Previously…
– Rosie learned from the D.A. that Jesse had been arrested and that the KBPD finally had the information it needed to arrest Rosie’s ex, drug dealer Diego Barrera.
– Caleb and Jasmine’s short fling came to an end after he was busted buying drugs from her dealer.
– Matt noticed Tori wavering on the prospect of placing her child for adoption and impulsively deleted a text that Zane sent her so that she wouldn’t see it.

The dark digits of the code melt into the lighter background, turning it all into a soup before Zane Tanaka’s weary eyes. He has long since passed the point at which caffeine is going to make a difference, but he is determined to get this section of code completed; once he does, he will have an actual, working demo of his new app — well, if all goes as he is hoping. It doesn’t help that, in addition to running on fumes, he is grappling with the extreme distraction of Tori’s pregnancy and her recent lack of communication.

With a sigh, he slumps forward, resting his forearms on the plain black desk and letting his head hang down. He really thought that he was making progress with Tori, that he might have a chance to win her back. And now, nothing…

Zane is jolted from his thoughts by a forceful series of knocks on the door. He looks up with a start, as echoes of the code-filled screen continue to drift across his vision. He isn’t expecting anyone, but then again, he could have ordered something from Amazon and forgotten about it.

He rolls his desk chair back and hoists his creaky body up from it. After a second of appraising himself — his Nike hoodie and joggers are presentable enough for opening the door, though he’s sure that his hair is sticking up in all directions — he opens the door.

“Hi,” Matt Gray says coolly.

Zane’s neck rolls back with surprise. “Mr. Gray. Hi. I, uh… What can I do for you?”

“Need to have a word with you.”

“Okay. Actually, that’s great. Come on in.” Zane steps out of the way and gestures for Matt to enter the apartment. The other man does so, but with a few tentative steps; he makes no secret of the fact that he is sizing up Zane’s living space.

“I know it isn’t much,” Zane says, unable to hide his nervousness. “I’m not exactly a decorating guy. Tori actually had all these ideas for fixing it up.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” Matt tells him.

Zane feels a hot ball of rage flare inside his chest, but he exerts all the willpower he has to wrestle it into submission. Blowing up at Tori’s father is not going to serve him right now.

“With all due respect, Mr. Gray,” Zane says, “Tori and I are adults, and we have a lot to work through.”

Shaking his head, Matt reaches inside his weather-beaten leather jacket. “No. You don’t.”

“If we could just chat, man to man–”

“Not gonna happen.” Matt pulls out a set of papers from his weather-beaten brown leather jacket and unfolds them. “I’m here to get you to sign the adoption papers.”

—–

Rosie Jimenez sits in the driver’s seat of her parked sedan, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. Her nervous eyes scan the street outside her windshield, which is mercifully free of the raindrops that have been coming nonstop for weeks. She has envisioned this scenario so many times in so many ways. Now that she is here, everything is as unknown and intimidating as it has always been. There is, of course, no predicting how this will go, no matter how many times she mentally plays it through.

“Come on, Jimenez,” she mutters to herself. She has thrown herself into plenty of situations with dangerous criminals, with guns, with unknowns that could put her life in grave jeopardy, and yet this is what makes her freeze.

No matter how many times she reminds herself of that, however, the fear remains. And, in many ways, this is more dire than a life-or-death situation. At least that would be clear-cut.

She grits her teeth, clenches her eyes shut, and forces her hand to open the car door. As she steps out, she braces against the chilly air. It takes her another few seconds to lock the car door and begin to shuffle up the cracked driveway.

The small, green house looks the same as she remembers it. It has always been in need of a few repairs — never quite tipping over into an eyesore, but always marred by one thing or another that keeps it from looking the part of the American dream. Nevertheless, a powerful wave of longing and nostalgia washes over Rosie as she studies it.

Every nerve in her body is jumping as she steps up to the front door and rings the bell. The muted call of the familiar chime, same as she remembers it, sounds from within the house.

Seconds stretch on painfully, incomprehensibly, until the door is yanked open. The face that greets her is a little softer, a little rounder, than she remembers it — and she gets to see it casual and friendly in the split-second before it registers her presence.

“Rocio?” the older woman says with bewilderment.

Rosie draws in a sharp breath before speaking: “Hi, Mama.”

—–

Wintery wind blows through the courtyard of King’s Bay Academy. Students huddle inside their coats, scurrying from one classroom to another as quickly as possible. Jasmine Knight clutches a textbook to her chest as she walks briskly, eager to get to her next class and enjoy the warmth, even if that is going to make it even harder to stay awake during what will inevitably be the world’s most boring explanation of quadratic equations in history.

