Allie Chapter 14

Allie Chapter 14: Connecting

Chapter 14

    Sammie woke up and realized how stupid she was. Her mind had been made up, she was going to live with Jordan again. Maybe Evan had been right that it was selfish of Jordan to ask that of her. And she really didn't want to leave her family. But she was willing to leave Evan and it wasn't anything he did really. He tried really hard to convince her to stay. When they were arguing yesterday she felt a little guilty. There he was trying so hard and the moment he gave up she couldn't take it. That was part of how she ended up in the predicament she was in now. She was in Evan's bed and had in fact slept there. Of course she did not have sex with him or anything too crazy. But now she lost her choice. Now he would expect her to stay. Jordan was going to flip out when she told him she changed her mind. Running from her problems would not solve anything so here she would stay. Besides left unattended who knew what Allie would get herself into.
    Carefully she slipped out of Evan's arms and slipped on her jeans from yesterday. Quietly she crept out of his room. If she got caught her uncle was going to be pretty angry. She did not want to be the cause of everybody losing their doors. Or was it doorknobs? On her way back to her bedroom she saw Allie obviously heading to her own room. Of course her cousin knew she hadn't slept in her own bed, their rooms were connected. Allie patiently waited for her and followed her into her room. Sammie just wanted to take a shower and figure out how to talk to her brother.
    "Did you have sex last night?" Allie asked flopping down on the bed.
    "No, I told you I'm like never doing that again," Sammie said lying on the bed too.
    "Sex is so great though, anyways if you weren't doing that then what?"
    "Making up for lack of a better explanation. Mostly we kissed," she shrugged. Last night had been a bad idea but she couldn't help but to smile about it.
    "So all is good with you lame a*s boyfriend?" Allie asked and she rolled her eyes.
    "Can the two of you just be friends again already?" She hated that those two were fighting.
    "Maybe when he apologizes for all the things he's said about me. Did I tell you that you can do so much better?"
    "I love Evan, I was being dramatic like you. Everything is fine now."
    "Does that mean you're going to stay here? I would die without you."
    "Yes, Jordan isn't going to be happy but this is my life and where I belong."
    "Last night Uncle Nick caught me both drinking and smoking and in Tony's bed," Allie told her.
    "What? When is the punishment coming?" Sammie asked shocked.
    "We talked and I don't know I felt like he understood me. Weird I know, but it was ok and I told him about seeing those people yesterday. He told me that he better not catch me doing that in his house again and that was it really."
    "Seriously? Wow Tia must really be rubbing off on him."
    "In a big way, yesterday btw was a nightmare," Allie sighed.
    "What happened?" Sammie asked concerned and feeling guilty she hadn't found time to ask yesterday.
    "I sort of snapped when Markus asked who had I become, I can't deal with them anymore. And I told them I can never forgive them and I'm not doing the family therapy crap anymore. They are not my family and I'm never speaking to them again. I was also thinking about what I'm going to do."
    "You mean about marrying Tony?"
    "Yup, I decided when I got in the truck to come home yesterday. I am going to marry him after his graduation I love him. The whole college thing is still up in the air but I have to do it. And I know Mel says my compulsive behavior is the problem. But what am I supposed to do if he meets someone else? Tony would never cheat on his wife, so he would always be mine," Allie said.
    "Allie, just wait until after you graduate and then you can be sure. Tony would never cheat on you married, engaged, in a relationship, he loves you. Both of you are doing this for the wrong reasons."
    "Sam, I really do love him and maybe you're right and everybody else to. Uncle Nick pointed out that Katrina got married all young and well we know how that turned out. If we can make it a year apart then we can get married," Allie nodded. "I would never forgive myself if I cheated on him."
    "If you can make it a week without having sex with him then I think there’s hope," Sammie said.
    "Just like if you could end up in bed with Evan again, anything is possible," Allie replied. That was true, anything was possible except maybe making Jordan understand.
    

    Being a triplet for 18 years and then being twins for 5 was a huge adjustment. After Daisy died Wildflower had to lean on Ivan a lot to be able to make it through the day. Though their mother took Daisy's death a lot harder than anyone else. Daisy was always mommy's favorite and Marguerite was already at the time off her meds. So she was already half crazy, losing Daisy pushed her to the edge. Then the financial situation just got worse and that pushed her over. For at least 6 months she was in the hospital. It seemed like everything happened around that time. Corey needed braces and Van needed new glasses, Jay broke his leg so he couldn't work. Everything was very chaotic and the bills kept stacking up.
