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After Jason dropped a silent Emily home and endured a meeting with the Quartermaines, he took out his cell phone to call Sonny. Dialing his number, he thought of the silent ride he and Emily shared and it strengthened his resolve. Someone had to get Emily to open up about what was going on. It hurt knowing that she couldn’t tell him what had happened, but there were other people willing to try. So deep in thought, Jason jerked when he heard a familiar voice in his ear.
“What happened Jason?,” Sonny asked, wanting Jason to tell him that Emily had told him everything, but somehow knowing that wasn’t the case.
“She won’t talk to me Sonny. Someone or something has her terrified. You should have seen the look on her face when she thought I was going to force whatever the truth is out of her,” Jason said sadly. It really hurt him that she couldn’t open up to him. “She was so shaken up that I think Monica is going to keep her home from school for a few days”
“Who do you think she would talk to?,” Sonny asked. He knew that Emily was really close to Lucky, but he wasn’t sure that Emily would talk to anyone. She seemed to be slowly closing herself off.
“I don’t know. I think I’m gonna call Lucky. Maybe he can get it out of her this time,” Jason said hopefully. “He should be home now”
Sonny sighed through the phone. Lucky Spencer was going to have to push Emily to talk. It wasn’t going to be an easy job, but he was the only one that could do it. Carly was out of the question, she and Emily didn’t get along. “You should call him tonight then”
Agreeing with Sonny, Jason ended their conversation and started to dial Lucky’s number.
Lucky grabbed his coat and walked through his apartment, searching for his keys. Finding them, he headed for the door, never hearing his phone, which began to ring.
Two hours later.......
AJ quietly climbs up the back steps towards his bedroom, thoughts of his accomplishments running through his head. So wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn’t notice someone waiting for him at the top of the stairs.
“Well lookee here! Look who decided to show his presence!,” Carly said snidely.
She had waited up on purpose just to see what time her ‘husband’ was going to get home.
“Where were you? I thought you went to look for Emily? She’s been home for hours,” she said, eyeing AJ like he was dirt on her shoe.
AJ stared at his ‘wife’ with contempt in his eyes. “When did Carly and Emily become so chummy?,” he thought to himself. This wouldn’t be good for his plans. He looked at Carly with distaste. “I had something to do. I’m sure everyone was here to greet her. Where did she say she was all day?,” he asked, fishing for information.
Carly stared at him with narrowed eyes. “If you were here, you would have found out,” she said. Turning towards her bedroom, she glanced at AJ over her shoulder.
“Edward wants to talk to you in the morning. Have a nice night ‘dear’,” she said with venom in her voice.
Watching as she went into her bedroom, AJ waited until Carly locked her door and then silently walked past it to his own bedroom. Closing his door, he put his briefcase down and started to change take off his clothes and get ready to take a shower. He didn’t want to have the stench of mobsters and deviants on him when he went to visit his ‘baby sister’ later on.
Lucky silently walked through the Quartermaine Estate towards the tree next to Emily’s bedroom window. He paused when he noticed that her light was off. “I hope she hasn’t fallen asleep yet,” he thought to himself. Throwing caution to the wind, Lucky began to climb the tree.
Emily sat in her bedroom in complete darkness waiting for Lucky to call her. She knew that if she left her light on, someone would walk by and take it upon themselves to strike up a conversation. Sighing, Emily leaned back against her headboard and sighed as her eyes started to droop. Suddenly, she heard a sound at her window.
“Wh-who’s there?,” she asks quietly. Gazing outside at the black night, she had to swallow a scream as a tall figure appeared at her window.
Noticing that Emily was going to scream, Lucky spoke. “Its me, Lucky,” he said.
Emily forgot her fear and broke out in a huge smile when she heard Lucky’s voice. Being careful not to trip over her things on the floor, Emily made her way towards the window and opened it.
Lucky grinned as he swung his legs over her window sill. He didn’t get a chance to speak before Emily launched herself into his arms.
