Bobbie had taken a seat with her daughter in the waiting area of the
hospital. She wasn't very happy about what was going on with Damian,
although she couldn't be blamed. She cared about that boy, regardless of
what other people thought about him. She knew from the beginning that he
wasn't going to be the type of person that they thought he was. "You should
have told me last night," Bobbie muttered.
"It was late."
"I was up."
"Mom," Carly said softly. "None of us meant to hurt you."
"But you did," Bobbie countered. "What? Did you think that he wasn't important to me? Need I remind you, Carly, that you were the one that didn't care about him for a long time. I was always there for him, and he knew it."
"I'm sorry!"
"You must be happy," Bobbie said with spite. "You got what you wanted. He's not around Sonny and your children anymore."
"Mother! That's not fair!"
"That's how you treated him for a long time, Carly. I'm sorry if I have a hard time believing that you just all of a sudden had a change of heart."
"I've done it before, haven't I?" Carly asked. "With you?"
Bobbie looked over, "That isn't the same. You were a new mother and I was a new grandmother."
"Look, mom, I'm not going to make excuses for the way that I acted when Damian first came into our lives. They were wrong, I was acting incredibly selfish and I shouldn't have been acting like that, but I didn't know how to feel. The only thing that I knew at that time was that I was feeling that my entire family life was being threatened by someone who had no right putting himself between my husband, my children, and myself."
"He didn't put himself in between anyone," Bobbie said. "He just wanted to find acceptance from a father that he never knew. You should have been sympathetic, Carly. You know what it's like to grow up without a parent, or both parents. I'm sorry that I did that to you, and I'll never truly be able to forgive myself for it, but you should have been more sympathetic."
Carly sighed, "I can't make up for the past! Believe me, if I could do it again, I would change everything and I would open my arms to that boy, but what's important right now is that we stand together and try to clear his name! Mom, I told you because I felt that you had a right to know, but there's nothing that you can do."
"Does Mike know?" Bobbie asked.
Carly shook her head, "Sonny hasn't told him yet."
"Mike is Damian's grandfather. He has a right to know when his grandson is in trouble."
"I agree, but I am not the one that needs to tell Mike, Sonny is."
"He should have already informed Mike."
"You know that their relationship is a lot more complicated than that," Carly said. "There's years of pain between those two. You can't just expect that everything be erased overnight."
"Whatever Sonny and Mike are going through and have been going through for years has nothing to do with Damian, Carly. Mike has every right to be there for his grandson just like Sonny does to be there for his son."
Carly shook her head, "That's their business and their business alone."
"If Mike doesn't find out soon enough I am going to tell him," Bobbie said with no hint of lying in her voice. She meant what she said. "You tell Sonny that. I don't want Mike to find out that his grandson was arrested by seeing it in the newspaper or on the television."
"This is difficult for all of us," Carly mentioned. "I can't believe that you're acting like this."
"I'm acting how I feel that I should be acting. Much like you felt when Damian first came around."
Carly stopped herself. Her mother had a point, a bitter point. "I should get back to the penthouse. I wonder what is taking Michael so long to get his soda."
"I'm right here, mommy." Michael walked up, holding Maxie's hand.
Carly saw Maxie and instantly thought about how she was taking the situation. Surely she knew. Carly didn't want to be the one to tell her if she didn't. "Hi, Maxie."
Maxie smiled in response, "Michael and I had a little talk, I didn't mean to keep him for so long and worry you. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Carly said. "I feel safe if you're watching him. At least I know that he was fine." She turned her attentions towards her precious child. "You ready to go, Mister Man?"
"Yeah," Michael's spirits were somewhat higher, although the shadow of doubt still loomed over him like it loomed over them all.
"Come on, then. We'll go get Ice Cream like I promised and then we'll go home."
Michael looked at the two other women, "Bye, Grandma. Bye, Maxie."
Bobbie knelt down and kissed her grandson on the cheek. Silently she wondered if Carly would let her know if something bad happened to Michael or Morgan right away. Would she wait a day before she said anything, like she had with Damian? "You stay good, okay?"
"I will," Michael said as he and his mother walked into the elevator.
Maxie didn't want to see Carly, but she knew that she would have to because she was with Michael. She had a feeling that Carly was enjoying everything that had happened to Damian. She was no doubt getting some sick pleasure out of seeing Damian, her own step-son, suffer. It was no secret to anyone that Carly did not want Damian around any of them.
"I take it you know," Bobbie said as she got up and wiped her knees.
"About Damian? Yeah."
"Did Mac tell you?"
Maxie nodded, "This morning."
"Maxie, I know how much you enjoy working here, but I also know that there are times when you have to take a break. Maybe you should take a break from everything right now. Get some time off to put everything into perspective."
