CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 13

PART 13

Melanie composed the email herself; making sure it showed no exaggeration but at the same time explaining  to Bo the seriousness of Carly’s condition and the urgency of his presence.



 Nicholas and Brady sat on either side of Melanie on the couch as she typed, Abby sitting on an ottoman close to her. Shawn Douglas leaned over from the back of the couch. After much arguing with Nicholas, it was finally decided Shawn Douglas had to know what they’ve been up to. Annoyed at their initial lack of faith in him, Shawn D had snappishly said he was going to suggest their idea to them.

‘What about your Mum?’ Melanie had asked warily.

‘I don’t care what she thinks,’ was Shawn D’s unexpectedly harsh reply, sealing his approval of their plan  and they apologised to him, not daring to ask him  how he felt about Hope’s new boyfriend.

‘What do you guys think?’ Melanie asked anxiously.

The others took turns reading the message, nodding approval. After adding their names at the end of the email, Melanie handed the laptop to Nicholas who  immediately entered Alistair’s email, then sent it. Alistair was to forward it to Steve who then will pass it on to Bo. ‘Well, it’s done.’ Nicholas said, closing the lid. ‘Now all we’ll have to do is wait and hope Bo will drag himself from what he’s doing and get back here soon.’

‘You’ll see, he’ll be back,’ Shawn Douglas replied, moving round the back of the couch to sit on Brady’s arm chair. ‘He can’t know about Carly and Starr and stay away. Maybe he didn’t handle things great with Carly but he’s not heartless. He’ll be back, you’ll see and then he and Carly can take it from there.’

‘Uh Shawn… even if he would want to get back with Carly, even you can’t expect her to take him back just like that.’ Abby said. ‘it’s either going to be a reconciliation or closure but they’re going to have a long talk. The last time he tried talking to her she was in so much pain she could barely stay in the same room with him. You should’ve heard what she accused him of especially.’

‘What’s that?’

‘That he was only with her until Hope wanted him again.’

‘Christ…’ Shawn Douglas shook his head,  vividly picturing Carly broken-hearted, trying to be brave but the pain consuming her. She must have felt a huge revival of hope the day she found out she was pregnant with Starr.

 ‘So, it wouldn’t bother you if Bo does decide to get back with Mum?’ asked Nicholas.

‘Dude, first off…  I hate what he did to Carly. Of the women in the world, he had no right using her as a backup and I hate the way the families sided with Mum like she didn’t do anything wrong. This isn’t the first time she would do something like this; just because she knew Dad loved her enough to get past it eventually and try to make amends.’ Shawn Douglas’ tone was bitter. 

Only this time Mum came back, thought Melanie, and it wasn’t because of Bo either.

‘Mel, Nick… I’m so sorry about what Carly must have gone through; with my parents and the family. I don’t know what’s going to happen when Dad comes home but if he really wants to be with Carly again, I hope this time it will be for the right reasons and nobody in the family will have any say about their relationship if there’s going to be one.’

‘Try telling that to your grandfather,’ Abby said sarcastically, her head resting against Nicholas’ leg.  ‘You should’ve heard what he called Carly at the hospital.’ She repeated the vicious name Victor tagged Carly with.

‘He actually called her that?’ Shawn Douglas was horrified. ‘Seriously?’

‘He almost broke my neck, what do you think?’ Melanie snapped. ‘Hating Mum feeds his bruised ego.’

‘Don’t worry you two, I’m going to talk to him… he can’t get away doing something like that.’

‘You do that,’ Nicholas said, his tone hard. ‘Because I’ve got the means to deal with Victor Kiriakis if he touches my sister or defame Mum’s character again. And that goes for anybody else in this town who dares. Mum’s not going to be all alone this time; she’s got her family to stand by her.’

‘Damn right,’ Melanie agreed, her tone matching her brother’s.

‘Chill out, you two; what happened to Carly while I was away isn’t going to happen again. Uncle Roman told me he talked to the family about Carly but I’m going to have a few words with them myself.’

‘I hope that includes your Mum too.’ Nicholas replied. ‘No offence but what Mum went through when she came back here was mostly because of Hope.’

‘None taken, I pretty much told her that and that was before I saw her with that Aiden guy.’

‘Yeah, is it really serious between them?’ Melanie asked curiously.

