Chapter 41
Alexis and Ned walked into the station with Owen. They agreed she'd be there. Owen knew the truth, but he still wanted to protect his sister's confidence. It was a mess and both Alexis and Ned were at odds about what they thought the right thing to do here was. They both wanted their daughter to feel supported, but Ned tried to reason with her that they could have the information they needed to finally help Addison get closure and heal. Ultimately Alexis convinced him that they shouldn't force their son to betray his sister's trust and he reluctantly agreed. He had to hope that eventually she'd see he was right. There was something clouding her judgement. She wouldn't hear him and she wouldn't talk about it. He felt like he had no choice but to agree if they were going to remain civil.
"Alexis, I'm going to have to ask that you wait outside," Dara said as they approached.
"He's my son, Dara." Alexis stated as they stood outside the interrogation room with Mac.
"You're the attorney for the defense. The DA is adamant you find out in discovery like any other case. No special privileges. He was clear." Dara explained.
"Who the hell does he think he is? My son has a right to have his parents present."
"Your son has a right to have a parent present and you know that." Dara emphasized.
"Why do I feel like you're talking about me? Ric Lansing." Ric extended his hand as he approached.
"Alexis Davis-Ashton." She said as she shook his hand. She contemplated how to introduce Ned. "This is my husband, Ned." She settled on husband, he was technically still her husband, he noticed, and shook Ric's hand as Alexis continued. "Rumor has it you're Sonny's brother, I'd think your conflict here is bigger than mine."
"Which is why ADA Jenson is taking the lead on this case."
"Alexis, should we reschedule this?" Ned asked, concerned.
"Your son isn't being charged with anything Mr. Ashton. We just have a few simple questions."
"It will be fine. We trust Mac, and Dara will be fair." Alexis explained and then turned to her son, "I'll be right outside. Just tell the truth."
"I wish you were going to be there," Owen stated to say.
"I do, too. But you don't need a lawyer. You did nothing wrong. Your dad is here. You'll be great. I believe in you."
"Ready Owen?" Mac said as he opened the door to the interrogation room. Owen nodded and he, Ned, and Dara followed Mac inside, leaving Alexis outside with Ric.
"So what's your angle here? You don't honestly believe my son has anything to offer, do you?"
"Your son was involved in the hit and run accident that your defendant is being charged with. Why are you defending the criminal who caused your kid's accident? Ever ask yourself that?"
"I took this case long before that accident."
"That's right because my brother used to be your client? That is up until some explosion almost killed you and your unborn child? Did I get the facts right?"
"My history with Sonny has nothing to do with this and if you think you can use my son to get me to back off this case, well you're mistaken. I finish what I start, Mr. Lansing. You scared you'll lose your first case in this office? Well you should be. I'm just as good as you've heard."
"We'll see about that. Excuse me." Ric said and walked back to his office, leaving Alexis standing outside the interrogation room.
Inside the interrogation room, Dara and Mac began to question Owen. "Thanks for talking with us." Dara said. "We're just trying to understand a few things leading up to your accident."
"Ok."
"So, you were at the party at the Kensington's?"
"I was. I was staying at my friend Will's and we heard about it and decided to go."
"What time did you get there?"
"I don't know exactly. Maybe 8ish?"
"Was Morgan Corinthos there when you arrived?"
"Yeah. He was there. He and his friends had already started drinking. But I didn't really pay much attention to him. We aren't exactly friends."
"What do you mean by that?"
"By what?"
"That you aren't exactly friends?"
"Well, we aren't and I may have turned him in at school for something earlier this year. It made things worse."
"So you and Morgan don't get along? What happened at school this fall?"
"I mean not really. We've never been friends and we definitely don't agree with how he and some other seniors—"
Ned stopped his son, "Is this really relevant? We're here about the accident right?"
"Right. So, you left the party and called 911?"
"I did."
"Why? How did you go from ignoring him and hanging out with your friends to leaving and calling us? That's where we're having trouble because it seems like you were comfortable around what was happening there. If you weren't, why would you have gone, right?"
