Life After Dark: Book Two of the Dark Series

Chapter 4

"Which one?" Robin asked, holding up two dresses.

Brenda, pushing her hair back behind her ears, moved her eyes between the two choices. One dress was black, short and had a simple cut, revealing nothing except for arms and legs. The other was red, backless and left nothing to the imagination.

"Well, it depends on what look you're going for." Brenda said, moving her eyes away from the dresses to look at Robin.

"What do you mean?" Brenda asked, frowning. She stood before the mirror and held each dress up in front of her, trying various poses as she switched dresses.

Brenda rose from her seated position on Robin's bed and went to her "little" sister. She took the black dress from Robin and said, "I mean, do you want to be sophisticated?" She handed the dress back to Robin and took the red one and said, "Or sexy?"

Robin's eyes widened and a small smile came to her lips.

"Well?" Brenda asked, her teasing smile across her lips.

"Jason's coming home today. What do you think?" Robin laughed, tossing the black dress onto the chair and taking the red dress from Brenda.

Brenda laughed and almost immediately sobered. She took a hard look at Robin and then, moved to sit on the bed again. Crossing her legs underneath her, she said, "He's been gone for well over a month, hasn't he?"

Robin tensed and a tight smile hardened her face. Placing the dress in a garment bag, she said, "Brenda, don't start."

"Do you even know where he was?" Brenda asked.

"You know, I don't," Robin said zipping up the bag. She went back to her closet and chose a pair of red high-heeled sandals. She moved to place them in a side compartment of her garment bag.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Brenda asked, watching Robin as she continued to gather her things.

"Brenda..." Robin said, an edge in her voice.

"What, Robin? Jason left and didn't even tell you he was leaving. He just disappeared. Now, he's coming back, and just like that," Brenda paused to snap her fingers and continued, "you're running back to him."

"I'm not running back to him. He's coming home. I missed him," Robin said, avoiding Brenda's eyes. She didn't want to see what she always saw there whenever they had this discussion. Pity.

"Yeah, but did he miss you?" Brenda asked quietly.

Robin's eyes flew to Brenda's at the sound of her quietly asked question. "Of course, he did. How could you even ask that?"

"I'm asking because I'm your friend," Brenda said, rising from the bed to embrace Robin in a loose hug. "Remember how upset you were when you came here after the last time you saw Jason...the night he left without a word. Remember how distant you said he was?"

Robin shrugged herself away from Brenda's embrace and went to her dresser. She began to place her make-up in the small overnight case. Her back was rigid as she carefully and methodically attended to her task.

Brenda sighed. She didn't mean to hurt Robin or cause her to shut her out. She only wanted her to face the obvious and stop holding onto pipe dreams. Something was happening between her and Jason. The sooner Robin realized it, the better it would be for her in the long run.

Brenda watched Robin for a few more seconds and moved to the doorway. As she reached the door, she turned back to Robin and said, "I'm sorry, Robin. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

Robin relaxed at the softly spoken words. She locked eyes with Brenda in the mirror and said, "You don't have anything to be sorry about. Jason and I are just fine. We spoke on the phone a few times. He was away for business and now he's coming home. We're gonna be okay. You'll see."

Brenda smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew that there were times when the only person Robin would or could listen to was Robin. She would build impenetrable walls around herself and nothing had the ability to get through. Not even reality.

"So, Jax and I can still expect to see you and Jason tonight, right? We're gonna need to see a friendly face tonight at the grand opening. Besides, it wouldn't be the same without my best girl," Brenda said quietly, ending with a light laugh.

Robin laughed, too, and said, "Of course, we'll be there. You can count on it."

Brenda smiled one last time and left the room. As Brenda closed the door, Robin released the breath she had been holding and slowly sank onto her bed.

She thought about Brenda's comments about her relationship with Jason. Sure, they had a few problems, but what couple didn't, Robin rationalized. The time they had spent away from each other would only make them stronger when they reunited. She and Jason would be just fine, she decided.

Having convinced herself that all would be well between her and Jason, Robin rose from the bed and grabbed her things. At glance at her watch told her that she only had a few hours before Jason would be home. She needed to go to the penthouse and make sure that everything was in order for his and Michael's arrival.

~*~

"Mr. Morgan?"

Jason moved his gaze from the passing clouds to face the person at his side. The co-pilot stood beside Jason's seat with an expectant look on his face. Jason frowned at his look and said, "Yes? Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. There will be a slight delay before we touch down in Port Charles."

"How slight?"

"Right now, we're not sure. There's a storm off the coast of the Carolinas. We may be able to fly over it, but we're not sure. We apologize for the inconvenience. We'll be sure to keep you posted," the co-pilot said, preparing to return to the cockpit.

"You do that," Jason said.

Jason watched as the co-pilot left him and Michael alone. When Michael began to fuss, Jason placed the pacifier that had fallen out of his mouth in to Michael's chubby little hand. He lightly caressed the baby's cheek and said, "In a little while, Michael. In a little while, our lives will change. For the better."