Chapter 6
Evangeline woke up in her bed feeling like she had been hit by a truck. She felt her swollen mouth still sore from the fresh beating the policemen had given her. She had been confined to the house now for three months, too long for her sake.
Her father at first had tried to sue the policemen, then tried to get the government to do something about the way the police had treated Evangeline, but like society, government was corrupt and her father had shut himself up to his writing.
She quickly dawned on her robe and looked into her mirror to examine her face. It was still bruised, but the swelling had gone down to a minimum. Her arm still hurt even though the cast had been taken off weeks ago. And now like always, her thoughts turned to Alex.
How she wished she could leave this house, but her father had nearly bolted down the doors and windows so she couldn't leave. The death of her mother and the cruel beating from the police was enough for her father to nearly lose it. Evangeline quickly dressed into a nice summer dress and looked back into the mirror.
She no longer looked like the innocent that had wandered the streets looking for a boy in white. Now she looked like a woman who knew the cruelty of the world and how much it had taken from her. Her hair now curled loosely around her face and her big eyes seemed jaded to everything she looked at.
The Tchaikovsky poster reminded her of the first night he had touched her, the songs of Beethoven made her dream of his face. Everything around her screamed his name, yet she could not break through her walls to find him.
Her father had taken down the sketches she had made of him, he had even thrown away her records save for the one Beethoven album she begged him to spare. Everything was gone from her, even her heart, which was somewhere out there, with him.
Evangeline sneered at the sound of a typewriter clanging somewhere in the house. Her father had dived into his work and practically forgot about everything that he and her mother had. No longer did music play in the air, there weren't any sweet fragrances of candles, and it was just a cold empty house.
She had about enough of this hogwash and she quickly looked at her window. It was bolted down, but there was still some hope she could bust it open and free herself. She quietly climbed on her bed and began pushing all her weight against the window.
She could hear the metal creak under her hands and in an instant the window was barely up. She could barely squeeze through and decided she would leave it at that. Evangeline quickly grabbed some supplies from her room, mainly just a change of clothes and her usual female necessities, and stuffed them in a bag. She tossed out the bag first and then maneuvered herself out the window. She dropped lightly down on the ground and looked into the open sky.
The stars shined brilliantly and made Evangeline only think about Alex more. She prayed now that she had healed and could function properly she would find him once again like she had done long ago.
Alex stood in line, waiting for his chance to come. It had been simple really, he had heard of an experiment they were doing on people that would get you out of prison fast, then he had grown close to the Charlie, telling him all this chepooka about being good and all. Then like fate, the government had come to inspect all the lewdies of the prison for a nice subject.
He was going to get out, he was going to find her, and then he was going to make her his forever. It was a goal now to see Evangeline, to talk to her or hear her voice if only for a moment. The memories of his angel were driving him mad to get out, and it only made him cleverer.
"Not a chance, my dear fellow. The Ggovernment can't be concerned any longer with outmoded penological theories. Soon we may be needing all of out prison space for political offenders. Common criminals like these are best dealt with on a purely curative basis. Kill the criminal reflex that's all. Full implementation in a year's time. Punishment means nothing to them, you can see that... they enjoy their so-called punishment" the minister said as he passed by Alex.
"You're absolutely right sir!" Alex said quickly taking his chance.
"Shut your bleedin' hole!" the Chief Guard yelled at him.
"Who said that?" the minister said.
"I did,sir" Alex said loudly.
"What crime did you commit?" he asked.
"The accidental killing of a person, sir" Alex said calmly.
"He brutally murdered a woman, sir, in furtherence of theft. 14 years... sir!" the chief guard said in disbelief.
"Excellent. He's enterprising, aggressive, outgoing. Young. Bold. Viscous. He'll do" the minister said. Alex smiled at the compliments, knowing he was indeed viscous. And then like clockwork, he was released to the Ludovico Medical Facility, to be, "reformed" as they called it.
The only thoughts throughout his mind were to get to Evangeline. He had promised her that no harm would come to her, and he had broken it. Now like the gentleman he was to her, he vowed to make it up to her, somehow, someway.
Evangeline had luck finding out at least where Alex lived. It was a shady apartment, all beaten down and dirty. She passed by a few gangs but they took no notice of her, seeing as how they were either sloshed on milk or up to something more important than her.
She walked up the flights of stairs till she found the address that Liam had given her. He was surprised at her visit to the bar, but when she informed him of all that had happened, he seemed more than willing to help her.
"So this Alex fellow, he's good to ya?" Liam asked.
"Yes, well, he did get me in a bit of trouble, but on that night I was looking for it" she said with a smile.
"Your about as messed up as he is then love" he said "I'll have me boy's check up on it for you, but in the meantime you're staying with me, your pee doesn't seem to be all right in the mind now" he said. He was right, she didn't need to go back home, she was safer with Liam any day of the week.
And now she stood in front of Alex's home, thinking about what she would say. She lightly knocked and before she knew it there was an old woman looking at him. Her make-up was smudged and she smelled the faint aroma of cigarettes.
"Yes?" the woman said.
"Um" she said "Is Alex here?"
"Oh dear, you must be the girl he talked about" she said. Evangeline blushed and realized the woman was Alex's mother.
"Um yes, that's me, I'm Evangeline" she said holding out her hand.
The woman took it briefly before letting her in the door. An old man sat on a couch with a younger man as they watched TV. They didn't notice Evangeline as she walked with the old woman into what must have been Alex's room.
"Sit down m'dear, and don't mind that snake, he's been offly sickly lately and I don't think he's of any harm. He was Alex's little pet" she said.
Evangeline watched the snake as it sat almost as melancholy as she was without Alex. She had never been scared of snakes as she lightly took the boa in her arms and let it rest nicely around her hands.
"What happened to him?" she said petting the snake.
"He was sent to the prison, but now I've heard they are sending him to an institution to be reformed" the woman said cleaning up the mess of the room.
"Reformed?" Evangeline whispered thinking of her dear Alex, and what waited for him on the outside.