"I told my friends I'd drive them. Someone needed to make sure we all got home safely."
"But you left your friends there, so why did you leave early?" Owen hesitated and Dara added her theory, "Did you and Morgan get into an argument? Is that why you were both on the road?"
Owen looked at his dad. "Can I talk to my Dad for a minute?"
"Just tell the truth, buddy. It's ok."
"But–"
"It's fine. Take a minute. We'll be back." Mac said as he and Dara got up and left the interrogation room, closing the door.
"What is it Owen?"
"If I tell them why I left, they'll know about Addison and she doesn't want to report it. They'll call her here and question her. Dad…we talked about this. Reporting it should be on her terms, not mine, not the police…"
Ned sighed, "tell them what you told us, Owen. Your mother and I will support Addie with whatever comes next."
"Can we ask Mom what she thinks? There has to be a way to protect what Addie wants."
"Mac?" Alexis asked as he and Dara exited the room and left Ned and Owen inside.
"He asked to talk to Ned."
"Can I?"
"Go ahead." Mac stated.
"There's more to this story, Mac. Ric is on to something. Why would he want to talk to his parents if he wasn't keeping something from us or them? Teenagers don't just report a party and call in drunk driving." Dara explained as they stood and waited.
"You let her in the room? What's going on?" Ric asked as he approached.
"He wanted to talk to his parents, so we took a break. It's fine." Mac said. Ned and Alexis were friends, he saw no reason to make this difficult. Their son did nothing wrong and he truly believed it was a waste of time.
"That kid knows something and it's connected to this case. I'm sure of it." Ric said as he watched from the window.
"What's going on? Are you ok?" Alexis asked as she entered the room.
"They asked why he left and he's afraid he'll betray Addison's trust."
"I understand that. But they also just want to know why you left the party so soon. You called out of concern, right? So stick to the facts and be direct. You didn't know she was assaulted when you left."
He looked between his parents, "Did you?" Alexis asked.
"Owen, if there's something more…" Ned tried to encourage him to finally say what he actually saw that night.
"Stick to the facts. Answer the question. Don't give them anything they didn't ask for…got it. Thanks, Mom."
"That's not what I said, O."
"Are you sure he doesn't need a lawyer?"
Alexis looked between her husband and her son, "Owen, if you thought you were in trouble you'd tell us right? We can't protect you if you're keeping something from us."
"I promise you I'm not the one who did anything wrong that night."
"Then stick to the facts and tell the truth. Don't add any opinions or commentary," she reminded her son and then turned to Ned. "I believe him."
"I trust your instincts, but–"
"If anything makes either of you uncomfortable with where this is going, ask to stop. We'll reassess, ok?"
Mac and Dara reentered the room. "Ready to pick up where we left off?" Owen nodded and Alexis left the room and closed the door to the interrogation room. "So why did you leave, if as you say you were the designated driver for your friends?" Dara asked.
"I didn't plan it. I was outside. There was a bonfire and we were just hanging out when Josslyn Jacks came to find me. She told me something happened to my sister."
"Your sister, Addison Ashton?"
"Yeah, she was there, too. Josslyn told me she was upset and left suddenly. I was worried about her, so I went to try and find her."
"But where does reporting Morgan for drunk driving come into this?"
"Well, I was outside looking for her and that's when I saw Morgan speed out of the driveway. I knew he shouldn't be driving, and like I said I was worried about my sister. It had started to snow and she was on foot, so I left to try and find her and that's when I called. I didn't want anyone to get hurt." He remembered the mistake he made with his Mom. He dropped the anyone else. He was clear, when the truth was he didn't want his sister to get hurt again. He didn't want Morgan to see her on the side of the road and stop or worse not see her and hit her.
"Mac, Dara, do you have enough?" Ned asked.
"Just one more question, for now." Dara said.
"When you saw Morgan leave, what was his mental state like?"
