GH: Daughters - Chapter Six
Title: Daughters
Authors: Mellissa/LissieLove
Spoilers: AU
Summary: The night at the Haunted Star just gets more insane.
Word Count: 3155
Notes: Finally! After this chapter, I'm going on a semi hiatus. Don't hate me :p
Chapter Six
December 24, 2005
Haunted Star: Main Casino Floor
Robin watched the Drake siblings cross the floor to deal with their father and smiled faintly. It was clear that Elizabeth held no long-lasting grudge towards her twin and she hoped Patrick could forgive himself one day for grieving in the only way he'd been able to.
"So, I'm guessing you knew Jason Quartermaine."
Jason's familiar, yet completely strange, voice broke into Robin's thoughts and she turned her attention back to him. "Yes," she admitted. "We all grew up together, actually. Jason, Patrick and Lucky were all best friends and Ellie and I were like sisters. We were all very close."
Jason nodded and looked back towards the Drakes, where Elizabeth was feeling Patrick's forehead. "I didn't know--I didn't know that Patrick had been friends with Jason Quartermaine."
"Best friends," Robin corrected quietly. "They were friends before I met either of them and had been since pre-school. You--" she cleared her throat. "Jason actually set Patrick and me up on our first date--sort of." A smile flitted across her lips as the memory returned to her. "He'd gotten so tired of us dancing around each other, but never doing anything about it so he invited Patrick over to the pool house on the Quartermaine estate and invited me over as well. He locked the door and told us that he'd put food in there but neither of us were coming out until we figured out what the hell we were doing."
"Elizabeth--" Jason hesitated. "She doesn't tell me much about him, I think because she knows how the Quartermaines kept drilling me on how it used to be, how I wanted to be a doctor and what a good son I'd been and she knew how much I hated that." He looked in her direction. "She's very careful to separate the two."
"Because, to her, they are separate people," Robin told her. "In fact, after the accident, after you were out of the hospital, she would call me on the phone and tell me about the bike rides but she'd never say that it was Jason Quartermaine or even Jay--which was his nickname. From the start, you were always Jason Morgan to her." She paused. "Do you ever wish you remembered?"
"Sometimes," Jason admitted. "Monica--she looks at me sometimes and I can see how sad she is that I don't. I think if I remembered even a little, it would hurt the people who loved him less."
"I swear to God, that my brother sucks," Elizabeth grumbled, rejoining them. She slipped her hand through Jason's elbow. "His life's mission is to drive me crazy and he knows nothing does it more than agreeing with me."
"He's diabolical," Robin agreed, grinning.
"He's a crack head," Elizabeth corrected. She looked up at Jason. "He is not going to ruin my night. Let's go gamble and you can help me win some money. Ellie needs a new car." She tugged him in the direction of the blackjack table and Jason let her lead him away.
"Nothing's more satisfying than confusing my baby sister," Patrick said, returning to Robin's side. "Reverse psychology, you know. If I pretend to accept him, she won't need to use him to rebel."
"Oh...you are so thick," Robin sighed. "She's not using him to rebel. She's crazy about him--"
"No, no--" Patrick shook his head. "That's just--it's not a possibility. I won't stand for it."
"She's right, you are a crack head," Robin rolled her eyes. "Patrick, do you want things to be better between you and Ellie?"
Sensing where this was going, Patrick sighed, resigned. "Yes. And I suppose that means accepting and supporting all her choices, no matter how asinine."
Robin patted his arm. "Good boy." She let her eyes drift over the crowd and frowned when she saw a slightly familiar form stumble onto the floor from the room where the underage kids were playing poker. "Patrick, that's not--" she squinted. "That can't be Will, can it?"
Patrick followed her eyes and swore under his breath. His younger cousin was plastered again. He couldn't even begin to count the times Will had called him from a party to pick him up or even how many times he'd gone to the police station to talk Robert out of pressing charges for trespassing or fighting. "Yeah, it's Will." He set his half-empty glass of champagne on a passing tray. "I'm going to have to take a rain check for the catching up, Rob, but I should get him out of here before your father the commissioner realizes that he's drunk again."
"I'll help," Robin said immediately, setting her own drink on another tray. She followed him across the room.
"Hey, Will, why don't we call it a night?" Patrick suggested, slinging an arm around the slightly shorter boy in a thinly-disguised attempt to keep him on his feet.
Will peered at him blearily. "Lu?" he slurred.
