Heart & Soul

Episode 66

With Every Heartbeat

By Allan Craig

 

Oakridge General Hospital

 

Will sat in the cold, clinical hospital waiting room, struggling to make sense of the events of the last few hours. Never in his life could he have predicted what had just happened, and he wouldn’t have wanted to, either.

 

Three hours earlier.

 

Will and John raced out of John’s car to the edge of the river, where Wesley’s car had crashed over the edge just seconds earlier.

 

“Alex!” John yelled as he watched the last part of Wesley’s car vanish under the surface of the deep river. Before he had even finished yelling, Will had taken off his shoes and jacket and was heading towards the river.

 

“Will, wait, you could kill yourself!” John urged his son as he dialled 911 on his cell phone. He had only just connected with his son and couldn’t face losing him.

 

“I have to do this.” Will insisted as John informed the operator of his whereabouts. He took a deep breath and headed towards the edge of the river.

 

“Be careful!” John could feel his heart sink to the pit of his stomach as Will dived into the icy water.

 

Inside Alex’s hospital room, John clutched her hand as she lay unconscious, the bleeping of her heart monitor steady in the background.

 

“Wake up, please.” John pleaded with Alex as he gently gripped her frail hand. “I wont let that bastard ruin what we have, Alex. If it takes nearly losing you for me to admit it, then so be it; I love you. I never stopped loving you. All the years I was married to Diane and you were with Wesley, it was you that I loved. All those other women I was with behind Diane’s back never held a candle to you. Now we’ve finally got the chance to make a go of things, don’t you dare leave me. I’m begging you here.”

 

John wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, knowing how close he had come to losing Alex for good. He wasn’t about to give up on her; she was going to pull through, whether she wanted to or not.

 

Josh and Natalie’s Apartment

 

“You left this at the mansion, and I know how Grace cant sleep without it,” Leo handed Natalie a stuffed bunny rabbit toy as he waltzed into her apartment, noticing her tear stained eyes. “Are you okay, Nat? You look like you’ve been crying.”

 

“I’m fine.” Natalie wasn’t about to discuss the breakdown of her relationship with Kyle with the very man who caused it. “Thanks for bringing this over, but I’m about to have an early night.”

 

Leo ignored Natalie’s hint to leave and took a seat on the arm of the couch. “Where is my favourite girl, anyway?”

 

“I don’t know, probably waiting for you in whatever sleazy club you’re about to inhabit.” Natalie couldn’t help but be a little sarcastic around Leo; he was hardly the first person she wanted to see. “But your daughter is sleeping. And no, you can’t wake her up.”

 

“When did you get so…boring?”

 

“The day you knocked me up, Sterling.” Natalie opened the door and motioned for Leo to exit. “Now if you don’t mind…”

 

“Not at all, I’ll be here when you get back.” Leo loved that he could wind up Natalie as well as he did. “While you’re out, could you pick me up some cigs? I seem to be running low.”

 

“Very funny, but seriously, Leo, I just want to go to bed.” Natalie wasn’t in the mood for some witty repartee with Leo anymore, she just wanted some sleep. “I’ve been non stop all day between doing my Christmas shopping and taking care of your daughter when you dropped her off two hours early.”

 

“Whatever, I’ve got to jet”.” Leo took the hint and got up to leave. “Send Kyle my love…oh, wait, you two aren’t together anymore, are you? Shame that.”

 

With a wicked grin, Leo left the apartment and closed the door behind him, leaving Natalie reeling.

 

The Bungalow

 

Greg entered the busy restaurant and glanced around, hoping to locate Kristen. Scanning the crowds gathered around tables surrounded by lavish festive décor, Greg’s attempts to locate Kristen seemed unsuccessful. When his eyes finally caught her standing behind the bar, he headed over and immediately caught her attention.

 

“Can we talk?”

 

“I’m kind of busy right now, in case you haven’t noticed.” Kristen turned on an icy demeanour in order to keep Greg at arm’s length, she just couldn’t face more heartbreak where he was concerned.