"I saw him speed out of the driveway. I didn't see him get into his car."
"At the party how would you describe his demeanor then?"
"He was drunk. It's hard to describe." His mom said no opinions or commentary. He stuck to the facts.
"Ok, well thanks for coming in Owen. Ned, we appreciate it."'
"We may want to talk to you again. But for now this will do." Dara said as Ned and Owen stood. They left the interrogation room and Alexis immediately approached.
"How'd it go?"
"He did great."
"I don't know about that. I answered their questions, but I tried to protect Addie."
"I'm proud of you. What you did today wasn't easy."
"Thanks. Are we done here? I have practice…"
"Let's go home, so you can be on time." Alexis said
"We still on for later?" Ned asked.
"Yeah. I'll meet you at the Grille at 7?"
"Perfect. Owen, I'll see you tomorrow, buddy." Ned said and nodded towards Alexis before leaving the station.
"You and Dad are going out?" Owen looked at his mother, hopeful.
"We are, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. It's about figuring out some details the court needs, nothing more."
"Right." Owen said, disappointed as he and his mother left the station. They drove home and he got ready for practice. He couldn't help but think maybe he gave away too much information about Morgan. He didn't understand why they were so interested in why he wasn't friends with him. He knew he did nothing wrong, but it seemed like only a matter of time before pieces were put together. At practice that night someone made a comment about wanting to try and bed Addison. He almost lost it. He almost blurted out the truth. He hated listening to the names they were calling her. He repeatedly told them they had no idea what they were talking about, but it didn't help. He worried that this was getting bigger than any of them had any control over and that his sister was even more at risk because of what was being said.
That evening, while Owen was at practice, Alexis got ready for her dinner with Ned. She thought about what to wear. She wasn't sure why she cared so much. This was about going through details, beginning the process of finding some sort of closure, but she did. She cared. She settled on the red dress she'd had for years, she'd change. She'd put in some effort. She had to admit she still cared. She walked downstairs and found her daughter doing homework in the living room. She was relieved to see her actually studying. "Addison, are you sure you're going to be ok?"
"I'll be fine. Don't be paranoid."
"I know. I just don't like leaving you alone at night."
"I swear I'll be fine. Cam is going to come by to help me with my math."
"Oh? So you'll be here, alone, with a boy, on a school night. Good idea. Why is that a good idea?"
"You sound like Dad."
"He's not always wrong, you know."
"I'll tell him you said that when I see him …"
"Seriously Addie, if you need me…"
"I'll call you, I promise. But I'll be fine. Go have dinner with Dad."
"I won't be too late."
"It's fine if you are. Maybe you can talk to him for real…"
"I'm going to tell you what I told Owen. This is about us figuring out details we need for the court. Coming to some sort of agreement. Please don't get your hopes up."
"Maybe you could agree you miss each other and this divorce is stupid."
"I'm sorry." Alexis said as the doorbell rang.
Addison stood and followed her mother to the door, "That's probably Cam," she said as her mother opened the door. "Hi." She said and smiled when she saw him.
"Hi." He said and smiled back.
"Hi Cameron. So you two are going to study?" Alexis asked as she let Cam into the house.
"Yes. You better go. You'll be late." Addison said as she looked at her mother, who was taking in the fact that Addison had walked over to Cam and taken his hand.
The two of them couldn't stop staring at each other. It was nice to see her daughter happy, but off putting to see her so taken with a boy, especially in light of everything. "Ok, I'm going." She said and left Addison with Cam. She knew she could trust them. She only hoped that Addison wasn't pushing herself into a relationship when she hadn't truly faced what happened to her. She was being overprotective. She wouldn't be overprotective. She needed to try and do things differently with Addison. She reminded herself as she drove to the Grille.
She walked into the restaurant and saw him sitting at the table waiting. "Thanks for meeting with me." Alexis said as she approached their table and he stood and helped her with her coat, pulling out her chair.
"Of course. You look great." Ned noticed the dress. His favorite. Was it a conscious choice or was he reading into it? He wanted to hope it was a conscious choice.
