Lucky wandered into the house where Luke sat at the table, a mass of papers spread out in front of him. As he slumped into the chair across from him he said, "Hey Dad, you're up late."
"The dreaded paperwork."
Lucky laughed. "Man, you need to get a computer."
"Never. I like all this hard work." Luke rested his forehead in his hand and eyed Lucky, noticing his restlessness. "You seem pretty wired tonight, son. What's up?"
"Not much. I've been walking around, trying to figure out how I can fix things with Elizabeth."
"Still can't get her to answer the phone?"
He shook his head and got up, pacing the floor in front of Luke. "No. She won't answer her phone and she won't answer the door, and when Mrs. Hardy answers she tells me she isn't home. I just wish she would talk to me."
"She'll come around eventually, don't you think? I mean, this town ain't that big. You're bound to see her sooner or later."
Lucky sat down again, running his hands through his hair. "Why was I so stupid, Dad? I should have known better than to kiss her without asking her if it was okay first."
"Maybe, but didn't you tell me she acted like it was okay at first?"
"Yea, but….she got freaked, Dad. I just don't know what to do. I need to see her. I need to talk to her and try to make it right."
"You may just have to give her time, Lucky"
He looked at Luke and nodded, then said, "I just can't believe I was so stupid, so insensitive." He sat down again and leaned back in the chair, thinking over the events of the past few months as Luke returned to his paperwork.
He thought back to the nearly perfect day he and Elizabeth had spent at Wyndemere with Lulu two months earlier. She had seemed content and happy that day until he had found her in the garden crying. It was that day that he began to suspect why she was always so unhappy. Several nights later as they sat by the fireplace at his house, she confirmed his suspicions and told him of her abuse as a child at the hands of her Uncle Joe. Lucky had wanted to find him then, and make him pay for what he had done to her, for what he had taken from her, but he knew that would only make matters worse. When it was time for a confrontation, it would have to be Elizabeth's doing.
It was the following day, after spending the night in Lucky's bedroom, that she began her sessions with Kevin Collins. Lucky was always waiting for her outside his office when she was finished and she told Lucky that knowing he was there waiting was almost like having him with her. The sessions seemed to be going well. Sometimes she told Lucky about them. Other times she the memories were too raw to discuss them, her emotions all on the surface. On those days, Lucky took her home and stayed with her if she wanted him to, and left her alone if that was what she needed.
He remembered the last time he had seen her, just two weeks ago. He and Elizabeth had spent the day with Lulu, taking her to a movie and shopping, then going to his house for dinner. Elizabeth loved being with Lulu and Lucky loved watching them when they were together and that day was no exception. There had been an instant connection between them that day they had gone to Wyndemere. He had felt that same connection to Elizabeth, even before he really knew her. Elizabeth had been in a good mood that day. Still, Lucky knew there was something bothering her, just beneath the surface. What could it be that she was still unable to tell him? What could be worse than the abuse from her Uncle Joe? He could not imagine, but he knew it was there and that it haunted her.
He had taken her home after dinner that night, holding her hand during the walk to her house. When they reached the front porch he still held her hand as she opened the door. When she turned back to him and started to pull her hand away, he held it tighter and pulled her closer to him and said, "Wait."
She looked at him questioningly. "What is it, Lucky?"
"I'm just not ready to say goodnight yet. You look so beautiful."
Her face flushed as she looked down at her feet then raised her eyes back up to meet his. He moved in closer to her, so that their bodies were touching and he placed his finger gently on her lips, caressing them gently. She closed her eyes for a moment and as she opened them, he leaned forward and kissed her, softly, and reveled in the feeling of her lips against his as she returned his kiss. He pulled her even closer, one arm circling her waist, the other in her hair, gently cradling the back of her head. He had dreamed of kissing her for such a long time, and it was far sweeter than he could have imagined. He felt her lips yield to his touch as he parted them slightly with his tongue. Suddenly she pulled away, breathless, and whispered, "Lucky."
He started to kiss her again, but then he felt her body tense, felt her hands on his chest as she pushed him away. "No! Lucky I can't do this. Please stop."
Lucky loosened his arm from around her waist and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Elizabeth, I never should have…." He looked into her eyes and saw the fear in them. Was she afraid of him? "Elizabeth, don't be afraid. You know I would never hurt you. Please tell me you know that."
Her bottom lip quivered and she began to cry. "I want you to leave."
"I don't want to leave with things like this. Please don't do this."
