Previously, On Concrete Shelves
- Diem figured Emily Roscoe might be the missing Danielle Crenshaw.
- Amanda broke-up with Aidan after meeting Taylor Kern.
- A surprise meeting introduced Reichen Calbourne to Charlene.
- Greta informed Miles that Cassie wanted to drop the charges against Callum...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
Diem & Leia’s Cottage.
“Look what I got!” Leia Barsky shouted with joy as she burst into the Kitchen. Her mother was in the process of making a pot of tea as she did so and the commotion of the younger Joplin caused Diem to jump a little. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Diem chuckled. “That’s quite alright, I remember when I was your age. All that enthusiasm for life! Anyways, not going back down memory lane today, I have way too much to think about already.” The image of the bracelet that Emily Roscoe showed Diem dancing in her head.
“What is it?” She asked Leia, grabbing for the plastic card that her daughter waved around. “What is that that you’ve got?”
Looking over the card, Diem smiled at her daughter. “How does that make you feel?”
“Better,” She smirked. “Like I am finally getting my old life back, you know? Now that I am working at the Ledger and starting to talk to my old friends. It’s just like I never left Stone Creek, although I did leave and got married and then got divorced.”
Leia frowned.
“I have to get to work.” Diem handed the ID back. “Thank you for letting me stay here mom, it really means a lot. Especially with everything that happened with Richard and the marriage. Being with my family was the best decision I could have ever made! now I have a great job too.”
Diem held her hands out for Leia. “I’m happy that you’re happy.”
She watched as Leia left the room with her things and headed out the front door. It had been so long since Diem had her daughter around and she was quite happy to feel needed again. Then it dawned upon her, what if she was able to help Caitlyn find her daughter again? What if she could help Caitlyn feel needed.
Looking at her cellphone, Diem picked it up. She needed to call James Thurlow.
It always came back to James. Even when they were younger nothing was able to keep Diem away from him and then they started dating and became the King and Queen of their High School Prom. She smiled at the distant memory and how much she cherished it.
But today wasn’t about that, she frowned when her oldest friend answered the phone. “James, we need to talk.”
[.....]
Scene Two:
Natalie & Amanda’s Cottage
“I was the one who told you so.” Natalie Marlowe spoke, jumping onto Amanda’s bed and kicking her feet up. “But at least you found out the truth and now you can try to move on.”
Her friend looked at her with a frown. “You’re sort of being mean.”
“Your boyfriend is cheating on you with a man and I’m the one being mean? Do I have to remind you that my boyfriend is ignoring me and someone is trying to make me have a mental breakdown because I took their job at HEAT Magazine?”
Amanda turned her head. “You still think Oliver is behind it?”
“Who else would it be?”
The blonde shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, Oliver has left Stone Creek. You get to go back to pretending you are the boss at HEAT and focus on your job. I’m sure Ryan has a great explanation for not answering your calls and only coming by to have sex with you.”
“And you?” Natalie asked.
Amanda played with her hands, trying to find an answer. “What am I supposed to do Nat? How do I go back to see Aidan after what I found out? Kirsten clearly stated that Aidan had feelings for a Taylor Kern and when I bumped into him in the park--god I looked like an idiot.”
Suddenly Natalie had an idea. “You think this Taylor guy knows who you are?”
“Come on, Aidan played you like a fiddle. Tried to make you feel like he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you while you chased after this guy.” Natalie smirked, devilishly. “Why don’t we give him a taste of his own medicine Mandy?”
“We can’t.”
Natalie frowned. “Why not?”
“Because! You only want to help me get back at Aidan because Ryan is ignoring you.” Amanda replied, she jumped off the bed and folded her arms. “Do you not understand how humiliated I feel? There are things I’ve been thinking that I’ve never thought before.”
“You really don’t do much thinking.” Natalie huffed.
Amanda gritted her teeth. “Well consider that changed. From now on, I will start thinking twice before I get in bed with a guy that likes guys.”
