I Can Be Your Hero
Chapter Two-Rescue
My phone began to vibrate as I sat in the living room, curled up watching Miracle. I checked the caller ID, and it was an unfamiliar number, so I made sure that Damien had indeed left for work before I dared to answer it.
“Hello?” I whispered, pausing the movie.
“Hey Elizabeth. It’s Patrick,” I heard Patrick say, and I bit my lip.
“Hey Patrick,” I said.
“So I was wondering if you’d want to go out and get a drink tonight,” Patrick said, and I ran a hand through my hair.
“I don’t know if that’s a great idea,” I said, catching my reflection in the glass of the TV screen.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Patrick insisted. I touched the fading bruise beneath my eye and sighed heavily.
“I’ll have to check my schedule and get back to you, alright?” I said, and once I assured Patrick that I was going to call him back, hung up.
Patrick’s Point of View
I stood outside of the small pub where I had told Elizabeth to meet me and rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet. I wasn’t used to having to fight to get a date with a girl, but Elizabeth seemed hesitant for some reason. Usually my reputation didn’t scare girls away, but something seemed to make Elizabeth a little unsettled. However, I saw her bright red hair and waved, a smile forming on my face.
“Hey Patrick,” she said, and I felt my jaw drop. She had a fading bruise beneath her left eye, and she looked tired and almost defeated.
“Hey Elizabeth,” I said, peeling my eyes away from the bruise and smiling warmly.
“So what happened to your eye?” I asked as we sat at a small table. Elizabeth almost choked on her beer and stared at me in shock.
“What?” she asked.
“What happened to your eye?” I repeated, and I saw a bit of panic form on her face.
“I…I have to go. Thanks for the drink,” Elizabeth stammered before rushing out of the pub. I leaned back in my seat and sighed heavily. I had no clue how to deal with this mysterious woman.
Elizabeth’s Point of View
My pulse slowed once I got into the apartment. Damien had left me a note that afternoon telling me he was going out with the guys after work, so I had called Patrick and scheduled a last minute meet-up. I quickly peeled off my clothes and folded them neatly, stowing them in their usual places in my dresser before throwing on my pajamas. Damien would notice if I had worn something nicer than sweat pants and a teeshirt on a day when he wasn’t home, and it would set him off. I looked in the mirror and cursed silently. I had thought that I had covered the bruise beneath my eye pretty well, but Patrick had noticed almost immediately. Something about the way his sharp blue eyes looked at me unnerved me, and I shook my head before crawling beneath the covers of my bed and dozing off.
Patrick’s Point of View
“I shit you not, it was a bruise,” I said, explaining the situation to Jonathan. Jon pondered for a moment before shrugging.
“I don’t know what to tell you man. I mean, she obviously didn’t want you to notice, and when you did notice she took off. Something is up, but you just met her so I doubt she’ll tell you anything,” Jon said, taping his stick as he did so. I frowned.
“Yeah, but when I first met her she was running down the street crying,” I said after a while, trying to sort out the hazy details of my first encounter with Elizabeth.
“Like I said, something has to be up, but if she isn’t going to tell you you can’t do anything about it. I say just let it go,” Jon said, and I sighed heavily before nodding. It wasn’t a good idea for me to start worrying about girls I hardly knew when the St. Louis Blues were waiting for us on the ice.
After the game I checked my phone to see I had one unread text message.
New Message from: Elizabeth
Can you talk?
As soon as I was in my car I called her.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, and I heard ragged, uneven breathing on the other line. A few seconds later there was a loud crash, a woman’s scream, and the sound of hitting. Then the line went dead and I stared at the phone in my hands.
“Fuck!” I screamed, peeling out of the parking lot.
I sped down the streets of Chicago for a few minutes before realizing I had no idea where Elizabeth lived. Once I made that realization, I sped off in the direction of the diner where she worked. I got there just as the owner was flipping the sign on the door to “CLOSED”, and he looked at me with confusion as I pulled open the door.
“I need to know where Elizabeth lives,” I gasped before launching into my story. A few minutes later I was banging on the door of her apartment, not entirely sure why I was there, but knowing that she needed my help all the same. The door opened quickly, and I found myself being stared down by a very angry, very drunk man. He was about 6 feet tall, husky, and he reeked of booze. His cold, grey eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at me.
“So you’re the guy she’s been fucking around with, huh?” he growled.
“What? No! We just met!” I cried, indignation rising in my voice.
“I know who you are Patrick Kane! I’m not surprised the little slut has been sleeping around, and you’ve got a reputation. Why are you calling her if you ain’t fucking her?” the man bellowed, and then his fist connected with my jaw. I was immediately blinded by rage, and I started laying into him, hitting everything and anything I could. I didn’t know who this guy was, but he had pissed me off, and nobody pissed off Patrick Kane without paying the price.
“Stop!” I heard Elizabeth shriek a few minutes later. By then the guy was almost unconscious from the beatdown I had delivered, and I stumbled away from him, wiping the blood off of my now split lip.
“Elizabeth are you okay?” I asked, but one look at her answered that question for me. Her hair was askew, she had another bruise forming on her other eye, her lip was swollen, and she was holding her arm at a funny angle.
“Patrick, I think you need to leave,” she said coldly, fear written all over her face.
“And leave you with this guy? I don’t think so!” I said, and I whisked her out of the apartment without a second thought. She struggled a bit under my grasp, but stopped after a moment.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“The hospital,” I said, pulling out of the parking lot. I wasn’t usually one for heroics, but right now I knew that this girl needed someone to help her.
