While it’s lunchtime in London, it’s just morning in New York. It’s about nine hours o’clock in the morning. One of the largest airports in the city, where there are usually many people. Someone comes to the city, and someone leaves it and travels around the world. Someone goes somewhere for an important business, and someone just wants to have a vacation and see beautiful places.
So, Natalia is also going to leave the United States for a very important business. At the moment, she is now at the airport and going to fly away to London to make a surprise for Raquelle and find out how she is doing there. Since there are a few minutes before the flight leaves, the girl is sitting in a big room all alone and waiting for some announcements about her flight, sometimes looking around and watching what other people are doing while waiting for their line as well as she is doing.
The girl decided not to waste time and to go to another country today. Luckily, she got one of the last tickets to London and a chance to go to visit her friend, who she madly misses while the girl is spending time with her aunt Alicia, the problems of whom the brunette has been trying to solve for a few days. And as Anna is now busy getting ready for exams at the university, Natalia decided to go abroad all alone.
“I’m imagining how much Raquelle would be happy when she found out I came to London,” Natalia thinks with a slight smile, sitting on by far not the most comfortable chair and waiting for some announcement about her flight, and bites her lip slightly. “She doesn’t know I’m gonna visit her. I wanna make a little surprise for her. And if it happens, I will be happy to celebrate Christmas with my friend and her auntie. And find out how she is doing. I haven’t communicated with Alicia for ages and don’t know how she’s doing now.”
Natalia sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes.
“But I’m sorry Anna couldn’t come with me,” Natalia thinks. “We could go to London together and make our friend happy. Who forgot us. She forgot there were two girls, who were impatiently waiting for pieces of news from her. But who got nothing from her.”
Natalia glances aside at someone passing by her.
“Yes, I understand she might have many things to do there…” Natalia thinks. “She’s solving some problems with Alicia, who she doesn’t wanna talk about it. But it doesn’t mean she could not find at least two minutes to take the phone and send a short message. Say everything is okay or something like that.”
Natalia shakes her head.
“Well, okay,” Natalia thinks. “Since Cameron doesn’t keep her promise to text Seymour, Mr. Cameron, and me often, I’m gonna go to London and find out how she’s doing there. Moreover, I haven’t been there for ages. Probably since the moment when Raquelle and I were there together.”
Natalia cracks a slight smile.
“Now I’ve gotta pray that my flight is not canceled or delayed,” Natalia thinks. “I wanna go there without problems and not have to go home with a big bag full of my stuff. Carrying it on snow that started at the wrong time is not the best thing.”
Natalia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“And pray that I didn’t end up in the same airplane with Terrence MacClife,” Natalia thinks. “Not to have to spend time with him and to listen to his lie about the fact that he is not guilty of spreading the rumors. Or I could really strangle him somewhere at the beginning or the middle of our way. And he wouldn’t reach the final destination.”
Natalia chuckles quietly.
“I hope he went there much earlier than me, or he would go there much later,” Natalia thinks. “Or I wouldn’t get off him so easily. What if he wanna ask me for help in search of Raquelle. Even if I don't know where to find her. I don’t know the address where Alicia is living. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. But at first, I’ve gotta at least land in London without problems.”
Natalia sighs quietly and thinks about something, closely listening to every single announcement that someone from the airport staff makes. The girl does not notice that at some moment, a young man comes to her, holding a ticket he just got from a cashier and his passport, without which he would not be able to travel around the world.
“Excuse me, Ms., is the place near you not taken?” the man asks gently.
Natalia quickly moves her eyes to the one to come to her and silently moans because Terrence MacClife is standing in front of her. The one she wanted to see much less than anything. The one, with whom she does not want to be on the same airplane.
“Seriously?” Natalia frowns strongly. “MacClife?”
“Good morning,” Terrence says confidently. “I didn’t know you were going to fly somewhere.”
“Oh, God, why did You do this to me?” Natalia moans, rolling her eyes and raising her head up. “What did I do that You gave you this punishment?”
“Are you going to London?” Terrence confidently sits on one of the chairs next to Natalia. “Are you and I going to be on the same airplane?”
“Please, God, no!” Natalia exclaims. “I chose a flight with the hope that you would fly earlier or later than me.”
“Well, my airplane is scheduled to leave at 9:15.”
“What?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Bloody hell.”
“Yours, too?”
“Oh…” Natalia runs her hands over her face. “I’m in trouble!”
“C’mon, Natalia, it’s alright!” Terrence exclaims.
“Serious? Alright?”
“Don’t you like my pretense so much? Wouldn't you like to spend time with Terrence MacClife himself?”
“If you and I met earlier than the day the false rumors about Raquelle were spread, I would be happy to hang on your neck with happy whoops and beg you to give me an autograph of the one, who played the all-favorite Mason.”
“I did tell you I didn’t have to do with spreading the rumors.”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
“I’m not lying.”
“You could cover your gorgeous ass from fear you would be revealed. If it happens, you will lose a chance to make your acting career better. And you do understand it well.”
“I did lose any hope of making it better.” Terrence sighs tiredly, leaning back in the chair. “All my attempts are worthless. No offer to play a good role.”
“But I’m starting to understand why you haven’t told the whole world you are the anonymous, who slandered Raquelle,” Natalia replies confidently.
“I am not the author of those rumors.”
“Oh, c’mon, I don’t want to talk about it!”
“Someday you will realize I’m not lying to you.”
“I doubt.”
“And I hope the real anonymous will reveal themselves and explain why they did that.”
“Listen, Terrence, I have no time and wish to talk to you,” Natalia says quietly. “So, leave me alone and find someone else to talk with.”
“You shouldn't rush, Ms. It seems like they are going to reschedule the flight.”
“What?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“I was told the current weather is not for flights.”
“You must be kidding.”
“If you don’t believe me, ask the airport staff members.”
“I do not want to be stuck here. Especially, with you.”
“Believe me, I did not also expect anything like that. I thought I would board the airplane without problems and go to London. But too much snow fell. And it’s almost Christmas time.”
“Does it mean we have to wait?”
“I’m afraid so. As I was told, someone is deciding if they should cancel some flights or just delay them for a while.”
“Oh, my God…”
“So, sadly, you and I will have to stay here for some time.”
“Yeah…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully and leans back in the chair with a hard sigh. “It seems like God decided to punish me for something…”
“C'mon, don’t be so worried!” Terrence smiles shyly and proudly raises his head up. “Take it as an opportunity to get to know the irresistibly handsome guy that the whole world has a crush on.”
“The handsome guy that insulted and humiliated my friend?”
“What kind of proof do you need to believe that I am innocent?”
“Good. Irrefutable. Do you have them?”
“Nope… For a while…”
“Then why do I the hell have to believe you?” Natalia resents loudly. “And have a nice talk with you!”
“You can trust me. I am not lying, and I am telling the clear truth.”
“Say these stories to someone else. For example, the one to sit next to you on the airplane.”
“What if it happens that our places are near one another?”
“I… I will hang myself!”
“Yeah…” Terrence laughs shyly. “You are really very similar to your friend. You are as daring and headstrong as she is.”
“Sometimes you just need to kick some selfish donkeys that believe they are lords of everything and everyone.”
“I am not a narcissus!”
“A sick person never admits they are sick.”
“Hey, I am talking to you in a good way!” Terrence exclaims. “I’m not insulting, not being mean…”
“If only you insulted me!” Natalia smirks evilly. “I would tell you something you did not hear from my friend. Believe me, I can stand for me.”
“Listen, Ms., let’s not fight now. I want you to be my company. Me not to feel bored while waiting for the start of the boarding.”
“Yeah, do I also have to dance for you?”
“Natalia…”
“I do not want to talk to the one to do such a terrible thing to my best friend,” Natalia says confidently. “The one I love very much. Love like my own sister.”
“I get it.”
“And I already feel terrible because I am talking to the one, who dares to slander her. The one, who thought he would never get rejected by girls. And would easily fuck anyone he would like.”
“Stop, Natalia…”
“For Raquelle, it might be a good reason to get mad. She believes I am a trustworthy person checked by the time.”
“Did she ban you from speaking to me?”
“No. But still…”
Natalia slightly fixes her hair and moves her eyes to her hands folded in front of her.
“I completely understand you don’t believe me,” Terrence says quietly. “But I’m really guilty of nothing. I wasn’t the one to spread those rumors.”
“And who did that?” Natalia wonders.
“I can’t say it right now. But when Raquelle knows it, you will be aware, as well.”
“Alright. Then who is that person for her? A friend? A familiar? A relative?”
“I can only say that person was on the photoshoot, on which I was working with Raquelle.”
“We do know it well!” Natalia smirks. “In their letters, the anonymous did confess they were during the shooting. Mentioned a long, red dress Raquelle wore on the photoshoot.”
“Right, she wore it.” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “And I must confess that she was fabulous. It was my favorite look from those she had.”
“That’s how…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully.
“And actually, your friend looks very good in red clothes. She is incredibly attractive and stunning.”
“As I understand, did you kiss her by force when Raquelle was wearing that dress?”
“Right. And when she came on the set, I admired her beauty. And I was mad because almost all the men, who were there, surrounded her at once.”
“You are not a boyfriend of hers to be jealous and mad. She is a single girl and has a right to talk to anyone she wants.”
“I know, but I wish she was only mine. I wish she didn’t care about any other men.”
“Alas, my dear, you could hardly get it. Raquelle will never pay attention to you. And if she does, she will do it in your dreams.”
“I shall get her attention. And I will prove that I’m not guilty of what happened.”
“You can try. But if you don’t do this, Cameron will do her best to turn your life into a real hell. She will do anything to make you get through everything she is experiencing now.”
“I can do this. I will reveal the identity of the one, who did that. If the anonymous doesn’t want to show themselves in the letters.”
“Anyway, don’t count on my help.”
“Sorry. Your help would be very good to me.”
“I can’t help you.”
“But, Natalia…”
“No, Terrence, don’t even ask!” Natalia exclaims, raising her hand with the palm turned on Terrence. “I will not betray my friend and help you!”
“You actually know where your friend stopped. You know where she is living now.”
“Even if I did, I would say nothing.”
“Please, Natalia, help me!” Terrence begs with pity in his eyes. “Help me find Raquelle.”
“Are you really going to go where she is living now?”
“No, but…”
“Are you insane?”
“Natalia…”
“She will think you are chasing her. And she will surely go to the police and ask them to protect her from you.”
“You are a drama queen.”
“I am telling the truth. Raquelle is going to be mad when she sees you on the doorstep and will not even talk to you.”
“Maybe, she will do!”
“I do know my friend very well and am sure you are going to kick a great kick on your ass.”
“Excuse me, how long have you actually been friends?” Terrence asks.
“Since school.”
“Since school?”
“And all this time, we’ve called each other sisters that we’ve never had.”
“So, do you both have no brothers and sisters?”
“Why do you know it?”
“Answer…”
“Okay, I will.” Natalia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nope, our parents have only one child.”
“Alright…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds.
“Raquelle was the only friend of mine for some time, and I could tell her all my secrets,” Natalia confesses, looking at her hands. “But then we met Anna…”
“Is that the red-haired girl, with whom you were at the café yesterday?” Terrence specifies.
“Yes, her.”
“Alright.”
“We quickly became friends and still support each other. But Raquelle has always been and will be my best friend. I may have millions of friends, but she will be the closest one to me.”
“Do you really have such a strong friendship?” Terrence frowns slightly.
“Yes, very strong. Raquelle is the best person of those I know.” Natalia cracks a slight smile. “She is real. She doesn’t pretend. She can love and be loyal. Those, who I called my close friends, just played the role of real friends.”
“Have you known this type of people?” Terrence wonders.
“I have. Very many people. But Cameron made me sure that she had only good plans for me. She’s never tried to do something bad and hurt me somehow. Never.”
“Wow, you had such a strong friendship…”
“Right…” Natalia leans back in the chair, glancing at a person going by her with a big suitcase that he is carrying on a cart. “If I agree to be your accomplice, I may easily ruin this friendship. Because helping betrayals is a terrible thing.”
“I’m not an enemy,” Terrence protests confidently. “You can trust me.”
“I will not help you! Deal with it yourself!”
“Alright, I will solve this problem if you really want it. But I will not stop counting on your help.”
“God, I don’t also know where she is now. I am going to London and don’t know where to find her.”
“Maybe, we are lucky if we know that she stopped in the same hotel where I reserved a room?”
“I hope you did not reserve a room in the same hotel where I did.”
“What if it’s true?” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “What if fate insists that we should do this together?”
“I will not collaborate with you.”
“Another girl would be happy to agree to help Terrence MacClife himself.”
“If Terrence MacClife was good and educated, it would be otherwise.”
“I am very good.”
“Come on!”
“I’ve always been loyal to my friends and close people and never refused to help if someone needed it.”
“Yeah, sure…”
“Everyone can confirm it.”
“But you were taught to treat girls well.”
“Before meeting Raquelle, my methods of seducing always worked.”
“Get used to the fact that sometimes your system might be broken.”
Terrence sighs tiredly, shaking his head slightly, while Natalia throws a short, sly look at him.
“By the way, tell me how you met and befriended Raquelle,” Terrence says.
“Why do you know it?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“I’m just suggesting we talk a little while waiting for pieces of news about our flight. We couldn’t be silent all the time. We’d have to do something… For example, talk.”
“Did I suggest you and I talk?”
“I am talking to you well. So, you should show the same respect for me.”
“Alright…” Natalia sighs tiredly. “If I do not manage to get off you at least now, let’s do it.”
“So, what about your friend?”
“What about my friend?”
“As I understand, you’ve been friends for many years…”
“Right…” Natalia nods. “We’ve been friends since childhood… We’ve known each other since we were eleven… And we’ve been friends since the same age.”
“So, do you have the same age?”
“Yup, we studied together. In the same school.”
“Oh, were you also schoolmates?”
“That’s correct. But Raquelle and I became friends not at once but some time later. Somewhere a few months later after I went to the new school. The one where Raquelle was studying.”
“Hated each other?”
“Nope, we didn’t hate.”
“But why?”
“It’s… A long enough story.”
“Tell me then.”
“Are you sure you want to know it?”
“Of course, I want.”
“Alright… As you wish…”
“I’m listening to you closely,” Terrence confidently lets her know.
“But I am going to say that I will not tell all the details about it.”
“Why?”
“Because Raquelle has never loved talking about what happened to her in childhood.”
“Never loved?”
“Yes. But I will tell you a short version of where our friendship started from.”
“Alright, speak.”
“So…” Natalia tears her back off the back of the chair and moves her eyes to Terrence. “I met Raquelle when I went to the school where she was studying. It happened somewhere in Class 4 or Class 5, if my memory doesn’t betray me.”
“But why did you do it?” Terrence asks.
“There were some things that made my parents do that.”
“Alright…”
“I clearly remember it was the end of elementary school.”
“Did you start to speak at once?”
“Nope, first, I didn’t communicate with her at all, even if I really wanted to talk to her a little.”
“But why?”
“Erm…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “The problem is with our schoolmates. They disliked her…”
“Wow…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully.
“However, it’s a long enough story.”
“And when did you and Raquelle begin to communicate?”
“When one beautiful day, Raquelle came to me after school and started to talk to me.”
“That’s how?”
“We were not far from school and waiting for the school bus. I was there alone after I said goodbye to some guys, and a little later, Cameron came and asked me for permission to sit down with me.”
Natalia starts to call memories of the day when Raquelle came to her and started a talk for the first time. But the girl decides to miss some things because she considers them personal enough. For example, she does not want to talk about how her schoolmates were bullying her friend because it has always been something bad that Raquelle would rather talk about personally.
***
February 19th, 2003.
After all the long lessons at school, the blue-eyed girl with blonde hair named Natalia is going to go home. Today was by far not easy because the teachers had a bad mood and could often be mean to students. Nobody knows what happened to them, but some guys assumed they could get claims at a teacher board that took place today. They could make claims about bad grades, the disgusting behavior of some children, the rare visits of students, and many other reasons.
After warmly saying goodbye to her schoolmates, the young Natalia goes to the place where a school bus is supposed to go soon and drive the children home. Of course, not all the students go home on a bus because their parents meet many of them, and older students can go home on their own: on their feet or in their own cars. But there are people, who use a school bus to go home, and the cute blue-eyed blonde is one of them.
Because the bus is supposed to come in five minutes, the girl quickly looks around what surrounds her and sits on an empty bench placed not far from the school, not caring about the fact that she feels a little cold because of the cold winter, even if she is wearing warm clothes. Natalia has nothing to do and just looks around, seeing what surrounds her, and then takes some schoolbooks and notebooks from her dark pink backpack and starts examining something.
Some time later, a homely girl with light brown hair and gray eyes comes to her a little hesitantly. She is quite tall for her age, which might be the same as the young blonde, who focuses on something in her schoolbook. The girl is by far not sympathetic and beautiful, but by far not ugly. Her hair is gathered in two thin pigtails, and her winter clothes are old enough and cannot help her become much more beautiful. Her eyes are full of scare, and every movement of hers is insecure and uptight. And her voice starts shaking strongly when she comes to the taken bench and asks quietly:
“Excuse me…”
Natalia distracts from what she is looking for in her schoolbook and moves her eyes to the girl.
“Can I sit on the bench?” the girl asks hesitantly, looking at Natalia and the free place near her.
“Erm, yes, of course,” Natalia replies amicably as she shrugs. “Sit down, please.”
The dark-haired girl silently sits on the edge of the bench and moves her sad eyes into the distance, thinking about something.
Natalia does not pay attention to the girl sitting next to her and reads something in her schoolbook for some time. But then she closes it, puts it in her backpack, and starts looking at the one that is sitting next to her and looking very insecure and a little scared with interest.
“Are you waiting for the bus, right?” Natalia asks thoughtfully.
“Erm, y-yes, I’m waiting for the bus,” the girl replies very quietly with a scare in her eyes.
“Me too…”
“It’s supposed to come in five minutes…”
“Yeah, something like this…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds.
“Today, many guys are taken away by their parents,” Natalia notices thoughtfully. “And I have to go home on a school bus. Because my father and mother aren’t able to meet me…”
“Why?” the brunette rounds her eyes.
“They have many things to do today. In the morning, they told me I’d have to go home on a bus.”
“That’s how…”
“Of course, I don’t like going on a school bus, but I have no choice.”
“Got it…”
The dark-haired girl moves her eyes into the distance. Natalia says nothing for a few seconds and then looks at the one, who is sitting next to her, better.
“Hey, you’re studying with me…” Natalia says thoughtfully tightly.
“Erm…” the dark-haired girl stutters, locking her fingers.
“It seems like, is your name Raquelle, right?”
“Erm, y-y-yes, my name is Raquelle,” the girl replies a little hesitantly, moving her eyes to Natalia. “And you must be Natalia, right?”
“Yup, that’s right.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, after which Natalia smiles slightly at the terribly insecure girl named Raquelle.
“You know…” Natalia pronounces quietly. “I sometimes watch you.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “You watch me?”
“I’m so sorry for you.”
“Sorry? Seriously?”
“You seem to be very timid and scaring, and our schoolmates make you feel much worse.”
“Ah, Natalia…” Raquelle sighs heavily with sadness on her face. “Honestly, I’m used to them treating me like that. I took the fact that I would never find friends in this school.”
“I’m…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly. “Really sorry about the fact that they treat you so badly… Because you… Do nothing bad to them.”
“Right. That’s why I still don’t understand why they treat me like this.”
“I don’t also know why everybody is turning me against you. Why they’re bullying you at every single break and every minute, while there is not a teacher.”
“I swear I’ve never done anything bad to the guys. I’ve always tried to be good to them. I’m even ready to let them copy my homework and tests.”
“I know.”
“And I haven’t ever betrayed them when they did something wrong. Even if I’ve had many chances to do it. Because I’m not used to betraying everyone. And I don’t need it. Why would I go and betray everyone? That’s bad!”
“I think they just envy you,” Natalia assumes with a slight smile.
“Envy me?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “But why? I have nothing special that would make other people envy me!”
“Well…” Natalia thinks for two seconds. “For example, they might envy you because you can easily understand everything. You study much better than all the guys from our school. They’d understand everything if you explained something twenty times. And you can get it almost at once.”
“Such stupidity!” Raquelle protests. “Nobody envies me.”
“Probably, many guys would like to be as smart as you are.”
“Yeah… Boys especially envy my brains… Or, for example, Ashley… Who can’t leave me alone yet.”
“Oh, Ashley will get kicked out soon!” Natalia waves her hand.
“She will not be.”
“As far as I know, Christensen has already been nominated for elimination due to her terrible grades. She was told that if she didn’t start studying better and fix her grades, our teachers would surely think of nominating her for elimination. Well… They’d at least do something to her parents for them to make that girl start studying well and forget about her friends. Forget about bullying you.”