 ‘She says it is but I don’t buy it. That’s why I really want my Dad to be with Carly for the right reasons, not because of anything else. If he can’t do that then Carly’s better off without him; I don’t want her to get hurt again.’

The doorbell suddenly rang and Brady got up to answer the door. ‘Maggie,’ he said in surprise at the sight of the woman in his door way.

‘Hello, dear,’ Maggie kissed Brady on the cheek and he made way for her.

‘Hi, Aunt Maggie,’ Shawn Douglas rose to hug her.

‘Hope told me you were in town, I was  wondering when you’ll drop by the mansion.’

‘I was going to later, what are you doing here?’

‘I actually came over to talk to Melanie; and Nicky. I went by Carly’s earlier and Molly said you’d be here.’

‘We’ll give you some privacy then, come on Abby.’ Abby and Shawn Douglas followed Brady out to the roof.

Maggie turned to face Carly’s grim-faced children. ‘Melanie, Nicky…’

‘It’s Nicholas if you don’t mind,’ was Nicholas’ cool reply.

‘Of course… I’m sorry, Nicholas. I went over to the hospital to visit Carly and Starr and I heard what happened. I am so sorry Victor lost his temper like that, I hope he didn’t hurt you.’

‘Lost his temper? Maggie, he had his fingers wrapped round my throat!’ Melanie protested.

‘And he’s just lucky I decided to take his age to account otherwise he would’ve ended up with black eyes and a broken jaw, especially after what he called our mother.’ Nicholas added, his expression one of anger.

Maggie’s face was red with embarrassment. ‘Again, I’m really sorry he did that.’

‘No apology’s going to erase what he did, or who he is. He’s always going to be Victor Kiriakis, a career criminal who thinks he has the right to judge and play God with people’s lives. I’ll never understand why you married him, he doesn’t deserve you.’

‘Melanie, when we first got together I realised what would make our relationship really work is overlooking his flaws. Maybe he has  the chequered past you reminded him  of but overall he’s a changed man, he loves his family and he’s a legitimate businessman now. What he did to you and said about Carly, it was in the heat of the moment, please.’

‘I cannot believe you’re making excuses for him like this,’ Melanie said incredulously.

‘I’m not  making excuses, sweetie; I just want you to understand- it’s not  easy hearing your past being talked about after so many years. He’s not the man he was years ago, his past with Carly is water under the bridge.’

‘So… by calling Mum a whore, Victor was more than justified?’ Melanie asked sarcastically.

‘Of course not, he had no right to say that about her.’

‘What would’ve been better then; interloper, home-wrecker maybe?’ Nicholas asked coldly. ‘Isn’t that what you all regarded our mother as?’

Maggie looked even more embarrassed. ‘That’s past tense…’

‘A lot of things are past tense to you people,’ Nicholas shouted, losing his temper.

‘Nick , don’t…’ Melanie pleaded, seeing Maggie flinch at Nicholas’ harsh tone.

‘No I’m going to; I can’t stand hearing any more of this! “Water under the bridge” Mrs Kiriakis? Is that the same way you regarded our mother’s past with Bo? Is that why you overlooked your niece’s “flaws” and decided to regard Mum and Bo’s past as “water under the bridge”, by pretending it wasn’t important just to make her feel better about herself after she left her husband?’ 

‘That’s not what happened…’ Maggie denied weakly. Shawn Douglas climbed  back in, followed by the others looking anxious, having heard Nicholas’s angry words.

‘Don’t  you insult my intelligence. You told Melanie nothing of our mother’s past with Bo because it was “water under the bridge”, you all practically acted like it never happened! Carly Manning’s no old flame, she was a woman who  was like a mother to Shawn D, a woman Bo almost married! How dare you come here now and expect us to understand your husband’s behaviour! His past with Mum isn’t water under the bridge for him or he wouldn’t have publicly disparaged her in the first place!’

Melanie, Brady, Abby and Shawn Douglas were now  very uncomfortable. They were very fond of Maggie and hated seeing her looking so stricken and embarrassed by Nicholas’ tirade but how could they disagree with Nicholas or not take his side when he was telling the truth? And Melanie couldn’t help but feel her relationship with Carly would’ve been a whole lot better if Maggie and the rest of the family had done right by Carly and told her everything instead of pretending what she and Bo had was completely new and callously dismissed their past and deep love.

