Pg15
More than anything, Elizabeth wanted to get to know Emily, to see the sister that Jason had talked so fondly about, but she knows that was wishful thinking. As much as she wanted to start off on good terms with Emily, she knew that wasn't at all possible the moment she learned that Sarah was her best friend. The picture has been painted and the resulting image has placed them on opposite sides. That's just the fact of the matter.
While they sit waiting for either Jason or Sarah to arrive, though Emily is unaware of the first one, Nikolas has retreated to the other side of the bar where his brother is. The two clearly smart enough to not get in the middle of whatever was happening between her and Emily. She can also see Johnny itching to jump in but knowing better than to do so. No doubt by now he got the text from Jason letting him know that he was on his way.
"What?" Elizabeth voices when Emily gives her the same look for the umpteenth time.
"What?" Emily counters, feigning innocence.
"Clearly, you have something you're just dying to say," Elizabeth throws back. "Just say it."
"I've said everything I'm going to," Emily replies simply, though it's clear she's lying through her teeth. "I'm just waiting for Sarah."
"Riiight," Elizabeth counters plainly. "Sure."
"You know, if you really didn't care about Sarah like you say you don't, you'd have left by now," Emily blurts out. "Why are you just sitting here waiting for her to arrive?"
"That sure didn't take long," Elizabeth replies, not at all surprised. "Thought you didn't have anything else to say."
"UGH! I honestly can't see how you and Sarah can be related," Emily counters grumpily. "You're nothing alike."
"Too easy," Elizabeth mutters to herself. "Way too easy."
"What was that?" Emily questions. "What's too easy?"
"Nothing," Elizabeth replies, not at all interested in elaborating, she'll know it soon enough. "Any idea when she's getting here?"
"Any minute now," Emily says matter-of-factly. "Seriously, why are you still here? You already said you don't care about Sarah in the slightest."
"I don't," Elizabeth replies honestly. "But I am tired of people believing they can tell me where I can and can't be."
"What do you expect?" Emily counters. "This is Sarah's hometown. She has every right not wanting you here after everything..."
"I'm gonna stop you there," Elizabeth cuts her off. "I've let you go on for as long as I can tolerate. I'm not going to sit through another rendition when you had no part in any of it."
"How dare..."
"Remember when you said you had nothing more to say until Sarah gets here?" Elizabeth cuts her off again. "Let's go back to that, huh?"
"I..."
"You'll just be wasting your breath if you don't," Elizabeth gives as an explanation, cutting her off yet again. "I'm not going to listen to anything you say either way."
"You're so freaking infuriating!" Emily exclaims but Elizabeth doesn't react, making her that much more frustrated. "Are you seriously ignoring me?!"
With nothing more to say, Elizabeth simply leans back, settling in for however long the wait is for Sarah to arrive. A part of her couldn't help but wonder what kind of mother this woman in front of her would become. For her to be so callous and judgemental toward Elizabeth because of crap that may or may not have happened while Elizabeth was barely a toddler, it was just hard to see that kind of attitude translating well into motherhood.
Surprisingly enough, Emily rises to her feet and storms out to wait for Sarah outside, eliciting a soft chuckle from Elizabeth. Though she was certain Emily was going for an angry exit, Elizabeth couldn't help but compare the exit to that of a waddling penguin, given her size not making it easy for her to pull off an actual angry exit.
Deciding she'll take the time to go to the bar for another drink, Elizabeth makes her way over to the guys, almost wishing this whole thing can be over already. Assuring them that they didn't need to get involved and that Emily had nothing to fear where she was concerned, Elizabeth takes the drink and makes her way back to the table. Both clearly afraid of things turning physical and that it was a high possibility when Sarah's involved. Go figure.
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Jason wasn't at all sure how long it had been since he made the venture to the estate, not having much reason to over the years, especially after the last time he made the trip ended in a huge blowout. All his life, his grandmother had been the one person that he could rely on, that he could turn to without question, but that last visit opened his eyes to the fact that she'd never truly be completely on his side. He didn't blame her, the rest of them are her family, as well, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't change his priorities and perspective.