    Ricky and Isaiah did everything they could but it wasn't enough. Especially not after any money they had went towards Daisy's funeral. And at the time they still owed a lot. So Wildflower did the one thing that she vowed never to do, she became a stripper. Her brothers were not happy her at all, even though they knew why she did it. Brooke being the true blue friend that she was, she did it too. At least one of her older brothers was always there, but mostly it was Ivan. They never watched because that would have been gross and weird but they were protective.
    She'd been a mess about Daisy so she wasn't all there mentally and she hated doing her job. Ivan was there to wipe every tear she ever shed and he tried to take care of her. For the first whole year after Daisy died he had to sleep with Wildflower cause couldn't be alone. Though the night of the accident Wildflower had been home, she had nightmares about it. All of them were from Daisy's point of view and were of the actual events. They were triplets she'd known the second Daisy died she could feel it. Ivan did too but he didn't get nightmares. He'd said he wished he got the nightmares instead of Wildflower so she could get some peace. If it weren’t for her brothers she would have recovered.
    Thinking about the times when her family was close was sort of sad now. Yes they were still pretty close and she saw them all the time. But it wasn't the same. And she felt disconnected from Ivan. She hadn't seen him since the day she came home from the hospital and that was almost a month ago. He didn't call her or anything. It hurt a lot and she tried not to think about it. Thinking about that made her feel like she lost her twin too. Once they had been so close that they needed need to talk to communicate. Everything changed after she met Nicolas. That was when her and Ivan start drifting apart. No matter what she did it only got worse. Then the thing with Allie happened and it was like the final nail in the coffin. She couldn't feel Daisy anymore but she could still feel Ivan, barely but he was there. And something wasn't right with him. Getting a text from him asking to take her out was pretty shocking.  
    "Why are you so quiet? You're never quiet," Ivan said.
    "Just thinking," she replied. Actually she'd been trying to see if she could figure out what he was thinking and feeling. It wasn't working like it use to, he was closed off and too detached.
    "You're upset with me, I know," he said watching her closely. "And you feel like I abandoned you. I can still read you, I am really sorry," he paused looking at her. "None of it has anything to do with your shady a*s husband."
    "That's when it started," she whispered.
    "Maybe I resented him a little for taking you away from me. I've just been in a bad place for awhile," he admitted. "I disappointed you and I lost your trust and my damn mind. When you were gone I had a fight with Tony, I in fact baited him. So I took a good look at the mess I made of my life and I've been trying to fix it."
    "How's that going for you?" She asked, she was always concerned about her brothers.
    "Better now, I missed you," he said.
    "Are you coming over tomorrow?" She asked and he nodded.
    "Ricky made it mandatory, you know he would never want to upset you."
    "And he's the only reason you're coming?"
    "No, I'm more afraid of what you would do than him."
    "You're brining your girlfriend? That's what Brooke told me."
    "If its ok with you, Jess and I have been doing good. You know I don't believe in relationships, that was Daisy,” he said. That was true Daisy was a serial monogamous.
    "Oh I know, so imagine my surprise when I keep waking up married everyday," she said and he laughed.
    "Are you really happy with him? Before you lie, I know you aren't," Ivan said.
    "That's not true, I love Nick and I happy with him. I am not however happy with being confined to the house. And sometimes it feels like he's my jailer, that's all. Before the wedding and on the day of it I was a ball of emotions, but I'm ok now. Everything is fine, I just need to do something with my life that doesn't involve the teen soap opera going on in my house," she explained.
    "How is playing mommy going anyway?"
    "Well Sammie and Evan fight every other day and the other two want to get married. Corey is the only one that I never have a problem with," she sighed. After the fact she realized what she'd said and why she shouldn't have.
    "Married? Why the hell would 17 year olds want to get married? I still don't know why you wanted to get married," he said calmly. Maybe he was over the Allie or more like she prayed he was.
    "You've never been in love brother?" She asked and he shrugged.
    "Not even close, lust I know love not so much," he said.
    "Oh I'm sure Jessica would love to here that," she replied.
    "Hey if she chooses to believe something crazy that's no my problem. I'm thankful she's not crazy like Sydney; she's in love with Ricky. Like stalker love, I try to avoid her."
    "I know, they came over the other day. More like he was coming over and she followed. But you know Ricky, he wouldn't put up with her crazy stalkerness if he didn't love her. Not that he could admit that aloud, i want him to be happy though."
    "I guess I don't get the bisexual thing, why would it be different after you know all this time?"
    "Maybe its just her, love makes things crazy," she told him and he laughed.
    "Says my pregnant married rich sister," he replied.
