Previously…
– Tori accepted Molly’s offer to be her assistant at Objection Designs again.
– The sister of Sabrina’s late boyfriend angrily confronted Sabrina and Jason when she encountered them visiting Iowa.
– Feeling like his marriage was over, Trevor gave in to his attraction to Finn and had sex with him.

Fully dressed for the office in a lightweight navy blue sweater and checked slacks, Trevor Brooks gingerly enters the kitchen of the bungalow that he shares with his husband and their young son. Alex Marshall has his back to the kitchen entrance as he stands at the counter, making Chase’s lunch.

Trevor girds himself before uttering a simple, soft, “Good morning.”

Alex turns over his shoulder with a hint of surprise. But any energy drains out of him as he responds flatly, “Morning.”

Moving to the Nespresso machine on the opposite counter, Trevor feels as though he is wading through a thick, impossible sludge of awkwardness. The distance between them since Alex found out about the kiss that Trevor shared with Finn Campbell has felt endless, and it almost feels more extreme than it did as they shared their king-sized bed last night. Trevor retrieves a coffee pod from the drawer beneath the machine and inserts it, grateful for the hums and whirs that the Nespresso maker produces. At least something is filling the air.

As the machine does its work, Trevor’s mind fills with flashes of his recent tryst with Finn. He knows that Alex couldn’t possibly know… and yet it feels like he must. Alex has always had a sixth sense, a sort of intuition about emotions, and Trevor fears that he has to know that something more than that kiss is standing between them.

The Nespresso finishes brewing. Trevor pulls the mug from beneath its spout.

“Chase is almost ready,” he says, more to fill the space than anything.

There is a tense moment before Alex replies, “He’s dressing himself?” Even though Trevor can’t see his face, he can hear the grin in his husband’s voice.

“He insisted,” Trevor says, sensing an opening. “I just hope people don’t think we force him to wear 14 different patterns to school.”

Another pause, and then Alex lets out the smallest of laughs. Trevor’s heart soars.

“I know. He looks crazy most of the time,” Alex says at last. He sets down the knife that he is using to cut the crusts off Chase’s sandwich and turns around, facing Trevor fully for what feels like the first time in days and days.

Detecting a true opening, Trevor decides to go for it: “Before I head out for the day… can we talk? About us?”

In a way, the marble-covered reception area of Objection Designs feels so familiar that Tori Gray could have been here just yesterday. But she knows that it has been a long time now, and she cannot believe that she is back here, ready to resume the job that she valued so much. Clad in a printed maxi dress with a blazer over it, Tori waits for the receptionist — someone new whom she doesn’t recognize from her prior stint — to buzz her through.

“Molly‘s suite is to your left. Walk all the way back,” the receptionist, a perky blonde, tells her. “I can have someone escort you, if you’d like.”

“I know the way. But thanks,” Tori says. She proceeds through the door and over the familiar path.

As soon as she steps into the anteroom of the executive suite, she hears her aunt cry out, “You’re here!”

Molly Taylor hurries out of her office and into the front area, where two assistants’ desks are perched. Tori sees no one at the desk opposite hers — no photos, no belongings — and then realizes that neither desk is hers as of now. In fact, the one that she thinks of as “hers” most recently belonged to Finn.

“It’s so nice to have you back,” Molly says while embracing her niece. “I’m so happy you were willing to rejoin me.”

“I never wanted to leave Objection in the first place,” Tori says, thinking about all the turmoil she felt after Molly was placed on leave by the board. That period of joblessness and lack of direction — on top of the nightmare she went through with Zane — actually causes her to wince as if jams itself back at the front of her mind.

“I know. And neither did I,” Molly responds. “This is going to be a fresh start for us. I know you’ve been through a lot the past few years.”

“So have you!”

“True. So let’s put the past behind us, get to work, and undo all the damage Gia did while she was in charge.”

“That sounds great to me,” Tori says before moving to the desk that once was, and is again, hers.

—–

The drone of the airplane envelops Jason Fisher as he sits in the center seat, watching Thor: Love and Thunder on the screen embedded into the seat in front of him. He glances over at his girlfriend, who has a book open in her lap but is staring vacantly out the window at the endless whirls of clouds.

He reaches over and gives her a hand a squeeze. Sabrina startles at the touch.

“What?” she asks abruptly.

“Nothing,” Jason says, suddenly very aware of the woman in the aisle seat on the other side of him. But when he swivels his head to do a quick check, he sees that the other passenger is still sound asleep. He removes the wired earbuds he has been using to follow the movie.

“You seem distracted, that’s all,” he tells Sabrina.

She forces a wan smile. “I’m fine.”

He nods, as if going through the performance of believing her, before asking, “Still thinking about Carrie?”

