THE BOY WHO NEVER SPOKE | Complete

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

It was raining outside, the sound of rain covered the noises he made as he was taking his final breaths. I didn't mean to take his life away, but I did what I had to do to protect myself, to protect him.

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Every morning, I see her at the Redchurch Espresso Bar on 58th street with some of her friends. She has a smile as bright as the sun, dark silky hair that falls perfectly onto her back, and eyes that say very little when they look at you. I have to know her; I need to know who that girl is.

It was raining on a Saturday morning when I finally decided to approach her. "One large latte, extra sugar, please." I had heard her order that same cup of coffee for weeks, but for the first time, I saw her sitting at that table alone with none of her friends. That's when I knew I had to go and talk to her. She had a book in one hand and a coffee in the other, just like everyone who goes to Redchurch - it's either to read or to sober up, no in between. I couldn't read the title of the book she was reading, but I could guess that it was a love novel. She just seemed like that type of person.

Approaching her table felt like time itself had stopped, and the whole world just froze. I could feel the gravity pushing my feet to the ground, the walls of the coffee shop slowly closing in on me, but I finally made my way to her table. "It's very uncommon to see you sitting here all by yourself. Where are the others?" Her eyes froze onto mine as if she was waiting for me to say something else. "I'm sorry, I'm Ezekiel."

I put my hand out to give her a handshake, but it felt awkward, so I quickly turned it into a semi-wave. She could tell that I was very embarrassed by the way I chose to approach her, but her face brightened up with a smile. "I'm Alissa." Her smile disappeared before she asked, "I'm sorry, but have we met before?" There it was, the feeling of the walls caving in rushing through me again.

"My apologies, love. I'm still new to town, and this coffee shop is all I know. I see you very often with your two other friends, so seeing you here alone just made me question if everything is alright." She put her book down and took a sip of her coffee, looking at me like I'm some sort of equation she needs to solve. "Did Jackson set you up for this?" She took another sip of her coffee.

  Who the fuck is Jackson? 

"I'm sorry. I don't know any Jacksons, love. As I said, I'm new to town. All I have are my books and this coffee shop until now."

 She looked at the floor and sighed before she said, "No, no. It's my fault. Jackson is my ex-boyfriend. It hasn't been that long since we broke up, and I thought he's sending some of his friends to know what's going on in my life."

 She moved her bag from the chair in front of her and placed it on her lap. "Have a seat."

I looked around for a second before I ended up sitting down. My mind is still trying to adjust to what just happened, actually my mind is adjusting to the fact that some people send their friends to check up on their exes. "Not to get in your business, I know we've only just met, but do you mind me asking, does anyone actually send their friends to check up on their exes?" She could tell my question was very genuine by how baffled I looked. "No, but Jackson does."

She takes a deep breath, the kind you take when you're about to tell a story you've told a thousand times. "It wasn't so long ago that I broke up with him, and let's just say he didn't take it lightly." Alissa paused before continuing with a topic that looked like it would take longer than a normal one would. "Do you have anywhere to be?" she asked. It was half-past ten in the morning, I had a meeting with my editor and publisher in about thirty minutes for my new book, and I was running late. "Not really, I have all day," her eyes lit up as if she was excited to tell this story to a complete stranger. "Can I get you a coffee, or something to drink? It's a long story."