Divine Deception -- S4E24: Series Finale

[Magpie2012]

You have a great way of writing Sadie, like we get she's doing/done bad things, but she is also remorseful and sweet... What's the word for it? Anti-hero? *shrugs* I can't remember, but whatever it is, you really write her well, despite the cruddy stuff she's done, we're all rooting for her!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9720 using Tapatalk

[experience]

Aww thanks Magz I just looked up anti hero and that is exactly what Sadie is. There is a specific word for it though that I can't quite put my finger on.

[experience]

Divine Deception
"Long Since Forgotten"


I sleep. I have that same dream again. The one where Nick's telling me everything I am and everything I've done to him, betrayal adding an edge to his lashing, sharper than the knife I hold in my hand. There's an unearthly force under my grip. I can't control it. The more I try to, the closer I come to stabbing Nick in the back. Before I can swipe, I am jerked awake and there, right in front of me is Bernice. She has my shoulders in her hands and she is telling me that I need to hurry. That it's time.

"Time for what?" I say groggily.

I watch as she goes over to the sink and slides everything that's on top of it into a pillowcase with one good swipe of her arm. She returns to my side, holding out her hand for me to take. "To get out of here," she answers simply, which makes me laugh out loud. I can't figure out if it is because of how nonchalant she is or if what she is saying is true. She covers my mouth to silence me. "Keep quiet. We only have one chance at this."

I stagger to my feet. For the life of me I can't get a grip on my own actions. "I don't understand. What are you going on about?" It's just come apparent to me that Bernice is in my cell and my door is still closed, most likely locked. How did she get in?

"Daisy and Trish started a fight in their cell," Bernice explains. "They're causing a distraction so that we can get out of here." She grabs onto the edge of the mirror above the sink and pulls it right off the wall, revealing a tunnel that looks to have been made over a course of years. A course of cold wind blows through it at me that has a hint of the cafeteria's odour. I squint inside to try and see where it leads, but all I can manage to make out is darkness. Bernice is inside before I can ask any questions, gesturing for me to follow.

I allow for Bernice to lead me through the tunnel that meets many intersections. I keep close just to make sure I don't accidentally lose track of my partner. Tunnel after tunnel. Everything looks the same until the one we're in drops us out at the main lobby. I land with a grunt, my sneakers squeaking on the recently-cleaned vinyl floor. There's nobody inside. Nobody behind the main desk, in the waiting area or even at the front doors to cuff us and take us back to our cell, after a beat down, of course. It's empty and eerily so.

The alarms are triggered almost instantly, engulfing the main lobby in a fit of red flashing lights and panic. It screeches in my ears, but I follow Bernice out through the front doors and into the long strip towards the water's edge. I begin gasping for air. I haven't realized until now how unfit I am, but I keep running anyway. I can't quit now when I am so close to an escape. When the other girls inside made such an effort to help us get out of here.

Bernice stops at a watercraft. "Get on," she tells me right as she turns the key that is still in the ignition.

"That's convenient," I mumble. Maybe one of the guards have a hand in our escape as well. Maybe there are more than just the prisoners participating in this escape plan. Bernice doesn't say anything back. She just lurches the jet ski forward and we are heading toward Sunset Valley. The water's rough. We're bobbing up and down over waves and jerking from left to right on occasion, but I'm close. The rain pellets us from above, running its icy fingers down my back. I'm so close to seeing Delilah again!

A bolt of lightning flashes, lighting the cloudy backdrop of the night sky, a roar of thunder returning its call. The watercraft jolts to the left and I am caught off guard. I can't keep my grip on Bernice. I am shot off into the water, my fingers open, trying to grab anything they can. I hit the surface hard. A bright light flashes above me. I can't make it out. It's blurry. It's harsh. All I can hear through the bellows of thunder is Bernice calling my name, fading off into the distance as she flees to freedom and I sink to the bottom of the earth.

"Sadie Alto!"

