Anna looked around the familiar room. It was the same house. She had
missed this place. Pittsburgh suddenly just wasn't the greatest place to
be. Once you've had California, you never go back. Even though Anna tried
to go back.
No one in Newport knew of her re-arrival. She wanted to surprise Seth. Anna missed him a lot. When she boarded the plane, she had already begun to regret it. Every day since then, even with her best friends there to cheer her up, she hadn't been happy. Her best friend, Milana, falling dead to a drug overdose didn't help either. And Anna had been a part of the problem. When Anna left about a year ago, Milana had been lost. She soon hung out with the wrong crowd, finally ending up with two bundles of heroin up her nose. That was one of the reasons Anna left Newport in the first place. Her other friends called her, severely worried about Milana. But by the time Anna had returned, Milana was already gone. Milana had ODed two days earlier. But strangely, it didn't affect her as much as she thought. She had been so enwrapped in Newport, she didn't have that much emotion foe Pittsburgh. And Milana had turned to a ghost there. No one cared about her anymore, except her old close-knit group of friends. Anna had been gone for so long, she had barely recognized Milana at her funeral. She doubted that if she had been the one who died, Milana would have come to her funeral, let alone speak there. Anna gave the ulugy, having known Milana for over 10 years.
Even though Anna now felt more comfortable in Newport, she still felt like she didn't belong. Like the outcast. But hopefully, that would change. Anna was staying in Newport. That was final.
The end of summer was coming up so fast, Ryan didn't know what to do. The Cohens were his legal guardians. They would force him to come back and live with them. But he couldn't leave Theresa. They were doing pretty good. She seemed a little "out there," but that was fine. She was already a couple months along, so soon they would know who the father was. Ryan half hoped the baby was his, for two reasons. He was already used to Chino, and didn't want to leave. At least that was what he was telling himself. But if the baby wasn't his, he would most likely go back to Newport and live the life that he felt totally far from, like it happened years ago. It had only been three months, but it felt like three decades. Ryan remembered only certain things, and Chino was his home. He did miss Seth and Sandy and Kirsten, but after all he put them through, their hospitality was going to run dry soon. He had only talked to them about two times over the summer, and he hadn't spoken to Seth since he had left. Or Marissa. He didn't really have all that much connection with Newport. After all, Chino was his home. He had grown up there. Screwed up his life there.
He sighed. Ryan had no clue what to choose. He cared a lot about Theresa and the baby, but yet he still felt like at least a tiny part of the Cohen family. And right then, Theresa walked in the door.
"Hey." She said, pulling her keys out of the door knob, and closing it. No one could be too careful, even if there was someone home. Ryan had seen way too many robberies. Ryan had been part of some of them.
"Hey. How was your day?" Ryan asked as they went into the kitchen. He immediately went to the refrigerator. They usually ate right when Theresa came home.
"Fine. Except Eddie dropped by for a visit." Ryan knew Theresa hadn't spoken to Eddie for a long time.
"What happened?" He asked as he began to make sandwiches. The stove was broken, and they didn't have the money to pay for a new one, or a microwave. They had to save for the baby.
"Well, I obviously had to tell him about the baby." She patted her stomach. "And now he wants me to go back."
"Are you?"
"No, of course not. You know what might happen if he gets drunk. He might hurt the baby. And he wants me to get a DNA test."
"So you told him there's a possibility that it's not his?"
"Yeah. It seemed like the only way I stopped him pressing the matter of me going back to him."
"Will you get a DNA test?"
"Well, yeah. After the baby is born. It's too risky now."
"Right." He finished the sandwiches and put them on plates. Ryan handed one to Theresa, and they sat down. Theresa had already poured some grape kool-aid out and one cup of it was in front of him.
"I'm just thinking."
"About?"
"Maybe I should go to Atlanta. It might be best."
"Then I'm gong with you."
"Have you talked to the Cohens?" Theresa said after she wiped her mouth from her first bite.
"No. Not for a while."
"Maybe you should. What about school?"
"I'm just thinking of dropping out." Even though Ryan didn't want to, he knew he would have to.
"Don't. You have to go to school."
"No I don't. I'm fine with dropping out. You did."