"Grandmother," Jason says gently when he steps into the backyard, immediately gaining her undivided attention.
"Jason," Lila says with a soft smile. "What a pleasant surprise. Please, come, sit."
"I won't take up too much of your time..." he starts to say as he takes a seat at the table with her.
"Hush, you take up whatever amount of time you wish to take up," Lila cuts him off, not allowing him to gauge his time on her account. "Might I ask what brings you by?"
"I'm sure you already know the answer," Jason counters knowingly, continuing when she feigns ignorance. "It's me, grandmother. I know you know."
"Know? Well, not entirely, but I had my suspicions," Lila smiles softly. "Do you blame me?"
"No," Jason assures. "I appreciate that you'd make the space for her."
"Putting aside the fact that she clearly means the world to you," Lila replies sincerely. "When Audrey told me what that young woman intended to do with her gallery, well, I couldn't very well be the reason it's hindered, now could I? For her to have such a charitable heart after the upbringing she suffered through, well, she's definitely better than most, that's for sure."
"Yeah," Jason agrees, holding the same sentiment within him in regard to his girlfriend. There are times when even he doesn't believe himself worth her love.
"You don't have to," Lila says carefully. "But I would love to hear about her...about your time together."
Though he wasn't one to talk about his personal life with anyone in the family, Jason couldn't help but want to tell her, to open up a small piece of himself and the love that Elizabeth had brought into his life. He doesn't have anyone to really talk to about her and he just wants someone to know the depth of his love for her.
So, even though he won't go into deep details about their struggles over the years that brought them to where they are, Jason tells the story of him and Elizabeth, creating a picture of just how important Elizabeth truly is to him. Lila soaks up every small detail and the look that graces her grandson's face as he tells her all about it. She may not know the woman personally but she already loves her.
"Would it be pushing the line to ask if you'd bring her by sometime?" Lila questions hopefully. "Or I could come to your place. Whatever's easier."
"I don't want you to have to come to our place, but I can't have her around them," Jason explains, not wanting to put Elizabeth through their chaos. "If you can have the house to yourself, we'll come to you."
"Name the day," Lila says without hesitation. "I'll take care of the rest."
"I'll talk to Elizabeth about it when I get home and call you," Jason offers. "Her schedule's been hectic lately with the gallery and fundraiser to worry about."
"Of course, I'm sure she has a lot on her hands," Lila smiles softly. "I'll wait for your call. Just know there's no rush. If it's too difficult, I can always wait until the fundraiser to meet her."
"I appreciate that," Jason says wholeheartedly. "I'll call you tonight."
"I look forward to it."
Letting their time together end there, Jason hugs Lila goodbye before making his way to his bike, straddling it just as his phone buzzes in his pocket. Pulling his phone out, he lets out a frustrated groan at the message from his girlfriend telling him that Emily has decided now was a good time to confront her, meaning he had to get there as fast as he possibly could.
Where Emily is Sarah will soon follow and that is something that Jason couldn't allow Elizabeth to face alone. His sister was bad enough but both of their sisters together would not end well for anyone involved. Whether it's due to proximity or what have you, Emily and Sarah have similar tempers and reactive tendencies. If either of them got physical with Elizabeth, well, it's just safer if he's there when it happens because Elizabeth's passiveness only goes so far.
Sending back a text giving her the green light to handle things until he gets there, Jason starts up his bike and takes off, hoping that the lunchtime traffic won't be too much of a hassle to get around. Though Emily's pregnancy will save her from Elizabeth returning any physical attack she may dish out, it won't stop Elizabeth from verbally laying her out and that can sometimes be worse, he would know.
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Walking into the bank, Carolyn follows the bank manager into the vault where a certain safety deposit box is housed, her steps feeling like walking through wet cement as her heart weighs heavily in her chest. She's never been the mother type. It just wasn't something she was capable of. For as long as she could remember, as far back as her memories could take her, one lesson was drilled into her by her own mother.
Children are nothing but an inconvenience. There's nothing good about them. They will hinder your dreams and destroy you if you allow them. Marry for status, most importantly, and - if at all possible - for love, but mainly status. These are the lessons that have been ingrained in her from a very young age. Lessons that have been woven into the very fabric of her being.
