammed his fist into his hand this time. "He didn't know what he was doing?" Seth shouted. "Tell that to Summer. He raped her Marissa. He made her do things to him. He knew what he was doing."
Ryan winced. Seth was right. But he could tell something was up with Marissa and adding to it was only going to make things harder.
"Don't fight guys. That's not going to help."
Seth punched his hand again. "Damn it Marissa." He shouted, ignoring Ryan. "Why are you still defending him?"
"He's so sick, Seth. I swear, he really has an illness."
"Yea, tell that to Summer." Seth said violently. Marissa looked down.
"Look." Ryan said firmly. "The important thing is that Summer is here now. Seth, she should stay here for awhile. Till her Dad gets back."
Seth nodded. "Obviously."
Marissa picked up her keys, eager to help out and redeem herself. "Should I run to her house and pick up some clothes?"
Seth shook his head. "She has plenty here."
"Here?" Marissa echoed, her voice taking on a strange tone.
Seth nodded. "She's been staying here you know. Since her Dad left. She stays here a lot when he's home too."
Marissa nodded. "Oh."
It was silent for a long time. Then they heard Summer calling out from the bedroom. Seth bolted to the side of the bed.
"Cohen..." Summer was saying. Her eyes were closed, but tears were streaming down her face. Seth eased onto the bed and gently shook her.
"Hey, beautiful, wake up. Summer. I'm here." Her eyes snapped opened and she began to sob. Seth laid down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shhh, its all okay baby. I'm right here." Marissa watched in a combination of awe and agony as Seth calmed down Summer. She felt Ryan hand reaching for her, but she pulled back and left the room.
She wandered upstairs, to the spare bedroom on the second floor and found it littered with Summer's clothes. She strode to the bed and began folding them without even thinking.
In addition to all the designer labeled clothes she had been helping Summer pick out since 5th grade, she noticed new items. Tanks tops from Roxy and Hurley, belts from Volcolm. Marissa moved to inspect the CD's lying on the desk and almost tripped over a pair of Reef sandals.
She flipped through the cases of her best friend's CD's. She set aside all the old ones, and studied the new ones. CD's she didn't know Summer had. Death Cab, New Found Glory. Matchbook Romance.
Marissa sighed. Summer had changed so much since she started dating Seth. Not just her clothes and music interests. She was so happy now. Here dad, her step mom, she took it in stride. She laid off the substance abuse since she found Seth too.
That's what real relationships were supposed to do. Change you. Impact you. Make you better.
"Hey." Ryan said in a concerned tone, interrupting her thoughts. "What is it?"
She turned around and forced a smile. "What's what? There's nothing."
Ryan's face didn't change. "You can't trip me up with your fake smiles, Marissa. Tell me what's wrong."
Her smile disappeared. "I look at them," she started, "Seth and Summer, and it just strikes me. How intense they are about each other. How passionate. Were we ever like that Ryan?"
Ryan closed his eyes. So this was the problem. He was thinking about how he should answer this question when he heard Seth calling him. "I'll be right back." He told Marissa.
"What is it?" Ryan asked Seth. He watched as a frown deepened on his friend's face.
"Um, could you, you know, lock all the doors and set the security system? According to what he told Sum, he's been watching us. I just want to be set if he decides to come back."
Ryan nodded. He locked the back and side doors, and set up the security system, then head back upstairs to Marissa.
He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Marissa was picking clothes off the floor and piling them onto the bed. "They're Summer's." She said by way of explanation. "She practically lives here. She goes shopping with Kirsten. She and Seth help Sandy cook. She's got their cell phone numbers, their work numbers. She fits right in here."
"Is that what the problem is?" Ryan asked her. "I never gave you Kristen's cell phone number?"
"Of course not. It's just... Ryan, I think back to a year and a half ago. Summer was a bigger partyer than I was. She would drink, make out with random boys. And if she felt like doing coke lines, she did. I used to worry about her."
Marissa paused, and Ryan waited, wondering where this was going. "Now she's content. Healthy. Happy. Seth, he, changed her. Made her feel. She's not the Ice queen she used to be, but I feel frozen."
Ryan closed the gap between them in one step, and kissed Marissa the way he'd wanted to kiss her all the months he spent in Chino.
When he pulled away and studied her face, he still couldn't determine what he saw.