Allie Chapter 13

A Chapter by Britiney Harper

Allie Chapter 13 Planning

Chapter 13

            Christina was on her way to pick Ariela up when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number and wasn’t sure she should answer. After having two run-ins with her family she was weary. And they hadn’t given up on harassing her either. Twice that week her mother drove by her house and pleaded with her to open the door. It was ironic or divine justice that her mother would end up doing the same thing she did. And just like her mother didn’t open the door for her she didn’t for her mother. There was something so off about her family trying to get her to come home. None of it made sense and until they started telling the whole truth she wanted nothing to do with them. The tables had turn and it didn’t make her feel any better. Isaiah was great about the whole thing, mostly she figured because he saw it as a victory. He had ever reason in the world to hate her parents and they deserved it. She didn’t want to hate them but she feared she was heading down that road. And that was before she got this call.
       “Christina? This is your Aunt Judy, I got your number from your sister,” the voice on the other end said. After parting with her parents she never spoke to any of their other family.
       “Um hi,” Christina said awkwardly.
       “Christina, I have been trying to find a way to get in touch with you. I am very sorry for the way your parents have behaved. They told everybody that you ran off with some man you were seeing. When I asked multiple times about you the story was always different. Well anyway your sister finally told the truth about what happened with you. She said you have a child, is that correct?” Judy asked.
       “Yes, I have daughter she is two now. Uh was there something you needed?”
       “Well yes, your great grandmother has fallen ill and she really wanted to see you. Everybody found it odd that your parents couldn’t bring you to see her. And well I’m sorry to say she doesn’t have much time left but she always liked you. She was very upset with your parents, but she put you in her will.”
       Christina remembered spending summers with her great-grandmother, helping her out. Everything made sense now, if she was dying. Great-grandma Jacqueline had a lot of money and selfish Howard wanted her money. Since he couldn’t bring Christina to the family, he wouldn’t get anything. How sad it was that her father wanted her back purely for money. Her mother’s reasons weren’t money; she genuinely wanted her to come home. But she couldn’t for about a million reasons. It was too late for her family to ever be forgiven. And they pretty much disgusted her now and for a whole new reason. When she left home her father threw her phone against the wall so she had no way to find numbers to her family. Though at time since her parents behaved the way they did she wasn't going to put herself out there for more rejection. There were a few times when she wished she could call someone to get away from Isaiah. That was only in the beginning when he resented her. Why couldn't her life ever be easy? She didn't blame Isaiah for how he felt at first it was sort of understandable. At the time it wasn't but she was ok now.
   "I'm sorry to hear that she isn't well," Christina said. She really didn't know what to say and she was standing outside of the daycare.
   "Where have you been Christina? If you would have called you could have stayed with me," her Aunt said.
   "I didn't have your number and well I don't know what Meg told you. The reason my father threw me out was because I was pregnant and he hated my boyfriend. I went to live with his family and um we got married back in June," she told her.
   "Would you and your husband be able to come visit? And bring the baby too, I know she would love to see your family."
   "Oh um I would have to talk to Isaiah about it."
"Its very short notice but would you be able to come this weekend?"
   "Wow that is soon, we're supposed to go to a wedding this weekend actually. But I really have to talk to him first."
   "I understand, just the sooner the better. Cole is staying with her right now and he really wants to see you."
   That wasn't something she expected, of course nobody would tell her about Cole. He was her older brother who she hadn't seen in around four years now. After high school he joined the army and he'd been gone when she was thrown out. There was no way to get in touch with him and he was like Isaiah and not big on computers. If he was there he would never have let their father treat her that way. Cole used the army as an excuse to get away from their family. He use to call her and she always looked up to him. Thinking about her brother now she shouldn't have been surprised by what happened to her. Four years ago when he brother came home for a visit he got into a huge fight with Howard and said he was never coming back. Christina use to see him before he went away again but lost touch with him. Now she had a chance to see him again. All she had to do was convince Isaiah to go. Getting to see her brother again would make everything else seem less important. There was no choice she had to go.

       Jasmine was excited for her family to come into town. They could see her new house and see that everything was going to be fine. Or see that she was making everything look fine. As the days drew closer to her wedding, she was becoming concerned that it wasn't what Jose wanted. Yes he smiled and nodded and paid for everything, but it wasn't good enough. When he was home he spent most of his time with Joseph. Their relationship wasn't what it use to be, no matter she did. And she'd tried a little shamelessly but it wasn't working. Holly said that maybe she was being paranoid. Maybe she was and maybe she was afraid that this thing wasn't going to work and she needed it to work. Her son deserved a family and Jose deserved to be with his son. She just wasn't sure where she fit into the equation anymore, or if she did at all. The funny thing was that she had always thought the trouble between them would be other women. But it appeared to be her.
       Tonight her family would be here and she wanted to prove them wrong. So she needed to talk to Jose and it didn't seem that sex would fix their problems. Sex was the cause of there problems. She was starting to think that maybe it would be easier if he was cheating. At least that would be something she could get mad at. But no he was being agreeable and doing whatever she wanted. To anybody else that would be great. Any sane woman would love that her husband-to-be was so enthralled with their son. This was a sign of avoidance from Jose. So Holly took Joseph for a long walk so that Jasmine was home alone when Jose came from work.
       "Hey," Jose greeted when he came into the kitchen. He kissed her like he always did. "Where’s Joseph? Is he napping?"
       "No, Holly took him for a walk," Jasmine told him.
       "Oh," he nodded. "What time does everybody get in tonight?"
       "Around 10," she replied. "J, we need to talk."
       "Every time you say that it’s bad," he said looking at her.
       "We're getting married in a few days and you don't want to do it," she said.
