A/N: Chapter 26 is up! Hope you'll enjoy.
- Chapter 26 -
Elizabeth woke up covered by one of Jason's muscular arm and very quickly noticed her left leg was comfortably locked in between his. She smiled at how close she was to his body but remained still by fear of waking the man laying next to her. Staying in this position a little longer was very enticing but the bathroom was calling the young woman who tried to free her leg without success; instead Jason stirred.
Elizabeth let out a quiet sigh and decided to stay put until she noticed Jason's lips were slightly curled up . "Good morning." He softly said, opening his eyes.
"Did I wake you up? I was trying my best not to move too much…" She apologetically told him.
"No… actually I've been awake for a little while. I was watching you sleep." Jason confessed, provoking an embarrassed smile to form on Elizabeth's face. The brunette hid her pinkish cheeks with both hands.
"I hope I wasn't snoring or anything." She asked behind her hands.
Jason shook his head. "You seemed so calm… so peaceful. I haven't seen you like this in a while."
Elizabeth's hands left her face as a soft sigh escaped her. "I did get a very good night sleep, which has been a challenge lately."
"How are you feeling?" Jason asked.
"Right now, good." Elizabeth answered. "Jason, I am so glad we had this talk yesterday. Thank you for opening up to me the way you did…"
Jason interrupted Elizabeth's speech by moving a messy curl off her face and landing a sweet peck on her pouting lips. He had surprised himself many times dreaming of waking up in Elizabeth's arms and it was everything he had imagined. He would never get enough of staring at her; the large doe shaped eyes he could get lost in, the mouth he felt like kissing every time his sight fell on it.
"What are you staring at?" Elizabeth asked with a smirk.
"Sorry, I need to stop... staring like that."
"I didn't say I minded." The brunette said and in turn reached up for Jason's mouth.
They shared a passionate kiss, devouring each other's lips until air was needed. Jason's switched his body to lie on his side facing Elizabeth. His hand left her cheek that he was stroking with his thumb to gently glide his way down her thin arm. Jason's touch sent pleasing chills running down Elizabeth's body until he abruptly stopped his motion.
"What is this?" He suddenly asked worried.
"What?" Elizabeth let out surprised.
"This bruise on your arm" Jason added. "Did Ric do this to you? Did he hurt you?"
Elizabeth looked down at the dark mark on her fair arm. "That probably happened while we were arguing at the hotel; he grabbed my arm at some point… I remember trying to walk away from him."
"The son of a bitch… I can't believe I left you there alone with him." Jason said guilt in his tone as he sat up in bed.
Elizabeth imitated him, sitting her back against the bed head. "Jason I understand why you walked out… Ric was proposing to me and I told you time and time again that I was choosing to be with him."
"I should have fought harder… said something…" The enforcer briefly said hating that his emotions had taken the best of him that night.
"And I should have seen through his lies earlier but I didn't and..." Elizabeth stopped midsentence as if she remembered something disturbing.
"What is it? Are you ok?" Jason asked worried she was falling victim of another dizzy spell.
"I'm fine… I just remember something." The young woman said. "When I was arguing with Ric at the hotel, I brushed him off and a bottle of pills fell of his jacket. I wouldn't have thought anything of it but the bottle was unlabeled and when I asked him what they were he couldn't give me a straight answer."
"Wait, are you telling me he could have been… drugging you?" Jason cautiously asked.
"I don't know, I'm just worried he may have given me something at some point… what if he gave me something that could hurt the baby?" Elizabeth said then let out a very heavy breath.
"Hey, let's not panic until we know if anything is wrong. We'll go to the hospital and make sure you and the baby are healthy. I'll call Emily."
"Oh my god Jason what if… what if…" Elizabeth began to say terrified.
"Ric is nuts but this is his child, why would he want to hurt his own baby?" Jason tried to reassure Elizabeth.
"You're right… this is crazy , Ric is crazy but he wouldn't hurt us this way." The brunette took a few more deep breaths as she tried to regain her composure. She strongly wanted to believe Ric incapable of physically hurting her and her child but she had been terribly wrong when it came to the man's intentions and couldn't put anything past him anymore.
"I need to… splash some water over my face." Elizabeth uttered then quickly made her way to the bathroom.
Jason watched Elizabeth leave the room, an uncomfortable feeling taking over him. Ric could have been drugging her, breaking down her defenses, making her weak enough to fall right into his trap. The enforcer let out a deep breath as he remembered walking up to the lawyer and a mysterious man on the docks. What have you been up to Ric?
Jason sat on the edge of the bed and picked up his cell phone from the nightstand. "Hi, can I talk to Dr. Emily Quartermaine?"
"Dr. Quartermaine is in surgery at the moment, would you like to leave her a message?"
"Yes, could you ask her to call her brother as soon as she can, it's really important."
