Seth walked in the door with the food and dropped it on the kitchen bench. He walked into the lounge where Summer sat looking through old photo albums.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Just taking a trip down memory lane. You'll never guess who I heard from today."

"Who?"

"Marissa !"

"Who?" Seth looked vacantly at Summer knowing full well who she meant.

"Marissa – you dumb ass - as in Cooper."

"Whoa. That's a blast from the past. What did she want?"

"I don't really know. She just left a message saying that she was coming here and that she would like to catch up. She is supposed to be calling back tomorrow."

"So is this good news or bad? I mean you took it pretty hard when she took off, I don't want you getting hurt again." Seth suggested.

"Yeah. I know what you mean……. but sitting here, looking at these photos….I mean we had something special going on back then. I guess I'm interested to see just what she's been up to and if there is any of the old Marissa left."

"Well just be careful. She may have turned into another Julie and we definitely don't need that in our lives."

"I will ……. But for now let's eat" she replied closing up the album and making her way back into the kitchen.

"So how's the new project looking?" he asked.

"I wasn't so sure about it to start off with. I mean I sort of fell into this job thanks to you and I didn't really like the last one, but I think this is going to be good." she smiled as she thought back to how her life had unfolded.

Seth had persisted with Atomic County and had managed to get it published in the third year of college and it had been an instant success. So much so, that they had made it into a movie, and Seth had managed to get Summer the job of costume designer and Ryan the job of set designer. Summer had been doing fashion design at college and had thought that she would end up working in some fashion house spending years trying to get her designs noticed but with this position she could let her imagination run wild, and she loved it. After Atomic County, the studio had offered her a go at a sci-fi movie they were doing which was a huge success and since then it had been just one movie after another.

"A lot of the clothes will be just street clothes but… the woman that gets kidnapped is supposed to be a supermodel and there are a few scenes with her on the catwalk, so I figure I can have a bit of fun with those outfits."

"That's good, I know you didn't like that war movie you did, but this sounds like it will be a bit more up you're alley." Seth replied as he picked up another piece of pizza. He stood up to go and get some more drinks when he stopped dead and looked back at Summer.

"I wonder if he knows?"

Ryan looked up from the plans in front of him as his phone disturbed him. He grabbed it and looking at the called id smiled as he answered. "Hey. What's up?"

"Hey. Where are you? Still at work?" Seth asked.

"Yeah. Why what time is it?" Ryan asked.

"After 9 man. Maybe you should get a life."

"I have a life Seth and it keeps me very busy." Ryan smiled to himself. He and Seth had this conversation at least a couple of times a week. "Now, was that all you were calling me for? Cause if so, I have some plans and cost estimates that I need to finish up before I can go home."

"No. Don't you dare hang up on me? I just wanted to know if you had any unusual calls today?" Seth asked.

"No. Why? Should I?" Ryan wondered what Seth was up to.

"Not necessarily I guess, but Summer did."

"What some sort of heavy breather, it was probably you, so just own up now." Ryan chuckled thinking about his 2 best friends.

"Very funny. I don't think you will be quite so smart when you hear who it was." Seth suggested.

"Okay I'll bite. Who was it?" Ryan asked.

"No - too easy. You have to guess" Seth stated.

"Seth I'm a busy man."

"Awww. Just 3 guesses. If you don't get it, then I will tell you."

"Okay. Her dad, Sandy, Kirsten" Ryan replied trying to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

"No. Not even close. Try again."

"Seth I've had my 3 guesses just spill."

"No. Just try again. I'll even give you a hint. Think someone from way back…….. like school days."

"Seth…." Ryan was losing patience.

"Aw come on just 3 more"

"Umm Zac, Luke, Anna." Ryan replied.

"No. Try again"

"Seth … either just tell me or I'll hang up. I've got things to do."

"Oh okay. Marissa!"

"Whoa…Who…What?" Ryan stammered.

"Yeah that's what we thought man"

"What did she want?" Ryan asked trying to slow his breathing as his heart had raced at the mention of her name.

"Well summer didn't talk to her. She had left her cell at home today. But there was a message from Marissa saying she was coming to LA and wanted to see her or us. Actually I'm not sure which, but that she would call her again tomorrow. I just thought she might have called you or that you would at least like to know."

"Yeah … thanks" Ryan stated as he hung up.

Now he knew who the message was from. A few hours ago he had returned from the bathroom and noticed that he had missed a call. The number was blocked and when he had tried to listen to the message he couldn't make out what was said. It seemed odd and so he had actually kept it. He picked up his phone again and replayed it.

"Uh Hi………Uh….I ……..never mind" was all he could make out.

SHE was coming back.

