Kindred
"the middle of starting over"
Shutting the door firmly behind him, Jason Morgan felt himself enter into a familiar state of being, dating back to when he first awoken from his coma. Taking a deep breath in, tears stinging his eyes, he could literally feel his entire body going numb, refusing to feel the pain that letting her go has caused. She was supposed to be the one person that accepted him. She was supposed to be the one person in this godforsaken world that could look at him and accept him just as he is. So much for that.
Forcing himself to leave, Jason took each painful step until he was at his motorcycle, straddling it swiftly before taking off through the town, in desperate need of something strong to drown out the thoughts flooding his mind. If it were anyone else, anyone else in the world, it wouldn't hurt this much. If it were anyone but her. Slamming his bike into park, he drops the stand and trudges his way into the local bar, wanting to numb his mind. As the door slams shut behind him, various patrons glance in his direction before quickly looking away, all too afraid to look him in the eye. All except one.
She holds his gaze for a long moment, freezing him to the spot, before she simply shakes her head and turns her gaze back to the bartender, ordering up another round. Shaking his head slightly, he continues his venture to the bar, plopping down on one of the stools, gaining the bartenders attention immediately. Shaking his head, he gestures for the bartender to tend to the lady at the end of the bar before coming to him, a grateful smile gracing the bartender's face before she makes her over to the lady with a fresh round before making her way back to him.
"No offence, honey, but you look like hell." Jake, the bartender/owner, comments him when she stands in front of him. "What can I get ya?"
"The strongest thing you got." Jason says plainly. "And a lot of it."
"Coming right up." Jake replies, snatching the best bottle she has on her shelves before plopping it down in front of him. "Do I dare ask what's got you like this?"
"No." Jason states. "Put it on my tab."
"You got it."
Downing it straight from the bottle, Jason makes his way over to the pool table, glaring at the current players, practically daring them to say anything to him. Without a word, they disperse from the table, leaving it free and clear for him to play a game. Setting the bottle down, he racks up the balls before grabbing a pool stick and proceeding to lose himself in a decent game of pool. Just as he finishes his first game of pool, a womanly figure steps up just out of his range of sight, causing him to turn and see who has entered into the bubble he has created for himself at the pool table. To his surprise, it was the woman who had been sitting at the end of the bar.
Without a word, she sets her empty bottle of beer down on a vacant table before grabbing the triangle and racking up the balls, eyeing him daringly as she lifts the triangle and sets it to the side. Walking around the table, he grabs a pool stick from the wall before handing it to her, gesturing for her to go first. With a slight smirk, she takes the pool stick into her hands before walking over to the edge of the table and taking her position to take the first shot.
Three games later and they have yet to utter a single word to each other, simply playing game after game without any intention to make small conversation. For a woman, she was a pretty decent pool player, better than half the men that he has played against in the past. Downing whatever was left in the bottle of alcohol he had been drinking, Jason walks over to the bar to set the bottle down and accept a bottle of beer from the bartender. If he gave it much thought, he would have questioned the strange look in Jake's eyes, but he just didn't have the mental capacity to care at this point.
Turning away from the bartender, Jason turns just in time to see her set the pool stick back onto the holder on the wall, sliding into her jacket once she does. Eyeing her curiously, he walks over to her, preparing to say something, anything, when she simply shakes her head, stopping the words from slipping out of his mouth. With a slight smile she walks over, touching his face gently with her left hand before kissing his left cheek tenderly. Dropping her hand she grants him one last smile before nodding at the bartender and making her way out of the bar, the door closing with a loud thud behind her.
"Yeah?" Jason answers his cellphone on the first ring, still staring at the door.
"Hey, man." his best friend/partner, Sonny Corinthos, voices with sympathy. "I just heard."
"What do you want?" Jason states plainly, not wanting to get into it with Sonny.
"Jason..."
"What do you want, Sonny?" Jason snaps, growing impatient with his friend. "You wouldn't call just to sympathize with me."
"Yes, I would." Sonny counters before taking a deep breath. "But, fine, if you don't want to talk about it, we won't."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay." Sonny sighs, knowing how wrecked he must be. "Then I need you to head down to the warehouse. We're expecting a particular order in an hour. Get it and bring it to me."
"Fine."
Ending the call, Jason grants the bartender a nod before making his way out of the bar and straddling his bike, thankful to have work to fall back on. As he speeds off into the night, Jason can't help but think of the woman he had just spent the last few hours with. There was something in her eyes, this almost blankness within her eyes, that just pulled him in. Whenever his eyes met hers, it felt almost as if he were looking into a mirror. The emptiness, the almost numbness, that he found within her eyes, had him feeling like he could have been looking into his own eyes.
