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Hey All!
Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!
" The Bridesmaids" series is soon coming to an end ( unfortunately, lol). I already want to thank you all for making it as interesting as it it, and for taking your time to read my story and leaving some feedback.
It's not over yet, so stay tuned!
PS: in this chapter, I would like you to tell me who is your favourite Bridesmaids, and why!
Thank you,
Keisha Feller.
Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!
" The Bridesmaids" series is soon coming to an end ( unfortunately, lol). I already want to thank you all for making it as interesting as it it, and for taking your time to read my story and leaving some feedback.
It's not over yet, so stay tuned!
PS: in this chapter, I would like you to tell me who is your favourite Bridesmaids, and why!
Thank you,
Keisha Feller.
The time for the Bridesmaids reunion had come.
Meredith had called upon her friends for rescue, as she realized that she needed some action to be taken if she ever wanted to get out of that jail which had become way too familiar for the past weeks.
Before responding to the SOS call, let's see how the life of each Bridesmaid had turned around since their dramatic separation.
If life had been sending roses ( as well as champaign, limos and world class caviar)somebody's way, it was undoubtedly Malika's.
Right after signing with the Sawyers Recording studio, her singer career took a whole new dimension, and that was for the best. She started travelling all around Starlight Shores to perform, and not a single venue in Starlight Shores wasn't dreaming of having her for even just one night. Each one of her show was a one in a lifetime performance, and she always went the extra mile to satisfy the audience which had become hers in only a hearbeat. But most importantly, she would always make sure to satisfy herself during each performance, and that was ensured by setting high work standards and delivering for her public. She quickly got accustomed to random people stopping her in street and begging for an autograph while singing her praises. All the big producers in town wanted her to sign up with them. While other people needed to stretch their pockets to have access to prestigious events in Starlight Shores, all she had to stretch was her vocal cords and she was in! Indeed, Malika was now living the lifestyle that was the dream of any aspiring singer in Starlight Shores... And she wasn't about to let that go away... But if life was throwing flowers Malika's way, it was probably taking them away from Gisele.
For the past weeks, she cried and pinned away over her lost love and lost friends. How could everything have gone so wrong? She had lost everything she had, and started to think maybe " she" was the problem. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she realized she didn't like the person she was, or had become. Was she too nice to people? Too understanding? Too compassionate, too positive? Whatever it was, she felt like it was a weakness and she had been taken advantage of. Even a meaningless woman from the Army managed to steal her fiance from her, and she couldn't do a thing about it. Looking at her miserable self one last time, she came to a decision: that life was over. As for Cherry, she was still oh-so heartbroken by the unexpected departure of her lover, Dr Chad Luke.
No man had made her feel so weakened in a long while, and that love situation was just the icing on the cake with all the emotional issues she had dealt with lately. Meredith promptly exited her jail cell as the prison guard notified her of the presence of some guests.
She was quite anxious to see her friends, as they hadn't seen each other in a while. Most importantly, she was anxious about how they would react to her being in jail and her not telling them the whole truth. As she stepped in the Visitor's room, the other Bridesmaids froze: She looked at them all, not knowing what to say. The expression on their face was indescribable.
Eventually, she mumbled:
" I need help." Cherry blew a gasket as she heard Meredith speaking: they hadn't seen each other for weeks, Meredith was in jail and had put their friendship in jeopardy; and the first that came out of her mouth was what " she" needed, and ask for help? Not even an apology?
No, not in Cherry's world. She knew Meredith was self-centered, but not to this point. How could she be so inconsiderate?
It was hard to say whether Cherry's emotions were solely attributable to Meredith's behaviour or something else, but nonetheless she stepped out of the room. Malika remained. She turned her back against Meredith. The room was silent.
" Do you hate me too? Meredith mumbled.
- What do you need? Malika replied, as if she was ignoring the previous question.
- Listen.. Meredih sighed.
- Just tell me what you need, Malika interrupted.
Meredith felt ashamed of herself, and of being treated that way by her friends. Nonetheless, she knew she had caused some wrong and therefore had to take whatever was coming her way. " Fine. Malika continued. We will get you a lawyer. But if you want our help, you better start talking. The truth, the entire truth. Meredith, you put us all at risk wit your lies and your secrets, ignoring the fact that this would affect all of us. And now you are in jail! Do you even realize that?
