Two days had passed, her calender and the fading love bites on her neck attested. Two days during which Alexis didn't even know day from night. She hadn't slept a wink, she hadn't had a social conversation with anyone. She had sleepwalked through these days working longer than she had to and avoiding everyone. There had been a careful message in her answering machine from Emily. No doubt the news that Alexis had broken off her engagement with Ned had hit the Quartermaine household. Alexis was sure there had been mostly relief on that front but she could understand what Emily's message was about. She wanted to make sure Alexis would help Zander anyway. Maybe the girl feared her attachment to Zander had contributed in dissolving Alexis' engagement to Ned. Alexis smiled bitterly. Emily couldn't be further from the truth.
Sonny had wanted to speak to Alexis but she had kept their contact to a minimum. She hadn't liked his expression, concern mixed with something else akin to suspicion. Her embarrassment over getting plastered in his house was partly the reason she had been avoiding him but not the main reason. She didn't want him to lose his faith in her the way Zander almost had. Sonny trusted her with his freedom and Zander with his life. She couldn't afford to have them know she was falling apart.
Where were her friends now? Had she ever had any in Port Charles? Jax had left without as much as glance back, without as much as a phone call. Sure, Stefan had initially lured him away but no one was forcing Jax to stay away anymore. Some friend he had turned out to be. She removed her reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She'd been reading the same line time and again. Nothing registered anymore. She was wiped out but she knew that sleep was a very unlikely possibility that night as it had been the two previous nights. A pill would certainly help but she hated the drowsiness sleeping pills left her with in the morning. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow. A glance at the clock made her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It was only eight thirty in the afternoon.
She heard the doorbell and looked at the door with a mixture of apprehension and relief. She couldn't avoid Sonny for much longer. He was the type to get what he wanted. She took a deep breath and went to let him in hoping she looked better than she felt.
"Hello neighbor," Sonny said lightly.
Alexis smiled at him thinly. "It's good to see you," she said "but if you're here on business I have to tell you that my brain is asleep."
Sonny laughed. "I could believe that about anyone but you, Ms Davis."
She cocked her head. "I suppose I'm flattered," she said slowly, narrowing her eyes at him.
Sonny laughed again. "I mean it!" he said raising his hands in protest. He was relieved to hear her join him in laughter.
"Are you going to leave me out here?" he mumbled.
She stepped back from the door and led him to her living room. "Since when do you need a special invitation," she said under her breath.
"I heard that."
"That's why I said it."
He sat in one of her armchairs and she sat on the couch, facing him. She was still in her work clothes up to the peach scarf tied on her neck. Her brown power suit was loose on her body.
"You've lost weight," he said simply.
Alexis stared up at him sharply. "That's a nice compliment," she said with a smile.
"It was not a compliment."
"What was it then?"
"Friendly concern." He let these words float between them and envelop her in their gentle force. She blinked hard against the tears that threatened her.
"You women think you can fool us with blusher and what have you but even though you've been avoiding me like the plague these past two days, don't think I haven't noticed how pale you are," he said gently.
"I wasn't avoiding you!"
"I saw you a total of five minutes and even that only because there was business that couldn't wait."
Alexis was about to protest again when a knock on the door interrupted her.
Sonny went to answer the door.
"Make yourself at home," muttered Alexis.
"What is it, Johnny?" snapped Sonny before the bodyguard had had a chance to speak.
"Carly asked me to tell you that she's set the table for dinner."
Sonny stared at him unbelievingly. "That's what you came here to tell me? That's why you interrupted my meeting with Alexis?" he said slowly.
Johnny shrugged. "Look, she's not so well in there," he said lamely.
"What are you Johnny? What do I pay you to be? Her bodyguard or her f…. chambermaid?"
Johnny felt his cheeks burn. "She's your wife and I owe her respect."
"Your job is to protect her, not run errands for her or help her shop or whatever else she gets you to do."
Alexis got up to interfere but decided against it. She didn't want Johnny to be humiliated even further. She sensed how he must hate the fact that Sonny was telling him off in front of her.
Johnny was struck dumb by Sonny's anger. He kept quiet knowing that he wouldn't be able to defend himself against Sonny's unfair attack without losing his calm and saying things he would later regret.
Sonny's tone softened. "I'll have a talk with Carly. Now just go back and tell her to go ahead and have dinner without me. And get… or rather, tell Leticia to bring here some food for Alexis and me."
This time Alexis did speak. "Sonny, there's no need…"
"Not another word from you," he cut her off raising his hand.
"Anything else?" said Johnny in a low voice that betrayed some of his anger.
"No, that will be all."
"Goodnight then. Goodnight Ms Davis," he added, avoiding eye contact with her. He was gone before she replied.
Alexis' eyes were burning a hole into Sonny's back.
"What makes you think you can come in my house and order me around?" she said in a deceivingly calm tone.
"I'm not ordering you around. I just want to make sure you'll get a decent meal," he said without turning.
"I'm not hungry."
Now he did turn and stared at her wide-eyed. Alexis tried to ignore the tenderness his eyes awoke in her. She could imagine Sonny as a kid, he must have been an irresistible little boy, one of those children to whom you can't deny anything because they'll give you that stare and melt away your defenses. Stefan had told her once the same thing about herself that he'd spoil rotten any nephew or niece he got from her if they had her eyes. She understood now what he meant.
