Memoirs Of A Star (Isabel/Alex/UC) [COMPLETE]

[Lillie]

Title: Memoirs Of A Star

Author: Lillie/Amber

Disclaimer: Characters don’t belong to me. Nothing belongs to me.

Category: Isabel centeric. Isabel with UC and with Alex. Smidgeon of M/L.





NOTE: I started this story about a year ago, and I decided that it was high time that I finish it up. But first I'm going to repost it before the new chapters are posted.


Prologue


“What was your sister like, Mr. Evans? Can I call you Max?” Laurie Dupree asked the older man, with a smile on her face. She knew that she was lucky to get this interview. Here she was about to interview the brother of one of the greatest film actresses ever. Isabel Taylor’s brother. Who was going to tell her exclusively about his famous sister. Laurie was in journalism heaven.

“Of course, you can call me Max.” Max Evans replied warmly. This had been a tough decision for him. Allowing himself to get interviewed about his sister’s life. He hadn’t talked to anyone about her. But he thought that he owed it to his older sister to let the world know the real truth behind Isabel Taylor. Behind the beautiful smile that she had to the painful past.

“Five years. Sometimes it’s a little hard for me to believe that it’s been five years since her death. She was a wonderful actress. My favorite. It was such a tragic horrible loss. What was it like growing up with her?” Laurie asked softly.

Max shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really remember much about what it was like growing up with her. I was so young when our mother abandoned us. Isabel was more like my mother than my own mother. She was a great sister to me.”

“Isabel was eight years old when your mother— Kathleen Topolsky left her on the side of the road outside of Taos, New Mexico. Did that influence Isabel’s life. Her relationship with men? Why she was married so many times?” Laurie went on.

Max smirked at the question. It always came back to their mother, and what she had done. Leaving Isabel on the side of the road like that. Like she was some kind of trash had definitely influenced Isabel’s life. “Yeah, it had an effect on her life. But Isabel— she never married the one person that she loved most in the world.”

“Jesse Ramirez?” Laurie questioned.

Max shook his head. “No, it wasn’t Jesse. Let me start from the beginning.”

TBC. . . . . . .

I'll probably post the next chapter tonight when I get off of work.

[Lillie]

Dedicated to: Antarian Pixie, InTheStars, ISLANDGIRL5, LittleBit, talena, Krazykitti.

InTheStars, I just want to tell you that I am adoring your story Happy, even though I have yet to leave feedback.

LittleBit, I’ve never really been a StarGazer much either, but out of somewhere it just happened, mostly because of my love for the character of Alex. But Isabel has steadily grown on me also.

NOTE: Beware there are strong themes in this, concerning child abuse, sexual abuse, attempted rape, abortion.

Chapter One

Years ago. . . . . .


“Mommy, Isabel hit me!” Maria screeched as she threw her older sister a dark look. Isabel was a mean big sister. Never let Maria play with her Barbies or anything like that. Maria knew that Isabel liked Max better than her. And she didn’t know why. Max was an icky boy.

“Isabel Katarina Topolsky, you leave your sister alone!” Kathleen Topolsky screamed at her older daughter. These children were nothing but trouble. Except for Max. He was her baby; he was so sweet, compared to the girls. Isabel and Maria were both pains in the butt. All they did was fight with each and argue and break things in their trailer park. Kathleen knew that she wasn’t the type of woman who should have had children.

“Yes, Mama.” Eight year old Isabel replied demurely, shooting her little sister an ugly look. Maria was a meanie and a liar. She was always lying about Isabel. Saying that Isabel had hit her when she hadn’t.

“Mommy, where are we going?” Six year old Max asked his mother, frowning at his sister Maria, who had just lied about Izzy. He didn’t understand why Maria did that sometimes. But she did. She lied about Isabel doing things and than Mommy would hit her. Or lock her in the closet. Mommy wasn’t very nice sometimes to Isabel.

“We’re going to California, Maxie. We’re going to go to a city called LA. It’s near the ocean and it’s pretty. I’ve seen all the pictures of it, Maxie. It’s pretty and we’re going to have the best time there. Just the two of us.” Kathleen said with a smile on her face.

Maria nudged Isabel in the stomach with her elbow. “What about us, Isabel? Why didn’t Mommy say that we were going to go with her and Max?” she whispered, not wanting her mother to hear what she was saying. She didn’t want her mother to start yelling at her. She never liked to have Mommy yell at her.

Isabel nodded her head. She didn’t understand either. Why hadn’t Mommy said anything about her or Maria? It didn’t seem right to her. “What about me and Maria, Mommy?” Isabel finally asked, not knowing what to expect from her mother.

“Oh, Isabel. Stop with your questions!” Kathleen snapped at her daughter. Isabel reminded her so much of her husband, Ed. The bastard that had abandoned her after Maria’s birth. Isabel resembled him so much. So much more than Maria, and Max wasn’t even his child. Kathleen sighed as she remembered Max’s father. Max’s father was the whole reason that they were going to California.

“Yes, Mommy.” Isabel said, bowing her head at her mother’s words. She didn’t understand why her mother would yell at her so much. What did she do that was so wrong, all she asked was a question. Sometimes Isabel thought that her mother didn’t love her and that’s why she was always so mean, but she told herself that she was being silly. Her mother couldn’t hate her.

Maria looked at Isabel from the corner of her eye. Isabel was day dreaming again. She was looking out the window and she had a funny look on her face. Maria looked at Max, who was doing practically the same thing as Isabel on the other side of her. Just than Maria smiled as an idea came to her. With all of her might, she pushed Max’s shoulder and he slammed head first into the door.

“Oww!!! Mommy!!” Max screamed, as he held his forehead, which had hit the door. Tears began running from his eyes at the overwhelming pain in his head.

“Isabel, why did you push me? Mommy, Isabel pushed me into Max. Mommy, Max is bleeding from his forehead. Why Isabel?” Maria cried, as she continued her charade, wanting to see what would happen to Isabel now that something had happened to precious Max. Max was Mommy’s favorite.

Isabel wrenched her head to look at Maria and began shaking her head. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do anything, Mommy. Max, are you okay?” she said, as she looked at her little brother. Maria was just such a meanie. Lying all the time about things, just to get Isabel in trouble for things that she had never done. Poor Max was bleeding. His forehead was bleeding.

Kathleen screeched her car to a stop and she quickly walked around the car opening the door to look at Max. To see her little boy. Kathleen’s heart clenched with anger as she saw that there was a cut on her little boy’s head. Her little boy was bleeding. It was all that damn Isabel’s fault. She was exactly like her father. Exactly like him. Kathleen found a tissue on the floor and gently place it on her son’s forehead, trying to get it to stop. “It’ll be okay, sweetie. Mommy will make sure that it’s all okay.” she said, placing a kiss on her son’s cheek, trying to sooth her little boy.

Kathleen quickly closed Max’s door and walked around to the other side, Isabel’s side, her anger running throughout her body at the thought of what happened to her little boy. She jerked open the door and forcefully removed Isabel for the car. As her daughter fell to the asphalt road, Kathleen pounced on her, hitting her repeatedly.

“Mommy, don’t! Stop, Mommy, please stop!” Isabel screeched, hoping that her mother would stop hitting her. But she didn’t. Mommy just kept on hitting her and hitting her and hitting her.

“Shut up, Isabel. Shut up. Just shut up you ungrateful little brat. I hate you! You’re just like your father. I hate you!” Kathleen screamed angrily, as she continued pummeling her daughter with her fists.

“Mommy, I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.” Isabel cried, as she tried covering her face from her mother’s harsh blows. She hated when her Mommy got like this. Her mommy did all sorts of things when she said that Isabel was being bad. Once her mother had locked her in a closet overnight. Isabel had been so scared in her entire life. Being in the dark like that. As if magically, the blows stopped. Isabel reluctantly opened her eyes just in time to see her mother slamming the driver’s door as she got in.

“M— mommy?” Isabel said brokenly as she stood up, wiping the blood off of her mouth as it flowed down her face. Isabel watched helplessly as her mother started up the car and began to drive off.

“M— mommy?” she said, tears falling from her eyes as she watched the car take off. Isabel’s tears turned into sobs as she saw Maria laughing and Max crying through the back window of the car. Isabel didn’t know that it would be almost fourteen years before she would see either one of her siblings again.

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Two years later. . . . .


“So that’s Isabel?” Rita Blackmore said looking at the ten year old girl. She had to admit that the girl was pretty. A pretty little blonde even with the frown on her face. “What’s her story?”

Nancy Edwards looked at the foster parents. Rita and Joe Blackmore. They seemed like a perfect couple. The Blackmore’s had six foster children in their care at the moment, all of them girls. The Blackmore’s owned a ranch that was perfect for raising children. Nancy had to admit to herself that the Blackmore’s were her favorite foster parents. “Well, two years ago, Isabel’s mother left her on the side of the road, outside of Taos, New Mexico. Isabel has been in a series of foster homes over the last two years, none of them lasting for a long time. The others have said that Isabel has a discipline problem, but I think that all that Isabel needs is love. To know that she is loved by someone.”

“Of course we could do that.”Joe Blackmore said with a smile on his face. He looked and acted like a politician, even though he wasn’t anywhere near it.

“I’m sure that you can, Joe. I’ve seen what you’ve been able to do with your girls. They’re all good people.” Nancy said with a smile, as she motioned for Isabel to come closer to meet the people that would hopefully become her parents. “Isabel, come here.”

Isabel cautiously came closer to the man and woman that were talking to Ms. Nancy. She knew who those people were, she had seen them before. They always came and took girls into their home, never boys. Isabel had always thought that it was strange, not that she said anything. She learned when she first came, when she was eight years old that the best thing to do was to keep your mouth shut. She had seen one of her foster fathers beat another kid for talking back. Isabel had learned her lesson. “Hello.”

“Hello, Isabel. This is Mr. and Mrs. Blackmore. They’re going to be your foster parents. What do you think about that?” Nancy asked with a warm smile to the girl. She wanted Isabel to have a wonderful family life, and she was knew that the Blackmore’s would be able to provide that for the young girl.

Isabel nodded her head, knowing that she should play along with it all. She hated her foster homes, they weren’t nice people that she was sent with. And they weren’t her family, they would never be her family. The only family that she had was Max and maybe Maria, if she was nicer by now. “Yes, I’m happy about it. I can’t wait.” she said, pretending to be happy about it all when she really wasn’t.

~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~


“How do you like your room, Isabel?” Joe asked with a smile to the pretty young girl. He could tell that she was going to be a beauty. She had all the makings. She would fit in so nicely with his entire collection. It didn’t matter to him that she was so young. That she was only ten years old. Some guys liked them that young. And he was one of them.

Isabel nodded her head. She didn’t like him. There was just something about him that creeped her out. It was like he was always staring at her and it scared her. It scared her so much that she had decided to steal a pair of scissors and she slept with them underneath her pillow. She had heard stories from another girl in a home who had a foster father who had forced himself on her. And that had scared Isabel. She didn’t want that to happen to her. She wouldn’t allow that to happen to her. “It’s very nice, thank you.”

“I don’t believe you Isabel.” Joe said, his lips curling into a feral grin.

Isabel’s heart began pounding, signaling Danger and she held her breath. What was he going to do to her? Was she going to be one of those girls that would be raped by their foster parent? NO, she told herself. She wasn’t about to let that happen to her. She wouldn’t let anyone do anything bad to her in her life. “Why would I lie?”

Joe reached out and began playing with Isabel’s hair. “You’ve met the other girls, Isabel. You’ve seen how they are special and beautiful in their own way. Do you want to be one of my special girls, Isabel? You can be special like them. Friends of mine like them very much. And I can tell that you are going to be a very beautiful girl. My friends will like you.”

Isabel tried to shrink away at his words. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. But she didn’t like it. It didn’t sound very nice to her. Before Isabel knew what was happening, Joe began reaching for her. Isabel’s eyes widened in fright and all she could think about was the scissors. Getting the scissors from underneath her pillow. Isabel reached slowly underneath her pillow, just as she felt Joe start touching her stomach with his large hand.

