Elizabeth yawned as she walked through the park. Her muscles ached from walking home from the gardens the night before but it was such a nice day that she couldn't help but make her way out into the park. She didn't know what had possessed her when she thought she could walk back to her studio; the ride to the gardens always seemed so short on Jason's bikes.
Chuckling to herself, Elizabeth walked over to the gazebo in the middle of the park. She ran her hands over the smooth wood before stepping inside and sitting down.
She had the morning shift at Kelly's but that was the last place she wanted to be. Sighing, Elizabeth gathered her strength, straightening her shoulders. She had to go, especially after running out on her shift the night before.
"Suck it up, Webber," Elizabeth said to herself.
Elizabeth made her way to Kelly's pausing at the door for a moment before going inside. She swore to herself that if she saw any strange cards with her name on them, that she would not be picking them up today. She would finish her shift at Kelly's and then go to her studio to paint and that would be it. There would be no strange occurrences today.
"Maybe if I keep saying that, I'll come true," she muttered to herself as she tied the apron around her waist. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the coffee can and made her way towards the customers.
Ten minutes later, Elizabeth was standing at the counter, filling up the sugar jars, when the door swung open. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw jeans and a leather jacket and she immediately looked up, a smile on her face.
"You're back!"
Jeremy raised his eyebrows, looking around to check if someone was standing behind him. He noticed Elizabeth's face fall slightly and he frowned. "Are you expecting someone?"
Elizabeth forced a smile on her face, trying to hide her disappointment. "No, no… I just thought you were someone else for a second." She watched Jeremy as he walked towards the counter and she noticed that his leather jacket was longer, reaching past his waist and his jeans were baggier than Jason's.
"Your boyfriend?" Jeremy prodded.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth fiddled with the jars in front of her. "Just someone I need to talk to."
Jeremy nodded, looking serious for a moment before his face broke out into a grin. "So what does a guy have to do around here to get some breakfast."
Outside of Kelly's Francis tried to look through the window without looking conspicuous. He heard footsteps behind him and immediately recognized Sonny and Johnny's voices. Straightening, he moved out of the shadows to meet his boss, making sure to keep checking through the window to make sure Elizabeth was ok.
"How's it going," Sonny asked as he stepped up to Francis. Sonny's eyes drifted to the window and he saw Elizabeth standing behind the counter, a customer sitting in front of her.
Francis frowned slightly as he followed Sonny's gaze. "Do you know that kid?"
Sonny's eyebrows raised but he kept his eyes on Elizabeth, watching as she laughed. "Is something up?"
Slowly, Francis shook his head, his eyes quickly scanning the area out of habit before turning to focus on his boss. "I don't know… but I do know that guy stood outside for a good five minutes watching Elizabeth before he walked inside. I don't know what he was doing…"
Sonny frowned, turning back to look into the window for a second. "What's your gut say?"
"It didn't feel right… I'm not getting a good feeling about that guy."
Sonny shook his head, exhaling forcefully. "Have you seen him before?"
"Once," Francis said, nodding. "He came into Kelly's once before. He sat down with Miss Webber… He was looking at her a lot, but I figured… they're about the same age, and he's a young man…"
"But now…" Sonny prompted.
Francis looked back through the window. "He was out here watching her, Sonny. I didn't like it…"
Nodding, Sonny took a deep breath, motioning for Johnny to step up. "Johnny…" Before he could finish, the door to Kelly's swung open and all three men stepped back, blending into the shadows as Jeremy stepped out.
"See you in class, Eliza!" Jeremy called out over his shoulder.
The men waited until he was completely out of their view before stepping out again. Sonny looked off in the direction Jeremy had gone in. "He goes to school with her… Check it out, Johnny. Call Benny. I want to know everything there is about him." He turned to Francis. "Keep your eyes open." Motioning for the men to stay outside the door, Sonny stepped inside the diner.
Elizabeth looked up when the door opened and she smiled at Sonny, watching as he made his way towards her, taking his leather gloves off as he walked.
He smiled, flashing his dimples as he leaned against the counter. "Hey… how are you?"
Smiling, Elizabeth motioned to the coffee pot in her hand. "I'm good… coffee?"
Nodding, Sonny flipped over the cup in front of him, watching while she carefully poured him a cup.
"You didn't have to check up on me."
Sonny's head jerked up and he saw Elizabeth smirking at him. A slow smile came to his face. "What makes you think I'm checking up on you?"
She shook her head, a smile on her face as she leaned forward. "I know Jason had to leave for a little," she said quietly. "I also know he probably asked you to look out for me. He said Francis is guarding me, but I haven't seen him yet. I know he's out there though…"
Sonny smiled. "You know Jason well."
Shrugging, Elizabeth cleared away some of the dishes along the counter. "It's something he'd do. Jason looks out for his… his friends. I figured you'd be coming by soon."
Watching her wipe off the counter with a cloth, Sonny leaned back in his seat. "I didn't just come here because Jason asked me to, you know that, right? I made you a promise a long time ago that I'd keep you safe."
Elizabeth pushed a piece of her hair out of her face. "Sonny, you said it yourself, that was a long time ago… things have changed."
One of his eyebrows raised but he remained silent.
