gainingghosts (gainingghosts) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2021-10-18 16:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #june 2018, anthony, miriam, tessa |
Who: Tessa, Anthony, and Miriam
When: Early evening, Sunday, June 17
Where: Anthony and Miriam’s in Overlook
Status: Complete
Driving into Point Pleasant, Tessa’s first impression of the town was that she was not terribly impressed. It was cute, sure, but so small. It had her even more curious about her biological father who sent her mom monthly checks. She had gotten the impression from her mom that “Tony” had a lot of money, so yes, Tessa was curious as to what a guy like that was doing living in such a small town. That curiosity shifted into understanding as she followed her GPS away from the more modest homes to a much more upscale neighborhood. These houses were definitely what Tessa had been expecting, based on what she knew about her father, which admittedly, wasn’t much. She hadn’t even known his last name until six months ago when her mom finally told her.
Tessa was twenty-five now and while she had always been curious about who her father was, she had never really felt the urge to seek him out until recently. She couldn’t really explain why. All she knew was as soon as she discovered his full name, Anthony D’Onofrio, Tessa had taken to finding out everything she could about him. Apparently he was wealthy. He lived in tiny Point Pleasant and he owned most of it, from what she could tell. He was also married with two kids. So it didn’t take a genius to figure out Tessa had been the result of an extramarital affair. It wasn’t something that bothered her, probably because it had never seemed to bother her mom. Maura Scott had never spoken ill of Tony D’Onofrio, but she had always been elusive when Tessa had asked questions.
She couldn’t exactly explain what possessed her to seek D’Onofrio out now. It wasn’t necessary money or a desire to be welcomed into the family. She was just curious and she was at a crossroads in her life. College was over and she was feeling a bit aimless. Having something to focus on seemed to keep her grounded, and she needed that right now.
As she pulled up to the address, Tessa whistled low at the sight of the house. It wasn’t huge huge like Bill Gates-huge, but it was impressive. She had a feeling the house’s kitchen was probably the size of her mom’s entire apartment.
Without an ounce of nervousness, Tessa parked behind the BMW in the driveway and climbed out of her car to walk confidently to the front door, where she pressed the doorbell. Either this guy would want to meet her, or he would shut the door in her face. Either way, Tessa wasn’t leaving until she saw his face, and he knew she was in town and planned on staying for a while.
Miriam had been in the kitchen, finishing up dinner preparations, when the doorbell rang. They weren’t expecting visitors to her knowledge, but occasionally one of the neighborhood kids came by selling something for school. That was her thought as she set down her glass of wine and headed towards the front door, her lips pinching into a small frown when the woman standing there turned out to be unfamiliar. She knew everyone that lived in Overlook. She made it her business to do so. She could even identify the couple of men that were renting the house next to the McCarthy’s, though she didn’t expect them to stay long. Maybe this woman was with them. “Hi. Can I help you?” she asked, eyes ticking back to see the car parked in front of her house. So maybe she wasn’t with the men down the street. She probably had the wrong house, but Miriam was willing to help set her back on course.
Tessa took in the woman, her own gaze drifting over her and it was pretty clear this had to be D'Onofrio's wife. She was striking, but that was expected. At the same time, Tessa couldn't help but marvel at how different she was from Tessa's own mother. Both women were beautiful but there was a sophistication about this woman that Dora Scott lacked. Tessa had no idea how she would respond to Tessa's existence, but for all Tessa knew, D'Onofrio's wife was aware of her husband's past infidelity. And since there was really no right way to go about this, so Tessa opted for bluntness. "I'm looking for Tony D'Onofrio," Tessa said. "I was told he lived here."
Miriam’s brow rose at the nickname, one her husband had never used, at least not to her knowledge. To hear it on the lips of so young a woman put her on edge, but she wasn’t ready to consider the worst. Not yet. The manners bred into her dictated that she invite the young woman in, allow her to wait while she sought out her husband, but Miriam hesitated. There was magic protecting them at all times, but she wasn’t sure how helpful it would be once she crossed the threshold. “He does,” she answered politely. “May I ask what this concerns?” She could fetch her husband, but she’d rather not do so until she knew what this was about.
