Monthly Archives: May 2024

May 20, 2024

Update Link: Warning Shots – Part 9

I was just sitting here, relaxing, congratulating myself on getting everything done today and being on time — and then Mariah sent me a message asking if I needed nagging to remember to write. I was about to tell her how awesome I was, and then I looked at the clock. Turns out if you want to post Flash Fiction at 8, you need to, uh, start it at 7. And it was 6:48.

Couple of things I’m going to try and rush to type as I sit here at 6:56 waiting to start writing — the schedule has changed. Until at least June 13, I’m dropping the W/F Flash Fiction unless it’s optional. I’m only updating Warning Shots until then because it’s plotted out (just about — I’m on Part 9, and I’ve sketched ten parts ahead). I just made a huge storyline change in Chain Reaction that I need to sit with and do more sketching.

Any W/F additions to Flash Fiction until summer break, I’ll update Chain Reaction. Otherwise, it’s on hold until June 14 when I find out my summer school/curriculum schedule and have more time to do my online class.  Luckily I left you guys in an okay place, I think.

Okay, let me know what you think and I’ll see you next week!

 

This entry is part 9 of 36 in the Flash Fiction: Warning Shots

Written in 63 minutes.

February 2000

Lucky slumped into a seat at the kitchen table, glared down at the wooden surface. Two years of living on his own and he was right back where he’d started — in the Spencer house, in his damn high school bedroom.

Across the table, his younger sister beamed at him, tapping her spoon against the table. “Mommy, Mommy. Juice.”

“Just a minute,” Laura said, coming to the table and setting down a glass of juice and bowl of cereal. “Did you want something, Lucky?”

“No.” He leaned back against the chair, squinted at her. “This is just temporary, okay? Until I can find an apartment. Jason didn’t really leave me a lot of notice.”

“I don’t understand why he’d throw you out like this,” his mother said, returning to the table and taking a seat. “You’ve worked for him for more than a year. Did you have an argument? Maybe your father should talk to him—”

“He wants Elizabeth,” Lucky said flatly. He sat up, dragged his hands down his face. Easier to blame it on Jason, he thought. To remember the way Elizabeth looked when she smiled at him than the other night when she’d just stared at him with that shattered look in her eyes. He’d seen it before, more than once, but he’d never…

It had never been his fault before.

No, he’d said the wrong thing but she wouldn’t even listen to him, wouldn’t even try to understand how upset he was, how sorry he’d been. He’d just wanted her to listen to him, to stop pretending that everything hadn’t changed—that she hadn’t changed.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s it. Elizabeth is…well, she’s not his type—” Laura hesitated, closed her mouth, and Lucky wondered if his mother was thinking about Robin Scorpio, another petite brunette who’d worshiped at the altar of Jason Morgan. “At any rate, Jason owes you thirty days notice—”

“You think I’m going to take him to court?” Lucky snorted, shook his head. “Forget it, Mom.”

“Hey—” Nikolas pushed through the door. “I’m here to take Lu to school.”

“You’re early,” Lulu told him with a sigh. “I’m still eating.”

“My apologies, I guess Mother and Lucky will just have to entertain me while you finish.” Nikolas looked at him warily. “How are you? Better since I saw you the other day?”

“I’ve lost my place to live, my job, and my girlfriend. How do you think I’m doing?”

“Well, maybe you don’t accuse your boss and landlord of sleeping with your girlfriend,” Nikolas suggested.

“I told you, Lucky, that you’re just seeing things. Elizabeth is friendly to everyone, you know that—”

“How am I the only person who sees that she’s changed? She’s not the same girl I fell in love with.” Lucky launched himself out of his chair, crossed to the fridge. “She spends time with Jason, but I never see her—”

“Managed to call her didn’t you?” Nikolas said, coming up behind him. Lucky scowled at her. “You tell Mother about that one?”

“Tell me about what? What’s going on?”

“Shut up, Nikolas. You don’t know everything—”

His gaze never leaving Lucky’s, Nikolas just smiled. “I know enough. Mother, you know about Valentine’s Day, don’t you? Why it’s a day that…might be difficult for Elizabeth?”

“Nikolas—”

“I don’t like what this is doing to the two of you,” Laura said, coming over to them, her arms folded, her expression pinched. “You just learned to be brothers—”

“My brother, Mother, asked Jason to send him out of town for a few days. And then my brother called his girlfriend, told her to get all dressed up for a night out on Valentine’s Day. A Tuesday night, if I recall.”

Laura’s lips parted. “Oh, Lucky—”

“Elizabeth waited all night in the lobby of her dorm, then took the bus to the garage to see if she’d messed up the message. Jason had to tell her Lucky were gone. That he’d been gone for days. He drove her home.”

Laura pressed two fingers to her lips, shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d do that to her, Lucky. Of all nights? And why? For what possible reason?”

“She smiled at him, Mother. Go on, Lucky, tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you have more evidence than she smiled at him and he gave her a ride home.”

“You don’t understand because you’ve never been in love with someone other than yourself,” Lucky bit out. “And I saw them together! They were out the night she broke up with me. He took her out on that damn bike, and she was laughing when she got off—”

“The horror,” Nikolas said, his tone soft, slight mocking and Lucky flushed. “No, you see, you need her to be the bad guy because you don’t want to face what’s really happening here. You put Elizabeth high up on a pedestal. Just like you did Luke. Just like you did to our mother. And the second they disappointed you, the second they didn’t live up to your expectations, you turned on them. I know some of the crap you’ve said about our mother. I’ve heard you talk about Luke. If I ever find out what you said to Elizabeth to put that look in her eyes, losing your apartment and job won’t be the worst thing that happens.”

“Nikolas, don’t—” Laura reached for her son but Nikolas walked past her to the table, towards Lulu who had continued to eat, oblivious to the tension.

“Lulu, you ready for school?” Nikolas asked. She nodded and hopped out of her seat.

When they’d left, Laura just looked at Lucky. “Tell me he’s wrong. Tell me that’s not what you did. That you didn’t stand her up on the anniversary of the night she was raped. Tell me I raised you better than that.”

Lucky exhaled slowly, looked at his mother. “Well, you know I’m only as good as the blood that runs in my veins. Who’s fault is that?”

Laura said nothing to him, and he felt the shame crawling up his neck. “You’re just assuming Elizabeth did nothing wrong—”

“Even if you’d walked in on her having sex with Jason Morgan on the back of that motorcycle,” Laura bit out, “it never would have justified using that night as a weapon to hurt her. But you’re right. Maybe you aren’t any better than the man who sired you. That’ll be both our regrets, won’t it?”

—

Jason winced when he heard the squeak of the door. He really didn’t want to deal with customers — that was why he’d kept Lucky around, and he really didn’t want to have to hire someone else.

But it wasn’t a customer who came around the side of the building, but Sonny, and Jason visibly relaxed. He stepped away from the Ford he was working on and reached for the rag to blot the oil from his hands. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Not much. Just checking in. It’s been, ah, quiet. Which is nice. Weird,” Sonny added. “But for now Moreno is keeping to his side of the street. Might need you to go down to the Oasis and remind Coleman who he works for. I think he’s skimming off the top from the bookies. Benny finds something for me to prove it, you’re on deck.”

