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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:10:24 GMT -5
Name: MaggyWood.
Fandom: General Hospital
Title: Dreams Change
Summary: This is a retelling of Liason in 2001 when Jason stayed in Elizabeth's studio only.
Classification: Liason
Rating: PG for now.
Spoilers: None
Warnings: Some violence lateron.
Distribution: FFW, JRK
Feedback: This is my first attempt so any feedback would be appreciated.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:10:43 GMT -5
Chapter 1
Elizabeth stood on the docks looking out to the ocean. The cold January wind caused a shiver to run down her back, but she didn’t really notice. She was lost in thought. So much had happened in the last two years, she hadn’t really had time to herself. She needed to think. Reflect.
As she looked back, she couldn’t believe everything that she had been though since she moved to Port Charles. She had been raped. At the time she hadn’t thought she had been strong enough to survive it. But Lucky had been there to pick her up and give her the strength to keep living. Lucky had saved her and when she fell in love with him it had felt so right. They had planned to move to New York, where she was to be a painter and he a musician. They would be happy, together and in love. Then Lucky died and her world fell apart again. She hadn’t thought she would ever get past his death. But she did. She had rebuilt her life and was slowly looking to the future when Lucky returned.
It had been the happiest moment of her like. Her prayers had been answered. Lucky had been kidnapped and held against his will for over a year. At first, she and everyone else thought they would get back together. But Lucky had pushed her away and had wanted her to be with Nicholas, his brother. Elizabeth had been devastated. Now, she knew it was all an act to stop Helena, but at the time, it had hurt her more than his fake death had. Lucky had pretended to be under Helena’s control so that she would release him and with the help of Luke and Nicholas, Helena had been killed. Through all of it, she knew they were meant to be together. He was her miracle. Their love was a once in a lifetime thing. True love.
Now finally, they were together. Just like they had planned long ago. So why wasn’t she happy. She looked up to her studio window. Lucky thought she was working on an art assignment for her abstract art class. She hadn’t really lied. She did have that assignment. She just couldn’t seem to do it. She hadn’t been able to paint for sometime. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Every day she stared at the blank canvas. Every day she waited for inspiration, waited for some creative spark. But it never came. She couldn’t understand why when her life with Lucky was finally getting back to where it was before he was taken, her painting was going off track.
She was beginning to think that her professor from two years ago was right. She didn’t have what it takes to be an artist. Maybe she should give it up. Maybe she should put away her silly dream of being a painter and find something else like Lucky had. Before the fire, Lucky had had dreams of playing the guitar. Since he’s been back he hardly plaid anymore. Now he wanted to be a photographer. She had been so happy when he had picked up a camera. After Helena was killed, he had become so depressed. Like he had no purpose. But now, he was excited about taking pictures and working for his mother’s cosmetics company. He was slowly becoming a successful photographer, while she was lost.
Maybe she should give in and join Lucky at Deception. Laura had had a crazy idea of her, Elizabeth, becoming a model. At first, she had laughed at the idea. She had thought they were joking. But Laura had been serious. Was still serious. Laura wanted her to be the new Face of Deception. Lucky loved the idea. They would be together, just like they had planned only this time, she as a model and he as the photographer. She had gone along to a test shoot just to make them happy. She knew they would eventually see that she wasn’t cut out to be a model. She didn’t have what it takes. Then everything would get back to normal and she could concentrate on her painting.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had painted something. Instantly The Wind came to mind. It hadn’t been the last thing she painted but it was still the best thing she’d done. It was the last time she had felt passionate about painting. Being on the back of Jason’s motorcycle had given her so much inspiration; she hadn’t been able to put her brush down. It was like she had been possessed. Nothing since had given her that feeling.
Jason. Every once in a while, something would happen and she would think of Jason. A man wearing a leather jacket, the sound of motorcycle, when she heard Oh Come All Ye Faithful. She missed him. He had been her friend when she needed it the most. He had shown her that she was strong enough to handle any situation that came her way. He had given her a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. He never told her how to feel. He just listened and understood. If he were here right now she would probably be at his door telling him her problems. And she knew he would listen. He would never turn her away. But he wasn’t coming back. When he left after everything with Emily had been taken care of, to her it seemed permanent. Carly, his ex-girlfriend had married Sonny, his boss. She still didn’t know everything that had gone on but she knew Jason was the one that had lost. He lost Carly and he lost Michael, his son. She didn’t think he was ever going to get past that. It was a shame. Jason was the one person she felt deserved to be happy.
If Jason were here, he would tell her she had to be honest with Lucky. Tell him the truth. She didn’t want to be a model. But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to hurt Lucky. He was so excited about them working together, she didn’t want to let him down. She knew Jason would understand.
Checking her watch, she raced up the stairs towards her studio. Lucky would be at her studio any minute. They were going to discuss the proofs he had developed of her test shots. She knew he was going to tell her they weren’t good. Then this whole model issue would be over.
She opened the door and hurried inside. She needed the place to look like she had been working.
“Elizabeth.”
She turned shocked at hearing a voice she thought she would never hear again.
“Jason?” she asked not quite believing he was standing in her studio. She crossed the studio and gave him a hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he replied hugging her back. He hadn’t known what her reaction was going to be. Him just showing up without any warning.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” She pulled away.
“It’s complicated. I still have a key. Do you want it back?”
“What? No, no it’s yours. I wanted you to have it.” She looked at him trying to see what he wasn’t telling her. “You’re in trouble?”
“No. Not yet, anyway,” he said a little unsure. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He shouldn’t get her involved in his business.
“Something for Sonny?” she was worried. She knew his life was dangerous. She didn’t want anything to happen to him.
“You know, I can’t tell you now. Later, maybe.”
“Right, of course. Where are you staying?”
This was it. He could tell her a safe house and then she wouldn’t be involved, he thought. But it was a good plan. She won’t get hurt. I’ll make sure of it. “Here. If it’s okay. I need to keep out of sight for a while.”
Something going on, she thought. “Of course. You know I’ll help you out with anything.”
“Thank you, I’ll try not to get in …” Jason stopped and turned at the knocking on the door.
“That’s Lucky,” she said moving towards the door. Jason stopped her just as she reached for the knob. He pulled her away from the door.
“He can’t know I’m here,” he said quietly. “No one can know I’m in Port Charles.”
“You know he wouldn’t say anything,” she whispered.
“Please, I really need your help.” Maybe she’ll change her mind, he thought.
He looked in her eyes trying to convey the importance of this. The plan wouldn’t work if people knew he was in Port Charles.
“Elizabeth?” Lucky asked as he knocked again.
It took only a second for Elizabeth to make up her mind. “I’m coming. Just a second,” she yelled to Lucky then quietly, “Okay, I won’t tell him.” She picked up her jacket and purse. She saw the relief in his eyes before she walked to the door and turned off the light. She would keep Jason’s secret from Lucky. It was just another in what was becoming a long list things she couldn’t tell Lucky.
“Hey,” she said as she opened the studio door. She walked into the hall not giving Lucky a chance to see inside.
“Didn’t you hear me knocking the first time?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. I was just lost in another world working on my assignment.”
“It’s okay,” he replied pulling her close to kiss her.
She returned the kiss quickly, and began walking to the stairway. “Let’s go to Kelly’s.”
~*~
The voices began to fade as they walked toward to stairway. When he couldn’t hear them anymore, Jason moved to the couch. He knew Elizabeth was back with Lucky, but hearing them together just made it real. He knew it was what she had always wanted. Always dreamed about. He was glad that her dream had come true. But something wasn’t right. While he had waited for her, he glanced out the window and saw her standing on the pier. She had looked lost and alone. When it looked like she wasn’t going to move, he had wanted to go down and ask her if she was all right. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t risk being seen.
There was a traitor in the organization and he needed to find out who it was. Maybe more than one. The studio was a perfect hideout. No one would suspect he was there and it was close to the coffee warehouse. He thought again of Elizabeth. He wanted to protect her. That was why he had left a year ago. After a bomb had been placed in her studio to kill him, he knew she would always be in danger if she were around him. As much as he didn’t want their friendship to end, he knew it was the right thing to do.
But now he was involving her in his business. When he had first thought of the studio, he had dismissed it. He wouldn’t put Elizabeth’s life in danger again. But no other place seemed right. Her studio felt natural. Maybe it was because he had stayed here while he was shot. He felt comfortable here. Something that wasn’t easy for him. He never called any place he stayed home, except for the gatehouse when he had Michael. Whenever he thought of the studio, he thought of it as home. Looking out the window, he saw Elizabeth and Lucky crossing the prier. He would make sure that nothing happened to her or her studio.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:11:07 GMT -5
Chapter 2
Elizabeth and Lucky walked quietly to Kelly’s. She was worried about Jason. She hoped he wasn’t in real trouble. The image if him bleeding in the snow came to her. Even though she hadn’t seen him for months, she knew he was alive. She didn’t know how she would feel if he died. He was her friend and she didn’t want him to get hurt. She wondered if it, whatever it was, had anything to do with Sorel. She knew Sorel’s trial was about beginning soon. Maybe Jason was here to make sure Sorel didn’t get off. She knew Emily was worried. Especially about Zander. He was going to testify against Sorel and the murder of the police officer. If Sorel was acquitted then Zander’s life would be over. Sorel would kill him for sure. Maybe Jason was here to make sure that didn’t happen. She knew Jason didn’t like Zander but for he would do anything for Emily. And if that meant protecting her boyfriend Jason would do it.
“Elizabeth? Elizabeth?”
She looked up to see Lucky staring at her. They were in Kelly’s and she was just standing by the doorway. “I’m sorry,” she said as she continued into the restaurant and sat at an empty table. “I was just thinking of Emily and Zander.”
Lucky sat down in the chair opposite her. “Oh, really? Because I know today at the photo shoot, it was a little hard on you.”
Okay here it comes, she thought. He was going to tell her he changed his mind about her being a model. She felt relieved.
“But I got to tell you, you were wonderful,” he said smiling.
“What?” she wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, my mother is so excited. She loved the pictures. She wants to set up some studio time to do more professional shots and discuss her ideas for the campaign,” he said oblivious to her dismay. “She wants you to come by and talk about a contract. This is going to be great.”
“At least one of us thinks so,” Elizabeth muttered quietly. She couldn’t believe it. She was so sure the test shots were going to convince Lucky and Laura that she wasn’t right for the job. Now what was she going to do.
“Do I have to convince you how beautiful you are,” he asked teasingly. He leaned across the table and kissed her on the lips.
“Wow, I’m amazed because that convinced me,” she replied. She couldn’t let lucky know she wasn’t happy about this new development.
“Good. Because from what I saw today, you’re going to be a big star.” He smiled as he looked up at Penny, the waitress on today, and ordered a coffee for him and a hot chocolate for her.
“You know what? I would rather just forget about this whole photo shoot thing,” she said as Penny walked away.
“Oh really? I could handle that. Actually, I’d like to spend the rest of the night just making love to you anyway.”
“Spending the night together sounds wonderful, but…” she stopped as Penny returned with their drinks. “But I really need to go back to my studio and finish my assignment.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just the painting isn’t going well and it’s due soon.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue. She had been lying to him for so long about her painting she couldn’t remember when was the last time she told him the truth.
“All right, if that’s what you want, you know, paint. I’ll just sit and watch.”
Getting up from the table she replied, “Oh well, that will distract me and that kind of defeats the purpose.”
“Okay, fine. But paint fast. I’ll be waiting here for you. And, um, you know just use your key.” He moved to take her in his arms and kiss her again. “I love you.”
“I will. I love you, too. Bye.” She hurried out the door without a backward glance.
Lucky continued to look at Kelly’s entrance. He knew Elizabeth was worried about the Face of Deception thing. She had doubts that it would be a success. She didn’t want to let him down. But he knew she was perfect. He just had to show her great this was going to be. The two of them working together and living together was everything he had dreamed about when he was being held. He had dreamed about the life they were going to have and he knew this was the beginning of that dream. He just needed Elizabeth to see that too.
