Fulfillment (Book 3 in The Temptation Series) (32 page)

“Oh, yes, I’ve
met Scott. I met him in the office and at the Tel V Awards.”

I hadn’t
mentioned to anyone about my third encounter with Scott which was
after the board meeting a few months back.

Lucy
continued. “Well, it was shortly after I’d gone off the rails and
Bryce had—for the umpteenth time—come to my rescue. He’d let me
stay here while I was detoxing, and I’d been such an ungrateful,
selfish bitch to him in front of Gareth. Jessica said that my harsh
outburst and unappreciativeness would have been the trigger to
Scott’s appearance. At that stage, we’d known that he’d developed
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but he had not yet showed any signs
of the DID.”

Lucy had
started gently combing her hair nervously and if I weren’t mistaken
I would’ve said that she appeared quite agitated.

“I had been
sitting on the sofa watching TV. Gareth was at the dining table
reading the paper, I think. Bryce had told me that he was going to
get my Uncle Charles to have some of my assets frozen, because I
had been squandering my inheritance on drugs. As he left the room
to go into his office, I screamed at him calling him a ‘fucking
controlling prick.’ Shortly after his door closed, I felt a
terrible pain on my head and soon realised Gareth was pulling me by
the hair from behind the sofa.

“He had lost
it, completely lost it. I remember him saying in a cold, hated
voice as he yanked me up and over the back of the sofa to the
ground, ‘You ungrateful, self-centered, fucking brat. He deserves
so much better than the filth of a sister that you are.’

“It was just
so unlike Gareth and he sounded like a completely different person.
At first I yelled at him to let me go, asking him what the fuck he
thought he was doing. But it was his eyes that told me something
was not right, that, and his tone of voice was all wrong. I
screamed for Bryce at that point, because I was terrified and I
felt at any moment he would rip my hair from my head.”

I had placed
my hands over my mouth, listening to the extent that Scott had gone
to over his obsession for Bryce. “Lucy, that sounds absolutely
dreadful.”

“It was, but
thankfully Bryce had heard my cry for help and came running into
the room grabbing Gareth and pinning him up against the wall. He’d
asked him what the fuck he thought he was doing laying a hand on a
girl let alone his own cousin. Bryce was absolutely furious. But it
was what Gareth did next that cemented there was something
seriously wrong.”

She leaned
over and teased Alexander with a soft squeaky toy, gently touching
his nose with it then moving it away, only to touch his nose with
it again. Alexander thought it was brilliant.

“What did
Gareth do, Luce?”

She took a
deep breath. “He said to Bryce, ‘The name is Scott, and you have no
fucking idea how long I have waited to be pinned up against a wall
by you,’ then he leaned forward and kissed Bryce.”

I shrieked and
replaced my hands over my mouth.

“He only got
so far as a peck, but it was enough to shock the shit out of us,
especially Bryce who then punched Gareth directly in the nose,
knocking him out.”

“Geezus,” I
blurted out.

“Yeah, Geezus
alright. So there, on the floor, was Gareth out cold with a broken
nose, Bryce was standing over him with his hands through his hair
just staring, and I was still crumpled on the ground. That’s when
we discovered Gareth had DID and why he got it. Bryce was
devastated and blamed himself. He also decided from then on, that
his martial arts training would be put to better use by teaching
women to defend themselves when being attacked, starting with me.
So although I can confidently say I can defend myself from my
cousin and his psycho-alter Scott, I still try to avoid anything
that could trigger his appearance.”

“Oh, Luce, I
completely understand. Don’t worry about me and my telling
Samantha. I can handle it.”

“I hope so.
The last thing you need right now is more drama, especially where
Gareth is concerned.”

***

I deliberated
over what Lucy said and agreed that I did not need any more drama
in my life, but I had a conscience, and I desperately had to get
the nagging Samantha/Gareth issue out of my head. So I took the
plunge and asked Abigail to send her up to the penthouse to collect
Bryce’s brief, which at this point in time was non-existent.

I was sitting
at Bryce’s desk when Samantha knocked on the door.

“Come in,” I
called out.

She opened the
door and walked in, closing it behind her and gingerly making her
way toward me.

