It’s after midnight and I just watched my elite Phillies bullpen shit the bed (as I type this it’s 6-4 and Phillies are down to their last two outs — but Harper is up with a runner on–I’ll let you know). Technically it’s Tuesday. So let’s just post this and move on with our lives, lol.
Wednesday’s update will be later than normal, around 9 PM. The Phillies are playing at 4, so who knows when the game will be over, lol.
What follows is me living through the top of the ninth, feel free to skip
Okay — so Harper hit a ground rule double. Tying runs are in scoring position and Alec Bohm is the hottest hitter in MLB right now — sooooo…..you know what, lemme chill and let you know how this all works out.
Bohm has a full count, 3-2. YOU GUYS I AM SO TIRED. Okay, sac fly. one run game.
MARSHY IS UP MY MAN GOT TRADED FROM THE ANGELS REVENGE TIME GET ‘EM’
welp. we lost. but so did the braves so fuck it.
enjoy the story. love you guys. see you in like 48 hours for more flash.
By midnight the party was in full swing, the main bar area of the The Cellar packed with men and women dressed in formal wear, passing around glasses of champagne, ringing in the New Year. The jazz band had kicked up “Auld Lang Syne”, and confetti still drifted down from the ceiling.
Carly Corinthos should have been at the center of the dance floor, her arms wound around the neck of the husband that had bankrolled her club, making this night partially possible. She should have been reveling in her success, because while Sonny might have given her the startup funds, she’d put her blood, sweat, and tears into every aspect of the business to make it the hottest club in town.
This should have been her moment to shine.
Instead she stood behind the bar, her long thin arms folded across the bodice of her sequined-emerald bodice, picking up the hints of honey in her brown eyes. Her blonde hair was twisted back in a chignon, diamonds dripped from her ears—and a hot, furious glare at her husband who was on the dance floor.
With another woman.
Some dark-haired, sloe-eyed tramp. Just like Brenda. Hannah. Lily. All the women with whom Sonny had broken his wedding vows. Samantha McCall was just another in the long line of whores Sonny had taken to his bed, but by God, she’d be the last he used to humiliate her if there was anything Carly had to say about it.
“Drink this.”
A champagne glass was thrust into her hands, and Carly sighed. “It’s dangerous to give me bar ware right now, don’t you think?”
Her younger sister smirked, her lips painted a dark red maroon to match the color of the dress she wore, with a neckline that plunged nearly to her navel, leaving her back almost entirely exposed. Elizabeth Webber tapped matching nails against the mahogany bar. “Isn’t destroying glass Sonny’s signature?”
“The way I feel right now, I could crack this right across his face and not feel an ounce of sorrow.” Carly exhaled slowly, a low, tortured sound. “What else do I have to do, Lizzie?” she murmured, “to make him show me some damn respect? I’ve given him everything. We have a son.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth, then her eyes darkened when a figure appeared on the dance floor, breaking into Sonny and Sam’s dance. Jason Morgan spoke a few quiet words to Sonny, and then they both looked at the bar. Sonny’s mouth was a grim line, but he walked away from Sam, heading for the private VIP booth in the back of the club.
Sam spoke sharply to Jason, anger etched into her features, before she stalked in the opposite direction. Jason rolled his eyes, then started for the bar.
Elizabeth picked up her drink. “Excuse me, I have somewhere to be,” she said.
“He means well—”
“He knows exactly what he’s doing,” Elizabeth told her sister. She slipped away into a crowd, just before Jason reached the bar, his ice blue eyes following the brunette.
“You reminded him where he was, didn’t you?” Carly asked. She sipped her champagne. “He’s getting more blatant.”
“Carly—”
“After all, I only know about the women I’ve caught him with.” Her sad eyes found his. “There’s more, aren’t there?”
Jason’s mouth pinched. “I’m not answering that, Carly. It wouldn’t do you any good—” He laid both his hands on the bar. “But he shouldn’t do this in your club. In front of you. I’ve told him that.”
“Thank you.” She set the empty glass down. “I didn’t know about her. She’d never have been on the list. Lizzie would have seen to that.”
“No doubt,” Jason said dryly. He shook his head. “I’m sorry—”
“It’s not your apology I want. But it’s the only one I’ll hear, so thank you.”
Jason nodded, accepting the criticism. “Elizabeth took off in a hurry,” he noted.
“It’s not that she doesn’t like you—” Carly began, but Jason raised his hand to ward off her protests.
“You don’t have to explain your sister to me. We understand each other. Most of the time.” Jason looked across the crowd, his expression shifting into one of surprise. “Excuse me, something came up.”
He melted into the crowd, and she lost sight of him, wondering if maybe he was heading to the exit. Parties weren’t his scene, and he’d only come tonight because Carly had asked.
When Carly returned from freshening her makeup in the ladies’ room, Sonny sat at the bar, a shot of whiskey in his hand. “Did you reward your errand boy?” he demanded.
Carly pressed her lips together, then carefully prepped the ingredients for her favorite martini. “He’s your right hand man, Sonny, not mine. If you have an issue with him calling out your disgusting behavior, then take it up with him.”
“Maybe I will.” Sonny looked around the night club, squinted. “Where the hell did he go anyway?”
2 Este’s a friend of mine
The VIP rooms had been closed at midnight, but that was no obstacle to the club’s manager who had made located her quarry across the dance floor. She’d headed straight for the back rooms, fishing her key out of the tiny clutch in her hand.
He caught up to her just as she reached the door, his breath hot on her neck, his hands at the small of her back, the brush of his skin against her spine had heat rising already— “I thought we weren’t going to do this again,” he murmured in her ear.
She slid the key into the lock, twisted the knob, and half-turned to grab him by the collar, jerking him inside before anyone could take notice of them. She slammed the door shut and shoved him against it.
“If you don’t want to be here,” Elizabeth said, sliding her hands up Jason’s muscled chest, her tongue flicking across her lips. She pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders. “You can just say no.”
“I’m not the one who keeps saying this is the last time,” Jason said, pulling her hard against him, sliding his hand into her chestnut curls and covering her mouth with his. Her quick nimble fingers were already releasing his belt and whipping it over her head, then sliding her hand inside his pants. He wrapped a hand around her wrist, holding it in place. “In a hurry?” he murmured, molding her fingers around him. Her eyes were heavy, her pupils almost dilated.
“Aren’t you?” She nipped at the soft skin beneath his jaw and giggled when he lifted her in his arms and twisted so that she was against the door now, her legs wrapped around his waist, the skirt of her dress shoved up. “Besides,” she panted, wincing slightly when she heard the sound of fabric tearing. Another pair of panties lost to a good cause. “We don’t want your boss to come looking for you—”
“Do me a favor?” Jason murmured, his lips next to her ear. He pulled back so that he could see her, so that he could watch the way her eyes glazed over when he slid inside slowly, inch by inch, the flush rising from her chest to her collarbone, neck, until her cheeks were cherry red.
“Anything,” she managed, her nails digging into his back.
“Don’t ever talk about him when I’m inside you,” he said, then bit her earlobe. “Isn’t that the deal? They don’t exist.”
“Right now, if you don’t move,” Elizabeth managed, “you’re not going to exist much longer.”
He grinned, and then decided he’d made her wait long enough. The first time was always hard and fast—she was so damn sensitive and he knew her body so well after nearly a year of these clandestine meetings that it never took much to send her careening over the edge.
Then later, if there was time, he’d make love to her slowly. Reverently, hoping she could feel the way he loved her with every touch, every stroke, every brush of his lips against hers.
There was a large sofa in this VIP room that was plush and deep — it was one of their favorite places to meet, and now, nearly forty minutes after Jason had caught Elizabeth’s eye and left Carly at the bar, they lay together. He’d pulled his pants back on and offered her his shirt.
“I don’t want to move for the rest of my life,” Elizabeth murmured, her words slightly slurred. “I could sleep right here.”
Jason’s fingers stilled in the act of stroking her shoulder and he swallowed hard. “We could try this in a bed for a change. Mine. Or yours.” He winced when he felt her body tense, cursing himself for always pushing too far.
Elizabeth sighed and sat up, her hair mussed and escaping the pins holding it up. Her lips, swollen from his kisses, pursed. “Jason—”
“Never mind. Forget I said anything,” he said, trying to pull her back down but he’d broken the moment and she was already sliding off the sofa, looking around the room for her dress. “Elizabeth, come back. No one’s going to be using these rooms. We can just stay here—”
“I need to get back to the party. Carly always goes home angry after dealing with Sonny.” She picked up her maroon dress, shook it out. “And Sonny’s probably looking for you.”
Jason sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the sofa. “And now you’re going to give me the speech about how this is the last time, so go ahead and get started.” He flinched when his shirt hit him in the face. By the time he’d pulled it away, she’d shimmied back into the dress and was pulling the straps over her upper body. “Elizabeth.”
“Do you think this is fun for me?” Elizabeth asked. “You think I’m enjoying this?”
“Maybe you are.” Jason whipped the shirt back on, began to fasten the buttons. “Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t keep doing it. When was the last time I sent you the signal?”
He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth—Elizabeth just stared at him like he’d slapped her.
“Are you calling me a whore?”
“What? No—” Jason darted across the room, snagging her elbow before she could head for the door. “No. I’m just—just frustrated.” He slid his hands from his shoulders to her elbows, then up again. She looked so beautiful and rumpled, her hair a mess from his hands, her lipstick kissed away—he probably had the deep red color on his shirt and on his face. Gently, Jason reached into her hair, removed pin after pin until the curls fell down around her shoulders. “I know you mean it when you say it’s the last time. I know you’re not playing games.”
“At least that’s one of us.” Elizabeth sighed, rested her forehead against his chest, and he relaxed slightly. “I did mean it,” she muttered. “But you just…you stopped Sonny from acting like an asshole, and I know he hates it when you do that, and you did it for me. He’s going to think it’s for Carly, but I know it’s not, and I’m just so mad at you—” She lifted her head, and he sighed when he saw tears shimmering. “Because you’re so sweet and you know what he does is wrong, but he’s your best friend, so you’ll defend him anyway—”
“I don’t know why you have to let what’s between Carly and Sonny have anything to do with us. I’d never treat you the way he treats her.” He framed her face with his hands. “You know that, don’t you? I haven’t even looked at another woman. You can trust me.”
“I—” Her lips trembled and she looked away. “How many times have you cleaned up his messes? How many women does my sister not even know about?”
Jason shook his head. “That’s not—”
She pulled away, stepped out of his arms. “You won’t even tell me because you know I’ll tell her. And maybe it makes me a terrible person that I’d throw away what we could be but she’s the only family I have. And you’re helping her husband make her life miserable.”
“What do you want me to do? I can’t stop Sonny from having affairs, and I can’t force Carly to leave him!”
“I want—” Elizabeth closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “We’re just going to have the same argument over and over again. This is insanity. It doesn’t matter how good it is when it’s just us. It’s not just us. We live in a world where you answer to the man who is slowly draining the life from my sister. And it doesn’t bother you—”
“I never said it didn’t bother me—” Jason stopped. “What do you take me for? As soon as I saw him on that damn floor with that woman, I stopped him—”
“But you knew about her, didn’t you?” Elizabeth demanded, her eyes burning into him. “You knew he had a new woman. And you didn’t tell me. I left her on the damn guest list, Jason. One word from you, and she’s gone. But you’re going to protect Sonny at all costs—”
“I didn’t know for sure—”
“For sure,” Elizabeth echoed. “Which means you suspected. So what do you want me to do with that, Jason? I wrote that list. I invited that woman here, and my sister was humiliated. And it didn’t occur to you to stop it until it was too late.”
“Okay. Okay. So next time, I’ll—”
“Because there’s always a next time, right?” Elizabeth tilted head up to the ceiling. “I can’t keep going in circles, Jason. We get nowhere, and it just hurts to have this argument every time knowing nothing will change. I care about you, you know that. But I can’t do this.”
“You care about me,” Jason repeated, “but you don’t respect me, do you?”
Elizabeth sighed, looked away. “No, not when it comes to Sonny. I’m—I’m sorry. I just can’t. I have to go.” She snatched up her heels, slid the bolt back, and left.
3 We meet up every Tuesday night for dinner and a glass of wine
Carly lifted her brows when Elizabeth showed up for work the next morning. She filled another tub with the dirty glasses leftover from the night before. “You’re late.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t sleep.” Elizabeth nibbled on her lower lip, looked around the club. With the bright lights overhead, she could see the mess left behind—glasses, plates. Trash on the floor. “We might need to talk about new busboys. And a cleaning service.”
“It was New Year’s so I’m not surprised people were worse than usual. I’m not mad, just curious.” Carly disappeared into the kitchen, and Elizabeth went to find a broom and trash bag.
“What kept you up last night?” Carly said, a few hours later when the majority of the club had been put to rights.
“I had a headache,” Elizabeth said, and touched her temple. “Wouldn’t go away.”
Carly tipped her head, squinting. “Really?” she drawled. “You know, Lizzie,” she said, leaning over the bar, “if you had a hot date, I wouldn’t be mad you ditched me. I’d just be happy you were finally getting laid.”
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, accepted the bottle of water her sister handed her. “I wish you weren’t so crude.”
“I wish you were less uptight, so I guess we’re all doomed to disappointment. Let me set you up with someone—”
“No, thanks.”
“Come on. You know, there’s got to be someone around here you’re interested in. Not one of Sonny’s guys,” Carly said, pressing her lips together, forming a thin line. “They’ve got the morals of a tomcat and not enough money to make it worth it. Jason. Jason might be worth it, but you already turned him down once.”
Elizabeth jolted. “What? No, I didn’t. He never—” He’d never asked. That’s not how it had started. She’d gone to his office at the coffee house, furious about another one of Sonny’s women that Jason had covered up, and she didn’t even know who had started it, but the next thing she knew, they were grappling on the floor—
But he’d never asked her out on a real date before that. And she’d always stopped him from asking after that.
“Oh. He didn’t? I thought—” Carly tapped her fingers against the bar. “I guess I just got the impression he wanted to. But Sonny probably talked him out of it or something. Did you—I mean, would you have said yes?”
“I—” It was on the tip of her tongue to admit the truth to Carly, to tell her sister that she’d been secretly sleeping with Jason for a year. She was never sure why exactly she kept their encounters quiet — maybe because it would be uncomfortable to explain why each time, Elizabeth had promised herself it’d be the last.
But it never was. And unless one of them met someone else, she didn’t know if she’d be able to stop herself.
“I mean, Jason doesn’t date. I don’t think I’ve seen him bring a woman around us in, God—I don’t remember the last time.” Carly squinted. “This is going to bother me. When I first started seeing Sonny, it felt like Jason was always dating someone new. Couldn’t keep them around. At least he broke up with them before screwing someone else.”
I haven’t even looked at another woman.
Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Carly, can we talk about what happened last night? I’m sorry. I never would have left her on the guest list if—”
Her eyes shuttered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Jason told me he didn’t know. I think maybe he suspected, but—”
“If he’d known, he’d have told you. I know.” Carly came around the end of the bar. “I don’t blame you, Lizzie.”
Elizabeth twisted on the bar stool. “But you’re so unhappy, Carly. And it’s only getting worse. Why—”
“Don’t start this again. I’m not leaving Sonny.” Carly held up her hand, wiggled her fingers so that the large diamond on her ring caught the light. “You see this? None of those women have that. I have his name, his ring, and a son that looks just like him. I have this club, and now I have you back in my life—and you like Port Charles, don’t you?”
“Mostly, but—”
“This is the kind of security we dreamed about when we were kids. We promised each other, didn’t we? No one was ever going to push us around. Not after Wanakah.”
Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “Carly, we’re not kids anymore—”
“I told you that I’d find a rich man to marry and I’d make sure that no one could ever hurt us that way again,” Carly said. “Didn’t I do just that? I found Sonny. He gave me everything I wanted.”
“But he doesn’t love you,” Elizabeth said softly.
“You’re the one who was looking for love, Lizzie. Me, I’m just fine with the bank account. Sonny and I—” Carly closed her eyes, and the tremble in her voice belied her careful words. “We just need to find something that works. I don’t care how many whores he sleeps with. I just don’t want to know about them. So you want to wait on the fairy tale, you do that. But don’t ask me to throw away everything I’ve worked hard for.”
4 Este’s been losing sleep
Jason stepped out of his penthouse, one hand in his back pocket to make sure he’d grabbed his keys and wallet on the way out.
He’d woken that morning determined to track Elizabeth down and deal with this in the cold, harsh light of day. He’d made a mistake last night, pushing her after the scene with Carly and Sonny in the club, but he’d been distracted by how good it felt to hold her, to be with her — but today, it would be different.
He rounded the corner towards the elevator, wincing when he heard yelling and something smash across the hall. Jason grimaced, wanting to wash his hands of it but if Sonny was already throwing bourbon, he was pissed at Carly which was usually Jason’s cue to convince the blonde to leave.
He headed for the Corinthos penthouse, nodding to Max who just sighed, then knocked lightly before opening the door to announce. “Mr. C., Jason’s here.”
“Oh, great—” Sonny rolled his eyes as Jason came in. Shards of glass glinted on the dark hardwood floor, and Carly stood by the fireplace, her eyes irritated, hands planted at her hips. “Your errand boy is here.”
“Stop calling him that. I don’t even talk to him—” Carly stalked towards her husband. “And stop deflecting onto Jason—”
“Oh, deflecting? That’s a big word for a high school dropout—”
“I know we’re not talking about education!” Carly shot back. “At least I made it to senior year without a rap sheet. You were in juvie for most of high school—”
Jason already had a headache. “Listen, I’m not trying to interrupt—”
“Then don’t.” Sonny poured himself another bourbon. “You know what? You want her so much, take her.”
Jason frowned. “What?”
Carly closed her eyes, her face flushed. “Oh my God.”
“You think I don’t see through all of this?” Sonny demanded of his wife. “Jason’s always in my face, telling me to respect my wife like it’s any of his business—but maybe I should be telling him to respect me a little better—”
“Are you kidding me? You can’t really think—”
“I haven’t seen him with a damn woman in years—” Sonny shot back.
And that was enough of that, Jason thought, heading for the door, knowing that he wasn’t even really the topic. Sonny and Carly just hated each other and would seize on anything to argue about, including Jason.
Sonny would never understand why Jason had started to step in more when he was deliberately humiliating Carly in public. Or why he hadn’t seen any other women in three years.
Jason closed the door, sent Max a commiserating look, and headed for the elevators — only to hear the dinging sound signaling the car had arrived on their floor. The doors slid open and Elizabeth stepped out.
5 Her husband’s actin’ different, and it smells like infidelity
“I, um—” Elizabeth licked her lips nervously, and his eyes dropped to her mouth for a moment before flicking back up to her. “I was hoping we could…talk.” She realized he was wearing his leather jacket. “Oh, you’re on your way out—”
“I was just going to come find you.” Jason stepped back, gestured to his apartment. “Please. Stay.”
He’d been on his way to see her? Butterflies were fluttering like mad inside, but Elizabeth hoped that didn’t show on her face. She waited while he unlocked the door, then opened it.
She’d never been inside his place before, Elizabeth thought, but it looked almost like she’d expected. Mostly bare with a leather sofa and coffee table in the center of the space. There was no television, but a bookcase where one might be. A fireplace dominated the far side of the wall. A plain desk and chair were by the door.
And there was a pool table taking up most of what was supposed to be dining space. Elizabeth found herself smiling. “Why am I not surprised you have your own pool table?” She turned to face him as he closed the door, removed his jacket. “It looks like you in here.”
“Carly’s always saying it’s too empty,” Jason said, and her smile faded at this reminder of her sister knowing more about Jason than she did. “What? What did I say?”
