Jax paused, the new clean shirt he had been changing into was only half-buttoned. He walked towards his window and peered outside, staring at the black darkness speckled with light from the streetlamps, hotel lamps, and the stars.
He had wanted to follow Skye and make sure she was fine. But then AJ had run after her, all the while warning him to stay away from his sister. And everyone had been staring at the commotion that Skye had caused.
AJ would take care of Skye, as much as Jax hated the thought of it. Like many others in Port Charles, Jax had seen the way Skye and AJ were with each other. They might treat the world like dirt, but, to each other, despite the occasional arguments and fights, the two were each other's best friends.
And so Jax had left AJ to check on Skye, and he had gone up to his suite to find a suitable change of clothes. Alexis was in the process of switching tables, both because of the mess Skye had left and because of the awkwardness there had been to sit at the table beside Carly and Sonny.
Jax frowned and shook his head. Skye was infuriating- she confused him and sent so many mixed messages that he never had an idea where he stood with her.
But the same could be said about him. What kind of messages had he been sending to Skye? What kind of a person, man, told a woman that he'd be willing to take the risk but only if she made the first move?
That left Skye with all the responsibility to take the initiative, and him with the freedom and luxury to wait and let her decide.
It had been the coward's way out, to let another decide the course of action. But that had been exactly what he had done. And, just as worse, he had, when the going got tough, given up on Skye. He had given control of ELQ to Lila so that she would have the responsibility to deal with her.
Skye had once accused him of being a white knight. And he had denied it, saying that white knights were like saints, and he was neither. Truth was, he had been a coward.
*******
Docks…Skye wearily eyed the stranger. "I'm warning you to stay away from me. If you hurt me, then you'll hurt AJ, and then you'll hurt Courtney and she'll never trust your boss ever again. She'll throw him out of her life, and in turn he'll destroy you. So you just run back to Sonny and tell him Skye Chandler Quartermaine is not intimidated by him."
"Let me assure you, Sonny is not my boss," the man replied. A look of hatred and anger flitted onto the man's face as he said the name Sonny.
"Yeah, right," Skye said sarcastically. "You've got Sonny written all over you."
"I promise you, Miss Quartermaine, Sonny Corinthos is as much my enemy as he is yours."
"Is this some new plot? Get my trust, get to Courtney and then stab AJ and I in our backs? I don't think so," Skye said, her voice filled with contempt.
"Perhaps if I introduced myself first," the man suggested. He removed his glove and offered his hand to Skye. "My name is Roscoe."
"Roscoe," Skye echoed with disbelief. What kind of a name was that?
"And you're right," Roscoe continued. "I do resemble Sonny's people, don't I? But there's a perfectly good reason for that."
"And that is?"
"I work for Sorel's group. Or what used to be Sorel's group," Roscoe informed her as he leered at her.
Sorel… that's the guy who's after Emily!
"And I'm here to give you an offer you won't want to refuse," Roscoe said temptingly.
*******
Port Charles Grille…Rinoa chewed on her tongue softly. She massaged her tongue gently, all the time considering her next option. The family dinner outing hadn't been what she had been expecting or hoping for. Skye had fled the scene, AJ was busy talking with Courtney, Edward and Monica kept talking about how even Jax had turned his back on the traitorous Skye who had undoubtedly betrayed Jax in some way, and Alan kept rebuffing both Edward and Monica. Rinoa sighed and continued to pretend that she was listening to her mother's opinions on Skye.
"How are you doing, Rinoa?" AJ interrupted. He smiled apologetically at Monica. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off."
Rinoa hid a snort. "Fine, thank you," Rinoa said brightly. But, honestly, she was pissed off: no one in the family, except for AJ, had seemed concerned for Skye or had tried to follow her; and she wasn't getting the opportunity to fully earn Courtney's trust.
*******
The table with the double date…"Well, that's my cousin for you," Ned said with ill humor. "You do the smallest thing to upset her, and she'll spend the rest of her life trying to get back at you."
"I agree," Kristina nodded. "Skye has a very dark and troubled aura."
Alexis gritted her teeth. Her little sister was about to go on another aura-sensing trip and aura-talking babble.
"But that new girl, Rinoa," Kristina said thoughtfully, "I get very good vibes from her. She must have had a very happy home, and I'm sure she'll be a good influence on the Quartermaines."
"Maybe," Ned shrugged. "Rinoa declined Monica's offer to live at the mansion, and she's taken up residence in the hotel. In the suite right next to Skye's."
"Ugh," Kristina grunted. "I don't know why she'd choose to be near Skye."
Alexis rolled her eyes. For the brief time Kristina and Ned had been here, they had done nothing but talk about Skye, Jax, or Rinoa. "Well, you know what they say," Alexis said sarcastically. "It's not the healthy that the doctor goes to, but the sick."
*******
Docks…A new person had come to the docks, but his presence went unnoticed by either Skye or Roscoe.
Skye withdrew her hand from Roscoe's grasp. Her heartbeat quickened. Was Roscoe going to threaten her as Sorel had threatened Emily's life?
