Chapter 1

Caleb Temple sat on the edge of the pier, dangling his bare feet in the cool water.   It was a beautiful spring day, but Caleb hadn’t noticed, he was too lost in his thoughts.

It had been three weeks since his cousin Gail had awoken from her coma.  Caleb wasn’t sure what had happened to her, but he knew somehow he had been responsible for her condition.

“How could that be?” Caleb asked himself quietly, “I would never hurt Gail, she’s my only living relative…I love her”

Caleb had tried to remember back to the time of the accident, but all he saw were random images…talking to Miss Coombs at Lucas’s grave, pointing a gun at Ben, and watching as Gail lost her footing and fell down Lucas’s stairs.   What had happened?  Why was he at Lucas’s house?  Why hadn’t he helped Gail?!  He was so confused, he needed answers.

Caleb had thought about asking Lucas to help him remember, but Lucas always seemed preoccupied the last three weeks.  Whenever Caleb asked about the accident Lucas would tell him to let sleeping dogs lie, all that really mattered was Gail was awake and not seriously injured.  Still, Caleb couldn’t stop thinking about this whole messy situation.

Caleb felt so alone.  Gail hadn’t even called him since she woke up, Lucas was always otherwise preoccupied, and Ben seemed to be avoiding him.  The only person who actually talked to him about Gail was Doctor Peele, together they had been trying to figure out what had happened, and in the meantime Doctor Peele was giving him updates on how Gail was doing.  Apparently she was healing brilliantly but she seemed to be sad all the time.

Caleb again reflected on how alone he was.  The one person he really cared about wanted nothing to do with him.  He missed Gail and wanted things back to how they were before!

Gail Emory kneeled down in her garden to pull more weeds out of the soil.  She sighed and wiped her forehead with the back of her gloved hand, Gail couldn’t believe how overgrown her garden had gotten in just four weeks.

Gail had been in a coma for a week, and had recovered nicely in the three weeks that followed.  Since the accident she had been banned from doing any strenuous, stressful work.  Billy had advised her to take it easy and try to relax.

“Relax?...” Gail chuckled, “I was attacked by my only living relative and suffered a miscarriage, and he wants me to relax?”  Gail shook her head and carried on with her chore.

Unlike Caleb, Gail remembered everything clearly.  She remembered Caleb chasing her with a hot poker, him trying to break down the locked bathroom door to get at her and her baby; fooling him long enough to escape, only to be stopped in her tracks by the sight of her dead lover that she had buried just a few hours earlier.  Finally, she remembered Caleb taking a final swing at her resulting in her falling down a flight of stairs.

Gail had stopped dead in her garden.  A single tear ran down her cheek.  Gail didn’t know what was worse, being scared to tears by a ten year old child, or losing him, the person she loved most in this world.

Coming to Trinity and leaving her good life back in Charleston had been hard.  Starting anew with a dependant child had been something Gail had never wanted to do, but she had stayed, ignoring her friends and editors warnings about her career…she had stayed.  Gail had done the best she could with Caleb from day one, she had made a few mistakes sure, but she was learning as she went along.  Looking after a child was hard in itself, but trying to be there for your only living relative proved even harder.  Sometimes it was all too overwhelming, but she stayed and kept trying.  Gail had grown to love Caleb more than she had loved anyone else, including her parents.  What was she supposed to do without him?

“What has happened to us?”  Gail whispered aloud.

“Who are you talking to darlin’?”

Gail quickly snapped out of her haze and clenched her fists into the soil.  She didn’t need to turn around, she knew that voice anywhere.

“Leave me alone, Lucas.” Gail said trying to relax her fists.

Lucas Buck walked towards Gail with a bunch of red roses in his hand. “Now is that anyway to treat a member of the law Gail?”

Gail released her hands from the soil and stood up and took her gloves off, “What do you want Lucas?”

“I just wanted to see how you’re doin…Is that a crime?” Lucas replied with a smirk.

Gail turned around, “No, but I’ve told you several times I want to be left alone.”

