Audrey was just putting some lip gloss on when a light knock sounded on the door. She saw the door open and leaned back to see who it was. She smiled as she saw Courtney and Carly walk through the door. Today was their lunch date and she had to admit that she was a little nervous. She liked them both and they all got along really well but she was nervous about the stories she would hear about the life she was now in.
Courtney and Carly walked further into the penthouse and sat on the couch as Audrey finished getting ready. Courtney looked around the apartment anxiously hoping that Jason was there. That didn't go unnoticed by Carly. Before Courtney knew what was going on she heard her best friend yell Jason's name at the top of her lungs. Audrey whipped around and looked at Carly with a look of utter confusion and amusement. "If you wanted to know if he was here you could have just asked." Courtney laughed. "Yeah, Carly…" "Oh don't 'yeah Carly' me. You wanted to know if he was here so you could get a little smoochy smooch before you left and you weren't about to yell for him." Courtney turned a few shades of red and looked away from Carly and Audrey.
Audrey laughed at the two women in front of her. After everything that they had been through they still had a sunny outlook on life. She wanted to be like them. She looked in the mirror one last time before asking them if they were ready to go. They nodded and they left the penthouse and headed to Kelly's.
They walked into the small diner and Audrey and Courtney's eyes instantly fell on the two guys at the counter. They couldn't help but smile as they looked at each other and back to the men. They silently snuck up behind the men only to have them turn around and grab their waists. Courtney let out a small laugh while Audrey gasped. "How did you know we were behind you?" Audrey looked between Noah and Jason. "You ladies weren't exactly quiet as you walked in here." Jason nodded. "In fact, we heard you coming from the docks." He leaned down and kissed Courtney as Noah did the same with Audrey. As much as Carly loved seeing the scene in front of her she quickly shooed the guys away. This was a girls only lunch. They were supposed to be talking about the men, not talking to them. After much prodding Jason and Noah finally left the women alone to their meal.
They ate their lunch talking about purses, shoes, and the latest fashion trends. None of them knew quite how to address the subject of "the business." Finally Carly brought up the subject. "Audrey, this life is going to be hard." Courtney and Audrey both looked at Carly with somber looks on their faces. "I know." "No, you don't honey. I thought I did too but I didn't until I was right in the middle of it. I have been kidnapped and tortured and almost killed more times than I care to count because of Sonny. It's constant worrying and danger and looking over your shoulder. Are you ready for that?" Audrey looked down at her hands before looking back up at Carly. "I care about him." Courtney cut in now. "We know you do sweetie but if you're not in this for the long haul then it's better to not get in at all. We know what it's like, and we're not trying to talk you out of dating Noah. We just want you to know what you're getting into before you jump into something you're not ready for."
Audrey knew they meant well. She wanted to listen to what they had to say before she made this decision. "I know you guys just want what's best for me. That's why I'm not making any decisions until I've heard what you both have to say. If you wouldn't mind I'd kind of like it if you told me about your lives with Sonny and Jason. From beginning to end."
Courtney and Carly looked at each other before they started laughing. Audrey looked at them in confusion. "What's so funny?" Carly squeezed her arm. "Well, I hope you don't have any plans for the rest of the day because my story alone will take all night." Audrey smiled. "I have no where to be." Carly nodded and looked at Courtney before starting her story.
"Me and Sonny. Well let me start off by saying that we have been married three times." Audrey's eyes grew wide. Carly smiled. "I know. Anyway, we made a mistake getting together the first time. I was with Jason and made the mistake of sleeping with Sonny. But as much as that hurt Jason and as much hell as we went through, I wouldn't change anything that happened. I will always love Sonny, but what I've come to learn was that sometimes love just isn't enough. We aren't good for each other. We yell and we fight and that's where our intense passion comes from. It's very exciting but it's also unsteady and unstable." Courtney gave Carly a comforting smile. "Anyway, we couldn't stand each other when we first met. He was disgusted with me because of a lie I had created and I saw him as a threat to my perfect life. But then one fateful night changed everything. I thought that Jason had feelings for Elizabeth Webber so I went to Sonny to ask him about it. Sonny taunted me by saying that Jason had found someone good enough for him with Elizabeth and that I would never be enough for him. In the heat of the moment, our anger turned to lust and we made love. I ended up pregnant with his child and so he moved me and Michael into his penthouse. We eventually started to understand each other and we planned a wedding. But while I was at the Quartermaine's fighting with AJ I fell down the stairs and lost our baby. We were devastated. Sonny took me to his island to recuperate and we genuinely began to fall in love. But when we got home I made the mistake of thinking that Sonny thought of me as an obligation and so I moved out of his penthouse. I came up with a stupid plan that got Sonny in trouble so we had to get married so I couldn't testify against him. It wasn't until Sonny nearly died that he told me he loved me. We renewed our vows on the island. But I messed it up by again coming up with a plan to put Sonny in the witness protection program. He found out and was furious with me. He threw me out of the penthouse and swore it was for good. Even though we were getting divorced I agreed to let Sonny adopt Michael. After that Sonny had Zander guard me and we became close. We were both trying to get over people we loved. I didn't know at the time though that he was watching me for Sonny. I was starting to grow closer to Zander but one night I ended up at Sonny's penthouse. I caught him sleeping with Alexis and I was devastated. I went to Zander's to try and get back at Sonny but Zander kicked me out after figuring out that I was using him. I decided to leave town. People thought that I had died because my car went over a cliff. After a little while though I just couldn't stay away anymore and so I came back to town. I actually interrupted my own funeral."
