"What are you doing here?" Carly asked watching as AJ entered her apartment. "I don’t remember saying that you could come in."
He turned to face her. "No, you didn’t. But, it seems, Carly that your memory is not very good. Are you going to tell me the truth now, or do I have to get it out of you myself?" he asked lowering his voice.
She narrowed her eyes at him and protectively placed her hand on her stomach. "Are you threatening me?" she asked with the timbre of her voice raising. "I will not have you here and threatening me," she said turning to open the door. "Get out, AJ," she demanded him.
He walked over to the door and slammed it shut. She jumped when the door closed. "I’m not threatening you, Carly. I would never do that, especially since it is possible that baby you are carrying could be mine."
She walked away from him and laughed. "What are you talking about? Have you been drinking again?" Her attitude threw off confidence, but she was not confident in the least. She worked hard to make sure that she covered her tracks, and AJ would never know that he could in fact be this child’s father.
He laughed now. "That is what you would want, isn’t it. If I were drunk, things would be so much easier, wouldn’t it."
She calmed herself. She couldn’t give the game away now, when she was so close to having what she wanted. Turning around, she said sweetly. "Listen, I’m sorry about saying that. Of course I wouldn’t want you to start drinking again. I know how important your sobriety is to you. I just don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Please, Carly," he said tightly. "Don’t pretend to be my friend. We both know that is not true."
"I am your friend, AJ. Or, at least I thought I was," she said beginning to play on his sympathy. It worked before, maybe it would work now. "I don’t understand why you are bringing this up. I’ve already told you that there is not way for this baby to be yours. This baby is mine and Tony’s. We’re getting married, so, just let this go. I’ve already given you the proof that you want."
He sighed. Carly really believed that he was going to fall for this. Well, he may have once, but he wasn’t going to be tricked again. "See, I know all about this proof. There is no way for me to know if this so called proof is real or not. Carly, I’m sorry, you’re going to have to do better than that."
"What else do you want me to do, AJ? Man, I’m doing the best that I can to convince you that I’m telling the truth. What else do you want me to do?" she asked again. She entreated him to believe her with her eyes. "This stress is not good for the baby," she informed him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, I’m going now, but this is not over, Carly. Far from it. I don’t want to place this baby in danger, so I’m going to let up on this for now. I’ll be back, Carly," he said leaving.
She blew a sigh of relief. She had managed to get rid of AJ for awhile, but she knew that he was going to come back. "I have worked too hard for this," she said out loud. "I will not let everything go wrong now." She rubbed her stomach. "You hear me, little baby, everything will work out fine."
*****
She slowed her walk when she saw the man sitting in the waiting room reading through a file. She went over and stood in front of him with her arms crossed. "Dare I ask why you’re here, or do I already know the answer to that one?"
He smiled and looked up at her. "Well, good morning to you, too. I’m surprised that you even spoke to me."
She nodded her head. "I shouldn’t have, but I guess my curiosity got the better of me. So," she started looking around, "where is she?"
He smiled again. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she was still jealous of Brenda. "She is in her appointment right now. I’m only here as her friend; she wanted someone to come with her, and she asked me."
"And of course, you were inclined to say yes. But, you know what, that’s really none of my business, now is it. I understand. See you around, Jax," she said starting to walk off.
He stood up and grabbed her arm to stop her. He immediately released her when she looked down at her arm. "I’ve already told you that I am her friend. She needs as many friends as she can get right now. I don’t want her to be alone in this."
"And, you’re the only one that can do that for her. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy that. The Quartermaines, I’m sure, for one, would love to be there for her. Besides, with all your energy going into your friendship with her, I’m sure you don’t have any to spare for…anything with me."
"Keesha…" he started, but stopped when he saw who exited the elevators and came over to where they stood. "Well, it seems that someone is looking for you as well," he said as she turned around to see who he was talking about. "It seems that we both have friends that put demands on our time."
She turned back to face him and rolled her eyes. "This discussion is not over," she told him. He merely shrugged.
"Keesha," AJ said as he reached them. "I’ve been looking all over for you."
"What is it, AJ?" she inquired. She knew that he was planning to confront Carly with the information they had found surrounding the baby she was carrying.
Jax smiled. "I’m going to see if Brenda is almost finished. I’ll speak with you later, Keesha," he said before walking away.
She stared after him as he left. "What’s up with him?" AJ asked when she returned her attention to him again.
She shrugged as she began to walk and he followed her. "I don’t know. What’s so urgent that you were looking for me? Did you talk to Carly?"
He nodded and sighed. "Yes, I talked to Carly, but she continues to insist that the baby is not mine. I really don’t know why I’m pursuing this anyway," he said sitting in the chair across from her desk once they reached her office. "I saw the sonogram with the due date. There is no way that baby could be mine anyway."
"Only believe half of what you see, AJ," she warned him. He was certain that Carly was lying before, but just one visit with her, and he was ready to believe everything she said. "Ocular proof is not what you need; you need undeniable proof. You have to wonder why she went all the way to Mercy Hospital when her obstetrician is right here. AJ, we talked about this, and you agreed that something wasn’t right about that."
He shook his head and leaned his arms against his legs. "I know that, Keesha, but, I just don’t know about this. Maybe she is telling the truth."
"What is it with you men allowing yourselves to be fooled by these type of women!" Keesha exclaimed. She calmed herself and waved that away. "I’m sorry about that," she said standing and going over to her file cabinet.
AJ stood and went over to where she stood. "What was that all about? Is there something wrong? I know that you don’t particularly like Carly, but you’ve never acted like that before. Tell me, what’s going on here?"
