Kyle Sratford got up from his desk, irritadedly and crossed over to the
door. Someone had been knocking incessantly for the last 20 seconds and
they were about to get chewed out.

"Who the Hell is it?!" he shouted opening the door. His attitude greatly
improved when he saw it who it was. She looked beautiful in her jeans
and white T-shirt.

"Liz?" he said, opening the door wider and gesturing for her to come
inside. "To what do I owe the honor - "

"Do you mind telling me what you think you're doing?" Liz asked, turning
around abruptly to cut him off. She was in no mood for pleasantries.

"Huh?... I was just sitting here finishing up that art history
assignment for professor - "

"Cut the crap Kyle!" Liz shouted crossing over to him. "You know damn
well what I'm talking about."

"Liz, I assure you that I don't."

"Well, Kyle...let me break it down for you in terms that you can
understand. I'M - NOT - INTERESTED!"

Kyle sighed, taken aback by her outburst. "Oh," said Kyle, walking back
over to stand near his desk. "I get it...Lucky told you about our little
discussion yesterday, huh?"

"Uh...yeah," Liz answered, sarcastically. "What? Did you think he
wouldn't?"

"Look Liz," said Kyle, coming back to face her. "I don't know what he
told you but it's not true. I would never, ever make a move on you.
You're married for goodness' sake."

"Are you calling my husband a liar?" Liz asked, more than a little
annoyed. She knew how hard it had been for Lucky to tell her everything
that happened with Kyle last night, and for him to stand here and deny
it was infuriating.

"No Liz," said Kyle, sensing her growing anger. "I just think he's a
little paranoid. I mean, I've only tried to be a friend to you."

Liz began to pace the small dorm room. "Hmm..." she said. "A friend?
Yeah, you know..I might have believed you last week, but it all fits
now..."

"What all fits?" he asked staring at her.

"How you acted...you know - on our drive to Port Charles. The way you
kept staring at me. You know what Kyle? It gave me the creeps then and
it's giving me the creeps now, so STOP!"

"I'm sorry," Kyle said, looking away. "I just...Liz, you are so
beautiful."

"Stop it," Liz said again, her voice a bit shaky this time. When she
first entered the room she felt confident, ready to fight her own
battles, but now...now she was beginning to feel that familiar sensation
rise in her chest...fear. The room had suddenly become very small, and
she could barely breath. She unconsciously walked backwards towards the
door.

Kyle made no move towards her, he suddenly realized that she was afraid
of him and he wondered why.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely. However, he still needed to dig himself
out of his current hole. "I think Lucky just took what I said the wrong
way. I mean I was just speaking hypothetically you know?" He said,
laughing nervously.

Kyle noticed that Liz no longer seemed to be listening to him. Although
she was standing, facing him, her hand stayed glued to the doorknob
behind her.

"Seriously - Elizabeth, I'm sorry...if you still want the job at the
gallery it's yours. I promise I'll stay away from you. The job was never
a scam. It's yours if you want it."

Liz nodded, her eyes had become very glassy and she could barely see
anymore. She needed to get out of the room. She would not let him see
her cry. She opened the door and quickly exited. Liz ran downstairs to
her room, wondering what had just happened.

Chapter 32

Lucky stood behind the bar, carefully pouring coffee into a customers' cup.
The old man was a regular, and he was trying hard not to burn the poor guy.
He had already spilled coffee on a one customer that today. Fortuneately,
they'd been understanding and swore to Lucky that they were ok, and wouldn't
file charges or anything.

Waiting for Elizabeth's phone call was killing him. She had said that she
would confront Kyle around 5:00 after her 3:00 class let out, but it was now
6:00 p.m. and still no call from Elizabeth.

'How long could this possibly take,' thought Lucky. 'Say what you have to say
and walk away Elizabeth.' However, Lucky knew that it was easier said then
done when it came to his wife. Once Elizabeth got to talking - watch out,
especially if she was mad.

Yet another thought plagued his mind. 'But what if - Oh my God, if that
bastard touches her - no, don't even think like that. You're crazy...get
ahold of yourself -'

Suddenly the phone rang. Lucky dashed out from behind the bar and sprinted
into the kitchen. "Good evening Kelly's - "

"Lucky?"

He sighed in relief. "Yes...oh, man. Baby, I was getting worried. How did it
go?"

"Fine."

Lucky immediately picked up on the tone in Elizabeth's voice. She sounded as
if she had been crying. "Lizbeth what's wrong?" he asked soberly.

"Nothing. He just basically denyed everything. He said that you took it the
wrong way..."

"How the Hell do you take 'you're gonna drive her into the arms of another
man' the WRONG WAY?!" Lucky asked trying, yet failing to keep his voice down.

"He said that he meant that hypothetically...you know, like 'another man'
could be anybody, not necessarily him."

"Don't tell me you believe that."

"Of course not Lucky."

Lucky sighed, there was still something bothering her. "Baby, what else? You
wouldn't be crying over that."

"I'm not - "

"Elizabeth...come on, it's me."

Suddenly, the lump reappeared in Liz's throat, and she was crying once again.
Lucky leaned back against the countertop and shifted the receiver from one
hand to the other. "Baby, baby what's wrong?! What the Hell happened?! I'm
coming down th - "

"No - no," Liz managed through her sobs. "He didn't do anything. It's me.
There's something wrong with me."

She was seriously beginning to scare him. "What do you mean? Tell me what's
wrong 'Lizbeth?"

"Lucky I freaked out. I was standing there in his room - "

"You went to his ROOM!" Lucky yelled. Outside a few customer's looked up from
their dinners, one blonde in particular.

"Lucky," Liz began. "I had to. I was just so mad. I had to find him and get
it over with."

"Ok..ok, so what happened?" Lucky sighed, calming down.

"Lucky I felt like the room was closing in on me. He was standing there JUST
talking to me, and I couldn't breathe. I mean, it was what I imagine being a
clausterphobic would be like."

"But your not clausterphobic."

"I know...Lucky...I thought I was over this stuff."

"Lizbeth, some part of you will probably never be completely over it. I mean,
it sounds like you had a perfectly natural reaction. You felt threatened and
your body just reacted."

"Yeah, but Lucky he didn't do anything. There was nothing for me to be afraid
of. I mean the worst thing he did was stare at me."

"Elizabeth, with what happened to you - that's all it takes sometimes...it's
ok."

Liz thought it was everything BUT ok. She felt awful. How was she supposed to
get through her life with this fear in the back of her mind all the time? And
why, after all this time, had it come back?

"I want to come down there so bad," Lucky said. He wanted to wrap her in his
arms and let her know that everything would be fine.

"I know," Liz sighed, her sobs having died down. "It's ok though Lucky. I'll
be fine."

"I love you," said Lucky.

"And I love you."