A/N – Heh. 'kelly'- I'm dedicating this chapter to you. Thanks to ALL of you telling me your thoughts, I really appreciate that you take the time. Y'all are the best.
Lies 28
Ryan saw bright light suddenly and wondered if this was another dream or a continuation of his earlier one. Weren't you supposed to see a light in a tunnel when you died? He'd already had the goodbye scene with a ghost voice, and he supposed the bright light scene would be a fitting ending. Hopefully it was a dream. He couldn't possibly be going out for good in what seemed like a ridiculously cheesy horror movie. He was expecting Casper the Friendly Ghost to show up any minute now with some pointers on 'passing over'. He decided if this was the real thing and he was dead, the first thing he'd do was have Casper hook him up with that John Edwards guy so he could tell Seth about this. Only Seth would appreciate the humor in life ending like a B-movie.
"Dude! You're awake!" Seth's voice got fainter. "Hey, go get Mom, will you?" He heard a door close, and Seth's voice was louder again. "You scared the hell out of everyone, you know. How do you feel?"
Ryan was confused. "Where'd Mom go? She left again?" He felt a cool hand on his and heard other voices in the background.
"Ryan, it's Kirsten. I'm so glad you're awake now."
"I am? I'm not dead?" The room was suddenly silent. After a brief pause, Seth spoke again.
"Not even close, man. You just passed out. It's going around, you know. All the cool kids are doing it."
Ryan turned his head and focused in on Kirsten, sitting on the edge of his bed, and then Seth, who was standing beside her. He raised up a little and looked around, discovering that he was in a hospital room. He groaned and lay back on the bed. "Not again."
"My thoughts exactly. I'm beginning to think you're just enjoying all the attention you get in these places. Have we been ignoring you at home or something, bro?" Seth was thrilled to see his friend awake.
Ryan responded dryly. "You're onto me. I'm starved for attention." He gave them a wan smile. "So what happened?"
Seth sat on the side of the bed. "The nurse says you've been a bad boy; not taking your antibiotics, not eating or sleeping along with running around like you weren't just in a horrific firey rollover car wreck. You've been doing, in general, exactly the opposite of everything they told you to do when they released you from the other hospital. Way to rebel against authority, man."
Ryan gave him a weak thumbs-up.
"Seth!" Kirsten glared at him.
"What? It's the truth! It's his nature - he knows it."
She pointed at the door. "Now is not the appropriate time. I need a few minutes to talk to Ryan, so go find the girls and see if Sandy's here yet. Now." Her voice had steel in it.
Seth had heard that tone before and knew better than to push it. "Yes ma'am. Be right back with beautiful women, dude. They're way better than flowers, if you ask me."
The door closed behind Seth and there was an awkward silence for a moment. Ryan sat up, wincing at the pain it caused him. "Something's wrong. What's up?"
Kirsten smiled forlornly. "Ryan, I – I'm not sure how to tell you this." Tears came to her eyes and Ryan braced himself.
The door opened and Sandy came in. "Hey, kid. We gotta stop meetin' like this."
Ryan nodded. "Agreed."
Sandy looked to Kirsten. "Did you....?"
"Not yet; I'm glad you're here." He put a hand on her shoulder and she focused on Ryan again. "Look, there's no easy way –"
"There's something wrong with me, right? And it's serious?"
She sighed. "No, hon, you've got infection from not taking your prescriptions and you're suffering from exhaustion. You're gonna be fine......but..."
Ryan swallowed hard. "Marissa?"
Kirsten bit her lip and nodded, on the verge of tears, then looked down at the bed.
"She's...?"
Sandy pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. "Listen, son, we just found out while you were being treated. The doctor said things went well, but we already knew there's always a chance that the surgery won't work like they want it to. There's generally a period of time after a procedure like this when her condition stabilizes and the anesthesia wears off, and then she should wake up. In Marissa's case, the time frame for that happening is long past now."
Ryan let out a breath. "She's not -?"
"No, she's alive. She's in a coma."
"So she could still wake up, right? Sometimes it takes a while, you know?" Looking from Sandy to Kirsten, Ryan refused to give up hope.
Kirsten grabbed his hand and Sandy put his on Ryan's arm, speaking as gently as he could. "They don't believe she'll come out of the coma, son. It's remotely possible, but no one is expecting it to happen at this point. Her brain activity dropped to a seriously low level in the past hour or so. There was just too much damage done in the accident. I'm sorry, Ryan."
Ryan dropped his eyes and stared at Kirsten's small hand over his own, yet saw nothing. He felt nothing, just very removed from the situation, like he was watching someone else hearing horrible news on a television show. He felt bad for them, but it wasn't real.
Kirsten leaned in to hug him gently. "I'm so sorry, Ryan. Summer told me how much you wanted to talk to her. Maybe we can convince the doctor to let you go up and see her in a wheelchair."