"Good morning!" Carly told her husband then placed a soft kiss on his lips.
"Morning." Sonny replied a shining smile and deep dimples on his face.
"Do you have to go to work today? Let's just stay in bed all day, have breakfast… enjoy a little bit of this…" The woman continued then placed a lingering peck on the side of her husband's neck. "And of that…" She added with a kiss on the other side of his neck.
"This sounds very tempting… but you know a lot is happening right now." Sonny painfully replied. "Plus I can't ask Jason to just take over, you know he's been a little… preoccupied lately."
"Yes I know! About Elizabeth Webber." Carly dejectedly said then moved to sit next to her husband, arms crossed above her chest in annoyance. "Really I don't see it.. at all… what is it that makes him so crazy about this girl."
"Carly please don't start, it's too early for that." Sonny said remembering the headache he suffered the last time she vented about Elizabeth.
"Oh you know I still have plenty to say."
"Really?" Sonny let out surprised. "I thought you spoke your mind at dinner last night with Courtney. You two spent at least two hours, nonstop going at it. Wasn't that enough?"
"No it wasn't enough." Calry retorted. "Sonny, can't you see that Jason is putting his life on hold for a women who is pregnant with another man's child? Really? Really you don't think that something is wrong with this picture?"
"I'm not saying I disagree with you, but you need to stop being so invested in Jason's personal life. He's a grown man and can do whatever the hell he wants."
Carly rolled her eyes. "But Jason is always here to help me make the right decisions and I want to do the same for him."
"The only difference is that he didn't ask your input." Sonny added.
"It doesn't matter." Carly contested. "I won't let this girl string him along when he could be starting the perfect relationship with Courtney."
"Carly… Please don't give Courtney false hope." Sonny said, afraid his wife's antics would end up with his sister getting her heart broken.
"I'm not Sonny! I can see that they are perfect for each other, you'll see once they're together, you'll know I'm right."
"Hey I trust your instincts honey, I really do, but I don't want to see Courtney get hurt in all this…" Sonny was interrupted by his wife's ringtone.
Carly picked up her cell phone from the nightstand. "Courtney! We were just talking about you." The blond woman said, glancing at her husband.
"About me? Nothing bad I hope."
"Oh of course not… we were discussing you and Jason." Carly revealed with a giant grin.
"Well that's a subject I am interested in."
"Great! What are you doing for lunch? We have some planning to do."
Elizabeth walked out of the bathroom with a small towel in her hand and a preoccupied expression on her face. "I need to go to Ric's house."
"Why?" Jason protectively asked.
"I need to get some of my things… I left with nothing." She let out.
"Let me know what you need and I can get it for you." Jason offered.
"Thanks Jason, but I'll have to get my stuff eventually and I'd rather do it now and get it over with. It won't take me long."
"Alright, but I'm not sure seeing Ric right now would be a good idea, he's probably still angry about what happened yesterday."
"I know… but he should be at work right now. I'll hurry in and get a few things and leave before he gets back." Elizabeth tried to reassure him.
"Fine then I'll take you."
Jason parked his silver SUV across the street from Ric's house and stopped the engine. "Are you sure you want to do this now."
"His car isn't in the driveway which means he's still at work." Elizabeth explained relieved to see Ric wasn't home.
"Alright, let's go." Jason said but his cell phone buzzing in his pocket stopped him from going anywhere. "Hold on, it's probably Emily returning my call."
"Why don't you get that while I hurry in, get what I need and then I'll meet you back here. It will only take me a minute."
"Are you sure, I can call her back…"
"Jason, Ric's not home, nothing is going to happen to me."
Elizabeth's comment made the enforcer realize he was being overprotective when there was no reason to be. "Yeah, you're right, but if you're not back in ten minutes I'm coming in to get you."
"Give me fifteen minutes and it's a deal."
"Be quick." Jason finally said then watched Elizabeth nod in response then hurry to enter Ric's house for what he hoped was the last time.
Elizabeth made a bee line for the guestroom where she left most of her personal effects. She began getting a few clothes and toiletries together in a small workout bag then suddenly stopped, unable to forget about the pills she had seen Ric in possession of the night before.
Once her small bag hastily packed, she decided to look for the bottle of pills. She needed to find out if Ric had given her anything that could hurt her baby and would explain her lack of energy and focus lately.
Elizabeth first tried the medicine cabinet but nothing. Too obvious she thought then the young woman hurried in Ric's bedroom, a room she had avoided like the plague ever since she had moved in. She cautiously roamed through every drawer, and still nothing.
"Crap!" She let out frustrated, where were those pills?
And then Elizabeth's eyes fell on the suit Ric was wearing the night before, sloppily laying on a chair. She rushed to look in the interior pocket where she found exactly what she was looking for.
"Yes!" She exclaimed and without delay left the bedroom and began walking towards the door until she heard a male voice.
