Wild Flower - 7. Chapter 7: Is this the end for Angelo?

"Angelo..."

Alicia rushed back to the morgue and entered the room as quickly as she could. She first stood in the door way, looking at the body covered by the blue cloth. A lot was going on in her mind and she was frozen where she stood. She stopped crying and just started looking at the body and the doctor that didn't seem to notice she was there.

Alicia felt as if she had lost an important part of her. She had lost a son... she had lost someone that she loved so much... she had lost a really valuable thing. Her heart was beating painfully and her entire body was vibrating in pain.

"Angelo..." She cried.

Alicia rushed to the body and knelt down in front of the table, resting her hands on the body. She was still hoping to hear a heartbeat but she heard nothing. She just couldn't stop crying no matter what she did. All she saw in her mind was Angelo and how he used to be. She was missing him so much that she just wanted to die.

"Talk to me." She shook the body hard. "Please. Get up, Angelo. Get up. Talk to me... yell at me... slap me... curse me... insult me. Just do anything to me but get up. Please." She gripped the cloth harder, pulling on it. "I am begging you, Angelo. Get up and come back to us." She laid her head on the body, crying hard. She didn't even mind that the body had an unpleasant smell. That was her Angelo and she needed him to wake up and talk to her. "Please."

"Ma'am..." The doctor who had been surprised finally spoke. "What do you think you are doing? Please. Get out of here, right now."

But Alicia was deaf to the man's words. She just continued crying, holding the dead pale body tighter. She was crying and she didn't wanna stop. Her son was dead and she was really in so much pain that felt as if a part of her had been cut out of her body, inflicting so much pain on her. It was really painful. Angelo couldn't die. He still had many years left to leave. She was not supposed to have seen a day when he would have died. It was supposed to be the other way round.

"Angelo..." She wept. "Who did this to you, my son?" She was crying so hard that her eyes were already swollen. "Please, get up from here. We are waiting for you... at home. You shouldn't die like this." She shook the cold body harder. "Say something to me."

Alicia continued crying for a really long. The inspector came rushing in and he had two men with him. When he saw Alicia broken, he shook his head and moved towards her with the two men.

"Ma'am..." He breathed. "Please. You shouldn't do that. You should leave from here. Let the doctor do his work okay?"

"No!" She shook the body harder. "No!"

The inspector gestured his men and they went in and gripped her arms, trying to pull her away from the body. But she was gripping on it so hard that she didn't wanna let go. She just wanted to be there with the body, her Angelo. He had gone too soon. He was too young to die. But the men were doing their best. After what felt like hours, the men finally managed to move her away. But she gripped on the cloth and completely removed it, revealing the dead body. She cried even harder as her body trembled terribly.

"Leave me alone." She cried, trying to release herself but the men were really powerful. "I just wanna be with him. Don't take me away from him."

But that's what the men did. They were taking her away from Angelo. It was too painful to see for the inspector but it was for the best. He took her to a room where the two inconsolable men were crying really hard. They looked pitiful too.

Alicia dropped to the floor and cried her eyes out. She didn't want to stop. She just wanted to continue crying for Angelo. She still couldn't believe Angelo was dead just like his parents. What was going to happen now, she cried. She was hitting her hands hard on the floor.

***

Alicia and the others had already stopped crying but that didn't stop them from being sad or even hurting... well, Alicia was the one that was hurting terribly. She had a terrible headache and her eyes were really swollen. The others might have had swollen eyes but it was all for pretence. They were not really serious with it and they hated it.

It had been four hours since they had started crying and it was the first time they had stopped crying. Alicia was thinking a lot. If she was feeling as worse as she was... she didn't even imagine what Gabriel could have been going through. He was probably in hell and she could see just how pitiful he was looking.

"I am so sorry." The inspector had already called his men back. "I didn't know that this would happen."

"What... what..." Alicia couldn't finish the sentence as she felt a terrible lump on her throat. Her entire body was in a terrible pain.

"Well! We are gonna try to continue with our investigation." The inspector said softly. "We had no idea that he could turn out to be the one. I am so sorry." But they were quiet and couldn't say a thing.

