Hey everybody!

Thanks so much for your reviews on my last chapter!

So here's the solution of the baby storyline… I hope you like it, and if you read, please review and tell me what was good or not so good.

And sorry I forgot about the spacing, I tried to change it today, and I hope it's better to read now :)

Steffi

Chapter 9

There were voices. Many voices, all talking different things she didn't understand. Through her closed eyes, she could see that there was a bright light shining over her. What had happened? And where was she? She didn't feel strong enough to open her eyes and check. The door was closed, and it became quiet. Where the hell was she? Taking a deep breath, Summer opened her eyes, looking directly in Seth's dark brown eyes who were watching her with concern. At first, Summer didn't realize where she was and what she was doing there.

When Seth saw that she had woken up, he took her hand a kissed it. "Hello, you." he greeted her. "How are you?"
Summer looked around her. Oh no. She was in a hospital. So this wasn't a dream. It had all happened – her screwed up life after college, Eric, the beatings, the baby… the baby? Suddenly, she remembered the terrible pain that had come to her body this morning, and her eyes were searching Seth's. She needed to know what was going on with her baby.

Seth seemed to have read Summer's mind. He sadly looked away. "About the baby…" he whispered, not daring to say it.
Summer felt fear rising in her. This was not happening. Of all bad things, please not this. Her eyes became bigger, begging Seth to tell her the truth.
Seth sighed, closed his eyes, and after opening it, looked straight in hers. He didn't need to say something now – she already knew.
Summer felt her eyes filling with tears. "No…" she whispered, "that's not fair!" Now the tears started to roll down her pretty face. One hand went down to her belly, feeling if the doctors were maybe wrong and the life she had carried in her was still present. But when Seth started stroking her hand, and answered "I know", she knew it was over.

Suddenly, Summer couldn't help but sobbing uncontrollably, rolling to her side, and burying her face in Seth's strong arms. "That's not fair!", she cried. Seth wrapped his arms around her as best as he could, and tried to comfort her. "It isn't," he answered, knowing that just being there was the best he could do right now.

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A few hours later, Seth had left to let Summer get some rest. But even if she tried as hard as she could, the last thing she was able to do now was to sleep. Her head was spinning, almost every part of her body was aching, and she could not believe all the things that had happened so fast and in such a huge dimension over the last 24 hours. Eric deserved to be locked up in prison for a few years, or better, for ever.

Summer's thinking was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, and she summoned all her strength to sit up.
Carefully, Marissa's head peeked in. Giving Summer a warm smile, she walked over to her and sat on her bed, taking Summer's hand. At first, none of them said a word, they just stared at each other. That was what best friends did – understanding each other without saying a word.
Finally, Marissa started to speak. "I wish you had told me." she said. That simple sentence made Summer's tears come up all over again. She buried her head in her hands and did her best to supress her sobs.

Marissa's hand went to Summer's head, stroking her hair gently. She had to fight tears as well. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Summer's head sank back into her pillow, and her gaze went up to the ceiling. "I should have told you… I shouldn't have tried to hide it…"
"We know now. And we're all here for you, okay? It's over now. You don't have to go through anything on your own… ever."
Summer nodded and sighed. "It was living hell", she managed to say before she burst into tears all over again.
Marissa couldn't stand to see her best friend suffering like that. So she gave Summer a hug and tried to comfort her.
While the girls hugged, Marissa could see a huge bruise on Summer's shoulder, shining in every color of the rainbow. "It's over now," she whispered in Summer's ear. Thank God it was over.

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Madison was sitting on the couch when Seth arrived at home. She was staring at the empty tv screen, and she didn't look at Seth when he sat next to her.
"Where've you been?" she plainly asked.
Seth sighed and propped his head into his hands. He had a terrible headache, which was no surprise after all that had happened the last couple of days. "Summer's lost the baby today," he answered.
Madison nodded. So that's where the blood stains on the couch came from. She felt sorry for Summer, because no matter what she had to do with Seth, she was a sweet girl and she didn't deserve what had happened to her. "How is she?" she asked, honestly wanting to know the answer.
Seth fell back into the soft pillows of the couch and tried to relax a bit. "She's pretty down, it all hit her very hard… I really don't understand what she did wrong that such a terrible thing must happen to her."
"Me neither. When is she going to get out of the hospital?"
"If everything is fine, tomorrow."
Madison nodded again. At least Summer didn't have to stay in the hospital for long. She took a deep breath and asked, "So… where's she gonna go then? I mean, is she going back to her life?"

