Scarlett Scorned:
The Horton and Brady's piled into the pub for Sami and EJ's rehearsal dinner. As much as they didn't want to be there they felt it only right to support Sami, and she had chosen to do it on Brady ground so they didn't feel out of their element. Although the pub was a casual setting they all dressed to the nines so that Sami couldn't accuse them of not supporting her choices. As they settled into their seats Sami stepped to the front of the room in front of a large video screen. The children were all upstairs with Theresa so it was quiet. Almost eerily. EJ sat at the table in front of the screen, clearly unaware of what his fiancee had planned. As everyone looked forward at her Sami cleard her throat. "Thank you everyone for coming tonight. This is a night that has been a long time coming. So many people have been vital in bringing this night to fruition. But there's one that stands out among the rest. An unexpected one. Abigail, can you come up here? Just sit right here next to EJ." Abby stood up, walked to the table, and sat down at the chair furthest away from EJ. For some reason she looked uncomfortable. "I know that she seems like an odd choice but hear me out. For years I thought poorly of myself. My self esteem was nothing. Not Abby though. She had it all together. Waiting until she was an adult to have sex, no babies out of wedlock. Her family could be proud of her. She's the anti-thesis of me. This is a girl who puts others ahead of herself and selflessly sacrifices to make other people happy. Unlike me this young woman would never try to take a man that wasn't hers or..." At that moment Abby stood up. "Sami, I appreciate this but this is your night. I mean you should be focusing on you and EJ, not on me."
"Just bear with me Abigail. That's the name you like to be called right. Abby's not grown enough for you and you're staking your claim on your womanhood."
"Sami, I don't know what you're getting at."
"Well just sit down and wait. When people give you a compliment you should accept it graciously without interrupting." Abby realized that she couldn't continue to argue without making a spectacle so she just sat down, with an sinking feeling in her stomach. "Now where was I. Right... Abby, sorry Abigail, is the type of daughter that a mother would be proud of. I'm sure that Jennifer is proud of her. Right Jen?" Jennifer looked at Sami, surprised to be being called into her little show but said, "Yes, of course. I'm very proud of her."
"As well you should be. This is a girl with a good head on her shoulders. Respectful, grateful when people are kind to her, has a strong sense of family. Her speech at Arianna's baptism was great. Talking about how family has each others back through anything. I know that it's a distant relationship but because of Will Abigail and I are, in a way, distantly related. I'm so glad that I have a girl as giving as her in my family. I just wanted to share all that as a lead in for the very brief video I put together for this girl who has been so instrumental in this evening. I mean she's been babysitting for my kids for ages. How many nights did EJ and I bring the kids to her at her home? How many nights did she come to the mansion so that EJ and I could go out? Babysitters are so under-appreciated." At that Sami clicked a button on her lap top and a picture of Abby with Jen and Jack at their wedding flashed on the screen. Picture after picture flashed by of Abby. Doing charity work, playing with the kids, reading the Christmas story, dressing as a pilgrim for Thanksgiving. After a couple of minutes the screen went black and everyone thought the odd tribute was done. Then another image appeared on the screen, a video, of Abigail in the Dimera mansion dressed in nothing but a robe in the bathroom. EJ stepped out of the shower and she dropped the robe. He tried to leave the bathroom but she spoke, although the words couldn't be heard because the camera had no audio, and he stopped. She went to leave and he grabbed her hand. She stepped closer and began to have sex. Before the video became to explicit Sami shut if off, although what had happened was clear. Abby looked at Sami in shock. "Sami, I, I know what...I know what um uh..."
"You know what honey?"
"I know how it looks. I know."
"Do you? It looks like you were in the home that I share with my fiancee, climbing into our shower, and having sex with my fiancee. Is that what you know it looks like. Now before you get all weepy..." Theresa ushered the kids in and Sami sat near them. Taking a brief look at EJ she could see rage and panic dancing just below the surface on his face, but she didn't care. "Johnny, Allie, Sydney I have something very hard to tell you. Mommy and Daddy aren't going to be living together anymore?"
Sydney looked up at her mother with her little girl innocence and asked "Why Mommy? Was Daddy bad again?"
"Yeah, honey. Daddy was bad again. Mommy's feelings got hurt and I need to not live with Daddy now."
"Will we go back? I like living with Daddy."
"No, honey. We're not going to go back with Daddy."
"Why?"
