Seth walked into the kitchen, finding the strangest site before him. His daughter and his fiancé were hugging and sharing what looked like a memorable moment. Could it be? He wiped his eyes, but they were still there. But didn't Lena despise Summer with a fury? And wasn't Summer far from the maternal type?
"Did I miss something?" Seth spoke up with puzzlement. Both of their heads snapped up, surprised by his presence.
"No," Lena replied quickly, "Summer just helped me study for a test the other day, and I got an A+ so you know, Wooo!" Summer hadn't expected Lena to tell the truth, but she understood why. Lena had a close relationship with Seth, and Summer knew that she didn't want to let him down.
"Yeah," Summer said, squeezing Lena comically before letting her go, "I guess she gets her brains from me now." It felt wrong for lying to her fiancé about his own daughter, if anyone had the right to know what was going on, it was him. But this was Lena's ordeal, and Summer figured it'd have to be up to her to tell him.
"Oh, I was scared for a minute there," Seth laughed, taking off his jacket before giving both of them a kiss on the forehead. "I though hell froze over or something."
"Nope, everything is normal as ever," Lena shrugged while sitting down at the kitchen table. "How was work? Sign any new bands?"
"No, today was pretty slow," Seth told her, still a bit suspicious, "But you know, tonight your going to your mom's house."
"What? Why?" Lena cried, her face sour.
"We have to meet with the wedding planner," Summer explained as she went about straightening up the kitchen. "Plus, don't you have dance class anyways?"
"Yeah," She looked down at her toes, not even wanting to think about ballet. The last few weeks had been tough, and she really hadn't spent any time on improving herself. Glancing at the clock, she got up and began towards her room, "I better get ready then."
Marissa stepped into her home, leaving her coat and bag in the living room before going straight into her daughter's bedroom. As she walked into the pink room, she watched her husband tucking the small child in, having just read her a bedtime story.
"Hey angel," Marissa kissed Emily's forehead, stroking her blonde curls out of her face. She then turned to her husband, a wide grin on her face. It was still hard for her to believe how perfect her life had turned out; it couldn't be any better. "How was your day?"
"Alright," Ryan told her, leading her out of Emily's room. "Nothing too exciting, just work as usual. You?"
"Same," Marissa replied as they moved into the kitchen, "Oh, I almost forgot…we got the Vogue spread."
"That's great!" Ryan exclaimed, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her quickly yet passionately, "I knew it would work out." Marissa smiled as she savored the kiss, sorry when it ended. She looked down at the table next to her at a stack of mail, remembering she was awaiting a letter from her father and Hailey. Picking up the stack, she looked through it, not finding anything special. Then she got to the last letter.
"Ryan, whose this from?" Marissa raised an eyebrow at her husband, as she read the return address. "Chino?"
"What?" Ryan asked, snatching the letter from her. He hadn't heard anything from anyone in Chino in the longest time, and there was really no reason that he would. Without a pause, he ripped open the envelope and read the letter inside. "It's from Theresa's mother……Theresa died last month." The letter slipped from his hands, falling to the floor silently.
"So this is New York," It was just past 7pm, and the November sun had already set. The city was bustling as usual. Everything was so different from home, but that's what he wanted. Change. Change was always a good thing, right? Tired of the busy traffic on the main roads, he turned off onto a side road, hoping to find his way to a cheap motel. He had some money, but not much. Various businesses covered the street, but what caught his eye was a lone girl standing on the sidewalk. She was relatively tall- maybe 5 foot 7, with a slender build and a frown plastered to her face. Clad in warm up pants and a thin jacket, she shivered in the night air, her eyes searching the street. There was something about her…something different and exciting and frightening all rolled into one. But the exciting aspect won him over and he decided he had to stop.
