Where you’re from
You might be the one who’s running things
Where you can ring anybody’s bell and get what you want
See it’s easy to ignore trouble
When you’re living in a bubble
– Ain’t It Fun, Paramore

---

Friday, January 5, 2018

Morgan’s Auto: Lobby

Jason stepped inside the building, then immediately made a face when he saw a fresh stack of manila folders on the counter. A moment later, Spinelli’s head popped up and he lifted a second stack. “Bonjour, Stone Cold. I come bearing presents.”

They’d were still barely through the last stack — “Okay,” he said with a grimace. “What’s in this?”

“I have two sets—” Spinelli tapped the first one. “Medical related whatnots. I set those aside for Fair Elizabeth. And over here, for my Yoda, I have more WSB records.” He wiggled his fingers. “I got a bit of a head start on these. These look like older records. From the 1970s. And then there’s some interesting stuff from the early 90s.”

Jason sighed, rubbed the side of his face, thought of Elizabeth the night before and the weariness that had set in after the last few days. She’d asked for just a few hours of quiet, but it had been hard to shake off the tenseness of the day. After an hour, she’d just given up and gone to bed, and he’d gone home.

She wasn’t going to be happy about another stack of files so soon.

“And one more thing—” Spinelli set a small stack next to the larger piles. “Patient 2 records. I know Elizabeth said she was going through them herself, but once Lucky said in his last email he was cool with us—”

“Yeah, I wanted to go through them, too.” Not that he didn’t trust Elizabeth, but it was Lucky Spencer they were talking about. She’d always have a blind spot for him, no matter how much she tried not to. “What about the videos?”

“In the folder Fair Elizabeth requested.” He cleared his throat. “Are you, uh, ready to head over to Anna’s later and check in with Luke?”

“Not really, no,” Jason said, then glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a car in the parking lot. He winced when he recognized Laura’s sedan. The last thing he wanted was another fight with the woman.

“Jason, Spinelli.” Laura waited for the door to swing shut behind her. “I, uh, wanted to come by. Apologize for how I reacted yesterday,” she said to Jason. “I had no right—”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Spencer put you in a difficult spot yesterday,” she continued. “And it wasn’t fair. I was just—I was very angry. And I forget—” She paused. “I forget that Spencer isn’t a child anymore. Or that you might have a different opinion on letting the boys get involved—”

“I don’t disagree with you, Laura,” he told her. “Elizabeth and I talked about it. I understand why you want to keep them clear of this. It’s what I want, too. But we might not be able to get it. Spencer seemed determined—”

“Yes, well, we’ll see how determined he is now that he’s grounded,” Laura said tightly. “He won’t be coming back here, so he won’t have access—”

“Laura, you remember Lucky at his age. He was getting into trouble before he could drive a car.”

“Trouble that we brought into his life. I learned my lesson—”

“I just think maybe—”

“Well, you don’t have to think anything,” Laura cut in. “He won’t be part of this. So make sure you keep the files locked up where the boys can’t get access. I’ll be telling Elizabeth the same thing.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jason watched her leave, then turned to Spinelli. “Does she really think saying no will work?”

“Uh, as someone who tried to tell the Blonde One no on many occasion, Spencers don’t really listen to that word.”

“Neither did my sister or Elizabeth. If they thought their friends were in trouble, they dove right in after them.” And got kidnapped and dragged to the Canadian border, he thought darkly. “Spencer’s going to find a way into this if he really wants it. But that’s not my problem.”

“No, and I don’t see Cameron or his brothers all that interested,” Spinelli said. “Little Dude—though he’s more like All Grown Up Dude—seems pretty focused on his car and his brothers. So maybe he’ll be a good influence on his cousin.”

“We can only hope.” Jason picked up the Patient 2 files and the WSB records. “I’ll be in my office. Let me know when the bathroom people get here.”

