Two Steps Behind

Part 12

 Eddie pulled into his driveway, getting out and going around to help Elizabeth out. She must have apologized a hundred times on the ride over here, half in and half out of consciousness. He was just glad she hadn't gotten sick in his van. He opened the door and reached in, grabbing her arms to pull her upright. She swayed, falling back into the van. Groaning, he bent forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hauled her back up, his hands holding her waist and he half-carried her into the house.

"Eddie...do you hate me?" she asked, her words slurring together and her head bobbing uselessly.

"No, sweetheart," he assured her, moving her into his bedroom. "I could never hate you. I wish you wouldn't have drank so much but it's okay. I got you."

"You've always had me," she mumbled. "Why are you so perfect?"

He laughed, setting her down on his bed and gently pushing her back so she was lying down. She desperately needed to close her eyes and sleep it off. This wasn't the first time he had taken care of her drunk, but it had been a really long time since he'd seen her this drunk.

Even the first time hadn't been this bad. They'd broken into her mom's stash while she was out with friends. Elizabeth had started mixing random things and it didn't end well. She wound up with her head in the toilet while he sat next to her and held her hair. They'd both wound up passing out on the cold tile, her mom finding them in the middle of the night.

"I don't know about perfect," Eddie protested.

"But you are! It's infuriating..." she yelled, throwing her hands up and he had to pull his head back so she didn't whack him in the face.

"I mean...I'm sorry, I guess," he said, humoring her, as he sat on the edge of the bed and removed her shoes, tossing them across the room.

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. I should be sorry. I'm the sorry one," she insisted.

"And what should you be sorry for?"

"I'm so stupid..."

Eddie sighed, preparing himself for a drunken speech. "You're not."

"I am," she groaned. "Eddie, I married the wrong guy. I should have known...it was wrong. He was bad, bad, bad. I picked the wrong one."

"You did," he agreed. Damn if he didn't agree but he wasn't going to make her feel worse than she already did. She wasn't going to remember any of this tomorrow anyway. "I won't argue that fact, but you are not the only person who has made a mistake and married a jerk."

"No...I mean, you..."

"Me?" he asked, confused. "I know you had a lot to drink princess, but we're not married."

"We should be, Eddie. I should have married you."

He paused, staring down at her, holding his breath. What the hell was she saying? She was just drunk and talking nonsense. She didn't mean anything she was saying. She struggled to sit up and looked at him.

"You...you're perfect," she whispered, her eyes struggling to hold his gaze. "I love you. I always have. You're my person, you know? You're Eddie. My Eddie. Oh god...you've always been my Eddie. I'm just stupid. It should have been you. You...you are the most perfect."

"Elizabeth..." he began, needing to stop her. He couldn't take this. He couldn't listen to her say all the things he wanted to hear, knowing she didn't mean any of them. She was drunk and emotional and spouting off nonsense.

She cut him off, climbing into his lap. His mind went blank as her lips smashed down into his. God, how many times had he wished for this? How many times had he imagined this exact thing happening, imagined her saying all those words to him? Her fingers wound through his hair and he groaned. His arms wrapped around her, crushing her body against his. Very quickly, he lost all sense of reason but just as quickly, he came back to his senses, and gently pushed her off his lap, standing up.