THE FATHER
But I woke up to the real life
And I realised it's not worth running from any more
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out
That nothing's real here
The Real Life
3 Doors Down
"Why with the glum face?" Hailey asked as Ryan walked into the kitchen soon after she had sat down and flipped open the newspaper.
Ryan shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something non-coherent that Hailey could only assume was supposed to be an excuse. She watched him with an amused smile as he trudged around the kitchen, preparing a drink of coffee. Finally being satisfied that the caffeine was sufficient enough to keep him awake, Ryan joined her at the table.
As he sipped his drink he became aware that Hailey was staring at him over the top of the paper with a smirk on her face. "What?" He asked a little irritated.
"Nothing," Hailey insisted though she knew that he was well aware she was up to something. "Late night?"
Ryan glanced down at his coffee before answering. "Not really."
"Okay," Hailey said nodding her head the smile appearing back on her face as she turned her attention to the headline before her as Rachel stepped in from the lounge. "Whatever you say."
Ryan rubbed furiously at the bridge of his nose trying to coax his eyes into remaining open and aware. "Yep."
"'Morning Rach," Hailey said in the general direction of the young girl who was quietly getting a glass of juice. "You sleep better than your brother here?"
Rachel cast a look Ryan's way. "Looks like," she said in reply though she knew that she was lying through her teeth.
In truth, Rachel hadn't slept at all. Not even for a moment. She had remained awake the entire night, not thinking, not listening, just lying there.
There was a long silence around the trio before Hailey spoke again. "Am I the only one who is capable of holding a conversation?"
Ryan looked up at her momentarily but said nothing, he wasn't in the mood to deal with Hailey's attempts at being social. His mind wasn't registering even the smallest of things like the smell of his coffee or the quiet sounds of Rachel opening and closing the fridge door. Ryan had spent the better part of the night listening to Marissa talk about life. Nothing special, just casual conversation about things that when thought about again, didn't seem to matter.
But that wasn't the point. Ryan didn't mind that she had kept him up all night after calling simply because she missed him. He was enjoying her company more than ever. He wanted to be able to sit on the phone and hear her voice without having to intervene with his own.
Rachel leaned her elbows on the kitchen counter and ran her fingers along the rim of her glass silently aware that Hailey was looking from her to Ryan and back again.
She was well aware that her brother had not said anything to in the way of a greeting and for some unusual reason that hit Rachel hard. He had been acting unusually around her of late, quiet in a sense, as though he feared if he spoke a dark secret would be revealed.
Rachel's thoughts were cut off, however, as Seth walked into the room with a loud yawn and stopped short at the dejected looks of the occupants of the room.
"Who died?" He asked in a bemused tone walking over to the fridge to inspect what was for breakfast that morning.
Me, Rachel thought looking over at him as he pulled out various items. Last night, down at the beach. Don't you remember?
After a long silence Hailey spoke with news that shocked the three teens before her. "You guys looking forward to the trip?" she asked.
Ryan looked up at her then with a questioning glance. "What?"
"You know," Hailey continued. "The boat trip Sandy is taking you three on today…" She looked from Ryan to Rachel to Seth, each returning a puzzled look. "Maybe not."
Rachel watched as Seth began to butter his newly prepared toast reaching for the butter and catching her eye. Rachel frowned slightly as he smiled warmly at her before responding with her own, weaker version of his gesture. At that moment she felt relieved but also so utterly confused.
"You look tired," Seth spoke to her, his voice full of concern.
So now you talk to me? Rachel thought. Now you care?
"I didn't sleep," she replied bluntly causing Seth to fall silent and simply look at her.
Rachel could tell from his lack of words that Seth's mind was flashing back to the previous night, exactly like hers was. She knew why he had done what he did, why he had remained silent throughout her entire attempt to explain her feelings. But that didn't mean she thought that it was a just thing to do. He'd hurt her more than she ever thought possible, and now he stood there, as though nothing was wrong. As though he hadn't ripped her heart from her chest simply because at that moment she was open to him.
But she couldn't show what she really felt, because this wasn't about her. None of it had been. It was about him.
