Episode
4.20
Adel’s
Hotel Room
Stacks of
clothing sat on the bed as Adel placed several dresses that had hung in the closet.
She knew the truth now. She had to be honest with Doug, even though he
obviously wanted nothing to do with her. If she hadn’t seen his signature on
the divorce papers she never would’ve signed them.
“Mommy.”
Isabella stood in the doorway, “are we leaving again?”
Adel went
and picked her daughter up, “Yeah, we’re going to go home.”
“Will Daddy
be there?”
“I’m not
sure sweetheart.” Adel placed the young girl on the bed and began to put the
items in the suitcase.
Isabella
crawled towards the nightstand and picked up the gold ring that sat there,
“Mommy, why don’t you have this on?”
Adel didn’t
know how to answer her daughter, they had spent months here in the Dominican
Republic with her former brother-in-law, the only thing that was clear now was
how much she loved Doug, how much she wanted to be with him, how much she had
to be honest with him about the past, about the child she had given up for
adoption when she was seventeen years old. “Because we’re going to be flying
and it’ll get stuck if its on.”
“When?”
“Tonight
sweetheart, we’re going home tonight.”
“You’re
leaving?” Jeff stood in the door way.
Adel
nodded, “We’re going back to Doug. I have to make things work with him.”
Jeff looked
over at Isabella, “We won’t understand.”
“I’ll make
him understand.” Adel was hopeful.
Jeff was
scared, he was so close to having what he wanted, and she was about to run away
from him. “He thinks we’re married.”
Adel
stopped and looked at Jeff, “What?”
Jeff
sighed, “I told him that you and I were married.”
Adel
slapped him across the face, “How dare you.” She started to walk out of the
room when he grabbed her arm. “Let go.”
“I can find
your daughter for you.”
“What
conditions?”
“Marry me.”
Adel
sighed, Doug hadn’t even tried to find her in the months she had been gone. He
already thought she had married Jeff. He promised to find her daughter. The
child she never knew. “Alright. But after we’re
married we return to Pinõn Hallow.”
Jeff
dropped his hands to his sides, “Agreed.”
Pinõn
Hallow Mall—Roof Top
The air was
bitter and cold, yet so far this winter snow had seemed to be non-existent
event in the Mountains, they barely appeared to have a snow cap. Conner stood,
bundled in his jacket and scarf, feeling the wind burn his skin. Perfect.
“I miss you
so much Maggie.” His eyes stung with tears, “I wish we had never gone to the
He looked
around at the skyline, not that Pinõn Hallow offered the tall buildings of
Finally he
was alone, the wind was perfect, strong, ready to
bring his angel to heaven.
Conner
picked up the urn he had carried up with him. “You’re always with me Maggie. No
one will ever replace you.”
He sighed
and removed the lid.
He took a
handful of ashes and released them into the air, “I know you’ll be right there
waiting for Maggie.”
He then
took the urn and turned it slightly upside down. Just enough for the ashes to
fall away and be carried off as a strong wind blew through.
All the
ashes were gone. The wind stopped. All at once.
Conner
looked at the roof top. They had kissed for the first time here.
“I love you
Mags.”
817
Amanda
threw open the door as she stormed in, tossing her bag against the foot of the
bed causing a thunderous sound that made Cassie turn around and ignore the
flashing aim windows and her myspace homepage. Before
Cassie could speak the sound of metal against metal hit the desk before Amanda
flopped down on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.
Cassie
watched as her roommate pulled her headphones over her ears and pushed the
buttons on her ipod only a moment before tears
escaped, creating several rivers of black down her cheeks.
Jack stood
at the door, he looked like a nervous little
puppy—scared. Cassie slowly got up from her chair and went over to him, “What
the hell is going on?”
He paced
back and fourth in a four foot area under the dreary florescent light, “I was
in the fishtank with Marcy working on our presentation
and we were talking about how picky the professor can be…I think Amanda over
heard and thought we were talking about her.” He rubbed his face, “I didn’t
know she was there until I saw her storm out.” Jet let his head fall against
the concrete wall. “This happens right after she tells me she’s falling for
me.”
