Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you’ll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies
– Let Her Go, Jasmine Thompson

---

Friday, April 14, 2006

General Hospital: Lucky’s Room

Lucky grimaced as he gingerly lowered himself onto the hospital bed. He leaned over slightly, took a deep breath, and tried to grit his teeth as pain ripped through his back.

He’d begun intensive physical therapy two days earlier and would be in the hospital another few days. Nearly every doctor he’d talked to thought Lucky would probably be in a measure of pain for six to eight months as the discs in his back healed.

But he’d never be fit enough to go back to his old life. He wouldn’t be on the streets but chained to a desk. Lucky had reluctantly told Mac that after he was done this latest round of rehab, he’d take whatever job the PCPD found for him. Damned if he’d work with his father at the club.

He didn’t want to see Luke Spencer’s sad, disapproving eyes every damn day. It was bad enough dealing with his wife, but at least Elizabeth had a reason to look at him with such bitterness. He closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to think about what had happened before. That was the agreement. He and Elizabeth were supposed to make a fresh start.

Lucky wanted that. He wanted to make up for how much he’d hurt her, wanted to show her it didn’t have to be this way. But it was hard to forget she was only staying because his father had begged. She hadn’t wanted to stay, and if he’d been any kind of man, he would have told her to go.

But he wasn’t strong enough to throw away the dream of who he had been, the love he’d felt for her once. If they tried harder—couldn’t they be happy again? Why was it so hard to get it back?

“Spencer.”

Lucky turned at the sound of his doctor’s voice, watching as Patrick strolled into his room, a chart in his hand. “What? More bad news?”

“Maybe for you, but not for me.” Patrick shoved the chart into its place at the foot of the bed. “The hospital finally hired a replacement for Tony Jones. I’m transferring some of my excess cases, and you were the first on the list.”

Lucky scowled. “Why?”

“Because there is no way in hell I’m going to pretend I give a damn about what happens to you,” Patrick retorted. “Elizabeth refuses to admit it, but I know how those bruises got on her face, on her arm. For some ridiculous reason, she’s staying with you.” He shook his head. “You touch her again, Spencer, I will make your life a living hell.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucky snarled. He forced himself to his feet. “Elizabeth was kidnapped by a psycho—”

“Not on Friday morning, she wasn’t. Don’t bother denying it, asshole. Any man who takes his anger out on a woman doesn’t deserve the title.”

Lucky fisted his hands at his side. “And who the hell are you to tell me how to deal with my wife?” Jesus Christ, how many fucking men did Elizabeth have trailing around her like a puppy dog? The doctor, the psycho, the gangster…what the hell was she doing that these men all thought they had the right to talk to him like this? He was a fucking cop—

“There’s a special place in hell for men like you,” Patrick told him. “Men who say ‘my wife’ like they’re talking about property they own. Elizabeth is my friend.”

“Sure. Friend. I’ve heard your reputation. You sure that’s all you are?”

Patrick narrowed his eyes. “You really are a dumb bastard. I’m not going to waste my time with you. I hope she figures out she deserves better. Rot in hell.”

He stormed out the door while Lucky glared at his back. What the hell had Elizabeth done or said? She’d promised no one other than his father and aunt knew—and why the hell did Patrick Drake give a damn? He’d only been in Port Charles a few months—

Lucky exhaled slowly, then shook his head. No. No. This was how it had started with Jason. Assuming there was something going on, and hadn’t he driven Elizabeth right into Jason’s arms? Every time he’d hurt her, that asshole had been there, waiting. Elizabeth made friends easily. People liked her.

When he felt the edge of his temper subside, he sat back on the hospital bed, and let out another slow breath. He had to stop doing that. Had to stop seeing Elizabeth at the center of everything that was wrong. She was all that he had left that was good, and if he messed up again, she’d never come back.

He had to get this right. He just wished people would give him some fucking space and understanding. He’d been through a lot, and he’d handled it badly. But he was trying, wasn’t he? What the hell did people expect?

He’d tell Elizabeth to get her new guard dog to back off, and maybe if Jason Morgan stayed the hell away, they might have a chance to get it right.

