PREVIOUSLY ON SUNRISE BAY…

*Because of Annie’s fear of driving around in the violent thunder storm, she and Luke spent the night at her brother Todd’s house.

*Luke recalled watching Todd getting beaten up. He questioned Todd about it. Todd assured him to never worry about the incident again.

*Creg kept it a secret that he knew Gabi stole money from him. Gabi sensed his anger towards her and told him to tell her what’s bothering him.

*The Jones and Hetricke family were horrified when Tom got shot and Melissa vanished from the crowd at the New Years Ball.

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"You look like you need a good massage." says Barbara Winthrop seductively as she approaches Gary Jackson from behind. He is at his desk busy looking over various papers.

            "That sounds like a very good idea." States Gary as he signs on the dotted line of one of the many documents.

            She places her hands onto his shoulders and begins to massage them gently. "Have you been working out?" Barbara smiles as she continues.

            "Yeah, right! Like I have the time to work out; With Jackson Industries and all the real estate I have to manage all over the country there is not a free minute left for me to do something like work out." Gary has an annoyed expression as he examines each paper with intensity.

            "At least you find time to squeeze me into your busy schedule. That’s all that is important, isn’t it?" says Barbara with a seductive grin.

            Gary doesn’t respond as he continues to examine and sign the various documents. Barbara is annoyed at him ignoring her question and begins to massage roughly.

            "Ouch! Not so hard, OK?" Gary states as he gives her a mean gaze.

            "Oh, don’t be such a baby." Barbara says as she returns to her gentler massage. She decides to change the subject, "I bet that your ex- wife is still in hysterics over what she witnessed last night at the New Years Ball. I am so glad that we chose to skip the event all together. I can only speculate the fear that would be put in you if witnessing someone getting shot down!"

            "Yes, it was very horrific, Barbara. I’d never want anyone else to go through something like that. If you thought I was in bad shape you should take a look at Eve and all of her family. They are the ones with a dying son-in-law and a missing daughter!" His tone has a very authoritative ring to it. He sounds like a father lecturing his daughter about how life works.

Elaine suddenly pops into Gary ’s study. Both Barbara and Gary both get a "scare" at her sudden arrival. Elaine seems to realize their surprise as she wears a devilish grin.  She is also wearing a sparkling black dress and looks as though she is dressed to kill.

            Gary takes a few seconds to register Elaine’s figure and made-up face. Barbara notices this and is overcome with a little jealousy. Whenever she walks into the room, Gary doesn’t take a few seconds to register the entirety of her own figure, notices Barbara.  She then gets vocal: "Why exactly are you just barging into Gary ’s office, Elaine? You do know that the two of you are not together anymore, don’t you? That is why you got a divorce and lost your Jackson name and are now going by Elaine Breese." Barbara puts as much venom as possible into each and every syllable.

            Elaine is not in the mood for Barbara’s antics, "Why, I am so glad that you reminded me that we have got a divorce, Barbara! Thank you for reminding me that Gary and I are no longer seeing each other! Why I was just about to rip Gary ’s clothes off and knock him on the desk and have wild and passionate sex but I won’t now that you’ve reminded me that we are no longer an item!! Now get the hell out of here and let me and my EXhusband have a talk!"

             Both Barbara and Gary are pretty shocked by Elaine’s in-your-face comments. They both glance quickly at each other with a look like "she’s got the nerve."

            "LEAVE!" yells Elaine loud as possible just in case Barbara is hard of hearing.

            Barbara sticks her nose in the air and heads for the door. Before leaving, she turns and looks at Elaine. "I can tell that you’re nothing but jealous at the thought that Gary and I are now together and no matter how tough you try to act around us you know that you still love him and want him back!" she then slams the door behind her for dramatic effect.

            Elaine rolls her eyes, "That woman is so far off that it is funny."

            "Will you just tell me why in the hell you are here, Elaine?!" Gary questions angrily. He is beginning to get a headache from studying all the papers and then hearing the two yell so loudly at one another.

            "I’m here to pick up exactly four million bucks." Smiles Elaine. "So get out your checkbook. I’ve modified a few plans for the new club I’m opening and I am eager to get things into high gear immediately!"

            "Four million?"  Gary ’s eyes widen.

            "Yes and I don’t want any arguments. You got off so damn easily, Gary . You know that your family doesn’t know the whole truth about why we divorced so I wouldn’t complain!"

