From Friends to Strangers…Chapter 10

Lucy looked down at her watch.

She was supposed to be meeting Brenda, but she was late.

She tried calling her cell phone, but she didn't pick up.

Brenda called and said she needed to see her.

She sounded like it was urgent.

Lucy was there but Brenda wasn't and she was really getting worried.

Why wasn't she answering her phone?

She looked out into the parking lot, and finally, she spotted Brenda's car whipping into one of the parking spaces.

She relaxed.

A couple of minutes later Brenda walked through the door.

Lucy could tell something was wrong.

It was written all over her face.

She looked liked she had been crying.

Brenda walked up to the table and slipped inside of the booth.

"Oh my God, Brenda. Are you ok?"

She cleared her throat. "No, Lucy. I'm definitely not ok."

Lucy was really scared now. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know where to begin."

"Just spit it out! Are you sick?"

Brenda shook her head. "Nothing like that."

"Well, what is it?"

"Yesterday, I was at home unpacking, waiting on Jason to return. He went to pick up Jack and Sam from his grandparents' house. I heard a vehicle pull into my driveway, I assumed it was Jason returning. It was not. You will never guess who showed up at my door."

Lucy honestly had no clue. "Who?"

"Sonny, the bastard who left me at the altar."

Lucy covered her mouth. "Oh…my…God."

"Yes. He was the last person I expected to see, when I opened that door."

Lucy's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. "What did he say? What did you say?" She frowned. "I hoped you slapped his face!"

Brenda looked down at the table. "I should have slapped his face. You know…I thought I would only feel anger when I saw him again. I was wrong. I felt pain." She looked up. "Lucy, I thought I had healed and I was over everything, until he was standing there…in front of me."

Tears filled her eyes.

"All of the pain and disappointment rose to the surface again. I was staring at the person who hurt me more than anyone had in my life. I was also looking at the person, who I loved, at one time more than anyone on earth."

Lucy reached over and grabbed her hand. "Brenda, that's expected. You hadn't seen him in months."

"I just feel like a weak fool."

"Honey, it doesn't make you weak. It makes you human. I can't believe he just showed up at your door."

"Yeah, I opened the door and we were face to face…"

"Hello, Brenda."

She was in shock.

She couldn't believe Sonny was standing in front of her.

She didn't say a word at first.

She thought she was seeing things.

She really couldn't believe he was standing there, although she knew he would show up one day.

She just didn't think it would be that day.

She had it all figured out.

If she ever laid eyes on him again, she would really let him have it, but it didn't happen.

Not at first

All the feelings that she thought were gone…came rushing back.

All the love…all the hurt.

The smell of the flowers in the church.

She could even smell them again.

It all came back to her.

She remembered how happy she was when she put on her wedding dress.

Her future….their future was so bright.

They were going to finally start their journey together as husband and wife.

Finally…but he didn't show up

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You didn't come. You didn't come."

Sonny reached up to touched her face, but stopped before coming in contact with her skin.

Brenda looked into his eyes. "Where were you? Why didn't you come, Sonny?"

"I came, Sweetheart. I came."

She whispered. "Where were you?"

She grabbed a fist full of his shirt. "Where were you?!"

She buried her face into his chest and wept.

He wrapped his arms around her body.

She continued to cry. "I waited for you. You…didn't come. I waited. You…never…came."

Sonny tried to console her. "I am so sorry." He kissed the top of her head. "I never meant to hurt you."

She pulled away and looked up at him. "But you did. You hurt me more than anyone has ever hurt me in my life. In my entire life, Sonny."

"I know and I am so sorry. I am so sorry, Sweetheart."

"You sent me to a packed church and didn't bother showing up! I walked down the isle in my wedding dress. I couldn't wait for you to see it. I was so happy. You were supposed to meet me. Sonny, I loved you so much. I would have went anywhere and done anything to be with you! Anything!"

"I loved you too. Hell, I still do."

"How can you stand in front of my face and say that? After doing what you did to me?"

"Everything I did, I did because of how much I loved you."

"Bullshit! You don't send the woman you love to a packed church and not show up!"

"Brenda, you don't understand."

"I understand. You never loved me. Not really. It is my fault, because I should have been done after you married Lily. I should have walked away and never looked back. I had someone who truly cared for me. He…Jax…would have never…has never hurt me the way you have. I left him. I left him only to get stood up by you. I guess I deserved it, for being so dumb."

Sonny touched her face. "Sweetheart, you are not dumb."

She knocked his hand away. "Don't touch me."

He nodded. "Ok, I know I deserve that."

"Sonny, you deserve more! You deserve to be humiliated, just like you humiliated me. I was crushed. I was devastated. I didn't think I would recover."

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Yeah, you did. You didn't come. You meant it."

"Brenda, if I could make you understand-"

"Sonny, there isn't anything you can say to make me understand. Nothing."

