bree` oh what a world, my dear

[VINCENT MARC BENOIT]

take my place and look inside
i'm trying to find a place to hide, hide



lost my faith but don't you cry
i've got a hole inside and it's 10 miles wide

[/font][/size]

Vince sat on his couch, staring at the floor. It was six thirty on Saturday night, and he was possibly about to make one of the biggest mistakes he could tonight. He stared at the address on his cell phone, debating whether or not he should even do this. Not that he didn't want to see Bree, he would've given anything to see her few weeks ago. Hell, she was one of the two reasons he was even in the states. Ever since he'd met her in Orleans, she was all he ever thought about. Elsie came along and he'd never wanted anything more than to clean up his life, marry Bree, and raise their daughter together. Then she came back to Jersey and started dating that Jason guy. Vince ran his hand through his hair and stood up, pacing back and forth.

How could she just give Elsie away to an adoption agency? How could she not at least come back to Orleans and give him the option of taking on the struggles of parenthood on his own? He felt terrible that she had gone through post-partum depression and the stress of being a teen mother and a high school student all at the same time, but he still felt that she had cared more for him than that. He had sent her double, almost triple, child support. She had more than enough money to hire nannies, fly back to Orleans if she wanted, buy her own home, a new car, anything she wanted and all she had to do was ask. After she told him that she didn't want to marry him, it tore his world apart and now she'd managed to do it again.

Vincent walked past the coffee table and picked up the large bottle of jack daniels that was sitting on the edge. He'd been sipping on it for the past two hours, trying to calm his nerves, trying to avoid his next option of the needle full of sticky, black liquid in his bedside table. He pushed open the second door on the right as he walked toward his bedroom and stopped in the doorway to reflect upon all the money, time, and effort he had put into the small room. The yellow and white nursery was filled with a dark black crib, a matching changing table and dresser, and a toy-box. The wall about the small crib was hanging a picture of Bree and himself that had been taken the night Elsie was conceived; he had the same picture in his wallet. Bree had meant the world to him, and this room meant just as much lately. The changing table shelves were filled with diapers, wipes, and small baby outfits that his mother had for his little sister when she was younger. He hadn't broken the news to his parents yet that they would never meet their granddaughter, that they would never introduce her to Orleans, or teach her french. He wondered if Bree had spoken french around her while she had her.

Vince took a large swig out of the bottle and walked back toward his room, leaving the nursery door open. Maybe Bree would see it when she got here and feel a little bad that he'd worked so hard. He grabbed his jacket and keys off his bed when he walked into the room and turned back to go to the kitchen to turn on the oven, hoping all the food would be done by the time he got back from picking up Bree. He sat the half empty bottle of jack down on the table and walked back to the living room to grab his phone before he left.

Vince walked out of his condo and down the stairs quickly to get to his car. He caught a glimpse of himself in the window before climbing in and cranking the car. Vince considered going back upstairs to change into something a little nicer since this was the first time he was going to see Bree since moving here, but decided his jeans and black button up over grey v-neck would be fine. Not like dressing nicer would really bring her away from Jason and back to him or anything. He sat his phone in the cup holder between the passenger and drivers seat and put his head on the steering wheel, trying to muster up the courage to go through with tonight.

After about five minutes of deep breathing, he cranked the car and pulled away from the building. Bree only lived about ten minutes away, but he'd have to drive slow since he'd been drinking a little. Vince was buzzed, but his driving was fine. He looked in the rear view mirror and sighed at the small yellow car seat he had purchased. "Should've taken that out, damn." He cursed quietly to himself as he turned onto the highway and watched for Bree's suburb. He switched lanes quickly, and pulled into her suburb before his phone began to ring. The adoption agency that he had contacted a few days ago about Elsie. He took a deep breath and answered just as he pulled into Bree's driveway.

