Really sorry guys, I've been slacking off. I hope I didn't lose my touch. Tell me what you think of this chapter.
"It's too late to think of the value of my life…"
**********
Sam sat impatiently on her- that's how bad it got, referring to the hospital bed as hers- bed, awaiting the answer from Jason.
She had sent it at least a half hour ago and she was clutching her phone in her weak hands as if her life depended on it, and quite frankly, it could.
She began tapping her fingers impatiently and she looked absent mindedly around the room. Her eyes fell on the cluster of unwrapped Christmas gifts in the corner. Upon closer inspection, she saw a delicate little package that was forgotten.
She thought about calling Claire. She hadn't seen her lately and she wanted to get the gift. She wasn't sure if she could make it all the way to the corner on her weak legs. She had only had one physical therapy session so far, and she hated how her once toned legs had become like jelly. So, being the independent woman she was, Sam hoisted herself up and made her way, wobbly, to the corner of gifts.
She bent down to retrieve it and hobbled back to bed.
Sam placed the package on her bedside table as she got comfortable in the bed. Once she was set, she grabbed the package and looked it over.
It was wrapped in simple silver paper, no bow, and curiously, no card.
She shook it a little, hoping to get a clue as to what was inside.
Staring at it some more, she hoped it wasn't some twisted gift from her stalker/killer.
Only one way to find out…
She inserted her finger under the side and tore off the paper. She let it fall to the floor.
In her hands was a small white box, and she was more confused than ever.
Eyebrows knitted together, she opened the small box.
Inside was a beautiful silver necklace. On the chain was what looked like a ring, made of hearts all joined together.
It so beautiful it took her breath away.
She knew it wasn't from Lucky, since she opened his bracelet earlier. It felt heavy on her wrist right now. The words I love you engraved on it.
Looking down, she realized a little card on her lap. It had fallen out of the package as she unwrapped it.
She grabbed at it hungrily, needing to know who it was from.
She flipped it over and in a messy scrawl she read:
I realized how much I've missed my best friend, my lover. I'm sorry for everything. I will help you through this. You can count on me now. Hope you like the necklace.
Love, Jason
Sam's eyes filled with tears, and she clutched the necklace and card to her chest.
Her hands trembled as she slipped the necklace on, and she couldn't help but wish Jason was here to put it on her.
She wasn't sure what the future held, but she was positive that Jason factored in somehow.
She went back to worrying about Jason's answer, holding the necklace.
**********
Mac made it to the hospital before the body made it there. Lucky wasn't with him because he was with a suspect. Regardless, Mac was going to find out what happened to this poor woman. First, he had to figure out who it was.
Mac paced outside the door, waiting for the ambulance to come. Since the victim was wearing what appeared to be the intern uniform from GH, he figured one of the staff could ID her.
He had a somber face when they pulled up.
The two guys opened the back wordlessly, and rolled out the stretcher, containing a body covered with a pristine white sheet.
"Thanks guys." Mac grunted and followed them through the double doors.
Mac signaled them to stop by the nurse's station, ignoring the curious faces of the interns and random patients strolling the halls, and the distressed faces of the doctors and nurses.
Patrick stepped forward first, mouth a thin line. He looked like he had had a rough day already. Mac really hated to make it worse.
"What can we do for you Mac?" Patrick said, glancing down at the white sheet. "Need someone to escort you to the morgue?"
"That would be a great help." Mac said, and running a hand through his hair, he continued. "But I need someone to identify this girl."
Patrick looked back at the nurses, Epiphany most of all looking worried. "Why do you think we would be able to identify her?" Patrick said, turning back to Mac.
Mac lowered his voice. "When we found her, we thought we saw her dressed in the GH attire. It was pretty hard to tell." He sighed. "Is there anyone we can take to the morgue to ID her?"
"Um, yeah." Patrick whipped around and called "Epiphany, can you go with Mac please?" he looked even more rumpled then before.
