Heart & Soul

Episode 55

So This Is Christmas

By Allan Craig

 

Christmas Eve 2006

 

Josh’s Apartment

 

Natalie took a sip of her hot chocolate as she sat by the fire, watching It’s A Wonderful Life, her favourite DVD to watch on Christmas Eve. Ever since she was a little girl it had been a tradition, although the last few years living with Max and Abi had made it difficult to watch it the whole way through due to his kids demanding they watch some craptastic cartoons instead, and of course they always won.

 

“Are you still watching that?” Josh emerged from his bedroom, rolling up his sleeves, “I thought you’d have grown out of it years ago.”

 

“Never!” Natalie smiled, “It’s a classic! Max called earlier, he says the kids’ gifts arrived yesterday and they’re dying to open them.”

 

“How was he?” Josh took a seat next to his little sister, “Still mad at you for what you did to his car?”

 

“That was, like, a year ago,” Natalie laughed, “But it is Max, so it’s kinda hard to tell. He’ll have probably sent me a lump of coal or something for my Christmas present. Good thing we’re not going through there for Christmas, though, I don’t think I’d be all that welcome.”

 

“Oh would you be quiet? Max is your brother…he won't be able to stay mad at you for too long. Besides, it was nice of Eric and Valerie to invite us over.”

 

“They’re good people,” Natalie agreed, “And I’m looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas before this little critter comes along.”

 

“Oh you’re in for it next year,” Josh got up, “I better go and get some wine or something to take over there tomorrow. Do you want me to bring you anything back?”

 

“I’d say chocolate, but I’ll probably be getting a whole load of that tomorrow,” Natalie joked.

 

Josh smiled and grabbed his jacket and car keys and left the apartment as Natalie rewound her DVD to the part she was watching and resumed the viewing of her film.

 

Kristen’s Apartment

 

Kristen handed Greg a glass of wine as she sat down next to him on her sofa and resumed the task of helping him to wrap up the mountain of presents he had purchased for Adam.

 

“I don’t really see the point in this,” Greg looked up from the shiny silver foil that he was attempting to cover a teddy with, “It’s not like Carrie’s going to let me give Adam these gifts, let alone see him open them.”

 

“Would you calm down?” Kristen frowned, “Trust me; you’ll be more than welcome to come over and give Adam your gifts. Even if Carrie’s going to be a bitch, as usual, my mom and dad will be happy to see you. They think she’s being an idiot, and so do I. You’re Adam’s father; you have a right to see him. More than Nate, anyway.”

 

“I just don’t know if it’s a good idea,” Greg took a sip of his wine, “What if she throws me out?”

 

“She’s not going to make a scene at Christmas, trust me,” Kristen insisted, “And if she does then she’s just being pathetic. Seriously, you’re more than welcome…now,” Kristen leaned in close to Greg, “How about we leave the wrapping for a while and get to some unwrapping.”

 

“Whatever do you mean?” Greg smiled.

 

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean,” Kristen began to unbutton Greg’s shirt, revealing his smooth, tanned torso as she leaned in for a kiss.

 

Josh’s Apartment

 

“What are you doing here?” Natalie stood at the doorway, angry to see Leo when she was expecting Kyle, “I don’t really want to talk to you, it’s Christmas Eve, can you not at least let me be happy for one night?”

 

“I’m not here to fight,” Leo insisted, “Can I come in?”

 

“I guess,” Natalie rolled her eyes, standing aside to let Leo in, “The landlord doesn’t let us leave trash in the hallway.”

 

“Thanks,” Leo entered the apartment, “I just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy Christmas. I know it doesn’t mean much considering you hate my guts right now, but I just want us to be getting along with the baby on the way.”

 

Natalie’s eyes narrowed, sceptical of Leo’s sudden change of character, she just didn’t understand why he was being so nice all of a sudden, “I don’t get it.”

 

“You don’t get what?”

