"Behind Closed Doors" Chapter 19
Miranda stayed in the bathroom until Stephen came knocking the next morning. Her back was killing her, she realized when the banging woke her up. Sitting up slowly and sliding her hand behind her to rub her lower back, she heard him start talking.
"Miranda, open this damn door"
She took one of those post-cry breaths and used her hands as leverage to stand up. "Go away", she feebly muttered.
The knob jiggled violently as Stephen tried to turn it open. Miranda ignored it and chose instead to walk to the sink and turn on the warm water.
"Miranda", Stephen called through the door again. She used a washcloth to wipe down her tired face as the noise outside the door quieted. She turned and started running a bath, needing the heat to relax the muscles in her back. She could quite happily spend all her time bathing these days, this baby was wrecking havoc on her body.
She stripped out of the rest of her clothes and stepped in, sinking down and letting out an exhausted sigh just as the door burst open and Stephen stood next to the tub talking down to her. "Get your ass downstairs in no less than one hour, you hear me?"
Miranda couldn't bring herself to look at him so she crossed her arms over her chest to prevent anything from being seen and gave one short nod.
He seemed to accept it and left the room, pulling the door closed rather loudly behind him. Miranda sat in the tub and tried to keep the tears from falling. She had to have control over something right now, even something small or trivial, or she'd go crazy she just knew it. She was going to get control of her emotions and get back her mentality from months ago when she was the feared editor of one of the biggest fashion magazines ever. She didn't like this new her one bit.
Stephen had successfully ruined her relaxing bath time by giving her a time limit. She sat in the tub thinking about Robert and where the hell he was, if he was even alive at all.
***********************
The stupid bastard didn't even have enough sense to hide. It was broad daylight outside and Stephen's shiny red corvette was parked right outside the townhouse. So much for discretion. Robert sat across the street in his car, scouting out the situation. He was trying to plan his first move, but quickly realized he had no clue where to go from here.
He moved his hand across his forehead in a nervous gesture and leaned back into the front seat, his eyes glued to the exterior of the house; waiting.
Just then, he saw her pass by the second story window and suddenly he knew he had to act now. She had already been subject to him for three long days and Robert couldn't let her suffer any longer. He pulled the gun from his jeans and ran his finger over the barrel before cocking it. If anything was to go wrong in there he wouldn't hesitate to use it for one second.
Robert tucked it back away safely and got out of the car, slowly making his way to the front door. When he turned the knob he of course found it locked, but Miranda had given him a key in the short time they were together and he quietly slid it in and turned it, opening the door slowly just wide enough for him to pass through.
The minute the door clicked shut he could hear them talking from the dining room.
"....more scotch?", he heard Miranda ask.
Carefully moving across the foyer and into the small study where Miranda is usually found reviewing the book he stopped against the wall to listen.
"That's enough!", Stephen yelled. There was a shuffling and then the sound of glass breaking. "Damn it, Miranda! You made me drop the fucking glass!"
Robert reached under his sweater and pulled the automatic out, risking a peek around the corner. Stephen sat with his back to him as Miranda stood with her arms crossed peering at him.
"I didn't make you do any such thing. You made the mess, so clean it up", she ordered.
Hearing Miranda talk like that to Stephen was a bit confusing if he were honest. If she was speaking to anyone else he might have asked her why she was being so nice, but Robert didn't expect her to use her usual tone with him after everything that had happened.
Stephen didn't make a move. "You're the woman. Act like it."
Miranda was just as stubborn. "You should know by now that I'm not like any conventional woman, Stephen. I'm not picking up after you". She rounded the table and sat at her plate at the table, delicately laying her napkin on her lap before taking a bite of her salad.
"Are we going to go through this again, Miranda? I won't hesitate to put you in your place and I won't stop until I have you", Stephen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked as if he'd just made such a threat that it would be preposterous if Miranda wouldn't fold to him again.
Robert leaned back around the corner. He had to take a breath to steady himself or he would have jumped around the corner and strangled him.
Miranda took a moment to answer, taking her time to chew and swallow, but not looking up at him as she spoke. "You already have me, Stephen. And if my attitude rubs you the wrong way then perhaps you'd like to consider divorce?"
"You really wanna play that game, darling?", Stephen asked. When he got no response his resolve broke and he slammed his palms on the table, startling Robert in the other room, but never Miranda Priestly. "ANSWER ME!"
Robert stuck his head around the corner in fear that Miranda's silence meant something awful. Instead he found her picking away at her salad as if some monster wasn't standing two feet from her and capable of killing her at any moment.
