Second Chances: Boomerang
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jason and Elizabeth collided as he stepped forward and she backed out of her studio. He heard her gasp. "What? What's wrong?" he asked not understanding the alarm that consumed her features.
"It's back - all of it."
"What's back?" Jason was still confused as he took her hand and led her inside closing the door behind them.
"All of it," she gestured to the things she had so franticly discarded days before.
Jason scanned the room and to him nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he knew something was wrong by the way Elizabeth was reacting to her surroundings. "I don't understand," he admitted honestly.
"I got rid of all of this." Elizabeth's voice was barely a whisper as her fingers glided over the torn canvases that were now taped back together. The Polaroid picture now sat in a frame on her work table and what was left of the dried flowers Ric had given her on their first date were in small vase on the window ledge.
"I still don't understand." Jason reached for her arm forcing her to turn and face him. It was then he saw the tears puddling in her sapphire eyes. The second their gaze connected the flood gates that had been holding them back let loose and the torrents fell onto Elizabeth's cheeks. Not caring or needing an explanation at the moment Jason pulled her close as she buried her face in the folds of his leather jacket.
When Elizabeth finally pulled back and wiped the remnants of tears from beneath her eyes she saw the puzzled look on Jason's face. She left his side and went around the small space collecting the things that had been so deliberately placed. As she wrestled with a canvas Jason came to her aide without questioning what she was doing or why. Once everything was in a pile on the floor before them she spoke.
"All of this," she motioned to the heap in front of them. "These were the things that I wanted rid of. The paintings were for the phony gallery show Ric set up for me and the others are just things from my life with him I never want to see again. Max had Marco dump them for me." Jason's mind turned to his conversation with Max days ago - the day that Max found Elizabeth passed out on the floor. "It's all back," she choked.
Jason bent down and began rummaging through the pile. His eyes were drawn to the small photo of what he assumed to be Ric and Elizabeth on their wedding day. He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and thought how beautiful she looked standing there in her simple white dress and flowers woven in her chestnut locks. She even looked happy - in a way that pained him to think that she would be happy with someone other than him. He shook his head to put those thoughts in their proper place. What mattered most wasn't the past but the present and the future he saw for himself and Elizabeth.
He ran his fingers along the taped edges of the canvases and recalled all the times he had watched her paint while he recovered from his gunshot wound. He remembered pulling a splinter from her finger when she had been too stubborn to accept his help in stretching canvases. He carried so many memories of them in his head and heart.
Jason was so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed Elizabeth's muffled sobs as she stared blankly at the discard pile. Jason offered her his hand and led her to the sofa tucked in the corner of the studio. Again he was flooded with his own memories of that tiny piece of furniture. "Ssshhh," he whispered as she laid her head in his lap and began stroking her soft curls.
"Why?"she asked. "Why is this happening?"
Jason knew the answer but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It was a given that Ric was over the edge. He had been long before he ever concocted his plans of revenge against Sonny but Jason had to assume that losing Elizabeth had been the point of no return for Ric Lansing - and that frightened Jason more than he wanted to admit to himself or Elizabeth.
"I think we both know why." Jason finally answered.
Elizabeth sat up and looked at Jason. She pushed down the fear that threatened to consume every inch of her. If she hadn't known it prior she knew it now, Ric was indeed stalking her every move. There was a part of her that wanted - needed to believe that he wouldn't ever hurt her, yet the niggling in the back of her head said differently. She had seen just a glimpse of what her soon to be ex-husband was capable of and she couldn't lull herself into believing he wouldn't turn on her was well.
"Jason, I'm scared." She finally admitted.
"I know baby, I know." He pulled out his cell phone and placed a call. "Max, you and Marco need to get over to Elizabeth's studio. No she's not leaving the penthouse." Elizabeth smiled assuming that Max was questioning why. "We do have a problem though."
"What are you going to do?" she asked when he had finished his conversation.
"I'm going to have them get rid of this stuff for good this time. If that's what you still want?" His eyes searched hers for a reply.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want." Elizabeth needed to be rid of those constant reminders of how stupid and foolish she had been about Ric Lansing.
"Good then once that's taken care of I will have some of the guys come here and collect all of your art supplies and we can set up a studio for you in one of the spare bedrooms at the penthouse."
