Previously…
– Samantha and Spencer invited Tori on a night out, hoping to dissuade her from marrying Zane. The evening took a turn when Tori’s old rival, Fee C., showed up and picked a fight with her.
– Spencer offered to travel to Palo Alto with Elly to confront Anatoli, the law partner who claimed he had fixed her bar exam results.
– Molly and Brent filed a lawsuit against the hospital over their baby’s death.

The muted sounds of Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” filter through the door of the women’s washroom inside The Wild Lady. Tori Gray stands in front of the automated dryer, holding her shirt in front of the machine as it blows hot air. Her infuriating encounter with her former friend Fee plays over and over again inside her head, and each time it does, it manages to cast a little more of a black pall over Tori. She can feel herself being submerged by the recollections and all the bad associations that came with it.

She can hardly believe she was ever friends with someone as nasty as Fee C. Some of the memories of high school and college — before things turned — are still so vivid, and yet all she can see when she pictures the Fee of old is that smug, sneering face, so ready to attack, so incapable of being trusted. 

The dryer stops blowing. Tori turns to face the mirror and is relieved to see that the large wet spot, left first by the margarita that Fee threw at her and then by the water Tori used to blot it out, has faded to a barely noticeable , albeit still hand-sized, blemish. She hopes that, once it fully dries and goes through the wash, the shirt will be no worse for the wear.  

If only everything else were so easy to clean up, she thinks. Memories flash through her mind at lightning-fast speed: catching that jerk Ian cheating with Fee C.; being comforted by Philip Ragan, who seemed so wise and gentle then; being chased by Philip after she realized he was the Footprint Killer; meeting Zane for the first time at the chili cook-off–

“How did everything go so wrong?” she wonders aloud, her voice logged with tears. She realizes that she is clutching the hem of her shirt so hard that her knuckles have turned white.

—–

Out in the bar’s main area, the song plays at a much louder, clearer volume. Samantha Fisher and her half-brother stand at one of the barrels that acts as a high-top cocktail table. They watch across the busy bar as Fee C. laughs and dances with her friends, seemingly without a care in the world.

“That girl is straight-up trash,” Spencer Ragan says.

“Did you know she once left actual trash in my locker?” Samantha says.

“She what?”

Before Samantha can answer, however, she sees someone unexpected walk through the saloon doors at the front of the bar. She waves and motions for Landon Esco to join them. He approaches, smiling at Samantha while casting a wary glance over at Spencer.

“What’s up, guys?” Landon asks, a little hesitantly. 

“We’re actually here trying to talk some sense into Tori,” Sam explains. “I’m sure you heard that she’s engaged.”

Landon lets out a loud sigh. “Yeah…”

“She won’t listen to her parents, so we thought we’d take a swing at it,” Spencer says. 

“Want to join us?” Samantha asks. 

“I actually just finished driving for the night and was gonna grab some food before I head home,” Landon replies. 

“Well, what can I get for ya?” Kathleen Bundy says as she approaches, carrying a pint glass with a salted rim. “Samantha, here’s your margarita, on the house. I’m awfully sorry about what that horrible girl did.”

“What horrible girl?” Landon asks with confusion.

Samantha, Spencer, and Kathleen all point across the bar toward Fee C. 

“Blech,” Landon says. “What’d she do now?”

“You’ll see when Tori gets back from the bathroom,” Samantha says. 

Kathleen turns back to Landon. “Do you need a menu, hon? Or do you know what you want?”

“I’ll get the pulled pork sandwich with fries,” Landon tells her. 

Kathleen nods. “Anything to drink?”

“I have my car,” Landon says. “Probably shouldn’t.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you’re welcome to leave that car of yours in the lot out back and pick it up tomorrow,” she says. “I’ll get you that pulled pork as fast as I can.”

She heads back behind the bar, and Landon lingers somewhat awkwardly by the barrel.

“You and Tori — you’re pretty tight, aren’t you?” Spencer asks.

Landon gulps down a sudden lump in his throat. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Sorta.”

“We got Tori out tonight to try and talk some sense into her,” Samantha explains. “About Zane.”

“Why? Did something else happen?” Landon asks.

“Does anything else need to happen?” Spencer counters. “They’re getting married, and it’ll be the dumbest thing she ever does.”

None of them notice Tori returning from the restroom until she is only a few feet away from the table.

“Landon? What are you doing here?” she asks, and all three of them turn, a little tongue-tied. 

—–

“Could you have taken any longer?” Loretta Ragan barks as she closes the door the moment her tardy guest walks into the hotel suite.

“Some of us have actual jobs,” Dr. Longo grumbles as he removes the navy blue Seattle Seahawks cap that he had pulled down over his eyes. 

“And how is that working out for you?” Loretta questions. She makes eye contact and fastens the deadbolt on the door.

The doctor draws in a breath and waits a beat before responding. The suite, located on the eleventh floor of the King’s Bay Metropolitan Inn, is deathly silent aside from their voices.

“I sure as hell didn’t count on getting sued over all this,” he says at last. 

