Chapter Twenty-Five

She exhaled heavily at the thud of the front door shutting.

Cautiously, Elizabeth stepped onto the staircase and peered into the living room. She was alone at last, which meant she could do all the sulking she liked without having to worry. She wasn't up for faking any smiles today.

Carefully taking the rest of the steps, she headed in the direction of the kitchen to only freeze abruptly. The front door swung open and voices penetrated the silenced followed by the footsteps of more than one person. The Four Musketeers trudged into the penthouse in single file in the midst of what appeared to be a heated argument.

"You know I thought you were just stupid when it came to sports and women, but I'm starting to think you have rocks for a brain," Francis muttered.

"Do you ever keep your opinions to yourself?" Max asked over his shoulder as he made his way through the door.

"Nope, it would be like breaking a cosmic rule if I did," the Italian retorted.

"Well, if you don't be quiet I might just have to shut you up myself."

"Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots," Max said, rolling his eyes.

"You should be," the oldest Musketeer growled, glaring fiercely.

"What are—"

"Alright, break it up," Johnny, the peace keeper inserted himself between the two. "You're both being idiots. You," he pointed at Max, "just ask the woman out already. It's not like you're proposing marriage to Jill. And you," he pointed at Francis, "you shouldn't be talking when you're being a pansy." Before either one of the others could respond, the Irishman moved on to the youngest Musketeer. "And can you tear yourself away from that thing of yours, fancy pants?"

"Fancy pants?" Adam echoed.

Dismissing the others with a wave of his hand, Johnny focused his attention on Elizabeth. He smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, sleepy head," he greeted her, flashing her a friendly smile. "This is for you," he handed over a white paper cup insulated by a cardboard sleeve.

She was smiling pitifully. She knew she was.

"Good afternoon," she mumbled back, watching them with widened eyes.

"How's the head this morning?" Adam asked politely, shutting the door behind him.

"Not as bad as it could be," she said. "What is this, Johnny?" she inquired, frowning at the cup.

"White mocha, Elizabeth," he answered. "I figured you could use the caffeine, but you can barely taste it with the chocolate."

"I would take it if I were you," Max commented. "Considering how tiny you are, I doubt your body has burned off the alcohol yet. I heard you went a little overboard on the shots last night," he said, smirking.

"Why did you get drunk last night?" Francis chided. "We expected Brenda or Emily to get plastered, not you. It's not like you, shortie."

"I was not plastered. I was not drunk. I was a little screwed up," Elizabeth defended herself. "That's all I was."

"Don't any of you have manners?" Adam snipped. "She doesn't have to explain herself. She's a grown woman who can do whatever she pleases."

Elizabeth smiled gratefully at the young guard. "Thank you, Adam."

"Go away, fancy pants," Francis waved him off.

"Stop calling me that," he growled.

Ignoring his fellow musketeers, Johnny sat down and patted the seat between him and Francis. "Come here, kid."

Reluctantly, Elizabeth made her way to his side. Collapsing next to him, she leaned back and fixed her eyes on the ceiling. Deciding that hurt her head, she closed her eyelids and did her best to ignore all the eyes boring into her. Her head still ached and her stomach remained twisted in knots. She didn't know who she came home with last night. All she had were a handful of flashbacks that only made her skin crawl.

What had she done?

She fought back the tears that burned her eyes, but one still escaped.

Gently fingers messaged the kinks in her shoulder. "Want to tell us what's wrong?"

Eyes still shut, Elizabeth pondered Johnny's question. She had nothing to lose now. "It's embarrassing," she sighed.

"That's okay," Adam replied gently. "We all have moments we wish never happened."

She sighed heavily.

"That's a sigh of an untold story. Spill, Liz Bits," Max urged, gruffly. "We're here to help."

"I did something stupid," she grumbled.

"Other than getting hammered?"

"Shut up, Francis," Johnny growled.

"Will you two numb skulls let the girl speak?" Adam added.

"So I got drunk last night."

"You don't say," Max said sarcastically. "Sorry," he quickly added for the others could do him bodily harm.

"I decided drowning myself in my sorrows was the best way to get over the fact that I fell in love with Jason," she sniffled, swiping at her tears. "I promised myself that I would never give anyone the power to hurt me again, but I had to go ahead and fall in love with a generous, honest, loyal, down to earth gentleman who loves his daughter more than anything in the world. I'm ruining your suit," Elizabeth mumbled, patting the wet spots on Johnny's gray dress shirt.

"He'll survive," Francis reassured her.

"And to top it all off, he would die before he let anyone hurt his family," she continued on, giving up on attempting to brush her tears away. "And the fool that I am, I fell head over heels in love with the one man that I can't have."

"Sweetheart," Johnny whispered, pulling her into his arms.

She was sobbing hysterically now, but she didn't care. "And to make matters worse, I slept with a total stranger last night and can't even remember who it was. God, what if he didn't use any protection."

"That's not possible," Francis said from the other side of her.

"I think I'd know if I slept with someone," she snapped, turning to glare at the Irishman. "It may all be a gigantic jigsaw puzzle in my head, but I'm pretty sure I know that I had sex with someone last night."

"Johnny brought you home last night."

At Adam's words, Elizabeth pulled away from Johnny. Her gasp of horror echoed in the penthouse. Her hand flew to her mouth as she gawked at the guard. "Please," she whispered weakly. "Please tell me we didn't..."

He frowned at her. "Of course not, I'm not a jerk like these idiots think I am. You're like my baby sister." His green eyes reflected the honesty of his words. "Brenda, Emily, and I brought you home last night and I'm pretty sure there was no faceless drunk with us."

Sagging against Johnny in relief, Elizabeth accepted the comfort he offered. "Thank god."

"Uh..." Adam trailed off.

"I know, kid," Francis said to him.

"Oh boy," Max said.

Slowly, the frazzled nerve ending of her brain grew fully awake and it dawned on Elizabeth. A gasp slipped from her lips and fresh tears gathered in her eyes. She barely acknowledged Johnny's comfortingly rubbing her back or the sympathetic smiles that her friends gave her. Breathing became difficult as her mind deliriously searched for anything to negate her thoughts.

Helplessly, Elizabeth buried her face in Johnny's chest and muffled a sob.

"Oh God, what have I done?"

And that was how Jason found them. Elizabeth staining Johnny's shirt with tears as he patted her back in comfort while the others looked on.