Featured Characters:

Previously...

• After seeking Ashley's presence, Jason went into the Doctor's office to learn the results of his testing. A horrified Ashley could offer little help when it was revealed that Jason was HIV Positive.  Completely unhinged from reality, Jason stormed out of the office and did his best to cope in a confined setting.
• As her jealousy for Rick's friendship with Liz soared to new heights, Kayla realized that her only way to deal with such was to embrace their friendship and prove to Rick that she supported their relationship. In Rick's presence, Kayla called Liz and surprisingly invited her to dinner. While at the market prior to the dinner, she ran into Terrence Bordeaux and became intrigued by the gentleman. After learning he had a prior connection with Liz, she invited him to the dinner in hopes that it would create an awkward atmosphere for Liz.
• At a pivotal point in her life where focusing on her family and establishing a foundation in Pac Heights is a necessity, Ashley was shocked to learn she was carrying a child. Torn by whether she should keep the child or abort the pregnancy, Ashley eventually realized that she couldn't terminate an innocent life. However, she now had to face the realization that she would have to tell Joe the truth about her little secret.
• Desperate to win Steve's affection and keep him at Landon Manor, Emily faked an injury from the quake and revealed to everyone at the company that she would be wheel bound and in rehabilitation for several weeks.
  
  ______________________________________________________________
  
  
  Scene: The Davison Estate

______________________________________________________________


Scene: Bay Street, College Oaks District.

Jason's strides intensify as he walks down the familiar course to the Michaels residence. Never could he have imagined that he would one day embark on such a horrifying mission to uncover such an inconvenient truth. His heart begins to pound rapidly as the home finally comes into sight. He is conflicted by whether it would be to his benefit that Star Michaels is presently home. On one side, he would have the opportunity to ask any questions he so desired to Keith's closest relative which might reveal some useful clues. On another note, he was torn by the fact that he would be forced to keep things together if he had such a conversation- certainly something that seemed near impossible at this point.

He notices that her car is nowhere to be seen as he walks up to the porch. God knows there was so much junk piled into the basement that surely her car had to be in the driveway. A small smile appears on Jason's face as he reminisces about the many times that Star would harp on Keith about cleaning up the damn mess- Keith would usually roll his eyes and tell her that he would get to it the following day. Such an option was no longer a reality as Jason regains his focus upon entering the home. He reaches deep inside his coat pocket and pulls out a small blue key ring. There is only a sole key remaining- the one that could perhaps unlock clues to this newfound horror.

After his arrival home, and a heartfelt entry into his journal , Jason realized that sitting around in his dark apartment would certainly be of no help. He had conceived the idea that Keith would have left some sort of clue, perhaps being in a list of his phone numbers backed up on his hard drive. He remembered that Star Michaels had told him that she would never remove any of Keith's belongings from the room- that everything would remain completely intact as Keith had left things earlier on that dreadful day. Of course, the Holy Grail would be if Jason could in fact log onto Keith's computer and pull up his newest saved phone contacts. The two had, after all, been dating for over a year. In that time, Jason had met just about all of Keith's friends here in the Bay Area. Therefore, he realized that if there were any local suspicious numbers and names he didn't recognize, he might have some clues he was so intent on gaining.

He turns the key slowly and releases a deep breath when the door creaks open. He pushes it forward and walks quickly down the narrow hallway and stops before reaching Keith's door. The intensity of seeing the familiar door he had walked into so many times before hits him like a ton of bricks. He certainly wasn't prepared for the emotions that would arise in such familiar territory.

Jason does his best to usher the feelings away and stay focused. He walks into the room and is again hit with a familiar scent he had grown over time to love. Star had always been a big proponent of using air fresheners in every nook and cranny of the house- Keith and Jason had eventually fallen in love with a quite pronounced pina-colada scent. He realizes there is no time to reminisce again; he came here for a reason and he must regain his control.

He quickly turns on Keith's computer and begins to fumble through some note pads while the system is starting. He doesn't seem to find anything of interest, as he soon tosses them back into Keith's nightstand. Next he takes a quick gander under Keith's bed and instantly spots a blue notebook, about the size of a standard journal. He thinks it's too good to be true- Did Keith even have a journal? He certainly was never aware of such and didn't think Keith to be the type to write his feelings down on paper. He soon realizes that he was wrong though as he notes specific dates on the top of each page with endless rambling below. Could the answers to all of Jason's questions lie within these pages?

Jason thanked God that no password was required as the system logged on. He searches around the 'documents' folder for a moment before finding the list of backed-up numbers in an Excel document. Keith had already lost all of his numbers one time when his phone was submerged in water, vowing since that date that he would always log any new numbers into his backup file on the computer. Jason peruses the list, quickly browsing to see if there are any unfamiliar names and numbers. He doesn't see anything that stands out as he quickly shoves the printout into his bag along with the prized journal.

Just as he reaches for the knob, the door swings open and Star Michaels appears in the doorway in utter shock.

Star shoots Jason an incredulous look, "Heavens Jason, you scared me to death! What in God's name are you doing in here? And how did you get in the house?"

-- Next  --