Elizabeth tightened her grip on the steering wheel willing herself not to glance at the newspaper laying open on the passenger seat. The sounds of the practice track just beyond the fence bouncing around the interior of her late model Chevy did little to distract her. The photograph of Jason and Theresa's kiss took up nearly a third of the front page of the sports section. She was barely able to read the headline - 'Morgan's Third Consecutive Pole Position Start Grabs Him His Third Time Under the Checkered Flag' – her eyes drawn to the picture.

Elizabeth was full of so many emotions she felt as if she were being strangled. Rage took center stage. She had no idea she could be this irate. She had never in her life felt the fury that coursed through her body at that moment. She was angry with Jason but more importantly she was furious with herself. She had fallen hook line and sinker again for another pack of lies. Would she ever learn, she scolded herself? Jason's flowery words had meant nothing, his pledge of love and how she would always come first had been nothing but insignificant declarations his action spoke volumes.

Elizabeth focused on the anger welling inside in an effort to drive back the grief that was quickly creeping its way into her heart. However, no matter how hard she tried it was grief that was getting the better of her. As much as she had tried to stop herself, she had fallen deeply in love with Jason, more than she ever thought possible. So, the anguish was all consuming, maybe for no other reason than that she had truly believed that he was different from Billy. Yet, looking at the picture splashed across the sports page told a completely different story and that thought pierced her fragile heart like a million daggers.

She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes, yet Elizabeth refused them release. Instead she reached across the gear shift snatching the paper from its resting spot instantly severing the connect between Theresa and Jason by ripping the paper in half. If it was only that easy in real life she thought ruefully. The tapping on the driver's side window startled her. Elizabeth turned her head to see Billy next to her car.

"Can we talk?" he asked stepping back to allow her to exit the car.

Billy hadn't completely given up on his idea of getting back into Elizabeth's good graces and he figured now was as good a time as any, especially since the replay of Jason and Theresa's kiss was not only plastered on every racing rag a few of the sports channels had taken to showing a clip or two. Typically, he would have been livid at the sight himself, but suddenly having Theresa work both sides of the fence was to his advantage.

Elizabeth swung the door open hard nearly knocking Billy down in the process, which would have been fine with her. The last thing she wanted was to come face to face with her ex but there she was. "What do you want?" she barked.

"So, I guess you've seen today's paper?" he asked pointing to the mangled newsprint still entangled through Elizabeth's fingers. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up?"

Elizabeth had no words. All she was able to do was laugh, yet it wasn't a joyful laugh it was one filled with ire, hatred even.

"What? What'd I say?" Billy questioned not sure what to make of Elizabeth's demeanor.

"You want to know how I'm holding up?"

"Yes."

"I'm just dandy!"

"I'm sorry you're hurting," Billy announced.

"Like hell you are!" Elizabeth shot back.

"Of course, I am," he continued. "The last thing I want is to see you upset."

Billy reached out to stroke her arm. Immediately Elizabeth swatted his hand away. "Don't you dare touch me."

Billy instantly backed up, hands in the air as if to indicate he understood. This wasn't exactly how he had envisioned this interaction taking place. "I just want to be your friend, Elizabeth. No matter what happened between us before I still care deeply for you," he declared.

"Like hell you do," she countered. "I was nothing more than a means to an end for you. Bed Pat Ryan's daughter and you thought you'd get the keys to the kingdom! We see how well that worked for you."

"That's not true," Billy contradicted. "I loved you. I didn't care who your father was."

"HA!" Elizabeth spit. "You can't actually believe what you are saying can you? You never loved me! If you did how could you have slept with Theresa behind my back over and over again? Hell, you'd still be doing it if I hadn't caught the two of you."

"I swear it was only that one time. I got a little tipsy at the celebration and you weren't there…."

"So, what it's my fault you fell into bed with the likes of Theresa Kennedy? Seriously, I was working and that's your excuse for not being able to keep your pants on?" Elizabeth yelled.