Maggie couldn’t meet Nicholas Alamain’s eyes, momentarily speechless before finding the courage to quietly reply, ‘Yes, Nicholas… you’re right. While I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, there are a lot of things we are guilty of and could’ve done. I get it and I’m so sorry Melanie; we should’ve told you, especially me, instead of maintaining the status quo. It wasn’t fair to Carly at all especially after what she went through before she came back to Salem. I’m sorry for that and again I’m really sorry, both of you.’

Melanie saw the genuine remorse on Maggie’s face and the distress in her voice so without a word went to her and hugged her, stroking Maggie’s red hair. ‘It’s okay,’ she said rather gruffly. ‘I won’t press charges, for your sake. But Nick, Shawn D and I’ve already discussed it, until Mum wakes up and has her say, Victor’s not allowed to visit Starr again. And he’s not to go anywhere Mum either,  we’re going to arrange with Roman to assign a guard outside her room.’

‘Come on, isn’t that taking things to the extreme?’ Maggie protested.

‘No, it’s not,’ Melanie said, quietly but firmly. ‘Until Victor realised Phillip’s wife was Carly Manning’s daughter, he was going to help Vivian kill me. And you may think he’s changed but he’s a violent, calculating man and we have the right to protect them from him. That’s just how it is, Maggie.’

‘Melanie…’

‘No, Aunt Maggie.’ Shawn Douglas interrupted, his tone also firm. ‘He can’t be trusted around them, not after what he did to Melanie.’

Brady put his arm around his girlfriend protectively. ‘I have to agree with them, Maggie. Victor went too far; he could’ve killed her that day. And he hates Carly, you can’t overlook that no matter how you try. You just can’t.’

Maggie Horton Kiriakis had no reply to that statement. Face still red, she left the loft in silence, sliding the door behind her. 

::::::::::::::

‘Do you feel better now?’ Abby asked, stroking Nicholas’ head resting on her lap. ‘Less angry?’

Nicholas grimaced. ‘I’m so sorry darling… I know she’s your great aunt or whatever but she sounded so sanctimonious that I just snapped.’

‘Aunt Maggie’s heart’s in the right place, always. But even sweet people like her can slip up and make mistakes sometimes.’

‘And I made my own share of them and I’m anything but sweet.’

‘Hon…’ Abby pleaded. ‘We’ve been through this. No more guilt trips and I’m pretty sure Brady’s told Melanie the same thing. The past’s behind you both now, don’t keep bringing it up, okay? The main difference between you and Melanie and Victor is you’re sorry about the past, he isn’t. In his mind, he’s Carly’s victim, not the other way round. And that makes him a total jerk.’

‘An understatement Abigail; I can drum up several more suitable tags for that old bastard.’

‘Enough about him, let’s not let him ruin the rest of our evening.’ Abby pleaded. They’d gone out on a double date as Shawn Douglas had gone to his grandmother Caroline’s house for dinner and were now relaxing on the  couch in Carly’s den listening to Mozart in low volume as Frankie and Molly had already gone to bed. Since Molly was occupying Carly’s room and Frankie the guest room, this was where Nicholas slept, refusing to let Melanie switch with him.  Thanks to a sophisticated communication system, Frankie was getting a lot of work from D.C done as he was reluctant to leave Salem until Carly was better while Tanner had assured Molly he was holding the fort well at home and may come over himself.

Nicholas’ handsome features softened, reaching up to caress Abby’s cheek. ‘You’re right… I’m sorry.’

Abby smiled back but then it faltered.

‘Hey… what’s wrong darling?’

‘I suddenly have a thought…’ Abby paused and Nicholas sat up to pull her close.

‘What?’

Abby’s eyes were troubled as she looked at Nicholas. ‘First off, I love you.’

‘I love you too,’ Nicholas kissed her tenderly. ‘But…?’

‘But what’s going to happen when Carly comes out of the coma? You’ll be here a while and then you’ll leave. So what’s going to happen with us?’

‘You’re worried about us?’

‘Don’t I have a reason to be? Salem’s not your home and I’ve never believed in long distance relationships.’

Nicholas smiled, brushing back a few strands of hair from her face. ‘I’m not a believer of that either. And if you weren’t so scared about losing me, you would’ve given me the chance to tell you that on the issue of us being together, the ball’s in your court.’