~*~
“It’s just me,” Elizabeth said as she opened her studio door. She didn’t want Jason to worry about Lucky finding him. She saw him standing by the window.
“I know. I saw you come up from the prier.” He looked back to her. “Thank you for not letting him know I’m here.”
Taking off her coat, she walked up to him. “Jason, what are you doing here?”
He knew she would have questions, he just hoped she liked his answers. “I’m here for business. I can’t tell you more than that. But no one except you can know that I’m here.” He moved away from the window and sat on the couch.
“Not even Sonny?”
“Sonny knows. But it’s a little complicated. We need to double-check security issues.”
She moved to sit on the couch’s armrest. “You think there’s someone you can’t trust. A traitor?”
He knew she was smart. “We just need to be sure,” he said reassuringly. He didn’t want her to worry. He wasn’t going to put her in any danger. He would find the traitor and then leave.
“So Sonny’s men can’t know you’re here?” So this wasn’t about Sorel. Or maybe the traitor works for Sorel, she thought.
“That’s right. I should only be here for a few days,” he replied. He looked at her. He could see she was uncertain. She probably didn’t like that she had to lie to Lucky. He remembered that before the fire they had had an honest relationship. He didn’t want her to have to lie to the man she loved. “I realize this will be hard for you. I can leave, just don’t tell anyone you ever saw me.” He got up to walk to the door.
Elizabeth reached for his arm. “No, no Jason, you’re going to stay here, okay? I understand you wouldn’t have asked me if it weren’t important. I’m just going to tell everyone that I’m busy working on a painting and I can’t be disturbed.” Jason needed her help, and she wouldn’t let him down. “Do you need anything? Something to eat?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Jason was relieved. She was letting him stay. He walked back to couch.
“Are you sure? Because I can have a pizza back here in five minutes.” When he shook his head, she let the issue go. She remembered Jason not eating much the last time he was here. She would make sure he got plenty to eat this time. She would come by every day to make sure he was all right. “Okay, I should get back to Kelly’s anyway. Lucky is waiting for me. He and I worked everything out. We’re better than ever,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
It was a small thing, but Jason noticed it. “That’s…” he didn’t know what to say. She didn’t look happy. “I’m glad for you.”
“Yeah, me too. When you were here last summer, Lucky was pushing me towards Nicholas. But it was all a set up to catch Helena. After Helena was killed, Lucky explained that he needed her to believe she had control of him. We’ve been together ever since.”
“That’s good. I know you dreamed of having Lucky come back to you. I’m glad you’re happy.” He knew something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure if he should ask her about it.
“Does Carly know you’re here?” She just remembered his ex-girlfriend. Would he want to see her now that she’s married to Sonny? “And Michael have you seen him?”
“No, to both. Carly doesn’t know and I haven’t seen Michael.” It still hurt to think of Michael. He knew Michael was better off with Sonny as his father, but he still missed him in his life. Maybe, he always will.
Elizabeth saw the sad look in Jason’s eyes. He hasn’t gotten over Carly, she thought. “Is it okay if I ask where you’ve been these past months?”
Leaving his thoughts of Michael, he looked at Elizabeth. “Everywhere. Nowhere.” They both smiled remembering the night at Jake’s. “I just traveled around a lot.”
“I’m glad your back, Jason.” She moved to hug him. “I missed you,” she said as she moved back a little to look into his eyes.
“I missed you, too,” he replied looking back at her.
For a moment, Elizabeth thought she saw something in his eyes. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she began very aware of the fact that she was only inches away from his lips. Her eyes dropped to look at them. Quickly she lifted her arms off his shoulders and moved off the couch. She walked towards her jacket. She needed to get back to Lucky. He would be waiting. Jason gave a little sigh and followed her to the door.
“I’ll be here tomorrow morning with breakfast, okay?” She asked without looking back. “If you need anything, let me know tomorrow and I’ll try to get it for you. Bye.” Without waiting for his reply, she opened the door and left.
Jason stared at the closed door. Only the first day and he was already having trouble keeping his feelings to himself. Elizabeth must have sensed something during the hug. That was why she took off. He hadn’t wanted to know that he had feelings for her. Especially now that she was with Lucky. He didn’t want her to worry about it. If she did that would change their relationship and he didn’t want that to happen. If his choice were between being her friend secretly loving her and not being her friend because she knew how he felt, he would prefer to be her friend. He would just have to be more diligent about keeping his feelings to himself. Elizabeth must never know how he felt about her.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:11:29 GMT -5
Chapter 3
“Elizabeth, these pictures are beautiful!” Laura exclaimed. She was sitting behind her desk the proofs Lucky had developed scattered across her desk. “I knew you were going to be perfect for this job.” She looked up from her desk smiling.
Elizabeth returned Laura’s smile with her own. “That’s great,” she replied without the same enthusiasm. She sat in the chair a little uncomfortable. When Lucky had told her the proofs were great, she’d thought he was just being nice. She hoped when she spoke to Laura the truth would come out. But here she sat listening the Laura gush over the pictures more sure about her idea than before. What was she going to do? How was she going to get out of this modeling thing without hurting Lucky and Laura?
Laura noticed Elizabeth’s discomfort. “I know that you didn’t have the greatest time at the photo shoot.” Ha, it was torture, Elizabeth thought. “But I know it will get better. Lucky will be doing all of your pictures and we will try to make it as relaxed as possible for you.” Still see Elizabeth’s unease Laura asked, “You do want to do this, don’t you?”
This was it. This was her chance to tell Laura the truth that she didn’t want to be a model. She didn’t want to be the new Face of Deception. She could see it Laura’s eyes. Laura would be okay if she didn’t want the job. “Well,..”
“Of course she wants to do this,” Lucky said walking into the office. “Why wouldn’t she?” He walked up to Elizabeth and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Mom, this is our dream. This is what we’ve always wanted.” He looked down at Elizabeth, back up to Laura and then back to Elizabeth. She smiled lovingly back at him.
Laura continued to look at Elizabeth. She was worried about her. Elizabeth didn’t look as excited by this new venture as Lucky was. “Elizabeth, are you sure?”
“Yes,… Laura, I’m very sure. It’s just as Lucky said this is our dream,” Elizabeth replied. She looked up at Lucky. He looked so happy. She didn’t want to let him down.
Laura was quiet for a moment unsure what to do. Elizabeth’s unease seemed to be gone. Maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe Elizabeth wasn’t uncomfortable about being a model. If she were, Elizabeth would tell her. Of that Laura was certain. Elizabeth was never one to lie. “Okay great, let’s look at these pictures. Lucky you did an amazing job. These pictures are fantastic.”
“Thank you, but with Elizabeth as the model any picture would be great,” he moved to stand beside Laura and looked down at the pictures scattered across the desk.
Elizabeth sat back and watched them. Laura began talking about more getting more proofs done and taking to advertisers to begin coming up with a campaign with Elizabeth as the center. The more they talked about the future, the more Elizabeth just wanted to scream and run out of the office. She didn’t know if she could handle months and months of this. The constant lying and pretending were getting to her. She felt guilty. They both looked so excited and she wasn’t. For from it. She felt like she was betraying them, even though she was doing it for them.
“Elizabeth? --- Elizabeth.” She looked up to see Laura staring at her.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I was just saying that I’ll have the lawyers draw up the contracts and send them over for you to sign.”
“Over my dead body!”
All three turned around to see Carly standing in the doorway. “There is no way in hell this little girl is going to be our new model for the Face of Deception,” Carly stalked into the office and stopped at the desk.
“Carly, we agreed that I would head up the perfume line and you would be in charge of the cosmetics,” Laura replied in a confused tone. “What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem?” Carly waved her arms about and looked at Laura as if she had lost her mind. “What’s the problem she asks? I’ll tell you the problem. There is no way this goody-goody muffin face is going to be our model. Not while I still have equal say in this company.” She looked at Elizabeth. If looks could kill I would be dead, Elizabeth thought. She never thought she would love that Carly hated her so much. Maybe this was her way out without having to hurt the people she loved. If Carly didn’t want her for the model, then she wouldn’t be the model.
“Carly, that is not your decision to make.” Laura was beginning to get angry. She knew working with Carly was going to be trouble. “And you don’t have equal say in this company. You only own 49% of the stock. Any final decision belongs to me.”
“You know Sonny owns the other 1% and he would side with me in any matter.”
“That’s right. Bring Sonny into this. What’s your big mobster husband going to do? Threaten us to do things your way?” Lucky piped up. He was angry. There was no way his dream, their dream, was going to end. He moved closer to Carly getting in her face. “I’m not afraid of Sonny.”
“Lucky, don’t,” Elizabeth moved to stand in front of Lucky. She tried to push him towards the couch in the middle of the room, but he wouldn’t move.
“Listen cousin, I don’t need my husband to take care of you. That I could do all by myself.”
“Carly, Lucky, stop it,” Laura yelled. “This is not a school yard. This is my office. Let’s sit down and discuss this like adults.”
At first neither Carly nor Lucky moved. Elizabeth was afraid that they were actually going to start to fight. It was so out of character for Lucky. She had never seen him like that before. Carly backed away first.
“Laura, you’re right. We need to settle this problem in a civilized manner.” Carly moved to sit on the couch. “I don’t want Elizabeth as the Face of Deception.”
Laura sighed, “Why not?”
“I don’t think she has what it takes. She wasn’t what I envisaged as the Face of Deception. The Face of Deception is exotic and sultry. She’s sexy and mysterious. She knows what she wants and gets it.” She looked to Elizabeth. “That little girl isn’t the Face of Deception.” Elizabeth stared at her. The one person who has always hated her was the only one speaking the truth. She didn’t know if she should be insulted or thank her.
“What! You don’t know anything.” Lucky said angrily. “Who gave you…”
“Lucky, stop it,” Elizabeth interrupted. “Carly owns this company with Laura. She has the right to her opinion.”
“She’s lying. You are perfect for the job. She knows it. She just doesn’t like the fact that my mother thought of it and she didn’t.”
“That’s not true,” she needed to calm him down. She didn’t want him and Carly to start up again. “You know what? Let’s leave Carly and Laura to discuss this.” She looked at the two women for agreement. “It’s their company and their decision.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door. “Laura, let me know what you’ve decided, okay?” At Laura nod and Carly snarl, she continued out the door with Lucky following behind.
She was glad to be out there. This situation was getting more and more complicated. She had to find a way to fix this without hurting Lucky and Laura.
“I can’t believe that woman,” Lucky exclaimed. “Who does she think she is? This company was my mother’s idea. What right does she have to object to her choice?”
“Lucky, Carly has every right to object to me as the Face of Deception. She is the part owner.”
As they entered the elevator, Lucky turned her around and looked into her eyes. “Why aren’t you upset?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Carly can destroy our dreams and you’re calm. You seem okay with it. Why aren’t you as mad as I am?”
What do I say, she thought. Carly’s my saviour. She may have saved me from months of lying and pretending. “Lucky, she not going to destroy our dreams. We have more going than that. I’m sure that Laura will convince Carly that I’m the right choice.” This was the perfect time to see his reaction, she thought. “And anyway, even if they find someone else, it won’t be the end of the world. We’ll still be together.”
“What, how can you say that?” Lucky began pacing around the elevator. “Elizabeth, this is our dream. How can you say it won’t be the end of the world?” He stopped pacing when the elevator door opened. “I’m not going to let Carly ruin our dream. You’ll see.” Without looking back he walked away.
Elizabeth called after him, but he didn’t stop. She didn’t know what to do or say. Nothing she did seemed to work. She was worried about what he would do. Lucky refused to let this idea in his head go. She couldn’t understand why it was so important to him. Why was he trying to change her? Before the fire, Lucky loved her painting. Now he didn’t seem to care if she painted or not. He rarely asked her about what she was painting. Not that she was. But he didn’t know that. Guilt passed through her. She was lying to him. She couldn’t seem to stop. It was just one lie after the other. What has happened to us? How did we get here?
She started walking, images of the past running through her mind. They were happy once. Before the fire. Nothing was the way she had imaged it when she’d prayed for Lucky’s return.
