- Emily Roscoe was murdered.
- Gail gave birth to a baby girl, Violet.
- Someone sabotaged Natalie.
- Marina shared a kiss with Ryan...
[.....]
[.....]
Scene One:
980 Cutler St., Stone Creek. [Faustino Cottages #7]
Charlie, Kirsten, Charlene & Megan’s Cottage
“I’m glad that you were able to let someone else help you with the Cafe.” Charlie Sutton spoke, grabbing his wife’s waist and kissing her neck as she made them coffee. “You don’t know how much it means to have you around more, especially for Megan.”
Kirsten smiled and turned around to face her husband. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips, as if she hadn’t met them in a long time. “It’s good to feel more like a mom again. When Megan was born and I was sort of passing her off as Kent’s daughter she never left my side.”
There was a tinge of pain in Charlie’s complexion every time Kirsten mention that part of their lives. It was so long ago, but it still hurt. “I’m so glad to have you now, to have the both of you now, Kirsten. There’s nothing that you can do to make me love you any less.”
“I wouldn’t do a thing to change that.” She replied, she smirked and returned to brewing the coffee for the three of them. Kirsten was suspecting that Charlie’s mother, Charlene, was still home. Although lately the older woman had a life of her own. Which Kirsten found both comforting and alarming.
But it would be a topic for another day.
“Have you talked to your father yet?” Charlie asked. He grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and walked over to her. “After Emily’s funeral, he took Caitlyn and left so suddenly. I just thought that maybe we should go over and see how they are holding up?”
“I don’t know.”
Kirsten turned to Charlie and leaned agains the counter, deep in thought. “I wouldn’t know what to say. We barely even knew Emily besides the times she was invited to family functions or Holiday events and Caitlyn, I don’t know if I could look at her right now without breaking down.”
“She looks so fragile.”
“Emily was her daughter.” Charlie said, letting the silence creep into the room like an unwanted heat wave in the middle of summer. “Caitlyn is a strong woman and I know she will get through this. But she is going to need you, your siblings and your father to do that.”
Kirsten nodded her head. “She will have all of us.”
“I love you.”
She smiled, “I love you too.”
[.....]
Scene Two:
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Gladys’ Bistro; Inside
Not many times in Penelope Wilkinson’s life had she felt this exhausted. When she was younger and she had moved to Stone Creek with her husband Grady Wilkinson, they were on the run from her parents who forbid the marriage. They spent every cent they had trying to start a family. But that wasn’t even as exhausting as this, having to help her grandson grieve.
Losing Grady to Alzheimer’s, going through Chemo, nothing compared to this. Penelope sighed, grabbed her take-out order, thanked the young lady behind the counter and headed out of the restaurant.
“Penelope.” A voice greeted, she looked up from her receipt.
“Jeremy.” She replied, startled. “Didn’t think I’d ever run into you here.”
He chuckled, amused. “What? Am I too snobby for artery clogging, lower-class mingling authentic food?”
“Well I don’t know about you being snobby, but the rest of your damned family sure is.” She shrugged. “Well except for Diem, she always seemed to be a little more down-to-earth than the rest of the high and mighty Joplin clan. But you know, she’s a smart cookie that way.”
“Yes, a diamond in a pile of coal.” Jeremy admitted. Although always amused by Penelope’s digs at the snobby people of Stone Creek, he had other things on his mind. So he pulled her to the side so they could talk without being in other people’s way. “How are you holding up?”
Penelope looked down. “I’m doing fine Jeremy.”
“It’s Bentley I’m worried about.” She looked back up. “I was with him the other day and he is so lost, I could barely get him to keep a conversation going with me. It’s exhausting seeing him in that way, I haven’t seen the look on his face like that since-”
She stopped, not wanting to say more.
Jeremy eye’d her suspiciously. “You can grieve you know.”
“It’s not what I’m talking about.” Penelope shuffled her feet so she could stand straight. “This has nothing to do with what I went through with Grady, this is completely different Jeremy. There’s no way I can compare the two situations for Bentley.”
“Why not?”