Abby frowned. ‘In my court? What do you mean?’

‘I have a huge conglomerate to run; sometimes I have to go on business trips. But I can live anywhere I like and still efficiently run Alamain Industries. So, you have two options. I can open the Alamain mansion and stay in Salem with you or you can move to Europe with me. Either way works for me.’

‘Oh…’ Abby looked so sheepish that Nicholas couldn’t help chuckling, his hand stroking her neck. ‘So darling… what would you prefer? I stay here with you or you come with me?’

‘Well I… I love the idea of living in Europe with you, that would be so amazing. And being in Salem with me, at least you’ll get to be near Carly and the baby, Melanie too of course.’ She shrugged. ‘Either option’s great.’

‘But you still have to pick one.’ Nicholas reminded.

‘I know.’ She shrugged again. ‘I guess I’ll have to think about it some more.’

‘Sure… no pressure. At least you know either one you finally chose, we won’t lose each other.’

‘No, we won’t,’ Abby held his face with both hands, loving him so much.  They exchanged another passion- filled kiss, Nicholas’ lips moving to the side of her neck; his hands sliding under her top to caress her breasts. Abby gasped at his intimate touch, desire for him creeping through her body as she clung to him.

‘Upstairs?’ Nicholas whispered. ‘Melanie’s at Brady’s… She’ll probably be there all night.’

‘Okay,’ Abby whispered back, hoping he was right and Frankie and Molly wouldn’t hear them. Turning off the music, Nicholas drew her to her feet and they went upstairs hand in hand. As soon as he locked the door behind them, he crushed Abby against his body, exchanging urgent, eager kisses with Abby as she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off him with trembling fingers, running her hands down his muscular chest. Nicholas slipped her top over her head and tossed it on the floor, slowly walking her backwards to the bed until she sank against the mattress. Moving over her, he kissed her again, moving down to the top of her breasts, feeling her hands stroking his head as he moved to her stomach and unfastened her jeans, sliding them off her slim legs. Kicking off his sneakers, he removed the rest of his clothes while she sat up to peel off her lacy bra and panties, her eyes not leaving his. Joining her on the bed, Nicholas explored every inch of Abby with his hands and mouth and she wrapped her legs around him, her need for him at its peak.

Staring down at her, his eyes dark with passion, Nicholas slowly pushed his way into her and Abby cried out softly, her hands gripping his shoulders. Slowly he moved within her and she matched his rhythm, hands feverishly caressing, lips locked and in no time took each other over the edge.

::::::::::::::::

Standing on the roof where with Isabella she’d watched her mother share a dance with Bo, Melanie gazed up at the night sky looking for the North Star, finally finding it - the star that guided the lost traveller home. Melanie wondered if Carly sought for it the night she returned to Salem, vividly imagining her scared and uncertain of the future and wondering where to start looking for the daughter she came back to protect. Forgive yourself; Isabella had advised her; Abby and Brady telling her the same thing. Melanie was willing to try but she wondered if she’ll be totally free of her guilt. After all, part of Carly’s hurting  had been because of her.

Hearing footsteps, Melanie turned as Brady came up to her, handing her a cup of coffee. ‘Thanks,’ she murmured, taking it from him and took a sip.

‘You think Uncle Bo’s got the message yet?’ Brady asked, sipping his.

‘We can only hope he has. Once he reads it, Bo has to realise he has to come home.’ Melanie sighed and in the moonlight, Brady saw her pretty face looked rather wistful. ‘What is it?’

‘Bo would’ve been my father if things had turned out differently years ago. Don’t get me wrong I love Daniel, but I’ll always look at Bo differently now and keep thinking over what might have been.’

‘It’s only natural, given what Mum showed you during that journey of yours.’

‘A lot. They were so much in love, Brady; very happy and making plans then it was all taken away from them. You should’ve been there; you would see their history was so great even though they had only three years together. They had such a deep, passionate love; somehow I felt they were connected on a spiritual level. They had a symbolic Mayan wedding and it was the most moving thing I ever saw.’

‘A symbolic wedding?’ Brady asked with interest.