“Yeah, sure. But why come all the way down here just for that? You could have called.” Jason headed for the office and Sonny trailed after him.

“Well, I stopped by Luke’s today to check on him, and he told me something that, I gotta admit, I’m a little confused about.”

Jason frowned, looked at him. “What? Is he having trouble with Moreno, too?”

“No. No. Is there a chance the reason you fired Lucky is because you like his girlfriend?” Sonny wanted to know.

Jason closed his eyes, muttered something under his breath, then scowled when he looked at his friend and boss. “What the hell is Luke saying about Elizabeth?”

“So it’s true? Because—”

“No, it’s—” He really wanted to punch something. Someone. But the way he was feeling, if he came across Lucky Spencer right now, he’d put him through a wall. “It’s not true the way Luke is saying it. So I want to know what exactly he told you because if that little bastard is talking about her that way—”

“I feel like I’m walking into a movie halfway through,” Sonny said. “Lucky’s girlfriend is that Elizabeth girl, right? The brunette who’s friends with Emily.”

“Yeah. And she’s—Lucky screwed up with her. Bad.” Jason related the events around Valentine’s briefly and Sonny’s eyes darkened. “I had to be the one to tell her, Sonny, that he wasn’t here. And that he’d planned it that way. Lucky’s taking a few coincidences and stringing them together to make a story that makes her the bad guy so he can feel better. And he’s walking around telling anyone who can hear him that I’m after his girlfriend. No, I don’t want people to think that. The wrong people hear him, and—”

“Ah. So you’re not mad on Elizabeth’s behalf, you don’t want anyone who doesn’t like you or me thinking we’ve got someone in our midst they can play with. You know since I’m flying solo these last few months and your sister is a no go or the Quartermaines will burn the city to the ground.” Sonny lifted his brows. “You’re right. Lucky could make things uncomfortable. Does Elizabeth know he’s saying this kind of crap?”

“She’s mortified,” Jason muttered. “She came here to apologize. Look, I’m mad because it’s a shitty thing to do to someone you say you love. She’s—she’s a good person, Sonny. Yes, I like her. As a person. As Emily’s friend. She’s put herself on the line to look out for my sister. I can be pissed at Lucky Spencer for both reasons.”

Sonny squinted at him, and Jason felt almost like he was under a microscope. He fought the urge to squirm. “Is there anything else?”

“No. No. Just heard the story and thought it was odd. I’ll talk to Luke. See if he can get some sense talked into the kid. What went wrong with him, do you think?” Sonny asked. “Had some real promise, but you got the right idea. We don’t need someone like that around.”

—

The conversation was still bothering Jason a few days later when he headed for Kelly’s — he’d been avoiding it most of the week, he’d realized, because he was hoping if he avoided even coming into contact with Elizabeth, Lucky would knock it off, and it would all die down.

He found Emily in the courtyard, having lunch with Juan. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “Jason! Hey! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” She hugged him. “Thank you, by the way, for going to see Liz last week. Because if you hadn’t and Lucky had showed up, well, he wouldn’t have shown what absolutely tiny little man he is—”

Jason made a face. “I barely did anything.”

“You always say that, and it’s never true. Anyway, Juan and I were just talking about our plans for spring break, and—I know this is going to break your heart,” Emily told Jason, “but Juan’s going home for the break.”

“Devastated,” Jason said dryly, and even Juan snorted. The kid wasn’t so bad. He was in school, and Emily seemed to be happy enough. “So you’ll be in Port Charles?”

“That’s how it looks right now. Liz and I were trying to save up to do something, but she refuses to take a cent from me—and Dad already tried to sway her with all expenses paid trip to Cabo. Honestly, what’s the point of having money if I can’t spoil my best friend?” Emily patted his shoulder. “That’s where you come in.”

“Should I be scared?” Jason asked.

“No, but you and Sonny still have that resort in the Caribbean, right?”

“Sonny does,” Jason corrected. He might have shares in the place, but it was all Sonny’s. “Why do you think she’ll accept it from me instead of Alan?”

“Because I’m going to tell you and Liz and I can afford, and it’s going to magically match a price at the resort, you know, like a discount—”

“A discount? I’m not charging you,” Jason said, vaguely insulted.

“I know, I know, but she’ll never agree. Unless you want to try to convince her. She always listens to you—” Emily turned and looked through the windows of the courtyard. “She’s here now. Come on. Let’s team up.”

“I did not agree to that,” Jason said, but he let his sister tow him through the doors and into the diner. Juan followed, and slid onto a stool at the counter.

“I have the best news,” Emily declared, releasing Jason’s hand at the counter. “I ran into Jason and told him how Juan is deserting me for the break—”

“Not how she described it ten minutes ago,” Juan told Elizabeth who just smirked, then looked at Jason.

“Let me guess, Emily told you I turned down Cabo, and now she wants you to convince me to take the trip after all.” She switched her gaze to Emily. “I told you, if I keep saving, I’ll be able do this summer. Tammy said I could have two weeks—”

“Not Cabo,” Emily said. “Jason owns an island—”

“Sonny. Sonny owns an island,” Jason corrected, but Emily waved that aside.

“And there’s a resort on it with a casino—which we could totally go to because the ages are different down there, and Jason’s got amazing villa with a private beach—he says we can use it for free! Right?” Emily turned her sparkling eyes onto Jason, her hands clasped in front of her. “This is so much better than us going to Fort Lauderdale and ending up on MTV’s Spring Break all drunk and half-dressed—”

“Was that an option?” Elizabeth asked, frowning.

“It could be. It’s not that expensive. I looked into it—”

“Robin made me watch that once. You’re not going to Fort Lauderdale,” Jason said flatly, and Emily smirked.

“Right, but if Liz doesn’t take you up on this amazingly generous awesome offer, than we won’t have a choice but to end up on Girls Gone Wild—”

“I like how she just assumes I’d be up for either of those choices,” Elizabeth told Jason with a roll of her eyes. “I told you, Em, we’re not friends because of your last name or your trust fund. And you—” She looked at Jason. “I don’t care about your bank account. I can pay my own way. In two months.”

Emily made a face, looked at Jason. “Okay, your turn.”

“My—” Jason just shook his head. “You know, my life was a lot quieter before I knew you.”

“Ha, you don’t remember your life before you knew me. I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m not going anywhere.” Emily wound her arm through Jason’s. “You’re stuck with me.”

Jason just looked at Elizabeth. “You have to say yes because she’ll never shut up otherwise. The place is there. I don’t use it. You can buy your own food or souvenirs or whatever. But I wouldn’t charge my sister, I’m not going to charge you either.”

Elizabeth bit her lip, then looked at Emily with a sigh. “Okay, but this is the last expensive thing you do for me. Which is what I said after the oil paints you got for Christmas.”

“Now is not the time to tell you about the pool house my parents are redoing so we can have like our own house on the estate instead of the dorms next year, huh?” Emily said. Elizabeth’s mouth dropped. “Right. I’ll save that for later.” She squealed. “Oh my God!” She hugged Jason again. “I knew you could do it, I knew you’d talk sense into her—”

“Don’t you all look happy,” came a sour voice from behind them. Emily released Jason and they both turned to see Lucky sauntering towards them. “Didn’t take you long to come sniffing around Elizabeth,” he said to Jason with a sneer who just stared at him, almost dumbfounded.

