Courtney had been sitting on the couch for a while, unsure of what to do
with herself. Her trance was interrupted by a knock on the door and she
jumped out of her seat.
Please be Jason.
She opened the door; to her disappointment it was Carly. Of course she had been worried and had wanted to see Carly, but her thoughts had been elsewhere since Jason had left.
Courtney surrounded Carly in a hug.
"What's wrong?" Carly asked, not oblivious.
"You'll need to sit down." Courtney offered and led her to the couch.
Carly had noticed the missing Jason and finally took a guess, "Did you and Jason have a fight?"
"While you were missing it was all he could do from going crazy. He was worried and I did not want to burden him with more news."
Carly was not following, "Courtney, tell me. You are sound like somebody died, the tone is driving me nuts!"
Courtney almost broke down but remained composed, "I was pregnant and I thought I could wait to tell him until you were . . . "
Carly interrupted, "WAS pregnant?"
The look in Courtney's eyes said everything and she took the younger woman in her arms. Carly knew all too well what it was like to loose a child. She knew how much the younger woman must be hurting. But then why was Jason not there to comfort her?
Carly pulled away, "Where's Jason?"
"I kept it from him . . ."
"Oh Courtney . . ." Carly started, knowing Jason well enough to know how he must have reacted.
"I thought that if I waited to tell him until you were home safely that it wouldn't hurt as much. But he found out by mistake . . ."
"He'll come around . . ." Carly offered, "I'll talk to him."
Finally Courtney broke down and Carly took her in her arms and held her. She only hoped that Jason did not do something stupid in his absence. ~*~*~*~
Just as Jason was going to meet Marco his cell phone rang.
"Morgan."
"Jase, where are you?"
"Carly? Is something wrong?"
"I'm fine. It's Courtney. She needs you."
"I can't talk right now." He said, trying to avoid the issue.
"Meet me somewhere, Jase."
"You shouldn't be out, Carly. I heard Dr. Meadows say it."
"Then come by the penthouse."
"I have some business to take care of for Sonny."
"How long will it take?"
"I'm not sure."
"When you are done, come over."
It wasn't a suggestion; it was an order, one that she knew he would obey. He turned off his phone and saw Marco approaching.
"Rick been around?" Jason asked.
"No, not recently. She's been alone."
"Does she know she's being watched?"
"No."
Jason and Marco stood outside the building that housed Elizabeth's studio. Marco turned to leave but stopped and turned back to Jason.
Their eyes met and Marco offered, "Something isn't right with her."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"Last night I watched her down a whole bottle of wine."
Jason was worried, that did not sound like Elizabeth. But if she knew that she had been watched then she might get angry so he knew he could not approach her to ask what was wrong.
Marco left and Jason went into the building across the street and opened the door to the room with windows parallel to Elizabeth's studio. He could barely see inside her studio because it only had the small window. He considered finding a closer place to watch her from.
~*~*~*~
"Jason is on business for Sonny. He is going to come by when he's thru and we'll have our chat. Trust me, I'll talk sense into him."
Courtney let out a sigh, "I never should have confided in Elizabeth."
"What?" Carly asked, startled.
"I ran into her in the park. I was just being friendly with her and then I remembered how she had a miscarriage. I needed to talk to someone, I just never expected she would stab me in the back."
"Of course she would, she wants Jason. Especially after realizing what Rick has been up to. You should have thought it through."
Courtney almost laughed, like Carly had any right to tell her to think something thru. Carly never thought anything through in her life, she acted on instinct.
"I thought I knew her better then that. I was her friend before I even met Jason, or you even. I just thought that maybe we could have that again."
Carly put an arm around Courtney, "You weren't thinking straight because you just lost the baby. Momentary lapse in judgment, that's all. And now you know that she will use anything against you."
Courtney considered Carly's words.
"When Rick had you in their home, did you think Elizabeth knew?"
"No. She's not that clever." Carly scoffed.
"Did you think that if she found you that she would leave you there and go along with Rick's plan."
"No, she might be a brat but she's not crazy." Carly offered.
Sonny opened the door and found his two favorite ladies on the couch.