“Because!”
He shook his head. “Because isn’t an answer, Nell-”
“Because my future isn’t dead!” She barked, garnering the attention of the other customer’s in the restaurant. Penelope locked eyes with Jeremy, full of anger and fire. “No, my future isn’t dead Jeremy. It’s just curled up in a retirement home and he has no idea who I am!”
“I didn’t mean to trouble you,” Jeremy takes a hold of Penelope, but she shoves him away. “Penelope, wait!”
But it’s too late, she pushed passed Jeremy Joplin and exited Gladys’ Bistro. Leaving him alone with everyone staring at him, their eyes accusing in every way. Embarrassed, he sighs deeply, leaving the restaurant as well. No longer an appetite to eat.
[.....]
Scene Three:
Stone Creek; Now Town
HEAT Headquarters; 1st Floor
It had been such a tumulus couple of weeks and all Natalie wanted to do was get home and turn the AC up to get out of the sticky heat that was otherwise known as Stone Creek’s Summer, it was definitely the one thing she still hadn’t been used to. It never jumped this high in San Diego.
Then again she lived near the beach and not high in the woods back then. “Ian?” She asked, stopped in her tracks at the entrance of the building and tilted her head. There was no reason for her brother to be here, unless he wanted to talk to her. But they left things on a bad note because of Marina Thurlow, that bitch. She thought.
“What are you doing here?” She asked him, instead.
He smiled nervously. “How are you?”
Taken back, she tries to reply quickly. “I’m fine. I just got out of work, obviously. I’m sorry for whatever I had done to you or Marina. I can’t really keep up with your relationship these days. Helen has been making me work so much, I’m always busy.”
Stopping herself from mumbling on, she frowned. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He smirked.
“How are things going with you and Marina?” Natalie poked.
Ian sighed. “We are trying the whole honesty thing.”
“That’s good!” She wondered if he knew about Marina frequenting her mother’s office as of lately. Although Natalie didn’t know the specific’s of what they were talking about, she was able to snoop around and get one of the models to find out some information. Natalie knew that Helen got her assistant to dig-up information on Leia.
Of course the model then got fired, but it wasn’t that big of a deal to Natalie. “Would you like to talk? Maybe sit down somewhere?”
Ian agreed, “How about we go to Alice’s Haven Cafe?”
“That’s all the way across town, in Sage Gardens.” Natalie reminded him. “Are you sure you want to go out of your way just for some mediocre coffee?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Just because Marina’s sister owns the place-”
“Right, I’m sorry.” Natalie sighed. “I’ve just been so wrapped up with my own troubles. Someone tried sabotaging me a couple weeks ago, they,” She lowered her voice, in hopes that nobody around them would hear about her humiliation, “Someone placed a bunch of mirrors in one of the rooms here at the office and it just reminded me that my scars are still so visible.”
She shuddered.
“Do you know who it was?” Ian asked, defensively.
“I think it was Oliver Cuthbert.”
Scene Four:
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Alice’s Haven Cafe; Inside
After sitting down for breakfast with her husband and their daughter, Megan, Kirsten Sutton felt the strength that their whole family was known for. It was as if a unclear certainty had taken over her for those couple of minutes and continued to stay with her while she arrived at work.
Kirsten let her Assistant Manager head to lunch and she picked up where the other left off, greeting customers and washing down tables. It was important to her that whoever was in charge of of Alice’s Haven Cafe at the time mingled with the customers and developed a sense of community.
“I thought you hired more help.” A voice called from the entrance, turning around she found that it belonged to her old friend Adrian Stone. She smirked to match his cheesy grin. “What are you doing here still, every single day, do you get days off?”
She chuckled. “I just let my new assistant manager go on her lunch.”
“I see.” Adrian spoke, he walked over to Kirsten and gave her a hug. It was definitely something that Kirsten had missed. When Adrian was living in the apartment above the Cafe he would always come down for coffee and a quick catch-up session before leaving for work.
Now he was living across town with Gail Schmidt and taking care of their baby girl, Violet.