"Nothing," she replied shortly as she closed the drawer. "I’m sorry, AJ, I would love to talk to you about this further, but I have an appointment that I need to get ready for."
He nodded. "I understand. Thanks for listening to me." He rubbed her back and looked at her with concern. "Are you sure that you’re all right?"
She smiled and nodded. "I’ll be fine. It’s my pleasure to help you get to the bottom of this. If that is your child, AJ, I just want to make sure that your rights are protected."
"I know. Good-bye," he said leaving.
She sat down at her desk. She shook her head. Why was she even helping AJ when it was so obvious that he didn’t want to be helped. Maybe that was why. Carly couldn’t be allowed to get away with what she had done. She almost ruined AJ’s sobriety completely by her little games. Maybe being a friend to an ex wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be. Resolved, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
*****
"How was your appointment?" Jax asked once Brenda exited the office. Even though they were no longer together, he could not help but help her. After everything that had happened, he felt somewhat responsible.
She smiled when she saw him. He was always so nice to her, so loving. "My appointment went very well. I’m making a lot of headway, you know. I know that is partly because of all the support you’re giving me."
"No, any progress you’re making is because of you. I don’t deserve any of the credit," he told her. "Excuse me," he said answering his phone. "Hello."
"Hi," Keesha answered back.
Jax smiled and moved several steps away from Brenda. "I must say that it is a surprise to hear from you. I assume your meeting with AJ is over."
She could detect the smugness in his voice. "Don’t be so smug, Jax," she told him.
"I’m not," he said but smiled again.
"Anyway," she continued. "I was wondering if you had plans for later. I would really like to talk to you, and since it is Friday, I figure you can’t be too busy tomorrow."
He knew that this was as close as he was probably going to get to an apology, so he decided to accept it. "I don’t have any plans. I’m at your beck and call."
"Just mine?" she asked wryly as she recalled any other time they had tried to meet. They were always interrupted by some crisis with Brenda. She was not in the mood for that again tonight. "Sorry," she added not really meaning it.
"I would accept that apology if you really meant it. Why don’t I come over to your place, say about seven? We can talk then."
"Fine, see you then," she said disconnecting.
"Business?" Brenda asked coming over to join him.
He turned around and found Brenda standing behind him. He smiled. "You could say that. I’m hoping for a merger tonight. Are you ready to go?"
Her face fell. "So that means you’re going to be busy tonight? I was hoping that maybe we could have take-out and watch a movie or something."
He looked down at her. He hated to disappoint her, but he had to move on with her life, and she had to do the same. "I’m sorry, Brenda, but I cannot change my plans."
"You can’t or you won’t," she said pouting. How could he not spend more time with her? "You never spend any time with me, Jax. What are you doing tonight that is so important anyway? Can’t you reschedule?"
He pushed the button to call for the elevator. "I’ve already told you that I cannot. You could always go over to the Quartermaines," he said as a last resort. "I’m sure they will happy to see you. I’m sure Lila must miss your company."
She nodded. "Maybe I will. Are you sure you can’t change your plans, Jax?" she asked again.
He sighed. "Yes, I’m sure."
*****
"Hi, Tony," Carly said smiling as she went over to the door and gave him a kiss. She locked her arm through his. "I missed you."
"Did you, Carly," he said as he put down his briefcase and attempted to remove his coat forcing her to let go of his arm. "How are you and the baby today?"
She took advantage of the fact that she was not facing him and rolled her eyes. He didn’t care about her, just the baby. She spun around with a smile instantly on her face. Rubbing her stomach, she responded, "We’re both great. How was your day?" she asked as she moved into the kitchen.
He shrugged. "As good as a day can be, I guess. I talked to Bobbie today, and she agreed for me to take Lucas fishing this weekend."
"Really," she said with a feigned lilt in her voice. "Where are you two going? It’s a little cold to be fishing, isn’t it?" So, he was leaving her all weekend, and he never discussed it with her.
"We’re going down South. That’s where the best fish are anyway," he said looking through the mail. "Do you have a problem with that?"
She shook her head and smiled. "Of course not, I realize that you need to spend some quality time with your son. It’s very important to do that. I’m going to be a mother soon, so I can totally understand," she explained. "I hope that you two have a wonderful time. When are you leaving?"
"Actually, tonight. As soon as I get some things packed," he said putting the envelopes down and went into the bedroom.
"Tonight?" she repeated following him in. "That’s a little soon, isn’t it. I thought you would maybe leave early in the morning or something."
He looked up at her as he removed several items from his drawers. "Is there some reason you don’t want me to leave tonight?" he asked as he returned to his task.
She shook head. "No, I’ll help you," she said moving to the bed where his suitcase was laid out.
"No, that won’t be necessary. I can do this on my own. Why don’t you rest, Carly," he suggested.
"Fine," she said throwing the article of clothing in her hand down on the bed. "It doesn’t matter that I’ve been resting all the damn day. I’ll just get some more," she said tersely as her temper reached the breaking point.
"If you have a problem, Carly, why don’t you tell me what it is?" he said leaning in the doorway between the bedroom and the outer room.
She slouched on the sofa with her feet up on the coffee table and hugged a pillow. She wished she could tell him what her problem was, but it was hers to deal with by herself. "I don’t have a problem," she lied. "I’m just a little moody. The joys of pregnancy," she said.
"I don’t know about that," Tony said joining her on the couch. "I think that you’re a little bored here all day by yourself. Why don’t you go out with some friends tonight?"
She looked over at him and smirked. Friends? What friends did she have? Sweetly, she said, "Okay, I’ll do that. You just get packed so that you and Lucas can get an early start."