Dazed, he looked blankly over her shoulder and across the room. "I already talked to her. She – she talked to me. She said she had to go, but I didn't know what she meant."
Kirsten pulled away and looked at him with worry, then pity. "You must have been dreaming, hon, you're not making any sense. I think you should get some rest now; I'll tell Seth and the girls to stay out for a while."
"No. I don't want to be – I want to see them." He slowly turned to look at Sandy, finally focusing. "Do they know?"
Sandy nodded. "Jimmy was telling them when I came in."
Ryan rubbed his hand across his eyes. "Is Mr. Cooper ok?"
"As ok as he can be, I guess. He knew how iffy the situation was from the beginning, so he's had time to prepare. Not that one can ever really prepare for something like this."
Seth stuck his head in the door. "All right to come in?"
Ryan nodded and turned back to Kirsten. "Is Marissa's mom here yet?"
She shook her head. "They're trying. They should be here soon."
Ryan took a deep breath. "You guys should be with Mr. Cooper then. He needs you right now."
"But Ryan, you're part of our fam –"
"– it's ok. I've got these guys." He looked up at Seth, who had a girl under each arm. "He shouldn't be alone; he'll need his friends."
Kirsten watched him doubtfully.
"Go ahead. Really. It's ok."
She bent to hug him again, and Sandy repeated the gesture.
Ryan thought about how he'd felt in that dark dream, all alone and dead inside. He was determined not to destroy the bonds he'd made with the people in this room. All he had to do was step on his pride and say something. He held on to Sandy for a minute, and when the hug was over he spoke softly, looking at his blankets again. "Just - come back in a while, ok? I think I'm gonna ...need you guys."
His foster parents glanced at each other with small smiles. "We're all here for you, Ryan. That's what family is about. We'll be back, son."
As they left the room, Kirsten leveled a stare at her other son. "Seth. Outside. We need to talk."
"What? I thought this was mushy family time?" He crossed over to the bed and awkwardly patted Ryan on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry about – all this, man. I'll be right back. Apparently I've offended the mother. Again."
He met his mom down the hall. "What did I do now? I'd kind of like to hang with Ryan, you know? And Summer, Marissa's best friend? This is some pretty heavy stuff."
"I know it is and you can in a minute. Right now I want an explanation. Two, actually. Explain why you've been staying at Summer's house with no parental supervision, and also explain the large diamond rings that you and your 'friend' are wearing."
He looked to the ceiling in exasperation. "Again with the big diamond ring thing! I didn't know there were rules!"
"Seth?!"
He sighed. "Ok. It's like this. We're not just friends anymore."
"Not helping your case."
"I suppose not... This is what happened. You know her dad's in Europe, right? And she didn't have anyone to help her with stuff? Since Marissa was in the hospital too. So I couldn't let her wake up in the hospital by herself, and then they let her out, but she could barely walk and couldn't get up stairs and she couldn't even comb her own hair and she was pretty out of it sometimes so I needed to make sure she took her plethora of pills at the right times and get her food. And stuff. General helpfulness in an injured friend's time of need. Is that so bad?"
"And in the meantime you fell in love?!! You've been sleeping! At! Her HOUSE!!! You couldn't have 'helped her' at our house?!"
"Calm down, mom, before you bust a vein or something. We got really close after I - over something I can't discuss with you – "
"I'm in no mood for secrets, Seth. Talk."
"I can't talk about this because it's personal and not mine to tell and quite frankly none of your business." He spoke louder over her protests. "And for God's sake, Mother, Summer was just hit by a car. She has bruised ribs and a broken arm, a concussion and a dislocated shoulder and pretty much feels like she got -" He made finger quotes in the air, "Run Over By A Car, which, HEY! She did! Pain, you know?" He looked around the hallway and lowered his voice. "Sex is the last thing on anybody's mind right now. She sleeps in the guest suite because she can't get up the stairs to her own room and I sleep on the couch." Seth reasoned that last two sentences weren't really lies. He'd never felt like having sex less than right now while talking to his mother about it. And he HAD dozed off on the couch once or twice.
"In the guest suite?"
"Well YES, in case she needs something in the night. I couldn't very well hear her on the other side of the house, now could I? And the rings? We didn't get married. No, we're not engaged. Have you not often praised me on my intelligence and good sense? We're not even out of high school yet and we both know we're too young. But we are in a committed relationship, so get over it. I bought her the ring as a friendship thing, before we even got back together. She felt the need to reciprocate. Did you even look at them? They're awesome! Think about it, mom. Summer Roberts, the girl I've liked forever, loves me. Can't you be just a little bit happy for me here? Dad wasn't mad - He was totally cool about it."
Kirsten sighed. "I'm happy that you're happy, Seth. She's a wonderful girl. But I still think you're too young for a serious relationship and it's inappropriate for you to stay at her house. She can stay with us if she needs help."
