Chapter Three: Big Girls Don't Cry
Tess sat in the floor of her shower, water running down her face as she cried to herself, Her brown hair sticking to her face with the water as she held her legs to her chest. She attempted to clean herself of what had occurred the night before, still feeling dirty from having had her virginity taken by force. "Tess, Get out of there!" Jasmine shouted from outside the bathroom, banging on the door. "My shift at the library starts in an hour, and I've got to shower."
Tess shut the water off and wiped her eyes, wrapping a towel around her body as she opened the door. "What the hell were you doing in there so long?" Jasmine asked. "I…. I just have a lot on my mind." Tess mumbled, unable to tell Jasmine what happened to her. She walked past her roommate and entered her room, slamming the door behind her, laying down on her bed and hugging her pillow closely, as she continued to cry, watching as the sunrise cracked through the blinds.
Aryanna stood behind the counter of the bank checking the balance of the woman standing in front of her, trading in her usual leather jacket, white t-shirt and jeans for a loose button-down shirt and black knee length skirt that all female employees had to wear, with her blindingly white hair in a bun exposing her green eyes that were usually hidden behind her hair. "So you want to deposit four hundred and fifty dollars?" Aryanna asked typing the amount on the computer as she handed the woman her money. "It's all set. Thank you for trusting Los Angeles bank with your financial needs." Aryanna smiled withdrawing the money as the woman gave her a smile and walked out of the bank.
She looked around and noticed the bank was basically empty. "I'm going to go get a cup of coffee, can you call me if anyone comes in wanting to make a withdrawal?" Aryanna asked Maricarmen Aarons, the female bank-teller who stood at the other counter for the deposits. "Okay." Maricarmen replied, sighing and picking up her novel to read since no one was at the bank at such an early hour.
Aryanna walked into the break room and walked over to the espresso and started to prepare herself a cup when her manager, Leila Martin, walked into the room. "Aryanna, How many times do I have to tell you not to receive you're mail here?" Leila told Aryanna as she placed a group of letters onto the table and walked into her office. Aryanna walked to the table and picked up the letters and went through them. The census, her phone bill, and a few other utility bills for her apartment. She was about to open them when Maricarmen called her from outside. "Aryanna, Client." she said sticking her head into the break room. "Okay." Aryanna mumbled placing the letters into her book bag before walking out, to her counter, to help her next customer.
"What do you mean you're cutting me off?" Ryan asked his father. "This is about your new girlfriend isn't it? Haven't you realized she's just with you for your money?" Ryan exclaimed, his father hanging up on him as he left his apartment, shutting his phone and stuffing it inside his pocket. He locked the door to apartment number ten and headed down the stair opposite to Rose and Derek's apartment.
"You going somewhere?" Rose asked, sitting in a lawn chair beside the pool, reading Vampire Kisses VI: Royal Blood. "Just to the Café. You know if you keep reading those books, one of these days, you're going to start believing you're a vampire." Ryan told her. "Too late, I'm already halfway there." Rose smirked, trying to act casual as she had before learning her brother left the country so no one would think something was wrong. "See you Rose." Ryan chuckled as he exited the arch that led to the street where his car was parked.
"Ms. Woodward, I'm here." Vito stated as he entered Amanda Woodward's office at the top floor of WPK public relations firm, changing his black t-shirt and jeans for a business suit. "You're ten minutes late." She stated looking at him for a second from a stack of papers she was reading over. "I would've been here earlier, but you know traffic in Los Angeles." Vito said. "Yes I do, Take a seat." She ordered as Vito sat down in one of the two chairs in front of her desk. She Reached to her phone and called her secretary. "Ella, Contact the computer programming supervisor. His intern is here." Amanda told her. "Yes, Ms. Woodward." Ella responded.