"What?" Audrey couldn't believe some of the things that she was hearing. Carly and Courtney laughed. "Yeah. I ran out of the church after discovering what I had walked in on and Sonny came running after me. He wanted a second chance with me. But I found out that Alexis was possibly carrying Sonny's child. I, along with Sonny, however, believed Alexis when she gave us a fake paternity test saying that Ned was the father of her baby. After that I opened a club called The Cellar with Ric Lansing. Little did I know that Ric was Sonny's half-brother. Hell, at that point I didn't even know that Courtney was his half-sister. Anyway things were really good for a while. Until Sonny found out about your father and Courtney. I had known that something was going on but he was clueless. We were on complete opposite sides when it came to them. And it didn't help that his former love Brenda Barrett was back in town. I actually caught them kissing on the docks one night. I thought the worst and ran to Ric. I was drugged and Ric took advantage of the situation. He made me think that we had slept together. To make matters worse, I wound up pregnant and I didn't know who Morgan's father was. But eventually I told Sonny about what happened with Ric and we found out that he staged the whole thing. After finding that out we focused our attention on Jason and Courtney's wedding day. Things were pretty calm right up until a few days before the wedding. Alcazar kidnapped Sonny as a sign but we got him back in time to go on with the wedding. Unfortunately, Ric had other plans in mind and he kidnapped me from the church and locked me in a secret room in his house. His plan was to steal my baby and give it to Elizabeth as an adopted infant."
"This sounds like a soap opera." "Yeah, well that basically describes this life. Only this isn't staged. It's real." Audrey looked over at Courtney who had tears brimming in her eyes. Audrey really didn't know what she was getting into. But she wanted to hear the rest of Carly's story. And she really wanted to hear Courtney's since her and Jason had just found their way back to each other.
Carly took a sip of her water before continuing. "Just as Sonny and Jason were about to find me Alcazar kidnapped me from Ric and took me to his yacht. While I was with him he developed feelings for me. After I was rescued he sent me gifts and tried to romance me. Alcazar even hired someone to pretend to be Sonny's dead ex-wife Lily. He tried pushing me by buying me and the boys our dream house. One stormy night, I went to the house by myself and fell down the stairs. Courtney found me and went for help, but got into a car accident before she could tell anyone where I was. Alcazar actually found Courtney and she told him where I was. He rushed off to help me and when he got there I made him promise that no matter what happened he had to get Morgan to the hospital. Alcazar was delivering my baby when Sonny showed up. He heard me scream when he was outside so he kicked in the door and shot his gun. I finished delivering the baby and then passed out because the bullet passed through Alcazar and went into my head. I was in a coma for quite sometimes and it was basically like living a double life. I had very vivid dreams of a life with Alcazar where we had nothing to do with the mob. When I finally woke up I asked for Alcazar. Although I was physically healthy, all the love that I had for Sonny and my children were buried beneath the dream love I had for Alcazar. It got pretty bad after that. Sonny took me to the island where I told him that I didn't have the same feelings for him anymore. He left to confront Alcazar and before I could get to them, Sonny shot him. After Sonny's trial I collapsed while telling off Alcazar and I awoke with all of the feelings for my family restored. But I continued having flashes of Alcazar. I ended up marrying Alcazar. Me and Sonny were at odds until our children were kidnapped and we thought that Michael had died. He was so good to me through that whole situation but something inside of me broke. Even after Michael came back home I just wasn't the same person. I was breaking down. Sonny tried to help me by letting me move in with him but eventually I ended up at Roselawn. And now I'm the happiest that I have ever been with Jax. As much as I love Sonny, we just can't ever be together again. I need to live my life for me and I can't do that when I'm with him. He will always be a big part of my life though."
Audrey was dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say about their whole twisted love affair. "Wow. You guys went through a lot of hard times. But you were happy at times too." Carly nodded. "We were. And I wouldn't trade a single second I spent with him for anything in the world. And just because we didn't work out doesn't mean that you and Noah won't or that Jason and Courtney won't. You and Noah seem to be good for each other." Audrey smiled and the mention of his name. She really did care about him.