       "Why would you think that? Because I’m not into the details? No I’m really not and I can't pretend to care. It’s for you, so you can have whatever you want. I wouldn't marry you or buy us a house or make plans if I didn't want to. I don't have to marry you because we have a child. I wanted to marry you years ago if you recall," he said. His tone was bored like he was tired of talking about this.
       "But I feel like the only reason you want to be with me now is Joseph. Because you think I’ll take away from you. I would never do that, are you ever going to forgive me?" She asked trying to read his expression, she use to know them all.
       "Can you not give me a headache today? I have to deal with your family so that's headache enough and I have to see my mother," he said.
       "We use to have such a great relationship, now we basically don't have one," she said and he sighed.
       "Jasmine, I am sorry if I like to spend time with our son instead of talking about this wedding. And yes I do think you would take him and leave out of spite. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm trying, but you pick fights all the time being near you is exhausting," he told her. Then he went and poured himself a drink, of course he needed liquor to deal with her.
       "Do you think this is easy for me? Didn't I move here to be with you? This was what you wanted," she said. She was careful not to get emotional; it would defeat the purpose of the conversation.
       "Why do you want to fight today? I was at work all day it would be nice to come home to peace. Is this what its going to be like? You want to b***h about something every f*****g day?" He asked though they were angry words he sounded perfectly calm.
       "I don't like fighting with you," she said and pouted a little. "I love you and despite what you may think I would never take our son away from you. And you don't have to marry me to keep him in your life. If you want I could move out or stay in another room so you can have your freedom. You don't have to be with me, but this is Joseph's home now so I just don't want to keep moving him around confusing him."
       For a long time he was silent. A little pout could go a long way, she knew men. Especially this man and everybody thought the worst of him. Meanwhile the truth was that she was twice as bad, just not so public about it. For some reason Jose always seemed to end up in a violent relationship. Except for their relationship, it was pretty mellow and until now not all that serious. Maybe they really did need to go away on a honeymoon to reconnect. But with Joseph that was near impossible. They couldn't exactly go on trips like they use to where they mostly just had sex. That was how Joseph happened in the first place. There wasn't a more beautiful place to conceive a child though. This time she wanted something Caribbean, but couldn't see how that could happen. Unless of course she hired a nanny or Holly went with them. And since she didn't trust anybody, hiring a nanny would probably be borrowing someone from her friends' house staff.
       It occurred to her suddenly that maybe the reason she was having so many issues now was that she was never on her own. And she never really considered doing the family thing it just sort of happened. She loved Jose but she also wasn't that use to being with just one guy. Especially since she wasn't his center of attention. Was that it? She was so use to having men, especially Jose, that gave her a lot of attention. Now she was competing for attention with her own child. How immature was she? Maybe Jose was right, she was picking fights but it was to get his attention. Right now she felt awful, she shouldn't be allowed to be anyone's wife and definitely not anyone's mother. There was still a lot of growing up she had to do and she was older than Jose. He took the news of having a son better than she could have imagined and he stepped up. She'd given him way too little credit and she didn't deserve him at all.
       If she could go back in time she would have told him when she found out she was pregnant. Of course he would have dropped whatever chick he was with and come to her. He would have stayed there and said to hell with work. Everything could have been perfect they would have already been married and he wouldn't have missed so much time with Joseph. They could have taken parenting classes together and he would have held her hand while she gave birth. Yes, Jasmine was realizing fully how bad she screwed up. And he was trying so hard and she wasn't making it easy at all.
       "Jasmine, if you do not want to get married just say so. I'm not forcing you to do it; if you want to screw around have fun. Just quit acting like I'm causing the problems," he said. This time he didn't hide his anger but he tried to hide that he was hurt.
       "I'm sorry, you're right I am the problem. I want to marry you I just want you to act like you're excited for it. And I’m a selfish spoiled brat and I’m not use to having to share you with anybody. What kind of mother am I if it bothers me that you spend more time with our son? How can I be jealous of our baby?" Saying it aloud just made her feel worse.
       "That's what all this is about?" He asked staring at her like she was crazy.
       "I guess," she whispered. Now she couldn't even look at him, she hated herself.
       "Ok, I didn't expect that," he admitted. "What can we do to fix this?"
       "Can you make me grow up? I'm a horrible mother," she sighed. This time she didn't want his pity.
       "No you aren't, I’m sure a lot of new mothers feel like this. Would it make you feel better if maybe we did something together, just the two of us? We can have an early dinner tonight and Holly can keep Joseph. And we can be back in enough time for your parents to annoy me," he suggested.
       "Alright," she nodded. At that moment she realized just how lucky she was. And was very thankful that paternity test didn't go the other way. Her life would be hell otherwise and she never would have found a more amazing man to spend her life with. Joseph saved her life.

       Evan had spent most of the last few days trying to convince Sammie not to move to New York. He wasn't the only one Allie was campaigning for her to stay too. This was, as Allie pointed out more than once, his fault. That was true and it just made this all so much harder. At least focusing on this helped him to ignore the fact that he was going to see Sydney soon. Thanksgiving was the day after tomorrow and she was coming over with Ricky. She'd told him that she really wanted to get to know her ‘future in-laws’. If he hadn't already known she was insane he would have suspected it when she said that. He was still worried that no matter what she said she would tell on him. And when Ricky heard how he jumped all over her crazy behind he would be pissed. Even if his brother pretended that Sydney wasn't his girlfriend, Ricky was in love with her. Nothing seemed to ever go right in Evan's life.
       If it wasn't bad enough that Sammie was potentially leaving and Ricky was going to kill or hate him, it was almost Thanksgiving. Which meant his mother was around; she in fact was in the kitchen now. He was avoiding her, Ricky may have made it a rule for them not to provoke aggression against their mother, he never said they had to speak to her. Isaiah still wasn't speaking to her and technically neither was Ricky. But everybody was pretending to be a happy family for Wildflower. As long Marguerite didn't talk to Evan he was fine. If she said anything to him with the mood he was in the past week he would blow up. So for her sake he prayed she just left him alone. He also would have to deal with Jordan, who definitely knew about the situation with Sammie.
