Thank you so much to coldcup, Rima-chan99, Calamella, and PastelReader for reviewing this story! You guys have no idea how much this motivates me to continue on with writing this story!
AN: Just a quick notice, this story will now be updated every Sunday from now on. I realized I shouldn't leave you guys in the dark to figure out whenever I will post, so I decided to pick a day, just to ease you guys a bit! It also helps me too, since it'll give me more time to type up everything. Anyways, Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Three
The man's hand gripped Elizabeth's elbow, not tight enough to hurt, but enough to make her alarmed. 'Fight him!' Her conscience screamed at her, but she was taught to never fight until it could count. She needed to find a weapon. 'The lamp in my room...the bat in the garage...' her mind was spinning with possible objects as her eyes darted around desperately. Her gaze landed on the singing fish mounted on the wall.
The guy, Meliodas, stopped outside her studio and looked inside. The Christmas tree sparkled in the corner and her camera was perched on top of the tripod. He looked back at her as if she was loony. Hawk, horns now dangling off to the side of his face, ran between their legs and look his place in front of the tree.
"I think I get it now, you're a photographer," Meliodas said, "You were taking pictures of your animals, like for a Christmas calendar or something."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, eyes still searching around for weapons. Hawk ran past them once more and darted straight into her room. Her bedroom...where this man with a gun and handcuffs was taking her.
Fear coiled in her stomach. Just what did he have in mind? His handcuffs clinked as he shifted.
"What's today?" Meliodas nudged her farther down the hall. When she didn't reply, he squeezed her arm lightly. "Look at me, I'm not going to hurt you. I need your help. Just relax and talk to me, you'll find out soon that I'm not a bad guy. What's today?"
Elizabeth glanced down, a million thoughts spinning in her head. "What do you mean?"
He pushed open her office door, peeked in, and probed her to step forward. "Your mother said you were depressed because of today's date. I thought maybe it was your-"
"It's none of your business!" She snapped suddenly. No, she wouldn't tell him about her life or this day. She wouldn't let him kill her in her own home, leaving her stiff, wearing a 'Divorced, Desperate, and Delicious' shirt.
Meliodas shrugged, "Is it your birthday? You turn thirty today?"
'Thirty?' Elizabeth's head whipped to him as she stopped abruptly in her steps. "Do I look thirty?"
"No, I...I just meant..." He avoided her gaze and peered down the hallway.
The urge to fight and fight dirty came over her. Not giving him a chance to explain himself, she reached back, snatching the singing fish off of the wall and swung hard, catching him unaware. She managed to hit a good one to his head, a feeling of pride swelling inside her.
The intruder fell to his knees as the fish started to sing its tune. "Take me down to the river..."
Weapon gripped tightly in hand, Elizabeth darted down the hall. She ran past the grandfather clock, the recliner, and almost was in reach of the doorknob when he grabbed a handful of her shirt. She managed to take two more steps before falling back into him like a stretched rubber band. Refusing to go down that easy, she turned sharply and gave him all she had.
"What do you want to do now?" Dreyfus asked.
Hendrickson stared out of the windshield and pressed a tight fist into his thigh until he could feel a bruise forming. Twenty years of his life he had given to the force. he's been shot twice, knifed, and lost his wife and children because he gave too much of himself to his damn job. Now, they wanted to hand him a gold watch and a joke of a pension.
"Take me back to my car." He replied. For five years, he has been subsidizing his retirement fund. Two months ago, when his last partner retired with a little cushion of his own, Hendrickson had been worried about being assigned a new partner. But rumors he had heard countless of times said that Meliodas was a suicidal maniac. A man who ghost-walked through life, waiting to join the country of the dead. Hendrickson had thought he would be an easy target. If he couldn't pull it off behind Meliodas' back, he could always bribe him.
"What are we going to do if he turns us in?" Dreyfus asked, slight concern in his voice.
"I already have that handled. They already think he's dirty." Hendrickson slammed his fist on the dashboard. The rumors were mistaken about Meliodas. The man seemed to have a death wish, but he had some kind of black mojo keeping him alive. Every idiotic risk he took, he came out strutting high with that stupid grin of his. And whenever Hendrickson would hint at possibly making a little more income on the side, Meliodas would brush it off as if he had meant it as a joke. The man didn't have what it took to go on the take. Hendrickson knew that, but was counting on others not knowing.