“Oh, Lucky! I thought something bad happened to you!,” she said, “are you okay?”
Lucky grinned at his best friend. “I just got a bump on my head, but I was worried about you,” he said, remembering all his father had told him.
Dragging him over to her bed, Emily sat down and stared at the floor. She knew that he would want to know what happened to her, but she had hoped he would forget about it. She should have known that Spencers don’t forget anything. “I’m okay. How was everything at the hospital?,” she asked, shamelessly trying to change the subject.
Recognizing her ploy, Lucky decided to ignore it. “My dad told me that you waited in the rain all day for me. Why didn’t you call your mom or dad or even my dad? They would have picked you up,” he said, “I’m just glad I called Jason and told him that you might be at school”. Lucky turned and made Emily look him in the eye. “For awhile now, something has been wrong with you. What’s going on?”
Emily tried to break eye contact, but couldn’t. The pressure was going to make her buckle, so she did the only thing she could--cry.
Lucky cursed himself as he watched the tears fall from her beautiful eyes. Gathering her in his arms, he leaned back against her bed and held her. “Shh...its okay. I’m sorry” He held her close as he stroked her hair and waited for her sobs to stop.
Emily snuggled in Lucky’s embrace and let out the tears that had been threatening to spring forth for days. It felt good. Leaning away from Lucky’s chest, she look him in the eye. “Oh Lucky, I’m sorry. I-I--”
“Its all right Emily, but you have to tell someone what’s bothering you eventually. If you don’t, its going to eat you up inside. Trust me, I know what that can do to a person. Don’t let it happen to you,” he said quietly.
“ I know Lucky, but its too hard. Its too hard.,” Emily said sadly. It hurt her more than anything to lie to the people that she loved. The look on Jason’s face earlier that night was almost enough for her want to curl up and die. The look on his face would stay with her for the rest of her life.
AJ waited patiently until the mansion settled for the night. He took special care to wait until he was sure that Carly was asleep. It wouldn’t do for her to go walking around the mansion at night or hear something and decide to investigate. Hearing complete silence, AJ smiled in the dark recesses of his room and made his way out his room and into the hallway.
Noticing the time, Lucky decided to leave. Easing Emily out of his embrace, Lucky looked at her.
“I gotta go, its kind of late and I think we both had a rough night,” he said.
Emily shook her head. “I’m okay. Can’t you sleep over? Please?,” she asked, suddenly realizing that she was going to be alone in her room. These days, her bedroom scared her.
Lucky noticed the look on her face and felt like a complete a**, but he had to go home. His father was going to call him and besides, Jason would murder him if he slept with Emily alone in her room, even if it was platonic. “I can’t Em, my dad is expecting me to be home in the morning”
Emily nodded. She knew that it would be impossible for him to stay the night with her. “Tuck me in?,” she asked hopefully.
Lucky smiled. “Sure, hop in,” he said. He knew that Emily just wanted to feel safe. If tucking her into her bed made her feel that way, so be it.
Emily waited for Lucky to get off of her bed and then she got in. Snuggling beneath her comforter, she waited for Lucky to fix the sheets around her. “ You may begin,” she said with a false imperious air.
Softly laughing, Lucky tucked her in to her bed. Not noticing that Emily had turned to look at him, Lucky bent down to kiss her on the cheeks and met her lips instead.
Emily froze in shock as Lucky’s lips touched hers and stayed there. As she gazed into his eyes, she got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach--hope. Hope for the future, hope that everything would turn out all right. Getting used to the feel of her best friends’ lips on hers, she jumped when she heard a noise outside in the hall.
Lucky stared at Emily in complete shock as she jumped as if hit by some unknown force. “What just happened?,” he asked in a daze.
Blushing, Emily stared at a point on the wall. “Uh, didn’t you say you had to go? I’m okay now,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t press her for answers. She was trying to figure out what happened herself. Deciding to take her lead, Lucky decided not to think about their kiss at that time.
