Jonathan Lavery - Storyline

Storyline

Jonathan Lavery arrives in Pine Valley in June 2004 as the younger brother of Ryan Lavery. Jonathan has just graduated from business school and Ryan hires him to work at the company Cambias Industries. In September 2004, Ryan is shot at a murder mystery party in Zach Slater's casino by who everyone thinks is Kendall Hart, a woman who Jonathan slept with not long after coming to town. Soon after, Ryan's wife, Greenlee, is poisoned with overdoses of Antipsychotic medication. Jonathan blames many people for this, including Kendall, Zach, and Ethan Cambias, all of whom have a vendetta against Ryan. When Jonathan isn't blaming these people, he is involved romantically with Maggie Stone in a relationship that starts off quite well, ultimately leading to a sudden engagement between them in January 2005. It is then that Jonathan starts to reveal his controlling, abusive side, going as far as to hitting Maggie. In February 2005, Maggie finds the courage to leave Jonathan and soon leaves town with Bianca and Miranda Montgomery. That same night, Edmund Grey is killed in his stables at Wildwind by whom people think is Zach.

It is revealed in March 2005 that Jonathan is responsible for shooting Ryan, poisoning Greenlee, and murdering Edmund. An unhinged Jonathan kidnaps Kendall, Greenlee and Lily Montgomery in April 2005, all in a twisted attempt to "save" Ryan. Ryan discovers his brother's guilt and tracks the women and Jonathan to the cave where Jonathan is keeping them captive. There, Ryan learns that Jonathan has actually killed their brother, Braden, as well and framed him for the crimes. Jonathan is set to kill Greenlee, thus Ryan is forced to shoot his brother to save his wife. The women and Ryan escape, but Jonathan triggers a bomb in the cave and it buries Jonathan under a pile of rubble. Ryan is forced to deal with the guilt associated with killing his own brother. He spirals into depression, convinced that he is as tainted as his two brothers were. In order to protect Greenlee from what Ryan sees as a doomed life with him, he fakes his own death. During this time, Ryan not only finds his long-lost sister, Erin, but discovers that she has found Jonathan and nursed him back to health. After having Jonathan (now almost completely delusional) admitted to a hospital, Ryan and Erin are shocked to learn that their brother has a large brain tumor, which, along with mis-prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, are deemed responsible for all of his horrible actions since childhood. The tumor is removed, restoring his sanity, and reducing Jonathan's mental state to that of a child, originally said to be age fifteen, but soon noticeably displays a younger age than that of a mid-teenager.

It is during this time that Jonathan befriends Lily, who is autistic. Their unique friendship turns to love, something that unnerves Lily's father, Jackson Montgomery. However, while in New York City in the spring of 2006, Jonathan and Lily, as Lily has turned age eighteen, marry. Weeks later, a seizure restores Jonathan's adult faculties to him. He decides to keep it a secret so that Lily doesn't feel alone again. And although Amanda Dillon, Lily's one-time stepsister, finds out, she keeps it a secret as well. Their secret, however, comes to an end in August 2006 when Jackson wants to declare Lily mentally incompetent and Jonathan comes out with the truth. A distraught Lily annuls her marriage to Jonathan, who is heartbroken, but soon comforted by Amanda, who has developed romantic feelings for him.

When Amanda realizes that Jonathan will never be in love with her, she moves on romantically with JR Chandler, for a more sexual relationship, not worrying about love at all. Jonathan moves on romantically with Ava Benton, Lily's half-sister, who happens to be identical to Lily's physical attributes. He becomes engaged to Ava. But on January 16, 2008, Ava tells Amanda at Fusion Cosmetics that they have broken up. Jonathan disappeared from the background. In November 2008, Greenlee thinks that Jonathan has something to do with Emma Lavery and Annie's kidnappings, but Ryan states that Jonathan is working overseas.