Pg6
Emily wasn't sure how she should approach the topic of Sarah's sister with her, given the antagonistic response the woman had in regard to her family's business proposal, so, she makes the decision to rope in her two guys. When all else fails, she can always rely on her husband and brother-in-law to help her come to the most levelheaded conclusion. Of course, they are anything but levelheaded when it comes to their own struggles, but they are most definitely her clarity when she's unsure of things.
"Okay, I don't see how anything I said could be found humorous," Emily points out when Lucky falls into a fit of laughter. "Lucky!"
"Sorry," he laughs before clearing his throat to compose himself, dropping the rag he was using to wipe down the bar before turning his focus back to her, noting that his brother clearly found it hilarious, as well, but was smart enough not to laugh. "Can you really blame me? For Sarah's sister to be so ballsy to send Edward his proposal back in pieces...you gotta see why that's funny to me."
"Clearly I don't," she says seriously. "My grandfather was livid. He was only extending a proposal, to mail it back the way she did was absolutely unprofessional and uncalled for."
"To you maybe," Lucky concedes, the satisfied grin on his face clearly portraying his amusement with the situation, almost wishing he were there when Edward got the mail and realized what the envelope contained. "Clearly, Sarah's sister doesn't hold ELQ in high regard. Not that I blame the woman, really, your family's business didn't exactly gain their stature by purely legitimate means, if you know what I'm saying."
"Maybe not at first, but that doesn't excuse such treatment from someone that has never once done business with my family," Emily defends her family's business. "And you're one to talk. Your father wasn't always legitimate either, you know."
"And he never pretends to be either," Lucky counters simply, thoroughly conscious of his father's past misdeeds and what brought his family to their standing today. "Something that can't be said for the Quartermaines...am I wrong?"
"Okay, that's enough," Nikolas steps in, knowing they are bound to argue this point till they're both blue in the face, one of the downsides to their long-standing friendship; brutal honesty. It has its moments but the majority of the time it just leads to a fight and then weeks of no talking before one of them pops up at the other's house, picking up as if the fight never happened. "Back to the topic at hand...approaching Sarah about the allegations laid out by Edward."
"Right, that was the topic, wasn't it," Lucky switches gears back to the topic first presented by Emily, having almost forgotten what the point of the conversation even was to begin with. "Honestly, you might as well just ask her point blank, easiest way to get an answer."
"You didn't see her reaction when I brought up her sister to begin with," Emily counters, moving to sit on one of the stools, their argument successfully diverted to Nikolas's relief. "Whatever the story is there, Sarah's clearly not too eager to talk about her sister in any capacity."
"Which only proves to pique my interest that much more," Lucky admits, moving to pour them a drink. "There's gotta be one hell of a story behind that, right? For just the mention of her sister to get under her skin like that...gotta wonder why that is."
"Well, if asking her outright isn't plausible, the only other option is to wait for her to bring it up," Nikolas says simply, taking a seat on a lower chair to massage Emily's feet as they talk. "I mean, this is Sarah we're talking about, she's bound to pour it all out now that we're aware of her sister."
"You're not wrong," Emily voices, a soft smile touching her lips as he skillfully eases the pain in her aching feet, conveying her thanks by pressing her lips to his. "That just might be the only way to handle this."
As if right on cue, way faster than any of them thought she'd do so, Sarah comes walking into the club and straight over to them, running off at the mouth about how her brother still doesn't get her and how her parents have yet to call her back. The trio glance at each other before giving her their attention, both out of duty as her friends and out of the sheer desire to know the history there. Seeing any opening in between Sarah's ranting, Emily decides it just might be the only window she'll get and lays out her inquisition about Sarah's sister's treatment of her family.
"You think that's bad, imagine growing up with her," Sarah groans, thankful to find that Emily's already not so fond of her sister, making this conversion that much easier. "She was nothing but a nuisance from the moment she was born. It irks me to this day that I share blood with that self-centered brat. Honestly!"