Until her passing, Carolyn lived by her mother's rules, doing whatever she could to be less of an inconvenience and more of an asset. Whatever her mother needed of her, Carolyn did, swearing up and down that she will never dishonor her by falling into the trappings of having children. The day her mother passed, the last words on her lips were for Carolyn to uphold her promise, to live a full life child-free.
Then Jeff came along and her entire world changed on a dime. She compromised herself for the sake of his love and she continued to do so against the wishes of her mother. She fooled herself into thinking she could still honor her mother while giving her husband what he so desperately desired. He only needed one child from her. Just one. And he'd be responsible for his son and the new child. All she needed to do was bring the child into the world and he'd handle the rest.
It all seemed to work out in her favor because both his son, Steven, and the new baby, Sarah, favored their father over her. It made it easier to detach and continue with her life because she was nothing more than a figure in their lives. Someone on the sidelines, only stepping in with the bare minimum when Jeff needed her to. Other than that, it was all him and that's how their family functioned for a while.
Up until Sarah fell ill, that is, and the only option they had available to them was for them to have another child or risk having Sarah on the waiting list for lord only knew how long. She wanted to say no. She had upheld her obligation by giving him his second child. That was supposed to be it. That was to be the extent of her compromisation.
Every fiber of her being wanted to deny him but her love for him overpowered everything else. Seeing his desperation and the family she had been forced to create falling apart, she compromised herself once again and gave in to his pleas for another child. She had already survived one pregnancy, what real harm could another be if it meant saving his princess and keeping their family together?
Oh, how wrong she had been. From the moment the pregnancy was confirmed, Carolyn could never truly describe it but something inside her shifted, the pregnancy nothing at all like it had been when she had been pregnant with Sarah. For some reason, she couldn't be detached from the whole thing like she had been the last time, finding herself doing things she had never done before.
Through the months she convinced herself that the hormones were pushing her to feel that way because her husband wasn't as dotting as he had been with her last pregnancy. Because Jeff detached himself from the pregnancy, seeing it only as a means to save his daughter, she convinced herself that that was the only reason she was feeling this way. She convinced herself that it would end once the baby was born and her body went back to normal.
Oh, how wrong she had been.
Pulling the key from her pocket, Carolyn unlocks the box with the manager before being left to her own devices, pulling out the items that lay within once she's alone. If she were being honest, she'd admit that she never thought she'd ever be there opening that box, having believed that it would be the only thing she'd leave to Elizabeth at the time of her passing. To be standing there now, she truly didn't have the words for it or any true explanation, for that matter.
Taking a seat, she pulls the photo album in front of her, detaching the envelope taped to the cover, knowing exactly what it was. It was the one thing she's avoided since receiving the box's contents from her late nanny's estate lawyer. She had gone through the things briefly when it was given to her but not that envelope. She couldn't bear to open it back then. It was too much. After all that happened after the woman's passing, Carolyn just couldn't stomach it, especially after Elizabeth left.
Mrs. Webber,
I know you're probably wondering why I'm leaving you anything. You were nothing more than an employer and we barely spoke through the years outside of your demands. So, I understand if this comes as a surprise, but I couldn't leave you nothing. Though you may not have known it at the time, you gave me the one thing in this life that I desired most but could never have, motherhood. She may not have been mine by blood, but Elizabeth will always be my daughter and I will always be thankful for you giving her to me. I'm only sorry you could never allow yourself to truly experience the kind of love she gives so freely.
I understand why, I've known women like you before, so, I can only pray one day you'll find it in your heart to allow yourself the ability to feel all that you've buried away. You are so very blessed to have all that you have and I hope one day your eyes will open to that because I can see that you're not as callous of a woman as you try to seem. Until that day, however, I will give you pieces of the life that you closed your eyes to and images of the love that had always been there in the eyes of your daughter that you can't allow yourself to love yet. May it bring you some peace knowing that your daughter was well loved and cared for beyond words.
