Love Is Patient, Kind and Above All True

Chapter Thirty Seven

Elizabeth felt the darkness close in on her as she watched Jason ride away. "He's just running a few errands for Sonny. It's got nothing to do with you," she chided.

Her sandals clicked against the stone sidewalk, which led up to the apartment building. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her, rubbing the sides of her arms for warmth.

~~~

As she pushed the key into the lock and turned it, Elizabeth waited to hear the click of release. The apartment looked so empty as she slipped out of her sandals and walked into the living room. The couch was still leaning against the wall, where Jason had pushed it, to make way for their defense session.

Elizabeth's fingers ran over the soft upholstery of the couch as she walked passed it around the corner and down towards her room. While she studied herself in the mirror that hung above her dresser drawer, Elizabeth began to softly hum to herself. Elizabeth had begun making mental notes to herself and was more aware of subconscious things that she did, after Jason told her she sang to herself when she painted and found that he wasn't lying to her.

He's never lied to you.

"True," she said to herself out loud. "He's never lied to me. Or at least, I haven't caught him lying to me."

Elizabeth shook her head. Before his last visit to PC, she'd never had a doubt in her mind that he always told her the truth. "He hates lies as much as Lucky hated them," she admitted.

Then why did you accuse him of being a liar?

"I never would have," she defended herself out loud against her thoughts. "If I hadn't seen him beating Lucky with my own eyes."

He explained that! Lucky attacked him!

Elizabeth closed her eyes and turned away from the accusing face in the mirror. "Stop!" she yelled. Her body sunk into the comfort of the bed behind her.

Elizabeth still didn't know whom to believe. 'When she was with Jason, like this!' Elizabeth stopped to look around her room and her eyes caught on the crystal chime that hung on her window. 'When I see him like this, I can believe anything!' she thought to herself.

But what about Lucky?

Oh, she didn't want to think about Lucky. Her emotions were so jumbled that she thought if one more emotion tugged at her heart and her mind she would shatter into a million pieces. Torn, that's what she was.

Elizabeth shook her head and walked into the bathroom to wash the makeup off her face. She looked at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror. 'Why did she even get all dressed up like this?'

"It was just Jason," she scoffed, putting the toothbrush into her mouth. "I mean, he doesn't care if I'm made up like a supermodel or have no makeup at all," she mumbled to herself with the toothbrush still in her mouth.

Elizabeth spit into the sink. She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. "You should consider yourself lucky to have a friend like that. Who loves you for who you are!" she exclaimed, pointing at herself in the mirror with her toothbrush. She sighed. Elizabeth knew that she may think that way by herself, but as soon as anyone came around, Elizabeth would buckle under his or her opinions.

"That's what Jason was good for," she whispered.

But it wasn't just that, right?

Elizabeth's mind wandered to the dance they'd had tonight. She closed her eyes and envisioned his body pressing against hers. "No, " she said huskily, "Definitely not all he's good at."

She bit her lip at the thought. Elizabeth definitely could see herself with him, in every way.

Elizabeth quickly washed up and changed into a pair of blue, plaid, flannel pj bottoms and a grey tank top and hopped into bed.

She definitely needed to stop thinking about it.

***

Jaime had been locked up in her room for a couple of days now. She didn't know quite what to make of it. Something was up though. Jaime had heard whisperings of Rosco leaving for a couple of days and that a change was happening.

She just prayed to God that Jason would find her before Jaime had to find out what that change was.

***

Nikolas tried to forget whom he swore he saw at the club three nights ago, but it wouldn't leave his mind. Finally he had to tell Gia. She could read him like a book.

Nikolas smiled as the image of his beautiful fiancé flashed before him.

His smile faded as his thoughts brought him back to Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Jason. He couldn't get the image out of his mind. Gia advised him to tell Lucky because she knew that he was a large part of his worries. He couldn't. Nikolas couldn't tell Lucky until he was sure.

The only problem was…he was already sure.

***

"Jason?" Elizabeth called throughout the apartment. She had awaken to a startling dream that morning. Elizabeth shuffled down the hallway to the kitchen, her thoughts bringing her back to her dream.

Elizabeth had been walking through the dark when a light appeared and in that light was Jason. They had embraced and soon he was leading her on through the dark, which seemed to lessen now that she was with Jason.

Slowly the scene changed and Jason was soon leading her through a garden enclosed by walls of ivy. She heard a voice calling to them. It was Jaime. She was still lost and they were following the trail that would eventually lead them to her.

Elizabeth clasped the strong and steady hand, which lead her through the forest of leaves and plants. "Jason?" she called.

He turned around and looked at her and touched his lips to signal her silence. There came an opening during their strides through the garden and there lay Jaime in white. Her hair was dark ebony, darker than Elizabeth had remembered and her skin was an alabaster white. It should have made her look pale and sickly, but the paleness of her skin only brought out the colors of her surroundings.

"Jason," Elizabeth said excitedly.

He motioned her to stay behind and cautiously made his way to the pale and still girl. She was lying in vibrant green grass with daisies surrounding her. Elizabeth disregarded Jason's request and followed him anyway.

