Chapter 2

My Cheesy Cohen

"Suuuuumer…Suuumer…Summer," a gentle murmur in my ear woke me up. It was Ryan. I was still on his bed in the pool house. I smiled at him.

"Where's Seth?" I yawned and then winced. My ribs were so sore I couldn't move. Before I knew it Seth was at my side again.

"Are you okay Summer?" he asked bending over me. Sadness was in his eyes and it killed me to know I had put it there.

"I…I can't move," I stuttered. I was so scared. This had never happened to me before. I tensed and started to cry again.

"We're taking you to the hospital," Ryan said firmly.

"No!" I cried. I saw my dad walking into the emergency room, his fake face put on. He would act like he cared. Like he was genuinely concerned for my well being. I knew it would never be true. I couldn't have it.

"Morning guys," Marissa knocked gently on the door of the pool house and entered. She saw me and hurried over.

"Summer," she sat down next to me on the bed.

"She can't move," Seth said.

"We're taking her to the hospital," Ryan said again.

"No your not!" I screamed again. It hurt my ribs and I quickly quieted down.

"Shhh. Summer its okay," Marissa tried calming me down as she stroked my hair. I continued to cry as I continued to panic.

"I'm not going to school. I'm staying here with her," Seth stated firmly.

"So am I," Marissa said.

"Summer, listen to me," Ryan got down on his knee and stared me in the eyes. I was still lying on my side, shuddering as chills of pain shot down my spine. "Please let us take you to the hospital. He could have broken your ribs when he kicked you." Those words scared me like nothing ever had before. I tried to take a deep breath but stopped when the pain became too much.

"I can't Ryan," I said tears streaming out of my eyes. "Then he'll know I went for help." I guess Ryan saw how desperate I was because he clasped his hand over mine and sighed.

"Please Summer," Seth tried me. "What if he didn't find out?"

"I'll just stay here," I said quietly. "Nobody ever has to know anything." It was Friday so I figured that if I just missed today, now and the weekend would be enough time for me to heal before going back on Monday.

"I don't want you to hurt," Seth nudged me slightly. I had trouble reading his gaze. He seemed so upset. I would have done anything to have taken away his pain. Anything but go to the hospital.

"We're going to stay with you then okay?" Marissa said continuing to stroke my hair. I winced as she her fingers brushed over the small gash I had received last night when my father pushed me against the coffee table.

"We better go to school," Ryan said to Marissa. "Seth can stay with Summer. Or else Sandy and Kirsten might get suspicious." Marissa looked at me. Her eyes were full of worry. I hated making my friends feel this way. I hated my father for not only hurting me but my friends as well. They hurt when I hurt. For that I was grateful.

"We'll be back as soon as school is over," Marissa promised me. She hugged me gently around the neck and managed to smile.

"Seth'll take good care of you," Ryan said. He bent over and gave me a kiss on the head before following Marissa out of the pool house. I moaned slightly. I hoped my ribs weren't broken. It would be a lot harder to run at night. Usually my dad didn't care where I was Friday through Sunday night. On Sunday night all the way through Thursday night, he would come looking for me. It didn't take a rocket scientist to find me either. Marissa's house, Cohen's house. I didn't bother finding any where else to go. Where would I go? At least I would feel safe the time before he came knocking on the door. But most of the time I didn't even bother and just came home after school.

I would eat the food that Seth, Ryan, and Marissa would give me in the morning. That time it was usually digested by the time I got home. Sometimes my father would make me throw up after school to make sure I hadn't eaten. When he saw the contents of my stomach spill out into the toilet he would grow angry. Things weren't good for me when he was angry. Seth took me into his arms again.

"It's Friday. And you know what Friday means right?" Seth wiped a tear off of my face with the pad of his thumb.

"I get to spend all weekend with you," I answered. A smile broke over my face. This was amazing. Here I was, with possible broken ribs and just sitting here with Seth made things seem okay again.

"Oh your way off. It's Captain Oats and Princess Sparkles poker night!" Seth cried, tickling my belly. I hit him in the arm.

"You're so cheesy Cohen!" After a while we heard the sound of cars backing out of the driveway. Seth let out a sigh of relief.

"We can go in now," he said.

"Hello! Broken ribs here," I smiled sarcastically.

"Not an issue." Seth cradled me in his arms and hoisted me off of the bed. I ran my fingers through his hair and smiled as he tiptoed into the house even though Sandy and Kirsten were already gone. Once up in his room he set me down gently on his bed and drew his blinds shut.

"How's this for a day off huh?" Seth turned on the radio and climbed up on the bed. Soft, jazz music filled the room.

"Cheesy Cohen!" I cried again, giggling and settling down into his arms. He fingered sections of my hair and sighed.

"I love you," he murmured. I felt him press a kiss into my hair. "I hate it when he hurts you."

"I'm not too big of a fan myself," I smiled at his expression.

"Why won't you let us help you Sum? Why don't you let dad take him to court?"

"It'll never work," I said. "He'll find ways around it."

"Not if your there to stand up for yourself," Seth said.

"I can't stand up to him," I said surely.

"I'm always going to be here for you Summer," he said.

"What are we going to do today?" I asked.

"Whatever you want," Seth nuzzled my neck. I giggled as I looked forward to a worry free day with my Seth.