💘Unattainable
Perfection💘
Episode 41
Semi Final
It happened probably one second ago.
But it felt like an eternity.
Numb.
That’s how I felt.
I felt completely numb as I sit on the rocky ground, the fire illuminating my eyes as I watch it get much bigger and bigger, spre-ading to each p@rt of the car.
Myl-ips p@rted.
Desperate to make a sound.
Any sound at all.
Just to indicate I was just hallucinating,dreaming.
My toes curled.
Desperate to be liberated from the pressure of my th!ghs as I sat with both legs crossed un-derneath me, like an Indian. I blinked ra-pidly.
My eyeba-lls moving to and fro, up and down ra-pidly in an attempt to catch any sign of movement.
My ears were perked to it’s highest hearing ability just to catch the tinniest of sounds
. But nothing.
Absolutely nothing. No movement, no sound.
Only the sounds and smell of a burning car…
“Ma’am”
a voice says from behind me.
It sounded faraway as my focus was solely on one thing.
I didn’t realise I was shaking my head repeatedly until the owner of the voice t©uçhed my shoulder.
I j£rked instantly, sl@pping his hands away.
“Help him. Not me
. He’s in there”
my voice c@m£ out shaky as I point a trembling f!nger towards the car consumed with flames.
“I’m sorry ma’am. If anyone’s in there he or she is probably…”
I turn sharply, gr-abbing him by the collar.
“Don’t you fv¢king finish that s£ntence got it? He’s alive. He’s not dead. He can’t die you hear me!!”
Silence was my reply and he only stared at me. Pitifully.
Shaking my head, I turn away and focus my attention back to the car.
Like I’ve been caught in a trance, I stood gazing into nothingness, swallowing back the tears building with f0rç£. Why should I cry when no one’s dead? He’s fine.
I know he is.
He has to be fine.
I keep staring until I hear a gro-an .
It was faint.
So faint it sounded like my illusion.
A millisecond later,I heard the gr0@nagain.
Immediately, immense hope surged throu-gh me and without further delay, I run as fast as my legs could carry me, like I’ve never done before, ignoring the sharp small rocks that pierced into the flesh of my feet.
I was running, my gaze fixed on the pond behind the rock.
I had to get to him.
That sound.. It could only belong to William. It had to belong to him only.. Another sharp object pierced my feet.
I winced and continued running. I st©pped only when I reached the pond.
I searched around frantically until my eyes landed on a form I knew so well, laying near the pond, we-t and curled into a ball,letting out small gro-an s.
“William!”
My heart leaped with joy as I advanced towards him,crouching near him.
“William”
I call out,my heart pounding wildly. His only reply was a painful gro-an .
“Will, if you can hear me plea-se say something. plea-se”
I cu-p his face carefully, afraid I might hurt him.
“Allow me catch my breath princess. I had a ha-rd time coming out of that pond. I know you miss me alre-ady but tone it down”
My eyes wi-den at his words. He opens his eyes just then to meet mine only to smile crookedly. “You….you…..argh!!!”
I sl@p his che-st in frustration, gr-abbing him by the collar and pu-lling him off the ground ignoring his painful cries.
How could he find such a situation funny?
“Do you always have to make a joke out of everything? Is this funny to you. I almost lost my head thinking I had lost you and….and….you’re smiling… You….”
I trail off,b!tt!g my tremblingl-ips ha-rd as tears blind me.
“Love, I’m sorry.”
He reaches out to t©uçh me but I swat his hand away angrily.
“Here I was going crazy over losing you and you… You had the audacity to smile and crack a joke… You….you….”
I st©p when my breathing comes out laboured, strangled even.
William wra-ps his arms around my w@!st, pu-lling me to him.
Hisl-ips finds mine immediately, k!ss!ngme fiercely.
I don’t waste time.
I wra-p my arms around him,k!ss!nghim back with as much intensity and pas-sion until we both break ap@rt g@sping for air.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you in anyway. I love you too much to hurt you purposely”
he rests his forehead against mine.
He had used the L word again.
My heart flutters again. I open my north to reply when a cough interrupts us.. I turn and immediately frown at the last face I was expecting to see.
“Why are you here?”
I snap
“Alexa”
“Don’t Alexa me. Answer my question”
“Ever since you refused to pick any of my calls, I had someone follow you, an eye on you..”
“You’ve been spying on me?”
I ask incredulously rising from the ground. He sighs
“to make sure you were safe. Protected”
“I know it wasn’t right but I had to. And when I got a call that a pickup had been following you for the last few minutes, I rushed down here. Come with me”
Mr Dante says. I narrow my eyes at him infinitesimally.
“Come on Alexa”
William nudges me.
I sigh before following him up the hill until we were back on the road, a few pas-serby’s surrounding the area as some policemen tried to push them back.
Mr Dante leads us throu-gh the crowd and st©ps In the middle.
I st©p and stare at the center of attention
“Him”
Mr Dante points to the dead man.
“When he realised you were still alive after jumping out of the car, he still wanted to kill you but my man tried to st©p him. It resulted in a scuffle, the gun went off,shooting him in the process.
Do you by any chance know him?” I stare at the lifeless man. David.
