hey everyone. sorry its been so long. hope you like it anyways.


Chapter 7: The News

Marissa awoke the next morning to the aroma of breakfast cooking. She could smell bacon and eggs along with various other things; the scent of the food seeping in through the crack under the door.

Sitting up in the bed, Marissa was startled by her surroundings. It took her a few seconds to figure out where she was, not at all remembering going to sleep there.

She desperately needed to go to the bathroom, but had absolutely no idea where it was. Not wanting to let Ryan know she was up, at least until she had made herself half presentable, Marissa searched through her bag to find something to wear. Whilst searching, she found her phone and saw it was still switched off. She thought about turning it on for a second, but realised she still wasn't ready to talk to anyone from home yet. Placing her phone on the bed, she grabbed her toiletries and the towel Ryan had left out for her to use before quietly opening the bedroom door and creeping out into the hallway.

Walking in the opposite direction of the kitchen, Marissa opened various doors until she found the one to the bathroom. She stepped inside and locked the door behind before turning on the water in the shower.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Ryan heard the water from the shower hitting the floor of the bath and instantly knew Marissa was awake. He took the chance of her being in the shower for him to get something else to wear out of his bedroom, not only wanting to impress Marissa but just wanting to get out of the clothes from yesterday.

Turning off the water and stepping out of the bath tub, Marissa dried her body before wrapping the towel around her. It feels good to clean again, Marissa thought as she looked at herself in the cracked mirror. She quickly tied her wet hair up into a messy bun before going back to Ryan's bedroom to get dressed.

Opening the door to the bedroom, Marissa was shocked to find a shirtless Ryan standing in the room. On one side of the room, Marissa quickly found herself staring at Ryan's chest; taking in his very well toned six pack and muscular arms. He obviously worked out.

On the other side of the room, Ryan instantly started staring at Marissa. His eyes were on her beautiful slender body, covered only by a towel. She looked amazing, even though she wasn't wearing a stunning outfit or wearing any make-up, she was beautiful.

A few moments passed before either of them realised that they were staring at the other, and that neither of them were fully dressed.

"Oh. I'm sorry…I'll just wait until you're done," Marissa hastily said before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.

In the hallway, Marissa thought about what had just happened. Oh my god…he has such a hot body! Everything about this guy just keeps getting better. Not only is he hot, but he was caring enough to let me stay here last night, wherever here is…

In his bedroom, Ryan was also thinking about what just happened whilst finishing getting dressed. She's beautiful. How on earth did I meet such a stunning girl, Ryan thought before he remembered how he did meet her. He still had to talk to her about that, and when she was planning to go back home, if she was going to go back at all.

Picking his leather jacket up off the floor, Ryan was done getting dressed and went over to open the door. He found Marissa, still holding her towel around her, leaning on the wall opposite him.

"Room is all your's," Ryan said, gesturing for her to go in.

"Thankyou. I'll only be a few minutes," Marissa replied as she went in and shut the door behind her.

As Marissa was getting dressed, Ryan went back to the kitchen to set the table for breakfast. Placing the old cutlery and plates on the table, Ryan thought about what he was going to say to Marissa once she came out. He didn't want to be pushy or rude, it's not like he wanted her to feel like she had to leave, he enjoyed having her there. He just wanted to find out why she was even in Chino; it was obvious she was from nowhere near there. His thoughts were disrupted when suddenly Marissa appeared in the room.

She looked gorgeous. She wasn't even wearing anything special, just a pair of jeans and a long singlet top, but to someone of a lower class background such as Ryan, she looked outstanding.

"Wow…I mean…umm…hi…sorry about before…I didn't realise…uhh…yeah," Ryan struggled for words, still a taken back by Marissa's appearance.

Marissa giggled at Ryan stumbling before noticing breakfast on the table.

"Did you make all this?" Marissa asked, stunned.

"Umm…yeah. My mum isn't….wasn't really much of a cook…so you know…yeah…umm…let's eat," Ryan casually said, having finally recovered from his initial shock of how Marissa looked, as he sat down at the table.

Marissa quickly joined him, loading her plate with plenty of food she knew her mother wouldn't approve of. It wasn't until she took that first bite, that she felt the slightest bit released of her mother's wrath.

They ate in silence; Ryan still contemplating how to ask about her past, Marissa just enjoying being away from the chaos of the Newport social scene.

"So…umm…Marissa…I don't mean to be rude or anything," Ryan started, still deciding what to say next, "But why are you in Chino?"

Marissa stopped staring at her food and looked up at Ryan. She knew this conversation was coming; she was surprised it hadn't come up earlier. She guessed it had just never been the right time.

"Well…um…" Marissa began, but she froze. Why was she in Chino? Could she tell this boy about her life in Newport? Would he understand that its not all its cracked up to be, or would he think she was a spoiled brat with nothing to complain about?

"Look, I'm sorry, it's not my business..." Ryan stood up and began to clear his plate, but stopped as he felt Marissa's hand turn him back around to face her again.

"It is your business, you let me stay in your home without even knowing who I was," and come to think of it, Marissa couldn't understand why Ryan hadn't taken advantage of the situation, there was something about Ryan that made her trust him. Her mother would never approve.

Ryan looked into Marissa's eyes, leaning forwards with his hands on the table, his body language showing that he was open minded and willing to listen.

Seeing as Ryan was still waiting for a reply, Marissa couldn't hold back from telling him any longer. As Marissa slowly revealed her world to Ryan, she realised that she was telling him some things that she had even refrained from telling Summer.

Why wasn't this awkward, she wondered to herself. She felt like she could tell him anything and he wouldn't care, he would just listen, and for the rest of the day that's what he did. At one point they decided to move outside, sitting on the tattered old chairs of Ryan's verandah, watching the sunset. It wasn't as beautiful as a Newport sunset against the water, but it came pretty close.


ok you know the drill. read and review. love amilia and chess