Thanks for the reviews I really appreciate them. Remember to review even if you don't like it but no flaming please!

Enjoy

Chapter 3

Ryan sat across from Sandy and Seth at the kitchen table. He looked up through hooded eyelids as they both chewed slowly on dry chicken. Ryan sighed. Seth used to be so full of life but now with Kirsten gone, Summer deciding she needed some time apart and his grandfather now six feet under it seemed he would never recover. Sandy never looked up from his plate as he moved the chicken around the potatoes to try and convince them both that he was still eating. It was then that Ryan realised Sandy was nothing without Kirsten. He knew he loved her but he never thought he would witness the fall of Sandy Cohen when she left for a few weeks with the certainty that she'd be back. He loved her more than anything. More than Ryan did. More than he ever could. He was crushed by a wave of guilt as he saw the sadness in his eyes. He looked lost, alone and most of all heartbroken. He needed Kirsten the same way his lungs needed air. He dipped his gaze refusing to look him in the eye. It wasn't the first time he had felt guilt like that. Every time Sandy talked about him as a part of the family or when he called him son he would wish it were true. He sometimes wished he really were a part of the family. That both Sandy and Kirsten considered him a son. But then she would flash her rare smile and he'd forget all that. He would forget that he was cheating on Sandy and Seth as much as Kirsten was because he was part of the family. He had been accepted as a Cohen. He was thought of as the son of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen and the brother of Seth.

He made his excuses to leave and retreated to the pool house where he'd been spending a lot of time. Seth liked to stay in his room when he was home but he spent most of his time skateboarding by the pier or sailing the "Gimme Sex" since he hadn't had the chance to paint over it yet. Sandy liked to sit in the kitchen and pretend to read the newspaper or mull over some contracts that needed to be dealt with but his eyes were always glazed over and it was obvious he wasn't really concentrating. He was thinking of her. Of how much pain she could possibly be in at that exact moment. About whether or not she was well enough to call again or that she could think straight enough to wonder the same things about them.

Ryan looked at the date on his calendar.

Four weeks exactly.

Twenty-eight days.

Six hundred and seventy two hours.

Forty thousand three hundred and twenty minutes.

He prayed they wouldn't make it any longer.

"It's unrealistic to set a specific date Mr Cohen. I'm approximating three months but it could be much longer than that."

Ryan shook the memory out of his thoughts.

She'll be back.

She has to be.

They'd all lose their minds if she didn't come back soon. He sighed and rolled over onto his side remembering what it used to be like. When she would sneak home to see him before anyone would notice her car in the driveway.

Ryan watched as Luke took her hand and pour his heart out, "…and just because I ruined everything it doesn't mean that I didn't love you because I did... I… I do."

Ryan had heard enough. She was going to take him back and he would be left looking like an idiot to think she could ever be interested in him. He wanted to punch the wall but couldn't risk Marissa hearing him. He swung the doors open and marched out to the quad. He unchained his bike and took off toward the beach. The one thing he loved about Newport was the beach. It was never empty but there was always somewhere you could find to be alone with your thoughts. Just as he turned a sharp corner he felt his cell vibrating on his hip. He stopped and pried it from his pocket smiling when he saw her name flashing in the screen. She'd help him forget about Marissa.

"Hey." He greeted still smiling.

"Hey. What are you doing now?" she asked. Ryan grinned wider.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Well… I was thinking I have the afternoon off and Sandy's out with clients so…"

"Sounds good. Meet you in the pool house?"

"What about Seth?" she asked urgently. He could tell she was heading out of the office as they spoke.

"He has a lot of comic books to catch up on. He's having some Seth time today." He laughed as he turned away from the beach.

"Okay I'll be home in ten." She said and flipped her phone closed. Ryan cycled straight back the way he came passing the school as he went. He didn't stop when he saw Seth waving from the comic book store with Anna at his side. When he neared the driveway he jumped off of his bike and noticed Kirsten's Range Rover in at the top. She had beaten him home .He rounded the side of the house and headed for the pool house wondering whether she was waiting for him already. He pulled open the door and found the pool house empty. He tried the bathroom and again found nothing. He frowned and checked his appearance in the mirror. His face was flushed red from his ride home and his hair stuck up on end. Just as he was about to turn around he felt someone placing their hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" a voice whispered softly into his ear. He smiled and went to move behind him but she lowered her hands and trailed them down his chest and behind his back. She ran her hands under shirt and lifted it over his head. He turned to look at her and found her in a black bikini. He looked at her in awe. "I was thinking of taking a dip." She smiled sexily.

"But Seth…" he started.

"Just called me to say he was going to Anna's for dinner." Ryan grinned and lowered his head to meet her lips. She pressed herself flush to his body and coiled her leg around his thigh. He lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist allowing him to carry her out to the pool. He stopped next to the edge of the shallow end of the pool and placed her back on the ground. She climbed in slowly and shivered as the cold water lapped around her tiny frame. She watched as he quickly removed his boots. She stood impatiently in able to wait any longer as she pulled him into the icy water with his jeans still on.

"You do realise these will be harder to get off now they're wet?" he asked pulling her close.

"Well I do like a challenge Mr Atwood." She answered grinning as she unbuttoned his jeans. They slid off surprisingly easily but before she could work on his boxers he pressed her against the side of the pool his arms on either side of her. She smirked and quickly ducked under his arms and swam in the opposite direction. He followed suit and pulled her quickly toward him by the foot. She laughed and ducked under the water soaking her hair and pulling back away from her face. She wrapped her legs around his waist and twirled them around in the water. She flung her head back and her hair fanned out behind her. She pulled back up and kissed him again .He reached behind her and tugged at the straps on her top before resuming to the shallow end.

He remembered how Marissa had shown up that night. And how stupid he felt when he remembered how he had reacted. The next night he found Kirsten in the hot tub with a glass of wine staring at the pool guiltily, Solomon Burke blasting through the speakers. He asked her what was wrong

"Just thinking." She said sadly.

"What about?"

"My life. Is this how it was supposed to be?" she asked no one in particular. Ryan shrugged.

"I don't know Kirsten," he answered crestfallen. Kirsten noticed his expression and stood up from the water. She pulled him down and kissed him gently.

It was that night he decided to move on and try with Marissa. If only he'd known that Kirsten would pull him right back in and Marissa would let him down worse than he'd ever imagined.

He rolled onto his other side.

Four weeks.

She'd come home.

She'd be back.

He missed her too much for her not to.

Four weeks.