Time seemed to stand still between the trio as the revelation that Billy knew what was happening between Jack and Phyllis hung heavily between them, unable to face the tension anymore Phyllis was the first to speak. "I should go, I am sure you have things you need to discuss, and I have somewhere I need to be …"
Shrugging off Billy's coat she handed it to him, not even stopping to look over her shoulder as she walked towards her car, fumbling around in her bag for her keys before finally managing to open the door, climbing inside she leaned her head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath, wondering when the universe would finally decide she deserved a break.
"Vic," he began.
"You lied," she pointed out, cutting him off before he had a chance to try and explain.
"It wasn't my story to tell," Billy reasoned, folding his coat and hanging it over his arm. "Look, why don't we go inside," he suggested motioning towards the entrance.
Ever since she had caught Billy comforting Phyllis, Victoria had been unable to ignore the nagging feeling that something was going on between the pair, something that he was hiding from her. "Why? So you can lie to me some more?"
"It's not like tha, I just … I was respecting their privacy," Billy sighed, even though the minute the words were out of his mouth he knew it was not going to be enough for her. "Now you know as much as I do," he tried to reassure her.
"Do I?" Victoria wondered.
Billy looked up at the sky, his eyes fixated on the angry rain clouds that were looming over them. "I don't know what else I can say," he breathed, his tone heavy with defeat, he loved Victoria, he wanted a future with her and his children, but it seemed like every time they reached a good place something would always come between them.
"There is nothing left to say," she agreed, looking down at her phone as a message appeared on her screen, opening it she let out a long breath, she had totally forgotten she was supposed to be meeting Nick. "I have to go," she excused.
"Don't leave like this, please," Billy pleaded, not wanting to leave things as they were.
Victoria looked up at him. "We'll talk later."
Realizing that was the best he was going to get Billy nodded. "I'll see you at home."
Entering Crimson Lights she looked around for a few seconds before she finally spotted Nick sitting in the corner booth, throwing her bag onto the seat she sat down, propping her elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands.
"Hello to you too," Nick chuckled, motioning towards the coffee cup in front of her. "It's probably cold now so you might want to order a new one," he suggested as she looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed and full of fury.
Lifting her head from her hands Victoria shrugged before picking up the cup and taking a series of long, heavy gulps. "It's fine."
"Is it," Nick wondered, sensing straight off that there was something else going on with, something he could tell was eating away at her.
Putting the cup back down she narrowed her eyes in his direction. "Are we still talking about the coffee?"
"We're talking about whatever it is you want to talk about," Nick suggested. "Because clearly something is on your mind," he observed.
Remembering back to her earlier confrontation with Billy she laughed bitterly. "It's not my story to tell," she mumbled, echoing almost the exact same words that had been used on her earlier, every nerve in her body alight with the sense that something was very wrong and that the situation that was starting to unfold was a lot bigger than just Phyllis needing a time out from her marriage.
She knew her and her ex-sister-in-law would never be close, but she knew enough about who Phyllis was as a person to know that she was not the type to back down from a fight, she also knew how much the redhead loved her husband and how much they had already overcome to finally be able to say their vows. Which meant that whatever had happened, and whatever role her father might have played in it was something huge and that whatever this secret was the people around her were going to great lengths to keep it buried.
"Have you spoken to Phyllis lately?" Victoria wondered, wanting to get a sense of how much her brother might know, after all, he and Phyllis would always be a part of each other's lives; they shared a long and complicated history full of highs and lows as well as a daughter together.
"No, not for a while, why?" Nick questioned, confused as to why Victoria would suddenly be so interested in his interactions, or lack thereof with his ex-wife.
Deciding she couldn't keep it to herself any longer she looked up at him, needing to see his face so that she could gauge his reaction. "Did you know her and Jack are having problems? And that she has moved into the GCAC?"
"No, I had no idea, do you know why? I mean what happened … they seemed so … solid," Nick stammered, genuinely shocked by the news and trying to remember the last time he had spoken to Phyllis in more than passing as the guilt started to creep up on him about just how much he had let certain friendships and relationships in his life fall to the wayside recently, especially ones that were important to him.
Victoria could see the obvious shock and concern on her brother's face. "I have no idea, I think it has something to do with Dad though," she worried, finally admitting her suspicions out loud.
"How? I mean … that doesn't even make sense, why would Phyllis leave Jack because of Dad?" Nick wondered, trying to link the pieces together in his head and failing to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Knowing that he deserved to know just as much as she did Victoria began to explain what had happened between Jack and Victor and how incensed and full of rage the Abbott man had been as he had tried to strangle his long-time nemesis. "Jack obviously blames him," she concluded as Nick sat there in stunned silence, unable to comprehend everything he was hearing.
"I have to go," Nick announced, looking down at his phone. The message alert was from a marketing company asking him if he wanted to get 30% off of every purchase he made online this weekend, but it was also the perfect cover-up he needed to make his exit. "That was Sage, she needs me," he lied as he finished the rest of his coffee before heading over to the counter to order another to go.