“A year,” she murmured. “A year we’ve been doing this and I’ve never been here.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “How many times did you ask me to come here? To spend the night?”
“Elizabeth—”
“Carly thought you asked me out. A long time ago.” She searched his eyes, noticed the way he dropped his eyes to the floor. “Why did she think that?”
“Because I was going to,” Jason said. “I didn’t.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “It doesn’t matter now—”
She exhaled slowly, tears pricking her eyes. “No, I guess it doesn’t. Maybe I should just go—”
“Hey. Hey—” Jason caught her as she went past him, his hand sliding beneath her elbow propelling her back. “We didn’t even talk yet. What did I do? I said something wrong. Does it matter to you why I didn’t ask you out?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I just—I hate that my sister knows what your apartment looks like and I don’t. And I know that’s stupid because it’s my fault. I annoy myself,” she muttered.
Jason tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. “I hate that I don’t know what your place looks like. Are you messy? Neat? What color are your curtains? Do you wake up early or sleep in—I want to know everything. So if it matters to you — I asked Carly about you three years ago.”
“Three—but I’ve only lived here for three years.” She licked her lips again, and his eyes darkened. “How long has it been…since you dated someone else?”
“When did you show up?” Jason asked, leaning down, their lips separated by little more than a few inches. “The day you walked into Sonny’s — that’s the last time I ever thought about someone who isn’t you.”
Her fingers trembled as she slid her hands up his chest, then pulled his head down to hers, kissing him almost desperately. Jason crushed her against him, sinking his hands in her hair.
6 She says, “That ain’t my merlot on his mouth”
Carly paced the length of the sofa before throwing another furious look at her husband. “It is absolutely mortifying the way you speak to me in front of Jason!”
“Yeah well, sleeping with my enforcer isn’t a good look for you either, sweetheart,” Sonny muttered, lifting the tumbler to his lips.
“Really? Really? You think I’m sleeping with Jason? You’re even more oblivious than I thought if you can’t see what’s going on here—” She jabbed a finger at him. “The only thing he’s doing is protecting you from humiliating yourself! We have a child, Sonny! What are you going to do when Michael’s old enough to see this? Are you going to keep bringing your whores and sluts around him?”
“All I did was dance with a beautiful woman. I’m sorry you’re so insecure about your body since having a baby—”
“You son of a bitch—” Carly reached for the nearest item—a blood red throw pillow—and hurled it at him. He deflected it with ease. “I look just as good as I did before I had the damn kid—”
“If that helps you sleep at night.” Sonny strolled over towards his desk. “Are we done with this or do you have anything else you want to scream at me?”
“What do I have to do, to say, to make you stop humiliating this way?” Carly demanded. “What do I have to do to keep your whores from coming to my club?”
“Like I said, Carly—” Sonny looked at her, smiled thinly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never brought a whore to your club.”
“You no good lying son of a bitch!” Carly hurled a vase laden with flowers to the ground, where it shattered.
7 “That ain’t my jewelry on our joint account”
Jason reluctantly eased back, not wanting this to end like all their other encounters — in bed with nothing resolved. He stroked her back, wanting to keep her close. “Did that answer your question?”
Elizabeth’s eyes were slightly dreamy, unfocused when she finally opened them. “What?”
“Your question. Have I answered it?”
“I—” She furrowed her brow. “No. No. You didn’t ask me. Why didn’t—for two years—”
Jason sighed, took her hand and led her over to the sofa, tugging her down to sit next to him. “The night I was going to ask you, we went to the No Name. It was the first time you went, do you remember that?”
“Oh. Yeah. Sonny flirted with the waitress, and Carly threw the bourbon in his face.” Troubled, Elizabeth looked away. “Then Sonny disappeared, and you did, too. I went to the ladies room, and you were in the hallway, arguing with him about kissing the waitress where Carly could have seen.”
“And you told me that I was an asshole for covering up Sonny’s affairs and to never speak to you again.”
“Right.” Elizabeth looked down at her hands, picked at a cuticle. “So we’re right back to where we started, and where we always end up.”
“Look, it’s not like I want to be involved,” Jason told her. “It’s the last thing I want. And I only step in when I know Carly’s going to see or hear something because I don’t want her to get upset. And because I know when she’s hurting, you hurt for her. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do if Sonny won’t stop having affairs and Carly won’t leave him.”
“You’re right. I know you are. I guess—he’s your best friend.” She raised her head to meet his gaze. “What does that say about who you are?”
“That—” He winced. “Okay. Yeah, I can see where that’s not great for me. Sonny wasn’t like this when I met him. You know I had an accident, right?”
“Carly said something about it. You lost your memory.”
He took her hand in his, tracing a pattern along her palm. “It was more than that. I had a traumatic brain injury. Frontal lobe damage. I didn’t just forget who people were — I had a complete reset of pretty much everything I knew about interacting with the world. Zero impulse control, explosive anger—I was not…” He sighed. “I wasn’t much fun to be around. I pushed everyone away—they wanted me to be who I was before and when I wasn’t, they treated me like I was stupid. Like I couldn’t make decisions. Choices.” He looked up again, saw that she was watching him. “You really didn’t know?”
“No. Why would I?” she asked, mystified. “It was before I moved here. Before Carly did. She probably doesn’t even know the extent.”
“I guess. I’m just used to people knowing—anyway.” He exhaled on a long breath. “When I met Sonny, he didn’t treat me that way. He acted like I could do things. That I could do them well. And he gave me a job—I could get away from the people who said they were my family. Make a life for myself. It’s not always great,” he admitted, “and lately, it’s been a struggle to respect him or even like him. But—I can’t forget what he’s done for me. And hope that the man I loved as a brother comes back. I don’t know how to let go of it.” He looked at her again. “Can you understand that?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I can. Because Carly and I—” She stood up, abruptly, crossing over to the fireplace, rubbing her hands together. Elizabeth looked back. “Carly and I—we’re not…biological sisters. There’s no blood ties. We met in the foster system.”
8 No, there ain’t no doubt
“I cannot believe you have the nerve to stand there and act like you haven’t screwed very female that’s crossed your path since the day we met,” Carly spat. She stalked towards the kitchen, returned dragging the trash can. She knelt down, began throwing the larger pieces of the vase inside.
Sonny just poured another bourbon. “Prove it,” he taunted.
“I don’t need to prove anything.” Carly got to her feet, her eyes glinting dangerously. “You see this?” She wiggled her ring finger. “This gives me everything I need. So go ahead, screw every last whore that waltzes in front of you, but you’re going to be the one to pull the plug on this marriage. You’re not getting away without making it worth my while, and I don’t come cheap.”
“You’re the cheapest thing I own,” Sonny muttered. He finished the bourbon, poured another.
“What did you just say to me?” she demanded, her voice hitching up another octave. “What did you just call me?”
“You want to act like money made you better than you are, but you’re gutter trash just like me,” Sonny retorted. “You want to keep coming at me about affairs you can’t prove because you’re screwing my best friend—”
Carly snatched the tumbler from his hand and hurled it against the door.
9 I think I’m gonna call him out
Jason tipped his head, furrowed his brow. “Foster sisters,” he repeated, as pieces of the puzzle shifted in his head. He’d always wondered at their relationship—there was zero resemblance between the two and neither Carly nor Elizabeth ever spoke about their childhood. Carly hadn’t talked about any family before Elizabeth had showed three years ago.
“Yeah, um, we didn’t—I mean, I consider her my sister. It never mattered to me. But I guess if you didn’t know, Carly never told Sonny. I’m sure he would have said something.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “I don’t know how I ended up in the system. I don’t want to know.”
“I wasn’t going to ask,” Jason said, rising to his feet. “What happened? Did you get separated?”
“I—yeah. Um, I was six, and she was nine. They put us in this home together. Wanakah, New York,” Elizabeth remembered, her eyes a bit distant. “It was awful. But Carly made it okay, and every time they told us—” She stopped, looked at him. “It doesn’t matter. We stuck together, decided we were family, and our social worker helped us stay with each other. We were there for three years, and got moved to a different family together. But then Carly turned fifteen, and our social worker retired. The new one didn’t care. She put Carly in a group home for troubled girls because Carly kept screwing up at school, and I—” She rubbed her arms. “We got separated,” she finished. “We tried to write, but we just…I kept getting moved. I wasn’t doing well. And she aged out, and we just lost track.”
There was more in that story, Jason knew, but if she wanted to gloss over it, he wasn’t going to stop her. “But you found her.”
“Yeah. Yeah. I looked for her the best I could after I aged out. I went to community college, graduated. But it costs money to find someone, and Carly—she’d moved here and she was married, so she wasn’t using the same name anymore.” Elizabeth looked at the fireplace. “But I saw her picture in a paper in Buffalo. She and Sonny. Her name was there, and where they lived. So I came here, and everyone said Sonny lived at Harborview.”
“You must have been relieved to find her, and I know Carly was happy you came,” Jason said. He closed the distance between them itching to take her in his arms, but she looked so stiff—he didn’t know if she wanted to be touched.
“Maybe. Sometimes…” She shook her head. “Anyway, I understand now what Sonny means to you. Carly doesn’t always make me happy either, but she’s my sister and without her, I have no one else, so—”
“That’s not true,” Jason told her, and now he put his hands on her shoulders, turning her so that she faced him. “Carly is happy to have you here. When I told her I was interested in you, she was excited for you—”
“Because you have money,” Elizabeth said and Jason closed his mouth. “Look, I’m not…blind to the fact that a lot of people think I’m some poor relation who showed up when Carly married money. The thing is, she was married for a year before I found her. I didn’t change my name. If she’d wanted to find me, she could have. I chose to ignore that, but I also refused to take anything from her. I got a job, I’ve paid my own way, and she had to beg me to come manage the nightclub.”
“I know, but—” He couldn’t quite let something go. “What do you mean she was happy for you because I had money?”
“God, I wish I hadn’t said anything because it doesn’t matter to me. It never has, and it won’t. But Carly—she just—money equals security to her. If she has it, she’ll be safe.” Elizabeth sighed. “I know it makes her seems superficial and shallow, but the way we grew up—all she ever dreamed about was finding someone rich who would marry her and keep her safe and she’d never go hungry. So for her, Sonny is a dream come true. But I don’t—” Her eyes were wide. “I mean it. I don’t want anything to do with that. What you have—that’s yours and it stays yours, not that you’re offering it—”
“It’s okay.” He tried to smile. “I just thought all these years your sister approved of me because, you know, I’m me and she thought I was good enough for you. But it doesn’t matter to me. You matter. You’re all that does.” Jason searched her eyes. “Can we be done with this? With them?”
“You mean am I going to keep using my sister as an excuse not to be with you?” Elizabeth sighed, but she was smiling. “No. I think—I think maybe I’m ready to see if this…if it’s real.”
“It is.” He swept her hair off her shoulder, brushed his thumb along her jaw. “I just want the chance to show you what you mean to me.”
He kissed her, lingering, savoring each moment, knowing that there’d be time, that she might even stay with him tonight, and he’d be able to hold her longer than a few minutes—
Elizabeth purred, melting against him, her arms winding around his neck. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist—he could feel her smiling against his mouth as he headed for the stairs, and he stumbled against the sofa, catching himself before he dropped her.
“Mmmmm, maybe you should keep your eyes open when you’re thinking about going up stairs,” Elizabeth teased. He grinned, readjusted his grip, lifting her higher.
“I’ll keep that in mind—” he started to say, but there was a crash and a scream across the hall. Elizabeth squirmed, and he immediately released her, barely reaching the door ahead her.
10 She says, “I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it”
The guard on the door was already inside the penthouse, the door hanging open. But Max was just standing there, worried.
Carly’s face was flushed bright red and she was crying, screaming—and Sonny had her by the wrists, shaking her so violently her head whipped back forth. Elizabeth stood there in horror for a moment, then Jason was there, pushing past her.
”Let her go!” Jason shoved between them, pressing on Sonny’s chest, forcibly dragging him away from his wife. Sonny released Carly’s wrists, and she stumbled back, her sobs mixed with hyperventilating breathing.
Elizabeth hurried to her sister, wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Jason won’t let him hurt you—”
“You always defend her!” Sonny roared, taking a swing at Jason, who ducked sending the other man off balance. He crashed into the sofa, and went after Jason again. “I know you’re screwing her!” When he missed again, he hit the floor and Jason put a boot on his chest.
“Stay down,” Jason said flatly. “Stay down or I’ll knock you out. You’re not putting another hand on her.”
“Come on,” Elizabeth told her hysterical sister. “We’ll go, okay? We’ll get Michael and we’ll leave. You can stay with me—”
Carly threw Elizabeth’s hands off her, shoving her sister back. Her eyes were bright, a little unfocused and boiling with the same rage radiating from her body. “Stop it! Stop telling me to leave! I’m tired of you always telling me what to do! You don’t know anything!”
Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Okay, but—” She put her hands up. “Okay. Then we’ll think of something else, but Carly, he was hurting you—”
“You don’t understand, you never will!” Carly hissed. “You’re just a little girl who spins fantasies. It’s time to grow up, okay?”
“Carly—” Jason started. “Let’s just calm down—”
“What does that have to do with your husband abusing you?” Elizabeth cried. “We swore to each other, Carly, we promised we’d never let anyone hurt us again—”
“That’s just something silly girls say to each other locked in a dark room,” Carly growled. “But it doesn’t matter how much you lie to yourself and pretend it’s not happening, that door is always going to open and he’s always going to come in—”
“Shut up, shut up—” Elizabeth put her hands to her ears. “No! No, you made it stop, and it didn’t happen—”
“That’s right, I made it stop,” Carly shot back. “I saved you, and I’ve been saving you ever since! I don’t need you to come in here and tell me how to live my life, Elizabeth! I don’t need you, I never did!”
11 I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it
Elizabeth’s face lost all its color and she whirled around, heading for the door. Jason swore, raised his boot from Sonny’s chest and went after her, but she pulled the door closed behind her, and it slowed him down.
By the time he’d reached the hallway, she was rushing out of his penthouse, her purse in her hands.
“Elizabeth—” He tried to take her in his arms, but she shoved him away and he held up his hands. She jabbed at the button, and the doors opened.
“Just leave me alone — all of you—”
“Please—don’t go—” But she was already inside the elevator, and the doors were sliding closed. Jason slammed his hand against the wall, then returned to the penthouse, furious.
Carly was in tears, hugging herself as Sonny pulled himself to his feet. Her hands were shaking as she came to Jason. “You have to go after, you have to find her, I was just mad, but I don’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, you have to tell her I didn’t mean it—bring her back, please, please—”
“What a good sister you are,” Sonny bit out, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “Jason, go make sure the little brat doesn’t—”
Jason looked at Carly, ravaged from crying. “All she’s ever done is put you first. How could you do that—”
“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t—” Carly came forward, grabbed him by the shirt. “You have to find her, you have to make her understand, bring her back, she’s all I have—”
“You got a funny way of showing it. Let go of me,” he said coldly. She stepped back, the flush fading, leaving her face a stark white.
“I am done with the both of you. Kill each other or don’t, I don’t give a damn anymore.” He left, intent on getting his phone, keys, and jacket.
Then he’d find Elizabeth and make sure she was okay.
12 I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it
Her hands shook and it took more than one try to get her key into the lock. She slid into her car, tossed her purse on the passenger side where it spilled open, her phone sliding out. She gripped the steering wheel, and drew in one shaky breath.
Don’t cry. Can’t cry.
Stop that crying or I’ll give you something to cry about — the voice from her nightmares slid in like an assassin. Crouched in a bed, under a thin blanket, hoping this time she could disappear and the door wouldn’t open, and the footsteps wouldn’t come in—
No, no. No. That was over, and it didn’t matter what Carly or anyone else said. It was over. Elizabeth took a deep breath, switched on the ignition and pulled out of the space, heading for the street entrance.
Something vibrated and she looked over at her phone, saw Jason’s name on the lock screen. Then she faced forward, concentrated on the road.
She had to get out. To get away.
13 No, no body, no crime
When the door closed behind Jason, Carly turned to Sonny and went after him, attacking him, pounding her fists against his chest. “This is all your fault! You make me so angry and I hate you!”
Sonny shoved her away and Carly hit the back of the sofa. “Stay away from me!”
“You made me like this! You made me this way!” When she rushed him again, Sonny grabbed her wrists, held her.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, you fucking bitch—” He shoved her back, jabbed a finger at her. “I’ve had enough of you. I want you out. Do you understand me? Do you?” he raged when she just glared at him. “Get out of my house!”
“I told you,” Carly hissed, fisting her hands at her side. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’re going to pay for every thing you’ve ever done to me, for what you made me.”
Sonny glowered. “No one takes me from me. Last chance, Carly. Get out or I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”
“I am not going anywhere!” she shrieked. “You’re going to crawl over my cold, dead body before I let you throw me out!”
His control broke, and Sonny reached for her arm, dragging her towards the door. Carly fought like a wild woman, clawing and digging at his face. Sonny roared and backhanded her, sending her flying into the minibar. Glass shattered and she rolled to the floor. Stayed there, blood seeping out from beneath her head.
There was a knock at the door, timid now. “Boss?” came Max’s thin voice. “Do you—do you need help?”
Sonny dragged his hand across his mouth. “Yeah. Yeah. I need a cleanup.”
14 But I ain’t letting up until the day I die
Near the Port Charles city limits, Elizabeth finally pulled over to the shoulder of the road. The sun had been setting when she’d set off for the Towers earlier that day, and now the world was pitch black around her.
What was she going to do? Drive away from everything? From her whole life? From the tiny world she’d begun to build these last few years? So what, Carly didn’t want her. Hadn’t Elizabeth always known that, somewhere deep down? With all her money, Carly had never come looking for her — Elizabeth had to track her down.
She’d survived without her sister. Without anyone. She could do it again.
Elizabeth rolled down the window, letting the bitter January wind swirl into the car, biting at her cheeks. She reached for the phone.
Twelve missed calls, six texts. All from Jason. Where are you? Are you okay? Please just pick up. Please tell me you’re okay. I need to know you’re okay. Please call me.
She pressed a button, and the phone connected to her car.
“Elizabeth. Where are you? Are you okay?” The words came out in a rush, almost stumbling and falling into each other.
“I’m in my car,” Elizabeth said finally. “I don’t know about okay. I think…” She looked at her bare fingers, wrapped around the wheel. “I think that’s a lot to ask.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry any of that happened. Please, tell me where you are. I’ll come get you. Or you could—I could meet you somewhere. Anywhere.”
The thread of nerves, or worry, in his voice soothed her, just a little. She closed her eyes, the stinging of the tears she couldn’t allow to fall. “I need time. I need a minute, okay?”
“I’ll give you whatever you want, Elizabeth. I just need you to be okay.”
“I’ll call you—I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
“Okay. Okay, that’s enough for me.”
“Good night.” Elizabeth disconnected the call before he could reply, then stared at the road ahead illuminated by her headlights.
What was she going to do now?
15 No, no
I think he did it
The call ended, and Jason stared at his phone, willing her to call back. To have changed her mind. But she’d finally contacted. She was okay, and she’d be in touch when she was ready.
He gripped his hand more tightly around the phone, then moved away from the entrance to her building, heading for his bike. He’d gone everywhere, hoping to find her. Hoping that she’d be at the club, at her apartment, at her favorite diner — just somewhere where he could look at her, hold her—
But she’d call him when she was ready, Jason reminded himself, and after all he’d learned about her that day, leaving her in control and not calling one of their guys to track her phone — that was the only way to handle this. He needed to make sure Elizabeth knew that she came first for him, and make her believe she always would.