 

“Why you’re all of a sudden Mr. nice guy?” Natalie folded her arms, “Last week you were threatening to take my baby away, and now this?”

 

“I just wanted to give you this,” Leo took a small box out of his pocket and handed it to Natalie, “Aren’t you going to open it?”

 

“What’s going on?” Leo and Natalie turned around to see Kyle standing in the doorway. A wicked grin appeared on Leo’s face as the colour drained from Natalie’s.

 

“Leo was just leaving,” Natalie attempted to push Leo out of the apartment, but he wasn’t budging.

 

“I just stopped by to see the mother of my child,” Leo smirked, “No harm in that, is there?”

 

“Well except that she doesn’t want to see you,” Kyle snarled, “So don’t you think you should be leaving?”

 

“I don’t think that’s your decision to make, Kylie boy,” Leo was totally thriving on the conflict, he just loved getting a reaction out of Kyle, “I’ll leave when Natalie tells me to.”

 

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Kyle demanded, holding the door open and motioning for Leo to leave.

 

“That’s not what she was saying eight months ago,” Leo’s smugness was enough to make Kyle want nothing more than to land one punch on his face, but he knew Natalie wouldn’t be too happy about it.

 

“That’s enough,” Natalie yelled, thrusting the unopened gift in Leo’s chest, “Get out, now. And keep your crap, I don’t want anything from you.” Suddenly it all made sense in Natalie’s head, Leo was being nice to her so he could wind Kyle up, deciding Leo must be getting a kick out of causing misery in other people’s lives.

 

“Whatever,” Leo about turned and walked out, “Enjoy your Christmas, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers soon after.”

 

“Move it,” Kyle shoved Leo out the door and slammed it shut. He walked over to Natalie and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a kiss, “That guy’s a piece of work, sick bastard just loves messing with people’s lives. What did he want anyway?”

 

“Nothing really,” Natalie rested her head on Kyle’s shoulder, “Certainly not to wish me a Merry Christmas anyway.”

 

Oakridge Main Street

 

Josh walked out of the wine store and smiled at the owner. Carrying a brown paper bag containing a few bottles of wine, he made his way down the stunningly lit street, adorned by millions of twinkling white lights. As he approached his car, he glanced in the window of the pizza shop and spotted a familiar redhead standing at the counter, paying for a takeaway. But Josh couldn’t comprehend why Amber was still in Oakridge…she had told him that she was leaving town.

 

Josh watched as Amber pushed Emily out of the restaurant and walked along the street balancing a pizza box on top of the pushchair. As she got closer, Josh walked over, watching as her face dropped.

 

“I thought you were leaving town,” Josh folded his arms.

 

“I was, but I wasn’t able to get a flight out until after Christmas, a lot of things were fully booked,” Amber appeared uneasy at being confronted; a shadow of the confident, gutsy girl Josh first met a few months back, “I just didn’t want to get in your way over Christmas so I thought it best not to call.”

 

“That’s stupid,” Josh glanced at his watch, “Listen, do you want to come for a coffee or something?”

 

“No, you’ve got things to do, you don’t need me causing you to go out of your way,” Amber insisted.

 

“Well at least let me give you a ride back to your hotel,” Josh offered, worried that Amber was going to be alone on Christmas Day, but knew he couldn’t invite her to Eric and Valerie’s.

 

“If you insist,” Amber smiled, following Josh to his car.

 

The Abbot House

 

Will and Wesley sat at the dining room table, tucking into a feast of turkey and vegetables. Wesley loved to cook Christmas dinner and was gutted that he wouldn’t be spending Christmas Day with Will, so he had decided to go all out on Christmas Eve.

”So what time will you be leaving to go to Aunt Macy’s at?” Will did his best to make conversation in the tense environment; it was obvious to him that Wesley wasn’t happy about his decision to spend Christmas with the Sterlings.

 

“I don’t know,” Wesley explained, cutting a small piece of turkey, “I’ll probably just leave first thing.”

