Former Choices
Chapter Six
Whee! It's finally here! Please R&R
Knocking on the door of the mansion that now belonged to Vanessa, Warrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It seemed like every time he mentioned Arianna or Vanessa to Catherine, she became more and more distant toward him. He loved his wife but he didn't think she was justified in the way that she was acting. And besides, he loved spending time with his niece. And maybe even with his ex-wife.
Vanessa answered the door and smiled at the sight of him in her doorway. "Come in, Warrick. Arianna isn't back from band practice just yet." Off the look he gave her she threw him a charming grin and said, "I'll keep you company."
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm afraid of," he muttered.
She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't catch that, what did you say?" He just shook his head so she began walking down one of the many long hallways of the house until they got to what he thought must have been the living room. "You want a drink?" she asked, gesturing towards the bar.
"No, thanks, I've got to drive your daughter to the fair in about fifteen minutes." He regarded her with a cool, responsible look, and her smile disappeared.
"First of all, she's my step-daughter. Second of all..." she stopped, confusion seeping through her voice as the light dove through the split in the curtains. "Never mind." He watched as she walked calmly to the couch and sat down. Patting the space beside her, she smiled again. "Sit down."
"How are...things?" He didn't know why the sentence had been so awkward for him, but sitting beside her on the sofa and feeling her warm breath on his neck wasn't making it easy to talk to her.
"Um..." She hesitated at answering, searching her mind for the right phrasing. "It's hard, but we're dealing with it as best we can. At least I am. Arianna's...not." She dipped her head to look at the floor beneath her feet. "She's very distant and she's always crying...I don't really know how to go about comforting her."
Warrick didn't know what to say.
"You seem to know her better than I do, which is funny because you only saw her once in the five years that I've known her. You'd think she'd trust me more than you." He just nodded because he still didn't know what to say to her. "I just want to talk to her but she won't let me."
"Well, you have to remember," Warrick said softly, taking her hand in his. "You lost a husband, but Arianna lost a father."
Just then they heard a knock at the door. Vanessa threw him a puzzled look and said, "Jeffrey, there's someone at the door." Her butler appeared almost instantly and opened the door, greeting Catherine with formal politeness.
"Catherine..." Warrick let go of Vanessa's hand and stood, observing her tired and ragged form. "What are you doing here?"
The shocked look on her face betrayed how she saw the situation. "Where the hell is Arianna? I thought you guys would be at the fair by now!"
"Arianna's at band practice. She should be home momentarily," Vanessa answered softly, and smiled. "There was nothing going on here, Mrs. Brown, if that's what you think."
Catherine was not even looking at Vanessa, only regarding Warrick with angry disgust. "We got a call in to work, Warrick. Triple homicide, day shift needs our help. All hands on deck." Her voice was uneven, bumpy, and it stumbled along the words with truly un-Catherine like awkwardness. "Are you coming with me or will you drive yourself?"
Warrick just nodded and grabbed his coat, opening the door for his wife and then turning to look at Vanessa one last time before he exited the house. What he saw shocked him. She was grinning from ear to ear.
Catherine's silence in the car only made Warrick more worried. She was never quiet when she was mad, in fact she was usually the exact opposite. It was when she was trying not to cry that she was quiet, and with that realization he knew he had to explain himself, whether she would respond or not.
"Catherine, I know what it seemed like in there," he said huskily, turning off the radio. "But I swear, nothing was going on."
"OK." Her voice was quiet, so unlike her.
"What?" Taken off guard by her easy agreement, he moved his ear closer to her face and waited for her to say it again.
"I know that you and Vanessa weren't doing anything. I saw it in your face the minute I walked in." He frowned, so she continued, sweeping one of her hands across her face and keeping the other on the steering wheel. "No guilt." Smiling slightly, she said, "I've learned how to read a guilty husband's face."
He exhaled loudly. "Then why the act?"
She shrugged. "I wanted to hear you say it." She turned toward him and smiled a little. "I know you would never do something like that to me, Warrick. I mean, I have to admit, I've become a little suspicious of you these past few days..." The emotion returned to her voice suddenly. "I just don't trust that woman. Why were you with her?"
"I thought Arianna would be done band practice. If I had known that I was going to have to spend ten minutes with Vanessa, I would have stayed outside." He smiled. "I don't like her any more than you do." He felt bad for lying, but Catherine needed to be able to trust him around Vanessa if he was going to spend more time with Arianna.
"And the hand-holding?" Warrick suddenly felt that maybe Catherine didn't trust him as much as she said she did.
"I..." He wasn't quite sure how to answer that one. "She's...lost a husband. I was just...comforting her."
Catherine nodded, her mouth in a straight line. "You're going to stay away from her from now on, right?"
He couldn't tell by her voice if she was asking him or telling him, but either way it didn't matter. "I'll do the best that I can, but I want to spend time with Arianna..."
Her foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, and her hand gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Just promise me you won't..."
"I won't."
Catherine nodded again, breathing deeply.
Warrick frowned. "Just out of curiosity, why do you hate her so much?" he asked. "I mean, I know she hurt me but...that was a long time ago."
She shook her head. "It's not just that. Warrick, do you remember the night...we had been married for about three weeks. We were both standing in Lindsey's doorway together, watching her sleep. I had my head on your shoulder, and you were telling me about Vanessa. You told me that she had hurt you more than anybody else in the world." Her eyes locked with his. "What do you feel when you think of Eddie, Warrick?"
He winced. "Bastard," he muttered. The anger rose inside of him just at the mention of Catherine's ex-husband's name. She nodded. "Now you know how I feel whenever you mention Vanessa."
