~*~Chapter 59~*~
Kimber walks up behind Lucky and taps him on the shoulder. “I’m off, let’s get you home.”
He puts down his empty glass and turns to face her. “Okay, let’s go.”
They make their way out of the bar and get in to Kimber’s car. She pulls away from the building and heads to Lucky’s house. He’s too drunk to pay any attention to where she’s going, and doesn’t realize it until she’s pulling into his driveway. She gets out and goes around to his door to help him out. Lucky leans on her, and stumbles his way to the front door.
“Hey, why are we here?” he asks, suddenly noticing they’re at his and Elizabeth’s house, not at Sonny’s.
“This is your house, where else would we be?” she asks.
“Um, oh yeah,” he says, remembering that he didn’t want her to know where he was really living. He figures that for one night, he can stay in the house, after all, he’s too drunk to really care.
“Where are your keys?” Kimber asks once they get to the front door.
Lucky fishes around in his pocket and pulls them out, then holds them up in front of him, trying to find the right key.
“Here, let me,” she says, taking them out of his hand. “Is it this one?” she asks, holding up the key. He nods, wondering how he got himself in this mess. Kimber quickly unlocks the door and ushers him inside.
“Thanks, Kimber,” he mumbles, dropping his keys on the table and stumbling into the kitchen. It had been months since he was last in this house, but the moment he walked in the door he was bombarded with memories of Elizabeth. He grabs the counter for support as his head suddenly begins to swim.
“Lucky? Are you all right?” Kimber asks, rushing to his side. “Hey, you don’t look so good. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Too overcome by the combination of alcohol and sadness, he merely nods, allowing her to lead him down the hall to the bedroom he once shared with Elizabeth. As soon as they’re inside, he is barraged by memories, about the first night they spent there, making love on a couple of sleeping bags before their second wedding, sleeping in on Sunday mornings, and most of all, the last morning they spent together, when he brought her breakfast in bed. He chuckles softly, remembering how hungover she was.
“What’s so funny?” Kimber asks, looking at him strangely. Lucky looks up in surprise, having forgotten for a moment that she was there.
“Oh, nothing. Um, I think I can take it from here.”
“All right,” she says, letting go of him. He starts to walk to the bed, but immediately loses his balance, falling back into her arms. “Okay, slugger, I think you need a little more help than you thought.”
Lucky sighs in resignation as she helps him over to his bed, then sits down heavily. “Oh man, why did I drink that much?” he asks, holding his head.
Kimber chuckles and kneels in front of him. “Maybe this will teach you when to say when.”
He looks up into her eyes and smiles. “Nah, I’m a Spencer, I’ll never learn that.”
She laughs, still gazing into his eyes. “Well, then you’ll have to do all your drinking at Jake’s, so I can stop you when you’ve had too much.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” he mumbles, moving his head closer to hers, feeling himself being drawn in by her intense stare. Deep down, he knows what he’s about to do is wrong, but he’s too drunk to fight it.
~*~
Laura glances at her watch and sighs. “He’s been gone for hours, why hasn’t he come back?”
“Maybe he went home,” Luke says, sitting down next to her. They were waiting for Nikolas to finish visiting with Emily before going home for the day. Both her and Baby Elizabeth were doing fine, and would be released sometime the next day.
“I think I’ll call Sonny to make sure,” she says, walking over to the nurses station. She picks up the courtesy phone and quickly dials.
“Hello?’
“Sonny, hi, it’s Laura.”
“Hey, I hear you’re a grandmother now. How’s the baby?”
“She’s good. They’re probably going to let Emily take her home tomorrow. Listen, I was wondering if Lucky came home yet?”
“No, I thought he was still with you guys at GH. Why, did he go somewhere?”
“Well, he left a few hours ago to take a walk, and we haven’t seen him since. I was hoping he had gone back there.”
“No, but I’ll let you know as soon as he does. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably just having a drink somewhere.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Sonny.” She hangs up and turns to Luke. “He’s not there. Where could he be?”
“Jake’s, maybe?” Luke asks, starting to become a little worried.
Laura thinks for a moment, then picks up the phone again.
“Hello?”
“Hi V, it’s Laura. Are you busy right now?”
“No, why, is something wrong?”
