A/N Okay here's the next chapter I really hope you like it and will R/R. All constructive criticisms are always accepted.
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Ryan walked back through into the kitchen slowly, still without having opened what he'd just received. "What's that?" Seth inquired.
Ryan looked up at the four at the table who had been watching his every move, "Uh…delivery just came for me…I don't know…" he said confused.
"I feel sorry for those FedEx guys; have to work Christmas eve and all." Summer vocalized.
"Who's it from, sweetie?" Kirsten asked.
"Not really sure. There are no details on the sender."
"Well come on, open it man." Seth encouraged unable to hide his intrigue.
"Seth!" Summer reprimanded. "He may like some privacy."
"He doesn't even know what it is or where it's from."
"Can I be excused?" Ryan asked quietly hoping to get sometime alone to consider what this may be.
"Sure kid…" Sandy answered. Ryan nodded slightly and left them all at the table walking back towards the pool house.
The table fell eerily silent after all their recent loud chatter. All of them had been curious as to what Ryan may have had with him; none more curious than Seth of course. "Maybe I should-"
"No you won't" Summer said slicing through her boyfriends attempts to interrupt his brother. "Come on Cohen, help me clear."
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Walking into his room he locked the door behind him and switched light on. Sitting down on his bed he stared down at the parcel and began tearing at the brown paper. Slowly he peeled it back and was greeted with another layer of plain red wrapping paper. Without a clue he pondered the candidates who knew where he was and would even think to send him something. His mom, Trey, Theresa…still leaving the red wrapping unharmed the brown paper fell to the ground. A tag was taped on the side, as he only now noticed. A simple white tag that read 'Open me."
Curiosity had gotten the better of him and he tore open the plain metallic-red wrapping paper to reveal a branding of 'Motorola' across the front. Had he won something? He hadn't remembered entering anything. Ryan thought to himself anxious to know who would think to give him a cell phone. He held onto the box and hadn't moved from his position. He looked up and stared blankly at the television, lost in his endless wonderings until a muffled ringing sound could be heard from inside the box. He immediately shot his gaze back down, taken aback, and almost a little worried. Should he answer it?
The ringing ceased to disappear and he knew the only way to stop it was to open it. Ryan carefully pulled at the tabs on its side and lifted the box lid open. Sure enough was a brand new phone complete with its instruction manuals and extra fittings. The screen was lighting up with a private caller and he grew wary, still contemplating on whether to answer it. It was undoubtedly strange that this phone had already been set up to receive calls. Not only that, but someone had already known the number before even he did.
He gave in not wanting to be intimidated. "Hello?" Ryan asked, and his voice cracking.
The caller on the other end immediately hung up, and Ryan glared back at the fading screen. As the light died it immediately glowed in a split second, revealing an incoming message from an unknown sender.
It read, 'Who am I? Whoever you want me to be…And whenever we need to talk you always know where to find me...'
A smile formed on his face and completely struck with disbelief. In his logical thinking, he knew only one person that this line drew relevance to. Could it be? His heart was pounding at the thought of the person he was sure this message came from. He sat motionless as too many thoughts rushed through his system; unable to grab hold of one and run with it. Without thinking he followed his instincts, leading him to a place the held a good part of their emotions embedded into its structure. Leaving everything behind, he left, unsure of what he would find, but knew it had everything to do with the one person he was looking for.
Stepping back into the main house he found the four of them had been sitting in the family room and immersed in a DVD. "Hey buddy…care for a little 'The Princess Bride', mom chose it, what can you do…" Seth said from his position on the lounge.
"Actually, I need to step out quickly. Do you mind if I borrow the car?"
"Yeah, is everything alright?" Kirsten asked on instinct.
"Yeah, I just…need to get out for a bit."
"Okay, keys are on the counter. Take care of yourself." She added.
"I will. I'll be back soon." With that, Ryan left.
"Poor guy", Sandy remarked after he'd gone well aware of Marissa's absence being an issue for him.
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The night was perfect. The breeze was the right temperature he'd grown accustomed to while living there. The stars dangled in the sky as if mapping out routes on a page. It was cloudless even on this winter night and the sea could be heard from a distances as it kissed the sand. All of Ryan's rational thought had been thrown out the window. The possibilities of something happening like this were slim, but yet he felt rejuvenated by the small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Was she there? Was it actually possible that she would be sitting there? Was it possible that he would walk up the ramp and find her there with her dried tears as he had done so on many reclusive nights? It was nearing on impossible, but it was those words on the screen, the words only she would know and have it mean something to both of them that forced him out of that room and onto this winding road.