"That was the biggest mistake of my life."

"No getting caught was," Elizabeth corrected.

"Liz, please listen. It wasn't like you think. Theresa never meant anything to me. You pushed me away, what else was I supposed to?"

Elizabeth's eyes widen with disbelief at Billy's words. He actually expected her to buy the shit explanation he was trying to sell. "You are totally unbelievable! How about try harder? How about not lie to my dad and tell him we split up because I was forcing you to choose between me and racing? How about owning up to the fact that you repeatedly cheated on me? I could have told my dad the real reason we broke up but I let him believe your lies. Thanks to you I ruined what little of a relationship I actually had with my father."

"That's not my fault!" Billy refuted angrily. He wasn't about to take the heat for Elizabeth's failed relationship with her father. "Your relationship with your dad was screwed up long before I came into the picture. I can't be held responsible for the fact that his racing team means more to him than his own daughter."

Billy used Pat Ryan's reputation for putting his team ahead of everything else including his daughter when he concocted the story about his and Elizabeth's breakup knowing full well that Pat would side with his star driver.

Billy's words about her father seared her as if she had just been branded, however she wasn't about to let him see that his remarks had hit a nerve. "Oh, I see how much you still 'deeply care'," she stressed his previous words. "I told you those things about my relationship with my father in confidence and you turned around and used them for your own benefit. Oh yeah that's what I call love!"

"I didn't have a choice."

"We all have a choice and stay the hell away from me!" she demanded as she turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Pat waited until he could no longer see either Elizabeth or Billy in his line of sight before emerging from the shadows of the high fence. It hadn't been his intention to ease drop on their conversation yet he found no time throughout their heated confrontation to show himself. Now standing out in the open he began to digest what he just heard. Billy lied to him about the reason for the breakup. Elizabeth never asked Billy to choose between Ryan Racing and her. The fact of the matter was that Billy cheated on her and instead of her calling him on it as she should have she kept it to herself when asked. He had let Billy's explanation about their breakup be the final nail in the coffin of his and his daughter's fragile relationship.

Pat tried to wrap his mind around Billy's words. Had he always put his team, career even, ahead of his daughter? Was Elizabeth and her happiness just constantly an afterthought for him? He didn't want to believe that, but deep down in his soul he couldn't deny it no matter how much he wished he could.

He thought of all the missed opportunities over the years where he could have drawn Elizabeth into his life but instead decided to keep her on the fringes. She loved all aspects of racing and rather than embracing that Pat found a way to use it to keep her at arm's length.

Pat replayed Elizabeth's words over in his head. He heard the venom they held but he also could hear the pain, pain he had caused. His first instinct should have been to kick Billy's ass to the curb, to protect his daughter. Yet Pat knew it wouldn't have been. Even if Elizabeth would have told him the truth, he still would have found a way to spin it so that Billy would have still been part of Ryan Racing. There was no denying Pat Ryan was who he was to the core and he doubted that he could change now after all these years, no matter how much he might have wanted to.

Billy looked over his shoulder watching as Elizabeth stormed off in the opposite direction still a bit dumbfounded by her attack. That was something completely unexpected normally Elizabeth wasn't one to let her emotions loose but today she came at him with both barrels.

"Hey where you been?" his crew chief asked as Billy entered the garage.

"Around."

"You need to see this," the other man handed Billy a sheet of paper and knowing the reaction it would produce made a hasty exit.

Billy's eyes scanned the point standings that had been calculated after yesterday's race. His jaw clenched and eyes narrowed on the black text stretched across the white page. Jason had moved from third to second in the standings and he was still sitting squarely at fifth. His feeling of confusion at his encounter with Elizabeth was abruptly replaced by aggravation and anger. He might be able to come to terms with his plans for reuniting with Liz vanishing but he would never accept defeat at the hands of Jason Morgan.