"It's my fault, Mrs. Cohen." They both turned to see Summer approaching them with a limp. "Please don't be mad at Seth. Everything was so wrong, and horrible, and I just wanted to be in my own home, like, somewhere that felt familiar." She stopped next to Seth and he put an arm protectively around her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I just came out to get a drink and I heard you guys talking. You were – kind of loud."
Kirsten smiled. "Don't worry about it, Summer. Are you all right? This must be so hard for you."
"I'm ok, just tired and sad and a little sore. I guess my medication wore off."
Seth looked over at his mom. "I've finally cracked the code for 'Summer- speak'. 'A little sore'? Means she's in serious pain. Very stubborn, this one is. She thinks she has to be Wonder Woman and never complain."
"I'll live, Cohen. Don't get all excited."
Kirsten startled her by pulling her into a hug. "Summer, our whole family is here for you, please remember that. You ARE family."
Summer couldn't help it. She lost what was left of her control at Kirsten's words and the tears started, threatening to wash away her adult facade and leave her shrieking like an inconsolable child.
Kirsten walked her quickly to the nearest lounge and sat down, pulling her back into a hug while Seth followed, nervous and worried.
"Mom, she's just had too much in the last week, with the accident and Marissa and the thing with her - thing. It's more than anyone could take." He sat on the other side of his girlfriend and rubbed her shoulders and back as she cried it all out in Kirsten's arms.
Eventually Summer calmed down, and she sat up, wiping her face with her shirtsleeve. "I'm sorry I fell apart on you, Mrs. Cohen. I just – "
"Oh please, it's fine. No one knows more about needing a good cry than another female, am I right? I'll bet you feel a little better now, don't you?"
Summer nodded.
Seth had run to the nurses' station and borrowed a box of tissues, and now he handed her one, then sat back, unsure of what to do next. "Do you want to go home? Something to drink? What can I do to make you not cry anymore?"
Summer smiled a little. "You're so sweet, always trying to fix things for me. I'd love a cold drink, if you don't mind."
"Done! I'll be right back." He started to get up, and she stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. "Take your time, ok? I want to talk to your mom for a minute."
He stood up, shaking his head. "Oh no. This can't be good. Ryan told about this, where the girlfriend and the mom team up to take over my li – I mean – it's gonna be you two against me, soon."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Relax, Seth. I'm just gonna tell her what's been going on."
"Oh. Ok. I'll be back, then."
Summer fondly watched him walk away, and then turned to Kirsten. "He stayed at the hospital when he didn't have to. He found out something horrible about me and instead of running away like anyone else would? It didn't faze him. See, I'd written him sort of a letter in my journal, telling him about a lot of stuff I could never, ever say out loud. I didn't plan for him to read it – I wrote it for me; to get it off my chest, you know?"
Kirsten nodded. "I've done it before."
"Well, while I was in the hospital he went to my house to get me some real pajamas and clothes and things, and while he was in my room, he found it and read it."
"And he told you he knew?"
"After a while. I'd been released and we were at my house, and he told me he knew and wanted me to talk about it with him. He said – that...he wanted to help me." Summer wiped a stray tear away.
"So you guys talked?"
"No, I tried to throw him out! He told me he wasn't leaving me and went to get us dinner and that's when he bought my ring. He came back and I couldn't talk to him, I was so freaked out and ashamed and...God. You must think I'm insane. You don't even know what I'm talking about."
"You don't have to tell me, Summer."
She looked at the floor. "My father...when I was little he..."
Kirsten caught on immediately. Sandy had told her earlier that Seth had out of the blue called him up and questioned him about incest, lying that it was for a school paper. "Oh honey. Oh my God. I'm so sorry."
"It's – I want to tell you about Seth. He sat with me and talked to me and gave me the ring, even though I wasn't talking to him, and I finally realized after all he'd done that if I couldn't trust him? I'd never trust anyone ever again. So we talked. About it. I told him about – it." She looked up at Kirsten. "And he still didn't leave me."
"I know he cares very deeply for you, Summer."
She smiled a little. "I adore him, Mrs. Cohen. I know you think we're too young, but we have this amazing thing between us. I don't think a lot of married couples have what Seth and I have."
"You're probably right." Kirsten sighed. "I just worry about both of you getting hurt."
"Please don't. We're honest with each other, and getting hurt is part of life. We both know that. Too well, unfortunately."
Kirsten was quiet for a moment. "So let's see your ring."
Summer held it up for her, and Kirsten gasped. "Summer, it's gorgeous! My son – the one with the um, sometimes 'interesting' clothing choices - picked that out?"
Summer laughed. "He did. It's perfect, isn't it? I was so surprised and...touched, when he gave it to me – it was completely out of the blue and it means so much to me."