Everyone, Every singer and every song…
He came to a stop. Switching the car off he took a deep breath and looked out onto the sands where the lone lifeguard stand stood. He took a deep breath. Was this really happening? Was he really hoping to find her miraculously sitting there? Ryan got out of the car and placed the car keys in his pocket. The thin air floated past him a brought him closer and closer as he trudged through the shore. If it weren't the waves that could be heard, it was silence and nothing else. He was on the approach and only a few feet away. Butterflies flew on his insides, completely nervous as to what he may find. Keeping his head down, he waited until he was at the foot of the ramp, wondering if when he looked up he would see her beautiful face or stare at an empty tower. Ryan saw neither. What sat in her usual place was another package; wrapped up in the same metallic-red that the phone had come in.
Carefully walking up the wooden boards that creaked with his applied weight, he sat down and took hold of the small and inconspicuous item. Taking it in his hands he strategically tore the paper to find a plain velvet box. Opening it gently was another tag; again identical to the last one. It sat right on top of a beautiful watch and he was caught off guard. 'Flip me.' The tag instructed, and he did as it had suggested. He found a small note attached to the back of the cushion where the wristwatch was resting upon.
Ryan read aloud to himself, 'Time there is so little, and I refuse to keep letting it go wasted…Do you know what we haven't done in a while?'
Another smile appeared on his face knowing now for sure that it had been Marissa that would be behind all this. He drew his memory back to that day he spoke those words to her. They stood out on the pier looking out onto the world. After their short time a part they reignited their love with a simple gesture. Keeping her close to him he remembered what it was like to hold her. Ryan got up and took everything with him back to the car. Knowing exactly where he would go next. He didn't know how far Marissa was willing to take him, but he knew if she was at the end of the journey, there would be nothing better than that; he would follow as long as she was calling out to him to find her.
The slits in the boards under him were like previews into the waters below. The wind blew and carried the sounds from the Bait Shop they used to go to as high school teenagers not too long ago. Ryan wasn't really sure what he would find at the end of this walk but he had faith she wouldn't let him go astray. Sure enough at the end of the pier was another gift for him at the base of small light post where you could easily pass the object if you hadn't been looking for it. Walking closer he took it in his grasp and brought himself to a nearby bench. It was rather heavy, heavier than the previous two and was rather odd in shape.
Opening the third parcel with the same red wrapping, he cautiously handled a large snow globe. It was beautiful, it wasn't one of those miniscule ones you'd find with little detailing, it was ornate and it housed within its glass walls, the San Francisco bay area. Examining it further it had all the key elements within it that meant something to him. The Victorian houses along Alamo Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, the sloping streets and the trams running into the Union Square courtyards. The amount of work put into this was breathtaking. The base was an intricately carved ceramic that had been varnished. There was a small cutout section where another layer of carved scenery sat behind it.
Everyone, Every lover who's lovers gone…
A knob to its right with a small key had another attached tag that instructed, 'Turn me'. He wound the key a few times and soft music began to play. The layer behind the cutout section began to turn and it was like a moving image that played out the San Francisco skyline. Almost at its end, the music stopped and the ceramic city stopped turning. Right where it had stopped it revealed a small note that had been purposefully attached which was partly unfolded out through the open sector. He took hold of it and read.
'In all the world, the one thing I'm most grateful for…is you.' He read on, 'Sometimes to find what we're looking for, we have to go back to the beginning…'
Bringing the note and the globe with him whilst throwing out the paper in a nearby garbage can, his emotions went into overdrive at the thought of her. Walking back down to the car he headed for the last place this would take him.
He had almost expected her to be in the Cohen driveway as he arrived and parked the car, but that was too obvious. All the house lights had been off and Summer had obviously left as her dad's car was no longer there; they all must have called it an early night. In the late hour the Cohen house had gone back to sleep to wake up into a Christmas morning. With calculated steps he tried not to make a sound as he went around the side and back to where he started. The pool house light was almost identical to when he had left it, only now he could see through the pulled down curtains a small light that seemed to stream from his bedside table.
His heart was thumping and he felt tingles circling around his heart. It was now or never, and he chose now. Slowly he pushed down on the handle and guided the door open; his state of mind going into complete shock. Although he was almost expecting this, it hadn't made him anymore prepared.
She stood up and faced him, "Sorry I'm late…"
It's a soothing delight, and it's moving my life…
He looked at her, his heart breaking, catching sight of her tear stained face. The room was quiet and time stopped as they stood there immobile. He could hear himself breathing and his heart rate quicken as it erratically pulsated. There she was. The beautiful blonde haired girl he had fallen in love with. "You're just in time…" He said speaking the immortal words.