When he got back to the Towers and went up to their floor, he paused slightly in the quiet hallway. The fight between Sonny and Carly had been the worst one yet, and Jason knew that he needed to figure out how to get them away from each other if for no other reason than Elizabeth would never let herself be happy if Carly wasn’t. Maybe Carly was a terrible sister, but she was all the family Elizabeth had, and that meant she was Jason’s concern, too.
But tonight, after all that he’d witnessed and heard—tonight Sonny and Carly could take care of themselves.
16 No, no
He did it
By the next morning, a measure of guilt had set in and Jason decided to check on Carly, in case Elizabeth asked about her the next time she called.He made the turn around the corner, pausing slightly when he saw a guard on the door that he didn’t quite recognize. “Where’s Johnny? Doesn’t he normally have the morning shift?”
The guard shrugged. “Don’t know. Just got a call saying I was needed. You want to see Mr. C?”
“Yeah, don’t bother announcing me.” Jason brushed past the guard, twisted the knob and let himself in. He frowned when he realized the living room looked bare — there a vase missing and the minibar—all the glassware was gone. The rug that was beneath the living room set was gone as well.
Sonny came in from the kitchen and he stopped, cleared his throat. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.” He avoided Jason’s eyes.
“Where’s Carly?” Jason gestured to the room. “What happened last night?”
“We finished the fight. It—it got out of hand and some things have to be replaced.” Sonny paused. “I, uh, know you’re pissed—”
“That’s the least of what I’m feeling. This can’t go on, Sonny. You have to see that, don’t you?”
“I do,” Sonny said slowly. “I’m already working on that.”
“Where’s Carly?” Jason asked again. “Upstairs?” He headed for the steps, but his friend’s voice stopped him.
“Gone.” When Jason turned back to look at him, he continued. “I’m paying her off. Whatever she wants to go away and leave Michael. She left last night.”
“She’s leaving Michael?” Jason asked, a bit surprised. He hadn’t pegged Carly to give up so easily, but maybe Elizabeth was right about her sister. Enough money to make Carly feel safe, and she’d give up anything. “But where she did go?”
“I don’t know. Some spa or resort to cool off. Whatever. She’s gone, and that’s all that matters.” Sonny lifted his brows. “Anything else?”
“No, I guess not.” Jason left, lingering in the hallway by the elevators, a little uncertain. But maybe Carly had gone to lick her wounds or to look for her sister. No doubt she’d show up eventually, and he’d have to swallow his frustration when Elizabeth inevitably forgave the woman.
Whatever Elizabeth needed, even if it meant forgiving her ungrateful sister, Jason was going to make sure she got it.
17 Este wasn’t there
She’d driven further and spent the night in the motel, desperately needing the peace and the quiet, and the distance from Port Charles.
Carly had never spoken to her that way before, had never brought up those days in Wanakah—and she’d never once made Elizabeth feel like a charity case. When she’d first come to Port Charles, she’d stayed a few nights with Sonny and Carly — they’d been different back then. Still pretending, maybe. Or maybe Sonny had cared more about appearances.
But after those few days, Elizabeth had insisted on finding a job as a waitress, supplementing her meager savings. She’d rented a room above the diner, over Carly’s protests, and it had been nearly two years before she’d been able to afford an apartment of her own.
She unlocked the door now, stepping into the first home she’d ever owned—well, rented. But every inch of it was hers. She’d painted the walls, decorated it, dragged in furniture from thrift stores, and made it her own.
Whatever happened with her sister, Elizabeth didn’t want to walk away without at least trying to see if there was something else. If maybe she and Jason could make something work outside of the insanity that was Sonny and Carly.
She set her purse down on the counter in her kitchen, then plugged in her cell phone. She’d left her charger at home and it had died overnight. But she’d never put all her trust in the little phones that had a tendency to fail or lose signals. Carly had laughed at her when Elizabeth had insisted on a landline—
It was that conversation Elizabeth clung to as she picked it up, dialed her sister’s number. The sweet memories when it had just been the two of them. How hard they’d worked to make Carly’s dream at The Cellar a success. The thrill of knowing that it was something they had created together.
After several rings, the call went to voicemail, and Elizabeth hung up. She didn’t even know what to say to Carly in person, much less through a phone. What did it mean that Carly hadn’t even bothered to call her back? Maybe she’d meant those terrible words. Maybe—
She sighed, set the phone back on the base, then rubbed her face. And maybe Jason was right. Maybe Elizabeth spent too much time thinking about her sister. It was time to stop, to live her own life.
And she’d start with a long, hot shower.
18 Tuesday night at Olive Garden, at her job, or anywhere
The phone remained silent hours later when Elizabeth unhooked the cell and slid it into her purse. Maybe Carly didn’t know what to say to her, either. Maybe if Elizabeth just went to work and prepared to open, it would all somehow work out on its own.
The Cellar was still dark when Elizabeth arrived — the doors locked. She frowned, checked her watch. They’d kept the bar closed on New Year’s Day, but as far as she knew they’d always planned to open tonight. The staff was due in another hour, but Carly was always there before everyone else. She opened, and Elizabeth closed.
She went through the darkened main floor, switching on lights, then went into the back office. It was dark there, too.
Elizabeth set her purse down, dug out the cell. And finally called her sister.
“Hey. Um, I’m at work, but you’re not. I’m worried about you. I know you don’t want me to be, but I don’t really know how to stop either. Can you call me? Please.”
Well, if Carly wasn’t going to show up, then Elizabeth would just have to go forward with her plan to live her life. And running the club was the reason she could afford that, so the show had to go on.
19 He reports his missing wife
Reluctantly, Jason stepped onto the main floor of The Cellar, then scanned the room for familiar faces. He expected to find Carly behind the bar or mingling with some of the patrons — but the blonde was nowhere to be seen.
He did, however, recognize the brunette at the hostess stand. Her chestnut hair hanging loose down her back, wearing backless shimmering gold halter top and black pants that molded to every curve of her legs. She smiled, then turned, saw Jason.
Her lips parted, and the hostess next to her said something. Elizabeth blinked, looked at the woman, then said something. She stepped away, then made eye contact with Jason. She touched her throat, her fingertips trailing down to her collarbone, before turning and heading down a hallway.
Towards the VIP rooms.
Jason didn’t care if anyone noticed him following her right away — usually he’d wait longer before following, but he caught up to her before she even reached the first room, but he didn’t touch her. He wasn’t going to mistake the signal she’d sent him as anything more than wanting to talk.
Elizabeth stopped in front of their usual room, and slid the key into the lock. “I’m keeping them closed tonight,” she told him, stepping inside, waiting for him to follow before shutting it, twisted the lock. She cleared her throat, turned to look at him.
She didn’t look different, and he didn’t know why he’d thought she would. Yesterday had been terrible, and she’d been crying — but now she looked as poised and beautiful as ever — until he met her eyes, saw some of the nerves. He stepped towards her.
“I wanted to keep calling you,” Jason said. “So you’d know that I wasn’t—I wasn’t giving up. But you said you’d…when you were ready. If you’re not now—”
“I just…” Elizabeth nibbed on her bottom lip. “I know what you heard from Carly,” she said softly. “About when I was a kid.”
Jason hesitated. “I heard whatever you want me to have heard,” he said carefully. “And when you want to talk about it, we can. But don’t feel like you owe me any explanations.”
She rubbed her arms. “Thanks for that. Um, I don’t know if that changes anything—”
Jason furrowed his brow. “Why would it it?” He came closer to her, stopping when their bodies were separated by only inches. He curled his index finger beneath her chin, tilting her face up. “Unless it changes something for you — I’m still exactly where I was the last time we were together. Exactly where I want to be. With you.”
Her eyes searched his, the uncertainty in the sapphire depths making him worry for a moment. Then she kissed him, winding her arms around his neck, her hands sliding into his hair. He settled his hands at her hips, drawing her tight against him, and then lifted her, carrying her to the sofa they’d used a thousand times before, but it was different this time. They were different.
It wasn’t the hurried rush, worried that she’d change her mind, or even quite the reverent, slower worship, designed to tempt her into letting him hold her forever. It was love, and this time he knew she wouldn’t run from him as soon as reality crashed in.
20 And I noticed when I passed his house
Elizabeth nuzzled his throat. “We might have to retire this room from circulation,” she murmured, hooking her leg over his, and snuggling into his arms. He stroked her back, and she drifted. She could stay like this forever, and maybe this time, he’d ask her to come home with him and she’d go. Or she could ask him.
She felt almost giddy with the possibility of bringing the first man she’d ever loved into her first home. They could do that now — be a real couple and find out if there was something more than just this heat and passion—
“I know I promised that I wasn’t going to bring up my sister, but, um…” Elizabeth leaned up, flattening one hand against the plush sofa beneath them. “Have you talked to her?”
“No. Not since you left yesterday. She sent me after you,” Jason said. “Not—” he winced. “Not that I wasn’t going to go anyway—but after you got on the elevator, she begged me to get you. To bring you back. I left, and I didn’t go back until this morning.”
“She…” Elizabeth nibbled on her bottom lip. “She wanted me to come back?”
Jason sat up, reached for his briefs and pants. He handed her the shirt he’d been wearing and she pushed her arms through it, tucking the ends around herself. “I don’t think I want to have this conversation without some clothes,” he said, and she smiled slightly. Jason stroked her hair. “She was crying, angry with herself,” he assured her. “Telling me she didn’t mean it. I think she was sorry as soon as she said it.”
“She still said it,” Elizabeth said in a small voice. She traced a pattern on his chest with her index finger. “I can’t really unhear it.”
“I know. When she gets back—”
She frowned, looked at him. “Gets back?”
“I went there this morning, and Sonny told me she’d left. I guess maybe you got through to her in your own way. He says he’s paying her off to leave Michael, but—”
“She’d never leave him!” Elizabeth said, her eyes widening. “She loves him. Sonny’s lying—”
“Or Carly told him what he wanted to hear and went to regroup. She used to do this all the time when they first got together,” Jason told her. “They’d have these huge fights, and she’d go off to a spa or resort, making him worry and be crazy. Then show up, expecting him to grovel. And he always did. She stopped doing that after you moved here. I guess she knew she could go to you.”
“Oh. So she’s…off somewhere, making Sonny think he’s won and plotting how to make him sorry for it. I could—I could see that. Carly always has a plan. I just…I wish she’d call me or something. I left her a message, but I haven’t heard from her at all.”
“You know Carly hates to apologize,” Jason told her gently, and she smiled at him. “And we both know she’s going to figure out how to wiggle out of doing it this time. She’ll be back and she and Sonny will make each other miserable for a while.” He reached for her hand, brought it to his lips. “But that’s them. They’ll have to live with that. What do you want to do?”
“I want…” Elizabeth leaned in, kissed him, long and slow, until they were both panting. “To go back to work.”
“What?” Jason scowled. “What—”
“And then after I close the club, maybe you could come home with me,” she said. “I want you to see where I live.”
“I think, except for the part where I have to wait hours to be alone with you, that’s a great idea.” He nipped at her lips. “We’d better put real clothes on you before I make you forget you’re on the clock.”
“Hey, it’s okay, I know the owner. I think I could get a pass.” But she smiled, slid off the sofa and went to find her clothes.
21 His truck has got some brand new tires
A few minutes later, their clothes mostly restored to their previous condition, though Elizabeth’s curls were mussed beyond repair, and her lipstick completely kissed off. Jason had worn a black shirt this time, which he knew would hide the dark red color.
“You don’t have to hang out until closing,” Elizabeth reminded him, combing her fingers through her hair, checking it out in the mirror by the door. Jason stood behind her, wondering how they’d ever gotten away with this affair for as long as they had. She always left this room with her hair in a different style, her lips swollen and unpainted—
Sonny and Carly must have been blind or just completely oblivious to them, Jason thought. He kissed the curve of her neck, and she sighed, leaning back against him.
“Don’t start that again.”
“Can’t help it.” But he stepped back, stroked both her arms, before releasing her. “If you want, I could head over to the warehouse, get some work in and come back at closing,” he said as they left the room, and she relocked the door. They headed down the hallway, the music pouring in from the main floor. “And we’ll head home.”
Home. Her lips curved into a smile, and she looked up at him. “Yeah, that sounds good. It’s a good thing you keep awful hours. It’s going to make all of this easier—” She stopped when she saw a familiar figure sitting in one of the private booths.
Sonny, leaning into whisper in to the ear of a dark-eyed, dark-haired woman. The same one from the other night. Elizabeth went completely still. “Jason. Didn’t you already talk to him about her—”
“What—” Jason followed her gaze, grimaced. “Damn it. He thinks because Carly’s out of town, he can bring this one to the club? He knows you’re here. Look, don’t—” He looked at her. “I’ll go talk to him. Okay? Don’t…don’t let this—”
“I’m not—it has nothing to do with you, I see that now.” She squeezed his hand. “But you know he hates me so maybe right now, we don’t have to broadcast this in front of him. I’ll head over to the bar, and you can take care of it.”
“I will. And I’ll see you at closing.”
“Can’t wait.”
22 And his mistress moved in
Sonny saw Jason coming, and his features creased into a grimace when the younger man slid into the booth across from Sonny and Sam. “Aren’t you ever tired of playing white knight? She’s not even here to reward you.”
“You said you wouldn’t do this again at the club,” Jason said, already out of patience. “Do you know how many people are going to line up to tell her when she gets back—”
“And I told you she’s not coming back.” Sonny stretched his arm across the back of the booth, and Sam smiled at him, leaning into his side. “This club is mine. It’s in my name and I can do whatever I want.”
Jason hesitated. “You said you paid her off, but that doesn’t mean she’s not done or won’t come back for more.” And he wasn’t entirely sure Carly would have agreed to anything that gave this place up. She loved it nearly as much as she loved her son.
“She’s not coming back,” Sonny repeated. “I’m rid of her. And pretty soon—” He looked past Jason, who twisted to follow his gaze. Elizabeth was at the bar, smiling and talking with a patron. “I’ll be rid of that little judgmental bitch, too.”
Jason tensed. He knew Sonny didn’t care for Elizabeth, but he’d always thought it was related to the affairs and her refusal to turn a blind eye. But the tone struck him as more bitter and personal than that. He’d usually treated her with basic respect, especially in public. And, Jason realized, in front of him.
If Sonny had dropped all pretenses, he must really believe Carly wasn’t coming back.
“She’s a good manager,” Jason said carefully. Elizabeth loved this place as much as her sister did. “There’s no reason to do that.”
“Time to clean house. And for a fresh start.” Sonny lifted his drink. “You can either get on board, Jason, or you can go, too.”
“I don’t want anything to do with this.” Jason left the booth, then caught Elizabeth’s eye. She touched her throat, then nodded towards the stairs. Their plans remained the same, and he’d focused on what mattered. He was going home with her, and nothing else mattered.
23 Sleeps in Este’s bed and everything
“I don’t think I mind going to bed at dawn,” Jason murmured, drawing Elizabeth into a long, lingering kiss, pressing her back into the bed. She sighed, wrapped her arms around him, lazily stroking his back.
“I told you there was a silver lining to late nights. We can sleep in until noon,” she sighed, closing her eyes as his mouth traveled down her throat, to her collarbone, then lower.
For a few days, they’d traded back and forth between her place and his, and if Elizabeth ignored the lingering worry about her sister’s lack of communication, her life was nearly perfect. She’d taken Jason’s news about her impending unemployment with a little irritation, but it would be Sonny’s loss, and she’d already secured an interview with one of their hottest competitors.
But she thought when Carly got back, Sonny would change his tune. Elizabeth didn’t believe her sister would ever accept any amount of money that would cut her out of her son’s life and The Cellar. But until Carly surfaced, Elizabeth was content to just let things drift as they were.
Later, much later, after they’d shared the shower, they finally went downstairs for what other people might call lunch. He brewed a pot of coffee for himself, and handed her a container of hot chocolate that matched the brand she kept at home. She smiled at him, and made herself a cup.
A knock at the door interrupted their lazy early afternoon, and Jason reluctantly went to answer it. Max, the guard from across the hall, stood there. They exchanged a few words Elizabeth didn’t catch — she wasn’t going to eavesdrop after all. She knew what kind of business Jason and her brother-in-law were in, and it was none of hers.
Jason closed the door, then came over to the sofa. Instead of returning to her side, he sat on the coffee table, leaning forward, his hands clasped between his knees. She straightened, sat up. “Jason?”
“Max just told me that yesterday, Sam arrived at the penthouse.” He paused. “With suitcases.”
Elizabeth jerked to her feet and Jason reluctantly stood. “He’s moving that bitch in before Carly even gets back?”
“He keeps saying she’s not coming back, that she took money not to—” Pained, Jason continued, “I think maybe we should consider that maybe she did—”
“No, no, she wouldn’t have left Michael—” Elizabeth started for the door, but Jason drew her back. “You don’t understand—”
“You told me money was why she was staying. Is it so hard to believe that she could put a price—”
“On the club, okay, okay, maybe. If it was enough money to start another one—” Elizabeth shrugged off his hands. “But not her own son. I know I said my sister is mercenary, and, okay, she is, but you don’t know! You don’t know what it was like to never have anything, to be moved around, and carry your clothes in trash bags, to always be told that no one loves you, that your own parents threw you away—you don’t know how that messes you up—” Her chest was heaving and she hated it, hated that it was all spilling out.
“Elizabeth, I’m sorry—” He tried to take her in his arms, but she threw up her hands, held him off.
“A-and sure there are good families out there, who honestly care, but that’s the exception. Not the rule. Most of them are in it for the money and some of them—” She wrapped her arms around herself. “She made it stop. She hit him over the head with a lamp and he fell on the floor, and then she came and she held me, and we cried together, and she told me no one would ever hurt me again. That we were a family, and we’d never leave each other. She wouldn’t leave her own child, Jason. She just wouldn’t. Okay?” She finally looked at him, saw that he had tears in his eyes.
“Okay,” he said, and she didn’t know if he actually agreed or if he’d say anything in that moment. She didn’t care.
“So if she’s off at a resort, and he thinks she’s not coming back, when she does come home, it’s going to be so much worse. She’s going to literally murder him this time.” Elizabeth lifted her chin. “He knows where she is. I don’t believe that he wouldn’t know. And he’s going to tell me. Now.”
And with that, Elizabeth charged towards the door, had pulled it open, and was already over the threshold before Jason had even registered her plans.
The guard didn’t see her coming either, and she was inside before anyone could stop her.
Seated at the dining table, sitting in her sister’s chair, Sam held out a spoon towards the dark-haired little boy sitting in the high chair. Sonny, at the end of the table, jerked to his feet at her entrance.
“What the hell, Max!” Sonny roared.
“Where is my sister?” Elizabeth demanded. “You know where she is, I know you do! You’re too controlling not to know exactly where she went—”
“You have a lot of nerve barging into my home to demand anything,” Sonny sneered, coming towards her. “I told Jason, so he must have told you. Your sister is gone. I gave her what she wanted, and she—poof! Disappeared! And if she isn’t telling you where she is—” He shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Elizabeth—” Jason was behind her, taking her by the elbow. “Come on—let’s not do this—”
“No! No! You have to tell—”
“I don’t have to do a damn thing,” Sonny said, whirling back around, his face florid. “I’m done doing things for you—”
“You’ve never done anything for me—”
“Really? Really? You know that nice apartment you have? Just a few blocks over?” Sonny lifted his brows. “Your first home. You were so excited when you found something you could afford.”
Elizabeth stared at him. “What does that have to do with anything—”
“Tell her, Jason. Tell her who owns the building.”
Elizabeth turned, looked at him, and he just closed his eyes. “Jason. Does Sonny own the building?”
