Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hours later, the words that made up my script began to blur in front of my eyes. I looked up and Michelle was fast asleep across from me, her hair partially covering her face. Her book lay forgotten in her lap, still open in her hands. I looked around the room and had the hardest time focusing my eyes. I felt exhausted. It felt like sleep was weighing down on me trying to get me to pass out just like Michelle.
Sitting my scripts down on the table in front of me, I sluggishly reached over and nudged Michelle. She groaned and adjusted in her sleep, not waking. “Michelle,” I said. I sighed relaxing back into the comfortable chair. It took an excruciating amount of energy just to speak to her. “Michelle, let’s go back. I think we should go.”
Michelle opened her eyes, squinting over at me. “Holy shit,” she mumbled. “Did I fall asleep?” She struggled to sit up before collapsing back on the chair dramatically. I looked at her bloodshot and dilated eyes. She nodded and brushed her brown curls out of her face. “You’re right. Call Mason.”
With much effort, I reached into my bag and called Mason. He didn't answer -- instead, the call went straight to voicemail. I opened my mouth to leave a message and my phone beeped in my ear. I looked down and saw Mason’s name flashing across my screen calling me back.
“Mason,” I said groggily.
“You okay, boss?”
“Yeah, Michelle and I need to go back and take a nap,” I said snuggling further into the chair cushions. God, the chair was so comfortable. I didn’t even want to get up. It felt like time was stilling around me and I just wanted to sleep. “I’m so exhausted.”
“You are?” he asked. “Um, okay. Well, how about I call Marcus to pick you up. He should be nearby. He can drop you off at home and then head back for the others.”
“Mmhmm,” I said, my eyes drifting closed. “Sounds good. Tell him to find me when he gets here.”
“Okay, boss,” he chuckled on the phone. “You’re working too hard, you know? You seemed fine earlier.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “Thanks, Mason.” I hung up. I looked over at Michelle to tell her the news, but she was already asleep again. I struggled to stay awake watching for Marcus to arrive. I ran a hand over my face trying to awaken my senses more. Didn’t work. I focused on gathering my things, instead.
It couldn’t have taken Marcus more than five minutes to find us, but it seemed like an eternity. My whole body was aching and even heavier than before by the time he found us. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to walk to the car. Though, I refused to look like a damsel in distress and stood up. I nudged Michelle with my boot. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, time to go."
She stirred and looked up at me with those bloodshot eyes again. “Shit,” she groaned, rubbing her hands through her hair. “Did I fall asleep again? Dude…” She stood up and we slowly followed Marcus to the front of the ski resort, practically dragging our feet across the hardwood floor. Once we got inside the limo, we both dropped intensely across the seats and fell asleep immediately.
"Miss?" Marcus' voice called to me from the front of the limo, waking me up. "We're here. Do you need help inside?" He sounded concerned.
I rubbed my eyes, letting out a huge yawn, and moved towards the door, tapping Michelle on the forehead as I passed. “No. Thanks, Marcus,” I slurred. Michelle and I climbed out of the limo closing the door behind us.
Marcus rolled down the window to the passenger side and hollered, “Get some rest!” He drove off back down the long driveway to head back to the mountain.
“Dude,” Michelle groaned, holding one hand up to the side of her head. “What the hell was in that hot chocolate? I feel like I haven’t slept in years.”
I shook my head, unconcerned. The only thing I wanted was my cozy bed. Michelle made her way upstairs to her room. I looked at the stairs. No way I could make it up those right now. Instead, I dragged myself down the hall and into the living room. I flopped down on a couch, grimacing as I turned my ankle a bad way. I adjusted my position and got comfortable. Letting out another massive yawn, I closed my eyes and succumbed to sleep.
∞∞∞
A sharp, rebounding pain exploded in my injured ankle, waking me from the deep sleep. I cried out in pain, my eyelids instantly flying open. The room was dark now and there was just a soft light from the moon coming through the many windows in the living room.
A shadowy figure stood silhouetted against the moonlight in front of me. The pain increased in my ankle as more crushing weight pressed upon me. I made to jump up, away from the pain, but that only made it worse. As I stared up at the figure above me, my eyes focusing through the dark haze of pain to make out a tall woman, her pale skin practically glowing in the moonlight from the windows – her red hair tied neatly in a bun on top of her head.
