Losing Balance
by Lionel

chapter 35

Just after eleven on Monday morning, a clearly agitated Alexis emerged from Courtroom 4 in the state courthouse, walked quickly around the corner and collapsed onto the first empty bench she found in the hallway, feeling broken and battered after another torturous hearing in the Corinthos custody case. She dug around in her briefcase, ostensibly looking for her cell phone, as she fought back her tears and tried to pull herself together. She was mindful of Marcus and Mike lurking discreetly in the shadows, temporarily disarmed but still protective and intimidating.

The hearing should have been just a formality, a follow-up meeting with the family court judge and a representative from the state child welfare agency to ensure that Sonny and Carly were complying with the terms of the original court order and to determine if any modifications to the order were needed going forward, but somehow Alexis had once again ended up under attack. For all intents and purposes Alexis's involvement in the case should have been over - Sonny and Carly had reached some sort of bizarre agreement and Carly was no longer threatening to tell Sonny about Kristina - and Alexis had planned to keep her mouth shut and stay out of the line of fire. But then the judge had asked her to confirm that, to the best of her knowledge, the parties were complying with the court order, and she hadn't been able to hold her tongue.

Alexis had tried to hedge at first, feeling Carly's beady eyes on her, but the judge had pushed her for her opinion - no doubt spurred by his own prurient interest in her sex life -- and her personal observations about the dysfunctional family unit had come spilling out. No one in the courtroom had appreciated her suggestion that perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos's antagonistic cohabitation in the penthouse while Sonny's mistress was installed across the hall wasn't ideal for the children. Before she knew it her own sexual history with Sonny was once again being discussed in the courtroom, and both Justus and her own client were dismissing her comments as the bitter ravings of a scorned woman. And through it all, Sonny just sat there smirking, seemingly enjoying her discomfort.

Alexis finally pulled her cell phone out of her briefcase and stared at it aimlessly. It still astonished her to see Sonny look at her with those cruel eyes. It was a struggle to recall a time when they had been friends, when he had been the person she turned to for help, when he had been caring and respectful and attentive, a time when --- Alexis stopped herself, forcing those thoughts out of her head. It wasn't really that hard to remember that they had been friends; it was just too painful. Alexis rubbed her eyes wearily as someone came around the corner.

"Did somebody dial 1-800-LORENZO?"

Alexis looked up and saw Lorenzo standing there, with his hands in his pockets, his head cocked to the side in that sexy way of his, a gentle smile on his face. Despite her misery, despite the discomfort of seeing him and the worries it sent swirling through her head, she couldn't help but smile painfully at his bad joke. Something inside her quivered at the lovely way he said his own name.

Lorenzo slid onto the seat next to Alexis, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders, and he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She stiffened at the contact and moved away. "Please . . . don't do that," she said uncomfortably.

Lorenzo withdrew his arm and shifted back on the seat, scanning the hallway for any prying eyes that would account for her sensitivity. "Bad day in court?" He already knew the answer and all the gory details, thanks to a phone call he had received from Marcus.

"You could say that," Alexis answered, her face strained. She held up a pre-emptive hand. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Who were you about to call?"

Alexis shrugged and shook her head. "No one." She peered at Lorenzo, trying to summon the hardness she needed to feel toward him. She had to explain that things had changed, that she felt dirty when he touched her, but she couldn't help but notice, with more than a hint of self-disgust, that at the moment all she really wanted was to get lost in his arms. "What are you doing here?" she asked instead.

"Seeing you," Lorenzo said with a twinkle in his eyes that made her smile against her will. "I'm sorry I missed you yesterday. Luke told me about your meeting."

Alexis rolled her eyes at the recollection. "Oh, you didn't miss much. Group frustration and terrible coffee. Did he tell you what was in those documents he found on Helena's yacht?"

"Yeah, he showed them to me. Strange stuff."

Alexis nodded ruefully. "Yes. That's Helena for you. I have a scientist looking at the papers now to try to decipher them, but I'm almost afraid to find out what he says." She shook her head, wincing. "Do you know about Helena's last big lab project? My brother, Stavros?"