“Hi, Alexis,
how are you feeling? Oh, sorry, you don’t need to answer that if
you don’t want to. Shit, sorry, I’m really not good with these
types of things.”

“Sam, it’s
okay. I’m fine.” I smiled reassuringly at her.

She could
barely look at me.

I pushed
myself up from the desk and hobbled over to the sofa in Bryce’s
office. “You got a moment for a chat?” I gestured to the other sofa
seated opposite the one I sat on.

“Sure,” she
hesitantly answered.

“So, what’s
been happening Sam? I miss you. I feel like you avoid me now.”

“I don’t mean
to. It’s just when I heard about your fall I didn’t want to say the
wrong thing and upset you.”

“Don’t be
silly, I’m okay. I’m getting stronger both mentally and physically
as each day goes by. It happened and it can’t be changed, all I can
do is move on.”

She smiled
feebly at me.

“Oh, I’ve been
meaning to ask you. I didn’t get to say goodbye to you at my
birthday party. What happened?”

I figured I’d
play dumb and get her side of the story before I mentioned anything
to her about Gareth.

“Oh.” She
displayed an expression of confusion. “Didn’t Gareth say
goodbye?”

“No.” I
answered, with a dumbfounded expression.

“That’s
strange, as I was exiting the bathroom shortly after your
announcement...Oh, shit, sorry I didn’t mean to mention the—”

“Sam, it’s
fine. Keep going.”

“Sorry,
um...where was I? Oh yeah, when I walked out the bathroom, Gareth
took my arm in his and said we were leaving. He was actually in a
pissy mood if I remember rightly. He’d said the party was winding
up. Sorry I never said goodbye, but Gareth told me he’d already
done it on my behalf.”

“Maybe he did,
I can’t quite remember,” I said, brushing it off.

I felt a
sickly feeling in my stomach at the confirmation Gareth had in fact
lied about why he left the party. Something was not right, and I
had a feeling I knew what; Scott was pretending to be Gareth. I
couldn’t be positive though, and I had no idea how I would prove it
without baiting him and putting myself or my children at risk. I
would have to think about it a lot more, but first I needed to tell
Sam the truth. If my feelings were correct and Scott was disguising
himself as Gareth, Sam deserved to know and she deserved to know
immediately.

“Sam, I need
to tell you something. It might come as a shock but you deserve to
know the truth.”

She tensed in
her seat and looked at me intently.

“Has Gareth
mentioned anything to you about his medical condition?”

She tilted her
head to the side. “Well, yeah, he suffers from horrible migraines,
poor bugger. I can’t stand a mild headache let alone a severe
migraine.” She relaxed a little.

“Has he told
you why he gets the migraines?” I probed further, causing her
relaxed position to tense up again.

“No, and I
didn’t want to pry.”

“Hmmm,” I
mumbled.

“Alexis, what
is it? Look, I know you are not a fan of Gareth, and clearly he was
not a fan of yours, but he has been trying to make amends for
that.”

“Sam, Gareth
has Dissociate Identity Disorder with positive symptoms of
Schizophrenia.”

Her mouth
dropped and she blinked.

“I’m not sure
if you are aware, but Bryce’s parents and brother were killed in a
car accident when he was nineteen. Gareth had been in the car and
was the sole survivor. He suffered severe head injuries and as a
result developed DID.”

She looked at
her hands which were entwined with each other. “I...um...I had no
idea.”

“I didn’t
think so. I’m sorry, I just thought you had a right to know. It’s
my understanding Gareth has many altering personalities. Scott, is
the personality that does not get along with me.”

“I’m sorry,
what?”

It was clear
Samantha had no idea as to the complexity of Gareth’s
condition.

“Sam, his
personality changes and with that so does his person. One minute he
is Gareth, the next he can be Scott, or Deirdre—”

“Who the fuck
is Deirdre?” she blurted out.

“Deirdre is
one of his alters, Sam. I have not yet met her. I’ve only met
Scott.”

She dropped
her head in her hands. “I don’t know if I can...I mean...what do I
say or do with this?” She lifted her head, displaying a look of
complete stupefaction.

“I don’t know,
Hun. It might help to research the condition before you do anything
brash, though. I can tell you that he sees the family psychologist
for therapy weekly and takes medication daily to supress the alters
from dominating him.”