Seth looked back down at his rapidly cooling toast and mumbled quietly. "Sorry."
Rachel almost laughed. She couldn't help it, the entire situation was beyond hilarious. "Don't be," she replied.
She didn't want Seth to feel as though he owed her something now. He didn't. If anything, she owed him. In the past, when Rachel, herself had been in his position, where the world seemed to be against her, where nothing went right, it was Seth who was there for her. At the most important moments, when Ryan was out of reach, he did all that he could. Seth was the one who held her at night. Seth kissed away the pain. Now it was her chance to help him.
Rachel moved around the kitchen counter allowing her hand to brush Seth's as she gave him a light kiss. It wasn't enough to fix what had happened between them, or tell the truth about how she was feeling, or even mend the pain that his heart was now so constantly feeling, but that didn't matter. Rachel wanted Seth to know that she would be there for him no matter how much he hurt her in the process.
Rachel nearly collapsed when she opened the front door later that morning to see Steve standing there staring at her. Her heart rate increased dramatically, her mouth felt dry. This couldn't be true, her mind have been playing tricks on her. She had only just started to understand and comprehend that this man – her father – had neglected her for day one, and now he wanted forgiveness.
"Hello," Steve said kindly, smiling slightly at Rachel clearly seeing her shocked expression.
"Hey," Rachel murmured quietly in reply.
An awkward silence swept over the pair as Steve rocked back on his heals slightly. Rachel swallowed hard, she didn't know what to do. She hated this man who stood before her and yet for some unknown reason she couldn't bring herself to express that like she did with others.
"Maybe I could…come in," he began. "If that's okay."
Rachel remained for a moment before casting a quick glance back into the Cohen's residence. She knew that everyone was awake and moving through the house. She knew that letting Ryan see Steve again would not be a good idea, especially since somehow he had taken it upon himself to track them down. And then there was Seth…
"It's probably not a good idea," Rachel stated completely aware of how her voice seemed almost quiet when speaking as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
Steve just nodded understanding fully what she meant. "That's okay, no problems. I just hoped that we could talk about the arrangements."
Rachel narrowed her eyes at the man who stood before her. "What are you talking about?"
"You and Ryan coming to stay with me in Atlanta," Steve replied.
Within the thirty second in which he spoke those words Rachel felt her body go numb. In all of the confusion involving herself and Seth, his parents constant problems and the new barrier which seemed to have been placed between herself and Ryan, Steve's proposal to them both had completely skipped her mind. He had asked them to move in with him, his wife and two children. To leave Newport Beach.
"I…" Rachel said not being able to find the words.
"You did get the letter, didn't you?" Steve asked clearly not aware of her sudden emotional change. "I was sure I put it in the mail."
Rachel frowned for a moment trying to take in his words whilst her mind was awhirl with bewilderment. "Ah…yeah I did."
"Have you shown it to your brother?"
Those words made Rachel look straight into Steve's eyes for the first time since she had met him. His attitude, the use of his words, wasn't impressing her in the least. How dare he walk into her life and try and be something that he wasn't. He was acting like her father.
"No," Rachel said bluntly in reply, her voice strong now, filled with an anger toward Steve.
He simply looked at her with little interest in her words. "That's okay, he will find out soon enough." He paused for a long moment. "Now, about the arrangements. There is a two-thirty, direct flight Monday afternoon which I was hoping to get us all on."
As the boys were getting ready for their boating trip with Sandy, Hailey took the time to track down Kirsten and speak with her. Pushing open the bedroom door she found her older sister sitting upon her bed with a mound of legal papers around her.
"I thought Sandy was the lawyer in the family," she said as she carefully stepped around the various, open briefcases scattered around the floor. "I guess not."
Kirsten didn't look up at the new arrival, but instead continued to scrutinise the papers. "Well Sandy doesn't seem to care that our father could be facing possible jail time," she replied bitterly.
Hailey stopped short at her comment. It was not one that she had expected in the least. Her father was a man that she could always rely on to help her through her struggles and now she was finding out that he was a criminal.
"What?" Hailey asked hesitantly.