“Marcy?”
Cassie watched the guy, who up until now made Amanda happy, even when it meant
just watching Citizen Kane on a Saturday night.
“Amanda,
last night out by the campus chapel.” Jack turned, leaning against the prison
type wall, “My response; I’m a jackass—don’t fall for me.”
Cassie
looked back to the room, “Let her calm down. Then go talk to her.”
“But I
don’t—“
“Jack,
trust me.” Cassie shrugged and went back into her room.
Metro Magazine—Bianca’s
Office
Bianca
Francis was young no once could deny that. Yet when she started Metro as an
underground zine in High School, never had she
imagined it would be one of the top mainstream ones less then 10 years later.
Her office looked out at the Skyline, which she couldn’t imagine living
without. Her apartment gave view to the
Her blond
shoulder length hair, sweet mid-western looks could always be good for that
surprise moment of people finding out she was Bianca Francis. Men expected
her to be older and filled with bitterness. Yet for her age, she was filled
with bitterness. Not because of so many failed relationships, but the lack
there of any. Metro was her life and no one had found away to break past that.
So here she
was, in her office, going over the column from Chad Davis on a Friday night. So
far she was happy with her choice to bring him on board—except that she never
saw him in the office. His checks were direct deposit, every communication was
threw e-mail, his byline was picture free. Things like
this sparked curiosity in Bianca. Normally she let it go, but it wouldn’t go.
Chad Davis was a mystery of mysteries. One she wanted to solve.
She pressed
the intercom button on her phone, “Get me Chad Davis’ address.” She grabbed a
pen and a post-it pad when the door of her office opened and there stood the
most hansom man she had ever seen in her life.
His hair
was dark, wavy, his eyes dark and brooding. He smiled. “My
address huh? You’re not going to fire me, are you?”
Bianca
could feel the blush seeping through her cheeks. “Mr. Davis.”
“
Bianca
could see something hiding in his past, “Yes, I wanted to check and see how
you’ve adapted to the city. Plus you never come by the office.” She stood up
from her desk, revealing her choice of office attire, express jeans, a cute
vintage-tee, and black boots.
“I’m glad
you did. Trust me you’re no where close to being let go. We’ve gotten a lot of
positive feedback regarding your column.”
“Really?”
Bianca
nodded, “Yeah really.” She picked up a file, “Women adore you, think its amazing you’re willing to take on responsibility
when you very well could’ve left them with your parents. Men applaud you
because you have the guts to do something most of them are too afraid to.”
“I love
“You miss
her still, don’t you?”
Bianca
smiled, “Listen, I’m on my way to get some take-out. Want to come with me?”
“Sure, why
not?”
Ethan’s
House
Abby sat on
the sun porch, surfing the Metro website on her laptop. Searching
for
Ethan
walked to the doorway and looked at his wife. He’d been distant, cold with her
since he had realized she loved
“Hey, how
was the youth group?” Abby asked as she closed the computer and placed it on
the floor under the couch.
“It was
good.” Ethan said as he looked at her in the afternoon light. “Ya know what, its been a while
since we’ve gone out. Let’s go to dinner tonight.”
“Home Cookin’?”
“Yeah, let
me go change.” He walked in and placed a kiss on her lips.
“Great,
I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Ethan went
to the door and looked back at his wife, “Abs, how’s Dan doing?”
“Better,
he’s transferring schools. It’s too hard for him to be in
“Understandable.
So when can we expect him back in town?”
Abby looked
down, obviously sad, “He’s going to
Ethan
nodded before leaving her alone.
Abby leaned
back against the wicker arm of the couch and sighed. Something was wrong. Ethan
barely spoke to her lately, now he wanted to go to dinner. She was worried, and
unsure of what would happen tonight.
DAD House
“I don’t
know about this Cassie.” Amanda’s eyes were red and puffy from her afternoon of
crying.
“If you’re
alone in the room, Jack will come by.” Cassie looked at her roommate who had
become her best friend, “Amanda, you’ll let him in, you’ll talk, and if you
think everything is alright you might do something you regret.”
