Angie refused to discuss the break up with Rollie with their friends and she completely cut them off if they began pleading Rollie's case on his behalf. She simply told them they didn't understand the situation and when they pressed on, snapped and told them it wasn't any of their business.
Angie kept hoping that Rollie would come around, that he would realize how serious she was about this, and how wrong he was to come up with this plan in the first place. There was no way that Rollie could be as devious or deadly as Victor Loubar. He couldn't hope to be and she didn't want him to be either but any failure on his part to do just that could cost Rollie his life. Angie shuddered at that realization.
Guilt also reared its ugly head as Angie slowly came to the realization that this mess was partially her fault for letting Loubar influence their lives. She had made the decision not to have children with Rollie out of fear because of Loubar. She knew there were times when she felt paralyzed by that fear. Angie knew she should have realized how upset it made Rollie to not be able to have children of his own. She had fooled herself into believing that he was actually okay with her decision but she realized that he wasn't being completely honest with her about how he felt, to protect her and to keep her from blaming herself. Angie had offered Rollie his freedom but he had refused. Instead he hatched this plan to go after Loubar and it was all her fault.
Angie was completely miserable in the weeks that followed their separation, crying herself to sleep every night. Her melancholy was only becoming worse as Rollie's departure neared, with neither one of them budging from their positions.
One night, while Lucinda was out on a date, Angie lay on the couch crying herself to sleep for what seemed like the umpteenth time. The radio was on, playing in the background. The music didn't penetrate her thoughts until it played a song that tore at her heartstrings.
Meanwhile, several blocks away after a long day of training, Rollie stared out from his bedroom window. He held a bottle of water in his hands as he leaned on the windowsill and finally let his guard down to the thoughts that had been tugging at his heart all day. Training kept the thoughts at bay but now, here alone at the loft; he couldn't help but let his guard down. It was so damn tiring keeping those walls up.
Rollie longed to see Angie, to touch her, to feel her skin, and to tell her and show her how much he loved her. He closed his eyes and he could hear a song in his head, a song he had never heard before.
I know somebody and they cry for you.
They lie awake at night and dream of you.
I bet you never even know they do, but somebody's crying.
I know somebody and they called your name.
A million times and still you never came.
They go on loving you just the same, I know that somebody's trying.
So please, return the love you took from me.
Or please, let me know if it can't be me, I know when,
Somebody's lying, I know when somebody's lying.
I know that somebody's lying, I know that somebody's lying.
Angie went to the window and looked out. She looked in the direction of the loft, though she couldn't see it for all the buildings between her apartment and the loft and several city blocks. Still, she could picture it in her mind. Her heart ached to be with Rollie but her stubborn pride and her fear wouldn't let her.
Rollie stared out into the night. His hands touched the windowpane as he looked in the direction of Angie's old apartment, where he knew she was staying. He couldn't see it from here for all the distance that existed between their two places but it hurt his heart to know that she was so near and yet so far.
Give me a sign and let me know we're through.
If you don't love me like I love you.
But if you cry at night the way I do I'll know that somebody's lying.
So please, return the love you took from me.
Or please, let me know if it can't be me.
I know when somebody's lying, I know when somebody's lying.
Oh I, oh I...
Somebody's Crying by Chris Isaak
"Damn it, Angie." Rollie Tyler muttered as he gazed out the window at 256 Brewery Lane.
Meanwhile, several blocks away in her old apartment, Angie Ramirez rested her head on the windowpane.
"Rollie," she whispered quietly into the empty apartment.
If he had come to her that night she was sure she would have taken him to her bed, not all forgiven, but loving him all the same.
Rollie was at his wits end. It was several weeks since he and Angie last spoke, he refused to say they split up, and she still was not returning his calls. That was one thing if all they had was personal stuff between them but it was quite another when they also had business to discuss between them. They had the contract for the television pilot coming up as well as other odds and ends to attend to. Rollie finally sent several emails to Angie with 'business' or 'urgent business to discuss' as the subject line. Finally, after a few tries, Angie answered his email. It was not the response he had been hoping for.
Angie told Rollie that he should make whatever arrangements he needed to make to fulfill Tyler FX's contracts but that she couldn't commit to the process. She apologized but said she needed time to reevaluate where her life was headed. She included a couple of contacts for people she considered adequate replacements for her until he could find someone full time. She knew this was bad timing but she was also confident that he could deal with the situation, since he was so good at dealing with all kinds of situations.