She doesn’t see the black leather sneakers until a second too late — and, by the time she looks up, Jasmine is slamming right into their owner.

“Sorry,” she says quickly, but before she can move along, she takes note of the face before her.

“Ugh. You.”

“Excuse me?” the teen boy says. “You, like, walked straight into me.”

“Oh, it’s you,” Jasmine says. “I thought you were your brother.”

Christian Taylor widens his eyes at her. “Nope.”

“Well, you can stay away from me, too.”

She tries to push past him, but Christian speaks again, causing her to pause.

“I never did anything to you,” he says sharply, “and honestly, neither did Caleb. You’re the one who got him in trouble.”

Jasmine lets out an irritated huff. “I didn’t get Caleb in trouble. He was the one who was stupid enough to get caught.”

“Yeah, because you–” Christian lowers his voice as he glances around. “–because you sent him to meet some drug dealer.”

“I didn’t make him do anything. It’s not like I sent him into Narcos or something.”

“Still, Jasmine,” Christian says. “He could’ve gotten in big trouble. You, too.”

“Yeah, well, we didn’t. Everything’s fine. Now I’ve gotta get to class. You and your lame-ass brother can both stay away from me, okay?”

“Fine,” Christian replies. “See you around. Or not.”

With a roll of her big, dark eyes, Jasmine storms off.

—–

Matt extends the papers toward Zane.

“Just sign them, and this is all over with,” Matt tells him.

Zane reaches out his hand but doesn’t make contact with the papers, as if fearing they might be scalding hot.

“I’m not signing those,” Zane says. “Not without talking it over with Tori. She and I have to–”

“She already signed them,” Matt says flatly.

Zane stops mid-movement, his eyebrows suspended higher than normal. “She what?”

“Tori signed the papers. She decided to put the baby up for adoption.”

“She can’t do that without my consent,” Zane says, his voice escalating.

“That’s why I’m here.”

Zane folds his arms. “Why didn’t she tell me herself?”

Matt shrugs one shoulder, and his jaw opens and closes a few times before words emerge.

“I dunno,” he finally says. “But it’s over, Zane. Accept it. Tori’s doing what’s right for this kid, and you should, too.”

As if in slow-motion, Zane takes the papers from him and flips through them. The sight of Tori’s signature in blue ink in several places throughout stabs him through the heart.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” he repeats in confusion. “We’ve been talking a bunch. I thought…”

“She’s pregnant. Hormones and stuff are all over the place.”

“Then maybe this isn’t what she wants–”

“It is. She told me to come here and get you to sign,” Matt tells him.

Zane stares at the papers again for several seconds and then at Matt again.

“So I’m just supposed to sign away my kid? That’s it?” he asks.

Matt pulls out a pen.

“She didn’t even text me back,” Zane says. His exhaustion of minutes ago now feels like nothing at all, having been drowned out by a heavy sadness.

Matt continues to hold out the pen. “Sometimes being a parent means doing stuff you don’t like. Because it’s right for your kid. This is a selfless thing to do, Zane. And if you love Tori the way you say you do — do it for her.”

Zane blinks a few times and finally accepts the pen. Feeling numb, he sets the papers down on the desk and bends over to scribble his signature on them.

—–

“I’m sorry for dropping by like this,” Rosie says. “I just didn’t know if I should…”

Juanita Jimenez wipes her hands on her faded white apron. She frowns at her daughter.

“What are you doing here?” she questions. “All this time, you stay away…”

“You didn’t exactly want me around, Mama.” Emotions swirl and clash within Rosie, as anger and longing battle for top standing.

“I didn’t want any of this,” Juanita says.

Rosie looks at the woman who raised her; it pains her to think of all the happy times, of the warmth that her mother used to radiate toward her, and then to think of their reunion being this way.

“Can I come in?” Rosie asks. “It’s important.”

Juanita hesitates for the briefest of moments before ushering her inside.

As she closes and deadbolts the door, she asks, “Are you okay? Are you safe?”

“Yes. I am.” Rosie gazes around the house in wonder. She notices that the portrait of her parents from their wedding in the 80s, which used to hang in the narrow upstairs hallway, is now displayed prominently beside the staircase. The sight of her father, even as he looked before she was born, with his bushy mustache and bright eyes, sends a pang of agony through her being.

“I had to see you,” Rosie says, doing the best she can to tear her attention from the reminders of her former life that surround her on every side. “Something’s happened.”

Juanita’s eyes light up. “What do you mean?”

Rosie holds up a palm. “It’s good. Or it’s gonna be. Papa is finally gonna have justice.”

“How? What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Rosie says hastily. “I– The police are closing in on Diego. They’re going to arrest him.”

Juanita’s mouth flaps open. She lifts a hand to it.

