Sorry its taken so long...again. Thanks so much for all the reviews. I really enjoy reading them and finding out what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right. So, please review this chapter once you've read it (duh) and I will try to update a little sooner this time round.
Summer slid out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She looked into her own driveway and saw the complete lack of any vehicles. Clearly her father hadn't returned from his business trip and her step mother was out shopping for valium. They wouldn't be back for a while and they definitely wouldn't be worrying about her whereabouts.
She turned back to look in at Marissa and saw two pairs of eyes casting curious glances at the house. She didn't want them to come in. The house would probably be a mess. Her step mother had gone a little crazy the night before, hence the trip to Marissa's house. It happened more often than people knew. Summer was living in the definition of a broken home and it wasn't something that she was keen on displaying to Marissa, let alone Seth and Ryan, two people she didn't know. She definitely didn't want to confess her deepest darkest secrets to them.
'If you wanna come in, you can,' she said wearily. She was so tired that she didn't even care anymore. She didn't want to let them see the state of her home but the lack of an invite would probably provoke more of a response. And she didn't have the energy to divert their attention.
She smiled at the quick responses from the two male occupants of the car as they opened and shut their doors within the space of five seconds. She walked forward, searching in her bag for her keys. After finally locating them she yanked them out and, silently praying to herself that the house didn't look like a rubbish tip she stuck the key into the lock of the front door and opened it. She looked around her. The house was suprisingly spotless and Summer released a huge sigh of relief. She walked in, her confidence rising with each step. The French windows which led onto the pristine garden were wide open, swinging slightly in the light breeze and the room smelt fresh as opposed to reeking of stale alcohol and cigarettes. The shattered glass from a vase which had been thrown against one of the walls had been cleared up and the whole room looked like a show home.
'I won't be a minute,' Summer said as she walked through the room and up the stairs to the first floor. Her house had always been one thing which Summer took for granted. Her father was rich and not in the Jimmy Cooper kind of way. He was old money but had kept his finances from decreasing too much by making new money. He was an incredibly wealthy guy which went some way to explaining the numerous business trips to New York and Chicago and London and Tokyo. Summer could sometimes go weeks without seeing him and her stepmother was an all too present figure in her life, one she could easily have lived without. So Summer had never taken her family for granted. Her mother had died when she was only little and she had never really known her. She had never felt like she had missed out too much, especially not with the examples that she saw daily, people like Julie Cooper. Summer had always figured that she was better off without a real mum, atleast that was what she told people. In truth, although she couldn't admit to missing her mother that much she often thought about what her life would have been like without that person. Would she have grown up differently, become a completely different person? Or would she be the same, brought up as the daughter of rich parents who only had kids because they thought they should, to give them something to gossip abut with everyone else in the neighbourhood.
Summer pushed the door open to her bedroom, her sanctuary. Inside it was fresh, the window open as wide as it would go to try and cool the atmosphere of California heat. The bed was neatly made with its crisp white sheets and the white curtains moved gently with the slight breeze which drifted off the ocean. Summer breathed in the faint smell of shower gel, perfume and the seas own brand of saltiness. The smell was a familiar one and it was a huge part of what the made the room special for Summer. She remembered the summer when both she, Marissa and Holly had decorated it. Summer had made all kinds of plans then and now they had all disappeared along with Holly's friendship. Summer may not have seemed it to the casual observer but she was fiercely loyal to her friends and Holly and Luke's relationship had caused Summer to throw all of her ideas away. She had no idea when things had become so complex but she wished for simpler times, times when she could dream about being someone she so clearly wasn't. Now she spent her whole time trying to make everyone else believe it.
She slid one of her drawers open and pulled out some clothes. The previous night had been a bad one and when nights like that came along Summer prepared herself to stay away for atleast a couple of days. She shoved them into a rucksack not worried about creasing anything. She knew that Marissa would do everything in her power to make Summer feel better and even the normality of ironing might be a relief from the life she didn't want to live. She walked across the room to her dressing table and dropped moisturiser and cleanser, mascara and foundation into the bag with her clothes. She ran her hairbrush through her smooth sheath of hair before placing it on top of everything else. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked through the doorway only to came face to face with him.
'Cohen,' she said, trying to mask her suprise at seeing him. She didn't know why she should be so shocked at finding him in her house since she was the one who had invited him, but meeting him in the hallway outside her bedroom unnerved her.
'Summer,' he replied, seemingly oblivious to the tension surrounding the girl in front of him.
She raised her eyebrows, the old Summer, the one who didn't give a damn about anyone or anything reemerging.