Rollie's jaw dropped when he finished reading the email and he stared at the contents for almost twenty minutes. Angie wasn't coming back. She was through with him and with Tyler FX. That much was clear.
No!
That couldn't be. Rollie refused to believe it but there it was in black and white.
Rollie moped around for the rest of the day and even cancelled his training session resulting in Elena paying him a visit at the loft.
"What's got into you this morning Rollie? You need to stay on schedule. I don't have to remind you how important the training is for your mental and physical abilities, do I?" Elena asked.
"You don't have to remind me, Elena." Rollie sighed. "I'm just...I'm just a little tired, that's all. I think maybe I've been overdoing it."
Elena considered Rollie's demeanor and could admit that he seemed rundown. "Okay. If you're coming down with something you should take a day"
"I'm not coming down with anything Elena." Rollie assured her.
"Fine. Take a day. Get some rest." Elena turned as she reached the door. "I expect you back at the gym tomorrow."
Rollie half smiled. "Yes boss."
One morning a few weeks later Rollie received the shock of his life when he answered a knock at his door. There, standing before him with a big chicken eatin' grin, was his father, Dingo Tyler.
"D...Dad!" Rollie exclaimed in shock.
"Close your mouth Son, unless you're catching flies." Dingo pulled Rollie into a tight hug. Rollie looked past his shoulder to see his father's familiar Cadillac and trailer parked outside the loft.
"What? How? When?" Rollie stammered.
"Ah, I was on my way back from Canada. Spent the last summer up there, Son. It's bloody cold up there. Brrr! Did the circuit up there for a time but missed my old stompin' grounds, and my son, of course. How'v ya been Rol?" Dingo caught the sadness in Rollie's eyes, though Rollie tried to cover. "Rollie? What's wrong? You look like you've had your heart broken into a million tiny pieces. I haven't seen that look since your dear Mum—"
"Dad, please." Rollie walked away. "So, how long are you going to be around this time? Though, I should warn you, I'm due to leave town shortly."
"I thought I'd hang around for a bit and see what kind of action there is— now don't give me that look!" Dingo shot Rollie a reproachful glance. "My nose is clean. Least ways, it is now. Long story Son, tell you about it some time." Dingo placed his hat on the monster's head. He clapped his hands together as he turned his attention to Rollie. "So, where are you heading off to? You and Angie have a movie deal somewheres?"
Rollie flinched slightly when Dingo mentioned Angie's name. Oh, how he had hoped to tell him about the wedding! Now, what was he going to tell him?
"Earth to Rollie!" Dingo called. He had been talking to Rollie for five minutes before he noticed that Rollie wasn't paying attention. "Where is Angie anyway? She's usually a fixture around here. Say Son, do you think that...."
Rollie walked away slowly and Dingo followed. He noticed his son seemed to be in some kind of fog.
"Rollie? Are you all right? You seem kind of...off."
"I'm fine," Rollie insisted but couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes or the heaviness of his heart.
"Bloody hell, Son, you're not. What is it? What's wrong?"
Rollie sank down onto the couch and he fought the tears that threatened to come. "You don't know how often I kept hoping you would show up so I could share some wonderful news with you." Rollie paused. "And now it's too late—"
"Too late?" Dingo gulped. "What do you mean too late?"
Rollie couldn't keep the emotions at bay any longer and it came pouring out. "I...I wanted to tell you but now— what's the point? She's called it off. She won't see me and I leave in two days. I love her so much Dad. I just want to protect her. Why can't she see that? Why does she have to be so bloody stubborn?" Rollie kicked a piece of electronics across the room.
Dingo blinked his eyes and scratched his head. "Who Son? Who called what off? And more importantly, what are we talking about?" he asked as his eyes grew big with the realization that his son, Rollie, was in love. What's worse, apparently he was in love and it was ending badly. "What Sheila finally captured my son's heart and then went and broke it?"
Rollie looked up at him and debated whether he should tell him or not. But again, Dingo pressed him on the name. Bloody hell! He couldn't keep it a secret from his Dad just because it was over, could he?