 

“A few minutes, that’s all I’m asking.” Greg pleaded.

Kristen glanced at her watch, as if arranging a moment out of her busy schedule in which to slot Greg into. “Fine. Five minutes.”

Kristen sighed as she walked out from behind the bar and walked into the deserted back corridor of the restaurant, followed by Greg. “What can I do for you?”

 

“I wanted to talk about what happened with us.” Greg began, he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to say about it, but he needed to talk to Kristen.

 

“What? You mean when you couldn’t look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t still love my sister?” Kristen folded her arms. She had tried to get over what happened with Greg, and deep down she knew he loved her just as much as she loved him, but she wasn’t about to let her pride take such a hit; the fact of the matter was that Greg couldn’t deny his feelings for Carrie, and that was something Kristen wasn’t prepared to live with.

 

“Carrie is the mother of my child, Kristen, of course I’m always going to love her. That doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.” Greg looked Kristen in the eye, as if hoping to melt her heart. He didn’t want to lose Kristen, he couldn’t live without her, but he knew how stubborn she could be. “Cant you see you’re the one I want to be with?”

 

“Just forget it Greg, please.” Kristen wiped a tear from her eye as she looked up at the ceiling, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Greg, something she knew would ultimately lead to her breaking down in tears right in front of him. “We’re not going to work out, and if you think about it, we were never going to work out.”

 

“You don’t mean that.”

 

“Let’s be realistic here, Greg. You’ve got a kid with my sister, whether you’re still in love with her or not, you’ll always be connected to her. And I cant live with that for the rest of my life, Greg, always wondering  if you’re still in love with her, always feeling like second best because she’s the mother of your first child…it’s not going to work, Greg, so why don’t we save both of us a lot of heartbreak and end it now before we get in any deeper.”

 

“I don’t want to give up on us, Kristen. I love you. I love you more than I ever loved Carrie, more than I ever will love her. I want to be with you, why can’t you see that?”

 

“Please, Greg, you’re making this so hard for me. Just let it go, for the both of our sakes.”

 

“I don’t want to let it go. I don’t want to let us go. What is it going to take for you to see that I’m in love with you?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it, Greg. Please, just accept that you and me can never be together. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can both get on with our lives.” Kristen could feel her heart breaking inside, but she was determined to stay strong. “Please, Greg, if you love me at all, you’ll do what I ask.”

 

“I’ll never stop loving you.”  Greg pulled Kristen in for a close embrace, she now had no choice but to look Greg in the eye. Their lips so close they could almost kiss, Kristen had to use every last ounce of self control in order to stop herself from pulling Greg even closer and kissing him one last time, but she knew if she did that, she would never stop. Greg took a deep breath as he leaned his forehead onto Kristen’s and caressed her cheek. “I want you to remember that. No matter how much you think you’ve moved on, know that no matter what, I’ll still be completely in love with you. You might want to move on, Kristen, and you can try, but deep down you’ll never be able to match what we have, and you’ll never be able to forget about our love.”

 

“Please, Greg…” Kristen pulled away and sighed, blown away by what Greg had just said. Even still, she knew ending things was for the best. “Please, just go.”

 

Greg could feel his shoulders slumping as the truth became heartbreakingly obvious to him. “I love you.” Greg opened the door that led back into the restaurant, glancing one last time at Kristen as their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity, before closing the door behind him and making his way out of the restaurant.

 

Once alone, Kristen slid down the side of the wall until she sat on the ground, unable to control the flood of tears that came pouring down her face as she wept, mourning the loss of what could have been the most true love she would ever experience.

 

Oakridge General Hospital

 

Will remained unmoved in the waiting room of the hospital, as John took a seat next to his son.

“How’s she doing?” Will remained numb, unable to comprehend the events that had just occurred. What on earth would have possessed the man he thought was his father to head to such a tragic destruction? Did he cause it when he confronted Wesley about the rape and walked out of the house? As much as he worried about his mother, he couldn’t help but feel that he had caused the entire situation.