    "I am not rich, I just married a man who has money," she shrugged. Lunch with her brother was going better than she expected it to.
    "How come you never told me you were trying to get pregnant?" He asked suddenly serious.
    "Because I didn't think you would take it well and I wasn't trying. What happened was that Nick was being weird when he came back from that fishing trip they took. And well we talking and we agreed not to prevent it. Trust me I was very surprised to find out I was pregnant on my damn wedding day. That day was such a nightmare," she sighed.
    "Why did you marry him? You were not happy on your wedding day before you found out you were pregnant," he said. Maybe they should have had this conversation weeks ago.
    "We had fight the Sunday before and I was just scared, its a huge commitment. I told you before that I was freaked out about the whole thing. And then suddenly here was the day i was supposed to promise to love and be with him forever. I was sick and I felt crazy and a little trapped and then I took the test. Then things made sense, I was sick when I never get sick and I was so emotional. It was a lot at once and I was sort of tempted to leave when Ricky offered. Mom just like showed up out of nowhere and I was just stressed. But I wanted to marry Nick, he told me we could wait or postpone but I said no," she told him.
    "You got pregnant because he wanted a kid, but not because you wanted one?" He asked, why did he have to ask these questions?
    "Since its me and you and you would know if I lied, I'll tell you yes. Its not a lie when I say I wanted it too but it happened sooner than I thought it would. I wish I could have been a wife first and learn how to deal with that first. Then I have 5 teenagers in the house and I don't regret my decision to keep them there but I also would like to be alone with my husband. Is that selfish?"
    "You are the most unselfish person I know, except for maybe Ricky. I couldn't do what you're doing, it’s ok to want your own life."
    "I feel different, I'm sure Brooke told you but Nick bought me a beach house. It had to be expensive; he wouldn't let the realtor say the prices of the houses in front of me. Tara was out there and we went shopping and I spent so much money, I didn't look at prices for anything. That's not me, I don't buy a bunch of things just because i want them. And a house that I will never go to but I did get really and pretty expensive furniture for it," she said. How spoiled she was becoming was starting to get to her.
    "Why are you surprised? You can have anything in the world you want now, when before you couldn't have anything. Though I never saw you as the type of person that needs multiple homes. He bought you a house in Brazil too, right?" Ivan asked watching her thoughtfully.
    "Yes, that's where we're going for Christmas, you should come," she suggested.
    "I doubt that's a good idea," he replied.
    "From what I hear the villa is pretty big," she said.
    "Who is going on this trip?" He asked, she wanted him to go even if it was a bad idea.
    "Me, Nick, the kids, Brooke, Jay, Chris, Isaiah, Monster, maybe Ricky and Carmen is getting her own place. How can you say not to Brazil?"
    "Try a 5 letter name starting with A."
    "I knew you would say that."
    "It would be awkward for her and Tony if I was there, you know that."
    "Not if you brought your girlfriend. Free plane ride, big beautiful house and me," she said pouting at him.
    "One day being cute won't get you your way," he said. That was as good as a yes.
    "We've spent enough time apart, I could not have a holiday without you," she told him.
    "I know," he said. He reached across the table and took her hand. For the first time in a long time she could feel him the way she was supposed to. And it might be weird, but what were the holidays without a little drama? She needed her twin with her and the benefit out weighed the risk.


    Sadly it did not take long for Jasmine's family to make her decision for her. Over breakfast there was bickering, Jose graciously treated everyone out. Nothing was ever good enough for her family; he didn't let them get a rise out of him. What happened to them treating him nice when they went up there? Apparently the plane brought them through another dimension. This was getting old really fast. And before she made it 100% that they were eloping, she waited. Then before, during and after lunch there was arguing and complaining. Jose took Joseph up for a nap and never returned leaving her to deal with her crazy family. And he was probably packing for Miami. That was some how the postcard that Joseph liked. Since he was Jose's son the woman in the bikini most likely had something to do with his decision.
    So what was it her family was complaining about? It started with complaining about the flight and the drive from the airport. The fact that Jasmine and Jose weren't home when they arrived. Even though they got home from dinner 5 minutes after they arrived. Her parents didn't know the reason they were late was that they were having sex in his car. If they knew that then maybe they could be mad. The next collective issue was the sleeping arrangements. Did the kids complain about sleeping in the living room? Nope they thought of it like an adventure. What did everybody think that they were going to stay at the mansion?
