The Broken Hearts Story

      The next day, Rachel and Terrence go to the studio, where Albert Sanderson is already waiting for them. Now the man is going to meet the guys, who he is going to work with, and discuss all the details about work. He is a little excited and wants to give a good impression to his colleagues, but he tries to keep calm and is sure everything will be alright. By the way, Terrence literally forgot that he was in a relationship some time ago because he sometimes began to give some attention to his friend Rachel. And the girl is very happy about it because her feelings are waking up again. Now she has such a wonderful chance to get the attention and love of this man, who is at least ready to try.       So, Terrence and Rachel are coming to the large and high enough building of the recording studio. It’s clear that the owner of the studio is a very rich man. There is a large parking lot next to the building that is under the control of cameras, the translation from which guards are watching twenty hours per day. On the highest floor of the glossy multistory building, it’s possible to see a bright signboard with the studio name, “Whisper Records” made of blue, white, and green colors. Big letters written with a beautiful handwriting font are seen a few meters away from here and are lighted up with colorful neon lights in the evening time.       It’s not easy for a common person to go here, but Rachel does it without problems because everybody here knows that she is the daughter of the owner of the studio. The security staff being on duty near the exit smile widely at the sympathetic blonde with excellent makeup, gorgeous curls on her short hair covering the nape of her neck, and perfect clothes of the most expensive brands. And after saying a couple of words, the security allows the girl to go to the parking lot, opening the gates for her, through which her car goes.       Some time later, Rachel parks her expensive red car in the parking lot closer to the entry placed next to the building of the studio and switches off the motor, while Terrence is looking at the high tower and everything surrounding it with admiration in his eyes.       “So, we’ve come!” Rachel exclaims with her head proudly raised. “Welcome to ‘Whisper Records,’ the recording studio of my father!”       “Wow!” Terrence admires with a slight smile, looking at the building of the studio. “Such a big and beautiful tower…”       “I agree,” Rachel pronounces shyly with a slight smile. “Daddy hired only the best people, who created the design of the building.”       “Does your father have an office in the studio in other countries or cities?”       “Of course, he does. There is an office of ‘Whisper Records’ in Toronto and Manchester. But here, in America, the main one is located. Father’s work is focused here, but sometimes he goes to Canada and Great Britain to control the process.”       “Isn’t he gonna open offices in other countries?”       “Not yet. Actually, my father is focused on collaborating with English-speaking artists. But maybe someday he'll decide to work with someone from abroad. I’m gonna tell you a secret: somehow one Italian, who was singing songs in English, wanted to work with him. But something went wrong, and he signed a contract with a label in Italy.”       “Wow… Well, as your father has reached so much, I don’t doubt I’m gonna get success.”       “In the case of you, the thing is not about Daddy but about you and your talent,” Rachel smiles shyly. “You got him so shocked by your signing that he was talking only about it all day long.”       “Really?”       “You surprised him much, Terrence. Daddy is definitely afraid to lose such a talented guy.”       “Believe me, Rachel, when Mr. Sanderson hears me playing guitar, he won’t wish to say goodbye to me,” Terrence says confidently with his head proudly raised. “He said the team of the band wanted to listen to my play today, and I’ll do my best to play just perfectly. I was practicing to play and sing the whole evening not to get ashamed.”       “I’m sure you will do that. Because you’re my very talented one…”       With these words, Rachel softly caresses Terrence’s cheek and fixes his hair slightly while he smiles widely and does not hide how it’s nice for him to get the caress, care, and compliments that he craved so badly.”       “I do believe in you and know you would surely slay everyone,” Rachel adds confidently and softly. “I’ll be doing my best to keep your interest and motivate you to do what you’ve wanted to do for such a long time.”       “Thank you so much, sweetie,” Terrence thanks with a slight smile. “It’s so nice for me to hear these things.”       “I'm just telling you the truth that I can’t hide.”       “You know… I didn’t hear that for such a long time that I almost forgot what that was… What hearing someone telling you compliments means… Letting you know that they believe in you… When someone doesn’t stop admiring you…” Terrence shakes his head. “When being in a relationship, I didn’t almost feel that. There were cases when I was getting support and motivation, but it looked not very true… That’s why I didn’t feel inspired. That’s why I didn’t even wanna do anything.”       “Your ex-girlfriend is a stupid idiot ‘cause she lost such a treasure she should’ve taken care of.”       “As you know, she just used me,” Terrence shrugs. “And she kicked me out when she got sick of me.”       “I don’t actually understand how she could prefer a modeling career and an opportunity to shake her ass for cameras over you. You are the dream of all the girls! The one everyone is dreaming about! The one that girls wanna get married to!”       “It’s clear people are right when they say it’s impossible to make everyone like you, even if you are a famous worldwide celebrity and one of the sexiest men on the planet.”       “Raquelle Cameron is just an egoist. The egoist that loves only herself and thinks only of her comfort.”       “It’s okay, early or late, that girl will bite her elbows after she realizes who she didn’t appreciate and did lose because of her fault.”       “And trust me, honey, she won’t be happy when you start getting popular and getting the love of much more fans,” Rachel replies confidently. “Everybody adored you, but when you show your incredible talent that only one person in a hundred has, your fans will praise such a man like you.”       “And I’d really love you to keep encouraging me.”       Terrence caresses Rachel’s cheek softly and tucks a strand of her hair getting into her eyes behind her ear, while she smiles widely and does not stop looking at the man with admiration in her eyes.       “Although I really wanna make my dream of being a musician come true, I actually need good motivation,” Terrence adds softly. “And… I’ll be grateful to you if you keep supporting me and… Help me forget the one, who betrayed me…”       “I’ll be much better than that egoist, who chose a modeling career,” Rachel promises confidently with a wide smile in a lower voice and takes Terrence’s hands. “You won’t get disappointed in me, Terrence. I’ll do my best to become the one you really deserve.”       “Really?”       “I swear I’m not what Raquelle is. I can be loyal and love my man with all my heart. My mother always said I was born to love someone and take care of someone.”       “Yes, Rachel, I know.”       “Just let me do it, and you won’t remember that girl in one or two months and will jump from happiness caused by becoming a single man. Yes, unfortunately, you can’t come back to the past and fix the stupid mistake you made when you succumbed to your emotions. But you can forget it and keep moving on.”       “I promise to give you anything you want if I manage to forget my ex-girlfriend and feel wanted and beloved,” Terrence promises in a little lower voice with a shy smile. “I swear, Rachel. Just help me forget Raquelle, and I will love you not just as a friend but as a beloved girl.”       “It’s gonna happen, sweetie. I promise…”       Rachel smiles much wider, there is a tender pink blush on her face, and she never had such a bright gloss in her eyes before. The girl looks at Terrence with true admiration and great respect in her eyes, while he does not hide that it’s very nice to him. This look bribes him and makes him get sympathy for Rachel and consider her not just a friend.       Nobody else looked at Terrence like this for a very long time, and everything that is happening now is like music to his ears and a reason to feel needed and beloved. And the fact that Rachel is ready to be the one, who was not next to him for the few months that he spent in a relationship makes him break the barrier that was between them before, let himself love this girl, and give her a chance to make him happy.       Two or three seconds later after sharing a wide smile, Rachel, believing he is already conquered by her, wants to go further and try to kiss Terrence on the lips. Moreover, the man does not stop looking at her, as if he gives her a green light and keeps calm when she slowly gets closer to him. The blonde is acting softly but confidently, not doubting she would be lucky now. And she really gets lucky for the first few seconds because when she gets very close to him and barely touches his lips with her lips, the black-haired handsome one does not step away and lets her kiss him.       But Terrence feels nothing during the kiss. As if he is amicably kissing one of his relatives or familiar girls or women. However, he is not surprised because such dizzying emotions that he felt when kissing Raquelle would hardly come at the nearest time. But at least, he does not feel disgust. The man does not resist and does let his friend kiss him, making himself sure he would forget his ex-girlfriend at the nearest time and love the one, who would take care of him much better and give him everything he wants.       A little girl inside Rachel is yelling loudly and cheering happily. She is madly happy Terrence answered her kiss and did not reject her, even though she was ready for that. The girl believes he likes her sweet, shy kiss and is trying to do her best for him to remember it forever. For her to love kissing her. For this man to wish to kiss nobody else but her. And she is absolutely sure she will reach her goal.       Rachel would go further with pleasure and get the kiss deeper little by little, but Terrence is not ready for this turn yet and steps back softly when he understands what the girl wants to do a few seconds later. However, the blonde does not get upset and is happy everything started from just something. She is happy she managed to kiss Terrence… At some moment, the shy Rachel quietly coughs and looks at the man with a shy smile, while he answers her back and pretends that he really liked her kiss that he actually took hesitantly.       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Terrence cutely caresses Rachel’s cheek and softly kisses her on the temple, holding the back of her head. And he makes her feel something very nice spreading over all her body, get blushed, and feel like the happiest girl in the girl.       But a little later, the girl calls the memory of Albert waiting for her and the man. But they have been here for a long time, while the first one is trying to get the attention of her close man, and the other one is playing love and trying to make himself think his past relationship is in the past, and he is ready for a new one.       “Oh, I think we’ve been here for too long…” Rachel laughs shyly. “My father is waiting for you, but we’re talking here…”       “Yeah, we’ve really been…” Terrence cracks a slight smile.       “Okay, let’s go then. Before he goes to have lunch or somewhere else.”       With these words, Rachel leaves her automobile and takes her purse from the backseat. Terrence quickly looks around and then nods, saying:       “Yeah, let’s go…”       Terrence cleans his throat and also leaves Rachel's automobile. And when the black-haired man closes the door after himself, the girl locks it with a key that she puts in her purse, takes him under an arm again, and quickly pulls him after herself. But now the man takes it quietly and does not try to get out or resist somehow. Yesterday, he did not like the provocative behavior of this girl. But now he does not mind it and lets himself kiss her. With the thought that the love story of him and Raquelle is over once and forever.       Rachel brings Terrence to the entry to the studio, while the man looks around with interest, not hiding his admiration and already imagining himself performing on the stage and giving his everything to make every single show unforgettable. It should be noted that this building looks much better outside than inside. Not less expensive. Every single corner is wonderful, and everything looks very rich. Many people are walking down spacious halls and rooms, and there are many offices, recording studios, and other rooms. There are perfect views of the city from high windows. But if you go a few floors up, the view will be just breathtaking. There is a neon logo of the label “Whisper Records,” comfortable sofas, and little potted plants on almost every single step, and all the rooms are lighted up with bright lamps hanging on the ceilings.       Some time later, Rachel brings Terrence to the office on the latest floor of the building, where Albert is supposed to be. When she comes to it, the girl, not letting the man go, knocks quietly at the door.       “Come in!” Albert's voice pronounces behind the door at once.       Rachel slowly opens the door and smiles at her father shyly.       “It’s me, Daddy,” Rachel pronounces softly.       “Oh, Rachel, finally!” Albert exclaims with a wide smile. “Come in!”       Rachel and Terrence enter the office, and the girl closes the door, comes to Albert, and greets him by kissing him on the cheek. And then her father moves his eyes to MacClife and smiles at him slightly.       “Good morning, Terrence,” Albert greets amicably. “I have been waiting for you!”       “Good morning, Mr. Sanderson,” Terrence pronounces amicably.       Terrence shakes Albert by the hand with a slight smile.       “Glad to see you,” Terrence adds.       “Same,” Albert pronounces and fixes the collar of his black shirt slightly. “And I’m very glad you are interested in my offer.”       “I will not reject it.”       “By the way, I noticed you did not come here at once. I looked through the window and saw Rachel’s car placed in the parking lot.”       “Erm… Yeah…”       “Does it seem to me, or is there something between you?” Albert smiles mysteriously.       “We just talked a little,” Rachel explains with a light blush on her face. “I told Terrence about your studio ‘cause he was interested in knowing everything.”       “I hope he likes it?”       “Very much! Terrence said he was admired by the beauty around him.”       “Did you tell him the label ‘Whisper Records’ has two more offices in the other countries?”       “Yes, Rachel said there are two more in Canada and Great Britain,” Terrence smiles shyly.       “It’s true,” Albert nods confidently. “I don’t limit myself to working only with American artists. I don’t exclude that I will be working with foreigners in the future.”       “Yeah, Rachel told me.”       “I have worked with many artists and even collaborated with an independent company that was acting movies. The most talented artists recorded a few soundtracks, which were appreciated by critics and fans very well.”       “M-m-m, those artists wouldn’t be able to be compared with such a talented guy like Terrence,” Rachel smiles widely.       “It’s true. I see a great potential in him, and I am going to use it at one hundred percent.”       “Think I had to do with getting the world to know Terrence MacClife as an incredibly talented musician.”       “Oh, yeah, with such a strong voice, he is going to reach a lot. Of course, if your friend works hard and doesn’t stop after reaching something.”       “I will not,” Terrence pronounces confidently.       “By the way, Terrence, do you remember the team of the label want to listen to you playing guitar?”       “Of course, I do, Mr. Sanderson. I’m ready to play for you and show everything I can.”       “Excellent!”       “I was practicing for the whole evening yesterday not to fail anything.”       “If you’re nervous, please, don’t be. Nobody will criticize you somehow. We just want to know how you play this instrument. Whether there is a meaning to working with you as a guitarist. Or we would better promote you as a solo artist.”       “I’m not nervous,” Terrence shrugs. “Neither about a play nor about the band.”       “Don’t worry about the band. The guys are aware of the fact that I should introduce a new possible guitarist to them.”       “I am confident and know that I could do everything.”       “So, I really like your self-confidence,” Albert pronounces with his head proudly raised. “That’s very good!”       Terrence says nothing and just nods, but a little later, he glances at a high window, from which the whole city is seen very well from above. Rachel keeps smiling shyly and sometimes giving a tender ogle full of admiration. A few seconds later, Albert puts some papers aside and steps back from his working table, saying:       “Alright, my dears, let’s talk about the business.”       “Do you want to hear him play first?” Rachel asks.       “No, before Terrence plays something on guitar, I will introduce him to the members of the band.”       “Of course, Mr. Sanderson,” Terrence nods confidently. “I am ready.”       “Excellent! Then I will introduce you to the guys right now. At the moment, they are rehearsing a new song that the lead singer of the band wrote.”       Terrence says nothing and just smiles shyly, and Albert goes to the exit from the office. But then he moves his eyes to Rachel, who folds her hands in front of her with a cute smile.       “Rachel, sweetie…” Albert pronounces softly. “Tell me, please, have you had lunch yet?”       “Well, I eat a fresh salad and drunk juice…” Rachel shrugs.       “Maybe, you go to the cafeteria and eat something? Some dishes that you love will be cooked today.”       “Erm, no, Daddy, thanks,” Rachel waves her hand shyly. “You know that I care about my body.”       “My God, you’re a beauty without keeping diets. Slim and fit.”       “Yeah, but I must keep myself in good sharp.”       “I know, but eating only salads and drinking juices is not good.”       “Don’t worry, Daddy, I promise I’ll eat something good, but a little later. Now I don’t want to eat yet.”       “Are you sure?”       “Yup. I will either ask Marj to cook me something, or have lunch here or somewhere at a café.”       “Well, as you wish. In this case, can I ask you about one little thing?”       “Sure, Dad! I’m listening!”       “Could you go to the cafeteria and take something to eat for the guys? Marty, Peter, and Daniel have been in the studio since the morning and have been rehearsing without stopping. They need to eat and drink something.”       “Okay, I’ll take something to eat for them,” Rachel nods confidently. “And I will also talk to the guys. Because I haven’t met them for ages.”       “Great! Go and then come to the room where they usually rehearse. We will be there.”       “I got it. I will be back soon!”       Albert hugs Rachel cutely with a slight smile and kisses her on the forehead, and then the girl leaves her father’s office and goes where he asked her to go. Meanwhile, Terrence thinks about something, standing near the exit, but has to wake up from the trance because Albert asks him:       “Are you coming, Terrence?”       “Erm, yeah, sure,” Terrence replies almost at once.       “Are you alright?”       “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”       “Are you sure?”       “Yes.” Terrence starts holding the belt of his dark blue jeans with his thumbs. “Where do I go?”       “Follow me,” Albert pronounces confidently.       Terrence cleans his throat quickly and starts following Albert, who asks him to leave the office at first and then does it himself.       After this, the men walk down long halls, go downstairs two floors downer in an elevator, and go somewhere down a long, large hall, meeting many people, many of whom Rachel’s father greets with a slight smile on his face. There are so many halls and doors, behind which so much is hidden, that it's so easy to get lost in such a great diversity if you do not know the way. But Albert does know this place very well and knows where to go and where to lead Terrence, who is admiring the beauty he sees in front of himself with a slight smile.       A few seconds later, Albert and Terrence come to a high and large door, from which very loud music is spreading. A girl, who has a very beautiful, piercing voice, is singing along with it. Rachel’s father opens the door and quickly looks at the three people that are playing there.       The only girl is the lead singer, who is singing into a microphone. This is a young singer with brown, wavy, scapula-length hair, who is wearing a beautiful sparkle purple dress. The owner of the incredible blue eyes is smoothly and beautifully moving along with the music with a microphone in her hands, sometimes walking from one side to another and giving her best to her singing.       One of the men is now playing the bass guitar. This is a young man with a stunning smile, thick dark chocolate hair, and piercing brown eyes that he could slay any girl with. The bassist looks very confident and seems a little cold and insolent man at first sight. But he actually looks very attractive and incredible in a black leather jacket with many zippers and rivets, dark blue jeans, and a simple white t-shirt. The guy is wearing a thin black choker with a small silver pendant in the form of a skull on his long neck, and his little disheveled “just got out of bed” styled hair does not make the look of the bassist worse, who plays his instrument very well, easily plucks strings and strikes chords. He does not stand in the same place and sometimes walks from one side to another, jumps in the same place, dances, and sings along with the lead singer into a microphone at times.       The second guy, who is wearing a black waistcoat, light blue jeans, and a gray t-shirt, is now playing drums and keeps the rhythm perfectly, giving his everything to play perfectly and enjoying what he is doing. It seems like nobody would play drums as brilliantly as this man, who wears a few different bracelets and purses on both of his hands, and owns fabulous, little disheveled wheat hair and beautiful amber eyes that many girls could fall in love with. Besides, it should be noted that he has incredible psychical data. Any man would get jealous of his well-trained arms, and girls would give everything just to touch what causes true admiration. As well as his bandmate, he sometimes sings along with the lead singer into a microphone that is placed near him and says a couple of words to the bassist when he goes by him.       Everybody is busy with their business and definitely enjoying what they are doing. Somewhere in the corner of the room, there is a brand new black electric guitar that is placed on a special holder and has probably never been used. Even though they have no guitarist, they rehearse very much together and get ready for another performance that might take place at any time.       