            "Is that a threat, Elaine Breese?" Gary questions as he looks her straight in the eyes.

            "No, it’s a promise, Gary Jackson. I’ll tell them all about your African American lover. And we all know what your racist family will do if they find out." Elaine smiles because she knows that she has got the upper hand.

            Gary pauses and looks at her face like "You wouldn’t dare". He then reaches inside his desk and grabs a blue pen and his black checkbook. Immediately, he begins to make a check out for the amount of four million.

TODD’S PLACE

The smell of eggs, onions, cheese, and salsa fill the air of the decent sized house. Todd is busy over the stove making finishing touches on the huge omelet that fills the frying pan. He grabs a plastic fork that is lying next to the stove on the adjacent counter and sneaks a quick bite

            "It needs a little more salt and pepper." He says aloud as he turns toward the cupboards behind him to fetch the proper seasonings.

            "What on heaven’s name is going on here? Do I see my brother busy toiling over the stove to make breakfast?" Annie rubs her eyes and looks again to make sure she isn’t hallucinating.

            Todd cracks a smile, "I thought that I’d give you a big surprise and show you a different side of your brother. Guess it worked, you look shocked."

            "Well if I knew I had a brother who was a professional chef I would have never attempted to make a box of Kraft Easy Mac." Annie lifts the lid of the frying pan and takes in the smell of the contents. "It smells pretty damn good! So Todd, when are you going to get yourself a girlfriend? You’d make a girl very happy." She quickly steers the subject. "Todd, you can’t tell me that you haven’t had a woman since you’ve moved to Sunrise Bay . That’s just wrong for a guy like you."

            "A guy like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Todd’s tone is defensive.

            Something suddenly pops in Annie’s mind, "Wait, are you messing around with Gabi Kane behind Creg Jackson’s back? You guys have been real good friends for years; it had to of led to more than just friends at some point." She grins devilishly as she etches her brother to give up details.

            "No and you never answered my question." Todd folds him arms and gives Annie a serious expression. 

            "You’re such a hottie, come on. Don’t tell me that you didn’t know that. I can imagine how many women would want a piece of you." Annie says as she walks over to the stove to inhale the aroma more closely. 

            Todd’s back is now facing Annie’s. I wish you would just drop this subject, Annie.

            "So does this silence mean that you have not been laid a single time since you’ve come to this town?" Anne’s eyes widen in surprise as she questions her brother.

            Todd begins to put pieces of the omelet on three separate plates and then responds, "Yes, I’ve been laid."

            Annie jumps, "Who?"

            Todd turns towards the sink to wash off the frying pan. I can’t believe I’m lying to my sister about getting a piece of ass. Oh well, it will get her off of my shit.

            "You don’t know her. Anyway, where is Luke ? Is he still sleeping?" Todd leaves it at that. He prays that Annie will completely drop the topic.

            Annie seems to have been satisfied with his earlier answer as she grabs one of the plates and says, "Yeah, just go upstairs and shake him a little. That’s the only way he wakes up. I know it from experience." She takes a bite of the omelet with a smile.

            Todd pauses for a second as Annie scarfs down her breakfast quickly and then turns, "Sure, I guess I’ll go wake him up."

            He heads toward the staircase and makes his way up to the room that Luke is sleeping in. Todd slowly opens the door and makes his way towards Luke’s still figure on the couch. He pauses before wiggling Luke awake. Why in the hell am I being so apprehensive? Just wake the guy up, Todd!Todd extends his arm and shakes Luke in the shoulders. "Luke, wake up. Breakfast is…"

            "WHO IS IT!? GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" Luke jumps up quickly from the couch and knocks Todd backwards. Luke then stumbles and goes falling right on top of Todd and they hit the floor with a big thud.

 "This omelet really kicks ass." Annie says aloud as she downs the last bit. "I wonder if Todd would mind if I borrowed just a little piece of his…"

            Suddenly the sound of the phone pierces the air. Annie jerks her fork back as though Todd has an alarm installed on his plate that is warning him of an impending robbery of his breakfast.

            "It’s just the phone, you idiot!" laughs Annie as she heads toward the receiver. She takes a moment to stop laughing at her own stupidity before swiftly pushing the talk button. "Hello?"

            "Hey this is Elliot. Is Todd there? I really need to speak to him."

            Elliot? Who’s Elliot? "He’s a little busy upstairs right now but he should be back down here in like a minute. While we’re waiting for him, how do you know Todd?" Annie was always very nosy and this is no exception.

