It was late in the evening when Gail dropped Matt off at Juniper House. She felt terrible leaving her friend there, suspecting it was horrible being locked up after being able to roam free for most of the day. Matt had tried to reassure her that everything was OK; however, she saw the fire that was in his eyes at the river fade when they got close to Juniper, which indicated that her friend was deflated.
Gail had insisted on walking Matt back to his cell, to ensure he was undisturbed by the orderlies. Lucas must have used his influence on the staff for her, as she was met with little confrontation when she had marched up to the front desk with Matt in tow.
When she had escorted him safely to his cell, she took a slow stroll down the corridor trying to find some evidence of wrong doing. She even managed to walk through a restricted door that was usually blocked by a security guard; however, before she could reach the room at the end of the corridor, she was spotted by an orderly and escorted out of the building.
Now that she was alone in the car park, she had time to reflect on the happenings of the day. She could not believe Lucas had convinced Caleb to help him with a campaign and she was still disappointed in herself for what she had done with Lucas while her cousin had been close by. Gail shook the thoughts out of her head and glanced at her watch, it was only 7:30pm so she decided to head to Jimmy's bar for a drink with the hopes of seeing Ben or Billy.
Selena stood pacing in her kitchen, trying to control her frustration. She had slaved over a hot stove for hours and cooked an exotic meal for Billy, to show him that she was making an effort with their relationship; however, all he seemed to be concerned about was work or how Gail Emory was doing.
Selena had made the mistake previously of convincing Billy she had accepted his friendship with her nemesis and now all he did was talk about her. If it was not about how strong she was for putting that man Gregory in his place, it was how worried he was about whether she was coping with unemployment. Selena had smiled and nodded in the right places throughout dinner, patiently waiting for some praise for the effort she had put in; however, it appeared that her partner took the nods as authorisation to go check on her nemesis, which meant she was left here pacing in her kitchen staring at the dirty dishes in her sink.
This whole situation was laughable to her, it was not like her to voluntarily be so domestic and this was a new low for her. Selena knew she could snap her fingers and get almost any man in this town to do as she wished, how could it be so hard to get Billy to notice her?
Selena laughed out loud at the situation. If Billy wanted to go and check on the lovely Miss Emory, she was not going to just wait here for him to come home. She decided she was long overdue for a night out on the town and headed towards her bedroom to change.
Caleb arrived at Gail's house just before 9:00pm. Lucas had dropped him off at the boarding house at approximately 8:00pm, just in time for his curfew; however, Caleb decided he wanted to spend the night at his cousin's place again, as she was so welcoming the night before. Gail and Lucas had been acting strangely together at the river earlier, so Caleb decided not to ask Lucas to take him to Gail's house and chose to walk instead.
Miss Holt had given him a disapproving look when she saw him get out of Lucas's car and tried to question whether he was being honest about going to Gail's place. Caleb had come to realise that Miss Holt had little to no authority over him, he appreciated that she had taken him in and she had authority over what he did in her house; however, he did not need to justify or explain himself to her about anything that took place outside the boarding house. After Caleb had only given one word answers to her questions, she had waved him off in frustration and he was free to head to his cousin's place.
When Caleb arrived, he was disappointed to see Gail's car was not in the driveway. He went around back to obtain the spare keys and then returned to the front garden to let himself in, he hoped she would not mind the intrusion.
Caleb walked around the place casually, admiring the peacefulness. He had only been alone in this house once before, when some bad men had come to Trinity and Gail had ordered him to wait for her here as they were staying at the boarding house. Lucas had taken care of the men somehow, it was of no concern to him how he had done so and Caleb believed whatever punishment they got was well deserved.
When he spotted his cousins bedroom door was ajar, he was taken out of his thoughts and his curiosity got the better of him. Caleb peeked his head apprehensively around the door, then entered the bedroom. He did not want to do anything untoward, he just wanted to gain more insight into his cousin as she was usually very guarded and private.
Caleb surveyed Gail's bedroom and realised that it was quite bare, much like his own. Although there were pictures on the wall and a few green plants dotted around the place, the dull white walls gave the room a sterile feel to it. He headed over to the chest of draws and picked up a photo frame, he smiled when he realised it was the first photo ever taken of him and his cousin. The photo was taken after he had taught Gail how to crab fish and she had caught her first crab, the picture reflected the genuine happiness that they both experienced that day.
