Written in 70 minutes.

---

Late June 2000

By the time the storm reached Cuba, the winds had weakened, and it wasn’t much more than a run of the mill storm. But it had left behind a terrible path of destruction across West Plana Cays. Most of the houses on the coast had severe structural damage—shattered windows, battered roofs. The roads still couldn’t be traversed with vehicles, so by the time Luke and Sonny reached the island early the next afternoon, the only way to get out to the house was a row boat.

“You know, maybe next time you decide you want a private kingdom, you just go buy a castle in Eastern Europe,” Luke muttered, slapping at a mosquito on his neck. “Little bloodsuckers.”

“Not too far now,” Marco, the local sheriff, murmured from the back of the boat, operating the engine.

Sonny ignored him, kept his eye on the terrain ahead. The road up to the house was completely flooded, pieces of palm trees and other vegetation as far as the eye could see. Finally, as they came around one of the turns, Sonny spied the corner of the house—and then he saw what remained of the garage.

“There—there—the house—” He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was mostly intact, though any visible window was shattered and a tree was laying on top—it hadn’t broken through.

Marco guided the boat to higher land until it glided to stop. Luke and Sonny both bounded out, heading up the stairs, pushing through the front door.

Inside, they found Jason sitting on one of the stools, and Elizabeth behind him, checking his head. “Ow,” he muttered, then looked over the trio entering the house. “Uh, hey. I didn’t think you’d get down here so fast.”

Sonny raised his brows as he looked around the room—blankets and pillows had been strewn across the room, a table had been turned over. “Was there a war?” He gestured at Jason. “What happened to your head?”

“Concussion—” Elizabeth started.

“Headache—” Jason said at the same time, but when she just looked at him, he sighed. “I hit it pretty good on the pillar last night.”

“You were unconscious,” she reminded him, but rolled her eyes. She stepped out from behind him, and Sonny’s eyes honed in on the scratches and bruises covering her arms and legs.

“Did you get in a fight with a rosebush?”

“No. No, um—” Elizabeth rubbed her arm. She looked over at Marco. “Um, the guy from the bar that night. He broke in. We’d lost power and the batteries in the lantern died, and Jason got hurt—I had to—I didn’t have a choice.”

Marco frowned. “A choice?”

“You can find him out by the garage,” Elizabeth said. “That’s—I got lost trying to get back to the house and it was really dark, so yeah, I actually did fall. But—I’m sorry. I didn’t want to—but he was just going to keep coming back.”

Marco went to the front of the house, peered outside. “He broke in?”

“He had a bat,” Jason said flatly. “And he broke in twice. There won’t be any trouble with that, will there, Marco?”

“Uh, no. No, of course not. I’ll—” the man swallowed hard. “I’ll handle it.”

Sonny smacked Luke in the chest. “And you were worried.”

——

Emily hopped back and forth from one foot to the other, watching as numbers above the elevator doors lit up with each number. “Come on, come on! Why do elevators take so long?”

As soon as they slid open, she darted out and around the corner, knocking on the door. It was yanked open on the second knock, revealing a scowling Elizabeth.

“I told you that your brother has a concussion, and you come in banging on the door like you were the one running for their lives,” she muttered, closing the door after Emily came in. “Do you know how hard it is to get him to rest?”

“Sorry, sorry!” Emily squeezed her best friend hard. “I was just so scared, okay? I woke up in the middle of the night, and I saw that huge storm covering that tiny little island and I couldn’t even breath!”

“Okay, but now neither can I—” Elizabeth managed, and Emily stepped back.

“I’m sorry. I’m just glad to see you, and I’m glad Jason’s okay. When you told me on the phone that you guys were, like, in the Bahamas, and what happened with that guy—and Luke said they think maybe he was the one behind the shooting at the club—that’s so crazy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s all—” Elizabeth forced a smile, folded her arms. “It was a really insane night. I can’t believe he hid out on the property during a hurricane just so he could—” She looked away, took a deep breath. “But it’s okay. It’s over now.”