General Hospital: Staff Room

Elizabeth stared at the text from Spinelli with an accompanying picture of a new stack of files. More reading material for my queen. Pick up after work?

She’d pick it up all right. And then she’d set it on fire.

“Oh, I know that face.” Felix dropped into the seat next to her. “Who are we killing?” He leaned in. “And can Amy be on the list? Because I am in. I’ll drive the getaway car.”

Elizabeth managed a smile, then sighed. “We’re not killing anyone except trees.” She paused, set her phone down. “I told you that we got a huge break just before New Year’s, right?”

“Yeah, something about getting a whole bunch of files?” He sipped his coffee, wincing. “This is awful. Why do I still drink it?”

“Caffeine,” she murmured. “We found Helena’s files. Andre’s are still encrypted, Spinelli’s working on that. But Helena? It’s just a matter of going through, organizing, and printing. We’re printing so we can keep them, but we’re planning to destroy the electronic stuff as soon as we have the last of it off the drive. Make it harder to copy and move around.”

“Ah. Well, that is a big break. You find Drew’s memories yet?”

“No. We think they’re on Andre’s drive. But—” Elizabeth shook her head. “It’s just stupid. This is a good thing. Objectively. We have so much information, and we’re piecing together a lot of little details. It’s good to know the scope of the plan, so we can get a better sense of the damage, you know?”

“This is true.”

“Maybe it’s because the first thing I found was Lucky’s,” she said. “Patient 2. Back when he was brainwashed. I told you this.”

“Briefly, yeah.”

“There were these videos — security footage—” Elizabeth touched her throat. “Lucky screaming to get out. We think Helena meant to use them against Luke and Laura but never had the chance.”

“And saved them all these years? Our girl Helena seems like a Class Five hoarder.”

She smiled. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it. It just brings me back to when this all started, and it hurts to think of how confident we were back then. When we thought it was over. But it wasn’t,” Elizabeth said. “Helena came back, murdered Lucky’s girlfriend Summer. Then framed Nikolas for her own murder—oh, God, what she did to Emily—and she kidnapped Spencer when he was a baby—she just kept coming. Again and again and again, Felix. And it was like—you couldn’t kill her. You couldn’t make it over. Jake—my baby. She stole him—”

Felix covered her hand. “But she’s gone now, honey. Gone and dust in the ground. All we’re doing now is ripping her out at the roots.”

“And that’s why we need to go through all of this. I know that. I do. And I want to do this. I just—” Elizabeth paused. “Before we found these, we talked about it, sure. We kept in touch with everyone. We had a meeting or two. But we also…” She met Felix’s eyes. “We were still living. Jason and I were going out on rides, and talking about things that had nothing to do with the Cassadines—”

“And now?”

“Now—now we read files. And we talk about what’s in the files. We are argue about who else gets to read files.” Elizabeth made a face. “And it’s been four days, so I definitely know I’m overreacting. And being silly—”

“Yeah, it’s been four days, so maybe it’s too soon to know if this is life now. But you know Jason, don’t you?” Felix asked. “Do you think it’s going to change in a week, in a two? Do you see him spending less time on them?”

Elizabeth sighed, stared at her hands for a long moment. “No. No. I don’t. Jason’s always been able to compartmentalize. To focus. When Jake was kidnapped the first time—” She closed her eyes. “The first two times anyway — Jason could push aside the terror, the fear, and he found him. He brought him home.” She exhaled slowly. “I know he feels guilty. When Helena brought me to Spoon Island, and I saw Jake — he didn’t believe me. And Jake stayed gone.”

“You don’t blame him for it. I know you better than that.”

“No, of course not. How could I? When I got better, when I wasn’t sick, I remembered that Patrick had been in the operating room. He’d transferred Jake to the transplant team. He’d seen my little boy. Jake died in this hospital. Where I worked. Where my family worked. How could I believe anything else? No, I don’t blame Jason. He knows that. But he blames himself. And knowing what happened last year — we don’t know if Jake is still in danger. If Helena laid any more traps. These files, they could tell us that. They could make sure Jake is safe. That we’re all safe.”