“Well I hope that means you get to spend more time with Charlie and Megan.”
“I do.” She replied. “What about you? How have you been? I don’t think I’ve seen you step foot inside Alice’s Haven since before Violet was born. I got your picture by the way, she looks adorable-”
“Just like her mother.”
Kirsten flashed a smile. “She looks like a Stone, as gorgeous as your mother was. She would be very proud of you, I know she would.” As a silence fell between them, Kirsten went back to cleaning up a table she had stopped cleaning to talk to him.
“Could I get a coffee, by chance?”
She put the towel down. “Of course! I’m so sorry, why else would you come by the Cafe?”
They both chuckled as Kirsten grabbed the towel, walked behind the counter and took his order. “It might be awhile, right now we are under staffed. I managed to hire an assistant manager but I just keep forgetting to hire more floor staff.”
“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” He admitted.
Kirsten shook her head. “You seem really tired.” She paused. “Not trying to pry into your personal life, but is everything alright back home?”
“Gail’s just getting accustomed to being a new mother, is all.”
“It’s going to take her a couple months,” Kirsten admitted, knowing how hard it was when she first had Megan and the months that followed were full of restless nights and forgetful mornings. “Just wait until she forgets to pack diapers for Violet!”
“She’s a good mother!” Adrian defended.
Silence fell between the two as they locked eyes, Kirsten obviously felt sorry for offending him, she frowned. “I didn’t mean-” She stopped, knowing there wasn’t a fight to defend. “How about I just go get that coffee of yours?” Stepping away from the counter, Kirsten walked to the expresso machine.
“I didn’t mean to snap.” He walked over to Kirsten. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Adrian sighed. “It’s really hard, working full-time and then coming home to Gail who doesn’t know a single thing about being a mother. I think she’s really scared to do something wrong, so scared that she doesn’t do anything at all to actually bond with Violet.”
Taking in the admittance, Kirsten turned to Adrian. “How about you? How do you like being a father?”
“I love my little girl.”
[.....]
Scene Five:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Exam Room
“I don’t see why I have to continue to get check-ups like this,” Penelope Wilkinson sat in front of her daughter-in-law as she checked Penelope’s pulse, “I beat brain cancer, doesn’t that mean I’m going to live forever now? I’m like a damned god or something?”
Daphne chuckled. “You need to maintain your health, Penelope. It’s important to keep coming to these check-ups so that we can catch the cancer, if, it ever comes back.” She put the stethoscope down. “I shouldn’t have to tell you how important this is.”
“I know.”
“The goods news is that you are healthy.” the doctor told her, placing the stethoscope down, Daphne started to pack-up the things around her. “The bad news is, you’ll still have to come to these monthly check-ups. Your scans show a cancer free-”
“Brain! Yes, I know.” Penelope snapped, she watched as Daphne recoiled and turned away. Sterilizing some of her equipment and otherwise, going through her routine. “Do you think it’s wrong that I avoid seeing Grady at the home?” She asked, her voice shaky.
Daphne turned around. “That’s not for me to say.”
“God damn it!” Penelope huffed. “Stop acting like a damned doctor and act like my friend, act like my daughter-in-law or act like a stranger! I feel like every time I talk to you it’s procedure this, or medical fact that! I understand you’re a doctor Daphne, but damn well, could you be a friend for one second?”
This shook Daphne to the core and Penelope could sense it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. You know me, my mouth get’s the better of me sometimes. Hey, do you think that is why I got cancer, I don’t exercise my brain enough, you think?”
Her daughter-in-law chuckled, lightly. “Penelope, you didn’t get cancer because of your loud mouth. But about me being a friend, you’re right. I haven’t been much of a friend to you lately, or anyone for that matter. It’s just with everything that has happened, Miles’ shooting, him falling into a coma and then Emily-”
Daphne paused and they sat in silence for a minute.
“It’s easier for me to act like a doctor than anything else.” Daphne helped Penelope gather her clothes so she could change out of the hospital gown. “Have you talked to anybody about seeing Grady?”