"Thank you. So, how's ELQ?" She asked as she sat across from him and looked into his eyes. The navy suit, the tie she had given him; ELQ meant a tie everyday. He had kept it on for dinner. She wanted to believe he made the conscious choice, but it was likely wishful thinking.
"It feels good to be back. I didn't realize how much I missed it."
"I'm glad you're doing what you love again. Not that you didn't love L …"
"I know what you meant." He paused and then took the risk, "If only I could come home to the person I love…"
She nodded, understanding, "It's been hard not having you to talk to at the end of a long day."
"And knowing you're understood. You've been heard." Maybe the risk would pay off. Maybe the only thing they had to figure out was how to come back together.
She inhaled, reminded herself to stay focused. He had her heart, but that was never the issue. "Right. But that was the problem. We weren't really hearing each other…"
"No, I guess we weren't." Why was she so determined to keep her wall up? "So, we're here…," he said as their eyes met.
"We are." She sadly agreed.
"You wanted to talk about some details…" He helped them move the conversation forward. The reason they were there. Divorce.
"Well everything is pretty straight forward. The pre-nup laid everything out. We just need to make some decisions."
"About the kids…"
"And the house. We could sell it, divide the asset equally?" She wanted to be fair to him.
"I want you to have the house, Alexis. Our kids grew up there. It's hard enough on them already."
"Oh." She was surprised, but maybe she shouldn't have been. She knew him. "Ok. You sure?"
"Yes. It's their home." He was sincere.
Her eyes met his as she whispered, "It was our home." Her emotions caught her off guard.
"It still could be." He added quietly, matching her emotions with his own as he moved his hand to the center of the table to meet hers.
"Ned…" She said as his hand covered hers.
"I know." They both took a minute. They were both fighting the feelings that were there and palpable. The waiter brought them wine. They were grateful for the interruption. Their hands pulled away. Ordering dinner, wine, a distraction to help push past the urge to admit they missed each other again.
She finally spoke again, broke the ice, and continued with the details. "I know the kids are old enough to have an opinion about where they live, but we need something in writing for the court. Is shared custody ok? You're an exemplary father and our kids need you, but they also need me. I don't want to fight about this. I really don't."
"Shared custody is fine and for the record you're a good mother, Alexis. I would never try to take our kids away from you."
"Thank you."
"That it?"
"Actually there's one more thing." She said as the waiter brought their dinner.
"Oh? What?"
"The stock."
"My grandfather left that to you. It's yours. I don't care what the pre-nup says."
"I don't feel right keeping voting shares of your family company, Ned. Shares I never asked for or even wanted in the first place."
"I mean you can sign them over to me. That's fine. If that's really how you feel." He was hurt, that's how she felt but wasn't going to fight it.
"Actually, I was thinking we'd split it equally amongst our kids. If that's alright with you?"
"That's a good idea."
"You're sure you're ok with that?"
"I am. So that's everything then?"
"Uh, yeah. I think so. I'll draw up the papers, file and get them to you as soon as the court approves the petition."
"Ok, well if that's all… " He let his emotions get the better of him. It was too hard to sit there and separate. He built his own wall. A wall she had been the one to tear down all those years ago. A wall he thought he'd never need to build again.
"What? You don't want to eat?" She took in his emotionally defensive state. A state she hadn't truly seen since they were just getting to know each other.
"Do you?"
"We don't have to force this. Ned. It's hard…I'm sorry."
"I know. I am, too. We'll talk soon."
"Soon." She agreed and stood. She put on her coat and left him sitting at the table. She paused at the doorway and looked at him again. He was miserable. She was heartbroken. She wondered if there would ever be a day that they could be more than co-parents, and find a bridge to be the friends they were before they fell in love.
While her parents were settling the details of their divorce, Addison sat on the sofa with Cam. She was grateful he came over. She would never admit it to her mother, but being alone was freaking her out. She needed the distraction to force her to focus on her homework and not over think weighing everything else happening in her life. "You can take off your coat Cam. It's not the boathouse, we have heat." She joked.
