When the world is falling down
And another breaks then another falls
For losers always make the winner’s day
Stand climb and fall
Carry the weight
Can’t carry it all
– Stanley Climbfall, Lifehouse

---

Saturday, April 8, 2006

 Kelly’s: Dining Room

From the moment Sam had stepped into the diner, people had been looking at her whispering. She’d arrived in Port Charles around five that morning and gone straight to the Towers to sleep. She hadn’t thought much of Jason not being home—he’d probably had something to do at the warehouse.

Then she’d come here for coffee—and people just would not stop whispering about her.

With a scowl, Sam stepped up to the counter. She leaned in towards Maxie Jones, who didn’t look all that happy about her morning shift. “What the hell is going on?” she demanded. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Oh.” Maxie shrugged. “They probably saw the papers. It’s worse than Sonny and Emily. I mean…I’m sorry for you, but it’s just the kind of stuff this town eats up—”

Sam stopped her before Maxie could walk away. “What do you mean they saw the papers? I’ve been out of town since Tuesday—”

Maxie’s eyes widened. In an instant, her boredom vanished, and her eyes lit up. “Wait. So you don’t know? Oh my God, I get to tell you! This is, like, what I was born for. Wait right here—”

She dashed into the back kitchen as Sam continued to seethe. If the news about her mother had gotten out, she’d be so goddamn pissed—

Maxie shoved the Port Charles Sun at her. “It’s the full cover—”

Sam stared down at the front page, trying to understand what she was looking at. A photograph of Lucky and Elizabeth from their wedding next to one of Jason’s many mug shots — COP’S WIFE & GANGSTER IN SHOCKING AFFAIR with REVEALED DURING ATTEMPTED MURDER PLOT GONE WRONG in smaller letters.

“What. Is. This?” Sam demanded in a low, angry voice. “What the hell is this?”

“Manny kidnapped Lucky yesterday.” She blinked, a bit taken aback at Sam’s hostile reaction. “He kidnapped Liz later, but the papers are saying that Jason was trying to get rid of Lucky because Liz wouldn’t leave her husband for him, so he used Manny. Only Manny went rogue—”

Sam exhaled slowly. That was insane. And ridiculous. The pressure on her chest began to ease. “Oh. Well, that’s stupid—”

“Probably,” Maxie agreed. She studied the headlines. “But everyone heard Lucky accuse Liz to her face, and Jason was the one that rescued her. I overheard Mac telling my mom about it—when the police got there, Lucky was gravely injured in a room, Manny was dead, and Liz and Jason were, like, totally making out on the docks—”

“They were—” Sam held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I need you to explain.”

“Hugging, fine. Whatever.” Maxie sighed. “I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t be so mean, right? I mean, you guys were totally engaged—”

“We’re still engaged,” Sam retorted. She shook her head. “This…this is all just a misunderstanding.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I know Jason didn’t try to have Lucky killed, but this affair stuff can’t be totally wrong, right? I mean, why else would Manny call Jason?”

“Manny called—” Sam ran her hands through her hair. “Maxie, I need you to stop enjoying this so damn much and tell me what happened.”

“Jesse told me that Manny kidnapped Lucky first, then grabbed Liz. Then he called Jason. And if Liz was really so scared and terrified and traumatized or whatever, why would Lucky accuse her of having an affair? I mean, he’d know, right? Maybe Lucky caught Jason and Liz together—”

“Maxie, you just—”

“And then Jason drove Liz to the hospital and, like, refused to leave her alone until Mac had to question him. Plus, Liz is totally refusing to talk to the cops without a lawyer. And she hired Justus. Who is Jason’s lawyer.” Maxie shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, Sam, but I mean, everyone knows they’re like obsessed with each other.” She leaned in and whispered, “It’s not even the first time Liz has screwed Lucky over for Jason. Some people just never learn.”

“Okay. I’m going to go.” Sam slid off the stool. “You’re just—you’re wrong. Jason and I are engaged. Liz is married. It looks like she’s married an asshole, but none of that other stuff is true.”

“Maybe not the way the papers have written it,” Maxie told her, “but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It can’t all be rumors.”

