Chapter 7

**Chapter 7** is the seventh chapter of the first Father Death story by Donald Newton.

## Plot

Ali learns something about her past that was hidden from her. She goes searching for answers, which brings in more questions that may be connected to the Carter family.

## Full Chapter

AT THE PARK

Tyler, Abby, Ali, and Vicki are sitting at the bench as they watch Nancy and Beverly play with other kids. Abby states how adorable Nancy is and how she loves spending time with her. Ali and Vicki feel the same. They all love Nancy. She's the little sister that none of them had. Tyler states that he's wanting to make up for all the lost times. He missed her baby years because of her kidnapping. Abby smiles over hearing Tyler's love for his sister. He's obviously a family man type. The type of man that she'd want to have kids with. She tells him that he's a great big brother and a good man. She adds that he'd make a great father. Tyler says that he's already acting like a father to Nancy. He adds that he's working to make money for Nancy rather than for himself even though their grandparents are financially taking care of her.

Abby suddenly hears footsteps very familiar to her. She turns to see -- DAN WILSON (18), her ex-boyfriend. Abby tells Tyler that is her ex-boyfriend and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend. Tyler agrees to play along. To his, Ali, and Vicki's shock, Abby grabs Tyler and proceeds to kiss him. It's long and passionate. Dan shouts, "HEY, ABBY!" Abby turns to him and says hello to her ex-boyfriend. Dan jealously asks who that "douchebag" is. Abby puts her arm around Tyler. He plays along and holds her hand. She smiles and informs her ex-boyfriend, "This is Tyler...my boyfriend." Dan asks if he is the loser that she cheated on him with. This upsets Abby, who corrects him by reminding him that she didn't cheat on him. But rather that Dan cheated on her.

Dan reminds her that he cheated on her because she wouldn't have sex with him. Abby tells him that he wasn't worth it after he kept trying to pressure her. She wasn't ready for it. This implies that Abby is still a virgin. Dan doesn't believe her, stating that she's just like her cousin's sister-in-law (Lorraine), a lying, hypocritical, cheating, whoring, piece of trash. He claims that the entire Carter family is trash. Suddenly -- TYLER SNAPS! Tyler tackles Dan and begins punching him viciously. Everyone turns their attention to the fight. Abby, Ali, Vicki, Nancy, and Beverly are shocked. Concerned about Tyler going to far, Abby begs Tyler to stop. But Tyler is filled with adrenaline, hate, and anger and his eyes show it. He cannot stop. He may go so far as to even kill Dan for those disrespectful remarks.

Tyler raises his fist up in a posture much like the way Ghostface would raise his arm up with his knife in his hand, preparing to stab his victim. Could Tyler be showing signs of a Killer inside him? Is he Ghostface? Or is he just an angry man? Suddenly, Abby yells, "TYLER!" Tyler turns to her then turn to Nancy, who is terrified of him. She cannot believe her hero is viciously hurting another person. Her face shows fear, hurt, and confusion. And that is all it takes for Tyler to snap out of it. He turns to Dan, who is bloodied and bruised up and can barely fight back. Despite Dan being a huge football player compared to the average sized Tyler, Dan is afraid of Tyler now. Tyler tells him, "If you come near Abby or anyone else in our family and say anything disrespectful like that again, I will not stop!" Tyler releases Dan.

Dan gets up and says that Abby isn't worth his time and trouble. He tells Tyler that he can have his fun with Abby, claiming that she will cheat on him eventually. But before Tyler can respond to his insult, Dan runs off like a pussy. Abby turns to check on Tyler to see if he's hurt. But he's just fine. Dan didn't get a chance to touch him. Tyler apologizes to her for snapping like that. Abby says that it's okay, pointing out that Dan insulted Tyler's mother and family. She thanks him for defending her honor though. But she points out that he needs to make it right for Nancy. Tyler turns to see Nancy still horrified by him. This breaks his heart. He didn't mean to scare her like that. How could he do that?

Tyler slowly walks over to Nancy, who is so scared that she hides behind Beverly, who is still in shock by what she witnessed. Tyler tells Nancy that he's not going to hurt her. She peaks her head out from behind Beverly, willing to listen. "I am so sorry that you had to see that, baby. I would never do that to you." Nancy begins crying as she regales to him that, "Daddy once beat a man like that then took me home to beat me for it." Tyler is heartbroken by this. This is why Nancy is afraid after seeing him hit another man. John would beat her after engaging in fights. Tyler says that he loves her and will always protect her. He holds his hand out for her. Nancy slowly takes his hand until they hug each other. Nancy tells Tyler that she loves him, too. It is a cute moment between the big brother and little sister.

