1
He did it, he did it

By midnight the party was in full swing, the main bar area of the The Cellar packed with men and women dressed in formal wear, passing around glasses of champagne, ringing in the New Year. The jazz band had kicked up “Auld Lang Syne”, and confetti still drifted down from the ceiling.

Carly Corinthos should have been at the center of the dance floor, her arms wound around the neck of the husband that had bankrolled her club, making this night partially possible. She should have been reveling in her success, because while Sonny might have given her the startup funds, she’d put her blood, sweat, and tears into every aspect of the business to make it the hottest club in town.

This should have been her moment to shine.

Instead she stood behind the bar, her long thin arms folded across the bodice of her sequined-emerald bodice, picking up the hints of honey in her brown eyes. Her blonde hair was twisted back in a chignon, diamonds dripped from her ears—and a hot, furious glare at her husband who was on the dance floor.

With another woman.

Some dark-haired, sloe-eyed tramp. Just like Brenda. Hannah. Lily. All the women with whom Sonny had broken his wedding vows. Samantha McCall was just another in the long line of whores Sonny had taken to his bed, but by God, she’d be the last he used to humiliate her if there was anything Carly had to say about it.

“Drink this.”

A champagne glass was thrust into her hands, and Carly sighed. “It’s dangerous to give me bar ware right now, don’t you think?”

Her younger sister smirked, her lips painted a dark red maroon to match the color of the dress she wore, with a neckline that plunged nearly to her navel, leaving her back almost entirely exposed. Elizabeth Webber tapped matching nails against the mahogany bar. “Isn’t destroying glass Sonny’s signature?”

“The way I feel right now, I could crack this right across his face and not feel an ounce of sorrow.” Carly exhaled slowly, a low, tortured sound. “What else do I have to do, Lizzie?” she murmured, “to make him show me some damn respect? I’ve given him everything. We have a son.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth, then her eyes darkened when a figure appeared on the dance floor, breaking into Sonny and Sam’s dance. Jason Morgan spoke a few quiet words to Sonny, and then they both looked at the bar. Sonny’s mouth was a grim line, but he walked away from Sam, heading for the private VIP booth in the back of the club.

Sam spoke sharply to Jason, anger etched into her features, before she stalked in the opposite direction. Jason rolled his eyes, then started for the bar.

Elizabeth picked up her drink. “Excuse me, I have somewhere to be,” she said.

“He means well—”

“He knows exactly what he’s doing,” Elizabeth told her sister. She slipped away into a crowd, just before Jason reached the bar, his ice blue eyes following the brunette.

“You reminded him where he was, didn’t you?” Carly asked. She sipped her champagne. “He’s getting more blatant.”

“Carly—”

“After all, I only know about the women I’ve caught him with.” Her sad eyes found his. “There’s more, aren’t there?”

Jason’s mouth pinched. “I’m not answering that, Carly. It wouldn’t do you any good—” He laid both his hands on the bar. “But he shouldn’t do this in your club. In front of you. I’ve told him that.”

“Thank you.” She set the empty glass down. “I didn’t know about her. She’d never have been on the list. Lizzie would have seen to that.”

“No doubt,” Jason said dryly. He shook his head. “I’m sorry—”

“It’s not your apology I want. But it’s the only one I’ll hear, so thank you.”

Jason nodded, accepting the criticism. “Elizabeth took off in a hurry,” he noted.

“It’s not that she doesn’t like you—” Carly began, but Jason raised his hand to ward off her protests.

“You don’t have to explain your sister to me. We understand each other. Most of the time.” Jason looked across the crowd, his expression shifting into one of surprise. “Excuse me, something came up.”

He melted into the crowd, and she lost sight of him, wondering if maybe he was heading to the exit. Parties weren’t his scene, and he’d only come tonight because Carly had asked.

When Carly returned from freshening her makeup in the ladies’ room, Sonny sat at the bar, a shot of whiskey in his hand. “Did you reward your errand boy?” he demanded.

Carly pressed her lips together, then carefully prepped the ingredients for her favorite martini. “He’s your right hand man, Sonny, not mine. If you have an issue with him calling out your disgusting behavior, then take it up with him.”

“Maybe I will.” Sonny looked around the night club, squinted. “Where the hell did he go anyway?”

2
Este’s a friend of mine

The VIP rooms had been closed at midnight, but that was no obstacle to the club’s manager who had made located her quarry across the dance floor. She’d headed straight for the back rooms, fishing her key out of the tiny clutch in her hand.

He caught up to her just as she reached the door, his breath hot on her neck, his hands at the small of her back, the brush of his skin against her spine had heat rising already— “I thought we weren’t going to do this again,” he murmured in her ear.

She slid the key into the lock, twisted the knob, and half-turned to grab him by the collar, jerking him inside before anyone could take notice of them. She slammed the door shut and shoved him against it.

“If you don’t want to be here,” Elizabeth said, sliding her hands up Jason’s muscled chest, her tongue flicking across her lips. She pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders. “You can just say no.”