       Maybe next year Evan would have better luck. The rest of this year seemed like it just wasn't going to get any better. Everything he did was wrong; maybe he needed to leave the state. Leaving the house was sort of a possibility now since his siblings moved into the house. That way he could leave Sammie alone and stay away from Ricky and Sydney. At this point he was willing to move to another planet to get away from his problems. He was sitting in his room pitying himself and thinking about the train wreck that was his life. The door burst open and he looked up to see Jordan standing there. Perfect, they caught an earlier flight. When he looked at his phone he saw that there was a warning message from Lexy. Too bad now Jordan was standing there looking murderous. Once they had been pretty good friends. Dating your friend's sister was always a deal breaker.
       "I'll only tell you this once, stay away from my sister. Don't you ever touch her again," Jordan warned.
       "It's her decision not yours," Evan replied.
       "Jordan," Sammie called. She appeared behind her twin brother. "Maybe you should go unpack."
       "And maybe you should start packing," Jordan said. With a dirty look towards Evan and a meaningful one for Sammie, he walked away.
       "What did you tell him?" Evan asked before Sammie could get away.
       "I told him the truth," she said.
       "What is the truth? That I forced you to have sex with me?" He asked bitterly.
       "No, you didn't force me I was willing. You just don't understand Evan; I'm not use to being away from Jordan. We never fought like this before and it’s just too hard," she told him.
       "If he really cared then he wouldn't have left you in the first place. Go ahead Sam let him tell you what to do and control you. Then what? When is he going to do something for you? Oh right never," he said annoyed. This of course wasn't going to help her decide to stay.
       "Why do you want me to stay here? Our relationship is basically nonexistent, what do you want from me? All of this is getting to be too hard so maybe I’m running away but you haven't given me a reason to stay."
       "What are you running from? You know how I feel about you and I’m not pressuring you. Its all in your head Samantha, I’m trying to understand you but you make less sense everyday. When I left you were pissed and kept asking for me to come home, well I’m here."
       "I need a fresh start," she said.
       "Fine, I’m tired of trying to convince you to stay. If you don't want to be with me then fine it’s your choice. Have fun in New York Sam, I'm sorry for disappointing you this much," he said.
       It was true he was tired of this. Their relationship had never actually worked out right. In the beginning taking things slow was fine and he wanted her to be comfortable. Dating one of your best friends was a bad idea no matter how you looked at it. This relationship was doomed from the beginning and that was why he never wanted to get involved with her. Evan loved her with all of his heart but he needed a break from the drama. Maybe they should have realized they didn't need to be together when they were in the same family. She was technically like his niece. That was weird; everything in this family was weird. And if it wasn't for how much he loved his sister he would leave here. By leaving he was on the verge of meaning just going off to have his own life. Yeah he was 16 but he had some money and he was use to not having much anyway. The thought was very tempting; he could survive on his own.
       Sammie was still there in the doorway and he'd gotten up to close the door. They stared at each other a moment. He felt bad but there wasn't much he could do. She wanted to leave and he couldn't stop her, he tried. She deserved to be happy and not be stressed out. Maybe this was for the best. Or so he thought before she stepped into his room and kissed him. It was so unexpected but he kissed her back. He also pulled her further into the room and kicked the door closed. Of course this wasn't going to lead anywhere but he couldn't say not to making out with his girlfriend. If she was still his girlfriend, either way he hoped this meant she was staying.

       Wildflower was wondering if this dinner party was going to work. It wasn't just that her own family didn't get along all that well anymore but the Caprianis never got along. Jose and Jasmine were getting married and that would be another issue. Rosa wouldn't let another son get married without a prenuptial agreement. So there was drama right there and as she heard Jasmine's family were not fans of Caprianis. Then again nobody outside of this family were fans of this family. But she invited everybody to be nice and she hoped she wasn't going to regret it. At the moment she was sitting out on the patio outside the kitchen, watching day 1 of cooking and prepping begin. Though her mother and siblings weren't all still speaking they could all agree that their mother could cook. No matter how crazy things got in the past the only thing they could ever count on was big holiday celebrations. So her mother and Aunts Maria and Carmella and Brooke's Aunt Kim were getting started. There was a lot of them and now they had twice as many people coming for dinner. That was why the cooking was staring now two days before Thanksgiving. And watching everybody cooking did have its advantages, Aunt Kim made the best cheesecake and it was Wildflower's current craving.
       “Ok I have a tiny announcement,” Carmen said when she out and sat down at the table. She surprised everybody by coming in a day early.
       “You’re going to marry Dr. Cam?” Wildflower asked, it was supposed to be sarcastic but Carmen nodded.
       “Seriously?” Brooke asked and Carmen showed them her ring.
       “I blame both of you for this,” Carmen sighed but smiled too.
       “Is everybody getting married but me?” Brooke asked and pouted a little.
       “Pretty much,” Wildflower replied. “So Carmen what made you decide to finally say yes?”
       “I realized that I love him too much to let him go, before it was fine when he stuck around. But he was ready to just break it off so I gave him what he wanted. I just hope I’m not going to regret this. Before you ask no we have not set a date and no I do not want a wedding,” Carmen told them.
       “Why not? I’d like to see what a successful wedding looks like,” Wildflower said.
       “There is no such thing in this family,” Carmen replied. “Brooke why aren’t you and Jay talking about marriage?”
       “Uh because it will never happen,” Brooke replied. “I love Jay but he’s not going to ask me to marry him.”
       “She’s probably right,” Wildflower agreed solemnly. “Marriage and my family aren’t friends.”
       “How long have you been together?”
       “Almost two years,” Brooke sighed. “It’s a shame that Tony wants to marry Allie but Jay doesn’t want to marry me.”