Mac didn't think it was possible for Epiphany's face to look any more stricken, but as she made her way toward him, her usual demeanor was gone. He could tell it was making everyone uneasy.
There was no sound as they rolled to the morgue, except for the wheels of the stretcher against the linoleum floor and their echoing footsteps.
Epiphany began to sweat, beads of it dripping down the nape of her neck and she knotted her fingers nervously. She had an idea of who was under that sheet, and she prayed to God that she was wrong.
As they entered the morgue, Epiphany got a chill and jumped when the door flung shut behind her.
The two guys from the ambulance lined up the stretcher with the others, some of them bare, but some had identical white sheets on top of bodies. Epiphany made it a point never to come down here unless absolutely necessary. She wondered why they couldn't have asked someone else to ID the body.
The two guys left after Mac thanked them, and Epiphany shivered in the cold and glanced around uneasily.
She wasn't aware of Mac looking at her until he cleared his throat. She jumped back into the present.
"So, what do I do?" she asked, wanting to be helpful, but really stalling so she didn't have to look at the body.
Mac cleared his throat. "I'm just going to pull back the sheet and you tell me who you see. If you don't recognize her, that's fine. Just say so." He made his way over to the sheet and positioned himself by the head.
"This is pretty gruesome." He warned. "Just tell me when you've seen enough."
Epiphany took a deep breath and her eyes widened when Mac revealed what was hidden beneath the sheet.
"Enough! I've seen enough!" Epiphany choked out, turning away and doubling over.
"Epiphany! Epiphany are you alright?" Mac said, throwing the sheet back to cover the body and running to make sure she was okay.
"I'm…I'm fine." She mumbled, embarrassed. Then a wave of sorrow hit her. "I know who the body was."
"Really? Can you tell me who it is?" Mac asked eagerly. Finding out who the victim was, was one step closer to finding out the killer.
"It's… It's…"
Mac knew this was hard for Epiphany to do, but he needed these answers. "Who?" he prodded.
"Claire. Claire Martin." She managed to say. "She was a few months into interning here."
With that, Epiphany sank to the floor, and wrapped her arms around herself.
Mac knelt beside her. "Don't worry, we already have a lead." He said, thinking of Lucky. It had better be a good suspect.
Whoever did this needs to pay. Mac thought as he wrapped a comforting arm around Epiphany.
**********
Jason sat on a lumpy mattress, looking at the slate grey walls of the Port Charles jail. He had his elbows resting on his knees and was waiting for his one phone call.
He knew he should be pissed off that he was wrongly accused of brutally murdering an innocent girl, but all he could think of was Sam's text message.
Jerry was back.
He was thinking how this murder and Jerry could connect. And he had a real fear that Sam's life was still in danger.
He needed to see her.
But if he was ever going to get out of here, he was going to need Diane.
He sighed deeply, leaning his head against the hard stone of the wall.
He had an idea. He would call Spinelli and tell him to call Diane and Sam. That way he could get out of here and let Sam know that he would be there as soon as he could.
He shivered; they had taken his jacket for a search. This meant, of course, that they had taken his gun.
He sat back up, not being able to get Jerry off his mind.
He shook his head and stood up. Moving always helped him clear his head. He really wanted a ride on his motorcycle to sort everything out but that was impossible at the moment.
At least he wasn't as claustrophobic as Sonny; there would be no way he would survive in here.
Jason's thoughts floated to his son, and Elizabeth, the woman he claimed to love. He wondered if she was playing with him right now. Actually, she was probably putting him to bed. He wished he was there to see his son grow up. It was his stupid lifestyle that kept him away from his son. And every time he pictured Elizabeth's angel like face, it got marred by Sam's more beautiful one.
Why was everything in his life so complicated?
Finally, he heard footsteps coming and looked up to the face of Lucky, his least favorite person right now.
"One phone call." Lucky said, handing him a phone, leering at him through the bars.
