Heart & Soul

Episode 45

Moving On

By Allan Craig

 

The Abbot House: Ashley’s Bedroom

 

Ashley sat on the edge of her bed staring blankly at the letter she had just received. She had signed up on the internet for the opportunity to travel the world as part of an art programme for students and thought nothing of it, but now a last minute cancellation had lead to her being selected to travel as part of the programme…the only thing is…she had to be in New York in 24 hours. She had received the letter a week ago, and had confirmed she would attend…but all she needed to do was tell her father and get him to pay for it.

 

And that was going to be the hardest part.

 

The Abbot House: Will’s Bedroom

 

Staring right through a dated family photograph, Will Abbot sat on his window seat. He could remember the day this photo was taken; it was about a month before Alex walked out on them. They were so happy in this photo, no sign of anything going wrong…but then, thinking back…this was just before Will and Megan revealed their relationship to their families...this was just before all hell broke loose, resulting in Will being left without a mother and without Megan, both of whom had run away.

 

A knock at his bedroom door resulted in Will shoving the photograph into a magazine and turning the page.

 

“Come in,” Will re-adjusted his posture and flipped the magazine shut as Ashley walked into his bedroom.

 

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Ashley sat down next to him, shifting the magazine onto Will’s desk.

 

“Sure, what’s up?” Will could sense there was something wrong with Ashley, right down to the way she entered the room; he knew she was hiding something. Ashley pulled the letter out of her pocket and handed it to Will, allowing him time to process what was written on it.

 

“Wow,” Will was stunned, his eyes scanning and re-scanning the letter, “Wait, wait, wait, you leave tomorrow? Does dad know? Stupid question I guess.”

 

“Yeah but how do I tell him?” Ashley squirmed, sitting on her hands, “Like, you saw how against it he was when I was thinking about going to college out of town earlier this year. I know this means I’ll miss out on graduation but this is sucha good opportunity for me and I can’t pass it up. You know leaving Oakridge for a while is just what I need, and this might be the only way dad will let me go.”

 

“Maybe, but are you sure this is what you actually want Ash?” Will put his arm around his sister, “Or is it just so you can avoid having to run into Leo?”

 

Oakridge Main Street

 

Summer was really taking shape in Oakridge these past few weeks. Clear blue skies and a blinding sun brought a warm temperature, as well as erasing the need to take a jacket or umbrella everywhere. Kyle and Natalie walked along the sidewalk sipping iced coffees they had just gotten from Fix.

 

“So they’re just moving here then?” Natalie asked, playing with her straw, “Are you glad about that or would you rather they’d just stayed in Atlanta?”

 

“I dunno,” Kyle shrugged, he hadn’t really thought about it. Sure, it was nice just staying in a hotel while Kristen looked for an apartment for them, being half-independent and half looked after was nice. He just didn’t know how to react with his parents being back, “We’ll see how it goes. As long as they remember that I moved here to get a little independence from…” Kyle noticed Natalie was in a daze, barely listening to what he was telling her, “Natalie, are you alright?”

 

“Oh…um…yeah,” Natalie snapped out of her daze, “I’m fine, just a little light headed.”

 

“Are you okay?” Kyle was overcome with concern, ushering Natalie to the nearest bench, right outside Fix, and sitting her down.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Natalie took a deep breath, “It’s just, you know, one of those things.”

 

Natalie knew exactly what ‘that thing’ was…it was the fact she was carrying Leo’s baby. What did she do? Did she keep this a secret until the utterly last minute and risk losing Kyle because she lied to him for so long? Or did she tell Kyle now and risk losing him anyway? She took another deep breath, closing her eyes, and exhaling again.

 

Bite the bullet.

 

A voice inside her head said. And the voice was right. Either way, she was going to risk losing Kyle. But why prolong the agony?

 

“Kyle, I have something to tell you,” Natalie could barely make eye contact with Kyle, biting her lip before she took yet another deep breath and looking right into Kyle’s eyes, “I didn’t want tot ell you because I didn’t want to ruin this thing we’ve got going,” Natalie began to wring her hands, constantly squeezing one with the other as she tried to think of how to word this properly, “But then I thought I better tell you now because I have to tell you at some point and I’d rather I got it over and done with instead of getting constantly stressed about it for the next however many weeks or months or …”

 

“Natalie, calm down,” Kyle interrupted, taking her hand, “Just spit it out.”