“H- how?” she finally stammers.

Rosie has gone over this explanation in her head so many times, but as hard as she tries to hold onto what she has rehearsed, it is a bit like attempting to hold onto water. The thoughts slip out haphazardly.

“Someone came after me,” she says, cringing once more at the thought of how Travis and Paula were also caught in the line of fire. “But it opened up a lead, and… they have what they need to bust Diego now.”

The shorter woman nods slowly as she takes this in. Rosie observes how her mother’s hair, once brown with natural golden highlights, has grayed so much in just a few years.

“Thank you for telling me,” she says. There is a sense of peace in the air, though it is only momentary — because when her head snaps up again, her tone is much more jagged. “What do you mean someone came after you?”

Rosie swallows hard. “It was a misunderstanding–”

“A misunderstanding?” Juanita cries. “Rocio, when your poor father was…” She trails off in despair, wagging her head.

The tense silence bubbles between them for a lengthy moment.

“That’s why you came here, isn’t it?” Juanita says. “Because you think we are in danger?”

The statement stabs at Rosie like a knife. When her mother puts it so plainly, she cannot help but be ashamed of what she once again has caused.

“I want you and Sebastian to be safe, that’s all,” Rosie says. “Just for a few weeks. Just in case. You shouldn’t be at home alone, and you shouldn’t be out at night–”

“Do you think someone is going to try and kill me now? Or your brother? Will this never end?”

“It will. Soon. Papa is finally going to have justice.”

“But at what price?”

“I have faith that this will all work out,” Rosie says. “I just wanted to warn you and Sebastian to take precautions.”

Juanita sucks in her lips and shakes her head.

“Are you cooking?” Rosie asks. “I could stay with you–”

“I’m making some mofongo,” Juanita tells her. “But your brother will be home soon. I’ll be okay.”

“Mama…”

“It’s best if you go, Rocio.” Juanita stares at her for another few seconds. “Go. Please.”

Rosie sadly dips her head and moves for the door.

“Just be careful. Please,” she says.

Juanita gives her nothing in response but a nod, and Rosie finds herself with no choice but to exit this place that was for so long her home. She takes a final look at her mother and then steps outside.

On the porch, she pauses. It has been a long time since she attended church, but now she offers up a silent prayer for God — or someone, anyone — to keep her family safe until this is resolved for good.

—–

Jasmine is nearly at her classroom when she feels her phone vibrating in her pocket. She takes it out, fully intending to send the call to voicemail, but the name on the display gives her pause. A shot of panic goes through her, and as soon as she unfreezes, she stabs the button so that the phone will stop ringing.

She doesn’t even have the phone back in her pocket when it vibrates again, this time with a text message.

Pick up, it reads.

Almost instantly, the phone rings again. Jasmine sucks in a breath, her body feeling jittery as she steps off to the side against a brick wall.

“What is it?” she answers. “I’m at school.”

“I don’t care,” the male voice responds. “I need answers. Now.”

Jasmine trembles at the tone of his voice and braces for what is to come.

—–

Matt climbs back inside his truck and places the signed papers on the passenger seat. With a heavy sigh, he sinks back into the cloth-upholstered seat. He feels like absolute slime, but he did it: he got both Tori and Zane to agree to the adoption.

After he deleted Zane’s text from Tori’s phone, he was terrified that she would somehow find out — but she didn’t, and when he and Sarah pressed her later that night, Tori finally signed the papers. He recalls how lost and despondent his daughter looked as she finished signing and dropped her pen onto the kitchen  table…

“I can’t believe Zane doesn’t even care,” she says.

“Zane has never cared about anyone but himself,” Sarah says. “If I could go back in time and stop you from ever meeting him, I would.”

Guilt flares within Matt as he watches his wife and daughter carefully. 

“I just thought he cared about this baby.” Tori shrugs, but it is a weary, labored movement. “And now I’m gonna have to see him anyway…”

“No, you don’t,” Matt cuts in. “I’ll bring him the papers.”

Both Tori and Sarah look at him with surprise.

“I don’t wanna make this any harder on you than it already is,” he continues. “Let me take the papers to Zane.”

He can see the pain in Tori’s eyes, and as much as he hates the way he is manipulating the situation, he knows that he has to protect his child. 

His stomach churns now at the thought of how he has misled both Tori and Zane in order to get these papers signed. But now it’s done, and Tori will be able to move on with her life without being tied to Zane Tanaka forever. And if it meant taking some liberties with the truth in order to accomplish it… then Matt knows that he will just have to learn to live with that.

END OF EPISODE 964

Will Matt regret misleading Tori and Zane?
Can Rosie make amends with her family?
What was Jasmine’s phone call about?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!

 

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