The O.C.
She Will Be Loved
By: Mark Hogan
Still a Child
Seth Cohen woke up in the same bed he had for nearly two months. The sun poured in from the window, the sounds of the ocean crashing only a few miles from the house could still be heard. He got up slowly, stretching and yawning. He grabbed one of the new t-shirts he had bought and threw it on with faded blue jeans.
Seth made his way to the kitchen where Mr. Ward was cooking breakfast. He lifted his head just a little to catch the scent of bacon and eggs. He could hear Luke stumbling around his room as he had every morning since Seth had arrived. He couldn't figure out if that was how Luke always was, or it was from the excessive drinking they had been doing.
Seth walked into the kitchen, "Morning, Mr. Ward."
"Morning, Seth," Luke's dad replied, not turning from the stove.
"Bacon and eggs again?" Luke asked, disappointed.
"I thought you liked bacon and eggs?" Mr. Ward said, turning to face his son.
Luke sat at the table, "I do, but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing."
Seth sat beside Luke at the table, thinking he could attest to that fact. He had been parting all night every night since he had arrived in Portland. In that time he had been with many girls, most more drunk than he was, and could tell you it was getting kind of old. It wasn't as bad as Newport in his mind, remembering leaving his home was the best thing he ever did.
Seth hadn't called his parents since he left. He knew once he told them where he was that they would come after him and he didn't want them to try and take him back to Newport. If Ryan could leave, so could he. At least in his own mind. He couldn't comprehend all the pain and stress that he had put his parents under.
"Seth," Mr. Ward said as he placed the hot bacon and eggs on a plate in the middle of the table, "have you called your parents yet?"
Seth shook his head, "No."
Luke turned to look at Seth, "Dude, they must be going nuts that you're missing? Don't you even care?"
Seth just grabbed some bacon and an egg, "They didn't care that my life was a living hell in Newport, or how anyone felt when Ryan left. So why should I care about how they feel?"
Luke's dad just looked at Seth, "Seth, they're your parents. They love you and care about you more than anyone else on earth. You can't honestly sit there an say that you don't care about them."
Seth took a bite of bacon, "They haven't cared about me ever. All that they cared about was their money, their jobs, and themselves. They never once tried to care about me."
Luke was beginning to get pissed, "Dude, don't say that about your parents. They care for you a lot. I should know, they are some of the most awesome parents I've ever met. Disrespecting them like this isn't going to fly here."
Seth took one last bite of bacon before throwing it on his plate, "Maybe to you they were "awesome," but to me they were lousy and selfish. All they ever talked about was themselves and if it wasn't them it was one of their friends. I will not call them and it will not bother me!"
Seth slammed his chair into the table and stomped up the stairs to his room. He slammed his door and plopped onto the bed. He took some of his comics he had bought and threw them across the room. He grabbed the chair that sat near his desk and threw it at the door, a leg breaking off and flying toward him.
"Why don't they try and understand!!!" Seth screamed as he threw himself onto his bed again. "Why can't anyone see how horrible my parents treated me. Instead all they say is how good and "awesome" my parents are. How they "care" about me and about my life. I can't stand it anymore!"
Luke and his dad listened to the whole thing from the kitchen. They were both appalled at what Seth was saying. He was cursing his parents as the worst parents in the world. Yet, he hadn't thought about Ryan's parents. He hadn't stopped to think that maybe he had things well off compared to most people. They hoped that someday Seth would realize he was acting like a baby.
TO BE CONTINUED…