“Yeah, it can. So, stop enjoying this so damn much.” Sam stormed out of the diner, letting the diner door slam shut behind her.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

When Elizabeth woke the next morning, she saw her grandmother sitting next to her, grimacing at a copy of the Sun. Elizabeth saw her picture on the front page and sighed. “How bad is it?” she murmured.

Audrey looked up and managed a grim smile. “Hello, darling. How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck.” Elizabeth sighed because her grandmother hadn’t answered the question. That wasn’t a good sign. “When did you get here?”

“About an hour ago. Steven nearly came with me, but I told him to stay. That we’d call him if we needed him.” Audrey closed the Sun and leaned over to kiss Elizabeth’s forehead. “I checked in on Lucky before I came in.” She paused. “If you care.”

“Of course—” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “It’s not true, Gram.”

“Oh, well, this particular story, maybe not. But the fact of the matter is that you wouldn’t be in this bed if you’d stayed away from Jason Morgan.”

“No, I’d still be with Manny Ruiz, being raped and tortured,” Elizabeth snapped. Audrey scowled.

“I don’t understand how you got tangled up with Jason again. Haven’t we talked about this at length? Look at you. Your husband’s career is over thanks to this, your son spent the night with Carly Corinthos, and you’re in this bed, bruised from head to toe. Was it worth it?”

“You know,” Elizabeth said softly, “it wasn’t fun when the police accused me of being a whore, but this is even less amusing.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I’ve learned something very valuable from all of this,” she continued. “That literally everyone thinks I’m a garbage person.”

“No one thinks that—” Audrey took a deep breath. “I’m sorry—”

“You are always are.” Elizabeth turned her face away. “For what it’s worth, this had nothing to do with Jason. Manny was obsessed with me. He tried to kill Lucky because of me. And I am here alive because Jason killed him.”

“Elizabeth, there is no reason for Manny Ruiz to have targeted you—”

“Gram, can you just…” Elizabeth shook her head. “Can you go to Carly’s house and get Cameron? Take him back to your place. I don’t want to argue with you anymore. Nothing I say matters anyway.”

Audrey hesitated. “Elizabeth—”

“Please.”

“All right. I’ll go get Cameron.” Audrey got to her feet, with another shake of her head. “I’m only trying to protect you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know that, Gram.”

“I just…I love you.”

“I know.”

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed until Audrey had left, then opened them and reached for the paper she’d left behind. The headline was about as terrible as she’d thought it’d be. She thumbed through to skim the article.

Naturally, the paper had decided to go through all of their old gossip columns and brought up the stupid Christmas party from a lifetime ago, and her kidnapping from four years earlier—and someone had told the Sun’s reporters that Jason Morgan had had guards in the hospital protecting his mistress for weeks—

“Great.” Elizabeth flung the paper across the room and grimaced. Now the entire town thought she was a cheating bitch. There was little mention of the fact that she’d been chased down, thrown against a car, and abducted by a psychopath.

Lucky hadn’t cared. The police hadn’t cared. Neither had her own grandmother.

Manny being gone was supposed to solve her problems—instead, his death had just made everything so much worse.

Morgan Penthouse: Master Bedroom

Jason stepped out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair. He went to his dresser to drag out some clothes so that he could get to the warehouse and start doing damage control.

He’d spent the night at the there, working off his frustration by loading and unloading coffee shipments. When he’d finally returned home, he’d seen Sam’s luggage at the bottom of the stairs and winced. He was not looking forward to whatever conversation his fiancée wanted to have. Not after she saw the papers.

Which was, of course, a whole other problem he wasn’t interested in dealing with. He was doing a lot of avoiding these days.

He heard the door slam shut downstairs and footsteps on the stairs. Jason pulled on his jeans and was just tugging on his shirt when Sam shoved open the door.

“What was the one thing I asked you for when I left?” Sam demanded. She shoved the Sun at him, as well as the more sedate Herald.

“Sam—”

“I asked you not to make me a laughingstock. To humiliate me in front of everyone. Do you know what happened when I went to Kelly’s for coffee?”

Jason sighed as he reached for the Herald. He hadn’t seen their headline yet — COP INJURED IN BOTCHED KIDNAPPING; RUIZ SHOT DEAD. He shook his head. Like the PCPD, everyone seemed to forget that it had been Elizabeth who’d been the target.

