Heart & Soul

Episode 53

Our Little Secret (Part 2)

By Allan Craig

 

The Sterling Mansion: Front Lawn

 

“So you’re my brother…” Megan took a deep breath, the ramifications of her discovery beginning to sink in, “My ex boyfriend is my brother…” Saying those words out loud made everything ten times worse for her, causing her mind to go into overdrive as she desperately tried to process what she’d just heard.

 

“Believe me, I was as shocked as you were when I found out,” Will explained, sitting down on the grass with Megan. His head felt lighter, a weight had definitely been lifted, but at the same time his stomach was in knots…someone else was going to have to go through what he had experienced, and that was the worst feeling ever.

 

“Well why did you keep it a secret for so long?” The discovery hadn’t even set into Megan’s mind yet already she wanted to know more. She wanted to know every last detail. It didn’t matter if she could make sense of it or not, she just wanted to know.

 

“Your…our….dad persuaded me that it was for the best. He said the last thing you needed was this little bombshell after everything that’s happened to you with Marc and Ally this past year,” Will couldn’t believe how stupid he sounded saying that; something in his mind just clicked. He began to realize that he’d been taken for a ride, that John was only thinking of himself, he’d tricked him into it.

 

“That’s my dad,” Megan was used to her father trying to control what was happening to his family, trying to stop the inevitable in order to save face, “Always thinking he knows best.”

 

At the very mention of her father, Megan could hear his footsteps crunching across the sweeping gravel driveway that stood between the front steps of the mansion and the lawn of grass where she was sitting with Will. Looking up to see her father evoked so many emotions for Megan…he’d lied to her, he’d deceived both her and Will...she began to take deep breaths, her heart rate slowing back down to a normal pace.

 

“Megan, sweetheart,” John slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks, “Let me explain.”

 

“Well, I suppose it’s the least you can do,” Megan agreed. She’d listen to his explanation just now…and deal with him later.

 

Oakridge Plaza Mall

 

Natalie sat on one of the benches in the mall, surprisingly quiet for a Sunday. She checked her cell phone for the time; still half an hour until she was due to meet Kyle, so she headed over to the coffee kiosk and ordered herself a hot chocolate. As she waited for the barista to make her order, she noticed Leo walk towards her. She rolled her eyes and sighed, bracing herself for what would be an uncomfortable encounter, to say the least.

 

“What a surprise,” Leo stopped as he reached Natalie, “I was actually going to call you to arrange a meeting, but I guess since you’re here, there’s no time like the present.”

 

“What are you talking about, Leo?” Natalie paid for her hot chocolate and took the cardboard cup from the counter.

 

“Well as you’re aware, you’re carrying my child,” Leo reminded her. But Natalie didn’t want reminding, she didn’t need reminding.

 

“Yeah and I get it, you don’t want anything to do with him or her. That’s fine, Leo,” Natalie seethed, “Keep out of your kid’s life.”

 

“But I don’t intend to,” those five words made Natalie’s heart sink to the pit of her stomach in record time, “I was talking with Kendall about this ad she’s urged me to reconsider my actions.”

 

“What do you mean?” Natalie gulped, a real feeling of dread overcoming her.

 

“Kendall made me realize that I shouldn’t put a kid through what I went through,” Leo folded his arms, “Growing up not knowing your father, I mean.”

“I don’t get it.”

 

“I intend to be a part of my child’s life,” Leo explained.

 

“Yeah I got that part,” Natalie hissed, “But why? Why the total one eighty? Last week you were telling me to abort it.”

 

“I just don’t want to let my kid slip through my fingers, Natalie.”

 

“You weren’t saying that when I told you I was pregnant, or when you offered to pay for an abortion,” Natalie knew getting couldn’t be good for the baby, but she couldn’t help herself, “You can't just go changing your mind now just because your little sister told you to.”

 

“Did you not just hear me, Natalie? I can change my mind if I want to,” Leo insisted, “In fact I just did. I’m going to be a part of my kid’s life whether you like it or not.”

 

“And then what if you change your mind again?” Natalie folded her arms, “What if, a few years from now, you decide ‘nah, sorry Natalie, I don’t want to be a dad anymore’ and you disappear from this kid’s life, is that fair?”

 

“Fair’s got nothing to do with it. It’s my right to be a father to this child,” Leo’s eyes narrowed, “I had hoped to keep this amicable for the sake of this child, but if you’re not going to play ball, then you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”

 

Not willing to put up with any more protests from Natalie, Leo turned and walked away, leaving Natalie standing alone in the mall.