"Well, yeah. But you're not me."
"So it's fine if you drop out but it's horrible for me to do it?"
"Now come on. Let's not argue."
"Fine." Ryan angrily took a bite of his sandwich. He missed all the nice take-out the Cohens always ordered. He missed a lot of things. Especially Marissa.
Summer turned off the TV. She was sick of The Valley reruns. Over the summer, she had seen like every one of them about ten times. Because she hadn't really left her house all that much. Occasionally, she'd go on stupid family outings, or go to the mall with Marissa, but that was it. And Marissa wasn't the greatest person to hang out with over the summer. She constantly was complaining, and when she wasn't she was either not talking or totally avoiding anything that had to do with her personal life. Mostly she spoke little and sighed a lot. Around Marissa, Summer didn't have a chance to be unhappy. And she did have a reason for being unhappy. Seth was the answer. He had left her, without a word. They hadn't spoken or seen each other since Marissa's mom's wedding. She had heard from Marissa that he had returned, but Summer didn't care. That was a month ago. She had received about a thousand messages that first week, but then they just stopped. Again, Summer didn't care. Seth had put her through too much and it hurt Summer. But she would have to face Seth sometime., and she feared that moment. She was okay when she didn't have to talk to him or see him, but she would see him every day in the halls. She was afraid that if she saw him, she would forget every bad thing he ever did to her and forgive him. But she couldn't. He caused her too much pain and too many tears.
She jumped as the phone rang. Summer walked over to it and checked the caller id. It was Marissa.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sum."
"Hey. What's up?"
"Nothing really. But I was just online talking to Holly, and she said that Sara Tierney is having an end of the summer party. Wanna come?" Summer thought about the idea. It would be her only social interaction with people other than her family and Marissa.
"I guess." She finally said.
"Cool. Well, I'll see you later."
"Bye Coop."
"Bye."
Sandy stood at the door in contemplation. He could just leave and Ryan would never know he ever came over and everyone could just go one, living their lie of a life. But Sandy was his guardian, and he wanted Ryan to come back. Kirsten did also. She sent him on this quest. So he knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and soon, the door opened. Ryan, luckily, was at the door.
"Sandy?" Ryan looked confused.
"Hey Ryan. Mind if I come in?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Ryan moved out of the way and Sandy walked in. The place was small, and he decided to sit on the couch. There also were two armchairs and Ryan sat in one. Theresa soon came out of the kitchen.
"Hi, Mr. Cohen." She said and sat in the other armchair. Anyone could obviously tell she was pregnant. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk about..." Sandy paused. How could he phrase what he wanted to say? "living arrangements." he settled on.
"What about it?" Theresa inquired.
"Mostly about Ryan. Me and Kirsten want him to finish school. He's still enrolled in Harbor School, so they'll be expecting him."
"Well, they shouldn't." Ryan retorted.
"What do you mean?" Sandy asked.
"I'm not going back."
"Theresa, could you excuse us for a moment?"
"Sure. Ryan, I'll be in the kitchen." Theresa slowly got up and headed to the kitchen.
"So you're not going back?"Sandy asked after Theresa had left.
"No. I'm staying with Theresa."
"Do you even know if this kid is yours?"
"No."
"Have you thought about getting a DNA test?"
"We were just talking about that. It's too risky now. We're gonna wait until after the baby is born."
"So, what's that? Four, five months? Where you'll help her with things her mother could possibly do?"
"I caused this."
"May have. You don't know for sure. She was with Eddie."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to come back and finish school."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't? Ryan, do you know what you're giving up here? Everything. You could go to college and get a great job. Here, you'll have to work and never even get your high school diploma."
"I don't want that kid to live like I did. Even if he isn't mine." Right then, Theresa walked in. Ryan and Sandy looked over. "Theresa."
"I don't want you fighting about me." She exclaimed.
"We're not."
"Yes, you are. I heard all of it. I didn't want to, but I did. And Ryan, I don't want you to give everything up for this baby. Because no matter what, it's going to be mine. And I don't want it to grow up like we did. So I'm thinking I will go to Atlanta."
"Then I'll go with you."
"No, Ryan."
"I don't want this baby to live without a father."