“No,” Jason said. He opened his eyes, looked at her, hoping she could see the regret in his eyes. “I do.”
“Oh. Oh.” Her eyes filled, and she was blinded for a moment.
“You showed up on our doorstep, a tragic little charity case pretending you didn’t have your hand out, but you sure didn’t question the rent, did you? And you jumped to work for your….sister. You know, Carly never mentioned you before you showed up. Not once. She said she had no family.”
“Sonny, shut up—” Jason said, stepping between them. “You’re going too far—you know that’s not how Carly felt—”
Sonny ignored him, continued speaking to Elizabeth, stepping towards her with each sly remark. “She liked how you worshiped her. How you fought for her. We used to laugh about how pathetic you were. You were just a little toy for her. And now she doesn’t need you. Isn’t that what she said?”
Elizabeth couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t take another word. She darted for the door.
24 No, there ain’t no doubt
Jason took only a second to throw a fulminating glare in Sonny’s direction before rushing after her, catching her in his living room, hunting for her shoes. He closed the door. “Let me explain—”
“No, no, you must have thought I was so silly—” Her sobs shook her entire frame and she fell to the floor. “Talking about how proud I was that I never took a cent and when I was sad because you didn’t know what my apartment looked like—”
Jason was on the floor next to her, pulling her into his arms. “I didn’t. I didn’t. And Carly was so tired of trying to give you things. So angry you wouldn’t take what she wanted to give you.”
“You’re l-lying—”
“I don’t lie.” Jason smoothed her hair back from her face. “Look at me. You came here, and Carly kept trying to give you money. She tried to give you a bank account, and you just let it sit, wouldn’t use it. She wanted you to live here in the Towers, but you went to Kelly’s. Every time she tried to use her money to make your life easier, you wouldn’t let her. But she was determined.”
“But—”
“Sonny’s angry at you, at me, and at her, and he wants to ruin her relationship with you. She came to me a year ago, and asked me if there was anything I could do. She wanted you to have a home. Not just a room, but a home. You deserved it, she said, because everywhere you were as kids, you made it home for her. I thought you moved a round a lot, but now I know what she meant. She was home with you, and she just wanted to give that back to you. Sonny’s lying. I never took a cent from him. I don’t need the money.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes, slumped against him. He kissed her forehead. “Your sister loves you. I know what she said, but you know how desperately unhappy she was. She would have lashed out at anyone, and I told you, she wanted me to bring you back. You said it — money was a symbol to her. Safety. Security. She wanted you to have that.”
“W-Why didn’t you tell me you owned my building?” Elizabeth managed. “I feel like an idiot—”
“I keep a lot of my money in property. It’s easier that way. Carly asked me if I had anything available and I said yes, and I didn’t think about it again until you and I…this started, and I didn’t think you’d listen if I tried to explain. I thought you’d be angry, and you already didn’t like me most of the time. I wasn’t going to give you another reason. I’m sorry.”
“She never came to find me,” Elizabeth said softly. “If she loved me so much…”
“You can ask her when she comes home. Okay? I’ll make some calls. I’ll find her and you can ask.”
“Okay.” She bit her lip, dragged a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize.” He rose to his feet, pulled her up with him, then drew her into his arms. She clung to him. “I’m the one that’s sorry.”
“Can we get out of here? I can’t stand to be here anymore.”
“Yeah. Anywhere you want to go.”
“The club.” Her smile was sad. “I should probably clean out my things. I’m pretty sure I’m fired now.”
25 Somebody’s gonna catch him out, ’cause
Elizabeth stood just inside her apartment, looking at the bright open living space and the kitchen cut into the corner. She’d made every piece of it hers, made something out of the less than nothing she’d been handed in life, and this place—her name solo on the lease—it had been proof.
Behind her, Jason set the box of the things she’d cleared from her office on the counter in the kitchen. “I’ll sell the building.”
She blinked, then looked at him. “What?”
“The building. I can sell it. Whatever you want me to do. I just—” He swallowed hard. “I just want to take that look off your face. This is still your home. Nothing changes that.”
“Until Carly comes back, until I can talk to her, I’m going to—” she bit her lip. “I’m going to believe what you told me is the truth. That she loved me enough to trick me into accepting help. I—Family does that, right?” she asked. “Don’t they?”
“I can’t speak to that,” Jason said carefully. “I’m not really close to the family that raised me. I don’t remember them, and we didn’t really get off to a good start. But in the long run, Elizabeth, it’s not so much help. She made it a little easier for you to get this place. But you’re the one that made it what it is. You made it a home.”
She smiled faintly. “Yeah, I guess so.” She went over to a shelf, lifted a framed photo. “Have you ever seen a photo of Carly before she came to Port Charles?”
“No.” Jason came over, looked over her shoulder, and she turned slightly so he could get a better view.
“This was taken at the last home we were together. Carly’s fifteen; I was twelve.” Elizabeth traced her sister’s face. The smile on the young teenager’s face didn’t match her sober eyes, but the arms around the younger girl with twin braids of chestnut hair and a sparkling grin were tight and possessive. “We didn’t have a lot of pictures of us, but our social worker took it on Carly’s birthday. She brought her a cake.” She set the photo back down next to one of the two of them the day the club had opened.
“Maybe after we were separated, life was harder on her than she’d ever tell me. I know I didn’t do great when I didn’t have her anymore. She might have had her reasons for not coming to find me. But she didn’t have to let me stay, did she?”
“No. And I never knew Carly to do anything she didn’t want to do.” Jason swept Elizabeth’s hair back, and she leaned against him, his arms sliding around her waist. “And you can ask her anything you want as soon as I find her.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Not long. Maybe a day. I have to…make sure I’m doing it quietly,” Jason said. “But if Sonny transferred money somewhere, or she’s used her cards, I’ll be able to find her pretty quick. I promise. I’ll find her, and we’ll get this settled.”
She nodded, turned in his arms. “Until we can, um, I don’t think I can spend the night at your place. I don’t—I don’t want to see Sonny. At all. I know that might be difficult—”
“Right now, I don’t want to see him either. We’ll stay here. I like your place better anyway.”
26 I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it (he did it)
Jason shoved some invoices and other papers into a pile, intending to stuff it in a folder and bring it home with him—to Elizabeth’s place. He didn’t want to spend much time at the warehouse right now — Sonny rarely ever came in, but since Jason hadn’t checked in with him in the two days since that terrible confrontation in the penthouse, he knew it was just a matter of time before his boss tracked him down.
A knock came at the door, and Jason glanced up to find their finance manager, Benny Abrams, in the door way. “Benny. Hey.”
“Hey. You got a minute? I want to talk to you about something. Quietly.”
Jason frowned, nodded. The older man came in, closed the door behind him, then came forward and laid a bank statement down. “What’s that?”
“Mrs. Corinthos’ bank account. Her everyday spending comes through here. You asked me to track her expenses and locate her.”
Jason lifted it, then stopped. “When did you print this?”
“Five minutes ago. Mrs. Corinthos hasn’t touched this account in more than a week. Not since stopping for coffee on the morning of January 1.”
The day of the fight. Jason exhaled slowly. “Credit cards? Investment accounts?”
“I’ve gone over every piece of her financial portfolio. I thought maybe she’d taken some money out of her operating cash for the club, but nothing. I went through Sonny’s accounts, Jason. There’s no large transfers. If Mrs. Corinthos was paid off, it wasn’t through any of the usual sources and she hasn’t deposited it.”
A sick, sour feeling was spreading throughout Jason’s body. He looked at their business manager. “You have a theory.”
“I do. No one’s seen or spoken to Mrs. Corinthos since January 1. It is now January 10. That is a very long time for her to go quiet. Having known her for the last five years,” Benny added, “I find it difficult to believe she’d go this long without talking to, at the very least, her sister.”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I figured. What about her phone?”
“Disconnected two days ago. But nothing outgoing since January 1. No data used. The only activity are the voicemails and messages left by you and Miss Webber.”
None from Sonny.
“Benny—”
“I’m not an ignorant man, Jason. I know the business we’re in. But I’m not sure that I can pretend I don’t know what happened here.” He looked at Jason. “And seeing as how you’ve been practically living with Miss Webber for the last week, I don’t know how you can either.”
“Is that—” Jason grimaced. “Is that common knowledge?” he asked.
“No. All anyone knows is that you’re not spending much time at home. Rumor has it that you’ve met someone. But Miss Webber isn’t even on the radar. You’ve argued quite publicly with her. Is it meant to be a secret?”
“I’m not ashamed of it, but Sonny might—” Jason paused. “The only way to know for sure is to ask him. And if he thinks I’m doing it for Elizabeth and not to protect him, he’ll never tell me anything.”
“Then you’d better do it quickly.”
27 I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it (he did it)
Nine days. Nine days since she’d spoken to her sister. Elizabeth paced her apartment, stared at her phone, then paced again. She’d left messages the first few days, but then decided to back off. To let Carly regroup, to reset.
But it had been more than a week.
Elizabeth sat on the sofa, wrapped her arms around herself. Carly had disappeared and gone silent, and the only reason she hadn’t thought the worst was Jason’s assurance that her sister did this often. That she would retreat for a few days.
But outside of that — all she knew was what Sonny had said and done. He’d paid Carly off, he’d said. Enough to leave her son and her club. And her sister, though Elizabeth knew she’d be a distant third on that list. And he’d felt comfortable enough to come to the club with the woman he was having an affair with. He’d moved that woman into Carly’s home, around Carly’s son.
And Sonny Corinthos wasn’t exactly an altar boy. Elizabeth had mostly turned a blind eye, and Jason didn’t carry himself like the kind of guy in organized crime, but she knew who they were. What they could do.
She went over to the counter, picked up the phone. Dialed Carly’s number. And listened to the sound of an automated voice telling her that this number had been disconnected and to try again later.
28 I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it
Jason reluctantly knocked on Sonny’s door, then pushed it open. Inside, Sonny was by the fireplace, sipping from a tumbler of liquor, likely bourbon. He thought about the day he’d come in here to find the rug missing. All the signs had been there from the beginning, Jason thought, but he hadn’t wanted to believe it.
“Look who finally crawled back,” Sonny said with a sneer. “Where have you been?”
“Taking care of a few things at the warehouse.” Jason closed the door. Told his first lie. “We got a rumor the PCPD was thinking about a raid. Needed to make sure it was clear.”
Sonny furrowed his brow. “You didn’t say anything.”
“I was annoyed. You didn’t have to make things difficult for Elizabeth,” Jason said. He faced Sonny. “She didn’t need to know how Carly felt about her. A few more weeks without contact, we could have quietly suggested Elizabeth relocate. She’d have been ready by then. And then she’s gone without a whimper. You made that harder.”
Sonny tipped his head. “Why do I care about that?”
“Because right now Elizabeth is furious with you, demanding I find her sister. I told her it’s not my problem. If Carly wants to talk to her, she will. I can calm her down, I think. But the last thing we need is Elizabeth asking questions. Bringing attention to the fact that Carly’s disappeared.”
And at that, Sonny looked at him, and now doubt left in Jason’s mind was erased when the other man sighed, rubbed his forehead. “How’d you know?”
“Rug was missing,” Jason said. “And I knew there wasn’t enough money in the world for Carly to walk away and let another woman near her child. That’s not how she was built. You shouldn’t have moved Sam in this fast, Sonny.”
“Yeah, well—” Sonny came towards him. “You think you can get Elizabeth to back off?”
“I can. I’ll talk to Benny. Get some evidence that Carly’s somewhere in Europe. I’m sure he can come up with something. She’s angry with you, but she’s also hurt. And I think she’ll eventually come around to believing you.” Jason cleared his throat, looked away. The words were bitter on his tongue, but he forced himself to keep talking. “But I need to make sure that nothing can come back to you. That’s my job, not yours. So tell me what happened, and I’ll make sure it goes away.”
“You’ll make sure that Carly just gets forgotten. You can live with that?” Sonny asked. “You were always defending her—”
“Telling you not to make a scene and force Carly into making one too isn’t defending Carly. It always put too much attention on all of us. Her being gone—well, that’s something we don’t have to deal with anymore.”
“Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point there, too. Couldn’t think clearly anymore. Couldn’t—” Sonny waved his hand. “Couldn’t see through the fog how furious she made me all the time. I didn’t—I didn’t plan it. I was trying to get her to leave. Trying to force her out. But she was clawing at my face.” He stared down into his bourbon. “I pushed her. I think she hit her head and the glass from the minibar—” He looked over to the piece of furniture in question. “I think it cut something. It was an accident,” he said. “But once it happened, I had to—I had to make it go away. You know?”
“Yeah. I know. Tell me what happened next.”
29 No, no body, no crime
She knew, of course, the moment he stepped inside her apartment, then pocketed the key she’d given him. He stood just inside, in the tiny square space that she liked to pretend was a foyer, and just looked at her.
“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Elizabeth said. She folded her arms around her torso. “That’s why I never heard from her. Why she never called. Why Sonny felt so comfortable moving in Sam. And why he disconnected her phone. He shut it off.”
“I—I talked to him,” Jason said. His eyes were red, she could see the horror in his expression when he came towards her. “I needed to know. I needed you to have the truth.”
“He—he admitted it to you?”
“He knows I was angry the other day, but he didn’t really think about why. He doesn’t know about this. About us. He doesn’t pay attention,” Jason said, almost bitterly. “So I lied to him. I told him that I was calming you down so you’d stop asking questions. I needed him to think you can be made to go away quietly. I don’t want him to focus on you, to think of you as a problem to solve.”
Elizabeth stared at him, her lips parting. “W-What?”
“So I assured him. I told him that you’re hurt, but that you believed him about Carly. That in a few weeks, you’re going to quietly leave town and go away. That I’m going to work on making that happen. And that he needed to tell me everything that happened so that I can make sure it can’t be traced back to him.”
“Y-You—you’re going—you’re not going to cover it up. You wouldn’t.” The sour taste was in her mouth. “You wouldn’t,” she repeated. “I know you better than that. But he thinks…he thinks you’re going to help him.” Her lips quivered. “Because my sister is dead and he killed her.”
“Yes.” Jason closed the distance between them. “I had to lie to him. He wouldn’t have confirmed it. Wouldn’t have told me anything if he didn’t think I was on his side. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—”
“How?” Elizabeth asked softly, staring straight ahead, at the blue of his long-sleeved shirt. “How did it happen?”
“You don’t—”
“How did Sonny murder my sister?” Elizabeth cut in, and he swallowed hard. Looked away.
“The fight. That day. When you ran out, and I went after you. I came back in and Carly wanted me to go after you. I left. I told them—” His voice cracked and she looked at him, met his eyes. “I told them I didn’t care if they killed each other.”
“Jason…”
“I just wanted to be done with them, so I left. They kept fighting. And when Sonny tried to throw her out physically, she fought him, and he shoved her. She fell into the minibar. He thinks she hit her head or cut something on the glass. He didn’t look,” Jason bit out, and she closed her eyes. “Just called for Max. He and Max rolled her up in a rug, and Max handled it after that.”
“After I left. I left her. He was hurting her, and I left.” Elizabeth turned away, the chills pricking at her skin. She stared blindly out the window overlooking downtown. “If I had stayed—”
“You might have been in the middle. You could have been hurt. I should have gone back in there. I should have made her leave—I told her—I told them—”
“You didn’t mean it.” She rubbed her fingertips over her lips. Their gazes connected. “You couldn’t have. I know you. Neither of us—we knew it was bad. But I never thought…”
“I never thought Sonny would be violent with a woman. That he could hurt someone—kill them. Throw them away—she was his wife.” Jason stared at Elizabeth, looking almost lost. “He loved her, you know? At the beginning. He just—he said they were two damaged souls and they’d found each other—how do you go from that to—”
She slid her arms around his waist, and he held her against him, his arms encircling her shoulders, and she let the tears fall.
30 But I ain’t letting up until the day I die
Later, curled up on the sofa, tears exhausted, Elizabeth asked the only question that really mattered. “Do you know where she’s buried?”
“I know what he told me. Elizabeth…” He gently lifted her off his chest. “I don’t want you to worry about this. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get away with this. That your sister—that Carly doesn’t get forgotten. But you can’t—”
“She was my sister,” Elizabeth repeated. “Mine. Whatever you’re planning, I need to be part of it. Because this can’t be allowed.” Her grief was fading now, burning into fury. “He thinks he’s going to throw Carly away like she didn’t matter. Like she was never here. To move that woman into her life. Her bed, her club, and her son? No. If you don’t let me help, I’ll do it myself.”
“Elizabeth.” Jason looked down. “We can’t—”
“Don’t tell me we can’t talk about this. Do you think I’ve been blind all this time? That I don’t know what Sonny does? What you do? Jason. What do you take me for?”
He swallowed hard. “But—”
“He killed my sister and had one of his men wrap her in a rug and throw her away. I know where you keep your gun. What’s stopping me from shooting him right now and sending him straight to hell—”
She jerked off the sofa, the heat rising inside until it spread everywhere. She whirled around, saw him carefully standing. “He’s not going to get away with this. He doesn’t get to just walk away, Jason. So if you won’t help me do it, tell me now.”
31 No, no
I think he did it
Jason dragged his hands down his face. Whatever he’d expected from this conversation, from telling her all the horrible details — it wasn’t this. “Elizabeth—”
“No! You don’t get to hold my hand and tell me not to worry about this! I want my sister to have justice!” Tears were falling again, and her voice was trembling. Did she even know how close she was to breaking again?
“I’m going to get her justice—”
“She’s not yours to avenge,” Elizabeth cut in sharply. “I tried so hard—so hard—” She shuddered. “I tried so hard to save her like she saved me but I failed her, I can’t do it again. Please. Please. I have to do this. You have to let me do this.”
“What are we talking about?” Jason asked carefully. “Because—”
“I’m talking about killing Sonny,” Elizabeth said. “About ending his life. Do you need me to say it out loud? Is what you need to hear? Because if your idea of justice is letting him continue to breathe oxygen and raise my sister’s child while she lays dead in a field somewhere, then—”
“Yeah, that’s what I need to hear,” Jason said, and she closed her mouth. “Elizabeth. I’m not—I know—” His throat was tight. He looked down at his hands. “I know what I’ve done. I know that I’ve taken lives. But never like this. It was never personal. I know how that sounds, but you need to understand what you’re thinking about taking on. It’s something that stays with you. It stains your soul—”
“Would you kill me? Would you roll me up in a rug and throw me away?” Elizabeth demanded, her eyes burning as she came to him.
“No—”
“If I got physical, if I started pushing you, would you shove me so hard I flew back and started to bleed? Would you just let me bleed to death while our son sleeps upstairs? Because that’s what happened to my sister,” Elizabeth said. “That’s—” She turned away, and he knew she was crying again. “Maybe they hated each other at the end, Jason, but she didn’t deserve to die that way. To be forgotten. I didn’t look for her.”
“I told you—”
“And I believed you because I was exhausted. Because I’d spent a year pushing you away because of all of this, and I just wanted a few…” She drew in a shaky breath, turned back to him, her face ravaged by tears and grief. “I just wanted a few moments to myself. And now my sister’s dead, and Sonny thinks he’s going to get away with it. Maybe when it’s done, maybe I won’t be able to live with it. But that isn’t going to stop me. I won’t let it. Carly would do it for me. And you’d help her.”
“She wouldn’t need my help. If someone hurt you, took you away from me—” The words came out low, pained, and he swallowed hard. The image she’d painted of what must have been Carly’s final moments. Had the baby heard the screaming? Had he cried for his mother? Did he even realize she was gone? “Okay. But you have to listen to me and do everything exactly as I say.”
