Masquerade Chapter 11

Chapter 11
Brenda was quiet on the way back from the Q mansion, not that Ned was surprised, she had been given a large amount of information in a short amount of time. She has been thrust back into a life from which she has been absent for almost a year, and she has to realize that life has continued in her absence. Ned pulls the car up to the waterfront center and parks. Brenda surveys the newly docks completed docks project with interest.  When she had disappeared, it had been little more than a dream, now it seemed to be a thriving economic environment. She could tell that it was not yet complete, but what she saw amazed her.

Brenda: The docks project looks like it is almost complete?
Ned: Most of it is, there are some parts that won’t be ready for a few more months.
Brenda: It has come a long ways since the night that we attended the ground breaking.
Ned: I never stop being amazed at the fact that it was built at all, it has been an uphill battle. 
Brenda: It really turned out nice, I especially like that part over there.

She points in one direction.

Ned: Those are the shops.
Brenda: The way that they are set up reminds me of a New York neighborhood.
Ned: That was Sonny’s idea.
Brenda: *Smiling* I should have guessed.
Ned: Do you see that building over there, that is the convention center.
Brenda: The building that looks like the Sydney Australia Opera House?
Ned: Yes that monstrosity of a design was the contribution made by Jax.
Brenda: It doesn’t look that bad.
Ned: You haven’t seen the inside. Picture, the Washington Cathedral, meets Madison Squarer Garden.
Brenda: I can’t even imagine anything like that combination.
Ned: That is my point, no normal person could dream up such an atrocity.
Brenda: The strange thing is that it works!
Ned: What works?
Brenda: The combination of Jax and Sonny’s visions, somehow they blend perfectly.
Ned: You would think so, you always could see something good in them both.
Brenda: Are you about to start with the "love is blind," lecture.
Ned: I’m in no position to lecture on the topic of love, but I do have one question? 
Brenda: I’m not sure that I have many answers right now.
Ned: Are you still in love with Jax?
Brenda: I don’t know, but I do need to talk to him. I need to hear his side of the story about AJ.
Ned: Fair enough, but what about Sonny?
Brenda: I don’t think that he wants to talk to Jax.
Ned: You know what I mean, are you still in love with Sonny?

Ned can tell that his question makes Brenda uncomfortable, but he isn’t prepared for her reaction.

Brenda: You know what, I think that I can walk to Kelly’s from here. 

She gets put of the car before Ned has time to protest.
 
Ned: Brenda, you don’t have to do that.
Brenda: *Ignoring his protests* I’ll call you later and we can decide when to leave for New York.
Ned: Do you want me to at least walk you to Kelly’s?
Brenda: No, I’m sure that I’m being guarded.

She takes off walking, very quickly, almost like she was trying to outrun her thoughts and denounce her feelings. Ned sees one of Sonny’s men take off after her.  Ned could have kicked himself for being so insensitive to her feelings. It had been clear earlier in the day that she was still in love with Sonny, there was no reason for him to press the point. Brenda almost ran to Kelly’s until by the time that she reached the door she was out of breath, but she still couldn’t shake the pain that Ned had stirred in her heart. She loved Sonny and she wanted more than anything to be with him, but it was obvious that he wanted something different. She wanted Sonny, but he wanted Hannah, so what was the use in discussing her feelings?   She stops outside of Kelly’s to catch her breath and wipe tears from her eyes. She hopes that she doesn’t see anyone that she knows before she can run up to her room. She suddenly has a strong urge to lock her door and dive beneath the covers for a week or two. Brenda walks into the dinner and finds it empty, except for Liz Webber.