‘Uh huh. Mum wasn’t free to marry him legally then but that didn’t stop Bo from wanting them to exchange vows and make her his spiritual partner. Oh I saw a lot. Not only did they lose each other, I missed out having a normal childhood… having Mum and Bo and Shawn D…’ Melanie felt a tear roll down her cheek.

‘Hey…’ Brady put his arm round her, drawing her closer.

‘My life would've  been totally different, I wouldn’t have these scars within me; I would’ve had a proper home and Mum would’ve been safe and happy with Bo. Why did it have to happen? All she ever wanted was to be happy.’

Brady pressed a kiss on top of Melanie’s head. ‘I sometimes wonder what my life would’ve been if Mum hadn’t died so young. I’m no stranger to bitterness and resentment, Melanie. I was a wild boy growing up, getting into scrapes; hating my father for replacing Mum with Marlena; cursing fate for not letting me know my Mum when she was alive. I always looked for an excuse to be angry.’

Meanie sighed; she’d been the same way too. ‘I guess that’s why we ended up close friends.’ She raised her head to look at him. ‘We’re two of a kind, you and me.’

‘We sure are,’ Brady said softly. ‘Each other’s port in the storm for so long. Whatever our lives would’ve been, we would’ve been close- each other’s favourite cousin.’

Melanie smiled. ‘Yeah… I think so. But… I love what we are now.’

‘I second that.’ Taking the mug from her, he laid it and his on the ledge before drawing her into his arms, kissing her until she was breathless. ‘You complete me,’ he whispered, pushing back strands of her from her forehead. ‘I love you so much.’

‘I love you too. How did it take me so long to realise that?’

‘You do now and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?’ Brady smiled down her, exchanging another passionate kiss with her, his arms tight round her waist.

When Brady finally pulled away, his fingers slowly caressing her cheek, Melanie wondered if he was going to take her inside and make love to her. If that was his intention she was more than game. ‘What?’ she asked, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

‘I feel a strong need to dance with you,’ Brady replied, smiling at her.  

‘D...Dance?’ Melanie stammered, her mind going back to 1991 where her mother danced with Bo on the very same roof they were standing on. It felt almost like déjà vu. ‘There’s no music,’ she said, unintentionally repeating Carly’s words.

‘Let’s use our imagination,’ taking her hands, Brady draped her arms round his neck, encircling her waist with his arms. ‘Think of your favourite song, play it in your head.’

Closing her eyes, Melanie could hear the music and the opening lyrics. ‘It’s on,’ she smiled.

‘Good.’ Slowly Brady moved her across the floor in a graceful slow dance and Melanie soon forgot her surroundings and imagined she and Brady were in a ballroom decked out in evening clothes and dancing under a chandelier.

‘We’re stopping?’ Melanie asked as he stopped, his arms still holding her. In reply, Brady brushed her lips with his then let her go to climb through the window.

Melanie waited then smiled in delight as she heard the same song she’d played in her head coming from Brady’s CD player. Of course he knew her favourite song! Brady came out, holding the player in his hand, smiling at her. Placing it on the ledge, he held his arms to her and she went back to him and they slowly danced to Adele’s Make You Feel My Love. Their first dance as a couple.

When they made love later, it was both passionate and tender. Brady lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom; kissing her before shedding off her clothes carefully as though she would break before lowering her on the bed and took his clothes off. Melanie felt her senses reel from Brady’s passion and sensuality; stroking his head as he parted her legs to pleasure her, the heat searing through her arching body and she found herself calling his name, moaning at the sweet hot torture.

Savouring her response to his touch, Brady moved up, kissed her hard and entered her, her arms locking round his neck, her legs gripping his hips. She made him whole, she belonged to him now… body, mind and soul. And I will never lose her, never, Brady thought as they moved in unison, their mutual passion rising and they became one person.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

You need to come home, please. Mum found out she was pregnant before you left Salem. The baby’s been born via Caesarean, a baby girl. But Mum is very ill, the pregnancy caused her to develop Eclampsia and she’s been in a coma since. Please Bo, Mum’s condition is pretty serious; your place right now is by her side. Find it in your heart to be here for her at this time, she needs you.

Come home,

Melanie, Nicholas, Abby, Brady and Shawn Douglas.

‘Oh God… princess…’ tears slid down Bo’s cheeks as he read Melanie’s email again. The bad feeling he'd been having for some time has been confirmed.