Summer Love (First Love Book 1) (5 page)

Marissa woke up early the next morning. She heard no noise coming from the basement, so she assumed everyone was still sleeping. She rummaged through her bags to find decent clothes for the day and disappeared into the bathroom. She enjoyed a long, hot shower, and dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a purple tank top. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she decided to leave her hair down that day. It fell to the middle of her back as she brushed it out. She even decided to wear eyeliner and foundation.

Once she was ready, she began to look through the kitchen for something to eat.

She had just opened a can of Mountain Dew when the basement door opened and Chad and Anthony entered the kitchen.

“Good morning,” she told her new boyfriend, offering him a pop.

Chad shook his head. “I’m going to take little man out for a walk. Want to join us?”

“Sounds good to me.” Marissa slipped on her sandals and held the front door open for Chad.

He walked to the trunk of his car and pulled out the stroller. Marissa watched as he buckled his son in, noticing Chad looked completely exhausted.

“I can watch him if you would rather go back to bed,” she offered.

“I’m starting to get used to functioning without sleep. He doesn’t sleep very well, and I think being somewhere new made it worse.” Chad released the brake and started walking toward the street.

Aunt Lynn’s house was on the end of a dead end street and on top of a steep, curvy hill. The couple silently walked down the hill and into the small town.

After walking a few blocks, they carefully crossed a highway and Chad parked the stroller under a small gazebo overlooking the lake. He sat down, pulled out his cigarettes, lit one, and leaned back against the bench.

“Of course, he has no problem sleeping during the day.” Chad gestured toward the baby, fast asleep in the stroller.

Marissa laughed and reached for the cigarettes. “Did he keep you up all night?” she asked,

Chad shook his head. “He was up quite a bit, but I had a lot on my mind, so even when he was sleeping, I didn’t sleep much.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I have something to tell you, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“Breaking up with me already?” Marissa asked quietly.

“No!” he assured her. “Definitely not.” He flicked his cigarette into the lake and pulled her closer to him. “Although you might want to break up with me by the time I’m done.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it takes a lot to scare me away,” she pointed out.

Chad explained that his brother, Chris, had made it home before they did the day before and told his mother that Chad was dating Brayden’s much younger cousin. His mom had flipped out, saying he was a bad influence and needed to end the relationship immediately. When Chad refused, she told him to get out and not come back.

“So if you broke up with me, you could go back home?” she asked when he was finished.

Chad shrugged. “Probably,” he told her. “At least until they find another reason to get rid of me. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got kicked out. That’s why I already have it planned to move in with Eric.”

“What does your mom have against me?”

“Nothing. She would probably love you if she ever got to know you,” he told her. “My parents would have flipped out over me dating anyone. They think I would start pawning Anthony off on them if I was with anyone, but I wouldn’t do that. My son always comes first.”

“You told me that yesterday. And I accept that. I wouldn’t want to take you away from him anyway.”

“I tried to tell mom that. I told her if she got to know you, she would realize how much of a good influence you are on me. But then she got stuck on your age, yelling about how much of a mess it would be if I got you pregnant.”

“Which we have already established will not happen,” Marissa cut Chad off.

“I told her that too. She went off on how I couldn’t be with someone and not sleep with them after sleeping with Tamara. Seriously, don’t worry about it. My parents have been looking for a reason to get rid of me for a long time. Once Eric gets back in town, everything will be fine.”

“I just don’t like being the reason your family is torn apart.”

“You definitely aren’t. My family has been ripped apart years ago. Eric was 16 when he was thrown out of the house. He ended up having to drop out of school because he refused his trust fund and had to get a job and support himself.

“I thought most trust funds couldn’t be used until you were a certain age.”

“Ours is eighteen. But when Eric refused his four years ago, it was split between me, Chris, and Melanie, and we didn’t have to wait to get that part.”

“Do I want to know how much money you actually have?”

Chad smiled. “Probably not. Let me put it this way. I bought both of my cars, a bike, spent an insane amount on parties when I was with Tamara, and I still have quite a bit left in the bank. And that’s just what I got from Eric. I won’t have mine for another year.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to know.” Marissa’s stomach growled.