"Hello?" He answered quietly, switching off his lights and radio. He listened as the woman told him who she was and about the research she had done about taking Elsie out of their system and giving her back to a parent. Apparently she'd also done some background check into Vince. "I assure you, ma'am, my record reflects nothing about me now. I've grown up and have been in rehab and anger management for over four years. I have a steady income that can support myself and Elsie; I have a home here in Jersey near her mother even though I'm not sure if she'll want to be involved. I come from a good family of doctors who are more than willing to help me. . ." The woman cut him off and said she would have to do a few visits to see his home, need some character references, a bank statement to see how much he made, and the numbers to his rehab doctors. Vince sighed and looked up at the door; he was ten minutes late because of this call and he hoped Bree wasn't waiting. The woman went on and on about how Elsie was in a nice home with foster parents and three other children her age.

Vince sighed as he saw a shadow pass the door. Normally he was the gentleman to walk to the door and walk her to his car, but the woman on the phone was still explaining how she would do all she could, but it depended on his references and visits to his home. She also announced that he'd have to submit to random drug tests whenever she came by. "Okay, well merci beacoup." He said quietly before hanging up the phone as she said she'd be at his apartment between four and six one day soon. Vince sighed and looked back at the now half open door. He dropped his phone back in the cup-holder and opened his car door. He pushed the sleeves up on his jacket and button up and walked toward the door, getting more and more nervous. He hoped to god above that he didn't smell like booze.

[/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

BRING HARLEY THE HORIZON!?&# @ CAUTION

[/font][/i][/right]

[AUBREEN LAURA AVERY-BARKER]

In all honesty, Aubreen wasn’t too sure what to expect from today. She had some mixed emotions for sure about the whole thing and it didn’t help that her husband was completely put off by the whole idea Bree even took the time to talk to him. Sometimes she hated how insecure the male could be. The petite blonde had only been there through thick and thin, the roughest of the rough yet he could still whole heartedly say that he was scared of her packing up and leaving him. That alone made her feel like such a pile of crap at times considering it had never crossed her mind – ever – since the very beginning of their relationship. Things had been more than rocky at the start but it seemed any time they really got to a good place for too long something would happen and Jason would start doubting everything and everyone; including her and their relationship. Thankfully she was able to calm him down enough to just push away the thought of her going to have dinner with her ex.

She wasn’t even sure if that’s what to classify him as. It was a small portion of her life that Jason didn’t really know too many sticky details about. It wasn’t exactly a point in her life that she spoke about on a frequent basis (which was more like never). Aubreen wasn’t the person she felt that she portrayed in Orleans that winter break. She was in a confusing rut, to say the least, and ended up meeting Vincet. When she and her family went to France, to visit their family back home, they were gone for quite a long period of time. She could remember how happy she was to be able to go back home and have a month of french and family without any attachments to home. There was something about being able to go out and be carefree, being able to act like the teenager she was. There weren’t many things that she could remember from that night, in truth, aside from finding someone that was fun and showed her a good time. All in all, they ended up having sex that night. If only she knew the confusing and complicated life she was about to have now. She really didn’t know much about Vince but after spending most of her break with him, the girl ended up getting to know him fairly well. So well in fact that he ended up giving her a promise ring.

A small sigh filled the silence around her, although the twins were playing on the ground in front of her, she was all too spaced out at the moment to pay too much attention to them. Every once and a while, she would look down to Maddy or Riley and play with them or do whatever it was they were asking of her. She was feeling a little nervous too. Gently, she rubbed the top of Riley’s head before heading to her bedroom to get into a new change of clothes. Aubreen knew she wasn’t going to dress up too much, anything overly nice and Jason would probably have a shit fit when she got home. However, she didn’t want to look like a bag of crap either in front of Vincet. She hadn’t seen him in so long and really, this was going to be the first time that she had seen him since they had sex. Not to mention, Bree felt she had to look a little more presentable to show Vincet that his money wasn’t getting flushed down the drain or anything – so she wanted to look decent. Waking into the bedroom, she pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans. The kind with a few rips and tears along the tops and backs of the legs. Next, she pulled out one of her husband’s t-shirts and threw it on before slipping into one of her eight million black blazers. It was about six forty-five before she left the bedroom and back into the living room.