He used to be our driver for years as I recall.
He left abruptly right after my mother’s death.
The last time I saw him was at the beach house. His face wasn’t clear so Ii had dismissed the thought. But now…seeing him as the man who tried to kill William and I?
But why?
“That’s not all. I’ve been Informed that Alice will be transferred to the mental health center”
Now that got my attention.. I wh!pmy head to stare at him. wi-de eyed..
“What?!”
He nods
“I was told eversince her son’s death,she’s been acting abnormally. She was tested today and it was proven she’s lost her mental stability. She’s gone crazy now”
“And you believe that sh*t?!”
I almost scream.. Knowing Alice, I’m hundred percent sure she isn’t crazy.
She’s perfectly sane.
Alice will never allow herself go mad unless she’s gotten her revenge on all of us.. Alice is a mastered con artist, a trickster and manipulator.
If she had evaded the entire police f0rç£ by changing her appearance then this, was easy. Besides, no judge will take up the case of a mentally sick person right? She’ll never let Fraser’s death make her lose her mind..if anything, Fraser’s death can only fuel her anger, give her more reasons for revenge.
“I want to see her. She’s not crazy. I’m sure if this. This might just be another trick she’s pu-lling to evade prison.”
“Alexa are you sure?”
“I’m sure Mr Dante. She’s pla-ying you all”
I answer determinedly..
“Fine but don’t you think we should go to the hospital to check for any injuries?”
“No, I’m good” William answers “Very well, come on”
I ignore the throbbing pain un-derneath my feet as we make out way towards Mr Dante’s car.
*****
We arrived at the police station just In time to see Alice being esc-rted by two police men behind her into a white van.
She was pla-ying with a doll,occasionally calling it Fraser and mumbling incoherent words.
As they advanced, I watched with keen interest as Alice continued to speak and then sing.
“Do not fear little one. Mummy is here. My little Fraser, see how fast you’ve grown. You know,mummy loves you more than Marcus.. But…”
She pauses, looking left and right then back to the doll which I’m still wondering where she got it from.
“Shhh. Don’t tell Marcus okay? Little Marcus will get jealous of little Fraser”
she giggles petting the doll.
For a moment, I was beginning to think she had truly gone crazy until she lifted her head and our eyes met.
The smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a frown.
Her eyes grew dark as they displa-yed all the dark thoughts running throu-gh her mind.
I could see the de-sire to hurt me burning behind her pupils.
I noticed her clench her hands around the doll,squee-zing it.
I knew it. It was unmistakable.
She was faking it.. She was an expert but not so much of an expertise to hide her hatred towards me.
Her eyes, facial expression gave her away and no one seemed to notice.
That’s what she wanted.
For the attention to be shifted away from her.
Because honestly, who would pay attention to a woman who had gone crazy after witnessing her son’s death? Everyone will automatically lower their guard just like these stupid clueless policemen because they think she’s harmless A crazy woman doesn’t have the time to plot evil but Alice? She was the devil’s incarnate.
How she pas-sed that test to make a whole doctor declare her mentally unstable surpas-sed my thinking. And now, watching Alice a few inches away from where we stood, I watched her closely, noticing her fumbling with the doll.
A tiny metal peeks out.. No doubt, it was a gun.
It was one of those really small tiny handy guns that almost looked like toyguns.
You could stuff it in your pocket and no one would notice..
. For her to possess a gun meant there was a mole amongst the police f0rç£, helping her.
I glance at the policemen, hoping to make eye contact with them but they were stupidly chatting.
Did Alice’s acting pu-ll of so well that they thought she had gone crazy and was totally harmless?.
Wow, this country nee-ds reinf0rç£ments in the police section. Alice’s frown turned into a sinister sm-irk as she pointed the gun at William who was unsuspecting.
Then she pointed it at me.
What was she doing?
She was confusing me.
What to do!.
These policemen don’t even make eye contact. If I don’t do something, blood will spill for sure. They were closer now, br@nching towards the van.
Alice points the small gun at me.
Then she moves the doll, ma-king the ti-p of the gun point to William.
Her f!ngersca-ress the trigger.
fv¢k! Were these policemen that clueless?
“Watch out!!”
I yell pushing William out of the way.
It all happened in a flash.
Within the blink of an eye.
I gr-ab the gun tucked in the holster around the police officer who was near me and then.
“St©p!”
I scream! But no. Alice was determined to die killing me.
Before the police bec@m£ aware of the situation, a sh0t was fired Out of fear, my f!ngersgrazed the gun in my trembling hand.
Pressing the trigger.
A bullet escaped the gun as the sh0t rang out.
The f0rç£ at which the bullet left the hvge gun s£nt me tumbling back. A g@sp caught my attention. I looked up, my eyes met with that of Alice’s.
Her eyes were wi-de with surprise,l-ips p@rted open.
And right there on her forehead, in between her eyes was a large gaping hole, where the bullet had r!pp£dthrou-gh.
Alice’s eyes remain on me for just a second before she drops to the floor, dead.
I g@sp, dropping the gun in my hold at the horrible realisation.
I just sh0t someone.
My stepmother. I killed her.
TBC..