“I’m sorry about the gossip,” Jason told her. When Sam snorted, he scowled. “I didn’t plan it. Manny grabbed Elizabeth, and while we were looking for her, he called me from her phone. By the time I got to the warehouse, she had managed to get away from him long enough that I could take a shot.”

Sam hesitated. “You…then what the hell does Lucky have to do with this? And what about Mac Scorpio seeing the two of you on the docks?” But some of the flush had left her cheeks.

“I’m not sure. Elizabeth wasn’t in any condition to get into it last night, but it looks like Manny was stalking her. She had a fight with Lucky and went to her grandmother’s. We thought maybe Lucky was grabbed because of that.”

“Because Manny was obsessed with her?” Sam bit her lip. “How come the papers don’t say that? Why is it all about you?”

“Because when Lucky was being loaded into the ambulance, he made a big scene and called Elizabeth—” Jason swallowed hard. “Some names I’m not gonna repeat. The cops didn’t even bother to talk to her. They didn’t even examine her. I had to drive her to the hospital.”

Sam pursed her lips and looked down at the papers now on the floor. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t buy it.” She met his eyes. “What happened between you two while I was gone? I told you to figure out what you were feeling. Do you think that I’m the only one who knew? That Lucky didn’t know what was going on?”

“Nothing was going on,” Jason snapped, then immediately regretted it. Because that was a lie. “Damn it, Sam—”

“Are you gonna tell me you didn’t have another one of your conversations with her while I was gone? That you weren’t alone with her?”

Jason hesitated. “I was, Sam, but—”

“And that Lucky didn’t know it?”

He remembered going to her place on Wednesday night, Lucky walking in on them. “I—yeah, but—”

“But nothing. Lucky saw something was going on, I saw it. And now the whole fucking world knows it. And then he gets kidnapped—” Sam pressed her lips together. “He blames her, doesn’t he? Manny never would have gone near her if it wasn’t for whatever the hell is going on here with you.”

“I don’t know that. He might have—he took the job at the hospital to be closer to her—”

“How the hell would—” Sam bit off her protest, then took another deep breath. “Jason, I get it. She was in trouble. You had to help her. I’m not—it’s not that—it’s—” She picked up the Sun. “The whole world is talking about it. They’re pointing at me. Laughing, snickering behind my back.”

“Sam…” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you love her?” Sam asked softly.

Jason blinked at the change in topic. “What?”

“You heard me.” Sam met his eyes. “Do you love her?”

Jason looked away, out the window, towards the hospital. Sam followed his gaze and scowled. He didn’t know how to answer that question. He didn’t know if the answer yes. He just…

He knew it wasn’t no.

“I don’t know,” Jason finally said. “I’m sorry.”

“Does she love you?” Sam pressed.

“I don’t—I don’t know the answer to that.” When Sam didn’t say anything else, he sighed. “Sam, I’m sorry—”

“Why? You were honest with me. And now…” She set the paper on his dresser and looked at him again. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Jason said. But he waited a moment too long, and even he could hear the uncertainty in his tone. Sam sighed. “No, “ he repeated, careful to be more firm this time. “I—I asked you to marry me. I meant that—”

“Then you need to stay away from her,” Sam told him. “Manny’s dead. It’s over. You need to delete her number. Forget her name. You need to put her in your past. Because there’s no point in us doing this if you can’t do that.”

He knew she was right. He opened his mouth to agree but then closed it and just looked at her. “It’s not over,” he finally said. “The cops are still trying to pin Manny’s murder on me—”

She just sighed again and shook her head. “I think that I’ve been understanding,” Sam said, “to the point of insanity. But you’re standing here telling me with one breath that you might be in love with another woman but that you still want to marry me—what am I supposed to think?”

“I—”

“Are the papers lying? Was there actually an affair?” Sam demanded, the flush in her cheeks rising again. “Why can’t you just stop this? How do you think this makes me feel?”

“We weren’t having an affair,” Jason said, but the words felt automatic. Robotic. And not entirely true. He didn’t know how to explain any of it to himself, much less to her. Should he tell her about the kiss he and Elizabeth had shared in her apartment? Would that make it worse?