Hardy Home: Living Room

“Mommy, Mommy, guess what?” Cameron said, toddling towards Elizabeth as fast as his little legs would carry him. She still couldn’t quite lift him without a twinge in her shoulder, but she was able to keel down and hug him at the door.

“What?” She pressed kisses to his face as he giggled.

“Gram gots me another Biderman!” He wagged the action figure in her face. “And I gots a movie for here, so I don’t gotta bring mine.”

“That’s great, baby.” She kissed him again, then got to her feet. “Thanks for picking him up today, Gram. Carly had to take Morgan to the doctor’s—”

“I don’t understand why we can’t simply go back to our old routine,” Audrey complained as Elizabeth took Cameron’s hand and led him to the sofa where he started to put his things into a bag. “I enjoyed having him every day, but instead, you insist on maintaining connections to dangerous criminals—”

“Carly was actually found not guilty of shooting Tony due to temporary insanity, so I don’t think she counts as a criminal, Gram.” Elizabeth looked at her grandmother. “It’s not personal. Morgan and Cameron are getting along right now, and having Michael around is good for him, too. He needs the socialization to start nursery school in the fall—”

“He’s too young—”

“A little,” Elizabeth admitted. “But Carly told me the two-year-old program has been great for Morgan at St. Andrew’s, and since Morgan can’t start preschool for another year because of his birthday being in November, they can go to school together—”

“St. Andrew’s?” Audrey repeated. She pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s a private school—”

“Yeah, Port Charles doesn’t have a preschool program in the public school, so I have to pay—no, leave those here, Cam. For next time,” she told him as he tried to shove all of his Legos into the bag.

“But that’s very expensive. Oh, Elizabeth, don’t tell me you’re letting that man pay for Cameron’s education—”

“What?” Elizabeth stared at her, wrinkling her nose in confusion. Then she sighed. “You mean Jason.”

“Yes! You know what people will say if they find out Cameron is in the same school as Morgan Corinthos. You should look into Port Charles Day. It’s less expensive—”

“People can say whatever they want. Cameron Lewis left his entire estate to Cam.” Feeling exhausted by a conversation she never saw coming, Elizabeth shook her head. “I told you that. He put aside almost all of it for Cam’s education. I’m only using a little for preschool.”

“Oh.” Audrey cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I had—I hadn’t thought of that—”

“No, I guess you wouldn’t. You’d have to ask me without jumping to conclusions. I can provide for my son, Gram. Thanks to his grandfather. But if you must know, I did ask Carly to call in some favors to get Cam in for next year. I wanted him to be with Morgan.”

“I like Morgan,” Cameron told his great-grandmother with shiny baby teeth flashing. “He’s my cousin. Cuz Aunt Bobbie is his gram, and she’s Daddy’s aunt.”

“I—”

“Carly and I do not like each other. But we both love our kids.”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea for Cameron to spend so much time around criminals—”

“Criminals are bad guys,” Cameron announced with a dark look. “I don’t like bad guys. Who’s a bad guy, Mommy?”

“No one—”

“You’re telling me that you’ve never seen Jason Morgan at Carly’s house?” Audrey asked Cameron.

“Don’t get him involved in this—”

“Morgan’s Uncle Jason? He’s nice. He’s Aunt Em’s brother, and he’s nice, Mommy. He listens to all my Biderman stories. Then he let Morgan walk on his back.”

“Cameron, sweetheart, can you go upstairs and make sure you have everything you need?” Elizabeth said. The toddler sighed, then started to trudge up the stairs, climbing slowly. When he was out of earshot, Elizabeth looked at her grandmother with irritation. “Do not interrogate my child about Carly’s house—”

“You’ve just heard it from his own lips that he’s seen Jason there—is that where you met him?” Audrey demanded. “Did you use your own son as a cover for your affair?”

Elizabeth stared at the older woman for a long moment before exhaling slowly. “Thank you for watching Cameron today, but I’ll make other arrangements in the future.”

