Heart and Soul

Episode 84

Goldplated

By Allan Craig

 

Carrie Masters gazed into the space occupied by twinkling white Christmas lights as she sat opposite Kristen in The Bungalow, gazing into the glass of white wine that she held; she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty drinking during the day, but with Adam staying with Greg, she figured maybe she could loosen up and have some fun, although an awkward morning with Nate had meant that enjoyment wasn’t coming naturally to her.

 

“And I was thinking maybe something like this but maybe not as much tulle.” Kristen pointed to a picture in a bridal magazine. “I like the neckline, but the bottom’s a little too…hello? Earth to Carrie, are you there?”

“Sorry, I was…” Carrie mumbled

 

“…miles away? Yeah, I’ve noticed. What’s wrong with you, Car?”

 

“Nothing, I’m fine. It’s just, well, you know….”

 

“Evidently not.” Kristen reached for the bottle of wine, feeling that a top up was more than necessary considering Carrie’s loss for words.

 

“Nate just seemed really off with me this morning, in fact he’s been acting kind of off lately, kind of on edge.” Nate’s constant peering through windows and double checking that doors were locked had put Carrie off, and constantly avoiding any sort of confrontation with her fiancé was serving no purpose but to put even more distance between them.

 

“I thought you guys were finally making a breakthrough.”

 

“So did I.” Carrie shrugged her shoulders. “It seemed like things were finally starting to look up, but these past few days, I dunno, it just seems like we’re back to square one. I mean, I don’t know why he’s acting like this, but if this is the way things are going to keep going for us, you know, one step forward and two steps back… I just don’t know how much longer I can live like this.”

 

“Have you tried talking to him about it? Of course you haven’t, the man’s got the emotional range of a rock.” Kristen took a sip of her wine; although she had finally found a happy, stable relationship with Shane, the idea of sticking her nose into her sister’s love life didn’t exactly appeal to her following the disastrous results of her previous attempt. “Look, I’ve learned my lesson about involving myself in you and Nate’s relationship…but if you love him, you’ll tough it out; and if he loves you, well, he’ll make an effort to make things better. If not, well then maybe it’s time to walk away. It might not be easy at first, but…”

 

“I just don’t want to lose him, Kris.” Carrie decided, although she was beginning to get the impression that Nate might already be a lost cause.

 

 

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Lucy Baldwin yelled as she walked up the icy steps to the Sterling mansion’s porch, tastefully decorated with an elegant wreath hanging from the dark wood and frosted glass front door, as she made her way home after school, having caught sight of her father waiting in his silver Audi convertible as he waited for her to return home.

 

“Lucy, darling, just hear me out.” Shane urged his daughter as he followed her up the steps, digging his hands deep into his pockets in a bid to stay warm in the cold air. “I just want to talk, that’s all.”

 

“What? So you can try and make me think you weren’t the one responsible for the drugs that put Leo in hospital? You let me grow up thinking you were such a great guy, when really you’re nothing more than a drug dealer? I don’t want to talk to you, Shane, not now and not ever.”

 

“Just let me explain…” Shane pleaded, hating that he was embarking on a new life with Kristen when neither of his children wanted to talk to him; while Leo was unreachable from L.A., and was probably a lost cause anyway, there was no way Shane was going to see his relationship with Lucy go the same way if he could help it.

 

“There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make me forgive you.” Lucy turned and faced her father, seething with resentment over Shane’s part in the destruction of her family. “I came here thinking I would have a father and a brother, you know, to finally have a proper family; and I’ve got one now, but you’re most certainly not a part of it.”

 

“I’m your father…” Shane began.

 

“Biologically, yes. Technically, no.” Lucy hissed. “My mom was right about you; I really don’t need you in my life. And you know what? I don’t want you in my life. I don’t want anything to do with you. You destroyed my family, you almost killed Leo, you’ve done nothing but cause misery for so many people that I care about, how could you do that? When are you going to realise that nobody wants you here? Do us all a favour and sell Kendall back your share in the company and leave us all alone for good.”

 

Before Shane could utter another word, Lucy opened the door to the mansion and slipped inside, slamming the door behind her and leaving Shane lost for words on the porch of the mansion.

 

 

Leo Sterling sat in the passenger seat of the black Porsche that belonged to Dylan Banks, his best friend since middle school, and since his relocation to Los Angeles, his roommate.  Music blared from the top-of-the-range speakers that Dylan had recently installed in the convertible as it sped down Hollywood Boulevard, while Leo did what was definitely not the first of what would be many lines of cocaine off of the back of his hand.

