In Love with a Superstar Ch. 03

Cathy screamed and held Sarah even tighter, limiting her movements more than the furniture and the knife, she lifted her slightly still clamped to her leg.

"Hold on to me tight baby girl," she whispered to Cathy.

"Give her BACK!" Elisabeth screamed as Sarah circled the room trying to keep the table and chairs between them, "GIVE HER BACK!" she screamed again, this time with an added hatred flinging a chair against the cooker trying to close off that part of the kitchen, "GIVE HER BAAAAAAACK!!" Elisabeth screamed one final time, flecks of spittle flying in her anger now tinged with an almost lunatic, hate-fuelled hysteria. Cathy was shaking in terror.

"Stay away Elisabeth..." Sarah cried in desperation. Elisabeth's venom disappeared in an instant; a psychotic, terrifying instant.

"Or what?" Elisabeth growled with an edge of disdain, her head tilted in juvenile challenge.

Sarah tried to think how long it had been, she closed her eyes for a second, desperately working out how long it would take to for the police to get here and find the right house, and...

"Give her back to me," Elisabeth growled placing one fleshy knee on the table and starting to climb.

Sarah tried to make for the kitchen door but Elisabeth was too fast and spun to one side ready to catch them with an experimental swish of the blade.

"Please..." Sarah cried, her bottom lip trembling, "Elisabeth... please, think of Cathy..." Through the window Sarah could see a flashing blue light reflecting in the darkness of the trees at back of the house.

"Oh, I AM thinking of Cathy," Elisabeth swung the knife again, "She's my fucking daughter after all!" The final 'all' was parenthesised by a further closer swish of the cooks' knife.

"You're mad! You'll kill us both," screamed Sarah, looking around her for anything she could defend them both with. There was nothing, even the knife block had been hidden.

"You are bloody DEAD, bitch!" At the last moment Sarah swung Cathy's tiny body behind her as Elisabeth swung herself over the table, blade first.

Sarah tried to scoot further round and held her hands up in automatic defence and steeled herself for the first onslaught and barely saw the flashing blade as she ducked away from it. Elisabeth's leggings had slipped on the table and she fell slightly and Sarah moved as far back as she could, feeling only a thump of what must have been Elisabeth's mistimed fist and the coldness of a rush of air at her side.

"I'm home!" the back door clunked shut, "I don't know what's going on but there's Old Bill everywhere out there, I KNOW it can't be for me this time at least. Now then Claire, you haven't been holding drug-crazed satanic orgies again have you, you know your Dad doesn't..."

His voice dropped as he entered the kitchen and he came upon the sight of Sarah pressed into the corner of the kitchen in front of his daughter while his sister-in-law, climbing over the kitchen table, waved a large cook's knife over her head about to strike.

"Brucie!" peeled Elisabeth in a sing-songy voice, totally at ease with the situation, "But you shouldn't be here!" She said with an eager but cautionary tone, "Martin said this had to be done while you were inside," she turned her face back to Sarah again.

"What the f..." he held his breath, "Elisabeth, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm just sorting out this cow for you. It's all part of the plan."

"What bloody plan, Cathy... Sarah, what have you done to them?" he said catching sight of his terrified daughter hiding behind Sarah's legs, "Sarah?" His voice sounded amazed, almost like he was surprised about something; like he didn't expect her to be there.

"Daddy!" Cathy screamed and ran towards him. Elisabeth made a grab for her, but she was too small and too quick and Elisabeth gritted her teeth as she gasped.

"Mr Young?" A voice shouted from the garden that made Sarah look out of the window. She saw the man who had signalled her running across the back lawn with four policemen - two armed with machine guns.

"In here, quick!" he shouted, "Cathy, run out through the patio doors and keep running until you see Ray, go on Darling RUN!" he pushed her through the kitchen door he had entered from and in moments Sarah saw her leaping up into the security man's arms. He ran back with her into the garden and its relative safety and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping, the deep breathing did nothing to ease the stitch she felt in her side or the pain... from the punch?

One policeman was at the kitchen window his gun raised and covering Elisabeth who, thinking fast, moved forward and now had the knife point touching Sarah's throat.

"Put the knife down on the table and step away from it," said the policeman at the window in a calm but firm tone.

"It's all your fault bitch," Elisabeth warbled, her voice breaking with emotion. Tears began to roll down her pale and podgy cheeks and her hand trembled. Sarah felt the knifepoint dig in to the flesh at her windpipe a few times but had nowhere to run, and she started to pant, her breath coming with difficulty now.

