Try to Remember-Chapter 4

 

"Your phone is ringing," Keesha said softly as she tried to wake Jax up. She had no doubt about who it could be. She handed him the cell phone. "I’m going to take a shower," she informed him before leaving.

"Hello," he said into the phone. He hoped that it wasn’t Brenda. He honestly did not feel like dealing with her today.

"Hi, Jax," Robin’s voice came through the phone. She breathed a sigh of relief. "I tried you at your penthouse last night and this morning, and it just occurred to me to try your cell phone. I should have done that first, right," she said with a light laugh as she glanced towards the door. She couldn’t let Brenda know she was doing this.

He sat up now. This had to be important because Robin was not given to making pointless small talk. "What is it, Robin? Is there something wrong?"

"I should say there is," she started. "Listen, I can’t talk for very long. I don’t want Brenda to know that I’m talking to you, but I need to talk to you."

"Okay, why do you need to talk to me?" he asked. She was going to have to give him a little more information than that. He glanced over at the bathroom door when he heard the water for the shower come on. He wanted to get Robin off the phone quickly.

"I’m worried about her. She seems to be acting strangely, and she thinks that you lied to her about not being able to spend time with her last night."

"Really. I’m sorry, Robin, but I really don’t have time to talk about this right now…"

"Could we meet later," she said rushed as she broke in. "I think that we really need to discuss this so that we can help her. Could we do that?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. Brenda needed more help than either one of them could possibly give. "Fine, Robin. That will be fine."

She smiled now. "Thanks, Jax. I’ll talk to you later," she said before disconnecting.

He disconnected on his end and placed the phone on the bedside table. He looked over at the bathroom again and got up from the bed. Although he knew she was a little upset, she would never admit. He tried the knob to the bathroom and found it unlocked.

"Are you going to ask about the phone call?" he asked above the sound of the running water as he brushed his teeth.

"Do I need to?" was her short reply. Given, AJ had come by last night, and he didn’t get bent out of shape, but Brenda was getting to be a little too much. She sighed as she thought about it. Did she really have a right to be upset?

"Well," he said, "it wasn’t Brenda. It was Robin, actually."

"And the difference would be? Hey!" she said suddenly finding herself pinned against the wall of the shower. She looked up at the constant stream of water. "Jax, my hair is getting all wet," she complained.

"Ah, yes, it is," he said running his fingers through it. "You aren’t really upset with me over one little phone call, are you?" he asked as he began to kiss his way around her neck.

She ran her fingers through his wet, blond hair now. "I should be…" she started, but was broken off by a kiss.

"But, now you’re not," he asked teasing her with the seriousness of his tone.

She pulled him closer and agreed, "Now, I’m not."

*****

"Tell me about her," she began as she studied her silent and brooding companion.

He looked up wearily and asked, "Tell you about who?"

"The who that you are obviously thinking about. Believe me, I know that look," she said leaning forward and placing her arms on the table. "You’re thinking about someone. Someone very important, I gather. Perhaps that is why you are so distant with me," she said reaching to touch his cheek. He dodged her hand and stood from the table. "Okay," she said leaning back.

"Don’t you have something to do?" he asked sighing as he went over to the balcony to look over its edge. This was getting harder and harder. Leaving Brenda like he was hard, but necessary, but lately, he couldn’t seem to get her out of his thoughts.

She crossed her arms and stared at him for a moment before answering. She wondered why she took what she did off of him. "I thought you were what I did," she said flatly.

He turned back to face her. He saw the look that he had been so accustomed to seeing on her face. She was obviously upset with him, but she would get over it in time. "You do lower yourself quiet nicely," he noted. "You are calling yourself nothing but a glorified whore." His little sparring games with her helped him make it through the lonely days on his little part of the island.

"Well," she said smiling. "You do pay me well. So, are you Don the John?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Mmmm, I think that I rather like that title. Shall I tell everyone your new moniker? Is that what she was, that woman that you’re thinking of?" she inquired.

"Shut your damn mouth!" he said suddenly blowing up at her. "Don’t talk about things you don’t know about!" he warned.

She stood up and walked over to him. Looking him in the eyes, she said, "I will talk about anything I damn well please."

He grabbed her by the arm and tightened his hold. "Then, be prepared to suffer the consequences," he said in the same tone and intensity. He gave her arm one final squeeze before letting go. He brushed past her and strode out of the room.