“It means I have more than enough to take you to lunch,” he joked.

“Can’t argue with that.”

The couple walked back across the highway to the only café in the small town. Anthony slept all through lunch and didn’t wake up until they made it back to the house.

Brayden had just gotten out of the shower when Chad and Marissa walked into the house.

“Does he ever sleep?” Brayden asked.

“I’m sorry about that. I tried to keep him quiet.”

“It’s not a big deal. I just don’t know how do you do. How are you not completely exhausted all the time?”

Chad shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to it.”

Marissa took the baby from Chad’s arms. “Why don’t you go get some sleep now?”

“I wanted to get more homework done today.”

“Do it later. Or tomorrow. Although, I’ll be playing football all day tomorrow, if you want to come with. We might as well take advantage of the holiday.”

Marissa had forgotten the next day was Memorial Day. She had only been away from home for slightly more than 24 hours, but it seemed like she had been there for weeks.

“You guys can plan your day off later. Right now, you need some sleep,” she told Chad. She grabbed the diaper bag from the stroller and disappeared down the hall into her bedroom.

She grabbed blanket and spread it on the floor before lying the small child down. After changing his diaper, she stretched out next to him and grabbed the phone.

Anthony watched every move Marissa made as she talked to her best friend and watched the baby kick around on the blanket. He never cried or fussed. He was still awake two hours later when Chad knocked on her door.

“Hey, I will call you back later. Or tomorrow,” she spoke into the phone. “Yea, bye.” She hung up. “Have a good nap?” she asked Chad.

Marissa and Chad spent the rest of the warm Sunday afternoon sitting outside while Anthony played on a blanket on the grass.  Chad was moving along on his homework, occasionally asking questions when he didn’t understand. When Marissa, wasn’t helping him, she was writing. She loved how comfortable she felt around Chad. Even when they weren’t talking, they could just sit in silence, each doing his or her own thing, yet still being together.

Around dinner time, Chad put his work down. Marissa was too into her own writing that she didn’t even notice.

“Do you ever let anyone read anything you write?” he asked, making Marissa jump.

“Very rarely,” she told him. “Once in a while, I will let my best friend read something, but I’m usually too afraid. I put so much into it, and I love it so much, I don’t know how I would take it if someone said it wasn’t any good.”

Chad was silent for a moment. He lit a cigarette. “You should write a book someday. About me. To show to everyone that it is never too late to turn your life around. A few bad choices don’t matter as much.”

Marissa smiled. “I could probably do that.”

“Chad Anthony Ulsten! Put out that cigarette right now!” shouted a voice from the driveway. Aunt Lynn was home and she brought pizza. “I guess we will be going over the house rules at dinner tonight.”

Chad put out his cigarette and began putting his homework back in his bag. Marissa ran to the driveway to help her aunt carry in the food. Chad tossed his bag over his shoulder and took the baby in the house.

Anthony was settled into an infant swing in the dining room while everyone dished up their plates.

“First of all, there is no smoking, drugs, or drinking,” Lynn started. “I know my niece agreed to watch your son while you finish the school year, but she will not watch him for you to go out. You were always a good kid, Chad, and I know you are trying to get passed your mistakes. Just please, don’t do anything stupid while you are here.”

“I won’t Lynn,” he told her. “Thank you for letting me stay until I can move in with Eric.”

“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.” She looked at Brayden and Marissa, who had both finished eating. “Would you two please leave us alone for a moment?”

Neither had to be asked twice. They disappeared to the basement, leaving Chad and Anthony upstairs.

“What do you think they are talking about?” Marissa asked her cousin.

Brayden shook his head. “I have no clue.” He glanced at the clock. It was 6:30. “Hope it don’t take too long. I’m supposed to go play pool at 7, but I’m not going up there until they are done.”

They sat in silence, straining their ears to hear any of the conversation, but it was useless.

Fifteen minutes later, Chad walked down the basement stairs carrying his son.

“Well?” Brayden asked.

“She doesn’t want me moving in with Eric. Apparently she’s worried about me being around the party atmosphere, especially with Anthony.”

