by S. M. Bowles
I felt him clamping down on my emotions and moaned as Michael steered me back to reality, “How Michael, how can you leave her like this?” I cried.
Michael had me by the shoulders, “The police and the paramedics will be here soon. I need you to leave...,” he thought for a moment, “go to Victor’s. He must have a room there. Go now, before it’s too late.”
“What?” I shook my head, “No, why would I…” then I knew.
He had just come home from a business trip. He invited his mother to visit. They had dinner and after telling her he had gotten engaged, the night slipped away from them. They talked about his fiancé and all their plans for the wedding and their future together.
When he was getting ready to bring Margaret home, Charlie showed up embittered and enraged. His ex-girlfriend was Michael’s fiancé. Michael had me transfixed and I could see everything the way he would encourage the police to see it. I looked around me. Charlie was sitting in a stupor on the bed; the gun still in his hand. Margaret was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
“She is just in shock, Elayna. It is not as bad as it looks. I promise you, she will be alright.”
He kissed my forehead; we could hear the sirens rapidly approaching, “Please,” he urged me, “this is the best way for this to end. No one will get hurt.”
I took a deep breath, one last look at Charlie and Margaret and did what Michael suggested. I cried throughout the entire drive and berated myself for not knowing Charlie nearly as well as I thought I did. Just a short while ago I thought he loved me and Margaret and could never do anything to hurt either of us. I thought I loved him, too.
I wondered what would happen to him.
“Oh, Margaret,” my head was swimming with so many questions, so many fears. I needed to hurry though, I needed to trust Michael and push those thoughts aside. As I neared the downtown area I began to feel sluggish; my heartbeat and my breathing began to slow. I parked in the garage and raced up the stairs into the lobby of Victor’s building. I didn’t know of any other entrance into his apartment than the elevator and I fretfully waited while it made its way down. My knees started to give way and the few people who saw me stumble when the doors slid back gave me some curious looks. I felt the first little tremors flick across my skin and as someone approached the elevator intending to ride up to their floor with me I convinced him to turn away and that he should wait for another car.
I slumped to the floor as soon as the doors slid closed. I was shielded for the moment and clawed my way back to standing. When I finally reached the penthouse I turned left and right wondering where Victor’s darkroom would be.
“Where the sun shines the least,” I thought and after getting my bearings felt my way along the wall. I pulled all the panels off the light switches and outlets as I went remembering Michael’s panic room.
It was getting too bright and my sight was blurring. My skin started to rise like gooseflesh as it began to blister and blemish. I tumbled through an open doorway when I unwittingly came to a break in the wall.
“Oh, oh, oh my,” I whispered.
I had found it but it was not at all what I expected. It was a bedroom just like any other and very contemporary in design with all the furnishings in contrasting shades of black and white. The most significant piece was the bed. It was steel-framed and tented with what looked like a heavy tarp. I lovingly ran my fingers over the folds of the tapestry. It was cold and solid, “Lead,” I whispered. Whoever had made it must have been a master craftsman; it was so intricate and finely woven. I crawled through the opening and draped it closed.
I think I smiled as I laid my head against the pillow and fell into my daytime languor.
Chapter 27
I lay completely still when I woke though I wasn’t sure I could have moved even if I had wanted to. Michael was sound asleep and wrapped around me. We were a tangle of arms and legs pretzeled together in the darkness. I smiled thinking that this was the first time I had seen Michael rest. His face was always the last thing I saw before I fell asleep and the first thing I saw when I woke.
He looked impossibly beautiful as I studied his features one by one.
“I’m not asleep,” he nibbled my ear teasingly, startling me out of my reverie.
“Do you ever sleep?”
“Sometimes, not like you, though. You look carved from stone when you rest; you look…eternal.”
I tried to sit up, “Where’s Margaret? Can I see her?”
“Whoa,” Michael said and tugged me back down. “Yes, we can go visit her but not right now. She’s home and quite alright I assure you.”
“I need to see for myself,” I tried to escape again.
“Elayna, you can’t. Not yet anyway. The police think you are out of town. I told them you were visiting family up North and that I haven’t been able to reach you just yet. I had to have them believe that you weren’t aware of anything that happened; that you weren’t involved in any way. It has to be this way. Charlie was arrested; you know what that means don’t you? He may have to have a trial and you…you can’t testify during the day.”
I buried my face in my hands, “Oh, this is awful. Michael, you have to tell me everything that happened.”
“There’s not much to tell, Elayna. The police came and took Charlie away. Margaret went to the hospital she was treated and released. We gave our statements and that was the end of it. I brought Margaret home and came straight here. This is magnificent, by the way,” he ran his fingers over the leaden drapes, “Victor…”
“You’re keeping something from me.”
Michael sighed, “Elayna,” he shook his head. There was a long drawn out pause, “It was for the best.”
“What Michael?!” I demanded.
He closed his eyes, “I…I didn’t make him forget. I didn’t even try.”
“You what?”
“He knows…he knows everything.”