"That's rich coming from her," Lucky comments under his breath to his brother. "It's like the girl doesn't even own a mirror."
"No kidding," Nikolas shakes his head, well aware of Sarah's selfish streak, having dated her at one point in time. Though he still cares about her, he's learned to take her words with a grain of salt after she somehow found a way to twist him getting shot in the neck into being about her, though he's still not sure how she was able to pull that off.
"Hey, Lucky, can I get a drink?" Sarah turns her attention to him when she notices their drinks. "Coke is fine."
"Please and thank you aren't just words, you know?" Lucky points out as he grabs a cup to make her drink. "You forget your manners all of a sudden?"
"Come on, Lucky, that's not fair," Sarah whines. "You know I appreciate you. I'm just dealing with a lot right now, okay? Can't you cut me some slack?"
"Literally takes less than two seconds to say it but what do I know," Lucky counters before placing her drink down in front of her. "I mean, clearly, you're the only one going through stuff, right?"
"You know that's not what I meant," Sarah says before glancing around when Nikolas gives her a look to take a glance around the place. "What's with all the towels on the ground?"
"So she notices things outside herself, go figure," Lucky shakes his head, glancing at his phone when it buzzes before saying, "I'll be right back."
"Emily?" Sarah turns to the other girl when Lucky walks off, Nikolas following behind his brother. "What happened?"
"Busted pipe flooded the place," Emily explains. "Lucky's been helping his dad fix the place up. There's still a lot that needs doing, of course, given their limited manpower."
"That sucks," Sarah starts to say when Lucky and Nikolas come back into the room with her favorite person in tow, causing her to straighten herself out and put her best face forward. "Hey, Jason! What are you doing here?"
"Working," Jason gives as his answer before walking over to hug his sister, pulling away to say, "Sorry to do this, but you guys gotta clear out."
"Luke get you to help get things back to normal?" Emily questions, seeing his usual crew start to filter in through the back entrance.
"Yeah," Jason confirms, pulling out his phone when it starts to buzz in his pocket. "Sorry, I gotta take this."
"Uh-huh, I saw that," Emily smiles knowingly. "Mystery smile person, by chance?"
"Emily," Jason counters simply.
"Yeah, yeah," Emily laughs. "Go on."
"I'll just be a minute," Jason says before walking off to Luke's office, instructing Johnny to get the guys started with the repairs on the pipe while he takes the call. "Hey, you okay?"
"Not sure, actually," his girlfriend replies through the phone, her nerves clear in her tone. "You'll never believe who I just ran into and who's waiting for me to get out of the bathroom presently."
"Who?" he questions, trying to gauge the level of response needed.
"Audrey Hardy," she replies, pacing the length of the bathroom as she contemplates her next move, knowing she couldn't hide in there forever since the old lady said she'd wait for her to be done. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do you want me to come get you?"
"Yes...maybe...no," she groans. "I mean, she's just a person, right? What could she possibly do to me in the middle of a diner...it'll be fine...right? Yeah...it'll be fine...tell me it'll be fine, Jason."
"It'll be fine," he humors her, knowing that it's been many years since she's been face to face with anyone from her family, not that she's ever met this particular member of her family. "She holds no power over you."
"That's right! She holds nothing over me," Elizabeth takes in a deep steady breath. "I mean, honestly, what can she do to me that's any worse than what the others have done? This is fine. I'll be just fine."
"And if it turns out you're not, Cody's more than ready and willing to step in," Jason reminds her. "Just give him the word and he'll be at your side in an instant."
"That helps," Elizabeth says as she looks herself in the mirror, preparing herself for what's to come. "How're the repairs going?"
"The guys just started repairs on the pipes," Jason admits. "It shouldn't take too long once I get my sister and her friends out of the club."
"Would that include the princess?"
"Unfortunately," Jason confirms. "I'm not engaging if that's what you're worried about."
"I appreciate that," Elizabeth says softly, knowing he wanted nothing more than to tell her sister exactly what he thinks of her. "Good luck to both of us, I guess...to think, we could have just stayed in today."