Elizabeth felt a pang of loss. She didn't want to give up her studio. It was filled with so many memories for her - mostly memories of her and Jason. She knew that no matter what she would always have those recollections but somehow having the physical spot where it had all began was a comfort to her.
"I don't know think I can give this place up," she said shyly. "To me this is our place."
He understood what she meant. He felt the same pull to the place and to her. That was one of the reasons he had popped up there each time he came back into town. It was his memories and her. "You don't have to give it up. I just don't want you here right now. Not until we get a handle on Ric and what he's doing. Where are those divorce papers you said you got and that note?" Jason asked wanting something tangible he could show Sonny and prove that Ric was indeed the person responsible.
Elizabeth got up from the sofa and made her way over to the table where she had left the remains of what should have been her signed divorce papers but nothing was there. No envelope, no shreds of paper and no note - nothing. "They're gone." She turned back and looked Jason square in the eye. "It's like they never were even here."
"Damn," Jason said under his breath.
Elizabeth reached for the utility sink next to her. Suddenly she was questioning her own sanity. Had there even been an envelope? Had she really thrown all of those things away? She shook her head to clear the cobwebs that suddenly filled her mind.
"You okay?" Jason asked. She hadn't even realized that he had removed himself from the sofa and was standing beside her.
"I don't know." That response concerned him. "Am I losing it Jason? Maybe I didn't really get those papers. Maybe I never even tried to throw these things away.."
"Yes you did." Max's voice stopped Elizabeth's questioning of herself. "I tipped the guy who delivered them and Marco took all of stuff to the dumpster. All that really happened, Miss Webber."
Elizabeth produced a weak smile. "Call me Elizabeth, please. And thank you Max for a minute I really did think I was losing it."
Jason and Max exchanged knowing glances. That's exactly what Ric Lansing wanted. He wanted Elizabeth to question herself. He needed her to question everything in order to keep her off balance and give himself an inroad. That wasn't going to happen if Jason had anything to say about it.
"Why don't you start collecting the things you want to take back to the penthouse? I will have Marco box them up for you as soon as he takes out the trash," Jason said kicking the pile on the floor. "I need to talk to Max for a minute. You sure you're fine?" he asked noticing how pale she was again.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying." Elizabeth grinned and walked over to the closet on the other side of the room.
"Any leads?" Jason questioned Max.
"Not a damn thing. It's like the kid who made the delivery dropped off the face of the earth."
"Maybe he did," Jason countered. "Did you speak with Alexis? Was she any help at all?"
"All she would tell me was that she had the divorce papers sent to Ric weeks ago. She knew someone signed for them but that was all she could tell me. She hadn't heard from him or received anything back from him about them since."
"Does she know who signed for them?"
"She wouldn't tell me," Max said.
"Well Sonny should know what service she uses for deliveries. I'll see what I can find out and let you know," Jason said. "In the mean time I want you to be Ric Lansing's shadow. I want to know everything about his life."
"What about Elizabeth?" Max's eyes were drawn to the petite brunette across the room. "Who's going to be guarding her?"
"I am." Jason said firmly. "She's still got a few weeks of recovery time for her shoulder so until then she will be with me or at the penthouse. I want all of this to be taken care of by then. Am I making myself clear?"
"Yeah."
When the two men finished their talk, Jason went to help Elizabeth with the last of her things. "You about ready?" he asked as he hoisted the bag filled with her personal items over his shoulder.
"I think so." She gave the room one more glance. Jason saw the sadness in her eyes.
"You aren't giving the place up forever, I promise."
"I know," she sighed. It was still difficult to leave it behind.
"I'll have the locks changed tomorrow and when this is all settled you can come here and paint anytime you want."
Elizabeth pulled the heavy steel door closed behind her with a thud that resonated through her body as well. Neither could shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As soon as the dark sedan carrying Jason and Elizabeth was safely in the distance, Ric emerged from his hiding place in the shadows. He walked to the side of the building where several red and green dumpsters sat. He saw the smoldering embers of what had been his life with Elizabeth. Most of the things were now barely recognizable. The paintings were blackened, the flowers were mere ashes, yet sticking out of the rubble was the corner of the frame that held their wedding picture. Ric fished it out and dusted off the soot. The picture itself was distorted and had melted against the glass from the heat of the flames but to Ric it was still perfect. It was him and his wife. The way things were meant to be.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jason and Elizabeth collided as he stepped forward and she backed out of her studio. He heard her gasp. "What? What's wrong?" he asked not understanding the alarm that consumed her features.
