'Cuffed to My Bed (girlxgirl)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

       Benji and Charlie left around 11 that night. Elizabeth and Sarah said goodbye with smiles, both of them enjoying the company that they had brought with them. The buffer was nice, too. When they left, the resounding click of the door was followed by pure, uncomfortable silence. Elizabeth let her hand rest on the door handle for a few seconds before she turned and made her way to her studio.  

       "Wait, Liz." 

       She paused and turned to stare at Sarah. The hallway seemed longer than normal and Liz blinked her eyes quickly before answering. 

       "What?" 

       She saw Sarah swallow before speaking. 

       "I'm sorry." 

       Elizabeth just closed her eyes and sighed. 

       "I just wish you'd talk to me about whatever is going on with you. I know something is going on. I can help-" 

       "No you can't Liz. This is- I just- I can't let you." 

       Liz walked forward until she stood in front of her. She raised her hand to touch her cheek and pulled back at the last second. They looked into each other's eyes and, though they registered the tears in both their eyes, there was no way to stop the overflow. 

       "Why?" 

       Sarah took a deep breath. 

       "Because I care about you too much for you to get hurt, Elizabeth." 

       Liz felt the right corner of her mouth lift up in an imitation of a smile. Sarah flinched. 

       "If you cared about me you would tell me. I could help you with whatever you're going through. I love you Sarah. I'm in love with you and you won't let me love you. I don't have enough love for both of us, Sarah. That's not how it works. I know you care about me, but this isn't how this works." 

       Elizabeth made herself walk backwards a couple steps away from her. Her hands fisted at her sides and flexed. She swallowed again, trying to stave off the onslaught of tears that were threatening to crumble her. 

       "I'm going to call Benji and ask if I can stay with him for a while. Just- Make sure you stay out of trouble. It follows you everywhere." 

       She tried to smile at the joke. Sarah shared a teary one with her.

       After that, Sarah found herself dialing Elizabeth's phone number into her cell-phone everyday. She barely stopped herself from pushing the call button before reminding herself that Liz asked for space. She deserved this. Sarah caused her enough trouble over the years that Liz deserved some time away from her. It didn't make her feel any better about it. Or the fact that she missed her. She hadn't overlooked the fact that Elizabeth told her that she loved her. It took all of her self-control to not say it back to her.  

       At the end of each day, Sarah found herself with a big glass of wine, curling up in the chair that faced the door. Next to her on the table was a .45 that she got after the last scuffle. The detective didn't know about it but if he had he would have agreed that it was a smart decision. She knew how to use it before she learned how to drive, before it all happened.  

       Every hour she thought about Elizabeth because there was no way her mind wouldn't resort to thinking about the one thing she wanted to distract herself from the situation. She thought about her when she was turning a corner to get away from her tail that was most definitely not a police officer. When she had a panic attack in the apartment after she got home to find some stuff missing, only to realize that Elizabeth must have come back at some point to get some things. She was her Guardian Thought.

       She fell asleep at some point in the chair, dreaming about the life that she could have had before he killed her family. She pictured her nephew sleeping next to her on the sofa and smiling after passing gas. She thought about that morning not too long ago where she woke up next to Elizabeth. How she looked so peaceful and how much she had wanted her in that moment. The pain of being stricken. 

       She woke up to movement. She was being jostled. There was a bruising grip on her arm and a sting in the back of her head. Something blocking her vision and something stopping her from speaking. The only thought in her head at that point was, 'Shit.'

       Elizabeth was having a hard time concentrating lately. It probably had something to do with the fact that she wasn't in her studio anymore. Or that she wasn't surrounded by the comforts of home. Or Benji and Charlie weren't all that quiet. She was set up in the spare bedroom which happened to be next to Benji's. And when that happened she thought about what it would have been like to be with Sarah.  

       Needless to say, Elizabeth wasn't sleeping well. Her paintings kept turning out amazing, but that was either because she was feeling grouchy or because she hadn't gotten laid in a while. It was probably a mixture of the two.  

       She found herself thinking about what Sarah could possibly be hiding. It had to be something before they met. Though Sarah doesn't talk about it much, Liz could deduce that something happened with her family. She never talked about them and when she did she would stop herself mid-sentence and choke up with tears. Elizabeth found it so painful to watch that she no longer asked her.  

       She often worried if she pushed for something that she didn't need to. She didn't want to lose her friendship with Sarah but she could no longer settle for being friends. It was the lesser of two evils.  

       Liz picked up a different paintbrush and dipped in some vermilion. Her phone buzzed as soon as it touched the canvas. She sighed in annoyance before putting the brush down and grabbing her phone. It was a text message. From Sarah. 

       Elizabeth felt herself brace before she opened it. What she saw was not what she was expecting. Sarah was handcuffed to a chair naked with tears streaming down her face and blood caking her chest, stomach and thighs. A chunk of her hair was missing on her left. 

       "Come alone or she dies. Bring nothing with you or she dies. Delete this message or she dies. I look forward to meeting you, Elizabeth. -Jose."

A/N: I try not to leave too many author notes at the end of chapters but here's one. Sorry it took so long to update. I've had a lot of personal issues to deal with on top of Writer's Block. There's only going to be a couple of chapters left! Eek!! Don't forget to vote and comment. AND the WattyAwards too! Happy Reading! ---CSwartz **edited twice**