While two men and one girl are performing a song, Albert, quietly clapping his hands with a slight smile on his face and shaking his head slightly along with the music, confidently comes to them and listens to them for a few seconds. And then he raises his hand and makes a gesture when he says:       “Hey, guys! Guys! Take a little break! I have some important news for all of you.”       The men and the girl stop singing and playing and move their eyes to Albert at the same time.       “What's wrong, Mr. Sanderson?” the girl wonders, fixing her wavy hair with a hand. “Do you have something serious? We are actually rehearsing!”       “Yes, yes, Mr. Sanderson, tell us,” the blond says cheerfully, holding drumsticks in his hands. “Don’t you see how much Ms. Patch wants to know your news?”       “That’s right, she doesn’t like waiting for a long time,” the brunet throws funnily, striking all the strings of the bass guitar he is now holding with his fingers. “Don’t waste time, Mr. Sanderson! Princess Marty wants to know what’s going on.”       “Right now!” the blond and the brunet pronounce at the same time and start laughing loudly.       Meanwhile, the girl gloomily glances at both of the men and looks at Albert, who does not like the behavior of the drummer and the bassist.       “It’s very important, young men!” Albert notices loudly and confidently. “Maybe, you can do it without your stupid jokes at least right now!”       “No, is it not really true?” the brunet wonders with an innocent smile. “The princess! The queen, who we must not make wait!”       “Aha!” the blond agrees with a laugh. “By the way, don’t forget that we all must bow to the irresistible princess after the rehearsal and leave to have lunch only with her permission.”       “Yes, yes! You all know that we are not allowed even to breathe without Her Highness’ permission.”       “That’s right! Everything after her permission!”       The blond and the brunet laugh, glancing at each other, while Marty looks at them as if she is dreaming of strangling them with her own hands.       “Peter! Daniel!” Albert raises his voice a little. “Calm down now! You are starting to irritate me with your stupid jokes!”       “Well, they believe it’s funny,” the girl crosses her arms over her chest.       “Hey, who am I talking to? Calm down, you two! Or I will kick you out of the band to the hell!”       Although the men have to do their best, they calm down some time later. However, sometimes they keep making quiet chuckles, smiling shyly, and sharing a sly look. Before saying something, Albert hums quietly with his arms crossed over his chest and moves a little tired look on the girl that shakes her head.       “Finally…” Albert pronounces severely. “It’s much better…”       Albert quickly looks at all the three members of the band.       “So, guys…” Albert says confidently. “As you know very well, you need to rehearse very much and make your professional skills better. And I must confess that you are doing this well. Your team and I think that every one of you is ready to start performing in New York and somewhere in a different place, or even in the whole of America.”       “My gosh, are we finally gonna on the road?” the girl asks happily. “Would my talent be highly appreciated?”       “Not yet. But your managers are already starting to work on it and examine more interesting offers for performances than little shows at restaurants and musical festivals.”       Albert coughs two times to clear his throat, while the lead singer of the band moves her sad eyes down.       “But I came not to talk about it,” Albert confesses confidently. “Yesterday, I told you I found a new guitarist for you. And you knew that he would come here to meet you today. So… I would like to introduce him to you right now.”       The blond and the brunet look at each other with a wide smile, being definitely happy with the news of Albert, while the girl rolls her eyes down.       “Again?” the girl wonders loudly. “How many of them are we gonna have? These guitarists replace one another every two or three weeks! None of them can hold on, at least for one month! They are either absolutely talentless, or they cannot take our tempo.”       “Or maybe, they are running away from such an arrogant and selfish queen like you,” the blond assumes. “I believe Daniel and I are the only ones to have the patience to stand your tricks. But I am personally getting closer to losing a temple.”       “Not just you, buddy,” the brunet says confidently. “My patience is also fading away…”       The girl says nothing, quietly hums with her head proudly raised, and grabs the microphone stand, slightly fixing her hair and not seeing that the blond teases her acts along with the brunet’s laugh.       “I am ready to bet anything you want that the new guitarist does not stay in our band for longer than two weeks,” the girl says confidently.       “But if we don’t find a new guitarist, there is no meaning in going on the stage,” Albert notices quietly. “A band must have a lead guitarist, and you should understand it!”       “Session guitarists can’t play with you forever. And Daniel can’t tear himself in two, being a bass guitarist and sometimes taking on the role of a solo guitarist.”       “Ha!” the girl sniffs. “A new guitarist is gonna be thousands of times better than the previous one.”       The girl turns her back on Albert with her eyes rolled up while he says something under his nose. And then the man calls Terrence to himself while he looks at posters on the wall with interest by making a gesture.       “Alright, guys, let me introduce your new guitarist to you,” Albert says and moves his eyes to Terrence, who just came. “Here…”       Albert points at Terrence with a hand.       “Terrence MacClife!” Albert introduces with his head proudly raised. “Be nice and good to him! From this moment on, this man is going to play in your band as a temporary member of the band. But if we like his play, he will become a permanent one.”       The girl turns on Terrence with her head proudly raised, slowly comes to him, and starts looking at him from head to feet, looking at him as if he is something not very nice.       “So…” the girl pronounces thoughtfully and frowns slightly. “Terrence MacClife… My name is Marty. Marty Patch. No other! The lead singer of the band ‘Heart Of Fire.’”       “Nice to meet you,” Terrence nods.       “So, I see you decided to turn from an actor to a musician. You got sick of acting in second-rate movies and decided to start singing songs.”       “Erm…”       “Don’t be surprised. Don’t think I did not recognize you. I did not recognize the one that was very popular at the beginning of the 2000s.”       “Yeah… Many people… Knew me…”       “But you are no longer popular and getting offers to play starring roles. You rarely play episode roles in movies. But we could count them on fingers.”       Marty smirks quietly and crosses her arms over her chest, while Terrence looks at her questioningly.       “Why do you look at me like this?” Marty wonders. “Are you waiting for me to start whopping from happiness and praising you as well as all those little girls did?”       “Excuse me…” Terrence frowns slightly.       “So, you don’t want to be an actor… You decided to become a musician… Are you hoping to get your popularity back in this way?”       “I just want to do what I love much more.”       “I want to make you upset, my dear. The world needs real talents. Someone like me! There are too many talentless artists.”       Marty looks at Terrence from head to foot with disgust while he feels awkward, even if he tries not to show it, and keeps being calm and staying amicably enough.       “What kind of musician could you be?” Marty smirks evilly. “You are probably as talentless in music as you are in acting.”       “Huh?” Terrence rounds his eyes.       “Yes, yes, MacClife, you are a terrible actor. And I don’t truly understand why you were called literally a God.”       “Thank you for your opinion. I will remember it.”       “I do advise you not to do what you should not do. Don’t get yourself ashamed, our little star! And don’t even dare to think of taking my place.”       “I don’t have a plan to do.”       “Remember, I have always been and will be the only lead singer.”       “I came here to become a guitarist.”       “Ha!” Marty hums, putting her hands on her hips. “I am ready to bet you do not stay here for more than a week, and will get kicked out faster than a hurricane. Because everyone would realize that you are worthless. As well as those, who were instead of you before.”       Marty glances at the blond and the brunet, who are ashamed of Terrence because of the way the girl is behaving.       “As well as these two morons,” Marty throws gloomily. “Whom I want to strangle with my own hands.”       Not being able to stand this behavior, the brunet comes to Marty and pulls her down by the hand to make her much more gentle with the new member of the band.       “Marty!” the brunet exclaims. “Be more gentle!”       “Hey, Perkins!” Marty sharply turns on the brunet and threatens him with a finger. “If you touch me with your hands one more time, I don't know what I will do to you.”       “Is it so hard to show respect for the man? He has done nothing to you, but you are acting like a selfish diva!”       “Just letting him know who is the leader here.”       “You were the one to choose yourself as a leader. All of us are actually the same.”       “Ar-r-r, don’t get me the fuck irritated, idiot…” Marty moans tiredly. “When another worthless guitarist comes to us, you and Rose start to defend him. Ugh! So-called noble guys…”       Marty replies sharply and rudely. “When another talentless person comes to us, you and Rose start defending everybody. Ugh, fucking noble guys…”       “Do you think we should shower them with mud as well as you do?” the blond wonders, getting up from the drum set and stepping aside. “You’ve always been able to insult and humiliate even talented guys.”       “Did I humiliate someone?” Marty smiles innocently. “I am just telling the truth that nobody wants to hear!”       “Go to the fuck with your fucking truth!”       “I’ve always been right when saying all the previous guitarists were talentless and would’ve gotten kicked out faster than a gun would’ve shot. But nobody wants to thank me for having an excellent smell for real talents that we don’t have yet.”       “Those guys would’ve shown themselves if you hadn’t made them so irritated that someone couldn’t actually play,” the blond puts his hands on his hips. “You’ve always been unpleasant with something! Standing not where you want, striking the wrong string, or taking a higher or a lower note… And something like that!”       “Oh, oh, I’m not the one to blame for the fact that they are so tender and sensitive,” Marty rolls her eyes and hums contemptuously. “So-called men… When someone hears a bad word, they fall into depression and start literally crying.”       “After talking to you, anyone can get depression and also become enraged or actually go out of the mind,” the brunet hums contemptuously. “I agree, we’ve had many talentless guitarists. But not everybody! And they would’ve stayed in our band if they hadn’t been put under your pressure.”       “Of course… They were just afraid of showing their ‘talent’ and getting themselves ashamed.”       “Ar-r-r, you’re starting to annoy me…” the blond throws irritably.       “Hey, guys, calm down now!” Albert demands loudly. “If you keep fighting, you will scare this guitarist, too. But trust me, I do not want to lose this man because he is unbelievably talented.”       “Seriously?” Marty simpers evilly. “Did you actually listen to him? Or did you let him play in the band for some time? Just like you did to Rose and Perkins!”       “Marty, listen, please…”       While Albert embraces Marty and takes her aside to try to explain something to her, the brunet simpers quietly with rolled eyes, moves his eyes to Terrence and comes to him to try to make the awkward situation better somehow.       “We are sorry, Terrence,” the brunet says quietly. “She has a bad mood today. Don’t pay attention to her. And don’t be mad at us for having a scandal here…”       “Nah, it’s alright…” Terrence shrugs without emotions on his face. “But it’s clear that this girl is hard to work with…”       “It’s true. Working with her is hard, but sometimes she can be quiet.”       “Really?”       “Yeah. But honestly, that girl is always so… Restless.”       “That’s how…”       “But we are kind of used to her character and can pull her down a little not to let her get lost.”       “I see…”       Meanwhile, Terrence moans silently and thinks:       “Oh, what a diva she is! Holy shit, do I have to work with her face-to-face? Yeah… I got in trouble! But it seems like I’ll have to tolerate her somehow if I want to stay in the band and get famous as a musician. However… I think I can tame her. Of course, this girl is a bitch, but she is not as hysterical as my ex is… It’s gonna be easy to keep this lady under control. Of course, I’d have to hold myself down somehow at first, but when I get used to everything, I will kick the ass of this girl.”       And at this moment, the brunet smiles slightly and says nothing for two seconds.       “Oh, by the way, I didn’t introduce myself!” the brunet exclaims. “My name is Daniel. Daniel Perkins. The bassist of the band.”       Meanwhile, the blond comes to Daniel and also introduces himself to Terrence with a slight smile, being very amicable to him:       “And I am Peter Rose. I play drums.”       “Nice to meet you,” Terrence pronounces with a slight smile and shakes Daniel and Peter by the hand. “Terrence MacClife. I hope I will become a guitarist of yours.”       “Welcome to our band,” Daniel greets gently.       “I hope we'll get on well,” Peter expresses hope.       “I hope so,” Terrence replies amicably.       Daniel and Peter shyly smile at the one, who might become a new guitarist for the band.       “Were you admitted to the band after an audition?” Daniel asks.       “Well, not quite…” Terrence replies a little hesitantly. “Actually, I asked Mr. Sanderson’s daughter to talk to her father and ask if he could work on my musical career.”       “Ah, are you probably Rachel’s friend?” Peter guesses.       “Yes, Rachel is my good friend.”       “We know that she was persuading her father to talk to her friend for a long time, but Mr. Sanderson didn’t want to. But for his daughter, he agreed to meet him some time later.”       “It happened…”       “How long have you known her?”       “Since school.”       “Come on!” Daniel exclaims.       “We were good friends then. And one week ago, I met Rachel at one place and found out that her father was promoting musicians.”       “So… Let’s hope you will surprise us. Hope that you really have such a great talent that Rachel talked about.”       “I will try to meet your expectations.”       “If you need help, you can ask us about it,” Peter says amicably. “We don’t bite anyone. And our name is not Marty Patch.”       “Okay,” Terrence smiles shyly. “I will remember it.”       At this moment, Albert says everything he wanted to Marty and, quietly coughing, meddles in the talk of Daniel and Peter with Terrence while the girl keeps standing aside and watching everybody gloomily.       “Alright, we’ve cleaned up the misunderstanding and introduced ourselves to each other – that's very good!” Albert exclaims cheerfully.       “We’re ready, so to say, to take him under our wing,” Peter says confidently. “Help him get used.”       “We will tell and show him everything,” Daniel promises.       “Thanks, guys, I would be grateful to you,” Albert moves his eyes to Terrence. “And yeah, Terrence, can I tell you something?”       “Sure,” Terrence nods.       Albert takes Terrence aside and starts telling him something, while Daniel and Peter stand in the same place, look at each other, and start discussing the new guitarist.       “I think he’s a good man,” Peter says thoughtfully. “It’s clear that he is not as insolent and arrogant as Marty is.”       “And he’s very confident and proud,” Daniel notices. “As if he knows who he is.”       “Right. He didn’t lower his head when this girl humiliated and insulted him.”       “That’s very good. He wouldn’t let her humiliate him and would kick the ass of this princess.”       “Anyway, I’m sure we would get on well with this guy.”       “And something tells me he’d become an excellent addition to our band.”       “I really hope everything won't be as terrible as it was in the case of our previous guitarist,” Peter expresses. “Who didn’t even know the simplest things.”       “Oh, I think we’ve never had a worse guitarist than that guy. I didn’t manage to teach him just something because he forgot everything in five minutes.”       “Albert kicked him out for the reason.”       “Yeah. Where did Rachel meet him? And why did she persuade her father to admit him to the band?”       “Who the fuck knows!” Daniel exclaims. “But Albert adores his daughter and would do anything for Rachel. He even agreed to admit that talentless guy to the band.”       “And in the case of Terrence, she was persuading Albert to admit him for the whole week. Well, or at least listen to him.”       “Huh, if only this man wasn’t such a fucking guitarist as the previous one was.”       “We’ll see, buddy… But he seems quite fine to me as a person. Maybe, we will even become friends with him.”       “It would be cool!”       While Daniel and Peter keep talking about their new guitarist and how talented he could be, Terrence is standing aside along with Albert and discussing some things about his participation in the band.       “Yeah, Terrence, I forgot to tell you,” Albert says thoughtfully. ‘Sadly, we cannot organize the audition today. We got some problems.”       “So, it’s alright,” Terrence shrugs.       “You can practice a little today, but I will bring the guys together, and they will listen to you tomorrow. You will play guitar and sing something for them.”       “Alright, as you wish.”       “I am sorry about what happened. But we cannot do this today.”       “It’s fine. I… I will really practice a little more. And spend some time with Rachel.”       “If the guys like your play, and you meet my expectations, you will become a permanent member. Or we will think about your solo career. I don’t know… I will see.”       “Alright. When can I start rehearsing with the band? When can I examine their material?”       “So…”       Albert falls into silence for two seconds and throws a quick glance at the three members of the band: the men are talking funnily and cheerfully, and the girl is standing in front of a little mirror and fixing her hair.       “As for rehearsals, you can rehearse alone for the first two days to get used to everything,” Albert allows. “And then you will start becoming a part of our friendly collective and a part of your band if our collaboration is productive.”       “Alright…” Terrence nods with a slight smile, doubting that the collective is really so friendly but saying nothing to show politeness.       “You can rehearse here at any time. Come whenever you want, and play as much as you want. If you want, you can use any equipment to record some tracks or something like that: instruments, mixing desks, and computers. Anyway, the guys will help you with pleasure.”       “Really?” Terrence rounds his eyes. “Can I record something by myself?”       “Yes, but please, be careful and break nothing. Daniel and Peter often break something, and I often have to spend a lot of money on new instruments. But you should know that they are very expensive and brought from abroad… And when we buy new computers, we have to invite masters, who will set them up and install the software we need.”       “I got it, I will try to treat all the instruments carefully,” Terrence promises confidently.       “If you have questions, feel free to come to me and ask. Or Peter and Daniel. I think you would get on well with them better than Marty.”       “I will remember. Thank you so much for giving me a chance. I promise I will not betray you and will meet your expectations.”       “I also hope our collaboration will be good,” Albert expresses hope amicably with a slight smile.       Terrence nods with a slight smile, and a few seconds later, the door of this room opens. Rachel comes in here with two packets of food and a few plastic glasses in her hands, making everybody pay attention to her.       “Hey, guys!” Rachel pronounces with a slight smile. “I got some food for you. Does someone wanna eat?”       “Yeah, food!” Daniel whoops loudly with a wide smile.       “Yeah, just in time!” Peter exclaims happily.       Not hiding their wide smile, Peter and Daniel run to Rachel and take both of the packets with food and open them quickly. The men start examining them, already dreaming of eating something delicious for the first time in a while.       “As always,” Rachel laughs shyly. “The hungriest and most gluttonous ones take food first.”       “Yeah!” Marty throws gloomily, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m surprised they haven’t gotten fat! They eat as much as elephants, but they keep being as slim as sausages.”       “Aw, Rachel, you’re our salvation!” Daniel exclaims with a slight smile. “If only you knew how hungry I am!”       “Me too,” Peter adds confidently. “I’ve eaten nothing since the early morning and got terribly hungry. I thought my stomach would start eating itself.”       “Listen, there’s so much delicious food here! Look, look! A-a-a-a, my favorite spicy snack!”       “M-m-m, Rachy does remember that I love chicken food.”       “Eat, guys, eat,” Rachel pronounces amicably, folding her hands in front of her.       “Thanks a lot, Rachel!” Peter moves his eyes to Rachel with a slight smile. “We love you! You’re just a gem!”       Being too happy, Peter thanks Rachel by kissing her amicably on the cheek, making her smile shyly. And then the girl accepts a hug from Daniel, getting thankfulness from them and also welcoming them. So, while the men keep sorting the packets out and deciding what to eat, Rachel comes to Marty crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head slightly.       “They are gluttons!” Marty throws loudly and rudely. “Now they’ll eat everything and leave nothing for me!”       “You’re keeping a diet!” Peter replies funnily. “Besides, you’re a girl!”       “Aha, you should take care of your body!” Daniel adds.       “Yeah, it would be hard to keep weighing 119 lbs. if you kept eating very much.”       “Oh, oh, how do you know how much I weigh?” Marty rolls her eyes.       “You do tell everyone you weigh not very much!”       “Yeah, how much do you weigh?”       “As much as I need not to care about the fact that I may get fat.”       “Don’t worry, Marty!” Daniel pronounces cheerfully. “We’ll surely leave some salad for you.”       “Aha!” Peter laughs shyly. “We aren’t going to torture the girl with starvation. We will give you a couple of leaves of salad like a bunny, and you are gonna be happy.”       “Well, we can also give her this shit.”       Daniel glances at a plastic glass with some green substance.       “I personally ain’t gonna eat it ‘cause I dunno what’s mixed in it,” Daniel says confidently and winces slightly. “Ugh, freaking shit!”       “Actually, it’s a smoothie from a green apple, a cucumber, and an avocado,” Rachel explains with a slight smile. “Very healthy thing! That has many vitamins. I personally adore eating smoothies in the mornings. I recommend that you taste it.”       “Thanks, Rachel, but no,” Peter refuses confidently.       “Wrong! I drink it as a cocktail. Besides, a smoothie can be different. You can cook it with different fruits and vegetables.”       “No, I’d better eat my favorite snake with pepper and garlic. Well, I would at least eat sushi. Even if I’m not such a great fan of them.”       “Great, then!” Marty exclaims. “If you don’t want it, give this smoothie to me.”       Marty comes to Daniel and Peter and takes plastic glasses with a green substance from them.       “I will eat one glass here and take the second one home,” Marty adds. “I really love smoothies.”       “By the way, Marty, don’t you wanna drink some coffee?” Rachel suggests amicably, pointing one of the plastic glasses at Marty. “It’s a latte, your favorite.”       “With pleasure!”       Marty takes the pointed glass from Rachel and gives her a couple of air kisses to thank her.       “Thanks, my dear Rachel,” Marty thanks with a slight smile. “You’re the only one, who cares about me. Unlike some brainless idiots, who want only to eat and laugh.”       This time, Daniel and Peter say nothing and are eating what Rachel gave them with pleasure, sitting on a sofa comfortably and quietly laughing at something. Rachel and Marty go aside, share an amicable kiss on the cheek, and start talking about something.       Albert watches what’s happening and shakes his head, glancing at Terrence, who just shyly says nothing but does not hide his quiet chuck when the men greedily take food and laugh at the lead singer of the band.       “Oh, God, they are like children…” Albert moans quietly. “The first one is going to be twenty-five in two days, and the other one is almost twenty-six… Adult men that behave like idiots…”       “Hm, let me ask you, who is going to turn twenty-five in two days?” Terrence asks.       “Peter. The blond. He’s one year younger than Daniel is… Who is going to turn twenty-six in August.”       “Alright…”       “But sometimes I think they are about eighteen because both of them are behaving like brainless teenagers.”       “And the girl… Marty?”       “What’s her age? Oh, she’s too young. She turned only twenty in March. But I must confess that sometimes Marty seems to be older and smarter than these two…”       “I see…”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Terrence makes a quiet chuck while watching Daniel and Peter eating what they got with pleasure and getting so excited that they throw what they have at each other two times, thrilling with a loud laugh and still talking about something loudly.       At some moment, Rachel and Marty stop talking and go to different sides: the blonde comes to Terrence and Albert, and the brunette confidently comes to the two best friends, claps them on the forehead, and takes something from them, hearing a couple of more jokes from them.       “I believe you've already introduced Terrence to them,” Rachel wonders. “Yeah, Daddy?”       “Yeah, I did,” Albert pronounces confidently. “And I hope they will get on with your friend.”       “Of course, they will do.”       “Of course, the guys could talk to him a little, but sadly, Terrence has very many things to do here.”       “Are the guys and you gonna listen to him play guitar?”       “No, we will do it tomorrow. We agreed about it.”       “Tomorrow?”       “Yes. But now you can go somewhere with him. I don’t know… Go to a cinema or walk in a park…”       “No problem!” Rachel smiles shyly.       “Yeah, we can talk about the band’s business,” Terrence adds. “Music style, cloth style… I’m interested in everything.”       “Don’t worry, Terrence,” Albert says confidently. “Rachel will let you know about everything and even show you some clothes for the performances of your band.”       “Oh, good, then…”       “I suggest we go somewhere right now,” Rachel suggests. “Because later, the roads will be busy, and we won’t drive quickly. Moreover, I need to go to a petrol station… Petrol is almost over…”       “Of course, my dears, go,” Albert approves with a wide smile. “If you have some questions, I’m always on the line. Today I have only to work on some papers and make a few calls. And I should also control the way the guys are solving some problems that we got.”       “So, we can go then…” Terrence says thoughtfully.       “Yeah, sure. Walk somewhere with Rachel and talk about something. And then go home and get ready to play for me tomorrow.”       “Alright, Mr. Sanderson.”       “I will also go to do my business.”       Albert turns on Marty, Daniel, and Peter, who almost finish eating the food that Rachel kindly brought them while walking in front of the sofa and drinking something from their plastic glasses.       “And you three, eat quickly and start rehearsing immediately!” Albert orders severely. “The guys will come here soon to listen to you and see how well you learned the song you should have learned yesterday.”       “As you wish!” Daniel exclaims.       “And yeah, when I come here, I must see no crumbs. If I see at least one, you will be cleaning the floor and sofas to the gloss.”       “Don’t worry, we will be careful,” Peter replies confidently.       “I hope.”       Meanwhile, Terrence turns on Peter, Marty, and Daniel and says goodbye to them.       “Goodbye…”       “Goodbye,” Marty, Daniel, and Peter pronounce.       “Bye, guys,” Rachel says goodbye amicably. “I will come to you somehow. To listen to your songs.”       “I would be happy to talk to you a little longer,” Marty replies with a slight smile.       Rachel shares an amicable kiss on the cheek with all the three members of the band. After this, she leaves this room first, and then Terrence and Albert follow her and close the door after they leave.       While Peter and Daniel say goodbye to Terrence quite amicably, Marty does it against her wish. The men do not actually hide that they are very happy to get a new guitarist, whom they want to get on well with. Even though nobody knows how he plays, both of them liked this man, and they hope they will find a common language and even become friends. Unlike the girl, who does not hide that she is resentful,.       “Oh, shit…” Marty hums with her eyes rolled up. “One more pal of Rachel, who wants to get famous easily… She can quickly set up a friendship with guitarists.”       “Do you really care?” Peter wonders. “We shouldn't care if he befriends Rachel or not!”       “Besides, we didn’t even hear that little star playing. However, Albert already admitted him to the band and didn’t definitely organize an audition for him. What if he is the same talentless idiot as those, who were in the band before? Or MacClife is actually much worse than all those people!”       “Listen, Marty, could you put your egoism to your ass and be a little gentle to him?” Daniel asks coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.       “Why should I? Is he a king to bow to him? Just because that guy is already a famous idol for little girls, it does not mean we must bow to him and do what he wants.”       “He is a new person in the band! It’s always hard for new people at first. We should help him get used to us and examine the material.”       “Maybe, we will not have to! What if he is worthless, and we will have to get used to someone new?”       “Yes, we didn’t hear how that man played. But something tells me he would kick our asses and be much better than our previous guitarist, who didn’t even know half of all the chords.”       “What are you talking about? Don’t be so naive, Daniel!”       “Listen, we are all aware of the fact that you pretend to be a certain princess and are sure that everybody owes you. But please, show respect for the new man. Understand the situation and keep your mouth shut.”       “Ha, why do I have to fit some people?” Marty resents rudely, carefully fixes her hair, and crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to smile at everybody to try to stay in the band, at least for a while.”       “Aren’t you sick of humiliating everyone and thinking you are a great star?” Daniel puts his hands on his hips. “Why do you always insult everyone?”       “Did you decide to read me lectures? Don’t do it, Perkins! Rose and you annoyed me to the fuck! I am done with you and your stupid jokes!”       “And we are done with you!” Peter says confidently. “You know how much you annoyed us!”       “Listen, do you really think you’ve got a great talent if Albert hasn’t kicked you out of the band and canceled your contracts yet? No, guys, you are as talentless as all those guitarists and the new man are!”       “What are you talking about?”       “There is just nobody that would be much more talented than you two. But if Rachel didn’t bring all her familiar people to her father because they could allegedly play guitar, Albert would have to leave one of those worthless idiots that he kicked out before. If she had familiar bassists or drummers, both of you would be kicked out without a warning.”       “You should think about why all the talented guitarists run away from the band,” Peter raises his head proudly. “Maybe, many guys ran away because of your disgusting character, not being able to take the fact that they have to work with such an egoistic princess like you.”       “No, my sweetheart, they are running away not because of me.”       “Yeah? So, I’m sorry you don’t understand what you’re doing.”       “Oh, Rose…” Marty rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Why do you start showing off again? Could you shut up, at least for a while? I am getting sick of your voice!”       “You know, not only does your voice irritate me but also you,” Peter throws coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. “But despite this fact, I’ve been standing you for three or four years and keeping playing in this pop band.”       “Ha, I would become a star without you two!” Marty simpers loudly. “I don't need you, two morons, who think only of jokes. You two can get out of the band and look for a job at a shop and accept items or consult buyers. And I will become a star and be a famous singer, who will win all the awards and take first place in all the charts.”       “Ha, do you really think you’ve got such a great talent?” Peter wonders truly.       “Much greater than yours.”       Marty sharply turns to the other side.       “I was born to be famous!” Marty says with her head proudly raised.       “Your fans can be counted on fingers,” Daniel replies confidently.       “That’s what you want to think.”       “Did you forget you’re under a threat of getting kicked out?” Peter recalls. “Albert has told you many times that he would easily kick you out of the band because of your disgusting behavior.”       “And in this case, your daddy would not do anything,” Daniel adds confidently with his arms crossed over his chest.       “Are you jealous because you don’t have powerful mommies and daddies that would help you with everything?” Marty smirks evilly.       “By the way, every time Sanderson threatens to kick you out of the band, you become sweet and fluff for some time.”       “Albert will not kick me out of the band.”       “As well as he will not kick Terrence if he likes him. If that guy is talented, you will work with him like a docile girl. Or you’re gonna be the next one to get kicked out of the band.”       “I don't need this fucking place,” Marty sniffs contemptuously. “I don’t actually understand why Sanderson decided to make me a part of the band. Why couldn’t he be a solo singer? I don’t wish to share my fame with someone else. Anyone! I must be alone on the stage.”       “Nobody holds you!” Peter exclaims loudly. “If you don't like something, you can get out of the band.”       “Yeah, thousands of girls could be instead of you!” Daniel adds. “I think Albert would find a decent and talented girl with a good character. Or he could actually have a male band.”       “Oh, yeah…” Marty smirks quietly and crosses her arms over her chest. “As if one hundred guys wanna get your place!”       “Of course!”       “If someone wanted to join, Albert would have kicked you and your blond-haired pal out of the band a long time ago and found someone to be more talented than both of you.” Marty proudly raises her head up. “So, don’t think you’ve been here for so many years just because you have an allegedly great talent. There are just no people, who’d be as talented as I am. Who would be able to fit Albert’s claims.”       “Ha, Peter and I could actually create our own band and make it much more successful than ‘Heart Of Fire!’” Daniel says confidently.       “Yeah, what would you sing? The bullshit you are listening to?”       “What people would love much more than your stupid songs of love.”       “Keep dreaming, guys,” Marty smirks evilly. “You would not get a greater success.”       “We will see!” Daniel raises his head proudly.       “See, see. Dream of the stage while working at a food store as cashiers.”       “Stop making me irritated, Marty,” Daniel throws irritably. “If you don't stop doing this, I will leave the band. I will do this if you make me wild with your hysterics.”       “Ha, do you think I care?” Marty wonders, opening her widely open eyes, and points at the door as if she lets Daniel and Peter know that they can get out right now. “I am not holding you! As well as your friend Rose! You can get out right now!”       “We will get out then!” Peter exclaims. “And your dreams of becoming famous will be delayed for a long time because Albert will have to start a band again.”       “I will do my best for him to start promoting me as a solo singer. Do my best for that man to finally kick you out of the band.”       “You’ve threatened to do this for ages. However, we are still playing in the band.”       “It’s okay, I will get what I want. Because I am really sick of hearing your stupid jokes that nobody from school would laugh at. I am sick of you laughing at everything like sick idiots that have mental issues.”       “Ah, we’ve got mental issues…”       “It seems like I am working with brainless children, not men, one of whom is going to turn twenty-six while another is going to turn twenty-five.”       “Oh, do you remember I am gonna have a birthday in two days?”       “Imagine!”       “But you, little bitch baby, let yourself too much and act like a tough lady,” Peter throws coldly, clenching his hands into fists. “You are too little to control someone and tell someone to do something. At first, reach something and then show your allegedly incredible talent to everyone.”       “I have a great talent!”       “No, girl, that’s what you made yourself think.”       “Oh, oh, oh, I’ve been working with you for many years and wondering how you could get allowed to go to auditions with your terrible play on drums. You’re so talentless! And you haven’t learned to play not to make me feel shame.”       “Peter plays drums well,” Daniel stands for his friend. “He has learned a lot in the past years.”       “Aha, so well that my ears are bleeding!”       “You better try to play what he plays. I am sure you won’t play anything similar.”       “Ha, I would play drums one hundred times better than your pal!” Marty smirks loudly. “And I would teach you to play bass guitar better than you. You are also worthless, and you don't the fuck know how to play.”       “If we were worthless, we wouldn’t be here.”       “I wonder to know, who was your teacher, who couldn’t make you a good drummer and a good bassist and good vocalists, who people could listen to without blood in their ears. But… What teachers could you have? You don’t even have a musical education!”       “And what?”       “You have nothing to do without a musical education!”       “As if you have it!”       “I do! I graduated from the musical school with an honor!”       “Come on?” Peter smiles falsely. “How much money did your mommy and daddy spend to make you something that would be worth it?”       “Well, even millions of dollars wouldn’t help you.”       “It would be great if someone forced you to live like a pauper for two months and forget about your expensive clothes, magnificent cars, and import cosmetics, and deprived you of those, who serve you,” Peter says coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I see the princess got too sassy and thinks just because she’s a rich girl and living her parents off, others must serve her and kiss her hands.”       “You must! You are fucking beggars, but I am a rich girl! I have a higher status!”       “Are you a member of the family of the English queen?” Daniel wonders. “Or are you a relative of the Russian princes? Who are you to bow to you?”       “You are just jealous!” Marty says with her head proudly raised. “Because I wear the most expensive and newest clothes and can have anything. While you have to buy clothes in a cheap shop and count every single cent to live another day? Now you’re holding on somehow ‘cause you earn some money for performances. But when Albert kicks you out, the good life will be over.”       “I don’t even want to say anything and try to get something into your head,” Daniel says confidently looking at Marty with contempt in his eyes. “You’d get nothing. Because you’re too snotty and stupid. And egoistic.”       “The stupid people here are you and your pal!” Marty simpers evilly. “Two worthless single-celled amoebas. I can’t wait for Albert to find someone to replace you and kick you out of the band to the fuck. I am really ashamed of working with mentally retarded idiots that stopped growing up somewhere at the age of five and stayed children that could only laugh hard and annoy everyone.”       “What?” Peter resents.       “This is some kind of illness, guys. Maybe, you should go to a doctor? Or have you been retarded since birth? Can’t you be cured at all?”       Marty laughs mockingly and starts yelling loudly, waving her hands and running in front of Daniel and Peter as if she is letting them know what idiots they are.       “Listen, Patch, are you fine?” Daniel knocks at his temple with a finger. “Maybe, we ask someone to call a doctor?”       “Call a doctor for you,” Marty throws gloomily.       “You better close your mouth, kid,” Peter demands rudely. “Or you will regret it!”       “Listen, Rose, why are you so mad and rude?” Marty smirks evilly. “Haven’t you had a girlfriend for a long time? Don’t they want to spend time with you?”       “Do you really the fuck care?” Peter resents, clenching his hands tightly into fists.       “Or are you not into girls? Do you love boys more?”       “What did you say?”       “Confess that you are gay, and you are not into girls.”       “I am not gay. And I am into girls.”       “C’mon, blond, don’t be shy,” Marty smiles slyly. “It’s okay if boys get you much more excited.”       “Close your mouth before you regret it.”       “Yeah, of course, you don’t look like gay, but sometimes men look like you wouldn't say they are homosexual.”       “Listen, Marty, don’t you think you are talking too much?” Daniel meddles. “Too much and for nothing!”       “Of course, I could suggest that Rose pay attention to you,” Marty says thoughtfully. “But since you’re dating someone now, the blond missed his happiness.”       “Keep your mouth shut!” Daniel demands gloomily. “Watch what you’re talking about!”       “Why not? You hang out together very much, and you even lived together for some time. You probably got over the breaking-in period and could live happily after.”       “I will strangle this girl if she doesn’t shut up…” Peter growls with his eyes rolled up.       “C’mon, guys, why are you shy? Nobody would be resentful if you had an affair. Besides, I have many friends among gays and lesbians. I do really respect and accept their choice.”       “We are not gays, and we are not dating!” Peter and Daniel pronounce at the same time.       “I didn’t say Perkins was gay. He is into girls. I am sure about it. But I would bet about Rose…”       “Ar-r-r…” Peter growls irritably, losing any patience. “Alright, I am done with it!”       Peter strokes his hair down sharply.       “You really annoyed me!” Peter says confidently. “The rehearsal is canceled! At least, I do not want to stay with such a little bitch like you.”       “What?” Marty resents.       “Do not count on me. Today, I will not come to rehearsals and will go somewhere else. To be far from you.”       “You will go nowhere! Until you play the song very well.”       “You are nobody to tell me what to do!”       Peter throws his drumsticks that he took after Terrence, Albert and Rachel had left.       “And I am not going to listen to this bullshit of the crazy person,” Peter adds. “You were probably thinking very much before calling me gay.”       “You will go nowhere!” Marty exclaims.       “I am done! I am leaving!”       Peter turns around sharply and takes his black denim jacket from the sofa.       “Hey, come back here, idiot!” Marty demands loudly. “YOU HEAR WHAT I TOLD YOU, DEAF JERKOFF? COME BACK NOW!”       “All the best, sick, hysterical girl!” Peter says goodbye rudely, putting on his denim jacket.       “ROSE! ROSE! TAKE YOUR ASS HERE! WHO AM I TELLING THIS? ROSE, FUCK! WHERE YOU ARE GOING? ARE YOU DEAF?”       But Peter does not want to hear Marty’s wild shouts, comes to the exit from the studio quickly, and gets out of it as fast as a bullet, slamming the door loudly, while Daniel watches him.       “I’m leaving, too!” Daniel says coldly. “I have no wish to stay with such a sick idiot like you.”       “WHAT?” Marty resents. “WHERE ARE, THE FUCK, YOU GOING?”       “Now you’ve got an excellent chance to stay alone and get attention when you have to sing for Albert alone.”       “YOU WILL GO NOWHERE!”       “Stay happy, Patch! My phone is not available for you.”       “STOP! HAVEN’T YOU SPENT ENOUGH TIME WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND? PERKINS! I AM THE FUCK TALKING TO YOU!”       “Go to the fuck, idiot. My head hurts because of your shouts and hysterics!”       “COME BACK NOW, YOU, PLUCKED PEACOCK! OR ARE YOU AS STUPID OR DEAF AS YOUR BLOND PAL IS? COME BACK, YOU TWO, I AM COMMANDING!”       But Daniel does not do what Marty wants and quickly leaves the studio after Peter, loudly slamming the door and leaving the excited girl alone.       “ALRIGHT!” Marty screams at the top of her lungs. “I do not need you! You may not even come back! I would feel good without you! I AM FUCKING SICK OF YOU!”       Marty starts breathing heavily enough.       “AND YEAH, I AM NOT GOING TO CLEAN THIS PIGSTY!” Marty says confidently, pointing at the door, on which there are some bread crumbs. “IF THE GUYS SEE IT, THEY WILL TELL YOU TO COME HERE AND MAKE YOU WASH THE FLOORS TO THE GLOSS! AND YOU WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL EVERYTHING IS CLEAN HERE!”       Marty growls loudly, takes something, and throws it so strongly that nothing leaves from it, being wild because someone dares to talk to her like this, and her bandmates do not want to obey the lead singer and their leader, who she, however, became by her own wish.       

