Disclaimer: Not mine…
A/N: I really should be reviewing for my history midterm, but I just couldn't get this out of my head. Many thanks to Spykid18, SVOC Luva, Co, Dogsbody, Kursk, jhhhhjfjk89, slimkay, and Leentje for the reviews. Happy reading!
Chapter 7 – Books
"Hey bro!" Luke came over and slapped Matt on the shoulder, "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Lee," she answered for him, trying to ignore the way he was casually checking her out, "I take it you're Luke?"
"Yeah," he nodded, slightly taken aback by her attitude.
"Hey Lee," Marissa said brightly slipping under Luke's arm.
"Marissa, good to see you," Lee smiled, "You too Summer."
"Hi," Summer said back, still not too sure how she felt about the female version of Chino.
"Lee's staying with the Cohen's," Marissa explained for Luke's benefit.
"She's Chino's sister," Summer threw in, wanting to see Luke's reaction.
"That's…cool," he replied, after Marissa elbowed him slightly.
"So, what are you guys doing?" Matt asked, sensing the tension, which could be felt within a hundred yard radius.
"Meeting up with the guys to catch some afternoon waves, you wanna come?" Luke answered and looked at Lee to half-extend the conversation, "The girls are going sunbathe."
"Come on, Lee," Marissa smiled, "It'd be fun."
"Um," Lee began, not really wanting a pity invitation to sunbathe. Thankfully she looked over to see Seth approaching on skateboard and Ryan on bike, "I actually think I'm going to be heading back to the Cohen's."
"Your entourage?" Matt joked.
"Yeah," she smiled and stood up, "Hey guys."
"Hi," they both greeted her and the rest of the group.
"Hi Summer," Seth added.
"Cohen," she glared back.
"Oh, Seth, I'm glad we ran into you," Marissa smiled, "I wanted to make sure that you're still going to be a white knight."
"I'm you're man," he smiled at Summer, "And so is Ryan."
"Great," Marissa smiled.
"Well, we better get going," Lee said quickly hoping to get out of there before Luke and Ryan got into another fight and before Seth could throw himself at Summer.
"We'll see you at practice then?" Marissa asked.
"Yeah," Seth grabbed it skateboard, clearly not wanting to leave Summer.
"Nice talking to you, Matt," Lee climbed onto the pegs on the back of Ryan's bike, "Bye guys!"
"Why did you make us leave?" Seth asked as they left the others.
"Because you were about to make an ass out of yourself," Lee told him honestly.
"Was not."
"You were one step away from throwing yourself at Summer," she smiled, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
"Right, but…"
"Hey," Ryan interrupted, "What's this 'White Knight' thing you committed me to?"
"It's for Cotillion," Seth answered.
"Cotillion?"
"You know, debutantes, white dresses, and guys in tuxes, tails, and gloves," she squeezed her brother's shoulder, "It's this Saturday."
"How do you know all this?" he asked his sister.
"Um, Kirsten told me," she bit her lip, "I wasn't supposed to say anything until later, but since Seth spilled the beans, you deserve to know."
"And before you get mad," Seth continued quickly, "We only kept this from you because my mom didn't want to give you a chance to come up with excuses. This is one of her favorite Newport events. Actually, she has a lot of favorite events, so I'm not sure. But this is definitely in the top ten."
"Do I seriously have to wear tails?" Ryan asked in a resigned voice.
"Well, yeah," Seth admitted, "But they really look good with the gloves."
"Oh god," Ryan shook his head.
"Don't worry, you'll look cute," she patted his shoulder.
"Watch it Lee," he warned, "I could throw you from this bike so fast…"
"That wouldn't be very noble, Mr. White Knight," she taunted back.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ryan popped a small wheelie.
"Ahhh!" she squealed, grabbing his shoulders tightly, "I'll stop."
"Good," he smiled triumphantly and Seth just laughed at them both.
"I leave for one hour and you completely transform this place," Sandy smiled from the doorway of Seth's former playroom. The furniture had arrived the day before, and after the kids had left, Sandy had helped Kirsten transfer all of Lee's belongings from the guest room into her new room to surprise her. When he had left her, the clothing from the shopping spree were spread all over the bed, but now they were neatly arranged in closets and doors.
"I work fast," she smiled from where she had been arranging books on the shelf, "Did you file the papers."