"Yeah," he agrees with a soft chuckle. "Call me if things change and you need me."
"Will do," she assures. "I love you."
"I love you," he replies wholeheartedly. "Don't worry about dinner. I'll grab something on the way home."
"Sounds good," she accepts. "See you at home."
Ending the call, he takes a quick look around the office to make sure that the flood didn't make its way into that part of the bar before making his way back to the main area once he's satisfied with the state of the office. Getting back to the group, he finds Lucky explaining to the others that they had to head out in order for the repairs to get done on time, something his father is banking on to avoid being put out of profit.
"We could always help," Sarah chimes in once she notices that Jason was rejoining the group. "I mean, you could always use the extra hands, right, Jason? Power in numbers and all that."
"No," he says plainly, turning to his sister. "Em."
"Don't worry, we're leaving," Emily assures him. "Before we get out of your hair, I was wondering if you'd be free for dinner tonight?"
"Just made plans, sorry," Jason admits. "I'll be free for lunch tomorrow. Usual place?"
"Works for me," Emily agrees, hugging him goodbye. "See you tomorrow then."
"Let's get out of his hair, huh," Lucky comments, cutting off Sarah when he notices she's about to keep up her not-so-subtle flirting, feeling nauseous at the sight of it, the girl just couldn't get a clue if it slapped her in the face. Turning to shake Jason's hand, he says, "Thanks for this, man, for real. We'd be in the red if we had to contract the repairs out to someone else."
"Thank Sonny," Jason says simply. "I'm just doing my job."
"Right," Lucky replies, having known that would be along the lines of his response. "Well, extend my thanks to him, then. We'll get out of your hair now."
Turning away from the group as Lucky and Nikolas usher the women out of the club, Jason makes his way to ground zero to check on the pipe repairs. If it were up to him, he wouldn't waste the manpower on getting the club fixed up, but it wasn't up to him. Sonny and Luke go way back, making Sonny obligated to help the other man out when the mood strikes, making it Jason's job to follow through as his enforcer. From the looks of it, they'll have to make every minute count if they want to be done in time for dinner. Though he'd never say it to Sonny's face, he just can't help but think that Sonny and Luke's friendship only benefits one of them and that's clearly not Sonny.
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Taking in several deep breaths, Elizabeth reminds herself that she has a family, one that seems to be growing with each passing day, she might add. A family that her birth family could never touch, no matter how badly they may want to because her family's not part of their world.
Her chosen mother opened up doors to her that have led her to a world far out of their grasp. No matter what this woman may want with her, no matter what her birth family may do in the days to come, she's not their family anymore and therefore they hold no power over her. None.
"You are only a Webber in name," she mutters to herself, reminding herself of what she knows to be true in her heart. "Nothing she has to say will change anything. You know who you are. You know what matters."
Straightening herself out and holding her head high, Elizabeth walks out of the bathroom as the woman her chosen mother raised her to be. A woman who neither bows nor cowers before anyone. As she's rounding the corner to place her right back in the main part of the diner, Cody steps into view through the window, catching her attention. Signaling that she's okay with a nod, Cody smiles and nods in understanding before retaking his place once again.
"I was starting to think you had ducked out on me," Audrey voices when Elizabeth returns to the table. "I took it upon myself to have Tammy bring your meal out with mine, I hope you don't mind."
"That's fine," Elizabeth replies, taking the seat gestured out to her, keeping as much distance between her and Audrey as was possible without coming off rude. She didn't know the woman, after all. "No offense, Mrs. Hardy, but I have to ask how you even know what I look like, much less know my face enough to address me directly. We've never once met before today."
"Not for lack of trying, I can assure you of that much," Audrey says honestly, pausing long enough for Tammy to put their food down and leave before continuing, "Look, I can go on and on in defense of me and my late husband to try and gain understanding from you, but I won't do that. You deserve to be angry and you deserve to not want anything to do with me. I won't try to convince you otherwise. I'm merely here to fulfill the dying wish of my late husband and then you are free to continue about your day, paying me neither mind nor sympathy."
