My throat burns as I gasp for air.
There’s no way to know how long I’ve been out here, but at this point, I don’t think I was followed. My head is spinning, and I don’t know what to do.
Finally able to take a full breath, I put my head between my legs and try to get my heart rate to calm. I thought that being out there would make me feel better, but the thick summer air is doing nothing to stop this feeling. It's like the wind got knocked out of me, and my lungs refuse to refill. My body rests against my car, and I can’t help myself from sinking down onto the ground. The asphalt is fiercely hot to the touch, but I can’t really feel it.
I know I need to get out of here. I know I have to leave, but I can’t get up. Nothing is making sense, but I know I can’t be here when Greg comes out to go home. I’ll count to five, and then I’ll get up.
Five…four…three…two…
Chapter 38
Patrick
Thereisnothingworsethan a meeting running late for no reason. The minutes felt like hours knowing that Ellie was waiting for me.
Before we headed to the conference room, I told Debbie that Ellie could wait in my office, so I’m surprised to find my office completely empty. It’s not just that though.
As I look around, I notice that one of my chairs has been moved sideways and a couple of my pictures have been knocked on the ground. Taking a minute to tidy up, I’m puzzled over what happened. Ellie’s not the type of person that would trash the place and then leave, but there's no sign of her.
I move the chair back into place and get a sinking feeling inside me that something is wrong.
Trying not to make myself freak out more than I need to, I go outside to see if Ellie decided to wait in her car since I was taking so long. My stomach drops when I see her sitting beside her car on the hot pavement. She is a lone figure in the almost empty parking lot, and I don’t hesitate to rush over to her. By the way she is sniffling, I’d assume she is crying, but her head is between her legs, obstructing my view.
Crouching down to get on her level, I reach out. She’s not looking at me, but I can tell that she sees my hand by the way she recoils from my touch. I feel like I’m going to throw up, but I cup her cheeks and lift her face out of her lap anyway. Her cheeks are wet, and her eyes are bloodshot.
Seeing her like this makes my throat go completely dry and my heart hurt. Pushing past those feelings, I talk quietly trying to get some answers. “El, baby, what happened? Why are you crying?”
“I don’t—” She is whimpering in between sobs, and I try to rub the tears away. “I don’t know what happened… I can’t… I didn’t…I didn’t do anything… I don’t think I did… He said… He s—” She can’t get more than a few words out without choking on them. I’ve seen her have a panic attack before, but this is different. This is worse.
Something has her completely shaken up, and I need to figure out what it is.
I sit down next to her, pull her into my lap in a tight hug, and run my hand up and down her back. Trying to keep my voice calm and comforting, I speak slow and calm while holding her. “Take a deep breath, El. I’m going to make sure that everything is okay, baby. Just breathe. I’m here. I have you.”
I repeat this mantra, but it takes a couple minutes for Ellie to get her breathing under control. Her pulse slows down a bit, and her breathing becomes less shaky. I push a few hairs back that were stuck to her face with tears and tilt her chin up so she’s looking at me, sad and defeated, and it is breaking my heart.
“Ellie, whatever it is, I’m here with you. I promise. Can you please tell me what happened? Did something happen in my office?”
She nods and looks up at me with a pitiful expression.
“What happened, El? Just tell me what happened, baby.”
She takes a deep breath, but I can see that she is so close to breaking down again. Pulling her into my chest, I whisper that she can take her time.
Her voice is so small when she finally speaks up. “I was waiting for you in your office—and I thought you had walked in—but it was Greg—and he came in and sat down next to me—and he asked why I was with you—”
It takes a few minutes for her to recount the entire encounter, but by the time she is finished explaining everything, I can barely hear her. My ears are ringing, and I’m trying hard to push my emotions down and be here for Ellie.
Tears stream down her cheeks again, and she buries her face into my chest and starts stringing together apologies. It is so hard for me to keep my composure because, honestly, I don’t think I have ever been more furious. If my arms weren’t wrapped around Ellie keeping her safe, I wouldn’t be able to contain my rage.
After she has calmed back down again, I look around to see that Greg’s car is still in the lot, and I know what needs to be done.
Cupping her face, I bring myself down to her. “El, would you be able to be alone for a couple minutes?”
She shakes her head, and there is so much unnecessary shame in her eyes. “P-please stay with me. I d-don’t want to be alone.”
“I know, baby, but I have to go back in there.” Ellie pulls on my heart strings, urging me to not leave, but I refuse to let Greg get away with this. “I’m going to need you to get in your car and wait for me, okay?”
Her silence is heavy as I carefully help her into her driver’s side door. She is so fragile like this, and I hate myself for leaving her. Making sure she turns the A/C on the highest setting to cool herself down, I place a small kiss on her forehead. “I’m going to fix this, El.”
