| Hidden Within Chapter 9 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. Skye stared at A.J. in utter disbelief through narrowed eyes. “You – you’re kidding, right, A.J.?” A.J. shook his head somberly. “I’m afraid not, Skye. I’m the one who hit Jax.” Skye blinked rapidly as the truth sunk in; deep down, she had suspected as much but had refused to actually let herself believe that there was any truth to her suspicions. Now that her suspicions were confirmed, she was having a difficult time processing the truth. How could her brother have done this to her, knowing how much Jax meant to her? A.J. watched his sister nervously, trying to gauge her reaction. “Skye, I’m so sorry,” he said at last, unable to bear the silence any longer. “It just happened, and I panicked. Before I knew what I was doing, I had this entire plan in motion…” His voice trailed off as he noticed Skye staring at him with contempt. “How could you?” Despite the low volume of her voice, it was quite obvious that Skye was enraged – her entire body shook slightly, and her eyes flashed with anger. “You, of all people, A.J.” Skye sank down onto the bench she had occupied with A.J. earlier. “And to think I blamed Carly, when all this time it was my own brother who almost killed the man that I love!” Skye could feel the anger inside of her bubbling up, as if a volcano was about to erupt; she had to control herself not to lose it completely. “Keep your voice down!” A.J. hissed, his eyes darting around them to see if anyone had heard Skye’s ranting. “Excuse me?!?” Skye stood up and stepped toward A.J. until they were inches apart. “You’re trying to tell me what to do?” Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but her crying over her brother’s betrayal would have to wait… she had to figure out first how to handle this situation. “Skye, I’m so sorry,” A.J. repeated, unable to think of anything else intelligible to say. The look of pure loathing that his sister was giving him tore into his soul. Skye continued to stare at her brother, noticing how truly pitiful he did indeed look. Finally breaking eye contact, she whipped out her cell phone. “Who are you calling?” A.J. asked, panic evident in his voice. “Lieutenant Taggert,” Skye answered coolly, pulling the number up from the phone’s memory. “Skye, no!” A.J. grabbed the phone out of Skye’s hand and canceled the call. Skye glared at her brother. “You give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the police, A.J.” A.J. shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking just as miserable as he felt. “I’m going to turn myself in,” he told Skye after a moment. Seeing her look of disbelief, he protested. “No, Skye, really – I had planned to turn myself in, really.” “So why didn’t you do it already?” Skye asked, scowling at A.J. A.J. shrugged, stalling. “I… I thought maybe it would all get dropped with Carly out of the country and no other suspects.” Skye studied her brother for a moment, then turned and started toward the hospital. “Not a good enough reason, A.J.!” she called over her shoulder. “Skye, wait!” A.J. chased her down and grabbed her arm, whirling her around faster than he had meant to. “Sorry,” he said quickly, seeing the infuriated look on Skye’s face. “You have 30 seconds, A.J., and then I’m calling the police,” Skye seethed. A.J. ran a hand through his hair, thinking quickly. “Okay, Skye – here’s the truth. You and I had just had the knock-down drag-out fight. I didn’t want you to be any angrier with me than you already were. When I saw that it was Jax who I’d hit, I knew you’d never look at me again… heck, you may have even thought I hit him on purpose. So in the heat of the moment, I pinned it all on Carly. Skye, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night since it happened. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. I almost took a drink, but Courtney stopped me. Skye, she’s the only good thing in my life right now, and I know I’d lose her for sure if this came out. What I mean is… I know it’s going to come out eventually, but please let me go to the police in my own time. I have to prepare the family, Skye… I have to prepare myself.” Skye studied her brother, trying to decide if he was being honest with her. She knew that the family would once again look at him as a failure after this latest screw-up of his, but it wasn’t just any screw-up – he had hit Jax and left him to die! She scrunched her eyes shut, not even wanting to think of what precious time A.J. had