A new home

‘Actually, you’re in luck. The other three tenants are movin’ out. They’re all theatre, you see, and they just got a new gig in Starlight Shores, so those three rooms are goin’. Landlord said two people are lined up for a viewin’, but I can text him right now and say you’re interested, if you’re sure.’

‘That’d be perfect, Stan. Please, do that.’

‘I didn’t expect you to wanna move out, though.’

‘Well, at my age I figured it’s time to try some independence. Edward’s got the other two to help him, so I’m not needed to do that. You’ve seen how much better he’s doing these days anyway. You can’t stay a kid forever.’

‘I’m tryin’ my best to.’

‘You’re nearly thirty and you have a business.’

‘Yeah, and I’m livin’ in shared accommodation, and the idea of real commitment to “livin’ like a real adult” scares the shit outta me.’

‘Right, but you’re still independent. You left Minipolis and your parents, and you set up shop here, literally. The fact that you’re a commitmentphobe just tells me you like the bachelor lifestyle too much… Or you haven’t found the right woman.’

‘It’s both. And I like actin’ like a big kid. Y’know, as long as you’re doin’ everythin’ right, why’s that a bad thing? Everyone puts themselves under so much pressure to be an adult that they deny themselves just havin’ fun. More and more people my age still live at home, let alone people your age. You’re twenty. Fair enough if you wanna spread your wings, but I’m just sayin’, I think you’re doin’ just fine.’

‘You really think I’m “doing everything right”? Pff, okay.’

‘Why, where do you think you’re goin’ wrong?’

‘Too much to even count. Look, can you do us a favour and potentially help us out with the house move? It’s gonna be a lot of boxes to shift and if I can appeal to your caveman brain and your desire to be a big strong man, you could lend us a hand.’

‘Alright, asshole, no problem. Jeez, you coulda just asked.’

‘Right, but I felt like being a bitch. Thanks, Stan.’

Later…

‘Thanks for your help. I very much appreciate it.’

‘Don’t mention it, Edward. Happy to help. How you holdin’ up?’

‘We’re managing. He’s a healthy little boy, not really any different from any other baby.’

‘I guess this ain’t your first experience of lookin’ after kids. Though havin’ a newborn full time is a bit different, right?’

‘Mm, it’s not the same as just taking them for a day. But it’s fine, I’m coping. Of course it isn’t easy, but I’ve already bonded with him so… it makes it better.’

‘Hard to imagine you not bondin’ with a kid.’

‘The circumstances don’t help.’

‘No, but that just makes it good that he ended up with you and nobody else. Other people mighta viewed him as an unwanted burden and ended up resentin’ him, but not you.’

‘I still feel like I should have called social services, but…’

‘You already went to the cops. It ain’t your fault Tate’s obviously bought them off. You did all you could, man. But if he don’t play by the rules, how can you?’

‘You’re right… It’s stressful to think about. Being complicit in whatever happened.’

‘You ain’t complicit. You were coerced into this. Blame him, okay? Not yourself. Just think about how happy Vin’s gonna grow up to have you as his dad.’

‘Thank you, Stanley. I’m glad I told you about this. I don’t think I could have kept it from you.’

‘You know I’d never have believed the cover story anyway. You, havin’ a fling?’  

‘I know. The idiot really thinks that’s believable. Clearly mistaking me for him.’

‘Hey, Logan says he wants to help shift some stuff.’

‘Oh, really? You don’t have to, but that’s very kind to offer.’

‘It’s fine. I’m gonna have to practice my heavy lifting anyway if I wanna be a firefighter, right?’

‘You’re gonna be a firefighter? Damn, props to you. I don’t think I could do it.’

‘Well, either that or a rock star. Whichever pays the bills. Nice to meet you properly, anyway. I’m Logan.’

‘Stanley. Good to meet you too.’

‘Well, Saraya’s already chosen the big room on the far left upstairs. It was already decorated pink, so it suits her far more than anyone else here.’

‘Yeah, and once Aria goes, I’ll be the only girl left!’

‘Gonna be a real sausage fest, huh?’

‘…Sausage fest?’

‘Yeah, y’know, cos of-’

‘Don’t even ask. Oh yeah, and my room’s got a double bed as well, so that’s nice too.’

‘Oh, really? That’s cool!’

‘And a li’l forward too, don’t you think? Lucky dude.’

‘What? N-No, I wasn’t meaning it like that!’