 

“Okay,” Natalie took yet another deep breath before exhaling, “Okay, um, the thing is, before I met you there Leo, you know about him right? And to cut a long story short, because of Leo…I’m pregnant.”

 

Kyle was dumbfounded. He felt like somebody had just thrown him into a brick wall. Short of breath, this time it was him taking the deep breath as he tried to process what Natalie had just said to him.

 

The Abbot House: Will’s Room

 

In the hallway, as Wesley exited his bedroom, he could hear Will and Ashley talking at the other end of the hall. He walked along, doing his best to remain silent so as not to interrupt their conversation. He edged closer to the door, hearing their conversation about Ashley wanting to leave Oakridge and travel. He gently knocked the door and then walked into the room.

 

“Well this is rare,” Wesley folded his arms, “You two are talking without fighting.”

 

“Yeah, you know,” Ashley shot Will the ‘don’t you dare tell him’ look.

 

“But Ashley, we’ve had this discussion,” Wesley decided to just be honest…he had been ear wigging, “You’re not leaving Oakridge over a guy.”

 

“It’s not because of a guy,” Ashley insisted, standing up, “Leo is just the icing on the cake. I wanna get away from Oakridge because I need a break from the place. I’ve been through so much shit in the last few years and there’s just too many bad memories for me,” she handed her father the letter, “I’m serious about this, dad, and if you’re not going to fund it, then I’ll find somebody else who will.”

 

“Like who, Ash?” asked Will, trying to stop the situation from spiraling into a massive family fight.

 

“Well I could always ask mom,” Ashley knew exactly how to play her father, “I know she’s just dying to get me to talk to her again.”

 

“Don’t you dare talk to that woman,” Wesley handed Ashley the letter back, “The last thing we need is that woman coming into our lives. I’ll make a deal with you, Ashley. If you can prove to me this isn’t about Leo Sterling, I’ll give you the money to go.”

 

“And just how is she meant to do that?” Will continued in his quest to keep the situation fair.

 

“Face him head on,” Wesley supposed, “Let him know that he’s not got the better of you…give him what’s coming to him.”

 

“Deal,” Ashley headed for the door, “He’s not going to know what’s hit him.”

 

Ashley walked out of the room, leaving Will and Wesley alone. Wesley sat down next to Will on the window seat.

 

“So how are you feeling?” Wesley asked, unsure of what to say, “It feels like I’ve not talked to you in ages. You’re either out running or holed up in here.”

 

“I just have a lot of stuff to think about,” Will insisted, “My head needs clearing about this whole mess. Like, I can accept now that John is my biological father, but I still cant believe mom kept it a secret for so many years. I mean, she didn’t even tell me about it when I started dating Megan…instead she just took off.”

 

Renato’s Bistro

 

Marc and Megan sat outside in the pleasant pavement café area of the popular restaurant. Located in Montgomery Square, the area that surrounded the café could be mistaken for Rome…all the pavement cafés and bars made for a pleasant and relaxed environment in the daytime, and a more sophisticated dining and relaxed environment in the daytime, and a more sophisticated dining experience in the evening. Megan smiled as the waiter presented her with her foccacia while Marc raised his fork and began to tuck into his roast chicken salad.

 

Megan had noticed a slight change in Marc of late, with his anxiety over everything that happened with Ally starting to ease. Either that or he was just getting good at hiding it. Even so, she didn’t want to bring it up…she wasn’t prepared to let Ally’s actions affect their relationship.

 

“I just don’t understand it though,” Megan took a sip of her water, “Like, Adam’s over a month old and we’ve seen him twice. I just don’t know why Carrie’s so determined to keep him away from us.”

 

“I doubt it’s that vindictive, Megan,” Marc insisted, “Jessica said to me that Carrie’s still getting the hang of being a mom for the first time. It’s not like she’s trying to keep Adam away from you all, she’s just got so much to learn.”

 

“Still,” Megan knew Marc was right, but she really wanted to be involved with Adam’s upbringing and felt like she was being really shut out of her nephew’s upbringing, “I mean fair enough if she doesn’t want my mom being close to Adam, but she’s not even living in the mansion now so that’s hardly the problem. I want to be a good aunt, but I just kinda think it feels like we’re outsiders.”