 

“She’s holding up pretty well. Any word on how Wesley’s doing?” John didn’t give a damn if Wesley lived or died, in fact he was willing for Wesley not to pull through, but he knew Will was still concerned about Wesley; after all, the man raised him as his own for over twenty years.

 

“This is all my fault,” Will didn’t want to think about Wesley’s current state, thankfully, none of the doctors who had been treating him had given Will any information about how Wesley was holding up. “I caused this, all of this.”

 

“Don’t be stupid, son. None of this is your fault.”

 

“Maybe if I had just told you, none of this would have happened.”

“Told me what?” John didn’t like the way Will was talking, blaming himself for everything that had happened.

 

“Last Christmas… Wesley… well, Wesley raped my mom.” Will sighed, hoping that telling John about the rape would lift a weight from his shoulders, but there it was, still hanging over him like a dark cloud.

 

“He did what?” John felt the colour drain from his face. How could he have let this happen? He became wracked with guilt when he realized the previous festive season had been spent urging April Bradshaw to return to River’s Edge…how could he have neglected Alex so much that she ended up getting raped? If he had just spent last Christmas with her, none of this would have happened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“My mom didn’t want anyone to know. I had to work to get it out of her, and she didn’t want me telling you, but I thought you should know now, after everything that’s happened.”

 

“The sick bastard.” John rose up from his seat.

“Where are you going?” Will felt fear as he noticed the anger in John’s eyes, as his father began to pace down the corridor.

 

“To kill the bastard. If he hasn’t died yet, I’m going to finish the job.” John muttered, enraged, as me began to march down the corridor of the hospital, followed by Will.

 

Oakridge Mall

 

“Are you sure Marc’s going to like this?” Megan asked as she held out a top of the range digital camera to Jessica.

 

“As much as he tries to hide it, my brother is a techno geek.” Jessica laughed, making her way through the Christmas shoppers that crowded the electronics store with her sister-in-law. “He’s going to love it.”

 

“If you’re sure…”

 

“I’m positive.” Jessica insisted. “It’s going to put my Christmas present for him to shame, but you’ve got to get it for him. If you don’t, I will.”

 

“Fine, but he doesn’t like it, I’m blaming it all on you.” Megan joked as she handed the salesman her credit card, instructing him to cash up the sale.

 

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Jessica grinned as the salesman handed Megan a bag containing the camera, as well as her card back. “Where do you fancy next? All this shopping for other people has put me in need of some serious retail therapy.”

 

“How about we grab a coffee and plan our route?” Megan suggested as they exited the store. “I could use a new pair of boots, and I know there are some hot new ones in Saks.”

 

As the two women made their way through the mall, which was decked out in Christmas decorations at every turn, Megan noticed a strikingly familiar face. “Tyler!” she yelled as the handsome black man turned around, shooting her a Colgate worthy smile as he walked over and wrapped his muscular arms around Megan in a friendly hug.

 

“Well this is a surprise. I didn’t know you were back in town.” Tyler smiled, oozing charisma. His fitted black shirt revealed broad shoulders and a perfectly muscled physique, one that Jessica couldn’t help but admire.

 

“Um, yeah, for about four years now. I thought you were working in Detroit?” Megan continued her reunion with her old friend, oblivious to her sister-in-law standing right next to her.

 

“I took a job at Oakridge General.” Tyler explained, “Thought it was time to move back home.”

 

“And just in time for Christmas, how’s that for timing? I’m sorry, I’m being so rude here.” Megan suddenly remembered Jessica’s presence. “Jessica, this is Tyler Davis; Rex’s brother.”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’re Jessica?” Tyler instantly knew the name, his brother hadn’t shut up about her ever since they met. “I feel like I know you already, the amount Rex has told me.”

 

“All good I hope.” Jessica couldn’t help but feel slightly attracted to Tyler, he was totally gorgeous, dripping with confidence, not to mention a body that any man would kill for.