“Yes, I wouldn’t move if I were you.” Cate stood in front of me, one leather boot propped up on the couch and stomping down on my fragile ankle. She had one hand held on her knee over my ankle adding more weight. In her other hand, she held a large knife. Her cold gaze landed on mine with such venom that I had never seen before.
What was she doing in my house? I felt my mouth drop open staring up at her. She exuded confidence and strength. I hadn’t noticed before, but the girl was buff! Hell, her muscles had muscles.
I glanced over at the coffee table in front of the couch where I had dropped my cell phone before falling asleep. She made a tsking sound at me.
“Oh, Elena,” she said condescendingly. “Looking for this?” She pulled my phone out of her back pocket and held it up. She smiled at me before turning her features into a scowl. She threw her hand back and slammed my phone to the floor, shattering it into pieces.
I jumped at the sudden sound and destruction. Cate pressed her hand back down on her bent knee, adding more pressure to my ankle, causing me to whimper in pain. Dark spots dotted across my vision.
“Oh, does that hurt, Elena?” she asked with mock concern. She pointed the knife at me. “Shut. Up.” I hadn’t even said anything. I couldn’t. I could only watch, scarcely believing this was happening to me. I knew I should move; I should do something – anything! But I was paralyzed, waiting for her next move. The pain in my ankle locked me in place. The knife in her hand terrified me as much as the crazed look in her eyes.
“You think you have it all figured out, don’t you?” Her lips curled in disgust and her voice had a tremor as she talked, as if she were holding back from yelling.
“Well,” she said her voice eerily low. “You don’t. Tell me, Elena. I’ve always wondered. How exactly did you wiggle yourself into his life? I tried to tell him that you were just using him and he never listened.” She glared at me, her eyes widening giving her a crazed expression. “What is about you? Why did he always choose you over me? And then lie to me!”
She leaned even closer to me, “As if I didn’t know. Were you two always together?” She paused, glaring at me, waiting for a response.
“Answer me!” Cate screamed, the knife trembling in her grasp towards my face.
“I don’t – I don’t know what you want!” I yelled in frustration. This chick was insane. She could really hurt me. She already had – it felt like my ankle was shattered.
“Tell. Me. The. Truth!" she screamed, moving lightning quick and bringing the knife closer to my throat. I froze, trying to control my breathing. A distraught look crossed her face. At that moment, she looked weak – sad. "I deserve to know… Why does Ethan love you … and not me?"
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she waiting for me to reply. I tried to speak calmly so as not to spook her. The knife was still pressed precariously against my neck, just strong enough to sting. “Ethan never loved me like that,” I said quietly. I held my breath watching her face for a reaction.
Cate seemed to think about that for a second, the knife still touching my throat. Her eyes narrowed and she scowled. “Liar,” she hissed into my face. She pressed the knife further into my neck. I felt the skin break and a small trickle of blood fell down my neck. I whimpered, both from pain and from fear.
“Oh, shut up, Elena!” she screamed loudly. “Shut up! Shut up! Don’t play stupid with me,” she continued. “You know what. I actually don’t even care. You’re pathetic. The relationship the two of you have…” She scoffed and pressed her boot harder into my ankle, causing me to whimper in pain again. “If you’re going to be in love with him, you at least need to commit to it. You both spend half your time away from each other. That’s not love.”
My hands gripped the seat cushions as pain throbbed in my ankle and blood trickled down my neck. I had no idea what she was talking about. "Love is a commitment," she continued. "Choosing to be with someone at all hours of the day even when you'd rather be somewhere else. Love is choosing your soul mate instead of your career."
Her eyes were still wide and crazed. It was ironic to see such an angry scowl on her face while she talked about love. "You wouldn't know anything about love, though. You think that just because he cares if you're hurt that means he loves you? Well, he doesn't. Ethan's just a good person. That's who he is. He deserves someone so much better than a parasitic bitch like you." She spat in my direction.
Was this psycho for real? She lowered her voice and spoke barely above a whisper. "You were just a distraction. But not anymore.” She pressed the knife into my neck slightly harder, opening the cut she had already created.