wasted while he was setting Carly up to take the fall. All that time… all that time was wasted just so A.J. could cover up what he did and put the blame on someone else. Skye couldn’t remember ever feeling this much contempt for anyone in her entire life – not Barbara, not Rae before she knew she was Rae’s daughter, not even Blair or Max. The one problem that remained was that she also loved her brother and understood him like no one else could, and he understood her in that same special way. Skye slowly opened her eyes, her stare settling onto a jittery A.J. “You have forty-eight hours,” she told him, her voice low but powerful nonetheless. “If you don’t turn yourself in by then, I’ll do it for you.” Relief washed over A.J.’s face. “Thank you, Skye – you won’t regret this, I promise!” He moved to hug her, but Skye stepped to the side. “Don’t think that because I’m giving you this time that everything’s okay, A.J.,” she warned him. “It’s far from okay.” Her voice shook a little on that last sentence, as she cursed herself silently for losing control. “Now get out of my sight before I change my mind,” she spat, moving back toward the bench. A.J. watched his sister move slowly over to the bench, her back hunched over slightly as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Sorrow and disgust flooded through him as he realized what a burden he’d given her. Turning toward the parking garage to retrieve his car, A.J. imagined the reactions of Courtney and the rest of the family upon learning that he was the one who’d hit Jax. He wasn’t certain if he could stand to see the looks on their faces once they knew the truth, but how could he avoid having them find out the truth? ********************************************************************************************************* “Mr. Corinthos, glad to see you’ve decided to grace us with your presence once again.” Taggert sat down in the chair across from Sonny and Carly, smirking at the two. “Let’s just get this over with, Taggert,” Sonny ordered, an annoyed but bored expression on his face. “Fine by me.” Taggert stood back up and went to the door of the interrogation room, letting in Assistant District Attorney Dara Jensen and Carly’s lawyer. “Where’s Ms. Davis?” Taggert asked in mock shock. “Don’t tell me you got rid of her.” “She’s no longer my attorney, or Carly’s,” Sonny informed Taggert and ADA Jensen curtly. “Meet Ms. Sasha Reynolds.” “Ms. Reynolds.” Both Taggert and Dara politely shook the woman’s hand as they sized her up. Sasha Reynolds took her place beside her two new clients, fully aware that she was being studied as if on trial by the detective and ADA. Running one hand slowly over her leg, she smoothed a crease in her short skirt, smiling slightly as Lt. Taggert looked away after being caught looking at her legs. “Well, let’s begin, shall we?” she suggested, suddenly crisp and direct. “I believe you have some evidence which will clear my client.” “Don’t jump to any assumptions, counselor,” Taggert chastised her. “You know what assume does…” “Why, yes I do, Lieutenant,” Sasha replied, throwing Taggert a flirtatious smile. “And I certainly wouldn’t want that to be my first impression.” Turning her attention back to her notes, Sasha stared down Dara. “ADA Jensen, I understand that phone records indicate that there is no way that my client could have been the one who struck Mr. Jasper Jacks on the night in question. Is this correct?” “Hold on a minute,” Dara protested, holding up a hand as she rifled through her notes. “I need to ask your client a few questions.” “Don’t answer unless I say it’s okay,” Sasha instructed Carly, who rolled her eyes. “Just do what she says,” Sonny encouraged Carly quietly, trying to appease her. “Fine.” Carly crossed her arms in a huff, scowling. “Mrs. Corinthos, on the night in question, do you recall about what time it was when you were driving on Lakeview Drive?” Dara asked. Sasha made a notation, then nodded at Carly. “Go ahead, you can answer.” “Gee, thanks,” Carly smirked. “I think it was around 11:00 PM,” she answered. “I remember that I thought it was strange that Jax would want to meet so late.” Dara handed Sasha a police report. “This has the time of the 9-1-1 phone call recorded,” she pointed out. “According to this, Carly made the phone call at 11:05 PM, which fits with your story.” “Based on this evidence, may I conclude that the charges against my client are dropped?” Sasha inquired. “That’s correct,” Dara confirmed. “So someone set