Disclaimer: still don't own any of it.

Chapter 4.

"It makes a sound like thunder, it makes me feel like rain.
And like a fool who will never see the truth,
I keep thinking something's gonna change." – Patty Smyth and Don Henley. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough.

Ryan cycled as fast as his legs would allow, feeling the rain lashing at his face. His hands were numb, knuckles white from holding the handlebars too tight. Damn it – he was late. This was the fastest route he knew, not the actual fastest way between Lindsay's house and the Cohen's but the one with the least obstacles. He glanced down at his watch: 3.27. The Gimme Sex had to be in the living room by 3.32 if Seth was to get Summer back. There was little chance he'd make it on time but he still had to try.

After the soul-destroying day when he'd scared Lindsay away and returned home to find a Summer-less Seth, all Ryan had wanted was to lie in bed and leave the world to it. He covered his head with a pillow when the ringing of the cell phone woke him up and tried to ignore Seth when he entered the room.

"You seriously need to answer your phone. Man, is this rain ever going to stop?" A beat before Seth added, "You're still in bed?" Another beat and then, "So Alex gave me my job back and an advance. Operation Summer Breeze is all go." Seth pacing impatiently, rambling on about how all he needed was one last grand gesture. Ryan had heard it all before. He was pretty sure he was going to hear it all again. But it was the tone in Seth's voice that drove him crazy most. The absolute confidence that he was going to get Summer back. It was a stark contrast to the Seth he'd encountered at the end of the last day. Completely and utterly defeated. Ryan could barely cope with his own failure. Failing Seth as well was too much.

"Ryan!" Seth exclaimed again. "Get out of bed. We need to go and buy my boat back!"

When Ryan didn't respond again he grabbed at the edge of the duvet. "Okay. I'm giving you 5 seconds to get up and then I'm taking your covers away. Five, four, three – You're not naked under there are you? Two – You'd better not be naked under there-"

Ryan didn't move. He couldn't do this anymore.

"One!" Seth pulled at the covers and the pillow, revealing a Ryan in nothing more than black boxers. He let his breath out dramatically, "Phew! Really glad you weren't naked. Now get up so we can get my boat back!"

Ryan just lay there coverless. It was his stand against the world. He was not going to play these crazy games anymore. He was done.

Seth cocked his head to one side. "What's wrong with you?" He began to sit down in the chair by the door but changed his mind and continued to pace up and down the room.

Ryan grabbed for his sheets, pulling them back over himself. "Nothing," he offered. "I'm… I'm just tired."

"Well you look like you could use some Boyz2Men and we don't even know if Grandpa is Lindsay's dad yet." As self-obsessed as Seth was, he had still managed to pinpoint what was bothering Ryan.

Except Lindsay wasn't someone Ryan wanted to think about today. The image of him physically trying to stop her leaving the diner was too clear in his mind already. That, plus the image of Seth dangling upside down with no Summer to rescue him was too much to bear. He couldn't fix it. He didn't know how to fix it. But he did know how to get rid of Seth. "Go and buy your boat back. I'll be around later to go over your plan one more time."

Seth looked at him slightly strangely but shrugged. He had places to go, boats to buy back, Summer to win back. "See ya later then."

As Ryan lay in bed that day he'd grown more and more frustrated. As much as he wanted to just stay there and brood he still felt like there was some chance he could fix it. Out of all the days he'd been given to start over – and there were a lot he would have liked the chance at- this was the day he had been given. He just needed to work out what he needed to do. He'd realised he'd been too quick, tried to change too much too quickly. Punch first, think later. The Atwood philosophy. He needed to be more methodical. In science experiments you only changed one variable at a time. Since then that was what he'd been doing. Sometimes he just let the day play out as it had the first time. Took in all the twists and turns of the day and how everything fitted together. Other days he tried changing things: A talk with Caleb, a different attempt at the conversation with Renee, trying to persuade Kirsten to talk to Lindsay. Still no luck.

He was cycling as fast as he could to help Seth get the boat into the living room on time. If the boat was in the living room a second later than 3.32, Seth would make the phone call to Summer too late. She'd have already retrieved Princess Sparkle from her bedroom and would be on her way to the airport with Zach. Without that phone call, Seth would have no reason to phone her again and leave a message apologising. No message, no Summer realising she couldn't go to Italy with Zach, no Spider Man kiss in the rain.

And now Ryan was late. He'd been making some headway with Lindsay but he couldn't handle the idea of getting her to stay at the expense of Seth losing Summer. 3.31. He was in the driveway now and could see Seth struggling with boat. He jumped off his bike, letting it slide to the ground on the wet concrete. 3.32. Too late.

Ryan knocked lightly on the doorframe. It was that time again. "I talked it over with my mom and I'm going to go with her. To Chicago." Sometimes it came out differently. Sometimes he'd change enough during the day that the words would be different. But the result still ended up the same.

"I talked to Kirsten. You're really lucky to have her. And I'm really lucky to have my mom. I can't leave her Ryan."

"I talked to Caleb and I can't move in with him. I'm not ready to be Caleb Nichol's daughter yet."

"I talked it over with my mom and I'm going to go with her. To Chicago."

It was worse on the days when he knew he would be going home to find a Summer-less Seth. Ryan was tired. Tired of screwing up, tired of trying to think up new ways to fix things. Tired. Lindsay wrapped her arms around him after explaining that she didn't want to be Caleb Nichol's daughter, that her mom was the only real family she had.

Ryan didn't seize up anymore. He hugged her back with all the energy he could. "Can I stay a while?"

Lindsay nodded through her tears. He went over to the bed and removed the boxes from on top of it. He didn't want to feel the rain coursing over him at the pier. He didn't want Marissa's gentle hand on his back, trying to comfort him. He didn't want to go home and see Seth dangling upside down. He just wanted to be here with Lindsay.

He lay down on his back, one arm tucked behind his head, the other outstretched. She lay down next to him, curling up with her head on his chest. Ryan wrapped his arm around her and stroked her hair slowly. He could feel his heavy eyelids beginning to close but fought to keep them open. If he went to sleep everything would be erased. Moments like this were the only respite he had in the endless repeating day. Yes, Lindsay was still leaving. But right now she was here and he wanted to feel her in his arms for as long as possible. A little time-out from the constant worrying and planning. A little rest. His body relaxed into the mattress, sleep winning out.

Ryan woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He opened his eyes to the familiar sight of the pool house. Same place. Same time. Same Day.

TBC

Apologies for the short chapter but I needed it to get where I want to go... Coming next: Seth finds out about Ryan's Groundhog Day.