“The guys would help her get away with it.”
“In this case, they would do nothing. No matter how hard the guys beg, our teachers will not listen to them.”
“They always stand for her. That girl is the most popular one in the school, and everybody wants to befriend her. And she and her friends despise such nerds as me, humiliate them and always call them ugly and worthless. And they always ruin my stuff.”
“But it’s not true!” Natalia protests. “You are not ugly at all.”
“No, she’s right. I’m not beautiful at all! Kinda an invisible gray mouse… I seem to be so ugly, unlike all the girls from our school. They are all so cute and sympathetic! They can dress up and do beautiful hairstyles…”
“No, Raquelle, don’t say it, you aren’t ugly,” Natalia shakes her head with a shy smile.
“Ugly. Worthless and talentless girl.”
“If you really wanted, everybody would shut everyone up and show how beautiful you are.”
“No… Hardly.”
“You aren’t ugly. I’m not lying to you.”
“I’m beautiful only for my grandfather Frederick and my aunt Alicia. For others, I’m ugly. The freak that will never get anything and suffer all the life.”
“I don’t think so!” Natalia says confidently.
“Huh?” Raquelle moves her eyes sharply to Natalia.
“I think if you made little changes to your look, learned to dress up better, and became more confident, everybody would treat you differently.”
“Alas, I’m not allowed to buy something of the expensive stuff Ashley wears. Her family has money, and Grandfather and I can barely get food. And the guys always laugh at me because of that. They call me a freaking pauper, who wears the clothes of her neighbors.”
“My mother says you can look stylishly even in a dress that costs one dollar. You should just teach to make everyone think so. You should be confident, so that everyone thinks that your dress costs much more. As if you’re wearing something from a collection by a famous brand.”
“Hardly.”
“You know why everyone is bullying you?”
“Why?”
“Because you make everyone think you are weak! You’re always indifferent and afraid of everything. You wanna be invisible. As quiet as a mouse. So, the guys do understand it and drown you much more.”
“They just tell the truth that my grandfather and aunt don’t wanna tell me.”
“Look at Ashley. Everybody surrounds her because she knows how to keep her chin up and knows who she is. Have you ever seen her being insecure or scared? I have never done!”
“She is a beauty. Everybody says it. I always hear it. I hear girls imitating her and wanna be friends with her.”
“Gosh, it’s the only thing that everybody likes,” Natalia replies confidently. “But she is actually an idiot. Just an idiot. A brainless idiot that thinks only of herself and uses those, who dance attendance upon her. She called herself a leader, and the guys please her.”
“C’mon! Do you think boys need her brains?” Raquelle chuckles quietly. “They need them only for school tests. And at the other time, guys look just at beauty… I always hear everybody talks about it… Nobody says they love a girl for being smart.”
“Yeah, I don’t deny,” Natalia shrugs. “And boys from a higher school openly say they wanna sleep with her.”
“I know…”
“Believe me, if you learn to be more confident and start to dress up fashionably, boys will change their minds about you.”
“I already said I didn’t have an opportunity to dress up well.”
“Anyway, you could have a greater superior to Christensen: you’d have beauty and brains. And alas, Ashley is deprived of a second thing. She is just beautiful.”
“Hardly,” Raquelle shakes her head sharply.
“You’re too insecure. That’s wrong.”
“I don’t think I’m ugly, but I can’t say I’m a beauty.”
“Don’t be mad, of course, but now I can’t call you a beauty, as well,” Natalia says hesitantly. “You’re dressed up, saying softly, terribly, and these pigtails don’t make you pretty.”
“I know… But at least, I can study without problems. I don’t have problems with my grades.” Raquelle moves her eyes to her hands. “But sadly, nobody cares about it.”
“Anyway, if you work on your hair, clothes style, walking and confidence, you will be a very sympathetic girl,” Natalia says confidently.
“Nope, something will hardly change.”
“You will see! If you start to change yourself for the better, people will start to have a different opinion about you.”
“Don’t make me laugh.” Raquelle starts to look somewhere under her legs. “They’re laughing at me. And if I try to change something about me, I can make it worse. And the guys will start bullying me much more.”
“Don’t listen to them, Raquelle, please!” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes. “Because they’re bullying you more and more every day, you’re becoming closed and scared. Trust me, that’s what they want.”
“You think?”
“They wanna see you broken and humiliated. The herd chose you as a victim and is gonna be stepping on you until you stop resisting.”
“They guys will be doing it until I graduate from school. This is the only way to get off those people.”
“They will do it if you don’t start defending yourself and stop being scared as if someone swears on you for a bad score.”
“Yeah, but…” Raquelle, frowning slightly, looks at Natalia with mistrust. “But you’re also for them as you speak to them. And you’re a friend of Ashley, who accepted you at once after you went to our school.”
“Yes, I’m speaking to them,” Natalia says quietly. “I don’t deny it.”
“How can you say these things about her? When you befriend someone, you can’t say something bad secretly to your friends.”
“Just because I’m speaking to the guys doesn’t mean I like the way they’re bullying you.”
“Natalia…”
“And if you haven’t noticed, I’ve never bullied you along with everybody.”
“Really?” Raquelle sharply moves her eyes to Natalia and looks at her amazingly and questioningly. “You didn’t do?”
“Never,” Natalia shakes her head. “I’ve always been silent and stood aside.”
“But…”
“I don’t participate in the bullying because I don’t approve of it. I don’t like the fact that those people treat you like that for nothing. You don’t deserve it.”
“But what can I do? I can do nothing!”
“Anyway, I don’t like what’s happening and would never say just one bad word about you. You’ve done nothing bad to me to treat you like this.”
“You know… Every time new guys went to our school, I had a little hope that I would talk at least to someone. To find a friend… But… My dreams were always ruined.”
“I really wanted to come to you and get to know you better. But the guys began to turn me against you. They… Said terrible things about you… Called you poor, dirty, ugly, and worthless… In short, it’s a long list.”
“They knew well that I always wanted to befriend new guys. And they laughed at me every time they managed to wash the brains of someone and make them bully me.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never believed much of what they told me was the truth. You… You’ve always been such a timid, shy, quiet, and insecure girl… Who I’ve always felt sorry for…”
“At least someone feels sorry for me…” Raquelle sighs heavily.
“I wanted to find a reason to try to talk to you and let you know you could count on me. But the guys never let me do that. And Ashley threatened to turn my life to hell if I just came to you.”
“Have you really never had anything against me?”
“Never. Yes, I’ve never said it openly. But at the bottom of my heart, I was for you. And… I hoped I would let you know I was against that herd someday.”
“Thanks…” Raquelle pronounces softly.
“They’re too cruel towards you.” Natalia sighs heavily. “And honestly, their cruelty does scare me. My schoolmates from the school where I studied before were much nicer and more friendly… We were always together. We were a team. And here… Everyone is mad and jealous here. That’s why I… Feel frightened. Our schoolmates have no heart or soul.”
“I try to follow all the pieces of advice from my grandfather,” Raquelle confesses. “But it doesn’t work. Nobody loves me. The guys don’t wanna be friends of mine.”
“Those people really found a victim and bully the one all together. The victim… That can’t stand for herself.”
“Listen, Natalia… Are you communicating with them for fear they’d start mocking you if you started to contact me somehow?”
“Well, actually…” Natalia pronounces a little hesitantly. “Yes. I talk to them because of fear. From the fear that they would do something to me.”
“I got it.”
“So, remember, even if I’m a friend of the guys, it doesn’t mean they turned me against you. Vice versa, I’ve never wanted to do anything bad to you and ain’t gonna do. As I’ve said before, you’ve done nothing bad to me to make me hate you for something.”
“It gives me a relief,” Raquelle says thoughtfully.
“And…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “If you trust me, you can always count on me.”
Raquelle says nothing and silently looks at Natalia with a shy smile.
“Thanks, Natalia,” Raquelle thanks softly. “Thanks a lot…”
“So, don’t think everyone’s against you,” Natalia says amicably.
“It’s clear that you’re really very good. Not the same as those heartless people, who I’ve done nothing bad to.”
“I am not. Don’t doubt.”
“And… I would like to… Speak to you a little… Not to feel lonely… And maybe… Even… Try to befriend.” Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds and bites her lip slightly. “If you want it, of course… I won’t force you to do that if you’re afraid of the guys and…”
“I am not afraid,” Natalia stops.
“Huh?”
“I think it’s time to stop being afraid.” Natalia moves closer to Raquelle and puts her hand on the brunette’s hand with a slight smile. “Stop being afraid the guys will start to bully me.”
“Natalia…” Raquelle shakes her head.
“Those people are playing the role of my friends, and I just speak to them. I’ve never been close to them. But I… I would like to find a close friend. The one, who would be very good and not treat someone badly without a reason.”
“Me too. I wanna find a real friend so badly. Even if I have just one friend, I will be very happy.”
“I wanna get to know you better and make sure you’re really not what they described you. I wanna know who you really are.”
“Do you really want it?”
“Really.”
Raquelle says nothing and just smiles widely. Natalia answers her back and later takes the girl in her hug, which the brunette accepts with great pleasure, barely holding down tears of happiness.
All the time, the dark-haired girl was going to school as if she was going to go to hell or get a sentence to death. That place is a punishment for her. The real hell, in which everyone is shamelessly bullying her, even if she has done nothing bad. Even though teachers always support the girl and help her with everything they can, Raquelle would definitely give everything not to come to that terrible place that she is going to see in her nightmares for many years.
A few seconds later, Natalia steps back from Raquelle and shares a slight smile with her.
“Okay, as we decided to get to know each other better, we can first talk about our hobbies and dreams,” Natalia suggests amicably.
“With pleasure!” Raquelle agrees with a wide smile. “I’d really be interested to know what you love and what is interested in you.”
Raquelle moves her eyes into the distance and sighs quietly.
“But we would hardly do it,” Raquelle adds quietly.
“Why?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“The bus has come.”
Natalia turns around sharply and sees the yellow school bus that should drive her home right now.
“How long do you have to go home from school?” Natalia asks, moving her eyes to Raquelle.
“Well, nope,” Raquelle shrugs. “I’m living two minutes away from her.”
“Where exactly?”
“Do you know where there’s a little clearing with a small lake? There are machines with sweet water.”
“Yes, yes, I know.”
“So… There is a long, three-floor building. And my grandfather and I are living on the third floor in one of the apartments.”
“I know what you mean,” Natalia nods confidently with a slight smile.
“You know those places?”
“Sure! I’m living not far from the place where you are living. But in an eight-floor building. On the sixth floor.”
“Well, if it’s so, we can visit each other at home someday,” Raquelle suggests amicably. “I could introduce you to my grandfather.”
“He’s good?”
“Very good! The best and kindest grandfather in the world!”
“Then I would visit you with pleasure,” Natalia agrees with a slight smile. “And I would be happy to introduce my parents to you.”
“Would they accept me?”
“Of course, they’d do! They’re very good, too. My father and mother always accept my guests very warmly and often invite someone to drink a cup of tea. Moreover, when I was studying at the old school. I often brought guys to my home and spent a cool time with them.”
“I agree, then…”
Raquelle smiles much wider, getting more confident and feeling much better every second. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which a big yellow bus comes to the place where they are being, and the driver opens its door and makes a sound a couple of times to call those students, who should go home.
“Okay, let’s get into the bus,” Raquelle says confidently. “The driver wouldn’t wait for us,”
“Yeah, let’s go!” Natalia exclaims. “I don’t wanna go home on my feet.”
“Me too. Knowing that the way on the feet is very easy.”
“Hey, could you help me solve a mathematic problem that we got as homework? I tried to do it but couldn’t understand anything. Though, we’re gonna have a mathematic lesson tomorrow.”
“Sure, I will help! If you want, we can do our homework together.”
“Then let’s check each other and fix all the mistakes we'll find.”
“No problem!”
Natalia and Raquelle, still talking about something, get up from the bench, go to the bus, gets into it, say, “Hello” to the middle-aged driver, who knows them very well and smiles at the two, and take some free places. And after waiting for a few more students to get into the bus and fill the salon, the man closes the doors and presses the gas pedal. That’s why the transport gives a start and slowly drives all the students to their homes.
During not a very long way home, Raquelle and Natalia have time to talk about much and find out enough information about each other. Natalia makes much more sure that Raquelle is not what her schoolmates described her as to everyone. And Raquelle starts getting much happier because she met at least one person, who let her know she did not support those, who were bullying her, and showed a wish to communicate with her. Without a fear that someone of the guys might dislike it… Without a fear that communication with someone, who everyone hates, might lead to bad consequences.
***
“And since that time, we started getting to know each other better,” Natalia says with a slight smile. “And we started to get closer and closer.”
Natalia smiles shyly.
“I started to realize more and more that I really liked talking to her,” Natalia adds. “Raquelle understood me well and was honest with me. She wasn’t pretending to be the best friend but was really aiming to become the one…”
Natalia glances at someone, who goes by her and Terrence.
“And some time later, our teachers asked us to do a joint project,” Natalia confesses. “And thanks to that, we got much closer. Our work was highly appreciated by teachers, and we got high scores for that.”
Natalia says nothing for two seconds.
“So, little by little, we were becoming real friends,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “And I will never regret what happened. Because I got a real friend. The best friend, who I love very much.”
Terrence listens to the story from start to end, not stopping to smile shyly and nodding to let Natalia know he is listening to her closely and interested in hearing everything.
“Wow, interesting story,” Terrence says thoughtfully with a slight smile.
“That’s how we met and became friends,” Natalia shrugs.
“But I didn’t understand, why were your schoolmates bullying Raquelle?”
“Erm…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “Well… I said it was a long story…”
“She stood in someone’s way?”
“No, no… Raquelle has never harmed anyone.”
“But what was wrong?”
“She just… She was just disliked…”
“Disliked?”
Yeah… Because first, she was, saying softly, not the most beautiful girl…”
“Not the most beautiful girl?” Terrence rounds his eyes.
“And second… She wasn’t too confident. That’s why she was chosen as a victim.”
“My gosh…” Terrence shakes his head. “I would never believe such an attractive girl could not be beautiful and insecure. Because she is gorgeous!”
“She just couldn’t show herself,” Natalia notices. “She didn’t believe in her beauty… Couldn’t dress up fashionably…”
“That’s how!”
“I mean, she wasn’t able to buy beautiful, fashionable clothes and wore what her neighbors gave her. And she had silly pigtails that didn’t fit her at all.”
“Interesting…”
“Raquelle started to change herself much later. She started to become more beautiful after she graduated from school. And her modeling career taught her much and helped her believe in herself and stop believing those, who thought she was ugly. Moreover, she finally got money for beautiful clothes and a hair salon. She taught me to dress up stylishly and do hairstyles and makeup… Express her beauty…”
“It’s hard to believe it.”
“You have to.”
“I will not believe it until I see her childhood photos.”
“I’m not lying to you, Terrence. The present Raquelle is not similar to the one I knew in childhood. They are two different people.”
“No, it cannot be the truth. Raquelle is an idol of young girls, and men want to be with her.”
“She is now.”
“I’m sure she was supposed to be popular at school.”
“Maybe, she would’ve been if she had known how to show herself. But Cameron could not do… So, the guys felt she was insecure and afraid of everyone. So, they bullied her.”
“Alright…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully.
“Alas, sadly, people start appreciating brains much later. At a young age, they care only about a beautiful face and a gorgeous body.”
“What?”
“Raquelle always studied well and has had brilliant brains, but she couldn’t express her beauty. Because of that, nobody paid attention to her, and she was placed in the latest place in all the silent ratings of the most beautiful girls.”
“Yeah, right… The older you get, the more you appreciate soul, character, and brains more than beauty. I’ve seen many examples like this.”
“Me too.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Terrence and Natalia throw a look on different sides and hear another announcement that is not about their flight, unfortunately.
“And how was it for you?” Natalia asks.
“What?” Terrence frowns slightly.
“I mean, what was your school like?”
“Quite good. But it was very hard to talk to some people and impossible with someone.”
“Probably, such a gorgeous man was always surrounded by a lot of girls.”
“Not going to be shy, yes,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “I’ve always been a very attractive man and been popular among girls.”
“Yeah…” Natalia shakes her head. “It’s clear you were overpraised in early childhood. At first, your parents did, and then girls did it.”
“I’ve never heard anything terrible about me. I’ve always been told I’m freaking handsome. And I was always in first place on so-called lists of the most handsome boys at school.”
“I’m starting to understand more and more that people were right when they said you were too confident,” Natalia laughs shyly.
“I’ve never doubted me.”
“The media discussed it much.”
“Hey, why do I have to doubt myself? I’m a young, handsome, and quite provided guy. I’m only twenty-five. Besides, I’m not married yet. As they say, a sweet piece.”
“Of course, confidence is good, but you should know your limit.”
“How I could not believe I’m irresistible when I’ve been told that I’m handsome and attractive since childhood.”
“I got it.”
“Girls have always told me compliments. And many men silently hate me but have always treated me with respect and never found the courage to go against me.”
“You know, I don’t want to say something good about you, but I must confess that you’re really handsome,” Natalia confesses with her arms crossed over her chest.
“It’s the truth,” Terrence smiles widely. “I am the most handsome man in the world. I am pronounced one of the sexiest men in the world for a reason.”
“You’re so handsome that you literally seem a fake.”
“The one to be able to outstand such a handsome man, who was given the best by God hasn’t been born.”
“Anyway, I advise you to be much shyer sometimes. A very good thing you would need someday.”
“I just see no reason to doubt me. No reason. Every time I look in the mirror, I have only one thought in my mind, ‘Perfect!’ And my success in my acting career is one of the reasons why I’m really proud of myself. Even if I’m better known as Mason Houston from ‘American Love Affair.’”
“I hope my friend will prove to you that you are by far not the most perfect man in the world that everyone wants.”
“It’s okay, one beautiful day, she is going to look into my eyes and admire me as well as all the girls in the world.”
“Yeah, I doubt it,” Natalia chuckles quietly.
“I’m not afraid of difficulties and am used to getting through them. After I worked literally for a whole day and fell from tiredness for a long time, nothing can scare me.”
“Yeah, as it turned out, you are more headstrong than I thought.”
“You’ve gotta fight for what you want. If you miss a moment and start to yawl, someone else will take your prize.”
“Gotta agree.”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, and then Natalia decides to change the subject, looking at her French manicure on her nails.
“Gosh, when do they announce the beginning of the boarding?” Natalia sighs tiredly. “Why are there no pieces of news about my flight?”
“Yeah, the snow started to fall at the wrong time,” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “There was almost no snow before, but when I decided to have a flight, it fell.”
“Oh, my God…” Natalia looks at the watch she is wearing in her hands. “I was supposed to fly away in the early morning. But now it’s more than nine o’clock in the morning.”
“I know, but we can do nothing,” Terrence throws his hands up and quickly around everything he sees. “Look how many people are waiting for their flights. We are not alone.”
“I see… But I would like to get on the airplane as soon as possible.”
“Anyway, we’re going to have to spend a little more time here.”
“Sadly…”
“Anyway, I hope we will fly away in the nearest time.”
“Maybe, I go to eat something?” Natalia leans back in the chair. “I’m kind of hungry now…”
“If I hear no news about my flight at the nearest time, I will buy something for myself.”
“Yeah, I will wait for a while.”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which Natalia takes a closed bottle she bought earlier, opens it, and takes a few sips of water, feeling her little dry throat gets nicely wet.
“Still, I want to remind you that my suggestion about searching for Raquelle together is still up,” Terrence says confidently.
“I already said what I thought about it,” Natalia replies confidently.
“You and your friend said Raquelle had an aunt living in London.”
“Yeah, she has.”
“If it’s so, I doubt that girl would spend much money on a room at a hotel. So, she is probably living at her home.”
“Maybe…”
“Do you really know she went to the home of her aunt? Right?”
“Well, let’s assume, I know!” Natalia moves her eyes to Terrence, closing the bottle and putting it aside. “And what?”
“So, you could help me get her address,” Terrence concludes.
“No, Terrence, I don’t know the address of her aunt.”
“But how are you going to find her?”
“As well as you are.”
“Listen, I think we surely should unite and find your friend together.”
“No! I will not help you not for anything!”
“Please, Natalia…”
“You are really like a maniac! An obsessed chaser!”
“I just want to talk to Raquelle and tell her all the truth. I want to make my relationship with her better.”
“You do want sex from her! Nothing more!”
“Natalia…”
“Just don’t pretend to be holy. You're only thinking about it! About taking her to your bed as soon as possible and rejecting her later.”
“You have a very bad opinion about me if you think I wanna make my relationship with Raquelle better just to take her to my bed.”
