Remains

I Started A Joke / Bee Gees

"I've never told anyone that before," Isabelle stated suddenly, following the silence after the next section of her story.  

"Not even the mental specialists?" 

"No," she responded, meeting  Liam's gaze. 

Liam furrowed his eyebrows, visibly confused. "I have a question. Why would you tell me this, but not a professional? I'm curious to know why you've told me your dark secret, but nobody else. Who am I to you but a nosy journalist who's writing an article on you?" 

Isabelle thought for a moment, trying to work out how to answer. "If I'm entirely honest, I don't know. Maybe I've subconsciously decided that it's been long enough to finally come out with the real story. The truth is, I'm still not sure why I haven't given up on this yet." 

"Thank you," Liam beamed, "for not giving up on me, I mean. It's not my right to decide this, but I truly think that people believe in stories like this."

"Is that the only reason that you decided to do an article on me?" Isabelle asked. 

Liam sighed. "I suppose it's a way to bring me back closer to my brother. I have no idea what it was like for him in there, but I feel like I'm with him again when I listen to you. I just miss him, you know? The terror attack impacted us both, even though it was in different ways. You're the only one who could help me be with him in his final moments." 

Isabelle couldn't find anything to say. She finally knew the real reason why Liam cared so much. About her, about the event, and about the story. "I understand," she said, "because even though I didn't know him, he's the only reason I'm alive. For the longest time, I wondered why fate decided that I was going to be the one to make it out. I always felt like the world moved on too quickly. It was like a part of me had died, and the whole world just continued to live without me, as if I had never existed. Now, that I know who Elijah was, he's no longer someone who just lives on in my cursed memories. He is now someone who meant something to people, and I can see that he always did, even if I didn't know it."

"It's almost as if he's up there somewhere, watching us," Liam mused, "maybe it wasn't fate. Maybe he brought us together." 

Isabelle smiled at the thought, trying to imagine what Elijah would have been like if they had met under different circumstances. 

"I hate to break the moment, but do you know how much time had passed between the very start of the story until where you're at now?" Liam inquired. 

"Not entirely," Isabelle replied, "I figured it might have been only nine or ten hours, but I could be completely wrong. To this day, I still find it strange how it took the police so long to show up. When someone calls and sounds panicked and says that someone's shooting people, you'd think they'd come running."

"I would assume that it took a few hours to actually decode what you were saying and find out which store you were located at. It's hard to know whether they would be able to trace your call after your phone was shattered, either," Liam said. 

Isabelle nodded in agreement. 

"Anyway, what happened after that?" He asked her. 

Isabelle inhaled deeply. "Well, I sat with Thomas for a long time. I remember being there while there were police shouts, gunshots, and of course, the familiar voice of the assailant spitting curse words and threats to the hostages and authorities. I could have easily been there for hours." 

"Then?" 

"Then? Well, I better get on with the story, I'd say."