I never fail to neglect a pretty good story. Sorry guys. Anyway I feel like I am back on this one at least pretty full force, and to make sure I update soon I left you all with a nice little cliffhanger. If any of you haven't checked out my newest OC story Bohemian Rhapsody you should do that. If you like this you will like love that. Lol, anyhow please R&R, I know it's been awhile!
xoxo Jules
Chapter 11: "Feel the touch of grief"
Rigo, Luis, and Raul sat outside of the Cohen house.
"Why do we gotta look out man? We should just get the job done get Marissa and go." Rigo said turning to Luis who was behind the wheel.
"We've got to wait until he's alone." Luis said
"Well who knows when that's gonna be!" Rigo argued back
Raul sat in the back seat in silence, he was the only one seemingly conflicted about the decision to take Ryan down. But it was his only way out…
--- Kirsten walked into the pool house that morning to find Marissa wrapped comfortably in Ryans arms. There was the bagel lying to their left, other than a couple of sesame seeds picked off the bagel was untouched, unconsumed.
Kirsten's head dropped sadly as she walked back to the main house. Sandy was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. Seth was nowhere to be found. Sandy and Kirsten hadn't really spoken much since the truth about Marissa was revealed.
Sandy watched from behind the paper as his wife took a seat, visibly shaken. He couldn't ignore her when she was like that.
"What's wrong?" Sandy asked "Is it Marissa?"
"Yeah." Kirsten said leaning back in the chair. "I'm just really not sure what to do with her."
Sandy, much to Kirsten's surprise put down the paper and looked at her intently.
"What happened?" Kirsten didn't respond as she looked away. "Do you really think that I'm that heartless? Yeah I am mad as hell about you having another child all of these years and not telling me, but Marissa needs help, and your still my wife which makes her my step-daughter, and I don't know how I can after this but I still love you!" Sandy said, words spilling from his mouth that he had never intended to.
"How? I lied to you for 18 years!" Kirsten said
"I guess I just do." Sandy now changed the subject. "Where are Jace and Seth?"
"At the arcade." Kirsten informed him.
Sandy nodded.
"What happened with Marissa?"
"It's nothing really." Kirsten said
"I'm trying to forgive you for lying the past 18 years Kirsten, I don't know how much more I can take." Sandy said in a firm voice.
"It's just that she needs help. She doesn't eat anything, and everything's been changing for her so fast, I'm just really worried about whats going to happen next. I don't want my daughter to starve to death before I get to know her…" Kirsten said, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I don't want that either."
"I just don't know what to do Sandy." Kirsten said sitting back in her seat. "I'm so lost with all of this."
"You call Jimmy, I'll see what I can do." Sandy said clearing his area as he stood up from the table
"Why am I calling Jimmy, and what do you mean see what you can do?" Kirsten asked confused and worried.
"You and Jimmy need to talk to Marissa, and I'm going to find her somewhere to go if that's what we decide to do." Sandy said putting his dishes in the sink.
"Do you really think that she needs to go somewhere?" Kirsten asked
"Yeah, … I do." Sandy said heading up the stairs.
Marissa walked in to the bathroom, she had just woken up. She splashed cold water on her face. She raised her head from the bowl of the sink slowly and jumped back when she saw her reflection. She traced the outline of her jaw with the tips of her fingers. She had dark circles under her eyes.
She quickly went to the make up bag that Kirsten had bought her, and worked furiously covering the circles under her eyes, and attempting to gain with blush whatever color she could in her cheeks.
She looked in the mirror again, it was better. Definitely better. She slipped on a pair of new designer jeans from the week before that already hung slightly from her waist. She searched the bathroom for her belt. She found it and pulled it tightly through the belt loops. She quickly slipped a light pink shirt over her head, Summer had said that she looked good in pink, Marissa could care less, and then slipped out of the pool house where Ryan was still asleep.
"Hey." Marissa said in a cheery voice as she entered the Cohen kitchen oblivious to the tension.
"Morning honey. Do you want breakfast or anything?" Kirsten asked Marissa hopefully
"No, thanks though. I usually don't eat anything this early in the morning." Marissa lied. "Do you know where Jace is?"
"He's with Seth at the arcade." Kirsten informed her "daughter".
Marissa nodded approvingly. Right then the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Marissa said standing up from the table.
"Are you sure?" Sandy offered
"Yeah, no problem."
Sandy and Kirsten looked to one another curious about the sudden drastic personality change in the girl.
"Hey!" Jimmy said as he walked in.
"Hi!" Marissa said back with an over dramatic smile.
"How are you doing Kiddo?" He asked her
"Alright." Marissa said nodding
"Good." Jimmy said smiling as Marissa shut the heavy door.
In the weeks since Marissa arrived in Newport she and Jimmy had become close. He filled the father role in her life, something that she never had. Kirsten on the other hand was different, Marissa's entire life she had another mother, and was not sure whether or not she was ready to replace her, even if she was no longer there.
"Jimmy!" Kirsten said standing up and straightening her skirt
"I'll give you three some time." Sandy said heading upstairs and gesturing for Ryan, who had just entered the house, to follow him.
"What's going on?" Marissa asked as she watched both of her parents sit down on the couches.
"Why don't you have a seat Marissa?"
She hesitated for a second before she finally sat down.
"Jimmy and I need to talk to you." Kirsten said softly
"About what?" Marissa asked holding her arms around herself protectively.
"Just what the next steps are going to be now that you're here." Kirsten said
"What do you mean 'steps'?" Marissa asked not quite trusting the situation
"I was thinking that we could see if we could work out and arrangement with your father and I, where you will be staying, going to school, all of that stuff." Kirsten explained
"I don't care, I guess you guys can decide that." Marissa said indifferently still waiting for a bombshell, she braced herself.
"And one more thing honey. We're not trying to come down on you or anything, but we are beginning to become concerned with your eating habits." Kirsten said honestly
"You don't have to worry about that." Marissa said
Kirsten looked to Jimmy for help.
"We're just trying to help you kiddo so everything will be okay by the time that the school year starts." Jimmy explained
"We've found some doctors in Newport and have researched some very temporary residential facilities that may be able to help you." Kirsten added
"Look, I appreciate it, but I really don't need any of this from any of you." Marissa said as she stood up and headed out the door
Kirsten stood up to follow her.
"Can I?" Jimmy asked
Kirsten nodded. Jimmy pushed open the door to the back yard and followed the trail down that led to the beach. There he found Marissa sitting perched on top of the wooden fence.
"Hey." Jimmy said
"Hey." Marissa said as tears silently streamed down her face.
"Marissa, we're not trying to tell you how to live your life, we just want you to get healthy." Jimmy said
"Why do you care?" Marissa asked
"I've always cared. In high school I was the only one excited for finals."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Marissa asked with a laugh
"Because those days I could get out of school early and go see you at the hospital. But I missed one day, my boss had scheduled me for a double shift and I couldn't get there during visiting hours. I came back the next day and they told me…" Jimmy's voice faded off as he relived the painful memories.
"I'm sorry." Marissa said, her eyes still cast towards the sea.
"You shouldn't be honey. I just don't want to see you get hurt. And I wish with all of my heart that I could have been there when you were growing up, but we're together now and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Jimmy said kissing her forehead "So will you please think about seeing someone?"
Marissa pondered this for a second. Maybe he really did care.
"Yeah, sure, maybe." She said shortly
And then from behind them at the Cohen mansion gun shots rang out.