“Not since we found out he had Alzheimer's.” Penelope stepped down from the exam table and pulled on her pants. “I don’t know if it’s bad that I still haven’t seen him. People are afraid to mention his name in front of me, I can see it when I’m around town.”
“You have to make peace with this.” Daphne advised.
Penelope nodded. “I just don’t know how to, If Grady was dead, then I would at least be forced to move past this. But he’s alive Daphne. My husband is sitting in a retirement home and he has no idea that we exist. How can he not remember our life together? All those years-”
A tear fell from Penelope’s eye. “All those years, just gone.”
[.....]
Scene Six:
Stone Creek; Now Town.
Thurlow Lumber Mill Building; James Thurlow’s Office
When Emmet Thurlow entered his father’s office it seemed that Diem Joplin and his father, James, were already deep in conversation. So he alerted them to his presence with a clearing of his throat. He knew they were close friends, they had even dated once, so he paid it no attention.
“Emmet!” James looked up.
Diem turned around and got out of her seat to greet the younger Thurlow. She wrapped her arms around his frame and kissed his cheek. “It’s so nice to see you. Now what did you want to talk to us about today?”
It was a pretty hard concept for Emmet to wrap around his own head, how could Iris be in contact with Lucy Hahn and not tell them. They were both friends, he knew that back in Sunset Valley they grew close. But now someone’s life was at risk.
Emmet looked at Diem and then at his father. “I found evidence that Iris might still be in contact with Lucy.”
He watched as his father’s face dropped in discomfort. “How do you know for sure?” Diem asked, stepping closer to Emmet for support.
He let Diem pat his shoulder as he looked at his father and then back at Diem. “The other day when we were at the cottage, when Iris went to the kitchen to make tea, she left her phone on the counter and there was a phone call made from her phone to Lucy’s.”
“She made it that day?”
“Iris must have made it right before I entered the kitchen to help.” Emmet licked his lips as he spoke the words for the first time out loud. “I don’t know what to feel, right now, I’m just really angry with her for not telling me that she still had contact with Lucy.”
“She was acting sort of weird at the hospital the night of the blackout.” Diem admitted.
Both Thurlow men looked at Diem. “I’m not saying she was involved with Frank’s kidnapping, but his assistant said the last time he saw Frank was the day of the blackout. Emmet, I’m sure this is hard for you, but you understand that we now have a new lead?”
“Should I trust her?” Emmet asked.
“She’s your fiance,” James was quick to remind him. “You have to trust her. Emmet, there’s no guarantee that Iris was behind Frank’s disappearance. She could just be trying to check-up on Lucy after what she found out that day. She could be completely innocent.”
Diem turned to James. “But we need to ask her about it.”
Then she turned to Emmet. “Where is she now?”
“At work.” Emmet responded, he could feel his palms starting to sweat at the realization that they would now have to confront his fiance about her possible part in Frank Nelson’s disappearance. He knew his father was right, that he had to trust Iris, but Emmet didn’t now how he could.
He didn’t know how he would ever get passed this, if it was true.
[.....]
Scene Seven:
Stone Creek; Cuttlebone Lake
Lakeside Inn; Charlie Sutton’s Office
Knocking on the door, Aidan Jurado waited for Charlie to invite him into his office.Aidan sat in front of his cousin’s husband and sighed. “I need a favor from you today.”
“A favor?” Charlie asked, surprised.
He had been trying to work on getting everything finished up for a wedding that was to be held in the Main Hall at the Lakeside Inn, but after two hours of making no progress, Aidan needed a break. He need to clear his mind, needed to make things right. “I need the rest of the day off.”
Charlie chuckled in amusement. “I don’t pay you to take days off, Aidan.”
“I know, I know.” Aidan defended, he looked around the room. Then he turned his attention back on Charlie. “To tell the truth, I just need to take a personal day away from schedules and timing and budgets. A part of working here, is to be in top shape and right now, I’m not thinking clearly.”
“Why is that?” Charlie grew concerned.