me up! You have to find them,” Carly demanded, standing up angrily. “Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you, Taggert,” Sonny sneered. He leaned over and shook hands with Sasha. “Ms. Reynolds, I’ll be in touch.” Sasha nodded as she firmly shook Sonny’s hand. “Thank you, Mr. Corinthos. I’m glad I could be of service.” As Sonny and Carly exited, Sasha gathered the rest of her paperwork. “You’d better think very carefully before you do any more work for Sonny Corinthos,” Taggert warned her. “He’s dangerous.” Sasha gave him a wide smile, her eyes gleaming. “How do you know that I’m not just as dangerous, Detective?” Taggert watched with fascination as Sasha walked out of the squad room. “That is one interesting woman,” he commented to Dara, who simply rolled her eyes at the detective. Sasha fought to keep from breaking into a triumphant grin as she exited the police station. The first move in her plan was completed successfully. She couldn’t wait to see the look on someone’s face once she put her next move in motion – it was time for more people to find out just who Sasha Reynolds was… and what exactly she was capable of accomplishing. *********************************************************************************************************** Skye had no idea how long she’d been sitting on the bench outside the hospital doors. Her mind had gone numb after her confrontation with A.J. Every time she considered going back inside to see Jax, she couldn’t imagine how she’d be able to look at him, knowing it was A.J. who had put him in that bed. “Skye, what are you doing out here?” Alan came around to face Skye, surprised to see his daughter sitting outside in the dark all alone. “I’m glad I found you.” “You were looking for me?” Skye asked, puzzled, then leapt to her feet. “Omigod, is it Jax? Did something happen to him?” Alan put his hands on Skye’s shoulders reassuringly. “No, sweetheart – I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” “Oh.” Skye let out a sigh of relief, then looked at her father in confusion. “Then why were you looking for me?” “Can’t a father check up on his daughter?” Alan asked lightly, then noticed the troubled look on Skye’s face. “Skye, what is it?” Skye snapped out of her momentary trance. “What? Nothing… it’s nothing. I was just thinking about Jax, and what a miracle it is that he’s awake.” She chastised herself silently for not paying better attention to what Alan had been saying. Alan nodded, not entirely convinced that Skye was being forthright with him, but he really didn’t expect her to share everything with him after all they’d been through. “Well, Rae wanted me to tell you that she went back to the hotel – she needed some down time.” “Okay,” Skye mumbled, her mind wandering again already. “Skye, are you sure you’re alright?” Alan inquired worriedly. “There’s an AA meeting that starts in a few minutes, if you’d like to go with me.” Skye smiled gratefully at her father; he really was trying. “No thanks, Dad. You go ahead. I’ll be fine.” “Okay.” Alan bent down and kissed Skye’s forehead gently. “I love you, Skye.” After giving her hand a squeeze, he turned and headed back into the hospital. “I love you, too, Dad,” Skye whispered to his retreating figure, the tears she’d been holding back finally coursing down her cheeks. *********************************************************************************************************** “Lieutenant Taggert, what can I do for you?” Monica asked, surprised to see the detective at the Quartermaines’ front door. “Good evening, ma’am. I was wondering if A.J. is at home – I have some questions for him,” Taggert informed Monica. “Uh, I’m not sure.” Monica glanced over her shoulder, then back at Taggert. “I’m sorry, how rude of me - please come in.” “Thank you.” Taggert entered the spacious foyer of the mansion, admiring the grand staircase and chandelier. As many times as he’d been to the Quartermaine estate, the grandness of it all never failed to amaze him. “What exactly is this regarding?” Monica asked, a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I’m really not at liberty to say,” Taggert told her, giving her a polite smile. “Very well, then. I’ll go see if A.J. is at home.” Monica left Taggert standing in the foyer as she wandered off in search of her eldest son. Taggert flipped through his notes, forming the questions in his mind to ask A.J., who was now the PCPD’s prime suspect in what was now labeled as the hit-and-run on Mr. Jasper Jacks. |