 

Their conversation was interrupted by a tap on Megan’s shoulder. Megan turned around and couldn’t believe who was standing next to her. Her face was overcome with a smile of delight as she got up from her chair and wrapped her arms around the pretty blonde girl standing next to her.

 

“Kimberley!” Megan exclaimed, ecstatic, “What the…what are you doing here?”

 

“I thought I’d make a little visit back home,” Kimberley removed her huge Dior sunglasses, “See how that new nephew of mine is doing.”

 

“But how did you know I’d be here?” Megan sat back down in her seat, making way for Kimberley to sit down with them. Kimberley reached into her purse…one of those hugely oversized handbags that had been gracing every fashion magazine for the last few weeks, and pulled out her bedazzled Sidekick.

 

“Why do you think I texted you this morning?” Kimberley rolled her eyes, “I thought you’d be one step ahead of me, sis. I mean come on, I asked you where you were going for lunch today when you told me you were going out for lunch, I wasn’t just asking out of interest.”

 

Megan was dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe Kimberley had arranged all of this behind her back, “Oh my god, I’m being so rude. Marc, this is my younger sister Kimberley, Kimberley, this is Marc.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Marc smiled.

 

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Kimberley winked, the flirtatious nature that had got her into trouble in the past being oh so evident again, “So, please, don’t mind me…what were you guys talking about?”

 

“Nothing much really,” Megan slid her chair closer to Marc, “Just the fact that we’ve seen Adam like twice since he was born.”

 

“I take it Carrie’s trying to keep him away from you know who,” Kimberley took out her vintage compact and flipped it open to check her makeup, barely distracting herself from her reflection long enough to talk to Megan. The obvious referral to her mother brought a look of disgust to Kimberley’s face, “Not that anyone could blame her.”

 

“Kimberley and my mom don’t exactly get on too well,” Megan told Marc. The strained relationship with their mother was something she and Kimberley shared.

 

“Like you and her are the best of friends,” Kimberley looked around for a waiter, “What’s a girl got to do to get some service around here?”

 

Fix Coffee House

 

Kyle had barely had time to process Natalie’s news when Leo walked into the coffee shop. Trying to avoid any tension that came with seeing Leo, Natalie picked up her purse and stood up, motioning for Kyle to come with her.

 

“We need to go,” Natalie insisted, “That’s Leo and I really don’t wanna see him.”

 

“Um…okay…wait,” Kyle stood dead in his tracks. Still totally unsure of what to make of Natalie’s revelation, he was overcome with rage upon seeing the guy whose actions could destroy everything he had with Natalie, “That’s Leo…this is the guy who got you pregnant and then didn’t want to know?” Kyle’s voice grew louder as he approached Leo. Natalie tried to hold Kyle back as Leo turned round.

 

“Do I know you?” Leo raised an eyebrow, folding his arms and straightening his posture.

 

“No, but I know you’re an asshole,” Kyle squared up to Leo, getting his head up in Leo’s face, “And I know that you need to learn some respect for other people.”

 

“Ouch...” Leo always found sarcasm the best form of defense in times of confrontation, “Big words…I’d stay away from this one if I were you, bud, she’s poison.”

 

“You were lucky to get such a great girl like her,” Kyle insisted, the steam practically coming out of his ears, “But you treated her like shit.”

 

“Just like all the rest of us, right?” Kyle, Natalie and Leo turned to see Ashley Abbot standing near them, arms folded, with an intense glare in her eyes. She walked closer to them and stopped next to Leo, “Can I just get everyone’s attention please,” Ashley yelled, “I’d like to make every girl in this shop realize just what Leo Sterling is really like. Sure, he’s got the looks and the charm, but underneath all that he’s just a using, heartless dickhead,” Ashley raised her hand and slapped Leo across the face, “That’s for all those nights I sat at home thinking you’d call.”

 

“And this,” Natalie added, kneeing Leo in the groin, “Is for all the shit you’ve put me through. Oh, and, I’m keeping this baby, so you’ll be hearing from my lawyer about child support.”