Jason snatched it quickly and turned his back to Lucky. He quickly dialed his house number, hoping that Spinelli would answer the phone, even though he had that big blowout with Maxie.
As the phone was ringing, he heard Lucky talking to the other cops about that case.
"Claire Martin? That's the victim's name. She worked as an intern over at GH huh? What a shame. Well we will get her justice…"
Jason fixated on the phone as Spinelli picked up. He wondered how he was going to tell Spinelli that the girl he had recently slept with was murdered, and that he was arrested for it.
**********
"Casa de Stone Cold. The Jackal speaking." Spinelli said, answering the phone, a depressed lilt in his voice.
"Hey Spinelli, its Jason."
"Oh, Stone Cold, things didn't go well here at all. I would really appreciate it if you came and-"
"Spinelli, as much as I would love to hear about your fight with Maxie, I have more important matters at hand." Jason hated being blunt with Spinelli, but he really needed to get out of here.
"Of course, what do you need the Jackal for?" Spinelli asked, loyal as always.
"Listen carefully. I'm at the PCPD. Someone just got murdered over by the warehouses. Lucky had me taken in because he saw me there riding my bike. I need you to call Diane and get her to come here and bail me out. But I called you so you could call Sam. Tell her everything I just told you, I'll explain more when I get home. Oh and call Elizabeth please." He added as an afterthought.
"Oh, yes of course Stone Cold." Spinelli said, hoping he wouldn't screw anything up. "But, if I may inquire, who was the unfortunate soul who 'bit the dust' as they say?"
Jason inhaled sharply through his nose, and Spinelli could tell he had wanted to stay off that particular subject.
"Spinelli, it was Claire Martin. The intern over at GH."
After a long pause, Jason said, "I'm so sorry Spinelli. I know you had something going on between you two. Just pass on those messages please, and I'll help you with everything when I get home. Thanks."
The phone clicked in Spinelli's ear, and he hung up the phone, more depressed then he was before.
He stood motionless for a moment before springing into action. Stone Cold needed him now, only after he fulfilled his duties would he mourn the loss of both of his blonde beauties.
**********
Diane was just settling into bed, wanting to sleep more than ever when she got the call.
She had been helping with Alexis and her job on top of everything else. She barely had time to sleep let alone time for her big teddy bear, Max. She was starting to feel on serious overload.
What she didn't need was another mob crisis, or to listen to Spinelli's ramblings for that matter.
"What can I do for you Mister Spinelli?" she asked, opening the phone and throwing her arm over her eyes.
"Stone Cold needs your assistance. I already called Fair Samantha, on his instructions. But he is at the PCPD, having been arrested for a crime he most certainly didn't commit and if you could go down there and bail him out, it would be most appreciated." He babbled, though he didn't seem to have as much energy as he normal did.
That makes two of us. She thought to herself.
"Yes thank you Spinelli." She snapped before hanging up.
Leave it to Jason Morgan to get arrested in the middle of the night.
She grumbled the whole time she got out of bed. She was so pissed off she didn't even bother changing. She threw a robe of her nightgown and made her way to her car.
See how they like that. She huffed, driving away.
**********
Elizabeth hung up the phone frazzled. She hated thinking of Jason's violent mob life, but it was a reality she had to face if she was to be with him. She felt it was hard to believe that Jason would kill some poor intern at the hospital. Elizabeth had liked her too. Poor Claire.
And poor Jason for getting arrested for it.
She was glad the boys were upstairs safe and sound in their beds. She felt the need to check on them again.
Her thoughts running wild, she crept quietly up the stairs, needing to see for herself that her boys were safe.
She poked her head into the room that they shared.
Pale moonlight filtered through the window and splayed on their faces, each of them so much like their father's.
Jake's hair glittered just like Jason's. She was still mad at Jason for finding him in the hospital bed with Sam, but she wanted to forgive him. She wished he could spend more time being a father to Jake then a mobster.
