The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      Edward just arrived at a very big, rich at first sight house. There are many carefully cut green plantings, a huge fountain in the middle of the territory, and a big pool. Still being tense, the man stops his car in front of big gates made of red bricks and looks around for a few seconds with admiration in his eyes, definitely knowing what he needs here and acting like he has been here many times.       At some moment, Edward looks at himself in the rearview mirror, sighs tiredly when seeing the bright bruises on his face, and massages his arms, which still hurt strongly. But then Lockhart leaves the car, locks it, puts the key in the pocket of his coat, and slowly but confidently goes to the gates of the house. Edward sees two people standing near the gates and not definitely having great intellect, judging their stupid gazes. When they see the man, who is determinedly coming to the house, these quite tough and tall guys frown strongly and get suspicious, not going to let strangers come into the house they are protecting. However, it does not scare Lockhart and he confidently comes to those, who are a little lower but much wider than he is.       “Howdy,” Edward says quietly. “Is your boss home?”       “Good afternoon, why do you need him, and what do you want to ask?” one of the bodyguards asks in a low, disgusting voice. “We were not warned about your visit!”       “Personal,” Edward throws coldly. “Did you, brainless morons, forget who I am again?”       “We should not remember everyone that comes to our boss,” the second bodyguard replies in the same rude, low voice. “And yeah, we do not advise you to be rude to us. Or we will have to use force.”       “Don’t throw threats. I know that you would start to wave your fists if someone beat you first.”       “Listen, young man, you better leave by your wish,” the second demands coldly. “The boss is waiting for nobody today and always warns us when someone should visit him.”       “I am his nephew, you, single-celled amoeba!” Edward throws a little louder, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning strongly. “Edward, if you have not forgotten my name yet.”       The first bodyguard looks at Edward better and claps his hands a few seconds later.       “Ah, damn, it’s you, Eddy!” the first bodyguard exclaims happily. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you with your haycock on your head. Did you forget to look in the mirror and go outside like this? That’s good you at least put on your shabby clothes and didn’t go out in your underwear.”       The bodyguards start laughing with mockery, while Edward holds himself down with the thought these people could easily strike him down with one hit.       “Don’t lose your pants, brainless asshole,” Edward throws gloomily. “People might not like your ripped underwear.”       “Oh, puppy, you are on a roll today!” the first bodyguard simpers.       “Hey, kid, what’s wrong with your face?” the second bodyguard asks, looking at Edward much closer. “Who beat your pretty face so hard that you got lots of bruises?”       “None of your business!” Edward snaps. “Better shut up and let me go to Uncle Michael. I shall find out if he wants to do more dirty things.”       “Well, as you came…” the second bodyguard unlocks the gates locked on the key that he always keeps with him. “I think your uncle would be happy with your unexpected visit. Because he loves you so much.”       “But I do want that old bastard, who went insane, to die! I’m sick of getting my life poisoned by him!”       Edward goes by the big bodyguards sharply and quickly. But a few moments later, he feels one of them grabs him strongly under an elbow.       “We advise you not to kill your uncle,” the first bodyguard threatens. “I understand you’re afraid he may reveal all your dirty secrets. But his death won’t save you. And you will go to prison, where you will stay until you die yourself or get eaten by rats for dinner.”       “Don’t worry, buddy!” Edward throws coldly in a low voice. “I shall not give all of you a pleasure to stand by that bastard and make his wish to do away from me come true. Of course, it would be great to take all the money and this house from him, but it will happen later. When nobody can do something for me to lose this war.”       Edward gets his arm out of the big bodyguard’s grip sharply, shakes his head, and raises it proudly when going to the big gold-plated hall door. After standing in front of it for some time and starting to shift his weight from one foot to another, the man presses the doorbell two times, leans on the wall, and waits for someone to open it. And later, the door is opened by a young servant in a gray middle-length dress and a white apron covered with some spots, with light brown hair brushed in a high tail and gray-blue eyes. At first sight, she seems very severe and rude. As if this servant is the same type as the bodyguards and the one, who is living in this house. However, seeing Lockhart on the doorstep, the girl throws her hands up with a slight smile on her face.       “My gosh, who I see!” the servant exclaims happily. “Did the beloved nephew of my honorable boss, decide to visit him?”       “Hello, Catherine,” Edward greets with a false smile. “I see everybody has something to do. Two stupid bodyguards that always forget everything in the world are protecting the house, gardeners are watching the plantings, and servants are cleaning every single part of this place. Only the most loyal accomplices of Uncle Michael are now having a rest in their rooms and waiting for the new mission.”       “M-m-m, you’re working your tongue for nothing again. You don’t know what to do with your energy, which you’re so full.”       “Leave your stupid jokes with you and let me in the house. I want to talk to your nasty boss.”       “Well, come in if you came!” Catherine steps back from the doorstep. “Don’t be shy.”       “Yeah, Catherine Hadley, you don’t change…” Edward confidently comes into the house with a quiet smirk. “Taking a bad example from your boss for a wish to kiss his ass so badly.”       “Are you still dreaming of living in this wonderful house?”       While Catherine locks the hall door, Edward looks around with interest and admires the dark design of the truly gorgeous living room. It is so large that many visitors could come here for solemn events. The high snow-white ceilings, on which a few big crystal chandeliers and small halogen lamps are hanging… The varnished parquet, stepping on which makes a quiet knock… A few soft sofas and armchairs, sitting on which would let you literally drown… Some senseless pictures hanging on walls in black frames… A black coffee table, on which there are some senseless things, between the sofas… Artificial flowers in vases of different sizes in almost every single corner of the living room and on tables… There are also simple high-ceiling windows slightly covered with dark curtains and a glossy door with gold-plated handles that lead to the gorgeous back of the house or different places of the house, and two rounded ladders. When standing on the balcony fenced with a simple glossy fence, it’s possible to see everything that happens on the first floor.       “It would be great,” Edward replies thoughtfully. “I don’t hide my wish to own this beauty.”       “Well, if you became a loyal servant of my boss, he would let you feel like a provided man,” Catherine replies confidently, coming to Edward after she locks the door and folds her hands in front of her. “You’re well aware of how generous he is if people are loyal to him like dogs.”       “Yeah, buying loyalty for someone’s money is easier than trying to win it with actions.”       “Oh, come on, Edward!” Catherine waves a hand. “Everybody knows you are terribly mad because you don’t have the money that your uncle has. That’s why you say it! If you had a good job, your own house, and much money, you’d hardly be jealous of successful people. It’s not a secret for everyone that you’re terribly envying your uncle, who has earned all of it by working hard.”       “Ah, Catty, my girl…” Edward cracks a smile. “Either you are too stupid and blind, or you are playing the role of a servant, who is loyal to that robber. No middle! I’d see how you would act if he paid you two or three times less for your work as a servant.”       “You shouldn't say these things about your uncle, my dear. He’s such an amazing man, who could talk to you openly and do whatever you want. Michael doesn’t treat his servants as servants. For him, they’re like his best friends, whom he completely trusts. Those, who got his trust and proved their loyalty, are living a wonderful life and have no worries about how to earn money for food or clothes.”       “It’s okay, you have a little time to spend the money that doesn’t belong to my uncle and live in the house that has always belonged to my father. Someday, justice will glory, and that cad will have only his shabby underwear. Well, I, as quite a legal inheritor of Father’s wealth, will inherit what I was deprived of nobody the fuck knows many years ago.”       “For you, the best decision is to agree to become the loyal helper of your uncle. If you deserve his trust, you will become more important than all of his helpers. More important than Eric is, whom Michael would trust his life.”       “That rat must be put in prison!” Edward throws gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest. “God gave Uncle a talent to find such nasty and greedy rats as he is! He does feel them thousands of miles away and is ready for anything to get those bastards in his army.”       “Believe me, Edward, you will also become one of those, as you said, rats,” Catherine says confidently. “You won’t be able to resist the money your uncle will offer you for destroying all the people that may prevent him from getting what doesn’t belong to him yet. That man will be unbelievably generous and offer you so many thick packs of dollars that you will feel dizzy from the number with lots of zeros.”       “Stop meddling not in your business, Catherine. Better tell me where I can find my uncle. And then get out of here and do your business.”       “Oh, oh, how rude you are…” Catherine shakes her head. “How non-educated you are! I’m a woman, my sweetie! And I'm so sorry that your late father didn’t teach you to be gentle with girls and women. It seems like, someone beat your face for your dirty, long tongue. I think you got someone very mad that you came here with bruises.”       “Do not make me enraged, Ms. Hadley!” Edward throws coldly, barely holding down his anger. “Either you tell me where to find that fucking robber, or I search the whole house and get that rat out of the ground.”       “You won’t have to find him,” Catherine smiles shyly and points aside. “Look! Here your beloved uncle is coming!”       Catherine points at someone, who is going into the living room, and whose steps are getting louder and clearer. After turning on the sound, Edward sees a tall dark-haired man at the age of about sixteen with several gazes, who is wearing a black suit. With dark hair and a lot of white hairs on his head and light eyes that are quite glazed. His skin is very dry and wrinkled, there are lots of facial lines and clear creases on his face, and he has noticeable circles under his eyes, which are very hooded. That’s why his icy gaze seems weighted. At first sight, the man going to the living room does not have excess weight. There is no hint even of a little pot belly. He keeps quite a good sharp for his age, even though he walks slowly enough and definitely has mild pain in his legs.       When he sees this stranger, Edward takes his breath away. He rounds his scared eyes, gets quite nervous, and feels his knees start shaking from fear. But he does not show it and, slightly squinting his eyes, raises his head proudly raised and spreads his shoulders. However, just one look at him makes him feel an unpleasant freeze on his skin.       “Jesus, look who has visited us!” the man exclaims cheerfully. “Edward Lockhart! My nephew! My beloved nephew decided to visit his dearest uncle Michael. What happiness, my sweetie! You decided to please me with your visit for the first time in a while!”       “I wish it was the last one!” Edward throws rudely in a low voice, crossing his arms over his chest. “Uncle Michael! I would not see your fucking face forever!”       “M-m-m, you are still the same rude and nasty boy that was raised by the street,” Michael smirks evilly and looks at Edward from head to foot with contempt in his eyes. “Oh, guy! It seems like you got someone so mad that they beat your face! It’s clear they tried to teach you good manners that you never had.”       “You can see what’s waiting for you if you make me angry someday. But I would be happy to beat you much stronger. And you would have two times more bruises. I do promise.”       “Yeah…” Michael crosses his arms over his chest. “I did start to believe you changed your mind! After someone has tried to wash your brains. But I see you learned nothing. You were stupid, you are stupid.”       “Do you think your insults hurt me?” Edward smirks evilly. “Do you think you’ll make me do what I want by humiliating me?”       “My boy, I don’t try to insult you, I’m just telling you the truth. You are not the only one to do it. I say what I think and am not going to please some people and say you’re a sweet and good boy that wouldn’t hurt a fly.”       “So what, you got better? After another piece of insults?”       “I will get better only when I get what I have not gotten yet. There’s something that you will never own, but will become mine soon.”       “Don’t even dream, dear Uncle! I will not refuse what I have a right for.”       “I’m not surprised!” Michael comes closer to Edward and sets his icy gaze into his eyes, while the man feels everything squeezes upside down inside him and forgets how to breathe. “So, I’m dreaming of dealing with you and your pathetic family more and more. I hope, with your help. Although I hate you to death, I can change my mind if you agree to become my ally. For a generous prize, of course.”       “I will find another way to become rich and get what belongs to ME by law!”       Michael sighs tiredly and glances at Catherine, who is still standing not far and kind of waiting for some commands from her boss.       “Catherine, sweetie, leave us alone,” Michael says. “Check what the gardeners are doing and whether they cut the bushes, as I told them.”       “As you wish, sir,” Catherine replies gently. “With your permission.”       Catherine quickly leaves the living room and goes to the back of the house on the order of Michael, who watches her with a slight smile.       “Aw, wonderful girl!” Michael exclaims with admiration. “If she wasn’t in a relationship, I would do my best to get her agreement for a wedding. I would have a gorgeous wedding ceremony and become the father of a boy, who I would be proud of.”       “Forget, Uncle Michael, it will not happen!” Edward smirks contemptuously. “Catherine will never love you truly. She cares only about the money that you pay her for kissing your ass. The silly girl doesn’t know the money is actually stolen.”       “Ah, Edward, you care about it too much…” Michael comes to Edward slowly but confidently, hugs him around the shoulders, and takes him to his office. “It’s clear you are so hurt by being moneyless and homeless that money became your life goal.”       “Justice is important to me, not money,” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. “The justice that I will restore if I get what you insolently stole from my father.”       “Come on, my baby, we both know you love money. You were so mad that your life was never luxurious when living in the house of your rich stepmother, and you always had only your underwear. You thought she or your pathetic daddy would find you a job and give you an opportunity to earn money. But you were so brainless and talentless that those people were afraid to give you a chance. And you eventually became a beggar… A pathetic deadbeat that has nothing.”       “You will have only your underwear and start begging when you’re deprived of everything you’ve been insolently stealing for ages. And you will also be obligated! While I shall get back what actually belongs to me by law. Not you, honorable, but me.”       “You’re wasting your time fighting with me. In our world, bags of dollars and good contacts decide everything. I can do my best for you to be put in prison for any innocent thing or have to pay me moral damage, for example, for slander. Did you forget I could sue you for insulting my honor and demand and tell you to pay a multimillion-dollar amount? And I don’t care that you don't have money to pay me.”       “You are too self-confident and think you would get off everything. But be sure, it won’t last forever. Someday, justice will glory, and I will be able to take everything out of you and get a right to use the wealth as I want.”       “Dreaming is not forbidden, as they say. I see you don’t mention your rich and famous relatives, who also refused to help you. You don’t want to share it with them, though at least one of them has a right to it.”       At this moment, Michael takes Edward to the spacious office, which is made of dark colors. A few bookshelves, tables, and nightstands are made of dark brown lacquered wood, but a soft office chair and a spacious sofa are made of natural leather. High-ceiling windows are covered with light jalousie, and a few halogen lamps are placed on the same dark brown ceiling with beautiful paints. And small wall lamps, a couple of pictures, a huge full-height mirror, and a black clock with white arrows and numbers are hanging on some walls. There is an expensive laptop and other equipment, some pieces of paper, pens, pencils, rulers, scissors, and a wired phone lying on the table, which is placed on a big painted rug. And the glossy parquet of the same color as the furniture makes sounds when someone steps on it with the soles of their shoes.       “By the way, they do know about your plans!” Edward says confidently and moves Michael’s hand sharply off his shoulder. “I told them what you wanted.”       “Told?” Michael wonders, comes to the working table with widely open eyes confidently, sits on the office chair, and strokes his chin. “So, were you intrigued after our last talk, judging the fact that you went to their home the next day? Did you want to know what your friend wanted to find out? Or were you afraid he’d find out everything much earlier than you’d find the courage to tell him about me?”       “I found out everything,” Edward comes to the table and leans on it with his hands, looking at Michael confidently. “And no matter how disgusting it would be for me, I must confess that you, fucking rat, did your best for it to happen before I knew it.”       “Ha, did you think I was playing with you?” Michael smirks contemptuously. “Well, maybe I am doing… Playing with the puppy that got into a dangerous game and dragged everybody, who would go to another world very soon. I like watching your pathetic attempts to play a hero and pretend to be the best man for your family. Though, you have nothing that would help you read my mind and foresee who would become my next victim.”       “Sorry, I could’ve prevented much. Very much from what’s happened.”       “Oh, Edward, stop acting like a good guy. After what your friends experienced and found out, they stopped trusting you. You can’t make them sure you’re as innocent as a virgin and as clean as a drop of water. And when they know you want to own the money of your family even through their death, you will be included in the list of betrayals.”       “Don’t tell me everything because I know it,” Edward sits on a chair placed in front of the working table, at which Michael is sitting, and leans on it with an elbow. “But I am going to get what’s mine. I don’t need what belongs to someone.”       “Oh, come on!”       “Listen, Uncle, why are you actually doing it? Well, it’s okay that you are chasing my friend and want to deal with my mother, but what does Terrence’s fiancée have to do with it? She is not a member of our family and is just going to become one! Why did you try to kill both of them if you need only one?”       “M-m-m, I see you are aware of what happened, and what your brainless friend brought his fiancée to.” Michael laughs evilly. “Yes, I told my people to scare them, but I didn’t plan to kill them. Awhile. I just wanted to tell them what you didn’t want to tell them.”       “They know everything now, don’t worry.”       “And if your friend had crushed the truck that he almost got into during the race, it would’ve made my plans easier. But I don’t want to deal with him so easily. I am planning to torture him and share some of my secrets. The hysterical girl of the entire of America was madly lucky to stay alive after that race. But I hope you told that bastard and his fiancée that they get very little time to live.”       “Ha, knowing you failed your attempts to kill someone, except for the case of Father, I’m sure it would be very hard for you. You tried to kill me, but you didn’t do it. Or my friend and his fiancée almost died in that race with those brainless scumbags.” Edward laughs evilly. “You screwed everything, Uncle. Your plans are bullshit!”       “Don’t be happy, my sweetie, it’s not the end. I shall get what I want anyway.”       “Make a second attempt to kill one of us?”       “A second, a third, a fifth, and a tent one,” Michael says confidently, folding his hands on the table in front of him. “I will destroy everybody, who prevents me from getting what I dream about so much.”       “Maybe, you got Father out of your way, but I will not give up. I will be very careful, knowing all my failures and mistakes.”       “Yeah, your father is now in nirvana…” Michael thinks about something for two seconds with an evil simper. “Watching you from heaven and getting overwhelmed by what you are doing. And understands that he was running after you with a belt for a reason.”       “Maybe, Father wasn’t a holy man, but he wasn’t such a nasty and greedy bastard, who would be ready for anything to become rich and get someone’s money.”       “The birth of my pathetic brother was the greatest mistake, for which I will never forgive our parents. My life would've been different if that idiot hadn’t existed in this world.” Michael slightly pulls the sleeves of the jacket. “I never wanted to be someone’s brother and always fought with Mother because I refused to wipe that rat’s snots and change his dirty, smelly diapers when he was a kid, yelling sucker that could only eat, sleep and scream like crazy.”       “Wow! But you dreamed of children! Your own son! You must not be allowed to be with children because you would hurt them! But you did one good thing – you didn’t kill Father during babyhood. I think Grandfather and Grandmother must be grateful to you at least for that.”       “Trust me, your older brother wouldn’t have also taken care of you if he had lived with you in early childhood, and your mother had made him shake you in his arms and feed you.”       “How do you know it?” Edward throws coldly.       “Come on, it’s never been a secret to me that you’ve never been a beloved sonny of your parents. And your mommy never thought of you when your father was hiding you from her.”       “I know.”       “Then, why are you so excited?” Michael shakes his head with a sly smile and then frowns slightly. “Huh, honey? Do you no longer want to protect your relatives?”       “It’s none of your business, Uncle Michael!” Edward throws a little rudely, making his whole body tense. “I will sort it out by myself, without you!”       “M-m-m, by the way, did you fight with him? What if he was the one to beat you so strongly? What if your pretty face suffered because of him?”       “None of your business!” Edward hisses through his teeth.       “So, you fought,” Michael leans back in the chair with an evil smirk. “I did know your confession would make that guy mad. Because it’s so easy to make a psycho irritated. Terrence has never been able to control himself. During the race, my people saw him literally wishing to strangle his beloved Raquelle when she was screaming at him like crazy.”       “Were they watching them through binoculars? While one was driving the car, and a second one was watching the road, the others were seeking something to tell you?”       “Before you aren’t my ally, you shouldn’t know it. And while you are a coward and doubt yourself and what you’re doing, I advise you to stop meddling in people’s business. Stop barking on the corner and pretending to be a dangerous dog. You are actually a little shabby puppy. A terribly cowardly one.”       “Then you don’t meddle in my relationship with Terrence, Raquelle, and anyone else. Because you DO NOT have to do with it.”       “You know, Edward…” Michael pronounces thoughtfully. “I think if your brother and you had lived together when being little boys, you would’ve killed each other in early childhood. I don’t know the one, who would get along well with their siblings since childhood. All my familiar people had a ‘sweet’ life with those deadbeats, who they stopped communicating with.”       “But we didn’t live and kill,” Edward replies coldly, keeping a cold gaze on Michael.       “Sorry! I would not have to waste time on that idiot!”       “He doesn’t have to do with our business!”       “Oh, he does! Just like your friend, who probably knows which game you are playing behind his back and how hard you’re trying to pretend to be good. I doubt that he’ll love to keep his good relationship with you. And you are terribly jealous of him and actually want his money and wealth to be yours.”       “Don’t you want me to kill him instead of you?”       “I would generously pay you for that and automatically recognize you as my close person if you dealt with your friend as well as I destroyed your father.”       “Give me MY money and FATHER’S money, and I shall leave you alone once and forever!” Edward demands in a low, rude voice. And I do not need your fucking love!”       “You will get a little piece of the money if you become my ally and kill your friend. I’ve called you tons of reasons: the jealousy for his gorgeous life and the fact that his parents have always loved him more… Remember, your father cared only about your younger brothers, and your mother didn’t think of you.” Michael quickly clears his throat. “Another person would get excited from the hate for someone to be more successful! But you can’t decide and blunt something… Real men don’t act like this, Edward. They determinedly go forward or back. They do not act like a woman and do not find thousands of reasons not to do something. So, put your insecurity in your ass and shoot that fucking stinker, who poisoned your life.”       “And wouldn’t you put me in prison after the murder of the person?”       “No, for the murder of Terrence MacClife. It’s your unique chance to become rich and forget about having to beg. And if you are a good boy, I will give you a job at the company. I won’t promise to make you my personal helper, as you don’t have enough skills. But if you want, I could pay for an education. But only if you are much more loyal than any dog. Or you would wash toilets for the money you earn for a one-sided job.”       “Ha!” Edward simpers, squinting his eyes slightly. “So, if I killed someone of my friends or someone else, would you close your eyes to that? But if I wanted to kill you or one of those bastards, who are working on you, I would immediately go to prison? Nice, Uncle Michael! Nice!”       “But I really want you to kill your friend,” Michael says, stroking his chin and squinting his eyes. “I promise I will pay you very well if you do it, and I see how much you want to become my ally and get a chance to use the money that should’ve belonged to you.”       “You’re kidding me!”       “Think better, honey, you need money so badly! But I’m ready to help you – just do my little plea and revenge on MacClife for being born.”       “Kill him the way you killed my father, yeah?” Edward asks coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.       “I showed you the example, and you can follow it. I am not going to make you do it because you will wish to do it. If I always remind you of the reasons why your friend should die and help you get rid of your hesitance. Don’t worry, your uncle will be by your side and help you get closer to making your big dream come true if you are so coward.”       “You better kill me. Maybe, my friend made me mad today, but I will not go succumb to you and kill that man. I’m not a killer and not going to become the one!”       “You’re saying it now. But when I use the power of speaking skills and press on your weakest places, you will do anything to please me. I believe I turned you against your friend and ‘helped’ your relationship get worse. So, it will be good for you.”       “If I were a shameless bastard, I would shamelessly kill you and your pals to the fuck to take everything and give it to the real owners. But I will not do it just because I don’t want to go to prison for forty years. I just want you to get everything you insolently stole and leave us alone.”       “Ah, Edward, I believe you’re thinking too much,” Michael laughs evilly and fixes his tie with a proud gaze. “You should do something better. You should educate, my sunshine, not wander in the city, die from boredom, and find a reason to pretend to be a hero. You have a clever look, and I think you could learn everything. If someone works with you, you will know too much and can use it.”       “Well, thanks for saying at least one good word about me for the first time! I shall accept it as a compliment and rejoice you confessed that I got brains.”       “It has been only enough just to learn to play the guitar. However, it’s a worthless thing that gives you nothing good. You will never become a singer. Only people with good contacts and those, who are ready to lie in a bed of important personas, could reach for something. You could be the one with the help of your friend, but he will not give you this chance. So, you will have to play that fucking instrument until you get blood on your fingers for yourself.”       “I’m still wondering who I got a talent for music from…” Edward leans back in the chair. “Maybe, my mother had a good ear? Or did my father showed some skills?”       “Maybe…” Michael chuckles quietly. “I’m going to tell you something: your father really loved playing that fucking guitar all day long. And I couldn’t hide my irritation because its sounds made my head hurt. That moron constantly played it and didn’t let me focus on my business! If not for his mommy and daddy, who were ready to cut anyone’s throat for their beloved sonny, I would’ve kicked him out with that thing in the cold weather.”       “Of course! You were probably hurt by the fact that your younger brother did what he wanted and never listened to you.”       “The younger brother in age and the mind!” Michael throws irritably and loudly. “My brother taught nothing! All his merits were overrated, and that man didn’t deserve that praise! I could not be worse or be much more talented.”       “You could hardly become successful with a little piece of mind. I don’t mean the school certificate or the studies at the university. I mean the abilities since birth. Unfortunately, you don’t have talents given by nature. If Father was alive and owned everything you insolently stole, you’d only have your underwear and beg on the street. You have reached nothing and always thought it would be very easy to get something. But you should actually work much.”       “Wow, the beggar, who has reached nothing, is saying it to me!” Michael smirks ironically. “Edward, my sweetie… To say these things, you are supposed to achieve something. You said what could be related to you. What you are afraid to confess. I know you’re ashamed of poverty and the status of the homeless and workless man. But you want to do nothing and are waiting for someone to offer you something. And I believe you got the moment because I’m ready to help you with the murder of your friend.”       “Should I give you reports about how I try to find a job, which auditions I have visited, and where I could be admitted to prove to you that it’s not true?”       “Put these reports in your ass. But I don’t believe you’re trying to find something. You’re quite happy to live on someone’s account at someone’s home. Your father sees everything now and keeps burning from shame caused by the fact that his sonny became a lazy guy, who got used to counting on others. It’s clear that my brother didn’t kick your ass with a belt enough and didn’t tell you to serve yourself. I’m sorry, that idiot should’ve educated his sonny better. He should’ve looked at your half-brothers. Your stepmother immediately took them under control, and here’s the result: those children perfectly studied at school and got tons of praises from their teachers. They could get a good job at her firm and provide for themselves and their future families when they graduate from the university.”       “Trying to make me jealous of these guys and my father and think of him praising them?”       “I’m sure he loved them as much as the beloved sonny of your parents. The wanted, firstborn baby, who they were impatiently expecting.”       “I will not turn my back on him, whatever he is. Even if he is dead, I love him and will remember him at any time. I’m sure Father would be proud of me if I restored justice and took everything you insolently stole. And I swear on my father’s grave, I shall get it! I will be fighting until I die!”       “You can love him as much as you want, but your love will not get that man back from the dead,” Michael replies coldly. “You can’t get back what’s done, and a dead one can’t be brought to life. And I’m sorry that your father’s body disappeared, and he will never have his grave. You have no place to go to talk to his photo on the gravestone.”       “Maybe, you got rid of the corpse on purpose. But I will talk to him silently and keep the memories of him in my heart.”       “Just like in the case of your former girlfriend, your friend, his freaking sexy fiancée, and his mother. You lost their trust forever and can only recall nice moments related to them. You will never get the love of your ex-girlfriend, who you still love, and the trust of your friend, his charming fiancée, and his mother.”       “And you will never wake your coincidence up and start to regret using someone’s wealth,” Edward hums, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’d prefer dying than giving what doesn’t belong to you!”       “Aren’t you ready?” Michael rounds his eyes. “If I offer you the amount of money that you will not be able to refuse, you will kill your friend, his fiancée, your former girlfriend, and even his mother with no regret.”       “Never! Don’t even hope!”       “Wait, Edward, don’t say so confidently! When you see a bag of money you have never held in your hands, you will get obsessed with a wish to get it. And you will do anything for it. It’s my bait that would let me control you like a marionette. I will make you my doll and play with it as I want.”       “You are a psycho!”       “There is only one psycho – your friend Terrence, whose attacks of anger the show business knows. I’m sure that Raquelle that knew it, but she decided to marry him anyway. She’s probably the same psycho as he is. If only they didn’t kill each other earlier than I would like to deal with them.”       “I won’t deny it. But I’m not going to kill that man for a wish to prove to you that you’re wrong when you call me a cowardly puppy that could only be barking on the corner.”       “I’m not wrong, my dear nephew. You’ve always been timid, insecure, and insecure. Always doubted something and been afraid to do something. I think the only exclusions are the fact that you left your father’s home and your wish to start a fight with me. But even in this case, you did it just to prove it’s not true. You are kind of a tough, fearless, and confident guy, who is sure he will win. However, as I said, impacting you is possible if you heard the reasons why you must kill with your close people, who have never loved you. Who hardly thought of you when you were considered missing.”       “Alright, ENOUGH, UNCLE!” Edward yells loudly, sharply gets up from the chair, and leans on the table with his hands, setting his contemptuous gaze on Michael. “If you think I’d turn into a killer for money, you are wrong. I will find other ways to fight with you for my father’s inheritance.”       “First, do not scream at me in MY house. And second, you will not get your money in case you leave this world soon. To get the right to the inheritance, I need to defeat everybody, who is standing in the line ahead.”       “But if you want to kill me and my friend, what do my ex-girlfriend, my friend’s fiancée, and his mother have to do with it?” Edward wonders. “Why do you want to kill them if they are guilty of nothing and don’t have to do with the inheritance?”       “Oh, Edward, how stupid you are…” Michael runs his hand through his black hair. “Can’t you understand it? Or are you pretending to be an idiot, who lost the rest of his brains?”       “I do get it, but is it worth it?”       “Of course, it is, sweetie!” Michael thinks for two seconds, locking his fingers tightly. “We both know that you were running after these people and imposing your friendship on them for a reason.”       “Now I’m not sure if they should know the truth.”       “Oh, yeah, the truth about you being not the one, who you are pretending. The truth about you knowing about someone, who Terrence doesn’t know yet about. He is going to be surprised when he knows some information about his younger brother. Who you know very well about.”       “Shut up, Uncle.”       “If I really want, I can reveal you by sending Terrence the letter with a great hint at the identity of his brother.”       “Do what you want, but do not dare to hurt those, who aren't relatives of the MacClife family? You could leave my ex-girlfriend alone! No matter if you kill her or not – it will change nothing. Only make those, who love her, grieve. Just like in the case of Terrence’s fiancé.”       “Oh, do you really care about it?” Michael wonders. “You do consider her a dirty whore that fucks all men? You told me that when I mentioned that girl!”       “I give a fuck about her. I just don’t want anyone that doesn’t have to do with this story to suffer. It would be too unfair!”       “So, you do care about it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have reacted to my wish to destroy her.”       “Think what you want. But if you hurt her or my mother, I will not be responsible for myself. I swear, Uncle Michael.”       “If you want it or not, the people surrounding you will be destroyed.”       “You will pay a lot for it.”       “Do you still think I will regret my actions and even ask someone for forgiveness? Don’t be a naive moron, Edward! Get all your dreams out of your mind! Get your head out of the clouds and stop believing kindness always takes victory over any evil in the world. I am not going to play games with you.”       “So…” Edward sits on the chair and thinks for a few seconds. “Now everything is clear! You just like it.”       “Yeah, killing people turned out to be a nice thing. Especially if those people are your big enemies or those, who surround a scumbag that poisoned your life.”       “Why do you need the money? You have stolen very, very much money! Your vault is full of it, and there is a fabulous amount in your bank account! Did you decide to buy golden toilet bowls, baths, and sinks? Or a smartphone covered with brilliants? Are you running for the first place in the rating of the richest people on the planet, according to Forbes?”       “Someday I shall be included in this list, become the richest man on the planet, and get the status of the man of the year,” Michael says confidently with his head proudly raised.       “But what did you do to become the man of the year? Even if you sacrifice some money for philanthropy, it will not become a great act because many rich people do it. But it would become for you… So, I would suggest you do something kind and good for children living in orphan houses, animals living in catteries, or seriously ill people.”       “Philanthropy is a waste of time,” Michael smiles falsely and carefully fixes the collar of his white shirt. “If someone likes doing it, it’s fine. But I prefer spending money on something better. For example, expanding the business… I have great plans of making it better and getting much more money.”       “Yeah, you like paying your accomplices for chasing my relatives and threatening them much more. Or giving great amounts to get away with it, killing those, who stand in your way with someone’s hands.”       “My accomplices, as you call them, are getting much money. Nobody complains about anything, and I’m glad I help them. By the way, many of them were dying from starvation and living in poverty. But thanks to me, they got the ground under their legs, and do know if they keep working on me, I will always help them in their business.”       “Because they are as greedy and evil as you are,” Edward sets his cold and contemptuous gaze on Michael.       “No, Edward, as greedy and evil as YOU are!” Michael points at Edward with a finger. “And yeah, don’t you know it’s bad to insult someone when you also have many demons? I could tell much more about you than your close people know. We both know which sins you committed…”       “Oh, I’m gonna say more: murdering someone to get an inheritance does not also make someone better. Even if you do it with someone’s hands, you will have to pay for it as the organizer of crimes. And if the police get you arrested and prove your fault, you may be charged for many articles that provide for a great sentence. Even a life sentence. And if the death penalty still existed, you would be sentenced to it.”       “Nobody will prove anything. No corpse, no witnesses – no proof. My people work very carefully and never leave tracks. There are professional killers among my people with great seniority. They could even kill a celebrity that is surrounded by six-foot bodyguards.”       “Obviously! Only a moron would rob, kill and attack people in daylight! Desert places located far from the city are perfect for these crimes. The people that love licking your ass tried to kill me in one of those places. But one of those bastards met a failure when stabbing me with a knife. He should’ve wounded my heart, so I had no chance to survive. If you want, I can show you the scars that will never be gone. Because of the mistake of the doctor, who almost killed me!”       “Think it’s my label of the chosen!” Michael laughs with evil in his eyes. “And if I knew who tried to kill you, I would’ve thanked him with much money and made him sure to bring the case to an end. Of course, I shouldn't have trusted those idiots. I should’ve made sure you died and called all hospitals. To come there with anxiety on my face and get into your room to kill you by strangling you with a pillow or injecting poison into you.”       “You wouldn’t have found me,” Edward says confidently, shaking his head.       “Would I have not found the guy named Edward Lockhart? Ha, ha, you made me laugh…”       “Now it doesn’t make sense. I recovered after the wound, and nobody from the hospital will remember they tried to save my life.”       “Well… Yeah! Actually, I don’t care about it much…” Michael glances aside and takes a golden pen that he starts wrapping in his hands, while Edward tries to hide his fear so hard of his uncle and looks very tense. “Anyway, think about my offer about the murder. But I advise you to hurry up because the more you play time, the worse it will be for you and your family. If you don’t kill your friend, you will die along with him on the same day when I get all of you at my home.”       “I will never do it!” Edward shakes his head sharply.       “Don’t rush!” Michael waves his hand smoothly. “Think for a few more days. But then I will call you and ask you to come and say if you agree.”       “I will not agree!”       “Think, Eddy. Think. Uncle Mikey is not as evil and senseless as you think. He’s ready to give a chance to anyone, who wants to become his loyal ally. And if my generous offer is good for you, we could get on well. If you don’t disappoint me, you will become the main helper alongside Eric, who is wonderfully loyal to me. Without him, I wouldn’t have done half of what I had ever done.”       “Yeah, one nasty asshole found another. I would split on the face of that fucking Eric, who irritates me to death.”       “I do not advise you to say it about the one, who may become your friend.”       “Never! That asshole will never be my friend!”       “Edward, my dear nephew! Just imagine how easy it would be to live if you had money. Very much money. I’d have the pleasure of helping you live well and showing you what a beautiful life is. When you feel that sweet taste, you will forget about your family, become more confident, and stop being afraid of everything. The money would make you more determined, and you will proudly tell everyone you have very much money. Thanks to your beloved uncle Michael, who would give you a chance to be provided and have a great influence in some circles.”       “So, as you want to destroy your family so badly, deal with half-brothers.”       “I’m not going to hurt them because they live their lives and do not meddle in anyone’s business. That’s why I love my youngest nephews, who are way smarter than my older one. Who wants to prove that he is not worse than his father and older brother, who got some success.”       “Someday, they’ll know about your business, start to call you a nasty rat, and wish you to die in a rotting prison cell.”       “Ne-ver!” Michael pronounces by syllables with a sly smile. “You will go to prison sooner if you dare at least to touch me with a finger. Or my people will kill you to revenge you for killing me. They will not forgive you for that. And your close people, who will turn their backs on you, will have to save money for your funerals.”       “You’re irritating me more and more!”       “You are angry for three reasons – penniless, jealousy of success of those, who surround you, and your ex-girlfriend’s betrayal. Sadly, I can’t help you get the girl back, and she has lots of men, who she spends time with. But I’m able to help you become rich and deal with your friend.”       “Shut up… Just shut up!”       “Agree, Edward, I will pay you well and support you in everything if you prove your loyalty and show me what you are ready for a wonderful life.”       “DO NOT EVEN HOPE!” Edward shouts crossly, clapping on the table with his hands. “I’m done! I’m leaving! All the best! I hope you will get the coincidence by my next visit!”       Edward sharply gets up from the chair and quickly leaves Michael’s office. The man watches his nephew with a sly smile and arms crossed over his chest until the guy disappears, squinting his eyes and thinking about something.       “Ah, Edward, Edward, run away or stay, but it will change nothing,” Michael says confidently. “You will accept my offer. I will be pressing on your weakest places and reminding you of the reasons why that stinker Terrence ruined your life, turning you against him more and more. I believe I got something, judging the way you talk about Terrence. But it’s just the beginning, and I will do my best to turn you into enemies. I am not going to play games with you, nasty puppy. Everything is the fuck serious!”       Michael thinks for two seconds, running his hand through his hair and leaning back in the soft chair.       “I’m imagining how disappointed Terrence is, knowing you want to rob and kill him. I’m sure that guy got attracted to you and began to pretend to be a perfect friend. He started to feel like your brother… Since he did not manage to get a chance to raise with his real sibling. The personality of whom I know very well. I know that the guy is much closer to him than it seems.”       Michael smiles slyly and sets his gaze into the distance.       “Ah, my beloved brother…” Michael sighs quietly, knocking at the table with his fingers. “How many years your firstborn was hidden from me! That idiot doesn’t know what is waiting for him. But one of your sons was living and growing literally before my eyes. And I remember the second one that lived with his mommy when he was a kid. I must confess that I’m impressed by the courage he worked with to reach his goals. But he was hard-working, unlike his little bro, who did even try to get a girlfriend that would have lots of money, so she or her parents provided for him.”       Michael glances aside.       “Ah, I’m so sorry that such a beautiful couple like Terrence MacClife and Raquelle Cameron have little time to live. Just like that idiot Rebecca and that blonde prostitute Natalia… And if that kid Edward refuses to be my ally, he will also be dead.”       Michael smirks evilly.       “Live your last quiet days, fellows! In the nearest time, I will do nothing and wait for my nephew to decide something. But whatever his decision is, a fight for life and death will start soon. And of course, I shall win this battle. You will die quickly but tragically. Why? Not to cry for each other because I can’t stand snotty scenes and beautiful words.”       Michael sits in the leather chair for a few seconds, looking around his spacious office with pride. But then he gets up, slowly comes to the mirror, checks his hair, stroking down his white and black strands, carefully fixes the tie that he literally never tears apart with, and has admiration when looking at his suit. The man looks at his reflection for some time with his head raised up and smiles slyly, swearing that the wanted wealth will belong to him and not end up in the hands of anyone else.       

