- James and Patrick both dreamed of Shannon.
- Gail found out that she might be pregnant.
- Deborah finally felt content with her marriage to Frank.
- Marina and Ryan started working together...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Thurlow Cottage”
James & Caitlyn’s Home.
Even under the warmth of the shower, he couldn’t get his dream from last night out of his head. It was so vivid and it spooked James Thurlow. Taking a moment to remember his sister’s face, he knew that something was wrong.“How are we doing?” Caitlyn asked, breaking her husband out of his thoughts. She brought him a cup of coffee, wrapping her robe tighter around her slim body. “I know you have to go to the office, but I just thought, you might need a morning pick-me-up.”
He kissed her cheek. “You are always good to me. Let me get dressed and I’ll meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes?”
“Okay.” She replied, eyeing her husband before disappearing into the hall.
James sighed, trying to keep his head on, he dialed his sister’s phone number but got no response. Shutting his phone he went on getting ready for work, slipping into his normal routine and dashed down to the kitchen where Caitlyn was.
“I was thinking of going to see Kirsten and Megan today after my meeting with the city council.” Caitlyn spoke, bringing her husband some breakfast. “After everything that has happened recently, I think some bonding time is in store.”
“That’s a perfect idea.” James responded, slicing his pancakes. “Maybe this weekend we can all get sometime together.” His mind flashed back to the dream, he could see Caitlyn giggling in the grass field, her flowing white dress dancing around her.
“James?”
He looked up at his wife. “Sorry, I was just... what where you saying?”
Caitlyn frowned, but returned to their conversation. “I was asking you if there was time to take a boat out to the lake? It would give us time to see everyone and even spend time at The Lakeside Inn. We haven’t been there in quite some time.”
James nodded along.
“Is everything okay?” Caitlyn asked, her hands on her hips. “You seem out of it today, honey.”
A vague smile brought his focus on Caitlyn’s face. “I just have a lot on my mind. But Caitlyn, your idea sounds magnificent, I will see if Emmet and Iris can come down this weekend as well, make it a whole family thing!”
“That would be lovely.”
His phone rang, interrupting their conversation, but since they had already made the plans, this didn’t bother Caitlyn who returned to her side of the table and began to work on her food.
James looked at the number, his heart sank into his stomach where he was sure it was being decimated. “Hello, Mathias how are you today?”
He could feel the sorrow on the other end. “James, I need to tell you something. It’s rather important, are you busy?”
“No, I’m just having breakfast with Caitlyn. Mathias, what is going on? You sound like something is wrong.” He looked up at Caitlyn who grew concerned as well. “Is something wrong with the kids, how is Shannon doing?”
“James, there’s been an accident.” Mathias spoke, his words as solemn as the man felt. “Shannon was involved in a car accident, James, Shannon didn’t make it. Your sister didn’t make it to the hospital in time, she’s gone. I’m terribly sorry.”
James dropped his cellphone. The horrible feeling from his dream was back, but ten times worse.
[.....]
Scene Two:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. Callahan Condos #15
Marina, Cassie & Lucian’s Condo.
Tying her blouse, Marina Thurlow, looked at her boyfriend as he started to dress for the day. A small smile found it’s way on her face as she busied herself with getting ready. She was glad that things didn’t seem tense between the two of them, especially with both Ryan and Natalie back in their lives.
She sighed at the fact that Ian had been spending more time with his half-sister. But then shrugged it off as she felt his hands caress her body. Falling into chills, Marina turned around to kiss him. “I will be back in a couple of hours if you want to have lunch with Cassie?”“That sounds fantastic.” Ian replied, he fidgeted with his watch. “Natalie wanted to meet up with me, but I have so much work to get done at the Veterinary. If it’s alright with you, I might grab dinner with her tonight?”
Marina frowned, knowing that meant he wouldn’t be available to help take care of Lucian while Cassie was out, but then decided it was alright. She straightened his collared shirt. “She’s your sister, of course it’s alright. I can take care of Lucian on my own.”