AT THE WARNER HOUSE

Joseph is watching TV while Ali is sitting at the dining table with her mother, whose putting pictures into a photo album book. She's running out of pictures to put into the book and with a book not even close to being full. Karen tells Ali that in the parents' bedroom in the closet are boxes of pictures and asks for her to get them for her. Ali agrees to do this and heads for her parents' bedroom. Joseph comes by to see his wife's work. He nods in approval, stating that she's doing a good job with her photo book. Karen states that Ali is getting more pictures for it.

IN THE PARENTS' BEDROOM

Ali walks in and goes into the closet. There are several boxes on the shelves above the hanging clothes. So he grabs a step stool and proceeds to grab boxes. However, one box is between boxes. So she carefully attempts to pull out the box. But by doing so, she accidentally brings down a few other boxes that fall onto the floor, pouring out the boxes' contents on the floor. So she steps off of the stool and proceeds to pick up the contents from the boxes and put them back into the places. However, as she does so, one of the papers she picks up catches her attention. It's an ADOPTION CERTIFICATE -- With her name on it. Ali gasps in shock upon realizing what this means -- SHE WAS ADOPTED.

BACK IN THE LIVING/DINING ROOM

Ali's parents wait for her to return with the boxes of pictures. Ali does return with the boxes and places them on the table. She informs her mother that when she was getting the boxes that she accidentally caused other boxes to fall, which caused papers to fall out of them. Karen asks if she put them back. Ali confirms that she did, "However, when doing so, I found this..." Ali shows her mother the certificate. Joseph is stunned upon realizing what she found. Karen sighs upon seeing the certificate. Ali asks if it's true. Joseph and Karen glance at each other and give each other an approving nod. It's time to tell her. Karen confirms the truth; "It's true. You were adopted." Karen informs her that they had planned on telling her soon but didn't know when. She apologizes for not telling her sooner. Ali asks about her real mother. Karen says that doesn't know much about her real mother except for her name. Ali asks if she can meet her real mother, as she wants to know her story.

AT A COFFEE SHOP (A FEW DAYS LATER)

Ali is sitting down at a table with a cup of coffee in her hands. She's very nervous. A woman walks into the coffee shop. Her name is Courtney Campbell (42). She looks just like Ali minus the glasses and more fashion confident. Ali realizes that this is her biological mother and signals for her to her table. Courtney smiles and approaches her. She asks if she’s Ali, which Ali confirms. They shake hands as Courtney sits down and they begin talking. Courtney starts off by asking Ali for forgiveness for giving her up. Ali tells her that she forgives her. But she just wanted to know why she didn't keep her. Courtney explains that she wasn't ready to have children. She was partying around with her friend and that they did alot of drinking and drugs. Courtney and her friend were just too immature for children at the time.

Ali asks her biological mother if she's still doing drugs. Courtney states that she has been cleaned for nearly eighteen years. She stopped sometime after her friend, Lorraine, left almost eighteen years ago, to California. This statement gets Ali's attention. Her biological mother's friend name was Lorraine, who had a history of drinking, doing drugs, and left for California around the same time. So Ali straight up asks Courtney, "Was your friend's name Lorraine Carter?" Courtney is surprised by this and confirms this, asking how Ali knows her. Ali further questions if her parents' names are Clarence and Kathy and her brother's name is Andrew. A weirded out Courtney confirms these facts. "How do you know all of this?"

Ali explains to Courtney, "I am friends with them. My best friend is Andrew's wife's second cousin. I've been hanging out with Lorraine's kids, Tyler and Nancy, and I'm good friends with Nick and Charlie's kids." Courtney is shocked by this. Even after giving her up for adoption, Ali still found herself being friends with Lorraine's family long after she and Lorraine had no longer had any contact with each other. Courtney asks how do the Carter's treat her, reminding her of how they treated Lorraine. Ali states that the Carters have changed and are good people now. She explains that Lorraine came home to make amends because she was dying of cancer. This shocks Courtney, who asks if Lorraine is dead. Ali sadly confirms that Lorraine has died. Sadness grows on Courtney's face. She never knew about this until now.

Ali asks who her real father is. Courtney sighs, realizing that she has to confess a hard truth to Ali; "I don't know." She explains that there was a party at the WAVE store and she was both drunk and high that night. All she remembers is that she hooked up with a man. She doesn't remember who he was or even having sex. But a few weeks later she discovered that she was pregnant with her. Ali closes her eyes in disappointment. Courtney says that she's so sorry. Ali opens her eyes and smiles, saying, "At least I know where I came from." Ali has some closure if not all. But enough closure to move on.

## Trivia

* As the plot synopsis states, Ali will discover something about her past that will bring her closer to the Carter family.
	+ This turns out to be that Ali was adopted and that her biological mother, Courtney, was best friends with Lorraine during their carefree partying days. It reveals that Lorraine and Courtney slept with the same man, which could mean if Lorraine has any children with that man, then Ali could be related to members of the Carter family.
* First appearance of Ali's biological mother Courtney Campbell.
* Courtney Campbell shares the same first and last names as Scream actresses **Courtney** Cox and Neve **Campbell**.