***

      Edward quickly leaves Michael’s house, passing some distance to the gates that he opens, not waiting for the familiar bodyguards to do it.       “Hey, Eddy, are you leaving?” the first bodyguard asks with an evil sneer. “You left the house quickly! We thought you’d stay with your uncle for a long time and drink tea with him.”       “Whatever he offers you, you will accept his claims,” the second bodyguard adds confidently. “We do know your boss has a very generous offer for you. You’re gonna love it, kid, you will not be able to decline it.”       “Shabby puppy, we are talking with you! Hey?” the first bodyguard pushes Edward in the back when the guy opens the gate and goes through it. “Or are you having your head in the clouds? Edward!”       “Get off, jackass!” Edward throws rudely, pushing the bodyguards sharply off himself. “I’m sick of all of you! SICK! BURN IN HELL, BASTARDS! I WISH YOU ALL DIED!”       “Looking forward to another meeting with you!” the second bodyguard exclaims, waving a hand at Edward.       “Warn us about your visit earlier, so your uncle has time to call a psychiatrist, who would work on your broken nerves,” the first bodyguard says.       “YOU DO NEED THEM, MORONS!” Edward screams at the top of his lungs, breathing heavily from a great tense.       Edward quickly goes further from the gate of the house, not paying attention to the bodyguards laughing at him loudly. The talk with Michael made him much more furious. He has to do his best to struggle with a wish to destroy the whole house or beat someone to stand in his way.       “No, no, I won’t commit the murder,” Edward thinks, going to his car in a much slower step. “I’m not a killer and won’t succumb to that asshole! Of course, I won’t hide that I hate Terrence at the moment. But I ain’t gonna make the mistake that I will pay for all my life. I’ll never be the same as my uncle! Not for money! I’d rather be a beggar and have only my underwear. But I won’t commit the murder of my that man, even for billions of dollars. Uncle Michael will not make me do it, even if he constantly provokes me and reminds me of the reasons why I should hate Terrence. I must not succumb to this provocation. Today I went nuts, and MacClife and Cameron think I’m a bastard that is ready for anything for money and agreed with that old asshole.”       Edward sighs silently, comes to his car by this moment, quickly unlocks the door with the key, and sits in the passenger seat, still reflecting on the situation, grabbing the steering wheel tightly, and understanding how much his whole body is tense. Which still hurts after the serious fight with Terrence.       “I’d be happy to apologize to them and try to explain I didn’t want anything like that,” Edward thinks and swallows up nervously. “But now it’s worthless. And it would be better not to see Terrence and try to explain something. He wouldn’t listen to me and would keep considering me a scumbag.”       Edward sighs irritably.       “Fuck! If Natalia hadn’t gone to their home, I wouldn’t have been so wild! That nasty bitch ruined everything and provoked me! Because of her, I became the number-one enemy of my friend. And if I can’t control myself with his mother’s pretense, she will hate me, as well… Fuck! Damn Rochester! I hate that bitch!”       Edward glances aside, runs his hands over his white face covered with fresh bruises, and puts one hand on the steering wheel of the car.       “Damn, I need to relax and forget this nightmare,” Edward thinks, nervously beating a rhythm on the steering wheel of his car. “At least for a while. Or I will go crazy and not be able to take what I’m gonna experience. Everything’s gonna get much worse! Now I ain’t able to protect my close people and foresee Uncle’s next actions. That scumbag may give a hit on the surprise side.”       Edward sighs tiredly with closed eyes and raises his head. Some time later, his mobile phone lying in the pocket of his coat, which got ripped after the fight with Terrence, starts ringing. The man leans back in the seat, takes the mobile phone, and answers the call, not looking at the screen and holding his free hand on the steering wheel.       “Hello,” Edward pronounces without emotions.       “Justin, buddy, finally!” someone’s masculine voice pronounces. “Did you recognize me? It’s Christopher Morgan! Do you remember how you and I were speaking for some time, but then you disappeared? Somehow, I even helped you with a job!”       First, Edward gets a little confused, biting his lip slightly, but he quickly recognizes the voice of this man, not being confused by the fact that he called another name.       “Chris, is that you?” Edward wonders with a slight smile. “What a surprise! Hey, buddy! Glad to hear ya!”       “Where have you been all this time?” Christopher asks. “You disappeared so suddenly and then didn’t answer my calls for a long time. I started to think you got mad at me for something.”       “No, no, why do you think I got mad at you? I’m sorry about not answering… I’ve just lately had much to do and couldn’t find time to call you or meet you somewhere.”       “Did you get a permanent job?”       “Nope, I’m living for what I earn at one-sided jobs. But I’m still looking for it and hope I’d find something good very soon.”       “Are you still in New York? Or did you return to your native Atlanta?”       “Erm…” Edward stutters and shrugs. “No, no… I’m not in Atlanta… I’m still in New York… But I don’t exclude that someday I will come back home or somewhere else.”       “Great! Then before you get out somewhere, let’s go out somewhere together? We could meet at a bar, drink, talk, have some fun… Look at beautiful girls… Maybe, we’d pick up some cuties and spend a wonderful night of love with them…”       “Oh, Morgan…” Edward laughs quietly, getting a little sad after hearing about girls. “You think only of looking at girls! I thought you’d love to see your friend, but you wanna invite me to admire girls. If you wanna sex so badly, you shouldn’t take me with you. Or did you lose your skills of seducing and want me to help you a little?”       “No, no, Jus, no!” Christopher jabs. “I didn’t mean it… No… Of course, having sex with a cutie would be cool. But I wanna meet you much more. All my friends have been so busy that they can’t go to the city to drink beer.”       “Well, as you’re so lonely and unhappy, I could become your company for tonight with pleasure. Moreover, I have nothing to do. I have some money after the last one-sided job. I could spend it on a bottle of cold beer.”       “Excellent!” Christopher exclaims happily. “Then let’s meet at the bar ‘Shake It Up’ at half past four? Wonderful place! And drinks are just divine there! I often go there!”       “Okay!” Edward smiles shyly. “It’s a deal!”       “I hope you know where it is. Or do I take you out?”       “No, no, I know where it is. I go there at times when I wanna drink something… I’ll reach it by myself and try not to be late.”       “Okay, it’s a deal!” Christopher exclaims. “See ya there!”       “Deal! See ya at half past four!”       “Bye, black-haired!”       Edward turns off the call with a quiet chuckle and puts the phone in his pocket, being happy he got someone, with whom he could get lost and spend a good time.       “So, it’s good!” Edward concludes, putting his hands on the steering wheel and smiling slightly. “Chris called me just in time… And he solved my problems called ‘Where do I spend time tonight?’…”       Edward exhales sharply and looks into the distance with a little tired and sad gaze.       “I got lucky at least in something for the first time in a while,” Edward adds. “A little reward for everything I’ve experienced: the girlfriend’s betrayal, the talks with Uncle, the knife wound, the serious fight with my friend and his fiancée…”       Edward thinks for two seconds, knocking at the steering wheel with his fingers, and then chuckles quietly.       “So, tonight is gonna be fun,” Edward says confidently. “I’ll have no time to be bored, ‘cause Chris is a dork that never gets upset… I won’t think of my problems with him. If only he didn't ask me to tell him about them… However, he doesn’t know who I actually am and knows me under a different name… Under the name Justin… Under which I was in the hospital… I wish Chris didn’t know the truth about me. That my real name is not Justin Ledger.”       Edward thinks for two seconds, closing his eyes.       “However, I could behave the way I did before I decided to tell Terrence about Uncle. And this time, it’s gonna be much easier for me, because lying to someone, who doesn’t have to do with my business is not as hard as explaining everything to those, who are tightly connected to it. I think it will work with Chris, and he won’t torture me with questions about what happened…”       Giving himself a setting to forget about the problems, at least for a while, Edward decides to go home some time later. The man puts the key into a switcher, starts the motor, slowly presses the gas, and quietly goes as far as possible from this place where he would never come with great pleasure. But now it’s impossible. However, he decides not to think about what’s happening in his life and wants to spend a good time with his good friend, whom he has not met for ages.       

