The same scene; open door of the back seat of a cop car;
Donny- "What the hell were you thinking!?" Linnie 's scolding me. She furious and I really don't know what to say.
"Your brother is in danger back home and you picked now to settle some old score!?" She yells.
To explain, after we left the prison to go back to New Jersey to help my brother but then Spencer stopped us and advised us not to do anything yet since Agent Neil doesn't know we're on to him. Or more likely, he's strategically waiting before he strikes. We went back to his law firm to discuss it further.
On the way, Linnie remarked that she's happy that Carl apologized to me for everything. I didn't say it in front of Carl but I didn't believe a damn thing he said when he "apologized" to me. I said as much to Linnie and we got into a bit of a tiff. But then we decided to table that discussion and focus on the danger that's sure to take place in the coming weeks or even months.
My ire was already pretty high because of the argument so when I saw Nathan, the man that Brook cheated on me with when we were engaged, my blood started boiling even stronger. This is the first time I've seen him since that incident and I never gave him his comeuppance but why was he here now.
It all happened so fast before I punched him in the face (in broad daylight, like an idiot). He started taunting me and Spencer and revealed that he followed Brook here from California to "win her back".
Then he said something about how he and Brook were sleeping together recently when she and Spencer were on that little break. Then I got flashbacks from catching Brook and Nathan all those years ago and I just snapped and decked him in the face.
Now, I'm cuffed and sitting in the backseat of a cop car with the door open where Linnie is rightfully reprimanding me. I sit there silently, afraid to look her in the eyes.
"I am beyond disappointed in you right now," Linnie continues, "I can't believe you did that! We're engaged and expecting a child and now you're facing assault charges! And for what, to take up for the honor of another woman, your ex-fiancé Brook. I thought you were past this petty crap, I thought we were past this petty crap. Clearly I was wrong. And don't you dare blame me for riling you up in the car about Carl. He was clearly trying to make amends with you but, NO, Mr. Red Pill thinks he knows everything.
"Here's what I know," she continues, "Carl was right about you and so was Spencer. Spencer's changed for the better but clearly you haven't. Except now, you're no longer the scared little boy, you're the impulsive, paranoid stupid boy. I don't know if we can come back from this." Now I turn to face her. Now I see how how upset and hurt she really is. As much as I don't want to believe I know, she means everything she's saying.
"Oh, don't try to get sympathy from me this time with those puppy dog eyes." Linnie continues, "I'd give you this engagement ring back but they don't allow jewelry in prison. There's no cute little speeches that will make me change my mind. And if by some miracle, Spencer convinces Nathan to drop the charges, we're done! So you're free to get back together with your baby momma, Candace." I've already begun to cry myself and I actually start seeing her get teary eyed and I'm a little taken aback by her statement.
"I have no intention to get back with Candy." I finally speak up, quietly.
"You say that now," she says, "but once you and her start getting involved with her divorce and your custody battle with Carlo, you'll find your way back into each other's arms!"
Now, she starts getting hysterical. If I wasn't cuffed, I'd try to comfort her but I know she'd pull away anyways. I can tell that this hurts her more than anything else. To be honest, I haven't thought of that but her concerns are valid
"But she's with Chris now," I say, "she should still be with Derrick."
"Donny, I don't a shit about what you think she should or shouldn't be doing," Linnie says, "the point, that whoever she's with is in the same pickle as me. I'm just glad that they broke up so at least Derrick doesn't get hurt by her more than she already had." Then she stops and pants to catch her breath. "Now, do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asks me as soon as she gets her wind back. I really don't know what to say to her.
"I don't have anything to for myself," I say, "I've given up the right to defend myself because what I did was indefensible. I lost the right to be with you. I'm sorry; that's really all I can say." She looks like she's calmed down a little bit. She pinches the bridge of her nose, closes her eyes and walks away for a few seconds. Then she comes back looking even more pissed off, if that's even possible.
"You son of a bitch!" She yells. "I hate it when you do this. You're a sweetheart even when you're not trying to and I hate it but I'm not biting this time." She's clearly about to continue when she gets a call on her phone. She looks at the caller ID and says, "I have to take this, but we're just about done here." She walks away to have her conversation.
Right after Linnie walks away, I get approached by Spencer and a couple of the cops.
