The River of Deceit...(S10-E12)

That same Saturday evening Luke arrives home about an hour after he had promised Laura he would be home. When he makes his way to the porch he notices that the lights are still all on downstairs. Laura must be up and awake waiting for him, waiting to lay into him about not keeping his promises. He was hoping she would have gone to bed already, he is not ready to face her at this very moment. 

Luke takes the small step up onto the porch and gets his keys ready to unlock the door. As he is stepping into the house his eyes immediately find Laura cuddled up asleep on the couch. His heart sinking like a rock. He stares at her lying there sleeping, feeling bad for ever 

thinking he did not want to see her sweet face right now. 

Laura must be exhausted from her busy Saturday with the boys, because she did not wake the second he swung the front door open. The crisp night air blows the curtains ever so gently shifting Luke's attention to the living room windows. Laura likes to open them during

 the fall and spring seasons...

This time Luke's heart rockets up into throat his pulse ratcheting up with it at the sight of the exposed and open windows. Usually he would not be so paranoid but after what happened to him at the shop with those two goons, Luke is seriously on edge. He takes several large strides to cross the room and begins to shut the windows. The sudden wave of noises startle Laura and she pushes her head up off the couch... 

*Laura* "Luke?.. wha..what's going on?....what time is it?

*Luke* "It's a little past midnight..."

Luke tries to keep his hands steady on the window pane as he pushes it down. Adrenaline shooting through him, like it did earlier tonight. For all he knows someone could have snuck in the house 
while Laura and the boys were asleep...

*Luke* "This isn't safe leaving this window open while I'm gone 

and you and the boys are asleep in the house..."

*Laura* "Well maybe if you would be home on time

 it wouldn't be an issue!...."

Laura pushes herself up more as Luke 

turns to look at her.

*Luke* "It's only a fucking hour, Laura...One hour!..."

*Laura* "That's not the point Luke, if you don't make 

something a habit then you never will."

Luke slams and locks the first window 

then turns to face Laura. 

*Luke* "And what about your fucking bad habits?! Leaving the 

fucking windows open in the middle of the night. Anyone could easily come in..."

Luke then side steps over to the next window

 gripping it tight, trying to steady his shaky nerves 

as he closes the window. 

*Laura* "You know I leave windows open all the time

 right now, it's nice outside..."

Laura begins to get more flustered with his 

agitated state. Luke never demands things like 

this and how she should run the household...

*Luke* "Not anymore...Just keep the fucking windows
shut and locked while I'm not at home."

Laura pops up off the couch while Luke
 grabs the curtains and closes them over 
the widows so no one can see inside.

*Laura* "What the hell is wrong with you?! First you come home late again as usual, 

now you're acting paranoid, demanding I follow your ridiculous

 orders like the boys and I are prisoners..."

Luke turns to face Laura hands splayed out, his stance rigid. 
He is on the defense and Laura does not understand 
why he looks like he wants to punch a wall.

*Luke* "Being given the third degree feels like shit doesn't it?!  I'm fucking sick and

 tired of explaining everything to you, Laura. And I have a fucking right to be 

worried about your safety and the boys when I'm working my

 ass off for this entire fucking family!!!!"

Laura bends down to grab her sneakers. She can feel

 tears coming on but she reigns them in before looking up at Luke. Whatever is going on with him Laura has no idea why 

and at this point she doesn't even care anymore. 

She is tired of being at odds with him, it has been
 this way for months now.

*Laura* "You know what?! I'm done with this conversation...

Come home whenever the hell you want I don't care anymore..."

Laura then walks off and heads towards the base of the staircase. 

Whatever is eating at him she is definitely not gonna 

find out tonight. He is impossible to talk to 

when he is fuming mad about something.

*Luke* "So that's it huh?...Just like that you change your fucking mind? 

After months of putting me through this shit!..."

Laura stops and turns to look at him. Luke is a beast when he is this angry. His tattooed arms flexed and tense as he speaks. Something is off about him and Laura doesn't know why but can only speculate. She knows something happened, her gut feeling tells her that much. Yelling at him about it right now will only make things worse between them.

