Into The Mystic (General Hospital- Ethan/Kristina, 10/?)
Don't know if anyone still cares, but trying to get back in the habit of regularly posting, so here goes...
Title: Into The Mystic
Rating: pg-13
Word Count: 2,649 (10/?)
Summary: There is a moment, a split-second, an exact pinpoint in time that splits the child with the person he will be forever...
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Author's Note: This veers from GH canon in May of 2011. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. ^_^
Previous
Judge Frank Malloy hated her father. He’d been on the bench for twenty years and a he was a cop for ten years before that, and he had absolutely no patience for anyone who was willing to speak up for Sonny Corinthos’s character (his capabilities as a father, his hospital charity work, his zero convictions). Diane had let out an uncharacteristic, “Well, fuck me,” and even Alexis had gone pale when they saw who would be deciding the case.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” Alexis was quick to say.
The prosecuting attorney, Jennifer Rhodes, was young, blonde and thin. No smiling or warmth in her. She gave Kristina a long look before she rose to face the jury for her opening statement.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we’re here for a very simple reason today. Lisa Niles, a promising young doctor, was brutally murdered, shot three times in the chest and head. Kristina Davis killed her. In an arraignment just a few days ago, Ms. Davis pled not guilty. This statement is...somewhat incredible to me, considering she was found covered in the victim’s blood, holding the murder weapon, not fifteen minutes after the murder occurred.
But you may learn in these proceedings that Kristina Davis has had a difficult relationship to the truth and to the law her whole life. And how could she not? She has been raised to- literally- get away with murder, as taught by both of her parents. And, just last year, she nearly sent an innocent man to prison for assault, only to retract her accusation on a whim. Kristina Davis lied in her arraignment- and she killed Lisa Niles.”
Kristina felt like she couldn’t breathe. She thought she was prepared for this but she was sorely mistaken. She turned behind her to see practically everyone she’d ever known cramped into the courtroom behind her. Her brothers and sister (not Molly and Morgan), her parents, her stepmother, her godfather...and then her eyes met Ethan’s in the crowd.
Kristina could hear Diane muttering to herself, “I have never lost a case in this room, I have never lost a murder case before.” She glanced at her mother. Alexis was scared. Kristina bit her lip and forced herself not to visibly shake.
Diane rose and gave the court a winning smile, with shades of her old southern beauty pageant days. She pointed to Kristina from across the room and waited for a dramatic moment before she spoke. “Kristina Davis is not a killer. Just look at her, she’s nothing but a child.” Kristina winced at that, but she certainly did not feel brave or grown up at the moment. “She is at the top of her senior class at Madison Prep School, and is slated to attend Port Charles University for the fall semester. This is a normal teenaged girl, not a killer.
“As far as the slanderous accusations of learning murder from her family, well...that’s just laughable. Her mother is a well-respected attorney, and her father has been distinguished for years for his charity work at General Hospital.” Kristina glanced at Judge Malloy, she could see him roll his eyes. “Kristina Davis is an innocent child with her whole life ahead of her. And she is not a killer.”
Kristina gulped. Diane didn’t sound very convincing, not even to her. She glanced at her mother and Alexis mouthed it’s okay, but she didn’t feel reassured. Craning her neck to look back at Ethan, she saw that he looked terrified too.
***
Testimony from Lucky and the forensics officer didn’t go any better than the opening statements. Robin was called in as a character witness, and she looked completely remorseful on the stand, admitting that she knew Kristina had been taking prescription drugs. Every fact was black and white- and Kristina was more frustrated than anyone that she couldn’t remember what had happened.
Diane’s cross-examining questions seemed to grow more and more desperate, and Judge Malloy gave her more than one warning to get to the point, Ms. Miller. Finally, Johnny was called to the stand. He gave Kristina a weak smile as he passed her.
Ms. Rhodes stood in front of the stand after he’d been sworn in. “Mr. Zacchara, can you please describe the events that occurred at Warehouse 19 on June 2 of this year?”
Johnny cleared his throat. “I got a text from Lisa, asking to meet up. And on our way there, we heard a shot. When we got to the warehouse, we found Kristina and Lisa.”
“Mr. Zacchara, can you clarify who the ‘we’ you’re referring to is?”
“Myself and Ethan Lovett.”
“Is this gentleman here today?”
“He is.”
Ms. Rhodes turned around, pretending to search the crowd. “Mr. Lovett, would you mind standing up and identifying yourself to the jurors?”