"Sir," one of the cops say, "stand up out of the car please." I slowly do as he says. "Now turn around please." I do so and the cop proceeds to uncuff me and all the cops start to leave. I'm really confused.
"I got Nathan to drop the charges, Donald," Spencer says, "I told him and the police that you have your special needs brother, Chester, to look after so you're to return to New Jersey do just that. He's in danger after all." Spencer really has changed, huh?
Then Linnie approaches Spencer and I can only assume she's asking him what he just told me. Now, she walks back to me."
"Ok, look," she says, looking calmer, "that was Derrick. He and Ashley are already in Portland. Derrick told me that my mom's cancer came back."
"That's terrible!" I say empathetically. Now that I'm free from the cuffs I go to hug her and to my surprise she doesn't pull away but she doesn't return my hug either
"Look, I don't have a lot of time," Linnie says, "Derrick booked me a flight first thing tomorrow morning to go out west and I'm staying with Spencer tonight, I still have clothes at his place," That last part does concern me but I've lost the right to protest anything, "now that I see you're not going to jail permanently, I'll tell you that I won't call of our engagement. Yet. I need some real space, this time, and I need to go be with my mother. I still love you but I really need to think about what to do about us next. And no,' she says, "it's not just because I'm carrying your child that I'm not just calling this off right now, so you don't need to worry about that."
I let out a sigh of relief but then she holds up a finger signaling for me to hold my horses, "I'm staying in Portland until she's in remission once more and I don't even want to think about a scenario where she doesn't. So during that time, I'm going to be speaking with my art agent about the Louvre offer and then I'll have to decide to go there or stay here with you. I'll tell you that if I do decide to go to France, we will be done, but I will contact you with my decision. But until then, don't call me or text me and definitely don't try to follow me to Portland. You need to go to Chester's house and stay with him and make sure he's safe, as well as your sister, Carmen, and of course, Naldo."
Linnie concludes with tears in her eyes and gives me a kiss on the cheek, gets into Spencer's car and drive off. Leaving me to find my own way back to New Jersey. I really don't deserve her rethinking our breakup but I really don't want this to be the end of us...
The next day in Portland; at the airport;
Derrick- I'm sitting here in an all too familiar scene; me waiting at the Portland airport for Linnie. My phone starts ringing. I look and I see it's Candace (I refuse to call her Candy anymore). I don't know what number is by of many times she tried calling. Despite what she says, the nature of her relationship with Chris isn't how it appears but I'll explain soon. I think I'm actually going to answer her this time,
"Hello?" I ask in my most monotone voice
"Oh finally, Derrick, I've gotten you," she says, "why have you been ghosting me?"
She knows full well why, she's just convinced herself of what she's trying to accomplish. I don't answer her question, instead I ask one of my own.
"Why are you calling, Candace?" I ask
"'Candace?' what happened to 'Candy?'" she asks
"Candace, I'm really busy," I say, "I'm in Portland and waiting to pick Linnie up from the airport, so would you please tell me what you want?" I intentionally leave out why I'm here.
"Portland?" Candace questions, "I thought we agreed on North Carolina so you can be close enough to us if something happens. And what are you doing there with Linnie. More importantly, why isn't Donny with her?"
That part I actually don't know yet but when I called to tell her about her mom, she sounded like she'd been crying
"We agreed," I say, "no, no, no. You decided. Now you have three seconds to tell me why you called or I'm hanging up." I start counting.
"I need more time with Chris, Derrick." She blurts out. And there it is.
"'More time?" I repeat
"Yeah, I think I'm making progress with him," she says and I'm shaking my head, "there's good in Chris, I know it. He wants to be better. He's getting his Nazi tattoo removed and he's started a friendship with your friend Daryl."
Daryl's barely an acquaintance and that's definitely a cover for arranging some deal between them. I don't say anything for a couple minutes. I can't believe this is the same woman I told my biggest secret to.
Alright, I this is a good a place to finally reveal that secret. When I was living in LA, I had a very committed relationship with my girlfriend, Kelly (a black girl). A some point we found out that she's pregnant. I proposed marriage shortly after and she accepted. However, when it was time for the baby to come, something happened. My wife suddenly had trouble breathing and she died, The doctors did their best to save the baby but it was too late. Both my fiancé and my child died at the same time. That's why I hate hospitals and especially pregnancy wards.
