Tied Knots and a Baby

Chapter 5: Reunion with the Delinquent

Duncan had broken out of prison that night out of dumb luck.

He vaguely remembered not meeting with the others for about a year and a half and wondered what he missed out on while he was in jail.

-

-Scene at the studio; at 11:50 AM; next morning-

Gwen, Bridgette, and Zoey visited Courtney again the following day.

They had noticed Courtney seemed a little concerned about Duncan for some reason.

"I tried giving Duncan a phone call several times this morning but there was no answer from the prison phone booth." Courtney told Gwen and the other girls.

"Did you try contacting the officers or guards?" Gwen asked Courtney.

"I haven't yet, and I want to make sure Duncan wasn't brutally attacked or in a life-threatening situation." Courtney replied to her.

"There could be multiple reasons for his absence, so it's best to not jump to the worst-case scenario." Bridgette told Courtney.

"Guess you're right; nevertheless there still needs to be an explanation for this." Courtney inferred.

"You might as well visit Duncan at his cell face to face if you continue to be out of reach with indirect contact." Zoey suggested.

"I may have to check on him as soon as possible and I won't mind having Gwen accompany me." Courtney proposed.

-

-Cut to scene at Trent and Gwen's apartment; 12:10 PM-

Trent was looking after Erika back at the apartment while Gwen was out with Courtney.

"I know you're too young to understand right now, yet I wanted to tell you something." Trent said to his infant daughter.

"It appears that your mommy has been trying to settle things with an old acquaintance from reality television yesterday and today."

"She told me how she and Courtney had finally forgiven each other after years of feuding and misunderstandings; and I'm happy for her."

"I'm just hoping things won't turn out for the worst if Duncan discovers what's going on between me and your mother."

Erika scrunched one of her eyes for a short second.

"I have a feeling you want mommy to come back soon and I should probably give her a call to see how she's doing." Trent thought as he saw his daughter's facial expression.

He then dialed Gwen's mobile number and waited for a response.

-

-Scene at Gwen's location; around 12:15 PM-

Gwen was visiting the city prison with Courtney when she received Trent's phone call.

"Uh Trent, I think we've got some bad news." Gwen said to her husband through her smartphone.

"What happened? Are you and Courtney alright?" Trent asked Gwen with curiosity.

"Courtney and I are fine, but when we came to visit Duncan at the city prison and asked the guards about his confinement status, they said he was missing." Gwen told Trent.

"This better not be a serious jailbreak of some sort." Trent said crossing his fingers.

"Duncan is the only missing prisoner and some of the security camera lenses have been spray painted solid black. That must mean he escaped last night." Gwen replied with more specific detail.

"That's a slight relief; as long as Duncan isn't out to cause trouble for us again." Trent regarded.

"None of us can be sure about what Duncan is up to; despite him being notorious for his delinquencies." Gwen informed.

"Both of us should stay alert of his pursuit just in case." Trent suggested.

"I've been noted already and I will meet with you later at Courtney's studio." Gwen replied as she ended the phone call.

-

-12:20 PM-

Courtney wanted Gwen to help her investigate Duncan's escape.

"I wonder where Duncan even got the spray paint in spite of being locked up." Courtney pondered.

"He could have had the paint secretly sent to him somehow for setting up an escape scheme." Gwen speculated.

"That does make logical sense." Courtney thought.

"By any chance do you think Duncan broke out of his cell because he was impatient rather than to cause more delinquencies?" Courtney asked Gwen.

"It's a likely possibility; still we can't be certain of what's on his mind." Gwen concluded.

"As always." Courtney concurred.

The two girls left the city prison after examining the evidence.

-

-Scene back at the studio; at 2:00 PM-

Several of the former contestants met at Courtney's studio later that afternoon on the occasion of Duncan's jailbreak incident; yet only Gwen, Trent, and Cody got a chance to see Courtney backstage during this hour.

"I don't know if Duncan's escape should be a concern for us or not, but he would have to give an explicit reason for breaking out of jail if he were to meet us again." Courtney told Gwen and her acquaintances.

