Eva's Sins.

LXXXII

„I never thought that my life will be so cruel to me"

  „Go! Right now! Both, leave this house immediately!" shouted Lorenne to the two girls, running up the stairs and, squeezing their arms, she shook them hard to make them come to their senses, for both were looking frozen, in the same place, and staring toward Christine, who was lying on the floor.

  Suddenly, Lorenne stepped in front of Eva, hiding Christine's body from the young girl's sight and, touching her cheeks with both palms, she told her: „listen to me carefully, Eva - never ever talk about what happened here. Did you understand me?"

  Shaking like hell, Eva didn't answer. She only stared into Lorenne's eyes, who kept staring into hers, and, so soon, the young girl's eyes filled with tears. „No. No time for crying," shouted Lorenne. „It's time to be strong, finish climbing these stairs, and go to your room to gather your stuff. And... if someone ever asks you where you've been at the moment Christine Bircham fell on these stairs, you should shortly and clearly answer: as far as possible from her. And... not even think to mention the fact that you fought with her. Did you understand me? Don't say anything that can turn you into a suspect or get you into trouble. That's why... listen to my advice and quickly gather your things," Mrs. Fabeau demanded them and pushed them from behind, forcing them to leave the place.

  Only when Eva's room door closed behind the two young girls, did Lorenne rush to descend the stairs and, with shaking hand, even if she also didn't know why she felt like this, she approached the index finger from Christine's nostrils and waited. But... she felt no blowing of air for about 2 minutes of waiting, and this made her hissingly breathe out. Then, after squeezing and relaxing the fist a few times to calm down at least a little bit, Lorenne touched Christine's neck and checked for a pulse. And... she wide-opened her eyes: it was still felt, even if very weak. But... so soon, that pulse, that was barely felt at touching, stopped beating, and Lorenne understood that definitely everything was already lost.

  „Damn it! It's everything that was missing!" she murmured, even if she came there to fulfill Lyre Walker's command and get rid of Christine. But what Lorenne intended was to send Mrs. Bircham far away from that city, telling her that the „Red Ants" intend to kill her and, if she cared about her life, she should run, very far from that place, and never turn back.

  Life instead, as always, had other plans for her, plans that weren't part of her list of „must do." But... how she couldn't do anything else to change that situation, she could only give up and accept everything as a real fact.

***

  Breathless and with her blood somehow frozen in her veins, Eva was gathering her things in a hurry, putting them inside a small bag she brought with her when she turned back to that home.

  Anne, the same or more hardened than Eva, was sitting on the bed and staring at the barely illuminated window, for that day was one extremely sad, with a purple sky, which was alike an upset child about to start crying.

  „What is to be done, Eva?" Anne murmured eventually, still staring at the window.

  Eva, without stopping what she was doing, said: „Nothing. There's nothing else we can do now, Anne. Only to listen to Lorenne and leave this house. It's the best thing we can do."

  „But, Eva, we... we killed Mrs. Bircham!" Anne almost shouted. Eva instead covered Anne's mouth with her palm and, staring into her eyes, she said to her:

  „And... what do you want to do? To sentence your child forever only because you have a conscience? Will you sentence him or her to live like the son or the daughter of an assassin, hiding from everybody? If so, go ahead! I... won't do that, for... that's enough my sufferance. I don't want my girl and Brian to suffer too. That's why... I'll take this secret with me in the grave."