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Date Posted: 12:20:07 07/05/01 Thu
Author: Andrea
Subject: Dance With Life -- chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 –

An intense silence invaded the kitchen as all eyes turned to Carly, who stood mightily in the doorway. Anna was still sitting at the table with Robin standing behind her, while Jason and Sonny stood near the counter. Carly’s glare went from Jason, to Robin, not without catching a glimpse of Anna, and finally landed on a stone-faced Sonny.

“Well, isn’t this all cozy and lovely… You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say this almost feels like the old days.” Carly laughed, almost forcefully. “Saint Robin with her mobster men eating in the palm of her hand – not to mention evil Carly and her wicked ways…” she literally spit out with sarcasm.

“Don’t do this now.” Jason spoke in a dryness that almost surprised Sonny and Robin.

“What?” Carly exclaimed. “What, Jason?? You didn’t expect me to jump for joy at finding you two here -- in what used to be my house too by the way -- with her, did you?” she asked with annoyance.

“Key word.” Sonny replied, going straight to the point. “It’s not you’re house anymore. It hasn’t been since we divorced. So, what are you doing here?”

She could still hear the sound of betrayal in his voice and see the betrayed look on his face.

“The better question would be what are you doing here?” Carly retorted quickly.

“Helping out a friend.” Sonny replied, pointedly as he looked away from Carly.

“A friend?” Carly almost hurled out. “A friend?!?” she repeated, now addressing Jason and looking at him straight in the eyes. “What a great friend she was when she betrayed you!” she exclaimed; now making Anna suddenly irritated.

“I said, don’t do this now.” Jason repeated, in a low voice, trying to get her to stop.

“Why? Why not now, Jason?” She answered, insisting. “I walk in here and I find the two of you with her… after what she did the last time she was here…”

“Stop it.” Sonny almost ordered, turning back to face her with a now dark look in his eyes.

Carly shook her head in disbelief and laughed to herself as she turned around to face Robin.

“What are you doing here?” Robin asked, as simply as possible.

“Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing.” Carly retorted.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” Robin answered under Anna’s intense and confused stare.

“Of course you don’t.” Carly acknowledged in a high and mighty tone. “So what did you do this time to get them to trust you again? Did you cry on their shoulder? No, wait, I’ve got it. You brought up the whole HIV and Stone-guilt card…” Carly started as Robin stood, unfazed in front of her.

Unfortunately, Anna’s patience was wearing thin and she wasn’t as relaxed as Robin seemed to be. Anna swallowed back her pain and got up, facing Carly.

“Alright, that’s it!” Anna spoke, immediately after the mention of Robin’s HIV status.

“And who would you be?” Carly asked.

“Who the hell are you?” Anna threw back into Carly’s face as she held her wound with her hand, and walked closer to her.

“Carly, that’s Anna, Robin’s mother.” Jason informed her in an aggravated tone.

“Carly.” Anna said to herself out loud as she finally learned whom she was speaking to.

“That’s right.” Carly said.

Anna nodded without looking at Carly’s face and then turned back to her.

“Well Carly… Don’t speak to my daughter that way again.” Anna warned her with an angry stare.

“Your daughter is not five years old anymore, and you have NO idea what she did to me!” Carly retorted with anger.

“Well, you must have deserved it!” Anna snapped at Carly.

“You have no idea who I am…” Carly said through her teeth.

“And after witnessing this, I can assure you I have no desire to.” Anna said in the same tone of voice.

“I’m not afraid of you.” Carly muttered under her breath.

“Well, you should be, because when it comes to my daughter, nobody – and I mean nobody – talks that way.” Anna warned her with the most defying look in her eyes. “Nobody hurts her…certainly not you – whoever you are.”

“Hurt her?”

“Were you followed?” Anna asked as directly as it was humanly possible.

Carly looked confused.

“What?” she said, a bit taken aback.

“Were you followed?” Sonny repeated, louder and a bit more seriously.

“What the hell is going on here?” Carly exclaimed as she looked at all of them one by one.

“Oh for God’s sakes…” Anna said, looking away and shaking her head.

“Can we stop this…” Robin said, hanging her head down, but nobody seemed to hear her.

“Hey!” Carly threw at Anna after noticing the patronizing look on the woman’s face.

“I swear to God if my daughter is in danger because of you…” Anna said, almost to herself.

The animosity between Carly and Anna had grown very quickly – too quickly maybe. They didn’t even hear Robin’s voice as they argued. Carly took a step forward, about to fire back, but she was stopped by a loud voice.