Liz: Hi Brenda.
Brenda: Hello, Elizabeth.
Liz: Please call me Liz, only my Gram calls me Elizabeth.
Brenda: Okay, Liz, how are you?
Liz: I’m great, but I’m even better when there aren’t any customers.
Brenda: I remember that feeling all to well, this was always an easy job when the place was empty. 
Liz: *Surprised* You worked here?
Brenda: I was employed here off and on in high school. I did my best to avoid doing any actually work.
Liz: I can’t believe that someone like you actually worked here?
Brenda: I was young once, I even used to live in one of the rooms upstairs. Talk about coming full circle
Liz: Do you like the room that you have now?   
Brenda: It is better than my old one, #3.
Liz: You are lucky that you got here early, you might have ended up with your old room.
Brenda: Did  my old room end up being rented?
Liz: Yes, unfortunately.
Brenda: Why?
Liz: Hannah had moved out of room #2, then for some god forsaken reason she came back! 
Brenda: Does she know that I have her old room?
Liz: I don’t think so, she was pretty upset that it was rented, but that’s life!
Brenda: She doesn’t seem to be your favorite person.
Liz: I like most people, but something about her is just wrong. 
Brenda: What do you mean?
Liz: I can’t explain it, I just have a feeling that she isn’t what she seems.
Brenda: You don’t have to explain it to me, you should trust your feelings. Is she in her room right now?
Liz: No, she left about an hour ago.
Brenda: Thanks, I’ll see you later.

Brenda walks up the stairs and stops in front of the door to her old room. She checks to make sure that no one is around and then quickly pulls a nail file out of her purse. When Brenda lived here before, she was always loosing her keys. Ruby had loaned her a spare set the first dozen or so times that it happened.  Ruby had quickly lost patience, forcing Brenda to find more creative means of getting into her room. In less than a minute she has the door to Hannah’s room open. 

Brenda: *Amazed* It still works!

She slips into the room and quietly closes the door.

Brenda: Lets see what you are all about Hannah Scott.

She starts with the closet. Brenda had a motto that you could always tell the most about a woman by looking at her clothes.

At the warehouse, Jason had just finished checking in a coffee shipment. He is surprised to look up from his clip board and find Sonny standing in front of his face, Jason eyes his partner suspiciously.

Jason: What’s up?
Sonny: You said on the phone last night that a shipment was coming in today.
Jason: I also said that I would handle things.
Sonny: So?
Jason: So what are you doing here?
Sonny: Some things have come up and I think you should hear them from me, personally.
Jason: Okay, is this about the sale of  the farm?
Sonny: Why would you think that it was about the farm?
Jason: I know that you were supposed to meet with the real-estate agent today, did you decide not to sell?
Sonny: No, I told her to sell the place on her terms, but now I’m not so sure that I should sell the property.
Jason: I know that it’s hard to let go.
Sonny: It was harder than you can possibly imagine. Just being there brought back so many memories.
Jason: You and Brenda were happy there, but you told me it wasn’t honoring her to hold on to it.
Sonny:  That was true. It was wrong to hold on to Brenda by holding on to a piece of land.
Jason: She wasn’t there Sonny, you had to let the place go.
Sonny: Things have changed, though, something has happened that I never dreamt was possible.
Jason: Is this about Hannah?
Sonny: Yes and no, Jason, Brenda is alive.
Jason: Is this something that you know for sure, or just something you feel.
Sonny: She came to the penthouse last night looking for Robin, she found me with Hannah.
Jason: That can’t be good.
Sonny: It was about as bad as it could get. In the end, they were both running scared.
Jason: Is that why you needed the jet, to go after Brenda?
Sonny: No, I had to go after Hannah. I found her on a plane to San Diego.
Jason: What did you do?
Sonny: I convinced her to come back to Port Charles and become my wife.
 
Jason gives him an unemotional blank look.

Jason: You told me once that you would always love Brenda, what changed your mind?
Sonny: Nothing changed, I still love her with every breath that I draw.
Jason: Then why would you want to marry Hannah? It makes no sense.
Sonny: Do you still love Robin?
Jason: Of course, I will always love Robin.
Sonny: Yet you are with Carly at the moment, why is that?
Jason: For one thing, I missed having sex.

