Another chapter? So soon? Oh you love me for it? I love you all too! This might not be as fast in the future but your reviews do help me keep on going. J, thanks for all of the reviews btw, I forgot to say that in the last chapter, you were someone that I wanted to highlight. Anyway, read and review guys!
xoxo Jules
Chapter 10: "A little high"
Alex's POV: Before I skate off to school
I remember Seth from when we were little. Our moms were sisters, although from what I gather Caleb, our grandfather, was none too fond of Seth's mother, Ava, whom he never officially claimed. More than that our fathers were brothers. I think it's kind of creepy and borderline incestuous, but yanno, it was the Cohen boys with the Nichol girls. My mom, Kirsten, and Ava had been close until her death. Mom would have kept Seth in a heartbeat but Caleb insisted that he go with him. He said that the boy as weak and "girly" as he needed a strong male influence. We were thirteen when my Aunt and Uncle died. My mom hasn't been quite the same after she died.
"This is where you live?" Summer asked as I drove up in front of my house.
"Yeah." I said rather unimpressed with Newport life. I never really fit in here. I got out of the car but nobody followed. "You guys coming or do you want me to drop you back at the lifeguard tower." I said jokingly as they began to pile out of my jeep one by one.
Their eyes got big as I opened my front door, I shrugged off their awe. It was just a house, a unnecessarily big house, but a house none the less.
"You guys can hang out here. There are bagels on the counter and stuff if you are hungry or something." I offered.
I knew that they weren't going to take the food. Summer looked like a young, scared child, Marissa looked to emaciated to even consider it, Seth looked like he was on the brink of barfing, and Ryan seemed indifferent to the food.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to go see if my parents are up." I said heading upstairs.
I was quiet as I approached my parents room. One thing that they hated was to be woken up. I creaked the door open a bit. Sure enough they were asleep, but this was an emergency.
"Mom, Dad?" I said from the doorway. "You guys awake?"
Nobody said anything but the light on my moms side of the bed switched on.
"Are you alright honey?" My mom asked me
"Um, actually, I have some interesting news." I said with a smile.
"Who's the father?" My dad asked springing up in bed.
"No, no!" I said.
"It's that Luke punk isn't it?" He asked
"Dad, I'm not pregnant. Seth is downstairs!" I said quickly before my father flew off of the handle.
"Seth, as in my nephew?" My mom asked me
"Yeah, I came across him on the beach."
"What was he doing on a beach in a storm?" My mom asked me
"I'm not quite sure how to explain that one. Apparently Caleb got rid of his rights to Seth after three months. He was never in any boarding school. So he's been living in some group home for the past four years or something in Chicago." I explained not quite believing this entire thing myself.
"Oh I am going to kill my father." My mom exploded ripping the covers off of herself and rushing downstairs. My dad followed before I could explain Seth had company along with him.
I followed close behind them.
"Seth!" My mother said throwing her arms around him.
I could see that Seth was nervous at the touch.
"I am so sorry sweetie, we had no idea." My mother explained through tears.
"Your grandfather told us that you were away at boarding school." My father added on.
"And mom, dad," I said entering the living room, "This is Ryan," I said gesturing to the boy who was standing by the window with his eyes cast downward, "and this is Summer, and Marissa."
"Hi." Both girls quietly responded.
"You guys are soaking wet!" My mom announced. "Alex take the girls up to your room and get them something dry to wear, Sandy go get some t-shirts and sweats."
"You guys come with me." I said to Summer and Marissa who followed behind me each glancing at the boys quickly before heading upstairs.
I swung open the door to my yellow room.
"So this is it!" I said turning to them with a smile.
I went to my dresser and tossed each of them a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Suddenly there was a boom of thunder, and a flash of lightning, and then a teenage boy lying in my room after having fallen through my still open window. Summer jumped back and screamed. Marissa was in the bathroom changing.
"Oh god Luke!" I said helping him off of the floor. "What the hell you ass! It's storming outside!" I yelled smacking him on the back of the head which was still facing downward. "You could have gotten killed climbing up the terrace!"
Luke is just one of those guys that nobody really gets. I do, but only because we have been best friends and neighbors since birth.
Luke looked up at me to reveal a black eye.
"What the hell happened?" I asked gently touching the side of his face.