"Derrick, are you still there?" Candace asks
"Yeah, I'm here." I say
"So what do you say," she says, "could you hang in there just a little while longer?" I snap
"What world are you living in, Candace." I say pointedly
"Huh," She responds, "what do you mean?"
"What do I mean," I repeat, "are you serious right now? I know you convinced yourself that this was my idea and it never was. When Donny's sister warned us about Chris we could have found a way to make this work like monitoring him. I don't need to be kept safe, I'm a big boy. Your son is in no danger either because there's Donny and Linnie and Chris is probably trying to brainwash him just like he's succeeding in doing now.
"As far as I'm concerned, we were broken up, for real the moment you started dating him." I say, "And now he's manipulated you into thinking he can change and you have feelings for him. I get that you didn't know about his true colors in your first run with him and you felt bad. And despite you learning what he said about me, you still had feelings for him. You were dead set on doing this whether I protested or not."
"Please don't talk about him like you know him," she says, "he's made mistakes but he's a gentle soul. There's no reason to be jealous, Derrick. I still love you." I notice she doesn't try to deny having feelings for this racist asshole.
"So in your mind," I begin to say, "how many boyfriends do you have? Let's say for arguments sake, we've been together all this time, so reality tells me that you've been cheating on me with him."
"Derrick, please," she pleads, "don't be like this."
"And even if Chris wasn't an issue,* I say, ignoring her pleas, "you'd eventually get back with your baby's daddy. I mean going through a custody battle and a divorce proceeding, in another country no less, it's an emotional ordeal and you'd want to stay together for your kid."
"Chris said he's going to help me with that, too!" She cries. I can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of this. I can hear through the phone that she's clearly getting emotional. I think she's finally grasping the reality of the situation. "This isn't funny, you're my only boyfriend. Chris is just a project."
"Ok," I say, "I'm going to ask you one question and depending on the answer, I'll either return to New Jersey to win you back or I hang up and ghost you and I never see you again. You take that risk and you better be honest because if you lie and I find out, I don't even want to think about what I'd do."
"Derrick, please don't do this!" She cries. I think she knows what I'm about to ask and I think I know the answer.
"Have you slept with him?" I ask point blank. She doesn't answer, she just continues to cry. I also noticed that although she's crying, she hasn't said a thing about calling this whole Chris thing off. "Answer the question, Candace," I demand. Throughout this conversation, I've been relatively calm but now I'm raising my voice.
"Please don't make me say it," she begs, "it didn't mean anything, I only love you."
"Well, there's my answer," I declare, "have fun getting your head shaved. You want more time? You can take all the time you want because WE'RE DONE, Candace." I immediately hang up the phone and block her number. I can see she's immediately trying to call back.
"Wow, that was pretty intense, Dee." I hear a familiar voice right next to me. It's Linnie of course. And just like that, mood brightens.
"Hey, girl!" I exclaim, giving her a hug. "Sorry you had to hear all that and I'm sorry I didn't try to find you head. I just got so wrapped up in that that I forgot where I was and what I'm doing here."
"It's okay, Derrick." She says teary eyed
"Oh, no, I'm so sorry that whole thing made you cry," I say compassionately and I hold her, " I know you and Candace were getting close.
"That's only because I just went through the same thing," she says, "Donny and I broke up! I think for good this time." And she tells me everything that happened about Donny punching some guy from his past and their argument regarding her father.
"I'm so sorry, Linnie," I say softly while shushing her like a baby, "everyone makes mistakes. He loves you. Almost as much as I do." She's crying into my shoulder
"Wait," she says, picking her head up to face me, "you still love me after all this time?"
"Of course," I declare, "how could I ever stop loving you. You were the first one I truly fell for." Then suddenly, she cups my face with both hands and kisses me. I'm so caught off guard that I can't process this. This is what I've always wanted but it doesn't feel right. I gently break away.
"Look, Linnie," I say, "I know we're both hurting and I've always wanted a real relationship with you. We can explore it at some point if you'd like but right now we need to get to your mom at the cancer center. She nods slowly in agreement.
I start driving and it's silent for awhile.
"You know how you have your big secret that only a couple people know?" Linnie breaks the silence. I nod my head slowly
"Well, I have a secret, too," Linnie says with her head resting against the window, "it's something that just happened last night and you can't tell ANYONE, Derrick. After everything with Donny was over. You see, Spencer, my ex-fiancé, was bringing me to the airport the next morning and I already had clothes at his place from when I lived there. But I was still really angry with Donny and I was feeling vulnerable and so was Spencer, probably for the first time in his life. So one thing lead to another and...."
