The Lies We Breathe

Prologue

I don't know why the hell I came.

Fuck!

I should've just stayed away. It's been two weeks since the accident. And judging by the media coverage, the cops are nowhere near any hot lead. Everyone involved had bulletproof alibis. All the traces have been covered up. I made sure of that. We are good...

Still. I came.

Maybe I just got bored of sitting at home and biting my nails. The last two weeks have been nerve-wracking. And I thought I didn't give a damn about anything and anybody, with just a few exceptions.

Too engrossed in reflecting on my own pathetic, useless existence, I became disillusioned and bored with life a long time ago. I've been careless with my own life. I've risked it more times than I could count, chasing the next adrenaline rush. That's what kept me going.

Have I not prayed for some change or end to it all at last?

But risking my own life was one thing. Never did I think that someone else would get hurt. If this girl dies, her blood would be on my hands.

Shit!

If I could, I would hand myself in, say the truth... But only more innocents would get hurt. There is no going back now.

I'd seen pictures of her. Jackie. Just some West Side girl. Maybe I wanted to see if what was said about her was true. That she was in a really bad shape. I'd hoped I'd catch her alone. A look at her is all I wanted. Maybe I shouldn't have done that? Then I would have not seen her, that cop's daughter, sobbing in her father's arms. The sound of her crying rang in my ears for days afterward making me feel an even bigger arsehole.

I hurt people in the past. Little did I care. But this was different. The injured girl was someone's friend. Someone's child. She had her whole life in front of her. To realise that only made matters worse. But the deed was done. There was no more turning back. I vowed to take this secret to the grave. Maybe I will go to hell for this one day. And maybe that is the price I need to pay. So be it!