"Carly, you putting ideas in my sister's head?" He asked, jokingly.
She smiled, "No."
"You need to rest. Come back over to the penthouse, I'll make it worth it." He said, smiling and showing his dimples.
She smiled, "I cannot refuse and offer like that."
She turned back to Courtney, "If you need anything . . ."
Courtney smiled, "Okay."
As soon as Carly was gone, Courtney gathered her purse and jacket and left the penthouse.
~*~*~*~
After her early morning stroll in the park, Elizabeth had come back to her studio and crashed on the couch. She woke up with a horrible headache and was reminded of her actions the night before by the empty bottle of wine on her table. She was not one whom usually drank. She usually hated the taste of alcohol. But last night she had let herself get drunk because she did not want to feel anything.
It had worked, for the most part. But suddenly she remembered the little girl in the park, her own vision of the daughter she lost, and she felt as though her heart had been ripped out again.
She refused to cry, tried to hold in the tears, but they came and she brushed them away.
She suddenly remembered her confrontation with Courtney. She had thought the day before that there might be a chance of reconciling but now she knew it was too late. She scolded herself for the slip of her tongue the day before and ruining whatever chance she had to renew her friendship with Courtney.
She then recalled her confrontation in the park with Rick and looked down at her vacant ring finger in disgust. She scolded herself for not seeing what was in front of her, his lies and deceit. She scolded herself for not seeing that within the walls of her home a woman was being held hostage. How could she have been so blind to something that everyone else could see plain as day? She had been warned, but did she listen, no.
She recalled the fight with Lucky in the park and knew that she would have to apologize to him. He had only been looking out for her and she did not blame him for that. There had been a time in he life where she had needed him and he had been there unconditionally, and the guilt set in as she recalled yelling at him. He was only being himself, the man that she had at one point considered spending her life with, and felt horrible for being so cruel.
Everything had been so much simpler then, not easier, but simpler. She knew who she was then, she was Lucky's girlfriend, and all she needed was him by her side.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She made her way to the door and opened it, surprised to find Courtney there.
She hoped that Courtney did not intend to fight because she was not in the mood.
"I just need an honest answer from you and I'll go." She offered.
Elizabeth leaned against the door and awaited the question.
"Did you let me confide in you so that you could use it to ruin my relationship with Jason so you could have him back?"
Elizabeth looked her straight in the eyes and honestly replied, "No."
She smiled, seemingly pleased with the answer.
Elizabeth moved out of the way, "Do you want to come in?"
"No, I should go." She offered.
As she started to leave, Elizabeth called to her and she turned.
"Courtney, for what it is worth, I hope you remember that I'm here. I know how you feel and how much it hurts. I know that not a minute goes by where you don't feel that empty void inside yourself and wonder what might have been. Just remember, you're not alone."
"I will." She said with a smile and walked off.
Elizabeth shut her door and looked at the empty wine bottle in disgust. Sure, it had been a relief to feel numb for a while, but she could not live her life that way. She knew the joys of feeling loved and the knew that she would rather feel this momentary pain then feel numb for the rest of her life.
She picked up the bottle and threw it in the garbage. She knew that the only way she would feel happy is if she went out and found it for herself instead of dwelling on the past.
She almost jumped when once again her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She imagined it might be Courtney, with a sudden change of heart, wanting to talk. She opened the door to find Rick.
Her good mood went away just as quickly as it had come.
"I have nothing to say to you. Please leave." She offered, nonchalantly.
"I saw you talking with Courtney."
"That is none of your business, Rick. Just go away."
"I'm not leaving until you hear me out."
"Nothing you could possibly say could convince me to even consider going out with you or giving our marriage a second chance."
"She's brainwashed you against me. All of them have. I know that you still love me, Elizabeth. I know that when you put your heart out there and love someone that you cannot just turn that off. I'm in your heart, Elizabeth. Don't listen to their lies."
"Their lies, Rick? What about your lies? Everything you ever told me was a lie. Why should I ever believe anything you have to say? I don't know why I am even standing here." She said and started to shove the door.
He pushed his way in and slammed the door shut.