Aidan leaned in, a hush voice. “You know about the whole thing with Amanda and I. How she thought that I was sort of cheating on her with Taylor Kern?” He waited for Charlie to acknowledge it. “Well, the last time I talked to Amanda she sort of emptied a bottle of water on my head.”
“A bottle?” Charlie chuckled.
He rolled his eyes. “A bottle.”
“I need to make things right. So I want to talk to Taylor and tell him that there isn’t going to be anything between the two of us. I want to be with Amanda and I can’t have him trying to break us up. I know it seems like I’m focusing on my own personal drama-”
“Well, you sort of are.”
Aidan sighed, leaned back in his chair. “I just need to be with Amanda.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to be with Taylor?”
They sat in silence while Aidan mulled it over. “I am going to be with Amanda.”
This time, Charlie sighed. “Go, go talk to him. But when you come back to work, please have this all taken care of. Aidan, just because you’re related to my wife doesn’t mean you can slack off. This Inn relies on the both of us to stay afloat and I need you here. Focused.”
“I promise, fully focused.”
[.....]
Scene Eight:
Stone Creek; Now Town
Stone Creek Memorial Hospital; Jeremy Joplin’s Office.
“Do you have a minute?” Penelope Wilkinson asked, stepping into Jeremy’s office. It was the first time she had stepped foot in the room in years, before she moved away from Stone Creek the second time. There was a familiarity to it, even though it had out lived it’s previous paint color.
Jeremy looked up from his paperwork. “For you, I have a jar of them.”
She smiled, “I wanted to apologize for earlier-”
“Nonsense.” He replied, he linked his hands together and pointed at her. “I know that you didn’t mean to snap Penelope, that’s not the type of person I’ve known you to be. I think everything that is happening with Bentley right now has made you realize something.”
Penelope stepped forward and sat across from. “You think you know me so well?”
“I do.”
“Then what is it that I’ve realized?” She asked, confident that he’d never guess. But secretly, hoping that Jeremy would know exactly how she was feeling so she wouldn’t have to explain it to another person. Her life had been one big ball of explanation.
Why did she leave Stone Creek? Why did Penelope come back? Why did she help Catalina Cortez after she nearly killed Patrick Sutton? The list went on and on and sometimes she felt like screaming at the top of her lungs for everyone to fuck off. But that wasn’t what she truly wanted.
“You don’t want to be alone.” He spoke, startling Penelope out of her thought process.
She gulped, knowing it was true. Now that Grady’s mind had deteriorated, the one true person she fell in love with was gone. Now it was up to Penelope to navigate the rest of her life alone and it scared her, scared her to her very core. Penelope looked down, ashamed.
“Can you go with me?” She asked, sheepishly. “To see him?”
Jeremy nodded his head. “If that’s what you’d like.”
Penelope scoffed with sadness. “I need to say goodbye.”
She got up from her seat, unable to sit any longer and turned away from Jeremy. How her mind was making the decision to see Grady and yet, her heart was breaking, none of it made sense. So instead of saying goodbye to Jeremy she continued to walk out the door.
The hardest part was just beginning, but if Jeremy helped her say goodbye to Grady. Then maybe there was hope in not being alone, after all.
[.....]
Scene Nine:
Stone Creek; Sage Gardens
Alice’s Haven Cafe; Inside
Once the waitress brought their drinks over, Ian Kiefer took a sip of his coffee before looking over at his sister. “So tell me, now that you don’t have Marina to worry about. How are things going with dear old, Ryan Bauer?”
This hits Natalie hard, “How do you know that Marina’s out of the way?”
He eyes her for a moment, trying to read her mind in hopes that she isn’t hiding something from him again. But Ian knew there wasn’t a secret there to find. Natalie had always been good at blabbering out anybody’s secrets as long as they benefited herself. Even his own.
“I’m just keeping conversation.”
Natalie picked up her drink. “I haven’t spoken with Ryan in awhile. There’s really nothing more I can say about our relationship because apparently there isn’t one. He used me for sex, used me to get Marina jealous or to get back at you. I really don’t know the answer to that, nor do I want-”
“Natalie.”
She frowned. “You wanted to start a conversation, didn’t you?”
