Set Up
"What the hell are you talking about, Cassie?" Jude shook her head, laughing a little with nerves, not knowing how to process what her sister had just said to her.
"I wanted to talk to you about this sooner but… well I didn't want to say it over the phone and then I couldn't say it at the party. I just… I didn't know if keeping it from you would be better, because this just seems so cruel but… you also deserve to know-"
"Know what?" Jude said, "What the hell are you even talking about? I know what happened to me. It was… It was Jackson." She said, "We don't have to go over it-"
"Vincent knew about it all." Cassie said as Jude looked over at her, "He knew about all of it. He knew Jackson was getting out of prison and he spoke with Rio, agreed to let him stay-"
"The police knew that." Jude looked at her with narrow brows, "They went over that with him. He owed Rio and he let Jackson stay at his place whilst he was out of town-"
"He was never out of town. He was there. He was there for all of it." Cassie said, "For what happened to you, for me getting kidnapped. Don't you remember? He lead mom and dad into that trap. Played their friend." She said, "And he just so happened to turn into Thea's dealer over the Summer." Cassie shook her head, "He is not the innocent person we think he is. He isn't a victim. He was in on it all along-"
"How… How do you even know that?" Jude shook her head with frustration, "What is wrong with you? Why do you always do this to yourself? You always have to… make up false narratives in your head. You can't just leave things alone-"
"Jude, if he played any part in what happened to you, he could be arrested." Cassie said, "Come on, don't you think it was suspicious anyway? Why was it his house you were attacked in? Rio would have told him. I know it-"
"You'll never know anything because he is dead and so is Jackson." Jude shook her head. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't think about it. Right now she was just mad.
"Vincent isn't dead." Cassie reminded her, "He had something to do with the dealership. He was working for them. Dealing drugs in the area. Mark knew him, heard things about him-"
"And you believe him?" Jude shook her head, "You friends with him now? Forgive and forget?"
"Of course I'm not, Jude." Cassie shook her head, "I'm not trying to hurt you." She emphasised, "Obviously, I'm not." She said, watching as Jude stood up from the table, putting her napkin onto her plate and picking up her purse, "Jude."
She watched as her sister left the table, leaving the restaurant as she leaned back on the chair, sighing to herself with teary eyes, leaning her elbows on the table and placing her hands through her hair.
"Hey, why are you so late?" AJ asked, sitting in the living room reading a book with a blanket over her. She'd been so invested in her book that when she looked up she saw it was dark outside and that her husband was home later than usual.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Punk chuckled, switching on the lamps around the living room.
"My book got interesting." AJ raised her eyebrows.
"I was with Dean. We went to see Chrissy." Punk told her as AJ nodded, sitting her book over on the table beside the couch, "Didn't go well." He admitted.
"Why?" AJ questioned with a frown.
"Well, it's Dean. He's as subtle as a brick." Punk said, "But… I do see what he means. She just… she seems like she's on edge. Of what I don't know. She just doesn't seem like her usual self." Punk nodded, "At first I thought Dean was maybe being paranoid or something but now I've saw it with my own eyes… I hope she's alright." He admitted, sitting on the couch beside her.
"Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine. Maybe it's something Renee could ask her about. Daughter's sometimes don't want to speak with their fathers."
"Mine do." Punk said childishly.
"Well…" AJ looked at him, "Not about everything." She pointed out.
"What would they tell you that they couldn't tell me?" Punk folded his arms.
"A lot." AJ nodded briefly, "My point is, Renee probably has a little more patience."
"Yeah well that's true." Punk said, "I'm just trying to rack my brain on what it is." He said, "Maybe she got fired from her job." He turned to her.
"Why would she get fired?" AJ shook her head, "Don't spread rumours."
"I'm not spreading rumours. I'm just talking to you." Punk scoffed.
"She loves her job. I don't think it's that." AJ said.
"Marriage problems?" Punk thought to himself, "I mean I never see her husband around. Ever." He said as AJ nodded.
"Yeah I haven't see him in a while." AJ agreed, "But it's not for us to speculate." She tapped his leg.
"Maybe Sarah knows something. Sisters talk, right?" Punk nodded.
"Well according to Renee, Sarah feels the same as they do." AJ shrugged.
"Best bet is probably for Renee to talk to her. Dean got too hot about it." Punk shook his head.
"You can't criticise anyone. You do the same." AJ laughed a little.
"I have a little more patience than him." Punk defended.
"You do." AJ agreed, "But just a little more. Little." AJ emphasised as he nodded.
"How was work?" He asked her, leaning over and kissing the side of her head as she smiled.
"Got all my shipping orders done for the weekend." AJ smiled, "I'm actually ahead of my target which is always good for my work anxiety." She nodded.
