"You should have seen Michael in the park today," Carly said, running her hand through Michael's short, red hair. "He couldn't get enough of the swings, right little man?"
"Did you take the guards with you," Sonny asked, leaning back in his seat. "You didn't leave their sight, did you?"
Carly sent him a withering glare. "I'm TRYING to tell you about Michael's day at the park, Sonny."
Sonny put his head in his hand. He needed this trial to be done. He needed this to be over so that he could concentrate again. "Carly-"
"You know what," Carly said, handing Michael over to Leticia. "Forget it." She moved around and grabbed her coat, throwing it over her arm.
"Carly…"
"Do you know where Jason is? He's probably at Jakes. I'll just go talk to him. HE'LL want to know about Michael's day."
"CARLY!"
Glaring, Carly looked over at her husband. "I know what you're going to say. I'll take my guards with me, I promise."
Sonny paused. "Jason's not at Jakes."
When Sonny didn't say anything more, Carly yelled out in frustration. "Well where is he?!"
"It's-"
There was a knock on the penthouse door and Carly nearly growled as Johnny peeked his head in. He looked at Carly for a second before turning his attention towards Sonny.
"Boss, you have a moment?"
Sonny sighed. "Bring whoever it is in, Johnny."
When Johnny hesitated, Sonny looked over at him before turning to Carly. "Go upstairs."
Carly's eyes winded with anger. "We're not done talking, Sonny."
"It's business, Carly. Go upstairs!"
"NO!" Walking over to the couch, Carly sat down with a huff, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest.
Sonny looked upward for a moment before shaking his head and walking over to the door. He stepped outside the penthouse and pulled the door closed behind him. "What is it, Johnny, and it better be good."
Johnny nodded. "It's Francis and Miss Webber. I didn't want to bring them in with Mrs. Corinthos in there…"
"No, no… that was good. You were right. Where are they?"
When Johnny pointed over towards the elevator, Sonny made his way there, smiling when Elizabeth look up at him. "Long time no see," Sonny joked.
When he saw the look on her face, he stopped joking. "What happened, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. "I… There were…" Thrusting out her hand, she held the crumpled card out for Sonny to take.
He studied her for a moment as he picked it up. Opening it, he frowned at what he saw, not understanding the message. "Happy Valentine's Day?"
Elizabeth shifted from foot to foot, her eyes darting over to where Francis and Johnny stood. "Uh… remember what I told you about in Kelly's today? The… attack?"
Sonny nodded.
She swallowed hard. "It, uh… it happened on… on Valentine's Day."
Immediately, Sonny's eyes jerked down to the card, reading over the words again as a sick feeling entered his stomach. What kind of monster reminds a woman about a night like that. He had known reminders were being left for her; she had told him herself, but seeing one, holding it in his hand, made it seem all the more real.
And it made him want to protect her even more.
Elizabeth looked up at Sonny and she felt her chin begin to tremble. She was trying so hard to be strong but looking at Sonny, his concern evident in her eyes… she didn't know how much longer she could pretend to be strong.
"I didn't know what to do," she said slowly.
"I know… I know…" Sonny sighed heavily. "You did the right thing – coming to me. I'll take care of you, Elizabeth."
Jason slowed his bike in the alley, kicking down the kickstand as he turned it off. Heaving a sigh of relief, he dismounted, taking in the cool night air.
It felt great to be out of the safe house and away from Zander.
The trial had started earlier that day, and Jason had been running around, fixing the loose ends since he'd dropped Zander off at the courthouse to make sure no one found out where the kid had been.
Stepping out of the alley, Jason's gaze went directly to Elizabeth's studio and he started towards it. He wanted to talk to her, to see how she was. He hated the fact that he was forced to leave when she needed him, and he wanted to see that she was ok.
Standing in front of her studio door, he knocked, frowning when he didn't get an answer. His instincts were telling him something was up. He tried knocking again before pulling out his key chain, reaching for the key Elizabeth had refused to let him give back to her after he'd been shot.