"So help me, God, Miranda, if you don't acknowledge me right now I'll--"
He was cut off as Miranda calmly lifted her head and made eye contact with him as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but her gaze had shifted just slightly and landed upon Robert's face. He gave her a reassuring look and she quickly returned to attention to Stephen before he caught on.
Suddenly, Miranda changed her tune. "I'm sorry, honey. What was it?", she asked gently as Robert took his chance and edged into the room behind Stephen.
"Honey? Just a second ago you weren't even speaking to me, now all of a sudden your addressing me with terms of endearment?"
Miranda stood and rounded to his side, taking his face in her hands while guiding him slightly so he wouldn't spot Robert coming up behind him. "I just realized how incredibly stupid I've been and I want to make it up to you", Miranda cooed.
Stephen was hesitant at first, but slowly slid his arms around her waist and peered down into her eyes, looking for lies. But Miranda played her part well and he leaned down and captured her lips in a sloppy kiss while she crooked her finger behind his back for Robert to come nearer while she had him distracted.
Robert thought he was gonna be sick watching her kiss him back like that, but he knew she wasn't putting her heart into it, not in the least bit. He took another step closer and the unthinkable happened. The hard wood floor beneath him had let out a sheik at his weight and Stephen spun around fast as lightening and began wrestling with Robert for the gun.
Miranda had been pushed backwards to the floor and she scambled to get up now as she watched them fight.
"You son-of-a-bitch!", Stephen hollered as the both of them had one hand on the gun, waving it madly in the air as they tried to fight the other off. Robert was hurting too, his wounds were still healing and the struggle was taking it's tole, but he wouldn't give up.
The gun went off in the air once, then twice as Miranda let out a scream of fright. She disappeared into the kitchen as the men continued their fight for power.
Stephen had pushed him into a wall and knocked the wind out of him, trying to loosen his grasp on the gun. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
Robert held tight as the fumbling set the gun off again and again. He shoved hard against Stephen and by some horrible miracle, Stephen came away with the gun. But he crashed into the china cupboard behind him, the dishes falling to the ground and shattering into millions of pieces. Robert was up on him in a second.
He grabbed the hand holding the automatic and banged it into the wall with as much force as he could muster. The gun went off once more. Robert drew it back and slammed it against the wall again, this time successfully knocking it from his hand. It flew across the room and out of sight as Miranda came around the corner with a heavy plate. She had searched as quickly as she could through the kitchen for a knife and came away with nothing. Stephen had hidden any form of a weapon that Miranda could possibly use on him.
The men were constantly gaining and losing the upper hand. Miranda came up behind Stephen and raised the plate, but he had just delivered a stunning blow to Robert and turned in an instant to give a hard shove and sent her falling on the ground, the plate crashing beside her. She stumbled backwards, trying to avoid the broken glass, but getting cut as the two of them moved toward her unconsciously as they threw and received punches.
Robert drew his arm back and snapped it to Stephen's nose, causing blood to stream down over his lip. They wrestled madly, letting out grunts of exertion and howls of agony when they took a particularly bad blow. They were getting nowhere, the fight was becoming more desperate and they were getting weaker as time went on.
Stephen had him on his back now. He wrapped his hands around his throat and banged his head against the ground, momentarily making him paralized with pain. He took that moment to grab a piece of broken glass from the floor. Robert had to make one last move to save his life. He reached up just in time to hold Stephen's arm an inch from his throat as Stephen pressed down hard, trying to get the zagged glass to reach the heated skin of Robert's neck.
He is going to kill me. This is it. Robert thought. His mind drifted to his beloved Miranda as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead while he used his last ounce of strength to keep his life. She would have to fend without him now. He could barely tolerate the thought. If God would show him any mercy, he prayed that Stephen would be arrested for the murder and put away forever so Miranda could live the rest of her life in peace. And his girls. He hoped beyond anything that they would be reunited with their mother. If the three of them would be safe he could rest in peace for the rest of eternity. They were the only ones who meant a damn to him in the whole world and he had already lost them once. He just wanted something good to come out of his death so they would know he died for them at least.
He was getting ready to give up, but before he gave in to the force of Stephen's arms he let one more thought pass through his thoughts.
I love you.
BANG!!
Suddenly Stephen was slumped over him, the piece of glass fallen to the floor beside them as he let out a shaky breath. He rolled the weight of Stephen's body off of him before he sat up and turned to look behind himself. What he saw both broke his heart and brought the biggest relief to it ever in his life.