Spencer- I slept with Carolynn (Linnie) last night and neither of us brought it up this whole morning. Now I know what regret feels like. I'm a fool for going off on Brook like that and letting her go. The last I saw her, she was with Nathan, looking over his injury but I don't know where they went. And on top of all this, I have the trial of my life to get ready for because it begins in a week or so. As for Carolynn, I fear that our night together may have set off. She was clearly acting out and I just went along with it. I think it bares repeating. I had sex with Carolynn last night and no one is to find out...
Kenny- Unlike my pals, Gina and I haven't split up, yet. We are on some thin ice though. I had to postpone the wedding, which obviously didn't sit well with Gina, so right now she's in Texas with her family. I postponed it because of everything that's goin' on with my family. I don't know this Chris guy that Candace is seeing but he just rubs me the wrong way but sis' won't listen. Maybe it's because I like Derrick so much, I don't know; I don't even though exactly why they broke up. I can tell that Naldo does NOT like him. I told her to not get all wrapped up in her guys and focus on the Carlo situation. She and Don are in danger both legally and physically.
Carlo and my mother are here (they're 'together' by the way. I know it's gross) and they're stayin' at my uncle's in Staten Island. My uncle's a dangerous man; he's heavily involved in the Italian mob and so confronting him and questioning him on why he's helping Carlo, so I was risking my safety. That's another reason why Gina went to Texas; we had a big argument on whether I should go confront them at all or not. Nothing too bad happened cuz I'm still livin' and not a scratch on me. So yeah, I spoke to Carlo. He has gotten legal authority to bring Candace and Naldo back to Italy to begin divorce proceedings and custody hearings. Sis' could also be facin' kidnappin' charges if Carlo can prove he's a legal guardian for Naldo. Naldo's the one I'm scared for the most. Carlo wants them back by hook or by crook which is where the physical threats come in. Carlo doesn't want to meet or see Donny. According to Carlo; Don bein' Naldo's bio dad, and that he was born outside the marriage don't hold water. My uncle told me he's havin' his goons look for Donny now to beat him to death. Obviously, I need to get ahold of Don soon but he ain't pickin' up. Haven't seen since his engagement party so I got know clue where he is or what he's been up to. Maybe I need to speak with Chad and Spencer and maybe Don's sister Carmen. They're all here in the city now and I'm still on the Island, so I'm headed to Chad and Janine's now...
Chad- I was served divorce papers at work today and I can't say I didn't see this coming, it's all my fault. Janine's had enough and I can't say I blame her. 'But we were so happy after the baby was born' people might say. It was true, we had honeymoon, or rather, babymoon period but that wore out soon once we moved back to the City and this time we're bringing my mother in law, Eleanor, and my 17 year old sister in law, Emily. Eleanor never liked me and having her around only exacerbated the issues. I was and still am very stressed about Carl's trial which didn't help things either. It didn't take long for Janine and I to have the same issues we had before Lilian was born. Only this time, it was mostly me that became toxic to be around.
After what (almost) happened with Janine and Rayshawn, I became increasingly paranoid, angry and suspicious; always checking Janine's phone and emails, accused her of being too flirty with other men over mundane interactions, refusing to let her go back to work now that there's people to look after Lilian because I was sure that eventually, she'd have an affair. I was lashing out and yell about the baby waking me up in the middle of the night, in front of the baby. I refused to go to counseling, marriage or individual, saying I don't have time. But for Janine, my refusing to get any help, was the last straw because I was only getting worse not better.
So here we are, at work, at the law firm, looking down at the pieces of paper that signifies the end of my marriage. My only solace is that I was served in Spencer's private office, since he's out dealing with the stuff surrounding Donny punching Nathan in the face (which I loved because the motherfucker never got his due). Getting these papers is a wakeup call. I have to change if I want to save my marriage and maybe that means taking myself off this case. Spencer and Madeline or both more than capable of handling this trial without me. I'm probably going to have to live with our new tenants at my house in Jersey (and Rayshawn, who's been squatting there but I don't care) for a little bit. But this is not the end if I have anything to say about this....
End of chapter. Please comment and vote.