When she looked up, she realized she had walked to her studio. Jason! She had forgotten to bring him breakfast. He must be starving. She looked at her watch. It was almost six. Unless he went out, he hadn’t eaten all day. She needed to get him something. Walking to Kelly’s, she ignored the feeling of joy that she would be seeing him.
~*~
Kelly’s was busy when Elizabeth walked into the restaurant. She went straight to the counter and looked for Penny to order. She called out to her assuming Penny had gone to the back for something. Emily came out instead.
“Emily, what are you doing here?” Emily had on an apron and held a notepad in her hands. “Where’s Penny?”
“Hey, Elizabeth.” Emily walked behind the counter and up to her. “Penny’s sick, so I took over her shift now that I need to support myself.”
“What do you mean support yourself?” The last Elizabeth had heard Emily was back home at her parents’ house after returning from boarding school.
“I moved out,” she said defiantly. “I couldn’t stay there. I hadn’t been back five minutes, and they were already attacking me about Zander. He’s a criminal Emily. He’ll hurt you, Emily. We just want you safe. They don’t understand that I love him. Zander would never hurt me. He loves me. And right now he needs me more than ever.”
Zander would soon be testifying against Sorel in the policeman murder case. Elizabeth didn’t really like him much. He was unpredictable. She remembered last summer when Zander had been a drug dealer and they had thought he had killed the policeman. Zander had kidnapped Emily and tried to escape to Canada. Jason had stopped him along with her and Lucky. Zander was dangerous and she didn’t want Emily hurt. But she couldn’t tell Emily her fears. She got enough criticism of Zander from her parents. Plus she remembered another time in her life when those same words were directed at her about Jason. Everyone had said he was dangerous and would hurt her. She had stood up to practically the whole town. Jason was her friend and she wasn’t going to let anyone tell her she couldn’t be with him.
“They just care about you. They don’t want anything to happen to you. Maybe they have a point. Maybe right now is not the best time to be around him.” Elizabeth tried to reason. She knew Emily wouldn’t listen. She hadn’t when it came to Jason and he was only a friend. Emily was in love with Zander. Anything negative against him would only fall on deaf ears.
“Elizabeth, not you too,” she looked betrayed. Out of everyone Emily had thought Elizabeth would be on her side.
“I’m not saying you can’t be with him for ever. Just that it might be a good idea for you to keep apart until after the trial. I wouldn’t want Sorel to go after you thinking he could get to Zander through you.”
“Jason and Sonny would never let that happen,” she said with confidence. “I’m more worried about something happening to Zander. He’s not Sonny’s favourite person right now. And I’m not really sure where Jason is. There’s no one looking out for him making sure he’s safe.”
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. She needed to order and leave. “Sorel wouldn’t go after Zander. It would be too risky to get rid of him just before the trial. Everyone will be looking at everything Sorel does. I don’t think he will get the chance. Em, I need a number 3 to go okay.”
“I know, but I would still feel better knowing that Jason was protecting him. I haven’t talked to Jason since I came back from boarding school. He usually calls me every few days. I just hope something hasn’t happen to him,” Emily replied before leaving to give cook the order.
Elizabeth wanted to tell Emily that Jason was only blocks away in her studio, but she knew Jason wouldn’t like it. No one had to know he was in town even Emily.
“Jason’s probably doing something important for Sonny and can’t call right now,” she said reassuringly when Emily returned. “You know what his job is like. When he can call you, he will.”
“I know you’re right. I’m just worried,” she said before leaving to take the orders of the new customers.
Walking to the studio, Elizabeth thought back to what Emily had said. She was worried too about Jason. She hoped whatever he was involved in wasn’t too dangerous. She laughed. What was she thinking? Jason's whole life was dangerous. That’s what you live with when you’re in the mob. She, more than anyone, knew that since she’d found him almost dead in the snow a year and a half ago. Jason lived a dangerous life. One that was kill or be killed. But she knew he never took stupid risks. That wasn’t Jason. He always thought things through, assessed the situation and then made the right decision. He didn’t let feeling control him and that was what kept him alive.
Sometimes she envied his ability to control his emotions. Most people thought he didn’t feel, but she knew he did. He just kept it hidden so he could do his job. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like to kill someone. She knew he took it seriously. She didn’t think he liked doing it but knew he would and he had when someone threatened Sonny and his family. Jason would protect anyone close to him. She remembered when Sorel had approached her last year. Jason would have killed him if he had touched her. She should’ve been afraid of Jason but all she’d felt was protected. She knew Jason would die to protect her. She took comfort in that, like he was her guardian angel. She smiled at the thought and continued walking to the studio.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:11:47 GMT -5
Chapter 4
“Jason?” she called quietly into the dark room after closing the door. He was standing at the window. “Can I turn the light on?”
“Yeah,” he replied moving towards her.
“I brought you something to eat,” she said holding up the bag from Kelly’s. “I know you must be starving. I was going to come by this morning, but Lucky had to go to his darkroom to develop some pictures and then I had a meeting with Laura.”
“Elizabeth, It’s okay. I don’t expect you to take care of me. It’s not like the last time I was here.” He looked at her. He could see she remembered as he did the time he spent here when he was shot. Elizabeth had taken care of him by bringing him food and medicine. “You’re letting me stay here. That’s more than enough.”
“Is everything okay? The room?” She gestured around the room.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s – it’s quiet though.”
“Well, would you like to hear about my wild and exciting day?” She smiled. She needed to keep this light. She didn’t want to complain to Jason. It was only his second day back. She didn’t want him thinking that all she ever did was complain about her life to him.
“Sure.” He sat and began eating his meal.
“Okay, well, how should I put this? I am either going to be the next big supermodel or a complete and total failure.”
“What do you mean?” He looked up from his sandwich. That wasn’t what he was expecting. He thought she was going to talk about Lucky.
“Well, Laura had this crazy idea of me being the new Face of Deception,” she laughed and framed her face with her hands. “Can you see this face on every bus and billboard and in every magazine?” She didn’t wait for his reply. “Lucky thinks it’s a great idea. He’s the photographer. He sees the two of us working together and living together just like we had planned before the fire. He’s so excited. He can’t wait for us to get started and then we can travel around the world taking pictures and selling perfume. We’d be making so much money. I wouldn’t have to worry ever again. And then I’d be able to paint anytime I want.”
Jason didn’t say anything. He knew she would have to come up for air soon. He could tell something was wrong. She only got this way when she didn’t want people to think she wasn’t okay. But he could see it. There was something wrong.
“Do you really want the job?” he asked quietly.
“Of course I want the job. Who wouldn’t? The money is excellent.”
“Elizabeth, money’s not important to you. I know.” He didn’t want to bring him up but Jason knew that he was behind Elizabeth’s unease. “It was Tom, right? That was his name? He was a photographer.”
Her smile was frozen on to her face. She hadn’t talked about him in a very long time. Not even Lucky had brought up the subject when this whole model thing began. “I guess I told you that, huh.”
“Hey, it must be tough.”
She was quiet for along time. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned his name, he thought. “Elizabeth – Elizabeth, are you okay?”
She couldn’t keep it in any longer. She needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand. And she knew Jason would. He always did. “Yeah, Yeah. I felt like he was watching me, too. Every time the lights flashed, I jumped. I was trying so hard to smile, but I know I looked ridiculous. These people I didn’t even know were mauling all over me. Even with Lucky taking the pictures all I wanted to do was run and hide.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t take the job.”
She laughed. She knew Jason would say that. With Jason everything was simple. If you don’t want to do something, don’t do it. She wished she could take his advice but it wasn’t that simple.
“Laura’s counting on me.”
“What about you? What about what you want? Are you still painting these days?” He knew the answer. He’d had all day to look around. He knew there were no new paintings either complete or in progress. It looked like she hadn’t painted anything since the last time he was in Port Charles and that was six months ago.
Elizabeth didn’t want to get into this discussion with him. He already knew about her issues being a model. She didn’t need him to know about her problems with Lucky as well. At least not now. She didn’t know if she would ever be ready to tell him that.
“Mostly, I’m just happy. My life has never been so perfect. Lucky and I were in love before the fire, but now – I didn’t know it could be like this. You know, when Lucky and I went to search for Emily in Canada, we were having problems but – Oh wait, Emily. You probably don’t know what’s going on.”
Jason could see that Elizabeth wanted to change the subject. Should he push and find out exactly what was wrong with her and Lucky or should he let it go. As much as he didn’t want her to hurt, he also didn’t want to here about Lucky and how much she loved him. “Have you seen her?”
“She moved into Kelly’s this morning. She’s working there too. She told me she just couldn’t live at the Quartermaines?” She could see he was worried about her. “I know you want to see her.”
“Yeah, well. I’ll deal with it.” His mind didn’t seem to be in the room. It was off somewhere, she didn’t know. Was he thinking about Emily or was he worried about whatever it was that had brought him back to Port Charles.
“You know, I can listen, too.”
He looked at her. He usually kept his feelings to himself. He’d had a lot of practice working for Sonny. Even though there were a lot of things he couldn’t tell Elizabeth, he wanted to. It scared him a little. With Robin and Carly he had always kept a part of himself separate from them. But with Elizabeth, he wanted her to know everything about himself. As much as he would love to tell her how he felt, he knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. He didn’t think she would ever be ready.
Ignoring the question he reached into his jean pocket and took out all the money he had on him. “I want you to give this to Emily.” He said handing her the money.
She didn’t move to take the money. “And tell her what, I robbed a bank?”
“Just say it’s from Sonny.” He kept his arm extended waiting for her to take the money.
She looked at him concerned. “You’d feel a lot better if you could see her.”
“No, that can’t happen.”
“You know she would never say anything.”
“Look, Emily cannot know that I’m in town,” he gave up holding the money and paced it on the table. “I wish you didn’t.”
Elizabeth stared at him. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She wanted to take his worry away. To make everything he was dealing with go away. But she couldn’t. Jason deserved to be happy and she wanted more than anything to make that happen. She just didn’t know how to do it.
She was startled out of her thinking by a knock on the door. Then she heard Lucky’s voice through the door, “Elizabeth.”
She didn’t reply. She continued to look at Jason quietly. She had forgotten about Lucky. She didn’t know when in the conversation, but sometime between the modeling and Emily her problems with her family and Zander her problems with Lucky had disappeared. Now it was standing outside her door.
“Just a minute!” She turned to grab her coat. She looked back to Jason and said quietly, “I’ll be back tomorrow.” She hesitated for a second then grabbed the money on the table and walked to the door. Making sure Lucky couldn’t see inside, she turned out the light and closed the door.
“Hey!”
“Hey.”
She started walking towards the stairwell forcing Lucky to follow. “I was just heading over to Kelly’s.”
“Well, I came to walk you back.” He was oblivious to anything suspicious going on. Elizabeth felt a twinge of guilt. She was always lying to Lucky. She didn’t know when she was going to stop. She was beginning to think she couldn’t. And maybe if she was honest with herself, she was even a little afraid to. She thought back to his reaction earlier today.
“Elizabeth, I’m sorry about this afternoon.” She looked up at him. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset and walked off.”
“You scared me a little, Lucky,” at least that was the truth.
“I know and I’m sorry,” he said again. He ran his hand through his hair disturbing it. For a moment he looked like his old self. “I don’t know what came over me. It just upset me so much. This is our dream, Elizabeth. We always said we would be together and now Carly is going to take that away from us.”
She stopped. “Carly can’t take our dreams away. She doesn’t have the power. Sure she can stop me from being the Face of Deception, but she can’t stop us being together.” Was that what was going on? Was Lucky afraid they wouldn’t be together? “Lucky, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Then that’s all we need,” she said reassuringly. She took his hand and continued walking.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:12:09 GMT -5
Chapter 5
Kelly’s was quiet when they walked in. It was almost closing. Emily was behind the counter wiping it down. “Hey you guys! How’s everything with the perfect couple?”
“We’re great, Emily,” Lucky answered. “I heard you moved in.” They both took off their coats and sat at the counter.
