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Chapter 2: Old Wounds

The warmth of his body produced through the thin fabric of his t-shirt and into her skin. She felt the light and steady rise and fall of his upper body with every breath he did take and could hear his soft and quiet snoring, which she found incredibly cute.

Summer didn't want to be awake, she wanted to be back in this amazing dream she had had, but although sometimes it worked, this morning wasn't one of these times…She was awake and there were no way of changing it. But that didn't mean that she had to get up, right! She could just lay here, eyes still closed, and listen to his breathing, enjoying his warm body against hers…Wait! What was that? A giggle? What the hell…?

Summer shot her eyes open and was greeted by a blinding flashlight of a camera and Marissa's shrieked "Good morning".

As her eyes had adjusted themselves to the bright sunlight coming through the windows, she saw the Cohen's, Marissa and Ryan standing around her and the still sleeping Seth, already dressed and ready to start the day and with huge grins on their faces.

Trying to sort out her still sleepy limbs, Summer recognized what was so funny. Her and Seth had obviously shifted in their sleep and now Seth laid flat on his stomach with her half atop of him, her head resting just beneath his shoulder blades and her hand cupping one side of his butt, which was clearly visible since she had all the covers around her.

Summer sat up abruptly, her face burning bright red, while the other four doubled over with laugher.

"Well, you looked pretty comfortable there, Sum.", Marissa choked out, before she fell against Ryan, both laughing as if they had gone insane.

"What time is it?", Summer asked, rubbing her eyes and trying to play it off.

"Almost 10, sweetie.", Kirsten answered smiling.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, we really didn't want to wake you two, but…"

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry we slept in."

"Oh, it's not a problem….And you two looked so adorable."

At this statement Ryan and Marissa, who had just recovered form their last laugh attack, fell back into hysterics almost instantly. And as Seth shifted in his sleep, obviously missing the warmth, and wiggled his ass at them a little in the progress Kirsten and Sandy, who had tried to remain a straight face, cracked up too, followed by Summer herself as she slapped his butt and Seth almost jumped two feet high in shock.

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Seth stepped out of his bathroom, just dressed in jeans and toweling his hair dry. Since Summer had taken forever to get ready, he just had had ten minutes to shower, shave and get dressed, and the shock of the cold water he had had to take his shower with, cause his beloved girlfriend had used all the warm, and the lack of coffee in his system weren't doing any good to his current mood. He was pissed off and didn't even know why…

Suddenly Summer's small hands sneaked around his waist from behind and rested intertwined on his stomach as she kissed his bare back just between his shoulder blades before she pressed her cheek against it.

And just like that he was calmed.

She could do this to him – make him shake in rage and anger, make him cry in pain and hurt, him wanting to shout his luck out loud from the rooftops, make him feel dizzy by all the emotions she aroused in him and she could calm him down like this.

He sighed, leaning into her touch…

"You okay? Feeling better?"

"I'm good.", Summer replied, making him turn around to face her, smiling widely at him. "I'm great actually."

"Oh, yeah? And how is that?", he smiled back at her, his hands finding their way under her black turtleneck, stroking the soft skin of her waist.

"Because I'm gonna get presents soon." Her dark eyes sparkled with anticipation, just like a little girl.

"Oh, you think?", Seth asked, teasing her.

"No! I know!"

"Yeah? Because I'm wondering, who might want to give you something as a present…"

"Well, I could think of one…" She threw the white long sleeve shirt at him, which had laid on his desk.

He had just put his head through the hole as her small hands found his waist again, this time to tickle him in the sides, causing him to jump in shock.

"Oh…you so gonna pay for this!"

Summer jumped away from him, squealing, until he caught her and tickled her everywhere he could reach – her neck, her stomach, sides…

She finally wiggled herself out of his strong grip, breathing heavily and laughing, as she chased out the door and down the stairs, followed by Seth, who chased her, his shirt still just dangling around his neck.

Reaching her at the bottom of the staircase, he tickled her sides one more time, causing her to cry out, before he pressed his lips against hers, pinning her between the wall and his body.