“Why didn’t he
tell me?” she asked in an angry tone.

“I don’t know.
Maybe he was scared, or maybe it’s because as part of his treatment
he is encouraged to live his life normally, and telling everyone he
comes in contact with about the DID would hinder that.”

“Right,” she
answered, still looking completely lost.

“I’m sorry,
Sam. I just thought you should know the whole truth.”

She smiled
mildly at me. “No, that’s okay. Thank you for telling me, I
appreciate it. I just have a lot to consider now.”

“I know you
do. But make sure you consider everything, okay?”

She stood up
and helped me up with her. “So, how long are you in that stylish
thing?” she pointed to my moon boot.

“Five to seven
weeks,” I answered with a pout.

“Well, it
could be worse...” she froze and her eyes widened. “Oh, shit!
Sorry, I didn’t...see what I mean? I’m hopeless, absolutely
hopeless.”

“Sam,
seriously...” I placed my hand on her shoulder as I picked up my
crutches. “I’m sure you are not the only one who mouth-farts at the
wrong time. We are all capable of it.”

After Sam left
the office, I felt only mildly better. Better, because she was now
aware of Gareth’s situation and could make her own informed
decision about what to do in regards to their relationship. But I
also felt terrible, because I could see Sam’s heart break as she
realised her partner was not who she thought he was.

***

Later that
evening, Derek stayed for dinner after knuckling down and giving me
some more lessons.

“How’s she
coming along?” Lucy asked him as we each ate our meals ordered from
the hotel’s kitchen. I missed my smirky chef and his culinary
wizardry.

“She’s a
natural, or I am the bomb when it comes to teaching.” He shot a
smile at me. “Yeah, I’m thinking I’m just that good.”

I rolled my
eyes, so did Lucy.

“So, Alexis,
how do you plan on springing your new found guitar talent on my
brother?”

“I don’t know.
I was just going to sit him down and play something I guess, when
the time was right,” I explained as I popped my fork in my
mouth.

“That’s
boring, and plain and just...boring. You need to do it in a way
that says ‘Look the fuck at what I have learned for you’.”

I laughed,
“And how do I do that exactly?”

“At our gig in
a couple of month,” she said proudly.

Derek choked
on his mouthful, and Nic screwed up her face.

“I’m singing
at that gig you know,” Charli added.

“You are, are
you?” Derek asked, obviously this being news to him.

“Yep, Bryce
said I could. I’ve been practising.”

“He did, and
she has,” I confirmed.

“Yeah,” Nate
moaned. “She has been practising
a lot
.”

I squinted my
eyes at my son, a warning to be nice or else.

Lucy stood up
and took her plate to the sink. “Perfect, a family gig. Nic, do you
want to join in too?” She raised her eyebrows at her partner.

“Do you want
to change Alexander’s nappies for a month?” Nic counter offered
back.

“Point taken,”
Lucy replied in a sweet voice. “So what song are you going to play
for him, Alexis? Do you need help choosing? The gig is in two
months you might want to start practising it.”
Um, fuck! I only
just picked up the bloody guitar, steady on.

“I haven’t
really thought about it, Luce, maybe “The Only Exception” by
Paramore. I don’t know.”

“Actually,
that would be doable, Alexis. It’s a very basic song to learn on
the guitar for most part, and I could play what you might not be
able to learn in such a short space of time,” Derek said as the
cogs in his brain started to turn.

“Yes, great
song choice Alexis and perfect for your voice,” Lucy added, her
brain cogs turning too.
I’m sorry, did you just say my
voice?

“What do you
mean perfect for my voice?”

“It’s the
perfect song for you to play and sing to Bryce at our gig. Oh my
God, he is gonna die when you perform this for him.” She was so
excited.

“I dunno, it’s
one thing doing it in private for him, but up on stage at one of
your gigs? I don’t think I can do that.” Already I felt clammy and
nervous.

“Alexis, how
much do you love him?”

“Lucy, that’s
unfair.”
You sneaky little guilt tripper.

“Well? How
much?”

“More than
anything.”

“Then you
should do it, because I can tell you this would absolutely blow his
mind.”
Really?