‘Take no notice, Saraya. Seeing as Stanley is determined to drag this conversation into the gutter, I think instead I’m going to drag him upstairs and make him help me unpack some of the baby stuff. Watch Vin, will you? You two can stay here and catch up a bit first.’

‘Looks like I’m in the doghouse. See you guys later.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘I like that guy already.’

‘He’s terrible. Edward and Aria love him, though. But genuinely, I wasn’t saying that for any kind of dirty reason…’

‘Yeah, I know. As if you’d ever talk like that in front of Edward.’

‘Buuuut… I guess Stanley has a point. You’ll be able to sleep over, when the time is right.’

‘So you don’t think Edward or Ellis would object?’

‘Nah. It’s my house too, after all.’

‘Cool. At least there’s a bit more distance here between the rooms… at my house we’d be way too close to my mum’s room for comfort.’

‘Yeah… she doesn’t seem to mind me being alone in your room with you, though.’

‘How can she object, really? She was younger than we were when she had me.’

‘True…’  

‘Anyway. Let’s move onto a cleaner topic in front of the baby, huh?’

A nice friend for you

‘Hey honey, how was work?’

‘It was okay. Actually, there was something I didn’t tell you about.’

‘What’s that? Come on, let’s sit down.’

‘…Topaz asked me if I’d be willing to meet Brianne at my office.’

‘What? When?’

‘A couple of days ago. So I ended up saying yes and she came over today.’

‘But why? And why didn’t Topaz say anything to me? You’d think it’d be something I should know about.’

‘Brianne wanted to apologise.’

‘To you?’

‘To all of us. I’m just the easiest to get hold of. She doesn’t know where we live and she knows she can’t have that information, so she went to the person who still goes to Sunset Valley regularly.’

‘Wow…’

‘Look, I won’t lie, I was pretty pissed on your behalf. I really didn’t want to go for it, but Topaz seemed to think it was a good idea. And actually, I’m glad I did, because it seemed to be a cry for help.’

‘Oh no… what’s he done to her?’

‘Nothing physical by the sound of it, but she’s scared of him, Mum. She says she’s seen that cold side to him.’

‘Shit… I don’t want that. Even she doesn’t deserve that.’

‘No, I agree. Apparently she’s making plans to get out, though.’

‘Well thank God for that. She never should’ve gone in the first place.’

‘Well, she’s stupid, and it’s coming back to bite her in the ass. I never thought I’d say this, but… I actually felt sorry for her. She looked pathetic.’

‘That’s what your father does to people. Brie’s always been a bit messed up, but… this won’t have made it any better.’

‘It sounds like she’s finally seen the light. She was pretty insistent that I tell you she’s sorry.’

‘So she should be… At this point, what I want the most is for her just to get out with the girls. I dunno after that.’

‘Yeah. You don’t have to make any decisions about seeing her or anything.’

‘One day… I think it’s likely we’ll speak again. But there’s no way I’m prepared to jeopardise our safety here for anything. Even if she wouldn’t do it now, at one point she would’ve told him where we are. So she won’t get to find that out until she is far away from him. How’s she planning on doing that anyway?’

‘Nalini’s helping her.’

‘Is she? Actually, that doesn’t surprise me… I think I’ll give her a ring.’

‘Yeah, good idea.’

‘You okay, sweetie? It probably wasn’t easy for you seeing her, was it?’

‘Don’t worry, Mum, I’m fine. What about you?’

‘To be honest, I’m mostly just glad it might finally change something. I’ll be able to rest a bit easier once they’re safe.’

‘From what Topaz was saying, apparently some of Tate’s gang mates aren’t very happy with him. She said Blake showed up with Tracy and he dragged them off to talk in private.’

‘Good. Let them be pi- I mean, peed off.’

‘Couldn’t agree more. Austin got what was coming to him, and I’m just sad Edward made me sit it out.’

‘At least we got to make some peace with Hazel. That was worth it.’

‘You think she’s really turned over a new leaf?’

‘I’m hoping so. Only time will tell, but it seems promising to me.’

‘Finally, some good news.’

‘So are you willing to forgive her?’

‘Well, I don’t know about forgiveness, but I’m willing to be peaceful with her on the off chance I see her again.’

‘That’s good. Hey, I was wondering, anyway… Do you know if your landlord allows pets?’

‘I wouldn’t have thought so. Why?’

‘Just a thought I’ve had recently. I was wondering if maybe a dog could help you.’

‘…What do you mean?’

‘I’ve read a lot about how good dogs can be for people with depression and mental health issues.’

‘Hmm, are you really sure it’d be for me?’

‘Hey, what are you talking about?’

