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Trina sighed as she looked at her watch. Spencer was supposed to meet her at Kelly's thirty minutes ago. He's obviously late. She looked at her phone, hoping for a text, but there was none. What was going on now? What imaginary task did Esme have for him to perform? She is so beyond sick of that girl! She's had enough of Esme walking around free, oogling her man, and taking up time that Spencer should be spending with Trina herself!
“Sorry, I’m late!” Spencer declared, rushing into the restaurant with Ace’s carrier in hand. The baby gave her a gummy grin, obviously happy to see her.
“You brought Ace? I thought Esme was going to pick him up today,” Trina questioned, surprised to see the baby.
"Yeah, she was supposed to, but...it's strange. The daycare texted me and said that she never showed up to get him. They waited for an hour before texting me," Spencer explained, positioning the carrier in a nearby chair. "Of course, I had to go get him."
“Of course. Were you able to contact Esme? I mean, you were just telling me the other day that she seemed to be a good mother and that you were going to start giving her space now that you didn’t have to worry. Obviously, you do have to worry if she’s not showing up to pick him up.”
“I know. I’m really pissed off. I mean, this is so irresponsible. What if I was somewhere that I couldn’t pick him up, huh? I take back everything I said about her being a good mother. In fact, I think it’s time I start looking into custody again.”
Trina simply nodded, giving the baby a smile before opening her menu. “Has she contacted you at all?”
“Nope. I tried calling, I tried texting, I even went to Aunt Alexis’s office, but she wasn’t there! It’s like she had completely disappeared off the face of the earth or something,” Spencer ranted, frowning when Trina dropped her menu.
“Hey, are you okay?” Spencer asked in concern, reaching to take his girlfriend’s hand.
"Um...no...not really…," Trina frowned, thinking back two weeks ago when she and Esme had a confrontation when she caught Esme oogling Spencer at the metro court pool…
It had been one of the many times that Trina had felt angry with Esme, but this time it was different because she had caught a glimpse of the real Esme, the manipulator, the predator, the abuser, and Spencer...like all men it seemed, was blind to it. So she decided that enough was enough...it was time to let Esme know that she knew and put her in her rightful place where Spencer was concerned.
She knew that Joss had a confrontation with the supposed amnesiac. Joss had told the girl what was what with Spencer and why the girl would never really be accepted in their group. But it seemed that confrontation hadn’t been enough, because Esme was still slithering around Spencer. Touching him, disrobing in front of him, making him feel more and more uncomfortable as she invaded his personal space. So when Trina arrived at the Metro Court pool where Spencer was shirtless and playing with his brother in the water, and spying Esme in the shadows watching him with a hungry gleam in her eyes, Trina knew that something had to be said.
She marched up to Esme and folded her arms as she stood in front of the girl, blocking her view of Spencer.
“Liking what you see, Esme?” Trina asked, her voice hard and unyielding.
Esme blinked, trying to hide the anger and annoyance behind a blank stare. “Oh Trina, I didn’t realize you were here too. I was just watching Ace. Isn’t he cute? He loves the water so much.”
“Yeah right. Come off it, Esme. I saw the way you were looking at Spencer. It was the same way you looked at him when you first came to town. Your memories are back, aren’t they? Not only are they back, but you’re delusional enough to think that Spencer would ever give you the time of day after what you had done!”
“What? Not you too, Trina! First Joss, but you too? Come on! It’s not like that with me and Spence!”
“You called him Spence! Proof that your memory is back!”
“I have no idea what you are talking about Trina,” Esme sighed, trying to look past Trina so she could oogle Spencer some more.
“He got hot really fast, didn’t he? Pentonville did his body good. Too bad he didn’t look like that when you two were together, huh?” Trina pursed her lips.
“Yeah...I mean, what? What are you saying, Trina?" Esme tried to give her the most innocent look.
Trina's eyes were full of triumph! "Ha! Caught you, Esme! Your memory is back!"
Esme gave a harsh sigh and rolled her eyes. “Fine. My memory is back. So what? Who is going to believe you, Trina? A girl accused of filming her best friends having sex or me? A poor young mother who had lost her memory and has no one but her baby?" Esme pouted and fluttered her eyelashes as if putting on a show. A show that Trina was no longer buying.
“I’ve been cleared and you have been found out! We all know who your parents are now Esme! We all know why you had really come to Port Charles! Why you had inserted yourself into Spencer’s life! We’re no longer buying your act.”
"What act? No one cares about who my parents are! Especially not Spencer, with his family tree! Not to mention, he's been going soft on me. He doesn't yell at me anymore. He helps me with Ace. He's nice to me. Soon, he'll be back in my bed and yours will still be cold and bare. Face it, Trina. No one wants you. You will always be second best. You were with Cam...and now you are with Spencer."
Rage filled Trina as she balled up her fist and was ready to give Esme a right hook.
“Trina, there you are!” Spencer called out coming up with Ace in his arms, clueless of the conversation. “What are you two doing over here?”
“We were just having a friendly conversation. You know us girls,” Esme giggled, seamlessly sliding back into her mask of the amnesiac. “Oh look at how cute Ace is! We should take him into the water now! How about it?”
