I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Play The Game.
It was a blustery March morning in Trinity South Carolina and it was unseasonably cold for this time of year, with temperatures averaging at 2 degrees. With the strong wind chill, it felt as though it was below freezing.
Gail Emory stood outside in her dressing gown, leaning on the large black door of the front entrance into the Buck Mansion. Her hair was loosely clamped up, as she had not had a chance to get ready yet and she was watching unimpressed, while Caleb carefully maneuvered his bicycle down the stone steps.
Gail had been plagued by haunting dreams since the death of Betty Maine and she had not taken well to being woken up by Caleb, noisily pulling his bicycle out of the large walk in cupboard in the foyer. It had irritated her even more when both Lucas and Luke remained undisturbed by the racket; therefore, she had chosen to make herself a large cup of coffee and see what her cousin was up to.
When he managed to reach the old black gate without damaging himself, Gail let out a long sigh. 'This is ridiculous, it's freezing out here and you want to ride by yourself to school? What happens if you get blown off your bike and hurt yourself? There's no-one silly enough to be out in this Caleb' she advised and wrapped her hands around her hot cup of coffee, in an attempt to gain some warmth.
Caleb smiled at his cousins obvious concern for his safety, she had been angry alot recently and it was nice to see her display a different emotion. 'I'll be fine cous'...' he reassured, as he turned towards her. '...Besides, I'm meetin' Poppy so if some crazy gust of wind blows me into the road, she'll help me'
Gail shook her head disapprovingly. She did not like him spending time with an older girl and the fact that he was going out in this bad weather to meet up with her, caused her to become more uneasy.
'Aww hell Darlin', don't you remember what it was like to be young?' Lucas asked charmingly, as he grabbed her hips from behind and shot Caleb a knowing wink.
Caleb smiled when his Father joined them and knew he had Gail covered. He made sure his backpack was securely wrapped around him, then opened the gate and began carefully pulling his bicycle down the second set of steps. 'I gotta go!' he called back at them, with a sense of urgency and got on his bicycle when he reached the pavement.
'Be careful!' Gail called as she watched him ride away, then turned towards Lucas and shot him a frustrated glance.
'Don't be mad at me, it ain't my fault the boy's growin' up' he shrugged, then began kissing and sucking her neck teasingly.
'He's 12 years old Lucas, that's not an age where we should be allowing him to stalk an older girl' Gail said disapprovingly, as she subconsciously leaned to the side to allow him more access to her neck.
Lucas wrapped his arms around her stomach and pulled her closer to him, then began nipping at her ear playfully. 'How old were you when you got your first crush?' he asked, then smiled when she leaned back into him and let out an aroused breath.
'Mornin' Sheriff' an old man called pleasantly, as he past the gate walking his dog.
Lucas let out a small sigh when he felt Gail tense and waved at the old man as he passed.
Gail removed Lucas' hands from around her and shot him an irritated look. 'Unlike you, I had better things to do than go chasing the opposite sex at an inappropriate age...I would expect the Sheriff of Trinity to guide his son on the right path, rather than being proud of his choice in young girls' she accused.
Lucas took a deep breath and pushed down his anger at her insinuation, then raised his hand to her cheek and stroked it gently. 'He's just a young boy Gail, you know this anger you're feelin' is misdirected at him and me' he said knowingly.
Gail shook her head and pushed past him, then turned back and laughed. 'You tricked me into accepting a proposal which traps me in this damn town and I had to screw over my best friend, just to ensure she didn't publish the evil that you committed...You're right, why would I possibly be angry at you?' she asked sarcastically.
'You're just mad that you chose me above your holy pursuit of the truth...' Lucas smiled devilishly, subconsciously aiming to hit her were it hurt. '...You convinced yourself to drop your investigation into your parents, you let Harvard rot in Juniper and now you're pissed as you have no almighty excuse to hide why you screwed over Christie, except that you did it for me'
Gail saw the dark glint in his eyes and shook her head. 'There you are lover, finally rearing your manipulative head...Get out of my life Lucas!' she snapped, then stormed into the house to check on Luke.
Lucas felt his dark twin flowing through his veins, then took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. He knew he did not have to worry about Gail leaving him, she was bound to him now more than ever and nothing could change that; however, he was experiencing a feeling that he did not care for, at the thought of her being upset. She had crossed a line when she set Christie up and it was clear she was feeling the affects of that.
