Ryan was shocked to see Marissa sitting outside the pool house. She was sitting with her head in her hands, on hearing his greeting, she looked up and he could see the tears in her eyes.
"Hey - what's wrong?"
He shook her head, and looked the other way, "I can't tell you."
"What? Why not? Were still friends, right?" They hadn't been boyfriend and girlfriend for a long time now, he still considered Marissa a friend, obviously she felt differently…. Oh no, Summer must have told her about -
"No, its not that, Ryan. It's just…," she sighed, "today has been a really hard day for me… I just needed someone to talk to about it. Only now I'm here, I don't think I should."
Ryan just raised his eyebrows, he wasn't about to corner her for more information, she obviously had just wanted to see a friendly face.
Marissa let out another heavy sigh. "Can we go inside?"
"Sure," they both stood and he opened the pool house door for her and then followed her in shutting the door behind them.
"You can't tell anyone about this - most definitely not Seth." She began as she perched on the edge of his bed.
Ryan stayed standing, "why not Seth?" He talked with his brother about almost anything. Well, except that night with Summer three months ago. From that drunken night, he and Summer had seen very little of each other, both avoiding the other like they had the plague.
"It's just…" Marissa looked at her feet, "God, I'm breaking my promise by telling you this, but this is something I need help with, so as to help her."
Ryan was becoming increasingly curious, "Marissa, just tell me."
"Ok, it's Summer."
Ryan gulped, uh oh, she does know -
"I went someplace with her today… to do something… in the end, she couldn't do it. And I don't know how to help her." A few tears escaped, and Marissa turned to look at Ryan.
Ryan shook his head, "I don't know what you're staying…"
"God, Ryan…," Marissa stood and began pacing, "she's my best friend, and she's always been there for me - she's the strong one, for God's sake! I keep asking myself, if this was the other way around, what would Summer be telling me? - But I don't know what she'd be telling me, she just had a way of fixing things, making me feel better. She'd always help me fix things, but I just can't help her fix this…" She finally stopped pacing and turned back to face Ryan, "help me fix her."
"Marissa, you are going to have to be more clear on what this is about?"
"Summer's pregnant."
Summer's pregnant. Ryan's world stopped.
"She wont tell me who the father is, all she says is it's not Seth. She's about two months gone, we went out of town today to get rid of it, only she couldn't go through with it."
Ryan was only vaguely listening, three months? He gulped, "the father…?"
"She really wont say. She said he's been through a lot in his life and he didn't need this, so she hasn't even told him. Apparently, things are finally going his way and she doesn't want to wreck his life. That's why… that's why she wanted to get rid of it."
Ryan was struck for words, Marissa was obviously waiting for something wise to come out the way she was looking at him. "What should I tell her?... She's broken, Ryan. This is Summer, the strongest person I know, and this is tearing her apart."
"Tell her, she needs to tell the guy."
"She wont, she's -"
Ryan cut in, "She needs to tell the guy."
Marissa sat down next to him and once again put her head in her hands, "I hope I can get her through this."
"Marissa, is that you?" Summer swung her bedroom door open, and seeing on who was at the other side of the door she stopped dead. "Ryan… hi."
"You're dad let me in." He stated, looking directly into her eyes. Marissa had been right, he could see it in her soul, she really was being torn apart.
She turned and went back into her room, "So, what do I owe this pleasure?"
Slowly he followed her in, "I thought you and Seth would have got back together by now."
"Don't tell me he's sent you to -"
"No, I just thought, y'know, Seth and Summer forever?"
Summer sat down on her bed, pulling her legs up to her chest and giving him the once over, he noticed her eyes were red and slightly puffy from crying.
"I guess I felt too guilty to ever be with him again, after what happened." She looked him straight in the eye for quite a long without saying anything.
Then to Ryan's surprise, she stood abruptly and turned away from, choking out a sob.
"Summer?" He took a few steps towards her, but she moved further away.
"So, Marissa's been talking to you has she?" Ryan didn't answer and a moment later, Summer turned around to face him again, anger now flashing in her teary eyes, "I thought she could keep a secret!"
"Don't make this about Marissa."
"Oh, Marissa, Marissa, Marissa!" Summer spat.
"She's your friend, she's concerned… she didn't know who she was telling."
"Yeah, she doesn't know what scum I am. To sleep with her ex boyfriend… Seth's fucking brother! And get herself knocked up!" Summer's voice lowered as another sob overcame her, "She didn't know she was telling you you're going to be a dad."
They stood like that for a long time before Ryan moved to the bed and took a seat. "So, Marissa said you couldn't go through with getting rid of it?"
"Why? Do you want me to get rid of it?" She asked, looking at him distastefully.
"Summer, that's not what I meant… How come you didn't come to me about this?"
"How could I? We said we'd never speak of what happened -"
"- I'm sure we could have made an exception."
Summer shrugged. "well, since I couldn't go through with today, I would've told you when I felt ready."
"You really would have done that, got rid of it and not told me?"
She shook her head, "I don't think I would have ever been able to get rid of it, I just tried 'cause, well, I wanted to get my life back. Marissa suggested it, I just saw it as… well, I don't know,… But, it's a life. It's my baby's life, I couldn't do that to my baby."
"Our baby."
"How can you be like this, Ryan? How can you be so calm?"
He shrugged, "I don't know… maybe it's not sunk in yet."
"I'm sorry I wasn't the one who told you, that you found out how you did. I'm sorry I didn't come to you when I first found out."
"I'm sorry I didn't put a condom on."
Summer snorted, and shot him a small smile, "'Cause that was an appropriate moment to have that revelation."
He smirked back at her, "made you smile, didn't it."
She smiled again, "I haven't smiled in a long time."
