People always claimed that Jason Morgan was impossible to read. That since his accident he'd been left emotionless. However, Brenda had no problems reading the shock and confusion etched in his handsome features as they ran into one another in the hall outside their penthouses.

"Hey, neighbor," she said with a nervous twitter. "Fancy meeting me here, huh?"

This was definitely not the way that she would have preferred to initiate her first run in with Jason. For one, she would have liked to have actually been dressed when she saw him. Despite their brief marriage and cohabitation, Jason had never seen her quite as undressed as her present state and she'd hoped to keep it that way. How was she to know that a quick peek out to find Luis would run her smack dab into Jason?

She also would have liked the chance to explain things to him. It was easier with Luis. He didn't personally know Robin, so he'd had no questions when she told him that Robin had given her the keys to the penthouse. He just went to work securing the place, making sure that they couldn't be kicked out by the resident bitter mobster. Jason, on the other hand, would want details. He would want to know exactly what she had told Robin to get her to agree to this, and if she knew exactly what Brenda was up to. Even if she told him the truth, she didn't even think he would quite believe her. Not enough, initially, to let her run back inside and get dressed.

And then, there was the fact that Sonny was supposed to find this out personally. Brenda wanted to see his face, to look into the eyes that had caused her to melt a million times over and tell him that she was living in his old home. That her bedroom was the same one that Stone had breathed his last breath in. Of course, she also wanted to be the one to tell Carly that, too, but with Jason standing in front of her, she was pretty sure that neither of those would happen. It was too early in the morning and she was far too undressed to prepare for the fallout of meeting Jason Morgan in the hallway between penthouses four and five.

"I, uh, was gonna knock on the door." Jason put his hand to his forehead and squeezed the skin in the middle. His hand drifted down and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sam told me somebody had moved in, and I didn't believe it."

"You didn't call Sonny, did you?" Brenda folded her arms and pressed in tightly, doing her best to keep the towel secure. "I mean, you didn't go and tell him that you saw me here, did you? Because I wanted to tell him."

"You…" He shook his head. "Brenda, I just saw you. How could I have told him already?"

"Well, yeah, but… You had to have asked him about it."

"Actually, no, I haven't. I've been a bit busy since Sam told me, considering that I've been on some kind of wild goose chase trying to track you down when you've been right across the hall." He shook his head again and sighed. "Jesus, Brenda, Luis Alcazar?"

"I know what you're gonna say and don't, alright? I know how you feel about Luis."

"And I thought I knew how you felt about Alcazar. Last time I checked, you were glad that he was dead. And why the hell isn't he dead, anyway? And how did he find you? And why in the hell are you living in Sonny's penthouse?"

"It's not Sonny's penthouse, it's Robin's now, and she told us we could live here." The second she said it, she wished she hadn't. The shock she'd first seen on Jason's face had reappeared and it was stronger. Yup, he was going to ask about Robin, and that was a conversation that she wasn't prepared to get in. Of course, she wasn't ready for any of it, but that one was farthest on her list of 'I don't want to explain.'

Before he could question her about his former love, Brenda said, "It's a long, complicated story that Luis and Lorenzo both wouldn't like me explaining to you. You're supposed to be the enemy, Jason, but I just can't…" She shook her head. "All you need to know is that you're not involved. Luis understands that you're not supposed to get hurt, and as long as you stay out of our way, you'll be alright."

"Brenda…"

"And see, I had time to think," she said quickly. "I was in Paris with… um… yeah, I was in Paris, and I had all this time to think." Bringing up Robin's name wouldn't get her out of a Robin discussion, so she avoided saying it. "If Luis hadn't planned to kill anybody, I would have never come out of hiding. If he hadn't been acting so… I don't know…" She sighed. "I lived for four years on this belief that Jax loved me, and in the end, he left me. He didn't care. He wanted this image of me, this idea that he had about who I was. He wanted me in his gilded cage to show off to the world. But, Luis… He loved me, he cherished me…" She held up her hand and gave a soft chuckle. The overhead lights bounced off of the 3 carat ring on her left hand. "He's going to marry me, and this time, it's a real marriage and a real wedding."

"Fine, Jax was an asshole." Brenda almost laughed. Considering that Jax was now married to the woman he had thought was his wife, she found it funny that he could so easily write off Jax. Some part of Jason loved forever, and it was just odd that he could so easily call Jax names and not be worried that he had married one of his former loves. "But what about Sonny?"

A content smile curved her lips, and Brenda was surprised. When most others spoke of Sonny and his supposed love for her, she couldn't help but sneer. However, with Jason talking to her, it didn't seem to matter. The animosity was still there and she still wanted her revenge, but there was no point in being cruel about it. Maybe because it was Jason. With some others, they would share in her anger, but Jason would just look at her with disapproving eyes and neutral lips. She'd never be able to turn him against Sonny, so there was no point in trying.

In a soft voice, she said, "Sonny never loved me, and I know that, Jason. Well, he might have loved me in the beginning, but after that… He never really forgave me, and that's fine. I'm better off without his forgiveness. He's the one that barged into your penthouse and told his men to take Luis out and kill him. And ya know what? I wonder how that makes him any better than any of us thought Luis to be. Everything Luis did, he did it because he loved me so much… maybe even too much. Sonny did it because he didn't want anyone else to have one of his woman. We both know that."