Yours truly,
Maria Romano
Folding the letter back up, she returns it to the envelope that it had been in, moving on to the photo album. At the beginning of the album are pictures that she was well aware of, though few in number, they depicted the memories of the day Elizabeth had been born. Jeff had instructed Maria to get rid of them, not wanting to have them taken in the first place, but Audrey had been the one to send them copies.
The woman in the photo seems so foreign to her, she can hardly remember that day, realizing she had disassociated through it all. The moment Elizabeth was born, the doctors got to work on tending to Sarah, her husband leaving her the moment they had what they needed. It had been Audrey that stayed with her while Steve tended to Steven. Having just survived her second birth, her mind couldn't find a way to be present for anything that followed.
Those memories flowed into memories that she had not been present for, memories that started soon after Maria had taken full responsibility for Elizabeth's care. Seeing her during her earlier years, Carolyn fights the tears that threaten to fall, seeing memories of Elizabeth so desperately trying to connect with the woman that gave her life. Even then she had such a generous heart. Nothing Carolyn said ever stopped her from trying. Nothing at all.
(FLASHBACK : FLASHBACK : FLASHBACK : FLASHBACK : FLASHBACK)
It was a hot summer day and Carolyn had been down with the flu, one of the worst she's ever experienced, and forced to stay bedridden until it passed. Like many things that affected her life, it couldn't have come at a worse time because one of her favorite events was happening that day and her husband had taken Steven and Sarah, leaving her to the staff. It wasn't unheard of but it still stung for him to leave her like that. It was then, as she was sulking in her misery, that the ever-bounding child comes waltzing into her bedroom without a care.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Webber," Maria voices as she comes trailing after the child. "She insisted on bringing you some soup and crackers when she found out you were sick."
"Take her away," Carolyn chokes out, turning away from the child that stood there with such love in her eyes that she couldn't stand to see. "Now, Maria."
"Mrs. Webber...please," the woman pleads.
"It's okay, she's not feeling good," Elizabeth says gingerly though her eyes told the truth that her words denied. "Hope you feel better, mommy."
Carolyn focused her gaze on the roof, not even bothering to look at the child or the woman as they made their way back out of the room. What did it say about her that the child that she never gave a moment of her time made the effort to care for her while her own husband couldn't be bothered?
She knows she married a man who took pride in his public standing as much as she did, but it still hurt to see that he couldn't wait to get away from her fast enough. One of the many moments that rubs her the wrong way, but the good still outweighs it, so, she knows this feeling will not go any further.
Once alone, Carolyn turns her gaze to the small cart by the bed, tears frozen in her eyes at the sight of a single daisy sitting in a small vase. It was at that moment that Carolyn realized that Elizabeth deserved something no one in that family seemed to be able to give her. Something Carolyn just wasn't capable of.
Whatever it was that shifted in her while she was pregnant with Elizabeth, whatever that feeling was that haunts her in the back of her mind, it pushes her to do something she never thought she ever would. She gives her up. Burying any and all within her that pertained to the child. Maria will be good for the child. Better than anything Carolyn could possibly give her. Better than any of them could give her.
(END OF FLASHBACK : END OF FLASHBACK : END OF FLASHBACK : END OF FLASHBACK)
Carolyn pushed Elizabeth away more and more through the years until she finally stopped trying. She remembers that day like it was yesterday. The day that she saw the light fade in Elizabeth's eyes and she no longer gave any care to anything she or Jeff said. She never tried to go with them. Never asked them for anything. Maria became the only person in that house that Elizabeth considered family and a part of her is thankful to find that Maria had regarded her in the same light.
Closing up the album, knowing it did her no good to look back, Carolyn puts all the things from Maria into the box that she brought with her. These weren't her memories. None of it. So, finally, in the same town as Elizabeth, she decides that now is as good a time as any to give her the things that had been left behind by her true mother.
"Carolyn," Audrey says when she shows up on her doorstep.
"Audrey," Carolyn replies simply before holding out the box to the woman. "I need you to give this to Elizabeth."
"Why?" Audrey counters. "What is it?"
"Just things that belong to her," Carolyn says but doesn't elaborate. "Will you give it to her?"
"No," Audrey says after a long moment of thought, seeing something unfamiliar in her eyes. "You do it."