"Damn it!" Hendrickson cursed aloud. "I didn't want this to happen like it did. He is suppose to be dead, I'm suppose to know he's dead! He could be hiding somewhere, biding his time. He's been shot, damn it! There can't be more than twenty homes he could've reached. I'm going to talk to every residence in the area." he cracked his knuckles to relieve the growing tension there. "And you're going to come back and drive this area until-"
"He's most likely dead." Dreyfus started the car and put it into gear. "Besides, I have to leave at six. I promised my son-"
Hendrickson pulled his gun out of his holster and aimed it right between Dreyfus' eyes. "You are going to do what I tell you. If you don't, you will die regretting it."
Dreyfus stomped on the brake as the car jerked, and Hendrickson's finger slipped.
The gun went off.
Elizabeth swung right, then left, trying her damn hardest to hit another blow to the intruder's head. However, he dodged all her attacks with practiced ease, not even attempting to hit back. Somewhere in the less clouded part of her brain, she realized that he still had a gun and all she has was a piscine fish. The thought brought over her an overwhelming urge to run.
Turning around, she started to hurriedly make her way to the door, but her bare foot landed on the damp towel that was on the floor from earlier. With no traction, her feet flew up, and she landed headfirst into the chest that she used as a coffee table. The impact loosened her death grip on the fish as it slid across the floor.
"Elizabeth! Are you okay?" Meliodas' words rang in her ears.
He rolled her over carefully as he began to examine her. Her head was pounding fiercely as the fish started to sing again. "Take me down to the river...". The words, "You better not cry, you better not pout..." Also sounded throughout the house. She closed her eyes as the lyrics began to merge together. She wasn't going to the river. She wasn't going to cry. But she could so some serious pouting right now!
Masculine fingers moved over her head and a soft purr sounded in her ear, whiskers tickling her cheek.
"Elizabeth? Are you okay?" He sounded concerned and winded.
Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly and tugged her shirt down. Wandle leaned over her right side and the trespasser on the other. His face was so close she could feel his warm breaths of air brush her cheeks and some dazed section of her brain registered his eyes were the same emerald green as Wandle's- a vivid green that seemed to entrance and pacify her as the fingers that parted her hair.
"It didn't break the skin, but you're gonna have a hell of a bruise there. I'll get you some ice." Meliodas said, moving away from her sight of vision.
Shutting her eyes again, she tried to find her thoughts. This man had a wounded shoulder and she had clobbered him in the head with a singing fish, but he was aiding her? even though her head did hurt, his injury must've been worse.
Sitting forward, she ignored the sharp throb in her head by the action and leaned against the chest that nearly made her see stars. From where she was, she could hear the fridge dispense ice: clank, clunk. Then, the recorder played it's message, "Eat the tuna and..."
Her mind blocked out the rest of the words as her thoughts circled back to the man in the kitchen. She had never seen eyes so green. They were almost the same color as Wandle's, it was crazy. As she was caught up in her thoughts, her gaze suddenly caught sight of the back door. Then reality hit: Why was she sitting her waiting for ice, contemplating his eye color, when she should be escaping?!
She was about to hop up to her feet, when she heard him come back into the room. Carrying one of her dish towels in hand, he made his way over to her, grunting slightly as he knelt , then held the dishrag containing ice to her forehead.
"I'm fine." She pushed his hand away.
"Hold the ice to it. It will ease the swelling." Meliodas insisted.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she snatched the ice from his hand and flung it across the floor. Hawk howled, causing the man to look down the hall, then slowly rise to his feet.
"Fuck!" He started down the hall, away from her form.
No messing around this time! She leapt up and ran toward the door. She almost made it to the door when she heard him say, "Don't do it, please. I need your help. I really, really need your help."
Elizabeth pictured him with a pistol aimed at her back, ready to shoot. Her breath was caught as her knees locked. She was almost about to raise her hands in a sign of surrender until she remembered her bare body beneath her shirt. "Don't shoot me." She turned to face him slowly.
Meliodas stood there, legs parted slightly, and staring at her. Instead of a gun in his hand, he held Hawk. The dog was now licking his face as if all hatred from him earlier had vanished. While Hawk's pink tongue lapped at his cheek, Meliodas' eyes never left hers.
" I accidentally stepped on your dog's leg when I was coming after you. You might wanna check his leg, but I don't think it's broken." He leaned against the doorframe as if the world was spinning to him. "And I'm not gonna shoot you."