"Mr. Montecarlo, meet your Mentor for the time-bring." Amanda said standing up and walking to the door, opening it. "Edward VanDam." She said, as Edward walked into the room running his fingers through his pepper-and-salt black hair as he walked into the room. "Good Morning, Vito. Ready to learn the ropes?" Edward asked shaking Vito's hand. "Yes sir." Vito responded smiling, unaware of what his mentor had done to his neighbor the night before.
"Sebastian, we got a call of a hostage situation at a department store." Officer Thomas Burke, Sebastian's partner told him as he entered the room, where Sebastian worked on the daily crossword puzzle from the West Hollywood Reporter, the same local newspaper Rose worked for as an advice columnist and occasionally critiqued movies and books. "Is there a single gunman or a group of gunman." Sebastian asked, getting up from his chair and retrieving his black coat from his coat rack and following Officer Burke out towards their police cruiser.
"So far, only one gunman has been identified. The chief wants you to work as a negotiator, while I and a few other officers attempt to sneak in and free the hostages." Officer Burke explained to Sebastian as they both entered squad car 180. "You ready for another day in the streets of L.A?" Sebastian asked as he drove out of the car lot. "Ready as I'll ever be." Thomas laughed, turning on the siren as Sebastian and him sped through the streets.
Tess sat on her bed looking outside of her window as her neighbors passed by, going on with their lives, as she spent her day off locked inside her apartment. She touched the bruise on her wrist that Edward had given her when he had pinned her down. She felt overwhelmed. Humiliated. Defiled. Angry. Hurt. And full of fear. She also felt that she had asked for it. She Felt guilty. She also kept thinking about how she could've avoided it. She could've turned down his ride home but she still said yes. She could've said no when he asked her out to dinner at lunch. She could've also said no when he wanted to have lunch.
She heard a small noise and jumped off the bed. She had the feeling someone was watching her and fear washed over her body. "Hello?" She whispered looking around. She noticed a pen from her desk had fallen onto the wooden floor. Her phone rang causing her to jump again. Recently, everything seemed to freak her out. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" Tess asked. "Tess, I'm Dr. Faris, you wanted to set up an appointment?" The female doctor asked from the other side of the phone. "Yes, I just wanted a general check-up. Check for STD's, Pregnancies." Tess said with a lump in her throat. "Well I had a cancellation so I have an open spot today at three." Dr. Faris offered. "I'll be there." Tess said sitting back down on her bed. "I'll see you today." Dr. Faris said. "See you." Tess responded, hanging up before resuming to stare outside her window.
Aryanna entered the break room and checked the mini-fridge for her lunch. "Oh, Crap!" Aryanna mumbled, realizing she had forgotten her lunch at home. "What wrong?" Maricarmen asked poking her head over Aryanna's shoulder. "I left my leftover Lasagna at home." Aryanna mumbled. "You want half of my veggieburger?" Maricarmen offered. "As much as I love eating flavorless vegetable cakes between two buns, I'll pass." Aryanna told Maricarmen. "I think I'll just go to my apartment and eat it there. I'll be back in an hour." Aryanna told Maricarmen, grabbing her keys and book bag and walking out of the bank, releasing her blindingly white hair from it's bun and letting it fall over her eyes as she walked to her new red jeep.
Aryanna pulled into the parking lot of her closed, ten floor apartment building and stopped the car. She walked up the stairs of her apartment and was shocked by what she saw. Every single thing she owned was thrown into the hallway outside her door. "What the hell…" She mumbled walking to her door and attempting to open it, only to learn that the locks have been changed. She grabbed a noted that had been taped onto her door and read sections of it aloud. "late payments….. Failure to pay….. Eviction." Aryanna laughed incredulously.
"Where the hell am I supposed to go." Aryanna whispered to herself as she grabbed a few of her clothes off of the ground and piled them into a laundry basket. She knew she was behind on some payments but never got an eviction notice from the landlord. If it wasn't for the bills she was receiving from California University where she attended the School of Finances, she would've had enough money to pay her rent. She gathered what she could and took it to her Jeep. She had just moved in a few months ago and the only things she had in her apartment were the things she brought with her from her dorm room, so it only took a few trips to put everything in her car.
