Her footsteps on the cold floor rang out hollow, expensive heels clicking in an unstable rhythm. Summer's eyes stung and she couldn't work out if she was crying because she was sad, or from shock. She didn't understand the situation at all. As she approached the doors leading into the American Literature lecture Summer tried to pull herself together.
She pulled open the door and scanned the room, looking for Seth. When she spotted him Summer strode over, grabbing his hand and tugging him to his feet, ignoring the cat calls from other students and protests from Professor Brink.
"Summer?" he looked surprised, but seemed to be revelling in what could have been some sad virgin's fantasy.
"You're on call, Cohen!"
"Do it for meee!"
"Summer need a little sumpthin sumpthin?"
Winking in a debonaire Seth acceeded to her request allowing himself to be dragged out of the room to the sounds of Brink promising to fail him. Caught up in the moment he didn't notice that Summer's eyes were red or that her face was puffy. As soon as they were outside the doors she stopped and he finally caught on that something was wrong as Summer shrank into herself.
"What's wrong, Sum?" he questioned concern colouring his voice as he brushed a strand of salt-sticky hair from her face.
"My mom died. My real one," she answered flatly.
For a moment Seth was speechless, he really wasn't sure what he should say in a situation like this. He knew that Summer's mother had left when she was younger and she hadn't seen her since, but was she sad? Angry? Satisfied? From the look on her face she was as confused as he was.
Wrapping an arm around her neck Seth pulled her to him his other arm going round her waist.
"Oh, Summer.."
She started crying again, her mouth resting quietly on his shoulder as her small frame shook with sobs.
"Don't cry, Sum.." Seth searched for something to say, "you'll go all puffy, like Slimer.. you know? From the Ghostbusters.. Please don't cry.."
"I'm sorry," she croaked.
"Oh, no. No, no, Summer, no, don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.." he babbled.
Seth wished that he'd tidied the dorm before he'd left in the morning. Sure, it's not like he could have known that he would have a crying Summer on his bed, but he should have at least forseen a Summer on his bed. The problem was that with Ryan spending most of his time bagging up his stuff and bunking with Marissa and Summer bedding with himself, Seth's dorm room was pretty much uprooted most of the time. Full of crumpled clothes and half-drunk cans of soda.
As he tried to shove some shirts under the bed with his foot Summer looked up at him, sniffing as she pulled on his sleeve.
"I don't care, Cohen, can you just.. just sit with me or something," she choked quietly.
Sideling down onto the bed next to her Seth reached out a hand to smooth over Summer's back as her head fell to rest on his shoulder.
"I don't wanna go home.." she sniffed.
"You can stay here, I'll get you some stuff if you want, like clothes, girl stuff.. Toothbrush, whatever," he stumbled.
"I don't want to be on my own, I don't get this. It's like I don't know what I'm meant to feel and I feel like I'm getting it all wrong and you know maybe the stupid phone call was a hoax and this is like some cruel joke, how am I meant to know?" she cried.
"Well, who called you? Did you know them?" he asked softly.
"My Aunt Carol, I haven't seen her since I was six, but.."
Seth sighed, tightening his hold on Summer as he pulled her into his lap. After a while he pulled back to look at her.
"You want me to call someone? Your dad? Marissa? Are you sure you don't want to go home.. Like home home, Newport home? Silk sheets and grapefruit for breakfast sounds more.. better? Than crashing here and eating.." he looked around, "breath mints and a two day old bagel in the morning. I mean, if you want."
"I don't want," she said quickly, "I just want you."
"I'm sorry. I just, I don't know what you want me to do or what I should say. I mean this is like big. Biiig. And it's probably the only part of your life that was never public, that I never knew about. I need you to talk to me about this, Sum, I need to know what you need me to do," Seth rambled.
"I, I don't really know her. Didn't I mean. And when she like.. ditched, my dad got.. distant. He stopped smiling, and I was just.. I started doing it for him. We moved to Newport, then. And I started smiling for him."
"When you were ten," he finished for her. "Are you sad? Is, is that okay? To ask that? I, uh, are you?"
"I don't know. I think so. But what if I could have met her. She, I'm never going to get the chance to know her, or like forgive her."
"Would you?" he questioned.
