The first few weeks of school went by quickly; it was especially quick for Skylar who loved school more than anything. Ryan would drop her off every morning, talk to Marissa for a little bit, leave then come back to pick her up and there would another story to tell about her day at school. He enjoyed every second of what she said, knowing that he was finally getting the hang of it. Skylar had seemed to be a lot better; she was talking a lot more was before. Little things like laughing, smiling and just playing outside in the backyard with the neighbors kids all made Ryan even fonder of Skylar.
It was already the beginning of October and Ryan's work had been in full spring, he had been communicating with his partners back in New York City. He even got a word in about possibly building another restaurant down in South Carolina, it wasn't a definite but he was hoping that it would become one; working in the house all day long was driving him insane.
Derek's parents had successfully sold their house and were in the process of buying a nice home right near Ryan and Skylar which would be great for Ryan just to have the help. They had been nothing but helpful with Skylar, Ryan wasn't sure what to buy her for clothes, but Mrs. Watson did and she sent tons of clothes for Skylar. Also Ryan wasn't sure what toys she would like, but Mr. Watson, so toys were always waiting to be opened on their doorstep.
Of course the hair situation was something to be worked on. Ryan had gotten better, but even by getting better; Skylar's hair still looked atrocious every single morning. But Ryan had help for that as well, Ryan would drop Skylar off a little early, go in with her, Marissa would do her hair and go and play, leaving the rest of the time for Ryan and her to talk.
In those few weeks that they talked daily, Ryan learned many things about Marissa and her life. He learned that she was originally from Seattle, Washington where her parents still live. She had gone to Stanford University in California. She decided she wanted to be a teacher when she was a freshman in college and worked hard through Stanford, graduating 12th in the entire class. She ended up living in Charleston because one of her best friends in college had said that she needed a roommate, Marissa, always wanting to experience new things, packed up and moved to Charleston and got her job. Her favorite color is red; her favorite ice cream is black raspberry. She loves Hootie and the Blowfish, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and John Mayer. She had been working at her current position for two years now and loved it from day one. She lives in a Condominium alone, considering her best friend moved into an apartment with her boyfriend about a year before, so she moved out of the apartment into a beautiful Condo by herself and she was single. There were so many more things he could say about her but knew he'd never stop.
Ryan seemed to like Marissa more and more every day, everything he learned about her just made her so much more interesting in his eyes. Although he had never had the courage to call her phone, he found himself looking at the number more and more every day, hoping that he'd find that bravery one of these days.
It had been a long day for Ryan and all he wanted was to go to bed, he had tucked Skylar in a couple hours ago and was sitting on the couch watching television. He stood up and went to his bedroom, slowly stripping himself of his clothing and getting into bed with sweatpants and a wifebeater on. He hadn't remembered a night where falling asleep was so easy.
A few hours later, Ryan awoke to the sound of someone screaming, he sat up quickly, trying to listen. He heard the scream again and jumped out of bed and ran down the hallway to Skylar's bedroom, he ran into the room where Skylar was tossing and turning in her bed, crying and screaming in her sleep. He sat on the bed and held her close, "Skylar baby, wake up…come on sweetie, wake up, it's just a dream" he said and she slowly stopped her untamed actions. Her screaming lowered to a soft whimpering and crying, he held her until she opened her eyes and looked up at Ryan.
"I want my mommy and daddy" she whimpered and started balling once again. Ryan sat helpless on the bed, holding Skylar as she whimpered and asked for her mommy and daddy. Ryan looked around the room for her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal, he retrieved the stuff animal and gave it to Skylar who just pushed the stuffed animal away and started crying even louder. Ryan was powerless and didn't know what to do, he stood up and ran to his room where he grabbed the piece of paper from his nightstand grabbed his cell phone. It was only three in the morning so he hoped this would work.