“You’re really still doing this?” Emily demanded. “Juan, punch him.”

“I mean, I’ll do it, but I don’t want to get arrested,” Juan said, getting to his feet. Lucky just rolled his eyes.

“Does it feel good that you turned all my friends against me?” he demanded to Elizabeth, and now Jason did turn and look at her. Her face was blank, but her fingers were clutched tightly around the cloth in her hands. “My own brother?”

“I never did anything to make that happen,” Elizabeth said, her voice trembling just slightly on the last word.

“No, of course not. You never do anything. You’re just good at making people feel sorry for you. Worked on me, but they’ll see who you really are and leave you, too. Your family did, didn’t they?”

Elizabeth’s face went white, and Lucky smirked. “And now I see, you too. Good luck.” With that, he headed for the door.

“Elizabeth—” Emily began, but Elizabeth released the cloth and fled towards the kitchen, the heavy kitchen door banging a minute later.

Well, it was time to throw someone in the lake. Jason started for the door, but Emily snagged his arm. “No, you go after him now, you’ll kill him, and you don’t need the hassle. I’ll take care of him. Go make sure she’s okay. Juan, come with me in case I need back up.”

“Em—”

“I’m not going to let him touch her,” Juan promised, and Jason sighed. He watched his sister dart out the door, heard her yelling in the parking, “Yo, asshole!” before he looked back towards the kitchen.

Then he followed Elizabeth into the alley.

May 17, 2024

Hey! Just wandering into let you know I’m doing a slight adjustment to the posting schedule for the next few weeks. I’m hoping it’s just through the end of May, but it’s possible it might go a week into June.

I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew in May, lol. In my defense, my students completely forgot how to work independently over the last week or so. They can smell the break coming. I used to have about 10-15 minutes during each class where I could just do admin work like grading, organizing content, etc. but now it’s zero, so instead of using my prep and lunch for my college class, I’m scrambling to get the second week of work done by tomorrow night.  Plus, like I  said, the kids are just off the wall and I really wasn’t expecting the level of behavior issues I’ve had this week. I’ve been tired, migraines, TMJ, just ugh. Not great.

ANYWAY. I figure most of this will resolve itself as we move through these rougher almost done but not quite there weeks. June 3 begins the last full week of classes and ironically because the kids can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel and not just sense it, they do tend to calm down. (I am praying).

I’m keeping Flash Fiction on Mondays. Wednesday and Fridays will be optional as time and energy allows. Check my Twitter for updates, subscribe to the blog to get emailed, or just wander onto the site when you can. And it goes without saying, I’m not updating tonight.

May 13, 2024

Update Link: Chain Reaction – Part 15

It has been the most Monday of all Mondays. The kids were absolutely insane at school (one month from today is the last day of school so you know, they’re never going to be normal again) and then at 9 this morning, my mother sends me a text that she’s in the ER, waiting on an echocardiogram — like, universe, what. And if that’s not enough, Dad’s not with her because he has poison ivy.

Honestly.

She’s okay — I just got a text from her that all things are good, but you know, my friends, I could have done without all of this day.

I’ll see you on Wednesday for Warning Shots.

This entry is part 15 of 48 in the Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction

Written in 55 minutes.

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

I slept with her because I wanted to. Because I’d wanted to for years, and for the first time, I realized she still gave a damn about me. Is that what you wanted to hear?

Courtney fisted her hands at her side, her face a bright cherry red. “Does it make you feel good to hurt me this way? Because I told Ric Elizabeth switched her shifts? That means I deserve this—”

“Ric isn’t just her ex-husband,” Jason bit out, taking a step towards her and she flinched. “He’s the man who locked your so-called best friend in a goddamn panic room for three weeks. He knocked her out in front of her five-year-old son and kidnapped her, threatening to murder her and take her baby. Or doesn’t that matter to you anymore?”

“I notice he’s still breathing,” Courtney retorted. “And you sure as hell had no problem using him in Venezuela—”

“Because we needed to rescue Carly!” The words exploded louder than he’d meant them to, and she turned away from them, from the bitter anger lacing through every word. “I would have worked with anyone if it meant bringing her home safely! What don’t you get about that? And after that, he was in the goddamn system—an ADA connected to Sonny disappears right now, they’ll be crawling all over us—you care so goddamn much about Sonny and Carly, why can’t you get that? Why does any of this have to be explained to you?” he demanded. “Ric Lansing is a psychopath who was so desperate to  get revenge on Sonny he didn’t care who he mowed down in his path to get to Sonny — he went after Carly, went after you—”

“And I can’t wait to see how you excuse your precious china doll, Elizabeth, from what she did,” Courtney said scathingly. “She argued with you every step of the way, refused to believe what was in front of her face—she didn’t believe Michael—”

“She didn’t want to believe it. And I had no proof,” Jason cut in. And he’d lost Elizabeth’s trust by that point — fair or not. “She’s never backed away from it once the truth was obvious. She’s divorcing him. Trying to get him out of her life, and you handed her schedule over to him like it was nothing—because she’s nothing to you, right? Just an obstacle.”

“If you’re waiting for me to apologize, you’ll be disappointed. She deserves whatever happens to her for not believing us about Ric until the last minute. She gets to waltz around being cruel and oblivious, and you’re going to reward her for that? You’re going to leave me after everything she put you through? That’s the deal breaker?” Courtney demanded. “After this last year, you’re going to leave me for some bitch who never believes you when she should. Or are you too brain damaged to remember Zander and Lucky Spencer?”

She snapped her mouth shut the moment the words had left her mouth, and Jason took a step back, swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean that,” Courtney said. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow. I’m angry, I’m hurt, but that’s—”

“I’m leaving you because I don’t love you,” Jason interrupted. “And I’m not sure I ever did. Whatever you think Elizabeth did, you pointed the same man who terrorized Carly and Michael in her direction. How am I supposed to look at you any other way? Elizabeth—whatever happens with her or doesn’t happen—that’s none of your business. Because she isn’t the reason this is done.”

Her eyes burned with fury, tears clinging to her lashes. “One mistake. I make one mistake, she makes a million, and we’re just done. I don’t even get a second chance—you’re just cutting me out—”

“One mistake,” Jason repeated. “So all the conversations you keep having with Carly about the wedding—the ones you swear you stopped—those weren’t mistakes? Bringing it up to me when I asked you not to, telling Michael he can be in the ceremony—you’re planning for something I told you I didn’t even want. You don’t think each time I had to hear it from someone else, I didn’t see what you were doing? But I can’t blame you can, you? You just watched Carly do the same thing to me. Keep repeating something until I stopped fighting it.”

“That is not what I was doing—I needed to believe it was still happening, okay? I needed to believe you still loved me—”

“And that’s why you brought up fitting into a wedding dress in front of Elizabeth. Because you needed me to love you?” Jason repeated, and her mouth settled into a mutinous line. “No, that was vindictive—”

“Protecting the whore that ruined everything—”

“I kissed her first,” Jason interrupted, and Courtney stumbled to a stop, just blinked at him. “How does that fit into the story you’re writing for yourself? I took her to Jake’s after closing,  and I stopped her from leaving, and I kissed her first. What’s your next excuse, Courtney?”