Miranda sat in a heap on the floor, the gun held loosely in her right hand by her side as tears rolled steadily down her cheeks. She stared straight into his eyes, not making a sound, but her chest rose and fell at a rapid pace showing her recent exertion.
Robert had no words. He moved to her in an instant, gently pulling the gun from her hands and laying on the floor beside them as he wrapped her in his arms. Miranda let it out then. She sobbed heavily and she gripped his shirt tightly in her fingers and pulled him to her desperately.
"Shhhh. I'm here. I'm alright. It's all over now", he comforted as he held her. His hands ran up and down her back soothingly and when he couldn't take it anymore, they flew up to her cheeks, bringing her sweet lips to his forcefully. He placed kiss after kiss all over her face, showering her with them until he was sure he had covered every inch.
They embraced again, Miranda threw her arms around his neck and pulled him against her body. "Stay with me. Stay with me.", she repeated into his neck as she cried hot tears of relief. Robert pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I love you"
He placed a kiss to her lips, this time slow and tender. When they parted he suddenly realized that she could have been hurt. His hands began searching her body, looking for injuries. "Are you hurt?? Is anything broken??", he fired the questions at her, worried that her tears meant she was in pain.
"Robert. Robert!", Miranda called his attention, taking his hands in hers. "I"m alright. A few cuts and bruises, but I'm fine"
"Oh my God. You could have been killed.", he pulled her into another hug. "What was I thinking?", he berated himself as tears came to his eyes as well.
MIranda stopped him, pulling back to look at him seriously. "NO. Don't you do that", she warned. "You saved my life, Robert. You could have been killed.......almost were......", she trailed off in a choked whisper.
"Don't think like that anymore, you hear? I'm alive. I'm here", he took her small hand in his and placed it over his heart. "Feel that?", he asked.
Miranda could feel the steady rhythm under her palm and a small smile came over her lips. She closed her eyes and nodded.
"It's yours", he whispered. "I'm yours"
They stayed like that, on the floor of the dinning room, across from Stephen's lifeless body, plates and glass and lunch strewn about the floor. The gun that had saved both their lives, empty beside them and the last, lone bullet in the heart of the devil.
**************************************************
Please forgive me for taking a million years to update. I was getting back into the rhythm of school and inspiration wasn't coming very easily. But I feel good about this chapter and I hope you all will too. It feels good to get back to writing and I missed you all! Btw, it's not over yet, don't worry :)
Meg <3
"Miranda, open this damn door"
She took one of those post-cry breaths and used her hands as leverage to stand up. "Go away", she feebly muttered.
The knob jiggled violently as Stephen tried to turn it open. Miranda ignored it and chose instead to walk to the sink and turn on the warm water.
"Miranda", Stephen called through the door again. She used a washcloth to wipe down her tired face as the noise outside the door quieted. She turned and started running a bath, needing the heat to relax the muscles in her back. She could quite happily spend all her time bathing these days, this baby was wrecking havoc on her body.
She stripped out of the rest of her clothes and stepped in, sinking down and letting out an exhausted sigh just as the door burst open and Stephen stood next to the tub talking down to her. "Get your ass downstairs in no less than one hour, you hear me?"
Miranda couldn't bring herself to look at him so she crossed her arms over her chest to prevent anything from being seen and gave one short nod.
He seemed to accept it and left the room, pulling the door closed rather loudly behind him. Miranda sat in the tub and tried to keep the tears from falling. She had to have control over something right now, even something small or trivial, or she'd go crazy she just knew it. She was going to get control of her emotions and get back her mentality from months ago when she was the feared editor of one of the biggest fashion magazines ever. She didn't like this new her one bit.
Stephen had successfully ruined her relaxing bath time by giving her a time limit. She sat in the tub thinking about Robert and where the hell he was, if he was even alive at all.
***********************
The stupid bastard didn't even have enough sense to hide. It was broad daylight outside and Stephen's shiny red corvette was parked right outside the townhouse. So much for discretion. Robert sat across the street in his car, scouting out the situation. He was trying to plan his first move, but quickly realized he had no clue where to go from here.
He moved his hand across his forehead in a nervous gesture and leaned back into the front seat, his eyes glued to the exterior of the house; waiting.
Just then, he saw her pass by the second story window and suddenly he knew he had to act now. She had already been subject to him for three long days and Robert couldn't let her suffer any longer. He pulled the gun from his jeans and ran his finger over the barrel before cocking it. If anything was to go wrong in there he wouldn't hesitate to use it for one second.