 

“Well that’s good, remember and take my presents for them,” Will reminded his father, taking a sip of his water.

 

“Will do,” Wesley got up from his chair and walked over to the sideboard, “Which reminds me, I have a little something for you.”

 

Will didn’t know what to expect from Wesley, it was clear he was still mad at him for choosing to spend Christmas with the Sterlings over him, but he was still excited as Wesley handed him a small black box, “What is it?”

 

“Open it!” Wesley insisted, “It’s not much, but I thought you’d like it.”

 

Will opened the box to see a silver Rolex watch and a grin broke out over his face, “Thanks so much, dad.”

 

“It’s good you’re still calling me that,” Wesley couldn’t resist a comment about John, “And not Wesley.”

 

“I’ve told you…John might be my father but you’ll always be my dad,” Will explained; strapping the watch around his wrist and admiring it.

 

“Ashley called, by the way,” Wesley remembered, “She’s spending Christmas in Paris.”

 

“Well that’s good,” Will couldn’t take his eyes off the brand new watch, “Well, not good that she’s spending it so far away, but good that you at least know where she is. Did she say when she’d be coming back to Oakridge?”

 

“She didn’t…the trip’s over in a few months but she thinks she’ll probably do some more travelling after that.”

 

Outside Metro Hotel

 

Josh and Amber walked up to the hotel, Amber pushing Emily in her pushchair. They reached the front doors and stopped.

 

“Thanks for the ride,” Amber smiled, “I’d invite you in but I’m super tired and really just need to crash before Santa comes for this little lady.”

 

Josh looked down at a giggling Emily before fixing his gaze back on Amber, “Okay, well give me a call tomorrow if you want to do something later or whatever.”

 

“Yeah, will do,” Amber was so happy to have such a nice, genuine guy in her life, but she felt so guilty for leading him on when she knew her time in Oakridge would only be brief, “Goodnight.”

 

Amber continued inside the hotel and headed for the elevator, and was stunned to see John Sterling approach her, “Hello, Amber, I thought you’d left town.”

 

“I had trouble getting a flight,” Amber pushed the button on the elevator, hoping it would come fast, “So I thought, why not stick around for a while?”

 

“So what are you doing for Christmas?” John asked, shooting Emily a friendly smile.

 

“Not much, me and Emily are just going to have a quiet one,” Amber explained, “We’ve got a Christmas DVD marathon set up and some dinner from room service.”

 

“Well you’re more than welcome to come to the mansion for dinner, if you’d like. Any child of Andrew and Natasha is welcome at my home,” John invited, hating the thought of Amber having to spend Christmas alone.

 

Despite her hesitance, something told Amber that she could trust John. She could tell he was a genuine person just trying to be nice, “Sure, why not?”

 

“Great, I’ll tell you what, I’ll call the maid and get her to prepare the guest room,” John whipped out his cell phone, “It’s not nice to wake up alone on Christmas Day, is it?”

 

Christmas Day

 

The Masters House

 

Carrie smiled as Adam played with the mountain of wrapping paper surrounding him, oblivious to the mass of gifts that he had been given. Typical that she’d spend a fortune on presents and Adam would be more interested in the wrappers. Across the room, Valerie unwrapped a present from Kristen, revealing a delicate, gorgeous white gold pendant.

 

“It’s gorgeous,” Valerie grinned from ear to ear, hugging her eldest daughter, “Carrie look what Kristen got me.”

 

“Yeah…it’s nice,” Carrie glanced over, her lack of enthusiasm over her sister’s gift apparent. Valerie rolled her eyes, hating the tension between her two daughters. Carrie turned to Nate, who was clearly in a world of his own; the news of DiCenzo’s death was all he could think about.

 

“I think someone needs changing,” Carrie picked up her son, “Nate honey, could you give me a hand upstairs with the diaper bag?”

 

“Um, yeah, sure,” Nate snapped out of his daydream, picking up the bag and following Carrie up the staircase.