“I can see there’s nothing I can say that’s going to change your mind. Not tonight. But you’ll see. She’ll show you who she is, she always does, doesn’t she? But this time, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself because I’m not to wait around for you to get yourself together. I loved you! I was trying to protect the life we built—”

“And you did it by using Ric Lansing. What do you think Carly’s going to think if she finds out you were talking to him? That you were trying to help him?” Jason lifted his brows again. “What about Sonny? You think that’s going to help?”

“What if I tell them what you did?” Courtney retorted. “You cheated on me with the woman that protected Ric while Carly was in a panic room—you think she’s going to make a place in your life the way I did? You think they’re just  going to roll over and let you bring her back here?”

Jason picked up his keys. “I don’t really give a damn what any of you think. I told you. Keep the ring. Keep the damn penthouse. I just don’t want to look at your face again.”

“I don’t want anything from you—” Courtney whirled around, snatched up her purse. “I’ll just go back to the safe house and make sure Carly knows exactly what you did to me—”

“Good. Go ahead. Tell Carly on the same day her husband had a mental break from reality and put his hands on her.” Jason yanked open the door when she just stopped to look at him with a scowl. “Was Carly even really your friend or did you use her to get to me?”

“You think an awful lot of yourself, don’t you? You think I’m trying to manipulate you into marrying me, that I used my brother and my best friend—”

“A year ago you hated them both. You didn’t like me much either. So, yeah, maybe Courtney, I’m asking myself a few questions I should have a long time ago.”

“I hope you die alone and miserable.” She stalked past him, and he slammed the door behind her, flattening both hands against the surface, taking a deep breath.

He didn’t know where any of that had come from, only that every word had been the truth. For the first time in months—in years—he hadn’t calculated every word he spoke, trying to protect the people around him. And when the hell had he started doing that in the first place? Hadn’t he once prided himself on being better than the Quartermaines, on speaking honestly and openly, even when it hurt?

Maybe Courtney hadn’t deserved every ounce of anger he’d flown at her tonight, but the more she’d tried to defend herself — to justify using Ric Lansing’s obsession with Elizabeth as a weapon in the war between them — the more Jason wondered just how much of the last year had been real — if either of them had loved each other at all.

He dragged his hands over his face, took a deep breath. But he’d done what he couldn’t five weeks ago. He’d made a promise to Elizabeth that he was ending his engagement, and he’d finally done it.

Now, he had to face the consequences. He had no doubt Courtney would hurry to Carly and tell her side of the whole affair, casting Jason and Elizabeth in the worst light. And maybe she’d even scurry over to Sonny at some point. He could get to Sonny first, but maybe—

Maybe Jason wondered what his so-called best friends would do when asked to choose between Jason, who’d never done anything but put them first — and Courtney, the woman who had barely been around a year.

The fact that he didn’t know — that he wasn’t sure if they’d show him the same loyalty he’d given them— it reminded him why he’d gone to Elizabeth tonight in the first place, and why leaving Courtney was just the first step in the changes he needed to make.

Studio

The weak morning sun peeked around the thick shade Elizabeth had thrown up over the sole window, hitting her right in the face. She slapped a hand over her eyes, groaned, and rolled over, hoping that the universe might grant her just five more minutes of sleep.

The movement didn’t sit right, and her stomach lurched. Elizabeth grimaced, then sat up. After leaving Jason at the entrance to the building the night before, she’d come upstairs and finished off a bag of Doritos she’d found in her small food cabinet. That, and the last of a Mountain Dew from the mini fridge, was not sitting well this morning.

“Oh, choices were made and none of them were good,” she muttered, sliding her legs from beneath the light blanket on the sofa. Her head whirled, and she had the dizzying feeling of vertigo where the world was spinning but she was staying still. Actually, it felt she was still, the world was spinning, and so was her brain, so her skull was trapped in a twisted tilt-a-whirl—

“Okay, maybe we need to think seriously about eating better.” Elizabeth got to her feet. “Because if this is a preview of what it’s going to be like waking up in my fifties, I don’t like it. We’ve got to stop late night snacking.” She braced a hand against the brick wall. “Oh, but that doesn’t explain how my head feels—what the hell—”

And then something lurched upward abruptly and violently—that tell-tale awful feeling of her esophagus being used as a cannon in the wrong direction—Elizabeth clapped a hand over her mouth, stumbled to the door, then frantically lid back the deadbolt, twisted the bottom lock, threw open the door—

And managed to make it down the hall and over the toilet just in time.

A few minutes later, after shakily brushing her teeth and rinsing out her mouth, Elizabeth made her way back into the studio, intent on heading straight for the sofa and curling up into a fetal ball of misery.

“That’s it. Vegetables forever,” she told the universe. “I’ll even learn to cook them—” As she passed her answering machine, she saw the light flickering. Curious, she pressed play, then went back to the sofa. She wrapped the blanket around herself, climbed back on the sofa and leaned her head against the back, closing her eyes.

There was a message from her grandmother, left yesterday morning. “I know you’re avoiding me, Elizabeth, but really, I wish you’d call. I want to understand what’s going. How am I to make heads or tails of any of this if you won’t explain it? You get married and then you nearly die, and then you’re getting divorced—oh, Elizabeth. I just wish you’d call.”

“Keep wishing, Gram,” Elizabeth murmured. Her grandmother would never believe the panic room story. Not about such a fine upstanding man who was working with Scotty at the DA’s office. Scotty was the son of her best friends, Lee and Gail Baldwin, and well, Scotty wouldn’t hire a madman, would he?

“Miss Webber, it’s Dr. Meadows’ office. You’re due for a follow-up, just to make sure everything is all right after….after what happened last May. You can all us at…” Elizabeth tuned out the receptionist reeling off the phone number, and had nearly dozed off to sleep, wondering why she needed a follow up.

She’d had the clean bill of health in May, hadn’t she? The miscarriage had been a tragedy, but Elizabeth had decided to look at it as the universe giving her a break. If she’d been pregnant, Ric might have hid his true nature even longer—she’d be trapped with him. Not that it was the baby’s fault, but—

And she certainly didn’t need a follow up to confirm nothing was wrong after July. She knew she couldn’t take hormonal birth control anymore, not after the embolism. She’d figure out how Ric had managed it — an overdose of estrogen was really the only explanation, the doctors had said. Maybe she’d messed up her birth control pills?

She hadn’t even been on birth control—

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, her head protesting the movement. “Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit—” She threw off the blanket and stumbled across the room to look through the papers, trying to find the copy of the Port Charles Herald she’d carelessly tossed aside the day before. October 10.

Shit, shit, shit. Something should have happened two weeks after that night at Jake’s, and she’d just…she’d lost track of it. So much had been happening, and she’d never been that regular, not with all the stress she’d always been under—

But now—now, something was supposed to happen this week—three days ago, Elizabeth noted on the calendar where she kept track of such things.

And for the second time in a row—nothing.

That night—they hadn’t exactly been careful, had they? Elizabeth exhaled on a careful breath, pressed a hand to her abdomen, looked down. “Are you some kind of magnet?” she muttered. “Because I swear to everything if you’re knocked up again, I will be—”

Excited? Happy? Terrified?

“This,” she told her belly, “would be terrible timing, and since your possible father and I are always bad at that, I am almost definitely pregnant.”

