Part 4
‘I know what you must
think of me... of us all.’
Frankie’s soulful bluish black eyes, which once gave Jennifer butterflies in her stomach, were hard and
cold. ‘Since you know that quite well, you should also know I have nothing to
say to you.'
‘Frankie, please...
let’s not do this. I know I wasn’t a good friend to Carly but she’s still my
friend and I’m hers. You have to understand...’
‘What exactly do you
want me to understand, huh? Hope made her choice yet everybody just decided to
hug and comfort her and shun my sister like she was the one who wrecked her
marriage in the first place; including you.’
Jennifer swallowed. ‘Don’t
you accuse me of that. It’s true I didn't approve of her and Bo but that’s only
because I knew Hope was still in love with Bo; I felt he should give her
another chance, because they belonged together.’
‘But my sister was in
the way,’ Frankie bit out. ‘Was the love they had years ago suddenly a crime? Or
something dirty and disgusting just because Hope suddenly decided to end her
marriage? My sister’s return reminded them of what she and Bo had years ago; it
reminded you. Bo loved my sister very
much and Hope’s been making him unhappy- you lot added two and two together and
hated the inevitable- so Carly suddenly became the enemy and Hope the victim!’
Before Jennifer could
speak, Frankie continued, his voice rising. ‘How dare you stand in front of me
and call yourself Carly’s friend? What stopped
you from doing the right thing? Why didn't you stick up for her and remind Hope
of the choice she made by herself and have her take responsibility? Did you
comfort Carly at all when she was hurting over Bo? Did you?! Did you care at
all of how much Carly was suffering or were
you too busy popping the champagne with the rest of the family?’
Jennifer shook her
head, tears falling down her cheeks. To be accused by Melanie of being a bad
friend was bad enough but from Carly’s brother and former love... she couldn’t
bear it.
‘Carly shut me out...
she wouldn’t let me comfort her.’ Adrienne had been the one to do it.
Frankie gave a rude, contemptuous
snort. ‘Not allow a woman who obviously sided with Hope to comfort her, how shocking.’
‘You have every
reason to be angry, Frankie. I don’t know what we can do or say to make up for
everything Carly went through.’ Jennifer’s voice shook. ‘I don’t expect you to
forgive us that easy...’
‘You got that right,’ Frankie interrupted. ‘No
way am I going to ever forget this, never. Not you, not them and especially not
that bastard Bo deserve to ask me for anything!’
‘Come on, Frankie-
lay off her...’ Daniel, overhearing the exchange, came forward to intervene,
taking Jennifer’s arm. ‘We all treated Carly badly, including me. We made our
mistakes; people make mistakes. Don’t be so hard.’
Frankie merely scowled
at Daniel then at Jennifer before walking away from them.
Jennifer stood in
silence, biting her lower lip as Daniel hugged her tightly.
Bo
is at Mrs. Horton’s funeral right now;
with the rest of the family. It breaks my heart that I can’t join them in
saying goodbye to her, I loved her as much as they did. I saw the grief on Bo's face the day Hope came to tell him Alice's health was failing. She had a long,
happy life but the idea of her gone forever is still so hard to swallow. I’d
seen her only once since I got back- the day after Mickey was buried and even
in the midst of her grief over her son, she smiled and hugged me the way she
used to whenever I was worried or sad back in the day. She was a woman of strength
and wisdom and she’ll be really missed
by all of us. At least I wasn’t treated like an outsider by her, she was always
loving and warm and I wish I had taken more time off to visit her before she
died. I wanted to go with Bo to see her at the house when I heard she was ill
but even I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed there. And even though she was glad to
see me again, deep down I was so afraid of how she would react about my resumed
relationship with her granddaughter’s husband... years ago she did all she
could to bring Bo and me together, but that was then.
Bo’s
words gave me my answer and it gave me a great deal of comfort.
"
I know how much you loved Mrs. Horton... I feel like I should see her, say
something to her, share in your grief." I told Bo.
He
stroked my cheek, tears in his eyes, “Mrs. H knows me better than I know
myself. She never judged, especially when it came to my feelings for you.”
Oh
Alice... Alice! What will we all do without you now?
As
for Chloe, she's very lucky the elevator crash didn’t kill her... the
elevator crash I now know was meant for me. Why else did she try all she could
to stop me from getting on it... and ended up falling into her own trap? And
she’s confessed already.
I
have more than enough reason to denounce her. She tried to kill me, because of
my ultimatum to her, tell Daniel about your affair or I will. Since I heard her
arguing with Nathan about it, I suspected he was the man in question but she
swears it’s not him. And she’s begging me not to expose her to Daniel, or to Bo
for attempted murder. Because Bo will definitely arrest her... especially after
he finds out Chloe set it up with Vivian’s help. The stupid fool actually went
to Vivian Alamain of all people to get rid of me; she obviously didn't know
Vivian enough to realise she would let her take the fall and deny any
involvement. Victor must have told Vivian about the elevator crash he planned
years ago, how else would she have thought of such a plan and sold it to Chloe.
But
what good will it do? It would be Vivian’s word against Chloe’s. Chloe did drag
me away at the last minute and got her punishment. And now this development,
she’s pregnant. No matter who the father is, can I send a pregnant woman to
jail? And Vivian’s always been good at manipulation.
Chloe’s
very distraught and on edge, she has no idea who the father is and she can’t
marry Daniel with a clear conscience until she finds out. Her fate’s in my hands,
she will lose Daniel and her freedom, all I have to do is say the word.
Which
is what I have no intention of doing. Chloe got herself into a huge mess but an
innocent child’s involved now. Instead, she will tell Daniel about her affair,
only if the baby turns out not to be his. She’s going to have to take a DNA test,
which I can arrange for her at St. Mary’s.
