It was another cold and lonely day in Port Charles, as a blonde woman lounged lazily on her porch swing. Her two sons chased each other in the front yard as their loyal bodyguard watched with a smile on his face. He caught Carly's eye and nodded slightly at the sight before him. She returned the smile before shifting her gaze to one of the few things that really mattered to her, the two loves of her life, Michael and Morgan.
"Boys, you better go get changed. It's about time to go to your dad's," Carly called as the boys came bounding up the stairs. Michael held the door open for Morgan, who ducked underneath his older brother's outstreched arm.
Carly stood up and stretched her legs. She looked out at the now empty yard and listened to the silence. Her life was always so quiet with the boys gone. She knew that Sonny had to be in their life, but it was difficult for her to say goodbye to them, even more so recently. Something had shifted in Sonny after the latest bout of violence, he had become even more angry and distant. Up until last week, she had never been afraid that he would hurt her. She knew that when he had his manic attacks, the only person he really wanted to hurt was himself. However, last week, he had screamed at her. When she turned to leave, he had grabbed her and shook her. It only hurt for a few moments but it was enough to scare her and leave an imprint of his fingertips on her shoulder.
Carly shook her head to clear her mind of the disturbing memory just as her cell phone rang. She pulled the tiny silver phone from her pocket and checked the caller I.D. It was about the only person she almost as much as her boys.
"Hey, Jase," she said.
"Are you going to be around later?" Jason asked. "I need to see you."
"What did I do this time?"
"Nothing, look, we'll talk about it when we meet. What do you say, Jake's at five?"
"Sure, I just have to drop off the boys at Sonny's, and then I will head over there."
"Sounds good," Jason said.
"Alright, see ya then," Carly replied just as Jason said her name. "Yeah, Jase?"
"Carly, be careful."
Carly flipped the phone closed as a look of worry played across her face. She called to the boys, who obediently filed out of the house. Locking the door after them, she escorted them to the limo where their bodyguard and Leticia were already waiting. As Morgan climbed into the car after Michael, she tucked their overnight bags into an empty space and sat down beside the boys.
A few minutes later, they were climbing back out the car. Michael grabbed their bags as Carly hoisted Morgan onto her hip with a grunt. "There are my sons!" Sonny called as he walked out to meet them. Carly knew right away that something was going on.
"Sonny, maybe now isn't the best time, maybe they should come tomorrow instead," she replied carefully.
Sonny glared at her. "They're my boys, Carly. I want to see them tonight."
She shook her head at his obvious anger. Carly glanced at Leticia, who took the cue and led the boys inside. "Sonny, what's going on?"
"It's none of your business, Carly. We're not married anymore," he spat.
"I'm well aware of that, but we are still connected through our children. And since they are going to be here tonight, maybe you should clue me in as to why you're acting like this"
"I said it's none of your damn business," he yelled at her. As he leaned closer, Carly could smell the alcohol on his breath. He reached up and grabbed her again, just like he had the week before. Carly spun around to avoid his drunken movement and fell against the sitting rock behind her. Just before she hit the ground, she heard Sonny call her a slut and then everything went black.