Emily smiled, “Yep, I’ve declared my independence. It’s going to be great. I’ve moved into the empty room beside Elizabeth and as soon as this trial is over and Zander is free, we’re going to find a place together.”
“Emily, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Elizabeth couldn’t stop the anxiety from building up in her. “What about school? Your family?”
“We’ve already talked about my family. They don’t trust me, and they don’t believe in Zander. I don’t want anything to do with them.”
“You say that now, but what about later?” Elizabeth didn’t want Emily to make the biggest mistake of her life. She needed to see that she was moving too fast.
“There won’t be a later. Elizabeth, you know the Quartermaines, they don’t change. Look a Jason. It’s been years since the accident and they still haven’t gotten over it and moved on. They could have a relationship with Jason. Even a small one, as much as he would allow. But all they see is the past. They can’t see the present Jason. It’s the same with me. They don’t see me as I am now. They just see the little girl they took in who needs to be sheltered. Well, not anymore.”
Elizabeth could see she wouldn’t win the family argument with Emily. “What about school? You haven’t finished high school yet. And you always wanted to go to university and become a lawyer.”
Emily wasn’t happy. Elizabeth was supposed to support her not talk her out of it. She, more than anyone, knew what being in love was all about. “I’m going to finish high school. I only have one semester to go.” She laughed, “University is now out of the question. I still want to go, but now I won’t be able to afford it. Not on the money I make here at Kelly’s.”
“I’m sure your parents would still pay for university.”
Emily laughed again. “Not if grandfather has any say. He’ll use it as a bargaining chip to keep me away from Zander.”
“You don’t know that.” Elizabeth was felling desperate. She didn’t want Emily to ruin her life and that was all she could see from this discussion to live with Zander.
“Yes, I do. Elizabeth, you don’t know the Quartermaines like I do. They would use anything. Ask Jason, he’ll tell you.”
Lucky had remained quiet throughout their conversation. “Elizabeth, why are you so against this?” Elizabeth was shocked. She knew he didn’t like Zander either. “Emily loves Zander. Now I may not think he’s the greatest person in the world. But if she loves him and he loves her, then they have a right to be together. Just like us.”
“Thank you, Lucky. I knew I could count on you,” Emily leaned over the counter to kiss him on the cheek before going into the kitchen to clean up.
Elizabeth stared at him for a moment. “Zander’s dangerous. Remember what happened last summer? Remember what he put her through? If she stays with him he’ll get her killed one day.”
“Yes, I remember. But I also know that Emily has the right to love who she wants to love. I may not like it but it’s her right.”
Elizabeth didn’t know how to argue with that. He was right. She didn’t have the right to dictate to Emily about who she could love even if it was going to hurt her. Before she could say anything else, Emily returned counting her tip money.
“Emily, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have attacked you about Zander. I just don’t you to forget about your dreams. You deserve to have your dreams come true.”
“It’s okay, Elizabeth. I understand. I still want to go to university and become a lawyer. I’m not giving up on that dream. It’s just that sometimes dreams change for the better. Being with Zander is my dream now.” She hugged her. “You deserve to have your dreams come true, too.”
Elizabeth returned the hug. What Emily said stuck in head. Sometimes dreams change. “Oh, Emily, I have something for you.” She reached into her coat pocket and retrieved the money Jason had given her. “Here, this is for you.”
“Oh my God! Elizabeth, where did you get this money? Did you rob a bank?”
“Sonny. I saw him after I talked to you, and he wanted you to have it.”
“This is great!” She went around to hug her. “I was worried I wouldn’t have enough money until I got my first paycheck. Now everything is going to be wonderful.” She hugged Elizabeth one more time and then went back into the kitchen.
“When did you see Sonny?”
Elizabeth was expecting the question. “After the meeting I came to Kelly’s and saw Emily. We talked and then I went to my studio. On the way there, I met Sonny on the pier. We talked, I mentioned Emily, he gave me the money and then I continued to the studio.”
“You didn’t go to his penthouse?” She could hear the accusation in his voice.
“Why would I go to his penthouse?”
“I don’t know, you tell me? To find out about Jason?”
Elizabeth was shocked. “Jason? What does Jason have to do with anything?”
“I don’t know. Why else would you be talking to Sonny if not about Jason?”
“Lucky, Sonny is my friend. I don’t need to talk about Jason to talk to him.”
“Sonny isn’t your friend. He isn’t anyone’s friend. Neither is Jason. They’ll only get you killed.” He was getting upset. His face flushed.
Elizabeth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Sonny has helped me a lot. He has been there for me many times when you were dead. He is my friend. And I am his friend. When his baby died, I was there to comfort him.”
“Comfort him! You mean have sex with him,” he accused.
“What!” She was speechless. Where had that come from? “I did not have sex with Sonny. He is married to Carly. They love each other. How can you think this about me? That I would have an affair with a married man?” She stood and walked to Kelly’s entrance to lock the doors. She needed to do something normal. This conversation was becoming crazy.
Lucky grabbed her hand before she could walk past him to the stairs. “I’m sorry. I don’t think that.”
She turned back around and faced him, “But you said it. If you said it, you must be thinking it.”
“I’m not. I’m sorry. I just don’t like when you talk about the time I was away. Sonny helped you when I couldn’t be there. How do you think that makes me feel? I’m the one who should be comforting you not some else.”
Looking into his eyes, she began to calm down. “Sonny is my friend. He was there when you couldn’t be, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want you there. That was why he helped me. Because he knew how much I needed you. I love you.”
“Okay, but I’m here now. You don’t need his help anymore.”
“He is still my friend. And yours, too. He would help us if we ever needed anything.”
“He’s dangerous. He’ll get you killed one day.”
“Wait a minute. I said the same to Emily not 5 minutes ago and you said it was her choice.”
“Yeah, but Emily isn’t my girlfriend. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me just because Sonny Corinthos is my friend.”
Lucky ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “You don’t know that. You can’t guarantee you won’t get hurt. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Elizabeth. When I was taken from you, I almost lost my mind. I didn’t know what had happened to you. For a while I thought Helena had killed you. I am nothing without you.” He wrapped his rams around her and held her in a tight hug.
“Lucky,” she tried to break the hug. He was holding her to tightly. She couldn’t breathe.
He released her just enough to look into her eyes. “Just promise me – promise me nothing bad will happen to you.”
She stared at him. He looked so worried. He had never really talked about his experience with Helena. Elizabeth could only imagine what she must have put him through. She didn’t want to add to that. She didn’t want Lucky to hurt anymore. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise.”
He smiled and kissed her. She returned the kiss but not with her whole self. “Let’s go upstairs.” When she nodded, he called out to Emily. “Em, we’re going upstairs.”
Emily popped her head out of the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
They walked hand in hand up the stairs and stopped at her door. He kissed her again. She knew he expected to come in with her. Even though they had two separate rooms, he spent most of the time in her room. But she didn’t want him to come in. “Lucky, I’m really tired. So much has happened today. I’d like to be alone for tonight. I need to reflect.”
“What do you mean? What’s there to reflect about?” He was angry again. It didn’t seem to take much for that to happen these days. It seemed that everything she said made him upset.
“Nothing, I’m just really tired. I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Okay? I’ll meet you downstairs tomorrow for breakfast, okay?” She didn’t wait for a reply. She opened her door and went inside leaving Lucky standing in the hallway. He stood by her door for a while. She could see his shadow under the door. She was worried he would ignore her and let himself in with his key. But after a few minutes he moved on to his room. She could hear his door open and close and him moving around inside. She sighed in relief. She hadn’t been lying. She really was tired. It was exhausting always being on, having to keep track of all the lies she was telling and reassuring Lucky every minute that she wasn’t going to leave him. She got ready for bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:13:37 GMT -5
Chapter 6
“Jason?” Elizabeth called out when she entered the studio. “Jason?” She looked around. There was no reply. She turned on the light. The studio was empty. He was gone. For a second, she panicked. He changed his mind. Should she call Sonny? No, that’s a bad idea, she thought. If Jason left then Sonny would know about it. Jason wouldn’t do anything without letting Sonny know. Plus, neither Sonny or Jason needed her messing up their plans. She just wished Jason had told her he wasn’t going to stay. She opened the closest door. Relief washed through her. His bag was still lying on the bottom of the closest. She looked at the clock. It was six o’clock in the morning. Where could he be? What was he doing?
What was she doing here? She removed her coat and threw it on the couch. She’d gotten up and left Kelly’s before Lucky had awakened. She needed to be away from him, to have some time to herself. That’s what she’d thought when she left, but she ended up here, where Jason was staying. If she was honest, she wanted to see him. She didn’t have to pretend with him. She could be herself and not have to worry about what she says being used against her.
She was glad Jason was back. If she was honest, she needed him. His strength. She always felt better when she was with Jason. Even being at the studio was comforting. Deep in her mind, she still thought of the studio as theirs. She couldn’t help it. He had been such an important part of her life when she had gotten it. She couldn’t think of the studio without thinking about Jason.
That was why when Lucky had first returned she’d felt uneasy when he’d been in the room. It was like she was betraying Jason, which was ridiculous. She couldn’t betray Jason with Lucky. If anything, Jason’s time here was a betrayal to Lucky, a little voice in her head said. No, it wasn’t. She couldn’t think like that. She didn’t betray Lucky with anyone. Jason was her friend. He helped her through the most difficult times of her life. That’s not betrayal. Are you sure Lucky would agree? Yes! Of course he would. Like he understood about Sonny?
She didn’t have a come back for that. After his reaction yesterday, he probably wouldn’t understand. Lucky had acted kind of jealous of Sonny. She didn’t know what he would do if he knew about Jason. Was that why she’s never really told him about her time with Jason over that Christmas? He knew Jason was her friend, but he didn’t know everything about heir time together. And he especially didn’t know how she felt about Jason. Was she afraid of what Lucky would do? Was that why she’d never talked about him? Yes. Was she afraid of Lucky’s jealousy or the fact that he might have the right to be jealous?
She couldn’t think about that. She couldn’t let that thought enter her mind. Jason was her friend nothing more. Maybe something could have happened between them before, but not that Lucky was back in her life. She loved Lucky. She needed to keep her mind on something else. She stared at the blank canvas. She felt an urge she hadn’t felt in a long time. She needed to paint. She grabbed her brushes and paint and sat down in front of the easel. Unlike the previous times she tried, this time she painted a stroke along the canvas. Then another one. Then another. And another. She didn’t know what she was painting, but it didn’t matter. She was painting after weeks and weeks of nothing. Her shoulders seemed lighter. The light in the studio seemed brighter. The world was righting itself again. Her world.
That’s how Jason found her four hours later. He had gone out early to follow one of the warehouse’s employees after his shift. Jason had looked into his bank records and he had surprisingly more than the Sonny was paying him to load coffee. Jason wanted to know where the money was coming from so he followed him to a seedy bar 20 miles outside Port Charles that opened all night. There he met with Roscoe, Sorel’s wannna be second in command. Jason couldn’t hear their conversation, but he saw money pass hands and new he was right about the loader. Sorel was going to try something before the trial. He knew it. He just needed to find out what it was and how many were involved.
She hadn’t noticed when he entered the studio. She was so caught up in her painting. He looked at the canvas. He couldn’t figure out what she was painting, but as he moved closer he could see the smile on her face. She doesn’t smile enough, he thought.
“Elizabeth,” he said quietly. He didn’t want to scare her.
She jumped out of her chair. “Oh my God! Jason how long have you been here?”
“I just got here.” He looked at the canvas again. “You’re painting.”
She turned back to the easel. “Yeah, uh, yeah.” She looked unsure like she didn’t want him to see her new painting. But happy, too. “When I got here this morning you weren’t here, so I don’t know. I just had this urge to paint. I haven’t felt like that in a long time. It’s so great. I sat down in front of the easel. I really didn’t know what I was doing. I felt possessed. Like I didn’t have control over my arm. I just kept painting and painting. I couldn’t stop.”