“Elizabeth, I’m just trying to help! You’ve so impulsive—you never think—You have a perfectly good marriage—”

“Is that what people said to you about Tom Baldwin?” Elizabeth demanded as she turned back to face her grandmother. Audrey’s face lost its color, and Elizabeth immediately regretted the cheap shot. “I’m sorry, Gram. I just—you never stop. You never give me a moment to breathe before you criticize me. You don’t live with Lucky. You don’t know anything about my marriage.”

“I—” Audrey swallowed. “Why would you compare…” Something flickered in her eyes. “Elizabeth.”

“Cameron, let’s go!” Elizabeth called up the stairs. “Gram—”

“Tom Baldwin abused me. He raped me. And he forced me to stay in a marriage that nearly destroyed my soul.” Audrey’s voice quivered slightly. “And you know that.”

“I’m sorry—”

“You would never throw that out at me to hurt me. Just as I would never remind you of your own attack as a weapon. So I ask you, Elizabeth…” Audrey took a deep breath. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

“I—” The truth nearly spilled out then as she saw that maybe, just maybe, her grandmother wouldn’t take Lucky’s side. Elizabeth sighed, bit her lip, and then Cameron started to climb gingerly down the steps. One step at a time, nearly crawling backward—Cameron was suspicious of steps.

The moment was lost. “No. I’m sorry. I’m just—I’m doing the best I can, Gram. And I’m trying to give Cam all the love I can. I don’t have a lot of family. It’s just you and me. So if Bobbie wants to loan Cam some of hers, I’m not going to argue.”

“No, of course not, dear. And I do remember how good Jason was with Michael as a baby. I’m sure he’s very nice to Cameron.” Audrey clasped her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry. I know I push too hard, and I judge too harshly. I love you. And I will try harder not to leap to conclusions.”

“Thank you, Gram. I love you. Even with all the…fighting…you’ve never given up on me.” She pressed her lips to Audrey’s cheek. “Thank you,” she repeated.

“I love you,” Audrey reminded her again. “And I will always be here if you need me.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Emily sheepishly stepped over the threshold of the penthouse, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she walked past Jason. “I didn’t think I’d be let back in here after the crap I started.”

“I let Wally know a few days ago you had clearance again. After Manny, then Sam moved out—” Jason shrugged, closing the door. “You told me you and Sonny were done…”

“All of that seems so far away now, doesn’t it?” Emily asked. She tossed the jacket on the arm of the sofa.

“Yeah.” Jason exhaled with a quick shake of his head. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter—”

“It does matter, Jason. Because maybe the reasons are over, but it doesn’t change what I did. What I said.” She folded her arms across her chest, dipping her head down a bit. “I was cruel. To you, to Elizabeth, and to Sam.”

“You were upset—”

“Yeah, but—look, it doesn’t mean I get to say whatever I want. I just…wish there something I could do. I mean, I started all that crap, now you and Sam are broken up, and Lucky is making Elizabeth miserable—”

“That—” Jason held up a hand. “That has nothing to do with it—”

“Nothing?” Emily lifted her brows. “You and Sam didn’t have arguments about what I said? How you reacted? You and Elizabeth would have…” She shook her head. “Never mind—”

“I’m—” Jason hesitated. “Maybe some conversations happened that might not have, but that doesn’t mean—” He paused. “How I reacted is on me. I pushed Elizabeth into talking about all of it. And kept pushing, even when she asked me to stop. And I’m the one that hurt Sam with all of that—”

Emily tipped her head. “You know, I’ve talked to Elizabeth. I know…I know things are…complicated. Did…she tell you she was staying with Lucky?”

Jason grimaced, remembering the conversation four days earlier at her apartment. Elizabeth’s tear-stained cheeks, the pain in her voice as she begged him to ask the question.

He should have asked her. So what if the answer would have made everything harder? How simple was it — Do you love me? And she would have said yes.

But he didn’t ask it. And she hadn’t volunteered.

“She did,” Jason said shortly.

“I think it’s a terrible decision. I mean, Lucky’s my friend, too, but what kind of friend would I be if I told her to stay with someone who treated her that way?” Emily asked. She shrugged. “But Luke knew exactly how to convince her.”

