Murdered for love

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Natalia

If there is one thing I hate, it's taking the train. I Don't know why exactly, I've just never liked trains. So why am I standing at a train station? I'm actually waiting for Elijah. He had to leave town last week to visit his sick aunt. He had to make sure that his small cousins weren't to take care of themselves. Turns out that they were. He called his parents and just decided to move his father's sister to our town, so they can be near. He is very close to his aunt and his cousins so he wants to help as much as he can. He shouldn't take on the responsibility at the age of seventeen, but he really wants to, and I understand why. I'm not going to stand in his way, in fact, I have chosen to help out as much as I possibly can.

His aunt isn't with him right now on the train, but his cousins are. There are three of them and they are called Kayleen, seven years old. Dylan, five years old, and Charlie, three years old. I've met them before, I even met Kayleen when the other two munchkins weren't even born. They know me and I hope they like me. Elijah says that they do, they have told him so, and besides, who couldn't like me, he asked. I figure that a lot of people maybe doesn't like me, but that's like, you can't be loved by everyone. Or liked.

I have been waiting at the platform for about fifteen minutes now, the train s five minutes late. I'm not in a hurry exactly, but it's irritating that the train is late. It's always irritating, especially when you're waiting for someone. Suddenly I see a train and start to get excited, but the excitement disappears when I see that it's just passing by, it's not going to stop at this platform, that much is clear. I swear to myself. I really miss Elijah and I hate being apart from him even if it's for a good reason, I want to be with him all the time, that's how much I love him. I feel miserable without him. Something strange catches my eyes when I look around on the platform, frustrated that Elijah's train hasn't arrived yet. What I see is a girl who is starting to run from the other side of the platform, towards the passing train. I can see that she's about to jump.

No! I think to myself as I spin around and start to run the fastest I can, my hair flying around me. No!

When I run as I've never run before, I hear people scream out of fright, but none of them are doing anything to stop the girl. Idiots! I feel like screaming as I speed up when I see how close she is to the edge of the platform. How can people just stand by and watch something like this? Why aren't are they doing something about it?

I don't think I've ever run as fast as I run right now. People around me are still screaming of fright and panic. I see them all look at me as I run. They look at the girl who's also running, but not as fast as me. I'm catching up on her. Everything only takes a couple of seconds but it feels like an eternity. I finally reach her. I reach out my arm and grab the hem of her jeans jacket. I jerk her back just as she is about to jump and the train passes us. This was really close.

We both land hard down on the ground of the platform, dirt flying all around us. I scratch my knee and I'm sure I'm bleeding right now, but I don't care. I stopped her and that's all that matters right now.

"No!" The girl cries.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I scream at her. I'm furious right now. How could she do this? Think about these thoughts and make the decision? If it wasn't for me she would be lying all mangled on the rails right now. I look at her more closely. She can't be more than fifteen and I know I recognize her. She's one of the new freshmen at my high school. I've seen her in the corridor. She's almost always standing by herself with her light brown hair always down her shoulders, covering the sides of her face. She a cute girl but she won't let anyone notice that. I grab her arms, holding her steadily in front of me. Looking right at her. She's not looking at me, she's looking down at the ground. I can see that she's disappointed and ashamed. I don't like that disappointed expression though. "How can you even think of doing such a thing?" I shout, shaking the girl hard, her head dangling forward and backward. "Huh? What would your family say? Your friends? Everyone on this damn platform?" She doesn't answer me. The only thing she does is crying. Poor girl. How can anyone be so miserable they want to take their own life? I can't even imagine it. I can't even imagine thinking the thought. It's too horrible. What can drive a person to do that? And a very young person at that. I calm down just enough to stop shouting and screaming. My pulse slowing down. I take a deep breath. "Look I'm sorry for yelling but you scared the crap out of me", I say in a calm and soft voice. "Don't ever think about doing this again, whatever happened to you, it's not worth it because your life is so precious, you're so special, and earth needs you to live, I need you to live".

She looks up at me, still not saying anything. I shake my head and let out another breath of relief. I put my arms around her and pull her towards me. I hold her close to me, one of my arms around her, and on hand on the back of her head. She leans her head in my shoulder and I hold her closer to my body. I feel so scared right now and it feels like I'm shaking.