 

“You bet.” Tyler insisted, looking Jessica up and down, Rex forgot to mention that his girlfriend was totally hot. “I only just got back in town today, I was hoping to surprise Rex with a visit later tonight. I guess that cat’s out of the bag now.”

 

“Oh, you’d be surprised at how good I am at keeping secrets.” Jessica joked as she shot Megan a glance, the fact that Jessica had managed to keep the news that Megan and Marc were now married under wraps had surprised Jessica more than it had anyone else.

 

Josh and Natalie’s Apartment

Hallway

 

Leo glanced at his watch as he waited for the elevator, watching as number crept up to 7 and the doors opened, but seeing Josh walking out was the last thing he wanted to see.

 

“Great.” Leo muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes, anticipating that Natalie’s older brother wasn’t about to let him get on the elevator without much of a fuss. He thought right.

 

“Well, well, if it isn’t Leo Sterling. Daddy dearest, eh?” Josh couldn’t contain his hatred for Leo, and he didn’t particularly want to. As much as he loved his niece, he detested Leo for getting Natalie pregnant at such a young age. “Tell me, will you be seeing your daughter this Christmas, or just letting all of the strain fall on Natalie?”

 

“Give it a rest, Josh,” the last thing Leo wanted to do was spend any amount of time taking any of Josh’s shit.

 

“How about you give my sister a rest? Natalie’s been run ragged taking care of your daughter while you party your life away. Just how inconsiderate are you, Sterling?”

 

“What I do with my life is none of your business.”

 

“It is my business when you barely take care of Grace. One day a week just doesn’t cut it, Leo. Natalie deserves a life as well, you know.”

 

“I’m going to give you five seconds to get out of my face, Denman.”

 

“Or what?” Josh squared up to Leo.

 

“Forget this, I’ve got better things to do with my time than waste it listening to another second of your crap.” Leo pushed past Josh and climbed inside the elevator, watching Josh clench his fists in fury as the doors closed.

 

Oakridge General Hospital

 

“John, wait.” Will urged his father, who continued to march through the hospital like a man possessed. “What is this going to solve?”

 

“It’ll pay that bastard back for damn near killing Alex.” John could feel his heart racing as he became more and more pent up with anger.

 

“But it’s only going to make things worse,” as much as Will hated Wesley for what he did to Alex, he didn’t want to see John pay for killing him. As they reached Wesley’s hotel room, they noticed Rex talking to one of his fellow officers.

 

“Will, I’ve been looking all over for you.” Rex stated solemnly. “Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you, it’s about Wesley.”

 

“What is it?” Will didn’t particularly care about Wesley, but Rex seemed very serious. He knew what was coming, but he didn’t want to hear it.

 

“Wesley…Wesley didn’t pull through.” Rex explained, “He passed away about twenty minutes ago.”

 

Will couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He didn’t care about Wesley dying, in fact, he was quite glad about it, but he knew this would totally tear Ashley apart.

 

Suddenly, Dr. Melissa Stafford came racing around the corner and rushed over to John and Will. “Mr. Sterling, Mr. Abbot, you must come quickly. Alexandra is regaining consciousness.”

 

The Bungalow

Back Corridor

 

“Are you okay?” Kyle asked as he walked out from the office, noticing his sister bent over on the floor in tears. “I heard everything.”

 

“I’ll be fine, Kyle.” Kristen insisted through her sobs. “Just give me a minute, kay?”

 

Kyle knelt down next to his older sister and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tear soaked face into his chest. Kristen leaned into Kyle and continued to cry. “It’ll be fine, Kris, you did the right thing.”

 

“Did I?” Kristen wept. “How is losing the man I love doing the right thing?”

 

“Everything will work out in the end.” Kyle reassured his sister, as much as he could have taken the opportunity to say ‘I told you so’, but with his own heartbreak so raw, he knew he had to be there for his sister. After all, he was the only one who knew about the relationship, and telling anyone else now would only make things worse.