“Luke?” Jason repeated. “What does he have to do with it?”

“Elizabeth didn’t say a lot about it to me because she knew I’d be angry. Bobbie and I were talking, and she was pissed as hell at Luke. Apparently, she was packing on Sunday, after all that crap at the hospital. He came over, and he convinced her to give Lucky one last chance. She was so close to walking away.” Emily sighed.

Jason scowled. He knew it—he knew it wasn’t as simple as Elizabeth making the choice on her own. “She was packing? She was going to leave?”

“Oh, yeah. She’d even asked Justus about Cameron—did Lucky have any rights or was she good there—she was making the choice, Jason. And then Luke Spencer came to make Lucky her problem again. He and Laura—they always knew exactly how to twist the knife. I mean, look, I’m no saint. I was always pushing her back when he came home—but they never let up. Always telling her if she just kept trying, Lucky would come back to them. She just had to hold on to the memory.”

Emily started to wander around the penthouse, restlessly. “It made sense to me then. I was just a kid. We were all just kids. And then I came home and…I thought I was still supposed to love Zander. And I made everything worse clinging to that. I hurt him. I hurt Nikolas. I hurt myself. Because I was trying to hold on to promises I made when I was just a kid. The fact that Luke can look at Elizabeth, what she’s been through, and tell her she needs to keep holding on to this memory of Lucky—they were sixteen! Like how is any of this fair?”

“It’s not,” Jason said, finally. “But you’ll never convince her of that.”

“No, I guess not,” Emily said with a sigh. “I just…you get the feeling she’s not telling you something about all of this? Like…I know something else is going on. Not about you,” she added. “I think we’ve covered that—”

Jason frowned. “What did she tell—” He sighed. “Never mind.” Was that the kind of desperate he felt? Wanting to know what Elizabeth had said about him to his sister? How pathetic—

“No, about Lucky. I just—I feel like this isn’t the end of it. Like, she thinks he’ll go to go to anger management, and it’ll be okay. I just—I don’t think so. He was so angry about losing his job—how is that going to go away? I mean, I know Lucky. Even before the fire, he knew how to hold a grudge better than anyone. He hated Nikolas for years for no good reason other than he was a Cassadine. He declared war on Luke and his mother because of something that happened before he was born—”

Emily bit her lip. “I’m worried about her, Jason. It’s like…she’s got herself twisted up in who she was supposed to be and what her life was supposed to look like. Now, she’s too scared to step away from it. I thought she was past this—past this idea of saving Lucky the way she says he saved her. I don’t remember Lucky having to destroy himself to help her get through the rape, so why does she have to sacrifice her own happiness?”

“I don’t know,” Jason said finally, troubled. “But that’s a question that Elizabeth has to answer for herself.”

“Yeah. I know.” Emily offered a determined smile. “But I’ll be a better friend this time. I’m going to keep an eye on her. And you—” She tipped her head.

“Have to stay away,” Jason told her. “I promised her.”

“Okay. Well, then it’s up to me—” Emily reached for her jacket. Jason put a hand on her elbow.

“But if she needs any help—”

“I know how to find you.”

Emily left her brother in the penthouse, then smiled to herself as she walked towards the elevator. She knew Elizabeth wouldn’t have told Jason that she’d been on her way out the door when Luke pressured her for the same reason she hadn’t told Emily.

But telling Jason that Elizabeth had been ready to do it—to make sure he knew she hadn’t chosen this on her own—well, just maybe Jason would wait around to let the smoke settle and when Elizabeth finally got herself together—

Well, she’d done what she could to make up for her mistakes. The rest would have to be up to them.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Lucky & Elizabeth’s Apartment: Living Room

Elizabeth managed a smile as Lucky gingerly made his way into the apartment, his arm braced by his father. Behind him, Lucky’s former partner, Jesse, hovered, shooting Elizabeth irritated looks every few minutes.

She really didn’t have the energy to deal with Jesse and others in Lucky’s life who didn’t seem to be able to let the events after the kidnapping go. She’d run into several cops in and out of the hospital, and they all seemed to share Jesse’s general dislike of her.