Tessa smiled, trying not to get impatient. The woman, his wife no doubt, was probably curious and suspicious and Tessa couldn't blame her for it. At the same time, she just wanted to see her biological father in the flesh. He had always been some kind of mythical creature to her. All Tessa had ever seen were pictures and the checks he would send. "Well, it concerns me and it concerns him," Tessa said, aware that she was probably coming across as rude. The woman would have every right to shut the door in her face so Tessa softened her expression a bit. "I'm his daughter."
The confession was jolting and the shock registered on Miriam’s face for a split second before she composed herself, rage beginning to simmer inside her. She wanted to believe that Anthony wasn’t capable of cheating on her, except she knew full well that he was and she’d long suspected that he might be, but she’d never had proof. And now before her stood living, breathing proof of infidelity long before she could have ever guessed. “Of course you are,” Miriam said, her smile tight and cold. “Come in. I don’t think he’s expecting you.” She said, holding the door open for the girl—no, the woman. “I’m Miriam,” she said, offering her hand, still the model of politeness. She wanted a name and introducing herself felt like the easiest way to get one.
The shift in the woman's expression wasn't surprising though it did tell Tessa that obviously she had no idea about her husband's extramarital activities. Then again, maybe she did know based on her response. Maybe other people have shown up just like Tessa with the same news. How many kids did this guy have? Tessa stepped into the house and eyed Miriam's hand before taking it. "Tessa. Tessa Scott. I'm sorry if this is unwelcome news. I tried calling a few times but never got an answer. This seemed to be the only way I could get in contact with him."
Miriam could not decide what upset her more: that her husband had been unfaithful or that the evidence was there, in town, fully capable of sullying their reputation. Being the subject of gossip was something she always sought to avoid. It was still possible to contain the situation though, assuming that Tessa left town as soon as she got what she came for. “He can be a difficult man,” she said, almost wishing that Anthony had answered his phone and handled this himself, but then she’d still be in the dark. Were things really better just because she didn’t know about them? If he’d kept one child from her, what was there to say that there weren’t more? “Do you mind me asking how old you are?” It was generally a rude question, but Tessa had to know the importance of it considering everything else.
Tessa didn't mind the question because she knew why Miriam had asked. It was time to do some math, to figure out just when her husband had been unfaithful. "I just turned twenty-five last August," Tessa said, unable to help the urge to glance around the house again. Where was Tony? Was Tessa about to witness a marital argument? Tessa knew Tony and this woman had two children and their oldest son was a couple of years older than Tessa, so they had been married when Tessa was conceived. Honestly, Tessa didn't care. She just wanted to meet her father and figure out what it was she wanted to do with him.
It was as Miriam had suspected, but hearing it aloud set the truth home. They had been well into their marriage, with Caius already born, when Tessa was born. She took a deep breath, her teeth clenched against her rising anger. She had to remind herself that this girl wasn’t at fault—she was the result of Anthony’s infidelity, not the cause. If he had dealt with it properly, or better yet, abstained completely, she wouldn’t be here, but she didn’t need to take her anger out on her. “I’ll go let him know you’re here,” she said, and left Tessa in their sitting room to go track down her husband. She found him in his study and didn’t hesitate to interrupt. She knocked to get his attention, but then spoke from the doorway. “Your daughter, Tessa, is here to see you,” she said, her voice laced with venom.
Anthony was so focused on working when Miriam entered the room that he nearly snapped at her for doing so. But she spoke before he could and it wasn't her tone that had him taken aback, it was her words. He stared at his wife for a moment before realizing that Miriam was talking about Maura's daughter. While he had helped financially, Anthony had never claimed Tessa as his own. She was human, devoid of magic and therefore useless to him. Hearing that she was in his house was something that he had expected. A surprise. And Anthony hated surprises. He could tell by Miriam's face that she hated this particular surprise too. Sighing, he stood from behind his desk. "We can talk about this when she's gone," he murmured to her, aware that she would want an explanation, although in Anthony's mind, it was fairly obvious what had happened. "Give us a few minutes."
“Fine. But I think I have a right to this conversation, seeing as how she’s sitting in my living room,” Miriam said and there was little Anthony could do to sway her differently. She didn’t need an explanation for what had happened—that part was fairly obvious—and she wasn’t going to fight about it in front of Tessa, but she wasn’t going to brush this under the rug either. Anthony owed her something, an apology at the very least, though after twenty-five years of hiding this she wasn’t sure she could trust the sincerity. With that in mind, she followed Anthony back to the living room, giving him some of the space he desired, but not the privacy.