Once she knew he had left the room, she began to rub her arm in the place he grabbed her. She looked down and saw the dark bruise against her light brown skin. What was wrong with him? Whoever this woman was, must have been very important to him? Just how important, she wondered. If he thought that a little pain like that was going to hurt her, he was very wrong. She had been through worse and survived, and would survive now. She had a mission; she had to find out just who this woman in Sonny’s life was.

*****

She strode through the hospital’s halls in search of the hospital pharmacy. While it was nice that being the almost wife of a doctor had it perks, she hated to come to the hospital because she was sure she would see Bobbie. Maybe today she would miss a little chat with her so-called mother. She rolled her eyes when she thought of Bobbie in all of her high and mighty splendor.

"Damn," she silently cursed under her breath. No such luck; there she was at the end of the corridor conversing with one of the nurses. She looked around and looked for an alternate route, but she was too late, Bobbie saw her.

Bobbie cut her conversation with the woman short when she saw Carly. "Well, hello, Carly," she said by way of greeting when she reached her. "I would have thought that you would sleep in this morning, since you have the apartment all to yourself today."

Carly rubbed her stomach and offered her a fake smile. "Well, I needed to pick up some prescriptions. I love my baby, and I want it to be as healthy as possible," she said glaring at the older woman. She added silently, "Unlike you."

"Of course you love your baby, Carly. I never said that you didn’t. I want to make some effort for us to get along. Our children will be siblings," she reminded her.

"Yes, our children will be related, won’t they. So, you are going to pretend to like me, and I’m going to pretend to like you," she said laughing. "See, I just don’t think that gonna work," she said shaking her head. "I really need to go," she said starting to walk off.

Bobbie held her back, "Look, I don’t know what little game you’re playing with Tony, but you won’t play any games where my son or I am concerned. Do you understand that?"

Carly shook Bobbie’s hand off her arm. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, Carly, I’m making you a promise," she clarified before walking away.

"Whoa, Barbara Jean," Luke said taking in the look of anger on his sister’s face. "What’s gotten you so riled up?"

"Carly Roberts ring any bells," she said shortly. She placed her files on the desk and sighed. "Luke," she said raising a hand, "that girl knows how to push all the right buttons. She reminds me so much of somebody, and I just can’t put my finger on it."

"Don’t worry about her," he said. He had to make sure she never learned the truth about her real daughter. If she learned that Carly was her daughter, she would be devastated, to say the least. "The best way to deal with a person, and I use the term loosely, is to ignore her. Don’t go around her."

She nodded her head. "Maybe you’re right."

"Hey, I’m always right, Barbara," he reminded her.

She smiled. "What are you doing here anyway? Everything is okay with Lulu, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, she’s fine. Everybody’s fine. Just came by to take you to," he looked down at his watch, "brunch. Care to come with?"

She smiled again. "Sure, is here in the hospital fine? I don’t really have the time to go anywhere else."

"Whereever my sister is, is fine by me," he said offering his arm to her, which she gladly took. He would make sure that a mistake she made when she was sixteen would not come back to haunt her now.

*****

"So, when I get pneumonia, you’ll be happy," she said as they found their table at the PC Grill.

"I never realized how given you were to theatrics," he noted as he sat across from her and smiled. "You will not get pneumonia. Wet hair gives you character," he informed her.

She smoothed a few stray strands back in place. "Well, it beats waiting years for it to dry," she said off handedly as she allowed her eyes to wander around the restaurant.

"See something interesting? Nobody we know, I hope," he said teasing her about their conversation they had before coming here.

She looked back at him. "You had the same reservations, if I recall correctly. You didn’t want to go to the Outback because Brenda was with Robin, and therefore more likely to see us there."

He nodded his head. "Yes, because, although out being together could be easily explained away, she is not stable enough to believe it. I mean, it is plausible for us to dine together; we do know each other. They just don’t know that we know each other in the Biblical sense," he added with a smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him but then gave in to a smile. "Yes, we do, don’t we? Who would have ever thought that?" she added before turning her attention to the menu.

He studied her as she studied her menu. It struck him how different from Brenda she actually was. While they were relatively the same age, he had to admit that Keesha was certainly more stable and clear headed. Could he really compare the two of them? There were just too many differences. He shook his head. Either way, it wasn’t good to do that any way.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked. "You’re staring at me," she informed him.

"Is there something wrong with that? I have the right to stare, don’t I?" he asked in good humor again.

"Not if you don’t want anyone to know about us just yet," she reminded him. "Again, tell me, is there an us?" she inquired.

"Do you even have to ask?" he asked softly.

Smiling again, she said, "Just checking."

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