"What?" Carolyn looks at her in disbelief. "Why can't you just do it?"
"You want Elizabeth to have it, you give it to her," Audrey says firmly. "Whatever's going on with you, Carolyn, it's long overdue for you to face the child you brought into this world."
"Audrey, please," Carolyn voices earnestly. "I'm nothing to the child. I just need you to do this."
"No," Audrey states, not folding under her pleading gaze. "If it's important enough, you'll figure it out."
With that, the woman shuts the door, leaving Carolyn standing with the box in her hands. Cursing under her breath, Carolyn turns on her heels and heads back to her car, uncertain of just how she's meant to give the box to Elizabeth now. She probably should have known that Audrey would turn it on her but she had hoped the woman would rise above her sanctimony. With no other choice, she places a call to Steven, knowing he'd be the one to know where Elizabeth resides.
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Sitting alone in the booth, Elizabeth started to wonder just how she was going to handle Sarah, just how much is she willing to take from the woman that clearly believed she had the right to dictate Elizabeth's movements. As much as she wanted to hate Sarah for being the reason she was born and also the reason she was cast aside by their parents, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
Hating her meant caring and she truly didn't care. She was raised as she was raised and allocating any amount of energy toward hatred would be a dishonor to the woman that raised her. Her mother taught her better than that and she raised her to live her life focused on those that wanted to be in her life and that wholeheartedly love her. Anger and hatred are wasteful emotions that only prove to hinder your growth instead of nourishing it.
"Wow...Emily told me you were waiting for me, but I didn't actually think you were," a woman she can only assume was Sarah voiced, the years have not been kind to her, prompting Elizabeth to rise to her feet. "I have a lot I want to say to you, but before we get into I want you to apologize to Emily."
"Am I to assume you're Sarah?" Elizabeth questions, hiding the smirk from her face when Sarah's face scrunches up as if Elizabeth had slapped her. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Why...I...don't act like you don't recognize me!" Sarah snaps, proving that her buttons are way too easy to push.
"I saw you about a handful of times when we lived in the same house," Elizabeth reminds her. "You really expect me to remember what you look like?"
"I remembered what you look like," Sarah gives as proof that her statement is beside the point.
"What can I say, I just have one of those faces," Elizabeth counters with ease, truly getting a kick out of the angered expression on Sarah's face. "Your point being?"
"You know what, no, forget it," Sarah states, obviously trying to regain her composure at the sight of an unaffected Elizabeth. "Now that we've established who we are, I want you to apologize to Emily."
"And why would I do that?" Elizabeth questions curiously.
"Well, for starters, she's pregnant and you upset her," Sarah says matter-of-factly, unaware that Elizabeth wasn't actually asking for an answer. "Have you no decency and respect for someone in her condition?"
"No one told her to get upset over words from a stranger," Elizabeth counters. "And she started the interaction, so, whatever she took from it is her business. I'm not apologizing to her for it."
"You see what I mean?" Emily questions Sarah in frustration. "Infuriating!"
"Apologize now, Elizabeth," Sarah snaps. "You owe her an apology!"
"I owe her nothing," Elizabeth counters. "And don't direct me like you know me. You may be my birth sister but you're not my sister. Don't act like you are."
"You know what..." Sarah tries to tower over her but it does nothing to Elizabeth.
"Just forget it, Sarah, it's fine," Emily puts a gentle hand on Sarah's arm. "Just move on."
"Fine," Sarah states through gritted teeth before stepping back from Elizabeth. "If you're not going to apologize for that, apologize for what you did to her grandfather's bid. The audacity of you to mail it back in pieces is downright despicable."
"As I've already said to Emily, I didn't do that, so, I'm not apologizing for it," Elizabeth counters. "Anything else?"
"Oh, please, we all know you did it," Sarah throws back. "Who else would have the incentive to do it?"
"Apparently, her boyfriend or so she says," Emily voices when Elizabeth just looks at her. "I told her she's still responsible for whatever her boyfriend did on her behalf."
"To which I said he'd beg to differ," Elizabeth adds. "He's responsible for himself. It was his choice and he made it. Now, is there anything else or are we done here?"
