Devil In A White Dress
Summary: Cameron should've listened to Josslyn when she insisted that Esme was bad news. Maybe if he had, she and Trina wouldn't be missing.
It was supposed to be a normal night. Cam had decided to go to the dorm that Trina and Josslyn shared. The three were going to order some pizza and watch some Netflix. Unfortunately, something was off as soon as he stepped into the room. It was in obvious disarry. The desk chair was knocked over, pictures from the desk were on the floor, the door jamb was messed up. Worst of all were the faint blood drops he spotted on the floor and the fact that Josslyn and Trina were nowhere to be found.
With shaky hands, Cameron had reached into his jeans pocket to pull out his phone and call 911. He was unable to hold back the sob in his voice as he asked for help. Then, he'd hung up and called the other people who mattered. Trina's mother and Josslyn's parents, then his own mother. He was still rooted in place when the police rushed into the room and even when his mother hurried in to throw her arms around him in a tight hug. He heard the other students who'd come out of their rooms because of all the commotion whispering amongst themselves.
Things were a blur after that. He barely remembered being led out of the dorm room or being driven to the police station.
The next thing Cam knew, he was seated in one of hard plastic chairs at the police station, Chase in front of him.
"Now, I've got to ask, at what time did you show up at Trina and Josslyn's dorm?" Chase questioned seriously, taking a seat in front of him at the table, recorder on the table and notepad in front of him.
Cam swallowed down the lump in his throat and replied. "Around 5:45 this afternoon. Joss, Trina, and I were planning on ordering pizza to their dorm and watching some Netflix. I knew something was wrong immediately. The room was a mess and they were nowhere to be found. I called the cops as soon as I realized what was going on."
Chase nodded at that before pushing a box of tissues across the table to him. "You didn't touch anything in the room, right?" He queried.
The teenage boy shook his head. "No." He cleared his throat before repeating. "No. Only the doorknob."
"Your doing great." The officer told him kindly, rewarding him with a reassuring smile. "Now a final question. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt both Trina Robinson and Josslyn Jacks?"
Cam's breath caught in his throat then and he pulled his legs up into the chair, resting his chin on his knees. "Yeah. Esme Prince. Spencer Cassadine's girlfriend. Neither of them liked or trusted her. They thought that she might've been the one in control of everything that he did to Ava."
Chase rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. "And what about you? Did you think the same as them?"
He looked down guiltily. "No. I thought maybe Esme was really sorry about what she and Spencer had done. I suggested to Joss that she didn't want to believe a boy she'd known her whole life was capable of what Spencer did."
The man across from him didn't say anything to that, knowing well that even if he told the boy it wasn't his fault, there was no way that he'd believe him. Instead, he stood to his feet and led him out the door and into his mother's waiting arms, promising he'd call as soon as his friends were found.
It was Spencer who ended up giving Chase and the other officers their lead. He was still in his jail cell, awaiting the arraignment hearing when Chase went to see him. As soon as he saw the boy seated on the bed in the cell, head lowered down, staring at something, he thought of what Cam had said. Biting his lip, he stepped in front of the cell and called out the boy in question's name.
Spencer looked up sharply, dark eyes fastening on to Chase's. "What do you want?" He spat out, all sharp edges, mask of the pretentious prince painted onto his face.
"It's about your girlfriend, Esme Prince." Chase answered back seriously.
A look came into his eye that Chase couldn't pinpoint. "What about her?" Spencer questioned the older man, trying to sound older than his eighteen years.
"Josslyn Jacks and Trina Robinson are missing. Cameron Webber went to meet them at their dorm to hangout, only to find the room torn apart. When I questioned him earlier, I asked if there was anyone both of them didn't get along with. He told me that they didn't like or trust Esme."
The boy stiffened at that, a look of fear overtaking his features. "You've...you've got to be wrong." He stuttered. "There's no way that Esme would hurt them. She knows how much I care about them."
Chase frowned at that word choice, immediately picking up on it. "You said that she wouldn't hurt anyone you cared about. Would she hurt other people?"
Spencer swallowed and looked away at that. "Of course not!" He exclaimed, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself more than anything. "She never did anything that I didn't ask her to."
"You know, I was like you once. I met this woman during a case I was working on, before I came to Port Charles. I believed everything that she told me, even when I shouldn't have. Even when she was the only one around when her fiance died. And then she came here and began to really destroy lives."
At once, Spencer knew who Chase was talking about. He wasn't really around for all of the drama and hurt Nelle had caused, but he knew that she'd manipulated Josslyn, using the fact that the girl had thought of her as her sister and that she was her kidney donor against her. Of course, he knew of Nelle Benson's other crimes. How she'd attempted to kill Michael, how she'd been suspected of murdering her former fiance, the fact that she'd pretended Wiley was dead. He knew that she'd married that cult leader, Shiloh when she found out that Michael had moved on and the fact that she'd used his cousin, Morgan against Carly, sending her to Ferncliff. It was eerily familiar when he thought about it. His shoulders slumped and he whispered, "Esme was really obsessed with Josslyn. Trina told me that Esme mentioned the scar Josslyn has from her kidney transplant. I've never mentioned that to her. Or where it was. And after my dad kicked me out because of what I did to Ava, she tried to convince me that I should be pissed at Josslyn and Cam, but especially Josslyn."
