Chapter 3:
I was unsure how many times I hit him. I finally stopped and looked up to see El still tied to the chair staring at me with a look of satisfaction, not fear. I immediately dropped the wooden rail and fell back onto the bed. I reached into the nightstand drawer and found scissors to cut the zip tie off my ankle. I then ran over to El to get him released from his restraints. I removed the tape from his mouth and then cut his zip ties off. He immediately stood up and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. There was just silence as he held me against him. His embrace made me feel so warm and safe like no one else could. After several minutes, he pulled back and glanced down at Lewis lying on the floor. A large pool of blood had accumulated around his head and his face was almost unrecognizable. El leaned down, placed his fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. He looked up at me, "He's gone Liv. I'm so sorry you went through that, and I couldn't stop it. I felt so helpless." Elliot then called 911 and we waited for the first responders to show up.
I was severely dehydrated and still intoxicated from all the vodka he forced me to drink. I was brought to the hospital where I was told I would spend a couple of days getting fluids and making sure everything was ok. El went to the hospital as well but was discharged with minor injuries. While in the hospital, I relived every moment of the last few days to try and wrap my head around what had happened. I had nightmares and would wake up screaming. Fin and Rollins both visited me and stayed by my bedside trying to comfort me. I asked Fin if he had seen Elliot and he awkwardly told me, "No, I haven't seen him, but I spoke with Kathy and she said he is doing ok." Fin wouldn't look me in the eyes when telling me this and I asked him why he was acting so weird. He finally told me that I was screaming for El when I was having one of my nightmares. My face blushed and I was suddenly embarrassed. I didn't want anyone to know how I felt about El. He was married with five kids and I'm sure in no way felt the same way for me. I know he cares about me since we are partners but it's probably the same way he cares about everyone on the SVU team. Fin said he had to get back to work and that he would come by tomorrow to help me get discharged.
The words, "discharged," caused me to suddenly have this sinking panicked feeling over the thought of going back to my apartment. There is no way I could ever stay there again after what happened. I felt so lonely and lost at that moment. El was at home healing with a huge support system from his wife and kids. I had absolutely no one to stay with and didn't know how to handle the aftermath of this ordeal. I found myself constantly glancing at the doorway hoping that El would walk in. He always knew what to do and I really needed to see those beautiful eyes with his comforting smile. I never heard from him while I was in the hospital and didn't realize how depressed that made me. How come he didn't even check on me after what we went through? I'm sure he was spending as much time as he could with his family but not even a phone call? Fin brought me to a hotel to stay at until I could find a new apartment. He got me all settled in and asked me if I needed anything before he left. I told him I was good and was planning on just trying to rest and focus on healing. He told me he would call me later to see how I was doing.
A couple hours later I was flipping channels on the tv realizing I was distracted and not really focused on anything. I heard a knock at my door and my heart began to race. I started to breathe faster, and a wave of absolute fear radiated through my body. Who could it be? I know Lewis was dead, but I still panicked that he had come back for me. I forced myself to stand up and walk towards the door to see who it was. My legs felt like they had 100-pound weights on them and my mouth was too dry to utter any kind of words. I made it to the door after what felt like an eternity and looked through the peephole. It was Elliot! What was he doing here and how did he know where to find me? I opened the door, and he gave me one of his perfect smiles and said, "Hey Liv, how are you?"