The O.C
A Life Half Lived
A/N: This chapter basically goes back to the very beginning before anything in the last chapter happened. For those of you who are wondering, this is a S/S story. Happy reading! Genevra xxox
Summary: "I don't look sick. I am sick."
Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with The OC. Sigh. I do however own any characters or scenarios you don't recognize. Yay!
Important/Setting: In case you don't understand the significance of the quote, without giving too much away it works on two levels as this is goes back to Season Two with major changes, of course and it's talking about learning something.
Chapter One: The Art of the Smashed Glass
"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read you begin with... ABC." The Sound Of Music. 1965.
"Seth, honey," Kirsten's voice resonated across the phone. "It's Mum. You should get here quick. It's Summer."
"Is it the baby?" Seth asked, the worry evident in his voice. The pause on the other end worried him to. His mother wasn't much for dramatic pauses. Neither was his father for that matter. They left that to the Atwood's who were all good at conveying things with a look or with a silence. Marissa had taken awhile to learn, but she had eventually gotten it. His thoughts ran away with him and it was another moment before he realized his mother still hadn't spoken. "Mum?"
"Seth, it's not the baby," Kirsten said, a sob in her voice. "She's sick. You need to come home."
Kirsten broke into a sob and dropped the phone on the floor. There was a resounding crash before it was picked up again.
"Son, come home," his father said. "Now."
The phone was dropped into the receiver on his father's end but Seth stood still and held the phone in his hand. Someone shouted an order into the kitchen and he fumbled to turn back to his job when he heard a smash on the floor. He looked down at the heap of broken glass and twisted blooms of purple, green and white. The vase. Someone said something else and he felt his shoulder being tapped. He turned to face the assailant and when he saw the bright, sharp blue of their eyes, he knew.
"I came to get you," his brother said.
He nodded briefly and turned on his heel, his trendy but comfortable bowling shoes crunching the glass under his feet. That was sound was familiar to him.
"Ducky," was all Seth heard. His ex-girlfriend, his ex-life, walking away from him was all he saw. He didn't hear the pleading in Summer's voice, or the pleading in her eyes. He didn't see Zach grab her hand or see Summer try to wrench away from him. he didn't hear her pleading with him to let her go. What he saw was her denying him any chance of forgiveness or any chance they would ever get back together.
He staggered towards the nearest bench and slumped down and watched the people swarm around him until he could have a clear head.
"Didn't work?" Alex asked. Seth shook his head and absentmindedly grabbed a broom and started to sweep up around his new boss. "Wow. it must have turned out really bad. You're actually working."
"Alex," he started but then stopped. She came around and stood in front of him and smiled in that way she had. She placed her hand on his forehead.
"You feel a little warm," she said. "Let me kiss you better."
She leaned forward and shocked, Seth let him kiss her but after a moment he stepped away.
"I'm sorry. I can't," he said. "I'm sorry."
"Relax, Seth. It's just a kiss," she said. He was obviously nervous so she repeated it. "Just a kiss. Doesn't mean anything."
"Try telling that to Summer," Seth spat.
"Making the girl jealous isn't your style?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.
"Not exactly. Alex, the truth is I don't know much about women at all," he said and then wished he hadn't admitted it.
"A-huh!" she said, in triumph. "Well, you've come to the right place. Let me give you a lesson in 'How to Get Your Girl. 101."
"Ok, umm. So maybe, when I said I didn't know much I just figured out that you would, you know, realize I was joking," Seth deadpanned.
"Right," Alex said. "Bad joke, Seth."
"Well, I thought it was funny," Seth jeered. They silently worked side by side for a moment. "Don't you think that Zach is like, perfect?"
"I guess from the outside he seems perfect," she said. "I get a feeling he'll slip up sooner or later but."
Seth was silent as eh thought about it. he could barely hear Alex talking, he was too busy replaying Summer's retreating form in his mind.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, when Alex whacked him with a tea towel.
"I said, that's when you make your move," she said. "Seth, are you all right?"
"Alex, I have to go," he said. He turned on his heel and knocked a glass off the counter in his desperate attempt to get his girl. Alex complained that now she was stuck with cleaning up the glass but when he ran off, his trendy but comfortable bowling shoes crunching the glass under his feet, she realized something must be up.
Ryan sped through the back streets in an attempt to get his 'brother' and best-friend home as quickly as possible.
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Seth asked. His face had paled and he swallowed every few words. Ryan could tell he was trying to keep his tone even and calm.
"No, I have no idea," Ryan answered, as he expertly changed lanes. "Marissa called me from your house and asked me to come and pick you up. She said something was up with Summer but she didn't want to tell me over the phone."
"Do you think it has to do with the baby?" Seth asked, his eyes open wide. All pretenses of calm and placid were gone and Seth was finally showing how worried he was.
"No, man," Ryan answered. "If it had to with the baby, they'd have said something."
"That only scares me more," Seth said. He turned slightly in his seat and looked out the window. There had been dark clouds in the sky this morning and they had suddenly started to dissipate and large, fat raindrops were dripping down and smashing against the windscreen.
"I know," Ryan said.
"Know what?" Seth asked, blinking. He thought he was lost and alone in his thoughts.
"Exactly what you're thinking," Ryan said.
"Summer!" Seth called. He ran out into the carpark and saw no one so he ran around the pier. She stood at the end, drenched in the rain that had just started to fall.
She looked at him and started crying.