“I know it’s been tough lately-”
“Not at all!” Marina interrupted. “I love you Ian Kiefer and nobody can change that. Besides, as much as Cassie needs me right now, I am sure it is the same with Natalie. Has she talked to Helen yet, you know, about the whole disfigurement?”
Marina had liked that word, inside, she giggled. But she knew that Ian wouldn’t like her teasing the word in her head or the fact that she thought Natalie Marlowe deserved the scar.
There was an amount of thought into it, Ian turned from Marina and went to gather his coat before he turned back to her. “You know, that might be why Natalie had wanted to talk to me. Maybe I should see her before dinner? I mean, if she is going to see your mother about her contract with HEAT Magazine, maybe she might need my support.”
“So you won’t be here for lunch?” Marina grumbled, taking a hair-clip and tangling her hair into a bun. Ian shrugged, allowing Marina time to counter-act the situation. “That’s fine. Go ahead and take all the time you need. Natalie needs you, right?”
“Right.” Ian responded. “For now though, I’ll be at work if you find the need to stop by.”
A smile formed on her face. “Now what kind of girlfriend would I be if I distracted you from your internship? Besides I have work to get done as well. If you are free tonight, then maybe we can do dinner instead?”
Kissing him goodbye, she grabbed her messenger bag and left the room.
[.....]
Scene Three:
510 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Nelson Home”
Frank & Deborah’s Home.
Today everything looked so vibrant, fixing the flowers that Frank had brought for her a couple days ago, Deborah Nelson could feel things getting better. After her husband surprised her with a trip to see her children, her outlook at life was brighter.
She grabbed a flower and placed it in a single vase near the entranceway. Having a couple of errands to run on her day off, she left Frank to fend for himself in the shower. Deborah could hear him shuffling through their bedroom, getting ready for his day.
Deborah wondered what her children were doing today, she imagined the normal routines they had all created for themselves. Getting ready for work and kissing her grandchildren before they left, just as Deborah did to them when they were little.Getting home from work and relaxing by the fire.
A knock at the door caused her to stir from her fantasy land, adjusting her clothes she went to open it. “James? What are you doing here?” Inviting him in, she circled him. Looking for an indication as to why he was at their home so early. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine Deborah,” Taking a moment to kiss her cheek, his frazzled exterior only frightened her. “I need to talk to your husband, if he is around? I told him not to go into the office today, so I just figured, Frank would be home.”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, of course he is here.”
“Great.”
Making her way to the bedroom, Deborah grabbed Frank and lured him into the hall with the news that James was in their living room and seemed distraught. Placing a confused smile on her face she looked between the two men. “I have to go, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” James responded, kissing her cheek again and watching as Deborah left the house. Once the door shut behind her James turned his attention to Frank. “There’s a situation, more like a crisis in Paris that I need to take care of in a couple of days.”
“What’s going on James?”
His long-time friend placed a hand to his mouth, trying to keep his composure together. “I have to leave town for a couple days. I know I told you to take your vacation early but you are the only other person I trust to look over the Lumber Mill.”
Frank knew exactly what James was getting at, he lowered his head trying to find an explanation for Deborah. “Are you sure you can’t stay in town? Or monitor the company from Paris? You did it before when you went to see Shannon and the kids.”
The eldest Thurlow’s eyes began to water. “Oh James, what the hell is going on?”
“We lost her, Frank.” James gasped, he began to fall apart, sliding onto the couch. “I-I-I don’t know the specifics of everything, I only talked to Mathias shortly.” Frank lowered himself cautiously onto the coffee table. “But he didn’t need to say much.”
There was a moment of complete silence as Frank patted his friend’s back. He knew there wasn’t anything he could do for him. Well there was one thing, the moment he told Deborah about visiting their children, he mood had enlightened and Frank felt as if everything he had ever done in their relationship had gone away.
His slate had been wiped clean.
James looked at Frank, his hands cusped together. “I have to go to Paris to bury my sister.”
