Two Steps Behind

Part 7

 It had been hours since she had thought she felt his presence outside. Elizabeth sat on the couch, her knees pulled into her chest, gently rocking back and forth in an attempt to self-soothe. Her eyes and ears were on constant alert. She hadn't dared to turn on the television or music in case she missed a sound that warned her of danger.

Every now and then, she would get up and go to each window, gingerly pulling the curtain back and peeking to see if his car was out there. He had been here. She knew he'd been here. She felt like he was still close, just waiting for his time to strike. She could feel it like a virus creeping through her bloodstream, preparing to infect every part of her. David was a disease she didn't know if she would ever recover from. There wasn't medicine strong enough.

Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. She had been so stupid again. When she ran, she should have gone anywhere but home. Of course he would look for her here but she had nowhere else to go. Had she really thought he would just let her leave and move on with his life? She'd hoped that maybe, once she disappeared, he would just find someone else. It wasn't like he hadn't had plenty of other women during their marriage. But he had told her, hadn't he, that he would never allow her to leave him. He had made it clear that she belonged to him and him alone. She had the scars from that night when he marked her as his property.

This wasn't about love. It was about control and power and he wouldn't allow her to take either from him. She needed to get out of here. She didn't know if she was just losing her mind, and he wasn't anywhere around. Maybe she was just being paranoid. He had been her own personal bogeyman for so long that she expected him to jump out at her around every corner. Elizabeth felt like he was hiding under every single rock.

The problem was, she had no idea where she would go. Hawkins was the only place she had ever lived before her and David married and moved away. Her mom was the only family she had left. She didn't have other friends because David didn't allow it.

She had tried to make friends with some of her co-teachers at school. They had invited her out for drinks after work on a Friday not long after she had started teaching there, and she had gone. She had been so excited to be included, to be a part of the group. She had a great time laughing and getting to know everybody. Elizabeth had been feeling hopeful and positive about her new life. Then she got home. David had been sitting in his chair, waiting for her.

That had been the first time she had seen the monster that hid behind the mask, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. He had been angry that she had done something without his permission. He made it very clear that she was not to go out anymore. She had to come home to make sure dinner was ready for him. She had to make sure the house was clean and his laundry was done. His job was important. He brought home far more money than she did. He didn't have time to do those things. He told her he was not going to have a whore for a wife who hung out at bars, trying to pick up men while her husband was working to provide a nice life for her. If she went out, it had to be because she was looking to cheat on him. It didn't matter what she said. He wouldn't hear it.

That time, he had simply slapped her across the face with his hand open. Her cheek had stung, as well as her heart. She had been too shocked to even say anything to defend herself, unable to believe that the man she loved had just hurt her. Elizabeth remembered standing in the kitchen, crying, as she prepared dinner, trying to convince herself that it was just a fluke. It was just a one time thing. David wasn't actually like that. She knew her husband, and he wasn't capable of that. Wasn't he the same guy who had held her close their first night in this house and told her how much he loved her? He must have just had a hard day. It was her own fault. She hadn't told him she was going out with friends, and he probably got angry because he was worried, not knowing where she was.