He stepped aside to let her past and she walked along the corridor, forcing herself not to turn around.
Ryan pushed open the back door. He was amazed at how similar all the houses in Newport looked. They had all been designed by different, equally famous architects and yet they all looked almost exactly the same. They all had huge rooms, which were actually bigger than his entire house; they were all gleamingly white in the California sun; they all had perfect back gardens, with perfect flowers all year round. And the interiors of each house were all amazingly alike, no matter what kind of taste people had. Making sure everything was fashionable seemed to be more important than comfort, something he didn't think he'd ever understand.
He heard the fridge door opening in the room behind him and turned around. He walked through the living room and into the enormous kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant. There were all manner of utensils hanging from hooks on the wall, most of which had probably never been used. The oven was immaculate but none of it seemed to fit with Summer who seemed like the most self reliant person Ryan had ever met. She seemed so overbearingly confident and she definitely didn't look like she lived on a diet of take out.
'They hire a maid,' Marissa said, almost as if she had been reading Ryan's mind. She had been watching him take it all in. The reaction was not something she encountered very often. She knew that she had a standard of living above what most people dreamed of but people in Newport didn't tend to mix with the outside world. It was like Newport was this exclusive bar with a guest list and bouncers at the door. If your name wasn't on the list you didn't get in. Ryan had, however managed to sneak in the backdoor. And he had successfully managed to turn her life upside down and inside out and then he'd shaken it up like a snow globe.
'You want a drink?' she asked, looking through the contents of Summer's fridge.
'Yeah,' he replied, taking a seat at the table.
'There's juice, coke, water...'
'Waters fine,' he replied. He wasn't a huge fan of small talk, mostly because he had never really mastered it. He was the silent type and although he knew how his inability to make conversation annoyed people it was a habit he couldn't get out of. Small talk with Marissa was especially difficult. With one word from her, no matter how trivial his heart would flip inside his chest and it wouldn't settle down till he had spent atleast half an hour out of her presence.
He leant his forearms on the table, the cool of the tiles providing an antidote for the hot weather. Marissa placed a glass of water, cubes of ice floating on the surface on the table in front of him. He raised it to his lips and took a refreshing gulp. The tension between them which had appeared at school was still there, he could practically feel it pushing down on him. They avoided each others gaze, they barely said a word to each other, atleast not one that meant anything.
She closed the cupboard she had taken the glasses from. She hated the complete lack of communication between her and Ryan. The thing at school had freaked both of them out. They had been so sure that they could be good together but when it had come down to it they had failed at the first hurdle.
'You know I want to be with you, right?' she said, quickly as she spun around to face him. She wanted to get the conversation over as soon as possible. She didn't want anymore awkward moments between them.
He looked at her in suprise. Her cheeks were flushed and the look on her face demanded an answer. Only problem was he wasn't sure what that answer was. He wanted her, of course he did. And he knew that in some part of her she wanted him. But whether she was prepared to risk everything to be with him was a different matter entirely. He had seen her face earlier that day as reality rushed in and he wasn't sure that, after her Newport upbringing she could give up the things she knew for something else.
His hesitation worried her. She leant over the table and, taking his hands in her own brushed her lips against his. She drew away from him, her eyes betraying her real emotions.
'I want to be with you,' she whispered, her heart pounding from her own bold actions.
'I know,' he replied.
'I don't care what everyone else says.'
'Really?'
She smiled as she leant her forehead against his and looked into his eyes.
'Maybe a little, but I'm not giving you up over my own insecurities.'
They moved towards each other and she could feel his warm breath on her skin. It sent thrills of excitement up and down her spine. After what seemed like eternity their lips met, harder than before. Her eyes closed and once again she was lost to the world.
'We're leaving.' Summer's voice hit them like a bucket of ice water. They broke apart and looked towards the entrance. After a few seconds she appeared, striding her way straight towards the front door, oblivious to the emotions of the two other people in the room. Marissa looked apologetic as she jogged after Summer's retreating figure. Ryan ran one of his hands through his hair. He could still taste her and he smiled to himself as Seth walked into the room.
'Dude, you look a little minty,' Seth said as he saw Ryan. The smile instantly disappeared from Ryan's face as he walked over to the sink and placed his and Marissa's glasses in it. He wanted to maintain some sense of cool in front of Seth, instead of looking like a lunatic.
'We should get going. Summer looked pissed,' he said, hoping to divert the conversation from himself.
'She's not pissed,' Seth replied, a look of knowing on his face.