***

      Meanwhile, the stranger is meeting Victor Johnson again, who is helping him find out the information about what’s happening in the lives of his relatives and keeping his belief that justice will be restored. Now they are in the car of the policeman and talking about the problem of Edward and Terrence’s father, who is too excited and nervous due to the current events.       “Oh, my friend, don’t be so excited,” Victor says softly, moving his eyes to the stranger sitting on the passenger seat and frowning slightly.       “You know that the situation is hard,” the stranger replies quietly and hesitantly. “If something goes wrong, I might lose this war.”       “You will not do it. We’ll do our best for your offender to get what he deserves.”       “Ah, Mr. Johnson…” the stranger runs his hands over his face with a quiet sigh. “Sometimes I think there is no solution for this situation. Even though you keep me aware of everything, I don’t think you’d find a way to save my family from a threat.”       “A solution for your problem may be found when you don’t expect it. Find it where you don’t find it. You should just stop waiting for your problem to be solved today or tomorrow, and then you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.”       “I’m waiting for nothing, Mr. Johnson,” the stranger replies in a low voice and looks at his hands. “Just living and guessing what’s gonna happen next”       “Please, don’t lose hope and speak in such a depressed voice. It will get better. It can’t last forever.”       “I guess, life is punishing me for all the mistakes I’ve made when being young and stupid. If I’d been more discreet and clever and less naive, everything would’ve been otherwise.”       “I know how hard you lived. And I really want to help you start to live a better life.”       “Sometimes I think I’d rather keep making everybody think I’m dead. Start a new life and become another man… With a different name, in a different place…”       “Don’t say it, my friend. You will see, it’s gonna be fine. Of course, the situation is complicated, but not so hopeless. While we have our sources, we are still able to give a hit to the opponent.”       “I don’t even have my ‘grave’… My family has no place to go and talk to the gravestone with my photos, believing I’m lying under the ground. My ‘corpse’ will never be found… Because it doesn’t exist… I’m safe and sound, and I wasn’t killed.”       “Thank God, you’re alive,” Victor thinks for two seconds, putting a finger on his lip. “I was shocked when I found out you were found dead but managed to survive. I didn’t know how it could happen. I thought you lied to me… But you made me sure that you were right. And I decided to help you. Not because of a sense of duty for how much you’ve done for me. But because I consider you a very good person and am doing this for our long-time friendship.”       “I know, Victor,” the stranger smiles shyly. “Now you’re the only one person, who could help me. So, I rely on your help and support and hope you won't betray me and will help me bring this case to an end.”       “Don’t doubt it,” Victor promises confidently with a slight smile.       “Hm…” the stranger frowns slightly and thinks for two seconds. “You know, I notice one thing… You and I have known each other for many years, but we mainly call each other too officially. As if we barely know each other and haven’t befriended since our youth.”       “Well, yeah…” Victor pronounces thoughtfully. “We haven’t been able to wean ourselves away from this habit for many years. We called each other Mr., and we keep doing this. Even if you and I have almost the same age…”       “Ah, age… Although I’m fifty-three years, I still feel wonderful and have much energy, strength, and a wish to work. I feel at least five years younger! Of course, I’m not a young boy and not as active as I was thirty years ago. But I don’t plan to turn into a decrepit old man yet.”       “Unfortunately, the time has never been kind. But it’s good you still have a lot of energy. I think you would’ve turned into a decrepit, annoying old man in the opposite case.”       “I have a reason to live yet. I’ve told you many times that my children is one of them. Without them, I wouldn’t have a reason to live and fight.”       “I get it. I’m also ready for anything for my daughter, whom I love with all my heart.”       “That’s why I tell you that. You’re also a father, and you know what love for your child means.”       “Without doubts.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then the stranger quietly coughs and leans back in the seat, saying:       “Alright, let’s talk about it later. Now, as they say, let’s start talking about what we all came here together for?”       “Sadly, I can’t tell you anything good,” Victor sighs tiredly, looking at what he sees around him and tightly grabbing the steering wheel. “Two days ago, another attack on your older son, Terrence, was committed. And during the attack, he wasn’t alone but with his fiancée.”       “My gosh…” the stranger shakes his head with horror in his eyes. “Did that cad try to attack Terrence again?”       “Yes… My informant said those two managed to run away from them and leave in their car, but those people started chasing them. Your older son started a crazy race that was over when the pursuers’ car crushed a truck. It seems like Terrence was going on it on purpose not to let the pursuers react in time. And I believe his plan worked!”       “Damn, how was everything over?”       “They say, that guy and his fiancée didn’t suffer, but the car of the pursuers was strongly crushed. One of them even felt so bad that he was put in a hospital, where he was diagnosed with slight brain damage. He will stay under the care for a few days, but then get released.”       “Oh…” the stranger sighs heavily and runs his hand over his face, taking off the dark glasses that he starts wrapping in his hands. “Thank God, my son is fine.”       “I was told Terrence turned out to be quite a good driver with a perfect reaction and controlled the car at a high speed not worse than any experienced racer. He risked very much. But he was lucky the road was empty, and there was only the truck in his way. Imagine if there were lots of cars! I wouldn’t be sure that guy would control his car.”       “I know… But that’s good everything ended well. And that scumbag didn’t kill Terrence.”       “Yeah, absolutely agree.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which the stranger starts to finger over nervously, and Victor glances at where he can hear a cawing of ravens that sometimes fly by this place.       “Alright, I got it…” the stranger says quietly. “There is something else?”       “Yes, that’s not all,” Victor replies confidently. “Literally a few minutes before I came to you, I talked to my person watching the situation. And they told me your son was at your brother’s home.”       “Edward went to Michael’s home?” the stranger wonders, moving his eyes to Victor. “But what did he need from that rat?”       “I don’t know, Michael wasn’t waiting for him. Edward came to him at his wish. I don’t know what their talk was about, but I think it wouldn’t lead to anything good.”       “Why? Do you think my brother would do something terrible to my son? Or… Make him do something?”       “Likely, yes,” Victor nods. “I don’t exclude that your brother might pay your son some money for a bad thing, which he wouldn’t love to do himself. My source told me Michael was going to make Edward his accomplice and make him do his dirty tricks along with his other accomplices.”       “Yeah, it’s his style… I think blackmail may also have to do with it.”       “What if Michael already blackmails Edward? Your brother does know the weaknesses of your son and could press on them to get what he wants?”       “Anything is possible, Victor… I think Michael would really get a benefit out of something. For example, I don’t doubt he knows about the life of Edward, who doesn’t have a job, work, or home, and would love to offer him all of that for some dirty trick.”       “Yeah, very possible scenario… And if it’s true, Edward becomes a doll in the hands of Michael, who can play with him in any way, not doubting that guy would do a lot for money. I don’t think your son likes being moneyless and homeless. I mean, he’s ashamed of it. My person said Michael didn’t doubt it.”       “I hope that bastard isn’t gonna make my son a criminal, who would rob or kill.”       “I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. Michael is beginning to operate slowly. So, your brother recently tried to kill you, your son, his friend, and even the fiancée. But all his attempts met failure, and you are still alive and healthy.”       “Wait, wait…” the stranger jabs, sharply shaking his head and setting his questioning gaze on Victor. “You said ‘my son’? Why does he have to do with it?”       “Ah, yeah, I almost forgot to say…” Victor exhales sharply. “The case is that Edward was also attacked one day. But it was more serious.”       “What?” the stranger stops breathing with horror in his eyes. “Those bastards attacked Edward? And what do you mean ‘more serious’?”       “It happened a month ago. The people of your brother began watching Edward by his order, but then found him at a dark time in a desert place. They attacked him, struck him down, began to threaten verbally, and even beat him after his attempt to run away.” Victor clears his throat. “And then one of them gave him a few knife wounds on the small of the back, and they left Edward to die.”       “Holy shit!”       “Don’t worry, your son is fine now. I don’t know who found him, and where he was after Michael and probably your family lost his track for one month. But your brother thought he killed him for some time. But later, his people told him Edward was alive. He got enraged and almost strangled those people. And Michael recently began to threaten him.”       What he heard gets the stranger deeply shocked. The man getting sharply white looks into the distance with horror in his eyes, slowly exhaling and shaking strongly from just one thought he could have lost his son.”       “Oh, my God…” the stranger pronounces in a little shaking voice and runs his hands over his tired, white face, exhaling slowly. “I can’t get it… I can’t believe I could’ve lost my son because of Michael. The fact that he encroached on the most important thing – my child… Even if that cad has claims for me, my sons don’t have to do with it. He has no right to get them involved in OUR business.”       “Don’t call it an insult, but Edward showed a wish to restore justice and pronounce himself the hero that would get what was stolen back. Michael said that guy shouldn’t have meddled in someone’s business, but your son didn’t listen to him.”       “Yeah, I know… It seems like my aggressive methods of banning him from meddling in someone’s business had the opposite effect. He began to take a greater interest in them.”       “The most important thing is that the sons from your second wife don’t meddle. Otherwise, your brother will not your them. The fact that Michael hates your older son, whom he has never met, and Edward for meddling in people’s business and starting an open war with him.”       “Ar-r-r, I hate that nasty rat to death! He must be burning in hell! That scumbag belongs to where he would take the worst tortures. For wishing to deprive me of the last thing I have! I kind of got used to the fact that he stole my money, house, and company founded by our father, but that bastard will not take my children away. I would cut his throat for them!”       “Money and jealousy can do terrible things to a person and turn them into a senseless scum. Michael has always wanted to have as much money as possible and be much better than you. He was terribly furious because of that and decided to take revenge on you by taking everything you had. And his terrible jealousy of you and your parents, who were proud of you much more because you gave the reason, also played its role.”       “Agree. Michael forgot that you need to deserve to get praise and make someone proud of you. I’m lucky I managed to be the best at my studies and at work more or less easily. But my brother could only complain and do dirty tricks, not even trying to do just something for Father and Mother to say, ‘Well done, sonny, you made us happy!’”       “We will see how long he will work in your company, and when he bankrupts it and loses the money, which he has earned, and which you have in your bank account. He will get into debt and have to pay moral damage to all his clients, who will get some issues.”       “Honestly, I don’t know if I did the right thing when caring about the will and deciding to give everything to my older sons in case something happens to me,” the stranger confesses thoughtfully. “Michael will get them out of his way. And he’ll defeat Rebecca and Terrence’s fiancée to get a chance to annul the document and get what he wants – to become the main candidate for the inheritance.”       “But what about the younger sons?”       “I doubt they need it. And their mother banned them from accepting something from me and meeting me. So, they will not have to do with the inheritance. But on the contrary, it was unfair to leave my younger children without at least something.”       “Maybe, the situation with your second wife will be good for them. Michael will keep being neutral to them.”       “Anyway, Michael will not get the money and the company so easily. He will have to wait and go to judges and lawyers for a very long time to become the only owner of the wealth. Or I’m still naive, and that cad would solve this problem with the money he STOLE from me.”       “And the interesting thing is, Michael is threatening not only the members of your family. Edward had a girlfriend, whom he broke up with one month ago. I don’t know why, but she did something bad… Your brother is threatening her, even if she is not a member of your family.”       “Hm… But how does my brother know Edward’s ex-girlfriend? How did he know about that girl?”       “I don’t know,” Victor shrugs. “But that girl also gets some threats. My informant personally saw Michael sending messages on her mobile number.”       “Mobile number? That asshole got her number? I guess he has her home address! And he could easily send his people there!”       “We could expect anything from your brother. That rat could even get into your mind and find out everything you think about. I don’t know how he got the information about her, but my informant is carefully watching Michael and listening to every single word.”       “Agree…” the stranger thinks for two seconds and frowns slightly. “But I don’t understand, why does he want to destroy the ex-girlfriend of my younger son? Edward broke up with her one month ago, as you said!”       “I think Michael is just defeating those, who are connected with you and your sons. He might be afraid that the girl, for example, would become one of those, who would betray him to the police. Even if it’s barely possible.”       “That’s why we must do something!” the stranger says confidently. “If we let someone die or get attacked by the people of that scumbag, we can think Michael won this fight. But I can’t let that cretin get away with it.”       “You know…” Victor frowns slightly and thinks for two seconds, stroking his chin. “My informant gave me a hint… Michael is going to do a terrible thing very soon. Something like a trap, which anyone may get into. And I’m currently focused on it because it’s a good moment to give your brother a hit in the back.”       “So, do you want to wait for Michael to prepare a trap for Terrence, his fiancée, Edward, his ex-girlfriend, and someone else? So, I give a sudden hit and let him know I didn’t die after the murder attempt!”       “That’s what I wanted to tell you,” Victor nods confidently. “I know we may be waiting for too long, but that doesn’t mean we’ll have nothing to do. Vice versa! We will have a very important mission – to get ready and plan everything. Even if someone gets into Michael’s trap, your appearance may ruin all his plans. Nobody would suffer because your brother would wish to pay attention to you.”       “What if he tries to kill me for the second time?”       “He will not do it because we will come and get him arrested in time. He has committed very many crimes, for which he must pay by law. I can’t promise he would get a life sentence, but he would be put in prison for ten or twenty years. However, I don’t know if he will survive because his health may get worse without a lot of money.”       “Trying is always good,” the stranger replies hesitantly. “I will not refuse, at least to beat his face strongly and make him pay for daring to attack my children.”       “In this case, we can do this,” Victor promises confidently. “I will do my best to find out much more information about what Michael wants to do, and will be telling you all the information. Try to find out much more about Edward’s ex-girlfriend and his friend’s fiancée and about what kind of danger is threatening those girls, your sons, their mother, and you. And try to make sure there is no threat to your children from your second wife.”       “Thank you so much, Mr. Johnson!” the stranger thanks with a slight smile. “Thanks a lot for doing this for me and my family… That I almost lost. I would hardly do it and make a surprise for my brother alone.”       “No, my friend, you didn’t lose your family! I think when your sons know the truth about their father and uncle, they will forgive you. Someday, Edward will realize you’ve never wished him evil and have always loved him. And you will get on well with your older son. Let him know that you want to be a part of his life.”       “I’m living every day with this wish…” the stranger sighs with sadness in his eyes and looks at what he sees in front of him. “If I try hard, I could try to get the trust of my children back. But I will never get the love of the one, who I’ll always love. Who became the best thing that’s happened in my life.”       “At least, she isn’t mad at you because of what you did to her. That woman didn’t even call you a cheater because you were married to the other woman, lived a few years with her, and had children with her. The mother of your older sons can’t be mad. Her love for you is still alive, and it lets her easily forgive you for what happened between you.”       “You know that I didn’t want it,” the stranger inclines his head guiltily. “So many things happened… I was ready to explode like a bomb… A lack of money, hard work, quarrels with my wife, two little children that wanted food and drinks… At some moment, I left my wife with a three-year-old son. And I took the one-year-old one… I don’t know… I couldn’t find the courage to leave that woman with two children and decided to take at least one of them…”       “But you could just live, for example, with your mother for some time, calm down, then talk to her and ask her for forgiveness. Why did you leave your wife with the child? And you should’ve asked your mother for help much more, even if she lived on another end of the city and couldn’t always go to your home.”       “I was just sorry for Mother… She suffered from pain in her joints and had heart issues after Father’s death. I didn’t want to burden her with caring about her grandchildren, and I was even worried when I often left Edward with her. She insisted that she help us with my children because she saw how hard it was for me and my wife.”       “I understand, but a wish to care about your child and let nobody come to them is wrong. It was hard for Lydia and me to educate Diana, and we often asked our relatives for help. And you and your wife could also babysit our daughter. And thanks to that, we didn’t go insane for a few years, during which our child needed care and attention.”       “I swear, Victor, I don’t know what I was thinking about when deciding to do it. I’m still terribly ashamed of that, even if I’ve asked her for forgiveness thousands of times. Thank God, she forgave me and kept communicating with me. But that’s hurtful that my older son doesn’t know why I left him and his mother and calls me a terrible man.”       “Just tell him the truth and persuade him to explain why he doesn’t love you so much. I’m sure that he will understand you if he knew what happened between you and his mother.”       “Ah, Mr. Johnson, I’m afraid it’s impossible now…” the stranger sighs quietly. “I can try to do it after Michael pays for all his sins. Maybe, that cad would tell everything and give the truth in his own way. But my son would know that I’m not perfect, but not the bastard that he thinks I am.”       “I think the problem with your sons will be solved by itself, and you will reconcile with Edward and him. Now you should focus your attention on saving your family from Michael. I mean, his threats and attempts to kill to own your money, house, and company.”       “Yeah, you’re absolutely right…” the stranger nods. “I think I’d really better focus on saving my family from Michael. And I’ll do it in any way. Even if I have to die, I won’t give up and will be fighting with that snake until the end.”       “I like the fact that you try not to lose hope. Don’t forget, my friend, hope dies last. Everything shouldn’t be solved today or tomorrow. But early or late, the justice will glory.”       “I know, friend,” the stranger smiles shyly.       The stranger and Victor stay in the car for some time and talk about their lives, families, and some other things that they love discussing with each other. Victor comforts his old friend again and promises to help him save his family from Michael, who sleeps and sees himself owning the money and the company of his younger brother. And the stranger tries not to give up and to believe his older brother will get his punishment for all his tricks and finally leave him and his family alone.       

