DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I own nothing but the children in the story. (Please read and review!)
A/N: I promise to be nice. I'm giving you guys an early update. I'm amazed by all the reviews I've gotten over a span of only a couple of days. I still can't get over it. All mistakes are mine.
I must address now…(I normally don't do this but I thought I should.)
Carpanthers21 – Yeah, Ben moved out because he is in college now. I mentioned it in the epilogue in 'Patience Still Waiting'. He should show up soon…Don't worry. I have something up my sleeve for him.
Kat/KrazyKamaka-zGurl89 – You two are awesome. I love the enthusiasm! (Two times every four hours! Whoa! I hope you like the fast update.)
To everyone else – You guys are my best friends.
----Now back to the story----
CHAPTER THREE
The Newport Group was really hectic today. It was one of those days where everything was just going wrong on so many levels. On several occasions Ryan thought of calling Kirsten, who was now retired, but decided not to disturb her. She was probably off golfing somewhere with Sandy anyway.
All afternoon Ryan kept on looking at his cellphone to see if Seth had called him but he hadn't. It was nearing five o'clock and Ryan knew that Seth should be home by now with some kind of news. He hoped that it was good news, but he knew any news that Seth would get would be bad news either way. It was a matter of to which extreme.
Ryan decided to leave the office and go home. Whatever that he needed to do, could be done tomorrow. Instead of going home first, Ryan drove to Seth's house.
He knocked on the door of the Cohen's house and heard Summer yelling at Elijah to answer the door. Ryan saved his nephew the trouble and walked into the house. "Hey." Ryan walked into the kitchen. Summer pulled a dish out from the stove.
"Does this look burnt to you?" She asked Ryan, showing him the dish.
"Uh, no." Ryan lied. "Just well done but it smells great."
"Are you here for Seth? He's not here." Summer informed him. "He just called me on his cellphone and said that he was running late. Something about a kid having some attack or something. Who knows?"
"Oh, right. Well, tell him I dropped by and to call me." Ryan replied. "I'll see you later." He said and then started walking out.
"Wait, Ryan…Can I ask you something?" Summer caught up with him.
"What is it?" Ryan asked.
"I know Coop got you to ask Seth if everything was okay with him and all…She said that you said that he said that everything was fine." Summer shook her head. "Wow, that was confusing."
Ryan agreed. "Yeah. Everything's cool though. He just said that he was stressed about…Work and all. I guess the sick people are really getting to him." Ryan added. "Don't worry about it." He assured her. "Nothing's going on with him." Ryan lied to her.
"Well, its not like I was worried about him or anything. It's Cohen, we're talking about!" Summer exclaimed.
Ryan knew that Summer was just putting up a front. He could tell that she was concerned about Seth. He hoped that Seth got home soon with any kind of news on what was wrong.
"Yeah, well…I." Ryan pointed to the door. "If I don't get home soon Marissa might suspect that something's up."
"Gotcha."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Seth!" Summer shouted at him, as he walked through the front door. "Where have you been! I called the office and they said you weren't there and then I called your cellphone and you weren't picking up! You said you'd be home soon! It's a quarter to nine!" She placed her hands on her hip and waiting for his excuse.
Seth stared at her and shook his head. He hadn't planned on getting sick and having to go to San Diego. He hadn't planned on lying to his wife either. Seth opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"Well?" Summer tapped her foot. "Where have you been?" She knew something was up. Seth wasn't talking – that was a first.
"I – I…I don't know." Seth said, laughing. It was the only thing he could do now. Laugh. He didn't know what else to do. He wasn't equipped with the emotions to deal with what was now on the surface. He walked into the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge. "What was for dinner?" He asked.
"You're getting nothing but a lump of coal if you don't tell me where've you been all day. Your secretary told me that you didn't go into work today."
"Where's this lump of coal?" Seth asked, looking around in the fridge. "It'd be like living with my parents all over again." He joked.
"Cohen, answer me!" Summer yelled at him.
Elijah walked into the kitchen and stared at his parents.