"If there is something to be concerned of, I'm worried about how Duncan would react to my marital status." Gwen regarded while holding her and Trent's infant daughter.

Upon hearing Gwen's quote, Trent turned towards Cody and remembered the way he helped him get closer to Gwen.

Cody then stared back at Trent and Gwen and thought of something.

"Duncan would have to learn to accept the fact that you're married to Trent; like the way I learned to respect your relationships." Cody told Gwen.

"Acceptance and respect could be a way for him to improve his social life around me and Trent; though we still have doubts on Duncan's character." Gwen thought.

"I understood Cody's point; even with doubts there's a chance that Duncan will take a turn for the better if we talk straight without force." Trent reckoned.

Courtney gazed at Gwen and the two boys and continued to discuss the other issue.

"There were no recent crimes or confrontations relating to Duncan since his breakout." Courtney stated.

"What if Duncan isn't out to cause chaos but just wants to be free from custody?" she questioned.

"That's probably the case." Gwen inferred.

"I would like to ask him a few things if we were to encounter each other again sooner." Courtney considered.

-

-Scene at the mall; at 6:20 PM-

Gwen invited Courtney to the mall with her and her daughter that evening.

"For the past few years, I partially blamed Duncan for our feud." Gwen told Courtney.

"Neither of us have truly found out who was most likely responsible for causing the conflict." Courtney asserted.

"The chance is that all 3 or 4 of us were involved." Gwen noted.

"I guess so." Courtney agreed with Gwen.

"Do you think we should forgive Duncan?" Gwen asked her.

"Only if he agrees to not mess with our hearts and emotions again." Courtney replied.

Both girls smirked at their idea.

Courtney stopped to stare at Gwen's daughter for a few seconds.

"Your baby 'Erika' is adorable." Courtney complimented Gwen.

"Thanks." Gwen replied.

-

As Gwen and Courtney continued to talk to one another, Duncan suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of them.

"Duncan, what are you doing here?!" Courtney asked her ex.

"It has been some time and I wanted to say 'hi'." Duncan replied.

"You were supposed to be in jail. Why did you break out?" Gwen questioned him.

"Well, I was tired of being locked up and I thought I should get myself some parole." Duncan told them.

"You're an escapee. The cops will be after you if they find you." Gwen reminded Duncan.

Duncan saw that Gwen had a baby in the baby carrier strapped to her chest when he had another look at her.

"Please tell me you're babysitting." Duncan said to Gwen when he saw her baby in the carrier.

"I'm afraid not. This baby girl is my daughter." Gwen told Duncan sincerely.

"Who's the father of your baby?" Duncan asked Gwen with suspicion.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gwen cynically replied to Duncan.

Duncan then noticed Gwen's baby had green eyes.

"Gwen must have 'done it' with Trent. They had sex and now they have a kid." Duncan thought to himself feeling a bit disheartened.

"I advise you to not be rude towards Gwen, or I'll call the cops on you!" Courtney warned.

All 3 of them paused for a short moment.

A thought came into Gwen's mind by remembering what Cody said.

"Listen Duncan, you need to respect the truth that I love Trent and understand how I feel." Gwen clearly stated.

"So you moved on when I was in prison right? And Courtney has forgotten about me." Duncan assumed.

"Nope, that's not what exactly happened." Gwen corrected him.

"What really happened was that Trent and I got back together almost 4 and the half years ago during your absence."

Duncan was staggered from Gwen's quote.

He then turned to Courtney.

"Courtney, you promised to help bail me out of confinement and you never did." Duncan said to Courtney feeling dissappointed.

"I've been trying to help you, but I was forced to drop out of law school and my time is limited." Courtney confessed to Duncan.

"For real?" Duncan asked.

"Yes, for real." Courtney told him with honesty.

Considering of what Courtney said, Duncan thought of a feasible idea.

"I know you are still a lawyer in training, but you could at least help me by hiring an authorized lawyer to give me parole." Duncan suggested.

Courtney felt a deep emotion coming from the inside and made a decision.

"Let me see what I can do." Courtney told Duncan.

"I may be able to help as well." Gwen considered.