Sonny is a little surprised at Jason’s answer. He had forgotten how blatantly honest Jason tended to be at any given moment. 

Sonny: Your relationship is purely physical?
Jason: That was how it started out, but there is more to it now. Carly and I both love Michael.
Sonny: However, you still love Robin?
Jason: I love Carly too, every time that I see her with Michael I love her a bit more. Robin made me angry and I scare her. She could never really accept me for who I am, Carly doesn’t want me to be perfect.
Sonny: Those are some of the reasons that I can’t be with Brenda. I scare her and I make her unhappy.
Jason: Sonny, I don’t know if you want my advice or not, but I’m going to give it anyway.
Sonny: You know that I value your impute.
Jason: Do not marry Hannah unless you are in love with her! Can you tell me that you love her?

Jason sounds absolutely desperate.

Sonny: I care deeply for her and she accepts me for who I am. 
Jason: Can you say that you love her?
Sonny: No, I have Brenda’s blood running through my veins and she has my heart.
Jason: If you marry Hannah and you love someone else, something horrible will happen.   
Sonny: Are you a physic now, Jason?
Jason: I know what I know. You married Lily when you were in love with Brenda, now she is dead.
Sonny: That was my own fault.
Jason: Carly married AJ when she was in love with me, now he is dead as well.
Sonny: That was the fault of Jasper Jacks.
Jason: No, it was because you were messing with something sacred and someone up there doesn’t like it.
Sonny: Why did I ever start taking you to church?
Jason: Promise me that you won’t rush into anything that you aren’t sure about?
Sonny: Okay, I’ll look before I leap. Now I’m going to go, before you get back on your soap box.

He tries to be nonchalant, pretending that what Jason said didn’t matter. The truth was that he had been aching for someone to point out to him why he shouldn’t marry Hannah. He had counted on Jason to voice truthful doubts that Sonny felt in his heart to be true. He couldn’t marry Hannah as long as he was in love with Brenda. He heads to Kelly’s to have a heart to heart talk  with his fiancée. 

Brenda had almost finished going through Hannah’s room, she only had one drawer left. Brenda’s mind kept drifting back to Hannah’s closet. If clothes made the woman, then Brenda didn’t have the slightest idea what to make of Hannah. Among other things, Brenda had found that Hannah owned black versions of two of her dresses. The one that she had worn to the Nurses Ball that occurred right after Lily died and the dress that Brenda had worn on her and Sonny’s last "unmarried date." The fact that Hannah had dresses that looked like ones that Brenda had worn did not bother as much as the fact that they were black. In fact, every dress hanging in Hannah’s closet was black.

Brenda: What or who are you grieving for, Hannah?

The only non black dress that Hannah seemed to own was in a Whydhams box beneath her bed.  It was a beautiful sheath dress with blue flowers. Brenda knew that it had been from Sonny, because it had the scent of his cologne all over it. At first Brenda had held it close to her face an inhaled the smell, but soon unpleasant thoughts were entering her mind. In order for Sonny to leave his scent on the dress he had to be close to Hannah, probably with his arms around her, touching her and complimenting her. It made Brenda heart sick to think of Sonny with Hannah, touching and kissing Hannah, the way that he used to touch and kiss her. 

Brenda: Sonny, I would give anything to have you touch me the way that I know you are touching her.