Amanda’s
eyes grew wide, “You think I’d sleep with him?”
“To seal
the relationship, it could happen. But here, come on. We’re at a DAD party.
Let’s just have some fun. You deserve it.”
Amanda
leaned against the wall that led upstairs, “Cassie, I’m just feeling stupid.
Jack is my first real boyfriend.”
“I know.
But don’t take him back, just to have a boyfriend. Things will work out for
you. I promise.”
Amanda
scoffed, “What makes you so sure?”
Cassie
smiled as she thought of her sister and Conner, “I’ve seen it happen.”
“Okay, I’ll
believe you.” Amanda sighed as she looked around, feeling the chill of the
winter air, wishing things could be easier.
Eric came
down the stairs and smiled when he saw the girls, “How are my favorite ladies?”
“Good.”
Cassie gave him the look to not push Amanda too hard.
“Let’s get
you some jungle juice.” Eric led them up the stairs, and Amanda gave in,
knowing she really wouldn’t have a choice. Cassie was determined for her to
have fun.
PHPD—Becker’s
Office
“
“Of course.” Dan called back as he looked at Siobhan who gave him a
thumbs up.
Months ago
he’d been placed on desk duty until further notice. Now, tonight, this moment,
Dan could find his way back on the street.
Becker
closed the door behind Dan and looked to the empty chair across from his desk.
Dan took
the seat, and Becker sat across from him. “What’s this about Chief?”
Becker
looked at his coffee mug and sighed, “The board went over your latest medical
report.”
“Yeah?”
Dan suddenly felt nervous, something about this wasn’t right.
“They’ve
decided to keep you on the desk. Most likely permanently.”
“What?” Dan
stood up, pushing the chair back several feet as he looked at his boss, “Desk duty,
not back on the street?”
“I’m sorry, I tried to plead your case.”
“But what?”
“They’re
worried about re-injury.” Becker put his mug down and stood up.
Dan shook
his head, tears brimmed his eyes as his dreams started to slip away, “All I’ve
ever wanted is to solve crimes. And here you are, telling me it can’t happen.”
“I’m sorry its out of my hands.”
Dan went to
the door and walked out over to his desk, he pulled out his badge and gun and
walked back into Becker’s office, placing them on his desk. “I quit.”
“
Dan shook
his head as he went to the elevator.
Siobhan
looked up at her former lover, “What the hell just happened?”
“The board
decided to keep him on desk duty, so he quit.”
Home Cookin’
Abby sat
across from Ethan in the booth. She was uncomfortable, unsure of what to
expect.
“Relax.” Ethan finally before taking a sip of his iced tea.
“I’m sorry, I just have this feeling of impending doom.” She
revealed.
“Not
exactly how I would characterize what I’ve been thinking of.”
“What have
you been thinking?” Abby asked, her stomach twisting in knots.
“You never
said really where you stand on having children.”
“I want
children, someday.”
“Just not now?”
“Yeah, just not now.” Abby played with the splenda
packet, “Is this why you’ve been distant?”
“I’m not an
idiot Abby.” Ethan took the lemon from his tea and squeezed the juices free.
Abby
dropped the packet of sweetener and looked at her husband, “I never, ever said
you were.”
“But you
implied it.” He dropped the lemon in his drink. “I didn’t want to do this,
especially not here. But I guess its my only option.”
“Ethan?”
Abby asked as realization swept through her body, “No, you’ve got to be kidding
me. No here.”
Ethan
reached into the pocket of his jacket that lay next to him and took out a
bundle of legal papers.
Abby’s hand
shook as she reached for them. For a moment she thought she’d gone blind from
shock. Slowly she unfolded the papers, she felt ill. Suddenly very glad they
hadn’t actually had dinner yet.
“Why are
you so nervous?”
“I don’t
like legal papers.” Was all she could say as she finally looked down. “What is this?”
“It’s the
deed to the house. I bought it from the church.” Ethan took Abby’s free hand in
his, “So we can always have a home for the family we’re going to start.”
Abby was
practically hyper ventilating, “Our future, yeah our future together.”