***

      Peter wants to leave the studio so much that he runs out of the tower as quickly as a bullet and ends up on the street. And then he exhales sharply and looks around, seeing people of absolutely different ages, who are hurrying to do something and paying no attention to each other. They are hurrying somewhere, but the blond does not have to because the rehearsal is finished. At least for him, it’s absolutely finished. After calming down a little after the scandal with Marty, standing near the entrance to the studio and breathing in some air, Peter decides to leave and think about how to spend this day on the way. Having no plan for spending his free time, the man steps back slowly from the high building and just starts walking straightly, crossing his arms over his chest and sometimes glancing at different sides.       But Peter does not go too far from the studio because Daniel leaves the building later, getting out of it faster than a bullet and starting to look around. And when the brunet sees the leaving blond, he comes to him quickly, while that one gets busy thinking of something. However, Rose does not fall into his thoughts too deeply because his friend, who just ran up, claps the blond on the shoulder, and says:       “Hey, Peter!”       After hearing his name, Peter moves his little gloomy look to Daniel.       “Got out, as well?” Peter asks.       “If I’d stayed there for some time, I would’ve done something to this capricious madam,” Daniel replies gloomily. “Well, or she would’ve killed me in anger.”       “We would’ve probably killed her…”       “Today, she’s much angrier than before. She would make even the quietest person mad.”       “Oh, if that bitch starts one or two hysterics, I’ll surely kill or strangle her with my own hands.”       “Agree, it was possible to tolerate her before, but now, so to say, the dam broke.”       “How she actually dared to call me gay!”       “Don’t pay attention! Patch doesn’t just know how to annoy us. So, she says some bullshit!”       “She became much more unbearable! Patch has a disgusting character and endless PMS and is gonna get wild because Albert found a new guitarist for us.”       “Yeah,” Daniel agrees. “The new man didn’t play anything, but she began to say he was worthless.”       “Our imitable Marty just wants to be the only star. But she doesn’t get a chance to stop singing in the band with ‘two more worthless idiots,’ as she loves saying.”       “I don’t think Albert will let her become a solo artist. He doesn’t like the idea of working on her solo career. He wants her to be a part of the band. And Marty does understand it and gets mad.”       “I’ll tell you why: because her team would get sick of her unreal claims and hysterics and leave this princess with blue blood after one day of work. Not everyone has such strong mental health to take her tricks.”       “But we get over that somehow. Even if we barely do this.”       “Because we need money – so, we bite the bullet and stand that bitch. We wouldn’t get such good money anywhere. We would earn little money by working at a shop and be able to buy food in the best case. But now we could do something.”       “This is the only thing that makes me take all of that and keep working with this band, which I’d get out of a long time ago with pleasure if someone offered me a better way to get good money.”       “And I feel that if Ms. Patch has one more hysteria, we’ll have to leave this band and look for another job. Because working with such a persona is getting harder and harder.”       “Yeah, the new guitarist, who was found by Albert, is gonna take much, as well,” Daniel says thoughtfully, scratching the palm of his hand. “Thinking of how ‘kindly’ she met him.”       “Right! That man hardly understands what kind of shit he just got into.”       “But I think he will be able to stand up for himself. That guy didn’t get confused when Marty began to show her contempt for him.”       “You’re right.”       “He is definitely not one of those, who are easy to get hurt.”       “Anyway, he seems like a good man to me,” Daniel confesses. “Besides, Terrence, if I’m not mistaken by his name, is very amicable and was gentle to us. Who knows, maybe, we’ll find a common language and befriend him.”       “Would be cool…” Peter smiles slightly. “Although our previous guitarist was amicable to us, he had some strangeness and wasn’t aiming to talk to us when we had no rehearsals and performances.”       “I am more than sure that the new man would be quite a normal man.”       “We’ll see, Daniel, we will…”       Daniel and Peter fall into silence for a few seconds, going somewhere together on the lively street and glancing at what’s happening around: people hurrying somewhere with packets, bags, and phones in their hands, and some buses, cars, and other transports are not stopping moving. And then they keep talking again, and Perkins is the first one to start it, glancing at the watch that he is hearing on his left hand, stops along with Peter for some time, and goes aside to let people keep moving on.       “So…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “Because we got some free time, we should use it and have much fun, forgetting about that hysterical girl Marty, Albert, and everything about the band for a while.”       “I’m now thinking about where I’d like to spend time,” Peter replies, scratching the back of his head and glancing aside. “I don’t wanna go home ‘cause I have nothing to do there. And I have no wish to lie on the bed and spit at the ceiling.”       “Any ideas?”       “I dunno… What about going home, taking rollers, and having a ride in the city?”       “Rollers? M-m-m… Good idea!”       “We would show a high class to everyone. Help someone to learn to skate much better.”       “That’s right…” Daniel smiles slyly. “Both of us skate rollers and ice-rollers very well.”       “It’s a good workout and a way to relax.”       “Hey, I’ve also got an idea of going to watch a soccer match or a basketball game.”       “Or hockey.”       “I heard there would be very many matches this month. Yes, most of them are gonna be friendly, but there will be those, which famous people will come at.”       “What if there are no tickets?”       “Well, we could just go to a sports bar and watch a soccer game, boxing, or ultimate fighting with a glass of beer in our hands. Or maybe, they would translate at least one NHL game.”       “Well, I’d personally go to watch a game. Watch ultimate fighting. Well, or just go to a concert by a street band…”       “Let’s go then! We will walk into the city and find out what they are gonna schedule. Maybe, we’ll be lucky and get a chance to hang out.”       “Yeah, but I thought you’d have a date with your girlfriend today.”       “Sadly, my girlfriend is a little busy and can’t go anywhere. Besides, we already had a date yesterday and spent a cool time together.”       “If you could, you’d go on dates with her every single day,” Peter laughs kindly.       “You know, Pete, I wouldn’t mind,” Daniel smiles mysteriously. “I feel really comfortable with her. And I’m very glad she always supports me and makes me forget what’s happening to the band almost every single fucking day.”       “I understood it much earlier than you did, dude, when you couldn’t figure out why you felt so good. Judging your glad face that you got every time you went on a date with your girlfriend, and the way you smiled like an idiot after hearing mention of her.”       “Oh, blond, I’d see your face if you met a cutie and hooked up with her.”       “It will hardly happen at the nearest time.”       “Why not? Go to a club or a dance club! What if you are lucky and pick up an incredible girl.”       “Oh, if I had time to go to clubs…” Peter sighs tiredly.       “What’s your problem?”       “Knowing that every single minute of us is planned due to being a part of the band, and we have a free day only once or twice per month, I wouldn’t be able to go somewhere just to drink a glass of strong alcohol ‘cause I’d need one more free day to get enough sleep after a sleepless night in a club.”       “But I’m advising you to go there somehow and try to meet someone,” Daniel chuckles kindly. “Or you’re gonna stay, as people would say about a single woman, an old maid.”       “Oh, fuck, shut up, Perkins…”       “Girls won’t go to your home, Rose. You need to let them know about you. Let them know that there is a guy like you.”       “You’re incorrigible, dude.”       Peter turns around and keeps going somewhere, and Daniel follows him at once.       “See what kind of luck I got,” Daniel says cheerfully. “I’m dating the best girl in the world and very happy to have the one, who always supports me.”       “And I’m very glad for you,” Peter cracks a slight smile.       “I actually think I’m a fucking lucky man ‘cause I really got great luck to meet the girl of my dream. I didn’t have anyone better than her before.”       Listening to Daniel bragging about having a girlfriend with such kind of pride, Peter starts getting a little sad and nervous, looking aside for a second and definitely thinking of something not very nice. But the blond says nothing about what he actually feels and smiles widely after his buddy stops speaking, still going along with him straightly.       “You just needed to give someone the eye,” Peter laughs quietly. “I bet she got the love for you because of that. The girl just couldn’t resist their spells.”       “Yeah, I don’t deny my look is very spelling,” Daniel smiles slyly, shaking his head to move a strand of hair off his eyes. “All the girls I’ve known have always told me they liked my eyes about me much more.”       “You’ve got nothing else to praise. You’ve got bad physical data. Of course, you can still fix everything, but it’s gonna take a lot of time.”       “Right. But you can do something now.”       “What?”       “Get your blond hair done and start stealing girls’ hearts. Well… And play your steed muscles…”       “Oh, Perkins…”       “I’m assuring you, girls would start surrounding you if they knew that you existed. They would be fighting for a chance to date you.”       “Ah, chocolate head…” Peter smiles slightly. “Of course, it’s nice to me to know you care about my personal life and try to do something for me to start dating someone, as well. But I’ve already said I don’t want to date anyone yet because I have too much to care about.”       “Oh, I had thought so before I met my beauty!” Daniel waves his hand with a quiet chuck. “But being a part of the band and having a little free time doesn’t stop me from meeting my girlfriend. And I have a lot of time for myself. So, I see no problems with the fact that we’re working in the band.”       “You know that girls require a lot of attention from you.”       “Good girls should understand that you can’t spend twenty-four hours with them. Real love has no place for egoism. The one, who really loves you, completely understands how important it is to give someone some personal space and not to make them spend hours with them.”       “Anyway, she’ll quickly get bored without attention and find another man.”       “Are you afraid to date a girl?”       “Why am I afraid?”       “You’re acting like a virgin, who's never been caressed by someone. As if you’ve never dated and slept with girls. Or you’ve actually never communicated with them and don’t know how to behave.”       “Don’t worry, Daniel, I have enough experience in communicating with girls,” Peter replies confidently. “And yeah, I’m not a virgin, in case you care about it.”       “Yeah? But you’re acting like you’re still an innocent boy.”       “Not at all.”       “Wonderful then! So, you are experienced in communicating with girls.”       “Of course, I am!” Peter chuckles kindly.       “Don’t worry, my friend, if you need a little piece of advice about how to get any girl and make her look into your eyes, I’m always at your service,” Daniel says with his head proudly raised.       “Come on?”       “Yes, yes, I know everything about seducing girls and would be happy to help you get any cutie you like.”       “Oh, shut up, you, expert on love affairs,” Peter laughs shyly, clenching a hand into a fist and slightly pushing Daniel on his forearm.       “Uncle Dan will teach you everything!” Daniel claps Peter on the shoulder. “Thanks to such an amazing teacher like me, you’ll turn from an inexperienced virgin, who doesn’t know how to kiss and touch a girl, to a skillful seducer that could make any girl obey him.”       “You’re too loud and funny today,” Peter shakes his head with a quiet chuck.       “Really?”       “Yes! Of course, you’re always loud. And sometimes I have a headache from you. But today, you’re especially loud. And you would definitely do a crazy thing if there were no people around.”       “I’m just very happy – here’s the reason for my freaking good mood,” Daniel smiles widely. “Which can’t get worse, even because of our ‘beloved’ drama queen, Marty.”       “Calm down, Dan…” Peter throws a disapproving look. “Do you want people to think you’re an idiot? You’re literally jumping and waving your hands like a moron!”       “C’mon, blond! There are not so many people around. And if they are, they don’t care about us.”       “Behave shyer. I am ashamed of you.”       “Hey, I see you got kind of gloomy…”       “I’m gloomy?”       “Yup!”       “No, I ain’t gloomy!”       “You are!”       “Not true!”       “It’s okay, dude, don’t worry. I know how to fix it and will surely make your mood better.”       “Yeah? So, how are you gonna make my mood better?”       “We are going to spend some free time in the company of each other!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully, having a very good mood and actively waving his hands, and embraces Peter amicably. “Spend a cool time! Save you from boredom and sadness!”       Laughing shyly, Daniel ruffles Peter’s hair a little, while the blond chuckles kindly.       “Okay, okay…” Peter jabs, steps back from Daniel, and fixes his hair slightly. “Calm down! Since you’re free today, I am accepting you to my party with pleasure.”       “Oh, even if you didn’t, I would follow you anyway,” Daniel says confidently. “Make you have fun to the fullest by force. And stop being so gloomy!”       “I know you’re a lover of hangouts!”       “And yeah, it would be great to talk about a plan for celebrating your birthday.”       “Oh, Dan, you’re incorrigible…”       “C’mon, dude, tell me at least an approximate plan for celebrating your twenty-five birthday.”       “Approximate plan? Okay! A big plate of food, lots of beer, and a cool movie to watch. Well…” Peter thinks for two seconds. “I could get a candle into a cake, make a wish and blow it out.”       “Huh, that’s all?” Daniel chuckles with his widely open eyes. “No, blond, it won’t happen!”       “What?”       “If you’re celebrating your birthday, you’ll make it unforgettable! Moreover, twenty-five is the first anniversary! You’ve lived already… Erm… Some part of the century.”       “A quarter of the century.”       “Who cares! It doesn’t make sense! The important thing is that I do know how to help you celebrate such a momentous day.”       “Yeah?” Peter exhales sharply. “So, buddy… I trust you. If you’ve got an idea, I am letting you get ready for the celebration of my birthday.”       “Excellent!” Daniel claps his hands with a wide smile. “I can organize truly cool parties!”       “I hope I won’t love to kill you after your tricks. Because you could come up with anything.”       “Don’t worry, Peter!” Daniel claps Peter on the shoulder. “I promise you’ll remember that day for many years. And you will undoubtedly thank me for such an incredible celebration.”       “We will see what kind of party planner you are.”       Daniel and Peter laugh shyly at first, and then, still going somewhere, start talking about a plan for the pastime for today. The men are going to have much fun somewhere with each other and forget what the blond is probably worried about deep inside, and also about how many constant fights with the lead singer of the band they are playing in get them exhausted and irritated.       