Without thinking, I gave up the frozen act. Closing my right hand into a fist, I gave a strong thrust towards her face. I had never actually punched anyone before, but it provided enough force to push her back from me. The knife faltered as she pulled back, her boot falling to the floor and away from my injured ankle finally.
Reaching out, I quickly grabbed onto her wrist that held the knife. She leaned forward, pressing her knee into my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me. Still, I held onto her wrist, struggling to break her grip on the knife. When her leg fell back to support her better, I threw my body forward, slamming her wrist into the nearby coffee table with surprising force.
Cate’s grip on the knife loosened, but she still held on as she tried to correct her balance and control. With another thrust, pushing all my strength into her wrist, I smashed her wrist into the edge of the coffee table again. The knife slipped from her grasp and clattered onto the table. Releasing her from my grip, she stumbled backward, falling between the couch and the coffee table. With my arm, I knocked the knife off the table and watched it sail across the room and under the armchair.
Cate made a grunting noise from beside me and I felt the heel of her boot connect with my ribs, pushing me sideways, off my feet, and over the arm of the couch. My injured ankle twisted painfully, a loud crack seeming to echo through the room and my body. Black spots flashed across my vision again as my body crashed onto the hardwood floor. The room spun as I moaned, disoriented.
My arms moved of their own accord, instinctually trying to drag myself away from Cate. With a groan, I tried to crawl out of the room. Blood was rushing in my head and I didn’t hear Cate approach me from behind. An intense pain exploded in my abdomen when Cate surprised me with a swift, strong kick. I curled into a ball, clutching at my stomach, weak coughs spewing from me.
I looked up at Cate standing over me. The bun in her hair had loosened and she looked wild, a menacing glare still plastered across her face. “Enough,” she said, breathing heavily. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shattered ceramic floor lamp that had been standing next to the couch. I took a deep breath and reached out grasping a shard from the lamp. With one fluid motion, I picked it up off the ground and thrust it into Cate’s calf – the highest part of her body that I could reach.
She screamed in agony and fell down to clutch at her leg, blood already soaking through her jeans. Without hesitation, I turned and quickly crawled out of the room and into the hallway.
I pulled myself to stand on my good leg. I reached my hand up to my neck feeling the wound. I pulled my hand away and looked at the blood on my hand. There actually wasn’t too much. But everything was sore.
Glancing towards the entrance to the living room, I held my breath waiting to see if she would race after me. I heard subtle groaning in the living room, but no sounds of her chasing me.
Using the wall for support, I inched my way down the hall toward the stairs. I needed to get close enough to Michelle and maybe she could call for help.
I made it all the way to the staircase before a sharp pull on my hair yanked me backwards onto the ground. I screamed on my way down, before crashing in a loud heap on the floor. I screamed louder in hopes that Michelle heard me.
“Enough!” Cate screamed again, breathing loudly. Pressure pushed down on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Cates face glared down at me, that same mad, crazy look on her face. She had blood streaked across her face and I wasn’t sure if it was hers or mine. “This ends now!”
“Cate, stop…” I pleaded, struggling for breath. “You don’t…understand.” Tears pooled in my eyes and ran down my cheeks like razorblades. I hated that she was making me cry – making me beg. I fought to stay conscious, her foot pressing harder into my torso. I used my hands to push against her foot, but felt too weak to do anything. “Cate…”
“For the love of God, just shut up, already!” She growled. “You don’t get to win this time! You don’t even know what real pain is!” She breathed hard, pressing her foot even harder.
The dark spots were taking up more of my vision and her menacing voice was getting fuzzy. I struggled to hear her as she continued. “You can’t tell me you know what it’s like to love someone and never … never…be enough. You don’t know what it’s like to be told…it could never happen. To have your future…crushed. To have …nothing…to live for.”
She was breathing very heavily now, her voice muffled as I fought to stay conscious. I sputtered beneath her foot, fighting for air as I tried to push her off me. My efforts were futile and I felt hopeless.
“You don’t deserve him,” Cate said lowering her voice so I could barely hear her over the whooshing sounds in my ears. “You need to stop distracting him. This …” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “…needs to end.”
As blackness closed in on my vision, the pressure on my torso suddenly released. Had she let go? Or had I just stopped feeling? I felt a thud land on the floor next to me, a slight weight falling across my outstretched arm before the darkness finally overcame everything. And it was over.