Two Steps Behind

Part 24

 "Ouch! Shit!" Elizabeth yelped.

She had been pouring coffee for a customer and hadn't been paying attention, which was pretty common these days with everything going on. The cup overflowed and the steaming liquid hit her hand.

"Elizabeth!" Angie exclaimed, snatching the coffee pot from her and setting it down before Elizabeth could drop it. She then grabbed her hand, which was already turning an angry shade of red. "Come here."

She ran the cold water in the sink and held Elizabeth's hand under it. The sting instantly soothed but her skin was still bright red. Angie went to get the customer their coffee as Elizabeth headed into the back for the first-aid kit. She put some burn ointment on and gently wrapped it in gauze, heading back out to the front.

Her brain had been a mess this past week, like the jumble of wires behind your electronics that are so tangled you want to scream. No matter how you try, you will never be able to get them separated. You can't figure out which one is supposed to go to which thing. Is this the VCR? Is this the TV? It's just a disaster and that was exactly what she was, a walking, talking disaster. She had been forgetting things, unable to focus, and unable to sleep.

She had been so happy for those few days before that picture had appeared on her pillow. For that little bit of time, Elizabeth had been able to forget the storm that was hovering just out of sight. She ignored all of the flashing warning signs that danger was near. She had wrapped herself up in Eddie, tricking herself into believing that she could actually be happy, actually have the life she wanted. Once again, she was just a fool. The choices she made were never going to let her go, they were going to rip her back down in the darkness of the black hole her life had become.

Elizabeth forced her mind to focus on the task at hand. She retrieved coffee orders like an automaton. Pouring drinks, handing them out, pouring more drinks, wiping up a spill, greeting the customers, pouring another drink, making more coffee, taking out the trash. On and on it went for the next hour and it was a welcome reprieve from the shadows creeping through her mind.

"How's your hand?" Angie asked in concern as a lull in business hit.

"It's fine," she muttered.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing but soft with worry. "It seems like you're having a lot of trouble focusing. Besides burning yourself, you've given the wrong orders to the wrong people multiple times and you put the trash in the utility closet instead of out in the dumpster. I also caught you wiping down the same spot on the counter for, like, five minutes. I feel like this last week you've been a bit off."

"And you would know that because we know each other so well?" Elizabeth asked with annoyance and then instantly regretted it when she saw Angie's wounded expression. She didn't deserve her wrath. All she'd done was try to be Elizabeth's friend. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. You're right. I haven't been myself this week. There's just a lot going on right now, and I am having a hard time sleeping and that is turning into a hard time focusing."

"Eddie or David?"

Elizabeth was done with hiding things. She was so exhausted from trying to conceal everything, being careful about what she said so people didn't judge her. Who gave a shit what other people thought? It didn't matter anyway. Nobody was going to stop what was coming. Nothing she did or didn't say was going to change anything. She had spent too long dressing herself in false happiness like it was a cloak that could shield herself from the perception of others and she didn't have the energy for it anymore.

"Eddie and I...we were intimate," she finally answered.

Angie's eyes went wide, her mouth forming a perfect 'o', and she resembled an overly excited owl. Elizabeth had to fight the urge to laugh and it actually felt good.