Chapter 42

Riley stood in front of the door afraid to go in. Sonny wasn't really going to like what he had to say. None of them were. What he had to say meant guards twenty- four hours a day seven days a week, and that was non negotiable. He was furious that neither him, or Morgan had caught this, this could be devastating for business, and Family. Fred stood by the door watching the worry roll over the nineteen year olds face. Either he really didn't want to see Sam tonight, or something was seriously wrong.

"It helps if you turn the knob," Fred said as he looked over at the man.

"Really, You turn the knob and what happens," Riley said sarcastically as he glared at the guard

"Well you turn the knob and push on the door and it opens. It works a hell of a lot better than trying to make the door disappear with your mind. Would you like me to demonstrate," Fred said with a grin.

"No, I think I can handle it," Riley said as he turned the knob and began to walk in, " See, Look I did it."

"That you did. Now for you to make it disappear," Fred laughed, "Not that you need to, you could hear everything even if there was a brick wall in the way."

"You've spent too much time with Carly, or could it be Emma," Riley commented.

"I'd say both," Fred smirked as he watched Riley disappear into the penthouse.

Riley looked around the room. It was dark. There were candles lit all over the room, a bottle of red wine and a couple of wine glasses on the coffee table, rose petals scattered on the carpeting, like someone was trying to make it look romantic. It wasn't really working for him, and he wondered who had tried to do this, because he doubted it would make anyone horny. The wax from the candles was dripping all over the floor, the rose petals had wilted, and the wine was practically gone while the glasses were covered in watermarks.

He was guessing at this point that it was Sam and Sonny, and that they had been down here at one point in time. It must have been nice before, because anyone who could find Sam in the least bit interesting, and was able to stand the woman was a god in his book. He had no clue how Sonny did it all these years, but then again, he did see a lot of Carly.

Riley, deciding it was better to leave rather than bother his boss at this point in time, made his way to the door. He had walked in on Sonny and Sam once before with Morgan, they were only about twelve at the time, but Sonny hadn't been very pleased. Riley would hate to see what Sonny would do to him know if he walked in on something he shouldn't. He was about to open the door when he heard something make the stairs creak. He turned around to be faced with a teary eyed curly haired brunette.

He stared into her chocolate brown eyes, or they usually were, tonight they seemed to have a grey tint to them. Maybe it was the fact that the room was dark, or that she had been crying all night, but something told him it wasn't the crying. She didn't look as much like Sonny in this lighting as she had before, of course she never really had, she always looked like her mother.

"You okay," Riley asked as he looked at the seventeen-year-old crying girl. He didn't seem to mind her as much tonight as he usually did. It probably had something to do with the fact that she wasn't hanging all over him.

"Never better," Lila spoke as she walked down the rest of the stairs drying her tears.

She hadn't expected anyone to be down here. In fact she had waited until her drunken mother had gone upstairs to come down and get a glass of white milk, a habit she had picked up from her father. She walked past Riley and straight into the kitchen not paying any more attention to him. When she emerged seconds later the young man was still standing there looking at her.

"My dad's not here. He ran out after my Mom and Dad had a fight about Emma and Courtney," Lila commented as she felt the warm moistness of tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Courtney, Courtney," Riley said as he tried to figure out who she was, "I haven't met her have I?"

"She's Emma's Mother, and my dad's sister. God the woman hasn't even been here that long and she's already ruining my life."

"Lila I doubt that she ruined you life. I mean your parents fight a lot. It never really ends around here. I'm sure you're just over reacting," Riley tried to reason.

"My Mother sat down here, talking to herself and drinking herself drunk as she said how much she hated them, how much she hated…" Her voice trailed off as the tears fell more freely. She couldn't bring herself to say it, to say what her mother felt. She had fallen asleep with tears in her eyes but had been woken up by the screams of her Mother. Sam was yelling, screaming at the top of her lungs, and Lila couldn't bear to hear what she was saying. Every word out of Sam's mouth was another saying how truly horrible her life had become due to some woman.

Lila fell to the floor a sobbing mess of fluffy hair tears and pain. She didn't want it to be true. Every little thing she had ever done for her mother couldn't be that bad. I mean her mother did love her, right? She had lied for the woman, done things she knew her father would frown upon, she had loved a woman that she wasn't even sure could love her back. She had hated people because her mother had told her to. Her life wasn't what it seemed to be and she had no clue what to make of it.

