Kate's POV
I stormed out of the house, unable to believe my ears.
How could William do such?
His behavior since Stuart's accident had been strange, and I trusted him too much to suspect anything. Although William would never hurt my son or me, to the best of my knowledge, he treated Stuart as though he were his son but none of that mattered now.
I kept walking in the dark, silent night with no destination in mind. Of course, I had no intention of going to the cemetery this late.
All I wanted was to go far away from William, from the reality of Stuart's death, from everything. The wind was rushing on my face so that my already teary eyes watered the more.
I turned around, expecting to see William chasing after me, but there was no one in the street. Now, this is strange. William would never do that. What did I miss? I asked myself while I resumed my walk, apprehensively. Now that I realized that I was alone in the dark, I became very scared, but I was determined to not return to the house tonight.
Containing my fear, I continued my walk on the narrow road, not caring so much about my safety.
I stopped to look behind me the second time when I heard the sound of a fast-moving vehicle. From a distance, I could make out the frame of the vehicle with no headlight on, racing towards my direction. Alarmed, I started running, looking for a safe place to hide from whoever it was that was racing towards my direction.
I soon got tired of running, so I began to trudge until I came by a shade. Without a second thought, I stepped into it, with the hope that I wasn't seen, and more importantly that whoever was in the vehicle wasn't after me.
I laid low in the shade, willing myself to make no sound, and how much relief I felt when the vehicle sped past the shade, going farther into the night.
Just when I heaved a sigh of relief, I heard my name in the still night. My hand flew to my mouth immediately to stop the fearful cry that was bubbling out as I was thrown into another feat of panic. I was too afraid to notice that a vehicle had been right behind the one that sped past me.
"Kate!"
I heard my name and my whole body went numb.
William's POV
I watched helplessly as Kate stormed out of the house. I knew I should go after her, and plead with her to come back home with me, but I also saw an opportunity to fix a loophole I just discovered.
I took out my phone and called Sofia. She answered at the second ring, without hiding her displeasure.
"This better be worth disturbing me at this time." rang out her voice, from the other end. She sounded tired and sleepy.
"Kate is on her way to visit Stuart's grave," I informed, cutting through formalities.
"Wait, what?" She replied, now fully awake, and conscious of the state of events.
"She was furious I buried him without her knowledge and insisted I tell her the location of his grave, and once I did, she was out of the house." I explained, sounding as disturbed as possible.
"Was she driving?" Sofia's voice reverberated in the phone, I could sense the tension in her voice. Despite the situation, I was pleased.
"No, she is on foot." I replied, while Sofia heaved a sigh of relief.
"I will get back to you." Sofia replied, just as the call was disconnected.
I browsed through my phone, in a bid to while away time but the image of Stuart playing basketball in the backyard flooded my mind. Afterward, I saw myself driving at speed towards him. The image of Stuart's blood in my head got me so scared that when my phone vibrated and began to ring, my first reaction was to jump off the chair on which I sat.
"Where exactly did you tell her Stuart's grave is located?" Sofia asked, once I answered the call
"St Louis cemetery, beside the statue of St Louis." I replied just as the call got disconnected again.
I sat down cautiously, determined to put my thoughts in check. I focused instead on Kate who is out in the dark, all alone.
My phone rang the second time, disrupting my thoughts, even though I don't remember what I was thinking about. It was from an unsaved number, so I answered the call with caution.
"I am taking out every obstacle there is to the mission, your wife inclusive." Mr Crawford's voice came on once I answered the call. It wasn't polite as usual but rash and aggressive.
"No, Mr Crawford. You can't do that. All she wants is to visit her son's grave." I explained.
"As we speak, my men are on the way to the cemetery you told her. If she gets there first, she is out." Mr Crawford stated, while the call was disconnected the next instant.
Without wasting time, I stormed out of the house, heading for my SUV which was still at the front of the compound. I inserted the key and soon I hit the road, in search of Kate.
While I controlled the wheels, I hoped Kate hadn't made it to the hospital.
In the far distance, I saw a figure that was similar to my wife's, and even though I was already driving at a breakneck speed, I increased my speed.
Just then a black van pulled up into the street from an adjoining road in front of me. The same van that transported Stuart to MEDCORP. The same van I had trailed behind to a restaurant a few hours ago. My heartbeat accelerated as realization dawned on me. Mr Crawford wasn't bluffing. The road was narrow and could only allow for one vehicle at a time. Even though I planned to speed past them to get to Kate, the narrow road would not allow it.
With so much speed, and with no headlight, the van charged towards the spot where I had seen Kate a few minutes ago, and I held my breath, in great fear. Without giving so much as a stop, the van sped past.
I parked my SUV a little farther from where I had seen Kate, and I stepped out. When I didn't see any sign of blood or an accident, I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Kate!" I called out with my voice sounding raspy. The chirping sounds made by insects were the only response I got.
"Kate!" I called again. This time my voice sounded like mine, so I called again.
"William!" I heard the ever-familiar voice of my wife call.
I raced in the direction of her voice and covered her in a warm embrace.
"Are you okay? " I asked, wiping off the lines of tears on her face.
"I thought you wouldn't come for me." She said, timidly.
"And why would I do that?" I asked, grateful for the whole turn of events. She wasn't mad at me anymore, for now at least. She hadn't gotten to the cemetery before Crawford's men, and she had escaped being run over by Crawford's men.
"Honey, we should head home now. You are cold. " I said while she nodded in approval.
The ride back home was quiet, except for Kate's sobs which resumed once I started the vehicle.
"We are home." I said once I pulled over in the house. Kate, who was still sobbing, looked up to be sure. Weakly, she allowed me to pull her out of the vehicle and lead her inside.
"Honey, please no," I said once she faced the direction of Stuart's room. Although she didn't look at me, she stopped at the doorway and didn't object when I led her to the bedroom we shared.
I helped her undress and led her to the bathroom to wash up.
When all I heard after five minutes was her sobs, I stepped into the bedroom and bathed her after which I helped her get dressed in one of her comfortable nighties.
I sat on the reading table, with my eyes boring into hers. My attempts to feed her and to tuck her into bed were unsuccessful. After long minutes of contemplating, I walked to her side of the bed, where she sat with widened eyes.
"Honey," I called. Only the swift movements of her eyes prodded me to continue.
"I'm sorry about our son, Stuart." I watched her keenly to see any objection, but when I saw none, I continued.
"I'm sorry for authorizing Stuart's burial. It isn't my call to make but I didn't think it through at the time. All I cared about was to ease your pain. I'm sorry." I said to her and watched as she burst into fresh tears.
"Everything will be okay. " I said, patting her shoulders.
I sat beside her on the bed and made her rest her head on my shoulders, while I patted her still.
After long minutes of sobbing, she stopped gradually, and only the gentle rise and fall of her abdomen as she inhaled and exhaled, in a peaceful sleep could be heard.