'Seriously?'
'No, this is normal,' he said as they walked out of the door shutting it behind them.
Summer slid out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She looked into her own driveway and saw the complete lack of any vehicles. Clearly her father hadn't returned from his business trip and her step mother was out shopping for valium. They wouldn't be back for a while and they definitely wouldn't be worrying about her whereabouts.
She turned back to look in at Marissa and saw two pairs of eyes casting curious glances at the house. She didn't want them to come in. The house would probably be a mess. Her step mother had gone a little crazy the night before, hence the trip to Marissa's house. It happened more often than people knew. Summer was living in the definition of a broken home and it wasn't something that she was keen on displaying to Marissa, let alone Seth and Ryan, two people she didn't know. She definitely didn't want to confess her deepest darkest secrets to them.
'If you wanna come in, you can,' she said wearily. She was so tired that she didn't even care anymore. She didn't want to let them see the state of her home but the lack of an invite would probably provoke more of a response. And she didn't have the energy to divert their attention.
She smiled at the quick responses from the two male occupants of the car as they opened and shut their doors within the space of five seconds. She walked forward, searching in her bag for her keys. After finally locating them she yanked them out and, silently praying to herself that the house didn't look like a rubbish tip she stuck the key into the lock of the front door and opened it. She looked around her. The house was suprisingly spotless and Summer released a huge sigh of relief. She walked in, her confidence rising with each step. The French windows which led onto the pristine garden were wide open, swinging slightly in the light breeze and the room smelt fresh as opposed to reeking of stale alcohol and cigarettes. The shattered glass from a vase which had been thrown against one of the walls had been cleared up and the whole room looked like a show home.
'I won't be a minute,' Summer said as she walked through the room and up the stairs to the first floor. Her house had always been one thing which Summer took for granted. Her father was rich and not in the Jimmy Cooper kind of way. He was old money but had kept his finances from decreasing too much by making new money. He was an incredibly wealthy guy which went some way to explaining the numerous business trips to New York and Chicago and London and Tokyo. Summer could sometimes go weeks without seeing him and her stepmother was an all too present figure in her life, one she could easily have lived without. So Summer had never taken her family for granted. Her mother had died when she was only little and she had never really known her. She had never felt like she had missed out too much, especially not with the examples that she saw daily, people like Julie Cooper. Summer had always figured that she was better off without a real mum, atleast that was what she told people. In truth, although she couldn't admit to missing her mother that much she often thought about what her life would have been like without that person. Would she have grown up differently, become a completely different person? Or would she be the same, brought up as the daughter of rich parents who only had kids because they thought they should, to give them something to gossip abut with everyone else in the neighbourhood.
Summer pushed the door open to her bedroom, her sanctuary. Inside it was fresh, the window open as wide as it would go to try and cool the atmosphere of California heat. The bed was neatly made with its crisp white sheets and the white curtains moved gently with the slight breeze which drifted off the ocean. Summer breathed in the faint smell of shower gel, perfume and the seas own brand of saltiness. The smell was a familiar one and it was a huge part of what the made the room special for Summer. She remembered the summer when both she, Marissa and Holly had decorated it. Summer had made all kinds of plans then and now they had all disappeared along with Holly's friendship. Summer may not have seemed it to the casual observer but she was fiercely loyal to her friends and Holly and Luke's relationship had caused Summer to throw all of her ideas away. She had no idea when things had become so complex but she wished for simpler times, times when she could dream about being someone she so clearly wasn't. Now she spent her whole time trying to make everyone else believe it.
She slid one of her drawers open and pulled out some clothes. The previous night had been a bad one and when nights like that came along Summer prepared herself to stay away for atleast a couple of days. She shoved them into a rucksack not worried about creasing anything. She knew that Marissa would do everything in her power to make Summer feel better and even the normality of ironing might be a relief from the life she didn't want to live. She walked across the room to her dressing table and dropped moisturiser and cleanser, mascara and foundation into the bag with her clothes. She ran her hairbrush through her smooth sheath of hair before placing it on top of everything else. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked through the doorway only to came face to face with him.
'Cohen,' she said, trying to mask her suprise at seeing him. She didn't know why she should be so shocked at finding him in her house since she was the one who had invited him, but meeting him in the hallway outside her bedroom unnerved her.
'Summer,' he replied, seemingly oblivious to the tension surrounding the girl in front of him.
She raised her eyebrows, the old Summer, the one who didn't give a damn about anyone or anything reemerging.
He stepped aside to let her past and she walked along the corridor, forcing herself not to turn around.