When Isabel’s hand grabbed the scissors, she began screaming at Joe. Taking out the scissors, she struck out at him. Stabbing him deeply in the chest. Her voice still screaming. “No. No! NO!”


TBC. . . . . . . . . . .

Next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow.

[Lillie]

So sorry that it's taken forever to get this out. My hard drive crashed and we had to wait until my sister's computer got hooked up with the internet. So here is the next chapter.

Dedicated to: InTheStars, Antarian Pixie, Krazykitti.


Chapter Two


Isabel bit her lip as she looked at them. She was now officially adopted. She was adopted by the Sorenson’s. Bill and Mary Sorenson, ages 45 and 42. In the last six months that she had began to know them, Isabel thought they were nice people. They looked nice. But than again, so had the Blackmore’s and look what had happened to her.

She had gotten a year in a juvenile hall for what had happened. When she had been defending herself from being raped by that man who was old enough to be her father. And the whole secret about the farm had been all hush hush. Isabel was lucky that she hadn’t been raped, though she guessed that some of the others had been.

Isabel had been lucky with that, and had been nothing compared to the hell that she had endured when she had gone to juvie. That had been a real hell. One of the girls had been jealous of her long blonde hair, so she had cut it when Isabel had been sleeping. Isabel had hated that place and had been so happy when she had finally left, twelve months after she had been sent there.

At thirteen years old, Isabel Topolsky was too smart for her own good. Don’t trust anyone. That was her big motto. The only one that you could trust was yourself, everyone else was only thinking about what was in it for them. Isabel had learned so many things at juvie. And she knew what she wanted in life. She wanted to be an actress. She wanted to be as famous as Marilyn Munroe, without dying at such an early age. That was what she wanted. And that’s what she was going to get.

“Are you ready to go, Isabel?” Mary Sorenson asked, training her blue eyes on the young girl. She knew everything that Isabel had gone through and she hated it. She hoped that she and Bill would be able to provide such a wonderful life to the young girl. She deserved it so much.

“Yes, Mary.” Isabel replied politely, picking up her suitcase. She had been legally adopted by the Sorenson’s this morning and she would move all of her things into the home today. Isabel knew that it was a good thing. She wouldn’t have to be sent around to different foster homes like she was a piece of luggage. She knew why most people became foster parents. All they wanted was the money.

Isabel didn’t say anything for the ride to the Sorenson house. She didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to say. Thank you so much for adopting me? That just didn’t seem right to her. But these people were going to be her parents. But Isabel knew that she wouldn’t be with them forever. When she turned eighteen, she was going to head off to Hollywood. She was going to become an actress. She was going to have such a wonderful life and everyone was going to be jealous of her.

Isabel just hoped that she didn’t get attached to the Sorenson’s. They were nice people, but they weren’t her parents. Well, her mother anyway. Isabel didn’t have any memories of her father. She guessed that he had left sometime after Max had been born. Her mother had been the only parent that she had known. And not even a good one at that. Her mother had scared her more than once with her temper. Now that Isabel was older, she was coming to terms with what had happened when she was eight years old.

Her mother leaving her on the side of the road. Isabel had come to the think that her mother had truly hated her, even though Isabel wouldn’t ever know the reason. Well, she might. If she ever found her mother. Her mother had loved Max, though. Her mother had never yelled at Max once. Isabel had been jealous of that, even though she had never been jealous of her brother. Her brother had been the sweetest little kid that she had ever known. He had been perfect and sweet to her.

While Maria had been a little brat. Isabel could never figure out what had happened with Maria. The things that she had done or said. Getting Isabel in trouble on purpose. Lying about things. Maybe Maria had hated her the same way that their mother had hated her.

“We’re here.” Bill declared, looking in the mirror at the girl. She looked sad for some reason. With what she had gone through, Bill didn’t blame her. He just hoped that he could try to make it better.

Isabel looked out the window and saw that they had pulled into the driveway of a ranch style house. It had a nice front yard, pretty green grass, with hedges in the front of the house. It looked nice. Better than some of the other homes that she had been at. Isabel didn’t pay attention much to the house as Bill and Mary led her to what would be her bedroom.

Her bedroom was an okay size. It had a bright, flowery wallpaper, white curtains, a desk and a twin size bed with pink pillows and comforter. There was also a closet. Isabel forced a smile on her face. She hated the color pink, but she didn’t want to ruin this moment for them. They had taken her in and she didn’t want to act like a brat to them, after all the hard work that had been put into his room. She only planned on staying in this place for five years. Five years and than it would be off to make her fortune. To become famous.

“It’s great. Thank you so much. I love it all.” Isabel said softly, as she put her suitcase down on the floor. This was her new home. For the next five years, at least.

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“What the hell did Courtney Banks say?” Isabel asked in a cold voice that could freeze any lake. Isabel was eighteen years old and the princess of the school. She had worked hard to become that. To become the most popular girl, to become the girl that every guy wanted. Of course, she was going steady with the most popular boy in school, Kyle Valenti. Who happened to be the other part of the conversation that she was having with her so called friend.

“Courtney said that she slept with Kyle Saturday night.” Pam Troy repeated to her friend Isabel. She didn’t consider she and Isabel real good friends, but it was better to pretend to be Isabel’s friend than be on her hate list. The hate list that Courtney Banks was now going to be on.

Isabel narrowed her eyes at the thought. Her stupid freaking football boyfriend was having sex with that insipid idiotic Courtney Banks. What the hell had he been thinking? Stupid Kyle. She would take care of him later. But first she would have to take care of Courtney. No one ever crossed Isabel Sorenson. No one! “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Little Ms. Courtney. I’ve got some inside information about her. Seems that several months ago, Courtney had an abortion. She was pregnant by Paulie Newman. And he refused to have anything to do with her and her pregnancy.”

Pam’s mouth fell open at Isabel’s revelation. Whoa! That was something major that Isabel knew. Pam couldn’t help but wonder what else Isabel knew. Did she know something about everyone in the school. Waiting to see if the person was going to be her friend or enemy. Waiting to see if she could use her information on them? It was a scary thought for Pam. “What do you want me to do, Isabel?”

Isabel narrowed her eyes at the brunette. “What the hell do you think that I want you to do, Pam. I want everyone in the whole school to know about this. I want them to know about it by the end of the day. I want to see Courtney crying at the end of the day. That’s what I want.”

Pam swallowed hard at Isabel’s words. Yes, yes, yes, she would make sure that she never got on the wrong side of Isabel Sorenson. “Alright. I’ll go now.” she said hastily, making her exit out of the bathroom. Sometimes Isabel just plain scared her to death. The way that she was.

Isabel waited until Pam had left the bathroom, before looking into the mirror. Was it right of her? Was it right of her to be so horrible and have everyone in the school know about what Courtney had done? The girl had probably slept with her boyfriend. Kyle wasn’t very faithful, Isabel knew this. But he was her boyfriend and she had to show the girls that did sleep with him, that Isabel would ruin them for the remainder of high school. These girls had to know what they were messing with. They were messing with Isabel Sorenson, and she would ruin them.

The girls that had slept with Kyle, hadn’t dared make that mistake again. Partly because they got themselves slandered in the worst possible way. Having their most dreaded secret come out for the entire world to know. But still that damned idiot Kyle couldn’t keep it in his pants. Isabel didn’t even know why she bothered with him. She didn’t love him and he didn’t love her. They were just the most popular kids who happened to be together.

Isabel knew that when she got to Hollywood and became an actress, that she would find love. She would be happy. Be in love and loved by someone. She had no illusions about Kyle. She knew that he wasn’t the love of her life or anything like that. Kyle had merely been a stepping stone in the grand scheme of high school politics. And Isabel wasn’t about to give him up. After high school, she would. But there was still another six months before school ended. So she was stuck with her so called Casanova.

~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~

“Isabel, your so beautiful.” Kyle Valenti stated as he wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend. She was the hottest girl in school, but she refused to put out. She refused so much, that Kyle had to turn to other girls. Not that if Isabel had gave in, he would be faithful anyway. He was a male and the world was his oyster. Why couldn’t he sample the others?

“Really? I bet that’s what you said to Courtney Banks.” Isabel said snidely, looking at her handsome boyfriend. He was gorgeous, with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes, his wide shoulders, his athlete’s physique.

Kyle’s eyes widened as he looked at her. Shit, she knew all about Courtney. How the hell had she found out? “What are you talking about, Isabel? Courtney Banks, the bottle blonde.” he said innocently.
Isabel cocked an eyebrow at him. “How the hell do you know that she’s a bottle blonde? Only girls can tell if someone has dyed their hair. The only way that you could have known that she was one is if you saw her fucking pubic hair!” she said angrily. Damn jerk. Cheating on her this way.

Kyle knew that he was fighting a losing battle and decided to tell her. “Fine. Yes, I slept with her. What the hell am I supposed to do, Isabel? You won’t sleep with me. You’re my fucking girlfriend and you barely allow for me to get to second base. Your such a frigid bitch. Were you the whole reason that everyone is talking about Courtney having abortion? You are, aren’t you?”

Isabel shrugged her shoulders at his words. “Who the fuck cares about Courtney Banks? And I’m not going to sleep with you, Kyle. I have dreams in my life and I’m not going to fuck them all up, by sleeping with you. I’d probably get pregnant the moment that I slept with you, and that is not going to happen to me. Isabel Sorenson is not going to be stuck in this town forever. I have dreams, Kyle. And I’m going to achieve all of them.” she stated. She knew that Kyle was going to be stuck in this town forever and frankly, that wasn’t what she wanted at all. Not one little bit.


TBC. . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Dedicated to: InTheStars, Krazykitti, Sternbetrachter


Chapter Three


“Jose, where’s my order?!” Isabel screeched to the burly looking cook, giving him her iciest look. He was slow as molasses. No wonder she never got any good tips. His stupid ass wouldn’t work any faster. The idiotic customers thought that it was her fault that the cook didn’t move any faster.

“Right here, Ice Princess.” Jose said darkly, plopping down the orders for her. She was a bitch. She was beautiful and had a great body, but she was a bitch in the worst way. He had never seen her with any guy before. She was probably cold and frigid.

“Thanks.” Isabel said shortly, quickly moving to her table, where the man and woman were looking at her impatiently. She settled the food down in front of them with a warm smile. “Do you need any ketchup?”

“Yes.” The man said curtly, giving the girl a once over. Boy, what he would give to have his wife have a body like hers.

Isabel quickly moved away to get the ketchup. She hadn’t missed the way that pervert had been looking at her. She hated being ogled, but it had been happening since she was ten years old. She would never get used to it. Placing the ketchup in front of them, she went to sit down and relax for the few moments that she would be able to.

Isabel was twenty one years old. She had been in LA for nearly two years. Two years of getting nowhere in becoming an actress. Some of the casting directors wanted her to sleep with them in order to get to the next level. But Isabel had said no. She had some pride and dignity. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be treated like she was some common whore, because she wasn’t.

She knew that she would get everything that she wanted. Fame, fortune, and she would do it without having to sleep her way through the top. But hell, she was starting to get impatient and thinking that maybe she should. It seemed to be the only way to get to the top.

Isabel sighed when she watched a dark haired man slid into one of the booths. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she went to work. “Hello, I’m Isabel and I will be your waitress today. Can I get you a beverage to start with?”

“Can I have a Coke?” Andrew Barns asked warmly to the statuesque blonde. He had to admit to himself that she was in fact gorgeous. Beautiful. And she looked nothing like his client, but Andrew was a hundred percent positive that he had the right girl. Isabel Sorenson was the girl that he was looking for.

“Of course. I’ll be right back in a moment.” Isabel said, quickly walking to the soda machine, pouring the drink in. She looked over at the man, and frowned when she saw him looking at her. What the hell was his problem? Why was he staring at her? It wasn’t like she had anything in her teeth. Hell, they barely even allowed her to eat during her shift. Only when it was super slow.