Elizabeth didn’t much care what the PCPD thought as long as they stayed out of her business. According to Justus and Emily, they’d quietly closed Manny’s shooting as self-defense, so Jason wasn’t facing any charges.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d left her apartment the week before, and that was good. He was doing what Elizabeth had asked—staying away. That was what she needed to make her marriage work—

Even if she missed him.

“Thanks, Dad,” Lucky said as Luke helped him sit on the couch. “I can do it by myself—”

“That new doctor of yours told you to take it easy a few more days before you start trying to get back into the swing of things,” Luke reminded Lucky. “Let Elizabeth pamper you here—”

“She’s got work,” Lucky said, then winced. “I mean, that’s not what I—” He looked at Elizabeth. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know you didn’t. Bobbie and Emily are both coming by to check on you while I’m at work,” Elizabeth reminded him. To Luke, she said, “And Dr. Cook made it clear—Lucky could follow his instincts. If he feels up to moving around, then he can.”

“I have to get back to my life.” Lucky looked at Jesse, who had shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “And maybe I’ll like working the desk—”

Jesse snorted but didn’t say anything about that. Instead, he just shrugged. “Whatever. Glad to see you out of the hospital. Maybe me and Maxie can come over for dinner or something. We’ll grab some ribs from Eli’s.”

“That’d be good, right?” Lucky said to Elizabeth. “We love their ribs. Remember? We had it on our first real date. Your birthday—”

“I remember,” Elizabeth said softly, but she did smile. “You got your dad to give us the club for the night.” He’d been doing that a lot since their conversation at the hospital—bringing up memories from those halcyon days before the fire.

The trouble was the more Elizabeth remembered how happy they’d been back then, she’d realized how unhappy she was now, and that probably wasn’t a good thing. But he was trying, and she’d promised to try, too.

“Well, speaking of the club, I should get going. Someone has to run the place, or Claude will burn it to the ground.” Luke looked at Elizabeth. “Call me if you need anything, okay, kid?” He kissed her cheek. “Glad to see you out of the hospital, Cowboy. And back to your old self.”

But his smile looked forced, and Elizabeth knew Luke was overcompensating. He felt guilty for convincing her to stay, but it wasn’t his fault. She’d made the choice. She’d had days to reconsider and people who’d wanted her to, but she’d stayed.

She’d stayed for the boy he’d once been and for the girl who had loved him. And she’d stayed because the promises she’d made in November had meant something to her.

“I’ll head out with you,” Jesse said to Luke. “Lucky, I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah.”

When they were gone, it was just the two of them. Elizabeth rubbed her arms restlessly as she stood behind the sofa, watching as Lucky rearranged himself into the corner, wincing at the pain in his face. “Do you want something for diner?”

“No, not right now,” Lucky said. He grimaced. “Where’s Cameron? Why isn’t he here?”

“I thought it might be easier if he wasn’t here tonight,” Elizabeth admitted. “You’re not really that fast on your feet, and I wanted you to be settled and see how you felt out of the hospital without a two-year-old running around. So he’s spending the night with Morgan.”

“And Carly,” Lucky said flatly. “That’s still a thing.”

“It is. Carly’s taking over for my grandmother. It’s great, actually. Cameron gets to have play dates with his best friend. Carly’s usually with them this time of day, but if she can’t be, she’s got a nanny. And Leticia’s great. So I don’t have to worry about last-minute cancellations.” Elizabeth shrugged. “And it forces Carly to be nice to me, which I kind of enjoy.”

“I really…I’m not comfortable with Cameron playing with Sonny’s kid,” Lucky said. He looked at her, uneasy. “And doesn’t Jason go over there a lot?”

Forcing herself to be casual, Elizabeth answered, “I imagine he does. Morgan is also Bobbie’s grandson. He’s your cousin. Carly’s your cousin. We’re not arguing about this, Lucky. Cameron is my son.”