“I’m not the one who keeps saying this is the last time,” Jason said, pulling her hard against him, sliding his hand into her chestnut curls and covering her mouth with his. Her quick nimble fingers were already releasing his belt and whipping it over her head, then sliding her hand inside his pants. He wrapped a hand around her wrist, holding it in place. “In a hurry?” he murmured, molding her fingers around him. Her eyes were heavy, her pupils almost dilated.

“Aren’t you?” She nipped at the soft skin beneath his jaw and giggled when he lifted her in his arms and twisted so that she was against the door now, her legs wrapped around his waist, the skirt of her dress shoved up. “Besides,” she panted, wincing slightly when she heard the sound of fabric tearing. Another pair of panties lost to a good cause. “We don’t want your boss to come looking for you—”

“Do me a favor?” Jason murmured, his lips next to her ear. He pulled back so that he could see her, so that he could watch the way her eyes glazed over when he slid inside slowly, inch by inch, the flush rising from her chest to her collarbone, neck, until her cheeks were cherry red.

“Anything,” she managed, her nails digging into his back.

“Don’t ever talk about him when I’m inside you,” he said, then bit her earlobe. “Isn’t that the deal? They don’t exist.”

“Right now, if you don’t move,” Elizabeth managed, “you’re not going to exist much longer.”

He grinned, and then decided he’d made her wait long enough. The first time was always hard and fast—she was so damn sensitive and he knew her body so well after nearly a year of these clandestine meetings that it never took much to send her careening over the edge.

Then later, if there was time, he’d make love to her slowly. Reverently, hoping she could feel the way he loved her with every touch, every stroke, every brush of his lips against hers.

There was a large sofa in this VIP room that was plush and deep — it was one of their favorite places to meet, and now, nearly forty minutes after Jason had caught Elizabeth’s eye and left Carly at the bar, they lay together. He’d pulled his pants back on and offered her his shirt.

“I don’t want to move for the rest of my life,” Elizabeth murmured, her words slightly slurred. “I could sleep right here.”

Jason’s fingers stilled in the act of stroking her shoulder and he swallowed hard. “We could try this in a bed for a change. Mine. Or yours.” He winced when he felt her body tense, cursing himself for always pushing too far.

Elizabeth sighed and sat up, her hair mussed and escaping the pins holding it up. Her lips, swollen from his kisses, pursed. “Jason—”

“Never mind. Forget I said anything,” he said, trying to pull her back down but he’d broken the moment and she was already sliding off the sofa, looking around the room for her dress. “Elizabeth, come back. No one’s going to be using these rooms. We can just stay here—”

“I need to get back to the party. Carly always goes home angry after dealing with Sonny.” She picked up her maroon dress, shook it out. “And Sonny’s probably looking for you.”

Jason sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the sofa. “And now you’re going to give me the speech about how this is the last time, so go ahead and get started.” He flinched when his shirt hit him in the face. By the time he’d pulled it away, she’d shimmied back into the dress and was pulling the straps over her upper body. “Elizabeth.”

“Do you think this is fun for me?” Elizabeth asked. “You think I’m enjoying this?”

“Maybe you are.” Jason whipped the shirt back on, began to fasten the buttons. “Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t keep doing it. When was the last time I sent you the signal?”

He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth—Elizabeth just stared at him like he’d slapped her.

“Are you calling me a whore?”

“What? No—” Jason darted across the room, snagging her elbow before she could head for the door. “No. I’m just—just frustrated.” He slid his hands from his shoulders to her elbows, then up again. She looked so beautiful and rumpled, her hair a mess from his hands, her lipstick kissed away—he probably had the deep red color on his shirt and on his face. Gently, Jason reached into her hair, removed pin after pin until the curls fell down around her shoulders. “I know you mean it when you say it’s the last time. I know you’re not playing games.”

“At least that’s one of us.” Elizabeth sighed, rested her forehead against his chest, and he relaxed slightly. “I did mean it,” she muttered. “But you just…you stopped Sonny from acting like an asshole, and I know he hates it when you do that, and you did it for me. He’s going to think it’s for Carly, but I know it’s not, and I’m just so mad at you—” She lifted her head, and he sighed when he saw tears shimmering. “Because you’re so sweet and you know what he does is wrong, but he’s your best friend, so you’ll defend him anyway—”

“I don’t know why you have to let what’s between Carly and Sonny have anything to do with us. I’d never treat you the way he treats her.” He framed her face with his hands. “You know that, don’t you? I haven’t even looked at another woman. You can trust me.”

“I—” Her lips trembled and she looked away. “How many times have you cleaned up his messes? How many women does my sister not even know about?”

Jason shook his head. “That’s not—”

She pulled away, stepped out of his arms. “You won’t even tell me because you know I’ll tell her. And maybe it makes me a terrible person that I’d throw away what we could be but she’s the only family I have. And you’re helping her husband make her life miserable.”

“What do you want me to do? I can’t stop Sonny from having affairs, and I can’t force Carly to leave him!”

