CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Just
as she expected, Alexis walked back into the main club area and into to a scene
she'd rather not see. Sonny was at the base of the steps leading down into the club,
glaring up at AJ. Courtney was there, clutching AJ's arm, looking
half-frightened but half defiant, like a wise-eyed bedraggled kitten facing an
older tom-cat…almost hissingly rebellious in the face of her older brother's
anger. And there was Carly, right by Sonny's side, putting herself in the
middle of it, elbows flailing, lips working furiously as she railed at her
ex-husband. Her desire to put herself anywhere in Sonny's concerns was
sickening to watch.
In
spite of herself, it was Sonny that mattered most to Alexis, of course. She
could read his body language all too well, from the rigid jaw to clenched
fist. Did AJ realize just how close he
was to starting something he might not be able to finish? She didn't think
so…he tried to hide it but the sheen of self-satisfaction in his eyes virtually
glowed in his eyes. He knew Sonny's weaknesses almost as well as she did.
Courtney was a major one. Trading barbs and insults with Carly as just icing on
the cake.
Alexis
couldn't hear the words, but did she really need to? No…it was too achingly
familiar. Sonny looked set to explode. Carly as usual, had put herself square
in the middle of things and her presence was doing nothing more aggravate the
entire situation. And suddenly, Alexis was tired of it all. A dull, throbbing
ache spread outward from her heart, draining all energy from her and leaving a
gaping hole where her heart once was.
She
leaned against the doorway and sighed. The clock had struck midnight and prince
charming had turned back into the toad. Or did he lose his slipper? There had
always been something about north american fairy tales she'd never quite been
able to grasp. Alexis wanted nothing more to leave, but the protective part of
her looked around the seething crowd but saw no signs of Kristina. She didn't
want to leave without letting her sister know. But she couldn't stay here much
longer.
But
suddenly, somehow, Jax was at her side. Wordlessly, he slipped an arm around
her shoulder and Alexis gratefully leaned into his solid comforting strength.
Inexplicably and totally against her will, a sudden sting of tears threatened
to blind her vision. She blinked furiously trying to will her tears away. Her
throat was too tight to do more than whisper. "I can not do this now." She murmured.
Jax
looked down at her. "Then don't." He fished in his pocket for a moment. "I have
to baby-sit the club until it closes, but I want you to go to the yacht. Stay
as long as you want, do what you want. Scream, shout, break things…there's even
a shelf full of popcorn…" his heart burned in rage as he watched Alexis try and
smile up at him through the shield of pain surrounding her. "And a bar stocked
with Stoli -just the best for my
special guests, mind you -- and whatever else you want." Jax beckoned to one of his men. "Jackson,
Can you see Ms. Davis to my yacht, please. Use the side exit door from the main
office to ensure her privacy."
The
headwaiter smiled sympathetically and nodded. "Right away, Mr. Jacks."
"But
Kristina…." She began.She couldn't just leave without a word to her sister…
"You
can't be the gatekeeper all the time, Alexis." Jax told her. "Sometimes, you
have to let someone else take care of you. Let me do that for you. I hate to
see an ex-wife so down." His banter brought a slight smile to her face, but he
knew that it wasn't real. Jax ached for her. He watched as Alexis shrugged off
Sonny's jacket and handed it to Jax.
"Could
you see that he gets this back?" she asked. "I know you would rather not."
Even as she asked, her eyes dropped down from his and the gesture pained him. "I'll take care of everything, Alexis." Jax assured her. He'd take care of anything that mattered to her, and not only because there was no one else to do it. Corinthos was no where worthy of her trust, even if she couldn't see that just yet. "You go and take care of yourself."
He
watched as his maitre d' escorted Alexis through the corridor leading to the
offices out back. After she'd disappeared, Jax beckoned to several of his waiters.
"Let's get this mess cleaned up and the party moving." He forced a smile onto
his face. "It's opening night, isn't it?"
It took more than a few minutes but they
managed to get everyone to neutral corners and the music to start playing
again.Jax signaled the dj to get the music jumping once again and somehow
managed to get the crowd turned their attention back to the party, but the hum
of conversation guaranteed that the highlight of the night would not be the
opening itself, as he had hoped. Damn Corinthos, Jax thought. Carly had
taken advantage of their confrontaino with her ex-husband and pulled Sonny over
to a table on the far side of the room. Sonny was still glowering, not that Jax
gave a damn. Why did he have to even come here tonight? Everywhere he went,
trouble followed. AJ, as equally bull-headed, had refused to leave but had
taken a table on this side. Courtney was still with him; but her eyes kept
straying over to the table where her brother sat.
Jax
turned to the bar and ordered a shot of schnapps. He downed it in one swift movement, cursing Corinthos again as he
swallowed.
"Where
is she?" The hated but all-too-familiar voice intruded rudely into his
thoughts.
Jax
jerked his head around and glared at
Sonny. "She's not here, Corinthos. The last thing she wanted to do was stay and
watch the circus. You know…you, your wife, your sister and company."
Sonny
said nothing in reply. Looking into his eyes, Jax could see him mentally shrug
and begin to turn away and the unspoken dismissal infuriated him. "Do you know
why, Corinthos?" Jax grabbed him by the arm and swung him back around. Sonny
jerked free instantly, but stood there, stone faced as Jax continued.
"Do
you even care? The truth of it is that Alexis couldn't bear to stand here any
longer and watch you and the trouble you bring. Your private life is just as explosive as your public life,
Sonny. How can you subject a woman like Alexis to your constant barrage of
baggage? Your life is garbage and she deserves so much better…she is so high
above you.. You can't even aspire to touch the soles of her shoes…and she
deserves better than having you insinuate yourself into her life…after all
she's been through, doesn't she at least deserve some peace?"
In the face of Sonny's continued
silence, Jax swept the jacket up from the back of the nearby chair and flung it
in Sonny's face.. "She left this behind. I hope she has the sense to do the
same to you."
Sonny
caught his jacket in one clenched hand and at last, the stone façade of
Corinthos' mask cracked. For a moment. His eyes blazed as they stared into
Jax's. Their rivalry had been along one of longstanding enmity and his
friendship with Alexis had only strengthened their mutual hatred.
"What Alexis chooses or doesn't choose, is not up to you, Jax." Sonny said, his voice, low and controlled, and in definite opposition to the fire in his eyes.
"…but I get you...you'd do anything to keep her from making
any choices that you don't agree with."
"If
you mean any choices that exclude you from her life, then you couldn't be more
right, Corinthos. You're poison. You destroy any and everything you touch. And I'll protect Alexis from you anyway I
can. You think you know her, but you don't. She thinks she knows you, but she
doesn't. But I won't let you destroy her in the process. You can't help
yourself…I understand that about you. You have a self-destructive streak in
you… the life you've chosen is one that doesn't cherish life.. But I won't let
you choose that life for Alexis as well."
Sonny couldn't help himself. "And if she makes her own choices…how does that sit with you?"
"She'd never choose you, Corinthos. Never."