 

“Easy, man…” Dylan warned his friend as they pulled up outside Privilege, a hip bar that was queued round the block. They got out of the car and approached the door, the familiar doorman waving them in as the baying crowd watched.

 

For Leo, everything from the second he entered the club was a blur of noise, flashing lights and nameless people that he didn’t care to socialise with anymore. Dark circles under his eyes were set off by the pale, gaunt skin that came with the nocturnal lifestyle he had found himself living since his relocation to the West Coast.

 

Once inside, they approached the bar and quickly ordered their usual drinks. Leo glanced down the bar, his eye catching a gorgeous brunette in a teal dress with a plunging neckline which revealed her smooth, chocolate brown skin. Her piercing green eyes met his and she curled one side of her mouth into a seductive smile.

 

“Who’s the girl?” Dylan asked his friend.

 

“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out…” Leo grinned, relishing the prospect of a meaningless fling; maybe it was just what he needed after everything that had happened in Oakridge. Despite his attempts to forget the troubled few months that had seen him lose a child, lose the one person who understood what he was going through, and almost lose his own life, no amount of drinking, partying and making love to gorgeous, if not slightly vacant, women could block the pain that he still felt on a daily basis. He made his way along the bar, resting his drink down on the lit-up countertop as he reached the gorgeous woman who he had been locking eyes with for the last few minutes. “Let me guess…a champagne girl?”

 

“Guess again,” the woman glanced around the club, keen to appear disinterested; despite the fact his toned, tanned physique had been replaced with skin and bone, Leo still managed to look as swoon-worthy as always, although recently his look had less resembled the Hollywood heartthrob and more Pete Doherty.

 

“A challenge?” Leo raised an eyebrow, beginning to get the impression that this girl was different from the usual The Hills wannabes and D-list celebrities that frequented the clubs of West Hollywood, her slightly tousled hair and thick black eyeliner giving her a unique look that Leo guessed probably spilled over into her choice of drink “Let’s see…Jim Beam on the rocks. And you are?”

 

“Van,” she extended her hand, the black gloss on her nails reflecting against the flashing lights of the club.

 

“Liam.” Leo lied; the needy girls he had encountered in L.A. giving him reason to go under a false alias when picking up girls, his family’s money and high profile amongst gossip columnists gave him a notoriety that he would have rather avoided, but at least in L.A. he wasn’t a big fish in a small pond, almost everyone was famous or connected to someone who was famous, so his fame wasn’t a big deal, in fact it made it even easier for him to blend into the background, something that he needed desperately after everything that had gone on in Oakridge. “So, Van, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a dump like this?”

 

“I could ask you the same question,” she smirked. “The music’s good and you don’t have to fight with any Paris Hilton wannabes for mirror time in the ladies’ room.”

 

“I’m going to head to The Viper Room in a while, want to tag along?”

 

“We’ll see…” Van pouted her nude-glossed lips. “I’m still waiting on that drink, by the way.”

 

Leo grinned, maybe meaningless, no-strings fun with someone like Van was just what he needed.

 

 

“Is Joseph home?” Kendall Sterling barged into the penthouse apartment that Diane and Joseph called home before Diane even had a chance to ask her in.

 

“He’s out, doing Christmas shopping I think.” Diane explained, closing the door of her home. She walked over to the box of Christmas trinkets she was in the process of removing from bubble wrap produced another decoration to unwrap.

 

“Great.” Kendall sighed, having been unable to track down John all day she soon realized that both of her uncles had opted for a more relaxing afternoon than the endless plotting to get Shane out at Sterling Enterprises that had been filling so much of their spare time.

 

“Is it anything I can help with?” Diane couldn’t care less about Kendall and her various troubles, but she knew it had to have something to do with Sterling Enterprises; while she still wasn’t sure exactly what Joseph was up to, she was determined to find out, so the idea humouring Kendall for a while wasn’t exactly going to hurt things.

 

Kendall was taken aback at her aunt’s offer for help; she knew that the only person Diane Sterling looked out for was herself, so opening herself up to be taken advantage of wasn’t an option. “Um, no, it’s okay…if you can just let him know that I came over?”

 

“Kendall, is everything alright?” Diane pressed, determined not to let Kendall get away that easily.