Frank closed his eyes, sorrowful.
---
Our love. Our fights. Our friendships.
On Concrete Shelves.
Forever, they shall be remembered.
---
Scene Four:
341 Wallow St., Stone Creek. “Schmidt Home”
David, Helen & Gail’s Home.
Although the last couple of days had kept Gail on her toes, it was the sight of her best friend that caused her to smile. She ran up to Dizzy Roberts as the woman closed the door to her car. Admitting that she was crazy for standing on the front steps of the house for so long, waiting for Dizzy’s arrival, Gail breathed a sigh of relief.
“Do you know how happy I am to see you?” She squealed, she looked at the trunk of Dizzy’s car and offered to grab her bags.
But Dizzy objected, “I cannot ask your father to take me in, I already booked a hotel room in Sage Gardens. It’s really seedy and not close to the hospital, but it’s what I could afford.”
Gail rolled her eyes. “Which is more reason for you to stay here! You can take my room, I haven’t really been using it lately, with me being at Adrian’s most of the time. My father adores you and Helen could use someone else dead on giving her difficulty.”
“I don’t think that would win over your father.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Gail replied, she looked at Dizzy. It had been so long since she had seen her last. But she was her closest friend, especially with everything that happened in Arizona. Leaning on her friend as they walked inside, Gail felt so much better.
“So tell me, what is going on?” Dizzy asked, Gail poured her a cup of tea, trying to avoid the reason she asked her friend to come to town as much as possible. “You sounded panicked on the phone, I had to give-up all of my shifts at the hospital this week.”
Gail frowned, feeling bad. “I’m so sorry, if I had known your work would suffer,” Gail sighed, maybe pleading with her friend to come to Stone Creek was a bad idea. “Maybe you should go back to Arizona, you have so much to worry about.”“If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t.” Dizzy acknowledged. “Now tell me, what is going on with my dear friend? Enough with trying to distract me, what is the real reason you asked me to come here? Obviously things between yourself and Adrian are better.”
“I’m pregnant... I think.” Gail wrung her hands.
“Wait, what?” Placing her cup of tea on the table, Dizzy tilted her head, she was as confused as ever. “But if you are pregnant that is a good thing, right? Why do I get the impression that this is a bad thing.”
“What if I lose the baby again?” Gail asked, her fears coming to surface. “Last time, when we decided not to tell Adrian the truth about the baby until after the first trimester,” the memories flashed back into her mind. “Dizzy, I can’t lose another baby, what if I just am not able to carry a baby to full-term.”
Dizzy closed her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t think like that Gail. When you lost the baby, it was an accident. It was that guys fault, he caused the miscarriage, not your body. This baby, if you are pregnant, will not suffer the same fate.”
She watched as Gail thought it over.
“You know the one thing I regretted about the whole thing?” Gail looked up, conflicted. “I regretted keeping the pregnancy a secret from Adrian. He deserved to know the truth. I know that after the accident he would have comforted you in a way that I wasn’t able to.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Dizzy disagreed. “We should have never kept the baby a secret in the first place.”
“You’re right.” Gail responded, feeling a sudden urge to be sick. She looked around the room, it reminded her of the first time she came to Dizzy for help. Thinking it over, Gail still didn’t know if being pregnant was a good thing.
[.....]
Scene Five:
Stone Creek Ledger.
Second Floor.
As Marina shuffled through her article, she placed a final draft in front of Ryan Bauer. It was so weird having him back in town. For the first couple of weeks, she was numb to the feeling. But now, being alone with him, even without Ian knowing, there was a comforting feeling.
She thought back to what Kirsten said, her sister knew just how to get under her skin.
“I like it.” Ryan spoke, he looked up at Marina, worried. “You look a million miles away, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” She lied, Marina knew that her past with Ryan was nothing but the past, although Kirsten had drudged up some deep feelings, Marina knew being with Ian was the right choice. Looking at the article, Marina realized what Ryan was praising.