As Victoria watched him leave, she knew he was lying, her suspicions further confirmed as she heard him place an order for a double shot skim latte because that was Phyllis's coffee of choice, Sage always ordered an americano with creamer.
Pulling up at the GCAC Nick pulled out his cell phone, dialing his daughter's number he listened as it rang a few times before she finally answered the phone. After they exchanged pleasantries he started to explain that he had some paperwork he needed to drop off with Phyllis, hoping that he could use it as an excuse to get her room number from Summer, hoping at least, that their daughter knew where her mother was staying.
He was just about to ask when he spotted her car parked a few spaces down, the familiar form of the woman in question sat in the driver's seat, her head resting on the steering wheel.
"Never mind Super Girl, I found the message now," he lied, hanging up on his daughter after promising that he would check in with her tomorrow.
Getting out of the car he cautiously approached her, knocking gently on the passenger's side window when she didn't seem to register his presence. He bit back his concern as she jumped at the noise, silently telling himself that it was normal for her to react like that because it was dark outside and until a few minutes ago she had been alone in the parking lot.
"Hey," he greeted as she let down the window.
"Hey," she echoed as he took in her pale face and bloodshot eyes, an obvious sign that she had been crying.
Nick looked around at the virtually empty lot, shivering slightly at the cold wind that circled around them. "What are you doing out here?" he wondered, trying to keep his tone casual. "It's freezing."
"I was on the phone and didn't want to walk and talk at the same time," she lied.
Reaching through the window he handed her the coffee, lifting up his own and taking a sip from it. "You look like you could use this," he softly explained, opening the door and getting into the seat next to her.
"Who told you?" Phyllis wanted to know, realizing that the only reason her ex-husband would be bringing her coffee close to midnight was because someone had filled him in on her new living arrangements.
"Does it matter," Nick shrugged. "I just came to see if you are ok."
Phyllis took a sip from the coffee. "You remembered," she smiled tiredly.
"Of course I did," he replied, feeling a little saddened that she thought he might have forgotten how she took her coffee after all these years. "And you are avoiding the question," he added.
"I'm not, I just don't know how to answer that right now," she admitted, feeling too emotionally drained to lie.
Nick nodded, not knowing what to say to that. "Why don't we go inside, it's late and freezing out here," he suggested as he watched her tremble against the cold.
"Ok," Phyllis agreed, gathering her phone, purse and coffee as she waited for him to climb out the passenger's side before getting out herself and locking the door.
Silently they made their way inside the GCAC, the dining room virtually empty except for a few late-night drinkers who were sitting perched at the bar. "You want a drink?" he asked.
"No, the coffee is fine," she insisted as she headed straight for the elevator.
Not really knowing what to say or do, Nick followed her towards her room, silently making a note of the number so that he would know where to find her in future as she motioned for him to come inside.
Sitting down on the couch he watched as she pulled on an oversized sweater, something that made her look a lot smaller and more vulnerable than she had just seconds before. As she sat down next to him, he didn't even know where to start, something that was very alien to him because things had always been easy between him and Phyllis, much more so than with any of his other ex-wives.
"Listen, Phyllis," he cautiously began. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but Victoria told me about what happened … how Jack nearly …"
"He's angry," Phyllis shrugged.
"I got that much, but what I don't understand is what any of this has to do with my Dad," Nick admitted. "I mean I know he and Jack have had their problems and always will but why does he blame him for this, for you living here and …"
Nick's voice trailed off as he watched her eyes cloud over, the deep green taking on an almost fearful hue as she moved back into the couch, physically and emotionally pulling away from him.
"Look Nick, I appreciate your concern. I really do but I can't talk about this with you, it wouldn't be fair to Jack and it's not fair to you so please … I'm tired, really, really tired and I need you to leave," she pleaded, her voice small and broken, once again setting alarm bell's ringing inside Nick that there was a lot more to this situation than he could even begin to comprehend.
Without saying a word Nick nodded, watching as she stood up and threw her coffee cup in the bin, her hands clenched into a fist by her side as if she was trying to hide from him just how much they were shaking.
"Phyllis," he began, not wanting to leave her alone like this.
"Please," she began, her voice cracking as she walked towards the door and opened it. "If you care, and I know you do, then you will respect my wishes and leave," she asked, her hand now gripped firmly on the door handle. "I just really need to be alone right now," she concluded as she pulled the door further open.
In that moment Nick wanted nothing more than to take her by the hands and plead with her to let him in, to tell him what had gotten her so upset but he could see that she was barely hanging on right now and knew that it wasn't his place to be that person in her life anymore. So, he did the only thing he could and decided to respect her wishes.
"Ok," he agreed. "But Phyllis, if you need anything, anything at all then you know where I am."
With a gentle nod of the head Phyllis waited for him to leave before closing the door, kicking her shoes off she walked over to the bed and crawled under the covers, not even bothering to take off her clothes as she curled herself up as small as she could. Terrified that everything was starting to unravel again and that there was nothing she could do to stop the ball from rolling down the hill, not now, not with so many people wanting answers.
Closing her eyes she silently pleaded with the world to stop turning, just for a day so that she could have the time she needed to take a deep breath, pick herself up and gather her bearings.