Secrets, Lies, and Other Acts of Love - Part Two Confrontations
Emily headed to the docks in the opposite direction of the catacombs.
According to her watch, she had 15 minutes before she was to meet Lucky-
not that it mattered since she had no intention of making that meeting.
He was going to hate her for it- she knew that. Hell, she almost hated
herself . But what was one more lie on top of all the other lies she had told
over the last few years. She didn’t want to lie to him, not to Lucky who she
had once, way before everything had gone so wrong, considered her closest
friend. But there was no way she was going to confess everything to Lucky
Spencer and put at risk all she had spent seven years protecting. Some things
were more important than friendship, she told herself as she made her way
down a side alley, and some things are worth lying for.
Besides the less Lucky knew the better off, the safer, he was. The safer
they all were. She knew how much Lucky valued honesty, knew how much
discovering his parent’s lies all those years ago had cost him. She crossed the
alley and moved around to the back of the building in front of her.
Lucky Spencer might value honesty. Emily Quartermaine couldn’t
afford too.
She was still the world’s lousiest liar, Lucky thought as he trailed
Emily from a safe distance. She still couldn’t look him in the eye, her cheeks
still turned red. She may have grown up, she may have learned to lie to the rest
of the world, but she still couldn’t lie to him.
And not only was she lying, but she was running scared.
He had spent too many years running from town to town with his
parents as a kid to not recognize that haunted (or was it hunted) look in
someone else.
What ever it was she was hiding from, he would find out the truth
Lucky swore to himself. He didn’t even stop to think that for the first time
since Liz’s death he felt his blood race and his heart beat.
What in the world? He rounded the corner and watched as Emily made
her way across the street and snuck into the back of a very familiar building.
He waited for a minute to see if she would come out and when she didn’t,
walked around to the front of the building and entered.
The sign on the front of the building said simply “Luke’s Place”
Emily entered through the back door and made her way cautiously to
the office. The bar was closed, but she still didn’t want to take a chance on
running into anybody she knew. The last thing she needed would be to run into
Sonny or, God forbid, Jason. there was only one person she desperately needed
to see.
“Darling,” The laconic drawl broke the silence of the room.
Emily turned, whirled, and flung herself at Luke Spencer. As his arms
came around her, she closed her eyes and felt truly safe for the first time in
seven years. So why did she feel like crying?
“I got here as soon as I could,” Luke lifted her head up. “But I’m
expected back at the reception soon and we don’t have much time.”
Oh God, the reception. The funeral. She had almost forgotten about
it.She shouldn’t ask. She wouldn’t ask. It would hurt more to know. She..
“How were my parents?” At least she had managed to ask the question
without breaking down.
“Devastated. Most of the town is. Lila was loved by a lot of people.”
“I loved her too,” Emily forced herself to stay calm, but Luke could
hear the bitterness in her voice. “I should have been there. I should have had a
chance to say goodbye.”
“Darling, if there was any other way...”Luke began, stopped, and began
again. “You want to come home you let me know. I’d do everything I could to
stop you, but if its what you want between your brother, Sonny...”
“They couldn’t keep me safe,” Emily stopped him. After all, she had
made her choice years ago. The cost had not been too high seven years ago. It
wasn’t too high now. She just had to remember the stakes. “Not even Jason
must know where I am.” She paced back and forth. “I’m sorry, I’m behaving
just like I did back then. Ranting and raving and blaming everyone and
everything. I thought I’d grown up some in the last seven years” She closed
her eyes. “Were almost out of time. I have enough cash, it’s not like I spend
my afternoons shopping at Sax or anything like that. But I think its time I got
us out of the country. Seven years ago we decided it was safest to stay in the
US. I think things have changed.”
“Where did you have in mind?”
“I don’t care. Europe’s out. I can’t speak Spanish although I did live in
East LA for six months once.” She turned. “Canada I guess.”
Luke nodded. “ I’ll get the ID’s for you.” Emily handed him a slip of
paper with a PO Box in Dallas on it.
Emily turned to go.
“Luke?”
“Yes, darling?”
“The first time, did I ever thank you?”
“I think you were a little too scared to worry about your manners.”
“You saved my life. She looked at him, turned to go, and then turned
to run back into his arms. “I should have thanked you.”
Just then the lights in the office turned on and Emily and Luke both
looked up.
“Who held the party and forgot to invite me?” quipped Lucky as he
stood in the doorway. “Somebody want to tell me what is going on here?”
“Lucky.”