“Elizabeth – Elizabeth.” He loved seeing that smile on her face. He was beginning to think that he would never see it again.
“I’m sorry. I’m babbling, aren’t I? Jason, I’m just so happy,” she couldn’t contain her joy. She reached out and hugged him. She turned back to the painting. “What do you think? You know what, don’t answer that. It’s crap, but I don’t care. I painted something. It’s amazing.”
He couldn’t help but return her smile. Her excitement was catching. Almost. As much as he hated to do it, she needed to leave. Sonny would be knocking on the door any minute. “I know you’re happy and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important…”
Her smile vanished. “What is it? Something terrible is about to happen, isn’t it?”
“No, I just need you to leave.” When it looked like she was about to question him, he intercepted her. “It’s nothing. I promise. Sonny is just meeting me here. I didn’t think you would be here.”
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you? Someone’s not going to break down this door are they?” She was worried. She didn’t want anything to happen to Jason. She would never tell him, but she was afraid for him. His life was so dangerous. She thought back to when she found him bleeding in the snow. If she had took a different route or stopped to talk to someone, he would be dead. “Jason, I found you bleeding in the snow, practically dead. I don’t want to do that again.”
He could see how afraid she was. He never wanted her to feel that way. “Elizabeth, don’t think about that now. This isn’t like before. No one knows I’m here remember. Just Sonny, who will be here any minute.”
“I know. I’m just concerned for you. Sonny was gunned down in front of the police department. Emily could’ve been killed.” She stopped and tried to calm down. “I’m not helping, am I?”
He smiled. She was going to be okay. “You can help me by leaving. Not forever, just for a few hours, okay?”
She was still worried but she knew he didn’t want her to get involved. “Okay, I’m going. But you’ll be careful, won’t you? Whatever it is you’re going to do.” She went to grab her coat.
“You know I am. Always.”
She looked back at him again and smiled, “You really matter to me. You know that, right?” She knew he was always careful, but sometimes it wasn’t always enough. She grabbed her purse and opened the door. “Oh, Sonny!” He was standing in the hall hand raised to knock on her door. She stopped him before he could say anything. “Come on in. Don’t worry, I’m leaving. I wouldn’t want you guys to wait another minute to start your meeting. Sonny, I’m glad you’re okay. You scared me.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “By the way, if Emily asked, you gave her five hundred dollars, okay?” She left without waiting for his reply.
Sonny smiled and entered the studio. “What’s up with her? She looks happy.”
“She gets that way when she paints. It takes sometime to get use to,” he laughed at Sonny bemused expression.
“Five hundred dollars?” He asked as he removed his coat and gloves.
Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. “I gave her some money for Emily. She moved out the Quartermiane mansion and into Kelly’s.”
“Oh.” He looked around the studio but at nothing in particular. “What do you have for me?”
“I followed Martinez after his shift to an all night bar 20 miles out of town. He met with Roscoe. I didn’t hear their conversation but money was exchanged.”
Sonny slammed his hand down on the table. “Dammit! Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Is he the only one?” Sonny couldn’t believe this was happening. Just when he thought he was rid of Sorel. He should have killed him when he had the chance. Instead, he went the police route. In four weeks, Sorel would be behind bars. Why is he still being a thorn in his side?
“I don’t know. I think there is more. Martinez doesn’t have what it takes to do much. They probably want him to sabotage the warehouse. That would cause a problem for us but not really do a lot of damage. I think Sorel is looking for something bigger. He needs to show he’s still strong even in jail. I’m still checking out the workers. I know I’ll find something.”
Sonny was quiet for a moment, thinking. He didn’t like it. “I’ll increase security around Carly and Michael. As soon as you find out everything, I want to make a move on Sorel. If he’s going to continue giving me problems behind bars, I’d rather we just get rid of him. But not until we know who all the traitors are.”
Jason stood to his full height with a straight back and a stone face. “I’ll take care of it.” It gave Sonny a chill. He could see why his enemies feared Jason. He would be too if he was on the other side of that face.
“Good.” Sonny looked around the studio again. “Meanwhile, you’re stuck in this place.”
“I’ve stayed in worse places,” he replied a little defensive. He didn’t like Sonny looking his nose down at Elizabeth’s studio.
Sonny raised his hands in defeat. “All right, don’t get upset,” he laughed. “You okay with money, food?”
“Yeah, Elizabeth is taking good care of me.”
He smiled at that comment. “How good?”
“Sonny, it’s not like that. She’s with Lucky.”
“I know but I bet you wish she wasn’t,” he joked.
“Sonny.”
“Okay, okay.” He reached for his coat and gloves on the table. “I’ll see you later,” he said as opened the door. Jason followed to lock the door behind him.
In the hall, Sonny stopped to put on his coat. “Lucky!” He called out a little louder than normal. “It’s good to see you again.”
Lucky stopped five feet away. He stared at Sonny with suspicion. “Yeah. What are you doing here?”
“I just came to see Elizabeth, but she’s not here.”
“You need to stay away from her. She doesn’t need your kind around her.”
“Whoa, hold on a second. Lucky, I’m going to forget you said that because you’re Luke’s son and even though we aren’t partners anymore, we’re still friends.”
Lucky wasn’t paying any attention to Sonny’s warning. “You can’t scare me. I know you have a thing for Elizabeth. You being here proves that. But she loves me. You’ll never have her.”
“Lucky, Elizabeth and I are friends. Nothing more.”
“That’s what you both say but I know there’s something going on. You met yesterday and now today you’re looking for her. You want her I know it. What isn’t my slut of a cousin putting out anymore?”
Sonny was speechless. Lucky Spencer had lost his mind. That was the only explanation he could think of. Why else would he be talking to Sonny like that? His time away must have really been hard.
“Lucky! What are you doing here?” Sonny glanced up to see Elizabeth walking towards them. She was carrying a brown paper bag.
Sonny spoke before Lucky could get the chance. “Elizabeth, I just wanted to see if you would paint a mural in Michael’s room. I missed his birthday and I wanted to make up for it.”
For a second, it looked like she hadn’t heard him. She just kept staring at Lucky surprised to see him standing outside her door. How much of Lucky’s crazy ideas had she heard? “Yeah, that would be a great idea. I would love to paint Michael something. Give me a call and we’ll set something up, okay?”
Sonny could tell she wanted him to leave. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He didn’t feel right leaving her alone with Lucky. Jason was inside the studio, but he knew he couldn’t risk Lucky seeing him. He was going to stay until he saw the pleading look in her eyes. She had heard what Lucky had said and it wasn’t the first time. “Okay, I’ll call you later on in the week.” He slowly walked to the stairwell still feeling unsure about leaving her.
Elizabeth counted to ten before she spoke. “Lucky, what were you thinking? You had no right to attack Sonny like that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth. He’d have you in a second if you let him.”
“Calm down. We talked about this yesterday remember? Sonny and I are not having an affair.” She was tired of having the same conversation over and over again. Nothing she said seemed enough. Lucky continued to think the worst of her. Guilt swept through her. It’s your fault. You keep lying to him. No wonder he’s so suspicious. But to think she was sleeping with Sonny? It was ridiculous.
“Yeah, well he would like to. I know that. I can tell. He wants you.”
“Lucky, Sonny is happily married to Carly. He doesn’t want me. He thinks of me like a sister nothing more. I love you,” she stressed.
“You’re right. I know it. I’m just being an idiot.”
“Why are you here?” She made no move to open her door. She knew Lucky would want to come in and she couldn’t let that happen.
“I missed you this morning. I was worried. We were supposed to have breakfast, but you left before I woke up.” She could here the underlining question.
“I had this wave of inspiration this morning and came over to paint while it was fresh in my mind.” At least that was partly true. She couldn’t tell him she didn’t want to see him.
“That’s great,” he pointed to the door. “Can I see? You keep talking about all this painting you’ve been doing but I haven’t seen anything lately. Why don’t we spend the night here? You can paint and I’ll just sit and watch you? I use to love to watch you paint. When I was held by Helena, it was all I could think. You standing by the easel, brush in hand. You were so beautiful. I would lie awake at night just thinking about what you were painting,” he smile oblivious to her lack of movement.
What should she do? She couldn’t let him in the studio. Jason was there. But she couldn’t think of anything to say to stop him from coming in as well. “You know Lucky, I’ve painted enough today. I just came back because I needed to drop something off and then I was going to look for you.”
“Well, here I am. Now you don’t have to look.” He faced her. “Come on,” he reached inside his pocket and pulled out his keys. Before she could say anything, he had opened the studio door and pulled her inside.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:14:09 GMT -5
Chapter 7
It was empty. Jason was gone. Disappointment rushed through her. No wait, Sonny was just here. He couldn’t have left. Her eyes went to the closet. She knew he had to be in there. She looked back to Lucky. She needed to get him out of here. He was standing in front of the painting she had done earlier today. She was happy she had something to show him. But there was another feeling, too. She wasn’t sure what it was. She didn’t want him to look at it. She didn’t want him in the studio. This was Jason’s and her place, Lucky was intruding.
“Elizabeth, This is great. Elizabeth? Elizabeth can you hear me?” Lucky moved to her and touched her face. “Elizabeth, are you there?”
“What? Yeah, I’m sorry just lost in thought for a moment.” She needed to snap out of this, this whatever she was in. Lucky wasn’t intruding. He had a right to be here. The studio was a part of her and Lucky had all of her. “What did you say?”
He looked back to the painting. “I just said this was great. You’ve never done an abstract before.”
She dropped her purse and Jason’s dinner on the table. “Yeah, I know, but it just came to me.” She looked at the painting, this time with different eyes. It contained everything she’d been feeling lately. She could see the hurt, the sadness and more surprisingly the anger. What was she angry about? She studied Lucky. Did he see it, too? “I guess I’m trying something different.”
“Well, it’s beautiful,” he wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her. “Just like you.”
She almost sighed in relief. He didn’t understand the painting. She wouldn’t have to explain why she was feeling these emotions. She smiled up at him, “I’m glad you like it.” Her eyes went to the closet door again. “It’s not finished. I really have to get it done. It’s due in a couple of days.”
“That’s okay, I’ll just sit on the couch and watch you work.” He moved to the couch. “When you’re done, we can go back to Kelly’s and make love for the rest of the night.”
She gave a nervous giggle. Did Jason just hear that? Probably. “Lucky, please. Just give me a few hours to get this finished and then I’m all yours, okay?”
“Elizabeth, I haven’t seen you all day. What’s going on? Are you avoiding me?”
“No, no I’m not avoiding you. I just need to get this done. Just like when you are developing your pictures. You know it’s okay if we spend one day apart you know.”
“No, it’s not. We are meant to be together.” He came and stood in front of her.
“We are together. A few hours apart is not going to hurt us.”
“A few hours, Elizabeth or a few days? Maybe you mean a few months or years.” His voice began to rise. “Is this your way of telling me you want to break up?”
“No!” How does she continue to get into these discussions with him? “Lucky, it just means a few hours, nothing more. I love you. I don’t want to break up.”
He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his embrace. “I love you, too. I don’t want to spend any time away from you. I want be with you every minute of the day. That’s why this modeling thing is going to be perfect. We’ll be together all the time.”
He was beginning to scare her. “Lucky, I just need sometime to finish my painting, okay? Then I’ll meet you at Kelly’s.”
He stared into her eyes for so long she began to feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t going to agree. She could see it. “Okay, you’re right,” he told her. “I’ll give you two hours no more. Then we’ll have a romantic night at Kelly’s, okay?” He kissed her again.
“Okay,” she said relief washing through her. When he didn’t move, she twisted out of his arms as gently as possible. “Lucky.”
He chuckled, “Okay, okay, I’m going.” He gave her a quick kiss and then went to the door.
“Can you wait a minute, please?” She called out to Jason when she knew Lucky couldn’t hear. She needed to calm herself before she saw him. He had heard so much; she didn’t think she could face him.
She took a few deep breaths and counted to ten. “All right, come out.” He slowly opened the door. “You heard all that, didn’t you?” She could tell by the look on his face.