    Any niceness her family had did not survive the trip they were being ten times worse than usual. They complained that they had to come down and its the holiday. Her mother pouted around because she wasn't cooking dinner this year. Desire complained that she had to take time off of work. Both her father and Samuel said multiple times that Jose was trying to show of by quote: "throwing his money around. Meanwhile neither of them was trying to pay for anything. Mike, her sister's husband was a total snob and was acting like a child. At first he said that he couldn't sleep on other people's sheets. All of the bedding was new and never used and except from in Holly's room, none of the beds had been slept in. Mike couldn't possibly admit he was wrong and found something else to complain about.
    Just like before they were collectively complaining about having to come here. And about how she had to give up her life for Jose. Jasmine was 35 and tried to avoid working as much as possible. She co-owned a cafe with her friend Taloya, but didn't really ever need to be there. Being a party girl had been as job for her, she was Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. And like Holly she wasn't ashamed and liked fun. She use to watch Audrey Hepburn movies late at night with Jose on their vacations. They were both people that stayed up pretty late. So they liked old movies and she loved Audrey. If only they could have those simple night now. Inviting her family here had been a mistake.
    Silly Jasmine had thought that it was the right thing to have her family here when she got married. Apparently they were hell bent on making her regret it. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Her mother actually cried more than once about Joseph being so far away. The only people behaving were Samuel's timid wife, Holly, John jr. and the kids. When the topic of conversation strayed to Jose's family's business it was trouble. They made accusation after accusation of the rumors they heard. And they were asking what it was exactly in detail that he did at work. And worse of all they brought up Delanoz's criminal past present and future. That hit a nerve with Jose especially when they said it wasn't safe for Jasmine and Joseph. How could he bring them here when he unhinged brother was a free man? The last straw was when they brought his father's accident into the conversation.
    If Jose was still willing to marry her after this disaster, the one when they visited her parents and everything she put him though. She owned it to him to elope. The whole wedding thing was a nice dream and they could do it some other time. Her heart was never really in it. Mostly she just wanted to become his wife Jose had to wait way too long for this. Besides if they waited his mother would get the chance to put her unsolicited two cents in. When she went up to the bedroom he was packing and Joseph was asleep on the bed. Later their families could forgive them for running off, even though it was their fault. His brother and sister-in-law were supportive but both Carmen and Katrina hated her. Delanoz tried to get her to have sex with him more than once. Rosa and Martha made their feelings known at Nicolas and Wildflower's wedding. To the Caprianis she was a gold digger and of course she tricked Jose. None of that mattered because she was going to marry him and she did love him. And she was willing to sign whatever stupid legal document they threw at her to prove it. In the past it might have been true but never with Jose and definitely not since she had a baby.
    "I got us a midnight flight," Jose told her.
    "I can't believe we're doing this," she replied.
    "Not too late to back out," he said.
    "Oh no, I want to be your wife right away," she told him.
    "About that," he said with an expression she couldn't read.
    "You're packing, this was the plan right?"
    "Calm down a second, I'm not backing out our plan has just changed a little. I called around but you know tomorrow is a holiday and all so it would be pretty hard to get married."
    "Then what are we going to do? Are we waiting until Friday?"
    "No, I made other arrangements for us we just have to get to the airport a little early."
    "I don't understand, what do you have planned?" She asked both curious and concerned.
    "It's a surprise," he said. He came back over to the bed where she was sitting and kissed her. This promised to be an interesting night.
    

    Allie found that lying in the grass helped her to think and she had a lot to think about. At the moment there was a bigger question that whether or not she was going to maybe Tony. For them to stay together she had no choice but to go to college with him. Since a career in the sex industry was out and definitely not a major, she had to think. When she was young and normal she liked horses, ballet and dressing up in her mother's clothes. She did have a passion for fashion but of course that was out. Fashion was so a New York thing, and she couldn't go there. So what were her options? In school she got pretty good grades but nothing interested her enough to further pursue it. And it wasn't like she wanted to be in school for very long.
    "Does any of this sound like something you want to do?" Sammie asked her. Her wonderful cousin was helping her to find an agreeable major _on the school's website.
    "I like the idea of being a publicist," Allie replied.
    "It seems like a you type of job," Sammie agreed.
    "Maybe I can be a fashion designer like Carmen and Lexy," she said thoughtfully.
    "They have a major for that," Sammie pointed out. "What's Tony going to major in anyway?"
    "My football star fiancé wants to be a doctor, go figure," she sighed. Though she wouldn't mind being a doctor's wife or a NFL player's wife. As long as she was his wife it didn't matter.
    "I think I would like to be a lawyer," Sammie said.
    "This is too hard maybe I should major in psychology and find a cure for whatever the hell is wrong with me. Or I could say screw school and just be a professional trophy wife," she said and Sammie laughed.
