3×06: My Life is Your Life
Previously on Liberty City:
Jessica’s family hosts an intervention.
Leah finds compassion and comfort in Galvin.
Adam gets an unexpected visit from Madison and their daughter.
Cassandra’s secrets are exposed.
Jessica leaves town for rehab.
Scene One: The Grove
26 Windmill Street
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Logan sits outside of The Grove in their newly constructed outdoor sit-in part of their restaurant. She sits wearing a silver silk blouse and pin-stripe skirt; her hair straightened pin straight. Her neck is draped with a gold chain with diamonds studded within them and her ears are dressed with diamond studs.
As she takes a short sip of her water, she catches the eye of her guest: Rebecca. “Rebecca. It’s so lovely of you to meet with me this afternoon,” Logan says in a friendly and greeting tone. Rebecca smiles and replies, “Of course! I was honored to be asked to come. I’m sorry I was late, still getting used to the location of everything.” “Oh, that’s fine. I get it; new place with new roads. It’s going to take a bit of adjusting.”
Rebecca asks, “Did I keep you waiting long?” “No. Just a short bit of time. I didn’t mind. I enjoyed it. Helped me think,” Logan responds. “I am usually much more punctual than this.” “Stop apologizing and worrying; you’re here now, so we can eat.” “I’m sorry. It’s just my mother-in-law asks me to our first one-on-one meeting and lunch. Most of those end in horror stories and bitch slaps.”
Logan giggles and responds, “Not on the first one-on-one.” After giving Logan a concerning look, Rebecca bursts into a subtle laughter with Logan joining in.
Scene Two: The Smithson Home
745 Brooklyn Road
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
A serene quality is held over the empty nest; light dimly let in from the windows whose curtains are pulled closed. Dust particles lightly seen floating in the air. The lock to the front door is heard clicking into place and unlocking. As the door slowly opens, Cassandra can be seen walking into home hoping not to catch the notice of anyone.
As she makes her way upstairs, she looks into Claire’s empty room, desolate and lifeless. She closes the door and heads into the bedroom she once shared with Dan prior to her unfortunate reveal. As she opens up her empty suitcase, she begins packing her clothing. “What are you doing here,” Dan says from the doorway. Jumping inside of herself, Cassandra responds, “Dan. I wasn’t expecting you to be here. You startled me.” “Yeah, well, I live here so I shouldn’t be startling anyone.”
Confused, Cassandra asks, “Where’s Claire? Isn’t she with you?” “No. She’s with her babysitter while I pack things,” Dan responds. “What things? I’m here packing mine so I don’t see why you would have to pack.” “Because I’m leaving town and so is Claire.” “You’re taking Claire? Without even telling me? She’s my daughter too you know.”
“No. You’re legally not and martially you aren’t either anymore,” Dan says handing Cassandra an envelope. As she opens up, she reads it. She says, “You’re annulling the fucking marriage? And requesting that my petition for my rights to be re-instated for Claire be stopped.” “And they agreed. Now it’d be in your best interest to pack up your shit and leave town too. Or I will be forced to arrest you.”
As Dan goes to exit, he gives his last words, “And that’s a promise Cassandra. Your one and only chance to do something good for that girl that you’ve used and abused for your own manipulations.”
As Dan closes the door, Cassandra collapses herself down onto the bed and inhales slowly and deeply, realizing all she has now lost over a pile of lies she’s built upon herself.
Scene Three: The Hughes Family Home
1425 Seneca Avenue
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Jennifer stands in the open layout of her new/old home; the place she used to live with her late husband. She stands in her dining area, which stands directly next to her kitchen to the left, and behind her living room. As she arranges her table setting to how she enjoys it, she hears a knock at her front door.
As she walks down two stars into her living, she makes her away across to the front door, walking up two stairs to the front door. As she opens the door, she is greeted by Garrett. She says, “Garrett, I wasn’t expecting to see you. What are you doing here?” “I heard you had moved so I thought you’d want some help,” Garrett responds.
“Come on in,” Jennifer says extending her arm allowing him to enter. As he walks into the living room, he removes his jacket and firmly places it over one of the chairs. He asks, “So what do you need help with?” “I’m just re-arranging my dining room table is all. Nothing too serious.” “Any heavy lifting? Moving?” “No. Nothing like that. Maybe you could tell me one thing, though.” “And what’s that?”