“I want—” Elizabeth closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “We’re just going to have the same argument over and over again. This is insanity. It doesn’t matter how good it is when it’s just us. It’s not just us. We live in a world where you answer to the man who is slowly draining the life from my sister. And it doesn’t bother you—”

“I never said it didn’t bother me—” Jason stopped. “What do you take me for? As soon as I saw him on that damn floor with that woman, I stopped him—”

“But you knew about her, didn’t you?” Elizabeth demanded, her eyes burning into him. “You knew he had a new woman. And you didn’t tell me. I left her on the damn guest list, Jason. One word from you, and she’s gone. But you’re going to protect Sonny at all costs—”

“I didn’t know for sure—”

“For sure,” Elizabeth echoed. “Which means you suspected. So what do you want me to do with that, Jason? I wrote that list. I invited that woman here, and my sister was humiliated. And it didn’t occur to you to stop it until it was too late.”

“Okay. Okay. So next time, I’ll—”

“Because there’s always a next time, right?” Elizabeth tilted head up to the ceiling. “I can’t keep going in circles, Jason. We get nowhere, and it just hurts to have this argument every time knowing nothing will change. I care about you, you know that. But I can’t do this.”

“You care about me,” Jason repeated, “but you don’t respect me, do you?”

Elizabeth sighed, looked away. “No, not when it comes to Sonny. I’m—I’m sorry. I just can’t. I have to go.” She snatched up her heels, slid the bolt back, and left.

3
We meet up every Tuesday night for dinner and a glass of wine

Carly lifted her brows when Elizabeth showed up for work the next morning. She filled another tub with the dirty glasses leftover from the night before. “You’re late.”

“Sorry. Couldn’t sleep.” Elizabeth nibbled on her lower lip, looked around the club. With the bright lights overhead, she could see the mess left behind—glasses, plates. Trash on the floor. “We might need to talk about new busboys. And a cleaning service.”

“It was New Year’s so I’m not surprised people were worse than usual. I’m not mad, just curious.” Carly disappeared into the kitchen, and Elizabeth went to find a broom and trash bag.

“What kept you up last night?” Carly said, a few hours later when the majority of the club had been put to rights.

“I had a headache,” Elizabeth said, and touched her temple. “Wouldn’t go away.”

Carly tipped her head, squinting. “Really?” she drawled. “You know, Lizzie,” she said, leaning over the bar, “if you had a hot date, I wouldn’t be mad you ditched me. I’d just be happy you were finally getting laid.”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, accepted the bottle of water her sister handed her. “I wish you weren’t so crude.”

“I wish you were less uptight, so I guess we’re all doomed to disappointment. Let me set you up with someone—”

“No, thanks.”

“Come on. You know, there’s got to be someone around here you’re interested in. Not one of Sonny’s guys,” Carly said, pressing her lips together, forming a thin line. “They’ve got the morals of a tomcat and not enough money to make it worth it. Jason. Jason might be worth it, but you already turned him down once.”

Elizabeth jolted. “What? No, I didn’t. He never—” He’d never asked. That’s not how it had started. She’d gone to his office at the coffee house, furious about another one of Sonny’s women that Jason had covered up, and she didn’t even know who had started it, but the next thing she knew, they were grappling on the floor—

But he’d never asked her out on a real date before that. And she’d always stopped him from asking after that.

“Oh. He didn’t? I thought—” Carly tapped her fingers against the bar. “I guess I just got the impression he wanted to. But Sonny probably talked him out of it or something. Did you—I mean, would you have said yes?”

“I—” It was on the tip of her tongue to admit the truth to Carly, to tell her sister that she’d been secretly sleeping with Jason for a year. She was never sure why exactly she kept their encounters quiet — maybe because it would be uncomfortable to explain why each time, Elizabeth had promised herself it’d be the last.

But it never was. And unless one of them met someone else, she didn’t know if she’d be able to stop herself.

“I mean, Jason doesn’t date. I don’t think I’ve seen him bring a woman around us in, God—I don’t remember the last time.” Carly squinted. “This is going to bother me. When I first started seeing Sonny, it felt like Jason was always dating someone new. Couldn’t keep them around. At least he broke up with them before screwing someone else.”

I haven’t even looked at another woman.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Carly, can we talk about what happened last night? I’m sorry. I never would have left her on the guest list if—”

Her eyes shuttered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Jason told me he didn’t know. I think maybe he suspected, but—”

“If he’d known, he’d have told you. I know.” Carly came around the end of the bar. “I don’t blame you, Lizzie.”

Elizabeth twisted on the bar stool. “But you’re so unhappy, Carly. And it’s only getting worse. Why—”

“Don’t start this again. I’m not leaving Sonny.” Carly held up her hand, wiggled her fingers so that the large diamond on her ring caught the light. “You see this? None of those women have that.  I have his name, his ring, and a son that looks just like him. I have this club, and now I have you back in my life—and you like Port Charles, don’t you?”

“Mostly, but—”

“This is the kind of security we dreamed about when we were kids. We promised each other, didn’t we? No one was ever going to push us around. Not after Wanakah.”