He swivelled around in his chair and stared out of the window at the lights of the skyscrapers in front of him but all he could think of was Seth's phone call.

He hadn't seen her since Senior year when Julie whisked Marissa away to become the family bread winner. The parting had been hard but at the time there didn't seem to be any other alternatives. They had kept in touch for a while but then it just all fell apart.

He still remembered New Years Eve of final year of college. They had made plans to spend the holidays at the Cohen's but when he had got to Newport she had called and cancelled saying that she needed to stay in New York for a big job Julie had signed her up for.

He had been missing her so much, he decided that he would hop on a plane and go and spend New Years Eve with her as a surprise. He even let Julie know that he was coming to make sure Marissa didn't go out anywhere before he got there. He still remembered how excited he was when getting off the plane thinking about seeing her again only to be met by Julie telling him that Marissa was on a plane to London.

He was devastated. Julie had offered to put him up for a few days but he had decided to just change his ticket and take the next plane home. Julie actually even stayed and talked to him while he was waiting for his flight. She explained that she thought Marissa had moved on with her life and that she didn't think she thought about him in the same way anymore. Too much time had passed and Marissa's life was now somewhere else.

Whilst on the plane home, Ryan thought about what Julie said, but didn't want to believe it, so he had spent the flight home writing Marissa a letter, telling her how he felt and what she meant to him and asking her if she still felt the same way and he posted it when he got off the plane. When he returned home he tried to call her and sent her emails to try to find out where they stood but her phone never answered and she didn't reply to her emails, so he figured Julie had been right. He had too much pride to keep trying so he just gave up.

He'd gone back to college and tried to move on. He'd spent every weekend out partying. Drinking and sleeping around but never with the same girl twice. He'd given his heart away once and he would not ever do that again.

The only good thing to come out of it all was that he had concentrated hard on making something out of himself. Somehow he felt that she had got carried away by all her successes and he figured that if he was successful then she might regret what she had done.

Working on Atomic County the movie with Set and Summer during the last year of college had been fun, but more importantly he'd realised that he was good at what he did. The studio had offered him a permanent job but he had decided that it wouldn't be enough for him. He was happy to act as a consultant for them whenever they were having problems, and still did, but he knew he wanted more.

Working with them had given him the confidence to start his own business.

So when he graduated he had started a small design business with Kirsten and Sandy's support. He wouldn't take money from them but they went guarantor on the business loan that he started out with and they helped with all the legal and business side of things. He began designing McMansions in Newport and very quickly got a name for himself for his flair and ingenuity. He took some risks that had all paid off.

He decided that to get in to the market he needed something special - so he'd price houses at just above cost with bonuses for being on time and under budget. It had proved to be a winner. The rich Newport buyers hadn't got rich by throwing their money away but they were all more than happy to reward excellence when they could see what they were paying for. All that time on construction sites had finally paid off. Not only were his designs interesting and imaginative but he had a real knack for business that was totally unexpected. He figured it was because where he came from you were always careful with your money so he was always looking for ways to get the best deal for his clients. It had been the basis for him getting a big slice of the market and Atwood Industries was now known for it all across the country. People were even prepared to wait up to a year if they wanted one of Ryan's personal custom made designs.

He had been coerced by a few good clients into branching out into some commercial developments and had even done a couple of holiday resorts but without doubt the last year had been his most rewarding. He had built Atwood Industries up with handpicked staff that were carrying the company to even bigger and better things. He had already made a small fortuneso money was no longer a problem and it meant he could back off a little and spend time setting up something that he had been thinking about for a while.

With Sandy's help, he had started a branch of Atwood industries that specialised in low-cost housing. Not only that, but any profits made from the division went straight to a training division he had set up which picked up kids in similar circumstances to what he had been in and gave them a trade. They were then employed by his construction division and it was already starting to make a difference in some of the lower income areas where it was operating. It was amazing how different kids would behave when they could see that if they worked hard they could have a real future. He really hoped that it would make a difference.

Professionally things could not have been better and for him that's all there was. Except for his family. He had work, Sandy, Kirsten, Seth and Summer and that's all he needed. He knew exactly where he stood with them. He would do anything for them and they would do likewise for him. He knew he could always count on them.

He sat and thought to himself. He didn't need her coming back and upsetting the balance of his life when he had finally got it together. Sure she was still the last thing he thought of when he went to bed at night and the first thing he thought of in the morning but he had finally managed to put her out of his thoughts during the day and he didn't know if he'd be able to do that with her in the same city. Why had she tried to call him?

Maybe he was not quite as over her as he thought.

He picked up his phone and keys and turned out the lights of the office.

There was no way he would be getting anymore work done tonight.