Lena gazed at the street in front of her. Ballet hadn't gone well, her teacher was being a real bitch as usual. This time she just didn't put up with it; she left instead. She didn't feel like calling her parents, they would want to know what happened, so she decided to just wait outside until they came to pick her up at the usual time. An unattractive, sky blue, 1990 Chevrolet pulled up, stopping strangely close to her. She wasn't quite sure what to think or do- should she walk away?
Parker suddenly felt nervous, but didn't really know why. He slowly leaned over and rolled down the passenger window, watching as she backed up a little bit.
"Hey, I was just wondering if you could recommend an okay motel?" He asked with a polite grin. As Lena studied him she suddenly didn't feel so shy.
"I think there's a Motel 6 that's pretty cheap, but its in Jersey," Lena grinned as she leaned on the passenger door. "Your not from around here, huh?"
"How could you tell?" Parker laughed, returning the smile, "But yeah, I'm from California."
"Interesting," Lena raised an eyebrow, admiring his baby blue eyes and brown shaggy hair. "So that Motel 6? You want directions?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," He nodded, pulling a pad of paper out of his glove compartment. Before he could look for a pen, she was opening the passenger door and climbing in.
"Don't bother," Lena shrugged, tugging the paper out of his hand, "I've got some time to kill, I'll show you myself."
"So Theresa is dead?" Summer questioned Seth as they walked through the grocery store together. A red plastic basket hung from her arm while her other supported a Luis Vuitton clutch.
"That's what Ryan said," Seth replied evenly, "It was strange, he just seems quiet about the whole thing."
"Well Ryan's never been the talkative type," Summer sighed, putting a couple bottle of Fiji into the basket, "He probably just needs time to process it."
"Yeah that's probably it," Seth nodded, following her down row after row, "So what was that thing with Lena about?" Summer stopped in her tracks suddenly, wincing at the question. She still hadn't decided how to tell him or if she should. It was obvious that he should know, but at the same time she didn't want to lose Lena's trust.
"Oh it was nothing," Summer waved the question off as she approached the cash register, "Don't worry about it, it was just girl stuff."
"I just find it slightly odd that Lena went from hating you to loving you in like ten seconds flat," Seth mused, glancing at the rack of magazines and tabloids. "That's just not Lena."
"Yeah, I guess," Summer shrugged, grabbing Seth's wallet from his pocket, "All I can say is don't worry about it, alright? It's covered."
"Okay, if you say so," Seth smiled, putting an arm around his future wife as they walked out of the store.
"So I guess this is it," Lena threw open the door to the motel room. It was tiny with a queen sized bed and small TV. There wasn't much else but a bathroom and a dresser, and the wallpapered walls weren't the easiest to look at.
"Home sweet home, huh?" Parker laughed, throwing his duffel bag on the bed. The ride hadn't been too long, and they hadn't really talked much. Just about current event type things, like what kind of music they liked and what movies they wanted to see. Nothing too personal.
"So why are you in New York anyways?" She asked, with a soft look, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. It was really the first personal question she had asked. He wasn't sure how to respond, should he tell her the truth? Maybe she could help.
"I'm looking for my father," Parker told her with a sigh, "My mom died a few weeks ago, and I don't have a lot of family back home. So I figured I'd come looking for this guy, see what he's like. I'm not all that invested in it, I'm not looking for a happy family or anything. Just want to meet the guy."
"You've never even met him?" Lena inquired sympathetically. She couldn't imagine growing up without a father. She'd been so lucky to have a great dad who understood her…most of the time.
"Nope, didn't even know his name until recently," Parker admitted, instantly sorry he did. He really didn't want this girl's sympathy, but the apologetic smile on her face did make his stomach do flip-flops.
"Well just know that you've got a friend here in New York," Lena gave him a slight smile, happy for how random life could turn out.
A/N: Sorry for the long space in between updates. I'd lie and say I've been busy with school but I've actually discovered junior boys who have cars and can drive me wherever I please. LOL. So I haven't been home as much and haven't had a chance to update. But finally, here is a nice little chapter. Hope you like it, and don't forget to review!
Love Always, Stephanie