Elizabeth’s throat tightened. “Carly, we’re not kids anymore—”

“I told you that I’d find a rich man to marry and I’d make sure that no one could ever hurt us that way again,” Carly said. “Didn’t I do just that? I found Sonny. He gave me everything I wanted.”

“But he doesn’t love you,” Elizabeth said softly.

“You’re the one who was looking for love, Lizzie. Me, I’m just fine with the bank account. Sonny and I—” Carly closed her eyes, and the tremble in her voice belied her careful words. “We just need to find something that works. I don’t care how many whores he sleeps with. I just don’t want to know about them. So you want to wait on the fairy tale, you do that. But don’t ask me to throw away everything I’ve worked hard for.”

4
Este’s been losing sleep

Jason stepped out of his penthouse, one hand in his back pocket to make sure he’d grabbed his keys and wallet on the way out.

He’d woken that morning determined to track Elizabeth down and deal with this in the cold, harsh light of day. He’d made a mistake last night, pushing her after the scene with Carly and Sonny in the club, but he’d been distracted by how good it felt to hold her, to be with her — but today, it would be different.

He rounded the corner towards the elevator, wincing when he heard yelling and something smash across the hall. Jason grimaced, wanting to wash his hands of it but if Sonny was already throwing bourbon, he was pissed at Carly which was usually Jason’s cue to convince the blonde to leave.

He headed for the Corinthos penthouse, nodding to Max who just sighed, then knocked lightly before opening the door to announce. “Mr. C., Jason’s here.”

“Oh, great—” Sonny rolled his eyes as Jason came in. Shards of glass glinted on the dark hardwood floor, and Carly stood by the fireplace, her eyes irritated, hands planted at her hips. “Your errand boy is here.”

“Stop calling him that. I don’t even talk to him—” Carly stalked towards her husband. “And stop deflecting onto Jason—”

“Oh, deflecting? That’s a big word for a high school dropout—”

“I know we’re not talking about education!” Carly shot back. “At least I made it to senior year without a rap sheet. You were in juvie for most of high school—”

Jason already had a headache. “Listen, I’m not trying to interrupt—”

“Then don’t.” Sonny poured himself another bourbon. “You know what? You want her so much, take her.”

Jason frowned. “What?”

Carly closed her eyes, her face flushed. “Oh my God.”

“You think I don’t see through all of this?” Sonny demanded of his wife. “Jason’s always in my face, telling me to respect my wife like it’s any of his business—but maybe I should be telling him to respect me a little better—”

“Are you kidding me? You can’t really think—”

“I haven’t seen him with a damn woman in years—” Sonny shot back.

And that was enough of that, Jason thought, heading for the door, knowing that he wasn’t even really the topic. Sonny and Carly just hated each other and would seize on anything to argue about, including Jason.

Sonny would never understand why Jason had started to step in more when he was deliberately humiliating Carly in public. Or why he hadn’t seen any other women in three years.

Jason closed the door, sent Max a commiserating look, and headed for the elevators — only to hear the dinging sound signaling the car had arrived on their floor. The doors slid open and Elizabeth stepped out.

5
Her husband’s actin’ different, and it smells like infidelity

“I, um—” Elizabeth licked her lips nervously, and his eyes dropped to her mouth for a moment before flicking back up to her. “I was hoping we could…talk.” She realized he was wearing his leather jacket. “Oh, you’re on your way out—”

“I was just going to come find you.” Jason stepped back, gestured to his apartment. “Please. Stay.”

He’d been on his way to see her? Butterflies were fluttering like mad inside, but Elizabeth hoped that didn’t show on her face. She waited while he unlocked the door, then opened it.

She’d never been inside his place before, Elizabeth thought, but it looked almost like she’d expected. Mostly bare with a leather sofa and coffee table in the center of the space. There was no television, but a bookcase where one might be. A fireplace dominated the far side of the wall. A plain desk and chair were by the door.

And there was a pool table taking up most of what was supposed to be dining space. Elizabeth found herself smiling. “Why am I not surprised you have your own pool table?” She turned to face him as he closed the door, removed his jacket. “It looks like you in here.”

“Carly’s always saying it’s too empty,” Jason said, and her smile faded at this reminder of her sister knowing more about Jason than she did. “What? What did I say?”

“A year,” she murmured. “A year we’ve been doing this and I’ve never been here.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “How many times did you ask me to come here? To spend the night?”

“Elizabeth—”

“Carly thought you asked me out. A long time ago.” She searched his eyes, noticed the way he dropped his eyes to the floor. “Why did she think that?”

“Because I was going to,” Jason said. “I didn’t.” He slid his hands into his pockets. “It doesn’t matter now—”

She exhaled slowly, tears pricking her eyes. “No, I guess it doesn’t. Maybe I should just go—”

“Hey. Hey—” Jason caught her as she went past him, his hand sliding beneath her elbow propelling her back. “We didn’t even talk yet. What did I do? I said something wrong. Does it matter to you why I didn’t ask you out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I just—I hate that my sister knows what your apartment looks like and I don’t. And I know that’s stupid because it’s my fault. I annoy myself,” she muttered.