“She might be right about that,” Marissa pointed out.

“She wants me to stay here until I graduate.”

“So we would be together all summer?” Marissa was excited.

“Not exactly. After school is out this year, she wants me and Anthony to move into your room,” he told her. “She said you will be spending the summer at the campground.”

“No!” Marissa exclaimed as she ran up the stairs. “Why can’t I stay here?” she asked her aunt.

“First of all, Chad and Anthony need a bedroom, not the common room of the basement.”

“Then I will sleep on the couch.” Marissa didn’t need her own room.

“And the other reason is that I don’t think you spending so much time with Chad is such a good idea. He’s too old. He has some major legal issues, and he is just not a good influence on you. I’ve already talked to grandma. They will pick you up in two weeks, as soon as the boys are out of school.”

Marissa realized she would never be able to change her aunt’s mind. Admitting defeat, she sulked back to the basement.

“Couldn’t change her mind?” Brayden asked, even though he could see the answer on her face.

Chad put his arms around her. “The campground ain’t far away. We will still find a way to see each other,” he assured her.

“This sucks,” Brayden said. “We need to do something fun to get our minds off of this.”

“Thought you were going to play pool,” Marissa reminded him.

“I can do that any time. What should we do tonight?”

“Can’t do much with a three month old,” Chad pointed out.

“Sure we can,” Brayden told him. “There is still that old drive in movie theater about 20 minutes away. No idea what’s playing, but it will get us out of the house for a few hours,” he suggested.

“I’m up for it,” Marissa said.

“And what if Anthony cries through the whole thing?”

“Then we are the only people he is bothering. No big deal,” Brayden assured him.

Chad nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He began to pack a diaper bag while Marissa changed the baby and buckled him in this seat.

“Can we swing by and pick up your sister?” Brayden asked Chad, quietly.

Chad dropped the diaper bag. He slowly turned toward his best friend. “Are you dating my little sister?”

“Not officially, but we have gone out a few times,” Brayden admitted. “You are dating my cousin. And Melanie is only a year younger than I am,” he pointed out.

Chad sighed. He knew Brayden had a point. “Call her. If she’s coming with, she better be waiting outside. I’m not going into that house or waiting out in the driveway.” He picked up the diaper bag and the infant seat as he headed outside.

Marissa sat in the front seat, while Brayden and Melanie squeezed into the back with Anthony, who slept the whole ride. Marissa barely knew Chad’s sister, having only met her one time, but the girl had apparently gotten over her hatred of her brother from the previous year.

When they got to the theater, Chad paid for everyone’s admission, refusing money from anyone else. “Popcorn?” he asked once he parked the car. Everyone nodded. “Will you two keep an eye on him while we go get it?” he asked the couple in the back seat. Brayden and Melanie agreed.

Chad and Marissa got out of the car and headed toward the concession stand. Instead of walking up to the window, Chad pulled Marissa around the corner. Before he said anything, he leaned in and kissed her. “We will find a way to see each other,” he told her when he pulled away.

Marissa nodded. “And we still have two weeks. It’s not like I’m going all the way home. Not yet any way.”

“We will get through this and jump that hurdle when we get to it. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be with you.” He leaned in and kissed her again.

Without another word, they walked to the concession window and loaded their arms with drinks and snacks for everyone before returning to the car.

Marissa had never had so much fun. None of them watched even a moment of the movie that was playing. Instead, they talked and joked around, throwing popcorn at each other. She had never laughed so much.
Things would be so much easier if I lived up here
, she thought to herself.

Despite the fact that everyone had a blast, the drive home was silent. No one wanted the night to end.

Brayden walked Melanie to the door when they dropped her off.

“As much as I hate the fact that my little sister is dating anyone, she definitely could have done worse,” Chad said when Brayden and Melanie got out of the car.

“He accepts us, so you should accept them,” Marissa pointed out.

Chad smiled. “I know. I’m trying.” He reached out and squeezed her hand.

Once they arrived at Brayden’s house, Marissa told Chad goodnight and went straight to her room. She collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to call her best friend. She fell asleep almost instantly.