“Well, probably not, but I need a favor. We’re at the hospital with Emily. She had her baby today, and Lucky walked out. We don’t know where he is, and we’re worried that he might be at Jake’s drinking. Could you go over there and check for us?”
“Sure, of course. Was it a boy or girl?”
“Girl. She’s beautiful, and they named her Elizabeth, which is why I’m kind of worried abbot Lucky. He gave them his blessing, but I think it’s hitting him kind of hard, you know?”
“Of course. I’ll find him for you, I promise. He’s not at home, is he?”
“No, I called Sonny first. He hasn’t been there all day.”
“All right, I’ll go to Jake’s. I’ll let you know when I find something.”
“Thanks, V. Bye.” Laura hangs up and sighs. “V’s going to find him. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Don’t worry, babe, he can take care of himself.”
“I know, I know.”
~*~Chapter 60~*~
Standing in the spotlight
On such a perfect night
Knowing that you're out there listening
I remember one time
When I was so afraid
Didn't think I had the courage
To stand up on this stage
Then you reached into my heart
And you found the melody
And if there ever was somebody
Who made me believe in me
It was you
It was your song
That made me sing
It was your voice
That gave me wings
It was your life that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belonged
It was your song
Every night I pray
Before the music starts to play
I will do my best
I won't let you down
And for all the times I stood here
This feeling feels brand new
Any time I doubt myself
I think of you
It was your song
That made me sing
It was your voice
That gave me wings
It was your life that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belonged
It was your song
It was your song
That made me sing
It was your voice
That gave me wings
It was your life that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belonged
It was your song
Dreams can come true
God's great angels like you
It was your song
That made me sing
It was your voice
That gave me wings
It was your life that shined
Guiding my heart to find
This place where I belonged
It was your song
As the last song ends, Liz wipes the tears from her cheeks and shuts off the CD player. Lucky’s alive. All that stuff about the shooting, the newspaper clippings, the death reports, everything Sergei showed her was a fake. The only question was, did he know that? Was he just an unwitting pawn in Helena’s twisted mind game, or was he part of it?
She stands up and begins to pace. How is she supposed to go down there now, and eat dinner with both of them, knowing the they've been lying to her all this time?
“Calm down, Elizabeth,” she mutters to herself. “It’s just dinner. Talk about the baby, or just don’t talk at all. They’re not going to notice anything. Sergei obviously had no idea that CD was really Lucky’s, and Helena doesn’t know about it at all. Everything is fine, there’s nothing to panic about.”
She gathers up the CDs and radio from the bed, putting them back in their storage place under her desk, then goes into the bathroom to freshen up. Her cheeks are red and tear-stained, so she quickly washes her face, trying to scrub off the marks, then brushes out her hair and changes clothes. Once she’s dressed, she heads downstairs, praying she can pull this of.
Liz walks into the dining room to find that Helena and Sergei are already seated.
“Well, darling, we were starting to wonder if you were ever going to join us,” Helena says, a phony smile plastered to her face.
“Sorry, I fell asleep,” Liz mumbles, taking her seat. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”
“Ah, well, no matter. You’re here now, so let’s eat.”
Sergei looks up at her with some concern. Her eyes are red, and she looks distracted. “Elisha, how are the new CDs?”
She looks up, surprised by the question. “Oh, um, good. I mean, the ones I listened to so far are. Thank you.”
He smiles proudly and begins to eat. Liz sighs with relief that the questions were over, and tries to swallow some of her dinner. She’s too nervous, thinking about Lucky, about how she has to find a way to contact him. Helena notices her lack of appetite.
“Are you sick Elisha? You’re not eating.”
“Um, I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not very hungry tonight. Will you excuse me? I’m really tired, maybe if I just go upstairs and lay down or a while, I’ll feel better.”
Helena studies her for a moment, trying to figure out what’s really going on. She really does look tired, so she figures that’s all it is. Fine, go ahead. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
“Thank you. Good night.” She stands up and hurries upstairs. Once she’s in her room, she takes a quick shower, then puts on Lucky’s CD and lays down on the bed, leafing through the booklet again.
Suddenly, something towards the end catches her eye, and she sits up, grinning. “That’s it!”
[Song credit: “It’s Your Song” written by: Benita Hill and Pam Wolfe, from Garth Brooks “Double Live”]
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