I wrote this for the Flash Fiction challenge on the Quiz board a while back but I thought I would go ahead and post it here to.

Prompt: Hide Your Carazy and start acting like a lady - Miranda Lambert

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"Elizabeth," I knew before I even looked up from my delicious plate of food that this wasn't something I was in the mood for today. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for Carly Jacks any day,but especially not today. " Can we talk?"

" Carly, I am trying to have a nice quiet lunch. I have to get back to work soon." I was doing my very best to be polite but it took all the willpower I could muster up because the image of her and AJ kissing assualted me as soon as I glanced up at her. " And to be honest, we have nothing to talk about. "

Carly being , well Carly, pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down, " actually we have a lot to discuss. "

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes because lets face it two rude people at the table would be downright crazy. Carly wasn't going to go anywhere until we dealt with whatever it is she feels that we need to deal with. " Okay, Carly, what do we have to discuss."

Picking a piece of carrot out of my salad she popped it into her mouth. I must have missed the memo that she and I were at the sharing food stage in our status as frienemies. " Well for starters, I have to say that I don't really like your choice in friends. "

Seriously? " Meaning?"

"AJ of course. Come on Elizabeth , you know all about the crap he's pulled. "

I nodded, " Yes I do. Just like I know all about the crap you and Sonny pulled. But of course that doesn't matter because you and Sonny were right and AJ was wrong. "

She didn't even flinch, not that I honestly expected her to. This was Carly afterall. She was always right and never did anything wrong. Ever. " I did what I had to do to protect my son. You know a little something about that, I guess."

Unbelievable. She was seriously sitting her comparing my situation with hers. There was no comparsion. Not even close. " Carly, you don't want to discuss this with me. " My voice remained calm but I felt anything but. I wanted to reach across the table and slap her across the face for even daring to bring the subject of my little boy up. Or, I glanced down at the basket of rolls in the center of the table, maybe I could take a page from Brenda Barrett's book and chuck a roll at her head. No, no. I was much too mature for that. I am a mother for godsakes. I have to set a good example.

" Look, I know that Jake is a sore subject..."

" A sore subject? Really Carly? My son is not a sore subject. I don't have a problem talking about him at all. " I narrowed my eyes at her, " What I have a problem with is you even thinking that the choices that Jason and I made for our son is anything close to the choices you made for Micheal. They aren't even in the same ballpark. "

She sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, " I did what I had to do to protect Micheal. AJ is an alcohol and probably the most self destrucitve person I ever met. "

" Excluding yourself of course. "

Ignoring my comment she continued, " He was a bad man and I didn't want him anywhere near my son. "

Okay well now I did roll my eyes because how could I not. " So you hand him over to the mob instead?"

" AJ bashed Jason's head into a tree, Elizabeth. What do you think he would have done to Micheal? "

This woman was seriously the most unbelievable person I have ever met in my life. " I don't know maybe he would have gotten Micheal shot in the head or helped him cover up a murder." My manners were completely gone now and I didn't really find myself caring so much. Carly started this and I tried to back out gracefully but she wouldn't let me so I was all in now. " Oh no wait...that was his other father, the one you deemed fit and stable. "

She narrowed her eyes at me, " Since when are you so hateful towards Sonny. I recall a time when you did nothing but sing his praises. "

" That was a long time ago Carly and Sonny hasn't exactly been on Team Elizabeth for awhile now. " For whatever reason, Sonny turned on me and there really wans't a point in me being loyal to someone who seemed to forget all the times I was on thier side.

" Probably because of Ric, " She answered nonchalantly as she swiped another carrot.

Ric? What the hell was this conversation turning into. " Can we just get back on track here, please? I don't need to take a walk down memory lane with you. You have a problem with me and AJ..noted. Have a nice day."

" Why are you being so difficult about this?" Carly leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands, " Why are you so interested in AJ?"

I really felt like I was in the twilight zone right now. Carly Jacks was sitting here interupting my lunch to chat with me about her ex-husband, the father of her child. She was acting as though we were friends or something. We weren't. My son's kidney saved her daughter. That was our only connection and while I wouldn't right out disrespect her, I would never be friends with her. And I wasn't about to share details of my life with her. Not now, not ever. " My relationship with AJ is none of your business."

"So you are in a relationship with him?" She raised her finely trimmed eyebrows at me and again I felt the urge to slap her. I pushed it down though. " And it is my business because if you are involved with AJ you will be in my son's life."

Oh so thats what this was all about? Controling Micheal. I should have known. " Micheal doesn't have anything to do with my relationship with AJ, Carly. "

"But he will. The closer you and AJ get, the more time you will spend with Micheal and AJ will spend with your boys. I don't want to see my son get hurt and he will if this thing with AJ blows up in his face. " She seemed so sure of the fact that AJ would mess up and ruin his relationship with Micheal. She had absolutely no faith in the father of her child.

Granted AJ probably didn't have any faith in Carly either but despite everything that she has been through, I would like to think that Carly was a better person because of it. Her son had been close to death, in a coma for over a year, and yet she still wasn't grateful for the second chance with him. Did she have any idea how much I dreamed of having a second chance with Jake? I hadn't been as lucky as Carly. My son isn't just in a coma. My son is dead and hers is alive and she is trying to control him. " Micheal can handle his relationship with AJ , I think you shoudl stay out of it. " I lifted my glass and took a long drink of water. I wish I had opted to order something a little stronger, but I was on lunch break so that was out of the question.

" He shouldn't have a relationship with AJ. AJ should be dead and buried. Not walking around this town with my son on one arm and you on the other. Emily and Jason would be appalled."

Okay that was the final straw. I am not going to be able to keep my calm now. Now she was bring people into the conversation that she had no right to talk to me about. My friendships with Emily and Jason were none of her damn business. So much for my mom's old saying that it was best to hide the crazy and act like a lady. " Emily and Jason don't have anything to do with this other than the fact that AJ was thier brother. And just so you know, I truly believe that they would have both not only forgiven AJ for the things he's done in the past, but they would have given him a chance. " I pulled my purse off the back of my chair and rummaged inside it until I located my wallet. " And I don't appreciate you trying to use my relationships with them to manipulate me. " Opening my wallet and pulling out some cash, I threw it on the table before stuffing the wallet back inside my bag. " You knew nothing about my friendship with Emily and in all honesty I don't believe you gave a damn about her until she got with Sonny. And you only cared then because she had the nerve to step on your territory." I stood up and pushed my chair in, " and as for my relationship with Jason, you never did understand that and you never will so do not ever bring him up to me again. "

"Elizabeth..."

I wasn't even in the mood to listen to her defend herself, " Save it Carly. I just don't care what you have to say. Whether I choose to be in a relationship with AJ or not is my business. If I happen to have the privledge to get to know Micheal as a result of that, it's also my business. Micheal is all grown up now Carly, you don't get to make his decisions for him. He can choose to have a relationship with the man that sired him if he wants to. He can be friends with whoever he wants to and he can sleep with whomever he chooses to. " Okay so that was probably an unnecesary stab but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. AJ had been on cloud nine when he's filled me in on the activites of his son after the Nurse's Ball. " And one more thing, your son is alive and well, he is here in the flesh so instead of doing everything in your power to control him and isoloate him, maybe you should try thanking God that he is alive. Some of us aren't that lucky. " Throwing my purse up onto my shoulder I delivered my last blow, " tell Josselyn hello for me. "

The End