Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital I wasn't even a thought in the wind when this show was created. I do not own Ethan or Kristina or any of the other characters in this.
Summery: Takes place after the scene in 9/1/11 when Kristina overhears Ethan tell Skye all about her and how she's a messed up kid and feels sorry for her. Kristina decides enough is enough. If that is how he really feels about her, then she is done being the victim.
Oh and Kristina is not going to end up in the hospital.
Author's Notes: Thank you for those who took the time to read/ review/ or message me about this story. I hope everyone likes this chapter and for Lexi who asked...Molly will be a major factor in this story don't worry.
XOXOX
Ethan walks back towards Kelly's in a daze. He kept replaying what Kristina spat out at him and it hurt him worse than any bullet wound he ever had before. The look she gave him was pure ice. A look he's seen her give countless of others, but never himself.
"I'm sure you must miss my pathetic advances towards you for entertainment but I have faith you'll survive without me."
While he was never a big fan on her attempts at seducing him and him letting her down, he never once recalls calling her pathetic. Nor has he thought of her crush on him as his way of entertainment. Krissy was his friend. She was silly and goofy and always put a smile on his face but she was not his form of entertainment. She kept him from being bored but not at her own expense. How could she even say those things about him?
Maybe this is something her father told her about him. That he was only using her. However, just thinking about it made him doubt his theory. Kristina never took her father's words to heart, he didn't think she would start now. She was more than happy to tell her father that she cared about the con artist, telling the great Sonny Corinthos that she would not stop seeing him, whether anyone liked it or not.
When he makes it back to Kelly's, he sits down across from Johnny who was already digging into his food. Johnny looks up at him and sees how distraught he looks. He was a little worried that was for sure.
"So what happened man?"
After Ethan replays their encounter, including her flinching away from him as well as her harsh goodbye, he looks up at his best mate. Johnny's been a good friend to him; not as much as Kristina but a good friend. He gave him a job, a purpose in this town when everyone else thought he was a bad person; it was something Ethan will never forget.
"I just don't understand why she said those things. I never once called Krissy's advances towards me pathetic. I doubt she started listening to her family about how bad I am for her, it never stopped her before." He muttered and Johnny couldn't help but notice how much her words hurt him.
He doesn't know why Ethan won't just admit to himself what he was feeling towards her, because if anyone else saw the young Aussie's face, they would know he was head over his ass in love with that girl. He knows Ethan was probably afraid of Sonny, or even not being good enough for Kristina, but this was getting out of hand now. They both were miserable now and he couldn't let this continue. He cared about both of them.
"Well, when was the last time you guys spoke? Was she like that then?" He asked his best friend.
Ethan already told him about their last meeting at Kelly's so he doesn't mention that.
"Last time she seemed okay was that night I had the poker game with the high rollers. Kristina wanted to stay and help and I told her it was too dangerous because the men I was playing didn't like her father. She wasn't happy about it but I don't think that's why she would be acting this way. She wanted to give me a friendship bracelet but I told her I couldn't accept anything from her because I didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Then Skye came to talk to me about something and she left, then you showed up not long after." He recalls how upset she looked when she was trying to give him the bracelet. He should have apologized for that; she was only trying to be nice but he doesn't think that would have caused this cold side of her.
Johnny thinks about the few things he does know about Kristina. She was a spit fire. She was strong, a lot stronger than people gave her credit for. She was manipulative when she wanted to be, but most of all that girl was stubborn.
"Well do you think maybe Krissy didn't leave right away? What were you and Skye talking about before I showed up?" He asked and Ethan's eyes went a little wide.
He recalled how Skye, like most people, asked him if he had feelings for the young girl and Ethan immediately deflected saying how she was just a sweet yet sheltered kid. How Sonny ignored her most of her life, then tried to control her causing her to act out in rebellion. How he felt sorry for her.
If Kristina was there when he said that he can understand why she would be upset. He even remembers his nonchalant tone when talking about her and her life. He broke her trust in him and told Skye things about herself that she told him in confidence. That girl had serious trust issues and it probably stung to hear him talking about her life with no qualms. He wasn't even sure why he said all that; he's just used to having to justify his friendship with her.
