- Chapter 6
“I’m a friend of Isabella Wellington,” Liz said to the doorman as she arrived at the Upper East Side condo.
“Yes, Ma’am.” He answered politely.
“She gave me the key. I’m spending the night.” Liz pulled the key out and showed it to the doorman.
“Yes, Ma’am. Go on in.” He nicely opened the door for Liz and waved her into the building. Possibly her story was so believable because of the bruising to her face and the large amount of personal belongings she was carrying. But for whatever reason, Liz was grateful he didn’t bombard her with questions.
All she could think about was getting into a nice warm shower and going to bed.
The apartment was impeccable. The last time Liz was up there she had been so busy avoiding eye contact with Harrison that she had not taken the time to look around at all.
Modern furniture was stylishly placed around the two bedroom condo. Not a single thing looked out of place. In fact, it looked like no one even lived there. The condo looked more like one of those furnished rental apartments. Everything was brand new, and nothing looked worn or used at all.
Liz couldn’t help but look around the condo. She took her shoes off and set her bags down by the front door before setting off to explore.
In the kitchen, she opened the fridge to see what was in there. This wasn’t a regular refrigerator; it looked more like a walk in cooler from a large restaurant. The fridge was enormous, yet hardly a parcel of food inside.
Liz peeked in some of the take-out containers and quickly closed the lids. They looked like a science experiment. There was plenty of beer and other drinks throughout the fridge though, and Liz grabbed herself a beer while she continued to explore the kitchen and rest of the condo.
There was a door off to the side of the refrigerator, as Liz opened it she found what could only be described as a child’s paradise. The pantry was full of almost every kind of junk food available. Chips, crackers, cookies, and candy were on almost every shelf. Harrison certainly liked his sweets!
Liz finished her beer as she peeked in every cabinet throughout the large kitchen. She then grabbed another one as she started to explore the living room. Pictures of Harrison and Bella were everywhere. The two of them in Paris, Berlin, and even the Great Wall of China. Liz might be older than Bella, but she certainly wasn’t as well traveled.
Liz threw her second beer into the trash and grabbed a third. At this point in her night, getting drunk seemed like a good idea.
Soon Liz found herself pillaging through Harrison’s bedroom. First his closet and the impeccably well-tailored suits he had color coordinated. Then she started opening drawers. Sock drawers, t-shirt drawers, and finally the nightstand drawer.
The nightstand was where Liz stopped.
Inside was a large variety of condoms, every style and flavor you could imagine. He also had toys in there. Harrison had a blindfold, feathers, handcuffs and some lube.
Liz quickly closed the drawer. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Or possibly it was flush from the three beers she had just finished.
Liz had not drunk more than one drink in a long time. She was always too focused on being responsible. It was time to go take a shower, soon Liz knew she would be tired and fall asleep. But she had to get this dried blood off of herself and clean out the cuts from the picture breaking.
The bathroom near Bella’s room was designed for her. It was filled with flowers and pink accessories. Normally Liz would have thought about some funny remark in regards to the amount of pink she was surrounded by, but she was just too tired.
As she slipped out of her clothes, she noticed they were covered in much more blood than she had originally realized. Liz laid them by the door and turned the shower on as hot as it would go.
The warm water felt amazing on her back, and Liz stood there for a good five minutes just letting the warmth sooth her aching muscles.
How did she end up at this point in her life Liz thought? She was homeless. It had finally happened. No one except a few friends that cared about her. No, boyfriend. No, family. Even her friends might just feel bad for her, and Liz wasn’t sure if they cared at all. Soon the tears were flowing.
Liz couldn’t bear to stand even. Her body was exhausted. Emotionally she was a mess. The alcohol wasn’t helping. The warm shower was making her so tired. Liz thought about just turning the water off and going to sleep right there. It seemed like too much effort to stand back up though.
Emotions overwhelmed her as Liz sat there on the shower floor. The tears just wouldn’t stop. This wasn’t like here. She never got emotional. But tonight, it was different. She just couldn’t take her life for another moment. All she wanted to do was have this life that Bella had.
Liz wanted to have a nice apartment where she could visit her family. A Mom who was still alive or a Dad, who cared about her. Liz did not want her life anymore.
“Hello?” A man’s voice bellowed from outside the bathroom door and down the hallway.
Who could it be? Maybe it was the doorman from downstairs. Perhaps Liz had dropped something out of her bags when she was coming up in the elevator.
“Um, Hello,” Liz said tentatively.
“Isabella?”
“No.” Oh no. Oh God. Oh shit. It was Harrison!
“Elizabeth? Is that you?” Harrison said, now standing right outside the bathroom door.
Liz tried to clear her voice and cover up the crying she had been doing. But her efforts didn’t work.
“Yes. Bella gave me the key. I needed a place to stay.” Liz said.
“Are you alright?” Harrison offered kindly.
Liz was about to say yes, but as she stood up she lost her footing in the shower and slipped back to the ground. The combination of alcohol, emotions and the wet floor sent her tumbling to the ground roughly. She let out a loud cry as her head it the wall.
“Shit, are you ok?” Harrison said as he cracked the door. “What the hell happened!” He was now standing in the doorway looking at the pile of bloody clothes on the floor.
“I’m ok.” I just slipped trying to stand up.
“No, what the fuck happened to your clothes. Why are they covered in blood?” Harrison was angry. Not that Liz was in the condo or even because she was in the bathroom. He was angry that something so horrible would happen to Liz and worried at why she had fallen in the shower.
Harrison could still see Liz’s silhouette though. Instantly his body fought between his worry over the bloody clothes and the amazingly sexy silhouette he was looking at through the shower door.
Gathering up her strength Liz stood and peeked out of the shower door. It was a solid glass door but had a deep coating to prevent people from seeing inside, only she didn’t realize that Harrison could see her silhouette.
For the first time, in a very long time, Liz looked Harrison right in the eyes.
“I’m fine. Let me get dressed, and I’ll tell you what happened.” She said with the best fake smile she could muster.
Harrison just stood still. Liz had been crying, he could tell. She had blood all over her clothes, and her face looked like she had been beaten. His mind reeled with the possibilities.
“Ok.” He finally muttered as he backed out of the bathroom.