32 No, no
He did it
It wasn’t difficult, Elizabeth thought later. The plan was simple — it needed to be, Jason said. They each had a role to play and as long as they both performed as scripted, no one would ever suspect anything more than the picture he planned to paint.
Jason told Sonny he’d managed to calm Elizabeth down, that while she didn’t appreciate the delivery, it was a relief to know the truth about her sister. She was planning to break her lease in the next few weeks as soon as she found a new place to live. As the building owner, Jason wasn’t going to make it hard on her. Sonny had been relieved — it hadn’t occurred to him that he’d made an enemy of his wife’s sister that day.
“What happened to Carly—that was an accident,” Sonny muttered, tossing down the rest of his bourbon. “But if we’d had to get rid of Elizabeth because she was asking too many questions, I don’t know if I could live with myself.”
But he would have done it, Jason could see it in his eyes. When had Sonny fallen so far from the man he’d known? From the friend and brother he’d been once. Had Sonny always been this way and Jason just hadn’t seen it?
“We won’t have to worry about it. And as for the other part, it looks like it’s clean. A few more weeks, you can file for divorce,” Jason said, heading for the door. He turned back, saw Sam on the steps, Michael in her arms. “I’m sure that’s what you want anyway.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. I mean it.” Sonny looked at him. “It’s better this way.”
“Yeah, it is. I’ll see you later.”
33 Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen
Elizabeth smiled when she saw Jason at the entrance of Jake’s. She leaned against the pool table, a cue in her hand. “I told you, boys,” she said to several of the dockworkers who had been angling to use the table. “I reserved this table.” She caught Jason’s eye, then touched her throat, letting her fingers slide down to the skin left bare by her lace-edged scooped-neck red tank top. Designed to stand out and be remembered.
Jason smiled slowly, then made his way over to her, looking only briefly at the men who scattered. “Making friends?” he murmured against her mouth before kissing her, sliding his hand around her waist, dipping his hand into the back pocket of her jeans. She drew back, then nipped at his bottom lip.
“You know me. I make a good impression.” She tossed her hair back, sent him a sultry look, knowing that they were making a scene. That people were watching. Jason Morgan had once been a fixture in Jake’s picking up women. But he’d never been into public displays of affection. And Elizabeth was just as well-known for being Carly’s sister. And not being a fan of Jason’s.
So touching each other, flirting over a round of pool, putting on a show designed to be remembered — no one would ever question that yes, Jason Morgan and Elizabeth had definitely been at Jake’s that night, and had barely looked at anyone else all night. Jason went to Jake, the bartender, and everyone saw the keys the man tucked into his pocket.
Then Jason went back to the pool table, whispered something in Elizabeth’s ear. She laughed, then bit her lip and nodded. They headed for the stairs, and there wasn’t a soul in Jake’s that didn’t notice.
Rock solid alibi? Check.
34
And I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene
Jason pressed Elizabeth against the door, trailing his mouth from her jaw to her collarbone, sliding the key into the lock without looking, twisting the knob—then the door gave way at her back, he slid an arm around her waist spinning so that when they were inside the room, she was back against the door, just on the other side. He pulled away, then gently kissed her closed eyes.
She slid her hands down his chest. “You’re a little too good at that, you know. I better be the only girl you pull into these rooms from now on.”
“The one and only,” he murmured, then kissed her one more time. “But we wanted an alibi that no one would question—”
“And picking up women in Jake’s is your thing.” She smirked, then crossed to the closet where she’d stowed the duffel bag earlier that day. She tossed it at him. He quickly shed the white t-shirt and blue jeans, exchanging them for a long-sleeved black sweater and black pants that clung just a little tighter than jeans. “I wish I could go with you,” she admitted, and he looked at her. “That makes me awful, doesn’t it?”
“If you’re waiting for me to be disappointed or even disgusted, it’s not going to happen.” He stood, pulled her into his arms. “If I could be sure that no one would ask questions—”
“I know. I know. It’s more important that you and I walk away when this is over. This room needs to stay occupied, and, uh—” Elizabeth looked at the bed, considered the headboard. “I guess making some noise. You should get going.”
“I will.” He stroked her jaw, then kissed her again. “I’ll see you later.”
“Be careful.”
35 Good thing Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me (she was with me, dude)
“I’m in for the night,” Sonny told Max, stepping aside so that Sam could go inside first. He patted the guard’s chest. “Just make sure elevator access is turned off and you can head out.”
“Sure thing, Mr. C. See you tomorrow.” But Sonny was already closing the door and didn’t hear all of the goodbye.
“Mmmm….” Sam gripped the lapels of Sonny’s suit jacket, fluttered her lashes at him. “I could get used to nights like this. Being on your arm at the club, the center of attention, the limos…”
“Go upstairs,” he murmured, kissing her. “I’ll be up in a minute. Put on something I’ll like.”
“I thought you liked what was underneath better.”
“I like to unwrap my gifts first, you know.” He pinched her butt, and Sam giggled. She headed for the stairs throwing him another sultry look over her shoulder before disappearing around the landing.
Sonny headed for the minibar, poured himself a bourbon, and when he turned back around, Jason came around the corner from the kitchen. He frowned. “Max didn’t say you were here.”
“He doesn’t know. I came in during his break.”
“Well, whatever it is, let’s make it quick. I have plans.”
Jason just looked at him, and Sonny felt an itch between his shoulders. “This won’t take long.”
36 Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy
Elizabeth paced the length of the room, from the window to the door, then back again. When that grew too tedious, she switched angles — walking from the bathroom door to the dresser, then back again.
Jason didn’t know how long it would take, and Elizabeth couldn’t stop thinking of all the things that could go wrong—her ears pricked. She went to the door, heard footsteps and voices.
She hurried to the bed, crawled on top, then leaned over to wrap each first around the posts of the headboard. Then she rocked hard back and forth so that the headboard hit the wall in a familiar rhythm.
There was some laughter just outside the door, and Elizabeth increased her movements, and the laughter faded — then so did the footsteps going back in the opposite direction. She stopped, then fell back against the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
Wondered where Jason was. If he was okay. If she’d see him again. If this would go exactly to plan.
37 They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it
“Son of a bitch thinks he can make me wait—” Sam stomped down the stairs, her black silky robe swishing around her thighs when she made the wide turn around the landing, then she stopped.
The downstairs was silent. Empty.
“Sonny?” Her voice echoed in the large room, her heart beginning to pound. “Sonny? Where are you?”
38 They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it
The footsteps didn’t come back, but Elizabeth waited about fifteen minutes and put on another performance with the headboard, this time trying to make sure that the bed itself actually moved — maybe the sound would travel through to the floorboards. She didn’t care that everyone in the damn bar thought she and Jason were having sex up here—
That was the point, after all, to make sure no one would ever question that this room was in use. It had been her idea, and Jason hadn’t liked any alibi that put so much of the pressure on her. But if he had to carry out the actual deed, then she should have to bear some of the weight somehow.
And any embarrassment when she thought of her sister, of Carly’s final moments, with her husband trying to throw her out of their home—of her dying, lying on a floor in her own blood and her husband not even caring enough to check—
No, nothing Elizabeth was going through right now could ever matter more than what had happened. She only hoped that this night would give her a sense of justice, of the scales being balanced. That somewhere, her sister would know that maybe Elizabeth hadn’t been able to save her, but she could still avenge her.
39 She thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it
Jason rolled the sedan to a stop on the side of the dirt access road, put it into park, then swung out of the driver’s side. He walked around to the trunk, flicked the button. Inside, Sonny lay there, his hands bound, his mouth gagged. His eyes were a dark black coal.
Jason retrieved the gun from the holster at the small of his back. Removed the safety. “Sit up,” he told Sonny. “Sit up and put your legs over the side. Get out.”
When Sonny just glared at him, Jason lifted his brows. “You can get out and do this my way. Or we can do this right here.”
The hatred in his eyes only deepened, but Sonny did as he was told. When he was halfway out of the car, Jason reached forward, gripped Sonny’s shirt and dragged him the rest of the way. He raised the gun to Sonny’s face, the barrel right between his eyes.
“Walk.”
40 No, no body, no crime
Sonny stopped when he realized where they were. He stared down at the mound of dirt, freshly turned over. He turned, looked at Jason.
Jason dragged down the gag. “Any last words?” he asked his former friend, his former brother.
“Why are you doing this?” Sonny bit out. “Did you love her that much?”
Jason exhaled slowly, but didn’t let the barrel drop so much as a centimeter. “The minute I found out you killed your wife and discarded her like garbage, I was always going to do this. But what happens after it’s done? When I make sure the whole world knows what happened to Carly and who did it?”
“What—”
“That’s for Elizabeth.”
“Eliza—” Sonny stopped, bewildered. “What the hell does she have to do with this?”
“Everything. But you can’t understand that. You couldn’t—wouldn’t—see it. It was right in front of you, but you don’t see anything that’s not about you. I don’t know when I lost you. Or if the man I knew ever existed. But we’re done now.”
Sonny swallowed hard. “Look. I can—I made a mistake. But I can fix it. I can apologize—”
“No. You can’t. And we’re done talking.”
41 I wasn’t letting up until the day he
After the fourth headboard performance, Elizabeth started to worry. She’d tried to time them to every fifteen to twenty minutes, but when it was time for a fifth—that meant too much time had passed.
Not that they were on a strict timeline, but—
She heard the key in the door, and spun around, flying forward into Jason’s arms just as he slipped inside. He grunted, stumbled backwards, the door slamming shut.
“You’re okay.” She buried her face in his neck, and he held her tight, just the two of them for a minute. “You’re okay,” she said again. “Did—is it done?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” He stroked her hair, then gently set her back on the floor so that he could see her face. “How did it go here?”
“Okay, I think. I guess we won’t know until…well, until we know.” She looked at him, framed his face with her hands, searched his eyes. “You?”
“He thought it was for Carly. Because I was in love with her,” Jason said, the words forced from his throat. “Even at the end, he still—” He took a deep breath. “Yeah. It’s done.”
She kissed him gently, softly, drawing the embrace out until they were both breathing heavily. “I see you,” she murmured against his mouth. “I see you, and I love you.”
He tensed slightly—it was the first time she’d ever said that. “I love you, too.”
42 No, no body, no crime
The pounding on the door jerked Sam out of a fitful sleep. She jerked to a sitting position, realized she’d fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Waiting for Sonny to return.
But he never had. Sunlight was streaming through the windows—and there was that knocking.
She scowled, rolled off the sofa, tying her robe around herself, then yanked the door open. “What?” Then just blinked at the badge in her face.
“Samantha McCall?”
She looked from the badge to the tall, Black man holding it. “And if I say yes?”
“We have a few questions for you. Come with us.”
43 I wasn’t letting up until the day he
Across the hall, another officer was knocking somewhat more gently on the penthouse door. When the door opened, Jason was there. His hair rumpled from sleep, wearing a gray shirt and black sweatpants, his feet bare. Behind him, Elizabeth was curled up on the sofa, a cup in her hands, her hair just as mussed.
Jason furrowed his brow. “Detective Garcia?” he asked. “Do I need Alexis—”
“No. It’s not that kind of visit.” The officer who had interrogated Jason more than once, looked past him to Elizabeth, then to Jason. “I, uh, guess it’s good that Miss Webber is here. We have officers on our way to her place.”
“What’s going on?” Jason asked. Elizabeth set the cup aside, came over to him. He put an arm around her shoulders, hugged her close. “Is everything all right?”
“Miss Webber, when was the last time you saw your sister?” Garcia asked.
“New Year’s Day.” Elizabeth frowned. “I got in the middle of a fight between her and Sonny, and she was angry with me, told me to leave. The next day, Sonny told us she’d left town, that he was paying her to leave. I called her, but I figured she was still mad so I was waiting for her to get in touch.” She stopped, touched her throat. “Why are you asking me that? Was there an accident?”
“A hiker stumbled across a body this morning,” Garcia said. “It was Sonny Corinthos. We need a medical examiner to tell us for sure, but it looks like a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
“What?” Jason demanded. “What are you talking about?”
“He left a note.” Garcia looked at Elizabeth. “Admitting to the murder of his wife. And, well, I’m sorry, Miss Webber, but his body was found near a fresh grave. We found…we need to do testing, but we think it’s your sister.”
“Oh, God—” She pressed her hands to her mouth, looked at Jason, then back at the officer. “No. No.” Tears spilled down her face. “No. He couldn’t have—this isn’t real—”
Jason drew her against him, kissing the top of her head, his shoulders tense. “Do you need us to—is there—what do you need?” he managed.
“Right now? Nothing. But we’ll be in touch.”
44
No, no body, no crime
She waited for the guilt, but it never came. Only the grief. She’d held it at bay since that first day, focusing on the plan, on following every step to be sure there were never any questions about Jason. But once Sonny’s body had been found, once Carly had been identified—
She stood next to Jason at the burial site, her hand tight in his, their fingers laced together. Their alibi hadn’t been needed. The note hadn’t been questioned. Maybe because no one really missed Sonny once he was gone — a sad statement on a human life, but he’d done it to himself. He’d killed his own wife — the rug she’d been buried in was from their home. And a search of his finances revealed that he’d replaced the mini bar the day after Carly had gone missing.
A wife killer was dead. The PCPD wasn’t going to try very hard to make sure he’d gone to his grave willingly.
Elizabeth leaned against Jason’s shoulder, squeezing her eyes closed as Carly’s coffin was lowered into the plot. She was once again being buried, but this time, there would be a stone marking her life. She wouldn’t fade away in an unmarked grave while the man who’d murdered her went free.
Her killer was dead, and the woman he’d tried to replace Carly with had been hauled in on suspicion of being an accomplice to murder, then held when her fingerprints were in the system and a few states were interested in extradition.
Michael had been peacefully sleeping upstairs with the nanny that night — the nanny who, when questioned, admitted that she often heard Sonny and Carly argue, and there’d been that terrible day when the arguing had been very bad, and then it had stopped — and she’d never gone downstairs to ask any questions.
It all fit together, and the case was quietly closed. Carly and Sonny’s wills were read and there was no debate. Carly had left everything to Elizabeth, and Sonny to Jason. Guardianship of their son had always been left to Jason, and Michael was already moved into his new bedroom in the penthouse across the hall — at least until they could find somewhere else to live.
With this, the burial, it was the last step in saying goodbye to her sister, a difficult, shallow, superficial, mercenary woman who’d seen too many dark places too young, but had been the sun, the moon, and the stars to a little girl who’d desperately needed family.
Elizabeth stepped forward, and released the dirt she was holding, watched it hit the coffin six feet below.
“I love you,” she murmured. “I hope you’re at peace now.”
45 I wasn’t letting up until the day he died
Jason edged around the crowded dance floor, his eyes scanning the room for the only person he wanted to see. He spied her at the bar, talking to a patron. She looked up, their eyes met, and her lips curved into a smile. She touched her throat, then slid her hand down to toy with the bodice of her dress. Then she melted away from the bar.
He grinned, then headed for the space behind the bar, a hallway that led to the kitchen and two offices. One of the doors opened and a hand snaked out to grab a fistful of his shirt and yanked him inside.
“You know,” he murmured against her lips as her busy fingers worked on his buttons. “We have a bedroom now—”
“And we can use it when we get home.” Elizabeth arched one brow, her hands at the buckle of his pants. “Unless you’re not in the mood.”
“Not possible.” His fingers dove into her hair and he tugged her hard against him, kissed her.
Well, the votes are in! With 52% of the vote, you guys chose “The Black Dog” collection for the first release from The Tortured Poets Department! The first eight songs from the surprise album dropped at 2AM. I knew it was going to win most of the weekend, lol, so I already started doing the more in depth plot sketching. It looks like “The Black Dog” is the featured story, and will be the longer novella 20-50k, and then “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” will probably be somewhere in the 10k length, and the other six will be shorter. I’m going to spend the rest of this week sketching them all out and working them into the schedule.
I’ll be posting “no body, no crime” in three increments. It was going to be two, but I was editing today for typos and consistency and whatnot, and I found three natural places to split it that work really well, so I’ll post Tuesday, Thursday, and Sat, and then you WILL NOT HEAR FROM ME UNTIL MONDAY. I am taking Sunday off, damn it. I also have no choice — my nephew is making his communion.
This entry is part 11 of 48 in the Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction
Written in 60 minutes.
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
PCPD RAID CORINTHOS-MORGAN WAREHOUSE NO ARRESTS MADE
“That’s the third day this thing has been in the headlines,” Courtney said as Jason came in from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hand. “Do they think they can change history or something if they keep mentioning that there’s been no arrests every day?”
Jason grunted, only half-listening. The PCPD always raided the warehouse this time of year, and they never found anything, but Courtney wasn’t used to that kind of thing, he thought. He pulled the desk chair, sat, and reached for invoices. “Something will happen and distract them.”
“I just hope it’s not stressing Carly out,” Courtney said, folding the paper over, then tossing it on the table, missing when Jason’s irritation at the mention of Carly’s name. He’d never noticed it before the last few weeks, but not a single conversation could be had without one or two mentions of either Sonny or Carly.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Jason said absently, skimming the customs notice from the vendor in Caracas. “She and Sonny aren’t even fighting this week.”
“You came in late last night. I didn’t tell you. It wasn’t a bad one, but Carly threatened to move out this time.”
“She always does that.”
“But—” Courtney made a face. “Anyway, Sonny seemed to calm down when she told him she’d make me manager of The Cellar and go on maternity leave as soon as I learn the ropes, so that’s cool, right?”
“Yeah, great.” Jason reached for a pencil, scratched out a note about the quantity on the invoice.
She narrowed her eyes. “I really love it there, you know. I think I could be good at it. And it’d make a great place for a reception. For the wedding.”
Jason exhaled slowly, looked over at her. “No.”
“You still don’t want to talk about it at all?” she scowled, folded her arms. “It’s been a month, Jason. You promised you’d try—”
He flinched, his fingers tightening around the pencil, then he stared down at the invoices. “I am trying,” he said, though the words felt like a lie even to him. “I told you I’d let you know when I was ready to talk about it.”
“Can you look away from your damn papers long enough to have a conversation with me? Because this is getting ridiculous, Jason. What was the point of you staying if you never talk to me? You don’t want to make plans, you don’t even—” Her lower lip jutted around and her eyes filled. “You don’t even touch me.”
Jason tossed the pencil aside, dragged a hand down the side of his face. “Courtney—”
“Do you know how it feels to know that the last woman you slept with, that you even kissed was her? We’re like roommates that share a bed,” she spat.
He pushed back from the desk, stood, then looked at her, wondering when he’d started to be irritated by how easy it was for her to cry, and how little it bothered him anymore. She could switch it off and on with little warning — and had that always bee true? “Do you want me to have to sex with you to prove a point?” he asked, more harshly than he meant, and her eyes widened. “That’s what you’re complaining about, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not—I mean, okay, it’s that, but it’s—” She swallowed hard. “It’s all the ways you’re not even here, okay? Why did you even say you’d stay or try if you weren’t going to do either of those things?”
“I—” He grimaced, then nodded. She was right. He hadn’t meant to withdraw or hold himself back — but all of that had always come naturally before it had all gone crazy. She’d always been the affectionate one, grabbing his arm, hugging him, initiating things. And he’d just let her. He hadn’t realized that until she’d stopped. How much of their relationship was just him reacting? He didn’t like the way that felt — that he could be capable of just using someone because they were there. He thought he’d become better than that — better than those days at Jake’s with Carly and not caring about who she was or what she wanted outside of the ten-fifteen minutes in bed. “I’m sorry,” Jason said finally. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. Maybe—”
“Maybe we just need to start small,” Courtney cut in a rush. “Okay? You probably need to go to the warehouse a-and I need to go see Carly. She’s going to start training me. We—we’ll just meet for lunch, right? At Kelly’s. Noon?”
