In spite of his feelings in regard to Elizabeth pushing her limits, Johnny has spent the last three weeks helping her train and regain her strength, as well as her stamina. Knowing that she would do it whenever he was out of the house, he accepts that it was best to be the one in charge of her exercise regimen. At least, that way, he'll be able to balance out her routine and control the pace.
"That was great." Johnny comments, handing her a bottle of water with her towel. "A few more sessions and you should be set to go."
"No." she shakes her head, slinging the towel across her shoulder. "No more sessions."
"What do you mean?"
"Its time, John." Elizabeth says seriously, downing half her bottle of water. "I'm ready."
"I know it might feel like it..."
"I'm ready." Elizabeth states with conviction. "I've lost enough time, John. I'm going to get this over with and get back to my life."
"Okay, okay." he lifts his hands slightly. "You win."
"Thank you." she smiles slightly, tossing him the towel. "Now...about that cellphone you were offering..."
"About time." Johnny shakes his head, digging in his pocket before tossing his cellphone to her. "Get a feel for what's waiting for us and let me know."
"You got it."
While he heads out of the gym to get things together, Elizabeth dials her voice mail number, hoping that the carrier hasn't cancelled it out or something. As fate would have it, her voice mail begins to play, message after message from her best friends, sending a fluttering feeling through her that they cared enough to call.
What she truly hadn't expected was the reason behind their calls. Looks like the trio's devilish tactics are more refined than she had ever believed. For them to get her best friends to believe, to get Jason to believe, that she had left town of her own accord...suffice to say that none of them will survive what she has planned. None of them.
Standing on the side of the road, Courtney stares at the spot that had changed her life, unable to believe how hard it has been to put this moment behind her. Elizabeth wasn't her favorite person and vice versa, she shouldn't care that it had taken the woman's life to make hers easier.
If only Elizabeth had kept her mouth shut. It wasn't her life, it wasn't her lie, she never should have given her the ultimatum. So what if she was lying to Jason? Her love was real! It may not have been the love that Elizabeth evidently had for Jason, but it was still real in its own right! As if that wasn't enough, she threatened to tell Jax, too! Why wasn't Jason leaving her enough?
VvVvVvVvVvVvV
"I just don't get it." Elizabeth looks at her confusedly. "Why do you want to live like this?"
"Why is it any of your business?" Courtney snaps, glaring at her. "Jax, he's good to me! I love him!"
"There's nothing wrong with you, Courtney." Elizabeth voices with sincerity. "You're beautiful as you are. Why would you want to fake it when you can have something real?"
"Why can't you get that its none of your business?" Courtney counters sternly. "My life is not your business!"
"Because its not right." Elizabeth states. "For you or for Jax. You both deserve so much more!"
"You've already taken Jason from me!" Courtney exclaims, fear seeping into her heart. "I won't let you take Jax, too!"
VvVvVvVvVvVvVvV
Shaking the memory from her head, she drops her gaze to the engagement ring on her finger, forcing herself to believe that this was for the best. With Elizabeth out of the way, her secret is finally safe again, never to see the light of day again.
Glancing at the time on her watch, she slowly makes her way back to her car, needing to get back home before Jax gets off. He's taking her on a special date night to honor their engagement properly, something she couldn't help but find truly romantic.
They did the best thing for all of them. She knows it.
With Courtney's wedding fast approaching, Carly makes her way into the diner to meet with Sam, needing to have a meeting of minds in regard to her relationship with Jason. She and Sonny have already taken the plunge, Courtney will soon have the life she wants with Jax, leaving Sam as the last single woman standing among them.
"I don't know what else I can do." Sam says, truly exasperated by the whole situation. "I mean, he's letting me in more and more, but he's still not willing to let me into his heart."
"You're obviously not trying hard enough." Carly states, shaking her head after a moment. "What's the point of freeing him up if you can't seal the deal?"
"He obviously loves her more than either of us is willing to admit." Sam points out. "I'm at my wits end, Carly. I don't know what else I can do or wear to get him to open up to me."
"Okay, okay." Carly sighs, realizing that this was going to take a lot more than just Sam. "Find a way to get him to go with you to Courtney's rehearsal dinner and I'll take it from there."
"What are you going to do?"
"That's for me to know and you to react to." Carly says simply, rising to her feet. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah...okay." Sam watches her walk out of the diner. "Even while you're dead, you're still screwing with my life. Stupid, Elizabeth."
"What did you just say?" a voice questions from behind her, causing her to turn around in shock. "Did you just say something about Elizabeth?"
"What?" Sam scoffs, rising to her feet, meeting Emily's eyes with a blank expression. "Why would I be talking about that idiot?"
"That's a good question." Emily eyes her sternly. "I heard you say her name. What were you saying about her?"
"I wasn't saying anything about that little goody-goody." Sam walks past her. "Really, Emily, you need to get your ears checked."
Watching her walk out of the diner, Emily's previous thoughts about Elizabeth's sudden disappearance begin to fade as new ones begin. For the last two months, Sam and Carly have been acting weirder than usual. Giving her the sinking feeling that their part in Elizabeth being gone is more significant than anyone realizes.