Kristina held her breath. She didn’t understand where this was going. Ethan rose from the third row, where he had been sitting a little bit away from everyone else. He didn’t glance at her as he stepped out in front of the jury box. After asking Ethan to face the jury and show them both of his profiles, she thanked him and turned back to Johnny. “So, Mr. Zacchara, you said that you heard a shot before you got to the warehouse. About how far away were you when you heard the shot?”
Johnny shrugged. “About a block.” Next to Kristina, Diane started scribbling furiously on her notepad.
“Now, Mr. Zacchara, you said that you and Mr. Lovett found the defendant and the victim when you came to Warehouse 19. Can you describe the manner in which you found them?” Johnny squirmed in his seat for a second and then Ms. Rhodes waved a hand. “I apologize, that was broad. Allow me to rephrase the question. Was Lisa Niles dead when you entered the warehouse?”
Johnny looked down at his hands and mumbled. “Yeah.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Zacchara?”
Johnny looked up and spoke clearly. “Yes, I believe she was.”
“Mr. Zacchara,” Judge Malloy leaned over the bench. “I expect you to speak in a clear voice and address this court, not yourself.” Johnny sat up straighter, but Kristina could see him fidgeting. Ms. Rhodes could hardly contain her glee. She quickly wiped any expression off her face before she continued.
“And Kristina Davis? Where was she and can you describe what she was doing when you found her?”
Johnny sighed. “She was...I guess about three or four feet away from Lisa, and she was holding a gun.”
“Was it the same gun that forensics identified earlier?”
“I believe it was,” Johnny was back to mumbling, looking down at his hands.
“No further questions, your honor.” She was completely grinning as she turned to walk back to her sidetable.
Diane was still writing on her notepad, she seemed to be calculating something. Judge Malloy cleared his throat. “Ms. Miller, your witness.”
Diane looked down at her notepad for another second before she stood up. She glanced at Kristina before she stepped out around the table. Her face was blank.
“Mr. Zacchara, can you please tell the jury how you knew Lisa Niles?”
Johnny shrugged. “We were friends...sort of.”
“Were you romantically involved?”
“I...wouldn’t say that.”
“Were you involved sexually?”
“Objection, your honor,” Ms. Rhodes stood up from her table. “Relevance, please?”
Judge Malloy sat back, eying Diane curiously. “Overruled. But get to the point, Ms. Miller.”
“Certainly, your honor. Mr. Zacchara, please answer the last question.”
Johnny set his mouth in a tight line. “Yes. We were sleeping together.”
Diane crossed her arms. “So...is it safe to say that you were upset at the sight of her murder?”
Johnny looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but managed to restrain himself. “Of course.”
“Ms. Miller, what is your point?” Judge Malloy said, nearly hissing, as he leaned down from his bench. “Get on with it, please.”
Kristina saw Diane falther for a split second. “My apologies, your honor. Mr. Zacchara, can you please tell the jury how you know the defendant?”
“I’ve known her for about a year and a half, I guess.”
“Mr. Zacchara, the question was not ‘how long’, but how do you know her. She was your late sister’s stepdaughter, correct?”
“Objection, your honor. Leading the witness.”
Judge Malloy did roll his eyes. “Sustained. Rephrase the question, Ms. Miller.”
Diane stepped back from the stand, allowing space between her and Johnny. “Mr. Zacchara, was your sister married to Ms. Davis’s father?”
Kristina could see Johnny’s black eyes go darker. “She was.”
“And how was your relationship with your brother-in-law and his family?”
“We didn’t have one. I didn’t like him- he treated my sister like garbage,” Kristina could see that Johnny was barely hanging onto his rage. She had no idea what Diane was doing. “I didn’t get to know his kids when they were married.”
“But you made it a point to know Kristina Davis once you had no familial ties with her?”
“I didn’t...make it a point, it just happened.”
“Even though you still despise her father? Or have you and your ex-brother-in-law mended fences?”
Johnny looked like he was ready to explode. “There’s no love lost between me and Sonny and it’s not a secret.” He took a deep breath. “But Kristina is a good kid. She wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Mr. Zacchara,” Judge Malloy said. “You are no person to decide what another would or would not do.” He turned to Diane. “And I’m stopping you too, Ms. Miller. Your nonsense has gone on long enough- years too long.”