“You like it?”
He nodded. “I’ve always known that you were a good writer Marina, that is why I chose you to cover the story. You have a way with captivating the reader and giving them the information they need to hear as if they were listening to their favorite program.”
Marina smiled, sheepishly. “I just don’t know Ryan. I really do want Mr. Marlowe to like it, but delving into this family, especially with not telling Ian about it-”
“You haven’t told Ian?” Ryan asked, trying to not sound excited. “Have you told him that you’ve been working with me about it, at least?”
When Marina doesn’t initially respond, Ryan knew he had his answer. “Well, what are you going to do then? This article is exactly what we need to boost your career and help Jared Marlowe with his campaign. I couldn’t see you turn down this chance.”
“If I turn in this article, then Ian will know that I’ve been lying to him.” Marina questions, she looked at the article once again, she knew Ryan was right. That this could help boost her career as an editor someday. But there was something at the back of her mind telling her this wasn’t right.
“I don’t think I can expose Jared’s past.” She looked at Ryan. “As much as I hate Natalie, I care too much about Ian’s feelings. Would you hate me entirely if I decided not to turn this into my editor?”
Ryan took a moment to think about it, then smirked. “I don’t think I could ever hate you Marina.”
There was an awkwardness between the two, Marina could feel the room grow smaller. His words, as vague as they were, electrified her. “I’ll make it up to you, okay? But I don’t think I can hurt Ian in this way. This article, I cannot turn it in.”
[.....]
Scene Six:
Harper Smites Rehabilitation.
Deborah’s Office.
Having finished up with her latest client, Deborah signed a notepad and ripped the page off. It was a prescription she hoped would help her client. After their breakthrough, she knew he needed something to help him sleep, so she wrote the prescription and handed it over.
“Remember, only take one before bed, it should help you sleep.” She reminded him and then watched as the man left. It made her feel better knowing that their sessions were helping him. Most of the time Deborah dealt with bringing horrible memories to the surface.
It was a perceptive career and one that she had nightmares over on different occasions. But today, she was seeing progress in a client. It was the reason why she became a therapist in the first place.
Then she walked in. It had been weeks since she had talked to Helen and the last time, it felt as if Helen was trying to make Deborah feel bad. “What are you doing here?” The words sounded harsher than she meant, but knew Helen wouldn’t catch on.
“Just here to see an old friend, how’ve you been?” Helen asked, taking a seat before her. She looked around the room, it had been awhile since she had been in Deborah’s sanctuary. “How is my daughter doing with her sessions?”Deborah knew there was a reason why Helen was here. “You know I cannot discuss patient’s progress, it’s all part of confidentiality. Surely you understand that Helen. Is this why you came by to see me? To talk about Marina.”
“Why do you seem so distant today?” Helen asked, she looked at a picture on Deborah’s wall, fascinated by it’s history. “We haven’t seen each other in awhile, why don’t we hug and make up?”
“I just feel like our relationship is turning into a badger Deborah romance.” Deborah remarked, watching as Helen got from her seat and walked over to the picture of Deborah and her family, when the children were younger. “Helen?”
Helen turned to face her. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re sensitive right now. How are things with Frank? I heard about his secretary’s untimely death, I’m sure you are breathing a sigh of relief?”
“Why would I do that?” Deborah asked, fed up with her friend. Helen walked over to Deborah’s desk and grabbed a picture of Deborah and her husband, Frank. “Someone died Helen, show some compassion.”
“Now with Isobel gone, you don’t have to worry about her getting into your husband’s pants while you are busy. You know the Nelson’s and how they just can’t help themselves.” Deborah grabbed the picture from Helen’s grasp. “Sensitive much?”
“Don’t you have better things to do, like screw up your children’s lives?” Deborah spat, replacing the picture on her desk. She eye’d it cautiously as if Frank would scatter out of the picture and away from her sight, but Deborah knew she was being ridiculous.