Once again putting her fake smile on her face, she went back to the table. “Here, you go. What would you like to order?” Isabel asked.

“Oh, I don’t want anything to eat, Ms. Sorenson. I was hired by my client to find his older sisters. My client is a young man by the name of Max Evans. He is looking for his sisters Isabel and Maria. You are the sister of my client. He’s very interested in finding you.” Andrew informed her, just wanting to get on with the whole thing. But it didn’t hurt that young Max Evans was paying him $250 dollars an hour in this investigation.

Isabel looked at the dark haired man shocked. Max? Her little brother Max was looking for her? She had thought about her little brother so much over the years. She missed him, hell, she had even missed Maria. They were her family and she had no idea over the years where they were or what they were doing. But this man. He knew Max. He was hired by Max to find both her and Maria. Isabel could feel tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly, not wanting to fall apart. “You know Max?”

Andrew nodded his head. “Yes, I’m Andrew Barns. Your brother hired me to find you and Maria nearly two weeks ago. It was easier to find Maria, but it took a little time to find you.”

Isabel bit her lip at the thought. Maria had been found? Her little bratty sister had been found. Isabel knew that Maria probably wasn’t a brat anymore. Things changed over the years. Isabel knew that she had changed, Max had probably changed, Maria probably changed. “Tell me about them. What are they like? What’s Maria doing, what’s Max doing?” she asked anxiously.

Andrew smiled warmly at the girl. She had a cold exterior around her, but he could tell that she loved her siblings. Just by the way that she had acted when he’d told her. “Well, Maria was abandoned in Flagstaff, Arizona, where she was adopted a few months later by a family by the name of DeLuca. She’s 20 years old, and an aspiring singer-songwriter. When I found her a week ago, she came right away to see Max. She’s still there, getting to know her brother better. As for Max, he was adopted by the Evans family. He’s 19 years old, and he’s getting married in a few weeks.”

Isabel looked at him shocked. Her little brother Max was getting married? She still had the picture of the six year old that she had known in her head, but that wasn’t who he was anymore. Max was nineteen. “Wow. He’s getting married? So who’s the lucky lady that he’s getting married to?” she wondered curiously.

“His childhood sweetheart. Girl by the name of Liz Whitman. From what I know they meet because Max’s father was the attorney for Liz’s father. Been together ever since. Max wants you to come to the wedding. He’s gone on and on about finding his sisters and wanting them at his wedding. It’s going to be a big event, from what I understand. Liz’s father is director Tom Whitman. Going to be some high rollers at the wedding.” Andrew told her with a smile. He knew all about her auditions, trying to become an actress, her acting classes. He felt a tad bit badly for her. Trying so hard and not making it anywhere. He firmly believed in signs, and this was one.

Isabel tried her best not to look surprised. Her brother was going to be Tom Whitman’s son in law. Jeez, he must have been adopted by a rich family or something. Tom Whitman. Tom Whitman. She couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought of it all. This was her big chance. She could make it. If she meet Whitman, she could show him that she was meant to become a star. He would see it, and she would meet her brother. Everything would work out for her. Everything was coming together for her. Her brother and sister were alive and okay. They wanted to see her. And she could get an inside connection with Tom Whitman. Do it, Isabel. Do it. “I want to see him. I want to see my brother.” she said with tears in her eyes at the thought of seeing Max for the first time in thirteen years.

Andrew nodded, smiling at the girl. “Don’t worry, you will. Max and Maria both want to see you. They want to see you so much, Isabel. What time do you get off of work?”

“I get off at five.” Isabel replied, the tears shining in her eyes. She would see her brother and her sister after all of this time. She would see them. Isabel couldn’t help but wonder what happened to her mother. Her mother hadn’t been the best person in the world, but Isabel couldn’t help wonder about her. “What happened to our mother?”

“Your mother died shortly after arriving in LA. And than soon after Max was adopted by the Evans. Max will call you tonight, Isabel. He’s anxious to see you.” Andrew said, standing up. He took out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to her. “He’ll call, don’t worry.”

Isabel watched him leave with tears in her eyes. Her little brother was going to call her tonight. She would see her brother and sister again. Isabel couldn’t wait. She couldn’t wait until she saw them both. Hopefully they would make up for all the time that they had lost. Hopefully.

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Isabel took in a deep breathe stood at the door of the huge two story stucco mansion with a red tile roof. True to his word, Max has called her the same night, and they had a great conversation about things. And Max had wanted for her to come over to Liz’s house to meet him, Liz and Maria.

Isabel couldn’t help but feel self conscious about what she was wearing. She hoped that it would be okay. She had spent most of her paycheck on it, just so she would look good when she meet her brother and sister. It was a sleeveless white velvet dress. Isabel had thought that it was perfect when she saw it, but now that she was here, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was right.

The door swung open, revealing a smiling brunette. She was a pretty little thing who probably stood around 5'1, with long chestnut colored hair and wide, chocolate colored eyes. The young girl was wearing red slacks and a striped T-shirt. “Hello, Isabel. I’m Liz. Come on in.” she said with a warm smile, ushering Isabel in.

Isabel barely took notice of the huge entry. She was too anxious to see Max and Maria for the first time. She didn’t understand why Max hadn’t answered the door himself. Shut up, Isabel. Shut up. She was here and she was going to see her brother and sister. See them for the first time in years. Become friends with her brother and sister. Talk about things with each other. “I. . . “

Liz smiled warmly at the pretty blonde. This woman was going to be her sister in law. Liz got the feeling that she would like the girl immensely. Liz knew how much finding his sisters had meant to him, and she had wholeheartedly agreed with his search. “Max went upstairs to search for something for his headache. He’s going to kick himself when he realizes that he missed opening the door for you. Let’s go to the living room. Maria’s been waiting for you to come, and my idiotic brother and our friend decided to come over and annoy us. Sorry about that Isabel.” she informed Isabel, motioning for her to follow her to the living room.

Isabel nodded her head at Liz’s words. Even though she didn’t like the idea of having other people, who were not her family around, she wasn’t going to say anything. This wasn’t her house and it wasn’t her place to say anything. And Isabel didn’t want to cause anything between herself and her brother’s fiancé. Especially one who’s father was director Tom Whitman.

Walking into the beautiful living room, Isabel carefully looked at the people in the room. There were two blondes, as well a dark haired young man that looked older than her. Both blondes were short, but that’s where the similarities ended. The girl in blue had long straight golden blonde hair, while the one in the white sun dress had curly blonde hair. Isabel couldn’t see what color there eyes were or anything. Isabel turned her attention to the guy and nearly smiled at him. He was cute. He was tall, about six two, with the type of dark hair that would make you want to run your hands through it. “Hello.”

“Hi, Isabel. I’m Maria. It’s nice to see you.” Maria DeLuca said politely, even though she wasn’t feeling very polite. This was her sister, her older sister and as much as she wanted to be able to open her arms for her sister, a part of her was holding her back. She couldn’t help but remember the treatment that she had gotten from her mother after they had left Isabel on the side of the road. Her mother had turned all of her anger on Maria.

“Hi, Maria. It’s great to see you again. Barns told me that you’re an aspiring singer-songwriter.” Isabel said, trying to break the ice in the room. Her sister was so pretty, Isabel thought to herself.

Liz could sense the tension coming from Maria and decided to speak up for her friend. In the week that she had known Maria, they had become good friends. “Yes, she is, Isabel. She’s really great. I’m still trying to convince her to sing at the wedding reception. Let me introduce you to my brother and friend. That’s my brother, Alex Whitman and our oldest friend, Tess Harding.” she said, motioning to Alex and Tess.

“Hey, I resent that. Oldest friend. Bestest friend is more like it. It’s nice to meet you Isabel.” Tess said warmly to the other girl. She was quite pretty in an Amazonian sort of way. Tess couldn’t believe the way that Alex was looking at her. It was like he was interested in her. What the hell was he thinking?

“Hey, nice to see you.” Alex said with a nod of his head. She was beautiful. Statuesque, voluptuous, beautiful. She was different from the beached blonde bimbos that inhabited this town. For some reason, Alex couldn’t help but think that she looked a little like Marilyn Munroe.

“Liz! Is she here?” Max yelled as he raced into the living room. A huge smile emerged on his face when he saw the slightly familiar face in the tall blonde. She was here! Isabel was here. He had so many good memories of his big sister. And Maria, too. Except for the last few weeks and all. Those hadn’t been very good. The memory of their mother beating Isabel was one of the most horrible things he remembered. He could remember crying for the following two days straight at the loss of his big sister. “Isabel.”

A huge smile crossed Isabel’s face as she saw him. This was her little brother. He wasn’t so little anymore. He was tall, taller than her own 5'10. And he looked nothing like her. He had jet black hair, and a boyish quality to himself, especially with his ears that stuck out a little. Her little brother, who was getting married. Before Isabel knew what was happening, Max enveloped her in a fierce hug.

“I missed you so much, Isabel. I missed you.” Max said as the tears fell from his eyes. His big sisters were here, and they were going to come to his wedding. He was so happy. This was one of the most happiest things in his life.

“I missed you, too, Max. I missed you so much little brother.” Isabel said, trying to stop the tears in her eyes. There were just no words for her at this moment. She was reunited with her brother and sister, that was all that mattered.

Max drew away from her. “Not so little anymore. Nineteen years old. Getting married in four weeks. You’ve meet everyone, right?” he said, motioning towards his friends and Maria.

“Yes, I have.” Isabel replied, as she looked at the other people in the room. When Alex gave her a wide smile, Isabel couldn’t help but blush at his gaze. She knew that she would like him. There was just something about him that she liked. And she wanted to get to know him better.


TBC. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Dedicated to: InTheStars, Krazykitti, Antarian Pixie, Sternbetrachter.

Chapter Four


“The love of Isabel’s life was director Alex Whitman?” Laurie asked bewildered. Never had she heard the two names even involved with one another. Laurie could tell that Max was telling her the truth. He had no reason to lie about it. She just couldn’t believe it. Isabel Taylor and Alex Whitman.

Max nodded his head. “Yes. He was. Isabel fell completely in love with Alex. It was like she found the one thing that she had been looking for in her entire life. When she was with Alex, she was complete, whole. For the first time in her life.”

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“I’m in love with you, Isabel.” Alex stated as he danced with Isabel. In the last four weeks he had gotten to know Isabel so much better. She was the most beautiful person that he had ever known. Not just her looks, but her personality. She was just so great. He hoped that one day he would marry her. He knew that it was a little premature to be thinking about marriage. They were young, but than again, so were Max and Liz. Isabel was twenty one years old and he was twenty two. He had barely graduated from film school in May.

Isabel took in a deep breath. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that to her, but it felt so wonderful. It felt so good for him to say that. Alex had showed her what love was. What she felt for Alex was so strong and wonderful. “I love you, too, Alex.” she said, smiling at him.

“I want that for us, Isabel. I want for us to get married one day. And be as happy as Max and Liz.” Alex said, pointing at his baby sister and Max. They were so happy and in love with each other. Alex had always been jealous somewhat of what his baby sister had. Liz had been in love with Max since she was thirteen years old, while Alex hadn’t ever been in love, before Isabel that is.

Isabel nodded her head. “Yes, Alex. I want that for us too. I mean, not today. We’re young and we have the rest of our lives. We have plenty of time to make plans for the future.” she said softly, thinking about her future. Her dream to become an actress wasn’t one that was going to be deferred. She knew what she wanted and she was going to get it. She had the love of her life, and now all she needed was to have a career. She had to focus her thoughts on a career.

“Of course not today, Isabel. We’re still young and we have our whole lives ahead of us. There so much that I want to do. You know, it’s hard being Tom Whitman’s only son. I want to prove to my father that I can do everything that he has done. I want to be as great as him.” Alex confessed. He wanted to show the whole world that he was something great. that he could be as good as his father was. But Alex knew that he had a long way to go. That he had so much to prove. To himself, his father, the world. So much.

