- Cassie Lakhani found out she couldn’t have children.
- Gillian revealed she bought her way into Sutton Enterprises.
- Miles lay in a coma.
- Lucy arrived back in town...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
Stone Creek; Now Town.
Thurlow Lumber Mill Building; James’ Office.
Emily Roscoe passed by James Thurlow’s office with a stack of applications in her hands. Probably on her way to sort through them in hopes to find Frank Nelson’s newest secretary. A task that she seemed to have to tackle a lot these days.
James looked up at his dearest friend, Frank. “Tell me again why you think that Lucy is in Stone Creek other than the fact that you think she gave birth to your child? Frank that is a bit far-fetched, do you think she wouldn’t tell you about that?”
“Well we sort of just rushed her out of town.” Frank quipped.
James recalled the situation. “But why would she come back now?”
A question that both had to ponder. Why would a woman who was given a higher position in a company that she knew nothing about, who was given a better salary come back to cause trouble for the very men that did that for her. Frank sighed, “Maybe she’s still in love with me.”
“She could be.” James replied, hastily taking up residence on his desk. “But why now?”
“If I share a child with Lucy-”
“That’s a big if.”
Frank locked eyes with his friend, worried. “Things have been going great between Deborah and I. We just got our lives back on track and after seeing our children during the holiday’s. James, if I made the mistake of impregnating Lucy, things are going to suck.”
“Let’s worry about one thing at a time.”
Frank gulped. “I never truly told Deborah about the affair.” He knew he caught James’ attention, yanking the man out of his thoughts. “What am I supposed to do? Continue to live my life as nothing is going on or destroy everything that I worked so hard to build.”
“You can’t keep a secret this big from your wife.”
James could tell his friend was contemplating doing so. “You can’t!”
[.....]
Scene Two:
Stone Creek; Now Town.
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Parking Lot.
Cassie Lakhani placed her hand over her friend’s hands and onto the steering wheel. Signaling the woman not to turn the car on. Instead they sat in silence for a couple of minutes, neither knowing what to say. Ever since they heard the news about Cassie not being able to have children, they’ve resided in silence.
Her friend shot her a worried look.
“What happens when he wants to have children Marina? I’m damaged goods now! As much as I would want to have more children, I can’t.” She held back tears of pain. “Asking Mac to be my boyfriend would only be cheating him out of starting a family of his own.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“But I do!” She shook her head, folding her arms. “I have to take Clifton up on his offer. There’s nothing that I can do at this point. Clifton is a good man and he will treat Lucian and myself right. Besides, we already have a child together.”
Marina took her friend’s hands. “You are young Cassie, we have time to sort this all out.”
But Cassie turned away, she didn’t know if she wanted to go through anymore pain. A couple years ago she didn’t think that she’d be in this situation. A couple years ago she was imagining a life as a famous model, but life had gotten a hold of her. “I don’t want to go through anymore pain.”
“You won’t.”
Cassie faced Marina, tears in her eyes. “I can’t be with Mac and that’s final.”
“Are you certain of this?”
She wasn’t. Every bone in her body told her that this would be a mistake, but her mind assured her that she could eventually find happiness with Clifton Briggs. He was a great man, although he threatened her into marriage. He had the right reasonings.
Cassie sighed. “Yes.”
[.....]
Scene Three:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. Callahan Condo’s #29
Taylor & Dizzy’s Condo.
Mac walked into the apartment, oblivious to the fact that it was unlocked. But then he found Dizzy Roberts upside-down on the couch watching some reality show. “You do know all the blood is rushing to your head right now and that eventually you might pass out because of it, right?”
“I watch husband’s pass out on a daily basis.” Dizzy snipped.
He shrugged, sitting next to her. “Where’s my brother?”
By this time, Dizzy found it in her to roll over the couch and sit-up-straight. “I don’t really know, but if my hunch is right he is off doing Grey’s Anatomy with Dr. Atkins.”
“Who?”
“He’s Stone Creek’s equivalent to Dr. McSteamy.”
Mac frowned, trying not to picture his brother getting lucky with a doctor. Instead he took the remote in his hands and changed the channel, much to Dizzy’s dismay. “You don’t even live here.”
“You don’t even lock your door, you’re lucky that I walked in and not some sex crazed lunatic.”
Dizzy thought it over. “Maybe I need a little crazy in my life.”
“Nobody needs a little crazy in their life.” Mac reminded her. “It’s like the whole Cassie thing, we shouldn’t have pursued her, it was such a major mistake and a waste of time. Which it isn’t your fault, it is all mine. Maybe we both need a normal, drama-free relationship?”
