“I already told you I didn’t do it though I wish I had!” Kris yelled like a petulant child crossing her arms over her chest.
Ellie was ready to pull her hair out! She’d finally gotten her sister back and now she might as well not have with Ellsa sitting in a corner, chanting to herself saying it wasn’t her fault her eyes spacing. At one point, she’d grabbed her head and screamed for her memories to stop. She could already see her losing her mind again and Ellie just couldn’t bare it.
“How about you Daniel? Was it you?” Damien paced in front of them like a raging bull waiting to attack. Ellie wasn’t the only one ready to pull out her hair and it was comforting to share the stress with someone else who loved Ellsa. They had such a great day that Ellie was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and now, it was all quickly turning to shit!
“The night I left here after… Elaine’s story I called the DA—”
“You did what!” Ellie exclaimed shooting out of the chair she’d just settled herself into.
Daniel turned to her, “He told me if I mentioned Black Widow again I would be working as a public defender in Alaska. I have problems of my own and getting revenge against your sister isn’t exactly at the top of my list.”
Dear Lord, what had she been thinking inviting them to Elaine’s explanation as to why Ellsa had flipped? She’d wanted her friends to stop thinking her nuts for still loving Ellsa for why she could never let go of her sister. And even though before it all they never had a great relationship, she wanted her best friends too … she didn’t know what, but she wanted it. What was so wrong with wanting all the people she loved to get along?
“Why would you want revenge against me? What did I do to you?”
Ellie’s head snapped to where her sister stood, hugging herself with the most defeated look she’d ever seen on her face. Her voice was so soft and yet so broken, it called to her. She wanted to go to her and hold her. Damien moved to her and Ellsa shied away from him.
“Please don’t,” she softly begged, tears in her eyes then she turned to Daniel, “Tell me what I did.”
Kris snorted from where she sat, “You know what Ellsa, you should have been an actress. You always could give an Oscar Award winning performance.”
“Kris!” Ellie rebuked and Kris just rolled her eyes in response.
Ellsa nodded, rolling both her lips into her mouth, “I take it you don’t like me very much. At least could I have a name to go with the hate?”
When Kris just glared at her in response, Ellie answered, “Her name is Kris. We went to high school and college with her and for some reason I can’t remember at the moment she’s still my best friend.”
That drew Kris’ attention. She stared at Ellie wide-eyed before they reduced to slits, “I stayed your best friend because your sister was always a world class bitch to you.”
“That is not true! Ellsa was always sophisticated, determined, domineering and overprotective and sometimes even jealous of me but she always put me first. All we have left in this world is each other and she always looked after me.” Ellie snorted, “How is it she’s always a bitch except when she’s spending money on you?”
“Ellie!” Ellsa yelled out at her, “fighting with your friend isn’t going to help in any way. She’s been your friend for this long for a reason and you don’t want to say anything that might ruin that now.”
Kris snorted again and Ellie was two seconds away from jumping over the coffee table and punching her pinched pink lips.
“And ah… sorry I swear I’m not acting but would you tell me your name?”
“It’s Daniel.”
The color drained from Ellsa’s face as the name registered. Damien quickly went to her and this time she didn’t refuse his support. She fell against him, her eyes riveted on Daniel’s face. Then they slowly lowered to his chest and Ellie felt her panic growing.
“Dan—Daniel Baker?” Ellsa croaked.
Daniel’s eyes grew narrow with suspicion, “You remember me?”
She gave him a jerky shake of her head no, “The ah… the photos and the… someone sent me… can I see?”
“Babe,” Damien’s whisper was tortured, as tortured as Ellie felt.
“I know—I know I have no right to ask after I… none of it seems real to me and I just need… please,” she ended with a pleading note, tears running unchecked down her cheeks. God why did this have to happen now?
Daniel stood up from the couch and approached Ellsa as he slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt. When he reached her, he’d gotten enough buttons undone to pull his shirt away from his chest. The scares though barely visible were still evident and Ellie thanked God for Daniel’s remarkable surgeon. But staring at Ellsa face at the moment, it was like Daniel had an open gushing wound and she could see his heart bleeding.
“That’s enough,” Damien ordered gruffly, pushing Daniel back with one hand while the other held onto Ellsa, “Babe, please don’t do this!”
Do what? Ellie moved a little closer and that’s when she noticed Ellsa’s had turned ghostly pale, her forehead was wet with perspiration and she shook like she was standing outside naked in the middle of a winter storm. Her eyes were glazed over like she was no longer present. But that quickly changed when her face scrunched up and she let out a desperate wail. Her pain stabbed Ellie right through the heart followed by panic when Ellsa passed out in Damien’s arms. He swung her up and held her against his chest, his face pressed into her neck his eyes squeezed tightly shut. Ellie buried her hands in her hair and watched as all her hopes and dreams crumble to dust at her feet.
She felt Dale at her back and she turned into his protective embrace. “Why can’t things workout for us, just once?” she cried.
Dale wrapped his arms tighter around her, “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I’m glad she passed out.”
She pulled away and looked up at him, “What?”
“She’ll have no memory of tonight, of those pictures. Clean slate and this time we’ll make sure she never gets her hands on that file again.”
“Why?”
