Chapter 18:
Wyatt is sitting in his living room working on his laptop, there is a huge storm whirling outside. He can hear thunder and waves outside, he has a window cracked and can smell the salt in the air. He is concentrating deep in his work when there is a knock at the door. Wyatt wonders to himself who would be out in this weather, he opens the door to see his mother standing there soaking wet and clearly upset. "Mom! What are you doing here? Come inside before you catch a cold."
As Quinn walks in he notices her suitcases in tow, "Thanks honey. I didn't know where else to go."
"Why do you have suitcases with you? What happened?"
"It's a long story," Quinn says as she takes her wet jacket off and hangs it up on a hook on the wall.
"Well from the looks of it, we're going to have plenty of time for you to tell me." Wyatt says handing his mother a towel, "Care for a drink?"
"Thanks," Quinn takes the towel from her son, "Make it a double."
After a long explanation of what transpired at the Forrester mansion, Wyatt is processing all of this information, "Wow, good for you Mom. I mean, I always liked Eric. But he was putting Brooke before you. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself." Quinn smiles at her son, she has more confidence now that she did the right thing, "And you can stay here as long as you need to."
"Thanks Wyatt, your such a good son." Quinn says hugging Wyatt.
At Hope and Liam's Malibu home, Hope just put Beth down for bed. She comes into the living room where Liam is waiting with two wine glasses, he hand one to Hope and moves in to kiss her. She kisses him back but he can tell she is not into like he is, "What's wrong Hope? You've seemed a little distant since we've all moved in here."
"I'm ok, it's just so overwhelming. I'm sorry I should be more invested."
"No you have nothing to be sorry for, I get it. I just want us to be close again. I want us to be a family."
"I want that too," Hope says, but she still can't help but think of her time with Thomas. She pushes that thought to the back of her mind. Liam is her husband and she needs to focus on what's in front of her. She puts her glass down and kisses Liam. The night continues with dancing and romance.
As the storm rages on outside a little dive bar in a small town just across the border of Mexico, an anxious Flo cleans glasses behind the bar. The owner of the bar Marco watches the woman who he has known for the past few months as Polly, he notices she is always looking over her shoulder, any time the door opens she jumps a little and crouches down. Part of him wonders what she is running from, but he has seen that look of paranoia and distress in people's eyes before and would prefer to avoid whatever or whomever they are running from.
The door opens and once again Flo/Polly jumps, she turns around to see it is a woman who walked in, but she cannot make out a face yet. When the woman comes closer she sees a familiar face and her heart sinks, "Mom!"
Marco is surprised to hear this but decides to give Polly her privacy, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
Shauna walks over to the bar and pulls Flo across the bar top in a tight embrace, "My baby! I thought I'd lost you forever! How could you do something like this!"
Flo begins to cry at the familiar, comforting cocoon her mother has created around her, "I'm so sorry. I can't explain it. I was so stupid, I had such strong feelings for Reese and I needed the money. I'm sorry."
Shauna holds her daughter tight, "It's ok baby, but you have to listen to me." Shauna pulls away from the comforting hug and holds both sides of Flo's face as Flo stares at her in panic, "You have to come back to LA, you have to face the consequences of your actions. It's the right thing to do."
"I can't do that Mom." Flo says breaking away from Shauna, "Do you know how long I will go to prison for?!"
Shauna takes a deep breath as tears roll down her face, "I know, and I don't want you to go to prison, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it's as little time as possible. But Flo, I don't want to see you on the run. I don't want to find out you are in some gutter dead." Shauna breaks down in hysterics and pulls Flo in for an even tighter embrace, "Please Flo! I don't want to lose my baby forever."
Flo begins to cry at the pain she has caused her mother, "Ok mom, I'll come back." Flo begins to think about the consequences that will be waiting for her back in LA.