"You don't need to know the details honey. It's better if you don't. I want you to love your Daddy because I know that he loves you. And I know that Daddy's going to understand because if anyone ever hurt you like Daddy hurt me then Daddy would be very angry. You go back with Theresa now and play upstairs." The kids all threw a sad look at EJ as they were ushered back upstairs. Abby was walking towards the door and Sami grabbed her by the arm. "You don't get to leave now."
"Sami, I don't want to do this here."
"I don't care what you want. I think you've been getting your way enough." Abby sat looking miserably down at the table while she turned to direct her fury at EJ. "You told me that you were the one that loved me flaws and all. That there was nothing you wanted more than me and the kids. You doggedly pursued me for seven years EJ. Decimated my life and wore me down. You made me love you, wouldn't allow me to let it go dormant and now I'm standing here looking at this..." gesturing to the images she had put back up after the kids had been taken back out of the room. "After all that you're cheating on me w/ the babysitter because I wouldn't let you in my bed for a few weeks? You are a weak man EJ. You couldn't have your way and instead of being the man that you promised to be you violated my trust and made me feel guilty while doing it. Making me feel like I was the one that was destroying our relationship while you were out carrying on an affair with this CHILD. Did you give her an ice cream sundae afterward EJ? With sprinkles? We were supposed to be getting married and she's the same age as the boy that was going to be your stepson. How dare you allow me to dream of a future with you knowing what you were doing."
"Samantha you don't understand all the facts."
"Oh I don't? I don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand what I can see plain as day right there on that screen."
"You don't have the volume on Samantha. You don't know what was being said."
"I think the actions speak for themselves."
"Samantha I only did this for you..."
"Oh you had better be kidding me. Okay, fine. Let's hear it. How was you screwing the babysitter for me? I'm all ears."
"When you thought that you killed Nick and you asked me to keep Abigail quiet this was how I did it. She let on that she was attracted to me when I followed her out to Smith Island. To keep her quiet I took her to bed. Each time after that it was about keeping her quiet to keep you safe. Which wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't gotten involved in your second murder in less than a year."
"I swear to God EJ you better not be trying to turn this around on me."
"I'm not. I'm explaining why this happened. It was only supposed to be a one time thing but she kept telling me that she was going to go to Hope if I didn't continue."
"So the twenty two year old was blackmailing you for sex?"
"In a sense I suppose."
"Well I suppose since it was all for me I don't mind all the times that you had sex with her, including in our home...Are you kidding me? I know your last name. You're EJ Dimera. Don't even try to sell me on the idea that you couldn't find a way to keep her quiet that didn't involve you having sex with her. She's barely out of her teens EJ. She babysits your children. But you and I have a home we can do this in. I want to take care of your girlfriend." Sami turned to Abby and the rage simmered barely below surface. I was clear that she was going to eviscerate her. Jennifer stepped from her seat at the bar towards her daughter. "Don't. Jennifer, don't. I'm not kidding."
"That's my daughter Sami and I am not going to let you hurt her."
"What about my kids? What about my daughter? Do they not register on your scale? Should I refrain from hurting your precious child the way that she refrained from hurting mine?"
"EJ was a willing participant in this Sami. I would wager that he was the aggressor. You heard him. He said he knew that she found him attractive and took her to bed to keep her quiet. He took advantage of her the same way that he took advantage of you when you got pregnant for the Johnny."
"I seriously hope you're not equating Abby trading sex for a hunch to me trading sex for your brothers life."
"I'm just saying that he took the same tactic with her that he took with you. She's a young girl Sami. She made a mistake." Someone walked from the kitchen and everyone turned to see who it was. Carrie stood there looking at Abby and Jennifer. "Always the victim isn't she Jennifer. Always the innocent."
"Carrie, this has nothing to do with you."
"Doesn't it. I don't get to defend Sami. Sami's my sister the same way that Abigail is your daughter. Family is family after all."
"Sami is an adult with a very volatile temper and my daughter is very young. The way that I know that she's going to deal with this is not fair. Abigail did not do this by herself." Sami looked at Abigail and nearly spat, "Why don't you come out from behind your mothers skirt little girl? You were woman enough to take my fiance to bed but you're not woman enough to fight your own battles? You're going to stand there and let your mother fight it for you again?"
"I don't know what you want me to say Sami. I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen. He made me think that he cared about me. He was so kind to me. I thought that he really felt something. I still think that he really felt something."