"Yeah. He was really brought back from the dead?"

"Yes, he was. Just as psychotic and dangerous as ever. I can't begin to imagine what she's up to this time. The possibilities are absolutely mind-boggling. And terrifying." Alexis wrapped one arm around her aching stomach and waved the other in the air dismissively. "Obviously you didn't really know what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to help me. Now that you know just how insane my family is, if you want to go running for the hills, I wouldn't blame you at all."

Lorenzo shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere," he said calmly. "Have you talked to Helena at all?"

Alexis nodded. "She called this morning to express her displeasure with me. I think she was really caught off guard by the legal action. She was full of threats and warnings, but she wasn't quite as cool as she usually is."

Lorenzo reached out his arm to take her hand, but she seemed to flinch and he let his hand drop to the bench. "She's not getting anywhere near you or Kristina, Alexis."

Alexis glanced down briefly at his resting hand. "I know. And I think she's realizing that. I could tell that she was curious about the security forces. She's probably figured out that you're involved by now - that you're providing security, I mean."

"I'd like to think I'm providing more than that," Lorenzo ventured. "Like moral support." Alexis was silent. "I'm sorry I was unavailable all weekend. I really wanted to see you, but I had a business crisis to deal with. Things went pretty haywire in Indonesia, and I spent all weekend trying to get it under control."

"Lorenzo, please," she said more firmly, his mention of his business making her queasy. "I don't want to know. You don't have to explain. Let's just stick to our business. That's all you and I should be discussing."

Lorenzo was taken aback. "Okay," he said carefully. "So 'our' business. Is that just ELQ and Helena?"

Alexis nodded, and the motion made her aware of how tense her shoulders were. She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a document. "Here. This is the mark-up of the ELQ purchase agreement. I was going to have it messengered over to you, but since you're here I'll save you the ten bucks. I've tabbed the places where you need to focus, and there's a memo on top that talks about some of the broader issues we need to discuss."

Lorenzo took the document and glanced at it briefly. "Very professional and formal."

"Well, you're paying for professional legal services."

Lorenzo set the papers down on the bench. "Can I take my very professional lawyer out for a very professional lunch? You can walk me through the agreement?"

Alexis bit her lip. "Um, no. I can't do lunch. Really, that memo lays everything out. Just take a look at it and we can talk about it tomorrow. How's two o'clock?"

"Fine, I think. I'll have to check." Lorenzo looked at her with concern. "Alexis, talk to me. What's going on? What happened?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant as she closed up her briefcase.

"I thought we had made some progress here. You and me. Then I don't see you for three days, and it's like we're right back where we were."

"A lot can happen in three days," she said vaguely, focusing on the latch on her briefcase.

"What? What happened?"

Alexis finally looked at Lorenzo. "You thought we made progress. I think we almost made a mistake. Again. It's not progress if nothing has changed. You're still you, and I'm still me. And I have to go." Alexis stood up abruptly and walked around the corner. Bewildered and slightly annoyed, Lorenzo gathered up his things and followed.

The door to the courtroom opened as Alexis walked past, almost hitting her. Carly stepped out, and when she spotted Alexis, she called after her angrily. "Alexis. Wait." Alexis paused mid-stride but didn't turn around. "What the hell did you think you were doing in there?"

Alexis turned around slowly, her eyes squeezed shut, hoping that when she opened them again Carly would be gone. Instead when her eyes opened she saw Lorenzo come around the corner and she saw Carly's entire manner change in response.

"Lorenzo," Carly said, her body language visibly softening. Her voice was somewhere between a purr and a whine. "You should have stayed away."

Lorenzo looked at her in confusion. "Carly? What are you talking about?"