“Enough!” Robin nearly shouted from nearby as everyone finally heard her.

All eyes turned to Robin who brought both of her hands to her head and sighed.

“That’s enough, just stop it! All of you!” she said, angrily.

Jason’s eyes were riveted on Robin. He recognized that voice. He recognized those eyes. He was reminded of how she got when she simply could not take any more. He was reminded of her outburst, of her anger. But this time was different. She wasn’t angry. She just seemed tired of it all.

Robin took a deep breath and shook her head.

Everyone stood there in silence and Robin wasn’t paying attention enough to gloat in the one and only moment she’d ever seen Carly silenced so easily.

“What do you want, Carly?” Robin asked, point blank. Carly didn’t answer so Robin insisted with her eyes. “What? You didn’t come here to pick a fight. You didn’t come to see me. So why don’t you just say what you came here for and make this easier for all of us…” Robin suggested, calmly.

“I came to find Sonny.” Carly replied without much expression.

“Good.” Robin said as Sonny and Jason exchanged a rather worried and confused look. “Then I don’t have to be here. You do whatever you came here to do, but I don’t need this right now.” She simply said as she gave one last look at Jason, before exiting the room.

Anna glared at Carly and proceeded in following her daughter out of the kitchen.

Jason, Sonny and Carly stayed silent for a while. Jason’s eyes were riveted on the door, and Carly noticed.

“She got you again, didn’t she?” Carly said quietly, simply acknowledging the look that she saw in Jason’s eyes.

Jason didn’t reply anything but just kept looking at the door where Robin had disappeared. He ached to go after her. It had somehow bothered him how relaxed and calm she’d been about Carly being here. But then again, he knew how good an actress she was when it came to acting strong and brave.

“You can’t be here, Carly.” Jason finally spoke in an absent voice.

“Why is that? What is going on?” Carly insisted.

“It has nothing to do with you, so just leave.” Sonny said, avoiding looking at her.

“Sonny, look at me.” Carly asked of him but he didn’t. “Are you in some kind of danger?” she inquired, worriedly.

“I’m in danger every single day of my life, but this isn’t any of your business anymore.” Sonny told her, trying to sound emotionless, but uselessly.

“It’s my business now that I’m here.” She argued.

“Then, go!” Sonny told her pointedly.

“I’m not leaving.” Carly refused.

“Yes you are.” Jason finally spoke as he turned to her with the most serious look in his eyes she had ever seen. “You can’t be here.” He added in a low voice.

--

Anna found Robin standing on the terrace, all by herself, and she hesitated to make her presence known. Robin seemed lost in her own thoughts as she sat in the stairs leading down the beach. After a moment of reflection, Anna walked slowly towards her daughter and sat down beside her on the steps.

Robin glanced at her mother and tried to smile before letting her eyes return to the distance before her.

“Are you alright?” Anna finally asked in a soothing voice as she examined her daughter’s thoughtful face.

“Yeah…of course.” Robin answered, reassuringly. “Why?”

“I don’t know…” Anna replied, a bit awkwardly as she tried to make sense of everything in her head. “With that scene in the kitchen when Carly walked in, I just…” she started but Robin interrupted her.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Robin reassuringly spoke, sounding quite convincing, actually.

“So…” Anna began as Robin stared at the ocean. “Carly isn’t really an old friend, is she?”

Robin let out a soft laugh as she shook her head, thinking to herself.

“That obvious huh?” she said, turning to face her mother.

“It’s okay, if you don’t want to tell me.” Anna replied, as she pushed a strand of Robin’s hair away from her face.

“It’s not that.” Robin explained. “It’s just very complicated.” She sighed.

“I can see that.” Anna acknowledged.

There was a rather short silence between the two as they simply sat there, keeping to themselves.

“So, who is Carly?” Anna questioned out of curiosity. “I mean, why is she here?”

Robin thought for a moment and pondered her words.

“I’m not sure.” Robin replied in all honesty as Anna frowned, a bit confused. “I’m not even sure if Carly knows it herself.” She began to explain her trail of thought. “She is so used to rely on Jason and Sonny to define herself, that it’s hard to know which is the real Carly.”

“Which one do you think is the real one?” Anna asked her daughter.

“I don’t know.” Robin said, shaking her head softly.

“Yeah… There seems to be a lot of tension between you two.” Anna stated, quietly. “Why does she hate you so much?”

