You Hold me up all the Time, I've Been Falling Down

Her eyes flickered open and she took in her surroundings apprehensively.

I'm still here. I'm still in this damn waiting room. It wasn't all a nightmare. It was reality. My Dad is still fighting for his life. It's still all my fault. Why couldn't it just be a dream?

She was curled up in a ball, her head resting on Seth's lap. He was asleep too, his dark curls were untamed and his strong chest gently moved in and out, in and out. Summer sighed and gingerly sat straight up. This woke Seth up instantly. He yawned widely and gave Summer a small smile. She returned the smile, but hers was weaker, it lacked the usual spark. Summer rubbed her eyes which felt strained and sore. She'd cried herself to sleep last night, Seth was right beside her. Stroking her hair and soothing her. He was the reason she'd made it through the night. She knew why she loved him so.

"Any better?" he asked.

"No, not really…" Summer sighed. She leant into Seth and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They sat in the same position for another half hour before Seth decided to get up in search of food.

"You want anything Sum?"

"Uh, no, I'm not hungry…"

"You've gotta have something Summer. How about a coffee?"

"Okay, a coffee sounds good. You know how I like it…"

"Milky and not too strong, I know. I'll be right back, kay?"

"Okay." Seth kissed her forehead tenderly and walked away.

Summer sighed and slumped in her seat. It was 7.20am and she'd still heard nothing. This was ridiculous. She silently prayed for her Dad to be okay once more and closed her eyes again. But it wasn't long until she was interrupted.

"Ms Roberts?" Summer flicked her eyes open and saw a nurse stood in front of her. Summer jumped out of her seat.

"My Dad… where is he? Is he okay?"

"Calm down Ms Roberts, he's going to be fine. It was just a heart murmur. But he is very shaken and we'll need to keep him here for a couple of weeks, just for safety." Summer sighed heavily in relief.

He was okay. He was going to recover. He was okay! I'm going to climb to the roof and yell it to the world. My Dad is going to be OKAY!

"Can I see him?" Summer asked anxiously.

"Of course, follow me."

Summer entered the hospital room, her heart in her mouth. The room was hazy as thick Venetian blinds blocked out the light. A dozen machines surrounded the large bed on which her father laid. He looked very still and peaceful but the constant bleeps of the life-support machine were like bullets hitting her in the chest. Summer slowly proceeded towards the bed and hovered over her Dad, waiting for a response.

"Summer…" he whispered. She fought back tears as she smiled down at him, taking his hand carefully in hers.

"Oh Daddy… I'm so glad you're okay!" Summer replied softly, her voice slightly shaking.

"I'm so sorry, for everything I've put you through. But let me promise you that things are going to change."

"Dad, don't apologise, it should be me doing it. I'm the one who made this happen, its all my fault…" Summer looked at her feet, biting her lip.

"No honey, its not your fault. Its nobody's fault. These things happen. But like I said, things are going to change for us, starting with me getting rid of that vile woman." The hatred Neil had for his soon to be ex-wife was clear as day and his expression was livid.

"I don't know where she is, I haven't seen her in ages…"

"Its okay. Lets not worry about her. But I've done a lot of thinking and we're going to have a new start. Just you and me against the world. I promise never to show you or this family up again and we'll be there for each other, just like old times. What do you say?"

"I think it's a great idea Dad," Summer whispered. A solitary tear slid down her cheek and she held her fathers hand to her face.

"Listen honey, I want you to go home and before you protest, its for me. Could you get me some pyjamas, my toothbrush, things like that? I'm going to be here a while and you look like you need a shower and something to eat. Please honey, for me." Summer wanted to protest, just stay here with her dad all day out of fear of losing him again. She nodded though and placed a soft kiss on his hand before leaving his room.

As soon as she stepped outside she was faced by Seth.

"How's your Dad?"

"He's good, the nurses say he should recover."

"And how about you, how are you doing?"

"I think I'm going to be fine, but there's one thing…"

"You want me to take you home?"

"Thanks Cohen."

Gloria Roberts was not at Newport Beach Memorial Hospital as her husband and step-daughter thought. That long night she'd spent at the hospital had allowed her to do some hard thinking. She'd come to the conclusion that, after what had happened to Neil, Summer and him would be closer than ever. So basically, they'd give Gloria her marching orders and she'd leave this marriage with nothing. But Gloria Roberts was no ordinary woman. She was not weak and helpless, no she was strong and defiant. If she was leaving, she wasn't going empty handed.