“Alex, you are wonderful. You don’t have to be your father to prove that. I love you just the way that you are. You’re the only man that I have ever loved. The only man that I will ever love. I love you as you are, Alex Whitman. You’re wonderful the way that you are.” Isabel said softly. She didn’t like the way that Alex felt the need to have to prove himself. Prove that he could be as great as his father. He was wonderful, just the way that he was.

Alex shrugged his shoulders as he danced with Isabel. “It’s been hard being Tom Whitman’s son. Everyone has always been like, ‘Oh, Alex, are you going to follow your famous father’s footsteps?’ And it pisses me off. And I know that people have asked Liz the same thing. ‘Oh, Liz, you look so much like your mother, are you going to go into acting. You’d be a natural.’ I’ve always hated when people do that.” he admitted. He had so many problems with his father that he had never told anyone.

“Alex, your better than your father. Why don’t we talk about something else? Something nicer. Is that Robert Redford over there?” Isabel asked, changing the subject as she pointed her head to the tall blonde haired man.

Alex looked to where she pointed and nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s good old Rob. Dad knows him. He wanted him to come to Lizzy’s wedding. I know that Liz could care less. All that matters to her is that she got married to Max. Hey, you want to know what I think?” he whispered, wanting to clue Isabel on what he was thinking.

“What?” Isabel asked softly, not sure what he was talking about. What did he think? About what?

Alex looked around, making sure that no one would over hear him. “I think the reason that they got married is because Liz is pregnant. I’m not 100% sure, but I think so. Lizzy always told me that she and Max would wait until they finished school, but here they are eighteen and nineteen years old getting married. I don’t know. I could be wrong. Personally, I think that it would be rather sweet if she was. I mean, come on. It would be my niece of nephew. And yours. Do you think that’s a little weird? We’d share a niece.” he told her with a smile.

Isabel smiled at his words. “You really think that Liz is pregnant? I mean, they are so young. Would they even be ready for a child, if it’s really true?” she asked softly. If it was true, than she would be happy for her brother. It would be her niece or nephew.

Alex nodded his head. “Yeah, of course they would. Iz— they’ve been together since they were kids. They were thirteen years old when they started dating. They have been together for six years. Six years. If she is pregnant, I’m sure that they will be ready. Besides, neither one of them would ever have to work a day in their life if they chose so.” he said with a smile.

“I hope you don’t mind if I cut in, do you, Alex?” Six foot three Tom Whitman asked making his presence known to the young couple. He had seen her a few times and he had to admit that she was a beautiful girl. She reminded him of some of the great actresses in Hollywood. And he could tell that she had what it took to become one of them. She could be the next Veronica Lake, Inger Stevens, or Marilyn Munroe.

Alex nodded his head at his father, seeing that there was no point in saying no to his father. “Sure. I’m going to go see what Tess is up to. I haven’t seen her in awhile.” he said, giving Isabel a peck on the cheek before turning to go find his old friend.

Isabel smiled warmly at the older man. Alex looked nothing like him, neither did Liz. Isabel guessed that they both looked more like their mother than anything else. “I have to say that it was a wonderful wedding. Max and Liz look so happy together, don’t you think so?” she said, trying to break the ice.

Tom nodded his head. “Yes, it was a great wedding. Max and Liz love each other very much. Been together since they were young. I can tell that they are going to last for quite a long time. You don’t see that much now and days. But I’m sure about them. They’ll be together forever, but if Max breaks my daughter’s heart, I’ll have to break his face.” he said, flashing her a smile.

Isabel smiled at his words. “Trust me, I don’t think that Max would ever do that to Liz. From what I’ve seen, he loves her very much. They’re really cute to see together.” she admitted, shyly.

Tom let out a laugh at her words. “Yes, they are, aren’t they? I know that Max will do the best for Lizzy. If he didn’t have the best of intentions, I wouldn’t have allowed him to get even near her. But I know that I can trust him. I know that he does love my little girl.” he told her.

“Yeah.” Isabel said softly, not knowing what else to say to him. She didn’t know what to say to Tom Whitman. Here she was at a social gathering with a lot of big name stars and she didn’t know what to do. She felt so uncomfortable and slightly out of place.

“I want you, Isabel!” Tom stated.

Isabel looked at him shocked by his words. What the hell. “What? What did you just say?” she asked, hoping that she had heard him wrong. Alex’s father had just said that he wanted her? What the hell was she supposed to think? That wasn’t right of him to say that to her.

“You heard me, Isabel. I want YOU! Yes, I know that you are my son’s girlfriend and all. Alex told me that you wanted to be an actress, and I can help you get everything that you want. I can take you places. I can give you each and everything that you have ever wanted. Be an actress, have thousands of adoring fans, make millions of dollars. I can give you everything.” Tom informed her with a cool smile. He knew what he was doing. And he knew that he would get what he wanted. Tom Whitman had always gotten what he wanted.

Isabel continued to look at him shocked. She just couldn’t believe him. He wanted her? He wanted her to what? At what price would he possibly give her everything that she wanted. “I. . . . . at what price would I get everything that I want?” she finally asked.

Tom shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “Oh, well, there are two conditions, Isabel. One would be that you would dump Alex and the other would be that you would become my mistress. Couldn’t very well have you sleeping with both me and my son at the same time, now can I? It’s a very simple thing, Isabel. You and Alex have only been dating for a few weeks, I doubt that you love my son. Someone as ambitious as you, probably just got involved with my son because of who he was. Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be the first. There have been plenty of girls along the way. But this way, you wouldn’t have to go through all of the trouble of using my son.”

Isabel couldn’t form any words. That son of a bitch. He thought that she was simply using Alex to get what she wanted. That was so far from the truth. She knew that if Alex hadn’t even been Tom Whitman’s son that she would have been interested in him. She did love him and that had truly surprised her. She had never expected to fall in love so quickly with someone the way that she had with Alex. But she had. And she didn’t want to ruin what she had with Alex. Isabel shook her head at him. “No. . . . I couldn’t ever do it. I couldn’t.”

Tom laughed at her words. “Oh, really. Do you think that my son would be shattered by it all? He has been in enough relationships with gold diggers, he knows what to expect. I know that some where inside of his heart, he is afraid that you are going to turn out to be like those other girls. Really, Isabel. I can practically smell your ambition. I know what you want. I know what you crave. And I can get it for you, and not at a horrible price either. Trust me, I’ve never had any complaints from the women that I have slept with. I’m not a horrible monster in bed.” he assured her.

“I do love Alex. And I can not— would not do something like this to him. Just leave me alone.” Isabel said, disgusted by the older man. The way that he was looking at her. It reminded her so much of Joe Blackmore. And she hated it. She hated having any reminders of what had happened so long ago.

She wretched herself away from him and moved away, trying to find Alex. Moving through the crowds of dancing people, she finally found Alex dancing with Tess. There was just something about the girl that she didn’t like. She didn’t know what it was, but Isabel instincts told her not to trust the girl. “Alex.”

Alex turned to her, his smile frozen on his face. He looked at her and saw the expression on her face. There were tears in her eyes. He quickly moved away from Tess and had his arms around Isabel. “Isabel, what’s wrong?” he asked concerned, wondering what the hell would have made Isabel this way.

Isabel wrapped her arms around Alex, wanting to get as close to him as possible. She loved him so much and she knew that she could never ever do what his father had asked. It was so wrong in so many ways. She could never do that. Even at the sake of her career.

Yes, there was nothing more in the world that she wanted. She wanted to be an actress, have all that fame and fortune. Show everyone that she was good. That she was wonderful. And Isabel did know that she could go the easy way and tell Tom Whitman that she would do it. To get everything that she wanted. But she loved Alex. She really did. And Isabel didn’t think that she could ever give him up.

Isabel was in love for the first time in her entire life and she didn’t want to ruin that. She didn’t want to ruin her chance at happiness with Alex. She loved him and she wanted to keep him. If only there was some way that she could keep Alex and have Tom help her achieve everything that she wanted.

But could she honestly sleep with Alex’s own father just to become an actress. Even though she had told him that she couldn’t do it, another part of her was starting to think that she could. That she would do it in order to get everything that she wanted. Isabel didn’t want to lose Alex. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost him.

“I love you, Alex.” Isabel whispered to him, not paying any attention to the short blonde that was glaring at her for the interruption. All of Isabel’s attention was focused on Alex.

“I love you, too, Isabel.” Alex told her softly, still confused over her behavior. He couldn’t help but wonder if his father had anything to do with why Isabel seemed so upset? It wouldn’t be the first time that his father tried to buy off his girlfriends. His father seemed to think that just about all the girls that he was involved with were out to use him. But Alex knew that Isabel wouldn’t do that. Even though she did have dreams of becoming an actress, he was pretty sure that she wasn’t using him or anything.


TBC. . . . . . . . .

[Lillie]

StarGazers are not going to like this next part. You are forwarned.

Chapter Five


Isabel rubbed her forehead warily. She wasn’t getting anywhere. Nowhere at all. She had three auditions and she hadn’t gotten one. None of them. They all had went to someone that Isabel knew would sleep with the director. It wasn’t fucking fair. It wasn’t fair for someone like her, who deserved it more than those tramps who slept with anyone who could make it happen. It wasn’t fair.

Part of Isabel was thinking that maybe she should take Tom Whitman up on his offer. She knew that it was insane of her. But she wanted to become something. She wanted to show everyone who hadn’t believed in her that she could do it. She wanted to show that asshole Kyle Valenti that she had become something, while he was stuck in his hick town. She wanted to show that bastard Joe Blackmore, wherever the hell that he was that she had made something of herself. She wanted to show everyone who hadn’t believed in her that she was something.

The only thing that Isabel regretted was that her mother would never see what she would become. She would give anything for her mother to see that she was something. To say, ‘I am great, regardless if you don’t love me.’ But Isabel knew that she would never get the chance. Her mother was dead and she would never see any of it.

She loved Alex. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t sleep with his father, could she? She wanted to be with Alex. She wanted to marry Alex someday. Maybe she could have it both. Maybe she could talk Tom into letting her stay with Alex while she slept with him. And maybe he only wanted to sleep with her once. If so, what would be the harm in all of it. Alex would never have to know about it. He would never have to know that she slept with his father.

Should she do it? Or not? Should she sleep with Alex’s father? Oh God. She didn’t know what to do. Being with Alex made her complete, made her feel so much better. But she wanted— no, she needed to become an actress and that just wasn’t happening. It wasn’t happening. And it seemed that the only way that she could get anywhere was if she slept with someone in charge. And Tom Whitman was there. He was offering her everything that she ever wanted. At the price of her sleeping with him.

Thinking about it right now, it wasn’t such a horrible price. Just sleeping with him. Only once. That should be enough. Shouldn’t it? She needed to get her career going and she didn’t have many options. Tom Whitman was the only one that seemed like he could help her.

Isabel picked up the phone and quickly dialed his number. He had left it for her on her dinner plate at the wedding. And even though her first thought had been to throw it away, a part of her couldn’t. And she’d kept it. She hadn’t thought that she would use it. But here she was. Calling him.

“Thomas Whitman’s office. How can I help you?” A perky voice asked.

“Hello, can I speak to Tom, please?” Isabel asked softly, biting her lip. She took in a deep breath and told herself that it would all be okay. That she would try to compromise with him. That she would only sleep with him once and she wouldn’t break up with Alex. She loved Alex too much, but she still had her dreams.

“Can I ask who’s calling?”

“Tell him that it’s Isabel.”

“One moment, please.”

Isabel continued to chew on her lip as she was put on hold. Was she a horrible person for what she was about to do? No, she wasn’t. She was a person with a dream and she was going to achieve her dreams. She wasn’t about to lose her dignity or become some trampy girl. She was going to have some rules for this thing with Tom. She would make sure that it wouldn’t be something disgusting.

“Isabel, how nice to hear from you. I take it you’ve had some time to think about things?” Tom asked with a smirk on his face. He knew that she would come to the right decision. He hadn’t expected her to keep him waiting nearly a month. But she had. But that didn’t matter. She was calling now.