He pressed his lips together with a flare of his nostrils. “I thought we were supposed to be a family—”

She clenched her fists. Now he was going to play that card? “We were. But you made it clear that watching Cameron on your own is a burden—and that was before you got hurt again.” Elizabeth cleared her throat. “So I made arrangements. You can go to therapy and counseling without having to worry about Cameron.”

“Counseling?” Lucky repeated. “Oh, the anger management thing.” He hesitated. “I was hoping we could—put that off for a while. Just until I get through the first few weeks of my rehab. I know what the doctors said about my back, but if I try hard—if I can work through the pain—”

“You want to postpone anger management counseling,” Elizabeth repeated, her stomach dropping. Of course. “Lucky, you promised—”

“I know. And I’ll go. But I can go in a few weeks. I’m trying to do better. Aren’t I doing better?” Lucky demanded. “I’m not even demanding you keep Cameron away from Jason—”

“You don’t get any credit for not shoving or pushing me in the ten minutes we’ve been alone,” Elizabeth said coolly. “So I don’t know if you’re doing better. You’re not calling me a whore anymore, so okay there’s that—”

“Are you ever going to let that go?” Lucky demanded, suddenly shoving himself off the sofa and turning to face her. His face flushed. “I was in pain, and I was hurt—”

“You don’t even remember all the times you called me a whore, do you? Because—” Elizabeth bit off whatever she’d been about to add. “Never mind. We’re not having this argument. I don’t want you to postpone anger management. I’m not comfortable with you breaking your promise—”

“I’m not breaking my promise, I’m just asking for more time—”

“And I’m saying no.”

Lucky stared at her for a long time, but Elizabeth didn’t back down. Not this time. She wasn’t a weak, silly girl who was staying with her man because she believed he’d change. She knew he wouldn’t unless he dealt with his problems. And until he did, his anger could turn on her again.

She didn’t want to be like the woman Robin had warned her about. She wasn’t stupid—she wasn’t blind—and if Lucky refused—

She’d go to her grandmother’s house and never look back. She was keeping her promises. She was staying away from Jason. Lucky had to keep his, too, or there was no point in even trying.

Lucky scowled. “Fine. Be that way. I’ll go to counseling. I’ll make an appointment.”

“Good. I’m going to go make dinner,” Elizabeth said and went into the kitchen.

Jake’s: Bar

Sam rolled her eyes as she took a swig of her beer, then turned away from the door towards the back of the bar. “Slummin’ again?” she demanded as Sonny Corinthos slid onto the stool next to her. He ordered a drink from Coleman behind the bar.

“No, just checking in.” Sonny sipped the bourbon the bartender gave him. “One of my warehouse guys said you’ve been here every night—”

“It’s a free country—” Sam grimaced, then closed her eyes with a shake of her head. “I’m in a bad mood, Sonny. And it’s not getting any better the longer I stick around here. You’re getting in the way of my mood, so I’m taking it out on you. I don’t know why you’re bothering—”

“Jason said something to me in the middle of all that crap with Emily—about cleaning up my messes and not wanting Emily to be the next woman I damaged. I can’t—” Sonny hesitated. “I can’t do anything about Lily. Or Brenda. Carly is…” He flicked his fingers. “Whatever Carly is. But I just…I feel like you’re in a bad place. And I guess I wish I could help. Balance the scales a bit.”

“There’s no balancing the scales, Sonny. You didn’t hurt me. I didn’t hurt you. We didn’t matter enough to each other.” Sam pursed her lips. “And you don’t have to worry about me. I’m heading to Florida in the morning on a job. I’ll be gone a few weeks.” And might not even come back except to pack her things. She didn’t like who she was turning into in Port Charles.

“So you’re really getting back into the game—”

“I let you and Jason and pretty much everyone make me feel guilty about my past. I made excuses about what I did, tried to pretend I did it for moral reasons—I did it to support my brother. And I did, you know. I wanted to make sure Danny was cared for.” Sam shrugged. “But you know why else I did it?”

“Because you liked it.”

“Because I liked it,” she repeated. “You know what I mean, Sonny. It’s gotta be the same kind of power you feel being in charge here. There was probably a moment when someone listened to you carried out an order—or maybe someone you intimidated—a moment when you just knew it had been worth it because damn it felt good.”