    "Go to college get an education."
    "For what? Who in this family completed college? Uncle Nick and that's because he's the family prodigy. Prodigal I am not but I'd make a hell of a porn star."
    "Yeah and not only would the family prodigy murder you for it so would his wife and Tony and me.”
    "I know, so what are Evan's plans for the future? We both know he’s not as ambitious as Tony," she said and Sammie rolled her eyes.
    "Um I have no idea, you know before he never exactly had hope for being able to afford college. Tony's a straight A student and scored high on his SATs the first time, not to mention his athletic career. Everybody knew Tony would go, but Evan never planned on it. So he has no idea like you what he wants to do with his life," Sammie paused. "Know what? Tony is a lot like someone that you look up to."
    "Who? Do you mean Uncle Nick?" She asked and Sammie nodded. "Except Tony lacks that killer capacity our uncle has. But I guess I could see a few similarities between the two."
    Now that Sammie had her thinking of it she found that it was sort of true. Ever since she was young she looked up to her fearless uncle that did everything he could to protect her. When she came to live at the mansion after the incident he was living here of course because he would never leave Abuelita. She was the mother that Rosa could never even pretend to be. Katrina either for that matter, like mother like daughter. The apple fell way too close to the tree there. Her uncle was sort of in a weary like the father she never remembered having. But when she lived here he was young and he worked a lot, but he made time for her. At that time he was basically the only man she could really gone near. More than a few times he dried her tears late at night. That was in the past though and everything was different now. Or was it? Here she was living in his house and he was legally her guardian.
    Last night's conversation came to mind, he had the oddest look when they were talking. Maybe she was wrong before to think that all men were a disappointment. There was one man in the world that never really disappointed her. Sadly that was not her fiancé. Tony was always going to have doubts and all she could do was proved him wrong. Or at least she hoped she would be proving him wrong. And it could only be fate that her uncle would marry the woman that she both loved and admired. It was meant to be that they were her parents now. So was the reason she with Tony because he was like her uncle? They were both super smart, crazy protective, loving in their own way, driven, ambitious and could anything they wanted. She'd never thought about it until Sammie brought it up. It was interesting though, in her opinion anyway.
    "This must be a sign," she said looking at her cell phone.
    "What?" Sammie asked and she turned the phone so she could see.
    "Our adopt-a-daddy wants to see me," she said. Their uncle sent her a message requesting to speak with her.
    "You haven't done anything have you?" Sammie asked on their way back up to the house.
    "No, Tony's not even here and I've been with you all day. Oh you know btw there are camera like outside of all of the rooms in the house," she said.
    "What? Are they in the bedrooms too?"
    "Doubtful, they know we're sexually active teens that would be child porn. Especially with you baby cousin."
    "Then he would know that I slept with Evan, huh?"
    "Pretty much, if I'm not in trouble then you sure the hell aren't," Allie shrugged.
    They walked pass the pool and up the stone steps that went up to the patio outside the kitchen. The smells from the kitchen suddenly made her hungry. Marguerite may have been a complete psycho but Allie always loved her cooking. No wonder her kids kept her around, she had one good use since being a mother wasn't it. Maybe she was a little critical since she had "mommy issues". One thing she could say about Marguerite was that she would never stand for someone hurting her children. Even crazy she was a better mother than Katrina ever was. Out on the patio was Wildflower, Brooke, Carmen and Christina, they were all talking and eating. Uncle Nick was in the kitchen and it looked like he was talking to his mother-in-law. The only reason that wasn't really that odd was because he was a charmer and could charm anybody.
    "Oh Allie, I wanted to talk to you," Carmen said before she could go inside. "I hear that you want to model."
    "Just an idea, why are you going to hire me?" Allie asked jokingly. But her aunt actually nodded.
    "Why not? You're a pretty girl and I know you could do it since you already have," Carmen said seriously.
    "Thought you and Tony were going to college together?" Brooke asked.
    "That I don't know about," she admitted. Modeling she could do, but she wasn't so certain about college.
    "Think about it," Carmen said.
    "You could still see Tony," Wildflower pointed out.
    "Yeah I know, but he really wants me to come to school with him," she said. It did sound as lame in her head as it did aloud. Was she the type of girl to give everything up for a guy? That sounded more like a Katrina type trait.
    "Couldn't you do both?" Christina asked. "Its always good to have something to fall back on if your plan A doesn't work."
    "Model on the weekends," Sammie suggested.
    "We could work it out if you really want to do it," Carmen told her.
    "You don't have to decide now, you still have a lot of time," Wildflower said.