***
It was almost midnight when Alexis pulled up the driveway at Greystone, and a good ten minutes before she got out of the car to knock on the door. Brenda and Sonny were sitting in the parlor with nightcaps when she was let in. Brenda stood immediately. “Alexis, how is Kristina?”
Alexis bit her lip. “She’s holding it together, better than I am. I’m so sorry to do this, and I know it’s late, but do you mind if Sonny and I have a word?”
Sonny nodded at his wife.
“Of course,” Brenda said quietly. This was not Carly. This was serious.
Once they were alone, Alexis took a deep breath. “Sonny, you know I have had no illusions all these years about how you make your life. And you have had no illusions about how I feel about it, about what could happen to our daughter because of it.”
Sonny shook his head. “I can’t listen to this right now, Alexis-”
“You can, and you will.” Sonny’s eyes widened. He had heard Alexis in this tone of voice exactly twice before, and both times it was when their daughter’s life was at stake. “All of these years, you’ve made up your own rules and had the rest of us live by them. You’ve landed on your feet more times than any person should, ever. And I know you have your own ways of slipping through the cracks that Diane isn’t aware of- I don’t know what she’s doing...”
“What are you asking me, Alexis?”
“Help her. God, do you really want me to beg? Because I will. I’ve tried every way I know to save my daughter. Now it’s up to you.” She had tears of desperation in her eyes and her hands were balled into fists at her side.
Sonny was silent for a moment. “If there was something to be done, do you think it ever would have gone this far?”
Everything in Alexis seemed to sag at once. “So that’s it, then?”
Sonny reached out a hand to her. “It’s all going to be okay.” And then he held her, for the first time in years, while she sobbed and sobbed.
***
Ethan felt too defeated to glare. He couldn’t blame Johnny for anything he’d said on the stand, it was all the truth...and he couldn’t explain how he knew it was all an elaborate smoke-and-mirrors set up, but he did. He knew Kristina Davis like the back of his hand, and he could feel her fear, her shame every second while they were in that over-airconditioned courthouse. He knew her, she was his, and he knew she did not kill anyone.
He had followed Johnny back to his place after session had broke for the day. Kristina’s fate would be decided the next day. After he set foot in the door, Johnny loosened his tie and poured himself a drink- his glass had not gone empty, and it was many hours later. Ethan sat on the sofa and did not move- he could barely breathe.
“She’s fucked, you know,” Johnny finally said, breaking the silence.
Ethan felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck. “She can’t...it has to be okay, she didn’t do it...”
Johnny shook his head slowly from side to side. “It doesn’t matter, somehow, some way she basically rolled herself in evidence and she. Is. Fucked.” Though Johnny’s voice was clear and soft, and he was sitting perfectly straight, his eyes were red and bleary. He was as drunk as Ethan had ever seen him. “And I’m the law-abiding citizen who lent her a hand,” he chuckled bitterly, toasting his drink.
Ethan couldn’t stop shaking. How can this happen? Johnny poured him a drink and Ethan refused at first, but Johnny insisted, practically pouring the whiskey down his throat, which at least got him to stop shaking. Johnny sighed. “Now...the question is...what are you going to do about it?”
“What can I do?” Ethan found his own voice broken, on the cusp of a sob. “I don’t know...I don’t know if I’ll survive this.” Johnny raised an eyebrow. “If I’ll survive losing someone else.”
“So it’s not all concern for the Princess Corinthos, then?” Johnny poured Ethan a second drink and himself a twentieth.
Ethan laughed bitterly, it came out as a grunt. “Seriously, what kind of a selfish bastard thinks of himself at a time like this? It’s Kristina who...what more can this world do to her?” He’d lost control of his voice, and took a deep, steadying breath and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “Always the innocent who suffer.”
Johnny was watching him intently when Ethan picked up his head. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. “Look, kid,” he said. He’d never called Ethan that before. “Most everything in this world is shit. We got only a few good chances to be happy, to do something good, and most people waste them. I did.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Johnny?” Ethan was in no mood for drunken philosophizing.
Johnny exhaled sharply. “Your sister...was...probably the greatest love of my life. And I didn’t fight for her. She’s happy now, and I screwed up my life, and I won’t go near her. But you...Kristina...you know how you feel about that girl, don’t you?”
Kristina. Ethan thought of her stubborn heart, her sweet face...her complete and total belief in him. “Yeah,” he said, and with the word, he felt tears sting his eyes. He quickly wiped them and looked back at Johnny. “What do I do?”