Robert tucked it back away safely and got out of the car, slowly making his way to the front door. When he turned the knob he of course found it locked, but Miranda had given him a key in the short time they were together and he quietly slid it in and turned it, opening the door slowly just wide enough for him to pass through.
The minute the door clicked shut he could hear them talking from the dining room.
"....more scotch?", he heard Miranda ask.
Carefully moving across the foyer and into the small study where Miranda is usually found reviewing the book he stopped against the wall to listen.
"That's enough!", Stephen yelled. There was a shuffling and then the sound of glass breaking. "Damn it, Miranda! You made me drop the fucking glass!"
Robert reached under his sweater and pulled the automatic out, risking a peek around the corner. Stephen sat with his back to him as Miranda stood with her arms crossed peering at him.
"I didn't make you do any such thing. You made the mess, so clean it up", she ordered.
Hearing Miranda talk like that to Stephen was a bit confusing if he were honest. If she was speaking to anyone else he might have asked her why she was being so nice, but Robert didn't expect her to use her usual tone with him after everything that had happened.
Stephen didn't make a move. "You're the woman. Act like it."
Miranda was just as stubborn. "You should know by now that I'm not like any conventional woman, Stephen. I'm not picking up after you". She rounded the table and sat at her plate at the table, delicately laying her napkin on her lap before taking a bite of her salad.
"Are we going to go through this again, Miranda? I won't hesitate to put you in your place and I won't stop until I have you", Stephen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked as if he'd just made such a threat that it would be preposterous if Miranda wouldn't fold to him again.
Robert leaned back around the corner. He had to take a breath to steady himself or he would have jumped around the corner and strangled him.
Miranda took a moment to answer, taking her time to chew and swallow, but not looking up at him as she spoke. "You already have me, Stephen. And if my attitude rubs you the wrong way then perhaps you'd like to consider divorce?"
"You really wanna play that game, darling?", Stephen asked. When he got no response his resolve broke and he slammed his palms on the table, startling Robert in the other room, but never Miranda Priestly. "ANSWER ME!"
Robert stuck his head around the corner in fear that Miranda's silence meant something awful. Instead he found her picking away at her salad as if some monster wasn't standing two feet from her and capable of killing her at any moment.
"So help me, God, Miranda, if you don't acknowledge me right now I'll--"
He was cut off as Miranda calmly lifted her head and made eye contact with him as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but her gaze had shifted just slightly and landed upon Robert's face. He gave her a reassuring look and she quickly returned to attention to Stephen before he caught on.
Suddenly, Miranda changed her tune. "I'm sorry, honey. What was it?", she asked gently as Robert took his chance and edged into the room behind Stephen.
"Honey? Just a second ago you weren't even speaking to me, now all of a sudden your addressing me with terms of endearment?"
Miranda stood and rounded to his side, taking his face in her hands while guiding him slightly so he wouldn't spot Robert coming up behind him. "I just realized how incredibly stupid I've been and I want to make it up to you", Miranda cooed.
Stephen was hesitant at first, but slowly slid his arms around her waist and peered down into her eyes, looking for lies. But Miranda played her part well and he leaned down and captured her lips in a sloppy kiss while she crooked her finger behind his back for Robert to come nearer while she had him distracted.
Robert thought he was gonna be sick watching her kiss him back like that, but he knew she wasn't putting her heart into it, not in the least bit. He took another step closer and the unthinkable happened. The hard wood floor beneath him had let out a sheik at his weight and Stephen spun around fast as lightening and began wrestling with Robert for the gun.
Miranda had been pushed backwards to the floor and she scambled to get up now as she watched them fight.
"You son-of-a-bitch!", Stephen hollered as the both of them had one hand on the gun, waving it madly in the air as they tried to fight the other off. Robert was hurting too, his wounds were still healing and the struggle was taking it's tole, but he wouldn't give up.
The gun went off in the air once, then twice as Miranda let out a scream of fright. She disappeared into the kitchen as the men continued their fight for power.
Stephen had pushed him into a wall and knocked the wind out of him, trying to loosen his grasp on the gun. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!"
Robert held tight as the fumbling set the gun off again and again. He shoved hard against Stephen and by some horrible miracle, Stephen came away with the gun. But he crashed into the china cupboard behind him, the dishes falling to the ground and shattering into millions of pieces. Robert was up on him in a second.
He grabbed the hand holding the automatic and banged it into the wall with as much force as he could muster. The gun went off once more. Robert drew it back and slammed it against the wall again, this time successfully knocking it from his hand. It flew across the room and out of sight as Miranda came around the corner with a heavy plate. She had searched as quickly as she could through the kitchen for a knife and came away with nothing. Stephen had hidden any form of a weapon that Miranda could possibly use on him.
