Journey Online

The rain didn’t stop nor did it let up. Brenda kneeled down in front of her. Reaching out she placed her hand on the younger girl’s knee. "Courtney…" She sighed when she didn’t get a response. Looking around, she squinted her eyes from the rain before turning her attention back on the girl in front of her. "We need to get you up and out of here before you catch pneumonia." She said. She waited a second before grabbing her by the forearms and helping her up.

She didn’t fight her. She just went through the motions as if she weren’t really there. Standing on her own two feet she stared ahead as if she were still in a daze and said nothing as she walked beside Brenda back to the hospital.

He took his seat on the plane and sighed as he stared out the window into the night. The rain hit the plexy glass almost as if it were attacking it, desperatly trying to break through and come inside. He swallowed hard as he roughly pulled off his leather jacket and threw it into the seat beside him. Bowing his head in frustration he ran his fingers through his wet hair. That’s when it caught his eye. The winged angel swayed back and forth in front of him on the chain around his neck. Catching it in his hand he stared down at it. Taking in a deep breath he heard her words echo in the back of his mind….

He hoped that was true because he needed to believe in that right now. He needed to know that her heart was with him because she had his. He heard the pilot declare that they were taking off. Leaning into the back of his seat he settled himself in for a long ride…

Meanwhile back at the hospital…

Brenda pushed the door open and let Courtney walk in first. She followed slowly never taking her eyes off of her. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was suppose to handle this. She felt a little remorse for Jason when he came to her on her wedding day and told her that Sonny wasn’t coming. This wasn’t an easy thing to do… and yet somehow now she understood why it had to be done. She saw a lot of herself in Courtney. They were both willing to go to the limit for the men they loved. Neither one caring what it cost them or how dangerous it was. There was this desperateness inside them that overruled all rational thought. She saw Courtney as she made her way over to the bed and took a seat. She turned her head to stare at the wall and all was silent except for the insistent sound of the rain.

Brenda sighed and looked around the room absently. "You know maybe you should get out of those clothes. You’re soaked and it’s a little chilly in here." She remarked rubbing her arms with her hands. When Courtney didn’t say anything she nodded. "Is your hospital gown in the bathroom?" She asked beginning to make her way over there when Courtney spoke.

"Why would he do this to me?" Her voice was soft.

Brenda turned and looked at her but Courtney’s eyes were still focused on the wall. "Courtney…" She began but Courtney spoke again.

"I know Jason… He told me that he loved me." She looked down at her ring and sighed. "He wants to marry me and start a family with me…" She looked up at Brenda with watery eyes. "He promised me forever… what changed?" She asked truly expecting an answer because at the moment nothing made sense to her.

Brenda stood there not sure how to answer that. "I… I don’t know." She stammered.

She nodded looking down at the tile floor needing to focus on something other than the overwhelming pain of her faith being shattered. "Did… Sonny make him do this?… Did he find out about what Jason and I were planning and order him not to take me… is that why he’s not here?"

Brenda swallowed hard seeing that Courtney wanted that to be true. It was a lot easier to blame someone else. But this time there wasn’t anyone to blame. There wasn’t anyone calling the shots. This time it had been Jason who had made the decision. "No." She answered. "I don’t think that Sonny knows about it."

Courtney shook her head and let out a shaky breath. "Okay, look. I don’t know what’s going on but… I know Jason and he would never just leave me here like this…"

"No, he didn’t!" She shot back. Taking in a deep breath she ran her hand through her hair and absently wiped at her tears. "I mean there must be a reason why this is happening… What did he say when he called you?" She asked.

"He told me to tell you that he didn’t want you with him… that it would be better if he were alone. He called me on my cell phone and said that he wanted me to come here to General Hospital and give you the message. That was it." She sighed as she thought back to their conversation…

"No!" She said defiantly. It was the first emotion that Brenda had seen since she had picked her up out of the rain. "Jason loves me. I make him a better person… he told me that. And I trust Jason and I trust our love…"

Brenda sighed. "What good is love when he’s three thousand miles away or he’s half way around the world? What can your love do for either of you then? Will it keep you warm at night? Will the dreams of him be comfort enough for you while he’s out there somewhere doing God knows what? Is that love worth putting your life on hold?" She asked softly.

Looking up into her eyes she replied brokenly. "I don’t have a life without Jason."

Brenda felt her own tears well up and wished that there was something that she could do or say to make this hurt go away. "Courtney…" She began.

"Have you ever felt like this? Do you know what it feels like to love someone this much?" She asked her voice was somewhat desperate. Looking up she noted Brenda’s silence. "I mean do you know what it means to have this much faith in someone and trust them with everything… and then have them break your heart?"