            "Well if you must know. I’m what you can call a close friend of his from Hawaii ."

            "Close friend? Hmmm…He never mentioned a friend Elliot from Hawaii ..." The redhead’s curiosity is peaked.

Creg is standing naked at the mirror as he gives his face a close shave. His mind is working 90 miles a minute as well. Maybe I should just tell that ungrateful bitch that I know all about her stealing the money. Then that won’t give her any time to run or make up some big lie. No, I have to keep at not telling her. This will give me a lot more fun in the process. He smiles as he turns off his electric raiser. "Perfect shave."

            The door to the bathroom suddenly flies open and Gabi sways in seductively dressed in red lingerie. "Hey, sex machine. Come and show your babe how much you appreciate her."

            He turns from the mirror and lets out a smile. "I was just thinking about how much you mean to me, Gabi."

            "Really?" Gabi slowly lowers herself onto the king-sized bed. She glances at his naked front side and giggles, "Well, I can tell you were thinking about me. You never were good at keeping secrets or hiding your excitement for that matter…"

            "That reminds me. I bought something the other day." Creg makes his way over to his dresser and opens the drawer to pull out a pair of handcuffs.

            Gabi’s eyes widen in delight, "I never have seen your kinky side! This turns me on so much!" She reaches for Creg’s hand to pull him on top of her.

            "Wait, not too fast. Somebody’s been a bad little girl and needs the cops called on her." He pulls a police hat from the drawer and puts it on.

            Gabi loves it. "Yes! Yes! I’ve been such a bad girl! Punish me, you big hunk of a cop!"

            "You sure have been a bad little girl." Creg crawls onto the bed and puts his front side in between her legs. "I’m going to have to teach you a lesson or two, aren’t I?"

            "TEACH ME! TEACH ME!" screams Gabi in complete ecstasy as Creg begins to "teach her a lesson." They go at it until they reach a climax.

            Creg then quickly grabs the handcuffs and puts one cuff on her right arm and the other on the bed post. He lets out a big laugh, "There’s your lesson, Gabi Kane!"

            Gabi then yells, "Okay, you can undo them now, Creg! We’ve acted out our fantasy. Seriously, get the key or whatever and let me out of these things!"

            Creg is back in his boxers and blue jeans now as he lets out a laugh and watches a naked Gabi pleading for freedom. "Nah, I think I’m going to give you a while longer to learn your lesson. Remember, bad girls always have to serve their time." He heads for his closet and grabs a white t-shirt and slips it on.

            "You wouldn’t dare!" screams an increasingly angry Gabi.

            "Oh, yes I would!" mocks Creg as he gives Gabi a wink before heading out his bedroom door.

Luke lies on top of Todd for a few seconds before the reality of the situation finally hits him. "Oh my… I’m so sorry, man!" He scurries to get off top of the other man that he had pinned on the floor

            Todd is still a little stunned from the fall and his heart is racing. He had no idea that he would get attacked if he wiggled Luke by the shoulders a bit. It then makes him wonder if Annie knew that Luke would react that way and just wanted a laugh.

            "I can’t believe I just did that to you, Todd! I’m seriously sorry, man. I was just in the middle of this screwed up nightmare when you tried to wake me up."

            Todd lets out a big laugh, "It’s no problem, Luke. Even though I almost shit myself, it’s no problem!"

            Luke joins in on the laughing and continues, "Wow. Look what kind of houseguest I am. I almost killed the host!"

            The two stop laughing and lock eyes for a brief moment. Todd quickly breaks the contact and turns his head towards the door, "Anyway, the reason I came up here to wake you up is that I made us all some omelets for breakfast. We’ll probably have to go reheat them by now."

            "So you’re a cook and a writer?"

            "I just cook occasionally. I’m not looking to quit my day job and try to go get hired as a chef at Seaside Café or something like that."

            Luke then heads for the door. "Well, I am dying to try your omelet. And by the way…"

            "What, Luke?"

            Luke quickly recaps him and Todd’s conversation last night in his mind. "I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable in your own house last night when I was talking with you about the Alec incident. I just wanted to let you know I’m not the kind of person who would go stab someone in the back."

            "Yeah, of course you want it to stay in past." There has to be something else that Todd is not telling me about this Alec guy. It’s none of my damn business but I can’t help it. Luke suddenly finds his mouth opening to ask, "So what was going on with this Alec guy?"