She had been so stressed with the situation, she had forgotten to eat and returned to the bank on an empty stomach. She entered the back door wondering where the hell she was going to spend the night. She had too much pride to go to her brother. He would have a field day if he learned she had been evicted, and she didn't really know Leila and Maricarmen that well to ask them if she could crash at their place. She would be paid at the end of the month which was two weeks away so she was currently broke. It seemed as if she was going to spend the nights on the streets.
Ryan entered Grayson's Café. It was far from his everyday route but the Coffee here was worth it. He walked over to the counter where a brown haired female handed a customer a toffee nut latte. Ryan walked in, texting his party planner for his Nineteenth birthday party this weekend at the apartment Complex, not even looking up as he ordered his drink. "One Mocha Frappucino to go. No foam" Ryan said to the clerk. " Coming right u… Ryan?" The clerk asked causing him to look up from his blackberry.
"Oh my god, Ryan Magnin, I haven't seen you since graduation." The clerk said looking at him in disbelief. "Sam." Ryan chuckled recognizing his classmate. Not only his classmate, but his ex-girlfriend who he broke up with during senior year when he had learned she had slept with his best friend. "What are you doing here?" He asked, placing his blackberry into his jacket pocket.
"This is my dad's café. I'm working here part time while I study at California University." Samantha answered. Ryan mentally slapped himself. Of course this was her father's café, Her name was Samantha Grayson. "What about you? Anything new?" She asked as she prepared his Frappuccino. "I backpacked through Europe over the summer. I got back a few months ago and decided to take a year off before college. Right now I'm focusing on my music career." Ryan told her.
"You're still singing?" Samantha asked. "We just started doing open mike nights. You should come sometime." She offered. "Really?" Ryan asked. "Sure. Just come by this Saturday." She said. "Actually I can't do Saturday. I'm having my birthday party on that day." Ryan informed her contemplating inviting her. He saw her face and realized she was expecting him to invite her. What the Heck? He thought. We had a great thing going on in high school. Maybe this is our chance to start over again with a clean slate.
"Would you like to come?" Ryan asked her. "Sure. I'd love to catch up." Samantha told him. He grabbed a business card, which contained his blackberry number and address, from his wallet and handed it to Her. "Ryan Magnin, Professional Singer and Guitarist." Samantha said reading his information out loud and laughing. "What so funny?" Ryan asked. "Professional? Kind of cocky aren't you?" She asked. "Just give me my frap." Ryan laughed as she handed him his Mocha Frappuccino. He handed her his credit card and she swiped it through the cash register. "It says your card is maxed out." Samantha told him. "You know what? It's on the house." Samantha said handing him his card back. He walked out of the café and looked at her through the window one last time before entering his car and pulling out of the curb.
"So you understand how us computer programmers fit into this company?" Edward asked Vito as they both walked into an empty office. "Pretty much Mr. Van Dam." Vito answered. "Ah, Call me Edward. We're all friends here." Edward told Vito slapping him on his back. "Right, Edward." Vito smiled awkwardly. "This Vito is Your office." Edward told him. "I get my own office? I only expected a cubicle." Vito told Edward surprised. "Nonsense. Here at WPK, We only have the best of the best." Edward laughed.
"Congratulations, Vito!" Tess shouted as she entered the office, not seeing Edward who had his back turned to her. "Thanks, Tess. I want you to meet my boss." Vito told Tess as Edward turned around and looked at Tess. Tess slowly backed away from initial shock before recomposing herself so Vito would not think of anything. "We've already met." Edward said smiling at Tess before grabbing her hand and kissing it. Tess winced at the act but tried not to show her distress.