Helen smirked. “I heard that you were going on a little vacation to visit your children, how fascinating Debbie.” Although Helen was hurt by Deborah’s words, she wouldn’t show it. Their relationship had always been about power and Helen always put Deborah in her place.
That’s why they were such good friends.
“Why do you care?”
“Because, don’t you understand? Husband’s only give their wives gift’s when they did something bad. Isn’t it convenient that Frank is taking you to see your children after so much time apart? Don’t tell me you are that naive?”
When she got no response, Helen pouted, tauntingly. “That’s so sweet of you.”
Taking pride in her latest endeavor, Helen excused herself from the office, she had other things to do. This left Deborah to eye her phone. She knew not to let Helen get to her, but she had a point.
Reaching for her phone she dialed Frank’s number, only to get discouraged when it went straight to voicemail. Left with nothing but a worried look, she paced around her office, trying to think of a good excuse for Frank, wondering if she was being naive like Helen had said.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Thurlow Cottage”
James & Caitlyn’s Home.
While catching up with Kirsten Sutton, Gideon mentioned that he was happy that his daughter, Greta could rely on her as a friend. “It’s nothing Gideon, I think after everything that has happened, and especially with our families being so close it’s only natural that we’ve become close.”
“She’s always been so plagued by her nightmares-”
Kirsten grabbed his hand to cut-him off, she knew where he was getting. “From talking to Greta, I think she has finally moved on. Now that she has Miles by her side I think everything is getting easier. Speaking of Miles, I heard that you’ve been considering him for Detective of the police force?”The older man nodded. “Miles is an excellent addition, I’ve given him the position and have started training him last week.”
“That’s good to hear.” Kirsten spoke, catching her father from the corner of her eye. While growing up, Kirsten had spent sometime in Paris with her aunt Shannon and her cousins. But she knew her father’s grief was far worse than hers.
James Thurlow had now lost both of his siblings. Kirsten had only hoped that having the family close together again would help ease his pain, but she didn’t know how she would’ve felt if it was Emmet or Marina taking Shannon’s place.
She made a note to make amends with Marina as soon as she could.
“I was watching my beautiful wife from the other side of the cafe and I couldn’t help but notice her drifting off.” Charlie spoke, greeting Gideon Wilkinson in the process. “How are you dealing with everything? I know it’s been hard on you.”
Kirsten sighed, “I don’t know what I would do if it was Marina or Emmet.”
“When we thought we were going to lose Gillian, it was hard.” Charlie reminded her. “But just know that no matter what happens, I am here for you as your husband. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She turned to Gideon. “I just don’t know what we are going to do about my father?”
Gideon sighed, looking at James as he was sitting next to Caitlyn’s side. “Well, for starters, we just have to be there for him.”
Kirsten turned to Charlie. “Did you get a hold of your father?”
She knew that Patrick had a brief past with her aunt Shannon when they were teenagers, although she didn’t know how deep it was. Although they were at odds with Patrick at the time, she insisted Charlie should call him, to let him know of her passing.
“His phone is going straight to voicemail.”
Just as he spoke, however, Patrick barged into the home, making his way towards James and passing his son in the process. “What’s going on here? I saw everyone’s cars outside, Charlie left me a voicemail about Shannon.” He looked back at his son. “I’ve been meaning to call you back.”
“This is a private meeting, Patrick.” Gideon spoke up.
But Patrick wasn’t having any of it. “James, tell me, what the hell is going on? I had dreams about Shannon a couple days ago. They were horrible dreams and I cannot get this feeling out of the back of my mind! What in the hell is going on?”
James sighed, standing in front of Patrick. “Shannon is gone. She was involved in a car accident.”
Completely stunned by the news, Patrick tried to hold himself up. He found his son, Charlie next to his side. A gulp later, he tried to wrap his head around it. He knew something was wrong. After having the nightmare about Shannon turning into dust, he knew.
Looking at James, Patrick was bewildered. “I felt her. The day that she died, I felt her presence near me.”