Carly put a hand on her hip and tilted her head in a way that was supposed to tell him that she didn't really want him to stay away. She had forgotten entirely about her own behavior toward Lorenzo, and her only thought right now was that she needed to reel him back in and get him away from whatever woman he thought he was interested in. "Look, I know how hard this is. It isn't easy for me either, Lorenzo, but you know why I need you to stay away for now. Sonny thinks it's really important for us to be together as a family right now."

Lorenzo would have been astounded by Carly's brazenness if he weren't so disgusted. "Fine," he said dismissively.

"Don't be upset, Lorenzo," Carly cooed, tipping her head too far and twisting into an odd shape.

Lorenzo snorted at her in disgust. "I'm not your lapdog, Carly. I won't be taught to heel like Jason Morgan and the rest of your ex-boyfriends. I'm not here to see you, Carly. I'm here to speak with Ms. Davis." Out of the corner of his eye, Lorenzo saw Alexis glare at him. "We have some business matters to attend to," he explained.

Carly's eyes fell on Alexis with disdain and confusion. "She's your lawyer?"

"Yes. On a small matter."

Carly sneered at Lorenzo. "Make sure you watch your back. Alexis always has her own agenda."

Lorenzo restrained himself. "Your warnings aren't needed, Carly. Now, if you'll excuse us, I need to speak with Ms. Davis."

Lorenzo started to walk past Carly, and Alexis turned to go, but in that instant Carly knew. "Ms. Davis…." Carly was nothing if not canny about people, and in the soft, forced way Lorenzo said her last name, and the way his eyes flickered toward Alexis as he said it, she knew that Lorenzo was accustomed to calling her something less formal. Carly shook her head in disbelief. Not again. "Not you…" she said, glaring at Alexis. "You hypocritical bitch!"

Alexis froze. "What are you talking about, Carly?" Alexis tried to remain calm and disdainful, but she had the terrible feeling that she knew what was coming.

"You and Lorenzo? My god, do you know how sick that is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Carly," Alexis said, tightlipped.

"Oh, yes, you do. I saw it, Alexis. You were the one in the limo outside GH on Friday, weren't you?"

Alexis hid her shock well, but Carly could see the wheels turning in Alexis's mind as she tried to remember what anyone outside the car might have seen. "Whatever you think you know, Carly, you're wrong. You're jumping to conclusions."

Carly shook her head in disgust. "Don't you ever get tired of chasing after men that don't belong to you? Sonny kicked you to the curb. He saw you for the pathetic tramp you are. So now you're panting after Lorenzo? You think that's going to make Sonny give a damn about you?"

"Carly," Lorenzo interrupted. "That's enough. This isn't the place."

Carly turned her wrath on Lorenzo. "And you! Is this how you punish me for being a good mother? For not abandoning my children for you? With her? You think I hate her enough to take you back?"

Lorenzo laughed scornfully. "No, Carly. I don't give a damn what you do. I haven't given you a second thought since you left me in my basement, except to wonder what the hell I ever saw in you." Carly raised her hand to slap Lorenzo, but he caught her hand mid-air.

Alexis quickly stepped in between them, facing Lorenzo. "Lorenzo, just go. I need to talk to Carly alone." Lorenzo met her insistent gaze, his eyes making it clear how much he didn't want to leave her there alone. "Just go," Alexis insisted. With a reluctant nod, Lorenzo turned and walked down the hallway. Alexis watched him go, and then took a deep breath and turned her attention to Carly. "Carly. I am not with Lorenzo. We are not together."

Carly just shook her head. "You are such a liar. And a hypocrite. You know, I'm not as dumb as you think I am. You go on and on about how dangerous Sonny's life is and how all you want to do is protect your daughter. But here you are. It's not about the danger, is it, Alexis? You're keeping Sonny from his child to punish him. You're punishing him for breaking your heart. And I won't have any part of that."

"Keep your voice down, Carly," Alexis hissed. "You're in a courthouse."

"No, I'm not going to keep my voice down anymore, Alexis. I'm going to talk nice and loud so everyone can hear me. Especially Sonny." Carly sneered and stalked off down the hall.

"Carly, wait!" Alexis called after her.