*Laura* "You're such an asshole!...You are not 

behaving like the man I married."

Luke instantly snaps back before even realizing 

what he is saying to her. His body is still pumped with adrenaline and anger after the confrontation in the record shop.

*Luke* "I've always been an asshole, since the first fucking day you met, baby!..."

Disappointment spreads across Laura's face. She does not say a single word back to him, but instead begins to head upstairs. Luke 

crosses the living room knowing he pushed it too far. It takes

 a whole lot for Laura to curse back at him. Luke calls her to stop his tone back to cool, calm, casual Luke...

*Luke* "Laura wait..."

She stops and turns, maybe he will finally tell her 

what is eating him up instead of taking

 out this rage on her...

*Laura* "What?..."

Luke moves up to stand on the very first tread of the staircase.
 Laura's eyes are watery and Luke is almost sure it is 
because of him and not due tiredness..

*Luke* "You're right...I'm an asshole. I'm sorry, babe....

Just know that I love you."

Laura moves down one step to get closer. She is not ready to fully forgive this tantrum of his but she also does not want to go to bed completely angry and in tears.  She runs her hand along his chin and jawline. The muscles are tense. His overall body language looks tense.

*Laura* "I love you too...But you have to stop shutting me out. Ever since things 

went bad with Peter. All you do is shut me out, Luke..."

*Luke* "I'm sorry...It's not on purpose, babe."

*Laura* "You need to talk to someone. If not me then a therapist or

 maybe we should do couples therapy again..."

Luke lets out a huff. He would hate to have to talk to some stranger about his embarrassing fucked up past that is now coming back to try and ruin the life he has made here with Laura. He did it once before when Laura insisted on it. He does not need someone to psychoanalyze him and tell him what to do with his fucking feelings about Peter.  

*Luke* "You know I hate that shit..."

*Laura* "I know but this won't get any easier unless you talk to me!..."

Luke reaches up grasping her elbow and 

tries to pull her in closer. 

*Luke* "I do talk to you!...We're talking right now."

Luke pleads and Laura shakes her head. This is not enough for her and 

he cannot sweet talk his way back to her good graces. Her hand slides

down to his chest keeping him from coming closer. 

*Laura* "No....You know what I mean...Tell me what's going on."

Luke pauses staying silent for a beat. His hand drops from her arm feeling defeated. He wants to tell her but at the

 same time he wants to protect her!

 What kind of man is he if he cannot protect his family?

*Luke* "I don't know what else you want me to say?!..."

Again Luke puts up that wall and Laura gives up. She is tired and tomorrow is another busy day for her. She takes a step up, 

turning her body halfway to meet his face one last time. 

She is not about to give up on where she stands 

in this and let him wiggle his way out of it.

*Laura* "If you don't let me in then I can't help you..."

Laura stands there and waits to see if Luke will
 finally spit it out whatever it may be. She assumes it 
has something to do Rufus because nothing else 
flares up his anger like his ex girlfriend does.

*Luke* "I don't need help...I..I...Just want my wife back."

*Laura* "I could say the same thing about you."

Then Laura turns and heads up the stairs to bed. Luke does not follow her this time. Instead he watches her disappear up the stairway. Then she turns and makes her way to their bedroom. 
The door softly clicking shut.

Before heading off to shower and go to bed. Luke checks the house over to make sure no strangers are hiding, 
checking on the boys as well before heading off to bed. 

  Luke may have made things a whole lot worse by not opening up to the truth right now, but he could not bring himself to do it. Not tonight. He really wants to preserve Laura's innocence in all this.
 He peeks his head in the downstairs half bath
 first before heading up to the second story of the house.

 It's embarrassing to constantly have to deal with his fucked up family and past. He knows Laura will want to do everything she can to help being the sweet loving person that she is. Problem is that means she might get others involved, like her lawyer sister, 
even worse her parents.
Luke makes his way upstairs now to check on the boys.

Laura's mom has struggled over the years to justify reasons as to why Laura chose Luke. Something like this could make her feel that maybe her daughter and her grandsons are not safe 
as long as Luke is in their lives. 

