Rough Awakenings

With a start, Kimberly woke up from a rather pleasurable dream involving herself, a sundae bar, and a fraternity. Rolling over onto her side, the platinum blonde realized her latest lover wasn't sharing the twin-sized bed anymore. A quick glance around the small room confirmed that Owen had left.

"What a wimp," she muttered.

Feeling cold, she threw on her robe and a pair of panties. Taking a moment, Kimberly took stock of her selection of underwear and lingerie. She evaluated each item for a possible target. I might have wasted my red teddy on Owen. I expected a better show from that little hussy's college boyfriend. The other big-headed quarterback might have been a better choice. Oh, well, the dumb oaf might be more tempted to cheat if he sees me in my birthday suit. The Rusk kid has to be my next target so that I can show up Sybil at the ball. Perhaps a picture or two would piss her off.

Pulling out a classic chantilly lace babydoll, Kimberly regretted not bringing more options. The bluish-gray piece of lingerie matched her eyes. It was the closest she had to either lavender, lilac, or burgundy. As purple was Gabby's favorite color, Kim realized that it could've worked to keep Jared under her lock and key with her mommy role-play. Instead, that little wallflower lured him away. Fuck that man-stealer!

Finally, pulling out a white bra and panty set, Kimberly smirked. The purchase of bridal lingerie had been a lark to celebrate her upcoming divorce. Now, staring at the cute, sexy pieces of lace adorned with little bows, the devious enchantress knew they were perfect for her ultimate goal: corrupting Bridget's son. I came on too strong in the cave; I know that now. With his injuries, poor Sean is going to need some nursing from Auntie Kimmie. I'll play it cool today, and then tomorrow night at the hotel, I'll strike, confusing that sweet kid with a honeymoon fantasy.

Leaving her room, the platinum blonde walked down the hall to freshen up for breakfast. Wearing a smug expression on her face, she considered her plan for Austin. I'll need to separate him from that petite redhead. Perhaps I can push her onto another guy's cock. Splashing water on her face, the confident woman checked over her appearance. A real shame there aren't more young hunks on this trip to turn into boytoys. That nerdy kid is a hopeless cause, and I took my shot with Finn, so that day passed...the day.

"Oh, no!" Kimberly staggered back from the sink as if she had been punched. Then, her legs faltering, she stumbled over to the toilet, sitting down on the top of the seat cover. Placing her hands over her face, the usually cynical woman sobbed. The sudden realization of the date brought back all those terrible images and memories from precisely ten years ago.

"Oh, Cassie."

With a snort, Finn woke up in the armchair. Usually, a deep sleeper, he had spent the night waking up periodically due to his awkward sleeping position and concern over his father's state of mind. Shivering in the chilly room, he bent over to pull his blanket back on him. However, in the slowly lightening room, he noticed his dad and Peyton had left. Assuming that Fred had gone to use the bathroom, Finn started to drift back to sleep until a part of his brain nagged at him to reopen his eyes.

Doing so, Finn rescanned the bedroom again. This time his eyes locked in on two dresser drawers. One sat partially closed; the other was fully open. Those weren't like that earlier. Did Dad get up and shower? A growing feeling in his gut told the concerned son to check. Standing up, he moved over, and immediately his worries shot higher. The two dresser drawers were empty. Quickly opening the others, he saw no signs of his father's things. Hurrying over to the closet, he slid the door open hard. Nothing.

"Shit!"

Rushing out of the bedroom, Finn ran to the first place his father might be. But Fred wasn't at the bar in the rec room. Taking two steps at a time, he scrambled up to the main floor of the cabin. Hearing voices in the kitchen, he hurried that way.

Peyton recognized at once that something was wrong based on her friend's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you seen my dad?" he asked everyone in the kitchen.

"Finn, what's the matter?" Rachel asked, moving around the island toward him.

However, the frantic young man spun around, dashing toward the foyer. Rachel yelled his name, but the sandy-haired son didn't stop. Scuffing his feet into his boots, he didn't bother to tie them nor grab his coat. Instead, he opened the front door and ran outside, hoping to find his father. Slipping but never falling, Finn ran to the side of the four-car garage where his father's car had been parked the other day. Seeing nothing, he scurried back around to the opposite side of the garage, where the door stood.

He hoped that his dad had, at some point, switched and parked his car inside the garage. But, in less than twenty seconds, that idea proved fruitless. Kicking the leg of the wooden workbench, Finn leaned against the top of it. Now, mentally kicking himself, he wondered if he should have slept in front of the door. Mom doesn't need this today, Dad. She would never want you to turn into this because of her ****.

"Finn?"

"He's gone, Pey," her close friend answered without turning around. Finn then could sense the movement as she came up from behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and giving him a consoling hug. The larger-than-expected pair of breasts pushing into his back revealed that Peyton hadn't come alone.

"C'mon, Finny, let's go inside where it's warm," Lana urged him.

"You're going to catch a cold out here. Inside. Now!" Peyton ordered.

Finn didn't know what he should do next, allowing himself to be led out of the garage and towards the cabin. His father led a life that he knew little about these days. He might have gone home, to the cemetery, a favorite watering hole, or into the arms of another young girlfriend. At least one Singer found himself in the arms of a beautiful ginger as Rachel hugged him when he reached her on the porch.

"It's okay, honey. Well, figure something out for your dad."

"He couldn't have left that long ago," Clive said, patting Finn on the shoulder. "Fred's car was there when Chastity left less than thirty minutes ago."

Nodding but not believing Rachel's words, Finn next found himself helped to a seat in the dining room. At the same time, Kimberly arrived in confusion over the scene. Noticing her red eyes, Gabby inquired over them.

"Are you okay, Kimmie? You like you've been crying."