"I didn't make it home until late last night so I just wanted to say congrats." Tess told Vito, flashbacks of Edward sleeping with her the previous night going through her head making her slightly dizzy. "Thanks a lot. Edward and I are heading out for lunch. You want to come with us?" Vito asked Tess. "No!" Tess shouted startling Vito. "I mean, I can't. I have a doctors appointment in half an hour." Tess said. "Thanks for inviting me though." Tess finished as she left Vito's office.
"That was weird." Vito mumbled to Edward. "She's probably just scared of going to the doctor." Edward said trying to explain why Tess was acting the way she was, even though he knew what it probably was. "You want to head out?" Edward asked Vito, quickly changing the subject. "Yeah lets go." Vito said following Edward out of his office and going to lunch with his neighbors rapist.
"I want an escape car." The gunman told Sebastian through the bank telephone as Sebastian waited outside of the department stores with the rest of the police officers from the Los Angeles police force. "The car is on it's way, just don't hurt any of the hostages." Sebastian tried to convince the gunman. "How do I know you'll follow through? Cops like you always lie to get what you want." The gunman accused. "Sir, My job as a Police officer is to protect the citizens of this city. I will do whatever it takes to do my job." Sebastian answered, the gunman sighing loudly on the other side. "All right." He answered. "No funny business. I am armed."
With that, the gunman hung up the phone. Sebastian sighed. He hated hold-ups. They always took too damn long. "Officer Schroeder, Call for you." An officer said holding up a cell phone. "Yes?" Sebastian asked, taking the phone in his hands and placing it on his ear.
"Sebastian? It's Burke. My team is ready to ambush the gunman. Do we have a go?" He asked. Sebastian thought about it. He knew the consequences of an ambush. The gunman could be startled and fire at the officers or grab a hostage and kill them before being shot himself. Either way, someone always came out injured or dead. "Affirmative. Green for Ambush." Sebastian told his partner before the call ended.
Sebastian listened, waiting to her a gunshot in a matter of seconds. Seconds passed, each and every one making him more anxious. Suddenly, he heard six shots. A .9 mm just emptied out. Then silence. The silence was cut off by the shouts of the chief of police. "Lets move it! Everyone get in there!" he shouted. Sebastian looked as officers passed him here and there. It took him a while before he responded and followed the other officers into the department store.
"Burke?" Sebastian shouted as the officers carried the gunman away in handcuffs. "Someone call the paramedics!" Someone shouted from the back of the store, near the back door where Burke and his team entered. Sebastian pushed his way through his fellow officers, occasionally bumping into clothes racks and such. When he arrived to the center, he was surprised by what he saw.
Officer Thomas Burke, lay on the ground, bleeding profusely from a bullet wound through his chest. Sebastian ripped Thomas's uniform open and found that his bulletproof vest faulty and the bullet had protruded it with ease. "Someone get the paramedics!" Sebastian shouted, as he attempted to revive his friend by trying to keep his blood flowing with both hands and his chest and pumped. "Get help!" He shouted to the officers around him who spread out, a paramedic entering the circle and loading Burke, who's eyes became glassy, on to the gurney.
Aryanna stood at her register, helping a client deposit an amount of money. "I want to deposit some money in my deposit box." A woman told Aryanna as she held on tightly to her purse. "You have your key?" Aryanna asked as the woman dug through her purse, showing Aryanna the large amount of money she had in her purse. "It's right here." The woman responded, showing Aryanna the key. "Right this way please." Aryanna told the woman as she led her to the back room. The woman inserted the key into the safe and placed what must've been millions into the box, no wonder she held onto it so tightly. "Thank you so much young lady." The woman told her as she walked out the way she came in.
"You going to lock up?" Maricarmen asked her as she emptied the register of the money people had deposited. "Sure." Aryanna answered, also emptying out the register as Maricarmen locked the front door of the bank. "See you Aryanna." Maricarmen told Aryanna as she exited the back doors of the bank, Aryanna turning off the lights of the Bank as she headed to the back room to grab her stuff when she noticed the woman had left her key in the lock on her safety deposit box.