The inspector slowly walked from side to side. "This is..."

"What... what happened?" Gabriel gasped as he cried softly. "How..."

"When we brought the body, we suspected abduction." The inspector said in a sad tone. "It couldn't have been a kidnap but rather abduction. He was beaten brutally and hence the bruises on his body. With the examinations that the medical team has already taken on him and the ones we have results for..." He paused and tried to gather his confidence. "It is clear that he was brutally raped by those that had abducted him. Several men had brutally raped him and hurt him too."

"What?" Gabriel gasped as more tears dropped to his cheeks. He was now sure that it was totally Angelo and so did Jack. They had now gotten a confirmation.

"Yes! I am really sorry." The inspector apologized. "The rape was brutal and it looks like... he was hurt really badly. However, the medical team has confirmed that what killed him was the gunshot to his heart. He was thrown in the water after and the current took him to the village. He may have been in the water for more than three days." He said, shaking his head. "However, we don't know if the face was damaged due to being beaten or what. I am really sorry."

"No!" Alicia's voice was really weak.

She felt as if her entire strength had left her. There was just so much pain inside of her. Hearing that he had been raped was really painful. She couldn't even imagine the pain he had been through before he died. Who knows how many men had raped him.

"My son..." She cried softly. "Angelo..."

Alicia couldn't hold herself anymore. She burst into tears and started weeping all over again.

"Fuck!" Jack cursed, clenching his fists harder. "Why the fuck do I have to do all this? It's really so disgusting and I hate it." He thought as he tried his best to rub the tears from his face. "When will this foolish drama end? I am supposed to be happy and fucking Gabriel to celebrate my victory so why should I be suffering like this? Anyway, this bitch is making me irritated. I hate her so much and I hope she follows him. What an idiot."

"You mean... my husband was raped?" Gabriel gasped as more tears flooded his face. "No..." He shook his head. "...why? Why did he..."

He couldn't even finish the sentence and he was already in so much tears. They started crying over and over again without stopping. Alicia was missing Angelo so much and she wished she had died instead. She loved him so much.

"Why did you have to leave this early?"

***

Alicia and the others arrived at their home, escorted by the inspector and his men. They were walking slowly inside the house and they were sad as ever. Alicia couldn't think properly. Her entire mind was frozen and any movement she made was really painful. She wasn't crying hard anymore but the tears in her eyes couldn't be masked. Her eyes were blood red and veins had shot up in her eyes, making the pain even worse. She'd never experienced such pains before, not even when her own parents died years ago. She was so attached to Angelo that it was gonna take long for her to get used to. Although they were still doing some examinations at the lab with his DNA, Alicia was convinced that Angelo was already gone. She couldn't feel him like the way she used to.

When she entered the mansion, she moved her eyes from side and remembered seeing him in the house. She remembered how he looked like and how happy he was with his husband although he was really bitter with her and the rest of the servants in the house. It wasn't gonna be a home without him anymore. It was gonna be something really different. Uh! Goodbye Angelo.

Gabriel knew what was going on and so did Jack. They knew it wasn't gonna be long before this entire thing ended. They were then gonna live their lives happily without any Angelo to disturb them. He was gone and that was the most wonderful thing to have happened. He died with a painful truth and they were sure he was burning in hell right then.

They went to the living room and sat there as more tears fell to their cheeks. They couldn't stop crying. Alicia was in so much pain but she pitied Gabriel so much. She felt sorry for him and hurt for him as well. Who knew what he was going through? The guy had truly loved Angelo so much and Alicia always saw the worry in him whenever Angelo wasn't back home at the time he usually did. But now... he was gone and only God knows how he was gonna survive without his Angelo.

"God, please help Gabriel pass through this." She prayed in her heart as she cried even more. She didn't care what happened to her but she was just hoping Gabriel would have the strength to pass through all those trials and tribulations.

"I have to go now." The inspector said with a sad sigh. "Once again, I am really sorry for everything. It wasn't supposed to come to this."