And it was obvious Sam didn’t believe him any more than he believed himself. “I wish…God, I wish I believed you.”

She turned and left.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

“I’m surprised there’s no guard on your door.”

Elizabeth had moved from the bed to the loveseat underneath one of the windows. She looked over to find Mac Scorpio in the doorway. She turned her attention back to the window. “I don’t need a guard anymore. Manny’s dead.”

“Uh-huh. Did you want me to call your lawyer?” Mac asked. “Emily told me you wanted Justus present.”

Elizabeth knew that she should send Mac away and call for Justus, but she was tired. And she just wanted it over. “Are you planning to call me a whore?”

Mac flinched, then shook his head. “No. I’m sorry if Jesse offended you. I’ll remind him that we don’t make the judgments. We just investigate and take the evidence where it leads us.” Mac approached her, stopping at the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling today?”

“Tired. Sore.”

“You haven’t been to see Lucky yet,” Mac said. “I looked at his visitor’s list.”

How could she go near the man that had started this roller coaster? If she’d gone to the PCPD the first time he’d pushed her, would they have believed her? Lucky had shoved her, screamed at her during her own kidnapping, then proclaimed her a whore when they were rescued—

And of course, no one thought Elizabeth might have a good reason for being cold to her husband. She was clearly in the wrong.

“No, I haven’t. I saw the papers. I don’t really want to see anyone.”

“Yeah, they did take some liberties,” Mac admitted. “I’m sure it’ll calm down. Lucky’s not awake yet, so I guess he doesn’t know he won’t be back on active duty.” He tipped his head. “How do you think he’ll take that?”

“Badly.” She looked at Mac. “Do you blame me, too?”

“Blame is a strong word,” Mac said. “I think you’ve been through a lot, and I’m sorry for it. I wish we could have done more to keep Manny off the streets.” He paused. “I also think that maybe if you chose your friends better, this might have been avoided.”

Elizabeth looked at him, saw the kind, well-meaning man that she’d known for years, who had always tried his best.

She looked at him and saw the face of everyone who would make this her fault. “And if I hadn’t walked through the park one night, I wouldn’t have been raped.”

Mac shook his head. “It’s not the same thing—”

“I wasn’t supposed to be in the park. I lied to my grandmother. I always did that, you know. And I lied to everyone. I sat in the park, and I wore a short dress. That’s what Tom Baker told me when he confessed to me—that he couldn’t help it. So it was my fault then, too.”

“No.” Mac sighed. “That’s not—”

“Is that what you’d tell your daughters? Didn’t Georgie get kidnapped by Diego Alcazar last fall?” Elizabeth looked back out the window. “Did you tell her it was her fault for being too nice? For being kind to the wrong people?”

“Elizabeth—”

“Manny kidnapped me last fall because he needed a nurse to take care of him. Women are known to disappear around him. He took a job at the hospital before the quarantine. He followed me around. And all of that happened before Jason and I ever spoke. Jason and I hadn’t been friends for more than two years—had barely even been in the same room for almost a year. Manny targeted me because he’s sick and likes to play games—”

“All of that might have been true,” Mac said. “But he only kidnapped you after he found out you were…friends with Jason Morgan.”

Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let this man see her cry. To see how it broke her to know she wasn’t going to be believed. No matter how rational she was. How calm.

“Okay. Well, let me make this clear for you. Manny kidnapped me. He kidnapped Lucky and told me it was because he saw me fighting with Lucky and thought it would make me happy. He called Jason because he thought Jason might be tricked into killing Lucky for him. I think. I don’t know. That part of his plan was never clear—”

“Elizabeth—”

“He threatened me with a knife, hit me with a rock, ground his heel into Lucky’s spine, and when I managed to get free of him for a minute, Jason shot him to protect me and to save Lucky’s life. That’s it. That’s your statement. I’m not saying another word without a lawyer.”

“I figured we’d get to that sooner or later. Are you planning to use Jason’s lawyer?”

“No, I’m planning to ask Emily’s cousin to represent me. It’s not my fault they’re the same person.” Elizabeth met Mac’s eyes. “I didn’t deserve any of this—”

“I never said you did—”

“And I don’t deserve to be treated this way. You can go. Don’t come back. If you question me again without Justus present, I’ll file a harassment suit. No one gave a damn about me back at that warehouse. You decided it was my fault that a fellow cop had been hurt, and I’ve been treated like garbage ever since.”