And Cam. Looked just like Zander as a baby, but beginning to look and act like Lucky more and more. He was a good father to have in the boys lives, even if he was involved with that self centered tramp.
Both her boys were beautiful, and more importantly, safe.
Satisfied, Elizabeth made her way back downstairs. She would stay up until she got a call from Jason or Spinelli, making sure he was okay.
She knew she might not even get a call; that she and Jason were drifting farther and farther apart, and she had no clue what to do.
She plopped on the couch, phone nearby, and curled her legs up under her. She switched on the TV, but wasn't really watching it.
And she waited.
**********
"Hey Claudia." Nikolas said as he sat down at the bar next to her, drink sloshing a bit. "You find your brother?" he asked, taking another swig.
Claudia followed suit, and after swallowing answered. "Yeah, he stumbled home in the middle of the next day. Still hasn't told me where he went." She said, and just thinking of it made her blood boil, or was that the beer?
"You been drinking a lot?" he asked her, for, even drunk, he was ever the gentlemen.
"Of course." She said, giving him a lopsided smile and tipping her drink back to drain it of all its contents. Being a little woozy, she spilled some down the front of her shirt.
"Shit!" she cried, grabbing unsteadily at the napkins on the bar. She began dabbing at her shirt.
"Here let me help." Nikolas said, grabbing some napkins and helped her dab at her chest.
Yup, definitely drunk. She concluded. Not that she minded. A little care free fun was just what she needed.
She leaned into his touch, and after a moment, he pulled back, finishing his beer.
Claudia tried to hide the disappointment on her face. "You play pool?" she asked, glancing over at the empty pool tables.
"Eh, a bit." He said.
"Well then let's go, Prince Charming." She said, hopping off the stool and losing her balance.
Nikolas offered her his arm, and she took it gratefully.
Together, they stumbled over to the pool table, making fools of themselves in their drunken stupor.
**********
Olivia narrowly missed being hammered to the ground by a very drunk, Claudia and Nikolas as they made their way to the opposite end of the bar.
She smiled; at least someone was having a little fun.
She went up to the bar. "Coleman, tequila shots, and keep them coming." She said, and made her way to a table.
As she was about to sit down, she noticed Maxie Jones sitting at a table by herself. Olivia could tell, even in this crap lighting that she looked terrible, like she'd been crying.
Olivia stood back up and sat gingerly in the seat across from her. Maxie barely even looked up.
"You okay sweetie?" Olivia asked, nodding her thanks to Coleman who dropped off her shots at the table.
"No." Maxie said, looking up. She sounded stuffed up, and her makeup was smeared in the corners. Yup, definitely been crying.
"You want to talk about it?" Olivia asked, tipping back her shot. She noticed Maxie still had a full martini to the side. "It must be pretty bad."
"Oh, you don't even know." She huffed. She sat back and looked Olivia in the eye.
"Well, people tell me I'm a good listener." Olivia said, truly wanting to help, but also to escape from her own problems with Dante and Sonny.
"You really want to hear about all of this?" Maxie asked, doubtful, raising an eyebrow.
Olivia shrugged. "Sure. Maybe I can help."
Maxie chuckled darkly. "Thanks but I'm pretty sure no one can help with this." Maxie sighed, and took a big sip of her drink, as if she needed the strength to get through the story. She forwards, elbows on the table, which made Olivia think if her mother back in Bensonhurst. Her mother would slap at their elbow with a ruler if she saw them on the table. Olivia chuckled despite herself.
Maxie didn't seem to notice because she launched right into her story. "I guess it started when Spinelli shot- I mean dropped something on his foot. It got infected pretty bad and I wanted to get it checked out. So I took him over to GH where this tramp intern took care of her. Her name was Claire, something like that. She was basically all over him, but I didn't say anything because I didn't think Spinelli would do anything stupid. I guess he went over some other time because when I went to see him today over at Jason's house, I heard his not so subtle confession that he slept with her." Maxie finished sorrowfully, putting her head in her hands.
