Beautiful ➳ Neil Perry.

vingt-deux

It was four o'clock in the morning when Alice found herself standing at the front doorstep of the Perry's home, shivering from the treacherous cold wind. She knocked firmly on the wooden door, determined to fight her way past Mr. Perry to get ahold of Neil. He'd always been there for her when she needed him most. It was about time Alice returned the favour, whatever that meant this time.

Then it was like everything soon fell into slow motion— everything was happening all too fast for Alice to keep up. The front door slammed open, Mr. Perry's shocked face greeting Alice alone. He'd looked so disturbed and speechless— a state she never expected to see from him tonight.

"You have to go," he drew in a deep breath, "You . . . You have to go now. You cannot be here right now."

Before Alice could argue with him, a loud scream sounded from inside of the house. Without an invitation, Alice rushed after Mr. Perry into the house. Unsure of exactly where Alice's feet were taking her, she didn't mind the scolding she was yet to receive from Neil's parents as long as she could find him.

And there he was, lying in his mother's arms, dressed only by a white blanket his mother seemed to have thrown over him just now. Neil was still— too still. There was still blood seeping from the wound on his head, staining the green velvet carpet beneath him. There was no movement at all, the usual rose colour across his cheeks faded to none. It was now certain he was now dead.

Silence filled the room as his mother shook him, in the attempt to wake him up. Had he hit his head somewhere? Fallen from a height? How did any of this happen?

"Neil," his name left her lips before she could completely comprehend what had been happening. It couldn't be. Neil was very much alive ten minutes ago. Alice had heard his voice clearly, it was still so fresh in her mind.

Her eyes flickered to a certain object that had come to her attention— a silver object that had been carelessly kicked aside from the scene. The head wound . . . the blood . . . the stillness . . . the gun. It was all starting to add up now.

Alice shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes at the thought of losing him this way. Neil Perry, the boy lying still right before her, was gone for good? The Neil who gave her every piece of himself, the Neil who never asked for anything in return?

Mr. Perry rose from kneeling on the ground, his gaze finally snapping to Alice, "You need to get out of here right now. You shouldn't be here. Who are you, anyway?"

Alice's eyes were fixed on Neil and Neil only. It took everything in her not to lunge herself in his direction, taking him into her own arms. It took everything in her to agree with the older man, leaving the house as they were given the privacy they were begging for.

All of Alice's emotions were rising to the surface every passing second, a cold sensation running through her veins as she finally made the decision to find Todd. Charlie. Anyone who had the right to know.

Alice was out of breath by the time she reached the park, her cries and sobs filling the night air in a soft echo. There were so many questions. Why did he do it? The utter thought of Neil ending his life the way he did was all it took for the tears to resurface.

Had she tried harder to talk to him, tell him she had a plan in mind . . . Would he still be here? If she ran a little faster, found a way in somehow . . . Would Neil still be with her? As the time passed by, Alice started wondering where she'd gone wrong— where she'd made the mistake of losing him, letting him slip from her fingers so easily.

"What the hell . . . Alice? What are you doing here?"

Wiping away the tears with her sleeve, Alice looked up to the familiar face.

"God, it's freezing out here," he said, "You'll freeze to death if you don't cover up."

Charlie shook off his coat, wrapping it around Alice's shoulders as she took a deep breath to compose herself. Charlie's face softened upon realising she'd been crying, suddenly afraid he'd made the situation worse than it already was. His heart hurt more than he'd like to admit, seeing her in such a state.

"Charlie, we really need to talk," she started, voice breaking as she whispered the words, "It's about Neil."

Alice wanted to get straight to the point. She wanted to write it out for him, tell him right away but it was a lot easier said than done. She could barely utter a single word before bursting into tears again.

"Alice, just tell me, what's wrong?" he asked, curious but carefully tiptoeing with caution.

"Neil . . . He's gone," she managed to say between choked sobs, unable to explain further. Alice didn't know where to begin, unsure of how to explain every detail of the story. But the look on Charlie's face told her he understood enough of it.

Alice's words lingered in the air for a while before completely dawning on him.

"Fuck," he hisses through gritted teeth, his hands balling into tight fists.

Despite the fact that the pair had been standing only a fair distance away from the school gate, neither seemed to be concerned about getting caught at this time. Neil, one of their greatest friends, was gone.

Charlie turned away from Alice, wiping away the single tear that rolled down his cheek in one quick movement. If she wasn't mistaken, he'd been crying now. But Alice struggled to say anything more, staring up at him helplessly as they stood in silence.

Her bottom lip quivered as her lips parted.

"Charlie."

"Yeah?"

Alice wished more than anything that all of this was a lie. A nightmare she'd soon wake up from in just a couple of hours; a bad dream she'll tell Chris about the following day. But the way she felt her chest tightening every passing moment only told her it was none other than a reality.

And just like the snowfall, slowly and slowly . . . Alice soon realised Neil Perry was truly long gone.