"What happened to you?" he asked. He wondered later how any other joking words had escaped him at that time. That was what a Summer in need did to him. he completely lost who he was supposed to be and became what he needed her to be. She looked at him and shook her head but made her way to him.
her shirt was torn and exposed her stomach. He gently did her buttons up and then helped her to a vacant bench. The pier was empty as it normally was late at night when the sky was pouring rain. He helped her to the bench and took stock of her injuries. Her lip was dripping watery blood from where she'd bitten it. the makings of bruises appeared on her chest and her cheek from where she'd later say she'd fallen. She cried and looked at him expectantly but unsure of what to do, Seth simply pushed the dripping hair back from her face and pulled her head to his chest where she collapsed and cried.
"He wanted to sleep with me," she said. "But all I could think of was you and I couldn't do it."
"Did he…" his voice broke and he swallowed, choking back the emotion before he spoke. "Did he do this to you?"
"Yes," she said. She huddled closer to him. "I feel so stupid. I was only with him because I was angry at you and now, look at me."
Her voice was rising to a fever pitch and she was nearly in hysterics so he hushed her.
"Shh, shh," he said. "It's okay. You're alright now. I've got you and I'm not going to let you go."
"You're thinking about that night," Ryan said.
"She needed me so much," Seth said. "And the thing is, if I had of been watching, I could have prevented it."
"Maybe it's better you didn't," Ryan said. "It's bad but she needed something to convince him that Zach wasn't perfect."
"What if… What if this is something I could have prevented but I was to busy with work or something to stop it?" Seth asked. He and Alex had gone into partnership after he finished college and had bought out the Bait Shop and turned it into the hottest place in basically the entire state.
"I don't think it's something any of us could have stopped," Ryan stated simply. "But like we always have, we'll help you two. Marissa and I, and your family. We'll be there until the end."
"Because that's what friends do?" Seth asked, a slight hint of sarcasm visible in his voice.
"Because it's what family does," Ryan corrected him as he pulled into the Cohen's sprawling Newport mansion.
"Ryan? It's Seth. I need help. It's Summer," Seth said into the phone. He heard Ryan talking and then a female voice came on the line.
"Where are you?" Marissa asked. "Is she okay?"
"We're at the Pier. And, I think she's going to be okay," Seth said. "I'll see you soon."
He turned to Summer and helped her stand up.
"Marissa and Ryan are on their way. Do you think you can make it to the carpark?" he asked, supporting her.
"I think so," she nodded weakly. "What are they doing together? I thought they broke up."
Seth simply looked at her and she laughed lightly.
"Oh, right. The drama twins," she twinkled. "What was I thinking?"
"That's my girl," Seth intoned. "Always saying the right thing."
"Seth," she said, as they trudged slowly along. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked.
"For everything," she said. They made it to the carpark and stood waiting for Marissa and Ryan to pick them up and save them from the driving rain. "For not giving you a chance and for flaunting my relationship with Zach. I'm sorry for everything."
She started to cry again and he tried to comfort her.
"It's okay. It's all irrelevant now. I mean, what I did to you was horrible. If anyone should be sorry, it's me," he said. "And I am sorry. I'm sorry for putting you through everything."
Summer started crying again and as she stepped back to kiss Seth, her footing slipped and she crashed to the ground where she curled up in the fetal position and began to cry again. Seth leant down to see her but he heard the whoosh of the Rover's tires on wet ground and saw the beams of his mother's car splayed across the wet and shiny road so he stood up to wave at the approaching car. Ryan swerved the car to a stop and he and Marissa jumped out of the car. Marissa immediately crawled over to Summer and she looked up at Ryan and Seth who were looking worriedly on.
"Who did this to you?" Marissa demanded as she leant over her best friend.
"Zach," Summer whispered.
"Did he rape you?" Marissa asked, quieter.
"No," Summer whimpered. "He tried."
"I'm going to kill him," Ryan said. He looked furious and because he felt the same way, Seth knew he truly would kill Zach if they found him.
Marissa asked Summer a few more questions but Summer became too hysterical to respond in anything but sobs.
"We need to get her home. Out of the rain," she said. "She's in shock. Can you pick her up?"
Ryan nodded and rolled his sleeves up.
"Summer," he said. She nodded up at him. "I'm going to pick you up and put you in the car. We're going to take you to the Cohen's and get you cleaned up. Okay?"
She nodded slightly and tried to talk but her throat was hoarse from the crying. One thing was legible.
"Don't kill him," she pleaded, as she was placed in the car and her head was rested on Seth's lap. "I want to do it myself."
Ryan looked at Seth for a long time before he stopped the car.
"You ready to go in?" he asked.
"What if it's something I can't help her with?" Seth asked.
"Seth," Ryan said. "I hate to sound like I'm preaching but you and Summer have always gotten through everything. I think you're going to be okay. You don't even know what's wrong yet."
Seth was not convinced.
"Seth, do you love the girl?" Ryan asked.
"I'm going to get you some water," Seth had said after Summer's wounds had been cleansed and fixed by Kirsten and surprisingly Julie who had had a change of heart. She had been taken to the shower and was now lying across Seth's bed outfitted in some of Kirsten's old clothes.
"No. please, Seth. Don't leave me," she had pleaded. She moved over slightly and he crawled onto the bed, like a lamb going to slaughter. The lion roared and the lamb obeyed. She curled reflexively into him and they lay, staring at each other in the dark.
"I'm never going to leave you."
"Yes, I love her," Seth said as if it was the most obvious thing, which indeed it was. "More than anything."
"Then it's going to be okay."
Seth and Ryan got out of the car and walked towards the front door of the house. Seth heard a glass fall to the ground and smash into a million, crystal pieces. He sighed. Whenever something happened to Summer, another glass smashed to the ground and lay their in a shiny pile to be admired until Seth ruined them by trudging over them in his trendy but comfortable bowling shoes as he rushed to get to her. It didn't matter. Nothing else but her mattered when it came to the well-being of his wife.
She truly was a lesson in the art of smashed glass.