Heart & Soul
Episode 33
Collisions
By Allan Craig
The Boat
Carrie lay on the sofa, exhausted. The wobbling boat added to her
nausea and no matter how much she squirmed on the fitted seating area-cum-bed,
she could not get comfortable. All she wanted was a nice, hot shower, a slice
of pizza and a change of clothes. It was amazing how the simple things she took
for granted seemed so major after her life had been snatched away from her.
“You better eat something,” Nate stood over her holding a plate
with a sandwich and an apple in one hand, and a glass of milk in the other,
“You owe it to the little guy at least.”
Carrie rubbed her stomach; she could feel her baby move around
inside, knowing it wasn’t in any danger. She looked up at Nate, she didn’t know
why, but she knew she could trust him. She took the plate and the glass from
his hands, “Thanks. Where did you get food from?”
“I called ahead while you were asleep to tell the people at the
harbour to stock up the fridge and the cupboards, told them I was going on a
long journey.”
Carrie sat up quickly, “You didn’t tell them where you were going, did you?”
She was quickly becoming accustomed to life on the run.
“Of course not,” Nate rolled his eyes, “What do you take me for?
On second thoughts, don’t answer that.”
Carrie bit into sandwich. Cheese and ham never tasted so good,
“Do you need anything else?”
Carrie couldn’t understand why her captor was going out of his way
to be nice to her; kidnappers were never like this in movies and soap operas.
“No thanks. I’ll just lie down for a while and maybe take a little
nap to catch up on all the sleep I missed.”
“Your call just let me know if you need anything, I’ll be
upstairs.”
Nate smiled and exited the cabin.
Bamboo
Marc and Megan walked into the club, laughing as they sat down on
one of the plush leather sofas.
“What are you drinking?” Marc asked.
“I’ll have a rum and coke if that’s okay?” Megan gazed at Marc’s
chiselled face, he really was perfect; the white teeth, dimples you could swim
in, a face so sculpted you’d think he was fake.
“No problem,” Marc got up and walked over to the bar, upon seeing
Will he took a deep breath and looked back over at Megan. He quickly ordered
the drinks, hoping that he could get away before Will clocked on that Megan was
in the club. He wasn’t letting anyone ruin his time with Megan, not tonight
anyway. The barman handed him the drinks and his change and Marc quickly about
turned and walked back over to Megan, bumping into the brunette who was talking
to Will.
“I’m so sorry,” Marc picked up the woman’s purse, but when he
looked up to see her face, his happiness levels dropped to zero.
“Marc, well this is a
surprise,” Ally smirked.
“Ally…what are you doing here?” Marc’s face went chalk white, like
he had seen a ghost.
“I just thought I’d pop by and see how you were doing,” Ally’s
smile appeared to be sweet and friendly, but Marc knew better than to be fooled
by her false exterior, “It’s been so long, I thought I’d come and find you so
we could talk.”
Megan walked over and took Marc’s hand, “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve
met. I’m Megan Sterling.”
“I’m Alison Shelton…call me Ally,” Ally extended her arm out and
shook Megan’s hand, “I’m Marc’s fiancée.”
Marc and Megan both looked at her in disbelief, before Megan
looked at Marc, confused. Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach…she knew
he was too good to be true. She couldn’t even bear to look at him anymore after
his lies, so she picked up her bag and ran out of the busy spot. Marc looked at
Ally in disgust before running out after Megan.
A&D Graphics
Josh dropped the last of his stuff into a cardboard box and
perched on what was once his desk. The office was so empty now, just like it
was when he and Will first moved into it. They were so excited about their company;
they were so on the same wavelength. Will was his best friend…not anymore.
“There you are,” came Jessica’s voice as
she stood in the doorway holding two takeaway cups of coffee, “You all packed?”
”Almost,” Josh rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced around the room
quickly for one final scan, “What brings you here?”