"No, Bobbie. I'm fine. I need something to do. If I just stand around worrying about Damian the only thing that I am going to do for sure is drive myself crazy. Besides, I don't want anyone worrying about me."
"How can we not?" Bobbie asked. "We all know how much the two of you care for each other. It must be killing you, knowing that he's in trouble and feeling so helpless. It's how I feel..."
"People are always helping me pick the pieces up from my shattered life, Bobbie. I'm sick of making everyone do the work for me. I can handle this."
"Maxie... we worry about you and we help you because we love you. We don't mind helping you when we know that you're going through something and you're having a hard time with it."
The girl shook her head, "I won't be the subject of everyone's pity!"
"None of us pity you."
"Really?"
"Why would you even think that we pitied you, Maxie?" Bobbie asked. "When have any of us ever given you the feeling that you were merely tolerated, that you weren't loved and accepted for who you are."
"I don't know, I'm just going through a lot right now."
"Which is why you should take a break."
"I told you, I'm not going to take a break!" Maxie almost yelled at Bobbie. She felt bad doing it, but she wasn't going to stand around and do nothing. She couldn't take it. It would break her. "I'm going to go and find something to do."
"Maxie... wait. Promise me that if you do need someone, you'll talk to one of us. It doesn't even have to be me, or Mac, or your sister. Just talk to someone if you're having a problem with anything. Please, Maxie. You mean to much to all of us. We couldn't watch you self-destruct and survive."
"I can't promise anything," Maxie walked away and went to do something, anything. As she walked around the corner, she saw a large amount of pills on one of the carriers. She knew what some of them did. She knew that if she took a certain bottle it would help her forget everything. Maxie bit her lip as she looked at the bottles. She didn't want to get back into drugs. It had gone very badly for her the first time. She had overdosed on ecstasy and there was no doubt in her mind that she could get addicted again very easily. She had been clean for over a year.
She thought about everything. She wanted an escape. She wanted to forget that Damian was in jail. She wanted to forget that her mother was hurt. She wanted to forget that she and her mother had problems. She wanted to forget everything. But she didn't want to take the path of drugs again. She wanted to make sure that everything that she did was through herself. She could beat this. She could beat anything if she believed in herself. Damian believed in her. Even if he was in jail, his love for her was still in her heart. She could find the strength to deal with everything through that bond.
Maxie picked up the bottle and smiled, "Never again. I don't need you. Not anymore." She put the bottle down, looked at it, and walked away. It was a small step in her path towards self-acceptance. But she was one step closer to something that she wanted very badly.
She also wanted Damian to be out of jail and for them to both live together in love. But she wasn't sure just how likely that was at that moment in time.
"It was late."
"I was up."
"Mom," Carly said softly. "None of us meant to hurt you."
"But you did," Bobbie countered. "What? Did you think that he wasn't important to me? Need I remind you, Carly, that you were the one that didn't care about him for a long time. I was always there for him, and he knew it."
"I'm sorry!"
"You must be happy," Bobbie said with spite. "You got what you wanted. He's not around Sonny and your children anymore."
"Mother! That's not fair!"
"That's how you treated him for a long time, Carly. I'm sorry if I have a hard time believing that you just all of a sudden had a change of heart."
"I've done it before, haven't I?" Carly asked. "With you?"
Bobbie looked over, "That isn't the same. You were a new mother and I was a new grandmother."
"Look, mom, I'm not going to make excuses for the way that I acted when Damian first came into our lives. They were wrong, I was acting incredibly selfish and I shouldn't have been acting like that, but I didn't know how to feel. The only thing that I knew at that time was that I was feeling that my entire family life was being threatened by someone who had no right putting himself between my husband, my children, and myself."
"He didn't put himself in between anyone," Bobbie said. "He just wanted to find acceptance from a father that he never knew. You should have been sympathetic, Carly. You know what it's like to grow up without a parent, or both parents. I'm sorry that I did that to you, and I'll never truly be able to forgive myself for it, but you should have been more sympathetic."
Carly sighed, "I can't make up for the past! Believe me, if I could do it again, I would change everything and I would open my arms to that boy, but what's important right now is that we stand together and try to clear his name! Mom, I told you because I felt that you had a right to know, but there's nothing that you can do."
"Does Mike know?" Bobbie asked.
Carly shook her head, "Sonny hasn't told him yet."
"Mike is Damian's grandfather. He has a right to know when his grandson is in trouble."
"I agree, but I am not the one that needs to tell Mike, Sonny is."
"He should have already informed Mike."
"You know that their relationship is a lot more complicated than that," Carly said. "There's years of pain between those two. You can't just expect that everything be erased overnight."
"Whatever Sonny and Mike are going through and have been going through for years has nothing to do with Damian, Carly. Mike has every right to be there for his grandson just like Sonny does to be there for his son."
Carly shook her head, "That's their business and their business alone."
