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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 14:58:53 GMT -5
Chapter 1
Jason Morgan sped through New York on his motorcycle, eager to get home to those who needed him most. According to Benny, Carly's body had been found at the bottom of the lake in which she drove into. He'd been in Chicago at the time, on his way to Florida after visiting Emily. Unfortunately, his cell phone had fallen out of his leather jacket and he had no way of contacting either Sonny or Benny.
He had at least an hour until he'd hit Port Charles. Back to working directly for Sonny. Back to the Quartermaines who'd always wanted him to be something that he wasn't. Back to AJ's self-destruction, not to mention his suicidal state considering he had the gumption to marry Sonny's little sister. What was her name? Critter? No, Courtney. Back to the same old problems.. back to a pair of blue eyes that haunted him at least once a day. No- he wouldn't think about that. Not now.
He was coming back for Carly. He was her best friend, and at a time when she needed him most, he wasn't there. If anything, he was only coming back to say goodbye to his best friend. That was what he kept telling himself all the way home.
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Elizabeth Webber was pouring herself a cup of punch while Maxie Jones excused herself to the restroom. She liked Maxie. She was entering teenage life, probably the most depressing period a girl should endure. Liz had lost Lucky during those years to a fire, just to have him back a year later a completely different person. He loved her, he didn't love her. He wanted to marry her, he didn't want to marry her. He didn't want Sarah, then he's kissing her in the back of Jake's.
She shook her head and dismissed the negative thoughts that rolled on in her mind. She turned around and found Carly approaching her. 'Great,' she thought to herself. The last thing she needed right now was a confrontation with Carly-Roberts-Spencer-Quartermaine- Corinthos.. or whatever the hell she called herself these days.
Carly approached, not looking rather happy but trying damn hard to seem polite. "Elizabeth."
Liz lifted her eyebrows as a sign of response and watched Carly's eyes flash with what looked like annoyance which was quickly replaced with what looked like determination. "Look. I know we haven't exactly been the best of friends, but my mother told me that you were among those that took care of Michael while I was away." A person would have to be blind to not see how hard it was for Carly to utter thanks to Liz. She smiled inwardly to herself but remained calm and cool.
"Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks and that I appreciate it." Carly didn't waste another minute talking to the little girl as she made her way back to her husband- ex-husband. He put an arm around her and squeezed. "I'm very proud of you," he told her, grinning from ear to ear, knowing how much Carly hated doing what she'd just done. She glared at him and offered a sarcastic smile.
Liz made her way back to the counter and looked at her watch. Sarah sure as hell was taking a long time freshening up. After all, Liz had only spilled water on her. What was the big deal? 'Maybe she needs me and is waiting for me to go up there,' she thought to herself. As soon as the thought came to mind, Maxie came running down the stairs and out the door. Before Elizabeth could call out to her, the teenager was long gone out of sight, Felicia and Roy right behind her. Liz continued to stare at the door, then slowly brought her eyes to the top of the stairs.
Suddenly stricken with the desire to go upstairs, she reluctantly left her seat at the counter to catch a glimpse at what had made Maxie so upset. When she reached the top of the stairs, she found that the bathroom door was open, vacant and free to anyone who wished to handle their business. That was odd. If Sarah wasn't in the restroom, then where was....
Her gaze shifted to Lucky's closed door and the sounds that were coming from it. A flash of pain entered Elizabeth's eyes before they were replaced with a blank look, no emotion apparent whatsoever. She slowly made her way to the door and contemplated on whether or not she should open the door. Lucky wasn't her business anymore so if he had a girl in there, she shouldn't care. Then again, if it was Sarah... "Fuck this," she muttered to herself as she opened the door.
She found the two of them naked under the sheets, cuddling without a care in the world until they faced the person who'd ruined their perfect moment.
"Elizabeth," Sarah said.
Elizabeth stood there dumbfounded, numbed with an indescribable pain filled with shock, anguish and betrayal. She looked from one to the other and walked out of the room closing the door behind her. A second later, she opened the door once more, invited herself inside and slammed the door behind her.
"What the fuck is going on here?!"
Chapter 2
Elizabeth stared daggers into the one man she thought she'd love forever and the woman who was supposed to be her sister. The anger that consumed her body was evident through her clenched fists and her upturned eyebrows. Her nostrils flared once as she stood her ground, blocking the only exit out of the room.
Lucky fumbled and started to reach for his jeans. "Elizabeth, it's not what you-"
"Don't even try that with me," she cut him off rather coldly, shaking her head slowly. Her eyes never left Lucky's. He seemed to look sorry, but then again, he always was. Sorry- that is. Sorry that he didn't love her, sorry that he'd wasted all this time when he could've let her go a long time ago. Yup, Lucky was sorry alright- a sorry excuse for a human being.
"Lizzie, let me explain-"
"You know, when I want you to speak, I'll ask, alright?" Elizabeth yelled, cutting her sister off with a hand in her direction. "Right now, the two of you are going to do nothing but listen to what I have to say." When she had their attention and was able to get a grip on her emotions, she looked at Lucky and began.
"The moment you came back home, I should've known that something was off. You kept pushing me to be with Nikolas, telling me that you weren't in love with me anymore... I should've known then that what we had died in the fire, but NO! That permanent lock that we made years ago wouldn't let me give up on you, the LOVE that I felt for you just wouldn't go away!
"Then, we found out that you were brainwashed by Helena, and suddenly it all made sense. She brainwashed you to turn against Luke and Laura, to stop loving me! What a bunch of shit, Lucky. Did she really even hold you captive? Has anything that you've ever done since you came back been true?"
"Elizabeth-"
"I'M NOT DONE!" Lucky quickly shut his mouth and remained seated next to Sarah on the bed while she sat underneath the covers looking scared as hell. She had every right to be scared. When Elizabeth was pissed, all hell was bound to break lose.
"Still, I believed in our love when you couldn't. I'm the one that gave it my all to save us- to save you! You forget that I was there when Helena erased all of our memories. I was there while she robbed you- robbed US of all our love. I was there after, when you looked into my eyes without an inkling of the love you once felt for me. I was there when Nikolas helped fake my death to protect YOU, Lucky! I did it all for you and this is the kind of shit that I get? This is how you repay me for loving you? I threw away my LIFE, damn it! And you repay me by making me believe that you still love me, wasting my time while you sleep with my whore of a sister behind my back?!" Elizabeth was close to Lucky now, yelling at his face while that same sorry look remained plastered like a mask.
"Lizzie, it wasn't like that-"
"And you," Elizabeth started, turning her attention to her dear older sister. "You come back into town with no warning whatsoever, expecting us to be the best of friends, telling me that you want nothing more than for us to be close. How was I to know that you meant you wanted to share the same man as well?" Elizabeth threw the statement coldly and watched as pain and denial etched across her sister's delicate, bony features. "Don't even try to tell me otherwise, Sarah. I mean- after all, you were the one who kept urging me to forget about Lucky in the beginning. You said it yourself- that I was going to set myself up for a fall and that I would get hurt by Lucky. Tell me Sarah, was that some kind of warning? Were you telling me to let go of Lucky because in a couple of weeks he'd be in your bed? Damn, Sarah you sure do move fast. I have to admit I underestimated you. Your husband's been dead for what? Two months? It took Nikolas a whole lot more than that to accuse me of sleeping with Jason Morgan and even then THAT wasn't true."
Lucky would have none of this. "Elizabeth, you are way out of line-"
She threw a disgusted look at him and smiled sadistically. She then looked back at her sister who was on the verge of tears, speechless to say the least. "He's already defending you," she said rather quietly, bitter with a touch of sadness. She shook her head and backed out of the room. She opened the door with one look back and shook her head once more. "Just.. stay away from me- both of you."
With that she made her way out of the room and stood motionless in the hallway. The anger that she'd allowed to take over earlier finally dissipated and she was left with a rather tired and lonely feeling- one that she didn't like. She made her way to the restroom down the hallway and closed the door slowly. It was then that the tears came, softly and slowly. The anger had definitely subsided and she was now left to deal with the aftermath of it all. Lucky and Sarah were sleeping together, behind her back. Even when Liz told them she wouldn't be able to stand seeing them together, they still went on with what they wanted. She wiped and cursed the tears as they cascaded down her face. When they were spent, she reluctantly faced the mirror to view the damage caused by the rush of emotions that consumed her one by one.
To say she looked like hell would be an understatement. She looked tired, defeated and.. lost. Finding her ex-fiance and sister in the same bed had seemed to age her beyond her years. Her eyes looked older, as if she'd seen everything the world had to offer and didn't like it. She reached for a face towel that could be found in the drawer underneath the sink, wet it softly and began to pat her face with it.
When finished, she studied her reflection once more, this time with more scrutiny. She found she wasn't seeing things- there definitely was something different in her face. She looked more.. mature. "God, when did that happen?" she asked herself. She continued to study herself with wonder as someone began to knock on the door. Elizabeth looked herself over before she opened it.
Carly stood there and took in the expression locked in her nemesis' eyes. She could've sworn that she'd seen embarressment in Liz's eyes but it was soon replaced with a blank look of nothing. 'Well,' she thought to herself, 'maybe the girl did learn a thing or two from Jason.'
Elizabeth made her way past Carly and was about to continue until one voice stopped her. "Elizabeth?"
Carly didn't know why she called out to her. Maybe it was the fact that she'd almost lost her life and she was ready to start fixing things that went wrong in her life. Granted, she sure as hell didn't like Elizabeth, but there was no doubt that something had happened to cause the girl pain. Carly wasn't as heartless to not at least ask if something was wrong.
"Are you okay?" When Elizabeth just continued to stare, Carly sighed rather rudely and came to stand in front of her. "Look, like I said before, I am thankful that you helped watch over Michael, so I'm kinda in your debt right now." Elizabeth continued to stare at Carly with the same blank look that drove her crazy! She threw her hands up in surrender. "Fine. Believe it or not, I was just trying to help." She made her way back into the bathroom until Liz spoke, just one word.
"Thanks."
With that, she made her way downstairs while Carly stood in the doorway of the bathroom looking after her. Maybe Sonny was right. Maybe- just maybe she could find a way to get along with the little brat. After all, if it weren't for her Jason would be dead. Hell, she could at least TRY to make things work out. Tonight.. tonight would have to be a start.
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Elizabeth sat on the bench to gather her thoughts. There were still shallow tears that escaped her eyes every now and then, but that was only natural. She felt numb all over, and how she found herself here, she had no idea.
She sat on the park bench with her head between her legs, letting it all in. She thought about all the time she wasted when she could've been better off somewhere else. It was then that she thought about Jason. She hadn't allowed herself to think about him since he left. She knew that he'd visited with Emily since the letters she'd written indicated so. Sure, every now and then, she'd wonder where he was. If he was in Italy thinking about her at that exact same moment. She'd never really dwell on the thought though because at the end of the day, she'd always chosen Lucky. It was at that moment, she found herself regretting her choice.
Simultaneously, she heard footsteps making their way down the stairs of the park entrance and heard as they came to a sudden halt. Elizabeth still had her head in her lap, but still, she knew who was there. She could feel his presence anywhere. She slowly looked up and into those piercing blue eyes that had begun to haunt her as of late. Her mouth became dry as she took in the brown shirt, black jeans, motorcycle boots, and of course, the leather jacket. The hair was cut short, not spiky as it was the last time she saw him. It was darker as well. When she finally found her voice, she whispered his name, part in question, part in anticipation, silently hoping that he wasn't a figment of her imagination.
"Jason?"
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 14:59:52 GMT -5
Chapter 3
Jason didn't know why he took the short cut through the park to get to Sonny's. At the moment, he was contemplating the fact whether or not it was such a good idea. He was now staring at Elizabeth's tear stained face, watching her break as each second passed by. He was happy to see her, though the expression on her face was breaking him into pieces.
On the other hand, he wished he hadn't run into her. He sure as hell wasn't in the mood for her to tell him to stay away. He wasn't exactly sure if he could turn away from her, especially when she was like that. Her hair had grown a little longer and was feathered out. She wore a tight leather jacket with a black top underneath with what looked like dark gray corduroys. He couldn't really tell due to the darkness of the night.
He continued to stand there motionless, waiting for her to make the first move. Sure, she'd called out to him, but who was to say she wouldn't tell him to turn around and leave once more? What a cliche- the first person he'd run into was the same person who drove him away the last time. And who would've thought they'd meet at the same place she chose Lucky? Now, Jason was the one standing there, waiting for her to say something.
Elizabeth was still drinking in his appearance, realizing for the first time since he'd been gone that she'd missed him. She'd been so consumed in loving solely Lucky, waiting for him to love her back. Her mind had been telling her to stay with Lucky, she owed it to him to try to work things out. But her heart... Though it may not have been telling her to follow Jason out of town, it sure as hell was telling her that something wasn't right. Now that Sarah had helped open her eyes, she was able to see what she had left behind. The heartbreak she'd caused to her true best friend, the only man who'd never let her down. Her father was a disappointment in the fact that he was never there. Nikolas had tricked her just to protect Gia, and Lucky, well, need there be any explanation as to why Lucky had let her down? No, Jason was the only man who hadn't hurt her in any way. Too bad she couldn't say the same for him.
Not knowing what to do, she decided to trust what her heart was telling her to do. She rose from the bench and ran towards him, flinging her arms around his neck. For once, she didn't think about Lucky or Sarah. She didn't think about the hell she'd been put through. She didn't stop to think whether or not Jason was angry with her or whether or not he would push her away. At the moment, she was doing what she thought was right, and she prayed to God that she wasn't once again doing the wrong thing.
While Jason was at a lost for words, he didn't hesitate to put his arms around the woman who'd somehow found her way into his thoughts every night. He accepted the embrace for what it was: comfort. He knew that deep down, she was hurting over something that'd just happened, and for some reason, Jason knew that it definitely had something to do with Lucky. That look in her eyes was so familiar.. where had he seen it before?
Still, he held her, offering her comfort in his arms but accepting the consolation that her embrace condoned. He needed to be held by her because he was in agony over Carly's death. He needed to be held by her because he missed her so much. He needed to be held by her because he needed to make sure she was really there. He needed to be held by her.. because it was what he needed.
Reluctantly, they broke apart as Elizabeth offered a weak smile, darting her eyes to the ground while she tucked that damned stubborn strand behind her ear. Funny, it always broke free whenever she was with Jason. When she brought her eyes to his, she wasn't surprised to find that he'd been staring at her. Not knowing what to say, she asked the only logical question at the moment. "When did you get back?"
He blinked before he stuck his hands into his leather jacket. What a question to ask, he thought to himself. Then again, it seemed like a safe place for her to start so he decided to play along, letting her (once again) lead the pace. "Just now."
She nodded her head in acceptance and wrapped her arms around herself. She tried to look away from his eyes, but it was as if Jason were willing her not to. He was looking beyond the surface, trying to find out what was wrong. If the eyes truly are the doors to a person's soul, then there was no doubt in her mind that what Jason was seeing was a pain of betrayal that no one should endure. Instead of pouring out her feelings of sorrow, she opted to be happy that her best friend was home. "I'm glad that you're back, Jason."
He knew she meant it. That.. that sad look in her eyes went away for a moment, and he was able to see that same Elizabeth he'd fallen in.. Well, that couldn't matter at the moment. Sure he was concerned about her, but he couldn't repeat what happened last year. He couldn't allow himself to grow closer to her once more just to have her ask him to stay away. As if he were suddenly snapped out of a trance, Jason remembered why he was back: it was for Carly. He couldn't allow Elizabeth to cloud his judgement.. at least not now. Although he hated blowing her off when she needed him, he had no choice but to do so. After all, she'd made her choice a long time ago. It was way past time to accept that. "I have to go."
The look of astonishment graced her pale features before it was replaced with a mask identical to his own. 'Damn, when'd she learn how to do that?' Jason thought to himself, not liking it one bit. Her emotions were well guarded, but he knew his girl. She was hurt that he had to go so soon after they'd just met once again. She thinks she understands why he needs to go. Worst of all, she's blaming herself as the reason he's leaving.
Not being able to leave her in such a condition, he added, "I have to check in with Sonny, Elizabeth."
He definetely didn't miss the spark of hope that leaped into her eyes, but decided not to make anything much out of it. She nodded her head and quietly asked, "I'll see you around?"