“I just thought I’d pop by to see you,” Jessica walked further
into the office, placing her leather Prada purse on one desk and handing Josh a
coffee, “I was wondering if you wanted to do something later…maybe I could cook
you dinner?”
Josh sighed, he wanted to get back with Jessica, but she wasn’t
seeing how much she had hurt him, “Yeah, maybe.”
“Don’t get yourself too excited,” Jessica
rolled her eyes jokingly.
“Sorry, my mind’s not working too well today,” Josh tried to think
of a way to tell Jessica that they weren’t back together like she seemed to
think.
The
John sat on what was once his sofa as he read the newspaper. Diane
entered the room and sat down opposite her estranged husband.
“What are you doing here?” John looked up, “The last I heard you
had shacked up with my brother.”
“I just popped back to meet
“Likely story,” John got up and dropped his newspaper onto where
he had been sitting, “The sooner
Diane rolled her eyes dismissively, “Oh John, I don’t know what’s
gotten into you, but drop it. I’ve had enough. Remember, it was you that divorced me, and now just because I’m getting on with my life and not
staying bitter and twisted, you make me out to be the bad one. You were the one
that ended our marriage, not me.”
“With good reason, the sooner this divorce is through with, the
better,” John turned his back on Diane, “and I’ll be damned if you’re getting a
cent from me.”
In the hallway, Julie dusted quietly. It had always been her way,
not to disturb the people she worked for while she cleaned. A good cleaner
should be unnoticed. She approached the entrance to the conservatory, but upon
hearing John and Diane’s voices, she backed off.
“I can assure you I’ll be getting a lot more than that,” Diane
stood up, “You seem to forget that I know your little secret. And unless you
want the rest of the world to find out who killed Calinda Whitehead, you’ll do
just as I say.”
Julie’s mouth dropped. She was working for a murderer? She quickly
tiptoed back down the corridor.
Outside Bamboo
Megan rushed up the stairs from the basement club and stopped when
she reached the top, smiling politely at the bouncer before walking down
“You’re engaged?” she yelled. She had tried to keep her cool but
it was all too much for Megan, “So what was this? A little bit of fun while you
visited your sister?”
“I’m not engaged.” Marc approached Megan, “Not anymore. Look, can
we go somewhere and talk; I need to explain this whole mess to you.”
Megan sighed, reluctantly agreeing.
The Boat
Carrie sat up, peering out one of the small, circular windows at
the ocean before her. Not that she could see much considering it was the middle
of the night, but at least it helped her remember that this was reality.
“Enjoying the view?” Carrie jumped at the sound of Nate’s voice
disrupting the silence.
“I suppose it’s better than peeling walls and rising damp, you
know, like that place you held me prisoner in?” Carrie snapped, she could tell
there was something trustworthy about Nate, but she wasn’t going to let him
forget the mess he had gotten her into.
“You know, I don’t like this anymore than you do, but it needs to
be done.”
“Do you really think I’m going to spend the rest of my life on the
run from some gangster?” Carrie turned to face Nate. “Some gangster who has no
reason to kill me except from the fact that you screwed up, might I add.”
“Calm down, this isn’t good for that bun you’ve got in the oven,”
seeing the anger in her eyes, Nate tried to stop Carrie from exploding, “Just
stay there and I’ll get you a cup of tea.”
“I DON’T WANT A CUP OF TEA!” too late. She had exploded like
“You wouldn’t get very far without a passport,” Nate sat down next
to Carrie, “Just trust me here, I’ll take care of you, you and the baby.”
Marc’s Apartment
Marc opened the door and turned on the lights, revealing a chaotic
jungle of semi-unpacked boxes and unarranged furniture.
“Sorry about the mess,” Marc moved some of the boxes from the
sofa, making space for them to sit down, “I was going to wait ‘til I’d finished
unpacking to show you this place. Can I get you a coffee or anything?”