 

“But I loved him so much,” as much as Kristen knew she couldn’t be with Greg, as much as it had been her who had ended it, the heartbreak was still painful, even more so than if it had been Greg that ended things, as this was self inflicted. Deep down, Kristen knew she had done the right thing, but even still, her heart was still broken and all she wanted was to be wrapped up in Greg’s arms, she couldn’t stop loving him, and she couldn’t stop the pain, but she knew what she’d done was for the best, even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.

 

Jessica and Rex’s Apartment

 

“Sorry I’m late, Jess, I got held up at the hospital talking to Will.” Rex was already explaining himself before he was fully inside the apartment.

 

“You’ve got a visitor.” Jessica smiled, ignoring what had become a routine part of her relationship with Rex; the ‘sorry I’m late’ apology.

 

“Tyler!” Rex exclaimed upon setting sight on his younger brother.

 

“What’s up, dude?” Tyler stood up and gave Rex a hug. It had been nearly a year since he’d last seen his brother.

 

“When did you get back into town?”

 

“Just today, actually.” Tyler explained. “I’m about to start work at Oakridge General.”

 

“Impressive. Have you got an apartment sorted out yet?”

 

“Not as yet, I’m staying at the Metro until I can get something arranged.”

 

“Nonsense, man, you can stay in the spare room.” Rex’s invitation to his brother had Jessica stunned; Rex barely spent any time in the apartment as it was, so what was he thinking inviting his brother to stay?

 

“I cant impose on you like that, man, I’ll be working crazy shifts and coming in at all hours. Seriously, a hotel will do just fine until I can get somewhere organized.”

 

“I’m not taking no for an answer.” Rex refused to budge on his brother’s accommodation. “You’re not staying in a hotel, especially at this time of year.”

 

Jessica sighed, not only was she now sharing an apartment with a boyfriend that was never there, but now his brother was going to be coming and going in the middle of the night?

 

Oakridge General Hospital

Alex’s Room

 

“It’ll be a while until we can let you go home, as there are still a few tests we have to run.” Melissa explained as she wrote down a few notes on her clipboard, “Do me a favour and take things easy. You’ve been through a lot, I don’t want you overdoing it.”

 

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t have to lift a finger.” John assured the doctor whilst staring lovingly at Alex. “You’re going to relax, whether you want to or not.”

 

“I’m in no hurry.” Alex sniffed, still clearly shaken by her experience.

 

“Would you excuse me?” Will stood up, now as prepared as he could ever be for what he now had to do. “I’ve got to make a call.”

 

Will quickly exited the hospital room and made his way to the balcony at the end of the corridor, dialling a number on his cell phone and lifting it to his ear. “Hey, Ashley? It’s Will…there’s something you need to know…”

 

Back inside the hospital room, John gazed lovingly into Alex’s eyes, which were still slightly glazed over as she struggled to make sense of the past few hours. “I cant believe how close I came so close to losing you. I’m never going to let that happen again.”

 

“You couldn’t have stopped this, even if you wanted to.” Alex insisted, “Wesley totally lost it. Nothing you could have done would have stopped him from doing something stupid.”

 

John buried his head in his hands and took a deep breath. Although he knew Alex was right, he still couldn’t feel partly responsible. If he hadn’t been so distracted with Amber and Natasha, and had paid Alex more attention, all of this could have been prevented. “I could have stopped him…if I’d only just realized that you needed me, none of this could have happened.”

 

“John, you can’t blame yourself for any of this.” Alex whispered, only because her weakness wouldn’t allow her voice to go any louder.

 

“Even still, I don’t want to risk losing you ever, ever again. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, Alexandra; I don’t ever want to be without you again. Coming so close to losing you has made me realize just how much I love you, and so, I want you to be my wife. Alex, will you marry me?”

 

Alex was taken aback; unable to process what John had just said to her. She’d never even considered hearing those words from John, but now they had came out of his mouth, her heart urged her to say yes. “I will.”

 

TO BE CONTINUED…