My eyes open and I stare at the woman that stands on the other side of the bars. It's not Bernice calling for me. It was a dream, the universe's punishment for being in here. It's not even a guard. She wears a blue pinstripe suit and holds a folder in her hands. I can see from the look on her face that she's been calling me awake for a long time so I sit up.

"Ugh, finally. I've been trying to wake you for eons."

I shake my head from the lasting fragments of my dream. "What time is it?"

She glances at her wristwatch. "Quarter past twelve."

Quarter past twelve? Why was I allowed to sleep in so late? I make a grumpy noise that the newcomer will only understand as grumbling. I've missed my shower for the day and breakfast. To be completely honest, I am more surprised than frustrated. I haven't slept much since I've been put in here. I get to my feet and make it to the sink to brush my teeth.

"Sadie Alto," the woman repeats, clearing her throat.

"I go by Sadie Lawrence now," I say sharply. I get the feeling that this is another volunteer psychologist who wants to hear my feelings and tell me how to change for the better, and after my last visit with one of them, I don't much care for their types.

"I'm sorry," she says with a shake of her head. Her rose-red locks shift over her shoulders in an untidy fashion. "I am here to take you back to SVPD."

I spit the rinsing water from my mouth. "What? I've done nothing wrong, though," I defend myself. "If you're going to move me to a new facility don't you need to have a reason?" My mind can't connect the dots. Sure, I may have fought with a girl or two over the years and told some of the volunteers to shove their egos where the sun don't shine, but none of that deserves a new placing. "I've done nothing wrong!"

"That's right, Ms. Lawrence, you've done nothing wrong." Scanning over the woman's face, I try to decipher what she means. "Your bail has been met. I'm taking you out of here."

It's a short ride from the island to Sunset Valley. Armed guards take me from the speedboat to a car that takes me to the police station. It seems strange to me that I need to be handled as such, especially when by the end of the day I will be free. Maybe prisoners who were being freed in the past tried to exact revenge on the officers once before. I've never heard about that, though.

By the time I arrive at SVPD, it's late afternoon and I can't stop looking at its structure. I haven't been off that island for fifteen years. But now, looking up at the face of the station, it's like I was pulled in just yesterday for Nick's death. The woman who woke me up earlier, her name is Sofia Dawson, is my lawyer and she calls me into the station to sign paperwork. She wasn't lying when she said that somebody had bailed me out. Every piece of paperwork that I look down at shows the debt paid for. But what I can't seem to get an answer for is who did it. Who paid for my freedom? Nobody, not even Sofia can give me an answer. Every single person tells me that I need to speak with some judge about it. After two hours of reading and listening to this mumbo-jumbo, I decide that an answer is not what I want. I really want to take this ticket and get the heck away as fast as I can.

Sofia hands me a bag with some spare clothes inside. I go to the washroom and pull on the grey hoody and the pair of brown trousers. I stuff the orange tracksuit into the bag and tie it up as tightly as I can as if that will hold onto the hatred I felt for the last fifteen years. When I step outside again, Sofia takes the bag and leads me out without any other questions.

"I hope you feel that I have helped you today, Ms. Al--Lawrence. If you need anything, here's my number..." She hands me her business card. "And enjoy life. Live free and be good." Before I can say anything, she's back inside, leaving me to admire the ability of having my leash taken off.

I wander across the street. I don't know where to go or who to call. I don't even know who's still around. A lot has changed over the years and I can only wonder what's been left in the town I left in animosity. The summer festival is still going on in the park. That much hasn't changed and because of its familiarity, I venture to it.

This was where I first met Vita back all those years ago. I was here with Gobias and he wanted to get his face painted so many times. I can still remember him inked up with the unicorn that was farting rainbows. The hotdog eating contest. The Charlie and Marlie twins. Meeting Nick. Meeting everybody...

I glance over at a couple in the skating rink. They're wobbly on their legs and both of them fall.

It's as if the world around me slowly morphs into the past. My body goes into shock, my vision becoming fuzzy. My legs feel like they're logs of wood, heavy and no longer bendable. My breathing quickens and there are cotton balls in my throat. I can't breathe. I can't breathe! I need to get out of here. I bolt off in a sprint as fast as my spindly legs will take me.