Seth couldn't believe his ears. He sat up straight and looked into Madison's pretty face. "What life are you talking about? Everything that was her life has been destroyed in the past 48 hours!"
Madison raised her hands in apology. "Okay… but where is she gonna stay? Who's gonna take care of her?"
"We are gonna take care of her until she gets back on her feet. That's the least we can do, the least especially you can do." Seth answered, giving Madison no choice to disapprove of his idea.

Madison stood up from the couch. "What? So you think it's my fault that all that stuff happened to her?", she yelled, the anger visible in her face.
"I'm not saying it's your fault, I just think you could be a whole lot nicer to her if you wanted to. You always treated her like she was a bad person."
A shocked laugh escaped her. "Tell me you're joking! The only thing this girl has to do is snip with her fingers, and you're there to help her! And everytime I want something from you, you always make up some stupid apologies. I am your girlfriend, all I want from you is a little attention! And instead of me, it's always she who gets it! So why should I be nice to her when she takes away my boyfriend?"

Now Seth was on his feet, too. "Don't start this again, Maddy. She is not stealing me away from you. She can't stay at Marissa's, cuz Marissa's on her own when Ryan's at work, and what if Eric comes back and finds her? The two girls can't defend themselves. Summer's just my friend, and I wanna be there for her. If it was your friend, you'd do the same thing, right? "
Madison shook her head. This was unbelievable. "It's so damn obvious that she has never been just your friend, that you can't be just her friend, and you know that as well as I do!"
"So what are you telling me, that I'm in love with her?"
Without looking back, Madison made her way to the sleeping room. Just when she was about to close the door, she said in a very calm voice, "Took you a really long time to realize it. I'll make the guest room ready for her." And with that, Madison disappeared into the sleeping room.

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The next day, when Summer was to be released home again, Seth bought two dozens of lillies, Summer's favorite flowers. He needed to do something that would cheer her up, even if Madison didn't approve of it.
Carefully, Seth knocked on Summer's door and stepped inside to find Summer's bed empty. Seth put the flowers in a vase on her nightstand and went out searching for her. He found Summer standing on the balcony, looking into the distance, slight tears running down her cheeks.
Seth cleared his throat, afraid that he might frighten her otherwise. Then he went over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Her gaze went down to the floor, and she was fighting more tears that were about to come.
"Hey, gorgeous," Seth whispered, pulling her close.
A sad smile crossed Summer's face.

Seth looked down on her, studying her sweet face. "What are you thinking?"
Summer sighed and shrugged. "I just figured out what a mess my life was." She plainly answered, staring into the distance again. "And I'm wondering what I did wrong that I've been punished like this."
Seth looked down, too. "You didn't do anything wrong", he assured her. "Things like that happen, even if it might seem unfair."
A sad laugh went over Summer's face. She looked up to him, her gaze desperate. "I don't have anyone," she said, fighting the tears, "I'm all alone…" She paused, giving the words some time to sink in. "My Dad went way too early, my mother doesn't care a bit about me, my boyfriend treated me like his slave…" A silent sob came out. "…and now I've even lost the baby. I really wanted that baby, you know. It was my last ray of hope…"

Now Summer wasn't able to hold the tears back anymore. Sobbing, she leant into Seth's broad shoulders, letting her emotions run free. How comforting he could be. When she was in his arms, all the bad in the world didn't seem half as bad anymore.
Seth knew it was best not to say anything, and instead of talking, he just hugged her as tight as he could, trying to take away some of her sorrow. After a long time, when she was about to calm down, he whispered. "You're not alone. You have me. I won't go anywhere."
Instead of answering, Summer gave Seth a long kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
Seth took Summer's hand and smiled at her. "Now, come on. Let's go home."