"Don't you try anything."
Jeremy's fingers dug into Elizabeth's forearm as the two of them walked out of the motel. The place was nearly deserted but, nonetheless, he grabbed for her hand like a boyfriend would grab for their girlfriend.
"You wouldn't want Mr. Sorel to hurt Morgan now, would you. And I don't want to have to drug you again… but I will if you're bad. Do don't do anything foolish."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, keeping her eyes down. Her head was throbbing, her entire body ached, and fear was making a permanent home in the pit of her stomach.
When Jeremy saw her nod, he softened, his hand reaching out to brush her hair away from her face. Elizabeth flinched and for a moment, his hand froze, millimeters from her cheek.
"Now why did you have to go and do that, Eliza," he said, pulling his hand away. His other hand tightened the grip he had on her and Elizabeth bit her lip when his hold felt like it was going to crush her fingers.
Elizabeth looked down when she felt tears come to her eyes. He would not see her cry if she had anything to say about it.
"It's ok… I understand you're not used to this," Jeremy said as he led the two of them to the small café around the corner. "You'll get used to it though. Then I won't have to keep mentioning Morgan and the drugs because you won't fight me anymore. You'll realized that I'm good for you… you'll love me like I love you."
Elizabeth said nothing. Her body felt tired and she felt like there was no way for her to win against him. She couldn't risk having Sorel hurt Jason because she did something stupid; she'd never be able to live with herself if something happened to him. There was nothing for her to do but keep Jeremy from getting too angry at her. She'd seen his temper and she didn't want to have to see it again.
"You'll love me," Jeremy continued, ignoring the fact that she hadn't said anything since they left the hotel. "And we'll be together for the rest of our lives. We'll be able to travel all over the US. Can you image all the things we can go see together? California… I know you've never been there… and the Grand Canyon… It'll be fun, Eliza."
A tear tricked down her cheek at the thought of being stuck with Jeremy for the rest of her life and Elizabeth longed to be back in Port Charles. Her heart ached and she discretely tried to wipe at her eyes.
"We'll be invincible, Eliza… just you and me."
Looking up at the sky, Elizabeth sighed, looking at the stars that twinkled, remembering all of the times she would look up at that very sky after a motorcycle ride.
Jason…
"I need you…"
Jeremy looked down at her as the two of them walked up to the café. "What was that?"
Elizabeth lowered her head and looked down at her feet. "Nothing."
Before walking into the café, Jeremy put his finger to her chin, lifting it so that she would look at him. "You'll be happy with me soon, Eliza… Once you realize you're never getting away… you'll be happy."
The two walked into the café, Elizabeth stepping inside after Jeremy. The place reminded her of Kelly's, with the same hunter green color scheme, but it was a little bigger than Kelly's, and not as homey.
There was a large, welcoming woman standing behind the counter, a dishtowel resting over one of her shoulders. "Hey there you two, what can I get for you?"
Smiling at the woman behind the counter, Jeremy wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's waist, holding her just a little too tightly. Elizabeth cringed at his touch but there wasn't much she could do.
"Two orders of your dinner special."
The woman gave them a quick smile as she scribbled down their order on the pad in her hand. "It's so nice to see people like you guys in here."
Jeremy smiled at the woman, bringing Elizabeth closer to the side of his body. "People like us?"
The woman grinned. "Young love. It's so rare these days…"
At the word love, Elizabeth's eyes widened and her mouth opened, ready to correct the waitress. "No-"
"-Young love isn't often found these days," Jeremy said, cutting her off. He gripped her a little tighter and Elizabeth cringed. "But Eliza and me… we're for real."
The woman smiled. "You two are adorable… I'll go put in your orders."
Jeremy watched the woman walk away before leading Elizabeth to one of the tables. "See, even she thinks we belong together."
Elizabeth said nothing, rubbing the sides of her arms where Jeremy had gripped them. She bit her lip, not wanting to say anything that would set him off.
The door to the café opened and Jeremy looked up, stiffening at what he saw. His hand snaked across the table, gripping Elizabeth's. Her head jerked up at the unexpected movement and she looked at him quizzically. His eyes were focused on something behind her and slowly, she turned her head.
A uniformed cop was smiling by the door, talking to one of the couples near the entrance. His hand moved up to remove his hat as his eyes scanned over the other occupants of the café. Elizabeth's eyes widened and for a second, hope flickered inside of her as she saw the cop's eyes moving closer and closer to her.