I run the streets as the world continues to blur. I am a thoroughbred, galloping, running blind. I can only take in the few things that touch upon my brain from time to time. The aching in my calves and the water that splashes my legs as I run through puddles. I hear car horns coming from all directions, but I don't stop. I can't stop. Where do I go? My mind comes up blank and it makes no sense. I am finally free and I feel as trapped as ever.

When I finally come to my senses, I am looking at the house I left everything in. I'm cold, lathered in sweat and completely winded, but the structure's intimacy with me subdues my hysteria. I sag against one of the pillars to catch my breath. What has led me here? Out of all places, this is where I end up? I glance to the parking space outside the garage and notice an black car. Is it possible Vita never left? The questions penetrate my brain and I can't do anything other than shut them out for the time being. I haven't been given any answers all day. I'm probably not going to start getting some now.

After climbing the stairs to the front door, I look inside. The place is in darkness. I ring the doorbell, yet nobody answers. I expected as much. Whether or not Vita still lives here, I wouldn't think that she'd answer the door for somebody like me. But there are more ways to enter than meets the eye. I can only hope it's still here. Back when Nick and I declared our love for one another, he let me know about the secret key rock that he left in the garden. It held a spare key for the place. I wander into the garden in the middle of the walkway and comb every inch of it. It took about five minutes to find. Sunk into the dirt and strangled in roots, I pull the key from the rock and clean it up as best as I can using the end of my sweatshirt. I use it on the door and enter. I don't think about my surroundings. I just run for Delilah's bedroom.

I open the door quietly, scared that I may wake the child that I left on the other side many years ago. She's not in the crib. Dust covers the sides of the wooden structure and a web strings all the way from the ceiling to the bed in the corner. For such a well kept place in the past, it smells of negligence and age. Delilah's not here and she hasn't been for a very long time. Neither has Vita. Until now I believed that the place had been put up for sale. Nick had ordered it the morning before he died, but if he wasn't there to reinforce it, aka I killed him, Vita would have never had to sell. She would have never let the place fall into such a state if she was living in it, though. If she wasn't here, where was she?

I step back into the main foyer and notice something very peculiar. There is nothing inside that flaunts Vita's wealth. All the walls are bare. There are no art pieces. There aren't any portraits of her family, except for one thing that hangs just above the doorway to my daughter's room. It's a picture of me that was taken during the spring festival. Just me in an empty studio with a backdrop. I glare at the photograph. I don't know why it irks me so. It's as if Vita knew that I would return. Knew that I would come to this very spot and see that she now holds all of the power. That she has everything and that I am the one left alone.

I turn to the side table where I know a photograph of Nick and I used to sit. I remember. I had placed it there when Nick and I returned from the winter festival. The night I took Vita's daughter from her. But it's not there. I make my way outside and toss the key in the garden.

I pick up the latest newspaper and check the date. It falls apart in my hands. Even so, I can read the date very faintly. It was placed here more than ten years ago. And it all starts to come together. It had to have been Vita who set me free, she paid my bail and this is just the first of the many parts of a game she wants to play out. I take a deep breath and drop what's left of the newspaper in my hands to the ground. "She wants a game? So be it," I whisper to myself as I walk all the way off the property, ready to never step on it ever again. "Because I may know of how to get to her first."

[experience]

Divine Deception
"Lost & Found"


When I first started my life as a Destroyer, I was Eighteen. I had just graduated high school and been handed over everything my parents left for me. In with all of the jewelry, china, family portraits and all else was a letter from a man named Lee. He explained that he knew of my parents and could help with living with their abandonment. He wrote if I wanted to find inner freedom that it could be found with his way. The way of the Destroyer. It took some thinking, but I finally decided hurting the world as the world hurt me was the only way that I could move on. At that time Lee was located in Bridgeport and that was where I moved to. Throughout my schooling, he taught me how to defend myself, how to manipulate others and block any type of emotion from forming inside of me. He also taught me how to unlock memories. To be completely honest, I've never been very good at it. It takes a lot of patience and a type of meditation that blocks out everything around me. It can transport me to another world if I can muster it. I've only been able to get that deep into my meditation once before, when I had first started and was desperate to find closure with my parents, to relive the memory of them leaving me. I haven't tried since, though now I am desperate to figure out where exactly Delilah is.