Ian looked away, shameful. “Have you talked to your parents?”
“They’re back in San Diego, as always, mother is oblivious to anything that happened in Stone Creek. Says the weather is lovely by the ocean and hopes that I am doing well.” Natalie said, she sounded so grim as if her favorite pair of heels had snapped.
“Look, Ian,” She started, placing her cup down on the table. “I’m not trying to bring you down. You should be celebrating after all anyways, now that perfect little Marina is making amends with her mother, I’m guess you can actually meet the rest of your extended family.”
“Excuse me?” He asked, perplexed.
“You didn’t hear?”
Ian gulped, apparently Natalie did have a secret for him, a secret she didn’t know she was keeping, but a secret nonetheless. He sighed. “Apparently not.”
[.....]
Scene Ten:
420 N. Dayton St., Stone Creek. “Saunders Home”
Adrian, Gail & Violet’s Home.
Stepping into the house after a short day at work, Adrian Stone’s world was penetrated with the sound of his baby girl crying in another room. He sighed, remembering that Gail must have spent all day with the baby and was probably exhausted.
“Gail?” He called out.
Immediately his fiance stepped into the room. “She’s been crying all day.”
There are tear stains on Gail’s face, he could see the faint residue when he stepped up to her and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know what else to do. I’ve tried feeding her but she just thew it back up so I took her a bath and then she was cold. Violet won’t nap.”
Adrian looked back towards their room where Violet’s crib was taking up residence. “Why don’t you go fix her another bottle and I’ll see what I can do.”
She nodded her head. “Adrian, what did you do today?”
“I worked.” He replied, turning back towards her.
But there was something in her eye, accusing him of lying. Standing there, her short blond hair hadn’t been washed in days and the circles under her coffee brown eyes alerted him to her current sleeping habits. Gail was definitely exhausted. “You left really early today.”
He licked his lips. “I went out for some coffee.”
“Next time bring me some.” Gail said, her gaze lingered until the sound of Violet’s cries broke their silence. She turned away from him and entered the kitchen.
This gave Adrian time to hide his guilty face. Once he was up in their bedroom he looked down at their baby girl, she was lovely. Her skin, so pale like her mother’s as if she were a fragile porcelain doll and her beady brown eyes locked on Adrian. Violet stopped crying and began to giggle when he picked her up.
“She does that every time you come home.” Gail spoke from the doorway.
Adrian turned around to see her, patting their baby’s back. “Gail-”
“No, our daughter hates me!” Rolling her eyes, she handed Adrian the bottle. “It’s fine, I don’t care right now. I’m just glad she has stopped crying. That’s all Violet does when you leave for work. I think next week you should stay home, I want to go back to work.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
She folded her arms. “How can I help here? She doesn’t want me, she wants you! And how am I supposed to watch my blood sugar if I am only watching Violet? What happens if I have another fainting spell and she is left alone? We were so foolish to think we could take care of a child, no wonder why I lost the first-”
“Gail!” Adrian hushed her, he grabbed her arm to try and sooth her. “Next week, you can go back to the hospital if it makes you feel better. We will work this out, because we have to try, for this little girl. Okay?”
Gail nodded her head.
[.....]
Scene Eleven:
1525 Mauve Ln., Stone Creek. [Willow Glen Manor]
Emmet & Iris’ Home.
There was a time when Emmet Thurlow would believe every single word that came out of Iris’ mouth. Even when he first proposed to her and she declined at the Founder’s Ball two years ago, he believed that she truly didn’t want to be with him. But here they were, engaged to be married and silent while they eat dinner.
Had he never noticed the way her eyes glazed over when she sat in awkward silence? Or was this a new trait that she was barely now showing, like a baby who had lost their hearing at birth but was never diagnosed as deaf until they were a toddler.
He was just as confused. “How was work?”
Iris looked up at him, clearly lost in her own world.
“I asked how work was.” He said, once again. This time the words seemed more accusatory, as if asking if Iris had indeed went to work at the Elementary School. “You got home before I did and I hadn’t had a chance to ask.”