***

      Meanwhile, Anna is sitting at home and reading a glossy magazine. She is having pleasure examining its pages, which are as bright as her fiery red, little wavy hair beautifully gathered. Slowly turning the pages of the magazine, the girl thinks of Natalia at some moment, whom she is worried about more and more.       “I wonder, how long is Natalia gonna hide her secret and problems with the relationship with Edward?” Anna asks herself with sadness in her eyes. “Everybody sees something isn’t right with her, but she keeps pretending everything is okay. I don’t get it! What’s she afraid of? Why doesn’t she wanna let us know how to help her? She’s surrounded by those, who love her so much! Until when is she gonna torture herself and all of us?”       Anna thinks for two or three seconds.       “Natalia’s appearance also makes me worried…” Anna thinks with anxiety. “She’s got a sad face, red eyes, circles from a lack of sleep… And she sharply lost weight, and any clothes hang on her… Damn, I hope she doesn’t torture herself with starvation… But I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, ‘cause Natalia didn’t almost touch the food when Raquelle, she, and I were watching the movie at her home.”       Anna glances at the window.       “And there was almost nothing in her refrigerator, as Raquelle said,” Anna thinks. “But Natalia didn’t care about whether her refrigerator was full of food. It would be weird to hear the excuse ‘I don’t have money’ ‘cause her parents give her enough money for food and fun. Spending this amount rightly, she could live for one week and buy a whole store… I dunno… It’s all so strange… It makes me anxious… If only she didn’t bring herself to something bad… I don’t wanna lose my friend someday…”       Anna sighs heavily and stops her eyes on the page that she examines closely. And some time later, the girl sees a short article about the band “Against The System,” in which they write about Peter’s suicide attempt.       “Gosh, how quickly the paparazzi learned about his attempt to kill himself,” Anna thinks without emotions on her face. “He ended up in the hospital yesterday, but today all newspapers and magazines began writing about it. Oh, my gosh… Let’s see what they wrote about him… If only they didn’t dare to write a lie to earn much more money.”       Anna starts closely reading the article, viewing the photos spread on the Internet and other sources that confirm that event. And after reading it, the girl exhales sharply and closes her eyes for two seconds, making sure that this magazine does not profit from the tragedy and writes the true article.       “Oh, on the one hand, being a famous person is cool, but on the other hand, you’d be kept under attention,” Anna thinks. “I hope those people at least knew they wouldn’t better come to the lads. Someone could give a damn about their condition and annoy them with questions. That could make you feel worse. Or beg them to sign a piece of paper… Giving a damn about what happened to Peter…”       Anna sighs heavily and runs her sad eyes over the whole room.       “This time is gonna be hard for Daniel and Terrence…” Anna assumes. “Does Perkins understand what’s gonna happen if he gets success as a musician? What if he doesn’t take on this burden and understands it’s not his element?”       Anna glances at the mirror hanging on one of the walls and runs her hand through her hair.       “Anyway, Peter’s recovery is more important now,” Anna thinks. “It would be unfair if that guy died. He shouldn’t have brought himself to that condition because of failures in his personal life and the mockeries of his friend, who got him so mad. No matter how much I want to deny it, the fact is a fact. Daniel is partly guilty of what happened to Peter. And if he dies, it will be a scar on his coincidence…”       A few seconds later, Daniel hesitantly enters the room where Anna is. He comes to the bed slowly, being quite sad and excited, while the girl does not notice him and is busy with her thoughts.       “Erm, excuse me…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly.       Anna raises her eyes quickly, sees Daniel, and runs her hand hesitantly over her hair.       “Oh…” Anna stutters… “I didn’t know you were here… Erm… I thought you left somewhere…”       “Not yet. But I will do it soon.”       “Ah… Okay…”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, which makes the tense Daniel much more nervous.       “Can I sit down?” Daniel asks hesitantly, shifting his weight from one foot to another.       “Why are you asking?” Anna rounds her eyes. “It’s your house.”       Daniel sits on the bed in front of Anna, slightly inclining his head and moving his sad gaze to his hands. An awkward silence settles in the air for two seconds again. The lovers do not behave as openly as they did before. But at some moment, the girl breaks it, moving her eyes to the man hesitantly:       “Feeling guilty because of what happened to Peter?”       “Yes, to some extent,” Daniel replies quietly, first looking into the distance but then hesitantly looking at Anna. “I still can’t come to myself after what happened yesterday… I didn’t think it would go too far…”       “I hope he’s gonna be okay. I don’t want such a good man to become a victim of what he’s had to experience. He didn’t deserve it.”       “Me too. And… I hope he won't leave the band.”       “Do you still keep thinking only of the band? You give a damn about him?”       “What?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “No! Why do you think so? Of course, I’m worried about Peter and want him to survive. Because he doesn’t really deserve what happened to him.”       “But you only want him to survive and return to the band,” Anna notices a little coldly. “You don’t definitely care about your friendship with him.”       “Damn, Anna, why are you saying it?” Daniel wonders, staring at Anna surprisingly. “It’s hurtful for me that I lost such a good friend. And you know it.”       “No, Daniel, you don’t care about it at all. You need him to survive just to make Peter come back to the band and not to let it break up due to the refusal of Terrence and you to work without him. You’re afraid you wouldn’t get another chance to get famous and sink your teeth into it.”       “Yes, I really want him to come back to the band and keep working with us. But for me, it’s not the most important thing! The most important thing is that Peter survives!”       “You don’t care about what Peter himself thinks about it. You want to give him sticks, seat him on the drum set, and make him play. So, you have a chance to make your dream come true. You’re ready for anything for it. Even forget about the friendship with the man you’ve known for ages.”       “Please, let’s not start a groundless scandal,” Daniel says tiredly. “I thought I’d talk to you about yesterday. But you haven’t asked me about anything, have been ignoring me since yesterday evening, and don’t actually wish to talk to me. And now you’re blaming me for not thinking of my friend and wishing him to get well for my goals.”       “I’m not blaming you, I’m telling you the truth,” Anna says quite coldly. “Your goal has always been the salvation of the band, not Peter, who probably experienced something horrible that pushed him to the wish to die. You didn’t want to hear anything about him having problems and were sure he was okay. He kind of went insane.”       “Gosh, Anna, what bit you?” Daniel wonders, rounding his eyes and getting confused by Anna’s words. “Did I hurt you somehow if you got so mad at me and began to say these things?”       “What bit you when you started mocking Peter and laughing at failures in his personal life openly? You did know how unpleasant it was for him, but you kept making him feel worse and worse! Is mocking weak people giving you pleasure?”       “Don’t tell me Peter tried to kill himself because of me! I allegedly forced him to take a blaze and open his veins!”       “Yes, you are guilty!” Anna yells crossly. “You brought him to that! Because of you, Peter might die! Because of your mockeries and attempts to show how tough you are, and what a loser he is. You do always show up as if you are proud and tough!”       “I’m guilty?” Daniel wonders loudly, pointing at himself with his fingers.       “Yes, you are!”       “You didn’t say it before! That was okay that you hinted that I did a bad thing when mocking Rose! But it’s too much!”       “Come on!”       “I didn’t bring him to that condition and make him kill himself. And I never wanted him to die!”       “Don’t pretend to be an innocent guy, Perkins! You do know you’re guilty of what happened, but refuse to admit you wanted to be tough, unlike the loser!”       “Did your friends make you think so? Did they give you a reason to consider me guilty? Did you decide to start blaming me for what’s happening because of them?”       “It’s not a secret for anyone!”       “I didn’t want and don’t want his death!”       “You’re lucky the media hasn’t found out Peter ended up in the hospital because of you. But if it happens, you will hardly have fans. However, your familiar people are aware of the way you treated your friend, who did nothing bad to you to be betrayed. He deserved much more wonderful friends, not such shameless cads like you!”       “Stop reminding me of what’s hurting me,” Daniel says with pity in his eyes. “Please, Anna… I do feel so bad after the event of Peter, and your blames give me a stronger pain.”       “You need Peter like a drummer, not like a friend.”       “I don’t make you accept my actions towards Rose and pretend that nothing horrible happened. But I don’t want you to openly blame me for being guilty of the suicide attempt.”       “Ha, did you think I’d approve of your disgusting actions and covering you for others?” Anna wonders. “No, I will never accept the fact that one person is about to send another to another world!”       “And it's very hurtful…” Daniel shakes his head with sadness in his eyes. “Hurt to realize my girlfriend doesn’t wanna support me at a hard time. And agrees with the others, saying I’m guilty.”       “I’d support you if you thought of Peter and what he feels, except for the band. But you act like you’d piss off your friend with pleasure. And now I don’t believe you’re so shocked by the fact that Peter wanted to kill himself. You’re just trying to pretend to be a victim, so everyone feels sorry for you.”       “Damn, what happened to my girlfriend?” Daniel wonders loudly. “Why are you taking it out on me? It seems like you forgot half of what we’d talked about and don’t remember I told you I recognized my mistakes. You forgot how I supported you in hard moments and was by your side. I have never ignored you when you feel bad and could comfort you even in the middle of the night. Do anything to know you’re fine. But you forgot about it.”       “I repeat, if you weren’t such an insolent and self-confident peacock that loves mocking weak people, I’d give you support.”       “I’m not mocking weak people!”       “Stop pretending to be an innocent lamb!” Anna yells. “Find the courage to confess that you crossed the line. Stop saying you’re not guilty! You are! If Rose dies, it will be a scar on your conscience.”       “I did confess it a long time ago!” Daniel throws loudly and coldly. “A long time ago! Not one time, to your information!”       “And confess that you wanna use Pete to make your dream come true. You want to use MacClife and his status to get famous. Friendship means nothing to you. Your wishes are much more important to you.”       “Fuck, Seymour, do you have your period if you decided to find a reason to yell at me?”       “No, you always find a reason to mock someone!”       “Oh, damn… I’m making sure that I shouldn't have a business with girls in this condition. They actually turn their brains off and say what will get you overwhelmed.”       “So, do you think I’m a hysterical idiot?” Anna asks crossly and loudly, clapping on the bed with the magazine. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty for not supporting the bullying?”       “Don’t twist my words!”       “I swear, Daniel, if you start mocking me, I shall leave you. I’m not going to be with the man, who gives a damn about his friends and is ready to turn into a senseless scumbag to make his wishes come true.”       “Alright, I’m done!” Daniel exclaims loudly, showing his hands with the palm of his hand turned on Anna. “I’m sick of listening to your shouts and charges! If you really have hysteria from your period, I don’t even wanna talk to you. When you calm down, we’ll talk! But now I’m not gonna try to explain something to you.”       “You know, you’re also starting to make me terribly irritated. And if I stay here for two more minutes, I will wish to kill you.”       “Alright. Then you can take your stuff and leave the house. Nobody’s gonna hold you here. If you decided to reproach me and take it out on me, you better leave.”       Anna opens her mouth slightly, barely holding herself down not to blame Daniel for something else. And then she sharply throws the magazine aside, gets up from the bed, and runs away from the room, sniffing quietly and wiping tears under her eyes. Daniel keeps sitting on the bed and, raising his head, exhales slowly with closed eyes when Anna slams the door. The man is glad the conflict did not go too far, and the girl left at the right time. He is not going to catch her to talk to her again and believes she better stay alone and calm down a little, hoping this attack of hysteria will be gone soon and will not last for a few hours or days.       

