Disclaimers: I don't own the O.C. But I will soon…mwhahahaha!

Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy lately with major exams coming up, but I've managed to dish out this chapter. Enjoy!

Alex had never been this mad since…hell, she had NEVER been this mad. Not even when Jodie screwed up and got them arrested. Nup, she'd never, ever in her whole life been this mad. And it was all because of Marissa.

Alex had spent the whole of last night waiting patiently for Marissa to return home from her 'study session' with Ryan, but she didn't return. Heck, she'd spent the night cleaning their apartment for a night of romance and she didn't even come back? How low could Marissa sink, seriously? She'd spent a night in her underwear for Marissa. And if anyone else had tried that, it's all very well if you have someone next to you to share that experience with, but if you're all alone, it gets pretty damn cold and lonely by yourself.

Alex stacked the glasses angrily, smashing them against one another. Her assistant, Chloe, looked on anxiously.

"Hey," ventured Chloe shyly. "You okay?"

Alex looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little agitated, that's all."

Chloe smiled in relief and returned to flickering through the list of bands that they would consider playing next week.

Alex's gaze however lingered on Chloe dangerously. Chloe Simmons was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair and starry blue eyes. She had a thin figure, perhaps a little too thin, but for someone with such a small waist, she sure had big breasts.

Alex's eyes ventured on Chloe's chest and she licked her lips unconsciously. She moved down to Chloe's legs, which were immaculately tanned and looked as smooth as cream. Suddenly she noticed, Chloe looking at her bashfully. They shared a flirtatious glance and Chloe looked around carefully.

"Um, Alex, since, uh, you know, I'm kinda new here, and um, I don't know you very well, uh, maybe if you wanted, you could, um…"

Alex inched closer and her warm hands touched Chloe's thighs. Chloe shuddered inwardly and Alex moved her head toward Chloe's face.

"Tonight," Alex whispered into Chloe's ear. "Here. Three." She tongued Chloe's ear, and Chloe let a sigh of pleasure. Alex removed her hand from Chloe's thigh, but not before letting it wander into her inner thigh. She smiled teasingly and returned to stacking the glasses.

Alex felt a stab of guilt after a few minutes. What had she just done? Had she just invited Chloe into a night of intense fun and pleasure? Yeah, she had. But what about Marissa? A voice in Alex's head whispered, "What about her? She'd just spent a whole night at her ex's." Alex felt a pit of pain. God, Marissa had spent the night at Ryan's and was probably making out with him somewhere. Well, that gave her every right to go do something with Chloe. Didn't it?

Marissa vaguely remembered this position she was in. Sleeping comfortably with someone's arms wrapped around her protectively…yup, she certainly remembered this position. She shifted slightly, which woke Ryan up immediately. She turned around and looked into his soft face, still drowned in sleep.

"Hey," she whispered, touching his face.

Ryan fully woke up and looked into Marissa's dark sapphire eyes. Marissa felt a shiver run through her body, sending sparks to every corner of her body.

"Hey," he mumbled. "Uh, what time is it?"

Marissa smiled laughingly and turned to the silver chrome clock on the wall. "Seven thirty…shit! We're gonna be late for school!" She got up hurriedly and shoes.

Ryan smiled drowsily, "Teacher planning day, 'member?"

Marissa thought for a minute, and then smiled foolishly. "Uh, I better be going anyway."

"Wait." Ryan got up and rubbed his eyes. "Wait," he repeated and stuck out a strong hand and pulled Marissa back to bed.

"What?"

"Uh, last night, um, about your, um, dad…" Ryan trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Marissa sighed tiredly. She looked at her hands for a long time before croaking to Ryan, "He was coming back from Hawaii. Probably a surprise visit. And he was driving to Caleb's I suppose, since they found him on Route 66, to see me, and the cops say he was going to make a right turn, but this druggie sped along the road without lights and crashed into Dad. He was killed right away, the meds say." Marissa drew a long breath, before continuing.

"Did you know that Dad would buy me anything I wanted ever since I was a little…" Marissa's breath caught and tears cascaded unevenly down her pale cheeks. Ryan instinctively put his arms around Marissa.

"No," Marissa whispered determinedly and removed Ryan's arms from her waist. She stood up and walked to the side window, the one with the best view of the ocean.

Ryan waited for Marissa to continue. He itched to go and hug Marissa tightly and tell her everything would be okay, but Marissa seemed determined to fight through this on her own.

Finally, she started to speak again, her voice unwaveringly clear.

"He used to buy me Barbie dolls, and teddy bears. Every Saturday, we went out together, to parks or movies and then we would eat lunch together. I remember, one Saturday, we went to…to…the beach and Dad put me on his sh-sh-oulders and walked me around the beach. I was five and I was so proud, because everybody was looking at us and smiling." Marissa paused and shut her eyes tightly.

"We went to New York once. Alone. Dad took me to Broadway and we watched Cinderella. Dad would say to me that he thought I was a thousand times more beautiful than Cinderella, and I would say, "'Course not, Daddy. No one's as pretty as Cinderella." And Dad would say, "My little 'Rissa is." And I would look at Cinderella and wonder if Dad needed glasses." Marissa sighed and ran her finger down the clear glass.

"When I was fourteen, we drifted apart. Dad worked a lot and Saturdays became Summer/Marissa days. And then you came, and I moved in with Dad. I didn't realize how much I really missed him until then. We spent so much time together, making up for lost time…" Marissa's voice broke and she couldn't say anything else. Marissa relented and tears cascaded down her cold cheeks.

Finally, Ryan couldn't refuse, and he leapt up and cradled Marissa in his arms. This time, Marissa didn't push him away, but instead clung on tightly.

"I miss him, Ryan," she sobbed. "I miss him so bad."

Author's Notes: Awwwww…poor Marissa. Review please. 