Jess sped into the parking lot of the hospital. She quickly parked her car, and got out. Jess ran through the doors to the emergency room. She looked around, and spotted Seth and Summer. She knew they would know what was going on. She walked angrily towards them. "Where is he?"
Seth stood up. He knew she must've been talking about Trey. She wouldn't have cared about Ryan. Seth didn't know how to answer her. "Jess," he said. But then he paused.
"What is it?" she asked him, unsure of what his answer would be.
"He was shot," Seth managed to stutter out.
Jess froze. Was he serious, or was this some kind of joke? "What?" she firmly asked.
"I'm sorry," Seth said as he looked at Summer. He looked back at Jess. "He didn't make it."
Jess felt like she had been punched in the face. She slowly lowered herself and sat down. "Oh my god," she said in a frozen tone. "You can't be serious?" But from the look on his face, she could tell he was serious. And then she did some thinking. Her gun must've done the shooting. The police could trace that back to her. She panicked inside her head, trying not to show any signs to Seth or Summer. She stood up. "I have to go," she said as she left the hospital.
Jess ran out the hospital doors, and straight to her car. She got in quickly and reached under the seat. Jess pulled out the money and just stared at it. She was panicking. What should she do? Should she just take the money and go to Vegas anyways, like planned. She had to. She had no other choice. She backed out of the parking lot, and sped out of Newport.
Sandy and Marissa walked out of the office to see her parents. Jimmy and Julie and been waiting for a while. They were so anxious to see their daughter. Jimmy spotted her first and ran to her. He grabbed her and held her. The tears started flowing down her cheeks. Julie then hugged her too. All three of them just stood there, holding each other. Jimmy and Julie were both crying, but their tears were nothing compared to Marissa's. She needed them so badly right now.
Jimmy stared at his daughter's water face. He wiped away the tears with his hands. "It's going to be okay," he assured her. "I promise."
Julie put her arm around Marissa. "You did what you had to do. We know it's hard, but you saved someone's life."
Marissa looked up at her mom. "I also ended someone's life," she said.
Julie was speechless. She didn't know how to respond. She just hugged Marissa and said, "Things will get better."
Marissa continued to sob. Her fragile body was shaking vigorously. Her parents continued to comfort her, but it didn't work. She would never be the same.
Ryan sat alone on the beach. It was late and cold, but he didn't care. He stared out at the vast ocean. He watched the waves crash against the shore. He couldn't take his eyes off the waves. They just continuously hit the sand. It was like a fight. Like his fight with Trey. He was the sand, and Trey was the crashing waves. The only difference was Trey stopped and fell. The waves didn't stop. He couldn't get the image of his mind. Trey hanging over him, blood slowly seeping through his shirt. It was an image that would haunt him forever. He started to cry. There was only one person he wanted to see right then, but that person was also the one person he didn't think he could see right then. He needed Marissa, but he knew things would be awkward. She saved his life, and he loved her, but she still did kill his brother. He wasn't mad about it. He was so grateful that she did it, but he still didn't know what it would like facing her for the first time.
Sandy approached Jimmy, Julie and Marissa. They all slowly turned to face him. "I just spoke with the officers. Under the circumstances, I think I you can get off on self defense. The only difficulty is the reason why Ryan went there in the first place. They could reason that you had a motive."
Julie and Jimmy both looked at Sandy, with confused faces. "What would her motive be?"
Sandy looked at Marissa and realized that she hadn't told them. Marissa nodded at Sandy, and he left them alone for a minute.
"What is it kiddo?" Jimmy asked her nervously. How could she have a motive?
Marissa stared at both her parents, while she continued to cry. She slowly revealed the marks on her chest. Julie's jaw dropped. "Did he do that to you?"
Marissa grabbed her parents and cried into their bodies. They didn't want to ask any questions that would upset her any further. Jimmy and Julie could both figure out the rest by themselves.
Ryan was still lying on the beach. He had no idea what time it was. He didn't care. He stared up at the stars. Trey was up there now. Or was he? Could he be down below? Ryan shook the thought out of his head. Trey had his problems, but he had a heart. He just couldn't get his brain working properly. He deserved punishment, but not this.
Seth and Summer slowly walked down the beach together. Neither of them was speaking. Just thinking. They never expected a night like this one to ever happen. They had thought dramatic things had happened before, but nothing touched this. This was something that no one should ever have to live through. Especially not kids. They were too young.
