Title: Her Secret
Author: cherryXbomb
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Summer Roberts or anyone else from The O.C. However, I do own this story plot and I do own Mark Murray.
Distribution: Just ask.
Spoilers: The Ties that Bind
Summary: Summer Roberts has a secret. Now it's back to haunt her.
BeginSummer Roberts had a secret. Only Marissa and Luke knew it. She couldn't tell anyone else. Not her father, not Holly, and not Seth… especially not Seth.
The secret started in ninth grade. There was a big party at Holly's house. Marissa was still with Luke. Seth was on the outskirts of the Newport social scene. No one even considered the prospects of someone from Chino living in Newport. Summer and Holly were still friends… Marissa still completed the popular triumvirate. Life was still perfect in Newport Beach. Summer remembered it vividly and had to face her secret at the beginning of her senior year.
"Coop, he's here," Summer told her best friend urgently after second hour.
"I know. Ryan's back too," Marissa told her friend, believing she was talking about Seth.
"What does Chino have to do with it?" Summer asked. Fear shone in her dark eyes as they searched the halls.
"Because Ryan lives with him, Sum," Marissa replied, not noticing her friend's odd behavior.
"Coop, I'm not talking about Seth. I mean Mark. He's here… at Harbor," Summer told her best friend. Fear was evident in her voice.
Marissa's vibrant blue eyes widened in disbelief and a hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God. Sum, you need to talk to Dr. Kim."
"I don't want anyone to know," she told her. Summer's dark eyes looked down as Luke and Anna, both of whom who had moved back to Newport over the summer, crossed the hall to the two. They had also begun dating.
The music at Holly's was pounding from oversized speakers placed strategically around the patio. Summer, Marissa, and Luke stood on the outskirts of the party, watching the drunken teenagers through their own drunken eyes. Summer noticed one guy hanging out with the rest of the guys from Pacific. He had blonde hair pulled into a short ponytail and vivid green eyes. He wore a wife beater and black cargo pants. He was freshman Mark Murray and Summer had a huge crush the moment she laid eyes on him. "Coop, hottie at three o'clock."
"He's with the band," Luke told her.
"Who is he?" Summer pleaded with her best friend's boyfriend.
"Mark Murray," Luke informed.
"Go talk to him Sum," Marissa told her with an encouraging grin.
"I think I will," Summer replied. She straightened her denim mini and brushed off her red halter- top before carrying her screwdriver and herself over to Mark. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," he replied, his eyes sweeping over her body appreciatively.
The bell rang, signifying the beginning of fifth period. So far, Summer only had one class with Mark and he didn't sit anywhere near her. She breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang and he didn't appear. She was happy that she didn't have to see him.
The door opened and in walked Mark Murray. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find the class."
The voice pulled Summer out of her silent reverie. She looked at him and her eyes widened in fear. He didn't look the same as the guy from that party. He had cut his hair short enough to spike. He still dressed the same in baggy pants and tight shirts. He was still handsome, but Summer knew better.
Summer pulled her eyes away from Mark and glanced quickly around the classroom. All the tables were full. Seth, Anna, Luke, and Ryan all sat with her. That's when she realized that there was one empty seat in the class, and that was at her table. The seat was right next to her. "Anna, sit here."
"What?" Anna asked, looking up from her seat next to Luke.
"Anna, if you have a shred of decency, you'll leave boyfriend's side and sit next to me," Summer whispered urgently.
"Summer, what's wrong?" Luke asked, noting the scared urgency in the girl's voice.
Summer motioned subtly to where Mark stood, finishing his conversation with Mr. Richter. His eyes widened in disbelief, mimicking the expression that had haunted Marissa's face hours before. He began to open his mouth to give Anna the okay, but before he could, an unwelcome presence graced the seat next to Summer.
"Why if it isn't Summer Roberts," Mark commented. Summer stiffened, looking over at Luke and then down at her book.
An hour after Summer had met Mark, they were kissing in a corner. They stopped their kissing only to sip their drinks. "I'm out," Summer commented.
"You want a refill?" Mark offered.
"I'm already way too drunk. Alcohol poison isn't good… from what I hear," Summer replied. "Not to mention I'm getting a migraine."
"Well, you wanna go inside and lie down? I know Holly's house like the back of my hand. Not to mention I'm staying in a guest room tonight," he told her sweetly, running a hand through her long black tresses.
"Okay. Thanks," Summer told him. She stood up and they walked hand-in-hand to Holly's guest room.
"Sum, you want to come over tonight?" Marissa asked, as they walked towards Marissa's Jeep.
"Not really Coop," Summer told her best friend.
"Sum, you shouldn't be alone," Marissa told her.
"I'm not breakable!" Summer shouted, causing a couple people to look at her in the parking lot.