With those words, the inspector left together with his men. Alicia and the men couldn't utter a word to each other. Only the tears that were flowing could speak for them. None of them even wanted to say anything. They were just too wrapped up in their pain that they couldn't even say anything to each other. They just cried quietly.

As they were seated there, Joe came into the living. When he saw them , his mood completely changed and he rushed to his mother and held her tighter closer to him.

"Mom..." He exclaimed. "What's going on here?" He looked everywhere. "Why is everyone crying? Has something happened? Talk to me, mother because I am really worried."

Alicia raised her teary face towards her son, looking straight into his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak to him but there was no word that came out of her mouth. It was like she was mute all of a sudden. She was wrapped in so much pain that she couldn't find her voice.

"Mother..." Joe shook her as he tried to get her to talk. "Say something."

Alicia trembled terribly in fear. "He's gone." She cried softly, more tears leaving her eyes. "Angelo is gone."

"What do you mean by that?" Joe gasped, trying to fight his tears.

"He's dead." She cried hard, burying her face on her son's chest. "He's dead, Joe. He's dead."

"Oh my God," Joe felt tears building in his eyes and a whole lot of pain. "This is impossible, mother. Please, tell me you are joking with him. He can't die now. He's too young. What had happened?"

But Alicia was in so much pain that she couldn't even answer her son. All she did was cry. Seeing the mood change, Gabriel started crying again, trying to make himself look vulnerable and hurt. He knew what he needed to do and he acted his best and cried, shouting Angelo's name. All that acting was really giving him a headache but it was worth it since the reward was gonna be wonderful, right.

The mood in the mansion totally changed as everyone continued crying hard, attracting the attention of every worker in the house. They all gathered in the living room and when they heard of their boss' passing away, they started crying. It was such a sad incident. Everyone had tears in their eyes.

A really dark cloud had befallen the beautiful mansion. They had lost their boss... their master and the man that employed them. But most of all, they pitied Gabriel because he was so much in love with Angelo. If only they knew...

"Goodbye, Angelo..."

***

Mourning continued at the mansion. They needed to show Angelo that they loved him so much. Alicia was the most hurt and affected by the death of Angelo. But everyone knew that Gabriel was the most hurt because of his acting. They pitied him so much.

The news of Angelo's death travelled like wild fire. Soon his employees, clients, friends and other people started showing up at his house. They were all now dressed in white and they came to console Gabriel and the entire household. Of course, they knew their boss was bitter but they couldn't help but shed a few tears. It was really a horrible incident.

Gabriel wasn't eating at all. All he did was cry and he hated it a lot. His father told him to act the best way he could and convince everyone that he was totally hurt with what was happening in his life. He was just hoping they bought everything that he told them. He was sure that they bought it. He knew that was gonna pass and it was gonna be great for him, especially when he resumed work and became really rich, enjoying life with Jack.

Alicia was really hurt by the death of Angelo. She couldn't stop crying. Even when she did, no time passed and she would begin crying again. A dark storm had just come in her life. She felt she didn't do much to help him because maybe he would have been alive. Now he was gone and she couldn't even see his face properly because it was damaged.

Wherever Alicia looked, she saw Angelo. His pictures were scattered all over the house which made things worse. She was getting worse and she couldn't get his picture off her mind. The only thing she was praying for was for him to attain peace.

Two days later, the inspector came and told them the results were positive from the lab. It was really him. Hmm, the pain increased when Alicia heard that while Gabriel and Jack's happiness increased. Gabriel asked for the body of Angelo and it was given to him. He said he needed his husband to finally rest in peace. It was really painful for everyone seeing Gabriel in the condition he was in. Sometimes he would just sit with a picture of Angelo. At times many people thought he was sleeping when he was actually crying.

The funeral of Angelo took a whole five days. Many people attended that funeral to show respect to Angelo. His employees, especially his assistant cried a lot that Gabriel was surprised that they were crying over such a devil. Shouldn't they have been happy that they were now free from such a terrible businessman, he thought?