Ethan took
her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You and me babe.”
“Yeah, you and me.” Abby smiled and for a moment she was sure she had made the
right choice, until she saw her brother stomp by the window. “Danny?”
Ethan
turned and saw Dan stomping towards the park, and released Abby’s hand just as
she grabbed her jacket and ran outside.
Lysa McKay
sat on the bank of the riverbed, which was pretty dry. It was cold enough to
have frozen the usually muddy ground, and yet here she was today waiting for it
to snow as the water crashed against the sides, revealing past secrets.
Gary
Williams sat next to his friend, skipping stones, trying to make it to the
other side. “The weather guy said we should be getting snow this weekend.” He
tried to make small talk but it wasn’t working.
Lysa
sighed, “Goody, it can snow tomorrow night, all night for all I care. Just as long as I don’t have to think about that stupid dance.”
Lysa turned
to him, “Being the average high school student, isn’t
what I am. People still look at me, and wonder what
happened with me, Claudia, and Mr. Bowen.”
“Listen,
how about if you and I go to the ball together. If you don’t feel the whole
teen
Lysa turned
and looked to him, “That works I guess.” As she turned to look back at the
river something caught her eye.
“Lysa!”
Lysa’s
hands were covered in mud, she was frozen to the core,
as she picked up the object of interest.
It was old,
covered in river mud, and yet Lysa was drawn to it. She dipped it in the river,
cleaning it just a little bit before studying it more intimately.
“What is
that?”
“It’s a
necklace, must be really old. I wonder how long it’s been down there.” She
stood up and started to walk to the path, with
“What are
you going to do with it?”
“Clean it.
Probably just lay it on my dresser.” She turned and held it up for
He studied
it for a moment, “Its engraved. It’s got an A.”
Lysa looked
at it, “Something about this is very familiar.”
“Its
probably reminding you of something you read in a book.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Dan!” Abby
yelled as she chased after her brother who finally stopped at the bridge.
“Danny!”
Dan just
stared out at the river in its winter deadness.
“Dan, what
the hell is wrong?” Abby tried to catch her breath as she stood next to her
brother.
“I quit my
job.”
“What?”
He looked
at his younger sister, “They wanted me to stay on desk duty, I
want to be active. So I quit.”
Abby leaned
forward and ran her hand through her hair, “Dan, tell me you thought about this
before you just did it.”’
“I knew
this was coming. I’ve been at that desk way too long Abby.” He sighed as he
wrapped his jacket around his body, “I know what I’m going to do.”
“Yeah, what bro?”
He looked
at his sister and smiled, “I’m going to be a private investigator.”
Abby didn’t
speak, “You ready to make such a change in your life?”
“I have to
be Abby, I have to be.”
Abby
reached out and hugged her brother.
“Wait, Abs,
why are you in town? Shouldn’t you be at home making dinner for the Rev?”
“Ethan took
me out to Home Cookin’, and proceeded
to hand me legal papers.”
Dan’s eyes
grew wide, “He didn’t give you divorce papers, did he?”
“No, not at all. The deed to the house, he bought it from the church.” She smiled and
Dan saw a distance in her eyes.
“I’m glad your letting
“Yeah, I
know. I made the right decision, I was just scared. Now we just need to find
you a girl.”
Dan
laughed, “I think getting my PI buisness started is
the priority.”
“So, you
can still find love in the most unlikely places.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna have to be all body guard like with some stunning
young beauty and then bam before you know it, Dan’s in love.” He shook his
head, “Sorry sis, Ciel hurt me way too much.”
DAD House
Cassie
finished off another cup of jungle juice and looked around the room. Amanda was
over in a corner on her cell phone, Eric sat at the
foot of the stairs talking to some anorexic type girl.
“Here, have
another.” One of the rushes handed Cassie another cup. Before she could get her
first sip Eric was right there taking it away and warning the younger man.
“Alright Cass, time for you to go to bed.” He picked her up and carried her up
the stairs. He kicked open the door and laid her on the bed.
Cassie
looked up, “Eric, you’re my knight in shining armor.”