Opening the door to the studio, his frown got deeper when he didn't see her. Everything seemed in place, except for the fact that Elizabeth wasn't there. Sighing, Jason turned around and was about to leave when he noticed something.
The heater was off.
He hadn't noticed the coldness of the studio when he'd walked in. The cold never bothered him, but now, it hit him full force and the fact that the heater was off and that it was so cold could mean only one thing.
Elizabeth hadn't been in her studio in a while.
Pulling out his cell phone, Jason quickly dialed Francis's number as he made his way out of the studio, shaking his head in frustration when he got a busy signal. He rushed to his bike and was about to get on when his eye caught the neon sign that lit the window of Kelly's.
Jason froze. If Elizabeth wasn't staying in her studio… then there was only one other place he could think of that she would be living in; her room at Kelly's.
The room she shared with Lucky.
Taking a deep breath, Jason quickly walked towards the diner. If she was there with Lucky, then he could deal with it, but he needed to know that she was ok. With all that had been going on, he just needed to see her, and make sure she was fine.
Stepping into the diner, Jason's eyes scanned the place, part of him disappointed when he didn't see Elizabeth inside, and part of him glad. He didn't want her to be there.
"Jason?"
Looking up, Jason saw Emily waving him over from behind the counter. She leaned forward when he went over to her, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you for protecting Zander," she whispered as Jason pulled back. "Sonny told me that you took him and were watching out for him."
"I didn't do much." His eyes wandered towards the stairs.
Emily followed her brother's gaze and frowned. "Is something wrong?"
Jason sighed. "I'm looking for Elizabeth?"
"She moved out, Jason."
Nodding, Jason slid into one of the chairs at the counter. "I know, I checked her studio but she wasn't there. I thought maybe she'd changed her mind about living alone and moved back in… in with Lucky."
Emily's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Jason in oddly. "I… I don't think she'd be doing that anytime soon," she said slowly.
This time, it was Jason who gave the odd look. "What are you talking about?"
One of Emily's eyebrows raised. "You don't know? I thought Elizabeth would have told you."
"Told me what?"
Emily leaned forward again, resting her arms on the counter. "Elizabeth… a few days back she… her and Lucky broke up."
Jason let the surprise show on his face. "What?"
"I know, I didn't believe it either. I wouldn't have if Lucky hadn't told me himself. He came in here, angry and stuff, and I followed him upstairs and he said Elizabeth broke up with him. He trashed his room… it was terrible, Jason."
"Have you talked to Elizabeth?"
Emily looked down. "Not really. With the trial, and her moving into her studio, we haven't really seen each other."
"Do you know when this happened?"
"The day before you left to watch Zander."
Jason blinked. "I… Emily, I need to go."
Emily frowned, but she still nodded. "Come visit me again soon, ok? We can talk more."
Standing, Jason promised to visit before leaning forward and kissing her forehead and making his was out of the diner. Once he was outside, he frowned.
"Elizabeth… what is going on?"
The elevators to the penthouses opened and Jason stepped out, making a beeline towards Sonny's penthouse. He noticed Johnny wasn't there and he shook his head.
What was going on?
Before he could make it to Sonny's, the door to Alexis's opened and Sonny stepped out. He looked up at Jason, not at all surprised to see him there.
"I was just about to call you. She's in here."
Jason's brows furrowed. "Alexis?"
Sonny shook his head, a faint smile coming to his face. "Elizabeth. That IS why you're here, right?"
"Is something wrong? Did something happen?"
Holding up his hand, Sonny motioned to Alexis's penthouse with his head. "Why don't you go in there and ask her yourself."
Not wasting any time, Jason knocked, waiting impatiently for Alexis to open it. "What's going on," he asked, as soon as Alexis opened the door.
Alexis sighed, holding up her hand. "I don't know. Sonny came to me yesterday and asked if Elizabeth could stay here. She's upstairs in the guest bedroom."
Without another word, Alexis stepped aside, watching as Jason hurried up the stairs.
