Boren Avenue

Boren Avenue
Six months later…

(Alice’s POV)

“Good Morning Mr. Daniels…”

“Good Morning Ms. Wonderland. How are you today?”

“Thank you so much, I have prepared your coffee and today's newspapers are on your desk. I have folded the pages I thought you might want to read first.”

“Ah! The best coffee in the world from the best assistant. Thank you.”

“Anytime!” 

When Mr. Daniels was walking into his office, I felt something different on my face. For a second I thought I was having a stroke and my face acting on its own accord. But no, it was a smile. A smile coming after six months. 

After all the things that had happened with the Alonzo brothers, I still don’t know how I survived. As soon as I left that wicked building on that ominous day, I barely saw where I was going. But there was one thing keeping me going. Saving my sister. 

I sucked up my feelings, pulled up my panties, and left that place. I didn’t know where Anton went. I didn’t care either. As soon as I managed to leave there, I called Don Virelli. I met with him, handed over his money and took my sister back. He was aghast when I said I was paying him. He didn’t expect that, as I read from his face. But he only said, “My word is my honor.” And had given me my sister. 

Since then, Bunny refused to talk. And I could not blame her. It was me who needed to be blamed. Me, and my wrong judgement, not to prevent all of this, by acting a day earlier. 

After I left Don Virelli’s place, Matt tried to call me. He called me a thousand times. But I needed him once. Just once I needed Matt’s help more than anything in the world. And he failed me. He made me stoop to his brother's feet. I didn’t want to see his face, which would be a lighter version of my worst nightmare.  I didn’t need any Alonzo bullshit anymore. I was foolish enough to mingle with them in the first place. 

I shook myself out of these thoughts, I have already blamed myself enough. I blamed myself for everything, including coming to this city. We sold the house eventually. None of us wanted to live in that place anymore. Even though it was our childhood home, it started to feel more like a cage after all those men watched the house for days. Then we moved to Seattle, nearly to the other side of the country. I have chosen to come here, because there was no Alonzo company investment or corporation in this area. 

I found a job, executive assistant again, at a smaller company. The CEO was pretty impressed from my previous experience. Apparently, Anton didn’t put a word out to prevent me from getting hired. What a fucking generosity. 

And there was a good law firm here that belonged to one of my father's old colleagues. I was thinking it was a good chance for him as well. But, dad was not good enough for doing anything yet. But this wasn’t keeping him away from drinking though, a new habit he developed in the last six months. I was catching mom looking at him worried when he passed out from drinking on the couch. And the same eyes turned ice cold when directed to me. Mom was a wreck. And I was getting it. She was not eating well or sleeping well. All she did was worry about Bunny, Rachel and dad now. I was not sure if she was feeling the same way for me. Even if she did, she was very good at hiding it. 

In the first couple months I was living with them, but then I realized my existence was a trigger for them. Especially for Bunny. After two months of the incident, one day I was passing by her room and I heard the little sobs I heard every night from her room. This time I squared my chest and decided to enter the room. I softly knocked on her door and entered. The moment she saw me she startled like a gazelle seeing a headlight on the road. Seeing her like this broke something in me. I was a stranger to my sister now. More than a stranger, I was a reminder of a nightmare.  So I decided to move out. Now I have a tiny apartment, tinier than the previous one, on Boren Avenue. But I am good.

I called Rachel when I rented an apartment. I shamelessly requested from her to come and help me to move out. Not that I needed help, but I needed an excuse to call her, see her. She turned me down, like everytime I tried to reach out to her nowadays. Rachel dropped out of college and decided to go somewhere cheaper, even though we had fought for the opposite. She started working and paying her own expenses. I tried very hard for her to accept some help from me but she refused. 

The old clock on the wall struck six, pulling me back from a spiral of emotions and thoughts. I asked for permission to leave from Mr. Daniels. As always, he smiled genuinely and bid a goodbye. A normal person acting kindly to his assistant was something surreal to me. But I got used to it faster than I thought. No grumpy faces, no meaningless anger, nothing. 

When I stepped out of the building, the rain began falling in light drops here and there. I looked up to the sky and a couple stray raindrops fell onto my face. Here we go again. It was enough for me to open my umbrella. Locals were very used to these rains that never seemed to stop. They generally didn’t even bother to open an umbrella. But I was still in dire need of an umbrella. Six months was not enough for getting used to that much rain. 

I opened my polka dotted umbrella and took the road to home. Maybe there was still hope for me. Maybe one day I could leave all this nonsense behind for good and look ahead. Meet normal people, like normal people, date normal people…

No, not dating. The idea sent shivers down to my spine. Not dating for a long time. But a better life. A normal life? Why not?

(Unknown POV)

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. 

“Have you found what I asked?”

“Yes sir. I will text you the details.”

“How about the money?”

“No sir, I couldn’t transfer it.”

“Why?” he asked with his predator low voice.

“Uhm, sir, I don’t know how to say it…”

“Say it already!”

“Well, at my last transfer trial, she returned the money with a note and I believe she closed all of her known accounts. Because after that, all transfers we tried bounced back from the bank saying the account does not exist.”

He gritted his teeth. He was also squeezing the phone so tight it was about to crack.

“What was the note saying?”

“Well… It was saying… I don’t need your charity.”

He hung up and hurled the phone across the car. It shattered against the window.

He would try again. And again. Until finding a way back. Until getting back what is already his. 

The remains of his phone lying on the mat pinged. He picked it up and looked at the address in the message. 

“Boren Avenue!” he shouted to the driver.

“Yes, Mr Alonzo.”

…