"We are officially legal guardians," he smiled
"Good," she walked over and kissed him, "What you think?"
"That was nice," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"I meant the room," she slapped his chest lightly, "Do you l like it?"
"It's great," he surveyed the room, which was a cross between modern and traditional design. All of the furniture was made of pale maple with ebony and amber detailing, creating a seamless flow from desk to dress, to wardrobe and bookshelf. Bed was covered in a cobalt bedspread with accent pillows in varying lighter and dark shades of blue. White breezy curtains against the light blue walls, gave the room a feel reminiscent of the ocean that lay beyond the walls of the room.
"Do you think she'll like it?" Kirsten asked hopefully.
"It's beautiful."
"But is it Lee?" she asked again, "I've tried to read her, but I don't really know what she likes. If she was our daughter…"
"Don't go their honey," he rubbed her arm.
"How can I not?" she sighed, "Lee's only six months older than…"
"Come on," he gently led her out of the room and towards the couch, "Let's sit down."
"Do you think about her?" Kirsten asked softly, leaning into his chest.
"All the time," he answered softly as they both began to remember.
It was the summer after Seth's first birthday. Kirsten had just earned her undergraduate degree in art history and business administration and Sandy had completed law school. After graduating, Kirsten began doing appraisals at a local auction firm and she came home from work that night with news.
"Hi Mommy," Sandy greeted when she walked through the door and little Seth gurgled happily.
"Hi honey," she kissed Sandy and then picked up her son, "How's my boy?"
"How was your day?" Sandy asked as Kirsten sat down on the floor with him and Seth.
"Good," she answered a little too quickly.
"What's going on?" he was immediately suspicious.
"Um," she paused, "I'm pregnant."
"That's…" he kissed her quickly, "Wonderful!"
Kirsten walked around the kitchen preparing breakfast for Seth, who sat patiently in his high-chair. The pregnancy had been going well and she was now almost six months pregnant with their daughter. They had found that out two weeks before during the ultrasounds, the picture from which were hanging on the fridge. Suddenly she felt a stabbing pain her stomach and doubled over. This could not be happening.
"Sandy!" she called desperately, sinking the floor. She was not going to lose her baby, there was no way. Seth began crying as Sandy raced into the room still wet from the shower, "The baby."
She was gone. The doctors said it was a severe placental abruption that required an emergence cesarean section. Sandy had wanted to stay with his wife, but the doctors refused. The goal of the surgery was to stop the bleeding and save Kirsten, at under six months, it would take a miracle for their daughter to have survived. They didn't get their miracle.
When Kirsten woke up, Sandy insisted that he tell her the news about their daughter. As hard as it was for him, she needed to hear it from her husband that their baby was gone and that she would be unable to have anymore children. That first night was spent with Sandy squeezed next to Kirsten in the hospital bed with Seth between them providing immeasurable comfort to his parents.
"You okay?" Sandy asked Kirsten after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah," she smiled slightly, "Sometimes I just get caught up on the memories."
"I know," he ran his fingers through her blond hair, "I do too."
"I just wonder what she'd have been like," she sighed, "Would she have liked dressing up like a princess for parties or prefer hitting the surf with her dad?"
"I think she would have done both."
"Really?" she looked up at him.
"Yeah," he kissed the top of her head and they sat like that for another minute or two, "Come on, we should eat before the food gets cold."
"You got food?" Kirsten's stomach growled, "Sorry."
"Thai," he answered with a smile.
"My favorite."
"I know," he took her hand and led her into the kitchen.
"Stop!" Seth demanded when he walked into the kitchen to see his parents cleaning up the garbage from their late lunch, "Don't move!"
"What?" Sandy froze with an empty carton in his hands.
"You ordered Thai food without us!" he declared indignantly, while Lee and Ryan just watched with amusement.
"Is that it?" Kirsten returned to wiping down the counter, having been legitimately concerned that there was a problem for a moment.
"Mom, I love Thai food, Ryan loves Thai food," Seth pointed to Ryan and gave Lee a puzzled look, "And Lee – well, I don't really know – probably would love it too."
"It's past three o'clock," Kirsten argued, "And you cannot expect us to believe that you did not eat lunch while you were out."
"What if we wanted a snack?" Seth asked, clearly not about to give up.