“Jason won’t stop then, will he?”

“No. He won’t. And it’s selfish of me, I think, to wish that he would. Or that we’d slow down, or that we’d focus on us—”

“Selfish isn’t always bad.” Felix leaned back. “Sometimes you gotta be, you know? That man spent five years in a coma, came home to his whole life broken into pieces. If you let him spend all this time thinking about what might happened or what did happen that he couldn’t stop—”

“It’ll be a little like he’s still locked up in Russia.” Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, you have a point. But I can afford to give him a little more time, you know?

“Uh huh.” Felix tapped the manila folder under her phone. “What’s this?”

“More files,” Elizabeth muttered. She let her head drop to the table. “Oh, God. It’s never going to stop.” She sighed. “Maybe it would have been better if we’d never changed things. If New Year’s…if it hadn’t happened.”

“Do you really believe that?” Felix asked. “Come on.”

“I do. Because if it hadn’t happened, then I wouldn’t be sitting here thinking about me and what I need. This is what he needs—”

“It’s what he thinks he needs,” Felix corrected. “Now, I don’t know the guy, but I am a member of his species, so you want my advice?”

“Always. I can’t guarantee I’ll take it—”

“Take a deep breath. Relax. Then let it rest for a bit. Like you said, it’s been four days. But you know him. And you’ll know when it’s time to crack the whip and snap him back to reality. Then you put on some red lipstick that says come here big boy, slap some lace on underneath some tight jeans—”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “That sort of stuff doesn’t work on Jason—”

“Oh, he’s so intellectual he can’t enjoy your fine ass in some denim? Please. Not a man alive can resist a well packed ass.” Felix gestured as Griffin walked past them. “Look, he’s straight as an arrow, and even I sometimes think of trying to get him to bat for my team.” He stopped, looked back at her. “I mean it. And you know you’ve got something that Jason likes. He made a baby with you, didn’t he?”

“Well—” Elizabeth touched the side of her hair, tucked up in a ponytail. “I used to wear my hair all blown out, you know, with curls and waves. And, um,” her cheeks heated, thinking of the night of the black out, when he’d taken her hair down. “Well, I think he didn’t mind it.”

“Oh, that’s a story for a margarita. You’ll have to pencil it in.” Felix grinned. “I’m serious. Put yourself together all sweet-smelling, get that lace, blow out your hair the way he likes, and see if it makes him pop out of his jeans.”

“Felix—” Elizabeth clapped her hands over her face. “Oh my God. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“He’s getting all bogged down in what happened to him,” Felix said. “You’re going to have to take the reins and remind him what he’s got to live for. I promise. It’ll work.”

“Yeah, okay. We’ll see.” She shook her head, gathered her things. “I need to get back to work—”

“I mean it about the red lipstick!” he called after her.

Devane Manor: Living Room

“Frisco was quite clear,” Anna said with a pinched expression. “Unless we find something the WSB needs to know, he’s not willing to push for access to Andre.” She paced the length of the room, from the entry way to the fireplace.

“We should just break in and take him back,” Robert said, folding his arms. “I delivered the bastard to them once, I should be able to take him back.”

Drew sighed, leaned back against the sofa, then looked at Spinelli, tapping at his computer, then at Jason, lingering near the doorway. “Did Frisco give you an idea of what kind of information would do that?”

“No, and that wouldn’t solve our problem of how to make Andre talk to us either. Even when pressed a few weeks ago,” Anna said, “he wasn’t willing to do more than give us answers wrapped in riddles. We can’t forget that he deliberately hid those files in a damn snow globe and didn’t bother to decrypt them.”

“He thought he’d be able to disappear,” Jason said, speaking for the first time, and attention turned to him. “Not telling us anything we can actually use is his revenge.” He shook his head. “I’m past waiting for the WSB to give us answers. With what we know about the timeline now, they were nothing more than resources Helena Cassadine exploited.”