"You're sorry. So sorry. All over again you're sorry." Jennifer stepped in and said, "Sami she apologized. What more do you want from her?"
"What do I want from her? I want her to go upstairs and explain to my children, children that she tucked into bed, that she is responsible for the end of their parents relationship. I want her to explain to my children that Mommy and Daddy aren't going to be getting married because she can't tell the difference between someone being nice and someone wanting to screw her."
"Sami, I never meant for this to happen. I've never done anything like this before. I just lost control. I mean look at him. He's so great." Carried scoffed and looked at the girl that had attempted to steal her husband as well. "When you tried to steal Austin away from me did you write a script in case it ever happened again? You're repeating yourself."
"I understand why you're both angry. I was wrong. I admit that. But did you have to do this. Here, in front of everyone that we know?"
"You don't give a damn what you did to me, or to Carrie, or to my children, or to Austin..." Will stood up from his seat and said, "Mom..."
"You better not even think about defending her Will. I have had enough. Do you all understand me? I HAVE HAD ENOUGH. Years of groveling to this family for crimes that I committed, for atrocities that I took part in. Taking every bit of shame that you all heaped on me because you had me so brainwashed into believing that I deserved it. Listening to all your sanctimonious ramblings on about how I have screwed up and I don't deserve the Brady name. I took your abuse for years William. You second guessing me to my other children and trashing me to my parents. You had better not even be considering taking her side in all of this. I have more than proven how much I love you."
"I wasn't going to take her side. I was just going to say that this was probably something that ought to be done in private."
"The way that everyone in this family has made sure that when the time came for me to pay the piper for the things that I've done it was done in private? Why does she deserve better than what I got? Time after time after time when I felt like my life had shattered to bits you all stood in line waiting to get your piece of me. I will not let the GIRL who decided that her libido was more important than anything else in this universe walk out of her with more dignity than my family allowed me when I was in similar situations." She turned back to Abby and the fury was lit even hotter in her eyes. "You are a heartless child."
"That's not true. I never meant for this. I never wanted to hurt you."
"You just couldn't control yourself."
"I couldn't. I wanted him and I've never done anything like this before." Carrie stood up and walked towards her. "There you go again with your lies. You keep saying that you've never done anything like this before..."
"I've never slept with a man in a relationship before. I didn't sleep with Austin. You know that."
"And you think that absolves you? You think that because you didn't commit the act you didn't do the damage? You nearly destroyed my marriage."
"You were falling in love with Rafe. Your marriage was already in trouble. So was EJ's relationship with Sami. It's not my fault that your relationships weren't stable."
"But it is your fault that you inserted yourself in them and made the problems worse. If you hadn't decided that Austin was your target then perhaps we would have worked our problems out sooner than we did. Maybe EJ and Sami would have found a way to bridge the gap between them."
"I don't know what more you want from me. I can't undo it. I've said I'm sorry."
Sami stepped forward and hissed in her face, "I want you to feel like the little tramp that you are. I want you to feel guilty, like you need a shower for every second that you mounted my fiance. But you don't. You don't care what you've done. You care about walking out of here because this is uncomfortable for you. You care about walking out of here and having your mother trail after you absolving you of your sin because you're so young and impressionable and big bad EJ took advantage of you. Because after all that's what's going to happen isn't it?" She turned back to the rest of the room and looked over it. Marlena, Roman, Caroline, Julie, John, Carrie, Hope, Brady, Eric, Nicole, and a myriad of other people looked back at her. "Isn't it? That's what's going to happen when I leave here. When I leave here to go home with my ex-fiance to pack my bags that's what's going to happen and you all know it. Someone will follow Jennifer home to commiserate with her about her little girl being taken advantage of by a big bad Dimera. And the rest of you will sit around talking about how I shouldn't have expected anything different from a Dimera because they can't be trusted. Because that's what you do. The conversation when I leave here won't be poor Sami, she was played for a fool. Don't think I don't know it's going to be poor Abigail." Hope stepped forward and placed a hand on Sami's arm. "I don't know why you seem so angry with the family but you have to know that we're all here for you." Sami pulled her arm away, her eyes ablaze with anger. "You don't get it do you. You all hate Anne because she tells the truth. This family, our family, runs around this town like we can do no wrong. I'm guilty of it. Looking down on the Kiriakis or Dimera families because they do such terrible things. We've all done terrible things, all of us in this room, and yet you're all going to sit here and look down your nose at EJ. Not Abby. She's one of your Horton's."