He stared into her eyes and knew that she needed him so he nodded his response and began his way past her. Still, there was something nagging at him to say more, something in his gut that didn't want him to leave things the way they were. He slowly turned around to see her back towards him, knowing that she was twisting her fingers together with a frown upon her face. "Elizabeth."
She turned around, her fingers still knotted together, anticipating what it was he was going to say. He offered a small smile and whispered, "I meant what I said.. back then. I won't turn you away if you come to me." He offered her one last gaze as he made his way out of the park, leaving a once hurt Elizabeth a reason to look forward to tomorrow.
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Sonny was in the kitchen making dinner for both he and Carly when he heard the doorbell ring. He knew that Carly was in the living room and that she would automatically go see who it was, so he kept on stirring the pasta sauce. It wasn't until he heard her scream that he came running out the kitchen to see what was going on.
Carly was dressed in one of Sonny's dress shirts and a pair of baggy sweat pants when she heard the doorbell, flipping through the account books that Jax had given her while at Kelly's. She looked at the door in pure annoyance before placing the important files on the coffee table. She rose from the couch and went to answer it, screaming when she noticed who the late visitor was.
Jason stared in complete shock at the woman he thought was dead. She, however, looked happy as hell to see him as she threw herself into his arms. "JASON!" It was then that Sonny made his appearance, while Carly clung to his best friend who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
Carly pulled apart and looked at him, then became worried when she witnessed the expression on his face. "Jase, are you okay?"
He looked at her once more, placing one hand on either side of her face. "I thought you were dead."
She smiled at him, placing one hand over one of his. "Not if I can help it."
It took a while, but he did eventually smile. That, in turn, led to a laugh, which led to pure happiness as he brought his arms around her and gave her a well-meaning hug which signified his happiness that she was okay. He then acknowledged his boss and mentor and went over to say hello. The two shook hands which Sonny turned into a hug. "It's good to see you."
Jason nodded and added, "It's good to see you, too- the both of you." He then looked back at his boss with a shrug. "You wanna tell me how she's still alive?"
Sonny smiled, his trademark dimples in full bloom and shook his head. "Maybe if you'd left your cell phone on.."
Jason waved a hand at his direction and replied, "It fell off while I was on the bike."
Carly explained what had happened to her and how she and Sonny had found their way back to each other once more. She looked genuinley happy- Jason would have to be dead not to see it. They both did each other well.
While Carly went to go "freshen up", Sonny sombered up and decided to talk business. "Spencer suspects it was AJ who switched the DNA."
"Did he?"
Sonny poured two fingers of whiskey into a glass while he answered. "Nope. Was our good friend Roscoe. He has to be stopped, Jason."
Jason's facial expressions froze as he heard the name Roscoe. He'd learned some information time and time again while he'd been traveling, but he was never able to confirm whether or not what he'd heard was true. "Sonny, I have to tell you something."
By the look on Jason's face, it was apparent that the man he trusted with his life needed his full attention. "What is it?"
Jason ran a hand through his hair and let it travel to massage the back of his neck. "There's been some talk, and I didn't want to tell you until I knew everything-"
"Okay, boys! Let's eat!" Carly exclaimed as she came sauntering down the stairs. She was wearing a black-halter top dress which flowed just below her knees. Her hair was down as she wore no make up, black feminine slippers adorning her feet.
Jason and Sonny were pulled out of business and decided to pay attention to the woman they both loved in different ways. During dinner, Carly couldn't help but bring up the other woman that was apparantely on Jason's mind. "So did you run into Liz yet?"
Jason looked up from his dinner in amusement. "Excuse me?"
She rolled her eyes and picked up a roll of bread, a defense mechanism she'd use if she had to. "Would you be quiet and answer the question?"
Jason caught Sonny's smile before he took a sip of wine. "I'm sorry, are you- Carly- actually trying to have a civil conversation including Elizabeth?" Jason asked, still perplexed at the change of events.
Carly broke off a piece of her bread and flung it at her best friend. He ducked just in time and the three laughed. The phone rang at that moment, and Carly rose to answer it. After learning that it was Bobbie, she decided to take the phone call upstairs, leaving the two mobsters alone at the dinner table.
"So what was it that you were trying to tell me earlier?" Sonny asked.
Jason took a deep breath and looked his boss, mentor and somewhat brother in the eyes. "There's been talk that Brenda's alive."
Chapter 4
Sonny didn't like surprises. Hell- he was a friggin' mob boss- he DESPISED surprises. They usually brought complications which would sooner or later lead to bigger problems.
Brenda being a live would be a problem.
Sonny continued to stare at his loyal companion, numbed with a loss for words. Jason decided to wait him out, waiting patiently while Sonny digested the information. Just when he was about to explain what he'd heard, Carly came back into the living room.
"Alright, Jason. You know I love you, but ya gotta leave now. Sonny and I have some business to take care of..." She trailed off when she noticed the pale expression on her ex-husband's face. "Sonny? Sonny what's wrong?" When he didn't reply, she looked back at Jason who was now looking at her. "What happened, Jason? What'd you tell him?"
Sonny shook himself out of his trance and smiled at the woman he'd grown to love over the years. He looked into her eyes and saw genuine concern- love in the least. He decided not to think about his past love for the night, but to concentrate on the woman he'd been given a second chance with... or was it the third? For tonight, Brenda wouldn't- couldn't matter.
"Uh- Jason was just telling me about some things he'd learned while traveling," Sonny said, caressing his ex-wife with a soft look of love.
Carly didn't seem convinced, but then again, when was she? "Right. That's why your face was white as a sheet as I came in?"
Sonny blew a huff of breath and looked at Carly once more. "Well, what he told me was a little.. odd. Kinda far-fetched if you ask me, don't you think so Jason?"
Jason just nodded his head. Sonny wasn't exactly lying to Carly, and Jason knew that he didn't want to tell her anything until he knew all the details. Hell- JASON didn't even know all the details, but he'd put off the information long enough. Sonny needed to know that there was a possibility that Brenda was alive- whether or not it was true. Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, he decided it was time for him to leave. "I'm gonna head out," he said as he walked over to the couch to retreive his leather jacket.
Carly smirked as he put it on. "Isn't it a little too I don't know hot for you to be wearing that damned jacket?" she asked in a teasing tone.
He looked at her oddly and shrugged. "You don't like my jacket?"
She shrugged back as she stood behind Sonny who still sat at the dinner table, placing one hand on each of his shoulders. "I never said I didn't like it, but don't you think you should hang it up now? I mean, come on Jase. It's summer."
He still looked at her, unconvinced as to why all this mattered. "You forget we live in Port Charles. The sun is never around here." What seemed to perplex Jason even more was the fact that he was actually having a conversation about a jacket. How idiotic was that? Then again, when it came to Carly.. He decided to high-tail it out of there ASAP, before Carly could open her mouth to speak once more. He gave her one last hug and told her he was glad she was alive. With a last nod to Sonny, a solemn promise that the conversation wasn't over, he left with nothing left to say.
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Elizabeth made her way down to the docks and sat on a vacant bench while she looked out into the water. Spoon Island. Yes, she'd spent many weeks there, recuperating after the accident. Then again, Gia'd been the real reason she'd almost lost her life and her good, dear friend Nikolas was the one who covered it up. Of course, she had the so-called love of her life Lucky waiting on her every whim while Sarah showered her with compliments, driving her crazy with her medical concerns. Then again, they were probably going at it behind her back. Yes, such good friends and family, all claimed they loved her, all claimed they were looking out for her, but neither consulted her what she wanted. All she wanted was honesty and respect, two things neither couple had given her since she'd come back from Sonny's island.
God, she was tired of feeling sorry for herself. She shook her head roughly and vowed to never be the victim again. Hell, she'd survived a rape. She'd survived losing a young and precious love at such a young age. She'd survived years and years of living in Sarah's shadow. She'd survived HELENA CASSIDINE of all people, she sure as hell would survive this.
She turned her head to the right when she heard someone walking towards her. She breathed a small sigh as she offered the man a nod.
"Elizabeth? You okay?"
Zander Smith made his way towards her and stood before her while she remained on the bench. She looked back at Spoon Island, studying the damned thing as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Why do people lie, Zander?"
He rose his eyebrows in response, not expecting her answer to be a question, especially since it was a question he didn't know the answer to. He breathed a sigh and invited himself to sit next to her. "Something happen with Lucky and Sarah?"
The answer to his question was a disgusted grunt which came along with the narrowing of her eyes. She'd been hurt and betrayed. It seemed like it was an emotion everyone had to play at least once in Port Charles. Hell it'd happened to him when he fell in love with Carly, only to have her turn around and use him, breaking his heart in a matter of seconds without hesitation. In the end, he knew he was better off without her. He knew she was and always would be in love with Sonny. There was no way to beat around it. Still, the aftermath of it all could be a little sore on the heart. But Elizabeth, she'd been in love with Lucky for what seemed like forever.
Liz finally broke eye contact with the dreadful hellhole and began to pay attention to her new companion. She didn't feel like telling him what she'd walked in on earlier that night, but she felt like telling him something. "Let's just say that the two of them are officially out of my life."
Zander nodded his head, knowing the feeling. "You okay with that?"
She looked at him, her eyebrows drawn together, then looked back into the water as she thought it over. Was she okay with it? She certainly stopped crying a while ago, deciding that she wasn't going to waste tears on two people who were now dead to her. Though she was no robot, the feelings were still there, but she decided not to let it control her. She knew better than to let the two of them get to her. This was her life, and she'd be damned if she let anyone else influence her on the decisions she makes.
"You know what Zander, for the first time in a long time, I think I am." She offered a sheepish smile, and for some reason, Zander put his arm around her shoulders, offering what little comfort he could give.
Jason stood at the top stairs on the docks, his legs immobile due to the sight before him. He didn't know what they were saying, but he'd turned the corner just as Zander'd put his arm around her. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. He'd felt as if he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. The wind.. knocked out of him. At the moment, there was no other feeling in the world that felt worse.
Chapter 5
He stood there, not wanting to look yet not wanting to turn away. He knew he'd been gone for way too long when he witnessed the embrace between the one man who unnerved him and the one woman he... well, he wasn't quite sure of how he felt for her. Nonetheless, the pain of seeing the two of them together like that was real.
He felt conflicted, part of him wanting to turn and walk away, knowing that he shouldn't intrude on what seemed to be a private moment. Another part of him wanted to lurk in the shadows and wait, find out if his eyes really were decieving him. And a major part of him wanted to run to the two, throw Zander off the docks, take Elizabeth away with him and never look back on this Godforsaken town.
While he contemplated on which of the three would be the best thing to do, Jason had no choice but to stand there and watch while his mind worked overdrive.
Elizabeth was startled when Zander placed an arm around her shoulders. She didn't want to give into the kind comfort he was offering, but she needed to be held and for that moment in time, it seemed like the right thing to do. However, a second later, she came to her senses and rose from the bench, making her way towards the docks. Her arms were crossed across her chest as she stared into the black water of the night.
She looked down on the floor and kicked at the pebbles sending them into the water. "By the way, Jason's back."
When Elizabeth had walked away from him, Zander thought nothing of it. He was trying to be a good friend, a kind of substitute since Emily was miles away. Granted, Emily did break his heart into a million pieces, he knew that she would be by Liz's side if she could. There was no doubt that she needed a friend and Zander'd be damned if he walked away. However, the announcement of the Borg back in PC took him by surprise. "He is?"
She nodded her head and kicked at some more pebbles with the toe of her right boot, her hands still crossed across her chest. "Apparently so."
Jason's eyebrows drew together as his face formed a frown. Was that bitterness he detected in her tone? Nah, it couldn't be... could it?
Zander seemed to notice at as well and questioned her on it. "Are you okay with it? You don't sound to happy to have him back."
She snorted in return and kicked a bigger rock hard into the water. She watched as it skidded and made its plunder into the ocean. "Well, what can I say? Things've changed." She huffed a puff of breath, placed her hands on her hips and turned to face Zander, the opposite direction where Jason hid.
"What do you mean things changed?" Zander asked. Jason sure as hell wanted to beat the kid down, as he voiced Jason's own questions to the woman he should be having the conversation with.
"Ha! Where do I start? How about when I ran into him? Poor thing looked like he wanted to be anywhere but with me. And not to mention that he couldn't WAIT to hightail it out of there just as soon as he'd came through the gate!" She ran a frustrated hand through her hair roughly as she paced the length of the docks. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. When she looked back at Zander, there was an unprofound look of knowledge yet anger in her eyes.
"Though, I HAVE to give him some credit. After all, he had to check in with Sonny, which I truly understand is important. But, come on! I tell him that I'm glad he's back, happy to see him and what? I have to check in with Sonny, Elizabeth!"
She continued to pace once more, wriggling her arms in the air in hopes of releasing the tension and anger she felt. What's worse, she had no idea why she was mad at Jason. Of course he wanted to get her out of his sight the minute he saw her. After all, wasn't she the reason he left anyway? Besides, why is she letting it get to her? She hadn't even thought about the man since he left town. Okay that's not ENTIRELY true. Better yet, she hadn't allowed herself to think about him since he left. She'd made her decision a long time ago. Even though it was the wrong one, she would have to learn to live with the consequences. She'd brought this all upon herself.
Suddenly feeling defeated by her emotional outburst, she slumped back onto the bench near Zander. He'd remained a good listener throughout her ranting and for that, she would be eternally grateful. She sighed, running a hand through her hair for one last time. "Thank you for listening to me Zander. It truly means a lot."
He gave a small smile and shrugged. "It was nothing." He knew that he was being dismissed, could feel it in the shift in the air that told him she would now need time alone. "You going back to the studio or the Brownstone?"
She shook her head as she played with the cuffs on her leather jacket. "No, I think I'm gonna stay here for a little while longer, get some fresh air."
He nodded and stood. "Alright then. I'll see you around Elizabeth. And go straight home after you've had your fresh air," he ordered in a mocking fatherly tone. She smiled which he easily returned before making his way off the pier.
Jason stood there dumbfounded. He knew he shouldn't have left things the way he did, but he had no choice. He still thought that Carly was dead, and at that moment, his obligation was reserved for her and her alone. Now that he knew the truth, he could see how much of a jerk he'd been to the other woman who held the titleship of his best friend. She'd told him she was happy to see him and he responded by telling her he had to see Sonny? Yes, he was braindamaged, but even he saw how hurtful that could've been.
He needed to talk to her but was somewhat cautious of what she might say to him. The truth. She'd always told him the truth, with the exception of that prick Lucky. But could he take the truth now? While she was still so riled after what she'd just said?
Before he could answer his own question, he heard five words that set him cold in his tracks.
"You can come out now."
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:01:00 GMT -5
Chapter 6
Elizabeth didn't bother to turn her head when Jason approached her. She continued to stare at the water, palms set upon her lap with a rather calm yet aggrivated look upon her face. She didn't move when Jason took the seat next to her and didn't utter single word when he sighed and began to speak.
"How long did you know I was there?"
She smiled sarcastically while shaking her head softly. "Why? So you can figure out which things I said on purpose?" She still refused to look at him. She wasn't mad. She was just aggrivated at the fact that Jason had actually lurked upon her. Wasn't that a skill demonstrated when he was working for Sonny? Since when did he start using it with her?
As if reading her thoughts, he sighed once more, braced one hand on the back of the bench and caught her eyes with his own. "I didn't mean to hide. I just.. I couldn't find myself to walk away when I found you with Zander."
Her left eyebrow twitched as she sat there and looked at him. He was telling the truth, and she knew it. Still, she couldn't seem to let it go. "So if you couldn't walk away, then why didn't you at least walk towards us? I mean, come on Jason. You could've at least made your presence known instead of eavesdropping on a conversation you weren't supposed to hear."
It was his time to quirk up an eyebrow. "I wasn't supposed to hear? Elizabeth, you knew I was there in the first place. Is- is that why you dismissed Zander like that? Is that when you found my hiding spot?"
Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at his choice of words. "Hiding spot? Since when did you use that phrase?" She allowed herself to a laugh a little longer and then became straight-faced. "No fair, I'm still mad at you."
He tried to hide back a smile which Elizabeth caught. "I really am," she said once more, sounding as if she were trying to convince herself.
He smiled once more. "I never said you weren't."
She looked at him and he looked at her. She blew out a breath and sagged her shoulders. "Okay I'm not mad. Let's just say that I had time to blow off all my anger on Zander, that poor thing."
Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Of all people, why confide in Zander? He isn't exactly your friend unless I missed something while I was gone."