The memory I can't fully recall has brought me to this very place. The place everything concluded and turned my whole life into one big mess, aka the last place I want to be even if I know that it is mandatory. Nick had said something to Vita back that day when we left the manor. I know it had to do with the manor going up on the market and a place where Vita should go look at, but that was fifteen years ago. I can't for the life of me remember what he said.

The first thing I do is go over to Nick's grave. Grass and dirt crowd the stone edges of the stone, the sun glimmering off the gold letters that say, Nicholas Alto. I squeeze my eyes close to aid the tears that sting my sinuses. I can still remember what I said to him that afternoon. That not all of our relationship was a lie. And it was true too. As horrible as it is for me to say, I felt a tinge of happiness as I ripped Vita to shreds. But Nick... He was different. The moment I ended his life I hated everything. To this day I can't figure out if it was because I had to kill him, bloodying my hands in the process, or if I really did feel love for him. That there were some truth to the emotions I was faking. I crouch down, kiss the tips of my fingers and touch the cold stone.

I make my way to the nearest bench and take a seat. It's mid afternoon, the same time Nick and I had come here those many years ago. I close my eyes and start practicing my breathing. In and out. In and out. I try to capture Master Lee's voice. Listen to the sounds behind the sounds. Feel the flow of blood through my veins. I can feel my eyes begin to roll with no control.

"And how are you going to manage financially?"

I instinctively open my eyes and look around the graveyard. There's nobody other than me there, although from the location of the sun, I've been in meditation for about an hour already. I close my eyes again and take a deep breath, following my former master's directions again. Breathing. Sounds. Veins.

This time when my eyes roll, I can sense that I have been taken to another world altogether. The sun shatters behind my eyelids and the moon takes its place. The grounds begin to fill with men and women I have been introduced to in the past. Everybody I have destroyed is there. Nick is there. So is Vita and a woman I've never met before takes a seat next to me. While she is ghostly, I can still make out some striking features. Her thick eyebrows, stumpy looking fingers and the way her nose hooks. She looks oddly familiar, but I can't quite place my finger on where from.

"That horrid woman has taken everything from me, don't you understand? You, my career, my friends, and now this house, and if you aren't careful, Nick, she's going to take everything from you too!"

"You've been through a lot lately, Vita. Take a long walk and figure things out. Go take a wander down by the beach and look at the house my mother left to us before she died, because right now, I'm going with my wife to go see her like I do every year."

The memory dissolves and when I open my eyes it's daylight again. I wipe the layer of sweat that has broken out along my hairline as I get to my feet. The house that Nick's mother left to them before she died. I vaguely remember it. I had seen the address when I started helping finance Nick with his work. That was where Vita has to be. She has to be there, because if she isn't, I don't have a clue which direction I should take a look in next.

As I make my way back to my car I realize that the woman who sat beside me, the woman that looked so familiar... I think she was Nick's mother.

I make it to the lakeside about forty five minutes later and as I look across the water I can see the rough waves and the gloomy sky battling a summer storm. From the looks of it it is going to be big. I had better find the address and Vita before it makes it over and begins its protest here.

I spot the house right away. It looks just like it had in the file years ago, the most striking feature being the bright red door. I sit in my car for a moment and stare at it. This is it. Please, let this be it, I think as I unfasten my seat belt. This has to be where Vita lives because I don't know where to go after this.

I get out and make it to the front door. I bring my umbrella with me. The moment I ring the doorbell, the umbrella goes up and I turn away from the door. I know Vita all too well. If she sees me through the peephole, she won't open up. She'll pretend that she's not home and wait for me to leave.

