Neon is the Colour of Vengeance (Flappers and False Gods)

FAREWELL

Genevieve had been the cause of many grisly scenes in her time, but nothing like what confronted her when she entered Hugo’s apartment. Her stomach turned as she looked at the mangled mess that had once been Alice.

“Oh, Hugo.”

“We both know the cure for what ails me.”

He was leaning against the hugely tall windows, forearms resting on his knees, the glimmering city at his back, the life he could have had behind him. He looked like a creature rather than a man. He was deathly pale and covered in blood, his once handsome features marred by the loss he had suffered. His lips appeared thin and his eyes sunken. Genevieve almost couldn’t look at him, it was like staring into a black hole, one she feared would suck her in.

“Is this really what you want?”

“There’s no turning back now.” His voice was thick and horse, like he’d been screaming. It made him sound less human, somehow.

“You could leave; run away.”

“I have to finish it.”

“No, you don’t. You’re going out there to die.”

“I just want it to stop. I don’t want to feel like this anymore. He was my life; this is just a cruel purgatory.”

“What about me? You’re leaving me all alone.”

“I’m going to burn it down so you can rebuild it better than it ever was.”

“I want you to be there to see it.”

“But I don’t.” His mouth twisted into something like a smile.

“I did what you asked.” She wiped her eyes with shaking fingers. “But I won’t fight with you. If you stand, you stand alone.”

Hugo nodded. He had expected this.

“I love you.” She tried and failed to hold back her tears.

“Hassan and Evan were innocent. They got tangled in our webs and we should have known better. We should have let them go. I killed him the moment I set eyes on him.”

“That’s not true. He loved you, he wanted to be with you.”

“But I knew better. He was never cut out for this life. He’s dead and that’s on me. I will never be able to wash his blood off my hands. I just want this to be over, but I need you to live, Gen. Someone should remember them.”

“Please don’t do this, Hugo. Evan wouldn’t want this for you.”

“He’s the one who taught me how to chase what I want. This is what I want. I’m already dead.”

He got shakily to his feet and walked falteringly towards her. He was a spectre of the man she called brother. A tragic echo, the final remnants of a life fading.

“Thank you, for everything. You were the one person I could always count on.”

He kissed her gently on the cheek and walked slowly from the apartment. Genevieve never saw him again.