Anthony didn't think Miriam had a right to his conversation with Tessa, but he could tell it would be pointless to argue with her. Now wasn't the time. Tessa was still standing when Anthony entered the room and while he had seen photos of her over the years, it was still startling how much she looked like her mother. She hadn't inherited much from Anthony at all, which was a shame. Or maybe it was a blessing. He could only imagine how Caius would feel about having someone actually compete for Anthony's magical respect. "Tessa," he greeted with a smile. "What can I do for you?"
Tessa took in the sight of the man approaching her and she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he greeted her like a stranger. She was a stranger, and so was he, to her. He was handsome, but almost immediately Tessa got the impression that he probably suckered a lot of people with that smile. There was something cold underneath it. After glancing briefly at his wife, Tessa studied him and pasted a polite smile of her own on her face. "Probably quite a bit, but I figured we could start small by just meeting each other. You've been absent for my entire life, so I thought now was a good time to introduce myself."
Anthony slipped his hands into his pockets, studying Tessa in return with a calm expression on his face. He supposed this was bound to happen sooner or later, although he didn't think it was worth the headache that Miriam would give him later. He had been sending money to Maura for years, until Tessa turned twenty one. Maybe the lack of funds is what sent Tessa here. Money was really the only reason he could think of for this unexpected visit. "Well, it's lovely to finally meet you, Tessa. Again, that is. You were too young to remember the first time. You're the spitting image of your mother. She'd doing well?"
"She's fine," Tessa said shortly. For whatever reason, it made her uncomfortable to talk about her mom with this man. "I'm not here to shake you down, if that's what you're thinking. If anything, I was considering staying in town for a bit and maybe you and I can get to know one another." Tessa arched a brow and looked at Miriam. "Assuming you would be all right with that."
Was Miriam alright with that? No, not at all. The sooner she left, the less chance there was of anyone knowing she existed. Her existence offended Miriam, it threatened her reputation and it could be damaging to Caius’s as well. Not that he had anything to do with it. Everyone would know Anthony was at fault, but that wouldn’t stop the rest of them from being a subject of gossip. At least Sera was already gone and wouldn’t have to deal with this first hand. Though Miriam detested the idea of telling her daughter about Tessa, at least she’d know Anthony had a child that he’d discarded more than her. She felt guilty for the thought as soon as she had it, but she knew it was true. She doubted Anthony wanted Tessa there any more than she did, but she knew it wasn’t her place to say so. “That’s between you and your father,” she said, leaving it up to Anthony.
It wasn't up to Miriam, in Anthony's opinion, and he was pleased when she more or less agreed. Though Anthony wasn't oblivious to the way she said your father. He kept his eyes on Tessa, studying her as closely as she was studying him. There was a part of him that wanted to tell her to leave, that she was of no use to him and if he had wanted to get to know her, he would have already done so. But... the fact that she had come all the way to Point Pleasant to his door showed a lot of tenacity. And she wasn't flinching under his gaze either, the way so many people did. Anthony had no real desire to get to know Tessa, but he was maybe a tiny bit intrigued. "I'll have to think about it," Anthony said finally. "But you're free to stay in Point Pleasant, if that's what you want to do. Do you have a place to stay?"
There was a polite undertone there that told Tessa if she asked, he would probably let her stay in the house. But that was the very last thing Tessa wanted, so she nodded. "I'm staying at the Juniper Inn right now. Room 9, if you decide you want to talk to me."
Anthony made a mental note to call the Inn and pay for the room for a few weeks. It was a pricey place and he doubted Tessa could afford it for long. "All right. I'll give you my cell if you decide you want to stop by again." She could call ahead first, so he and Miriam weren't taken aback by the visit. "I appreciate the visit, Tessa."
It definitely felt like he was rushing her out the door, but that was okay. She had made contact with him and that's all she had been hoping for today. She knew where he lived and maybe having a few days alone in this town would help her figure out what it was she wanted from Anthony, if anything. Tessa nodded and glanced at Miriam again. "I'll go," she said. "I'm sure you two have a lot to fight about."
It was possible that if Anthony had warned her that something like this might happen, Miriam might not be quite as cold. Unlikely, but still possible. Unfortunately, she liked surprises about as much as her husband, so the experience was unpleasant all around. She gave Tessa another tight, close-lipped smile of agreement, but declined to comment, allowing Anthony to do the honor of showing Tessa to the door. She would have said it was nice to meet her, as that was the polite response, but it wasn’t. And she wasn’t looking forward to hearing from her again either. “Have a nice evening,” she said instead. It was the best she could do under the circumstances.
