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“It’s him, isn’t it?” I ask. “Hodgson isn’t a supplier at your work. He’s the man you’ve been having an affair with and the father of your child.”
Juliette stares straight ahead, the rain still thrashing the windshield. Her phone is in her bag by my feet, but I don’t need it to answer the call. I reach out to press ‘accept call’ on the screen, her eyes dart to the dashboard, and her knuckles are white against the black wheel.
“D-don’t,” she splutters. “Please, don’t.”
I stare at her.
I have a right to know.
I answer the call.
“Juliette, are you okay?” Piero’s voice fills the car, flooding the speakers as if he is sitting in the back seat. At first, I don’t see it, I don’t put the two together, and I am caught off guard. Why is Piero calling Juliette? Why is he in her phone as Hodgson and not Piero?
“Piero, you’re on loudspeaker in the car. I’m here with Gianni.” Juliette speaks quickly, her eyes darting from the window to the dashboard.
“Hey, Gianni, are you okay?” His tone is so natural as if he’s simply calling for a chat. The ease with which he changed his voice could only have been done with practice.
“Piero…” Juliette snivels. “He knows.” Silence falls in the car, only heightening the noise of the rain battering the glass.
“Gianni,” Piero says after seconds of awful silence. I want to get out of the car. I feel like I’m intruding on something, an outcast who isn’t welcome.
“My own brother,” I cry. “You have been fucking my own flesh and blood!”
“Gianni, please.” Juliette begins to cry, her hands shaking while she tries to steer the car. Piero is repeating my name, trying to get me to listen to him, but all I see is Juliette and her lies.
“Of all people, you choose my brother, my own brother, my family. The two people I’m supposed to trust.”
“It’s your fault,” Juliette screeches at me. “You weren’t there when I needed you.”
“And he was?”
“Yes, he was. He has always been there for me.”
“Gianni, where are you? Who is driving?” Piero asks.
“So, it was okay to fuck him then? Just because I wasn’t there?”
“I can’t do this now.” Juliette sobs. The rain beats down as the wipers fly across the window. Her hands have lost their grip on the wheel, and her body slackens like she might pass out.
“You have taken everything away from me, everything I had. I don’t know what’s worse, losing my wife or my brother,” I spit out. “I fucking hate you.”
I stare out the window, and the rain obscures my view. I hear Piero going on about stopping the car and pulling over, but Juliette takes no notice of him.
I am lost in my demise, the swish of the wipers is hypnotic, and as I glare out of the window, I see the woman in the road. Her umbrella strains against the downpour, and a small child clings to her hand, trying to stay under the shelter. Our car is heading straight for them.
I grab the wheel, pulling it from Juliette’s hands as she screams.
“No! Let go of the wheel!” The car swerves off the road, the wheels skidding over the surface water. The car flips as it bounces against the curb. I feel the impact as we hit the tree, and all I hear is Piero screaming through the speakers, asking me what I have done before the car comes to a stop, and everything shuts down.
Chloe
Now
Gianni’s hands turn as if he’s trying to cleanse himself of whatever he thinks he has on them. The room feels smaller. I’m sure I haven’t taken a breath the whole time Gianni has been speaking. He glances at me. His eyes are pooled in sorrow, and his brow hangs in shame.
“So, in answer to your question, yes, I killed her. I grabbed the wheel. I steered us off the road. I crashed the car and caused her death. And Piero heard it over the phone. He heard Juliette tell me to let go of the wheel. And he has never let me forget it.”
“But the woman and the child in the road. You did it to stop from hitting them,” I insist.