"Neither do I."
"When why do you want to go to Atlanta?"
"Because I want it to have a better life than we did."
"The baby will. Because we both care for it."
"Ryan, why are you making this so hard?"
"Because I care about you."
"I know you do. But I've screwed up so many lives because of this. Yours, mine, the Cohens, Marissa. And I just wanna get past it. Because if I stay here, I'll never be able to get on with my life and take care of this baby."
"So what should I do?"
"I want you to go with Mr. Cohen, and let me take care of the baby." Theresa looked at Ryan for a few more seconds, then headed upstairs.
"I guess you won." Ryan said.
"There's no winning or losing." replied Sandy.
"I'll go start packing." and then Ryan headed upstairs.
Theresa laid on her bed. She had to see if she was still welcome in Atlanta. She was about to call, but Ryan walked in the room.
"When should I go?" He asked.
"Well, you don't have a lot of time to get ready for school. So I guess now."
"If you need me" Ryan started.
"I don't think I will. But I know you need to go to school. And I know you want to."
"I guess you got me there."
"You missed them. The Cohens, I mean."
"Yeah."
"I didn't ask you to do this. But you did. And you gave this baby so much love."
"I already love it."
" I know. But you should go pack."
"Okay. But you'll call me the minute you need me, right?"
"Yeah."
"And send pictures when the baby's born?"
"Of course."
"Or better, I could come like a week ahead and help you."
"Well, that'll be hard since babies don't usually come right on time." Theresa smiled and they laughed. Ryan then left the room and packed. Theresa called Atlanta and luckily, she could still go. But she didn't have money. She sighed and walked down to say goodbye to Ryan.
"So?" He said right when she had reached the landing of the stairs.
"What?"
"Are you going?"
"I still need money."
"I'll pay for it!" Sandy pulled out his wallet.
"No, Mr..."
"Nonsense. How much?" Theresa told him how much and he wrote a check to her.
"So this is goodbye." She said as they headed to the door.
"Yeah." Ryan commented.
"I'll miss you."
"Same here." Ryan gave Theresa a quick kiss on the cheek and Ryan and Sandy left. Theresa watched the car drive away until she couldn't see it anymore.
No one in Newport knew of her re-arrival. She wanted to surprise Seth. Anna missed him a lot. When she boarded the plane, she had already begun to regret it. Every day since then, even with her best friends there to cheer her up, she hadn't been happy. Her best friend, Milana, falling dead to a drug overdose didn't help either. And Anna had been a part of the problem. When Anna left about a year ago, Milana had been lost. She soon hung out with the wrong crowd, finally ending up with two bundles of heroin up her nose. That was one of the reasons Anna left Newport in the first place. Her other friends called her, severely worried about Milana. But by the time Anna had returned, Milana was already gone. Milana had ODed two days earlier. But strangely, it didn't affect her as much as she thought. She had been so enwrapped in Newport, she didn't have that much emotion foe Pittsburgh. And Milana had turned to a ghost there. No one cared about her anymore, except her old close-knit group of friends. Anna had been gone for so long, she had barely recognized Milana at her funeral. She doubted that if she had been the one who died, Milana would have come to her funeral, let alone speak there. Anna gave the ulugy, having known Milana for over 10 years.
Even though Anna now felt more comfortable in Newport, she still felt like she didn't belong. Like the outcast. But hopefully, that would change. Anna was staying in Newport. That was final.
The end of summer was coming up so fast, Ryan didn't know what to do. The Cohens were his legal guardians. They would force him to come back and live with them. But he couldn't leave Theresa. They were doing pretty good. She seemed a little "out there," but that was fine. She was already a couple months along, so soon they would know who the father was. Ryan half hoped the baby was his, for two reasons. He was already used to Chino, and didn't want to leave. At least that was what he was telling himself. But if the baby wasn't his, he would most likely go back to Newport and live the life that he felt totally far from, like it happened years ago. It had only been three months, but it felt like three decades. Ryan remembered only certain things, and Chino was his home. He did miss Seth and Sandy and Kirsten, but after all he put them through, their hospitality was going to run dry soon. He had only talked to them about two times over the summer, and he hadn't spoken to Seth since he had left. Or Marissa. He didn't really have all that much connection with Newport. After all, Chino was his home. He had grown up there. Screwed up his life there.
