Elizabeth Webber looked around the table at the group of people she was sitting with at Kelly's, wondering what she was doing there. She didn't really know any of them very well, certainly not the boy who sat in the chair next to hers, chattering incessantly. The girl who had invited her to go out for a movie and then a late dinner at Kelly's was someone she had known casually in high school. They had not really been close friends, but she seemed nice and sincere when she saw her in the university library earlier that day and invited her, so Elizabeth had reluctantly agreed to go with her.
She had not made many friends since arriving in Port Charles two years earlier, and now that she was in college she decided to try and become more sociable. They had gone to the movie, and then arrived at Kelly's where they joined several other people, none of whom she knew.
Now she was wishing she had never accepted the invitation, but she had ridden with the other girl and did not relish the idea of walking home alone in the dark. The boy beside her, whose name she did not even remember, was sitting a little too close. He was leaning into her as he spoke to her. She had long since shut out the sound of his voice but would look at him occasionally and smile, feigning interest, not really hearing or caring what he was saying. She didn't want to let on that she was preoccupied with something else...someone else.
Her gaze kept wandering to the bar, where Lucky Spencer sat alone. She had first noticed him nearly two years earlier, and had been attracted to him since. He seemed so kind, so much more mature than the other boys in school. She knew a little about him, knew that he came from an eccentric, yet prominent family in Port Charles, and that his father, Luke, owned the blues club in town and who may or may not have had ties to the mob through his good friend, Sonny Corinthos. She and Lucky knew each other, but only enough to say hello in the hall when they were still in school or if they saw each other in public. She had felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him sitting at the bar, and he had nodded his acknowledgment of her when she walked into Kelly's. Every time she would look in Lucky's direction, she would see him lower his eyes and look away, as if he had been looking at her, too. How she wished she were sitting with Lucky and not this group of people who meant nothing to her. She felt the boy next to her move his chair closer to hers and she glanced at Lucky, deciding to smile at him to see what he would do. He returned her smile but the look on his face told her that he understood she was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
She turned her attention back to the boy beside her, just briefly, and tried to concentrate on what he was saying, tried to think of a way to politely get up from the table and muster up the courage to speak to Lucky. She felt herself tense and her heart start to pound as he leaned into her and brushed his lips against her cheek and whispered in her ear, "…and if you're a good girl and do what I want, maybe I'll ask you out on a date."
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lucky was watching her intently, certain that whatever the boy was saying to her was making her uncomfortable. He was just about to go to her rescue when he saw her pull away and jump up from her chair as if she had been burned, knocking over her glass as she did so. He saw her look of total panic as she glared at the boy for a moment before she started to cry and then run from the restaurant. Lucky was at the table in an instant, as he heard one of the girls say, "Jesus, what's up with her? She is so weird, why did we ever invite her anyway?"
Lucky was seething with anger. He approached the table and addressed the boy, whose name he also did not know.
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing, I swear."
"Tell me!"
"Who are you, her brother?"
"Just tell me what the hell you said to her."
"Nothing, man. I just asked her out. I can't help it she's a nut case."
Lucky glared at him then pointed his finger at him. "You stay away from her, do you understand?"
"Yea, sure, whatever. Who needs a psycho like her anyway?"
Lucky left the restaurant to try and catch up with Elizabeth. He searched the docks for her for a few minutes, calling her name. He was about to give up when he heard someone crying softly. He found her sitting on a bench by the water. He approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her. "Elizabeth? Are you okay?"
"Go...go away. Please don't hurt me."
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. It's me, it's Lucky. I came to help you. What did that guy say to you to upset you so badly?"
He could see that she was shaking, could see the fear in her eyes.
"Nothing. He didn't say anything. Please just leave me alone."
He knelt down in front of her and spoke softly. "Well see, I can't really do that. cause you're really scared and upset right now and I think you need a friend. I know you don't really know me, but, well, I just wish you would trust me. Besides, it isn't safe for you to be out here alone in the dark. Let me walk you home. Can you at least let me do that much?"
She looked into his eyes, not used to seeing such kindness. She bit her lip and nodded.
"So you'll let me walk you home?"
She stood up finally and spoke in a barely audible voice. "Okay." They walked to her house in silence. When they reached the door, she unlocked it and turned to him. "Thank you, Lucky."
"Listen, I know something happened tonight to freak you out. I'm not going to ask you to tell me about it, but if you ever need someone to talk to, if you ever need anything, will you promise to call me?"
"I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me?" She was not used to people who were nice to her and asked nothing in return. There seemed always to be conditions attached to any kindness she was offered. Lucky was different than other people. She could sense that.
"Let's just say I can tell when someone needs a friend. And I think you need one right now."
She didn't answer, just nodded and turned to go inside. Lucky called out to her as she started to close the door.
"Elizabeth? Would it be okay if I called you tomorrow, just to make sure you're okay?"
She looked down at the ground. "I don't know if that would be a good idea."
"Okay, that's cool. I'll probably see you around, though. You go to PC University, right? You're an art major?"
She nodded, wondering how he knew so much about her. She did not respond.
His voice was soft and gentle when he said, "Take care of yourself, okay?"
She nodded and closed the door behind her, not wanting him to see the hot tears that stung her eyes. She ran upstairs to her room, her heart was pounding as she fell on her bed. Why did the demons from her past always have to come back and visit her and make her weak and vulnerable? She had wanted to get to know Lucky Spencer since the first day she had seen him. She had spent countless hours thinking of him, watching him, wondering what it would be like to know him. And now that he had approached her, she had sent him away.
Sometimes she wondered if she would ever be able to have a relationship with anyone. Surely no one would ever love her if they knew her secret. Even Lucky would not want to know her if he knew the secret shame she carried with her every day.
She removed her clothes and crawled into bed, curling herself into a ball as she sobbed into her pillow. What had happened earlier at Kelly's wasn't the boy's fault. He couldn't have known how many times in the past she had heard the very words he spoke. "...If you're a good girl and do what I want..." How many times had she heard those words in the dark stillness of the night while unspeakable things were done to her? Those words were conditions for everything she ever wanted as a child. And so she had tried to be a good girl, to do whatever he wanted because she thought that was how it was supposed to be. She knew now it was not how it was supposed to be, so why couldn't she rid herself of the demons? Why did she still feel so much shame, and why, oh, why did she send Lucky Spencer away when he was the one person in Port Charles she wanted to get to know?