So, as soon as the next day dawned, she ordered a cab and hot-footed it to the house. As soon as she arrived there, she set about packing all her belongings. She hurriedly tossed her clothes, make-up, jewellery and possessions into suitcases. But she wasn't finished. After hauling all her luggage downstairs, she loaded it into Neil's expensive Mercedes. She then re-entered the house and raided the secret family vault that Neil had been stupid enough to tell her about. Inside it lay $100,000 that Neil had been saving, his mothers priceless jewellery and a rare Faberge egg that had been a gift when Summer was born. Neil was going to give it to her on her 21st birthday and it was worth a lot of money. She emptied the safe with a sly grin and, as a final measure, took out her rage on the house.

She trashed the kitchen, living room, Neil's office and Summer's room. Couches were flipped over, drawers emptied and shelves cleared. The house was a mess. Slightly out of breath, Gloria stood back and admired her work. With one last look at the once magnificent house, she exited and walked out to the car. She climbed in, regaining every bit of grace, and started the engine.

As she pulled out of the driveway she turned up the radio and laughed. Gloria remembered what she'd said to Neil.

"If you think you're getting out of this marriage easily, think again."

And she was right, wasn't she?

"Oh,a nice hot shower is just what I need," Summer sighed as she leant against the window of the car. They were minutes from her house, and this time Summer was actually happy to be there. As they pulled up the driveway, Summer leapt out and ran to the door, fishing for her keys in her purse. But she didn't need them.

Why is the door unlocked? I remember locking it last night, that's why I have my keys now. Something weird is going on.

"Summer!" She spun around as Seth called her. "Where's your Dad's car? Doesn't he usually leave it out?"

Another weird thing. My Dad always leaves his car out, he hates locking it away in the garage. What the hell is going on?

Summer frowned and opened the door but as soon as she saw the interior, she stopped dead in her tracks. The house had been turned over completely. Everything was strewn on the floor. The couches were on their sides.

"The car's probably in the…" Seth trailed off mid-sentence as he entered the house and stood staring at the mess in front of his amazed eyes. For the first time in Seth's life, he was speechless. Summer, still dazed, began to silently drift around the lower floor. She discovered the (now not so secret) empty safe, and as she entered her bedroom, it got to be too much. Summer took a very deep breath and threw her head back, letting out the loudest scream she could. All the anger and emotion that was caught up inside flowed out as freely as a river and took the form of a shrill scream. When she'd finished, the echoes continued to ricochet of the walls and she sank to her knees, tears freely flowing down her flushed cheeks.

Shortly after, Seth appeared in the doorway. He'd heard Summer yell, how could he have not? As he saw his girlfriend on her knees in her wrecked bedroom, Seth didn't know how to feel. Should he be sad? Should he try to help her or was this the time to throw in the towel? More than anything, Seth felt scared. He'd never seen her like this, this unhappy, this fragile and this raw.

He felt like he couldn't help her, Summer was gradually slipping away and if he didn't do something, he'd lose her forever. He needed to loosen his grip or else she'd simply slip through the gaps in his clenched fingers. He simply walked over to her, knelt beside her and pulled her into his chest to cry onto his T shirt. Her tiny body was racking with long heartfelt sobs and he felt like crying too.

Half an hour later, Summer had stopped crying and the two sat in the messy room, again they didn't speak, Seth just held her close. She was so grateful to him, she couldn't fall because Seth would be underneath, to catch her. She was safe. And only after thinking about that in her head, she began to talk.

"I know who did this," She said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Its just burglar Sum, you couldn't help it," Seth comforted her, rubbing her shoulder tenderly.

"No, you don't get it. It was her. She did this, Gloria." Seth fell silent and stared into Summer's unflinching eyes. She was serious.

"What? Oh Summer I don't think she would…"

"Seth, when are you going to realise there is nothing she wouldn't do to hurt us?" Again, a short period of silence followed as realisation washed over Seth.

"So, I was thinking, you can't live here so why don't you come and stay at my house. I'm sure my folks will be okay with it and when your dad's better, you can come home. How does that sound?"

"I'd really like that, thank you." Seth beamed at Summer and held her closer as they shared a loving hug. Summer rested her head on Seth's shoulder and inhaled deeply. The smell of Seth's aftershave swept up into her nose and it soothed her. Its musky scent calmed her down and made her think everything was going to be fine, even though it might not be so simple.

A/N Thanks for all the awesome reviews, you guys are great! If you're an invisible reader, I'd love it if you could leave me a little comment just to let me know how you're finding the story. Thanks for reading! xox