Well, that was not at all how Elizabeth thought this conversation was going to go, go figure. Though she wasn't sure exactly what she expected the woman to want from her, she sure wasn't expecting to be validated in her feelings toward her and her family. How strange to think that this woman could be so far from what her birth family is like. Meeting her eyes, Elizabeth found her position in regard to the woman slowly changing, curiosity setting in.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to hear it," Elizabeth voices, watching as a look of surprise flashes over the woman's features before Audrey regains her composure. "It may seem useless to you, but it's not to me. I'm willing to hear it all if you're willing to tell it."
"If that's what you truly desire, I'm inclined to oblige you," Audrey says after a moment of thought. "It's not a short tale, I assure you, so, feel free to stop me if you've had your fill."
"I have until dinner," Elizabeth says simply, adjusting to show she was settled for the long haul. "If it takes longer than that, say the word and I'll adjust my plans to accommodate you, all to say that I'm in no rush. Feel free to divulge to your heart's content."
"It's lengthy, but hardly to that extent," Audrey says with a slight smirk, truly intrigued by the woman before her. "We should be done well before your dinner plans."
"The offer will remain on the table regardless," Elizabeth replies simply. "So, please, Mrs. Hardy, you have my undivided attention. Begin whenever and from wherever you want. I'm not going anywhere."
Meeting her gaze for a long moment, Audrey can't help but wish that her husband were here to see the woman that Elizabeth had grown up to be, truly a sight to behold. Much like her late husband, Audrey holds much regret for not pushing their son and daughter-in-law where Elizabeth was concerned. Though she and her husband made many attempts to see Elizabeth over the years, they always seemed to be one step ahead of them. Sending Elizabeth off whenever they tried to see her, so much so that not even surprise visits made any difference.
With Elizabeth in front of her now, Audrey will divulge any and everything that Elizabeth wishes to know, holding absolutely nothing back. Though she couldn't be there for her granddaughter throughout her life, failing her as a grandmother, Audrey will not fail her now. From the moment of Elizabeth's conception, Audrey has held tight to secrets that neither she nor her husband felt too proud to hold onto, and it's about time that the truth sees the light of day. Regardless of how her son or daughter-in-law feels about it.
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From the moment they left the club, Sarah has been badgering Emily over the comment she made to Jason about a mystery person that makes him smile while Emily does her best to ignore it, knowing that nothing good could come from Sarah making a fuss over something that has literally nothing to do with her. Of course, though she loves Sarah endlessly, the girl could sure drive Emily up the wall when it comes to her persistence.
"Oh, look at the time," Emily comments when they get to the estate on Spoon Island. "Nature calls. I'll be right back."
"Come on, Em, I just want to know what you meant by that," Sarah says as she follows Emily down the hall, the guys deciding they didn't want to be in the middle, leaving them to play a round of pool.
"I didn't mean anything by it," Emily says for the umpteenth time. "It was an innocent comment."
"Look at who you're talking to," Sarah counters. "You're my best friend, Em...which means you owe me honesty, as I would you if the roles were reversed."
"I am being honest with you when I say I don't know much more than what I said," Emily says seriously, needing Sarah to get it. "You know better than anyone that Jason and I don't talk about our personal lives."
"He's your brother..."
"Yes and you know how long it has taken me to get this far with him," Emily reminds her. "One of the reasons we've made this much progress is thanks to our agreement to not question each other's personal lives. If you think I'm putting that in jeopardy to satisfy your curiosity, you can forget it. Now, I love you, but I really do need the bathroom. Excuse me."
Leaving Sarah to return to the guys, Emily makes her way into the bathroom to relieve herself, taking her time to regain her composure. More than anything, she wishes that Jason could see Sarah the way that Sarah sees him because she knows how badly Sarah wants a life with him, but there's literally nothing that she can do to help Sarah in that regard.