“As my son tells my grandson when he touches something he’s not supposed to touch and gets hurt… that’s on you.” She glowers at him as she paces past him and stops near the room’s wet bar. “Molly Taylor was never supposed to become suspicious about what happened the night her baby was born.”

“Yeah, well, I did what I could. And now my career could be ruined. All because of you.”

“Don’t you dare get wise with me,” Loretta says as she picks up a glass bottle of mineral water and unscrews the cap. “You’re the one who got himself buried beneath such a mountain of gambling debt that you were practically frothing at the mouth to accept my money.”

“I just want this all to be over,” he says. 

“It will be. Soon. That’s what I called you here to meet,” she replies. “I know exactly how we can make this all go away — quickly.”

—–

“Did you guys invite him?” Tori asks Samantha and Spencer. 

Spencer sets down his Old Fashioned. “Do you really think I’m on those terms with your boy over here?”

“Hey,” Landon says. “But for the record, no. I was just finishing work and stopped in for a bite to eat. Am I not welcome?”

“I didn’t say that. It felt like an ambush, that’s all,” Tori responds, but there is an unmistakable tension in the air. 

Over the sound system, “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande begins to play. 

“Can we talk for a minute? Alone?” Landon asks her. 

Tori eyes him nervously. “I thought you said this wasn’t an ambush.”

“It isn’t,” Samantha says. “Spencer, why don’t we go to the bar?”

He grumbles but complies. Tori and Landon stand alone as the song’s pulsing 80s groove fills the bar.

“I swear, this wasn’t planned,” he finally says. “I just walked in and saw them standing there.”

“And then you all, what? Started whispering about me?”

“Why would we be whispering about you?”

Tori folds her arms across her body. “It’s just a vibe I got. I don’t know. I wanted to get out tonight and — forget everything.”

Landon cocks an eyebrow. “Everything?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says through a sigh.

“It does matter. I can tell something’s bugging you.”

She hesitates, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, before spitting out: “It’s this wedding. My parents are being totally unsupportive. They won’t help us out at all.”

“Can you blame them?”

“What?” she says, her head recoiling. “You’re on their side now?”

“I’m on your side, Tori,” Landon says. “And so are they. I wish you could see that.”

“It doesn’t sound like it–“

“Because you don’t want to think of it that way.”

“Because I want everyone to support me!”

“Well, someone’s made that really hard!” he snaps, and only after the words have left his mouth does he realize how much his volume has escalated. He even sees Sam and Spencer eyeing them from over by the bar. 

“Listen, Landon,” Tori says, her jaw tense and tight as she searches for her next words. “I know how you, you know, feel about — about me, and I get it’s probably weird for you–“

“That’s not what this is about.”

“It kinda seems like that’s exactly what this is about.”

“It’s not,” he says.

“You showed up at our apartment all desperate to tell me how you felt, and that’s why Zane thought–“

“Okay,” he interrupts her. “I need to tell you something.”

“What? What now?”

“The truth. About why I was really at your apartment that night.”

—–

Dr. Longo feels a spike of fear within himself as he notices the cagey way that Loretta is regarding him. A glance back at the suite’s door confirms that it is closed and deadbolted. 

“Are you threatening to kill me?” he asks, as matter-of-factly as he can, in hopes of conveying how insane the prospect is.

“Kill you? Unfortunately, no. I need you,” Loretta says. She slowly takes a sip of the mineral water and then sets down the bottle with a clink. “And, lest you forget, you need me.”

“No offense, but I don’t.”

“Dr. Longo. Don’t be silly.” She runs one long fingernail over the top of the credenza with what feels like agonizing slowness. “You see, I’m the one who can help you with this lawsuit unpleasantness.”

“How? What are you going to do?” He sucks in a sharp breath of air. “Kill Molly Taylor?!”

“If only things were that simple. But no, I can’t do that. The goal is to make her suffer, not put her out of her misery.”

“Okay,” Dr. Longo says. “Then what are we talking about?”

“You’re going to admit that you accidentally caused that infant’s death and covered it up.”

“How is that going to help me?”

“Because,” Loretta says, “you’ll be amply compensated for your trouble.”

“And I’ll never be able to work again!”

“You won’t have to. Admit your negligence–“

“I didn’t kill that baby.”

“No, you just pretended that she died, kept her for several days, and then dropped her off outside the police station. I don’t exactly think that’s going to play well, either. Nor will it get Molly and that banal ex-husband of hers off the scent.”

“Because you still want them to think their baby died,” he says.

“Yes. You’ll think of some plausible story about how the baby died and you quickly covered up your grievous error by having him cremated. I’ll write you a disgustingly large check that you can either take somewhere lovely to start over, or fritter away at the race track or the blackjack table — whatever your heart desires. And this lawsuit will go away without Molly Taylor ever knowing the truth.”

Dr. Longo stares down at the brown-and-gold commercial carpet that covers the floor of the suite. 

“Basically, I need to ruin my life,” he says.