Tessa knew Miriam didn't mean it but that was okay. She couldn't really blame the woman for being angry. Tessa was more or less a "bastard" child and anyone who lived in a house like this probably cared about appearances. Maybe the conversation wasn't exactly how Tessa had thought it would be, but she couldn't exactly force D'Onofrio to talk to her and maybe he didn't want to do it with his wife hovering. Honestly, Tessa had questions and she didn't really want an audience for them either. When Anthony opened the door, Tessa stepped outside and then turned to face him. "I think the sooner we can talk, the quicker you can get rid of me."
Anthony cocked a brow and tried to suppress the smirk that threatened. "Noted. I'll be in touch, Tessa."
She eyed him, as if she didn't quite believe that, but all Tessa could do was take him at his word, whatever weight that held. She nodded and turned to head back to her car. Anthony watched her go, thinking about how easy it would be to get rid of her if he truly wanted to do so. And maybe he did. He hadn't quite decided yet.
Closing the door, he returned to where Miriam was waiting. "She's the result of a one time mistake," he told her simply.
“Oh, it was just one time, so that makes it okay?” Miriam asked, though the answer was clearly no. There was no excuse that could possibly make her accepting of the situation. Though an apology would have gone a long way on the road to forgiveness, she didn’t expect one of her husband. It took his mistake showing up for him to even admit that he’d done something wrong. “I want her gone,” she snapped. “As soon as possible. Whatever she wants to know, you tell her and get her out of here. It’s bad enough that she exists, but I don’t need the whole town knowing.” All it would take was one person and it would spread like wildfire. Miriam wouldn’t be able to contain it. The fury directed towards her husband was bad enough; she didn’t need shame piled on top of it.
Anthony wasn't entirely sure he felt like apologizing, or that Miriam really wanted one. He didn't think she was upset about the fact that Anthony had been unfaithful, and instead was worried about her standing in Point Pleasant. He could only imagine what her friends would say if they found out and that offended her more than anything else. He rubbed his thumb against his brow thoughtfully and then gave his wife a smile. "I'll do what I can, Miriam. But you understand she's a grown woman and not a child I can send back home to her mother. If you're worried about people finding out who she is, I can ask her to keep it quiet."
“I know you have no control over what she does, but if she’s here to see you, then you have some pull. The least you can do is ask her to keep this to herself. Don’t give her a reason to stir up trouble,” Miriam said. Whatever happened, Tessa was Anthony’s responsibility. She wouldn’t even be there if it wasn’t for him and his mistake. Just thinking about it made her want to strangle him. He probably thought she was being difficult and unreasonable, even though she’d maintained her calm when she wanted to scream. He said it had only happened once, but she had no reason to believe him. In fact, it explained his growing coldness to her over the years, as well as his lack of enthusiasm when she returned from the other place. Miriam stared at him, swallowing hard. “Is there… anything else you’d like to say to me?”
Anthony certainly appreciated Miriam's cooler approach to what had occurred today. He would ask Tessa to be discreet, although he couldn't promise Miriam that she would listen. But if the girl had plans to fuck up his life, she would be taken care of and swiftly. He was under no qualms that she actually wanted to get to know him and frankly, he didn't want to get to know her either. But she was here for something. Anthony just had to figure out what it was. He stared at Miriam, one brow raising at her question. Then he approached, though he kept a safe distance in case she decided to try and claw his eyes out. "I apologize," he said, because he knew that was what she wanted to hear. "I should have told you about her when it happened, but I was a coward. I hope you'll be able to forgive me."
The apology didn’t sound genuine, but that was okay. The fact that he was willing to say it was at least a step in the right direction. Miriam knew the reason was bullshit—Anthony wasn’t a coward. But she could easily believe that he didn’t want to purposefully bring discord into his home. She would’ve been raising a toddler at the time, so she doubted her temper would have been as tightly controlled as it was now. “We’ll see,” she said. “Right now I’m hurt. And angry.” It pissed her off that his dalliance made her feel like a failure, as if she was somehow at fault. It was so far in the past that she couldn’t even know what was happening at the time, but even if she did, it wouldn’t make it any better. For whatever reason, he’d been tempted by another woman. She’d not been good enough.