She’d just told Jason the night before he needed some time on his own, hadn’t she? He’d talked about being exhausted by the pressure and stress of always being needed, of always having to center his life around Sonny and Carly—and of course, he’d never look at a baby that way. That just wasn’t how he was built—

But this really was not the plan.

“Okay, time to stop spiraling and be an adult. I can do this. I can do this.” She’d take a shower, she’d get dressed, she’d buy a test, and everything could wait until she found out if there was even a reason to be worried or freaking out in the first place.

May 11, 2024

Update Link: Chain Reaction – Part 14

I definitely meant to update yesterday before the Phillies game, but by the time I got home from work, I really wasn’t feeling great. The temperature keeps going back forth in my region — it’s dropped into the 50s from the 80s earlier this week, and it just screws with my sinuses and allergies. I was just miserable, and went to bed early. I feel a lot better today, and this is supposed to be the last week of wildly varying temps.

I added a widget in the sidebar where I’ll change any future updates, so you can keep track of future postings. Until I’m done on June 13, the times will continue to flucuate though I’ll do my best to continue three updates a week 🙂 We’re into the last few weeks of classes and I’ve already prepped the content and materials for about 75% of the days I have left so that just makes life so much easier. Can’t believe we’re a month away from summer break. It really went so fast!

I’ve been working hard on prepping Fool Me Twice, Book 3 and These Small Hours for the next stage of writing which starts on Monday.

This entry is part 14 of 48 in the Flash Fiction: Chain Reaction

Written in 60 minutes.

Kelly’s: Dining Room

This was not a good idea.

Somewhere in Elizabeth’s fevered brain, those words were surely being screamed, but she couldn’t hear them over the pounding of her heart, the sensation of Jason’s hands in her hair, the feeling of his skin beneath her hands as she slid them beneath his t-shirt, stumbling backwards as she felt herself being lifted onto the table, heard the crash of the napkin dispenser hitting the ground—

“Wait, wait—” With willpower she didn’t know existed, Elizabeth turned her mouth away from Jason’s, drawing in much needed oxygen, but he never missed a beat, his lips nibbling down the line of her throat, to her collarbone— “Wait—” she said again—covering his mouth with her hands, and then got his attention.

They stared at each other for a long moment, and Elizabeth nearly forgot everything all over again except how right it felt to be in his arms, to have her legs wrapped around his waist—

If they’d been anywhere else—

“Anyone can see us,” Elizabeth said, because at least that much would get through to both of them. Jason closed his eyes for a moment, rested his forehead against hers, then stepped back, carefully tugging her back to her feet, keeping one arm around her waist. “The, um, windows—”

“Yeah,” he managed, his voice rough. He looked at all the glass, giving them an excellent view of the courtyard which was thankfully empty. But anyone could have walked past and watched Jason Morgan ravishing a woman other than his fiancee on the tables inside.

“What are we doing?” Elizabeth whispered. “What are we doing, Jason? Didn’t we decide we weren’t these people?”

“What kind of people are we then?” Jason stepped back, reluctantly letting his arms fall to his side.

“I don’t know, are you still engaged?” she asked pointedly, and he sighed, looked away. “We have heat, sure. And we’re good on our own. We’ve always known that. When it’s just the two of us, it’s perfect. No surprise that the sex is good. Amazing,” she corrected when he just looked at her. “But as much as I want to be here for you, to be your friend, I’m not going to be the one you turn to when your real life gets too hard. Because if you go home to her this time, I might lose my mind—”

“I haven’t told her yet,” Jason cut in. He stooped down, picked up the napkin dispenser, set it back on the table. “I was going to. Maybe right there in the courtyard. But then something happened, and I had to take care of it. When it was over, all I wanted to do was find you. See you. Maybe I should have waited. No, I know I should have, it’s just…” He shook his head. “Never mind. Never mind. You’re right. I’ll talk to her tomorrow and then—”

“What happened?” Elizabeth asked and he fell silent. “I don’t know, am I allowed to ask that?”

“You can always ask. I just…I just can’t always answer. But—” He dragged a hand down his face. “Sonny’s having issues. I’ve never told you how bad they are, but right now, it’s as bad as it’s ever been and I don’t think what I’m doing is enough. That’s why I can’t talk to Courtney tonight. She’s with Carly at a safehouse.”

Elizabeth sat down, dread flooding her veins. “Is she all right?”

“Yeah. Mostly.” He returned to his seat across from her. “Sonny thought he saw Lily. On the balcony. He didn’t recognize Carly. When Max got inside, he had her by the wrists, was shaking her. Michael saw it all.”

She reached across the table, found his hand, covered it with her own. He turned her hand in his own, rubbed his thumb across her palm. “Max got her across the hall, and he called me. He didn’t know Lily was dead. Couldn’t remember it. He knew me, though. So…that’s something. I sedated him. He’s sleeping. And I just…I wanted to get on the bike and keep going,” he admitted in a quiet voice, so low that she could scarcely hear him. “I calmed Carly down. Courtney got home. She didn’t want to go, but I told her to. I couldn’t deal with her just then. I didn’t know what I’d say or do. I didn’t even want to look at her,” Jason bit out. “I just wanted them all to go away. They did. But they never stay away.”

He exhaled slowly, stared down at their joined hands. “So I got on the bike, and I came here. I thought if I just saw you, even if I just looked at you, I’d…I don’t know. Feel something different. And I know that’s not fair to you—”

“Don’t make me break out the line again,” Elizabeth said, and he looked at her, startled by the interruption, by what she’d said, and his laugh was short, almost a bitter sound that he immediately stifled by releasing her hand and putting both hands over his face.

“I’m going to tell her. I know how that sounds,” he added when she said nothing. “I’ve spent the last month trying to get back something I don’t think existed in the first place, and I just—I don’t want to pretend anymore. I just want something that’s mine. Instead of—” Jason stopped, swallowed hard.

“No, go ahead, finish it. There’s nothing you can say to me that’s going to change how I feel, Jason.” Elizabeth tipped her head.

“You said it, last year. Sonny’s enforcer. First, last, always,” he muttered with a bitterness that she didn’t know he had inside of him. “I told you, that stayed with me. Don’t apologize for it—” he added when she opened her mouth. “You were right. That’s all I am. I live and breath Sonny’s life. His wife, his son, his sister, that’s my entire world, and I did it to myself. I did it willingly. Courtney fits, that’s what I told you,” Jason said, and she bit her lip. “She fits because she’s made Sonny and Carly her whole life. That’s all we talk about. Is Sonny okay today? Is Carly too stressed? What should we do to make sure Michael isn’t affected? How do I handle it if it’s a bad day? Or today’s a good day, so let’s make sure we don’t do or say anything that throws it off because it doesn’t take much—I didn’t even know my sister was dying until she had to tell me.”

“She wasn’t telling anyone, Jason,” Elizabeth said, reaching for his hand, but he avoided it this time. “But I know what you mean. She wasn’t telling anyone. But if either of us had been paying attention—we know her better than anyone. Between the two of us, we’d have wrestled her to the ground and dragged the truth out. You’re not the only one who feels like let her down.”