"If Mike doesn't find out soon enough I am going to tell him," Bobbie said with no hint of lying in her voice. She meant what she said. "You tell Sonny that. I don't want Mike to find out that his grandson was arrested by seeing it in the newspaper or on the television."
"This is difficult for all of us," Carly mentioned. "I can't believe that you're acting like this."
"I'm acting how I feel that I should be acting. Much like you felt when Damian first came around."
Carly stopped herself. Her mother had a point, a bitter point. "I should get back to the penthouse. I wonder what is taking Michael so long to get his soda."
"I'm right here, mommy." Michael walked up, holding Maxie's hand.
Carly saw Maxie and instantly thought about how she was taking the situation. Surely she knew. Carly didn't want to be the one to tell her if she didn't. "Hi, Maxie."
Maxie smiled in response, "Michael and I had a little talk, I didn't mean to keep him for so long and worry you. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Carly said. "I feel safe if you're watching him. At least I know that he was fine." She turned her attentions towards her precious child. "You ready to go, Mister Man?"
"Yeah," Michael's spirits were somewhat higher, although the shadow of doubt still loomed over him like it loomed over them all.
"Come on, then. We'll go get Ice Cream like I promised and then we'll go home."
Michael looked at the two other women, "Bye, Grandma. Bye, Maxie."
Bobbie knelt down and kissed her grandson on the cheek. Silently she wondered if Carly would let her know if something bad happened to Michael or Morgan right away. Would she wait a day before she said anything, like she had with Damian? "You stay good, okay?"
"I will," Michael said as he and his mother walked into the elevator.
Maxie didn't want to see Carly, but she knew that she would have to because she was with Michael. She had a feeling that Carly was enjoying everything that had happened to Damian. She was no doubt getting some sick pleasure out of seeing Damian, her own step-son, suffer. It was no secret to anyone that Carly did not want Damian around any of them.
"I take it you know," Bobbie said as she got up and wiped her knees.
"About Damian? Yeah."
"Did Mac tell you?"
Maxie nodded, "This morning."
"Maxie, I know how much you enjoy working here, but I also know that there are times when you have to take a break. Maybe you should take a break from everything right now. Get some time off to put everything into perspective."
"No, Bobbie. I'm fine. I need something to do. If I just stand around worrying about Damian the only thing that I am going to do for sure is drive myself crazy. Besides, I don't want anyone worrying about me."
"How can we not?" Bobbie asked. "We all know how much the two of you care for each other. It must be killing you, knowing that he's in trouble and feeling so helpless. It's how I feel..."
"People are always helping me pick the pieces up from my shattered life, Bobbie. I'm sick of making everyone do the work for me. I can handle this."
"Maxie... we worry about you and we help you because we love you. We don't mind helping you when we know that you're going through something and you're having a hard time with it."
The girl shook her head, "I won't be the subject of everyone's pity!"
"None of us pity you."
"Really?"
"Why would you even think that we pitied you, Maxie?" Bobbie asked. "When have any of us ever given you the feeling that you were merely tolerated, that you weren't loved and accepted for who you are."
"I don't know, I'm just going through a lot right now."
"Which is why you should take a break."
"I told you, I'm not going to take a break!" Maxie almost yelled at Bobbie. She felt bad doing it, but she wasn't going to stand around and do nothing. She couldn't take it. It would break her. "I'm going to go and find something to do."
"Maxie... wait. Promise me that if you do need someone, you'll talk to one of us. It doesn't even have to be me, or Mac, or your sister. Just talk to someone if you're having a problem with anything. Please, Maxie. You mean to much to all of us. We couldn't watch you self-destruct and survive."
"I can't promise anything," Maxie walked away and went to do something, anything. As she walked around the corner, she saw a large amount of pills on one of the carriers. She knew what some of them did. She knew that if she took a certain bottle it would help her forget everything. Maxie bit her lip as she looked at the bottles. She didn't want to get back into drugs. It had gone very badly for her the first time. She had overdosed on ecstasy and there was no doubt in her mind that she could get addicted again very easily. She had been clean for over a year.
She thought about everything. She wanted an escape. She wanted to forget that Damian was in jail. She wanted to forget that her mother was hurt. She wanted to forget that she and her mother had problems. She wanted to forget everything. But she didn't want to take the path of drugs again. She wanted to make sure that everything that she did was through herself. She could beat this. She could beat anything if she believed in herself. Damian believed in her. Even if he was in jail, his love for her was still in her heart. She could find the strength to deal with everything through that bond.
Maxie picked up the bottle and smiled, "Never again. I don't need you. Not anymore." She put the bottle down, looked at it, and walked away. It was a small step in her path towards self-acceptance. But she was one step closer to something that she wanted very badly.
She also wanted Damian to be out of jail and for them to both live together in love. But she wasn't sure just how likely that was at that moment in time.