“Yeah, you did not even hide your plans from Cameron.”
“It happened accidentally! I couldn’t resist when I saw her in that red dress. Because she… She was so sexy…”
“No, Terrence, do not even count on me. I will not help you get closer to the opportunity to please your needs.”
“Sorry…” Terrence moves his eyes aside for a second. “By the way, I would like to offer friendship to you.”
“Wanted to suggest you and I become friends and get on well.”
“Become a friend of the one, who insulted my friend?” Natalia wonders. “You are crazy!”
“I must confess that it’s nice to me to talk to you. You are a very good talker, who I would not feel bored on the way with.”
“I was going to go alone.”
“And now you will go with me.”
“Impose on someone else.”
“If someone else knew Raquelle and agreed to help me, I would probably choose a different company.”
“I am not going to help you and do not want to spend time with you on the way.”
“Alright, let’s not be friends, but just have nice conservation on the way. Maybe, I would give you a good impression, and you would stop treating me so categorically.”
“I don’t know…”
“C’mon, Natalia, agree!” Terrence encourages. “I would be a very good talker that you would not feel bored with. We could talk not only about Raquelle, but also many other things.”
Natalia says nothing and just sighs tiredly. She thinks about something for a few seconds and then understands that Terrence would not love to leave her alone, no matter how much she wants it. So, the girl agrees to accept the man’s suggestion with reluctance and spend time with him on the way.
“Oh, alright…” Natalia pronounces quietly. “Alright, I agree.”
“Agree?” Terrence specifies.
“But don’t think I am happy with your pretense. And I will not hide that I want to get off you as soon as possible.”
“I understand it. Anyway, let’s spend this trip in peace and love. And then we will see.”
“Agree.”
“I’m sure we would get on well.”
“I would not be so sure.”
“So, did we agree?”
With these words, Terrence points his hand to Natalia to shake it.
“Deal!” Natalia nods confidently. “Let’s spend time together.”
Natalia and Terrence shake each other by the hand, while the man smiles shyly at the girl, and she stays quiet enough and decides just to show respect and not to be mean. A few seconds later, the girl and the man let their hands go.
“You are so sly, MacClife!” Natalia exclaims with her arms crossed over her chest. “Obsessive and sly!”
“Me?” Terrence rounds his eyes.
“You suck up to those, who could help you.”
“But agree, it would be much easier to get something together.”
“Remember, I will not forget that you are the number one suspect in spreading the rumors.”
“I hope I will change your mind someday.”
“First, prove it to Raquelle. In the worst case, you will have to deal with the consequences of your tricks.”
“Don't worry, I shall deal with it. I am going to London to do this.”
“Yeah… You’re sly and headstrong.”
“I’m not used to giving up. I’m used to getting what I want.”
“Say, do you always make new friends so easily?” Natalia asks amicably. “As easily as you persuade girls to have sex with you?”
“I would say so,” Terrence shrugs with a slight smile. “I’ve always made friends with no problems.”
“The life of the party?”
“Sort of.”
“Do you have many friends? Real, of course!”
“Actually, I have many friends. I’ve been a friend of someone since childhood and got some friends some time ago.”
“That’s how!” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“I’ve never suffered from a lack of friends. As well as a lack of girls’ attention.”
“and knowing your popularity among girls, I believe you’re supposed to have lots of haters.”
“I had them. But I didn’t speak to those, who really loved dragging me in the mud and provoking me to do bad things.”
“So, did someone go against you?”
“Yeah, but there were just fewer ones.” Terrence glances aside for a second. “Others respected me in one or another way and listened to my opinion. Just like people from the show business do it now. They can hate and despise me, but nobody dares to start a conflict with me. Because I am a very respectful man.”
“That’s how…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully.
“So, that’s how…”
“Don’t you have friends from school?”
“I had many friends at school times, but everyone forgot each other after graduation and stopped speaking. But when I meet someone, I’m happy to drink a cup of tea or coffee.”
“You can rarely find real friends at school and not to stop communicating with them after graduation.”
“Right. In most of the cases, nobody keeps a connection with those they spoke to school.”
“Moreover, many people were friends of mine just because of some benefits. But when they needed nothing, they could easily forget about me.”
“People from school are temporary friends in many cases. Or sometimes they are actually not. Because when they graduate from school, they run on different sides and forget each other. Of course, there are some exclusions, but it happens rarely.”
“The friendship of Raquelle and me is really an exclusion…” Natalia says with a slight smile.
“Don’t you communicate with anyone from your schoolmates?”
“Alas. I haven’t even met those I had been studying with before I started to study with Cameron.”
“That’s how!”
“I kept a good relationship only with Raquelle and Anna from all my school friends. The one, who I was at the café where you met us yesterday.”
“Was that girl studying with you?”
“Nope, she’s two years younger than Raquelle and me and was studying in a younger class.”
“That’s how… I hope she is good?”
“Anna is a very good girl. Kind, educated, smart, and very loyal. She doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“She probably had many friends.”
“No, vice versa. She didn’t also have real friends.”
“Wasn’t she loved, too?”
“No, her schoolmates treated Anna well, and she got on well with everybody. But she had no real friends among them. Raquelle and I are the only ones to become her close friends.”
“And how did you become her friends?”
“By chance. A girl from my school, who also got on well with her, introduced her to me. And a little later, I introduced Anna to Raquelle. So…” Natalia shrugs. “That’s how our friendship started. We started spending time together during breaks and meeting in free time.”
“Great,” Terrence smiles shyly.
“But we broke contact for a few years and renewed it some time ago. I did it first, and Raquelle did it some time ago. One day before she went to London.”
“Okay…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds.
“Do you and Raquelle have the same age?” Terrence specifies.
“Yup, both of us are now twenty-one,” Natalia confirms.
“And that girl… The one to be Anna… As I understand… Is she twenty-one?”
“Yes, she’s our young girl.”
“Is she really twenty-one?”
“Really, really!”
“Wow… I wouldn’t say she is really. She looks much younger than she is.”
“Agree, she has quite a cute baby face,” Natalia says with a slight smile.
“Anna looks too young. And I first thought she was about sixteen or eighteen.”
“Nope, she is not sixteen.”
“It’s amazing…”
“Anna likes this fact. And the men she knows are delighted with her baby face.”
“Right, some guys really like this type of face. Someone would consider girls like she children that you wanna care about.”
“Right…”
“Doesn’t that girl date someone?”
“No, Anna is absolutely single. And she has no time to go on dates.”
“Why?”
“Studying at the university. It takes her free time. And as Anna is now gonna graduate from the university and getting ready for the final exams, she has rarely been able to find time to walk with her friends or dates with guys for a few months.”
“When is she going to have exams?”
“She is gonna have exams either in the spring or closer to the summer. I don’t know rightly. But a graduation ceremony will take place in the summer.”
“Alright…”
“And then she is gonna have much fun later. Meet her friends and go on dates with men.”
“I’m sure someday she’d be lucky and meet a decent man. Your friend is quite sympathetic.”
“Hope it’d happen,” Natalia expresses hope with a slight smile. “But the case is that she has quite harsh parents, who would hardly accept all guys that woo my friend.”
“That’s how?”
“Those people rule Anna with an iron fist and want to make her follow their rules. But she always goes against them and does what she wants.”
“She’s not lucky…” Terrence shakes his head.
“Honestly, her family is actually weird. They have their own rules that other people would never understand.”
“But is Anna normal?”
“Yup, Anna became not what they are.”
“Hey, did they make her go to the university? Or did she decide so?”
“She did. Anna wanted to study at the faculty of theatre, and her parents, to our surprise, accepted her decision and paid for her studies.”
“And how is she studying?”
“Very well. She passes all the exams successfully. There is a high chance that she would get a diploma with honors in case Anna brilliantly passes all the exams.”
“I think her family should be proud of that girl.”
“Maybe, they are, but they’ll hardly show it…”
“Why?”
“They don’t usually show their love… They never kiss, never hug, never kiss, never say good things to each other. They’re like robots…”
“Yeah… They’re really kinda weird. Living in another world.”
“Sadly, they don’t know what love and emotions are. They’re used to keeping everything inside and just following the rules the oldest family members set up.”
“I see…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Terrence glances at those, who are waiting for their flight alone or with someone else as well as he and Natalia.
“Yeah…” Terrence breaks the silence hesitantly. “How do Raquelle’s parents treat her admirers?”
“Her parents?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“They… Accept them? Or… Criticize?”
“Sadly, she has no parents.”
“What do you mean?”
“They died when she was a child. About seven years, if I’m not mistaken…”
“Oh, my gosh…”
“For Raquelle, it’s always been a hurt thing, even if she barely remembers her parents. And she often goes to the cemetery at her mother city to visit them.”
“Oh, it was awkward,” Terrence pronounces hesitantly. “Sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Natalia replies with sadness in her eyes.
“I didn’t know her parents were dead.”
“But they are dead….” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds but then moves her eyes to Terrence. “Hey, why are you asking about it?”
“Just wondering,” Terrence shrugs.
“Do you really like that girl so much?”
“Very much.”
“Are you serious about her? Aren’t you planning to use her for one-time sex?”
“If I’m lucky, I will be very happy to make her a girlfriend of mine.”
“Even so…”
“I would really love to do it. As I’ve said, I liked Raquelle at first sight, and her non-typical behavior wakes up a greater interest for her.”
“So, are you interested in running after a beauty that’s indifferent to you than the one to be ready to give you everything?”
“Exactly.”
“Wanna chase her like an obsessed maniac?”
“But she didn't tell me she didn’t want it.”
“Yeah, she didn’t do…”
“Raquelle said one thing, but her body reacted differently.”
“Trust me, she’s not gonna like the fact that you would go to London to find her on purpose.”
“Hey, tell me honestly, could she like me?” Terrence asks. “Did she tell you something about me?”
“About you?”
“Does she think I’m handsome? What does your friend think of my caress and kisses?”
“She says she gets sick of it.”
“And really?”
“She really is!”
“Natalia!”
“What?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “I told you what Raquelle said.”
“C’mon, blonde, tell me the truth.”
“What would change?”
“I would at least be sure I’m on the right track.”
“Oh, yeah, right…”
“Please, tell me the truth!”
“Okay, I will do…” Natalia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “She liked you. She said you were very sympathetic.”
“Just sympathetic?” Terrence wonders.
“Yup. She said she could praise you for what you did. Your caresses were kind of good.”
“Oh, my God…”
“Yes, of course, she was very discreet, but be sure, she liked everything that happened between you.”
“What about our kiss?”
“She liked it,” Natalia smiles mysteriously. “She confesses it not at once.”
“That’s how…”
“She confessed that her first ever kiss was just incredible.”
“I didn’t doubt…” Terrence pronounces with his head proudly raised. “Because I am a king of kisses. Those, who’ve kissed me, say that there is nobody else to be better than me.”
“I’m sure everything turned upside down inside her while you were feeling her up and kissing everything about her.”
“Do you think I could have a chance to break this wall and tame that cutie?”
“Well…” Natalia dreamily rolls her eyes. “Maybe, you’ve got a little chance. But you’ve gotta try hard to get her sympathy. And do what none of the men have done yet.”
“What?” Terrence frowns slightly.
“Conquer her tender, girly heart.”
“Hey, does she date someone? Is Raquelle having a boyfriend?”
“Huh, MacClife, don’t make me laugh, I’m begging you!” Natalia laughs shyly and claps Terrence on the hand. “That girl is too busy with her work to find boyfriends.”
“So, she has nobody?”
“Nobody.”
“Great…” Terrence smiles mysteriously.
“But her family starts pressing on her more and more and says it’s her time to create her family.”
“That’s how?”
“Her grandfather is a man of old times. He prefers early marriages. He got married and became a father early. His son got married at the age of about twenty-five if I’m not mistaken. And now he’s worried his granddaughter doesn’t have a husband and is about to miss a moment to give birth to babies.”
“But as I understand, does Raquelle never listen to them and give herself to work?”
“Exactly! Cameron jokes when someone starts talking about her relationship, but it’s clear she gets tense because of talks about her wedding.”
“She doesn’t wanna get married?”
“She says she isn’t planning to do it now. She’s kind of too young, and wanna live for her. And her grandfather and aunt are unhappy with it and believe a girl must think of having a husband and children. Not about a career.”
“What do they think of her modeling career?”
“Her grandfather is a great hater of the modeling business and tried to save Raquelle from that in all ways. But when she decided to build a modeling career, he bit a bullet and took it, and he didn’t try to make her quit everything.”
“Alright…” Terrence glances aside. “As long as I remember, for the years of her career, Raquelle has never been caught on kissing and hugging someone.”
“She’s never had serious relationships!” Natalia confesses cheerfully.
“Never?”
“Yes, Terrence! My friend is as clean and innocent as a cute angel. Of course, she has many admirers, who wanna literally marry her. But Cameron rejects everyone.”
“So, it means… Has she never had a relationship with anyone?”
“Nope.”
“Never kissed, hugged, or even had sex with anyone?”
“That girl understands nothing about it,” Natalia smiles mysteriously. “So, you became the first one to kiss her.”
“My gosh…”
“Many men wanted to share a kiss with her, but you’re the only one to get it.”
“And has she never liked someone?”
“Nobody. Neither boys from her school and university, nor handsome guys from the show business.”
“Wow…”
“But knowing how many times she’s gotten flowers and gifts and invitations to have lunch, she could’ve dated a lot of men.” Natalia shrugs. “But no… Cameron doesn’t wanna think of anything but her work.”
“So…” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “It means I don’t almost have competitors… Wonderful! I could raise the bar so high that nobody would outstand me.”
“You’re too confident,” Natalia notices.
“I really wanna press that cutie to myself again and give her a more amazing kiss that she will never forget.”
“Are you crazy? You wanna kiss my friend?”
“What?”
“She barely stood on her feet when you kissed her for the first time! If it happens again, Cameron is surely gonna faint.”
“Don’t worry, Natalia, your friend is gonna love it.” Terrence strokes his hair down with his head proudly raised. “I think she’s understood that I was incredibly good at kisses. And she doesn’t know how good I am at sex! M-m-m… All the girls had a strong orgasm.”
“Yeah, that girl definitely got you attracted to her,” Natalia says thoughtfully.
“Can’t deny. When she did not behave in the way all the girls did at our first meeting. I thought your friend would shout with happiness and start trying to hug and kiss me. But no! Raquelle was very shy. And she said she didn’t know me.”
“I understood it all.”
“Doesn’t she really know who I am? Or is she pretending?”
“I think she knows you, but she forgot it. But if she saw the movie, in which you played Mason, she would understand she remembered you.”
“Anyway, you gave me confidence,” Terrence says confidently with a slight smile. “I’m starting to be sure that I have a very good chance to make that girl mine.”
“Only if you make her sure you are guilty of nothing.”
“I will do this.”
“Okay, I would see how you’d do.”
“Don’t worry, Natalia, I can do this,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “I shall make her understand that she would not meet a better man than Terrence MacClife?”
“Praising you to the sky?”
“Telling the truth!”
“Alright, selfish warrior, I’m gonna watch you climbing Everest. How you’d conquer new places.”
“Get popcorn because it’s gonna be a breathtaking adventure.”
“Anyway, you’ve got good taste,” Natalia notices cheerfully. “Raquelle is a really sweet piece for any guy.”
“I would be happy to get it.” Terrence glances aside for a second. “For me, it would be an honor to become the sweetheart of one of the sexiest girls in the world.”
“And you’d also get such bad bonuses as jealousy of all the men around the world,” Natalia replies confidently.
“I don’t and will not have competitors.”
“What if Raquelle doesn’t pay attention to you and meets another man someday?”
“I wouldn’t give up and would get her anyway. Did my best for that girl not to forget me and be able to think of anyone else.”
“Is that okay you barely spoke and know nothing about each other?”
“And what? I got attracted to that beauty at first sight.”
“Do what you want. I’m wishing you not to get disappointed.”
“I will not, don’t worry.”
“But I must admit that you and Raquelle would be a very good couple,” Natalia assumes with a slight smile. “Raquelle is a very beautiful girl. And you’re an attractive young man… So tall, confident, hot… I’m now trying to imagine you next to her, and I can see you fit each other very well.”
“Maybe, our fans are trying to match us together for a reason. My fans often suggest I start an affair with Raquelle.”
“And Raquelle gets suggestions about paying attention to you. So, those guys know everything about beautiful couples.”
“That’s right,” Terrence laughs shyly.
“If you go in public as a couple, your fans are gonna die of happiness.”
“It’s early to talk about it. At first, I should go to London, find her and prove that I’m not guilty of spreading the rumors, and call the real name of the one, who did that. And then we will see. If I’m lucky, that’s good. If I’m not, I will try to take it.”
“Okay, we will live and see,” Natalia says with a slight smile. “But I was not gonna and will not help you.”
“I think we could agree.”
“I will not betray my friend not for anything.”
“Think you’re doing this for her happiness.”
“I don’t wish her happiness like this.”
“You’ll later realize she wouldn’t find anyone to be better than me.”
“There are many good men in the world.”
“Good boys are boring.”
“How do you know what Raquelle needs?”
“At the bottom of the heart, any girl likes bad boys.”
“But they eventually create a family with a good guy. And leave bad men for fun.”
“I’m going to prove that you could have a strong and long relationship even with bad men.”
“We will see.”
Terrence says nothing and just smiles shyly at Natalia. And two seconds later, everyone hears a sound that lets them know someone is going to make an announcement about flights. So, the man and the girl hear a woman saying something about their trip in a clear, quiet voice:
“Dear passengers! The flight that was scheduled to take a flight from The United States of America, New York City to Great Britain, London and leave at 8:30 in the morning is not able to leave due to heavy snow. Unfortunately, this flight will be delayed indefinitely until the weather gets better. If you need a temporary place to spend a night, you can come to the airport staff and ask them to reserve a room in the nearest hotel for you. And if you decide to cancel your flight, you have the right to give your ticket back, get your money back, or exchange it for another. To do it, go to someone from the airport staff, who will give you all the information. Thank you for your attention!”
Everybody hears this announcement two more times. And then they are told about the cancellation of a few more flights. All the people, who were going to fly away now, are really disappointed, confused by this piece of news, and even resentful of this piece of news. And Terrence and Natalia are not an exclusion…
“Damn, they have canceled it!” Terrence says under his nose gloomily. “But I hoped we’d fly away…”
“What do you mean, they’ve canceled it?” Natalia resents.
“What misfortune!” Terrence sharply claps himself on the forehead. “Why did it happen? Why didn't it happen on another day? Why couldn’t snow fall after my airplane landed in London?”
“Minute!” Natalia exclaims. “Since my flight has been canceled, it happens that… Am I gonna get stuck here for nobody the fuck knows how long? Until this fucking weather gets better, and airplanes can fly well?”
“You heard everything. So, we’ve gotta wait. Maybe, even spend a night or two here.”
“What?” Natalia resents loudly. “Are you serious? Are you the fuck serious?”
“Hey, calm down, calm down, Natalia!” Terrence replies quietly, raising his hands with the palms turned on Natalia, who opened her eyes widely. “Just don’t get irritated, I’m begging you.”
“Don’t get irritated? Should I be happy that the flight has been the fuck canceled?”
“Natalia…”
“For this trip, I woke up almost at four o’clock in the morning and spent one hour getting ready. But it turns out that it was for nothing. At first, our flight was delayed until nine o’clock, and now it’s actually canceled.”
“Do you think I woke up later to get ready? No, my sweetie, I woke up much earlier than you did!”
“Bloody hell!”
“But it’s alright! For the good goal, I’m ready to wait as long as I have to. When it’s good weather, I will fly away from here.”
“Oh, no!” Natalia moans quietly, leaning back in the chair and closing her face with both hands. “God, why? Why? First, You brought me to this idiot MacClife, and now my flight has been canceled Because of that fucking snow!”
“Nothing terrible happened,” Terence notices confidently.
“Damn, shouldn't I have really done this today? Should I have gone there on another day?”
“Natalia…”
“I shouldn't have decided to go to London. I should’ve stayed home and just called Cameron until she answered. Or just sent her tons of messages.”
“Anyway, I will not give up,” Terrence says confidently. “I will be waiting as long as I have to and leave this place. Even if I have to stay in this airport for a week.”
“Week? Are you kidding me?”
“Natalia, calm down, please.”
“Fuck, why did I actually decide to go somewhere? Why?” Natalia moans quietly. “I would’ve better stayed home and gotten enough sleep. And then gone somewhere to talk. But no! I am here, going nobody the fuck knows where and have to stay in this airport because of the fucking weather.”
“Nobody made you do this,” Terrence throws his hands up.
“If I knew the snow would fall, I wouldn’t have done that.”
