Running Away
Chapter 9
"Catherine......I'm sorry." I say this quietly, and she seems to not be so afraid, but she's still completely crazy.
"I'm okay, Catherine."
"But........you could've died, Gil. You could have died!" She continues, still crying, "You could've died while I was mad at you for not being there for me... when Stan came and......and......"
I can tell she's really upset. So upset that she doesn't even really know what she's talking about.........wait a minute, I don't know what she's talking about.
"Catherine, who's Stan?" I ask, stepping towards her, concern I'm sure written all over my face. She stops immediately, and looks at me with a hint of fear.
"Nothing, Gil. He's nobody." She says lamely, and trys to get past me. I reach out and grab her before she can go.
"Catherine.....who is Stan?" I ask this more determined now.
She sighs. "Now, Gil.......before I tell you this, you have to promise not to freak out on me.." She pauses as I contemplate. "Can you promise me you won't freak out?"
"It depends on what it is, Catherine." I have a feeling I'm not going to like this.
She sighs again. "I was almost......and I say ALMOST........ killed."
She must see the anger, concern, and dissappointed look on my face becuase she then says to me, "It's no big deal. I'm ok."
"No big deal!?" I scream, "No big deal? Is that what you think? You were almost killed, Catherine! And I was never notified, I was never....I.........who?"
She smiles.
"Why are you smiling!?" I ask harshly. This woman just told me she was almost killed, and now she's smiling at me.
"Nothing. You're just funny. You freak out, and then you go to your sientific side. It's cute."
"Who Catherine?" I ask again, Ignoring her.
"Stan Goggle."
"Like Syd Goggle?" I ask. Now I am completely confused.
"We sort of missed a brother when searching him........ Stan apparently searched me on the internet. He showed up at my house one night, and took me hostage in my own home. I killed his brother, so he decided to kill me."
Okay, now I know Catherine is completely crazy. She's talking so calm.....
"When did this happen?"
"Just after you left."
That explains it.
"He was kind of funny, actually. Reminded me of Ed." Funny? Yes, she's gone mad.
"How?" I ask, still curious, even though I'm concerned about her mental state.
"The whole time he held me hostage, he kept asking 'So.....where's your boyfriend?'" She smiled and chuckled a little at how funny she sounded trying to re-create how Stan sounded.
I laughed for a second, for her benefit, and then rolled my eyes and asked, "Again?"
"That's exactly what I thought!" She yelled, still smiling.
"Why do people always do that?" I ask jokingly, but completely serious. "I don't know....." She whispers, and takes a step closer to me, "Why do they, Gil?"
I gulp. "What's......uh......what's going on here, Catherine?" I ask.
"You tell me, Gil."
I think I surprised her when I lowered my head, and just kissed her. I was expecting her to pull away, slap me, and maybe even ask what I was thinking. But, she didn't. She just kissed me. After we broke apart, I looked at her and confessed. "I'm in love with you."
A huge smile spread onto her face. "I love you too." She replied, and we kissed again.
THE END