 

Pulse Gym

 

Having nothing else to do and feeling pumped full of adrenaline from his previous workout, Marc had returned to the gym for some more calorie burning. As he lifted weights, feeling the pump in his arms, he heard footsteps over the music and turned to see Rex approach him.

 

“Hey,” Rex smiled, “How’s it going man?”

 

“Yeah good thanks,” Marc rested the weights on their stand, “What you been up to?”

 

“The usual; work, Jessica, more work,” Rex joked.

 

“How is that sister of mine?” Marc stood up, “I’ve not heard from her in a while. Everything going good with you guys?”

 

“Yeah she’s just really busy with organizing this surprise baby shower thing for Carrie,” Rex explained, “You know what Jessica’s like when she gets an idea in her head.”

“Tell me about it,” Marc knew all too well what Jessica could be like; what had started out as a quiet family dinner to celebrate their father’s 50^th birthday had turned into a huge surprise party, “Good thing she doesn’t have a job to go to or anything.”

 

“If I was in you guys’ position, I can't say a job would be my first priority either,” Rex envied Jessica’s privileged upbringing, coming from a lower class family himself, “But anyway man I’ve not seen you around here in a while, where’ve you been?”

 

“Here and there,” Marc lied. He was mostly ‘there’, ‘there’ being his apartment, “But I just thought I should get back into the swing of working out again before I get out of shape.”

 

“Good to hear it,” Rex checked his watch, “Listen, man, I gotta go. I’ve got a ton of stuff to do. You and Megan, and me and Jess should do something one night.”

 

“Yeah, that would be cool,” the prospect of a double date with his sister and her boyfriend wasn’t the most thrilling prospect for Marc, but he figured it might be fun, “I’ll give you a call.”

 

The Sterling Mansion: Lounge

 

Megan sat down on the edge of the sofa, resting her hands in her lap, as John sat on the coffee table facing her and Will perched himself on the arm of the couch…this explanation was something he wanted to hear as well, considering John had never really told him the full story either.

 

“I just don’t get it,” Megan felt like she’d said that a hundred times since finding out the news; she had definitely thought it, “You kept this a secret since…since before I was even born! How could you let us all grow up knowing we had a brother and not telling us about it?”

 

“Things just happened,” John sighed, he couldn’t explain it, “Once you start keeping a secret like that, everything just spirals out of control. You can't tell people because you’ve kept it for so long.”

 

“Well why didn’t you tell people when it first happened?” Megan just didn’t understand her father’s motives; she couldn’t fathom why anyone would let something so big remain a secret.

 

“There was too much at stake. My marriage, Alexandra’s marriage…if this secret had come out way back then, then you and Kimberley might have never been born.”

 

“That’s not the point, so don’t go throwing that into it! You could have even told us when we were dating. You knew Will and I had sex, and you didn’t say anything?”

 

John looked at the floor; he couldn’t answer that one, he had no excuse.

 

“You let me get pregnant with my own brother’s baby!” Megan reminded her father, “If mom hadn’t made me get an abortion then imagine what that poor kid would have been born into!”

 

“Why do you think your mother made you abort it?”

 

“Diane knew?” Will asked, even he didn’t know that fact.

 

“I just can't believe you, really, I can't,” Megan pushed her hair back out of her face, “This is all just…”

 

“You’ve let both of our lives be lies,” Will added.

 

“And I can't apologize enough for that…” John began.

 

“You haven’t even tried to apologize!” Megan yelled, getting up from her seat and walking over to the fireplace, turning her back on her father, “All you’ve done is tried to turn this whole thing around to make you look like the victim.”

 

“That’s not what I’m doing at…”

 

“Yes you are!” Megan could feel her skin turning boiling hot, “You’ve realized that what you’ve done, keeping this a secret for so long, is wrong, so all you want to do now is make yourself look like the innocent one. I can't believe you’re my father…I can't believe you’d do something like this. Did you really think you could keep this a secret forever? Did you really think everything would be okay when this came out? Did you just expect us to all go ‘okay, cool, daddy that’s just fine’ and then it all goes back to normal?”

 

“Megan, I…”

 

“STOP! I don’t want to hear another word from you.”

 

Nate & Carrie’s House

 

Carrie closed the door and rested the bags of shopping on the floor, lifting Adam out of his pram and carrying him into the kitchen, where Nate stood looking out the window.

 

“Hey,” Carrie smiled, sliding Adam into his high chair. Nate managed a half smile as he turned around, arms folded, “What’s up?”