Unfortunately, after five minutes of waiting I figure that she's already seen me and turn to face the door again and ring the door bell one more time.

"Well, looks like somebody crawled out from under her rock." I know that voice and for the first time in my life, the sound of it fills me with a giddiness that I can't explain. I whirl around to face Vita Alto. "What I want to know is how you found me?"

Rain has started to fall, but nothing can distract me from the woman in front of me. Vita Alto. Her hair is pasty white, her skin is loose and her collar bone sticks out like that of a malnourished child. Fifteen years has definitely taken its toll on her especially around her eyes and mouth. Her lips tighten to the point where they are almost nonexistent.

"Where is she?" I say, getting straight to the point.

Vita raises her eyebrows as she pulls back. "Have you been around town?" she asks. "Your name is worthless. Everybody knows you for the garbage that you really are."

"I could say the same about you," I snap. "Alto's now a terrible name and I go by Lawrence now."

Vita chuckles. "That's type of attitude won't get you far around here, girly. You could never keep your remarks to yourself, could you? Among many things."

My jaw tightens. The feeling of what I can only describe as happiness from seeing Vita slowly turns into bile at the back of my throat. There is only so much hatred that I can remember in regards to Vita during my time away from her. Most of it had calmed like they were figments of my imagination. But now, seeing her right in front of me, rekindles the fury, burning brighter in the damp air between us. I swallow my pride and repeat, "Where's Delilah?"

"What makes you think I know?"

I can see the amusement dancing in Vita's eyes. "Don't play games with me--"

"Play games?" She laughs out loud. "I wouldn't think of doing anything of the sort."

"Then tell me where my daughter is."

"Here's the thing, Sadie. You destroyed everything of mine and I am going to enjoy watching you ruin yourself now."

"Where is she?" I'm screaming now and I can't stop it. "Tell me where she is right this second or I swear I'll have no problem breaking through that door!"

"Uh, uh, uh." Vita wiggles her finger childishly. "You've spent so many years in the dump of a prison, do you really want to be sent straight back because you can't control your emotions?"

"Vita, I swear--" Her roll of her eyes stops me right then and there and all I can do is stare at her.

The air stops between us and all we can do is look into each other's eyes. I grip the handle of my umbrella so hard that I think I hear it squeak and my jaw is so tense that I can feel the cords in my neck starting to ache. "So, this is it," I finally say. "Back to this?"

Vita grins. "I think it would be best if you leave."

I don't move immediately. Vita's superior aura leaves me with few options and she's right, each of them will send me back to prison. Even so, I don't want to let her think that she's won. I stare her down for as long as I can in hopes that she will rethink her decision to keep my daughter's whereabouts hidden from me. That she will realize that what she's doing will lead her down a bad road. But what I see in return is a woman who doesn't care anymore. She wants to destroy me like I've destroyed her and a part of me actually understands her and I hate myself for it.

I turn and pass her. "This is why you bailed me out? To punish me?" I shake my head in disapproval and cross the street to my car.

Vita's smile flattens. "What? I never bailed you out."

"You lie," I say. I open the door to my car.

"Sadie Lawrence, if there is one thing today that you believe, be it this: I did not bail you out. You should have rotted in that cell for many more years for the crimes you've done."

I studied Vita's facial expressions fora year while I lived in Alto Manor and I know exactly when she's lying. As much as I want to say that she's not telling the truth, from the look on her face, it's the most honest thing that she's said all day. Which begs the question: If Vita didn't bail me out, who did?

[Magz from Oz]

I think Sadie need to do more meditating!  She needs to calm down and focus on her daughter, not her own misdeeds or those done to her.  Perhaps then she can find Delilah.  I think until Sadie can let the past go, the future won't hold much joy for her.

[KRae]

She also needs to keep in mind that she got Vita's child taken away.

[experience]

I think Sadie need to do more meditating!  She needs to calm down and focus on her daughter, not her own misdeeds or those done to her.  Perhaps then she can find Delilah.  I think until Sadie can let the past go, the future won't hold much joy for her.