The weeks to follow, he started to drown himself in his work, barely doing anything outside of his assignments from Sonny. Even at this moment, he's heading to Sonny's office to check in with him before he heads out on another assignment, needing the mind numbing tasks that Sonny has been dishing out to keep him from remembering all the ways his life sucks at this point. Stepping into the office, Jason is confused by the look on Sonny's face as he's talking on the phone, tears practically frozen in his eyes.
"What?" Jason questions when he hangs up. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Sonny shakes his head, moving to pour himself a glass of scotch. "How did it go?"
"Sonny." Jason stops him from downing the drink. "What is it?"
"Robin." Sonny sighs before downing the drink. "She's leaving town. Paris."
"It went fine." Jason states plainly, unable to process the information given to him. "What's next?"
"Its all in the file." Sonny says, lifting it to hand it off to him. "Check in with me when you're done."
Leaving Sonny's office, he couldn't really understand it, but a part of him felt relieved at the information that was given to him. It was damn near killing him, having to see her around town, and he couldn't help but be thankful that she had chosen to leave. For obvious reasons, he feels guilty for feeling the way he feels, but the pain had just been too much for him to bear that he can't help feeling relieved. Shaking his head, Jason straddles his bike before taking off through town, suddenly needing a stiff drink before he reads up on his next assignment.
Walking into the bar, he was surprised to see the mysterious woman sitting at the end of the bar, cradling the same kind of beer in her hands that she had that night. He has stopped by every few nights, but she was never there. A part of him wondered why he even cared, but a larger part just didn't care about the why. Stepping through the doorway, the door shutting with a loud thump behind him, Jason watches as her eyes lift from the beer to meet his. Like she did before, she holds his gaze for a long moment before diverting it to the bartender.
Instead of asking for another round, she slides over a twenty dollar bill before hopping off the bar stool and sliding into her jacket. He wanted to stop her, to tell her not to leave, but the words don't form as she stands in front of him. With a slight smile, she repeats what she had done before, raising her left hand to gently touch the right side of his face before placing a soft kiss upon his left cheek. Dropping her hand, she pushes open the door to the bar and leaves without a single word uttered.
There would be even more weeks to follow before he sees her again. The itch to talk to her growing more and more with each passing day. More than anything, he just wanted to know her name, to know what had put that look in her eyes and, most importantly, if she felt the same pull that he did. Their next encounter happens in the middle of the local park, finding her sitting down a wooden bench, simply staring up at the sky. She doesn't speak when he moves to stand in front of her, merely scooting over and patting the spot beside her, a gesture for him to sit down.
"I..." he tries to speak, but she stops him with a shake of her head.
"We're not quite ready for words." she replies softly. "Soon...but not now."
"What do you mean?" he dares to question.
"You're clearly going through something...so am I." she says simply, leaning over to place a gentle kiss upon his cheek. "Soon though...real soon."
"Can I at least know your name?"
Stopping, she turns to grant him a soft smile before turning away from him and continuing her venture out of the park. Staring after her, Jason can't help but wonder what she meant. Why couldn't they just talk? Why did he have to wait? Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jason forces himself onto his feet, needing to get back to work. He will see her again, of that much is certain, and when he does he is going to get her to talk to him.
Making his way through town, Jason checks in with the lieutenants before locking himself in the office to go over the books. Sonny mentioned there being some discrepancies between his records and the warehouse records. So, obviously having less interesting things to do than Sonny, he's tasked with going over the numbers and solving the issue.
Letting out a groan of annoyance, hours later, Jason slams the books shut, swearing he's going to kill Sonny for wasting his time. How its possible that Sonny forgot to correct his books after adjusting the shipments two months ago is beyond him. He had reminded Sonny exactly twenty-three times to correct his books. Apparently the man needed a more blatant reminder to correct his damn books whenever he makes adjustments to the shipments. If he ever puts him through this again, Jason swears he'll get him a goddamn alarm that blares the reminder to fix the books.
Throwing the books into the safe, he makes his way out of the warehouse, deciding that he'll take a long ride through town to clear his head. After riding until sunrise, Jason trudges into his penthouse, stripping down to his boxers before dropping onto his bed for a well deserved rest. Turning off his cellphone, having locked his penthouse up tight, Jason does nothing else for the rest of the day. By the time he woke up, it was closing in on nine o'clock in the evening. Turning his cellphone back on, he was surprised to find no messages on his voicemail. There were missed calls, but no messages. Strange.
Checking in with Sonny, he assures his friend that he's fine before ending the call and placing a call to his sister. Its been quite a while since he last spoke to her and he wanted to make sure that she was still doing fine. Of course, if he knew what she'd request of him, Jason probably wouldn't have called. Letting out a long, deep sigh, he agrees to her request, but swears to her that he won't stay longer than an hour, two at the most. Forcing her to promise not to guilt him into staying longer, Jason ends the call, thankful that she's still the same sister he knows and loves.