She still had no idea where she was going to spend the night. She didn't have money to rent a hotel room so it looked like she was going to spend the night in her car. She slowly crept to the safe and opened it, revealing the millions of dollars inside. The woman would probably never notice if she took a small amount. She looked around and stuck her hand inside the box, grabbing a few stacks of Benjamin's and stuffing them into her purse.
The Regent Beverly Wilshire Penthouse suite was 7,500 dollars a night and she had more than enough to spend a week there. Sure, she felt guilty, but she would have a roof over her head for the night. Plus, she could get ahead in her college payments. She walked to her jeep and unbuttoned her white blouse and replaced it with one of her many white tees before putting on her black leather jacket. She entered her Jeep and drove to the most expensive hotel in L.A. to sleep in their most expensive room. Life was looking up for her, as long as she never got caught.
Tess sat on the examination bed of Dr. Faris's office. Dr. Faris was a young woman in her early thirties with bleach blond hair and big brown eyes. She sat on a stool as she inserted a needle into Tess's vein and pulled out blood. "So when will we find out if I'm pregnant?" Tess asked Dr. Faris. "You said you had sexual intercourse yesterday. It's far too soon to tell. You didn't use protection?" She asked Tess as she pulled off the rubber band that was tied around Tess's bicep.
"Um. No." Tess answered sheepishly. "We'll have to schedule a follow-up appointment to check for possible pregnancy and to check again for Std's. Some Sexually transmitted diseases take longer to appear than others so it's imperative that you come." Dr. Faris told Tess, pulling the needle of Tess's blood out of her vein.
"Okay." Tess answered as The Doctor placed a band-aid over where she drew blood. "During you're examination, I noticed a few bruises. Are you okay?" She asked Tess. "I'm fine Dr. Faris." Tess lied. "Call me Sarah, Tess. Are you sure the sex was consensual?" Sarah asked Tess who hesitated to answer. "Of course, My boyfriend and I just forgot to use protection." Tess lied.
"Listen, I see victims of Sexual abuse and Rape everyday. If you need to speak to someone, just know that my door is always open." Sarah told Tess with a warm smile. "I'll keep that in mind." Tess said with a fake smile. "Can I go now?" She asked. "Everything's done. You're free to leave now." Sarah told Tess, who walked out of her office. She knew Tess was lying, but also knew that rape victims had to come out on their own. She just hoped she had gotten through to the female.
Author's Note: I know some of you wanted Tess to be saved and I contemplated having someone rescue her, but decided against it. It'll make for a more interesting storyline. I thought long and hard about what reason Aryanna should have to steal from the company she works for and decided, "Hey, Why not get her evicted and become homeless!" Ryan's officially broke and It's all his father's fault. But on the upside, He did reunite with his high school sweetheart. What's with Edward being Vito's boss? Talk about awkward if he ever finds out his boss raped one of his good friends. Poor Sebastian, Losing a colleague is very traumatic, but now that a position is open on the police force will a resident swoop in for the kill? (i.e. Marcus?). Also, like other Television shows, characters can be written out, but I will only write a character out with the person who submitted the character's approval. Reader's If you hate someone, oh well. If you submit another character is up to you. Also, If you'd like to see your character go through a particular issue, PM me. I'm open to all ideas. Also I'm also letting the creators of the submitted characters submit Business clothes, Swim suits, and Night clothes cause not everyone wears the same clothes all the time.
Next Chapter: It's Tuesday, meaning it's time for Rose to go through with Her brother's drug deal. Who's the customer and what will happen? Jasmine, is just spending another day working when a person from her past returns. Who is he and what does he want with her? Amanda Woodward, The Wicked Bitch of the West Coast finally reveals her plans to a Doctor Peter Burns, A.K.A. Jensen's uncle. Speaking of which, Who is invading his house and why? Find out next week….. On Melrose Place!