“That sounds like a very good plan. Come back when you want to make Aidan pay, I’ll be thinking of a good plan.” Natalie hollered with a chuckle as Amanda left the room. Eager to find herself a pint of ice cream and a bag of cookies before work.
[.....]
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Alice’s Haven Cafe
Caitlyn Thurlow smiled when she opened the glass doors and met eyes with her step-daughter, Kirsten Sutton. She let go of Megan Sutton’s hand and the little girl barreled towards her mother, hugging Kirsten at the waist. “It’s nice to see her this happy.”
Her step-mother shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Your father loves having Megan around and I just like having a child around the house again.”
“How has Charlene been holding up?”
Kirsten smiled, leaning down to Megan. “Honey, how about you sit over here and I’ll have Jack come by and get you a milkshake?” She waited for the little girl to agree and then signaled for a waiter to get Megan’s order. “Charlene has been doing great, actually. She has been going to these meetings, they’re sort of like AA meetings.”
“That’s good.” Caitlyn replied, she held Kirsten’s hand.
“How are you doing with Charlene being in the house and Megan being at the Cottage with us?” Caitlyn asked, she sat next to Kirsten and ordered a coffee to keep her going for the day. “I know it’s not easy with Megan being with us. How is Charlie taking it?”
Kirsten sighed. “I do want my little girl being home, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t know if being around Charlene is good for Megan. At least not right now. She’s going to meetings and dealing with her problems. Charlene isn’t ready to be around Megan.”
“As for Charlie, I really don’t know what he is thinking.” She admitted with a frown. “If we are not working then we are at home sleeping. There hasn't been much time in between for the two of us just to talk about what is going on.”
“Kirsten, if you need any time to yourself you know I can help out around here.” Caitlyn admitted, she looked around the place. “It’s been awhile since I was a waitress but I think I can handle it here for a night. I mean if you and Charlie want to have a night out-”
“Caitlyn, thanks.” Kirsten replied. “But we will work this out on our own.”
Caitlyn nodded her head, understandingly. “Well, if it makes you feel any better. I do hope that things work out. If you need anything then don’t be afraid to ask your father or I.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I finally filed a restraining order against Damien.” Caitlyn spoke. The words came out of her mouth so effortlessly that it almost tricked her mind that she was alright with them.
Kirsten burst into smiles. “I’m so proud of you Caitlyn! That’s great news.”
“Things have to change.” Caitlyn forced a smile.
2121 Mason St., Stone Creek. [Hoffman Village Apartment #21]
Reichen Calbourne’s Apartment
Charlene Sutton looked at the picture of Reichen Calbourne with a woman, it was obviously taken a couple years ago. There was a smile on his face that she wasn’t privileged to see yet and his face didn’t seem to harbor the wrinkles of past mistakes. She frowned, realizing how much he must have changed.
Then she followed the line of pictures, each one showing a side to Reichen that he had never shown her before. In that moment Charlene realized that Reichen probably never invited anyone inside his home. These were all such private moments in his life he seemed to cherish.
She remembered all the pictures of her children that she left at the HollyOak Manor and how she made a mental note to go back and retrieve them once she had her own place. Once Charlene felt she was recovered from whatever sickness she felt she was under.
Charlene sighed.
So much of her life was spent running away from her problems, she reached the last picture but her attention caught on a box of pills beside the picture. It was obviously none of her business how Reichen runs his life, but Charlene knew the rules.
Any sort of drug is an addiction for someone like Reichen. “I get migraines.”
“Of course.” Charlene spoke, she turned around and deposited the pills back where she found them. She looked away from Reichen, ashamed that she mentally accused him of harboring drugs. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop around your business.”
“Then what happened?”
“The meetings.” Reichen replied, he garnered Charlene’s attention.
“Do you see this painting?” He walked to a painting across the room, while Charlene lingered behind. “Come here, look at the detail in it. When I was in California for a couple of years I found this piece in an old antique store. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it.”