       “What?!” Carmen asked looking between them.
       “Brooke do you know what a secret is? We are not advertising this if we don’t have to,” Wildflower shook her head. She didn’t know why she told Brooke everything she couldn’t keep a secret.
       “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking I was moping,” Brooke sighed again.
       “Um What?” Carmen asked again.
       “My 17 year olds decided that they may or may not want to get married. This house has become a soap opera, Sammie wants to move out because of Evan too,” now Wildflower sighed. “I don’t know what to do with them anymore.”
       “Jordan did say Sammie was thinking of coming out, but not why,” Carmen said.
       “Because she sex with Evan,” Brooke answered.
       “Whoa, when did that happen?” Carmen asked in obvious shock.
       “While Brooke was supposed to be waiting the kids and I was in L.A.,” Wildflower said. Brooke made a face at her.
       “How could I know? Sammie was the good one so I believed her when she said she didn’t feel well. And she really did look sick, that wasn’t an act. This house is drama central,” Brooke said.
    “Oh I agree, I still don’t want to have to choose between them but if one more thing happens I have no choice,” Wildflower said.
       “You do know what the next thing will be right?” Brooke asked.
       “What you think my troubled niece will get pregnant?” Carmen asked they were both silent. “Please tell me there is only one pregnant woman in this house.”
       “She thought she might be and took a test,” Wildflower answered. “I didn’t even tell Nick about that one, I’m never leaving again. By the way Carmen did I thank you for the billboards?”
       “In my defense you volunteered to do it because pissed you off and stood you up. And they look amazing, you should pick up modeling once the baby comes,” Carmen suggested.
       “No thanks, I will not be modeling ever again but Allie wants to. I want to go out and do something fun,” she said.
       “Aren’t you supposed to be on bed rest?” Carmen asked amused.
       “She never rests especially when she’s in the bed,” Brooke said.
       “What are you practicing for number two already?”
       “No, I’m counting the days until I can be unrestricted. Its boring being here all day,” she said.
       “Didn’t you say you were spending Christmas at your house in Rio?” Carmen asked.
       “Yeah, we’re all going, you coming?”
       “Sure, don’t invite mother and we’ll be good. I’ll see about finding a place nearby.”
       “I think we should go out to celebrate Carmen’s engagement,” Brooke suggested. “And you prego can sit down somewhere and no stiletto boots but I might borrow them.”
       “I’m game for going out but you can’t touch my boots,” Wildflower replied.
       “Is Nicky going to let you out? If he flipped out before he’s not going to want his pregnant wife going out. Especially when you’re supposed to be on bed rest,” Carmen said.
       “He’ll get over it, if stay in this house any longer I’m going to lose it. Consider this a mental health day.”
       “You know he can’t get made if you say we just want to go out tin dinner to celebrate Carmen’s thousandth engagement,” Brooke said. “We can go break Chris out too.”
       “I’m game, Cam can watch the kids,” Carmen said. “So are you in little mama?”
       “Did I ever really have a choice?” Wildflower asked and they both shook their heads.
       When she looked back in the kitchen she saw that Nicolas was there. Carmen and Brooke were deciding where to go to eat, that also had a good bar. Sitting in the house all the time was driving Wildflower crazy and so were the situations with the kids. Maybe Melissa was right and she needed to talk to someone because she was permanently stressed out. Brooke tried to do everything for the dinner to keep her away from stress and she was grateful. But she was also very anxious. All she had to do was make it a few more weeks and she would be unrestricted and in Brazil. It wouldn’t be like her dream, mostly because she would not be alone with her husband. At this point everybody in the house needed a vacation, she just wasn’t looking forward to explaining all of this to her mother. Who would never understand. In Marguerite’s often mixed up and crazy mind, family should be together on holidays. In the past that wasn't much of a problem but things were different this year. And there was nothing that was going to keep Wildflower from to Rio. Well nothing except maybe her doctor saying that she couldn't fly. But she could argue the point that she would be on vacation with a doctor. If Carmen was coming them Camden was going to follow.
   "Carmen, weren't you supposed to be here tomorrow?" Nicolas asked when he came outside. He was also eating Aunt Kim's strawberry cheesecake.
   "We came in early," Carmen replied.
   "You didn't have to come at all," he replied.
   "Get over it Nicky, your wife is hot and after she has your baby she's going to model for me. You can be a stay at home daddy," Carmen said with a smile.
   "No fighting children," Wildflower said.
   "You should be able to model if you want," Carmen told her.
   "But I really don't want to, I’m not just saying that because of Nick" she said honesty. It was a little exciting to get noticed but it wasn't her she didn't like attention that was Daisy.
   "Is that a ring on your finger Carmen?" Nicolas asked.
   "She's marrying the doctor," Brooke told him.
   "He still wants to marry you? How long will this one last?" He asked and his sister glared at him.
   "Make a bet with Jose and I will kill you," Carmen said. "We were nice and didn't even bet on how long it will take Wildflower to leave you."
"You owe me money, Jose's getting married," he replied.
   "I will not pay until they are legal," she said.
   "Fine, but I know for sure he's going to do it."
   "Only because his little gold-digging tramp would take his son away from you. I should have bet you that they would do a DNA test."
   "Do you always make bets on your siblings?" Brooke asked them.
   "Not just siblings, the rest of the family is fair game," Carmen explained. "Like we still have a bet that Cheyenne will blame her next kid on Jose."
   "Jasmine would even take that bet," Nicolas said amused.