"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry." Olivia said, reaching over the table and rubbing Maxie's arm. Maxie couldn't help but think of the action as motherly. She wished she had a mom as great as Olivia.
Maxie looked up at Olivia and smiled gratefully. "It's just that, I'm not used to this feeling. Usually, I'm the one who is cheating and lying. Now I know how the guys I cheat on feel. And I don't like it at all."
Olivia sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, why do you think he did it?"
"I have no idea!" Maxie moaned. "I don't think I was making him unhappy. I love him so much, Olivia."
"Did you talk to him about this? Like, what did you do when you found out?" Olivia asked, not sure what to say.
"Oh, believe me, I made a huge mess. Jason left and I started throwing things. I hope I didn't hurt Spinelli. Oh wait, yes I do. God, I don't know what I mean." Maxie said, her conflicted feelings plain on her face.
"I get it, you still love him but you're pretty pissed. It's okay to be confused, hun." Olivia said. "And, if he loves you the way you love him, then as long as you forgive him, I think you two will survive."
"Thanks Olivia, that means a lot." Maxie said, holding up her drink. "Cheers." She said, and Olivia chuckled as she clinked her glass with hers. They both downed their drinks.
"So, what brings you here on this fine night?" Maxie said, becoming more comfortable around Olivia. "Boy drama?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, yes. But nothing nearly s bad as yours." Olivia laughed.
"Oh, what did Sonny do this time?" Maxie said knowingly.
"Business as usual. He had to cancel our dinner date. Whatever." She said, taking one last sip of her drink. "I'm going to go get some more drinks, you want some?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll just come with you." Maxie said, standing up and stretching her cramped muscles.
They made their way to the bar, just as Coleman turned the volume up on the small TV.
Some of the words floated back to the girls as they stood laughing.
21 year old Claire Martin was murdered tonight, just a little while ago. Such a shame that a young intern over at GH had to meet her end in such a horrible way. Pictures may be released in time. Jason Morgan has been arrested under suspicion of this murder. More on the subject later….
Maxie froze in shock. She pitched forward.
Olivia gasped and caught her arm.
She held back Maxie's hair as she retched onto the floor.
**********
Dante was ambling along the road, head down, hands in his pocket. He had stepped out of his apartment after making sure Lulu was sound asleep. Sleep for him had been impossible since the rape.
He had planned to pick up a few things at a CVS or something, but he found himself traveling back to the park.
The very same park where he had sped to after getting Lulu's call. He remembered the feeling, the horrible heart pounding, and shaky feeling. He had no clue where she was and if she was hurt. And this time, he knew who had done these horrible things to her.
Calm down. He told himself, noticing that his hands were trembling. It was different this time. He knew that Lulu was safe and sound back at his apartment and this time he knew the sonofabitch who hurt her.
And he would pay.
Dante didn't plan on going inside the park, yet his feet carried him there.
He went by the bench that he had sat on, remembering the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. He looked down at the spot where he had seen Lulu's cell phone lying on the ground.
He stood back up and ducked through the scraggly branches and came face to face with the silent woods. The woods he had run through, trying to get to the love of his life while she was in danger.
He couldn't yet see the cabin, and since he went this far, he wanted to go all the way. It was his cop-like nature.
He crept forward carefully, gun on his hip, hoping he wouldn't have to use it, but knowing if he came across Johnny Zacchara, he wouldn't hesitate to blow his brains out.
Great, now he sounded just as psycho as the person he hated, Sonny Corinthos.
The silent night that surrounded him became suffocating, and he wanted more than anything to be lying next to Lulu. Listening to the sound of her breathing, and drying her tears when she woke form the nightmares that the cold hearted bastard gave her. He hoped she didn't wake up and he wasn't there for her. Again.
He sighed, stopping as the ghostly shadow of the cabin loomed before him. His breath caught in his throat, and he looked down at his shoes as tears filmed his eyes. He rubbed his cold, chapped hands together and looked up again.