Elizabeth stared at him in slight disbelief. First, the ice, and now he was concerned about Hawk. Heart pounding, she stalked forward, taking the tiny mutt into her arms. Hawk, who appeared seemingly unharmed, began to lick at her neck in a show of affection. Discarding the smooches, she moved her hand over his leg and gave a small squeeze. When he didn't whimper, she sat him on the ground to see how he walked. He limped for a moment on his left hind leg, but after a few steps he started to out more weight on it.
"He's okay." She said, looking to the man.
"I'm sorry," He spoke out, pressing a calloused hand to his temple. "I don't want to hurt you, your pets, or your talking fridge. I just need some time to recover, then I'll be gone."
Elizabeth examined him. Short, medium skin tone, and...His rowdy blonde locks, a couple of weeks past of needing a haircut, stuck out in nearly every direction. He had the body build of a well-built soldier, not to bulky, but far from scrawny. Dark red blood stained his shirt.
"I'm not the bad guy." His voice echoed with honesty and exhaustion. But echoes could lie...
She looked at his face, assessing him: Sharp jawline, a nondescript nose that fitted his face, full lips. Not the face of a murderer. But then, how would she know? She's never met a murderer.
Her heart was racing with uncertain dear, her palms growing sweaty, but somewhere inside her mind, the smallest amount of doubt started to flicker. Is he telling the truth? "Prove it. Call the police."
"I will...eventually. But right now, I need to make sense of this." he leaned his head against the doorjamb.
"Make sense of what?" Elizabeth probed.
"Everything. And I'm too tired to think." Meliodas began to stand straighter. "Grab the ice and let's go."
She made note on his gun sticking out of his pants and the handcuffs that hung from the loop of his jeans. Her heart raced at a higher speed. She picked up the ice as Hawk ran beside him, causing Meliodas to back up as if not wanting to step on him again. Would a cold-hearted killer watch his step as to not injure a dog?
"C'mon and hold the ice to your head. It'll help." He insisted.
Elizabeth placed the dishrag containing the ice to her bruise and followed him hesitantly. As they made their way down the hall, the phone rang again. The machine answered it.
They got to the bedroom, and her sound system paused the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" while it began to play Diane's voicemail. "Call me when you get a chance. Bye," Her friend said.
Meliodas looked around her room, walking over to her bed. He spotted a pair of gray sweatpants on top of the comforter and picked it up before tossing them to her. "Here, put these on." He said as her red, silk panties with the words 'Hot Stuff' written on the bottom, dropped to his feet from the pants.
Elizabeth caught the sweatpants, before setting the ice on the dresser, and began to quickly dress herself in the pants, being careful not to expose herself more than she already had. When she finished, she looked up to find him studying her lone panties with a curious look in his eyes. Her heart paused momentarily when his eyes caught hers.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Believe me and you'll feel better, and so will I." Meliodas placed his hand on the spot on his head where she had swung at him. "You sure know how to swing a mean fish." He flashed a grin at her, but pain seemed to cause his smile to falter slightly.
His gaze shifted to the LCD TV mounted on the wall. "Would you mind turning on the TV? And can we cut the Christmas music? I think I've heard this song at least four times."
Elizabeth walked toward the wall and hit a switch, causing the music to pause its tune. Then, she walked over to her dresser and picked up a black remote control before pressing the power button that turned on the TV. A tampon commercial blared across the screen. Cath, his red elf suit hanging crooked, stalked into the room and leapt onto the bed to claim his spot beside Hawk, who was now sitting on the bed comfortably.
Staring at the animals, Meliodas moved closer to her. As his shoes squeaked against the wood floor, fear grew in her mind as he inched closer to her body.
"Give me your hands," He said.
"Why?" She asked, eyeing him.
"Because I'm going to handcuff you."
"And you expect me to believe that you don't plan on hurting me?" Her gaze shifted from him to the lamp on her nightstand as she thought about weapons to use to her advantage.
"Have I hurt you yet? That fall wasn't my fault."
In a flash, he had her right wrist cuffed, then he connected the other end to the bed. Elizabeth gave it a hard yank. The metal ring clanked harshly against the brass pole of her bed and panic began to rise in her. He had gotten her now. Caught and trapped. Dear God!
"I'm not going to do anything to you. Sit down." Meliodas said, picking up the lamp from her nightstand and setting it out of her reach as if he had read her mind earlier, then he took the phone and set it away as well. "Relax, Elizabeth. Soon, all of this will be over. Now, sit." He pointed to the bed.