***

      Anna goes downstairs to the first floor, goes to the living room, sits on the sofa, and just looks into the distance for a few seconds. Then she starts crying quietly and wiping tears off her face. After letting her emotions go out, she calms down slowly and understands that she crossed the line. The wish to reproach her sweetheart for what he already confessed is gone. She feels a sense of shame for her beloved man. The memories of every single insult toward him make her heart squeeze strongly. Any quarrel with Daniel gives her strong pain.       At these moments, Anna thinks she is about to lose her beloved man. This fear makes her shake strongly and cry bitterly, putting her legs on the sofa and hiding her head in her arms, which she folds on the back of the sofa. The girl sits all alone for some time. And at some moment, Daniel comes to the railing on the second floor, from which it’s possible to see everything that happens on the first one, and sees Anna crying bitterly and running her hands over her face. At first, he does not find the courage to come to her and just watches her. A little later, the man goes downstairs, comes to his sweetheart from behind hesitantly, and touches her shoulder. That’s why she shakes slightly and moves her wet eyes to him.       “Listen, yes, maybe, you’re right,” Daniel says quietly. “But it’s hurtful for me to know you think I’m literally a monster. Because I am not the one.”       “Sorry…” Anna makes a quiet sob, moving her eyes to her hands. “I crossed the line… I don’t know what got obsessed with me…”       “Nevertheless, your charges are partly true. Though, I’ve confessed that I wasn’t right many times.”       “I know…”       “Then why are you trying to make me the one, who wouldn’t feel sorry for what’s done and would do a lot for his goals? I’m not a nasty scumbag. I have a heart and a soul.”       “Why do you think I consider you a scumbag?” Anna makes a quiet sob again.       “What should I have thought?” Daniel throws his hands up and sits on the sofa next to Anna. “Yesterday, you were silent for the whole evening and tried not to run into me. But now you’re blaming me for being guilty of what happened.”       Daniel exhales sharply.       “Erm… Yes, I know I’m guilty, but you never blamed me for having to do with Rose’s problems so openly.”       “Sorry, I didn’t wanna hurt you…” Anna apologizes quietly with tears in her eyes. “I… I don’t know what got obsessed with me… I suddenly decided to take it out… But I didn’t want it, trust me!”       “Listen, I understand girls may do a lot and get wild for no reason when they have their period. But you do understand what you do and may tell the real truth. And… You’re partly right now…”       “I can’t control it, get it.” Anna sniffs quietly. “My mood changes very often: at first, I may yell loudly and swear, but then start crying and get depression. Holding it down is bad, ‘cause you might get much worse.”       “Yes, I get it and don’t judge you for the aftermath of a natural condition. But you should know it’s hard for me now, and I rely on your support. I thought I’d tell you everything yesterday and get comforted by you. But, saying rudely, you turned your ass on me and pretended that I wasn’t here.”       “I thought you were too excited…” Anna excuses herself, looking at her hands. “I thought you’d better stay alone and overcome your emotions by yourself.”       “Did I ask you to leave me alone? As far as I remember, I didn’t! Vice versa, I was expecting that you came and listened to me! You could even say nothing and just sit down with me and hug me – I would’ve gotten much better. But you didn’t even wish to do it.”       “I got scared… Scared that if I started annoying you with my questions and touching your nerve, you’d get mad and kick me out of the home.”       “Oh, Anna…” Daniel moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “Here we go again… Why do you think I’m gonna kick you out of here? Since I have you here after you left your parents’ home, you can live here as long as you want.”       “You said I could take my stuff and leave.”       “Yeah, but I… I got a little excited. Sorry… Well…” Daniel bites his lip slightly. “I mean… Of course, you can leave this place if you wanna come back to your parents. I have no right to hold you here. If you don’t like living with me, I won’t make you do it. But I’m not gonna kick you out against your wish.”       “I know… But…” Anna runs her hand through her hair and wipes off tears under her eyes with another hand. “Now, I don’t mean it… I… I wanna say you may get so mad or get so sick of me that you’d love to break up with me.”       “What?” Daniel claps himself on the forehead, exhaling sharply and getting more irritated. “Holy shit, I can’t believe you’re starting to talk about it again! We’ve discussed it thousands of times! Thousands!”       “But it might happen!”       “Ar-r-r…” Daniel groans quietly, rolling his eyes. “Damn, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not gonna break up with you and kick you out of home? How many times do I have to say I will never let myself take it out on you, no matter how angry and upset I am? I may get excited with the pretense of my friends – Terrence, Peter, or even Edward! But I will never violate my ban on treating girls cruelly. Especially with my sweetheart.”       “When you’re wild, you aren’t almost able to control yourself. You’d hardly regret it if there was nobody but me around. You’d forget about all your principals and…”       “Enough, Anna!” Daniel demands a little louder. “Sorry, but you’re starting to irritate me by talking about what we’ve discussed many times!”       “You see, I made you feel bad emotions,” Anna shakes her head. “You need a little to get nuts and do something terrible to me.”       “Please, stop saying some nonsense! You want to make a scandal out of nothing! Do you feel so bored that you decided to catch a moment and start reproaching, judging, and blaming me? I don’t get it! We lived well before, but now you turned on the wrong track!”       “You do know I’ve always been of our breakup and the day you’d wish to kick me out of the home. And I’ll never stop shaking from just thinking everything will never be the same.”       “Fuck, Anna, stop talking about it!” Daniel demands a little crossly. “You are asking for what you fear so much! If you didn’t think about it, everything would be otherwise! As if you want us to have a big fight and bring everything to a wish to break up.”       “In this case, maybe, I end all of it?” Anna makes a quiet sob. “Maybe, I take my stuff and leave right now? If you don’t care about our relationship and are indifferent to the fact that we might break up!”       Anna wants to leave again, getting up sharply from the sofa with tears in her eyes. But Daniel grabs the girl under an arm shortly and pulls her slightly on himself, so she sits down.       “I repeat, stop saying stupid things!” Daniel demands confidently, while Anna is sitting with her head inclined, trying to hide her tear-stained eyes and continuing to make quiet sobs. “And take a note, our relationship is important to me as much as it is to you. And I’m also afraid of our breakup. But I’m not stuck on that and am doing my best not to make it happen. And I advise you to get everything you’ve dreamed up out of your head and calm down. Or it will bring you to the wish to leave me.”       “And what are you suggesting?” Anna asks in a little shaking voice.       “First, forget that we should immediately break up, and you must get kicked out of this house. And second, let’s stop ignoring each other and finding stupid reasons to spend time apart, covering it with a fear of bothering each other. Yes, we can’t be together for twenty hours per day. But ignoring each other for some reason is wrong. Especially when someone needs help and support.”       Daniel falls into silence for two seconds and exhales slowly, while Anna looks at him with sadness in her eyes and swallows nervously.       “I understand you wanted to give me a chance to be alone,” Daniel says much quieter. “But you should’ve asked if I needed it. Maybe I didn’t stay alone yesterday! What if I relied on your support and love! Wanted to share what I had inside! But there was nobody around…”       “Really?” Anna asks hesitantly.       “Really.” Daniel exhales sharply, glancing aside for a moment. “If I’m a man, it doesn’t mean I can overcome difficulties alone. There are things that you can’t solve alone, but any attempt to do it leads to more horrible consequences. And sometimes I need someone’s help, or at least support to keep moving on and not to think of getting back. That’s what I need now. I need the strength to accept what is happening. And your charges, reproaches, and refusals to be by my side give me a strong pain and make me doubt I could take it.”       “But I thought it would be better for you,” Anna replies in a little shaking voice, guiltily looking at Daniel and sniffing quietly. “I thought you needed to think, calm down and stay alone, not to answer questions by force.”       “Let’s agree that you ask me about it next time. If I want to stay alone and have a too bad mood to answer your questions, I shall let you know it and come to you when I understand I feel better.”       “Okay… I will no longer do it… I promise…”       “Try, please. I did start to think you got mad at me for something, and got tons of guesses about what I could do wrong to make you enraged.”       “Nope…” Anna smiles shyly through tears. “I didn’t get mad… It was just my stupidity and furious hormones. Don’t get mad at my psyches, please… I didn’t really wanna hurt you…”       “It’s okay, I get it,” Daniel smiles shyly, runs his hand slowly over Anna’s cheek, grabs her face softly, and looks into her tear-stained eyes with his sad eyes. “I briefly thought you wanted to hurt my feelings. It was the first thought I got when you attacked me with charges for bringing Peter to the suicide attempt.”       “Sorry…” Anna puts her hand on Daniel’s shoulder a little hesitantly and touches tenderly his cheek covered with a slight bristle. “I’m really very sorry… If there’s something that could make amends, let me know what I can do.”       “Just give me love, support, and strength to survive this hard time,” Daniel says, touching Anna’s forehead with his forehead and cutely kissing her on the tip of her nose, as he holds her face. “I think I don’t want too much, and you can give me that.”       “I will…” Anna cracks a smile and sniffs quietly. “I promise… Forgive me for being an idiot and deciding to take it out on you.”       “It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t get at me,” Daniel smiles shyly. “Forgive me if some words hurt you. I didn’t also mean to do it.”       “Alright, Mr. Perkins, you’re forgiven!” Anna laughs shyly. “And I hope you’ve done the same.”       Daniel exhales with great relief and takes Anna in his tender hug, which she accepts with pleasure. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, one hand of hers is holding the man by the back, the fingers of her second hand are stroking the chocolate hair, and the girl’s head is put on the wide shoulder. The girl smiles widely with closed eyes, feeling a nice warmth spreading all over her body and warming her up in a little cold weather. Perkins snuggles his face in the curve of his girlfriend’s neck, holds her by the back of her head, runs his fingers through the soft red hair, and puts his arm around the small of the lady’s back, feeling a great relief after the conflict has been solved.       “I dreamed about it since yesterday evening,” Daniel whispers with a wide smile and kisses Anna on the top of her head.       “I’m sorry about making your wish come true a little late,” Anna replies with a slight smile and runs her hand over Daniel’s hair.       “Better late than never,” Daniel chuckles quietly.       “Well, yeah…” Anna makes a quiet sob and rubs her cheek against Daniel’s shoulder. “Agree…”       Two seconds later, the lovers step away from each other but do not break their hug. Daniel rubs the tip of his nose against Anna’s nose with a slight smile, moves carefully tears under her eyes when she makes a couple of more sobs, and kisses her on the cheek. At some moment, the girl presses closer to the man, while her head rests on his shoulder. To calm herself down a little, she starts painting something with her hands or finger on the man’s chest, feeling how her boyfriend’s heart is beating.       “Okay, sweetie, calm down, don’t cry,” Daniel says softly, caressing Anna’s head and kissing the top of it. “It’s okay, it’s okay…”       “I know…” Anna pronounces quietly. “I feel better… Really…”       “That’s good!”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds before Anna slowly glances at Daniel, who is tightly pressing his girlfriend to himself and caressing her cheek.       “Hey, would you tell me how you and Terrence found out Peter tried to kill himself?” Anna asks quietly.       “Sure,” Daniel replies, setting his gaze into the distance. “I’ll try to explain everything sharply… In short, after Terrence and I decided to go to my home from the café to work on songs, we were stopped by the girls, who introduced themselves as Peter’s friends and asked us to give them a few minutes.”       “Did they say Peter had been cutting himself since high school?”       “Yes. But he was hiding it so hard. And those girls discovered it when they caught Rose cutting himself… One caught him at school, during lessons, and another did it at home…” Daniel falls into silence for two seconds and exhales slowly. “So, after the talk, we agreed to go to Peter’s home, but at the last moment, our plans changed when Terrence and I went to his car. Because Peter called him and said goodbye to us, exactly saying he was gonna die.”       “And you went to his home?”       “Immediately,” Daniel swallows up nervously. “Terrence and I were afraid of something horrible. We were driving as fast as possible. But when we entered his apartment, we got surprised by the mess in the place where the clean man lived.”       “Is everything so bad?”       “Yes, Peter was too obsessed with cleanliness and couldn’t take even a little dust on the floor. But then dirty clothes were lying on the floor, there was much dirt and dust, and broken things were lying as if it was right…”       “Probably, because of depression…”       “Most likely… And we know well what it led to… To the horrible scene that MacClife and I saw when we broke the locked door in the bathroom and read the note he left on the handle.”       “I’m guessing what it was about.”       “The whole floor, the walls, and the sink were covered with blood… And Peter was lying in that big red pool with open veins on his hands. He was unconscious and looked horrible…”       “Oh, gosh…” Anna gets horrified, closing her mouth with a hand. “So, did he open the veins after the call?”       “I believe so. Some time passed from the call to our arrival. He already cut himself and lost lots of blood.”       “There was so much of it?”       “Very much! At some moment, I even got worse at the sight of so much blood. When I saw that scene, I instantly felt a slight vomit and dizziness and could barely stand on my feet. And then Terrence was laughing at me for a long time and believed I fainted at the sight of blood.”       “Seriously?” Anna moves her surprised gaze to Daniel. “Can you barely take blood? Or fear it?”       “I don’t fear blood, I just barely take it. Especially when there’s too much. If blood was getting out in a thin flow, for example, from a finger, I’d take it quietly. But when the whole bathroom is dirtied with it, you’d definitely feel dizzy and get your legs weak.”       “Come on, sweetie, it’s just blood! What’s flowing inside you! It’s not as horrifying as you think.”       “I know, but what can I do if I feel sick at the sight of that red substance and its disgusting smell? And I don’t actually take a bright red color.”       “And how long have you had it?”       “Since childhood… Sometimes, I took blood well, but sometimes, I was ready to fall on the floor… But yesterday, I managed to give my blood for the analysis quietly enough.”       “Does Peter need a blood transfusion?”       “Yes, the doctor said he lost very much blood and must have gotten a transfusion to fill the loss. So, as we don’t know Peter’s relatives, who would be good for it, Terrence, Peter’s friends, and I did a test to find out the donor. That’s good the doctor agreed to give up on us and let us do that test.”       “And who fits Peter more?”       “I dunno yet. But we were told if there was a donor name, we would know it after lunch. So, we will meet in the hospital at four o'clock and go to the doctor together.”       “At four? But why don’t you wanna go now?”       “I wanted to, but Terrence said he’d be free by four hours. Well, I agreed and told Rose’s friends about the meeting time.”       “Okay… Of course, I wonder what kind of business Terrence got, but that’s good he will go to the hospital for the results anyway.”       “Hm…” Daniel frowns slightly, thinking for two seconds. “You know, Anna, I have a feeling that something happened at his home.”       “Really?” Anna wonders. “But what?”       “I dunno, but Terrence had a strange voice. A little hoarse, as I thought… It’s okay that he didn’t answer when I called his mobile number, and I managed to get his answer after calling his home number. But MacClife was kinda excited and a little irritated.”       “Fought with Raquelle again?”       “Probably. Or maybe, something else that has to do with the letters happened… I don’t know… An attack, a couple of more letters with threats, or something more horrible…”       “When you meet, you’ll know everything.”       “Of course, it’s his personal business, but if he doesn’t wanna speak, there’s no point in making him do it. I madly wanna know what’s happening, but I won’t demand an answer.”       “The most important thing is that the situation doesn’t get worse than it is now.”       “If it hasn’t become… Probably, the problem has to do with this strange story. And something that definitely shocked or got him mad happened.”       “Hey, didn’t Terrence tell you someone threatened him and Raquelle two days ago, but then was chasing them in a car?”       “Yes, he told me that. But how do you know? Raquelle told you?”       “Yup! She told me how Terrence started that race, because of which she even got a panic attack.”       “Yeah, MacClife said about it… He said when Raquelle had a panic attack, he got terribly scared ‘cause he ran into that for the first time.”       “And Raquelle even lost consciousness for a few seconds.”       “True. But that’s good he put himself together and calmed her down. He did everything right. Panic attacks aren’t dangerous but very unpleasant.”       “Have you experienced them?”       “Not me, but one of my old friends, who had a panic disorder. These attacks could happen for no reason at any time.”       “Really?” Anna rounds her eyes.       “If something like that happened before my eyes, I wouldn’t get confused and would help someone ‘cause I know what to do in that situation. I learned a lot from my buddy.”       “Thank God, I’ve never experienced that, but Raquelle said it’s like a lack of air and a feeling of dying.”       “Yeah, unpleasant feeling. Your friend was lucky she was with Terrence. Otherwise, it would’ve been very hard for her to come to herself. He at least had enough brains not to leave her alone. That insane idiot did many things to scare his fiancée.”       “Agree… Terrence is really crazy.”       “Only an absolute moron could start that race but then think he could scare the poor girl.”       “Well…” Anna thinks, biting her lip slightly. “On the one hand, you’re absolutely right when judging Terrence for not thinking about Raquelle’s possible fear. And they could’ve crushed themselves. But on the other hand… They could’ve been stabbed with a knife…”       “They weren’t probably gonna kill them. Those men aren’t so stupid to kill someone where there are lots of witnesses. Most likely, they just wanted to threaten and took a knife to seem sassy. But Terrence decided to play a hero, put his precious ass in danger, and make Raquelle hate him for some time. So, that’s not amazing that they had a big fight after that race.”       “Yeah, they fought again because Terrence didn’t wanna let Raquelle go without him. But my friend’s stubbornness won again, and he had to give in.”       “Terrence said,” Daniel chuckles kindly and runs his hand over his face. “And he added that getting rid of stubbornness would be impossible for her.”       “Oh, Daniel, trust me, Natalia and I tried to make her sure to give in more often. Not only us, but also her grandfather and aunt. But we got nothing… So, may Terrence accept the fact that Raquelle is a little headstrong and love the one he is gonna get married to.”       “At least she loves him with all her heart. And I think MacClife keeps a key that would let him get what he wants if he really wanted to make her give up on him.”       “Not only he, my honey,” Anna tears her head off Daniel’s shoulder and gets straight, moving her sly look to him and slightly tickling his hips. “You do know I’ll be ready to make any of your wishes come true if I look into your eyes.”       “Yeah, I can’t deny it,” Daniel smiles slyly, rolling his eyes, and slightly slaps Anna on her small, gracious nose. “Terry and I do know well how to make you and Raquelle stand by us if we really want it.”       “Yay, we do know all your tricks!” Anna laughs shyly. “Sly foxes! You know how to use the weaknesses of the innocent girls and play with them as you want!”       “You don’t actually mind, and you let yourself do it. So, no claims, Ms. Seymour.”       “It’s okay, we will kick you when it’s a good time. You will be toys, not us.”       “We’ll see, beautiful,” Daniel says confidently, putting his arms on the back of the sofa. “See…”       “Just don’t turn your nose on, as well as your pal, MacClife. If we have two proud roosters in our circle, you’ll literally kill each other.”       “Maybe, I’m also quite self-confident and think I’m sexy and attractive, but I don’t have Terrence’s kind of love and fluffy peacock tail. And I doubt someone loves oneself as much as that man does.”       “But you’re running after him and almost stepping on him.”       “It seems to you. This star is too unreachable for me. Unfortunately.”       “Nevertheless, notice, Terrence hasn’t lately shown up with his awesomeness and did forget about his arrogance. Raquelle noticed it and said he rarely said those words. Well… Unless he gets lost for a while…”       “Well… Yeah… His arrogance has lately been weaker. Nevertheless, it’s for a while: when all the problems are solved, he’ll start showing off and praising himself again.”       “Ah, I’m afraid the problems won’t be solved soon…” Anna sighs heavily and sets her sad eyes into the distance. “Besides, nothing is clear about Natalia… And I’m getting more worried about her every day.”       “Does she feel so bad?”       “I got shocked by her appearance yesterday. I thought she began to lose interest in life and literally asks herself why she lived in this world. Whatever we do or say, Natalia doesn’t care and shows no interest in it.”       “Damn, that depression is gonna get her so depressed that we’d hardly be able to save her,” Daniel shows anxiety.       “It already got her exhausted…” Anna sighs heavily. “Natalia started losing weight fast and becoming like skin and bones. She always had such a beautiful, feminine body that men liked, but now she lost so much weight that all of her clothes are hanging on her. Imagine? She has a small cloth size, but now she could throw off her clothes that cost thousands of dollars and buy something new.”       “People may often lose and gain weight from worrying. If she’s worried about something too much, I’m not surprised she began to lose weight on a nervous basis.”       “What if she did not only because of stress? What if she tortures herself with starvation? Yesterday, Natalia, Raquelle, and I decided to watch a movie and eat what she had. At some moment, Cameron whispered to me that there was almost nothing in Rochester’s refrigerator. She barely found something to eat, but Natalia didn’t even taste a piece.”       “Well, it doesn’t mean she starves… What if she just…”       “Nope, she always has money. Although her parents are in Mexico, they always transfer money to the card. She has enough cash and can spend it as she wants and buy food, clothes, cosmetics, or just pay for fun in the city.”       “Oh…” Daniel runs his hand slowly over his hair. “So, if Natalia really decided to start starvation, I’m starting to worry about her much more. What could happen to her if she is destroying herself and rejects the help?”       “I dunno, Daniel, we can do nothing,” Anna shakes her head and sets her gaze into the distance. “And nothing is clear about Edward… He definitely gave many problems to Natalia and his own family that he got involved in a bad story.”       “You know, Anna, Edward starts to seem suspicious to me more and more. The fact that the guy lost contact with all of us for one month but then suddenly showed up has some explanation. I’m sure there was a reason, and it has to do with what’s happening.”       “As Raquelle’s said, he disappeared because he lived in another city after he got a job,” Anna says thoughtfully. “But she’s starting to be sure it wasn’t true.”       “Your friend has very good intuition. She bit that guy through on the day she met him and realized he’d drink much blood out of his relatives and even his girlfriend.”       “We’ve gotta only hope Terrence and she will reveal Edward soon.”       “Actually, he said he wanted to do it today, but I’m not sure if he did it. He’s gonna go to the hospital soon, but dealing with his friend might take a lot of energy.”       “Maybe, he found out something before you called.”       “Hm…” Daniel frowns slightly. “Maybe… Maybe, that’s why he was so strange.”       “If it’s so, I dare to assume he found out something horrible and disappointed in his friend, whom he thought was an innocent angel.”       “Oh, that ‘innocent angel’ will show himself! I don’t know how, but I’m sure he got himself and his family involved in something.”       “If Terrence told you something in the hospital, we could say something.”       “Yeah… I’ll ask him… As I said, I won’t insist, but I don’t wanna pretend I notice nothing.”       Anna nods and glances at her hands, at which she starts to look. But two seconds later after the silence, the girl moves her little sad eyes to Daniel.       “Will you go to the hospital soon?” Anna asks. “It’s more than two hours, but you should go to the hospital by four.”       “Yup, I will go soon…” Daniel replies thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head. “And I can’t hide that I’m a little nervous.”       “How would you react if you knew you’d have to become a blood donor for Peter? Would you agree to help him, forgetting about all your offenses?”       “I forgot about my offenses. If the test shows my blood fits him, I will be doing everything the doctors are gonna tell me. And despite my fear of blood, I want the test to show I could be a donor. I’d make amends somehow and prove I’m really regretting it.”       “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it and thank you.”       “Would be great…” Daniel runs his hand through his hair. “But I’ll do it not to hear praise but because I want to apologize for… For being not the good friend that I should’ve been… For insulting and humiliating the innocent person for no reason…”       “But if Peter survives, it doesn’t mean he’ll be back in the band and stop trying to cut himself and kill himself,” Anna notices with sadness in her eyes.       “I know… But I don’t wanna lose such a good friend and have never even thought of wishing him death.” Daniel swallows up nervously, setting his gaze into the distance and feeling his muscles getting tense. “If he dies, I’ll be partly guilty of almost killing him. But I don’t wanna live with the thought that someone passed away because of me. It’s like killing them with a word, not a gun…”       “I’d like to believe Terrence and you went to his home and called an ambulance at the right time. Otherwise, Peter would’ve died in his apartment, and nobody would’ve known it before a certain time.”       “Oh… I’ll never forget the emotions I felt when I saw Peter lying in blood and not literally breathing… I briefly thought he was dead… After coming into the bathroom, I got frozen from fear and horror and couldn’t move. And now, I mean not only that I felt bad at the sight of blood. I mean, the fact that I saw the half-dead man with open veins… That was really creepy… And I got frightened… If Terrence hadn’t been with me, I would’ve kept standing in the same place and staring at Rose with dumbfounded eyes.”       “I understand your feelings, sweetie.” Anna softly takes Daniel’s hand and caresses his wrist, looking at him with pity in her eyes. “If someone from those I love was instead of Peter, I had the same emotions. Multiplied by two. I’d scream from horror if one of my close people opened their veins and was drowning in blood.”       “But I hope you wouldn’t have to see anything like that,” Daniel smiles slightly, softly takes Anna’s hand, which he is holding his hand with, and caresses it tenderly from all sides.       “Anyway, remember, I’m always ready to support you not only as my sweetheart but also as my best friend.”       “I know, my sunshine.” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheek and head with a slight smile and wraps the hanging strand of her hair on his finger. “Thanks a lot for your support… That’s what I wanted to hear to get better…”       “You do know that I’m doing my best.” Anna also caresses Daniel’s cheek covered with a slight bristle, and puts a free hand on his knee. “Of course, sometimes I have psyches, but don’t pay attention to them, and remember that I’ll actually always be by your side.”       “Nice to hear it,” Daniel says with a smile.       Anna smiles widely and takes Daniel in her more sensitive and tender, romantic hug, kissing him cutely on the cheek, putting her arms tenderly around her sweetheart’s neck, and snuggling her face in a curve of it. The man puts one arm around the girl’s waist, caressing her back with a soft hand, touching her cheek softly with his one, and enjoying a caress and a madly nice warmth that is spreading over the body, while they are pressing to each other.       A few seconds later, Daniel and Anna slowly step away and give a truly happy smile to the second half, looking into each other’s eyes that shine with a special gloss. After this, the girl caresses the man’s face with her hands for some time, runs her fingers through his dark chocolate hair, and rubs the tip of her nose against his nose, giving him a tender gaze that makes him smile widely.       “What about a cup of tea or coffee?” Anna suggests.       “I wouldn’t refuse,” Daniel shrugs with a shy smile. “I wouldn’t refuse to spend time with such a sweet girl.”       “So…” Anna slowly gets up from the sofa. “What do you wanna drink?”       “Strong coffee, please. Without sugar.” Daniel rolls his eyes. “And I could eat a couple of cookies.”       “No problem!” Anna clicks her fingers. “You’ll get it now! And I shall get coffee for me.”       Anna goes to the kitchen to do coffee, while Daniel stays in the living room, watches her with a slight smile, and thinks about something. To be clear, about the situation of Peter, getting more nervous as long as the watch says it’s getting closer and closer to four hours o’clock.       

***

      The time is getting closer to three o'clock. Terrence and Raquelle are going to listen to Natalia, who wants to reveal all her secrets. Now their friend looks a little better and is not going to fall into strong hysteria. Though she feels emptied and broken. What recently happened helped her realize there was no meaning in hiding the truth from her friends. Natalia makes herself find the courage to explain everything and confess what’s been torturing her for a few months.       “So, we’re ready to listen to you,” Raquelle says softly, sitting on the bed with her legs bent under her.       “Are you ready to talk about what you wanted to say?” Terrence asks quietly, also sitting on the bed with one leg bent under himself.       “Yes, I am,” Natalia confirms quietly, nodding with her hands folded in front of her. “As I said, you’re one of the people, who I completely trust. So, I wanna tell you what happened to me a few months ago.”       “Okay, sweetie,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “You can begin, we’re listening to you closely. Say everything we should know.”       “I’ll try not to waste time but tell you everything.” Natalia pumps a lot of air into her lungs, exhales slowly, takes a pillow placed on the bed, embraces it tightly, and bends her legs under herself. “Everything really happened five months ago. I’ll tell you everything in order, so you understand everything… About reasons and consequences…”       Raquelle and Terrence nod energetically, while Natalia squeezes the pillow in her arms much more, looking quite nervous and struggling with a wish to continue to keep her secrets inside.       “So, everything started a few days later after I met Edward. But don’t think he’s guilty of all my problems. That man doesn’t have to do with what happened a few months ago.” Natalia closes her eyes and sighs heavily. “I thought I’d get better after that man came into my life. I forgot about the fight with Raquelle and began to come to myself. MacClife did much for me to get better. I thought everything started getting better, but something horrible happened one day.”       Natalia falls into silence for two seconds, trying to overcome the strong excitement, but puts herself together quickly and finds the strength to keep speaking.       “So, a few days later, after I met Edward, I decided to walk in a deserted place, at a dark time…” Natalia says in a little shaking voice and bites her lip. “Well… Not quite dark… There were streetlamps there… But the time was getting closer to the late evening.”       “Excuse me, but why did you go to walk at that place?” Terrence wonders. “Alone, at a dark time! Don’t ya know that bandits, maniacs, and drug addicts love being there at that time?”       “I was just desperate… I wanted to walk and breathe in some air to distract from bad thoughts. On that day, I got obsessed with a strong depression caused by the fight with Raquelle. Because of realizing that we’d never be friends. I was kind of mad for being insulted for no reason, but I suffered much, knowing my friend would never forgive me.”       “I’m really very sorry…” Raquelle pronounces quietly with sadness in her eyes, thinking of the day she went to Natalia’s home and fought with her, and inclines her head guiltily. “I still can’t forgive myself for making tons of mistakes…”       “Don’t blame yourself, Raquelle,” Natalia says softly, putting her hand on Raquelle’s shoulder. “We just became the victims of one horrible man, who got what he wanted.”       “I was also so mad that I wouldn’t have gone to your home even if I’d been told you were sick or dying.” Raquelle sighs heavily. “That scumbag made me crazy. And I began to believe it and unconsciously proved to everyone that he was right.”       “It’s all over, sweetie,” Terrence notices confidently, caressing Raquelle’s other shoulder. “Those, who were mad at you because of that stinker, forgave you a long time ago and apologized for leaving you alone.”       “I know… But since we’re talking about it…”       “Sorry, Raquelle,” Natalia apologizes hesitantly. “But since Terrence asked why I went to walk at such a dark time, I should’ve told the truth. I did promise to hide nothing.”       “Ah, yeah…” Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Sorry for stopping you. Continue, please. What happened when you went to walk?”       “Erm… Well…” Natalia glances at the pillow in her arms and sighs heavily. “I went to a deserted place. I was just walking in the city for a long time and didn’t notice I ended up in that place. I was walking there until I came to one place… And…”       Natalia looks at Terrence and Raquelle with pity in her eyes and shakes her head, sniffing quietly.       “And I cursed myself thousands of times for turning off my brains and going where my eyes looked,” Natalia confesses quietly. “Because what happened later deprived me of the ability to think adequately. I wanted literally to die on that day after the shock I experienced when the most horrible things ever happened to me.”       Natalia starts to tell everything about the event that happened to her about five months ago, a few days after she met Edward. Who literally got her out of depression, but now made her feel as broken as she felt when Raquelle blamed her for betraying.       