“Yeah, sure,” Jason said with a sigh, knowing Elizabeth worked closing and that it would be safe enough to head over. He said nothing else as Courtney gathered her things and left in a hurry.
He’d promised Elizabeth three weeks ago at Kelly’s that he’d go home and he’d put everything into this. He’d chosen Courtney, hadn’t he? The life they’d had before Carly’s kidnapping had to mean something. He’d proposed to her—
But then that night, talking to Elizabeth, Jason hadn’t realized just how much had happened in his life in those few months — between Alcazar’s murder, being arrested and put on trial, all the problems Ric had caused — when had he made the decision to spend the rest of his life with Courtney? The more he tried to pinpoint that moment — the more he realized that…he hadn’t.
It made him feel a little sick inside that he’d done that because Carly had brought it up. Courtney fit, Carly said, and Jason agreed. She did fit and it was easy with her. She didn’t push or demand and she didn’t make him feel crazy or like he was a lunatic the way Elizabeth had. So that was love, wasn’t it? She understood and accepted his life. Elizabeth hadn’t—or maybe she would have if he’d trusted her—
Jason shook his head, reached for his coffee, then made a face. It had gone too cold while he’d argued with Courtney. She was right — it wasn’t exactly fair to her that the last woman Jason had shown any physical affection for had been Elizabeth. It had driven Jason crazy to know she’d slept with Zander instead of waiting for him—
His fingers curled around the handle of the cup, his glower would have made some cross the street to get away from him. It did no good to think about those times. All the mistakes. All the pain and turmoil. He’d told Elizabeth he didn’t want her to feel bad about any of those things anymore, but maybe Jason was the one who needed to stop thinking about it.
He didn’t know exactly what to do, but every day he was more and more certain that the answer couldn’t be Courtney. He just didn’t know to fix everything he’d broken by choosing her in the first place.
Kelly’s: Dining Room
Elizabeth flashed a smile at one of her old regulars, then lifted a brow when she saw Nikolas seated at the counter. “Do you live here or something?”
“No, but Mrs. Lansbury retired,” he muttered. “Something about not wanting to cook for one person. Why are you here? Did you switch back?” he called as she headed into the kitchen to stow her purse and tie on her apron.
“I told Mike I wanted some extra shifts. I love my studio, but I think maybe it’s time to invest in a place with a bathroom. And a heating system that doesn’t require a boot to the radiator. I almost have enough for a deposit—” She pointed her pencil at Nikolas. “No.”
“I wasn’t—” He made a face. “You know, I just think that if you accepted a little help—”
“No.”
“Fine.” Nikolas sighed, pushed his chili around in the bowl. “How’s the closing shift?”
“For the first week, it was okay. But then—” she bit her lip, but she had to tell someone, and Nikolas was the only person she could burden with it. Emily was still too ill and…well, those were her options, she realized with a sigh. “Ric started coming in two weeks ago.”
“The hell—how did he know? Did someone tell him?” Nikolas demanded. His shoulders tensed. “It’s time to talk Cassadine. I know people. Let me call people. I am begging you—”
“He’s an ADA now, Nikolas. Why do you think he’s still breathing?” Elizabeth said. She shook her head. “He’s forcing the divorce to go to court, which is awful honestly. New York’s laws are terrible, did you know that?”
“He’s making you prove the grounds?”
“I filed for cruel and inhumane treatment because just a regular separation would take six months, but I can’t—” She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know. I need evidence of what he did to me. Of what he did to Carly, and if he can’t be prosecuted—”
“Once again, I know people. Hey, you know people. Why don’t we get our people together and let them solve problems?”
“I have no people. Don’t say things like that.” Elizabeth disappeared to check on tables and take orders. When she had a minute she returned to Nikolas scooping up the rest of his chili. “How are you, anyway? Have you been to see Emily?”
“If this is your idea of changing the topic to a happier one, I gotta say, you suck at it.” When she just arched a brow, he sighed. “It’s going. I know they’re moving into Brenda’s old place. I hope things work out for them, I do.”
“You absolutely do not.”
“I don’t, and I hope he cuts himself on a rusty nail and trips into a table saw,” Nikolas muttered. She smiled at that, and he sighed. “I’m okay. I’m keeping busy. It’s just—she had this stupid idea to make us pretend to be something. I started pretending, only now it’s not pretending and there’s no where for it to go.” He looked at her. “You know how it is.”
“Nope. Not talking about it.” She lifted a stack of utensils, then grimaced when she saw the door open again. “Speaking of people who always seem to know when I work, she’s early today.”
Nikolas twisted on the stool, saw Courtney taking a table near the front, choosing the seat with her back to the counter. “She’s still coming in during your shifts?”
“Dinner the last few weeks, and always in my section. This keeps up, I’m going to wish I did have people.” Elizabeth grabbed the pitcher of water.
“If you’re going to dump that on her, give me warning. I want to watch—”
“Stop it, I’m not in high school anymore. But if I feel the need to trip—”
She carried the pitcher to Courtney’s table, pasted the smile on her face as she reached for the empty water cup. “You’re early today. Do you still want your usual?”
“No, no, I want something lighter for lunch. You better pour two—” Courtney’s face lit up when she heard the door jingle behind her. Elizabeth straightened, then turned to look at Jason, standing less than two feet from her.
Because of course it was Jason.
—
Jason stared at Elizabeth for a long minute, her eyes wide, fingers gripping the handle of the plastic pitcher of water, before looking at Courtney who seemed preoccupied with a menu that hadn’t changed since Ruby had started running the place.
“You’re right on time. I love how punctual you are. I was just telling Elizabeth there’d be two of us, so—” Courtney looked at Elizabeth, her brows lifted expectantly.
Elizabeth squinted slightly, the water pitcher twitching just slightly in her hand, and Jason could almost see her thinking if it was worth the effort. Then she smiled, one of her broad fake ones.
“Sure. No problem. Let me get your water, and then I’ll take your orders.” She flipped over the cup at the other place setting, filled it. “Courtney doesn’t want her usual, so I’ll come back when you’re ready—”
“I’m ready.” Courtney handed her the menu. “Just the fruit salad. You know, I’ve got to watch my weight.”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth said sourly. “Wouldn’t want the wedding dress to split the wrong way when you’re walking down the aisle. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She headed behind the counter where Nikolas was watching them.
Jason sat down, glared hard at Courtney who just stared at him. “You knew she’d be here.”
“She’s always here,” Courtney said, avoiding his eyes, ripping off the end of her straw. “What’s your point?”
“You knew she’d be here so you made me come here—”
“I made you come here—”
“And I told you not to talk about—”
“I didn’t,” Courtney bit out. “That was your little—” She pressed her lips together, carefully arranged the utensils, her fingers slightly shaking. “You can’t even be in the same room with her, can you? I—”
“Stop talking,” Jason said flatly when Elizabeth approached, her order pad in hand. “I’m not having anything,” he said.
“Jason—”
“I have to get back to work soon. Change of plans. Sorry.”
Courtney glared at him, then looked at Elizabeth. “Then you might as well do the usual. And I’ll take it to go.”
“Sounds great.” Elizabeth shoved the order pad in her apron and stalked back to the counter.
“I forgave you, and this is how you treat me—” Courtney demanded.
“Did you?” Jason asked, leaning in. “Did you forgive me? Because this—” He gestured to the table between them. “Staging this? This isn’t someone who’s forgiven anything. And I didn’t—” He stopped himself before he said something he couldn’t take back.
Courtney’s lip quivered. “Didn’t what? No. Finish it. Say what you want to say.”
“What did you think was going to happen, Courtney? I’d show up, and she’d look miserable, and maybe you’d shove the ring in her face again—”
“Defending her. Of course. She gets to come out of this smelling like roses. You know, Carly always told me—”
Jason’s hand hit the table harder than he meant, and she jumped. The table behind them looked over with curiosity, but Jason didn’t care. “Do you ever talk about anything else?” he demanded.
Courtney’s eyes were wide and the hurt in them was genuine. He exhaled slowly, sat back. He hated every inch of this. Every minute he was in this room, in this situation. Was this what being happy was supposed to look like? Is this who he wanted to be?
“Oh my God!”
The shriek came from behind the counter, from a familiar voice, and Jason was on his feet, halfway across the diner before he even realized what he was doing. Elizabeth was on the phone, tears on her cheeks, but she was smiling.
“Oh my God! You’re kidding? Em, that’s—Oh, wait, wait—Jason’s here. Do you—” She held out the phone to him, her eyes shining. “She has the best news and you should get to hear it from her?”
Jason came around the counter, plucked the phone from Elizabeth’s hands. “Em?”
“Jason, hey! I’m sorry. I’d do this in person but you know I can’t be around crowds. Not yet anyway. But I just found out—I’m in remission!”
Remission. Was there a better word in the English language? “That’s amazing, Emily. The best news I’ve had all day.”
“I have to go, Mom’s here. I wanted you and Elizabeth to be the first to know, and aren’t I lucky to find you in the same place.”
Jason shook his head, but hung up the phone, looked over to see Elizabeth clinging to a relieved Nikolas. She was crying, but laughing, and he just wanted to be the one holding her. The one celebrating with her.
But he’d made that impossible. He’d done something unforgiveable, something unbelievably stupid, and he didn’t even know if he could take it back, if he could fix it.
Elizabeth pulled away from Nikolas, swiping the tears from her face. She just beamed at Jason. “This is literally the best thing that’s happened to me in weeks—remission! Can you believe it? Just a month ago—” She broke off as their eyes met. “A month ago, it was all so different, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” He looked across the diner. Courtney had stood up, was glaring at them, and the rest of the diners were just as interested. “You’d better cancel that order. We’re not staying.”
“O-Okay—”
“And I’m sorry. For all of it. For everything. Just—I’m sorry.”
Jason returned to the table, leaving Elizabeth and Nikolas behind him. “We’re leaving—”
“But—” She lifted her chin. “You have no right to act like wronged party,” she hissed. “I’m the one that got cheated on—”
“You’re right,” Jason said simply. He picked up her purse, put in her hands, and took her by the elbow. He led her into the courtyard, and she was too shocked to protest until they were outside. “I made promises to you, and I broke them. And you forgave me. But I never asked you to. That’s what I was going to say inside. I didn’t ask to be forgiven. Because I’m not sorry.”
Last weekend update! We go into the May schedule tomorrow 🙂 I will be back with some Flash Fiction tomorrow at 8PM. The Phillies are on the West Coast until Tuesday, so the games are on late.
For Warning Shots, I basically tossed my entire outline so after this part? I have no idea where to go. (Well, I have *ideas*) but feel free to weigh in and let me know what you want to see next!
This entry is part 6 of 36 in the Flash Fiction: Warning Shots
Written in 63 minutes.
February 1999
When the girl behind the desk had told him that the dorm didn’t allow any male visitors after eight, Jason figured maybe they could talk about it in the lobby. There were seating areas, and well, it wasn’t that complicated. He’d tell her Lucky was absolutely lying about the dates and that he’d asked for the job to go out of town. Jason would apologize for not making it clearer the other night, and then he’d leave her to figure out the next step.
But while he waited for her to come downstairs, he wandered the area looking for some place where he could tell her this, thinking of how sad she’d been that night. She wouldn’t want people staring at her or maybe eavesdropping—not after Emily had talked about Elizabeth sitting in this lobby, all dressed up, waiting for the jackass to pick her up.
By the time Elizabeth stepped off the elevator, Jason had reluctantly concluded that they probably couldn’t have this conversation in here. Maybe there was a bench or somewhere nearby. She’d suggested someplace close off campus, and he knew Kelly’s wasn’t too far. That seemed safe. He’d handed her the helmet, reminded himself to go easy. She’d never been on a motorcycle before, she’d related to him as she fastened the strap beneath her chin.
He went the speed limit for the first few minutes, but then he went into a turn a bit faster than he should have and the bike leaned to the right just a little, and he heard her laugh, her hands tightening around his waist. He sped up a little bit, taking the next turn even faster, trying to see if it was just surprise or if—
But no, she was still laughing, and she quickly learned to lean into the turns—and for some reason, instead of taking the road that led to Elm Street and the waterfront, Jason took the other one, winding up through the hills around the lake, towards Vista Point. There were more turns and chances to pick up speed. January had been icy and snow — he hadn’t really been able to get up here in a while.
When he finally pulled the bike to a stop in the parking lot, switched off the engine, Elizabeth was still laughing. She stumbled off the bike, tugged off the helmet. “Oh my God! You’re absolutely crazy! That was so fast! Everything was blurring past and the wind was rushing past—the roar in my ears! You can’t even think straight—”
“That’s why I like it,” Jason said. He parked the bike, setting the stand down. “So I didn’t go too fast?”
“No, no! I mean, well, yes, but not in a bad way—I didn’t even know it would be like that—every single turn, it was like the road got closer and closer but I never thought we’d fall, like I could always tell you were in complete control—” the words tumbled from her almost in a rush, falling over each other, and her eyes were bright and sparkling. The way they’d been that day in the airport and last week at Kelly’s when talking about her art project.
It was a relief to see it, but he also knew he might be the reason all of that faded, and he nearly changed his mind. But he’d promised his sister—and Elizabeth deserved the truth.
“I went a little further and faster than I would have normally,” Jason said. “I was going to Kelly’s, but well, it’s been a while since I’ve been up here, or had someone on the bike that might appreciate the ride. It helps when things aren’t…good.”
She bit her lip, then handed him the helmet. “You said you had to talk to me about something. I’m guessing it’s Lucky?”
“Yeah.” He stowed the helmet back on the bike, gestured towards the observation deck where there were benches. “Let’s, uh, go sit. If you’re not too cold.”
“No, I’m fine.” She followed him over to a wooden bench on the second level of the deck, and they sat down. “Did he tell you it was a mistake? He tried to call, but my cell phone is awful. I knew that—”
“I don’t know if he tried to call you,” Jason interrupted. “Maybe that part is true, but Elizabeth—he knew the dates on Friday. I confirmed them with him.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head. “No, no, because he said—”
“I should have made it clearer on Tuesday, I’m sorry. But I’ve been trying to stay out of this. It’s none of my business,” Jason continued, and she sighed, looked at her hands. She wasn’t wearing any gloves, he realized. “But at some point, staying out if it is the wrong thing to do. Especially when Lucky’s using me to hurt you.”
“How—”
“He asked for the job. To go out of town. He asked for it that day I saw you at Kelly’s. He wanted to get out of town for a few days. Then I told him about the run, and confirmed it on that Friday. I told him it would be until the sixteenth. I didn’t think about—I didn’t think about the holiday. I don’t think about that kind of thing anymore,” he added. “He knew that morning when he talked to you. Maybe he tried to call you later — only he knows that for sure. ”
She closed her eyes, the dark lashes stark against her pale skin. “He knew.”
“Yes. He was angry that day that you’d talked to me about your project. I don’t know why—” He was skirting the edge there. He did know that Lucky had seemed jealous, that he’d made some remarks in that direction. But Elizabeth didn’t need to know that in addition to everything else Lucky didn’t seem to trust her either.
“You know…” She opened her eyes, looked at him. “I knew that. That he was lying about the message. He never calls that cell phone.”
Jason squinted. “But Emily said—”
“I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him. And if you tell the lie enough, even to yourself, you can make it the truth.” Her voice shook slightly on the last words. “But he did it on purpose. ”
“Yes.”
“Why? W-What did I do to make him want to hurt me like that?”
“Nothing—”
“I had to have done something—” A tear slid down her cheek and she brushed at it impatiently. “You said he was mad I talked to you about my project? I don’t understand. It’s—you were just being nice to me. Why does he care about any of that?”
“Elizabeth—”
“I just don’t get it. It can’t be that. I must have done something else—”
“You didn’t do anything,” Jason said, almost too harshly, and she looked at him, startled. “You can’t make someone hurt you, Elizabeth.”
“But I hurt him in some way, and if I can just figure it out, I can fix it so I never do it again, and it’ll all go back to the way it used to be—” She shot up from the bench, paced to the end of the deck, looked out over the blackness of the lake. “I’ll just think about what I did, and —”
“Why are you taking this on?” Jason followed her, frustrated that she wasn’t reacting the way he expected. Why wasn’t she furious that Lucky had done this to her? The little bastard had set her up to be humiliated and was lying about it— “Why are you making this your fault? Do you hear yourself?”
Her lower lip quivered, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Now he felt like the jackass, and he was reminded why he stayed out of things. None of this was his business. He was just going to tell her what he knew and step out to let her handle it.
But now he realized the little bastard was going to get away with it, and he’d learn nothing from the whole thing. He’d just do worse the next time, and Jason didn’t think he could stand to watch Lucky hurt her one more time. Not when she always seemed to end up at the garage, looking at him with those eyes, trying to understand why it was happening at all.
“I—it has to be my fault,” she managed finally. She folded her arms, almost protectively around her torso. “Because if it’s my fault I can fix it. If it’s his…then I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
He bit back the obvious answer of dumping the asshole and finding someone who wouldn’t make her cry, because she wasn’t ready to hear that. “Why do you have to do anything except confront him and make him tell you the truth?”
“I need it to be a mistake,” she said softly. “Because you can forgive a mistake, you know? But…how do you forgive something like this?”
“You don’t—”
“But he loves me.” Her voice was small now, almost lost on the bitter air swirling around them. “He’s the only person who ever has.”
“That’s not true—” He couldn’t believe that. Wouldn’t.
“No, no—” She put up her hands. “Okay, you just don’t understand, okay?” She spoke fast now, like before, only it wasn’t excitement making her words fall into each other, but desperation. “Okay, you don’t know what it’s like to walk through your whole life knowing you’re just being tolerated. That people love you despite your flaws, to constantly know you’re a burden and an obligation. My mother didn’t want me — I was an accident, and she had to give up this fellowship—I was never worth it to her, I could tell. I just confused my father, Steven and Sarah were always embarrassed by me, and my grandmother had to put up with me because I showed up on her front step. Lucky’s different. He didn’t have to love me, but he did, and I don’t know if anyone else ever will. So you don’t understand what that feels like, okay? Don’t stand there and judge me because I can’t—” She broke off, pressed her hands against her mouth and started to walk away, maybe back towards the parking lot.
“Maybe I don’t know what that feels like,” Jason said, “but I know what it feels like when people who are supposed to love you look at you like you’re damaged. Stupid.”
She stopped at the steps to the upper deck, turned around to look at him. “What?”
“The Quartermaines. After the accident. They were always looking at me to be someone else. Who I was, who I wanted to be was never good enough for them. They tried to control me, force me into making the choices they wanted, and when they realized I was never going to fit the mold they’d made for me, they gave up. So maybe that’s not the same thing, but it’s not that different.”
Elizabeth took a step back towards him. “No, I guess it’s not.”
“It’s—it’s better now,” Jason said, almost not sure why he was telling her any of this. But he did understand a little bit about expectations and obligations, and not fitting in with the people who were supposed to be your family. “Emily and my grandmother. Monica. Sometimes Alan. I didn’t understand them back then. They weren’t my family, and I didn’t love them. But it made me angry and everything after the accident was harder than it has to be. I could have tried to fit what they wanted me to be. But I left. I had to figure it out for myself. I learned what love was from Robin and Sonny. Emily and Lila. They taught me what it was to be a family, to love someone else. And Michael—”
His voice was a bit rough now, and he wanted to stop, but something had opened up inside of him, and he didn’t know to stop it. “I know what it’s like now to love someone more than I loved myself. To destroy your world to keep them. I did that. I hurt Robin so I could keep Michael, and now I don’t have either of them. So, yeah, maybe I do understand why you need Lucky to just be making a mistake. Because if he’s choosing to hurt you, how can he love you? And who are you if he doesn’t love you anymore?”