“You say it like I’m guilty of getting the weather worse.”
“You’re actually a fucking curse. When you came into someone’s life, everything gets ruined to the fuck. At first, people got hate for Raquelle due to the false rumors, and now I can't go to London.”
“I swear, I didn’t know it would happen! Nobody announced the cancellation of any flights earlier. If I’d known it, I would've gotten a ticket for another day.”
“Ar-r-r!”
“We can do nothing now. We’ve gotta only wait for the weather to get better.”
“Yeah?” Natalia asks crossly. “And how long do we have to expect? One day? Two days? Or maybe, a week? This weather can be the same for a few days!”
“Maybe, it’ll get better tomorrow, and we'll finally fly away.”
“Tomorrow?” Natalia smirks loudly. “Don’t make me laugh, MacClife! If heavy snow doesn’t stop falling until tomorrow, it will be the end of my trip. And in the worst case, I will have to celebrate Christmas at the airport. Not with my family.”
“If the situation doesn’t get better, I shall give my ticket back and buy a new one for another day.”
“What does it matter? It doesn’t make sense now! You heard how many flights have been canceled. And it’s probably just the beginning! The further, the more!”
“Natalia!”
“What?”
“If you want, you can take your stuff and leave,” Terrence suggests gloomily, crossing his arms on the breast.
“Maybe, you should leave? Maybe, the MacClife curse would stop working, and I would fly away, after all.”
“Oh, no! I will not give up until it’s possible.”
“It’s clear you love asking for trouble and getting problems.”
“I’m used to getting what I want and don’t give up not for anything. No cancellation of a flight can stop me from wishing to find Raquelle and talk to her.”
“Oh…” Natalia raises her head up and closes her eyes for two seconds, exhaling slowly. “Where do I go now? I need to go to my home minimum for one and a half hours. And I don’t wanna go home with her baggage full of the stuff that I was packing yesterday for a whole evening.”
“Sit here, then,” Terrence pronounces quietly. “Do what you want. I don’t care…”
Terrence turns upon Natalia and starts looking around, frowning strongly and thinking about something. The girl gloomily looks at the man for a few seconds and then exhales sharply, gets up from the chair, and decides to eat something because she feels hungry enough. And she just wants to leave not to make the tense situation worse and fight with someone she might probably have to spend a long, hard way with.
***
Great Britain, London. Raquelle decides to go to the city to walk a little after she left the house of Jacqueline Underwood, where she went with Alexis to find out the information she needs. The girl felt something bad from the beginning and realized that she was right when she met the rich girl, who was looking at her with contempt and letting her know she hated her. But when she left that house, she got much better.
And some time later, Raquelle actually forgets what happened at that house and does not hope Jacqueline will help her with something and ask her father to find out something about those, who reported to the police about stealing some stuff. Instead of this, she focuses on the problem of her aunt Alicia. The situation that is getting harder and harder every day.
“My God, how hard everything is…” Raquelle thinks, slowly walking in the city and looking around with anxiety. “I’m starting to think I can barely do something. Eleanor Woodham is determined to destroy my aunt Alicia and won't leave her alone until she gets what she wants. She knows she would be unpunished thanks to her famous surname. So, Aunt might be absolutely right about the fact that we can do nothing now.”
Raquelle sighs heavily.
“I wonder why that woman got so mad?” Raquelle wonders. “The case can’t be only about the suffered girl and the money. It’s either a lie from my aunt, or there is another secret. Maybe, a long time ago, my aunt hurt that woman very much, and she cannot forgive her for that. I don’t know how, but I’m sure something has connected them for a long time. And something tells me if I find all the truth out, this piece of news is going to be a great shock to me.”
Raquelle embraces herself with her arms and throws a one-second look at a middle-aged man and a woman, who are going by her and talking about something with interest with two filled packets in their hands.
“And yeah, it’s weird that my aunt hasn’t gotten any threats lately…” Raquelle frowns slightly. “At least, she said she was getting threats almost every single day in all possible ways: either phone calls or letters… And she was robbed one time… But today it’s been quiet so far… But everything is fine now…”
Raquelle bites her lip slightly.
“What if that woman decided to hide and get ready for a stronger hit?” Raquelle asks herself. “What if Eleanor shows up again and is much crueler and more determined? Is this what people call calm before a storm?”
Raquelle places the belt of her purse on her shoulder because it gets off it.
“That’s bad Aunt didn’t even try to report to the police and charge that woman for terrifying and chasing her,” Raquelle thinks. “Yes, I understand that Aunt Alicia was worried about her life… And she understood it will lead to nothing good or something worse. But how would Eleanor know that she reported her to the police? Her family isn’t probably so powerful? What if they just want to seem like this? They want everyone to be afraid of saying a word! Yes, maybe, everyone knew them twenty years ago, but who knows them now? Just fewer people! For example, Lexi knows almost nothing about Gilbert, but she has heard something about Eleanor.”
Raquelle sighs heavily, still walking slowly on the street, on which there are many people, by some shops.
“Damn, my aunt didn’t one hundred percent tell me something very important,” Raquelle thinks. “Maybe, is ‘something’ the main reason for all the problems of my auntie? I’m sure her secret could explain, maybe not everything, but at least very much. It could reveal the real reason why Eleanor is chasing my aunt. Why she told her people to threaten her in all possible ways! Everything must have an explanation… It must have…”
Raquelle thinks about the current situation for some time. But then, after she comes up with nothing, she decides to distract herself from these thoughts and get busy with something not to torture herself with all the possible guesses.
“Okay, I’ll think about it later,” Raquelle decides. “Anyway, I can decide nothing now… I’d be worried and thinking of something for nothing.”
Raquelle exhales sharply.
“I will better go to a shop and buy something for dinner…” Raquelle thinks. “Aunt Alicia has lately gone somewhere with reluctance. She hasn’t ever suggested she and I go somewhere in the city. Even if she promised to do. She has done it many times…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“My God, what’s she afraid of so much?” Raquelle wonders. “How much did she hurt Eleanor Woodham that she’s afraid of her? Which secret is she hiding from me? Why doesn’t she wanna tell me the truth about what connects her with that woman?”
Raquelle sighs quietly and goes to one of the most popular supermarkets to buy something tasty and probably please herself. Well, or just have a look at what they are already selling in all the shops just a few days before Christmas.
***
Meanwhile, Alicia is sitting home all alone and watching the TV, not stopping to change channels with the remote control as they are translating nothing that would get her interested. After she turns on a channel, on which they are translating an issue of the celebrity news, she decides to watch it a little and find out what people think about her niece Raquelle.
But the show says nothing good that could make the woman happy. The media keeps showering the innocent girl with mud and talking about her negatively, saying she just ran away from shame and is now afraid to show herself. Journalists managed to make a great scandal that has to do with the name of the model, who was the all-favorite girl and cannot stop publishing new articles and showing reports about her. However, all of them are actually the same and say the same things.
“My God, calm down there!” Alicia resents, listening to everything they are saying about Raquelle in a show. “Are you really crazy? My niece is absolutely healthy! She does not have any mental issues! And she has never had! Stop telling everyone some bullshit!”
Alicia growls quietly.
“Leave my girl alone, cads!” Alicia demands. “She feels bad now, but you make everything much worse. How much did the stinker that is afraid to show themselves to the world pay you if you are publishing articles about my niece’s allegedly terrible behavior? Do you have nobody else to talk about? Is Raquelle the only person in the world?”
Alicia exhales sharply, turns off the TV, throws the remote control on the sofa, slowly gets up from the one, and starts to nervously walk into her room, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I am sick of those scumbags!” Alicia throws gloomily. “Just sick! Mr. Cameron has always been right when he was against Raquelle becoming a part of the modeling business. And actually, become a famous persona! That’s what's happening! They are waiting for my girl to show up to mock her.”
Alicia puts her hand on her forehead.
“By the way, it’s amazing that reporters and paparazzi don’t chase her here, in London,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “Either we have not so many of them, or Raquelle is hiding from them so well. I think if she stayed in America, they would find her and start to annoy her with questions and insults.”
Alicia comes to the window, still keeping her arms crossed over her chest, and starts to watch what’s happening behind her apartment.
“That’s good I suggested she come to me and ride out the storm in a much quieter place,” Alicia says quietly. “Moreover, she doesn’t need to try to excuse herself somehow for what she didn’t do. I don’t think people would believe her words. Now everyone is too mad and excited… They can’t soberly rate the situation.”
Alicia sighs tiredly.
“Maybe, everything will get better soon,” Alicia assumes. “But now she’d better do nothing and keep staying quiet. People would forget that scandal later, and the media would lose interest in it, choose a new victim, and start publishing articles about them. And Raquelle would exhale with relief and work on getting her good reputation back.”
Alicia slightly fixes her glasses on the bridge of her nose.
“And actually, I think she should quit her career at all,” Alicia says confidently. “It’s her time to change everything! It’s time to look for a husband, give birth to children, and become a keeper. That girl will ask for trouble if she keeps rejecting everyone. All the men will be taken soon, and she will get nothing. Alright! She worked a little and earned enough money – that’s enough! It’s her time to relax and think of creating her family.”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“But it’s hurting that my girl doesn’t listen to me and her grandfather,” Alicia adds with sadness in her eyes. “She doesn’t understand her time will be gone soon. She believes she would get married even at the age of forty. Oh… How do we explain to her that she should get married early, at the age of eighteen? How do we make her understand that it’s right? A woman cannot be alone! That’s wrong! It’s wrong that my niece is so obsessed with her career and places it above anything.”
Alicia shakes her head and glances at a small picture hanging in her room.
“Please, God, don’t let her stay alone and then regret not listening to me and her grandfather until the end of her life,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “Don’t let… I don’t want her to get through that. God, don’t let it happen. Don’t let…”
And while Alicia is praying that Raquelle finds a husband and becomes the mother of at least one child, a wired phone starts calling in the living room at some moment. The woman shakes slightly in surprise but then quickly comes to the one, takes the phone and presses a button to answer an unexpected call.
“Hello, I’m listening,” Alicia pronounces quietly.
“Hello, Alicia,” not a very nice feminine voice pronounces. “How are you doing? I see you haven’t gotten a heart attack from worrying and fearing.”
“Erm, excuse me…” Alicia wonders, frowning slightly.
“Don’t you recognize me? Did your memory get much worse? Or are you pretending that you do not know me?”
“Erm…”
“Everyone knows that you cannot forget your past, no matter how hard you try. You cannot erase it from your memory and the memory of some people that it has to do with. Its sound would always chase you and literally choke you. You will be paying for all the sins you committed many, many years ago until the end of your life.”
Alicia says nothing for two seconds and thinks about something. And then she gets a little tense because she recognizes the one, who called her.
“Ah, yeah…” Alicia nods. “It’s you…”
“Alright, my darling, finally,” the woman pronounces confidently.
“How could I not recognize you? Recognize the woman, who has been restless and not been able to forget me for almost twenty years…”
“The past will always chase you. Wherever you are.”
“Why are you calling me?” Alicia asks coldly, trying to pretend that she is not excited and scared by the woman’s call. “I did tell you everything and do not wish to talk to you and meet you on the street someday.”
“I don’t care about your wishes. I do care only about the fact that you must pay for all the dirty tricks you did in the past.”
“Would you like to tell your big guys to go to my home and turn my whole apartment upside down? To beat me until half-death?”
“So, my darling, did you get scared?” the woman smirks evilly. “Did you feel horrified when you felt a cold knife against your throat that could have easily been cut?”
“I would watch you if someone put a knife against your throat.”
“It will not happen. I am under the protection of the best and most experienced people that would let nobody come to me and do something bad.”
“Sorry! Very sorry.”
“But do not blame me for everything that is happening. You did ask for trouble.”
“I am guilty of nothing.”
“Oh, you are. You should’ve thought before standing in my way. The woman, who would crush you like a pea.”
“Your actions do not make sense.”
“That’s what you think. But that’s actually not the truth.”
“Would you be happy if you destroyed me? If your big guys killed me before your eyes?”
“Very happy,” the woman says confidently. “I will be madly happy to know the nasty scumbag that I hate to death has been finally destroyed.”
“You would better think of your personal life instead of ruining someone else’s one.”
“Do not tell me what to do.”
“You are really crazy…”
“And yeah, I want to remind that you the same thing is going to happen to your beloved niece.”
“What have you said?” Alicia resents, clenching her hand tightly into a fist. “What have you said?”
“What you have heard,” the woman smiles innocently. “I would be very happy if your niece died, as well.”
“Do not make me enraged, you, poisoned snake. Or you will regret much.”
“Yes, yes, I do know well that you don’t want something to happen to your beloved niece. But alas, she would not avoid meeting me. Not avoid what is waiting for her at the nearest time. She might suffer at any moment.”
“Close your mouth, bitch. Close!”
“I do know that gal is living with you. Even if you want to hide her in a different place, I shall find her anyway. And tell my people to bring her to me immediately. One word of mine before she is destroyed for a few seconds.”
“You will not touch her with a finger!”
“Moreover, I am aware of the story that everyone is talking about. I know everyone thinks she is an egoistic scumbag that went crazy from fame and people’s love.”
“And you went crazy from your senseless revenge!”
“Do not be rude to me, Alicia. Or you will die sooner than I’m planning to kill you.”
“Don’t dare, bitch…” Alicia hisses through her teeth, clenching her free hand into a fist much tighter. “Don’t dare to hurt her, hear me! I will not let you do!”
“Stop, my darling. No matter how hard you try, your niece will not avoid what’s waiting for her.”
“You can do anything you want to me. If you want, kill me! It’s alright! But do not dare to hurt Raquelle. Never dare to come to anyone from my family!”
“Your niece is the only member of your family you have!” the woman simpers. “Or do I not know about someone else? Someone that should go to another world, as well?”
“Shut up, snake! If something happens to my niece, I shall never forgive you. I swear, I shall make you pay for that. You will regret what you did! I swear!”
“Are you threatening me?” The woman laughs loudly. “Did you, stupid woman, go insane? It’s me, Eleanor! Eleanor Woodham! The member of one of the most powerful families in London. The daughter of the late Gilbert Woodham, who was loved and respected by everyone! Who is still remembered by people!”
“Just because you belong to the famous Woodhams doesn’t mean everyone must fear you.”
“Did you forget what could the Woodhams could do to destroy someone, who stood in their way?”
“If the Woodhams were really so powerful, I would be in a different place and pay for the mistakes of my youth.”
“You did not pay then, but you will do it now!”
“We will see!”
“Ah, Alicia, Alicia…” Eleanor sighs with a sly smile, shaking her head. “What an idiot you are… Brainless idiot. You are already forty-seven, but you have as many brains as you had at the age of eighteen or twenty.”
“No, Eleanor, you haven’t grown up yet. You are no longer a young girl. You still keep living in the past and don’t want to keep moving on.”
“Because I am not ready to accept the injustice that I ran into.”
“Nobody but you needs your revenge.”
“My family does need it! My family, who is still cursing you for what you did.”
“In this case, I advise you to go to a good psychologist and work on it.”
“Do not tell me what to do, Alicia,” Eleanor throws rudely. “No matter if you want it or not, I shall make you pay for all your sins. The sins of the past you do not want to remember so badly. The sins of the past are your drag.”
“And the one you do not want to forget.”
“And yeah, if you are our pathetic beggar, who will never hold a lot of money, it’s alright. You can forget about the money that I demanded. Which my dad lent to the family of my best friend, who almost went to another world and became disabled because of your fucking fault.”
“That’s how!” Alicia pronounces surprisingly.
“Yes, sweetie, you can choke with the little money that my people stole from your wallet. I am no longer interested in trying to get them out of you by force. I will not get the full amount by old age.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“I am going to focus on my main goal. Revenge for what you did in the past. For some of the bad things you did in your youth.”
“It would be great if you also forgot the revenge for the events that happened twenty years ago.”
“No, I will never forget it. And I will not forgive you for coming into my life and ruining it. And you got off it easily. After everything you had done!”
“Those events already stayed in the past,” Alicia tries to keep cold. “If I really had to pay for that, it would have happened many years ago.”
“And because you avoided the punishment, I consider it INJUSTICE!” Eleanor starts breathing heavily enough from excitement. “I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT HAPPENED! NEVER FORGET THE ONE THAT DARED TO GO AGAINST THE WOODHAMS! NEVER!”
“Don’t scream,” Alicia says quietly. “I hear you well.”
“You are a snake! The shake that ruined my life! That deprived me of something dearest! Destroyed the wonderful world I lived in! Because of you, my life was ruined to hell!”
“You say it as if I wanted it.”
“YOU WANTED! You wanted to ruin my life! Wanted to make me suffer!”
“Not at all!”
“And I will never forgive you for what you did. Never! I swear on everything that is possible, I shall make you pay for your sins. If other people did not want to stand by my side somehow, I shall take revenge on you. For all the pain and suffering that I got through.”
“Listen, Eleanor, I…” Alicia tries to take a word quietly.
“Your disgusting act has got no excuses,” Eleanor says confidently. “And you must pay for that.”
“Listen…”
“I have been waiting for retribution for almost twenty years. And I am not going to wait much longer! Because it will surely happen at the nearest time.”
“You have spent almost twenty years on what is not worth it. But instead of that, you could have thought about your personal life and lived happily. Meet a man, gotten married, given birth to children, and dreamed of grandchildren…”
“Do not tell me how to live! You will teach your niece, who, to your sadness, is not going to get married.”
“Why do you take revenge on me for what I have already paid for? I mean, what I was not sentenced for!”
“That’s why I want to take revenge! Because you have not paid for what you did!!”
“Leave it all, Eleanor. Please… Let’s live in peace and calm and think of our own lives.”
“Do not palaver me, Alicia,” Eleanor cuts off sharply. “And do not dare to stand in my way again. Or you will pay much for that.”
“Your revenge does not make sense.”
“IT DOES! It really does!”
“Please, Eleanor, don’t do this!” Alicia begs with pity in her eyes.
“I shall do it. Shall! Deal with you and destroy your niece.”
“I have already told you not to dare to hurt my niece.” Alicia clenches her hand tightly into a fist with a heavy breath. “Raquelle doesn’t have to do with our business. You can’t make her another victim.”
“Calm down, honey,” Eleanor says confidently. “You will have been dead when I reach her. But even if you are still alive, you will not stop me from destroying your beloved Raquelle. My bodyguards will not let you run anywhere and protect your little girl. I shall tell them not to stop watching her, and she will not even dare to look at something without their permission.”
“Don’t dare to hurt my niece, Eleanor, DO NOT DARE!” Alicia demands rudely. “I shall tear you apart if you dare to do something bad to her.”
“By the way, she can do nothing, as well. That girl will not run away from my people. All of them are tough and fast guys. They would easily catch and hold the one that was as light as a feather. Your beloved Raquelle would have no choice but to go with them and meet me.”
“I say again: if you, nasty bitch, touch my niece with a finger, I shall make you regret it,” Alicia says in a cold, rude voice.
“Am I a bitch?” Eleanor laughs loudly. “I would bet who is a bitch from both of us!”
“I’m not the one to wish to take revenge for what stayed in the past,” Alicia says confidently.
“Listen, Alicia, stop pretending to be an innocent lamb. No matter how hard you pretend to be a holy, religious woman, and no matter how much you go to church and pray to God, it will never make you better. You will never get off the dirt and always be a pathetic sinner that will be paying for her sins for her whole life.”
“Don’t terrify me! I fear nothing and nobody and will do my best to make you pay for everything and leave my girl alone.”
“But you must fear! Because I could do much.”
“Remember, Eleanor, I should give you nothing. And I am not going to pay for what was done a long time ago.”
“We will see, scumbag!” Eleanor throws rudely.
“Yeah, see…”
“Remember, my dear, a great danger is threatening you and your beloved niece.”
“Please, Eleanor, let’s forget everything and agree somehow,” Alicia begs with pity in her eyes.
“You will never agree with me about peace and agreement. Even if you give me all your money, jewelry, and other stuff.”
“For God’s sake, Eleanor…”
“I have said you are an idiot without brains,” Eleanor simpers contemptuously. “Should I tell you that several times, so you finally understand it? I SHALL NEVER give up! And I WILL TAKE REVENGE on you for everything you have done.”
“At least don’t hurt my niece. Raquelle is guilty of nothing and doesn’t have to pay for my sins.”
“No, she will do it!”
“She knows nothing about what I did. I don’t want her to be ashamed of me.”
“So, she will know soon.”
“No!”
“And then your beloved girl will die. The girl, who is getting showered with mud by the media so hard.”
“She is guilty of nothing!”
“Well, as everyone is sure she is a nasty whore, who got fame through and became too arrogant, I’m sure nobody would care about her. People would be even happy if that gal died and stopped hurting everyone’s eyes.”