"I knew you would be back."
"Jase! You called me?" Emily said on the other line.
"Yeah, I needed to talk to you about something." Jason replied, his eyes never leaving Ric's front door.
"How can I help?" His sister cheerfully asked.
"It's about Elizabeth."
"Oh Elizabeth, how is she doing? Did she figure out the whole business with Ric? She seemed so confused when I spoke to her."
"Yes well I wanted to bring her in so you could do a few tests, you know make sure she's healthy." Jason explained.
"Sure ok… but doesn't she already have a doctor following her pregnancy?"
"Yeah she does but I'd rather have you examine her."
"What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"
"Because I'm not really sure what's going on, and hopefully we're just being paranoid here, but there is a chance Ric has been giving her some type of pills without her knowing about it."
"What? She is pregnant!" Emily exclaimed.
"I know, that's why I'm worried. Listen I have to go now, but we'll try to come by the hospital this afternoon."
"Yeah sure, bring her in I'll be here."
"Thanks Em." Jason told his sister then hung up the phone. He anxiously looked at his watch, then at Ric's front door, expecting Elizabeth to come out any minute. Even though Jason knew the lawyer wasn't home, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Elizabeth froze when she heard Ric's pompous tone behind her back, bottle of pills still in hand and no pockets in her dress to hide it.
She slowly turned around, hiding the pills behind her back. "Ric… umm… you, you're not at work."
"No… as you can see I'm here. I couldn't really concentrate given my heart was broken yesterday, for the second time actually so I should start getting used to this." He sarcastically let out.
"Ric…" Elizabeth began to say not sure how to respond to his comment.
"Did you know that some doctors claim the heart gets physically affected when someone breaks up with you." Ric continued.
"Listen… I am sorry things didn't work out between us but I didn't change my mind."
"What are you doing here then? You're in my house Beth." Ric asked waiting for an explanation.
"I… I came to get my things… I didn't think you would be here."
"So I wouldn't try to convince you to come back?" Ric made a few steps forward, causing Elizabeth's whole body to tense. "I love you Elizabeth and I don't know how else to tell you this." He blurred out raising his tone.
"I should go." Elizabeth said, taking a few steps back after noticing Ric's growing anger.
"Oh no…. No Elizabeth you're not going anywhere."
"Jason is outside waiting for me, he will be here in a second if I don't come out right now."
"I am not afraid of Jason Morgan if it is what you think." Ric informed her then let out an overdramatic sigh. "Anyway we will be out of here before he notices anything."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Elizabeth shook her head then took more steps backwards as she waited for the right time to sprint towards the front door.
"You know what's funny Beth? It's that you still think you have a choice here. See I let you do what you wanted and this is what we've come to. Well I'm done playing nice and letting you spit all over me while I profess my love to you. Elizabeth you are mine and only mine and starting today I will decide for you and this baby."
Elizabeth cringed as she heard his words… She was aware Ric could be devious when he was angry but there was a special darkness in his eyes as he spoke that ran sharp chills down her back. She knew Jason would probably come looking for her any minute now but she could wait anymore, she had to run. And she did, running as fast as her legs could push her; unfortunately not fast enough as she felt Ric's arms close around her and a hand against her mouth.
Elizabeth fought her hardest to get him to let go but he wouldn't. She kicked and tried to scream in vain. Ric was keeping too tight of a hold on her.
Until she got a break; the bottle of pills fell to the ground, distracting Ric long enough for Elizabeth to kick him in the ribs and reach a nearby decorative vase that she smashed over Ric's head. The man wobbled across the room then stood, back against the front door.
Ric rubbed the area of the blow to make sure he wasn't bleeding while Elizabeth looked on terrified as she thought about where to run. The front door was blocked, the kitchen door was too far.
Ric suddenly burst into laughter, relieved her attack was unsuccessful. "What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to hurt me more than you already have?"
"Just let me go please Ric… You don't want to do this, at least do it for the baby." She implored him.
"I already told you you weren't going anywhere… especially if you remain this stubborn!" An angered Ric threw back at her.
Elizabeth let out a few panicked deep breaths and suddenly held her forehead and fell unconscious to the ground.
Ric rushed to the side of a seemingly unconscious Elizabeth wondering what had caused her to faint. The pills he thought, she must had taken too many. It was working in his advantage the man thought as he hurried to her side in order to get her out of the house before Jason came rushing in and messed up his plans as always. Ric lowered to the ground to carry Elizabeth but she suddenly opened her eyes and fiercely kicked her knee into his crotch.
Without waiting to see how much damage she had caused, Elizabeth, who had only pretended to faint, managed to grab the bottle of pills then ran for the door as fast as she could. She bumped into Jason who was coming to look for her.
"Let's go now!" She yelled and was followed was Jason who had no idea of what had just happened.
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