Anna sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re likely correct. Andre is all that’s left of value, and since we can’t get through to him, we’ll have to hope Spinelli can crack those files. Or that Luke gets us something from Turkey.” She nodded at the hacker. “Speaking of, how are we with the connection?”

“Just waiting on Luke.” Spinelli sighed. “I’m working on the Maddox drive, but it took forever to reconstruct and there’s no telling if maybe the damage from the accident is why I can’t get all the way through.”

“Snow globes,” Anna muttered, shaking her head. “Of all the bloody, ridiculous things I’ve seen in my career—”

There was a beep from Spinelli’s computer, and then a few moments later, Luke’s face appeared on the television screen above the mantel. He sat in a small, cramped room with street noise coming from the window over his shoulder.

Spinelli rose and set the laptop with its webcam on the mantel so that Luke could see the whole room.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. Had some trouble with traffic coming back from the last place of the day.” Luke glanced around. “Who do I got here?”

“Robert and me, Spinelli, Drew, and Jason. Do you have anything to report?” Anna wanted to know, her tones clipped.

“I wish I had better news, Slim, but we’ve got nothing.”

“Really?” Spinelli furrowed his brow. “You didn’t find anything at all at the Maslak address?”

“Maslak?” Luke glanced down at something off screen. “That’s not on my list—I’ve been working off something from the WSB field office here. I figured their intel—” He sighed. “I didn’t start on yours yet, Spinelli. Sorry, kid.”

Drew straightened. “The WSB field office gave you a list?” he asked. He looked to Robert and Anna who looked equally bewildered. “I thought we weren’t getting much support from them.”

“Maybe not from the top brass in Geneva, but I know a few of the guys in Istanbul. They gave me a couple of bodies to sit on some locations. That way I don’t have to pull Cowboy from the files. What’s the Maslak address about?”

“It’s an office building in the Maslak district,” Spinelli said. “Joseph Klein listed it as a place of employment on his visa to Russia.” He glanced at Jason who tensed. “Klein ran the lab in St. Petersburg.”

“Ah. Well, that does look like it might be something. I’ll make that a priority this weekend. I wish I had better news, but it’s not exactly easy to clear a place with only a few guys. I can’t eliminate more than two a day. And that’s pushing it. I don’t wanna clear a place only to find out if I sat on it a little longer, we’d have something. If I had more eyes, maybe—but I already called in all the favors.”

There was logic to Luke’s words, and Drew couldn’t really fault him. But still—

“We could go,” Drew said, and Luke’s eyes swung to him. “Why not? Jason and I could be in the air in a few hours—”

“To do what?” Luke asked, almost with a smirk. “Do you know Turkish?”

“No—”

“Yes—” Drew said at the same time Jason denied it. “I know enough to get around,” he clarified. “So maybe me and Anna—”

“I don’t know, it’s starting to sound like you don’t trust me,” Luke said, creasing his brow.

“No one said that, Luke,” Robert cut in.

Ann sighed. “Slow and methodical elimination of possible locations is the best way forward. It’s just—it’s frustrating, that’s all. We’ve been working this case for two months, and all we can show for it are dead trees.”

“Yeah, I hear you. I just don’t know what you want me to do about it.”

“Nothing, I suppose,” Anna murmured. “Is there anything else from our end?” she asked the group gathered. When no one spoke up, she looked back to the screen. “I suppose we’ll let you go.”

“I’ll talk to you this weekend,” Robert spoke up. “Get a report on this Maslak place.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get back to work. Take care.” Luke’s end disconnected, and the screen went black. Spinelli went unhook and pack his equipment.