"Why are you defending him Sami? He cheated on you. You're okay with that?"
"And you never defended Uncle Bo when he cheated on you? What about you Dad? You never defended someone that cheated on you."
"Samantha Gene that's enough. This family has done nothing to deserve this."
"Oh here we go. Now we're going to turn it around on me because I dare to be angry."
"You have a right to be angry. But be angry at the right people. Who are you helping by railing on your family?"
"Me. Dammit I'm helping me. I shouldn't have to explain that to you. Or maybe I should. You don't care when people hurt me but this time will be different won't it Daddy? Because it was a Dimera that hurt me."
"What are you talking about? I always care when people hurt you. No matter who you are."
"Of course you do. You just get over it when it suits you don't you. Like the time that you married the woman that set me up for murder and watched me going to death row knowing that I hadn't committed the crime? I didn't see that bothering you so much. Or how about the time that she framed me for cheating on Lucas and instead of having a shred of faith that I might be telling the truth you believed her. Wouldn't believe me until I crawled around in a sewer to find the tapes of her saying she did it because my father had to have proof from me, not the woman that he knew hated me. Now do you think I can get back to the stuff with Abby because as you stated it's not about the family." She turned back to Abby but just as she approached her Jennifer stepped in front of her. "I am not going to let you continue this attack on my daughter. We're leaving." She put her arm around Abigail and began leading her to the door. Before she could take more than two steps Sami grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled her out of the way. "I don't think so Jennifer." And as the words escaped her mouth her arm snaked out behind her. Before Abigail could think to move out of the way Sami's fist connected with her face. As her family moved forward to separate her from Abby she yelled, "Don't play in the big leagues if you can't take the hit little girl. I am going to ruin you. I may not be able to take anything from you but your reputation, because God knows your job that you didn't earn isn't going anywhere. But I'm going to make sure that not a single person in this town doesn't know that you whored yourself out to an engaged man over something you THOUGHT you knew. Now if you would please get out of MY family's establishment. And Grandma either she's welcome back or I am but I am not about to run into the bitch who wrecked my family every time I turn around. So I suggest you choose which one of us is more important. EJ, get up. We're leaving. And trust me just because I defended you here doesn't mean that you're not in for one hell of a fight when we get back to your house before I leave your sorry cheating ass for good."
When Sami and EJ arrived back at the Dimera mansion she immediately headed for the steps to go and pack her suitcase. "Samantha, can we talk about this before you decide to leave?"
"Not before. I AM leaving. The decision has already been made."
"I explained why I did what I did."
"And I explained why it was a load of bull."
"Samantha this is not entirely my fault and the argument could be made because of the hold you put on our relationship that this was not an "affair". You made it clear where you did not know where we stood."
"Don't lawyer me EJ. That is a typical EJ Dimera trick. Make it my fault that you couldn't keep it in your pants. You know what's terrible EJ? I shut that video off before anyone saw the truth. Because I wasn't going to humiliate myself that way. I was in the video. In that room with you while you were screwing that child. Excited to see you and tell you that I was ready to move forward with our relationship." Suddenly the rage returned and she moved towards him beating on his chest. "You are a miserable, miserable son a bitch. I hate you. I have you every bit as much as I ever loved you. Every word you ever said to me, every promise you ever made was a lie." Her eyes filled with tears and she recoiled when he reached out to comfort. "No, I don't want you to touch me. Not with hands that have been on that girl. You've kissed me since you began your affair with her. Took me to bed knowing what you were doing behind my back. Told me you loved me and let me plan our life. I could have forgiven you. I would have forgiven you."
"You would have forgiven me? Why not now then?"
"Because you didn't tell me. Don't you understand that? I can't forgive you because I had to find out. You would have married, spent your life with me with this between us all those years. If you had told me that you had been with Abby then I could have moved past it. I told you though that I didn't want to make it to the altar with you, desperately in love, only to have the rug ripped out from underneath me. You would have allowed me to walk down the aisle to you and offer you my whole heart knowing that you had betrayed me."
"This doesn't mean that I don't love you Samantha. I'll admit that I let things get too far with Abigail. In the beginning I meant it as a way to protect you and then she started talking about how no woman would be able to resist me. You were though. You had shut me out of your bed, your heart and your life. Except to help with the Nick situation. I was flattered and I saw an opportunity to protect you by using her feelings. The first time it happened Samantha I tried to stop it. I tried to leave and she stopped me."