"You're truly unbelievable, you know that?" Sarah voices in utter disbelief. "Have no manners at all?"
"From what I'm told, that's rich coming from you," Elizabeth counters. "Seeing how you treat your friends, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah glares at her, her mouth hanging open a bit when Elizabeth simply gestures to Lucky with a slight nod. "You...what...Emily?"
"I...uh, did I forget to mention that she's friends with Lucky?" Emily says carefully. "They're also business partners..."
"LUCKY!" Sarah shouts, completely dumbfounded at that piece of information. "Are you freaking kidding me, Lucky?! You went into business with her?"
The guys glance at each other before making their exit to Luke's office, prompting Sarah to shriek unbearably loudly at their response, turning to glare daggers at Elizabeth. She had gone there with a set plan in mind, not at all accounting for anything to throw her off her path. The kind of anger surging through her was unlike anything she's ever felt.
"What is it going to take to get you out of my town?" Sarah questions, her teeth practically grinding as she speaks. "You have to have a price. Name it and get lost."
"You don't have anything I could want," Elizabeth counters plainly, done with this whole exchange. She had been well aware that Sarah wanted her gone, but it wasn't until that moment that she realized just how delusional Sarah truly is to think she had the ability to sway Elizabeth in the slightest. "And I'm not going anywhere, so, you can just forget it."
"Everyone has a price," Sarah counters. "Name it already."
"No offense, but I have more money than you could even dream of," Elizabeth says honestly, starting to truly think she was talking to a toddler the longer she stood there talking to Sarah. "And whatever I can't get for myself, which isn't much, my boyfriend can. So, hear me when I say, I'm not going anywhere. You got that?"
"If that's so, you can go anywhere in the world you want!" Sarah exclaims. "Go somewhere, ANYWHERE, else! This is my hometown! MINE! Port Charles is MY HOME!"
"You're right, I could go anywhere in the world that I want," Elizabeth agrees, continuing when Sarah looks like she believes she's gotten somewhere. "I chose here. Port Charles is now my home and I'm not going anywhere, so, I suggest you get used to it."
Her mind spinning, trying to grasp some kind of argument to get Elizabeth to pack up and leave Port Charles for good, Sarah's eyes glaze over and the conversation turns into an altercation as Sarah's fist flies through the air and slams into Elizabeth's face. No one saw it coming, clearly, by the look of shock on all three of their faces, including Sarah's.
With the taste of blood in her mouth, the calm expression on Elizabeth's face fades and a look rivaling death itself takes its place, sending a cold chill to run down both Sarah's and Emily's backs. As if the universe could sense what was about to happen, Jason comes bounding over to her just as she was about to take a step toward Sarah, stopping her in her tracks.
"Jason?!" Emily and Sarah blurt out at the sight of him.
"Get out of the way," Elizabeth states, her patience far gone and the taste of revenge in its place.
"No," Jason says gently, ignoring both women. "You can't let yourself go there."
"She hit me," Elizabeth replies, her eyes fixed on Sarah. "She made me bleed."
"I know," Jason whispers, using his hands to force her gaze to meet his. "It's not worth it. Trust me."
"I wouldn't stop you," she states, tears of anger filling her eyes.
"You would," he counters. "I love you. Go with Johnny."
"Jason..." she pleads.
"You're angry now, but you know I'm right," Jason says gently. "I love you. Go."
"I..." Elizabeth starts but stops herself, letting out a sigh to control herself. "I love you, too."
"I know," Jason smiles softly, kissing her forehead gently before allowing the blank mask to fall over his face once he pulls away. "Johnny!"
"Here," Johnny voices, popping up beside them. "Come on, Liz, I got you."
Ignoring the gobsmacked look on their faces, Elizabeth steps out of Jason's arms and allows Johnny to walk her out of the building, knowing deep down that he was right and that she needed to get out of there. She felt herself going to a place that she hates going within herself and it never ends well for the person on the other end once she's done with them.
