Accident

"Can you tell us what happened, that day?"

Alice frowned in thought, humming nervously to give herself time.

She needed time to collect her thoughts, to remember the events prior and form a coherent tale. Despite it being only her and the officer, alone in the room, she felt like it was full of so many more; she felt each person staring down at her, invisible eyes boring into her soul, adding more pressure to her anxious mind.

But it wasn't her fault, it can't have been...

It shouldn't have ended like this.

Matt frowned. This wasn't an ideal situation for him, being sat face to face with a police officer.

He didn't need this, it was going to be hard enough already for him to get into a decent school, but this would make it... near impossible.

He shuddered at the thought, but shook it away. Now wasn't the time for worrying.

All he had to do was tell the officer what had happened.

Silena sighed.

She didn't have time for this. The officer stared at her, expectantly.

Something bad had happened. She knew it now.

Honestly, it was a surprise to most that she was still acting so nonchalantly after this long.

Seeing... what she had seen was finally starting to settle in. And it hurt.

But she had a reputation to keep up.

No feelings allowed.

"W-well..."

Alice mumbled quietly, unsure of how to begin. Last nights events had all happened so quickly, she was still shocked, grieving, and scared.

Why did it have to be them? Be him?

"We were all together.. our typical Friday night, you know? We were all happy.. we were happy! No arguments, no reason for a disagreement.. Or for..."

She paused, letting silence fill the room.

The officer grunts impatiently and she jumps, continuing with the story.

"So, we'd been out for a while at this point. And we all came to rest at this cosy little cafe of the corner... Cafe De Marco, I believe?

I wasn't paying too much attention throughout the night, b-but.. at this point, anyone could notice that Silena and he were angry with each other.."

She takes a few deep, nervous breaths before continuing

"They were s-sat on opposite sides of the table, glaring at each other a-and...

I think she said something f-first.. Yeah. Y-yeah! She looked up to him and asked him why he was mad!"

Her speech speeds up and takes on a more frantic tone

"He was furious at her.. and he left to walk away, I t-think. So Celia took off after him; this was rather out of character for her, but i know she really does care for him, so i didn't question it.."

She rubs her chin a little, trying to figure out how to continue

"I d-don't remember much more but.. I r-remember shouting. They had a small fight on the side of the road.. lots of people heard it..

I r-remember him getting really angry, and turning around. He stormed off to the other side of the road, b-but..

B-but he didn't see it c-coming..

A-and h-he...

and i-it.."

Matt took a breath,

"He and Silena had been having disagreements for a while now. It started with small arguments every now and again.

But nothing too serious! I mean, they'd had worse fights and came out just fine.

Which was why we didn't expect for things to end like this..."

He pauses to run his hands through his hair, pushing it out of his face so he could look the officer in the eyes as he continued.

"She was pissed at him, he was pissed at her. It wasn't hard to tell that they were both beyond annoyed. And, like the 'mature adults they are, they both decided that they should deal with it.

He sighs, taking a second to crack his neck before continuing,

" So while me and Al got a table, they went to the edge of the road to discuss it..

The conversation didn't last too long, going back and forth between the two of them, playing out like a rather loud tennis match. Before anyone knew it, they were yelling at each other; every word was virtually unintelligible, but you didn't need to hear them to know how angry they were.

Silena must've said something.. and you could see how hurt he was.

He turned his back on her, he'd obviously had enough.

But she continued to shout, to scream, to yell, so he took off, across the road."

Matt frowns, pausing. He opens his mouth to continue, but he almost chokes on his own words. He spends a minute or so like this, trying to put the event in question into words.

It finally comes out in a strained voice,

".... He didn't see the car until it was too late.."

"..."

Silence fills the room. Since the officer asked her his question, she hadn't said a word. She was far to busy thinking..

They were going through a rough patch, like any teenage couple would. An argument that they could easily resolve.

They could talk it out.

Which was why she had pulled him aside at the cafe. Alice and Matt were having a good time, and though she'd never admit it, she didn't want to ruin it for them.

"Why don't you trust me!"

It was the last thing she had ever said to him. It was in the heat of the argument and she was full of emotion; angry, annoyed and hurting, she wanted answers.

She wished she could take back those words.

She didn't mean for him to turn back, to run away.

She didn't mean for the car to turn the corner, unable to hit the breaks in time.

She didn't mean for him to get hit, in the middle of the road, with no way of preventing it.

After all, it was only an...

Alice finishes, finally looking back at the officer. Her teary, pleading eyes meeting his stern, yet understanding ones.

She opens her mouth for one final statement, her hoarse voice breaking the silence that had settled between them.

Matt frowns, screwing his eyes shut to prevent any tears from slipping out. Maybe, he could go back, if he thought hard enough..

Back before all of this, to when they were happy.

His mouth was unusually dry, his nervous demeanor making it dryer than a crisp sheet of paper, before opening his mouth to speak.

Silena clears her throat.

The officer looks to her with a start, almost startled by her sudden show of interest.

For the first time since he came in, she turned to face the man, staring dead into his eyes with an unreadable expression.

"It was only an accident."