"I took the day off, okay!" Seth yelled at her. He grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge and walked outside through the patio doors.
"Cohen!" Summer yelled at him once more, but he ignored her.
"Mom, what's wrong with dad?" Elijah asked.
"He's a pathological liar." Summer replied. "I'd watch yourself…I here it's hereditary." She patted him on the head and left the kitchen.
Elijah scratched his, ever so small, Jew-Fro and went outside to go find his dad. "Hey." Elijah found his dad slouched down in a pool chair with his eyes closed. "What are you doing?"
Seth opened one eye and then closed it. "Thinking."
"Mom said you're a pathological liar. Does that mean I'm one too?" Elijah asked. "I'd rather not be one. Only because I already have few friends as it is and if they found out that I'm a pathological liar…Well…Then I would have zero friends."
Seth sat up in his pool chair and frowned. "She said I'm a pathological liar?"
Elijah nodded. "Will I become one too?"
"No, because I'm not one." Seth replied.
"Then where did you go today?"
"You're real nosy, you know that?" Seth stood up from the pool chair and started pacing.
"It comes with being the only child." Elijah replied.
"True." Seth stopped pacing. "You should get ready for bed. If your mom asks, tell her I'm at Uncle Ryan's, okay?"
"Sure. Goodnight, Dad." Elijah said and then left.
Seth walked over to Ryan's house and walked in. He rarely ever knocked. "Hey." He said, walking into the kitchen. Ryan was sitting at the table with Connor helping him with his Math homework.
"Where have you been?" Ryan questioned.
"Dude, don't start. I'm really not in the mood. Could we just go somewhere?" Seth asked.
"Sweet." Connor exclaimed. He was just trying to find an excuse to give to his Dad and now he had one. He couldn't do his homework without his Dad's help. "I'd love to stay and chat Uncle Seth, but I've got some important phone calls to make to some very important girls."
"No more than an hour." Ryan called out, as Connor ran upstairs to his room. "So, where do you want to go?" He asked, turning to Seth.
"Anywhere with food. I'm starving."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are you sure that dad's a pathological liar, Mom?" Elijah questioned, as he climbed into bed.
Summer tucked him in and kissed him on the forehead. "Don't worry, Eli. The chances of you becoming one are very slim. You're an honest boy." She turned off the lights. "Goodnight." She closed his door halfway and went downstairs to call Marissa.
Marissa picked up the phone after three long rings.
"Coop, it's me. Is Seth there?" Summer asked quickly.
"No, he went out with Ryan. Is everything okay?" Marissa asked.
Summer hesitated. "I don't know. We yelled at each other and then he left. God, he's such an ass!" Summer slammed her fist down on the counter. Ow, she curled her fist into a little ball and kissed it. "I really need to come over right now, Coop. Can I come over?"
"Oka-"
Summer dropped the phone down quickly and ran over to Marissa's house. "Coop!" She said, walking into her house. "I swear I'm going to kill him."
Marissa took Summer's hand and led her into the living room. "What happened?" She sat down with her on the couch.
"He lied to me! He said that he was at work all day today, but he wasn't. I called his work and his bimbo secretary said that he took the day off!" Summer exclaimed. "He's up to something." Summer said frantically. She was starting to think that Ryan lied to her. Come to think of it, Ryan seemed very urgent to talk to Seth today. "Did Ryan say anything else to you?"
"I already told you want he said. He said Seth was fine." Marissa replied. "Maybe he's just…Stressed out or something."
"So, he took the whole day off without telling me? I've been begging him to take a day off so we could spend some alone time together. I just don't get it! How could he lie to me like that? We never lie."
Marissa didn't know what to tell Summer that wouldn't upset her. She was starting to think that Ryan lied to her too.
"Coop, what should I do? Do you know where they went?"
Marissa shook her head. "No, but I'm sure they'll be back soon. They both have to get up early for work tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, that's if Cohen's going or not." Summer mumbled.
