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Philip and Sheila Burgess should not have been so shocked when they received the news, but they were shocked nevertheless. Their son, their little Alex, the polite boy who enjoyed listening to Beethoven and drinking overly sweetened tea, had murdered a woman in her own home. Smashed her skull right into the floor. Philip was unable to sleep easily, even with pills. Sheila wailed and wept.
A few weeks later and the trial is over. Alex will be shut away in a prison for fourteen years, a common criminal. Sheila bawls all the way home, her mascara and eyeliner bleeding black and blue all over her handkerchief. Philip is numb, blank, drained. He has no clue how to feel by now. During the trial, he had run the emotional gamut. He was unused to such excitement and now wants nothing more than a shred of normalcy, of routine.
When the two of them finally return to the flat block apartment, Philip sinks into his favorite armchair and feels his entire body ache. It is like seventeen years' worth of fatigue weighing over every muscle. Sheila prepares tea with misty eyes and quivering hands.
"My son, my son," she murmurs, her breath shaky. She can hardly look at the black and white photos decorating the corridors, almost all of them of Alex, from infancy till his teenage years. By the time he is out of prison, it will be 1986 and he will be someone else entirely. She wonders how it has come to this, for all she and Philip had ever wanted was a quiet life together, with a quiet child who would grow into comfortable, quiet adulthood.
A/N: My first ACO fic. I read the book and saw the movie this year, and just fell in love with them both. A lot of the stories on this archive are about Alex- no surprise considering he is a fascinating literary/cinematic creation- but I decided to try a little of something different. I always wondered about Alex's parents, how timid they are and the question of how much responsibility they do or don't hold for how Alex turned out. This will be a three or four chapter character piece, hopefully one that is diverting enough for you guys.