“Do not dare, Woodham, DO NO DARE!” Alicia gets enraged.
“Scream as much as you want, Alicia,” Eleanor says quietly. “But you will not save that pathetic girl.”
“I will tear you apart if you get close to Raquelle!”
“Be sure, you will pay for everything you did somehow. I will not calm down until you die.”
“Do anything you want to me, but don’t dare to come to Raquelle and send your big guys to catch her,” Alicia threatens, tightly clenching her hand into a fist.
“I will decide what to do.”
“You will not dare to do anything to my niece. Remember, snake, I’m ready to tear anyone for my relative if someone wanted to hurt her.”
“We will see, sweetie. But I don’t doubt that I will surely reach that little bitch.”
“Better don’t make me mad, Eleanor,” Alicia pronounces in a low, rude voice. “I can understand why you want to take revenge on me, but don’t get my niece involved in it. Don’t make her a victim. An innocent victim.”
“And yeah, even if you wish to send her to the USA with the thought that she would be in safety there, she will not run away from me. I shall personally go to America and find the girl in any city. Either in New York or in Santa Barbara.”
“Do not dare!”
“Oh, alright, my dear Alicia, I have got no time to talk to you,” Eleanor sighs with a slight smile. “You can do anything you want, but I have warned you about everything. And I have said everything I wanted to. I have got no meaning to talk to you anymore.”
“But I have not told you everything!”
“Remember, my dear, one beautiful day, I shall show up again and really give a hit to you and your beloved Raquelle.”
“Shut up, bitch…”
“See you soon, slim dolly Cheryl. Don’t forget me.”
Eleanor turns off the call with a contemptuous laugh. After hearing monotonous beeps, Alicia puts the phone in the right place and sets her widely open eyes and full of horror into the distance. The woman is seriously frightened by the call and does not know what to do. How to protect her niece from Eleanor Woodham, who is definitely not going to stop. However, at the bottom of her heart, she understands she can really do anything to save her relative from the one, who wishes to take revenge on her for something that happened in the past.
“No, no, no, no,” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice, nervously walking from one room to another with both hands grabbing her hair. “Raquelle must not suffer because of me! Must not! I can’t let it happen!”
Alicia shakes her head.
“That snake will not dare to do anything to my girl,” Alicia says confidently. “I won’t let it happen! If that bitch reaches her, I swear I will break her neck. Strangle her with my own hands. For my niece, I can tear anyone. I would feel no sorry for someone to wish to hurt my girl, no matter who they are.”
Alicia stops sharply in the middle of the living room and closes her mouth with her hand.
“Yes, I completely understand that I can do nothing to protect my niece,” Alicia says quietly. “But I must do my best. I must save her from that woman. I must not let her find out all the truth. I must not…”
Alicia shakes her head with horror in her eyes.
“I don’t know…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “Maybe, I persuade her to come back to the USA to Mr. Cameron? Find a reason why I couldn’t spend the Christmas holidays with her… And make her sure to leave London…”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“I know they wouldn’t leave her alone due to the situation of the terrible rumors,” Alicia adds. “But being in the USA, she has a greater chance to save herself from Eleanor. Anyway, being here is dangerous for Raquelle. That bitch could easily reach her and kill her. Kill my girl…”
Alicia sniffs quietly.
“God…” Alicia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “God… What do I do? What do I do? How do I save Raquelle from that woman? How do I hide the truth she should never know?”
Alicia puts her hand on her forehead and thinks about something for a few seconds.
“Alright, I think I will go somewhere and do something,” Alicia decides. “In the opposite case, I would not be able to focus on what’s happening to me and Eleanor. I wouldn’t be able to find a way to help Raquelle get saved from that woman. In this case, I would have much more time to think about everything and find a solution for this problem.”
A few seconds later, Alicia gives a start sharply and starts getting ready somewhere, quickly putting on outside clothes, brushing her hair, and finding a purse, in which she put her mobile phone and some other things. And when she is ready and takes everything she needs, she gets out of the apartment as fast as a bullet and locks it with a key, being definitely nervous, saying something under her nose, breathing heavily, enough, and feeling her heart beating much faster from excitement. After this, the woman quickly comes to the elevator, goes down to the first floor, and goes outside with a wish to go somewhere where she decided to go so suddenly.
***
Two or more hours later, Raquelle returns to Alicia’s home with big packets, in which there are some products, home stuff, and something she liked. After getting up to the floor she needs and coming to the apartment, the girl unlocks it with a key because nobody reacted to the ring. When she enters it, she finds out that her aunt is not here because the woman went nobody knows where after the call from Eleanor Woodham and has not come back home yet.
“Aunt Alicia, are you home?” Raquelle asks loudly after she enters the apartment. “Aunt Alicia! I’m back! Where are you? In the bathroom? The bedroom? Aunt!”
But Raquelle does not get any answer to all of her questions.
“It’s strange, she doesn’t answer back…” Raquelle frowns slightly. “Isn’t she here?”
Raquelle leaves all the packets in the hall, closes the hall door and takes off her outer clothes, and shoes that she leaves in a special place. Then the girl enters the bathroom, quickly washes her hands, and wipes them with a towel. After this, she checks all the rooms in the apartment, calling Alicia a few more times, and realizes the woman is not at home a few seconds later.
“Oh, it seems like she’s not home…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “She went somewhere… But it’s weird that she left no note and sent me no message.”
Raquelle looks around the living room again and exhales slowly.
“Well, maybe, that’s even good she decided to walk,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “As far as I remember, Aunt never went anywhere for no reason. Unless she goes to work… But she used to love going somewhere in the city…”
Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Okay, I will sort everything I bought out,” Raquelle decides. “Put everything in the right places.”
Raquelle quickly goes to the hell, takes the packets she left here, and goes to the kitchen. Then she starts sorting all the purchases out, putting them on shelves in a refrigerator and cupboards, or leaving something in the bathroom. She also carries a couple of things to her room because she bought them for her and returns to the kitchen to sort everything she has out.
And while sorting out what she bought in one of the London supermarkets, Raquelle thinks about something. When she thinks she has not written anything in her diary for a long time, she suddenly thinks of Alicia. To be clear, about the fact that she often wrote something in a notebook when staying alone in her room.
“Wait…” Raquelle pronounces quietly, stopping to sort products out, and starts stroking her chin. “I just called the memories of my aunt having a notebook, in which she wrote something. She often writes something in it when she stays in her room in the evenings.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to a small window.
“I clearly remember I was going by her room somehow in the late evening,” Raquelle adds. “And I saw her writing something in a blue notebook. It happened two or three days ago… I can’t say clearly…”
Raquelle thinks for two seconds.
“I’m not sure if it’s her personal diary,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “But I believe it’s the one. If it’s so, I don’t exclude that she wrote about how she was worried because of the situation with Eleanor Woodham. She has nobody to talk about it with. I mean, my aunt doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to tell anyone everything she is hiding. So, she decided to trust it to paper. That would take anything.”
Raquelle frowns slightly and leans on the kitchen table with both hands.
“What if that notebook has something I can reflect on?” Raquelle asks herself. “What if Aunt Alicia wrote something about that in her diary? Maybe, it has some of her secrets, which she doesn’t wanna talk about?”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“Yes, I know that reading someone’s notes is bad,” Raquelle says confidently. “But I have no evil mind about it. I ain’t gonna use it for bad things. I have only one goal – to find out what happened between Aunt and Eleanor. Find out all the secrets she is hiding for me. And as I have a chance to find out all the truth that could explain why the story, which my aunt got involved in, started, I should use it.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to the watch hanging above the door.
“So, sorry, Auntie Alicia, but I have no other choice,” Raquelle exhales sharply. “I’m doing this for you. For your well-being. I hope you will not know that I am gonna get through your things. And I hope you will not be back home when I am in your room.”
Raquelle quickly sorts the other things out and puts them in the right places. After this, she goes to Alicia’s room with the thought that this is a good moment because her aunt is not at home. Because of a small window, which lights up the whole room in daylight, slight fall-winter coldness is spread in the air. That’s why the skin gets a little cold, and there is a wish to start to rub hands with a wish to warm them a little. However, the girl does not pay attention to the coldness and is focused on her main goal.
After looking around quickly, Raquelle starts opening and checking all the drawers on the writing table, in which there is supposed to be a notebook she needs. The brunette tries to keep everything in the right places not to let her relative think the mess in the room is the work of her niece, who decided to go against what she was taught and find something that would make the current situation clearer.
Some time later, the search gives some results. Raquelle finds the blue notebook, which she called the memories about, in one of the drawers of the writing table. It’s quite thick to touch, long enough, and very old at first sight… As if Alicia has been taking notes in the one not for the first day…
“That’s it!” Raquelle exclaims, carefully takes what she found, and starts closely examining it from all sides. “The blue notebook! Yes, that’s the one! Aunt Alicia writes something in here… That’s right…”
Raquelle looks at Alicia’s notebook for two seconds.
“It’s so heavy…” Raquelle notices thoughtfully. “As if Aunt has been writing something in it for ages… And it’s amazing that Aunt doesn’t think of hiding it much better. Who knows… Maybe, those, who were here to find some money, have already read the whole diary from start to end.”
Raquelle closes the drawers, in which she found the notebook.
“So, let’s see…” Raquelle decides. “Let’s see what I could find here…”
Raquelle quickly looks around to make sure that Alicia does not decide to show up suddenly. Then she sits on the edge of the bed, opens the first page, and starts reading every single line in the notebook very closely.
It’s really a personal diary of Alicia that she has had for quite a long time, judging some dates and events that happened in the past. She writes about her mind, and what she worries about, reflects on a problem, and leaves notes that might be about something very personal. There are some nice moments from Alicia’s life, many of which have to do with Raquelle spending very much time with her when she was a little girl.
The girl even comes back to the days when she was a child for some time with a slight smile on her face. When everything seemed so careless and wonderful… When everything she was worried about is such stupid things now… It all warms up her soul and makes her miss the times that were the best in her life… Something that made her forget how everybody was bullying her at school, at least for a while.
But Raquelle quickly calls the memories about why she decided to come here, comes back to reality, and keeps closely examining the notes from her aunt’s diary. However, after reading less than half of the notes, the girl does not find anything interesting and starts to lose interest in reading the diary more and more, believing she decided to do it for nothing.
“There’s nothing special here,” Raquelle pronounces disappointedly with sadness in her eyes, turning pages, on which the events she remembers very well are described. “There’s nothing that would help me in this situation. There is not even a mention of Eleanor Woodham…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“It seems like I could not even do this…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “I could not come here and search for this thing. It seems like my aunt doesn’t trust her diary with any secrets. Either she doesn’t wanna call the memories about them… Or she is afraid someone might read them accidentally. Who knows…”
Raquelle sighs quietly and wants to close the notebook and put it where she took it from. But at some moment, the brunette accidentally opens the diary on the latest pages and stops her eyes on a few interesting notes that get her attention at once.
“Wait…” Raquelle pronounces with interest. “What is this? Oh, my God… Eleanor is mentioned here! Aunt wrote something about that woman… Okay… I should read it… So…”
Raquelle starts closely reading everything she sees on the pages of the diary. But what does not make her interested in it first.
“I don’t know what to do… Eleanor is chasing me literally everywhere! She has been threatening me and sending me letters at times for a long time. Some time ago, she actually sent her people to my home, and they threatened me with a knife and also beat me strongly. I was really frightened… I thought I would die because I could do nothing against three big men.
It all has gotten me so nervous. I can’t focus on anything. Because I’m afraid of being at home and outside. That woman would find me anywhere. Because of worrying, I’ve barely been able to do my work lately. I just can’t read lectures to my students because I can’t stop thinking of the fact that I might be killed at any time.”
Moreover, Raquelle, my niece and the daughter of my late sister, Elizabeth, has recently come to visit me at home. She does not stop asking me about what happened to me. But I want to tell her nothing. My girl doesn’t know the whole story that I got involved in. And I don’t want her to know. Yes, I understand I should tell her everything, but I can’t tell her all the truth about me. Tell her what I have to do with Eleanor. But despite my wish to share my problems with her, I don’t want to load her with my problems ‘cause she’s got so many of hers…
The poor girl got into a hard situation and is now trying to solve it. If I had to make my niece solve my problems, she might not accept it. No… I invited her to visit her not for that. She must have a rest and come to herself. But I doubt that she will get peace here. Because everyone reminds her of what Raquelle wants to forget so badly… But sadly, I can’t help her. I can just hug her tightly and let her know that I will always be by her side…”
Next, Raquelle sees a description of the events that she already knows about because it’s about her personal problems. That’s why she just quickly runs her eyes over these notes, getting sad from the memories that get obsessed with her. But later, the girl keeps reading the diary, despite seeing similar things and known facts. However, at some moment, she sees what she cannot believe:
“I have recently told Raquelle about how Eleanor Woodham contacted me, told me to meet her, and said I should’ve paid a lot of money to her. As much as her father lent to the family of the girl named Ines, whom I accidentally hit with a car when I was young. Thank God, she stayed alive, but that event led to some terrible consequences, which she still cannot get rid of. I told my niece about that event yesterday. Sadly, I had no choice because she heard the voice message that Eleanor left for me. I realize I could deny nothing. So, I told her what it meant. And Raquelle immediately promised to do her best to help me. But I don’t want to take the money that she offered me. I had to pay debts to those people, whom I borrowed money from when I lacked it before salary day.
On the same day, she went to my friend, Amelia Sanchez, whom I, however, haven’t met for ages because we two are too busy. I’m doing my business, and she’s busy with her husband. But Amelia told my niece some information about her former friend, and Raquelle shared it with me the next morning. As it turned out, Eleanor was a fraud, who is doing something to her business and deceiving her workers, whom she doesn’t pay a salary for months. The workers work like crazy all day, all long. They are not allowed to sit down or go to a restroom. The conditions of work are hellish. Slavery, I would say. Someone doesn’t handle it and leaves the job. And those, who stay, get through all the tests of this hell. I don’t know all the details, but I am sure that everything is really so terrible. But while they are silent, the clients do not hide how resentful they are, complaining about the terrible quality of clothes made from cheap fabrics. However, Eleanor doesn’t care about it. She keeps doing what she wants, being absolutely sure that nothing will happen to her, and people will never stop being afraid of her.
By the way, when Eleanor contacted me to demand the money from me that was spent on her friend, I didn’t know who she was. I couldn’t even think that something connected me with her somehow. That we were familiar when I hit Ines. But I found it out when we met for the first time. I can’t say if Eleanor knew about me when she tried to contact me. But when we met, and she recognized me, she swore to turn my life into hell and do her best to destroy me. For what I did somehow…
Yes, something has really kept me connected with Eleanor for many years. I’ve known her for much longer than many people thinks. There is a secret that I can’t tell anyone. That’s why I can’t share what I’m worried about. My secret is horrible! So horrible that I am ashamed of it even many years later. I am ashamed of it much more than in the case of Ines, even if it didn’t let me calm down for a long time and didn’t let me drive a car quietly. There are no excuses for my act! Even if I managed to get off that when it was my time to get what I deserved, I still think I was guilty. And I’m ashamed of not paying for that enough.
Ah, if only Raquelle knew I told her just a part of what actually happened between me and Eleanor. My niece would surely be shocked by what she doesn’t know… And she would probably be ashamed… Ashamed of her auntie Alicia, who was an idiot when being very young… And… God… It’s madly hard for me to imagine how I would look into her eyes if she somehow found out that… That I killed a man many years ago…”
Raquelle opens her eyes widely and reads the last sentence several times to make sure she really read what she saw.
“What?” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “Killed a man? Killed? A man?”
After making sure it’s, sadly, the truth, Raquelle having dumbfounded widely open eyes keeps reading this note. And the more she reads, the more shocked she gets:
“Yes, that’s the truth! I became a killer. Against my wish! I killed a man accidentally. But I swear to all Gods, I didn’t want to kill him! It happened accidentally! I was just protecting myself when I was in danger. If I had done nothing, that man would have raped me… Or done something much more horrible than that… Something else that I’m even afraid to think about.
I still remember how that horrible man started to accost me. I remember how I was trying to resist so hard. How I was resisting, screaming, begging for help… But he was much stronger than me, a little, unprotected girl, who nobody could protect… And when I finally realized he was obsessed with me and wanted to do terrible things against my wish, I started screaming much louder. I was trying to get his hands off me as hard as possible. Crying… Begging of letting go… Promising to keep silent… But he was much stronger, holding me tight and touching all the possible areas of my body… Trying to kiss me… Undressing me by force… It was terribly disgusting! And the worst thing was that there was nobody to protect me. Right now, I’m writing about it and still feel the disgust… It’s been almost twenty years, but nothing has changed… I mean I still can’t forget the disgust I felt when I was next to that man.
But at some moment, I realized it couldn’t be happening anymore… I needed to get out of his hands in any way and run… Run as far as possible… So… After many attempts to resist that man, I took a glass vase… It was the first thing I had near me. And then… I hit that man on the head. The vase was instantly broken into little pieces. Almost nothing left from it… The moment of the hit happened to me like in a daze… I can barely remember how I did that… But some adrenaline in my blood made me not give up… Some instinct of self-preservation worked…
But I clearly remember the moment that man sharply let me go and fell down on the floor dead. He was all in blood… I still remember his eyes… They were wide open but glassy and… Dead… And his head… It was all in blood! There was very much blood on the floor… It was a horrible scene… I never saw as much blood as I saw then! Gosh… I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs from the horror and fear that got obsessed with me.
At that moment, I got terribly scared. I was terribly afraid I had actually killed him. Who would like to become a killer? Especially, if you did not want to do it on purpose! I was praying to everyone when I came to him and started checking his pulse. But, to my horror, I did not feel it. No matter how many times I tried to do it in various areas. And then I got horrified when realizing he was dead. There was no chance to save him! He was dead… Killed by me… Me, Alicia Thompson…
I couldn’t believe I became a killer against my wish. I didn’t have a wish to kill him… Yes, that man accosted me and wanted to rape me, but I wasn’t gonna kill him. I swear, I wanted to kill myself at that moment. I was seriously worried about my life and what would happen to me. Because I understood that I could’ve gone to prison and gotten quite a hard sentence. I could’ve left prison when being an old woman, for who living would not have meaning.
But I got so frightened of being in prison that I came up with nothing but to try to run away. Yes, yes, I did really decide to run! Run where my eyes were looking. Run in what I wore after the rape attempt. And then I couldn’t find the courage to confess what I did and pay for that for a long time. I was just a coward… Fear made me take a chance to avoid punishment for the murder of the man, and I succumbed to it.
So… I just took my stuff and ran away. But I didn’t think of escaping the clues because I was in a condition when I could barely think… I was lucky I ran away so that nobody managed to find me. I was lucky that I ran away from the place that I could’ve left when being dead. In the worst case, I would have been put in prison much earlier… Because they wouldn’t have let me stay free after killing that man…
The days I was hiding from justice were terrible: I was dreaming nightmares at night, I saw that bloody head and his angry face… It seems like I got through all of that again… I woke up with a cold sweat and cried a lot. I had never felt so bad before. I didn’t feel so terrible even when I found out about the death of my younger sister and went to the funeral.
All that time, I was suffering from remorse. My inside voice was swearing at me because I wanted to hide with the hope that it would be easily forgotten. I literally lost sleep and appetite… Lost much weight… Started to suffer from panic attacks… And nightmares literally drove me crazy. Everything reminded me of the fact that I became a killer. Wherever I went, I always saw the bloody face of that man before my eyes. And after the case of Ines, I saw her in my nightmares for a long time. She died immediately and couldn’t wait for the doctors to come. Some people called me the killer and told me to go to prison. If the situation was different, I could’ve become the killer of two people. My God… I shake when I just think that it could’ve happened.
After killing Gilbert, I was terribly ashamed of it… My family… The family of the late one… God, who I truly believe in… And who still punishes me for that terrible sin… I have not gotten His forgiveness… I felt so bad that I sometimes thought of killing myself. Because living with such a sin seemed to be an unreal test. I wanted God to choose my fate and send me to hell, where all the bad people are burning… I really almost did that. I prepared a pack of strong sleeping pills, which I literally couldn’t wean myself away from. I was ready to take all the tablets… But something stopped me at the last moment… I don’t know what… But I suddenly realized my time of death did not come yet… God was holding my hand and not letting me commit self-murder or punish me.”
