"Dad...say something." Michael hated the pleading tone in his voice but the sight of the reigned fury in his father's eyes deflated him and regressed him to about 5, just begging for assurance that AJ wasn't going to fly off the handle.
"Your mother is lucky that you're almost eighteen." AJ turned away from his son and stared out into the hallway. Carly had yet to come through the door, and with each passing moment, he expected her to come storming in. Either no one had told her yet, or the doctors had strapped her to her own bed to keep her from leaving. Either way, she wasn't there. "I knew I should've fought harder to get you out of that house."
"Dad, don't…"
"Don't what?" AJ spun around, his body heaving with each painful breath. He didn't have to say anything for Michael to know that he was angry, more angry than he'd ever seen him before. "Don't be pissed off that your mother's husband nearly got you killed? That her daughters nearly got you killed? Tell me, Michael, exactly how am I supposed to not be pissed about that?"
Michael tucked in on himself and AJ sighed. He didn't want him to shrink away from him, but he couldn't hold his anger. How could he not care that his son had been the target of a mob hit? He'd gone through so much with Carly just to get the opportunity to see his son regularly, he wasn't going to lose him in some kind of mob war.
"Tell me, Michael, shouldn't I be pissed at Alcazar? Shouldn't I want to kill him for getting you involved in this?"
Michael opened his mouth, then closed it. If he said that he didn't have the right, then he'd be lying and a hypocrite. How many times had he stood beside Sofie and Sage while they defended Lorenzo and Jason? "Yeah, Dad, you have the right," he said with a sigh. Unlike saying such a thing to his uncle or to one of the Alcazars, Michael knew that, in the end, his father wouldn't go through with it. AJ was a lot of things, but he wasn't a murderer.
And then, the two were silent. For a few minutes, they stared at one another wordlessly. Michael's head dipped and AJ turned away. Michael still felt like the small boy who'd gotten in trouble, but this time, it wasn't his fault. When he was little, though, a lot was his fault.
Sighing, Michael broke the silence. "How's that lady? The one I hit?"
AJ looked at him and shrugged. "How should I know? I'm not her father, I'm yours." He stopped, knowing how harsh that sounded. He wasn't heartless. An innocent woman had been caught in the middle of their extended family mess, and that did make him feel bad. But for the moment… "I don't know. I didn't check. I was too worried about you."
"I just… I saw her when they loaded her in, ya know? And she was a lot worse off than I was. I just hope I didn't hurt her."
"You didn't hurt anybody, Michael." He sighed. "But, if you want, I'll go check it out for you, alright? I think Dad was in there with her, or Tony, so…" He shrugged. "Maybe one of them will tell me something."
"Thanks, Dad. I…" He stopped as movement at the door caught his eye. Carly stood in the doorway, leaning against crutches. Her left ankle was bandaged heavily. A large piece of gauze was taped across her forehead. More gauze peeked out from beneath the sleeves of her hospital robe. She was slightly burned, somewhat battered, and walking on crutches, but she was alive and that was good enough for Michael.
AJ looked from Carly to Michael and sighed. If she were a little less banged up, he'd have probably railed all over her. However, despite the bad blood between them, he'd never liked seeing her hurt. She was the mother of his son, after all. He didn't want her injured and most certainly didn't want her dead. He looked at Michael and gave the barest shake of his head. She still was unaware of the disappearance of her daughters, and AJ at least wanted to get out of the room before she could possibly find out.
AJ slipped out of the room, leaving the two alone. Carly moved slowly into the room, but Michael could tell that she wanted to move faster. She gave withering glares to either of the crutches as she pushed herself forward, muttering words that he couldn't hear until she reached the bed and sat down.
"Tell me what happened, Michael."
He looked at his mother and swallowed hard. He didn't know how to not tell her, mostly because even if he lied, which he'd done often enough, she would guess what was going on, anyway. She had, after all, nearly died. It wasn't too far of a stretch to figure out how Michael got into his accident. What he did know, though, was that the guard posted at the door had brought him a message. Lorenzo didn't want Carly to know that the girls weren't safe at home.
