4
Lucky awoke the next morning with a
stretch and a yawn, not remembering his fit of rage the night
before. He frowned as he looked at his surroundings. This
wasn’t his room above Jakes. Where was he?
"Hey Cowboy. Finally awake huh?" Luke greeted, puffing
on a freshly lit cigar.
Lucky frowned, suddenly knowing where he was. But why was he in his father’s apartment? Where were the others and why did his father let him sleep all night in his bed and look so worried now?
"Dad? What’s going on? Why am I here and how did I get in here? Where are Nikolas and the girls?"
Luke frowned, his blue eyes darkening even more in concern. "You don’t remember anything from last night do you Cowboy?"
Lucky frowned. No he didn’t and what he did remember, he wasn’t too happy with. "That Connor was trying to make Portia kiss him…and that’s all. I don’t remember what happened after that…"
"You beated the guy to a bloody pulp. It took both Nikolas and myself to pull you off of him. You then fell asleep. The Prince took the girls home and I brought you up here. Now does it seem any clearer to you?" Luke asked, looking at his son closely.
Lucky closed his eyes against the gaping hole in his memory, trying to invision what his father had just told him. But nothing would come back to him. His mind was a total blank.
Looking into his father’s worried, yet tired eyes, Lucky knew what he had to do. If he told Luke that he didn’t remember, his father would think about nothing else but why his son had lost a chunk of his memory the night before. So in order to save his dad any more worry, Lucky did the one thing he hated the most. He lied. "Oh yes, now I remember. I got angry because I was reminded of Elizabeth’s rape. I was so angry…I wanted to kill the guy. Then when you and Nik pulled me off…I was so sleepy. All that anger just zaps all your energy," Lucky ran through the explanation quickly, hoping that Luke brought it.
"You fell asleep in my arms Lucky…"
"See. That proves it. I need to take it easy and get more sleep," Lucky grinned as if the explanation was the easiest think in the world. "Wow, look at the time. I better go if I want to meet Nikolas for breakfast," Lucky pulled on his shoes and was out the door before Luke could stop him.
Luke looked at the place where his son had slept, his frown deeping even more. Something wasn’t right. Lucky had never lied to him before. Why was he lying now? Why wouldn’t Cowboy let his old man help him? It was obvious that this loss of memory scared the hell out of him. Picking up the phone, Luke decided that it was time for a long talk with Portia. If anyone knew what Helena really wanted with Lucky, it was her.
~*~
Nikolas sat at Kelly’s watching Elizabeth scrub down the counter and wondering if Lucky would show up for their planned breakfast. He hoped so. He had some questions for his brother and hopefully they were questions Lucky could answer.
"Nikolas!" Lucky waved as he entered the diner.
"I’m glad you could make it," Nikolas motioned for his brother to take a seat. "I thought maybe Luke insisted that you stay at his apartment.
"He almost did," Lucky glanced
over at Elizabeth, who was watching them with worry in her eyes.
"Did she get home ok last night?"
"You know she did. I walked her to the door and waited until
her lights were on," Nikolas nodded. "Tell me, what got
into you last night? I never saw you get that violent before
Lucky. Not even when we were fighting."
Lucky sighed, not wanting to worry his brother, but he had no choice. He had to talk to someone. "…I don’t know. All I remember is Connor kissing Portia. I blacked out after that."
Nikolas blinked in confusion. This wasn’t sounding at all good. "Lucky…are you saying that you don’t remember flying into a rage and beating up that guy. You don’t remember both Luke and myself prying you off the guy?"
Lucky sighed and nodded. "That’s exactly what I’m saying."
A gasp was heard from behind Nikolas. He turned to find Elizabeth, her blue eyes dim with worry and fear.
"Elizabeth, set down," Nikolas motioned her to an empty seat. "You’re on break aren’t you?"
"Yes. Lucky…what do you mean you don’t remember?" She looked at her fiancee.
"That there’s a gaping hole where last nights…attack should be," Lucky looked away from her frightened gaze. Now he really felt horrible. Elizabeth had enough on her plate with applying at the academy and all. She really didn’t need his problems on top of that.
"Does Luke know?" Nikolas asked.
Lucky shrugged. "He suspects, but I
told him I remembered everything. I don’t know if he
believed me or not."
"Lucky, we have to tell him," Elizabeth took his hand.
"No! No Elizabeth, my dad can’t know. He already has enough on his mind with Portia and everything. He doesn’t need this on top of that."
"But he could help…" Elizabeth tried to protest, but was again cut off by Lucky.
"No Elizabeth. No. We don’t tell my dad. We can handle this ourselves. Me, you, and Nikolas. You guys, promise me. You won’t tell my parents."
Nikolas and Elizabeth looked at each other. They knew that this could be serious. Whatever this memory loss was about, Helena had been involved somehow. And what if there was another episode? It was important that the Spencer’s were aware of this. But Lucky was against Luke being involved with his problems at all and they knew he needed someone he could trust, someone he could count on. It might as well be his brother and fiancee.
It’s Nikolas who spoke up. "Ok. Fine. We won’t tell Luke," Nikolas sighed in defeat.