"You are going to listen! You are my wife! Lucky is not here right now. There is no one you can hide behind. You have to listen."
Please be Jason.
She opened the door; to her disappointment it was Carly. Of course she had been worried and had wanted to see Carly, but her thoughts had been elsewhere since Jason had left.
Courtney surrounded Carly in a hug.
"What's wrong?" Carly asked, not oblivious.
"You'll need to sit down." Courtney offered and led her to the couch.
Carly had noticed the missing Jason and finally took a guess, "Did you and Jason have a fight?"
"While you were missing it was all he could do from going crazy. He was worried and I did not want to burden him with more news."
Carly was not following, "Courtney, tell me. You are sound like somebody died, the tone is driving me nuts!"
Courtney almost broke down but remained composed, "I was pregnant and I thought I could wait to tell him until you were . . . "
Carly interrupted, "WAS pregnant?"
The look in Courtney's eyes said everything and she took the younger woman in her arms. Carly knew all too well what it was like to loose a child. She knew how much the younger woman must be hurting. But then why was Jason not there to comfort her?
Carly pulled away, "Where's Jason?"
"I kept it from him . . ."
"Oh Courtney . . ." Carly started, knowing Jason well enough to know how he must have reacted.
"I thought that if I waited to tell him until you were home safely that it wouldn't hurt as much. But he found out by mistake . . ."
"He'll come around . . ." Carly offered, "I'll talk to him."
Finally Courtney broke down and Carly took her in her arms and held her. She only hoped that Jason did not do something stupid in his absence. ~*~*~*~
Just as Jason was going to meet Marco his cell phone rang.
"Morgan."
"Jase, where are you?"
"Carly? Is something wrong?"
"I'm fine. It's Courtney. She needs you."
"I can't talk right now." He said, trying to avoid the issue.
"Meet me somewhere, Jase."
"You shouldn't be out, Carly. I heard Dr. Meadows say it."
"Then come by the penthouse."
"I have some business to take care of for Sonny."
"How long will it take?"
"I'm not sure."
"When you are done, come over."
It wasn't a suggestion; it was an order, one that she knew he would obey. He turned off his phone and saw Marco approaching.
"Rick been around?" Jason asked.
"No, not recently. She's been alone."
"Does she know she's being watched?"
"No."
Jason and Marco stood outside the building that housed Elizabeth's studio. Marco turned to leave but stopped and turned back to Jason.
Their eyes met and Marco offered, "Something isn't right with her."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked.
"Last night I watched her down a whole bottle of wine."
Jason was worried, that did not sound like Elizabeth. But if she knew that she had been watched then she might get angry so he knew he could not approach her to ask what was wrong.
Marco left and Jason went into the building across the street and opened the door to the room with windows parallel to Elizabeth's studio. He could barely see inside her studio because it only had the small window. He considered finding a closer place to watch her from.
~*~*~*~
"Jason is on business for Sonny. He is going to come by when he's thru and we'll have our chat. Trust me, I'll talk sense into him."
Courtney let out a sigh, "I never should have confided in Elizabeth."
"What?" Carly asked, startled.
"I ran into her in the park. I was just being friendly with her and then I remembered how she had a miscarriage. I needed to talk to someone, I just never expected she would stab me in the back."
"Of course she would, she wants Jason. Especially after realizing what Rick has been up to. You should have thought it through."
Courtney almost laughed, like Carly had any right to tell her to think something thru. Carly never thought anything through in her life, she acted on instinct.
"I thought I knew her better then that. I was her friend before I even met Jason, or you even. I just thought that maybe we could have that again."
Carly put an arm around Courtney, "You weren't thinking straight because you just lost the baby. Momentary lapse in judgment, that's all. And now you know that she will use anything against you."
Courtney considered Carly's words.
"When Rick had you in their home, did you think Elizabeth knew?"
"No. She's not that clever." Carly scoffed.
"Did you think that if she found you that she would leave you there and go along with Rick's plan."
"No, she might be a brat but she's not crazy." Carly offered.
Sonny opened the door and found his two favorite ladies on the couch.
"Carly, you putting ideas in my sister's head?" He asked, jokingly.
