Two Steps Behind

Part 36

 Elizabeth continued pulling the trigger, even after all the bullets were spent, unable to stop, needing to end it, to ensure he was finally gone. She screamed, her body releasing all of the anguish and fury and terror that man had subjected her to over the years. Tremors shook her body, the gun trembling in her hands, but she held it steady in the direction of his body. He was a monster and the monsters in all the horror movies always got back up. She had to make sure he couldn't come back. She was not built for a sequel to this horror story.

"Baby, it's okay," Eddie whispered, crawling toward her. "It's over. He's dead, sweetheart." He placed his hand over top of hers, gently wrapping his fingers around the gun. "Let go of the gun now. It's okay. He's gone."

Elizabeth slowly released the gun and Eddie slid it across the floor, away from the two of them. Then his arms were surrounding her, his familiar warmth and comfort soothing her frayed nerves. She turned into him, her arms clutching at him, needing to know he was there, he was safe. She'd come so close to losing him forever. Then the sobs came, her whole body shaking with them as she continued to cling to him. He was the only thing keeping her from falling into the abyss.

Eddie glanced over at David's body. He was definitely dead, blood pooling around his still frame. No one could survive that many bullets. Elizabeth had just kept shooting and his chest was full of bullet wounds. Shit, when he saw him point that gun at her face...but no, it didn't happen. They were both still here. He chose to focus on that because that was what mattered. He pulled back to look at her face.

"It's okay. He's gone. It's all over now," he said, his lips pressing kisses all over her face. "Jesus, I thought I was going to lose you."

"I thought I did lose you," she whispered, her voice shaking with each tear that trailed down her face. "God, I still feel like I did."

"You didn't," Eddie assured her, cradling her face in his hands to look into her eyes. He took her hand, placing it against his chest so she could feel his heartbeat "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, princess, ever. You didn't lose me. I am never going to leave you."

She nodded, clenching her fists in his shirt and pulling him close again, burying her face against his neck. She greedily drank in the scent of him, her hands clinging to his him. How had she spent so long not telling him how she felt? Elizabeth had never been more terrified in her life than when David had lifted that gun toward him. Not even when David had been hurting her. The thought of a world without Eddie in it was too agonizing to contemplate.

"How did you get loose?" she asked.

"I started working on those ropes the second after he tied me up," Eddie explained. "When he called you...when I thought you would be in danger, I knew I had to get free. I couldn't let him hurt you again. I'd promised I would keep you safe and I had every intention of keeping that promise. Once I got a hand loose, I got my pocketknife from my jeans. He was so focused on you, he didn't even notice what I was doing."

"Oh..." she whispered and then her quiet tears turned into ugly sobs, her entire body shaking, the reality of what just happened crashing down over her. She held onto Eddie as if he would float away and disappear if she let go.

"Christ," Eddie mumbled against her hair and she could feel his body trembling too. "I love you. I love you so much. I just need you to know that. When I thought you might be gone, I just thought, does she know how much I love her? I need to know that you know."

"I do know that," she assured him. "I do. I love you too. I will always love you."

He nodded, and they sat there, rocking slowly, trying to comfort each other. She could hear his heartbeat, the one that usually soothed her, but it was racing just like her own at the moment. It didn't matter, just feeling his body next to hers was soothing. She didn't know how she would ever be willing to let him go again.