Le Coeur

Chapter Three

Chapter Three;

After stumbling around my kitchen for a while, finding cereal here and milk there, I seated myself next to the window. The day seemed to have a dull careless feel, with the clouds that lay overhead all the same dark, weighted colour. I instantly decided that it was an indoors day, where I would ignore the outside world and slumber around the house.

This decision however, was interrupted by a knock at the door.

I soon found my visitor to be Leroux.

He was drenched from head to toe- obviously it had been raining- and was chattering away the second he heard me coming for the door.

“- and so that’s why you’ve got ‘to leave”. He was speaking so fast, I could only decipher the minority of what he was saying.

“Leroux!” my voice echoed around us.

“There’s no time to talk Am’, Brys is already on his way here, and if he gets you, I think he might hurt you more than last time”.

I blinked a few times. “What?”

But Leroux had lost his patience with me and was tugging on my shirt sleeve- dragging me from my warm house to the wooded area behind. After a few moments more, he broke into a jog.

It’s all fine when Leroux runs- he was athletic and overconfident in his strides, but when I find it necessary to move at a fast pace, I was a fallen tree, tearing through the forest with a great fuss. He was literally dragging me through the dense bushland.

By the time we had completely left civilisation behind, he was puffing out great gasps, and was forced to slow to a fast walk.

Between gulps of air, he slurred words that I only caught by my years of experience.

“The great jacka- thought you were- involved as soon- he went to the scene- and then- some kind of proof- but I don’t- understand”

I tensed. My muscles were frozen into position. All that ran through my mind was, ‘It wasn’t a dream’.

I was about to explain myself when the distant sound of a firearm being triggered rang in my ears- as if it were a lulled siren- or a silent warning of trouble.

Leroux must’ve heard it as well, judging from the expression on his face.

Once more, we picked up our pace- now running with new fear- until I was on the verge of running clean from my legs.

“Stop”, my voice came out raspy with fatigue.

Leroux, upon hearing my whimper, slowed until he was completely stationary. He turned slowly to face me- with tired, sweaty features.

“We can’t do this Le. We can’t.” His face went slack as I spoke this.

“But I can’t let you be punished for something you didn’t do!”

This shocked me. Here he was, believing me innocent without even knowing what had happened- it was an act of pure friendship, with faith, trust and even a little bit of hope in hand.

I couldn’t help but cringe at his kindness, though. I had yet to tell him of last nights’ events- and I was hoping with all my might it wouldn’t draw back his care.

So with-out a moment more I told him.

At first he looked mildly concerned, which then turned to a slight shock-and as I spoke further he began to look utterly stunned.

When we were both young boys I would tell him scary stories to try to frighten him- always failing at doing so of course- and now it almost felt like I was reliving one of them, minus the fictional circumstances.