Her face was blank, silent tears streamed down her face as Summer answered dully, numb from crying for the past hour, "I don't know."
Seth kissed the top of her head as she curled into him, sobbing her confusion out on his shirt.
She pulled open the door and scanned the room, looking for Seth. When she spotted him Summer strode over, grabbing his hand and tugging him to his feet, ignoring the cat calls from other students and protests from Professor Brink.
"Summer?" he looked surprised, but seemed to be revelling in what could have been some sad virgin's fantasy.
"You're on call, Cohen!"
"Do it for meee!"
"Summer need a little sumpthin sumpthin?"
Winking in a debonaire Seth acceeded to her request allowing himself to be dragged out of the room to the sounds of Brink promising to fail him. Caught up in the moment he didn't notice that Summer's eyes were red or that her face was puffy. As soon as they were outside the doors she stopped and he finally caught on that something was wrong as Summer shrank into herself.
"What's wrong, Sum?" he questioned concern colouring his voice as he brushed a strand of salt-sticky hair from her face.
"My mom died. My real one," she answered flatly.
For a moment Seth was speechless, he really wasn't sure what he should say in a situation like this. He knew that Summer's mother had left when she was younger and she hadn't seen her since, but was she sad? Angry? Satisfied? From the look on her face she was as confused as he was.
Wrapping an arm around her neck Seth pulled her to him his other arm going round her waist.
"Oh, Summer.."
She started crying again, her mouth resting quietly on his shoulder as her small frame shook with sobs.
"Don't cry, Sum.." Seth searched for something to say, "you'll go all puffy, like Slimer.. you know? From the Ghostbusters.. Please don't cry.."
"I'm sorry," she croaked.
"Oh, no. No, no, Summer, no, don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.." he babbled.
Seth wished that he'd tidied the dorm before he'd left in the morning. Sure, it's not like he could have known that he would have a crying Summer on his bed, but he should have at least forseen a Summer on his bed. The problem was that with Ryan spending most of his time bagging up his stuff and bunking with Marissa and Summer bedding with himself, Seth's dorm room was pretty much uprooted most of the time. Full of crumpled clothes and half-drunk cans of soda.
As he tried to shove some shirts under the bed with his foot Summer looked up at him, sniffing as she pulled on his sleeve.
"I don't care, Cohen, can you just.. just sit with me or something," she choked quietly.
Sideling down onto the bed next to her Seth reached out a hand to smooth over Summer's back as her head fell to rest on his shoulder.
"I don't wanna go home.." she sniffed.
"You can stay here, I'll get you some stuff if you want, like clothes, girl stuff.. Toothbrush, whatever," he stumbled.
"I don't want to be on my own, I don't get this. It's like I don't know what I'm meant to feel and I feel like I'm getting it all wrong and you know maybe the stupid phone call was a hoax and this is like some cruel joke, how am I meant to know?" she cried.
"Well, who called you? Did you know them?" he asked softly.
"My Aunt Carol, I haven't seen her since I was six, but.."
Seth sighed, tightening his hold on Summer as he pulled her into his lap. After a while he pulled back to look at her.
"You want me to call someone? Your dad? Marissa? Are you sure you don't want to go home.. Like home home, Newport home? Silk sheets and grapefruit for breakfast sounds more.. better? Than crashing here and eating.." he looked around, "breath mints and a two day old bagel in the morning. I mean, if you want."
"I don't want," she said quickly, "I just want you."
"I'm sorry. I just, I don't know what you want me to do or what I should say. I mean this is like big. Biiig. And it's probably the only part of your life that was never public, that I never knew about. I need you to talk to me about this, Sum, I need to know what you need me to do," Seth rambled.
"I, I don't really know her. Didn't I mean. And when she like.. ditched, my dad got.. distant. He stopped smiling, and I was just.. I started doing it for him. We moved to Newport, then. And I started smiling for him."
"When you were ten," he finished for her. "Are you sad? Is, is that okay? To ask that? I, uh, are you?"
"I don't know. I think so. But what if I could have met her. She, I'm never going to get the chance to know her, or like forgive her."
"Would you?" he questioned.
Her face was blank, silent tears streamed down her face as Summer answered dully, numb from crying for the past hour, "I don't know."
Seth kissed the top of her head as she curled into him, sobbing her confusion out on his shirt.