“All I want from you is the truth.” Megan sat down on the sofa,
folding her arms, “You said you wanted to explain, so explain.”
Marc took a breath as he sat down. This was not the cheerful,
talkative Megan Sterling he had been falling in love with, “The truth is, I was engaged to Ally. Not that I wanted to be engaged to
her, but I was.”
“Oh so she forced you into it?” Megan rolled her eyes.
“Well…yeah,” Marc shuddered. He wanted to tell Megan everything,
but he couldn’t bring himself to open up about it, “All you need to know is
that Ally and I are over. We have been since I arrived in Oakridge. I left her
to start over. I didn’t want her following me here. I thought…well I thought
I’d left no trace.”
“So you just run out on women, is that it?” Megan couldn’t believe
what she was hearing. Was this really the sweet, sensitive guy she had been
falling for?
“Not all women. Just Ally. It was my only
way out,” Marc tried to make Megan understand, “She
wouldn’t let me go.”
“Don’t patronize me, Marc. It’s not like she held you prisoner or
anything. You’re twice the size of her for crying out loud.”
“Do you know what, Megan?” Marc didn’t want to do this, but he had
to, for her own good, “If you don’t want to believe me
about this, then fine.” he got up and opened the door, “Just get the hell out
of my apartment.”
“What?” Megan was taken aback.
“GET OUT!” Marc yelled. Megan had never heard him raise his voice
before. She didn’t want to hear it again. She jumped up from the seat and ran
out. Marc slammed the door behind her, trying to hold back the tears. He kept
telling himself “It’s for her own good,” but he didn’t
believe it. He wanted Megan to be there with him, but he couldn’t risk telling
her what really went on with Ally, she’d never want to speak to him again.
Josh & Jessica’s
Josh and Jessica sat in darkness, lit only by the candle that
adorned the middle of the table. Josh looked down at the pasta on his plate,
not that he had eaten more than a bite or two…he had just pushed it around the
plate with his fork while Jessica chatted away.
“Is something wrong?” Jessica enquired, sensing that Josh was
uneasy.
“No…everything’s fine…this pasta is great…have you been getting
cooking lessons or something?” Josh tried to inject some humour in order to
break the ice.
“Very funny…if you must know, Pamela gave me the recipe. She said
you can’t go wrong with a simple pasta dish like this.”
“Well she was right, too bad I had a Subway before I came.” Josh
took a sip of his wine, “I wasn’t anticipating an improvement in your cooking.”
“Shut up!” Jessica giggled.
“Have you had any word from Carrie?”
Jessica’s smile vanished…this had been the first time in days she
had been able to forget the fact her best friend was missing. How could she
have forgotten?
“Nope, Greg’s keeping me posted but I just feel so useless. I wish
there was something I could do.”
THE NEXT DAY
The
Greg sat on the edge of his seat, the phone glued to his ear, as
he waited eagerly to hear of news about Carrie from the police. Megan walked
in, the mascara stains on her face still there, albeit very faint, and the skin
around her eyes was red and inflamed from the combination of crying and
rubbing.
“Any word?” Megan sat down opposite
her brother.
“None yet,” Greg covered the mouthpiece, “But she can’t have just
disappeared off the face of the planet. I’m not giving up on this…separated or
not, she’s still carrying my baby.”
“Have you ever considered that maybe she didn’t run away?” Megan leaned
in closer to her brother, “Maybe…maybe something has happened to her.”
“Like what?” Greg had considered it, in fact, he had pushed it to
the very back of his mind, but he definitely knew it was a possibility.
“I dunno Greg, but maybe you should consider more options than the
fact that she just took off. The fact that she hasn’t been in touch with Jessica
should tell you something.”
“For all I know Jessica could be lying,
she could have helped stage this whole thing,” the paranoia was eating away at
Greg.
Megan rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe Greg was coming out
with this nonsense.
