Goodnight, Socialite

VI: The Nerve

*Danielle's POV*

I must admit, though my circumstances were still poor and untimely, watching Alexander grovel at my mother's feet was a sizable consolation. 'Helping the poor'? 'India'? The absolute nerve-- As if he'd ever helped anyone besides himself! Deceit and a charming smile: that's what Alexander Beckett was made of; no charity dwelt within that being. My poor mother... Such a foolish woman as it already was, but in such a state of grief i'm sure she would have believed anything. Alex was lower than i could have imagined, usuing my mother's vulnerability as he did. And all for what? A few pieces of gold? Well, from my new vantage point i can see right through him. I know who he really is, and soon, so shall the world.
•
That evening after he had cried and mourned with my mother, Alexander walked home, pockets empty, with an angry roommate waiting for him just a flew blocks down. Goodness, what i wouldn't give to see this on Earth- What i wouldn't give to throw it in his face and make him realize that it was all over: a man is broke, a girl is dead and a family: shattered. All that remained now was for his conniving ways to be exposed so that no girl would ever have to go through the pain i experienced... I didn't need friends up here.
Alex waiting at the door of his apartment, hand poised on the doorknob as he sighed. When he opened the door, his roommate immediately woke from his drunken nap and gave a grunt/exclamation of welcome upon seeing that Alex had returned.
"Evening, William."
Alex gave a quick acknowledgment to his 'friend' before scurrying off to his room. I suppose he wasn't ready to deliver the bad news to a half drunken brute like that. In the morning, however, Alexander would get an earful then, and i couldn't wait to see it all. I could already hear the shouts of the various words that colored Will's vocabulary, as well as the sound of Alexander's skull rattling due to William's fist making contact with it.
Just what you deserve...
The corridor to Alexander's bedroom was long, but on a night like this, it was particularly agonizing to walk. All the tears and pleading and the lying, yet still no money. I would have felt sorry for him, but i didn't. Before he opened the door, i knew what- or shall i say "who"-would be lying on the other side, fast asleep in Alexander's bed.
"Annabelle..."
Alexander said with a sigh. The smile that painted his face thereafter was enough to make me experience dying all over again.
The noose.
The stool.
The jump.
The struggle.
The darkness.
The light.
Over and over again, my last moments played through my mind, blurring my thoughts of anything else, pausing time itself. This was his secret... The secret that took the air from my lungs and the beating from my heart. The secret that hung from the ceiling and fashioned a loop for my young neck. The secret that had me swaying from the rafters, painting in hues of purple and blue and white. The one i loved... Loved another. It could have been any other girl; a tramp from the street, a wealthy duchess, but in the end, it was my best childhood playmate.
Ah, the laughs we shared and secrets exchanged, when we were 6 and i fell and scrapped my knee and she was the only one to help me to my feet.
"You'll be alright." She told me, patting the dust from the back of skirt. "Be strong, Dani."
12 years of friendship, trust, and love all to end here, in the bed of the only man i ever loved. I had hoped to lie there once, but now i would never know the comfort of his sheets or the warmth of his body next to me.
Annabelle began to stir with the candlelight of the main area pouring in through the open door where Alex stood.
"Alexander... Darling...?"
She said drowsily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her pale green eyes. He quickly and quietly closed the door before removing his trousers and coat to reveal his undergarments. Slipping into bed next to her, he snaked an arm around her waist and pulling her close, spoke into her ear softly.
"I'm sorry to have woken you, love. I just got home from the Ainsworth Estate."
Just as Alexander was about to situate himself against her, Annabelle propped herself up onto her elbows and looked down at him.
"What were you doing at the estate? I doubt you've taken care of any of Dani's funeral arrangements..."
A glint of sadness reached her eyes as the words about my funeral trailed off her lips. Maybe she hadn't completely forgotten our memories together... But that didn't change for me. Alexander merely turned over with an overly exaggerated yawn, avoiding the question.
"Alexander Beckett."
I had never heard so much pent up ferocity come from Annabelle before, she was usually the nicer one of the both of us. My mother even wondered how i had taken the eye of a handsome young man before Annabelle; i suppose she was right all along, i never really had his eye, did i? Alex turned over submissively and scratched the back of his head as he began to explain.
"I... Went to see the mother- and poor thing, was she in a state of grief."
Alexander was playing his usual con games but Annabelle could see right through him. Maybe that's why he fell in love with her over me. I was too naïve to see who he really was, but Annabelle could read him like a novel. She saw him without the lies... And still accepted him.
"You know you can't lie to me, what were you doing at the manor?"
"Very well. I went to collect the inheritance that i would have gained had Danielle not met her end so untimely.- I was thinking about us! How else are we going to live in this flat? As it is, William has even fallen behind on rent lately, and i don't see you hitting the streets very often anymo--"
There it was. The part i had missed. Annabelle had been so distant the past few years. After cutting off her expenses her when she had created so much debt for her parents, her own family had disowned her for unknown reasons and she was no longer talked about amongst the upper class. That's why. When her parents cut her funds off, she had no choice but to prostitute herself just to keep her lifestyle maintained. After being disowned, it was no longer about lifestyle, but rather living. Imagine... Selling yourself to men every night just to put a few crumbs on the table. Had i only known the truth, i would have helped her during my time on Earth, but now, i can only sit and watch as all the ones i love deteriorate and make their true selves known.
As the words left his mouth, Alexander immediately began to regret saying such things. He knew the weight his words carried, and how far they dragged Annabelle down with them.
"Anna,-"
Alexander began, extending an arm to barely graze her shoulder as she pulled away almost in disgust. The two stayed in deep silence for a time, feeling guilty for their own reasons. Annabelle, refusing to look at him, gave an ultimatum:
"Alexander, those people were good to you- they were good to both of us. If this is what you think you have to do, then do it, but i wash my hands of it. This is your sin alone."
Just like Pilate and Christ. I think to myself. Her only crime is cowardice. Oh, Annabelle, my old friend. If only you'd seen that there is so much more to the life that you live than just... Living.
Alexander gave a slight smile, a sadness still shown in his eyes. This time when he extended his hand to her back, she did not turn away in disapproval, but Annabelle was not yet ready to see his eyes and all that they wanted to tell her. Alexander had that affect on people; not only could he lie through his teeth and still sleep at night, his eyes were like mirrors. Looking into them, you could see everything that you have been, everything you are and everything you've ever wanted to be. What a sleazy creature. My only regret in that life was that i fell so hard and so fast for the worst kind of person.
He must be punished.
I will be avenged.
...And i know how to do it.