Jane Doe (open!)

[Deleted]

Faith Forrester was definitely not one to be trusted.

That was what was running through Ellie’s mind as she wandered the street. Ellie had not left Marco’s house since the day he found her passed out. She had spent two weeks delirious and in a haze. She could barely tell where she was. Once that was over with, Ellie slowly started to get better. She was eating, at least. And drinking something other than alcohol. She still looked like a mess. She was thin and the dark circles under her eyes made her look 50 rather than 33. This was what movie producer Ellie Cameron had been reduced to. And it was about to get worse.

Come out with me, Faith had said. Ben’s older sister had stopped by the house to talk to Marco, because her younger brother was a mess and she had a sneaking suspicion that he needed help. She didn’t know why. And usually, Faith was not one to hold a serious conversation. But every once in a while, there would be a time that the middle child felt the need to step up and do something for her little brother. And this was one of those times.

As luck would have it, Marco wasn’t at home that day. Nobody was, except Hannah, who very shyly let her in. When she saw Ellie, she decided that the redhead had been through enough over the past three months. She was there to try and make some kind of amends with the Del Rossi-Forrester families. And what better way than to help Marco’s best friend?

Faith had tossed Ellie her duffel bag that she always took with her, in case she ever felt like leaving town. What could she say? Faith was spoiled and was living off quite a vast inheritance, and had no aspect of responsibility whatsoever. In this situation, she felt it really came in handy. Faith and Ellie wore the same size for a while now. Faith was quite fond of visiting the Cameron Estate once Ellie struck it rich in the movie biz. They shopped together, swapped clothes, and it was fun. That is, until Ellie started having family problems. Faith didn’t really handle problems real well. That was why she made herself scarce after Marco left Ben.

“Pick an outfit. Get dressed. I’m taking you out,” she had said. Hannah had protested, saying that Ellie had a drinking problem and that her dad had just gotten her sobered up and she wasn’t allowed to have her wallet or her car keys because she didn’t need to get drunk again. Faith scoffed, told her niece that El wouldn’t need her car keys or her wallet and to relax, because she was going to take care of her. “Trust me,” she told her, and the seventeen-year-old sighed, hesitated, but then nodded. After all, Aunt Faith was family.

Faith didn’t understand Marco’s thinking. Then again, she had never helped anyone recover from alcoholism. It just seemed to her that making Ellie quit cold turkey. When Nate decided he wanted to quit smoking, he couldn’t just stop all at once. He had to ease himself off of it. She thought that was what Ellie needed to do. So, once she had the redhead on the back of her bike, she told her the plan, to take her to a bar.

“Faith, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t feel like partying.” She had been partying for three months solid. She was all partied out.

“Aw, come on, Ellie. You just need to cheer up.”

“Honestly, I’d rather go see someone. Like Jane.”

She wanted to see Jane? Faith didn’t understand it. Faith never had anyone she was real clingy with, anyone that she just HAD to see,. But, Ellie was different. So, Faith would take her to the Dot. She would even have a slice of pizza with her.

But once they were there, and they found out that Jane wasn’t even in Toronto, anymore, Faith got bored. And as soon as she spotted a good-looking guy, Faith ditched her.

That was an hour ago. Ellie wandered the street, not really sure of where she was going. The redhead hadn’t walked down these streets in a long time. She had no wallet, though, and no cell phone. And for the first time in months, she missed Sean.

“Ellie Nash?” God, she hadn’t been called by that in so long. Ellie looked up, just in time to see a blond waving at her. The thing was, though, that she didn’t recognize her in the least.

“Yes?”

“Maggie Maxwell. I’m a huge fan of Vampire Pictures. Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Really, it would be a dream come true.”

Ellie bit her lip. A fan? She hadn’t run into any fans in so long. Come to think of it, she didn’t think there was any projects going on at the studio. There hadn’t been since earlier that year. But, it was a ride. And a ride was something she could use right now. With a small, tired smile, she nodded “yeah. Sure. Anything for a fan.”

Twenty minutes later, the two women were sitting in a small coffee shop about three blocks from Degrassi street. Ellie felt awkward and nervous, and unsure of what to say. This wasn’t like her, not around fans. From the first day she started acting, Ellie was always real good with the smiling and signing of autographs. If only she knew she was about to be scooped.