Carly stopped and looked back at Alexis. She didn't notice the door to another courtroom open behind her or the dark-haired woman in black robes who stepped out. "You think Sonny hates you now? Wait until you see what he does with this, Alexis. Even your new boyfriend won't be able to protect you. Enjoy it while you can. Lorenzo Alcazar is going to cost you everything." Carly stormed off down the hall.

Alexis watched Carly go, frozen in place by disbelief and terror, waiting for Judge Farmer to turn around. Alexis tried to keep her breathing steady, but she thought she might faint. Any hope she had that Judge Farmer had not heard or had not understood Carly's warning dissolved a moment later. "Ms. Davis. May I have a word with you?" The judge's voice sounded distant and tinny.

Alexis walked down the hall, feeling with each step as if she were dragging a ball and chain through mud, and followed Judge Farmer into the empty courtroom. Alexis held onto the back of a chair for support.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Mrs. Corinthos," Judge Farmer began. Her voice dripped with false kindness and concern.

"I'm representing Mrs. Corinthos in a very difficult custody case," Alexis explained, beginning to gather a defense together.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. That case, and particularly your part in it, have been a very hot topic in family court. I've tried to ignore the talk, though it does seem you are on rather questionable ethical grounds."

Alexis bristled. "All the parties were aware of the relevant facts and consented to my representation. In fact, they insisted on it."

"Be that as it may, there's other talk that I can't ignore. I heard what Mrs. Corinthos said about Mr. Alcazar."

"She is misinformed." Alexis was adamant, filled with enough disgust for Carly to sound convincing.

"Is she? This isn't the first I've heard of your involvement with Mr. Alcazar. I received a call from Edward Quartermaine last week. He said that you were working as Mr. Alcazar's lawyer. I assured him that there was nothing improper about that, but he also mentioned that he was concerned about the impact of your personal involvement with Mr. Alcazar on Kristina."

"With all due respect, Edward Quartermaine is a spiteful old man who is obsessed with collecting heirs."

"I think Mr. Quartermaine is quite legitimately and appropriately concerned about the well-being of your daughter. As I would hope you are. As am I."

Alexis took a calming breath. "My daughter's well-being is not at risk. She is happy and healthy, and she is where she belongs. With her mother."

"It's her mother's 'boyfriend' that concerns me."

Alexis sighed. "Judge Farmer. I am not romantically involved with Mr. Alcazar. If you must know, I am romantically involved with my former husband, Jasper Jacks. Kristina and I are living with him now. She adores him. We both do. She has a very stable, child-friendly home environment."

"And do you intend to make this arrangement permanent? Or do you plan to move Kristina yet again when your romantic interests change?"

Alexis had to bite her tongue, quite literally, to contain her instinctive response. "If you're asking whether we plan to remarry, well . . ." Alexis considered her options. There was really only one answer that wouldn't make her sound flaky and irresponsible. Jax would understand. "Yes, we do. We haven't set a date or anything, but I would expect that we will soon."

"And Mr. Alcazar?"

"A client, and nothing more." Alexis was on a roll now. If she was going to lie, why not go all the way?

"I'm relieved to hear that. Thank you for your time, Ms. Davis." Judge Farmer opened the door and held it for Alexis.

"Your honor," Alexis nodded. She exited the courtroom, praying that Marcus and Mike were making themselves scarce. She was pleased with her narrow escape, but she didn't know how she would tap-dance around her need for bodyguards.

As she walked toward the elevator, oddly elated and pondering how she would explain her lie to Jax, Mike mysteriously appeared at her side. There was no sign of Marcus, but Mike offered no explanation. Somewhere between the elevator and the front door of the courthouse, Alexis's momentary elation evaporated as she remembered that Carly was out there somewhere, quite possibly telling Sonny the truth. A sharp pain in her gut made her clutch her stomach as she walked out to the car with Mike. Her very complicated life hovered on the verge of disintegration, and she sensed that more than one lie was going to have to become truth.