Brenda can hardly stand the thoughts and feelings that are bombarding her, so she puts the dress back under the bed and opens the drawer. It is empty, except for two manila envelopes. One of the envelopes contains Hannah’s modeling  portfolio. All of the pictures look hauntingly familiar to Brenda. Hannah has complied a portfolio of shots that are exact duplicates of Brenda’s most famous add campaigns. Hannah has duplicated Brenda’s Deception Valentines Day shot, her Jax Cosmetics, "She’ll never forget you," campaign and others. Brenda replaces the pictures and opens the other envelope and is even more shocked by what she sees. It is filled with what looks like surveillance pictures of Sonny and Jason. More surprising are pictures of the man who had come to Laura’s house looking for Luke. Brenda wondered what Hannah was doing with pictures of Heer Krieg mixed in with pictures of Sonny and Jason. Before she could get a good look at any of the pictures, she hears a key in the door and sees the knob turn. She desperately looks for a place to hide, but finds her opportunities for escape without detection are limited. Hannah walks into her room and is surprised to see Brenda.

Hannah: What the hell are you doing in my room?
Brenda: You know, it used to be my room.
Hannah: That gives you an excuse for breaking and entering?
Brenda: How do you like the view?
Hannah: You have 5 second to start talking or I’m calling the police.
Brenda: What are you going to say, that you found me checking out the view from a place I used to live?
Hannah: Better yet, I’ll call Sonny.
Brenda: Go right ahead, I bet he would just love to see me again. He’ll probably rush right over.
Hannah: Get Out!
Brenda: I’m going, but I’ll leave you with some advice. If you’re scaming Sonny, he’ll see through you.
Hannah: Like he saw through you, Brenda?
Brenda: I don’t know what you mean, but if you screw him over, he will never forgive or trust you again.
Hannah: betraying him is your style. I guess that’s why I’m in his life and his bed and not you, Brenda.  
Brenda: Don’t say that I didn’t warn you, Hannah.     
Hannah: If I ever catch you anywhere near anything that belongs to me again, you’ll regret it.
Brenda: Are you talking about the junk in this room or Sonny, because he is my friend.
Hannah: I think that you know what I’m talking about.
Brenda: You know, you are not the first woman to try and put Sonny on a leash, it never works.
Hannah: I don’t know, he seems to be happy enough with my tactics.
Brenda: How long do you think you can use sex to keep him happy?
Hannah: It has yet to fail.
Brenda: Eventually he will want more than physical satisfaction, then he will see you for the slut you are.
Hannah: I have nothing on you Brenda, Sonny told me about your trysts with Miguel and others.

The two women were about to get on each others last nerve and would have probably resorted to physical violence if  Tammy hadn’t interrupted.

Tammy: Is everything okay here, ladies?
Brenda: Just fine.
Hannah: I was just leaving, Tammy while I’m out can you have my lock changed?
Tammy: As long as you are willing to pay for it, I’ll install a personal alarm system.
Hannah: That might not be such a bad idea, you never know who you need to keep out!
Brenda: I was just telling Hannah that I used to live in this room.
Tammy: Is that so?
Brenda: Yeah, but I like my new room much better. I think I’ll go there now and look at the river.
Hannah: Good idea, while you’re at it, why don’t you jump into that same river?
Brenda: I’m sure Sonny would jump in and save me from drowning.

Brenda gives Hannah a triumphant smile and leaves.

Hannah: I wish she had stayed dead!
Tammy: Do you really want your lock changed?
Hannah: No I guess not, whatever damage she has done, can’t be undone.
Tammy: Why don’t you come downstairs and have a cup of coffee and we’ll talk.
Hannah: I can’t.  I am supposed to meet Sonny here later and I have some things to do first .

She follows Tammy down stairs. Brenda waits a few minutes, until she is sure that they are down stairs, then she slowly opens her door. She intended to go to the common bathroom and splash cold water on her face. However, she stops when she sees a vaguely familiar man out side of Hannah’s room. Brenda quickly steps to an area in the hall where she can see him, but he can’t get a good look at her. He is a pleasant looking middle aged man, ordinary enough looking, but he strikes Brenda as almost too ordinary. Add to that the fact that she is sure that she knows him from someplace. She mentally goes through a list of possibilities, he isn’t one of Sonny’s men or an associate, or even one of Sonny’s enemies. She is certain of that fact. He also isn’t someone associated with the modeling industry. Brenda has the feeling that he is some one important, yet she can’t place where she knows him from. She is more than a little surprised to see the man use a key to get into Hannah’s room. As soon as he goes into the room and closes the door, Brenda makes a run for her own room, with a gleam in her eye.

