Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 1

              He stood outside the bar, The Floating Rib. It reminded him of Rodi’s back in the day. He shoved his hands into his pockets, debating entering or going back to his empty room at the Metro Court. It had started to rain and he raised his face to the cool drops. Damn you, Victor, even dead, you’ve deprived me of my family. His thoughts went back to another rainy night. One that unfortunately was still a jumble of disconnected scenes. After being arrested by McBain for the murder of his brother, he had undergone some intense medical exams trying to make head or tails of his screwed up memories. His doctors had testified as to the trauma he had experienced before, during and after the night he supposedly shot Victor. They declared he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress and his lawyer had won an acquittal on that basis.

             The jury had found him not guilty but he still saw disbelief in Blair’s eyes. Unable to make her see reason, he had decided to come to his daughter’s aid. Blair would eventually come around, he prayed, and Starr needed him. Todd pushed his hair back off his forehead and realized the rain was getting heavy.  He opened the door and entered.  He couldn’t remember the last time he had been to a bar. There had been a time when Rodi’s had been his favorite hangout.  He shook his head.  Don’t go there Todd, you can’t change what’s happened. Concentrate on Starr for now.  He meandered over to the bar and sat down.

              “Scotch, make it a double.”

              Coleman had watched the guy walk in. He handed a dry towel to the man and set his drink in front of him. “Hey man, did you fall in the harbor?”

              “Not this time.” Todd took the drink and downed it. Then he grabbed the offered towel and used it to soak up the water dripping from his hair. “Hit me again.” he said and handed the towel back to the bartender.

              Pouring a second drink, Coleman was intrigued. “Sounds interesting, what do you mean ‘Not this time’?”

             “The last time I was in the drink someone shot me and dumped me in the river. It’s the story of my life. First the bullets then the water.” Todd again drank his shot in one gulp and had Coleman pour a third.

              Coleman couldn’t tell if the guy was serious or not. He poured and waited to see if the guy would explain.

             The liquor was working and Todd was loosening up. He could tell the bartender was hooked. “You ever been shot?”

             “No.”

             “Gotta tell you, it hurts like hell. The first time I took a shot, I thought I’d end it all by falling into a river and letting everything go, but someone down there hates me and I survived. Then I had my whole life happily in front of me but fate stepped in and I got shot in the back and dumped into the ocean. That should have done it, right?” he looked at the bartender.

             Coleman nodded, not quite sure what to make of this story.

             “Wrong. Like I said, someone down there hates me. I survived again. Only that happy life I told you about. It was gone.” Now that two drinks had taken the edge off, Todd slowed down his drinking and just had Coleman top his glass off.

             Coleman looked at the man sitting across his bar. The man was wearing an expensive suit, and appeared for all the world just like another rich guy slumming. But his story said something different. Rich guys don’t get shot on a regular basis and this guy sounded like it was the norm for him. Hell, he hadn’t even explained the latest shooting. “You’re not kidding, are you? Just what profession are you in? You don’t look like anyone in the ‘business’, if you know what I mean.”

           Todd smiled, in this town he had a very good idea what ‘business’ the bartender was talking about. “Me. I’m a publisher.” He was feeling generous as far as telling some of his story but his past was his and even nosy bartenders didn’t get to know every detail. “But where was I? Oh yes, the harbor. My last excursion into the watery depths came after eight years in hell. Several people wanted me dead. They found me, tied me up, shot me and dropped my body in the river. This time when hell spit me back, a friend pulled me from the drink and here I am.”

           “Man the next drink is on the house. With that kind of life I’m surprised you’re sane.”

           “Who said I was sane?” Todd quickly drank his drink, his thoughts once more back to Victor and his miserable life. “Leave the bottle.”

           Coleman knew a dismissal when he heard one. The man had zoned out and it was obvious he just wanted to think.

           She stood there, listening to everything he had said. She had come as soon as Tea had informed her he was in Port Charles. After the trial had ended, she had been furious, she had raged at him, calling his witnesses liars and at the same time, she had been hating herself. She had been so afraid to see what was right in front of her, she had put up barriers from the minute he had gotten back. Now she could recall the cabin and even in his delirium he had had no recall of shooting Victor, yet he had been able to remember killing Irene. She saw him spacing out and seeming to talk to himself the afternoon in court with Starr. Then there was Halloween, one minute he had been his usual playful self and then suddenly he had almost smashed a pumpkin in front of Sam and had backed out of the night. She should have realized he was on the edge and she hadn’t. Now his kidnapping of Tomas and framing him made sense. He had been afraid of losing her and had been desperate enough to just get Tomas out of the way.

             When she had arrived home after the verdict, Tomas had been waiting for her. Blair had stopped him from kissing her. It was finally clear that Tomas, although Todd’s victim, had had a big role in Todd’s mental collapse. Tomas had delivered Todd to his Mother and left him there for eight years. For all his protestations of love and how he was different from Todd, in the end, he was worse. Tomas had no excuse for his treatment of Todd. He had done it with full knowledge that he was quite possibly delivering Todd to his death. Once again Blair hated herself. She had let Tomas back into her good graces when he had helped find Irene, but finding Irene had led to Victor’s death and Todd’s involvement. An involvement he still didn’t fully understand.

            Blair sent Tomas away that night and had tried to find Todd but he had disappeared. It never occurred to her he would make a beeline for Starr. She should have known. Now she looked at him. She had seen him leaving the police station and had followed him. She had come to find him and now he was just steps away. Her stomach fluttered. Her thoughts went back to that marvelous night before everything had come crashing down. They had both professed their love. She had been so happy in that moment. She stood there listening to his tale and smiled as he spoke of their happiness before Ireland. Then her heart broke for him at his comment before he took the bottle. Her poor Todd, he was going to need time to heal, but he wasn’t going to have to do it alone anymore.

             Todd was staring down into his drink, remembering when she had been there for him. Pulling him to go sledding, giving him a friendship ring. Marrying him and loving him even though he had done terrible things to her. He was fast losing hope she would come back this time.

            “Excuse me, but is this seat taken?”

            Todd swallowed a quick gulp. It couldn’t be. Dare he hope?

            “I said, excuse me, is this seat taken?”

            He swiveled on his seat and stared at the vision that stood in front of him.

            She smiled and sat down next to him. “Did I hear someone telling his pathetic story? Believe me, I think I can top it.”

            Todd’s heart lifted and he took her challenge. “Babe, there’s no way you’re winning this game.”


Please note, this was previously published as a short story, but due to reader demand, Karena has decided to continue this as a novel.

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