Two mocha lattes were ordered, and the blond clasped her hands. “Wow. Ellie Nash. I never thought in a million years that I would get to meet you. Last year, my daughter and I saw “Stand and Deliver” together. It made us both cry, it was so emotional. Wonderful, really. Especially the role that you played.”

Ellie blushed. “Aw, thanks. It was a lot of fun. The girl I got for Melanie, she was brand new at acting and was so grateful for her big break.” She wondered where Lyndsay Chase was now.

“You know, I remember when you first came on TV as Flur on Rogue. You were amazing. “I’m not a man!” It was so cool. I was completely addicted, until you left the show. Look at me, acting like a teenager”

That made El relax a little With a warm smile, she nodded “no, it’s ok. I was 17 when I started out. Completely nervous. I had never even thought of acting before, but Manny Santos convinced me, and--”

“The Manny Santos?” Maggie asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. We went to high school together, at Degrassi”

“Oh yeah? My daughter’s going there now.”

“So are my kids.”

Perfect Maggie thought. “So, from mother to mother, do you feel like Degrassi is safe, after everything that’s happened?”

Ellie shrugged “Well, I mean, all schools have their problems”

“Really? That’s your view of it?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Even after what happened at the dance?”

what happened? Ellie wanted so badly to ask the question that lingered on her mind. Though, she didn’t want to ask at the same time. How could she explain not knowing what went on at school? That she had been in a drunken stupor and practically ignored her kids for the last three months? No, she couldn’t do that. Besides, it couldn’t have been too bad, right? This was probably just one of those mothers who had to talk about every little thing and worry over every little thing. So, Ellie improvised.

With a shrug, she smiled a little “Dances are always filled with drama. You gasp about it and move on. It’s high school”

Maggie nodded, barely able to hold back excitement. She had been looking for something that she could really use, something no other news station or paper had. Something that was all hers. And now she had it. She was obviously not thinking too much about the woman she was talking to. After all, if that was the way that Ellie felt about it, then she deserved this, anyway. Maggie just needed an excuse to leave, so she could head to the office and work on the article. She forgot that she had brought Ellie here to begin with. Looking at her watch, she gasped. “Oh! Look at the time. I’m so sorry, but my daughter needs to be picked up. It was really great meeting you. Take care!” and with that she left, not even paying for the coffees before she did.

Ellie was stunned. She had no idea what she was going to do now. As the waitress handed her the latte that was ordered and set the second one down for Maggie, she swallowed the lump that was in her stomach. And when the waitress set the bill down, it got bigger. She had no way of paying. She looked around before nervously taking a sip of her coffee. Now what?

[Aaron Nash]

Aaron honestly had no idea where Ellie was. It would probably have been easier to find Sean, which he also planned to do. He needed them both back and in the house. The family needed that. There was no stability there and it was breaking up the entirety of the family not to have the two heads of the household there. And Aaron worried about them, because that was his family. And while he hadn't soared off the deep-end, others were and he needed to help them. He walked into Tim Hortons, not expecting anyone to be there that he really knew. He especially didn't expect to see a certain redhead in the room. Aaron's brow furrowed at first. Was he just seeing things all of a sudden? No way was she actually there, right? He was supposed to be looking for her and she just popped up there?

With only that brief hesitation, Aaron walked over to the table. He saw more than one cup there and because he did, he figured maybe she was waiting for someone. Underneath the surface, it bothered him a little, that she was here, with someone else when her family was absolutely out of its mind and losing it without her. He didn't even ask first, but sat down in the seat directly across from her. "Mom?" He asked, and of course he knew by now it was her. She looked awful, frankly. But, maybe that was to be expected.

[Deleted]

She would have to borrow a phone and call Marco. Ellie knew that much was true. He would probably lecture her as soon as he had her, too. Unaware of her surroundings, Ellie looked down at the table, moving the spoon around with her fingers. That was, untl she heard the voice of an angel.

Ellie's eyes slowly raised and when they set upon him, they instantly glossed over with tears. "Aaon." Her hand reached across the table for his hand, even though she would much rather be in his arms. "My boy. My brilliant boy." She knew that it must be so disappointing and embarrassing having her for a mother. She couldn't live without Sean. She couldn't live without the bottle. Already, Ellie was wanting a drink. She knew by now that she had a problem. But she wouldn't admit it to her kids. That was something she just couldn't do.