Remains

These Four Walls / Little Mix

"So there you have it," Isabelle announced. 

Liam shifted in his seat. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened afterwards?" 

Isabelle sniffed and cleared her throat. "Well, when I woke up, I was in hospital. When doctors and nurses came in to check on me, I stayed silent. When police came in to question me, I refused to speak. Hell, I wouldn't even let my parents or Sadie come and see me at first. It was only when I was discharged from the hospital and returned home did I consider speaking again. However, even when I was visited, I barely spoke and couldn't keep myself together for more than a few minutes. I started to notice that people would treat me differently, and I began to push them all away. I think I made myself appear less friendly so that people would make an effort to leave me alone. I'm not sure why I did it, but it seemed to work. Even to this day, I haven't made contact with my family or friends. I think I'm afraid of what they'll say, or what they'll think of me now. I've done this to myself and now I'm too scared to mend my mistakes." 

Liam was silent for a moment, lost in thought, before inhaling quickly and speaking, "do you have any idea at all why you pushed them away? Was there some underlying emotion or feeling that fueled your decision?" 

"I think maybe it was all because of my fear. I was afraid of getting hurt again, or of seeing everyone getting upset by what I had become. The person I was before the terror attack was not the same person who came out of it, and it was painfully obvious to everyone," she admitted.

"What was the mental development that you endured after the event? How did your perspective and outlook change on the world?" Liam asked.

"I realized how awful that humanity can really be. I found out the hard way that the world doesn't care that bad things happen, and it leaves you behind if you dwell on them for too long," Isabelle snapped, frustrated, "I also learned that after a while, people stop caring. After I pushed everyone away, they all stopped caring about me. Hell, I stopped caring about myself. I was left on my own to suffer, and I didn't bother to make an effort to look after myself. If I forgot to eat, if I stayed awake for days on end, if I wanted to harm myself, who was left to care? Nobody, that's who. I lost any sense of direction or pride, and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. On the outside, I was still alive, but on the inside, I was dead and rotting. It's taken me five years to even come to terms with it, and I'm still not sure if I'm able to be rescued from the grave I've dug myself." 

 Liam sighed. "That's a lot to take in." 

Isabelle said nothing, her bottom lip quivering. 

"Do you know what I think?" he continued, "I think that you've progressed a lot more than you believe. I can already see that you're more confident with yourself compared with when I first met you. You may have dug yourself a grave, but you're wrong about not being able to be rescued. I think, that just maybe, you've rescued yourself." 

After he had spoken, the two were silent. 

Isabelle repeated his words in her mind, unsure of how to react. As much as she doubted herself, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was right. 

How can that be?  She wondered, how have I rescued myself? I still feel the same pain that I did five years ago, the same pain that reminded me that I was still stuck in this reality. The same pain that reminded me that I have to live with the impacts of someone else's anger and frustration. 

Isabelle still chose not to respond, shifting her attention to the window, where she noticed that the sky had turned black and the streetlights were lit. 

Liam followed her gaze cautiously. "It seems we both lost track of time," he stated, monotonous. 

"Yes," Isabelle responded dryly, "it appears we have." 

"Maybe it's about time I leave then," Liam said. 

Isabelle turned back to face him, "you will come back, won't you? I mean, my story has been told now, you got what you came for. Will I ever see you again?" 

Liam smiled. "If you want me to visit you again, I will. Remember, I told you that I'm here for you any time you need me after we're done here. I made you a promise and I'm not going to break it." 

Isabelle nodded, beaming slightly. 

Liam stood up, collecting his notebook and pen. Isabelle quickly stood up to match him. 

Liam turned to leave, but he stopped in his tracks. "Isabelle? Thank you. For everything. For sharing your deepest moments with me and for helping me be closer to my brother. Meeting with you has done so much for me, and I really hope you feel the same. I'm incredibly honored to have met you, and I'll see you soon, yeah?" 

Isabelle sniffed once, "yeah." 

"Oh, and before I forget," he continued, "I'll send you a copy of the article once it's done. I want you to be the first to read it. After all, I couldn't have done any of this without you." 

"Okay," Isabelle murmured. 

Liam grinned at her, giving her a small wave, which she returned, and with that, he made his way to the front door. 

Just like that, he was gone.