   Wildflower was half listening to the conversation but she was also texting Ivan. It had been awhile since she'd even seen him. Ever since his summer fling with Allie he stayed away from the house. She hated it but understood it was for the best, but she hadn't even seen him since she'd been home. Ivan use to be her best friend in the world and he use to understand her like nobody else could. They had been growing apart for a long time. It started with finding out he was having sex with her 16-year-old niece in her house. Or maybe it started when she agreed to marry a man he didn't like or trust. For him she kept what he did a secret from her husband and she hated keeping secrets. But she loved her brother more and Nicolas would kill him. There was no question about that he would just do it. And though she didn't admit it to anyone, she didn't completely blame her brother for what happened. Allie could be aggressive when she wanted something and she knew how to get her way. For that reason she should have kept Allie away from her other brothers but it was too late now. This was just another reason she needed to get out of this house. Maybe when it was time to go to Brazil, she needed to go down early with her husband. That way they could enjoy their new house alone for a little while.
   "Who are you over there texting? Are you finally going to realize that Nicky is too crazy to stay with?" Carmen asked her jokingly.
   "Oh I have a date tomorrow," she said absently. When she looked up to see the three of them staring at her she laughed. "Ivan is taking me to lunch."
   "That reminds me, Nicky your wife is coming out tonight," Carmen told him.
   "No she's not," he said.
   "We're just going to dinner," Brooke added.
   "Do I suddenly have to ask your permission?" Wildflower asked him, she'd hoped that he was over this.
   "You're supposed to be on bed rest," he said. Of course he wasn't going to answer.
   "Nicolas if I do not get out of this house soon I will lose my mind," she told him.
   "Whatever you want," he said. That just meant they were going to argue about this later. Why couldn't she just have one day?

   Allie felt like she was being tortured. No this was way worse than torture. She was at her mother's new house with her brother and her mother. They were ordered to spend some time talking yesterday in therapy. So here they sat, nobody was really saying anything. All she wanted was to go home and pretend she didn't have to pretend to be related to them when they came to dinner. Her brother was very unfriendly and controlling and she couldn't be near him. The last time they really spoke was back at the end of August when he walked in on her in bed with Tony. Ever since he showed up after years of being missing, she tried to forgive him. If she was honest with herself she never would forgive him for leaving her, just like she could never forgive Katrina. So why was she here? Why didn't she just tell them that no amount of therapy that would make her trust them? Part of her felt like maybe she kept going because she wanted to forgive them. The trouble was that no matter if she wanted to or not she couldn't forgive them. And neither of them deserved forgiveness.
   "Why is it that you two aren't speaking to each other? You use to be so close as children," Katrina said breaking the silence.
   "Because he saw me having sex with Tony," Allie said.
   "What have you become?" Markus asked. "How did you go from a sweet innocent girl to a w***e? I've heard things about you and how you've been sleeping around for years."
   "Markus," Katrina said in a warning tone.
   "You really want to know? Let's see my mother let her husband rape me and my brother left me with her. Uh she had no time for me and didn't care what happened to me. She just ditched me for a few years and I was happy living with Abuelita but not she couldn't let me be happy. So Katrina forces me to move in with her and another creepy a*s husband. Oh and hmm when I was 14 I was completely in love with my friend's brother and we had sex. He used me and then him and his b***h sister devoted their time to telling the world I was a w***e. And they are still doing that. After Aaron crushed my heart another guy used me and lied to me. Eventually it didn't matter anybody I didn't feel anything anymore. I would do anything to stay away from Katrina and her trail of husbands that wanted to touch me. Are you happy now? Does it make you happy to know i had sex with guys I didn't know and I drank and partied a lot? Wasn't like anybody cared what I did or where I went," Allie said annoyed.
   For a long time both of them were silent. She just dug in her purse for her emergency cigarettes. They were only for when she was really stressed and right now was one of those times. While they figured out a proper way to respond to what she told them she lit her cigarette. She had given up smoking, for about a year she was a hardcore smoker. But Sammie convinced her to stop and so she only did it when she needed to. What she really needed was a drink. Tonight she was definitely going to be raiding her uncle's stash of good liquor. If she had to, because she was that desperate at the moment she would go over to Abby's house. Drinking helped her to forget and it numbed her, she hated thinking about this. Even Melissa stopped trying to get her to talk about the past. It was a closed subject that if she wanted to talk about it she wouldn't do it with these people. They were not her family and if she never saw them again she wouldn't mind.
   "I'm sorry," Markus said. He did look sorry and logically she knew he was but this had nothing to do with logic.
   "Yeah," she replied. Funny how she was desperate to have her brother back and now she couldn't look at him.
   When Markus suddenly appeared when she came back from a trip to Paris, she was happy. Both him and the father she never knew where there at the mansion. And they said they came for her. They made it seem like they had to come back because they loved her. That was not the case. Alvin Marcello was not there for her. Though his excuse for staying away was partially valid. Katrina divorced him and made it so that he wasn't allowed anywhere near his children. But he came back for revenge on Katrina. When Katrina kidnapped Allie and caused her to slit her wrists, she ran off. Everybody was afraid of Uncle Nick for a reason and so Katrina went into hiding. Alvin found her in of all places Mexico City and beat her really bad. Allie actually didn't really care it wasn't her problem. Then he set fire to Katrina's house. The only reason Katrina was still alive was because her brothers protected her. She would never admit it but Allie knew for a fact that they made it so that he could re-enter the country. So for now he was in Italy plotting further revenge against his ex-wife.
   Markus tried to resume his role of protective big brother from the moment he laid eyes on her. But she was alone taking care of herself for way too long. She indulged him because she missed him. And she had wished so hard that he would come back to her. In his opinion no male of any age should be near her. Though at the time when he came back she was having sex with Ivan. Not that he knew that or ever would. Tony had been her friend before her boyfriend and Markus thought they were too friendly. Maybe he was sort of right since they were together now. He was way too overprotective and in her face way too much. The day when he walked in on her and Tony having sex she sort of lost it. He'd already been getting on her nerves prior to the incident and she tried to accept him back into her life. It didn't happen and it was probably mostly the fact that she was mad at him. And she couldn’t admit it because she wanted him back more than anything in the world. Everything was different and wrong and it couldn't be fixed. Some things weren't fixable and this was one of them.
