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“A Mother’s Tale”

~Chapter Seventeen- Dead Expressions

The small black pebble skims over the quiet still pond, skipping silently across the surface of the dark water. He watches the pebble sink shortly after its ride, disappearing under the surface. The only other sounds around him as he kneels down on the ground: is the chirping of the crickets. Inhaling a cool wisp of late spring air, he leans back against the tree watching a few stray robins fluttering towards the pond. The night sky above him was a reminder of things to come and he loved being outside for the moment, to feel that strange sensation of freedom.

“Is this where you usually go to when you come back to Oakland?” Roger asks, kneeling down besides the man gazing out into the dark pond.

Nick looks over at the man and snorts: “At times yeah. Seems to be the only nice place this town has without all the people in your face.”

Roger looks over at the young man and smiles: “I know this is a big mess with you being involved in my wife’s mind. She always had some form of fascination with you.”

“Yeah I tend to do that with women, guess it doesn’t matter what age.” Nick smirks, resting his head back against the bark of the tree.

“She’s seeing a therapist since one of her friends had advised her to go and she seems to be doing ok.” Roger softly states, plopping down on the dirt and grass below him.

“I don’t need ok. I need her to get done with this completely. Look, not for nothing, I’m sure she’s a good woman and all but I can’t keep coming here thinking she’s going to go after me cause she has this idea that I’m her lost son or something. She needs to know, I’m not her kid. Never was, never will be. I’m not her blood relative in anyway and she’s a stranger to me. Yet she knows my some of my friends and uses one of them as a backup for the way her son is.” Nick scowls out, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I know its frustrating and all. That’s why I went through with the killing the memory off with the death. But I know she keeps having these so called memories and its driving me insane. I tried to get Eliez to play along but she can’t keep doing it. My doctor said its not doing well for her. It’s too much pressure for a four year old to deal with at all. She doesn’t know what’s going on and I can’t blame her.” Roger slowly explains letting out a frustrated sigh.

Nick sniffs the musty clear air, standing up, shoving his hands in his pockets. A soft cool breeze fans his beige snug t-shirt as he looks around. “You know if you wanted to, you could have told her a long time ago before it got messy like it is now. I don’t get why you couldn’t be upfront and let her deal with it instead of letting her live in this dream state where she thinks her kid lived.”

Roger frowns, standing up besides him: “I didn’t want to be the one to kill her life with the painful truth. Nick you have no idea the trauma she endured when she lost her child during her pregnancy. You don’t know what I had to see and deal with when her unborn son miscarriage and left her to deal with the pain. I couldn’t just go up to her months later and say its ok. She’s highly sensitive…she held the pain in for far too long. She told me she felt a connection with the baby and couldn’t let the idea drop that her little son wasn’t coming back.” Sighing, Roger licks his lower lip: “I wanted to get her help, I talked with her many times, that what she was dealing with was normal and painful. But she didn’t want to hear it. She couldn’t bear the thought that she lost her first child. Mind you was only in her early twenties when she was carrying her child.”

“I get that it hurt her and I know she went through a lot. But I don’t understand how you can let this go on for years in advance. Hell the moment she saw me back when I was five she couldn’t take her eyes off me. My mom got the creeps and moved the hell out of there while my dad came back and made trips with me to his job back here. But Carter man…you messed up in the head too to let her go on like this.” Nick tosses a stick in the still pond, sending ripples shattering across the surface.

“You don’t get it do you? The moment she saw you was when she lived again. It was all the life she was missing was brought back the moment she laid eyes on you. You made her go in life. She didn’t want to live: she had given up after the loss of her child. But something about you caught her eye and she was able to go on. I have to thank you for keeping her hope up. Even if you never intended to do that.” Roger smirks, resting his hands on his own hips, his eyes glaze over the dark pond.

“Yeah well thanks for nothing…” Nick murmurs as Roger rakes a hand through his own hair. “Here I am, wanting to get my life back together and everything is all set up here when your wife starts taking things…you know she stole a few stuff from my friend right?”

Roger raises his eyes brows: “What?”

“I wasn’t gonna mention it, but my buddy is missing a few of his clothes the last time he went to do some laundry at the laundry mat. Hell I think your wife got his watch too.” Nick clicks the roof of his tongue.

Roger frowns, shaking his head: “I didn’t know that. Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

Nick shrugs: “You have a tendency to listen through your ass doctor Carter. No harm done though right? Though I’m sure you can get the personal belongings back to the owner quickly.”

Roger snorts, digging the heel of his foot on the dirt: “Yeah…I’ll do that shortly.”

“Good thing man. Wouldn’t want to have to think your wife is becoming a clepto.” Nick smirks, twirling the silver thumb ring on his hand walking off.

Roger frowns with the new info and heads back to his car lost in thought.
~*~

Holding the hose, he nods giving her the cue to let the water out. Arianna smiles, turning the small metal faucet the hose was connected to. Grinning evilly, she turns it on full blast to her unexpected boyfriend.