Next
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Title: Into The Mystic
Rating: pg-13
Word Count: 2,649 (10/?)
Summary: There is a moment, a split-second, an exact pinpoint in time that splits the child with the person he will be forever...
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Author's Note: This veers from GH canon in May of 2011. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. ^_^
Previous
Judge Frank Malloy hated her father. He’d been on the bench for twenty years and a he was a cop for ten years before that, and he had absolutely no patience for anyone who was willing to speak up for Sonny Corinthos’s character (his capabilities as a father, his hospital charity work, his zero convictions). Diane had let out an uncharacteristic, “Well, fuck me,” and even Alexis had gone pale when they saw who would be deciding the case.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” Alexis was quick to say.
The prosecuting attorney, Jennifer Rhodes, was young, blonde and thin. No smiling or warmth in her. She gave Kristina a long look before she rose to face the jury for her opening statement.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we’re here for a very simple reason today. Lisa Niles, a promising young doctor, was brutally murdered, shot three times in the chest and head. Kristina Davis killed her. In an arraignment just a few days ago, Ms. Davis pled not guilty. This statement is...somewhat incredible to me, considering she was found covered in the victim’s blood, holding the murder weapon, not fifteen minutes after the murder occurred.
But you may learn in these proceedings that Kristina Davis has had a difficult relationship to the truth and to the law her whole life. And how could she not? She has been raised to- literally- get away with murder, as taught by both of her parents. And, just last year, she nearly sent an innocent man to prison for assault, only to retract her accusation on a whim. Kristina Davis lied in her arraignment- and she killed Lisa Niles.”
Kristina felt like she couldn’t breathe. She thought she was prepared for this but she was sorely mistaken. She turned behind her to see practically everyone she’d ever known cramped into the courtroom behind her. Her brothers and sister (not Molly and Morgan), her parents, her stepmother, her godfather...and then her eyes met Ethan’s in the crowd.
Kristina could hear Diane muttering to herself, “I have never lost a case in this room, I have never lost a murder case before.” She glanced at her mother. Alexis was scared. Kristina bit her lip and forced herself not to visibly shake.
Diane rose and gave the court a winning smile, with shades of her old southern beauty pageant days. She pointed to Kristina from across the room and waited for a dramatic moment before she spoke. “Kristina Davis is not a killer. Just look at her, she’s nothing but a child.” Kristina winced at that, but she certainly did not feel brave or grown up at the moment. “She is at the top of her senior class at Madison Prep School, and is slated to attend Port Charles University for the fall semester. This is a normal teenaged girl, not a killer.
“As far as the slanderous accusations of learning murder from her family, well...that’s just laughable. Her mother is a well-respected attorney, and her father has been distinguished for years for his charity work at General Hospital.” Kristina glanced at Judge Malloy, she could see him roll his eyes. “Kristina Davis is an innocent child with her whole life ahead of her. And she is not a killer.”
Kristina gulped. Diane didn’t sound very convincing, not even to her. She glanced at her mother and Alexis mouthed it’s okay, but she didn’t feel reassured. Craning her neck to look back at Ethan, she saw that he looked terrified too.
***
Testimony from Lucky and the forensics officer didn’t go any better than the opening statements. Robin was called in as a character witness, and she looked completely remorseful on the stand, admitting that she knew Kristina had been taking prescription drugs. Every fact was black and white- and Kristina was more frustrated than anyone that she couldn’t remember what had happened.
Diane’s cross-examining questions seemed to grow more and more desperate, and Judge Malloy gave her more than one warning to get to the point, Ms. Miller. Finally, Johnny was called to the stand. He gave Kristina a weak smile as he passed her.
Ms. Rhodes stood in front of the stand after he’d been sworn in. “Mr. Zacchara, can you please describe the events that occurred at Warehouse 19 on June 2 of this year?”
Johnny cleared his throat. “I got a text from Lisa, asking to meet up. And on our way there, we heard a shot. When we got to the warehouse, we found Kristina and Lisa.”
“Mr. Zacchara, can you clarify who the ‘we’ you’re referring to is?”
“Myself and Ethan Lovett.”
“Is this gentleman here today?”
“He is.”
Ms. Rhodes turned around, pretending to search the crowd. “Mr. Lovett, would you mind standing up and identifying yourself to the jurors?”