Dizzy rolled her eyes. “You’re in love with Cassie.”
“Maybe not.” She looked at him, confused. “I thought I did. But honestly, there is more going on for her than I had originally thought and quite frankly, I don’t even know if I’m ready to settle down with someone who has a child yet.”
She shrugged.
“What was I thinking?”
“I don’t know.” Dizzy snipped. “But really, we need to get off our asses and do something that isn’t so depressing. We need to get out there and find the loves of our lives and start this new year with a clean slate! How about we go out tonight, my treat?”
“Alright.” Mac trailed off, thinking about Cassie and how everything turned into a missed opportunity.
Scene Four:
Stone Creek; Now Town.
Sutton Enterprises; Hallway.
Gillian Sutton walked down the hall. It was the first time since she was little that she felt some sort of power insider the halls of the building. Ever since Gillian found out about her fiance’s plan to take over her family’s business, she knew that she had to do something about it.
There was no mistake that Gillian loved Damien Crenshaw. But she knew that letting him take over the company would mean the immediate disbandment of the Sutton family and she couldn’t let that happen. So she made it her mission to acquire every loose-ended stock.
She had enough money saved up to buy her way to the top of the food chain. Taking a moment to stop and take everything in, Gillian found herself being pulled into the nearest office.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Patrick Sutton barked.
Gillian smirked. “What I knew Damien would have done if he had the chance.”
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information Gillian, but Damien Crenshaw didn’t have a hand in this company. I think you’re using that as an excuse to take everything out from under me!” Patrick fumed, he snickered. “I didn’t think you had the brains to do that.”
“Damien was indeed trying to take the company out from under you, you were just too blind to see that.” Gillian snapped back. How could her father be so oblivious to what Damien was doing? “You know what is sad about this whole situation?”
“What?”
“I’m the only one trying to save this company.” She solemnly replied, pushing past her father.
But Patrick grabbed her arm and spun her around. “So say that you are telling me the truth.”
Gillian rolled her eyes. “I am telling you the truth daddy.”
“So you say.” Before Gillian could open her mouth and defend herself, Patrick waved his hand. “How do I know you’re telling the truth Gillian? You’re literally sleeping with the enemy! But if I go on a limb and trust you here, trust that you are trying to save the company.”
She noticed a change in her father’s posture. As if the man she had always known to be cunning and smart was finally realizing his own stupidity. “What do we do from here on out? How do we keep Crenshaw out of this family for good Gillian?”
“We don’t.”
Patrick frowned.
“I’m still marrying him daddy, I’m still in love with Damien. There’s nothing that can keep me from being his wife, but I just thought we deserved to have the company that our ancestors built from the ground.” She let out of her father’s grip. “So tell me, how do you repay me?”
He squirmed. “How about you figure out how to tell your fiance that you stole the company he was trying to gain right out from under him. Let’s see if Damien Crenshaw still wants to marry you after that and then we will talk about how I repay you Gillian.”
She lowered her head. “I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
[.....]
Scene Five:
745 W. Lavender St., Stone Creek. “Old Granger Manor”
Damien & Gillian’s Home.
Clifton Briggs stepped into the house, it had been awhile since he had last seen Damien Crenshaw. The two had been working on a plan to get Damien the votes to become mayor of Stone Creek and now since their plan succeeded, it was his turn to get his prize.
“I’m glad you were able to come on such short notice.” Damien spoke, inviting him into the Foyer. “Gillian is out running some errands right now. I couldn’t invite you to my new office since everyone there seems to be a town gossip, I don’t need them associating us as friends.”
Clifton shot the man a glare.
“It’s true! If they knew that you helped me win the election for Mayor, everything would fall apart.”
“I’m just here to talk about my business Damien.”
“We do need to discuss that.” The look of fear on Clifton’s face caused Damien to smile. It was as if he were a child being scolded, being put in his place. “I can’t help you get valid zoning license for your club to move into Now Town. It’s too risky for a new Mayor.”
“So what do I do now?” Clifton barked.
Damien shrugged. “Just make do with what you have Clifton. I told you when we first agreed to helping me become Mayor of Stone Creek that I might not be able to help you out. There’s nothing I can do, the people in this town will not agree to having a strip-club in Now Town.”
“It’s a Night Club as well, there are plenty of those in Now Town so there shouldn’t be any difference. It’s not like I’m some known criminal Damien, nobody knows about my dealings! I keep that separate from my legal work in town.” Clifton acknowledged.
“But sooner or later things are going to change, Cliff.” Damien walked up to him. He could feel the anger building inside of Clifton but he wasn’t afraid, for some reason he was having fun enticing it. “People are going to take notice of you and I don’t want my hands dirty when you fall apart.”
