Colors of Paris ◇ Elijah Stevenson

Chapter Thirty Eight.

I gaze around to see everything else around me is dark. The floor underneath me is my own carpet and i feel the weirdness as the palms of my feet play with it. And of course, I am tied to a chair with ropes around my wrists and my ankles. I can't move, no matter how hard I wriggle around. I realize what physical state Richie has put me in and my blood begins to boil. 

"Are you fucking kidding me!" I yell in frustration. The rope rubs against my wrists and it stings the thousand of cuts and bruises that have formed along my skin. Hot tears trail down my cheeks and fills scars on my face that weren't there before. 

Richie has to be around here somewhere. I wasn't sure how long he's left me tied into this chair or if he's swung by while I was unconscious, but the fact that the apartment door is wide open because of the air coming through....I know I am not alone. 

I shrink back in fear and close my eyes, shaking my head as I continue to quietly cry to myself. I am angry with myself. I am so fucking angry with myself. I let Richie get away with taking control of our lives again and I know that I don't stand a chance against whatever he is going to bring to me. 

"Richie?" I call out, hoping to get a response. My voice cracks and then I try to think about what is going to happen. How I can get myself out of this ....I have no ideas. 

I hang my head low and sniffle, "I am so sorry," I squeak out. And as hard as I try, all I could think of now is Elijah. 

Elijah. The more I think about him, the more angry, devastated, and guilty I become. I made him get into this. Made him choose...Richie made him choose but if it wasn't because of me there wouldn't be a problem. Luke wouldn't be a problem either. If I just took Elijah and made him run away with me things would be different, but I didn't. Now there's no point anymore. I am a goner. 

"Elijah," I choke out, "I am so sorry."

I am sorry about many things. Mason...I am sorry.  I thought I was going to get on with the rest of my life, but of course Richie always swoops in and ruins every chance that I have ever had. How did he find me here? What cruel and fucked up plan did he have to make in order to find me in America's largest city?

What is going to happen to me now? Why did Richie want me..if Elijah was able to choose? "Somebody, please help me, "I sniffle and look up at the ceiling above my head. Who am I kidding? Nobody could hear me, nobody knows  who I am. Greg and I always have been loud so this isn't but another fight or loud night to the neighbors. 

I gasp and look up when I hear my apartment door open again. The door shuts and the loud bang rattles the ground beneath me. Fear immediately strikes through me like a bolt of lightning. I slide my heels against the floor to try to push myself back, but the chair is stuck and won't let me budge. My initial thought is that Richie is finally here to finish me off, and I am absolutely terrified. 

I hear light footsteps scampering across the floor. They start off quiet but gradually grows louder whoever is in the apartment now. Anxiety and suspense fill me to the brim as I hold my breath, waiting for them to come fourth. 

My heart stops for what feels like the tenth time when I see who it is. My eyes go wide and my jaw drops to the floor, opening so fast it is caught. 

"....Elijah?"

He emerges into the room. His footsteps carrying him across the floor at a hurried speed. He looks into the room, meets my gaze, and at a dramatically slowed pace starts to walk to me. I can tell he is hiding the fact he is surprised by the current state, but I can see it in his eyes that all of the bruises on my face startles him even more. 

But I don't care. The amount of shock, relief, confusion, and disbelief that I feel at this moment is unreal. I haven't ever felt a feeling such as this feeling. My lungs tightening and my stomach flips onto it's side. My lips are slightly parted as I try to squeeze out a word but I can't do it. I am frozen like a statue, staring at Elijah as he finally approaches me.