If I Should Fall (Editing)

Chapter 18

 It had been days since that night at the club and Charlie still hadn't seen or heard anything from Elizabeth. She'd frantically called her, leaving countless messages explaining what she saw. She wasn't at the loft nor was she at her bungalow. Tammy hadn't heard from her and she hadn't returned to work.

Charlie was at the breaking point after she called Elizabeth's phone earlier during the day and her number had been changed. She felt like screaming and found herself throwing her own phone against the nearest wall, watching it shatter as though it were the pieces of her heart. She sighed think that at least now Natalya couldn't reach her.

"So what are you going to do?" Max had asked her.

"I don't know what to do."

"She has to go home at some point right?" Candice offered.

So there Charlie found herself staring at the now useless key in her hand as the locks had been changed. She looked over again at the 'for sale' sign on the front lawn and took a deep breath, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She was about to turn to leave when the front door opened and she found herself face to face with Alexis. "Where's Elizabeth?"

Alexis smiled sweetly. "And why would I tell you that?"

"Alexis I am so not in the mood for your games right now. Just tell me where she is?"

"That I can't do. She really doesn't want to see you ... ever. Although, I suppose I should be thanking you. You pushed her right back where she belongs." Alexis stepped onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind her. "She's not here if that's what you're thinking. She's selling the place as you can tell."

Charlie couldn't respond for a moment as she stood rooted to the floor. She wanted so much to beat the information out of her and she had to mentally restrain herself. "Do you really think you can keep us apart?"

"I know we can. I don't know what kind of hold you think you had over my sister, but it's over and she's getting the help that she desperately needs. Once she's better she can resume her life. It'll be like you never existed." Alexis quirked an eye brow as she walked past Charlie and took one step down. She paused and turned back around with a nasty sneer on her face. "I told you it wasn't over."

Charlie grabbed Alexis by her upper arm and spun her around, causing Alexis to twist her ankle." You're hurting me!" She exclaimed.

"You think you're hurting now? If I find out you've done something to her, I'll show you a whole new level of hurt!" Charlie seethed inches from the other woman's face. "You can't keep her hidden forever."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elizabeth was so cold. Her entire body was numb, but the cold began to seep into her pores deep down to her bones and began to sting. Her lungs burned as her distorted vision tried to make sense of the room beyond. Bubbles of air escaped as she struggled to hold her breath longer than she thought possible. Her vision started dimming around the edges and she knew she was going to pass out. Then she was being lifted through the icy water and she broke free of the surface. She greedily inhaled, but she barely had time to take two breaths before she was pushed back under, pieces of ice bumping against her as strong gloved hands held her under. She was too weak to struggle anymore.

Elizabeth didn't remember being returned to her room. She looked around the small rectangular drab space with its one small window high in the wall. It was painted a muted gray and drained all thoughts of glee from its surroundings. There was a small desk, like those from an elementary school. On it sat one book, the Bible. She was supposed to study the word of God, they'd told her. She had no clue as to who 'they' were.

She didn't know how long she'd been here. She'd lost count of the days, but it seemed like forever ago that she'd woken up on the stiff twin sized mattress. She missed Charlie so much at first that her very soul ached. Now she was consumed with guilt over her recent actions. She'd been subjected to countless sessions of electro-shock therapy, system-shock therapy which she'd just come from and so much more. They made her sit in a chair not unlike the electric chairs used for the death penalty, only she had to watch a rapid display of heterosexual images flash across a large screen in front of her. If she closed her eyes or turned her head she would be assaulted with currents of electrical energy.

It was humiliating to lose control of your own bodily functions; having to sit in your own waste. Sometimes they threw in a homosexual shot with a jolt of power to associate it with pain, deeming it bad.

Elizabeth was exhausted and she rested her head on the thin pillow provided. Her willpower was waning and she knew it. The guilt and shame that she felt was starting to eat her alive. She embarrassed her family, John and herself and she was ready to do anything to gain their forgiveness.

It was only a matter of time before they broke her.