"It's back - all of it."
"What's back?" Jason was still confused as he took her hand and led her inside closing the door behind them.
"All of it," she gestured to the things she had so franticly discarded days before.
Jason scanned the room and to him nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he knew something was wrong by the way Elizabeth was reacting to her surroundings. "I don't understand," he admitted honestly.
"I got rid of all of this." Elizabeth's voice was barely a whisper as her fingers glided over the torn canvases that were now taped back together. The Polaroid picture now sat in a frame on her work table and what was left of the dried flowers Ric had given her on their first date were in small vase on the window ledge.
"I still don't understand." Jason reached for her arm forcing her to turn and face him. It was then he saw the tears puddling in her sapphire eyes. The second their gaze connected the flood gates that had been holding them back let loose and the torrents fell onto Elizabeth's cheeks. Not caring or needing an explanation at the moment Jason pulled her close as she buried her face in the folds of his leather jacket.
When Elizabeth finally pulled back and wiped the remnants of tears from beneath her eyes she saw the puzzled look on Jason's face. She left his side and went around the small space collecting the things that had been so deliberately placed. As she wrestled with a canvas Jason came to her aide without questioning what she was doing or why. Once everything was in a pile on the floor before them she spoke.
"All of this," she motioned to the heap in front of them. "These were the things that I wanted rid of. The paintings were for the phony gallery show Ric set up for me and the others are just things from my life with him I never want to see again. Max had Marco dump them for me." Jason's mind turned to his conversation with Max days ago - the day that Max found Elizabeth passed out on the floor. "It's all back," she choked.
Jason bent down and began rummaging through the pile. His eyes were drawn to the small photo of what he assumed to be Ric and Elizabeth on their wedding day. He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and thought how beautiful she looked standing there in her simple white dress and flowers woven in her chestnut locks. She even looked happy - in a way that pained him to think that she would be happy with someone other than him. He shook his head to put those thoughts in their proper place. What mattered most wasn't the past but the present and the future he saw for himself and Elizabeth.
He ran his fingers along the taped edges of the canvases and recalled all the times he had watched her paint while he recovered from his gunshot wound. He remembered pulling a splinter from her finger when she had been too stubborn to accept his help in stretching canvases. He carried so many memories of them in his head and heart.
Jason was so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed Elizabeth's muffled sobs as she stared blankly at the discard pile. Jason offered her his hand and led her to the sofa tucked in the corner of the studio. Again he was flooded with his own memories of that tiny piece of furniture. "Ssshhh," he whispered as she laid her head in his lap and began stroking her soft curls.
"Why?"she asked. "Why is this happening?"
Jason knew the answer but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It was a given that Ric was over the edge. He had been long before he ever concocted his plans of revenge against Sonny but Jason had to assume that losing Elizabeth had been the point of no return for Ric Lansing - and that frightened Jason more than he wanted to admit to himself or Elizabeth.
"I think we both know why." Jason finally answered.
Elizabeth sat up and looked at Jason. She pushed down the fear that threatened to consume every inch of her. If she hadn't known it prior she knew it now, Ric was indeed stalking her every move. There was a part of her that wanted - needed to believe that he wouldn't ever hurt her, yet the niggling in the back of her head said differently. She had seen just a glimpse of what her soon to be ex-husband was capable of and she couldn't lull herself into believing he wouldn't turn on her was well.
"Jason, I'm scared." She finally admitted.
"I know baby, I know." He pulled out his cell phone and placed a call. "Max, you and Marco need to get over to Elizabeth's studio. No she's not leaving the penthouse." Elizabeth smiled assuming that Max was questioning why. "We do have a problem though."
"What are you going to do?" she asked when he had finished his conversation.
"I'm going to have them get rid of this stuff for good this time. If that's what you still want?" His eyes searched hers for a reply.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want." Elizabeth needed to be rid of those constant reminders of how stupid and foolish she had been about Ric Lansing.
"Good then once that's taken care of I will have some of the guys come here and collect all of your art supplies and we can set up a studio for you in one of the spare bedrooms at the penthouse."
