Third pov.
" Alessia, wake up... you should go change now, we're landing soon." Antonio says while shaking Alessia softly in her shoulder to wake her up from the nap he insisted she took.
She sits up and rubs her eyes before going to the bathroom. She brushes her teeth, and puts on her black jeans, a black turtleneck, and the golden necklace with a cross that she got from Austin a couple months ago. She put on some mascara as well after she checked that her black eye is still hidden.
Robin goes in there after her and changes to black pants and a black bottom-down shirt.
No one says anything.
When they land, they take a black car to the church where Gabriella' funeral is taking place. When they arrive at the church, Antonio barely gets to stop the car before Robin jumps out. Alessia sees why when she jumps out as well, his friends and his whole Baseball team and coach are there. He's hugging everyone.
Antonio steps up to her, he has seen Robin as well.
"Are any of your friends coming?" he asks her, Alessia feels a lump forming in her throat, I don't have any friends she thinks. Before she gets to answer someone calls her name.
"Alessia!" Alessia turns around and sees the well-known, green eyes and blond hair. She runs and jumps in the arms of her boyfriend. She stands there in his big arms wrapped around her, she doesn't want this to end, he gives the best hugs, and that's something she really needs right now. Comforted by her boyfriend Alessia doesn't notice her father' eyes boring into Austin, mentally praying for letting it be a friend, and a friend only, he doesn't want any guy's filthy hands on his daughter.
They walk inside and sit in the front row, Alessia sits between Robin and Austin, Austin has his arm around her, Robin has his best friend's Noah arm around him while Alessia holds his hand. Alessia sees Antonio have taken a seat in the back along with Robin' baseball team.
Alessia and Robin cried silently in the church.
Still with Austin's arm around Alessia they walk out after the pallbearers. Alessia watches Robin's sad face while he carries the coffin out with five other men dressed in black. They walk outside and stop when they reach a big hole in the ground, they slowly sink the coffin down the hole, and Robin walks over to Alessia.
Everyone gets an orchid to throw down to the coffin, before they fill the hole with the cold dark dirt, trapping the mother of seven kids, but none she truly has been there for.
Orchid was Gabriella's favorite flower, in the summer when the park was full of them, she made garlands out of them, Alessia helped her collect the flowers.
Thousands of thoughts cross Alessia's mind, she was such an amazing mom.
"Alessia?" Austin says, but she doesn't hear him.
"Can you find one more Orchid for me sweetheart?" Gabriella asks.
"Yes mommy... see I found one."
"Good job sweety" Alessia admires her mom finishing the garland they have worked on together, "and then you fold it like this, aaaand voilà." She put the garland on Alessia's head, "you look so beautiful, a true princess."
"Thanks mommy... I look more beautiful than you," she giggles, Gabriella acts insulted with an open mouth that quickly turns into a smirk.
"What did you say?" She grabs Alessia's arm and pulls her closer just to start tickling her. Giggles from the six years old girl sounds like music to her mom' ears.
"My stomach hurts," Alessia laughs. But it didn't stop her mom from tickling her but the opposite. Her mom starts tickling her even more, not letting herself stop by her daughter's begs.
"Stop, stop!" she giggles. "No noo"
"NO NOO!" Alessia screams, trying to get down to the coffin, Austin holds her back in her arms, her legs give up on her, and falls howling to her knees. Austin kneels and pulls her into his arms. Alessia keeps howling into Austin's neck, she tries to get out of his grip, and pushes him away and moves towards the coffin, howling and screaming. Robin kneels next to her with tears streaming down his face.
"Alessia, you need to- "Robin cries, she pulls him into a hard hug, and they howl into each other's shoulders.
Rain begins to fall from the gray sky. It doesn't take long for the rain to make the grieving people soak in their own dark clothes, no one can now see what is tears and what is rain, but the world knows a tear drops from the tattooed and muscular man's eye. He's standing far away, watching his kids break down. Screaming, howling fills his ears like the pain and his urge to run to his kids and hold them and let them cry in his arms.
*
In one of the bedrooms in the big Hotel room in Northern Ireland, sits Alessia in her bed with folded hands, mumbling, "tell her I love her, that I'm sorry I couldn't prevent it. Tell her she was an amazing mom. I'm sorry I'm not strong, that I'm doing terribly taking care of Robin, that I have failed him, failed you, failed myself. Sorry for everything I have done and those things I didn't do. Amen." She lies down on her bed and cries her heart out until she doesn't have any tears left.
Antonio knocks at Alessia's door with her pizza in his hand, when he walks in, he sees his daughter curled up in the bed with red eyes, and tear stained cheeks.
"Do you want to eat with Robin and I in front of the tv or in here?" he asks with a reassuring smile. Without a word she wipes her eyes, stands up and walks out in the living room where Robin is sitting with his pepperoni pizza.
They sit on the white leather couch, watching baseball, and eating pizza.
When they are done eating Antonio takes the pizza boxes and throws them out. Alessia sees the newspaper that was lying under the pizza before. She picks it up and looks at the frontpage, and she immediately wishes she didn't.
Killer on the loose.
Friday 1 July Allan killed his wife. The police are still trying to find him, but it certainly doesn't look good.
Antonio takes it carefully out of her hand, "maybe you shouldn't read that right now sweetheart" he says with the softest voice he can muster. Alessia doesn't say anything against it, so he folds the paper and lies beside him.
I can't believe they haven't got him, Alessia thinks, but there won't happen anything, we go back to New York tomorrow and he is here in Northern Ireland.
But what Alessia doesn't know is that many miles away, an untidy man with thin gray and blond hair walks out of the gates he has been in for the last three and a half years.
He feel the cold wind softly kiss his cheek, he take a deep breath through his nose, he smell the wet grass from the rain, he hear the cars on their way to work, he see the sun come out of the clouds and light up everything around him, he look at the hot-dog cart and can already taste the fresh hot dogs.
He feels, smell, hear, see, and taste freedom.
He's free.
For just an hour ago all he could feel was the same coldness around him, the same cold concrete floor, the only thing he could smell was sweat, metal and coldness, all he could hear was screams, begs, and cries or nothing, all he could taste was the same boring food, all he could see was gates holding him back like a helpless little rat hidden from the world he used to be in, a world where he once had power and control.
He walks over to the hot-dog cart, a black man with a white apron and a white hat, sits and reads the newspaper. When he sees him, he quickly stands up, "what can I do for you sir?"
"What can I get for 5£?"
"A regular with one topping."
"Okay, one with ketchup."
"Alright, coming up." His eyes land on the hotdog guy's newspaper.
Killer on the loose.
"May I look in the newspaper sir?"
"Of course," he answers and hands him the paper.
Killer on the loose.
Friday 1 July Allan killed his wife. The police are still trying to find him, but it certainly doesn't look good. More on page 5.
He turns to page five and reads.
Friday 1 July Allan killed his wife leaving the two children, a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, with a father they have never known. The police are still trying to find him, but it certainly doesn't look good.
Apart from killing his 51-year-old wife, he also brutally kicked and punched the daughter several times. The daughter and son is safe and sound with their father in New York-
"It's ready."
"Thanks." He hands back the newspaper and gives him the 5£ and gets his hot dog.
He gets Ketchup on his hand, but he just wipes it off in his same dirty gray pattern button down shirt and gray sweatpants with a matching zip up hoodie, which he has worn the last three and a half years behind bars.
He begins to eat his food while thinking. New York?
Wordcount: 1601
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