“Are—I mean, are you okay? He didn’t hurt you?”

“Hurt? No. He grabbed me from behind, and that was scary, but—” Elizabeth wandered across the room, a bit restless. “I keep running it back in my head, trying to see if there was something else I could have done. I…killed him, Emily.”

Emily hesitated. “Well, yeah, but he didn’t leave you a choice. You said it yourself. He waited out a hurricane, and Jason could have died! He hit his head and he was unconscious. What were you supposed to do?”

“I don’t know.” Elizabeth sat on the sofa. “I didn’t think twice, you know. I hit him with the bat the first time, and he went down. I could have kept running—”

“Where?” Emily sat next to her. “You were on an island with flooded roads and you’re telling me you would have left my brother behind?”

“No. No.”

Emily took her hands, squeezed. “You fought back, and you saved Jason’s life. Yours, too. I’m definitely happy about that part. Both parts. I’m so proud of you.”

Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Yeah, I guess I did save his life. It just seems so surreal. All of it, really. All these months, it’s like some kind of fever dream.”

Emily frowned, tilted her head. “But a good one, right? I mean, you’re not having regrets. Not that I know anything for sure, but you’re here at the penthouse with Jason, and Sonny definitely could have hired a private nurse or whatever. So, like, you’re happy with where things are, aren’t you?”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, and her expression relaxed. When she opened her eyes, her smile deepened, seemed more genuine. “Yeah, I guess happy’s a good word. It’s just—” She furrowed her brows. “I remember standing in the garage that night, on Valentine’s Day, with the dress I’d put on my credit card, listening to Jason tell me that Lucky was out of town. It was like stepping outside of myself, watching my life happen to me. I would have forgiven him,” she murmured, more to herself.

“But you didn’t.”

“I didn’t.” Elizabeth looked at Emily. “It would have been so easy to let myself stay in that bubble, taking what Lucky was willing to give and calling it love. Changing myself so that he wouldn’t leave. It was more than I’d ever had before, and I think part of me didn’t believe I deserved better.”

She looked towards the stairs, then back to her friend. “But I did. And I do. I’m not the girl who lied about a silly dance. Or who crawled out the bushes. I’m not even who I was when I was standing with you outside the club. Because I kept moving forward. Thank you. For pushing me.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did. Jason might have been the one to remind me that I didn’t have to settle, but you knew I needed to hear it. And you knew that I wouldn’t listen to anyone else. Thank you. For not giving up. For…I guess choosing me. You’re really the best friend I could have ever had.”

Emily pulled her in for a hug. “Ditto. But you hurt my brother, I’ll rip your hair out.”

Elizabeth laughed, and then Emily pumped her for more details about the rest of the island stay. After sharing as much as she was able to—or willing to—Elizabeth walked Emily to the elevator, then went upstairs.

Jason was laying on his back, one arm folded over his middle, the other laying along his side, his chest rising and falling with even breaths. She crawled carefully onto the bed next to him, laid her head on the pillow.

This time last year, Emily had suggested Elizabeth room with her for the fall semester and within days, her grandfather had pulled all the strings to get it done. Such a simple choice. How could any of them know it was the first domino to fall in a line that would end up with Elizabeth laying next to her best friend’s brother, halfway to being in love with him. Though maybe it was a bit more than halfway, she thought, and wondered where’d they’d go, where they’d end up.

She didn’t have the first clue, but oh, man, it was going to be a lot of fun to find out.

——

June had passed like molasses, but the hot and humid months of July sped by at almost double the speed. Jason recovered from his injuries, and pretty soon, life got back to normal — well, a new normal as Elizabeth had a whole new set of interesting problems to solve.

How many nights a week was too many to spend at your boyfriend’s place? What were safe topics for Jason and her grandmother to talk about at the dinner Audrey Hardy had tricked Elizabeth into agreeing to attend? And how did she navigate being fond of Jason’s family when he couldn’t stand most of them?