He cupped her face in his large hands, stared right into her eyes and said, “Because I love you. I would do anything to make you happy. I never got to meet your sister before the chips were implanted so I can’t truly judge her knowing there was a lunatic in her head the entire time we knew each other. And if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have you.”
Her breath hitched as she cried and she held on tighter to Dale, “Thank you.”
“What the hell is happening!” Damien’s desperate scream drew them apart and Ellie turned to see him struggling to hold Ellsa’s convulsing body down on the couch.
“She’s having a seizure!” Daniel responded, kneeling by her head. He pulled the throw from the back of the couch and stuffed a corner of it into Ellsa’s mouth, then held her head steady, “Call nine-one-one!”
Ellie wasn’t sure if anyone moved but after a minute, Ellsa went still with an exhausted sigh.
Damien switched hands with Daniel around her head, “Babe, can you hear me? Come on honey, wake up, please!”
This was all too much. Ellie felt her legs giveaway under her but Dale caught her from behind. “I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear and she turned her head into his chest.
Ellsa groaned, her limbs moving slowly as if she was about to wake up.
“That’s it babe, come back to me,” the hope in Damien’s voice was unmistakable.
Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at Damien for a few seconds before her eyes widened and her hands shot up to cover her ears. Her mouth fell open in a scream though nothing but choking sounds came out. Then she screamed, the sound muffled because of the throw still in her mouth but it was loud enough to make Ellie cold right to the core. Ellsa’s back came off the couch and she remained in that curved position, her body completely rigid right to her curled toes. It felt like forever before she collapsed on the couch, passed out.
“What… the fuck… was that?” Kris breathed.
Moments later, the door crashed open and a body sailed in. Dale shifted in front of her, his gun drawn and even though Damien didn’t move away from Ellsa on the couch, his gun was aimed at the entryway as they all waited quietly for a pin to drop. Ellie sank to her knees in relief when Elaine stepped into the living room holding something up in her hand. She saw Mike step into the house too, but he followed the body that had slid down the hallway.
“Tell me we got him before he used this?”
Damien placed his gun on the floor and leaned over Ellsa on the couch. Gingerly he cradled her head in his hands and whispered, “Her ears are bleeding so I’ll have to say no.”
Ellie crawled to the couch and that’s when she noticed her bloody ears and equally bloody hands. What did this mean? A burst eardrum or was her brain bleeding? Could a brain bleed that much and a person still survive it? Was she even alive?
Large arms wrapped around her and rocked her side to side, “Shh calm down baby. She still has a pulse so that a good thing.”
There was a commotion then Mike dragged someone in by the back collar of his shirt. Despite the bloody cuts and swelling on his face, she recognized him. He was the doctor she’d spoken to at the asylum they’d left Ellsa at over a year and a half ago and the same guy who accosted them in the museum. He’d promised he’d do everything he could to help her and here he was the cause of her harm.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she screamed at him.
“Unrequited love,” Elaine responded with an air of boredom, “if he can’t have her then no one will yadi yadi ya and all that shit. We’ve already gone through that and I can’t stomach a repeat.”
“Fuck you… Elaine,” he gasped, and then he turned to Ellsa, who lay still on the bed and smiled, “Now we can finally be together in the afterlife. I knew I would beat you Damien Chan.”
“She’s not yet dead you fucking psycho!” Damien hissed through clenched teeth.
The doctor chuckled, “She will be. There is no surviving that. I picked it up from Vladimir. You all wanted to keep us apart, but now, we’ll be together in the afterlife.”
“Fine by me,” Mike responded, lowering to grab hold of his chin. Ellie looked away knowing what would come next.
“Not in my house!” Dale shouted.
“Then move,” and soon after a sickening cracking sound followed.
“What the fuck!” Kris screamed.
“No time for hysterics. Loverboy, pick her up and let’s go. Mike, you know what to do.” Elaine turned around and left without a word.
Damien gathered Ellsa up in his arms so gently like she was a prized possession and pushed up on his feet.
“Wait,” Mike stepped forward and even though Damien glared daggers at him, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against Ellsa’s head, “Goodbye White Widow,” then he stepped aside and let Damien through.
Ellie scrambled to her feet and rushed behind them, “I’m coming with you.”
Dale grabbed her arm and stopped her, “Babe…”
“Please Dale. I can’t risk Elaine disappearing with her again. She needs me and I’m going with her. Are you coming?”
He sighed and she was sure he was going to say no until Daniel spoke up, “Go, I’ll stay and… do what needs to be done here. Ellie needs you, so go.”
“Thanks, Daniel,” Dale shook his hand. Ellie flung herself at him and hugged him tight. “Thank you.”
She released him and ignoring Kris’ calls to wait, she ran out of the house and ran for the open back door of the SUV. She jumped in and cradled Ellsa’s legs on her lap.
“You really thought I was going to leave you behind, baby sis?” Elaine taunted.
Ellie glanced at her before directing her attention to Ellsa cradled on Damien’s lap. He was so quiet as he held her tightly to his chest it was scary. The moment Dale got into the front passenger seat, Elaine shot out of there with break-necking speed.
Ellie then took Ellsa’s hands in hers and bowed over them to do something she’d become accustomed to since the day Ellsa had escaped the asylum. She prayed.
****