Isabel took in a deep breath before she started. “Yes, I’ve had time to think about things. And I have a few conditions that I want to go by. I will sleep with you once, and I’m not going to break up with Alex. I won’t do that. I really do love Alex.” she informed him cooly.

Tom smirked at her words. If she really did love his son, than she wouldn’t be doing this. “Well, let’s negotiate on this, Isabel. You really think that once is going to be enough. Fine, you won’t be my mistress. Just one night. That’s all. One night with you. From 7:00 p.m to 9:00 a.m, you will be all mine. And fine, you can keep Alex.”

Isabel took in a harsh breath at Tom’s words. She hadn’t expected for him to agree with her so quickly, but he had. He was agreeing to what he said. At least almost all of it. He wanted her to be his bed companion for one night, not sleep with him once. For thirteen hours she was going to be at his mercy. But she would be able to keep Alex. She wouldn’t have to break up with him or anything. “Alright, fine. Have it your way.” she reluctantly said.

“Oh, Isabel. Don’t act like you’ve just signed your death wish, because you haven’t. Really, Isabel. I can help you. I can give you everything that you have ever dreamt about. You can get everything that you have always wanted. You can show everyone who ever thought bad of you that you are something good. That you are better than they are. That you have the adoration of everyone. That men dream about you at night, instead of their wives.” Tom stated smoothly, knowing that his words would affect her. He knew what kind of a person that she was. She wasn’t the first person that he had ever dealt with. He had dealt with hundreds of other women just like her. They all seemed to gravitate towards his son, thinking that using Alex was the easiest way to get what they wanted. His son didn’t know what hit him.

Isabel shuddered at his words. She knew that was what she wanted. She wanted to be the best, she wanted to show everyone that she was great. That she was wonderful. And Tom was going to give her the opportunity. And she wouldn’t have to dump Alex. She could have everything that she always wanted. She’d have the career that she’d dreamt about since she was ten years old and she would have Alex. And someday have Alex’s baby. Hopefully she and Alex would have children together.

“Fine. When do you want to meet? And where?” Isabel asked softly, biting down hard on her lip. God forgive her for what she was about to do. But she would get everything that she wanted. Her life would be perfect, she just knew that it would.

“We’ll meet at my families beach house. No one ever goes there during the fall. We can meet tomorrow night, Isabel. It’s not going to be the end of the world, Isabel. Only the start of something better.” Tom informed her.

“Yes, fine. Give me the directions and I’ll meet you there.” Isabel snapped at him, tired of the way that he was talking to her. Telling her that everything would be okay. Arrogant bastard.

Tom quickly told her the directions to the house. He knew that it was going to be a night that he wouldn’t forget. He wouldn’t ever forget about it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Isabel.” he said, hanging up the phone before she could say anything else.

Tom waited a moment before buzzing his secretary into his office. “Janine, can you call my son and tell him if he could go by the beach house on Saturday to pick something up for me? Tell him sometime around eight o’clock p.m. You know, make it sound discreet and all. Tell him to pick up my briefcase at the beach house.” he told his secret, with a smile crossing his face.

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Isabel lay on the bed, her eyes brimming with tears. She hated what she had just done. She had just slept with Alex’s father. And she hated herself. She hated what she had done. It wasn’t right of her. She just felt so dirty, she felt like she needed to go and take a shower. But she knew that she couldn’t leave. Not yet, anyway.

Tom ran his hand through her beautiful blonde hair. It had been better than he had expected. Some part of his brain had thought that she might be a virgin, because of the icy exterior that she had, but he had been pleasantly surprised that she wasn’t. Than the thought that she might have slept with his son crossed his mind. He hoped that she hadn’t.
Isabel looked up when she heard a creaking noise. She took in a sharp breath as she saw the dark haired man at the door. ALEX! OH GOD! What the hell was he doing here? Tom had said that no one had ever come here.

Alex took in a deep breath and moved away from the room quickly. He felt so sick to his stomach. He couldn’t believe. It was like he had gotten stabbed in the heart repeatedly. Why had she done that? Why had she done that? He had to get away. Had to get away from all of it. The horrible image. Isabel and his own father in bed together.

“Alex! Wait, please. Let me explain. Please?” Isabel asked, running after him after she threw her robe on. Tom had said that no one had come here during the fall, but here he was at the beach house. Oh God! Was she being punished for the things that she had done?

“Why? Why the fuck should I talk to you?” Alex asked her, tears in his eyes, turning to her once he reached the front door. This was the girl that he loved. The girl that was sleeping with his own father. God, how long had it been going on? She had just used him? Used him to try to get to the top. Isabel hadn’t made it a secret that she wanted to become an actress.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry.” Isabel said tears flowing from her eyes. She was so sorry that he had found out. That he had seen it. It wasn’t right. It shouldn’t have happened. She hated what she had done. How it had made her feel so dirty. And now Alex was looking at her like she was something disgusting that he would find on the bottom of his shoe.

“Yeah, your sorry that you got caught. I should have known better, Isabel. I should have known that you were exactly like all of the other girls. That you only were involved with me because of who my father is. I don’t know why I should be surprised. But you— I thought you were different. But your worse than all of them put together, because you lied to me. You said that you were in love with me. And I will never ever forgive you for what you have done. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Nothing. I never want to see you again. If you are in the same room as me, I will turn away. I will never tell anyone about what happened here today. I will not tell Liz or Max about your fucking my father, just stay away from me. Stay far away from me.” Alex said, shaking his head in disgust before he took off, needing to get away as fast as possible. Away from the hateful image of Isabel and his father.

Isabel let out a sob as she fell to the floor. “Alex!” she yelled vainly, at the overwhelming pain of his words. She had lost him. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. Oh God. She had lost him. She had just lost the only person that she had ever loved. What was she going to do now?


TBC. . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Dedicated to: InTheStars, Krazykitti, Antarian Pixie, Sternbetrachter.

Even though I have not said anything about their being a happy ending in this story, I just want to say one thing about me: I’m a sucker for happy endings. BTW, there is something in this next chapter that people might not like or agree with.

Chapter Six


Isabel stared down at the pink strip of paper dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe it. It just couldn’t be true. But Isabel knew that it had to be true. She was pregnant. She was pregnant and she was alone. She didn’t even know how far along that she was. It could be either Alex or Tom’s baby.
If it was Alex’s baby, Isabel was sure that he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her. She had tried calling him, but he had never wanted to talk to her. Each time she said a word, he would hang up on her. And she hadn’t seen him either. Isabel asked Max what Alex was doing, and Max hadn’t told her much, because he and Liz didn’t know what Alex was doing either. And Tom. God, what would she do if it was Tom’s baby? If it was Tom’s she very well couldn’t have it. She did not want to have Tom’s baby.

Truthfully, she didn’t even want a baby. A baby was not something that was in the cards for her right now. She simply couldn’t have a baby. The only thing that seemed right would be for her to have an abortion. There was no way that she could have the baby. She was up for a major part in a movie, and if she got it, it would be a six month shoot, which meant that she would probably be huge by the end of that. And she couldn’t let that happen.

Isabel reached for the phone and quickly dialed Tom’s number. He would know what she should do. He would help her. In the last three months, Isabel had sort of come to a weird understanding with Tom. She was still angry at him because she felt that he had told Alex to come to the beach house, but she also trusted him. He knew exactly what to do, and he was guiding her.

“Thomas Whitman’s office. How can I help you?”

“Greta, it’s Isabel. Put Tom on the line.” Isabel said hastily to the perky young secretary. She didn’t like Tom’s secretary; the girl was just too damn perky for her own good. And she looked at Isabel all crossed eyed whenever Isabel went to Tom’s office.

“Yes, Isabel, sweetheart. What’s going on?” Tom asked, slightly impatient with the pretty blonde. He still wanted her, but she had resisted for so long, especially after the scene with his son. It almost hurt Tom to think about the pain that his son had gone through. But Tom knew that it was better in the long run. Isabel Sorenson was after one thing, and she hadn’t needed to use his son in the first place.

“I’m pregnant, Tom.”

Tom took in a sharp breath at her words. That was something that he hadn’t been expecting. He would have expected just about anything else but that. Isabel was pregnant. Tom knew exactly what had to be done. She had to have an abortion. If the kid was his son’s, than an abortion was what he would demand. It was one thing for his daughter to be expecting a child at such a young age, he wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to his son. Alex had a bright future ahead of himself, without Isabel.

Isabel just wasn’t their type of person. She wasn’t of their class or society. Max was an exception, though because of who his father was. Tom knew the secrets of Max Evans, and he doubted that Isabel even knew.

“Well, the only thing for you to do is to have an abortion, Isabel. There is no other option. You’re chances of getting the lead in this movie are very high. I’ve told the others that I want you, but they are a little uncertain about signing an unknown, especially with a name like Isabel Sorenson, which we should be changing. If you come to the office right now, I can give you some money and have it all taken care of.” Tom informed her. He knew that it was the only thing to do, especially if his son was the father.

“Are you sure, Tom? That they are seriously considering for me to be in the movie?” Isabel asked uncertainly. Just the thought of having an abortion was scaring her, but she wanted to be sure that it would be worth it. That she would be the lead in the movie.

“Isabel, yes. I’m not lying to you. Jonah and I both want you. But Darren is reluctant. Stupid jerk. But don’t worry, he’ll come to his senses. Just have the abortion. Otherwise, kiss the movie good bye. It’s a six month shoot and we don’t want a pregnant woman.” Tom told her.
Isabel nodded her head. She knew that everything that he was right, but she still didn’t know if she should have an abortion or not. No matter how the babies father was, it was her child. Her baby. Living inside of her body. Could she honestly go get rid of her own child? “I know, Tom, but. . . . . I don’t know if I could do it. Have an abortion.”

“You know, you don’t have to have an abortion, but than how would you raise a child on your own? If you do have this baby, I’m not going to be there to help you, or even Alex. Alex still doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. He’s told me himself.” Tom said with a sneer, as he thought about it. His son didn’t want anything to do with her, hell, his son didn’t exactly want anything to do with him. Yet anyway. His son would get over his feelings soon enough.

Isabel took in a deep breath at his words. If she had this baby, than her dreams would be all screwed up. Tom wouldn’t be there to help her, even if it was his baby. He would turn his back on her and she wouldn’t get everything that she wanted. And as he said, she was so close to getting the part in the movie. And of course, she didn’t expect for them to hold the movie shooting for her. Having an abortion would be the best thing. Besides, if she wanted another child after she had made a name for herself, she could. She could have another child later on in life after she had established herself. Tom was right about it all. The best thing for her to do was to have an abortion.

“Alright, I’ll have the abortion. I’ll come by your office tomorrow and pick up the money. Where am I supposed to have it?” Isabel asked softly, telling herself that it was the best thing. The best thing for her right now. There simply wasn’t any other option at this point in her life. She didn’t want any child of hers to grow up in poverty. She wanted her child to have everything that he or she deserved. But that time simply wasn’t right now.

“I’ll make an appointment for you tomorrow afternoon. I know of a place where I have sent other girls just like you. Don’t worry about it. Just come by tomorrow and I’ll tell you everything. You’re making the right decision. You don’t have anything at all to offer a child at this point.” Tom informed her, glad that she was seeing things his way. If this was his son’s baby or even his own, he didn’t want it to be born. Alex needed to marry someone of social class, and sadly Isabel was not that person.

“Alright. I’ll come to your office at nine in the morning. Bye.” Isabel said, as she hung the phone up and laid down on the couch. Her decision was for the best, wasn’t it? She knew that she didn’t have a single thing to offer a child right now. She had a dead end job as a waitress and if she had the baby that’s the job that she would have for another year or so. And the opportunity to become a star was right there in front of her and she wanted it. And she was going to get it. She was going to get it and that’s what made what she was doing right. It just had to be the right thing to do.

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“Isabel, how lovely to see you.” Tom smirked, as he watched the beautiful blonde come into his office. He really did enjoy her. She didn’t look anything innocent, but there was a part of her that was. She didn’t know how things worked in a city like Los Angeles, but soon, Tom knew that he would teach her. That he would show her.