The men were constantly gaining and losing the upper hand. Miranda came up behind Stephen and raised the plate, but he had just delivered a stunning blow to Robert and turned in an instant to give a hard shove and sent her falling on the ground, the plate crashing beside her. She stumbled backwards, trying to avoid the broken glass, but getting cut as the two of them moved toward her unconsciously as they threw and received punches.
Robert drew his arm back and snapped it to Stephen's nose, causing blood to stream down over his lip. They wrestled madly, letting out grunts of exertion and howls of agony when they took a particularly bad blow. They were getting nowhere, the fight was becoming more desperate and they were getting weaker as time went on.
Stephen had him on his back now. He wrapped his hands around his throat and banged his head against the ground, momentarily making him paralized with pain. He took that moment to grab a piece of broken glass from the floor. Robert had to make one last move to save his life. He reached up just in time to hold Stephen's arm an inch from his throat as Stephen pressed down hard, trying to get the zagged glass to reach the heated skin of Robert's neck.
He is going to kill me. This is it. Robert thought. His mind drifted to his beloved Miranda as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead while he used his last ounce of strength to keep his life. She would have to fend without him now. He could barely tolerate the thought. If God would show him any mercy, he prayed that Stephen would be arrested for the murder and put away forever so Miranda could live the rest of her life in peace. And his girls. He hoped beyond anything that they would be reunited with their mother. If the three of them would be safe he could rest in peace for the rest of eternity. They were the only ones who meant a damn to him in the whole world and he had already lost them once. He just wanted something good to come out of his death so they would know he died for them at least.
He was getting ready to give up, but before he gave in to the force of Stephen's arms he let one more thought pass through his thoughts.
I love you.
BANG!!
Suddenly Stephen was slumped over him, the piece of glass fallen to the floor beside them as he let out a shaky breath. He rolled the weight of Stephen's body off of him before he sat up and turned to look behind himself. What he saw both broke his heart and brought the biggest relief to it ever in his life.
Miranda sat in a heap on the floor, the gun held loosely in her right hand by her side as tears rolled steadily down her cheeks. She stared straight into his eyes, not making a sound, but her chest rose and fell at a rapid pace showing her recent exertion.
Robert had no words. He moved to her in an instant, gently pulling the gun from her hands and laying on the floor beside them as he wrapped her in his arms. Miranda let it out then. She sobbed heavily and she gripped his shirt tightly in her fingers and pulled him to her desperately.
"Shhhh. I'm here. I'm alright. It's all over now", he comforted as he held her. His hands ran up and down her back soothingly and when he couldn't take it anymore, they flew up to her cheeks, bringing her sweet lips to his forcefully. He placed kiss after kiss all over her face, showering her with them until he was sure he had covered every inch.
They embraced again, Miranda threw her arms around his neck and pulled him against her body. "Stay with me. Stay with me.", she repeated into his neck as she cried hot tears of relief. Robert pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I love you"
He placed a kiss to her lips, this time slow and tender. When they parted he suddenly realized that she could have been hurt. His hands began searching her body, looking for injuries. "Are you hurt?? Is anything broken??", he fired the questions at her, worried that her tears meant she was in pain.
"Robert. Robert!", Miranda called his attention, taking his hands in hers. "I"m alright. A few cuts and bruises, but I'm fine"
"Oh my God. You could have been killed.", he pulled her into another hug. "What was I thinking?", he berated himself as tears came to his eyes as well.
MIranda stopped him, pulling back to look at him seriously. "NO. Don't you do that", she warned. "You saved my life, Robert. You could have been killed.......almost were......", she trailed off in a choked whisper.
"Don't think like that anymore, you hear? I'm alive. I'm here", he took her small hand in his and placed it over his heart. "Feel that?", he asked.
Miranda could feel the steady rhythm under her palm and a small smile came over her lips. She closed her eyes and nodded.
"It's yours", he whispered. "I'm yours"
They stayed like that, on the floor of the dinning room, across from Stephen's lifeless body, plates and glass and lunch strewn about the floor. The gun that had saved both their lives, empty beside them and the last, lone bullet in the heart of the devil.
**************************************************
Please forgive me for taking a million years to update. I was getting back into the rhythm of school and inspiration wasn't coming very easily. But I feel good about this chapter and I hope you all will too. It feels good to get back to writing and I missed you all! Btw, it's not over yet, don't worry :)
Meg <3