“Yeah, I did.” He didn’t know what to say, didn’t really want to say anything.
“It wasn’t what it sounded like.” It didn’t even sound believable to her. “Lucky’s just under a lot of pressure at work.”
“Elizabeth.”
“He doesn’t know what he saying. He’s still getting over the stuff from last year. We’re really still really getting everything back to the way it was. We still have some adjusting to do.” She began clearing the table of brushes and paint tubes. She couldn’t look at him, not yet.
“Elizabeth.” He reached out to touch her hands from moving. “Elizabeth, look at me.” She tipped her head up to look into his eyes. What she saw there made her cry. He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she wiped her eyes and sat on the couch.
“For what?” He moved to sit beside her.
“I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to think that I only turn to you when I’m having problems,” she gave him a weak smile.
“You don’t,” he replied. He knew it shouldn’t but it hurt. She didn’t want him to know. She didn’t want to confide in him. He didn’t think he could hurt more than hearing Lucky talk of them making love.
She gripped his hands, “Yes, Jason, I do. That’s all I seem to do. You came here for my help. I didn’t want to add to everything that going on with you. You have more important things to do than listen to my problems with Lucky.”
“Elizabeth, I decide what is important to me and you are important to me. You’re my friend. I’ll always be here for you.”
“I know but this time I wanted to be here for you. You’re always here to listen to me and my problems. I wanted to help you.”
“You are helping me. You’re letting me stay here. That doesn’t mean I can’t help you, too.” He could see she was fighting with herself about telling him or not. He didn’t want to force her to do something if she didn’t want to. “It’s okay, if you don’t want to talk. You don’t have to.”
She wiped her face again. She could seem to stop crying. “No, you’re right. I think I need to talk about it.” She got up and paced the room. She didn’t know where to begin. “Do you remember when you were here last?” At his nod, she continued, “Lucky was pushing me away and telling me to be with Nicholas. Well, it was all a set up. I told you Lucky was just pretending to so he could beat Helena at her own game, which he did. He out thought her and in the end she died. Lucky killed her. I wasn’t there but he said he was protecting himself that she’d tried to kill him.
“When everything was over, he just expected us to get back together. He didn’t even apologize for hurting me all those months. He just assumed that I would forgive him and he was right because I did. We got back together immediately. But it wasn’t like before. It didn’t feel the same. I guess that makes sense, huh. We were different. We had spent more a year apart. I had changed.” She looked at him. She didn’t need to say more about that. They both knew how much she had changed. “But he’d changed, too. He didn’t like that I was living here at the studio. He wanted me to move into Kelly’s with him. He wanted to be with me all the time. I couldn’t come here to paint. He wanted to come. It was like he couldn’t let me out of his sight.
“I don’t know what it was like for him during that year, he won’t talk about it. But now he needs constant reassurance that I won’t leave him that I love him. It seems to be getting worse. And now he won’t let go of this idea of us working for Deception. I don’t want to be a model.” She stopped pacing and sat back down again. It felt good to speak the truth.
“Then tell him.”
“I can’t. It’s not that simple,” she covered her face with her hands and took another deep breath. “You heard him. He thinks the modeling is a perfect idea. Then we’ll be together 24/7. I don’t want to hurt him, Jason. And telling him I don’t want to be a model will hurt him. It will destroy him. He’ll think I don’t want to be with him anymore.”
“Would he be right?” He didn’t know why he asked that question. He must really be a masochist. What else do you call someone who does something they know will hurt them? Insane?
“No! Maybe –- yes, I don’t know.” She got up to pace again. She didn’t know what she wanted. “I love him. I don’t want leave him. But I don’t think I can take more either.”
He didn’t want to bring up what he had heard outside but he knew he had too. “What about Sonny?”
She turned to look at him. “What about Sonny?”
“I heard you guys outside,” he admitted.
She flushed, “You heard that too?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with Sonny. Out of the blue yesterday Lucky accused me of sleeping with Sonny. I couldn’t believe it. We argued. In the end I thought I had convinced him that there was nothing going on, but then today he accuses Sonny. I don’t know what to do.”
He hesitated. He didn’t like to give advice. What did he know that he should be giving advice? But he didn’t want Elizabeth to hurt anymore. “I think you should talk to him and tell him everything you’re feeling.”
“I can’t. I told you. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“But it’s okay that you’re hurting. I don’t understand.” He didn’t like to see her in so much pain. She seemed to be suffering more now that Lucky was with her than when Lucky was dead.
“Jason, please! He wouldn’t understand if I told him the truth. He’ll see it as a betrayal.” She glanced at the clock on the table. “Oh my God! Is that the time? If I’m not at Kelly’s soon, he’ll be upset. I’ve got to go.” She grabbed her coat and quickly put it on.
“Wait!”
“No. Jason. I have to get to Kelly’s. I’ll try to come tomorrow, okay?” She didn’t wait for his answer. She hurried out the door without looking back leaving Jason standing in the middle of her studio.
He wanted to run after her and tell her she didn’t need to be with Lucky. He wanted to tell her she should be with him, but he knew she wasn’t ready to hear that. He knew she cared about him, but love was something different. She stilled loved Lucky or at least she still thought she did. He was beginning wonder if maybe she didn’t. When she said she loved Lucky, it had sounded different. He couldn’t think of what. Like she said it because she was supposed to say it but it didn’t have any feeling behind it.
In fact now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen love coming from her just pain. When they had first began talking about Lucky after he died, Jason could see the love in her eyes and the pain of losing him. Today all he saw was the pain. He didn’t know what that meant. All he knew was that she was hurting and he couldn’t do anything to help her. He could only stay here and wait for her to come back. He hoped that she wouldn’t stay away too long.
~*~
Elizabeth hurried to Kelly’s. Lucky would be waiting and she didn’t want to upset him again. She was doing that enough lately. But maybe Jason was right. Maybe she should sit down and talk to Lucky about everything that has been going on with them. Maybe she was about his reaction. Lucky loved her. He wouldn’t want her do anything she didn’t want to do. He would understand that she didn’t want to be a model. Anyway, they really needed to talk, to reconnect. She felt like they were slipping away from each other and maybe that was her fault for not telling him the truth. They needed to find away to get back to where they were when He was taken. Then everything would be okay. She knew it.
She climbed the stairs with a smile on her face. Once they sat down and talked everything will get back to the way things were before. When they were in love and happy and it was them against the world.
“Lucky,” she called out as she opened his door with her key. He was sleep on the bed. She looked at the clock. It was only eight o’clock. He must have been tired to have fallen asleep so early. She didn’t have to heart to wake him. If she was honest with herself she was relieved. They could have their talk tomorrow. She turned to leave shutting out he light on her way out and went to her room.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:14:40 GMT -5
Chapter 8
Lucky hadn’t come down yet. Elizabeth had just opened Kelly’s and there were a few customers drinking their morning coffee. She thought back to her decision. She would sit down and have a serious talk with him about Deception. Then they could start on rebuilding their relationship.
“Good morning beautiful,” he called out from the top of the stairs. The customers smiled and went back to their coffee. He flounced down the stairs and twirled her around.
“Lucky! What’s come over you?” She laughed as he spun her around again.
“I just got off the phone with my mother. She wants me to do the test shots of Gia.” He took the coffee pot from her hand and poured himself a cup.
Elizabeth was confused, “Gia Campbell? Why would your mother want her picture?”
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday?” He asked as he stirred milk into his coffee. “Carly has chosen Gia to be the Face of Deception.”
“What!” It was what she wanted to hear, but it still hurt. Laura hadn’t even told her herself. Elizabeth had to learn about it second hand. She thought Laura had more respect for her than that. “When was that decided?”
He looked up at her and saw her confusion and disappointment. “No, I’m sorry. I meant Gia is Carly’s pick for the Face of Deception. You are still my mother’s pick. They have decided to take some more shots of the both of you and then make their final decision.”
She gave Lucky a weak smile. She would have to go through this all over again? “Oh, that’s good. But why are you so happy. I thought you were upset with Carly interfering.”
“That’s why I’m so happy. Carly wants me to do the shots to make it fair since I did yours, but I’m going to make sure Gia’s shots don’t come out as beautiful as yours. Then Carly will have to see that you are the right model for the job.”
“What! Lucky, you can’t do that. It’s not right.”
“Elizabeth, you are the right person for the job. Not Gia. I’m just making sure everyone knows it too. I told you, I’m not going let anyone get in the way of our dream.”
She stared at him and for a moment she didn’t recognize him. The Lucky she knew would never sabotage something to get what he wants. “I don’t want you to do this for me.”
He took her hand, “I’m not. I’m doing this for us.”
She snatched her hand away. “I don’t want you doing this for us either. If I’m going to be the Face of Deception then I want to be because I am the best person for the job, not because my boyfriend rigged it that way.”
He took her hand again and kissed the back. “You are the best person for the job.”
“Then prove it. Take beautiful pictures of Gia and let Carly and your mother decide. If I’m the right person then they’ll pick me. Besides I don’t want you getting into any trouble, especially with Carly. You wouldn’t want to get fired, would you,” she laughed.
“Carly can’t fire me. My mother would allow it.” He began placing light kisses along her arm. It was very similar to her dream. She tried to pull her arm away but he wouldn’t let her. “What happened last night?” He asked quietly so that only she could hear. “You didn’t show up.”
The bell over the door rang to announce four new customers. She tried again to pull her arm away. “Lucky, I’m working. I have customers.” He reluctantly let her go. She left to take the new arrivals order and to refill the coffee of the others without answering his question.
When she came back to the counter, he asked again. “I did show up last night,” she replied. “But you were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you so I went back to my room. You looked so peaceful. I know you needed the rest.”
“Yeah, but I needed you more,” he told her softly. “I wanted to be with you. We haven’t been together in a long time.”
“I know, but sometimes more important things get in the way.”
“More important that us?” She’d said the wrong thing again. She could see it. Lucky was getting angry. She couldn’t let him blow up in the middle of Kelly’s.
“Good morning you guys!” Emily came bouncing down the stairs. She went behind the counter to pour herself a coffee oblivious to the tension between her two friends. “Isn’t it a great day?”
“Why so happy, Em?” She asked hoping Lucky would let their discussion go now that Emily was here.
“Today is now one full week to go before Sorel’s trial. That means it’s one more week until Zander is free and we can be together. I talked to Alexis last night. She’s taking good care of him at her penthouse. And Sonny is making sure that nothing happens to him.” She swallowed her coffee in one gulp. “Lucky, I’m late for school. Could you give me a ride?”
He looked liked he would say no then relented. “Sure, no problem.” With one last look at Elizabeth he followed Emily out the restaurant.
Elizabeth breathed a deep sigh in relief. Nothing she said these days was right to Lucky. It seemed every time she opened her mouth he didn’t like what she’d meant and they’d argue. Maybe she was wrong about telling him about Deception. Maybe she wouldn’t have too. If Gia was her competition, she knew she wouldn’t win. As much as she disliked Gia, she could deny that Gia was beautiful. She was not only beautiful but exotic something Elizabeth could never be. Laura would have to see that Gia was the better person and then Lucky would have to go along with it. Her anxiety began to lesson and she was able to enjoy the rest of her shift.
~*~
The first thing she saw was his bare chest. Jason was holding a towel in his hands. He must have just finished cleaning up.
“Hey, I guess you’re alone?”
“Yeah, --- yeah, I’m sorry. I, uh, I brought you something to eat,” she told him holding up the bag from Kelly’s. He stood motionless like in a trance staring at the bag. “I, uh, figured you’d be hungry.”
He seemed to snap out of his trance. He dropped the towel and grabbed a shirt lying on the table. “Yeah, yeah, thanks. This is great. I really appreciate it.” He took the bag from her and placed it on the table. Without looking at her, he took out the sandwich and coffee from the bag.
Elizabeth moved to the outside of the table and put her coat behind the chair there. She took a deep breath. He seemed to be just as uncomfortable as she was. She didn’t think he’d be upset that she saw his naked chest. She took care of him when he was shot. She’s seen his chest before. So why was he uncomfortable? Did he suspect something? No, he couldn’t. Jason couldn’t read minds, but he could read her. Maybe he was uncomfortable because she was uncomfortable. She needed to think about something else.
