"Hey, Sum. Wake up," Marissa lightly shook Summer, who was curled up in her bed, asleep, "It's 11:30 in the morning!" Summer stirred and rubbed her eyes. She blinked at the glare of the sun shining through the window before looking up at her best friend.
"Wait, what?" she said, sitting up to look at her clock, "Oh shit, not again!" Summer groaned and pushed the covers off of her. She looked at Marissa, who was giving her a worried look.
"Yep, again. Summer- this is the fourth time you've missed class in the past two weeks!" Marissa exclaimed, resting her hands on her friend's, "What's going on?" Summer swallowed hard- no, she couldn't tell her.
It had been three weeks since their trip to Long Beach and three weeks since Eric's regular routine of hitting Summer had started. It was like any time they were together was just a chance for him to abuse her. So why did she stay with him? Summer cherished the times when he embraced her, that feeling of being loved was all she wanted. If Marissa had it, why couldn't she? If anyone knew about it, they would see how weak Summer was. She knew that other people wouldn't understand why she stayed with him, so she hid the bruises and never told anyone.
"Nothing," Summer replied, "I'm just a little overwhelmed with the work right now. That's all." She tugged at her sweatshirt, making sure the sleeves went past her fingertips. Marissa stared at her best friend skeptically, but decided not to say anything. She didn't want to upset Summer.
"Well, if you need any help, you know you can always ask me," Marissa reassured her with a smile. Summer returned the smile and nodded in acknowledgment. If she only knew the help I needed.
"So, I guess I better go get ready. I've got to meet Eric at 12:30," Summer said and climbed out of bed, "He's pic-"
"-king you up for lunch. Yeah, I know. You do it everyday," Marissa sighed, shaking her head, "Ya know, we miss you. You never do anything with us anymore." Summer wanted to scream at Marissa. Well, duh! I'm sorta trying not to get beat up! But of course, she stopped herself, remembering that Marissa didn't know what was going on.
"That's not true," Summer retorts and then sighs, "but whatever." She rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room, leaving Marissa confused. Summer didn't know why she was acting like a bitch to her friends lately, snapping at them for the littlest things.
As Summer got ready, she went over the past few weeks in her head. Eric's abuse made her numb. She lost interest in the things she used to enjoy and didn't care about her appearance. Summer never wore make-up and never tried to dress cute. Her daily outfit consisted of jeans or sweatpants with sweatshirts or long-sleeved shirts. This was partly to hide the many bruises on her arms and legs. For some reason, Summer always felt exhausted and rarely had the energy to go out. She had noticed the change in her behavior, but for some reason she didn't do anything about it.
Summer trudged down the stairs to go meet Eric outside. As she went out the door, she passed Seth.
"Hey," Seth said, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Marissa said you weren't in class today. What's the matter?" Summer quickly brushed his hand off, seeing Eric's Porsche pulled up in front of the building. She knew he was watching her through those tinted windows.
"Nothing's the matter. I'm…I'm fine," she replied as she hurried towards the car. She carefully got in the car, making sure she didn't look at Eric's stern face. Before she could even put on her seatbelt, he started questioning at her.
"What were you doing with him?" he asked accusingly. Summer could feel the sweat build up on the back of her neck.
"Nothing," Summer said quietly, almost whispering her answer. Eric gave her a piercing stare.
"You're lying," he said through clenched teeth, "Don't lie to me."
"I swear I'm not lying," she replied quickly, holding her hands up in front of her. Her skin went numb even before Eric hit her. "He just asked me a question and-"
"I said don't lie to me!" he yelled, his fist colliding with her thigh, pushing Summer into the car door. She could almost feel the bruise forming.
"Eric, please!" Summer pleaded, shutting her eyes tight as she turned her head away from him. He let out a frustrated grunt through his clenched jaws as he roughly shoved Summer's arm. Then, the car went silent as Eric put the car into drive. As he drove, Summer tried to numb the pain that was pulsing through her body.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the Olive Garden parking lot. As they made their way to the door, Eric grabbed Summer's hand. Summer was used to his weird behavior after hitting her. He always tried to be nice and act like nothing happened although she could tell that he was still upset. There was little conversation during their dinner, not that their relationship really consisted of much communication. Summer was afraid to tell Eric things because she was afraid he might react badly. Anything she could say or do might set him off.
After their meal, Eric drove Summer back to the dorms. Before she could get out of the car, he reached over to kiss her. As their kiss deepened, Eric's hands roamed her body and gently landed on Summer's back. Summer never understood how someone so violent could all of a sudden be so gentle. Whenever they made out, Summer didn't do much. She let Eric kiss her, but she never really kissed back. She was too confused to react. After twenty minutes, Eric moved away and sat up in his seat.
"I'm going away this weekend," he announced, " to visit my parents." This was new. Since they had been together, Eric had never left Summer's side, let alone the campus.
"Oh," Summer responded, surprised by the news, "Am I going with you to meet them?" Eric gave her a demeaning look.
"Don't flatter yourself," he said, "Besides you'll be too busy fucking your friend." Summer looked at him wide-eyed. Was he talking about Seth? Oh god, he hasn't forgotten. Summer's mouth went dry and she didn't know what to say. She opened the car door and stepped out.
"Bye," she said softly, "Have fun with your parents." As she walked to her room, Summer wondered what she was going to do. Her life was so revolved around Eric that she couldn't remember how she managed without him. This was going to be an interesting weekend.
So I hoped you like it! Stay tuned to find out what happens over the weekend. And I promise that this is a Seth/Summer story!