Placing the photo back in its original position, he glanced around the room and noticed all the photos in here were of him and Gail. This surprised Caleb as he thought there would be more pictures of Gail's parents, knowing how important her parents had been to her. There was a photo of her as a little girl with her parents on the fireplace in the living room; however, it appeared that every other photo Gail chose to display around the house was of him.
He shrugged off this train of thought as unimportant for the time being and continued surveying the room. He saw the peach dress that Gail had be wearing earlier discarded on the floor, which indicated she had changed and left in a hurry.
Caleb looked suspiciously from side to side, as if making sure he would definitely alone, then ran quickly and jumped on Gail's bed. Laughing out loud to himself as he bounced up and down slightly, he stretched his arms and legs out like a star. It was not often that his cousin let him lay on her bed and it was much comfier than his. Caleb knew she would not be impressed with his cheekiness; however, he suddenly felt giddy and did not care.
Billy Peele went to knock on his friends front door not holding out much hope that she was home as her mustang was nowhere to be seen, when he noticed the door was slightly ajar. He entered suspiciously, knowing Gail would not leave her door open like this and was taken aback by the childish giggles coming from her bedroom.
Billy would not usually have the balls to approach his friends bedroom, as she was very private; however, it was evident that she was not home, therefore, he walked towards the surprising sound and poked his head around the door to inspect the noise. He laughed when he saw Caleb laying like a star on her bed. 'You're brave Champ' he said, informing the boy of his presence.
Caleb jumped up off the bed in shock and stood tall, trying to appear natural. 'I wasn't doin' nothin'' he said more defensively than intended.
Billy held his hands up in an unarmed gesture, 'Whoa, don't worry. As far as I'm concerned I didn't witness a thing...' he said, trying to reassure the boy, 'Have you seen your cousin?'
Caleb quickly straightened out Gail's bed covers and glanced around the room to make sure he had not left anything out of place, then headed out of the bedroom. 'No sir, not since earlier'
Billy followed Caleb into the living room, Gail would not be happy that he was out past his curfew or that he was here alone. Billy had realised early on that his friend liked her privacy and would not tolerate intrusions. 'Isn't it past your bedtime at the boarding house Champ?' he asked.
Caleb shrugged, 'I've decided to stay here tonight' he said, confident his decision would go unchallenged and jumped on the couch.
Billy shook his head, he knew Caleb was Lucas Buck's son and pitied the boy for that. Every now and again Caleb would say something in a way that made you not want to challenge him, which reminded him of Lucas. Gail would not acknowledge Lucas's parentage and she disregarded any hint at it when Billy tried to make her aware that he knew.
He understood Gail well enough by now to know that she would want to be the one authorising any time Caleb spent in her home and would not want Caleb to have full control of her place; therefore, Billy took it upon himself to step in now and hoped Selena would not be too mad at the delay this would inevitably cause in him returning to her. 'Well, if you're staying here Champ, then so am I. We'll wait for that cousin of your's together' he said, taking a seat on Gail's big arm chair.
Caleb looked at Billy trying to will him to leave, then sighed when it was evident that the man was staying put.
Gail sat in a dark quiet corner of Jimmy's bar, observing the people present in the room. When she had decided to leave for the the bar, after returning home to change into a white mid length skirt and blue vest top, she had hoped to find her friends. She had not spotted Billy; however, she saw Ben with Rita stood cosily together by the pool table and chose not to disturb their date.
Gail never minded drinking alone, it gave her the opportunity to observe the townspeople freely without having to perform for the company around her. She was used to being alone and it took a lot of effort for her to pretend like she wanted to be around people. She made the effort with Ben, Billy and Matt as they were good people; however, they were also a little damaged like herself which made it easier.
Christie, her only real friend in Charleston, had always told her that she needed to embrace new relationships with people. This was not something Gail would usually consider due to the demanding nature of her career; however, she was stuck here for the foreseeable future and she had to try to behave like a normal person, to create a good and stable environment for Caleb. If that meant playing the part of a socialite in this town she had to try, hence her becoming friends with the Mayor's wife Mary and the likeable Nurse Rita.
All these new friendships would play a part in her wider goal of potentially gaining custody of Caleb; however, the more interactions she forced herself to do, the more she felt as though a part of her true nature was being stripped away. Lucas understood how she really was, she believed this was partly why she was drawn to him. He did not force her into public displays, she would always have a choice if he required her to be seen out with him and he appeared to be happy enough for their rendezvous's to be private.
Although she would never let herself admit it out loud, she missed him. The man was infuriating and like to intrude on her personal space; however, she could be herself around him and he did not judge her, even when she acted cold.