She sat, eyes narrowing at him. Then, her phone rang, it was Diane...again. "I know you're working and all, but I don't have a husband, I'm too emotionally weak to take a lover, and you and Elaine are all I have. Call me! You're not going to believe who I got a letter from. Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Elizabeth attempted to ignore Diane's voice, which took a lot of concentration. Just her friend's voice alone could make one overwhelmed. A perfect person for Ritalin, Diane didn't breathe when she talked. And Diane always talked. 'So~, I was thinking." Diane continued.
Blocking out her friend's chatter to worry about the fact that she was handcuffed to her own bed by a gun-wielding stranger, Elizabeth watched her Meliodas walk into her bathroom.
"Nice," She heard him say to himself, knowing he was talking about her Jacuzzi with the attached television. Then, she heard him rummaging around through her drawers, followed by the creak of her mirror medicine cabinet, causing her eyebrow to twitch in slight annoyance at his snooping.
Meliodas walked back inside her room holding multiple pill bottles. "Is this an antibiotic?"
He tossed a bottle into her lap and she dropped the remote in her free hand to pick up the pills. The handcuffs clinked at her movement. "Why do you need an antibiotic?" She asked.
"They usually give you one after you've been shot."
"Shot?" He eyes darted to his shoulder, "I mean, I know you were bleeding, but I thought that...How bad is it?"
"I'm not dead yet," Meliodas said, shrugging, "What was the antibiotic for?"
Elizabeth peered down at the bottle. "I don't think this will help. And it expired six months ago. It's probably no good."
"What was it for?" He pressed.
"...A female infection." Elizabeth finally said, her face growing warm as she glanced away.
"It's better than nothing." He said, walking over to her and taking the bottle. He opened it with little difficulty and swallowed the last two pills, then held out another bottle. "What are these for?"
Elizabeth bit her lower lip in hesitation before her eyes looked at him and she answered, "Menstrual cramps and bloating."
"Good, I'd hate to feel bloated." Meliodas said with a grin as he opened the bottle and popped two tablets into his mouth. "You got any rubbing alcohol or bandages?"
"Under the cabinet in the bathroom." Elizabeth said, shifting slightly as the cuffs jingled against the bed post again, causing her to cringe slightly.
"Thanks. I'll replace everything I use." He said.
'Don't you think you should go to the hospital?" Elizabeth asked, looking at him unsure.
"If I go to the hospital, they'll have the cops there in less than twenty minutes. I'm not going anywhere until I've got this thought through." Meliodas explained, turning to walk to the bathroom.
"But you've been shot! You're not James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger. You could die, and I could be stuck here, handcuffed to the bed, with your decaying body. Then you would start to stink and I-"
"The bullet only grazed me." He said, cutting off her rambling as he walked to the bathroom.
She heard him moving around, before a hiss was heard and he let out a few choice of words.
A few seconds later, he came back out, shirtless. The smell of rubbing alcohol scented into the air when he entered. Her eyes moved over him and her heart, having played horror's beat for the last half an hour, now drummed to a different rhythm. God help her for thinking this, but the man was a near-perfect example of the male sex. And it has been a very long time since she had the pleasure of looking at one in person.
His thick arms had biceps that just seemed to say, "Let me hold you," without screaming, "Look at me." Between those biceps, her eyes landed on his flat stomach and torso, with his six-pack shaping his abdomen that she believed he managed naturally. Light blond hair dusted his chest faintly, making him look masculine without seeming Neanderthal. Her gaze lowered to a think treasure trail of hair that grazed down his stomach, swirled around his navel and eased into his jeans. Wet jeans molded to every shape and contour of his...manliness.
Realizing that she was ogling his body, she quickly look away. "You're still shot. You should really see a doctor. It looks red around your shoulder." Elizabeth said, hoping he had thought she had been looking at his bandage
If he saw through her very obvious lie, he did not gloat. He walked to the opposite side of the bed and placed his gun on the bedside table. "You have a shirt that I could wear for the meantime?" He asked, looking toward her.
"Um, in the hall closet. A few promotional T-shirts should be in a box." She wouldn't have been so helping, but getting him dressed was important, getting him out of the room vital.
He walked out into the hall and she heard the closet door open. Her eyes landed on the gun on the table. If she could just... She rolled over onto her stomach, scooting as far as she could with the cuff connected to her wrist and reached out her other arm. She could almost feel the steel of the gun, but her fingers just didn't quite...
"Hey." The sound of his voice stopped her in her tracks.
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