COMPLETED Nellie Lovett (The Virgin Widow of Fleet Street) #Wattys2016 Sweenett

"As much as I loved Lucy"

Chapter III

Nobody in fleet street suspected him of the crimes he comitted. There were three of them, Pirelli, whom from everyone's point of view moved out when he won the competition, judge turpin who was actually heading North of London for an election of Judge assembly and just came by on perfect timing to his barber shop for a shave with nobody else but himself, and Lucy...

His beautiful Lucy whom nobody dared set eyes on as she lived her remaining years as the crazy beggar of fleet street. He closed his eyes tightly to wash away the painful event of his own wife's death on his very hands. Then there was Mrs. Lovett, the young widow, his landlady who hell knows what is up to at that moment.

She never dared open the pie shop since that bloody night, he never as well dared to pay her a visit after he treated her wound. Is she alright?! He asked himself only to frown at his own thoughts. His evil side is still blaming the bloody woman for Lucy's death. She made him believe Lucy was dead long time ago.
'No' said again a voice he so much knew from the past. This time though it was a man's voice, it was of Benjamin Barker's.
"Lucy took poison, young Nellie thought she died, her parents never had to tell her the fate Lucy crashed up on to protect their daughter. Nellie was merely 12 or 13 at that time. Lucy poisoned herself in front of that innocent girl who only cared so much for her and Johanna while you were away. Just imagine how frightened that young girl was; witnessing someone she considered her big sister dying in front of her, Benjamin...
You selfish idiot! It wasn't just you who were tortured by those events!" the voice hissed.
Frustrated, Sweeney lost his fingers inside his hair and started pacing. One thing he is really good at aside from shaving people... 'and, slitting throats of people. ' The voice added again.

Without realizing it, he found himself already pushing the door of Mrs. lovett's room and it crieked.
Mrs. Lovett was there, absentmindedly looking out the window. He cleared his throat but he didn't get any reaction from her. Even when he was already beside her, she remained silent, her eyes were focused on nowhere, on her lap was a picture of Albert, her dead husband.

"You loved him. As much as I loved Lucy." he uttered while looking at her long elegant fingers resting on the frame with the photo of a man about 25 to 30 years of age at the time the photograph was taken. Her eyes were still away, like she wasn't even in that room. He kneeled in front of her only to look away as his eyes caught the mark on her neck, still a little red although completely healed.

"Mrs. Lovett..." he held her hand, that was only then she reacted to him. Her eyes grew wide as she stood up defensively. The picture frame dropped and the glass crushed into bits. He looked at the broken object,then at the young widow and realized she looked more broken than those glass. She was trembling in fear with his presence.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm...I'm just."

"No!!!" she screamed when he tried to reach her hand to calm her.
"I just want to know if you're ok." from the looks on her face, he realized she isn't well. She already was way too slim before, now she's worse. The dark circles in her eyes started bothering him, her beautiful cheekbones, although still beautiful now, have became too visible, she was much paler than she used to be too, almost...just almost, she looked like a corpse now, only that she's a beautiful corpse.
He shook his head at the thought, hell with him to appreciate or compliment other woman's physical appearance. Only Lucy, his beautiful Lucy looked beautiful in his eyes, her yellow hair... Her... He snapped, he can't remember how exactly she looked like, the beautiful concept he always had in mind of his wife was replaced by the bloody face of the haggard beggar he killed many nights passed. He looked at the woman in front of him again, he glared at her with furious and blaming eyes.
"Mrs. Lovett..." His voice growled that even he was surprised at the hint of anger in it. How much she trembles hearing him calling her in that manner. He noticed her fear and again Benjamin battled the demon barber he is right now. He can hear Benjamin's voice in his head. Persuading him to look after the young widow, to ease her fears.