Heart & Soul
Episode 20
By Allan
Craig
“Ashes
to ashes, dust to dust.”
Nick
watched as Nathan’s coffin was lowered into the ground. Sophie wept silently as
Ashley stood, wondering if she should comfort Nick or let him be.
Gillian
Wilson stood in the distance, watching the crowd of people dressed in black
break up and walk off until only Nick stood at the graveside while Sophie and
Ashley stood further behind him, waiting for him to walk away.
Megan walked down the stairs and headed to the side table where
the butler always put the mail. She flipped through the envelopes until she came
to one addressed to her. The postmark was from
The Abbot House
Wesley walked down the kitchen stairs until he saw Alex and Matt
kissing at the table. He about turned and walked back up the stairs silently.
The Oak Hotel: Function
Suite
Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw Gillian walk into the room.
He marched over to her.
“This is all your fault, do you know
that?” Nick tried to keep his anger hidden to avoid causing a fuss.
“I feel terrible, Nick, you can’t make me feel any worse.” Gillian looked down,
careful not to make eye contact.
“Yeah well you should. If you hadn't talked Nathan into giving you
a ride to the airport none of this would have happened.”
“He volunteered.”
“You should have said no.”
“Do you know, Nick, you're not the only one hurting here. You don’t have the
monopoly on grief. Just because you were his brother it doesn’t give you the
right to make everyone else feel even worse.” Gillian looked up, realizing she
had nothing to be ashamed of and looking Nick right in the eye.
“How dare you?”
The
Megan sat on her bed, wondering if she should open the envelope.
She ripped the envelope down the side and took out the letter inside. Megan
unfolded the letter and started to read it;
Dear Megan,
I’m writing to you from
Megan couldn’t believe her eyes. She read on;
I can’t say if or when
I’ll be back, but when we see each other again, I hope we can put the past
behind us and start afresh, after all, you are my daughter, and I am your
mother. I’ll write again soon, when I find somewhere permanent to live. I’ll
send you my new address so that you can write back, if you want.
Love you always,
Diane.
Megan crunched the letter up in her hand.
The Abbot House
Wesley walked out of his room just as Matt headed towards the
bathroom.
“Do you need in before I go for a shower?” asked Matt.
“No, I’m fine. There are plenty of towels in there. Just don’t use
Ashley’s conditioner, she’ll blow a fuse.” Wes joked, trying to lighten the
tense atmosphere.
“Thanks for the warning.” Matt walked into the bathroom. Wes walked down the
kitchen stairs and arrived in the kitchen as Alex stood rummaging in the
fridge.”
“Got the munchies?” Wes took a glass out of the cupboard and poured himself a
glass of water.
“Just a tad. I don’t know why, but I
feel like a toasted smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel.”
“What, soft and fishy smelling on the inside, hot and crunchy on
the outside with a hole in the middle.” Wes cracked yet another joke.
“Very funny,” Alex laughed, playfully hitting Wes’ arm.
Wes looked at Alex. He knew he loved her.
Chez Antoine
Josh and Jessica sat opposite each other at their small table in
the corner of the classy eatery, their faces lit by the lone candle burning in
the middle of the table.
"So what was it you wanted to ask me?" Jessica asked,
taking a sip of her wine.
"Well I’ve been thinking about it for a while now Jess. I cant help thinking about it. Thinking
about you."
"And?"
"Well I was wondering," Josh reached into his pocket and
pulled out a box, "Wondering if you’d do me the honour
of being my wife."
Jessica’s face lit up.
"Of course I’ll marry you! Josh Denman I love you so much,"
Jessica blew out the candle and leaned in for a passionate kiss.
The Oak Hotel: Function
Suite
Sophie heard Nick and Gillian arguing and walked over to stop the
fight.
“Will you two pack it in? This is Nathan’s funeral. The last thing
we need is his brother and one of his best friends arguing in front of
everyone.” Sophie whisper-yelled.
“Sorry Mrs. Fitch.” Gillian bowed her head.
“It’s fine Gillian, I’m touched you
came.”
“She shouldn’t be there. It was all her fault.” Nick walked off.
“What did he mean by that?” asked Sophie.
“Nathan had just drove me to the airport
and it was on his way back that he crashed. My flight was delayed because of
the storm so I’d only been in LA for a day when Ben called me with the news and
I had to come back.”
“It wasn’t your fault Gillian, don’t ever let anyone
make you think that. Nick was out of line saying that, but understand
he’s grieving. He’s more upset than he’s letting on. You know, putting up a
front, acting the tough guy.”
Gillian nodded understandingly.
“Well, do you know if Ben’s coming?”
“He can’t. He’s at the airport picking up his girlfriend’s mom.”
“It seems the airport must be really busy with all the comings and goings
around here.” Sophie had a hint of humour in her voice but it did not compare
to the hurting Gillian could sense.
The
Megan sat at her dressing table staring out the window. The
sprawling gardens below here were hit by a dark cloud hovering over them.