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The whole Cohen family plus the Cooper's and Summer sat around the huge Christmas tree in the den ; the floor covered with still wrapped presents, some stuff they had already got and the discarded wrapping paper.

Marissa was just admiring the new CDs Ryan had got her and Kirsten aww´-ed over the leather album with photos of her and Sandy, which he had made her. Caitlin was pouting over the Fendi purse that she had wanted but hadn't got and the Nana was lost in the reference guide of her new cell phone.

Seth grabbed the small golden package from underneath the tree and handed it to Summer as he sat back down behind her on the floor, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

He was a wreck…Nervous like hell and his heart raced in his chest as he felt his palms getting sweaty.

Seth had tried to give Summer something special, something that showed her how much she meant to him…and out had come this. He had thought it was amazing and the prefect present but all of the sudden he wasn't so sure anymore. It would be too much. She wouldn't like it. God, what if she would get scared and broke up with him?...

He tried to swallow the big lump in his throat as she opened the small blue box, revealing his present.

His world stopped for a moment. Everyone around them somehow disappeared and everything was silent and went in slow motion. ..

She didn't say anything; he just felt her take in a huge breath of air before a tiny sob escaped her lips.

God, he wanted to die right now. Sending a quick prayer to heaven, he wished for a huge dark hole appearing right there in the den, where he could jump in.

She hated it! She was crying and she hated it!...

The sudden feel of her soft full lips on his own yanked him out of his neurotic haze and he opened his eyes just to look directly in her's, teary and full of affection with a huge smile playing around her lips.

"You-you like it?" His voice was raspy and uneven, an obvious sign that he was scared out of his mind.

"I love it! Its amazing!", she stated, kissing him again. "Thank you, Cohen."

He returned the smile before he looked at the tiny silver heart in her palm, hooked onto a thin silver chain, with the words You're undeniable´ engraved on the front and Love forever, Cohen´ on the backside.

Taking it out of her hand, he unclasped the hook and laid it around her neck, closing it again.

Summer smiled down at it, fingering the tiny heart, before she turned her head to face him, kissing him again.

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Summer couldn't get the huge smile off of her face since Seth had given her the necklace, and every now and then she even caught herself fingering the tiny heart absently.

It was wonderful, amazing, awesome…She couldn't even describe the feelings she had felt when she first had laid eyes on it. And still she was overwhelmed…It was the most perfect Christmas present she had ever got and more, and Summer knew she'd admire and worship it until the end of her days.

Hopping out of the Range Rover, she smiled up at him, took his hand and led him up the steps to her front door and into the house.

"Dad! I'm home! Merry Christmas!", she called out once they were inside.

"God, Sum…", Seth said, his face crunched. "I know you can scream…but wow!"

He earned himself a slap from her with this comment and a threatening glare, which soon turned into a smile, her fingers going to the tiny heart, resting against her collarbone.

"Dad?", Summer shout out again, but still got no answer.

"Dad? I'm home!"

Her eyes found the tiny note that laid on the table in the hall, saying:

Hey, sweetie

I just have some stuff to do!

See you tonight

Merry Christmas

Love, Dad

Hot tears brimmed behind her eyes, making everything look blurry and she blinked, causing one single tear to spill and fall down onto the small piece of paper. Feeling Seth steeping closer to her and his hot breath on her neck, the second tear fell, followed by the tiniest sob and before Seth could even reach out to touch her, she ran past him up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door shut behind her.

Seth watched her leave, hearing a loud slam of the door and instantly reached for the note, which now laid on the marble floor.

Summer was huddled up in the middle of her bed, knees up to her chest as she held the tiny plastic pony in her hand. She couldn't believe that he would do that to her. Not after everything they've been through and especially since their talk the other morning. She knew her dad worked a lot and that he was good at it and it made her proud. And she also knew that there were times in which he failed her and buried himself in work just to be alone, to think, to sort things out and in the last time mostly to evade Carrie, and she understood, although it did hurt sometimes. But her dad had always been there when she had needed him and had promised to always be. And now he had broken this promise, too. Her dad left her alone and out of all days he had chosen this one, and that hurt more than anything else had in a long time.