‘You’ve always wanted a dog.’

‘True, I do, but I’m not asking for myself. I mean sure, I’d like to spend some time with it at least, but… I just thought it might be a nice friend for you.’

‘Aww… And I guess they love you unconditionally, right? As long as you’re kind to them. And I could never be mean to a dog.’

‘Right. And the responsibility would keep you going, even on difficult days. It’d get you out of bed, keep you occupied.’

‘That does sounds really nice. But it seems a non-starter. I doubt the landlord would allow a dog unless it was a real assistance dog, and I don’t think what’s wrong with me really counts as a disability. I guess it can, but for me? I dunno.’

‘True. You could ask him, I suppose. You’ve been a good tenant. If you can convince him it’s for your health… If you wanted to, anyway.’

‘Now that you mention it, I see the value in it. I bet Stan would be accommodating at work. I could pop home on my lunch breaks to walk it. Aww, how do I make this happen?’

‘Failing what I just said, you could move back in with me.’

‘See, I knew it was really for you!’

‘I’m just trying to be helpful! It’s a genuine offer.’

‘I thought the reason you can’t get one is because of Nix. If I lived with you, that’d still be a problem.’

‘Not just Nix. All the responsibility would fall on Heath and it seems unfair to ask it of him right now while he has Nix to still deal with. When she’s bigger and in school, maybe then it’d be more appropriate. But if it were your dog, you’d be the one taking care of it.’

‘I can’t move back in with you. It’s kind of you to offer, but… That ship’s already sailed.’

‘I know.’

‘Well, I’ll think on it. I’ll try bringing it up to the landlord and see if I can get permission.’

‘Great!’    

‘Hello, Roxxi. How are you?'

‘Not too bad. What about you?’

‘Somewhat tense. I don't have a whole lot of time to talk, by the way. I can manage an hour, tops. But after that, I'm going to have to go, I'm afraid.’

‘I won’t keep you long. It’s just that Tristan met up with Brie today. I didn’t expect it, but they arranged it.’

‘Oh, right. That's a surprise. Was she trying to make up with him?’

‘Yeah. He said she was super apologetic about everything. It must’ve been bad because he’s not been eager to sympathise at all, but he said he felt sorry for her.’

‘Mmm. She's not in the best of places, being stuck with that cunt, as you know. Not that I can condone her backstabbing in the slightest, but I can't help sympathising too.’

‘She told him you were helping her escape.’

‘That's right, and strictly between the two of us, not just Brianne, either. Annalise, too.’

‘Oh, wow! How did that come about?’

‘Brianne put her in touch with me, and we have a golden opportunity, because that stupid fucking cunt has landed himself in hospital. So Edward, Anstine, my daughter, niece and I are going to Devil's Port to get her and those kids out, today.’

‘That’s brilliant news. God, it’s all happened over there, hasn’t it?’

‘Jesus Christ Roxxi, you've missed such a shit show. Abraxas got one of his fingers cut off by some fucking demon, thanks to being Tate's lapdog.’

‘Holy shit! Did… did he try going up against Miles? Is he stupid?’

‘Yes, and yes. Apparently he had some lackey snooping around to pass information back so Abraxas could kill the fucker. Miles caught him, got Abraxas' intentions out of this guy, and sent two demons to teach Abraxas a lesson in response. So presumably, it'll be Tate's turn soon.’

‘Oh my God. I’m so glad we’re out of that. And I’m glad Brie and Annalise will be too, God. They don’t need it.’

‘Absolutely. I'm hoping Annalise will talk to Edward until she can get some official counselling, because needless to say, that fuckwit has left a mark on the poor girl.’

‘We’re all so lucky to have you. You’re just so brave.’

‘Oh, thank you, but I'm simply used to going up against assholes like this, that's all. Though hopefully once Brianne and Annalise are safe it won't be necessary for me to interfere again for a while.’

‘Nobody should have to be used to this kind of shit. But it really makes all the difference. I was worried she’d become totally isolated from anyone who could help because of what she did.’

‘In an ideal world, no. But alas. And you're right, she got quite upset when Indigo delivered a few harshly worded opinions.’

‘That doesn’t surprise me. I’m glad to be wrong, anyway. I’m not sure how I can ever properly thank you for what you’ve done for my family.’

‘Would it be too expected to say “thank me by looking after yourselves” or similar? Eh, fuck it. Either way, you don't need to thank me, I'm just fucking glad to have been able to help.’

‘I’ll do my best. Say hi to Edward for me, will you?’

‘I will.’