“You’ve already done that a time or two,” Loretta responds. “At least this time will make you very rich. What’ll it be, Doctor? Shall I work on lining up all that cash for you? Or do I need to make… alternate arrangements?”

Dr. Longo swallows hard as he prepares to give his answer.

—–

“Is it just me, or does it look like things went from 0 to 60 between them really quickly?” Samantha asks Spencer as they lean against the bar.

“Let’s hope Landon doesn’t blow this whole night for us,” Spencer says. 

Kathleen pushes through the swinging doors that link the kitchen to the front area of the bar. She notices the half-siblings. 

“Can I get you two something else?” she asks.

“No, thank you,” Samantha says. “We’re just giving Tori and Landon a minute to talk alone.”

Kathleen returns to refilling the lime and lemon wedges on top of the bar. 

“Is Elly upstairs, by the way?” Spencer asks. The thought has been brewing inside him this entire time, and now, with Elly’s stepmother right here, it bursts out before he can control it.

“Oh, no, she hasn’t been home yet, as far as I know,” Kathleen says while continuing to work. “But she was telling Jimmy about some trip she has to go on. Something about her law school? Has she told you anything about that?”

“Me? No.” Spencer wags his head insistently. “I don’t know anything about that.”

Kathleen simply shrugs. “I’ll let her know you said hi, though.”

“Uh, great. Thanks,” he says.

Samantha waits until Kathleen moves down the bar before asking him, “What trip is Elly taking?”

He shrugs. “Didn’t I just say I had no idea?”

“Yeah, but your answer was weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know. Just — weird. Why would you know about Elly’s trip?”

“I literally just told Kathleen that I don’t know anything about any trip.” Spencer takes a final slug of his Old Fashioned for emphasis. “Do you want another drink?”

“No, I’ve barely started this one. But thank you,” Samantha says. She continues eyeing her half-brother curiously as he leans against the bar and waits to place his order.

—–

Halfway across the bar, Tori stares back at Landon in confusion.

“What do you mean, the truth? You lied to me?”

“I didn’t lie. Exactly,” he says. “But I had a… a more specific reason for going to your place that night.”

“Landon. What the hell are you talking about?”

He bites his upper lip as he attempts to calibrate exactly what he should reveal right now. He certainly didn’t expect to see her tonight, let alone have things get so heated so quickly, but now that he is here, he feels an inclination — or an obligation, even — to help her cousins with their mission.

Even if it means sacrificing himself. 

“I had an inkling about something that I wanted to look into,” he says, knowing that he can’t rat out her parents, who recruited him to help with their own suspicions about Zane. “I had reason to believe that Zane hacked into Objection’s system and framed you for screwing up those orders.”

“What?” she fires back. “Are you insane?”

“Am I insane? For jumping to a pretty logical conclusion? No, I am not insane.”

“You sound insane.”

“I’m not the only one who thought it. You know your aunt was wondering–“

“Did Molly put you up to that?” Tori asks with shock. “Why would she have even gone to you?”

“She didn’t. I’m just saying–” He stops, feeling jumbled, and takes a moment to figure out how to steer this. “I went over there to confront Zane. And before I even had the chance, he beat the shit out of me. I was trying to help save your job–“

“I didn’t ask for your help, Landon!”

“But maybe you needed it,” he retorts. “A lot of people are worried about you, Tori.”

“Why is everyone so damn worried about me? I’m a grown woman. And I’m sick of everyone butting into my life–“

“People want to help you!”

“I don’t need help!”

By now, Landon is aware that they are nearly shouting, but he hopes the bar noise will help conceal their argument. It pains him to see the anger in her face, to hear her talking to him this way, but now that he is this far in, he knows that he has to keep pushing. It is the only hope. 

“You’re determined to marry this dude who would’ve killed me if Mrs. Chase hadn’t shown up,” he says. “A guy who blackmailed your mom, who didn’t give a crap if your aunt went to prison for murder–“

“And we are trying to put all of that behind us!” Tori says. “Is no one allowed to make mistakes and then move past them? I’ve done some stupid shit–“

“But I guess you didn’t learn anything from when you were chasing after Philip Ragan like a puppy dog. How’d that work out?”

The minute he speaks the words, he knows that he has gone too far. A dark veil of hurt drops over Tori’s face.

“Stay out of my life,” she says, her mouth quivering. “Do you hear me? Fuck off and stay out of my life, Landon.”

She knocks into his shoulder as she pushes past him.

“Tori–“

“I’m serious. I’m calling an Uber. And from now on, leave me the hell alone.”

He watches in horror as she storms out of the bar. The saloon doors continue to swing back and forth in her wake.

“What just happened?” Samantha asks, as she seems to appear at Landon’s side.

“Yeah,” Spencer says. “What’d you do?”

“Let’s just say Tori does not wanna talk about Zane,” he tells them. “And I’m gonna need a drink with that pulled pork after all.”

END OF EPISODE 1118

Did Samantha and Spencer’s plan just backfire?
Will Tori and Landon ever be able to mend their rift?
Is Dr. Longo going to go along with Loretta’s plan?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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