Jason tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. “I hate that I don’t know what your place looks like. Are you messy? Neat? What color are your curtains? Do you wake up early or sleep in—I want to know everything. So if it matters to you — I asked Carly about you three years ago.”

“Three—but I’ve only lived here for three years.” She licked her lips again, and his eyes darkened. “How long has it been…since you dated someone else?”

“When did you show up?” Jason asked, leaning down, their lips separated by little more than a few inches. “The day you walked into Sonny’s — that’s the last time I ever thought about someone who isn’t you.”

Her fingers trembled as she slid her hands up his chest, then pulled his head down to hers, kissing him almost desperately. Jason crushed her against him, sinking his hands in her hair.

6
She says, “That ain’t my merlot on his mouth”

Carly paced the length of the sofa before throwing another furious look at her  husband. “It is absolutely mortifying the way you speak to me in front of Jason!”

“Yeah well, sleeping with my enforcer isn’t a good look for you either, sweetheart,” Sonny muttered, lifting the tumbler to his lips.

“Really? Really? You think I’m sleeping with Jason? You’re even more oblivious than I thought if you can’t see what’s going on here—” She jabbed a finger at him. “The only thing he’s doing is protecting you from humiliating yourself! We have a child, Sonny! What are you going to do when Michael’s old enough to see this? Are you going to keep bringing your whores and sluts around him?”

“All I did was dance with a beautiful woman. I’m sorry you’re so insecure about your body since having a baby—”

“You son of a bitch—” Carly reached for the nearest item—a blood red throw pillow—and hurled it at him. He deflected it with ease. “I look just as good as I did before I had the damn kid—”

“If that helps you sleep at night.” Sonny strolled over towards his desk. “Are we done with this or do you have anything else you want to scream at me?”

“What do I have to do, to say, to make you stop humiliating this way?” Carly demanded. “What do I have to do to keep your whores from coming to my club?”

“Like I said, Carly—” Sonny looked at her, smiled thinly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never brought a whore to your club.”

“You no good lying son of a bitch!” Carly hurled a vase laden with flowers to the ground, where it shattered.

7
“That ain’t my jewelry on our joint account”

Jason reluctantly eased back, not wanting this to end like all their other encounters — in bed with nothing resolved. He stroked her back, wanting to keep her close. “Did that answer your question?”

Elizabeth’s eyes were slightly dreamy, unfocused when she finally opened them. “What?”

“Your question. Have I answered it?”

“I—” She furrowed her brow. “No. No. You didn’t ask me. Why didn’t—for two years—”

Jason sighed, took her hand and led her over to the sofa, tugging her down to sit next to him. “The night I was  going to ask you, we went to the No Name. It was the first time you went, do you remember that?”

“Oh. Yeah. Sonny flirted with the waitress, and Carly threw the bourbon in his face.” Troubled, Elizabeth looked away. “Then Sonny disappeared, and you did, too. I went to the ladies room, and you were in the hallway, arguing with him about kissing the waitress where Carly could have seen.”

“And you told me that I was an asshole for covering up Sonny’s affairs and to never speak to you again.”

“Right.” Elizabeth looked down at her hands, picked at a cuticle. “So we’re right back to where we started, and where we always end up.”

“Look, it’s not like I want to be involved,” Jason told her. “It’s the last thing I want. And I only step in when I know Carly’s going to see or hear something because I don’t want her to get upset. And because I know when she’s hurting, you hurt for her. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do if Sonny won’t stop having affairs and Carly won’t leave him.”

“You’re right. I know you are. I guess—he’s your best friend.” She raised her head to meet his gaze. “What does that say about who you are?”

“That—” He winced. “Okay. Yeah, I can see where that’s not great for me. Sonny wasn’t like this when I met him. You know I had an accident, right?”

“Carly said something about it. You lost your memory.”

He took her hand in his, tracing a pattern along her palm. “It was more than that. I had a traumatic brain injury. Frontal lobe damage. I didn’t just forget who people were — I had a complete reset of pretty much everything I knew about interacting with the world. Zero impulse control, explosive anger—I was not…” He sighed. “I wasn’t much fun to be around. I pushed everyone away—they wanted me to be who I was before and when I wasn’t, they treated me like I was stupid. Like I couldn’t make decisions. Choices.” He looked up again, saw that she was watching him. “You really didn’t know?”

“No. Why would I?” she asked, mystified. “It was before I moved here. Before Carly did. She probably doesn’t even know the extent.”

“I guess. I’m just used to people knowing—anyway.” He exhaled on a long breath. “When I met Sonny, he didn’t treat me that way. He acted like I could do things. That I could do them well. And he gave me a job—I could get away from the people who said they were my family. Make a life for myself. It’s not always great,” he admitted, “and lately, it’s been a struggle to respect him or even like him. But—I can’t forget what he’s done for me. And hope that the man I loved as a brother comes back. I don’t know how to let go of it.” He looked at her again. “Can you understand that?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I can. Because Carly and I—” She stood up, abruptly, crossing over to the fireplace, rubbing her hands together. Elizabeth looked back. “Carly and I—we’re not…biological sisters. There’s no blood ties. We met in the foster system.”

