Chapter 8: You're Still On My Lonely Mind
Disclaimer: The OC and its characters are not mine although I do lay claim to Elle, Cam and Rachel!
Author's Note: I really appreciate the reviews that I have received. Keep them coming.
Seth pulled his car into the parking lot of Harbor School and walked up the familiar steps to collect his son from another Saturday detention.
Cameron was not necessarily bad and certainly not the delinquent Ryan had once been. However, Summer's feistiness coupled with Seth's constant fuel of ideas had contributed to their son getting in to trouble more than once.
Seth soon spotted Cameron sitting on a bench and staring into space, obviously avoiding the eyes of the girl sitting next to him.
"Elle!" Seth motions her over to him as he waves the car keys in the air. "You too, Cam."
Cameron stands and walks toward his father but Elle looks puzzled. "Isn't my Mom coming?" She asks.
"Nope," Seth shakes his head. "She is waiting at home with a certain very special visitor."
Elle falls into step beside her godfather as they walk down to the parking lot. "Who? Is Aunt Kaitlin back from Europe?"
Seth tries to hide his grin. "No."
"Seeeeth?"
Seth shook his head, "I promised your mother I wouldn't tell."
"Oh, come on. I know you can't keep a secret."
"And that is precisely the reason why you should stop asking me questions! You know your Mom and Summer would kill me if I told."
Elle giggled and behind them, Cameron rolled his eyes as they got into the car.
Elle buckled her seatbelt, "You are so whipped, Seth." She made a whipping motion with her hand in the air and Cameron stifled a laugh.
"And you are so like your father." It sort of scared Seth sometimes the way he could see Ryan through his daughter's gray-blue eyes. Thankfully she had inherited her mother's pep instead of her father's broodiness, but the similarities between the two Atwoods were unmistakable.
Elle bit her lip and looked out the window.
Seth glanced towards the backseat, "Aren't you supposed to be at his house this weekend?"
"Yeah, but he had some fucking meeting again." The annoyance was evident in her voice as they pulled up to Marissa's mansion.
Elle spied a familiar black Mercedes and rushed into the house. "Thanks for the ride. Bye!"
"Grandpa Jimmy?" She shouted as she thrust the door open.
He walked towards the door and although his blonde curls were graying, his blue eyes still had an unmistakable sparkle.
"Hey kiddo." Grandpa Jimmy scooped Elle into his arms and gave her a big hug.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know, just came to visit two of my favorite girls." He released her and still grinning, said, "Do you want to go over to a friend's tonight or something? I want to talk to your mom."
Elle nodded, "Okay." She wasn't naïve, and she knew Grandpa Jimmy wanted her out of the house so he could have a serious chat with her Mom. Mom had always been full of issues, so she figured Grandpa was worried about her again.
Elle went up to her room where she sat down at her desk and signed into AIM.
Most of her friends were away, and Jake's away message read "partaaaay at blake's tonight. bring ur bong."
Elle scrunched her nose. She was getting more and more annoyed with her boyfriend, who was on his way to being a full out stoner.
A message from Cameron popped up quickly on her screen, and Elle found herself excitedly replying.
dothecamcam: hi
ellebelle15: heyy!
dothecamcam: excited much
ellebelle15: yess you know I love me some jimbo
dothecamcam: grandpa jimmys there?
ellebelle15: yep but he wants me out of the house so he can have a serious talk with the former mrs atwood
dothecamcam: oh
ellebelle15: want to go out
ellebelle15: i mean not like a date like go out just like hang out
dothecamcam: yeah def. it's not like I'm going to blake's party
dothecamcam: what do you want to do
ellebelle15: idk
dothecamcam: come over here we'll figure it out
ellebelle15: see ya in 5
Elle signed off and spun around in her chair. Picking her blue Balenciaga bag up off of the floor, she threw in her cell phone, wallet and a pack of gum. Not bothering to put on any makeup, she went downstairs where her mother and grandfather were sitting on the couch. "I'm going to go over to the Cohen's, okay?"
Her Mom smiled, "Have fun! Do you need any cash?"
"No, I'm good." She gave a wave and turned towards the door. "Bye."
Elle walked briskly to the Cohen's house. Situated in the same development, the houses were relatively the same. Of course, they had both been built by the Newport Group.
Elle rang the doorbell, and Summer shouted from the inside, "It's open!"
Summer was sitting on the staircase, absentmindedly flipping through a stack of papers as Rachel happily pirouetted around the foyer.
Elle clapped loudly. "Wow, great job, Rachel. You're much better than I ever was at ballet!"
Rachel gave her a toothless grin. "Thanks Elle! Sit next to Mommy; I want you to watch this."
Rachel continued to twirl around the foyer and Elle grinned, "Yay, Rachel. Good job."
Rachel smirked, "Thanks. Hey, do you want to go upstairs and play ponies?"
Cam called from the top of the stairs, "She came to play ponies with me." He motioned upwards, "Come on up, Elle."
Rachel pouted.
"Sorry, sweetheart, we'll play another day, okay? I promise."
"Okay," Rachel replied reluctantly.
Elle and Cam walked up to his room where she plopped herself down on his bed. Even though she hadn't been there in a while, she still felt more comfortable in it than in her own, with its blue comforter and mushy pillows.
He lay down next to her and they stared at the ceiling, their bodies barely touching. The silence was comfortable and yet there was tension in the air. It had been so long since they lazily spent a Saturday together.
"I'm hungry," Cam announced.
"So eat," Elle twirled her straight hair around her finger.
"Want to go to the Diner and get dinner?"
"It's only five."
"But I'm hungrrrrry," Cam whined.
"Fine." Elle showed no signs off moving from the bed.
Cam stood up and put on his sneakers. "Let's go."
Elle clutched her purse and sat up, swinging her legs off of the bed. "Okay."
Cam glanced at her, "You got the bag?" He remembered her going on and on about it once after they surfed, but that had been a while ago.
Elle smiled, "Yep. Finally got off the waitlist at Barney's!"
Cam gave out a loud fake gasp, bringing his hand to his mouth. "They put YOU on a waitlist? Oh my gawd, Elle!"
Elle smacked his arm with the purse, "Shut up. Let's go get those chilli fries."
They headed down the stairs where they were greeted by Seth. "Hey guys," he said. If he was surprised to see Elle, then he didn't say anything.
"We're gonna go get some food," announced Cam.
"DO you need a ride?" Seth questioned, tossing his car keys up into the air.
Elle giggled at Seth when the keys tumbled to the ground as he failed to catch them.
"Nah, we're good, Dad," Cam said, "We can take my board."
Elle turned to Cam, obviously surprised. "Your BOARD?"
"Yeah," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Cam!" Elle whined.
Cameron raised an eyebrow. What was so bad about a skateboard? "Aw, Elle the little Newpsie is too chicken to ride on a skateboard?" He teased.
"No!" She insisted, although really she was.
"So, come on," Cam insisted gesturing outside. "I'll buy you a Balboa Bar for dessert?"
"Well," she relented. "Okay." How bad could it be?
Pretty bad, Elle found out as she clung to Cam's waist. He deftly maneuvered the skateboard through the streets of Newport Beach, as she shrieked. "This is so not cool!" She exclaimed while he laughed at her.
They continued to talk and laugh their way through dinner at the diner, where Marissa and Jimmy spied them through the window. "They look as happy as we used to be," she sadly mused to her father.
