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Episode #117, "The Sanctity of Murder"
"Thank you for taking care of Alexis," Jessica Reyes told Father Thomas Grady, who had just presided over Vanessa and Ryan's wedding, as they finished their conversation. "She's been through a lot this year, I wish I had been here when she collapsed. I wish her father had been here." "She's a very sweet girl," Father Grady said. "I'm just glad she's doing better." Jessica thanked Father Grady again, and then she headed toward her best friend, Alexis Lopez, who was seated in one of the pews. Jessica slid into the pew next to Alexis and took her hand. "Are you okay, honey?" Jessica asked. "No, I've got a headache," Alexis said. "I've had one all day…but it got worse after we found out about…" "Vince's uncle," Jessica finished. "How horrible. There's been too much death and loss in this town lately." "Well, it's a good thing it didn't ruin the wedding," Alexis noted. "Something good happened." Jessica frowned. "That's debatable." "What?" Alexis asked. "Is there something wrong?" "No, nothing," Jessica insisted. "I'm just surprised the wedding went off without a hitch. Considering that Mr. Phillips was the groom." "Mr. Phillips? Did he do something?" Alexis asked.
"I'm glad you finally told Vince the truth," Alexis Lopez said, taking a sip from the soda sitting in front of her. "You know how I am with secrets."
"You seem to be able to keep them pretty well," Jessica Reyes, Alexis's best friend, replied.
Alexis sighed. "Do we have to talk about that now? I'm trying to enjoy a healthy a relationship here."
"So you admit that this relationship is unhealthy?" Jessica asked. "I mean, Mr. Phillips is a teacher, Alexis. You can't have any kind of relationship with him that won't be…well, gross."
"It's only unhealthy because he's still pining for Samantha," Alexis insisted. "But once I —"
"I don't want to hear about your schemes, Alexis. Especially when they're concerning a woman on her deathbed."
"It's not about Samantha. It's about the baby I'm carrying."
"The baby Ryan thinks you're carrying," Jessica said. "And…I can't believe we're even discussing this. Alexis, this is not what normal people talk about."
"I should go talk with him," Alexis said, standing up.
Jessica grabbed Alexis's arm.
"I don't want you anywhere near that man," Jessica whispered. "He slept with you, Jessica. And you're underage. Who knows what else he's capable of." "No," Jessica said quickly. She wanted to tell Alexis everything, but she knew that with Alexis' amnesia, it would be hard to do anything about the situation until Alexis was in the right state of mind. She didn't want to upset her friend, especially with everything that had occurred today. "If something's wrong, you have to tell me," Alexis insisted. "I've been worrying about Mr. Phillips too…he keeps giving me these strange looks…he threatened me earlier." "He threatened you?" "Something about me ruining his wedding," Alexis said. "I have no idea what he was talking —"
Ryan pulled Alexis closer to him, running his fingers across her bare back. He gently kissed her neck, her soft moans echoing in his ear. Alexis ran her own fingers along Ryan's chest and passionately kissed him.
Feeling her body start to quiver once more, Alexis clutched Ryan's back and allowed him to pull her body even closer to his.
Ryan kissed Alexis, letting his tongue caress hers. He brushed back a strand of her hair and turned Alexis onto her back. He collapsed on top of her and continued to make love to her. "— Oh God," Alexis gasped. "What's wrong?" Jessica demanded. "I have to find Ryan before he can sleep with someone else," Alexis realized. "I have to stop him and remind him that he's in love with me, not Vanessa!" |
Jessica is often an irritating character, which I know as a writer, so I always try to work with that, knowing she'll be pissing off other
characters and the audience. She is also Alexis' best friend, and was instrumental in their storyline, which I sometimes forget since the
Vince/Jessica/Alec triangle was in such heavy rotation back then. Perhaps she'll have some sympathy when Alec's Billy problems are revealed,
since she has experience dealing with crazy people.
Sometimes the flashbacks were used in a comedic way, where I would mock the overuse of flashbacks that I saw on Days of Our Lives. But sometimes I did slip into using them to provide information to the audience if they needed it, rather than going into lengthy detail in the prose. I'm not sure how many other series have used flashbacks in the past, though. Perhaps I'm the only one. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Oddly enough, as Alexis became crazier, she became more of a fan favorite. I know that I was inspired by the relationship of Theresa/Ethan on Passions and Sami/Austin on Days with regard to the Alexis/Ryan storyline, and Jessica was a soundboard the way Whitney was to Theresa. I even used Lindsay Hartley to portray Alexis! I think the reason I got a way with a lot of these stories, however, as opposed to say some of the earlier stories on Footprints, was that I played most of these stories for laughs. I ripped off stories from soaps freely, made fun of them, and tried making them better in GC. Sometimes it was a success, sometimes not so much. But I think I've found more of a balance in the present, along with a lot of the more original stories I've been able to spin off from the great characters I came up with seven years ago. |