The moment Jason turned to face them, both Emily and Sarah fall silent, the look on his face sending shivers down both their spines. Though the look is well known throughout the town, neither of them had ever had it directed at them, neither able to put words into sentences as he glares death into them. Both came to the understanding that Elizabeth is Jason's girlfriend and that they were not at all ready for what was to come.
"Jason..." Emily shakingly voices, unable to handle the look on his face.
"I'll deal with you after Sarah," Jason states. "Take a seat."
"But..." Emily tries but is cut off immediately.
"Sit," Jason snaps, giving her zero leeway. "Now."
"Okay," Emily concedes before walking over to take a seat at the booth, her mind still trying to grasp what just happened.
"Jason..." Sarah starts to say when Jason turns to her.
"Don't," Jason cuts her off. "I don't care why you did it. This is the only warning you're going to get. Stay away from Elizabeth. Don't make me say it again."
"Or what?" Sarah stutters out. "You gonna hurt me, Jason? Huh? I know you won't because you wouldn't have stopped her...you care about me..."
"I couldn't care less about you," Jason corrects. "And I didn't stop Elizabeth for your sake. I stopped her for hers. Don't get it twisted."
"So, what, are you saying that you'd hurt me if I didn't stay away from her?" Sarah throws back, her heart hurting as she stands in front of him.
"No," Jason replies plainly, his voice dropping as he says, "I'm saying I won't stop her from hurting you if you don't. You've been warned. Whatever happens from here on out is on your head. Now get lost, I want to speak to my sister alone."
"I'm not..."
"I don't like repeating myself," Jason states firmly. "Get lost."
Glancing at Emily for a moment before glancing back at Jason, she quickly makes the decision to leave the club, not wanting to push him any further. Climbing into her car, Sarah takes off back to her place, unable to wrap her head around the fact that Elizabeth has not only started weaseling her way into her life but she has somehow gotten Jason to fall for her. It made no sense. What does she have that Sarah doesn't? It just...it can't be real. It just can't be. What could he possibly see in her?
"Jason..." Emily says carefully once he takes a seat across from her. "I didn't know she was your girlfriend...I swear..."
"That's supposed to make a difference?" Jason counters plainly. "I've never seen you as one of them before, Emily, not once...until now."
"Don't say that," Emily pleads.
"Elizabeth has never done anything to you, not a single thing," Jason says seriously. "And yet you judged her before ever even meeting her. When did you become that person, huh? When did you start judging people without knowing them?"
"That's not fair," Emily counters. "Sarah told me everything she did to her when she was a child."
"You mean when Elizabeth was barely a toddler?" Jason throws back. "Are you really judging Elizabeth on something she did during a time she doesn't even remember?"
"She still did them!" Emily defends. "Sarah was a sickly child and Elizabeth only caused her more pain."
"Elizabeth saved her life," Jason counters angrily. "The whole reason she was even born was to save Sarah's life!"
"What?" Emily looks at him in disbelief.
"Guessing Sarah didn't share that little detail," Jason counters. "Here you are judging Elizabeth and you don't even have the full story. It's like I don't even know who you are anymore."
"Jason..."
"I can't believe I'm actually saying this," Jason says, unable to believe it has come to this. "Until you can start thinking for yourself again, stay away from me and Elizabeth. Unless it has to do with your baby, I don't want to hear from you, you got that?"
"You don't mean that," Emily voices as tears well up in her eyes. "You can't mean that. You're my brother!"
"I mean it, Emily," Jason states. "From where I stand, you have all you need in Sarah, I hope she's enough because I'm done."
Leaving before she could think to say anything else, Jason straddles his bike and takes off, heading straight home. It hurt to say what he did but he knows Emily and he could see that nothing he said would change her mind. Once she's convinced of something there was really no trying to break through to her. He can only hope that she'll open her eyes and get the whole story before anything else happens.
Unbeknownst to him, not too long after he left the club, the overwhelmingly emotional state he had left Emily in leads her to go into labor. Screaming for her husband, Emily's conflicted as they rush her to the hospital, knowing that the happiest moment in her life is now overshadowed by the uncertainty of what will come of her and her brother.
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Author's Note: Well...that all happened...let me know what you thought. Thanks.