 

The coffee shop erupted with applause for the girls as Leo stormed out. Kyle couldn’t help but smile at the way Natalie had dealt with Leo, for a minute almost forgetting her pregnancy.

 

The Abbot House: Will’s Room

 

Wesley and Will hadn’t moved, still discussing Alex and the effect she had had on their lives.

 

“I don’t think we should let this get to us,” Wesley insisted, “There’s no point in dwelling on your mother’s past actions. As much as I cannot stand her for what she’s done to this family, the past is the past, and that’s where it should stay.”

 

“But what she did was just plain wrong,” Will argued, “She let me pine over Megan for years, and didn’t even think about letting me know that she was my half sister. She’s a selfish, manipulative bitch and our lives are all better for not having her in them.”

 

“Now hold up,” Wesley stopped Will mid-rant, “What your mother did may be unforgivable, but she is still your mother.”

 

“Don’t tell me you still have feelings for her?” asked Will, confused at Wesley defending Alex.

 

“Of course I do, I always will,” Wesley admitted, “But I cant forgive her for this. She let me think you were my son for decades, letting both of us live a lie.”

 

“I guess it’s just one of those things…she’s still my mother and I cant change that,” Will sighed, “No matter how much I want to.”

 

Renato’s Bistro

 

Kimberley took a sip of her Perrier water, resting the glass down on the table as she sat back in her seat. Megan had been filling her in on the situation with Carrie; something Marc was all too familiar with hearing.

 

“I can’t believe she would do that,” Kimberley gasped, tapping her perfectly manicured fingers on the table, “Adam is just as much a part of Greg as he is of her, so we have just as much a right to see him as her family does.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Megan agreed, “But if Greg’s not going to do anything about it then neither can we.”

 

“I’m gonna go get us another drink,” Marc got up from his seat, “What are you having?”

 

“Nothing for me, thanks,” Kimberley smiled.

 

“Just a coke, please,” Megan requested. Marc leaned in and gave Megan a kiss before heading inside the restaurant. Kimberley watched until Marc was safely inside and then leaned in closer to her sister.

 

“So how is he now? You said he was pretty shaken up after what happened with what’s her name,” asked Kimberley, referring to Ally.

 

“I dunno, Kim,” Megan’s face was overcome with a look of sadness, “Like, he seems to be getting a bit better and getting back to his old self, but things just feel different. Like, just not the same as they were before.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I just kinda wonder…what if everything that happened with Ally has killed any chance Marc and I had of being together.”

 

The Abbot House: Lounge

 

Ashley strolled through the front door, a definite spring in her step, and made her way upstairs. Finding her father in Will’s bedroom, she stood, folded her arms, and smiled.

 

“Well, I did it,” she grinned, “I let Leo Sterling know exactly what I think of him and embarrassed him in front of the whole coffee shop.”

 

“Impressive,” Wesley raised an eyebrow, a sinking feeling in his stomach beginning to appear. He was proud of his daughter for facing her problem head on, but now this meant he would have to let her go, “I suppose this means you get your way. When do you leave?”

 

Ashley glanced at her watch, “Um, about ten minutes.”

 

Both Wesley and Will were stunned. Will opened his closet and wheeled out a suitcase, “I suppose you better get packing then!”

 

Ashley grinned, walking into her bedroom and coming back into Will’s pulling an already packed suitcase behind her, “Done! I just need to you sign this daddy.”

 

Ashley handed her father the consent form, which he sighed and signed, handing it back to her and giving her a hug.

 

“You take care of yourself, you got it?” Wesley warned.

 

“Duh,” Ashley rolled her eyes, moving onto her brother and giving him a hug, “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

 

“You’ll have forgotten about us this time tomorrow,” Will joked, “Enjoy it, sis, you deserve a little fun after everything…”

 

“Don’t we all,” Wesley chirped in, “Well we better get going. You don’t want to miss your flight to New York.”

 

Ashley was impressed, her father had clearly been reading the letter.

 

“Let’s go then!” Ashley smiled, ecstatic…she was moving on and getting out of Oakridge.

 

Wesley and Will followed her out of the bedroom and down the stairs, exiting the house and getting into the car, before driving down the street. Ashley’s journey had only just begun…

 

TO BE CONTINUED…