She smiled, "No."
"You need to rest. Come back over to the penthouse, I'll make it worth it." He said, smiling and showing his dimples.
She smiled, "I cannot refuse and offer like that."
She turned back to Courtney, "If you need anything . . ."
Courtney smiled, "Okay."
As soon as Carly was gone, Courtney gathered her purse and jacket and left the penthouse.
~*~*~*~
After her early morning stroll in the park, Elizabeth had come back to her studio and crashed on the couch. She woke up with a horrible headache and was reminded of her actions the night before by the empty bottle of wine on her table. She was not one whom usually drank. She usually hated the taste of alcohol. But last night she had let herself get drunk because she did not want to feel anything.
It had worked, for the most part. But suddenly she remembered the little girl in the park, her own vision of the daughter she lost, and she felt as though her heart had been ripped out again.
She refused to cry, tried to hold in the tears, but they came and she brushed them away.
She suddenly remembered her confrontation with Courtney. She had thought the day before that there might be a chance of reconciling but now she knew it was too late. She scolded herself for the slip of her tongue the day before and ruining whatever chance she had to renew her friendship with Courtney.
She then recalled her confrontation in the park with Rick and looked down at her vacant ring finger in disgust. She scolded herself for not seeing what was in front of her, his lies and deceit. She scolded herself for not seeing that within the walls of her home a woman was being held hostage. How could she have been so blind to something that everyone else could see plain as day? She had been warned, but did she listen, no.
She recalled the fight with Lucky in the park and knew that she would have to apologize to him. He had only been looking out for her and she did not blame him for that. There had been a time in he life where she had needed him and he had been there unconditionally, and the guilt set in as she recalled yelling at him. He was only being himself, the man that she had at one point considered spending her life with, and felt horrible for being so cruel.
Everything had been so much simpler then, not easier, but simpler. She knew who she was then, she was Lucky's girlfriend, and all she needed was him by her side.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She made her way to the door and opened it, surprised to find Courtney there.
She hoped that Courtney did not intend to fight because she was not in the mood.
"I just need an honest answer from you and I'll go." She offered.
Elizabeth leaned against the door and awaited the question.
"Did you let me confide in you so that you could use it to ruin my relationship with Jason so you could have him back?"
Elizabeth looked her straight in the eyes and honestly replied, "No."
She smiled, seemingly pleased with the answer.
Elizabeth moved out of the way, "Do you want to come in?"
"No, I should go." She offered.
As she started to leave, Elizabeth called to her and she turned.
"Courtney, for what it is worth, I hope you remember that I'm here. I know how you feel and how much it hurts. I know that not a minute goes by where you don't feel that empty void inside yourself and wonder what might have been. Just remember, you're not alone."
"I will." She said with a smile and walked off.
Elizabeth shut her door and looked at the empty wine bottle in disgust. Sure, it had been a relief to feel numb for a while, but she could not live her life that way. She knew the joys of feeling loved and the knew that she would rather feel this momentary pain then feel numb for the rest of her life.
She picked up the bottle and threw it in the garbage. She knew that the only way she would feel happy is if she went out and found it for herself instead of dwelling on the past.
She almost jumped when once again her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She imagined it might be Courtney, with a sudden change of heart, wanting to talk. She opened the door to find Rick.
Her good mood went away just as quickly as it had come.
"I have nothing to say to you. Please leave." She offered, nonchalantly.
"I saw you talking with Courtney."
"That is none of your business, Rick. Just go away."
"I'm not leaving until you hear me out."
"Nothing you could possibly say could convince me to even consider going out with you or giving our marriage a second chance."
"She's brainwashed you against me. All of them have. I know that you still love me, Elizabeth. I know that when you put your heart out there and love someone that you cannot just turn that off. I'm in your heart, Elizabeth. Don't listen to their lies."
"Their lies, Rick? What about your lies? Everything you ever told me was a lie. Why should I ever believe anything you have to say? I don't know why I am even standing here." She said and started to shove the door.
He pushed his way in and slammed the door shut.
"You are going to listen! You are my wife! Lucky is not here right now. There is no one you can hide behind. You have to listen."