"I'm done playing games Morgan," he muttered as he set out in search of Tom. It was about time that at least one of his plans came to fruition.

The sight of Elizabeth's black Chevelle caused Leo to do a double take. The Ryan compound was the absolute last place he expected to find her. Suddenly, he found himself hopeful that Theresa's little stunt from the race the day before hadn't sent her running for the hills again. Quickly parking his own car besides, hers, he rushed off to find her.

"Hey," Leo said bumming his hip against hers when he found her standing arms draped over the chain link fence encircling one of the many practice tracks. "What are you doing here? I hope you are looking for Jason," he declared before allowing Elizabeth to answer.

"Absolutely NOT!" she snapped.

Instantly, Leo felt his hope deflate like a used party balloon. He should have known better. "What are you doing here then?" he questioned.

"I'm here to congratulate you on beating Billy yesterday!" she smiled broadly. The thought of Billy losing made her giddy but it was even sweeter that it was Leo who put him in his place. Billy made no bones about knocking her friend's racing abilities every chance he got so the fact that he lost to Leo was sweet comeuppance.

"Thank you. It felt damn good to finally beat his ass, even if only by a few seconds," Leo grinned sheepishly.

"A win is a win," Elizabeth said as she hugged Leo tightly. "I'm so happy for you!"

Leo felt her grip around his waist loosen and he debated on how to bring up the subject of Jason once more. He was sure he already knew what the response would be yet he couldn't stop himself. "Are we going to talk about what happened in the winner's circle yesterday?"

"No." Her answer was short and sweet.

"Come on Liz, you know as well as I….."

"Don't," she stopped him before he could continue. She knew all too well what he was about to say. He was going to defend Jason and that was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"You seriously aren't….."

"Leo don't!" she stressed. "I'm done."

"What if I'm not?"

"I don't care. I am done. Jason's," his name almost stuck in her throat. "made his choice."

"The hell he has!" Leo countered.

"I only came here to congratulate you. I have done that so I'm leaving."

"Elizabeth, wait," Leo called to her retreating back but no matter the number of times he called her name she didn't look back.

"Damn," Leo grumbled. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach just grew exponentially.

Elizabeth closed the door to her car with a thud and looked across the parking lot at the hospital entrance happy to have work to distract her, anything was better than all the thoughts of Jason spinning through her brain.

The doors to the emergency room slid open and immediately she was assaulted with the sights and sounds for the bustling ER department. Instantly she felt the tension leave her body happy to be somewhere where she could focus all of her energy on anything but Jason, that was until she ran squarely into Melanie.

"Why haven't you answered any of my calls or texts?" Melanie asked grabbing Elizabeth by the arm just in case she attempted to scoot away.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes knowing exactly where how this conversation was about to go. "You called?"

"Don't give me that shit. You know damn well I called you. You can't hide."

"Who says I'm hiding?"

"Personal experience."

"I really need to get to work," Elizabeth said trying to wriggling out of Melanie's grip.

"Not until we talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," she said shaking her head feeling a bit of deja vu. Hadn't she just had this conversation with Leo? "I know what you are going to say and, in all honesty, I will tell you the same thing I told Leo. I'm done with Jason. He made his choice and no amount of meddling on yours or Leo's part is going to change that."

"Liz, come on, you can't be serious? You can't really think that Jason chose Theresa Kennedy? He loves you!"

"Could have fooled me," she said solemnly. "I really need to get to my office."

"This isn't over," Melanie announced.

"It is for me," Elizabeth declared as she walked away before her friend could say another word.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors slid open and Elizabeth walked toward her office. Closing the door behind her, she hoped that would silence the voices of Leo and Melanie speaking Jason's name however thoughts of that happening were soon lost though. She saw the stack of pink message slips all from Jason spread across her desk, but it was the sound of his voice when she retrieved her voicemail messages that brought a wave of tears she couldn't stop.