Alas, I had nobody to support me… Because I was hiding from everybody… But if my parents, who were alive, had known what I did, they would’ve rejected me as a daughter… Because they would have been ashamed of being the father and mother of the one, who killed the man… And how ashamed my younger sister Elizabeth and my brother-in-law Jackson, who had died some time before I became a killer, would’ve been… They wouldn’t have spoken to me if they had been alive…
But some time later, the police got me arrested… No, they didn’t catch me… I just couldn’t endure that burden, came to the police station and claimed that I killed the man. Yes, I gave up to the police, making a clear confession. I absolutely honestly told the investigator everything that happened. And I got arrested at once.
I had had to be in prison for three hellish months before the trial started to give me a sentence. But those months seemed to be forever. The condition was terrible, the food was disgusting, and my cellmates weren’t leaving me alone… And I was often questioned and met with Sebastian, a lawyer the police gave me to get protection. And I also had to meet the family of the dead man, and they cursed me and told me many bad things.
It all got me very exhausted… I lost probably half of my weight. Because of sharply losing weight, Due to the weight loss, I looked like a skeleton encased in my skin. Somehow in childhood, boys gave me the nickname ‘Slim Dolly’ because I was very skinny… But during the trial, I looked so horrible that I was afraid of myself… Moreover, my organism got so weak that I often got ill. I could easily get a cold even because of the light, cold wind. But I used to have strong health, and I never knew what the cold was.
And three months later, the trial that would’ve decided my fate started. I will never forget those angry faces of that man’s family members, among whom there was Eleanor Woodham, the woman, who told me to pay her money for therapy for her friend. She was his daughter. And she wanted to punish me for killing her father. As she thought, on purpose. But it’s not true, and I honestly said that.
But despite my honesty, the family of that man wished for me to burn down in hell and literally told the judge to give me a life sentence. And their lawyer, Adrian, was agreeing with them, adding fuel to the fire, and told the judge so many terrible things that I don’t even want to think about it. They made me literally the worst woman in the world. Probably, if it had been possible, they would have gotten the death penalty for me… And they would have been happy if they had been someone kill me…
The trial process lasted for one or two months. And then the long-awaited day came… The day I shall never forget. November 13th, 1998… The judge decided that I killed the man accidentally and was protecting myself. So, they found me not guilty of that crime. That was why I thanked my lawyer, Sebastian, who did his best to save me from prison… The family of the dead man was overwhelmed by that sentence and started cursing not only me but also the judge, a jury, and my lawyer… Because the killer must have gotten a life sentence, but they let me go… But the decision was made and was out of the discussion…
So, I was set free in the trial room. They dropped off the charge on the murder, and the case was officially closed. And that was how I avoided a sentence and did not go to prison for twenty or thirty years. Thank God, the judge was an understanding person and accepted the fact that I killed Gilbert when protecting myself. And it wasn’t a planned murder… I did everything my lawyer told me, and it worked well.
But even if it’s been almost twenty years since the sentence was announced, I have not gotten better. I still get tortured with remorse. I still see nightmares at times, in which I see the man, who died because of me. Or his relatives, who cursed me and wished me to die… That’s why I often wake up at night in a cold sweat and can barely calm down and sleep well…
Even now, while I’m writing about it now, I have tears in my eyes. I’m calling the memories of that awful day with a shake, and would give much to erase them from my memory. But sadly, I clearly remember that time. Much better than the funeral of my own sister and her husband. I’d wish nobody could get through the horror that I had to experience when I was a stupid young girl, who naively thought she’d easily get what she wanted but didn’t know everything had its cost. I didn’t know people would have to pay for everything.”
Raquelle stops reading because she is not able to keep doing this. The girl closes the notebook with a short sigh to the right place, as if nobody touched it. And then the brunette, being shocked and white from horror, leaves Alicia’s room and closes the door.
It’s impossible to believe what she found out from the personal diary of her aunt, on pages of which she confessed she murdered the man. When she went to find out Alicia’s secret, Raquelle was ready for almost everything. But she did not expect that twist.
“My God…” Raquelle pronounces in a quiet, shaking voice, breathing heavily enough and understanding how fast her heart is beating while her eyes are wide open and looking into the distance. “I can’t believe it… I can’t… No…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“No, it can’t be the truth…” Raquelle refuses to believe. “I don’t believe… Aunt… My beloved auntie Alicia… She… She… She is a killer! My aunt killed the man… And almost went to prison.”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“Aunt Alicia is a killer!” Raquelle pronounces a little louder. “Killer! My God… I can’t believe it… It’s a lie… She couldn’t do that. That woman is too kind and decent… It’s… It’s something incomparable… Incomparable…”
Raquelle puts her hands on her forehead, breathing heavily enough, while her dumbfounded eyes are running from one side to another.
“So…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “Is this a secret of her? The secret she’s hiding from me so hard? Is this really the reason for all the problems?”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“The note said there was a certain Eleanor Woodham on the trial….” Raquelle calls the memories. “The woman, who wanted to get a lot of money for her suffered friend from Aunt… She was the daughter of the one to be murdered… The daughter of Gilbert Woodham.”
Raquelle thinks for two seconds.
“So…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “He was killed? Killed by my aunt? Is he the one she was writing on the pages of her diary?”
Raquelle opens her mouth slightly.
“That’s why that woman is chasing Aunt…” Raquelle concludes. “Eleanor can’t take the fact that Aunt Alicia killed her father but was found non-guilty. That’s why she wanna take revenge. She wanna have her own trial and make her pay for what happened.
Raquelle leans on the wall with her back and runs her hands through her hair.
“If everything written in the diary is true, I can believe it,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “I can understand why that woman did all of that.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“As I thought, the case wasn’t about only her wish to make her pay the money,” Raquelle concludes. “Which she doesn’t probably need at all.”
Raquelle closes her closed mouth with her hand.
“So, it happens that Aunt Alicia has said nothing to anyone and has been hiding the fact that she killed the man at a young age,” Raquelle frowns slightly. “I’ve personally never heard her or Grandfather Frederick saying those things. And I wouldn’t have thought that the woman would do something like that.”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“But I can understand why she was silent,” Raquelle adds. “She was afraid she would be judged by everyone…”
Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“That note said Grandfather Timothy and Grandmother Tiffany also knew nothing, and Mom and Dad already died,” Raquelle calls the memories. “But they wouldn’t have forgiven her if they’d known she became a killer. Well… Who knows… Maybe, it would’ve been otherwise. Maybe, at least one of them would’ve believed her and defended her from attacks by the Woodhams.”
Raquelle puts her hand on the heart, which is beating much faster than usual.
“But I don’t understand, how could they give her a job without problems?” Raquelle wonders. “I don’t know much about it, but for employers, the fact that of murdering someone would become a reason to have a better look at the one to be on trial somehow. Even if they are found non-guilty…”
Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Did she lie to them and say she had no problems with the law when wishing to get a job at the university?” Raquelle asks. “Or no? I’m not sure if she got that job so easily and was allowed to read lectures to students.”
Raquelle glances aside.
“But I don’t exclude that Aunt could start from the worst job and earn very little money before she became a teacher at the university,” Raquelle assumes. “She definitely had to win the trust of people and prove that they could trust her.”
Raquelle shakes her head sharply two seconds later.
“No, no, why did I say it?” Raquelle jabs quietly. “No, Raquelle, stop! Don’t say these things! It’s all a lie! My aunt has always been a kind person. She couldn’t do that!”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“My aunt Alicia is not a killer!” Raquelle exclaims in despair. “Not a killer! I do refuse to believe it… I don’t believe such a religious woman would commit murder! Never! Aunt does know it’s a sin. She knows it’s terrible! She does…”
Raquelle understands that she starts shaking slightly from excitement, and tears of despair show up in her eyes.
“Gosh…” Raquelle pronounces in a strongly shaking voice. “What happened to me is… It’s a stupid thing… The murder committed by Aunt and the lie Terrence MacClife told everyone about me are just like heaven and earth! I could get my reputation back, but it would never be possible to bring someone dead to life. Nothing would help you: neither love nor money.”
Raquelle shakes her head, not even trying to hold tears down while they are slowly rolling down her cheeks.
“I shouldn't have been worried and pulled my hair out because of being insulted and humiliated,” Raquelle adds. “I thought my life was over! I would be able to fix nothing…”
Raquelle presses herself to the wall much tighter and sniffs quietly.
“MacClife isn’t worth my tears!” Raquelle says confidently. “He is not worth the fact that I was worried for so long.”
Raquelle grabs her throat with her hand.
“Grandpa was absolutely right…” Raquelle says confidently. “I was worried for nothing… I could get my kind name back and sue that bastard for slandering me! Make him pay for everything he's done to me. But my aunt’s problems are much worse than my own ones.”
Raquelle sighs quietly.
“She will never make amends for what she did,” Raquelle adds. “Never. Even if it was done against her wish… Even if twenty more years are gone. It can’t be forgotten.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“God, how many efforts my aunt had to apply to pretend that she does not feel bad,” Raquelle gets horrified. “What does she have to get through to seem happy and positive? My God…”
Raquelle shakes her head, closing her mouth with her hand.
“All this time, she’s been hiding her feelings and never shown she is suffering from remorse deep inside,” Raquelle notices with sadness in her eyes. “She is worried because she did what she didn’t want to do.”
Raquelle sniffs quietly.
“Looking at her, I would never think she would’ve had to get through that…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “I would never say she killed a man somehow and was in prison for three months. Aunt Alicia knew how to hide her emotions. I could understand that something wasn’t wrong with her just because she felt sad or something like that. Yes, I saw that something made her worried, but I never thought everything would be so hard…”
Raquelle closes her face with both hands for a few seconds, not being able to stop crying bitterly.
“Gosh…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “How I wish it was not the truth. I wish that was not a lie… I don’t wanna believe my relative killed someone. I don’t want!”
Raquelle cries for some time, standing not far from Alicia’s room. And then she decides to turn on her computer and try to find at least something about the murder on the Internet. Yes, the girl understands there is a very small chance to find something. But she does have it… Because Alicia used to be a designer, who was known in some circles, and it means her life could be discussed in the media and made public, maybe, not for everyone, but some people.
Wiping tears off under her eyes and sniffing quietly, Raquelle quickly goes to her room and sits on the writing table, turning on the laptop she brought here from New York alongside her stuff. When it is turned on one or two minutes later, the girl types the user password, opens a browser, starts typing some phrases in a search box, and examines the search results.
She finds some information about the murder that happened a long time ago for quite a long time, closely checking random sites and viewing some photos sites show her when searching for something related to the names of Alicia Thompson and Eleanor Woodham. And some time later, trying to do it gives her results: Raquelle finds an archived article from May 13th, 1998 on a not very popular site on the Internet, in which they tell about a similar murder of a man, the name of whom was also Gilbert Woodham.
“Some sources are telling sad news: the dead body of Gilbert Woodham, the owner of the network of clothes shops ‘The Woodham Shop’ was found yesterday. The man was supposedly killed at his own house. The corpse was found by one of the women working as a servant. As the police said, the body of the dead man was all in blood, and his head was totally broken.
As the source says, pieces of a glassy vase were lying near the corpse, which, in the police’s opinion, became a murder weapon. Forensic investigators are checking these pieces of the vase for fingerprints to confirm or deny this version, and the police staff members are questioning those, who contacted the dead man lately. Moreover, there is a possible reason for the death of Mr. Woodham: a fatal hit on his head that led to brain injury, which eventually killed the businessman.
The relatives of the dead Gilbert Woodham are deeply shocked and saddened by this event. They are getting words of condolences from their friends, relatives, and familiar people, and people are leaving flowers near their shops. Due to the death of the owner, a special wall with photos of the dead and a list of his merits, to which anyone can come, is open in every single one. The tragedy became a shock for everyone and those, who knew that man.
The family of the dead is currently getting ready for Gilbert's funeral. And, as one member of the Woodham family says, it will be closed. Only relatives and closest friends and familiars will be allowed to come…” a part of the article on the Internet says.
A few minutes later, Raquelle finds one more article on the same site that is related to the one she read some time ago.
“A few days ago, we got the news that Gilbert Woodham, the famous businessman, and owner of the network of clothes shops ‘The Woodham Shop’. We remind you that he was found dead in his own house by one of his servants. Some time ago, pathologists confirmed the possible reason for death that the police had and claimed the businessman died from a brain injury gotten after a strong hit on the head.
As the source, which is close to the family of the late one, says, yesterday, the funerals of this man took place, and only the closest friends and relatives of Gilbert were there. He was buried in one of the cemeteries in London. But the Woodhams refused to say where due to their wish to keep it a secret. But they noticed that ‘this place is very far from the loud city, and such a light man like Gilbert would feel good there’.
And today, the same source got some details about the murder of Mr. Woodham. There are feminine fingerprints on the vase that was found at the crime scene. It’s not confirmed information, but they supposedly belong to Alicia Thompson, a woman at the age of about thirty. We have the information that she was well familiar with that man and often met him. Ms. Thompson used to be a designer in some circles, but she had had to quit her career some time before the death of Mr. Woodham for some reason.
The Woodhams claimed that she was one of the suspects in the man’s death and said that the woman did not have a very good relationship with the dead man some time before his death. And they do not doubt that Alicia could kill the man for money or revenge for something. The police took a note of it and are now trying to find and question her. But nobody can say where she is because the police staff members cannot catch a track of the possible killer of the famous London businessman…” the second article on the Internet says.
The next article Raquelle finds on the Internet some time later makes the situation much clearer and confirms her aunt Alicia is really guilty of the death of the man named Gilbert Woodham, who she heard about today in the morning and yesterday during a talk with Amelia:
“Our site found out that the killer of the businessman and owner of the network of clothes shops ‘The Woodham Shop’ named Gilbert Woodham, who died on May, 12th after the brain damage gotten after a hit on the head, has been found. The source that is close to the Woodhams, has confirmed that it was Alicia Thompson, 31, who used to be a designer, who was famous in some circles and supposed to have a good career but had to quit it. Some time ago, Thompson’s representative claimed that she sadly had to say farewell to the fashion world to focus on more important things in her life.
And two days ago, Alicia confessed that she was guilty of the murder of Gilbert Woodham by coming to one of the police stations, making a clear confession, and told Martin Barrett, the investigator that was investigating the case of the murder of Mr. Woodham, that she did that and told the motives for that. As the young woman said, she killed Gilbert because he tried to rape her, was obsessed with her, touched her, kissed all the areas on her body, and tried to undress her by force. She says the fear of being raped forced her to take the first thing she would have found and hit the man on the head. But Alicia was not going to kill that man on purpose.
However, Eleanor Woodham, the only daughter of the dead Gilbert, denies this information. She says her father was the kindest man, and Woodham could not do anything like that. Caroline Robinson, an ex-wife of Gilbert, her parents, Cecilia and Randolph Robinson, the younger and older sisters of the late man, Eveline, and Yolanda Woodham, and his nephew Stephan Woodham say all the same things.
Nevertheless, the police say they will be closely checking this information and keep questioning the members of the family of the dead businessman, all his closest people, and those, whom he had contacted some time before he died. At the moment, Alicia, who confessed that she murdered him, has been put in prison. Her lawyer is now working on this case, who is going to protect that woman during a trial that is supposed to take place at the nearest time. Alicia Thompson is going to either get a sentence or be found not guilty.
However, the members of the police staff say that a full confession might make a sentence shorter or actually help her become non-guilty of the murder of Gilbert Woodham…” the third article on the Internet says.
Next, Raquelle finds a few more articles, which say Alicia has really been found non-guilty, and the members of Gilbert’s family were angry because of that turn of events and even tried to appeal against the sentence and wanted the judge to be suspended from work because they found her aunt non-guilty. But then she stops reading them, sharply closes her laptop, and thinks about something for two seconds.
“My gosh…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “So, it’s all the truth… The reason why Eleanor is chasing Aunt has been confirmed. She’s trying to take revenge on her for the death of Gilbert Woodham! For the death of her father, whom she killed accidentally.”
Raquelle frowns slightly.
“As it says the murder and the trial took place in 1998, it means it’s been almost twenty years since that time,” Raquelle quickly counts. “To be clear, it’s been sixteen years. Eleanor has not been able to accept the death of her father and has wanted to take revenge on the killer for sixteen years. She wants to make my aunt pay for what she did.”
Raquelle tightly locks her finger, leaning on the table with her elbows.
“But now everything fits well,” Raquelle concludes. “It looks like a better reason why Eleanor Woodham is chasing Aunt. The wish to get money out of her is not to blame. The murder of Gilbert explains it all. That woman probably cares about the money much less. She’s obsessed with revenge. So, that’s why her people were in this apartment. They threatened my aunt and probably warned her about having to pay for what she did. Knowing that story has lasted for sixteen years…”
Raquelle thinks about what she found out for a few seconds, looking into the distance.
“Yeah, but I don’t understand, how could my aunt be found not guilty?” Raquelle wonders, frowning slightly. “The Woodhams are one of the most powerful families in all of England. Amelia, Aunt Alicia, and even Lexi said so. Having such great contacts, those people could’ve brought Aunt to prison for many years. So, why didn’t it happen? How could they let it happen?”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“Or did they think she would’ve gotten a sentence anyway?” Raquelle assumes. “If you killed someone, you must pay for that! Those people could hardly assume everything would happen otherwise, and Aunt made the judge sure she was innocent. It’s clear Aunt got a good lawyer, who didn’t try to drown her and actually tried to save her.”
Raquelle leans back in the chair.
“Well, if the judge couldn’t punish Aunt and found her non-guilty, Eleanor Woodham herself decided to do it…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “And, maybe, not bring her to prison, but at least make her life much worse… Or even kill her… And I’m more than sure that woman wouldn’t stop not for anything. If Eleanor is threatening my aunt, she’s ready to do anything to take revenge. Anything…”
Raquelle frowns much more strongly, stroking her chin.
“I guess Eleanor didn’t really know that her close friend almost died after getting hit by the car of the woman, who killed her father,” Raquelle assumes. “As far as I remember, some of her familiar policemen told her about it. Or maybe, she was even recognized by the witnesses for the way she hit Ines… I think Eleanor would've hardly recognized my aunt because she is now Alicia Middleton. Not Alicia Thompson. I don’t know why she changed her surname: either she was married, or she just wanna become a different person… So, before meeting her, Eleanor Woodham would’ve hardly guessed she had a deal with the killer of her father. But when she realized it, she decided to take revenge.”
Raquelle gets so busy reflecting on the situation that she does not notice how Alicia returns home some time later. The girl understands it when she hears the loud voice of her aunt from the living room:
“Hey, is somebody home? Raquelle, are you home? Lexi? Girls! Are you here?”
Alicia’s voice instantly makes Raquelle wake up. The girl decides to pretend she knows nothing about her aunt’s secret and tries to act like she did not have to find out that her close relative killed the man some time ago.
Raquelle shuts down her computer, sighs deeply, gets up from the table, quickly puts herself in order not to look like she was crying, and wipes off the tears she has under her eyes. The girl waits for a while before she leaves her room, closes the door, and goes to the living room, where Alicia is coming after she washes her hands. By the way, the woman, who took her outer clothes and shoes, looks amazingly quiet, as if nobody called and threatened her.
However, Raquelle also pretends that everything is alright and smiles amicably when, going to the living room, lets her know that she did not leave.
“I’m here, Aunt Alicia!”
“Raquelle?” Alicia pronounces amazingly, turns to Raquelle, and smiles shyly at her. “Oh, sweetie, you’re home…”
“Hi, Auntie,” Raquelle greets softly.
“Hi. I thought you were not here.”
“I just came back from a shop.”
“You were at a shop?”
“Yup. I bought something from food. We didn’t almost have anything.”
“Ah, yeah…” Alicia moves her eyes aside for a second. “I couldn’t find time to go to a shop…”
“That’s why I decided to go,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Thanks a lot for doing this. My head is busy with different things…”
“I bought a little bit of everything… What we usually eat.”
“And where’s everything?”
“I’ve already put everything in cups and the refrigerator.”
“Alright, I shall look at what you bought.”
Raquelle says nothing and smiles shyly, fixing slightly her hair gathered in a ponytail, and closely looks at Alicia, who does not show that something happened to her and is behaving quietly.
“Yeah, Aunt, where you have been?” Raquelle asks. “When I went to your home, I didn’t see you here. And I didn’t find any notes from you.”
“Sorry, I forgot to write it,” Alicia apologizes shyly. “I was rushing to leave and forgot I should’ve better warned you.”
“Did you go to have a walk?”
“No, I went to the university,” Alicia replies confidently.
“The university? The one you’re working at?”
“Yeah…”
“They asked you to work?”
“Not quite.”
“But why?”
“You know, honey…” Alicia thinks for two seconds. “The case is that I’ve gotten very tired lately. And… I went to the university to… To take a long vacation.”
“Vacation?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Yes. For one month so far. And then I will see.”
“But…”
“I wanna have some rest from students and lecturers of other teachers.”
“You’ve always said you get on well with your colleagues.”