   "I'm done with all this dumb s**t," Allie said getting up. "And I’m through with this family therapy crap too. Neither of you are my family and I will never forgive you." She gathered her things and started for the door. Katrina said nothing; of course not since she never did anything useful.
   "Allesandra," Markus called following her.
   "Don't call me that, Allesandra is dead," she told him. "Just stay away from me."
   "Please, at least let me give you a ride home," he said.
   "I don't need it, Tony is waiting for me," she replied.
   "Allie, can you let me make this up to you? I will do anything," he pleaded.
   "Its too late for your anything, you should have just stayed missing. That would have been so much easier on everyone. If you didn't care about me for years there is no reason to start now. Goodbye Markus," she said and left.
   Today her brother picked her up from school to come over here. That had been the most silent and painful car ride of her life. But she made sure to have Tony come wait for her after he dropped the others off. And because he was wonderful he agreed to it. She needed him today, he was always there for her when she needed it. How could she ever find a more perfect guy? Still she had no idea about marriage or college or any other future things. Tony was in his truck parked just beyond the gate. His seat was leaned back and his eyes were closed, she just ran over to get in. Usually she took her frustrations with life out on sex. Since they weren't having sex anymore she had to do something else. She had gone to a liquor store once with Abby and the flashed the guy working there so he would over look their age. With Tony driving that probably wasn't a good idea, he wouldn't like it. She climbed in the passenger seat and he opened his eyes.
   "Everything ok?" He asked looking at her concerned, he had been asleep. Now she felt guilty for having him sit out here.
   "No, can we just go home? Unless you want to swing by a liquor store or Abby's house first," she said.
   "How can you buy liquor?" He asked while starting the car.
   "I have an ID that says I’m 22," she told him. While he drove she start looking for her wallet to see if she actually had that ID with her.
   "Was it really that bad that you need to drink?" Tony asked and she nodded. "I'll take you if you really want me to."
   "Please, I wouldn't ask if i wasn't desperate. Sure you want to marry me? I'm damaged and I drink and smoke and I’m crazy."
   "I love you Allie, and I want to marry you no matter what. And I am always here for you," he told her. He took her hand and kissed it, she didn't deserve him at all.
   "I love you too," she whispered.
   What was she going to do when he was gone? It was right then that she decided that she had to marry him. Tony wasn't the type of guy that would cheat on his wife or try to kill or abuse her. If they got married he would always be hers and no girls in college would matter. All she had to do was stay faithful and last for a little less than a year. Then she pretty much had to go to his school and give up any fantasy about modeling she had. She was willing to do anything to stay with him. He was her present and her future and that was what she needed to focus on. Saying goodbye to him was going to be the hardest thing she ever had to do. It was funny that it took an awful meeting with her family to help her make up her mind. One day she was going to have a family with Tony and she make it all right then.

   "Why do you need to go out?" Nicolas asked his wife.
   "Here we go again, it never ends does it?" She asked, she was getting dressed to go out.
   "The doctor put you on bed rest for a reason," he pointed out.
   "We are going to dinner, I shopped and went out and I’ll that when we were away. Why is it a crime for you to let me be happy?"
   "I want you to be happy, but I won't let you risk the life of my child."
   "Excuse me?" She asked and he immediately regretted it. "The whole reason I am in this situation is because of you ex-lover."
   "I thought you said that you didn't blame me for that?" He asked but he deserved that.
   "Maybe I lied, you lie all the time. You promised you would quit doing this," she said glaring at him. "Here I was thinking that marrying you would be a good idea, guess not. And i was going to say that we should go do to Rio early just the two of us."
   "Aren't you being a little dramatic? I want what's best for you and every time you go somewhere with Carmen you end up in a club or bar. Why would I let my pregnant wife in a club? You're fragile enough as it is," he said.
   "Yeah I’m going to dinner and I'll sleep with one of the girls tonight," she replied.
   "Why do you need to go out so bad?"
   "Because I haven't left the house since last Thursday."
   "You will sleep in our bed tonight, I’ll just sleep in my office."
   "Do you even care at all how I feel?" She asked staring at him looking hurt and angry.
   "Of course I do, I understand that you need to get out but think of our child. You never rest and you're always stressed out, maybe things need to change in this house. And I know this is my fault, I didn't do my job and protect you," he said. "I'm sorry if this is selfish but you and our child are more important to me than anybody else. If the kids can't behave they have to go."   That was one thing he'd been thinking of for awhile now. They caused nothing but trouble and Wildflower was permanently stressed out because of them. Was it really that selfish to want peace and quiet in his house? And maybe he was overreacting to her going out but his sister was trouble. Carmen wouldn't care if Wildflower was pregnant if she wanted to have fun. Why did he have to be the bad guy? Well technically he was always the bad guy, but he hated fighting with her. Going to Rio early to spend time alone was a very good idea. Once she was allowed to fly he was going to take her away. Now he just had to get her to calm down and forgive him. He considered the best strategy to use to end this fight.
   "I am going to dinner tonight, and I am not a child so you can not tell me what to do," she said.
   "I love you," he told her. He kissed her cheek and placed his hand on her belly. "Will you be careful? You know all I do is worry about you."
   "Yes, but you can't treat me like a child. You know I would never do anything to hurt our child," she said. "Oh and don't think I don't know you're trying to play me. Save you lines for someone who will believe it."
   "Almost forgot why I married you," he laughed.
   "Well don't," she replied. "You married me because I am not afraid of you at all and you can't play your mind games with me. So I am going out and you will deal with it, ok? I've had to put with a lot lately and I need a break."
   "I know, but I feel like I can't let you go out on your own. Not because of you but because I can't risk anything happening. How bout if I drive you and pick you up? Is that an adequate compromise?" He asked.
   "Yes, but don't complain about the conversations in the car," she warned.