"If I look like a tiny blonde than you really have had too much to drink," Patrick sighed, starting to steer him towards the door.
"No, need to find--I have to see her--"
"The only thing you have to do sober up, pal." Patrick saw Robert Scorpio's eyes on them and tensed. "Robin, be a pal. Go head off your dad."
"We're almost out of here and you're going to need help loading him in the car," Robin refused as she helped Patrick maneuver the teen up the steps and towards the door.
After making it off the yacht and folding Will into his car, Patrick shut the door and sighed. "Home to Aunt Cheryl, it is." He met Robin's concerned gaze. "Thanks for your help."
"What's wrong with him?" she asked softly. "He was an honors student, he was so clean cut--"
"My uncle moved out last year," Patrick said flatly. "And apparently, alcoholism runs in the family. Aunt Cheryl started drinking a lot and I guess the only way Will could cope was to get in trouble. He's only been drinking the last few months though. Since he started dating Lu Spencer."
"Lu drinks?" Robin's eyes bulged. "That's just--"
"No, I think Lu drives him to drink," Patrick said dryly. "Look, I should get him home, make sure my aunt doesn't..." he shrugged. "I'm glad we had a chance to clear the air."
Feeling dismissed, Robin smiled hesitantly. "Ah, me too. I'll just go in now. Good luck with him."
Patrick waited until Robin was back inside before sliding in the driver's seat and glancing at his cousin. "Thanks, Will. You just ruined any chance I had at getting some tonight."
Will snorted. "Robin Scorpio was not going to sleep with you tonight. Or any other night."
Though Patrick knew the first part was true, he was a little surprised Will added the second. He'd only admitted to himself that night that he wanted Robin back, that he wanted to be with her again, to have that part of his life make sense again. He knew it was going to take time but he'd thought it was a no-brainer. Robin was the only woman he'd ever loved. Of course, she was still in love with him. Right?
Perturbed now, Patrick started the car. "Why wouldn't she sleep with me?" he demanded, somewhat irritated.
"Because once women leave us Drakes, they never come back," Will muttered moodily. "I bet it's written somewhere."
"Look, if Lu ties you up this bad, then maybe you're better off without her--" Patrick began.
"You don't know a damn thing about it," Will retorted. "I love Lu. And she loves me, I know she does. I just have to make her understand that I'm not like--" he broke off. "I just have to make her see that I love her, that we belong together."
"That's usually what the guy says before he goes all stalker, Will," Patrick replied, now firmly concerned. "Have you mentioned Lu to your mom? Or to your dad?"
"No," Will muttered darkly. "I can't remember the last time Mom was sober and Dad hasn't been around, hasn't called."
Feeling guilty that he hadn't been there for his cousin, Patrick decided it was time for a change. He'd start hanging out with the kid more, making sure he drank less and instead of just dumping him off with his aunt after bailing him out of trouble, he'd stick around and make sure Will straightened out. "Look, tomorrow, we'll go to the park, we'll shoot some hoops and you can tell me about Lulu, okay?"
He pulled into the drive way and shut off the ignition. "Look, I know what it's like to be in love with someone who walks away. Who makes it look easy to walk away. But you can't know what's in someone else's head, okay?"
"Spare me the lectures," Will muttered. "I don't want to hear them right now. You had Robin for six years. I had Lu for two months, okay?" He glared up at the split level home that up until a year ago, had housed a pretty decent family. "Home, sweet home," he muttered, pushing his door open.
Haunted Star: Casino Foyer
Robin was rubbing her chilled arms as she stepped back into the casino. This was not how she'd expected her night to go and though she wished Will were in a better place, she was somewhat grateful for the interruption. She had been falling into old habits with Patrick and in another hour or so, it would have felt like they'd never been apart.
She wanted to make her peace with him, but she could never go back to that life and she had to be careful that he didn't get the wrong idea.
Lulu stepped out of a shadowy corner and grabbed Robin's arm. "Hey--" she swallowed. "I saw you and Patrick take Will outside. Is--is he okay?"
"Yeah…" Robin paused and tilted her head. "Lu, is everything okay between you guys?"
Lulu waved a hand and shrugged. "Oh…well, we sort of broke up last week. Will's not--" she paused. "He's not taking it well but I don't think that's really surprising. He hasn't been taking anything well. I just--I wanted to make sure he was okay. Is he?" she demanded.