 

“Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

“I don’t know, I just get the impression that things aren’t exactly going as you had all hoped with the takeover.” Diane reasoned, careful the fragile glass bauble she held in her hand as she hung it on the Christmas tree.

 

“It’s just taking a little longer than we had hoped, that’s all. If you don’t mind me asking, why the sudden interest? I mean, it’s not like you’ve ever shown an interest in the business before; well, except from when you and Joseph were trying to con me into signing it over to you…”

 

“…isn’t it time we moved on from that? It was years ago!” Diane rolled her eyes, she knew she’d never be able to get away from that mistake, but recently it just felt like she was being constantly reminded of it.

 

“Well you don’t exactly get over something like that overnight. I’d just lost my mother and instantly there were vultures circling around me, and they were my family; the people that were supposed to be looking out for me,” as much as Kendall hated playing the poor little rich girl card, the wounds of Diane and Joseph’s attempt to swindle her out of her inheritance while she was still struggling to cope with the massive readjustment in her life were only just starting to heal.

 

“In that case, why are you doing business with Joseph again?”

 

“The man’s a snake, and Shane Baldwin’s the scum of the earth; I need someone who knows how to play on his level.” Kendall admitted, not caring to sugar coat the facts. “Listen, I need to go. Please, tell Joseph I was looking for him.”

 

As Kendall made her way out of the penthouse, Diane stopped for thought; maybe her niece was right, maybe Joseph really was a snake in the grass, but the real question was, was he out to get her as well?

 

 

Dr. Cal Ryan exited the elevator on the sixth floor of Oakridge General Hospital, clutching his clipboard in his arms as he walked down one of the many corridors that seemed to form a maze within the busy hospital.

 

“Alright baby, I’ll see you tonight.” Tyler Davis paced the floor next to the payphones, stopping Cal in his tracks. “Just make sure you’re still lookin’ damn fine for me, girl. Look, I gotta jet…I’ll see you later.”

 

“I guess professionalism’s totally out the window, then?” Cal asked as he approached his colleague and long-time foe.

 

“And what the hell does it have to do with you?” Tyler’s back was instantly up, straightening out his shoulders in an attempt to gain a dominant stance over Cal. “When I talk to my girl ain’t none of your business, bro.”

 

“I’m not your ‘bro’,” Cal’s eyes narrowed, even after years, he couldn’t contain his resentment for Tyler. “And when the girl you’re talking to is my cousin, and I presume it is Ashley you’re talking to, then it is my business. She could do a whole lot better than you and she’s going to see that…”

 

“…and you’re going to be the one to help her see that, right?” Tyler rolled his eyes, barely able to contain his laughter. “When are you going to get a life, man? Ashley and me, we’re good, we don’t need no interference from you. You know, why don’t you just admit what all of this is about? It’s not about me and Ashley, it’s about me and you…dude, what’s in the past is in the past. Med school was years ago, you can’t really still be holding a grudge, can you?”

 

“Wanna bet?” Cal raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to make Ashley see you for the scum you really are, and the sooner she realizes it, the better.”

 

Around the corner, Will Abbot stood motionless in his tracks behind the sparsely decorated Christmas tree that kept him out of sight from Cal and Tyler, the confrontation between the two men causing him to stop and listen; the very idea that Cal was so anti-Tyler was enough to put him off Ashley’s boyfriend a little, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that there was more to the story than either Tyler or Cal cared to admit. However, if it affected Ashley, then one of them was going to have to admit it if Will had anything to do with it.

 

 

“He what?” Kendall couldn’t believe that Shane had the nerve to try and reach out to Lucy after everything that he’d done to tear their family apart. She sat on the floor of her mansion’s cosy living room, wrapping up some gifts she and Lucy had bought for Leo in the hope he would come back to Oakridge in time for the holidays.. “I mean, where the hell does he get off?”

 

“Well he is my father, I guess.” Lucy shrugged her shoulders as she reached across the floor for the wrapping paper. “I dunno, maybe he just wanted to make it right. I guess he hoped I’d be all overcome by the Christmas spirit or whatever.”