“I’m so sure. What did you want to see me about.” Isabel said with a slightly hostile tone in her voice. She was still upset about the abortion. And she knew that it wasn’t only his fault that she was no longer pregnant. She was the one that had asked him to give her the money to terminate her pregnancy. But ever since she had the abortion over a week ago, these dreams had been plaguing her.

The dreams were the same. It was about her baby and Alex. It was only after she had the first dream, did she understand what it was all about. The baby had been Alex’s. She knew it in her heart. That the baby that she had killed had been Alex’s. Her and Alex’s baby. Their child that she had killed because she was selfish. Because she wanted to become an actress. Because she was willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

And Isabel knew that she only had herself to blame for it all. She was the one. Not Tom. She was the one who had decided to sleep with Tom. She was the one that he cheated on Alex with his own father. She was the one that in the end had been her decision to have an abortion. She could have decided to keep her baby, but she hadn’t. She had been selfish and she had terminated her pregnancy.

“Oh, Isabel. Are you angry at me about something? Really, you have no right to be angry at me. I mean, if your angry about the abortion, it would your decision. You were the one that decided to kill your own child. A child that could have been my own. Because of your own ambition. You wanted to get everything and a baby wasn’t in the cards for you. It wasn’t in my cards either. I have two children and they are enough for me.” Tom told her coldly. His children hadn’t been planned, but Nancy had wanted to have children in order to keep the illusion that he and her were a happy couple, even if they weren’t. That was the only reason that they had Alex and Liz. But he had to admit to himself, that he loved his children. They were his legacy.

Isabel kept her mouth shut. She knew that there wasn’t anything that she really could tell Tom. It hadn’t been his fault. Only hers. She was the one that had ended her pregnancy, not him. She could have changed her mind, but she hadn’t. “No, I’m not angry at you. So why did you want to see me?” she asked, changing her tone.

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you the good news about the movie. You got it. You were just cast as Christen Erinson in the movie, A New Start. The shoot is going to begin on Monday in Puerto Vallarta. And you have me to thank for that. They wanted to go with someone else, and I told them, that I would pull out of the movie if they did. So they quickly changed their tones.” Tom lied to her. She didn’t need to know the truth about what happened. By telling her this, he knew that she would be somewhat in debt to him for doing all that he could for her.

A wide smile crossed Isabel’s face at his words. She had gotten it! Oh my God. She was on her way. She was going to go shot a movie. Her first movie and it was a damn staring role. She was going to get everything that she wanted. She was going to get it all. “I got it! Oh my God. Thank you so much, Tom!” she said happily. She was going to make it as an actress. After all of her damn hard work. And sleeping with Tom and losing the love of her life.

“Your welcome, Isabel. I’ve gone ahead and made the arrangements for your flight to Puerto Vallarta. Your flight is on Sunday morning, that way you can have a day to rest before shooting starts.” Tom told her pleasantly, itching to tell her the rest of his news. But one thing at a time.

“I don’t think that I’ll rest before it. I’m so excited. I. . .I’m going to go to Max’s and tell him about it. I’m gonna go, Tom. Thanks again.” Isabel said happily, wanting to share the news with her brother. She wanted to get away from Tom and share her news with someone who she knew really cared. She wanted to tell both Max and Liz about it all.

“Sure, go on. Go tell him.” Tom said brightly, wanting to wait until the very last moment to tell her the rest of his news. He knew that the news might shatter her, and that was what he wanted to cause. But it wasn’t anything that he could change. He couldn’t change what had happened.
Isabel couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she made her way towards the door. She couldn’t wait until she told Max. She knew that her brother would be so happy for her. And it would be the best. She would tell him, and maybe Maria. The two of them hadn’t been very friendly. Isabel thought that maybe Maria just didn’t like her or something. But she didn’t want to think about that right now. She was too excited and happy right now to think about her problems with her sister.

“Oh, and Isabel. One more thing!” Tom said with a smile on his face. He knew what he was about to tell her just might devastate her. But he didn’t care. He didn’t care at all.

“What?” Isabel asked warily, as she turned around to look at him. She didn’t know what else he wanted to tell her.

“Just so you know Alex is over you. He eloped this weekend with Tess Harding. He’s a married man now, so stay away from him.” Tom said unable to stop smirking the words. He wholeheartedly agreed with his son’s decision to marry Tess. She came from such a good background, something that Isabel didn’t. Even though he did think that Isabel was actress material, didn’t mean that he wanted her as a daughter in law. Not by a long shot.

For a moment Isabel didn’t think that she could breath. She felt the pain stab her in the heart at Tom’s words? Alex had gotten married? To Tess? To that blonde little bimbo? Why? Why had he gotten married to her? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. Oh, Alex. Why?


TBC. . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Chapter Seven


“Alright, now this next shot is the most important. It’s the climax of the movie. Isabel, your supposed to be scared, terrified for your life. Your in a subway, in the dark, trying to find your husband. I want you to fall a few times on the ground, no more than twice. Have some tears in your eyes. Alright, ready. Lights, Cameras, Action!” Tom said, as he watched the film begin rolling, watching everything with a critical eye.

Isabel did exactly what he said. Tears filled her eyes as she began to make her way through the subway. It was so fucking dark in here, even with the lights. There weren’t all that way. The only reason that they was any light was because of the generator that they had in here. Isabel knew that it was time for her to say her lines, so she threw all thoughts out of her head. “Alec, where are you?” she said, with a tremble in her voice.

Isabel fell over a rock, biting down on her tongue in order not to let out a curse. She hadn’t planned that, but hell, it was perfect. “Alec!” she shouted, trying to stay in her role. Isabel picked herself up off the ground slowly, when she heard a funny noise. It kind of sounded like a snap. Isabel couldn’t help but frown at it and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could say a single word, the world blew up in front of her face, and her world turned dark.

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“Max, what are you doing here?” Isabel questioned, wondering what the hell her brother was doing here. When had he come to Puerto Vallarta? Had he come because of her and the little accident on the set? He shouldn’t have, there was no reason for him to have come all the way here. She was fine.

“What the hell do you mean what am I doing here? My sister is in the hospital? I nearly had a heart attack when I heard. You know that you could have died Isabel.” Max told her, surprised by her words. When he had heard the news, he’d been so scared. His sister could have died. “Isabel, that generator could have killed you. It was pumping out carbon monoxide. It could have killed everyone.”

“I know. It was just one of those freak accidents. I’ll be fine. I’m getting out of the hospital tomorrow. So tell me what’s going on with the family? How are you? How’s Liz? How’s Maria?” Isabel asked, wanting to take the subject off of herself. What happened had been a weird accident. Freaky, but an accident nonetheless.

Max took in a deep breath. “We’re all fine. Why wouldn’t we be? You should see Liz. She’s four months pregnant, and she loves every single moment of it. We can’t wait until the baby is born. Liz is hoping for a girl, but I think that we’re going to have a boy. Just you know, male intuition. Maria’s okay, trying to get herself a deal with Sony Records. I think that she has a great chance at it.”

Isabel nodded her head at his words. Yes, her sister would be amazing. Isabel knew it for sure. Her sister had such a great voice. Maria had performed at Max and Liz’s wedding, and had simply been amazing. Isabel had complimented her sister on it, and her sister had said thanks and simply turned away. Isabel wanted to get to the bottom of why her sister was just so standoffish to her. But she’d have to find out later on, after the movie. “Maria is great. And I’m sure that she will get everything that she deserves.”

“Yeah, she will. So you’re all okay, right?” Max asked softly, thinking about Alex’s sudden marriage to Tess. He hadn’t known why Isabel and Alex had broken up in the first place, and it had came as such a shock to him. And than Alex’s marriage to Tess. It put both him and Liz in such an awkward position, especially with the rumors about Isabel and Tom. Alex was one of his dearest friends, as was Tess, but Isabel was his sister, and he hated that his sister was hurting over all of it. He had been so sure that Alex and Isabel had been in love with each other, but things had just changed so quickly.

“Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?” Isabel said nodding her head, even though she really wasn’t. Alex was married to Tess Harding, and that hurt. Isabel had known that she shouldn’t trust that blonde bimbo and she had been right. Tess had probably been in love with Alex for a long time, and when the two of them had broken up, Tess had probably played the wonderful friend. How Tess had gotten Alex to marry her was a mystery to Isabel. She thought that it might have been that Alex wanted to get her back. Get her back for sleeping with his father. But marrying Tess? “How’s Alex and Tess?”

Max bit the inside of his lip at her question. He didn’t want to hurt his sister with telling her about Alex and Tess’ marriage. But she was asking, and he couldn’t very well not tell her the truth, but he didn’t want her hurt. “Isabel, please. I don’t want to get into it with you. You don’t need to know about any of it.”

“Why? I’m just asking about how they are. Can’t you tell me that at least?” Isabel asked, tears forming in her eyes. It hurt that Alex had gotten married and even if he had gotten married in order to spite her, all she wanted was for him to be happy. If Alex was happy with Tess, than there was nothing else that Isabel could do but be happy for him. Even if it killed her. She would be happy for him.

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“Max, what’s wrong?” Isabel asked softly, wondering why her brother would be calling her at nearly ten o’clock at night. Than a thought hit her. Liz. It could be Liz. Liz might be having the baby. Her heart clenched at the thought of it. Liz having a baby.

“Liz is having the baby, Isabel. I want you to come. Please.” Max said quietly, knowing that he was asking for something big of her. She knew that Alex would at the hospital too. That Alex and Tess would be their together and that Isabel would know. That Isabel would see.

“Of course, I’ll come. This is going to be my niece or nephew. I’ll be there as soon as I can, Max.” Isabel reassured him. There was no way that she was going to miss this moment. This was Max’s child. Her brother’s baby and she wasn’t about to miss his grand entrance into the world.

“Alex and Tess will probably be there.” Max said softly, wanting to warn her a little. He didn’t know exactly what had happened between her and Alex. But it was something that both of them had been devastated about. Alex had been a basket case after whatever had happened, and Isabel had put up a wall and refused to talk about it.

Isabel nodded her head. “I know, and I don’t care. You’re my brother, Max. And I want to be there for you when Liz gives birth to your baby. Your son or your daughter. And I don’t care that they might be there.” she told him, even though she knew that it would hurt like hell. Hurt so much to see the only man that she loved married to another. Married to Tess Harding.

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Isabel arrived at the hospital within fifteen minutes. She had ran three red lights in order to get to the hospital. She couldn’t believe it. Her little brother was about to become a father. Liz was going to have the baby. She was so happy about it. It was going to be her niece or nephew. Isabel hated that she hadn’t spent any time with Max or Liz during the pregnancy. But it just hurt too much. It hurt too much to know that it could have been her. She could have been the one that was going to have a baby. If she hadn’t had an abortion.

Isabel resisted the urge to race through the hospital looking for her brother. She knew that she would see Alex and Tess, and that it would hurt. It would be like a stab in her heart. And she had no one but herself to blame for it. She was the one that had screwed it all up. She’d fucked his father, and he had married Tess.

Isabel had wondered about it so much since she found out. Why had Alex married Tess? Had he been in love with her or something? Or had it been a sort of revenge thing? A way to get back at her for sleeping with his father? Isabel honestly didn’t think that she would ever know the answer. Alex would never tell her. But either way, all she wanted was for Alex to be happy. That was what he deserved, and if he was with Tess, than there was simply nothing that she could do about it.

Everything else in her life was going amazing, other than her disastrous love life. She had finished up the movie just a week ago. And Isabel knew that A New Start was going to be one fucking great movie. Directed by Tom Whitman, with a virtually unknown ingenue, and a well known actor. And with the money that she had gotten from the movie, she had bought herself a house in Brentwood. Everything was going wonderfully for her, except for the stand still on a relationship. She and Tom weren’t anything romantic other than that one night they’d spent together. Well, with the movie party that Tom had planned, she hoped that she would meet someone. Someone that would help her forget all about Alex Whitman.