"Just remembering what today is," she admitted, blinking her eyes before more tears could start to flow. For a moment, she felt like her younger, happier self as Gabby embraced her with an understanding hug. "Did something happen?"

"It looks like Fred snuck away sometime in the last half an hour," Gabriela responded. Seeing Kimberly's confused face, she filled the other woman in on Fred's ice incident from the night before.

"He took all his stuff, and I don't know what he's planning," Finn revealed, causing more gasps of concern.

Skye made her way over, crouching down into an open area between Finn and Lana. "I'm so sorry if I caused this, Finn. I'll help any way I can."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. My dad's been screwed up for years. I think with it being the tenth anniversary of Mom's ****; it's hitting him way harder than the last few years. I'm going to need to check his condo, but I don't know where else he might go."

"I'll make a list of any people that I can think of that he might talk to," Skye told him.

"Hopefully, we'll get an idea at the cemetery later today," Rachel said, offering a ray of hope.

"Fuck, can this day start off any worse," Kimberly groaned. Then, noticing the funny looks of most of the others, she asked, "What? Did something else happen?"

"This is such bullshit!" Finn nearly shouted, finding an outlet for his frustration over his father. "You are not the lovechild of Uncle Harvey!" he told Peyton.

"Yeah, I know that," the blonde half of his best friend duo responded.

"Aunt Bridget and Uncle Harv would never, ever do this," Finn continued.

"Bridget and I might not be close friends," Kimberly started with a gross understatement. "But she's not the type of person to do something this sinister. I can see Harvey having a couple of kids hanging out there, though."

"Kim!" Rachel gasped in horror.

The French doors opened, ushering in Austin and Newt. The two teenagers immediately noticed the numerous upset faces.

"Uh, what's going on?" Austin asked as Lacey greeted him with a morning kiss.

"Ugh! There's this story on The Stinging Truth, and it's--"

"The Stinging Truth? Aw, man, that site's awesome! They tell you the real news," Austin declared, earning him a dirty look from Ramsey. "My dad is always raving about how much he loves their news."

Jeff grimaced at the teenager's last comment, making eye contact with Clive, whose poker face revealed nothing.

"It's not awesome," Lacey hissed at Austin. "They posted an awful article about Mrs. Tarver and Mr. Diamond!"

"Mrs. Tarver?" Newt meekly repeated, fishing his phone out of his pants. Noticing the lack of a signal, he spotted the laptop on the kitchen island and made his way toward it.

"News, my ass! How dare you say that, Austin Rusk?!" Ramsey scolded her best friend's boyfriend.

"Hey, don't talk to my man like that!" Lacey responded, doing a one-eighty flip in her demeanor toward her boyfriend's comment.

A wail interrupted the various arguments and conversations.

"Oh, no," gasped Rachel.

"Give me that cock! Give it to me!"

"Gawd, don't they ever stop," muttered Peyton.

"Fuck, I swear he's a machine," Lana remarked in awe, looking at the ceiling. "Did you fuck a Terminator from the future, Aunt Gabby?"

"Yes, yes, oh...YES!!!"

"Is that Jared?" Newt asked, after realizing what Lana alluded to.

"And JoJo," Lacey added.

"JoJo?!" Newt screeched.

"Make me dirty! Make me your dirty girl!" JoJo screamed from the second floor.

"Gabs, he's your son, do something!" Rachel ordered her best friend.

Throwing her head back with a huff, Gabby left the room, opening the pantry door. She quickly returned with a broom. One that she promptly handed over to her husband.

"Sweetie, you can do the honors."

"Fine," Jeff agreed, not really wanting to. As the tallest person in the room, he could reach the high kitchen ceiling enough to give it three sharp pounds with the end of the broomstick.

"Knock it off! People are having breakfast!" Gabby shouted simultaneously with her husband's pounds.

"Are you okay, Newt?" Peyton questioned, noticing he looked sick to his stomach. Gently putting an arm over his shoulder, she led him over to the dining room table. "How about you sit down, and I'll get you some cereal. That sound good?"

"Okay," he softly agreed.

"Maybe you could have gone and knocked on the door," Rachel remarked to her best friend.

"And take the risk of nearly walking in on him screwing a girl again? No, thank you," Gabby replied.

"I hate to bother him at this time, but I think we need to call Harvey. He's going to want to know about Fred's actions last night and his disappearance," Clive remarked, after long consideration.

"Can't we handle this for now?" Rachel queried. "Harvey's got enough on his plate with Whitney's accident."

"And we don't know if he or Bridget know about these articles," Gabby pointed out. "I, for one, don't want to be the one to tell Bee."

"I'll do it," Peyton reluctantly volunteered.

"Oh, no. You will do no such thing, Peyton," Rachel informed her. "No daughter should have to deal with this...salaciousness. It's better if your mom hears this from an old friend."

"Well, I'm sorry, but we need to tell Harvey about Fred. Only one of his oldest friends might know what he'll do in this state and on today of all days," Clive insisted.

"I agree," Jeff stated. "We can't take the risk of Fred trying to harm himself again."

"So, who wants to make the call?" Gabby questioned, scanning the room.

"Aargh! I'll do it."

Practically everyone looked over in shock at the person who spoke.

"What? Can't I do something helpful for once?" Kimberly challenged.

"Um...I don't know, Kim," Rachel attempted to turn her down politely.

"Look, you just said it. We need to call one of Fred's oldest friends, right? And Harvey's dealing with Whitney's recovery, right?"

"Correct, but I'm not following your point," Rachel responded to the selfish woman.

"So, I'll call Fred's other oldest friend. I'll call Larry," Kimberly said with a sigh, referring to her soon-to-be ex-husband.