The Stranger

10. Two Strangers

After a moment she bashfully pulls away from him and looks into his eyes. She anticipates his response. She takes a deep breath and speaks before he can. "Elliot I..., I love you." He gives her a sweet smile.

Elliot gently rubs her hair behind her ear. "I love you too Amelia." Her heart flutters as her breathing gets a little heavier. She nervously giggles, biting her lower lip. "Oh good." She covers her face and shakes her head. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. I mean, I've felt this way since we met that first day. It's just gotten stronger the last few days."

He gently pulls her hands away from her face. "It's okay to be nervous. You know, I've felt that way this whole time too." She calms her breathing down a little. "Really? I was afraid to say something.. I wasn't sure how to. And the other night when you were attacked....I was so scared. The thought of losing you was unbearable. It still is."

"I've never felt this way about anyone before. This is all new to me. I just know that I want to keep you safe." He replies, gazing into her eyes. She moves to the other side of him, away from the fireplace. "Is it hot in here to you?"

Elliot turns over to face her and chuckles. "No, it's just you." He pulls her close to him. "We really should get some sleep though." He puts his arm around her and she holds his other hand against her cheek. "I agree. I just needed to tell you that first. I couldn't stop thinking about it all night. It was driving me crazy."

They both close their eyes and it don't take long for them to fall asleep holding each other close. Later that night when Amelia wakes up she's groggy and sits up. When her eyes adjust a little she looks around and notices that Elliot isn't in the room.

Her eyebrows furrow and she slowly goes to look out of the window in the living room. "It's still dark out?..." She says to herself. Amelia slowly walks to the hallway and peeks down. "Elliot?..." She speaks up a little louder.

Amelia slowly walks down the hall and checks his room. He's not in there. She tries Kevin's door but it's locked. "Elliot?.." She calls out again. She goes further down the hallway towards Kevin's office.

There's a dim light on in the room and the door is slightly cracked open. Amelia gulps and takes a deep breath before slowly pushing the door open. The room seems empty so she walks closer to his desk. "Elliot where are you?" She says to herself.

Suddenly, she feels all of the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she freezes. Before she can move she feels hands grab her from the window behind her. Amelia yelps and a hand covers her mouth. Her eyes widen and she hears a deep voice. "He's gone. No one is going to save you."

She closes her eyes and thinks to herself. "It has to be a nightmare. Wake up... Wake up.." She feels something cold touch her neck and her body tenses up. Amelia tries to kick behind her and then suddenly feels the man push the knife against her neck.

Then, her eyes open and she sees Elliot leaning over her with a worried look. Her breathing is heavy. "Amelia, it's ok. It was a nightmare.." He says as he holds her. Amelia cries and buries her face against his chest.

"Why do I keep having these??..." He calms her down a little. "Shhh, it's alright.. it didn't happen. You're safe." She calms down and looks up at him. "I'm sorry for waking you up like this again."

Elliot shakes his head and smiles softly. "No, don't be sorry. You're the one that went through it. Do you want to talk about it?" She hesitates to answer for a moment. "The...stranger was in your dad's office. It's like he was waiting for me... and you weren't here. He said that you were gone already and he.. grabbed me and put a knife to my throat."

"That'll never happen Amelia. I won't leave you alone like that. It's okay." He says sweetly. She nods and lets out a sigh. "I know..., What time is it anyways?" He smiles and she sits up, leaning back against him. "It's late, or early I guess. The sun will come up soon. Do you want to try and go back to sleep?"