She picked up Riley before heading into the washroom. Maddy was too busy playing with Nana (Bree’s dog) to want to come with her. It didn’t help that Maddy wasn’t always so cooperative with her and a complete daddy’s girl. Sitting Riley down on the counter, Bree started touching up on her makeup and hair. All the while, Riley was commenting and telling her what she should put on her face. He was always a good helper with that. Setting Riley down on the floor once she was finished, she could hear some mumbling. “What?” She asked before heading out of the washroom and back into the main room. Jason restating what he had said, that there was a car in the driveway both obviously assuming that it was Vincet. She walked over to Maddy kissing her, before going over to Riley and doing the same. Last, but never least, she gave Jason a nice big old kiss goodbye telling him that she’d be home soon and to call or text if he needed anything at all before pulling on some of her ankle boot moccasins. She grabbed her purse, keys, and cellphone, along with an album of all the pictures and keepsakes that she had of Elsie. Opening the door, she smiled quickly, a little taken aback. It really had been such a long time since she’d seen him. Shutting the door behind her, she just looked at Vincet, not really sure what to say to him. “Hey..” She held a weak smile on her face before inching away from her front door. “Are you ready?” She could smell the vague scent of liquor around him but wasn't about to comment. Bree felt slightly conflicted considering she was pregnant and him being even mildly drunk could have put the baby she and Jason tried so hard for in danger. She of course just bit her tongue though. So the petite blonde started to walk toward his car, very slowly, in hopes that the male would get her hint that she was more than ready to just get this going and over before someone killed her.

[VINCENT MARC BENOIT]

take my place and look inside
i'm trying to find a place to hide, hide



lost my faith but don't you cry
i've got a hole inside and it's 10 miles wide

[/font][/size]

Vince froze as Bree walked out the front door and spoke. He saw Jason get up and look out the window discreetly as he started to walk back toward the car with Bree. "Hi. Yeah, I am." He said quietly, noticing the worried look on her face as he opened the driver's door and crawled inside, opening her door for her once he'd closed his. Vince fumbled with the keys nervously before cranking the car and then caught the stench of whiskey on his breath. "I'm not drunk, I swear." He took a deep breath and turned the radio back on, just because the useless background noise calmed him somehow.

He watched as Bree climbed in and quickly turned his attention back to the steering wheel. She was just as pretty as he remembered. He wondered if Elsie looked like her, or maybe like him. He hoped she looked like Bree. He took a few deep breaths and put the car in reverse, pulling out of the driveway and making his way back toward his apartment.

''So I'm guessing Jason's pretty pissed that you agreed to have dinner with me and talk about things?" Vince thought back to Jason looking out the window as they walked down the sidewalk toward his car. Honestly, as much as he disliked Jason he understood. If he had Bree all to himself he'd probably freak out too if she wanted to run off with an ex for a night, even if it was just to talk about a child that they'd had together and catch up. On the other hand though, deep down he loved that Jason felt threatened by him. He wondered if Jason knew that he and Bree were engaged before she came back to the states.

Vince pushed his hair back out of his eyes before turning onto the highway again. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his nerves and the alcohol in his stomach was just making him feel more uneasy now. He checked his mirrors quickly, catching glimpse of the small seat in the back that stood out so much against the black leather and sighed before switching lanes and racking his brain for anything to say. "Congratulations are in order from what I hear," Vince said casually as he looked over at her and nodded down to her stomach. Jason had mentioned she was pregnant, but honestly Vince didn't know how to feel about that.