"What does it matter what happened?" He shrugged. "Accidents happen, but I'm fine. Really."
Carly looked at him with disapproval. She wasn't an idiot, and she knew when she was being lied to. Oh, he may have been fine, but this wasn't just an accident, and she knew that. The fact that she hadn't seen Lorenzo since she was loaded into the ambulance, or Jason or Luis for that matter, told her that something was going on. More than that, she was a good enough liar to know when she was being told a lie.
"Michael Morgan Quartermaine…" She twisted her face in disgust. No matter how old her son got, she'd never be able to stand the fact that she had allowed him to take his father's last name. Carly shook her head. "You're lying to me."
"Mom, I'm not. Honest. I'm fine. They just have me here 'cause I hit my head in the accident. Observation, Grandpa Alan said. But, that lady I hit was worse off. That's where Dad went. I told him to go see if she was okay, 'cause it would be really screwed up if she was bad off 'cause I skidded on some ice and she could sue us. If Dad's nice, then maybe she won't sue us and…"
"And you're babbling, which really tells me that you're lying." Carly sat back and looked around the room. Everything was quiet in their silence, and the emptiness of the room made her shudder. "There's something wrong here, Michael, and I think you know what it is. I remember Zander on the phone, saying it was a double cross. You were hit, because of Lorenzo's business."
"Mom…" He sighed. "If this is gonna mess up you and Lorenzo…"
"Don't worry. I made my decision a long time ago, and I know it's too late to change it now. Sometimes, I even think I'd be bored without him, and the girls… Sofie and Sage would never speak to me again, and I couldn't take them from him anymore than I could leave him. But, I know that this is because of the decision I made. I know that you drive well enough not to skid on ice. And I know from the look on AJ's face that he's pissed at Lorenzo and he's pissed at me, and ya know what? I don't care. Let him be upset."
"Mom…"
"But, you're my son, Michael. I love you." She reached out to him and laid her hand against his arm. "And if you love me, you'll tell me what's going on. Lorenzo's hiding something, and you know what it is. He probably told you not to tell me, but I need to know. What isn't being told to me?"
He hated being in the middle. More than that, he hated having to lie about something like this, but he knew that Carly would never stay put if she knew what was going on. She'd go running on crutches right out into the snow to look for Sofie and Sage. She'd just end up hurt again. It was really hard, sometimes, being more responsible and sensical than his mother. With her and AJ as his influences, he had no idea how he ended up that way. It had to have been Lorenzo and Jason's influence.
Michael sighed. "Let Lorenzo handle it, Mom. It's not something you wanna know, and I don't want to tell you, so I won't tell you."
"Michael, I'm your mother. You'll do what I say."
"You're my mother, and that's exactly why I won't do what you're telling me."
"It's Sofie and Sage, isn't it?" She stood up from the bed and settled herself on her crutches. Carly launched herself across the room and fell down in the nearest chair. "Tell me where your sisters are, Michael. Tell me why Lorenzo and Jason and Luis aren't in this hospital with us. Tell me what's going on or…"
"Or what? There's nothing you can do, and I'm not telling you so I can watch you break down or scream or whatever you'd do if you knew. You'll know when everything's over."
"When they're safe." Carly watched her son, and he did nothing. He wore the same blank face that his stepfather and uncle had worn on more than one occasion. The expressionless stare that said that she was probably right, but the words were never going to come out of his mouth. "Corinthos tried to kill you, I know that Michael." He still didn't say anything. "And your sisters aren't at the penthouse."
"You're not getting anything out of me, Mom, so just… stop, alright?"
Carly's hands fell from the sides of her crutches and they clattered to the floor. She leaned forward and tears fell silently from her eyes. Had the words actually come from him, or anyone else, she probably would have been wracked with sobs. But with it only being real in her mind, all she could manage were silent tears. She looked up at Michael with streaming eyes, her bottom jaw trembling, and said, "I already got it out of you."
