Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Elsie
We've been stuck here in this cabin for almost a week now, and I'm going crazy.
I miss my friends. I miss going to basketball conditioning.
Instead, my days are filled with sitting around, eating, and going to the gym.
Though the people of Rose Valley have been kind, especially Mateo and his wife, Fiona, I'm not ready to retire and just sit here.
But the worst part is that Matt hasn't tried to touch me either. He's given me soft touches, a brush here and there, but nothing more. I've even tried to do things that I know will piss him off, but nothing. Nada. Nilch.
I know he wants to, his hands twitch when I push back but he hasn't used them. I can't help but wonder why. Does he not want me any longer? Maybe he feels like earlier was a mistake and I am just a job.
When I overheard him refer to me as a job, I felt crushed. How could he say something like that?
Now I'm just confused, bored, and horny. I need Matt to figure out what he wants. It's not like I'm asking to get married.
Placing my face in my hands, I can't help but let out a, "Ugh."
A knock on the door interrupts my freakout, making me jump a bit. That's weird, no one has knocked on the door since we've been here, maybe it's someone he knows from town.
From the couch, I look up the stairs to where Matt is taking a shower. Another knock on the door comes, this time I get up. I'm sure Matt wouldn't mind if I open the door, we've had people drop deliveries off since we've been here. It's probably that.
For some reason my heart starts to race, as I make my way toward the door. The knock comes again, this time a little harder, closer to pounding. "I'm coming," I yell, letting the person on the other side of the door know.
Opening it, I'm shocked to see who is standing on the other side, furrowing my brow, I ask, "Louis?"
He grins at me, but it feels more predatory than I've ever seen before, "Hi. Elsie. How come you left me?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, taking a step back, ready to slam the door in his face.
Louis seems to read my mind, before I can close the door, he places his foot in the way. "Uh, Uh. You're not getting away from me that easily. Not again."
"What?" I screech.
He waves something in his hand, moving it toward my face, and that's when I see it. He's holding a gun. Fear rips through me, and I try with all my might not to want to look for Matt, but I can't help but wish he shows up before something bad happens.
"What do you want, Louis?" I ask, and am proud that my voice feels steady.
"Isn't it obvious, Elsie? I want you." He says, pointing the gun at me. "And if I can't have you, then no one can."
My eyebrows shoot up to the top of my head. What the hell is going on? I've talked to Louis only a handful of times when I've gone to Cliff's office.
"Uhh, Louis, I'm not sure what's happening. Can you tell me what's going on?" I say, trying to take three steps back.
"Don't move." Louis snaps at me, making me freeze. I try to look around the room to see if I'll be able to get away, but the man has a gun. I don't want to anger him even more, then he shoots me.
"Elsie, do you remember when we met?" Louis asks, interrupting my thoughts.
"Umm? No." I say, audibly gulping, because I'm not sure what to say at this moment. It's obvious he wants me to remember, but honestly I don't. Not to be rude, but he was just a man I interacted with a few times.
"I do. You wore that pretty pink sweater you like so much to a meeting with Cliff. I got you a coffee and helped you go over your contract with him. Don't you remember?"
"Umm… I guess… I mean… yes." I stutter out.
Louis takes a step toward me. I take one back, not wanting him to be near me. My eyes scan the room to figure out if I can get out of here. Did I see something move?
"Elsie, are you listening to me?" Louis yells, making me jump.
"Uh, yeah. I'm listening." I say, taking a few steps back, when the back of my knees hit the couch, making my heart drop into my stomach.
Louis shakes the gun in front of me, before he keeps going on his tirade, "I even brought you coffee each time, too."
"Thanks," I say with uncertainty in my voice.
"You did get my message, right?" He asks, taking another step closer.
"What message?" I ask, sitting back on the couch, pulling my legs into myself, hoping it makes me smaller. Praying that Matt comes down and stops this madness.
"The one I left for you at your apartment."
The moment I process what he just said, fear hits me anew. This man was in my apartment, destroyed my stuff, and terrified me into leaving. What the hell is he going to do now? Should I just run and hope for the best or stay here and hope someone comes to save me.
A noise from behind grabs his attention, when Louis goes to turn to see what it is, I take advantage of the moment.
Sprinting across the room, I knock into him, he's so off-center with me running into him, that he fumbles and the gun falls to the ground.
For a split second, we both look at the gun sitting under the coffee table, I begin to scramble to get it.
One thing I do know is that if he gets that gun before me, I'm done for. He's going to kill me.
I stretch my arm as far as possible, my fingers brushing the gun, just when I'm sure that I have it, he wraps his hand around it too. "No!" I scream, pushing myself even further. The wood floor digs into my skin, but I pull my arm back toward my chest, hoping to bring the gun toward me.
Looking at Louis, you wouldn't have thought that he was so strong, but he comes along with the gun. I try to tighten my hands around it, hoping that my body will help. But unfortunately, he's able to pull the gun out of my hands, it falls through them as if they were made of sand.
I lay on the ground, closing my eyes. Part of me praying that he'll just make it quick, the other part yelling to get up.
When Louis doesn't move or say anything, I look up at him, hoping that I might be able to appeal to the human side of him.
But when his eyes clash with mine, I know he doesn't have any humanity left in him.
All that's left is this wild creature, and he's thinking about killing me.
Pointing the gun at me, he begins to walk toward me, then squats down in front of me, pushing a strand of hair back from my face as he starts to speak, "You know, Elsie, if you would just have been mine, I wouldn't have to do this."
I can't help but feel repulsed by his touch. Thankfully, he stands back up, stepping away from me. I watch as Louis begins to pace back and forth before me, talking to himself as if he's trying to figure out whether not to go through with killing me.
When I look past Louis, I see Matt sneaking up, and I know I need to keep him distracted.
"Hey, Louis. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this at the time, but I did think you were cute when we first met." I tell him.
When he turns back toward me, narrowing his eyes at me. I think I might have him, at least long enough that Matt is able to do whatever he's going to do. Louis' face turns hopeful, "You did?"
Nodding my head, I repeat myself, "I did."
"I knew--" Before Louis is able to finish, he's cut off by Matt tackling him to the ground.
I watch in amazement when Matt does some move, taking the gun and throwing it away.
So that Louis can't get to it. He then pulls his arms back behind his body, tying them with something that I can't make out. And I don't care either.
Matt stands up, looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I insist.
"I've called the police, but after they leave I'm going to be looking you over."
My heart flutters in my chest, but I refuse to identify what it could possibly be. Instead, I do something that is out of character for me, especially when it comes to Matt. I don't fight him, I just reply, "Okay."