She heard the door open and shut again before the mattress shifted a little bit and she felt Seth´ body behind her, spooning her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned into him as he let her cry.

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Marissa and Ryan had just arrived at the Roberts´ mansion. They had brought Caitlin and Julie home and were now about to get Marissa's stuff, which were still at Summer's.

"I can't believe I brought you that CD.", Ryan stated once they were in the hall and Marissa still summed quietly to the song they had just heard.

"You don't like them?", she asked teasingly, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I like Journey.", he replied with Marissa mimicking him.

"Funny."

"Yeah, you got yourself a funny one. So watch it, Atwood.", she said, trying to sound threatening, but failed miserably as a light giggle escaped her mouth.

"So, you have already packed, right?"

"Yeah, don't worry."

"Do you think we should knock?", Marissa asked as they reached Summer's closed bedroom door.

"Nope.", Ryan answered, pushing he handle down and the door open.

Seth turned his head to look at them, before he gave the sleeping Summer a tender kiss on the temple and got up from his position on the bed.

"What's up?", Marissa asked with slight concern at the sight if her best friend, laying curled up on her bed, sleeping.

"Ah…nothing! We've just dozen off, somehow.", Seth replied. They didn't need to know that he had laid with Summer while she had cried, stroking her arms and stomach, or that he had started to freak out as she had dozen off, thinking about what really was going on. Two breakdowns within 24 hours were too much for him especially when it was Summer and he couldn't help her, cause she didn't want to tell him anything.

"Oh!", Marissa simply stated before she handed Ryan her two large suitcases, Seth the smaller one and her backpack and followed them down to her mother's car with two bags herself.

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"You what?", Sandy screamed, looking at his mother in shock.

"I said, I-…"

"I heard you, mom! God, haven't you learned anything from that Bobbie guy? You had to move in with…with…"

"Ephraim. His name is Ephraim, Sandy. And we know each other for a very long time now…He spent his vacation in Miami and we got to know each other and as I went to New York he offered me his guest room, since I just wanted to stay for a few days…and…."

"God, mom! Do you even listen to yourself?", Sandy cut her off in rage. "You're giving up everything and move back to New York, go to work and start an affair!"

"Oh, Sanford, watch you mouth! Give up what? An apartment in a retirement home in Miami, where the weather is just hot and sticky and people just live to either party or die? Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what you have done and the doctors in Florida really helped me…but I'm not ready to live such a life yet. I'm not ready to just sit around and wait for me to die. I'm happy, Sandy. Really happy. And I won't give it up just because of you, Sophie Cohen yelled back before she stormed out of the kitchen.

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Seth walked back into Summer's room, just to find the bed empty. He heard water running and so he sat down at the edge of her bed, facing the bathroom door, waiting for her to come out.

It was now or never.

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Marissa swung the door to her new room open, packed with bags, just to reveal a completely pissed off looking Caitlin, laying on their king sized bed, reading Cosmo. Her stuff was everywhere and since she didn't make any attempt to get up and put it away, Marissa kicked some of her sister's stacks of collected Cosmos, clothes and make up out of her way to make room for the heavy suitcases.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?", Caitlin cried out standing up on the bed and looking down at the mess.

"I'm claiming a tiny part of this room my own!", Marisa hissed back, smiling evilly as she let one suitcase fall directly onto one of Caitlin's high heels.

"Oopsy!", she said to her little sis, who's eyes almost bulged out.

"What the hell are you doing?", she yelled, shooting daggers at Marissa.

"Look, Cait…you're my little sister and I love you! But I can be a worser bitch than you if I have to! So watch it!", she replied, smiling threatening at Caitlin, never once breaking the gaze into her eyes until Cait swallowed and sat back down on the bed.

