Chap4: Innocence
The sun was gradually getting higher in the sky; it was enough to leave a bitter taste in Courtney's mouth. She wished the darkness would not go away that the choice to go or stay wasn't looming closer with every passing second. The coffee in her hands had gone cold, barely a sip taken but instead of pouring it out, she clutched it tighter. There she was sitting on the penthouse couch, not her penthouse, not her couch, his. Ever since the visit and the next batch of visions, she had forced her eyes to stay open. It was enough to have the guilt of leaving him in that cage but to be forced to see that murder in her dreams again it would be too much. Courtney glanced at the door, the packed suitcase sitting near the side, she had not even had time to unpack and now it was time to leave. You're not leaving you're bailing, there's a difference, her mind was battling for her to remain but something inside had given up, there was no reason to stay. Shutting her eyes, Courtney took a moment to breathe in the scent that surrounded her; it was Jason, in spirit. Setting the mug down she finally rose to greet the dawn; a caramel sky cloudless and bright lay just before her eyes. It was enough to lighten the gloomy atmosphere, tugging her heart further into its warmth.
Jason paced the length of his cell, it wasn't much more then a stride, but it was calming in way. Keeping his feet busy didn't stop the look on Courtney's face from appearing in his head, every word tumbling from her lips taunting him. The way her voice had become accusatory, those bright pools of crystal blue, so much like the ocean, the way they had darkened. It was too much like what Jason imagined he looked like before taking a life, cold, uncaring, tainted. He could almost taste her innocence, how it had surrounded him, it almost felt like salvation. He knew though, too many people had died at his hands, it was ironic to think the only person he hadn't dreamed of ever hurting was the one causing him to stand on trial for murder.
"You know you are just like the rest of us, that is why you're gonna burn" Jason turned his head, the prisoner to his right had taken residence on the top bunk, staring at him through narrowed eyes.
"That girl you think she is pretty, I snap girls like her in two" His voice was the type of monotonous drone that sent a shivers through most people, but Jason just stared.
The prisoner continued in the same taunting tone " I remember my first victim, a pretty little girl, around your girls age, she was fun to play with, you always savor the first kill, don't you?"
"I wouldn't know, I didn't kill her"
"Oh not her but there were others, I sense it, you're immune to the blood aren't you maybe it's the rush that keeps you coming back for more" he edged closer pressing his scarred face against the cold steel bars, Jason imagined if he could get any closer would.
"How many more will you kill before you admit you don't deserve it"
"Deserve what" Jason's patience was wearing thin, something that the man caught onto all too quickly, the thinnest of smiles gracing his ghostly pale face.
"You don't deserve innocence, not the scent of vanilla or peaches, not her, whether you're guilty or not you will never be innocent" His long bony fingers loosened from around the bars and what Jason could only describe as slithering away, the man disappeared to the other side of his cell.
Something about his words rung true with Jason, how could he possibly see himself worthy of anything from Courtney, he was a hit man, a hired killer.
"Morgan, you're allowed time to get ready for your trial, make it quick" One of the guards had unlocked the cell door, never once even looking him in the eye, just keeping a steady gaze on the wall above Jason's shoulder.
Courtney stood a while longer on the balcony, trying to fight the inevitable moment. Then it came and she knew if she were to leave, it would be now or never, there was too much pulling her to stay in Port Charles to risk another minute in the quaint town. Pulling a coat on over her loose tank top, she tried to stand only to have an invisible force knock her right back down onto the couch.
"You shouldn't have looked at me""Guard" Someone was screaming through the bars, too much was happening, too many people were moving. Then there was only he, the knife and blood, all lying on the concrete floor. The guards were trying to get through the crowd, trays knocked to the floor, clattering and sliding out of the way. He wasn't moving though, his chest stopped rising and falling.
"Jason" Courtney clutched her hand, eyes opening to look frantically around the penthouse as if he would suddenly be there. Tears slid down her cheeks but she just brushed them away feverishly, her heart pounding so loud she nearly covered her ears to stop the sounds.
The door opened and Courtney came face to face with Carly who looked taken aback for a second her steps faltering until she finally reached Courtney's side.
"What's going on what happened?" Stroking a lock of hair back from Courtney's face Carly finally saw the fresh tears still falling; it was enough to make her heart stop.
"Is Jason okay?" Courtney didn't answer causing Carly's grip to tighten almost painfully on the girls arm "Courtney did something happen to Jason"
"I don't know I saw… but it doesn't feel like it's happened, it doesn't feel like the others" She was mumbling her words and pacing, one hand still massaging away the pain that had shot through her skull. It was an unusual feeling and the more she paced the more aggravated the pain become forcing her still.
"Courtney what's going on?"
"I had a vision" Just like she had expected Carly raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow and stared, a hint of amusement in her deep brown eyes.
"Sweetie, how much did you have to drink last night?" She spoke so condescendingly that Courtney had to resist snapping instead she balled her fists " Nothing"
"Okay if you're not hung over you want to tell exactly what this so called vision thing is about"
"Not really" It was taking all her self-control to not bite Carly's head off, she sounded like she was talking to a child, her child.
"No come on humor me" She chided, urging Courtney on with the story, laughter had already begun to build in her eyes, making them sparkle in the early morning light.
"I have visions of murders, I had the first one when I was eight, only catch is that I get these visions after the fact, meaning I'm pretty much useless in stopping anything"
Carly's lips no longer twitched into a smile, her eyes were much less gleeful as they had been, and it was as if recognition had finally dawned upon her, slowly but surely.
"You saw Elizabeth murdered that's why you're here" The last words spilled forth in a mere whisper, Carly's head dipping in slight shame. The satisfaction Courtney expected to feel never came, the blinding pain in her head becoming strong enough to force unwilling tears into her eyes. Then she could see Jason again, lying on that floor, the blood there was so much of it, it caused bile to rise in the back of Courtney's throat, she just swallowed it and continued to pace. There had to be a way to stop it, all she had to do was figure out when it would happen, then stop it, all those thought's clouded her head in another painful burst.
"Courtney, you should sit down"
"I can't if Jason gets hurt it'll be my fault, I can't let him die" Tears clouding her vision she managed to sputter those words to Carly, knocking all the air from the room. Both women stared unseeingly at one another, silent and stoic while their brains worked overload. Courtney tensed as another blinding twinge shot through her skull almost knocking her off her feet.
"We have to make sure Jason's alright"
"He is for now, they just loaded him on the transport bus for court"
"We have to go there, now" It was a silent order more to force the numbing ache back into the depths of her cranium.
"Okay"
Jason passed the reporters, flashing cameras making stars appear behind his eyes. It did not matter though, none of it did, not the flurry of excited attendees, not the jury's faces as they filed in one by one, nothing.
"Jason, fight" Those words that smell, it was so familiar like the tantalizing first taste of an expensive wine, he almost felt dizzy from the buzz. Her lips, breath, everything about her shocked the scowl from his face.
Courtney squeezed his shoulders with the lightest touch he had ever felt and suddenly things mattered the jury mattered, the people mattered, he mattered. When the guard unlocked the cuffs and he turned to see her behind him, the hint of an encouraging smile playing on her lips, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
"All rise for Judge Macmillan" The minute Jason turned his back though Courtney slumped in her seat shutting her eyes and trying to stop the blackness creeping ever so slowly in front of her eyes. Why did she feel this way? The throbbing was almost unbearable, but she forced her self to sit up, she was not ready to give up on Jason, not yet.