   "No complaints from me," he agreed.
   "If you wouldn't have let them go then we wouldn't have these problems. You sick need to torture people is starting to interfere with my life so can you deal with that already?" She surprised him by what she said or maybe mostly it was the bored tone she used when she said it.
   Maybe it was just because she was upset with him; he hoped that was the case. Everything about her was goodness and he didn't want to corrupt that. While she finished getting ready he watched her. The woman he fell for was the most loving person he ever met. In everyway she was his opposite and he did like her to be a little wicked. But he could never forgive himself if she lost her soul like he did. She was right though he needed to take care of the problem so that they could get on with their lives. And he wouldn't have to worry about his wife or their child. It was a sad world when death meant life or murder and torture did. He lived in a sick sad world.

   Nicolas had just come back from dropping the women off at dinner and he sort of regretted it. The talking was enough to drive a sane person crazy. Not that he was all that sane anyway. Just for fun he walked down the hall where the kids' rooms were. No, it wasn't for fun he was probably going to be removing something from them. Though to be fair the only one that never caused trouble was Corey so he didn't need to be punished. He was tired of these teens and their drama; it was like living in one of those stupid drama shows that came on TV. Not that he ever really watched TV, maybe he had when he lived in the hotel alone and bored. While he took the stroll through his house he was looking at his handy little viewer, there were cameras everywhere in this house. The ones outside the bedrooms were motion censored so he only had recordings of comings and goings. And it was just his luck that he would find two issues. One of which was more shocking than the other.
   As it appeared from the video, Jordan and Evan had an argument. Then Sammie and Evan did and after that they were into the bedroom kissing and shut the door. Sammie being the good one was obviously a thing of the past. The other thing was Allie following Tony into his bedroom; he definitely saw that she had a liquor bottle. And he thought that was the end of it but Tony left the room not to long ago, the boy didn't look happy. Drama, that's what they were drama. He wasn't even sure he wanted to remove the doors and actually see what they did in their rooms. For that same reason he didn't have cameras in their rooms but they were on the outside of the windows. The door to Tony's room was open a crack so he peeked in. Allie was laying on the bed alone smoking a cigarette. Underage drinking, smoking and sex, this house with the cameras was like an MTV reality show. Real World: The Capriani Mansion. That actually amused him, against his better judgment he pushed the door open but knocked on the frame.
   "You were the good kid, so you never smoked huh?" Allie asked him.
   "Not when I was younger, Abuelita would have stabbed me through the lungs to prove her point," he shrugged. "You're 17 how do you have both cigarettes and liquor?"
   "I'm resourceful, I learned from the best," she replied.
   "Indeed, how was your evening with your mother and brother? Making progress with therapy?" He asked, he wasn't sure why he didn't just tell her not to drink and smoke in his house.
   "No, I’m done with family therapy, they are why I’m smoking, I never smoke anymore. Sammie guiltied me into quitting. I use to be able to drink until I forgot everything, doesn't work anymore," she told him.
   "Thinking like that got Jose alcohol poisoning," he replied.
   "Aren't you going to yell at me? Tell me you're taking our doors away?" She asked and he considered her a moment.
   "I'll give you a pass this time, next time it's boarding school," he said and she laughed.
   "As a Christmas gift can you put a hit out on them for me?"
   "Why bother? Sooner or later your father will come back and he will go right back to getting revenge."
   "I should care right? She's my mother i should care if she lives or dies."
   "Should you? I'm more demented than you are sweetheart, having my parents gone would make life easier. You're too young to know if it matters. Eventually it doesn't, you should hope it always matters cause when it doesn't it gets harder to make anything else matter."
   "Maybe you should give speeches," she said. The look in her eyes he knew, and for that reason he had to keep them here.
   "That would be a very bad idea, I’d be arrested for corruption of decent people."
   "Maybe some people need to be corrupted."
   "Teenagers do not need to get married, look at your mother she got married young. Go have fun, that's what normal people do in college."
   "Not you, you're the only one of your siblings that didn't get kicked out of college."
   "True, but I said normal people. You'll regret it if you don't go out and have a life. Getting married so young will make you resent each other eventually. On the bright side i don't get a homicidal maniac vibe from Tony," he said and she laughed.
   "Gosh Uncle Nick it almost sounds like you don't mind us living in your house," she said. Of course she was avoiding accepting what he said was true.
   "Oh no, I wouldn't want to give you the wrong impression. You know me, I like my privacy and peace," he said. With a wave he left the room.
   Instead of going to break up Sammie and Evan's make out session he went to his office. Lately he had been thinking a lot about his own life and the choices he made. It was mostly because of the baby. What kind of father would he be? His parents were really bad role models and he wasn't the nicest person. Ariela liked him, but she wasn't a newborn. He probably was going to screw up and his kid was going to end up in therapy for years. And he thought of Allie, the look in her eyes was of someone who felt like they were running out of options. Why did she go to that stupid therapist if she wasn't fixing her? Logically, he knew not everything could be fixed. But she wasn't getting better she was just doing things differently.
   For some reason he'd been counting on the therapy crap to work on her, but it never did on him. After Hannah he was a wreck and started questioning things. Like what exactly was right and wrong? And who made the rules? He mostly thought of things scenically, so did a little experimenting. What he found was that being a scared pathetic little boy got you nowhere in life. Fear brought power and power was a seductive thing. His trauma turned him into someone almost as bad as his brother that caused the whole thing. It was too late for him and he didn't want or need redemption. Allie was a different story and a different way worse trauma. Now instead of making it his goal to get those kids out of his house, he wanted to help her. It wasn't fair the things that happened to children because of their irresponsible neglective self-centered parents. And though he may not know how to be a father at least he knew what not to do.