It was the last question that was bothering Elizabeth as the end of July approached and she headed outside to check on her tables in the court yard. Alan and Monica Quartermaine loved Elizabeth, mostly because of her friendship with Emily. And Edward and Lila were always inviting her for dinner, though Emily thought Edward was laying it on thick to get to Jason. Jason still got that grimace when he thought of most of the Quartermaines—

And that was before you even took into the account his sister-in-law. Carly had already hated Elizabeth even before her status in Jason’s life had officially changed, and Elizabeth was sure the blonde was plotting something—

She didn’t even realize Lucky was in the courtyard with his mother until she was outside. Their eyes met, and she hesitated, slightly before approaching the table. “Laura, Lucky. It’s nice to see you.”

“Well, that’s nice of you to say.” Laura beamed. “You know, Bobbie told me that you’re having a show in a few weeks. I can’t wait to go see it.”

“I’m pretty excited, too,” Elizabeth said. “What can I get you guys?”

She took the order, then went back into the diner. She busied herself behind the counter, and only realized Lucky had come in when she heard him clear his throat. Elizabeth lifted her gaze to his. “Did you guys forget something?”

“Just a question.” Lucky leaned forward, that cool smirk on his face she’d once loved so much and now mostly wanted to slap. “Are you still going to pretend I wasn’t right about you and Jason?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth, then closed it, giving the question a bit more weight than it really deserved. She remembered telling Jason on the island that the first time she had noticed Jason was when he’d said her name in the dorm room that first day—six months before she and Lucky had broken up.

“I don’t know,” Elizabeth said, and she knew her answer had surprised Lucky. He rocked back on his heels. “I know that you were there for me when I needed you, and I’ll always be grateful for how you helped and supported me.”

Lucky grimaced, looked away. “I’m sorry. You know. I really am, about what I said that night. I didn’t mean it—”

“Only you know that for sure,” she said softly, and he nodded a bit reluctantly. “But you’re the one that kept going with it for months. I know you kept agitating Jason, spreading rumors about me that weren’t true or fair. I expected better, Lucky. I deserved better.”

“I didn’t—I was mad at him—”

“You should really think about why you had to use me to do that. Why you went after your mother when you were furious with your father,” Elizabeth reminded him, and Lucky made a face. “The thing is, Lucky, Jason or not, I think maybe you and I were always going to end up like this. Because you don’t like me.”

“That’s not—”

“You did not like me before that night,” Elizabeth said, and he closed his mouth. “That’s okay. I broke into little pieces, and you held my hand while I stitched myself back together. And you liked that part, I know you did. But you didn’t like who I turned out to be. I like me, Lucky. I’m sorry you don’t.”

Lucky looked at her for a long moment, then tapped the counter lightly. “Yeah, okay, maybe there’s truth in that. I didn’t want it to be that way. So maybe we just…we just walk away.”

“That’s all I’ve been trying to do since February. You’re the one who keeps coming back. You should go back to your table, Lucky. I’ll bring out your orders when they’re ready.”

——

Before long, it was the night of her showing at the Jerome Gallery. Her own wall at a prestigious gallery. Elizabeth felt jittery for days leading up to the night, agonizing over the pieces she’d chosen, changing them constantly.

But finally, she’d made the selections, and now she was standing here, Emily at her side, practically bouncing on her feet.

“I bet you’re going to make a million dollars tonight,” Emily said. She traced the little plaque on the wall that read Elizabeth Webber, artist underneath one of the paintings. “That’s you, Liz. On the wall. Where everyone can see it.”

“I know.” She looked towards the door. The smile she already wore broadened.

A few moments, Jason came up to her, tugging at the collar of his button up shirt. “Hey. Sorry I’m late.” He slid an arm around her waist, kissed her cheek. “How’s it going so far?”

She beamed up at him. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

 

THE END

← Flash Fiction: Warning Shots – Part 35 |