Tell Me a Story – Sweet Dreams

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

Olivia (Danielle Campbell) continues interrogating Tucker (Paul Wesley) about his insomnia and why Maddie (Odette Annable) couldn’t be his sleep doll even though both of them looked similar. She lets him know that Maddie is being stalked. When Tucker starts getting anxious, Olivia sedates him despite him begging her not to. Apparently, drugs make him have inescapable nightmares about his childhood. Beau (Eka Darville) comes to wish Ashley (Natalie Alyn Lind) good morning and finds her overwhelmed. It turns out that a fan in Seattle who was a depressed burn victim earlier looked up to Ashley as an idol and now feels more of a burn survivor as opposed to a victim. Beau is out of words and takes pride in Ashley’s strength. She wants to do some good. It’s breakfast time at the Garland mansion. Ron (Caleb Castille) is pissed to see Veronica (Garcelle Beauvais) and Derek (Christopher Meyer) being okay with Simone (Ashley Madekwe) making breakfast. He doubts if it’s poisoned. Veronica asks him to play nice. They switch to business talk and Simone eavesdrops their conversation.

Ashley finds Rebecca (Carrie-Anne Moss) panicking. Jackson (Matt Lauria) has been unreachable since last night and she wants Maddie to contact him. Ashley asks her mom to leave Jackson to his own devices and then reveals that she’s ready to perform. Rebecca, who was rather hoping for a new song recording, isn’t sure if it’s the right time to perform outside from a safety perspective. She wonders if Beau had a role to play in making this decision. Ashley clarifies that it was her own choice and that as a performer remaining cooped up for months won’t do her any good. Maddie is at Jackson’s home to see if he’s okay. He answers the door after a while looking more disheveled and hungover than ever. He realizes that Maddie has been crying. She reveals about her breakup and how he cheated on her. Meanwhile, Tucker dreams of his childhood where his mom (Denise Dal Vera), who’s busy day drinking, blames him for Anna’s (Stella Pileggi) death and how his dad (Jon Briddell) tries shielding him from all of it. Simone and Veronica bond over Frank while going through old family photos which apparently were taken down by Frank after Simone left the mansion. Just then Clay Callaway (Matt Walton) arrives at the doorstep. He wants to speak to Veronica in private.  Simone introduces herself to him and gives hints that she’s aware of the illicit relationship. Ron, who ran to the door , gets shooed away by Veronica. Simone has a chuckle. She soon calls up Clay’s firm and books a meeting with him.

Jackson learns from Maddie that she hasn’t told their mom about the breakup yet as she herself doesn’t believe it to be true. Jackson then reveals how Simone dumped him. Maddie; however, is sick of his vicious, binge-drinking cycle and doesn’t want to be part of it. Beau learns from Twitter that Ashley decided to perform again. He thinks it’s unsafe but Ashley isn’t worried; she’ll have him by his side. Beau, however, has been offered a promotion by NPD and touring with her might not be possible for him. Ashley doesn’t want him to let go of his dream and the same applies for her. Tucker now dreams about Anna’s funeral. The church is empty. Even his parents have left and he is alone with the casket. Young Tucker (Ezra James Lerario) lays down next to Anna, holding her tight. All of a sudden she grasps his arm and Tucker zips out of his dream, frightened and perspiring. Olivia meets Maddie under a fake name, Rachel Peterson. Rachel was Brendan’s client until he vanished. Now, she wants Maddie to take up her case. Apparently, after going against her well-settled and “more practical” sister’s wishes, Rachel and her fiancée started a small business together. However, their relationship soon ended and now her money is stuck. Rachel feels that one needs to embrace risks while being entrepreneurial and successful. She notices Maddie’s engagement ring and wonders if she was sure of her fiancée being “the one” when she said yes. They discuss it further over lunch.

Ashley receives a delivery. It’s a pair of dead lovebirds and a threatening message of not getting lucky the next time. Beau orders an immediate surveillance footage check while Rebecca begs Ashley not to perform publicly, especially after this newest threat that’s clearly intended at her love life. Beau rushes to the NPD with the package and finds Gwen (Felisha Terrell) questioning Taylor (Audrey Corsa). Apparently, she named a few guys who worked with Dylan. Gwen promises to expedite the investigation and asks Beau to stay safe. Maddie and “Rachel” are at a restaurant, discussing Tucker. Maddie reveals how she fell for his  creative side, but soon realized that he had an alternating insomniac persona which was darker and twisted. This vicious cycle wore her down and their relationship lost its steam. Now, they’re broken off after Tucker admitted to have cheated on her. Maddie cuts the lunch short as she receives an urgent call from Christine (Amanda Jaros), Brendan’s wife. Christine shows Brendan’s cell phone-mirroring iPad to Maddie where he last texted Tucker for a meeting at the Brixton’s to discuss Olivia. After finding Tucker’s number unreachable, Maddie decides to give him a visit and discuss Brendan. Jackson gets home, cleans his house and starts making calls hoping to land a new gig. He doesn’t get one, and just as he’s about to sip some whiskey, he decides to try AA. He successfully attends one session and even becomes friends with a woman named Donna (Karina Logue).

Rebecca finds Damien (Phillip Rhys) discussing Ashley’s upcoming performance at the Music City Auditorium. He’s confident that Ashley singing a soulful unplugged ballad to Beau standing at the wings would be a treat for her fans. Despite Rebecca’s wishes, Ashley decides to go ahead with the plan. Tucker is now dreaming of the time when he started having insomnia after Anna’s death. Younger him tiptoed to Anna’s empty room, picked up her doll, tore its head off and slept by its side on Anna’s bed. Lorraine is furious at Tucker. She throws the head and asks him to come to terms with his twin sister’s demise. Tucker then starts hallucinating that the doll is weeping. Simone visits the desolate firm and feels like she’s being followed. She shrugs it off and soon meets Clay. She understands that Cora died because of the proof she had against Clay and Veronica. After Simone accuses him of changing Frank’s trust, Clay admits to having committed the crime but adds that Veronica couldn’t have been the murderer as she was with him that night. Simone gives an ultimatum to Clay that if he doesn’t hand over Frank’s original trust to her by the next morning she will release the whole story to the media. While leaving the floor, Simone feels someone else’s presence in the vicinity. She fastens her pace and is about to leave the premises when she hears a thud – it’s Clay. He fell from the skyscraper and died! Maddie reaches Tucker’s locked cabin. After unlocking it she finds “Rachel” in there. She is stunned upon knowing who she really is. After clarifying that she and Tucker are in no way a couple, Olivia offers to reveal who Tucker Reed really is. Maddie feels scared.

Beau has come to pick up a hamburger for his father. He steps out of his car and is about to walk into the eatery when he gets into a car accident. The car that hit him belongs to none other than Taylor! She parks the car in a garage that has a detailed flow chart connecting each of the Pruitt family members. It is evident from the garage that she had done extensive research on making an explosive.

Taylor Conroy is Ashley Rose’s bomber.