Desperately, she followed after him. Her eyes wild and her heart racing like a fire.
"Adam! Say something, please." He just sat on their bed, staring through the glass ceiling. It was covered in bird poop because nobody had cleaned it in months. She was shaking when she reached for his hand, wondering if he would turn her into the authorities and have her arrested. Any sane person would. At the slightest touch, he flinched, his eyes unfeeling as he kept staring ahead.
"Eleanor- you didn't kill my father... you may be smart, but that man had it coming." Adam sighed, turning to face her now. He sat up in bed, his face a mixture of unspoken emotions that melded well with her proper look of confusion.
"I don't understand." She furrowed her eyebrows, reaching for his hand again. This time he didn't flinch, merely stared at her hand on his.
"It wasn't your poison that killed him. I had some men look into the case and it was actually a heart attack- it was his time to go Eleanor, I guess karma had it coming for him." Eleanor wanted to suggest that her poison caused his heart to spasm, but refrained- she knew that it was powerful, she'd purchased it with intent to kill. He was giving her an escape and she would gladly take it. The guilt seared through her and with a simple look from Adam it all faded away. She would let him win this battle for her, let her get away for murder- but how long until the rest of the world finds out? How long until people start realizing she was the real Eleanor and that she was just in hiding and would probably be wanted for murder. Her anxiety levels skyrocketed as she stared at him.
She took a deep breath, calming herself.
"Wh...what?" She has seen him sip her drink and then fall to the ground. She had believed it was her who caused all of this. She knew it was her.
"Your poison couldn't have hurt a fly Eleanor. And he would've smelled it in his drink..." Adam said as he finally met eyes with her, she couldn't tell if he was lying. The room was spinning. " I had some guys look into the case." He repeated. "You're innocent."
Why is he lying for me? She thought as her fingers itched to grab him and tell him that she wasn't innocent! Not in the slightest. She felt uncomfortable as she grazed her thumb over his hand. Adam was an honest man, why was he lying for her?
"No Adam. I killed him, I did it. And I deserve to go to jail for it." He stood up and grasped her arms, her face jerked to meet his. This was possibly the most aggressive he had ever been with her and she couldn't help the sudden fear that filled her. She thought he would slap some sense into her, but when his grip loosened and remorse filled his eyes, she knew to back down.
"No, you didn't." He muttered through gritted teeth. She couldn't tell if he was telling the truth as his grip removed itself from her arm. "You didn't kill him Eleanor." He stared holes into her eyes, an attempt to convince them both. She knew she had done it, unless her timing was perfect with his actual fated time of death- which was unlikely. Hank Carnegie could've lived to be 120 years if he wanted to, he was wealthy enough to live in a frozen ice cube if it came down to it. That man was stubborn, and although his days may have been numbered, he was unwilling to die.
"Now what? Do I just continue hiding as Allison for the rest of my life." Eleanor huffed, Adam glanced at her with warm eyes. She didn't want to come out of hiding and reveal herself to the world. She wanted to go back to being Bree Walker, living in the countryside with Josiah.
They were both frustrated as they sat back on their bed. Adam needed a moment for the feeling to sink in- she was alive and healthy and back where she belonged. Even if she claimed of doing such a demonic task, he couldn't believe her- wouldn't believe her and anticipated she would begin believing she didn't kill Hank as Adam believed as well.
"I need a minute." Adam said, leaving the room. Eleanor sat on the bed. How would this change their relationship, how would this change how the world viewed her. She sat in fear on his bed, thinking back to the night before when all emotions were out in the open and the room was steaming. His hands were so familiar, so perfect, the things he did were so majestic. It made a tingle run down her spine as she thought of it. Her fingers tracing where his had been hours ago. She wanted his touch again, his scent, his whole being.
As time passed, Eleanor began regretting her decision to tell him. He didn't seem surprised at finding out she was Eleanor- he clearly already had a sense of it and her denying it furthered his search. But he did seem shocked that she so openly admitted to murder- especially of his own father, her father-in-law. She got sick of just sitting there, even if the room was a beautiful reminder of how things used to be. She left their room, heading downstairs to see him sitting on the staircase, staring at the giant portraits above it. She had seen the portraits so much that she didn't notice he had still left them hung up.
The good old times before all the craziness. "That was one of the happiest days of my life." Adam said, noticing her presence.
"Oddly enough, mine too." Eleanor sat beside him, "I'm sorry Adam." He held a hand up and she grabbed it.
"Look how far we've come. You know that old saying- about letting a butterfly go and if it loved you, it'll come back?" She nodded, "Eleanor- you're my butterfly." For some reason, those words seemed to clear the mood and suddenly they were leaning in, their lips so close, almost touching. And then the door flew open and someone that neither of them were expecting walked in.
"Bree Walker was Eleanor." Zac blurted, watching the pair, "who is this?" He took a moment to realize, "oh damn bro! You got Allison here, obviously you would. Pleasure to meet you." Zac bowed like they were in a 1950s, sending a wink Adam's way.
"Zac, bro, you're up here and I need you to bring it down here." Adam gestured with his hands. Eleanor looked at their feet as she stifled a laugh. "And yeah, I figured that out already." Adam looked at the obnoxious detective named Zac.
"How did you get this model in your home?" Zac's mouth was agape.
At this, Adam stood up and held his hand out for Eleanor to hold. She grasped it as they walked to Zac. "Zac, meet Eleanor." Adam said as a shocked Eleanor immediately pulled her hand from his.
"I didn't realize you guys were into that role-playing stuff." Zac stared for a minute as Eleanor tried to stop a laugh from escaping. Adam turned to face her, a smile broke out when he saw her, and nodded in her direction. A gesture saying you can trust him.
"No, Zac- I am Eleanor." Eleanor said.
"You have her believing it too? You know I went back to Oklahoma for a bit after I left Massachusetts to see if that doctor- I forget his name, had known anything about her. And you know what, the town said his funeral was last week, apparently an alligator or crocodile or something killed him when he was jogging. So I did a little more digging and I realized, the same fingerprints from the ring were the same skin cells that had been worn and I wondered- did..." he was quickly cut off by mournful gazes.
"What?" Eleanor was frazzled, her heart racing at the sudden news. "Josiah's dead?" Both her and Adam said in synchrony. Zac held his hands up as if to try to calm them down.
"Why did nobody tell me?" Eleanor whispered.
"You're not exactly Bree anymore." Adam replied. Zac's eyes widened. He looked between them before a lightbulb went off in his head.
"Whoa, she's actually Eleanor." He seemed so immature and unfazed. He stared between the two of them, unsure of what to do.
"Zac could you give us a minute." Adam gave him a sideways glance.
"Yes sir." Zac walked out faster than a rabbit being chased by a cheetah.
Eleanor began to cry, it was frustrating that someone who was so good to her and so helpful to everyone around him- he was a doctor for crying out loud- was gone! Forever!
"Eleanor, are you okay?" Adam hugged her, a few tears slipping from his eyes as well. He had thought Josiah a friend. After a few moments of holding each other as they both cried, Adam stood up.
"Eleanor... did you ever sleep with Doctor Mathews?"
"Adam! Does this look like the time to be asking me that?" She grunted, not wanting to be honest, not wanting to lie. "And if I did, it wouldn't matter because you wouldn't be able to kill a dead man."
"Exactly."
"What?" Eleanor raised her eyebrows, wiping the last few tears from her eyes.
"Eleanor, you tried to kill a dead man. My father had already had the heart attack before you could even poison him with pesticide."
"It wasn't pesticide- and why are you bringing this up again."
"Because, my love," Adam stepped closer, "I want the world to know you're still alive."