Robin sighed and looked away.

“Hate is a strong word.” Robin whispered. “I don’t think Carly hates me…at least not literally.” She added, thoughtfully. “She doesn’t like me, and quite honestly, I never really liked her either…or I should say I never really liked the means by which she does she things she does. But…” Robin said and then stopped herself.

Anna examined her daughter’s face for a few seconds before speaking.

“But, what?” Anna said, lovingly.

“It’s funny to think about it.” Robin said, looking at her mother. “Because, in other circumstances…I don’t think Carly and I would have had a problem with one another.” Robin stated in all simplicity.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Jason and Sonny.” Robin whispered in remembrance. “You see, Carly used to be in love with Jason…or at least she said she was. And then she married Sonny…”

“Oh…” Anna said, finally thinking that she understood things.

“But it’s not just that…It’s…” Robin started but couldn’t really get what she wanted to say out properly. She paused for a little while, trying to find the right words. She then turned to face her mother and spoke softly. “I don’t think hate has never been a factor between me and Carly…at least not as much as jealousy.” She said, almost in a whisper.

“Jealousy…?” Anna repeated, softly.

“And not just from her, but from me too.” Robin said, now confusing her mother more.

“Why would you be jealous of her?” Anna asked, surprised.

Robin paused, not sure as to whether or not she wanted to be telling these things to her mother. But she felt like she needed to.

“Because of the things that she could give Jason that I couldn’t.” she stated, as simply as possible. “At least the things I couldn’t give for a long time.” She repeated in an emotional whisper.

--

“Look, this isn’t a game Carly.” Sonny stated. “Some lives are at stakes here. You need to go.” He almost literally ordered.

“Robin comes calling for help and you two run to her like little puppies, just like you always have, even after everything that’s happened.” Carly said shaking her head.

“Carly…” Sonny began.

“No, don’t Carly me!” she exclaimed.

“Robin didn’t come calling for help. She doesn’t do that. That’s not her.” Jason stated in an even voice.

“As opposed to me?” Carly snapped.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Jason told her calmly. “Now I need to know if anyone knows you are here.” He added, pointedly.

“No…” Carly said, calming down.

“Were you followed? Did you notice anything strange on your way here?” Sonny asked as Jason took out his cell phone.

“I don’t know…” Carly replied with a shrug. “What is going on?” she asked but neither Jason nor Sonny answered her.

Jason dialled Johnny’s number and asked him to survey the area to make sure that the house was safe. Carly was about to ask something else when Sonny stopped her.

“If anything happens to Robin...” Sonny said, almost to himself as he watched Jason on the phone.

--

Later….in the evening…

For security measure, Sonny and Jason had booked a hotel room in town for Carly to spend the night there. She was to leave first thing in the morning.

Jason, wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, walked down the beach all by himself. He hadn’t seen Robin all day, which he found quite understandable under the circumstances. Anna had told him he might find her here but so far there was no sign of Robin at all. He kept walking for a while, until he saw a figure standing in front of the water.

As he walked closer, he distinguished features he would have recognized anywhere.

Robin was standing, alone, in the sand, wrapped up in a blanket as her wet hair brushed the side of her face. Her eyes were fixed on the full moon above her head and she took a deep breath. She loved the silence there. It was almost like the bridge, except that it could never truly feel like it. There was only one bridge like hers. There would never be another place like it, she knew that. But she found the same peacefulness here, in that spot, on the beach.

Jason slowly walked towards her, breathing in her beauty under the stars. Robin didn’t even have to turn around when she heard the footsteps approaching. She knew it was him.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked, softly.

“I didn’t.” he answered. “But I was hoping to find you here.”

“Looks like you did.” She smiled to him.

Jason’s heart nearly melted at the sight of her smile. She always had this sparkle in her eyes when she smiled – this sparkle of life. He wasn’t sure if he was more amazed at the simple fact that she loved smiling or at the fact that she loved life, period.

“Carly’s gone.” He told her after a short pause.

Robin sighed inwardly and lowered her eyes.

“I don’t care about Carly, Jason.” She replied. “I just can’t afford to lose my mother again. That’s all. Whatever is going on between you and Sonny and Carly…it’s your business.”

“Nothing is going on between the three of us.” He told her, honestly.

“I just won’t be a part of it this time around. That’s all. I just need you to know that.” She said, softly.