The teen looked so agitated that Robin slid an arm around her shoulders and led her to a sofa. "Sit down, Lu. Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing," Lulu denied. "It's all fine--I just…" she stared at her hands. "I did something really stupid and I dragged Dillon into it like always and I think I really--I really screwed up with Will."
"Hey, there's nothing so bad that we can't fix it," Robin assured her. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong and we'll see what we can do about it?"
"You're just going to say what Emily said," Lu huffed. "You're going to tell me to be honest and to tell Will and then it from there, but c'mon, Robin, you saw him! He's in no shape to be getting this kind of news--"
"Lulu," Robin interrupted, feeling the strain of a headache coming on. "What news?"
"I'm pregnant," Lulu announced. "And it's Will's and I broke up with him because he's a lush and he's self-destructive and I asked Dillon to say he was the father because I panicked, but you know, that's just making this whole thing worse because my father will literally kill him--"
"Okay, okay, deep breath--" Robin held up a hand to ward off more of Lulu's ramblings. "You said that Emily knew, right? And I take it that Dillon knows." When Lulu nodded, Robin continued, "So, we'll get together after Christmas, and we'll figure this out." She squeezed the blonde's hands. "You're not alone, Lu. You know that right?"
Lu smiled weakly. "Sure feels like it sometimes."
Casino: Main Floor
"Should I put it on red or black?" Elizabeth asked, glancing over her shoulder at Jason. But he was looking at Sonny across the room. She exhaled slowly and looked back at the table before putting half her money on black twenty-nine. "Black it is," she muttered.
Jason touched her shoulder. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay?" he told her. Elizabeth shrugged--not like he was paying any attention to her anyway. As first dates went, this was a bust. Which wasn't entirely surprising considering it wasn't supposed to be a date.
She smiled weakly when she won and raked her winnings in while watching Jason join Sonny at a table with a man she vaguely recognized from the newspapers as Hector Ruiz. It looked like a planned meeting and suddenly she felt nauseous. She quietly cashed out her winnings and exited out to the upper deck.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring out over the bay and damning herself for seeing things that were never there to begin with. Jason was a friend, he clearly had no interest in being more and she was only making herself look like an idiot by thinking he did.
"Elizabeth?"
She turned and leveled a cool stare in Jason's direction. "Is your meeting finished?" she asked.
He frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "How did you--" he hesitated. "Yeah, it's done. Did you want to go gamble some more?"
"Don't worry about me," Elizabeth replied stiffly. "I can get a ride home from Lucky or Robin. You can go now."
Jason stepped out onto the deck and shook his head. "Elizabeth, I'm not exactly sure but I think you're angry with me and I really don't know why--"
"I'm angry with myself, I'm only irritated with you," she muttered. She turned back to the water and leaned her elbows on the railing. "You could have just told me that you had a meeting here tonight. You didn't have to make me twist your arm to come. And here's a little piece of advice for the future, Jason. I don't like being used."
"Used?" he repeated, completely lost. "I wasn't--I don't understand what the problem is. I had a meeting, I was already going to be here--"
"Since when do warehouse workers take meetings with Sonny Corinthos and Hector Ruiz?" Elizabeth demanded. He fell silent, not realizing that in trying to defend himself against an unknown charge that he'd given away his role in Sonny's organization. She swiped at her eyes, furious with herself for feeling hurt that he hadn't confided in her about his changing job. But that wasn't surprising, not really. She'd usually been the one doing the talking. She saw that now.
"So I guess you're not even a courier now." She hated that her voice sounded thick and she was sure he could see the tears in her eyes. "The problem is, Jason, that you invited me to dinner with your boss and his wife. And you agreed to come with me tonight. Stupid me, I thought it was you wanted to spend time with me. If I'd known it was a means to an end…" she shook her head. "Never mind. It's my own fault--"
"Elizabeth--" Jason began, still not completely following the thread of the conversation. She was angry, and she was hurt and he wanted to make that go away but he'd caused it and he didn't know how. "I can take you home now if you want--"
"Don't bother," Elizabeth said. She pushed past him. "I'll find my own ride home. I don't want to inconvenience you any further."
Jason followed her back inside and tried to catch up with her but someone stepped between them and by the time he could see her again, she was going out into the lobby.
"Your date just ran out on you," Brenda observed, sidling up to him. She sipped her champagne. "Care to explain how you scared her off?"
Jason drove his fingers his hair and glared at her. "I would if I knew what I did wrong. She said something about being a means to an end and not wanting to inconvenience me anymore. And I think it has to do with the meeting I had to take here tonight."