“It’s breath taking.” Charlene replied, although she never figured Reichen to be interested in art. She tilted her head and looked at him while he explained the painting and it’s worth. For the first time since she met Reichen, Charlene was reminded that she didn’t really know much about this man.
Her mind wandering back to the migraine pills.
[.....]
Stone Creek; Now Town
Thurlow Lumber Mill Offices; James’ Office
Diem Joplin paced around the room, once she found her way to James’ office she couldn’t bring herself to talk about her theories. She stopped pacing and looked at a concerned James. “I think that Danielle Crenshaw is still alive, James.”
“Please don’t say that.” James replied, hoping that they didn’t have to go through the whole mess again. The first time they thought Caitlyn’s daughter was alive, things turned out horribly. He almost didn’t survive the revelation that Abigail Jenkins wasn’t the real Danielle.
He shook his head.
“Just hear me out.” She pleaded, sitting across from her oldest friend. “I’m helping Emily Roscoe with a case she brought to me. Don’t get me wrong, James, I don’t want to bring this up out of nowhere. We definitely have to talk to Caitlyn directly.”
“After last time, Caitlyn just wants to move on.”
Diem tried to reason with James, she bit her lip as he held his head between his arms. “D.C. could stand for Danielle Crenshaw.”
“I don’t think Caitlyn could go through this again.” He admitted.
“I wouldn’t come to you if I wasn’t sure.” Diem replied. “James we have both been there for Caitlyn through this whole ordeal. Damien said that Danielle was still alive, at one point he said she was still alive and with this new evidence I believe him.”
James looked out his window. “If this isn’t true, she will be crushed.”
“Emily Roscoe is Danielle Crenshaw, I feel it in my gut. We have to tell Caitlyn the truth, we can get a DNA sample once we do. But we need to do this James, they both deserve to know the other exists.” She gulped. “They both deserve to know the reason why.”
“I’m going to trust you Diem.” He turned to face her, with watered eyes.
[.....]
Scene Six:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Genevieve’s Bridal Shop; Dressing Rooms
Emily Roscoe looked at herself in the three piece mirror and couldn’t help but smile. She had spent the last three months dreaming about this dress, coming to the store and looking at it. But she had promised herself she wouldn’t try it on until Miles Fowler was out of his coma.
Now, it was gorgeous. Her eyes dazzled as she took it all in; the beads hinted a light emerald glaze that to Emily, made the look have an authentic renaissance feel. Although the rest of the dress was a milky white.
“It looks beautiful.” Greta Wilkinson spoke from behind her. “I would have never been able to go for something so risky, myself. But on you,” Emily turned around and hugged Greta, “on you this dress looks amazing Emily. It truly is one of a kind, just like you!”
Emily did a little curtsey and greeted Greta. “You need to go try on your dress!”
“I will, I will.” The other woman smiled, she turned Emily back towards the mirrors and hugged her shoulders. “Just take this in, all of it. Because you deserve this. I know it wasn’t easy on you to have to put your wedding on hold for us, but I just wanted to say thank you.”
Emily gulped. “ Don’t do that, don’t turn this situation around. How is Miles holding up?”
“He’s doing better, I mean he just woke up from a coma so everything is going to take some getting used to.” Greta flashed back to how they tried to get back into their routine this morning. “But the good thing is that Miles is back and now I can marry him.”
“I’m just glad everything worked out, for all of us.” Emily nodded.
She frowned. “Now if only we can find my birth parents before the wedding, that would be wonderful.”
“Has Diem Joplin had any lucky?”
Emily shrugged.
“I don’t know what is scarier.”
Greta frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Finding out who my birth parents are, or finally hearing the answer as to why they gave me away.” Emily replied, reminding Greta how thankful she was to have grown up with both of her parents around. “I just get this feeling, you know. When I’m around certain people.”
“Like your mother for instance, she is such a miraculous woman. She saves people’s lives for a living and I hope that my mother could be like that. Or how warm and caring Caitlyn Thurlow is, you know?” Emily sighed. “What is my mother like? What about my father? It’s silly really.”
