After the End

Chapter 4 - Guilty

Allegra shuffled in her seat, unsure whether or not she wanted to see and hear this aforementioned 'proof', and swallowed thickly, preparing herself for the worst.

"What proof?" she asked.

"Emails, texts..." Taylor replied, pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and scrolling through various apps and messages. "She sent me numerous pictures of letter plans she'd made. Look." She pushed her phone under Allegra's nose and swiped the screen right every few seconds, revealing many letters that were written in red.

Each image sent shivers down Allegra's spine and brought an old familiar nauseous feeling back into her stomach; a feeling that she did not welcome, and she abruptly pushed Taylor's phone back to her.

"Why didn't you show the police any of this?" she asked, still doubtful.

"I did... Eventually," Taylor said, locking her phone and putting it back into her pocket. "They just said it wouldn't help my case. They said it was too late."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Taylor shrugged. "Maybe because I..." she trailed off, her mouth dry and her hands shaking. "I pleaded guilty."

"You what?"

Allegra had turned pale; paler than normal. She had hired a solicitor for her case and was excused from the court hearings by the judge due to the nature of the case. Therefore, Allegra hadn't heard every detail that had been brought up, and her solicitor had failed to inform her of Taylor's plea.

"I pleaded guilty," Taylor repeated. "I didn't deny any of it. I told them everything; that it was all originally my idea, but Lucy became obsessed. Lucy denied all of it, even though they had your evidence and my evidence combined... She still pleaded not guilty." Taylor paused, recollecting everything that had happened that day in court. She remembered how smug Lucy had looked beside her the whole time; an image of wasted confidence. "Hence why she got a longer sentence than I did," she finished.

"Wait, she's not been released yet?"

"No. She got three months on top of my sentence."

"But... She's been trying to contact me," Allegra didn't understand. How could Lucy have been calling her if she hadn't been released yet?

Taylor just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"They still have phones in prison, Allegra," she told her.

Suddenly a young man appeared beside them, an apron tied around his waist and an excited smile on his face. He looked to be in his early-twenties, with warm brown hair, brown eyes and freckled skin, and was about six feet tall.

"Is everything ok for you ladies?" he asked them nervously, accompanied by an over-excited grin.

"Yes, thank you," Taylor replied plainly.

"My colleague was just wondering... Could I – I mean she have your autograph? Please?"

Taylor looked up at him, a frown in her brows, and was not afraid to disguise the annoyance she was feeling.

"What? No!" she snapped. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"Sorry..." her said slowly.

Taylor shook her head and turned her attention back to Allegra, waiting for him to disappear. A few awkward and silent moments passed before they released that this young man was not intending to go anywhere yet.

"What?" Taylor asked, looking up at him again.

"So, are you two friends now, or...?" there it was. The question that everyone in the café had paused to hear the answer to. Some eager fans had even started videoing the girls on their phones.

"I hardly think that's any of your business," Allegra responded calmly with a genuine smile.

"Sorry," the waiter said again.

"Thank you, bye!" Taylor hissed, shooing him away with her left hand.

"Thank you," he said. "Sorry," he said again. "Bye," and very slowly but surely, he walked to the front of the café.

"So..." Allegra sighed, allowing her mind to recap all of the information that had been provided to her before the awkward exchange with the young undertrained waiter. "Three months. That means she gets out in..."

"September," Taylor finished with a single nod.

Suddenly Allegra's phone began ringing, filling the silent-yet-crowded café with high-pitched tones as she fumbled around in her coat pocket.

"My sister is calling me," she said to herself as Naomi's ID flashed up on the screen.

"Is she ok?" Taylor asked as genuinely as she could.

"What?" Allegra asked, disbelief striking once again. Why would Taylor care how her sister was? She shook her head and looked at the clock on the wall of the café. Twenty minutes to six. "I should go, but um..." she stood, threading her arms through the sleeves of her green jacket, and watched Taylor stand as well.

"Thank you for hearing me," Taylor said quickly. "I really want to make it up to you, Allegra."

"I need to go," Allegra scoffed, stepping out from the table and tucking the light wooden chair underneath.

"Can I see you again?" Taylor asked.

"Probably not, Taylor," Allegra laughed. "I really need to –"

"Please," Taylor begged. "I need your help."

"My help?" Allegra echoed. At the moment, her phone stopped ringing, and she looked at it impatiently before turning to Taylor again. "With what?"

Taylor sighed, placing her palms on the table and leaning all of her weight onto them.

"You're not the only one Lucy's trying to get in contact with," she replied.