 

“Lucy, I don’t want to stand in the way of you forgiving your father, but the man put our brother in hospital. And he can say it wasn’t on purpose or that he didn’t mean for it to happen, but the fact of the matter is he knew those drugs he supplied were lethal and he still allowed them to make their way around Oakridge; he put countless people in hospital, including Leo, as a result and he’s shown absolutely no remorse.” Kendall could feel her blood boiling as she thought back to Shane’s part in what ultimately drove her brother across the country. “You know that Leo hated him long before any of this happened, Luce…just don’t put yourself in that position to let Shane hurt you the same way as he hurt Leo.”

 

“Believe me, I have no intention of letting my father back into my life.” Lucy insisted. “You and Leo are the only family I need now…although the fact that I haven’t heard anything from Leo since he moved to Los Angeles isn’t exactly reassuring. Don’t you think it’s weird that he hasn’t been in touch? I mean he wasn’t here at Thanksgiving, I’m guessing he probably won't be home for Christmas either. What have we done to make him not want to speak to us?”

 

“Nothing. He’s just trying to make his point; that he’s over losing Grace and is moving on with his life away from Oakridge, that’s all…”

 

“Are you sure about that?”

 

“Totally.” Kendall maintained, although she had never been less sure of anything else in her life, Leo may have decided to move on with his life somewhere other than Oakridge, but whether he was coping or not was another matter entirely.

 

 

Throwing the door to his apartment open, Leo Sterling stumbled through the dark as he undid the back of Van’s dress, his lips locked in an intense kiss with her as they fell onto the black leather sofa. Van’s hands roamed Leo’s slim physique as she pulled his white t-shirt over his head, meanwhile feeling her dress slide off of her body, her black lace underwear following soon after as she unzipped Leo’s jeans and pulled down his boxers, grinning with intense pleasure as she felt his hands running up and down her body.

 

No matter how hard he tried to regain any sort of feeling in his body, Leo was so numb that he didn’t even feel Van’s nails digging into his naked back, his eyes closed as, for the first time in months, he felt that spark having sex with Van that he had been lacking with every other L.A. girl.

 

 

“Beer?” Will asked as Cal entered the apartment they shared.

 

“I’m good, thanks,” said Cal, removing his coat and draping it over the sofa; despite the fact he could use a stiff drink after his day at the hospital, he refused to make alcohol the first resort for every problem he encountered. “Busy day today?”

 

“Hardly.” Will shrugged his shoulders. “Business isn’t exactly booming, but you know, something will come along.”

 

“And if not you’re hardly going to go hungry.”

 

“I didn’t exactly think of it that way, but yeah, I guess,” despite the fact that his father was one of the most prominent businessmen in Oakridge, and the man he thought was his father had left him a small fortune, his determination to make money for himself had caused Will to put his privileged financial situation to the back of his mind; the idea of falling back on other peoples’ money barely occurred to him. “What about you? How was work?”

 

“It was fine, I guess. Thanks for dropping off my keys, by the way.”

 

“No problem. I don’t mean to stick my nose into something that’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help but overhear you and Tyler getting a little heated earlier, is there something I should know?” the conversation Will had been privy to had replayed in his head all day, he knew there was something Cal was hiding, there had to be, but getting his cousin to open up about his previous dealings with Tyler was proving impossible.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“The guy’s dating my sister, and for whatever reason you totally detest the guy. If there’s a reason why Ashley shouldn’t be with him, then I want to know about it, for her sake.”

 

“Ashley’s a big girl, Will, she can take care of herself.” Cal knew that Ashley was going to find out sooner or later just how bad an idea her relationship with Tyler was, but he also knew that if either he or Will got involved and broke them up, Ashley would never forgive them.

 

“Even still, if Tyler Davis is going to wind up hurting my sister…”

 

“…what are you going to do, Will? I don’t like the guy any more than you do, but Ashley isn’t going to stop seeing the guy just because we tell her to, she needs to make her own mistakes,” Cal failed to see the point in telling anyone about his past with Tyler, what would it achieve except to drive a wedge between him and Ashley?

 

“So you think Ashley seeing Tyler is a mistake?”

 

“I think I’ve made my feelings pretty clear on that front, but who am I to tell her who she can see? Who are you, for that matter…Ashley’s a grown woman, she’s going to do what she wants whether we like it or not.”

 

“Even still, if you hating Tyler was that bad, you’d tell me about it.” Will couldn’t help but feel a sense of impending dread about what was to surely come with Tyler and Ashley, but until Cal opened up to him, he knew he would be powerless; eventually Tyler was going to end up hurting his sister, and Will was determined to put a stop to it sooner rather than later.