Summer suddenly stopped, and stared at the sand. She began to cry. Seth put his arm around her. Summer looked up at Seth with her watery eyes. "This is my fault."
"What?" Seth asked, trying to calm her down. "There is no way this is your fault."
"She told me a secret," Summer cried. "I told you something that was none of my business. If it wasn't for me, this never would've happened."
"I'm the one who told Ryan. I'm more at fault than you," Seth said as he stared at the ocean. He thought for a minute. "We can't do this. We can't blame ourselves, or anyone. It'll only make things harder."
The two continued to make their way down the beach, Summer resting her head on Seth's shoulder as they walked. And then they spotted a figure in the distance. It was Ryan. Summer looked up at Seth. "You go see him. I should probably go. He needs you," Summer told him. Seth agreed, and kissed her forehead goodbye. She quietly walked towards the pier.
Ryan looked up while lying down and saw Seth walking towards him. Seth quietly sat down beside him. He kept silent. He wanted to wait for Ryan to make the first words, to make sure he was ready. Seth stared at the ocean, Ryan at the stars. After a few minutes Ryan finally managed to say, "Hi."
Seth looked at him. "I'm sorry. I really don't know what to say," Seth said. He had never been in a situation like this.
"There's not much to say," Ryan whispered. "He's gone."
"I know," Seth said. He couldn't even imagine how Ryan must have felt right then. "It will be okay. It may not seem like it now, but it will be." Seth was trying his best, but he wasn't good at times like these.
"See that's the thing," Ryan said. "It won't be. You don't understand. This was my fault. I shouldn't have even gone over there in the first place."
Seth had no response. He didn't want to sugar coat a situation like that. He didn't want to try and make Ryan take his mind off the situation. All he wanted to do was support him. He put his hand on Ryan's shoulder in a brotherly way.
Ryan looked up at Seth. "Have you talked to Marissa yet?"
"Not yet. My dad's with her," Seth informed him.
Ryan felt horrible. He hated the position he put her in. He lay back down to the sand. He turned his head towards Seth. "I think I just need to be alone for a little bit."
Seth completely understood. He got up from the sand, and slowly made his way off the beach.
Marissa walked into her room. It was her first time being home since the night before. She had been in the station all night long. She dropped herself onto her bed. Marissa lay back and stared at the ceiling. She hadn't slept at all. She hadn't even bothered trying. Every single time she closed her eyes she saw the same thing. Trey's bleeding face staring at her, right after she pulled the trigger. She cried every time she pictured it. It was a look of pain and anger. She felt sick to her stomach every time she imagined the pain he must've been in. The pain caused by her. If only she had shot him in the foot. Why did she have to shoot him in the lungs? Why? No, don't think about things that way. She did what she had to do. She didn't have time to think about it. All she knew was she had to stop him from killing Ryan. That's what he was going to do. Right when the phone was ripped out of the wall, she knew what it was going to be used for. Marissa turned her face into the pillow and started to sob. She was crying so hard that it made her shake, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
The door slowly creaked up and revealed Summer standing in the doorway. "Coop?" Summer nervously whispered.
Marissa turned her face to the door, and then rested her head on the pillow.
Summer didn't know what to do. Should she just leave and let Marissa be alone? Or should she be there to comfort her best friend. "I can leave if you need to be by yourself," Summer told her friend.
Marissa wiped the water off her face. "No, its okay," she said as she sat up.
Summer slowly made her way to the bed and sat down beside Marissa. The site of Marissa's tears made Summer begin to cry. "I'm so sorry. I really don't know what to say."
Marissa tried to hold her in tears and Summer could see how hard she was trying. "Don't hold them in. It'll just make you cry even harder. I'm here for you."
Marissa collapsed onto Summer's lap in uncontrollable tears. Summer patted Marissa's hair and started to cry. The two best friends sat on the bed, crying hard, comforting each other.
Jimmy and Julie sat across from each other at the dining room table. Both of them were staring at different places. Julie's head was resting on the table. "I can't even begin to imagine how she's feeling," Julie said. "I literally can't."
Jimmy slowly nodded his head. "It's just completely unfair. They're all just kids. They're way too young to deal with an emotional tragedy like this."
Julie looked up at Jimmy. "What is this going to do to her?" she asked nervously.
"I have no idea," he said. "I honestly don't know what's going to happen."
Julie sighed. "How is she going to live with this? She saved a life, but still. I don't know if I could live with killing someone, and I'm a full grown woman. She's only a teenager. And she's never been emotionally strong."