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll come by and we’ll hang out and stuff. Sleep tight,” he said as he climbed out her window.
Neither of them noticed the figure that watched from a crack in Emily’s partially opened door.
AJ silently seethed as he watched Lucky tuck Emily into bed and kiss her. “He has to be taken care of. No one touches Emily, she’s mine. Now I need to show her,” he thought as he pushed her door open. “Hello Emily”
Emily jerked in surprise as she heard AJ’s raspy voice. It seemed to sound more sinister at night. Tightly closing her eyes, Emily willed herself away. Opening her eyes, she blanched as she saw AJ standing above her, larger than life. No sound could escape her throat as AJ started to strangle her.
Lucky slowly walked down the Quartermaine driveway, thinking about The Kiss. In all the years that he had been friends with Emily, he never really thought about her in the ‘potential girlfriend’ kind of way. Sure, he has a small crush on her when they ran away together and he was sure that she felt the same way then, but what about now?
“I gotta find out if she thinks about me that way,” Lucky said to himself as he turned around and headed back up the drive to Emily’s bedroom.
Meanwhile......
Emily gasped as AJ punched her in the stomach for the fifth time. Her tears long dried up, Emily laid on her bed in an almost catatonic state as AJ abused her. She barely winced as she felt the bite of his belt on her legs.
“You little b****! I saw you with Lucky tonight. Do you think he can save you?! You belong to me!!,” AJ said as he raised the belt over his head and brought it down on her stomach. Suddenly, he stopped and took a good look at Emily and realized what she was doing--retreating into herself. Grabbing her arms in a punishing grip, he made her face him. “Look at me when I talk to you, you little slut!”
Emily stared unseeing into AJ’s evil eyes and let her head roll to the side. She didn’t have enough energy to comply. As more blows rained down on her battered body, Emily prayed for deliverance.
Meanwhile.....
Lucky stared up at Emily’s bedroom window, a strange feeling running through his body. Being careful not to shake the tree too much, he began to climb the tree. Halfway up, Lucky heard a strange sound and quickly made his way up the rest of the tree. What he saw made him gasp out loud in utter disbelief.
AJ jerked his head to the window and his eyes bulged ever so slightly at who he saw.
Noticing where AJ was looking, Emily turned her gaze in that direction. Gazing into her best friends’ stricken eyes, a tear rolled down her pale cheek.
In a blind rage, AJ hit Emily one more time and then quietly stalked from the room. “Let the games begin,” he thought to himself evilly. He then walked into his bedroom and closed the door, a sick smile on his face.
Lucky snapped out of his stupor as he watched Emily lay in her bed in pain. Quickly entering her bedroom, he grabbed her backpack, threw some clothes in it and turned to her. “Come on, you’re leaving this hell hole---now”. Noticing that Emily wasn’t paying any attention to him, he went next to her and sat on her bed. Lightly touching her face. He let his tears fall. ”Oh Emily”
Emily stared sightlessly at the ceiling until she heard the sound of Lucky’s sobs. Turning her face towards his, Emily brushed his tears away. “Don’t cry Lucky, its okay”
Lucky stared at her with disbelief in his eyes. “How can she think that this is ‘okay’? Her own brother is beating the life out of her!,” he thought to himself. Gathering Emily in his arms, Lucky helped Emily put on some warmer clothes and they snuck out of the Quartermaine Mansion, Emily in his arms and her back pack slung over his shoulders.
Watching from a bedroom window above, Carly saw the two figures fade into the night, a curious look on her face.
Four windows down, AJ smiled.
Walking briskly, Lucky made his way to his truck that he parked off the estate. Placing Emily gently into the passenger seat and putting her seat belt on, Lucky got into the driver’s seat and drove off.
Glancing at the broken shell that was his best friend, he made a vow to her.
