👼 MY ANGEL 👼
Elsa paced anxiously around the living room as her head spun.
Jeremy, who had just entered the room, rushed to her side. "Angel, is something wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with worry.
Elsa, startled by his sudden presence, jumped in fright. She turned to face Jeremy, her heart pounding rapidly. She eyed him up and down before her gaze settled on his wound. Her worry increased, causing her to gulp nervously.
Confused by Elsa's silence, Jeremy asked, "Angel, are you okay? Please answer me."
Elsa raised her eyes to meet Jeremy's deep, dark ones. She blinked innocently as she asked, "Jeremy, have you ever taken a bullet for me?"
Jeremy thought that maybe she had read about it in her diary or something, so he nodded. "I did, but don't worry, I healed a long time ago."
Despite Jeremy's attempt to reassure her with a smile, tears welled up in Elsa's eyes. She said, "That should never happen again. I don't ever want you to get hurt because of me again. If you keep getting hurt like this, even days ago while saving Lui and Yuliana, your body will be covered in wounds. I won't let you get hurt again because of me."
A tear fell down her cheek, and she wasn't sure if she was crying because of Jeremy or because she knew she had to go alone.
Jeremy hadn't even fully healed yet, and she couldn't put him in danger again. Elsa knew that if she told Jeremy what was going on, he would agree to help her without hesitation, but she couldn't be that heartless. Last time, Jeremy almost died in the April sea trying to save her, and those wounds hadn't even completely healed. And now he had been stabbed. Even though she was still hurt by what he had done to her before, she wasn't going to be that heartless.
When Jeremy saw Elsa crying, his heart shattered into pieces. He reached out to touch her face and wiped away her tears. "I'm glad to know you care about me, angel. That makes me so happy. It takes away all the physical pain... But you should know by now that I would give my life away in a heartbeat to save yours."
"Why would you do that?" Elsa asked.
"Because I love you, silly. Don't you know that by now?"
When Elsa heard that, she shook her head. "No, Jeremy. No love is worth losing your life for."
Jeremy chuckled before kissing her forehead. Then, he pulled her into his arms for a hug. "This one is. This love is worth taking a bullet for. This love is worth any hardship, pain, and blood. I would give my life away to save yours. My love for you might be the death of me, Elsa Halverson... But I know I'll die happily, and that makes it even better than living."
Elsa's eyes filled with tears as his words pierced her heart.
But those words also made her realize that she couldn't tell Jeremy what had happened, and she had to go alone.
Elsa let Jeremy hold her as she continued to cry on his chest, unsure of the reason behind her tears.
After a few minutes, she broke the hug and said, "We've run out of some groceries, and Yuliana wanted to eat beef stir fry. There's a supermarket nearby. Let me go get some now before it gets too late, so I can cook dinner for her and you guys early."
Jeremy offered to go with her, but Elsa refused. "We can't leave the kids home alone. What if one of them gets hurt? You stay here and watch the kids. I won't be long."
Jeremy felt reluctant about Elsa going outside alone, but with his fresh injury, he knew he couldn't ask her to stay while he went shopping. He would barely be able to carry the groceries.
"Promise me you'll be careful, angel. Go to the grocery store and come right back, okay?"
Elsa tilted her head to the side and said, "I promise I'll be careful."
With that, she grabbed her purse, jacket, and car keys. As she put on her boots, Jeremy said, "If you don't come home in 30 minutes, we're coming to look for you." Elsa chuckled softly but didn't say anything. She quickly left, only saying, "See you soon."
______
Elsa drove to the location with her nerves all over the place. It was in an area with a lot of trees and not enough people around to make her feel better or safer.
It was a beautiful valley, and where she was told to go was the loveliest spot in the dale.
She stopped at the house she was told in the text and found it to be an old wooden house. It had purple flowers in its surroundings and a little lake at its entrance. It looked so beautiful, especially with the evening rainbow behind it.
She had to double-check to confirm if she came to the right place before she walked forward.
As she did, she remembered what she read, and a memory came to mind. She was reading some papers she had found somewhere, and they belonged to someone called Carter. Elsa did not know who that was, but one of those papers was a letter. It said, "No spot is so dear to me and my Jenna as the little brown house with purple house in the vale. That purple house by the wildwood, the most lovely place in the dale. It is where our love will live forever. It is where our children will grow. Somewhere safe, somewhere purple, at the end of the rainbow."
Elsa looked around, and she did see a wildwood next to the house. But knowing she had no time to think of anything, she walked closer to the house quietly while pushing those thoughts away.
When she peeped through the window, she saw exactly what was shown to her in the video. Rosanna and James were blindfolded, tied up, and made to sit on the floor. Elsa looked around, and she did not spot anyone in the living room guarding them.
After waiting for 5 minutes and listening to confirm the McConnells were all alone, Elsa went to the door. To her surprise, it opened without effort, and she slipped in. She quickly rushed over to James and Rosanna, who, when they heard footsteps, startled.
Not wanting to scare them, Elsa removed both of their blindfolds first.
When they saw the woman crouching down next to them, they were both surprised and scared. "Elsa, what are you doing here?... Leave immediately before they come back!... I don't want you to get hurt in any way!" James said in panic.
While looking around, Rosanna shrieked, "Elsa, honey... please, run right now before they come back. I don't want you to get hurt because of us. You have to be safe, baby girl. You have to be okay."
Elsa raised her eyes and looked at the two people in front of her and said with a little smile, "You guys are my parents. How can I sit back and watch something bad happen to you?"