Audrey looked over at Courtney who had been quiet through the whole conversation. "Okay, I heard Carly's story. Now I want to hear about you and my dad." Courtney looked down at her hands before starting. "Ours isn't quite as intense as Sonny and Carly's. We had our ups and downs but for the most part we loved each other. I was actually married to Jason's brother when we first met. I had feelings for Jason at the get go. But I was determined to stay in my marriage. AJ was an alcoholic and one night he drove our car into The Oasis, the local strip club. To keep AJ out of jail I decided to strip for Coleman. That's when I really got to know Jason. Sonny sent him to the club to protect me. I hated the idea at first but then I started liking having Jason around. We became friends. Then AJ decided to stalk me so he could be my hero. But instead I went to Jason. He stayed with me a lot and we continued to develop feelings for each other. We actually had our first kiss outside of Jake's. It was pouring rain and we just couldn't help ourselves. Anyway, after I found out that AJ was my stalker I threw him out and invited Jason over for dinner. We didn't make it through dinner though. Our feelings got in the way and we ended up making love. After it happened he was kind of weird and ended up leaving my apartment. He came back later though and told me that he didn't want what we had to end. We decided to get a secret place for just the two of us. We ended up renting the loft that I still live in to this day. We spent all of our time there, just talking about our dreams and hopes. We shared our first Christmas together in that loft. Anyway Jason and Sonny got arrested for one thing or another and I went to AJ to get him to help Jason. Jason came in just as AJ was trying to blackmail me and he beat him up. He then told me that I could never try to help him again or he would walk away from me. That was the first time I admitted that I loved him. We still hadn't told anyone about our relationship yet but Elizabeth ended up following me and finding out. She and Jason had just broken up so needless to say she was hurt by us. She ended up slapping me and yelling at me and Jason. During this whole time Jason and Brenda were on trial for the murder of Luis Alcazar, Lorenzo's brother. I stuck by him through the whole trial. The charges against them were eventually dropped and Jason thought that it was time that we tell Sonny about us. So we got out in a really bad snowstorm to find Sonny and Carly. We ended up crashing the car and that's when we admitted that we loved each other. We were rescued and when we were at the hospital Jason told Sonny about us. Sonny didn't like the idea and basically told Jason that the only way to love me was to leave me. He told Jason that I was bound to get hurt if we stayed together. Jason broke up with me at the hospital. I was devastated but I wasn't about to back down. I loved him and I fought for him with everything that I had. During our break up I was kidnapped by Faith Roscoe as a set up for Sonny to find me and Jason together. Sonny was more convinced than ever that Jason had to stay away from me. It took a while but I was finally able to convince him that I had the right to choose if I wanted a life with him. Jason chose me over Sonny and Sonny considered it the ultimate betrayal. He thought I was trying to take Jason away from him. He fired Jason and continued trying to get me to break up with Jason. We were at odds for a really long time about the whole situation. Carly actually came to us with an idea of how to get Jason's job back. We had to stage a break up in the middle of Kelly's in front of Faith to set her up. Our plan didn't exactly work out as planned but after Carly fell through the ice Sonny told Jason that he needed him and he offered him his job. He finally decided that, even though he didn't life it, we were going to be together. Sonny was in a dark place at that time though so I broke up with Jason for Sonny's sake. Jason hated the idea but I thought it was the only way to help Sonny. Faith was a really big problem at that time. Her and Ric were working together to bring Sonny down. Ric actually kidnapped me and kept me in a mine shaft. Jason found me and took me to the hospital. We got back together as I was in the hospital. However, the day that I was released I overheard Ric and Faith talking about setting up Jason. As I was on my way to tell Jason what I heard Faith ran me down in her car. When I woke up in the hospital Ric threatened to send Jason to jail if I told him or Sonny what I heard. After I got out of the hospital that time Jason proposed and I accepted. But Ric had also proposed as a way to get to Sonny. Me and Jason set him up and got all the evidence of Fowler's murder away from Ric. Things were pretty calm after that until our wedding when Carly came up missing. That was a trying time on all of us. We were lost without her. Everyone was on edge wanting to find her. Somehow though, during her kidnapping I ended up pregnant."
