I sneak into Dad's penthouse, thanks to Jason smoothing the way with the guard on duty. Apparently when Brick found out I'm alive, I pretty much got carte blanche. Thank God I thought he hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. If I knew he was this easy to get to, who knows what I would have done.
I shake my head. Yeah, I do. As much as I hated Jason when he showed up, I actually flinched when I had pointed my gun at him. I never truly pursued Dad because I didn't want him dead, or crazy. Michael is right, that's a habit that needs to end.
The shame at my actions feels like a physical weight. In my defense, I do spring from the world's two most impulsive parents. But, I'm determined to be better. God knows it's time I grow up, and if anything can change you, the crap they put me through will do it.
When they first got me, it was a psychological breaking of who I was and what I believed. It was boot camp on psychotic steroids.
Still, it feels like a tactical error. I need to talk to Jason about it.
Walking in the penthouse, I stop, flinching at the sight of my dad and my ex-lover/mother-in-law making out on the couch.
They jump apart when I groan, "Gross! I'm getting tired of seeing my parents making out, and really Dad? My sloppy seconds?"
"Morgan?" Dad asks, his face white with shock, which I'm sure is mirrored on mine.
He looks so much older than I remember. And while he still has that darkness and power I know so well, there's also a sadness and frailty that's so far from the man I have railed against and hated for the last decade.
He turns to Ava, asking, "Am I imagining this? Is it a hallucination?"
She shakes her head, never taking her eyes off me. She tells him, "No, he's really here."
Dad begins to rush to give me a hug. Just like when Mom came at me too fast, I flinch. He stops and studies me. I take the final step to him, giving him a hug. He crushes me to him. I feel the wet spot against my shirt from his tears, and feel matching tears leak down my face. "I have missed you so much, son. How is this possible?"
"We thought you were dead." Ava murmurs from right behind me. I flinch again, whirling around. Damn Olivia Jerome and the men she sent to break me. The PTSD they left me with makes me jumpy as hell.
She takes a step back in reaction, putting her hands up in a defensive posture. I take a chance to look her over. She's still beautiful, though her age is showing. I feel the rage I battle on a daily basis rising up in me.
"Did you know?" I ask her with an edge to my voice. "Did you know what your crazy, deranged sister was doing to me? Were you in on the plot to kidnap me and use me to kill my father?"
Her face goes white, and I see the terror on her face as she pleads her innocence, "What?! No, I had no idea! I thought you died in the bomb, I swear. Olivia took you?"
I study her face, but I can't read it. Dad has a thunderstorm expression on his as he looks at her. He goes up to her and grabs her shoulders, giving her a shake. "You took my son?!"
"No, Sonny. I swear! I didn't know, I swear I didn't know!" Tears are streaming down her face and she looks frantic. Her eyes go back and forth between Sonny and me, pleading.
I step towards him as I see the manic paranoia taking hold. "Dad, let her go." I grab him more firmly when he doesn't seem to hear me. "Come on, we aren't getting any answers like this."
I finally pull him away, then stand between him and Ava. "Dad, I need you to calm down. Please."
"If she was part of taking you from me, I will end her. Do you hear that, Ava?" His face is red, his voice deadly and slightly crazed.
Leaving Ava for another moment, I lead Dad into the kitchen, demanding she stay put until we come back.
"Dad," I tell him when we're alone, "the people who had me, Pikeman, are messing with your meds. They are giving you a fraction of the dose, trying to make you paranoid." In as calm and persuasive a voice as possible, I tell him, "You need to get help, go get checked out by your doctor."
"Pikeman? I thought it was Jerome. And, you don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine. I know my bipolar disorder better than anyone else." He rages, his head shaking at me.
In a quiet voice, I argue, "You don't trust Jason. Can you see that something is wrong just because of that? Jason has been nothing but loyal to you."
"He fell in love with your mother when I was gone," he volleys back.
"Bull!" I raise my voice, then calm a little. "He has loved her for as long as I can remember. If you think he hasn't loved her all this time, you are deluding yourself. He never has done anything out of respect and loyalty to you." Stepping right in front of him, I quietly say, "He found me and brought me home to you. He saved me, Dad. He saved Dante. Because you can trust him. The fact that you don't, tells me something is really wrong. And Ava? Do I need to remind you of your advice to me when I was mixed up with her? You can't trust her. Her own self interest is always going to be her motivation. You know this!"
I keep my voice calm, not wanting to trigger anything that will make it worse. I hear a creak of a floorboard outside the door. Calling out, I say, "You might as well come in Ava."
Cautiously opening the door, she peeks her head in. "Maybe I should leave for the evening."
"Come here, Ava." I tell her.
She slowly walks to me, making sure to put distance between her and Sonny. Her head goes back and forth between me and my father. When she's directly in front of me, I ask her, "Why should we believe you had nothing to do with your sister's plans?"
"Because I hated the evil witch. Because she hated me. She never trusted me as far as she could throw me because of my loyalty to my brother. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if she took you specifically because I cared about you."
I read the truth on her face. See, I know who took me, but I have no idea who is running the show. I know the Jeromes were just a piece of the arms dealing world. She was working with Pikeman, supplying contacts and back room connections. Since Jason and I had Olivia killed, that's one less piece of the puzzle to worry about. I was hoping Ava would be one of the missing pieces, but her pants wetting fear seems real.
I shake my head, trying to get the pieces to fit. Dad looks about ready to attack her again, so I suggest, "Maybe it would be a good idea to find somewhere else to stay tonight."
Looking at Sonny's expression, she nods her head, "You are probably right."
She cautiously, but quickly, backs out of the room. Turning to Dad, I tell him, "For what it's worth, I don't think she's involved. But, Dad, Ava?! You have a kid with her and are living with her? What is going on?"
He lets out a sigh, "It's a long story."
I put my hand on his shoulder, "I'm worried about you."
"You don't have to worry." He reassures me.
"Dad, do you love me?" I try to break through to him.
"How can you ask me that? Of course, I love you. I'm so happy you are alive." His face softens into a smile.
"Then, go see a doctor. A new doctor and get your med levels checked. Please." I beg him.
Giving in, he nods. I feel a little of the tension leave me. Hearing the front door close, I tell him, "We need to talk."
He nods, saying, "Tell me everything."