Malika was speaking because she knew what jail was like, she had been there before and trust her, it is the last thing to wish to somebody, even your worst enemy. She knew that eventhough she tried to hide it, Meredith was suffering there and was desperate to get out. She knew the feeling, and she felt for her.
- Where is Gisele? She didn't want to come, did she? Meredith inquired.
- Who cares where she is, she's the one who sold you out by giving that tape to the police! Since you got arrested we've been living on our own, so.
- Wait a minute, Meredith stopped her. What are you talking about? She didn't give anything to the Police, Patricia did. Malika's jaw dropped as if Meredith had just dropped a bombshell on her:
" What? Patricia Cementi? Kerri's mother? What does she have to do with any of this?
- Apparently much more than I suspected. She seems deeply involved in the kidnapping, I just don;t know how. I have no idea how she got a hold of the tape, but she said she will make sure we are all behind the bars until she finds her daughter.
Malika was in disbelief at that revelation from Meredith. She knew that Patrica and Kerri were not in good terms, but she couldn't believe a mother would be able to organize the kidnapping of her own child!
- Wait, before you go any further, let me talk to Cherry. She needs to hear this, we all do. And together. She stepped out and went to talk some sense out of Cherry's head, who was still visibly mad at Meredith.
Cherry: I can't believe she would just pretend like everything is okay, while we were out there on our own and worrying about what was going to happen next!
Malika: Listen, I know you are mad at her, and you have every right to be. But being in jail is tough, and I think she understood it, that's why she called us. Now she said that Kerri's mom came to visit her and probably has something to do with this whole thing. You might want to come and hear this, it sounds pretty deep! Soon after, Cherry stepped back in the room. Meredith felt relieved. The Bridesmaids all sat around the table. They looked at Meredith.
Malika: tell us everything. How involved are you in this kidnapping?
Cherry: and please, don't you dare lie to us again. What exactly was going on between Kerri and you? " Fine, I will tell you the truth." It all started few years ago, when Kerri's parents cut her off because she didn't want to carry on the family business but instead chose to open her own Stylist saloon.
She called me that afternoon, panicked and worried. At that time, I was still working at a local bar part-time, trying to make enough money to pay my rent while I was still taking my arts Classes. It wasn't easy for me because of the irregular schedules, but I had to make both ends meet. When Kerri stepped in the bar that afternoon, she was panicked. I could see it in her face. I had never seen her like that, and I knew something had gone terribly wrong. She sat there and told me the entire story. How her parents had disowned her because of her decision, and how her mother had threatened to sabotage her wedding if she didn't change her mind and decide to carry on the family business.
She was distraught and disheartened, and was still shocked that her mother had said such a thing. She begged me to help her, as she had nowhere to go, no place to say and no money to keep the salon running. All her bank accounts had been frozen, since they where still on her mother's name. As I listened to her telling me her story, I did feel her pain. How could such a rich kid go from living the lifestyle of the rich and famous to... nothing? Kerri and I had been best friends, and at no time in our friendship did she make me feel like she needed me or my help.
But that afternoon, I saw a completely different side of her: she was hopeless, and had nobody to turn to. This is what you call hit the bottom. I had to help her. I had some savings that I had secretly kept for the day I would have enough money to open my own saloon.
I told her I will give it to her, but she promised she would return it to me as soon as she is back on her feet. But given that this might take a long while and I didn't want her to have an everlasting debt, I suggested that we become partners in the saloon. It was also an opportunity for me to really get a kick in as an aspiring stylist. Kerri knew all the right people, she had all the connections already. All I needed was to follow her lead.
Unfortunately, even my savings were not enough to save her saloon. I had some real estate in Riverview, a family house. It was left to me by my grandparents, but I didn't use it quite often. It was filled with good family memories. Though it wasn't worth much money-wise, it would give us just enough money to pay all Kerri's debts and pay the remaining employees whose salaries had been delayed. I promised Kerri I would take care of everything, and I did. Few years later, the saloon got back on track, even stronger than it was before. Everything was going well, until one day:
We were preparing for the launching of an exclusive Summer collection. It was to be launched in the upcoming days. That collection had been so thoughtfully designed that it was meant to propel us to the top of the Stylist Industry. However, I mistakenly ordered the wrong fabric for the model's costumes, and everything felt apart. Kerri blew a fuse when she heard of my mistake. And I myself couldn't understand how I got confused and ordered the wrong textile.