As if sensing her thoughts, she saw Lucas enter the room and casually walk up to the bar. Gail sat back in her booth, closed her eyes and sighed. Now she remembered why he infuriated her so much, he chose the most inopportune moments to show up and she did not want his company right now.
'Problems?' came a familiar voice from behind her.
Gail opened her eyes, turned around and saw Selena sat on the opposite side of the booth behind her. Gail shook her head, she had clearly been so distracted by Lucas's appearance that she had not noticed Selena sneak into the booth. 'We all have problems Selena' she said and turned back around.
Selena picked up her martini, got up and moved to Gail's booth. Placing herself opposite her nemesis, she glanced in the direction Gail was staring and smiled knowingly when she saw Lucas ordering a drink. This was interesting, not only was the lovely Miss Emory not at her place where Selena knew Billy would be waiting for her, she also appeared to be avoiding Lucas. Selena was fed up of men for the time being, so she chose to enter into honest conversation for a change and sighed 'Well my problem is that my boyfriend is more concerned with you at this moment in time, rather than me. Care to share yours?'
Gail turned her attention to the woman in front of her, she knew Billy had been concerned about how she was coping; however, she would not have thought he would let the concerns impact his relationship with Selena. Men could be so stupid, if Billy was waiting for her at her place which Selena's presence indicated, he would be waiting for a while yet for her to return.
Gail was tired with the heat and the activities of the day, she was also slightly drunk so felt no need to keep up pretences. 'That's pretty lame compared to mine. Try dealing with Lucas Buck and Matt Crower in the same vicinity, then throw in an 11 year old boy who wants to spend time with them both...believe me, I'd take your drama over mine any day of the week Selena' she said and took a large sip of her wine.
Selena laughed, Lucas and Matt alone would have been hard work but with Caleb in the mix that was a recipe for disaster. Selena had heard from her sources around town that Gail had somehow managed to get Matt Crower day leave once a week from Juniper House, well good for her as Selena had always liked Matt and was sad when he was taken away. In all honesty she knew it was inevitable that something would happen to get rid of Matt and Lucas had tolerated him for longer than she had expected.
Lucas must be losing his touch if he let Gail convince him to let the man out, either that or the lovely Miss Emory had more to offer in the form of sexual persuasion than Selena realised. She could not imagine Gail using her sexuality to get what she wanted; however, the only other thing Lucas would want was Caleb and nothing had changed with the boy recently, which meant Gail had done something herself to convince him.
Selena felt eyes on her and glanced around, Lucas had spotted them and was staring in their direction. Selena smiled devilishly at her ex and moved closer to Gail, knowing he would be suspicious. 'You're right, my life does seem to be a bit boring these days. How is our old Doctor holding up?' she asked and took a sip of her martini.
Gail shook her head, 'That small sip won't do if your going to sit with me Selena...' she said ignoring the question, '...I'm about 3 drinks ahead of you, I expect you to catch up'
Selena looked at her nemesis suspiciously then downed her martini, this prompted Gail to down her glass of wine. 'Now, now ladies...shouldn't you be takin' it easy on a school night?' Lucas asked appearing beside Gail, he had wandered over when he had spotted Selena leaning close to Gail.
Gail stood from her position in the booth, 'You can do what you want on a school night Sheriff, but we're getting another drink' she said, then walked past him to head for the bar and signalled for Selena to follow.
Selena stood up with her empty glass and shot Lucas a smug smile when she brushed passed him to follow Gail, she was beginning to find she was liking her nemesis more than anticipated with every moment she spent with her. Maybe the lovely Miss Emory was not as sweet and innocent as she had initially thought, it was an intriguing thought and Selena was dying to test her theory.
Lucas was dumbfounded, he knew Gail was angry over their earlier exchange; however, for her to disregard him for Selena, that seemed like something more. When he noticed Gail being handed two bottles of wine by the bartender then head for the door with Selena, he knew better than to intrude just yet and decided to give his love some space to work through whatever was really bothering her. Spotting Ben and Rita, he walked casually over to the couple with his drink.
Gail sat on a table with Selena behind Jimmy's Bar, looking out into the river. Her thoughts took her back to a time when Lucas had surprised her previously here by coming behind her unexpectedly and playing with her. She shook her head to push the thought of his touch away, she needed to be more concerned with Matt and what was the best way to help him.
Selena was watching her nemesis intently, the woman was a mystery. One minute she would get her back up and the next minute she would just be content drinking with her. They had both had a few glasses of wine in silence, this seemed to be the best time for Selena to get some answers. 'So, are you and our good Sheriff fighting?' she asked causally.
