Something horrible happens to Elizabeth and she wants revenge. Along the way, Jason decides he wants to help her. Will Liz's plan for revenge end up helping her move on or will it just make things worse?
A/N – This is another short one. It's 6 chapters and then we'll start a longer one. I'm still torn to which I should post next. I have three bigger ones to choose from. Gah! I guess I could have worse problems lol.
Chapter 1 - Surviving
It had been two months since that horrible day at the frat party and today was Liz's first day back on campus. She was nervous and cagey because she knew he was still lurking around. Danny McCall was a sadistic asshole pure and simple. He had left her broken and bleeding and even though she did everything right, he wasn't convicted because he had worn a condom and three of his buddies gave him a rock solid alibi. He had made her look like a lying fool. She took a deep breath and walked into her dormitory. Everyone there knew what had happened. Some believed her and some didn't. The bottom line was that she was the talk of campus for the worst possible reason.
Walking into her dorm room, she looked around. It was just the way she had left it. Everything was the same except for her. She didn't think she'd ever be normal again. The old Elizabeth was dead. Danny killed her when he brutally took what he wanted and discarded her like she was trash.
Her dark thoughts were interrupted by Emily.
"Hey," she said walking towards her friend. "I was going to go get our schedules. I figured you would want to stay here."
"Thanks Emily. I appreciate it," Liz said. Emily had been there for her when she was at her darkest. She wasn't sure she would have made it without her help. Emily had helped pull her back from the edge. Every time she had teetered and lost herself in the pain, Emily found a way to reach her and bring her back. Liz doubted she would have been able to come back to school if Emily wasn't her roommate.
"I'll leave Johnny with you," she said before darting out the door.
Elizabeth summoned up all her strength and poked her head into the hallway. "Johnny may I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course," he said following her into the room.
He kept a safe distance. He knew what had happened and had wanted to kill Danny but Emily stopped him because Elizabeth said no.
"I need your help with something," Liz said looking down. It was time to stand on her own two feet. She didn't want Emily to have to dote on her and she needed to feel more secure.
"Go ahead," he said softly.
Liz sighed. "I need you to teach me self defense."
He actually felt relieved by her request. "I can do that." He understood her need to defend herself and was really glad she asked.
"I also want you to show me how to use a gun and a knife," she said still avoiding eye contact.
Johnny studied her for a moment. There was one problem that could possibly curtail her requests. "You do realize that I'll have to touch you in order to train you. Can you handle that?"
Finally their eyes met as she slowly lifted her head and Johnny sucked in a breath. Elizabeth always had this fresh faced beauty about her. She was very pretty even though she never realized it which was part of her charm. But he wasn't prepared for the dark, haunted look in her eyes. Swallowing thickly she said, "I'll do what I have to. Maybe we could sit together so I can get used to you," she said slightly fidgeting. "And Johnny, you can't tell anyone about this. No one can know."
"That's fine. May I see your phone?" he asked.
She pointed to the desk and he picked it up. "I'll put my number in here. When you get your final schedule, let me know and we'll work around it."
He could tell how much she needed this and he wasn't going to let her down. In fact, he was going to have Enzo keep an eye out for her on the side. He was pretty sure he could get him and Cody to switch on and off. All the guys were thoroughly disgusted by what happened and would want to protect her.
"Thank you."
"If you need anything, please call me Elizabeth. Consider me a friend," he said before walking out.
Elizabeth let out the breath she was holding. Even though she knew she could trust Johnny, she felt like she was going to fall apart any moment. That was the first time she had been alone with a man since it happened. But, she would just have to get over it because she had plans and Johnny was going to be the key to helping her succeed.
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Johnny walked into Jake's later that night and was shocked to see Jason sitting at the bar. He had been gone for three months. It had been like that for the last two years. He went back in forth between Port Charles and the casino. Things were finally settling down after the grand opening and he would be around a lot more.
"You're back," Johnny said grinning.
Jason looked over at him and shook his hand. "What's been going on?"
"Things have been quiet. Sonny is single again and Emily is still doing well at college."
"How is she?" Jason asked. He missed his little sister.
"Good. It's been a rough couple of months though," he said before sitting next to him.
"What happened? Was she hurt?" Jason asked.
Johnny shook his head. "No, but her best friend was."
