Twisted Knot

Breaking point

~Paul~

"Damnit," Perry said as I relayed to him what Stefan had said. Elizabeth was sitting quietly as she looked out the window. She had distant ever since Stefan came home. I kept waiting for her to tell me what she was feeling and thinking, but she just grew colder. When would she explain to me why she had been involved with a calculated killer? Why did she seem so unsurprised when I'd told her that Stefan murdered someone in cold blood, or that I'd assumed he did.

"Where did he go?" Perry asked, his fingers drumming on his forehead. "Where would he go right now." I glanced at Beth, seeing nothing from her.

"I know Stefan," I said. "He feels guilty for all the deaths. He can't come here, because you'll arrest him. He is going to go see the only other living victim and try to make it right. Stefan acts first and thinks later, but he is extremely motivated by guilt. He is going to see the last victim, what was her name?"

"Kelsey Bryant," Perry said. He pulled put a radio and spoke into and I walked over to Elizabeth.

"Liz, are you alright? I know this is crazy, but don't worry. Stefan said hell turn himself in, and we can fix this. I will call a lawyer, and you can call Jacob. I think Stefan will have an excellent case for insanity or maybe he can plead manslaughter."

"Do you think that could work?" She asked me, still averting her eyes.

"I actually do," I said. "He fled rehab, his family and everyone he knew was being hunted down. And Javier, he is not a marketable victim to a jury. Stefan is probably going to see a prison cell, but not for life. We are all alive and this is over."

"I begged him to stop," she said. "He could have done things the right way."

"He's not great at that, Liz. He was faced with a man who had threaten everyone he loves, a man who has murdered dozens of people. There are not a lot of people who wouldn't be tempted, and Stefan has the stones to just do it."

"Does is terrify you," she whispered. "That two of the three men I've loved have killed people? Because it scares the shit out of me." She raked her hair as if her fingers were sifting for answers.

"I am terrified," I said. "But not because you have a past or because I believe there is something inherently wrong with you. I am terrified because you are a good person who has been constantly bombarded with evil, and I don't want you to break." She stood up and faced me, her eyes cloudy.

"Paul, I already have," She said. "I'm sorry I am cold right now, it's just...I pictured things ending with Stefan since I found that letter from Isabella. I picture us fighting and divorcing, I pictured the awkward friendship. I pictured you and I becoming, well, what we were becoming before yesterday. I never pictured having to divorce him while he was locked up for saving my life."

"Liz, you can't think like that," I said. "When Cecelia died, I remember thinking how would I get through my life without her? How would I move on, or be happy again? I just thought that every time I heard jazz music, I would crumble, because it would remind me of her."

"So how did you deal with it?" she asked, listening intently.

"I focused on minute by minute things, getting up, going to a funeral. I got out of bed again, I visited her grave. I did my job, I went to the grocery store. I never forgot, but I moved on slowly and became me again. A newer version of myself, but I was me again."

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe I'm not as strong as you Paul."

"Just focus on today," I said. "Today we need to find Stefan."

Detective Perry was talking on his phone again and I watched him as Elizabeth sat silently. I had no idea how to bring her back, because she seemed lost to me. The detective hung up his phone and looked up at us.

"I have good news and I have bad news," The detective said. "Someone matching Stefan's description was seen nearby he hospital ten minutes ago. However, it seems he has gone missing since then."

"That's fine," Elizabeth said. "Now that Javier is gone, I'm not in a hurry for you to arrest Stefan."

"Yeah, well I am," Perry said. "I just talked to the officer who found Javier's body at your house. He said Bordeaux had both of his kneecaps blown off before he was shot in the forehead. You may not want to hear this, but if Stefan is responsible hen he is dangerous. I believe he may have suffered a psychotic break."

Elizabeth stood up and walked out of the room, giving Perry a look that would haunt him for days.

"Was that necessary to tell her," I asked pointedly.

"It isn't my job to make you feel good, it is my job to protect people."

"Well, we faced a string of murders, an assassinated criminals, and young woman in the hospital. You might want to look for a different job." Stefan wasn't the only one who felt out of control. The longer I waited in that safe house for something to turn around, the closer I got to loosing all of marbles. So I took a deep breath and focused on the present, one thing at a time.