 

“Nothing,” Nate opened the refrigerator and took out a beer, “How was your shopping trip?”

 

“Come on,” Carrie tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, “I can tell something’s wrong with you…what is it?”

 

Nate opened the bottle, not sure whether to tell Carrie about his confrontation with her sister earlier that day and reaching the conclusion that honesty was the best policy, “Kristen stopped by earlier.”

 

Carrie sighed, the very mention of her sister evoking some anger due to Kristen’s ambush earlier in the week, forcing her to talk to Greg despite her best efforts to avoid him, “And what did she have to say for herself?”

 

“I think she just wanted to apologize,” Nate took a seat at the round wooden table, “But I said a few things I maybe shouldn’t have said to her.”

 

Carrie rolled her eyes, “Like what?”

 

“Well I just told her that the way she set you up was pretty much out of order,” Nate explained, taking a sip of his beer. Keen to avoid causing more tension between the warring sisters, he searched for the best way to put the news, “And then she pretty much told me to keep out of things because I wasn’t part of her family and I never would be.”

 

“I can't believe her,” Carrie seethed, resting her hands on her hips as she processed her sister’s outburst, “She’s got some nerve.”

 

“She’s just being protective of you,” Nate insisted, taking yet another gulp of his beer as he watched Carrie slip closer and closer to losing her temper, “Like any big sister would do.”

 

Carrie began to pace the floor as she tried to clear her mind, “Even still, she had no right to talk to you like that. She just doesn’t know when to stop, does she?”

 

Nate watched as Carrie grabbed her car keys from the counter, “Where are you going?”

 

“I’m going over to her place,” Carrie picked up her purse and headed for the door, “If she thinks she can come to OUR home and talk to you like that, she’s got another thing coming.”

 

“Wait,” Nate jumped up from his seat, attempting to block Carrie’s exit…if she went over to Kristen’s place in her current state he knew she’d say something she would regret, “Just stay and calm down. It doesn’t bother me, so it shouldn’t bother you. Just let it go, there’s no point in causing a fight over a stupid comment, is there?”

 

“That’s not the point. She thinks she can just swan into town and take over my life; it’s just like when we’re kids again. She needs to know when to butt out.”

 

“And she will,” Nate put his hands on Carrie’s arms, “Just, for now, let it go. At least until you calm down a little.”

 

Carrie bit on her lip, weighing up Nate’s suggestion. Although her head was agreeing with him, her heart was already half way out the door, “I won't be long.” She pushed past Nate and headed out the house. Nate lifted up Adam from his high chair and sighed, knowing full well that Kristen was right…he’d never fully be a part of the family.

 

Oakridge Plaza Mall

 

Noticing his girlfriend sitting on a bench, Kyle picked up his pace to reach Natalie. He could see she was deep in thought as he got closer, her eyes glazed over and welling up with tears. He put his arms around her and sat down next to her.

 

“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, rubbing Natalie’s back, “Is it the baby? Is everything okay?”

 

“I just saw Leo,” Natalie explained, trying her best to retain her composure in public, “He’s decided he wants to be a part of this baby’s life.”

 

Kyle struggled to believe what he had just heard. Just a few weeks ago, Leo was offering to pay for an abortion…now he wanted to be a dad? “What do you mean? Surely he’s not.”

 

“Serious?” Natalie wiped a tear from her eye, “He really was. And he loved every minute of it. He just loves making me squirm.”

 

“I’m going to kill him.”

 

“Leave it, Kyle,” Natalie pleaded, “All he wants is to cause even more drama, and if we let him then it’s just playing right into his hands.”

 

“Even still, Natalie, the guy’s scum and he’s making your life hell, he’s not getting away with it.”

 

Natalie clasped Kyle’s hand, doing her best to ignore the knot tightening in her stomach, “Please, just leave it. If you do anything to him it’s just going to give him even more ammunition.”

 

“Ammunition for what?”

 

As she tried to get the words out of her mouth, she was hit by the sudden realization of what was about to happen; “He’s going to try and take my baby away from me.”

 

Before she could even finish her sentence, the tears were streaming from Natalie’s eyes. She buried her head in Kyle’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her and she began to sob, terrified of what Leo could do.

 

The Sterling Mansion

 

Greg and Kimberley walked up to the mansion fresh from looking at apartments. Kimberley, clutching her crystal encrusted cell phone in one hand and an iced coffee in another, looked over at her brother upon hearing the yelling coming from inside the house.