In the most serious tone, Jennifer asks, “When were you going to tell me you had a wife?”
Scene Four: Loft Nº1 (The Johnson Loft)
1219 Bunker Hill Avenue
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Donna walks into her kitchen and grabs herself a glass from the cupboard. She places it onto the counter and opens the fridge to pull out a pitcher of lemonade; she pours herself a hearty glass. She then places the pitcher onto the counter, grabs the pile of mail sitting on the counter and heads over to the couch, where she begins to read through a pile of newly stacked bills.
As Donna sifts through the mail and sipping on her lemonade, Theo exits from his bedroom and makes his way into the kitchen, pouring himself his own glass of lemonade. Donna notices and asks, “Hey Theo, what are you doing tonight?” “Why,” Theo responds taking a sip of his drink. “I don’t know. I thought we’d stay in, order some takeout and watch some pay-per-view movies in Chinese and laugh at the horrific subtitles of the film.” “No, maybe some other time. Thanks though.”
Donna places the mail and her drink down to walk towards Theo. She says, “You know Theo, I’m the wicked bitch you probably want to make me out to be. You probably didn’t know this about me, but I was a rebel in high school.” Theo looks at his aunt and questions, “A rebel?”
They both share a laugh as Donna responds, “Yeah. You probably thought your Aunt Jennifer was the rebel, but I was the girl who dyed her hair red and orange. I went through the whole Cyndi Lauper phase. I just wanted to have some fun like the song said.” “What’s the gist of the story Aunt Donna?”
Donna grabs Theo’s hand and says, “The gist is, you can tell me anything. I don’t care what happened when I came back to town and moved in. You’re my nephew and I love you. You can tell me anything in the whole entire world, nothing could change that.”
Theo looks at his aunt and begins to question whether or not he should truly open up, or continue to stay bottled up inside of himself.
Scene Five: The Buzz Café
10 Windmill Street
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Braden enters into the café by the side entrance on the lanai; he walks from the entrance to the upper entrance into the establishment, directly across from the main bar. Without caution, paying attention only to his phone, he ends up running into a civilian who was exited with coffee in hand. “Oh shit. I’m really sorry,” Braden says in a shaky voice. The female looks at him and responds, “Well next time, just look where you’re going.” “Ma’am I genuinely am sorry. Please let me buy you another coffee.”
The woman looks at Braden and says, “Don’t count on it. I don’t need a second hot coffee all over me while I try and find where I’m staying.” Braden stares and asks, “If you need help, I could take you to where you need to go? I know pretty much everywhere here?” “No thanks, I can find my own way,” the female replies before gathering her things and leaving towards the exit, leaving Braden to go and continue on his day to think about the woman he had just encountered.
Scene Six: The Grove
26 Windmill Street
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
On the outdoor patio, Rebecca and Logan sit laughing and enjoying themselves, as the waitress takes their plates. “You know Logan, I want to thank you for this lovely lunch. I truly appreciate it. It’s just what I needed,” Rebecca says. Logan smiles and responds, “Well good. I’ve been trying to get out of my funks from the past year or two. Plus, I wanted to get to know my new daughter-in-law. So I was honored when you said you’d come.” “Oh, it was nothing. Michael told me nothing but lovely things about you.” “Did he? That’s surprising.”
Confused, Rebecca asks, “Why if I may ask?” “Michael was also close to his father, Timothy was close to me. So it was no surprise how hurt he was when his father died, and got his pHD and made sure to get out of town,” Logan responds. “And that’s where Doctors without Borders came into play.” “Exactly, but without that you wouldn’t be such a wonderful addition to our family.”
Rebecca smiles and responds, “Well thank you. But you should know Logan, Michael came back for you. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he did. He missed you.” “He did?” “Yes, he did. But like I said, he won’t admit it. Just give him time and he’ll come around, I promise.”
As the ladies get up and begin to exit, Logan stops Rebecca and hugs her. During the hug, Logan lightly says, “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” Rebecca says giving Logan a tight tug of a hug. The ladies exchange smiles before going their separate ways.
Scene Seven: Liberty City Hotel, The Midnight Lounge
300 Earp Street
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Patricia sits at the bar, ordering herself another cocktail. At the entrance of the bar, Cassandra walks in with her bags. Arriving alongside her mother, Patricia says, “Baby. What’s wrong? Why are your bags packed?” “He knows everything mom. And he’s leaving me,” Cassandra responds. “Leaving you? What do you mean by leaving you?”