Drew got to his feet. “Well, this was a waste of time. Luke doesn’t know anything. And neither do we. I don’t count identifying Patient 2 as much progress,” he added.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day—”

“Are we sure we even trust that Luke’s actually eliminating anything?” Drew wanted to know. He looked at Jason. “You’re with me on this, aren’t you? Putting this in the hands of the Spencers when they don’t know how to look out for anyone but themselves—”

“Luke hasn’t given us a reason not to trust him,” Robert said. “Has he?” he asked Jason.

“Well—” Jason stood. “He got drunk, got in the car, and nearly killed my son, so it’s hard to look at him for anything after that.” Anna looked down and Robert just cleared his throat. “I also know he didn’t tell anyone the full story of what happened in Greece when he found Jake. Lucky waited three years to tell anyone that Nikolas gave him the tip about Helena being suspicious. Convenient now that Nikolas is dead and can’t defend himself.”

“Do you think they’re covering up more of Nikolas’s role?” Robert asked. “He’d only be doing that to protect Laura.”

“‘I think they know more than they’re telling us. Why isn’t my problem. If they lie once, they’ll lie again. But I also don’t know what else we can do. Luke’s story seems true. If you believe he didn’t already find Valentin, then yeah, going slow like this is the right choice.”

“If you believe,” Anna repeated. “Jason, I can appreciate there’s no love lost for you with Luke—and by extension, you either, Drew. But Luke’s always been a reliable partner in these missions—” She caught Robert’s eye. “What?”

“I think mostly reliable is a more accurate statement. He’s been known to go rogue once or twice, but the results were always what we needed, so who am I to quibble about the process?”

Anna squinted, then looked back at the brothers. “If either of you want to go to Turkey, I will obviously understand. Do you want to go?”

Drew hesitated, looked at Jason. “I don’t want to go. But I’m not okay with just sitting back and letting Luke handle everything. I expected more than looking at buildings. Can we agree on that much?”

Anna nodded, though it was reluctant. “Yes, I suppose I did expect a bit more. But we’ll wait to see how this Maslak address turns out.”

“I have to get back to work,” Jason said, rising to his feet. “Thanks.” He headed for the door.

Drew followed his brother outside, where they’d both parked in the circular drive. “You didn’t say much. Do you want to go to Turkey?”

“No.” Jason pulled the SUV door open. “No, I don’t.”

“I’m surprised,” Drew admitted. “Knowing what I know—which I wish I didn’t—you’ve held out pretty well. Normally you’d have been on the first plane. You don’t think you could do better than the Spencers?”

“Maybe I could. But—” Jason paused, considered Drew’s words. “Yeah, I’d have gone before. Spinelli would have told me, and I’d be on a plane, and I wouldn’t rest until I found him. In fact, maybe I would have confronted Valentin a long time ago. But I didn’t. And neither did you.”

“No.” Drew leaned against the hood. “I want to know what happened to us. I want my memories back. And to get yours out of my head,” he added. “But you know what else I want? To see my daughter. To get to know Oscar. To find out if I even like being at Aurora. To figure out who Drew Cain is going to be if I never remember who he was. And right now, Jason, I want those things more than I want to go to Turkey.”

“Yeah.” Jason exhaled slowly. “I have dinner with Jake almost every night,” he murmured. “I thought I’d lost that chance.” He looked like he might say more, but then closed his mouth.

“You’re rebuilding, too. And it’s just as important as finding answers, Jason. I don’t want to forget. Answers won’t mean anything to me if there’s nothing to come home to.” He winced, thinking of how little he had at the moment. But he’d get more. He’d reschedule dinner with Oscar, and he’d get things figured out with Sam, one way or another. “And I know you won’t say it, but you get to go home to Elizabeth, too.” Jason met his eyes. “Maybe that’s just as awkward as everything else. The fact that I know more than I should how much you didn’t think that would ever happen.”

“It’s…” Jason hesitated. “Uncomfortable sometimes to think about what you know. What you remember. Things you know about me that you shouldn’t.” He sighed. “But yes. She’s part of it. The center,” he admitted. “So do I want to go to Turkey right now? Not even a little bit. But—”

“—if we get any hint the Spencers are actually lying to us? Yeah, first plane out. I’m with you on that.”