Courtney started to choke up thinking about the baby she had lost. Carly wrapped her arms around her best friend and gave her the support to go on. She wiped a few stray tears before continuing. "Carly called to tell us where she was, only Jason and Sonny had all ready left. So I took it upon myself to go to South America to tell them where she was. I found them at the hotel and told them but while they were gone Alcazar showed up and took me in Carly's place. Jason came back and Alcazar told me to choose which one of us would live and which would die. Jason told me that I had to stay safe and he jumped out the window, knowing that Alcazar wouldn't hurt me. I was just leverage for him getting Carly back. It didn't work though. One night during a storm I got out of my room and made it up to the deck. One of his employees found me and I picked up a gun and pointed it at him. I walked over to the edge of the boat and got ready to jump. He told me it was suicide but I thought he was lying. So I made the biggest mistake of my life and I jumped overboard. I have never felt something so cold in my life. The water pierced through my body. I didn't think I was going to make it. I should have trusted Jason and waited for him to find me. Anyway, I woke up in a clinic where the doctors told me I had lost my baby. I didn't believe them at first. I thought they were working for Lorenzo. I was devastated. Jason found me in the clinic and brought me back to Port Charles but I wasn't the same after that. I lashed out at him and tried to make him feel as bad as I felt. I finally told him about the miscarriage. He said and did everything right but that made it worse for me. I wanted him to yell at me and hate me, not comfort me. One night after a fight I stormed out of the penthouse and ended up on the docks. I overheard some of Alcazar's men talking about something important so they attacked me. The doctor prescribed me hydrocodone for the pain. I didn't take them at first but then I started taking them to relax. But instead they just wound me up more. I started lashing out at Jason more and making up crazy ideas in my head like he was going to leave me. It got so bad that I hit Elizabeth with me car one night. Jason finally took me to the island to relax. It was just what I needed. I opened up to him about everything and we reconnected that weekend. He even gave me a massage to help the pain in the neck and shoulders. It's one of my favorite memories. We went back home and that's when I found out about Elizabeth. I wanted to turn myself in but Jason didn't want me too. Alcazar actually came up with a cover up for me. After that situation Jason whisked me away to France where we got married. It was the most incredible day of my life. Sonny and Carly flew out there and it was everything I needed. We came back and that's when Carly went into labor with Morgan. We took care of their kids for a long time and I got really attached to them. I even took them out of town after Jason refused to get out of the business. We made up though and we came back home. But I had met a cop in Hayes Landing and he followed us back here. Things just got to be too tense for me. I couldn't handle this life anymore and I needed out. After hearing that Jason wasn't going to stop Sonny from killing Alcazar I shut down. I had to get out. It was one thing right after another and I just couldn't handle it. I walked out on Jason and moved above Kelly's. We went back and forth for the longest time. Neither of us really able to let go. Even when we decided to divorce we still held on tight."
Courtney stopped and thought about what to say next. She had never relived her whole relationship with Jason before. It was harder than she thought it would be. "I didn't know how to get out of this life. I was so used to the code that I didn't trust anyone and I alibied Jason when the cops would come question me. It was second nature to me. I followed a cop one night and shot him when I thought he was going to kill Jason. That scared me more than anything. I did the very thing that scared me the most about Jason. This life is basically kill or be killed. I was so tore up about what I did. I wanted to confess but in the end I couldn't because Jason didn't want me too. He told me that I was free from him. We tried to stay away from each other until the Port Charles Hotel fire happened. I went in the hotel trying to find him. I found him with Brian and he told me to go with him. We met up again on the roof. Because of who Jason is, they wouldn't let him on the helicopter to be rescued so he gave his number to me. I got out safely and he barely made it out alive. He was actually handcuffed in the building but got out to some somehow. I ran right into his arms. We continued going back and forth until I kept him from killing Alcazar. I did what I thought was right and I hit him on the head to stop him. Him and Sonny thought that I had committed the ultimate betrayal. They shut me out of their lives. Jason signed our divorce papers and slammed the door in my face. I tried to move on but it was hard. I opened a foundation and started working with Jax while Jason got to know Sam better. We had one last kiss one night in the rain. Our relationship ended the same way it began. We went our separate ways for a while. It was just too hard to be around him so I stayed away. Especially when he told me that Sam was pregnant with him child and that they were getting married. I knew I had to move on then so I focused my attention on Jax. I even fell in love with him. But I'm going to tell you because I know first hand that just because I wasn't with Jason anymore didn't mean that I was out of that life. I was still Sonny's sister just like you're still Jason's daughter. I was actually involved in a shooting at the MetroCourt. Jason came just in time to save my life. Even Carly's dad threatened me to get to Jason. And he still protected me even though he did it from afar. And now we're trying again. I have never stopped loving your father and I never will. I have grown up since we split up and I have realized that no matter what I do, I will always be a target. I might as well live my life, however long it may be, with the love of my life."
All three women smiled at Courtney's last statement. Audrey couldn't believe some of the things that Courtney and Carly had been through. She didn't know if she was strong enough to face some of the things she did. Although she did just survive her first kidnapping. Carly broke her out of her thoughts by asking the million dollar question. "So, do you think you can handle this life?" Audrey looked between Courtney and Carly. "I…"