Well Worth the Wait
a Sonny & Brenda story
Chapter 1
As Sonny Corinthos drove his Jaguar up the long, winding drive, he couldn't help but feel envious of the man who lived in the large house at the end. Although he was making his way up in the world, he always felt like that poor, battered boy from Bensonhurst. He wondered if that feeling would ever go away. Harlan Barrett's mansion loomed in front of him as he pulled into the circular drive. He turned off the engine, composed himself for a moment, and then got out of the car. He walked to the front door, and lifted the large knocker to announce his arrival. Inside in the living room, an exasperated Harlan Barrett was yelling at his youngest daughter Brenda. She had been caught playing a prank on a classmate at Port Charles High School, and her father was disappointed in her, yet again. But it was worth the verbal lashing in Brenda's mind; at least he was paying attention to her. He usually just ignored her, and doted on her older half-sister Julia. Julia was their father's pride and joy, and Brenda was just…there.
A middle-aged woman wearing a maid's uniform answered the door. "May I help you sir?" she inquired. "Sonny Corinthos to see Mr. Barrett." She showed him into the expansive foyer, and indicated that he should wait. She walked towards the closed doors to the living room, and as she reached them they could both hear Harlan bellowing, "one more screw up like this, and I'm sending you back to Europe!" Brenda fought back the tears and yelled back, "good! I don't want to be here anyway!" She flung open the doors and ran out, forcing the maid to jump aside. She didn't notice the dark man waiting near the front door, but he noticed her. Sonny knew that Harlan had two daughters, the youngest of which was 17 years old. Since his boss Frank Smith was entering into a business deal with Harlan, a deal that Sonny was going to be in charge of, he made it his business to know everything he could about the man. Sonny reviewed Frank's intelligence report before going to meet Harlan. As Brenda flew by and ran up the stairs, Sonny couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. "Mr. Corinthos!" Harlan's loud voice interrupted Sonny's thoughts. He turned to face Harlan, and put out his hand, "Mr. Barrett."
Brenda ran into her room, slammed the door and threw herself
on her bed. Only then, did she allow herself to cry. "Why do I ever think
it'll be different?" she asked herself. One would think she'd have accepted
the way her father treated her by now, but Brenda couldn't. She always hoped
that one day he'd wake up and see her in a different light. And if he never
did…well she was only six months away from her 18th birthday. And when
that day came, Brenda was going to pack her things and leave. After all, the
outside world couldn't be any crueler to her than her father's.
"So Frank sent you to baby-sit me huh?" Harlan joked as he handed Sonny a glass of brandy. "I'm just here to make sure Frank's interests are taken care of," Sonny diplomatically replied. Harlan nodded his head, "right. Well, don't worry, they will be. This is a lucrative deal for all concerned." Their meeting was interrupted by a young blonde woman who barreled into the living room. "Oops! Sorry daddy!" Harlan smiled, "it's no problem honey. I'd like you to meet a business associate of mine, Sonny Corinthos. Sonny, this is my oldest daughter, Julia." Julia looked at the handsome man, her eyes shining. Sonny instantly thought what a contrast there was between her, and her younger sister who looked like she never smiled. Julia put out her hand and stared into Sonny's dreamy eyes, "nice to meet you Sonny." Sonny put on his best fake smile, and took her hand in his, "likewise, Ms. Barrett." "Oh please, call me Julia!" "Julia." "Well, I'll let you boys have your meeting!" she cheerfully added, then gave Sonny another smile and left the room. Harlan watched her go, beaming. "Ain't she something else?" he asked. "She seems great," Sonny lied. He wasn't the least bit impressed with her. His mind kept drifting back to her sister, and he had to ask about her. "You said oldest daughter; was the one with the dark hair your youngest?" Harlan's smile faded, "yeah, that's Brenda. She's nothing but trouble." Sonny felt anger at the man's attitude; it reminded him too much of his late stepfather Deke.
Later, as Sonny walked to his car outside, he looked at the
upper floor of the house and wondered which window was hers. They hadn't met,
and she hadn't even looked his way, but he already felt drawn to her in a
way that he knew he couldn't ignore. A way he didn't want to ignore.
That night at dinner, Julia gushed about the gorgeous man she'd met that afternoon. Harlan listened to her, amused, but then told her, "he's not for you honey. He's too…old." Julia pouted, "oh poo!" Brenda rolled her eyes. She didn't know who her sister was talking about, although she vaguely remembered a figure standing by the door when she had run to her room earlier. "What about that AJ Quartermaine boy?" Harlan questioned. "He's ok," Julia replied. "Of course, there's also his brother Jason." "Why don't you just do them all?" Brenda snapped. "Watch your mouth young lady!" Harlan yelled. Brenda yelled back, "oh she gets to talk about all these guys, but I'm the one with the trashy mouth? I get it!" She stood up abruptly, knocking her water glass over. A small smile played on her lips as the water spilled across the antique table and her father and sister scrambled to wipe it up. She left the room and they didn't even notice. "I'll fix them," she muttered to herself, and headed up to her room to change her clothes.
Later that night, Sonny and two of his associates entered "The Fire Pit," a local club that featured live bands. But they weren't there to hear music. The owner, a man named Jocko, was behind on his protection payments, and they were there to collect. Normally, Sonny didn't get his hands dirty with such things, but ever since his visit to the Barrett mansion earlier in the day, Sonny was feeling restless. He figured some "action" would snap him out of the funk he was in. The three men pushed through the crowd towards the back; they were heading for Jocko's office. But Sonny spotted him near the bar, and told the other men to go fetch him. They did, and escorted him to the office where Sonny had gone in ahead.
At the door of the club, the bouncer was skeptically checking the ids of two girls, which were obviously faked. But the girls were so pretty, the he wanted to let them in anyway. "Do me a favor ladies," he told them, "if you see a cop come in here, or any trouble breaks out, take off before anyone else has a chance to look at these." Brenda laughed and patted the bouncer on the arm. "Don't worry, we will." She turned to her friend, "come on Jill, let's go have some fun!" They made their way into the fray, and every man they passed stopped and stared.
In the office, Jocko was being held in his chair while Sonny Corinthos laid down the law. "You're late one more time, and I'm going to mess you up…bad. Do you understand?" "Ye…yes!" Sonny put his hand behind his ear and cupped it. "Excuse me?" "Yes sir Mr. Corinthos! I understand!" Sonny moved his hand from his ear to the man's face, and patted it non-so-gently. "Good. Now, give me what you've got."
Back in the club, Brenda and Jill were jumping up and down to the music,
causing the men around them to ignore the band. One man in particular was
entranced by Brenda. When the song ended, he took the opportunity to put
his arm around her tiny waist and hug her. Brenda yelped and tried to push
him off. "Oh come on baby!" the man drunkenly slurred in her ear.
Jill looked around for a bouncer, or someone she could get to help her friend,
but before she could find anyone, a man appeared with a gun in his hand.
Sonny had spotted Brenda as he emerged from Jocko's office, and saw the
drunk assault her. He drew his gun and pushed his way through the crowd
to reach her. Putting the gun to the man's head, he growled, "let her
go." The man was drunk, but not too drunk to feel the gun on his head.
He released Brenda and slowly pulled back. Turning to face what he thought
was a cop, he instead found himself looking at Sonny Corinthos, the mob
boss of Port Charles. Brenda was relieved to be free of the drunk's clutches,
and looked at her protector. She couldn't believe her eyes.
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