            Todd tries to downplay the whole situation, "It was just a big mess that I shouldn’t have got in. So let’s get some breakfast, shall we?" I wish Luke would just drop it. No one can find out the real truth about the whole Alec situation-- they just can't!

            "Yeah, sorry. You’re right, let’s get some breakfast." With that Luke heads out of the bedroom and down the staircase with Todd not so far behind.

            Annie is still on the phone with Elliot, "So that’s all you are going to tell me? – You’re a friend of his from Hawaii ?"

            Todd’s interest is immediately spiked and he goes towards Annie quickly, "Who in the hell are you talking to Annie?" Todd’s tone comes out a lot harsher than he intended it to.

            Annie gets a very offended look on her face. "For Pete’s sake, Todd! You don’t have to bite my head off! Jeez, it’s a friend by the name of Elliot from Hawaii ." She slams the phone into her brother’s hand.

            Todd’s face grows a little red and he knows both Luke and Annie notice his sudden change of mood. He swiftly walks upstairs and puts the receiver to his ear.

            Back downstairs, Luke and Annie exchange looks. "Did you notice how pissy my brother all of the sudden got?" Annie questions Luke.

            "Yeah, I did." Says Luke as he glances at the staircase lost in thought.

            In room 109, Tom’s machine continues to feed the man life. The monitor beats right on time every 3 seconds showing that Tom’s heart is still beating along. There has been no change in his condition since last night and it worries Carl greatly.

            Carl enters the room and checks all of the hookups and the oxygen mask to make sure everything is working properly. Of course everything is working fine, Carl. You have already checked over and over!  He gazes at his helpless son-in-law and is overcome with sadness. Tom does not deserve this! He is such a wonderful guy and there is no one better for my daughter . Speaking of my daughter…

            As this thought surfaces, his other daughter makes her way into the hospital room. She’s wearing a plain white t-shirt and tight-fitting blue jeans. Big bags set beneath her eyes. She looks at the scene of her unconscious brother-in-law with sorrow.  "Daddy? Is Tom getting any better?" questions Cassie Jones . "Please tell me that Tom is going to be OK."

            Carl turns around and looks his daughter in the eye. "I’m afraid there is still no change in Tom’s condition. I think he might slip into a coma as much as I don’t want it to happen." He turns his gaze onto Tom’s unconscious body once again and breathes in the despair of the whole situation. "So where is your mother ?"

            "Cassie, don’t talk like that! You have to try to keep a positive attitude and believe that they are going find Melissa good and alive! Anyway, have they let anyone talk to the bastard that shot Tom?" Carl tries his best to be the stronger one in this situation. He can’t protect his family if he’s falling apart and in a tear fit.

            Cassie wipes her eyes quickly and then responds, "No, they have him in the back rooms and are trying to get him to tell where the psycho that has been stalking us is. They know he’s not the same man and that he’s more like an apprentice of who Keith believes to be Mason. Speaking of Keith, I’m really worried about him, too. He’s at the police station with revenge on his mind. Dad, Keith has a horrible anger problem and he’s ready to kill. You saw him beating that guy to a pulp at the Ball. Though, I do think that idiot deserved every punch and a lot more." 

            Cassie pulls her father into a very tight hug, "I hope you’re right. I really do."

            The father and daughter are both in tears now. Carl can’t hold them back any longer. The sounds of the machines continue on in the background of their sobbing.

Inside of the small wooden cabin, Melissa has once again fallen into a deep sleep on the bed that Mason has her on. Mason is sitting in a chair that he just brought in and is watching her every breath. She’s so damn beautiful. He thinks with a wide smile. His abnormally blue eyes focus in on her face and keep the gaze locked.

            Melissa’s sleep is not a peaceful one, though. Her dreams are actually nightmares as her mind forces her to recall that fateful night when she was 16 and the very same man had his way with her:

            It is a cool and comfortable night as Mason and Melissa hold each others’ hands and walk past the houses that line the peaceful neighborhood of Roxford. They head towards their high school’s football field. Mason leads Melissa to a grassy part beneath the bleachers. They lower and sit down on the comfortable ground.

            Melissa’s eyes open quickly and she is screaming, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

            Mason jumps from the chair and goes to her bedside. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

            Melissa looks into Mason’s eyes in complete horror as she quickly recaps that horrible night where she lost her innocence forever. How is she going to escape from the man this time?

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