As Long As I'm With You. Sergey Redkin

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ow she was not sure that her life would ever go back to what it was. No, come to think of it5, she was not sure that she had a life anymore. How did this all happen?

      It all began this morning when he told her that he was leaving her. Things went downhill6 afterwards7.

      “You what?” she asked, putting her phone down. Lizzy had been scrolling through some of her favorite influencers on Instagram, looking for productive ways to give her already successful career another boost.

      Having just done her morning yoga routine, she was sitting on a tall stool near the kitchen island in her sportswear. She was still on her first cup of the day as the words spilled from her mouth along with the coffee.

      He was standing near an open window, still in his pajamas, hair disheveled8 from the night’s sleep. It was a bright day and it looked as if he had a halo9 over his head. What irony!

      “We can’t be together anymore,” he added and quickly looked out the window, turning his back to her.

      “What are you looking out of the window for?” She tried to stay cool. “Is your new girlfriend waiting for you out there?”

      Staying cool did not seem like an option.

      “I’m sorry, but we have to end it today,” he said looking at her.

      “What do you mean today?! What? Do you already have a breakup plan10? Or did you decide11 just then, while drinking your coffee?” she asked, barely controlling herself and slowly realizing that it was not some sort of joke.

      “Listen. We’ll figure this out. Believe me, it’s for the best,” he said.

      “Are you being serious?12” Slamming her cup down on the kitchen island, she suddenly13 realized that she could throw it at him right about now14.

      He opened his mouth …and at that precise moment something outside cracked15. He fell on the floor; his head was covered in blood. Then her phone started to ring.

      ***

      She answered in zombie mode, still unable to process what had just happened.

      “You’d better16 leave now,” a female voice said on the other end of the line. Somehow the voice sounded strangely familiar.

      “Ah?” was all she could master, her eyes fixed on the motionless body on the floor.

      “Go now or you’ll be lying next to him in a minute,” said the voice without a hint of compassion17.

      “Who are you?” Lizzy was almost screaming.

      “Don’t believe anyone. Run!” The same coolness18.

      Then the line went dead.

      She put the phone down on the kitchen island and eyed the kitchen. What was going on?

      Click.

      The brain started to work faster. Lizzy ran to him, still hoping it was a terrible prank19. Nope. This was blood on her floor. And this was one dead man. Her man. Well, her ex-man. She was checking his pulse and breathing, just in case20, when she heard someone running down the corridor outside her door. She jumped up.

      ***

      The morning street felt strange. How could these people go about their business when her boyfriend was lying dead on the floor, right up there in their apartment? Where was she supposed to go now?21 Somehow, calling the police did not seem like a clever idea. But why? She hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d just had a cup of coffee while her soon-to-be-proposing boyfriend was murdered in the process of breaking up with her. Should she call the police after all22? Perhaps she should.

      She checked her pockets, but… Oh no! She’d left her phone on the kitchen island. All her contacts. She didn’t remember any numbers by heart23. Who could? Were there still payphones these days? Whom should she call even if she found one?

      “Don’t scream,” came the same cold voice from the call, but… behind her.

      She stopped in disbelief24.

      “Keep walking.” A slight shove on her back.

      She complied25. A decision triggered26 by her survival mechanism27 rather than her brain.

      “Who are you?” she asked quietly.

      “In a minute,” the stranger said. “Turn right here.” Another nudge to her back.

      They stepped into a quiet alley where most of the benches were occupied with elderly people and mothers rocking their baby strollers28.

      “Here’s good,” the stranger said when they reached an empty bench. “Sit down.”

      “May I turn around?” she asked, sitting down.

      “If you want,” the stranger said.

      She did.

      Perhaps, it was not a good comparison, but what Lizzy saw shocked her almost as much as the death of her boyfriend.

      ***

      She was looking at herself. Well, she was looking at a young woman who looked exactly like her, as if they were identical twins in different outfits. The same mouth shape, the same celestial nose29. Her straight hair was shorter than Lizzy’s shoulder length curls. The stranger was wearing a plain dark blue hoodie, a pair of black jeans, and, what looked like, Dr. Martens black leather boots.

      “Yes, I know,” the stranger said. “It took quite some time for me to wrap my head around this30 too!”

      “Are you…?” she began.

      “You?” the stranger

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