He has always been a confident person but he loves Laura and his sons more than anything, fighting for that approval from his mother in law has been a real downer on his confidence. Usually he does not care but in this matter he does. 
Luke heads up to the third level of 
their inner city home. 

His thoughts continue to ramble as he walks outside to 
check the rooftop patio. Leaving no stone unturned
 as he checks the house. Luke just hopes he can 
resolve this and get the help he needs to do so.  

Before he left the shop tonight he sent a few emails and text messages to various people. Now he plays the waiting game for if and when they get back to him. On Monday he plans to go to the bank and see what they can do him. Most likely he is gonna have to get help from the one person he does not want back in his life...

Luke does his best to try and turn his mind off. He needs to get some sleep if he plans on having a productive day tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Checking back in on Baz and Eva. It is still that same Saturday night but only several hours later. The same night that Baz gave in and took Eva out for a night of fun since they have been in town. Upon learning of Baz's omission of truth about how he has paid for their honeymoon. Eva flies up off the bed her mind trying 
to make sense of what he just said. Baz quickly pops up 
reaching for Eva before she can walk away.

*Baz* "I had no choice, baby doll. It was the only way to
 get away from her and the casino!"
Eva yanks her arm out of his grasp and folds 
them in defiance across her chest.

*Eva* "There is always a choice, Baz! Telling
 me the truth is a start!..."
*Baz* "I know I should have told you but I just wanted to get out of
there. The longer we stayed the harder it would have been to get away."
Baz continues to plead his case with Eva. He knows if he would have told her that she would have wanted to face his mother. Stand up against her and prove her wrong. His mother is never wrong at least in her eyes. Eva would have never stood a chance against her.

*Baz* "Baby doll I know you're angry and I get it, but
you do not know my mother like I do. I don't ever want to lose you. She would
kill you right in front of me just to prove the point that she is in charge.
And now she'll probably kill us both."
Eva turns away and shudders at the thought of Baz's 
brutal comment. Baz has continued to try to tell 
her that his mother really is a ruthless crime boss but it's been 
hard to take it all in. The few times she has ever seen her she
 looked so nice and approachable.

*Baz* "Eva talk to me, please...."
Eva composes herself then whips her head around to
 look up at Baz. His face is serious yet sad as well.

*Eva* "You're a fool! For not only lying to me but to your mother! Secrets
always have a way of coming out, Baz! You know I hate deception. I was told my whole life that a family was coming to adopt me and they never came...You know I hate these kind of empty promises. Don't give me false hope, tell me like it is or there is no more us...."
*Baz* "Eva....I'm sorry....I..."
Eva shoves him once unfolding one of her arms 
attempting to put more distance between them.

*Eva* "Sorry isn't enough!..."
*Baz* "I know...but you have to understand....I..."
Eva hates hearing the words "I'm sorry..." She has heard
 them all her life as empty gestures from
 strangers and social workers. Now her husband of just
 a few months tries to buy her with those same words. She shoves at him again this time with both arms.

*Eva* "Stop it!..."
Baz stumbles back a bit and Eva goes in again to
 push him back. Cursing him for not being 
honest from the beginning. Her anger bubbling 
over and causing her to lose all sense.

*Eva* "Damn you Sebastian DeRozen!...You know this
 is not how I wanted things to be between us!"
Eva moans with frustration as Baz stumbles back a little but then catches himself. He turns away from her. His mind running
 as his feet pace the space between Eva and door.

*Baz* "I know saying I'm sorry doesn't fucking cut it but I
 don't know what else to say right now...."
He turns to face her again. Trying to get her
 to see his side of things.

*Baz* "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd want to storm your way into my
mother's office and give her a piece of your mind...Eva I'm telling
you it's pretty much suicide if you do that!"
Eva is still standing there stubborn as an ox. While she admires Baz's need to protect her, she also hates that he chose to not tell her about his plans. It explains so much as to why he was so paranoid of his mother tracking him down. Taking money from the casino
 instead of his trust fund was very risky business...