“Oh, no!! Has he said anything? What will people do when they find out about us?”
“No one is going to find out. Charlie is…Charlie is…he’s not together.”
“He’s crazy?!”
Michael was shaking his head, “It was for the best, Elayna. Everything that happened last night, it was for the best.”
My eyes went wide with understanding, “It was planned! You planned it! You knew everything that would happen and you let it?! Good God, Michael, how could you do that? You let Charlie shoot Margaret and… oh, oh, if you hadn’t stopped me I would have killed Charlie for hurting her.”
“No, I didn’t plan anything, Elayna, how could I? I suspected the way things would turn out, yes and given the choices between killing Charlie, putting him in jail for a few years so he could do this all over again and putting him somewhere safe for the rest of his life; I think I made the right choice! Victor tried to make him forget and we all know how that turned out. What if I couldn’t do it or it wore off?”
All my anger suddenly dwindled into insignificance as I came to the realization that Michael was right. What he had done was the safest alternative for everyone involved.
“Oh, Michael,” I threw myself around him. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I know it must have been a difficult choice and you did what was best for me and for Margaret.” I started to cry, “We have ruined so many lives.”
“We have made some bad choices; me especially. I should never have encouraged Charlie to love you but he did it willfully and that was his choice. You can’t blame yourself for that. He knew there were no guarantees; it could have been like any other relationship running its course.”
I sniffled, “And Margaret?”
“My mother loves you like a daughter, Elayna. She would have eagerly made the same mistakes over and over again if it meant having you in her life.”
“And Victor?”
“Victor made his choices, too. He thought…he thought you would help him; the way you helped me when you were a little girl. He was very,” Michael flexed his hand, “c
onfused. Whatever happened you were only partially, very partially, to blame. He influenced you more than you know.” Michael wandered off into his own thoughts for a moment then softly spoke, “I think you may have influenced him, too. In the end he knew and he regretted all that he had done and understood that there was no way to make up for it all. He sacrificed himself for you.”
“For us, Michael. For us.” I thought it over for a moment then my mind suddenly changed course and I remembered what I had done to Michael and wondered out loud, “What happened to you? What happened to you last night?”
“I’m not sure, Elayna. I really don’t know,” I could see him searching his mind trying to recall.
“You’re different now, though, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I think I am. I don’t think I need to…I don’t feel like I need to…”
I understood what he was trying to say, “You let me take so much from you and you were so weak but when you found us in the darkroom it was like it never happened. You must have…” I shook my head, “it must have...yes…” the thought slowly dawned on me, “like when you are hurt and you heal. It must have replenished itself somehow; it’s like your blood fixed itself.”
Michael raised his brows, “Maybe,” he said, “that’s an interesting idea.”
I shook my head, “I wonder why I don’t feel any different. You said Gavin and Victor; they changed you and made you stronger. Why didn’t it work for me? It wore off so quickly?”
“I think it’s just too soon, Elayna. Maybe it’s because you are still changing and your body has other needs and demands that have to be met before it can adapt any further.”
Several minutes of quiet reflection passed on both our sides. I reached out and touched his cheek. He looked so sad, so defeated; sorry, perhaps, that our lives had been woven together with such a tragic tapestry of events. I silently prayed that we had seen the last of misfortune for a while. “What else could it do but get better from there,” I thought to myself.
“Come,” he peeled my hand from his cheek and pressed it to his lips, “let’s go somewhere. Let’s not think about these things any more tonight.”
I smiled, “I’d like that.”
We climbed from the bed and I made my way to the bedroom Victor had locked me in just a few short nights ago. I sorted through the clothes he had bought for me and found something to change into. Michael located the fire escape while I readied myself and we hurried down to the parking garage. He drove us to the highway and once we were on he headed east. I knew he was taking us towards the coast and that it would be an hour or two before we got there.
“Ah,” I sighed, as I nestled into the passenger’s seat and pushed all our troubles to the back of my mind. “I love you,” I breathed as he took my hand and brought it to his lips.
“I love you,” he whispered into my fingertips.
I hardly noticed the ride passing, I was so absorbed in thinking about our future together and how much I would cherish every peaceful, loving moment I hoped we would soon get to share.
Once we arrived Michael parked near one of the beach access points and helped me from the car. We walked in silence for nearly an hour enjoying the soft sounds of the ocean at night and the closeness of one another before we turned and began our walk back. There were only a handful of people out at that time of night and there was only a sliver of a moon so when Michael turned to me and bit his lip bringing a drop or two for me to taste I didn’t hesitate.
No one noticed us as we fell onto the shore and lavished our affection on each other. It was so magical, so cathartic; a precursor of things to come.
As we lay breathless in the sand Michael twirled my ring around finger while we looked up into the night sky, “From now until forever,” I sighed contentedly.
“I promise,” Michael leaned over and kissed me.
I could taste the sea on his lips, “Mmm, salty,” I giggled.
“Here,” he helped me to standing. “Let’s have some fun,” suddenly I was swept up and he was running with me in his arms towards the water.