She shook her head. "Actually, we had one conversation here on the docks the night.." She trailed off realizing that he didn't know about Lucky and Sarah. In fact, nobody knew about Lucky and Sarah. She looked away fom his questioning glance, not wanting to bring him in on all that went wrong in her life.
Jason realized the minute she was pulling away and formed a frown. "Elizabeth, what is it?" She began to shake her head and protest that nothing was wrong, but Jason wasn't having it. He'd already screwed things up the first time they met up again, but he wasn't about to let her down a second time that night. "Something is going on, but I can only help you if you tell me what it is."
And then she was transported back in time.
It was 2001, and as usual, Jason was concerned about her. She'd just left Jake's after running from the FOD photoshoot, and he'd come after her to her studio. She remembered the threat that Gia had made to her, threatening to tell Lucky all about her afternoon with Jason if she didn't give up her position as The Face.
Jason'd come after her, only wanting to help her, and she turned him away- again. That was the second time she'd been brought back to the past by Jason's words, both times connecting with the same night. She'd pushed him away, but he'd said he wouldn't do the same to her.
Could she confide in him after all this time? She'd made the mistake of turning him away once, but she wasn't about to do it again. Though, it would have to wait for another time. It was late and there was no doubt in her mind that she might be keeping him from something. Who knows, maybe Sonny and Carly needed a box of condoms and they might call Jason to get them some.
"You know, Jase, it's a pretty long story. Maybe we should save it for another time-"
"I have nothing to do for tonight, and I would really like to hear what's been going on with you, Elizabeth." Any protest she was about to offer was cut silent on her lips. Still, that wasn't going to be enough to make her talk.
Jason sensed this and ran a hand through his hair, knowing that now was the time for him to explain his earlier behavior. "Elizabeth, I knew I screwed things up at the park. I- I didn't know that Carly was alive."
The gasp he got from Elizabeth showed the concern reflected in her eyes. If that didn't give it away, then the hand that fell on top of his said it all. "Jason, I'm sorry! I didn't know-"
"You don't have to apologize. You couldn't have known. I didn't even know," he answered, making her see that she had nothing to be sorry about. "I just needed to check in on Sonny to see if he needed anything, and then I saw Carly."
She massaged his hand and looked into his eyes. "That must've been.. shocking- to say the least."
He smiled at that. "You have no idea. But that was the only reason I walked away from you at the park. I could only focus on Carly, how losing her would affect both Sonny and Michael. I should've said something when you told me you were glad to see me-"
"No, that's not necessary." He stared at her blankly as she continued. "That whole sound off about giving you credit.. how you had to go meet Sonny? I kinda already knew you were there. I just started speaking to hurt you for hurting me and that was totally un-"
"It was not unfair," he said, cutting her off before she could even say the word. "You just said it, Elizabeth. I hurt you. You were acting on emotion just as I was. I was confused and in pain over the loss of Carly and left you standing there without a word. You were hurt over the way I left you so you spoke your mind in means to hurt me. It's alright, I get it."
She smiled softly at him, realizing that he did understand her. Once again, they were on the same parallel. "Well, then why don't we start over?"
She turned her body to face his and straightened her back. "I'm really glad your back, Jason."
He smiled at her and caressed her cheek in the curve of his palm. "I'm just as glad... but I'd be happier if you told me what was going on."
She laughed as she turned away from him. "You're just not going to give up, are you?"
He smiled. "On you? Never."
The laughter died down as the smiles held more meaning. The look crossed between them was more that words could say. "You know, I really did miss..."
Jason waited in anticipation for her to finish the sentence. "Yeah?"
She leaned in closer and continued. "I really missed your bike." He pulled away from her, looking insulted. "Is that all?"
She placed a finger on her chin and thought it over. "Oh yeah! And the helmet to. Though it NEVER did wonders for my hair-"
She couldn't go on as laughter consumed her, a happiness that she'd never thought she'd feel that very night. She'd been on an emotional rollercoaster and now was time to take the smooth ride home. "I'll tell you what," she told him as she regained her composure. "We can go to Jake's and you can teach me how to shoot some pool while I tell you everything on one condition."
"What's that?" he asked, interested and amused.
"You take me for a ride on your bike."
He smiled and agreed. "I knew you only liked me for my bike."
She pretended to look appalled as she brought a hand to her chest. "That is not true. I only like you when you let me drive."
He brought his hands to stop her as they made their way to the bike. "Ah ah. No way are you steering tonight."
"What?! Come on, Jason, you've been gone for over a year! I need to drive that bike!"
"Then, go buy one for yourself!" Jason said laughing.
"But that's no fun! Jason.."
They continued to go on like that as they made their way to the bike and drove off.
They left before he stepped out from the shadow, making the call to his partner in crime. "It's me. Morgan's back in town. Looks like that thing he had going on with Liz Webber is still in the air..... They looked pretty cozy to me tonight if you know what I mean.... Yeah, he already checked in with Sonny, and don't worry. They don't know that I'm here." He looked into the direction that they couple had just walked off to.
"If things go according to plan, they won't know what hit them." He hung up the phone and smiled to himself. "Things just got a little more interesting," he said to himself. "Roscoe, you are good."
Chapter 7
Jason and Elizabeth stood around the pool table trying to decipher who should go first. Jason, being the gentleman that he is, was ready to give Liz the opportunity to break, but she didn't want it.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Jason, I told you. I don't even know how to play pool," she answered. The two were alone at Jake's since it was after hours. The jukebox was playing a song by Eric Clapton which seemed to fit the mood just right. The lights were dimmed low while Elizabeth's purse and jacket lay on the surface of a table nearby. Jason's leather jacket was draped along the a back chair at the same table.
He glared at her which immediately turned playful, all the while smiling as he placed his hands on his hips. "Well, wasn't the whole idea about us coming here was for me to teach you to play pool?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
She smiled and shook her head, swing her eyes to the ground. When she looked up, she found him still looking at her. She sighed and leaned against one of the tables in the room. "Is that the only reason we came here?" she asked softly. "Didn't you say that you wanted to talk?"
He sighed and crossed to stand in front of her. He leaned his backside into the pool table, partially sitting on it's edge. He did want to know what was going on, but.... "Elizabeth, we don't have to talk about anything you don't wanna talk about. To be honest, I do want to know what's been going on with you since I left, but if you don't feel comfortable.." He let the sentence hang in the air as he spread his arms in understanding.
She smiled slowly and shook her head. "You always know what to say, don't you?" He shrugged while she sighed, preparing to tell him the sad and agonizing story of her life. She moved to sit in one of the chairs by the table and motioned for him to do the same. When they were both comfortably seated, she began.
"Well, things were well after you left. Gia was chosen as the Face of Deception much to everyone's surprise but my own. You know how bad I didn't want that job so you can only guess how relieved I felt. Fast forward a couple of months later and Lucky and I are engaged." She paused, waiting to get some sort of reaction from Jason. When she got none, she continued.
"Anyway, after that whole fiasco, we found out that Helena still had Lucky programmed. She forced Lucky to inject Luke with some kind of- I don't know some kind of poison which almost killed him. I saw Lucky after he'd injected his father and I knew something was off. He was hysterical, telling me that he'd done something bad and all this other stuff that I can't really remember. That's when he called off the engagement."
She stopped once more to regain her composure. Sure, this was such a long time ago, and she sure as hell wasn't planning on going back to Lucky anytime soon, but still. The emotions that she'd felt during that time were real. She'd been in love with Lucky Spencer for what seemed like all her life. And now.. now she was telling her best friend how it all went wrong. Granted, she was sure she didn't love Spencer anymore, but it still hurt to talk of a love gone wrong.
Sensing this, Jason reached over and held both her hands in his. He squeezed each in a sign of comfort. She tugged her right hand out of the embrace to rub his knuckles. It was a small, innocent gesture but it no doubt made Jason's blood run hot. Get a grip, Morgan he scolded himself. He regained his composure and his... other attributes and listened as she poured her heart.
"He said that he was doing it to protect me- calling off the wedding, that is. He was sure that Helena was going to make him do something he didn't want to do.. he was so sure that Helena was going to make him hurt me."
That's probably the smartest thing that Spencer's ever done, Jason thought to himself.
"So, that's when Nikolas and I came up with a plan to trick Helena. The plan was that Nikolas was supposed to turn against everyone: Laura, Lucky, Stefan, Alexis- everyone. He'd taken me as his girlfriend, which I agreed to. To convince her he was truly a Cassidine, he demanded that she brainwash Lucky into forgetting all of his memories of me.. all of his love for me. I was hiding in the closet at the time and witnessed the whole thing.. all of our precious moments.. stolen by that crazy psychopath."
Jason inhaled deeply. "That must've been tough," he said as he squeezed her hand.
She gave a small, sad smile. "Hey- this is Elizabeth Webber you're speaking to. I can get through anything.. I'm living proof, aren't I?"
He smiled at that, glad to see that she hadn't lost her spunk while he was away. "I never doubted you couldn't."
The words spoken meant a lot to her, more than she could ever say. She felt her eyes wanting to tear up, but held her composure, not wanting to break once more that night. After all, Jason said he believed in her. At a time when she didn't really believe in herself, it sure as hell meant a lot.
"SO- Helena did the deed and erased all of Lucky's love for me in a mere second, but no. No- that wasn't enough for Helena Cassidine. She wasn't convinced that Nikolas had turned over to the dark side so she had him kill me." She stopped Jason from lashing out by placing her hands up in defense. "Hold on there anger boy, it all went well and I got to spend some time at Sonny's island. Nothing to worry about."
She was relieved when Jason calmed down, then surprised when he broke out a small grin. "Did you just call me.. anger boy?"
His grin turned into a full blown smile when Liz began to blush. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like being called that because of Taggert. I just- I wasn't thinking and the words just slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them and I'm rambling again aren't I? Damn it, Elizabeth why don't you just be quiet-"
He hushed her by placing a finger on her lips. The move surprised them both but neither did anything to show it. When she was silent, he removed his finger and stared into her eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I never had a problem with you rambling before and I don't now." He laughed when she glared at him for acknowledging the fact that she did ramble with him. "And don't worry about the anger boy comment. Besides.. I- hearing it roll off your tongue... I don't know. I guess it doesn't really bother me anymore."
They smiled amongst each other, a secret smile which held so much promise, so much meaning that neither could describe. Elizabeth shook her head softly, the same smile still graced upon her lips while she continued.
"Anyway, I come back into town after they've captured Helena, yada, yada, yada. I've been away from Lucky for so long that I say, Gee, Lucky. Let's get married on New Year's Eve, shall we? And of course, Lucky- being the gentleman that he is, not wanting to disappoint poor little Elizabeth- agrees to marry a woman he no longer loves. And when does poor little Lizzie find this out? No- not only on the day of her wedding, but during Lucky's vows."
She paused for the fifth time that night, but this time it was different. It wasn't pain or the hurt that made her take a breath. Jason could see now that she was mad. It seemed she was reliving all the emotions caused by Lucky Spencer. All the hurt, pain and anger had come back to take hold of her body once more. Jason only hoped that this would be the last time she would have to revisit the past.
"The wedding was called off, but Lucky still wanted to try to make things work. He was so convinced that we could recapture all that we lost. Sad thing was, I let him. I agreed to build something that was lost, put the pieces of a broken glass together just to get cut in the end. Did I forget to mention that my lovely sister Sarah came back in town?" When Jason shook his head no, she snorted. "Yeah, well she's back now. She tried telling me to give up on Lucky, that he'd only hurt me in the end..." She shook her head, a look of pure disgust settled deep in her eyes, making that mesmerizing shade of blue just a tad bit darker.
She snapped out of her daze and focused back on Jason. "And that- that leads us back to tonight. You ready for this, Jase? So we're all at Carly's welcome home party, and I accidently spill water on Sarah's dress. She goes upstairs to clean it off taking a hell of a long time. I go up to check on her, hear sounds from Lucky's room, and...."
Elizabeth couldn't continue the sentence as a sob escaped from her throat. She was so surprised by it and the tears that began to flow down her cheeks. Jason was by her side in seconds, taking her in his arms and absorbing all her pain. He hated seeing her hurt, feeling helpless when it came to making her better. No- that wasn't exactly true. He knew he helped her by listening when she needed to talk, but still.. it didn't always feel like it.
Jason'd been so busy, lost in his own thoughts that he failed to realize that Liz had fallen asleep. He didn't want to wake her when she looked so peaceful. It was time to make a choice. Either wake her up and take her home.. or let her crash at his place. The decision wasn't that hard to make as he gathered her in his arms and took her up the stairs to his new room at Jakes. He opened the door and lay her down on his bed, first taking off her jacket and boots. He contemplated whether or not he should undress her and place her into more comfortable clothes, but thought otherwise. She'd be embarrassed enough to learn that she'd spent the night in his bed. Why make things more complicated and uncomfortable? God knows she'd been through enough.
Making his decision, he turned down the covers and slipped her inside. He tucked her in, making sure she was snuggled tight and smiled softly as he saw her bury her face into his pillow. At that moment, he vowed to never wash the pillow covers for the rest of his life.
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Roscoe walked into his hotel suite at a disclosed location in PC. He poured himself a brandy as he waited for his partner to call back. Things would definitely get interesting in the small town. Sonny was going down and he knew it. It was about time that everyone knew it.
At that moment, his cell phone rang. Roscoe smiled to himself, put down his brandy and reached into his inside coat pocket to retrieve his phone. "Right on time as usual."
"So I take it things are going well?"
Roscoe sighed into the phone, sitting on a comfy couch while stretching out his legs. "Yes, things are going quite fine thanks. How are things going over on your end?"
"You don't need to worry about what's going on here. Did you find out anything important?"
Roscoe sat up straight and seemed pleased with himself. "Actually, yes. It seems that Morgan has a new soft spot. Seems the infamous Elizabeth Webber has attracted his attention in more ways than one."
He listened as his partner breathed deeply into the phone. "How many times do I have to tell you, Roscoe? Elizabeth stays out of this. I don't want her hurt in any way."
"Relax. Nothing'll happen to Webber. I'm just saying.. Morgan now has a weakness," he clarified.
He waited as his partner remained silent. "As long as you know what to do. I'll be in touch."
He listened to the dial tone and shook his head sadly. "I do know what I'm doing. Let's just hope you know where you stand."
Chapter 8
Elizabeth rolled over and fell out of the bed. She sat up abruptly, tossing her curls away from her face as she looked around the room. The walls were in a somewhat dark beige color. There were pictures hung on all of the walls, giving the room a more "home-y" kinda feel. The sheets in the bed she'd fallen out of were a brownish/burgendy color while the headboard of the bed was brown. There were a few dressers in the room as well and a comfy sofa-chair which looked like it'd been occupied during the night.
Judging by her surroundings, it was obvious that Elizabeth wasn't in her room at the Brownstone, but where was she? And how did she get there? She ran last nights events over in her mind. She'd gone to Carly's party, she'd ran into Lucky and Sarah doing the nasty... and then she'd ran into Jason. She talked to Zander on the pier, then again to Jason and he'd taken her for a ride. She smiled, remembering the memory. Then they were back at Jake's where she told him everything. The last thing she remembered was crying in his arms. I must've fallen asleep, she thought to herself.
She was still sitting on the floor when the bathroom door opened, revealing a fully showered and dressed Jason. His hair was still wet and slicked back as he was dressed in a black t-shirt with blue jeans. He looked at her, clearly amused by the fact that she was on the floor. "Last time I checked, I let you have the bed."
He bit back a smile when she began to blush, not wanting to embaress her any more than she already was. "Jason, I'm sorry for imposing on you last night. Don't tell me you slept on that chair," she uttered, searching his eyes for any sign of back pains.
He nodded his head and sat in the chair. "I did actually, and before you go apologizing again, you have nothing to be sorry for. The way I see it, I made a choice last night. I could've either taken you home or let you spend the night here which is what I did. Elizabeth, I could've given you the couch and slept in my own bed, but I didn't. It was my decision and I don't regret it so again, you have nothing to be sorry for."
She smiled at him but still felt bad for taking advantage of his kindness. He noticed this and crossed to her, holding out his hand to help her up. "Think of it as payback for all the times you let me stay at your studio."
This time when she smiled, it was more genuine with understanding. He'd made her see that he really didn't mind the fact that she'd crashed at his place. "Well then, thanks. Just, please tell me that thing was comfortable," she said, eyeing the chair.