"Brenda, they threatened your life. They were going to hurt you. I was going to marry you. I wanted to marry you. You are the love of my life. You are everything to me. There is no one I love more. You are the most precious thing on earth to me. I was going to go through with it anyway. My car pulled up to the church. I was there, Sweetheart. I was getting ready to get out of the car, but I couldn't do it. Your life meant more to me. I couldn't do that to you."

"Why didn't you just tell me what was going on?"

"Because you would have talked me into marrying you. You would have talked me into risking your life. I would have looked into your eyes and I would have done it. Do you understand now?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't. You could have broken up with me. Anything other than what you did. I do not understand, Sonny. I will never understand."

"Brenda, maybe I didn't handle things the way I should have-"

"That is an understatement!"

She wiped her face with her hands.

"Brenda, I know you are upset with me. You have every right to be. What I did was awful. Maybe it is even unforgivable."

She glared at him. "It is. No maybe in it."

Sonny rubbed the back of his neck. "Brenda, I still love you. I know you hate me and it is killing me to look in your eyes and see it. If you will just give me a chance-"

"A chance for what?! To make it up?"

She laughed. "You have got to be kidding me?! Do you think there is a chance for us to be together?! Don't tell me you really believe that? You cannot believe that."

"Yes, I do. God help me, but yes I do. We were so good together. We were the best. We set the world on fire."

She chuckled. "Yeah, before you left me at the altar."

"You need time."

"Time? You think I need time?! No, I don't need time, Sonny. I am done. I was done at the church, when I was standing there alone, staring at the door you were supposed to walk through."

"I am not done. I will never give up on us. I did what I thought was best. Lily is dead because of me. If anything would have happened to you, because I chose to be selfish and bullheaded, I would have never been able to live with myself. Brenda, I am going to work hard to earn your forgiveness, trust, and love again."

He reached inside his inner jacket pocket and pulled out her engagement ring.

"This belongs on your finger."

"No, you should have left it at the pawn shop. Better yet, save it for the next woman who is crazy enough to accept a proposal from you. Maybe she will get lucky and you will show up?"

Sonny looked into her eyes. "I love you. I love you so much, Sweetheart. I thought about you everyday."

She shrugged. "I don't care."

"I didn't come here to make you upset, Brenda."

She couldn't believe he said that. "Did you think I would be happy?!"

"No, I didn't. Look, I know you need time to process everything."

Brenda shook her head. "No, actually I don't. It's time for you to leave, Sonny, and not because I need time to process everything. You should leave because I want you to."

Sonny didn't want to push too hard so he agreed. "Ok, I'll leave. I'm back in Port Charles for good. There are no threats now, Brenda."

"Good for you, because I don't care. Goodbye, Sonny, and please don't come back."

She went inside and slammed the door.

He stood there for a moment.

He placed his hand on the door.

Brenda leaned up against it and cried.

He took his hand off the door and slowly walked down the stairs.

He knew it was going to be hard, but he was going to get her back.

Brenda didn't move until she heard his car door slam.

She didn't think she would be this emotional after seeing him.

She walked over to the window, just in time to see him pulling out of the driveway…..

Brenda looked up at Lucy. "And he left."

"Brenda, he is going to do everything to get you back."

She nodded. "I know. There isn't anything he could do that would make me go back to him. I will never forget how I felt that day."

"Brenda, you are angry now, but-"

"No, Lucy. There is not a chance in hell I would ever get involved with Sonny Corinthos again. When I was standing in the window watching him leave, in my heart I knew it was finally over. For me, it was the end. There is nothing he can do to erase what he did. I will never forget how I felt standing in that church…alone."

Lucy nodded. "I know it's hard, because you still love him. I'm not oblivious to that."

"No, Lucy, actually I don't. You know it's crazy, because I thought I'd die loving that man. I'm not even sure if I like him anymore."

"Well, he definitely doesn't stand a chance. So, where was Jason? Did he ever show up? Did he know Sonny was in town?"

"After Sonny left, I was still trying to recover from the shock of it all. The emotion…just everything. Somehow I made it over to the sofa. I have no idea how long I was sitting there, before I heard Jason's truck pull up…."

Jason got out of the truck and Jack and Sam hopped out.

He grabbed the bag of takeout, he'd picked up on the way home, and headed up to the house.

He unlocked the door.

The dogs rushed inside the house and up to Brenda.

She smiled and rubbed them both.

Jason closed the door. "I'm sorry, my grandmother wanted to…chat. That chat lasted over an hour."

He laughed and shook his head. "I brought food. I'll put it in the kitchen."

He took the food into the kitchen and returned a couple of seconds later.

He sat down next to her. "Did you hear me?"

He looked over at her.

She was looking down at the floor.

"Brenda?"

She looked up at him.

Her eyes were red.

Jason's smiled faded. "What's wrong?"

"Sonny was here."

Damn it

Jason looked away. "How long has he been gone?"

"Maybe you didn't hear me? I said, Sonny, my ex fiancé…was here…standing on my front porch."

"I heard you."

Brenda turned her body towards him. "Why aren't you shocked, Jason? I just said, Sonny was here. The man who left me at the altar. The one I haven't seen in months."