"Angie," Rollie said finally. "It's Angie."
"What?" Dingo blinked several times. "Angie? Our Angie? The Ramirez slip of a girl?" Dingo blinked again. "She's the little Sheila that broke my boy's heart?" The news sunk into Dingo's dense brain. "Well, you just let me have at her...I'll tell her a thing or two. Break my son's heart will she?" Dingo remembered something. He scratched his ear. "Eh, Rollie...what was called off?"
Rollie was quiet for a moment. "Angie...Angie and I are— were—are in love. We were— are— oh bloody hell!" Rollie ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "We were supposed to get married. We were planning the wedding. But now...it's all been called off. I want to set things right but I can't because she won't even see me and I leave in two bloody days and I don't know when I will be back."
Dingo blinked again. "Married? My son...married?"
"Not anymore."
Dingo thought about it. Somehow he had never pictured his Rollie and their little Angie together. Not like that. Yet, now that he thought about it he had never been able to picture them apart either. They were close. He knew that. Rollie had taken Angie under his wing after her father had died, and he was fiercely protective of her. There was no doubt about that. Dingo wondered when this development, this change in their relationship had happened. As Dingo glanced around the loft he realized how much this place missed Angie's presence and as he turned his attention back to Rollie he could see how much his son missed her. Dingo could see the heartbreak in his son's eyes and the droop of his shoulders.
"Ah, Son. These things happen. Couples fight. They break up. They make up. If you ask me, making up is half the fun." Dingo winked at Rollie, whose heart was still on the floor. "I could try talking to her if you like. Sometimes, it takes someone who's lived a long life to point out that rough patches are a part of life."
Rollie shook his head as he sat down on the steps leading up to his bedroom. He had never known his dad to fix anything, especially when it came to human emotions. "No. Dad. Please. Don't do anything. If Angie and I can't make it through this...then maybe it's for the best."
Dingo scanned his son's face, taking in the sadness of his eyes and the droop of his shoulders. "Do you really love her, Son? You're really in love with Angie?" he asked as he sat down next to Rollie on the stairs.
"Yeah, Dad, with all of my heart," Rollie answered without skipping a beat.
Dingo squinted his eyes as he pondered the revelation. "Are you sure that Angie loves you? I mean, in that way?"
"I know she does."
Dingo shook Rollie's shoulder. "Then you need to fight for her, Rollie. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to fix it. You can't let that little slip of a girl get away. Life's too short for that, believe me."
"I've tried. The thing is, I can't be the only one fighting." Rollie sighed dejectedly. He didn't tell his father that Angie would not even come back to work at Tyler FX. Rollie still couldn't believe that might be the case.
Dingo stayed with Rollie that night. Rollie filled him in on everything from Leo's supposed death and his recent resurrection to Angie's rape and kidnapping by Loubar. Rollie wasn't sure if he should have told him but couldn't figure out a way for his father to understand why he hated Loubar so much without telling him besides, it was a sort of catalyst for he and Angie admitting their feelings for one another. Rollie then told him of his upcoming mission and explained the reason for his and Angie's break up.
"Well, I guess I can see why she would be so angry—"
"Gee, thanks a lot!" Rollie grumbled.
"Rollie...when you love someone as I did your mother, you begin to see that what we think are good reasons for doing things aren't always what they see as good reasons for doing things." Dingo had picked up his hat again and was playing with the brim of it when he spoke.
Rollie wondered if his father was speaking from experience. His mother always put up with his schemes...and suffered in silence.
"Angie's probably bloody scared. She doesn't want to lose you." Dingo swallowed deeply. "I don't blame her for being scared, Rol. Are you sure this is the only way?"
"Loubar will keep coming after us, after her, as long as he's alive." Rollie paused as the memories of Loubar's past deeds haunted him. Rollie grew quiet. When he next spoke his voice was low, almost mournful. "The thing is, every time he hurts her he does end up killing a piece of her little by little and he'll keep doing it until there is nothing left." Rollie's jaw set. "All I know is that I have to do something to try and stop him. We've both tried to live our lives without him influencing ours but when Angie decided that she didn't want to have a family because of him...I knew that he had won. He was winning and he didn't even have to be here. He was taking our family. I decided then that I wasn't going to let Loubar have that victory even if it means my life." Rollie regretted saying that the minute it came out.