He gave a soundless laugh and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Don't worry about it. How about you? Did you sleep well?"
Elizabeth let her eyes travel back to the bed when it suddenly hit her: she'd slept in Jason Morgan's bed. Holy shit! She- Elizabeth Webber- had spent the entire night in Jason's bed.. DAMN! These were one of those times when she wished Lucky would tell her if she drooled or not.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Jason laugh. When she looked at him questionably, she realized her boo boo. She closed her eyes in pure embaressment and whispered, "Please tell me I just didn't say that out loud." She felt him grip her shoulders and unwillingly opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her.
"Don't worry about it, Webber. You don't lose any points with me if you do drool." He let go of her shoulders and walked behind her to retrieve his boots by the side of the bed. Before she could make anything of the "drool" remark, he asked her, "Are you hungry?"
She decided to let the comment pass for now and scrunched her nose at the mention of breakfast. "To eat here? At Jake's?"
He shook his head as his eyebrows lowered over his eyes. "Hell no. I mean real breakfast woman. Since you live and work at Kelly's, is it safe to assume that you wouldn't want to eat there?"
She shook her head sideways. "No, Kelly's is fine. I forgot to tell you: I don't live there anymore. I moved out of there a couple of weeks ago and moved into the Brownstone with Bobbie."
Jason rose a hand in mid-air. "Hold on.. back-up for a minute. You live at the Brownstone?" When she nodded her head, oblivious to the problem at hand, Jason shook his head in disbelief and looked at her like she was crazy. "You do know what this means right?" Though she was confused, Elizabeth answered no and asked what. "That means that you live in the same building with Taggert."
She thought it over and began to laugh. He joined in the laughter, thinking that the situation was hilarious. When her giggles subsided, she moved to sit next to him on the bed facing him fully. "Well if that should be a problem for you Morgan, you're more than welcome to visit me at my studio anytime you like."
Jason smiled and reached to hold her hand. "I'd like that." He prayed that he wasn't moving too fast with her. It was just that, for once, everything seemed like it was working out for the better. Last night, he'd come into town thinking that Carly was dead and that Elizabeth was living a happy life without him. Funny how in reality, that was far from the truth; Carly was healthy and alive while Elizabeth.. Elizabeth had needed him since the moment he'd left.
Last night at the park, he thought he'd recognized that look in her eyes. It was only mere seconds before sleep consumed him last night when he realized what that look was: betrayal. There was no other way to put it. It had been placed into her eyes by the man she loved and the woman who was not only her sister but who had also been her best friend. The look in her eyes was so identical to his when he'd found Sonny and Carly together. The woman he loved had slept with his best friend. Jason knew the pain Elizabeth was going through because he'd experienced it, too.
For what it was worth, he took comfort in the fact that Elizabeth was strong. She was an accurate definition of a true survivor. She had so much more strength than she believed she had so Jason had no doubt that she would make it through this. He only prayed that it wasn't too late to make things right between the two of them. He'd left and lost a lot when he rode out of town the last time, but this time- this time he wouldn't let her slip away.
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Carly walked into Kelly's with Sonny right behind her. "You wanna remind me again why we're here?"
Sonny pulled out a chair for his risen-from-the-dead wife and sat across next to her on the adjacent side of the table. "I just thought you might like to appreciate the finer things in life. I mean, with your latest brush with death, I thought you might want to take a look at your surroundings, not take too much for granted this time around."
She smiled at him deviously. "Whatever you say, Sonny. I still think you're up to something," she said as she unfolded the napkin on the table, placing it on her lap. She looked up at him once more to find him grinning at her like a mother who was keeping a lollipop from her baby. She couldn't help but smile at his unfathomable dimples. Damn him for knowing just when to flash them! She could never win a fight with him when they were present.
Carly still didn't remember the events prior to her car accident, but she decided at that moment they weren't important. It was scary as hell not remembering anything, but the present was the present. The past should stay in the past.
At that moment, the doors to Kelly's opened revealing a very happy Jason and Elizabeth. Carly had to do a double-take and blinked her eyes once to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Was that... was that Jason Morgan.. laughing in public? No.. it couldn't be. She looked over to Sonny who seemed to be amused as hell.
It was Jason who spotted them first. He tensed at the thought of having breakfast with Elizabeth in a place where Carly was present. No doubt, the minute they sat down, Carly would sashay her way over to the table just to make a big scene and speech about how Jason could do so much better. He turned to face the woman in question who'd barely spotted the couple.
The present was the present. The past should stay in the past. It was about time Carly make due on her words. She offered a friendly smile, one that didn't look forced whatsoever and gestured at the two empty chairs at the small table. "Good morning Jason, Elizabeth. Would you guys care to join us?"
In less than a second, she had three pairs of eyes staring at her like she were an alien from outer space. Sonny's eyes were surprised, but nonetheless, a grin graced his facial features. Elizabeth's eyebrows were scrunched together as she looked at her once-adversary as if she were crazy. Jason's face was blank with no emotion- well, except for his eyes which mentally asked Carly if he'd heard her right.
She waved her hand in the air to break all their gazes. "Okay, I did it the nice way, and look what happened." She pointed at the two of them and demanded, "You, sit, now." She finished her request by pointing at the two empty chairs, all the while sipping on her newly arrived coffee.
Jason looked at Elizabeth, silently conveying through his eyes that they could high-tail it out of there in a second. All he needed to know was if she wanted to. She looked into his eyes and broke out in a small grin. She grabbed his hand and led them both to the table, smiling all the while. When they were seated, she was directly across Carly while Jason sat to her left, Sonny to her right. "Good morning."
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Johnny knew something was wrong. He was at the warehouse with Francis and the rest of the boys when a feeling of unease coursed through his body. He looked around and noticed that Francis had sensed it too. They decided to do a perimeter check of the building and went towards their respective destinations.
Johnny covered the docks and was struck dumbfounded by the site before him. There stood Zander, giving out companies to a very eager listening Roscoe in broad daylight. He spotted Francis on the other side of the docks who'd just noticed the same thing. They both stood witnessing the interaction between the two in silence.
"Those are all the compaines I know," Zander said feeling exhilrated to finally give Sonny an unexpected kick in the pants. Sure, he knew that he was only giving Roscoe the information because he was mad at Sonny for kicking him out of the organization, but OH WELL! With the money he was banking from Roscoe, he'd made plans to get his ass out of town a/s/a/p.
"There's a whole lot more where that came from," Roscoe said as he gave Zander over one-hundred-thousand dollars in cash. He knew that this would be the last time he would be seeing Zander-boy, but still, Roscoe wanted him to know the offer was there. Zander grunted and walked away, counting his money all the way.
Roscoe, rather pleased with himself, took out his cell phone to call his partner in crime, eager to share such good news. "We got the names," he said when the phone was picked up after the third ring.
"Good. Give it to me."
Before he could answer, Roscoe heard his name from behind him and was too late to grab his gun. Instead, he did the smartest thing he could do, dropped the phone and crushed it. A split second after that was done, he was glocked over the head with the butt of Johnny's gun, rendering him unconcious.
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"Roscoe?! Damn it, Roscoe- answer me!!"
Something was wrong. "No.. I must've been hearing things. That was not Johnny's voice in the background." But of course, it was. There was no holding back now. It was time Sonny felt the wrath of the mastermind behind Roscoe. The man was an incompetent idiot. His ego was as large as his balls to say the least. Roscoe would turn up dead in less than an hour, so that left it all up to..
"Great. Looks like I have to take care of this all by myself."
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:01:31 GMT -5
Chapter 9
An uncomfortable silence loomed over the table of four at Kelly's. Sonny smiled at anyone who looked at him. Carly studied her spoon as she held it in mid-air as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Jason kept his eyes on Elizabeth, searching for any sign of discomfort which would give them a reason to leave. Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed focused on the menu in front of her. The three found it odd that she would need to look at the menu in the first place. Hadn't she worked at Kelly's for close to five years? Shouldn't she have the orders memorized already?
But Elizabeth wasn't reading the dishes on the menu, nor was she interested in the lack of conversation at the table. Her eyes remained glued to the menu for one reason and one reason only: Lucky and Sarah. What if Sarah'd actually spent the night in the same bed she used to occupy not so long ago? Would the two come sauntering down the stairs any minute now, further exploiting their betrayal and deceit along with her pain and humiliation?
"Elizabeth?"
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Sonny calling out to her. She noticed that all eyes were focused on her, including Bobbie who was apparently waiting to take her order. "I'm sorry, got a little side-tracked there for a moment," she told the group. She offered Bobbie her full attention and ordered a bowl of fruit salad with chocolate milk.
Sonny quirked an eyebrow. "Fruit salad.. with chocolate milk? No offense, Elizabeth, but that has got to be the most.. disgusting combination I'd ever heard of." His face was twisted in an expression that made him look as if he were in pain. Liz couldn't help but laugh out loud, glad for any sort of diversion that would take her mind of those stairs.
"Well, with all due respect Sonny, you're not the one that's going to eat it. Besides, it's what I like. If you don't like it," she paused to raise an eyebrow, "tough." The two laughed at each other while Bobbie joined in as well. Jason smiled, happy to see Elizabeth content. When he swung his eyes over to Carly, he was surprised to see that she too was smiling- a genuine smile directed at Elizabeth. He shook his head in confusion. Damn, some things sure have changed.
Bobbie took down the orders then turned to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, did you come home last night? I mean, I came home late so I went straight to bed, but when I woke up in the morning, your bed was made and you were gone."
Elizabeth quickly darted her eyes towards Jason, a move that didn't go unnoticed by either Sonny or Carly. "I- uh- spent that night at Jake's."
Bobbie raised her eyebrows in surprise while Sonny surpressed a smile by drinking from his coffee mug. Carly had her eyes glued to Jason, not trusting herself to look at Elizabeth. So what if she'd spent the night at Jake's or in Jason's room. That didn't necessarily mean that anything went on. Besides, the ice princess was still with her mentally retarded and derranged cousin.
Bobbie answered with a nonchalent "okay" and went to place their orders. As she passed the stairs, she ran into a fully awake Lucky who's eyes were focused on Elizabeth and her... breakfast guests. The two made eye contact at the same time. Liz groaned in frustration and hid her face in her hands, not wanting to look at him any longer than she had to. Jason put his hand on her shoulder and whispered softly in her ear, "We can go now if you want."
Before she could answer, Lucky had already made his way to her side, preferably the side opposite from Jason. He glared at the hand that remained on Liz's shoulder when he asked, "Elizabeth, can I speak to you in private?"
She rose her head from her hands and resisted the urge to glare at him. Why give him the satisfaction? She looked at him plainly and asked, "Is there anything that we have to talk about? Better yet- do you have to say anything worth listening to?"
Lucky shifted on his feet and scratched the back of his neck. "I'd rather do this in private, if that's okay with you."
Liz shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Lucky, but it's not okay with me. As far as I'm concerned, we've said everything that's needed to be said. If you don't mind," she gestured to the other three at the table, "I'm busy right now so if you have nothing more to say..?" She left the dismissal hanging in the air and was relieved when Lucky left without any further argument.
Jason reached out his right hand and massaged the back of her neck. "You okay?"
She nodded her head semi-violently. "I'm fine."
At that moment, Sonny's cell phone broke the silence of the small diner. He answered it and sent Jason a look over the table, confirming that the call was about business. Carly knew that was her cue to leave and was stunned when Liz caught on. "I need to go to the restroom real quick," Elizabeth muttered, rising from her chair.
She was more than surprised when she heard Carly mumble the same. She looked behind her shoulder to find Carly right behind her as the two made their way to the ladies room. Jason and Sonny looked after them until they turned the corner.
Sonny listened to Johnny on the other line while he reported the day's events. "Roscoe's back in town."
Sonny looked at Jason and asked, "How long?"
Johnny shook his head while Francis and Max tied Roscoe to a chair in a secluded basement in the warehouse. He hadn't woken up since the blow to the head, not like present company cared. "We don't know. Benny's guessing for a couple of days now. That's not the problem, sir. Francis and I witnessed Zander giving the top three names of the holding companies that control Pier 52."
Johnny didn't have to hear Sonny to know that the man was livid. Sonny closed his eyes in pure disbelief as he shook his head slowly but deliberately. "Where is he?"
"Francis took care of him. We have him waiting in Basement One in the warehouse with Rick serving as guard," Johnny informed.
Sonny nodded his head and told his bodyguard that he'd be there in five minutes, Jason in tow. When he hung up the phone, Jason asked what happened. "Zander gave Roscoe the holding companies of Pier 52."
Jason quickly scowled, knowing that Zander was nothing but a punk kid that needed to be taken care of in more ways than one. "Which companies?"
Sonny massaged his right temple and answered, "ZBD, Dillinger and Goreman." Jason sighed audibly, knowing very well that those were their top three holding companies. Now that Roscoe knew the names, it was anyone's game.
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Meanwhile in the ladies room..
Elizabeth and Carly had both finished taking care of business at the same time and were now washing their hands. It was an uncomfortable silence that neither knew how to break. Elizabeth knew that Carly never liked her, and to be honest, the feeling was mutual. But ever since Carly started being nice to her last night, it left Liz wondering if the two could actually forge a friendship.
Carly was just as much at a lose for words. She didn't even understand her actions as she did them. Who in the hell would've thought that she'd be speechless when it came to speaking with little Lizzie Webber. Carly glanced at her through the mirror. Well, she wasn't exactly little anymore, but.. But what? Carly knew that whatever problems she had with Lizzie in the past had to come to an end. She truly wanted nothing but the best for Jason, for him to be happy. If Princess Purity over here is what he wants, then who was she to stand in the way?
"So you want to talk about what happened last night?" Carly asked, trying to make some kind of conversation.
Elizabeth snapped her eyes to stare at Carly's through the mirror. "Are you serious?"
Carly rolled her eyes and turned her body to face her nemisis fully. "Okay- what is your problem?" Liz turned to her with amazed eyes as Carly began what would be a two-minute rant. "I mean- here I am, trying to be nice to you-- making an effort- to say the least- to be nice to you-- this is me we're talking about, Carly Corinthos being nice to you - you of all people! And what do I get? Are you serious? Yes!- I'm serious! You know, people get on my case for not being nice to you. Yeah, they keep urging me-- telling me that I should try to understand you- 'try to get to know Lizzie better, Carly.' See what I get when I listen to people?" When Liz shook her head, rendered speechless, Carly answered, "Exactly! Nothing! No response! Sonny, Bobbie and even Jason keep telling me to think before I act and when I finally do, people look at me like I'm crazy!"
Carly calmed down for a minute, bracing her hands on the counter top with her head hanging down. Elizabeth stood to her left, stunned to say the least as she looked at Carly as if she were crazy. She started to think that she was crazy herself, and prayed that she wasn't going to regret what she was about to do. She propped both hands on the counter, jumped and sat her ass on it, swinging her feet in the air all the while. "Lucky and I called it quits last night."
Carly's head snapped up at the admission. She searched Liz's eyes and found that the little girl was telling the truth. "Good for you," she said before she could stop herself. It wasn't said in a taunting, disbelieving tone, but in one that sounded as if she were.. proud of her. The thing that bugged Carly the most was that she meant it. "So.. you wanna talk about what happened?"
Liz shook her head in disbelief as a smile graced her lips. "Man, this feels so weird." She looked at Carly to find her smiling at her. "I mean, who in the hell would've ever thought that we'd be in the little girl's room.. girl talking while our boys are waiting outside?"
Carly scrunched her eyebrows together and gave a soundless laugh. "First of all, this is the Ladies room. I don't see any little girls round here." Liz smiled at her, appreciating the comment for what it was: a small but kind gesture of friendship. "Second of all- sweetie, it isn't girl talk it's a womanly chat." The two laughed at her choice of words and when they calmed, Carly finished. "Lastly, the two waiting outside for us are anything but boys."
Elizabeth lifted her eyebrows at the comment and smiled, tilting her head to the side. "I couldn't agree more."
They were interrupted when Bobbie came into the restroom. "Everything okay in here? The guys were getting worried that you might've been ripping each others eyes out by now." Bobbie was surprised to find Liz sitting on the counter with Carly leaning against the wall, both looking healthy and mighty dandy for a bunch of hellcats.
"Everything's fine, mama," Carly answered as she led Elizabeth back to the table. Sonny and Jason were eagerly awaiting their arrival and stood when they came. Jason took Elizabeth aside while Sonny put his arms around his wife. "I take it there were no verbal spats or punches being thrown in the little girls' room?" Carly just glared at her husband and laughed.