“So, I, ah, guess I shouldn’t ask about your meeting with Sonny yesterday.” At his stoic expression she continued, “I figured. You don’t tell me anything dangerous anyway. So it must be dangerous, but I won’t push. I don’t want to become someone you’re mute around.”
For the first time since she walked in he looked at her. “I am not a mute,” he said a little insulted.
The uncomfortable feeling was gone. “Oh, please, Jason! When you get around someone you don’t like, or people start asking you questions you don’ want to answer, you become this human of block of concrete. Actually, frozen concrete, because not only are you silent, you’re cold.” She tried to make the face he did when he was talking to Taggert or his father.
He laughed at her attempt. “Oh, okay. You see, I realized if you keep quiet, the other person does all the work. They show you what they care about, what they’re afraid of, plus they get tired and go away a lot sooner.”
She laughed, “I wish that worked for me.”
“What, make people leave you alone?” He stopped smiling and became serious.
“No! Maybe, I guess. I could turn it on when Lucky starts pushing me about this modeling thing.” He didn’t say anything. She knew what he was thinking. “I know you told me to tell him how I felt. And you’re right. When I left yesterday, I was going to tell him. But when I got to Kelly’s he was asleep. I figured one more day wouldn’t hurt.” He still said nothing. He just looked at her. It wasn’t his menacing stare or his blank stare. He just seemed to be waiting for her. “You know it doesn’t matter anyway. Lucky told me this morning that Carly and Laura are looking at another girl. They’ll probably pick her.”
He sighed and looked away. He was disappointed. He knew he didn’t have a right to be, but he was. He wanted her to stand up to Lucky. He wanted her to fight for what she wanted like she’d done before. “I thought you said Laura was determined for you to have the job?”
“Yeah, I know, but then Carly found out and you can imagine what she thought of the idea.” She checked to see his reaction to Carly’s name. He didn’t seem phased. “So Carly went out to get her own candidate, Gia Campbell, partly to spite me and partly to show up Laura.”
“Gia Campbell? Didn’t she…”
“Spend the entire summer blackmailing Emily?” She finished his question. “Yeah, and now she’s somehow schmoozed her way into Nikolas’ life. They’re living together. Every time I see them together, I want to grab him and say, ‘Are you crazy?’”
“Why would Nikolas listen to you about who he wants to be with?”
She was shocked, “Wait, did I just her that correctly? Are you defending Nikolas?” He had never been Jason’s favourite person. He didn’t like how Nikolas constantly tried to tell her what to do and who she should be friends with.
He shrugged, “No, I just – I just think people should do what they want to do.”
What he said angered her. She moved away from the table and began picking up blank canvases off the floor. She turned to look at him. “You say that, but you don’t,” she accused. “Carly and Sonny are living in the penthouse with Michael. They have each other while you’re stuck in this place. That can’t be what you want.”
He was silent for a long time. She was beginning to think he wouldn’t respond. My big mouth, she thought, what was I thinking? Why did I bring up Carly? “Look, forget I said anything, okay. I’m stupid. I shouldn’t have brought up Carly. I know it must hurt you to think about her.”
He gave her a surprised look, “How do you know?”
She blushed, “I know we’ve never really talked about Carly and Sonny. Last summer you came for their wedding. You said it was the right thing, but I know it couldn’t have been for you. She was your girlfriend, Jason. You loved her. It must be hard for you to see them so happy together.” She wanted to change the subject. She didn’t want to cause Jason any pain.
Jason could se what she was thinking. He’d never told her about the time he was hot, but he guessed she must have figured it out by now. He could just imagine what story her mind had conjured up about betrayed Jason pining over Carly and Sonny. He didn’t like talking abut himself but he also didn’t want Elizabeth thinking he was still carrying a thing for Carly. “I do love Carly.” He saw she was ready to respond. He continued before she could say anything. “But not the way you think. Carly and I would never have worked. I mean, sometimes the thing you had, no matter how good it seemed, isn’t right for you anymore. Carly and I are better friends than anything else. She and Sonny are where they belong. They’re happy together.”
She hesitated, “What about you, Jason? Where do you belong? What will make you happy?”
What could he say? I’m happy right here. No, that will just make her uncomfortable. If she knew, she would feel right coming around and being his friend. He would rather have her as a friend than being shut out of her life. He knew she would do that. She would be noble and stop coming to him to talk and Lucky or anything that was troubling her. She wouldn’t think it was right for him. “It doesn’t matter.”
She went to him and reached for his hands. “It does matter. You deserve to be happy.”
“Why is it important to you?” he asked. She was close enough he could smell her perfume. It wasn’t that same as what she wore last winter. He wondered why she changed. The new one didn’t suit her. It was too fragrant, too sweet-smelling. He figured it must be something from Lucky. He didn’t think she would have bought it herself.
“Because, Jason, you’re my friend and I want you to be happy. Just like I am.” She gripped his hands again as if her life depended on his happiness. She scanned his face to see if what she was saying was getting through to him. Her eyes drifted to his lips and a chill ran down her back. She realized just how close they were. She released his hands and hurried back to where she had placed the canvases. Without looking back to him, she picked up an empty frame and began stapling the canvas to it.
Jason didn’t know how to react to her quick change. Something wasn’t right with her. He’d noticed it when she entered the studio and saw him naked. He didn’t understand why she was uncomfortable. She’d seen him like that before and wasn’t uncomfortable so why today. Now it seems she was uneasy standing beside him. Did he do something?
“Ah – ouch!”
He looked back to her. She was holding one hand in the other, “What happened?”
“I was stretching the canvas to put over the frame and I think I got a splinter.”
“Let me see.” He reached out to take her hand.
She pulled her hands away before he could touch them. “No! It’s okay. I got it.” She gripped her hand and tried to remove the splinter with her fingers. “Ow. It’s in deep.”
He reached for her hand again, “Elizabeth, let me help.”
She pulled her hand away again, “Jason, I can do it.”
He watched her struggle to remove the splinter unsuccessfully. He knew her. He wouldn’t push. She would ask for help when she was ready. So he waited.
She stopped and looked up at him. “Okay, I need you to do it,” she told sheepishly.
“Okay, you need my help. Are you sure?” he said with a smirk.
“Don’t be a smart ass,” she replied holding her hand out to him. “Please.”
He took her hand and led her to the chair to sit down. “All right. Let’s see here.” He got down on one knee and inspected her finger. He looked around. When he saw the first aid kit, he released her hand to retrieve it. “Okay, I want you to yell if it hurts. Okay? Hold on.” He dug out a needle from the kit and placed it on her finger.
“Okay, it hurts,” she yelled resisting the urge to pull her hand away.
“Okay, Okay, sit tight. I almost got it.” He tried to hurt her as little as possible. He just needed a few more seconds and he would have it. “Almost got it.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” She turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to watch.
“There it is,” he said. “You can look now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he grabbed a disinfectant wipe and rubbed it on her finger. He looked up as he gently blew on her finger to remove the excess moisture.
She opened her eyes and looked down. Her stomach jumped nervously. “Ah – Thank you.” He released her hand but neither moved. “Um, I, uh, I should go.” She stood and picked up her coat. “Lucky’s probably waiting for me at Kelly’s.” At the door, she turned, “I’ll come by tomorrow, okay.”
“Yeah, okay,” he sighed as she left the studio. He needed to leave. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay there and have her around him. He thought it would be over by now. After he followed Martinez, he figured he would lead him to the others involved, but so far nothing. He knew there was someone more higher up the organization helping Sorel. He just couldn’t find him. He would follow Martinez again. He sighed. The sooner he could resolve this the sooner he could leave the studio and Elizabeth.
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Post by JRK Archiver on Mar 9, 2008 15:15:03 GMT -5
Chapter 9
By the time Elizabeth reached Kelly’s, she’d convinced her mind that her feelings for Jason were nothing but sleep deprivation. Since Laura brought the modeling issue to her, she’d slept very little. She was tired. Her emotions were so tangled up; she didn’t know what she was feeling.
She was nervous and anxious about being a model. She remembered the first photo shoot. She’d jumped at every flash. Even with Lucky taking the pictures, she couldn’t relax. All she kept seeing was his hand covering her mouth and feeling his heavy breath as he was on top of her. She couldn’t get his face out of her mind. She wished Lucky would see her discomfort. He didn’t even seem to care that the anniversary was coming up. All he wanted was for them to be together. She couldn’t understand why he was pushing so hard. They were together. And they would be together regardless of if they worked together or not.
She wished she could just tell him what she felt. Why did she keep putting it off? Why couldn’t she stand up to him? Was she afraid of him? No! She wasn’t afraid of Lucky. That would be ridiculous. Lucky was her soul mate. Lucky would never hurt her. The man she was going to spend the rest off her life with. He had returned from the dead for her. They were destined to be together. So why are you lying to him? I don’t want to hurt him, she thought. He has been through enough. She didn’t want to add to it. She wanted to support him. To make him happy. Even if you’re not happy? Yes, even if she wasn’t happy. That’s what love was all about, wasn’t it?
She thought of Jason. He had given up Carly and Michael so that they could be happy. He might say it was for the best now, but at the time, she knew it had hurt him a lot. She could be a model to make Lucky happy. She could. It was a small sacrifice to make to build a future with the man she loved. Would Jason agree with you? Yes, he would. Jason would support her decision. He never told her what do to. He respected her and her decisions.
She thought back to the studio. She was tired. She wasn’t really having feelings for Jason. Not in that way. Jason was her friend. Since his return, he had become her lifeline. The person she could go to and be herself. She didn’t want that relationship to change. It couldn’t. She didn’t know how she would get through being the Face of Deception without him. But she was also hurting Lucky by keeping Jason’s secret.
She needed to stop lying to Lucky. As much as she didn’t want to disappoint Jason, she couldn’t lie to Lucky anymore. For now on she was going to put her full effort into becoming the next Face of Deception. She would stop lying about her painting. She would put all her being into doing everything she could to make Lucky happy. The first thing was to tell Jason he couldn’t stay at the studio anymore. It wasn’t fair to keep Jason’s secret from Lucky any longer.
“Elizabeth?”
She looked up and realized she was outside of Kelly’s. How long has she been here? She turned in the direction of the voice. Lucky was coming from the opposite direction carrying a white rose.
“Lucky, hi.”
“I glad you’re here,” he said handing her the rose. “I’m sorry about this morning. You were right. You are going to get the job because you are the most beautiful girl in the world and you deserve it. Gia doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
She blushed as she accepted the rose. “Thank you, Lucky. I knew you would do anything to jeopardize your mother’s company. You’re not that type of person. You’re not like Gia and Carly. You’re better than that.”
He took her in his arms. “You make me a better person. Without you I don’t know what I would be.”
She smiled, “You would be Lucky, the same man I love.”
“No, Elizabeth, every good part of me is because of you. I wouldn’t be half the man without you. I love you.” He leaned in and kissed her.
“I love you, too.”
He laced his fingers through hers and turned in the direction he came from. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
He looked back and flashed the smile she had fallen in love with. “You’ll see,” he replied. At that moment he looked just like he did before the fire. She knew she had made the right decision. She just needed to tell Jason.
Chapter 10
Elizabeth stood hesitantly in front of her door. Yesterday she’d surprised Jason when she entered the studio. She didn’t want the same thing to happen today. She needed to be completely focused when she told Jason about her decision. If he was naked or even half naked she didn’t think she could keep her mind on what she needed to do. She made a big play of jingling her keys and slowly opened the door. Again Jason was doing something she didn’t expect. “What is going on?”
Jason looked up from his seat on the couch. He looked guilty and a little embarrassed. Around him were newly stretched canvases and in his hands was a frame he had just begun. “Well, I’m just trying to keep you from getting another splinter.”
