Chapter 23- Rae's Advice
Rae arrived at the yacht club and knocked on Erica's penthouse. When Erica opened the door, she groaned.
"It wasn't enough that you stole Myrtle from me?" Erica said. "But now you have to stalk me?"
Rae crossed her arms. "I did not steal Myrtle from you."
"She kicked me out of her home! Never ever has she done that before."
"Probably because, I don't know… you were berating her granddaughter?"
Erica laughed. "Oh, believe me, Skye deserves worse than that. She—"
"You say whatever you want to me. Treat me however you want. But Skye is off limits."
"She doesn't need her mommy fighting her battles. She's already turned this town upside down before. She deserves anything she gets. And suddenly finding out that she's your daughter doesn't magically erase everything she's done."
"No, but if you throw insults at her like that it's only going to further damage any chance of her growing and healing. I will not stand for it. She's already in a fragile state right now, she doesn't need you tearing into her."
"Are you quite finished?"
"No," Rae said. "I know how important you are to Mama. She's been so supportive to me and Skye, but she needs someone too. So, if you want to take any of this out on me, we'll do it in private. Don't do it in front of Mama or Skye. Please support Mama through this, she needs you right now."
FargateFargateFargate
Rae arrived back at Myrtle's to find her mother washing dishes.
"Hey, is Skye awake yet?" Rae asked.
Myrtle turned the tap off, dried her hands, and walked over to Rae. "I was starting to get through to her. I think it moved her."
Rae's eyes grew wide. "Really?"
She nodded. "Until Todd Manning showed up."
Rae groaned. "What was he doing here?"
"Looking for you. He couldn't seem to accept that you weren't counseling him right now."
"I don't even want to counsel him anymore."
"Skye doesn't know that. Todd was messing with her head. He said that you care about him more than you do her."
Rae sighed. "See, this is one of the reasons I wanted to drop him as a patient. He digs too much into my personal life and demands that I counsel him at any given time, regardless of whether he has an appointment or not. And especially when I found out he framed Skye, I didn't want anything to do with him."
"Skye needs to know this."
Rae nodded. "It feels like whenever Skye and I make one step forward, we go ten steps back. I'll go talk to her."
Rae made her way upstairs and knocked on Skye's door. She pushed it open a bit to find Skye looking out the window.
"Skye? Can we talk?"
She turned around and walked over to her. "I forgot my Whac-A-Mole at Daddy's. I have to go get it."
"Oh, okay, well I can go with you, or if you want, I can just get it. But can we please talk first?"
"About what?"
"About Todd. Mama said that he stopped by."
Skye sighed. "What? That you don't care that he framed me and you're continuing to shrink him anyway? I know the routine… you're just doing your job and your job and Todd are more important to you than I am. Whatever… I need to get my Whac-A-Mole." She started to head out, but Rae stopped her.
"No. None of that is true. Please, sit down and I will explain."
"I don't want to sit down. I want to get my Whac-A-Mole."
"Please…"
Skye locked eyes with her for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, fine. Just because I know I won't hear the end of it from Grandma if I don't."
They sat at the edge of Skye's bed, but Skye scooted a little away from her.
"I've been trying to drop Todd as my patient for a while now. When you were in jail and I found out you are my daughter, I took some time off. But Todd still would show up at all hours. John and I even came home late one night, and Todd was sitting at my desk waiting for me. That was probably when he stole the Bible page… I gave in and continued to see him but not my other patients, but when I realized he framed you I tried to completely drop him. I thought I'd be fine since he was in jail, but then he pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. But the judge thought he was sane enough to not be locked up, but he has court ordered therapy. I explained to the judge that it's a conflict of interest for me, but he ordered that I continue to counsel him until he can find a new therapist. I saw him one time before we went to Port Charles, that was when you overheard us… Then I was able to get a leave of absence and Todd's been trying to contact me every day since. So no, Todd Manning isn't more important to me than you are, I can't stand the man. In fact, there is nothing more important to me than you are. I know we haven't gotten along well, but that fact will never change."
"Well, okay," Skye said. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."
Rae smiled. "You don't need to be sorry. Especially given our past, you're still learning that you can trust me. But thank you for hearing me out."
Skye scooted back closer to her. "Since you're in the talking mood… I could use some advice."
Rae's eyes grew wide. "Some advice?"
"About a relationship."
"A relationship? Do you mean with Jax or Lorenzo Alcazar?"
"Both, really."
Rae sighed. "Oh, Skye… you don't plan on seeing them both, do you?"
"What? No, no. I'm just torn between them. That's all."
"Okay, well, I'm going to bite my tongue on my initial thoughts, and I'd like to hear you out."
"But I want to know your initial thoughts," Skye said.
"Well, based on the information I have, Jax rescued my daughter from a frozen lake and Lorenzo may have locked my daughter in a boathouse to freeze to death. So, as your mother I'm a little concerned about you hanging around, let alone dating a mobster."
Skye shrugged. "See my issue?"
Rae scrunched her face. "Sorry, can you be a little more vague?"
Skye rolled her eyes. "I can't stop thinking about Jax. I mean in between all the other thoughts I can't shut down. He's kind to me. And I can't find any reason for it except that it's just his nature. He makes me feel good about myself. And he made me realize that Whac-A-Mole is fun and a good way to vent my anger. It also kind of made me realize maybe it isn't such a degrading thing to be descended from an old carnie. And he called and texted me a lot before my phone was destroyed. It's like he really liked me with no ulterior motive."
"And it sounds to me like you really like him too."
"Except I hurt him. He didn't even come into my hospital room after he rescued me. AJ told me that Jax knows I was seeing Lorenzo too."
"Any why were you seeing them at the same time?" Rae asked.
"Well, it's not like Jax and I were officially a couple yet."
"That doesn't matter. You shouldn't date more than one man at once. That just sends a message that you won't be committed to one person. Even if that wasn't your intention, Skye, it's still the message that you send."
"But I wasn't trying to hurt him. I just wanted…"
"You wanted Alan's attention."
"You saw how he was with Emily. He didn't hesitate a minute. He just waltzed right upstairs to protect the little girl that he loves."
"Oh, honey, you don't know that he wouldn't do the same thing for you," Rae said.
"That's just it. I wanted to know. And I still do."
"You should've seen Alan when you were in the hospital. He was terrified, we all were. He wants Lorenzo to pay for this if he was the one who locked you in there. He does care about you and wants to get to know you. But you don't need to put yourself in danger in order to test people to see if they care."
"So, I guess feigning a sprained ankle in front of Jax's place isn't the way to win him over?"
Rae laughed. "No."
"You're the expert… Then how do I make him fall in love with me?"
"Oh, Skye, there's no magic formula to make a man love you. All you can do is be yourself and be honest. I would start by apologizing for seeing Lorenzo and explain what you're going through. That is, if you feel like you're ready for a relationship right now. You're dealing with a great deal. So, you need to ask yourself, are you able to put enough effort and time into a relationship right now? And will this be a good outlet for you, or will it just add more to your plate?"
"I just want to hang out with someone that isn't tied to all the drama of whether I'm a Chandler, a Quartermaine, a Cummings, or a Fargate."
Rae nodded. "Then I think Jax would be a good escape for you. Even if it just becomes a friendship. But Lorenzo… I don't think any good will come with hanging around him, whether or not he locked you in the boathouse."
Skye lowered her gaze. "I guess you're right."
"Skye!" Myrtle called from downstairs. "Your Uncle Stuart is here."
Skye's face lit right up, and she hugged Rae. "Thanks for the advice, Mom."