This is very true. She's letting her emotions get the better of her and, as you can see, she's losing her focus and control of things. In the Pilot episode, Sadie said when things start to fall apart that she let go of everything and went with the flow. Obviously she's having a harder time doing it now.

She also needs to keep in mind that she got Vita's child taken away.

Yes! Vita is a pretty awful person on her own, but when it comes to Sadie there are more layers to it than just being mean to be mean.

[chetanhaobijam]

Just caught up with the story. And quite a fabulous one full with suspense, like watching thrilling soap on TV. Season 1 was epic, expect season 2 to be better. The fight against Vita Alto will be very interesting. Looking forward for next episode update.

[experience]

It's great to see another reader! Welcome to Divine Deception. I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed season one. It's not a traditional sims story and it is so nice to see people still enjoy it anyway. I look forward to hearing what you think and hope you enjoy the show

[experience]

Divine Deception
"Name Game"


There is one mirror in front of me. I stare into the eyes of my reflection. My blue eyes, the ones dreading my next action. I only have to do it once more, though this is where I usually screw up and let go before I am completely finished, leaving a pain I can't rid myself of for another few days. I push back the locks of red that begin to block my vision, taking a couple deep breaths. "One more and that's it," I mutter, tightening my grip on the piece of fabric. I giggle hysterically for a moment before I can muster the courage to pull the waxed up slip up my leg, tearing out any hair that had once been underneath. "Son of a--"

"Delilah!" The voice scolds me from the other side of the bathroom door. My mother is always there when I least expect it. Like she's got a natural gift to see, and hear obviously, the future. "What did I say about cursing?"

"Sorry," I grumble. I stumble forward to the sink, crumpling the wax strip in the palm of my hand. I toss it in the garbage bin right after. I hate waxing, but after my experience with shaving left me with a nasty gash on my upper thigh, I decided blades were something I wanted to avoid if I could. It's a phobia. I eat my steak with a butter knife too. I should have known better than to try and shave. My psychologist says that my fear of blades comes from back when my father was murdered by the hired help, the nanny named Sadie Lawrence.

"Stop dilly-dallying," says my mother and I can hear her making her way down the hall. "You're going to be late for school."

I brush my teeth.

My mother has never understood how much work goes into being a woman of the Alto name. I mean, she should. She was the mayor many years ago. She and my father built the name off of nothing, growing it to be something of worth. It's funny. From how she goes on, she never uses it to her advantage. She never uses the family name like it is something to be proud of. She keeps it very hidden and goes about life in a simple manner. A simple woman in a simple time. Meanwhile, high school is a extremely pressing time in a young woman's life, like my own, and I flaunt that name like sprinkles at an ice cream truck. It's what's made me who I am today: head cheerleader.

"Delilah Alto, if you are not in that car in five minutes, the Vita-mobile is leaving and you're to take the bus."

I rinse my mouth out and run to my bedroom as fast as I can. I hate taking the bus. Only the losers take it, or those who can't care less about their status. That'll be the day that I take any bus of any kind. I hate public transportation on a whole different level. People have called me shallow, sure, but I need clean air to breathe. Not stuff that's contaminated by body odour.

My mother has laid out three outfits for me. One is an ugly pink dress that was sent over seas from one of my aunts a year and a bit ago. It still fits, unfortunately, but immediately I roll it into a ball and kick it under my bed. The second is a simple tee-shirt and shorts combo that looks as if it was found in the bargain bin at the local clothing store. The third choice isn't so bad. I slip on the long sleeve shirt with the tank top over it. Pulling up my shorts, I step into my flipflops and run as fast I can out the front door.

By the time we make it to school I still have five minutes until the bell rings. I ask my mother to drop me off at the corner of the street so I can walk in. She doesn't refuse. She doesn't even question it. She just sighs, slows the car down, and when she leans in to kiss me on the cheek, I offer my right first and then my left, never making contact with my lips.

"You'll be home for dinner?" she asks as I step out of the car.

"Uh, I'm not sure. Maybe." I don't say anything else and close the door.