Kirsten finally looked up with a sigh. "It turns out that dad's lawyers made some mistakes with his taxes. He owes millions to the IRS now and if he doesn't pay them soon…" she left the sentence hanging.
Hailey was quiet now, not knowing what to say, or even what to think. She slowly sat down on the floor, clearly the messy space around her as she did.
"I can't believe this," she said more to herself than to Kirsten. "And Sandy refuses to help?"
Kirsten bit her tongue to prevent herself from screaming at the sound of her husbands name. "He believes that it's a moral debate." Off Hailey's confused look Kirsten added, "Dad had a run in with Rachel when he first arrived her. One thing led to another and now Sandy is convinced that he doesn't need to help a man who apparently ruined his family even though he is his wife's father."
Hailey glanced over at Kirsten as she began to yet again sort through the various items before her. "That's why you two have been at war lately," she said.
Kirsten nodded absently. "Among other things."
Kirsten hated to think that she and Sandy were growing apart from each other. She loved him dearly, more than she could even love another human being, but lately she just wasn't feeling like she used too. The bond between them was being strained by outsiders, forcing them into a daily routine of arguments, disagreements and curses which would have never seen the light of day in the past.
Hailey was staring at Kirsten who seemed to be in deep thought, not actually reading thew words on the page before her any longer. "You wanna talk?"
Kirsten was jolted out of her daydream state and looked over at Hailey. "No, no, you shouldn't have to deal with this."
Hailey only shrugged. "Who said I was dealing with it?" When Kirsten made no reply she stood and walked over to the bed, sweeping all of the papers from it onto the floor and sitting down. "Spill."
"Hey, wow, slow down," Rachel spoke forcefully causing Steve to look at her in shock. "Since when was I going with you? Or Ry' for that matter?"
Steve raised a single eyebrow, unfazed by her reaction. "I just assumed that since I am your…"
"Don't even say it!" Rachel yelled.
Steve took a step back and looked at her with shock on his face. Rachel wasn't going to take this. In her mind he had no right to walk into her life as though everything was fine between them. As far as she was concerned he was a complete stranger, just a man that you walk past on the street, never giving a second glance too.
"Rachel…"
"You know what Steve?" Rachel said, almost spitting his name out in disgust. "You'd better get out of here."
Steve was quiet now, looking to the ground as though it would show some sign that could help him in this fight. "I know that this is hard for you to process, and I completely understand that but I just want to make things right between us. I thought that we might be able to work things out."
Rachel had to hold back the bitter laugh, which threatened to escape her lips. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Though there was a part of her buried deep inside which was curious as to what life would be like with a real father by her side, at that moment she couldn't find it. She didn't care.
Soon Rachel found the words spilling from her mouth. "I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I don't have a father," she voiced. "So unless you feel like turning back the clock and being there for the first sixteen years of my life, you're nothing to me."
Rachel watched Steve's expression change as the words began to sink in. At first he almost seemed content with her decision but the longer she watched him, the more evident it became that behind his hazel eyes there was a deep anger. He was losing the battle, something that he had never anticipated to happen.
After a long, thought out pause Steve spoke again. "I want to give you the family which you should have had," he said earnestly.
Rachel continued to stare at him. "I have a family," she said.
Though at times it felt as though she didn't and never would, Rachel knew that the Cohen's were everything to her now, and had been for some time. They may not have been her relatives through blood, but they cared about her more than any biological family ever could.
Steve's expression changed again and this time he did not try to mask the anger, which was beginning to cloud his mind. "They aren't your real family Rachel," he insisted. "They could never love you like your real family could."
"How do you know that they couldn't love me more?" Rachel demanded. "I've been through so much crap in my life and I never once needed your help because I had them, and I had Ry'. What does that say for you as a father?"
"I wasn't there," Steve said through gritted teeth clearly not liking where this conversation was headed.
Rachel laughed this time, cold and bitter. "Well thank you Captain Obvious," she exclaimed. "That was a very informing statement you just made." Her voice was filled with a shrill of sarcasm.