"Put the knife down Miss," said the Policeman, "I'm only going to ask nicely once more."

"Elisabeth, put the knife down," said Bruce.

"If it hadn't been for you we'd have been settled down and living together in love," Elisabeth blurted at Sarah, "in Cambridgeshire."

The other armed Policeman appeared at Bruce's side, his machine gun at his shoulder, a tiny red pin-point of laser from the guns sight bobbing around on Elisabeth's chest. A second red light appeared on her chest and Sarah saw a second gun, a yellow plastic looking thing she guessed was a Tazer from a third policeman.

"Elisabeth," Bruce said seeing the two lights, "Put the knife DOWN!"

"But Brucie!" she wailed, "It's her fault! She did it! She was going to take you and Catherine away from me! To ruin our love for each other."

"What are you talking about Elisabeth, I don't love you!"

The policeman behind him coughed loudly and muttered something like 'steady on mate'.

"Yes you do," she laughed wiping a tear from her eye, "Martin told me. He said that this bitch was trying to take you away from me, he said I would need to fight for you and prove my love, by... by getting rid of HER," she growled, "fucking sorting her out!"

"Did he now," said Bruce the colour rising in his cheeks, "Did he give you another key?"

"Yes!" she said, "You see, I knew you wouldn't mind, I've got lots of them, look..." Her spare hand fished in her jacket pocket and dropped keys and coins onto the wooden table with a clatter.

"What else did he tell you to do Elisabeth," Bruce looked at the Policemen.

"The PLAN?" she sighed as if it was obvious.

"Tell me about the plan Elisabeth," he said, just like DC Shears.

"I sent all the letters, I burnt her house, everything, I followed her for DAYS!" she screamed triumphantly, "I had to read all of your credit card statements, cashpoint receipts, mobile phone bills, everything. Martin told me to hire different cars so she wouldn't know, I paid for them on a credit card, he said you would pay me back once she had gone."

"WHAT!?" There was no mistaking the fury in Bruce's face, "What the fuck?!"

"But... Brucie, I did it for you... he said you would understand!" her face turned from pleading to rage, "I BLOODY DID IT FOR YOU!" she shouted.

The picture began to form in Sarah's mind; the Superstar's manager constantly inventing new stories to keep his wild child client on the front page. Constantly messing around with his life to keep him more interesting and in the Limelight. The Superstar tires of it and he decides to sack him half way through his latest project. Perhaps...

The last thing, the one thing that had kept buzzing in her mind at her parents' house, the one thing that didn't gel and her fogged brain wouldn't let her realise until now suddenly leapt out at her. Her parents' house, Martin had driven her straight to their house and she didn't even give him an address or directions...

"Elisabeth, Martin was having you on, he was playing with your emotions and it was a wicked thing to do. I'm sorry but I don't love you, not in that way. I loved your sister and you can't replace her."

"W...what?" she stuttered, and her disbelieving face flushed a violent, determined red, "And this slut can, is that it?" she wiped a hand across her face crossly.

Breathing had become laboured and almost painful for Sarah now and she just couldn't seem to get enough breath, perhaps this was a panic attack and she was hyperventilating? She steeled herself for the final blow and for the second time in her life started to prepare herself to die. Before she closed her eyes saw Bruce's hands forming into hard fists,

"Bruce..." she gasped, the effort leaving her breathless, she had to tell him she loved him, she hadn't said it enough and she was sorry. She was sorry for all those things she'd said, to him, to Colleen, she had to say it all before the end.

"Elisabeth, put the bloody knife down - NOW!" The Policeman took a firmer grip on the weapon and moved slowly forward, his left eye closing.

"She'll not defile MY sister's bed..." Elisabeth raised the knife high, it wobbled slightly in her hysterical grip and her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. Sarah held her scant breath as the mad woman stared with horrific, frenzied eyes down into hers as she built up the nerve to stab, down, hard, an end to all of this, and Sarah watched as if in slow motion - surely the police would shoot her now. No matter how hard she had tried to be brave she couldn't hold on, and all of the words crowding in her head to be said burst out as a single desperate cry,

"BRUCE!" Sarah screamed with all the reserves of energy she could muster. It was enough distraction and with the knife away from Sarah's throat they could all act. As Elisabeth turned to look at him, he threw a bone-crunching haymaker punch that caught Elisabeth square in the centre of her face with a sick-making crack and threw her back across the kitchen table. She landed in a heap on the floor with Tazer cables pinned to her chest, her electric flinching making the knife falling from her unconscious fingers, blood trickling from her nose and mouth.