   Jose wasn’t sure about getting married before and after today he was pretty much appose to it. Jasmine was being extremely crazy and her family was in his house. The point of leaving the mansion and getting a house was having some quiet. No, there was none of that. First Holly came with way too much luggage for her stay to be a couple weeks. Now the rest of the family was here. It was feeling claustrophobic in here and it had been an hour. The reason behind having a house this size had nothing to do with him wanting guests. But now that they were here and complaining, he wanted to be anywhere else. Was he really going to marry into this family? They still hated him. Funny how hate didn't stop them from accepting a free trip on the family jet and staying in his house.
   Holly was sleeping in Joseph's room because she gave up her bed for Desire and Mike. Just like he didn't like Desire he didn't like her husband either. As soon as Beth and John sr. saw their room they complained. There was nothing wrong with the room at all. The bed was brand new and never slept in with brand new sheets everything was new. Samuel complained about the flight and having to take a taxi to the house. Not that he had to pay for it or anything Jose did that. Vivian, Samuel's wife, wasn't all that bad though. John jr. also had to sleep in Joseph's room but at least he didn't complain. Why Jasmine wouldn't just let them stay in a hotel he didn't know. The kids, Desire's two: Mikey and Lizzie and Samuel's Ben, were sleeping in the living room. There was a couch bed so the three of them were bunking together.
   Jose was pretty sure in the next 24 hours someone would get killed or he'd get his wish about the hotel. His brother bought a hotel they could go stay for free. But of course they would order expensive room service, take stuff from the mini bar and order movies. It was always like they wanted to punish him for having money. So they thought he should pay for everything. Yeah his family had money but he worked for his money. Nobody was handing him money. He had to be smart and save and invest. Murder was the most likely thing that would happen. Why didn't he just tell Jasmine if they had to get married that they could do it in private?
   Even though the reason for the fight earlier was the amount of time he spent with Joseph, that was what he was doing. He was hiding out in the bedroom to keep for murdering anybody. This was actually doing everyone a favor. Jasmine was going to need to get over her crazy issues. Dinner alone with her wasn't bad; they mostly talked about old times. Getting what he wanted hadn't exactly turned out how he planned, but he couldn't back out now. Jasmine was probably right to be concerned that he didn't want to marry her. The closer they got to this wedding the stronger his instincts said run like hell. He kept reminding himself that this was for his son. Everything he did now had to be for his son. If he could be unselfish than Jasmine was going to have to learn to be too. This whole thing was a huge adjustment for both of them.
   "You're the only person in this house that doesn't have an issue with me," he told his son. "We could just run away, nobody would miss me." Joseph just stared at him, but he didn't seem to object. "Just the two of us, we can go anywhere in the world. If you want we could rescue your mommy from those crazy people. I love her you know, I really must to put up with these people. Not that my family is any better, I’m predicting a huge explosion of drama way too soon. That's why I’m saying if you want to just go we can, nobody could ever say no to you. Guess you take after me in that way, just be careful when you get older. Girls are nothing but trouble, they can be fun though."
   Joseph was laying on his Boppy pillow staring up at him, it really seemed like he was listening. He smiled that adorable little smile of his. One day this boy was going to be a little heart breaker. At a young age Jose found that he could get girls to do whatever he wanted. As he got older he wanted different things and he always got them. Though he hoped that he son wouldn't be having sex in middle school like he was. He had few regrets but he wouldn't want his son to have his life. Being a father changed his perspective on a lot of things. Joseph became the most important person in his life from the first moment he laid eyes on him.
   "Since i know you're too little to talk, if i hold up a map or lay out some postcards you can pick. I'm kind of lame I collect postcards everywhere I go. And I have a book full of them. Guess your dad isn't as cool and unsentimental as everybody thinks. It was something i started with my Abuelita when I was young. Anyway you pick a destination and we will go," he said. "We can start a book for you, its stupid i know but its something to do."
   "That's why you're always buying postcards?" Jasmine asked, he didn't hear her come in.
   "Mommy is an eavesdropper," Jose said looking up at her, she rolled her eyes.
   "How come you never told me that?" She asked and came to lay in bed with them.
   "Well you don't impress women with stories about your grandmother," he shrugged.
   "You never had to impress me or any other woman," she told him. "As soon as a woman lies eyes on you they in love."
   "Is that right? I don't remember it ever being that easy," he replied.
   "As someone who fell hard for you, I beg to differ. If we went to a bar right now i bet at least 10 women would come up to you without you having to do anything," she said.
   "And you would be ok with that?"
   "Hell no, I was just saying. Sorry I can admit I am way too insecure for that."
   "You have nothing to worry about, I may not be above infidelity in a relationship but marriage is different. This is why I've never been married or close to it. Sounds stupid right?"
   "No, grandma raised you right," she said staring him in the eyes.
   "Or at least she tried really hard to," he replied. He reached over and took her hand. "We can leave, the three of us and we can just get married."
   "But you've paid for us to have a wedding," she said.
   "It's just money," he replied.
   "If in the next 24 hours my family does anything too crazy then I’m game," she said. That actually was shocking.
   "You realize there's a 90% chance that they will piss you off, right?" He asked and she shrugged.
   "More like 97% chance," she corrected. "You and Little J are my family, and if you are crazy enough to marry me then I’ll run away with you. They will just have to get over it."
   "I thought you wanted a wedding?"
   "After we could dress up and take pictures, I don't care anymore I just want to be your wife."
   "Are you are sure you wouldn't regret it?"
   "Weren't you just telling our son you wanted to get away? And you were never into this wedding stuff anyway."
   "I just want you to be sure and to make sure you would have no regrets."
   "Honey, I have a lot of regrets, how could marrying you be one? Especially when one of my biggest regrets was not marrying you?"
   "Guess I should get my book so Joseph can pick somewhere for us to go," he said. He still had some reservations but how could he say no to this? And it wouldn't be a day that ended in "y" if he wasn't pissing somebody off.

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