Since speaking to his sister, it seemed as if time wanted him at his grandmother's event quickly because the days seemed to fly from his grasp. Before he knew it, the week was up and he finds himself getting dressed in his Armani suit with the charity event as his destination. Standing in front of the mirror, he makes sure that he looks decent enough to attend his grandmother's event before making his way downstairs to secure his gun at the small of his back.
"Jason Morgan." he says to the man standing at the door, accepting the pamphlet before walking into the event, not at all surprised to see the people gathered within the establishment. There aren't that many people brave enough to skip out on one of Lila's charities. Especially not one that benefits the kids of Port Charles.
Making his way through the gathering, he does his best to stick as close to the walls as possible, barely being noticed by much of the guests. His presence, as well as Sonny's, at events like this never really go over well. For the most part, Jason just wants to meet up with sister and get this over with as soon as possible. He had finally spotted her when he took notice to the woman standing with her, the two of the laughing like old friends. The air about them reminding him a lot of when he's with Sonny.
"Jason!" his sister blurts out when she spots him, a bright smile gracing her face. "You made it!"
"I said I'd come." Jason replies simply, chancing a glance at the woman before focusing on his sister. "Didn't believe me?"
"No, I just figured something would come up, that's all." Emily says with a slight shrug. "Anyway, there's someone I want you to meet. Jason, this is my oldest and dearest friend, Elizabeth Webber. Liz...this is my brother, Jason."
"We've met." Elizabeth smiles slightly, meeting his eyes. "A few times actually."
"Perfect!" Emily says happily. "Then you won't mind keeping him company while I squeeze some money out of these people, right?"
"Sure." Elizabeth looks at Emily with a sincere smile. "I don't mind at all."
"Good." Emily replies. "Make sure he doesn't leave without me knowing it, okay?"
"I'll watch him like a hawk." Elizabeth says with a soft laugh. "Go. Get money for these kids."
Jason barely notices his sister leaving, his eyes now focused on the woman in front of him, soaking in the information that has finally been made available to him. After what seemed like a long moment of just staring at each other, she tilts her head slightly before turning away from him and heading over to the bar, obviously expecting him to follow after her, which he does. Getting a couple bottles of beer from the bartender, she leads him out of the event and into the private garden, stopping at a bench to sit down.
"Did you know?" Jason dares to ask as he sits beside her, both holding their beer loosely in their hand.
"That you were Em's brother?" Elizabeth shakes her head. "No. I didn't know."
"So, I'm supposed to believe this was a huge coincidence?"
"Believe what you will." Elizabeth says with a shrug. "I knew Emily in high school. We usually hung out at Kelly's or this old boxcar in the middle of nowhere. Our conversations usually based on anything but our families. The night we met was the first night I was back in town since graduation."
"Okay."
"Okay." she says with a slight smile. "So, you're the infamous Jason Morgan, huh? Gotta say, you're not at all what I pictured."
"Yeah. I get that a lot."
"I bet." she laughs softly. "Well, now that you know my name, what happens next?"
"You tell me." he counters. "You've pretty much been in charge of our encounters."
"True." she admits. "But now I'm leaving it up to you. So, where do we go from here, Morgan?"
Staring into her eyes, Jason finds a familiar warm feeling spreading through him, a part of him wondering if he was really ready to jump back into the crazy world of relationships after his first one went down in flames. Watching as a slight smirk touches her lips, he realizes what she had meant that day in the park, realizing that she had been right. Sure, his last relationship had ended on a sour note, but that didn't mean he had to let it color the future of his love life.
Reaching up his left hand, he gently caresses the right side of her face before gripping the side of her neck and pulling her in close, taking claim to her lips in one swift movement. Shock is the first thing to register in her, but before long she begins to melt into his embrace, her arms moving to wrap around him as she fights for balance, his kiss making her grow weak at the knees. Pulling away to allow each other to breathe, Jason lays his forehead against hers, a soft smile touching his lips.
"How do you feel about motorcycles?" he questions, pulling away further to meet her eyes.
"Love them." she says with a slight smirk. "Why do you ask?"
"Come on."
Sliding his hand into hers, they quickly make their way through the event, letting his sister know they were leaving before booking it out of the event before she could think to question either of them. Getting to his bike, Jason hands her the helmet before straddling the bike, meeting her eyes as she stands beside him. For a moment, she just stands there, staring at him, before she grants him a nod and straps on the helmet, straddling the bike behind him with ease. As her arms wrap around him, Jason can't help but note how different it felt to have her on the back of his bike, a very good different.
Kicking it off its stand, he starts up the bike and drives as fast as it can take them through town, no real destination in mind. Whatever was going on between them, whatever will come of this, one thing he knows for sure is that there will be no mapped out plans. There will be no set destination. Elizabeth is unlike anyone he's met before and he's certain that a relationship with her will be unlike anything he's ever experienced before and he honestly couldn't wait.