The Sun is Gone

Tribulation

Liz's POV

As I bolted for the house, something caught my eye. There was a light on in the greenhouse above the garage. Normally no one was ever up there. As I headed for the house, something kept telling me to check it out.
I couldn't ignore my intuition. I darted up the stairs to take a look inside, praying that I wasn't wasting precious time. There was a sliding glass door at the landing. And on the other side was Kurt— a very intoxicated looking Kurt, brandishing a shotgun.
"No!" I wailed, beating at the door. I tried to open it, but of course it was locked. I pounded my fists against the glass, but he didn't seem to notice me. "Kurt!" I screamed. He was barely steady on his feet. I could tell he was so high he was barely coherent. I had to get his attention. I had to stop him.
There was a single flowerpot outside the door—a gigantic, heavy terra cotta one containing a single plant and a ton of soil. I tried to grab it. It would barely budge. I managed to tilt it on its side and dump out some soil. I frantically dug out the dirt with my fingers. Finally, it was light enough to pick up, although my shoulder throbbed.
I swung it at the sliding glass door. It barely cracked the glass.
"Fuck!" I shouted, swinging it harder. This time it shattered a small hole. And it was enough to catch Kurt's attention. His eyes darted over to me and went wide. He looked stricken.
"Kurt!" I shrieked again. I swung the flower pot and made a larger hole. One more swing and there was space enough for me to climb through. I felt glass cutting me as I squeezed through, felt blood starting to soak through my shirt, but I didn't care.
"Kurt!" I bolted towards him just as he collapsed to the ground, the gun falling from his hands. I cradled him in my arms as he faded in and out of consciousness. How much had he shot up? Too much.
"Liz? I did it," he said dazedly. "I did it. It didn't even hurt. I'm free now."
"Oh, Kurt," I choked. I didn't want to let him go but I needed to get help.
There was a cordless phone nearby on a table. Feeling weaker by the second as I kept bleeding, I crawled for it. Luckily it wasn't dead.
I dialed 911.
When I got an answer I gave the address and told them I needed help for a drug overdose.
I crawled back over to Kurt. I kept tapping his face, trying to get him to stay conscious. It wasn't working.
"Kurt! Damn it, Kurt! Stay with me!" I begged. "Don't leave me!" I cried as I looked at his handsome face, his stringy blonde hair, his frail body. He couldn't be gone. I would have given anything to save him. Anything. "Kurt, you hang on. Don't you dare go!" I kept gently tapping his cheek.
After what seemed like an eternity, I saw some EMTs  breaking out the rest of the glass and charging into the room.
"Help! Help him!" I managed weakly. Then I slumped over and everything went black.

I opened my eyes to blinding lights. I hurt all over.
"What... what's going on?" I muttered, as the memories started flooding back to me. "Kurt!" I exclaimed to no one in particular. "Is Kurt okay?" It was Dave's voice that answered me.
"He's going to be fine, Liz. You did it. You saved him." I looked over to see Dave flash me one of his classic grins.
"I did it," I repeated, tears filling my eyes.
"How do you feel?" I heard another voice ask. I realized Krist and Shelli were also in my room.
"I'm okay. It hurts a lot."
"You lost a lot of blood from all those cuts. You had a lot of stitches."
"Oh," I answered. I hadn't realized that I had cut myself that badly.
"The important thing is that everyone is going to be okay," I heard Shelli say.
Yes, somehow we were all okay.

"Kurt?" I squeezed his hand. It was the next day and I finally got to see him after I was discharged.
"Hi sweetheart," he answered weakly, squeezing my hand back. "I'm so sorry, Liz. I never wanted you to see me like that."
"I'm just so glad you are still here," I choked, tears springing up in my eyes.
"I am too," he answered. "It would have been a mistake to leave you." His intense blue eyes locked on mine.
"I love you so much, Kurt."
"I love you more than the entire universe, Sunshine," he answered.

I was headed out of the hospital to go back to my motel room and get properly cleaned up. Courtney walked with me as I headed to the front entrance of the hospital.
"I can't thank you enough for saving him, Liz," she repeated again. "All I've ever wanted was for him to be okay."
"Me too," I answered somberly.
"I know you didn't have anything to do with that news story, Liz. I'm sorry. I was just pissed about it."
"I'm pissed about it too," I answered. "Craig is a manipulative asshole." We reached the glass doors at the entrance of the hospital and I caught a glimpse outside. "Oh my God." I gasped. There were news vans and reporters everywhere. "I can't go out there."
Courtney gave me a sympathetic glance. There was a glint of something in her bright blue eyes.
"C'mon. We'll give them something to talk about. She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the double set of automatic doors.
We stepped into the bright, morning sun, standing exposed for the world to see, hand in hand. Courtney raised our interlocked hands high into the air as camera flashes fired off all around us. She grinned and waved jovially.
"Come on, Elizabeth. Own it."
And I did. I gave a small wave of my own. For the first time I was in the spotlight by choice— exposed for who I really was. I was finally doing what I had never been able to do before. I was being Kurt's partner in the spotlight. I wouldn't be a coward anymore because I couldn't. I got another chance with Kurt and I was going to be everything I always should have been to him. No more lying and sneaking around. Everything was out in the open now, and there was nothing left to do except own it.