Chapter 558: Rachel's Cabin

Monday, February 27th, Afternoon

The lights and camera were carefully set up. She walked around to make sure everything was set. Once pleased, she straightened up and ran her hands over her blonde hair. After a deep breath, she looked at her subject.

Felicia Van Ankeren looked at her subject. The woman in her fifties sat with nature as her backdrop, and the mid-winter sun gave off some interesting lighting. The subject's red hair had faded, and Felicia suspected that she wasn't a natural redhead.

After a nod, Felicia walked over and started to hook on a microphone.

"I didn't expect it just to be yourself," the subject said.

"I find that people open up better with just one person. It's more of a confessional than an interview, that way," Felicia said.

"Forgive me, mother, for I have sinned," the subject said.

Felicia giggled, "We're not quite ready for that," she said as she finished hooking up the microphone. Felicia walked over to where she was set up. She adjusted the camera and made sure the microphone was connected.

"Okay, give me a count down," Felicia said.

"One, two, three," the subject said, "Three, two, one."

Felicia nodded, "Okay, sit up just a bit, so you don't look like you're slouching," she said.

"Okay, the subject said and adjusted herself.

"Okey, we're going to go slow, and we can take as many breaks as you need. I understand what we're going to discuss is going to be rather emotional," Felicia said.

"I'm ready," the subject said.

Felicia pressed a few buttons. "Okay, we're recording," she said, "Please state your name and how you're connected with Brian Scott."

The subject nodded, "I'm Rachel Gatina; for lack of a better term, I was Brian's mother-in-law and Gabrielle Vincent's mom," she said.

Felicia adjusted a few settings and looked at Rachel. "Good, speak that strong and clear," Felicia said, "So, tell me about Gabi's early life; from what I understand, she had a famous father."3

"Yes, he was; he was the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Tomas Vincent. It was an interesting meet-cute on Bourbon Street; I was out celebrating the end of the year. I was a student at Tulane University, he threw me some beads, and I showed him my boobs. After that, we started talking and barhopping the night away. It was a real whirlwind sort of thing," Rachel said.

"So, what happened next?" Felicia asked.

"I think during that year, I got pregnant, and Tom married me. We were a wild couple that was the talk of the town. The games in the Super Dome were awesome, and I looked so cute in a black and gold jersey with Tom's number," Rachel said.

"It didn't last, did it?" Felicia asked.

Rachel shook her head, "No, one night, I was feeling like a beached whale, so I stayed home in our French Quarter home. Tom went out with some teammates. It was late when he was returning home," Rachel paused, wiped a tear from her eye, "He had been drinking, and there was an accident. Tom was caught in the SUV as it sank into Lake Pontchartrain. The diver's got his body out the next day."

Felicia nodded, "So, when Gabi was born, you were a single mother?" she asked.

"For a while, but Gabi did have two-step dads. One was a worthless piece of shit, cheated on me with an underage girl. The other was older than me and took care of Gabi and me well, but he passed. Through it all, Gabi was a good kid. I set a curfew for her to break it, but she didn't, always home an hour early. She was smart and tried to do many things, mainly to piss me off. That was her way of rebelling against me," Rachel said. "Can we swear?"

Felicia nodded, "Yes," she said, "So, how did Gabi and Brian meet?"

"Just before her sophomore year of high school, we moved back to Tree Hill, as IK took a job working for Brooke Davis. I believe it was at a Halloween Dance Party at Club TRIC. Gabi went as Avril Lavigne; she always liked punk music and got that from me. Brian was the lead singer of the band that night. Anyway, it just went from there, with them all hanging out," Rachel said.

"Who were all of them?" Felicia asked.

"Brian's cousins and Brooke Davis's daughter Trin," Rachel said.

"Okay," Felicia said.

"Yeah, it was a cute group; Ellie Scott had a cute boyfriend that hung out with them," Rachel said and smiled.

"What did you think of Gabi getting into this love triangle with Brian Scott and Trinity Adams?" Felicia asked.

Rachel sighed, "By the time it happened, she was out of school and was an adult. At first, I thought she'd work for Brian and Kat, get it out of her system; when the relationship with Brian ran its course, she'd come home and go to college," she said.

"That never happened," Felicia said.

"No, it didn't. She got pregnant with Lennon, and about the same time Trin got pregnant with her son Wyatt," Rachel said.

"As a mother, what did you think of Brian's harem idea?" Felicia asked.

"I wasn't for it, but I also didn't want Lennon not to have his dad. Brian and Gabi also moved to California soon after that all went down. When Lennon was six, that's when Lacy was born, and a year later Darren came along," Rachel said.

"Did Gabi comment on Brian's promiscuity?" Felicia asked.

"Once or twice, she mentioned it, along with his belief in what he did he call it?" Rachel said.

"The marriage of heaven and hell," Felicia said.

"Yeah, that," Rachel said, "It seemed that Gabi was happy when we would converse."

"What happened three years ago?" Felicia asked.

"Brian's career was collapsing around him. He begged Kat Hartmann, whose career was exploding, helping. Kat and her husband, Arne Jared, put a limited series of shows together, and they toured as Hartmann, Scott, and Jared. Kat was the draw, but some old-school Mental Lapse and High-Performance Heart Attack fans also went. In the end, it didn't help jump-start his career," Rachel said.

"What happened after that?" Felicia asked.

"I don't know much; Gabi mentioned Brian was a bit depressed and was hiding in his practice space," Rachel said.

"What happened that night?" Felicia asked.

"I don't know; I guess how it was written. Gabi was distraught and couldn't talk clearly," Rachel said.

"Why are Brian's parents raising Gabi's children?" Felicia asked.

"I moved out here, and being just me, I thought Nathan and Haley would have a better shot at raising good kids," Rachel said.

"So, you retreated from the public eye?" Felicia asked.

"Yes, I've been in the public eye for too many negative reasons. Up here, in the hills, people leave me alone and treat me as just another neighbor," Rachel said.

"Tell me about what happened two months later," Felicia said.

Rachel shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I can't," she said, "I can't."

"We have all the time in the world; just take your time," Felicia said.