"Thank you," Lucky hugged them both tightly. "Don’t worry. Together, we’ll get to the bottom of this."
Elizabeth and Nikolas could only share another look, a sinking pit in their stomachs. Somehow, they knew that this wasn’t a good decision. But what else could they do? Lucky needed people he could trust. It might as well be them.
~*~
Luke stood at the door, waiting for
Faith or Portia to answer. He didn’t care which one
answered, just as long as one of them did. He had questions and
he wasn’t leaving until he got some answers. He rang the
bell again, tapping his foot impatiently. What was taking so
long?
"Luke," Faith answered the door, her blue eyes held an
apology. "I’m sorry it took me so long to answer, but I
had a souffle in the oven and…" She frowned, seeing the
tension in his eyes.
"I need to see our daughter Faith."
Faith blinked back in surprise. "Why? What’s wrong? Has something happened?"
"Yes something’s happened. That witch of a mother of yours had done something to Lucky and I need to know what it is. Our daughter is the only one that might know."
Faith swallowed and nodded. "I’ll go up and get her."
Luke watched her disappear up the stairs, leaving him to pace the floor. Five minutes later, Fairth returned with a frowning Portia right behind her.
"Mother says you need to see me. What about this time?" Portia crossed her arms, glaring at Luke suspiciously.
"I need to know exactly what Helena did to Lucky. What her plans for him were."
"What? Is this about last night? Why don’t you ask him instead of blaming Grandmother?" Portia rolled her eyes.
"He doesn’t even remember attacking Connor, Portia. He lied and said he did, but I know Lucky. He’s a terrible liar. So since he won’t turn to me, I turn to you. What did that old windbag do to your brother?"
Portia rolled her eyes, turning her back on Luke. "If Lucky says he’s fine, he’s fine. You should stop this paranoia and stop blaming Grandmother for everything that’s wrong in your family! Helena’s dead! Let her rest in peace!"
Angry, Luke grabbed Portia’s arm and turned her to face him. Blue eyes glared into blue as his grip tightened on her arm. "I’ll let that bitch rest in hell when my family is totally free of her. You’d be wise to remember how evil she was and divulge everything you know about her plans for your brother."
"Let go of me!" Portia jerked her arm out of his grasp. She backed away from him, hatred burning in her eyes. "I’m through betraying my Grandmother! Whatever she’s planned for your precious family…I hope she succeeds!" Portia flees back up to her room. Luke is about to go after her, but Faith stepped in his path.
"No Luke. You’ll only make it worse. I’ll talk to her. If Helena has done anything…I’ll find out about it," Faith reassured her ex-lover.
"Faith, this is important. He’s so young. This can ruin his life before it’s even started."
"I know," Faith pulled him into a hug, meaning to comfort him. "We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise."
Luke pulled away just to meet Faith’s familiar blue eyes. He felt as if he was falling into her blue depths, so warm and understanding.
"We have to help Lucky," he mummbled, trying to regain control of his senses. His son was in trouble. This was no time to rekindle old flames, yet the pull between them was so strong.
"I better go and see what I can get out of Portia. I’ll call," Faith pulled away, breaking the spell, remembering that Luke was still a married man. No matter what Laura had going with Stefan, she liked to think that Luke and herself were better then that.
"Thank you. Thank you for helping me save my boy."
Faith smiled sadly, wishing that their circumstances were different. "He’s a good boy. Just like his father."
"No, he’s much better then I am. Trust me on that," Luke wiped away a stray tear. "He’s the best thing I ever done. I hope you get to know him better."
"Oh I plan to. Now go. I have to interrogate our daughter. She’ll talk to me."
"So long," Luke waved as he left the cottage, hoping that his ex could do what he couldn’t.
~*~
Faith found Portia glaring out the window at Luke’s departing figure. Just by looking at her, Faith knew that her daughter was angry. She hoped she could break through that anger and learn what her daughter knew of Helena’s final plot.
"I was wondering when he would leave," Portia snorted. "He is such a jerk."
"He’s your father," Faith took a seat at the foot of the bed. "He’s concerned about you and your brother and what Helena had done to you both."
"Humph! He doesn’t care about me. All he cares about is his precious son! He’s the one that carries the Spencer name!"
"Luke’s not Helena Portia. He loves all his children equally. Lucky, Lulu, and you. He just wants to protect the three of you."
"I hate him. I wish that he wasn’t my dad," Portia sniffed.
"Portia…does this hatred extend to your brother as well? Do you hate Lucky too?"
"No. I don’t. Surprised?"
"Not in the least," Faith smiled tenderly. "Lucky’s not someone you can hate for long. Not unless you’re…"
"Grandmother," Faith sighed tiredly. "Mother…I really don’t know what her plans were concerning Lucky. She never really told me. I would tell you if I did. But I don’t. I’m sorry."
Faith rubbed Portia’s back as she pulled her into a hug. "It’s ok darling, but if you remember anything…"
"I’ll tell you right away," Faith sighed.
Smiling, Faith held her daughter tight. Slowly it seemed, her family was repairing itself and this time there was no Helena to get in the way.