He smiled
as he closed the door and opened his dresser drawer taking out an over sized
tee. “Only cause your drunk.” He tossed the shirt towards her, “Put that on and
go to bed.”
“Where are
you going?” She picked up the shirt but that was all.
Eric had
his hand on the knob, “I’m gonna go check on Amanda.
I saw her on her cell phone.”
“Probably calling Jack, just in time to let him screw her over.”
“Strong
opinion for a drunk woman.”
“I’m
entitled.” She declared as she started to unbutton her top, “She came home
crying.”
Eric walked
back over to the bed, “Amanda’s a big girl. She has to learn for herself.”
Cassie
slipped her blouse off and put the tee over her bra, “You’re too good to us
Eric. The best guy friend a girl could ask for.”
He smiled,
“Thanks, you have no idea how much that means to me.”
Cassie
looked into his eyes, “Why have we never kissed?”
Eric
blushed, “I don’t know.” He leaned down just a little and kissed her forehead,
“Get some sleep.”
Cassie
sighed realizing whatever agenda had slipped into her drunken mind had just
been vetoed.
Eric left
the bedroom and went down the stairs, just in time to see Jack walk into the
party—searching.
“Jack.”
Eric pulled the young man aside, “Who are you looking for.”
“Amanda, who else?” Jack was not happy Eric was going into over protective
mode, something about him never set right with him.
“She’s
upset. Don’t make a scene or I’m going to have to throw you out. Got that?”
Jack looked
around, “Eric, I care about her. I want to make things right.”
“Why, so
she’ll sleep with you?”
“If that’s
all I wanted I wouldn’t be with her.”
“Hurt her,
and I’ll hurt you.” Eric warned before going off towards several of his frat
brothers, but keeping an eye on Amanda as Jack approached.
“Hey.” Jack
said as he looked at Amanda, the sadness in her eyes seemed to ricochet off her
entire soul.
“Hi.” Amanda
sat down on the nearby landing, “Why are you here?”
Jack sat
next to her, and took her hand in his, “I want things to be okay between us.”
“Me too,
and after today I started thinking.”
“Alright,
and what did you come up with?”
Amanda
pulled her hand free from Jack, “I feel so much pressure. Not from you, but
from everyone around us, minus Cassie. Everyone in our hallway seems to have
some interest in if you and I make it another day, or week or whatever. I feel
pressure to keep up with my studies, for you to keep up with your studies.” She
leaned over and kissed his lips softly. She knew this was it for now, “I think
we need to take a break, focus on school and when we’re comfortable with where
we are, then we see how this fits.”
Jack was
speechless, especially when he watched Amanda stand up. He gently took her
hand, and then watched as it slipped away as Amanda went towards Eric.
Ariel moved
boxes around the attic, so much random stuff was up
here since they had moved. All of Maggie’s stuff sat in a corner, packed away
as if Larry was sure one day his baby girl would be back. It pulled on Ariel’s
heart to see the pile of a woman who was first her friend, and then her
step-daughter. Right now though, she was on a mission.
Moving day,
she had seen a box marked Larry, private. She wanted to know what was in it.
She figured it was marked that way to keep the kids out of it. Probably old
college stuff, revealing some stupid mistakes almost everyone makes.
Ariel tried
to come up and find it several times before, and yet still nothing. Yet it
reminded her that Larry did seem to always skip over bits and pieces of his
college days. As if something was missing.
“Ariel?”
Larry called up the stairs and she sighed.
“I’ll be
down in a minute.” She announced just as she saw the box.
Larry came
up the stairs, and saw the box. “Snooping into my past?”
“No, of course not.” Ariel laughed and shook her head, “Just looking for my box
of sashes, Cassie’s going to start competing again soon. I thought she could
use the feeling that theirs still someone in the family whose
been there already.”
“I’m sure
she’ll love it.” Larry kissed his wife on the lips.
Ariel
looked at his box, “But now that you mention it, what’s in the box?”
“Nothing but stupid stuff from my younger days. Don’t worry about it.” He took her
hand to lead her down the stairs.
Ariel
looked back towards the box, determined to find out what was inside.