Cassandra hands Patricia the envelope that Daniel had given her. Patricia opens it and says, “He’s annulling your marriage and not letting you have Claire?? And your signed them?! Why would you do that sweetheart?” “Because I love him and her enough to let them go. It’s the right thing to do for once mom. But I need your help.” “With what?”
“I want to leave town and I want you to take me,” Cassandra responds. Patricia says, “Good timing. I was leaving town, too. I have a few things to take care of out of town.” “Can I come with, or is this one you got to do alone?”
Patricia grabs Cassandra’s bags and as she walks with her daughter, she says, “Kid. You’re always welcome wherever I go.”
Room 534
Dan walks up to the door of Rm.534, but halts and leaves Claire hidden behind the wall so she could not be sen. and knocks a steady knock on the door. After knocking again, the door opens to reveal Leah standing there. Confused, Leah says, “Dan. What are you doing here?” “We came to stay goodbye,” he responds. “We? Goodbye?” Confused, Dan moves behind the hidden wall and pulls Claire out of her stroller, much to the welcomed surprise of Leah who gleams a tear in her eye.
As Dan hands Claire to Leah, she invites them inside of her hotel room. Overwhelmed with emotion, Leah asks, “What’s this about Dan?” “I’m leaving Cassandra and Liberty City,” Dan responds in a somber tone. “Leaving Cassandra? Liberty City? What happened?” “Cassandra did some horrific things and I should have listened to you. And I wanted to know if you’d come with us?”
“It’s too late for apologies Dan. You made the decisions you made. And no matter how much I would love to welcome you with open arms and run away, I can’t. I have a life here. I’m not willing to leave it all behind,” Leah responds clearly fighting her true emotions. Dan gives off a somewhat yet not-so-existent smirk and responds, “I get it. I just know you’d want to say goodbye to her. So I’ll give you two a few moments.”
As Dan walks into the bathroom, Leah holds Claire and goes to her couch. She sits down with Claire planted on her lap and arms wrapped around her. As she takes a deep sigh in, she says, “I remember seeing you for the first time, so small and so fragile. But I knew from that moment on that you were a fighter. You’re my girl. And your daddy, he’s a good guy. Never forget that.”
As Dan exits the bathroom, he alerts Leah that it’s time for them to go. Leah stands up, kisses Claire on the side of her head and says, “I love you baby girl.” She hands Claire back to Dan and as they head out the door, Leah says, “Dan.” He halts and turns around; she says, “Thank you.”
As Leah stands in her doorway, Dan and Claire walk off down the hallway, embarking on their new adventure together.
Scene Eight: The Stevens’ Residence
46 Mohegan Avenue
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
Mathew sits in his office at his desk, pondering the thoughts on his mind: Brenda’s mysterious up-and-leaving and his date night with Ameera. As he leans back in his chair and positions his index finger across the top of his mouth, with his thumb positioned underneath his chin, Mathew begins to think of the times we shared with both Brenda and his recent memories with Ameera.
“Mathew,” a voice yells out for him. Snapped back into reality, he makes his way into the hallway and see’s Braden, who has just returned home. As he makes his way into the kitchen, he asks, “Hey. What’s going on? Where you been all day?” “I went out for a walk to clear my head. Any news yet on the whole mess with mom,” Braden asks. “No, nothing yet. Supposedly the D.A. and tow delayed their case until this fall when the D.A. could dedicate more time. I’m told she had to take a bit of personal time to tend to some matters out of state.”
“Well hopefully she stays gone. I want all of this malarkey over with,” Braden says. At that moment, a knock is heard at the door. Freezing in their places thinking it could be D.A. Lisa Daley, Mathew makes his way to the door. As he opens, he sees the woman who was in the coffee shop earlier with Braden.
Shocked, Mathew says, “Shontelle? What are you doing here?” “Mom and dad didn’t want to put up with me, so they sent me here and some kind of boot camp I guess,” Shontelle responds entering into the home. Upon entering, Braden and Shontelle locks eyes, and immediately, tension begins between the two stemmed from their earlier interactions.
