Archie's Escape

Part 37

Five hours into the ten hour flight and Archibald still feels as though the hair has been stolen from his lungs. A pain he wouldn't wish on his most hated enemy. The tears have stopped flowing but his heart is continuously being ripped to shreds and pieced together only to be ripped apart again.

Watching his friend in such pain has made Gavin happy that he choose to distance himself way earlier but he still remembers calling her during Archibald's crying sessions

***Five hours ago ***

"Gavin, what do you want now, I'm busy" she immediately said upon answering

"Nothing dear, how is your girls day out" he nervously asks hoping she is having a bad day as he is

"I know you don't care what I do on my day with my best friend' she responds biting her lip and hoping he will get to the point "Look Gavin if you're calling for sex then today is not the day, it's never gonna be the day"

"No no it's not that Elle. I guess it was stupid of me to randomly call you but I really miss you and wanted to hear your voice. That's what I get for being around Archie and Philomena" Elle giggles at that, relating to the experience

"Say no more" silence descends on the both of them as they listen to each other breathing into the phone before Elle sees a crying Philomena crawl unto the bed she shares with her husband

"I have to go Gavin"

"Yeah so do I, but I'm sorry Elle. I am sorry for killing us" he tries to say more but freezes knowing he can't give away too much

"I know Gavin. Listen I'll spend the night today and we can talk more about it" she says biting her nails in nervousness "II really have to go. Talk later Gavin"

"Later my love" the call ends before she hears his endearment as she quickly rushes to comfort her best friend

***Present***

One of the air hostess brings him out of thought asking if he would like more of the scotch, which he accepts. The same hostess moves on to ask Archibald who fully ignores her, still lost in his numb world void of any emotions

Gavin's phone lights up with a call from Oliver which he quickly answers hoping for a little bit of good news

"How is he?" Gavin asks inquiring about King Rudolf's condition

"Chances of him making a full recovery are not looking good but I have faith in my king. He will pull through, he has to" he whispers more so to himself

"Our prayers are with you. We have five -six more hours to go before landing" he says looking at his watch

"Everything has already been put in place to ensure the security and comfort of the Prince. May I speak with him"

"Yes of course" Gavin walks down to where Archibald is sitting with his head leaved against the window lost in thought. "Archie" he whispers hoping to get his attention and fails

He finally resorts to shaking Archie's shoulders which bring him out of thought angrily with a scowl on his face.

"Oliver is on the phone and would like to speak with you" he puts the phone to his ear but still doesn't say a word

"My Prince, I am aware that this is a really difficult time for you but you will get through. Your father always believed you could survive anything" he waits for a response that never arrives "I would like to inform you that Mrs Williams has just been informed of your passing. We choose to go with a car crash" Archie inhales sharply feeling his heart being ripped out of his chest again this time with the pain way worse

"A few of our men were able to access the footage from the camera in the house, I thought you would like to watch the interaction" Archie's deep shrill voice cut him off

"Send it to my phone and I want Charles Taylor dead and his family stripped of every penny and sent back where they came from. Far away from her" he says not being able to say her name anymore before immediately passing the phone back to Gavin

His phone notifies him of the email drop. He quickly opens it putting his headset on to listen He watches Elle answer the door when the officers arrived. The male officer is the first to speak both with their hats on tight

"Good evening, Detective Jones and Detective Stevens here, are you Mrs Williams"

"No but if there is anything she needs to know then I can pass on the message to her"

"I am sorry Ms...'

"Elle"

"Ms Elle, it is crucial that we speak directly with her" Elle looks around nervously before asking them to wait as she calls Philomena

Archie's breath gets caught in his throat when her hourglass figure comes into view with her natural hair in a tight bun held together by the colourful scarf he had tucked in her bag when she was leaving the house.

"Hello, my name is Mrs Philomena Williams, how can I help you" she says fumbling with the door handle

"There was an accident on highway 50 in the afternoon that resulted in the passing of the driver and the passenger. The drive has been identified to be your husband Mr Archibald Williams and Mr Ivan..." Philomena goes deaf after hearing Archie's name

Her hand freezes on the door knob for a minute or two before the officers try call her name when her knees buckle. The loudest scream tears through her throat as she grabs her chest just screaming his name

"Dear God no nono!!" she cries "Wheres my husband! I need my husband! Archie baby no..." Elle pulls her into her arms also crying for Gavin.

A few minutes pass with them just crying before panic ensues again as Philomena losses consciousness from the pain. Her brain could not endure the pain of her heart being ripped out of her chest without any warning whilst trying to process the fact that she is now a widow.

The tears that had once gone dry rain out of Archie's eyes as the scene makes everything raw again breaking his heart all over. He watches as the officers rush to pick her body up and try to wake her up. He watches as an ambulance arrives at the scene to take her away. His body shakes erratically as the pain corse to every nerve ending merging with the blood in his veins like a drug

"I'm sorry baby..." he cries tracing his hand over her body on the screen

Gavin sits on the other side listening to the wails again as tears trail down his cheek as well. He finally begins to mourn his dead relationship witH Elle knowing he lost his golden ticket to happiness

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