They both hadn't moved an inch. She began to speak upon this silent night, "I was scared…I didn't know how to face you after everything I had said and I didn't know what to say to you after everything that you had said. I ran, I turned away and for that I guess…I'm sorry." Her tears were once more beginning to form, "But I can't do it…"
'Can't' was the word that was scaring him the most right now, echoing on his insides.
"I can't run away from you."
His tensed up muscles rested and he could breathe again that she hadn't followed up her sentence with something that was sure to break his heart. "And I don't want you to." He spoke up, his voice slightly shaking.
She stood there like a meek child, "Since our argument…I was lost. I didn't know how to feel. I thought giving us some more space was what we needed, but what I really needed was already flying home to Newport."
"I was hurt, by the fact that you must've hated me so much that you couldn't even bring yourself to come home with us. But I understood." The room began to fade as he answered, with only her in his sights.
"I could never hate you. Loving you isn't a curse that I'm burdened with. I choose to love you. I want you to know that." She said as she sniffed and took a breath before continuing. "I'm sorry…for everything…for things I said…for shutting you out."
Everyone, every sinner and every saint…
The pieces of his heart slowly crumbling at her apologies, knowing that through all of this she was the one standing there reaching out to him; doing all she could to mend their frayed relationship, knowing that he should be the one to be in her position making the grand gestures and confessing his regrets. "Hey, I don't want you to be sorry okay…" Ryan said as he face soon felt flushed. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm the one that needs to be sorry. I'm sorry for letting you go, for making you think that I don't love you…because I do. Despite my actions, I love you, I'm always going to love you, and that's not just going to go away." He smiled at her through the light tears that began to stream down their faces by their own will.
She gave him a half smile as she remembered her choice of words that day in the rain. "So what do you think…Ryan and Marissa…star crossed lovers or better off just friends…"
"Destined to be together…" he finished off for her. "I don't always make the right choices, but loving you is the one thing I'm sure of. I can only hope I never make you doubt that…"
She began to cry freely at his words and through her tears kept her eyes staring back at him. He watched her and every fiber in his being wanted nothing more than to rush over to her and comfort her. So through his own tears and following his heart it led him closer to her until they were mere breaths away. He did what he could and wiped her sadness, hoping that it would lessen the hurt and the pain that resided within her.
He cupped her face and drew her eyes forth as they both stood staring into each other; fixated and becoming enraptured in only the other. Ryan held her face in that position and she closed her eyes as she shuddered at his touch.
Everything, every picture and lick of paint…
Opening her eyes she met his gaze as he fell into a reverie, wanting this moment to be perfect. The tension built up in between them until no longer being able to hold in what they both had been wanting so desperately.
Everyday, every sunrise and starry night…
Brushing his lips against hers, he waited until she responded and their physical gestures were being reciprocated. In an instant his lips burnt into hers and the passion they had held in for so long was releasing itself through the melding of their palettes. He ran his fingers through her hair as she held onto the sides of his protective arms, drawing him closer to her.
its so cold cold yeah beautiful…
All the harbored emotions, the anger, the sadness, the tears, were all melting away with every second. Ryan broke away and trailed kisses from her mouth, down her neck, across her collar bone and onto her shoulders.
everybody knows that life can be wonderful…
She pulled at his shirt and he backed off a moment for her to pull it over his head and threw it away directionless. He returned to her neck and eased the zipper down her embroidered top and took hold of its sides, pulling it up over her head and discarding of it in a similar fashion. They let their lips find each other once more as they fell back onto his bed.
its a soothing delight…
The room became heated and through their dried tears they stripped each other of all other materials, letting them drop to the floor. Lying enveloped in and clothed by only each other amongst the salted sweat. They became swept up into the desperate moments and in wanting only the person before them they became one as he entered her. Their bodies in smooth collision as their paces went in flux, going through the motions and professing their love to the sounds of unheard rhythms. The lights went out, and darkness fell once more from the clear skies, the two no longer lost. All was right the moment they found each other, knowing exactly where they needed to be…
and its moving my life
its a soothing delight
and its moving my life
its a soothing delight
and its moving my life
its a soothing delight
and its moving my life…
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A/N This song was 'Play' by Flunk. I know you shouldn't be putting lyrics really so I thought I'd credit it because I really think this post in particular would just be better if I included the song I wanted for this scene.