The door to the guestroom was open slightly and Jason peeked inside as he tapped lightly on the doorframe. He saw Elizabeth turn towards him, her face lighting up when she caught sight of him peeking inside the door.
"Jason!"
Pushing herself off the bed, she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was holding on extra tight, he was confused, and he knew something was going on, but instead of asking questions, he just held her.
Pulling back slightly, Elizabeth pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "You were only gone a few days but I thought you'd never get back."
Jason watched as she walked back towards the bed and sat down, tucking her legs under her body. "How are you?" he asked slowly as he pulled a chair over to the bed.
Elizabeth looked down, inhaling shakily. "I got another reminder yesterday."
Jason stiffened in his chair but he didn't say anything.
"Red roses… they had a card saying 'Happy Valentine's Day' with them."
"Where did you get them?"
Elizabeth shifted on the bed. "Kelly's… I went to Sonny immediately and he had me stay here. I feel like I'm imposing on Alexis but she keeps saying it's nothing. Wait a minute – why don't you know about all of this already? Didn't Sonny tell you anything?"
Jason shook his head. "I went to your studio earlier, and Kelly's, looking for you. When I couldn't find you, I came here for answers, and Sonny said to talk to you."
"You went to Kelly's?"
Jason nodded, looking her straight in the eye. "I thought you might be there with Lucky," he said quietly. "But Emily was there and she told me… that you and Lucky are over."
Elizabeth looked down and Jason saw disappointment on her face. "Emily told you?"
Flinching, Jason set his jaw. Obviously, she hadn't wanted him to find out. "Yes."
Sighing, Elizabeth looked up. "I wish she hadn't." She leaned forward and reached for Jason's hand, dropping it when she noticed how stiff it was. "Uh… I had wanted to tell you myself."
Jason's gaze burned into her. "Why didn't you?"
When Elizabeth looked at him, she saw something in his eyes that she couldn't identify. "I was going to… the night you told me you had to go away. But I got worried when you said you had to leave, and I forgot."
Jason took a deep breath, cracking a small smile. "Are you ok?"
Elizabeth looked into his blue eyes. It would be so easy to lose myself in those eyes. > She shook her head slightly, as if to push those thoughts out as she tried to concentrate on Jason's question. "It was hard… hurting him. But I couldn't keep lying. Lucky and I were trying to hold onto something that wasn't there anymore. And it wasn't fair to either of us."
"You didn't answer my question."
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth chuckled slightly. "I will be, one this whole mess is over with."
Jason nodded. "This will end, Elizabeth. I promise you that. I'll find who is doing this to you."
"I know you will. I just hate this. I… I feel like I'm not safe anymore. Everything always seems to happen at Kelly's and I don't like feeling like I'm not safe there."
Reaching out, Jason cupped her cheek with his hand. "I'm sorry."
His gaze was intense and she felt her breath catch in her throat. "You have nothing to be sorry for. In fact, you're the one person who makes it better."
Jason's eyes followed his fingers as he pushed her hair out of her face. "I want you to feel safe again."
Elizabeth held out a breath she hadn't know she'd been holding. "I feel safe with you."
Jason's gaze dropped down to her lips and Elizabeth noticed for the first time just how close they'd gotten to each other. She had moved to the very edge of the bed and his knees were touching the mattress. Licking her lips, she watched as he leaned forward slightly.
"Jason? Elizabeth?"
The door opened and both Jason and Elizabeth jumped back when Alexis poked her head inside. Jason's hand dropped from her face and Elizabeth's cheeks reddened.
"Uh… sorry to interrupt, but Sonny said he wants to speak with you, Jason."
Elizabeth nervously ran her hands through her hair. "Right… right." She jumped off the bed. "You should go…" She glanced at Jason, watching as he rubbed his hand over his face as he walked out.
As Jason closed the door to the guestroom, he leaned against it for a second, heaving a sigh. Inside, Elizabeth was shaking her head at herself.
Frowning, Elizabeth realized she wasn't sure if she was relieved Alexis had walked in, or disappointed. She fell back on the bed, whispering to herself.
"Both."