Jealous, I suppose, was the word to call it. Jason was a jerk, and Vince didn't understand why she had chosen Jason. Vince may not have had kids or known her as long, but he had loved her more than anyone else could have, had wanted to build their family up, and support her in everything she'd wanted to do. He didn't understand what made Jason so much better, what made this baby so much more superior than their own daughter.

Vince turned into his apartment complex's parking lot just as his phone started to ring. Normally he wouldn't be rude enough to answer it in front of Bree, but since the caller ID said adoption agency and he had run out of things to say and his nerves were about to kill him he decided what the hell. "I'm really sorry about this," He said quietly to Bree, giving her a sincere look of apology before pushing the answer button on his blackberry, the radio faded into silence as his bluetooth in the car picked up the call. "Mr. Benoit?" The woman asked, pronouncing his name terribly. "Yes ma'am. We spoke earlier, correct?" Vince ran his hand through his hair as he drove slowly over speed bumps and up the hill to the condo. "Yes sir. I was calling you back to ask you about the anger management and drug treatment you were sentenced to at the age of seventeen in November."

Vince grabbed up the phone and turned the radio off completely. He'd never told Bree about being sentenced for rehab and anger management. "Yes ma'am. I assure you those are no longer a problem. I will e-mail you the numbers of my physicians and therapists as soon as possible." He struggled to keep his voice from stammering as the alcohol kicked back in and he pulled into the parking spot in front of his building. The woman thanked him and reminded him to also send in his references, as many as he possibly could since his record looked so bad that was the only thing that he could hang onto for hope now. He thanked her abruptly and hung up the phone. "Uh. Sorry about that." Vince stammered and took the keys out of the ignition, getting out of the car and walking to the other side to let Bree out.

"That was the uhm, adoption agency." He pushed his hair back out of his eyes and twisted his keys around the ring aimlessly. He felt so nervous, so out of touch, he needed something to fidget with, to fill his time. Normally he'd smoke, but since Bree was pregnant and all it just seemed wrong. He looked up the stairs and started to babble some more, hoping she wouldn't ask about the rehab. "Well, come on and I'll show you the apartment. It's a really nice place. I only have one neighbor and she's really quiet, has three sons, but they're nice kids. It's a nice neighborhood too." He babbled as he walked up the stairs and pulled at his key. They made it to the door and he unlocked it quickly, taking a few deep breaths to steady his shaking hands.

He held the door open for Bree and smiled when they walked inside. He loved this apartment, not near as much as his flat in Orleans, but it was still a really nice place. "It's nothing like Orleans," he stated with a sigh as he walked into the kitchen and put the lid back on the bottle of Jack and slid it under the counter before taking the food out of the oven and sitting it on the table to cool. Vince had never really been one to cook dinner, but he'd been forced into cooking classes around ten and had taken them up until he was fourteen so he was pretty decent.

"You can look around, if you'd like." He said as he walked back into the living room where Bree stood and glanced around the room slowly. "I don't mind it much." He whispered. The room was painted a light grey color and the sofa and chairs were red. They coffee table and two end tables were black wood and glass, along with the entertainment center that was pushed against a far wall next to the wall of all windows that led out onto the terrace. He happened to catch a glimpse of the open nursery door and quickly looked away, suddenly wished he had closed it. Jason had said that Vince had made Bree cry. This tore him up inside. He knew she felt bad that she had given Elsie away, but Vince had been angry. He didn't mean to make her cry or feel bad about anything. He was afraid if she saw the nursery it would.

He sighed and looked out the window just as lightning flashed quickly. "Whoa." He said, thinking fast to try to find a way to close the nursery door without being completely obvious. The car seat in the back seat of his car was probably enough to make her feel guilty. He walked back down the hallway toward his room and smiled at Bree. "I'll be right back. Just going to plug up the cell in case the adoption agency calls back." He said, jogging quickly down the hallway and pulling the nursery door closed, hoping it wasn't too obvious. The last thing he'd want to do was take her home upset or worse call Jason to come get her. He wasn't scared, just didn't feel much like yelling tonight. Vince plugged up his phone on the nightstand and walked back toward the living room, still a little nervous about what to say or do.