He sighed. Ryan had no clue what to choose. He cared a lot about Theresa and the baby, but yet he still felt like at least a tiny part of the Cohen family. And right then, Theresa walked in the door.
"Hey." She said, pulling her keys out of the door knob, and closing it. No one could be too careful, even if there was someone home. Ryan had seen way too many robberies. Ryan had been part of some of them.
"Hey. How was your day?" Ryan asked as they went into the kitchen. He immediately went to the refrigerator. They usually ate right when Theresa came home.
"Fine. Except Eddie dropped by for a visit." Ryan knew Theresa hadn't spoken to Eddie for a long time.
"What happened?" He asked as he began to make sandwiches. The stove was broken, and they didn't have the money to pay for a new one, or a microwave. They had to save for the baby.
"Well, I obviously had to tell him about the baby." She patted her stomach. "And now he wants me to go back."
"Are you?"
"No, of course not. You know what might happen if he gets drunk. He might hurt the baby. And he wants me to get a DNA test."
"So you told him there's a possibility that it's not his?"
"Yeah. It seemed like the only way I stopped him pressing the matter of me going back to him."
"Will you get a DNA test?"
"Well, yeah. After the baby is born. It's too risky now."
"Right." He finished the sandwiches and put them on plates. Ryan handed one to Theresa, and they sat down. Theresa had already poured some grape kool-aid out and one cup of it was in front of him.
"I'm just thinking."
"About?"
"Maybe I should go to Atlanta. It might be best."
"Then I'm gong with you."
"Have you talked to the Cohens?" Theresa said after she wiped her mouth from her first bite.
"No. Not for a while."
"Maybe you should. What about school?"
"I'm just thinking of dropping out." Even though Ryan didn't want to, he knew he would have to.
"Don't. You have to go to school."
"No I don't. I'm fine with dropping out. You did."
"Well, yeah. But you're not me."
"So it's fine if you drop out but it's horrible for me to do it?"
"Now come on. Let's not argue."
"Fine." Ryan angrily took a bite of his sandwich. He missed all the nice take-out the Cohens always ordered. He missed a lot of things. Especially Marissa.
Summer turned off the TV. She was sick of The Valley reruns. Over the summer, she had seen like every one of them about ten times. Because she hadn't really left her house all that much. Occasionally, she'd go on stupid family outings, or go to the mall with Marissa, but that was it. And Marissa wasn't the greatest person to hang out with over the summer. She constantly was complaining, and when she wasn't she was either not talking or totally avoiding anything that had to do with her personal life. Mostly she spoke little and sighed a lot. Around Marissa, Summer didn't have a chance to be unhappy. And she did have a reason for being unhappy. Seth was the answer. He had left her, without a word. They hadn't spoken or seen each other since Marissa's mom's wedding. She had heard from Marissa that he had returned, but Summer didn't care. That was a month ago. She had received about a thousand messages that first week, but then they just stopped. Again, Summer didn't care. Seth had put her through too much and it hurt Summer. But she would have to face Seth sometime., and she feared that moment. She was okay when she didn't have to talk to him or see him, but she would see him every day in the halls. She was afraid that if she saw him, she would forget every bad thing he ever did to her and forgive him. But she couldn't. He caused her too much pain and too many tears.
She jumped as the phone rang. Summer walked over to it and checked the caller id. It was Marissa.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sum."
"Hey. What's up?"
"Nothing really. But I was just online talking to Holly, and she said that Sara Tierney is having an end of the summer party. Wanna come?" Summer thought about the idea. It would be her only social interaction with people other than her family and Marissa.
"I guess." She finally said.
"Cool. Well, I'll see you later."
"Bye Coop."
"Bye."
Sandy stood at the door in contemplation. He could just leave and Ryan would never know he ever came over and everyone could just go one, living their lie of a life. But Sandy was his guardian, and he wanted Ryan to come back. Kirsten did also. She sent him on this quest. So he knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and soon, the door opened. Ryan, luckily, was at the door.
"Sandy?" Ryan looked confused.