"For one thing," she said, continuing when it looked like he wasn't going to say anything. "You're married now… to Carly. And her and I aren't exactly buddy-buddy. And I know she'd be mad if she knew you were here-"
"Let me deal with Carly," Sonny said, holding up his hand. He leaned forward on the counter, lowering his voice. "Elizabeth, I don't want to see you hurt. You… you remember in the hospital after Carly's… after… when she fell down the stairs at the Quartermaine's?"
Elizabeth nodded, watching as Sonny took a deep breath. "You held me," he said simply. "I don't forget things like that. I'm not going to let someone hurt you if I can help it."
Looking down, Elizabeth took a shaky breath. "Jason said if I needed something, that I should go to you."
"He was right."
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth looked up. "What did Jason tell you?"
Sonny rubbed his hand over his chin. "Just that he wanted a guard on you… that someone was leaving you reminders of something…"
Elizabeth looked down. When she looked back up again, he saw something different in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was… but it was different.
"A couple of years ago… I was attacked… in the park." She inhaled deeply. "I was raped."
Sonny sucked in a breath sharply, his eyes widening. "Elizabeth… I…"
"It's ok, Sonny… I'm fine now." Elizabeth played with the cloth in her hand. "Someone has been leaving me… reminders of that night. Little things that only a few people would recognize as having meaning."
Sonny nodded. "Does Jason know about all of this?"
"I told him about the rape a long time ago and… and obviously he knows about the reminders." Elizabeth shook her head. "I thought I saw my… my rapist the other night, but Jason says he's still in jail so I couldn't have. My mind's probably playing tricks on me."
Sonny stared at the young woman in front of him with a new found respect. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth looked at him. "I don't need your apologies, Sonny. You didn't do anything… and I'm past it… I told you, it happened a couple of years ago."
"I'm sure you have. I'm sorry someone's throwing it in your face…" Sonny rested his chin in his palm, grabbing Elizabeth's arm with his other hand. "We'll keep you safe, Elizabeth… I give you my word."
She smiled, giving his hand a small squeeze. "I know you will."
Nodding, Sonny looked down at his untouched coffee. He pulled out a twenty and placed it on the counter. "I need to get going… keep the change."
Elizabeth tried to resist but he wouldn't let her. Smiling, he pulled on his gloves and made his way out of the diner. As soon as he stood in front of his two men, his smile faded.
Sonny turned towards Francis. "Don't let her out of your sight, Francis. You keep her safe."
Francis nodded. "Is there anything I need to know?"
Looking down, Sonny's mouth twitched. When he looked back up, his eyes shone with determination. "Nothing touches her, you hear me. NOTHING. If something is wrong, you call, no matter what the time is. If there's a situation, you call for backup and you intervene."
Sonny's eyes drifted to the window and he watched Elizabeth interact with some customers. "The stakes are higher now… she's not to be hurt anymore, got it. She's protected no matter what."
Frances had a feeling something was going on, but he didn't know what. His gaze followed his boss's and his eyes landed on Miss Webber.
"She's be protected, Sonny," he said softly. "I'll protect her with my life."
Elizabeth looked down at her wristwatch as she rubbed off the counter one last time. The lunch crowd would be coming in about ten minutes. Stepping back, she untied her apron.
"Tammy," she called out. "I'm leaving. I'll see you for my shift tomorrow night."
"Elizabeth wait," Tammy said from the back room. "The delivery man just brought something for you."
Elizabeth frowned as Tammy came out with a large bouquet of red roses. Who would be sending me roses… >
"They're beautiful, aren't they sweetie?" Tammy said as she placed the bouquet on the counter in front of Elizabeth. She grinned at Elizabeth playfully. "Lucky's such a romantic."
Shaking her head, Elizabeth was about to remind Tammy that her and Lucky were no longer together when she realized that the other woman had no clue about the break up. No one did. She had wanted to tell Jason when she saw him on the docks, but she had forgotten about it when he said he was leaving.
For some reason, a reason she couldn't put her finger on, Elizabeth wanted Jason to be the first to know. Probably because Jason knows that independent person I want to be… he would be proud of me for finding her again. He's one of the only people who respected her. >
Tammy nudged Elizabeth on the arm. "Sometimes I wish Mike would do stuff like this more often, but he's romantic in his own way." She pulled a card out from the flowers and tapped Elizabeth's hand with it. "Aren't you going to read the card?"
A feeling of foreboding filled her as Elizabeth reached for the card. Lucky had been so hurt when they had broken up… she knew that these roses weren't from him.
And anyway… Lucky only gave her white roses. Never red.
Opening the card, Elizabeth stiffened as she read the words.
Happy Valentine's Day
Tammy's brows furrowed. "I don't understand, sweetie. Did you and Lucky miss Valentine's Day or something? It was months ago…"
Elizabeth slowly put the card back in the envelope, all the while trying to keep her breathing normal. She didn't want to make Tammy worry.
"Elizabeth?"
Blinking, Elizabeth looked up at the older woman. "Can you keep the flowers here for me? I… I have to go." Backing away from the counter, she rushed out of the diner.
As soon as she made it out of the doors, Elizabeth looked around. "Francis?"
Francis came out of hiding immediately. He knew from looking at his charge that something was not right. "What is it Miss Webber."
Elizabeth hugged her arms around her body and her hand created a fist around the card. "Can you take me to Sonny?"