Jason frowned and thought for a moment. "Elizabeth?"
"Yeah, there was an incident at a party over the summer. Some asshole raped her and he lied about what happened and wasn't convicted."
Jason put his beer down. "What?"
"I know. It was pretty bad," Johnny said solemnly.
"Why is he still breathing?" Jason asked angrily.
"Because Elizabeth said no when we asked her if we could handle it," Johnny explained.
Jason was stunned by the whole revelation. He hadn't been around much, but he remembered Elizabeth. She was a sweet girl. "Are you telling me everything?"
Johnny nodded. "Yes. She just went back on campus today. It happened back in July. They had signed up for summer classes. Emily has been at her side as much as she could without missing school. It's going to be rough for Elizabeth. People are cruel."
"Keep an eye on her. She's going to be frazzled to say the least. If the bastard that raped her gets anywhere near her, step in. I don't want to see her hurt again," Jason said.
"Understood." Johnny decided to keep Elizabeth's secret and not tell Jason about the lessons for now. It would be better that way. He needed her to trust him. "I was thinking of having Enzo keep an eye out for her."
"That's fine with me," he said. "What else is going on?"
"Sam has been asking for you."
Jason didn't say anything. He had met her before he left at Jake's one night, but she was a little too touchy for his tastes, not to mention she got drunk and was very obnoxious.
"So you're not gonna hit that?" Johnny asked.
"I don't think so." He just didn't want the drama.
They drank a few more beers and called it a night.
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Elizabeth moved throughout the campus quickly. There were a few snickers and pathetic looks here and there but she kept her head down, actually wearing a hoodie to try and fly under the radar.
She sat down in her ethics class and listened and took notes and when the class came to an end, the teacher asked her to stay.
Alexis sat down next to Elizabeth. "How are you doing?"
"I'm breathing," Liz said.
"I'm really proud of you Elizabeth. You fought hard, so if someone gives you a hard time, ignore them. Most of the kids couldn't survive what you did. I'm really happy to see you back in my class."
Liz nodded. "Thank you Ms. Davis."
"Alexis, and the next time you need a lawyer, you come to me."
"Thanks."
Alexis watched Elizabeth leave. She wished that she could do something for her but unfortunately, her hands were tied where Danny McCall was concerned. Unless he was tried for something else, he couldn't be tried for the rape again.
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Johnny received a text from Elizabeth so he switched with Enzo and pulled his car in front of the dorm. Elizabeth ran out and slipped inside.
"Hi," he said before pulling off.
"Hi."
He drove a few blocks.
"Where are we going?" Liz asked. She was a little nervous.
"I have a friend who owns a gym. They have a room he's going to let us use so we'll be by ourselves. I thought that would make you more comfortable."
Liz nodded. "Thanks."
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Johnny parked the car in front of the gym and they went inside. The owner had already schooled the guys that were there to not look at Elizabeth or say anything to her.
She was relieved once they were safely inside the room. There was a punching bag in the corner and some mats all over the floor.
"Sit down please," Johnny said softly.
Elizabeth took a seat on the mat and Johnny sat across from her.
"I'm going to say this again. I would rather die than hurt you. If something makes you uncomfortable, then say so. You will not hurt my feelings and I will back off quickly. Okay?"
She nodded.
"I'm going to move closer." He sat very close to her, but their bodies were still not touching.
Johnny held his hands out and Elizabeth looked into his eyes and he could tell she was about to get emotional. "Trust me."
Tears came into her eyes but she took a couple of deep breaths and put her hands into his. Johnny didn't even clasp them. He just sat there giving her space. If she was going to cry, he wanted her to let it out now so they could focus on the task at hand. "You okay?"
She nodded as a tear fell down her face. She hated that physical contact was so hard for her even with someone she knew would never hurt her.
"Tears are not a sign of weakness Elizabeth. I don't care if you cry or even yell. Let them drive you to be stronger," he said firmly. "I'm not going to baby you but we are going to start out slower. You will set the pace."
"Okay," she said softly.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed some tape. "I'm going to tape your hands. It will protect your tendons and muscles. We're going to use the punching bag today. I'll demonstrate for you first to show you good technique."
