Redress (gxg)

Chapter 31 "Grief"

It didn't take long until he suddenly stopped at a certain house, which looked like the same as the rest, but just looking at the structure made my heart pound once again, because I knew inside was someone whom I had been wanting to talk to since the call, it wouldn't be long now until I would find out what really happened, and just thinking about it made me feel sick to my stomach.

"Knowles is inside, with Mikhael," he informed impassively, before walking away, leaving me undecided. For a reason, I couldn't seem to take even a step towards the wooden door as I stared at it, because somehow I wasn't ready to face the reality as no matter how I convinced myself now that everything was just alright, I was starting to realize that it wasn't the case.

"Alex..." I breathed, trying to keep a tear from rolling down, before clenching my jaw, and finally to take a step forward after standing for a while. I wasn't ready yet, but delaying everything was already a torture. 

Reluctantly, I raised a hand, and eventually knocked on the door thrice, steeling my resolve at the same time. I didn't wait too long when I immediately heard faint footsteps from behind the door, and eventually hearing an unlocking sound, the door swiftly creaked open, revealing a seemingly big guy with arms covered with tattoos, the same as the guy I was with a while ago.

"Oh thank God you're here," the guy, who was probably Mikhael, eventually mumbled in relief as he immediately opened the door wide, and stepped aside to let me in. Hesitantly, glancing at him, I slowly made my way in as I felt apprehensive just by his presence, but my attention shifted to my left when I saw someone on the corner of my eye, and my gaze landed on someone familiar who I had been wanting to talk to. I couldn't forget his familiar face after our first encounter when he managed to stab Alex, and that time when Alex finally found him after that incident.

"Knowles..." I breathed, eventually noticing him shirtless, a patched up wound on his shoulder, "w-where's Alex?" I asked with shivered voice as my mind had started running miles now just seeing him wounded, and as soon as I mentioned her name, he eventually hung up his head, breaking eye contact. "What...happened Knowles?" 

"I...I'm sorry," he mumbled, causing the tear I was holding back to eventually come rolling down.

"Where...is Alex?" I repeated, trying my best not to break down as I got the feeling he was going to say the thing I had been dreading to hear.

He slowly shook his head, "I couldn't save her," he answered, and suddenly burst into sobs, "...everything just happened so fast," he added, briefly covering his face with his hands, and sniffled, "they...they were just talking, and next thing I knew..."

"What?" I mumbled, but he didn't answer immediately, and just looked down on the floor.

"He shot her...He shot Alex," he said, before raising his head, and looked at me with his eyes brimming with tears, "Clifford shot Alex...twice..."

I immediately shook my head, "No, no, that's...w-where's Alex right now? Where is she?"

"S-She fell into the water, I...I didn't manage to save her. After I shot and hit Cliff on his arm, he and his bodyguard saw me, and started shooting back, and I just...fled..." he said, mumbling the last word as his teary eyes stared at an empty space, and immediately, a surge of anger rose up within me just after hearing his last word.

"You bastard!" I yelled in anger, and eventually rushed towards him to hit him for leaving Alex, but I didn't even manage to touch him when I got near as a pair of strong arms instantly wrapped around me, immediately pulling me back. "Why did you leave her?!" I screamed, thrashing against the hold while crying my heart out. I couldn't explain what I was feeling right now, it suddenly became too unbearable after knowing what happened to her, it was like the emotions just suddenly rained down on me at once, and they were getting too much. I had thought about this outcome earlier, but nothing had prepared me when it became the reality.