"Then you can have the leftovers in the fridge," Sandy told him.
"That's all I wanted to hear. Mom, you should let him talk more," Seth smirked and Kirsten rolled her eyes. Seth proceeded to ignore her, opened the fridge, and turned to his friends, "You hungry?"
"Sure," Ryan shrugged, he was a teenage guy, of course he was hungry.
"Yeah," Lee slipped her purse from her shoulder, "Let me just put this away."
"Lee, wait," Kirsten stopped her, "Your new room is ready."
"Really?"
"Kirsten's been working on it all morning," Sandy confirmed.
"You didn't have to…"
"I wanted to," Kirsten nudged her shoulder, "Come on."
"Wow," Lee whispered when she walked into the room. It was perfect.
"Do you like it?" Kirsten followed her into the room with Sandy.
"Yes," she walked over the bookshelf, "Thanks."
"We had those books lying around, and I figured that since you like to read…" Kirsten trailed off when she noticed Lee's demeanor tense, 'Is everything all right?"
"Yeah, it's great," Le lied, making a beeline past the adults to the door, "I just need some air."
"Hey, Lee," Seth began when she entered the kitchen, but she quickly exited through the sliding door, "Well, I guess she doesn't want Thai," Seth shrugged and went back to picking at his carton of food.
"Where's Lee?" Kirsten asked as she and Sandy entered the kitchen seconds later.
"Outside," Seth answered.
"What happened?" Ryan gave them an accusatory glance. He knew that Lee became upset after leaving the kitchen.
"Nothing," Sandy told him, "Kirsten showed her the room, and Lee got upset and left."
"Okay," Ryan felt guilty for jumping to the wrong conclusion, "Sorry."
"Don't worry," Kirsten smiled, "I understand the 'big brother' instinct."
"Yeah," Sandy placed his hands on her shoulders, "You should see her around her little sister, who really doesn't des…"
"Could we not talk about Hailey right now?" she interrupted, "We need to find Lee."
"She's at the beach," Seth said, looking out the window.
"I'll go," Ryan offered immediately.
"No," Kirsten stepped in, 'Let me."
"But…"
"I have a feeling this is less 'big brother' and more 'parent,'" she explained.
"And that's our job now," Sandy added, "If Kirsten fails, then you can go."
"Okay," Ryan agreed, "Good luck. You'll need it, she can be a pain."
"Thanks," Kirsten laughed as she left the kitchen, "I'll be back in a bit."
"Can I join you?" Kirsten carefully sat down in the sand next to Lee. When she noticed the girl was crying, she immediately wrapped her arms around Lee, "It's okay, sweetie."
"I'm sorry," Lee sniffed a minute later pulling herself back from Kirsten's arms, I shouldn't have just run off like that."
"It's okay."
'No, it's not!" she shook Kirsten's arm from her shoulder, "You've taken me into your home, given me a beautiful room, and I repay you by running off. That isn't right."
"Lee, it really is okay," she said gently, placing her arm back over Lee's shoulders. At first Lee stiffened at the touch, but she eventually became comfortable with it, "You can tell me if you don't like the room. I won't be upset."
"It's not about the room!"
"I know," Kirsten told her, "You want to tell me what's really wrong?"
"It's the books."
"The books?"
"I've been here one week and you figured out that I love to read."
"It's not that hard," Kirsten smiled, "You seem to be permanently attached to a book of some sort."
"That's just it," Lee's voice shook, "My own mother has never noticed how I like to read and she's never really known me. Can you imagine what that's like? And now I'm here with people who want to know me and it's just…"
"Different?" she offered rubbing Lee's back. In a way, Kirsten knew where Lee was coming from. Her entire life, Kirsten just wanted her father's affection, and she was still striving for that in the present.
"Yeah."
"This is all very different for us too and there's going to be an adjustment period. There has to be," Kirsten told her, "But this is only going to work if you talk to us. We need to know what's going on in that head of yours."
"Okay," Lee half smiled, "Thanks."
"You're welcome, but stop saying thank you," she stood up, dusted off her pants, and offered Lee her hand, "Let's go inside."
A/N: Okay, I know there wasn't too much of the teens, but I want to have some adjustment time with the Cohens +2. Also, I swear there will be some Cotillion action and it will be different than the show…in a good way…hint, hint!