***

      April 21st, 2016.       Natalia decided to walk on the dark boulevard, at a dark time. The girl had been walking in different places of the city for a long time before she came here – the place where there could be bad people: from maniacs and robbers to drug addicts and alcoholics. Forgetting about the aftermath it might lead to, she is slowly walking where she was never before. Even meeting a nice man named Edward cannot make the girl feel happy, no matter how hard he tries to help her. More specifically, the guy got her out of depression, at least for a while, and made her truly smile. But when she does not meet him, Natalia is worried because of the fight with Raquelle, whom she considered her own sister, but who dared to blame her for the betrayal and even attacked her with fists in anger.       “Why did it happen?” Natalia wonders with wet eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and slowly walking on the dark boulevard lighted up with a few streetlamps. “How could Raquelle do that to me? She believed that idiot Ringer, who told her something and made her believe I worked for that man. Would a real friend believe that bullshit? Or Cameron didn’t just appreciate our friendship. As well as her boyfriend… She does care only about her career, about which she has been worried since she became a model. And she gives a fuck about her friends and family, no matter how hard she tries to prove it’s not true.”       Natalia sighs silently.       “But I feel bad because of her betrayal,” Natalia thinks and sniffs quietly. “I still can’t realize that we’re no longer friends. I don’t wanna believe I lost the one, who was like my sister. I’m guilty of nothing! And I didn’t deserve it!”       Natalia embraces herself with her arms much tighter, sometimes looking around.       “Gosh, why am I worried about it as if someone died?” Natalia asks herself. “Am I so weak and not as sassy as I’ve always thought? Nobody can help me overcome it: Father, who is truly sorry for me, Terrence, who has given me great support, and Anna, who would never think of betraying me… And even Edward, who’s doing his best for me to get better but can’t give me full relief.”       Natalia sighs heavily and quickly blinks her eyes because they are covered with a wet veil.       “But I know I can’t have depression because of my ex-friend’s psyches forever,” Natalia thinks. “Or I’ll go crazy… And yeah, I must stop taking bad things so seriously. Whatever happens, I’m always terribly worried, and I spend a lot of time thinking about it. Gosh, what’s gonna happen to me if something more horrible happens someday? Would I actually love to shoot or hang myself?”       Natalia sighs heavily silently and keeps slowly going in the dark deserted place, hearing fallen dry sticks of trees placed on almost every single corner crack under her legs. There is sand mixed with dirt in some places, and it’s sometimes possible to see asphalt and lots of little rocks, stepping on which gives not a very nice feeling. Since it’s a dark time, it’s barely possible to see something. The girl sees only what is lighted by the old streetlamps that are not able to catch a bigger territory.       Some time later, a tall man at the age of about thirty with red, greasy hair suddenly comes to Natalia. He is wearing shabby, ripped, and dirty clothes that must be thrown off. A big scare that is literally, recently gotten and reaches for his thin, dry, and quite rough lips is seen on his left cheek. His unnatural green eyes could scare anyone and are running from one side to another, closely examining the blue-eyed blonde, whom the stranger noticed when he was not far from her along with a few friends of his. Who smile evilly while watching their friend come to the attractive girl, who ends up here all alone, to their happiness.       “Hey, hey, it seems like we have a guest,” the stranger pronounces in a disgusting, creaky voice, coming to Natalia closely, while she gets sharply white and opens her eyes widely.       “What?” Natalia reacts scarily. “What’s up? Who are you?”       “M-m-m, what is the beautiful girl doing alone in such a dangerous place?” the stranger’s eyes examine the scared Natalia from head to feet, while she notices the pupils in his dead eyes are dilated. “Didn’t your mommy and daddy tell you if you walked alone in these places at this time, you might meet maniacs and robbers?”       “What do you need?” Natalia jumps back like scalded and sets her gaze full of horror on the stranger with crazy eyes. “Step away from me!”       “Yeah, what a body!” the stranger smiles wider, looking at Natalia from head to feet with a bitten lip and getting admired by her curves that are possible to see, as her clothes fit her gorgeous body so well. “So beautiful and feminine, m-m-m… That’s what I love!”       “You are sick!” Natalia throws rudely with horror in her eyes. “You must get therapy!”       When Natalia wants to leave, the stranger takes her under her arm with a sly smile, turns her on himself, and grabs her chin.       “Hey, hey, don’t rush, cutie,” the stranger says in a low, creaky voice and runs a free hand over the curves of Natalia’s waist. “Such a sexual and attractive gal must get special attention.”       “Stop it now!”       “I’m suggesting you have fun with me and my friends. Telling the truth, we are hungry for gorgeous feminine bodies. And the sweet candy came to us, being ready to make our wishes come true and make us insane.”       “What are you doing?” Natalia shouts loudly, jumping back sharply and starting to panic, and breathing heavily from the excitement. “Who do you think I am? I’m not a whore, and I am not going to make your dirty wishes come true!”       “Pretending to be a hard-to-reach?” the stranger gets closer to Natalia again. “Alright, honey! It would be more interesting!”       The more the stranger examines Natalia with his wild gaze, the wider his eyes open, and the more dilated his pupils are getting. His lusty gaze is focused on the attractive curves of the feminine body. Mainly, her tough buttocks covered with jeans, which express her gorgeous, appetite forms much more.       “Moreover, I madly like such stubborn gals like you,” the stranger says in a low voice, letting himself lower his hands and run them over Natalia’s thighs, while she starts shaking from horror much stronger. “That’s good there are whores that tease you a little before they give themselves to you and make you feel a strong orgasm.”       “Get your hands off me!” Natalia yells, sharply moving the stranger’s hands off herself with a heavy breath. “And do not touch me!”       “Don’t pretend you’re inexperienced and don’t know where to start from. You’ve been fucked by half of New York, which knows you as a fucking attractive nymphomaniac that seeks good sex, during which you could experience a few orgasms. So, you are a real professional at these things. And I don’t doubt I’d be pleased after your good hands caress my body and reach my penis, which got nervous when you stood in front of me.”       “DID YOU GO INSANE?” Natalia yells much louder when the stranger gets closer to her and starts rubbing his penis against her thighs. “GET BACK, OR I WILL BE SCREAMING!”       “Scream as much as you want,” the stranger replies quietly, squeezing Natalia’s buttocks with one hand and grabbing her breast with the fingers of his free hand, while she squeaks quietly from pain. “Oh, holy shit! What a touch ass! And what big boobs! I do want to take the clothes off you and feel up and lick the naked ones. And suck your nipples…”       “STOP IT NOW!” Natalia demands and starts to get out of the stranger’s grip, who is quite a strong man, for whom holding such a light and fragile girl is easy, and beats him with her hands. “STOP! OR I WILL BE SCREAMING, SO THE POLICE COME HERE!”       “Ha, you are an idiot!” the stranger moves Natalia’s head aside and leaves a couple of kisses on her neck that are madly disgusting and dry, and one quite painful bite, paying no attention to her hard resistance. “The police have nothing to do where good people do not walk. But since you came here by yourself, get ready for the consequences.”       “Let me go, please…” Natalia literally starts crying and makes quiet squeaks after every kiss and bite from the stranger. “Please…”       “Oh, damn, babe, you’re already driving me crazy!” the stranger pronounces with admiration, opens up the light coat of Natalia, and caresses her breasts and belly through her beautiful pastel shirt, which perfectly fits her thin waist and expresses her curves, with both hands. “What would you do to me if we got closer to the end? Ar-r-r, I’m starting to turn into a wide animal wishing to fuck the sexy young girl. I give a fuck that she’s been in the bed of hundreds of men! You’re such a sex bomb!”       The stranger rudely hugs Natalia by the waist, presses her very closely to himself, and runs his dry, rough lips over her collarbones and covers them with kisses, which make her feel a gag reflex, a strong shake, and disgust. The poor girl tries to resist and scream, but his grip is very strong.       “The man that would date you would be very lucky,” the stranger notices, opening up a few top buttons of Natalia’s shirt with a free hand to see her flawless collarbones and running his tongue over them. “However, if you meet nobody, you will give great pleasure to all men that will love to fuck you. Not every gal can do what you do.”       “I repeat, I’m not the fuck A WHORE!” Natalia throws with evil in her eyes loudly and magically finds the strength to sharply push the stranger off herself, looking at him with a heavy breath. “IF YOU WANT TO FUCK SOMEONE, GO TO A STRIP CLUB OR A WHOREHOUSE, WHERE THEY WOULD SERVE YOU EXCELLENTLY.”       “Why?” the stranger comes to Natalia, lowers her coat and one of the sleeves of her shirt, and covers her naked shoulder with kisses, during which she tries to get out so hard. “Why would I go somewhere if I got lucky to meet such an attractive girl, who I’m going to fuck here and now? It’s not hard for you! You will get pleasure from sex, and I will satisfy my needs. I haven’t met truly beautiful chicks for ages.”       “Do you think just because a girl is beautiful, she must be an experienced whore that fucks everybody and doesn’t resist?” Natalia asks rudely. “How many innocent girls have become your victims? Maybe, someone was killed cruelly and buried somewhere in the wood? Or are you looking for those, who you could play with without owing them?”       “Wow! As it turned out, you are sassy! I thought you’d be sweet and fluffy, but you can be rude. Brave, Natalia! Bravo, cutie!”       “What?” Natalia rounds her eyes, sharply getting white. “How do you know my name?”       “I know much about you,” the stranger smiles widely. “It would be easy for me to find out everything about you. However, everyone in New York knows you because you have dated so many men. I have familiar people, who told me how good you were at sexual things. And I’m making sure that they were absolutely right. Because you spread crazy sexual energy. You were born to make men happy, babe.”       “To your information, I slept only with those, whom I officially dated,” Natalia says rudely. “But I’ve never slept with anyone I know for five minutes.”       “Really? I thought you’d say you were still a virgin, kept yourself for your future husband, and even – oh, shit – never shared kisses. It’d be funny to know a twenty-five-year-old girl has never slept with men, caressed herself, or tried to kiss herself. I would never believe it, and I would laugh along with my friends for a long time. Because everybody knows what an experienced seducer you are. You have definitely read a dose of books about how to give a man the best sex in his life.”       “You are too obsessed with sex! You have a thing for literally every girl!”       “My sweet girl, when a man wants unforgettable sex, it’s absolutely fine,” the stranger says confidently, putting his hand on Natalia’s abdomen that literally squeezes, while frost gets through every cell of her tense body. “But when he does not want it, he’s impotent. No matter if he has thousands of lovers or a wife – nature instincts have never stopped working.”       “Yeah, you’d better ask if a girl wants to fuck you!” Natalia throws rudely. “What you are doing now is violence. I can easily report you to the police. Thank God, the law is by the side of women and does not let men try to take a girl to bed against her wish.”       “I don’t need to ask because you agree. You always agree to fuck men because you really love doing it. There is one familiar person, who told me you asked him to fuck you several times because one time wasn’t enough for you. It has probably happened to many men, and they ran away from you, as they were afraid to be with a maniac like you. I’m not surprised you haven’t met the one you would date for longer than one month. You are pleased with everything, even if you complain to everybody that you are unlucky in love.”       “It’s a lie! It’s never happened!”       “Really? So, we will check how right you are. I can do a lot. I can do my best to make you mine. And you, bitch, WILL BE!”       The stranger sharply kisses the dumbfounded Natalia on the lips and rudely grabs her breasts with his hands. When she starts moaning and getting loose, he strongly squeezes her yawl with one hand and her throat with another hand and leaves a continuous, disgusting kiss on her lips by force. The girl resists too hard and tries to scream and beat her offender in his arms, feeling disgusting because of the rough, quite cold lips. Any touch of his hands makes her body squeeze and immediately gives a negative reaction when trying to reject such an unpleasant caress that it does not like at all. And she feels nausea in her throat after the stranger not only kisses her on the lips but also licks them, her cheeks and the curves of her neck, paying no attention to her defeating shouts and hard resistance.       Natalia has to give her everything to find the strength to choose a good moment and run away from here as soon as possible. Trying not to pay attention to gagging after every single disgusting kiss, the girl barely moves her face off the stranger, while he starts to torture her neck and collarbones with painful bites and terrible kisses.       “Do not wait!” Natalia hisses. “I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON YOU!”       Natalia gives the stranger a strong slap in the face, but then hits him with a leg in his groin. That’s why the man doubles over from a strong pain and gives a loud moan, wincing strongly and gritting his teeth. And when the girl understands she has time to leave, she sharply gives a start and runs away as quickly as possible.       “WHERE?” the stranger roars, glancing at Natalia. “BITCH! COME BACK NOW, YOU, FUCKING WHORE! COME BACK, OR YOU WILL BE DEAD!”       However, it does not stop Natalia, and she runs away very fast with the hope of getting saved from this horrible man, who gets enraged and is going to possess this girl against her wish, no matter how hard she tries to resist, and how deafening her shouts are.       “Alright, nasty scumbag, you did ask for trouble!” the stranger hisses. “I SWEAR, I WILL CRUELLY FUCK YOU RIGHT HERE! I SHALL GET MY PENIS IN YOUR ASS!”       The man sharply turns aside, raises a hand, and makes a calling gesture to call three friends of his wearing the same ripped old clothes and looking like long-time alcoholics, maniacs, or drug addicts.       “FOLLOW ME!” the stranger roars. “Get your cameras ready! I will get that wench undressed, spread her legs and get my penis in her. You should take a couple of photos, so we can publish them somewhere with the signature, ‘local whore that fucks everyone’!”       Three more men come to the stranger, and then all of them quickly run after Natalia, who wants to run away, forget this nightmare forever, and not to meet the man, who scared her to death. The girl is running where her eyes look, breathing heavily, and looking back at times with her dumbfounded, wet, widely open eyes. She sees the stranger and three more people catch her later, shouting out some threats and insults. She starts to think that she will not run away far because they are getting closer and closer to her. Realizing the possible hopelessness, the girl starts to make quiet sobs, panicking like a little child that got lost in a store.       Although she has good psychical training, Natalia starts to get tired some time later due to the too high speed of the run that she reached, though the adrenaline in her blood and a wish to save herself from something horrible make her forget about it. Nevertheless, that’s what helps her start running further from the people, who start to choke and slow down. Seeing Natalia running far away, the stranger gets enraged. While his friends got exhausted, he puts himself together and starts to run like a meteor in anger. She sees it and tries to make sharp turns between half-destroyed walls and houses she meets on her way. It helps partly because that man’s reaction is experiencing some problems and often gets into some walls. And later loses the track of the runaway girl that hides in brick ruins.       But even though nobody is chasing her, Natalia does not slow down and keeps running fast. She would love to run away from here and come back home, where she would be safe and able to tell her father what happened, not doubting he would help her and personally report that stinker. After the shock she experienced, Natalia stops holding her tears down and starts regretting going to this deserted place where she met a maniac, who wanted to rape her. While she is running fast, the girl feels her legs getting weak from tiredness and fear, and her heart is beating so fast that it’s about to jump out of her chest. The blonde makes herself run with a wish to go to a popular place where that man would not do anything bad to her.       But she gets so exhausted that she decides to stop and take a little break. After quickly looking around and making sure that the stranger with a scar on his face and a wide look does not chase her, Natalia runs to a half-destroyed building, the brisk walls of which are partly covered with green trees and high grass. There are a few lamps on them that barely work because the light is very weak. It seems that they are about to stop working, and it might be dark here. Only a streetlamp placed not far from here would be able to light up this place, which seems a little creepy at this dark time. However, she does not care about it much.       Natalia runs to one of the brick walls, slowly stops, and leans on it with a hand, slightly inclining her head, trying to catch a breath and hearing the beat of her heart literally echoes in her temples. The girl is still obsessed with a strong fear, and her heart keeps beating like crazy. Nevertheless, she believes she left her offender behind, who wanted to do something horrible to her. After what happened, the blonde swears that she will no longer walk in these places at such a late time. Natalia begs that the man does not find her, and she quietly goes home.       But at some moment, the stranger and his friends suddenly show up from nowhere. Seeing Natalia, the furious man instantly runs to her, sharply presses her to the wall along with her loud shout, and grabs her by the throat strongly. The girl sharply getting white can barely breathe, her fear is getting much stronger, and her heart stops but then starts beating fast like a scared bunny’s one. Attempts to get out make the stranger much more furious, and he squeezes her throat much stronger so that she cannot breathe and looks at her with an evil gaze, with which nobody else looked at the girl.       “So, dyed idiot, you thought you would get off me?” the stranger hisses with evil in his eyes, breathing like a furious bull. “You did not, bitch!”       “No!” Natalia gets horrified, barely catching moments to catch at least some air. “Let me go! P-p-please… I can’t… B-b-breathe…”       “Do not make me wild, fucking slut! Otherwise, it was the last time your mommy and daddy saw you. Because I will kill you and bury your corpse here or somewhere further.”       “No! No! NO! NO-O-O-O-O! PLEASE, LET ME GO! LET! NO! LET…”       Natalia does not finish her thought because the stranger closes her mouth with his big, cold hand, the skin of which is quite dry and rough and covered with little wounds in some areas. While she moans loudly with widely open eyes, this man squeezes her throat much tighter with another hand. That’s why she can't even breathe. Besides, his hands are so big that they close even her nose – the last thing she can use to breathe.       “Close your dirty mouth, slut!” the stranger throws in a rude, low voice. “CLOSE, I SAID! AND STOP CRYING! TEARS WILL NOT TOUCH ME! SHUT UP, BITCH!”       The stranger hits Natalia in the abdomen with a leg very strongly. That’s why she strongly winces and shakes from the pain that instantly gets obsessed with her body and makes the area that got such a strong hit burn.       “Like it, bitch?” the stranger asks rudely. “LIKE IT, I AM ASKING?”       Natalia, looking at the stranger with dumbfounded widely open eyes full of tears, makes a quiet moan and shakes her head.       “It’s just a beginning,” the stranger hisses. “And if you snap and try to run away again, I shall bury you, bitch, here. So, if you want to live, don’t dare to move.”       “M-m-m!” Natalia moans loudly.       “Now I will do what you will remember all your life. And I don’t care if you like it or not. Nobody cares about your opinion! If I tell you to spread your legs, YOU DO IT!”       While Natalia is crying bitterly from hopelessness and understands she will not forget this day, the man weakens his grip slightly and gives her a chance to catch her breath. But two moments later, he confidently starts to examine her neck with his cold lips, leaving kisses that she finds madly disgusting and making her feel so bad that she feels gagging. And by biting her painfully, this man is definitely going to leave many hickeys on it. It would be hard to hide them, as he squeezes the tender skin too strongly for a long time with his yellow, rotted teeth. Moreover, the mouth of her offender spreads a very disgusting smell. No alcohol, but the one that may be caused by some organism issues.       “No, don’t do this!” Natalia begs with horror in her eyes, trying to resist and get out of the strong grip of her offender. “DON’T DO IT! PLEASE!”       “Scream as much as you want, it won’t help you,” the stranger says confidently, still examining Natalia’s neck with his lips and her face, and leaves a few disgusting kisses on her lips. “Nothing will stop me from a wish to deal with one nasty bitch and get some pleasure.”       “I DO NOT WANT! LET ME GO! LET ME GO-O-O!”       “I TOLD YOU, SHUT UP!”       The stranger gives Natalia a very strong slap in the face and keeps examining her body with his lips, while she screams from pain, stops making any sounds for a few seconds, and just tries to get out of the grip of this man. And some time later, the girl gets horrified when she realizes the man raises her shirt up, lets his hands walk over her naked belly and the curves of her waist, and wraps his fingers around the belly button area. Also, he insolently feels up her breasts, thighs, and buttocks, getting more delighted by how the first thing is big, and how tough the second and third ones are.       “Aw, blonde, you’re so sexy…” the stranger pronounces with pleasure, squats down, and covers Natalia’s belly with kisses, while she unconsciously sucks in, and touches a little silver jewelry in her belly button. “M-m-m, you’ve got a piercing… I love girls with belly piercings or tattoos… Especially in intimate areas… It looks so exciting…”       The stranger touches the jewelry in Natalia’s belly button with his rough tongue like a snake and leaves wet paths on her flat, tough belly, as his hands are caressing the curves of her waist.       “Stop, please…” Natalia begs in a shaking voice with tears and sniffs quietly. “Stop torturing me… I’m begging you…”       “Holy shit…” the stranger gets up on his feet and starts rudely massaging Natalia’s breasts, squeezing them so strongly that it makes her feel a painful, unpleasant feeling, and doing the same bad thing to her squeezed nipples with a thumb. “The more I caress you, the sooner I want to get you undressed and fuck you… My penis would feel very good in your wet hole.”       “No, let me go, please…” Natalia begs with a heavy breath, as her body shakes from fear and coldness. “Don’t do this…”       “Of course, you aren’t wet yet and ready to work your month and bring your ass to me. But be sure – in five minutes, you will be moaning and begging to bring you to such an adorable result of any sort of sex – an unforgettable orgasm. You will do me a blowjob and start to bend like a snake, as my penis is into you.”       “NO! Your kisses and touches are disgusting to me! I want you to get off me,” Natalia squeaks loudly because the stranger impacts one of her nipples too rudely. “NO! LET ME GO NOW! I FEEL PAIN!”       “Shut up, scumbag!” the stranger hisses with bloodshot eyes and lowers one hand to Natalia’s crotch, which he starts caressing rudely, while she starts to sharply get out and try to move it off herself. “It’s just the beginning! I shall UNDRESS you and MAKE you work your mouth to give me pleasure. I am sure you would be much sexier when being naked and make me wish to fuck you enough!”       “NO! NO! I SHALL DO NOTHING! NO!”       The stranger confidently takes a slight coat off Natalia because it annoys him and, tightly grabbing her by the forearms, sinks his teeth into her neck and covers it with disgusting kisses and painful bites. The girl tries to get out, but he tightly presses her against the brick wall and presses himself against him so closely that she becomes dumb. Natalia feels his tough, excited penis rubs against her crotch.       “Oh, bitch, what are you doing to me?” the stranger moans. “My pants are about to be ripped! My penis feels uncomfortable in it… It wants to be released… It wants to get into you… M-m-m…”       While the stranger gets much more excited, breathes loudly and heavily, and understands blood rushes to his penis, Natalia literally squeezes and shakes from fear of being raped and coldness, which gets through every single cell of her body.       “Please, God, I wish something saved me from this hell,” Natalia begs silently, raising her head with tears in her eyes and looking up to the black sky covered with clouds, while the stranger massages her breasts and nipples with one hand and caresses her crotch with another hand. “I don’t wanna get overcome this hell anymore… I know I’m an idiot, who turned off her brains… But I’m very sorry… I understood everything and will never ever walk at this time in these places. Help me, God… I don’t want to die or be raped by this maniac… I’m frightened…”       And while the terribly white Natalia is unsuccessfully begging for salvation and screaming from the pain, the stranger kisses and bites her neck, feels free to caress every single part of her body, gets his hands underneath her clothes, and uses his tongue to get into her mouth or leave wet paths on open parts of her body. Then the girl wants her to throw up right on this man. More specifically, his face. But it does not happen, and she can only cry and wince, literally dying from fear and feeling how crazily her heart is beating. Although she always avoids any kisses, bites, or attempts to lick her, the offender turns her head on him sharply and kisses the girl anywhere he wants.       “Do not resist, slut!” the stranger hisses and smashes his fist against Natalia’s abdomen, making her scream loudly and double over from a burning pain. “DO NOT MOVE!”       The stranger rudely grabs Natalia by the hair and makes her look at him.       “If you, scumbag, make me enraged, I will not be responsible for myself. I WILL REALLY BRING YOU TO ANOTHER WORLD! I SWEAR, ROCHESTER!”       “No, don’t do it, please…” Natalia begs in a shaking voice with tears. “I don’t want to die…”       “Then shut up and stand quietly!”       The stranger, strongly pulling Natalia’s hair, kisses her sharply on the lips and gets his tongue into her mouth, while his second hand opens up all the buttons on the feminine shirt, runs over her naked body, and plays with the jewelry in her belly button and feels up her breast, noticing it got tougher, as well as her nipples.       “Alright, you are more ready to do what you should,” the stranger smiles evilly, lowers his hand to Natalia’s abdomen, and gets it underneath her underwear, feeling up her crotch and getting his finger into her dry vagina so rudely and sharply that she shakes and gasps from pain. “A little bit before you and I have fun!”       The stranger laughs evilly, as his fingers start actively stimulating the clitoris of Natalia, who literally chokes from a lack of air and feels like a little, unprotected girl in front of this horrible man.       “Yay, babe…” the stranger moans quietly, gets his hands underneath Natalia’s shirt, and rudely massages her breasts. “Yea-a-a-ah…”       The stranger runs his hands over Natalia’s belly and glances at his friends standing not far and picturing him and the white, crying Natalia on their mobile phones or compact photocameras that constantly shutter clicks.       “Hey, guys, are you picturing it?” the stranger asks.       “We are, Eugene,” one of the three men replies with an evil smile. “It’s cool! The photos are just incredible! Undress this chick soon. I wanna see her naked!”       “Aha, looking at such a sexy bitch, I already got super excited,” the second of the friends confesses. “I wish her mouth caressed my penis, and her tender lips kissed my whole body.”       “I will be masturbating when viewing the photos of this gal,” the third of the friends smiles slyly. “She gets a man excited better than any porno actress.”       “And we would be so lucky if Eugene undressed this gal, and we admired her boobs and tough bumper. Spread her legs and get the penis into her hole… And her month…”       “Hey, don’t forget about the video!” Eugene recalls. “It’s gonna be a short porno video with a blonde whore, who I’m going to fuck here and now.”       “NO!” Natalia screams at the top of her lungs and starts shaking as if she is convulsing. “DON’T DO THIS! I DON’T WANT YOU TO RAPE ME! DON’T WANT! NO! STOP!”       “SHUT UP, I TOLD YOU!” Eugene roars, slaps Natalia in the face very strongly, and tightly squeezes her yawl, setting his furious gaze into her scared, widely open eyes. “No matter if you want it or not, you will have to please me and do me a deep blowjob.”       Natalia catches a moment and sinks her teeth into Eugene’s arm quite painfully, while he squeezes her yawl. However, his skin is too thick, and the man does not feel pain. But he gets enraged when she tries to bite some part of his face and arms.       “ASSHOLE!” Eugene screams, rudely grabs Natalia by the throat, and hits her against the brick wall with the back of her head, making her feel mild pain and make a loud shout. “IF YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, YOUR CORPSE WILL BE ROTTING IN THE GROUND! GOT IT, BITCH?”       The furious Eugene slaps Natalia in the face again, and she makes a loud sob, not holding herself down and not knowing how much strength she has to take what is torture for her and a great way to satisfy some needs for the man. No matter how much the girl does not want to confess it, she starts to understand that it’s worthless to scream, break free, and bite. She can do nothing against such a tough and strong man, whose hits are so strong that he could knock her out or actually kill her. Later, it makes her leave any attempts to resist. Natalia lets this horrible man do anything he wants to her with the thought that nobody would help her. And when Eugene understands it, he smiles slyly.       “So, will you no longer scream?” Eugene asks, massaging Natalia’s breast with one hand, running a second one over her naked belly, and playing with jewelry in her belly button. “You understood that there would be nobody but us here.”       “Why are you doing this?” Natalia asks in a shaking voice with tears in her red eyes, turning her face aside when Eugene wants to kiss her on the lips. “Why do you consider me a whore and make me dream of dying from fear?”       “You are just madly sexy, babe,” Eugene replies with a sly smile, caressing Natalia’s neck and then leaving a few kisses on it. “And I’m hungry for good sex with a young, beautiful girl. But you stood in my way at the right time. So, it would be a mistake to miss a chance to fuck the slut, who, according to the stories of my familiar people, can do a lot. If it’s so, I will do my best for you and me to remember this unforgettable night for a long time.”       “I will never forget it! NOBODY TRIED TO DO THIS TO ME AGAINST MY WISH!”       “Don’t pretend to be an innocent virgin, Natalia. We are well aware of how easy-to-get you are. So, stop playing this game and give me flawless sex. Just like you gave it to all your clients.”       Eugene takes Natalia’s hand tightly and squeezes his penis with it. That’s why he immediately feels a strong shake all over his body.       “OH, FUCKING DEMON!” Eugene screams with widely open eyes. “BABE, YOU ARE SO INCREDIBLE! FUCK, NOBODY ELSE CARESSED MY PENIS AS GOOD AS YOU DO!”       “Stop…” Natalia sniffs quietly.       “Come on, dolly, keep caressing it! BRING ME TO ORGASM! YES! YEA-A-A-H!”       “No… No… NO-O-O-O-O-O!”       Eugene sharply closes Natalia’s mouth with his big hand. Then she winces loudly and tries to say a word, opening her eyes so widely that they might pop out of her head and begging at least for a little chance for salvation. But It seems like the man is not going to stop and goes further and further. So, he takes Natalia’s shirt off her, throws it aside, and leaves her in a black bra that perfectly expresses her big breasts and raises them. The white, terribly scared girl gets horrified by standing half-naked in front of the unfamiliar man and gets quite cold. The man takes off his coat and throws it to one of his friends, who have the pleasure to picture what’s happening on cameras of mobile phones and cameras.       “We will deal with you now. Come here, slut!”       Eugene kisses Natalia on the lips with strong pressure and runs his tongue over her mouth, not caring about her painful moans. Then he goes downer and downer: neck, collarbones, naked shoulders and arms, and cleavage between her breasts… All these parts get covered with disgusting kisses and strong bites, after which she is going to get tons of hickeys. Next, the thick, short fingers of his hand squeeze strongly her breast, which got literally blue from such a rude attitude, and intensively massage it, while another hand caresses her belly and the bully button area confidently.       Eugene does not like the fact that Natalia’s dark blue jeans do not let him freely get his hand underneath her knickers. So, he opens up the zipper of it but does not lower them down, gets his fingers in the crotch, and rubs her clitoris energetically. It makes her feel disgusting. Feeling the rude fingers that touch the points, which require more tender attention, is madly disgusting. But the girl made sure she would be able to do nothing and have to take this unbearable torture, instead of which she would prefer a torturous death. Although Natalia feels comfortable in her body and loves it, she does not want to stay half-naked in front of an unfamiliar man. The girl could quietly undress only for the one she would love with all her heart. And she is getting pictured by three people eating her with their fifty looks and letting their fantasy get brighter and make them excited to the fingertips.       At some moment, while the blonde moves her disheveled hair that was brushed into a ponytail off her face, Eugene hugs her tightly by the waist and kisses her on the lips. Then he easily opens the clatter of her bra and sharply takes it off along with the loud happy whoops of his friends, seeing the gorgeous naked big breasts that she immediately closes with hands with horror in her eyes and a strong shake in her body. When seeing such gorgeous breasts, Eugene and his friends take their breath away, get their pupils dilated, and start drooling. The breasts are wanted to be caressed, licked, and sucked so badly.       “Fuck!” one of Eugene’s friends pronounces happily. “What boobs!”       “Fuck, this bitch is gonna bring us to insanity or a heart attack!” the second man exclaims.       “Caress her vagina, buddy!” the third man encourages. “She’s gonna love it!”        Eugene puts Natalia’s hands aside with an evil smile, squeezes her breasts, and massages them energetically for a few seconds. Then he grabs her tough from coldness nipples with his lips, caresses them with his tongue, and sucks, getting much pleasure, from which everything squeezes in his abdomen, and he is in ecstasy, as he admires the half-naked blonde-haired beauty, whom he almost undressed. However, the red-haired maniac sharply lowers her jeans and notices her black, silky underwear that perfectly fits her body. Eugene’s friends make happy whoops again and even applaud loudly. For Natalia, it becomes a great shame, which will be published on the Internet early or late, and get her humiliated for her friends, parents, and all her familiar people, among whom there are respectful ones. They would be overwhelmed by seeing the naked girl standing in front of four men in her underwear and letting them see her breasts.       “C’mon, take the knickers off!” one of the men encourages funnily.       “Show us the blonde’s naked ass!” the second man exclaims.       “C’mon, babe, show us your breasts!” the third man says and takes a couple of photos at a certain moment. “Ah, it’s so good!”       Eugene confidently grabs Natalia by the buttocks, breasts, and waist, gets his hand underneath her underwear, and rudely caresses her crotch, biting her neck with his teeth painfully and covering her lips, arms, belly, thighs, and even legs with disgusting-to-nausea lips. All this time, the girl cries bitterly and covers her naked breasts with her hands, while the friends of her offender are recording videos and taking photos with a loud laugh. Now she wants to die not only from fear of being raped but also from great shame. These people will have her erotic photos and videos, which they could publish everywhere.       “Yeah, red-haired, come on!” one of the friends encourages. “Suck her nipples! Work your tongue in her mouth!”       “Take off her knickers!” another of the friends says. “May she be absolutely nude! She’d look much better!”       “Don’t be shy, babe!” the third man exclaims. “Your body is perfection! You must show this beauty to everyone!”       “It’s funny that the whore, who has undressed for lots of men is now terribly afraid of standing naked and closing her gorgeous boobs with her hands,” Eugene chuckles, moves Natalia’s hands sharply aside, squeezes her breasts, rudely sucks in her nipples,, and licks them with his tongue, paying no attention to her moans and tears.       “Hey, maybe, it is time to show her something new?” one of the friends smiles evilly. “Let’s fuck her all four? I’m sure she has never been a part of group sex!”       “Hey, men, it’s the idea!” the second man agrees happily. “It’s unfair that we’re standing here and holding down a wish to feel up this cutie and fuck her!”       “Yay, Eugene, let us play with her a little!” the third man says. “But you will take photos and record videos of us!”       “M-m-m, guys, it’s just an amazing idea!” Eugene smiles widely. “Let’s give this blonde such unforgettable sex that she will not get into the bed of someone else for a long time.”       Getting horrified by what’s waiting for her, Natalia starts crying more bitterly and feels she is strongly shaking from coldness and fear, while her heart is about to jump out of her chest. Hearing Eugene and his friends planning to have a group sex, the girl wants at least to lose consciousness to remember nothing of what they will do to her. She does not want to see one of these men naked and satisfy them against her wish. But unfortunately, everything is coming to it because Eugene easily takes off the belt on his shabby jeans and throws it aside.       “No…” Natalia whispers in a quiet, shaking voice, sharply shaking her head. “No, please, don’t do this… I don’t want… No…”       “What are you murmuring?” Eugene asks rudely. “Lie on the ground and show your ass! ON THE FUCKING GROUND!”       Eugene rudely pushes Natalia so that she almost loses balance. Then he pushes her again, and she falls on the dirty ground with a loud shout, constantly making quiet sobs and starting to shake much stronger from fear and despair.       “Take your pants off, guys!” Eugene orders cheerfully. “Get your penis ready for getting into the month and the ass of this whore.”       The men start opening the zippers and lower their pants before the eyes of the crying and shaking Natalia, who is lying on the ground and starts screaming at the top of her lungs at some moment. The girl lost hope for salvation and is waiting for the worst. But at the last moment, a police siren wails far from here. This sound is getting closer and closer. As if a car is about to come here. One of Eugene’s friends glances aside, notices the car, and points at it, saying:       “Hey, guys, cops are there! I see their car far from here!”       The men’s eyes sharply move on the car that is going on the uneven path by the place where they are. And they do not hide their disappointment because they, probably, have to leave and give up on the idea of raping Natalia.       “Holy shit!” the second man resents. “We’ve gotta get out before they see us!”       “Fucking cops!” the third man resents. “They didn’t let us have fun!”       “Yeah, cursed jackasses!” Eugene throws gloomily, coming to his friends and putting his hands on his hips. “Why did they the fuck stop this show during the culmination?”       “But we managed to take tons of photos and videos,” one of the friends notices, shaking his portable photocamera. “We’ll be viewing the porno, masturbating, and dreaming of this chick walking absolutely nude in front of us…”       “Or giving us a blowjob…” the third man rolls his eyes.       “Oh, yeah!” the second man agrees with an evil smile. “We don’t need PornHub or Playboy with nude girls! This gal will replace all of that!”       “Okay, guys, let’s get out of here before we get great problems,” Eugene says confidently, while his friends are laughing quietly. “We had some fun – that’s enough!”       Natalia exhales silently with relief because this torture will finally end. While these men do not see her, she slowly gets up on her feet, shakes off the dirt, puts on jeans, and takes the bra that she wants to put on. But Eugene glances at her, immediately runs to her, takes this thing away, and gives her a very strong slap in the face. As a result, the blonde falls to the ground with a loud shout, grabbing her cheek and looking at her offender breathing like a furious bull with her widely open eyes.       “Now listen to me, scumbag,” Eugene says in a rude, loud voice and grabs Natalia sharply by the hair. “If you tell someone about our meeting, I swear, bitch, I shall kill you! Bury your corpse in wood or give it to dogs to eat! GOT IT, WHORE?”       Eugene slaps Natalia in the face again, and she makes a louder sob again, literally curling up in a ball from fear.       “I am not kidding, dear!” Eugene says rudely. “If you tell someone about me, you will say goodbye to your mommy and daddy. I WILL GET YOU OUT OF THE GROUND! And I will tell your family about your men! I have wonderful proof of the fact that you are pretending to be an innocent lamb. GOT IT, BITCH?”       Natalia, choking with tears, nods and sobs quietly. Her mascara went down her face a long time ago, her eyes are wet and red, her body is shaking from coldness and fear, and her heart is beating as fast as a bunny’s one. After getting no answer, Eugene, holding the girl by the hair, hits her forehead against the ground.       “SAY, SCUMBAG, YOU GOT IT OR NOT?” Eugene screams at the top of his lungs with bloodshot eyes. “OTHERWISE, EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT A WHORE YOU ARE TOMORROW! OR YOU WILL DIE WHEN I FIND YOU IN ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD!”       “Y-y-y-yes…” Natalia whispers in a strongly shaking voice.       “WHAT? LOUDER!”       “Y-y-y-yes…”       “DO NOT HEAR, BITCH!”       “G-g-got it…”       “STOP MURMURING! SAY IT CLEARLY!”       “I DID GET IT!” Natalia shouts out. “GOT THE FUCK!”       “DON’T DARE TO BE RUDE, FUCKING WENCH!” Eugene slaps Natalia in the face again. “OR YOU WILL DIE RIGHT HERE!”       “STOP IT, PLEASE!”       “You will open your mouth when you’re told to suck a penis. In other cases, you must be SILENT!”       “Okay, buddy, leave her alone,” one of the men says quietly, clapping Eugene on the shoulder. “Let’s get out of here before the cops come here.”       “Do not dare to tell the cops we wanted to fuck you! If you say it, I WILL GET YOU OUT OF THE GROUND!”       Eugene rudely pushes Natalia so that she falls to the ground. The girl reaches for her bra lying not far from her and covers her breasts with it. However, one of the friends of her offender manages to feel up this part of the body and touch tough nipples.       “Shit, what cool big boobs!” one of the men says with enjoyment. “They are natural, not silicon!”       “Aw, what a sweet ass!” the second of the men smiles evilly, running his hand over Natalia’s buttocks, and then strongly slaps them. “Aw, what a sound! You’ve gotta get an orgasm!”       “Damn, how I love caressing girls’ bellies…” the third man purrs, running his hand over Natalia’s belly and the belly button area, squats down, and confidently leaves a few kisses on it. “Yours is the most beautiful one of those I have ever kissed and caressed.”       “Hey, caress my penis with your tender fingers,” the first man says, taking Natalia’s hand and bringing it to his penis by force, rolling his eyes from pleasure and moaning loudly. “Ar-r-r! Ouch! AH, BITCH, HOW IT’S GOOD! COME ON, BABY, DO IT AGAIN!”       “And caress my big buddy,” the second man smiles evilly, taking Natalia’s second hand and making it caress his tough penis, which is way bigger. “Oh… Oh… SHIT! FUCK, I WILL COME NOW!”       “Hey, dolly, don’t forget about me,” the third man recalls and pulls up his pants, grabbing his groin. “Caress my balls. They also need attention.”       At this moment, Natalia cries bitterly, shakes strongly, and would prefer dying than experiencing this horrible torture, while the men are literally shaking their penis in front of her white face. The girl is burning with shame and feeling humiliated and dirty. She is like a little girl that runs into bad guys and does not have anyone’s protection. Moreover, Eugene takes a few photos of the girl caressing his friends on his mobile phone and a photocamera of one of his pals. The maniacs would have the pleasure of keeping torturing the poor girl, but the red-haired man hears the sound of the police siren getting closer and closer.       “Alright, enough!” Eugene throws rudely, taking two of his friends under an arm and getting them up because they are busy covering with kisses, licking Natalia’s belly, breasts and thighs, and caressing her crotch. “Get out! The cops will come now!”       When his friends get up, they leave this place very quickly, starting to laugh loudly on the way. Later, they take their phones and cameras to check what they got. Natalia stays all alone, watching her offenders with a dumbfounded gaze, closing her breasts with the bra she has not put on yet and glancing at some areas where she has noticeable hickeys after painful bites from her offender. She barely puts it on with her shaking hands that do not almost listen to her and became less sensitive due to the freeze that got underneath her to her fingertips. Then she slowly reaches for her dirty shirt with tears in her eyes, puts it on, does a few buttons, and just places her slight coat on her shoulders, having her jeans unbuttoned.       The terribly white, madly frightened blonde closes her face with her hands and starts crying much more bitterly than before, not being able to get up and understanding she is shaking strongly. The girl cannot believe she was nearly raped by four men, who took tons of photos and videos, while Eugene was feeling up, kissing, licking, and undressing her.       “For what?” Natalia asks herself in a shaking voice, looking up to the dark sky with constant sobs and a heavy breath. “Why is it me? I’ve never done anything bad! Why did it happen to me? I didn’t deserve it? DIDN’T DESERVE IT! I’M NOT A WHORE! I AM A DECENT GIRL! DECENT!”       Natalia keeps sitting on the dirty, cold ground, crying bitterly, shaking strongly, fixing her matted, disheveled hair at times, and thinking of what’s waiting for her. She is regretting going here and not staying home more and more. After this hell, the girl is not sure if she can sleep quietly at night. Coming to herself after what happened is going to be much harder than after the fight with her friend. Which is a little thing, unlike the rape attempt and the threat to get ashamed of the whole city or even the whole world.       