Two unarmed policemen were on her recumbent form in seconds and restraining her hands behind her back in the hard metal handcuffs.

"That, Mr Young," said the first armed Bobby attaching his Tazer back on his body armour, "was a bloody cracker, when you're finished at the school you wouldn't mind putting a few hours in down the town on a Friday night would you?"

"Sarah!" Bruce pulled her into his arms and held her tight, "thank God - there's an ambulance outside, for Christ's sake someone get the paramedic in here!"

Only then was Sarah conscious of a stinging tingle in her side and when she raised her hand she saw it was covered in blood, her own blood. Looking down she saw one whole side of her white cotton T-shirt had turned deep red, the leg of her jeans was wet and a red pool was starting to form at her feet. The last thing she remembered before slumping into unconsciousness was Bruce's worried face.

The elastic of the facemask pulled slightly at her hair and she woke to the bright lights of the ambulance and the green uniform of the Paramedic.

"Hello Sarah, you back with us?" the Paramedic, a woman, carried on stripping open a sterile dressing, "Look darling, I told you mummy would be OK didn't I?"

Sarah turned her head slightly to look at the other bench, where she saw the worried face of Cathy lying on the bed opposite, looking across at her. Sarah smiled.

"Hello Darling, are you OK?" she mumbled

Cathy pulled her mask off and slid from the bench, and sprang across to her.

"You just hold Mummy's hand for a second sweetie, while I see to her."

"She's not my mummy," said Cathy very matter of factly.

"Oh," said the Paramedic slightly embarrassed.

"But I wish she was," Cathy rested her head on Sarah's shoulder and her statement went straight to Sarah's heart.

"Now that's what I call medicine," said the Paramedic, picking up on Sarah's smile and hanging a plasma bottle from a hook

Outside of the Ambulance there was a bit of a scuffle, and Martin's head appeared at the open back door of the ambulance, even in her weakened state she thought he had got here rather quickly, it could only have been a few minutes.

"Sarah, Hi!" he smiled that awful smile of his, "Am I ever going to make you a STAR!" he pronounced, "Protecting Bruce Young's baby with your own life and getting wounded into the bargain, WHAT can I say. Paul, get in here with that camera..."

A man with a camera for heaven's sake, how?

"Get out!" said the paramedic.

"Look Sweetheart," he waved his standard twenty pound note in her direction without even looking at her, "just pop outside for a few minutes; now Sarah, this is very important - we need to know JUST what Elisabeth said to you..."

"You look sweetheart," growled the medic, "This lady is seriously ill - you pop outside and stay outside before I put you out on your arse," she held up a long syringe.

"Don't you threaten me," he said backing away from the needle, "I'm a personal friend of Miss Wells and Mr Bruce Young,"

"Was," said a deep voice,

"Brucie!" he smiled turning around, "What do you mean 'was', mate?" he chuckled nervously, his adam's apple bobbing at speed.

"Doctor," said Bruce's voice to the medic still from outside, "Keep your first aid box out for a few minutes more."

"Don't be too long with him," said the Paramedic, "As soon as Sarah is stabilised we've got to go and soon."

Martin flew from the back of the ambulance as he was unceremoniously heaved off of his feet. The door was slammed shut, and Sarah could only pick up on a few pieces of conversation - heated conversation.

She could just hear the higher pitched babble from Martin that raised in tone as he protested innocence then begged for forgiveness, finally mercy and support from the remaining policeman.

The noise increased as the ambulance door opened.

A second ambulance man had arrived and was removing a motorcycle helmet; she thought of her motorcycle helmet and leathers still in the boot of her car. The female paramedic whispered something to the new man and he hung another plastic bag of clear liquid by the first one and started to mess around with tubes.