They heard footsteps crunching on the show, and turned back to see Spinelli trudging towards them, his equipment bag over his shoulder. “You ready?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, I just had a thought.” Spinelli glanced over his shoulder. “I understand if Robert and Anna don’t think there’s a reason to distrust Luke and Lucky. But I’m not so sure. Why is this the first we’re hearing about a WSB list? Why is it the first time Robert and Anna are hearing about it? It’s their case, or so they keep being told.”

“That tripped me up,” Drew admitted.

“The Maslak address is the most likely to be a hit. Klein was in charge of the lab in Moscow. Why would Helena or whoever was in charge in Russia,” Spinelli said,” why would they promote someone from outside? But Luke hasn’t looked at it yet. So he says.”

“You think he has?” Jason asked, frowning.

“I don’t know. But I think I can lay a trap to see what secrets the Spencers are keeping.” Spinelli paused. “Do I have your permission?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Drew said immediately. “The only way we’re going to get anyone else to see what they’re up to is hard proof.”

“Do whatever you have to,” Jason told Spinelli. “I want to know what they’re keeping from us.”

Davis House: Living Room

“Did you tell Diane about Sonny?”

Alexis lifted her brows. “Hello, Sam. It’s nice to see you. I’m doing great, thanks for asking.” She knelt to scoop up Scout who’d crawled towards her grandmother. “Hey, sweetheart. How’s my baby girl?”

“Mom, don’t start with me about this.” Sam dug her fingers into top of the sofa. “I’m not kidding. Did you tell Diane that Sonny tried to intimidate me?”

“I called her, and she said she’d pass it on to Jason, but—well, she pointed out Sonny has a financial stake in the demands—”

“The coffee business, right? Everyone is so protective,” Sam muttered. “You’d think their books could handle a little scrutiny.” She folded her arms. “Diane isn’t going to do anything about this. She lets Sonny order her around, and Jason does whatever Sonny wants—”

Alexis carried over to the playpen she kept in the corner and set Scout among some of her stuffed animals. “Was the visit that bad? Kristina said that you and Sonny were arguing.”

“Kristina.” Sam clenched her jaw. “I’m sure she couldn’t wait to tell you all about it.”

“That’s not fair. Your sister was worried about you. I’m worried about you. The last two months have been so stressful, and that’s without talking about the ancient history your sister dragged up.”

Sam closed her eyes, dragging her hands through her hair. “I’m just tired, Mom. I made choices, and I thought they were the right ones, but I just…I don’t know anymore.” She looked away, towards the windows by the front door. “Did Kristina tell you what we argued about?”

“She only knew what she’d overheard. I’d rather hear it from you, sweetheart. What happened?”

“Well, it started with the money, and then somehow he gets it in his head that I’m trying to get Jason put in jail. Like, I want him to get caught with their books, or something.” She sighed. “And he brought up the custody papers, the way Jake is talked about—and I told him I filed for divorce. That I didn’t want Jason back, I would have told him that if he’d ever bothered to ask—” She closed her eyes.

“And then Sonny told you Jason came to the penthouse that first day. That he’d come to see you. That he’d called from Russia.” Her mother’s tone was gentle, but it didn’t help.

“If I’d answered the phone that day, Mom, God—things could be so different,” she told Alexis, her voice faltering on the last few words. “I’d have gone straight to Sonny. We’d have brought him home, and we could have worked together on all of this, but—I didn’t. He crashed into the party, got arrested, and it was—”

“It was like choosing sides. Picking teams,” Alexis said.

“You weren’t there that night, Mom. You can’t understand what it was like to stand there in that room—Sonny and Carly were so clearly believing Jason, and Elizabeth did, too — no one was on Drew’s side. I couldn’t—” She exhaled slowly. “I couldn’t let him stand alone.” She looked at her hands. “But you know, I’ve thought about it a thousand times since Sonny told me. Maybe I did feel like it was teams. Sonny and Carly on one side.”