    "Yeah," she replied. Here was her chance to get everything she wanted, now all she had to do was talk to Tony.
    "Allie," Uncle Nick called, he gestured for her to come in the house.
    "Am I in trouble for something?" She asked while following him out of the kitchen and into the hall.
    "No, I wanted to talk to you about something, but something was delivered for you today," he said. He led her to the front door and outside there was a car parked in front of the stairs, with a bow on it.
    "You bought me a car?" She asked completely stunned.
    "Hell no," he actually laughed. "That's from your mother."
    "Katrina bought me a car?" She asked now she was shocked stunned and many other synonyms she couldn't begin to think of.
    "It appears that way," he replied. He handed her a set of keys and an envelope. "I'm assuming she wrote you a letter explaining why she felt the need to buy you a car. It's a good bribe though, but so you know she got it before she pissed you off yesterday."
    "Uh ok this is weird," she said. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
    "After our last conversation I decided to get more invested in future," he said.
    "And that means what? A chastity belt and a nun run boarding school?" She asked and he laughed like she was crazy to think that.
    "While those methods might be affective on others, I doubt it would do you much good. But I would like to help you."
    "Help me with what exactly?"
    "For starters find away to save you from yourself," he said perfectly calm. Between the possibility of modeling and doing the college thing and her mother buying her a car this was already a crazy enough day. But she actually got what he meant by that. If her no nonsense uncle thought there was hope for her than maybe there really was.


    Christina paced in her living room. Ariela was watching cartoons and playing with her toys. Isaiah would be home soon and she had to convince him to take her to Louisiana. Yesterday she didn't really get the chance to tell him about her phone call. He came home late and she'd gone out to dinner. Jay had come over to stay with Ariela until Isaiah came home last night so Christina could go out. Marrying into this family had its advantages, there were plenty of people that could baby-sit. And Ariela loved all of her uncles. Aside from sleeping in the same bed she hadn't really sent much of Isaiah the last couple of days. There was no reason to be concerned, he was just working overtime. Today he wasn't supposed to work late but it was pass dinnertime and he still wasn't home. She knew he hated it if she called him a lot and she didn't want to fight so she was choosing to be patient. After Ariela finished her episode of Ni Hao Kilan, she took her upstairs for a bath.
    Bath time passed and so did bedtime and he still wasn't home. Not that she even knew what she was going to say to him. Ariela had wanted her daddy to read to her but she had to settle for mommy instead. Usually if he was going to be late Isaiah would have told her but he didn't call all day. She went back downstairs once Ariela was asleep. First she cleaned the living room and then she called her husband. His cell phone went straight to voicemail which was odd. He never turned off his phone, even at work or even if she called him a thousand times. Where was he? Now she was starting to worry. Or it was just that she was really anxious to talk to him. How would he even react to this? He hated the family of hers that he knew, which was understandable. But what about the rest of them? There was no reason for him to think the others would be any different. And since it had been a long time since she'd even seen any of them she had no idea what to expect.
    Before she had a falling out with her parents, her father had a falling out with his family. Why? Over money after his own mother died. So she shouldn't have been surprised he would use her to get money. It was funny that before she never really thought about what type of people her parents were. Not until of course they showed their true colors to her. They had been loving before or that was how they acted. If she really thought about it her father was always verbally abusive to everybody, especially her mother. And her mother had always done everything he told her and put up with whatever he did. Which she knew for a fact included cheating more than once. Cole found out about that and it was the source of what drove him out. Maybe it was then that Christina stopped caring what he parents thought or tried to. After Cole was gone was when she met Isaiah. Being abandoned by your family even if they were crappy and sucked still hurt. And it always would and so would her father's latest scheme. Ariela would never have to deal with this type of thing, Isaiah was mean but he loved his daughter. Now if he would only come home.
    It was when she was in the kitchen that she thought about something she'd done. Earlier she was over at the mansion, Marguerite was there cooking. Had Isaiah found out that she went over there? That would really piss him off, she wasn't allowed to talk to his mother. And she especially wasn't allowed to let Ariela go near her. But today she was distracted and forgot about Isaiah holding his grudge for all of eternity. It wasn't even that she forgave Marguerite for going crazy and attacking her. She just had more important things on her mind, like her brother and great-grandmother. Her father may have wanted money but she didn't, money wasn't all that important to her. She tried to call Isaiah again and got the same result. All this waiting was driving her crazy. When she decided to just go to bed and talk to him in the morning that she heard the door. But she was already upstairs.
    "Hey," Isaiah said when he entered their bedroom.
