Stay Away from Pleasure

Chapter Forty-Nine

20:42PM

Silence. That's all there is. Throughout this corridor, that she's visited earlier today, there's nothing but silence. Pummelling through her ear, the howling sound of her own breathing reassures her existence in the hallway. Silence. Nothing else. Until she snaps back to reality.

"Lisette!" Matt snaps his fingers in front of her face and she blinks.

And there it is. All the sounds she was missing erupt into her eardrums all at once. It begins with Alice's wails.

Of course Alice and Mary were very close. Alice considered Mary as her own mother after their first meeting, so this is not only hard for her, but for that little baby too. The stress will, no doubt, have an effect on the pregnancy.

Next up, we have Denny's shushes that he whispers into Alice's ear. The sound is a fresh cooing, precious, compassionate. His voice cracks, snaps and shudders as he comforts his Alice. Despite his attempt to keep calm, he still shows a shred of emotion as he slowly breaks down.

Let's move to the man standing in front of her. Matthew Legato. The most predominant sound out of all others, which is probably because he's standing directly in front of her, hands on her upper arms, squeezing lightly.

"Lisette, speak to me!" He yells softly.

Her eyes stare at him blankly with her cheeks stained with dry tears.

"Please. Please!" He begs her for one word, but nothing escapes.

"Matt, give her some space to breathe. She's obviously traumatised." Theo explains rationally.

Matt's light brown eyes with green flecks stay locked on Liz's dark brown, refusing to let her go. Slowly, as if waiting for her to push him off, he pulls his Lisette into his arms, holding her.

"Please. I can't lose you too." He whispers into her ear.

His eyes close and a precious tear rolls down his face as he hugs her, expectantly waiting, for something, anything. But nothing. Her mouth remains glued shut, but her arms rise and hold him against her body.

Dry, her lips finally separate and one sound emerges.

"Shh."

With that, she kisses his jaw and fades into the darkness.

23:14PM

Liz's eyes remain open as she lay on her side. The trauma slowly defeating her. Out of all that has happened, one thought continues to penetrate her mind, who has done all this?

From what was told to her at the hospital, it appears the murder was very similar to the one that happened to Claire. The bruises were similar and, of course, they had both been taken against their will. Just like Maria had said...

How could she have known.

"Maria." She breathes.

"She said something." Matt pushes past Theo and Aiden. He crouches down beside the bed and holds Liz's hand. "My love?" He asks, waiting patiently.

Her open eyes flicker to his.

"Maria." She says again.

Matt looks back, understanding what she's said. His eyes scope the room until they find the women they're looking for. He sticks his finger out, pointing at her.

"You. Come here." He commands.

Maria swallows in what looks like fear but is something a million times worse than that. Miraculously, her legs manage to lug her all the way to the bed without collapsing beneath her.