Jimmy stared at Julie. "We're going to have to support her 100 percent. She needs us. But we also have to give her all the space she needs."
Julie stared down at the table. "Poor Ryan. He's also going to be going through a really tough time. He and Marissa will need each other. I hope this won't pull them apart. That will destroy her even more," Julie said, concerned.
"He's a smart kid," Jimmy assured Julie. "This will make them stronger."
Sandy stood in the kitchen, alone. He looked around the room. He pictured Trey standing there holding the paper, looking for a job. He erased the image from his mind. Sandy looked over at the phone. Should he call her? How could he not? It would make things even harder for her, but this was something she needed to know. If he didn't call, all hell would break lose when she got home and found out. This was something she had to know. Sandy picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Suriak Centre, how may I help you?" a woman answered.
"Hi, this is Sandy Cohen calling. I need to speak with my wife, Kirsten Cohen."
"One moment please," the lady said into the phone. She typed Kirsten Cohen into the computer to find her room number. She read Kirsten's information. "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Cohen. Mrs. Cohen won't be able to use the phone for another 48 hours. She's still in detox."
Sandy sighed. "I'm afraid I need to speak with her. It's an emergency."
"I'm sorry Mr. Cohen," the lady began, but Sandy interrupted her.
"There's been a death," he said into the phone.
The woman froze. "Okay Mr. Cohen, I'll forward you through to her."
Sandy waited a couple minutes. How was he going to tell her? What was she going to do? His thoughts were interrupted.
"Sandy?" Kirsten said into the phone. She was excited to talk to him, but wondered why she was allowed to break the 72 hour rule.
Sandy was so happy to hear her voice. He missed her, and needed her so badly. "Kirsten, hi," he nervously said into the phone.
She started to get teary. "I miss you. It's so lonely in here."
"I miss you too," Sandy said into the phone.
"It's so good to hear your voice," she smiled.
Sandy hesitated. "Kirsten, something has happened."
Her smile turned into a worried look. "What is it?" she cautiously asked.
"Trey was passed away," Sandy slowly said into the phone as his voice saddened.
"What?" she shrieked. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? No, of course not. How could it be?
"There was an accident last night," Sandy told her through the phone.
Kirsten was completely frozen. She now knew it was true. "What kind of accident?" Her voice was getting shaky.
"I won't go into detail right now. Trey and Ryan got into a very serious fight, and Marissa was forced to use a gun to save Ryan's life. Unfortunately, it ended Trey's life." He didn't know any other way of telling her.
Kirsten's jaw dropped. She started to shake. She dropped the phone onto the ground. Was this true? Yes, it had to be. She began to cry. She couldn't stay in there at a time like this. Her family needed her. She had to be with her. She couldn't stay alone after this tragedy. She slowly got up and emptied her drawers. Kirsten stuffed all of her stuff into her bag. She had to get out of there.
Kirsten grabbed her bag and walked out of her room. She had to get out of there. She needed to see her family. She bolted down the hall, but was stopped by a locked door at the end. She began banging furiously on the door. They had to let her go. They just had to. No one could keep her in there after such a tragedy just took place at home. A nurse down the hall heard the ruckus and walked towards Kirsten.
"Mrs. Cohen, it's time to go back in your room," she said.
"Get away from me," Kirsten told her furiously. She turned back to the door and continuously tried to break it down, but she knew she had no hope. The nurse tried to take her arm, but Kirsten shoved her away. Two more orderlies had seen what was going on and ran down the hall. They had to hold Kirsten and force her back to her room, as the tears poured out of her eyes. Why were they doing this? It wasn't fair. Why wouldn't they let her be with her family?
Ryan slowly made his way up the Cohen's driveway. He had been at the beach all night. He couldn't stop thinking about everything. He just didn't understand why things had to end the way they did. Why did he go over there? Ryan opened the front door to the Cohen's house, and made his way inside. He walked through the living room and saw Seth and Sandy standing there. No one spoke.
Sandy walked over to Ryan and hugged him. "You're a good kid," he whispered.
Ryan weakly smiled. "Thanks." Ryan started to walk through to kitchen towards the door, but then stopped. He slowly turned around and faced Sandy. "Could you do me a favour?" he asked.
"Of course." Sandy was glad to hear Ryan talking.
Ryan looked down at the ground. "Could you, uh, find my mom?" he asked.
Sandy nodded to Ryan. "Of course I can."