"You're so smart." Punk smiled proudly.
"I told Lucy, my assistant, that she could leave early today cause it was Friday and she looked like she wanted to kiss me." AJ chuckled.
"I wish you were my boss." Punk scoffed.
"It's ok, you are allowed to kiss me." AJ nodded as he chuckled.
"I mean so you could let me off work early." Punk nodded, "I'll take the kiss, though." He said as she smiled, leaning up and cupping his cheek, giving him several sweet kisses.
"Now that you're home, let's talk dinner." AJ nodded, pushing his face away as he chuckled.
"I could have picked something up on my way home." Punk said.
"Let's just order in and watch a movie." AJ smiled.
"Sounds good." Punk nodded.
"You need to shower first, though." AJ nodded, "Look at how dirty your hands are." She groaned.
"These are working hands, babe." Punk said.
"Yeah you never let me forget it." AJ smiled.
After leaving the restaurant, Jude headed back to the hotel where she and Sean were staying with the girls. Instead of going to their room, she headed into the lounge area, sitting down at a table and ordering a glass of wine.
She'd got to the hotel in record time due to her power walking whilst racing thoughts went through her head. She'd done so much in her life, to get over her trauma that came with her attack. She'd processed it all and worked on maintaining it in the back of her mind. To now be told that what she had tried so hard to process all these years, wasn't as it seemed, was extremely difficult, and cruel.
Her hands were shaking slightly as she put them in her hair, leaning her elbows on the table, hearing nothing around her due to the loud thoughts on her head.
"Jude." Cassie walked into the lounge, approaching the table where she found her sister.
"I do not want to talk to you." Jude warned.
"I don't care, I'm not letting you go off like that. I want to talk to you about it." Cassie said, sitting down at the table. Of course she'd gone after her sister. She couldn't not after what she'd just told her.
"Why can't you just leave things alone?" Jude shook her head, putting her shaking hand to her mouth.
"I didn't go looking for this. Mark told me. He pulled me aside and he told me about Vincent, how bad news he is, how he was loyal to Rio until the very end. That he strung mom and dad along and that he knew… he knew what Jackson was going to do to you, and… there might have been a chance he was there that night." Cassie said as Jude took a deep breath, fidgeting with her hands as she looked around the lounge, which felt like it was closing in on her.
"You didn't have to tell me." Jude whispered as Cassie nodded.
"I know." Cassie said with a crackle in her voice, "I know, and I didn't want to. I argued with myself about it. Not telling you would mean you didn't have to know or feel any more pain from it but… I couldn't lie. I couldn't know that and not say anything. And if he's out there, he needs to be arrested." Cassie nodded to her as Jude sighed.
"But he was questioned at the time. When they found out it was his house. He was questioned and… didn't his mother confirm that he was staying with her out of town?" Jude shook her head.
"Yeah. Yeah, I've been looking at the case all week. Picking at it. I watched his interview tape like… a dozen times. It's believable. He plays the clueless guy who has no idea what's going on, but so do a lot of people who wound up being guilty." Cassie said.
"That night you were kidnapped, and mom and dad went with him and Marina's family to meet with Rio's workers… was that a set up?" Jude questioned.
"Yeah, I think so." Cassie nodded, "I think he was walking them into it. Pretending to be their friend. He just wanted to get them there so he could go tell Rio that he got them killed. Backfired thankfully, and yet he's still managed to play their friend all this time. Well… up until he started dealing Thea drugs." Cassie shook her head.
"I just don't understand why Mark would know this and if he did… why would he tell you?" Jude shook her head.
"Well Vincent was working with the guys at the dealership and so was Mark. Their paths obviously crossed. He… didn't tell me why he was telling me but I have no reason to believe he's lying."
"Really? Cause he seems like a shitty person too." Jude shook her head.
"He is but he's a shitty person with nothing to lose anymore." Cassie said, "What would he gain from lying to me about something like that?"
"I don't know." Jude shook her head in a daze.
"I spoke with Karen. Karen Williams. The detective who-"
"I know who she is." Jude interrupted as Cassie nodded.
"When I brought it up with her she told me she would look into it, and that if it was true she would bring Vincent in for questioning again." Cassie nodded, "She seemed disturbed by it. And probably mad at herself." She said.
"So he… he could have been there that night?" Jude looked across at her as Cassie nodded.
"I'm sorry." Cassie shook her head as Jude looked down, "I promise you, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. Me and Theo. And we're gonna get him. I swear to you." She nodded as Jude looked over at her.
"I'm not doing this again." Jude shook her head, "I can't."
A/N: I think the site is functioning normally again now, guys. Don't quote me on it though, lol.