He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled it away as if she had been burned, just as she had done that first night at Kelly's with the boy who had upset her. "Don't touch me. Lucky, please, just leave me alone." She began to cry even harder then and turned to go inside.
"Elizabeth, wait, please." She closed the door on him without turning back. He stood for a moment trying to comprehend what had just happened, then leaned his hand against the door, running his hand through his hair. He had only meant to show her how much she meant to him and he was going to tell her that he loved her. He knocked on the door several times, calling her name, but she would not open the door. Finally he turned his back to the door and leaned his head against it, cursing himself for his actions as he felt the tears stinging his eyes.
Luke's voice brought him back to the present. "Son, you can't keep berating yourself for what you did. You're only human, and you care about Elizabeth. In face, I think you're probably in love with her. God knows, I know all the signs."
"Yea, I am. I have been for a long time."
"I thought so. Well then, it's only human to want to kiss her."
"But she's so fragile, Dad. I should have waited until I knew it was okay with her."
Luke stood up and placed his hand on Lucky's shoulder. "I have a feeling there's something going on here that you haven't told me about and I'm not going to ask what it is. But I've been around a lot longer than you have and I see things. She's got some demons she's dealing with. I can see that. But I also can see how much she cares about you. Just give her some time, son. That may be all she needs. Now, why don't you try and get some sleep? You look like you could use it."
Lucky nodded. "Goodnight, Dad." He wished he could tell Luke about Elizabeth, but he knew it wasn't his story to tell. If Elizabeth wanted his parents to know about her past, she would tell them herself. He hoped one day she would be able to tell them. He knew they would be able to help her if only by showing her how much they loved her.
Lucky went upstairs to his room but he could not sleep. He tossed and turned, finally getting up and going downstairs for something to drink. He sat in the dark in the living room for a long time, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was pacing in front of the fireplace when Laura came downstairs. "I thought I heard you down here."
"I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"You didn't. What's wrong, Lucky?"
"I don't know. Something isn't right, Mom, something I can't put my finger on."
"Not right with what?"
"I don't know. I think it's Elizabeth. Something's not right. I can feel it." He paced a few moments more, then went to the closet and pulled out his coat.
"Lucky, where are you going?"
"I have to make sure she's okay." He left quickly and ran from his house to Elizabeth's house. He was out of breath when he reached the front porch. He leaned over, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath as he glanced at the driveway. Dammit, I knew it. The car in the driveway belonged to Elizabeth's Uncle Joe. He didn't want to alarm her grandmother by knocking on the door in the middle of the night if everything was really okay, so he quickly surveyed the yard and noticed the rose trellis leading from the garden to the roof just outside Elizabeth's window. He would climb up and look inside the window just to be sure she was all right. As he climbed the trellis, his heart pounding in his chest, he thought, please let her be okay, please…
Elizabeth had gone to bed early that night, even though she knew she would be unable to sleep with Uncle Joe in the house. Why had he come back? Why couldn't he just stay away and leave them alone? Leave her alone. She hated that he was here, hated that there was no lock on her bedroom door. She had crawled into bed, still wearing her clothes, and pulled the covers up to her chin. Suddenly she was that frightened little girl again, the one who went to bed every night when he was visiting and pulled the covers up this way, hoping that if she held them tightly enough he wouldn't be able to get to her. But he always did. Whenever he left her, she would wrap herself in the blankets, trying to get warm again, but warmth never came until he was gone and far away from her.
She hated feeling so cold and frightened again. She wished Lucky was here to protect her, but she had sent him away. When he kissed her that night, she had felt her body responding to him. She had wanted him to kiss her for a long time, even knowing what her reaction would be, what it had always been when someone kissed her. It was always then that she sent them away. She knew kissing would lead to other things and the fear of being with someone like that was more than she could bear. But she had never loved any of the others. She loved Lucky, more than she ever imagined she could love anyone. And the kiss had been so much more than she had dreamed it would be.
It haunted her every day, every night. She remembered the way his lips tasted and the feel of them against hers own. She knew he had been trying to contact her, but she was too ashamed to return his calls. How could she ever explain to him that the reason she sent him away was because she was afraid? How could she ever make him understand why she was so afraid?
The sound of the door opening startled her and she jumped. Thinking about Lucky had almost made her forget her fear of her uncle. She sat up in bed and turned to the door to see Uncle Joe standing in the doorway. His voice was a whisper as he said, "Hey, Lizzie, girl. I've missed you."
Her voice sounded stronger than she felt. "Get out of my room, Uncle Joe. Please just go away."
