Disclaimer: I don't own the O.C. or the song at the end (Fragile – Delta Goodrem)
Chapter 6: Fragile
"So you do still remember me? I thought you might have forgotten." Chris said, tightening his grip on Summer's wrist. She struggled against his grasp.
"N-No I didn't forget you," Summer stammered.
"So where have you been? You're stupid skank sister told me that you were doing all right for yourself, living with rich people in their mansions. She also told me to fuck off and leave you alone."
"Well why don't you leave me alone Chris? What do you want from me?"
Chris had an evil look on his face. "Why should I leave you alone Summer? I've been waiting for you to come back. I knew you would come back to me. And you know what I want." He went to kiss Summer put she pushed him away.
"Chris, what do you think you're doing?"
"Giving you a kiss. You are my girlfriend I can kiss you whenever I want. Since when did you become so tight?" He tried again.
"I am NOT your girlfriend. And even if I was it doesn't give you the right to kiss me when you feel like it."
Chris grabbed Summer's shoulders and shook her. "I fucking waited for you to come back. And now, you are going to kiss me," he said, tightening his grip.
Summer gave him a quick peck on the lips, hoping he would leave her alone.
"Come with me. We have a lot of catching up to do." Chris said, and began to pull Summer along.
"No, Chris I have to go home. People notice if I don't show up."
"This is your home. You should remember that. You don't belong with all of those rich people. You're just like a new project to them." Chris said, still pulling her along against her struggle.
"Let go of me!" Summer screamed, as Chris kept pulling her small body.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer woke up on the cold, hard floor of a familiar place – Chris's place. Her head was throbbing as she tried to sit up but failed. There was no-one else around and the house was silent. Summer touched her cheek and winced at the pain.
It was dark outside. She must have been here for hours, but she couldn't remember anything. Then she noticed her dishevelled appearance – her clothes were torn, her hair and make-up messy and she wasn't wearing any underwear. It didn't take long before she realised what had happened; it wasn't the first time he had drugged her then raped her.
Summer tried once more to sit up, this time able to stay sitting. She grabbed onto a nearby table to steady herself before standing shakily. Quietly, she walked out of the house and onto the cold streets in Chino. She could see her car in the distance, not too far from where she was as Chris had only lived down the street.
She climbed into the driver's seat and took a deep breath before starting the car. She glanced at her cell phone and figured that her adopted family back home must be worried about her. She had been gone for hours. Her phone had 19 missed calls – some from the Coopers, some from Marissa but the most from Seth. She decided not to tell Seth about what had happened with Chris – he didn't know anything else about her past and he is not going to know about this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer stepped out of the poolhouse the next morning, face covered with make-up to hide the purple bruise on her cheek. She walked into the main house and sat at the table with the rest of the Coopers.
"How was Chino?" Marissa asked.
Summer shrugged. "Okay."
"How is your sister?" asked Jimmy.
"All right." Summer answered.
The family seemed to get the hint that Summer wasn't going to say more then two syllables and the rest of breakfast was eaten in mostly silence, the only sound the clinking of cutlery and bowls.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 MONTHS LATER:
Summer sat on the edge of the bathtub, hands shaking as she held the package in her hand. Those two minutes were the longest in her life as she watched the stick start to change colour. Two pink stripes. She grabbed the box and read the back to see what it meant. Summer threw the box down in frustration and screamed.
This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be pregnant, she was only seventeen. Summer began to cry. She and Seth hadn't even had sex yet… so it could only be Chris's.
'That fucking bastard! He drugs me, rapes me, then gets me fucking pregnant! What am I going to do?' she thought. 'This is so fucked up!'
Summer heard a knock at the door.
"Summer, are you all right?" Julie asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah… I'm fine." Summer whispered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She had been to the doctor who confirmed it. She was nine weeks along. The doctor had given her pamphlets on all sorts of things – teen pregnancy, adoption and the one that Summer was considering the most, abortion. She couldn't have this baby, and she couldn't tell Seth or anyone else.
Summer looked in the mirror at her stomach. It was a little rounder than usual, but not noticeably. She put her hand on her stomach, over her baby. This baby was the result of a rape by her ex-boyfriend. If she had it, it would ruin everything. The best thing about Newport was that it was completely separate from her Chino life. There was nothing about her past here, and that was why she liked it so much. If she had his baby, it would be bringing her Chino past to her Newport future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer walked out of the Family Planning Clinic after making an appointment for her abortion. She walked along the sun-bathed boardwalk, more pamphlets on abortion in her hand.
"Hey Summ," said Seth, coming up beside her and kissing her on the cheek.
"Hey Cohen," Summer said, quickly trying to stuff the abortion stuff in her bag, but it was too late; Seth had seen them.
"What are these?" he asked pulling them back out of her bag.
"Uh… it's just for a project I'm doing for Health," she lied quickly.
"Summer, we have Health together and we're not studying abortion," Seth said, his voice rising as he spoke.
'Fuck, how could I forget something like that?' Summer thought, angry with herself, 'of course I have Health with Cohen.'
Seth grabbed her shoulders and Summer had a flashback of Chris that night in Chino. But it was different. Chris was rough. Seth was gentle.
Cohen walked over to a nearby bench with Summer and sat down, looking at her expectantly.
"So. What's going on?" he asked quietly.
Summer began to cry. She knew she had to tell him. Because as hard as it was for her to admit it to him, it was killing her keeping this secret from him.
"I… I'm pregnant, obviously." Summer said.
Seth's eyes widened even more. "B…But it's not possible we haven't even… unless… it isn't mine is it? I mean it couldn't be mine."
Summer took a deep breath as she looked into Seth's angry eyes.
"Seth. When I went to Chino, I saw my ex-boyfriend Chris and-"
"And you fucked him?" Seth interrupted.
Summer shook her head quickly. "He… he forced me to have drugs and then he… he-"
She didn't have to finish before Cohen understood what had happened.
"Oh, baby," he said before giving her a warm hug as she sobbed quietly on his shoulder, wetting his shirt with her tears. They sat there for ages, and after a while Summer felt hot drops fall on her shoulder; Seth was crying too. She held him close to her as they both cried together.
"I'll come with you. To your…appointment." He said, stroking her hair as Summer nodded her head.
So caught in emotion that I'm overcome
As I'm falling down I come undone
Sometimes I feel like I'm alone
Sometimes I feel like I'm not that strong
Sometimes I feel nothing at all
Sometimes I feel vulnerable
Sometimes I feel like I'm fragile
I feel fragile…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Review! (O.C. Season 2 DVD comes out September 7!)