Why, oh why hadn’t she allowed Carly to
explain? No matter what Frankie, Brady, Molly and Daniel said, Melanie would
never feel free from her guilt. And now she just found out another terrible secret...
Chloe had conspired with Vivian to kill Carly, no wonder she became so chummy
and humble around her! Melanie was aghast and furious... how could Carly let
that bitch get away with attempted murder, baby or not? She felt tears welling
up in her eyes as she stared down at her mother’s face, taking her hand. In
spite of what Chloe tried to do to her, Carly had made that deal but Caroline’s
interference had made them all heap blame on Carly instead. Daniel must know
about this, immediately.
‘Why did it all have
to happen to you?’ she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘You... who
never hurt anybody.’ She let go of Carly’s hand to touch her cheek. ‘Please
wake up soon, Mum. Please... I got so much to say to you.’
‘Melanie? Can I come
in?’ Abby said, hovering the door.
Melanie stared at her and nodded, closing the
diary on her lap and wiping her cheeks. Abby had a vase of flowers in her
hands. ‘I brought these for her.’
‘Thanks Abby, put
them over there.’
Abby put the vase
down, turning to look down at Carly. ‘How is she doing?’
‘Dr. Long keeps
saying she’ll come out of the coma eventually. She’s just not sure when. With Eclampsia...’
she shrugged.
Abby shifted her
foot. ‘Mel, I want to talk you about something. Can we go outside?’
Melanie raised her eyebrows
but stood up. ‘Sure.’
Abby waited until
Melanie closed the door behind them. ‘So, what’s on your mind?’
‘Listen, I realise our
last conversation about Carly and Bo didn't go well. But I want you to know, I
really feel bad about how she was treated. I’m on her side, Mel.’
Melanie stared hard
at her, seeing the sincerity on her face. ‘Thanks, that’s good to know.’
‘And there’s something
else you need to know. Bo came by to see her one day. He brought what turned
out to be junk mail to her but I feel he used it as an excuse.’ She narrated
what she’d overheard between them.
‘You think... Bo’s
still in love with Mum?’ Melanie said at last. ‘No Abby, I don’t think so. You just
don’t hurt someone you love like that.’
‘I keep going over
that day in my mind Mel, and I can’t shake the feeling that he still does. And he
has to know about Starr and Carly’s condition too.’
‘Abby, this is a long
shot. Even if we find a way of contacting Bo, suppose things are still the same
with him?’
‘Carly will at least get
some closure.’ Abby replied. ‘With that and having a part of Bo Hope can never
take from her, she’ll finally be able to move on with her life. Don’t you see?’
Melanie reluctantly saw
that Abby had a point. '
‘Your brother can
help. He’s a very important man, isn’t he?’ Abby said, praying she wouldn’t blush
at the thought of Melanie’s handsome brother. Carly introduced him to her and
Jennifer after they made peace and Abby had found herself immediately taken in by
Nicholas Alamain. ‘He’s bound to have a lot of connections.’
Melanie nodded
thoughtfully, ‘ I guess he could do that. I’ll talk to him about it when he
gets here. But don’t mention this to my uncle, he’s mad at the family right
now.’
‘Can’t say that I
blame him. But we do need to find Bo all the same. The sooner he gets here the
better.’
Melanie suddenly
found herself more willing to find Bo. Maybe
Brady could help too.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jennifer stared down
at little Starr Manning through the NICU’s glass window; wishing over and over
she told Bo about Carly’s pregnancy when she had the chance. The baby looked so
tiny and helpless.... and so beautiful.
She was doing well so far but supposing an unexpected complication came up?
What about Carly, who was still in a coma and whom she was not allowed to see?
How will she ever live with herself or face Bo?
She turned as someone
came up to her, her eyes widening on recognising her. ‘My God... Molly.’
She reached for her
but her arms dropped on realising immediately Molly made no move towards her,
her expression unsmiling. ‘You know, huh?’
‘I know.’ Molly
replied quietly.
Jennifer turned away.
‘Molly... Frankie’s already chewed me out, please don’t start too.’
Molly shrugged. ‘I don’t
have to, Frankie said it all. And it’s not like he said anything that wasn't
true.’
‘Bo never meant to
hurt her, neither did I.’ Jennifer turned back to look at Molly. ‘As for the others... I won’t speak for
their behaviour. I don’t know what else I can say except I wish it never
happened; what Carly went through.
‘But it did, it did
happen.’ Molly said, her voice still quiet but her usually gentle eyes hard. ‘I
keep going back to the night I overheard you and Julie planning Carly’s wedding
shower. Back then, I thought Carly was
so lucky to have friends who cared so much about her. But now I see that
alliances can change. I cannot even begin to tell you... how disappointed I am
with all of you, especially you. You’re
supposed to be her friend, but like Bo you let her down. How can you ever live
with yourself, Jen? How?’
I
did nothing wrong! Jennifer wanted shout, staring after
Molly’s retreating back. I warned Carly Bo
and Hope will always be connected; I didn't want her to get hurt!
But
was that the right reason? Did I warn her for her own well being or for my
cousin’s?
What
stopped you from doing the right thing? Why didn't you stick up for her and
remind Hope of the choice she made by herself and have her take responsibility?
Frankie
had accused.
He’s right, so right!
Jennifer bit her trembling lip. Deep down she knew that, the reason for her
fight with Hope- she’d pretty much said the same thing to her. No more
sheltering and protecting her though. No more unfairness, no more pretence.
Bringing out her
phone, she dialled Roman’s number. ‘Roman, it’s me. Listen, pass this round to
the family. Carly’s had her baby.’