Slowly but steadily it started to rain before descending into a full scale
shower. The tapping of the raindrops against her window comforted Megan. She
looked at an old picture of her with Diane, Greg and John. The happy family:
the happiest in Oakridge; well, at least that’s what everyone thought.
The Abbot House
Wes and Alex sat in the kitchen oblivious to the rain pelting
against the glass doors and windows.
“Do you remember when we went to the
“Oh yeah,” Wesley rolled his eyes, the memories coming back to
him, “Will spent the whole time saying he wanted to go home, Ashley got sick
and you were more concerned with going to Vegas than anything else.”
“Yeah, but we were happy, weren't we?”
“Ahem” Matt cleared his throat, interrupting their chat.
The Oak Hotel:
Gillian walked out of the hotel with her jacket draped on her
shoulders. It had started to rain, but it didn’t bother Gillian in the
slightest.
“It’s all my fault,” she thought, “If it
wasn’t for me Nathan would still be alive.”
She sat down on a bench and started to weep.
The
“What have I done?” Megan started to pace
the room frantically, “What the hell have I done?” she thought. She stopped,
leaning against a wall, “How could I have been so stupid?” Megan slid down the
wall and landed on the floor.
The
Abbot House: Wesley’s Room
Wesley closes his bedroom door and opens a
drawer. He pulls out a large photo album and starts looking over the pages as
he falls onto his bed. Images of him and Alex during happier times start the
tears flowing.
“You need to get her back Wes,” he said to
himself, “If you love her, you’ll get her back.”
ONE
MONTH LATER…
Sterling
Enterprises
Jackie Sterling sat at the large desk,
strumming her fingers on the perfectly polished tabletop. The door to her
office flies open and a woman storms into the room.
"What are you doing here?" an
angry Jackie got up from her seat.
"I’m here to get what’s rightfully
mine Jacqueline, you didn’t seriously think you’d won, did you?" the
woman, dressed in an elegant grey pinstripe suit and black pointed stiletto
boots, reaches into her handbag and pulls out a gun.
"I’ll call security, I’m warning you,"
Jackie stepped back.
The woman leaned her hands on the desk,
the reflection staring back at her that of Diane Sterling, "Go ahead, I don’t
care how long I spend in prison, but if I’m going down, I’m taking you down
with me," she picked up the phone, handing it to Jackie, "Go ahead,
call them," Diane looks on as Jackie chokes up, "Oh what’s the
matter, scared, are we?" she slammed the phone down, "You had your
chance Jackie, and you blew it. Now I have you all to myself,"
The
Greg and Carrie sat on the edge of their bed.
"So how much longer ‘til we know?"
an eager Greg asked.
Carrie looked at her watch, "Any
second now," she lifted the small piece of white plastic up to the light
and looked at the box, a blue line appearing in the clear box.
"What does that mean?" a puzzled Greg asked.
"I’m sorry Greg," Carrie’s face
looked glum, "WE’RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!" her fake sad face turned to
one of joy, and the joy was real. They jumped up from the bed and hugged each
other before a big huge kiss.
Sterling Enterprises
Jackie edged back until she hit the wall, Diane moved closer.
"You see, Jackie, you took it all away from me. You took my
family away from me, and now you have to pay. You took my life from right under
me," Diane now stood face to face with the woman she wanted to kill.
"You deserved it," Jackie looked Diane right in the eye,
determined not to back down.
"Oh, did I?" Diane held the gun to Jackie’s head, "Well
the joke’s on you, because I’ve had a little help bringing you down. You’ve got
nothing, Jackie, nothing at all. I’ve drained your accounts, and now I have it
all, and you," Diane moved the gun down Jackie’s face, "Well, you don’t
even have the clothes you're standing in."
"You couldn’t have, it’s impossible!"
"Not quite, Jackie, not quite. I had a little help, but you, well, you’ll
be needing all the help you can get," Diane turned Jackie around, sticking
the gun in her back, "Now, move, to your, or should I say my, car."
Flight 3221 from
"Well, did you enjoy that little
trip?" Ben asked, barely able to keep his hands off of Gina.
"I most certainly did Mr. Jones,"
Gina looked into Ben’s deep, dark eyes. She loved him more than anyone else in
the world.
"I’m very glad of that," Ben wrapped his arms around Gina, ready for
a kiss, "Mrs. Jones."
Gina rested her arms on Ben’s shoulders as
the pair kissed, time standing still in the busy arrivals lounge. On her left
hand was her diamond engagement ring, now accompanied by a gold wedding ring.
Diane and Jackie stood in a clearing, night creeping up on them.
"Now what? Are you going to kill
me? Go right ahead Diane, I’d rather die than spend one more second looking at
you in that cheap suit."
Diane let out a short cackle, "Funny, I took it from your
wardrobe before I came here."
"How dare you!"
Diane stuck the gun in Jackie’s stomach, "Because I can."
Jackie grabbed the gun from Diane’s hand and the women began to
struggle. Diane tripped Jackie and the two women hit the mud, rolling around in
the battle for the gun. The sun set submerging the forest in darkness, and a
shot rang out across the pitch black sky…
TO BE CONTINUED…