“Jessica wouldn’t lie about something as major as this. She’d be
avoiding you like hell if she had anything to do with Carrie’s vanishing act,”
Megan insisted, “But she isn’t, is she?”
“I guess.” Greg stood up, “I’m gonna go and find dad, see if he’s
got anywhere trying to track Carrie down.”
The Abbot House; Lounge
Wesley watched as his son finished his fifth beer of the day…at
“Enough!” Wesley snapped, “I have had enough of you ruining your
life, son.”
“What?” Will totally didn’t expect that, in all of his life his
father had barely raised his voice to him, and now this?
“You heard. Put the beer down, I’ve had enough of your drinking
and lazing around and doing absolutely nothing with your life. You’re a grown
man Will, and Megan Sterling is not worth letting everything you’ve worked for
and achieved go down the toilet!”
“This is none of your business,” Will stood
up to walk away, but Wesley jumped up straight after him, grabbing his arm.
“You’re my son, of course it’s my business.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about; you don’t know the
first thing about me and Megan.”
“I know that she rejected you and ever since you’ve been drinking
and not much else,” Wesley retained his grip on Will’s arm, “And I’m telling
you, you’re going to snap out of it, or you’re out of here!”
Michael DiCenzo lay in his hospital bed, motionless. The seemingly
unbreakable, untouchable man had been brought to his knees. Not only was his
stomach wounded, but his pride had taken a very heavy blow. The feeling of the
bullet cutting through his skin, his muscle and his flesh had deflated his ego
no end, and now he was determined to get revenge. His door opened and in walked
a familiar face, his ‘loving’ wife, Loretta. He could tell she was apprehensive
about getting closer…did she know that Michael had discovered her affair with
Nate? Loretta leaned in, kissing Michael gently on the cheek.
“How you holdin’ up?” Loretta sat
down on a chair by Michael’s bedside; her normally loud, brash voice had been
brought down a few decibels to a caring whisper.
“Ah you know me,” Michael played it cool, managing a smile,
“Invincible.”
“If you say so,” Loretta poured a glass of water for Michael, “You
thirsty?”
“Thanks, my very own nurse,” Michael joked.
“Just you wait ‘til we get back to
“We’re not going back just yet, Loretta,” Michael began to
explain.
“What do you mean?” why anyone would want to stay anywhere else
except from
“We’re stayin’ in Oakridge for a while, just until I’ve finished
up with what I’m doing. You can go back home if you want,” Michael took
Loretta’s perfectly manicured hand, “But I kinda want my wife here, you know?
So I can keep an eye on you.”
Loretta laughed, unaware that Michael was deadly serious, “It looks like we’re moving to Oakridge then.”
Marc took his card out of the ATM and slid it back into his wallet
along with the money he had lifted. Once his wallet was safely deposited in his
pocket, he started walking off. As he walked along
“I was hoping I’d run into you,” Ally smirked, “We’ve got a lot of
catching up to do, Mr. Monroe.”
“Get your hands off of me,” Marc’s teeth were gritted and his
voice a mere whisper. He wasn’t going to buckle in front of her again…he kept
telling himself to be strong, although it wasn’t so easy when Ally was standing
right in front of him.
“Sorr-eeeee,” Ally stood back, “What’s wrong with you today?”
“Hmm, I dunno, maybe the fact that you’ve followed me to
Oakridge?”
“Well we are a couple,
and couples tend to stay in the same zip code at least.” Marc couldn’t believe
what Ally was saying, did she forget that he had left her? Did she forget why he had left her?
“Look, Ally, I think it would be for the best if you went home.”
“That’s what I intend to do, go home…to our home.”
“Would you listen to yourself?” Marc laughed, trying to make it
clear how ridiculous Ally sounded, “It’s OVER. It has been for a long time.”
Marc turned and walked off, leaving Ally standing alone in the
street. She smiled wickedly and watched Marc walk down the street, “Not if I
can help it.”
TO BE CONTINUED…