At the end of the day, Jason is his own person and he clearly is set on a path that doesn't lead to Sarah, something she can only hope that her friend will find a way to truly grasp because it hurts Emily to see Sarah pining after her brother. If Emily thought there was even an inkling that Jason saw her in the same light, Emily would play matchmaker like no one's business, but that's not the case and no amount of hoping is going to change it.
"Hey," Sarah greets Emily sheepishly when she returns from the bathroom. "I'm sorry for pushing you about Jason. Forgive me?"
"You already know my answer."
"Yeah," Sarah smiles softly. "I know I shouldn't push you so much, but there's something about him that just brings that out in me."
"I know."
"We had a moment, you know," Sarah sighs. "Back when you had that health scare...we shared a moment, brief as it might have been, but he actually dropped his guard and he let himself open up to me. I just wish he'd stop acting like that moment never happened. You must think I'm crazy for holding onto such a small sliver of hope that he'd open himself up to me again."
"It's not on me to say if you're crazy or not," Emily says honestly. "Whoever it was that Jason was talking to, whatever they mean to him, I can't say. At the end of the day, Jason told you how he feels and I just don't want you to get hurt holding out for something that may never come."
"If I get hurt, it's on me," Sarah points out. "I appreciate you being honest with me, it means the world, but I just can't give up yet. Jason...he's found a way into my heart and I'm not ready to give him up."
"As long as you know what you're getting yourself into," Emily concedes. "I just hope you don't end up hurt because of it."
"Yeah, me, too."
Emily remembers clear as day the time that Sarah's referring to, back when they all thought that Emily's life was at its end, and her whole family did what it took to take care of her friends just as her friends did their best for her family. There was a shift in Jason towards her friends, but it only lasted for as long as Emily needed him to, not wanting to put unnecessary stress on her whenever he found himself in their presence.
She isn't sure what Sarah thought happened during that time between her and Jason, if that moment happened or not because she and Jason don't push each other on their personal connections. It just hurt Emily to see that Sarah still holds tight to that moment where Jason clearly moved on from it, whatever it may have been. At the end of the day, they are both very important people in her life and she just wants them both to walk away from it without any hurt feelings or resentment.
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It took a lot longer than he thought it would, but thankfully they were able to get the club back into working order with enough time for him to pick up dinner. Getting to the towers, Jason checks in with the front desk, making sure nothing happened while he was out while also confirming that Elizabeth was home.
Taking the elevator up to the penthouse floor, he lets himself inside, letting out a soft sigh at the sight of his girlfriend with tears welling up in her eyes. Dropping the dinner onto the desk, he locks the door before walking over to lift her up into his arms, holding her snugly against his body as she wraps her arms and legs around him.
"I'm here," he whispers in her ear as he gently strokes her hair to soothe her. "Wanna talk about it?"
"no," she replies quietly. "not yet."
"I don't typically hurt old people, but you say the word..."
"no," she whispers with a hint of laughter, making him relax a bit.
"Dinner?" he switches to a more neutral topic.
"later?" she whispers. "I just want you."
"You have me," he assures her. "I'm not going anywhere, okay?"
"okay..."
Slowly swaying side to side to lull her into comfort, Jason holds Elizabeth for as long as she needs, knowing that she will open up to him when she's ready to do so. Though they talked about it in length, what coming to live with him would mean, they both knew that they'd never be fully prepared for what being around those people will do to her.
Once Elizabeth's sure she's okay enough to have dinner, they eat in silence before retiring to bed, the day having taken a lot out of both of them. Talk will come soon enough, but tonight he'll let her sit with it and do whatever she needs. Making a mental note of what he's willing to do to that old bat if she did indeed hurt Elizabeth. Old or not, no one gets a pass at Elizabeth, no one.
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Author's Note: Thank you, it's nice to know that it's not just my story affected, though I wish it didn't affect anyone, honestly. I hope you all enjoyed this update. Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