***

      Meanwhile, Terrence and Rachel are going somewhere in the car of the girl on the free road and talking about the meeting of the man with the members of the band, in which he will be playing. In order not to feel bored from spending time in silence, they decide to turn on the radio at low volume and select a certain radio station when they hear their favorite song.       “So, Terrence, what do you think of my father?” Rachel asks, not moving her eyes off the road and driving the car.       “He is a good man,” Terrence replies with a slight smile. “But at first sight, Mr. Sanderson seems a little severe man.”       “No, my daddy is not terrible at all but very kind and understanding. Of course, he has to be tough toward the people, who he’s working with. But that man treats everybody very well. And he always makes sure that the artists of his label are treated with care and respect.”       “Wow… The owner of the label cares about his artists so much…”       “Of course! He is responsible for those, who decided to work with him. Dad personally watches everything and doesn’t stay indifferent when some guys complain to him about something. He solves everything and kicks those, who deserve it.”       “Does he deal with everybody, who hurts you?”       “Undoubtedly! Daddy loves me with all his heart! As well as I madly love him. Moreover, after my mother’s death, he’s the only close person of mine.”       “What about your friends?”       “Yes, I’ve got many friends. But I’m much closer to my daddy. I know he would never advise me anything bad and would always be ready to listen to me and comfort me, even if he didn’t have time.”       “I can say the same about my mother…” Terrence confesses thoughtfully with a slight smile. “I consider her the closest person of mine. She’s the one to find a way to get closer to me… And she has an excellent talent to read everything in the eyes and understands when I lie or don’t say something. So… Even if I want to hide something, she gets all the truth out of me anyway.”       “By the way, I can barely remember Mrs. MacClife. It seems like I haven’t seen her for ages… But I still remember she was a very kind and caring woman.”       “She is still is. Yes, sometimes Mother shows harshness and can shout, but that woman is very kind and sweet.”       “You’re lucky to have her.”       “Hey, don’t you wanna go to visit her someday? Maybe, she’ll call the memories about you if you meet her. I’m sure my mother will be very glad to see you.”       “Do you think she’ll really accept me well?” Rachel asks a little hesitantly.       “What kind of questions, Rachel! Of course, she will accept you! Mother treated you well when you went to our home at a young age.”       “No… I just…” Rachel bites her lip slightly and changes the speed with a gearbox. “Erm…”       “Are you okay?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “Say, does she know about your breakup with your girlfriend?”       “Yes, I talked to her a few days ago and told her that Cameron and I broke up,” Terrence replies without emotions.       “And did she get upset?”       “Yeah, it got her upset… Because she loved my ex-girlfriend after the first meeting. My mother got on well with her and approved of my choice.”       “Didn’t Mrs. MacClife see what that girl actually was?”       “Sadly, no. But when I told her how Raquelle actually treated me, she decided that we would’ve really broken up. If she didn’t love me, and I got cold for her, there was no meaning of being together.”       “Didn’t she know what was actually happening?”       “Nobody knew. Everyone thought we had a perfect relationship. We were role models. Nobody knew what was happening behind the closed doors.”       “Listen, Terrence…” Rachel changes the speed with a gearbox with sadness in her eyes. “Do you think Mrs. MacClife won’t think I broke your relationship? What if your mother hates me for allegedly stealing you from your ex-girlfriend?”       “No, sweetie, what are you talking about?” Terrence smiles shyly, caressing Rachel’s cheek tenderly and seeing how she cracks a slight smile. “Mother wouldn’t think you broke my relationship.”       “What if she decides you and I have been seeing each other for a long time.”       “No, Rachel, you’re guilty of nothing. My ex left home and gave me freedom. Yes, I wanted to kick her out, but she got out earlier.”       “Wouldn't Cameron think you had an affair she didn’t know about?”       “She thinks I had an affair with her best friend.”       “Her best friend?”       “Yes, Raquelle fought with her because of that. She does really believe that girl is in love with me and can’t wait to get married to me.”       “And what do you feel for her?”       “Nothing,” Terrence pronounces confidently. “There is nothing between that girl and me. I consider her a very close person, but I love her just as a friend. And she thinks the same of me. We are like a brother and a sister. No more.”       “You probably communicated very much with that girl, if Cameron thought so.”       “Yeah, I did. I supported her after the conflict with my ex. I often called her and went her home.”       “Okay…”       “Oh, may she think what she wants! I don’t care about that girl anymore. Even if Cameron finds it out, I give a fuck.”       “But I don’t understand something: why was that girl mad because of thinking you dated her friend if she claimed she never loved you?”       “Don’t think about it, Rachel,” Terrence smiles slightly.       “Don’t you think it’s jealousy?”       “Jealousy is about the one to love. That girl insolently used my feelings and me. She wanted to shut her family up because they were ready to get married literally to anyone, who stood in her way.”       “I dunno…” Rachel sighs quietly and changes the speed with a gearbox. “If she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t care who you had an affair with. She would say nothing even if you brought a girl to your home and locked yourself in the room with her.”       “Anyway, our story is over. We will forget each other very soon. I can’t already wait to finally come to myself and be absolutely ready for a new life.”       “Wouldn’t Mrs. MacClife wish to…” Rachel her lip slightly, tightly squeezing the wheeling steel and looking a little hesitant. “To try to reconcile you with Raquelle and not to let us be together?”       “Of course, I always listen to Mother’s opinion,” Terrence replies confidently. “But in this case, I want to do what I want.”       “You said she was upset because of your breakup with your girlfriend.”       “It’s okay, she will be sad for a while and then take it. Sadly, she will have to do it… Besides, she is now disappointed in Raquelle 'cause she loved her as her own daughter. But that girl, so to say, betrayed her.”       “By the way, how did she take what…” Rachel pronounces hesitantly. “Happened between you and your ex-girlfriend? The slap you talked about…”       “I haven’t told her about it yet. But I would have to do it early or late.”       “Yeah?”       “As I said, Mother feels well when she knows not everything that happens to me. I am ashamed of confessing it, but my mother should know it.”       “I think you understand that people may judge you for that thing,” Rachel says with sadness in her eyes. “No matter what that girl did to you, nobody will caress your head.”       “I know. And I am ready for that.”       “And what’s gonna happen if you get wild, but I stand in your way? Would the same that…”       “No, Rachel!” Terrence puts his hand softly on Rachel’s hand, which is placed on the gearbox. “Whatever happens, I swear I will not dare to raise a hand on you. That case was the only one…”       “Are you regretting slapping her?” Rachel asks.       “I am regretting. I’m sorry about daring to slap the girl. Even if she annoyed me to death. That was a mean thing of mine.”       “Truly regretting?”       “It’s gonna be hard to forgive me for that mistake. I had no right to do that.”       “And are you afraid of consequences?”       “Yup. I’m madly afraid someday people will know everything and start to judge me… If my career is ruined because of that, I will not be able to keep being an actor and will get kicked out of the band…” Terrence swallows up nervously. “They would no longer wish to see me on a stage, on a screen, in real life… Anywhere…”       “Terrence…”       “I’m afraid of being judged by people… Afraid to lose everything I have…” Terrence shakes his head. “I won’t take it… And I will hardly run away somewhere far from the shame because everyone would recognize me. Everyone would know I slapped the girl. Moreover, someone could easily make everything look like I regularly beat girls. Someone might lie to everyone that I beat Raquelle and someone else.”       “Sweetie…” Rachel pronounces with sadness in her eyes, glancing at Terrence.       “I don’t know what I’m gonna do if everything leads to the worst turn.”       “Everything’ll be okay about your musical career,” Rachel promises confidently.       “You think?”       “Sure! Daddy will do his best to make you a star of the musical business.”       “Would you not tell him that I slapped my ex-girlfriend?”       “Of course, no! I won’t tell Father and anyone else about what you did. I swear, I will be defending you from everyone and denying it.”       “What if your father reads something on the Internet?”       “I will do my best to make him sure that it’s slander of tabloids.”       “Wouldn’t you really betray me?”       “I would not, sweetie, don’t worry.” Rachel cracks a slight smile at Terrence and changes the speed with a gearbox. “From now on, you will be under my protection. I will not let anyone hurt you, and I will not let anyone make your reputation worse. Even if your ex-girlfriend wants to agree against you with someone and charge you for all the sins.”       “Are you judging me for the slap?” Terrence asks hesitantly.       “Of course, I am. And I’m afraid something like that will happen again. But I do believe you’re not such a terrible man to beat a girl and mock her.”       “I’m not terrible.”       “I know, Terrence,” Rachel smiles shyly. “You don’t look like a violator. And I don’t doubt people would believe the one, who has known you since school times.”       “Remember, I will not hurt you,” Terrence replies confidently, softly taking Rachel’s hand with a shy smile. “And I will owe you if you hide this secret and don’t tell anyone about the thing that might put an end to my career.”       “I won’t, I promise.”       “You’ve got no reason to be afraid, honey. I will never raise a hand on you and will always treat you with great respect.”       “I don’t doubt. You know I love you and can do anything to do something nice for you.”       “I know.” Terrence smiles much wider. “I love you, too. Really. With all the heart.”       “Nice to hear it,” Rachel gets blushed.       “I’m really sorry about not paying attention to such a wonderful girl like you much earlier. I don’t understand… Why didn’t I choose you? Why did I choose the thankless egoist? I am sorry about being so blind.”       “Better late than never. People often make a mistake and understand it much later.”       “But now I am gonna be smarter. And I know who I would be very happy with.”       Rachel smiles slightly, tightly squeezing the wheeling steel with both hands. Using the moment while the girl’s car stops at the red light, Terrence kisses the girl cutely on the cheek and runs his nose against it for two seconds. The blonde does not hide her wide smile, gives the man the same kiss on his cheek, and gets nicely surprised when he leaves a short kiss on her lips at his will. It makes her get frozen for a second and feel how crazy her heart is beating. The heart, which has belonged to this man for so many years. Which he agreed to keep with him. And to give her his…       However, at the moment, Terrence wants to start a new relationship and forget Raquelle once and forever less. He wants to save his career and good name from the shame that he would run into if the whole world knew about his bad behavior toward his ex-girlfriend. So, falling in love – or at least trying to fall in love – with Rachel would give him a good benefit because the girl would do anything for her love that stopped seeming one-sided to her.       Maybe, the young people would keep giving each other cute kisses and share a tender ogle. But later, the green light turns on, and Rachel keeps driving on the road to the right place with a wide smile while Terrence just watches everything he is going by.       “So what, pretty boy, are you ready to work a few hours per day when your band has performances?” Rachel asks.       “I am!” Terrence exclaims. “I’m used to working hard and long!”       “I think you understand everything. Because you acted in movies and know that shootings may last for a very long time. So, recording albums, performing and other things also take a lot of time.”       “I know what I agreed to,” Terrence smiles shyly. “But for making my dream come true, I’m ready to sacrifice much.”       “At least, you may not work hard to give your everything because you have a talent given by nature. You were born to be a musician. Even Father was delighted! And he said he didn’t hear such a strong voice for a long time.”       “Thanks to you, I’m starting to feel unique more and more again,” Terrence confesses with his head proudly raised.       “If other recording studios knew you had such a wonderful voice, they’d fight with one another for an opportunity to offer you a contract.”       “Believe me, honey, it’s gonna happen. There’s a meaning in fighting for such a unique man as me.”       “Suggesting you insure yourself for a few millions of dollars for everybody to take care of you,” Rachel suggests funnily.       “Nice idea! I’d insure my gorgeous body. Like some celebrities do it… Because such a masterpiece must be safe and sound.”       “I bet that Father’s gonna suggest you do it very soon when he works with you for some time and understands how talented you are,” Rachel laughs shyly. “If all the artists his label has collaborated with were nothing, you can become a real star thanks to your talent.”       “Wait for a while, Rachel, the world will know who Terrence MacClife is again. People will admire me again, just like it was happening at the beginning of the 2000s. The time that was the beginning of getting fame…”       “If you work hard and give your everything for an excellent result, you’ll get more famous than before,” Rachel replies confidently. “A long, hard work plus an unreal talent given by nature is a dizzying fame, lots of money, and unforgettable moments in your life.”       Listening to the compliments for him, Terrence does not hide his wide smile and great pride. He has lately received so many compliments that he is starting to feel irresistible and imitable again, being grateful to Rachel, who literally praises him under the influence of her feelings for him.       “By the way, about hard work…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “I just called the memory about one case when I worked with a director a long time ago… He filmed a movie… He was a cruel man and behaved disgustingly towards the whole crew team.”       “Really?” Rachel wonders.       “That was the style of his work. He believed that the crueler you were, the better the result would be. That’s why all of us worked to exhaustion from morning to deep night.”       “Wow… I wouldn't like to work in that condition.”       “But I must confess that the result was worth it. The movie was just incredible. And it even won a few prestigious awards.”       “And what movie was it?”       “Well, a horror… I don’t remember the title… I played a minor role in it but felt his great anger very well.”       “Oh, I’m afraid of horror movies…” Rachel winces slightly. “Since our schoolmate turned on the most horrible movie on purpose when the guys from our school went to his home to have some fun.”       “But I love watching horror movies sometimes… There are some of my favorite ones that I often watch.”       “You’re a brave guy!”       “Oh yeah, I’m handsome and also very brave and clever,” Terrence says confidently with a sly smile.       “Oh, gosh, MacClife…”       Rachel laughs shyly and thinks about something for two seconds, not stopping to watch the road, while Terrence looks at her with a shy smile on his face.       “By the way, I didn’t ask the most important thing!” Rachel exclaims. “What do you think of your new band? What's your first impression about meeting its members?”       “I liked those guys,” Terrence confesses with a slight smile. “At least, those men seem good to me… A drummer and a bassist… What their names are… Peter and Daniel, I guess…”       “Yes, Peter is a blond, and Daniel is a brunet.”       “They were very nice to me.”       “I think they liked you, too. Even if they easily got on well with all the previous guitarists.”       “Those guys gave me a good impression… But the girl… The lead singer… I’m afraid I’m gonna have serious conflicts with her. She looked at me as if I was something disgusting and nasty for her.”       “Do you mean Marty?”       Rachel moves her eyes to Terrence for a moment.       “That girl has always been like this!” Rachel confesses. “She’s very capricious and spoiled! Her mother and father have never denied anything to her and have always made her caprices come true. Even if they have to ruin someone’s life, career, or anything.”       “What a diva…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully.       “She believes she’s a star, and people around her owe her. She thinks everyone must kiss her legs.”       “Who are her parents?”       “Important personas! Either lawyers or businessmen… I don’t know, honestly… And I don’t care.”       “Yeah… But she’s acting as if she is a part of a monarchy – no more! A princess with blue blood that belongs to the royal family.”       “Right…” Rachel changes the speed with a gearbox. “But don’t you pay attention to her. My father doesn’t like her, either, and would be happy to refuse to work with her, but he can’t do this because she is really talented. She sings beautifully and writes songs…”       “I dunno…” Terrence exhales sharply. “I heard her from afar and wasn’t impressed. A common voice, a common song…”       “But I don’t exclude that her parents impact my father somehow ‘cause they know each other very well.”       “Do you wanna say those people pay him for promoting her?”       “I don’t know, maybe. Daddy doesn’t tell me anything.”       “I wouldn’t promote her for any money!” Terrence says a little coldly. “That girl has a terrible character! She has reached nothing but behaves like she is a lord of the world!”       “I don't like her either.”       “Yeah? But I saw you talking to her well!”       “At least, she is always nice to me. Marty is never mean to me, doesn’t insult me, and doesn’t humiliate me. So… Why would I insult someone, who does nothing to me?”       “Do you communicate with her often?”       “Every time I come to the studio. We aren’t friends, but we have the pleasure to talk.”       “I see…”       “But she cannot stand Peter and Daniel. The men always tell me about her constant hysterics during rehearsals.”       “Poor guys…”       “They got sick of fighting with her because of her egoism. But they can do nothing.”       “I already understood there was no mutual love between them.”       “Oh, what kind of love! The guys fight with her as hard as a cat and a dog.”       “Has she always behaved like this?”       “Sadly. But at first, she was fighting it back, but later Marty sharply changed and stopped hiding what she thought.”       “Alright…” Terrence glances somewhere aside for a second. “Okay, I think I can take it. At least, those two seem good to me. Without demons.”       “I agree, they’re very good guys,” Rachel replies with a slight smile. “You’d quickly befriend them.”       “It would be great.”       “I often talk to them about something, and they’re always very nice to me.”       “I noticed,” Terrence smiles slightly.       “But I must confess that Daniel and Peter are a little dorky. And they often give problems to my father: break a guitar, break a drum, behave very loudly, can’t calm down, and start rehearsing.”       “I got it.”       “But those guys are actually harmless. They wouldn’t surely frame you and would always help you if you needed help. You can trust them.”       “By the way, I thought your father didn’t love them too much.”       “No, he treats them well. Rose and Perkins just sometimes fall into childhood and calm down only when my dad shouts at them.”       “Do those guys get on well with each other?”       “No, at first, they didn’t almost talk to each other but worked together very well.”       “Really?”       “Yup, they talked only about a business.”       “That’s how…”       “But later, Dad and I began to notice them leaving the studio together much more often and talking to each other during breaks much more.”       “So, did they get close?”       “Yup. I don’t know what it had to do with… Maybe, Peter and Daniel just, so to say, looked at each other. Watched… But when the time came, they started to hang out together often and became friends.”       “Have they had conflicts?”       “No, as far as I know. After they became friends, these two are always together. They call each other the best friends.”       “Great…” Terrence smiles slightly.       “Friendship wasn’t born at once, but now it seems like nothing can break it. My father says they even became very similar to each other and could often say something together.”       “Are they as trustworthy as you think?”       “Yes, yes! Don’t worry, Terrence. They won’t frame you. They are not Marty, who sometimes may do something on purpose to make Father swear at them.”       “Come on?”       “Sometimes it happens too often and cruelly that I meddle, asking her to treat them gently and persuading Dad not to swear at them and not to kick them outta the band. They’re good guys, even if they’re a little dorky.”       “Anyway, I can stand that gal and show where her place is in time. If she shows off too much, I will explain something to her.”       “The best thing I can advise is just to ignore her. Marty gets insulted by that ‘cause she wants to get attention. Even if someone insults her very hard. And being absolutely ignored is like a punishment for her.”       “I don’t know…”       “I know it’s gonna be hard ‘cause she’d get anyone back from the dead, but still.”       “I think I will try to do it.”       “That’s right! Think of your career and the fact that you should work much.”       “You’re right,” Terrence cracks a slight smile at Rachel. “Thank you so much for the advice, sweetheart.”       “Always welcome.”       “Making sure that you’re just a gem again.”       “You’re making me blush,” Rachel smiles widely.       “Telling the truth.”       Silence settles in the air for some time, and then Rachel stops her automobile in the parking lot, in front of which there is a large glossy building of a cloth store, and switches off the motor with a slight smile on her face.       “Okay, we've come,” Rachel says confidently.       “Come?” Terrence rounds his eyes. “A cloth shop?”       “I wanna buy something beautiful. And I can show you which clothes the guys from the band put on for their performances.”       “Okay, I agree. Even if you know well that I don’t like walking at shops too much.”       “We will check it out quickly! I will show you something and buy a couple of things, and then we will go somewhere else.”       “I can pay for any of your purchases.”       “No, thanks. I have money.”       “It’s not a big deal. I will pay for all your purchases. My bank card is at your service.”       “Thanks a lot, Terrence. It’s very nice of you, but I am able to please myself.”       “I just wanna do something nice for you.”       “I know, sweetie.”       “I am insisting!” Terrence exclaims.       “Okay, you won!” Rachel smiles shyly.       “And actually, let me pay for everything today. For your purchases, petrol, food at the café… Everything.”       “My God, what a wonderful man you are… You’re just an angel!”       “Yeah, but I am sorry that someone doesn’t appreciate me.”       “It’s okay, soon, they will understand what they lost.”       “You’re right, honey,” Terrence smiles widely and tucks a strand of Rachel’s hair behind her ear. “I’d rather spend my energy on those, to whom I am mean a lot.”       “That’s right!” Rachel kisses Terrence cutely on the cheek. “I will save you from boredom and help you feel like Apollo.”       “Buy anything you want,” Terrence says in a much lower voice. “Don’t think about money.”       “If you don’t stop me in time, I think I will buy everything. Because this is my favorite cloth store. I love coming here for shopping and buying new clothes. There is so much interesting here that I don’t know what to look at. Yes, of course, prices are high, but I may not think about it thanks to my dad.”       “I think all girls love going to stores and buying something,” Terrence laughs shyly.       “Sometimes there are such beautiful things that you wanna buy them so badly. Moreover, Daddy doesn’t mind it and regularly transfers money to my bank card.”       “That’s great when your parents are so generous and don’t skimp on you.”       “No, my daddy thinks his daughter must have all the best. He’d rather leave nothing for himself but give everything to me and be happy.”       “Wow, how good your father is…”       “I know. Many friends of mine even envy me ‘cause their fathers aren’t as amazing as mine. A father of one of them wouldn’t actually give her even a cent and probably spend it on himself or give it to his young lover.”       “Sadly, it happens…”       Rachel nods, sits in the car for a few seconds, and decides to leave it.       “Okay, let’s go to the store,” Rachel says confidently with the keys in her hands. “We will pick up something for you. And then I’ll go to a petrol station.”       With these words, Rachel leaves her automobile quickly and makes a galling gesture to hurry Terrence up, who is thinking about something.       “Come on, Terrence!” Rachel exclaims cheerfully. “Why are you sitting in there?”       “Erm, yup, sorry, I thought about something,” Terrence replies thoughtfully and smiles shyly. “Let’s go.”       Terrence leaves the car quickly, closing the door after he does it, and follows Rachel, who locks the auto with the key and then brings him closer to the entry to the store, which the girl enters first, while the man follows her.       He has not cared about what’s happening to Raquelle or where she went after the serious fight with him some time ago for a few days. He kind of forgot her. He does not think of Simon Ringer, who has not bothered him for a long time. At the moment, he cares only about his career as a guitarist in the band and his perfect reputation, which might get worse if people knew about his disgusting behavior. He is already imagining himself playing on the stage with his band and playing a brand new, amazing guitar.       It’s possible to say he cares about his career much more than his personal life. And to make sure he would have an opportunity to build it, Terrence is using the help of Rachel, for whom he is pretending that he is starting to pay attention to her and falling in love with her. For his career, he is even ready to lie like this. For the beginning of the new life, in which there would not be a place for the one that is still living in his heart. But the man does not exclude that he would stop having to pretend early or late.       MacClife has already begun to pay attention to Rachel and make sure that he can get love for this sweet girl. She is not disgusting to him, and he does not feel any disgust when kissing her, hugging her, or talking with her. It’s very easy for him to talk to her. Unlike his ex-girlfriend, Rachel is much better because of everything. That’s what bribes him. For Terrence, everything is over between him and Raquelle, and he is just enjoying his life and trying to get as much pleasure from it as possible as he was deprived of it when living with his ex-girlfriend.       