Making her way through the maternity wing, Isabel took in a sharp breath as she caught sight of Tess Harding Whitman. The blood roared in Isabel’s ears as she watched Tess with her arm wrapped around Alex. Tess was fucking pregnant?! Tess was fucking pregnant! She had to be at least six months along.

Isabel quickly walked towards the bathroom, getting away before anyone could see her. All she wanted to do was cry. Cry about it all. Alex and Tess were expecting a baby. They were having a child together. She had killed her own baby, while Alex was having one with Tess. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. Isabel quickly reached into her purse and pulled out the pills that Tom had given her. Quickly swallowing it, Isabel knew that she would be okay. That things were going to be okay for her. They just had to be.

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“So Isabel had gotten to where she was by having an affair with Tom Whitman? And in the end, she had lost Alex Whitman. It sounds all so sad.” Laurie said, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. Isabel had tried so hard to get somewhere and in the end, had used her body to get where she wanted. And she had lost the love of her life. The love of her life who had in the end gotten married to a woman that people viewed as a barracuda.

“Yes, she was simply devastated by losing Alex. And she regretted having the abortion. She thought about it so many times over the years. Isabel was convinced that the reason that she couldn’t have a child later on in life was because of the abortion that she had when she was younger. She had convinced herself about it.” Max said, shaking his head. He hated all of the pain that his sister had went through. She had never showed it to anyone about how devastated that she had been over Alex getting married to Tess. Or when Alex and Tess had their son. She had pretended to be strong when in the end, she hadn’t been.

“She had what, three miscarriages over the years? Were they connected to the abortion that she had?” Laurie asked curiously, unable to help herself. It was sad that Isabel had never been able to have a child of her own over the years. That she had achieved fame and fortune, but she had never had a child.

“I’m not sure. I”m really not sure why Isabel miscarried over the years. But we’ll get more into that later on. Where was I? Oh, the party for the movie. Now that was an interesting night.” Max said with a smile, as he remembered back to that night. It had only been three weeks after his and Liz’s oldest son had been born. It had been one amazing night.


TBC. . . . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Dedicated to: Krazykitti, Antarian Pixie, InTheStars, Sternbetrachter.

Chapter Eight


“I look wonderful. I’m going to knock the socks off of everyone.” Isabel said as she looked into her compact. At least that’s what she was hoping for. She was wearing a spectacular red silk strapless gown that fell in clinging folds. She’d worn the dress especially because she knew that Alex would be there at the party. Tom had told her that Alex had allowed him back into his life. But Isabel knew that Alex would never let her back in. She was positive about that.

“We’re here, Ms. Taylor.” the driver said, smiling at the pretty woman.

Ms. Taylor. Isabel Taylor. That was her new name. Tom had actually come up with it. He said that Isabel Sorenson wasn’t a name that would make money. And she had agreed that it wouldn’t. It wasn’t like her adoptive parents were alive anyway. Both of them had died before she had come to Los Angeles, car accident. She hated losing them. They had been so wonderful to her. Isabel hadn’t expected that, but they had given her a good life. She was sad that she wouldn’t be able to make it up to them. Give them a good life after they had given her one.

Fifteen minutes later, Isabel was mingling inside the party, chatting with the others. Some were camera men, while others were the actors, like herself. It was a nice party. Tom had said that he was going to invite some of his own personal friends. And some new stars to the business. Alex!

Isabel took in a harsh breathe as she watched him interact with Tess. OH GOD!!! He really was in love with her. He had to be. Alex had his arms wrapped around Tess, and was Tess was brushing Alex’s hair off of his forehead. He was in love with her. And they were going to have a child. A child that Isabel, herself should have given him. She should have been the one to give birth to Alex’s child. But no, she’d decided that have an abortion. That she had to have a career first and foremost. She had given up her chance at giving Alex a child. A son or a daughter. She could have been the one to be in his arms. But she wasn’t.

Tess Harding was. No, she wasn’t Tess Harding anymore. She was Tess Whitman. She was married to Alex and having his baby. She was the one that got to feel what it was like for Alex’s baby to grow inside of her, day in and day out. Isabel knew that she had no one but herself to blame. Her decision to sleep with Tom had set everything into motion. She’d lost Alex, and now he was with Tess. And they were having a baby.

“Are you okay, Isabel?” Tom asked, sliding up besides her. He saw that she was watching his son and daughter in law dancing and he couldn’t help but smile. Tess Harding was the perfect girl for his son. He’d always thought so. Tess was beautiful, smart and from the right family. Perfect for his son.

“I’m fine, Tom. Why wouldn’t I be?” Isabel said, cocking an eyebrow at him, turning her eyes away from Alex and Tess. She didn’t want to see them anymore. She didn’t want to see them happy together, while she wasn’t happy. While she was all alone, and no one wanted her.

“Oh, I don’t know. You looked a bit sad. Have you seen Lizzie? She’s looking mighty wonderful after giving birth to my grandson. Fine looking boy. Phillip Thomas Evans. Wonderful strong name. I’m a little jealous that he was named after Phillip first. But she told me that I would get the next one.” Tom informed her. She was a beautiful woman, and he had been with a lot of beautiful women over the years, but he simply didn’t find her alluring anymore. But he was going to continue to be her mentor, she needed someone to think about what she needed. And he was the perfect one for the position.

“Yeah, Liz looks great. She’s so happy with Max and Phillip. And I doubt that they are going to have another child soon. They are way young. They need to finish up school first.” Isabel commented, knowing that she should have a talk with her brother. But than she might be somewhat of a hypocrite, since she hadn’t gone to college, but Max was different. He had the money to go to school.

“Yes, your right, Isabel. They are too young to have another child. But if they did, they have enough money. Max is the sole heir to Phillip’s fortune. And trust me, it is a fortune. So, have you made any sort of plans for what your going to do in the next few months? My friend, Everett Hubble is semi interested in getting you for his movie.” Tom said, changing the subject off of his daughter and son in law. Max could very well get two fortunes. From Phillip and from his biological father, if he made the fuss about it all. But Tom knew that his son in law wouldn’t make any sort of fuss.

“I’m not sure about what I’m going to do yet.” Isabel said quietly, unable to not look at Alex and Tess, who were know talking to Max and Liz. Liz was looking pretty in an elegant cream colored shift, but than again, Isabel didn’t know when Liz hadn’t looked pretty or elegant. The same as Tess. That was probably because they had been raised that way, while sometimes Isabel felt like she was playing dress up or something.

“Well, Isabel. I think that you should audition for Everett. It’s a part that could lead to a lot more for you. In this town, you have to keep on going, otherwise they’ll forget all about you.” Tom informed her. He knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Look, stop trying to run my life for me. You have done enough for me, Tom.” Isabel said harshly, thinking about the baby and Alex. It wasn’t his fault, she knew that. Only her own. But he had played a hand in all of it. She knew that he had. Isabel let out a cry of frustration and left him as fast as she could walk. She needed a drink, and she would be fine. She was sure of it.

“Bourbon on the rocks.” Isabel said as she approached the bar. While the bartender went to get her drink, Isabel couldn’t help but look back over to where Alex, Tess, Max and Liz were. They all looked so happy standing around and talking to each other. Isabel wanted to be the one over there instead of Tess. She wanted to be the one that Alex had his arms wrapped around, the one that was having his baby.

When the bartender brought her drink to her, Isabel drank it in one shot. “Give me another!” she told the bartender, wanting to get drunk really fast. She had to be happy for Alex. She wanted to be happy for Alex, even if it killed her. But that was easier said that done.

“Hey, your Isabel right?” Doug Shellow said with a smile as he made himself known to the beautiful blonde. He had been watching her for the last half hour. And he’d seen some curious things. Her with Tom had been very interesting. He’d heard some rumors about her sleeping with Tom throughout the whole movie, and what he had witnessed made him think that it was true.

“Yeah, and you are?” Isabel said, casting the dark haired guy a look. Hmm, he was pretty cute. Of course, nothing like Alex, but than again, she would never be with Alex again. But this guy, he was something.

“Doug Shellow. I played Chad Leonard on that alien show a few years back.” Doug explained with a smile, as he told her. That had been the height of his stardom, but of course, it hadn’t lasted. The storylines that happened had made people hate his character and some had even hated him. And it hadn’t helped that he had been seeing his co-star. Ah, but that was all over. Being with Kay had been such a nightmare that he was glad that it was over.

“Oh, aren’t you going to be starring in Oscar James’ new movie?” Isabel asked with a smile, not really remembering the television show that he was talking about. When his smile widened, Isabel felt a stab of lust through her body. It had been so long since she had been with anyone. It wouldn’t hurt if she got together with this guy. It wasn’t like she was with Alex anymore. Well, would it even hurt if something more happened with this guy, she thought with a heated look.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am. You know, I’d rather not talk about that right now at the moment. I have other things in mind. Are you game, Isabel?” Doug asked, not missing the way that she was looking at him. Oh, he wanted her.

“Yes. I’m game.” Isabel said, an idea coming to her head. It was perfect. Simply perfect.

“Your place or mine?” Doug asked with a heated look at Isabel. He was going to sleep with her. She was so beautiful and she was about to be his for the night. He would make sure that they had a great time. A freaking great time tonight.

“Neither. How ‘bout Vegas?” Isabel asked with a smirk on her face. She was thinking about something else. Something more permanent. Marriage in Sin City. Something that would get Alex out of her system. Anything to get Alex out of her system.

%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

“God damn it, Doug! You left your dirty dishes in the sink again. Can’t you do one simple thing.” Isabel screeched at him. In the six months that they had been married, it hadn’t been fun. Not one bit. Sure, Doug was good looking and great in bed, but they just had nothing to talk about. They had nothing in common.

When Isabel didn’t hear anything from him, she looked in the living room and saw that he was sleeping on the couch. What an idiot! He did nothing but sit on his ass for the last few months. He claimed that he had tried out for several important parts in movies, but Isabel was beginning to think that he was lying about it all.

“Ugh!” Isabel said, clenching her hands. She was about to hit him in the head with her shoe, when the telephone began ringing. Lucky prick was saved by the phone. “Hello?”

“Isabel, my favorite pupil. I’ve got some good news for you. You know, Kay Reynolds, who had been the lead in Everett’s movie, well she’s gone. They dropped her. I told him that you would be very interested in seeing him. Endings And Beginnings will make you a bigger and brighter star, Isabel. He wants to meet with you, personally.” Tom said without bothering to announce himself to her. She knew what his voice was like already. Tom had been angry when Isabel had married that pretty boy, with no brains.

“Really, Tom? But what’s the price?” Isabel asked, dreading what it might be. She knew the price that had come attached to Tom. She’d practically sold her soul in order to get what she wanted. In order to become an actress, she had given him her body and her soul. She had lost Alex. Losing Alex was the thing that had hurt the most.

“Is that all you think about Isabel? What’s the price? Look, just go see him and I’m sure that you can get it.” Tom said with a smile, as he nodded his head at his pretty blonde secretary, as she wrapped the presents for his grandsons. Both of his children had given him grandson’s. Phillip and Christopher. Both were fine looking boys.

“Fine. I’ll go see him. Where’s he staying at?” Isabel said with a sigh. A New Start had made a box office record, and had propelled her name. But still some directors were unsure about signing an unknown to their movies, so the deals hadn’t been coming on in. And Isabel knew that she should trust Tom. He had been steering her in the right direction. She knew that she could trust him.

%*%*%*%*%

Isabel sighed as she scrubbed her body harder. That damn Tom. Damn him! He had known exactly what his friend had wanted for her to do. And she had done it. She’d done every disgusting thing that Everett had wanted her to do. No more! She wasn’t ever going to do that again. She vowed to herself that she wasn’t going to ever sell her body that way again.

To hell with movie roles and all. This was her pride at the matter of it all. Sleeping with Tom had destroyed her relationship with Alex. Sleeping with Tom had changed everything in her life. It had sent her on a path that she hadn’t been expecting. While Alex was now married with a child, Isabel was alone, the child that she had been pregnant with was gone. The only thing that she had to show forth for what she had done was a career and a husband that she regretted marrying.