Whee! It's finally here! Please R&R
Knocking on the door of the mansion that now belonged to Vanessa, Warrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It seemed like every time he mentioned Arianna or Vanessa to Catherine, she became more and more distant toward him. He loved his wife but he didn't think she was justified in the way that she was acting. And besides, he loved spending time with his niece. And maybe even with his ex-wife.
Vanessa answered the door and smiled at the sight of him in her doorway. "Come in, Warrick. Arianna isn't back from band practice just yet." Off the look he gave her she threw him a charming grin and said, "I'll keep you company."
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm afraid of," he muttered.
She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't catch that, what did you say?" He just shook his head so she began walking down one of the many long hallways of the house until they got to what he thought must have been the living room. "You want a drink?" she asked, gesturing towards the bar.
"No, thanks, I've got to drive your daughter to the fair in about fifteen minutes." He regarded her with a cool, responsible look, and her smile disappeared.
"First of all, she's my step-daughter. Second of all..." she stopped, confusion seeping through her voice as the light dove through the split in the curtains. "Never mind." He watched as she walked calmly to the couch and sat down. Patting the space beside her, she smiled again. "Sit down."
"How are...things?" He didn't know why the sentence had been so awkward for him, but sitting beside her on the sofa and feeling her warm breath on his neck wasn't making it easy to talk to her.
"Um..." She hesitated at answering, searching her mind for the right phrasing. "It's hard, but we're dealing with it as best we can. At least I am. Arianna's...not." She dipped her head to look at the floor beneath her feet. "She's very distant and she's always crying...I don't really know how to go about comforting her."
Warrick didn't know what to say.
"You seem to know her better than I do, which is funny because you only saw her once in the five years that I've known her. You'd think she'd trust me more than you." He just nodded because he still didn't know what to say to her. "I just want to talk to her but she won't let me."
"Well, you have to remember," Warrick said softly, taking her hand in his. "You lost a husband, but Arianna lost a father."
Just then they heard a knock at the door. Vanessa threw him a puzzled look and said, "Jeffrey, there's someone at the door." Her butler appeared almost instantly and opened the door, greeting Catherine with formal politeness.
"Catherine..." Warrick let go of Vanessa's hand and stood, observing her tired and ragged form. "What are you doing here?"
The shocked look on her face betrayed how she saw the situation. "Where the hell is Arianna? I thought you guys would be at the fair by now!"
"Arianna's at band practice. She should be home momentarily," Vanessa answered softly, and smiled. "There was nothing going on here, Mrs. Brown, if that's what you think."
Catherine was not even looking at Vanessa, only regarding Warrick with angry disgust. "We got a call in to work, Warrick. Triple homicide, day shift needs our help. All hands on deck." Her voice was uneven, bumpy, and it stumbled along the words with truly un-Catherine like awkwardness. "Are you coming with me or will you drive yourself?"
Warrick just nodded and grabbed his coat, opening the door for his wife and then turning to look at Vanessa one last time before he exited the house. What he saw shocked him. She was grinning from ear to ear.
Catherine's silence in the car only made Warrick more worried. She was never quiet when she was mad, in fact she was usually the exact opposite. It was when she was trying not to cry that she was quiet, and with that realization he knew he had to explain himself, whether she would respond or not.
"Catherine, I know what it seemed like in there," he said huskily, turning off the radio. "But I swear, nothing was going on."
"OK." Her voice was quiet, so unlike her.
"What?" Taken off guard by her easy agreement, he moved his ear closer to her face and waited for her to say it again.
"I know that you and Vanessa weren't doing anything. I saw it in your face the minute I walked in." He frowned, so she continued, sweeping one of her hands across her face and keeping the other on the steering wheel. "No guilt." Smiling slightly, she said, "I've learned how to read a guilty husband's face."
He exhaled loudly. "Then why the act?"
She shrugged. "I wanted to hear you say it." She turned toward him and smiled a little. "I know you would never do something like that to me, Warrick. I mean, I have to admit, I've become a little suspicious of you these past few days..." The emotion returned to her voice suddenly. "I just don't trust that woman. Why were you with her?"
"I thought Arianna would be done band practice. If I had known that I was going to have to spend ten minutes with Vanessa, I would have stayed outside." He smiled. "I don't like her any more than you do." He felt bad for lying, but Catherine needed to be able to trust him around Vanessa if he was going to spend more time with Arianna.
"And the hand-holding?" Warrick suddenly felt that maybe Catherine didn't trust him as much as she said she did.
"I..." He wasn't quite sure how to answer that one. "She's...lost a husband. I was just...comforting her."
Catherine nodded, her mouth in a straight line. "You're going to stay away from her from now on, right?"
He couldn't tell by her voice if she was asking him or telling him, but either way it didn't matter. "I'll do the best that I can, but I want to spend time with Arianna..."
Her foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, and her hand gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Just promise me you won't..."
"I won't."
Catherine nodded again, breathing deeply.
Warrick frowned. "Just out of curiosity, why do you hate her so much?" he asked. "I mean, I know she hurt me but...that was a long time ago."
She shook her head. "It's not just that. Warrick, do you remember the night...we had been married for about three weeks. We were both standing in Lindsey's doorway together, watching her sleep. I had my head on your shoulder, and you were telling me about Vanessa. You told me that she had hurt you more than anybody else in the world." Her eyes locked with his. "What do you feel when you think of Eddie, Warrick?"
He winced. "Bastard," he muttered. The anger rose inside of him just at the mention of Catherine's ex-husband's name. She nodded. "Now you know how I feel whenever you mention Vanessa."