She nodded and even though she flinched for a second when he first touched her, Johnny continued like he didn't notice it but inside, he was fuming. It was killing him to see her like this. All he wanted to do was pound Danny McCall to a pulp.
He finished taping her and then slid gloves over her hands. "How's that?"
"Fine," she said firmly.
They walked over to the bags and Johnny showed her what to do.
She hit it tentatively at first and then started to get into it more, pretending the bag was Danny. She had so much anger inside of her.
"Stop," Johnny said loudly.
Elizabeth jumped and then looked over at him.
"I know what you are doing, but you are going about it the wrong way. When you get emotional, you get sloppy. Harness that anger by letting it come through your hands. You didn't realize it but you're breathing got weaker because you were getting upset. Anger can be like fuel in a furnace. If you use it to your advantage, you can be unstoppable. However, if you let it control you, then you get sloppy and your opponent will use it against you," Johnny instructed.
"Got it," she said, glad that he wasn't babying her.
"Try it again."
He watched her for about twenty minutes as she took her anger out on the bag. "Take a break," he said before grabbing a water bottle from the little fridge in the room.
Liz took it from him and drank half of it and then wiped her face with a small towel.
"You did very well," Johnny said encouragingly.
"We aren't done right?" she asked.
Johnny smiled. "I don't want to work you too hard your first day. You're going to be sore tomorrow."
"I'm just anxious." Letting some of her anger out had felt really good.
"I know. I'll work with you every day. Tomorrow, we're going to the gun range,"
She liked the idea of that. "Sounds good."
The door opened up and Liz tensed up. Johnny got up and turned around. "Jason?"
The enforcer was surprised to see Elizabeth there. "Hey. Charlie said you were in here."
"You need me?"
"It can wait," he said before looking over at Liz. "Hello Elizabeth."
Liz looked down. "Hi."
"I'll talk to you later. I'm just going to work out for a while," Jason said.
Jason Morgan was a powerful man and right now that is what Elizabeth wanted to have—power. Danny was going to suffer and it was going to be by her hand. She didn't care if she went to jail for it the rest of her life. All of the training she was about to put her body through would be well worth it. She was on a mission that unbeknownst to her, would change her life forever.
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Johnny walked Elizabeth back through the gym. Jason caught her eye and she stopped for a moment to watch him.
"Do you see how focused he is?" Johnny asked.
"Yes. He looks pissed off."
Johnny smirked thinking that was Jason's normal look. "He is but he uses it to do the most damage that he can. He knows where to inflict the most pain."
Jason could see her out of the corner of his eye but he tried to keep his focus, knowing Johnny was using him as an example.
Elizabeth mentally noted how Jason's muscles seemed to all work together. His stance helped him do maximum damage to the bag. It was beautiful in a way.
"Come on," Johnny said opening the door so she could walk out.
And when they stepped outside, Jason stopped and watched them for a moment, wondering what Johnny was up to.
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When Elizabeth got out of the car, Johnny noticed that a man was purposefully walking towards her and he turned off the car and jumped out. "Elizabeth," he yelled.
She looked back at him and in her peripheral vision, she saw the man walking towards her and froze.
"If it isn't the girl who cried wolf," Lucky said. He was Danny's best friend.
"Fuck you Lucky," Liz said.
"Oh you would like that wouldn't you," he said grinning. "You like it rough from what I hear."
"Don't come any closer," Liz threatened. She knew Johnny was close.
"Or what?" he asked licking his lips and eyeing her body.
Johnny grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. "Or I will fucking end you. What kind of prick taunts someone like that? If you even look at her again I will fucking make you wish you were never born. Now say you're sorry," he said pushing him back as he let go.
Lucky started to cough. "Sorry," he said as he rubbed his throat. "My dad will hear about this and you know he's friends with Sonny."
"Do I look like I give a shit Spencer? You were physically trying to intimidate her and being emotionally abusive. It will not be tolerated. Do I make myself clear?" Johnny asked lethally.
Lucky glared at him. "Crystal," he said before walking off.
"Thank you. I'm sorry if this will get you in trouble," she said softly as she watched Lucky walk away. That asshole was definitely on her take down list.
"I'll be fine. Sonny would not have approved of what he just did. Now, I'd feel much better if you let me walk you to your room," Johnny said firmly.
Liz nodded and Johnny walked her inside.