“I just don’t want it to be like this anymore. It’s not enough. It shouldn’t have taken a year for me to figure that out, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry it did. I should have ran after you that night. Stopped you. Never lied in the first place—”

“We’re not going to do that, remember? Think about the ways we hurt each other. You told me that, and now I’m telling you. I didn’t hold on when I should have. We both made mistakes. Let’s just…let’s leave that in the past where it belongs.” She cleared her throat. “And we don’t have to get into the rest of it. I really do understand why you haven’t…why you haven’t told Courtney. I can understand you wanting to wait until this is—until Sonny’s through this—”

“I’m not—that’s not what I’m going to do.” Jason frowned, his eyes sharp, focused on her, some of the misery burned away. “I told you. I realized what was important, and I came here to tell you that. I just—I got distracted by Ric, and then—everything else. I know—I know we can’t — you need me to end things and I’m going to. But I told you. I want my life to be my own again. And I want you in it.”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together, took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“You don’t believe me—”

“I do. I do,” she repeated when he just shook his head. “It’s just—you’ve—there’s been a lot today. Emily’s news, and that scene with Courtney. Everything with Sonny and Carly, and then Ric—I just think maybe—if you’re ready to end your engagement, your relationship with Courtney, okay. I don’t know if…” She bit her lip. “This is going to sound insane, and it’s not what I want, so believe me, I hate what I’m about to say. But maybe you need time on your own. Just you. I mean, I’ll be here. Friends,” she added. “But it’s been a lot this last year. You came home, and there was Alcazar, Brenda, Ric, and—it’s just been so much. For both of us.”

“You’re probably right.” Jason grimaced, looked at his hands. “I’ve screwed this up,” he muttered. “From the beginning.”

“You did the best you could. I know you did, Jason. That’s just who you are. You tried so hard not to hurt anyone that you ended up hurting yourself the most. Everyone expects so much from you, and you’re just—you’re human, okay? Remember that. You’re not responsible for Sonny and Carly. For Courtney. For Emily. Or for me. We all make our own choices and mistakes.”

He nodded, then sighed again. He got to his feet, held out his hand and pulled her up. “I’ve missed you,” Jason said. He reached for her other hand, held them both in his, looked down at them. “This—right here—this is the most right I’ve felt in weeks. Maybe longer. That night, you know what I think about the most?” When she shook her head, he continued, “when we were just talking. Laying in bed, with you in my arms. I think about that all the time.”

Damn it. Her eyes filled. She leaned up, pressed her lips to his in a short, sweet kiss, cupping the line of his jaw. “I think about that, too. The rest of the night — that was amazing, and sure, that’s in there. But mostly, just being with you. It’s all I’ve ever needed.”

He nodded, his forehead against hers. “I have to go. Or I won’t be able to,” he admitted. “Can I—can I call you or come see you tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’d like that.”

“I’ll walk you to your building…and stay outside when you go up,” Jason said, and she laughed lightly. She scooped up her purse and the light jacket she’d grabbed.

“That’s probably a good idea.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Jason sighed, dropped his keys on the desk, then just looked at the woman sitting on the sofa. “I told you to stay with Carly tonight.”

“She called her mother.” Courtney got to her feet. “I told her that we needed to talk. And we do. First, I need to apologize for today—”

“You knew her schedule, didn’t you?” Jason asked, staring at the wooden surface of the desk. “She switched to closing, but you knew she was on the lunch shift today, didn’t you?”‘

“Yes,” Courtney said, a bit hesitantly. “I did it on purpose. I guess I wanted to know what would happen—”

“You thought I’d be reminded of how guilty I’m supposed to feel and let you set a date for the wedding.” And now he looked at her, saw the irritation in her eyes before dropping them to the ground. “Did Mike give you the schedule?”

“No. I know where he keeps it. Jason—”

He nodded, rubbed his mouth. “And then you gave a copy of it to Ric.” When her mouth just tightened, and she didn’t deny it, Jason felt sick to his stomach. “You gave him everything he needed to stalk her. That’s what he’s been doing. Every night. Did you know that?”

“I guess I don’t need to ask where you were tonight. Did you get a quickie in before coming home?” Courtney demanded, folding her arms.

“You’re not going to turn this around on me. What I did — I did. And you know, it was technically wrong because of this, but I didn’t do it to hurt you. I didn’t,” he added, when she just scoffed. “Because I just wasn’t thinking about you at all.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what you think it does,” he retorted. “I was with Elizabeth, and I didn’t think about you until I answered my phone the next morning. Not once. Does that bother you?” he asked.

“You’re just being cruel now to get back at me for telling Ric—”

“No, I just stopped caring what you think or feel,” Jason interrupted, and she snapped her mouth shut. “Just like you stopped caring what I thought. What I felt. I told you I didn’t want to talk about the wedding. That I wasn’t even sure I wanted to get to married. That didn’t matter to you. You set today up to hurt me, to manipulate me into doing what you wanted.”

Tears glimmered in her eyes, but Courtney just lifted her chin. “I see the gloves are off. Okay, good. Good. Now that you’re not worried about protecting my feelings, why don’t you tell me why you did it? What changed if it wasn’t the miscarriage I had?”

Jason shook his head. “You don’t want to hear this, so let’s just end it here. You can have the ring. You can have this place, I don’t care. But this is done—”

“If this is done, then I deserve to know why after everything we’d been through, after everything this last year, why did you jump into bed with Elizabeth? Why did you nearly leave me over it? Why don’t you feel guilty?” she demanded.

“Because I didn’t know there was a chance,” Jason said, and she simply stared at him.

“What? What does that mean?”

“Elizabeth told me I’d ruined any chance for us the night she walked out,” he said, the memory searing like acid. “And I believed her. But that night, I realized she was wrong. I slept with her because I wanted to. Because I’d wanted to for years, and for the first time, I realized she still gave a damn about me. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

May 8, 2024

Update Link: Warning Shots – Part 8

Happy Wednesday! Feels really good to be more than halfway through the week — can’t wait to not set the alarm on Saturday! Only 18 full days left!

I should be back on Friday at 7 (Phillies are playing a half hour later since they’re on the road!) See you then!

This entry is part 8 of 36 in the Flash Fiction: Warning Shots

Written in 64 minutes.  Would you believe I originally thought I could fit all of these scenes and the last part into one update? I must have been crazy.

February 2000

Elizabeth made it back to her room almost in a daze, mechanically returning to the entrance of the dorms opening the door, boarding the elevator, pressing the right button—she didn’t remember any of it, but found herself standing outside the room, staring blindly at the closed door as if she’d never seen it before.

Had that just happened? Had it been a walking nightmare from beginning to end?

Elizabeth wrapped her hands around the knob, twisted, then pushed the door open. Inside, Emily was lounging on one of the single beds, stretched out on her stomach, her feet up by the headboard. She bounded to her feet at Elizabeth’s entrance. “Hey! I was wondering how long you were going—” She stopped. “What happened?”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, then closed the door, and perched on the edge of her bed, planting her hands flat against the mattress on either side of her thighs. “I broke up with Lucky.”

“Shut up.” Emily dropped onto the bed, her brown eyes wide. “No way. Did you call him as soon as Jason told you—”

“He was waiting—” Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Jason came to the dorms. You knew that. Didn’t you?”