Spencer opened his mouth to say no, wanting to spend time with Trina, who was not dressed for the pool, but Trina was too angry to spend time with anyone. She knew that Esme was putting on an act. She just had to prove it.
"It's okay. Go ahead into the water with Ace, Spencer. I'm going to take a walk. Ava is wanting me to meet her at the gallery anyway,” Trina sighed, feeling like she was making a big mistake, but she couldn’t be there right now without pulling all of Esme’s hair out.
Spencer frowned, not liking this. He had been looking forward to spending the day with Trina, not Esme, but he could see that Trina was in a mood. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry about it. I have to think about some things. Go have fun with your brother,” Trina kissed him goodbye and then walked away from him, leaving him to Esme, who watched her go with a look of triumph.
Trina walked and walked, growing more and more angry over the entire situation! This wasn’t fair! She and Spencer had spent two years circling each other and now finally they have a chance at a relationship and here Esme was, in the way once again with her insipid, smirking face that Trina wanted to punch into next week! And what was worse? The girl’s memory was back and Spencer was oblivious! Ugh, why did she even have the idea for Esme to be out of jail until her memory returned? What had possessed her?!
Trina stopped walking as she found herself on the docks and she looked out at the structure of Wyndemere. There had to be a way to get rid of Esme once and for all. To get her out of Spencer’s life so they could at last have the relationship that they deserve!
"Miss. Robinson is it?" a voice spoke up from behind Trina. She turned around and gasped to find Selina Wu standing behind her. She never had any dealings with the female mob boss before. She had heard of her of course and there were rumors that Curtis had some kind of deal with her at the Savoy, but she had never had any contact with the woman.
“You are Curtis Ashford’s daughter, am I correct?” Selina questioned, a cold smile twisting her lips.
“Yes,” Trina nodded, forcing her frozen muscles to unfreeze. What could this woman want with her? Why was she here? Was she in danger? What was she going to do?
“Ah. It is too bad what happened to Curtis. He was a good business partner. I hope he gets his legs back,” Selina continued. The mob boss frowned a little, seeing how tense Trina seemed. “You are upset. Angry about something. Is there something that I can assist you with? As a favor to Curtis if you will?”
Trina blinked in surprise. What was going on here? Was Selina Wu, a dangerous mob boss, asking her why she was so angry? Asking to assist her? It seemed unreal.
“Um...someone who tried to frame me for a crime is back and is after my boyfriend. I...I don’t know what to do about the situation,” Trina sighed, opening up a little, but not much. She didn’t want to anger the mobster by telling her to mind her own business.
“Oh. Is that so? That is too bad. Some people escape punishment too easily and then they come back and make more trouble for others. Someone should do something about such people. Make them disappear for good. If you know what I mean…”
Trina felt a cold chill. She got what Selina Wu meant, and normally, the thought would have repulsed her...but to her angry mind...making Esme Prince disappear for good... was like a dream that would never come true. "Oh, I would like that very much. If she disappeared, that would solve a big problem and me and my friends would have justice."
“Yes. Justice is a hard thing to easily obtain...using legal measures. Luckily, in my world...justice can be had with a handshake.”
Trina stared at Selina in disbelief. “Really? Is it that easy to get rid of Esme Prince?”
“Is that her name?”
Trina just silently nodded. “Yes. Yes, I would like it if Esme Prince disappeared off the face of the earth and was never seen or heard from again.”
Selina’s smile was cold as she simply nodded her head and turned to her henchman. “Write that name down. Esme Prince. Call the boys and say we have a job for them.”
"Yes Madame Wu," The henchman took out his notepad and began to write.
“Where can this Esme be found? Do you know?”
"Um...she works at the Invader," Trina found herself answering the question. Something inside her was screaming at her to stop, asking her what she thought she was doing sicking a mobster on Esme like this, but a darker part of her mind...a not-so-nice one, whispered that whatever happened to Esme, it would serve her right. The psychopath had brought it on herself.
"I will do this free favor for you, Ms. Robinson. As a favor to Curtis as a get-well gift. I do warn you, if you need me again, I will demand some kind of repayment,” Selina gave a smile that did not meet her eyes. “Consider your Esme problem taken care of…”
The sounds of the restaurant brought Trina out of the memory and her whole body began to tremble as she suddenly knew why Esme had disappeared. Concerned, Spencer reached out and took Trina’s trembling hands, forcing them to become still.
“Trina? What is it? What’s wrong?” Spencer frowned, concerned about how sick his girlfriend suddenly looked.
Trina forced herself to breathe as she made herself look Spencer in the face. "Can we go to the gallery? Now? I need to tell you something...and it has to be somewhere private…"
Spencer frowned but nodded, standing up from his chair and gathering Ace. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the gallery,” was all Trina would say, following her boyfriend out to the car.
Fifteen minutes later, Trina was pacing the gallery while Spencer sat the carrier containing a sleeping Ace on the desk.
“Ok, what’s going on?” Spencer turned to his pacing girlfriend. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, holding her still. “Trina, what’s up? What’s with you?”
Trina looked at Spencer with wide brown eyes, then her face crumpled as tears began to fall. “I killed Esme!”