Steve took a menacing step toward her. "Don't you dare disrespect me girl," he said quietly. "You may not know me well but I'll tell you one thing; no one treats me that way, not even the people that I love."
Rachel looked up at him, never once flinching from his threat. "You could never love me." The words came out with a mixture or anger and sadness.
Steve stepped back again, surprised by his movement and Rachel's reaction. "You're my child," he said. "I have no choice."
"Was that meant to be comforting?" Rachel replied sarcastically but spoke again before Steve could reply. "Now get the hell away from me." And with that she re-entered the house and slammed the door behind her.
Jimmy knocked quietly on the bathroom door, concerned that something had happened, as Marissa had been in their for quite some time.
"Everything okay Kid-o?" He asked calmly through the closed door.
"Ah…" Marissa began. "Yeah, everything's fine."
It occurred to Jimmy that the tone of her voice was less than convincing, but he decided not to press the matter and instead let his daughter come to him if she was indeed in need of help.
Hearing her father walk away from the door Marissa turned back to the mirror and took a long, hard look at herself. Her skin was paler than usual, giving the impression that she had not slept in days. Her eyes seemed dimmer, almost lacking in the normal life and free spirit which she had.
Marissa glanced down at the counter top for a moment before a sudden wave of sickness came over her and she ran for the toilet.
Ryan could help but notice how Seth and Rachel were unusually quiet as they boarded the small yacht, which Sandy had hired for the day. They both seemed to be lost in their own worlds, eyes cast into the distance, faces fully of emotion yet no expression.
"Welcome aboard," Sandy announced as they stepped foot onto the polished deck.
Ryan looked about him at the vessel. It was in pristine condition with not a speck of dirt or sea elements on it. The deck in which they stood took up at least half of the top level with a flight of stairs visibly leading below.
"This is great," he said to whoever was interesting in hearing his comment.
Sandy was nodding his head absently before he walked into the built up section beside them and took the wheel. "Let's get going then."
Soon the soft hum of the engine could be heard beneath their feet as they boat eased out of the jetty and into the open seas.
Hours later as the warm afternoon sun began to beat down upon the yacht, which was now running smoothly through the crests of small waves about Sandy, relaxed in his deck chair. He was shaded beneath an overhanging as he read his book and allowed the cool breeze to flow through his hair.
Occasionally he could hear the soft sounds of Seth and Ryan's voiced as they travelled from below. It suddenly occurred to him that there was no female among them and he looked up to see Rachel standing at the front of the boat, forearms leaning on top of the railing, gaze fixed upon the horizon.
At that moment she seemed incredibly vulnerable in Sandy's eyes for the first time since he had met her almost two years ago. Her position gave the illusion that with the simple rock of the waves she could fall into the unknown waters below.
As Sandy watched her quietly he couldn't help but think that maybe the young girl was having the same thought that he had of late. Rachel and Seth's relationship was clearly filled with a tension just like his and Kirsten's and Sandy hated to think that they had caused the sever between the pair. Seth was taking a blow from his parents constant fights, this Sandy was sure of, but he had never thought of what affect they were having on the young Atwood children.
Rising from his chair Sandy walked up and stood next to Rachel. "Nice view, isn't it?"
Rachel was silent for a while before she confirmed that she in fact had been listening and answered. "Yeah, it is."
There was a long pause in which Rachel was able to slip back into her previous trail of thought, something she wished wouldn't happen. Her thoughts were full of her father, Steve and their previous meeting that very morning. She wasn't aware of how seriously he had taken her, or if he had even been listening as she spoke the words, which she had been dreading since learning about him. She didn't need him. She didn't want to have anything to do with him.
For a long moment all that Rachel saw were flashes of their conversation before she recalled something that, if anything else, terrified her. She had seen something in Steve's eyes that made her blood run cold. The anger, the sheer rage within them as she spoke…
"Sandy," Rachel spoke. "Can I ask you something?"
Sandy was quick to answer. "Anything you like."
Rachel was quiet again, not being sure how to word what she was about to ask, or more to the point, if she should even ask it. "You and Kirsten," she began. "You're not my legal guardian's, are you?"
