Hello everybody!

Chapter 10 up today! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, please keep reviewing, it's really good to see what people think of the story:)

I hope you like it!

Steffi

Chapter 10

Summer spent the following weeks at Seth's and Madison's apartment, recovering from everything that had happened to her. She needed to collect some strength and confidence to start a new life again.

It had been over five weeks now since she had lost the baby, and after his trial, which had been a very hard time for Summer because she had to live through her personal nightmare from the beginning again, Eric was put behind bars for at least four years. When that part of the past was over, Summer could finally start looking forward to the future. She had a great job, and most important of all, great friends that cared a lot about her. Even Madison had been nice to her all the time, taking care of her and making sure every second that she was fine. The only thing Summer noticed was that as much the relationship between Madison and her improved, the worse it became between Madison and Seth.

So in December, five weeks after she had moved in with Madison and Seth, Summer decided that maybe it was time to get back on her feet and let the two of them sort things out. And a few days after she had come to this conclusion, Summer was moving into her new apartment, which was not far away from Seth's and Madison's place. Seth had been so supporting all the time, he was always there when she needed him, when she needed somebody to dry her tears or share her fears, and she would never forget that. But now it was time to move on. Fortunately, Summer didn't have much stuff at Seth's place, so the packing went on really good.

It was only a week before Chrismukkah, Seth's favorite holiday in the whole year, and while Summer was packing her stuff, Madison decorated the apartment with loads of Chrismukkah accessoires. It had been a very long time since she had felt so relieved and happy. Now that Summer was to get out of the picture, or at least out of her apartment, things between her and Seth could go to normal again.
When Seth would be coming home from work, she had prepared a huge dinner for two, and was dressed in her best clothes she could find in her wardrobe. It was only a matter of minutes now before Summer would finally be gone.

At six o'clock, Seth opened the door and entered his apartment. He threw his jacket and bag on the couch table and fell down in one of the two chairs, lying his feet on the table and trying to relax. Just then, Madison came out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway, a seductive look on her face. "Hey, you." She said in a low voice, "Had a hard day?"
Seth frowned and turned around to see his girlfriend all dressed up. "What's going on with you?" he simply asked.
Madison's smile faded. What else did she have to do to please him? It took her some time to collect her patience. "You and me are gonna have a romantic dinner for two," she announced. "It's all prepared in the kitchen."
Seth scratched his head. "Is Summer going out tonight? Or why are we alone?"
There was the name again, the name Madison had tried to compete with and always seemed to fail. "Did you forget? Summer's moving out today, she's just packing all of her stuff."
Seth frowned. "Yeah, must've forgotten." Suddenly, he stood up, walking towards Summer's room. "I need to see if I can help her," he announced, and before Madison could say something, her boyfriend had already disappeared.

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Summer was just looking through the wardrobes in her guest room to see if she had forgotten anything when she heard a knock on the door. Her head still in one of the closets, she pled the visitor to come in.
When she pulled her head out of the wardrobe, Seth stood in her room, pointing out to her only two suitcases. "So that's all you have?" he asked and smiled. They both knew that no matter how long Summer' journeys were, she always had at least six suitcases of baggage with her.
Summer smiled too and sat on the bed. "Unbelievable, huh?" she replied, „Summer Roberts moving to a new place with only two suitcases. That must be a new world record."
They laughed at first, but soon, the laughter changed into a stare at each other. Summer couldn't believe how handsome Seth could look in a suit, and how lovingly his deep brown eyes looked at her. Her gaze didn't leave Seth's when he came towards her and sat next to her on the bed. Only when he looked down to the floor she looked away too.

Suddenly, Seth took Summer's hand and stroked her fingers, like he had so many times before. But now it seemed different. Summer's face blushed into a deep red, and she did her best to hide her face behind her hair. The warmth of Seth's hand against hers made her feel comfortable. If he felt the same way, too?
Shyly, Summer looked up again and into his eyes. Slowly, she took his hand in hers. "You know…" she started. Seth looked up. "… I-I can't express how thankful I am. For everything that you've done for me."
Seth shook his head. "You don't have to thank me for this…" He was stopped by Summer's other hand that had found a very familiar place on his mouth, shutting him up like so many times before.

Summer smiled at him. "I do. When I was on my lowest low, you were there to catch me. You took me in, gave me a home, and helped me survive this huge nightmare." She paused and took a deep breath to gather herself. "You saved my life."
Silently, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Seth raised his hand and wiped it away, looking her deep in the eyes. Summer felt millions of sparkles in the air, and even as many butterflies in her stomach. She had never loved him more in her whole life.
Slowly, her face neared his, her lips preparing for a kind of physical love she hadn't felt for what seemed a lifetime. Summer closed her eyes, and she felt his soft lips touching hers, the butterflies in her stomach turning somersaults.

Suddenly, Summer felt Seth's hand gently pushing her away. "I can't," he said in an apologizing tone. And all of a sudden, Summer felt completely embarrassed. How could she even dare to do such a thing? Seth had a girlfriend who he probably loved, and even if they had problems at the moment, they had to figure them out. She would not destroy another happy relationship like she destroyed Seth and hers many years ago.
Quickly, Summer stood up and went over to the wardrobes again. "I'm so sorry," she said.. "I didn't mean to…"
"It's ok, it was my fault." Seth interrupted her. "I should have stopped this…"
Summer nodded. "Right. Cuz you have a girlfriend."
Seth nodded, too. "Right, and cuz I'm not a cheater."
A huge pang of guilt went through Summer. Cheating on Seth had been the worst thing she might have done in her whole life, and comparing this situation to the one from a few years ago had hurt.

She looked down to the floor. "Right. Cuz I am." She dryly said.
Suddenly, Seth seemed to realize what he had said, and he stood up and came towards her. "No, Summer, I didn't mean it like that. You know that I have long forgotten what happened then." He took her hands. "Please, believe me, consider what I said as some stupid Cohenish-Coheny-Cohenism from me. And it absolutely didn't have to do with you."
Summer gently pushed Seth's hands away. "Well, but it's the truth." She whispered. "You should go and figure things out with your girlfriend. I'm not gonna destroy another relationship… Besides, I can call Marissa to help me."
Seth seemed desperate. "Summer, I…"
A sad smile crossed Summer's face. "I know, Cohen. Look, this isn't easy for me, and I have to finish packing, so…" her gaze went to the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess I'll… see you at work on Monday." Seth answered, strolling towards the door. He paused for a moment, and Summer hoped he would come back and take her in his arms and never let her go. But all she got was a "Good night."

TBC