 

 

Following her lunch with Kristen, Carrie had decided to take advantage of having the afternoon to herself by doing a spot of last minute Christmas shopping. However, after making her way downtown, the plan had changed from stocking up on gifts for others to treating herself to some seriously needed retail therapy. As she perused the shoe floor of Wyndham’s department store, taking in the soft festive soundtrack that echoed through the spacious store, Carrie stopped to admire high heels with even higher price tags when she caught sight of Diane slipping her dainty feet into a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos while a stressed saleswoman fluttered around Diane giving her the best treatment possible.

 

“Carrie, isn’t this a surprise?” Diane’s voice floated across the room, stopping Carrie in her attempt to slip away from her former mother-in-law unnoticed. “Shouldn’t you be at home looking after my grandson?”

 

“Actually, Greg has Adam today?” Carrie did her best to remain civil with Diane. “Didn’t he tell you?”

 

“My son doesn’t have to run every little detail about his life by me.” Diane did her best to hide the fact she had no idea that she was missing an opportunity to spend time with her grandson.

 

“Really? That makes a change.”

“Have you been drinking?” Diane quickly turned the tables on Carrie. “It’s barely five o’clock. Do you drink like that when you’re supposed to be looking after Adam? What kind of mother does that? The fact that it’s nearing Christmas doesn’t give you an excuse to play fast and loose with my grandson’s safety.”

 

“Are you really trying to criticise my parenting skills, Diane? Do you really want to go there?”

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

“Well right now your daughter is probably tearing her hear out trying to take care of her twin daughters while you’re sitting here trying on shoes,” despite her promise to Greg that she wouldn’t get involved in Megan’s situation, Diane had a way of pushing Carrie’s buttons like nobody else. “What kind of mother does that?”

 

“Do remind me how my daughter’s situation is of any concern to you.” Diane quickly waved off the sales girl to continue her conversation away from any prying eyes and ears.

 

“Whether or not I’m married to Greg, Megan’s still a part of my family, and the fact that none of you are bothering to help her out is totally ridiculous.”

 

“Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s what Megan wants,” the tone of Diane’s voice softened, she knew that Carrie was right, maybe she was being selfish by not forcing her way into Megan’s life, but considering how far that had gotten her in the past, she knew she had to hold back if she wanted any semblance of a relationship with her daughter.

 

“She doesn’t know what she wants! But I suppose I can hardly expect much from a woman who’s shacked up with her ex husband’s brother despite the fact he tried to con a nineteen year old girl out of her inheritance when her mother had just died. That’s a real catch you’ve got there, Diane. You should be real proud of yourself.” Carrie turned and walked away before Diane could say another word, but words were something Diane was at a loss for, more and more it was becoming clear that she had been blinded by love for Joseph, and now she was starting to see things a little more clearly, it was clear her future was Joseph wasn’t as rosy as she had originally thought.

 

 

“I don’t get it, how many times can Dan and Serena break up and get back together again before it just gets boring?” Kimberley moaned as she sat in front of the huge plasma television that adorned a wall of the Sterling mansion’s plush television room.

 

“But they’re meant for each other!” Lucy protested as the closing credits of Gossip Girl began to roll for the third time that day; having recently purchased the box set as an early Christmas present to herself, Lucy was determined to accumulate as many hours of viewing time as possible.

 

“Even still, it’s a little tiresome.” Taylor remarked whilst typing a text message to Kyle on her cell phone.

 

“This coming from the girl who thinks The Hills is real.” Kendall teased, enjoying the rare chance to act her age and have fun with people she actually had things in common with.

 

“Shut up!” Taylor tossed a handful of popcorn at her cousin.

 

“Come on, Tay, it’s totally faked…” ever since Lucy heard the full story of what went on behind the scenes Laguna Beach from a friend whose cousin was featured on the show, her faith in the MTV reality show had plummeted.

 

“If you don’t mind, while you ladies discuss the finer points of who’s on Team Lauren and who’s on Team Heidi, I’m going out.” Kimberley announced, rising to her feet before the discussion of the girls who constantly took up what should be her rightful place in the tabloids got her angry.

 

“Meeting Josh, are we?” Taylor teased as she watched Kimberley grow increasingly agitated.

 

“I told you not to discuss that!” Kimberley snapped, hoping that her one night stand with Josh would remain just that; one night, something that wasn’t being made any easier by others constantly reminding her of it.