Clifton grabbed at Damien and pushed him against the wall. “I will not fall apart!”
“Who are you trying to convince?” Damien snickered.
He could feel Clifton’s grip loosening as he questioned it.
[.....]
Scene Six:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. Faustino Cottages # 10
Natalie & Amanda’s Cottage.
Aidan Jurado jumped into the bed, his boxer brief’s sagging along his body as he caressed his girlfriend, Amanda tucker. It was the second time they had sex since Aidan showed up at her house, uninvited. But since she had just returned from her trip he felt he needed to see her.
There was something between them now and he wanted to get it out of the way before it got worse. Amanda giggled as he kissed her neck. “I’m really glad that I’m back in town Aidan, but you’ve never been this frisky--not that I’m complaining. But I feel like something's wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong!” He took her hand in his and kissed it. “I actually wanted to come over to tell you something. This morning, before I arrived here I talked to Greta Wilkinson about moving out of my uncle’s house and she agreed to help me out.”
“That’s good, I don’t mind going to the Lakeside Inn for work but going so we can get some alone time has really made me feel slutty.” Amanda admitted. “Which reminds me, I don’t know if I want to wear stilettos with leggings anymore.”
He looked at her understandingly. “They are kind of slutty.”
“No.” Amanda shook her head. “They make me look taller than you. Looking like an amazon hooker is worse than looking slutty.”
Aidan blinked, trying to comprehend his girlfriend’s response. “Back to the point. I asked her to find me a place so that maybe at one point we can move in together. With you gone for the holiday’s I realized that I don’t want to be apart from you.”
“So will you?”
She sighed. “I’d have to think about it Aidan.”
“What’s there to think about?” He fumed.
Amanda placed her finger to his lips. “Just let this girl think about it.”
Quickly, she replaced the finger with her lips. Aidan rolled to the side and pulled her on top of him.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. Callahan Condo’s #29
Taylor & Dizzy’s Condo.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Taylor Kern asked, standing in Dizzy’s doorway. She turned to face him, sitting at her vanity with a smile on her face. “I went by the hospital but they said you were already clocked out, are you getting ready to go out without me?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I was going to invite you, but I just haven’t had the chance.”
Taylor shrugged. “Where are we going?”
“Shenanigans.” Dizzy looked back at the mirror, putting her earrings in. “Your brother was here earlier and we decided that we needed to go out. He’s been having a hard time getting over Cassie so we decided that we needed to put ourselves out there.”
“I think that’s a bad idea. Have you seen Mac around girls? He get’s all sweaty and his voice elevates to that of Christina Aguilera. The only thing he is putting out there is humiliation.”
“Stop that!” Dizzy barked, she got up from her seat and turned to Taylor. “I felt bad for you when you had this little school girl crush on a very straight Aidan Jurado and I was happy that you finally reunited with your brother. But you’ve gone too far!”
Taylor frowned.
“I don’t care how depressed you are, but please stop trying to bring Mac and I down to your level. I get it, you were hurt. But guess what Taylor, it happens to everybody. Move on and maybe you can have a chance at happiness as well. Just try, like the rest of us.”
“I’m sorry.” He confessed.
He looked at his friend and he knew he had over stepped his boundaries. Dizzy was right, he had treated his brother and Dizzy badly. They were the only friends he had in Stone Creek and he shouldn’t have been so harsh. Taylor pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Dizzy responded, pulling away. “Just say you will come with us?”
“Of course.”
[.....]
Scene Eight:
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek “Thurlow Cottage”
James, Caitlyn & Aidan’s Cottage.
The Thurlow Cottage had seen its share of mishaps in its years of being around. Most children who had been brought up in its walls broken an expensive vase or two. But none of them had done what Megan Sutton had proceeded to do, on accident of course.
Caitlyn Thurlow sighed. “Just stay over there Megan, I don’t need you getting hurt.”
The little girl looked on, wide-eyed.
“I don’t understand why you couldn’t listen to me, I told you time and time again to stay away from the liquor cabinet and that your grandfather would be angry if he seen you near it.” Caitlyn scolded, picking up the pieces of what seemed to be James’ most expensive bottle of scotch.
She knew the smell would stay in the house for months if she didn’t try to get it out now. Let alone the glass that shattered into millions of pieces and dug itself into the carpet. Then she remembered everything that happened during Christmas.
Caitlyn sighed, turning to face Megan who now wore a frown. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Did you break the bottle on purpose?”
The little girl shrugged.