Jason looked her over once than twice and gave a sigh of relief. "Good. The two of you didn't tear each other apart." She swatted him on the arm and laughed as he moved to place his hands on either sides of her shoulders. "I have to go take care of something, and Sonny's coming with me."
Elizabeth nodded her head in full understanding. "Okay. I'll be in my studio whole day."
Jason shook his head and braced his hands on his hips. "Actually.. do you mind staying at Sonny's penthouse while we're gone?"
Elizabeth looked at him with a shocked expression. "You're suggesting I stay in a room with Carly Corinthos?" When Jason didn't say anything to her sarcasm, she straightened up as a frown crept onto her face. "Something's up, isn't it?"
Jason shook his head, "Elizabeth, you know I can't-"
"Answer that, yea I know," she said as she took a deep breath. "Well, there has to be some reason-- a GOOD reason-- for you to even suggest that I stay with Carly so... fine."
It was Jason's turn to raise his eyebrows. "That's it? No tantrums or refusals of me telling you what to do?"
She playfully socked him in the arm once more and laughed. "I know that you're only looking out for me and what's best for me, Jason. I'm going to trust your judgement just this once. After all, it must be bad if you had to ask me to stay with Carly."
The two laughed as they made their way back to the married couple. Sonny had informed his wife of their house guest for the day, and to everyone's surprise but Liz, she seemed happy. She looped her arm through Liz's as the two smiled secretively at each other. "Good. This way, we can finish what we were talking about in the ladies room." They walked ahead leaving a very confused Jason and Sonny to walk after them. They didn't hear Carly when she bent and whispered, "We're gonna drive them both crazy." The two laughed which made Sonny and Jason stare at each other in shock.
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After they'd made sure their women were safe and sound at the penthouse, Sonny and Jason made their way to the warehouse and into the basement where Roscoe was being held.
Jason walked in first with Sonny right at his heels. Sonny went straight to the man and stared him down for what seemed like eternity. He shook his head and in an instant, ripped the ducktape from Roscoe's lips.
Roscoe screamed in pain, a reflex he couldn't avoid. The tape had been there for quite some time, and when Sonny tore it off, he managed to get a piece of the skin from his lower lip. When the pain subsided, he offered his adversary a cheesy grin. "It's good to see you, too, Sonny."
He ignored the comment and bent low so he was leveled with the scumbag. "I thought I told you to not come back here."
Roscoe smiled and shook his head in an annoyingly taunting way and shook his head. "A fault on your behalf. Jesus, Corinthos. All I did was put a knife to Elizabeth Webber's throat. It wasn't like I was gonna kill her."
Roscoe got the reaction he wanted when Jason walked over to him and punched him in the mouth. Though the blow hurt like hell, Roscoe showed no other emotion than amusement when he met Morgan's steel blue glare. Jason stuck one finger in his face and said in a cold, deadly voice, "I don't want to hear you speak her name again."
Roscoe smiled and looked at Sonny. "You know, he's kinda cute when he's in love."
"Alright, that's it!" Jason said as he lunged for the guy. Sonny caught him just in time and held him away. "Jason. Jason! Let me handle this!" When Jason backed down, Sonny shook his head again and didn't bother to look at the idiot as she pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who's your partner, Roscoe?"
Roscoe smirked and looked at him in utter, sarcastic amusement. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sonny didn't have enough time to stop Jason from kicking the man in the balls. "Wrong answer. Try again." Sonny just stared at his right man and said nothing. When Roscoe had regained his composure and remained silent, Jason added, "The man asked you a question. If you were smart, you'd answer him."
Roscoe looked back at Jason and smiled once more, the blood from the blow gracing his pearly white teeth. "I think you might want to put your girlfriend on the phone if you want the answer to the question, Morgan." This time, Sonny knew the hit was coming but didn't move to stop it. After all, Jason had warned him not to mention Elizabeth. That was just another dumb move to add to Roscoe's list. Roscoe looked happy as he stared at Jason once more. "Look at that. He said not to mention her name so I didn't. I call her his girlfriend and I still get hit. Man you guys are priceless."
"ENOUGH!" Sonny had just about enough. He crouched down to Roscoe's level and asked him one last time. "Who.. is.. your partner. Last chance."
Roscoe looked into the air as if he were in thought. "Now by partner.. do you mean my wife? Cuz that's the only partner that I have in mind at the moment-"
"I don't care about your wife, Roscoe. I want a name and I want it now," Sonny said, his patience wearing thin.
Roscoe smiled sadistically and evily. He spared a glance at Jason for a second before returning his attention back to Sonny. "The only partner I have is my wife, Corinthos." He let the information sink in and watched as a look of confusion graced both Sonny and Jason's faces. "Yes, my wife. Which brings me to why I think Ms. Webber should be present. I think it's about time that she met her brother in law, don't you?"
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:02:23 GMT -5
Chapter 10
Sonny walked towards the docks in the crisp air of the night, Jason at his side. When they reached the edge, they both stood there motionless, watching the water as it swayed back and forth, each lost in their own thoughts. Sarah- Sarah Webber- was married to.. to Roscoe? How in the hell did that happen? Wasn't Sarah's husband dead and she a widow? Well, at least she was a widow now. The two remembered Roscoe's last words.. more like his last warning. Trust me, boys. If you kill me, there sure as hell will be a lot of hell to pay. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Jason was royally pissed. Proof of his anger lay in his face, eyebrows lowered over his eyes, his lips set into a thin white line. He didn't understand how a person could purposefully place their sister in grave danger, especially if it were Elizabeth. She'd told him before that she wasn't really tight with her family, but for Sarah to marry a man who'd once threatened to take her sister's life.. that was just low.
As he thought of the many things that had went wrong in Elizabeth's life, Sonny broke the silence. "What do you want to do?"
Jason continued to watch the waves lap against each other. He knew that Sonny was waiting for an answer, that Sonny would give him full control on dealing with Sarah. After all, Jason had more strings attatched to this one. Sure, the mob boss and Liz were friends, but Jason's relationship with her was so much more.
Sonny looked at Jason when he heard boots clapping along the docks. Jason didn't know how, but he knew it was Sarah. He nodded to Sonny, and the man left the area, retreating to the limo to await his right man and what would be their new guest.
Sarah rounded the corner and saw Jason, offering him a shaky smile. "Hey."
Jason ran up to her in a quick fury. "Come on, Elizabeth needs your help." He grabbed her by the arm and led her in the direction of the limo. She protested all the way.
"What do you mean Lizzie needs my help?? What happened to her?? What did you get her into??" What looked like anger and worry etched across the older Webber's features. Jason ignored it and shoved her into the limo. "I'll explain on the way."
Once they were both inside, Jason took a seat next to Sonny and looked out the window, not trusting himself to speak or even look at a woman with which he held so much disdain. He didn't want to be responsible for the things he'd say to her. Though he was sure he would never lay a hand on a woman, Sarah Webber sure as hell was hitting the border.
She wasn't enjoying her newfound company as well as she looked at Corinthos wearily, a bit of fear evident in her eyes. "Is Lizzie really in trouble?" When she didn't get any kind of response from the two mobsters, her body went tense as she looked at them through the thin slits of her eyes. "Where are you taking me? What is this really about?" she asked in a low, deadly voice.
Sonny smiled, dimples and all while he tilted his head to the side. "I'm taking you back to my penthouse where we can have a little.. chat."
Sarah cocked an eyebrow in the air and crossed her arms over her chest. "Really? And may I ask what in the hell you expect to talk about with me?"
Sonny shrugged, jutting puckered lips into the air and back. "Oh, I don't know.. how bout your husband for one?"
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Elizabeth sat comfortably in the sofa in Sonny's penthouse. She hadn't been there in a long time, at least not before the remodeling was done. She had to admit that she liked the new look. It was funny; she found the setting more.. feminine than before. What also struck her as odd was the fact that Sonny had been the one to do all the decorating. She stared off at the scenery before her and muttered underneath her breath, "Weird..."
Once the word was spoken, Carly came cascading down the stairs that led to the second floor. She looked at Liz and asked, "Did you say something?"
Liz shook her head and smiled to herself. "Nope, nothing at all. How's Michael?"
The mention of her son brought a smile to Carly's lips as she sat in the sofa opposite Elizabeth. "He's taking a nap. Leticia's on the phone with Regionald, though what she sees in him, I will never understand." She didn't really take kindly to the man due to her stay at the Quartermaine mansion. The man was on her back every hour of every day, clearly seeing through the facade she'd put up with AJ during their marriage.
Liz scrunched her eyebrows together at the tone of displeasure in her new friend's voice. "Isn't that the same thing that people said about you and Sonny?" She knew she was walking on thin ice, but she couldn't help but express her opinon. "Bottom line: it doesn't really matter what you think because it's not your life. If Regionald makes her happy, then who are you to judge?"
Carly stared at Liz for what seemed like forever. She knew she must've crossed some kind of line and mentally cursed herself for doing so in Carly's own home. Just when she was prepared to jump into defensive mode, she was taken aback when the lady smiled.
"Now I know what Jason sees in you," Carly said to herself as she shook her head in a disbelievingly blissful way.
"What are you talking about?" Liz asks when she finds her voice. Was Carly actually complimenting her? And more importantly, was she about to comment positively about her relationship with Jason? Well if hell hadn't frozen over yet...
"He always said that you were none of my business, always so protective about precious princess purity... Sorry, bad habit." She waved her hand in the air as if to wave away the nasty interruption, banning it from ever existing. Liz smiled and listened as the older woman continued. "But now.. I don't know. It's like.. now that I'm willing to look at you as a person rather than Jason's groupie, I'm noticing that you have a little spunk in you, Webber. Can't help but respect that in a woman."
Liz studied Carly to make sure that she was being sincere. Sure, there was kindess in her voice that settled onto the contures of her face, but could it really be genuine? She leaned forward a little and crossed her arms over her knees as she stared into the eyes of the woman who once couldn't stand to be in the same room with her. "Excuse me for being weary, but why the change of heart Carly? I mean, we haven't exactly been the best of friends, but why are you all of a sudden allowing yourself to get to know me?"
Carly smiled and shook her head. "Hell if I know. Maybe it's the drugs I got from GH after the accident that's been clouding my judgement." The two laughed at Carly's sense of humor, both amazed to find that she had one. "To be honest with you, I think all this.. changing or whatever has everything to do with the accident. To think that I almost died that night.." she trailed off as her gaze landed on the stairs leading to the second floor, thinking about Michael and the life he would've lived without her. She shook her head and turned her gaze back to Liz. "Well, let's just say that things got a little more into persepective. I decided not to waste my time on petty little rivalries and all past grudges, and this is where you fit in."
She shifted in a more comfortable position but bent forward to make Elizabeth see she was serious. "You've always been the other woman in Jason's life, at least through my eyes. Of course, I couldn't stand that, and to say that I was jealous of you would probably be the understatement of the millenium. You were able to give Jason everything that I couldn't and I.. I just couldn't accept that so I settled for making your life a living hell. But now.. Now I'm able to see past my jealousy to a point where I can tell that you make Jason happy. There's no other way to put it. It was stupid for me to stand in the way in the past, but I can promise you that this time, I'll stay out of the way."
Liz smiled and felt compelled to hug her. However, she stayed rooted where she was, not wanting to break the special moment the two were having. Liz was sure that she would never forget this moment for as long as she lived. Though she was mentally gloating at the fact that Carly Corinthos had actually apologized, she was grateful that the two could finally bury the hatchet, if not for each other, than at least for Jason's sake. "Thanks Carly. It really means a lot to me."
Carly waved her hand in the air and shook her head while she laughed. "OKAY.. enough with all this mushy girly girl talk or whatever. I am thirsty! Do you want anything to drink?"
"Do you have any Coke?"
Carly snorted. "Caffine other than coffee in the Corinthos household? Ha! I wish. How bout some iced tea?" she asked. When Elizabeth nodded her head in response, Carly made her way to the kitchen to prepare the drinks. She stopped short when she noticed a colorful drawing on the counter top. She scrunched her face together and went to go look at it. "What's this?"
The minute she picked it up, she noticed that it was a birthday card for Sonny from Michael. "Hmp. That's odd.. how did it get..."
Then she remembered.
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Elizabeth was flipping thorugh a magazine when she heard screaming in the hallway. She looked towards the kitchen half expecting Carly to run out due to the commotion outside. Before Liz could call out to her, she noticed that the female voice that was yelling at the top of her lungs belonged to no one other than her sister. Her suspicions were confirmed when the front door was burst open, revealing Jason leading Sarah into the penthouse with Sonny behind them, absently leaving the door open.
"Jason, what are you doing?" Elizabeth demanded, jumping out from her seat on the couch. Granted, Sarah wasn't her favorite person, but she sure as hell didn't wish to see her man-handled by the man she considered close. Jason released her and kept his eyes locked with Liz's, which is where they would remain while the truth was dragged out. Through that one look, she was able to realize that something was wrong here. She darted her eyes over to her sister and was amazed to find her glaring at Sonny. "Okay everyone, what's going on?"
Sarah turned her eyes to her sister as if acknowledging for the first time that she were there. "Lizzie, why the HELL have your fucked-up boyfriend and his boss dragged me here against my own will?"
Elizabeth blinked at her sister with a stunned expression embedded in her face. Did she just call Jason fucked-up? "Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black." The words were spoken with so much disgust it made Sarah speechless. Elizabeth ignored her sister's lack of intellect and turned to Jason. Based on the look on his face, he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to break the bad news to her, considering that it WAS bad news to begin with. She turned her large, blue eyes to Sonny and mentally smiled to herself when he fliched, knowing full well that she was going to get him to spill.
"Sonny, why is she here?"
The brown eyed man shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your sister isn't who she says she is, Elizabeth."
Liz turned her gaze to the woman in question and was once again taken aback when she noticed all the fury the blonde woman directed at a man she barely even knew. "What is he talking about, Sarah?" she asked wearily, not liking where this was heading one bit.
Sarah continued to stare daggers to Sonny and he willingly obliged to return the favor. "Yeah, Sarah Webber, Why don't you tell your sister, the one girl of whom you share the same blood, what's going on?"
Sarah rolled her eyes and yelled, "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Corinthos!"
Sonny had lost all patience and was now ready to fire back. "What, Sarah?!? You don't want to tell your sister that you're married to Roscoe?!? A man that once tried to kill her?!?"
Liz looked at her sister with a mixture of shock and disdain all boiled into one. However, the look on Sarah's face was priceless. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Sarah was genuinly surprised at the accusation. She watched as Sarah stared at Sonny in absolute shock and sighed inwardly as she turned pleading eyes towards her. "Lizzie, you have to believe me. I don't have a clue as to what he's talking about!"
But Elizabeth wasn't having any of it. A part of her was still in honest denial, not wanting to believe that her sister hated her as much to marry the man that gad threatened to take her life. She wanted to give Sarah the benefit of the doubt, and through obligation to the one bond they shared, she whispered, "Tell me they're lying."
But Sarah never got to utter the words. Sonny overlooked one problem when he walked into the penthouse: he forgot to shut the door.
She'd been standing there the whole time, listening word for word as the people inside the penthouse accused each other of betrayal. She finally decided it was time to speak. "Elizabeth, she isn't lying."
Everyone turned to view the intruder, and each were stunned with who it was they saw. Elizabeth was confused, Jason was shocked and Sonny.. well Sonny looked like he'd just seen a ghost. When the man finally found his voice, he uttered her name, as if her appearance would make her more real than she already was. "Brenda?"
Brenda smiled at the man she once would've died for. "Yup. And I'm sorry to burst your bubble and all, but you got the wrong sister."
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:03:44 GMT -5
Chapter 11
Carly braced her hands against the counter as flashbacks from the night of the accident came back in full blast.
She remembered speaking with Michael, promising him she'd deliver his birthday card to Sonny. She remembered driving to the penthouse, giddy to greet her husband a happy birthday, all the while hoping it wasn't too late to reconcile their broken marriage. She remembered the fear she felt when she found the door to Sonny's penthouse open-- fearing finding her husband bleeding to death as she walked up the stairs.
She then remembered how shocked she was when she looked into the mirror only to see her husband- Sonny in bed with.. with Alexis Davis. She remembered the pain of betrayal, her heart shattering into a billion pieces as he murmured soft words into Alexis's ear, stroking her arms with such tender care. She remembered backing away from the door, clearly disgusted with the scene before her. She remembered dropping the birthday card on the floor before she made her way out the door... and into Zander's bed.
She squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief. She'd sure as hell made a mess out of her life with Zander. She knew she wouldn't be able to repair things with him. At least she knew why he was acting so weird at the hospital. She knew now why he'd told her he had plans on skipping town, how Port Charles was suffocating him, not letting him grow. Of course, it was just a front. She knew he blamed himself for her accident, and she cursed herself for not remembering everything sooner.
But Sonny... There was no excuse for not telling her about Alexis. She detested him at the moment for not confiding the truth in her- the one thing he'd requested from her always. "You should've told me Sonny," she whispered to herself as the tears began to form in her eyes. But she stopped herself short from crying. She couldn't-- wouldn't let the tears fall. She was stronger than that. Hell- she was a Spencer. Spencers do not cry.
She took a deep breath and listened as she heard voices in the adjoining room. Curious as to what was going on, she made her way into the living room and was struck still with what she saw. "Oh my God."
The others didn't so what as acknowledge the blond woman as all eyes were on Brenda. They all stared in shock while she simply stood there, leaning against the frame of the door, her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her blue jeans. In fact, her attire was pretty simple. She wore a v-neck white top with a brown, feminine leather jacket to grace her slim yet firm arms. She wore black, thick heeled boots and offered a smile to the confused and shocked faces that wouldn't take their eyes off her. She smiled when Carly walked in and stared the woman point blank in the face.
"You must be Carly Corinthos. Wife #2, right? Congratualtions on that, by the way. I made it all the way down to the altar before I realized I was alone." She pointedly looked at Sonny when she said this and shook her head as he continued to stare at her in shock. She turned her attention back to Carly and smirked. "Seems we have more in common than Sonny. I understand you were resurrected from the dead as well? How was hell for you?"
That certainly brought Carly out of her shock as she began to step forward, ready to give the newly risen bitch a piece of her mind. "You know what-"
Jason stopped her midway, put a hand to her shoulder and silenced her with one look. This didn't go unnoticed by Brenda. "Oh, how cute. And here I thought Jason the Borg didn't care about my welfare. Really, Jase, it's okay. Let her at me. I heard she fights dirty anyway. Ten bucks says I can take her."
Carly stared daggers into the petite woman as Brenda'd walked into the room, closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed over her chest. However, Brenda's stare was only for Sonny as she assessed him with her brown eyes. He hadn't changed one bit. Yes, the interior of the penthouse was a little more feminine for her liking, but she doubted the rumors of Sonny Corinthos going soft had been just that.
She walked slowly into the room, each step proud and meaningful before she came to stand in front of the one man in the town she thought she'd love forever. She waited for him to say something as she stared him down, anticipating some kind of reaction. It was a few seconds later until he spoke. "How?"
She shrugged, never breaking eye contact. "Let's just say that someone up there really likes me. I washed up on some island which you need to not worry yourself about, not knowing who I was for a couple of months. I went by the name Alana Sanchez during those times until my memory came back when I was... when I was on the sands of the beach."
Sonny realized then that her first memory was the two of them.. making love on the Puerto Rico sands. He remembered the moment as if it were yesterday, but was drawn back to reality when he witnessed a change in the woman before him. Her eyes turned a notch darker as her eyebrows lowered over her eyes just a bit more. Her hands were in loose balls by her sides, like an opponent waiting for a challenge.
She walked away from him as she headed towards the minibar. "But that stuff isn't important, Sonny. You're asking all the wrong questions. Instead of asking how, you should be asking why. Why I came back to this Godforsaken town in the first place," she said as she studied the ceilings in honest disdain.
"Okay, why are you back? Why now?" Sonny asked, beginning to realize that her return might not be a good one after all.
She dismissed his question with a wave of her hand as she continued to scrutinize the interior of his house. "Ah, ah, ah. Too late to ask that, Son. You can't ask a question I've already anticipated. That's cheating."
"What did you mean when you said, 'you got the wrong sister'?" Jason asked, his arms crossed across his chest. His scowl was in place as he looked at the small woman. The two had never really gotten along, and she was giving him good reason to dislike her even more.
She turned towards the macho man and raised her eyebrows. "So the rumors are true. You've got a soft spot for Elizabeth, don't you?" She watched as his face remained expressionless, not revealing a thing. She sighed, and then turned her gaze to the woman in question.
Liz was a little too pale, but the moment Brenda made eye contact, the smaller woman seemed to pale whiter. She reached her hand back for the sofa and sank down in it slowly, her eyes never leaving Brenda's penetrating stare. "She knows what I'm talking about, don't you Elizabeth?"
Liz continued to stare at the woman, speechless to say the least. Of course she knew what Brenda was talking about. She just never thought she'd have to worry about it.
Sarah looked at one woman to the other and threw her hands in the air. "What are you talking about? Brenda, Elizabeth is my full-blooded sister. I don't know where the hell you come off-"
"Excuse me, Ms. I-would-never-do-anything-to-hurt-my-sister-but-sleep-with-her-boyfriend.. when I want your opinion? I'll ask for it." Brenda had cold deceitful eyes and the tone of her voice sent shivers down Sarah's spine. "In the mean time," Brenda continued as she took a step forward to speak to the dumb blonde, "you better make sure you stay the hell out of my face. 'Cos trust me-- I'm the kind of trouble you can't handle." She then smiled brightly. "But hey, if you're up for a little round of bitch fighting, then come right ahead-"
"That's enough," Jason said, obviously not impressed with Brenda's tactics. "Who is this sister that you're talking about? I want to know, and I want to know now."
Brenda laughed automatically and didn't try to hold back. "Wait a minute here.. who's in charge? Is it you," she said pointing to Sonny, "or the Borg man? I swear, don't tell me all these rumors are true!" she said incredulously. "First I hear that Jason's grown a heart and is wearing it on his sleeve, then I hear that Big Bad Corinthos has gone soft. I must say, I underestimated the two of you-"
"Brenda, stop it."
All eyes were on Elizabeth as she made the request. Brenda backed down a bit and looked at her boots before returning Elizabeth's stare. Liz broke contact and looked at everyone in the room. Jason looked worried about her, Carly and Sarah looked ready to rip Brenda apart while Sonny.. Sonny looked lost. And this was all because of her. She took a deep breath and sighed, pushing herself up to stand.
"Brenda's telling the truth. I have more than one sister." No one uttered a word as they held their breaths, waiting for a confession they never knew to expect. "A couple of months ago, my mother called me and admitted that Jeff Webber wasn't my father. She told me that she'd had an affair with a man while married to Jeff and through that, I was conceived."
She took a deep shaky breath and willed herself to continue. "Jeff knew I wasn't his the moment she told him she was pregnant. It seems that he'd been too busy with work to ever have time to conceive me. Still, he stuck by her and forgave her for her betrayal, and they raised me as if I were his. Dad... Jeff loved me just as much as I were his own daughter."
She wiped a tear from her eye and was surprised to find that Sarah had been crying softly as well. "Anyway, my mother called me a couple of months ago to tell me that Jeff had been involved in some kind of accident in Bosnia. She'd wanted me to get Audrey to fly down there, that he needed a blood transfusion a.s.a.p. When I offered to come down, she slipped and said that it would be pointless for me to go since I wasn't his daughter."
She closed her eyes momentarily to shut out the pain that one line from her mother had caused. She knew that her mom wasn't thinking clearly and that she hadn't meant to hurt her, but pain was an inevitable constant that no one could prevent-- especially if it came from the truth. She opened her eyes when she felt Jason by her side, holding her as if trying to absorb all her pain.
When she felt normal again, she pulled away and said thank you with her eyes. Jason nodded but didn't let her go. He watched as she turned to face the crowd once more, waiting for the inevitable question that still remained unanswered. The honor was all Carly's since everyone else remained speechless. "Who is your father, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth stood erect and lifted her chin, her eyes never waivering from Jason's. "Harlan Barrett."
She heard the gasps and and felt the shift of attention from her to Brenda. She didn't care as she continued to look into Jason's eyes, hoping that he wouldn't hate her for keeping this from him. Jason, on the other hand, couldn't help but turn his eyes to Brenda with the rest of them.
She smiled slightly, managing to look a bit nervous. "Sorry to burst your bubble everyone, but my little sister is right." She looked at around at everyone and wiggled her shoulders to lighten the mood. "Isn't anyone gonna welcome me home?"
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:04:19 GMT -5
Chapter 12
"Okay, what kind of twisted shit is this?"
Carly was purely disgusted with the turn of events in her penthouse. Brenda hadn't even been in town for 10 minutes, and already, she'd ruined more lives than Carky could ever manage. She moved to stand in front of the woman and was caught off guard for a few seconds when Sonny pulled her back. He merely shook his head as he brought his gaze back to Brenda.
"So let me get this straight," Sarah said in a low voice. "Lizzie's father is Harlan Barrett, your father," she said looking at Brenda. The only response she received was the twitch of the brunette's left eyebrow. "So, that would make you Lizzie's half-sister, not mine."
Brenda scoffed at the remark and smiled, shaking her head. "Wow, Einstein. Glad to see you can put two and two together so quick!" She then rolled her eyes and looked over at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry you had to live with this sorry excuse for as long as you did."
Sarah chose to dismiss the comment and continued. "So that would also make you Roscoe's wife."
Brenda took a step back and placed a dramatic hand to her heart. "No?! Say it isn't so!" She then turned sarcastic wide eyes to the men in the room and placed her hands in the air to ward them off. "Please don't kill me! She doesn't know what she's talking about!" She then became really serious and glared at the not-so-bright incompetent before her. "You know for someone who's supposed to be the smart Webber, you're pretty slow-"
"You know what? Just because you're Elizabeth's sister doesn't mean you have the right to go around-" Sarah was cut off when her pager went off. She looked at it and muttered, "You're lucky that I'm needed at the hospital right now," she said as she began to make her way out the door.
Brenda couldn't help herself as the insults kept flying from her mouth. "Lucky? Hah! Nice choice of words. Tell us sweetie, are you really needed at work or is your master calling you? Maybe that's it! The sex with Lucky must have you acting like an idiot. Better yet, maybe that's just how you are-"
"Alright, that's enough!" Jason said, being pushed way too far. Sarah was already long gone, and Jason knew the remark about sleeping with Lucky had bothered Elizabeth when he felt her flinch by his side. After casting a side long glance at Liz, he stalked forward to stand in front of Brenda. "Roscoe said that his only partner was his wife, Elizabeth's sister. Since it isn't Sarah, that only leaves you.. unless you're here to inform us on another long-lost sister-"
Brenda laughed, cutting Jason off. "I am not married to Roscoe." She walked away from him and went to stand in front of her little sister. She looked her in the eye to let her know that she was saying the truth. "I'm not." When she saw that Elizabeth believed her, she grinned tightly and turned to face Sonny. "Or at least, I never was," she said looking pointedly at the Borg. "You see, Roscoe was an incompetent asshole. He did what he wanted constantly, never listened to what I had to say.."
She jabbered on aimlessly, not wanting to give too much away. She walked around the room, remembering the times that she used to share in this very same penthouse. It didn't matter that the interior was different, the memories she's shared there would live with her forever. She shook her head violently. Now wasn't the time to start growing a conscious.
"Anyway, in regards to who found who, I found him. He wanted to stir up trouble for a certain mob boss of Port Charles." She cocked an eyebrow towards Sonny and watched as his lips formed a thin white line. "You could only imagine how interested I became. After all, Port Charles was my home, and if he were to go after you, than that would mean that he would have to go through the people you love or care about." She looked pointedly at Elizabeth when she spoke the last words. With a snap back to Sonny and a grin on her scrunched up face, she told him, "Now you know I couldn't let that happen."
She walked purposefully to one of the sofas and plopped down. "Anyway, by the time I'd met him, he'd already made his mark in Port Charles. HE'd already went after Elizabeth, got in your face," she said looking at Sonny, "and you'd taken care of him. Word to the wise? When you leave someone for dead, make sure they're really dead."
She watched as Sonny rolled his eyes and moved to sit in the couch opposite her. Carly took a seat next to him as Elizabeth sat on the same sofa as her sister. Jason simply stood there, as if he were the referee if or when things would get too ugly. "Anyway, I ran into him at my island and noticed him immediately. I went over to his table and made small talk. I knew the minute he opened his mouth that this man was a total idiot--he was a good looking man, I'll give him that, but nonetheless, I wouldn't trust him to shine my boots.
"He was very high on himself, talking about how he'd escaped the mighty Corinthos and how he was going to get back at you when you least expect it. He went after my sister once and I wasn't about ready to let that happen again. I told him that I knew you, inside and out, and that if he wanted to take you down, he would need me."
She paused as Sonny's demeanor began to crumble. Sonny had a lot of enemies, but he didn't think he could handle it if Brenda was one of them. He didn't like the way this explanation was going and wasn't sure if he was gonna like it in the end. Still, he listened intently as she continued.
"After much suspiscion he agreed. Trust me, I had to prove my loyalty to him in many ways that I would rather not discuss," she admitted shakily as she ran a hand through her hair. "He asked me for pointers on what you would do if he did this or if he did that and of course, I remained true to my family at home and gave him all the wrong advice. Didn't you ever wonder why he was so sloppy in what he did, too confident? Well, now you know.
"If he followed my instructions correctly, he was caught doing something on the docks. What was it? Lemme guess, he was trying to buy information from someone you clearly couldn't trust." She didn't need any kind of confirmation from the men in the room. "You have me to thank for that. I told him that if he ever needed to deal with business, to do it on the docks. No one in Sonny's organization ever passes the docks- it's the safest place to conduct business. My words exactly. Don't worry, a thanks isn't necessary."
"So you weren't working with Roscoe?" Carly asked, her tone indicating that she didn't believe a word the smart-ass said.
Brenda glared at her and mimicked, "No, I wasn't working with Roscoe. You know, maybe I should be getting a thank you here. I practically handed Roscoe to you on a silver platter and no one seems to care!"
"You'll have to excuse us because we're all having a little trouble understanding why you would want to help Sonny in the first place," Jason said, not wanting to have to look at her one more minute than necessary. He stole a glance towards Elizabeth and took note that she was watching him as well. One look in her eyes made him see that she hoped he wasn't upset with her for keeping Brenda a secret. With another look towards her, his eyes conveyed that he wasn't upset but that they would have a lot to talk about later.
However, these glances didn't go unnoticed by Brenda. "I told you. The only reason why I set him up is because I didn't want to see the people I love get hurt. That includes my newly found sister, and Robin." She saw confusion built into Jason's eyes before it disappeared, his blank expression back in a flash.
"What do you mean, Robin?" Sonny asked.
"Apparently, Roscoe knew a lot about your background lives. He knew that Robin meant a lot to the two of you and was planning on using her as a pawn. Fortunately, I convined him that she meant nothing to the two of you since the whole ordeal with Michael." She looked at Carly and shook her head. "Look, if there's anything else you want to know, you can call me at my cell phone." She reached into her bag, tore out a piece of paper and scribbled down her number. She gave it to Elizabeth and looked at the rest of the group. "There are some people that I would like to see and I want to start now, so I'm going to go." She looked at her sister.
Elizabeth nodded her head and said, "I'll walk you to the elevator."
The two made their way out the door leaving the three best friends alone in the penthouse. It was quiet as Jason moved to sit on the couch that had been occupied by the sisters. He looked up to see Sonny and informed him, "Before I forget to mention,I ran into Alexis before breakfast. She's already moved out, and she wanted me to give you the keys." As he began to reach into his pockets, Sonny shook his head and told him no.
"Keep it. That penthouse is yours."
With the mention of Alexis's name, Carly was taken back to her revelation in the kitchen. She looked at her husband as he scrubbed his face roughly with his hands. She knew that the timing really sucked, but the she needed to get it out in the open now or she never would. "Sonny, I need to speak with you in private."
She didn't say more or wait for him to follow her to their room upstairs. She sat at the dresser and looked at herself in the mirror. The day had been an eventful one. She'd had breakfast with Elizabeth Webber and had gotten along with her. She was able to listen to the younger woman and felt good about herself that Liz confided in her. She then remembered her husband had cheated on her and lied about it. If that weren't bad enough, Brenda's homecoming had certainly made her day--not to mention the fact that she was her new friend's long lost sister.