Damien whistles and looks at the opening of the hose waiting for the water to come out. “Any day now.”

“Oh it’s coming.” She yells out as a blast of cold water sprays out hitting the man full force soaking him completely.

Damien blinks and drops the hose, wiping his eyes as the hose begins to take a life of its own, spraying hard the water all around the set.

Laughing hard, Arianna holds her side as A.J. and Brian run onset to catch the crazed hose.

Damien sputters out water, blinking away the water falling down his eyes as some of the camera people take cover hiding the equipment in case of possible damage. “What the fuck are you doing?!” He glares at Arianna who smiles and slowly stops laughing seeing the anger in her boyfriend eyes.

“God relax boy…everything is safe, the only thing that got soaked was you.” She watches the hose waving around the set as Brian rushes to turn off the water.

Makenzie smirks, sitting on a fold out chair watching the others as she gets a call on her cell phone. Quickly snapping it open, she slides off the chair walking away from all the screaming and running around on set. “Hello?”

“Hey, its Bethany. Got your message, what’s up?”

“Oh hey girl…did you notice it too?” Makenzie blurts out.

“To be honest…I don’t really know how Arianna is like. I haven’t really talked with her.”

“Ooohh come down the set, Damien is doing a film project for a while and everyone is here helping out. I heard mister can I have a cup of tea will be here as well.” Makenzie beams, brushing back a lock of golden hair over her shoulder.

Bethany smiles at the thought, looking around her tidy room: “Well I guess…since I have nothing to do and maybe it’s a good idea I talk some with that Arianna girl. Cause the way she’s acting sounds a little shady…maybe there’s more to the story then she let’s on.”

“Hehe perfect. And you need to see this, the set is soaked cause she let the hose go out of control.” Makenzie snickers watching the group of maintenance workers clean up the pool of water gathering around.

“HAHA, she gives blondes a bad name.” Bethany smirks, tying up her hair, putting a butterfly clip on it, exiting her house.

“I know, its getting crazy. I wonder how the guy puts up with her. She seems like a ditz at times.” Makenzie settles back on a chair watching the crew clean up the set.

“Heh…maybe she gives him something else then…” Bethany snickers, getting into her car red sports car. “So you’re gonna give me the directions right or should I just guess and pull up anywhere?”

“Oh heh…right that…” Makenzie giggles out, giving her the address. “So see ya soon then.” Hanging up, she settles back watching Damien pulling the fair headed woman out of the studio.

“Baby I was just messing around. I didn’t think you would have let the hose go.” Arianna eyes him.

“AHH oh my freaking God, please tell me you didn’t just say that shit to me? Water was blasting in my eyes and you didn’t think I would just stay stand there letting it hit me now did you?” Damien grumbles, dripping wet as he tries to drain some of the water off his light blue t-shirt.

“Sorry…I wasn’t thinking about that. If anything is damaged, I’ll pay for it.”

“Its fine, I got insurance before hand, figured someone would attempt to mess things up.” Damien scowls out, his light eyes burning into her.

“Geez relax boy. I’ll make it up to you. Ok? Please just calm it down.” Arianna whispers out, gently folding a dry napkin and patting it across his wet forehead.

Damien frowns tugging on his shirt: “I’m beginning to think you like to see me wet.”

“Normally I always thought it was the other way around. But I guess you’re more of a bitch than I thought.” Nick voice comes out from behind them.

Arianna snickers as Damien smiles turning around to greet his friend.

“Hey, glad to see you finally made it.” Damien tosses a wet towel aside flipping his friend off.

“Yeah well…had to see what was going on here. And I had an interest.” Nick smirks, tugging on the rim of his trucker’s baseball hat.

“Yeah yeah…get inside, the next set is about to get shot.” Damien smirks, entering the studio now dry from the water fiasco mess.

Nick follows him inside, looking around the set and sits down on an empty seat, feeling the boring of eyes on him from a petite fair headed woman. Raising his eyebrows, he turns to the woman and eyes her: “What?”

“Nothing…I never seen you before that’s all.” The emerald eyed woman takes in the man before her.

“Ohhh…D needed my help with the set so I came down here today. Hi, I’m Xander, you?” Nick smiles, extending his hand out to her.

“Ohh…hi. I’m Makenzie, here to help out my boyfriend on set.”

“Oh you dating who?” Nick sits up, pulling the rim of his baseball hat down to cover more of his face. He didn’t like the way the woman was glued looking at him.

“Alex.” She smiles watching A.J. slide across the set a little wet from the spraying hose.

“Good luck, he’s like a wild horse.” Nick grins, leaning back against the director’s chair.

“He’s not that bad. He’s a good boy.” She smiles at A.J. proudly as he winks and blows a kiss at her.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy, just unexpected.” Nick smiles as A.J. runs over to Makenzie.