 

“Just like the old days,” Kimberley rolled her eyes, her blunt sarcasm had become a trademark around friends.

 

“Should we go in?” Greg asked; keen to avoid entering what sounded like World War 3.

 

“Um how about yeah?” there was no way Kimberley was missing out on anything juicy going on.

 

Greg smiled and reached for the doorknob, opening the door slowly and walking into the mansion, followed by Kimberley. Once inside, the volume of the yelling doubled.

 

"Hello?" Greg placed his car keys on the sideboard and unzipped his leather jacket. He turned to the living room to see his father, Megan, and Will standing in the middle of a heated argument, "Does someone want to tell us what all the yelling is about?"

 

"We could hear you guys from outside," Kimberley added, sitting down on the edge of the sofa.

 

John swallowed, the knots in his stomach tightening, this was just what he needed right now. Megan looked at her father.

 

"Well?" Megan raised an eyebrow: it was crunch time for her father, "Are you going to tell them, or will I?"

 

Rex and Jessica's Apartment

 

Rex closed the door to the apartment to see Jessica sitting at the table, surrounded by catalogues and pieces of paper. Her head was buried in her hands...Rex placed a brown paper bag on the table and kissed Jessica's forehead.

 

"What's this?" Jessica looked up.

 

"Coffee and a muffin," Rex sat down, "I thought you could use it. How you holding up?"

 

"Yeah, thanks," Jessica smiled, "I didn't think organizing a baby shower would take up this much effort though. There's just so much to get done."

 

"I'm sure you'll manage just fine," Rex insisted, taking the coffee from the bag and handing it to Jessica, "As long as you keep up the caffeine fix, you'll get this done."

 

"Well Valerie's saying to hold it in The Bungalow, and I've got catering and decorations sorted. It's just getting the invites sent out now and making sure this stays a secret that's the problem. How was the gym?"

 

"Yeah, I saw Marc actually..."

 

"Marc my brother, Marc?" Jessica raised an eyebrow. She knew Marc hadn't been going out much since what happened with Ally, "How was he?"

 

"Yeah, he seemed fine. Either that or he's hiding it well,” Rex moved towards the fridge.

 

"I just hope this means he's finally moving on with his life and not letting what Ally did to him and Megan screw up the rest of his…their life."

 

“I’m sure Marc will be just fine,” Rex pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and unscrewed the lid, “Going through what he went through…it’s got to shake a guy up a little bit.”

 

Jessica took a sip of her coffee, “Yeah I guess you’re right. But since this happened Marc’s not been himself. I mean sure, I’ve not seen him as much as I’d like lately…but still, it’s like he’s not acting the way he used to.”

 

“Some psycho tried to blow him up, obviously he’s not going to be feeling quite himself Jess,” Rex poured the water into a glass, “Besides, he seems to be getting over it now, so let’s hope there’s no need to worry…”

 

“Yeah, let’s hope so…”

 

Kristen’s Apartment

 

Tying her thick blonde hair back into a ponytail, Kristen scans her apartment for her iPod, ready to go for a run, her favourite thing to do whilst thinking over all the things that had been happening. She began to feel down in between the couch cushions as a knock at the door disturbed the quiet of her apartment. Kristen reached for the door and pulled it open to see Carrie standing at the door.

 

“How dare you?” Carrie stared icily at Kristen, although her face was boiling with rage.

 

Kristen’s eyes darted from side to side as she tried to overcome her confusion, “You’ve lost me…”

 

“How dare you show up at MY house and talk to MY fiancé that way?” Carrie pushed past Kristen into the apartment, “I mean, what the hell possessed you?”

 

Kristen sighed, “The guy is a jerk, Carrie. He thinks he has the right to talk to me like he’s…”

 

“What?” Carrie interrupted, “A part of this family? Because even though you told him he’d never be a part of it, he is, whether you like it or not. Nate and I are engaged…and as soon as my divorce from Greg is finalized, we’ll be married. What right have you got to talk to him like that?”

 

“And what right does he has to give me into trouble like I’m a little girl?” Kristen hissed, “You might love him, but I don’t have to.”

 

“He’s a good man.”

 

“He’s dangerous! Do you not remember how you met him? The man kidnapped you! Held you hostage for months…”

 

“You know that isnt fair, Kris.”

 

“We all thought you were dead! You didn’t even think to contact us, let us know you were okay.”