She got to her feet. “It wasn’t my fault that Tom Baker raped me. And it wasn’t my fault that Manny Ruiz kidnapped me.”

“No one is saying what happened to you as a kid was your fault, Elizabeth. But you’re an adult now. You should take responsibility for your actions. You decided to get involved with a man like Jason Morgan. And now Lucky is paying for it—”

“Get out.”

Mac shook his head, but then he left. Elizabeth slowly sat back down as the pressure built in her chest and her shoulders started to shake. She’d managed to keep it together until the commissioner had left, but oh, God, he was right, wasn’t he? Maybe Manny wouldn’t have gone after her if he didn’t think it would get Jason’s attention—was this somehow her fault?

Could she have prevented this? And how was she supposed to live in this town now? If she left Lucky—how could she ever show her face? No one would understand, and she knew now that no one would believe her about the abuse.

Lucky was the heroic cop who’d been grievously injured, and she was the whore who had ruined his career.

And no one would ever be convinced otherwise.

General Hospital: Fourth Floor Stairwell

Jason took a deep breath and approached Epiphany, who was waiting at the door like a guard—her arm braced against it so that it could not be opened until she moved.

“Thanks for doing this,” he told her. “I figured it’d be easier to see her this way—”

“Have you seen the papers?” Epiphany demanded. “The filth they’re writing?”

Jason sighed, nodded. “Yeah, I saw them. Did she—”

“She did. Her grandmother was kind enough to leave them for her.” Epiphany raised her brows. “So that Elizabeth could consider the consequences of her actions with all the pertinent information.” She said the last part of it in a tone that indicated she was directly quoting Audrey Hardy.

Jason flinched and looked away. Audrey had never been his biggest fan. “Is she okay?”

“Well, I don’t know, because, after that visit, Mac Scorpio showed up, and she decided to give him a statement without a lawyer.” She pursed her lips. “She ended up throwing him out of her room, so I don’t think she’ll be making that mistake again.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Epiphany—”

“So, the only way you’re getting through this door is if you tell me what you got to say to her is important enough that you need to bother her.” Epiphany lifted her chin. “Because her husband is two flights up in ICU. He’s an asshole, but he’s a man. And you know what happens when a man starts screaming about how terrible a woman is?”

“Epiphany—”

“Everyone believes him. It doesn’t matter how hard Elizabeth works in this hospital, how long she’s lived in this town. No one cares how many people she’s helped or how many lives she saved during the quarantine—none of that matters. Because he’s a cop. So her word means nothing.”

He dipped his head, exhaled slowly. “Okay—” Jason shook his head. “Okay, I’ll go. I don’t want to make it worse.”

Epiphany sighed. “Wait—”

“You’re right. It’s not worth the risk. She’s been through enough.” He hesitated. “And I’m being selfish. I just—I haven’t seen her. I don’t know if she’s okay. Is she?”

“No.” But she lowered her arm and stepped back. “But it might do her some good to see someone who doesn’t believe the worst.” She huffed. “Don’t get caught.”

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Patrick had tried to talk Elizabeth into staying another night at the hospital, but she wanted to be alone. She wanted to get her son, go home to her apartment, and sort herself out.

And she knew she probably should be in the room when Lucky found he’d never be a cop again. Not the way he wanted to be. If she wasn’t there—well, it would just give people one more reason to talk.

And Elizabeth just didn’t want anyone to look at her anymore.

In an hour, Patrick had promised, he’d come back and sign her discharge papers. He’d even drive her home personally. She knew that no one would bother her with Patrick around—the surgeon was pretty good at the fuck off face.

“Elizabeth?”

She turned at the sound of Jason’s voice. She knew she shouldn’t feel happy to see him—that his being there was literally the worst thing right now, but she hadn’t seen him since the night before, and she didn’t really remember a lot from the emergency room.

At least he wasn’t going to call her a whore or blame her for her own kidnapping.

Jason glanced down the hall, then closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be here.”

“Probably not.” Elizabeth sat back on the love seat. “Did anyone see you?”

