The Taking of Eleanor Ainsworth

Chapter 3

The sky was a canvas, blending together different shades of blue and the dying lights of the orange sun to create an array of pinks and purples. The sun was setting, having done its duty for the day, it was saying goodbye to London and hello to another part of the world.

Ella looked up at the sky, and shivered, although the night was chilly, the warmth radiating from Matthew was enough to keep her warm, she snuggled into him as they entered the cinema.

"Let me guess, you want both sweet and salt popcorn?" He asked Eleanor, his eyes twinkling. She looked beautiful tonight. Her midnight blue dress hugged her tiny waist perfectly and branched out at the bottom, her hair was curled and fell down past her shoulders, bouncing and dancing as she walked, Matthew had to take a deep a breath in, she was a marvel to behold and being in her presence was enough to make him admit and say things to her that he knew he shouldn't.

Such as, he loved her.

But it was still early and he did not want to scare her off.

"Oh wow Matthew" she laughed  "How did you know ?" She asked, grinning up at him. He simply shrugged and handed the woman at the counter a twenty pound note.

"What can I say? I know you to well Eleanor Ainsworth." He said, taking the change and handing Ella the popcorn, she gladly accepted it and walked beside him into the screening room. Once inside he guided Ella up the stairs and to their respective seats.

She sunk into the seat next him and glanced his way briefly, Matthew was a kind soul, he always tried to include Ella in everything that he and his friends did, but Ella being Ella she declined on every occasion. But Matthew never gave up, he was persistent and would turn up at her door late at night, demanding that she followed him to a party he was going to, Ella always won and they would both end up watching films together, forgetting all about the party.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, nuzzling his nose into her hair, she shied away and blushed a deep shade of red.

"Yeah, i'm okay." She replied, leaning her head back and sighing in complete and utter bliss as he twirled a loose curl around his finger. They both in sat in silence watching the trailers, but neither of them were focussed enough to take them in, they were both secretly glancing over at each other, quickly looking away when the other would notice.

They were like school kids on their first date, shy and extremely awkward. In an effort to break the ice, Matthew leaned an arm over Eleanor's chair. She glanced at him and smiled, leaning her head into the crook of his neck.

"I love you Eleanor Ainsworth," Matthew mumbled under his breath.

"Hmm?"

"Um, nothing."

Eleanor stared at the screen, she heard Matthew loud and clear but she wanted him to say it again to make sure she wasn't dreaming

The movie started and Tom Hardy appeared on the screen in all his glory. The movie had started but one person was late, they ran across the floor and hurriedly walked up the steps, slowing down and glancing over at both Matthew and Ella. Matthew did not notice but Ella did, she followed this person's stare until they sat directly behind her.

She shivered.

Not because she was cold, but because she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, something did not feel right, she brushed it off as nerves and snuggled deeper into Matthew.

Matthew turned and kissed her on the top of her head, but that one single and harmless action was enough to tip a certain someone over the edge. They kicked Ella's chair and quickly got up, running out of the cinema. Ella looked at Matthew who just shrugged.

"He was probably in the wrong screen," he said, popping a popcorn into his mouth. Ella tried hard to believe that the person was in the wrong screen, but the feeling she felt before was back and she suddenly doubted her safety.

Stop being silly Ella

She realised she was being irrational and once again shrugged it off.

---

On very rare occasions would Ella see a sky full of stars, but that night a total of ten stars dotted the sky, keeping the lonely moon company. Although it was not a lot of stars, it was enough to Ella. The night was chilly and the bitter wind licked at both Ella and Matthew's cheek bringing no warmth with it.

Ella shivered and grabbed both of her arms in an attempt to warm up. Without hesitation, Matthew took off his leather jacket and placed it on her shoulders, it wasn't much but it was enough to keep her warm until they reached the car.

"Thank you." She smiled, taking Matthew's hand in hers and walking close beside him. He rubbed the back of her hand soothingly and used his free hand to open the passenger side of the door. She got in, thankful for the warmth that the car provided.

"Are you still cold ?" He asked, leaning forward and turning on the hot air. She shook her head and leaned back, remembering when he took her with him to buy the car.

"So, out of these two bad boys, which one do you prefer?" Matthew asked standing in between the two cars and looking at Ella hopefully.

"Um, that one" Ella pointed to the silver BMW and Matthew sighed dramatically, falling to his knees and placing his head in his hands.

"Not the silver one!" He cried, hanging his head low, he looked at Ella and rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong with the silver one ?" Asked Ella.

He shook his head and stood up, "Nothing really, I just prefer the dark blue one"

"So why ask for my opinion if you already had your mind set ?" She questioned, folding her arms. Matthew shrugged and walked over to Eleanor, placing an arm over her shoulder and guiding her to the car dealer.

"No reason, I just wanted someone else to encourage me to get the blue one, but that backfired, you went with the completely opposite." He laughed, handing the money over to the car dealer and waiting whilst he processed it through a machine to be counted.

"Okay, heres the keys." The man said, throwing them to Matthew he caught it in the air.

"Can you imagine the amount of babes i'm going to be picking up in this car." He laughed. Ella rolled her eyes and backed away from him, getting into the passengers side.

"I'm kidding Ella, you're the only babe that gets to ride in this car." He winked starting the ignition.

"So, i'm thinking next Saturday is the perfect day to take you out to eat." Matthew said, turning to face Ella. She peered over at him and smiled.

"Sounds great."

"Good."

"Matthew?"

"Hm."

"What was it that you said back in the cinema?" Ella asked. Matthew looked over at Ella and grinned, he began to lean forward, resting his head against hers and staring into her eyes. She stared back.

"I said." He leaned closer so that their lips were inches away from each other.

"I lov-"

And just like that, Ella's world was ripped away from her, she watched in horror as Matthew was dragged out of the car by the collar of his shirt. A tall figure towering over him, it wasn't Matthew being dragged against his will out of the car that scared Ella the most, it was glistening blade held tightly in the figures hand.

He raised the knife and Ella screamed, someone was going to die tonight she knew that much, but what she didn't know was who it was going to be.

---

A/N - Ah, I hate happy Endings.