Thanks tigercrystal, leentje, rainygal, madelyn, kursk, kym, newportbabe, megan and liz for the reviews, you have no idea what it means to me. I understand that not everyone was happy with my decision, but believe me, there is a plan behind it, just stick with me and you'll see ;-)
This chapter is more about theinformation, nothing extraordinary, the next one is gonna be more interesting I think, I hope to have it up tomorrow or on Thursday at the latest. Again not beta-read!
Chapter 6
"Sum, honey, where is my laptop?" Seth called fromhis office.
Summer took a deep breath in the kitchen, calming herself down before answering:
"Cohen, please! I can't take care of everything. If your laptop is not in your office it must be in the bedroom!"
Seth was about to leave for work and he was taking Cassandra with him. He would then pick up Alyssa and bring them both to Sandy and Kirsten. The adults had decided that it was best for the girls to stay with the grandparents for a few days until everything could be sorted out.
The girls were happy to spend some time at the Cohen's, knowing that both, Kirsten and Sandy, loved to spoil their grandchildren.
So Cassandra was running around the house, packing all her favourite magazines, dolls and DVD's into her little suitcase, excited about the trip with her best friend.
"Dad, dad!" Summer could hear her little girl cry in the nursery, but still she sat down and started to feed Benjamin.
"Sum!" Seth called from the bedroom, obviously still searching for his laptop, irritated by the fact that his daughter was yelling for him.
In the middle of this chaos the doorbell rang. The house went quiet for an instant, before Cassandra came running down the stairs, heading for the door, opening it and welcoming their guest. A few moments later Marissa's head appeared in the kitchen door, Cassandra right behind. She smiled sweetly at her childhood friend and hold up a bag, announcing: "I brought bagels".
"Hi Marissa!" Summer exclaimed, smiling wildly at her best friend. "Sorry, I'm a little occupied at the moment. I'll be with you soon, just…. serve yourself, ok?"
"Mummy, I need Daddy's help with my suitcase but I can't find him..." Cassandra whined impatiently next to Summer, gently running her hand over Benjamin's hair.
"I can help you" Marissa said, while bending down to bring herself in one line with Cassandra's eyes, stroking the little girls cheek lightly.
"Really?" Cassandra asked reluctantly, but when Summer nodded encouraging, she told the model: "Ok, I'll show you my nursery, come on."
Summer meanwhile finished feeding Benjamin and laid him down to sleep. She flinched when two strong arms reached out for her from behind, pulling her into an embrace. The black haired woman felt Seth's breath at her neck, kissing her tenderly.
"You ok?" he asked her in a low voice, pressing himself against her body, happy to feel his lively wife next to him.
"Yeah... Confused... Sad of course... How's Chino?" she answered, grateful for him holding her tight, giving her strength.
"Honestly? He says he's alright... but I know him better.. he's deeply disturbed and the only reason he keeps himself together is because of Alyssa. So I guess we have to take good care of him while the kids are at my parents, I fear he might lose it..."
Summer turned around, searching for Seth's eyes, wanting to know if he was serious. The sad glance in her husband's eyes confirmed her deepest fears.
"Marissa's here by the way, do you think she might be able to help him?"
"Depends if he's willing to let her help..."
"Daddy!" they suddenly heard Cassandra. Turning around they saw their black haired daughter enter the kitchen, running towards her parents. Marissa followed closely behind, carrying the girls suitcase.
Opening his arms, Seth picked up his little girl, swinging her around before pressing her tightly to his body. She put her arms around his neck, pressing her head deep into his shoulders.
"I'm gonna miss you Daddy" the 11 year old girl then whispered shyly.
"And I'm gonna miss you, princess sparkle" Seth replied, softly running his hand over her hair, lightly kissing her forehead.
After kissing Seth and Cassandra goodbye, Summer waved at the front door until the car couldn't be seen anymore. She then retreated back into the house, slowly walking into the kitchen where she found Marissa eating a bagel.
"Coop! I thought models don't eat?" she smiled cheekily at Marissa before she sat down at the table, sighing deeply.
Giving her quick glance, the model blushed and answered:
"Actually... I stopped working for the moment, I wanna take some time off, I'm tired of travelling... And ever since I've lived with the Cohen's for some time I can't stop myself from eating bagels!"
Summer smiled, remembering the turbulent times when Julie took off to Europe after her sex scandal.
"So, do you wanna have a guided tour through the house or did you see enough for now?" Summer asked, remembering that Marissa had never before been to their place. In fact, they hadn't really seen each other for several years. They were usually talking on the phone or writing letters, as both of their lives were quite busy with either the career or the housework.
"I'd rather sit her and talk a bit, we haven't seen us for ages! I was so surprised when I received your letter with Bernadette's letter attached. I knew you would never forward a fan's letter if it wasn't important, of course I never expected it to be from Ryan's wife..."
"Yeah, about that... I'm really sorry, it's just... Bernadette means a lot to me, she's my sister-in-law and we grew close over the years we have been married to the Cohen brothers and... I'd do anything for her now that... you know..."
"Oh Sum, I'm sorry I haven't been here for you" Marissa stated, a sad look in her eyes, before she hugged her childhood friend.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Seth's wife asked after a few moments of silence. Maybe she hadn't seen Marissa for a while, but she still knew her very well and had immediately realised that something serious was up.
"I need your advice..."
"Sure, what is it? Clothing problems, boyfriend troubles? Spill it Coop" Summer asked jokingly.
"Remember the time right after my split from Ryan?"
When Summer nodded, Marissa continued:
"As you know, you and me, we didn't see each other for quite some time as I was in this school, far away in New York. We only met again after 3 years when my career started to take off, right?"
Summer nodded again, giving her a confused glance.
"What do you wanna tell me Coop?"
"Well... I didn't actually go to this school right after I left... I went to live with Jimmy in Japan for about a year, before I enlisted in the school."
"But why?" Summer was getting more confused by the second.
Wordlessly Marissa took her purse and reached for her wallet. Pulling out a picture she gently run her hand over it, before she handed it over to Summer.
"Because of my son"
With a surprised expression on her face, Summer took the picture and took a look at it. Her eyes widened in shock before she whispered:
"Oh my God Marissa, he looks exactly like... Chino..."
more to follow within the next two days...