"Okay, Sum, I think you just need to calm down. Why don't we just pop in a movie and wait for them to come home? Maybe Seth just needs some alone time…With Ryan. It's possible, you know. Guys like to do that too, just like girls."
Summer sighed. "Okay, but I'm still killing him when he gets back."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Inclusion…What?" Ryan asked.
"Inclusion Body Myositis." Seth repeated, as a waiter put down a plate of fries in front of him. "It's a muscle disease that causes, you know…weakness. My muscles are pretty much deteriorating as we speak."
"Seth…"
"No, I'm serious." Seth held up a fry and continued to explain. "Dr. Bell said it was going to get worse. With some patients it's a slow process, but with others…Well, let's just say I could possibly be in a wheelchair by the time I'm forty-five." Seth laughed. He knew it was no laughing matter, but he didn't know what else to do. He was still trying to take it all in right now. He was glad Ryan was with him right now and that he wasn't alone.
"What about treatment? Can't they do something – anything?" Ryan asked quickly.
"There's no cure, Ryan. The only thing they can do for me right now is to prescribe me some prednisone. Which, I will gladly take."
Ryan nodded. "You have to tell Summer, man." Ryan grabbed one of Seth's fries and ate it. "She's really starting to suspect something and it's not good."
"Yeah, I know…We got into a fight before I came over to your house and it was so stupid. I should have told her what was really going on." Seth agreed. "I just wasn't thinking." He shook his head. "How am I supposed to tell her what's wrong with me, Ryan? I don't think I can."
"Why not?"
"Because I need to deal with it myself first. I need to understand this disease and work with it before I tell Summer and Elijah."
"Seth, you need your family's support."
"I have you, don't I?" Seth asked.
"Of course. I just think that Summer and Elijah have the right to know. What if something happens and they don't know what is wrong with you? Then what? They will freak out and things will get worse." Ryan replied.
"Things won't get worse, Ryan." Seth assured him. He wanted to believe himself, but he wasn't sure if he could. All he wanted was for things to go back to normal. He wanted to know that everything was going to be all right. "Don't worry about it." Seth opened his wallet and put down some money. "Don't say anything to Marissa, okay?" Seth stood up.
Ryan stood up and followed Seth out of the restaurant. "If things get worse…You have to tell Summer and you will sooner or later. If you don't tell her then I will."
"Thanks." Seth slapped him on the back. "I knew I could count on you."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
By the time Ryan got back home, Summer and Marissa were passed out on the couch in the living room. Ryan shook Marissa's shoulder and kissed her. "Hey, were you waiting up for me?" Ryan asked.
Marissa sat up and smiled at him. "Maybe."
Ryan glanced over at Summer, who was still sleeping. "You two have a girls night or something?"
"No. She was waiting up for Seth." Marissa replied and shook Summer awake.
Summer jumped off the couch and fixed her hair. "Where's Cohen?" Summer looked around.
"He's home…Where else would he be?" Ryan asked.
"Right. Home. Goodnight, guys." Summer said and then left.
Ryan sat down next to Marissa and planted another kiss on her lips. "Are the kids asleep?" Ryan asked, kissing her neck.
Marissa giggled. "Both are out like a light." She replied.
"Well, that's just too bad…" Ryan mumbled and picked her up. He carried her upstairs to their room and placed her on the bed. "This brings back memories." Ryan recalled the first time where he had to carry her to bed.
"What?" Marissa asked, as Ryan stared down at her.
"I was just thinking of the first time I had to carry you to bed. You wouldn't remember though, because you were passed out from drinking too much." Ryan laughed. "Glad that's over with." He said, as he lay down next to her.
Marissa turned to face him. "I'm glad that it's over too." She kissed him and then lay down on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Ryan ran his fingers through her soft brown hair and smiled to himself.
"Is Seth okay, Ryan?" Marissa asked, not looking up at him but focusing on the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Yeah." Ryan lied.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I know a lot you of you guys wanted Seth to tell Summer about the whole disease thing, but I felt that he needed to hide it in this chapter. It's all about the drama, right? I'm sure there will be lots in the next chapter. Stay tuned!