"Oh, Son, please don't let it come to that," Dingo pleaded as he choked back tears as he realized the seriousness of the situation. "You're the only son I've got."
"I'll do my best, Dad." Rollie choked back his own tears. Rollie was incredibly happy to see his father, especially now. At least he had this before leaving. If only he could see Angie before he leaves but Rollie was beginning to give up hope that that would ever happen. The ball was in her court and had been for some time.
Rollie had a very busy next two days. He continued work on the programs he would take with him to London and he began the process of packing the equipment he would take. Rollie contacted Richard Owen and apologized for the delay and said that Angie was sick and would continue the work in a few days when she felt better. At least, Rollie hoped, she would if she came to the loft after he had left. Rollie did all this while continuing the training. Leo, Francis, and Mira took him out to a 'so long' dinner, since they fully expected him to come back soon.
After dinner he stopped outside of Angie's and looked up at her apartment. Rollie wondered if she was inside and if she would see him. Tomorrow he would be leaving. He swallowed hard at the thought of leaving without seeing her. Finally, making the decision, Rollie walked up to Angie's apartment and knocked.
"Rollie." Lucinda smiled at him as she pulled him in for a hug. "How are you? I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your bon voyage dinner. I had a late call."
"That's fine, Luce. You don't have to explain." Rollie grew apprehensive as his reason for coming preyed on his mind. "Is she here Lucinda? Can I see her?" Rollie's eyes held hope for him especially as she opened the door wider and let him into the apartment.
"She's not here Rollie—"
Rollie's mood plummeted. "Would you tell me if she were?"
"I deserve that." Lucinda looked woeful. "I know it seems as if I've taken her side but I haven't. I don't know if you really understand how upset she is. Angie said she wanted space and I thought it would help, so I lied when you called and said she wasn't in but I'm not lying now, Rollie. Angie went out earlier. She's been gone all day. I'm sorry." Lucinda rubbed Rollie's shoulders. "I think she knew it was almost time for you to leave. She's been incredibly grouchy lately." Lucinda half-smiled. "I think she went out to keep her mind off things."
A look of defeat painted Rollie's eyes. His shoulder's drooped. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, Luce. Would you tell her that?" He looked at her hopefully, as if that would make any difference. "My flight leaves at 10:00 a.m. Just let her know, okay? Tell her...tell her that I love her, okay?"
"I'll tell her," Lucinda whispered as she pulled Rollie to her in a deep, deep hug. "She knows you love her—"
"Tell her anyway. For me?" he whispered against her ear.
"I will."
Rollie pulled away slowly. "I better get going. I still have a lot of things to do."
Lucinda walked Rollie to the door and gave him a big hug. "Rollie, I can't be there tomorrow. I have to work but I will be thinking good thoughts for you and for you to be safe. I'll also keep an eye on Angie for you. You can count on that."
"I know, Luce. You're a good friend." He smiled weakly.
Angie returned to her former apartment not long after Rollie had left. Lucinda gave her his message and urged her to give up her pride and go to the airport in the morning. Or, better yet, to go and see Rollie tonight.
"Lucinda! Give it a rest, for once!" Angie almost yelled. For days Lucinda had been nagging on her about being stubborn and prideful and warned her of what that was costing her. She had had enough of the nagging earlier that morning and that was why she left and was gone all day. Now Lucinda was starting in on her again. Angie's nerves were already pretty raw and now to come home to this?
Lucinda continued. "You know you want to see him before he leaves. The only thing stopping you is your stupid pride."
"I am not discussing this with you anymore Lucinda!"
Lucinda was adamant. She followed Angie as she moved around the room. "Oh yes we are because I have done everything you have asked against my better judgment. I haven't answered the door when you wanted. I haven't answered the phone when you wanted. Rollie is my friend too! Now, you are going to listen to me because Rollie's plane leaves at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. You are not going to get another chance—"
"Just leave me ALONE!" Angie yelled as she grabbed her jacket and her bag.
"Where are you going?"
Angie glared at Lucinda. "To a hotel, for some peace and quiet!"
"Fine!" Lucinda yelled.
"FINE!" Angie yelled back as she slammed the door behind her.
"Well, Chiops, at least she knows what time his flight is." Lucinda smiled.