Disclaimer: Good news! I now own the OC!!! Just joking, I don't.
Shayla walked back into the house thirty minutes later. She held the small bag of groceries and quickly walked into the kitchen. Kirsten and Sandy sat in the kitchen talking quietly to each other and immediately stopped when she entered the room.
"Um…I need to apologize to you Kirsten. You were just trying to help, and I just blew up at you. I'm very sorry." Shayla said as she set the groceries down on the counter.
"I forgive you, just let me buy you things. They're not pity presents or anything; I just want you to be protected. Is that okay?" Kirsten said as she walked over to the young girl. Shayla smiled at Kirsten widely and gave her a tight hug. When they separated Shayla got back to work. "Where's Marissa?"
"She went upstairs to talk to Ryan and Seth. So I'll just get started, if you don't mind." Shayla said moving over to open the bag. "I wasn't too sure what kind of spices you had so I got a few that I would need."
"That's a good thing, because all we have are leftovers from Chinese places and breakfast this morning." Sandy said smiling. "Now I need to talk to you privately a little later Shayla. Kirsten told me about New York, don't worry I won't tell a soul unless it will help track that bastard down. I need some characteristics of him. So we could see if he has done this to any other girl. "
"I didn't do it!" Seth said as he walked into the kitchen. "But of course, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"And you'll never know." Said Kirsten. She ruffled Seth's hair and left the room. "I have to go work on a project for work." Sandy followed saying the same thing and Shayla and Seth were alone in the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?" Seth said as he watched the girl walk around the kitchen.
"Yeah, where are all the casserole dishes?" Shayla said after opening a cabinet and closing it back again disappointed.
"What do they look like?" Seth said as he too stumbled around the kitchen.
"You're kidding me. You don't know what a casserole dish is? You know, a dish that hold casseroles." Shayla said as she looked at Seth as though he were an alien.
"I guessed that, but I haven't had a casserole in a while so, I'm going to need a little help knowing what it's dish looks like." Seth said as he kept looking for the dish.
"Never mind, I found one. I think I need to wash it first though. I think there's dust on it." Shayla said laughing at the dish. "Would you mind?"
"Can't you just wipe the dust off?" Seth said as he took the dish from her. "It will get the same affect."
"Not really. You see there's dead skin in dust. I don't know about you but I find that completely gross and not in the least bit appetizing. So unless you love eating dead skin and dirt, then I would wash it with hot water and soap." Shayla said as she started to wash the noodles.
"Ewe!" Seth said as he ran quickly to Shayla's side and started to thoroughly clean the dish.
Shayla got nervous standing so closely to Seth. She knew he didn't mean to threaten her, but he did. She had felt this way toward most unfamiliar men ever since New York, and it was killing her. She was normally friendly and kind to any person she met. Now, because of this ass hole, she wanted to be alone and was untrusting toward any male. "Could you not stand so close?"
"What? Do I smell or something?" Seth lifted his arm and smelled himself, but found he smelled of his Axe cologne.
"No, you smell great. I mean, not that I was trying to smell you, but it's not anything to do with how you smell. It's more me being cloister phobic." Shayla said starting to back away. "I just have this personal space thing. If I don't know you that well, and you have a y chromosome I have to be at least arm length distance from you."
"Oh, sorry. I'll try to remember that." Seth finished cleaning the dish and placed it in front of Shayla. "So, what's in this Spaghetti Pie thing?"
"Well, it's one layer of spaghetti noodles with lots of cheese in it, then a layer of spaghetti sauce then a layer of mozzarella cheese. It's Ryan's favorite so when we were living together I used to make it three or four times a week." Shayla said as she started to brown the meat and boil water.
"Sounds like I'm going to have a new favorite." Seth leaned up against a counter and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What got you so into cooking?"
"My grandmother. When Ryan and I were little, we used to go over to her house. She felt it was vital for me to be the best cook in California and Ryan to be the fattest boy in the world. She would teach me recipes and I would cook for her, then Ryan would eat it and tell me his thoughts. Most of them weren't even actual words, like 'Mmm!' or he would just vomit. After she died I had to cook without her help and that's when I found that I really loved to cook, because without being told I would cook a four-course meal, if we had the money. I've been cooking ever since."
"Wow, so you would cook things that made Ryan vomit?" Seth said laughing.
"It was one time. I tried to make salsa, but I put like a whole package of jalapenos in it. My grandmother would get to the point where she didn't supervise me, and Ryan was constantly complaining about how weak my salsa was. So I spiced it up for him. It was a complete accident though, I had no idea it would be that spicy. That's why Ryan never eats salsa now."
"Do you know the history behind his thing with heights? Because, that would be a great story." Seth said laughing to himself.
"Actually, that's probably a story Ryan should tell you. He might be uncomfortable with me telling it. You guys have butter, right?" Shayla said, finally looking up from the noodles and spaghetti sauce.