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Summer looked at her face in the mirror…Despite the cold water her eyes were still puffy and her whole face red and swollen. This so wasn't how it was supposed to be…

Taking one deep breath, she opened the door, knowing it was now or never.

They locked eyes instantly as Summer stepped back into her room and Seth walked up to her, cupping one cheek in his palm with her leaning into his touch.

"So, you gonna tell me now?", he more stated than asked, his voice soft and quiet, and Summer just nodded, took his hand and led him back to the bed, where they sat down next to each other, still holding hands.

Summer took a deep breath and closed her eyes, just to enjoy the feeling of his thumb running gently over the knuckles of her hand for a moment.

"Okay.", she sighed, looking up into his hazel eyes. "What I'm going to tell you now, I never told anybody before. Not even Marissa…but I want you to know, okay! And maybe you think it's stupid or that I'm making a huge deal out of nothing, but this is a really huge part of me. A part of me that I really don't like and certainly am not proud of, but maybe it'll explain some things and…" The smile on his face was contagious, although she knew that he understood what for a big deal this was for her and how important.

"I'm rambling!", she stated smiling and he nodded before he placed a quick but yet intense kiss on her lips.

"I was 13 when my parents got divorced! But they have fought for such a long time before that…I don't even know when it all started. Well, however…I always was a momma's girl. Just from the beginning. We were used to do everything together and I could talk to her about everything. But suddenly around my 12th birthday this stopped. She spent more and more time out of the house and her time for me got even more rare with every passing month. I was a little sad back then from time to time, but I didn't really get the importance of this all. I just spent more time with Marissa, Holly, Luke and the others instead and it was okay, until they started to fight. First these fights were occasional, but soon they grew to a daily program. Almost every time I came back from school or Marissa's I heard them fight and later they even started fights right in front of me, about the stupiest things.", Summer stopped for a moment and Seth reached out to wipe away the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes, before she went on.

"Well, one day in September they told me they would get divorced. I was shocked and confused…but somehow I think I saw it coming. They told me that my mom had a new boyfriend and that they would move to the East Coast and asked if I wanted to go with them or rather stay with my dad. And I guess that was what hurt so much, that they wanted me to choose between them. I didn't come out of my room for three days and I cried almost the whole time until one night I went down into the living room and told them I would stay with my dad. I didn't want to leave Newport. My friends were here, I went to school here, it was my home after all and besides, I didn't even knew my mom's boyfriend back then. They both looked shocked, though, and my mom cried, a lot. And the next day she moved out."

Seth still looked at her, giving her the one special look that she couldn't read or interpret, but the small smile he gave her was everything she need to go on.

"I remember, from this moment on everything went fine again. Me and my dad got really close and I visited my mom and Bill almost everyday…and even my mom and dad started to get closer again.", Summer wiped away the tears that has started to fall and she felt Seth hand tighten around hers, urging her to go on but comforting her at the same time.

"Well, we all spent Christmas together and my mom stayed with me. She slept in my bed that night and told me stories about her and dad and how they had fallen in love and about me being a baby…And she…she told me that she loved me and would always be there for me and I were her little muffin…", she let out a small sad laugh which was immediately followed by ragging sobs as she let herself fall against Seth chest, his arms going around her, rubbing small circles on her back to comfort her and to calm her down.

"But when I woke up the next morning she was gone!" She pushed back a little, trying to look at him as she tried to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face freely.

"She just freaking left, Seth. I searched for her in the whole house, tried to call her…I even went to their stupid apartment…but she was gone. Just gone….And I just miss her so much!", she muffled the last part against his skin as she fell back against him and buried her face in the crook of his neck while he pressed her sobbing body to his, letting her cry the tears that probably would never dry down completely.

Hope you like it...

Thx

Sarah

Next Chapter: Marissa's gonna make a fatal mistake...

-> Somebody's Dark Angel´: I just used an´ instead of an ' cause this way it gets a little faster to write, but I appreciate your little critic ;-) and changed it. Hope that now, it's a little easier to read...