It was now Sandy's turn to lean against the side of the boat as Rachel turned her back to the sea and rested her elbows on the railing. "We are in every sense, except for on paper," he answered.
Rachel took in his words, never wanting to let on too much, but at the same time her mind was awhirl with questions, conclusions and possibilities.
"So my actual parents are still considered – legally – to be in control?"
Sandy shrugged after some thought. "More or less."
He was not surprised that Rachel was asking these questions, they had been a long time coming. Sandy was aware that it would have been a constant thought in the back of Rachel's mind about just who had rights over her as parents. Her own family had more or less abandoned her and yet his own family had not gone through the formalities. Ryan on the other hand had his new legal parents, Sandy and Kirsten.
Rachel looked at her hands for a long time. "How much, in terms of legal rights do they have over me?" she asked.
Sandy gazed over at her noticing something in her eyes which made him believe that she was not only asking these questions out of interest, but he didn't press the matter.
"Well," he thought. "Legally, they still have all rights, but this would be debatable in court considering the circumstances."
Rachel narrowed her eyes at Sandy in a curious fashion. "Considering the circumstances?"
Sandy scratched the top of his head for a time before answering, trying to use his words carefully. "You're living with us now and have been for almost two years," he stated. "There's also the circumstances surrounding what made you come to live with us, specifically the treatment and care you received back in Chino."
Rachel nodded her head and paused not being too sure how to ask the next question, and at the same time not even wanting to know the answer. "What could they put against me?"
Sandy took in a long breath. "There is a possibility of laying down kidnapping charges, on both Ryan and myself."
"What?" Rachel demanded, not being able to stop how her voice rose in complete and utter shock.
"Un-authorised relocation of a minor," Sandy said quietly.
"But I consented to this, I was the one who wanted to leave in the first place!" Rachel insisted.
"Again this would be debated in court."
Neither of them spoke now, each in their own little worlds of thought. Part of Rachel was beginning to panic at Sandy's words. She didn't know how far Steve was going to take his parental role, but if he was serious, there was the possibility that he could take her away. For good. Despite everything, which had been happening within the Cohen family and in her life, Rachel, at that moment didn't want to leave the life, which she had now, it was too valuable to her. She didn't think that she would be able to cope if everything was ripped out from beneath her feet.
Sandy, having been watching Rachel throughout the entire silence was beginning to come up with some conclusions of his own and finally spoke. "Has something happened?" he asked.
Rachel looked over at him quickly, knowing that her cover had been blown and was about to answer when a movement caught her eye. She turned quickly to see Seth standing at the top of the stairs, watching the conversation with hurt, and disbelieving eyes. Their eyes met and in that split second she saw something that she never had before…hatred. Toward her. As fast as he had appeared in her vision, Seth disappeared again, past by Ryan who was heading toward the deck.
"Seth!" Rachel called out being quick to go after him.
As she raced past Ryan he did a double take, not knowing what was going on, but knowing that it was something serious. "Hey, people walking here," he stated to Rachel's retreating back despite the fact that she was clearly not listening.
Running down the stairs, flipping closed the trapdoor to the deck as she did, Rachel sprinted through the small entertainment area before being confronted with a closed door. She wrapped her hand around the doorhandle and to no surprise found it locked.
"Open the door Seth," she tried leaning against the wood, palm flat against it.
"Busy," Seth called back.
Rachel took in a deep breath, blowing it out trying to relieve the tension within her body. "Open the damn door."
There was a long pause in which Rachel figured Seth was thinking about her statement, strong and demanding. When nothing happened she struck the door with her fist twice, not gentle enough to be a knock, and yet not hard enough to cause alarm.
"You don't even care about me enough to face me?" Rachel asked in a frustrated tone. Soon Rachel found the door being flung open and the face of an annoyed boyfriend staring back at her. "Don't give me that look."
Seth let go of the door and walked into the makeshift bedroom leaving Rachel to close and lock it behind them.
"What was that?" He asked, turning his back on her to look out the small porthole.
Rachel bit her tongue to stop herself from saying that he was being just as rude with his back to her. "I was talking to Sandy," she said instead.