Riley watched the brunette cry, he actually felt bad for her. He wasn't sure what was going through his head, but her actions made her seem, well human for the first time he could remember she was actually crying, and it wasn't fake tears, it was real. She was truly heart broken.

Riley wasn't sure what he was doing, but he slowly walked up to the young woman and squatted next to her on the floor. He tilted her head up and tried some of her tears with the pad of his thumb. He didn't want anything from her, but something about a crying girl just got to him, even if he never really liked the girl. He slowly wrapped his arms around her as she fell into the form of his body.

Lila understood for the first time that her life had all been a lie, a lie to herself a lie to her dad, a lie to everyone. Mostly though it was a lie from her. Lila fell asleep that night a hurt broken young girl as she thought of her life, and how she had treated people. She had lived the last seventeen years of her life and never really lived.

-.-

"There's nothing between us. Her mother used to work here. Maybe my mom mentioned her. Penny, Tricia is her daughter. We've been friends since we were little," Morgan couldn't help but laugh at her.

"I care why," Cassie asked as she continued to sip her milk shake.

"Well why don't you tell me," A smirking Morgan asked.

"Well aren't you just a pompous jackass," Cassie replied sweetly.

"Okay. Subject change," Morgan said as he put his hands up in defeat. "What was with my mom suddenly putting all those pictures of you and that blonde up? And who were all those other people."

"You really are a dense one aren't you," Cassie said as she continued to sip her milkshake.

"I'm dense because I want to know who those people are," Morgan commented getting a bit annoyed with her.

"No you're dense for never seeing the pictures, or reading the backs of them. I mean those pictures have been in your mom's house for years. Have you never snooped around her room? I mean god if I counted the number of times Emma and I got caught snooping I think it would out number the times you've thought about having sex," Cassie said rather seriously as she set her drink down.

"No one ever said I thought about sex," Morgan defensively replied.

"What guy doesn't think about sex? I mean come on. Give me a break. I live in California. Hot guys on the beaches all day long, they think about sex. They admit it to me. Well Emma anyway. She has this way of getting anything out of anyone," Cassie said with a smirk.

"So now I'm a hot guy on a beach," flirted a very amused, and slightly less annoyed Morgan.

"Do you see a beach," Cassie questioned.

"No, but I can imagine one, with you sitting on the beach in a cute little red bikini as you soak in the sun."

"See all you're thinking about is sex," Cassie said as she threw her arms in the air.

"Yeah, but you're still avoiding the question. Who's the girl in the pictures, the blonde," Riley asked again with a smirk.

"See I would answer that, but I need to shove my face full of food," Cassie commented just as Tricia came back to the table with the food.

"Did you need anything else," Tricia asked as she set the plates down.

"No. This is great," Cassie said as she picked her burger up and took a huge bite.

All Morgan could do was laugh as he Tricia walked away. Cassie sure knew how to change the subject. He began to eat his food as he tried to figure out everything that Cassie had said. He was so lost at this point in time, but he didn't care. He enjoyed the company.

-

The night came to a close swiftly as the town of Port Charles went to sleep. Emma and Courtney slept soundly in the loft, offering each other comfort when both needed it most. Carly asleep on her kitchen floor in a fetal position lost in the endless battles of her life. Jason sat on his bike, looking up at the Loft as he revaled in the fact that he had a daughter. Sonny was kneeling in the front of the Queen of Angels as he prayed he could find someway to fix his family. Kris lay in her bed, consumed by a restless sleep of worry and hurt. Michael lay awake on the couch unable to sleep as the secrets that had been revealed that day washed through his mind, and consumed his thoughts. Sam was passed out in her bed as she realized her world was falling apart. Lila lay wrapped in Riley's arms as both tried to understand what their worlds were coming to, both thinking of the events that had brought them there that night. Cassie lay asleep in the bed in the hotel, a smile gracing her face as she slept the night away thinking of Morgan. Morgan, was asleep as he remembered the smiles Cassie wore on her face all night, she was beautiful.

All together the town of Port Charles had calmed down for the night, but only the night. In the morning the darkness would leave and they would all finally have the happy ending the wanted, or so they all wished. In reality, the storm was just brewing, and though the darkness of the night may disappear, the darkness that loomed over all of their heads had just arrived wanting revenge.