Isobel

Isobel Pt.14

Brendan sits stunned at the events that within a few short hours have completely shaken his world. He gets up and looks at the firemen who are trying to put out the blaze. He feels useless and walks away. But something makes him stop and turn back. He hears the sobs of a girl. She is sitting on the steps of a nearby house. He walks towards her and stands directly in front of her. He rests a hand on her shoulder. Her head is down and the hair is covering her face. She looks up at him. We can see her face more clearly now. We can recognise her as the girl in the café where Isobel worked, Anna.
He sits down beside her, relating to her distress. "I'm sorry," he said.
"I'm sorry. For you," she said.
He is puzzled. This girl knows him but he doesn't know her.
"You couldn't possibly know me but I know you loved her," she said.
He is still as puzzled as ever, but his ears prick up.
"I thought I loved at one time but I don't know," she said. "Its funny how love turns to hate. When the one you love does something so unforgivable to you."
What do you mean? He asked.
"Isobel and my boyfriend," she replied.
His face drops. He can't believe what this girl is telling him.
"They betrayed us both and it's been going on for a while; the cheating, the lying, the hiding behind backs. Until I followed him and he lead me here," she said.
"What happened?" He asked.
"It was my fault. I didn't mean for this to happen. I had to know. I had to find out for sure. But the truth is just sometimes too painful to know."

Anna explains exactly what happened. It takes place directly after the moment he said goodbye to Isobel and she walks to her flat. The taxi drives away. Isobel is on the steps of her flat. She is greeted by a man. Neither of them says a word. She just nods as she lets him into her flat, closing the door behind her. A car sits nearby and inside is Anna. She is crying. She has just found out a terrible revelation that her boyfriend is having an affair with her friend, Isobel. She sits in the car and awaits their return.

It is dark in the room. Isobel stands in the shadows of her room as if alone. The light from the outside streetlamp illuminates half her body. She moves her head to the side and down. A man is kissing her neck, although we can't see his face. Hands go around her waist. Her facial expression doesn't change. She looks straight ahead. She is sad. The man's hand touches her shoulder and slips her dress as it falls to her side. He kisses her shoulder. She bows her head at the hint of pleasure. She starts to exchange caresses as what sounds like pains come from her lips.

Anna sits in the car and observes the flat. The front door of the building suddenly opens and out comes Isobel with the man. Anna keeps on watching. Isobel embraces the man as they both get into a taxi together. The taxi drives off and out of sight. She gets out of the car and makes her way up the steps to Isobel's flat.
She discovers that the door isn't locked and ventures in. She is angry and grabs the nearest object she can find a lamp and sends it flying through the air and finally smashing against the wall. She starts to completely destroy the flat. Turning over the television set and ripping whatever clothes she can find. In her rampage, she fails to realise that the lamp has started a fire to the curtains and is steadily spreading through the entire flat. She didn't mean for this to happen and franticly runs away from the ensuing carnage. The fire destroys all that is in its way. There is a painting on the wall, the one that Isobel talked about earlier, as it starts to catch flames. The painting starts to bubble and is almost unrecognisable. We can faintly see the main figure of the woman as it is blackened.

Brendan stands looking at Anna in disbelief.
"I was angry," she said. "I wanted my revenge. I wanted to hurt them like they hurt me and the only way I knew how, was to destroy. Destroy what belonged to them. What they touched. What they cared for most. But by hurting them, I was only hurting myself."
"Why am I to believe you when you tell me this story? How am I to know, if it's true. I mean, I don't know you. You are just a stranger to me."
"How well did you know her? Was she really who she said she was or was it just your image of who you wanted her to be? You created a perfect picture in your head that nothing or no one could sway. And in a way no matter what I've told you or what she has done on you, you still have that overwhelming image of her. And that feeling of longing that you sometimes confuse with love."
"You don't know me and I don't believe what you tell me," he said. "I think you are insane for doing this."
"Love can drive us to do the most unimaginable things. It has that force and will. I couldn't control it and it overcame me."
"I will find her and she will explain all of this," he said.
"You can try. She probably left the same way she came here, by running away from something or someone. She may feel like she needs to make amends. To right a wrong that she feels she has caused."