"Thanks," Ryan said as he walked out the door and over to the pool house. He walked in and jumped immediately at the sight of Trey sitting on the bed. No, it wasn't true. It was his imagination. He put his hands up to his face and wiped his eyes.
Summer and Marissa sat on Marissa's bed. Each of them deep in their own thoughts. Marissa still couldn't get that one image out of her head. She didn't think she would ever be able to erase Trey's face staring back at her. She wanted to keep a fonder memory, but that's the only image she could see.
Summer kept running the same thing through her head. How could I of broken her promise? Summer felt terrible. She didn't want to bring it up, but she couldn't get it out of her mind. Marissa had told her something confidential, and she had to open her big mouth and tell Seth, knowing that he would tell Ryan. She felt so stupid. Summer looked over at Marissa. Marissa was staring at the wall. She wasn't moving. Barely even blinking. What was she thinking? Summer wished she could make things better, but she couldn't. She couldn't even imagine the thoughts Marissa must be thinking. "Coop?" she finally spoke up.
Marissa turned her head and looked at Summer.
"Do you think maybe we should go downstairs for something to eat or drink?" Summer asked concerned. She assumed that Marissa hadn't eaten yet.
Marissa showed a very weak smile. "Okay," she responded shakily.
The two girls got off the bed and made their way downstairs. Julie greeted them in the kitchen. She walked up to Marissa and gave her a hug. Marissa wasn't used to hugs from her mother, but she appreciated them at this time.
Julie turned to Summer. "Hi, Summer," she said in a nice voice with a hug.
"I'll be back, I have to go to the washroom," Marissa said as she left the room.
Summer and Julie both stood in the middle of the kitchen. Julie looked over at Summer. "You going okay?" she asked sincerely.
"About as well as I could be at a time like this," Summer told her.
"Summer," Julie said. "Marissa is going to need you more than anyone right now. You're her best friend."
"I know. It's so hard to see her like this," Summer said as she wiped a tear off her cheek.
"Yeah," Julie said quietly. "She's a strong person. But she's going to need all of you to get through this. This must be so hard for all of you."
Marissa opened the door to her room. She walked into the room quietly, and then towards her dresser. She opened the top drawer and removed a shirt. Marissa slowly unraveled the shirt to reveal a small metal flask. She stared deeply at the object in her hands. No. Put it away, she thought to herself. But it looked so appealing. Alcohol always takes away the pain when she's depressed. And she had never been more depressed than now. She wanted it so badly. But then she did something she wasn't expecting. Marissa wrapped the flask back up in the shirt, and put it away. She had to be strong.
Kirsten sat on her bed. Her hands were covering her face. The tears seeped through the small spaces between her fingers. She tightly held her family's Chrismukkah picture from last year against her chest. She didn't understand why they were forcing her to stay in there. She needed her family and her family needed her. She couldn't stand being so alone at a time like this one. The phone in her room began to ring. Kirsten tilted her head towards the phone and stared. She didn't want to move. After the fourth ring she managed to move herself to answer it. "Hello?"
"Kirsten, hi," Sandy quietly said into the phone. All he heard was her crying.
"Hi," she whispered. "I need out," she told her husband.
"Kirsten, I know you're upset, but you have to get better," Sandy told her.
Kirsten looked at the ground in anger. "I'm fine" she growled.
"You're not fine," Sandy insisted.
Kirsten cried even harder. Why was he doing this? Of all people, she expected him to understand. "I can get better later. We can work through this at home. I need to be with my family!"
Sandy stood frozen in the Cohen's kitchen. It was painful to hear her cry. He hated it, but he knew he was going the right thing. "I'll come visit you today, I promise."
Kirsten hesitated. Sandy wasn't the person she wanted to see. "Could you send Ryan when he's ready?" she asked him as she managed to control her tears.
Sandy nodded as her answered. "I promise."
Marissa was lying alone on her bed. She stared at her dresser. Her eyes were frozen. She wanted a drink so badly. She ran through all of her memories of her times with Trey through her head. And then she jumped from terror as she remembered the incident on the beach. The incident that started it all. If only they hadn't drunken that night. If they hadn't, Trey would still be alive, Ryan would still be happy, and she wouldn't be a murderer. Marissa cried hard into her pillow. She finally got up and stood in front of the dresser. She pulled out the same shirt and unraveled it. She needed it. She needed something. She couldn't stand the thoughts any more. Marissa needed something to wash out the thoughts she was running through her mind. She slowly opened the metal flask. She put the drink up to her lips and took a sip, but then spat it out against the mirror. Marissa quickly walked to the bathroom and locked the door. She emptied the contents of the flask into the sink, and then turned on the taps. She had to be strong. Alcohol would only end up putting her in a permanent depression. There was something she had to do, and it didn't involve drinking. Marissa walked into her room and closed the door. She nervously walked towards the phone and picked it up. She shook as she dialed the numbers. Should she really call him? Yes. They needed to speak to each other.