Everyone in the room stood silence, witnessing a different side to Patrick that some hadn’t seen in a very long time and others didn’t even know existed.
[.....]
Scene Eight:
341 Wallow St., Stone Creek. “Schmidt Home”
David, Helen & Gail’s Home.
“I think you should tell Adrian about the baby.” Dizzy responded after a brief conversation of catch-up. Her first day in Stone Creek seemed like she had never spent a minute away from Gail. It felt nice to have her best friend around. “This miracle, this baby, it shouldn’t be a secret from it’s father.”“I think you’re right.” Gail replied, looking down at her stomach. “There has been too much mistakes made over one decision and who would we be if we hadn’t evolved from past mistakes?”
Dizzy chuckled just as the doorbell rang. “Who could that be?”
Gail shrugged, going to open the door. Having spent so much of her day with Dizzy, Gail had forgot that she invited Adrian over until she saw his face. There was never any intention on having Dizzy and Adrian see each other, especially over everything that happened last time in Arizona.
But when Gail returned with her boyfriend, she could feel the tension building.
“Dizzy Roberts?” Adrian asked, he turned to Gail. “What is she doing here?”
Gail tried to keep her cool. “I invited Dizzy here for a couple of days, I hadn’t seen my good friend in such a long time, it’s a much needed visit. Right Dizzy?”
The other woman was at a loss for words. It was as if Adrian’s presence had hindered her speechless, which was odd for the woman. “Yeah.” Was all she could manage to say, which caused her to grow uncomfortable with being in the same room as Adrian.
“Last time I saw you we fought about Gail’s disappearance.”
“Which was totally my fault.” Gail tried diffusing the situation.
But Adrian wasn’t having it. “No, Dizzy had her chance to come clean, to help us regain our relationship but she didn’t. You know, when we arrived in Arizona, it was you who I befriended first. You owed me the respect to tell me that my fiance was pregnant.”“She didn’t want you to know, I was only keeping my word.”
It made Adrian sick. “Well bravo, you did a great job of it!”
“I should leave.” Dizzy replied, she placed her cup on the table and grabbed her bag. “For what it’s worth Adrian, I’m really sorry for what I did. You’re right, I should have told you about Gail. But I didn’t and I hope that we can move past that.”
Getting no response from her old friend, Dizzy said her goodbyes to Gail and left the house.
“What was she doing here?” Adrian asked, turning his attention to his girlfriend. “Dizzy Roberts has proved nothing but trouble for us, why is she suddenly appearing in Stone Creek now that everything is fine between us Gail?”
Gail gulped, wondering if she was making the right decision.
[.....]
Scene Nine:
HEAT Magazine Headquarters.
Outside.
Natalie Marlowe slammed the door shut, cursing at the realization that it was Ian’s car that she was hurting. Looking over at her brother she mouthed that she was sorry and then returned her attention to the concrete wall in front of her.
“I take it things didn’t go according to plan?” Ian spoke, putting the car in reverse and making his way out of the parking structure. “You said it yourself that you didn’t think Helen would renew your contract anyways. Maybe this is a chance for you to do something else?”“What else would I do?” Natalie scoffed. “That woman had the nerve to tell me because of my condition I was rendered unusable?! How the hell am I rendered anything? This whole thing is messed up. I don’t have anything else to do Ian.”
He brother sighed. “Come stay with me for a couple days, let me help you figure things out?”
“I’m not going to drive a wedge between yourself and Marina again.” She folded her arms, looking out the window. “How are things going between the two of you?”
“They’re fine.” Ian replied, a little too hastily. “Marina is going to be out of town for a couple days, her aunt just died, so it won’t be a problem if you come stay with me. It’ll be like old times. Maybe I can help you get back in school?”
Natalie thought it over. “Helen offered me an interning job with the company.”
“Well, why don’t you take it?” Ian asked, he made his way to where they parked her car, next to a small diner in Sage Garden’s. He felt horrible that they were sneaking around, but to be by his sister’s side again made him feel like he was part of a family.