8
No, there ain’t no doubt

“I cannot believe you have the nerve to stand there and act like you haven’t screwed very female that’s crossed your path since the day we met,” Carly spat. She stalked towards the kitchen, returned dragging the trash can. She knelt down, began throwing the larger pieces of the vase inside.

Sonny just poured another bourbon. “Prove it,” he taunted.

“I don’t need to prove anything.” Carly got to her feet, her eyes glinting dangerously. “You see this?” She wiggled her ring finger. “This gives me everything I need. So go ahead, screw every last whore that waltzes in front of you, but you’re going to be the one to pull the plug on this marriage. You’re not getting away without making it worth my while, and I don’t come cheap.”

“You’re the cheapest thing I own,” Sonny muttered. He finished the bourbon, poured another.

“What did you just say to me?” she demanded, her voice hitching up another octave. “What did you just call me?”

“You want to act like money made you better than you are, but you’re gutter trash just like me,” Sonny retorted. “You want to keep coming at me about affairs you can’t prove because you’re screwing my best friend—”

Carly snatched the tumbler from his hand and hurled it against the door.

9
I think I’m gonna call him out

Jason tipped his head, furrowed his brow. “Foster sisters,” he repeated, as pieces of the puzzle shifted in his head. He’d always wondered at their relationship—there was zero resemblance between the two and neither Carly nor Elizabeth ever spoke about their childhood. Carly hadn’t talked about any family before Elizabeth had showed three years ago.

“Yeah, um, we didn’t—I mean, I consider her my sister. It never mattered to me. But I guess if you didn’t know, Carly never told Sonny. I’m sure he would have said something.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “I don’t know how I ended up in the system. I don’t want to know.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Jason said, rising to his feet. “What happened? Did you get separated?”

“I—yeah. Um, I was six, and she was nine. They put us in this home together. Wanakah, New York,” Elizabeth remembered, her eyes a bit distant. “It was awful. But Carly made it okay, and every time they told us—” She stopped, looked at him. “It doesn’t matter. We stuck together, decided we were family, and our social worker helped us stay with each other. We were there for three years, and got moved to a different family together. But then Carly turned fifteen, and our social worker retired. The new one didn’t care. She put Carly in a group home for troubled girls because Carly kept screwing up at school, and I—” She rubbed her arms. “We got separated,” she finished. “We tried to write, but we just…I kept getting moved. I wasn’t doing well. And she aged out, and we just lost track.”

There was more in that story, Jason knew, but if she wanted to gloss over it, he wasn’t going to stop her. “But you found her.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I looked for her the best I could after I aged out. I went to community college, graduated. But it costs money to find someone, and Carly—she’d moved here and she was married, so she wasn’t using the same name anymore.” Elizabeth looked at the fireplace. “But I saw her picture in a paper in Buffalo. She and Sonny. Her name was there, and where they lived. So I came here, and everyone said Sonny lived at Harborview.”

“You must have been relieved to find her, and I know Carly was happy you came,” Jason said. He closed the distance between them itching to take her in his arms, but she looked so stiff—he didn’t know if she wanted to be touched.

“Maybe. Sometimes…” She shook her head. “Anyway, I understand now what Sonny means to you. Carly doesn’t always make me happy either, but she’s my sister and without her, I have no one else, so—”

“That’s not true,” Jason told her, and now he put his hands on her shoulders, turning her so that she faced him. “Carly is happy to have you here. When I told her I was interested in you, she was excited for you—”

“Because you have money,” Elizabeth said and Jason closed his mouth. “Look, I’m not…blind to the fact that a lot of people think I’m some poor relation who showed up when Carly married money. The thing is, she was married for a year before I found her. I didn’t change my name. If she’d wanted to find me, she could have. I chose to ignore that, but I also refused to take anything from her. I got a job, I’ve paid my own way, and she had to beg me to come manage the nightclub.”

“I know, but—” He couldn’t quite let something go. “What do you mean she was happy for you because I had money?”

“God, I wish I hadn’t said anything because it doesn’t matter to me. It never has, and it won’t. But Carly—she just—money equals security to her. If she has it, she’ll be safe.” Elizabeth sighed. “I know it makes her seems superficial and shallow, but the way we grew up—all she ever dreamed about was finding someone rich who would marry her and keep her safe and she’d never go hungry. So for her, Sonny is a dream come true. But I don’t—” Her eyes were wide. “I mean it. I don’t want anything to do with that. What you have—that’s yours and it stays yours, not that you’re offering it—”

“It’s okay.” He tried to smile. “I just thought all these years your sister approved of me because, you know, I’m me and she thought I was good enough for you. But it doesn’t matter to me. You matter. You’re all that does.” Jason searched her eyes. “Can we be done with this? With them?”