Seth shook his head. "You were talking about Steve."
"No…"
"Yeah you were," Seth insisted, cutting her off in her tracks. "You were talking about how he could take you away if he wanted too."
Rachel was silent now, having not realised just how much Seth had heard. She didn't know what to say to him. On one hand she wanted to scream, to tell him to stop trying to interfere with her life and worry about his own, but on the other hand she didn't want to hurt him.
"Yeah," Rachel replied.
Seth was nodding his head now, rocking back on his feet and acting like a school principal punishing a student for running in the halls. "You're interested in what this guy has to say?"
Rachel almost laughed at the question but managed to contain herself. "I just want to know my options Seth. I have no idea what's –"
"When are you leaving?" Seth asked bluntly, again cutting her off.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at the comment, not liking where the conversation was heading. "What?"
For the first time since they had entered the room the young Cohen turned to face the Atwood. He saw the confusion on her face, as well as the annoyance.
You have no idea, do you? he thought
"When are you leaving?" Seth asked again.
Rachel simply stared at him for a long, dragged out moment not being able to overcome the shock of the straightforward question. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on Rach," Seth began throwing his hands in the air. "You know what I'm talking about. You're going with him, you're going to have your own family for once and you're leaving me behind."
Rachel frowned in anger. "Who said anything about me leaving?"
Seth only shrugged. "You want too, you just have to tell him."
This time Rachel did laugh, bitter and sharp. "You have no idea, do you?" She asked mirroring the words which Seth had thought only moments before. "You think I wanted this? I didn't Seth. I didn't ask for this life and I sure as hell didn't ask for you to act like such kid. Why the hell do you think I kept this from you, huh?" Rachel walked up to Seth as he spoke, never once letting her eyes leave his. "You're going through stuff right now, I get that, and I get that you might take some of it out on me but this is ridiculous. You tell me that I can go to you, and that I can tell you anything but then when I do you completely turn on me like you don't care."
Seth crossed his arms. "I'm not turning on you and I do care."
"Funny way of showing it," Rachel replied. "Yeah, me and your dad were talking about Steve – not that he knows that – and yeah, he said that there is a chance that my parents could take me away whenever they want, but did you ever once think about why we were talking about that?"
Seth went to reply but cut himself short, realising that he had nothing to say and instead remained silent, a slight frown on his face.
Seeing his reaction, Rachel continued. "You didn't, did you? Not once. Instead it was so much easier for you to jump to conclusions." Rachel searched Seth's eyes for a long moment. "I was asking him because Steve came to the house this morning asking about the letter."
Seth's eyes turned dark. "He came to the house? He came to ask for an answer?"
"Yeah," Rachel said simply. "He came to ask for an answer and you wanna know what I said?" Seth remained quiet. "I said I don't want him in my life. I said that I'm not going anywhere with him because he's not my father." Rachel struggled to keep her voice from cracking. "So there you go Seth, that's the big mystery. I was asking Sandy because I was scared that Steve could take me away. I didn't want to have to leave you."
Seth was clearly shocked by this revelation and scratched his head in confusion. "Oh," was the only word, which escaped his lips.
"Yeah Seth, 'oh'."
Seth went to speak again but found that he had to make the attempt almost three times before any sounds escaped his lips. "Rach…"
"What?" Rachel asked, this time not masking the hurt within her voice. "You're sorry? You didn't realise? I'm getting those vibes a lot from you lately. I'm sick of you not trusting me."
Seth looked regretful as she spoke. "I trust you Rach."
Rachel shook her head in disbelief. "How can you trust me if every time something happens you think I'm gonna do something to hurt you?" When Seth made no reply Rachel looked down at his hands and took them loosely in her own. "I know you're hurting," she whispered. "And I'm sorry that…I haven't included you in this as much as you wanted but…I don't want you changing yourself to deal with it." She let his hands fall from hers. "I just want you." She took a last look at Seth before turning and walking away.
Later that night as Kirsten spoke with Caleb downstairs, both trying to convince Sandy to take on his case, Rachel sat on her bed tapping her hands against her knees in thought. Ryan and Seth were talking in the pool house, leaving her with some peace and quiet.