She stared at him. He looked so unsure. Sometimes it was hard for her to put the two Jason Morgans she knew together. One Jason Morgan was sweet and thoughtful. He listened when others didn’t want to. He was loyal and allowed the people he cared about to make their own decisions. The other Jason Morgan was hard and unfeeling. He was a mob enforcer. They had never talked about it but she knew he had killed people. She didn’t know how many but knew his name was feared. She remembered when Sorel had approached her and Jason’s quick action. How could someone whose killed people still be innocence? More importantly, why didn’t she seem to care about what he did for a living?
“Jason, you didn’t have to do that,” she said as she inspected his work. She looked back to him, “These are perfect. How did you learn to do that?”
He shrugged, “I don’t see what’s so hard about using a staple gun.”
“Well, yeah, but the frames can shift, the canvases can get pulled out of line or buckle.” She continued inspecting the rest of the canvases. “Thank you, Jason. These are all great. If you ever need a job, just let me know.”
“Just call me when you need more, I’ll be happy to do it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. That’s my job. It’s part of being an artist.”
“Splinters, remember.”
She looked around at the canvases. She felt inspired to paint. She could feel her fingers itching to hold a brush. “Do you mind if a paint?”
“Elizabeth, this is your studio. You don’t have to ask. Do you mind that I’m here? I could go out for a while.”
“What! No, you can’t go out. Someone could see you. No, no, stay. I don’t mind,” she smiled. “It’ll be like before.” She turned to collect her brushes and paint.
Jason settled quietly on the couch and grabbed a travel book from his bag. She didn’t even know he was there anymore. He could tell. When she painted, she was oblivious to the rest of the world. He remembered the Christmas he stayed there. She could be so concentrated on her painting that he thought an earthquake could strike and she wouldn’t feel it. He liked that she was that comfortable with him. She had complete trust in him to see her at her most vulnerable and yet most powerful. She radiated joy. He knew she loved painting and that it was what she was meant to do.
Elizabeth was in her own world. Only she, her easel and her brush existed. She knew that Jason was in the studio but she didn’t know what he was doing. All she could think about anything but the image trying to form on the canvas. She didn’t know what she was painting. That was something knew for her. Until now most her painting were planned. She knew what she wanted and she set out to create it. But since her dry spell it had changed. Now it seemed the canvas spoke to her. It told her what it wanted to be not the other way around.
She felt like she was evolving as a painter and it was all because of Jason. Ever since Jason returned her painting had gone to another level. She couldn’t believe it was only a few days ago that she thought she would never paint again. Now she seemed possessed. Without even doing anything, Jason had given her the strength and passion back to her painting. Jason was always the one person who believed in her and what she could do. The old Lucky had been that way. But now he was so preoccupied with his own dreams that he didn’t seem to really see her anymore. He treated her art like a hobby rather than her vocation. It was more than that; it was her life. Then why are you giving it up for him? I’m not giving it up, she thought. I’m just adding another dimension to my life. It was the right thing to do to make Lucky happy.
She caught Jason looking at her from the corner of her eye. “What? Was I singing?” She laughed.
“I’m glad you’re painting again.”
She heard the question even though he didn’t ask it. She glanced back to the painting before putting her brush down. “I know you knew I wasn’t painting. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it before.” She grabbed a rag and wiped her hands as she sat beside him. “Before you came I had this block. I couldn’t paint. I didn’t know why. It was hard for me. Lucky and I were back together but I wasn’t painting. I think I was trying to hard. I wanted everything to be perfect and my painting suffered. I have you to thank for fixing the problem.”
“What?” Jason was shocked. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, you did,” she said quietly. “You didn’t push. You knew I would talk to you when I was ready.” Before he could reply she continued, “That morning was the first time I had painted something in a long time. When I arrived and you weren’t there, I got so worried. I thought you were dead. I pictured you lying in the snow bleeding to death and I didn’t know where to find you.”
He reached for her hands, “Elizabeth, I’m sorry.”
She pulled her hands away and stood, “It’s not your fault, Jason. It was just my overactive imagination. I came to my senses when I saw that your stuff was in the closet. I knew you hadn’t left me.” She stopped. Did she just say that? “I mean the studio.” She turned away from him. She was afraid to look at him, afraid to see his reaction. “I had all these emotions and I needed to release them. I stood in front of the canvas and for the first time in a long while, I just let myself be. I let myself feel. All my fear and worry flowed through me and onto the canvas.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her to face him. “I didn’t mean to make you worried. If I knew letting me stay would cause you trouble, I wouldn’t have come here.”
She smirked, “Jason, I’m glad you came to me. You are my friend. I would do anything for you. Besides, haven’t you figured out by now, I will always worry about you. Even when you’re not in Port Charles, I worry. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you and wonder how you are and if you’re in trouble. You mean a lot to me. You staying away doesn’t change that.”
He touched her cheek with his hand. “You mean a lot to me, too,” he said softly his voice deep with emotion. He brought his other hand to her face and looked into her eyes.
She saw his unspoken question in his eyes. She knew he was going to kiss her and was looking for her answer. She should have said no. She should have turned away, but she did neither. Her mind didn’t seem to have control over her body. As he leaned in to claim her lips, she felt a tingle of anticipation.
What was she doing? Elizabeth turned her head and stepped out of his embrace. “I’m sorry,” she quickly grabbed her coat and reached the door. She was out the door before Jason could stop her.
He stood in the middle of the studio staring at the closed door. He wanted to chase after her, but couldn’t. Not because people couldn’t know he was back in town, but because of Elizabeth herself. She wasn’t ready. He was so stupid. He shouldn’t have tried to kiss her. He knew she loved Lucky, what was he thinking. He needed to end this. He needed to leave the studio. He dug out this cell phone from his pocket and dialled.
“Sonny, we need a change of plans. I can’t stay here anymore.”
“Is there trouble?” Sonny questioned.
“No, I just need to leave. I shouldn’t have come here and put this all on Elizabeth.” He didn’t want to say more. Sonny didn’t need to know what had just happened or what could happen if he stayed.
Sonny was quiet for some time. Jason didn’t know if he would push for an explanation or let it go. He hoped Sonny wouldn’t pry anymore than he needed to. Sonny already knew too much about his feelings for Elizabeth. He didn’t need to know about the mess he had of it.
“It’s time to make a move on Sorel.”
Jason sighed with relief, “When?”
“Tomorrow. Valentine’s day seems appropriate. Sorel’s trial is the next day. He’ll want to try something before he gets convicted. I’ll call a meeting at the warehouse. The traitor, whoever he is, will tell Sorel. It will be too good to pass up. A pre-emptive strike against me and everybody that works for me except my ex-lieutenant Jason who told me to go to hell and went to Italy. Sorel will never see you coming.”
“Okay, that’s good. I’ve got a clear line of sight to the warehouse. When he tries goes for it, I’ll be here to take him out.”
~*~
Elizabeth didn’t know where she was going, but she couldn’t stop. She had almost kissed Jason. She had wanted to kiss Jason. She was so confused. She had gone there to tell Jason that he couldn’t stay at the studio anymore and instead almost kissed him. What was going on? Jason was her friend, nothing more. She loved Lucky. He was who she wanted to be with, not Jason. She’d never even thought of Jason in that way. Liar, said a little voice inside her, you kissed him remember.
Christmas 1999
“I can’t believe Nikolas!” Elizabeth slammed the door to her studio shut. She was so angry. “How dare he tell the whole hospital that we are sleeping together? Who appointed him my guardian?” She was so worked up she couldn’t sit down. She just paced back and forth across the room. “He had no right. No right, I tell you,” she said finally turning to look at Jason, who had removed his coat and was sitting on the couch. “Jason, how can you be so calm about this? Aren’t you angry?”
“Elizabeth, getting angry won’t change what’s happened. I wish he had kept quiet but I can’t control him just as he can’t control you.”
“Well, I’m still angry. Who the hell does he think he is? He can’t tell me who I can and can’t be with. He’s not my father. Even my father can’t tell me what to do. I am an adult. If I want to have sex with you that is my decision not his. If I want us to make out in the middle of General Hospital, he can’t stop us. If I want to kiss you right now, I can because it is my life.”
Before Jason knew what she was doing, Elizabeth had closed to distance between them and was kissing him. She hadn’t meant for the kiss to be anything. She just wanted to prove to herself that she had control of her life. But as soon as her mouth touched his, her anger vanished. All thoughts of Nikolas left her mind. In fact her mind went blank. All she knew was that she was kissing Jason and he was kissing her back. The kiss deepened seemingly on its’ own and the next she knew she was lying on the couch under Jason.
She pulled at his shirt and ran her hands across his chest. She didn’t know what she was doing just that it felt good. After feeling nothing for so long, she was overcome with it. Her whole body seemed alive. Everywhere Jason touched tingled. Then it was gone. Jason was moving away from her. She grabbed his shoulders to pull him back.
He took hold of her hands and held them in front of her. “Wait, wait, Elizabeth, we have to stop.”
Elizabeth didn’t want to stop. She just wanted to feel. She wanted Jason to kiss her again. She wanted… She looked up at him. She could see the desire in his eyes. She could see he felt the same way she did. She could feel the desire running through her blood. Where had that come from? Had it always been there? He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity.
What Jason said finally registered. Reality entered her brain. Oh my God! What was she doing? She had wanted Jason to make love to her. She still wanted it. She could feel it. She wanted to give in to that desire. Even with Lucky, she had never felt this way. What did that mean? She moved quickly off the couch and as far away from Jason as possible.
“I’m sorry,” she said. It was a whisper. What had she done? She had betrayed Lucky.
“Elizabeth,” Jason’s voice so calm. Elizabeth couldn’t believe it. One second he was kissing her senseless and another second he looked like nothing had happened.
“Jason, this is all my fault. I kissed you. What was I thinking? I can’t believe this happened.” Elizabeth couldn’t look at him. She began pacing across the room. Thought of Lucky and Jason running through her head. Nikolas was right. Lucky was barely dead and she was having sex with Jason.
“Elizabeth,” he called her name again. When she wouldn’t turn in his direction, he moved to stop her. “Elizabeth, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay Jason. I’m a terrible person. All the things Nikolas and Carly said about me are true.” Even though Jason had stopped her pacing, she still wouldn’t look up at him.
Jason gently grabbed her chin with his hand and lifted her chin so she had to look him in the eye. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” When she would have spoken again, he stopped her. “Elizabeth, it was just a kiss. Nothing more. You haven’t betrayed Lucky.”
She looked into his eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. “I was crazy for a second. I was just so angry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry I took advantage of you.” She sounded so calm, but inside she was dying. She didn’t know what was worse kissing Jason or the fact that she wanted to kiss him again. She couldn’t handle that feeling. “Can we please just forget what I just did a minute ago? Can we call it a moment of insanity and say it will never happen again?”
He looked at her with an expression she’d never seen before. “Yeah, I think we can.”
Present
She’d been right. It was a moment of insanity. For the both of them. She’d loved Lucky and she knew that Jason loved Carly. She was sure of it.
She remembered his reaction the day he arrived when she’d brought up her name. Carly had hurt him that Christmas. He never told her what had happened but when she’d heard that Carly was pregnant with Sonny’s baby it didn’t take much to figure it out. She could just image what it was like for Jason. The only thing she didn’t know was if Jason found them before or after he got shot. It really didn’t matter. Either way Jason was left bleeding in the snow betrayed by the two people closest to him.
That’s all the kiss was. Her longing for Lucky to return and Jason’s hurt over Carly. Nothing more. Liar, the voice called her again, it was the beginning of something. Maybe, maybe it was. If Jason hadn’t left or Lucky hadn’t returned, maybe there could have been something, she admitted to herself. But that didn’t happen. Jason did leave and Lucky did return. She loved Lucky. She was with Lucky. She was meant to spend her life with Lucky. What almost happened in her studio was a mistake. She had been right yesterday. She needed to put her whole being to being with Lucky. She needed to forget what almost happened and tell Jason he couldn’t stay at the studio anymore. She couldn’t be with Lucky completely if she was keeping secrets about Jason from him.
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