“I did. I figured you were out with him, but—” her friend tipped her head. “Lucky was waiting when you got back? I didn’t see him when I came in, but maybe he wasn’t here long.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” Elizabeth licked her lips. “Jason told me that Lucky knew. He knew, Em.” She closed her eyes, dipped her down until her chin rested against her chest. “He knew and he did it on purpose. On Valentine’s Day.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m so so so sorry—”

“I was going to let him get away with it, Em. I was going to forgive him. I knew he did it on purpose, but I wanted him to love me—” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Was he always this way and I just…I didn’t see it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just—” Elizabeth rose to her feet, crossed to her desk and the picture frame resting at the corner — from a night at Kelly’s, sitting at one of the tables, arms around each other, grinning. She traced their faces. “It was perfect, Em. Wasn’t it? Did I imagine that?”

“No, I don’t think you did. You loved each other, and it was real. But—” Emily toyed with the cuff of her sleeve. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I realized things weren’t right, and maybe it was perfect because you guys made each other your whole worlds. Everything was about Lucky for you, and everything was about you for him. And maybe if that had stayed true, it would have been fine.”

“I know I changed my mind about living together. I didn’t realize it was such a big deal for him—but I just—I didn’t want to. I liked this. Sharing a room with you. Being normal.” Elizabeth looked at her friend. “I spent so much of high school not being normal. Not doing what the other girls did. I was too obsessed with Sarah, and then too scared of my own shadow. I wanted something else for myself, you know? Was that so awful?”

“No. No, it wasn’t. You know that it wasn’t. Lucky didn’t have to make it such a deal breaker. Didn’t have to take it personally.”

Elizabeth opened the drawer and put the photo inside of it. “You told Jason to tell me, didn’t you?”

“Don’t be mad at him. He just likes to let people make their own choices, but I just knew you didn’t have all the information—”

“I had it, I just didn’t know what to do with it.” Elizabeth met her friend’s eyes. “But when he confronted me with it, I guess I couldn’t ignore it. Still, maybe I could have…maybe I could have rationalized it. Let it go. But Lucky accused me of cheating on him. He saw Jason bring me back on the bike, and I was smiling at him.” She pressed her fingers to lips. “That’s all. I smiled at him, and maybe I looked happy. Because it was amazing, you know? Have you ever been on the bike?”

“He goes the speed limit when he has me on the bike,” Emily said glumly. “Brothers, man. But I know he’s a speed demon. So, Lucky saw you smiling and figured you were interested?”

“Worse. He asked me what Jason and I did after Valentine’s when he drove me home.” Elizabeth sat back down, stared at her hands. “He asked me if I wanted someone with more experience. If Jason was the reason I wasn’t sleeping with him, if I wanted someone to make sure I liked it this time.”

“If you—” Emily’s eyes went flat, her lips thinned as she pressed them together. “Excuse me?”

“He tried to take back and I’m sure he’s sorry — and maybe I could buy he hadn’t believed it even when he said it, but I just—I heard it and it was like—it was like everything went cold. And I was back in that moment. In the park.” She stared straight ahead, her vision blurring. “It was so cold, the snow and the rocks scraping against my back, but then I couldn’t feel any of that because then it was just pain and being ripped apart and held down—”

Emily was at her side, pulling Elizabeth into her arms. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s over. It was over two years ago—”

“I didn’t like it, I didn’t want it—” Her chest burned as the sobs rose in her throat, spilled out her lips. “I stood there and it was happening again, and he threw it at me because he was angry, and I don’t understand, I don’t understand, he saw me crawling out of the bushes, he took me home, Em. He was so sweet a-and g-gentle—how could he use that—”

“I’m so sorry, Liz. I’m so sorry and so angry, and I just—” Emily rubbed Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. He’s vicious when he’s hurt and he’s angry. I’ve seen him with his mother, and you know, he’s talked about his dad. But I never, ever thought he’d be like that with you.”

“He wanted to hurt me the other night. To hurt me and remember why I needed him. Why I loved him. Do you know why? Do you know what horrible crime I committed?” Elizabeth sat up, dragged her hands over her cheeks, rubbing away the tears. “I smiled at your brother when I told him about the art project. My smiles, Em. I smiled at another man, so he stood me up on Valentine’s Day, the day he thinks he gave back to me, and I guess the day he thinks he can take away again. And then I smiled at Jason again, and for that, I got accused of being a whore.”

“I hope you knocked him senseless,” Emily muttered. “Knocked his teeth right down his throat.”

Elizabeth smiled now, though it was just the faintest curve of her lips. “No. I told him your brother rocked my world and warmed me up for Lucky, and asked if he wanted details.”

Emily stared at her for a long moment, her lips quivering then she snorted, and they both broke into giggles. “Oh, that’s almost as good. I wish I could have seen his face.”

“He was pretty angry about that, but I just—” Elizabeth sighed. “He’s been like this for months, hasn’t he? Months of punishing me.”

Emily made a face, returned to her side of the room. “A little bit, yeah. I was thinking about it after Valentine’s Day, because I thought — it’s absolutely wild how crazy he went. Like, to set that up just to humiliate you? But he’s sort of been doing it all along. You decided to room with me for the year. Who helped us move into the room?”

“Jason,” Elizabeth said. “Lucky had some emergency, but I bet if I asked his mother, Laura wouldn’t know anything. And—” Her mouth pinched. “Thanksgiving. He was angry with me for using his car to drop you at the airport. He refused to loan it to me. I called Jason.”

“And you said you saw Jason before Christmas at the garage about the art project because Lucky wasn’t there. Didn’t you and Lucky have a fight before that day, too?”

“I’m sure we did. Every time I disagreed with him…it must have drove him crazy that Jason seemed to be there every time. I guess that’s better than him plucking some other guy out of the air to accuse me of cheating.” Elizabeth drew her legs up on the bed, sat cross-legged. “Was it always going to be  this way? If we’d gone to New York, and I’d disagreed with him, who I would have talked to? I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m glad I got rejected from that school.”

“Me, too. I’m sorry Lucky upset you tonight. It kills me that he did this,” Emily added. “He’ll come back, he’ll apologize. He’s good at apologies, you know. Don’t let it go. What happened tonight? He’ll just do it again.”

“I know. I know. Thanks for telling Jason to tell me the truth. I needed that wakeup call.”

“I knew if anyone could get through to you, it’d be him.” Emily wrinkled her nose. “Just don’t ever joke about my brother and sex again, okay? Because there are limits to what a sister can put up with. Ew.”

“I can’t imagine a single circumstance in which I’ll ever have to think of Jason and sex again.” Elizabeth lifted her brows. “Then again, having ridden on the bike with him with my arms around—”

“Shut up!” Emily squealed, throwing the pillow at her. Elizabeth threw it back, and a minute later they’d started a pillow fight, and the horror of her night had faded.

—

The next morning, Elizabeth had the lunch shift after her morning classes, and was hoping that Lucky would avoid her like the plague at least for a few days. She’d gone to bed the night before, feeling a bit lighter after her conversation with Emily, but this morning —

This morning, it had all flooded back, and it lingered now, like a thin layer around her shoulders pressing her down. Had it been real? Or had she just been fooling herself all this time? Had Lucky loved her or the mess she’d been? Had he just been good at rescuing the damsel in distress, and not so interested when the damsel had healed herself?

She lost herself in the monotony of the job, in taking orders, delivering them, making small talk with her regulars, refilling drinks, pocketing her tips — and didn’t notice when Nikolas slid onto one of the stools by the counter.