Tossing the pieces into the garbage can, Caitlyn walked over to Megan and kneeled down. “I’m not mad at you darling. But I really need to hear the truth, I promise that you wont get in trouble. But if you broke the bottle for a certain reason, I would like to know.”
“I don’t want my grandpa drinking anymore.” She mumbled, her eyes watering up. “I don’t want him to have to go to the hospital like grandma Charlene.”
Caitlyn sighed, just as the doorbell wrung. “I have to get that, so stay on the couch, okay?”
Megan nodded.
“Megan, don’t you worry about your grandpa. He’s a very strong man and nothing is going to happen to him and as for Charlene, she’s staying with your parents so that she can get better.” Caitlyn kissed the little girl’s forehead, feeling the weight of her fears lifting onto Caitlyn’s shoulders.
When she opened the door she was surprised to see Deborah Nelson there, a smile on the woman’s face. “If you’re looking for James, he’s at the office with your husband.”
Caitlyn never really had a smooth relationship with Deborah. The only reason they were civil around each other was because their husband’s were best friends. When Caitlyn started dating James Thurlow, it was Deborah and Helen who caused trouble for the woman.
But here Deborah was, standing in front of her. “I was wondering if you wanted to go have lunch, actually.”
Caitlyn looked at the woman suspiciously. “I’m babysitting Megan right now.”
“Then maybe the park is more suitable.”
“What’s going on Deborah?” Caitlyn asked, losing her patients.
“Something’s wrong with Frank, he has a secret that he isn’t telling me and I need someone to talk to.” Deborah answered, she lowered her head. “I need a friend to talk to and Helen just keeps giving me two options; divorce Frank or murder him.”
Caitlyn mused at the prospect, looking back to the Living Room and noting that she did need some time out of the house. The park would be good for Megan. But first they had something else to attend to. “Fine, but I need your help as well.”
“What for?”
She thought it through, how to phrase her question without sounding like an alcoholic. “Do you know the quickest way to rid the smell of scotch from carpet?”
[.....]
Scene Nine:
2300 Cranberry St., Stone Creek. Stone Creek Apartments #23
Mac Kern’s Apartment.
How was he going to get over Cassie? Mac Kern pictured the first time he talked to her, they were both late for class and happened to ram right into each other. She was adorable, scatter brained and fresh and he was trying to find something new.
He had heard the doorbell a couple minutes ago. But Mac was too nervous trying to fix his tie. Although Dizzy had taught him how to tie it, he still hadn’t perfected it fully. Giving up, he made it to the door by the time the guest wrung it for the third time.
“I’m sorry, I was just-” He stopped in his tracks, his nerves stepping into higher gear as he locked eyes with the person on the other end. “Cassie.”
Behind red eyes, she waved. “I just had to come by and I won’t waste too much of your time. But after what I heard today I just needed to see you. There has been so much going on lately Mac, after the New Years Eve Ball I didn’t think things could get any worse.”
“What’s going on Cassie?”
“I have to say goodbye, for good.” Mac’s lip quivered. “There was a time when I really wanted all of this to work and I know that I didn’t exactly end things well during the ball. But I wanted to come back and for us to have some closure, for good.”
He lifted his hand with every intention to caress her cheek, but suddenly that seemed so awkward. “I thought you loved Clifton?
Cassie shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who I love, it doesn’t matter what I want. I’ve been looking at everything from a selfish perspective for so long. First wanting to be a model, then wanting to be with you to feel this void I’ve been having. I’m sorry Mac.”
“Don’t be.”
She wrung her hands, trying to keep herself from wrapping them around Mac. Suddenly, his tie worries didn’t seem so big anymore. He had wanted for months to be Cassie’s boyfriend that he didn’t see that there was more going on. Mac tried to smile, to tell her everything would be alright.
But it proved a hard task. “So this is the end?”
“To new beginnings. You’re a great guy Mac and maybe you weren’t the one for me. But there will be a lucky lady out there who will see the great guy in you. You’ll see.”
“I would have loved you Cassie, forever.”
She shook her head. “You need someone who can love you back, Mac. For awhile I thought I could be that, but now I know that I am only standing in the way for someone else to show you what love is. I can’t be selfish anymore, Mac. I have to let you go.”
Cassie kissed his cheek before turning to walk away, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Mac touched his cheek, confused at what just happened. He closed the door and leaned against it, knowing that a couple drinks and terrible dancing was exactly what he needed tonight.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
- Caitlyn starts to put pieces together.
- Bentley questions Emily about their wedding.
- Diem and Leia have a heart-to-heart.
- Gideon wants answers...
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