Chase's eyes widened at that and he silently said a prayer of thanks, happy his tactic had gotten the boy before him to open up. "Okay, do you have any idea where Esme could've taken them?"
Spencer bit his hard enough that he could taste blood. "She knows about the catacombs." His voice shook as he said the words. "The ones under Wyndemere. I've shown them to her. Before that, I talked about them enough."
When the cops arrived at Wyndemere to check out the catacombs, Ava and Nikolas were alarmed, even moreso when they found out the reason why. Chase, who was still supposed to take it easy, sat with Ava to help her calm down as he explained everything to she and Nikolas.
Meanwhile, Valerie and the other officers had split up to try and find the missing teens. It was the terrified sobbing that she faintly heard that led her to them. When she got there, her heart leapt into her throat as she saw Josslyn and Trina standing there, Josslyn looking weak as she was supported by Trina, bleeding through her shirt. In her hand, she gripped a piece of wood that she'd obviously used to knock out their suspect.
It's Trina who notices her first, dark eyes full of panic as she begs, "Oh, thank god! Joss needs to go to the hospital. Esme stabbed her when Joss knocked her out."
Valerie hurries forward to help Josslyn, ripping off her jacket to put pressure against the blonde's side as the other officers show up to process the scene and check up on Esme.
It felt like forever before the paramedics showed up, loading Josslyn onto a stretcher, rushing her out of the catacombs.
Trina clung to Valerie sobbing gut wrenchingly hard as they followed her friend out.
It was midnight when Elizabeth got the call. Cam had worn himself out about an hour ago and was fast asleep, curled on the couch. A huge breath of relief escaped her lips as Portia told her in a watery voice that Josslyn and Trina had been found just in time and were in the hospital. She hung up on her friend before she could find out anything farther and shook her son awake.
He sat up almost immediately. "Mom? Did they call? Were Joss and Trina found? Are they okay?" The questions spilled from his mouth before his mother could answer, his eyes wide and hopeful.
Liz nodded. "They are, honey. They are. They were found in the catacombs under Wyndemere. They're at the hospital now. I'll take you to them, just go and splash some water on your face first, okay? And grab a jacket."
Cam nodded and stood to his feet, hurrying up the stairs and to the very bathroom he'd been in when Josslyn had helped him buzz off his hair for Franco. His breath caught in his throat at that, the feeling that took over him hard to shake. He gripped the sink before him for a moment, breathing in some calming breaths before he finally turned on the cold water. Cupping his hands under the faucet, he splashed it on his face and then stared in the mirror. His cheeks were splotchy from his sobbing and his eyes were rimmed red from all the crying he'd done. He looked like such a mess. He couldn't do anything about it though, so he quickly ran from the bathroom and to his room, grabbing his jacket from the hall closet. At once, he was grateful that neither Jake nor Aiden were there for the evening, both at slumber parties. They'd have surely been woken up by all the racket he was making.
When Cam arrived at the hospital, his gaze immediately fell on Michael who was sitting in a hospital chair, head in his hands. Cold dread dripped down his back before he spoke, "Michael?"
Michael looked up, looking at Cam. "Cam." He stood to his feet. "Joss and Trina were brought in about an hour ago. Mom and Jax are with Joss now. My dad and Grandma Bobbie ar in the chapel. Um...Josslyn was stabbed in her side. She passed out on the way to the hospital and hasn't woken up yet. They've given her blood transfusions and they say she'll wake up, but she looks so...small." His voice broke as he said the last word and Willow, who'd just appeared with two cups of mediocre hospital coffee in her hands set them down on the table and wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.
"Cameron!" A familiar voice called out before they rushed at him full force, throwing themselves into him hard enough to almost knock him over.
"Trina." Cam breathed out as he hugged her tightly after he'd caught his footing. "God, I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you and Joss about Esme."
Trina pulled from his embrace. "It was terrifying, Cam." She told him as the two of them when to take seats a little farther away from Michael and Willow while Liz went to talk to Portia. "We heard a knock on the door and we thought it might be you, just a little earlier than the time you'd said. We just ended up saying to come on in and that's when Esme had us cornered. She did something to knock us out, because the last thing I remember before Joss and I woke up in the catacombs was trying to fight her. She had us tied up down there." She massaged her left wrist gently, catching Cam's attention.
His eyes fell towards Trina's wrists and he saw the rope burn imprinted on them. "What happened after that?" He asked.
The girl next to him shrugged. "Esme started talking about all that she was going to do to us, how it was entirely our fault for not letting things go and just trusting her like...like you and Spencer."