Jason didn't respond.

What was he supposed to say?

Her eyes widen. "Of course you aren't shocked. Why would you be? You knew he was in town didn't you?"

"No, I didn't."

"You didn't know Sonny was back in Port Charles?"

"No, at least I wasn't sure."

"But you knew he was coming back?"

Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I wanted to tell you."

"You wanted to tell me? Oh my God! I can't believe this!"

"Brenda, I really wanted to tell you."

"But you didn't, Jason! You didn't say…one word."

"Brenda, I was going to tell you when I got back from picking up Jack and Sam."

"How long have you known? Today? Yesterday? Two weeks ago?"

"Before we went to Hawaii."

"You have known that long?! You didn't think I would want to know?!"

"Brenda, you had to work. I didn't want to ruin your trip."

"What about afterwards? You had the opportunity. You could have told me as soon as we got back." She stood up. "I cannot believe you didn't tell me. You were there! You saw what he did to me and you still didn't tell me!"

"Brenda, I was going to tell you. I made the decision to tell you."

Once again tears filled her eyes. "The decision? You actually had to think about it?" A tear slid down her cheek. "Why did you have to think about it? I thought you cared about me."

"I do care about you."

"No, Jason, you care about Sonny."

He stood up. "Brenda, I do care about you. I wouldn't go through all of this if I didn't. I am risking my friendship with Sonny to be with you."

She shook her head. "Not anymore. You could have told me. You could have said, Brenda, Sonny is coming back to Port Charles. You could have just said those words. It would have meant so much to me…so much…but…it doesn't matter. I'm not going to let you and Sonny break me."

"I'm not trying to break you."

"You sure are not trying to help me. Jason, that was the worst day of my life. The worst. There is no close second. I don't think you or Sonny understand what that did to me." She shrugged. "Maybe you just don't care?"

"Brenda, you know that's not true."

"No, I don't. You didn't in the beginning. You were just there to do a job. That's what you said."

"Don't do that."

"Do what? Tell the truth? God, I was so stupid! I believed in you. I believed that we had something."

"We do."

"No, we don't. You and Sonny have something. We have nothing. I want you to get out."

"Brenda, I know you are upset. You have every right to be."

"Shut up, Jason! I want you and Sonny to just shut up! Don't tell me I have every right to be upset. I don't need the two of you telling me anything! I know it! And if you are worried…don't be. I am not going to say a word to your best friend forever. You two deserve each other."

She shook her head. "All you had to do was just say the words. Instead, I was blindsided…yet again…by you and Sonny. You had to pick me up off the floor, Jason! Off the floor!"

She walked over to the door and snatched it open. "Get….out."

Jason stood there for a moment. "Brenda-"

She yelled. "Get out of my house!"

He knew there was no getting through to her. Not right now.

She was angry and there wasn't anything he could say to change that.

He knew her well enough to know that.

He just wish he could make her understand.

Maybe there wasn't anything to understand?

He should have told her.

It was as simple as that.

He decided to honor her wishes and leave.

He headed towards the door but stopped before walking out.

He looked at her briefly, but she refused to look at him, so he continued out of the door.

Brenda closed the door and slid down its length and sobbed…

"So, there I was on the floor…crying…again."

Lucy got up and sat next to her.

She threw a arm around her.

Brenda rested her head on Lucy's shoulder. "I just can't believe he didn't tell me. I guess I know where things stand. Maybe I have always known?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

A tear slipped down her face. "No, it doesn't."

"So, what now?"

"I am going to move on from the whole situation. I am just so disappointed. I really thought…nothing. It doesn't matter. Jason is Sonny's friend, in spite of everything that happened between us, that relationship means more."

"If Sonny ever finds out-"

Brenda interrupted. "He won't find out. I don't plan on saying a word." She sat up and wiped her face. "Lucy, I can't dwell on this. I have been disappointed so many times in my life. If I can survive Sonny leaving me at the altar, I can survive this. I just didn't think Jason would do that to me."

"He should have told you. So, you two are definitely over?"

"Yes…..."

It's later and Brenda is back home.

She took the dogs out and got into bed.

She didn't get home until after ten.

Lucy didn't really think it was a good idea to let her go home by herself, so they spent the rest of the day together.

It really helped take her mind off things.

Lucy wanted Brenda to spend the night at her house, but she declined.

Jack and Sam had been inside all day.

Brenda assured her that she would be fine…..

Brenda turned on the TV and tried to find something to watch.

She was trying to do anything to get her mind off things, particularly off him.

It felt strange being in bed and him not being there.

She was just going to have to get use to it.

She was going to have to find a new normal.

They were done…..

It was two in the morning when Jason pulled into the driveway.

He tried to stay away.

He tried to give her space.

He was in bed trying to sleep, but was finding it extremely difficult.

He had to see her.

He got up, threw on some clothes, and headed to her house.

He paused before putting the key into the lock.

He knew she would be upset, but they really needed to talk.

He unlocked the door and went inside…..