"I can imagine. I'm glad you felt like you could trust me and tell me all this, Summer."
"I am too. Anyway, I told you so you'd understand that I really care about Seth, and having him in my life is like, sooo important. I know you and Mr. Cohen probably have your doubts, and I'm trying to show you that this isn't some little high school crush. For either of us."
Seth dropped back onto the couch next to Summer, handing her a Sprite. "Right. I agree completely. What are we talking about?"
"Your mom thinks we're too young to be serious about each other. I was trying to explain to her that this isn't..." Summer felt shy suddenly, afraid to speak for Seth and his feelings.
"This isn't puppy love?" He smiled at her. "No, it's definitely not. Again, I agree completely." He kept gazing affectionately at Summer until she blushed and looked away, smiling. He turned back to his mom. "So how old were you, again, when you and Jimmy Cooper fell in love and almost got married?......Oh that's right! You were in HIGH SCHOOL. And don't tell me it was different then, because I'm not buying it."
Kirsten rolled her eyes and stood up. "All right, you two. We won't interfere unless we see something that really needs addressed. Summer, our former guest room is officially renamed "Summer's room". You can come and go as you please – we realize you have a home you're probably comfortable in. Seth, you will be sleeping at home from now on, in your own room. Period."
"Fair enough, mom. I'd just like to point out that by the time we get home tonight it's going to be late, and Summer will have to pack to go to our house, and she's tired and hurting from getting hit by a car, remember? So just let me run this by you – I think the most logical course of action, and also the best scenario for her well-being, of course, would be for her to stay at her own house tonight and then we can bring her stuff over to ours tomorrow. Wouldn't you agree?"
Summer yawned widely to emphasize how tired she was.
"And I'm supposing that you'll need to stay there with her. In case she needs something, right?" Kirsten replied dryly.
"Correct." Seth looked at his watch. "She's missed 2 sets of her scheduled medication, 3 by the time we get home, and she's not gonna be able to get around very well by herself. You know, the pain thing? Ow, she was hit by a car thing?"
Kirsten thought about it for a minute, sighed and gave in. "All right. Tonight. Last time."
"That'll be fine, Mrs. Cohen, thank you. I just want to lie down and rest tonight. This has been such a long, awful day."
"I know, sweetie." Kirsten hugged her again, then embarrassed Seth by hugging him, too. "You're a lot like your father."
"Please say that's a joke."
She laughed. "I'm telling him you said that. I'll talk to you later. I need to find Jimmy and Sandy." She walked away.
Summer grinned at Seth. "Smooth, Cohen. You shouldn't lie to your mother, though."
Seth looked offended. "I did not even once lie to her. Technically. I promised Ryan I wouldn't after TJ."
"Speaking of Ryan, let's go see how he's doing. Poor guy. Can anything else go wrong? We've pretty much covered it all by now, haven't we?"
"Aside from acts of God as determined by insurance companies, you know, flood, hurricane, etc? Yes. It's all been done this week." He helped her up. "How do you feel really?"
She shook her head unhappily. "I didn't lie to her either. I'm worn out, I'm in pain, and I'm kind of numb, emotion wise. I haven't had time to really process all this since I talked to Marissa." She dropped her forehead on his chest. "I can't believe she's gone. My heart hurts so bad, Seth."
He hugged her close. "I know. We're gonna get through this, I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "Summer? Did you mean since you talked to Jimmy Cooper? You just said you talked to Marissa."
"I did. Or I dreamed I did, I don't know. When we were in her room – I'm so confused."
Seth led her toward Ryan's room. "Don't worry about it. Just relax, Summer; you've had a long day."
"Now I understand how people get addicted. I'd trade my car for a "happy shot" right now. They were so nice; everything was just slow and smooth and good, unlike all this chaos that's been going on forever."
"Um, Summer?"
"What?"
"You don't have a car."
"Damn it. I don't have a car. You'd think I'd remember that, huh?"
"Well, you've had a lot of stress lately. I imagine that's the last thing on your mind."
"Yes! That's it - I've had too much stress. Thanks, Cohen. I feel much less scatterbrained now."
"And that's always a good thing. The more gathered your brain is, the better. So. What did you tell mom, if I may ask?"
"Everything."
Seth stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. "You told her you devirginized me?"
"No, dumbass. I'm in too much pain, remember? I told her about my dad."
"You did? Why? She didn't need to know about that, did she? Are you ok? Was it awful for you?"
Summer closed her eyes briefly and then looked up at him. "Which of those would you like me to answer first?"
"Uh – uh – that would be – why?"
"It was worth the humiliation for her to know what we've been through and how amazingly special you are to me."
"...............oh."
Summer grabbed his hand and stiffly pulled him toward Ryan's room. "Come on. I want to talk to Ryan, and then get home. I'm ready for some Summer/Seth alone time."