She needed to change her life. And she needed to do it now, otherwise, Isabel was sure that she would just lose herself.


TBC. . . . . . . . . .

[Lillie]

Chapter Nine


Isabel smiled to herself as she took in a deep breath of the air. It was actually a nice day without any of the Los Angeles smog. Another reason for her to celebrate the day. She was twenty five years old, and one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. She got what she had always wanted, except for the ever elusive love issue. She had worked her ass off to get to where she was.

Isabel had refused to sleep with anyone in order to get a role. After that horrible night with that freak Everett Hubble, she’d never done it again. And Isabel had listened to Tom’s advice over the years. Though Tom was a pain in the ass sometimes, she did see that he was trying to steer her in the right direction. And Isabel had listened to him when he’d told her to divorce Doug. Marrying Doug had been such a mistake and she’d done the right thing when she’d divorced him.

And the divorce from Doug had been surprisingly easy. No complications in the whole matter. Everything was going well in her life, as well as her family. Max and Liz were still ecstatic over their lives. They’d had their second son only three months ago. They were just so happy that sometimes it hurt for Isabel to see them together. Because that’s what she wanted. She wanted to be as happy as they were.

And Maria. Things were still tense with her sister, and Isabel hadn’t the slightest clue why it was. Isabel had begun to suspect that it had something to do with what had happened after their mother had abandoned Isabel on the side of the road. Maybe their mother had started in on Maria or something. Isabel had never had the courage to broach the subject to her sister. Isabel knew that one day she would. She would talk to Maria and find out why it seemed that her sister hated her.

Sitting down on the park bench, Isabel smoothed her peach and white sun dress over her knees. It was such a bright and beautiful day— afternoon actually. The sun was setting at the moment, and the sky was turning shades of magenta and purple.

“I’d like to paint your picture.” A voice asked breaking into Isabel’s silence.

Isabel looked up in surprise at the sound of the voice. Standing to the left of her was a tall, slightly spiky haired man with the most piercing gray eyes that she had ever seen before. Isabel blinked in surprise at the man. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I want to paint you. I’m sure that you’ve heard this before, but you’re a beautiful woman.” The dark haired man continued, his face in deep concentration as he looked Isabel over.

“Are you a painter or something?” Isabel asked with a smile, slightly flustered about his attentions. It didn’t escape her that he was very gorgeous. He was much more sexier than Jesse.

Ugh. Jesse. Sometimes that man could be such a fuddy duddy. Jesse was an up and coming director in Hollywood. The two of them had been dating for the last eighteen months, but their relationship was far from perfect. Jesse could be such an asshole sometimes and he had such stupid rules about things. Jesse had one idiotic rule that the two of them couldn’t make love before the start of filming a movie.

For once, Isabel wanted to be with a man who wasn’t self conscious about everything. Someone who thought about how everyone else viewed him, instead of just doing what he wanted to do. Jesse wasn’t anything like that.

“Yeah, I’m a painter. My name’s Mick. So can I? Can I paint you?” Mick asked again, wanting for this beautiful woman to say yes to him. She had of be one of the most beautiful women that he’d ever seen.

“I— This isn’t a pick up line is it? If it is I have to say that it’s one of the most unique ones I’ve ever heard before. It’s actually a very tempting offer.” Isabel finished with a smile as she thought about it. Have her portrait painted? She actually would rather do something else with him, Isabel thought devilishly as she got images of their bodies tangled together. There was no doubting that she wanted him.

“No, it’s not a pick up line or anything. Though I have always had a close personal relationship with my models.” Mick told her. He wanted her so badly and that was something rare for him. He’d dated his fair share of women over the years, but none of them captivated him the way that she was. And he wasn’t lying about his relationships with his other models.

“Exactly what do you consider a close, personal relationship? I’ve— uh, actually I’m already seeing someone.” Isabel admitted, fluttering her eyes downcast.

“So? I’m not asking to date you. You can see anyone that you like. Our relationship would be something completely different. You wouldn’t have to be Isabel Taylor, actress. You’d be yourself, and not the image that the public has of you.” Mick told her, as he moved closer to her, his arm brushing against her own.

Isabel bit her lip nervously at his words. Was he really saying what she thought he was? Isabel couldn’t help but feel a tingle of excitement at the thought of it all. She wanted to give into his words. With care from Tom, Isabel had gotten herself an image that wasn’t anything like how she really was. It wasn’t a horrible thing or anything, but now it was starting to annoy her. She didn’t have quite as much freedom as she once had before. She had to carefully insure that her reputation wasn’t marred in any way.

Biting the inside of her lip, Isabel restrained herself from smiling. She wanted to be able to be herself. Not to worry about her image. She just wanted to be free from it all. And maybe Mick was it for her. Mick with his spiky hair and piercing grey eyes.

“Still mulling it over? I’m sure that being the Isabel Taylor that the public sees is hard. I’ve known other woman in the same predicament that you’re in. You want to be free of all the restraints. I can be of help to you; that is if you want it. Being liberated can be a scary thing.” Mick told her, thinking briefly about the other women that he’d been involved with over the years. Some had been more famous than Isabel, while some had been less.

Isabel smiled widely at him. The thought of it was somewhat scary, but exciting to her. She wanted him, Isabel knew that for sure. Of course, she didn’t want to fuck up her relationship with Jesse for all of this. She was somewhat confused, but maybe she should just be free and be herself.
Isabel decided to throw caution to the wind and hurtled herself into Mick’s arms, crashing her lips against his own. “Not very graceful, was it? Well, fuck that. I’ve never really been graceful anyway.”

**********

“So he goes, ‘Isabel, complicated girls can’t act. Haven’t you learned that by now? That’s the only reason that we’re dealing with this bitch.’” Isabel said with a bright smile, lowering her voice at the word bitch not wanting for her nephews to hear her say that word.

Liz let out a laugh at Isabel’s words. Liz couldn’t help but marvel at the change in Isabel. She was more open than she’d been in a long time. It seemed to Liz that since Isabel and Alex had their falling out all those years ago that Isabel had closed up, but maybe this was a sign that the old Isabel was coming back. At least she hoped so.

“Jeez, was she really that bad? Well, I’ll keep that in mind. Hopefully, I won’t ever have to deal with her.” Max threw in, shaking his head at his sister. Max turned his attention to Phillip, his four year old son who was trying to hide his broccoli in his lap. “What are you doing, Phillip?”

“Nothing, Daddy.” Phillip said with a smile, hiding his broccoli on his lap.
Isabel held back from laughing at the sight in front of her. She had seen what Phillip was doing. He was such a sweetheart; looking at him, Isabel couldn’t help but think that maybe she would have a child. She wanted to have one. It was all Mick’s doing. He was making her think more about other things, besides her movie career. She didn’t need to do dozens of movies, because she was already well known. She could afford to take off a year and have a baby.

“Now, that reminds me so much of you, Max. You used to do the same thing when you were Phillip’s age.” Isabel said with a small laugh at the memory. Not everything had been bad when she was little.

“Oh, you remember? I would have thought that you’d want to forget.” Maria spoke up, with a slightly bitter tone in her voice. She was getting pissed off by the moment. Michael had said that he was going to come over to meet her family for the first time, but he still hadn’t shown up. And now, Isabel was being Ms. Smiles and Sunshine.

“Well, there’s some things I don’t like to remember, but some that I like to remember, that being one of them.” Isabel countered, not wanting to get into an argument with her sister. Isabel was starting to resign to the fact that she and Maria would never get along with each other. It seemed like a sad fact and there wasn’t much that could be done to change things.

Maria opened her mouth to reply when Constance, Max and Liz’s housekeeper came into the room, with a tall, spiky haired man following her. Maria let out a sigh of relief when she recognized it as Michael. Finally, he had decided to show up. Maria forced herself to stay seated on her chair, though she wanted to run up and throw her arms around Michael, but she knew that he didn’t like shows of affection. At least not in public.

Isabel’s smile faded from her face when she watched Mick walk into the room, and take the empty seat besides Maria. Isabel took in a deep breath as she tried to get a handle on herself. Her Mick was Maria’s Michael? They were the same. This was the person that Max had told her that Maria was so convinced that she was in love with. And it was the man that she had been sleeping with for three months.

Maria smiled to herself when Michael sat down in the chair beside her, turning to her family, she began to introduce him to everyone. “Everyone this is Michael Guerin. Michael, my brother Max, his wife, Liz, their two children, Phillip and Matt. And my sister, Isabel.”

“Nice to meet you. Maria’s told us so much about you.” Max said, nodding his head at Michael.

“Hello.” Isabel said softly, biting her lip nervously as Mick— Michael looked at her for the first time since he had come into the room. Isabel knew that it wouldn’t be a wise thing if anyone knew about her relationship with Michael. Sure, he had done a good job of helping her open up and they had great sex, but that was about it of their relationship. And even though she and Maria weren’t close or anything, she couldn’t do anything to ruin her sister’s relationship with him.

“Hello.”

Maria narrowed her eyes at Michael, who had started to shift uncomfortably in his chair. Though he had only said hello, Maria knew the tone of his voice. It was the same tone that he had used when she’d confronted him red handed with Laurie James. “Do the two of you know each other?”

“No, of course we don’t.” Isabel replied, not allowing for any discomfort into her voice. She couldn’t believe that the man she’d been seeing was the person that Maria was also seeing. She really must have done something bad for this to have to happen to her.

“Of course we don’t.” Michael replied, knowing that Maria was going to get mighty angry if she found out the truth. But it wasn’t like he planned on having an affair with her sister. It had just happened.

“You slut! You’ve been sleeping with Michael, haven’t you? Haven’t you?” Maria screeched, knowing that she was right. She knew the tone in Michael’s voice. She knew that she was right. She knew that Isabel had been sleeping with the man that she loved. Maria knew that her sister had done it on purpose. She had to have done it all on purpose.

“Max, come on, let’s go take the boys to the other room.” Liz told her husband, not wanting her little boys to hear what was about to happen. She knew that when Maria got upset, she exploded. And she definitely was about to explode.

Max nodded his head at Liz’s words and quickly picked up eighteen month old Matthew from his high chair, while Liz got Phillip. They got out of the room as quickly as possible, wanting to give the three of them their privacy.

“Calm down, Maria.” Michael stated, not noticing the others leaving the room.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down? My fucking boyfriend has been sleeping with my sister? With Isabel? If it had been anyone else, I could have turned a blind eye to it. But with her? After everything that happened to me because of her? You know that it was all her fault? And your sleeping with her?” Maria exploded, wanting to wrap her hands around Isabel’s throat. It was all Isabel’s fault. All Isabel’s fault that everything had happened, Maria knew that. It had been Isabel’s fault that their mother had started hitting Maria. And now, Isabel was sleeping with her boyfriend.

“Maria. . . . it wasn’t anything like that. I didn’t know about the two of you. I’m sorry, but I didn’t know.” Isabel finally admitted, since it had become apparent that she couldn’t lie to Maria. Maria had already guessed the truth.

“I hate you, Isabel. I’ve hated you since I was little. You always acted like you were so much better than the rest of us. But you weren’t when Mama hit you, were you? Or when Alex caught you fucking his father. What you didn’t think that anyone knew about it? God, I hate you so much. Get out! Get out of here before I kill you. And I will, Isabel. I swear to God, I will kill you.” Maria screamed, reaching for the glass beside her, getting ready to heave it at Isabel.

“Maria, I. . . . “ Isabel began, not knowing what to say to her sister.

“Leave. Just leave, Isabel.” Michael said, not bothering to look at the beautiful blonde that he’d been bedding for three months. He grabbed Maria’s arms within his own.

Isabel stood up reluctantly, and started for the door. She swallowed hard, looking back over at her sister, who’s face was one of spitting fire. “I’m sorry, Maria. I didn’t know. I never ever wanted to hurt you. I love you, you’re my baby sister.” Without waiting for a single word from any of them, Isabel walked out of the room, and walked out of her sister’s life forever.


TBC. . . . . . . . . . .