Gail regarded the woman next to her suspiciously, then let out a small laugh. 'We don't fight...I just want some space for the moment. Why do you care? Trouble with our good Doctor?' she shot back at her.
Selena smiled, Gail was not as overly open as other women when she had a lot to drink and she still managed to keep her guard up. 'Oh everything is peachy with Billy, when he's not rattling on about you that is' she said and took a large sip of her wine.
'It's in his nature to worry about people Selena...' Gail said, trying to help her friend. '...get over it. Besides, you've landed above your station. If I was you I'd do what I could to keep him happy where he is'
Selena shook her head, she did not need Gail to tell her how good she had it and to look down at her. Truth be told Selena was used to being passed between the men in this town and it had become like second nature, to the point were she would not even need Lucas to ask for her help with certain things anymore, she used to sense his desires and do it herself like an obedient little follower; however, being with Billy had made her wise up to how much she had been used and she would not willingly be that way again. 'Do you know what you've got Gail?...' she said with a slight bit of venom in her voice, '...I mean do you really know who you're giving yourself to at night?'
Gail stared defiantly at Selena, she had a pretty good idea what Lucas was and she had accepted her bad judgement of letting him in. She was not naive like she imagined Selena envisioned her to be, she knew Lucas could be inexcusable and she cursed herself at times for not caring.
Gail could feel rage rising from inside of her. She had made her bed and she would own the consequences of that in the future; however, for now she was content with being oblivious to all things that Lucas had done in the past and she did not need the judgement of this woman beside her. 'I know exactly who I'm doing Selena and I really don't care. Are you so full of morals now that you can judge him? You need to turn some of that judgement on your own relationship and consider whether Billy really know's who he's doing' she said standing up and walking towards the rail.
Selena shook her head, this was the Gail Emory that she was used to. Selena knew she was lucky that Billy did not appear to be phased by her past discretion's at least for now, he was a good man and should not be brought into this. She knew she should mind her own business when it came to Gail's relationship with her ex, but she could not help herself. 'You think you're so different than I was, you don't think I started out sweet and innocent like you Gail? That man will corrupt you and turn you into something unrecognisable'
Gail took a deep breath and focused on the slight ripples in the water, in an attempt to calm her anger. She had woken up in the middle of the night on a number of occasions with sweat dripping down her body, after having nightmares of doing terrible things. She had always had a sense of darkness inside her, from when she had first been visited by her foster father at the age of 9 and a rage had manifested itself to warn him off attempting to touch her. She had pushed that rage deep down over the years and even though she could feel it clawing to be freed when things seemed grim for her, she had kept it under control. Right now, Gail could feel the rage trying to surface and it was taking all of her self control to push it back down.
Gail turned towards Selena with an unusual glint in her eye, which Selena did not care for. 'Who do you think I am Selena? Why do you presume to know me? I'm not some innocent little girl who needs protecting, I've been in some horrific situations that you could not even begin to comprehend. You need to get rid of this sweet and innocent image that you're projecting onto me and open your eyes'
Selena stood up ready to challenge the women before her; however, she felt a barrier in her mind which prevented her from speaking.
'Stand down' Lucas ordered Selena.
Gail did not take her eyes off the woman in front of her, her hands were clenched into fists and she felt as though she was ready to pounce on Selena. It always seemed to lead to a confrontation of sorts when they got together.
Lucas paid little attention to his ex and walked past her to Gail. 'Breathe deep love, you don't wanna do that' he said holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture.
Gail stared at Selena for a moment longer, then turned back towards the water. She was not used to getting this worked up and over what? A few comments about Lucas. Gail needed to get a grip, it had been a long time since she had felt her rage trying to break free and this was not the time to lose control. She took a few deep breaths, picked up her drink and started to walk further down the pier away from Lucas.
Lucas watched Gail walk away from him, this little exchange intrigued him and he could feel his twin stirring inside him with excitement.
Selena stared at Gail's retreating figure for a moment, then turned her attention towards Lucas. 'It seems you're corruption of women knows no bounds Sheriff' she said, picking up her drink and turning towards the bar.
Lucas smiled, it appeared that he was finally making some real progress with his love.
'You coming?' Gail called back to Selena and Lucas looked at his ex surprised.
Selena was just as astonished as Lucas that Gail still wanted her company; however, she picked up the remaining bottle of wine, smirked at Lucas and followed Gail. Lucas had been correct, it was a school night but she would deal with the consequences of this tomorrow.
-To be continued-