"Right. Yes. Let's do that."
Lies 28
Ryan saw bright light suddenly and wondered if this was another dream or a continuation of his earlier one. Weren't you supposed to see a light in a tunnel when you died? He'd already had the goodbye scene with a ghost voice, and he supposed the bright light scene would be a fitting ending. Hopefully it was a dream. He couldn't possibly be going out for good in what seemed like a ridiculously cheesy horror movie. He was expecting Casper the Friendly Ghost to show up any minute now with some pointers on 'passing over'. He decided if this was the real thing and he was dead, the first thing he'd do was have Casper hook him up with that John Edwards guy so he could tell Seth about this. Only Seth would appreciate the humor in life ending like a B-movie.
"Dude! You're awake!" Seth's voice got fainter. "Hey, go get Mom, will you?" He heard a door close, and Seth's voice was louder again. "You scared the hell out of everyone, you know. How do you feel?"
Ryan was confused. "Where'd Mom go? She left again?" He felt a cool hand on his and heard other voices in the background.
"Ryan, it's Kirsten. I'm so glad you're awake now."
"I am? I'm not dead?" The room was suddenly silent. After a brief pause, Seth spoke again.
"Not even close, man. You just passed out. It's going around, you know. All the cool kids are doing it."
Ryan turned his head and focused in on Kirsten, sitting on the edge of his bed, and then Seth, who was standing beside her. He raised up a little and looked around, discovering that he was in a hospital room. He groaned and lay back on the bed. "Not again."
"My thoughts exactly. I'm beginning to think you're just enjoying all the attention you get in these places. Have we been ignoring you at home or something, bro?" Seth was thrilled to see his friend awake.
Ryan responded dryly. "You're onto me. I'm starved for attention." He gave them a wan smile. "So what happened?"
Seth sat on the side of the bed. "The nurse says you've been a bad boy; not taking your antibiotics, not eating or sleeping along with running around like you weren't just in a horrific firey rollover car wreck. You've been doing, in general, exactly the opposite of everything they told you to do when they released you from the other hospital. Way to rebel against authority, man."
Ryan gave him a weak thumbs-up.
"Seth!" Kirsten glared at him.
"What? It's the truth! It's his nature - he knows it."
She pointed at the door. "Now is not the appropriate time. I need a few minutes to talk to Ryan, so go find the girls and see if Sandy's here yet. Now." Her voice had steel in it.
Seth had heard that tone before and knew better than to push it. "Yes ma'am. Be right back with beautiful women, dude. They're way better than flowers, if you ask me."
The door closed behind Seth and there was an awkward silence for a moment. Ryan sat up, wincing at the pain it caused him. "Something's wrong. What's up?"
Kirsten smiled forlornly. "Ryan, I – I'm not sure how to tell you this." Tears came to her eyes and Ryan braced himself.
The door opened and Sandy came in. "Hey, kid. We gotta stop meetin' like this."
Ryan nodded. "Agreed."
Sandy looked to Kirsten. "Did you....?"
"Not yet; I'm glad you're here." He put a hand on her shoulder and she focused on Ryan again. "Look, there's no easy way –"
"There's something wrong with me, right? And it's serious?"
She sighed. "No, hon, you've got infection from not taking your prescriptions and you're suffering from exhaustion. You're gonna be fine......but..."
Ryan swallowed hard. "Marissa?"
Kirsten bit her lip and nodded, on the verge of tears, then looked down at the bed.
"She's...?"
Sandy pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. "Listen, son, we just found out while you were being treated. The doctor said things went well, but we already knew there's always a chance that the surgery won't work like they want it to. There's generally a period of time after a procedure like this when her condition stabilizes and the anesthesia wears off, and then she should wake up. In Marissa's case, the time frame for that happening is long past now."
Ryan let out a breath. "She's not -?"
"No, she's alive. She's in a coma."
"So she could still wake up, right? Sometimes it takes a while, you know?" Looking from Sandy to Kirsten, Ryan refused to give up hope.
Kirsten grabbed his hand and Sandy put his on Ryan's arm, speaking as gently as he could. "They don't believe she'll come out of the coma, son. It's remotely possible, but no one is expecting it to happen at this point. Her brain activity dropped to a seriously low level in the past hour or so. There was just too much damage done in the accident. I'm sorry, Ryan."
Ryan dropped his eyes and stared at Kirsten's small hand over his own, yet saw nothing. He felt nothing, just very removed from the situation, like he was watching someone else hearing horrible news on a television show. He felt bad for them, but it wasn't real.
Kirsten leaned in to hug him gently. "I'm so sorry, Ryan. Summer told me how much you wanted to talk to her. Maybe we can convince the doctor to let you go up and see her in a wheelchair."