“How do you go from being a model to behind-the-scenes? That’s like the saying if you can’t do, then you teach.” She pouted.
Ian furrowed his eyebrow. “This has nothing to do with that saying.”
“I just don’t know if I want to behind the magazine.” Natalie wanted to cry, how could Helen be so despicable to her? She was one of the only models that was making the woman money. “I don’t think I have the guts to watch other women take my spot.”
Ian patted his sister’s shoulder. “How about some ice cream?”
She shrugged. “That sounds great right now.”
[.....]
Scene Ten:
Stone Creek Ledger.
Outside.
“Marina, wait up!” Ryan called after his ex-girlfriend. He slowed down to a jog once she turned around. “Are you sure that you want to do this? We can go back in there and we can turn in the article, this isn’t at all a definite end.”Marina smiled. “It’s nice that you are trying to help me, but there are plenty of people who can write the article and not be attached to it like I am. You will find someone else, but I cannot do it, I cannot be the reason why Ian gets hurt.”
There is an awkward silence between the two, she watches as Ryan smiles at her. “This is it.”
“What is?” She asked, pulling her messenger bag onto her shoulder. She never realized how heavy it was until she was standing in front of Ryan. So close together.
Ryan licked his lips. “This is why I fell in love with you, Marina Thurlow always follows her heart. I mean, she has her faults, don’t get me wrong. But she is honest with herself before anyone else. It’s inspiring to be around her.”
There’s a twinkle in his eye that catches Marina off-guard. But then she looks away, keeping her mind focused “I have to go, my family is at my father’s house.” Stepping away from the situation she smiled awkwardly back at Ryan. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I will.”
Once she was out of sight, Ryan reached in his pocket for his phone, dialing Kevin Saunders number he made sure nobody was listening. “I just got done reading the article over with Marina. Everything is going according to plan.”
Getting confirmation from Kevin, Ryan hung-up. He turned back to the building they just exited from. There were things he needed to do and going back inside the building was one of them.
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Thurlow Cottage”
James & Caitlyn’s Home.
Patrick Sutton picked up a picture of Shannon from High School, it crushed him to know he would never hear her voice again. When he was aware that James was in his presence, Patrick placed the picture back where he found it. “When I was sent to boarding school, the only thing I could think about was her.”“She was really hurt by what you did.” James acknowledged the conversation.
The other man shook his head. “I was a selfish stupid kid back then. I didn’t know that what I was doing would push her away. After I told everyone about sleeping with Shannon, I thought she would forgive me and then when the videotape played out my party-”
His words trailed off as he mentally beat himself up. “But you shouldn’t have went to the principal or my father about it! I was going to apologize, I was going to make things right.”
“You hurt my sister.” James responded. “When Isabelle Wilkinson told me what you did to her and I had Diem help me get that videotape. Everyone needed to know the truth Patrick. I didn’t know your parents would send you away. I just needed you to get in trouble.”
“Well how do you feel now?” Patrick spit, turning to face James. There was a darkness inside him, as if he lost the charm he held in every conversation. “She’s gone. We had spent so much time apart and when I came back to town, she had already left for Paris.”
“You could have visited her.”
Patrick gasped. “And tell her what? Too much time had passed! Time that you let pass! When I came back to Stone Creek, everything had changed and Charlene was there for me. So I married her. It was a pity marriage at first.”
“And now?”
“And now I wish I had spent Shannon’s last days with her.” Patrick took a deep breath before looking at James again. “You took her away from me!”
James shook his head. “You took her away from yourself! Patrick, you are not the only person grieving here, we all lost her. We all lost someone who meant a lot to us. So please, stop throwing around blame and just join us in grieving her death?”“I would never grieve with you!” Patrick spit, “You will be sorry for this James! Everything I had lost, you will feel sorry for sending that videotape to my parents! Just watch!”