“Of course, I do. But it doesn’t mean I don’t argue and confront them.”
“And…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly. “What are you going to do? For one month?”
“Just stay home,” Alicia shrugs. “Try to get enough sleep and have a good rest. I do need it.”
“Did they let you have a vacation for such a long time without problems?”
“Every year, I have the right to take a vacation two times. The first time I did it happened at the beginning of the year, and I did it now again.”
“Would you go abroad?”
“No, this year, I am not able to go anywhere. I don’t need enough money. But next year, I could think about it.”
“Erm… So… If you want it… I can’t mind it.”
“I think this vacation would be good for me,” Alicia smiles shyly. “I would get enough sleep, do some homework…”
“Yeah?”
“You know how much I need to do at my home! I always lack time for homework. But I need to do it.”
“Alright, I got it.”
“Don’t look at me so scarily, sunshine. I just got a vacation from my work and would stay home for a while.”
“Yes, yes, I know…”
“So, I’m going to have an opportunity to spend much more time with you.”
“Yeah?”
“I did promise to walk with you in the city, just like we did in old times. So, I’m going to take you with me.”
“Would be great,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Christmas is coming soon. So, you and I will start getting ready for that. Decorate a tree and my apartment, think of gifts… Go to shops and see what they are selling now.”
“Yeah… You’re right…”
“I’m suggesting you and I forget about any problems and spend a good time together,” Alicia suggests cheerfully.
“Forgot about any problems?”
“Yes, my sweetie. Don’t think of bad things and worry.” Alicia, squinting slightly, starts looking at Raquelle closely. “You look quite tired. I would even say, a little scared.”
“Me?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Scared?”
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“Erm, yes, I’m okay,” Raquelle replies a little hesitantly, while her eyes are running from one side to another, and she is a little tense.
“Don’t you wanna say anything? Maybe, something makes you worried?”
“No, Aunt, nothing makes me worried.”
“But you look as if you’ve seen a ghost or robber.”
“No, why do you think so?” Raquelle cracks a smile. “Nothing happened…”
“You know well that you can tell me anything,” Alicia softly recalls.
“It’s not a secret to you that I’m worried only about the scandal of the slander. Because I might never get my kind name back.”
“Ah, Raquelle, my sweetie…” Alicia comes to Raquelle with a slight smile and caresses her shoulder softly. “I’m begging you, don’t torture yourself because of that person. They are not worth your tears.”
“But everyone despises me because of them,” Raquelle recalls with sadness in her eyes.
“Everything is fixable in your case. You can get your kind name back if you really want it. And everyone will understand that you’re guilty of nothing, early or late.”
“Yeah, I know… But…”
“Don’t think about it, my sunshine. Better have a good rest… Do something interesting.”
“Believe me, now I feel much better than I did some time ago.”
“But you’ve had very little sleep since you came here. You often wake up in the early morning and don’t wanna sleep a little longer.”
“You know that I often see nightmares, in which I see the one to possibly blame for all my problems. That’s why I can’t sleep.”
“Because you think of bad things too much.”
“Yeah, I know, Auntie…” Raquelle nods. “Moreover, there is a problem with you.”
“Honey…”
“Until that woman leaves you alone, I can’t calm down.”
“Listen, Raquelle…”
“I’m trying to help you so hard.” Raquelle takes Alicia’s hand with sadness in her eyes and grips it slightly. “But now I can do nothing now. Because the situation is very hard… And… It seems like it’s hopeless to some extent.”
“I know, Raquelle, I do…” Alicia stutters, starting to often move her eyes aside and getting very tense and insecure.
“But don’t worry, Aunt. Early or late, we’ll surely solve this problem. Someday, Eleanor Woodham will leave you alone and no longer terrify you.”
“You know, my sweetie, I think you shouldn’t meddle in my problems…”
“Shouldn't meddle?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “But why?”
“My business doesn't have to do with you. I’m the only one to deal with them. And you should think of your life and do your business.”
“But, Auntie, I did promise to help you!”
“Forget it, Raquelle.”
“How can I forget it if I know that woman is chasing you?”
“Don’t think about it, my sunshine. Enjoy the holiday and have a rest. You came here to have a rest and forget about your problems. So, come to yourself and don’t think of bad things. You’ve got all the possibilities for that.”
“I know, Auntie, but…”
“Moreover, Christmas will come in a few days. You and I will start getting ready for that and will celebrate it together. Maybe, your grandfather would love to come here, as well, if he had the opportunity to do it. And we would celebrate this wonderful holiday together. For the first time in a few years.”
“No, Aunt!” Raquelle cuts off sharply. “I promised you that I would help you solve your problem, and I will surely do!”
“Don’t do it, honey. I can do it on my own.”
“I know there’s no way to solve this problem. But I promise we will find it.”
“You shouldn't meddle in a case that doesn’t have to do with you. Eleanor is threatening only me, but there was no talk about you.”
“You’re my very close person. I can’t stay indifferent when something bad is happening to you.”
“Aw, Raquelle…” Alicia smiles a little falsely. “I do know well you’re my headstrong girl and always get everything in any way. But I don’t want you to spend your time solving my problems.”
“But I do want to spend it!”
“Don’t do. You’ve got too many problems of yours. And I think you should focus on solving them. And I shall solve my problems on my own. You don’t have to do with them and shouldn’t meddle in it… It’s wrong…”
“Don’t worry about me, Aunt,” Raquelle pronounces confidently with a slight smile. “Even if I’ve got many problems of mine, it can’t stop me from solving yours.”
“Raquelle…”
“I’m starting to understand that I was worried about nothing. I understand your problems are much more serious than mine. Sometimes a person is too worried about their own trouble, forgetting that there is someone in this world, who suffers much more than them and has lost any hope of making their life much better.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I will surely solve this problem, and Eleanor will leave me alone.”
“Now I understand that Grandfather was absolutely right. He’s told me many times that I could always try to get my kind name back and let people know they believed the lie. And I can sue MacClife and tell him to give me moral damage. I can do this. And I will surely work on it when it’s a good time.”
“Think about it, then…” Alicia advises softly. “But at first, have a good rest and get enough energy. And then you will start thinking about what to do to that man.”
“I already know what to do.”
“So, if you’re ready to do it now, you can return to America and do what you want.”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Return to America?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to leave this place? Are you sick of me? Don’t you want me to live with you anymore?”
“Of course, no, sunshine!” Alicia protests. “Come on! How could you say that?”
“But you want me to leave.”
“I mean, you can do this if you’re ready. If you are not, stay here as long as you want.”
“Aunt Alicia…” Raquelle frowns slightly, thinking Alicia wants to make her sure to return to the USA on purpose.
“But I think the sooner you fix the situation, the better it will be. Don’t save this thing for later if you don’t want people to believe the anonym.”
“As if you want me to leave as soon as possible.”
“No, Raquelle, I’m not kicking you out.”
“But why did you start talking about it?”
“I just wanna say you would have to solve this problem early or late.”
“It goes without saying, I will solve it when it’s time.”
“Yes, it might be very hard, but if you want to get the trust of your fans and your kind name, you should do it as soon as possible.”
“And what about you?” Raquelle wonders. “What are you going to do?”
“I will do something. Don’t worry about me.”
“But I really want to help you. I can’t be quiet, knowing there is a thing that makes you worried!”
“It’s my problem, which I should solve by myself.”
“I swear, Aunt, if I have at least a little chance to end this story, I will surely use it. It all won’t be happening forever, I promise.”
“Ah, Raquelle…” Alicia sighs with sadness in her eyes and softly caresses Raquelle’s cheek. “Who made you such a headstrong girl? Tell me, please!”
“I just want you to be alright,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Of course, your mother was headstrong, as well, and it was impossible to change her mind. But you’ve literally become more headstrong than she was.”
Raquelle says nothing and just laughs shyly. And then she takes Alicia in an amicable hug, which the woman accepts with pleasure, thinking about something bad with anxiety in her soul.
“It’s gonna be fine, I promise you,” Raquelle promises confidently, steps back from Alicia, and softly takes her hands with a slight smile. “Just believe in me, and I shall do my best to help you.”
“Don’t do it, my happiness,” Alicia smiles falsely. “Don’t meddle in a case that you don’t have to do with. God shall not let Eleanor do something to you if she knows you are trying to help me somehow.”
“Don’t worry, I can stand up for me. And for your best, I would sacrifice anything. Anything just to know you’re fine.”
Alicia says nothing and just sighs heavily.
“Okay, I shall go to take a bath and read a little,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “We will talk a little later…”
Raquelle turns around and goes to her room with a quick step, thinking about what she heard from her aunt. After watching the girl questioningly, Alicia frowns slightly and asks herself why her niece is behaving so strangely.
“She’s kind of strange,” Alicia notices quietly and thoughtfully, stroking her chin. “What has bitten her? She is acting like she knows something I don’t.”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“Gosh, I’m so worried that she wanna solve my problems so hard,” Alicia confesses and puts her hand on her heart. “Why doesn’t my girl wanna listen to me? Why doesn’t she wanna do what I tell her?”
Alicia thinks about something for a few seconds, slowly comes to the window, and looks at the one with sadness in her eyes, embracing herself with her arms.
“Anyway, I should stop her from meddling in my business in any way,” Alicia says under her nose. “If she finds out the terrible truth that I’ve had to hide for so many years, it’s gonna be hard for me to imagine what would happen.”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“God shall not let my girl know what kind of things her aunt did in the past,” Alicia adds in a little shaking voice. “Raquelle is gonna be ashamed of me if she knows I killed the man and almost went to prison sixteen years ago. I was madly ashamed when telling her about the situation with Ines. But if she knows about Gilbert, I will be afraid to look into her eyes.”
Alicia shakes her head while her eyes are running from one side to another, and she thinks about one of the worst days in her life. When one little, innocent girl suffered because of her.
***
The end of the 80s.
The nineteen-year-old girl named Alicia is now sitting in her not very expensive car with good enough technical characteristics. She is driving at a high enough speed and aiming to bring everything that is lying in a big carton box placed in the backseat to someone as soon as possible. She understands that she is too late, but she is still too far from the final destination.
At first, her way gets on the literally free road that is lighted with dim lights in the evening time. The only thing that can save everyone in this situation are car headlights that can help them see something that is far from here. While driving, the girl is a little nervous because she has recently passed the exams for a driver’s license and received her own automobile as a gift from her parents, who love her and her younger sister Elizabeth so much and are ready to make any wish of their beloved daughters.
Some time later, Alicia leaves the poorly lighted territory and reaches the city, where there are much more cars. She manages to notice how beautiful this place is in the evening time when colorful lights are working on the buildings, and the neon signatures can be seen at a distance of one mile away in case you have good vision. Big crowns of people rush somewhere to do their business and do not pay attention to what’s happening around them. Since the temperature has been normal enough for fall, everybody is wearing warm coats, cloaks, and knitted sweaters and often keeps their hands in their pockets in the hope of warming them a little.
Alicia would be very happy to leave her car somewhere and walk slowly on the square. There are so many different shops where they sell anything you want. To sit on a bench and breathe in fresh air. Or to just go to a small café and order a cup of strong coffee with sugar and a light dessert. To sit in the quiet corner at the table and please herself a little, forgetting about her diet and letting herself relax. But sadly, the girl cannot let herself do it. She is very late now. She looks at the watch that she is wearing on her hand literally every second and prays that she finds the way not to let down the one, with whom she should have a very important meeting.
It makes Alicia much more nervous. The hands are squeezing the steering wheel, shaking slightly and getting sweaty, and it’s getting harder to breathe. This condition is the reason why she wants to stop somewhere and calm down a little before she can continue her way again. But she does not do it and literally makes herself put herself together, so the trip does not give her any trouble.
In order not to spend time in absolute silence, Alicia decides to amuse herself a little and turn on the radio to find a station with good tunes. The girl presses the buttons again and again with her thin fingers, which have a careful manicure. At first, she watches the road and what’s happening around her, but at some moment, she gets much more interested in the information on the screen. Though, the young beauty keeps holding the steering wheel with one hand and pressing on the gas pedal with her foot strongly enough. But she does not manage to find a favorite song or a good radio station where they would play some nice music. However, the girl does not lose hope and does not give up on trying to find something good that will not let her spend time in silence.
Alicia gets so busy searching for the radio station that she does not notice that she gets close to the traffic light that is about to turn from green to light. While the others drivers see it and start to slow down earlier, the girl does not even think about watching the road. People standing on the pedestrian crossing start to get ready to cross the road, hardly thinking that something bad might happen. Though, many of those, by whom she goes, see the red automobile drive at full speed and is kind of going to go by quickly when it’s the red with hope that nothing will happen.
So, it’s finally green for the pedestrians, and everybody starts crossing the road with a quick step, trying not to hesitate. While all the drivers stop behind a certain line that they are not allowed to cross and are waiting for them to be able to continue their way. A bigger part of people go on different sides to do their business, even if much more folks come here by this moment. Including the little girl with light brown hair that is brushed in a small tail, who is wearing a long fall coat and dark pants. She reached the pedestrian crossing on her scooter, but she decided to carry it with her when she ended up in front of it. At first sight, this blue-eyed, sympathetic girl is about ten or eleven. She looks around very closely and steps on the crosswalk after she makes sure that it’s safe, knowing well about such easy things, which she was probably taught by her parents.
But when she starts crossing the road, the red automobile shows up from nowhere, driving at high speed straightly and definitely not going to stop. The little girl takes almost half of the way quietly before some adult people see that trouble is about to happen and try to warn her about it. A certain man even tries to run to her and takes her aside by force. She clearly hears someone calling her, but she only looks at the car that is getting closer to her. She barely sees Alicia, who has been trying to find a radio station. At the last moment, the girl moves her eyes to the road and shouts loudly when the child ends up on the windshield with widely open eyes and a feeling that her heart stops. When the scooter gets thrown up, aside, and to the asphalt.
Alicia gets literally frozen with horror, while the automobile drives the little girl on the windshield for a few meters. There are strong dents and tracks of blood on it after she hits her head strongly against it and falls on it with her full weight. Then she automatically presses the gas pedal as strongly as possible. The car stops sharply at some moment, and the wheels make a disgusting, loud squeak, which can be heard by people far from here.
The seemingly dead body of the girl falls off the hood and, getting absolutely soft, falls to the asphalt. She is lying in an unnatural pose, does not make any sounds, and does not try to move even her fingers. All the witnesses to this event get immediately obsessed with a horror that freezes them inside. People starts gasping loudly, oohing, grabbing their heads, and whispering about something with their companions as they look closely at the unconscious victim with their widely open eyes. And Alicia’s whose body gets kind of paralyzed because of the panic that she feels at this moment. The girl literally stops blinking and cannot make at least one deep breath, grabbing the steering wheel tightly with both hands that get immediately sweaty and start shaking strongly.
Alicia looks at the little girl like charmed for a few seconds, praying that she stands up and walks as if nothing happened, or at least moves her hand or foot to let everyone know that she is alive. But nothing happens all this time. The victim of this incident keeps lying unconscious on the cold, dirty asphalt, while a flow of blood is getting out of her mouth. Many drivers leave their cars right on the road and get out of them to find out what happened. That’s why it leads to a traffic jam, which is a reason why it’s impossible to drive on this street. At some moment, some people start to run to the unconscious girl, being afraid just to touch her at first because she could get serious traumas.
Alicia finds the strength to do it, too. Still looking at her victim closely, the girl opens the safety belt with her shaking hands, opens the door, and leaves the salon, immediately feeling how her legs get suddenly weak. She barely manages to grab the door handle not to fall to the asphalt, immediately forgetting about being too late for the meeting that she does not care about now. Her heart is beating like crazy, and the echo of it is hitting her temples so hard, giving her a sense of discomfort. The girl stands in the same place as a column for a few seconds, but then she finds the courage to take a couple of steps, still being afraid to come to the girl, who is surrounded by a lot of people.
“My God…” Alicia whispers, barely moving her shaking lips and feeling how her eyes get wet from tears. “G-god… God… My g-g-gosh… N-n-no…”
Alicia starts trying to catch air so hard, lacking it so badly, and feeling how her whole body starts literally twirling from a shake that gets obsessed with it.
“G-girl… A l-l-little girl… She is s-s-so y-young… Did I k-kill her?”
Just one thought about the fact that she could have hit this girl to death, Alicia literally shouts from horror, grabbing her hair with both hands and then closing her mouth tightly with them. Every single sigh makes her get a stronger feeling that something is squeezing her chest. And the noise in her ears outstands any sounds around her. The girl stops noticing everything around her and does not hear the voices of those, who are talking a lot about what has happened before their eyes. And she does not hear those, who looks at her in a disapproving way and swear at her with all the bad words they know.
“Call an ambulance!” the woman cries.
“She is dying!” the other woman gets horrified.
“The poor girl feels so bad…” the man notices with widely open eyes. “She is pale and all in blood…”
“She probably has some fractures,” the other man assumes.
“Let’s not touch her. Let the doctors work on it. We can make everything worse.”
“Jesus Christ, she is such a baby!” the old woman pronounces with tears in her eyes. “Her life is just getting started, but this trouble has happened to her…”
“She was alone?” the woman asks.
“Yes, there were no adults with her,” the woman replies thoughtfully.
“I saw her coming here on a scooter,” the young man says, pointing at the side from where the girl came. “She was there.”
“My gosh, she has been hit at high speed!” the woman gets horrified.
“Will she survive?” the young girl asks.
“Nobody knows! But it’s clear that she feels too bad!”
“Gosh, my daughter is the same age as her,” the other woman gets horrified. “When I imagine her instead of this baby… My God… I feel so bad…”
“Why are you standing there like an exhibit at the museum?” the man resents, moving his eyes to the pale Alicia. “Help her! The girl is dying, but you are doing nothing! As if it’s right!”
“Idiot, look where you go!” the woman resents. “Did you put on lipstick there?”
“The kid got a driver’s license!” the girl exclaims. “She probably started to drive yesterday.”
“You just look at how she dressed up!” the old woman notices. “She put makeup on her eyes, put on a short skirt, and made a hairstyle… A freaking wench!”
“Learn to drive, brainless chicken!” the man cries.
“Or better stay home!” the other man adds. “Why did you the hell start to drive? If you can’t do this, don’t do this! Cook food for your husband and give birth to children!”
“I would look at the idiot, who gave her the license,” the girl says gloomily.
“I would look at the idiot, who bought her a car,” the other girl adds. “Who actually let this kid drive a car.”
“I guess it was a certain rich lover!” the old man exclaims. “Or her mommy and daddy spare nothing for their daughter.”
“I would hit this daughter with a belt!” the old lady resents. “I always kept my children on a short leash. I punished them every time they did bad things. And they have become decent people, who are grateful to me for all the lessons.”
“My God, what’s happening to this world?” the woman resents. “How did we get these little bitches, who have no shame or coincidence?”
“Oh, yeah!” the old man agrees. “Our youth are getting worse with every new generation. What’s going to happen to this world when this one dies? Which hole will we fall to?”
“Hey, we are addressing you, kid!” the woman resents, addressing Alicia. “Don’t you care about the condition of this baby, whom you hit?”
“She is more concerned about whether her makeup is ruined,” the woman replies confidently.
“I hope someone will hit you the way you hit the girl someday,” the old lady expresses hope. “God sees everything and will punish you for sure. He will make you pay for what you have done.”
“By the way, call the police, too!” one of the girls says. “So, this idiot is taken to the station. So, she can pay for everything for the parents of this girl.”
“Has someone called an ambulance?” the woman specifies.
“Yes, yes, they are about to come,” the man replies. “They told us not to touch her and just to watch her.”
“My God, I’m so sorry for her parents…” the old woman says in a shaking voice. “They are going to be so devastated…”
“If I knew her name, I would go to the crunch and pray to God for this baby,” the woman replies. “I would ask Him to protect her and let her survive. She is so little and innocent… She has done nothing bad in this life.”
While the people surrounding the girl pray that she is okay, watch her condition, and sometimes shout some insults toward the one, who is guilty of this incident, Alicia starts crying bitterly, embracing herself tightly with both arms and praying so desperately that all of it does not lead to anything bad for her.
“My God, I didn’t want it…” Alicia thinks. “I didn’t wanna hit her. It happened accidentally. I didn’t manage to stop in time. I didn’t notice her. I was too busy searching for the radio station…”
Alicia closes her mouth with both hands.
“If Mom and Dad know it, they will kill me. They will say I can’t take care of my stuff. They kind of bought me a car, but I broke it and hit the person. It will happen, I am sure about it! If the condition of the girl is critical, I’m gonna have problems. And I will be put in prison for her death. Even if I didn’t wanna hurt that baby.”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“My God, she is so young… A baby… The age of ten or eleven. She’s as cute as Lizzy was at the same age. Oh… How can I be a good older sister if someone is dying because of me? How could Elizabeth talk about pride for me? I am so far from it… So far…”
“Hey, I don’t feel her pulse!” the man says with a horror in widely open eyes as he puts two fingers on the wrist of the unconscious girl.