 

“Well that was fun,” Kyle remarked, mocking the icy atmosphere that was in the room, as he played with his new cell phone.

 

“Some people just like to cause a little drama.” Kristen wrapped a strand of her long blonde hair around one finger, “I guess that’s what happens when you’re used to getting your own way and then you don’t.”

 

Unable to cope with her daughter’s bitching, Valerie got up from her seat and walked into the kitchen, where Eric stood pouring coffee for everyone.

 

“I can't take much more of this,” Valerie sighed, she had always hated it when her daughters were at each other’s throats, and had hoped at by their age they would have gotten over petty squabbling, “I’m half expecting them to start tearing each other’s hair out.”

 

“Calm down,” Eric reassured his wife, handing her a coffee, “Our girls like to fight…it’s a healthy part of their relationship. I’m sure everything will have calmed down by the time dinner is served.”

 

Valerie took a sip of her coffee, managing a hopeful smile, “Let’s hope so.”

 

The Abbot House

 

Alex approached the door to her old house cautiously; the fact that it was submerged in darkness suggested nobody was home. With a gift for her son in one hand, she rang the doorbell. She was hoping to catch Will before he went for dinner at the Sterlings’.

 

The door opened, a dishevelled Wesley standing behind it. When he realized who was at the door his face dropped, “What the hell do you want?”

 

“I was hoping to catch Will before he went up to Hollow Pines,” Alex glanced past Wesley to see if anyone else was home, “I thought you were spending Christmas at Macy’s?”

 

“He’s already left,” Wesley snapped, ignoring his ex-wife’s question, “What? Is this you wanting to try and buy his forgiveness for ruining his life?”

 

“Can I come in?” Alex pushed past her ex-husband without even waiting for his answer, “I’ve had enough of this Wesley, there’s really no need for it.”

 

Wesley folded his arms, “I’m sorry, I guess it is pretty petty for me to not want to talk to the woman who let me raise someone, single handed for a good while, who turned out to not be my biological son. Yeah, that’s right, there really isnt any need for it?”

 

Alex was taken aback by Wesley’s intense hatred, even after all this time. She placed her gift for Will on the sideboard and turned to leave, “I can't be bothered talking to you when you’re like this?”

 

“Like what?” Wesley snapped, grabbing Alex’s arm, “You’re not going anywhere until you hear what I’ve got to say to you.”

 

The Sterling Mansion

 

Kimberley and Megan stood in the upstairs corridor, hugging each other after exchanging their gifts.

 

“I totally love it,” Kimberley grinned, admiring the vintage Chanel dress her sister had given her, “Where did you find it?”

 

“That would be telling,” Megan teased,” Should we get downstairs? That turkey smells great, huh?”

 

“Tell me about it, I’m totally starving. Have you seen how many places have been set at the table?” Kimberley fixed her hair in the mirror, “You’d think dad was feeding the five thousand.”

 

“Well there’s Amber and her little girl, you know, her parents and dad are old friends, and then Will’s coming…” Megan explained, her mind trailing off at the thought of her ex-boyfriend-turned-brother coming over for Christmas dinner like nothing had happened.

 

“And are you okay with that?”

 

“Of course I am,” Megan insisted, unaware that Amber had emerged from her bedroom round the corner and could hear their every word, “It’s not his fault that Dad let all of us grow up without knowing Will was our brother…at least the truth is out now, anyway. I just hope it isn’t too awkward for him.”

 

“So it doesn’t bother you that you’ve slept with your half brother?” Kimberley still couldn’t believe that little tidbit of information…it was like something out of a soap opera.

 

“Well obviously it’s kinda weird,” Megan began to walk down the stairs, followed by Kimberley, “But it’s happened and I can't change that so the best thing to do is just get on with it.”

 

Once they were safely downstairs, Amber emerged from around the corner, unable to believe what she’d just heard. So John had a secret son that nobody knew about, who turned out to be his daughter’s boyfriend…just what kind of situation had she walked into?