"Well I kind of brought you something…" He said as he took the wrapped gift out from under his jacket.
"You brought me a present?"" Addison said, shocked, as she took it.
Cam watched her and took off his coat. "I just wanted to do something nice. You deserve to have someone care about you. You're going through a hard time right now."
"Can I open it?" She asked, still shocked.
"That's what people usually do with presents. But if you'd rather just do your math homework and open it in private–"
"I don't have anything for you…"
"Adds, that's kind of the point…just open it."
She took off the bow, unwrapped the paper and looked at him, "It's a book." She said as she turned it over and read the back. "How did you know about this? I mean how did you decide this was the book you wanted to give me?" She looked at the title Speak.
"I went to the bookstore. I asked the salesperson for advice."
"You? You went to a bookstore?"
"You haven't read it. Have you?" He hoped he'd made the right choice.
"Uh, no." She hyperfocused on the last sentences of the blurb on the back 'Eventually, she's going to have to confront the thing she's avoiding, the thing that happened at the party, the thing that nobody but her knows. She's going to have to speak the truth.'
"Is this weird? Should I not have done this?" He tried to read her. She seemed lost in thought.
"No. I'm sorry. This is…perfect, Cam. You have no idea." She'd been reading for weeks, not once had she found a mirror. She needed a mirror. Other books had moments when they were a mirror, it helped her sort through the mess with her sister, her feelings about her parents fighting, this was exactly what she needed. She moved to hug him and he hugged her tightly back. "Did Sophie tell you what they're saying about me?" She asked putting down the book.
"No. Is this why you were so upset last night? You said you saw what was posted, but wouldn't tell me what…"
"I couldn't bring myself to type it. I couldn't…"
"You can tell me. I believe you, remember? I'm on your side."
She inhaled. She knew she could trust Cam. She knew he wouldn't think those things. He took her hand and she looked at them. She was safe. She was safe with him and so she told him. "They started a rumor. That I was after him. That I was rejected and freaked out and called the cops because I'm a desperate slut who wanted it…"
"Adds, I'm so sorry. It's not true. You know that's not true."
"And I didn't call the police that night. Owen did! All I did was try to get him off of me and run to the closest and safest place I knew."
"Where did you end up…you never mentioned what happened after, how you got home…I just kind of assumed you called your mom."
"I went to your house."
"My house?" He had no idea.
"Yeah. Your mom, she helped me. She was so wonderful. She called my mom."
"She didn't say anything."
"I asked her not to. It was after Rice Plaza; I didn't know where we stood."
"If I had been there I would have done anything to help you." He was sincere.
"I know. But, honestly, I'm glad you weren't. I probably would have melted down not knowing what to say to you on top of everything else."
"I'm here for you now." He said and took her hand.
"I know you are and I can't believe you did this for me. Thank you so much." She said as she hugged him again. "I guess I should try to tackle the math homework."
"Probably…" Cam said as Addison took out her notebook. As they started to work through the problems, Owen came home from practice.
Owen walked through the door and threw his turf shoes in the corner and dropped his bag by the door. "Hey Cam, Addie. What's up?"
"Just doing homework."
"Oh. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Cam's here…"
"Well, it's about the rumors."
"Cam knows everything. Whatever you need to say you can say in front of him. I trust him."
"Everything?"
"Everything." Addison confirmed as Owen sat down in the chair. "So what's going on? How much worse could it possibly be?"
"It's just, I feel like I should tell them I called the police. Maybe it would help them stop those lies about you."
"Owen, they'll crucify you." She didn't want her brother to face the same social isolation.
"If he wants to tell the truth…" Cam tried to reason.
"They'll find out eventually. I had to give my statement to the PCPD today. Mom couldn't stop it."
"If you want to take that risk, Owen, I can't stop you. But please don't–"
"I won't tell your story without your permission. I promise."