“What?” the woman gets horrified. “What do you mean?”
“I do not feel it. No pulse…”
The words about the girl having no pulse make Alicia wake up from the trance immediately and make her heart stop.
“No pulse?” Alicia mumbles quietly.
“Did she die?” the old lady gets horrified.
“I don’t know…”
“And she is not breathing…” the girl announces, bending to the girl to check on her breath. “No… Even a brief one.”
“Jesus Christ, don’t let her die!” the old man prays.
“Are you sure she is not breathing?” the woman specifies. “What if you are wrong?”
“No, no, I tell you the truth!” the girl jabs excitedly. “No breathing.”
“There’s really no pulse,” the other man says as he checks on the heartbeat on the other wrist of the girl and her neck. “On her neck and her hand.”
“Will she die?” the young man gets horrified.
“Oh, God, God, God…” the young girl jabs with tears in her eyes, closing her mouth with her hands.
“This baby can’t die!” the old lady shakes her head. “And the rat, who hit her, cannot live! She cannot live as if nothing happened!”
“The police!” the old man exclaims. “We should call the police! So, they get the killer arrested!”
“Can someone know how to give CPR?” the young man asks. “Do this now! You have several minutes! Otherwise, she will surely die!”
“Alright, let me start the heart massage, and you do artificial respiration,” the man suggests to the woman, who is next to him.
“Are you ready?” the woman asks.
“Ready!”
Acting like a team, the man and the woman start determinedly giving CPR to the dying girl. While the others watch what’s happening with horror in their eyes, praying silently that everything is alright. Some people going by see the crown and decide to come closer to find out what’s wrong. Not so many of them decide to pretend that nothing happened and go to do their business. There are no indifferent people. Everybody is worried about the little, pale girl, who does not show any signs of life. Many people have cursed Alicia many times for what she did, wished her to be hit with a car to death, and tell someone to call the police immediately.
While Alicia herself keeps standing aside and watching what’s happening with widely open eyes, wishing everything to be just a nightmare. She starts to understand that she is in great trouble when she hears about a stopped heart and a talk about calling the police. She does not want to go to prison at such a young age and leave it when she is an old, shabby lady, who nobody cares about. Her panic gets stronger every second, and her ability to think adequately leaves her at all. At this moment, Alicia is praying about finding a way to avoid the worst things and not to have to pay for what she did not want to do. What she did because of her stupidity and her inattention.
At some moment, the girl starts to step back very slowly, deciding that the best way to get rid of the worst things may be escape. Yes, this idea is crazy, knowing that there are so many witnesses. But she only thinks of herself. About how to avoid the punishment. Under the influence of panic, the life of the little, innocent girl is less important to her than her own future. And if she has a chance to avoid it, she must use it. Not thinking that she may be tortured by remorse for the refusal to help the innocent creature that is unsuccessfully tried to bring back to life by giving her CPR.
Alicia hesitates for some time and watches what’s happening with widely open eyes, taking a breath away. But since all the efforts to rescue the baby are worthless, the girl makes absolutely sure that her decision to run away from the crime scene is right. Not looking at it, she grabs the door handle and slowly presses the button inside it to open it. By this moment, the people start to pay all their attention to the girl, who is between life and death. Nobody even looks at the one, who is guilty of such a tragic event. So, Alicia decides to use it, sitting in the driver’s seat determinedly and closing the door. Then she releases the brake in a half-conscious condition and turns the first speed on. At this moment, one harmless old lady pays attention to and gets immediately obsessed with a feeling of resent and hate for this young beauty.
“Where?” the old lady roars. “Stop!”
Everybody immediately reacts to the cry of the old lady, who is actually not so shy, and sees Alicia sitting in the car with a wish to leave this place.
“She’s trying to run away!” the young man exclaims.
“Don’t let her do this!” the woman, who is still trying to bring the girl to life by doing artificial respiration.
“An asshole!” the old man resents. “She hit the girl and wants to get away from it!”
“Shameless scumbag!” the girl cries. “She harmed the child and decided to run away!”
“Freaking little bitch!” the old lady resents, waving her cane. “That whore with a lot of makeup has no shame or conscience!”
When Alicia tries to move on, several men immediately close the way, being determined to let her know that she will not be able to run away from here and will not avoid the punishment that she will get for hitting the little girl and being guilty of her possible death.
“You will not leave, bitch!” the man says rudely, leaning on the hood with his hands.
“We will not let you live as if nothing happened!” the other man says.
“You will be waiting for the arrival of the ambulance and the police,” the third man adds
Alicia breathing heavily looks around nervously in a search of a way to get out of this situation, understanding that she cannot just press the gas pedal because many more people may suffer because of this.
“Get her out of the car!” the old man orders.
One young man runs to the driver’s door shortly and tries to open it unsuccessfully, while Alicia blocks it automatically by pressing one button.
“Open the door, idiot!” the young man orders and hits the glass furiously. “Open it, I said! You will not run away from here anyway!”
“She blocked the doors!” the girl announces, trying to open the passenger’s door. “I can’t open it.”
“Break the glass, then!” the other says rudely. “Don’t let this scumbag run away!”
“My God, we are losing her!” the woman, who is working on giving CPR to the girl. “The girl is still not breathing.”
“I wish the ambulance came here soon,” the man exhales sharply as he is helping her. “She will not hold on for too long.”
“Hey, guys, take my can and break the glass!” the old woman says. “Hit it strongly!”
At some moment, Alicia turns back and sees that nobody is standing there yet. Then she starts to think she has found a way to solve this problem. After she turns on the back speed with the gearbox, the girl drives back sharply. The people, who are trying to open the door, barely manage to jump aside, so she does not harm their feet. And while they surround her transport all together, Alicia tries to drive around those, who are still closing the way for her. But they are too stubborn and determined about their wish to hold the malicious, as they think, criminal.
“Oh, look at how insolent she is!” the old man resents. “She did a bad trick and decided to get out!”
“Don’t give up, men, don’t let her go!” the girl orders. “Don’t let her do it! We should give her to the police!”
“That scumbag almost drove over the girl’s legs!” the young man resents. “She wants to kill her!”
“Look at what she is doing!” the man gets enraged. “Look! Look!”
“I would smash my fist against her freaking face!” the old woman says threateningly.
Alicia tries to get out of the trap, in which the people got her caught, losing hope of being able to avoid the punishment. But at some moment, she decides to go back again and presses on the gas pedal so determinedly that the wheels make a loud, disgusting squeak. And despite all the attempts of the people to stop her, the girl magically drives around everybody, being lucky to hit nobody. Then she, being under the influence of adrenaline, keeps pressing on the gas pedal and just going straightly, setting her widely open eyes into the distance and grabbing the steering wheel with both hands tightly.
“Little bitch!” one of the men swears. “She has run away…”
“I curse you, brainless little girl!” the woman cries.
“I wish you died herself!” the young man wishes in anger.
“I wish remorse tortured you!” the older man throws.
“I wish you were caught and put in prison!” the old man exclaims.
“God will punish you, sinful bitch!” the old woman throws rudely, waving her can. “If you do not pay for everything as the law says, you will pay to Him on your judgement day! God will recall all your sins and send you to burn in the flames of hell!”
“That asshole is driving like crazy again!” the woman notices.
“It’s alright, when she hits someone else, she will go to prison for sure,” the other woman throws gloomily.
“Do not worry, folks, I have memorized the number of her car,” the teenage says confidently after coming here recently to find out what happened. “We will give it to the police, and that gal will be quickly checked through the bases.”
“Yes, yes, we should give the number of her car to the police!” the old man agrees. “They will find her quickly.”
“Yeah, but how do we contact the parents of this girl?” the man asks. “Someone should go to the hospital with her!”
“Do not worry, I will go with her,” the woman, who is working on CPR, says.
“I will help you,” the man, who is helping her, promises.
“Hey, there was a keychain on her scooter!” the young girl exclaims, showing everybody the small keychain that was pinned to the handle of the scooter. “There is the number and the name. Ines… Ines Joan Fishman…”
“Is this the girl’s name?” the old man specifies.
“Yeah, I think so… It’s written with large letters. And there are the names of Angela and Johnathan Fishman under it.”
“Most likely, they are her parents.”
“I will find the nearest phone booth and call this number.”
“I saw one there!” the old woman says, pointing aside.
While some people are still trying to bring back the girl named Ines to life, the others watch what’s happening with horror in their eyes and pray so hard that the ambulance comes here as soon as possible and helps the one, who has become the victim of this terrible accident against her wish. By this moment, Alicia’s tracks are gone. The pale, dumbfounded girl keeps driving at a high enough speed, not obeying any traffic rules and not thinking about being afraid of the boomerang that may return to her someday and make her pay for what happened because of her. Even if she did not want it at all.
***
“No, no, I won’t let it happen,” Alicia says confidently. “I shall do my best for her to never know it. For her grandfather not to know the truth. If they know I killed the man, the two will turn their backs on me. Start to despise me. And I will never meet my niece again. She will no longer wish to visit me. And Mr. Cameron will not let her do it. I am sure about it.”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“So, that’s why I will never tell her what I did,” Alicia adds. “And to hide the truth, I am ready to do anything. Even to tell my niece to go home by force. Before Christmas…”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“And I think I will do this,” Alicia decides. “I will do my best to make her sure to return to the USA. Or Raquelle will know about my sin that I am still begging for forgiveness for… Which I am terribly ashamed of… For which God has not forgiven me yet. For which He has been punishing me. Even if it’s been very many years.”
Alicia takes off her glasses and squeezes the bridge of her nose with a hard sigh, not even guessing Raquelle already knows the terrible secret of her relative. She knows the truth about the dark past of her auntie, which has to do with the murder of the man. The woman understands that if Eleanor Woodham reaches for the girl, she may tell the truth about that case. So, she is making much more sure about her wish to tell her niece to go to the USA. To do her best not to let anyone discover her terrible secret that almost ruined her whole life.
***
Raquelle decides not to go anywhere and to spend the rest of the day at home. In the late evening time, the girl is sitting in her room and, lying on the bed, reasoning about what she found out today again and again. And she is still shocked by the secret that her relative is hiding. On the other hand, she completely understands why Alicia is trying to keep it a secret, which might change people’s opinions about her for the worse.
Moreover, Raquelle is not surprised that Alicia even tried to reject her help and even tried to persuade her to return to the United States. She understood the woman wanted not to let her find out the sins of her past for fear that her niece would turn her back on her, and her grandfather would ban his granddaughter from meeting the one, who killed someone.
“So, Aunt Alicia is now trying to make me sure to return to the USA too hard,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “To solve the problem of MacClife as soon as possible. She’s making me sure to stop helping her and making me sure she will deal with Eleanor by herself.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“But I understood why she did it,” Raquelle adds. “Aunt just wants to make me leave this place as soon as possible. Do her best not to let me run into that woman, who could tell me the truth about how my aunt killed that man.”
Raquelle moves her sad eyes to the ceiling.
“Ah, if my auntie knew I read her diary and found articles on the Internet that told about that case, she would hardly be happy…” Raquelle assumes. “She would really get mad if she realized I found out the truth.”
Raquelle bites her lip slightly.
“Well, maybe, not everything?” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “What? I wouldn't be surprised if there is something else that I don’t know yet. For example, in her diary, there was no note about how Aunt Alicia met Gilbert. They were from different circles… But they knew each other… Moreover, I don’t understand how Aunt could have any success as a designer. How did she do? Aunt has never told me that!”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if her career as a designer had to do with that man,” Raquelle adds. “If he helped her somehow… He had money and power and could quickly do everything for her.”
Raquelle glances aside.
“Moreover, something tells me that man wasn’t definitely indifferent to my aunt…” Raquelle assumes. “And she could be indifferent to him. Who knows… I can’t exclude that Gilbert wanted to marry my aunt. Make her the stepmother of Eleanor…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“Anyway, even despite the fact that I don’t know how they met, I know clearly that Eleanor is taking revenge on my aunt for a reason,” Raquelle concludes confidently. “That woman just can’t forgive her for murdering her father. She wanna make my aunt pay for that and lynch her. If the judge was an understanding person and didn’t give her a sentence in prison.”
Raquelle slowly sits up and glances at the window that is slightly covered with a half-dark curtain, looking through it without emotions and seeing only the dark sky covered with clouds from where she is.
She stops reflecting on Alicia’s situation for some time and just thinks about something nice that makes her crack a slight smile. For example, her grandfather Frederick, whom she has not talked to for a long time.
“Ah, Grandpa, I miss you so much…” Raquelle pronounces with sadness in her eyes, sighing hard. “I got so busy with Aunt’s problems that I always forget to call you.”
Raquelle tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I need your wise pieces of advice…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “Your support… Your hugs… It would be great if you were next to me… Your help and advice would be very good for me… Because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to untangle the ball that is literally impossible to be untangled.”
Raquelle nervously swallows.
“And the closer I am to the answer, the more secrets I have to discover…” Raquelle adds. “I wanna help Aunt Alicia, but I don’t know how. Her problem seems to be impossible to be fixed! I don’t know what to do to help her save herself from being chased by the daughter of the one she killed. I dunno…”
Raquelle sighs quietly and then moves her sad eyes to her smartphone, which is lying on the table near her bed. Two seconds later, the girl takes it in her hands to check if she has incoming calls and new messages. But unfortunately, she sees no notifications… She still sees a meaningless screensaver and the watch that let her know it's already a very late time – about half-past twelve in the night.
“Oh, it seems like nobody needs me…” Raquelle sighs with sadness in her eyes. “As nobody wants to call and send me at least short messages on WhatsApp… But my phone used to be torn apart from all my familiars’ calls… It’s silent now…”
Raquelle shakes her head.
“Terrence MacClife washed everyone’s brains so well that people turned their backs on me,” Raquelle adds. “They ignore me. Nobody even wants to say, ‘hello’ to me and ask how I’m doing. Nobody needs me. If only someone asked how I was doing, how I was feeling, and where I am now… But no, nobody needs it. Nobody…”
Raquelle sighs heavily again and thinks about something for a few seconds with sadness in her eyes. At some moment, the girl decides to check her email to find out if the anonymous person decided to send her something else. She quickly opens the mail app and runs her eyes over tons of letters, among which there are very many that are sent by her haters, who still believe she was really behaving so terribly. Yes, maybe, she can find letters from someone, who wishes to support the girl and let her know that they are by her side. But she does not want to look for those that would contain something good.
However, some time later, Raquelle finds another letter from the anonymous among a bunch of them, noticing they do not specify their name or the subject.
“Hey, another letter from the anonymous!” Raquelle exclaims. “I got it today in the daylight… Let’s see… What they decided to say this time… Maybe, MacClife finally decided to confess it was him…”
Raquelle opens the anonymous’s letter and starts reading what she sees in it:
“Bonjour[1], my dear Raquelle Cameron!
You really got lost! Everyone is looking for you but cannot do this! Where are you, my sweetie? Where did you hide? Why do you not want to show yourself to the world and explain everything? Do you hope everything will be solved by itself if you hide in your hideaway? No, my darling, you are wrong! Nothing can be solved by itself!
However, you are probably doing the right thing by hiding somewhere. Because whatever you say now, people will not believe you. They will not believe you are actually innocent and were slandered by an evil person. Who does not want to show themselves to the world and explain why they did it. I am closely watching everything the media is publishing. And sometimes I give a new piece of exclusive information to a magazine that has agreed to become to be the number one source with pleasure. At first, I had to pay a little bit of money for them to listen to me, but people are getting so interested in these pieces of news that the editors of the magazine pay me. For telling more and more.
I am going to say more, they are offering me millions of dollars for finally revealing myself to the world. But I am rejecting such a good offer. Why? Because I think it’s not time. It’s not time to tell everyone who I am, and why I did it. But I shall do it a little later. Only the chef-in-editor knows my real identity. But he would say nothing to anyone. So, you cannot even try to find him and make him say who did that to the innocent girl, who did nothing bad.
I guess you already suspect who I could be. Maybe, you are one hundred percent sure you know who is to blame for the current situation. If you really want, you can send me a letter with your thoughts. I would read it, reflect on it, and then give you my answer. Drop a hint on whether you are on the right track or went on the wrong side.
Get ready, I am going to tell the world much more at the nearest time. I mean, some people would do this, not me. Those, who could deprive you of hope to return to the modeling business and enjoy the love and attention of your fans. I will bring this game to an end. And I will calm down only when you have only your stuff.
P.S. I am going to say one little thing… It’s very easy to tarnish someone’s name. It’s much harder to restore a relationship with someone you blame for all the sins for nothing.”
After reading the letter from start to end, Raquelle frowns slightly and reflects on it for a few seconds.
“That man can’t calm down yet…” Raquelle sighs tiredly. “Does he really want to do his best for me to have nothing?”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“You are so vengeful, MacClife…” Raquelle throws gloomily. “A vengeful scumbag that I hate to death. Early or late, I will make you pay for it and tell everyone who you really are. If you do not reveal yourself to the world at the nearest time, I will reveal you. Do my best for you to lose a chance to build a brilliant career and get the same you are dreaming about.”
Raquelle raises her head proudly.
“Maybe, I should send him a letter?” Raquelle thinks. “Maybe, it is time to stop silently reading these fucking letters and let him know I am guessing who did it. I mean, I do know who is about to ruin my career.”
Raquelle thinks about something for a few seconds and then decides to send a letter to the anonymous. The girl quickly types a text on her smartphone and sends it, clearly letting someone know she does not doubt Terrence is the only one to blame for everything.
“Curse you, MacClife! I hate you for what you did to me! I swear, I will not leave you unpunished. You will pay me a lot for spreading those false rumors about me. I shall do my best to ruin your, scumbag, career to the fuck and deprive you of hope to get such a desired starring role in a movie. You will be washing floors or scanning purchases at a shop instead of that.
I did not think you would do that to me just because I refused to fuck you. I did not think you were such a vengeful scumbag. I regret agreeing to work with you. I regret being such a stupid idiot and not accepting the right decision – refusing to have a deal with you. If not for you, everything would be alright, and I would not have to hide from everyone now. But now I have to wait for people to calm down and understand they are wrapped around your finger. You are playing with them like dolls.
But it’s alright, MacClife, early or late, you will get what you deserve. I will not leave it without attention. Someday, you will pay me. You will suffer three times more than I am suffering now. Everyone will hate you, and those fucking little girls will not even look at such a selfish peacock. Everyone will finally open their eyes and find out who you really are. Understand that you are pretending to be good. You are doing this to make everyone admire you. Someday, it will come to an end. Everything has an end, and any lie would be revealed.
Watch out, scumbag, I shall deal with you. I will tell everyone something that will make you afraid of going in public and looking into someone’s eyes. I will laugh at you with pleasure. With great pleasure!”
After sending her answer with the thought Terrence MacClife is the one to blame for the current situation, Raquelle blocks the screen of her smartphone, puts it on the table near her bed, and thinks about something for a few seconds, promising to do her best to punish that man and ruin his life.
But at some moment, the girl yawls with her mouth closed with her hand, understanding she already wants to sleep. And it’s quite a late time…
“Okay, it’s time to go to sleep,” Raquelle decides. “It’s a very late time now. Aunt Alicia already went to sleep, but I’m still sitting here, thinking, checking my email, and charging MacClife for my problems. But I’m already got tired…”
Raquelle gets up from the bed, takes her clothes for sleep from a closet, quickly puts them on, and takes a rubber band off her hair, with which she had it gathered in a ponytail.
“I hope tomorrow will give me answers to all my questions,” Raquelle expresses hope. “And I would find a way to help Aunt Alicia save herself from Eleanor Woodham. Do my best to bring MacClife to clean water. Do my best to finally start to live a quiet life and do my business.”
Raquelle looks into the distance for a few seconds with sadness in her eyes. But then the girl turns off the light in her room, covers the window with a small curtain, lies in bed, covers herself with a warm blanket, and strikes a comfortable pose.
But she cannot fall asleep for a long time and rolls from one side to another because she keeps thinking of everything she found out today and cannot accept the fact that her aunt Alicia became a killer and had to struggle with the anger of the daughter of the dead man, who is definitely going to bring the case to an end and do what the judge should have done, in her opinion, instead of finding the woman non-guilty and not putting her in prison for ages. And Eleanor Woodham does not definitely care that the woman did it not on purpose but accidentally and did not expect the hit would be so strong that it would bring the man to another world.
[1] fr. Hello154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7yUcDqAsl