”And I thought River’s Edge was bad,” Amber thought, applying lip gloss to her full, pouted lips, “These people are seriously fucked up.”

 

Checking in again on her sleeping daughter, Amber closed the door shut and headed downstairs to the front lounge, where Leo and Kimberley sat in deep conversation.

 

“So where did you say Kendall was spending Christmas at again?” Kimberley asked, taking a sip of her water.

 

“At an old friend’s house in L.A., I think she just wanted a change of scenery for a while,” Leo explained, “God knows there are a few people in this family that she’d like to….” Leo stopped when he saw Amber appearing at the bottom of the staircase.

 

“Hey, Amber,” Kimberley smiled, moving up on the sofa, “Merry Christmas.”

 

“Thanks, you too,” Amber sat down on the comfortable cream sofa, “What time is it anyway?”

 

“About eleven thirty,” Leo glanced at his new Jacob & Co. watch, as given to him by Kimberley, “I’m surprised little…Emily?...isnt up yet.”

 

“She’s had me up since 3am,” Amber explained, “She just couldn’t wait to open her gifts. She’s out like a light now though.”

 

“Well then,” Kimberley grinned, a mischievous look appearing on her perfectly made up face, “How about we crack open a bottle of Cristal…I mean it’s early, but who gives a damn, its Christmas day!”

 

“I’m in,” Amber smiled.

 

“Me too,” Leo added, getting up from his seat, “I’ll get it…drinking before noon, just like the old days, eh Kim?”

 

“You bet,” Kimberley agreed. Amber didn’t even need to ask what they were talking about; the cousins’ partying antics were the stuff of tabloid fodder on a weekly basis, she knew exactly who they were before she’d even been introduced…it felt strange that she was sipping champagne with two of Pink Is The New Blog’s favourite celebrities on Christmas day…but she loved every minute of it.

 

The Masters House

 

Eric closed the door as Greg made his way into the house, already feeling awkward despite Eric and Valerie’s friendliness towards him. Upon his entrance, Carrie got up with Adam and walked into the kitchen, followed by Nate.

 

“Excuse my sister,” Kristen stood up, drawing Carrie a dirty look even though she was on the other side of a wall, “She’s in one of those ‘I’m going to be a total bitch to anyone that crosses my path and doesn’t kiss my ass’ moods today. Probably because all the attention’s on Adam today instead of her.”

 

“That’s enough Kristen!” Eric barked, he knew Kristen was in the right, but didn’t want to get involved, “Merry Christmas, Greg, how are you doing son?”

 

“Yeah great thanks Eric,” Greg smiled, clutching the huge bag full of presents he had brought for his son, “I can't really stay, though, so if you’ll just make sure Adam gets these.”

 

“Don’t you want to stay to see him open them?” Valerie asked, hoping her daughter would get over her strop for long enough to let Greg see his son.

 

“Like that’s going to happen,” Kristen scoffed, disgusted at how Carrie was behaving.

 

“Seriously, its fine,” Greg lied, disheartened at Carrie’s refusal to let him see Adam, “I better get back to the house and keep Will company in case he’s feeling a little out of place.”

 

“Well thanks for stopping by,” Eric shook his hand, “If I don’t see you before it, have a Happy New Year.”

 

“You too,” Greg forged a smile, still heartbroken that he wasn’t allowed to see his son on his first Christmas.

 

“I’ll see you out,” Kristen followed Greg to the door and out onto the porch, closing the door behind them, “I’m so sorry about her, seriously, I cannot believe the way she’s treating you.”

 

“She’s just trying to make me back down about going for custody,” Greg reasoned, although he wasn’t actually sure why Carrie was being the way she was, he was just trying to make sense of it, “She thinks if she’s a total bitch to me about things then I’ll go back on my original proposal…she’s wrong, though, I’ll seriously go for full custody if she keeps this up.”

 

“And you know I’m on your side,” Kristen ran her hand down Greg’s arm, “My sister’s a spoiled little princess who doesn’t know when to give up. She’ll learn though. I seriously want to tell her about us just to spite her.”