After five days, they all decided to finally bury him. Their eyes were really swollen because they had cried a lot. Alicia pleaded with them to bury Angelo near his parents, that was gonna make him really happy. She knew he was gonna love it a lot because he loved his parents. She was just hoping he was gonna find happiness after all the pains he had probably gone through when he was abducted. She really prayed for his soul to find eternal peace and for Gabriel to get over it and be happy. She was really sad.

Alicia didn't even say a proper goodbye to Angelo. The world was cruel. She wished she could see his pretty face one last time before his burial but she couldn't do it because his face was damaged. She wondered what kind of idiots had hurt him like that and she cursed them to die horrible deaths. She wanted them to suffer more than Angelo had suffered.

***

Alicia's tears came running down like a river... her heart seized to beat for a second and then pounded terribly, getting her entire strength away... her breaths were harsh and she was panting terribly... her body was trembling... she was just out of control. She felt as if her soul was crushed to the ground. She was really, really in so much pain and anguish.

She had her eyes on the beautiful white casket with a lot of flowers on top, beautiful flowers. The casket was slowly being lowered into the ground... Angelo was being lowered into the ground. Alicia felt as if part of her was being lowered into that ground with Angelo. She was feeling scared and she couldn't find her voice too. She had finally gotten what she knew Angelo would have loved. Angelo was being buried on the beautiful graves of his parents. At least they were gonna be together like they used to be. But if she had wished for something, she would have wished for him to have been alive until he was really old before dying. But that was not it. Death is really cruel.

There were a number of people at the beautiful grave site all dressed in white. They had come to pay their last respects to Angelo and to say their last goodbyes. Every employee and servant was there and they were watching with their hearts racing. It was really sad.

As the casket was being lowered deeper and deeper into the ground, Gabriel and Jack knew that all that drama was gonna end with Angelo. He was finally gone and they were really happy with it too. He wasn't gonna bother them anymore. He was already burning in hell and it was over for him.

"Angelo..." Alicia cried. "You have left a really big gap in my life, my son. I know you didn't want me to call you that but..." She sobbed. "...I can't do anything because it is what I felt like calling you. You have gone too soon. You have died too young. Why did this have to happen? Why did you leave us all alone when we still needed you around? You should have stayed for your husband who at least loves you so much. You had passed through so much pain and your death was painful as well. You were such a great person and I..." She paused, sobbing uncontrollably. "...I feel like you are taking me with you.

There is a part of me inside that has died with you, Angelo. I love you so much and I never regretted having you in my life. If I had to relive my life with you over and over again then I would gladly do it. I never want to let you go but..." She cried terribly, falling to her knees. She got on all fours and cried, crawling closer to the wall. Her son knelt down and cried too. Alicia had never experienced pain like she did.

"...I have to let you go. This is where we part ways. But I promise that I will never forget you, my son. I will always have you in my heart and cherish all the memories with you." Then she started wailing, feeling her strength leaving her even more. "Goodbye, Angelo until we meet again."

Gabriel cried hard, feeling a little bit of headache. He had friends with him and they were holding him tightly, rubbing on his shoulders. He was looking down as they lowered the casket.

"Finally, I can put an end to this drama." He thought. "You have really been such a useless thing to me. But I must thank you. You have given me such wealth and I am gonna enjoy it to the fullest. Thank you."

Jack cried. "Hmm, finally you have gone back to where you belong, the ground. Honestly, I have no regrets with what I have done. Given a chance, I would willingly do it over and over again and kill you until I erase you from existence like I did." He chuckled in his thoughts. "You thought you were clever but turns out I am the only clever one here. You have finally gone and now I will enjoy the life you used to live. I will enjoy your money and I will be enjoying life with Gabriel, my husband. Good riddance for bad rubbish. Burn in hell, bitch."

Alicia watched in pain as the casket reached the ground. She knew what was gonna happen next but she couldn't accept it.

"I love you so much, Angelo." She wailed, looking deep into that ground. "Always remember that I love you so much, Angelo. Thank you so much for being a part of me."

As Alicia got deeper into thinking about Angelo, she remembered how young he had been and how happy he had been with his parents. A really sharp pain started taking control of her body. She felt as if she was poisoned. The pain was excruciating and it felt nothing she had ever felt before.