Dazed, he looked blankly over her shoulder and across the room. "I already talked to her. She – she talked to me. She said she had to go, but I didn't know what she meant."
Kirsten pulled away and looked at him with worry, then pity. "You must have been dreaming, hon, you're not making any sense. I think you should get some rest now; I'll tell Seth and the girls to stay out for a while."
"No. I don't want to be – I want to see them." He slowly turned to look at Sandy, finally focusing. "Do they know?"
Sandy nodded. "Jimmy was telling them when I came in."
Ryan rubbed his hand across his eyes. "Is Mr. Cooper ok?"
"As ok as he can be, I guess. He knew how iffy the situation was from the beginning, so he's had time to prepare. Not that one can ever really prepare for something like this."
Seth stuck his head in the door. "All right to come in?"
Ryan nodded and turned back to Kirsten. "Is Marissa's mom here yet?"
She shook her head. "They're trying. They should be here soon."
Ryan took a deep breath. "You guys should be with Mr. Cooper then. He needs you right now."
"But Ryan, you're part of our fam –"
"– it's ok. I've got these guys." He looked up at Seth, who had a girl under each arm. "He shouldn't be alone; he'll need his friends."
Kirsten watched him doubtfully.
"Go ahead. Really. It's ok."
She bent to hug him again, and Sandy repeated the gesture.
Ryan thought about how he'd felt in that dark dream, all alone and dead inside. He was determined not to destroy the bonds he'd made with the people in this room. All he had to do was step on his pride and say something. He held on to Sandy for a minute, and when the hug was over he spoke softly, looking at his blankets again. "Just - come back in a while, ok? I think I'm gonna ...need you guys."
His foster parents glanced at each other with small smiles. "We're all here for you, Ryan. That's what family is about. We'll be back, son."
As they left the room, Kirsten leveled a stare at her other son. "Seth. Outside. We need to talk."
"What? I thought this was mushy family time?" He crossed over to the bed and awkwardly patted Ryan on the shoulder. "I'm so sorry about – all this, man. I'll be right back. Apparently I've offended the mother. Again."
He met his mom down the hall. "What did I do now? I'd kind of like to hang with Ryan, you know? And Summer, Marissa's best friend? This is some pretty heavy stuff."
"I know it is and you can in a minute. Right now I want an explanation. Two, actually. Explain why you've been staying at Summer's house with no parental supervision, and also explain the large diamond rings that you and your 'friend' are wearing."
He looked to the ceiling in exasperation. "Again with the big diamond ring thing! I didn't know there were rules!"
"Seth?!"
He sighed. "Ok. It's like this. We're not just friends anymore."
"Not helping your case."
"I suppose not... This is what happened. You know her dad's in Europe, right? And she didn't have anyone to help her with stuff? Since Marissa was in the hospital too. So I couldn't let her wake up in the hospital by herself, and then they let her out, but she could barely walk and couldn't get up stairs and she couldn't even comb her own hair and she was pretty out of it sometimes so I needed to make sure she took her plethora of pills at the right times and get her food. And stuff. General helpfulness in an injured friend's time of need. Is that so bad?"
"And in the meantime you fell in love?!! You've been sleeping! At! Her HOUSE!!! You couldn't have 'helped her' at our house?!"
"Calm down, mom, before you bust a vein or something. We got really close after I - over something I can't discuss with you – "
"I'm in no mood for secrets, Seth. Talk."
"I can't talk about this because it's personal and not mine to tell and quite frankly none of your business." He spoke louder over her protests. "And for God's sake, Mother, Summer was just hit by a car. She has bruised ribs and a broken arm, a concussion and a dislocated shoulder and pretty much feels like she got -" He made finger quotes in the air, "Run Over By A Car, which, HEY! She did! Pain, you know?" He looked around the hallway and lowered his voice. "Sex is the last thing on anybody's mind right now. She sleeps in the guest suite because she can't get up the stairs to her own room and I sleep on the couch." Seth reasoned that last two sentences weren't really lies. He'd never felt like having sex less than right now while talking to his mother about it. And he HAD dozed off on the couch once or twice.
"In the guest suite?"
"Well YES, in case she needs something in the night. I couldn't very well hear her on the other side of the house, now could I? And the rings? We didn't get married. No, we're not engaged. Have you not often praised me on my intelligence and good sense? We're not even out of high school yet and we both know we're too young. But we are in a committed relationship, so get over it. I bought her the ring as a friendship thing, before we even got back together. She felt the need to reciprocate. Did you even look at them? They're awesome! Think about it, mom. Summer Roberts, the girl I've liked forever, loves me. Can't you be just a little bit happy for me here? Dad wasn't mad - He was totally cool about it."
Kirsten sighed. "I'm happy that you're happy, Seth. She's a wonderful girl. But I still think you're too young for a serious relationship and it's inappropriate for you to stay at her house. She can stay with us if she needs help."
