The next morning, Arielle woke up on the couch around 7:00 and forgot for a
moment where she was at. Rubbing at her eyes, she slowly sat up and looked
around her. Feeling a little sore from the way in which she slept, she rubbed at
her shoulder before reaching for her cell phone, which was beside her on the end
table charging. She unplugged it and looked to see if she had missed any calls.
All she had was a text from her best friend back in Colorado.
Please let me know you are okay. I saw on the news there was a tornado there
in Tulsa and if I don't hear from you, I will go insane!
She smiled as she typed in her text back to Rachel. You don't have to
worry about me. Just say a prayer for me for Christopher. He is in the hospital.
She thought about her brother, and wondered how he was. Her smile turned to
a frown. She wanted to call him up, but knew it was too early to call. And she
still didn't really want to talk to her mom.
Standing up, she set her cell phone back down and looked through the clothes
Natalie and Taylor had taken her out shopping for before bed the previous night.
She picked out a Vera Wang watercolor tank top and a pair of black shorts to
wear, and took them into the bathroom to change into.
Once she was dressed and her hair was brushed out, she went into the kitchen
and made up a pot of coffee. Then she decided to make up some pancakes and eggs
for everyone as well, and did just that. The smell of the food and coffee seemed
to wake Taylor and Natalie up, who came into the kitchen around 8:00 looking
like they had barely slept.
" Something sure smells great in here." Taylor smiled at Arielle, and went to
the cupboard to get a coffee cup. " You like to cook, Arielle?"
" A little bit." She smiled back. " I help mom out sometimes, or just cook
something up for Christopher whenever he gets hungry, which is like all the
time."
" How old is your brother?" Natalie asked, as she grabbed a coffee cup
herself.
" Ten. He'll be eleven in a month." Arielle told her. " I'm going to guess
she must have married an old friend or something, which is why it feels like
I've always known him. It is the only way to explain how I could not know he
wasn't my dad."
" Probably. She had this one friend she moved away from to come live here
when her dad got transferred. They stayed in contact even after she moved away."
Taylor said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
" Well, she left him when we came here. He had become... somewhat abusive and
we just had to leave."
" He never hurt you, did he?" Natalie asked worriedly, looking her way.
She took the last of the pancakes off the stove, and put them on the stack
already made up. " I... I would... be lying if I said no."
Taylor looked at her, taking a sip of his coffee. " What the hell did he do
to you?"
" I don't think you want to know, dad. Trust me on this." She put the big
plate of pancakes in the middle of the table where the eggs already were, and
grabbed herself a cup of coffee before sitting down.
Natalie looked from her to Taylor, who just stood there in shock.
_________________________________________________________
Kate was up early that morning, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the
whole situation with Ashley. Not only did it bother Natalie, but it bothered her
too. It was disrupting the whole family. She did feel bad for Arielle, but she
just did not trust Ashley at all. She knew that all Ashley wanted was to
rekindle what she had with Taylor, and was unwilling to watch her try. Natalie
was her best friend, and she wasn't going to watch her lose her husband.
She had gone for a walk to the park, and was sipping on a cup of coffee when
someone came up to her. " Excuse me." She heard a deep voice she didn't
recognize. Turning around, she saw a guy who stood at about six inches two feet
tall with short brown hair and hazel eyes.
" May I help you?" She asked, looking at the guy curiously.
" I hope you can help me." He took out a picture from his pocket, and showed
it to her. " Have you seen this woman? She is traveling with my sixteen year old
daughter, who happens to look very much like her, and my ten year old son."
Kate looked at the picture. She could honestly say she had never seen her,
but she did see a little of Arielle in the womans face. Not knowing what he
wanted out of them, she acted as though nothing seemed familiar to her at all. "
No. I can honestly saw I have never seen her. I am so sorry."
" Are you sure? I really need to find her. It's very important."
" Yeah. I am positive. I really can't help you." She sipped on her coffee,
and walked away. " Good luck finding her." Leaving him standing there, she
headed back home.
When she made it home, she noticed breakfast on the table. Everyone else was
up and eating plates of pancakes and eggs. The kids excitedly said hello, and
asked where she was.
" Hey Kate." Taylor smiled at her. " Come sit down and join us. Arielle made
us some breakfast."