—
They stood there for what felt like an eternity, Jason’s words lingering between them. Elizabeth didn’t even realize how little he’d always talked before — he’d never really spoken about himself. It had always been her dumping on him, she realized. And now — maybe he did understand in his own way why all of this was so hard.
“A few months ago,” Elizabeth said softly, “it all felt perfect, you know? We had to change our plans and stay in Port Charles, but I thought we agreed. I thought we were a team. But now it’s like he’s a different person. Or maybe I am. Maybe I’m the one that changed. He said that since I started college, I don’t make time for him, for us—”
“And that’s just more bullshit he’s feeding you,” Jason bit out, and she realized now he was really pissed off. “Because Robin went further away to college. There were weeks and months I didn’t see her, but I never gave her any shit for that. For not being able to talk to her every day. She’s going to be a doctor, and I wanted that for her. When you love someone, you support what makes them happy. Especially when it doesn’t cost you anything to just be happy for them. Being away from her wasn’t fun, but it made being together even better. That’s what love is. Showing up for each other when you can and understanding when you can’t. So what if you got a little preoccupied with your classes and having fun at school. You were happy. I don’t even know you, and I could see that. Why couldn’t he?”
Elizabeth smiled faintly, looked away. “You don’t even know me, and you’re standing in the freezing cold arguing with me because my boyfriend’s an idiot—”
“Not an idiot. Idiots can’t control how stupid they are. Lucky’s an asshole. There’s a difference.”
She laughed at that, then pressed her hands against her mouth again, startled by it. Her tears were freezing against her skin. “Okay, well, I stand corrected. You’re arguing with me because my boyfriend’s an asshole. My point still stands.”
“What was your point?”
“I don’t know. I think I lost it somewhere. What am I supposed to do, Jason? You’re angry and I don’t know why—”
“I’m angry—” He shook his head. “It’s not your problem that I’m angry.”
“But you are, and if I caused it—”
“There you go again,” Jason said, stalking past her towards the steps. “Blaming yourself for how someone else feels. I’m mad because I knew Lucky was treating you like garbage months ago, and I said nothing to you. I knew he’d asked for that job, and I didn’t tell you that. I don’t know what telling would have solved, but maybe I’d feel less…responsible for any of it. And I’m mad I didn’t knock his teeth down his throat for the way he talks about you when you’re not around.”
“How—” She cleared her throat, tried to force the words out because the pain of that statement stole her breath. “How does he talk about me when I’m not there?”
“I—” He grimaced, shook his head. “Not like I’d ever talk about someone I loved. I shouldn’t have said anything—”
“We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends stand in the freezing cold, mad because their friend is being stubborn,” Elizabeth said. “I mean, unless you’re really mad that you’re involved and you resent being here. Because if that’s how you feel, fine. You can just drop it and take me home. Because I’m starting to get really pissed off, too. You’re acting like I asked for any of this, okay? I didn’t ask you to hire Lucky, or for him to constantly screw with me so I end up at your garage, and I always try to leave, but you’re the one who makes me stay to miss the bus—so if you don’t want to be my friend, then fine. But—” She broke off when she realized he was smiling. “What? What are you smiling about?”
“So you can get angry. I was wondering.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t act like you planned that. Because you’re annoying, but you’re not calculating.”
He lifted his brows. “I’m annoying?” he repeated. “How do you figure?”
“Because—you just—” Elizabeth threw up her hands. “I don’t know. You act like you’ve got it all together, and then you tell me all that stuff, and I was listening, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to say because you’re right about all of it. Loving someone to the point that you destroy who you are to make them happy or to keep them is stupid, and I just—I don’t want that to be me. I don’t want to be one of those dumb girls who give up everything for their boyfriend, but I think that’s who I’m starting to be. And you’re annoying because you didn’t just drop the whole thing in the beginning so I had to think about all of it.”
“Oh. Well, that explains it,” Jason said, but the corner his mouth was curved up in a half-smile, suggesting it hadn’t explained anything. “Look—I’m sorry. I really didn’t plan to make you mad. It just happened. It’s just—you were talking about how you needed to fix things. And—you know, you shouldn’t have to work harder to earn someone’s respect when they’re already not treating you the way you deserve. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know you’re right. I know it. I just don’t know what to do with any of it. It’s too big, it’s too awful,” she admitted. “It’s too much.” She looked back at him, smiled. “I appreciate you breaking your I don’t get involved rule, even though I know this is the last thing you wanted to do on a Sunday.”
Jason shrugged. “It’s fine. I haven’t been out here in a while or had anyone on the bike who seemed to like going fast.”
“Well, I did like those,” she confessed. “Can…is that as fast as you can go, or—” When his mouth curved into a full smile, her stomach fluttered.
“Only one way to find out.”
—
Jason coasted the bike to a stop in front of her dorm, and Elizabeth almost tumbled off the bike, stumbling. She was laughing again, trying to get the helmet unfastened, but her fingers were shaking. He brushed them aside, undid the snap and pulled off the helmet.
“I think I’m actually dizzy,” Elizabeth said, the words breathy, punctuated with the giggles. She combed her fingers through her wild hair. “That was insane — how do you not get pulled over for speeding or-or reckless driving?”
“I’m faster than the cops,” Jason said, folding his arms. “So was that as fast as you wanted it to be?”
“Don’t tell me you can go—” Her eyes were wide, and she bit her lips. “No, I’m not asking. I’m not. Because I really do have a test tomorrow, but that was the best time I’ve had in…forever.” She grinned at him. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Jason said. He leaned against the bike. “I mean that.”
“Good night.” Elizabeth headed for her door, then turned back when she was half inside the door, waved and smiled at him one more time, and went inside.
The plan was to alternate the stories, but I skipped a night and then forgot to update my posting schedule doc, and then I figured — well given that I left you on TWO Liason cliffhanger conversations, I know which one you want to read more. I’ll do Warning Shots tomorrow. I was planning to take off tomorrow, but a few things in my schedule cleared up.
The posting schedule for Flash Fiction M/W/F is going to pretty fluid for the next six weeks as I schedule around the Phillies 😛 Once I know my summer schedule I should be able to more fixed. If you ever want to know what story is getting updated when, I have a Google Doc set up.
I finished my evermore featured story last night! “no body, no crime” runs about 20k and 60 pages. I wanted to let it sit today, then read it over for typos. I have to put together the evermore subsite theme (it should be pretty easy since I’m going to use the same layout for all the albums) but I have to set the colors and create the graphics. I’m hoping to do that tonight while I watch the Phillies.
It should be up one day this week. I’m aiming for Tuesday or Thursday — I might actually just split it into two pieces and then you still get daily M-F updates to ease you guys back into my normal workload. April was absolutely INSANE for how much content I wrote (and it’s still not over!)
Between finishing up These Small Hours (62k), writing “no body, no crime” (20k), finishing Hits Different (17k), and starting Chain Reaction (24k) and Warning Shots (16K), I wrote 141,485 words — and there are still three days of updates planned (I haven’t written tonight yet).
I–I don’t know what happened lol. But it’s been nice and I hope you’ve enjoyed this ridiculous burst of energy. I always kind of figured that the regular writing of Flash Fiction would absolutely train my brain to start writing when I told it to. I’ve been mostly regular since September, and I feel like it’s finally paying off.
This entry is part 10 of 48 in the Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction
Written in 75 minutes. Sorry. Ran over.
Kelly’s: Dining Room
Jason flipped the white ceramic cup over, resting it right side up on the matching saucer. “Can I—”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Elizabeth cleared her throat, went to the hot plate. “There should be enough for another cup. Unless—I could brew it fresh. I don’t know how long it’s been sitting—”
“I know you’re getting ready to close. Whatever’s in the pot is fine.”
So careful with each other, not making eye contact now, she thought. She lifted the carafe, brought it over to the counter. There was just enough to fill the cup.
Behind him, one of the two final customers tossed some money on the table, and Elizabeth grabbed the green tub. She busied herself bussing the table, and then the last customer, as if realizing the time, decided to take their milkshake in a to go cup.
Within a few minutes, it was just the cook in the back, Elizabeth, and Jason — pretending to drink his coffee. She bit her lip, watched him keep his eyes on the counter, then went into the kitchen. “Hey, Don. Why don’t you finish clearing down and head home? I can close. It’s just Jason, and you know he’s good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Trust me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She returned to the dining room, went behind the counter. “Did you come here for a reason or is this just an accident?”
Jason lifted his head finally, looked at her. “Both,” he said finally. His voice sounded a bit rusty. He straightened, rubbed his throat. “I came here because I needed to get out. And I thought you were working the opening shift.”
“I switched to closing. Needed a change.” From the kitchen, Don called out his goodbye, and she heard the back door open, then close.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed—” Jason reached for his wallet, but she held up her hand.
“It’s three-hour old coffee and you didn’t even touch it. I think we can spot you this one time.”
He exhaled slowly, then brought his hand back to the counter. “Then let me help you close up.”
“I’m not going to turn that down,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll clean the tables, you put the chairs up?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jason slid off the stool, and she went into the kitchen to get the rag to wipe down the tables.
They made quick work of most of the room, until there were only two tables left. Jason turned the wrong way and they crashed into each other. He brought his hands up to her shoulders to steady her, then just left them there a moment too long. Snatched them back.
“I’m sorry—”
“Stop apologizing,” she said abruptly. Then sighed. She sat down at one of the tables they hadn’t cleaned yet. “Stop apologizing,” Elizabeth said, looking up at him. “You get to come in for coffee, okay? And it’s not like you grabbed me or—we’re not doing anything wrong.”
Jason sat in the other chair, picked up a leftover straw wrapper, began to shred it into smaller pieces. “I’m doing everything wrong,” he muttered more to himself. “I’m hurting everyone and I don’t even know if I’m doing the right thing.”
“The right thing,” Elizabeth echoed. She smiled faintly. “What does that even mean? Who decides it?”
Now he smiled, and it looked almost genuine. “I was asking myself that question a few days ago. I wish I knew.” He looked past her, towards the brick wall behind the tables. “I know Courtney was in here yesterday. If she said something about a wedding, it’s not happening.”
“Jason, you don’t owe me any explanations—”
“Yeah, I do. Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time.” He rested one arm on the table, and with the other hand pushed around the little pile of shredded straw paper he’d created. “But I know that I don’t get to—I don’t get to do what I did last week, say the things I did, and then let you walk around thinking I’m getting married anyway like none of it mattered.”
She let those words settle inside of her, soothing her. “I’d be lying if I told you that…I don’t know. If it’s not like hearing her talk about it made me cry myself to sleep or anything. I knew you were engaged. People generally get married when they’re engaged. Most of the time anyway. And plenty of people get married after they have affairs.”
His mouth tightened, but he didn’t argue with the label. He couldn’t. “Well, I’m not. I told her that. She was telling you, asking Emily to be the bridesmaid, planning it with Carly—to make Carly happy,” he said almost bitterly. “I told her no, and she didn’t—” Jason broke off, shook his head. “This isn’t what I came here to do. I just…I need to get out.” He looked back at her. “I don’t know what I’m doing. How am I supposed to go back to what I was doing before? Pretend it didn’t happen? But—”
“But there’s that whole other part where you were happy with her, and you have a right, Jason, to make sure you’re not just…hitting a bump in the road.” Elizabeth picked at the ragged edge of her nail. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here either. There’s not a handbook for being the other woman—”
“You’re not—”
“I am,” she said gently, and he just shook his head. “Two years ago, Jason, you were the other guy, and I was sitting on your side of the table. Neither of us particularly wanted to be in that position. And I’m trying—” Her voice trembled just a little. “I’m trying to be the friend you were to me. It’s harder than I thought it would be, you know? How did you do it? How did you always put me first when I was hurting you?”
“You were hurting yourself more,” Jason said, his eyes gentle. “I always knew that.”
“But you never pressured me. You’d argue, but you’d stop when you realized I was like a brick wall, and I never ever felt like you were pushing me to make a choice. Or make a change. I knew you were disappointed, hurt, but I never felt like you were giving me ultimatums—” The corner of her mouth curved up. “Maybe you can give me some tips. How do I be that person for you?”
“I knew you were getting it enough pressure from everyone else,” Jason said. “Everyone wanted you to be something different, and you were being pulled in so many different directions. I didn’t want to be one more person you had to make happy. I didn’t want to be the reason you were hurting.”
Pulled in so many directions. She tipped her head. “It’s kind of crazy how we’re sitting here in exactly the same place now. I don’t want to be someone you have to take care of, Jason. Whose feelings you have to manage. I want to be your friend. The rest of it—everything else, I don’t know. I guess we missed our moment, and I’ll live with that regret for the rest of my life—I made so many wrong turns. You need to know I regret how I left last year. The things I said that night, and God—” She winced. “Defending Ric — it was just a parade of absolutely terrible decisions—”
“It’s not like I was much better,” Jason said, and she frowned. “I married Brenda three weeks after you walked out the door,” he told her. “That was pretty stupid.”
“I know you stayed married later because of the trial, but—” She furrowed her brow. “Why did you do it in the first place? Did—I mean, you went all the way to Vegas, so it couldn’t have been a drunken impulse?”
“At least that might have made sense.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “She wanted someone to take care of her when her disease took over. And she said if I didn’t, she’d break up Sonny and Carly’s marriage. I knew if anyone could, it’d be Brenda. I needed Sonny focused with Alcazar in the picture, so…I did it.”
Her throat tightened. “Why is it your job to save their marriage?” she asked softly.
Jason didn’t answer for a long moment, and she thought maybe he wouldn’t. But finally, his eyes on the table, he did. “I don’t know. It wasn’t always like this. I didn’t…I wasn’t like this before. I had a life of my own.”
“Do you have one now?” she asked.
—
Wasn’t that the question of the day? Did he have a life of his own now? Jason focused all his attention on the paper shreds he’d continued to rip apart until they couldn’t be divided anymore.
“I don’t know,” Jason said finally. “When you left,” he said, then looked up at her. “You told me that I was Sonny’s enforcer. First, last, and —”
“Always,” she finished. “I regret that—”
“You said you hoped it would be enough,” Jason cut in. “I didn’t want to believe that you were right. It hadn’t been true before, you know. I’d—I’d made time for you before. And for Emily, and my grandmother. I had Robin and Michael. My life was mine. I worked hard to have control of it. I didn’t blindly follow Sonny’s orders. Ever.”
“I’m sorry—”
“But I followed that order,” Jason interrupted again, “and you were leaving. And I wanted it not to be true, but then Brenda happened, and I knew that was for Sonny and Carly. I justified it in my head as trying to keep him focused on Alcazar, but it wasn’t just that. And then, you know, Courtney happened. I don’t know how or why, really.” He rubbed his forehead. “It came out nowhere. Maybe we were lonely, and it wasn’t complicated. She didn’t ask for a lot. Or argue. Or—” He broke off, looked at Elizabeth again. “I know how that sounds. That I started things with her because she was easy. But it’s the truth, and I’m not going to lie to you.”
“I wasn’t—”
“I don’t even know if it was going to go anywhere,” he continued, because now the words were there, and they were pouring out of him. “Sonny found out and he said—he told me it had to be over. He ordered me to break up with her—and I just—if I did that, if I did that, even if I wanted to, well, you’d be right. I’d be just blindly following orders. And I refused, and then it just kept getting away from me. Every time I turned around, it was one more thing. It never seemed to stop. Ric was there, things were out of control. He hurt Carly, and went after Courtney, and then we found out he was Sonny’s brother, and then there was a moment to breathe, but Carly said you know, maybe I should marry Courtney because she’d been through so much and she’d stuck with me, and she made me happy, and she fit—so I went and I bought a ring, and I asked her, and then it was planned, and then Carly was kidnapped. It just…it never stopped.”
But now he was stopping, and he finally looked at Elizabeth, her eyes wide. “I’m sorry. That’s—that’s not what you asked.”
“I don’t even remember the question. But I get it, Jason. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, making decisions in the minute, and not thinking about the big picture, and then you look up one day, and the world around you has changed and you didn’t even see it coming. The Cassadine stuff — that felt like that,” she told him. “I wasn’t really doing that great after I backed out of the Face of Deception. You’d left, and I thought — well I’d picked Lucky, so I had throw my whole self into it, and he proposed, and I said yes, and then the brainwashing was back, and God it was so bad. The next thing I knew, Nikolas was explaining why I had to fake my death, so I did it, and then I was standing at the altar and Lucky didn’t love me anymore. There was this car accident, and Lucky and Sarah were lying to me—and I just woke up and I realized I didn’t know who I was anymore. I didn’t know who I wanted to be. And I didn’t start making better choices,” Elizabeth added almost ruefully. “We don’t have to talk about how stupid Zander was. I didn’t want to take orders from anyone ever again, so I picked the absolute dumbest hill to die on, and I didn’t trust you enough, and Ric—” She looked away, towards the front of the diner, her eyes distant. “I got out of the hospital and I realized I’d burned my life to the ground and I didn’t really know what was left.”
Neither of them said anything for a long moment — the words had simply flowed the way they always had. He’d always been able to talk to her, and it seemed insane that it was still true.
“I have Emily, and Nikolas, I guess,” Elizabeth said. Their eyes met. “But I don’t get to keep you now. Because of what we did.”
He wanted to argue with her. That they could still be friends. They’d managed it two years ago, hadn’t they? But two years ago, he hadn’t kissed her. This time, they’d gone too far over that line to go back.
“I know I shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t be having this conversation,” Jason said slowly. “And maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t owe you reassurance that I’m not marrying Courtney in a month. I just—I’m trying really hard not to hurt anyone, but I’m hurting everybody, and I don’t know how to stop. If I do what I want—” He stopped, swallowed hard. “Everything falls apart. And if I do what’s right—” he stopped. He didn’t want to finish that sentence, even though leaving the words unspoken didn’t leave them any less unformed in his mind.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” she said. “Because you’re the one that has to live with your choice. It used to drive me crazy, you know, that you didn’t kiss me two years ago.” She rested her hand on her fist, smiled. “I thought, God, if you’d just leaned in a little bit, and kissed me, I could have kissed you back, and it would have been so different. But you couldn’t. It had to be my choice. Because it was my world that would be broken by it. And if I couldn’t make that choice—it wouldn’t have made it any easier if you’d pushed me over the edge.”
“It wasn’t exactly easy,” Jason said, and her smile deepened. “I wanted to. But I knew I wasn’t staying in Port Charles. If I kissed you, forced you to really see what was there, the only way to do it—you’d have to go with me. I tried, but, well, I knew you’d say no.”
“What happens,” she asked, softly, “if you do what you want? What falls apart?” Their eyes held for a moment, and he didn’t answer right away. Because maybe they both understood that what he wanted was her.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “It’s the not knowing that’s…stopping me. But there’s…I don’t want Sonny and Carly to be the first thing I think about when I wake up,” he said suddenly. “Did they get into a fight since I spoke to them? Is Sonny going to have a good day? Is Michael going to keep being put in the middle? How many times am I going to find him curled up in a ball, pretending he doesn’t hear them screaming at each other?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “And there it is. Michael. That’s why you don’t let Sonny and Carly destroy each other. Because you still love him the way you did when he was a baby. Like a father. You’ve put him first. You want to protect his world. Make sure nothing can hurt him until he’s old enough, strong enough to defend himself.”
Jason shook his head. “Michael’s not my son. I know that—”
“Oh, okay, well, then I’m glad you cleared that up. I guess you can stop loving him then. Is that how it works?”
