Hey everybody!

Ahh, such a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are so nice to me, I really appreciate that you like my story so much! So the new chapter will deal a little more with Summer and the problems the loss of her memory bring...

If you read, please review, it means so much!

Enjoy,

Steffi

PS: I almost forgot: the baby doesn't have a name yet. It's gonna be explained later on why he doesn't have a name. So for now, he is still "Baby Cohen".

A Life Torn Apart

"So this is where we're hanging out all the time?" Summer asked while Seth carefully guided her towards the diner at the pier. She pushed the baby's stroller in front of her. It had been almost a week now since she had been released out of the hospital, and Seth and her had spent almost all the time looking at photos to get some of Summer's memories back.

The young parents had also spent a lot of time with their newborn son. The more days passed, the more secure Summer felt in her old yet new environment. She even started to develop feelings for the little baby, because even though she didn't remember having it, that little boy was just too cute to not to be loved.

Her feelings for Seth weren't so clear unforunately. He was really caring and everything, but he seemed to pressure her a little too much from time to time. But he was still a loveable person and Summer felt totally safe when she was with him. Well, no surprise, Seth was the one person that carried all of her memories.

"Yup, this is it. The famous diner. Let's go inside, I bet Ryan and Marissa are there, too."
Summer frowned and tried to einordnen Marissa and Ryan. "They're like… our best friends, right?"
Seth nodded. "Yeah. Marissa and you have been best friends since… actually, I can't remember since when, you've just always been… and Ryan and I are brothers."
"Oh yeah, the adopted brother and so on…" Summer replied. She couldn't remember all those things with her own memory, but Seth had told her all the facts and she had tried to learn them all by heart. At least she knew something about her life.

The two of them entered the diner, and Ryan waved at them.
Seth guided Summer towards Ryan and Marissa, and they sat down.
Marissa smiled nicely at Summer. "Hey Sum, you look great." She said, seeming pretty unsure.
Summer smiled as well and sighed. "Thanks. You too." She added, without knowing why.

An awkward silence filled the table. The two babies were lying peacefully sleeping in their strollers next to their mothers, and everyone watched them to avoid this embarrassing situation.
Seth pointed out to baby Lila. "She's growing so fast, I swear last week she wasn't that tall." He said.
Ryan smiled. "Yeah, we kinda got the feeling, too. We're buying new clothes and stuff like every week."

Marissa peeked into baby Cohen's little stroller and watched him. "And that little boy here…" she said, looking at Summer, "looks just like you, Sum. Incredible."
Summer felt how she became nervous. She smiled nicely at Marissa and nodded, but on the inside, she felt like screaming. Everyone at this table seemed to be knowing her better than she knew herself. And that made her sick.

"You know, maybe the two of them are gonna date when they're grown up." Ryan said, smiling at the very thought of it. "Yeah, and marry and have children of their own." Seth added.
Marissa shook her head and laughed. "Do you know how disgusting that would be? I mean, you're not related through blood, but the two of them are still cousins."
The two boys frowned at her.
Marissa shrugged. "What? I think it's disgusting."

Ryan took a deep breath. "It can't be more disgusting to date your cousin than being together with a freak like Luke." he said and smiled broadly.
Marissa punched her boyfriend in the ribs. "Hey, what was so wrong about Luke?"
"No one could be worse than Taylor Townsend…" Seth added and grinned. The three of them laughed and didn't notice that Summer hadn't said a word in a long time. She just sat at the table as if she didn't exist, feeling totally alone.

Her friends – at least everybody told her they were – were making jokes about past experiences she didn't remember about. There were two babies lying next to her she never knew that existed. The arm of a nice, but totally strange man who was said to be her husband was around her shoulders… and all that she knew was that her mind had been completely erased.

"Hey Sum, do you remember the time when Taylor tried to take my position as social chair and you fought her so long until she finally left?" Marissa asked.

Summer swallowed hard and shook her head. "No." she plainly answered.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot that..." Marissa answered guilty.
Summer's heart pounded heavier now. "Well, at least you know now how it feels to have forgotten everything. How it feels to sit here between you strangers and laugh about things that I've never heard before. And cursing yourself at the same time why in all world your stupid mind won't just work again!"
She stood up and pushed the baby's stroller away to find a way out. "Will you excuse me, I have to go…" Before any of the friends could react, Summer was already out of the building.

The ocean was something you could never forget. It was so mighty and yet so soft, with its curly waves steadily rolling in and out and with its salty breeze that made you feel so good. The tides changed always in time. The ocean seemed like the only thing that was always memorable.

Summer stood at the pier and stared out at the water. She knew she loved the ocean, but given its amazing beauty, who wouldn't?
In her mind, she saw the faces of the people that had been sitting with her in the diner. She linked the names she had learned with their faces, trying to flame some – no, any – memory that was hidden inside of her.
But like so many times before, she failed.

Marissa was her best friend. She seemed to be really nice, but right now, Summer didn't care about that. All that she wanted was to gain some of her memory back. She couldn't even remember being married or pregnant, and it had taken her almost a day to memorize her own name.

Tears of desperation came up inside of her. What if she would never remember anything from her past? She had a brand new life without knowing it. But she would never be the same for her friends and her family, because she wasn't the old Summer Cohen. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The wind blew into her face, and with all her might she yelled, "Why are you doing this to me?"

People on the pier stood and looked at her confused, but Summer didn't care. She didn't know any of them anyway. "Why does this happen to me?" she shouted against the wind, letting all of her emotions run free.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist, gripping her tight. She spun around to see who it was, and when she realized that it was Seth who held her, she threw herself into his arms and cried.

Seth was surprised that Summer all of a sudden showed so much affection for him, but he was also glad that she did. Maybe this was a step further. "I'm always here, whether you want me to or not." He whispered and stroked her hair.
Summer sniffed. "I hope so…" she said and looked up at him. "Cuz I need you. You carry all my memories in you."
Seth smiled and wiped away Summer's tears. "We're gonna figure this out together." He said. "I promise."

Suddenly, Summer understood why she was married to Seth. She had never met such a loveable and caring person in her whole life.

But what did that mean, given the fact that she didn't remember her life?

Next chapter: Lost Without You