Because of me, we lost not only a lot of investors, but also a lot of money. I had made a terrible mistake.
I always had a solution for everything, but this time, nothing I came up with seemed to work.
Everything was ruined. So I called Johnson Matthew, asking him for help. Johnson was a shark. a Very deceitful and untrustworthy person in the Stylist industry, and everybody knew that about him in Starlight Shores. He would present to you at the worst time of your life, and offers his help; but that help was never really an " offer'. There was always a price to pay, and sometimes the price was even worst than your hopeless situation.
I didn't seem to have a choice, I couldn't just afford to lose everything so easily, especially when we were so close to our goal. I met him that afternoon at a cafe in town.
He " offered" to be our investor, we desperately needed one. And he had the money. However in return, he asked for the latest stylist design Kerri was working on. It was a special collection called " Just for men" that was supposed to be launched the next summer. That collection was so special and dear to Kerri because it was an exclusive. A " jamais vu" in Starlight Shores, it was like the " Titanic" of old times. That collection would revolutionize the Stylist World.
I knew Kerri wouldn't go for it, but yet I promised Johnson I would try everything to get him the design. The next day, Kerri called me in her office, she had made her decision. She was the one making all the important decisions: she refused to give her collection to Johnson.
No matter how hard I tried to convince her that we would still have enough time to work on some other great stylist design for the next summer, she sticked to her decision. She said that design was too important for her to let it go so easily, it was her dream.
I wish she could have been willing to make that sacrifice for the both of us, as I did few years back, to save her saloon, but Kerri wouldn't hear a thing. She reminded me that she was the one making the decisions, and I had already screwed up by making that horrible mistake. I was heartbroken. With no investors, the saloon would have collapsed. Again. And this time for good.
I couldn't let this happen. Even if Kerri wasn't willing to do this for us, I had to do something for me.
She could run back to her rich parents at anytime, beg for their forgiveness and get her life back. But I couldn't. That saloon was everything I had left, so I just couldn't lose it for good without putting up a fight. Johnson and I had a plan. The day of the wedding, I called Johnson.
He was supposed to talk to Kerri and convince her to give him the stylist design, since I had failed.
So I gave him instructions on where to find the keys of the Limousine that was supposed to bring Kerri at the wedding hall. The plan was supposed to run smoothly, he wasn't supposed to take so long to talk to her.
Everybody was waiting for her at the wedding hall. ' I remember this scene.." malika Interrupted. " That's when I came to you, and asked you what was taking her so long.. And you told me...
" She was running a little late" Meredith continued. She remembered all those words as if it happened yesterday.
" But deep down you knew that something had gone wrong. Why didn't you tell us anything at that point? We could have saved her, all together!" " I was so ashamed of myself. I had a feeling that Johnson might want to do something fishy, but I guess I was just too blinded by what I wanted for myself... I wish I had... picked up my phone when she called me 10 minutes later...
Cherry: she called you later on! And you didn't answer even-though you knew she was in trouble? How could you do this!
Meredith: not a day goes by without me regretting every choice I made that day...I can't stop wondering what if I had answered to her, would I have been able to save her? I.. I just wish I did things differently.. " And all these four years passed, and it never crossed your mind to come up to the police? What about us? You never even thought of telling us the truth about what happened? Everybody was so crushed and nobody knew where she was but you! And you kept that to yourself!
Meredith: what was I supposed to say? I gave my friend away to a shark because I wanted to save my saloon? Nobody would have understood me, and I was going to go to jail, for the rest of my life!
Cherry: well look where you are now! In jail! I guess that was just a matter of time huh?! " Guys, stop!" Malika ordered.
The reactions were well heated following that revealing confession from Meredith. All Cherry could feel was disappointment, and Malika didn't even know what to feel at that time.
But she knew that they had to keep their calm and make a decision, fast. They all took a deep breath, then sat back around the table.
Malika finally broke the silence:
" We need to get you a lawyer. The best we can get. I know someone. Mr Sanford, at 16 Gaussy Street.
before she could finish, Cherry quickly interrupted.
Cherry: He is crazy expensive, how are we going to pay him?I haven't even been paid for the month and...