Kristina held her breath. She didn’t understand where this was going. Ethan rose from the third row, where he had been sitting a little bit away from everyone else. He didn’t glance at her as he stepped out in front of the jury box. After asking Ethan to face the jury and show them both of his profiles, she thanked him and turned back to Johnny. “So, Mr. Zacchara, you said that you heard a shot before you got to the warehouse. About how far away were you when you heard the shot?”
Johnny shrugged. “About a block.” Next to Kristina, Diane started scribbling furiously on her notepad.
“Now, Mr. Zacchara, you said that you and Mr. Lovett found the defendant and the victim when you came to Warehouse 19. Can you describe the manner in which you found them?” Johnny squirmed in his seat for a second and then Ms. Rhodes waved a hand. “I apologize, that was broad. Allow me to rephrase the question. Was Lisa Niles dead when you entered the warehouse?”
Johnny looked down at his hands and mumbled. “Yeah.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Zacchara?”
Johnny looked up and spoke clearly. “Yes, I believe she was.”
“Mr. Zacchara,” Judge Malloy leaned over the bench. “I expect you to speak in a clear voice and address this court, not yourself.” Johnny sat up straighter, but Kristina could see him fidgeting. Ms. Rhodes could hardly contain her glee. She quickly wiped any expression off her face before she continued.
“And Kristina Davis? Where was she and can you describe what she was doing when you found her?”
Johnny sighed. “She was...I guess about three or four feet away from Lisa, and she was holding a gun.”
“Was it the same gun that forensics identified earlier?”
“I believe it was,” Johnny was back to mumbling, looking down at his hands.
“No further questions, your honor.” She was completely grinning as she turned to walk back to her sidetable.
Diane was still writing on her notepad, she seemed to be calculating something. Judge Malloy cleared his throat. “Ms. Miller, your witness.”
Diane looked down at her notepad for another second before she stood up. She glanced at Kristina before she stepped out around the table. Her face was blank.
“Mr. Zacchara, can you please tell the jury how you knew Lisa Niles?”
Johnny shrugged. “We were friends...sort of.”
“Were you romantically involved?”
“I...wouldn’t say that.”
“Were you involved sexually?”
“Objection, your honor,” Ms. Rhodes stood up from her table. “Relevance, please?”
Judge Malloy sat back, eying Diane curiously. “Overruled. But get to the point, Ms. Miller.”
“Certainly, your honor. Mr. Zacchara, please answer the last question.”
Johnny set his mouth in a tight line. “Yes. We were sleeping together.”
Diane crossed her arms. “So...is it safe to say that you were upset at the sight of her murder?”
Johnny looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but managed to restrain himself. “Of course.”
“Ms. Miller, what is your point?” Judge Malloy said, nearly hissing, as he leaned down from his bench. “Get on with it, please.”
Kristina saw Diane falther for a split second. “My apologies, your honor. Mr. Zacchara, can you please tell the jury how you know the defendant?”
“I’ve known her for about a year and a half, I guess.”
“Mr. Zacchara, the question was not ‘how long’, but how do you know her. She was your late sister’s stepdaughter, correct?”
“Objection, your honor. Leading the witness.”
Judge Malloy did roll his eyes. “Sustained. Rephrase the question, Ms. Miller.”
Diane stepped back from the stand, allowing space between her and Johnny. “Mr. Zacchara, was your sister married to Ms. Davis’s father?”
Kristina could see Johnny’s black eyes go darker. “She was.”
“And how was your relationship with your brother-in-law and his family?”
“We didn’t have one. I didn’t like him- he treated my sister like garbage,” Kristina could see that Johnny was barely hanging onto his rage. She had no idea what Diane was doing. “I didn’t get to know his kids when they were married.”
“But you made it a point to know Kristina Davis once you had no familial ties with her?”
“I didn’t...make it a point, it just happened.”
“Even though you still despise her father? Or have you and your ex-brother-in-law mended fences?”
Johnny looked like he was ready to explode. “There’s no love lost between me and Sonny and it’s not a secret.” He took a deep breath. “But Kristina is a good kid. She wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Mr. Zacchara,” Judge Malloy said. “You are no person to decide what another would or would not do.” He turned to Diane. “And I’m stopping you too, Ms. Miller. Your nonsense has gone on long enough- years too long.”