She could hear Bruce roar in a voice trained to carry across theatres and auditoriums;

"So, you decided you would make ME the victim this time did you? Try and take the life of my child and the woman I love? You bastard!" There was the sound of a scuffle "And pushing that poor girl over the edge for the sake of a good story? Poor old Bruce Young - how tragic, how awful; beautiful girlfriend and child both murdered, then what? Was I going to go next was I?" There was a loud thump of something hitting the side of the ambulance, "Was I going to go next, huh? Was I? With you left to play Colonel Parker selling my face and my movies, oh yes I can see it all now. My face on a china plate on the back of 'The Radio Times', 'Bruce Young - lived fast and died young'. Just you wait until I finished with you manipulating bastard - then I'll see you in court," - only with a lot more swearing.

Sarah heard another loud thump of something bashing against the side of the Ambulance, and Martin's voice, "Come on Bruce" he piped, "Be reasonable, it was for you. Look this could be the biggest thing ever! We just need to get our stories... Ouch! Why... why you ungrateful... OOH!"

There was a louder thump against the Ambulance and it rocked slightly.

"Winds coming up isn't it," said the Paramedic to her colleague with a smile as the vehicle trembled slightly as the engine started, "Try and stay with me Darling OK?" Sarah tried to nod, the panicked voice of the Ambulance driver just audible through the fog of her mind and the words, 'On oxygen', 'definitely nicked the lung at the very least', 'not sure' and 'seems to be holding her own' formed in her sleepy head.

Bruce sat holding Catherine who had been lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of the ambulance. The pain in Sarah's side was starting to tell on her and the Paramedic could offer nothing but oxygen and sympathy until they had reached A&E.

"Sarah, I'll never be able to thank you for what you did."

Sarah smiled under her oxygen mask. The paramedic picked up on the tension and slid through to the cab with an 'excuse me'.

Bruce continued, "Claire ran down and told her Dad when Elisabeth told her that she couldn't come in, he's head of security and knew she shouldn't be here at all. Ray has always thought that Elisabeth was a bit strange so he came straight around as soon as he got home from the hospital. He told me that he knew something was wrong because he heard you pleading... for Cathy's life... offering your own." He gulped.

She waved a hand, really starting to feel the benefit of the oxygen now,

"Sarah, Sarah? Doc, she's..." As she drifted off to sleep she heard Bruce's voice calling her.

She awoke three days, and some quite significant surgery, later. The woman in the bed opposite, middle aged and wearing several clear tubes and Cardigan, saw Sarah move and waved, then pressed the buzzer resting by her hand. A young nurse appeared and the older lady indicated towards Sarah.

"Sarah, welcome back!" said the nurse picking up the chart at the foot of the bed and writing on it. She walked along the bed and picked up a plastic tube peering at the levels, as Sarah noticed that it led into the back of her hand.

She tried to sit up but was incredibly weak, and her throat was so dry the act of speaking was difficult.

"You're in the Princess Alice Darling," said the nurse picking up on Sarah's disorientation,

"What..." Sarah tried to speak again.

"Hang on," said the nurse, and picked up a glass and water jug, "There," she said holding the glass at Sarah's lips. Sarah swallowed gratefully,

"Thank you," she said with a pale smile, "What... what day is it?"

"Tuesday," she said, and Sarah looked puzzled. The nurse checked the chart, "You came in Thursday evening,"

"I was stabbed, wasn't I?"

"Something like that," said the nurse taking out a thermometer gun, which she popped into Sarah's ear. "The person that stabbed you did a beautiful job, she went straight through your clothes, the muscle on your side and managed to slice under your rib cage, straight through your liver and your diaphragm and cut through to your lung, nasty. Nice clean cut though. Surgeon said he couldn't have got it cleaner and straighter with a scalpel."

The nurse reached for Sarah's hand, and Sarah tried to assist by lifting it. The entire left side of her body complained at the movement.

"Oh, I see what you mean."

"You lost an awful lot of blood, and the surgeons had a time of it stitching you back together again, apparently the Ambie got you here with about five minutes to spare."

An hour later and following a cup of tea and a sandwich, she was starting to come around.

"Sarah!" shouted a voice, It was Frank the Headmaster, "Thank God you've come round," he trotted across the room to her bedside. He placed some flowers on the bed and bent down kissing her on the cheek, "Oh sod it!" he burst out and hugged her around the neck. "We've all been so worried," he reached into a carrier bag he held and brought forth a variety of multi-coloured cards.

"Thank you," she smiled, touched at the sentiment.

"These are the first few dozen," said Frank with a smile, "I've another one hundred and fifty odd on my desk,"

"Oh how lovely!" she leafed through the first of the garishly decorated get-well cards from children who had obviously spent many hours on them.