Chapter One
It had taken him a good half an hour to get her calmed down enough to where he could take care of her injuries. She had flinched away from him when he tried to get a good look at her head. Brenda had obviously been hit with something and he was worried she might have a concussion. Jason sent her to take a shower to wash away the blood, but when she came downstairs, instead of looking better, he realized she had more injuries than originally thought.
He had managed to straighten up downstairs. The two guards had gotten rid of all the glass and he had vaccumed the floor to get up any stray pieces. He didn't think Brenda even noticed though. Her eyes were glassy and it scared him. She had pulled on a big fluffy robe, but when she sat down beside him he couldn't stop the gasp that escaped from his mouth. If Brenda noticed, she said nothing. His gaze was fixated on her neck and the ugly bruises on her neck where someone's hands had bit into her skin. Jason was suddenly nauseous, but he tried his best to keep the feeling at bay. Brenda sat completely still as tears leaked from her eyes and Jason was suddenly very torn.
Sonny had taken him away from a life he no longer wanted and he owed him for that. Sonny had provided Jason with anything he asked for without ever complaining, but suddenly Jason was questioning just what kind of a man would do this to the woman that supposedly he loved more than his own life. It certainly was a warped version of love. Jason had always assumed their relationship was a little warped anyways, but he prayed this was the first time Sonny had ever laid his hands on her in anger. He wasn't sure he could deal with the fact that he was working for an abuser right now.
He had never heard Brenda be quiet for that long and he was certain that it must be a record for her. She was listless and just stared down at her lap. Brenda had always been lively and full of life, but at the moment she just reminded Jason of a broken woman. He patched up the gash on her forehead just as Sonny came through the door. His appearance was discheveled and he looked as worse as Brenda did. Except for Brenda's knuckles weren't bleeding like Sonny's were. Jason shuddered involuntarily. Then his eyes met Sonny's.
No words passed between them and Jason was hesitant to leave the room. Brenda seemed to shrink back into the sofa when Sonny approached her. That was all the proof he needed really. Sonny had done this to Brenda. He tried to wrap his mind around that but he kept coming up empty. What in the hell was Sonny thinking, laying his hands on a woman like that? Yes, Jason would be the FIRST to admit that Brenda drove him to the brink of insanity and sometimes he'd love to shut her up, but he would never lay a hand on her in anger. He clenched his jaw and headed into the kitchen to prepare Brenda an ice pack. That would give Sonny and Brenda time to sort out whatever bullshit story they were going to hand him.
When he returned to the living room, Sonny was sitting on the coffee table in front of Brenda with his head in his hands. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could hear Sonny softly sobbing and the absolutely unbelievable part to Jason was that Brenda seemed to be comforting him! How could she do that after Sonny had just beat the hell out of her? Was she that desperate she would stay with a man who beat her? He dropped the ice pack beside Sonny on the coffee table and took off out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
The next day Sonny offered him an explanation, saying they had a misunderstanding that got out of hand. Jason offered no comment, but refrained from telling Sonny that he was the one who got out of hand, not the misunderstanding. Sonny was his boss and until Jason could come up with a way to deal with what he knew, he would keep his mouth shut. Jason was more afraid that if he said anything about it then Sonny would just go home and take out on Brenda, who according to Johnny, hadn't left the penthouse all day. Hell, when people came to visit her she told them she wasn't feeling well and had the guards sent them away. He just prayed that Sonny hadn't decided to finish the job when he got home last night.
See, Jason didn't
like Brenda, but a part of him remembered that once she had been a
very important part of his life and a very good friend. It was for
those reasons he wasn't going to turn his back on her nor would he
turn a blind eye to Sonny's abuse. Yeah, Brenda had done some very
questionable things but he wasn't going to let her get beat up.
Sonny didn't seem to notice a change in Jason's behavior, and he
didn't notice that Jason
kept clenching and unclenching his
fists. Oh sure, he knew Jason was on edge, but when wasn't he?
Until last night, Jason had only known that Sonny had a nasty temper.
He had never witnessed it. Sonny had told him about his reaction to
the wire and the fight he had with Brenda outside of Luke's when he
had seen her with Miguel. He remembered hearing the sorrow in Sonny's
voice as he told him just how horribly he had treated Brenda. Jason
always assumed that had been Sonny's big lesson on controlling his
rage, but apparently he was wrong.
Sonny left early that night, telling Jason that he had to make it up to Brenda. Jason couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe Brenda didn't want Sonny around right now. After seeing her last night, Jason wasn't sure Brenda wanted anyone around. Once Sonny had gone, Jason called the guard working the door tonight and told them to call at the first sound of an argument. He was hoping against hope that call never came. So quickly he finished up the things he needed done around the warehouse and headed to Luke's. He shot a couple games of pool and drank a few beers, pleased that he hadn't heard anything from the guards.
Things were quiet for the next few weeks and Jason had written off what had happened earlier as a fluke. Sonny and Brenda seemed to be getting along wonderfully again, but he noticed she was quick to do what Sonny asked when Sonny asked. He assumed it was to prevent any arguments, knowing without a doubt that Sonny had given Brenda, Jason, and himself quite a scare. He knew Sonny had this deep seated fear of turning into his stepfather and Jason understood now that his fear was more than justified.
Jason was just about to turn in for the evening when a loud banging on his door startled him. He flung open the door, only to find no one there. He poked his head out into the hallway and that was when he saw her. Brenda was crumpled up on the floor unconscious. The only reason he even knew it was Brenda was from the bracelet that dangled from her wrist. That was Brenda's treasure, that tennis bracelet Sonny had given her when they first started seeing each other. He bent down to turn her over and almost recoiled. Her face that was normally so bright and vibrant was now a mass of ugly bruises. One side of her face was completely swollen and when he reached out to touch it, she whimpered, like she was afraid of him. His hand froze and he looked around the hallway to make sure no one was looking. He wasn't sure how she got here because she wouldn't come to him if he was the last man on earth, so someone had to have left her here. Sonny? No, not a chance. It had to have been one of the guards.
He scooped her up carefully and carried her into his arm, slamming the door shut behind him with his foot. He didn't even waste time with putting her on the couch, instead carrying her to his bedroom, that way if Sonny was looking for her, he wouldn't find her sprawled out on the couch. She didn't even stir when he placed her on his bed. What the hell was he going to do? He could only see her facial injuries and he prayed that's all there was, but he couldn't be sure. No, she needed medical attention and he couldn't take her to GH without letting everyone in town know what happened. More importantly, someone would call Sonny. The last thing he needed was having to deal with his boss on top of dealing with Brenda.
That presented a whole other problem. Getting her anywhere. She was unconscious and he couldn't put her on his bike and he didn't have a car. There was no one that he trusted enough to call and he couldn't get anyone here without alerting Sonny's suspicions somehow. If he brought the Quartermaines into this then everyone would know that Sonny Corinthos liked to beat his girlfriend. He had to think of something and fast.
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