    "Where have you been? You said you would be home earlier," she said. She was trying not to show that she was annoyed so that this didn't end up in a fight.
    "Yeah, something came up," he said as if it was an explanation.
    "I really need to talk to you," she told him. Later she could inform him of how inconsiderate he was, but now she had a mission.
    "I came home earlier and you weren't here," he said.
    "Why didn't you call me then?" She asked, he never just came home in the middle of the day that was weird.
    "That was around the time something came up," he shrugged. "So where were you?"
    "Carmen picked us up and we went over to the mansion," she told him.
    "Was Marguerite over there?" He asked and she nodded because she wasn't going to lie.
    "She sent you dinner," she replied.
    "I told you I didn't want you near her and especially not talking to her. And you had my daughter around her?"
    "Our daughter spent her time playing with Olivia and Anna-Maria, she barely saw her."
    "We shouldn't even go over there tomorrow."
    "If you want to stay home then stay home, I'm not," she said. "So where have you been?"
    "Do you really want to know?" He asked, she couldn't read his expression at all. What was going on?
    Any other man she would probably think he was cheating. But Isaiah used up that last bit of niceness he had when they met. If he didn't cheat on her while he hated her for being pregnant than he never would. And he wasn't that type of person. Loyalty was one trait all the Laiezs shared. Besides if he cheated on her she could get Ricky to kick his a*s for it. Isaiah wasn't patient enough to attempt to have an affair; she had to have been the easiest girl he ever met. And that wasn't even about sex she'd just fallen for him quickly and with minimal effort. He was mean to most people, especially people he didn't know. Sometimes she wondered how she could have fallen for somebody like him. They were opposites in most ways but still she loved him. She knew him better than anybody else did and he was up to something that much was obvious.
    "Isaiah do not play games with me tonight or you can sleep on the couch," she said and he laughed.
    "I'd like to see you try to force me out of our bed," he replied.
    "And yet you still haven't answered me so you might get to see just that," she said. He'd been leaning in the doorway and she was sitting on the bed, he came in to sit beside her.
    "When I came home your sister was sitting on the porch," he told her. "Meg and I had a talk."
    "What?" She asked stunned. That she never expected, it would have been less shocking if he said he was cheating.
    "Yeah, I never liked your sister she's a b***h," he said.
    "That doesn't really tell me where you were," she said still in shock.
    "She told me why your father was so desperate to get you home and said you knew about it. Care to explain that one?"
    "I couldn't talk to you if I didn't see you, when I came home last night you were asleep. My aunt called me yesterday after she talked to Meg."
    "Yeah, she thought maybe you were planning to just take Ariela and leave. Since you're coming into money or whatever she said you must not need me anymore," he said. The way he looked at her, like she could have considered that actually hurt.
    "I'm not smart enough to leave you," she mumbled.
    "What? Did I offend you? I never said you would, but you can have what you wanted. You evil a*s family would love to take you back and for me to be gone. If you have your own money you wouldn't need me," he said.
    "I hate you so much right now, I don't want anybody's money. Obviously I'm not with you for money because you don't have any," she said very annoyed.
    "That's the point, I don't exactly have much so you wouldn't have to worry anymore."
    "I think I'm going to go sleep in Ariela's room," she said. Before she could get up from the bed he grabbed her.
    "Can you not admit this would make your life easier? That's not what I want, I don't want you to take our daughter and leave. I know you aren't always happy to be with me," he said.
    "No I'm not but I married you knowing that you're grouchy all the time. If I wanted to leave you I could have when Michelle offered, but did I? Didn't I tell them that I didn't want to see them? None of that matters right?" She asked feeling like she was going to cry. "How could you think my life would be easier if I left you? Yes you are an a*s but you are the father of my child and my husband. Marriage might not mean anything to some people but you should know how I feel about it."
    "I know," was all he said. "Chris, I didn't want to upset you. I guess I'm just afraid that you will leave me. It would be the smart thing to do."
    "Like I said I'm not that smart," she whispered.
    "Just listen for a second, ok?" He paused like he was trying to find the right words for whatever he was going to say. "You sister told me about your dad wanting money and how your great-grandmother adores you. And how she was devastated when she heard that you ran off with some criminal. Apparently she thought that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard but nobody knew where you were. They couldn't get in touch with you and your father didn't tell the truth. Still hasn't, Meg said that he told his family that he was hiring a private investigator to find you. Not that I ever saw her as having a conscience, but she claims to have felt bad after seeing you last week. So she told your aunt that you weren't missing and about what really happened. Including that your father knew exactly where you were and just kept lying. Anyway I guess that's when you got a call."