" I... I have no appetite right now." She told him. " Actually, I need to
talk to you, Taylor." She motioned for him to follow her. He did so, and they
went into the playroom to talk alone. " I think we may have a problem. Arielle's
dad... or who she thought to be her dad... he is in town. He is looking for
Ashley and his kids."
Taylor looked at her with a sigh. " Arielle was telling us he had become
abusive. She wouldn't tell me what he did to her. She said I don't want to
know."
" I don't trust Ashley in the least, but she needs to be warned that he is in
town. And we need to know what he is capable of. They need to tell us."
" I agree, Kate." He nodded. " Thank you. Your the best."
The two shared a quick hug just as Natalie came into the room. Kate explained
to her what was going on, while Taylor went to pull Arielle aside for a
talk.
_______________________________________________________
Ashely had fallen asleep on the couch with the tv on the other night, and
actually didn't wake up until 8:30. She woke up to the sound of her cell phone
ringing. She expected it to be the hospital, calling to say something was wrong
with Christopher. " Hello." She answered in a panicked voice.
" Ashley, it's Natalie. Listen, I... I'm not thrilled with having to make
this call, but it actually is an emergency."
" What's wrong? Did something happen to my daughter?" She asked, jumping up
so fast she got dizzy.
" She's fine. I promise you." Natalie told her. " But that may not last.
Taylor is talking to her right now about your ex husband. My best friend Kate
ran into him today. He is in town and looking for you guys."
Ashley dropped the phone in surprise, and started to shake. She picked it
back up. " Did she tell him anything? Please tell me she didn't."
" No, but we need to know what he is capable of. Taylor told us she told him
that he had grown abusive. In what way did he..."
" He was hitting both me and her. Christopher too. But... there was one time
that... I found my daughter... she never told me what happened between them. She
was just... she lost it though and she tried to kill herself."
" Well, I hope she opens up to her dad. Because we need to keep her safe.
That is all that matters right now." Natalie sighed. " And you too. Go check on
your son and get over here. We need to settle this once and for all if we are
going to make this work."
They hung up, and Ashley hopped in a quick shower. She then dressed in a tye
dyed tank top and black jeans, and brushed her hair out before heading over to
the hospital.
moment where she was at. Rubbing at her eyes, she slowly sat up and looked
around her. Feeling a little sore from the way in which she slept, she rubbed at
her shoulder before reaching for her cell phone, which was beside her on the end
table charging. She unplugged it and looked to see if she had missed any calls.
All she had was a text from her best friend back in Colorado.
Please let me know you are okay. I saw on the news there was a tornado there
in Tulsa and if I don't hear from you, I will go insane!
She smiled as she typed in her text back to Rachel. You don't have to
worry about me. Just say a prayer for me for Christopher. He is in the hospital.
She thought about her brother, and wondered how he was. Her smile turned to
a frown. She wanted to call him up, but knew it was too early to call. And she
still didn't really want to talk to her mom.
Standing up, she set her cell phone back down and looked through the clothes
Natalie and Taylor had taken her out shopping for before bed the previous night.
She picked out a Vera Wang watercolor tank top and a pair of black shorts to
wear, and took them into the bathroom to change into.
Once she was dressed and her hair was brushed out, she went into the kitchen
and made up a pot of coffee. Then she decided to make up some pancakes and eggs
for everyone as well, and did just that. The smell of the food and coffee seemed
to wake Taylor and Natalie up, who came into the kitchen around 8:00 looking
like they had barely slept.
" Something sure smells great in here." Taylor smiled at Arielle, and went to
the cupboard to get a coffee cup. " You like to cook, Arielle?"
" A little bit." She smiled back. " I help mom out sometimes, or just cook
something up for Christopher whenever he gets hungry, which is like all the
time."
" How old is your brother?" Natalie asked, as she grabbed a coffee cup
herself.
" Ten. He'll be eleven in a month." Arielle told her. " I'm going to guess
she must have married an old friend or something, which is why it feels like
I've always known him. It is the only way to explain how I could not know he
wasn't my dad."
" Probably. She had this one friend she moved away from to come live here
when her dad got transferred. They stayed in contact even after she moved away."
Taylor said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
" Well, she left him when we came here. He had become... somewhat abusive and
we just had to leave."
" He never hurt you, did he?" Natalie asked worriedly, looking her way.