"Oh and the little girl stopped a big man like you? Even if she jumped on your back it would have been like a grasshopper to you. Don't try to pass the buck to her. She may be a trashy home wrecker and I will never forgive her for what she's done but she is not responsible for you taking her to bed."
"It was her desire for me that stopped me. I needed to feel wanted, to feel..."
"Don't pull this big bad Sami emasculated me and I needed the warmth of a woman to make me feel better crap with me EJ."
"I'm simply trying to explain." He walked over to the couch and sat down head in hands. "I needed to feel like a man again. I had spent so much time helping you last year that I lost myself a bit."
"Well I hope you found yourself in that little girls vagina. And I hope she was worth it."
"She could never be worth it. I don't know how it happened. I don't know how it kept happening. All I know is that the thought of leaving you to be with her never happened. My love for you never changed. Men are different than women Samantha. Sex doesn't mean the same thing. I can love you and still be with another woman. It doesn't take away from how I love you."
"Maybe not but it takes away from how I love you."
"Samantha I'm begging you. Please don't leave me. We have waited so long to be together. So long for this. How can you throw it away over one meaningless indiscretion?" Her eyes slid closed and silent tears began running down her cheeks. When her eyes opened the rage had dimmed and the blue had become a muddy shade of grey. Where moments ago anger flickered now her eyes held nothing but pain. "Me? How can I throw it away?" She walked over to where he was sitting on the couch and sat on the coffee table in front of him. Placing her hands on his knees she looked into his eyes. "I need you to understand every day for the rest of your life." Her voice cracked and she momentarily looked away. "I am not throwing us away. There's nothing to throw away. You're smoke and mirrors. You're pretty words and longing looks. But you can't throw those things away. Anything we had was gone the minute you touched her. The minute you lied about it. I am not doing this. You did. Don't you for a second blame me for what we've become. If I didn't give you enough affection...if I didn't give you enough devotion...then you should have left me. You should have let me leave when I told you that I didn't know if we could fix it. You should have ended it. There could have been friendship. There could have been something there but you shattered it. Any chance for us, for your children to have the life you didn't. For family vacations to Disneyland, for our wedding, our honeymoon, our anniversaries, our children's weddings, Christmases. YOU threw it away, not me. If you could have been half the man that you told me you were but you aren't. You are nothing like the man that I thought that I loved. He would have never done this to me but now I know that he was a lie. You promised me the moon. You promised that I was the only woman that you could or would ever want. And you couldn't wait two months for me to find my way back to you." She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving him with tears streaming down his face, and went to pack her bags.
Hours later she came back down the steps, eyes still red from crying, with all the belongs that she had brought with her to the Dimera mansion. She was opening the door when the doors to the living room opened and EJ walked out. "Samantha, I'm so sorry. Please. Please..." His voice was raspy from the strain crying and stress was taking on him. "Don't beg EJ. It's sad. You built a house of cards and it came falling down like they always do. Be a man and deal with it. My lawyers will be in contact regarding visitation for Johnny and Sydney."
"What about Allie?"
"She's not your daughter."
"I've loved her like she's mine. It would hurt her to lose me from her life."
"I guess you should have thought of that. Lucas would never allow me to allow you visitation with her."
"You're not going to take the children from me?"
"This isn't the past EJ. I don't want to fight with you. I don't want to reasons to come here and see you. I want to never have to deal with you again. I lied earlier. I don't hate you. That implies that I care and I don't. I am so done with you. I am so done with all of this. I'm leaving. I'm leaving Salem. On my own two feet. The children can visit on weekends. I won't go so far that it will be difficult to get them to you. You will have Mary bring them to me and I will have her bring them home. We'll alternate holidays and we don't have to deal with each other at all."
"Your family is here."
"I know...but no one's going to worry if the black sheep goes away. I can't be here and listen to their poor Abigail's and pleas for me to forgive. And I don't want to see your face anywhere. You shattered us EJ, not me. You don't get to break me. Better men have tried and better men have failed." As they were speaking the bags had been taken to the car and finally there was just one bag left. She picked up the bag and stood in the open doorway. "Good-bye EJ."
"Samantha please don't go. I love you. What am I going to do without you?"
"Frankly, EJ, I don't give a damn." With that she closed the door to the Dimera mansion and the door to that chapter of her life. She was ready to start a new life, in a new place, strong and capable. Like she'd always been.