"Sonny cares about you, Brenda. I care." Jason sighed and stepped closer to her. "This guy made you think you were dying. He came here to kill people. You say that Sonny wanted to own you, that Jax wanted to own you, but what about him, huh?"

"Luis… He didn't want to own me. He wanted to love me. He wanted me to love him, and it took all this time for me to realize that I do. I always did. Jason, the life he gave me… No one else can do that for me. He kept his promise, Jason. He gave me the life of the butterflies, wild and beautiful. He knows what he did wrong, and he's not going to do it again."

"Brenda, you can't expect me to just stand by and watch you do whatever it is you're planning to do." His body sagged with visible frustration and exhaustion. They'd been in the hallway less than ten minutes and no voices had been raised, but from the look of him, one would have assumed that he'd been in one of the worst argumetns of his life. "You're here to destroy Sonny. You're here to destroy Jax, and while I don't care what the hell that guy does, he's married to Courtney. I can't just let you hurt her."

"Oh, bah!" Brenda threw up her arm, then quickly lowered it as she felt her towel slip. "You should leave Courtney to herself. She's not worth you, Jason." She sighed and her smile returned. "Do you remember what I told you when I left? You deserve your happiness, Jason. More than I do, or Luis, or anybody that I know. And from what I hear, you're happy. So, the hell with Courtney. Be selfish for once, Jason. Take hold of your happiness and never let it go."

"I don't know how to do that, Brenda."

"You should learn, then. Learn how to let people live their lives and make their mistakes. You've got someone to make you happy, and all you can do right now is try to save me from myself, save Courtney from Jax's mess, and save Sonny from everything that he's brought down on himself. Carly's trying to move on with her life, and you should to. Take a cue from her and get away from Sonny before he brings you down."

His brow furrowed and the confusion returned. "You've seen Carly?"

"Oh, uh, yeah…" She bit her bottom lip and giggled. "We went to see Lorenzo and she was there. Honestly, Jason, I don't know how you can condone what Sonny's doing to her. She'll never be my best friend. Hell, she'll probably never be even a decent friend, but he's taken her children from her. How can you let him do that?"

"I'm working on it," he told her.

"Well, you're not working fast enough."

"I thought you told me to take my happiness and forget everybody else."

"Yeah, well, I'm figuring that part of your happiness is seeing Carly happy. You may hate seeing her with Lorenzo, but you know that she's happier than she was with Sonny. And if she has her boys, she'll be even happier." Brenda sighed and shook her head. "Just… do me a favor, alright? Stay out of this. We're not here to physically hurt anyone, but if Luis feels that you're a threat, if you do something to him, he's going to defend himself."

Jason opened his mouth to answer, but his voice caught in his throat as the elevator dinged. The doors opened slowly and a petite brunette stepped out. She was a couple inches shorter than Brenda and in her flowing green sundress and denim jacket, she was definitely more clothed than Brenda.

She stepped up beside Jason, leaning in close to him. Her gaze was less than friendly and Brenda realized how the situation had to have looked. "You must be Sam," she said quickly. "I've heard really good things about you."

"Uh huh." Her lips pursed and she looked around Brenda. "So, you're the one that Sonny moved into the penthouse?" She looked up at Jason. "I told you somebody was living there."

"Actually," Brenda told her, "Sonny doesn't even know I live here. It's a long story, and one that I'm sure Jason can fill you in on. Well, as much as he knows." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm Brenda. Brenda Barrett… Soon to be Alcazar." She reached out and Sam tentatively, with much shock in her face, shook her hand. "It's Luis Alcazar, by the way, and if you see him coming in or out, don't worry. No matter what Jason or Sonny would tell you, he's no more dangerous than either of them. You're not in any danger. And ya know what? I think the two of us should get together sometime. We're neighbors, after all, and I like to get to know my neighbors."

"Uh huh." Sam sighed. "You gonna be dressed if we do that?"

"Huh?" She looked down at herself then laughed. "Oh yeah, that. I was just out here looking for Luis, but I ran into Jason. Sure, I'll be dressed. I, um, I've gotta run, though. Before Jason asks any more questions and before Luis shows up and finds me in the hallway in a towel. But, um, yeah, I know where to find you, so I'll catch up with you two later." She turned to Jason and said, "Remember what I said, Jase. Leave this to us, alright? Let us do what we have to do. Trust me, when it's all over with, Carly will thank you for it."

Brenda turned abruptly and walked back into the penthouse. When the door was closed behind her, she leaned against it and sighed with relief. The towel had nothing to do with her gratitude to be back inside the penthouse, and neither did the appearance of Jason's new love. If they were happy, then Brenda was happy for them. In fact, the petite brunette that made Jason happy could possibly make Brenda happy, too. From what she knew, Sam McCall had no reason to be a huge fan of Sonny Corinthos or Jasper Jacks. She might be just what she needed to keep Jason out of everything. If she could convince Sam that no one would be physically hurt, that everyone would end up happier, then maybe Sam could convince Jason of the same thing.

It would be helpful, to be sure, but for the time being, she just needed to be away from Jason Morgan. He had known her far too long, and if she let him talk too much, he might be able to make her doubt herself. She was a stronger woman, more grown up and with a sturdier backbone, but she still had her weaknesses. She still had her flaws and faults, and the last thing she needed was for Jason to play on those.