After Hours

Chapter 17:Closer Together...When We Are Apart

The wind howled around her as she stood with the mourners in the graveyard, pretending she was sad to see the fate of the person laying in the open casket. Helena looked almost angelic, her expression soft. Even though she was furious at the events that had determined her fate for the last few months, she had never been a person who would let hate consume her, even though it had become harder to keep her emotions in check lately.

Alex and Nell stood next to her, grim faced as they wore the grief mask. "Are you sure that you want to be here. Ww can go anytime you feel like," He kissed her temple and she smiled weakly. "I should've never agreed to let you come here," Alex held her in his arms for a few seconds before she pulled away, smiling as the mourners cried.

"I want to make sure that when that casket closes and goes into the ground, that there is no way that she would be ever able to come back and cause the both of us pain," He was close enough that she could whisper the statement but before here people who knew Helena were coming forward to talk about her.

One woman called her sweet while another compared her to her little sister but soon the people coming forward were changing their tune. Some of the statements were quite horrible in fact, with most of the people showing no remorse.

"I found her on top of my husband and she broke up my marriage," One woman said with tears in her eyes.

"She made my life hell when I started at the same law firm that she did," Nell's older cousin Brent came and took her back to the car while the rants continued. The minister tried in vain but the rants were relentless. She stepped forward opening her mouth then snapping it shut. Alex whispered reassuring words into her ear, giving her a bit of encouragement even though words would not even begin to ease the pain she was feeling.

"Helena helped my ex-boyfriend kidnap me where I was raped, beaten and drugged. I suffered a miscarriage through my ordeal and she made sure that she drove a wedge between my boyfriend and I. My momma told me to never talk ill of the dead but I'm glad you're dead Helena," By now she was standing over the casket looking down at the woman who had almost destroyed her entire life.

"You got what you deserved in the end. Your game could've led to my death but the tables are turned. It's you who lost in the end, not me. I win'" Destiny smiled pulling her shawl around herself.

"I can forget this but I can never forgive you," She shrugged off her coat, revealing a bright red halter dress which drew attention to her figure. Around her, people gasped but soon there was clapping as the people who had spoken the truth about Helena cheered her on.

Alex smiled weakly at her as they made their way out of the cemetery getting into the waiting limousine. Unable to bear the small space between them, she looked through the window, finding herself more entertained by the scenery than the man sitting next to her, who had been trying to regain her trust and love for the past few weeks. "How long before we get back to the house?" She asked coldly without even looking in his direction. She heard his frustrated sigh then his reply came in a low hushed tone.

"Ten minutes,"

Ten minutes was too long to be alone with him. Since leaving the hospital she had been in the care of her mother and a dedicated nurse who had been a godsend in her darkest hours. It had been a surprise that they had been so many dark days, even though everyday she convinced herself that she would try harder to feel better about herself.

Only yesterday, she had broken every mirror in her house after getting out of the shower, leaving her right hand bloodied and bandaged. Every time she caught a glance at herself in a reflection she could only glare at herself, wondering why she felt nasty even though she now had an obsession to showering constantly.