Ch. 27 Take Me Under

"Get your hands off her!" a voice screeched.

She barely caught a glimpse of the woman it came from before she grabbed her hand and pulled her away from Jason and out of the elevator. Now in the hallway, the stranger embraced her tightly.

"Don't worry ,I'm here now." she said.

Courtney returned the hug awkwardly, assuming the woman meant something to her. Finally, she was released from her squeezing arms. She stepped back and cast a glance to Sonny and Carly, who were standing nearby. She didn't want to do this right now.

"It's been a long day. Maybe you can come by tomorrow." Jason suggested, and she silently thanked him for seeming to read her mind.

"That's not up to you is it? If my daughter wants me to leave, let her tell me."

"Wait, " Courtney broke in, "daughter?"

"Yes baby, " the woman smiled at her. "I'm your mother, and I'm here to take care of you."

"But Jason-"

"Don't worry about him. You're coming back home with me." she ordered.

"You're not forcing her to do anything." Carly said, not hiding the bite in her voice from the woman.

"What about my father?" she asked, taking the older woman by surprise.

"What about him?"

"Is he around here somewhere? Who is he?" the woman scoffed at her questions.

"Your father-"

"Mike." Sonny interrupted before the woman could voice her thoughts. Courtney's attention, as well as everyone else's, fell to him and he cleared his throat before going on. "Our father's name is Mike. You can meet him tomorrow if you'd like."

"Thanks."

"Fine, you can see him tomorrow." Janine said with an exasperated sigh. "But I want you to stay with me tonight. I've got a nice hotel room. It'll be great, I can tell you all about everything."

"I'd-I'd rather stay here." she spoke to her.

"Why on Earth would you want to do that?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

"These people are low-lives. Dangerous low-lives!" she said, almost shouting.

"Sonny's my brother-"

"And it's too late to do anything about that now."

"How can you talk that way about your son?" she asked.

"Son?" she laughed. "Obviously you haven't been filled in on that little detail. God, no. That's your father's doing right there. I count my blessings it's his mistake and not mine."

"Ok, stop right there!" Carly interjected.

"No I won't stop! I made a huge mistake not stopping Courtney from coming around him the first time. Look what's happened! I'm not making the same mistake again. She needs to get away from this town and the people in it."

"The people in it are her family!"

"I'm the only family she needs. Her father's a no good, useless waste of space. You're husband is no better than the garbage they pick up on the side of the road, and don't get me started on the robot!" she ranted.

Courtney watched them continue to fight and bicker about her as if she wasn't even there. Carly and the woman, who she now knew was her mother, were shouting at each other. Sonny was trying to calm his wife down, and Jason was watching her.

She felt like she was in the hospital again. Surrounded by people who couldn't do anything to help. Watching chaos and emotional bursts because of her. It was the hospital all over again. The air was getting thicker; too thick to breathe in. She was trapped.

Jason watched, concern flowing over his features after noticing how pale she had become.

"Courtney?" he said in a voice only she could hear through the noise.

He approached her and realized how labored and shallow her breathing had become. He knew he had to get through to her, let her know he was there.

"Courtney, can you hear me?" he asked, looking into her eyes that appeared far gone. "Courtney?"

He felt his heart resume a normal beat when she looked at him and he knew she saw him. But his relief disappeared when she began to back away from him. Before he knew what was going on, she was in the elevator and the doors were in the process of closing.

"Courtney. Don't - Courtney." he called after her as the doors shut in his face. He banged his fist against the metal, causing a loud bang. "Damn it!"