“No. No, it’s not.” His phone rang and he pulled it out, looked at the screen. Courtney. He grimaced, pressed the button to silence it, the left it on the table.
“If you’re the only thing keeping Sonny and Carly together, is that any kind of life for any of them?” she asked. “Are you actually doing them any favors patching them up for the next time?”
“No. But it’s not just—” Jason made a face. “Sonny isn’t just Sonny. He’s Sonny Corinthos. He’s been…not doing well,” he said finally because he’d never told Elizabeth about the darkness that swirled inside of Sonny. The rages, the blackouts. And he didn’t want to burden her with that. “When he’s like this, he’s unfocused. He’s been like this off and on since last year with Luis Alcazar, then Ric, and now Lorenzo Alcazar—”
“You’re afraid of what he might do,” Elizabeth said.
“I thought about just leaving,” Jason confessed. Her lips parted in surprise. “Like before. Just getting on my bike and never looking back. But there are people depending on Sonny keeping himself together. I can’t leave them. Not like this.”
The phone rang again, and he sighed.
“You should probably go,” Elizabeth said, leaning back in her chair.
“I know. I shouldn’t have stayed. I just—you’re not part of any of that,” he said finally. “I needed to breathe. I needed to—I needed to think about all the reasons I can’t make changes. Not right now,” he added, more for himself. More as a reassurance that maybe he could one day. He looked at her. “But I shouldn’t have made you sit through all of that. It’s not fair to you.”
“I decide what’s fair to me,” Elizabeth said, and now she was smirking.
Startled, he let out a half laugh. “Did you memorize everything I’ve said to you?”
“Everything that matters,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t want you to worry about hurting me, Jason. I can take care of myself. I’ve hurt you, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but I don’t—” He shook his head. “I don’t want you to think about that anymore. To feel bad about this last year. Or two years ago. Or two weeks ago,” he added. “We did what we did. I’m not sorry it happened,” he said, and her eyes widened slightly. “I should be. It would be easier if I was. But I’m not.”
“Me, either,” Elizabeth said. “Listen, I know what happened that night — technically it was wrong. But Courtney chose to forgive you. I know how you can get. You feel guilty because you’re not sorry. And that guilt? It can drown you, and make you do things that only hurt you worse.”
“Like wake up one morning and put on a tux because it’s front of me,” Jason said, and she nodded. “Yeah. I know. I’m working on that.” He rose to his feet. “I…Thank you. But I won’t come back. I made my choice. I need to see it through.”
“Is that what love is supposed to be?” Elizabeth asked. “Something you have to push through?” She also stood, folded her arms. “That’s not me pressuring you, it’s just a question.”
“What I said before about things happening one after another for months—then looking up and trying to breathe?” Jason said. “I don’t know…I don’t know if I feel this way because things are bad right now, and they’re hard, or if this is actually how I feel. I just don’t—I don’t want to run when things get hard.”
She flinched, looked at her hands.
“I didn’t mean it that way—”
“No,” Elizabeth said. She raised her head. “No. That’s what I did. I ran when you didn’t act the way I thought you should. I never let you in again. You’re not wrong to have doubts about that. Relationships — you know, that’s how they are sometimes. You go through bad times. You go through bad times, and sometimes you come out the other side. And sometimes you don’t. But you won’t know until you know.” She bit her lip. “But you’re right. This has to be it. Because you’ve made this choice. And if you don’t see it through, you’ll always wonder if you made the right one. You need to put everything into it. And you won’t do that if I’m here, with a willing ear, reminding you of what happened. So…let’s finish cleaning up, you can walk me to my building, and then go home, Jason..”
Finally made it to the weekend. It was a long week. Next week should be a bit simpler. We’re testing, but I lucked out — about 75% of my students are freshman, and they’re testing Tuesday-Friday. My juniors, about 10% of my kiddos, are testing on Tuesday, and Thursday. This means in my first two classes, I have maybe 1-2 kids for four straight days. If testing spills into fourth period AT ALL, that’s all freshman and 1 junior.
Basically, the majority of my students are spending half their days testing. So we’re reviewing and playing games all week, lol, and my seminar kids are just going to relax with a basic project. Anyway, that’s all to say I’m going to have A LOT of downtime next week at work to prep and get work done DURING the day, so nothing at home, yay!
I’ll be updating one more time tomorrow, then we return to our normal M/W/F flash fiction schedule for the rest of the school year. I’m going into edits on These Small Hours, and prepping Fool Me Twice Book 3‘s alpha draft, so I need those Tuesday/Thursdays back 😛 Plus, May 6, I kick off the summer class I need for my cert. I might need to rework my schedule a little once I get the syllabus and see how much time is needed.
I’m juggling a lot of things — as usual — but I’m really set up well in my classes to be able to actually use my lunch break to do something productive in my real life instead of working through it, lol.
The vote for the TTPD story collection ends on Sunday! Get your votes in now!
This entry is part 9 of 48 in the Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction
Written in 61 minutes.
Corinthos Penthouse: Living Room
“Hey, you.” Carly rose from the dining table by the windows, bracing one hand against her lower back, struggling with gravity. Jason hurried over to help, but she waved him off. “I’ve got it. Thanks. It’s nice to see you when, well—” She cleared her throat, went over to the beverage bar. “Did you eat yet? Coffee?”
“I’m good. I just—” Jason folded his arms. “I wanted to check on you. When Sonny wasn’t around.”
Her hand stilled as she poured a glass of orange juice, then she looked at him with a sad smile. “Why? Do you think I won’t tell the truth if he’s here?”
“I think,” he said carefully, “that you and I walk a careful line when he’s like this. And you’re a little bit more in the line of fire than I am. You’ve been through a lot with this pregnancy, Carly. I just want to get you to the finish line in one piece.”
“You’re too good to me. Really, I mean that, Jase. You’ve turned your whole life upside down for…” She tipped her head, her dark eyes studying him. “Longer than I think I’ve given you credit for. Right now, today, Sonny and I are okay. He’s managing his—God, he’d hate me for saying it—his paranoia or anxiety or whatever about Lorenzo. And that’s because of you. I know that.”
“I just remind him what he already knows Carly. When he’s clear-headed, he knows better,” Jason assured her. “It’s just—”
“There’s no warning when that fog descends. I know you hate being in the middle, but lately, I guess it just feels like we can’t function without you.”
Jason tried not to grimace at that, but he wasn’t able to keep his expression blank. Carly smiled thinly. “You hate that. We’re adults, and we should do this without you, I know it. I’m going to do better, Jase. I told Max not to come get you the next time—”
“I don’t—” He stopped. Because he did mind, and she knew it. “He’ll get past this. He always does.”
“Well, until then, I’m going to return the favor you’ve done for me by focusing entirely on you,” Carly declared.
“Why did all the hairs on the back of my neck just stand up?” Jason asked, and she laughed, heading for the sofa, straightening the throw pillows. “Don’t worry about me, Carly. I’m fine.”
“Well, you’re not really needed for this part anyway. Don’t worry—Courtney and I have it already in hand. I’ve almost got her talked into a backup venue — though Elizabeth agreeing almost made me change my mind—”
Jason frowned at her. “What? Venue? Elizabeth? What are you talking about?”
“The wedding.” Carly squinted at him. “Jase, I know guys aren’t really into this kind of thing, but five weeks isn’t a lot of time. You’re going to have do some things—”
“There’s no wedding,” Jason cut in sharply, and Carly closed her mouth, looked at him, baffled. “We didn’t set a new date.”
“You—Courtney said next month. October 19. Anniversary of your first kiss—though that threw me,” she admitted. “I didn’t realize how soon that all was, but whatever. It all worked out I guess. You don’t have to worry, Jase. Just put the tux on and show up—”
“We didn’t set a new date,” Jason repeated, and this time his voice had an edge that he didn’t even recognize.
“Okay. Message received. No wedding. But you should probably make sure Courtney knows that.” She folded her arms. “Is…there something wrong? I know you’d rather gnaw your arm off than tell me anything, but you can trust me.”
He couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. He and Carly had settled into friendship, sure, but she’d attached herself to Courtney. And her hatred of Elizabeth had never ebbed for a second. Carly was the last person he could ever talk to about this.
“It’s fine. I just don’t want you going around telling people something that isn’t happening.” People like Elizabeth—did she think they’d set another date for the wedding? Barely a week after—
He swallowed hard. “I have to go,” he muttered, then left, leaving Carly staring at him, bewildered.
Kelly’s: Dining Room
Nikolas watched as Ric left, then turned back to raise his brows at Elizabeth. “Now, I know I’m not exactly a regular here,” he said, “but I’ve been here three or four times the last week. And he’s been here every time.”
Elizabeth clenched her jaw, then picked up the dishes Ric had left behind. He always sat at the counter so she’d be forced to serve him. “Every day since I started the opening shift last week. It’s like…it’s like he knows when I’m working.”
“Tell Mike. You know he’ll switch you,” Nikolas said.
“I don’t want to make any waves.” And she didn’t want another shift. Jason never came in between opening and early lunch rush. Courtney did, though. Every day for the last week. Flashing that ring. Talking about the wedding. Making sure Elizabeth could hear her.
Elizabeth didn’t know if Courtney just wanted to rub it in or hoped that Elizabeth would say something, and Courtney could make a scene — but Elizabeth wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction. If Jason had already agreed to set a date next month, well—that was his decision. His choice. And Elizabeth was the other woman — she didn’t get to be angry about it.
And she wasn’t going to compound her own misery by letting Courtney know any of it bothered her.
“I get that, Liz,” Nikolas said, when Elizabeth returned from checking on her customers. “But you have to stick up for yourself—”
“Do I? Because usually that’s your cue to tell me to worry about Lucky and his precious feelings.” The words were snapped out with more irritation than she actually felt and Nikolas sighed, looked away. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help—”
“But you don’t exactly need me to tell you what to do or how to feel,” Nikolas said. “Don’t apologize for the truth, Liz. I like it better when you don’t pretend.”
“Well, then listen to me when I tell you that I don’t want to bother Mike with this—”
“With what?” Mike asked, emerging from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “How’s my best waitress?” he asked with a friendly smile.
“Enjoying the quiet before the rush,” Elizabeth said, sending Nikolas a death glare. He studied her for a long moment, then shook his head.
“Ric’s harassing Elizabeth on her shift—”
“Oh, you son of a—” Elizabeth bit out the last words. “What the hell, Nikolas?”
“I thought about it, and I decided that I’m okay with you being mad at me if it means Ric leaves you alone. Unless you’re thinking of a reconciliation,” Nikolas said, lifting his brows.
“No, but—”
“Then he doesn’t need to be in here every morning bothering you. I listened to you, Elizabeth, and all I heard was you not asking for what you need because you don’t want to bother people.” He dismissed her, looked at Mike. “She needs to switch shifts. Maybe a busier one when there’s more people around and he can’t corner her.”
“Did I hire you as a personal assistant or something? Don’t you have a job? A business?” Elizabeth demanded.
Mike stroked his chin. “We need someone on the post-dinner rush, closing shift, but I don’t know if that’s good—”
It was a horrible choice. That was Jason’s favorite time to come in these days, and she’d done her best to avoid him like the plague for the last year. And he’d obliged by staying away from the morning. She didn’t even realize they’d had that little unspoken agreement until right now. “I told you, Mike, I don’t want to bother you—”
“It’s not a bother, honey. I know the damage Ric can do, and I don’t want you to worry about him. Why don’t I call Michael? He and Jason—”
“The closing shift is fine,” Elizabeth interrupted, and Nikolas furrowed his brow. “There’s always someone who lingers until we close. It’ll be fine, Mike. Thanks.”
“All right. If you’re sure. You say the word, and I’ll make that call—”
“I’ll remember that.”
Mike went back into the kitchen, and Elizabeth glared at Nikolas. “I liked you better when you were up Gia’s ass. Why don’t you go crawl back up there and butt out?”
“You’re complaining but you know you’re relieved not to deal with Ric tomorrow,” Nikolas said. He held out his cup. “I’ll have a refill.”
“You’re lucky I don’t pour this over your damned head.”
General Hospital: Treatment Room
There were a cluster of treatment chairs in the room, each with their own little cubicle and IV stands. Emily sat in one, her hair pulled back in a low tail, still pale, but her eyes were alert.
“Want one?” she asked, showing him the cherry red Popsicle she held in her hand. “It’s the one perk of chemo.”
“I’m good. Thanks.” He studied her for a long moment. “You look better.”
“Well, still dying, but not nearly dead anymore. Big step up. Don’t make that face,” Emily ordered, when he flinched. “We tell the truth, you and me. That’s our thing. I almost died.”
“You don’t have to tell me that, Em. I just…don’t like remembering that…”
“That it’s not over. But I woke up that day and all the rest of them for the last—” she furrowed her brow. “What’s today?”
“September 15,” Jason told her.
“So I made it twelve more days. That’s a victory, Jase. Let me have it.”
“I will.”
“Okay, now that I’ve done my cancer bit, it’s your turn to distract me. And you need to do a better job than Elizabeth,” Emily said. “She’s been taking the afternoon shifts, you know, because she’s back at Kelly’s. Hey, you know how in the Renaissance, artists had, like, patrons?”
Jason opened his mouth, then closed it. “What are we talking about?”
“Elizabeth being back at Kelly’s. Ric got her this art show, but it was just a way to keep her busy while he—well, you know. Anyway, she had to cancel it because—again, you know. I was thinking, could I just pay her to sit and do her art? Like all those famous artists used to do?”
He rubbed his forehead. “What does this have to do with her at Kelly’s?”
“She works too much. And never has time or energy for the art. She’s a good artist. Probably an excellent one, but I don’t know anything. I’ve been thinking since I basically died, that in my next life — which is this one — I’m going to be a better person and think about other people more.”
“You’re a good person—”
“Debatable, but you’re my brother and legally obligated to say that.” She licked her Popsicle, her brow furrowed in thought. “Are you and Elizabeth still not friends? Like, I know things were weird because you broke up with her for Courtney—”
“No, I didn’t—”
“And then there was the Ric thing—which I don’t understand but I guess I’ll have to dig into that when I get out of the hospital—but other than that, is there a reason you’re not friends like you used to be?”
Jason was getting a headache trying to keep up with his sister’s rapid-pace conversation. “Where did all this energy come from?”
“Sugar rush. I’ve been sucking on these things like, well, like candy. You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not talking about Elizabeth. Or why—I’m not talking about it,” Jason said firmly.
She frowned at him, then nodded. “Okay, then let’s talk about you. You know, Courtney came to see me yesterday during chemo. I’m glad you guys set the date again. But I don’t know if I’m up to being a bridesmaid by the 19th—”
“She came yesterday?” Jason asked. After he’d talked to Carly, and told Courtney that he wasn’t comfortable setting another date so soon. She’d seemed to understand that. And then she’d immediately gone to Emily and talked about it anyway.
Christ, did she think she could just plan the wedding anyway, shove a tux in front of him and he’d just…go through with it?
“Yes,” Emily drawled, “why?”
“I’m not getting married next month. Or any other month,” Jason said, then winced. “I mean, we didn’t set—”
“Oh, the cat is out of the bag. Don’t try to put it back in. You ever try to put a cat somewhere it doesn’t want to be? Impossible. I heard it. You don’t want to get married anymore?”
“I’m not talking about this.”
“Well, damn.” She looked disappointed. “You won’t talk to me about Elizabeth. Or your wedding. That’s a lot of topics not to cover. Unless they’re the same topic.” She grinned at him when he just shook his head. “I nailed it, didn’t I?”
“Eat your Popsicle.”
Morgan Penthouse: Living Room
He couldn’t shake the conversation with Emily, or the grim realization that Courtney had listened to every word he’d said and just done whatever she wanted to do anyway. Carly had just said all he’d have to do was show up—
And what if they just planned it more quietly? What if he did wake up on October 19 and there was a note and a tux, and people were just waiting on him’? What was he going to do? Jilt her at the altar? Was that what Courtney was banking on?
When he came back to the penthouse after the visit, Courtney jerked to her feet, shoving magazines into a pile, but he saw a wedding dress on one of them. He exhaled slowly.
“You didn’t listen to anything I said the other day, did you?” Jason asked. Courtney frowned, shook her head. “The wedding. I told you I’m not setting a date.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
He held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t lie to me. You’re telling people we’re getting married in a month. That’s not happening, Courtney.”
Her mouth was thin. “Well, I can’t believe she waited this long, but I knew she’d crack eventually. What, did Elizabeth come running after I was at Kelly’s yesterday?”
“I haven’t seen Elizabeth in more than a week,” Jason said. “I went to Emily’s chemo appointment today.” She winced, looked away. “You forgot you asked my sister to be a bridesmaid?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure about her chemo — maybe she couldn’t—”
“She can’t but it doesn’t matter. Because we are not getting married on October 19,” Jason said, drawing out each word not even bothered when she flinched in response each time. “Don’t try to make this my fault. I told you this. And you just ignored me.”
“You said you were staying—” Her eyes filled with tears, but he just shook his head. “You said you wanted to get back to where we were—”
“I said that I wasn’t going to throw out everything we’ve been through for this last year, Courtney, not that I wanted to go forward like nothing happened,” Jason interrupted, and she closed her mouth, looked at her hands. “If you want to set a date, if it matters that much to you, then go ahead and set it for never. Because that’s how I feel right now—”
“You don’t get to be angry with me!” she exploded, her head snapping back up, the tears gone. “You slept with another woman!”
“And you said you forgave me, or was that a lie?” he demanded. “What are we doing here? You wanted to give it another chance. And I agreed. Because it’s been almost a year, and that should matter. But you don’t get to have it both ways. You don’t get to tell me you want to work on this and then throw it in my face every time I don’t give you what you want. I don’t know if this is going to work, Courtney, so why would we plan a wedding that isn’t going to happen?”
Courtney swallowed hard. “You think you made a mistake. You’re sorry you picked me.” Her voice was quiet now, and the tears were back, but he wasn’t moved this time.
“What do you want me to do, Courtney? Marry you to prove a point? I’m not going to do that. If you think you can just point me in whatever direction you want me to go, then I don’t know what we’re doing here. I’m trying to work on this. I’m trying to tell you how I feel, and you’re not hearing me.”
“I do—I do hear you, okay? Okay? I do. You don’t want to get married right now. Okay.” Courtney took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just — Carly brought it up and I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell her, right? Because she’d make it a whole thing, and I don’t want anyone to know. And she seemed so excited about planning it, I just got carried away. And maybe I thought—God, I just thought if I pretended things were okay, they would be okay. But you’re right. You’re right. We’re not ready to do that. I’m sorry,” she said again. She gathered up the magazine and darted for the stairs before he could say another word.
Jason grimaced, dragged his hands down his face. She’d done it for Carly. Of course. It always came back to Sonny or Carly for them, didn’t it?
He snatched his keys back from the desk and headed for the door. He needed to get out.
Kelly’s: Dining Room
Elizabeth bussed the last few tables, checked on her two remaining customers, then went to the kitchen to drop off the tubs.
“Almost done, aren’t we?” Don, the night cook, asked. He wiped down the grill. “If they order anything else, you shoot them.”
“They’re just finishing up,” Elizabeth assured him. “But don’t worry. If I see them thinking about more fries, I’ll get the paintball gun.” She heard the bells over the door and grimaced. “Please let one of them have left—”
She went back into the dining room, then stopped. So did her new customer.
Because Jason stood there, his hand still on the handle of the door, their eyes meeting.
She didn’t know how long they stared at one another—probably too long, she thought — but finally he came in, letting the door fall closed. He made his way to the counter and took a seat.