What if I'd been just a second late? She would've died. She would've been ripped apart by the train. Everyone would have it on their conscience, and the poor train driver... I don't even want to think of everything that could've happened if I would have been a second late. I pray a silent prayer to my fast legs, I may not be fast enough to outrun Elijah, but I'm still fast and today, it really came in handy.

I try to hold the tears inside of me. Thinking about the consequences makes it sting in my heart and burn in my chest. It's unbearable to know that such a young and beautiful girl wants to take her own life. I feel a little out of breath, thinking of everything that would've happened if I had been a slow runner.

Behind the girl I see ambulance men run towards us, with a stretcher. Someone must have called them. Of course. Not all of them could've been screaming dumbfounded idiots. Although I was the only one who physically tried to stop the girl.

They stop beside us and pry the girl from me. I've already let her go, but the girl refuses to let me go. She gives up though and lets them carry her up on the stretcher.

"Would you mind follow us outside the station and answer some questions, Ms...?"

"Colton", I say. "And yeah, I guess".

So I follow them off the platform, into an elevator, and down. We walk out of the station and to the parking lot where the ambulance is parked. Not in a spot or something, just roughly on the side of the entrance.

They put the girl in the ambulance but they don't close the door. One of them turns to me.

"Do you know this girl?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"But I know she goes to my high school, I've seen her around, she's a freshman", I say.

My phone buzzes. I look at it. A text from Elijah.

"Where are you, my love?"

I text him back quickly and put my phone back in my pocket. I'm very shaking so I almost drop it.

"Outside the entrance".

When we've been apart for some time, I become nervous to see Elijah again, I don't know why though, it's always been like that. I'm not shaky because of that right now though, and I don't feel nervous, I have too much on my mind right now.

"How did you save her?" He asks.

"I was standing far away from her on the platform, she was on the other side", I say. "I was frustrated that the train passing by wasn't the train I was waiting for and I saw how she started to run across the platform towards the passing train, I started running, you see I'm a very fast runner, and I caught her the second she was about to jump".

The lump in my throat is clearly hearable. I feel like I'm shaking. The shock has finally reached my body, tears escape my eyes and I start to shake even more. I can't stop thinking 'what if'. What if I'd been too late. What if I hadn't seen her running?

"Natalia!" I turn around to see Elijah with three blond children, the youngest clinging onto Elijah as if life depended on it. They rush up to me. The girl with her golden locks bouncing around her. "What happened?" Elijah asks, worry plastered on his face. "Are you hurt?"

"No Elijah I'm fine", I say.

"Why is Cali in the ambulance?" He asks shocked. I raise my eyebrow at this. He recognized the girl immediately and even knew her name.

"You know her?" The ambulance man asks.

"Sure, I help the art teacher in our school with the freshman's", Elijah says. "Her name is Cali Montgomery".

"Is Cali short for something?"

"No it's just Cali", Elijah says. "I... What happened to her?"

"Thank you for the information", the ambulance man says and sits in the car with his colleague.

They drive away.

Elijah looks after the ambulance. He looks at me when it rounds a corner and disappears. Waiting for an answer. I owe him an explanation. Of course, I tell him everything. I've never kept secrets from Elijah, not even when we weren't a couple. Besides, he still looks scared and deserves to know know what this was all about.

"You're a hero", Dylan says, taking my hand in his small one. He looks at me with a lot of affection. I think Dylan had a crush on me when he was younger. He looks a lot like Elijah, which maybe isn't that odd considering their parents look a lot like each other as well. I think that all boys in the Jones family

"Natalia the hero!" Kayleen cheers, applauding her hands.

But little Charlie is hiding behind Elijah's legs. He's a really shy little boy. Just like Elijah was when he was a little boy. He was very shy and I was very outgoing, maybe that's why we were such a good team, such good friends back then, just as we are now.

Elijah wraps his arms around me, pulls me close, and kisses my cheek. He whispers in my ear.

"You've always been my hero".

My body becomes all warm and I get a fussy dazzling feeling. Only Elijah has this effect on me.

"I hope that she feels better soon", I say. "I can't even imagine how she must have felt to be able to try doing such a thing, it breaks my heart".

"Ask her one day", Elijah says. "You saved her and I think that she would tell you".

"Maybe", I say and kiss him to calm myself down a bit.

Maybe I will ask her. I have to see her soon though, I have to know that she's okay.