He dialed the number and held the phone against his ear and prayed that the phone would be answered. "Hello" a sleepy voice answered, Ryan sighed in relief, "Marissa it's me Ryan" he said urgently. "What's wrong? Is it Skylar?" Marissa asked hearing his tone. "Yeah it is, I don't know what to do…she's screaming and crying from a nightmare and she won't stop…would you come over? Maybe she'll calm down if you're here" Ryan asked, hoping that she'd say yes.
"Of course…I'll be over in a couple minutes" she said and hung up the phone. Ryan went back to the bedroom where she was still crying in her bed, clutching Winnie the Pooh to her chest. He sat on the bed and kissed the top of her head, holding her close to him and tried to soothe her. It was only a few minutes before he heard knocking at the door; he picked a crying Skylar up and brought her downstairs to the door.
Marissa stood with a sad smile on her face with sweatpants and a t-shirt on, in that moment, with her saving him in the middle of night, he knew that this woman was so much better than he could ever imagine. He opened the door and she came into the house, "hey Skylar" Marissa whispered and Skylar turned to see her, finding it a time to cry harder. Marissa sympathetically and held out her arms, Skylar jumped into her arms and nested her head on her shoulder.
With all the lights off, Marissa could barely see anything, so she brought Skylar over to what she thought was the living room and sat down with her. Marissa rubbed her hand up and down Skylar's back. "It's okay sweetie…I'm right here and your Uncle Ryan is right in the other room if we need him" Marissa said sweetly to Skylar. Skylar nodded her head, "I just want my mommy and daddy" Skylar whispered. "I know you do" Marissa said.
Skylar pulled back from her shoulder and stared at Marissa "why did my parents leave Miss Cooper?" Skylar asked. Marissa started to stroke her long dark hair, "sometimes things happen that we can' control…and you're parents leaving is one of those things" Marissa said. She heard Skylar take a deep breath, "I don't understand" Skylar said. Marissa smiled and kissed her forehead, "its okay…well you remember at the end of the Winnie the Pooh book when Christopher Robin has to go to boarding school?" Marissa asked. Skylar nodded her head, "yeah…I didn't like that part…he was supposed to stay with Winnie the Pooh" Skylar said softly.
Marissa felt tears come to her eyes, "yes…he was, but Christopher Robin leaving at the end is just like your parents, its something they couldn't stop and had no control over" Marissa said. Skylar nodded her head and leaned back down to Marissa's shoulder, they sat quietly for a few minutes. "Miss Cooper" Skylar said and Marissa turned to her, "do you think Winnie the Pooh ever saw Christopher Robin again?" she asked. Marissa tried to smile through the tears that were building, "I do…I do think that" Marissa said. Skylar smiled, "then maybe I'll see my mommy and daddy" she said. Marissa smiled and kissed her forehead once more, "I think you will" Marissa said gently.
After Skylar got comfortable in her arms, it only took a few minutes before she fell back asleep. Marissa stood up and softly placed her on the couch, pulling the blanket from the top of the couch and softly laying it over Skylar's body. Marissa watched Skylar for a minute, wondering how a little girl like her could have so much strength and so much belief after everything that had happened. "Good night Skylar" Marissa whispered and left the living room; she heard someone down the hall and followed that hallway to what was the kitchen. Ryan sat down at the table with a cup of water in front in him. He looked up at her and she smiled at him, he smiled weakly back at him and she moved over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him.
"How is she?" Ryan asked as he looked up at her. Marissa leaned back against her seat, "she's asleep…I put her down on the couch…she just wore herself out" Marissa said softly and Ryan nodded. They were silent, Ryan could barely keep his thoughts straight while Marissa sat, wondering if he was okay. "I knew this would happen" Ryan said, Marissa stared at him, encouraging him to go on, "she was fine when it happened…she was too okay…and I knew it would finally hit her and she'd break down…that's what I did when my dad died" Ryan said softly. Marissa moved her hand to rest on his and he smiled in appreciation at her.
"This is something she needed Ryan, she doesn't know what's going on…she needed to do this…just so she could move on" Marissa said gently as she rubbed Ryan's hand back and forth. Ryan looked up at her, "I woke up in the middle of the night and I heard screaming, I ran to her bedroom thinking that she was being hurt, but she was by herself. She was screaming and crying in her sleep, she was tossing and turning" he said as he looked out the window. "I tried to calm her down but it just seemed to make it worse" Ryan said simply.