"…Yes." She answered softly.

She nodded. "Then… what do you do?… I mean…" she struggled with the words her voice barely above a whisper as the tears traveled down her cold cheeks. "How do I do this… I don’t know what I’m suppose to do right now Brenda… what am I to do?" She asked feeling like someone had just cast her out into the ocean and she was slowly sinking beneath all the promises that they had made.

Brenda stood there remembering those words. She had asked Jason that exact same thing and he too didn’t have an answer for her. He just stood there staring at her much like she was doing now. She didn’t know how to help her. "I can’t make that decision for you… that’s up to you, Courtney."

"You should go." She whispered once again staring off into space.

Brenda nodded not sure of what else she should do. Her job was done. Courtney believed her. She turned and left letting the door close softly behind her.

Courtney turned and watched it close hearing the soft click as the door snapped into the frame. She didn’t understand how this could be happening. Her whole future was gone. It just didn’t make any sense. Why would Jason say something like that? Why would he just leave her as though she didn’t matter? If he really loved her and wanted to be with her forever then why didn’t he come back like he promised? Why didn’t he come and tell her what was going on?

The voice echoed in her head and wouldn’t stop… Was it true? Did Jason really just not want her anymore?

Chapter Two: And So it Begins

Seven Months later…

The hot summer sun beat down on the cement and Courtney as she made her way into Kelly’s. Fanning herself lightly she wiped the slight film of sweat from her brow. She smiled at Elizabeth who was busy behind the counter. "Could it be any hotter out there?" She asked grabbing a seat on a stool.

Elizabeth smiled. It was strange how their friendship had survived after everything that they had been through. There was a bit of a strain there for a while. But with Jason gone, it gave both girls time to come to grips with their own situation. And it took a few months and a lot arguments before they were finally able to get back what they had before. "I know… It feels like a hundred degrees out there and it’s not even seven yet." She replied.

Courtney shook her head and shrugged. "So do you think we’ll busy today?"

"I don’t know… There’s that new place downtown that just opened up and I hear they’re catering to all those hormone crazed teens with video games and stuff."

"But I mean we still have the older crowd and I find that they tip better anyway." Courtney replied with a smile.

"Right! Like you need the money. You with a brother who has to be one of the richest men on the East coast! Tell me again why you work here."

"Because… I want to support myself. I don’t take charity from anyone. You know that." She replied with a small smile.

"Yeah I know… so have you picked out your classes yet?"

"I go down to PCU tomorrow and meet with my counselor."

Elizabeth nodded. "So how does it feel to go back to school… to go to college?" She asked.

Again Courtney shrugged. "It feels okay I guess… I just… I want to feel like I have control over my life again you know?" She asked.

"Yeah… I do." She replied. She didn’t know the whole story of what happened between Jason and Courtney. All she knew was that there was a warrant out for his arrest and Jason was nowhere in sight. It was pretty obvious that he had went on the run and it had been even more obvious that Courtney was more then devastated by it. In the past few months everything had changed. And even though Courtney never talked about it with her… she could still sense it every time she saw her. There was a difference in her that was too noticeable and yet unidentifiable.

"I’m going to get the morning paper…" Courtney’s words broke Liz from her daze.

"Okay." She said going back to setting up the tables.

Walking outside she reached into her pocket and pulled out some change. Putting it in the slot she removed the Port Charles New Journal and stared at the front headline almost afraid to believe it…

Harbor View Towers…

Sonny sat down at his desk when he heard the phone ring… "Sonny." He answered.

"Hey." Came the voice on the other end.

"I was expecting your call. I guess you’ve seen it." He remarked staring down at the paper.

"Yeah… is it true?" He asked.

Sonny nodded and then remembered that he was on the phone. "Yeah. I’m sorry that it took so long for me to get this straightened out." He apologized.

"I’m just glad that it’s over." There was a slight pause on the other end before he spoke. "How is she?"

"She’s doing all right… I told you that she’s about to start school in September… I think that it’ll be good for her to do that. She’s really smart you know?"

"Yeah…" He whispered. Running his hand through his hair he sighed. "So what happens now?"

"You come home, Jason."

That one word had never sounded so good.

"Okay… See you within the hour." Jason replied.

"See you." Sonny hung up his eyes still transfixed on the headline. "Quartermaine Killer!… Allan Quartermaine Jr. arrested last night for the murder of alleged arms dealer, Luis Alcazar…"

Sonny sighed realizing that the killer had been found but the mystery was just beginning.