 

“I couldn’t…”

 

“Why? Because Nate told you that you couldn’t?” Kristen found herself yelling at the top of her voice, she and Carrie hadn’t argued like this since they were teenagers, “The Carrie I grew up with would never have let her family go through that…he’s changing you…”

 

“Can you hear yourself?” Carrie rolled her eyes, faking a laugh, “The only way I’ve changed is that I’m not letting people walk all over me. And Nate was right in what he said, you had absolutely NO right to engineer that little situation with me and Greg. It was NONE of your business.”

 

“Nate’s changing you, and you know it. He’s dangerous Carrie, what if someone from his past turned up? Every minute you’re with him you’re putting both your own, and Adam’s life in danger. Why can't you see that?”

 

“What is it with you? Are you just jealous because I’m in love and every relationship you’ve had has never worked out?”

 

“How dare you?” Kristen wanted nothing more than to rub the fact that she’d been sleeping with Greg in Carrie’s face, “You have no idea what you’re talking about…”

 

“And neither do you! To be quite honest, Kristen, I don’t need relationship advice from someone who’s never been able to hold onto a man long enough to have a stable relationship.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Kristen raised an eyebrow, ready to spill the truth until something inside her made her shut up, knowing it would cause more trouble than it was worth, “Look, Car, I’m just trying to look out for you. Big sister mentality, that’s all.”

 

“I know, but you really need to stop interfering in things that don’t concern you,” Carrie’s tone softened, “I’m a big girl, I don’t need protecting anymore. Look, I gotta go, I’ll call you or something.”

 

“Yeah, bye,” Kristen watched as Carrie left, confused by the way their argument had just ended. She sighed with relief knowing she hadn’t revealed the truth about her blossoming relationship with Greg…although she began to wonder how things could ever work out with Greg if she wanted to keep her relationship with her sister.

 

The Sterling Mansion: Lounge

 

“Well?” Megan insisted, pressing her father for an answer whilst Will looked down at the floor, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

 

Greg, clueless to what was going on, rested his hands on his hips, “What is it?”

 

“Yeah, what the hell is going on?” Kimberley demanded.

 

“Our father has a little secret that’s approximately twenty eight years old,” Megan began, looking over at Will.

 

“Thanks for that, Megan,” John glared at his daughter, “What Megan is trying to say is…”

 

“Will’s his son,” Megan cut him off, “And our dear father has been keeping this a secret for decades.”

 

“I don’t believe this,” Greg shook his head, “How could you…how could you keep such a huge secret for so many years?”

 

“Are we on Punk’d or something? ‘Cause no way can you be serious with this one, Megan,” Kimberley clearly didn’t know how to take this situation…it was like watching something out of a soap opera, but she was right in the middle of it.

 

“If only,” Greg chipped in, his gut telling him that Megan was telling the truth…that Will Abbot was his brother.

 

“How long have you known?” Kimberley diverted the subject to Will; still totally humiliated from his rejection of her.

 

“A few months,” Will explained, looking up from the floor as he tried to steady his nerves, “But John persuaded me to keep quiet for Megan’s sake…for all the good it did.”

 

“And you?” Kimberley stared back at her father, “You’ve known all along?”

 

John nodded.

 

“You mean, you knew about it when Will and Megan were dating?” Kimberley couldn’t hide her disgust…not that she wanted to, “You knew when she got pregnant with his kid? You let her sleep with her own brother? What kind of sick fuck are you?”

 

“That’s enough! I won't be spoken to like that young lady,” John snapped.

 

“She’s got a point,” Greg was thinking the same thing, although he noted he wouldn’t have put it as harsh as his little sister, “And what about mom, did she know?”

 

“Of course she knew,” Megan rolled her eyes.

 

Something in Kimberley’s head clicked, “So that’s why she made you have an abortion!”

 

“That and what would the neighbours say? But that’s beside the point,” Megan walked over to Will, “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this.”

 

“Yeah, I guess there’s nothing left to say…well, except welcome to the family,” Greg extended his hand to Will, “Lil bro.”

 

Will laughed, something he hadn’t done in a while, as he shook Greg’s hand. Feeling accepted by at least one of the Sterlings was more than he’d ever expected.

 

“Yeah,” Kimberley agreed, “Brace yourself…you’re a Sterling now.”

 

Kimberley hugged Will, who then turned to Megan, his eyes full of hope. Although hesitant at first, she shot him a smile, “This is fucked up…but you’re in the same boat as me. It’s him that’s got the explaining to do…”

 

Megan glared at her father, who was clearly full of remorse…he knew fine well this wasn’t over…not by a long shot…

 

TO BE CONTINUED…