Marissa moved towards him and placed a hand on his cheek, trying to get his attention, "this isn't your fault…you can't blame yourself. You can only do so much Ryan." Ryan stared intently at her face, watching her lips as they spoke, trying to soak in everything she was saying. "Don't let this make you think you're doing everything wrong because you're not…you're doing an amazing job. I think your sister would be so proud to see you now" Marissa said softly. Ryan stared at her, feeling tears come to his own eyes, "Thank you" he whispered to her.
They stayed silent as they stared into each others eyes, with Marissa's hand still rested firmly on Ryan's smooth cheek. "Lauren…that's my sisters name" he said softly as he slowly grabbed her hand that was rested on his cheek and held it in his own. "Her husbands name was Derek; they had been driving home from dinner. They got rear-ended by a drunk driver and hit a tree" Ryan said softly. Marissa held his hands tightly as she held back strong tears. Ryan looked away towards the window, "when I read her will…I thought it was some kind of joke. I mean why would she pick me?" he said softly, asking the question more to himself than anyone else.
"Because she trusts you, she knew that you'd be able to take of Skylar and do what was best for her" she said. Ryan turned to her, not expecting her to say those words, "why do you think I can do it?" he asked. He didn't think he could do, so why should anyone else? It didn't make any sense to him for how she could believe in him. "Because you're doing it already Ryan…a child is something so special and precious, your sister wouldn't have chosen you if she thought that you wouldn't be able to handle it. She knew you could, and personally, I'm going to trust what a mother thinks" Marissa said with a warm smile. He soaked in every word she spoke, deciding to trust her, he needed someone to believe in him and he was thankful it was Marissa.
Ryan stared into her eyes, not understanding how someone like her could be here, she was so beautiful, so smart, funny, and kind…kind beyond words. He lifted his hand slowly and placed it on her cheek, her breathing became heavy and she moved closer to him. Ryan brought her in and brushed his lips against hers, and there it was, the spark, the spark he felt the first time he saw her. Marissa leaned into him and kissed him again, allowing him to glide his hand down her cheek to the base of her neck to pull her in to him. She placed her hand on his chest, wanting to feel more of him, but found that it was even harder that way.
She pulled away from his lips, breathing deeply; she knew it was wrong; he was the parent of one of her students. But why did something so wrong have to feel so right? She had wanted to kiss him for a long time but now that it was happening, all she felt was guilt. Guilt for things he didn't understand or know about, something he may never get the chance to know about. Ryan stared confused, had he done something wrong? She had kissed him back so it couldn't be that. "I should go" she said softly as she stood up from the chair. Ryan stood up as well, "why? Do I do something wrong?" Ryan asked as he came closer to her. Marissa took another step back, which caused him to flinch, "no you didn't do anything…I just can't…I'm not ready to do this" she said. Ryan nodded his head, "I'm sorry Ryan…I want to be ready but there are things you don't know about me that I'm not ready to tell you yet…I like you Ryan, a lot…but I just can't right now" she said as her lip started quivering and tears sprung to her eyes. "I'm sorry Ryan" she said as she left the kitchen and the house in a hurry. Ryan walked out through the hallway and onto the porch to see her car already pulling out of the driveway and onto the street.
He sat down on the front steps as he watched her tail lights go down the street and thought about how something that had started off so nicely ended up completely awful. She had said that there were things he didn't know, but they both had things that the other didn't know, so he didn't understand why it bothered her to that extent. He ran a hand over his face and stood up; he went back into the house and into the living room. He watched Skylar sleep and carefully picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. Ryan placed her in her bed, covered her with a blanket, kissed her forehead and left the room. He trudged down the hallway to his bedroom and laid right down on his bed, wondering how in such a short time, he was falling asleep to the thoughts of Marissa Cooper.