"Damn Al, did'ya hafta go hit me in the head like that?" He asked clutching the back of his head.
"I'm sorry Luke, I didn't know, you just scared me. It's been a weird night." I said helping him all of the way to his feet.
"Seems like it." He said looking at Marissa and Summer. "I didn't know you to have sleepovers."
"Oh sorry, Luke this is Summer." I said gesturing to them each. "Summer, this is Luke Ward."
"Hi." Summer said shortly raising her hand slowly in an almost waving motion. I have no idea what the hell Summer, Ryan, Marissa, and Seth have been through but I am sure that it's a lot. I can just tell it makes them so strained to simply live, I guess we all feel like that sometimes.
"Um, Summer and I are going to go grab some clothes for someone else and I'll get you something dry too while I'm at it, okay?" I offered
"It's fine." Luke said not making direct eye contact with me.
"Luke, I'm getting you dry clothes." I said walking out followed by Summer, forgetting for the moment that Marissa was in my bathroom.
Lukes POV: But who knew
I've lived in Newport beach seventeen years too long. The truth here is hidden by mansions, white picket fences and plastic surgery. It's hard to know who you are when you live in a world where nothing is as it seems. It's always helped though to have that one person who gets me, Alex. We have been best friends for as almost as long as I can remember. The first time that my dad hit me when I was seven I climbed into her bedroom window and we laid in bed together and she told me that it was okay before I fell asleep.
It feels like things should be different, like I should be the one helping her with something. I am a man, I don't want to look weak, I'm better than that. I am better than weakness.
I heard Alex's bathroom door open and turned to find a tall, extremely thin girl with wet hair and wearing pajama pants and Alex's Harbor hoddie. We stared at each other for a moment before either of us spoke.
"Alex is going to be right back." I said to her. She nodded shyly. "I'm Luke Ward." I introduced myself as an attempt to brake the ice.
"Marissa Cooper." She said almost cracking a smile, … almost.
"Cooper, are you related to Jimmy Coopers or something?" I asked, she seemed to perk a little when I mentioned the name.
"No, I'm not." She said although something that I said seemed to have peeked her curiosity.
"Oh, I guess you just kind of look like him or something." I said.
"Who punched you?" She asked rather bluntly
"Who punched you?" She asked me again.
"Nobody, I got hit in the eye, I was playing baseball." I said looking down.
"It's not baseball season." She said
Damn, I am usually so much better at this lying thing, but then again people don't usually just come out of the blue and ask me either.
"Marissa!" Alex said when she re-entered the room, "I see that you've met Luke." She said
"Yeah, we met." I said
"So there's soda and popcorn downstairs, and there is both hot chocolate and tea because my mother is a freak." Alex said smiling at the two. "So you guys can come on down, Ryan and Seth are choosing a movie."
I smiled back at Alex.
"Come on, there are sleeping bags, pillows everything, we're making a night out of it."
The one thing that I love about Alex is how she makes the best out of every situation. She has a different way of looking at things, a different way of looking at the world.
Marissa and I followed Alex downstairs to find a blonde boy sitting on the floor wrapped in a sleeping bag sipping a mug of hot chocolate, and Summer fighting with a much older version of Alex's cousin Seth over what movie they were going to watch.
"Ew Cohen, I do not want to watch Scream. That was so six years ago! And the blood and the guts and just ew!"
"How come then you want to watch Hannibal?"
"Because I think that you're going to need tips on how to make a woman suit when you admit who you really are!" Summer snapped at him.
"Oh, do you want to know who the first person I'll skin will be!" Seth snapped back.
"Seth, how long have the two of you been dating?" I called to him as a means of hello as well as braking up the argument.
"We're not dating!" The said in unison.
"Why don't we all just compromise?" I asked
"Donnie Darko." Alex suggested luckily she was unopposed.
Seth and Summer sat next to each other on the couch giving each other dirty looks but clinging to her when something scary happened. Marissa sat next to the boy that I learned was Ryan fixated on the screen. Ryan on the other hand was paying more attention to her than the movie as if she was so fragile and could brake at any moment.
Alex and I sat leaning against the back of the couch, her head resting on my shoulder, and her hand intertwined in mine. In that moment something seemed comfortable, familiar. I think that I could get used to this.
Right then I knew that this all was the start of something. Foreshadowing maybe? I guess only time will tell.