Lucas let out a long sigh and shook his head, he was not used to this feeling of wanting to help when there was no deal in place and it was concerning. The wind had suddenly began to get stronger and he spotted a couple across the street walking their dog. He forced a charming smile and gave them a wave to ensure they did not spot his frustration, then headed back indoors.
Christie sat with her head down on the kitchen table, attempting to overcome the dull pounding in her head. Ever since Gail had made her choice, Christie's life had been turned upside down and all she could do was drink through the pain.
Christie was good at her job and took pride in her work. She had never gotten as much attention as Gail, due to her friends ability to take certain risks that propelled her to top status in their office; however, when she left the Charleston Post, Christie had returned to work and began to gain higher regard from her peers.
When Gail blackmailed her into erasing the Walter Maine story she had written, her Editor Barton had not been impressed to say the least. He had accused Christie of being out of her depth, not like Gail who had published a story worthy of a high ranking newspaper. Barton had been infuriated that the woman he had put all of his faith in and got into a relationship with, could not complete a simple task and provide coverage on a murder, when her friend had done just that for the Trinity Guardian.
Barton informed her that Gregory, the newspapers main stakeholder and Gail's ex partner, was furious and they would be having a very serious meeting about her capabilities as the head Reporter of the Charleston Post. Christie got the impression that she was in for a world of hell, as Gregory had wanted her to outshine Gail when a murder had been committed and the man did not take defeat well.
Gail had suggested Christie remain in Trinity and authorised for her to stay in her house with Matt. Her friend had shown no remorse for what she had done and Christie had chosen to cut all personal ties with her. She felt sorry for Matt, who was very kind and helped her with Lucy while they were staying; however, he did not appear to be getting involved with her rift with Gail and she was thankful for his company.
Matt placed a herbal tea in front of Christie on the table. He did not dare tell her that it was one of Gail's instructions on how best to help her and that Gail had warned him about the excessive drinking route Christie was going to take. 'Drink this, it'll help' he said and sat down on the table beside her.
Christie lifted her head up and looked at him with pained eyes. 'You know, I think you're the only genuine person in this damn town' she let out a small laugh, then held her head as a bolt of pain surged through it.
Matt inhaled deeply at the state Christie was in, the dark circles under her eyes and her pale skin made her look gaunt. He knew something had gone on with her and Gail, which Gail had warned him to keep out of and up until now he had; however, the matter was affecting Christie too much for his liking and it was taking all his strength to honour his friends wishes. 'This has to stop Christie...You need to think of Lucy'
'Lucy's fine, you and M are great with her' Christie shrugged and took a sip of her tea.
Matt shook his head and let out a long sigh. 'As much as I'm happy to help in any way I can, I will not be a babysitter just to allow you to go out every night drinking. This is a bad road you're heading down, believe me I've been there'
Christie sat up and laughed. 'My life is falling apart Matt, what am supposed to do?'
'Stop drowning your sorrows with people you don't really know and focus on your family' Matt advised.
'Lucy is too young to know anythings wrong...'
'She's not your only family' he interrupted.
Christie inhaled deeply at is comment, then let out a long sigh. 'You don't know what Gail did and if I told you, it'd make you doubt your unwavering loyalty to her' Christie spat out venomously.
Matt got up from the table, then went to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of pure orange juice. 'I can hazard a guess of who got between you two, but I really don't care...' Matt shrugged, '...Everyone makes mistakes and everyone gets backed into a corner...I did my time and I managed to get back on my feet, thanks to Gail. Regardless of what you think of her now, she's still the person that you used to be so close to'
Christie thought for a moment, then got up from the table and left Matt alone in the kitchen.
Merlyn past Christie, who was on her way to the living room area to see Lucy, then entered the kitchen and narrowed her eyes curiously at Matt. 'You have the look of someone tryin' to come up with a plan'
Matt laughed, then walked towards her and stroked her arm affectionately. 'I'm trying to get Christie to talk to Gail' he advised.
Merlyn rolled her eyes and shook her head disapprovingly. 'Leave that one alone Matt, it ain't your place to get involved' she warned, then went towards the refrigerator to get a drink.
Matt thought for a moment, wondering what she knew, then shrugged off the comment and went to make breakfast. That was the second warning for him to keep out of it; therefore, he would appear as though he was doing just that, until he could figure out what was going on.
-To be continued-