“Not at all.” Greta replied. “I’m sure that your mother is every much as kind and caring as Caitlyn or as miraculous as my mother. Your father just the same. There has to be a reason why they gave you up Emily. But from what I can see, they made a huge mistake because you’re one of the most amazing people I know.”
Emily dried her tears. “Thank you. No go try that dress on before you make me cry even more. I’m going to ruin the beading in this dress and be forced to wear something hideous!”
They laughed, continuing to enjoy each other’s company.
[.....]
1509 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Briggs Home]
Clifton, Cassie & Lucian’s Home
Opening the door, Cassie Lakhani was surprised to see Miles behind it. But instead she smiled and invited him into the house. The first time that either of them were in each other’s presence, without someone else being there, since the shooting happened.
She gulped. “Do you want anything, I could fix you some tea?”
Miles Fowler smiled, which made Cassie confused as to his intentions of coming over. “What?”
“I never pictured you living here.” He replied, taking it in. “Being under the same house as Clifton Briggs? Greta filled me in on everything that has happened between the two of you. Him being Lucian’s father and the reason why you moved in here.”
“Which is?” Cassie asked, wondering the stories people were coming up with.
He shook his head. “We aren’t here to talk about that. Now that I am awake Cassie, we need to talk about what happens next with Callum. I didn’t really want to say anything until I was for sure that Callum was the one that shot me.”
“How do you know?” She led him into the Dining Room where she was working on some homework from school. It had obviously started to pile-up on her since the shooting. Cassie looked back towards the Kitchen. “I can still make you that Tea if you want?”
“No.” Miles pleaded. “We need to talk about the charges you want to drop.”
Cassie turned to Miles. “He’s my brother.”
“He shot you!” He scoffed, baffled. “Do you not remember what Callum put you through back home? Because I certainly remember that he was violent with you. The bruises and the scars that he left on you while we were still in High School!”
“Lower your voice, my son is asleep.” Cassie seethed.
[.....]
745 W. Lavender St., Stone Creek. [Old Granger Manor]
Damien & Gillian’s Home
“I can’t do Tuesday.” Gillian Sutton spoke, walking through the Kitchen and leaning against the doorway. “Maybe we can do dinner on Thursday?”
She watched as her husband’s eyes were uneasy. “That’s not good for you either, is it?”
Damien Crenshaw sighed. “Maybe we can just plan something for next week? There’s a meeting on Saturday as well Gillian and I don’t want to cut any dinner date between the two of us short.” He stepped towards his wife, Gillian leaned into his arms and he kissed her forehead.
“I don’t want this distance between us.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine Damien, we both knew that when you decided to become Mayor of Stone Creek things were going to get hectic around here. Then I took control of my father’s company and it seemed all of our free time was gone.”
“Your point?”
“My point is that I’m tired.” Gillian sighed, just as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get that.”
Gillian stepped away from Damien and entered the Foyer. It had been a long couple of months since they had both had time alone together. Even at night, one or the other was asleep. Opening the door, she was startled at the visitor. “Chief Wilkinson, can I help you?”
He greeted Gillian and noticed Damien behind her. “I was actually here to see your fian-”
“Husband.” Gillian corrected.
“Right.” He replied, she could tell Gideon wanted to add his two cents on their marriage but he didn’t say a word. “Damien, could I talk with you for a moment?”
“What is this about?” Damien walked up next to his wife, pulling her into an embrace.
Gideon handed him a letter. “Caitlyn Thurlow has filed a restraining order against you.”
He looked at Gillian who smiled nervously and then looked back at Gideon.
“You know why.” Damien’s face dropped as he realized the seriousness of the situation. “I wanted to personally tell you the good news Damien. The look on your face right now is the satisfaction that I’ve needed. Now I don’t know exactly your history with Caitlyn, but you need to stay away from her.”
“Chief Wilkinson, there must be a mistake.” Gillian remarked.
“No ma’am, no mistake here.” He eyed her. “The two of you have a great day.”