[/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

BRING HARLEY THE HORIZON!?&# @ CAUTION

[/font][/i][/right]

[AUBREEN LAURA AVERY-BARKER]

“I wasn’t going to say anything...” The young blonde replied back to him. Aubreen wasn’t one for confrontation really, so the whole situation between Jason and Vince stressed her out more than anything. More than being pregnant, more than any wedding she had in the works. She really just wanted things between the two males to be decent enough so that her blood pressure wouldn’t rise and kill her really. However, she wasn’t about to say anything about the smell of alcohol that danced upon Vince’s breath. Regardless if she wanted to admit to it or not, she knew deep down that he really did care for her and wouldn’t ever put her in danger. So, that was the reason why she wasn’t about to hop out of the car and have him sit in the passenger’s seat instead. Jason wouldn’t have been pleased with her actions, endangering herself and the baby. Sure, it was a risk, but she trusted Vince enough to not be a dumbass.

After that, it seemed to get a little quiet in the car. What would you really expect though? The pair hadn’t seen each other in such a long time and so many things had happened in their lives, separate of each other, that even Aubreen didn’t know what to talk about. Sitting there quietly just seemed like the best idea for the time being anyway. There was no harm in silence, although there was the faint sound of the radio happening as well. Her fingers played with the hem of her shirt, it happened when she found herself feeling nervous or anxious about things. She knew that Jason’s texts were soon going to be blowing up her phone (not that she minded) and that she was going to have to manage between the two men. Why she had to go and be a whore was beyond her.

Aubreen didn’t really want to talk about Jason, especially not to Vince. Not because she didn’t like talking about her husband, she loved gloating about how amazing and truly caring he was with her and the kids. But this time, she wanted to keep Vince and Jason separated. They didn’t need to know about each other, they didn’t need to talk about each other. In fact, Bree was pretty set on having two separate lives – the one where she would live her daily life happy and blissful with Jason and the other with Vince to help with anything regarding Elsie. She didn’t even want to touch on the fact of past feelings. Her voice, calm and soft before replying to him, “he’ll be fine.” Was all she said on the topic of Jason. She didn’t want to get in some sort of mild argument with Vince while he was driving.

She felt bad for Vince though really. In all honesty the girl hadn’t felt more like a sleaze then she did at this very moment. She was sitting in with an ex of sorts, in his car – someone who she had previously had a child with, and he had just picked her up from her home with her husband and now she was carrying his child. It was a little depressing for her to think about to say the least. Aubreen didn’t like the idea that she had flip flopped around when it came to her sex life and relationships. But as things had panned out, she wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. Every once and a while, she would turn her head slightly and look over at Vince. He still looked relatively the same from the last time she had ever seen him. It was almost uncanny how little he had changed. He looked healthier than she remembered, more together than before. But she just turned her head back, and looked out the window watching plants and cars as they drove by them.

Her eyes squinted for a few moments as she was looking out the window, hearing what Vince had said. It wasn’t like she had told him that she was pregnant. She honestly didn’t even want to tell him. She thought he’d just make assumptions and hate her more for the things she had done. Poor little Bree, so insecure. Yet, she turned her head slightly before letting a hand fall down to her stomach and rubbing it slightly. It was just a habit she had picked up from when she was pregnant with Elsie. She was always rubbing or patting her stomach as if that was helping to sooth the baby or the situation in some sense. “Thanks, Vince.” The girl was just a little lost for words, not because she was shocked or anything. She just didn’t know what to say. Aubreen didn’t want to upset anyone. “Who told you?” She asked in a polite tone. Really, he was going to find out sooner or later, but she would have rather told him herself.