 

“What we have is worth more than that,” Greg insisted, wrapping his arms around Kristen’s waist, “It’s not about spite, or winding Carrie up, is it?”

 

“You know it isnt,” Kristen gently kissed Greg on the lips, “If it was, this would all be out in the open by now…speaking of which, when are we going to tell anyone?”

 

“I don’t know, when it feels right I guess,” Greg kissed Kristen, “It would just cause too much trouble right now.”

 

“I guess,” Kristen leaned in closer and they shared a passionate kiss, oblivious to the fact that, upstairs, Kyle had gone to the window to see if the voices he heard coming from the porch were Josh and Natalie, when in fact it was his sister kissing his other sister’s ex husband.

 

“What the hell…” Kyle frowned, unable to comprehend what was going on.

 

The Abbot House

 

Alex stood frozen still, stunned at Wesley’s outburst. She could feel his grip around her arm, but it wasn’t causing her pain…in fact she was numb.

 

“You just don’t care, do you?” Wesley barked, “You don’t care just how many lives you ruin as long as your conscience is clear?”

 

“That’s not true,” Alex insisted, doing her best to get her arm free from Wesley’s grip, “Will had a right to know, you all did.”

 

“We had a right to know twenty odd years ago!” Wesley yelled, “It didn’t bother you then! And then you walked out of town and left me to raise Will and Ashley, not even caring about the fact that I wasn’t Will’s father…where was our right to know then?”

 

“I didn’t mean to…”

 

“TO WHAT? TO FUCK UP SO MANY LIVES?” Wesley shouted at the top of his voice, causing Alex to wince, unable to hide her fear…never in so many years had she seen Wesley like this, “Well too late for that Alex, the damage is done. And what really pisses me off is the fact that you don’t give a damn!”

 

“Of course I care! And do you know what, Wesley, I’m not staying her and taking this off of you.”

 

“I said you’re going nowhere!” Wesley tightened his grip on Alex’s arm, pulling her around the room.

 

“Let go of me!” Alex screamed as Wesley threw her onto the couch, pinning both of her arms down with his arms as he climbed on top of her. Terrified, Alex did her best to scream. She let out a toe curling scream for help, a scream that nobody would hear…

 

The Sterling Mansion

 

Spotting Will sitting alone on the sofa, Megan approached her newfound brother and sat down next to him.

 

“How you doing?” Megan asked, doing her best to make conversation in the awkward environment.

 

“Yeah, great,” Will lied, the truth being that he’d never felt so out of place in his life, “What about you, was Santa good to you?”

 

“I can't complain,” Megan smiled, noticing Will’s gleaming Rolex, “Nice watch…someone felt like spoiling you.”

 

“My dad…Wesley…gave me it last night,” Will explained, “I couldn’t believe it when I opened the box.”

 

Megan giggled, touched by Will’s attempts to make conversation towards her when there was so much tension between them, “Listen, Will, I think we should talk about what happened between us when we didn’t know we were brother and sister.”

 

Will felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, the dreaded moment had finally come, “I think its best we just forget it, it was in the past, we can't change it, so maybe its best that we just move on from it and try our best to forget it ever happened. Sure, it’s weird, but I think its something we just need to forget, for everyone’s sake.”

 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Megan lied, she wanted to have a sense of closure on their past, not just forget it ever happened, however, she was impressed at Will making an effort to move on from things and do his best to get on with his life.

 

The Masters House

 

“Well come in, come in,” Valerie smiled, standing aside to let Josh and Natalie into her home.

 

“Thank you so much for inviting us,” Josh handed Valerie the bottles of wine as Eric closed the door to the house.

 

“Not at all,” Eric insisted, hoping that Carrie and Kristen’s feud would not resurface and embarrass them in front of their guests, “The more the merrier, right?”