“No, I called Epiphany, and she let me up the service stairs.” He sat next to her, turned slightly toward to face her. “I…I’m sorry about the papers—”

“None of this is your fault, Jason. It’s….” She sighed and looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. It’s the newspapers for not caring about the truth. It’s mine. It’s Lucky’s—”

“And it’s mine,” Jason pressed. She glanced up, met his eyes briefly, saw the worry. “You told me to stay away. And I didn’t. I don’t know what got into Lucky to make him think—”

“Manny did.” Elizabeth’s voice trembled, and goosebumps made her skin feel cold. “Manny told him that we’d been meeting. A-And Lucky didn’t even—” She closed her eyes. “Anyway. You know, Lucky doesn’t need a reason. He hates you. He has for years.”

“Elizabeth—”

“I just—I wasn’t prepared for everyone else. I always knew no one would believe me—” She bit her lip, horrified to realize she’d very nearly told Jason the truth. It was one thing to tell Patrick who didn’t really know her or Lucky—that somehow seemed safe.

But if she told Jason, if she said it out loud to someone who knew them—

It would be true. It would always be her reality. And she couldn’t take that back.

“Elizabeth—”

“Emily told me that a few weeks ago—no one believed us back then. After the Christmas Party.” With a smile she didn’t really feel, Elizabeth sighed. “I don’t just mean the world, I mean—”

“Emily didn’t believe us.”

“Neither did Nikolas. And they both told Lucky. Apparently, he’s believed I was lying all these years.” She swiped at her eyes. “So, yeah, Lucky didn’t really need much more than a push—”

“Elizabeth—” Jason stretched his arm across the back of the sofa. “I wish I could make this go away.”

“Yeah, well, until we figure out time travel, that’s never going to happen.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, though. I—I forgot about Sam. And she wasn’t really happy with us either before all this. I never…” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I never told you that she saw us on the docks—”

“No, but she did.” Jason squinted. “How did you know?

“She and I…” Elizabeth shrugged. “We talked. Don’t worry,” she continued when he sat up, looking alarmed. “It wasn’t—” She sighed. “It wasn’t angry. And I think we walked away understanding each other. But Jason, I keep telling you—”

“That we can’t be friends—”

“You know we keep saying that word like…” She hesitated. “Like that’s what this is. Like, I’m saying we can’t hang out anymore. And that’s just…” Elizabeth turned slightly, angling her body towards him. And somehow found the courage to meet his eyes. “That’s not what we’re doing. And that’s not what we’ve ever done. Not since the morning I found you in the snow.”

“Yeah.” His voice was just above a rasp. “I know.”

“And maybe not even since that night at Jake’s. I used to think you were my safe place. Someone I could trust with…” She bit her lip. “Everything.”

“You can—”

“But that’s not something I should share with anyone who isn’t the man I married. And to be honest—” Her chest tightened as a tear slid down her cheek. “That’s not something you ever gave me.”

“What?” Jason blinked, pulled back slightly, looking stunned. “What—”

“You never opened your life to me. You always kept me at arm’s length—”

“That’s not—”

“So when I say that you and I need to stop this, I mean I need to stop this. I need to walk away and stop giving away pieces of myself to people who won’t take care of them—” She broke off, then shook her head. Because she should be saying to this to Lucky, not Jason.

Shaken, Jason just stared at her. “That’s not how it was—”

“I’m sorry—” Elizabeth sighed. “That’s not fair—I don’t—I didn’t mean—”

“Well, I see some people never learn.”

The cold, bitter voice snapped them both out of their bubble, and Jason and Elizabeth turned to find her grandmother glaring at them from the doorway.

“Mrs. Hardy.” Jason climbed to his feet and instinctively steadied Elizabeth’s elbow as she also stood. “I was just—”

“Making everything worse,” Audrey snapped. “Or do you enjoy the notoriety that comes with your job?” She let the hospital door swing shut behind her, her hands at her hips. “What in the world are you thinking, Elizabeth, to carry on with him here? Of all places—”

Elizabeth just closed her eyes, then looked at Jason. He looked irritated but said nothing waiting for her to handle it. “Thank you for checking on me, Jason. I’m doing fine, as you can see. So, you should go now.”