He tells Johnny what he says and Johnny shakes his head at his friend in disappointment.
"You really just feel sorry for her? That's what you tell people your friendship is based off of?" He asked Ethan in disbelief. He doesn't doubt now for a second that Kristina was listening in on his conversation with Skye. To hear someone you love, or even just a friend say they feel sorry for you is like a gun shot wound. Especially to people that had the types of family he and Kristina had.
Being the child of a mob boss meant that people were supposed to fear you, pretend they love you, but NEVER pity you. After all that girl went through with her snot nosed boyfriend beating her, a car bomb put in by her own flesh and blood almost killing her, almost dying on multiple occasions; if she thought Ethan only talked to her out of pity he isn't surprised she stepped away from him.
Ethan shook his head.
"No, of course not. I feel bad about how Sonny neglects his only daughter until he wants to control her, but it's not like I only spoke to her because I felt bad for her. I thought she knew me better than that." He says in a hurt tone before looking back at his best mate.
"What do I do?" He asks and Johnny knows this is the moment of truth. He can either step up or let the poor girl go.
Johnny shrugs nonchalantly and braced himself for this.
"I say you do nothing. You have been saying for months that you had a target on your back because of that little girl and her crush on you was going to get you killed. Now that doesn't seem like a problem; I say you move on and forget about her. She was a nice kid but she was more of an inconvenience to you in the long run. Now that she's out of your hair, you're free." He lies to Ethan and he sees his friend's eyes turn into a flame.
Ethan's hands slam onto the table as Johnny's words echo through his ears. How fucking dare he say that stuff about him and Kristina! He didn't know shit!
"That's not what I wanted and that's definitely not how I feel about her!" He says harshly his teeth gritting together in an angry scowl.
Johnny resisted the urge to smile. Bingo. He knew his friend wouldn't be able to let Kristina Davis go. Johnny calmly leans in closer to him and puts his hands on the table.
"Then you need to seriously think about what it is you do want. Until you do that, you are killing that poor girl. You lead her on for months, don't give me that look you know you did! You lead her on then kept pushing her away because you were scared. Of what I don't know, but that girl never gave up on you until you made it clear that she was not worth your time and that you felt sorry for her! Either you figure out what you really feel for her, or you let her go; because you're not only killing her but you're killing yourself." Johnny tells him in a soft tone looking Ethan straight in his eyes so he knows that is is a 100 percent serious.
Johnny leans back before digging into his wallet and leaving some money for the server and getting up.
"I've always been rooting for you two my man. You both are good for each other. You compliment each other well. I don't know if you're afraid of her age, her father, or what everyone would think, but you need to get your shit together. You need to stop thinking about how everyone else feels and focus on what you actually want." He leaves his final piece of advice and silently wishes his friend a good luck.
He was going to need it.
XOXOX
After her run in with Ethan, Kristina found herself on her way to her dad's office. She needed to talk to him. She was done, so completely done. She no longer wanted to be considered weak. She would no longer be a fool.
By the time she got there, her anger was fuming. She walks inside and sees her soon to be Uncle Jason there looking at her confused.
"Hey Kristina, everything okay?" He asked her. He had an iffy relationship with the girl when she started getting older; her blaming him on why her dad didn't spend time with her, but he knew she was a good girl that just has some issues. Sam thought the world of her, and she was Sonny's only daughter; for that he would kill or die for her.
"I'm fine. My dad busy?" She asked her uncle, not wanting to make small talk with him but didn't want to lash out on him for no reason. She knew he was a good man. He made her sister very happy and for that she was grateful to him.
Jason shakes his head.
"No, he should be fine. Go on in." Jason says and nods a goodbye to her. She seemed like she was a girl on a mission. He just hopes her and Sonny wouldn't start arguing over Luke's son; he had a headache.
"Thanks, I'll see you at the rehearsal dinner next week." She tells him in goodbye.
When Kristina knocks on her father's office door, she hears his cold permission for her to enter. When she enters she sees his eyes soften a little before he stands up to give his daughter a hug.
"Kristina, what a pleasant surprise." He says softly before he walks closer to her and wraps his arms around her.