Sabrina’s large, dark eyes widen even further, like she is surprised to be reminded of  the name and its painful implications. Jason can only guess how difficult it was for her to return home and be confronted by the sister of her ex-boyfriend, who died in the same car accident that left Sabrina comatose for years before her miraculous recovery.

“She’s grieving,” he says. “People take out their grief in misguided ways. After Courtney died, I pushed my entire family away. It didn’t even make sense at the time, but I just had so much anger.”

She pulls her lips together into a tight line as she considers this, then says, “I’m sure. But to have Carrie in front of me, accusing me of… I mean…” She exhales heavily. “When I told you about– about the accident, I told you that I felt like it was my fault.”

“It was an accident. End of story. You weren’t driving that car. Cody was.”

“Still.” She closes her eyes for several seconds, as if summoning something in her mind. “I hate thinking about it. Maybe that’s why I was determined to move so far away from home. And why I don’t go back that often. If I’m not there…”

“…then you can act like it never happened,” he finishes the thought for her. “I get it.” He gently squeezes her hand again. “You’ve rebuilt your life. You’re a good person. Don’t let what Carrie said get to you too much.”

“I’ll try,” she says, though she sounds less than convinced that it’s possible. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

“Anytime.” He wraps an arm around her, and she rests her head on his shoulder. He plants a kiss on the top of her head, wishing that he could shield her from the pain of her past entirely.

—–

Alex leans back against the counter and folds his arms.

“I’d like that,” he says.

Only now does Trevor become aware of how tense every single muscle in his body has been for days. Alex’s declaration provides him the slightest hint of relaxation, the beginning of a much-needed uncoiling.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Alex says. “I don’t want to spend the rest of our lives, I don’t know, tiptoeing around one another and barely speaking. You’re my husband.”

“I really thought you were…” Trevor trails off, his mind consumed with memories of Alex’s anger after he confronted Trevor about that kiss. It was that desperation and grief that caused him to give in to his attraction to Finn afterward. “I thought our marriage was over.”

“Our marriage is not over. This is a rough spot.” Alex moves toward him. “We’re going to push through it, like married couples do.”

Alex reaches down and entwines his fingers with Trevor’s. The contact comes as an even greater relief to Trevor — until a sharp jolt inside reminds him that he is keeping an even worse secret from his husband. He bites down on his lower lip.

“Alex…”

Curiosity causes Alex’s brow to furrow, but before Trevor can go on, Chase’s voice cuts in from the front of the house:

“Dad! I’m ready!”

A different sort of relief sweeps over Trevor.

“That’s my cue,” he says. “I can finish making his lunch.”

“No, I’ve got it. And we can continue this conversation later.” Alex leans in and kisses Trevor a quick but sweet kiss upon his lips. A sting of guilt surges through Trevor’s body as he wonders how he is ever going to make things right.

—–

Settling back in at her desk is a surreal experience for Tori. The computer and keyboard are the same ones that she remembers. The phone is in its same spot on the corner of the desk, with the same laminated pink card — a “cheat sheet” of need-to-know extensions — taped onto the corner of its screen. Even though the personal items that she used to keep here are not present, it all feels so familiar that she could swear she’s been transported back in time.

When the phone rings with its familiar trill, she reaches for it without missing a beat.

“Molly Taylor’s office,” she answers, and she slips right back into doing the mental math of determining whether this call is worth bothering Molly for. Deciding that it isn’t, she quickly takes a message and hangs up. As she turns back toward the blank computer monitor, a flash of movement in the reflection on the screen catches her eye. But when she looks more closely, there is nothing there.

“Tori,” a male voice says. Even as she looks around, however, she is aware that the voice sounded odd, like it was coming from inside her head.

What’s worse is that she instantly recognized it.

He’s not here, she tells herself. Don’t be stupid.

She reaches down to turn on the computer via the tower on the floor. As she lifts her head back up, she sees another flash of movement. This time, however, it is unmistakable.

“He’s not here,” she says under her breath, but that doesn’t make the illusion of Zane’s presence any more tolerable.

Suddenly she is consumed by stimuli: sounds, visions, feelings, all of them reminding her of Zane and his ominous energy. She can hear his voice so clearly, can nearly see him bursting through the door with some “surprise” for her like he used to do.

“He’s not here,” she tells herself in a louder tone, but she can feel her breathing growing tighter. All at once, she is gasping for breaths, barely able to take in any air at all.

She pushes back her chair to stand, but the memories feel overwhelming.

“Stop!” she exclaims.

“Tori, are you okay?” Molly asks as she comes rushing out of her office.

“I’m– I’m fine,” Tori attempts to reply, but she can barely choke out the simple words.

“Come here. Sit,” Molly says, hurrying toward her niece to guide her back to the chair. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Tori continues gasping for air as her right hand shakes against the arm of the desk chair.

END OF EPISODE 1221

What is going on with Tori?
Can Trevor repair his marriage?
Should Sabrina forget about Carrie?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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