<center>Chapter 20</center>
Her knee bounced nervously as she glanced at the clock. He was only five minutes late, but she couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that grew with each passing moment that he wasn’t here.
In the two months they’d been back together, Max had never been late in picking her up when they were going out. She couldn’t help but think back to that night ten years ago. She had felt the same way then when he never showed up. So she sat in silence, afraid if she turned on the TV, she’d see the same thing she saw then.
Another slow minute passed before she gave up and reached for the phone. Quickly dialing Max’s number, she anxiously waited for him to pick up and reassure her that he was alright and on his way to get her. But as the phone continued to ring, her worry deepened. She quickly left a message, hoping that maybe was in the shower or couldn’t get to the phone.
Another achingly slow minute passed before she grabbed the phone again, this time calling his cell phone. Her heart pounded in fret when she again received no answer.
She checked her watch again. Eight minutes late. Her knee bounced frantically and she waited.
***********
The first thing he felt when he awoke was a sharp pounding in his head, near his temple. He tried to move his hands to bring them to his aching head, but found that he couldn’t move them. As he came fully into wakefulness he groaned at the full force of it.
“Shut the fuck up!” a voice growled from beside him. He felt heavy metal hitting against his head, as the man pistol whipped him, almost sending him back into darkness.
His was vision blurry and his head pounded. He spotted movement out the corner of his eye. He opened his eyes wide when he saw a man, pacing the length of his room, muttering quietly to himself. He realized he was leaning against the foot of his bed, his hands tied to the leg of it.
Max swallowed the sudden bile that threatened to rise as he shakily rasped out a quiet, “Who are you?”
The man turned to him with wild eyes. Max quickly realized that he wasn’t all there. He figured anything could set him off and he thought it wise to stay calm and keep his mouth shut.
David let out a deep cackle as the gun dangled from his fingers. “You don’t remember me from high school?” As Max’s confused frown, he continued. “You stole Liz from me.”
Max’s eyes widened when he mentioned Liz. He was supposed to be with her now. How late was he in picking her up? Surely she would notice and wonder where he was. She was his only hope.
“I tried as hard as I could to be nice to that bitch and here you come and sweep her up with one look. I’ve been working on her for ten years and you get her in ten seconds.” He shoved the gun in his face, his hand shaking as his finger fluttered against the trigger. “I’m going to make her pay.”
Fear filled his heart. If he had hurt her, he didn’t know what he would do. “Please, don’t hurt her…” A fist to his face interrupted him, adding to the pain in his temple.
“She was mine until you came along,” David snarled.
Max flinched, knowing that this man was capable of taking his life and he prayed that his kids would be okay.
David cocked his gun. Max anticipated the pain, but it never came. Instead, the shrill ringing of the phone cut into the silence.
Max was silently thankful for the blessing.
David stalked to the phone, looking at the caller ID with a twisted smile. Max knew it was Liz calling.
The answer machine picked up the call and they listen to her massage in a pregnant silence.
Hey babe. Um… I don’t know if you’re there or not. Maybe you’re still in the shower or something. Uh… You said you’d be here at eight and its 8:05. I was just getting worried… you’re probably on your way now so I should just hang up. You would be late on the night of my surprise.
Max could hear the nervousness in her voice even through her attempt at a joke and his heart went out to her.
So um… if you’re still there call me when you get this so I don’t worry. Okay... love you. Bye.
The machine beeped and Max was close to tears. The thought that he might never see her again was twisting his broken heart.
“How sweet,” David cooed menacingly. He spied a picture of him and Liz, taken in his backyard sitting on the nightstand. He fingered it gently before chucking it across the room. Max flinched as the frame shattered against the wall.
************
Liz was livid with worry. He was fifteen minutes late. Something was wrong. Grabbing her purse and her keys, Liz headed out to her car and sped to Max’s house.
************
“I know you were planning on proposing tonight.” David made a tsking sound and rested the barrel of the gun against his cheek.
“I tried to get rid of you long ago Max, but you keep coming back.”
Max tugged on the rope that bound him to the bed. “What are you talking about?” he asked, hoping to keep him preoccupied while he tried to free himself.
“The accident,” he answered with a satisfied smirk. “I set the whole thing up.”
“You…?”
“I tried to warn you Max,” he said smoothly. “That night when you were leaving your pathetic job at the restaurant...” Again, Max frowned in confusion. He couldn’t remember. “That was me. I regret not stabbing you to death myself that night,” he spat as he played with the trigger. “Never trust other people to do your bidding.”
“Why are you doing this? Why…” Another punch to his mouth shut him up. Max slumped to the side, the pain in his head almost becoming too much for him.
