Tell Me a Story – Thorns and All

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

Delirious from being drugged, Tucker (Paul Wesley) starts to see his deceased twin Anna (Stella Pileggi). When he tries touching her Anna’s dead self flashes before him. Olivia (Danielle Campbell) enters the basement and asks a thoroughly frightened Tucker to not try to escape as she’ll watch him from his phone. Tucker is curious how she cracked the passcode. Olivia scoffs at his easy pin of “2662” which when alphabetized becomes “Anna.” Jackson (Matt Lauria) is worried upon learning about Cora’s death. Simone (Ashley Madekwe) gets home after lodging a complaint against Veronica (Garcelle Beauvais). She isn’t worried about violating her parole as much as she’s about being followed by Wade’s men who want their money back. Simone decides to hit the road as it’s unsafe for her here in Nashville, but before that she breaks up with Jackson who was hoping to help her through all this. Jackson is hurt. Gwen (Felisha Terrell) comes to meet Beau (Eka Darville) and she starts mocking his newfound “Ashley Rose’s (Natalie Alyn Lind) mystery man” status. They soon discuss Dylan Young. It turns out that the police are scrutinizing Young’s financial records to nab the hirer and that his girlfriend, Taylor, is mostly a dead-end. Gwen promises to emerge victorious but only if Beau stays out of the investigations; Beau gives his word.

Victoria calls an urgent family meeting in regards to Cora’s death. She’s worried that the police might soon be pointing at them and wonders if Ron (Caleb Castille) was involved. Ron swears that he hated Cora but never acted upon it. Veronica asks him and Derek (Christopher Meyer) to never take the good times for granted as she sacrificed a lot to reach here. When asked about his last night’s whereabouts, Ron ambiguously reveals that he was out. Derek backs him up. Veronica finds their brotherly affection odd.

Ashley undergoes her routine checkup. The doctor (Lana Young) lets her and Rebecca (Carrie-Anne Moss) know that the grafts are healing well, the vocal cords have healed and that the face mask can be taken off now. Ashley is afraid that her mom might coax her back into touring. Rebecca promises not to push her until she is ready. Beau comes in and Rebecca asks Ashley to go talk to him. The lovebirds discuss their paparazzi pictures. Ashley apologizes for dragging him into this and Beau asks her not to feel guilty. Even though they both try denying their feelings for one another, deep inside they know that it’s anything but true. Jackson gets wasted. He calls up his friend Steve (Lane Toran) for arranging a hookup.

Olivia threatens Tucker with a knife and forces him to reveal about what happened to Brendan. He admits to have killed Brendan, dumped his body in the lake and taken care of his car and cellphone. Olivia is glad as it removes the chance of them getting caught. Tucker asks her about Luke’s abusive nature in return. It turns out that Olivia killed him out of self defense and that he wasn’t her first kill. This shocks Tucker. Olivia asks him to cooperate. She realizes that both of them feel lonely and share a greater sense of mutual understanding than others. Detective Gwen (Felisha Terrell) summons Simone and interrogates her about parole violation. During their exchange, Simone gets the vibe that she’s being seen as dad’s murderer. In Gwen’s defense, Simone did appear out of thin air just in time for her dad’s death and the subsequent “trust” work. Simone clarifies that she arrived after her dad’s death and that Cora had all the proof of Veronica’s extramarital affair. Just then Maddie (Odette Annable) arrives, seemingly representing Simone and prevents Gwen from questioning her client anymore, especially as she’s mourning the death of her father right now and is in no position to answer questions. Maddie walks Simone out who soon realizes that Jackson might be behind this. Maddie clarifies that it wasn’t Jackson. Maddie does wish that they would get back together as she had quite the effect on her brother. Just then Veronica comes to pick up Simone. It turns out that she was the one who appointed Maddie and also cleared out Simone’s debt. She wants to start things afresh and on a positive note. She wants Simone to live with them.

While feeding Reba and checking out Tucker’s book dedicated to Maddie, Olivia gushes about dating a writer while speaking to dad on her phone. Later, as she continues reading the book, Maddie gives a call to Tucker and Olivia panics. She lets it go to voicemail and soon makes Tucker listen to the message. Maddie is coming over to talk! Olivia wants him to break up with Maddie before she arrives, or else all his secrets will be out. Tucker is forced to break Maddie’s heart. He claims to have lost interest in their relationship for a long time and pretending to be okay with it ultimately took its toll on his health and behavior. He also admits cheating on her with Olivia. Maddie breaks down as Tucler calls off the wedding and cannot imagine the recent turn of events. Steve takes Jackson out for partying and even introduces him to one of the girls for a hookup but Jackson loses interest quickly and heads home. Ashley is checking out her and Beau’s paparazzi pictures as well as the slew of hate comments directed at her looks. Rebecca apologizes for being a controlling momager and is okay with her popstar daughter herself deciding her comeback date. Ashley doesn’t think that she’ll ever be ready, given how much people hate her. While Rebecca believes that talent would make her skyrocket again, Ashley knows that being the complete package is what counts more. Ashley reminisces how being pretty was her thing since childhood and, now that it’s evaded her, she feels like she’s lost her identity in life. Rebecca asks her to not lose belief in herself.

Veronica welcomes Simone into the mansion and Ron looks aghast! Derek; however, is happy. Veronica asks the boys to be welcoming as she wants them all to be a family. Simone gets the maid’s room and she doesn’t mind at all. She is done fighting and chasing Cora’s murderer. Derek finds her acceptance quite unsettling. Beau and Jeff (Tom O’Connell) spot Jackson arriving at Ashley’s. He is wasted but still wants to have a jam session with Ashley. Beau tries to stop him but fails. Rebecca is the one to prevent Jackson from going upstairs in that condition. She hates how he’s mirroring Robbie’s alcoholic side. Hurt, Jackson returns to his car ready to drive away but Rebecca stops him again. She begs him to prove to her that he’s better than Robbie by handing over the car keys. Jackson eventually does and Rebecca sighs in relief. Olivia can’t understand how a man like Tucker even fall in love with Maddie. She later follows the lawyer on her way home. Jeff escorts Ashley to Beau’s place. Beau is taken aback upon seeing her. Ashley lets him know about the positive report from the doctor and how her mask is purely cosmetic now. She confesses her love for him as she doesn’t need to hide her inhibited true self in front of him. Beau calls her beautiful, inside and out. When he tries to unmask her face Ashley squirms as she’s not ready to embrace her scars yet. Beau respects her choice. They kiss.