*Eva* "Try starting with the truth. We go in this together,
Baz or there is no 'we' in this. We clear?..Besides how do you
know how she'll react! You've
never given me chance to prove to her that I can make you happy."
Baz spits back just as angry. 

*Baz* "You want to leave me then fine! Go! There's the fucking door.
No one is holding you hostage...You want to take the risk that my
mother might find you, that's on you!"
*Eva* "You're an asshole!..."
Then she turns and walks towards the bathroom...

*Eva* "I ain't scared of shit, Sebastian! I'd rather take that
 risk then be treated like a fucking child."
*Baz* "Eva, wait...."
As their heated argument went from bad to worse so has Baz's temperature. He strips off his vintage button down shirt tossing it on the bed as he follows Eva to the Bathroom. He stops in the doorway and sees she is beginning to pack some of her luggage.

*Baz* "Come on, baby doll you know I didn't mean that..."
*Eva* "I dunno Baz, you sure seem like you did."
*Baz* "Besides being completely honest with you...Just tell
 me what I can do to make this better."
Eva closes the lid on her makeup travel case, hand 
on hip as she cocks her head to look up at Baz,
 making sure to spell it out nice and slow for him.

*Eva* "If we are ever gonna convince your mother then we have to work together, be strong together. If she thinks that I'll betray you or the family business in anyway then how can I ever gain her trust?! Then you go and steal money from the casino, Baz! For all we know, she probably assumes
I put the gawd awful stupid idea in your head! So yeah you have a lot of work
 cut out for you to try and 'make this better'."
Baz steps in closer and puts his hands on her shoulders. Eva is right. He has made some bad decisions and if only he would have told her from the beginning they might not be on the run right now.
 Instead maybe actually fully enjoying their honeymoon.

*Baz* "You're right, baby doll. I never stopped to think she would assume that."
*Eva* "Of course I'm right...this is why you tell me and not
 keep it from me. So we can figure all this out together."
Baz nods in agreement. He was definitely foolish to think that he 
could hide the truth of the matter from her. Baz makes a mental
 note to remember that a little too much alcohol causes 
him to speak his mind a bit too easily.

*Baz* "I have an idea if you want to stick around and hear it."
*Eva* "Okay, what is it?..."
*Baz* "How about we stay here a little longer. Like you wanted."
*Eva* "Are you sure it's safe?"

*Baz* "We take a risk either way...she'll find us eventually. If she hasn't already."
*Eva* "So what happens when she finds us?..."
*Baz* "Best case scenario, most likely she'll drag us back to Vegas and demand answers,
before she makes a final decision. Maybe she'll actually climb down out of her evil tower and come here herself...Either way we'll be prepared to face her."
Baz steps in closer...

*Baz* "I won't let her hurt you, Eva...She will have to learn to
live in my world too."
*Eva* "I would never expect less from you...Are you
serious about staying here?"

*Baz* "Possibly, or at least for a little while. Maybe find
 a temporary job...What do you think?"

*Eva* "I think it sounds wonderful..."
*Baz* "So we good now, baby doll?..."
*Eva* "One more thing..."
*Baz* "I'm all ears..."
*Eva* "Can we go out again tomorrow...
Maybe check out a few stores."
*Baz* "Sure thing baby doll. I think it's time we stopped hiding and start
living our life together..."
Eva jumps up into Baz's arms wrapping hers around 
his neck tightly. The two locking lips instantly.

These two are definitely crazy in love. Let's just hope that Momma DeRozen can get past all the double crossing and
 maybe accept Eva into the family.

To Be Continued!...

Thanks so much as always for tuning in! I truly do appreciate all of your support and interest in what I do. I hope to be able to continue to post

 episodes on a regular basis! From now on 

Wednesdays

will be the day for new episodes to drop! If I can make the deadline😅

Also I have decided to leave my PayPal address up at the end of every episode for those who feel they would like to give back. As an artist it is always a struggle to make ends meet. Most of you know I don't do this for the money but at the same time whatever does trickle in helps a lot!

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Trying To Find Some Downtime

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