"You don't really want to send me away do you? I know how much you've missed me, too. It's been a long time."
"If you don't leave I'll yell for Gram. I swear I will."
"No you won't. She'll never believe you, Lizzie. I'll make sure she never believes you."
He approached the bed and as he climbed on the bed and placed his hands on her shoulders to try to shove her back on the bed she thought about Lucky. She thought about how much she loved him and how far she had come since she had known him, how much stronger she felt since she had been seeing Kevin Collins. She suddenly felt incredibly strong, and for the first time in her life, she felt in control of what was happening to her. She glared at her uncle as he tried to push her back on the bed. "Oh, so you've gotten feisty have you? This could be very interesting."
She pulled her legs up and in one swift movement, she placed her feet against his chest and shoved him off the bed so that he ended up on the floor, sprawled against the dresser, a stunned look on his face. She thought she had heard the back of his head make contact with the dresser. She got up from the bed and looked toward the window as she heard it open. "Lucky…"
Lucky climbed in the window and looked at her uncle, then at her. Her eyes were wide as she met his gaze and she knew he could see the surprised glee in them. As Uncle Joe started to stir and tried to get up, Lucky turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, knocking him back against the dresser. "Don't you even think about getting up, you sick bastard."
He turned back to Elizabeth. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Lucky, why are you here? How did you know?"
"I don't know. I couldn't sleep. I just felt like something was wrong and I had to come over here and make sure you were okay. I only wish I had gotten here sooner, although it turns out you didn't really need me. You took care of the problem quite nicely on your own."
At that moment, the door opened and Audrey stepped in. "What is all this racket in here?" She looked around the room, first at Lucky and said, "Lucky, what on earth are you doing here?" Before he could speak, she glanced down at Uncle Joe, sprawled on the floor. She looked at Elizabeth. "Would you mind telling me just what is going on here?"
Elizabeth's hands shook as she reached for the telephone. "I'm going to call the police, Gram. Uncle Joe just tried to rape me."
"What?" She looked at Uncle Joe. "Is this true?"
"Of course it's not true. She's making it up. I heard Elizabeth talking to someone and I thought she was in trouble, so I came in her room and found him here. She's just trying to cover for him."
Elizabeth glared at him and took a deep breath and said. "You can deny it all you want, Uncle Joe. But you and I know the truth and I intend to tell the police everything. All those times you hurt me when I was just a little girl." Her voice caught as she began to sob. "How could you do that to me? I loved you. You took so much away from me, things I can never get back. I've spent my whole life feeling like a victim because of you, feeling like I didn't deserve to be happy or to have someone care about me, feeling ashamed and guility, when I didn't even do anything wrong. When I saw you at my door I decided I wouldn't let you have that power over me anymore. I'm going to take back my life and make sure you pay for what you did to me."
Audrey was speechless, staring in disbelief as Elizabeth spoke. Finally she approached her and pulled her into her arms. "I am so sorry, Elizabeth. Why didn't you tell someone? Why did you keep this to yourself all these years?"
"I just couldn't tell anyone, Gram. He always threatened to hurt me more if I told."
Audrey took the phone from her and handed it to Lucky. "Lucky, would you please call the police for me?" He nodded as she looked down at Uncle Joe and said. "You and I are going downstairs where we'll wait for the police. And you will not try to leave, do you understand me?"
He nodded, a look of quiet resignation on his face. He stood up and approached Elizabeth. Lucky stood between them placing his hand on his chest to stop him, Her uncle said, sadly, "I never meant to hurt you, Lizzie girl. I loved you."
Elizabeth started to speak, but realized that nothing she could say would make him understand what he had really done to her. But as Lucky tentatively took her hand in his, she felt a peace she had not felt in many years. A letting go of sorts. She knew it was over now. At least her Uncle Joe would never hurt her physically again. Mentally, it would still take some time to heal, and there were still things she needed to tell Lucky. She had thought she would feel differently when this happened, that she would feel happiness. Instead she just felt sad, for her uncle, for whatever sickness made him do the things he had done, for Gram for having to deal with this now, and for herself and all the years she had wasted allowing him to have all the power. "We'll be down in a minute, Gram."
Elizabeth turned to Lucky, their eyes meeting and holding as she whispered, "Lucky, I'm so sorry…"
He put his hands on the side of her face and whispered, "Shh, it's okay. We can talk later. For now, I just want you to know how proud I am of you."
"And I just want you to hold me."