Spencer blinked in surprise and looked at her in disbelief. “What?”
“I killed Esme...or rather...I got her killed...I think…”
“Baby, you’re losing me here. Look, calm down and slowly tell me what happened, alright?”
“Can you hold me…? Please? You may not want to anymore after I tell you this…,” Trina nervously requested, just wanting to feel his arms around her. To be honest, his arms were what was going to make her feel safe enough to tell her story.
“Me not want to hold you anymore? Impossible,” Spencer smiled, wrapping his arms around her trembling body and pulling her against his so her head rested against his chest. “Tell me everything.”
Without skipping anything, Trina told Spencer everything. She told him about the confrontation with Esme, how Esme had admitted to having her memory back, and how she had taunted her. She then told him about how she ran across Selina Wu and had, in her anger, sicked the lady mob boss on Esme.
“I told her how I wanted Esme to disappear off the face of the earth and then she said that as a favor to Curtis...she'd make it happen. I knew I was doing wrong, Spencer. I knew it...But I didn't care! I wanted Esme gone for good! And then...after a few days...I forgot all about it...until you came and told me that Esme had indeed disappeared! I killed Esme!" Trina cried, hiding her face against Spencer's chest, who held her tight, gently rocking her and rubbing her back in small circular motions.
"Why didn't you tell me about Esme's memory?" Spencer questioned, thinking of how this could have been avoided if he had known. He would have turned in that evidence if he had to spare Trina this devastation that she was experiencing.
“I don’t know...I just...didn’t feel like myself that day...nor the day after that. I was just in a dark place. You had even mentioned it yourself!”
Spencer nodded, remembering those few days when Trina had been in an especially bad mood, especially when he had brought up Esme. “I’m so sorry, Trina. God, you should have told me straight away!”
“Now Selina Wu has probably killed her and has her body buried in some pine barrens somewhere!” Trina sobbed, feeling awful.
“So? I mean...Esme was horrible...and we couldn’t find any real evidence against her. So what Selina Wu got that justice for us in her way? Esme got what she had deserved and now Ace is free!”
Trina pulled away and looked at Spencer in horror. "Spencer, how can you say that? I got Esme killed by a mob boss!"
Spencer shrugged with a wry smile. “I am a Cassadine after all. We tend to believe in a world of grey and getting justice by any means necessary. You got that justice, Trina. Who cares if it was by a lady mob boss?”
“I should care! So should you!”
“But I don't and from your words, you don't really care either...and that's what is really bothering you right now, isn't it? You don't care, even though you think that you should? Am I right?" Spencer guessed.
Trina pulled away from him and took a few steps back. The tears in her eyes broke Spencer’s heart, but they were a good sign in his eyes. They showed that Trina still had a good heart, despite her questionable actions.
“No, I don’t care. I should but I don’t and….I’m afraid of what that means. That there’s something...wrong in me…”
"Trina, no. No, there's nothing wrong with you. Esme has put us all through hell with her shenanigans. So much so that we end up not caring what befalls her. I'm not saying that what you did was right or good, but it doesn't make you an evil person. You're within your rights not to care about what happened to Esme. You're not going to start making a habit of sicking mob bosses on people that make you angry, I'm sure. This was a one-off and it was to a girl that was evil and needed to be taken care of."
“But now Ace doesn’t have a mom and that’s my fault,” Trina sniffed.
“We’ll get him through it. Don’t worry. Better no mom at all than a psycho one,” Spencer chuckled.
Trina shrugged, beginning to feel a little better. “Do you think I should go to the police?”
"No. Absolutely not. What has been revealed here, stays here," Spencer took her hands and made her look at him. "You broke bad just this one time. It's not the end of the world, okay?"
Trina nodded and made herself smile, still not feeling right about her part in what happened to Esme, but at the same time feeling relieved that the drugger wouldn't be a threat to her and her relationship with Spencer anymore.
“Thank you. I feel better somewhat,” Trina sighed.
“Good. I wish that I could take it all away.”
"Oh my god, we were supposed to eat and I dragged us here to the gallery instead of staying at Kelly's. Let me order us some doordash!"
"Sounds good to me," Spencer leaned down to give her a few short kisses. "Even though I can eat those lips of yours."
Trina giggled and looked up into his loving gaze. "Don't even think about it."
Spencer watched her work on her laptop and then cleared his throat. “If you want to know for sure, would you want me to ask Uncle Sonny to look into it?”
Trina looked at Spencer with considering eyes and then shook her head. She didn’t want to drag anyone else into what she had done.
“No. No, I’m pretty sure that Selina Wu took care of the Esme problem in the way mob bosses do. There’s no point dragging your Uncle into it.”
"Alright. Just know that I'm here for you, whenever you need me, Trina. You can tell me anything. There will never be any judgment from me."
Trina smiled as she looked up and saw the sincerity and love in his eyes. He was right. She could tell him anything. He was her safe space. The one person in the world who wouldn't scald her for making what could be deemed bad decisions. He'd just love her through her flaws. Give her love and understanding on the few times that she does break bad. He was all that she could ever need and she loved him for it.