Brenda: You have some secrets, Hannah Scott, and I’m going to enjoy finding them out.

Because Sonny had not spoken to Hannah since she had involuntarily changed rooms he walks right past her new room and knocks on the door of her old room. Brenda is so deep in thought about the possibility of discovering what Hannah is up to that she actually jumps when she hears the knock on the door. She opens the door and is pleasantly surprised to see Sonny gracing her threshold. If he is surprised to see her, instead of Hannah, he doesn’t show it. He could come up with a million excuses for wanting to see Brenda, anyone of which could adequately mask the reality that he just wanted to be close to the woman that he loved. One pressing issue comes to mind, so he goes with that excuse. He knows that she saw Ned early that day and he probably filled her in on at least some of the things that have gone on in the last year. If Ned told her half the damage that Jax has caused the Q’s, Brenda probably is in need of a friend. 

Sonny: How did it go at the gate house?
Brenda: Not good, Ned told me everything.

He can tell by the look on her face that she is upset, hurt maybe even a little bit angry. He wants to reach out to her in any way that he can. He would give his own life right to protect her from some of the pain, but he knows that he can’t. The fact is that she cared about Jax and he turned around and caused a lot of pain for  the people that she cares most about. He can look into her eyes and see that she is in pain as well.

Sonny: Can I come in, Brenda?
Brenda: I don’t think that is a very good idea.

Just thinking about her visit to the mansion this morning causes her heart to be filled with sadness and it would be so easy to let Sonny help her to forget that pain. She was feeling alone and vulnerable and she could very easily loose herself in Sonny.  Was that what he was willing to do though? She didn’t know what he wanted and for that reason, they were potentially entering dangerous territory with every move that they made. Sonny didn’t really know what he wanted either or where he wanted this to lead. He hadn’t even come here looking for Brenda, but somehow they always knew when the other person was in danger or in pain. They had this unexplainable connection and their instinct was always to help the other person. 

Sonny: I’m trying to be a friend to you, sweetheart.
Brenda: It is more than that and you know it, we have this mutual attraction and we have to resist it.  
Sonny: There is more to it than that, you helped me in the past. I want to do the same for you, now. 
Brenda: Do you remember the first time that we kissed?
Sonny: That would be the kiss that made your mouth burn, even a year later?

His voice is almost a whisper and the words roll off his tongue like silk. Brenda finds that he is affecting her in ways that she can’t control and she has to remind herself to breath. 

Brenda: *Smiling* Yeah, that’s the one. Do you remember what I told you that night.
Sonny: *Imitating an 18 year old girl* "Look, Sonny, just take me home now."   

Brenda laughs and Sonny flashes her a dimpled smile. It was nice to hear her laugh, only if it was just for a few seconds.

Brenda: I’ll bet you were used to hearing that one a lot?
Sonny: *Flashing her another grin* No, I was more used to hearing, "Sonny, take me here and now." 

He gives her an incredibly hot look, and then grins when he actually makes her blush. It happens so fast that he would have missed it if he had blinked. Then she becomes serious again. 

Brenda: That night after you had kissed me for the second time?
Sonny: I remember that kiss as well.
Brenda: After that I told you that, "it wasn’t just a kiss, you know? It was a prelude." 

Suddenly he realizes what she is saying.

Sonny: This isn’t a prelude, Brenda. Like it or not we share the same heart, when you hurt I hurt.

She can tell by the look in his eyes that he is telling the truth. She takes a quick look around the hall to make sure that none has seen them together. 

Brenda: Okay, you can come in for a few minutes.
Sonny: Thank you, I would have just camped outside your door until you let me in anyway.


  

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