She looked into the mirror to see Sonny's reflection. He was staring at her intently, and by the look on his face, she knew that he knew whatever she was about to say wasn't good. Maybe it was better that she do this now. She'd had doubts about this earlier, but after Brenda's presence, she knew that she had to do this. Things were bound to get ugly, and it would be best if she distance herself and Michael now.
With a meaningful glance at her husband through the mirror, she conveyed her seriousness through her eyes as she whispered, "I want a divorce."
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Elizabeth and Brenda walked awkwardly to the elevator. After Brenda'd pushed the button for the elevator, she turned to face her sister and smiled. "So.. how've you been? I mean, I've heard reports about you, but I want to know how are you really doing?"
Elizabeth hug herself as she gripped her shoulders. "Things have been a little complicated for a while but they seem to be getting better.. or at least I thought they were."
Brenda smiled sadly. "I'm sorry my homecoming hasn't turned out to be such a good thing-"
"No, don't apologize." Elizabeth sighed as she began to fiddle with her hands. "When my mom told me that we were related, I felt sad that I didn't have a chance to know you. I mean, I did go to your wedding to Sonny, but even then, I had to lie to get in there. I- I hope that we can get to know each other better.. now that you're back." She hesitated for a moment then continued. "Lately, my circle of friends has been diminishing, so I could really use a friend."
Brenda's demeanor became serious as she moved to take a step forward. She placed her hands on either side of Liz's face, willing her to look her in the eye. When she did, she smiled softly. "How bout a sister you can count on?" Elizabeth smiled and the two embraced in a tight hug which held a lot of promise for what the future would bring.
Brenda pulled apart when the elevator docked on their floor. She looked her sister in the eye and confided, "I'm gonna be honest with you, Elizabeth. Things might get a little ugly for a while, but I'm gonna need you to trust me. It'll all work out for the better." She didn't wait for her to respond as she got into the elevator. She offered one last smile before the doors closed.
Elizabeth didn't like the sound of that at all. But of course, she anticipated it. She'd be dumb to think that trouble wasn't coming. Brenda had set up Roscoe, and it would be naive of her to think that there wouldn't be anyone to take her sister out for betrayal.
She sighed and shook her head. She looked at Sonny's penthouse door and dreaded going in. Before she could take a step towards the room, Jason came out with blankets and pillows bundled in his hands. "What's going on, Jase?" she asked confused.
He nodded his head towards Alexis's penthouse. "We all have a lot to talk about, but we're doing it at my new place."
She raised her eyebrows as he walked past her. "You live in the penthouse again?"
Jason nodded his head as he fumbled with the keys. She immediately crossed over to him and took it, unlocking to door and leading the way. The penthouse was completely deserted as she looked around. Jason walked past her, set the blankets and comforters around the floor with their pillows, turned down the lights and lit the fireplace.
She scrunched her eyebrows at him as he walked past her to the door. "Forgot something. I'll be right back."
"Wait- Jason?" Her words were ignored as he went back to Sonny's penthouse. Much to her surprise, she couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. Lights off, homemade bed, a lit fireplace..? What was this man up to?
She turned when she heard him behind her and laughed at what he held in his hands. "What are you doing?"
He shrugged and moved past her once more to put the whip cream, strawberries and what looked like a cantern of hot chocolate. "Nothing," he said innocently. He removed his boots and the look that he threw her boots asked her to do the same.
She laughed once more and willingly obliged. When she finished, she made her way to their comfortable abode and sat. She stared at Jason all the while as he did the same. His face then went to one of stupidity as he jumped up once more. "Forgot one more thing, again. Sit tight."
She held her stomach as she laughed once more. Jason was too cute when he was romantic. She looked around at her surroundings once more and nodded. A girl can get used to this, she said to herself.
She looked up to find Jason, a boombox in his hands. "Okay, mister. You need to tell me what is going on," she said jokingly impatient.
After he plugged it in and put it on a soft rock station, he scurried over to her and sat beside her. "When you admitted that Brenda was you sister, my first thought was that we needed to have a long talk." He watched as she cast her eyes downward and refused to continue until she looked at him once more. When she brought her blue eyes to his, he finished his thought.
"Then, I thought about everything you'd been through in two days and decided that the talk can wait. Tonight-" he started as he began to rise, "-tonight, is all about you." He reached out his hand and smiled when she accepted it. "What do you want to do?"
She stared into his eyes longingly, knowing very well that if she hadn't fallen in love with him yet, she surely did at that moment. She listened to the song that began to play in the background and wrapped his arms around his neck while he held her around the waist. "I want you to dance with me."
He nodded his head and gave a small smile. "Your wish is my command." And there, they began to move their bodies to the soft beat of the song:
I don't know how I survived
In this cold and empty world for all this time
I only know that I'm alive
Because you love me
When I recall what I've been through
There's some things that I wish I didn't do
But now I do the things I do
Because you love me
And now that you're in my life
I'm so glad I'm alive
'Cause you showed me the way
And I know now how good it can be
Because you love me
And now that you're in my life
Oh I'm so glad I'm alive
'Cause you showed me the way
And I know now how good it can be
Because you love me
I believe in things unseen
I believe in the message of a dream
And I believe in what you are
Because you love me
With all my heart and all my soul
I'm lovin' you and I never will let go
And everyday I let it show
Because you love me
Because you love me
Ooh, because you love me
[song credit: Because you love me, Jo Dee Messina]
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Meanwhile in the elevator..
Brenda whipped out her cell phone and began to dial the number she memorized by heart. She smiled when he picked up on the second ring. "He went and told Sonny I was married to him."
He laughed on the other end. "Told you the guy had it bad for you. What happened?"
Brenda ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "I told them the truth. That I set up Roscoe because I didn't want him to hurt the people I love."
She listened as he laughed on the other hand. "Baby, you and I both know that's not the whole reason."
She glared at the walls of the elevator as she answered, "Yes it is. They only asked about my association with the creep. They never asked me why I was back."
"Hmm... Boy will the shit hit the fan when they find out what's really going on."
Brenda smiled as she tapped a finger against her lower lip. "All in due time, sweetie. All in due time."
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:04:56 GMT -5
Chapter 13
I want a divorce.
The minute he heard the words, Sonny's heart had broken in two. He stood there speechless, wanting to believe that this was a bad nightmare he was bound to wake up from in minutes. In the span of one day, he'd had to deal with Roscoe being back in town, announcing that he was married to Elizabeth's sister, the disposing of the idiot, Sarah's confrontation, Brenda's resurrection, Elizabeth's revelation and now.. now he had to deal with Carly wanting a divorce.
Cautiously, he walked farther into the room, sitting on the bed where he could still make eye contact with his wife through the mirror. "What do you mean you want a divorce?" he whispered, not trusting his heart to conceal his broken heart.
Carly gulped as she stared her husband in the eyes, praying that God give her the strength to do this. "I mean I want a divorce, Sonny." She paused as she felt her voice begin to crack. When she remained in control of her emotions once more, she added, "I do not wish to be married to you anymore."
Sonny took in the slender arch of her eyebrow, acknowledging the challenge set before him. He knew that she'd already had her mind set by the stubborn lock of her jaw. Sonny wished that this was one battle he wouldn't lose. Not knowing what to say, he asked the only question on his mind. "Does this have to do with Brenda?"
He watched as she rolled her eyes in cold resignation, the bitterness she held for him evident in her eyes when she looked at him once more. "Believe it or not, Sonny, but this has nothing to do with Brenda. But why don't you rewind a couple of weeks before she came back." The look Carly sent him was one not to be reckoned with. She knew the truth, and she'd be damned if Sonny try to bullshit his way out of this.
A look of mild recognition entered his eyes before it was replaced with forced confusion. Carly shut her eyes in disgust as she shook her head slowly, her lowe lip quivering as the tears began to form in behind closed doors. She'd always heard that the eyes were the windows to the soul.. if Sonny would look into her eyes right now, not only would he see pain, but he'd also see hate. A new, pure, raw hatred that would scare him to death.
Carly barely heard him as he began to utter words such as "What are you talking about?" "Do we need to take you back to GH?" "Carly, spit it out.. I need to know what you're thinking.." She wasn't paying any attention at all and was content to just shut him out as he continued to stutter. She was ready to fall asleep when she felt his hands on her shoulders. Immediately, she jumped out of the dresser chair and turned abruptly to face him, her finger wagging in the air. "Don't you dare touch me!"
She couldn't help herself. The pain, hate, undeniable look of betrayal was etched deep into her eyes as she stared the man she'd sworn to love forever in the eye. She saw guilt and pain in Sonny's eyes as she shook her head deliberately slowly, anger embedded in her every move. "Don't you ever touch me again," she said with more determination, each word iced with the venom in her vains. She backed away from him one step and ran both hands through her hair. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?.. Did you think I wouldn't remember?! God, Sonny- how stupid do you think I am?!"
The tears were now flowing and as hard as she tried to supress them, they ran a course down her cheeks like a waterfall. Though her vision was a little blurry, she noticed that tears had begun to form in Sonny's eyes as well. She pointed a finger in his face, her anger mounting by the minute. "Don't you dare start. I'm not the one who broke our trust, Sonny! I'm not the one who slept with Alexis!"
He had already taken three steps towards her, trying desperately to hold her steady in the confinement of his arms. She backed away with each step as she shook her head, the accusations running out on impulse. "I wasn't the one who slept with my lawyer in the same bed I share with the person I promised to spend the rest of my life with!... I'm not the one who- who lied to my spouse when he almost lost his life, not remembering why that damned accident happened at all!"
By now, Sonny'd backed Carly into the wall as she stood there, crying a river. She pushed him away from her all the while, not wanting their bodies to be in contact in any way. Now, she was screaming. "I said don't touch me!! Not after you took me to bed in the same bed you had your horrid- your horried affair in!! Tell me, Sonny-- did you at least change the sheets before you brought me back into your bed?!? Are there traces of your love making with Alexis emblazoned in the satin?!?"
By now, Carly'd lost it. She crumbled into Sonny's arms as she continued to pound softly on his chest. "Why, Sonny?..... why?"
At that moment, both knew that it was the beginning of the end. Though the tears continued to roll down her face, Carly didn't try to fight sleep that was threatening to overcome her. Sonny knew she was tired and picked her up and placed her on the bed. She turned away from him and hugged her stomach, not wanting any contact with him- period. She listened as Sonny whispered that he loved her before she fell asleep.
Sonny stepped back and sat in the loveseat that lay in the corner of the room. He stared at the woman he loved and felt anger and guilt burn through him. He was beyond disgusted with himself. He too was tired and felt his eyes begin to sag. He loved this woman-- that he was sure of. He just hoped she'd still be there when he woke.
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Across the hall, Jason and Elizabeth sat comfortably in the confines of his new home, oblivious to the turmoil events one door down. Elizabeth sat with her legs tucked under her, Jason laying in front of her as his left arm propped him up from the floor. She held a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and listened to the sound of peace and quiet. She loved it there.
Jason stared longingly as she shut her eyes and took in the quiet, succumbing to the ease his humble abode provided. He had to admit that he loved having her there. He remembered all the lonely nights he'd spent in this very penthouse, tossing and turning in his sleep. Of course, he had Michael to care for during that time, but still.. he even knew then something was missing.
Being in the room with her now, Jason knew what that something was. He was missing someone to have and hold during those long lonely nights. Someone to care for and to care for him. He was missing.. Elizabeth.
But how to say it now? After all, they'd barely met up with each other again last night. How ridiculous would that be for him to ask her to move in with him? Jason wasn't the brightest lemon on the tree, but even he knew that asking her to live with him would be a step too soon. But he couldn't help but wonder why it felt so right..
He shook his head and watched her, her eyes still shut closed and couldn't help himself from asking the question. "Where are you?"
She smiled while her eyes remained shut, her head slightly tilted to the ceiling. "Everywhere and nowhere.."
Jason smiled awkwardly. He didn't have to ask her to elaborate on the thought. He knew she would do it on her own.
She popped open an eye and looked at him, her small smile still graced upon her face. After setting her mug of chocolate to the side, she shifted her body so that she was lying on her stomach, her elbows supporting her chin which she held it in her linked palms. Her legs dangled slightly behind her as she moved them back in forth. "I was thinking about.. about tonight." She looked pointedly at the fireplace, the strawberries and the hot chocolate the never cooled. "Thinking about how sweet of you it was to do this for me.."
She smiled into his eyes and felt her heart skip a beat when he did the same. She didn't understand why people always said Jason was a man of no emotion. She could pick at least ten displays that he'd shown to her, eight out of ten being signs of affection. No, Jason Morgan was no Borg.. well, at least if he liked you he wasn't.
"Like I said," he repeated himself. "I wanted to make tonight about you."
She smiled and shook her head. "Yea, I know. In case I haven't already said so, thank you. Not only for tonight, but for everything."
The light in his eyes remained there as Jason answered, "You have nothing to thank me for, Elizabeth."
She rolled her eyes and said, "You always say that."
He smiled and shrugged. "Because it's the truth. You don't have to be grateful towards me or sorry for that fact. Just be you and I'll continue being me."
They stared longingly into each others eyes, each realizing how much the other means to them. Jason could sense the unease that she felt due to what had happened earlier that night but knew that he had to wait her out. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. She'd need no encouragement from him, knowing that she already had it.
"Jason.. I-I need to know how you feel.. about Brenda being my sister." There-- it was out. She'd asked him the question that had been haunting her ever since she stepped foot into the penthouse. True, Jason said that tonight he would do whatever she wanted to make her comfortable, but the truth was that she wouldn't truly feel at ease until she got the situation at hand off her chest.
If Jason was surprised by the question, he didn't show it. He shifted his attention to floor in front of him and blew hot air through puckered lips. "It doesn't really matter how I feel about this-"
Elizabeth cut him off by placing a hand on his forearm. They both felt the electricity that sparked the moment their bodies made contact, yet neither made a move to break it. "It matters to me. Please, Jason?"
Jason sighed deeply once more and positioned his body so he was lying down across from her, his face directly in front of hers as their two bodies made a straight line. He had his weight centered on his forearms as it held up his upper body and looked into her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I was shocked."
Elizabeth nodded and asked, "The first thing that popped into your mind?"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier." Jason said answered, more as a statement, less as a question.
Elizabeth nodded and rested her head on her folded arms. "I didn't tell anyone about my relationship with Brenda. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ashamed to be related to such a beautiful woman- but she was already dead. What difference would it make if I went around telling everyone that Brenda Barrett was my half-sister? Better yet, who in their right mind would believe me?"
She looked at him and found acceptance in his eyes, just what she expected. He wasn't going to judge her for the decisions that she made and wasn't going to fault her if he felt she made the wrong choice. Just be you and I'll continue being me. The words were comforting as they rolled around in her head.
"Besides, who would I tell? Sonny? Jax? I know the two of them would check it out first, find out that I am who I say I am and then both would make it a point to permanently involve themselves in my life which is exactly what I did not want. I love the both of them dearly, but you and I both know they'd bicker over me to protect what little they had left of Brenda." Jason couldn't argue with that.
"Anyway, I couldn't tell Audrey because she's been so good to me, and I didn't want to ruin things between us by letting her know that I wasn't her real grandaughter. Nikolas was starting to get heavily involved with Gia and Lucky.. well he was too brainwashed for me to talk to... and I couldn't tell you because I had no way of getting in touch with you," Elizabeth admitted shyly.
Jason was taken aback by this revelation and hid it well. He searched her eyes when she turned them away. "Would you have told me if you knew how to get a hold of me?"
Liz turned her eyes back to him, her gaze as steady as it could ever be. "In a heartbeat."
Jason smiled slightly then dipped his head as he looked at the ground. When he brought his attention back to her, he took her hand in his and said, "I'm sorry that I didn't write or-"
"Jason, don't." She gripped his hand as she smiled. "Like you've always said, I don't want you sorry. You did nothing wrong." She paused a moment as her eyes darted to the side then back to him. "Besides.. I- I was the reason you left in the first place-"
"I left on business, Elizabeth."
She sighed and looked deep into his eyes, not believing in his words. "Business may have been your reason for leaving, but I definitely pushed you into not coming back."
Again, he couldn't argue with her, but he needed to make her understand one thing. He scooted up to her with his forearms until their faces were mere inches apart. "Let me tell you something. I left because I had something to take care of. I stayed gone because I thought that my presence in your life would complicate things for you and Lucky. You chose him and I had to respect that. My only way of doing that was staying away."