“Hello?” I whispered, pausing the movie.
“Hey Elizabeth. It’s Patrick,” I heard Patrick say, and I bit my lip.
“Hey Patrick,” I said.
“So I was wondering if you’d want to go out and get a drink tonight,” Patrick said, and I ran a hand through my hair.
“I don’t know if that’s a great idea,” I said, catching my reflection in the glass of the TV screen.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Patrick insisted. I touched the fading bruise beneath my eye and sighed heavily.
“I’ll have to check my schedule and get back to you, alright?” I said, and once I assured Patrick that I was going to call him back, hung up.
Patrick’s Point of View
I stood outside of the small pub where I had told Elizabeth to meet me and rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet. I wasn’t used to having to fight to get a date with a girl, but Elizabeth seemed hesitant for some reason. Usually my reputation didn’t scare girls away, but something seemed to make Elizabeth a little unsettled. However, I saw her bright red hair and waved, a smile forming on my face.
“Hey Patrick,” she said, and I felt my jaw drop. She had a fading bruise beneath her left eye, and she looked tired and almost defeated.
“Hey Elizabeth,” I said, peeling my eyes away from the bruise and smiling warmly.
“So what happened to your eye?” I asked as we sat at a small table. Elizabeth almost choked on her beer and stared at me in shock.
“What?” she asked.
“What happened to your eye?” I repeated, and I saw a bit of panic form on her face.
“I…I have to go. Thanks for the drink,” Elizabeth stammered before rushing out of the pub. I leaned back in my seat and sighed heavily. I had no clue how to deal with this mysterious woman.
Elizabeth’s Point of View
My pulse slowed once I got into the apartment. Damien had left me a note that afternoon telling me he was going out with the guys after work, so I had called Patrick and scheduled a last minute meet-up. I quickly peeled off my clothes and folded them neatly, stowing them in their usual places in my dresser before throwing on my pajamas. Damien would notice if I had worn something nicer than sweat pants and a teeshirt on a day when he wasn’t home, and it would set him off. I looked in the mirror and cursed silently. I had thought that I had covered the bruise beneath my eye pretty well, but Patrick had noticed almost immediately. Something about the way his sharp blue eyes looked at me unnerved me, and I shook my head before crawling beneath the covers of my bed and dozing off.
Patrick’s Point of View
“I shit you not, it was a bruise,” I said, explaining the situation to Jonathan. Jon pondered for a moment before shrugging.
“I don’t know what to tell you man. I mean, she obviously didn’t want you to notice, and when you did notice she took off. Something is up, but you just met her so I doubt she’ll tell you anything,” Jon said, taping his stick as he did so. I frowned.
“Yeah, but when I first met her she was running down the street crying,” I said after a while, trying to sort out the hazy details of my first encounter with Elizabeth.
“Like I said, something has to be up, but if she isn’t going to tell you you can’t do anything about it. I say just let it go,” Jon said, and I sighed heavily before nodding. It wasn’t a good idea for me to start worrying about girls I hardly knew when the St. Louis Blues were waiting for us on the ice.
After the game I checked my phone to see I had one unread text message.
New Message from: Elizabeth
Can you talk?
As soon as I was in my car I called her.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, and I heard ragged, uneven breathing on the other line. A few seconds later there was a loud crash, a woman’s scream, and the sound of hitting. Then the line went dead and I stared at the phone in my hands.
“Fuck!” I screamed, peeling out of the parking lot.
I sped down the streets of Chicago for a few minutes before realizing I had no idea where Elizabeth lived. Once I made that realization, I sped off in the direction of the diner where she worked. I got there just as the owner was flipping the sign on the door to “CLOSED”, and he looked at me with confusion as I pulled open the door.
“I need to know where Elizabeth lives,” I gasped before launching into my story. A few minutes later I was banging on the door of her apartment, not entirely sure why I was there, but knowing that she needed my help all the same. The door opened quickly, and I found myself being stared down by a very angry, very drunk man. He was about 6 feet tall, husky, and he reeked of booze. His cold, grey eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at me.
“So you’re the guy she’s been fucking around with, huh?” he growled.
“What? No! We just met!” I cried, indignation rising in my voice.
“I know who you are Patrick Kane! I’m not surprised the little slut has been sleeping around, and you’ve got a reputation. Why are you calling her if you ain’t fucking her?” the man bellowed, and then his fist connected with my jaw. I was immediately blinded by rage, and I started laying into him, hitting everything and anything I could. I didn’t know who this guy was, but he had pissed me off, and nobody pissed off Patrick Kane without paying the price.
“Stop!” I heard Elizabeth shriek a few minutes later. By then the guy was almost unconscious from the beatdown I had delivered, and I stumbled away from him, wiping the blood off of my now split lip.
“Elizabeth are you okay?” I asked, but one look at her answered that question for me. Her hair was askew, she had another bruise forming on her other eye, her lip was swollen, and she was holding her arm at a funny angle.
“Patrick, I think you need to leave,” she said coldly, fear written all over her face.
“And leave you with this guy? I don’t think so!” I said, and I whisked her out of the apartment without a second thought. She struggled a bit under my grasp, but stopped after a moment.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“The hospital,” I said, pulling out of the parking lot. I wasn’t usually one for heroics, but right now I knew that this girl needed someone to help her.