------------------Blackmail--------------------Chapter 2

"Hey Sum, i'm bored and kinda hot.....care for a visit to the beach?" asked Marissa as she lay on her bed flipping through an old issue of Cosmo for the fifth time.

Marissa and Summer lay in Marissa's bedroom listening to music and reading through old magazines. The sun shone through the window, and with it brought the heat.

"Wow Coop, great idea, I was thinking smoothies and air conditioned shopping, but yea..lets hit the beach"

A few hours later they both lay on the hot sand, enjoying the last rays of summer. The calm before the storm that was School.

"Hey Coop, can I ask you something?" asked Summer as she tilted her head towards Marissa

"Sure, go for it" replied a half asleep Marissa

"Umm is there something going on with you?"

Marissa's eyes opened.

"What d'you mean"

"Well it's just...well maybe it's me but...you've been acting strange lately."

"Strange how?" inquired Marissa, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"I dunno...just strange. I'm sure it's nothing..you'd tell if there was something right? I mean, we're like best friends and that's what best friends do" replied Summer

"Course Sum, I wouldn't keep anything from you" said Marissa as she closed her eyes and turned away, hiding the troubled look that was now present on her face.
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"Did you find out anything new about Seth's whereabouts today? The Coast Guard hasn't gotten back to us in awhile, maybe you should call them" said Kirsten anxiously

Sandy and Kirsten sat at the kitchen table eating Chinese food as the sunset directly out the window made the room glow orange.

"They'll call us if there's news i'm sure, you have to stop thinking about it. Worrying isn't going to make him come back" replied Sandy

"How can you be so relaxed about all this? He's our son.....HE MIGHT HAVE DROWNED FOR GODS SAKE SANDY" yelled Kirsten angerly

"You know how good he is at handling that boat hunny. He's perfectly capable of managing his way over water. I also know that he's a mature teenager. Seth will realize that he can't just leave his whole life behind in an instance sooner or later. Give him time." replied Sandy softly

"I want you to keep looking Sandy."

"Tell you what, i'll go out to Chino come Saturday and ask Ryan if he has any idea where Seth might have gone...maybe Seth's even contacted him. Ryan wouldn't know to tell us if he had....he doesn't even know that Seth's missing after all."
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Marissa lay in bed. She sighed and turned to look at her alarm clock, glowing in the darkness. It was almost 2am and she'd been lying sleepless for over 2 hours now. Fear filled thoughts danced through her head over and over again.

"How did I get myself into this?" she thought to herself.

It had been almost 2 months since she met Matt. She met him while eating in the cafe near her house. He was her server. He seemed like such a sweet sensitive guy, and Marissa fell for him immediatly. In between romantic kisses and cuddling, they would engage in deep conversations. She grew to trust him greatly.
Marissa noticed that seemed to be quite interested in Caleb, her step father, but thought nothing of it. Just the mention of Caleb angered Marissa. She would often tell Matt that she thought Caleb was involved in crooked things.
One night she told Matt of a conversation of Caleb's that she had overheard. Caleb had sounded worried. He was talking on the phone to a business associate. Marissa listened and soon learned that Caleb was illegally transferring money through overseas accounts and commiting severe tax fraud. As soon as Matt had heard this he changed immedietly.
He had been a long time employee of Calebs, a file clerk, until he had gotten fired due to cut backs, while many newer file clerks had been spared. He was infuriated and swore to take down the company from the top. He was determined to take down Caleb Nicol, and he now had the information to do it.
Marissa realised that as much as she would like to see Caleb take a fall, many innocent people in his company, most importantly Kirsten, would go down with him. She could not let this happen. She pleaded with him and finally a deal was arranged. $100 000 dollars would keep him quiet. Marissa knew her only option was to siphon money out of Calebs company and she had stolen some of Calebs account numbers to do so. The mansion was loaded with items to ensure security, but Caleb had not counted on a member of the household to steal money.
She knew she could only take small amounts of money out at a time, so as not to be noticed. Every few nights, for the past month she had been sneaking out of the house after midnight to bring Matt fractions of the money he demanded.

"I can't do this anymore" she thought "i'm going to get caught..."
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Summer woke up the next morning to an alarm clock blaring music loudly. As she opened her eyes she suddenly became aware of the song playing.

----Life is a mystery----
----everyone must stand alone----
----I hear you call my name----
----And it feels like home----

She began thinking about something she had tried to push out of her mind all summer.

----When you call my name it's like a little prayer----
----I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there----
----In the midnight hour I can feel your power----
----Just like a prayer----
----you know I'll take you there----

She knew in her heart that she still loved him.
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