That quiet was soon interrupted though when her cell-phone shrilled to life causing Rachel to jump in fright. She collected it from the bedside table and said hello. A frantic Marissa answered the greeting.
"Coop?" Rachel asked. "What's wrong?"
A mixture of sobs and small cried filled the receiver causing Rachel to sit up a little straighter. Marissa was clearly crying on the other line, trying terribly to calm herself.
"Coop," Rachel tried. "Coop, sweetie, calm down. Take a breath." Hearing Marissa heed to her words Rachel spoke again. "Talk to me."
"I-I-I," Marissa began. "I think I did something that…I shouldn't have."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"It wasn't bad," Marissa insisted between sobs. "It's just now…"
"Now?"
There was a long pause. "I thought I could tell you," Marissa said. "Because you're my friend and you've been through this before."
Rachel was frowning now, not knowing exactly what her friend was going on about. "It might help if you jogged my memory a bit."
"But," Marissa tried. "I don't know…it might not…"
"Coop!" Rachel finally yelled. "Just tell me what's going on."
Marissa sobbed louder now, her sharp breaths almost completely drowned out. "I think…"
"Yeah?"
"I think I might be pregnant."
The line suddenly went dead.
TO BE CONTINUED………
(Sorry, sorry, sorry, I know this has been a while coming but I'm back at school now so it's not as easy to get chapters finished as posted. Next chapter will be a big one with a revelation, a death, a goodbye and a shock that no one ever thought would happen. Dum dum duuummm. Please review)
Kitotterkat: I don't like to think that I've made people cry. Oh, so we're back to the relating thing, are we? Lol. I am so happy that you're not only relating to Rachel but Seth and Ryan as well! So so good! I was worried that no one would be able to see what I was hoping to do with Seth and his reactions and all of that. But of course I can always count on you to see exactly what I was hoping to achieve. Seth is definitely in a weird place right now, not only with Rachel but also with his whole life and I think that he is taking that step back for once and really thinking about where he stands with everything. What I was trying to do with the final scene was make it clear that he has always kinda had the thought in the back of his mind that he doesn't deserve Rachel and by him staying quiet and not admitting his feelings I think that he was showing that there has always been that question. You remembered what I told you, well done and also I am really happy that I am being able to show that Ryan is trying to get on with his life and not always be wrapped up in Rachel's. He wants to be his own person. However, he might just be heading down the wrong track with it. So there you go, you're totally right once again about pretty much everything. I should get you to write this story instead, you'd probably do the exact same thing that I am heading toward. Lol. Thanks for the always amazing reviews. Mandy
Leentje: Okay, now I'm just starting to feel bad because everyone is saying that this chapter was really sad. I didn't intend it to be so bad. I'm just trying to show the more realistic side to the story. Of course Seth was going to be upset, his parents are at breaking point and he finds out that pretty much the closest person to him might be packing her bags and moving out. His reaction was meant to really show just how much everything was effecting him. Seth is always the guy with the hilarious one liners and kinda out there attitude but I wanted to show the side to him that isn't that great at coping with real issues. Like I said to Kitotterkat, I think Seth has always had that question in the back of his mind of wether he and Rachel are really meant to be together. They are from completely different worlds and only really, I think, came together out of interest of what it would be like. No one likes to be vulnerable, and Seth is pretty much heading toward that very place and this is his way of dealing with it. Mandy
Historynut: Oh my gosh, your first review and you say the one thing that I have been hoping someone would say for so long now. It is amazing to hear that someone thinks Rachel is a well developed character because there have been moments where I have totally doubted her impact on the story and if I was writing her well. To let you know, I generally update around about every week. The Chosen took a little longer because all of my fanfiction settings were down and it wasn't too good, but yeah, I update as soon as I possibly can every time. So far I'm not too sure just how much more Caleb you'll be seeing, mostly because, sure he has a part in the story, but I haven't fully developed that part yet. But don't get me wrong, if you want him in there I'll put him in. Thanks heaps for the review, I love hearing from new fans of the story, it is great. Mandy