Chapter Four: Bad medicine
Summary: The anger and distrust have thawed between Sonny and Alexis. They're once again comfortable with each other, bickering and interacting like two parents on good terms, like two people wrapped in the safe cocoon of friendship and on the cusp of something more. Cue Carly's paranoia and Jason's inevitable interference.
A/N: This chapter wouldn't be here if not for the help of the girls at FW and the SE:WB. You know who you are, so thanks a million!
Prompt: Ice
X-X-X-X-X
"Are Sonny and Alexis having an affair?" The question was as she'd come to expect from him – blunt and borderline glacial. A tone so far removed from the one reserved solely for her a lifetime ago.
It hurt that he'd spoken to her in his infamously cold Borg monotone. And after all this time, the fact that this rawness still existed only served to exacerbate her anger.
Jason had been waiting for her at the Elm Street Pier, knowing that she and Francis would be making their way to her studio after closing Kelly's for the night. He stood by the water, hands in his pockets, the cool summer wind from the harbour barely rustling the spikes of his dark-blonde hair.
"I need to speak with Elizabeth," was all he said, before waiting pointedly for the guard to leave them alone. Francis melted back into the shadows, mentally cringing at the thought of the inevitable confrontation between the two former lovers.
Elizabeth wisely held her tongue as the two males switched roles, with Jason escorting her to her studio instead, and waiting patiently as she let him inside behind her. Meanwhile, her anger at being corralled bubbled volcanically just below the surface.
They both realised belatedly that it was the first time they'd been alone in almost a year. The sharp sweet scent of turpentine brought back memories of their first kiss, of the first time they'd fallen asleep in each others' arms.
Instant heat flooded his veins at the memory of their last time, naked and slick with sweat as they made love on the lumpy couch in the corner. Jason blinked the X-rated images away, getting straight to the point. Gruff, abrupt and cold. Everything but what he was truly feeling at the moment.
"Why should I tell you?" Elizabeth scoffed, hands on her slender hips. "You'll only report back to your keeper."
Annoyance flared behind ice-blue eyes. They both knew who she referred to and he resented the implication.
It pleased her to see some level of emotion from him beyond cold indifference.
"Carly is his wife, Elizabeth."
She snorted. "Oh please, spare me, Jason! She shoves that fact down my throat practically every time we see each other; I don't need you to do it for me." Sapphire blue eyes ignited in a flash of anger. "You do know that if my darling stepmother hadn't pulled that stunt with her car going over that cliff, she never would have weaseled back into my family."
Jason's eyes widened in surprise before he quickly hid behind his patented blank mask.
But he couldn't fool her. Even after all this time.
Elizabeth shook her head distastefully and released a bark of incredulous laughter. "It was only a suspicion but, now, I can only surmise that there is some truth to it. Why am I even surprised? It is Carly after all. It's your duty to clean up her messes."
She paused, cocking her head in mock thoughtfulness before turning the full glare of her cutting gaze on him once more. "Tell me, does my Dad know about that latest stunt?"
Jason said nothing. His silence was all the answer she needed.
"Ask me again, Jason," Elizabeth invited. Her saccharine tone could not disguise the venom that lurked within, her smile nothing short of predatory.
He could not deny that she was indescribably beautiful when angry, that she stirred some primal desire to halt her hostility with his lips, to calm the storm of her anger with his body.
"C'mon, ask me again," her tone was increasingly incensed. Dark brows slanted over stormy blue eyes and a rosy flush tinged her cheeks. A fat chestnut curl slipped over her shoulder drawing his attention to the rounded curves of her breasts.
She was spectacular.
But, she was no longer his. And, if her body language was any indication, she didn't want to be.
Coming here had been a mistake. He was trying to pre-empt Carly, yes, but the primary reason had been because part of him yearned for any interaction with her that did not leave him cold in the face of her frigid indifference.
But this thinly veiled hostility was so far removed from the time when she'd force fed him soup, or he'd taught her the correct way to swing a bat or told her that the light in Italy was like no place else in the world.
He refused to bait her further, failing to realise that his taciturn response only served to further infuriate her.
When he remained steadfastly silent, Elizabeth snapped. "You know what, Jason? Don't bother!" She stomped over to the heavy steel door, an affectionate safeguard from another lifetime, and yanked it open.
It was a less than subtle cue for him to get the fuck out.
They locked eyes as he acquiesced to her unspoken request. "This was a mistake," he muttered. Anger, hurt and frustration roiled between them in palpable waves.
Elizabeth looked up and away from him, as hot tears threatened. "It never used to be," she said softly.
Jason paused abruptly. He yearned to reach out, to place a palm on her silky cheek, to draw her gaze to his. But he suspected that his touch would be unappreciated.
She cursed her momentary weakness, visibly drawing her strength about her. "But, it's all different now, isn't it?" she asked bitterly. "At least your pandering to Carly is the same.
"Truth is, I don't know, nor do I really care," Elizabeth finally responded to his initial question, blue eyes snapping with acidic resentment. "And I really couldn't give a flying fuck that she's my father's wife, either. If she thinks my parents are having an affair, ask your friend Carly how it feels to have a taste of her own medicine for a change!" His eyes snapped up to meet hers and the steel door closed with a resounding bang.
Even he could appreciate the metaphor that her heart, too, would deny him entrance.
TBC…