“Are you sure—”

“Yes. And when Cody wakes up, can you tell him how much I appreciate him? I’ll try to stop by—”

“Oh, sure, keep making it worse—” Audrey snarled.

“Cody nearly died trying to save my life,” Elizabeth snapped at her grandmother, her cheeks flushing. “Don’t you dare suggest I don’t owe my life to Cody and Jason. If it weren’t for them, I’d be somewhere being raped and tortured by a raging psychopath until he got tired of me and killed me. Or sold me. You know what that’s what he threatened to do, don’t you? Pretty women like me make a lot of money.”

“Elizabeth—” Audrey swallowed. Her face was ghastly white. “I didn’t realize—”

“No, you didn’t. Because you didn’t ask. Jason came to check on the guard who saved my life. And, yes, he wanted to make sure I was okay. Because thanks to the PCPD, I haven’t been able to thank him since I was admitted.”

“I’ll go,” Jason said when the room was quiet for a beat. “I’ll—” He looked at Elizabeth, then shook his head. “I’ll go.”

“You do that.” Audrey stepped aside to let Jason leave. “And don’t come back.”

When the door had shut, Audrey turned back to Elizabeth with that omnipresent disappointment in her eyes. “I cannot believe you. I cannot believe this is the girl I raised. What if Luke or Bobbie had come by? What if the cops had come back? How would it look to find the two of you cuddled up on a sofa while your husband was unconscious two floors away—”

And Elizabeth couldn’t take it anymore. She reached for the pitcher of water on the table and threw it across the room, sending a stream of water in its wake. The plastic clattered to the floor, skidding with the momentum. “Just stop!”

Audrey’s tirade broke off abruptly as her eyes widened. “Elizabeth!”

“Can’t you just—stop—for one minute!” Elizabeth pressed her hands to her hair, digging her fingers into the scalp. “Just stop.”

“I just—” Audrey hesitated. “I’m sorry. I just worry about you so much, Elizabeth. You’re so impulsive, and it gets you into so much trouble. If you would just think before you did things, how much trouble could you have saved yourself over the years?”

“And you still—you don’t stop. You don’t take a breath. It’s always how I’m doing it wrong. How can people tell me in one breath they love me and then just—” Her eyes ached from the tears, but they kept streaming. How did she have any tears left? “How can you tell me you love me and do this to me?”

“Elizabeth—”

“I was kidnapped last night. Manny Ruiz chased me down in the parking garage, grabbed me from behind, knocked me out—he nearly killed the man whose only job it was to keep me alive. Then he dragged me to a warehouse, threatened to rape me—and then my own husband—” Her throat closed. “My own husband, who promised to love me, to cherish me—how could he do this to me?”

Her knees buckled, and Elizabeth sank to the floor, the linoleum chilled beneath the sweat pants she wore. “How could he do this to me?” she gasped, her chest tight as she struggled to force out a full breath. “How can he tell me he loves me and hurt me?”

“I’m—Darling—”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“Elizabeth, Lucky isn’t the one that hurt you—that was Manny—because of Jason—”

“Audrey.”

Elizabeth looked up at the new voice, frowning as she saw Bobbie gently taking Audrey’s elbow and leading her out of the room. After a moment, Bobbie came back and knelt down. She pulled Elizabeth to her feet.

“How are you, sweetheart?” Bobbie asked, smoothing Elizabeth’s hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ears before taking Elizabeth’s face in her hands. “What can I do?”

“I think…” Elizabeth just closed her eyes. Her face felt heavy and swollen from the barrage of tears. “There’s nothing. There’s nothing to do.”

“Okay.”

“I just—I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep apologizing—”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’ll talk to your grandmother.” Bobbie kissed her forehead. “I came to tell you that Patrick had an opening to take Lucky went back into surgery a little while ago. He wanted you to go on home. I came to take care of your discharge and drive you.”

Elizabeth felt her entire body shudder. “You don’t blame me?”

“Blame you?” Bobbie sighed. “I blame myself. I blame Lucky. I blame his father. The only person in this entire mess that I don’t blame is you.”

And that just made Elizabeth sob harder. So Bobbie just put her arms around Elizabeth and let her cry.

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