"Are you still keeping quiet because of your parents and Krissy?" Cam asked.
"Yes. I have hope. My parents are out together right now. I can't not hope that maybe I can fix the mess I made of our family."
"Mom will be home soon. It's kind of late, Cam, do you need a ride home?"
"Actually that would be great. Is it ok if I go?"
"Yeah. Thanks for coming and thanks again for the book." Addison said as she stood.
"I'll text you later and remember, none of that is true, Adds. Not one word."
Addison nodded. "I'll try," she said as Cam left with Owen and she sat back down to try and focus on her homework. It needed to get done. It was hard to focus, why couldn't she just power through? She was good at studying. She used to be good at studying. There was too much going on to worry about and she couldn't get past how overwhelming it was and the more she procrastinated the worse the feelings got.
Outside Owen drove Cam home. He was curious about his sister's relationship with Cam and so he asked what he'd been wondering for weeks, "So you and my sister are…"
"Dating? Yeah, I think so." Cam finished his thought. Owen was protective of his sister, but he was also a friend.
"She's been through a lot and she's kind of in denial if you ask me…I just don't want to see her get hurt..."
"I know. I'd never intentionally hurt her, Owen. And I know she wants to keep what happened to herself. I told her she can't control what happens to your parents. But she doesn't want to hear it. It's like she's focusing on that so she doesn't have to face what happened."
"Well maybe between the two of us we can convince her the only way to move past that night is the truth."
"Yeah, maybe." He said. "Thanks for the ride."
As Owen drove Cam home, Addison sat on the couch and stared at the book from Cam. She wanted to start reading it. She forced herself to try and do her homework instead. She was brought from the math problems when her mom entered the house. "Cam go home?" She asked as she took off her coat and walked into the room.
"Yeah, Owen drove him. He should be back soon."
"You're still working on math?" Alexis asked as she sat next to her daughter.
"I took a break…we were talking."
"Oh." Alexis said. She noticed the book lying on the coffee table, the wrapping paper. "What's this?"
"A book."
"Cute. What's with the wrapping paper? Was this a gift from someone?"
"Cam."
Alexis picked up the book, Addison watched her mother read the back. "Cam gave you this?" Alexis was surprised. It seemed like a story that her daughter needed to read, that maybe it could help push her in the right direction if she saw herself in anyone else's story. Fictional or otherwise.
"He wanted to do something. He gets me."
"So you and Cam…are more than just friends now aren't you?"
"I told you we admitted we like each other…"
"You did. I guess I just didn't realize until tonight how serious this might be. Have you told him what happened?"
"Yes, he knows and he's been amazing. I feel safe when I'm with him. He's one of the few people I don't second guess myself around."
"I'm glad he makes you feel safe. I just want to make sure you're taking the time you need to heal."
"You don't want me to date Cam?"
"I'm not advocating for or against anything. I want you to be happy again and I saw tonight first hand that you're happy when you're around him and he obviously cares about you. Just promise me you'll go at your own pace, listen to yourself. It takes time to heal."
"I promise. So, how was dinner with Dad?" She changed the subject; she turned the tables. "Did he notice you were wearing his favorite dress?"
"What?" Alexis asked, shocked.
"You wore that red dress Dad likes. He always tells you it's his favorite when you wear it."
"Nothing gets past you, does it?"
"Nope, and you're both still wearing your rings, which is why I know you're both being ridiculous."
"Addison, it's not that simple."
"Why not? Shouldn't it be?"
"When two people have been together as long as your father and I, the love just doesn't disappear overnight."
"If you love each other…"
"I'll always love your father because we share the three of you. You connect us for life."
"It's more than that. I know it is."
"Addison, please just let it go ok? It's getting late and you have school tomorrow. Why don't you head up to bed and try to get some sleep."
"Sleep, right. Like the math homework is just going to disappear. But I'll go upstairs and stop pointing out the obvious if you're not ready to hear it, Mom."
"I love you, peanut."
"I know. Love you, too."