"I understand," Anthony said with a small nod, his gaze still on her face. "And I'm sorry for it. There's not much I can do to fix the past, Miriam. But if there's anything I can do to regain your trust, I'll do it." There was so much about his life that she didn't know. Couldn't know. His heart had never fully been hers, but then, his heart had never fully belonged to anyone. Anthony's priorities had always centered around his magic and his power and he knew that was never going to change. But he could try to make this right for her now.
Miriam knew Anthony had his secrets, but she’d always wanted to believe that his heart belonged to her. That he’d had no reason to stray. Knowing that he had once made it hard for her to believe that it hadn’t happened again. It had been years since there’d been any real romance in their lives, but she thought she’d been a good wife to him, and a good mother to their children. She hated that he’d made her doubt herself. Her value. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “There’s not a simple fix.” It would take actual work on his part and she doubted he was up for the task. “Does she know what you are?” she asked, almost as an afterthought. Miriam didn’t think Tessa was a witch. She would have felt it, as she had with every other witch she came into contact with.
Anthony shook his head. "No. Her mother doesn't know so I doubt she does. I don't know if she'll be in town long enough to find out the truth. But I'll take care of it." Anthony was not someone who took orders from other people, even his wife. He understood why Miriam wanted Tessa gone as soon as possible and he would do what was needed to make that happen. But he would find out what it was she wanted first and then handle it however the situation called for. He paused and cocked a brow. "She has no magical blood. If she did, she probably would have been on our doorstep years ago."
“Understood,” Miriam said, arms crossed firmly across her chest. There was a lot Miriam didn’t know about witchcraft, but she knew enough to know that Anthony would have had to be there for Tessa if she’d been a witch. She remembered when Caius’ powers had come in and how hands on Anthony had been. It made her thankful that Tessa was human, just like Sera, and less of an interest to her father. She wasn’t sure she could have handled him taking a liking to Tessa while her own daughter sat around forgotten. So the question remained—why was Tessa there? If she didn’t know what her father was, it had to be money. If she’d come looking for some kind of heartfelt connection to her birth father, she was bound to be disappointed. “I would like some space for the time being.”
Anthony had always been rather unapologetic about his priorities. As a man, he had changed since his youthful days learning magic, but his goals had always remained the same. Caius was his heir to everything and Sera and Tessa both being born without any magical ability had only made that decision easier. Hearing Miriam wanted space wasn't all that surprising and Anthony nodded in agreement before cocking a dark brow. "Would you like me to leave the house for a few days?"
While it would have been nice for him to leave for a few days, Miriam didn’t like wondering what he’d be up to while he was gone. For all she knew, he had another mistress he could go stay with, or he would end up staying at Juniper, which could be another cause for gossip. “That won’t be necessary,” she said. “I can make up the guest room for you tonight. We’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow.” She doubted he’d be going out of his way to win her affection back, which just meant he needed to let her simmer down for a bit. It wouldn’t win her trust back, but if they could get back to a place where she wasn’t so hurt, then maybe they could continue to share a living space.
The guest room. Anthony supposed he could protest or refuse but that would only make this worse and he had no desire to add fuel to the fire. "That's fair," he said. "I'll stay out of your way until you're ready to talk about this some more. And I'll talk to Tessa and see what it's going to take her to get her to leave town." He was guessing it would take a lot of money but that was fine with Anthony. He eyed Miriam, hands still resting loosely in his pockets. "I am sorry I didn't tell you," he said again. "I really didn't want for you to find out this way, or at all if I'm being honest. But I'm sorry that it happened."
Miriam believed him, but only because it made sense. Of course he was sorry that she found out. It was making his life difficult. She knew he was annoyed by her decision, but there would be consequences to his actions, even if they were years ago. It wasn’t like that made it hurt less. If anything, it was worse, knowing he’d been dealing with this for years without any signs, that he’d had a child he couldn’t even be bothered to meet. She wasn’t sure why that bothered her when Tessa wasn’t hers, except that it was such a shitty thing to do. It wouldn’t have surprised her at all to know his solution was just to throw money at it. That was how he solved most problems, and when money didn’t work, magic did. Miriam hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She wanted the problem to disappear, but not like that. She sighed heavily. “Me too,” she said softly, then turned to head towards the bedroom. She wanted him out of her sight for the rest of the night.