Disclaimer: It all belongs to Josh Schwartz, yet I fictionalized it with some of my own characters. This goes for every chapter in this story.
Similarities to The Deep End of the Ocean? Actually yes. So please don't sue me for that either. That movie is absolutely amazing. One of the bests ever- it is sure to make you cry. I never cry in movies but I cried in that one. So the story line is pretty much the same, but many alterations as well.
Summary: When 5-year old Ava Cohen suddenly goes missing at the Harbour High reunion, it becomes a worldwide panic and search for the young girl. Will Ava be found?
"Ava and Daniel sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" The mocking 5 years-olds chanted, looking on at Ava Cohen and Daniel Martin who were playing nicely in the sandbox together.
Ava rolled her eyes and ignored her classmates. Daniel, however, looked horrified that his friends would sing such a song, especially with Ava Cohen. "Ew! Me and Ava? Puleeze." Daniel stood up, brushing the sand off of his pants and walking over to join his friends.
Ava shrugged and went back to building her sandcastle; she didn't care what other kids thought of her. She also didn't understand why she was so disliked. She figured that it was better to stay out of the way and to be ignored, rather than to be teased. So Ava was pretty much a loner in the kindergarden class, but she chose not to let it bother her.
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"Hi sweetie! How was your day at school?" Summer Cohen asked as her blonde haired daughter made her way into the kitchen.
Ava simply shrugged, grabbing a bagel off of the counter and walking out of the kitchen.
Summer knew that something was up. She had received countless phone calls regarding Ava's 'distantness' from her peers and how she seemed to be holding herself back in class. At this point, Summer didn't know what to do! At first she and Seth had tried disciplining Ava, but she didn't seem to mind. Then they began to use bribes, anything that may have tempted Ava to become more social, but nothing had worked. And by now, Summer was plain out of ideas.
It had never been an issue with Tyler, her eight year old son. Tyler had always been extremely social. He was on the Jr. Surfing Team, Jr. Soccer Team, and (to Seth's dismay) captain of the Jr. Water Polo Team. Everybody had seemed to want to be Tyler's friend. He constantly had friends over, and Summer had never once received a complaint from a teacher. He was an all-round great kid. But with Ava, Summer just couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.
It wasn't just that kids didn't like her; it was that since day one, she had never made any effort to create a relationship with her peers. Summer decided to talk to Seth that night; he always had a way of getting through to Ava.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Ava, Bava, Shmava!" Tyler teased as he entered her room, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
Ava let out a breath of air, sending her bangs flying upwards. "Leave me alone Tyler." She said effortlessly, knowing that Ty had a lot more power than she did.
"Geez, don't be so rude. I'm just being nice to you; God knows someone has to be."
Ava ignored him, continuing to work on the picture on front of her. Ava loved to draw. She poured all of her heart and emotions into her artwork. Her art teacher, Ms. Almanac, was the only one who had never complained to her mother about straying off task. The truth was that Ava felt as though drawing would take away all of the pain that she felt inside. It was a way of expressing herself without having to use words.
"Ooh… pretty picture Ava! Can I see it?" Tyler leaned over her shoulder looking at the drawing in front of her.
Ava's expression changed from blank to angry. "No! Don't touch my picture!" And with that she snatched her picture angrily, storming out of her room.
Tyler just looked puzzled. He had never understood what was wrong with his sister. It was almost embarrassing to have friends over and for them to see was a loser of a sister he had. He had tried and tried to help out Ava. He even got a few of his friends to beg their sisters to invite Ava over, but it was Ava who had refused. Ty was smart enough to know the pain that she had been causing his mother. Every time she received a phone call he would watch her facial expression change from happy to hurt.
Sighing Tyler took one last look in Ava's room before going into his own to call up a friend.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Summer lay in bed that night staring in to space as Seth sat next to her reading his comic book. It never ceased to amuse Summer how a 29 year old man still read comic books. Usually she would tease and taunt Seth and he would tickle her and kiss her until she quit teasing him. But tonight was different. Summer didn't even think about Seth and his comic. She was thinking about Ava.
"Sum?" Seth asked, laying down his comic to snuggle closer to his worried wife. Seth had never seen Summer so confused before. Her face was blank and she seemed to not even hear him when he spoke to her. He knew something was on her mind. "Hello? Summer Cohen?"
Summer shook her head to come out of her trance and gave a weak smile to Seth. "Hey baby." He was so cute with his messy hair and worried facial expression.
Seth brushed a piece of hair past Summer's face and tucked it behind her ear. "Baby what's wrong? You've been so quiet tonight. I miss the old Summer!"
Summer smiled and grabbed her husband's hand giving it a small squeeze. "I'm just worried about Ava. She has been so distant for the past couple of months. A five year old is supposed to be energetic and crazy and happy! A girl this young should not be suffering from depression. I don't know what to do anymore Cohen." At this point tears began to roll down Summer's cheeks. Everything she had been holding in for weeks and weeks now was finally being let out. She let herself cry into Seth's chest as he slowly rubbed her back, not saying anything, just letting her cry.
When she was finally done, Summer looked up red-eyed and hugged Seth tightly. "I just don't know what to do anymore," she whispered into his ear, not letting go of the hug.
Seth finally released looking Summer straight in the eyes. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Don't worry. We're going to Newport tomorrow and we'll sort everything out once we get there."
Summer nodded. Tomorrow was her and Seth's high school reunion. They were flying in from Chicago to see all of their old high school friends. For Summer it meant every person there. For Seth it meant Ryan and Marissa. Tyler was thrilled because his cousin Matthew would be there and Ava, of course, showed no reaction whatsoever regarding her excitement.
"Okay, let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." Seth said as he gave Summer a peck on the lips before turning off the lamp beside him.
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No idea if this interests any of you, but I hope that you continue to read it! Please review to tell me if you like the story plot.