David’s eyes darkened in rage and he pointed the gun at Max’s head, his finger straining against the trigger. “If I can’t have her, than no one will. I warned you Max. But you didn’t listen. You should’ve stayed away from her.”
**********
Liz couldn’t explain the relief she felt when she saw Max’s car in his driveway. But that still didn’t explain why he was late and wasn’t answering his phone.
She climbed out of her car and started up the walkway until she noticed that back gate open. Max never left it open unless he was back there. And if he was, what was he doing back there so late when he was supposed to be picking her up.
Her heels clicked against the concrete as she made her way to the gate and peered around the back yard. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but the screen of the back door swinging wide open in the slight breeze.
She stepped closer, only to find the wooden door slightly ajar. Why would Max leave the door open? It made no sense. Something was definitely wrong; she could feel it in her heart.
She stepped through the open door and into the kitchen. She could faintly hear the low voice coming from within the house. She didn’t recognize the voice as Max’s and she had a sinking suspicion who was talking and she quickly grabbed her cell phone and called for help.
*************
Max shook his head, silently pleading that he didn’t shoot.
He held his breath as David’s attention was averted to the photo of Max and his kids on the nightstand. Before Max could blink, the gun that was pointed at him, swing to the photo before a bullet shattered it into pieces.
Max jumped, shuddering in fear. There was no doubt that this man was off and wouldn’t think twice about going after his kids.
His kids. He would never see them again. He’d never hold them again and they’d be without both their parents. Fate couldn’t be that cruel to take him away from them, not when they were so young and needed him.
His babies. Tears escaped his eyes at the thought of them.
“You and those bastard kids of yours…” His chuckle was almost hysterical while Max fought back an angry retort, knowing that it would only get him riled up. He concentrated on getting out of the ropes.
“Did you honestly think that I would just let you steal her from me? You could never be what she needs.”
The ropes where bruising his wrists, as he twisted out of them but he couldn’t care less. All he wanted was to safely get back to his kids and Liz.
************
Her blood ran cold at the sound of the gun. A sickening feeling of dread washed over her and she knew she had to do something.
She needed to distract Max’s attacker, at least until the police came. She grabbed a heavy frying pan and spotted the ceramic vase she had given to Max when they were arguing over the fact that he needed to spruce up his house. She chucked the vase into the living room, watching as it hit the wall and shattered into pieces.
The voice from the other room stopped, and she waited, frying pan in hand.
************
Both Max and David turned their attention towards the door when they heard the crash. As David eased towards the door to inspect what happened, Max took the time to twist his hands free from the rope. Once he was untied, he quietly reached for the baseball bat he kept under his bed.
He eased to his feet, bat in hand, and hoped upon all hopes that he could get away as he angled the bat and got ready to swing.
***************
Liz heard the quiet footsteps and she waited patiently, the pan shaking in her hands, ready to use in self-defense. But before the steps reached her, she heard another shot and she jumped in fright for Max.
Without thinking of her own safety, she turned down the hall, spotting David standing in Max’s doorway, a smoking gun trembling in his hand. She crept behind him and swung the pan as hard as she could, connecting it with the back of his head.
He crumbled to the floor in a heap, giving Liz a view of the love of her life lying motionless on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.
“Oh Max,” she cried as she rushed forward. She pulled his torso into her lap, his head cradled in the crook of her arm. He was conscious, but his eyes were quickly falling shut. She took in his beloved face, battered and beaten. His lip was split and his nose was bleeding. His right eye was blackening and she ran a soothing hand down his cheek.
“Ellie,” he whimpered.
“Hold on Max, please hold on,” she sobbed. She pulled the sheets from his bed and pressed them to the wound in his stomach. If she lost him again, she didn’t know what she would do. She didn’t think she could deal with losing him twice in a lifetime.
“I love you Ellie,” he wheezed as he struggled to pull precious air into his lungs.
“I love you too baby.” She could faintly hear the sirens growing close and she was as happy as she could get in this situation that she called for help earlier. “Please just hang on. Help is on the way okay?”
“Promise you’ll be there when I wake up.”
Liz could faintly make out the police banging on the front door, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Max. Instead, she nuzzled her nose against his cheek and said, “I promise.”
He smiled, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as the police broke down the front door.
Liz panicked, frantically trying to walk him up as the police and paramedics stormed into the room.
TBC……….
It's bittersweet really. I just want to thank everyone for reading this and giving this a chance. To the feedbackers and the lurkers... This fic has been hard to write at times but you guys and your comments kept me going. Thanks again for your support and I hope you enjoy!