Jason was kneeling on the grass, cradling Jaime. "Jaime, wake up!" he whispered to her gently. Elizabeth watched as he caressed her face and brushed a strand of hair that was misplaced.

Elizabeth held her breath, as there was no movement in Jaime's body. "Is she dead? Are we too late?" Elizabeth cried.

"No!" Jason stated firmly. Elizabeth had never seen the intensity in Jason's face so apparent in that moment.

"Jason," a soft, almost faint childlike voice sighed.

"Jaime!" Jason smiled. He looked at Elizabeth and his face was a glow.

Her limp body began to fill with a light again, and Elizabeth could only watch as Jason picked up Jaime in his arms.

Suddenly the scene changed and Elizabeth was standing in front of a smiling Jason and a healthy looking Jaime. He was sitting in a chair in front of their apartment's fireplace and Jaime standing behind him. The colors in the dream were surreal, so vibrant so alive. It was like she was looking at a painting in motion.

"Aren't you happy for us?" Jaime asked, cleaving to Jason's neck.

"Happy about what?" Elizabeth asked. Her voice did not seem like her own.

"About our engagement, silly! I have to thank you for helping Jason find me. He said you were indispensable!" she laughed.

Elizabeth felt her stomach lurch as she watched Jaime kiss Jason on the cheek and begin nibbling on his neck. Jason seemed to continue to stare at her, not responding to the kisses Jaime energetically placed upon him.

"Jason? Is this true?"

He continued to stare, no sound came from his mouth.

"Jason? Tell me? I thought you two were just friends?"

Finally he spoke. "Why does it matter?"

"Jason, you're my friend. I care about you! You can't marry someone you don't love. You wouldn't do that."

"How can you tell me that? Of all things, how can you tell me what I would or would not do."

His voice was calm, but there was an anger that lay beneath it. "Jason, I know you better than anyone I've ever dreamt knowing."

"Then why didn't you believe me?" he pleaded.

"What?"

"Then why didn't you believe me?" he asked again.

"About what?"

"About Lucky."

Elizabeth's heart began to race. "I did. I did believe you," she stumbled.

Jason got up from his chair and turned his back to her, focusing his attention on a smiling Jaime. His head turned to look at Elizabeth. "No you didn't. I loved you. I offered you a life where you didn't have to pretend anymore."

Elizabeth was speechless. And finally when she knew what she wanted to say, the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Her lips formed the sounds, but she could hear nothing.

"Elizabeth, you know I would have loved you forever," he stated. "But I'm with someone else now. I am in love with someone else now."

Elizabeth watched helplessly as Jason cupped Jaime's face and kissed her. She didn't know what to do. Elizabeth tried to move from where she was, but it was like she was frozen.

"Elizabeth," a familiar voice called her.

She turned around to find Lucky standing before her. "Lucky?" she whispered.

"Come back to me Elizabeth," he said huskily. "I don't remember loving you, but if you pretend for just awhile, I'm sure I will love you again."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Stop!" she cried. "Stop!"

Elizabeth turned around and watched as Jason continued to kiss Jaime. "Jason!"

He stopped much to her relief. "Yes," he said breathily, cradling Jaime in the crook of his arm.

"Don't marry her!" Elizabeth pleaded. "You don't love her!"

"Elizabeth, you're a friend, and I love you for that," he said sweetly. "But you don't love me, right? You don't love me like you love Lucky, right?"

She nodded tearfully.

"I don't love Jaime like you love Lucky. I don't love with a duty and a loyalty. We don't have the passion you had, although I want it."

Elizabeth swallowed hard, hoping she had gotten through to him.

"But," he paused, looking at Jaime. "She's kind, and patient. She listens to me, and she is her own woman. You used to be that Elizabeth. I believed that you were strong enough to be that woman."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I am that woman. I am strong. I've looked hard for Jaime, as you have. I fought for love the only way I knew how with Lucky. I loved him."

Jason shook his head pitifully. "You may have 'loved' him in your own way, but Jaime showed me what true love is." Jason looked down adoringly at Jaime who seemed to gaze at Elizabeth in pity.

"Jason, please!" Elizabeth exclaimed, trying to reach out for him.

"Elizabeth," Lucky called. "Don't waste your time on a guy who's only going to get you killed!"

She turned to look at Lucky who reached out to her. Then Elizabeth's gaze fell upon Jason who was slowly kissing Jaime.

"No!" she cried, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. "Stop! Stop!"

"No! Stop!" Elizabeth had yelled, as she sat up in her bed.

'It was only a dream,' she said to herself as she showered and tried to awake herself from the nightmare.

Elizabeth sighed heavily as she waited for her Eggo waffle to pop up from the toaster. "It was just a dream," she reassured herself.

It shook her to think about how true some of the dream was. Elizabeth knew deep down, and now truly believed that Jason had been telling the truth from day one. He had never lied to her.

Elizabeth allowed the admission to sink in. A part of her felt a peace and rest about trusting the deepest, innermost part of her that would not allow her to truly believe that Jason "just attacked" Lucky.

She didn't blame Lucky either. Elizabeth knew that it had been Helena's programming and that he probably didn't remember any of it. She sighed.

How Helena had messed with their lives forever! Things would never be the same and Elizabeth had to accept that. Now her future lay open and unplanned. Nothing stood in her way.

And that was the most frightening thing in the world to her.