She took the last of the pancakes off the stove, and put them on the stack
already made up. " I... I would... be lying if I said no."
Taylor looked at her, taking a sip of his coffee. " What the hell did he do
to you?"
" I don't think you want to know, dad. Trust me on this." She put the big
plate of pancakes in the middle of the table where the eggs already were, and
grabbed herself a cup of coffee before sitting down.
Natalie looked from her to Taylor, who just stood there in shock.
_________________________________________________________
Kate was up early that morning, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the
whole situation with Ashley. Not only did it bother Natalie, but it bothered her
too. It was disrupting the whole family. She did feel bad for Arielle, but she
just did not trust Ashley at all. She knew that all Ashley wanted was to
rekindle what she had with Taylor, and was unwilling to watch her try. Natalie
was her best friend, and she wasn't going to watch her lose her husband.
She had gone for a walk to the park, and was sipping on a cup of coffee when
someone came up to her. " Excuse me." She heard a deep voice she didn't
recognize. Turning around, she saw a guy who stood at about six inches two feet
tall with short brown hair and hazel eyes.
" May I help you?" She asked, looking at the guy curiously.
" I hope you can help me." He took out a picture from his pocket, and showed
it to her. " Have you seen this woman? She is traveling with my sixteen year old
daughter, who happens to look very much like her, and my ten year old son."
Kate looked at the picture. She could honestly say she had never seen her,
but she did see a little of Arielle in the womans face. Not knowing what he
wanted out of them, she acted as though nothing seemed familiar to her at all. "
No. I can honestly saw I have never seen her. I am so sorry."
" Are you sure? I really need to find her. It's very important."
" Yeah. I am positive. I really can't help you." She sipped on her coffee,
and walked away. " Good luck finding her." Leaving him standing there, she
headed back home.
When she made it home, she noticed breakfast on the table. Everyone else was
up and eating plates of pancakes and eggs. The kids excitedly said hello, and
asked where she was.
" Hey Kate." Taylor smiled at her. " Come sit down and join us. Arielle made
us some breakfast."
" I... I have no appetite right now." She told him. " Actually, I need to
talk to you, Taylor." She motioned for him to follow her. He did so, and they
went into the playroom to talk alone. " I think we may have a problem. Arielle's
dad... or who she thought to be her dad... he is in town. He is looking for
Ashley and his kids."
Taylor looked at her with a sigh. " Arielle was telling us he had become
abusive. She wouldn't tell me what he did to her. She said I don't want to
know."
" I don't trust Ashley in the least, but she needs to be warned that he is in
town. And we need to know what he is capable of. They need to tell us."
" I agree, Kate." He nodded. " Thank you. Your the best."
The two shared a quick hug just as Natalie came into the room. Kate explained
to her what was going on, while Taylor went to pull Arielle aside for a
talk.
_______________________________________________________
Ashely had fallen asleep on the couch with the tv on the other night, and
actually didn't wake up until 8:30. She woke up to the sound of her cell phone
ringing. She expected it to be the hospital, calling to say something was wrong
with Christopher. " Hello." She answered in a panicked voice.
" Ashley, it's Natalie. Listen, I... I'm not thrilled with having to make
this call, but it actually is an emergency."
" What's wrong? Did something happen to my daughter?" She asked, jumping up
so fast she got dizzy.
" She's fine. I promise you." Natalie told her. " But that may not last.
Taylor is talking to her right now about your ex husband. My best friend Kate
ran into him today. He is in town and looking for you guys."
Ashley dropped the phone in surprise, and started to shake. She picked it
back up. " Did she tell him anything? Please tell me she didn't."
" No, but we need to know what he is capable of. Taylor told us she told him
that he had grown abusive. In what way did he..."
" He was hitting both me and her. Christopher too. But... there was one time
that... I found my daughter... she never told me what happened between them. She
was just... she lost it though and she tried to kill herself."
" Well, I hope she opens up to her dad. Because we need to keep her safe.
That is all that matters right now." Natalie sighed. " And you too. Go check on
your son and get over here. We need to settle this once and for all if we are
going to make this work."
They hung up, and Ashley hopped in a quick shower. She then dressed in a tye
dyed tank top and black jeans, and brushed her hair out before heading over to
the hospital.