She wants to escape it all. She runs from it. She gets a chance to leave it all behind. And she does, without thinking twice.
Gabrielle leaves France, her home country, when she finds an offer to babysit in London. She doesn't have a lot of ex...
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I blink rapidly several times, my mouth hanging open. "Uhm." My brain is still processing his words. "I don't understand ..." I mean, I do understand his words, I understood them perfectly, I just don't understand the meaning. How? When? Why?
"It's not really anything to understand here, Gabrielle." Alexander chuckles darkly. When he finishes smoking the cigarette, he immediately lights up another one. I narrow my eyes but he doesn't look at me, focusing on his cigarette.
"What happened?" I want to know. I need to know. He can't throw a bomb like that at me and not expect me not to want to know anything about it. My body just chilled for a few degrees and it has nothing to do with the cold.
Holy shit, what if he really did kill someone? Not someone - his sister! He once told me already that he is capable of killing. And I didn't believe him - I refused to believe him. Was he telling the truth, after all?
Alexander slowly sits down, not even bothered that he's only wearing a sweater in this cold air and that he sits down on the cold tile.
When he doesn't immediately start speaking, I sit down, too. Because no way am I leaving this situation alone. I need to know what he meant.
"I was 12 and I remember it was a beautiful day. I was alone with Zoe, taking her out. She was about Amelia's age and Mum asked me if I could teach her how to ride a bike since it was her wish for a long time."
There's already a big lump in my throat. I listen to his words with fear in my bones. I don't even feel the cold anymore.
"I ..." Alexander frowns. "I don't really know what happened. I mean ... she was a quick learner, just like Amelia. She got it pretty quickly and she didn't have much trouble with it. So, I walked with her around the neighbourhood while she was riding her bike. And then, it was just a moment of interrupted concentration. I was typing a text on my phone and didn't even look at what was going on."
I hold my breath because I know he's going to tell me something really bad.
"The car came. I don't know from where. I only know it was fast, way past speed's limit. Zoe got frightened by the car suddenly coming and she lost her balance. I still remember her last shout of panic before she fell directly under the car." I can hear how his voice became shaky, quiet and distant.
"It was way too late before I realised what happened. I was in such a panic, I almost forgot to call an ambulance. And the driver of the car sped away as if nothing happened. It often made me ask myself if he even saw or felt he just ran over someone ..."
I'm crying by now. I'm in such a shock that I can't even know what to think. The only thought running through my head is; It's not your fault, Alexander.
"Zoe died in the hospital later that night. The injuries were just too big for her small, fragile body. Her body couldn't take it. And even if she did survive, she probably would never walk again." Alexander now looks at me and I see he's got tears in his eyes. Oh, no. My heart tightens in my chest. "And that's the story how I robbed someone of their life," he says darkly. "You once said you thought I'm not capable of killing someone. Still think the same, Little one?"