"I bet you haven't eaten anything all day."
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she repeated. "Go have dinner with your family. We'll talk tomorrow."
"We'll talk now. And you're going to eat something. I'm going to stay here and make sure of that."
"Sonny…"
The doorbell interrupted her. Sonny took the tray from Leticia's hands and dismissed her.
Alexis felt the onset of a headache and rubbed on her forehead lightly. She followed Sonny to the kitchen where he'd started setting the table.
"Carly has a point," she said simply. "She's your wife. She wants to have dinner with Mikey and you. That's important in a family."
"Is it? Was it important in your family?" he said in a matter of fact tone.
She laughed humorlessly. "I wasn't allowed at the Cassadine family table except for very special occasions that came once or twice a year," she said dryly.
Sonny mentally kicked himself. He hadn't imagined… He didn't want to awake any of his memories from family dinners. Not because they were bad, quite the contrary. They were happy memories of Sunday dinners from before his father left. Dinners that Mike would prepare to let Sonny's mother get some rest. He'd even wash the dishes afterwards and Sonny would stand next to him and dry them.
Sonny swallowed hard. Oddly it was the happy memories that hurt the most. He finished setting the table and stared at Alexis. He pulled out a chair for her.
"I don't want a family dinner. I want a business dinner with my trusted lawyer friend," he said earnestly.
Alexis smiled in spite of herself. Sonny grinned back, relieved.
She picked at her food at first but her appetite came to her soon enough.
"So, what was it that you wanted to see me about? Besides feeding me, that is."
Sonny explained to her his plan to help Laura Spencer finance Deception under the condition that she worked with Carly.
A slight smile played on Alexis' lips. "Are you asking me for my advice or simply announcing me your decision? Because surely you must guess what my advice would be."
"Look, Laura really wants this…"
"And what are you? Santa Claus? There's a lot I don't understand here… I don't understand why Scott Baldwin would give his company to Laura. I wouldn't trust her with a lemonade stand. And I don't understand why you would throw your money in Deception. Supposing you do even though I doubt investors will be lined up to help Laura, I find it difficult to believe that she'd accept your money."
"She already has."
Alexis laughed out loud, nearly choking on her pasta. "Way to go Laura," she murmured.
"She knows the money I'm going to give her is clean.
"How could it not be so," she said raising an eyebrow.
"Seriously, I'm not investing in the company to launder money…"
Alexis put her hands against her ears. "La la la, I'm not hearing this…"
"You haven't made any nasty comments about Carly yet," he prodded.
"I thought I showed admirable restraint at the thought of Laura as a businesswoman," she said dryly.
Sonny chuckled. "You may have a Harvard degree, you can be as catty as the rest of them," he teased her.
Alexis frowned. "You'll see claws when you get back home the way you ignored Carly today," she said simply.
Sonny gave out a deep sigh. "Carly needs to have something to do besides making our marriage work."
"So, you're giving her a company to play with to get her out of your hair? Or," her tone softened, " or do you think she has a lot to offer and you want her to start believing in herself and get a degree of independence from you?"
"I guess it's a combination of both," Sonny said thoughtfully.
She smiled. "Then my respect for you just went up a notch."
"Your respect for me depends on how I treat Carly?"
"You find this strange?"
"No, it's just that… I thought you didn't like Carly."
"No, Carly doesn't like me. I don't always understand her, that insane jealousy of hers, but I don't have a problem with her."
They were both done eating but they still stayed at the table. They were silent for a while, staring at each other.
"So, you think investing in Deception is a good idea?"
"Of course not," she said simply. "It's insane. The thought of Laura and Carly as businesswomen is just plain ludicrous and you'd be more likely to make a profit if you gambled that money in Vegas. But at the same time both women might prove themselves to be naturals and make the whole thing work. Stranger things have happened. Anyway, I'll grit my teeth and draw up the paperwork for you. I just hope I'll be able to keep my contact with Laura at a minimum."
Sonny glared at her trying hard to keep from laughing. He coughed slightly. She had a completely neutral expression on her face which was somehow making him want to laugh even more than if she'd been laughing herself.
Alexis felt relieved for Sonny's visit. It had helped her take her mind away from Stefan, from what had happened with Luke and the way she'd hurt Ned. Maybe she'd even get more than four hours sleep that night. Maybe.
She toyed absent-mindedly with her scarf. Sonny noticed the small purple mark it hid. He remembered what Johnny had seen and the voices he himself had heard. He'd been meaning to talk to her about Luke's visit about the breach of security it had involved and that Spencer wasn't welcome there but now that he more or less saw that what he'd guessed happened was what did happen he couldn't go ahead and tell her anything. He tried to picture Alexis together with Luke and failed. It wasn't a visual he'd want to have anyway. He breathed deeply.
Alexis' hands went to her neck. She understood where his gaze had fallen. She bowed her head feeling blood rush to her cheeks.
Sonny could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He identified the feeling as fear wondering how the mere thought of hurting Alexis could have inspired it. "It's late, I'd better get going," he murmured.
Alexis walked him to her door. As he was leaving her Sonny leaned and quickly let his lips brush against her forehead. Alexis saw behind her half closed lids his penthouse door open slightly and a pair of brown eyes shoot daggers her way. She doubted about that good night's sleep now. Carly was nothing but vocal when she was angry.