Scene Three: The Hughes Family Home
1425 Seneca Avenue
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
“Well, do you have anything to say,” Jennifer says. Garrett asks, “I have no clue what you’re going on about or why you’re even pissed. Is it the fact that I am married or the fact that you can’t handle that I moved on and didn’t feel the need to share the intimate details of my personal life with you?”
“Have you been smoking something? It’s the fact you lied to me and lead me on like I was some kind of tool or pawn in your little game. Well I’m not,” Jennifer retorts. Garrett snickers and says, “So it’s still all about you, isn’t it? You still haven’t grown up from that immature little girl you were back in the day.”
As Garrett goes to leave, Jennifer says, “Oh there you go again, running off like a scared little boy. Just like you did before.” “Are you on about Jennifer? I didn’t just up and leave.” “Oh bullshit. I told you I was pregnant with your baby and you left. And now you’re doing it again because there’s another conflict. I won’t be your mistress. I waited years for you. I won’t wait again.”
“So what do you want me to do Jennifer? Tell me what you want,” Garrett says. Jennifer gets real close to Garrett and says, “It’s me or her. And we both know who you should choose.” After standing there for a few moments, Garrett turns around to walk out of the house.
Before he can exit, Jennifer says, “If you walk out that door, don’t even think about coming back. And if you walk out that door and don’t go to your wife, don’t even think about coming back to town.” Pausing for a few moments, Garrett continues out the door.
Scene Ten: Loft Nº1 (The Johnson Loft)
1219 Bunker Hill Avenue
Liberty City, New York, 01948.
“Theo, what’s going on with you? I know something’s wrong, I can read it in your face,” Donna says slowly following Theo into the living room. Theo stands still and says, “Aunt Donna nothing is wrong. I’m just dealing with things. That’s all.” “So there is something. Trust in me enough to not turn my back on you for whatever it is.” “So what happened Theo? I know something did happen, I can hear it your voice. You want to say it and I can guarantee the moment you do, you’ll start the healing process.”
Scared and shaky, Theo responds, “What if I don’t feel like I deserve to heal?” “Theo of course you do. Everyone does. The question is, are you ready to heal or not,” Donna responds. As Donna slowly descends onto the couch, Theo makes his way towards her and sits beside her.
As he takes a deep breath, Donna gentles places her hand onto his, causing him to flinch. She softly says, “It’s okay Theo. I’m not leaving you.” As he takes another deep breath, he begins, “I had gotten a text to go to a party. It was before Thanksgiving. I decided to go through the park as a short cut. I was heading to the outer limbs and the park and there the person was.” “Who Theo? Who was there?”
At that moment, Theo flashes back to the night. He recalls, “I remember him grabbing me and telling me to ‘Shut the fuck up or else’ and he grabbed me and took me. And then he threw me into a room and locked the door. And he kept trying to touch me. And then he held me down.. and h-h-he pulled my pants off and he didn’t even care. He ripped my underwear off, he couldn’t even pull them down. And I ended up able to kick him and try and run, but he slammed me against the wall. And he punched me so much I could taste his blood and mine. And then he bent me over the bed and I could feel him enter me, and go in and out of me every single beat, but I just couldn’t do anything but lay there.”
Holding back her tears, Donna shakes and says, “Theo. Why didn’t you..?” In a snap, Theo jumps up and exclaims, “I don’t want to do this Aunt Donna! I told you, I can’t do this! I just can’t!” “Theo, you have to. You’ve come this far, do not stop!”
Theo snaps himself around and exclaims, “He raped me! There, I fucking said it! And then I had to do him, too! He did me and I did him. And you know why he made me do it?” “Why Theo?” “Because I’m gay. He knew I was gay and he had that control over me. He said ‘You’re just some worthless faggot who doesn’t have anything going for him but to be fucked and to fuck back’. That’s what he said to me. So there it is, my two secrets: I’m gay and I was raped. Okay? Okay? Okay!”
As Theo begins the stages of breaking down, Donna hastily makes her way to him and embraces him as he collapses into her arms. Fighting back to own emotions, she continues to just hold and and say, “It’s going to be okay. I promise. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
On the Next Liberty City:
Lisa returns to town with an agenda.
Donna helps Theo out with finding his attacker.
Shirley returns to town with a special visitor for Jamie.
Monica and Keith arrive in court for custody of Isaac.
Courtney let’s Amanda Joy have it.