“Babe you need saving from this guy?” A.J. smiles: wiggling his eyebrows.

She smiles, shaking her head as Nick looks over at his friend.

“So A.J. how’s that movie thing coming along?” Nick asks watching Brian run after a missing mop on the set.

“Going good man…” A.J. smirks.

Orlando strolls into the set with a tray of drinks, carrying an ice box with cold drinks, making his way over to the others.

Orlando blinks, looking at Nick surprised to see the man here today. “Uh hey hi.”

“Hi man, you remember me right? Xander.” Nick smiles, eyeing the man to play along.

“Yeah…damn there we go. Your name escaped me for a moment.” Orlando smiles big, patting the man on his back.

Makenzie smiles, watching, slowly taking this all in, fascinated with the new man that wondered on the set.

Damien strolls over to the group and smiles: “The movie can’t be done if everyone is just hanging around doing nothing.”

“Damn, really? I thought what we were doing was productive enough.” A.J. smiles cheekily, sitting on a fold out chair besides Makenzie.

“Heh…yeah really.” Damien eyes Nick as the camera men begin to set up.

Raising his eyebrows, Nick gets off the chair pulling Damien aside: “What?”

“Nothing. Just looking.” Damien smirks, pushing the man away.

“I know I look good.” Nick blows a kiss at his friend getting a few laughs.

Damien smiles, shaking his head: “Aight, A.J. get into costume, I need to see how the bad guy is gonna look like.”

Sliding off his seat, A.J. smiles strolling over to the costume set up to pull out a few items needed for the character.

Makenzie watches the others, taking in Nick curiously as the back doors swing open.

All eyes turn back to see Bethany strolling in languidly, her hair tied up in a knotted bun with dark shades over her eyes.

Arianna raises her eyebrows and smirks: “Does she think she’s a diva that she gets all this attention?”

Damien gets on a bullhorn, standing up on the arms of a chair: “Alright bitches. Get your asses in a seat and stop moving around. I got two hours to wrap up the final scenes before this goes into editing.”
The others boo and laugh as everyone settles down to begin the filming again.
~*~

Running the bathwater, he slides in the tub to let the tension out. He tried to call Mr. Carter but got nothing but either the voicemail or the answering machine, which was beginning to get on his nerves. Letting the warm water soak his bare back, he rest his head on the back of the tub closing his eyes for a moment to try to relax. The receptionist suggested the bath and he was glad to have listened. He lets the thoughts of the days pass him as he was left with more puzzles and less answers than he thought he had. There were no witnesses to the case, which made it harder to find out what really was the cause of the accident.

Lying back quietly in the tub he smiles slowly beginning to feel relaxed when he hears a loud banging at the front of his house door. Jumping up, he gets out of the tub, quietly wrapping a towel around his waist, running to the door. Opening the front door of his apt, he steps out in the hallway looking around to see it empty.

“What was that about?” He murmurs out annoyed, stepping back when he feels a soft sheet of paper against the sole of his right foot. Looking down, he spots a blank envelope with what seemed like a letter inside. He brings the envelope inside, sliding the letter out. Lying the letter open on the table, he scans over the scribbled words reading it over again to make sure it was real.

-Those that ask questions, get no real answers. You want the truth and I have it. Does it drive you crazy to know that the solution is real simple? That maybe you’re looking all around you and the answer is there. The mother doesn’t know what her son does but her son can talk for himself. Only problem is…he’s already dead. Doesn’t that suck?” –

Howie blinks, carefully tucking the letter in and frowns seeing the signature of the person at the bottom of the paper. “That little son of a…”

Calling the station, he issues a warrant out for the arrest and hangs up, ready to end this case and get the real answers he needed.
~*~

“And that’s a wrap for now. We’re done for today.” Damien yawns, as the set crew begins to put away the equipment away.

Sitting back in her chair, Makenzie sat quietly waiting for A.J. to finish changing so they can head back. Bethany and Orlando had already left the set an hour ago but Arianna was busy bustling around to get a chance to talk with Bethany. Brian and Nick had wondered off just ten minutes ago, leaving just her around waiting.

Sighing, she sees the crew leave as Damien and Arianna run off set waving bye to them. Feeling a soft kiss on her cheek, she smiles, taking A.J.’s hand as they leave off set to get home.

Arianna slumps back tiredly on the sofa after arriving home an hour ago, flipping through a magazine lounging around the living room bored. Damien had went to shower up as she sat around restless looking through some music magazines. Resting her chin on her hand, she shuffles in her seat and hears the front door bell ring. Grumbling, she gets up, tugging on her pink satin robe as she opens the door blinking to see two police officers there.

“Umm…can I help you?” She eyes the two wearily.

One of the cops poke his head around the threshold and shows her a picture of her boyfriend. “Does he live here?”

“Umm…why are you asking?”

“Because he’s under arrest.” The police officer states, pulling out his handcuffs.
~**~

**~To Be Continued…~**