She shut the door as Gideon left and turned to Damien. “What the hell is going on Damien? Have you been stalking your ex. wife? I don’t see any other reasons she would file a restraining order against you! Especially since you’ve told me that you haven’t talked to her in months.”
“What’s really going on Damien?”
“Nothing.” He reassured her. “James Thurlow has been trying to get Caitlyn to file a restraining order against me for a while now, you should know that. Maybe he just finally got to her and Gideon is James’ best friend. Don’t you think they’d break laws just to stick it to me?”
Gillian shrugged. “She was a huge part of your life.”
“You’re my life now.” Damien replied, he placed the letter on the nearest table and took Gillian into his arms. “Don’t worry about any of this, alright? How about I move today’s meetings around and have a nice long lunch date with you, how'd you like that?”
“Damien.” She sighed, a glimmer of a smile.
He kissed her. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
[.....]
Scene Nine:
Stone Creek; Sage Garden’s
Stone Creek Community Center; Meeting Room #3
Her mentor, Nicole Stevens looked at her. “Do you think that was because of the addiction?”
Charlene nodded. “I wish I could say that my addiction was the answer. But the truth was, I’ve kept blaming everyone else in my life for things that happened. I blamed my last name, my husband and then I blamed a man I was in love with.”
She recalled her past with Kevin Saunders and how much she cared for him. Their time together was the only time that Charlene can remember not relying so heavily on alcohol to cope. How they would just take life day by day and not worry about the future. Then she remembered how Patrick made Charlene choose between him and Kevin.
The blonde closed her eyes. “But after all these things are gone and eliminated we only have one person to blame; ourselves.”
Charlene looked up and made eye contact with Reichen.
“I used to sit at home alone and turned on everything in the house.” A woman spoke from Charlene’s right, it almost startled her since her attention had fallen on Reichen and their earlier confrontation. “I would just sit there and have the lights on and the radio, the television's all on. Just so I couldn’t hear my own thoughts.”
Although Charlene had never done what the woman had, she could relate at how she wanted to stop her own thoughts from continuing.
“Then one day they all stopped.” The woman responded. “The doctor said I shouldn’t have survived the attempt.”
“Has anyone else felt the need to take their own lives?”
Everyone looked around the room and Charlene could feel her face turn red with guilt. Her eyes watered as she tried to keep herself from being controlled by her emotions. As if she was still the perfect housewife she spent most of her life being.
“I have.” Reichen and the others looked at Charlene. “The night that my son found me in the Living Room, I had attempted to kill myself. There was a moment when I thought I couldn’t continuing being the person that I was. But after I tried, reality set in. I wasn’t ready to die.”
Nicole smiled. “Well, we are glad to have the both of you here.”
She could feel the other woman who shared her story grasp her hand in support, but all Charlene could do was bring her eyes to lock with Reichen’s as he revealed a comforting smile.
[.....]
1509 Mango Ln., Stone Creek. [Briggs Home]
Clifton, Cassie & Lucian’s Home
Miles sighed, shaking his head. “Callum was my friend.”
“How do you know it was him?” She asked, her eyes weary. “I mean it was so dark out there on the balcony Miles, how can you be so certain that he was the one that shot us? So many people were there at the party.”
She turned away from Miles and folded her arms, sitting down at the table it took her a minute before she finally continued. “I understand what you are saying Miles, trust me, I really do. But how do I put my brother behind bars because someone says he shot me? What if we are wrong?”
“I just want this to end.” She cried.
Miles nodded. “Let me try to figure it out, alright?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” Miles replied, he looked around the Dining Room. “Now, why don’t you show me around? A small town girl like you living in this gigantic mansion? Your mother would be so proud of you.” He chuckled, taking his closest friend into his arms.
Cassie looked weary. “Clifton doesn’t really like people around while he isn’t here.”
He frowned. “Sorry, I should probably go anyways. I wanted to go by the station and talk to Chief Wilkinson about an exam I have so that I could get back on the force.”