“You mean am I going to keep using my sister as an excuse not to be with you?” Elizabeth sighed, but she was smiling. “No. I think—I think maybe I’m ready to see if this…if it’s real.”

“It is.” He swept her hair off her shoulder, brushed his thumb along her jaw. “I just want the chance to show you what you mean to me.”

He kissed her, lingering, savoring each moment, knowing that there’d be time, that she might even stay with him tonight, and he’d be able to hold her longer than a few minutes—

Elizabeth purred, melting against him, her arms winding around his neck. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist—he could feel her smiling against his mouth as he headed for the stairs, and he stumbled against the sofa, catching himself before he dropped her.

“Mmmmm, maybe you should keep your eyes open when you’re thinking about going up stairs,” Elizabeth teased. He grinned, readjusted his grip, lifting her higher.

“I’ll keep that in mind—” he started to say, but there was a crash and a scream across the hall. Elizabeth squirmed, and he immediately released her, barely reaching the door ahead her.

10
She says, “I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it”

The guard on the door was already inside the penthouse, the door hanging open. But Max was just standing there, worried.

Carly’s face was flushed bright red and she was crying, screaming—and Sonny had her by the wrists, shaking her so violently her head whipped back forth. Elizabeth stood there in horror for a moment, then Jason was there, pushing past her.

”Let her go!” Jason shoved between them, pressing on Sonny’s chest, forcibly dragging him away from his wife. Sonny released Carly’s wrists, and she stumbled back, her sobs mixed with hyperventilating breathing.

Elizabeth hurried to her sister, wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay, it’s okay, Jason won’t let him hurt you—”

“You always defend her!” Sonny roared, taking a swing at Jason, who ducked sending the other man off balance. He crashed into the sofa, and went after Jason again. “I know you’re screwing her!” When he missed again, he hit the floor and Jason put a boot on his chest.

“Stay down,” Jason said flatly. “Stay down or I’ll knock you out. You’re not putting another hand on her.”

“Come on,” Elizabeth told her hysterical sister. “We’ll go, okay? We’ll get Michael and we’ll leave. You can stay with me—”

Carly threw Elizabeth’s hands off her, shoving her sister back. Her eyes were bright, a little unfocused and boiling with the same rage radiating from her body. “Stop it! Stop telling me to leave! I’m tired of you always telling me what to do! You don’t know anything!”

Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Okay, but—” She put her hands up. “Okay. Then we’ll think of something else, but Carly, he was hurting you—”

“You don’t understand, you never will!” Carly hissed. “You’re just a little girl who spins fantasies. It’s time to grow up, okay?”

“Carly—” Jason started. “Let’s just calm down—”

“What does that have to do with your husband abusing you?” Elizabeth cried.  “We swore to each other, Carly, we promised we’d never let anyone hurt us again—”

“That’s just something silly girls say to each other locked in a dark room,” Carly growled. “But it doesn’t matter how much you lie to yourself and pretend it’s not happening, that door is always going to open and he’s always going to come in—”

“Shut up, shut up—” Elizabeth put her hands to her ears. “No! No, you made it stop, and it didn’t happen—”

“That’s right, I made it stop,” Carly shot back. “I saved you, and I’ve been saving you ever since! I don’t need you to come in here and tell me how to live my life, Elizabeth! I don’t need you, I never did!”

11
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it

Elizabeth’s face lost all its color and she whirled around, heading for the door. Jason swore, raised his boot from Sonny’s chest and went after her, but she pulled the door closed behind her, and it slowed him down.

By the time he’d reached the hallway, she was rushing out of his penthouse, her purse in her hands.

“Elizabeth—” He tried to take her in his arms, but she shoved him away and he held up his hands. She jabbed at the button, and the doors opened.

“Just leave me alone — all of you—”

“Please—don’t go—” But she was already inside the elevator, and the doors were sliding closed.  Jason slammed his hand against the wall, then returned to the penthouse, furious.

Carly was in tears, hugging herself as Sonny pulled himself to his feet. Her hands were shaking as she came to Jason. “You have to go after, you have to find her, I was just mad, but I don’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, you have to tell her I didn’t mean it—bring her back, please, please—”

“What a good sister you are,” Sonny bit out, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “Jason, go make sure the little brat doesn’t—”

Jason looked at Carly, ravaged from crying. “All she’s ever done is put you first. How could you do that—”

“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t—” Carly came forward, grabbed him by the shirt. “You have to find her, you have to make her understand, bring her back, she’s all I have—”

“You got a funny way of showing it. Let go of me,” he said coldly. She stepped back, the flush fading, leaving her face a stark white.

“I am done with the both of you. Kill each other or don’t, I don’t give a damn anymore.”  He left, intent on getting his phone, keys, and jacket.

Then he’d find Elizabeth and make sure she was okay.

12
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it

Her hands shook and it took more than one try to get her key into the lock. She slid into her car, tossed her purse on the passenger side where it spilled open, her phone sliding out. She gripped the steering wheel, and drew in one shaky breath.