Jason looked at her as she let the blanket drop to the ground. She was wearing a pair of short over her bathing suit. Her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, which took Jason’s breath away.

“Look, Jason,” Robin started, running her hands through her hair. “If you came here to talk about Carly, I’m not interested right now.” She said, shaking her head.

“I didn’t.” he reassured her.

“Good, because I didn’t come here to worry about Carly…or to talk about Carly…or even to think about Carly.” She said before taking a deep breath. “And the last thing I want is to argue about her.”

Jason moved closer to her and had to mentally restrain himself from touching her beautiful face. He took a few steps closer, up until the point where he was standing so close he could feel her warmth emanating from her.

“I didn’t come here to talk about Carly either.” Jason whispered as their eyes locked for an instant.

“Then, why did you come here?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“I’m not sure.” He breathed out as they stood close to one another. “I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

His eyes got lost into hers as they stood inches away from one another.

“You’re always worried about me…” she smiled to him. “Even when you don’t have to…”

“I can’t help it.” He replied in a soft tone.

Robin’s smile slowly disappeared as her heart began pounding faster in her chest. Their eyes locked and for a moment, any reasonable thoughts that popped up in their minds were quickly disintegrated.

Robin gave up on any walls or restraint she had swore she’d keep up and lifted herself up, enough so that her lips brushed against Jason’s. Jason’s heart nearly stopped beating as their lips slowly danced together. After a few second, they both stood still and then Robin slightly pulled away – enough so that she could look into his eyes. The intensity in their stare took both of them by surprise, and the next thing they knew, Jason lowered his head down and kissed her again, this time with all the passion in his heart.

Jason wrapped his hands around her waist as she brought her arms around his neck, returning his burning kiss. Jason could feel her heart beating against his chest and he pulled her even closer to him, wanting to melt into her. She could feel his tongue dancing with hers, slowly, as she ran her fingers through his short hair.

The kiss left them both breathless, and they finally pulled away slightly. Jason struggled to catch his breath for a moment as he stared into Robin’s deep, intense eyes.

“I thought…that you thought this wouldn’t fix anything…” Jason whispered, breathlessly as his face stood this close to Robin’s.

“I still do…” she whispered as she closed her eyes for a moment. “But I’m tired of thinking…” she added, opening her eyes again.

They stared at each other for a second before they fell into another intense silence. Robin waited for a sign of resistance on Jason’s part but found none. He reached up to touch her face with his right hand just as Robin kissed him once again.

This time around, the kiss was slow and passionate, leaving them both craving for more. The touch of his hands around her waist sent shivers down her spine. All she could think about was how long it had been since she had felt his hands on her skin like that. The taste of his lips, the touch of his hands, the beating of his heart. It all came back to her in one flood of memories. As the kiss deepened, Jason melted, feeling her fingers stroking the back of his neck.

“Wait…” Robin then spoke, out of breath, as she pulled away reluctantly. “Wait…we need to…” she started and then stumbled. “I can’t not think.” She whispered.

“Robin…” Jason whispered back as his voice filled with love. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to…”

“I do.” Robin insisted. “I want to….” She whispered as she leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “I just… Jason…”

She didn’t have to say it, Jason knew what was worrying her.

“We don’t have to go all the way.” He said, reassuring her. Robin opened her eyes as he kept whispering to her. “I just want to hold you…feel you…” he whispered, softly as she cupped his face with both of her hands.

Robin stopped him by kissing him slowly. There was no need to talk any more. The silent conversation the occurred between kisses was enough to reassure both of them of what they were about to do. Jason didn’t hesitate to kiss her back with all his heart and soul.

Robin’s hands slowly moved down his back until she reached the edge of his t-shirt. She hesitated for about two seconds before lifting it up and pulling it over Jason’s head. Unable to keep his lips away from hers more than two seconds at a time, he leaned in to kiss her repeatedly as her hands travelled up his bare back. She could feel his muscle tense beneath her touch.

Simultaneously, they both kneeled down in the sand. Their tongues waltzed with one another in an endless dance as he lowered her down in the sand. His lips then travelled all the way down her collarbone before returning to her mouth. She ran her hands down his chest, feeling each and every muscle as if for the first time.

There under the stars and moonlight, old feelings were brought up to the surface in ways that only Robin and Jason could comprehend. In the heat of the night, away from all the trouble and confusion surrounding them, they made love – their way – feeling one another; loving one another. In ways even words could not describe.


-----------

Let me know what you thought of this part!

Andrea

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