She gulped. “It was good. It was one of the other teacher’s birthday today so we pitched in and bought her a cake. So during lunch time we had a little celebration. The community here is so close that it comforts me to know that I’ll be getting a cake on my birthday.”
“I thought that you didn’t like cake.”
Iris straightened up in her chair. “I said I didn’t want you to make a big fuss over my birthday. I never said anything about having a small gathering and a cake, Emmet. What has gotten into you today? Is work stressing you out or something?”
His eyes never left her’s which bothered the both of them. “Have you been in contact with Lucy Hahn, even after Frank Nelson’s disappearance.”
She dropped her fork and gulped. “No.”
“I found the voicemail on your phone, Iris, please don’t lie to me.” He sighed, looking at her with disappointment. Emmet watched as she began to slowly breakdown, step-by-step. There was no room for her to deny it, it looked as if her own guilty was eating her alive.
So Emmet let her cry across the table.
[.....]
Scene Twelve:
2634 W. Parker St., Stone Creek. [Callahan Condos #15]
Marina’s Home
“Ian,” Marina Thurlow asked as she walked up to her front door. After having to climb the stairs to her apartment and then seeing the silhouette of a strange man sitting on the floor near her door, she had to admit she was startled, “What are you doing here?”
“You scared me.” She said.
He looked up at his girlfriend, her face so gentle. Which is why he had believed her when she promised there would be no more secrets between the two of them. But of course, there always was one last secret and after Natalie had told him what it was. Ian had declared that there would probably always be a part of Marina that he would never get to know.
Marina would never fully let him in.
“I needed to talk to you.” Marina looked at him, confused. “Look, we already said there wouldn’t be any secrets between the two of us, so please, be truthful when I ask this of you.”
“There’s nothing going on between Ryan and I.” Marina spoke, jumping ahead of him.
The hairs at the back of his neck began to rise. Ian tried to keep his anger under control. “That’s not what I was going to ask. But please, tell me why I would even suspect that Marina? Please tell me why you would even think this was about Ryan?”
She stepped back, “During the blackout, he kissed me.”
“Did you kiss him back?” Ian’s eyes bulged.
Tears strolled down her cheeks. “Yes.”
“Where did this take place?”
Marina placed her bags down on the floor and wrung her hands together. She flashed back to her whole conversation with Ryan in the elevator and how she felt being stuck with him during the blackout. Everything came back, it hurt her that she was cheating on Ian, but it also full-filled her.
“In an elevator at my mother’s company.”
Ian scoffed, “How fucking romantic.”
She stepped closer to Ian, but it was his turn to step back. He backed into her front door. “Don’t even say it Marina. Because we both know that you don’t really love me. Pity me? Probably, I really don’t know. But you never stopped loving Ryan and I’m not going to be your second choice.”
Marina turned away from him in tears.
“Have you been talking to your mother again? Is that why you were stuck in that elevator in the first place?” He asked, and the way her body tensed up at the mention of Helen gave Ian his answer. “Why didn’t you just tell me all of this Marina? Why keep it a secret?”
“Because,” She turned to face him. “I have been talking to my mother about Leia. I was afraid that if I told you what I wanted to do, that you would hate me for it. Ian, I really didn’t want to hurt you. Since the day I met you in the park I’ve always had feelings for you.”
He chuckled in pain. “We’re done Marina.”
“But-”
“No, you’re finally free to go back to Ryan and Natalie isn’t going to stand in the way either. I should have listened to my sister in the first place. Looks like Natalie knew exactly what she was talking about after all. You never stopped loving Ryan.”
“Ian!” Marina shouted.
“What?” He shouted back. Stepping closer to her. “Am I out of line Marina? Did I say something way too honest? What? There’s nothing here between us anymore because you’d rather keep secrets with Ryan Bauer than your own boyfriend!”
She fell against her front door, defeated.
Ian shook his head. “Have a nice life!”
Next Time, On Concrete Shelves
+A confession moves a search along.
+Gail gets advise about being a parent.
+Caitlyn shares some choice words with Diem.