Don’t cry. Can’t cry.

Stop that crying or I’ll give you something to cry about — the voice from her nightmares slid in like an assassin. Crouched in a bed, under a thin blanket, hoping this time she could disappear and the door wouldn’t open, and the footsteps wouldn’t come in—

No, no. No. That was over, and it didn’t matter what Carly or anyone else said. It was over. Elizabeth took a deep breath, switched on the ignition and pulled out of the space, heading for the street entrance.

Something vibrated and she looked over at her phone, saw Jason’s name on the lock screen. Then she faced forward, concentrated on the road.

She had to get out. To get away.

13
No, no body, no crime

When the door closed behind Jason, Carly turned to Sonny and went after him, attacking him, pounding her fists against his chest. “This is all your fault! You make me so angry and I hate you!”

Sonny shoved her away and Carly hit the back of the sofa. “Stay away from me!”

“You made me like this! You made me this way!” When she rushed him again, Sonny grabbed her wrists, held her.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, you fucking bitch—” He shoved her back, jabbed a finger at her. “I’ve had enough of you. I want you out. Do you understand me? Do you?” he raged when she just glared at him. “Get out of my house!”

“I told you,” Carly hissed, fisting her hands at her side. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’re going to pay for every thing you’ve ever done to me, for what you made me.”

Sonny glowered. “No one takes me from me. Last chance, Carly. Get out or I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”

“I am not going anywhere!” she shrieked. “You’re going to crawl over my cold, dead body before I let you throw me out!”

His control broke, and Sonny reached for her arm, dragging her towards the door. Carly fought like a wild woman, clawing and digging at his face. Sonny roared and backhanded her, sending her flying into the minibar. Glass shattered and she rolled to the floor. Stayed there, blood seeping out from beneath her head.

There was a knock at the door, timid now. “Boss?” came Max’s thin voice. “Do you—do you need help?”

Sonny dragged his hand across his mouth. “Yeah. Yeah. I need a cleanup.”

14
But I ain’t letting up until the day I die

Near the Port Charles city limits, Elizabeth finally pulled over to the shoulder of the road. The sun had been setting when she’d set off for the Towers earlier that day, and now the world was pitch black around her.

What was she going to do? Drive away from everything? From her whole life? From the tiny world she’d begun to build these last few years? So what, Carly didn’t want her. Hadn’t Elizabeth always known that, somewhere deep down? With all her money, Carly had never come looking for her — Elizabeth had to track her down.

She’d survived without her sister. Without anyone. She could do it again.

Elizabeth rolled down the window, letting the bitter January wind swirl into the car, biting at her cheeks. She reached for the phone.

Twelve missed calls, six texts. All from Jason. Where are you? Are you okay? Please just pick up. Please tell me you’re okay. I need to know you’re okay. Please call me.

She pressed a button, and the phone connected to her car.

“Elizabeth. Where are you? Are you okay?” The words came out in a rush, almost stumbling and falling into each other.

“I’m in my car,” Elizabeth said finally. “I don’t know about okay. I think…” She looked at her bare fingers, wrapped around the wheel. “I think that’s a lot to ask.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry any of that happened. Please, tell me where you are. I’ll come get you. Or you could—I could meet you somewhere. Anywhere.”

The thread of nerves, or worry, in his voice soothed her, just a little. She closed her eyes, the stinging of the tears she couldn’t allow to fall. “I need time. I need a minute, okay?”

“I’ll give you whatever you want, Elizabeth. I just need you to be okay.”

“I’ll call you—I’ll call you when I’m ready.”

“Okay. Okay, that’s enough for me.”

“Good night.” Elizabeth disconnected the call before he could reply, then stared at the road ahead illuminated by her headlights.

What was she going to do now?

15
No, no
I think he did it

The call ended, and Jason stared at his phone, willing her to call back. To have changed her mind. But she’d finally contacted. She was okay, and she’d be in touch when she was ready.

He gripped his hand more tightly around the phone, then moved away from the entrance to her building, heading for his bike. He’d gone everywhere, hoping to find her. Hoping that she’d be at the club, at her apartment, at her favorite diner — just somewhere where he could look at her, hold her—

But she’d call him when she was ready, Jason reminded himself, and after all he’d learned about her that day, leaving her in control and not calling one of their guys to track her phone — that was the only way to handle this. He needed to make sure Elizabeth knew that she came first for him, and make her believe she always would.

When he got back to the Towers and went up to their floor, he paused slightly in the quiet hallway. The fight between Sonny and Carly had been the worst one yet, and Jason knew that he needed to figure out how to get them away from each other if for no other reason than Elizabeth would never let herself be happy if Carly wasn’t. Maybe Carly was a terrible sister, but she was all the family Elizabeth had, and that meant she was Jason’s concern, too.

But tonight, after all that he’d witnessed and heard—tonight Sonny and Carly could take care of themselves.

“No! You don’t get to hold my hand and tell me not to worry about this! I want my sister to have justice!” Tears were falling again, and her voice was trembling. Did she even know how close she was to breaking again?