"I propose," Roscoe said slowly, "that we strike up an alliance against Sonny Corinthos. My men, Sorel's men, Sorel's power, combined with all your power, the power of the Quartermaine name, the power of ELQ, the power you possess."
This is crazy, Skye. You can't possibly take him up on his offer.
"Corinthos may be strong enough to withstand you. And he may have been strong enough to survive my attacks. But he'll buckle under our combined might, Miss Quartermaine. We would have him at our mercy if we joined forces."
Sorel is the reason Emily's in hiding. Sorel is the reason why she and Zander first tried to run away. If I ally with them, everyone will hate me. Dad… grandmother… AJ…
"If we joined forces," Roscoe said alluringly, "then you would have nothing to fear from Corinthos. And neither will your brother. I would protect you and your brother, and then, as our power grows, we'll work together to destroy Corinthos," Roscoe said smoothly. He watched Skye intently. She was honestly considering accepting his proposal. Roscoe slithered up to Skye and, once again, offered his hand. "What do you say? Will you seize the day? Carpe diem?"
Zander had heard enough. He hurried over towards Skye and then physically pulled her away from Roscoe. "Get away from her," Zander snarled at Roscoe.
"Zander!" Skye exclaimed with annoyance. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"Saving your skin," Zander replied sharply. "Trust me, Skye. You do not want to work with this creep."
Saving my skin? Who died and appointed you white knight? I don't need Jax, and I most certainly do not need you, one of Sonny's men, to save me.
"She's a grown woman," Roscoe retorted. "Miss Quartermaine can make her own decisions."
"Skye, I'm telling you to stay away from this man. He worked for Sorel, the guy who forced Emily into hiding," Zander said angrily. "He's bad news, Skye, and the farther you stay away from him, the better."
When I'm warned to stay away from something, I can't resist.
That had been the case when AJ had first warned her to stay away from Jax. And look at what had happened. She should have listened to AJ. But Skye has never been one to listen to those around her, despite what experience told her. And maybe that was where Helena's words had truth in them.
Or maybe it was something else.
"No one tells me what to do Zander, least of all you, one of Sonny's lackeys," Skye said hatefully. She shook Zander's grip off her wrist.
"Skye, this guy is the reason why Emily is-"
"What happened to Emily was tragic," Skye cut Zander off. "I won't deny it. But neither will I let it control the decisions I make in my life."
"You're going to accept this guy's offer?" Zander asked incredulously.
Skye looked towards Roscoe. She considered her options. She considered what had transpired this past night. If AJ's happiness and protection were to be her goal in life, then she was going to need help in ensuring it. And as Jax had refused to be their help, then she had to seek the help from elsewhere. And look at what Roscoe was proposing.
"I over E, Zander," Skye told him. "Intelligence over emotion. If I want to take down Sonny, Zander, I've got to play smart. And there's no way I'm going to take Sonny down unless I have help."
"The Quartermaines will hate you."
"Intelligence over emotion," Skye repeated, but this time with a sad smile on her face. "I'm not going to let my emotions decide for me. My brain's in control from here on. Do I care what my family thinks? Before, kind of. Now? Not a bit."
"So you accept my offer?" Roscoe asked, a sly grin on his face.
"Yes, I do," Skye said firmly. Skye extended her hand. "Roscoe, you've got a yourself a deal."
"Splendid," Roscoe smiled toothily at her. He accepted Skye's hand and shook it.
Look at Zander. He's looking at me as if I've lost my mind. Well I haven't lost my mind, Zander. If you listened the slightest bit to my words, you heard me say that I would play it smart from here on. I will not let my emotions run my life… not anymore.
I know Roscoe is dangerous. And that he can easily turn on me and destroy me, ELQ, and AJ. But, see, that's the difference. That's the one thing you'll never understand, even though you ought to.
The only people who can hurt you, Zander, are the people you gave your trust to. Roscoe does not have my trust, not in the least. So whatever he does to me, he cannot hurt me. The only people who can hurt you, Zander, are the ones you trust. The hurt comes when they betray you. Emily betrayed you, and she broke your heart, and look what happened to you. Playing lap dog to Carly. My heart's been stomped on so many times, that I'm immune to pain of any kind.
I fear nothing, especially not death. You and I, Zander, we've experienced the worst life has to offer. You might choose to act like an insane person and believe that life won't play you for a fool again, but I won't. I refuse to.
"So go run to Sonny," Skye sneered. "And tell him what happened. Tell him that his two worst enemies have joined forces, Zander. And tell him to watch his back because I will not rest until the day AJ is safe from him."
Skye turned her attention back towards Roscoe. "Now, where were we?"
"Discussing our union," Roscoe answered smoothly. He offered his arm to Skye. "Shall we discuss it at my place or yours?"
Skye glared at Zander defiantly. "Yours."
That's why you can't be disgusted by the things that losers do, because you'll never be so desperate you'll never have to stoop so low.
If Jax could see her now, would he finally feel disgust?