“And Elizabeth—”

“I don’t care about Elizabeth,” Sam bit out, and Alexis just looked at her. “I don’t, okay? She used Jake to get Jason back in her life, just like she always did. She used that boy before the accident, and then when we thought he was dead, she used that grief to keep him around—he’s welcome to her.” Her nails dug into her palms as she curled her hands into fists. “I married Drew. Who cares what his name was?”

“You did,” Alexis said, and Sam scowled. “You didn’t care about Jake Doe. But the moment he was Jason Morgan, you were involved. And you broke up with Patrick over it. Now, Jason is back again, and look where you are. Throwing away Drew. Dragging Jason into court, using every tool you can to keep him thinking about you. Sonny might think you’re greedy, Sam, but I don’t. I think you regret what you did that night. And all the things you didn’t do in the weeks that followed.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever I did then. It just doesn’t matter.” Sam took a deep breath. “I want a divorce. I want to move on. Everyone else is, you know? I saw Elizabeth’s sons — all three of them. Downtown, getting off a school bus to go to Jason’s new garage. Do you know there’s paperwork you have to fill out to add a second bus to your kid’s file? At all three schools, they filed it. Jason’s moved on. Or circled back. And Drew wants to be part of his life. I don’t want it, Mom. I want to be done with all of it.”

Port Charles High: Classroom

Spencer dumped his books next to Cameron’s. “I’m going to flunk this bio test on Monday,” he told Cameron. “And then Grandmother’s going to ground me for another week.”

“Well, we could just study this weekend.” Cameron flipped through his textbook. “It’s a wild idea, but it just might work.”

“This weekend, I was thinking maybe you could do me a solid and loan me the key to the garage. You have one, don’t you?”

Cameron frowned, looked at his cousin. “Why would I have one and why would I give it to you? I’m trying to stay out of trouble.”

“Okay, so you’re still frosty that I put you in that spot with Jason yesterday. He didn’t seem mad about it—”

“He wasn’t. Just mildly irritated.” Which he’d already been after talking to his divorce lawyer, Cameron thought. He wasn’t going to read too much into that, he thought. “And I’m not frosty over it. But I hate to see Grandma and Jason fighting over it.”

“Yeah, that’s not great for me.” Spencer furrowed his brow. “But Jason seems like he’s on my side. What do you think?”

“What I think doesn’t matter—”

“Trying to keep Jason liking you so he doesn’t dump your mom again?” Spencer wanted to know. Cameron scowled. “What, did I say the quiet part out loud? Because why else would you care whose side Jason is on—”

“Because the first thing you’ll do is run home to our grandmother and tell her that Jason agrees, and then Grandma will get all mad at Jason again. She’ll call my mother. And Jason and Mom already argued about this last night. They think I didn’t hear it—” Cameron stared blindly at his textbook page. “I was listening on the stairs. I knew they were going to talk about it after I went to bed. And they were arguing. About you.”

“I’m sorry, but—”

“No, you’re not. You’re still thinking about you, just like always. You’re not listening to Grandma when she tells you why she wants to shut you out. You don’t care that it’s causing problems at my house with my mother, who always looks out for you, and you don’t care you’re putting Jason in the middle.”

“If they would just let me help—”

“And you just don’t stop,” Cameron muttered. “You’ve always been like this. It’s all about what you want and damn the rest of us—”

“Hey, at least I’m interested in helping. You’re the one that doesn’t even care! After what happened to your brother, how can you sit back like a scared little kid—”

Cameron slammed his book shut, his fingers curling into a fist. “Don’t you ever talk—” He broke off abruptly as their teacher called the class to order.

“You’re just mad because I’m right,” Spencer muttered. “Coward.”

“Selfish bastard,” Cameron retorted. They said nothing else to each other for the rest of the class.

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