Frozen Hands

Chapter Eight

5 years ago, the apartment 4 p.m.

Lizzie closed the door behind her. God, this was such a long day. She couldn't wait to eat some comfort food and watch a film. Tonight is date night for Steve and Lea so she should be home alone. That's why the sounds coming from Lea's bedroom scared her. Did somebody break in?

The redhead grabbed a knife from the kitchen and made her way over to Lea's room. "Show yourself fucker!" She yelled, holding the knife in front of her. Lea screamed, which made Lizzie scream too. "What the fuck are you doing, Liz?!" Lea yelled.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I thought-" Lizzie stopped talking. Lea's eyes were red and her mascara was smudged. On her bed was a suitcase surrounded by clothes and other stuff. "Lea, what are you doing?"

"I'm going on a vacation, I can't do this anymore. I need a break. A break from uni and from Steve." Lizzie was shocked. They seemed so happy. Sure, they fought often but they always made up. Loudly.

"Lea, you can't keep running away from your problems. You have to face them and pull through, grow up!" 

"No! Steve and I are over and I need a new start. Well, at least a break. My parents paid for a vacation in Hawaii. I'm sorry, but I need to do this." She packed up her last few things and closed her suitcase. 

"You're leaving me behind too. How will I be able to afford the rent on my own? I'm not rich like you and I don't have my parents to back me up!" Lizzie was crying now. Not only was her best friend leaving, but soon she'd have to face financial problems too. 

"You'll figure it out, you're smart like that." Lea forced a smile on her face. Of course she felt guilty, but this whole life in Cambridge didn't feel right. She forced Lizzie into a tight hug. "Please try and understand, I'll keep in contact. I love you, Liz." 

Lizzie pulled away and looked down. Lea grabbed her stuff and left.

An hour later Steve came home. Lizzie was laying face down on the couch. "She already left, didn't she?" Was all he said. Lizzie grunted. "Yepp, for god knows how long."

Steve sighed. "I'm really sorry, Lovelace. You don't deserve this." He kneeled down next to Lizzie.

Lizzie sat up straight and whiped her tears away. "Fuck this. Let's go out tonight and get absolutely shitfaced." Steve smiled. "You're right, let's go."

Present day, the lab 1 a.m.

"We have to figure out where to keep this guy." Mark said. "But he needs a make over first, some lad dressed like a pirate from the 1700s is not really on the down low. I have some clothes of mine here, I think he's about my size." They all agreed and Mark walked away to fetch the clothes. Steve turned to Lizzie. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded. "I'm fine, but tired." She forced a smile, but he saw right through her. "I will get you back to the hotel as soon as possible, you need to rest after everything."

The past few hours they spent explaining everything to Edmund. What had happened and some important things he missed for the past 300 years. In return, he explained what had happened to him all those years ago. He kept talking about the Lost Crown, whatever that meant. It sounded familiar to Lizzie but she couldn't quite place it. Steve seemed to know exactly what he was talking about, though. It made Mark and Elizabeth angry. How could Steve keep all of this from them? He must've known exactly what he was doing, this wasn't the accident he played it to be. But they shove those thoughts aside, this wasn't the time to talk about this yet.

Edmund seemed to 'defrost' a little too. How was he so okay with all of this? It probably had something to do with the Lost Crown and the prophecy he kept going on about. As if he knew all of this was going to happen eventually.

Lizzie looked away when Edmund started undressing. She turned to Mark. "I'll do some research on the prophecy thing later. This is all too coincidental." She whispered. "Please do, Steve is acting all weird too about this. He's keeping something from us." Mark agreed. 

"Why are you two whispering?" They both turned around. It was Edmund who had asked the question, Steve was in the other room. "I can tell you anything you need to know about the prophecy. You're mentioned in the prophecy after all, Lady Lovelace."