Gail walked past Lucas, ignoring the flowers in his hand and headed towards her porch.  She felt Lucas was partly to blame for what had happened and she didn’t want to deal with him until she was feeling stronger.

Lucas watched Gail walk past him and turned towards her, “How’s Caleb?” he called from behind her. “Have you talked to him yet?”

Gail stopped in her tracks and snapped, “That’s none of your business.”

“My son is upset, so it is my business darlin’”

Gail laughed, “Your son? You reject him for ten years then decide to acknowledge him, and you think that makes him your son?”

Lucas, knowing Gail was upset, shrugged off the insult and walked closer to her.  “Caleb’s your only living relative, do you really want to push him away Gail? You have spent enough time with him to know he is a caring boy, and he loves you…”  Lucas said putting his hands on Gail’s shoulders, “…and he doesn’t even remember what he did.”

“But I do!...”  Gail spat out in anger, turning away from Lucas so he couldn’t see her tears, “…What he did is unforgivable!” Gail entered her house and slammed the door behind her, leaving Lucas alone on the porch with his flowers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Lucas stood for a moment before placing the flowers on Gail's front porch, then walked to his car.

This whole situation was getting out of hand. Lucas was glad for the time he could spend alone with Caleb, but not at the expense of Gail. Caleb's and Gail's relationship was fragile enough before he 'died', it didn't this extra strain.

Lucas had had no problem forgiving Caleb, he was his son after all and god knows Lucas had done some unforgivable things when his father was still alive.  Besides Caleb wasn't to blame...he was misled by the one person Lucas had trusted most over the years.  He would make Selena pay sooner or later, but he needed to get Caleb and Gail back together, they were no use to him this miserable, but getting them together was proving harder than he thought.

Lucas got in his car and turned towards the pier.  He decided to try his luck with Caleb.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gail watched Lucas through her window.  She waited until she was sure he wasn't coming back then opened the door and picked up the roses.

Lucas had brought her roses every day since the accident. Gail found it hard to resist Lucas when he was acting as if he really cared, but she had to be strong and remind herself why they had broken up.  In the end she realised she couldn't deal with the truth behind Judith's conception of Caleb,  to think she actually admitted she loved a rapist gave Gail the strength to push Lucas away.

Of course that was all just an excuse,  Gail both loved and hated Lucas.  One half of her longed to run her fingers through his soft, caramel hair, kiss his lips, tell him she was actually glad he was alive and seeing him at his "funeral" had broke her heart.  The other half was telling her to wake up, stop acting stupid and open her eyes to who he truly was! The man was a sociopath who got off on other people pain and misery.  Bringing up what she believed he did to Judith gave her the strength she needed to turn him away.

Gail closed the front door and threw the flowers in the trash basket.

She sat down , sighed, and ran her fingers through her long, brown hair, Gail hadn't realised how long her hair had gotten.  When she woke from the coma she had found out Rita had done a good job keeping her hair and nails tidy.  Presentation was always the key, that's what her mother had told her when she was a child.

Rita had told Gail everything about Lucas's reincarnation and how he'd visited her every day, bringing Caleb every now and again.  Caleb seemed dazed and confused, she had said, like he'd himself had awoken from a deep sleep.

It took Gail the better part of a week to fully remember what had happened to her.  When Billy told her she had miscarried she was devastated, she had even cried on Lucas's shoulder! Later that day, when Billy chased Lucas away, she vowed never to let anyone see her that vulnerable again.

Gail decided early on not to see Caleb.  Her first instinct was to run, pack all her belongings and just leave.  Nothing was holding her back, she had no baby to think of, no family to take care of, but running would make her a coward.  Besides, no matter how hard she tried to hate Caleb deep down she still loved him.

Part of her wanted to forgive him, wanted to be a family again, but all she kept seeing was that hot poker in Caleb's hand coming down on her.

Gail put her head in her hands and cried.  

To be continued.......

Back to The TV MegaSite's Main American Gothic Page