Chapter One

Year: 2010

Phoenix, Arizona

Monday Morning

7:30 A.M.

Marissa kissed Gary goodbye and turned to leave when he called her name. "Yes?" said Marissa. Her boyfriend of two years held up a black briefcase, containing her laptop, iPod, and various important papers. "Thank you, baby," smiled Marissa, taking the briefcase and kissing him on the cheek. "I'll be back by 5:30 or so."

"Why 5:30? I thought that you got off at four."

"Yes, but I have a doctor's appointment."

Gary nodded, understandingly. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the light of the sun streaming through the kitchen window. Marissa hurried to the door, her car sitting outside. "I better hurry or I'll be late for school."

"Yes," said Gary. "By the way, good luck on that history test of yours. I know that you'll ace it."

"Thanks." Marissa shut the door behind her as she hurried down the steps. Today was going to be a long day. It was only seven in the morning and yet Marissa felt extremely tired. She didn't know if she could make it to her doctor's appointment. But she had to. Gary didn't know that the doctor she was going to wasn't for her physical health. It was for her mental health, something she had been struggling with for the past few years.

Ever since she left Newport.

Charleston, South Carolina

Seth rested his head on the side of the window. He tapped the pen against his desk over and over. That was when the clock hand moved. Great. One minute had gone by. He couldn't take this. Day after day, working here at the publishing company. It was fun at first, he got to hear about the new comic books that would be published there. But, after a while, it grew boring. He would sit there and process papers, type up responses ( Dear sir or madam. I am sorry to inform you that your comic book and/or graphic novel was not accepted by Starfire Publishing Co. Maybe in the future you will succeed in publishing the comic/graphic novel. Signed, Joseph Hart, Head of Starfire Publishing Co.)

Seth lifted the drawer onto his lap and began to sift through papers, trying to find his bottle of white out. Damn. It was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and, in rage, through the drawer across the room. It crashed into the floor, its contents spilling. Seth sighed, regretting what he had just done, and began to stick the items back into the drawer, preparing the drawer to be fitted back into the desk. That was when he found something.

Atomic County: Issue One.

A tear slowly began to trickle down Seth's cheek. A blast from the past. He quickly shoved the drawer back into the desk and began to type furiously. Forget. Forget. Forget.

But Seth couldn't. No matter what he did. It was always stuck there, between his thoughts of work, the new baby on the way, his wife, and…Summer.

Summer, who was somewhere miles away.

New York City, New York

"Smile at the cameras, Summer!" cried Yugi.

"I can't!" groaned Summer. "It's too damn early!"

Yugi, his long brown hair dangling over his shoulders, walked over to Summer and ran a hand through her hair. "You are so beautiful," smiled Yugi. "Maybe, if we hurry through the shoot, we can get some rest together."

Summer didn't laugh, or grin, or even meet Yugi's eyes with her own. She just nodded. "Okay, Yugi."

"What is wrong, my dear Summer?" asked Yugi.

"Nothing," said Summer, crossing her arms. "It's just…"

Yugi's lips met hers. They kissed softly. "Ah, dear girl. Let us finish this shoot. I have lots of work to do."

Summer nodded. "Okay." She put her hands on her hips, forced a smile, and prepared for the flashing of the camera. This was her life, five years later.

Chino, California

Ryan lay beneath the car on the skateboard, wrench in his hand, trying desperately to figure out the problem before the customer came back. He had been working on this car for two days and still couldn't figure out why it wasn't running.

That was when he heard the woman's voice. "No, Billy, we are not going to the fair today!"

Her son, around nine, said: "But please, mommy! I want to ride on the Ferris wheel!"

"No," demanded the woman. "We may go tomorrow, but that is only if you are a good boy."

That was when memories came rushing back to Ryan.

The Ferris wheel.

"You just need something to take your mind off of it."

Marissa and Ryan's first kiss.

"Excuse me," demanded the woman. "Is my car ready?"

"That'll work," said Ryan.

"What?" said the woman, confused.

"I mean, it's almost ready."

It wasn't.

"Okay. Well, can you hurry? I need it now. We're going on a family trip."

"Okay," said Ryan.

Don't think, just work, he told himself.

Portland, Oregon

Luke nodded at his dad. He began to walk down the sidewalk towards his truck when he saw Molly, his girlfriend, standing there. "How'd you get here?" he asked.

Molly waved a pair of keys in the air. "I got a new BMW today! Daddy gave it to me!"

Suddenly memories of Newport came rushing back to him. Marissa. Her first car. The Range Rover.

"I got it today! Daddy gave it to me!"

They had kissed.

Just as Luke and Molly were kissing now.

Luke pushed away gently.

"What's wrong?" asked Molly.

"Nothin'." Luke stared down at his feet. "It's just…memories from what happened it Newport…and my brothers…and my mother…I haven't seen them in years. My brothers would be around my age when I left by now."

Molly nodded. "I couldn't imagine not seeing my family for that long. You're brave." She smiled. "But we can create a new family, Luke."

"I don't know if I'm ready yet," said Luke.

"What?" said Molly, flabbergasted.

"Don't act like it is something we haven't discussed before. We have."

"And we agreed we would get married someday."

"Someday isn't now." Luke climbed into his truck, revving his engine. Molly watched as he began to reverse out of the driveway. She was crying. She thought that he would propose to her soon. Obviously not.

Miami, Florida

Sandy smiled at his mother. Kirstin sat beside him, stroking his back. "It's nice down here. I am glad that we moved. Aren't you, Kirstin?"

Kirstin nodded. "It's lovely."

They kissed softly.

"It's like a permanent vacation."

"That's because it's retirement, Sandy," said the Nana.

"Yes," said Sandy. "I do miss the courtroom, though."

"How do you think I feel?" said Kirstin, laughing. "When was the last time I've taken a vacation?"

"Six years ago. Christmas time."

"Exactly!" cried Kirstin. "But how do you remember all of this stuff?"

"It's a lawyer's job to remember things." Sandy kissed Kirstin softly. That was when he clutched his heart. Something was happening.

"Sandy?" said Kirstin.

"Oh my God!" screamed the Nana.

Kirstin wrapped her arms around him. They sat beside the pool in two lounging chairs. Kirstin screamed for someone to get help, but no one did. They were all old people, murmuring and wandering around aimlessly.

Kirstin stood and screamed. "Dear God! Someone, please, HELP ME!"

"I'm calling an ambulance!" cried someone nearby with a cellular phone. Kirstin stared down at her husband. She was sobbing, and then, when she saw his eyes flutter open, a sigh of relief swept through her body.

"Oh, Sandy, are you okay?"

Sandy just lay there. Then he mouthed, "I love you…and Seth…and….Ryan…"

That was when Sandy closed his eyes. Kirstin cried out in pain. He was dead. Her husband was dead. Sandy Cohen was dead!

To be continued (if you like it). Email me if you like it!

Coming up:

You find out why no one is in Newport!

What will happen?

Sandy's dead?

How did he die?

What's up with everyone being married/having new mates.

Summer's job?

I will only continue if I get a review saying that I should continue.

Thank you!

Tangence McCurson