Cam felt guilt fill him, thinking of all the times Trina and Josslyn had mentioned not trusting Esme and how they thought that the brunette was responsible for Ava's car being caught on fire and Kiki Jerome's ID tag being placed just outside of it. He'd been so sure that Esme was honest when she'd made her apologies. He'd told Joss that maybe she was blaming Esme because she didn't want to know that a boy she'd known her entire life had done something as horrible as use a woman's dead child against her. And all along, two of the most important people to him had been so entirely right.
"Hey." Trina told him softly, knocking her shoulder with his. "None of that. Joss wouldn't want you blaming yourself and I don't either. It doesn't help anyone."
Swallowing, he nodded. "What about Esme? Was she taken into custody?"
The girl beside of him nodded, tight curls bouncing. "Joss managed to knock her out once she got free of her bonds. She's in a hospital room right now, handcuffed and with cops posted right outside the door. As soon as she's checked out, they're taking her to the police station. I'm so glad this entire mess is over."
The two teens sat there and waited for news about Josslyn.
It was around fifteen minutes later that they spotted Carly walking toward them, Jax beside of her, a hand on the small of her back. "Oh, Cam, Trina!" Carly said when she was in front of them. She reached out to pat Trina's cheek and she squeezed Cam's hand. I'm so glad you're both still here. Especially you, Trina. When she wakes up, she'll be happy to see you're okay too."
"Do you have any idea when that will be?" Cam asked, eyes flitting from Carly to Jax.
"We're being told she should be waking up anytime now." Jax replied.
Trina breathed out a relieved sigh. "Can Cam and I go see her, Mrs. Corinthos?" She pleaded. "I need to see her with my own eyes."
Carly gave her a smile. "Oh honey, of course you can."
Giving the two adults a grateful look, Trina grabbed Cam's hand and dragged her with her.
Cam's gaze was unable to leave Josslyn's form as soon as they entered her room. She looked just as small and fragile as Michael had said in that hospital bed with the iv in her arm. She looked paler than he'd ever seen her and he knew this was a site he wasn't going to forget anytime soon. He barely noticed Trina letting go of him to take a seat on the left side of the blonde's bed. He broke out of the spell a few moments later and walked towards the empty chair on the other side of her, taking Josslyn's right hand. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to it. "Please wake up, Joss." Things were silent for a few moments before he heard Trina let out a gasp. "What is it?" He asked. That's when he noticed her eyes were on Josslyn. He turned his head hopefully to see Josslyn's eyes blinking open.
"I'm going to go get a nurse!" Trina breathed out, rushing from the room.
It's only a minute later that Epiphany walked into the room, giving Josslyn a smile first and then throwing one to Cam who quickly gets out of the way so the nurse can do what she needs to.
Cam heard the door open once more and looked over to see that Trina had came back into the room, Josslyn's family right behind her. He watched Epiphany leave the room and Josslyn's family crowd farther into the room. For the first time since he found out that Joss and Trina were missing, he felt as if he could breathe freely.
It was early the next day and Cam and Trina were both seated on the sides of Josslyn's hospital bed, the three of them eating food from Kelly's that they heard a knock on the hospital door. It opened a few minutes later and Spencer stood in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob as he stared at the three other teens. He seemed to shake out of his stupor and he stepped farther into the room, shutting the door.
"Spencer, hey!" Josslyn exclaimed in surprise, smiling a little in confusion. "When did you get out of jail?"
The boy gulped and fell into one of the empty chairs. "I told Detective Chase everything. Ava felt enough sympathy to drop the charges against me so I could come here. I'm so sorry that Esme hurt you. Both of you." His eyes flicked over to Trina. "I was so angry and hurt at my father and his actions. And at Ava. I didn't think anything through. I didn't question why Esme was encouraging my anger or why she wanted to do things to Ava that really pushed the limit. I just felt...understood."
"What made you turn against Esme, anyway?" The blonde asked curiously.
"The detective brought up how Nelle had manipulated him and I realized that she and Esme had a lot in common." He answered. "Besides, there was no way that I could defend her after what she did to you and Trina."
It was Trina who said something then, "I'm glad you realized that she was bad for you." She offered.
Spencer gave her a smile. "Me too. She was just...pushing me even farther from father and from you guys. She wasn't good for me. But that's not an excuse for everything I've done and I'll apologize to you as much as I need to until you believe me. Grandmother is coming back and she wants me to go to therapy which I think could be a good thing."
"That's good." Cam told him. "Therapy would probably be good for all of us."
It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of Spencer at that, at the fact that his friends seemed willing to listen to him. At the fact that he was rid of someone who had been bad for him and that he was going to get the help he needed. Things weren't going to be fixed easily. Josslyn and Trina would need a lot of therapy going forward, so would Spencer, and maybe Cam as well. There were still a lot of things that he needed to do to prove himself going forward, but he was going to do it.
The End