"Oh…" Brenda patted his shoulder. "Jason, you have so much to learn about women."
Drake House: Living Room
Cheryl Harris Drake had been a pretty woman once, with strawberry blonde hair and a peaches and cream complexion. Sixteen years of marriage to a functioning alcoholic had given her a hard look in those pretty green eyes and a chip on her shoulder the size of Colorado.
She was in the living room, watching a movie when Patrick pushed open the door and started to steer Will towards the stairs. She sprang to her feet and crossed to them. "What the hell is this?" she demanded.
"Will wasn't feeling well so I brought him home," Patrick replied. "I'm just going to help him to bed--"
He broke off when his aunt reached forward and roughly grabbed her son's chin. "Sick, huh?" She smiled nastily. "Drunk as a skunk." She let go abruptly and Will stumbled a bit. Patrick braced a hand on his back to keep him standing. "You're just as useless as your father, you lousy bastard--"
"Hey, his girlfriend just broke up with him," Patrick began.
"Don't defend him to me," Cheryl spat. "You're no better than your father or his brother. All the Drake men are useless piles of shit. You just haven't fallen into a bottle yet. You will, you all do--"
"Well, being married to you, I can't imagine why Dad would stay sober," Will remarked with a sardonic grin. Cheryl answered that with a vicious slap that sent Will sprawling in his weakened state.
"Okay, that's enough--" Patrick stepped between them. "I'm sorry Uncle Liam sucks, okay? He was never much use to me anyway. But don't take it out on Will--he lost his father too--"
"Oh, don't come in here acting all high and mighty just because your daddy went to rehab!" Cheryl retorted and she was close enough to him that Patrick could smell the whiskey on her breath. "He'll fail just like Liam failed and Will over here ain't no better--"
"That's it," Patrick snapped. "I've never hit a woman in my life, but man, you're coming close." He hauled Will to his feet. "C'mon, I'm taking you back to my place. And I'm not letting him back here until you clean up your act," he told his aunt. He yanked the front door open and all but shoved Will down the front step. "This family is falling apart," he muttered.
Will started to laugh. "Falling apart? Christ, Patty, when did we ever have it together?"
Authors: Mellissa/LissieLove
Spoilers: AU
Summary: The night at the Haunted Star just gets more insane.
Word Count: 3155
Notes: Finally! After this chapter, I'm going on a semi hiatus. Don't hate me :p
Chapter Six
December 24, 2005
Haunted Star: Main Casino Floor
Robin watched the Drake siblings cross the floor to deal with their father and smiled faintly. It was clear that Elizabeth held no long-lasting grudge towards her twin and she hoped Patrick could forgive himself one day for grieving in the only way he'd been able to.
"So, I'm guessing you knew Jason Quartermaine."
Jason's familiar, yet completely strange, voice broke into Robin's thoughts and she turned her attention back to him. "Yes," she admitted. "We all grew up together, actually. Jason, Patrick and Lucky were all best friends and Ellie and I were like sisters. We were all very close."
Jason nodded and looked back towards the Drakes, where Elizabeth was feeling Patrick's forehead. "I didn't know--I didn't know that Patrick had been friends with Jason Quartermaine."
"Best friends," Robin corrected quietly. "They were friends before I met either of them and had been since pre-school. You--" she cleared her throat. "Jason actually set Patrick and me up on our first date--sort of." A smile flitted across her lips as the memory returned to her. "He'd gotten so tired of us dancing around each other, but never doing anything about it so he invited Patrick over to the pool house on the Quartermaine estate and invited me over as well. He locked the door and told us that he'd put food in there but neither of us were coming out until we figured out what the hell we were doing."
"Elizabeth--" Jason hesitated. "She doesn't tell me much about him, I think because she knows how the Quartermaines kept drilling me on how it used to be, how I wanted to be a doctor and what a good son I'd been and she knew how much I hated that." He looked in her direction. "She's very careful to separate the two."
"Because, to her, they are separate people," Robin told her. "In fact, after the accident, after you were out of the hospital, she would call me on the phone and tell me about the bike rides but she'd never say that it was Jason Quartermaine or even Jay--which was his nickname. From the start, you were always Jason Morgan to her." She paused. "Do you ever wish you remembered?"
"Sometimes," Jason admitted. "Monica--she looks at me sometimes and I can see how sad she is that I don't. I think if I remembered even a little, it would hurt the people who loved him less."
