Chapter 6

As Ryan walked into the door at his new, temporary home he was greeted by his grandmother. "Ryan! Dear, where have you been?" She asked him. "It's almost 7 o'clock"

"I was with a friend." He told her.

"Oh, you've made a friend already… what's his name?"

"Her name is Marissa" He told her.

"Well alright dear. So, how was therapy? Isn't she such a nice woman?"

"Huh, who?" He asked her. "Who was a nice woman? Marissa?" He thought to himself.

"Your therapist, Mrs. Cohen" She said, shaking her head slightly.

"Oh right. She's nice" He told her

"That's nice" She told him. "Wait, did I tell you that she called?"

"Busted" He, silently, told himself. "Okay, I didn't go" He said and as she was about to speak he cut her off. "I was going to, but when I was there, in the waiting room, I just couldn't," He trailed off. "but I'll go next week"

"Well, that's good to hear," She said, "but she said you could go tomorrow. Someone cancelled on her so you're going to take their time"

"Fine"

"Alright, now that that's settled… who's Marissa?"

"I met her at the diner yesterday and then I saw her again today at therapy…" He trailed off. "I don't know her last name… but I know that her parents are split, and her mom's originally from Riverside, I think… And she also told me that you were a friend of her grandmothers"

"Jane Cooper's granddaughter?" She asked him. He just shrugged his shoulders. "I thought she looked familiar last night, but I couldn't put my finger on it" She trailed off, smiling. "So, are you guys, what, friends?"

"Yeah… I guess" He said.

"Well, she's a lovely girl. So beautiful, too" She said. "Don't you think so?"

"Yeah, I guess… I don't know." He lied. Of course he thought she was beautiful, how could he not?

"I haven't seen her in years," She told him. "but I know she's been through much… with her parents separating and then the incident down in Mexico…"

"What happened in Mexico?"

"Oh dear. I shouldn't have said anything… I'm sure she'll tell you if she wants you to know" She rambled on. "I don't even know enough about it." She added. Ryan just shook his head.

"I'm gonna go in my room… stare at the wall or something" He told her, starting to walk away.

"But aren't you gonna eat?" She called out to him.

He stopped for a second, turned around and told her: "I already ate" And with that he walked into his room.

As Marissa had dropped Ryan off at his grandmothers house she drove off to her own house. Going in through the expensive door on the biggest mansion in whole Newport she was met by her mom who had a look of annoyance written on her face.

"Where the hell have you been?" Julie asked her, annoyingly. "And don't even try and lie your way out of it and say you were at therapy 'cause Kirsten called me and apparently you didn't show up for your appointment" She added

"I was with a… friend" Marissa said. He was her friend, right?

"A friend?" Julie said, not believing her. "Marissa, you don't have friends. You haven't had any friends since you swallowed all those pills down in Mexico last year"

"Sure I have friends—" She started when her mother cut her off.

"And don't tell me you were hanging out with that gay boy"

"Unbelievable" She said, rolling her eyes. "And no, I was not hanging out with Seth"

"Anyway… why didn't you go to your therapy appointment?"

"Like I said… I didn't feel like it so I decided to hang out with Ryan instead"

"Yeah, I'm sure you were." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Caleb and I are filing for a divorce" She said, with no sad feeling what so ever.

"Oh, so that's why you're so sad" She sarcastically replied.

"Funny. But we get to keep the house, so you don't have to like pack your things" She said as she started to walk away. Then she got this perfect idea and turned around. "You should invite this Ryan boy over, I have to meet him" She said with a slight grin on her face, thinking he wasn't real.

"Like I would want him to suffer through a visit with you, no thanks" Marissa told her, starting to walk away in the other direction.

"Of course you wouldn't, cause he's not real" Julie said, with an evil grin on her face.

"Fine. I'll call him now and ask him to come over" Marissa said, grinning back at her mother and walking away.