The phone rang and rang and Marissa was just getting ready to leave a message when Julie finally answered.

"Marissa. How nice to hear from you. Are you still in Venice?"

" No mum. The Chanel shoot finished early. I'm back in Paris."

"So what's next? I hope that new manager of yours has you booked up. Need to keep those dollars, or Euros, I should say, flowing in"

"Well that is actually why I called. I've decided to take some time off and try something else."

"What? Why would you want to change what you are doing. Think of the glamorous lifestyle you lead. The travel, the money, the clothes and if you'd only say yes to Karl then you could have a handsome man in your bed as well."

"MUM ! How many times have I told you, I'm not interested in Karl. At least not that way. He is a friend and that's it. And I'm fed up with the travel and as for money, I have enough saved for 3 lifetimes since I never have any time to spend it."

"Well you can never have too much. Remember what happened when Caleb died. I don't ever want that to ever happen again."

"MUM !" Marissa was starting to get angry, she knew this conversation was going the same way that many had before. "I'm still going to be earning money, I'm just doing something different and staying in the same city for a few months."

Julie started to feel anxious, something just felt really bad about this conversation. "Okay. So what are you doing?"

"I've signed on for a role in a movie."

"But Marissa. You can't act"

"I act every day mum. How do you think they get photos of me smiling? ….And anyhow the part I play is a supermodel who gets kidnapped. I'm not one of the lead characters, the movie mostly concentrates on the ensuing hunt to try to find her and track down those responsible, so surely I should be able to make a reasonable go of it – getting into character shouldn't be too hard".

"Where is it being filmed?" Julie asked holding her breathe for the answer.

"Um… In Hollywood I think but maybe we have to film on location. I didn't actually ask" she stated. She knew exactly where it was being filmed but she also knew that it would set her mother off when she found out. For some reason Julie had an almost pathological fear about going back to Newport and that included LA. It was one of the things that had appealed to Marissa about the job. It meant she would have a chance to try to contact them all.

Julie started to panic. What could she do to make sure that Marissa never found out her secret. "I want you to promise me that you will not go to Newport and that you will not see him."

"Mum you know I can't promise that. It probably won't even happen. I could be just too busy with work and I suspect he definitely is. But if I do get the chance I would like to try to see Summer and maybe even Sandy and Kirsten….. but I don't even know whether they still live there."

"Perhaps I will come with you" Julie replied. She thought if she was there at least she could make sure that Marissa never got the opportunity to talk to him. "I'm sure Dan could do without me for a couple of weeks".

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm 25 years old and I can look after myself. You have a wedding to plan. You can't leave Dan to do that just to come and baby-sit me. Plus I'm expecting to be gone a few months."

"But what about the wedding? I need you here." Julie stated looking for any way that might keep Marissa from going.

"Mum. I'll promise I won't miss your wedding. I'll just fly back. "

"But Marissa. What about if you see him? He broke your heart. I still remember the nights when you cried yourself to sleep when he didn't reply to your emails. I don't want that to happen again"

"Mum. I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now. That was a long time ago." She tried to reassure Julie all the while thinking that she knew she still loved him or at least was still infatuated with him – not a day went by that she didn't think of him. But not for a minute did she think that he would be sitting waiting for her and she hoped that once she saw him and saw that he had moved on then maybe she would be able to also. "I have to go and get myself organised because I'm leaving at the end of the week."

"Where are you staying?" Julie asked.

"I'll let you know. The studio is organising it. By the way, I thought you'd be interested to know that the lead role is being played by Jake Hammond." Marissa added knowing Julie was a big fan and it might get her onto a different track.

"Oh. You lucky girl. You know if you play your cards right Marissa you could probably do well for yourself there. He is gorgeous and not married".

"Yeah that's because he usually has 2 or 3 women on the go at once. I'm afraid that is not the sort of man I'm after " she replied knowing exactly the sort she wanted but that she had left him behind years ago. "I'll give you a call when I get there. Bye Mum".

Julie placed the receiver back in its cradle and frowned. She really didn't know what to think. She wished that Marissa was not going back but she guessed she always knew that it would happen sometime. And she was almost certain that she would try to see him. Hell, if she'd known what he was going to make of himself then maybe she wouldn't have been so hell bent on keeping them apart. Who would have ever thought that he'd be a multi-millionaire in the space of 5 years? But it didn't matter anymore. What was important was that they never found out Julie's secret. She just didn't know how she could make sure that never happened.

As Summer opened the door of her apartment she could hear her phone ringing. She rushed in to the kitchen, grabbed it and flicked it open.

"Summer? Where have you been all day?"

"Sorry Cohen. I left my cell on the kitchen bench this morning after I was charging it and I just got home from work."

"Ah. I wondered why I hadn't been able to reach you all day. I'm on my way home and I just wondered if you want me to pick something up for dinner."

"Actually that would be great. I've had a really busy day with this new project. I'd just like to have an easy night vegeing out in front of the TV."

"Okay. What do you want?"

"Surprise me." She replied.

"Okay. I'll see you soon" Seth replied.

As Summer pressed the button to end the call she noticed she had 4 missed calls and 2 new messages. Three of the calls were from Seth but the last number was blocked. She connected to her voicemail and listened. The first message was from Seth looking for her. She deleted it and went on to the next, but as soon as she heard the voice, she reached for the stool to sit down before her knees buckled under her. She pressed replay on her voicemail to hear it again.

"Uh um Summ…it's me….I mean Marissa. Um….I know its been awhile but I'm coming home…..I mean to LA….and I'd like to catch up with you…if you still live there I guess….Anyhow, its nearly midnight here so I guess I'll try to call you again tomorrow. …Bye."

Summer sat there stunned.

It had been over 7 years since she had seen Marissa. She could still remember the last time they were together. The Fantastic Four had had dinner at the diner together one night. Marissa told them she was flying to New York the next day for a modelling contract. She was supposed to be gone for a week but she had never come back. As soon as one contract finished another started. Julie, who was Marissa's manager was lining them up back to back. She had tried to keep in touch for a few years but whilst Summer was studying and partying through college, Marissa was appearing on the front page of Vogue and travelling all over the world.

A number of times they had made plans to get together and see each other but Marissa had never showed. Something else more important always turned up. When Marissa had stopped replying to Summer's emails she figured that Marissa had just moved on.

Still… she couldn't wait for her to call back. She would like to catch up with her again and see how much she had changed. Summer didn't think they would ever go back to the way they were – it had been too easy for Marissa to just leave them all behind – but still it might be fun to have a famous supermodel as a friend.