"I swear to God, that my brother sucks," Elizabeth grumbled, rejoining them. She slipped her hand through Jason's elbow. "His life's mission is to drive me crazy and he knows nothing does it more than agreeing with me."
"He's diabolical," Robin agreed, grinning.
"He's a crack head," Elizabeth corrected. She looked up at Jason. "He is not going to ruin my night. Let's go gamble and you can help me win some money. Ellie needs a new car." She tugged him in the direction of the blackjack table and Jason let her lead him away.
"Nothing's more satisfying than confusing my baby sister," Patrick said, returning to Robin's side. "Reverse psychology, you know. If I pretend to accept him, she won't need to use him to rebel."
"Oh...you are so thick," Robin sighed. "She's not using him to rebel. She's crazy about him--"
"No, no--" Patrick shook his head. "That's just--it's not a possibility. I won't stand for it."
"She's right, you are a crack head," Robin rolled her eyes. "Patrick, do you want things to be better between you and Ellie?"
Sensing where this was going, Patrick sighed, resigned. "Yes. And I suppose that means accepting and supporting all her choices, no matter how asinine."
Robin patted his arm. "Good boy." She let her eyes drift over the crowd and frowned when she saw a slightly familiar form stumble onto the floor from the room where the underage kids were playing poker. "Patrick, that's not--" she squinted. "That can't be Will, can it?"
Patrick followed her eyes and swore under his breath. His younger cousin was plastered again. He couldn't even begin to count the times Will had called him from a party to pick him up or even how many times he'd gone to the police station to talk Robert out of pressing charges for trespassing or fighting. "Yeah, it's Will." He set his half-empty glass of champagne on a passing tray. "I'm going to have to take a rain check for the catching up, Rob, but I should get him out of here before your father the commissioner realizes that he's drunk again."
"I'll help," Robin said immediately, setting her own drink on another tray. She followed him across the room.
"Hey, Will, why don't we call it a night?" Patrick suggested, slinging an arm around the slightly shorter boy in a thinly-disguised attempt to keep him on his feet.
Will peered at him blearily. "Lu?" he slurred.
"If I look like a tiny blonde than you really have had too much to drink," Patrick sighed, starting to steer him towards the door.
"No, need to find--I have to see her--"
"The only thing you have to do sober up, pal." Patrick saw Robert Scorpio's eyes on them and tensed. "Robin, be a pal. Go head off your dad."
"We're almost out of here and you're going to need help loading him in the car," Robin refused as she helped Patrick maneuver the teen up the steps and towards the door.
After making it off the yacht and folding Will into his car, Patrick shut the door and sighed. "Home to Aunt Cheryl, it is." He met Robin's concerned gaze. "Thanks for your help."
"What's wrong with him?" she asked softly. "He was an honors student, he was so clean cut--"
"My uncle moved out last year," Patrick said flatly. "And apparently, alcoholism runs in the family. Aunt Cheryl started drinking a lot and I guess the only way Will could cope was to get in trouble. He's only been drinking the last few months though. Since he started dating Lu Spencer."
"Lu drinks?" Robin's eyes bulged. "That's just--"
"No, I think Lu drives him to drink," Patrick said dryly. "Look, I should get him home, make sure my aunt doesn't..." he shrugged. "I'm glad we had a chance to clear the air."
Feeling dismissed, Robin smiled hesitantly. "Ah, me too. I'll just go in now. Good luck with him."
Patrick waited until Robin was back inside before sliding in the driver's seat and glancing at his cousin. "Thanks, Will. You just ruined any chance I had at getting some tonight."
Will snorted. "Robin Scorpio was not going to sleep with you tonight. Or any other night."
Though Patrick knew the first part was true, he was a little surprised Will added the second. He'd only admitted to himself that night that he wanted Robin back, that he wanted to be with her again, to have that part of his life make sense again. He knew it was going to take time but he'd thought it was a no-brainer. Robin was the only woman he'd ever loved. Of course, she was still in love with him. Right?
Perturbed now, Patrick started the car. "Why wouldn't she sleep with me?" he demanded, somewhat irritated.
"Because once women leave us Drakes, they never come back," Will muttered moodily. "I bet it's written somewhere."
"Look, if Lu ties you up this bad, then maybe you're better off without her--" Patrick began.