Liz tilted her head to the side, fully understanding where he was coming from. "That's why you never called or wrote."
He nodded his head. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered something. "I brought something back for you." He rose from the floor and went to one of the bags he had Johnny get for him.
Elizabeth sat up as well and smiled. "Jason, you didn't have to get me anything."
He was about to protest when there was a knock on the door. Jason looked at her once before going to the door to open it. The sight before him made him crack a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Thanks a lot, older brother. I'm doing fine and you?"
Elizabeth bolted from her position on the floor and ran to throw open the door fully. She was met by her best friend's shocked expression. "Emily!"
"Elizabeth?! Oh my goodness!" She uttered as the two embraced in an affectionate hug. Emily threw her brother a look that said, 'What's going on here?' as a knowing smile graced her face. She was stunned when Jason blushed.
Emily pulled away and looked the two of them over. "When did the two of you get together?"
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:05:32 GMT -5
Chapter 14
"How long have the two of you been together?"
The question hung in the air for two awkward, agonizing seconds before Jason ushered his baby sister into the penthouse. "How's your walk coming along? Are you still limping?"
Emily walked purposefully towards the middle of the room to show her best friends her strong stride. When she turned to look at them, she found Jason smiling at her, Elizabeth hand over mouth with tears in her eyes.
"Emily, that is so great," she said softly as she walked over to give her a hug. Emily felt the tears threaten to form in her eyes but checked herself before any real emotion showed. When she pulled away, she was surprised to find a frown upon Elizabeth's face. "I am so sorry that I didn't come and see you while you were in rehab. I am such a-"
"Busy person," Emily finished for her. "Don't worry about it, it's okay. I received your letters and wrote back as much as I could. Besides, from what you told me was going on between you and Lucky... well, let's just say that I understand why you didn't come to visit." Emily added a smile for reinforcement unless Liz didn't believer her. When she got the confirmation needed in her eyes, she turned back to her brother who was bringing her bags into the penthouse. "So back to my question-"
"Emily, are you planning on staying here?" Jason asked as he retrieved her two suitcases from the hallway plus a sleeping bag. He closed the door after he finished and turned his eyes to the woman in question.
Emily placed a hand to her chest and looked back and forth from one to the other. "I'm sorry.. I just thought that.. well, I didn't think that I would be that big of a problem. I thought that you might want some company-"
Jason was at her side in a matter of seconds. He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "It's just a question, Em-- not an interrogation." He removed his hands when she calmed and further explained her reasoning for coming to the penthouse.
"Jason, when you told me that Carly was dead, I didn't know what to think. I was sad, of course, but there was no love lost between the two of us. I totally got over it though when I read in this morning's paper she was alive. But when you told me that you were coming back home, I thought that maybe I could come stay with you. After all, my therapy is over and done with and they were about ready to kick me out so I decided to come here rather than stay with the Quartermaines. You don't mind, do you?"
Jason enveloped his sister in a hug as he answered, "Of course I don't. Your welcome here anytime, you know that."
While they were caught in an embrace, Elizabeth tried to sneak out of the penthouse, not wanting to intrude on a family reunion. Jason saw her from the corner of his eye and let Emily go. He turned his body so that he and Emily were both facing her as she stood by the door. "And where, may I ask, are you going?"
Elizabeth stopped and turned around in her spot, a sheepish smile stuck on her face. "I just thought that I'd leave the two of you alone. I don't want to intrude on your reunion so I'm just going to go back to the studio-"
"At this time and hour?" Jason asked incredulously. He remembered how Elizabeth hated it when people told her what to do, but he couldn't help but offer his place to stay. "I'd feel more comfortable if you stayed here for the night."
Emily noticed the look that the two sent each other at this moment. Now she was the one that felt like an outsider. She felt like an intruder as she took in her surroundings: the homemade bed, the strawberries, lit fireplace on a summer night..? "Oh God," she whispered to herself as she began to realize what she'd walked in on. She turned astonished eyes back to Jason and Elizabeth and asked one last time, "When did the two of you get together?"
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Brenda went to the address she'd read on the business card. Odd that he'd be living in a cottage by the lake, she thought to herself. She took in the structure of it all, the front porch with no overhead, the glass framed doors that offered visitors a chance to peak in.
She'd been sitting in her hotel room with nothing to do. She knew that she needed to see Jax, just to see how he was doing. After all, she'd risen from the dead and decided not to come back to the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. He could never know what happened the months after she was found... she didn't know if he'd ever forgive her for not coming back- nor did she care. She just knew that he couldn't find out.
When she finally found the strength to come see him, Brenda found herself immobilized on the front porch. The insides of the cottage were.. quaint. Soft creamy colors filled the room adding a "homey" affect to it all. Just when Brenda was about to knock, she heard a fit of giggles from inside and went to hide behind a tree near the side of the cottage.
When she peered over once more, she was stunned to see a red head woman with Jax clutching what looked like a jewelry- necklace box... as he was down on one knee. Brenda immediately put two and two together and realized that Jax was about to make this stranger a very lucky and happy woman. Brenda looked on and smiled softly as the woman jumped up and down screaming yes. She turned her head after witnessing the kiss and placed a hand over her heart, the happiest she'd been since she came back.
With one last look, she walked back the same way she came muttering, "Good for you, Jax. Be happy."
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Elizabeth and Jason looked at each other once more, each person understandably uncomfortable.
Emily stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips as she smiled knowingly at both of them. She loved watching them fidget, fully aware that each was nervous of what the other would say. Okay, Emily thought to herself. They obviously don't know how much the other means to the other. Yes, Emily Bowen Quartermaine came back at a great time.
When neither of them answered her question, she looked around the room with the sweep of her hand and looked pointedly at her brother. "What? Were you trying to seduce Elizabeth?"
"EMILY!" the two of them screeched at the same time. Emily jumped a bit, totally unprepared for the outburst. She had to admit it was worth it-- at least she'd gotten SOME kind of reaction. Unfortunately, if their faces were any indication, that would have to be enough medling for tonight. "Okay, I'll drop the subject but the both of you need to explain yourselves to me later."
She took in the sighs of relief that came from the two and laughed. She walked over to Jason and attempted to take the sleeping bag from his grip. When he wouldn't let loose, she looked at him incredulously. "Do you mind? I would kind of like to go to sleep now, and seeing how I've ruined your night, I'm trying to salvage it by going to sleep upstairs so the two of you could finish your lovey dovey night."
Jason just looked at her and couldn't help but crack a smile. He shook his head as his grip remained firm on the sleeping bag. "First of all, I can see that you can walk perfectly, but I don't want you walking up those stairs. You've just traveled a pretty long way to get here and if I'm right, your legs are killing you." The slight wince on her face was all the confirmation he needed.
"So, I'm going to take your sleeping bag and sleep upstairs while you and Elizabeth can take the bed.. that is, if you're staying..?" he said turning the direction towards Elizabeth.
She nodded her head and smiled shyly. "That sounds good."
He nodded his head and made his way towards the stairs yelling over his shoulder, "I'll be back."
The minute they knew they were alone, Emily turned accusing eyes towards Liz. "You've been holding out on me, Webber! What's going on?" she whispered vehemently.
"Em, there's nothing to tell.. We were just talking that's all." Elizabeth made her way to the made bed and slipped under the covers, ready to give herself to sleep. Emily followed suit and lay on her side to face her best friend.
"I don't believe you." Before Liz could interrupt, she cut her off. "The two of you have had this.. I don't know-connection- ever since we thought Lucky'd died. Are you seriously going to sit there and expect me believe you when you say nothing's going on?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Besides, I see the way the two of you look each other.. like there's no one else in the room-"
Emily stopped abruptly when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Jason made their way towards them, his back to the fireplace as he knelt besides their heads. "Aww how cute.." he murmured mockingly to two of the most important women in his life.
Emily made a face while Elizabeth hit him with her pillow. He ducked and grabbed it from her, hitting her back in a playful manner. When the laughs subsided, he said, "As much as I would love to sit here and girl talk with you, I have an early morning so I need to hit the sack now."
He watched as Elizabeth mouthed the words "womanly chat" and laughed at Carly's reference to the whole woman dialogue. "Goodnight you two." He bent to kiss Emily at the crown of her head. When he moved to Elizabeth, he got lost in the blue of her eyes and paused for a moment. He was taken out of his trance when Emily wiggled around at her spot on the floor. When he threw her a look, she smiled in a guilty manner and shrugged.
He turned his attention back to Elizabeth and grazed his lips across her forehead whispering, "Goodnight Elizabeth." When he pulled away, he was rewarded with a smile so bright he would take back with him when he went to sleep. No doubt, he would dream about her, but at that moment, that smile was more satisfying than his dreams would ever be... for that moment, it would have to do.
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Post by JRK Archiver on May 1, 2008 15:05:52 GMT -5
Chapter 15
Sonny turned in his sleep and awoke the minute he fell out of the loveseat he'd slept in the night before. At first, he wondered why he'd been sleeping in the chair the whole night when it suddenly came back to him: Carly remembered everything. If last night was any indication of what the future would bring, Sonny knew to expect more uncomfortable nights out of his wife's reach.
When he arose from the floor, his lack of sleep clearly evident by the bags under his eyes, he peered over the bed to watch Carly while she slept. He was more than amazed to find the bed made and cold. He got up in an instant as his eyes stayed trained on the bed. "Carly?" he asked for her in a loud yet shaky voice. He was scared at the fact that he wasn't surprised when he didn't receive an answer.
He made his way out of the room and down the stairs to the first floor. "Carly?" he called for again, this time his voice a little firmer. Though he knew better, he searched the penthouse for any indication that his wife had been there in the past 24 hours, half of him expecting to see her when he turned the corner, the other half knowing full well that she was gone.
When he accepted that she was no longer in the penthouse, Sonny made his way back to his bedroom and looked around once more. Suddenly, all the little things came into view. Her belongings on the nightstand were no longer there. Her hair supplies, make up, jewelry- gone. Sonny felt a pinch at his heart and willed himself to breathe. "No.." he said firmly to himself as he smiled and shook his head. "No, she wouldn't leave.."
He purposefully made his way towards their closet, his exterior fully determined that she was still there, his inner concious knowing that she'd left him a long time ago. He threw the closet doors open sharply and took a step back when he noticed all her clothes were gone. He stood there motionless, immobile as gravity threatened to pull him down as it had so many times in the past with all his other loves.
But this time was different. Sonny'd already had a glimpse of what life would be without Carly when they all thought she died when her car flew off the cliff. It was the worse feeling in the world, and when she came back, Sonny knew that he would do whatever was in his power to make her stay. He knew that he couldn't live his life without her because she had changed him, she'd opened him up to the man that he was today. He knew that he would literally be lost without her.
Carly and he had their fights in the past.. but this. This was different. She'd caught him in the arms of another woman.. a vision she would never be able to get out of her head for as long as she lived. Sonny knew that if he EVER caught her in the arms of another, he would personally see to it that that person meet their untimely demise.
Sonny was surprised when he found himself on the floor, back braced against the side of the bed as he sat staring at the empty closet. He wasn't even aware of how he'd gotten there, or in that position to be exact. He didn't know anything.
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Emily awoke with a start with an unbelievable urge to use the bathroom. With her face scrunched up, she arose from the homemade bed and threw more covers on top of Elizabeth who was sleeping soundly. "Punk," she muttered to her best friend who had the pleasure of sleeping in.
She made her way up the stairs and into the bathroom. She'd run into Johnny the night before and he'd told her that Jason had moved back into his old penthouse on the same day that Alexis had moved out. She hoped to hell that Jason at least stocked the bathroom with toilet paper and soap. She had to take a tinkle and she had to take it now.
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Jason had tossed and turned the whole night, not able to take his mind off Elizabeth. He dreamed about her, fantasies that he wished he could one day make into reality. He rolled over restlessly once more and ended up tangling himself in the sleeping bag. He looked down to witness the damage done and rubbed a hand over his face.
He couldn't help but let out a small laugh. While he was away, he was tormented with sleepless nights without her. He'd thought about her every moment before he went to sleep, reminded of the fact that she'd chosen Lucky over him. Then after after about two hours of sleep, he'd woken up having to face the fact that he didn't wake up with her by his side. No, the pleasure was all Lucky's.
But now.. now things were different. He'd ridden into town dreading the worst: believing that Carly was dead and that Elizabeth was probably engaged to Lucky. Instead, he'd found that Carly was VERY much alive and that Elizabeth and Lucky were over. How ironic. Jason didn't think that things would pan out the way they did.. not that he's complaining.
Knowing full well that he wouldn't be sleeping another wink that morning, he untangled himself, rose from the floor and picked up his shirt that he'd discarded earlier that morning. He didn't want to walk out to his sister and the woman who'd haunted him the whole night with a bare chest. Though, he'd love to see Elizabeth's reaction to him half-naked, he didn't want to make Emily feel uncomfortable.. or better yet, he didn't want to give her any ideas.
After he'd brushed his teeth and washed his face, Jason made his way downstairs to greet his sleepy visitors good morning. He was surprised when he only found Elizabeth in the homemade bed. He crept over to her soft and quietly and sat next to her sleeping form. She was laid on her back, her head tilted to her right side. Her right arm lay next to her, palm facing up with her fingers slightly curled. Her right hand lay across her stomach as her soft brown hair lay fanned out on the pillow. Her eyes were shut as her mouth was slightly parted. He smiled when he finally found out the answer to what she'd dreaded the night before: Elizabeth Webber does not drool.
As he sat there admiring her sleeping form, he missed Emily coming down the stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks and watched as her brother stare at her best friend. She titlted her head to the side and smiled. The smile quickly turned into a frown when she realized that she might, yet again, ruin another moment between the two. One look at her watch reminded her that all parties had been asleep for at least eight hours; Elizabeth was bound to wake up anytime soon. As fast and quietly as her legs could go, Emily made her way back upstairs on a mission to go back to sleep in her bag in Jason's room. She frowned for a minute when she wondered why Jason wasn't worried about her not being in bed. She shrugged it off and continued up the stairs.
Just as soon as Emily'd quietly closed the door upstairs, Elizabeth began to stir from her sleep. Jason was torn; should he flee the scene to spare them both the embarressment or continue sitting there, anxiously eager to see her when she woke up. Since he didn't know what to do, he sat there instead, immobilized by the confusion.
Her right arm stretched out first and then her left followed as it reached over her head. Liz turned her head to the left side and squeezed her eyes tight. When her head was in the motion of coming back to the right side, her eyelids slowly opened and she smiled at the sight before her. Jason sat right next to her, a small yet shy smile cocked on his face. At the same time, he looked guilty of watching her sleep. Judging from the embarressment on his face, she knew that she would have to be the first to speak. She offered him a small smile as she placed her hands back on her stomach. Snuggling her head deeper into the pillow, she offered, "Good morning."
He smiled back at her as he sat on his bottom, his elbows leaning on his bent knees as he spoke to her. "Good morning, yourself. How'd you sleep?"
She nodded her head on the floor and smiled at him once more. "Pretty well, pretty well." She didn't want to admit to him that half the night, she'd been staring at the ceiling, willing him to come downstairs so they could talk on the terrace. She didn't admit that when she finally did sleep, she had very fantastic dreams involving the two, dreams she would never be able to tell a priest in fear that he would drop dead. "So.. how long have you been watching me?"
Jason smiled and ducked his head between his legs for a second. "Not that long. Five, ten minutes the most. For the record, Webber: you don't drool."
She couldn't help but laugh and pull the covers over her face. How embarressing was that! Having been told by the most gorgeous guy she'd ever met that she didn't drool? She didn't fight when Jason drew the covers from her face and smiled at her. "Don't hide from me under there," he said playfully.
She popped up her right elbow so that she was fully facing him, the blanket draped low across her hips. "I want to tell you something, but I'm too afraid that it might seem to awkward to talk about."
"Have things ever been awkward between us?" Jason asked seriously, a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips.
Elizabeth laughed and opted to sit up straight to face Jason. This talk needed to be said. "No, not quite." She casted her eyes towards the kitchen, not sure how to approach what was on her mind.
Sensing this, Jason intercepted her thoughts. "Elizabeth, look at me." She did so reluctantly as he continued, "Tell me."
She sighed and smiled, slightly shaking her head. She made sure that she was making eye contact with him when she said this. "I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened last night... if Emily hadn't shown up."
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