Malika: fine, I will take care of it. I will use the money that was saved for my upcoming tour, so, I will just do it. It's okay.
Meredith looked at her in disbelief, wondering why Malika made such a huge sacrifice for her. She tried to talk her out of it, but Malika insisted. " Now we need to move fast." Malika said, standing up from her chair. " We need to go and see that lawyer now, before it's too late." They sat there at the lawyer's office waiting for about 30 minutes. Flights of thoughts were going through their head as they were wondering what was taking him so long.
Cherry: it's already bad enough we are in such a crappy situation, now we have to have to wait here in this stupid office!
Malika: what is up with you? ( she inquired). You have been all aggressive and judgemental for this entire time. You are always calm and well composed in such situation, this is not you! What is going on? is everything okay?
Malika suspected that Cherry was going through something but just didn't wanted to talk about it. maybe this was neither the right place, nor the right time.
Cherry; no, you are the one who changed. ( she replied) You are all understanding and patient, as if you are defending Meredith after all she has done. Seems like your new lifestyle is doing you some good!( she even noticed Malika was wearing a very feminine outfit.) Their short conversation was interrupted as the Lawyer finally stepped in.
" Ladies, I am sorry for keeping you waiting for so long...
- I bet you are.. ( Cherry mumbled.) Malika frowned at her.
Mr Sandford took a seat on the fur sofa opposite to theirs.
( at least we know where all his money is going to... Cherry murmured.)
As soon as he finished making himself comfortable, malika started:
" I am Malika Rochelle, and this is my friend Cherry Prescott. We are here for..
- I know why you are here( He interrupted.). And I know who you are, Mrs Rochelle. I am a big fan ( he smiled). Meredith Fischer's case, right? It's been all over the news for the past weeks now. I have been studying that case all along, wondering whether or not I should defend her..
- So, is it a yes? Will you defend her? ( Malika jumped in, excited.)
He adjusted his reading glasses. " No." He replied.
- What??! The 2 ladies exclaimed in chorus.
- Listen, Mr Sanford, if this is about the money.. ( Malika continued.)
- Miss Rochelle, this has nothing to do with the money.
- Then what is it!? This is a very interesting case, and you are notorious for winning interesting cases! Imagine what this would do to your career, it will be a great boost!
- If I win! ( he added)..
- What do you mean.. If you win?
- Look. ( Mr Sandford continued). Nobody goes for a battle knowing that they are already loosing, it doesn't make sense. I am going to be honest with you, your friend doesn't stand a chance in front of that jury, and me defending her is not going to increase her odds.
- You don't even know her, she deserves a chance! ( Cherry supplicated)
" I know everything I need to, to decide whether or not she stands a chance. I am really sorry, ladies. Good luck.
On that note, he left them there.
- So.. that's it? Good luck? ( Cherry couldn't believe what had just happened.)
The only lawyer in Starlight Shores that could possibly give Meredith a chance to get out of jail had just declared that nothing could be done for her. " This is over, Malika. We are screwed. Meredith is staying in jail.
Malika had no other choice but to agree to that unhappy ending. The hardest thing was to go back to jail and break the bad news to their friend. They knew that even though Meredith had screwed up, she didn't deserve that. And nobody did.
They felt heartbroken as they saw the look on her face immediately after they had told her Mr Sanford refused to defend her in court. They had never seen Meredith so vulnerable.
This was real. Meredith was staying in jail. And this for good. But Meredith Green was a fighter. She wasn't ready to give up without putting up a fight, even if it might be her last, and even though the odds for her to succeed were progressively dropping with every hour that passed by.
" I guess this leaves us with the last option: You will help me break out of jail." The Bridesmaids were struck dumb as Meredith spoke these words. " Time up!"
The female guard shouted.
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3 Comment(s) posted so far
#1 On Jul 10, 2012 sofudgeaswell wrote:
i'm sad it's ending but I know good things always have to end!! I can't wait to see what happens though!
#2 On Jul 11, 2012 wasabichi wrote:
i want chapter 9 like NOW!
haha... sorry bout that but i'm on the edge of my seat here!!
every chapter fascinates me!
and regarding my favorite bridesmaid,
you already know
#3 On Jul 11, 2012 fruitopia wrote:
I am starting to like the change in Malika, in the beginning she was a bit reserved.
I wonder if they will help Meredith break out of jail.