Ryan pushed open the back door. He was amazed at how similar all the houses in Newport looked. They had all been designed by different, equally famous architects and yet they all looked almost exactly the same. They all had huge rooms, which were actually bigger than his entire house; they were all gleamingly white in the California sun; they all had perfect back gardens, with perfect flowers all year round. And the interiors of each house were all amazingly alike, no matter what kind of taste people had. Making sure everything was fashionable seemed to be more important than comfort, something he didn't think he'd ever understand.
He heard the fridge door opening in the room behind him and turned around. He walked through the living room and into the enormous kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant. There were all manner of utensils hanging from hooks on the wall, most of which had probably never been used. The oven was immaculate but none of it seemed to fit with Summer who seemed like the most self reliant person Ryan had ever met. She seemed so overbearingly confident and she definitely didn't look like she lived on a diet of take out.
'They hire a maid,' Marissa said, almost as if she had been reading Ryan's mind. She had been watching him take it all in. The reaction was not something she encountered very often. She knew that she had a standard of living above what most people dreamed of but people in Newport didn't tend to mix with the outside world. It was like Newport was this exclusive bar with a guest list and bouncers at the door. If your name wasn't on the list you didn't get in. Ryan had, however managed to sneak in the backdoor. And he had successfully managed to turn her life upside down and inside out and then he'd shaken it up like a snow globe.
'You want a drink?' she asked, looking through the contents of Summer's fridge.
'Yeah,' he replied, taking a seat at the table.
'There's juice, coke, water...'
'Waters fine,' he replied. He wasn't a huge fan of small talk, mostly because he had never really mastered it. He was the silent type and although he knew how his inability to make conversation annoyed people it was a habit he couldn't get out of. Small talk with Marissa was especially difficult. With one word from her, no matter how trivial his heart would flip inside his chest and it wouldn't settle down till he had spent atleast half an hour out of her presence.
He leant his forearms on the table, the cool of the tiles providing an antidote for the hot weather. Marissa placed a glass of water, cubes of ice floating on the surface on the table in front of him. He raised it to his lips and took a refreshing gulp. The tension between them which had appeared at school was still there, he could practically feel it pushing down on him. They avoided each others gaze, they barely said a word to each other, atleast not one that meant anything.
She closed the cupboard she had taken the glasses from. She hated the complete lack of communication between her and Ryan. The thing at school had freaked both of them out. They had been so sure that they could be good together but when it had come down to it they had failed at the first hurdle.
'You know I want to be with you, right?' she said, quickly as she spun around to face him. She wanted to get the conversation over as soon as possible. She didn't want anymore awkward moments between them.
He looked at her in suprise. Her cheeks were flushed and the look on her face demanded an answer. Only problem was he wasn't sure what that answer was. He wanted her, of course he did. And he knew that in some part of her she wanted him. But whether she was prepared to risk everything to be with him was a different matter entirely. He had seen her face earlier that day as reality rushed in and he wasn't sure that, after her Newport upbringing she could give up the things she knew for something else.
His hesitation worried her. She leant over the table and, taking his hands in her own brushed her lips against his. She drew away from him, her eyes betraying her real emotions.
'I want to be with you,' she whispered, her heart pounding from her own bold actions.
'I know,' he replied.
'I don't care what everyone else says.'
'Really?'
She smiled as she leant her forehead against his and looked into his eyes.
'Maybe a little, but I'm not giving you up over my own insecurities.'
They moved towards each other and she could feel his warm breath on her skin. It sent thrills of excitement up and down her spine. After what seemed like eternity their lips met, harder than before. Her eyes closed and once again she was lost to the world.
'We're leaving.' Summer's voice hit them like a bucket of ice water. They broke apart and looked towards the entrance. After a few seconds she appeared, striding her way straight towards the front door, oblivious to the emotions of the two other people in the room. Marissa looked apologetic as she jogged after Summer's retreating figure. Ryan ran one of his hands through his hair. He could still taste her and he smiled to himself as Seth walked into the room.
'Dude, you look a little minty,' Seth said as he saw Ryan. The smile instantly disappeared from Ryan's face as he walked over to the sink and placed his and Marissa's glasses in it. He wanted to maintain some sense of cool in front of Seth, instead of looking like a lunatic.
'We should get going. Summer looked pissed,' he said, hoping to divert the conversation from himself.
'She's not pissed,' Seth replied, a look of knowing on his face.
'Seriously?'
'No, this is normal,' he said as they walked out of the door shutting it behind them.