***
It was almost midnight when Alexis pulled up the driveway at Greystone, and a good ten minutes before she got out of the car to knock on the door. Brenda and Sonny were sitting in the parlor with nightcaps when she was let in. Brenda stood immediately. “Alexis, how is Kristina?”
Alexis bit her lip. “She’s holding it together, better than I am. I’m so sorry to do this, and I know it’s late, but do you mind if Sonny and I have a word?”
Sonny nodded at his wife.
“Of course,” Brenda said quietly. This was not Carly. This was serious.
Once they were alone, Alexis took a deep breath. “Sonny, you know I have had no illusions all these years about how you make your life. And you have had no illusions about how I feel about it, about what could happen to our daughter because of it.”
Sonny shook his head. “I can’t listen to this right now, Alexis-”
“You can, and you will.” Sonny’s eyes widened. He had heard Alexis in this tone of voice exactly twice before, and both times it was when their daughter’s life was at stake. “All of these years, you’ve made up your own rules and had the rest of us live by them. You’ve landed on your feet more times than any person should, ever. And I know you have your own ways of slipping through the cracks that Diane isn’t aware of- I don’t know what she’s doing...”
“What are you asking me, Alexis?”
“Help her. God, do you really want me to beg? Because I will. I’ve tried every way I know to save my daughter. Now it’s up to you.” She had tears of desperation in her eyes and her hands were balled into fists at her side.
Sonny was silent for a moment. “If there was something to be done, do you think it ever would have gone this far?”
Everything in Alexis seemed to sag at once. “So that’s it, then?”
Sonny reached out a hand to her. “It’s all going to be okay.” And then he held her, for the first time in years, while she sobbed and sobbed.
***
Ethan felt too defeated to glare. He couldn’t blame Johnny for anything he’d said on the stand, it was all the truth...and he couldn’t explain how he knew it was all an elaborate smoke-and-mirrors set up, but he did. He knew Kristina Davis like the back of his hand, and he could feel her fear, her shame every second while they were in that over-airconditioned courthouse. He knew her, she was his, and he knew she did not kill anyone.
He had followed Johnny back to his place after session had broke for the day. Kristina’s fate would be decided the next day. After he set foot in the door, Johnny loosened his tie and poured himself a drink- his glass had not gone empty, and it was many hours later. Ethan sat on the sofa and did not move- he could barely breathe.
“She’s fucked, you know,” Johnny finally said, breaking the silence.
Ethan felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck. “She can’t...it has to be okay, she didn’t do it...”
Johnny shook his head slowly from side to side. “It doesn’t matter, somehow, some way she basically rolled herself in evidence and she. Is. Fucked.” Though Johnny’s voice was clear and soft, and he was sitting perfectly straight, his eyes were red and bleary. He was as drunk as Ethan had ever seen him. “And I’m the law-abiding citizen who lent her a hand,” he chuckled bitterly, toasting his drink.
Ethan couldn’t stop shaking. How can this happen? Johnny poured him a drink and Ethan refused at first, but Johnny insisted, practically pouring the whiskey down his throat, which at least got him to stop shaking. Johnny sighed. “Now...the question is...what are you going to do about it?”
“What can I do?” Ethan found his own voice broken, on the cusp of a sob. “I don’t know...I don’t know if I’ll survive this.” Johnny raised an eyebrow. “If I’ll survive losing someone else.”
“So it’s not all concern for the Princess Corinthos, then?” Johnny poured Ethan a second drink and himself a twentieth.
Ethan laughed bitterly, it came out as a grunt. “Seriously, what kind of a selfish bastard thinks of himself at a time like this? It’s Kristina who...what more can this world do to her?” He’d lost control of his voice, and took a deep, steadying breath and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “Always the innocent who suffer.”
Johnny was watching him intently when Ethan picked up his head. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. “Look, kid,” he said. He’d never called Ethan that before. “Most everything in this world is shit. We got only a few good chances to be happy, to do something good, and most people waste them. I did.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Johnny?” Ethan was in no mood for drunken philosophizing.
Johnny exhaled sharply. “Your sister...was...probably the greatest love of my life. And I didn’t fight for her. She’s happy now, and I screwed up my life, and I won’t go near her. But you...Kristina...you know how you feel about that girl, don’t you?”
Kristina. Ethan thought of her stubborn heart, her sweet face...her complete and total belief in him. “Yeah,” he said, and with the word, he felt tears sting his eyes. He quickly wiped them and looked back at Johnny. “What do I do?”
Next
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