One look at her would tell him that something was wrong, wouldn't it? She prayed that he would have the sense to realized that she wasn't where she wanted to be.
Elizabeth was so caught up in trying to will the policeman to look at her that she was caught off guard when Jeremy pulled her up out of her chair. He grasped her hand as if they were a couple but the force of his grip was far from gentle.
"What about our food?" Elizabeth asked urgently as he quietly pulled her towards the doors. Elizabeth's head turned back to look at the cop and she inhaled deeply when she saw that his eyes were locked on hers, forgetting that fact that Jeremy was pulling her away from the one person there who she thought could help her.
A second later, the door to the café was closed, separating Elizabeth from the officer and she watched, her head dropping, as he looked away.
Sunlight streamed into the Penthouse through the open curtains. Jason stood by the window, a warm mug in his hands. A slight stubble had formed on his face during the night and the coarse hairs caught on his hands as he rubbed them over his chin.
Carly stood at the top of the stairs, her eyes riveted on her best friend. He'd been standing there since she woke up, over an hour ago, and it didn't seem like he planned to move. An uneasy feeling settled over her.
This wasn't normal Jason Morgan behavior.
Slowly making her way down the stairs, Carly kept one eye on her friend. He didn't move, didn't look away from the window, as she cautiously stepped towards him.
"Jase?"
He remained still, his eyes still focused out the window.
Carly tried again, this time reaching forward to brush her hand against his arm. "Jase?" When he flinched, she pulled back, only to leave her hand hovering over him.
"What's going on? What happened? Jase, talk to me."
"Go away, Carly."
His voice was soft, barely audible. Although she heard him, Carly chose to ignore him, opting instead to step closer. "What's the matter?"
Jason was still for a moment, but when he finally turned around, Carly gasped at the sight of him. "My God… what did she do to you?"
She stepped forward, reaching for the mug in his hands. She tugged on his arm, dragging him towards the couch. "I told you Lizzie Webber would hurt you. She looks innocent, Jason, but she's nothing but an little bi-"
Her words were cut off as Jason yanked his arm out of her grasp, the sudden movement sending the mug crashing against the floor. "NEVER talk about her like that."
Carly's eyes widened. "Why are you defending her still? She hurt you, Jase, I can see it."
Jason's face turned to stone, his chin tilting up slightly as he looked at Carly through narrow eyes. "Drop it Carly. I'm telling you now… don't get into this with me."
"No… I will get into this. I warned you, Jason. I warned you that she would hurt you. But you didn't listen to me, did you? What did she do? What, did you find her with Lucky? I knew she was a whore."
As soon as the word was out of her mouth, Jason had closed the distance between the two of them, his hand placed none-to-gently over her mouth. "I said never talk about her like that. Don't even say her name. Don't do this to me Carly – now is not the time."
Carly's eyes widened. Jason was never like this. She pulled her head away from his hand. "What's going on."
"I've stood by you as you destroyed peoples' lives, Carly. As you destroyed mine. I've been loyal to you-"
"That's why we're best friends," she said quietly.
"You've made me angry before but I've always forgiven you."
She nodded, opening her mouth to say something but Jason cut her off.
"You're about to cross a line, Carly. If you cross it, I won't be there for you. I won't forgive you. I said it before, and I'm going to say it again. Leave Elizabeth alone. Don't comment about her, don't tell me how she's going to hurt me… don't even say her name. Just leave it alone."
Silent, Carly watched as Jason stepped away, sighed, and rubbed his hands over his face. "What's going on?" she asked again.
Jason's eyes drifted to the window.
"Go away, Carly."
"Taggert, we've got something on the Webber girl."
Looking up from his file, Taggert motioned for the young rookie to step inside his cubicle area. "What did you find?"
"Johnson in Rochester called in… said he spotted her in some café."
Taggert raised his eyebrows. "Rochester? Was she with someone?"
The young man nodded. "A male…"
"This man… he wasn't Jason Morgan, was he?"
"We asked, but Johnson said no. He said he hadn't seen the young man before… but he did say that Webber had bruises on her arms."
Taggert's jaw clenched as he stood, reaching around his chair for his jacket as he raced out of the station. He called over his shoulder as he stepped outside. "Get a group of men together… If Miss Webber is in Rochester… we'll find her."
Around the corner of the station, Lucky nodded his head and took off running.
Rochester.