I protested heartily, though I laughed as well, the entire way. The water was surprisingly warm as Michael waded us further and further out. When we were nearly up to his neck he spun me around and around in a circle before letting me go. The waves crashed over us time and time again as we frolicked and floated. He dove under more than once and stayed under an impossibly long time before popping up behind me causing me to scream in joyful surprise. Each time he did this I vengefully tried to dunk him, which he graciously allowed, then I smothered him with heartfelt kisses of apology.
“We’d better get out and dry off a little bit. It will be time to head home soon.”
“Aww,” I protested, hesitant to give in to the inevitable. I tried to draw him back into the water with me but he wouldn’t have it.
“Nope, come along or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and bring you back kicking and screaming.”
I didn’t dare tempt him and instead splashed him one last time, full in the face, before trotting up to the shoreline with him fast on my heels. His fingers caught mine and whirled me about so I fell hard against his chest. He tucked me under his chin, “I love you, Elayna; you are my whole world. I will do whatever it takes to get us through this as quickly and painlessly as possible so we can start our lives together.”
“I know you will Michael, I know.”
Michael took me back to Victor’s insisting that I would be more comfortable there than in the darkroom after what had happened. He settled me in for the day and promised, “Tonight I will take you to see Margaret.”
“You’re not staying?”
“I can stay until you fall asleep,” he rested his lips against my forehead, “but I have some things I need to do.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and stroked my hair, brushing it back from my temples, “I love you,” I yawned.
He chuckled, “I love you.”
Michael was not there when I woke. I felt a little pang of panic with each minute that passed and tried to busy myself by getting ready to visit Margaret. I nearly tackled him when he finally stepped from the elevator into Victor’s apartment.
“Thank goodness,” I covered him with kisses as he laughingly tried to pry me from his neck.
“I’ve missed you, too but please, Elayna, save some for later,” and when he couldn’t free himself he picked me and playfully crushed me back. When he put me down he took my face in his hands, “Now then, are you ready to go?” he gave me a quick peck.
“Yes, I’ve been ready,” I tapped my foot.
“I’m sorry, Elayna but I’ve been working with our attorneys; trying to sort things out. It doesn’t look like Charlie is going to have to go to trial. He’s had a psychiatric evaluation and will probably be declared incompetent,” Michael took a deep breath. “I know that is probably hard to hear but after what he’s done…”
“I know, Michael, I know it is for the best.”
“We’ll take care of him. We’ll find a nice place, make sure he has all the comforts and amenities and the best of care.”
“Thank you Michael that means a lot.”
When we got to Margaret’s I burst in anxious for the security of seeing her and knowing that she was alright. She had her arm in a sling, “Just to keep it still, so the wound won’t open and it has a chance to heal,” Michael assured me.
I carefully hugged her and kissed her cheeks, “Margaret, I am so sorry for all of this. I could never have imagined…”
“It’s fine dear,” she took my hand and led me to the family room, “You and Michael are everything to me, as long as you are happy and well, I am too,” she smiled.
Margaret took her favorite chair and I curled up in a corner of the couch. Michael went to the kitchen and made his mother a cup of tea while we caught up. Once he was back he sat beside me and took command of the conversation so we wouldn’t spend the entire visit talking about Charlie and all the things we wanted to put be
hind us.
He told us that he had been by my apartment and salvaged everything that he could and gotten rid of the rest. He had contractors there that were restoring the walls and floors and that once the work was done he would talk to the landlord about paying off my lease and closing that chapter of my life. Michael said the shop was in a similar state and that he had people working there as well.
We talked about giving it up but then I thought, “Why don’t you run it for me?” I asked Margaret.
“No,” she shook her head, “I’m too old to run a business. I have no desire to work so hard so late in life.”
“Get a partner, then, and let them run it for you. You could oversee things and maybe do a little baking, make some new friends, whatever you like.” I was trying to encourage her, influence her but she sensed what I was up to.
“Elayna,” she turned to Michael. “Michael, do you see what your fiancé is trying to do to me?”
He chuckled and it was obvious that he thought the idea was a good one as he turned to me, “Apparently she can resist you but I wonder if we worked together…”
I smiled at the challenge and tried to compliment his will with my own and make it Margaret’s. She shook her head, “Oh, alright, we’ll see. What else would I do anyway? Without you and Michael and Kaley all to keep me busy, there’s not much left for me now is there?”
“Aww, don’t think like that Margaret. You’ll break my heart and besides you know Michael and I will never leave you.”
“Yes, I know but once you are married…when are you getting married anyway and how do you plan to go about it?”
“Well, we haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet. I guess it will just be the three of us, here, if that’s alright with you. We’ll wait until you are better, keep it simple and once the shop is back in order and you’ve gotten it going, we’ll take a little honeymoon.”
“Hmm,” I sighed. It sounded like a nice plan, though I wasn’t sure what kind of honeymoon we could possibly take since I could only travel at night.
