Status: Complete
God's Gonna Cut You Down
Eliza's Story
"So...why don't you sleep?" Murphy asked after swallowing a mouthful of cornflakes.
Eliza shrugged, "I haven't slept in a couple of weeks. I guess I'm afraid to."
"Why would you be afraid to sleep?"
"I guess I'm scared that if I stop long enough to sleep then he'll find me and I won't wake up, or worse, I'll wake up in a basement somewhere tied up with no hope for escape or rescue."
Murphy could see the sadness and fear in Eliza's eyes. This girl was in trouble and needed help, perhaps it was time for the saints to make a return to the states. "What is it exactly that you're running from?"
Eliza sighed, "My mother's girlfriend's brother."
"Care to explain?"
"It's rather complicated."
"I have plenty of time."
" Antonia asked me to go by his house on my way home from work and pick up a briefcase with some important paperwork in it that she had forgotten there- she's a lawyer. So I did, but he wasn't home. She said it was okay to just run in and get it so I did. When I walked into the kitchen to get the briefcase I heard a woman screaming. I went down to the basement and seen three women in their early twenties tied up in a corner. Two of them were unconscious. I called the police and Tommy fled. I don't know what he was doing with them, but that night, I stopped sleeping. Two days later one of his lackies, Theo, cornered me at the mall and told me Tommy was going to make me pay for the trouble I had caused him. I packed a bag and left."
"Then what happened? How'd you get here?"
"I hung around Jacksonville for a couple of days, made some phone calls trying to get an idea of where Paul might be, but had no luck, so I decided to go to Boston myself and try to find him on my own. In Virginia, Mike caught up to me. Mike was never anything to worry about before, and, thanks to me, he's never going to be worried about again."
"What did you do to him?"
Eliza's muscles tensed at the memory. She could see what had happened in her mind, the splattering of blood, the crack of the skull. It made her wince. Murphy noticed and reached over, squeezing her hand in an effort to comfort her. "I killed him." She was so blunt, the words came out in one quick sentence. Murphy looked into her eyes and seen that there was no sorrow or regret in them. She did what she had to in order to stay alive. "He broke into my motel room, so I kicked him, bringing him down to his knees. Then I grabbed the motel phone off the table and bashed his head in with it. I could have stopped after the first hit and fled," she shook her head, "but I didn't." Even though tears had started to fall down her face, there was no remorse or regret in her eyes or voice. "I didn't stop until his head was as flat as a pancake, then I took a shower, gathered my things, and left."
"You did what you had to."
She nodded although she didn't quite hear what he was saying. "I drove straight to Boston. I didn't stop except for gas, which I only did once."
"What happened once you were in Boston?"
"I got drunk for the first time, and a nice old man let me stay in a spare room-" she cut herself off as the realization of why Murphy was so familiar hit her. She looked at him and blinked, "You and Connor were in the picture."
"I'm lost."
"McGinty's. That's where I stayed. In the spare room there was a picture of you and Connor with the owner."
Murphy smiled, "Doc has a weakness for pretty girls that need help."
Eliza smiled and looked down in an attempt to hide the flushing of her cheeks as she blushed. "The next morning I went to church for the first time since I was six, and that's when Father McKinney told me where to go to find Paul. Now I'm here, and you know my story."
"You don't have to worry any more," Murphy told her, "You're safe now, we'll all protect you and keep you safe. You can sleep now."
"That's what I told myself, but I guess some part of me is still afraid."
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll stand guard while you sleep and make sure no one hurts you."
"That would be nice." The two finished their cereal and headed up to what was now Eliza's room. She got comfortable in the small bed and stared at Murphy who sat slumped against the wall. She smiled and he smiled back. "Thank you," she whispered, just as her eyes shut for the first time in two weeks.
Eliza shrugged, "I haven't slept in a couple of weeks. I guess I'm afraid to."
"Why would you be afraid to sleep?"
"I guess I'm scared that if I stop long enough to sleep then he'll find me and I won't wake up, or worse, I'll wake up in a basement somewhere tied up with no hope for escape or rescue."
Murphy could see the sadness and fear in Eliza's eyes. This girl was in trouble and needed help, perhaps it was time for the saints to make a return to the states. "What is it exactly that you're running from?"
Eliza sighed, "My mother's girlfriend's brother."
"Care to explain?"
"It's rather complicated."
"I have plenty of time."
" Antonia asked me to go by his house on my way home from work and pick up a briefcase with some important paperwork in it that she had forgotten there- she's a lawyer. So I did, but he wasn't home. She said it was okay to just run in and get it so I did. When I walked into the kitchen to get the briefcase I heard a woman screaming. I went down to the basement and seen three women in their early twenties tied up in a corner. Two of them were unconscious. I called the police and Tommy fled. I don't know what he was doing with them, but that night, I stopped sleeping. Two days later one of his lackies, Theo, cornered me at the mall and told me Tommy was going to make me pay for the trouble I had caused him. I packed a bag and left."
"Then what happened? How'd you get here?"
"I hung around Jacksonville for a couple of days, made some phone calls trying to get an idea of where Paul might be, but had no luck, so I decided to go to Boston myself and try to find him on my own. In Virginia, Mike caught up to me. Mike was never anything to worry about before, and, thanks to me, he's never going to be worried about again."
"What did you do to him?"
Eliza's muscles tensed at the memory. She could see what had happened in her mind, the splattering of blood, the crack of the skull. It made her wince. Murphy noticed and reached over, squeezing her hand in an effort to comfort her. "I killed him." She was so blunt, the words came out in one quick sentence. Murphy looked into her eyes and seen that there was no sorrow or regret in them. She did what she had to in order to stay alive. "He broke into my motel room, so I kicked him, bringing him down to his knees. Then I grabbed the motel phone off the table and bashed his head in with it. I could have stopped after the first hit and fled," she shook her head, "but I didn't." Even though tears had started to fall down her face, there was no remorse or regret in her eyes or voice. "I didn't stop until his head was as flat as a pancake, then I took a shower, gathered my things, and left."
"You did what you had to."
She nodded although she didn't quite hear what he was saying. "I drove straight to Boston. I didn't stop except for gas, which I only did once."
"What happened once you were in Boston?"
"I got drunk for the first time, and a nice old man let me stay in a spare room-" she cut herself off as the realization of why Murphy was so familiar hit her. She looked at him and blinked, "You and Connor were in the picture."
"I'm lost."
"McGinty's. That's where I stayed. In the spare room there was a picture of you and Connor with the owner."
Murphy smiled, "Doc has a weakness for pretty girls that need help."
Eliza smiled and looked down in an attempt to hide the flushing of her cheeks as she blushed. "The next morning I went to church for the first time since I was six, and that's when Father McKinney told me where to go to find Paul. Now I'm here, and you know my story."
"You don't have to worry any more," Murphy told her, "You're safe now, we'll all protect you and keep you safe. You can sleep now."
"That's what I told myself, but I guess some part of me is still afraid."
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll stand guard while you sleep and make sure no one hurts you."
"That would be nice." The two finished their cereal and headed up to what was now Eliza's room. She got comfortable in the small bed and stared at Murphy who sat slumped against the wall. She smiled and he smiled back. "Thank you," she whispered, just as her eyes shut for the first time in two weeks.