"Hey Ryan. Mind if I come in?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Ryan moved out of the way and Sandy walked in. The place was small, and he decided to sit on the couch. There also were two armchairs and Ryan sat in one. Theresa soon came out of the kitchen.
"Hi, Mr. Cohen." She said and sat in the other armchair. Anyone could obviously tell she was pregnant. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk about..." Sandy paused. How could he phrase what he wanted to say? "living arrangements." he settled on.
"What about it?" Theresa inquired.
"Mostly about Ryan. Me and Kirsten want him to finish school. He's still enrolled in Harbor School, so they'll be expecting him."
"Well, they shouldn't." Ryan retorted.
"What do you mean?" Sandy asked.
"I'm not going back."
"Theresa, could you excuse us for a moment?"
"Sure. Ryan, I'll be in the kitchen." Theresa slowly got up and headed to the kitchen.
"So you're not going back?"Sandy asked after Theresa had left.
"No. I'm staying with Theresa."
"Do you even know if this kid is yours?"
"No."
"Have you thought about getting a DNA test?"
"We were just talking about that. It's too risky now. We're gonna wait until after the baby is born."
"So, what's that? Four, five months? Where you'll help her with things her mother could possibly do?"
"I caused this."
"May have. You don't know for sure. She was with Eddie."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to come back and finish school."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't? Ryan, do you know what you're giving up here? Everything. You could go to college and get a great job. Here, you'll have to work and never even get your high school diploma."
"I don't want that kid to live like I did. Even if he isn't mine." Right then, Theresa walked in. Ryan and Sandy looked over. "Theresa."
"I don't want you fighting about me." She exclaimed.
"We're not."
"Yes, you are. I heard all of it. I didn't want to, but I did. And Ryan, I don't want you to give everything up for this baby. Because no matter what, it's going to be mine. And I don't want it to grow up like we did. So I'm thinking I will go to Atlanta."
"Then I'll go with you."
"No, Ryan."
"I don't want this baby to live without a father."
"Neither do I."
"When why do you want to go to Atlanta?"
"Because I want it to have a better life than we did."
"The baby will. Because we both care for it."
"Ryan, why are you making this so hard?"
"Because I care about you."
"I know you do. But I've screwed up so many lives because of this. Yours, mine, the Cohens, Marissa. And I just wanna get past it. Because if I stay here, I'll never be able to get on with my life and take care of this baby."
"So what should I do?"
"I want you to go with Mr. Cohen, and let me take care of the baby." Theresa looked at Ryan for a few more seconds, then headed upstairs.
"I guess you won." Ryan said.
"There's no winning or losing." replied Sandy.
"I'll go start packing." and then Ryan headed upstairs.
Theresa laid on her bed. She had to see if she was still welcome in Atlanta. She was about to call, but Ryan walked in the room.
"When should I go?" He asked.
"Well, you don't have a lot of time to get ready for school. So I guess now."
"If you need me" Ryan started.
"I don't think I will. But I know you need to go to school. And I know you want to."
"I guess you got me there."
"You missed them. The Cohens, I mean."
"Yeah."
"I didn't ask you to do this. But you did. And you gave this baby so much love."
"I already love it."
" I know. But you should go pack."
"Okay. But you'll call me the minute you need me, right?"
"Yeah."
"And send pictures when the baby's born?"
"Of course."
"Or better, I could come like a week ahead and help you."
"Well, that'll be hard since babies don't usually come right on time." Theresa smiled and they laughed. Ryan then left the room and packed. Theresa called Atlanta and luckily, she could still go. But she didn't have money. She sighed and walked down to say goodbye to Ryan.
"So?" He said right when she had reached the landing of the stairs.
"What?"
"Are you going?"
"I still need money."
"I'll pay for it!" Sandy pulled out his wallet.
"No, Mr..."
"Nonsense. How much?" Theresa told him how much and he wrote a check to her.
"So this is goodbye." She said as they headed to the door.
"Yeah." Ryan commented.
"I'll miss you."
"Same here." Ryan gave Theresa a quick kiss on the cheek and Ryan and Sandy left. Theresa watched the car drive away until she couldn't see it anymore.