Chapter 12: "You stand in disbelief"

"What was that?" Marissa asked, tears muffling her voice.

"I don't know." Jimmy said moving quickly back up the trail to the house with Marissa following close behind.

By the time that they arrived police cars were already swarming around the house. The sky seemed to suddenly turn black and rain began to pour from the sky.

Marissa's eyes darted around not able to focus on any one thing. Summer stood in the corner by the pool house holding Jace tightly, Jace crying into her shirt. Seth stood in the doorway of the pool house his jaw propped wide open. It was then she noticed Ryan lying beside the pool in a pool of his blood.

"Ryan!" Marissa yelled running to him getting to him just before the EMT's.

"No Marissa!" Sandy said pulling the fighting girl back. Marissa helplessly flailed her body in Sandys arms.

"Oh my god…" Kirsten whispered as tears streamed down her face she covered her mouth with her hands.

Marissa collapsed to the ground, her body wracked with sobs as she stared a a bloody and battered Ryan lying before her. Without a thought she stood and ran back down the trail just in time to see Raul and Rigo get knocked to the ground and handcuffed… but not in time to hear that they were still after someone else…

Falling to her knees on the beach she cried helplessly. The wet sand began to cake her body. She didn't hear the footsteps behind her until someone grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back.

"Fuck!" She screamed as she was pulled to her feet a thick hand covered her mouth as she was dragged from the beach.

If it were any other afternoon the beach would have been packed with people, but since the rain came in… Marissa was left defenseless against her attacker. She was led back to a small cove that was hidden at the far edge of the beach, and she was thrown to the ground.

She fought to get the sand from her eyes as she hit the ground. She cowered to the ground at first not daring to look at her abductor. Her vision began to blur and her head spun as she looked up for one last time to see Luis standing above her with a lop sided grin on his face.

Back at the house

"I'll follow the ambulance to the hospital." Sandy said running to get into his car.

"What about Marissa?" Seth asked as he approached his parents

"Jimmy and I will find her. Will you take Jace to Summer's house?" Kirsten asked her son

"But mom, I want to help look for Marissa."

"Seth, will you listen to me just this once? Please." Kirsten pleaded with her son.

"Alright. Be careful." Seth said kissing his mother on her cheek and giving his father a hug before leaving with Summer and Jace.

"I don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to her Jimmy." Kirsten said as he pulled her into his arms.

"I don't either. She'll be fine." He said kissing her forehead.

The hospital.

"I'm Sanford Cohen, a boy was just shot at my house, Ryan Atwood, who can I ask about his condition?" Sandy asked more frantically than he had intended

"Are you immediate family?" The orderly asked

"No, he doesn't have one! He's been living with me for the past two weeks or so." Sandy said

The girl checked the charts and computers quickly.

"It says here he just went into surgery." She said with no expression

"Well does anyone know if he's going to make it or-"

"I'm sorry sir. I don't know that information as of now but if you wait I am sure that someone will be out to talk to you when the surgery is over." She said trying to calm his nerves.

"And how long will that be?" Sandy asked with both of his palms flat on the counter.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure."

Hours passed and Sandy had not gotten any word on Ryan, and Marissa was still nowhere to be found. At first the cops had wanted to rule it as a runaway, but they later found marks in the sand of someones heels indicating that someone had been drug somewhere. And their prime suspect? Luis De los Santos.

Seth and Summer sat on Summer's bed after finally getting Jace to sleep. He was more that traumatized after having seen Ryan be shot…

Seth for the first time was silent. Contemplative.

"Are you okay." Summer asked taking his hand

"I don't know what my mom is going to do if Marissa isn't okay." Seth said his voice more serious that Summer had ever heard it be.

At this point Summer knew that there was nothing that she could do to make Seth feel better. All that she could do was to be there for him. But somehow that didn't seem to be enough.

Seth soon dozed off and Summer left him a note on the bed saying that she ran out quickly to get food for Jace in the morning.

It was hard to see as the rain pelted down on her windshield. She beeped as a car tried to cut her off. She stopped once she reached the Cohens. She ran quickly to the door fleeing the storm.

She quickly tried to get warm when she noticed Kirsten and Jimmy on the couch.

"Any word on Marissa?" Summer asked

"No, I thought that you were with Seth." Kirsten said

"I was, but I just thought I'd stop by."

"They're still looking." Jimmy said "They told us that they thought it would be better to stay here incase someone calls or something."

Summer nodded.

"Well I was going to stop by the store. Do you need anything?" She asked looking at the adults.

"No thanks, we're alright." Kirsten said

Summer nodded again as she turned on her heels to leave. Once outside Summer turned to drive, in the opposite direction of the grocery store… Her eyes caught a cove where she and her former best friend Holly used to take guys to make out. It was hidden for the most part. But Marissa couldn't be there, could she? The cops would have found her this close to the Cohen house right? But she didn't see anyone around. So she decided to check… quickly.

She slipped as she climbed down the rocks onto the beach, and sand beganto fill her shoes. She pushed past the trees and bushes and climbed down the rock to the cove. She couldn't see anything it was too dark. Any other person would have turned back, but she just had a feeling.

She let her hands feel along the rock as a guide. Nobody could get around here unless they knew it. Well not in this weather or during this time of day at least.

It was then that Summer heard a soft groaning.

"Marissa?" She called

Then she heard the noise again.

"Marissa!" She called again

Summer began to sob. Marissa was here, and she was alive, she just couldn't get to her. And then someone grabbed Summer's shoulder causing her to scream. She swung around to look at the face but she couldn't make it out in the dark.

"Summer, calm down it's me!" Jimmy said as he grabbed her hand

"Mr. Cooper? What are you doing?"

"Kirsten wanted coffee, we tried your cell but it was off. I followed you away from the house and tried to get your attention but when you didn't head to the store and I saw that you stopped… what are you doing here?"

"I think that Marissa's here somewhere." Summer said

"She's not Summer. The cops already checked here."

"Well they didn't check well enough because someone is over there!" Summer said gesturing to her left.

"Marissa?" Jimmy said straying away from Summer and feeling his way along the rocks when he hit something soft… cold… skin like. He knew immediately that it was his daughter. He scooped her body into his arms. "She's breathing, she's okay!"

The hope that night brings us, the dark that conceals the truth. If there had even been the slightest glimmer of light it would have revealed a broken girl, a beaten raped, cold, tormented lost girl who knew nothing but pain… Jimmy implied that all it takes is breath to be okay, but he was just about to find out how wrong he was…