She hugs him back just as soft; the was her first hug in a couple weeks and to be honest, she really needed one. Even if it was her dad giving it. She knows she's been pushing people away but she just couldn't help it anymore; it's like whenever she puts her hear and faith into people they only hurt her.
"Yeah, I actually came to talk to you about something." She says and she can see his eyes guard up. He's probably expecting her to ask him for money or for something that she knows he wouldn't approve of.
Sonny nods and looks at his daughter's eyes. Something was up with her. She looked harder, more guarded than usual. Truthfully, in this moment he sees a lot of himself in his daughter. He hopes this has nothing to do with Ethan because he really doesn't want to fight with her on this subject again. He never liked the relationship between those two. They were too close when Kristina was too young and too vulnerable. He knows she has feelings for him but he doesn't think it will end well for her.
"Okay, lets take a seat." He tells her and they both sit down across from each other.
"What's going on?" He asks her simply.
Kristina takes a deep breath.
"I want to take self defense classes and was wondering if you can help me pay for them. I want to start as soon as possible but I had to buy a lot of school books and I'm not sure I have enough to fund the classes myself." She tells him and he is shocked, that was definitely not what he was expecting.
"What? Why would you want to take them?" He asks her suspiciously. He wasn't just going to hand over a couple hundred dollars so she can run off to the Dominican Republic again. On the other hand, maybe she wanted to take the classes because someone was hurting her again. If it is that Lovett punk, that boy was going to be eliminated.
He will never forgive himself for not realizing when she was being abused by Keifer. If he had the power, he would bring that prissy kid back from the dead only to kill him again and again. Jason would not be needed that time. He should have known better that something was off with his little girl. She was his only daughter and he knows he hasn't been the best father to her, but he is trying to be better.
"I have been thinking a lot about this, especially after Keifer, and I think I can really benefit from those types of classes. I want to be prepared for anything." She tells him and his eyes narrow. Yeah, she was definitely hiding something.
"I don't know about this. Those classes, they only teach you things in a hypothetical. Silly scenarios that you won't get into because you have guards on you." He points out not wanting to upset her but the fact is, most of those classes can't teach her what could happen to her with his line of work.
Kristina's eyes darken in anger and she stands up.
"Then you can find me a teacher that doesn't just teach hypothetical scenarios! I don't care about the teacher, you can pick him out. I won't even argue you on that. I just need to take these classes!" She says defensively.
"Is someone bothering you again Kristina? Because if someone is, tell me and I will take care of it. You don't need to take classes to defend yourself." He tells her hoping that would make her feel a bit better. Boy was he wrong.
She slams her hands on his desk angrily.
"No! No one is bothering me but that's not the point! You just don't want me taking self defense classes because you want me to stay weak! You want me to run to you for every little problem I have! You and everyone else in my life are just expecting me to stay weak and immature and sheltered forever! Well no more! If you won't help me and actually be a father to me for once in my life then forget it! I'll find my own way to pay for the classes and you will never have me ask you for anything again." She yells at him and gets ready to leave.
However, Sonny jumps up from his seat and rushes to stop her.
"No Kristina that is not why I don't want you to take these classes. I just don't want you to feel like you have to depend on yourself. You can come to me with anything, I hope you know that." He tells her gently and she just looks him right in the eyes.
"If there is anything I've learned recently; it's that I can only depend on myself. No one else cares as much as they say do." She tells him coldly and Sonny's heart is breaking.
His little girl was in pain. She has been through so much lately and feels powerless. Sonny thinks about how powerless he felt after his step father abused him for so long. Him and Kristina were so much alike in many ways; a big reason why they clashed so harshly. He sees how important this is for her; she needs to feel strong. She needs to feel like she has some sort of control in her life and for once in her life, he was going to give her that power.
"If this is something you are serious about, I will ask Spinelli to find the perfect instructor that will teach you hypothetical and real life situations. Once I find the best teacher, I will let you know and pay for the classes myself." He tells her and he sees her eyes lighten a fraction yet she was still guarded.
"Thank you." She tells him softly.
"I hope one day you realize you do have people that care about you. You don't have to rely on yourself for everything." He says and Kristina nods.
"I hope one day you're right." She answers him honestly.
Today, however, was not that day.
TBC