Chapter 56 Elena
E LENA
The rain comes down hard on the crowd gathered by the lagoon. Christian’s umbrella is knocking against the others, and Elena keeps getting bumped by the people around them.
‘You all right, babe?’ Christian pulls her nearer to him. ‘One minute to go.’
‘I’m okay.’
Elena says one last silent prayer for the decade. Help me run, Lord. Then she joins Christian and the thousands of people around them chanting the countdown to midnight in English. The blast of an air horn makes her jump, and everyone cheers.
‘Happy New Year, Ellie!’ Christian yells over the noise, leaning down to kiss her lips. ‘Happy New Year, baby!’ He rubs her stomach over her coat.
The fireworks start and Elena looks up, mesmerised. Rainbows of colour explode above the buildings on the other side of the lagoon, lighting up the black sky and then cascading down, disappearing into the night before they reach the dark water.
Ten minutes later, just like that, it’s over.
The rain intensifies and the crowd moves as one towards the piazza, crushing in around them. Elena struggles to keep herself from being lifted off the ground. More and more bodies join in the push from behind, separating her from Christian.
‘Ellie!’ He holds his hand out, but she pretends not to see it.
This is it. This is the opportunity she’s been waiting for. She doesn’t have her passport or any money, but she can work that out later. All she has to do is lose him in this crowd. Her heart fills with hope.
But only a moment later, her ankle twists, giving way. She loses her footing and falls on the ground.
People step around her, some even step on top of her, their shoes crushing her fingers and digging into her back. The stream of people is never ending and the pain in her ankle is searing. There’s no room to stand. Nobody stops to help her up.
And then Christian’s by her side, his eyes wide with worry. ‘Ellie, Jesus! What happened?’
‘I twisted my ankle,’ she cries.
He scoops her up and carries her in his arms. With the umbrella left behind, the rain pours on them as Christian pushes people out of the way. ‘Move! Make room!’ He weaves his way through the sea of people, bit by bit, taking advantage of his height and bulk and commanding voice. Finally, they reach the piazza, and the crowd disperses into the square. Christian lowers her down.
She lets out a yelp when her foot hits the ground. ‘I can’t put weight on it. I can’t walk. Oh my God, I can’t walk!’
‘It’s all right, don’t panic.’ He picks her up again. ‘I’ve got you, babe.’
Her ankle’s on fire. She can already feel the swelling pressing against her boot. How can she run away if she can’t even walk? She sobs into Christian’s chest, huge, racking sobs.
He kisses the top of her head. ‘It’s okay, Ellie. I’m here. Shh, it’s okay.’ His voice is gentle and calm.
As he carries her through the crowded lanes leading back to the hotel, with his hair and clothes dripping, he plants soft kisses on her wet cheek. It makes Elena wonder, for what feels like the millionth time, how it all went so wrong with them.
He carries her all the way up the hotel stairs, and it’s only when they reach their suite that he finally puts her down. He brings her an icepack from the kitchen downstairs and wraps it around her ankle with a pair of her tights. He stacks pillows under her leg, elevating her foot and her pain begins to ease. When her ankle is numb, he removes the icepack and performs a brief assessment, assuring her that it isn’t broken, just sprained.
Elena thinks about how she sent a prayer to heaven to help her run and minutes later she couldn’t walk. Is God trying to tell her something? Should she be trying to make her marriage work instead of running away? Christian’s been so good to her these last two days. Maybe things between them are finally changing for the better.
He catches her eye and smiles. ‘You’re so sexy wet.’ Softly, he kisses her mouth and then her neck. ‘We should get you out of these clothes,’ he murmurs as he helps her strip off, taking extra care with her injured foot. Then he lies on top of her and makes slow love to her, and she lets him.
Afterwards, he rolls onto his back. ‘Ellie, I hope the baby’s okay after your fall.’ He strokes her stomach and she remembers with a jolt the only reason he’s been good to her and why she absolutely has to run away.
‘I’m sure she’s fine.’ She smiles at him.
‘You said “she”. You think it’s a girl?’
‘I do.’
‘I do too.’ He grins. ‘I want her to be just like you.’
Even if she can’t walk and has to crawl across Venice on her hands and knees, Elena’s leaving on Saturday.