As I make it up the stairs to the crowd of kids waiting to go inside, I see Heather McMaster. She's the other rich girl from the other side of town, blessed with perfect features and a nose that her parents got fixed for her. A freak in my own opinion. She likes to prattle on about how she's related to Katy Perry, but we all know it's a lie. Who does she think she's fooling? I roll my eyes as I make my way over to her.

"Heather!" I wave my hand as I get closer to her and we both, at the same time, lean in for a social kiss on the cheeks as if we are from Italy.

"Deli, I didn't see you at the bonfire on Saturday. Were you with a boy? Maybe Keith Sanderson? He wasn't there either."

The crowd around us turns into oohs and aahhs and I smirk to show that Heather might be onto something. Actually, I was stuck at home grounded because of the F I got on my last assignment. My mother had a freak out when I showed it to her after my teacher asked me to get a parent's signature.

Before anything else can be said, Tom Zaas is pointing and laughing at one of the other kids in our year. When I get a better look, I notice that it's Jordon. I used to be good friends with him until he got weird and started dressing like a girl. He obviously just wants attention and attention he will get. When the other kids start laughing, I can't help myself. I laugh too.

"What are you? Gay?" Tom snickers, getting the whole crowd to join in. "Come on, Jordon Sparks! Jordon Sparks!"

"This is who I am!" Jordon yells out at all of them. His eyes make contact with mine and I can see the little boy inside him. The one I had been friends with once. He stares me down as if pleading for help. Tom is on the other side of me, trying to rouse me into the crowd's chant. Deep inside, I know I have the power to end all of this. I can have the control over everybody else and can bring this all to a stop. There's also this little slice that reminds me that it could turn everybody against me too. That if I side with a freak, I am a freak as well. But I have a name, I remind myself. I have the Alto name.

"Whaddaya say, Alto?" Tom urges me again. "What do we do with Jordon Sparks here?"

I take a deep breath. "I have an ugly pink dress back at home that will fit him perfectly."

The crowd around me starts laughing and calling Jordon names and I watch as he pulls into himself, pushing past everybody and into the school where I know the taunting will never stop. I drop my gaze to the ground and follow the line of students into the school. I could have stopped it. I could have hurt myself at the same time.

The rest of the school day is uneventful. At the end of the day I pass Heather and a group of the other cheerleaders in the hall. Heather asks me if I want to go shopping with them. I tell them no, that I have a ton of homework to do and if I don't finish it by the end of the night, I'll have my mother on top of me. So I head to the library. I am able to finish my book report and do an essay on entrepreneurship within two hours. When I check the time, I decide to start on my literature paper. Even if it's not due for another week, I may as well get a head start since I'm here.

"I heard what you did this morning," somebody says on the other side of the table. When I look up I see a weighty girl who knows no bounds when it comes to highlighting her hair.

I raise my eyebrows in disgust. "Excuse me?"

"What you did with Jordon!"

I roll my eyes and lean back in my seat, glancing down at my notes. "I'm sorry, but don't you have a toad to kiss or something?" I dismiss her with a wave of my hand, not bothering to look up at her.

"You are appalling!" she snaps. "You think because you have looks and money you can treat anybody you'd like like crap. You cheerleaders are all the same."

My glare soars up to meet hers. "Listen, whoever you are, I get it. You're mad. Jordon will get over it and we'll all move on."

The girl makes a noise that I can only decrypt as contempt. She grabs her book and sticks her nose inside it. "Whatever."

This girl's dismissal frustrates me and suddenly makes me feel the need to appear above her. "Hey, it's a game of survival and the sooner you realize it, the better off you'll be."

"This isn't The Apprentice. Besides, all you have in your survival pack is a name. A name that was tarnished a long time ago." She snorts at herself. "I'd be careful who you speak to about the Alto legacy."

The girl's nose may be stuffed in her book, but I am about ready to bore a hole through the pages and into her skull. My hands clamp around the side of the table and my right knee bounces up and down, bleeding my frustration into the air. Who is she to talk to me that way? "The Alto name is strong--"

The girl chuckles. "No it's not. It's a laughing stock."

