The darkness that Lucky had come to fear was engulfing him again. He sat with his head in his hands, wondering how everything had gone so wrong, wondering what he could have done differently to change the outcome of the past twenty-four hours. He had never felt so hopeless, so desolate as he did now.
He and Elizabeth had spent most of the previous day in the bedroom at Sonny's penthouse, talking, laughing, planning their future and making love. The more time he spent with Elizabeth, the more her optimism for the future became infectious. He had begun to think that perhaps he would finally be free of Faison and his hold over him. He realized now how dangerous it was to let his guard down, to entertain, even for a moment, the thought that he had won over such an evil and demonic force as Cesar Faison.
He thought back to the earlier events of the day and tried to make sense of all that had happened. He had awakened early from a nightmare of being imprisoned, disappointed that the weather had returned to the gloomy rain and wind of the previous days. He had an unsettling feeling in his gut, something he could not define, but when he had turned to look at Elizabeth sleeping so peacefully beside him, those feelings vanished. She looked so beautiful as she slept, it nearly took his breath away. He wished they could stay in this room forever, and block out the rest of the world.
He remembered watching as Elizabeth stirred and awoke, smiling as she saw him propped up on his elbow watching her. "Lucky, what are you doing?"
"Just watching you sleep. You looked so peaceful and so beautiful."
She put her hand on his face. "Are you okay? You look so pale. Did you sleep at all?"
He nodded. "I had a dream, that's all. I was back in that horrible room with no windows."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head, "I can't right now, Elizabeth. It may be awhile before I can talk about any of it."
"What can I do to make you feel better?"
He smiled. "Just being here with me makes it better." He leaned down to kiss her. "We probably should get up, although I'd like to stay here forever. I need to go talk to my Dad about some things and pick up his car and I need to go pick up my clothes. Why don't I meet you back here in about three hours and we'll head up to the cabin."
She nodded and started to get out of bed. "Wait." Lucky grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him, reluctant to let her go. She laughed and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm just going to take a shower. Why don't you join me?"
He smiled, "Now there is a plan that has some merit."
They had dressed and gone downstairs to find that Sonny had returned. He turned when he saw them. "Hey you two. You get along okay without me here?"
Lucky smiled. "We got along just fine, Sonny."
"Yea, I can see that. You going somewhere?"
Lucky explained that they were going to the cabin for a few days and Sonny told him he would have three of his best men go with them, and promised that they would stay out of sight unless needed. Lucky had kissed Elizabeth lingeringly before he left, coming back a few minutes later to thank Sonny again for all he had done for them, and to tell Elizabeth that he loved her and to kiss her again. She had laughed and said, "Lucky, it's only for a few hours. You'll be back before we know it."
He had gone to Luke's to pick up the car, to talk to him briefly about his future, and to borrow some money. He knew that when he returned from the cabin he would have to find a job and Luke told him he had some ideas for him that they would talk about when he returned. He also needed to find an apartment, one large enough for both him and Elizabeth. He never wanted to be away from her again, not even overnight.
He had gone to get the few belongings from the room he had been staying in outside Port Charles and picked up food and supplies to take to the cabin. As he drove back to Sonny's penthouse, he had felt a sense of peace for the first time in a long time. He was going to try to put all thoughts of Faison from his mind while he spent these next few days with Elizabeth.
As he parked the car across the street from the penthouse, he saw Elizabeth and Sonny standing in front of the door. Elizabeth had her overnight bag on her shoulder and Sonny held a larger suitcase. Lucky got out of the car, waiting for the traffic to slow so he could cross the street.
He watched as she smiled and waved to him, looking radiant, happier than he had ever seen her look, and he swore there seemed to be a halo around her, an aura of incredibly beautiful light. She looked like an angel. He watched as she reached up to hug Sonny and kiss him on the cheek, then step off the curb to cross the street to meet him. The next few minutes seemed to happen in slow motion, and would be ingrained in his memory forever.
At the very moment he saw Sonny smile and wave to him, he also saw Sonny's expression suddenly turn to horror, saw the man step from the shadows and saw the glint of the gun in his hand as he approached Elizabeth. He felt his heart beating wildly in his chest, as he screamed, "Elizabeth, NO!"
As he stepped off the curb to rush to her, he felt the pair strong arms grab him from behind and felt his heart turn cold in his chest. He watched as Sonny caught Elizabeth in his arms as she fell to the ground, yelling for help, yelling for him, for Lucky. He felt the hot breath on his neck as Faison hissed at him and said, "Take a long hard, last look at her, Mr. Spencer. I promise it will be your last."