“Emily, you’ll never have to set foot in that place again. Not as long as I’m breathing”
Lucky’s words penetrated the fog that was Emily’s mind and she glanced at him, her eyes two empty orbs. “My fault. My fault. My fault. Don’t cry no more? Please?,” she said.
Slamming on his breaks, Lucky stared at Emily a fierce look on his face and grabbed her arm. “It. Is. Not. Your. Fault! Do you understand me?! I don’t want to ever hear those words come out of you mouth again!”. So caught up in his tirade, she didn’t see Emily try to shrink back from him, her eyes glazed over in pain.
“No! Don’t hurt me no more! Please?! I won’t tell!,” she whimpered.
Lucky reared back from Emily in shock. She was staring at him like a wounded animal. He tried to touch her, but she shrank back in fear.
“Emily look at me,” he said. When he got her attention, he continued. ”I swear to you on my life, I will never ever hurt you the way AJ has. Never. AJ is lower than pond scum and I will never stoop to his level. You are too precious to me."
Snapping out of her haze, Emily stared at Lucky with dawning comprehension on her face. “Lucky?”. Confused, Emily looked around and realized that she was in his truck. “Where are we going?,” she asked, fear in her voice.
Knowing that if he told her, she might try to do something drastic, he evaded her question. “You’ll know when we get there. Let me help you. Please?,” he asked
Hearing the passion in his voice, Emily stayed silent for the rest of the ride to the unknown. Feeling worn out and dizzy, Emily stared out the window and watched as the heavens began to weep.
Forty minutes later
Lucky parked his truck in the underground garage and helped a tired Emily out of the car. Still in a daze, Emily didn’t realize where she was until she was inside the building.
“No Lucky, I can’t come here! Don’t make me please. People are going to be hurt,” she said pleadingly, but Lucky would have none of it.
“Listen Emily, for awhile now, you’ve been in trouble and you’ve hit it from everyone that cares for you. That ends tonight. Do you know what it did to me to see you laid on your bed the way you were? I was beat like that when Faison had me and I would have given my life tonight to trade places with you. No one deserves to go through what you have. This has to end,” he said.
Emily shook her head, trying to get the dizziness out of it. “You don’t get it Lucky. Its only begun,” she said. Lucky stared at her as she promptly fainted.
Picking his best friend up in his arms and headed for the elevators. Barely glancing at the guards, Lucky closed the doors and pressed the top button. All too soon, the doors opened again. Johnny stared at Lucky and Emily in shock.
Noticing the bruises on her neck and arms, Johnny spoke. “What the hell happened to her?,” he asked.
“Are they still up?,” Lucky asked, avoiding his question. He was not in the mood to talk to Johnny right now.
Reading the grim look on his face, Johnny answered. “Yeah. Go right ahead”. Johnny moved out of Lucky’s way and headed for the door across the hall as Lucky headed for the opposite one.
Jason sat in his apartment staring out the window. His thoughts were interrupted as his door slammed open. Reaching for his gun, Jason turned to face the intruder and promptly put it away when he saw who it was. “Oh my God”
Lucky ignored Jason’s outburst and walked right by him towards the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, Lucky headed for one of the guest bedrooms and gently placed Emily on the bed. Helping her out of her jacket and shoes, he kissed her on the cheek and pulled the covers over the sleeping girl. Turning around, he noticed Jason staring at him from the doorway. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked at Emily. “Downstairs”
Jason stared at his sister and Lucky in shock. Seeing his sister limp in Lucky’s arms and obviously beaten had robbed him of his speech. Following Lucky down the stairs, they both looked up as they saw the front door open.
Sonny stared at the two men in shock. Johnny had raced over to his apartment and told him that Emily was hurt and Jason was going to need him, so he put on some sweats and rushed over. Staring at the two grim faced men, he spoke. “What the hell happened?! Johnny told me that Emily was hurt. Who did it? Where is she?,” he demanded.
Lucky stared at the two mobsters and found his voice. Staring at both of them in the eye, he said three words.
“AJ did it”
General Hospital's Friendship Forever