He froze in shock as he saw another shadow standing by the cabin. As far as he knew, no one knew about this place. The police would have heard Lulu screaming.
That would mean the only person here would be Johnny Zacchara himself.
In fact, the person in front of him had the exact same shape, and build as Johnny.
Fury filled his entire body until he shook with rage. His hands clenched into fists at his side, and he knew that if he did get his hands on Johnny, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Fueled by the rage, Dante forced himself to be quiet, and he continued slinking through the woods.
As he approached closer, he noticed that Johnny was standing with his back to Dante, facing the cabin. He looked up at it, running a hand through his hair.
Dante wondered if he even felt remorse for what he had done. Certainly no guilt, because he would have confessed by now.
Dante's was inhaling sharp breaths through his nose, and his right hand found the gun concealed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked down at the shiny exterior, the black of the gun blending in with the black of the night.
As Dante kept walking closer, he kept wondering, why would Johnny return to the scene of the crime?
Finally Dante was at least a foot behind him and he closed the gap quickly.
He grabbed Johnny with his left arm, and cocked the gun with his right, feeling Johnny's body tense up as he jammed the gun in the back of his skull.
"Don't move." Dante said in a husky voice.
"Hey man, take it easy." Johnny pleaded, trying to twist out of his grasp.
"You sonofabitch, what makes you think you can abuse girls like that huh?" Dante said, growing angrier by the second and he jammed the gun into his skull even harder. It was probably going to leave a bruise. Only one of many that riddled Lulu's body.
"Oh, Dominic, how's it going?" Johnny said, recognizing his voice. "Guess Lulu told you what happened. Well, listen man, I'm sure she didn't tell you everything." He tried to twist around and look Dante in the eye. "She made me want her so bad."
Dante could barely see he was so upset. He kicked the back of Johnny's knees so they gave out. Once Johnny was on his knees, Dante butted the gun into his back, causing him to writhe in pain.
"Don't ever say that again." Dante whispered menacingly in his ear. "She never wanted you, still doesn't want you, and that's why you raped her."
"If you never came around, she would still be mine!" Johnny yelled, jealousy dripping from the words. He turned and punching Dante in the face.
Dante's head whipped back in surprise, but he came back full on. He turned back to Johnny, pointing the gun at his chest and putting some pressure on the trigger. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now." Dante ordered.
"This is all your fault." Johnny whispered, not backing down. He looked into the detectives eyes. "Damn, you must really love her." He said, standing up and brushing off his knees, like there wasn't a gun pointed at him.
Dante kept his aim. "Of course I love her. You would be stupid not to. But that doesn't give you the right to rape her! You ruined the rest of her life! When you were done with her, she was bloody and bruised and you didn't even care, as long as you got what you wanted you selfish pig!" Dante yelled, hating how is voice cracked at the end. He would not show weakness in front of this man.
"You don't deserve her." Johnny snarled.
"She doesn't want you." Dante fired back. "We love each other, and we are going to have a life, without you in it." Dante said, taking a step closer.
While all this was unfolding, Dante had calmed down. He had stopped seeing red, and was seeing the logic of this situation. He was a cop for chrissake. He couldn't shoot this man, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Go ahead. Shoot me." Johnny said, throwing out his arms. "I have nothing to live for." He said, and he seemed to mean it.
Dante thought this through, but he knew he was going to do it anyway.
With his gun still aimed at Johnny, Dante reached into his left pocket and pulled out his badge. He felt some sort of satisfaction watching Johnny's eyes bug out of his head.
"Johnny Zacchara, you are under arrest for the rape of Lulu Spencer."
**********
So what do you think? Not bad huh? Sorry to leave such a cliff hanger, but I wanted to keep you guys still reading. Please comment, I love reading them. I promise I won't take so long to post the next chapter. Thanks.
Xoxo
Janelle