"I never claimed that you are. But I think maybe hanging out with Lucifer and my mom will help. Plus, I can make us some margs or some screwdrivers," Marissa offered.
"Ew! I hate screwdrivers," Summer told her. Her best friend knew almost everything about that party, except that she hadn't drunk a screwdriver since.
"Just come over," Marissa told her. Summer finally nodded in consent, too tired to argue. The two friends climbed into the Jeep and started towards the gigantic house that Caleb Nichol had bought Julie as a wedding present.
They pulled into the driveway of the brick castle and climbed out of the Jeep. They quickly walked inside to Marissa's bedroom. Summer still couldn't believe how Marissa had the entire third floor to herself and loved the fact that Summer had her own bedroom in the monstrosity of a house. Summer and Marissa sat on Marissa's queen sized bed and started to talk of things that had no significance.
They sat talking about nothing in particular for about another half hour before Marissa finally brought up Mark again. "You need to tell someone," she told her best friend.
"Coop, you don't understand. It was three years ago… I can't do anything about it!" Summer shouted.
"You can get help with it. You can get out of classes with him," Marissa argued. "Come on Sum, I don't like you around him. Neither does Luke."
Summer and Mark entered the bedroom and sat down on the floral bedspread. "This room makes me seem so gay."
"I don't think you're gay," Summer told him. They began kissing again and laid back on the floral bedspread.
"You and Luke talked about it!" Summer shouted.
"Yes, but not around anyone else. We have trig together and we talked about it when everyone else was catching up on their summers."
"Someone could've overheard!"
They kept kissing. He started to caress her underneath her clothing. His hand gently stroked her stomach, gently rising up and down. Each stroke brought him higher and lower. Soon his hands graced her blossoming breast and the waistline of her skirt. "Mark," she whispered.
"You are so beautiful Summer Roberts," he told her.
"So are you," she whispered. He began to pull off her shirt. She allowed it. She started to get uncomfortable though as he grazed underneath her bra with his fingertips. His other hand found his way to the buttons on her skirt.
"No one overheard Sum," Marissa told her friend.
"I can't do this! I can't do this anymore! I don't want to talk about it," Summer told her best friend. "Coop, why can't you let it die? It was dead for two years."
"Summer, are you crying?"
Tears were about to fall down her face and she turned away from her best friend. "I want to go home. I don't want to talk about Mark."
"And earlier this summer you didn't want to talk about Seth," Marissa told her. "And in sixth grade you didn't want to talk about your mom. You never want to talk about anything painful."
"Like you do. You would rather drink yourself into oblivion than talk about what's bothering you. I mean, look at this summer. Look at last summer. Look at Christmas and every other damn time something's bothered you!" Summer argued.
"But that was different."
"Why because it was you?"
"Mark, stop," Summer told him as he lowered her skirt and black silk thong down.
"Summer, trust me. I have a condom," Mark told her while he undid his pants.
"I don't want to," Summer told him. She tried to push Mark off of her and felt his grip around her arms.
"But I want to," Mark told her with a smile.
"Shouldn't it be like mutual or something?" Summer demanded.
He stopped listening to her and pulled down his pants. He covered her mouth with his hand and began to pound into her. Tears streaked down her face as the pain racked her entire body. Anger seethed through her veins and she wished it were over. After thirty minutes, he withdrew and uncovered her mouth. "That was some of the greatest I've ever had," he told her.
Summer stood up and pulled up her skirt. She grabbed her shirt and ran downstairs. She ran outside, struggling to put back on her shirt. She found Marissa and Luke and looked at them. "Can we go?" she asked, sobbing.
"Sum, what's wrong?"
"I was…"
"Well, I wasn't raped. That's how it was different. My virginity wasn't stolen from me!" Marissa yelled.
The door opened and Julie poked in her head. "Marissa, what are you talking about?"
"Sorry Mom. We were trying out a scene from a play we were thinking about trying out for," Marissa lied.
"Summer, honey, why are you crying?"
"Because Marissa just lied to you. Mrs. Nichol, I was raped in ninth grade. I just never told anyone," Summer finally admitted.
Summer Roberts had a secret. Only now the secret didn't bear the burden. After she told Julie, she managed to tell her father and Dr. Kim. She started to go to therapy and learned how to focus out Mark. She still hated the sight of him, though that was suddenly lessened when Seth won his first fight. He found out about Mark and hospitalized him. Summer Roberts had a secret and she was coming to terms with it. She had been raped. It wasn't her fault.
"Marissa, you can never tell anyone. You can't either Luke," Summer swore them in the car.
"We won't," they promised in unison.
Marissa and Luke realized that that was the stupidest promise they had ever made. They should've told someone immediately instead of waiting for the time when he resurfaced.
Summer Roberts had a secret. She had been raped. Now it wasn't such a secret anymore.
End