Making his way out of the room, James called him back. There was a moment when Patrick just stood in the doorway, he then turned to James. “If you are going to be intent on revenge, then I don’t want you at my sister’s funeral! There’s no room for your negative attitude.”
Patrick begrudgingly swallowed his pride and left the room, slamming the front door to the house in anger.
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
510 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. “Nelson Home”
Frank & Deborah’s Home.
Arriving at her house, Deborah noticed that she wasn’t alone. She placed her purse on the side table and tossed her keys into the ‘reminder’ bowl that she kept with Frank. There had been so much on her mind that it had completely exhausted her.
So walking into the living room and finding her husband alone in the dark. She didn’t have the energy to fight with him, instead she went over by his side and just stood there. Her arms on her hips, begging him with her eyes to give her an excuse.
“I didn’t know how to break the news.”Deborah tilted her head. “Frank?”
A small chuckle, if anything at all, escaped his lips. “We can’t see the children this week. I saw that you left me a voicemail, I turned my phone off, I just didn’t know how to tell you the bad news. I knew you were looking forward to seeing them.”
She tried to find the words to talk to him, but she was relieved to know he was cheating on her. “Well, what are we going to do with your time off? I just don’t understand why we can’t go see the children.” She sat next to Frank.
He turned to face her. “Shannon is dead.”
“What?” Deborah gasped.
“This morning when James came by, he wanted to ask me if I would be able to cancel my vacation and manage the company while he went to Paris.” Frank leaned on Deborah. “I wanted to tell him no, because I knew how much this meant to you. But I couldn’t.”
She took Frank’s hand. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Really?”
Deborah shook her head. “Frank, do you remember when we got together? Do you remember when everyone was telling me to stay away from you? Remember when James told you I was only after your power?” She smiled. “Shannon told us to ignore everyone else and follow our hearts.”
“Actually Shannon told me to follow my heart, even though she thought you were a snake.” Frank corrected his wife, but then he turned to her and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad that she told me that though. I’ve spent so much time trying to figure out why I married you.”
“And?”
Frank sighed. “This is exactly why.” He leaned his head on her shoulder as they sat there in silence.
Her heart was breaking, she wanted to see her children so badly, but Deborah took a deep breath and comforted her husband. It was as if a very important part of their family had just died and in some ways, it was the truth.
Deborah remembered when Shannon last left Stone Creek to live in Paris. When everyone was busy saying their goodbyes to her, Deborah couldn’t find it in herself to say goodbye. In the time that they had known each other, they had bickered and became close friends.
------
The sky was bright blue. The brightest shade that Deborah Nelson had ever seen in her life. She made a note to remember this day as one of sweet bliss. She made her way to her closest friend and hugged her tightly. Deborah knew she had to let Shannon leave.
When the two ended their embrace, Shannon smiled. “I know we haven’t talked lately. I feel like it is mostly my fault with everything going on, I just didn’t know how to tell you goodbye.”
“Me neither.” Deborah admitted.
Shannon chuckled. “To think, when we first met I called you a snake behind your back.”
“You were partially right.” Deborah spoke, drying her eye. “I’m really going to miss you. I know you won’t be too far away, but still. It’s going to be hard not having you around everyday to yell at me or to tell me that you think I’m being hard on Frank.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll still call you to tell you to take it easy on the guy!” Shannon reminded her.
“Good.”
“Deborah, this isn’t goodbye, alright?” Shannon spoke, she looked at her fiance, Mathias Jurado who held her bags. “I’ll see you around?”
Deborah nodded her head furiously. “Yes! Yes, you will.”
One last hug was shared between the two woman as Shannon returned to Mathias’ side, saying goodbye to her family and Stone Creek altogether. As the bright light from the sun engulfed Shannon, it was at that moment when Deborah knew nothing would be the same.
Shannon was off to Paris. Far away from Stone Creek. And now she was gone altogether.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
- Kevin contemplates his divorce.
- Charlene has trouble comforting Patrick.
- Her editor hands Marina interesting news.
- Adrian voices his concerns to Kirsten...
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