“That’s good!”
“Yeah, maybe you can bring Lucian by the house sometime? I’d love to see him.”
[.....]
2300 Cranberry St., Stone Creek. Stone Creek Apartments #18
Bentley Wilkinson’s Apartment.
Sitting at the table, Bentley Wilkinson found himself chuckling when his fiance brought the food out. It had been one of their first dinners together alone, after they realized that they would be getting married soon now that the wedding plans were back on.
Emily Roscoe posed as she brought the food, pretending to be a perfect 50’s housewife as she placed a bowl of veggies in front of him. She winked, and waddled back towards the Kitchen. He jumped from his seat and escorted her the rest of the way, kissing her neck as he did so.
“You’re ruining it!” She teased.
The two walked into the Kitchen and he grabbed two glasses and poured their drinks while Emily grabbed their entree and rushed into the small Dining Room. Placing the dish down, she could feel Bentley walk up behind her and kiss her cheek.
“Your Moscato, my dear?”
“You spoil me so!” Emily pouted.
A knock on the door startled the two of them, Emily looked at Bentley and frowned. “I wonder who that is?”
“Maybe it’s Greta or Miles?” Bentley shrugged, he pulled Emily’s chair out for her and instructed her to sit with the food and make sure it didn’t run away. He also told her to keep his drink company and to not drink any of it. Or he would drink the rest of the wine.
Emily giggled and shooed him away, to answer the door.
Another knocked, signaled that the person on the other side might be a little anxious. “Diem?”
“Bentley, is Emily here?” Diem Joplin asked, her eyes swollen with guilt as she was invited into the house. Although their families were pretty close, Bentley had never talked to Diem on a personal level until Emily wanted to know about her parents.
“Did you find her parents?” He asked.
Diem held a strained face. “Can I see Emily?”
The giggling Emily Roscoe turned to see her fiance turn the corner with Diem Joplin by his side. She gulped, turning her smile into a frown as she sat before their dinner waiting for what the other woman had to tell her. Obvious to the fact that it had to do with her parents.
[.....]
505 Auburn Rd., Stone Creek. [Thurlow Cottage]
James & Caitlyn's Home
He smiled, forcefully.
“Grandpa!” Megan called out. “Do you want to help make dinner?”
“You should!” Caitlyn replied, she watched as Megan hugged James. “I was actually planning on making one of your favorite dishes and since we haven’t really been a family lately, Megan and I were hoping you could join us in the Kitchen tonight.”
She went over to James’ side and kissed his cheek. “You should have told me you were coming home early!”
“Megan, why don’t you go play with your dolly’s in your new room?” James suggested, the little girl complied. Leaving James and a worried Caitlyn in the room by themselves. “We really do need to talk about a few things, Caitlyn.”
“You’re worrying me James.”
On her way home from the grocery store, Caitlyn had entertained the thought of making a dinner to celebrate the fact that Damien Crenshaw was going to be out of their lives legally. It had been so long since Caitlyn had felt any sense of relief that she was all smiles.
But being home now, with her husband in front of her wearing an expression that scared her. There were no more smiles, instead she placed her purse down on the couch and walked up to James. “What is going on? Did someone get hurt?”
He shook his head. “I think you should sit down.”
“I think you should just tell me what’s going on.” Caitlyn snapped, her nerves getting the best of her.
James shook his head. “I talked to Diem earlier today and there is something that you need to know. I don’t know how to tell you, but it’s about Danielle.”
Caitlyn’s eyes bulged. “Don’t go back to that!”
“We think she might be alive.” Caitlyn pulled her hand up and smacked it against James’ cheek. The impact causing all the noise in the room to stop. He closed his eyes as her arm fell to her side, leaving it’s traces across his face. The pain and emotion that went through Caitlyn’s face in the process only killed him.
His wife collapsed onto the couch.
[.....]
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
- Helen starts a war with David.
- Lucy uses Iris for her the next phase of her plan.
- Cassie goes to see Callum.
- A DNA test is requested...
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