Elizabeth felt a pang of loss. She didn't want to give up her studio. It was filled with so many memories for her - mostly memories of her and Jason. She knew that no matter what she would always have those recollections but somehow having the physical spot where it had all began was a comfort to her.
"I don't know think I can give this place up," she said shyly. "To me this is our place."
He understood what she meant. He felt the same pull to the place and to her. That was one of the reasons he had popped up there each time he came back into town. It was his memories and her. "You don't have to give it up. I just don't want you here right now. Not until we get a handle on Ric and what he's doing. Where are those divorce papers you said you got and that note?" Jason asked wanting something tangible he could show Sonny and prove that Ric was indeed the person responsible.
Elizabeth got up from the sofa and made her way over to the table where she had left the remains of what should have been her signed divorce papers but nothing was there. No envelope, no shreds of paper and no note - nothing. "They're gone." She turned back and looked Jason square in the eye. "It's like they never were even here."
"Damn," Jason said under his breath.
Elizabeth reached for the utility sink next to her. Suddenly she was questioning her own sanity. Had there even been an envelope? Had she really thrown all of those things away? She shook her head to clear the cobwebs that suddenly filled her mind.
"You okay?" Jason asked. She hadn't even realized that he had removed himself from the sofa and was standing beside her.
"I don't know." That response concerned him. "Am I losing it Jason? Maybe I didn't really get those papers. Maybe I never even tried to throw these things away.."
"Yes you did." Max's voice stopped Elizabeth's questioning of herself. "I tipped the guy who delivered them and Marco took all of stuff to the dumpster. All that really happened, Miss Webber."
Elizabeth produced a weak smile. "Call me Elizabeth, please. And thank you Max for a minute I really did think I was losing it."
Jason and Max exchanged knowing glances. That's exactly what Ric Lansing wanted. He wanted Elizabeth to question herself. He needed her to question everything in order to keep her off balance and give himself an inroad. That wasn't going to happen if Jason had anything to say about it.
"Why don't you start collecting the things you want to take back to the penthouse? I will have Marco box them up for you as soon as he takes out the trash," Jason said kicking the pile on the floor. "I need to talk to Max for a minute. You sure you're fine?" he asked noticing how pale she was again.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying." Elizabeth grinned and walked over to the closet on the other side of the room.
"Any leads?" Jason questioned Max.
"Not a damn thing. It's like the kid who made the delivery dropped off the face of the earth."
"Maybe he did," Jason countered. "Did you speak with Alexis? Was she any help at all?"
"All she would tell me was that she had the divorce papers sent to Ric weeks ago. She knew someone signed for them but that was all she could tell me. She hadn't heard from him or received anything back from him about them since."
"Does she know who signed for them?"
"She wouldn't tell me," Max said.
"Well Sonny should know what service she uses for deliveries. I'll see what I can find out and let you know," Jason said. "In the mean time I want you to be Ric Lansing's shadow. I want to know everything about his life."
"What about Elizabeth?" Max's eyes were drawn to the petite brunette across the room. "Who's going to be guarding her?"
"I am." Jason said firmly. "She's still got a few weeks of recovery time for her shoulder so until then she will be with me or at the penthouse. I want all of this to be taken care of by then. Am I making myself clear?"
"Yeah."
When the two men finished their talk, Jason went to help Elizabeth with the last of her things. "You about ready?" he asked as he hoisted the bag filled with her personal items over his shoulder.
"I think so." She gave the room one more glance. Jason saw the sadness in her eyes.
"You aren't giving the place up forever, I promise."
"I know," she sighed. It was still difficult to leave it behind.
"I'll have the locks changed tomorrow and when this is all settled you can come here and paint anytime you want."
Elizabeth pulled the heavy steel door closed behind her with a thud that resonated through her body as well. Neither could shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As soon as the dark sedan carrying Jason and Elizabeth was safely in the distance, Ric emerged from his hiding place in the shadows. He walked to the side of the building where several red and green dumpsters sat. He saw the smoldering embers of what had been his life with Elizabeth. Most of the things were now barely recognizable. The paintings were blackened, the flowers were mere ashes, yet sticking out of the rubble was the corner of the frame that held their wedding picture. Ric fished it out and dusted off the soot. The picture itself was distorted and had melted against the glass from the heat of the flames but to Ric it was still perfect. It was him and his wife. The way things were meant to be.