 

“Is there anything I can help with?” Natalie asked, although truth be told the smell of poultry was not agreeing with her at this stage in her pregnancy.

 

“No dear, just you sit down and relax, we’ll take care of everything,” Valerie insisted, always the perfect hostess.

 

“Really, I insist,” Natalie smiled.

 

Kyle rolled his eyes, grinning at how well Natalie was fitting in with his family, “Mom, just let her help hand out the eggnog or something.”

 

“Fine then,” Valerie gave in, secretly pleased that someone was offering to help her; god knows her daughters weren’t bothering, “Follow me.”

 

As Valerie and Natalie walked into the kitchen, Eric took Josh into his study to show off his new laptop, leaving Kyle and Kristen alone in the living room. Checking Carrie and Nate were still outside taking Adam for a stroll in his pushchair, Kyle walked back into the living room and looked at Kristen as she flipped through the pages of a glossy magazine.

 

“We need to talk,” Kyle folded his arms.

 

Kristen glanced up from her magazine, sensing Kyle’s tone, “Sounds ominous.”

 

“What the hell were you doing kissing Greg on the porch just there?” Kyle whispered, as all the colour drained from Kristen’s face…she had been found out.

 

“I was just kissing him goodbye…a peck on the cheek…” Kristen’s mind went into overdrive trying to think up an excuse for what Kyle had seen, “He was pretty upset that Carrie just ignored him like that and refused to let him see Adam and I was just….”

 

“…don’t try to lie to me Kris, I mean are you actually out of your mind?” Kyle demanded a proper answer from his sister, he could always tell when she was lying.

 

“It’s none of your business,” Kristen returned to the pages of her magazine, trying her best to put an end to the conversation, “So keep your nose out and keep your mouth shut.”

 

Kyle grabbed the magazine from out of Kristen’s hands, forcing her to take notice of him, “I don’t believe you…having an affair with your sister’s ex husband? You’re playing with fire here, Kris, and you’re only going to get burned.”

 

With those stern words from her brother, all of Kristen’s worst fears were confirmed. It was clear her family were never going to accept her relationship with Greg, which caused her to wonder, were they doomed already?

 

The Sterling Mansion

 

With the family gathered for dinner, the table was packed. John sat at the head of the table, with Greg next to him, then Megan and Marc. On the other side sat Kimberley, Will, Leo and Amber, with Emily in her high chair at the end.

 

“So, Amber,” Kimberley began, “Where is it you come from again?”

 

“River’s Edge.” Amber stated abruptly.

 

“How long have you lived there for?” she continued, doing her best to make conversation with the guest, although it was like drawing blood from a stone.

 

“All my life,” Amber took a sip of her wine.

 

“Okay then…someone’s not interested,” Kimberley thought as she exchanged glances with Leo, who could see Amber’s obvious ignorance of Kimberley’s advances.

 

“I’d like to raise a toast,” John interrupted the awkward silence, “Although we’ve had our ups and downs this year, I’m so grateful to have all of my family around me on Christmas Day, so here’s to family.”

 

“To family,” came a choir of voices in unison, although each and every one of them could see the irony in John’s toast.

 

The Abbot House

 

Alex buttoned up her blouse as she gathered her things and headed for the door, eager to get away while Wesley wasn’t in the room. She was unable to comprehend what had just happened…never in her worst nightmares could she have predicted THAT.

 

Numb, Alex was unable to hold back her tears, and once they had started it was like the flood gates had opened. She cried and cried, hoping to wash away every last ounce of what had just happened. She walked as fast as her legs would carry her and got into her car, locking the door behind her and bowing her head into the steering wheel as the tears continued to stream down her face.

 

She began to shake as she attempted to turn the ignition, her stomach churning. Alex did her best to avoid being sick as she glanced over at the house that was once her home, spotting Wesley peering out of the curtains, staring at her so coldly it could have frozen her.

 

How could this have happened, she thought…how could the man who she once loved more than anyone else in the world have raped her?

 

TO BE CONTINUED