    "You've been with Meg all day?" Christina asked not knowing if she should be concerned or not.
    "No, she had to go home so no one would suspect that she was out running her mouth. She sent me to the bus station to pick somebody up," he explained.
    "Who?" She asked now she was really confused.
    "Cole," he said and it seemed like the world stopped. Isaiah had never even met her brother, she'd told both about the other but that was it.
    "My brother Cole? You don't know him," she said dazed.
    "Didn't, now I do, we had a few drinks," he shrugged.
    "Are you serious?" She asked and he nodded. "W-where is he?"
    "Waiting for you downstairs," he said.
    There were tears coming from her eyes before she could have hoped to stop them. She'd been trying to figure out how to get Isaiah to take her to her brother but he was here. How could this be? And when did her sister grow a conscience? This was a lot to take in at once. Before she could do anything else she hugged her husband and he held her tight. He needed to know that there was no amount of anything that could make her want to leave him. Especially after he brought her brother to her. Sometime in the last two weeks she'd entered the twilight zone. She had a feelings everything was going to just get weirder.


    Whenever Caroline woke up last Friday her sister was gone and so were their plane tickets. It was Wednesday night now and her life had changed a lot between the night her husband returned home and now. What she wouldn't give to be on a plane back home to her parents right now. But she messed up and had to deal with the consequences. Why couldn't she have just listened? The universe had been screaming that she needed to stay away from Delanoz and she couldn't listen. Now she went from being his wife to his prisoner. The morning her sister left or was forced to leave; she also found that she couldn't leave the house. There were bars on the windows and an alarm on the door. Any phone or computer in the house was gone. Delanoz had obviously snapped. Torturing and almost killing your own father obviously took you over the edge. She should have been left and now that option was gone.
    She asked Delanoz where he had been and why he locked them in this house. He refused to answer any of her questions and warned her that if she kept asking she would regret it. So what had she been doing the last few days? Being as silent as possible and cooking and cleaning and doing whatever he wanted. Which included sex whether she wanted to or not. At first she'd been terrified to tell him she was pregnant, but he found the tests. So he knew and he hadn't been happy that she didn't tell him herself. That got her confided to the bedroom for a whole day. He was the murderer and he belonged in jail, but now she was in jail. There were no high priced lawyer cousins to get her out of this jail.
    On Monday he went out and locked her in the bedroom. When he came back he made her dye her hair a different color. She asked why he wanted her to do it and he smacked her. In her opinion the real punishment was that he forced her to have sex with him twice that day. It was funny that she loved being with him and it hadn't be that long ago. Her naive foolish need for love and attention landed her here. At this point her parents would be burying three daughters instead of two. Then they still had to bury Hannah, who's remains were still with the police. At least Heather got away or she hoped that Heather got away. If something happened to Heather because of her she would never forgive herself. Well if she lived long enough to find out. Delanoz had in the past killed his pregnant girlfriends. There were three in fact all of them had mysterious and fatal accidents.
    She had watched those shows on TV, CSI and all that. They said there was always something the killer left behind. So how did Delanoz kept getting away with it? Maybe it had something to do with his family's scientific background. If she was going to be number four on that list she at least wanted him to get caught. The fact that she was thinking like that meant she was giving up and she couldn't do that. Though she also didn't see how she was going to be able to get out of this. Unless Heather got her help, but who would believe this? This house was sound proofed she scream and nobody would hear. Then she thought of something.
    Nicolas and Jose had the house wired with cameras. So there was hope if of course Delanoz hadn't removed the cameras. But since he was still missing they weren't going to check up on her. All of the Caprianis that knew her situation had warned her to get out while she could. His own daughter had been worried for her. They told her repeatedly and she just couldn't listen. One thing Delanoz could do was get in your head and confuse you. So what happened when you stopped seeing charm and saw a serial killer? That was where you lost your life apparently. And this wasn't just her life anymore. Yes, her child was essentially the spawn of Satan but this was her child. From what she saw his other children were nothing like him. So her baby had hope, if they could get out of this house.
    Delanoz seemed to be trying to get her back under his control. Maybe if she could convince him that she was his stupid loving little puppet then she had hope. Why had she ever believed him when he kept telling her he loved her? Even after he told her the truth she still didn't give up. But he was her first love so she didn't see anything past the love. She'd thought she changed him and there was a power to that. Being the one that tamed him and got him to change his ways. This was her first love turned real life horror movie. If she couldn't summon some amazing acting skills, by the time somebody found out what was going on they would just find a body.

Reviews

[deeps]

Amazing chapter here. Full of detail and imagery.