"You don't know a damn thing about it," Will retorted. "I love Lu. And she loves me, I know she does. I just have to make her understand that I'm not like--" he broke off. "I just have to make her see that I love her, that we belong together."
"That's usually what the guy says before he goes all stalker, Will," Patrick replied, now firmly concerned. "Have you mentioned Lu to your mom? Or to your dad?"
"No," Will muttered darkly. "I can't remember the last time Mom was sober and Dad hasn't been around, hasn't called."
Feeling guilty that he hadn't been there for his cousin, Patrick decided it was time for a change. He'd start hanging out with the kid more, making sure he drank less and instead of just dumping him off with his aunt after bailing him out of trouble, he'd stick around and make sure Will straightened out. "Look, tomorrow, we'll go to the park, we'll shoot some hoops and you can tell me about Lulu, okay?"
He pulled into the drive way and shut off the ignition. "Look, I know what it's like to be in love with someone who walks away. Who makes it look easy to walk away. But you can't know what's in someone else's head, okay?"
"Spare me the lectures," Will muttered. "I don't want to hear them right now. You had Robin for six years. I had Lu for two months, okay?" He glared up at the split level home that up until a year ago, had housed a pretty decent family. "Home, sweet home," he muttered, pushing his door open.
Haunted Star: Casino Foyer
Robin was rubbing her chilled arms as she stepped back into the casino. This was not how she'd expected her night to go and though she wished Will were in a better place, she was somewhat grateful for the interruption. She had been falling into old habits with Patrick and in another hour or so, it would have felt like they'd never been apart.
She wanted to make her peace with him, but she could never go back to that life and she had to be careful that he didn't get the wrong idea.
Lulu stepped out of a shadowy corner and grabbed Robin's arm. "Hey--" she swallowed. "I saw you and Patrick take Will outside. Is--is he okay?"
"Yeah…" Robin paused and tilted her head. "Lu, is everything okay between you guys?"
Lulu waved a hand and shrugged. "Oh…well, we sort of broke up last week. Will's not--" she paused. "He's not taking it well but I don't think that's really surprising. He hasn't been taking anything well. I just--I wanted to make sure he was okay. Is he?" she demanded.
The teen looked so agitated that Robin slid an arm around her shoulders and led her to a sofa. "Sit down, Lu. Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing," Lulu denied. "It's all fine--I just…" she stared at her hands. "I did something really stupid and I dragged Dillon into it like always and I think I really--I really screwed up with Will."
"Hey, there's nothing so bad that we can't fix it," Robin assured her. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong and we'll see what we can do about it?"
"You're just going to say what Emily said," Lu huffed. "You're going to tell me to be honest and to tell Will and then it from there, but c'mon, Robin, you saw him! He's in no shape to be getting this kind of news--"
"Lulu," Robin interrupted, feeling the strain of a headache coming on. "What news?"
"I'm pregnant," Lulu announced. "And it's Will's and I broke up with him because he's a lush and he's self-destructive and I asked Dillon to say he was the father because I panicked, but you know, that's just making this whole thing worse because my father will literally kill him--"
"Okay, okay, deep breath--" Robin held up a hand to ward off more of Lulu's ramblings. "You said that Emily knew, right? And I take it that Dillon knows." When Lulu nodded, Robin continued, "So, we'll get together after Christmas, and we'll figure this out." She squeezed the blonde's hands. "You're not alone, Lu. You know that right?"
Lu smiled weakly. "Sure feels like it sometimes."
Casino: Main Floor
"Should I put it on red or black?" Elizabeth asked, glancing over her shoulder at Jason. But he was looking at Sonny across the room. She exhaled slowly and looked back at the table before putting half her money on black twenty-nine. "Black it is," she muttered.
Jason touched her shoulder. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay?" he told her. Elizabeth shrugged--not like he was paying any attention to her anyway. As first dates went, this was a bust. Which wasn't entirely surprising considering it wasn't supposed to be a date.
She smiled weakly when she won and raked her winnings in while watching Jason join Sonny at a table with a man she vaguely recognized from the newspapers as Hector Ruiz. It looked like a planned meeting and suddenly she felt nauseous. She quietly cashed out her winnings and exited out to the upper deck.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring out over the bay and damning herself for seeing things that were never there to begin with. Jason was a friend, he clearly had no interest in being more and she was only making herself look like an idiot by thinking he did.
"Elizabeth?"
She turned and leveled a cool stare in Jason's direction. "Is your meeting finished?" she asked.
He frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "How did you--" he hesitated. "Yeah, it's done. Did you want to go gamble some more?"
"Don't worry about me," Elizabeth replied stiffly. "I can get a ride home from Lucky or Robin. You can go now."
Jason stepped out onto the deck and shook his head. "Elizabeth, I'm not exactly sure but I think you're angry with me and I really don't know why--"
"I'm angry with myself, I'm only irritated with you," she muttered. She turned back to the water and leaned her elbows on the railing. "You could have just told me that you had a meeting here tonight. You didn't have to make me twist your arm to come. And here's a little piece of advice for the future, Jason. I don't like being used."
"Used?" he repeated, completely lost. "I wasn't--I don't understand what the problem is. I had a meeting, I was already going to be here--"
"Since when do warehouse workers take meetings with Sonny Corinthos and Hector Ruiz?" Elizabeth demanded. He fell silent, not realizing that in trying to defend himself against an unknown charge that he'd given away his role in Sonny's organization. She swiped at her eyes, furious with herself for feeling hurt that he hadn't confided in her about his changing job. But that wasn't surprising, not really. She'd usually been the one doing the talking. She saw that now.
"So I guess you're not even a courier now." She hated that her voice sounded thick and she was sure he could see the tears in her eyes. "The problem is, Jason, that you invited me to dinner with your boss and his wife. And you agreed to come with me tonight. Stupid me, I thought it was you wanted to spend time with me. If I'd known it was a means to an end…" she shook her head. "Never mind. It's my own fault--"
"Elizabeth--" Jason began, still not completely following the thread of the conversation. She was angry, and she was hurt and he wanted to make that go away but he'd caused it and he didn't know how. "I can take you home now if you want--"
"Don't bother," Elizabeth said. She pushed past him. "I'll find my own ride home. I don't want to inconvenience you any further."
Jason followed her back inside and tried to catch up with her but someone stepped between them and by the time he could see her again, she was going out into the lobby.
"Your date just ran out on you," Brenda observed, sidling up to him. She sipped her champagne. "Care to explain how you scared her off?"
Jason drove his fingers his hair and glared at her. "I would if I knew what I did wrong. She said something about being a means to an end and not wanting to inconvenience me anymore. And I think it has to do with the meeting I had to take here tonight."
"Oh…" Brenda patted his shoulder. "Jason, you have so much to learn about women."
Drake House: Living Room
Cheryl Harris Drake had been a pretty woman once, with strawberry blonde hair and a peaches and cream complexion. Sixteen years of marriage to a functioning alcoholic had given her a hard look in those pretty green eyes and a chip on her shoulder the size of Colorado.
She was in the living room, watching a movie when Patrick pushed open the door and started to steer Will towards the stairs. She sprang to her feet and crossed to them. "What the hell is this?" she demanded.
"Will wasn't feeling well so I brought him home," Patrick replied. "I'm just going to help him to bed--"
He broke off when his aunt reached forward and roughly grabbed her son's chin. "Sick, huh?" She smiled nastily. "Drunk as a skunk." She let go abruptly and Will stumbled a bit. Patrick braced a hand on his back to keep him standing. "You're just as useless as your father, you lousy bastard--"
"Hey, his girlfriend just broke up with him," Patrick began.
"Don't defend him to me," Cheryl spat. "You're no better than your father or his brother. All the Drake men are useless piles of shit. You just haven't fallen into a bottle yet. You will, you all do--"
"Well, being married to you, I can't imagine why Dad would stay sober," Will remarked with a sardonic grin. Cheryl answered that with a vicious slap that sent Will sprawling in his weakened state.
"Okay, that's enough--" Patrick stepped between them. "I'm sorry Uncle Liam sucks, okay? He was never much use to me anyway. But don't take it out on Will--he lost his father too--"
"Oh, don't come in here acting all high and mighty just because your daddy went to rehab!" Cheryl retorted and she was close enough to him that Patrick could smell the whiskey on her breath. "He'll fail just like Liam failed and Will over here ain't no better--"
"That's it," Patrick snapped. "I've never hit a woman in my life, but man, you're coming close." He hauled Will to his feet. "C'mon, I'm taking you back to my place. And I'm not letting him back here until you clean up your act," he told his aunt. He yanked the front door open and all but shoved Will down the front step. "This family is falling apart," he muttered.
Will started to laugh. "Falling apart? Christ, Patty, when did we ever have it together?"