And here is Chapter 1... it does get better, I swear.
Chapter 1
Jason sat up and tried to calm his racing heart and heavy breaths. It was almost as if he'd been running because his skin shined with perspiration. He took a few deep, slow, relaxing breaths, before he looked at the clock 1:37. He sighed and threw himself back into the pillows. He couldn't get comfortable on the bed, so he got up and went down stairs.
Jason hadn't slept much since Courtney left. She had left him a short letter that wasn't very descriptive. It was very vague as to why she left and what was wrong. He read it all the time, especially when he was restless, like tonight. He took the letter out of the top drawer of the desk, hoping that when he read it, it would give him a clue that he hadn't caught onto before.
Dear Jason,
I'm sorry I had to leave, but I didn't have many other choices. I'm sick, Jason. I'm really sick. I just want to tell you that I'm not coming back. Please, take care of Michael, Morgan, Sonny, and Carly for me. Mike too. I can't take Rosie with me and she's missed you a lot. Please, take good care of her for me.
Jason, I just want you to know that I want you to be happy. You are the only one for me. You'll be in my heart forever.
With Love until the day I die,
Courtney
His eyes teared up as he read that last paragraph. She must have been crying while she wrote it because there were watermarks on the paper from her tears.
Sam watched Jason from the stairs. She could see a tear on his cheek as it caught the moonlight. She had never seen him cry, but she wasn't surprised. He had been on the edge for weeks.
He and Sonny had been threw ever possibility that could have forced Courtney to leave. They thought that the letter had been forged and Courtney was in danger. She could have been blackmailed, but maybe the letter was really. Maybe Courtney was sick and couldn't share the burden with her family.
She had read Courtney's letter. Sam could tell that Jason was heart-broken. He was scared to for the Love of his life.
Sam had been eavesdropping on Sonny and Jason. If Courtney really had left on her own freewill, she had done a good job of making sure there was no paper trail to follow. Courtney's bank account had been emptied for cash the night she left. She hadn't used her cell phone or any of her credit cards yet. No one knew where she was.
Sam retreated to her bedroom. Jason need some time to be alone with his thoughts and memories.
Courtney woke up crying. "I love you, Jason!" she whispered. Those were the four words she hadn't been able to write in that letter. Sure, she pointed to that assumption, strongly, but she hadn't been able to put the actual words down. She didn't want Jason to feel responsible for her. She didn't want him to give up the family that he would soon have to have to help her.
The clock read 12:37. Courtney drowsily walked over to the nightstand and opened the drawer. She took a small wooden jewelry box out and walked to the living room with it. She sat on one of the four big blue couches.
'This is my home now,' she thought. 'Unfortunately, this place is also the home of sick children. Wards of the state of Wisconsin.'
The kids had all kinds of diseases; cancers, tumors, and AIDS were just a few of them. There were twenty kids and three 'counselors' including Courtney, herself. She had to watch over only four children since they were young and full of energy. Matt, who was four, Angela and Marie were identical twin girls, who were three-and-a-half, and Clair, who was two, were all in her care.
Clair and the twins had the same disease as Courtney. Matt had lung cancer and was being treated with chemotherapy. She brought them all to their appointments at the hospital. They each had a treatment three times a week. Their treatments were three weeks on and one week off.
Courtney settled herself on the couch and looked at the wooden box in her hands. A small red and pink heart was painted on the lid. It reminded her of the one she had when she was young.
The box had belonged to a girl named Janine. She had died on June 17th, last Thursday, of lung cancer. The five-year-old had left her jewelry box to Courtney for her 'pretty blue ring.'
Courtney opened the box and it started to play 'It's a Small World.' She smiled as she looked at the toy necklaces, bracelets, and rings that once belonged to Janine. She didn't have the heart to take them out. Courtney gently pulled out her two rings. She slid them on her finger, the finger that they had once graced everyday.
Courtney suddenly started to sob. She mourned Janine's death. She wept for Matt, Angela, Marie, and Clair. Tears flooded her eyes for the baby she miscarried. She grieved for her broken family back in Port Charles. She started weeping uncontrollably for Jason and their Love. The only thing she didn't cry about was her illness, she had cried enough about that.
