The Bed You Make
Chapter 34, concluded
As soon as Alexis reached her car and climbed inside, she opened the glove box and retrieved the small cellular phone she'd thrown there a week or so earlier in a symbolic gesture of declaring her independence. The digital display blinked a message that seven missed calls had taken place since the last time she'd checked.
For just a second Alexis allowed herself a moment's hope that Stefan had placed at least one of the calls in an effort to warn her of Helena's presence in Port Charles. Nikolas. Nikolas. Nikolas … Stubbornly, Alexis scrolled through the log of calls even though she instinctively knew that there would be no change in the identity of her caller.
‘ Alexis ,' she listened to the first voicemail message, ‘ please call me when you get this. It's Nikolas .' She didn't bother to listen to the rest. Alexis had no doubt that her nephew had attempted to connect with her in order to share the news of Helena's appearance in Port Charles. She was equally certain that Nikolas would have told her about Stefan's trip to Greece. Nikolas had been true to his word about keeping the lines of communication between them open.
Stefan had also been true to his word, Alexis thought sadly. She'd made the disastrous decision to keep silent when she knew that mobster Michael ‘Sonny' Corinthos was preparing to take action against the Cassadine family holdings in South America. In the end, Sonny's move had been thwarted and his own organization weakened. And in the aftermath of discovery, Alexis' silence had been uncovered. Stefan hadn't exactly disowned her, but instead declared her less than family to him. And found another lawyer to take her place, a little voice taunted her.
Alexis shook off the uncertainty and panic the thought generated. Before Stefan, there had been no place for her in the Cassadine dynamic. And not even Nikolas' affection for her would be enough to replace the security that came with Stefan's acknowledgment and support.