"It's my fault, Mrs. Cohen." They both turned to see Summer approaching them with a limp. "Please don't be mad at Seth. Everything was so wrong, and horrible, and I just wanted to be in my own home, like, somewhere that felt familiar." She stopped next to Seth and he put an arm protectively around her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I just came out to get a drink and I heard you guys talking. You were – kind of loud."
Kirsten smiled. "Don't worry about it, Summer. Are you all right? This must be so hard for you."
"I'm ok, just tired and sad and a little sore. I guess my medication wore off."
Seth looked over at his mom. "I've finally cracked the code for 'Summer- speak'. 'A little sore'? Means she's in serious pain. Very stubborn, this one is. She thinks she has to be Wonder Woman and never complain."
"I'll live, Cohen. Don't get all excited."
Kirsten startled her by pulling her into a hug. "Summer, our whole family is here for you, please remember that. You ARE family."
Summer couldn't help it. She lost what was left of her control at Kirsten's words and the tears started, threatening to wash away her adult facade and leave her shrieking like an inconsolable child.
Kirsten walked her quickly to the nearest lounge and sat down, pulling her back into a hug while Seth followed, nervous and worried.
"Mom, she's just had too much in the last week, with the accident and Marissa and the thing with her - thing. It's more than anyone could take." He sat on the other side of his girlfriend and rubbed her shoulders and back as she cried it all out in Kirsten's arms.
Eventually Summer calmed down, and she sat up, wiping her face with her shirtsleeve. "I'm sorry I fell apart on you, Mrs. Cohen. I just – "
"Oh please, it's fine. No one knows more about needing a good cry than another female, am I right? I'll bet you feel a little better now, don't you?"
Summer nodded.
Seth had run to the nurses' station and borrowed a box of tissues, and now he handed her one, then sat back, unsure of what to do next. "Do you want to go home? Something to drink? What can I do to make you not cry anymore?"
Summer smiled a little. "You're so sweet, always trying to fix things for me. I'd love a cold drink, if you don't mind."
"Done! I'll be right back." He started to get up, and she stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. "Take your time, ok? I want to talk to your mom for a minute."
He stood up, shaking his head. "Oh no. This can't be good. Ryan told about this, where the girlfriend and the mom team up to take over my li – I mean – it's gonna be you two against me, soon."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Relax, Seth. I'm just gonna tell her what's been going on."
"Oh. Ok. I'll be back, then."
Summer fondly watched him walk away, and then turned to Kirsten. "He stayed at the hospital when he didn't have to. He found out something horrible about me and instead of running away like anyone else would? It didn't faze him. See, I'd written him sort of a letter in my journal, telling him about a lot of stuff I could never, ever say out loud. I didn't plan for him to read it – I wrote it for me; to get it off my chest, you know?"
Kirsten nodded. "I've done it before."
"Well, while I was in the hospital he went to my house to get me some real pajamas and clothes and things, and while he was in my room, he found it and read it."
"And he told you he knew?"
"After a while. I'd been released and we were at my house, and he told me he knew and wanted me to talk about it with him. He said – that...he wanted to help me." Summer wiped a stray tear away.
"So you guys talked?"
"No, I tried to throw him out! He told me he wasn't leaving me and went to get us dinner and that's when he bought my ring. He came back and I couldn't talk to him, I was so freaked out and ashamed and...God. You must think I'm insane. You don't even know what I'm talking about."
"You don't have to tell me, Summer."
She looked at the floor. "My father...when I was little he..."
Kirsten caught on immediately. Sandy had told her earlier that Seth had out of the blue called him up and questioned him about incest, lying that it was for a school paper. "Oh honey. Oh my God. I'm so sorry."
"It's – I want to tell you about Seth. He sat with me and talked to me and gave me the ring, even though I wasn't talking to him, and I finally realized after all he'd done that if I couldn't trust him? I'd never trust anyone ever again. So we talked. About it. I told him about – it." She looked up at Kirsten. "And he still didn't leave me."
"I know he cares very deeply for you, Summer."
She smiled a little. "I adore him, Mrs. Cohen. I know you think we're too young, but we have this amazing thing between us. I don't think a lot of married couples have what Seth and I have."
"You're probably right." Kirsten sighed. "I just worry about both of you getting hurt."
"Please don't. We're honest with each other, and getting hurt is part of life. We both know that. Too well, unfortunately."
Kirsten was quiet for a moment. "So let's see your ring."
Summer held it up for her, and Kirsten gasped. "Summer, it's gorgeous! My son – the one with the um, sometimes 'interesting' clothing choices - picked that out?"
Summer laughed. "He did. It's perfect, isn't it? I was so surprised and...touched, when he gave it to me – it was completely out of the blue and it means so much to me."
"I can imagine. I'm glad you felt like you could trust me and tell me all this, Summer."