“I do like power.” Sonny swirled the bourbon in his tumbler. “I never had much of it as a kid. Couldn’t keep Mike from leaving, couldn’t keep my mother from looking for a father figure to replace him. Deke locked me in closets—” He sipped the alcohol. “But being Sonny Corinthos with men at my beck and call, who’d take a bullet for me—” He nodded. “Yeah, that feels good.”

“Exactly. That’s what I feel when I run the games. When I know I have that person right where I want them—I can say anything, do anything, and they’ll believe me. I just—” Sam laughed a bit. “I love it. And maybe that makes me a terrible person. Jason hates what I do. I don’t get it—I don’t understand—”

“Jason Quartermaine was a pain in the ass,” Sonny said. “He had a moral code that was based on the usual crap—right and wrong, law versus crime. He thought I was trash, and that everyone around me deserved what they got. Except Stone. He loved Stone. But Jason Morgan still has that sense of right and wrong. He still follows a code. I just helped him rewrite it after the accident.”

“So he doesn’t believe in preying on the weak and innocent,” Sam said, with a roll of her eyes. “And people in your business know what they’re getting into. What about the collateral damage? I mean, come on—”

“He regrets collateral damage. Minimizes it. You and me—” Sonny arched a brow as Sam met his eyes. “We thrive on it. Because it means we matter. It gives us power. Jason will never get that about you, Sam. He can barely tolerate it with me.”

“I wish I could blame the break up on Elizabeth, but I guess we were doomed the second I decided to take that job with Paulie.” Sam finished his beer. “Well, then, better we figured that out before we got married or had kids. Because I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not.”

She slid off the stool. “To be honest, Sonny, I’m not sure if I’ll be sticking around Port Charles much longer. I still have some…unfinished business, but when that’s done—” She held out her hand. “Have a nice life.”

“You, too, Sam. Let me know before you decide to split for good.” Sonny offered her a dazzling smile. “I want to make sure I keep your contact info. You never know when a good con artist will come in handy.”

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Courtland Street: Alley

Lucky grimaced as he found Santiago Escobar waiting in their usual meeting place. He’d tried—he’d really tried—not to call the dealer because he’d been determined to get by on the painkillers his new doctor had given him. This guy hadn’t fed Lucky any the bullshit Patrick Drake had fed him about limiting his prescriptions. No referrals to a pain management clinic either.

But Lucky had taken the pills too fast—he’d gone through the entire bottle in only three days. He just knew that if he went back to Dr. Cook asking for a refill already, the doctor would probably start pulling the same crap. All these doctors, just covering their asses. They didn’t actually give a shit about him or what he needed.

“Didn’t think I’d see you back here,” Santiago said with a sneer. He shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “Heard you got the shit kicked out of you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why I’m here. Manny Ruiz screwed up my back, and they won’t change the dosage on my pills.” Lucky grimaced as a tearing pain sliced through his lower back. He should probably still be resting at home, but he was sick and tired of not living his life, of letting it just happen to him.

“You got what I need?” Lucky demanded.

“Yeah, yeah.” Santiago reached inside the jacket and withdrew the plastic bag with pills—and the chaser of heroin Lucky had asked for. Just enough for one use. He wasn’t a drug addict, but nothing relieved the pain like the heroin. He could handle it. Santiago held out his hand. “Pay up—”

“I’m good for it,” Lucky snarled. “I get my disability check in two weeks. I can make it good then.”

“This ain’t no fucking Kmart, asshole—”

But Lucky had already taken the bag and shoved it in his jacket. “I’ll pay up. I need this now. I can’t get through rehab without it.”

“You don’t pay me in two weeks, Spencer, you’ll regret it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Santiago sneered one last time at him before disappearing down the alley. Lucky took the bag out once he was gone and dry swallowed two of the pills. He’d have to wait until he got home and made sure he was alone before he could get the real relief.

He just needed to get through the physical therapy, get his strength back—then he wouldn’t need this crap anymore.

← Chapter Twenty-Two | Chapter Twenty-Four →