“Hey, do you have a minute?”

Elizabeth eyed him warily, went for the water pitcher to fill a glass for him. “That depends.”

“I was having breakfast with my mother and Lulu this morning, and imagine my surprise when my brother came down the stairs in a rotten mood.” Nikolas accepted the glass, popped a straw inside.

“So I guess you’ve heard then.”

“I heard his side, but I’m thinking maybe he’s an unreliable narrator.” He lifted his brows. “Unless you’re having a raging affair with the local gangster and that’s why Lucky’s out of a job and apartment—”

“Wait. What?” Elizabeth stared. “What?”

“Which part is the surprise? All of it? Or the living arrangements?”

“The living arrangements—the first part is Lucky’s fantasy. Apparently, if you smile at a man who’s given you a few rides at home, that means you’re screwing him in the backseat,” Elizabeth muttered. “Then again, there’s not really a backseat of a motorcycle, is there?”

Nikolas furrowed his brow. “You’ve lost me.”

“I’m not sleeping with Jason,” Elizabeth hissed, then glanced around furtively. Good, no one was listening. “Of course I’m not. It’s ludicrous for about a million reasons. For one, until last night, I was in a committed relationship. For two, Jason wouldn’t look at me in a million years.”

“And three, you’re not interested,” Nikolas prompted. She rolled her eyes, grabbed a tub to bus a few of the tables, then dumped them in the kitchen. “I’m not judging, you know that. I don’t exactly have the greatest history—”

“Yeah, I can see why you’re be questioning my morals since you were sleeping your uncle’s fiancee at Emily’s birthday party—”

“Hey. Low blow.” He paused. “And she wasn’t my uncle’s fiancee anymore. Or my father’s—damn it.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry—” Elizabeth pressed her hands to her face. “This is the stupidest conversation I’ve ever had. And we’re way off topic. Lucky set me up on Valentine’s Day to be stood up and humiliated because I had the audacity to smile at Jason, and he drove me home that night. That’s his entire evidence for this affair, by the way, in case that’s important.”

“I don’t believe him, Liz. I just thought you might want to know the side of the story he’s spreading. Did you know Jason was going to fire him and give him notice?”

“No, I didn’t. But I can’t say I blame him if Lucky’s saying that kind of thing to anyone who will listen. This is ridiculous, Nikolas. Why do I have to defend myself—”

“I’m not asking you to. I guess maybe I thought it was as insane as you did, and I was trying to have a little fun with it. I see that wasn’t the right tactic. I’m sorry.”

“It’s—it’s fine. I can’t believe after all this time he went home. He never acted like it was an option before.” Elizabeth bit her lip. “Jason fired him and gave notice? Last night?”

“He said he had thirty days but didn’t want to deal with Jason anymore. You really didn’t know he was going to do that?”

No, she hadn’t, and she didn’t know why it surprised her. Maybe because Jason had known for almost a week what Lucky had done and hadn’t shown any hint of wanting to fire him or throw him out the night before—

After her shift was over, she walked the few blocks to the garage, twisting her fingers together as she stepped inside the customer’s entrance and headed for the garage bay. “Hello?”

Jason peered out from around the raised hood of a red sedan, his white shirt smeared with grease. He reached into his back pocket for a rag, wiped his hands. “Elizabeth?”

“Hey. I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something—”

“No. No.” He cleared his throat. “Lucky’s not here if you’re looking for him—”

“I’m not.” Elizabeth folded her arms, looked down at the concrete floor briefly before raising her eyes to his again. “Um, Nikolas told me that you fired Lucky. And kicked him out.”

Jason pressed his lips together, looked away. “I’m not changing my mind if that’s what you’re here to do—”

“No,” Elizabeth said quickly. “No, I’m not. I—I saw him last night. He was waiting at the dorms when you dropped me off.”

Jason nodded, exhaled on a huff. “He mentioned that. Did he—” He hesitated, made a face, as if he was annoyed with himself. “He didn’t say anything that made it worse, did he?”

“Um, well, I guess that depends on your perspective on what could make it worse, you know—anyway, it’s not important—”

“What did he do?” Jason demanded, coming around the side of the car, his eyes flattening. “He was ticked off when he got back, but if he put a hand on you—”

“He wouldn’t do—” Elizabeth’s throat closed and she looked away. “I’d like to think that’s not something he’d do, but I’m not sure I can say that anymore. It’s like I never really knew him. Or maybe I never—anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. He said—he said something awful, and it was the last straw, and I broke up with him. And I’m not changing my mind. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then we won’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make any of this worse for you—”

“You didn’t. Um, just the opposite really.” She smiled at him, a bit shyly. “He was there with roses. White ones. And I—I think maybe if you hadn’t come by first, no—I know it for sure. If you hadn’t been there, I would have just let him go. I would have forgiven him and maybe down the road, it would have been worse, and I would have months of being unhappy and miserable instead of just a few weeks. So…thank you. I know you didn’t want to get involved, and I’m officially absolving you from having to be a part of this, okay? Whatever Lucky says, it’s not about you.”

Jason stared at her for a long moment, then tilted his head to the side. “He’s saying something that’s going to piss me off, isn’t he?”

“No, I mean, probably. But it’s also ridiculous, and no one is going to believe him or take it seriously. Okay? So don’t worry about it. It’s just—he saw me smiling at you last night, and he thought—but it’s stupid, and he knows that. He just needs a reason to tell people why I broke up with him, and he can’t ever give the real one.”

Jason sighed, then closed the hood on the car he’d been working on. “You smiled at me,” he repeated. “Yeah, I know what he’s saying. Don’t worry about it.”

“Good. Good. I just wanted to tell you that, and to thank you for last night. You and then Emily — well, it could have been a really bad night, and it wasn’t all the way, so thanks.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jason paused, then lifted his brows. “If you give me ten minutes to wash up, I’ll give you a ride back to the dorms.”

“A ride?” Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. “On the bike? Sure.”

“No arguing that you don’t need one? What happened to the bus?” But he was grinning when he said it, already heading for the sinks.

“See, you should have just offered the motorcycle months ago,” she called after him. “I’m never saying no to that.”

May 7, 2024

Update Link: Chain Reaction – Part 13

Hello and happy Tuesday! I read my Monday schedule incorrectly, and the Phillies were playing at 4! By the time I got home, the game was about to start, and I just knew I wouldn’t have the energy to write at 7:30 or 8:30 after such long Monday so better to put it to Tuesday, and squeeze it in after grocery shopping but before the game. I went through and updated the Posting Schedule with times through the end of the school year.

The kids and I sat down with the calendar and realized there are only 21 full days of school left–and since my grades are due the last full day, it’s not that much content left to plan. Feels wild to be at the end of the school year. I know I’m going to be doing some work this summer (curriculum and summer school). I remember how absolutely dead I felt the three years I worked at the last job (the first year I was in therapy for anxiety and stress!) and barely any writing done in the school year itself — but this year — wow, have I produced. I edited FMT2, wrote Hours, all that flash fiction, the Crimson Swift work, and so much other behind the scenes stuff you guys don’t get to see. It’s just crazy what a difference a good schedule and a supportive admin can make.

I’ll be back tomorrow with an update for Warning Shots.