"I am too. Anyway, I told you so you'd understand that I really care about Seth, and having him in my life is like, sooo important. I know you and Mr. Cohen probably have your doubts, and I'm trying to show you that this isn't some little high school crush. For either of us."
Seth dropped back onto the couch next to Summer, handing her a Sprite. "Right. I agree completely. What are we talking about?"
"Your mom thinks we're too young to be serious about each other. I was trying to explain to her that this isn't..." Summer felt shy suddenly, afraid to speak for Seth and his feelings.
"This isn't puppy love?" He smiled at her. "No, it's definitely not. Again, I agree completely." He kept gazing affectionately at Summer until she blushed and looked away, smiling. He turned back to his mom. "So how old were you, again, when you and Jimmy Cooper fell in love and almost got married?......Oh that's right! You were in HIGH SCHOOL. And don't tell me it was different then, because I'm not buying it."
Kirsten rolled her eyes and stood up. "All right, you two. We won't interfere unless we see something that really needs addressed. Summer, our former guest room is officially renamed "Summer's room". You can come and go as you please – we realize you have a home you're probably comfortable in. Seth, you will be sleeping at home from now on, in your own room. Period."
"Fair enough, mom. I'd just like to point out that by the time we get home tonight it's going to be late, and Summer will have to pack to go to our house, and she's tired and hurting from getting hit by a car, remember? So just let me run this by you – I think the most logical course of action, and also the best scenario for her well-being, of course, would be for her to stay at her own house tonight and then we can bring her stuff over to ours tomorrow. Wouldn't you agree?"
Summer yawned widely to emphasize how tired she was.
"And I'm supposing that you'll need to stay there with her. In case she needs something, right?" Kirsten replied dryly.
"Correct." Seth looked at his watch. "She's missed 2 sets of her scheduled medication, 3 by the time we get home, and she's not gonna be able to get around very well by herself. You know, the pain thing? Ow, she was hit by a car thing?"
Kirsten thought about it for a minute, sighed and gave in. "All right. Tonight. Last time."
"That'll be fine, Mrs. Cohen, thank you. I just want to lie down and rest tonight. This has been such a long, awful day."
"I know, sweetie." Kirsten hugged her again, then embarrassed Seth by hugging him, too. "You're a lot like your father."
"Please say that's a joke."
She laughed. "I'm telling him you said that. I'll talk to you later. I need to find Jimmy and Sandy." She walked away.
Summer grinned at Seth. "Smooth, Cohen. You shouldn't lie to your mother, though."
Seth looked offended. "I did not even once lie to her. Technically. I promised Ryan I wouldn't after TJ."
"Speaking of Ryan, let's go see how he's doing. Poor guy. Can anything else go wrong? We've pretty much covered it all by now, haven't we?"
"Aside from acts of God as determined by insurance companies, you know, flood, hurricane, etc? Yes. It's all been done this week." He helped her up. "How do you feel really?"
She shook her head unhappily. "I didn't lie to her either. I'm worn out, I'm in pain, and I'm kind of numb, emotion wise. I haven't had time to really process all this since I talked to Marissa." She dropped her forehead on his chest. "I can't believe she's gone. My heart hurts so bad, Seth."
He hugged her close. "I know. We're gonna get through this, I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "Summer? Did you mean since you talked to Jimmy Cooper? You just said you talked to Marissa."
"I did. Or I dreamed I did, I don't know. When we were in her room – I'm so confused."
Seth led her toward Ryan's room. "Don't worry about it. Just relax, Summer; you've had a long day."
"Now I understand how people get addicted. I'd trade my car for a "happy shot" right now. They were so nice; everything was just slow and smooth and good, unlike all this chaos that's been going on forever."
"Um, Summer?"
"What?"
"You don't have a car."
"Damn it. I don't have a car. You'd think I'd remember that, huh?"
"Well, you've had a lot of stress lately. I imagine that's the last thing on your mind."
"Yes! That's it - I've had too much stress. Thanks, Cohen. I feel much less scatterbrained now."
"And that's always a good thing. The more gathered your brain is, the better. So. What did you tell mom, if I may ask?"
"Everything."
Seth stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. "You told her you devirginized me?"
"No, dumbass. I'm in too much pain, remember? I told her about my dad."
"You did? Why? She didn't need to know about that, did she? Are you ok? Was it awful for you?"
Summer closed her eyes briefly and then looked up at him. "Which of those would you like me to answer first?"
"Uh – uh – that would be – why?"
"It was worth the humiliation for her to know what we've been through and how amazingly special you are to me."
"...............oh."
Summer grabbed his hand and stiffly pulled him toward Ryan's room. "Come on. I want to talk to Ryan, and then get home. I'm ready for some Summer/Seth alone time."
"Right. Yes. Let's do that."