***

      Simon keeps planning revenge on the one he hates so badly. The man has been trying not to show up in public for a few days and sitting at home, in his small room at the hostel. He stopped sending threats to Raquelle and her close people. But it does not mean anything bad will not happen anymore because Simon is definitely planning something and is going to make his plan come true at the nearest time.       “Everyone thinks I disappeared and stopped chasing them,” Simon says confidently, looking through the window and leaning on the wall with a hand. “They think nothing threatens them. They think they could come back to normal life.”       Simon smirks evilly.       “Yes, I will leave them alone for a while…” Simon says confidently. “May those people live a quiet life… But soon, I will do what I have been dreaming about for a long time. Soon, Raquelle will have to pay for everything she has done for me. For making me get through that shame. For all my sufferings… Nobody can stop me from destroying her… Nothing…”       Simon raises his head up with a sly smile and a sense of pride.       “I have done my best for that bitch to stay alone and for nobody to need her,” Simon notices. “Her friends are staying far from her because they think Raquelle has mental issues. One of them has become a betrayal for her. And her ex-boyfriend is having an affair with another beauty… That does really differ from his ex…”       Simon smirks evilly.       “As Richard said, they were kissing passionately and hugging each other before everyone’s eyes…” Simon recalls and tuts quietly. “Oh, how bad Terrence MacClife is… He is cheating on his ex-girlfriend and not feeling shy of it…”       Simon shakes his head.       “But it’s okay, I want people to know the relationship of one of the most beautiful couples in the show business was not as perfect as it seemed,” Simon says confidently. “Of course, if they still care about those people… All their fans would surely turn their backs on them if I told everyone Terrence is a hysterical psycho, and Raquelle is crazy, too… But I don’t need it now… Because all my thoughts are about my main goal… I don’t want to go aside. I will do it later, when the gal is destroyed… I will tell everyone what that sweet couple is made of.”       Simon smiles slyly and laughs quietly, looking at what’s behind the window with interest. A little later, he decides to call Richard to find out how everything is going. The man takes his mobile phone from the writing table, types the boy’s number, and waits for the answer at the end of the line.       “Hello,” Richard pronounces quietly.       “Hello, Richard!” Simon exclaims. “It’s Simon Ringer!”       “Good afternoon, Simon!” Richard greets more cheerfully.       “Don’t I bother you much?”       “No, no, you don’t bother me at all! I just finished eating.”       “Alright… How is everything going on? Did you have a talk with your friends about our plan?”       “It’s great! My friends are ready to help us, and I already explained the situation and what they need to do.”       “Excellent!” Simon pronounces with a sly smile. “Tell them that I will generously thank all of them if they do everything I want.”       “Don’t worry, boss! For you, they are ready to do anything. And those guys will not dare to betray me.”       “It makes me very happy…”       Simon glances aside as he strokes his chin.       “By the way, Simon, would you like to hear some latest news about the all-favorite Terrence MacClife?” Richard asks with a mysterious smile.       “About Terrence?” Simon smiles mysteriously. “Is his affair with that beauty progressing fast?”       “Oh, it is! Two hours ago, I went by a certain clothing boutique, and the all-famous MacClife was standing near a gorgeous red cabriolet along with that blonde.”       “Wow! Who decided to renew their wardrobe if they were standing near the clothing store?”       “I guess MacClife wanted to please his new girlfriend and bought lots of clothes for her. I saw him holding a bunch of big packets, and she was jumping from happiness like a goat.” Richard simpers evilly. “She probably got much money out of him because the packets were full up to the brim…”       “M-m-m, so, did he start to buy clothes for her?” Simon chuckles quietly.       “They probably cost very much. I heard that the store is one of the most expensive in the city. Only rich people could buy something at that place because their prices are too high. I could sell my kidney, but I wouldn't be able to buy at least one shirt.”       “Wow, Terrence has become so generous…” Simon shakes his head. “He did not make even one gift for Raquelle, but he makes the blonde happy with expensive clothes. He didn’t even buy a cheap bracelet for her.”       “Raquelle would get wild if she knew MacClife had an affair not only with her former friend,” Richard says confidently.       “I made her suffer enough. I didn’t say who he was spending time with. But any girl could be a long-legged blonde.”       “Yeah…”       “That’s what I call losing your mind from love. Terrence is happy to buy gifts for his lower.”       “Oh, wait for a while! Soon, that blonde will be begging for jewelry from Cartier or Tiffany & Co. that costs a lot. They say it costs as much as a residence with everything you need.”       “Right!”       “What? Since that actor earned money by acting in movies, he could spend any amount on real jewelry.”       “Damn, man, how do you know so much about the fashion and jewelry brands?”       “What I have to do when you often get some fashion magazines, in which they tell about some stuff. You’d remember the titles of those brands against your wish…”       “Something tells me that the blonde will make MacClife spend millions of dollars on jewelry, and he will have nothing because of a wish to make that girl fall in love with him much more.”       “Huh, she’s totally in love with him anyway!” Richard chuckles quietly. “You must’ve seen her jumping around him! She was looking into his eyes like a doggy… She was ready to even take her clothes off for him. And that man was walking proudly with packets in his hands. He kept his nose up and literally rolled his eyes when she said something to him.”       “That cutie was probably praising him and couldn’t stop telling him compliments. The man kind of lost his confidence while being in a relationship. But it’s clear the breakup is making him feel better and become the same proud rooster that he was before.”       “I think you are right. When I saw him about two weeks ago, he really looked kind of gloomy and wasn’t walking like a proud peacock. But now I’m starting to recognize the Terrence MacClife, who was posing for photos at public appearances.”       “Now you can see it! Think I did a good thing for him and helped him start to live a new life. The man let himself go. But now a wish to live definitely woke up inside him. And that wonderful blonde is helping him with it.”       “Be sure, he will surely say ‘thank you’ for opening his eyes and making him wake up.”       “Oh, yeah!” Simon smiles slyly. “And you know, although I cannot stand that crazy idiot, I will have a good opinion about his new potential sweetheart. Who all the girls in the world will be jealous of. The girls that wanted to be instead of her.”       “Yeah, he is the real Don Juan…”       “So true… He is pretending to be a handsome man and a great lover. So, girls get attracted to him like bees to a honey pot,” Simon simpers quietly. “Not knowing what he is actually made of.”       “You are absolutely right, as always.”       Simon’s smile gets much wider, and silence settles in the talk for two seconds.       “So, I’m happy with everything so far…” Simon says thoughtfully. “Keep doing the same, boy! Do what you think is right. And do not forget that nothing must break my plans.”       “Don’t worry, Simon, everything will be over like easy sledding,” Richard replies confidently. “I will do my best for nothing to ruin our plans.”       “Thanks, Richard! I knew I could always count on you!”       “Doing my best.”       “I like the fact that you are so loyal to me and do everything I want.”       “You rule the day – so I’m listening to you.”       “I promise I will never forget it and will thank you generously shortly after we reach our goal.”       “Thank you so much, Simon. For me, any reward from you would be priceless to me.”       “Nice to hear it.”       Silence settles in the talk for two seconds again, during which Simon steps back from the window and turns his back on it.       “Alright, boy, thanks for telling me the latest news,” Simon thanks with a slight smile. “If you have something interesting, call me shortly.”       “Of course!” Richard exclaims. “I promise to visit you someday and tell you more about my talk with my friends.”       “I will be waiting for that with impatience.”       “Goodbye, Simon.”       “Stay happy, Richard.”       Simon turns off the call and puts his mobile phone on the table, not hiding his happiness about the fact that he is slowly striking more and more lines from the list of his missions.       “Everything’s happening as I want,” Simon notices with a sly smile. “I see no reason to worry. Very soon, I will finally calm down and make my revenge come true. I will do what I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. What my offenders deserve. I mean my offender. Named Raquelle Cameron. I will start working on the last mission on my list very soon. She will pay me for everything very soon… For everything…”       Simon smiles with his twenty-two decayed, terrible teeth and rubs his hands happily, thinking about what he would do with his head proudly raised. And then he decides to go to eat a little with easiness in his soul because he understands that he got a little hungry.       

***

      It’s getting closer to the evening. Anna invited Natalia to her home while her parents went to another city for a few days due to their business, and she is on her own. And the girl does not hide her happiness because it’s getting harder for her to tolerate the lectures that she hears almost every day.       “Hey, where are your parents?” Natalia asks, sitting on the bed along with Anna. “Are they working?”       “They went to another city for a few days,” Anna confesses with a slight smile. “To solve some business…”       “Wow! So, are you gonna spend some time alone?”       “Yup, a few days, surely!”       “Well… In this case, you can easily meet your admirer and even invite him to your home.”       “Yes!” Anna exclaims with a wide smile. “I will use a moment and invite him to go to my home. Give him with something delicious.”       “M-m-m… Are you gonna get his love thanks to food?”       “You know I can cook very well. All the men I’ve ever known love eating enough. And I’m sure my handsome guy is not an exclusion.”       “Well, try to surprise him very much and make him never forget it.”       “Sure.” Anna glances at a little open window. “By the way, I wanna use a moment while my parents are gone. I wanna leave my home once and forever.”       “What?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “Leave your home?”       “If I don’t do it now, I will never do it.”       “Are you sure you want it?”       “Yes, Natalia, I'm absolutely sure I want it,” Anna says confidently.       “What if your parents find you?”       “They will not do.”       “They could easily put you under real home arrest and let you go out only with one of them.”       “That’s why I wanna avoid it.”       “You’d make it worse if you left.”       “No, Natalia, I’d make it worse if I did nothing,” Anna says confidently. “My parents said when they came back to New York, they’d start getting ready for my wedding with the one they wanted to see me with.”       “Really?”       “Yes! So, it’s time to take my stuff and leave.”       “Aren’t you afraid?”       “No, I'm not. I’m afraid to lose my freedom and a chance to live my life as I want much more.”       “Anna…”       “I can’t stay here anymore! I can’t take the fact that my parents still think I’m still a baby, whom they should watch. Whose life must be under hard control. I must immediately end it all.”       “But where are you gonna go?” Natalia wonders. “You have no place to go!”       “Don't worry about it, friend,” Anna replies with a slight smile. “My sweetheart has already offered his help to me.”       “But you said you didn’t wanna accept it!”       “Now I decided to accept his suggestion of living in his house.”       “So, what made you do it?”       “Well…” Anna smiles mysteriously. “At least the fact that we’re starting to move our relationship to a new level.”       “What?” Natalia frowns slightly.       “Something amazing happened some time ago…”       “What?”       “That man and I confessed our love for each other and…” Anna smiles much wider. “We kissed…”       “Come on!” Natalia opens her mouth widely. “You kissed?”       “Kissed…” Anna nods confidently.       “My God, Anna…” Natalia shakes her head. “Friend…”       “I’m not kidding. We shared our first kiss.”       “And how was it?”       “Oh, gosh…” Anna rolls her eyes dreamily. “That was unforgettable! If only you knew how incredibly that man can kiss!”       “Really?”       “Nobody else kissed me so well… Nobody else made me feel so good… I felt dizzy, my legs were shaking, and my heart was about to jump out of my chest…”       “My gosh, Anna…” Natalia smiles widely.       “Nothing can be compared with the kiss that man gave me.”       “Hey!” Natalia bends her legs under herself with a slight smile. “C’mon, tell me how it happened! I wanna know everything! Who was the initiator? How did you confess your love for each other and something like that?”       “Nothing special…” Anna replies shyly. “We were just walking in a beautiful place, and then something happened… And it brought to… He confessed that he liked me.”       “Wow…”       “And when I came to myself and made sure he wasn’t lying to me, I also confessed that I had a crush on him. And then it brought us to just an incredible kiss that made me literally stand.”       “Oh, gosh, it’s so sweet…” Natalia puts her hands on her cheeks and shakes her head. “My God…”       “But I was the one to suggest he kiss me.”       “You suggested?”       “Yup,” Anna nods. “I was dreaming of him kissing me for a long time. And when we told each other about our sympathy, I couldn’t take it anymore.”       “M-m-m, Seymour, as it turned out, you’re by far not shy.”       “Why would I hide my wishes if I was sure they would come true?”       “I’m so happy…” Natalia takes Anna’s hands with a wide smile. “So, can I now say you have a high chance of starting to date your mysterious admirer?”       “You can think we’re already dating…” Anna confesses with a shy smile.       “Come on?” Natalia wonders loudly.       “Yes, yes, you heard it right. A few days after our kiss, he suggested that we try to date and become a couple, and I agreed with pleasure.”       “Wow! What news!”       “So, friend, I have a boyfriend now,” Anna says with her head proudly raised. “You can congratulate me.”       “My God, Anna, darling…”       Natalia takes Anna in her tight hug, which the girl answers with pleasure, and steps back from her two seconds later.       “Congrats, my sweetie,” Natalia congratulates with a wide smile. “You finally got your prince!”       “Oh, yeah, the prince has found me,” Anna notices thoughtfully. “Tales can come true. Even if I was told to forget them and stop dreaming so many times.”       “You did the right thing when you didn’t listen to them! Because you’ve got a boyfriend now!”       “A-a-a-a!” Anna whoops happily. “You can’t imagine how happy I am now…”       “Yeah, but why didn’t you tell me you kissed and started to date? I would’ve been happy for you! But you, partisan, said nothing!”       “I just tried to accept it and realize I was in reality, not a dream. But now you know that I’m dating the best man in the world. Who can give just incredible kisses!”       “I’m so happy for you.”       “So, I just can’t refuse to live with him. If I don’t use a chance, I can lose that man forever. But I don’t want it.”       “Listen, doesn’t your boyfriend mind you living in his house? Didn’t you ask him about it?”       “No, no, come on! I didn’t even think of asking him for help. He suggested that I move into his house after I told him about my problem.”       “That’s how…”       “He has his own house. But he rarely stays there because he works very much.”       “He lives alone?”       “Alone. Besides, he has nobody from a family.”       “So, nobody at all?”       “My boyfriend said his parents died many years ago. And he has nobody else.”       “Wow…”       “So, if I live in his house, nobody will look at me badly. He said I could rule his house and do anything I want.”       “Wow, did that guy understand your situation and decide to help you?”       “He was persuading me to move into his house for a long time, but I always refused. I said I didn’t wanna be a burden or annoying. But that guy made me sure I wouldn’t annoy him and would live there as much as I want.”       “So, do you really want to live with him?”       “Yup, but he doesn’t know it yet. When you leave, I’m gonna call him and say I agree to live at his house.”       “So, when are you gonna leave?”       “I don’t know. But I will try not to waste time.”       “So, do what you want,” Natalia shrugs. “You know that I'd support you in any situation. Moreover, you’d live with your boyfriend, not just a stranger…”       “My heart tells me I’m making everything right.”       “If you need help, you can let me know. Together, we’d think up something and solve your problem.”       “Thanks, friend,” Anna embraces Natalia with one arm with a wide smile. “I know I could always count on you.”       “It can’t be otherwise.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, and then Anna looks at Natalia hesitantly with sadness in her eyes.       “Hey, haven’t you heard something about Raquelle?” Anna asks hesitantly. “What’s happening to her? What’s happening in her life?”       “Raquelle?” Natalia asks. “Erm… I only know that she left Terrence’s house and disappeared.”       “Come on?”       “He told me that.”       “Where did she go?”       “Who knows! Cameron hasn’t shown up anywhere and hasn’t contacted anyone for a few days. Nobody knows where that girl is now.”       “Didn't he try to find her?”       “After their fight? I don't think so!”       “Do you think they fought so seriously that she left his house on the same day and is now hiding from everyone like a crime?”       “I don’t know, friend…” Natalia sighs quietly. “Terrence didn’t tell me everything about that fight. He only said Raquelle left almost immediately after they fought. That’s all – nothing more.”       “That’s how…” Anna frowns slightly and thinks for two seconds. “It’s all kinda weird… Their relationship was quite tense in the past few days, but Raquelle left only when everything led to the fight. Don’t you think something isn’t right?”       “I don't know…” Natalia shakes her head and moves her eyes to her hands. “Honestly, I don’t care about what’s happening between them. It’s their personal business, and you and I shouldn’t care about it.”       “I dunno, I’m interested in knowing what happened.”       “Don’t think about it. Let Terrence deal with that hysterical girl that was destroyed by her own modeling career.”       “Do you still think it’s the truth?” Anna frowns slightly. “Do you think Simon’s words are true?”       “You would’ve made sure about it if you’d been a witness to us fighting…” Natalia says in a much lower voice. “She was really acting like a sick, hysterical girl. That idiot almost pulled my hair out and gave me bruises.”       “Of course, Raquelle did a very bad thing, but I don’t think she wanted it…”       “Didn’t she want?” Natalia simpers quietly. “Are you serious, Seymour?”       “She was obsessed with anger, and her nerves were on edge due to the situation with Simon. I think anyone would go a little insane if they were instead of her…”       “I don’t know if she was obsessed, but I don’t want to talk to her…” Natalia says coldly.       “Don’t you want at all?”       “No, I don’t need a friend like her.”       “My God, would you really ruin your long friendship because that stinker Simon slandered you for her?” Anna wonders with sadness in her eyes.       “As Cameron didn’t appreciate everything I did for her, it’s okay. I never made her be a friend of mine.”       “But you were friends since childhood!”       “I was really a friend of a little, sweet girl, Raquelle. That shy, kind, and loyal girl, who wasn’t obsessed with her career. Wasn’t an egoist. Loved those, who cared about her. I loved that girl and called her my close person.”       “I’m sure she is the same now. Ringer just washed her brains well.”       “Now I terribly want to hurt the eyes of that hysterical girl, who I had a deal with some time ago.”       “Natalia…”       “The former Raquelle would hardly come back to us. But the current one is acting like a scumbag. Moreover, I’m gonna say more: she deserves what’s happening to her.”       “No, don’t say that.”       “Maybe, it would teach her a good lesson. And she would be howling in a pillow when having nobody by her side. When her close people gave a fuck about her feelings, emotions, and problems.”       “Don’t you even wanna just talk to her?”       “No, I don’t want!”       “Yeah, I think you shouldn’t really try to talk to her because you would make it worse. But try to do it after the situation gets better. Simon wouldn’t threaten her forever.”       “Neither now nor later and ever…” Natalia throws sharply. “I struck that girl out of my life! She is no longer a friend of mine!”       “What if she wants to talk to you?”       “I doubt she will get a coincidence. Cameron does believe that I allegedly want to revenge on her for being much more successful than me…”       “We all know that’s not the truth.”       “And she dared to think I had an affair with Terrence… The man, who has always been just a friend of mine. I admire him as an actor.”       “I know, sweetie.”       “I’ve never thought of falling in love with him and stealing him from Cameron, even if I think that man is very sweet and handsome.”       “Wait for a while, Natalia,” Anna says with pity in her eyes, caressing Natalia’s hand. “Let her get cool a little. When everything is over, Raquelle will come to herself and regret everything she told you.”       “I doubt…”       “Give her time to calm down a little and deal with Simon. I’m sure everything will get better, and she will get a wish to try to get everything she lost back.”       “Anyway, I ain’t gonna forgive her. Whatever she tells me.”       “And you have time to get cool. You aren’t ready to talk to her now and shouldn't even try to run into her.”       “No, Anna, I don’t wanna befriend her. I want to know nothing about that hysterical girl.”       “Please, Natalia…”       “If someone believes her and forgives her, it’s okay. It’s alright. I can’t make everybody turn their backs on her. But I don't even want to hear anything about that psycho bitch, who is guilty of everything that’s happening to her.”       “But…”       “The affair with Terrence was over because of her. If she loved that guy and didn’t prefer her career, everything would be alright. But Cameron used him. She used him to make everybody get off her with a question about relationships and marrying.”       “Well… Of course, you’re right about it, I can’t deny…” Anna sighs quietly. “And you know, looking at them, I always thought there was something wrong about them… Their eyes were shining, and they had an attraction. But there was nothing very important.”       “That’s actually good they broke up,” Natalia says gloomily. “Terrence needs another girl, not the idiot, who is obsessed with her good name and her career, and who agreed to date him without a love to make Mr. Cameron and Alicia stop talking about creating her own family.”       “I think she was so obsessed with it so much ‘cause she didn’t really love him. Because when we have love, we’re always ready to sacrifice something. If Raquelle stopped being so obsessed with her work, I’d believe she feels something for Terrence. But since she did nothing for him for a few months, I don’t believe in her love.”       “She doesn’t hide that she doesn’t love him. MacClife said that idiot openly confessed that to him.”       “Everything is clear, then.”       “Oh, she can’t love anyone!” Natalia says confidently. “When Simon gets what he deserves, Cameron will keep working for hours and giving everyone a false smile, hiding that she is actually a psycho bitch.”       “Yeah, but Terrence won’t be next to her by that time.”       “Trust me, nobody will want to be with a girl like her. She is gonna spend the rest of her life alone. Without a husband. Without children. Without friends. Without her close people. She will be embracing her portfolio.”       Anna says nothing and just shakes her head, sighing quietly and getting definitely upset because her friends fought and would hardly reconcile when everything got solved. The girl would be happy to do something, but unfortunately, she does not know how to change the situation and thinks she will have only to accept the choice of her close people.       “You know, Natalia, I didn’t fight with Raquelle…” Anna says thoughtfully, glancing at her hands. “And… I am interested in knowing what’s happening to her…”       “I am not,” Natalia throws coldly.       “I’m worried about her. And I’m thinking of calling her today or tomorrow.”       “What? Do you wanna call that betrayal?”       “Yes, I want. I wanna apologize to her. Apologize for leaving her when everybody turned their backs on her. And believing the bullshit about her mental issues. It was something like a mob mentality… Everyone did, and I didn’t wanna leave them behind.”       “You just didn’t fight with her. But trust me, when she screams at you and wants to pull your hair out, you will forget about any pity for her.”       “Of course, you can think anything you want, but Raquelle is absolutely healthy and fine for me. Simon slandered her. But I, idiot, believed him…” Anna shakes her head. “I don’t know what got obsessed with me when I believed that man. I’ve known Raquelle for many years and consider her a friend of mine. And I know what she is made of.”       “No, Anna, you know nothing about her,” Natalia pronounces without emotions.       “And…” Anna bites her lip slightly. “Many of us got scared of the threats that we got. They made us think we would suffer somehow because of Raquelle… And we believed she was really crazy…”       Anna puts her hand on her forehead and sighs heavily.       “My God, how could we actually think so and believe a stinker?” Anna wonders. “How? We’ve known that girl for a bigger part of our lives, but we thought we should’ve believed the one, who tried to tell everyone a lie. Tried to slander her for the whole world.”       “Maybe, he did it for a reason?” Natalia asks. “What if Ringer knows something about that girl that we don’t know? What if he can confirm Cameron is really crazy? Since nobody believed him, he provoked the situation, in which that idiot would show the real her.”       “No, Natalia, we can’t believe that man. He lied to all of us to make us leave Raquelle alone.”       “She did deserve it! Since that girl loves herself and is obsessed with her career, she can keep going on her way.”       “Listen, did you notice that we stopped getting threats a long time ago?” Anna asks. “I mean, we got them only multiple times – that’s all.”       “That's right, we stopped getting threats,” Natalia nods. “I haven’t met that guy, Simon, or someone else…”       “Maybe, Simon decided to give up and leave us alone? Maybe, he is going to mock only Raquelle?”       “I think he needed it. He wanted all of us to get scared of threats and leave her. Because he understood that every one of us would help her deal with him.”       “Maybe…”       “Anyway, we did a very bad thing towards Raquelle. After we promised not to leave her alone at a hard moment and to always be by her side, everybody turned their backs on her.”       “You're right,” Natalia moves her eyes to her hands. “We did a not very good thing…”       “I’d feel terribly awkward when wishing to let her know I’d always be by her side and no longer believe that stinker. We did a very bad thing by leaving Raquelle alone but showing up after the situation got better.”       “You can do anything you want, but I will not speak and especially apologize to that hysterical girl,” Natalia says confidently. “Yes, she is dead for me. I have only one best friend – it’s you.”       “If only she didn’t want to communicate with us and thought we were betrayals that talked to the wind and couldn’t keep their promises.”       “I would watch her if she realized what she did and wanted to get down on her knees to beg us for forgiveness.”       “But I will try to talk to Raquelle anyway…” Anna runs her hand through her hair. “I will not stop thinking of a sense of guilt for her if I don’t know she blames me for nothing and still considers me a friend of hers.”       “If you wanna call her, do this,” Natalia says quietly. “I will not turn you against her because you aren’t guilty of what happened between us.”       “Anyway, I hope you will manage to reconcile someday.” Anna looks at Natalia with sadness in her eyes. “It would be terribly bad for me to tear myself between you. Both of you are very close to me. And if you don’t reconcile, I will not be able to meet both of you at the same time.”       “Thank Cameron for that,” Natalia throws gloomily. “I am guilty of nothing and didn’t start that fight.”       Anna says nothing, sighs quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.       “Okay, friend, let’s change the subject. I’m sick of talking about bad things.”       “If you have something to talk about, I can listen to all the suggestions with pleasure,” Natalia says amicably.       “You better tell me what's happening between you and the young man that you met in a café,” Anna says with a mysterious smile, taking a pillow that lies next to her and embracing it tightly. “You told me not very much about him the last time, and I understood almost nothing.”       Natalia smiles widely and gets immediatedly blushed, completely understanding who Anna is talking about.       “Aw, friend…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “Every day, I’m starting to understand that I finally met the one to make my life better.”       “Do you feel so good with him?”       “Madly good! He knows how to make me smile, even when I don’t want it. And I feel very quiet next to him. I feel relaxed…”       “Wow…”       “Although we’ve known each other not for such a long time, I feel that man is very close to me. I never got as much pleasure from communicating with men as I get when meeting him.”       “Yeah! First, you swore at me for literally falling in love with my admirer one week after meeting him, but now you’re almost ready to get married to your new acquaintance.”       “Well, I ain’t gonna get married, but that man is very sympathetic,” Natalia smiles mysteriously. “Besides, he’s got just an amazing voice. I fell in love with it literally since the first seconds.”       “M-m-m…” Anna nods confidently with a slight smile on her face, while Natalia looks shyly at her. “Listen, friend, you're shining with happiness! I didn’t see you so happy for a long time.”       “I really feel very good,” Natalia confesses with a slight smile.       “Is everything so serious about you? Or is there a chance it will happen?”       “I don't know, maybe… But we’re just friends and spend time together… He often invites me somewhere to walk, and I can’t refuse.”       “So, you say that guy cares about you, not your body?”       “Exactly! He wants to know what’s happening to me. And I feel like I’m not talking to the wall. Because someone can hear me. Someone supports me. Someone comforts me.”       “Wow…” Anna smiles shyly.       “That man came into my life at a very good time. He did it when I needed someone’s support. He became the only one to make me forget about my trouble and give me the peace that I need so much.”       “Great…”       “I can be absolutely sure that man is the best one of those I know now. Well… Not saying about Terrence, who also still helps me come to myself after the fight with his crazy ex.”       “I noticed,” Anna nods confidently. “Your mood got much better after he came into your life.”       “Really?”       “Yes. And you look very happy, and you began to smile very much.”       “Anna…” Natalia pronounces shyly.       “I'm serious! I never saw you so happy! I should’ve just mentioned that guy to make you blush and smile widely.”       “Maybe, you’re right…” Natalia shrugs. “But I can’t deny that I feel very good with that man and forget about all the problems when he’s next to me.”       “Aw, sweetie…”       Anna takes Natalia in her amicable hug with a wide smile on her face, and the blonde accepts it with great pleasure.       Since Edward came into Natalia’s life, the girl’s mood has really gotten much better, and she smiles much more frequently. And she rarely thinks about her fight with Raquelle, who was the reason why she could not stop crying some time ago. Knowing it very well, the man does his best to make the mood of his new acquaintance better and tries to support her somehow.       Although Natalia told Anna she met that man at the café, she has not called his name and has not revealed his great secret. The girl is not going to tell anyone about it and is asking Edward to keep silent and not to spread it. Because they decided that nobody should have known the truth before the situation got just a little better. And it’s probably for the best. No matter what, now it’s not the best time to organize a meeting of Edward and his older brother and tell all the truth about whom this sympathetic guy, who is so similar to Terrence, really is.       

***

      The time is getting closer to the evening. After a few days she spent at home, Raquelle, who feels a little better today, decides to go outside and go to an abandoned beach where she has been before. The girl loves walking in places like this where there is nobody because she will be able to relax and calm down thanks to the sounds of the ocean waves.       As it happened earlier, the only thing that Raquelle is worried about is the fact that she should get off Simon somehow and make him leave her alone. Sometimes it seems so hopeless to her that the girl believes she has to do nothing but accept what is going to happen very soon. The brunette understands that even if she has a great wish to do it, she cannot confront Simon and fight with him alone. This is also the reason that makes her let everything happen as it wants and let her offender celebrate a victory.       At some moment, she has to stop reflecting on this problem while slowly walking to the beach because of the sudden phone call. However, Raquelle is used to the fact that only Simon can call her. So, she quietly takes her smartphone from her purse, runs her finger over the screen, and puts it to her ear.       “Hello,” Raquelle pronounces quietly.       “Hey, Raquelle…” Anna says in a quiet voice. “It’s Anna…”       “Anna?”       Anna’s unexpected call makes Raquelle shocked. She is happy and excited at the same time, and she is rejoicing because she heard the voice of her friend on the phone. Now she madly needs to talk to someone, who is close to her. Even if “someone” left her for some time and thought she was not healthy…       “Erm…” Raquelle gets a little confused. “Hi…”       “It’s been a while…” Anna notices shyly.       “Yeah. Honestly, I didn’t expect your call.” Raquelle stops and sits on the sand in front of the water, slightly bending her legs at the knees. “I thought Simon was calling me.”       “But as you can see, it’s me,” Anna says amicably.       “I got it…”       “How are you doing?”       “Fine. And you?”       “Everything’s great,” Anna replies with a slight smile. “Life’s getting better…”       “Great,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile. “Everything is fine, at least about someone.”       “But I’m upset because my parents don’t let me go anywhere.”       “Don’t let you go? But why?”       “Trying to educate me and make me think their opinion is more important than mine. They still hope I’ll let them decide how to live and with who.”       “Wow… I thought they’d leave you alone after you graduated from the university.”       “Aha, you’re wrong! My parents are thinking of my wedding with a son of their friends.”       “Come on?” Raquelle wonders. “Wedding?”       “They planned literally everything and want to hear nothing about my reluctance to live with the one I don’t love.”       “Oh, my gosh…”       “But they can do nothing because I’m gonna fight for my freedom until the very end.”       “If you really want it, you have a right to refuse to have a wedding.”       “I already did. Even if my parents want to hear nothing about it.”       “But remember that you might make your relationship with them worse. For example, they might kick you out of your home and make you live on your own.”       “I am ready for that. If the cost of freedom and independence is so high, I am ready to sacrifice my family.”       “Are you sure about it? Are you sure you won’t regret your decision?”       “If I do nothing, I will suffer for my whole life, living with someone I don’t love and educating his children. But I want to get married for love and give birth to children from my beloved man.”       “And where would you go?”       “Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Anna smiles slyly. “And my boyfriend is gonna help me with it.”       “What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Boyfriend?”       “Yeah, I’ve got a boyfriend now,” Anna says confidently.       “Come on?” Raquelle gets a strand of hair off her eyes. “Is that the one you met?”       “He is,” Anna nods confidently.       “Wow…” Raquelle smiles slightly. “Is everything so serious between you if you began to date?”       “It’s very serious!”       “Didn’t you stop communicating with him?”       “Nope. That guy called me the next day after our first meeting and suggested a meeting. And from then on, we began to spend time together very often. Many things happened, and later, we realized that we felt sympathy for each other.”       “And was it mutual?”       “It’s very mutual! We confessed our love for each other, shared our first kiss, and later decided to start dating officially.”       “My gosh, Anna…” Raquelle smiles much wider. “I’m so happy for you. Glad you got a boyfriend.”       “How happy I am! You can’t imagine how I’m glad to meet my gorgeous prince.”       “Congrats, honey! With all my heart! I hope he will be the best one for you and show love and care for you.”       “He’s the best one of those I’ve ever met,” Anna says with a wide smile. “He's wonderful and truly caring. That guy behaves like a real gentleman.”       “You deserved this happiness. And I’m very happy you met your sweetheart.”       “Thanks a lot, friend.”       Raquelle cracks a slight smile and says nothing for two seconds, and then Anna decides to break the silence:       “How are you doing, sweetie?”       “Oh, Anna…” Raquelle sighs heavily and runs her hand over her face. “How could I be fine at such a terrible moment in my life? I could only be emptied, confused and broken…”       “I heard you disappeared somewhere and even turned off your phone for a few days. And honestly, I didn’t know if I could reach you.”       “I should’ve disappeared…”       “Hasn’t the situation with Simon been solved?”       “Nope. And I’m starting to think I’d hardly find a solution.”       “But there must be a way to solve it! It can’t be happening forever!”       “Yeah, but I can do nothing but wait for some actions and commands of Simon,” Raquelle shrugs slightly. “I have no choice… Sadly.”       “Are you gonna do nothing and wait for that crazy man to go insane and get a wish to kill you?”       “Now I just need to wait. Simon said he’d let me know about himself and tell me what to do. So, I’m waiting…”       “And what are you gonna do before he does?”       “Nothing… I will try to come to myself after what I’ve had to get through. Moreover, everything is not so good in my life.”       “Everything is not so good?”       “Yes. And it’s hard for me to imagine what’s gonna happen to me. Moreover, I’m still trying to accept the changes that happened in my life.”       “Do you mean your breakup with Terrence?”       “So, do you know it?”       “Yes, I heard about it,” Anna nods confidently with sadness in her eyes. “I’m very sorry that you’re gonna have to get through it…”       “It's okay, I’m coming to myself little by little,” Raquelle lies. “And I’m not upset because of the breakup.”       “You think you’d accept it so easily?”       “Of course, I would do.”       “Are you really sure about it? Or are you just trying to make yourself sure that’s the truth?”       “Yes, Anna, I’m not upset because of what happened between Terrence and me. Moreover, I was thinking of leaving him for a long time.”       “Did you really never love him?”       “Never.” Raquelle swallows up nervously. “And I think we shouldn't have met. And actually, our meeting was the greatest mistake that I would be happy to strike out of my life.”       “Well…” Anna bites her lip slightly. “Honestly, you really rushed to call yourself a couple… Everything was happening too fast between you.”       “And I’m very sorry about succumbing to the pressure of my family and agreeing to start dating him when he offered me that. I succumbed to the pressure and didn’t wanna make him upset…”       “But we thought you were going crazy over him.”       “I just liked him, but I was never in love with him so much.” Raquelle sighs heavily. “Sadly, I had nobody by my side to make me think about it better. Nobody explained what being in a relationship meant. My family dreamed of getting me married, but nobody told me what that was. I was just told I should’ve had a husband and children. And I… I got so sick of hearing it that I didn’t think much when MacClife suggested that we date.”       “I agree with you. Your family was too obsessed with a wish to get you married. Just like my parents are too obsessed with a wish to choose my life.”       “I think you understand why I did it.”       “I do, but I can’t fully support you.”       “But now I’m regretting the fact that we decided to start dating. However, I thank God for not getting me married to him. Or I would have to wait for a few months before becoming a single girl.”       “Are you sure you don’t really want to try to make your relationship with him better?”       “Make my relationship with him better?” Raquelle smirks evilly. “Are you serious?”       “If there’s a chance to save your relationship, you should use it.”       “I don’t need that man for anything in the world!”       “But…”       “Even if that man is the only man in the world, I will not be with him,” Raquelle says confidently, setting her dead eyes on waves that come and leave. “I’d better stay alone than be with such a scumbag like him.”       “Raquelle…”       “After what he did to me, I want to hear nothing about him. That scumbag is dead for me! He can live as he wants. And do anything he wants.”       “I don’t wanna believe you’d easily reject what you were dreaming about so much,” Anna says with sadness in her eyes.       “I never dreamed about it,” Raquelle replies gloomily.       “I clearly remember you were shining on the days when you and Terrence dated. Your relationship seemed perfect.”       “Seemed, Anna, seemed.”       “Excuse me, Raquelle, but you can’t forget everything that happened between you so easily,” Anna says confidently. “I don’t believe that you’re really accepting the breakup with Terrence so easily.”       “I dreamed of the breakup for a long time. And I’m very happy that I finally got off that man, who I always felt very bad with.”       “But why? He loved you!”       “He loves only himself and nobody else.”       “You say it just to make yourself sure that your breakup will be harmless.”       “I’d watch you going to get divorced from the one your parents would get you married to with pleasure.”       “Nothing can be over easily… Even if you didn’t love Terrence, it doesn’t mean the breakup would be something normal for you.”       “You understand nothing, Anna,” Raquelle shakes her head. “Nothing.”       “And actually, it’s strange for me to hear you never loved that man. All the girls lie in front of him and are ready for anything for him, but you’re kind of special.”       “He should know all the girls would never sing praises to him. That peacock did pronounce himself a God and wants everyone to tell him compliments.” Raquelle smirks quietly. “I see our proud eagle is insulted by the fact that someone left him. He got used to everyone admiring him, but he suddenly got a hit on his balls. He got splashed with cold water.”       “Sorry, friend, but he’s mad for a reason,” Anna replies confidently. “If you behaved differently, everything would be alright.”       “Would not. MacClife always gave a damn about me and was never pleased to ask me how I was doing, what I felt, whether I needed something… He was doing something at first, but later, he actually stopped doing it and wanted only sex from me. And I didn’t barely see him. He was obsessed with his musical and mad because nobody wanted to work with him and offer him a recording of at least one freaking song.”       “You two were obsessed with your career. You were so obsessed that you forgot each other.”       “Yes, I thought about my work. But that man didn’t also put his plans in second place.”       “The love for your work made your relationship much worse and killed your love.”       “We never had love. We had respect. It was really killed. I lost any respect for that stinker and now despise him.”       “Raquelle…”       “But we’ve already fixed this mistake. Nothing connects us, and he can go to all four sides.”       “Actually, love can be proved by acts and care, not words. At least you did nothing for Terrence. You didn’t support him, didn’t care about his business, refused to listen to him when he wanted to tell you something. It goes without saying, anyone would be insulted and stop living, no matter how strong their feelings are.”       “I don’t want to do anything for the man, who treated me like a doormat.”       “It’s sad for me to confess it, but you were doomed to the breakup from the beginning. Your affair and all your stories about a happy life and confessions of love were just an act for people.”       “I absolutely agree with you,” Raquelle agrees thoughtfully. “Our relationship seemed to be perfect. We played an act for the public.”       “You say it so quietly.”       “I see no meaning in denying it.” Raquelle slightly rubs her forehead with a hand. “Our affair was a great mistake that I’m madly regretting… My gosh, what an idiot I was… I never made a much stupider mistake before…”       “Of course, I’m sorry that it was just a beautiful picture,” Anna says with sadness in her eyes. “But you were a beautiful couple and looked good together.”       “I don’t know…” Raquelle pronounces in a low voice. “I don’t think so…”       “Everybody is gonna be upset if they know about your breakup. And they would probably dream of you saving your relationship and coming back together.”       “But it will never happen.” Raquelle takes a small rock from the sand and throws it in the water. “After what he did to me, I’ll never forgive him. Even if I forgave him, I don’t wanna be with someone, who I don’t love.”       “They say sometimes love comes to you a little later,” Anna notices.       “No, Anna, love will not come now or later. I've already broken up with MacClife, and I am enjoying the life of a single girl.”       “Think better before you make such an important decision.”       “I decided everything. And MacClife agreed to break up. We will forget each other very soon. Moreover, he already has a new long-legged girlfriend.”       “What?” Anna rounds her eyes. “New girlfriend?”       “Yes!” Raquelle throws with evil in the eyes. “That horndog broke up with me some time ago, but he already began to invite some blonde-haired whores to his home.”       “Wait, wait, Raquelle,” Anna pronounces quietly. “How do you know that Terrence got a new girlfriend?”       “Simon told me they were hugging and kissing each other before everyone’s eyes.”       “Simon told you?”       “While that blond-haired bitch was hanging on his neck, he smiled at her and behaved like a gentleman! And he was as happy as a cat that was fed enough!”       “My God, that man is playing with you like a kitten, and you succumb to his provocations and believe them like a little naive child.”       “Why couldn’t it be the truth?” Raquelle wonders. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he had already had someone before I left his fucking house, where I felt bad.”       “It would be okay if you saw Terrence and his new girlfriend. But believing Ringer’s words…”       “That scumbag was cheating on me with some prostitutes for a long time. I see no other explanation for the fact that he often left somewhere a few weeks before I left him.”       “Even if he was caught spending time with someone, it could be just his acquaintance or a fan, who wanted to take a photo and get an autograph. But Ringer decided to lie to you and say that was his new girlfriend.”       “I know what acquaintances he has! Little girls, who are ready for anything to get him. And that womanizer is ready to get the attention of ladies…”       “Yeah, but…”       “MacClife was definitely dreaming of hearing more praises about him and feeling he was unique and irresistible again. So, as I didn’t want to praise him for nothing, he started to cheat on me with blondes. Who he lied in the bed with… The bed I slept on some time ago!”       “Terrence wouldn’t do that, knowing he broke up with you some time ago.”       “You just know him badly.”       “If someone suspected him of cheating, all the newspapers and magazines, and the Internet would be full of articles about it, and witnesses would post tons of photos of his girlfriend. But I haven’t personally read or seen anything like that.”       “If he was suspected of cheating, all newspapers would discuss it and take lots of photos of his new girlfriend. But I haven’t seen or read that yet.”       “His star just faded away a long time ago, and people started to forget him,” Raquelle replies sharply. “You will see, soon, nobody will need MacClife. And it will blow his self-esteem. Make him doubt he is really so irresistible, imitable, and unique.”       “You literally want it.”       “Yes, I want! I want him to suffer and stay all alone one beautiful day. As well as I did when everybody believed that bastard Simon.”       “Listen, Raquelle…”       “MacClife never aimed to help and support me. He was just pretending that he did care about me and my problems.”       “Why should he have supported and helped you when you did nothing good for him? Sorry, Raquelle, but you can’t tell someone to take care of you when you aren’t ready to sacrifice just something for them.”       “I don’t need his help!” Raquelle throws coldly. “I will solve all my problems! He can go to the fuck and keep seeing that dyed brainless chicken.”       Anna says nothing and sighs quietly, thinking that Raquelle loves Terrence somewhere at the bottom of her heart because she takes his betrayal so seriously but deciding not to continue this tall.       “Alright, as you wish,” Anna pronounces quietly. “Still, think better before you make a decision.”       “I already thought of everything,” Raquelle replies confidently. “And I’m not going to stay with that man. The one, who started an affair with my former friend.”       “Do you mean Natalia?”       “Yes…” Raquelle slowly gets up on her feet and throws one more small rock into the water. “That bitch betrayed me. And I will never forgive that snake for that. Never.”       “My God, Raquelle, how could you actually think something like this?” Anna wonders. “That’s just madness!”       “She betrayed me. She betrayed our long-time friendship because of jealousy.”       “Natalia would never do what you blamed her for! What were you thinking of when going to her home and saying that?”       “At least about her being guilty of the fact that Simon was threatening all of us. And that snake gave him our contacts.”       “It’s a lie!” Anna protests confidently. “Natalia has never met Simon and would never do something like this.”       “But she did!”       “For God’s sake, friend, don’t believe Simon! He washed your brains, and you believe him like a naive girl.”       “Of course, Ringer is a snake, but he helped me understand very much.”       “It would’ve been okay if you’d believed someone you barely knew did that. But you’ve known Natalia since childhood and know what she is. You know how much she loved you. How much friendship with you meant to her.”       “Now I do. She is a bitch, who envied me and dreamed of turning my life to hell and stealing Terrence from me.”       “Gosh, Raquelle, that’s funny! You were friends for such a long time, but then you fought like a cat and a dog.”       “Ask your friend what made her do it.”       “Why, girls? Why did you suddenly turn from best friends to implacable enemies?”       Anna shakes her head.       “If only you knew how hurtful it is for me to know my friends fought with each other and would kill each other if they met,” Anna adds with pity in her eyes.       “It’s also hurt for me that it happened,” Raquelle sighs tiredly. “And I didn’t wanna fight with her because I thought she was literally the one person I could trust. But that girl is a betrayal. The snake that I had in my chest because of my stupidity.”       “You’re unfair to her, Raquelle. Simon told me stupid things, but you, idiot, believed him.”       “I see no other explanations for the fact that Ringer knows all of our numbers and addresses.” Raquelle sharply moves off the hair that gets into her face. “So, he confessed that Rochester helped him make my life terrible.”       “Have you really never thought Simon could just wish to get you and her to fight?” Anna wonders.       “No, I have not.”       “Wrong! If you thought about everything just a little, you wouldn’t make Natalia suffer. Do you know how bad she felt all this time? How many tears she has cried out because her best friend called her a betrayal, pulled her by the hair, and literally gave her bruises.”       “I don’t care about what’s happening to that girl. I want to hear nothing about her.”       “You know, Cameron, I’m gonna say more: Natalia doesn’t also want to know you and says you’re dead for her.”       “Of course, she is showering me with mud and calling me crazy. Just like all of you did! Everybody, who left me at such a hard moment!”       “After what you said to her, it’s not amazing that Natalia is insulted and doesn’t even want to try to talk to you.”       “I don’t want to see that bitch, either,” Raquelle says coldly.       “You know, I think both of you just need time to calm down and come to yourself. And then you’ll sit, talk quietly and apologize to each other.”       “No, Anna, it won’t happen!” Raquelle cuts off sharply. “I’ll never forgive Natalia! As well as I will not forgive Terrence. Who she is probably hooking up with!”       “Raquelle…”       “That girl had a crush on him and secretly dreamed of doing her best for him to belong to her. So, Rochester got a chance. If she is ready to stand some whores next to that horndog, it’s okay.”       “She doesn’t need him! For her, Terrence is just a good friend. She has never been in love with him and was always very happy for you.”       “She is a liar! I’m imagining how mad that girl got when MacClife chose me, not her.”       “Trust me, friend, she doesn’t need that man. Moreover, she recently met another man, whom she is interested in.”       “May she count on nothing,” Raquelle throws coldly. “Because that man will use her body and run away when he gets to take her to his bed.”       “He doesn’t care about her body. He cares about her soul. Natalia got very happy after she met him and went to walk with him with pleasure.”       “I don’t care how that betrayal is living!” Raquelle exclaims in a voice that is full of pain, sadness, and disappointment. “She can go where I told MacClife to go!”       Anna says nothing and just sighs heavily, not hiding that it’s very unpleasant for her to know that two best friends of hers fought and do not want to reconcile at all.       “You know, although you did not do a very good thing to Natalia and Terrence, I am sorry for you anyway,” Anna confesses. “I’m sorry you have to get through all of that.”       “As if I’m happy,” Raquelle sighs tiredly.       “I wouldn’t mind meeting you and talking to you. Showing you my support.”       “If you want, I can meet you with pleasure.”       “Yeah, but not now. Now I’ve got some things I should solve.”       “Okay, I don’t insist.”       “But remember, you can always call me, and I will talk to you with pleasure.”       “Thanks, Anna,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile. “You’ve always been very nice to me.”       “I want you to know you can always count on my support. And remember that you are not alone. You’ve got people that could support and comfort you.”       “I know… Anyway, I can solve everything I have to get through. I don’t know how. But I shall solve this problem.”       “I wish you did. I really want everything to be over, and Simon to finally leave you alone.”       “Ah, how I wish it happened…” Raquelle starts walking slowly on the beach. “And I want to finally understand why he started all of it. What I did to make Ringer wish to drive me crazy so much.”       “We all want to know it,” Anna sighs heavily. “But alas, Simon is the only one to be able to answer this question.”       “Early or late, he will tell me all the truth. But I swear I hadn’t known him before he came into my life.”       “I know, sweetie.”       “And this time, I will not pity him and will make him pay for everything he has done,” Raquelle says confidently. “Simon will pay for doing his best for me to lose everybody I love and stay all alone.”       “No, Raquelle, you’re not alone. You have me. And don’t forget about your family.”       “Yeah, Anna, I know,” Anna cracks a slight smile. “I know my grandfather and aunt would never betray me. Even if they literally forced me to marry someone, I know these people wish me the best.”       “They would not believe that stinker and would be by your side. Because they know you very well.”       “I know…”       “And yeah…” Anna falls into silence for a second and sighs quietly. “You… Forgive me for leaving you at a hard time and believing that you allegedly had mental issues.”       “It's okay, Anna,” Raquelle replies with a slight smile. “Don’t think about it.”       “I’m really very sorry about getting scared and stopping communicating with you because of fear to suffer… That was a mean thing I did. I’m ashamed of what I did to you.”       “Yes, it’s hurtful for me that you left me, but I understand it.”       “Say you still consider me your friend to make me calm down and stop torturing myself. Am I still a friend of yours? Yeah?”       “Of course, sweetie,” Raquelle pronounces confidently. “What kind of questions.”       “I’ve been obsessed with a sense of guilt for you for a few days.”       “Don’t blame yourself for anything. You and I didn’t fight. And I don’t want it.”       “So, are we still close people?”       “Sure. You and I are still friends. And I hope we'll be forever.”       “Oh, gosh…” Anna exhales with great relief. “Thanks a lot, honey. You can’t imagine how well you made me feel.”       “It’s okay, friend, don’t worry…” Raquelle smiles shyly. “I still love you and wish you all the best.”       “Thanks… I love you, too.”       Raquelle smiles much wider, saying nothing for two seconds.       “Hey, what are you gonna do after your problems are solved?” Anna asks.       “I dunno, honestly,” Raquelle shrugs. “I haven’t thought about it… But I surely know there will be no place for MacClife in my life after Simon leaves me alone.”       “Okay…”       “I want everything to be solved first, and then I will think about what to do.”       “I think that’s right.”       “And I wanna believe my life will get better when everything ends. Bad things can’t happen forever. Someday, there will be a day when I can say that all my problems are finally over.”       “You think you can do it?”       “I should. No matter how hard it is, I should keep moving on until the end. I must stay strong. And I have no other choice. I can only move on. Or just wait for Simon to wish to deal with me and tell me what to do.”       “I wish God helped you.”       “Amen, friend.”       Silence settles in the talk for two seconds, and then Anna breaks it:       “Erm, okay, I have to go… I wanna call my boyfriend and talk to him about something.”       “Okay, I won’t hold you,” Raquelle shrugs. “Thanks for calling me. I got much better after talking to you.”       “I'm glad I helped you. And thank you for not being mad at me.”       “When you’re ready to meet me, let me know.”       “Sure. I will call you or send a message.”       “Okay.”       “Don’t be bored! And remember that everything is gonna get better.”       “I hope, friend. I hope.”       “Okay, I’m leaving. Bye, Raquelle.”       “Bye, Anna.”       With little relief in her soul, Raquelle ends the talk with Anna, puts the phone in a pocket, and keeps slowly walking across the coast on the beach. At some moment, she starts thinking about her future. About what she is going to do after Simon leaves her alone.       “Anna made me think about it…” Raquelle thinks, slowly walking on the beach and watching the waves. “What do I do when everything is finally over? What do I do? After I broke up with MacClife… After Simon gets what he deserves…”       Raquelle sighs heavily.       “But I surely know I wouldn’t be able to stay here,” Raquelle thinks. “I suddenly got a wish to move to another city. A much quieter place… Where I could feel quiet… I could even think of returning to Kingston. I often go there when I wanna go to the cemetery and check my mother and father’s graves. But I could think of moving there forever.”       Raquelle sighs heavily again, starting to think of a wish to quit her modeling career.       “Maybe, I could think of quitting my modeling career,” Raquelle thinks. “Think of starting to live a quiet life. What? Although I worked like crazy in the past few months, I got stuck at the dead point. It seems like people have begun to forget me. Or I began to irritate them… I’ve shown up literally everywhere. So… I could stop shooting and start doing something else. But I don’t know what I could do. I don’t know what I could do if I quit my modeling career.”       Raquelle embraces herself with her arms.       “If I decide to do it, I will have to go in public and announce that piece of news to everyone,” Raquelle thinks. “I will have to let people know I’m no longer interested in it and wanna live a quiet life. They should know what’s gonna happen to the career of Raquelle Cameron in the future. As well as those, who worked, are working and would like to work with me.”       Raquelle sighs heavily and keeps walking on the beach, thinking of something with sadness in her eyes, and watching the ocean getting wild. And some time later, the girl suddenly feels nausea that’s coming to her throat and starts literally twirling from the sharp pain in her stomach.       “Oh, no, again…” Raquelle moans tiredly and sits on the sand. “I feel bad again… My stomach hurts… It hurts much stronger… Oh… And I’m feeling sick… Ar-r-r… My God…”       Raquelle closes her eyes for two seconds and starts breathing slowly and deeply with the hope that it will help her somehow.       “Does stress do such bad things to me?” Raquelle asks herself and suddenly feels a little dizzy. “Do I have to stop thinking about it too much? And eat better… I’ve lately eaten almost nothing… I don’t want… I can’t do…”       Since Raquelle cannot control her condition, she understands that she starts breathing too heavily, and her hands get sweaty. Her heart suddenly starts beating much faster, and the girl gets obsessed with a weird feeling of panic. Her whole body starts shaking from coldness or obsessive fear.       “Damn, what’s happening to me?” Raquelle asks herself quietly, trying to brace herself somehow and breathe well to calm down and not to let her fear get obsessed with her. “I’m scared… I’m shaking… My God… My God…”       Raquelle runs her hands over her face, which gets sharply pale, starting to believe that she lacks air more and more. As if something is strangling her. As if she is about to clean her stomach. She suddenly gets obsessed with a sense of despair that makes her feel a wish to shed a tear, which the brunette succumbs to. She never felt anything like this before, and this is the reason why she feels a much stronger panic. A fear of something she does know. A fear that makes her think she is choking and could easily collapse right here, on this beach where there is usually nobody.       However, Raquelle gets to keep the situation under control and gets through a wave of panic that suddenly gets obsessed with her. Yes, she has to put in some effort. But she finds the strength to calm down a little and later feels much better. All the bad symptoms are gone, and her mind gets much clearer.       After waiting for some time, pumping much air into her lungs, and watching the ocean, the sounds of which impact her mind in a good way, Raquelle decides to go to the home of her grandfather Frederick with the thought that she would get better if she slept a little and stopped thinking of Simon at least in her dreams. So, the girl slowly gets up on her feet and leaves the beach quickly enough, coming to the car that is parked not far from here. She sits in the driver’s seat, starts the motor, and goes on the road, on which there are no transports yet.