"What do you mean?" I ask. I am more interested in seeing her fail at an explanation than anything.

She puts her book away and gets up from her seat. "Do your own work and figure it out yourself. Stop getting everybody else to do your dirty work for you."

I grab onto her hand to stop her from leaving. "You're lying, right? Trying to get one over on the top cheerleader? Payback for Jordon maybe?"

"As if," she snorts. "Now, let go of me."

"Tell me what you mean, exactly."

"No." She pulls her hand away.

"I'll pay you."

"I don't want your money."

"Then I'll let you have dinner with me. Eating out in the open with the most popular girl in school is sure to get you some points with everybody else in the yard." I can see by the repulsive look in the girl's eyes that she doesn't agree. "Whatever, I just want to know what you mean."

The girl sighs heavily, checks her watch and then says, "Fine, but only because I'm starving."

We head to the nearest diner and grab a seat. It smells like cooking oil and greasy food. Where the corners of the windows are caked in grime and the tops of the salt shakers are always loose from teenagers like me. Once my platter of fries and a hamburger arrive, I check my salt to make sure I won't be pranked. Just to keep on my new friend's good side, I suggest that she be careful about the pepper and vinegar too. When everything is all set, I ask her again what she meant about the Alto name being a laughing stock, and she tells me.

My mother was the mayor of Sunset Valley and before she could be elected again, a surveillance video was broadcasted all across the town of her wanting to take sponsorship money and run off with the hired help. "Mr. Alto wasn't much different. He'd had a lovely affair with some other chick who ended up killing him."

"The nanny?" I ask bewildered. I scan her face for any signs of lies. "H-He never had an affair with her. She was jealous of my mother and killed him because of it. He never had anything to do with her."

"No, Mr. Alto was very promiscuous, although he did end up marrying that woman."

I glare at the girl across from me with an emotion I don't know a word for. Fury, repulsion, antagonized? "I never caught your name."

"Alicia."

"Well, Alicia, you obviously know nothing about my family--"

"Oh, I know more than you think."

"No, you don't. It's obvious this was a ploy to get me here. To be seen like we were friends in public."

"You're the one who wanted me to stay. Not the other way around."

I shake my irritably. "It's not my fault for thinking better of a lesser."

"It's never your fault, is it?"

I push my chair from the table and throw what I owe on the table. "Watch your back tomorrow at school," I growl and make my way out of the diner. The story that Alicia made up swirls around in my mind making me chuckle to myself all the way home. I think about how I had believed that girl held some information that I wanted. That she had some inside chink on my family's name. Instead, it turned out to be complete hogwash and I can't get any of it out of my head.

[chetanhaobijam]

Nice plot. Good for Dellilah, Vita doesn't torture her blaming for all her mother did to her. Can't wait to see Sadie's next step towards her daughter and how Dellilah will believe her mother. Looking forward for next update.

[experience]

Thanks! It's very strange to be writing as somebody other than Sadie, especially a teenager who is rather snotty. Marina and the Diamonds' album Electra Heart really helped me get into character, though. I am excited for Delilah's character arc this season and what she will turn into at the end, all the while Sadie fights for her.

[Magz from Oz]

OMG Alicia makes a return!  How is it that Delilah can't see that she is Nick and Vita's daughter?  I'm on the edge of my seat.  Does Delilah know that Sadie had her taken from Vita and was it Alicia's adopted parents that made Alicia more level headed and nice?  Is Holly somehow responsible?  So many loose ends.  OMG I can't wait!

[experience]

Ha! The great thing about writing as Deli as well (and fifteen years later) is that we get to see familiar faces in a different light. How have they changed? What's going on with them now! Mags, questions will be answered!

[Katala]

Alecia!! Where have you been all these years?

Poor Sadie, I wonder who bailed her out... hmmm....

I finally caught back up again (yay) I've been so busy lately that I forgot to check for season 2 updates. (Thanks for the reminder)