"Hello?" Seth answered on the other line.
"Hi," Marissa shakily said.
Seth immediately froze. He didn't know how to act. "You doing okay?" he asked her.
"Well, you know," she answered awkwardly.
"Yea," Seth responded.
"Is he there?" Marissa slowly asked Seth.
"One second," Seth said. He walked out of the kitchen and down to the pool house. Seth knocked on the door and Ryan answered. Seth covered the phone and whispered, "Its Marissa."
Ryan hesitated. He didn't know if he was ready to talk to her. But then he spontaneously grabbed the phone from Seth. Seth closed the door and walked away, to give Ryan some privacy.
"Hello?" Ryan nervously said into the phone.
Marissa froze on the other end. She was wiping away her tears. "Hi," she said through her crying.
Ryan could immediately tell she was a mess. It was completely silent and awkward. No one knew what to say.
"I love you," Marissa whispered.
Ryan was taken aback, but a small smile crossed his face. "I love you too," he said as he sniffled.
Marissa completely lost it and broke down. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed into the phone.
"This wasn't your fault. You saved me," he assured her.
"Can we do this in person?" Marissa nervously asked. "This doesn't feel right over the phone."
Ryan paused, but then agreed. "Okay, come here."
Marissa said goodbye and hung up the phone. She started to cry even harder. She wanted to see him so badly, but it was going to be so hard. It was going to be very emotional for her.
Ryan hung up the phone and stared at the ground. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Ryan looked up and saw a face he hadn't seen in a long time.
Dawn Atwood was staring back at him. A single tear was rolling down her face. She raised her hand and gave him a wave. "Hi Ry."
"Mom," Ryan said. He was shocked to see her. He hadn't seen her since he first moved in with the Cohen's.
Dawn ran to him and grabbed him. The mother and son hugged for what seemed like forever. Dawn cried into Ryan's shoulder. "It's going to be okay," she kept repeating to him. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too," Ryan told his mother as he tried to hold in his emotions.
Dawn sat down on Ryan's bed, and he sat right beside her. "I found a way to get here as soon as I spoke with Sandy. Are you doing okay?"
Ryan looked at his mom. "I don't know. I guess so. I'm not really sure. Are you?"
Dawn gave a weak smile, and then started to cry. "I just wish I could've seen him once more. I haven't even spoken to him since I left you here. I tried to visit him in prison, but he, well, he hates me."
Ryan had a hard time listening to his mom. He put his arm around her for comfort. "He doesn't hate you. He was just confused."
Dawn smiled at Ryan. "Thanks." Neither of them spoke. They both just stared at the ground. "Have you spoken to the girl that, well, you know," Dawn nervously asked.
Marissa, Ryan thought to himself. He had completely forgotten that she was coming over. There was a knock on the pool house door and he looked up and could see Marissa's legs at the bottom of the curtains. He turned to his mom. "That's her," he carefully said, unsure of how his mother would react.
Dawn stood up. "It's okay. You two talk. I'll go get my stuff settled in the guest room."
Dawn walked to the door and opened it. Marissa was in complete shock when she saw Dawn. Oh my god. Ryan's mother. What was she doing here? What was she going to say? Marissa killed her son. Marissa started to shake.
Dawn could see the terror in the poor girl's eyes. She walked to Marissa and gave her a hug. Marissa was startled and taken aback by the hug. She started to quietly cry as Dawn hugged her. Dawn let go and then walked back Marissa and left the pool house.
Marissa and Ryan both stared at each other. Neither of them knew what to say. Marissa finally made the first move and walked towards him and hugged Ryan. She started to bawl in his arms. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry," she continually told him.
Ryan rubbed her back and started to get teary as well. "It's okay. If it weren't for you, I'd be gone."
Marissa wiped her tears away and stared at him. "I love you so much."
Ryan sat down on the bed and lay down. She lay down beside him. "I love you too," he told her. "I'm so sorry that you had to do that."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself," Marissa sobbed into his arms. "This is my fault."
"No it's not," he insisted. Ryan sat up and stared at her. "We have to work together to get through this."