“Cowboy”
“Okay, Now that we all know each other,” Lucky walked forward his
mind going a mile a minute. Luke? Emily? Together? Why did that thought
hurt so much? “Would you mind telling me what exactly is going on?”
Emily stared at Lucky. She had always been good at reading his
expressions. She was also, admittedly, on the verge of either screaming or
collapsing hysterically. She did neither.
“Not what you think is going on,” she yelled at him and before she
could think about it, she reached out and slapped him.
Lucky was stunned, not so much from the force of the blow but from
the simple fact that Emily had slapped him.
Emily was appalled at herself.
Luke? Luke was amused. It felt like he had gone back through time to
the days when Emily and Lucky would hang out in the Spencer kitchen arguing
over nonsense. He would like to have spent the better part of the day
refereeing round two, but a glance at the clock on the wall told him that time
was running short.
But Lucky was still trying to put the puzzle together although he only
had a handful of pieces.
“All these years, with the Quartermaines searching all over for her,
you’ve known where Emily was? You’ve been helping her. You’ve been lying
to me, to Mom, to everyone...”Lucky’s voice trailed off.
“Not my secret to tell,” Luke began..
“No. Stop it Lucky.” Emily interrupted. She would not allow Luke to
be hurt because he had helped her when she had needed it the most. She
reached up and put her arm on Lucky’s shoulder and this time she forced him
to look at her. “Your father didn’t lie to you,” she said the words slowly for
emphasis. “He lied for me. And if you want to be truthful, he probably didn’t
even have to lie. Who would bother to ask Luke Spencer the whereabouts of
one Emily Quartermaine? Lucky you are not a teenager anymore and I won’t
have you adding this to that long list you have in your head of reasons not to
trust your father.” She looked at him for a moment. “To tell you the truth,
when I asked your father for help you didn’t even cross my mind.” Her eyes
become distant and she turns away from him and her voice becomes softer.
“You and Liz were so happy that summer. You had asked her to marry you. I
was so happy for both of you.Then..then..when things fell apart...”she closes
her eyes for a moment, her voice shaky, takes a deep breath, and starts again.
“I ..I was so scared. I wanted to go to my parents or to Jason but there were
too many dangers. The only person in the world I could turn to was your
father.” She turned back to face Lucky. “And you know what, he helped me.
No questions asked. And I know that what I asked him to do was a big deal.
He saved my life. He saved ...” Emily trails off and is silent as she turns back to
the window.
“Okay,” Lucky nodded. “You’re right. I’m not a little kid anymore and
I am grateful to my dad for helping you. But Em...(he walks up and puts his
hand on her shoulder.) We’ve been best friends for more than half of our lives.
Can’t you tell me what’s wrong? Let me help.”
Emily turns. He’s too close. She can’t remember the last time she was
this close to a person before she had arrived in Port Charles today. She looks
in his blue eyes. She trusts him. Always has. She could still remember agreeing
to run away with him without hesitation when they were just kids. She wants
to tell him. Almost needs to tell him.
But the fear. It’s this real almost tangible thing in her throat and it stops her
. Fear not just for herself. For everyone. For him.
And the lies. The lies are her burden. She can’t ask him to lie for her.
He would hate her for that. Hate himself after a while. Oh God, the temptation
was so strong.
She looks past his shoulders and meets Luke’s eyes. And suddenly she
is nineteen all over again. Crying hysterically. Scared to her soul. And she can
still hear Luke’s voice ringing in her ear. “The only way to guarantee your
safety is if noone ever knows.” She had trusted him then and he had gotten her
out of Port Charles.
Emily forces herself to look at Lucky. She wants to memorize his every
feature. She wants to reach up and touch him one last time. He is her best
friend. And she has this sinking feeling in the depth of her soul that she won’t
see him again. She takes a deep breath.
“I can’t tell you. I wish I could. But I can’t” And before he can make a
move to stop her she darts around him, out of the office, out the door, and into
the street.
He chases after her but she has gotten too good at running and loses
him.
Neither one of them notices the silent figure in the business suit
standing at the corner in front of Luke’s. The man watches for a moment, then
reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone. The number is on speed dial.
The voice on the other end answers.
“She’s in Port Charles. Must have come back for her grandmother’s
funeral just like you predicted. Do you want me to bring her in?”
“No. Don’t do anything to scare her off. I’ve been waiting seven years
for this moment. I won’t lose either Miss. Quartermaine or the prize. Just keep
her in your sight.”
The woman hung up the phone and smiled.