A sigh of relief lifted from her lungs, happy that the awkward car ride was going to be over shortly. However, then she was going to be stuck in a house with him. A house she wasn’t familiar with and a house that Jason didn’t know she was going to go to. Really though, it wasn’t like she lied about this. They could still go out later if Vince was up for it, get ice cream or something after dinner so that they weren’t completely cooped up in one area for too long. Turning her head to Vince she nodded, she didn’t really mind anyone being on the phone around her. Being a personal assistant she was consistently on call for any questions or concerns from her boss. It was almost annoying at times how her boss would call during the most inconvient times when she was at home. “It’s fine, no worries. A small smile appearing on her face. She sat there silently, not really listening into his conversation. That was of course until she heard over the radio something about rehab and anger management. Bree just closed her eyes, feeling a little disappointed in herself. She really knew how to pick the keepers. Vince was a drug addict with anger issues, Jason was crazy with near bi-polar mood swings and had anger issues of his own – oh and he too enjoyed his fair handful of vices. No wonder her dad pretty much hated her and the boys she brought home.

Bree just stayed silent, whatever was going on with Vincent weren’t her problems anymore. Until he had Elsie in his possession would his issues ever become her problem to deal with. She lifted a hand up to him, “You don’t need to apologize, you don’t need to explain it to me Vince. You don’t owe me anything or an explination.” She felt a little rude with doing that but she felt the less she knew, the less she would have to be tired with him. She didn’t want to be the reason he fought through rehab or anger management classes. Even with Jason, she was firm in believing that if you wanted to get better, you only get better because you want to and you shouldn’t do it for anyone else. When you relied on other people to help you get better it only caused more harm than good. What would happen if that person you looked to while recovering did something that disappointed you? Your how path to recovery would be shaken and stirred – possibly make you start back at the beginning. It was just something she didn’t need to be a part of right now. She stepped out of the car and stood behind him slightly, waiting to lead the way to his place. Seeing him move, she followed and listened.

“That’s good.” Her voice was a little softer and meeker this time. Her hand pushed back her bangs slightly so she could see up a set of stairs. She was just thankful there weren’t many stairs to his apartment. The poor girl was already feeling tired and winded. It didn’t take much for her. Even with Elsie, she slept more than she was awake and the times she should be fast asleep she was awake. Her sleeping schedules were always off (if she slept at all) and she was just always more tired than she could personally handle. However, she didn’t really let other people see that. Jason just got the brunt of her tiredness whenever she would get home. Bree would just be a little extra grouchy before she’d pass out in a dead sleep. She wasn’t the happiest of pregnant women that was for sure. Especially with the extra stresses added in.

When he opened up the door, she walked in and immediately took off her shoes. It was a pretty nice place, she’d agree with that. The paint schemes were simple and inviting. However, she would have to agree that it was nothing like home. She always missed home. Home being that small house in Orleans that was packed to the brim with family and friends. She loved going back whenever she could. She wouldn’t be going home this winter or summer though since the wedding was taking over the majority of their money. Aubreen was okay with that, though, a small sacrifice she would make for the things Jason consistently sacrificed for her. Not to mention, her family was going to come here this summer and they were going to finally see where it was that she lived and worked and played. It was something that had never happened before. Not in the five or more years she had lived in Ridgewood. “It’s really nice Vince.” Her voice having that small tang of approval. Her hand running over the back of a couch before looking into the kitchen. She could smell the food the moment they were five feet away from the door. The perks of being pregnant. She was just glad that the smell was inviting instead of repulsive. Aubreen nodded when Vince said he’d be right back. It wasn’t like she was in a rush to go anywhere so she didn’t mind. Walking further into the kitchen she opened the fridge, seeing what kinds of things he had in there to drink before closing the fridge. She felt a little intrusive doing that. Her eyes floated around the room, seeing the calendar he had spoken of. “So what did you make for dinner?” She wasn’t even sure if Vince knew she was a vegetarian. It had been so long since they’d seen or spoken to each other after all.