"Thank you," she said quietly, hoarsely, and stepped away. A few more speeches were made, apologies were exchanged, and it was time for the burial. The caskets were lowered down into the large hole. Isobel could hardly watch as the guest went by, each with their own fistful of dirt to pour over the resting places of the dead.
Alice opened her eyes again when she felt the people moving around her. They were circling the now lowered caskets, throwing their handfuls of dirt. Alice dutifully took her turn, angling her head away from Isobel.
She circled back to her spot, head down, and found herself in front of a middle-aged woman whose shoulders shook with silent sobs.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am," Alice whispered.
(the stepmother)
Lorraine Davids raised her head at the sound of a voice, dried her eyes. But the face that greeted her was so chillingly familiar… but where has she seen it before? Definitely not as part of the family. “Thank you, dear. You were one of his friends?”
Alice hesitated. She couldn't get the familiarity out of her head. She just nodded, trying to clear her mind and figure out who this woman was.
“What was your name?” she asked quietly. “I’m sorry- I never met many of his friends.”
"Alice Murray." A flash of recognition. A specific scene she'd tried all too many times to forget about. Her heart dropped, and she stared.
Alice… Murray… Lorraine’s eyes widened as the realization hit her. But that’s not possible…… No. it’s a common name.
A choked sound came out of Alice's open mouth and she took a step backwards. She repeatedly shook her head, scar throbbing, psin thriving. It was all coming back to her now.
"No," she breathed raggedly.
"But I didn't– I didn't say anything……." Lorraine trailed off, understanding dawning in her eyes. Her head swam, trying to wrap around the concept that this woman was here at her husband and children's funeral. The grief that had threatened to overwhelm her was suddenly muted by the threat present, and she stumbled backwards, reaching for her phone.
Alice immediately caught the movement. "What are you doing?" she gasped. She caught Lorraine's arm midway to her pocket and held on to it. "What are you doing?" she repeated, throat tight.
Lorraine jerked away, a spark of fear igniting in her eyes. She didn't respond, only slipped away from the crowd as quickly as possible, dialing a number with trembling hands.
"No, no no, you're not doing anything with that," Alice said at normal volume. She marched up to Lorraine, flung her phone to the ground and smashed it with her shoe.
"Why are you here?" she whispered threateningly.
Lorraine stared in shock and disbelief. "My husband and children just died!! What are you doing here?"
Alice let out a sharp laugh. "It hurts, doesn't it? The loss of a child." The tears were dangerously close to falling.
"Leave me alone." The woman hissed, pushing all fear from her voice. "I am getting out of here and I am calling the police. Why. Are. You. Here?"
"Ask your daughter in law," Alice spat. Her vision was blurring, focusing on only one part of her surroundings: this godforsaken woman, this poor excuse of a human being. Alice reached up to Lorraine's throat.
"You think," Alice said quietly, tears streaming all of a sudden, "that you have the right to threaten me? After what you've done? Do you really think there's nothing I could report you for?"
Lorraine stumbled backwards, holding out her hands as if to defend herself. “My daughter in—“ Her mouth fell open, shock and horror dawning in her eyes. “Isobel?”
Alice slapped Lorraine hard across the face. "If you go anywhere near her I will personally make sure Keatons is raided and shut down," Alice spat.
The sharp slap jolted Lorraine into action. She grabbed hold of the deranged woman's wrists and shoved her back as hard as she could, turning and fleeing in the other direction.
Just barely stopping herself from falling over, Alice quickly regained composure and took off after her. Sprinting through the graveyard, twisting around graves, she barely felt her heart thrashing about. She was consumed by pain.
Lorraine stumbled back into the funeral, taking a brief moment to compose herself before scanning the crowd for Isobel. Locating her stepdaughter quickly, she ran forward and grabbed hold of her wrist. The young woman jerked back, caught of guard, and Lorraine took the opportunity to speak. “I need to call 911, now. Give me your phone.”
Lorraine was with Isobel. Alice sprinted up to them, yanked Lorraine away and punched her in the stomach. "This is for Jack."
Someone screamed. People’s heads turned. Lorraine yelled at them to run.
And through it all, Isobel just stood there, staring at Alice with a horrified expression on her face.
Alice whipped around at the scream. People were running. Away from her. Her heart skipped a beat; she… she was scaring them.
"Wait." She looked back around at Lorraine on the ground. Then burst out laughing– a cruel, shattered laugh. "YOU THINK I'M THE BAD GUY HERE?" she screamed at the scattered crowd, waving madly at herself. "DO YOU REALLY FUCKING THINK SHE'S THE VICTIM?" She laughed again, voice raw. She kneeled down next to Lorraine and took her by the chin, tilting the latter's head far back. A bland smile split Alice's face.
The yelling spurred Isobel into action. She wasted no time yanking the deranged Alice away from her stepmother, shoving her to the ground, grabbing Lorraine’s arm, and sprinting in the opposite direction.
Taken by surprise, Alice fell backwards. She caught on a corner of one of the caskets and a shooting pain flashed through her head. A loud buzz filled her mind and she slowly, gingerly sat up, feeling the spot where she'd hit her head. Her hand came away stained red.
She struggled to her feet and unstably took off after the two women, bleeding profusely, weaker by the step.
Ten minutes later, the two women were in a taxicab headed for their respective hotels, the police arriving on the scene. Isobel was completely silent, seeming to be in some kind of shock.
(wait the police are at the hotel or the funeral?)
Funeral)