"Yeah, that we have because we need something to put on toast." Seth walked to the refrigerator, pulled out the butter, and gave it to Shayla.
"Thanks. Anything else you would like to hear about Ryan, or can I start asking you questions now?"
"I'm all out of things to ask so shoot."
"What's with the Marissa girl? I mean it's completely obvious that she and Ryan like each other, so why is there this big mystery?" Shayla said leaving the spaghetti noodles sitting in the bowl.
"It's a long story. But, the short version is that Ryan got Theresa pregnant and he had to leave while they were still dating. Then when Theresa lost the baby, he came back." Seth said as he poured himself a glass of coke.
"Oh my God! When did this happen?"
"Yesterday, so it's kind of a fresh wound. But I don't think he wanted a baby, Theresa didn't either from what I hear. I'm just so glad I never got Summer pregnant. It I had, t think she would have killed me. And I'm not saying that like most people do, when they know they're not really going to die, they just know that they'll be yelled at a great deal. She would actually cut up my body and then put me in a box and light the box on fire."
"Sounds like a very nice person. I guess you two dated a while before I came along." Shayla said, a little frightened that she may one day have t meet this girl.
"Yeah, it was pretty serious. Then when Ryan and I left this summer, she pretty much hated me with every fiber in her being."
"Oh, that's the girl that kicked your ass this morning! The one you were talking to Kirsten about."
"Yeah, but don't think that I didn't get a good punch in too. I did, she just kicked me in the nuts so my defences were a little down, they were very down." Seth shifted a little uncomfortably as he stood there telling the story. He had to try very hard not to protect his balls while he was telling the story.
"I'm sorry to hear that. So I'm guessing this girl is taller than you are and is very muscular to beat you up, right?"
"Yeah, she's terrifying, really tall, very scary, intimidating. With petrifying rage blackouts."
"Really? Are you sure she's not a shorter girl who probably weighs less than a Chihuahua?" Shayla said as she watched the girl standing behind Seth with her arms crossed.
"No, she probably weighed three hundred pounds." Seth said, getting nervous.
"I sure am." Summer came up behind Seth and grabbed his shoulder quickly. "I use mirrors to look this great. Cohen, can I talk to you?"
'Are you going to hit me again?"
"Depends, now come on." Summer pulled outside and sat him near the pool on a bench.
"Cohen, you hurt me. You left me, all alone, with a note. I read that note more than fifty times before I finally got over you. Now you're back, and I don't ever want to see you again. I have a new boyfriend now. If you speak to me, he'll pummel your sorry ass."
"But Summer, it wasn't about you. You're not why I left. It was because of Ryan." Seth said trying to explain.
"You should have at least thought about me in your decision. I don't even want to see you at school. Even if it's an accident, I'm kicking your ass." Summer then left Seth by the pool, but quickly turned back. "Is that Ryan's girlfriend that you were talking to?"
"She's his sister. Ryan doesn't have a girlfriend, unless he's making out with Marissa upstairs."
"Oh, so she's probably looking for a boyfriend, right?" Summer started to look jealous.
"I don't know. I just met her."
"Well, if she is I better warn her about what an ass you are." Summer said, her temper was rising and that with jealousy was lethal.
"Why do you like seeing me suffer? I mean this is a girl who doesn't know what a dork I am and she acts as though she is interested in me."
"So?"
Seth looked back at her. She seemed so different now. How could he like someone like that? Then he looked at her short blue jean skirt and tight green tank top, and realized, that's why. So, really it was because she was sexy. Not because she stimulated him intellectually. "If you, at one point in your life, ever loved me, then you would care about my future. I mean we lost our virginity to each other. That has to mean something. I know that I hurt you, and you want to hate me for the rest of your life, but if you could just do me the favor of not spilling how terrible I am, then I would really appreciate it."
Summer stood there watching Seth's face. "Do you want to date her?"
"I don't know. She's really nice and I'd like to get to know her. I think if you give me the chance I can screw it up on my own."
"You probably could." Summer laughed. "Just don't talk to me okay. I won't mess with your life if you don't mess with mine."
"Deal." Seth smiled and started to walk slowly toward Summer. "I really am sorry. I just want you to know that I never stopped thinking about you. You weren't completely tossed aside."
Summer smiled slightly as Seth pushed her hair from her face. He slowly leaned into her face, but she moved away. "I'm not falling for that again Cohen. I need to be far away from you. Good bye."
"Bye." Seth watched as Summer walked through the kitchen, politely smiling and waving to Shayla, and stepping out of his line of vision. He leaned up against the wall and watched the sky as he contemplated his life without Summer. Would he be a better person, or would it not make an inkling of a difference? Well, there was only one way to find out. So he stepped off the wall and back into the kitchen.