 

“I thought there was ‘nothing’ to discuss…” the wicked smile that appeared on Taylor’s face was soon wiped away when she took a sip of the eggnog Kendall had attempted to make. “God, Kendall, what the hell did you put in this?”

 

“I don’t have time for this.” Kimberley slung her Chloe handbag over her shoulder. “You losers have a good night.”

 

“Give Josh our love.” Kendall yelled as Kimberley exited the room.

 

 

Closing the door to Joseph’s study, Diane tiptoed across the polished wooden floor; careful to avoid any noise from her stiletto heels as she began to rifle through the drawers of his mahogany desk in an attempt to find out what he was up to; she knew he was planning something to get control of Sterling Enterprises from under Kendall and John’s noses, and she wasn’t about to risk losing her family at the expense of Joseph’s hunger for power.

 

She opened up his laptop and tapped her manicured fingernails on the keyboard as she made her way into his e-mail inbox, a slew of vague emails from Madison Chase were not enough to give her any idea of what he was up to…although she was determined to find out sooner rather than later.

 

 

“I’m sure she’ll come around in time.” Kristen reassured her fiancé as she handed him a drink. “You just need to let her get it out of her system, that’s all. The more you push, the more she’s going to pull away.”

 

“I don’t know, you didn’t see her.” Shane had been beating himself up inside for hours over his disastrous attempt to make things right with Lucy; he hated the fact that his daughter refused to speak to him, but it just seemed like all of his efforts to reach out to her doing nothing but worsening the already tense situation. “She really hates me.”

 

“You’re her father, she cant hate you…” Kristen assured her fiancé as she tried to untangle the mountain of Christmas lights that were piled high on the cream carpet of Shane’s penthouse.

 

“Want a bet?” Shane took a sip of his scotch. “I mean you do know about Leo…”

 

“That’s different.” Kristen insisted, although she didn’t quite know how the way Lucy and Leo detested Shane could differ by much. “You and Leo…you’re just both as stubborn as each other, you’re just too similar so obviously you’re going to clash. Lucy, on the other hand…”

 

As much as Shane wanted to believe what Kristen was telling him, part of him couldn’t escape the fact that maybe he had blown things with both of his children for good.

 

 

“You should cook more often, that was amazing.” Carrie grinned as she followed Nate into the kitchen carrying both of their empty dinner plates. With Adam staying with Greg for the night, Nate had decided that a romantic night in with Carrie was the perfect solution to try and forget about the problems they had been having, even if only for that night.

 

“Don’t get used to it.” Nate warned with a smile on his face. “Besides, could you really cope with the kitchen being this much of a mess every night?”

 

“Good point.” Carrie opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. “I really enjoyed tonight, thanks very much for doing that for me, it was just what I needed.”

 

“Always glad to be of service, Miss Masters.” Nate kissed Carrie gently on the cheek. “Speaking of which, we really got to make this thing official soon, what do you say?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, we’ve been engaged for years now, isn’t it time that you became Mrs. Rutledge?” Nate knew he was treading on thin ice considering that only a few months ago, they had been close to being over, but he wanted to show Carrie that he was determined to make their relationship work.

 

“And you’re serious about this?” Carrie raised an eyebrow; how could Nate have gone from being so cold and distant towards her that morning to urging her to marry him just a few hours later? “Because if this is going to work, I need to know that you’re being totally honest with me…and before you say anything I’m not asking you to spill every last detail of your life to me, but I just need to know that you aren’t keeping anything from me now.”

 

“You know I’m not an open book, Carrie…” Nate began, trying his best to avoid getting into any sort of heated argument with Carrie, if only just for one night. “But you know that I love you more than anything else in the world, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

 

Carrie smiled and pulled Nate in for a kiss; he’d totally avoided her question, but she wasn’t about to ruin the moment. She knew that, if she was to have a serious future with Nate, they would need to start communicating more and sharing their lives with each other, but for now she would do what she always did; smile, keep quiet and hope that one day everything would fall into place.

 

Outside, she watched from the edge of their back yard as the happy couple united. She knew she had to make her move soon, before it was too late, but now wasn’t the time. She walked away into the night, vowing that next time she would follow through. She’d let them have Christmas, but after that she would make her move, even though she knew it was going to open a whole can of worms that could tear the lives of so many people apart, she wasn’t prepared to keep her secret any longer.

 

TO BE CONTINUED…