***

      While Natalia is telling about that horrible event, she cannot hold tears down and is strongly shaking because of the memories that still give her such strong pain.       “After they left, I was sitting on the ground for some time,” Natalia says quietly, tightly embracing the pillow. “But then the police car came to that place. An officer came to me, introduced himself, and asked if I was fine, and why I was alone at that place and looked like I was robbed. But I was afraid to tell him about those men… And… Lied to him, saying I just got lost and sat down to have some rest.”       Natalia falls into silence for a second and swallows up nervously.       “Of course, he didn’t believe me, assuming I was attacked, and suggested going to the police station,” Natalia says. “But I insisted and eventually made him sure that nothing happened. Then he suggested just driving me home, but I refused and called the address of the popular café, from where I could quickly go where I needed to go by walk. The officer agreed to drive me where I said… And then I reached home by myself… I put myself in order in the car and washed off that shame in a shower…”       Natalia sniffs, setting her gaze into the distance.       “I was so scared that I decided to do what that man wanted,” Natalia confesses. “I was afraid he’d really find and kill me or publish the dirt on me on the Internet, getting me ashamed of the whole world. And I decided to be silent… Nobody knew about that event before this moment. Neither friends, parents nor anyone else… And… You became the first ones to know it…”       Raquelle and Terrence got overwhelmed somewhere in the middle of the story, when Natalia was telling about what Eugene was doing to her, and how he eventually undressed her. They shake their heads and look at each other with horror in their widely open eyes, trying to come to themselves after what they heard from their friend.       “My God…” Raquelle pronounces with horror in her eyes, barely breathing from the excitement. “I… I can’t believe it…”       “I refuse to accept it…” Terrence shakes his head with widely open eyes. “I don’t know what to say…”       “Natalia, how could you actually think of going to that place? You do know that drug addicts, alcoholics, and maniacs may walk there! What were you thinking of?”       “Your parents have told you so many times that walking in those places is not allowed! It’d be okay if a man was walking there – he could stand for himself. But when a weak girl walks at those places, she becomes a good goal for sick bastards like that freak and his pals!”       “I’m so sorry…” Natalia inclines her head guiltily and sighs heavily. “I know you think my act is crazy, but I had such a lousy mood that I gave a fuck about safety. I turned off my brain and didn’t think of the aftermath… I woke up only when that man began to come to me and feel me up… And when he left me in my knickers, I beat myself for going there in my mind.”       “And were you silent for five months?” Terrence gets horrified, rounding his eyes.       “Yes, I was…”       “Damn, friend, why didn’t you tell us anything before?” Raquelle wonders. “Did you really think that man would find you? He isn’t a wizard or someone with a lot of contacts! I wouldn’t be surprised if he was not only a sick maniac but also tasted drugs.”       “I was afraid to tell someone about it… I’d be dead if I told someone.”       “Yeah, but was hiding the truth better?” Terrence wonders. “Raquelle is right: how could that man find you? You saw him for the first time in your life! Even if you told us everything before, he wouldn’t even find it out!”       “But I really thought so,” Natalia makes a sob. “He was so wide when screaming at me and beating, making me swear that I’d tell nothing and wouldn’t confess to the police that I was nearly raped. His voice was so frightening, and I still see his wild eyes in my nightmares. I swear I wanted to tell you everything, but when I thought about it, his ugly face showed up before my eyes, and I heard his loud, horrifying voice in my head.”       “Gosh, but how could you be silent for so long and give us no hint?”       “Actually, I could’ve given…” Natalia bites her lip slightly. “Didn’t ya notice that I shook every time someone talked about violence? Everybody often said I was so scared, as if I was raped. And… I thought of those horrible moments and unconsciously gave you a reason to think.”       “Erm…” Raquelle thinks. “Yeah… I remember something like that… But I didn’t take it seriously and forgot it quickly. I… Couldn’t think that you would really be… Raped…”       “I noticed it, too…” Terrence confesses. “Many people noticed. But we forgot it quickly and couldn’t even think everything would be so horrible. Though, we should’ve paid attention to your reaction to the talk about violence.”       “At first, it was very hard to pretend, and I was afraid I’d say it,” Natalia confesses, moving her eyes to her hands and putting the pillow on her legs bent under herself. “But since so many people tried to help me forget about the fight with Raquelle, I felt a little better. That’s what helped me distract myself and forget what happened on that horrible day. It was getting easier every day because I reconciled with Raquelle later and began to date Edward… Who, however, helped me well. Even more than the others… He doesn’t know he helped me overcome the unbearable pain. And… I’m grateful to him for not letting me go insane. Seriously, no matter what a stinker Edward is now, he literally got me out of depression and became the reason why I forgot that event.”       “Do you think he was truly or played the role of a good guy? Raquelle asks.       “I’d like to think the money of his father and uncle didn’t turn him into a beast back then. Because… Lockhart cared about what was happening to me and always listened closely when I wanted to talk. Edward never yawned and looked around when I was speaking. Despite nothing, I felt good with him…”       “And didn’t you tell him about that rape attempt?” Terrence asks.       “Nope. Edward knows nothing. And I doubt that I’ll actually want to tell him the truth and let him know what a moron he is. However, I’d like to see his reaction after he knows he has believed the lie all this time.”       “What are you talking about? Why do you think that man has believed the lie?”       “Because I didn’t cheat on him, as he thinks…” Natalia swallows up nervously. “After starting to date him, I forgot about that event and was happy with him. Edward was very caring and nice. But sometimes I couldn’t let him get too close to me. For example… To kiss… Any caress and kiss scared me and was associated with pain and fear. I was afraid that Edward would do the same to me. That’s why I was hesitant, but I didn’t reject him too openly. Of course, he found it too suspicious, but I found the courage to get loose a little.”       “So, did you experience something like what Terrence and I did?” Raquelle asks. “When… I was rejecting him when he wanted intimate…”       “Nope, the problem is not about it… I don’t deny that I started to think about the rape attempt more often, and it impacted my relationship. I couldn’t get pleasure from them ‘cause I was afraid that Edward would hurt me and believed he played with me. He kind of dated me, for example, because of a sense of duty… But one fateful day, one month ago, something happened, and I couldn’t stop thinking of that case. And Lockhart began to hate me to death.”       “Do you wanna say Edward and you broke up not because of your hesitance and fear to get him closer to you?” Terrence asks.       “Exactly! Do you wanna know the real reason why we broke up?”       “Actually, I wouldn't like to talk about that man… But since Raquelle and I decided to listen to you, we wanna know everything.”       “Yes, Natalia, speak,” Raquelle says softly, caressing Natalia’s hand. “Whatever that is, we will support you anyway.”       “So…” Natalia sighs heavily and squeezes the pillow in her arms very tightly. “Okay… As I said, I started to forget the rape attempt like a nightmare. But as you know, when you don’t expect something, it might suddenly happen.”       Natalia sighs again and fixes her hair, swallowing up nervously.       “It happened to me… I wasn’t afraid that my erotic photos and videos would show up somewhere. But as it turned out, I shouldn’t have calmed down. Because one day, the furious Edward went to my home and attacked me with insults literally from the first minutes. He said I cheated on him. That I had another man. That I slept with everyone. And when I told him to prove it, he threw a certain envelope at my face. And I found some photos there…”       

***

      August, 6th 2016.       “Alright, you will see the proof right now!”       Two seconds later, Edward takes a white envelope from the inside pocket of his coat and throws it at Natalia’s face with disgust.       “ENJOY, HONEY!” Edward screams. “And don’t tell me I speak for nothing and try to slander you!”       Natalia silently takes the envelope that Edward throws at her face, and opens it, being terribly nervous because she may see anything. Something tells her the envelope might have something that could slander the girl for her boyfriend. And what Natalia sees makes her fall on the sofa with wet, widely open eyes. Her legs sharply get weak, and she feels slight dizziness and understands that her heart starts beating much faster, and her body shakes from the frost and goosebumps.       The girl sees a few photos. There is a slim, long-haired blonde, whom Natalia immediately recognizes as herself, and a man with red, greasy hair, a scar on his face that reaches for his lips, and wide green eyes, who is wearing old, ripped clothes. He kisses her on the lips, neck, face, and collarbones, and his hand tightly squeezes the lady’s thighs, buttocks, and breasts, which he also covers with kisses. The girl’s eyes are closed, and her face looks like she gets pleasure from these caresses. The blonde tightly hugs this rude, ugly man, who feels free to feel her up and kiss all parts of her body and actively uses his tongue to leave wet paths.       While Natalia is dressed in the first pictures, and the stranger just raises her shirt up and gets his hands underneath it and her jeans, she has fewer and fewer clothes on the next shoots. But she is standing in her black knickers with naked breasts and confidently squeezed by the man in the last shoots. His lips confidently suck her nipples and cover her naked belly with kisses. And his fingers pull her by the disheveled hair, go around her belly button, or play with the silver jewelry in it. In some photos, the man shamelessly gets his hand in her knickers, caresses her vagina, and stimulates her clitoris. While she rolls her eyes, bends like a cat, and presses herself close to him.       At first sight, it seems that these erotic photos were taken by two lovers during foreplay or before the start of sexual contact. It’s possible to see the pleasure on their faces. The man is definitely on top of the world while caressing the naked body of the girl. When she caresses his penis… While she is very excited, moans sensually, and rolls or closes her eyes with a half-open month.       But after viewing the pictures quickly, Natalia feels she gets electric. She instantly recalls the man, whom she met a few months ago. He was with his pals, who, probably, called him Eugene, and laughed very loudly. But she cannot remember why… However, she quickly recalls how that horrible man with the gaze of a maniac or a serial killer mocked her and magically did not bring this case to an end. The memories of that horrible day make Natalia start crying bitterly and shaking strongly. That man used the dirt on her and made everything look like she cheated. It’s unknown how Eugene actually knows her boyfriend. But for her, it does not make sense. She becomes speechless because of the strong shock and stutters every time she tries to say at least a word.       At first, the girl wonders how that man could get all these pictures. They have very good quality, it’s easy to detect the faces, and someone took them at a very close distance. And before this moment, the blonde does not understand how someone could take those shots if Eugene was busy with her. However, after thinking a little, Natalia recalls three more friends of Eugene, who were laughing widely, photographed her, managed to feel her up, and forced her to caress their penises. The girl calls the memories of the loud sounds of cameras on mobile phones and even remembers one of those people taking pictures with a flashlight. Then, Natalia was so overwhelmed that she forgot about the photos and videos. She clearly memorized only how Eugene was feeling her up, kissing and licking everything, and eventually undressed her and left her in knickers that he could have taken off if not for the police that scared the four.       Natalia gets frightened when she realizes that she may lose Edward because of Eugene. She does not have the courage to tell him what happened on that fateful day. Yes, she really wants to prove that man tried to rape her, but she decides to keep saying nothing because of fear of being killed by that maniac. However, she doubts Edward would believe her, as he is too mad at her and calls her a betrayer, who used him for her goals. Anyway, Natalia takes Eugene’s words too seriously and barely contains herself not to open her mouth. But on the contrary, she completely understands her silence may ruin her relationship with her boyfriend, who is going to think the lie is the truth, not suspecting she got into a horrifying situation. At some moment, the girl closes her face with her hands and starts crying quietly, shaking as strongly as she was doing when being hugged, kissed, and undressed in the cold weather against her wish.       Edward watches Natalia with contempt in his icy, arrogant gaze. He feels no pity for the girl crying bitterly and definitely struggling with a wish to say something. His offense at her alleged betrayal is so strong that the man does not contain himself and does not watch his mouth, not even wishing to try to understand her somehow and find the courage to forgive her for such a terrible and disgusting act.       “So, what are you going to say?” Edward asks rudely, tightly clenching his hands into fists. “Keep denying your love affair with that ugly? He sent me many photos! He licks you from head to feet, and you walk in your knickers in front of him, show him your nude boobs, and caress his penis! Let him get his fingers into you! YOU ARE THE FUCK HAPPY! WHAT IS HAVING SEX WITH HIM LIKE? DO YOU HAVE AN ORGASM? HOW MANY? ONE? TWO? OR MAYBE, THREE?”       Edward does not hear excuses from Natalia, who only makes constant sobs and breathes too heavily, feeling her heart squeezes from thinking the man truly believes in her betrayal.       “So, did you pretend to be a virgin for me, but FUCK HIM?” Edward yells. “I wonder, what’s his number? How many similar bastards have you had during our relationship? Or do you have a love affair with everybody and keep them on a leash?”       Edward claps himself sharply on the forehead.       “Fuck, what an idiot I am!” Edward swears, putting his hand on his hip. “What a brainless moron! You always let me know you had lots of men. But you showed it beautifully. I’m kind of so attractive, but nobody wants to marry me. YES, NOBODY WANTS! BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZED YOU AS A NASTY SCUMBAG THAT FUCKS WITH EVERYONE AT THE RIGHT TIME! But I was so blinded by your beauty that I was ready to close my eyes to anything. ANYTHING! I didn’t even notice that you weren’t so close to me. I thought you needed time to get used to the fact that we were a couple. But now I do know you give a fuck about me because you had lots of lovers.”       “E-e-e-ed-d-d-d-dward…” Natalia barely pronounces in a shaking voice, not trying to wipe tears under her eyes.       “Maybe, you work somewhere and get some money secretly from your parents? At a whorehouse as a prostitute! It would be a good explanation for where you found all your men. YOU SEDUCED THOSE, WHO HAD A LOT OF MONEY OR A BIG PENIS AT STRIP CLUBS! And collected men around the world: Spaniards, Italians, Frenchmen, Mexicans, Argentinians… It seems like you went to Mexico not only to visit your sick grandmother, but also to fuck hot horses. You didn’t probably feel bored and fucked half of the city! Or do you suffer from nymphomania? Is having three times per week not enough for you?”       Natalia keeps sobbing louder, running her shaking hands over her hair.       “Yeah, how much do you take for one night?” Edward asks sarcastically. “One hundred? Two hundred? Three hundred? Or it’s very little for you? Did you set up a tariff of A THOUSAND bucks? One thousand! For such a sexy beauty, who is ready to shake her naked books and ass in front of any man. Caress the penises of some ugly men and let them get their hands in your fucking underwear!”       Edward tightly clenches his hands into fists.       “I’m sorry, I’m not so rich to pay you! I could only give you one hundred dollars! Of course, I could save some money and fuck you cruelly. But I don’t want to lie in bed with the gal, who has been fucked literally by half of the world! I despise sleeping with such dirty sluts like you.”       Edward falls into silence for two seconds, breathing heavily enough from the excitement and tension in his body.       “I guess you understood that I had no money and started to reject me slowly!” Edward assumes rudely. “You do need only those, who have much money! You probably sent me these photos for me to get wild and wish to break up with you.”       Edward smirks evilly.       “I wonder, does that ugly freak, for whom you shake your nude boobs, and whose penis you caress and lick, have much money? Yeah? I doubt it! He wears worse clothes than mine! Where did you find him? On the garbage among homeless people? You didn’t fuck them and decided to fix it?”       Edward contemptuously looks at Natalia from head to foot, while she is crying bitterly, shaking strongly, and cursing herself for behaving like a coward and not being able to confess what actually happened.       “Were you supposed to have visitors here?” Edward shouts. “While your parents work hard, you invite your lovers here! You probably dressed like this for one of them! Huh? Did you think one of them came here and happily ran to open the door, but I was on the doorstep! And you began to pretend to be an innocent lamb and act as if nothing happened!”       Edward exhales sharply, runs to Natalia, and immediately unties the bow of the satin robe with a loud shout.       “Come on, Rochester, undress for me! SHOW ME WHAT’S NEVER BEEN MINE! IS THERE SOME UNDERWEAR UNDER THIS ROBE? OR DID YOU DECIDE TO SHOW YOUR UGLY FREAKS YOUR NAKED ASS AND BOOBS NOT TO WASTE TIME ON ZIPPERS? COME ON, SHOW!”       The furious Edward sharply throws the edges of Natalia’s robe aside so that he can see her white bra, which holds her big breasts well. The girl does not resist the man literally trying to undress her and keeps crying bitterly, not even trying to cover herself with the robe and letting him see her breasts. Although Lockhart pays attention to this feminine part of the body, swallows up nervously, and feels he gets a little excited, he later takes his feelings and instincts under harsh control.       “Oh, you decided to torture your lovers…” Edward assumes, putting his hands on his hips and looking at Natalia with an evaluating glance. “Bad! You could wear no bra and start by showing your nude body. I am sure everybody admires it! AND THEY HAVE FELT IT UP WITH THEIR FUCKING HANDS MILLIONS OF TIMES! LIKE THIS!”       Edward runs to Natalia sharply and pinches her breasts with his hands tightly, but then gets one of them underneath her white knickers, runs his fingers in her vagina, and rubs her clitoris rudely. However, it does not cause the girl's bad reaction. Vice versa, she shakes slightly with a feeling of a nice warmth and swallows up nervously, barely holding down a wish to make a sensual moan. And at the bottom of her mind, the girl starts to think she would not even try to resist if the man came up with an idea to throw her on the sofa and possess her body right here.       “JUST LIKE THAT BASTARD IN THE PHOTOS!” Edward screams, runs his hand over sharply Natalia’s naked belly several times, and grabs her thighs rudely with his hands. “LIKE THIS!”       Edward breathing heavily grabs Natalia tightly by the wrists and sets his icy gaze into her scared eyes, while she stops making sobs and focused on his actions, which are rude but nice and exciting.       “And when you are the fuck WET and NAKED, your lovers will BEND you and FUCK your ass cruelly!” Edward screams at the top of his lungs. “After getting orgasm, you will bring them to ecstasy and do a BLOWJOB! After such a wonderful final, they will say they want to meet you again! And you, fucking wench, would be HAPPY to have fun with your lovers!”       Edward rudely pushes Natalia so that she falls on the sofa, moving a part of her hair, keeping crying bitterly, and hating herself for letting the man find her a betrayer. It’s easy to see how her hands are shaking, and her skin is getting white from worrying and being obsessed with tension.       “I hate you, Natalia Rochester!” Edward shouts with evil in his eyes, tightly clenching his hands into fists. “FUCKING BETRAYAL! I thought you really loved me! But you are the bitch, who dares to play with THE REAL FEELINGS OF PEOPLE! I am VERY sorry for those you’ve fucked and deceived the way you did it to me! You probably also swore that they were the only ones for you, but secretly dated a few more men, for whom you walked nude.”       The more Natalia listens to these false charges, the more her heart squeezes and bleeds, and the stronger she starts shaking. It’s madly unpleasant for her to hear all of it and give Edward a reason to think so, refusing to get the heated man cool and dumbfounded by the real truth that has to do with the man in the photos. However, Eugene’s rude, loud voice sounds in her head and prevents her wish to open her mouth.       “Why aren’t you trying to excuse yourself?” Edward asks coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Where is the all-favorite ‘I can explain everything, it’s not what you think about’? HUH? WHERE IS IT? Or are you confirming that you cheated on me and didn’t even think of being loyal to me?”       “Erm…” Natalia stutters, literally choking with tears. “I…”       However, Natalia cannot say a word because she is strongly shaking and literally choking on her tears.       “HEY?” Edward shouts. “WHAT? WILL YOU SPEAK?”       Instead of the answer, Natalia just starts making much louder sobs, closing her face with her hands, and doubling over. That’s why Edward gets much more furious, losing control of himself, stopping watching his words and actions, and not being afraid to hurt the terribly scared, white girl sitting on the sofa.       “It’s clear!” Edward shouts, setting his icy gaze on the scared Natalia. “CONFIRM! CONFESS THAT YOU CHEATED ON ME! NOT WITH ONE MAN BUT A FEW ONES!”       Edward grabs his hair with his hands for two seconds with a heavy breath.       “You have had me wrapped around your finger for almost three months, played with my feelings, and pretended that you are a girl madly in love, who lost hope of finding a man! You, bitch, have too many of them! You are collecting them around the world and fucking them! And you dare to say you are not allegedly lucky with men! Ha, IT’S NOT THE FUCKING TRUTH!”       Edward puts his hand on his forehead and starts nervously walking in front of the crying Natalia, who cannot literally breathe because of tears.       “Nasty whore!” Edward throws rudely. “DIRTY WENCH! PROSTITUTE THAT FUCKS EVERYBODY! I can't believe I did get in touch with a wench, who’s ready to caress anyone to get excited by her!”       Edward glances aside for a second.       “Ready to bet you’ve changed men like gloves since childhood,” Edward simpers. “When saw a boy for the first time, your career as a local slut started. However, it’s not amazing. Because you can do nothing but have sex. You went insane from boredom and found a hobby, for which you get much money and then buy everything at stores.”       These words hurt Natalia’s heart and make her more and more disappointed in Edward. The girl cannot believe her sweetheart finds her a prostitute and is insulting her so openly. He did seem to be a sweet guy, who would not dare to hurt a fly. But now recognizing him is impossible! There is not a caring and understanding man, who would be ready to give her all his love and care. Of course, Natalia has met a failure and been betrayed and groundlessly insulted by many guys. But nobody did what Edward lets himself do. He became the first one, with whom she started a truly serious relationship. Anyway, Natalia understands she is guilty of everything, not wishing to tell Edward all the truth and let him know she never cheated on him.       “Now I understand that the charges against Raquelle had a part of the truth,” Edward continues. “She blamed you for the betrayal and said you couldn’t love and befriend for the reason. Your friend knew what a nasty slut you are, but she didn’t open my eyes. Fucking sisterhood! I’m sorry she went to your home to apologize. Cameron should’ve pissed you off and forgotten the one, who cared only about rich men, who would be able to give her incredible sex every fucking day. I would not humiliate myself for such a brainless bitch, who was taught nothing by her parents. Because I don’t forgive betrayals that lie to me and have me wrapped around the finger.”       Edward hums and glances aside.       “And yeah, what does Terrence think of?” Edward wonders. “Is he blind and not seeing what a scumbag you are? How could he love you like his sister! All this time, he’s been defending you and never told me to keep myself far from the whore. Though, I’m his friend, to whom he wishes only happiness! If he really did, he wouldn’t let me fall in love with you.”       Edward smirks evilly, sharply shaking his head.       “However, he is not the only one to cover your business,” Edward adds rudely. “Anna, Daniel, Peter… All these people lied to me when they said you were a wonderful person! No, okay, Perkins and Rose aren’t guilty ‘cause they’ve known you for two months and know nothing about your real side. But what does Anna think of? Does that girl see nothing? Seymour is as blind as your friend Raquelle and my friend Terrence! And I’m truly sorry for them… But I hope those people would wake up someday and realize what a nasty and false asshole you are.”       The more Edward speaks, the harder it is for Natalia to control the flow of tears that she cannot stop. Every word from this man is like a knife in her back and a reason to start feeling hate for herself. The man himself gets much wilder because of the silence of the girl, who is about to have strong hysteria.       “Hey, are you going to say something?” Edward asks crossly. “Or will you be crying, trying to pity me? Do you think this trick would work? No, my dear, I’m used to saying what I think about! And I am not going to be silent about everything that has to do with you! Listen and remember who you are if none of your lovers have said it to you openly.”       However, Natalia gives no answer and still keeps sobbing constantly and thinking of what Eugene, the man with a scar that almost raped her, said. After waiting for a few seconds with a heavy breath, Edward instantly runs to the girl, moves her hands off her face, grabs them, and starts shaking her, looking at her with a gaze full of evil and hatred for the fragile and unprotected girl that shakes strongly from the scare.       “Will you speak or not?” Edward screams at the top of his lungs. “ANSWER NOW! I WANT TO HEAR AT LEAST ONE CLEAR WORD FROM YOU!”       Natalia makes a sob and slowly moves her red, tear-stained eyes to Edward for the first time in a long time, still shaking strongly and being afraid of the man, who has become aggressive and hardly cares about what he does and says.       “Y-y-you…” Natalia pronounces very quietly in a shaking voice. “Y-y-you are u-u-unf-f-fair t-t-to m-m-me…”       “Unfair? UNFAIR? DO YOU THINK IT’S OKAY TO FUCK MEN WHEN BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE? ARE YOU GOING TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO DO THE SAME?”       “I… I don’t recognize you… Erm… Well…”       “What? Are you confessing you’ve never needed me, and I became one of your many toys? Or will you keep pretending to be an innocent lamb even after I showed you the photos of you being nude and hugging some deadbeat?”       “I must not tell you anything,” Natalia says coldly in a low voice, trying to cover her fear and wish to tell all the truth with aggression, sharply gets up from the sofa and sets her contemptuous gaze on Edward. “I hate you, Edward Lockhart! I hate you for treating me like a doormat. Do you think you can wipe your feet on me and insult me as you want? No, scumbag, I will not let anyone do it! Hear me, I will not!”       “You do treat me like a doormat! You have never needed me, and you used me.”       “Come on!”       “But you pretended well! I didn’t notice that I got caught in your trap. And I wouldn’t have thought you just needed fresh blood. Someone new! But you didn’t take me to your bed because I bite you through in time and learned about your secret meetings with one of the lovers. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else sent me a couple of more photos of you pleasing some bastards. Or maybe, a video would be shown up! That would be one more real proof of your betrayal.”       “Stop insulting me at MY OWN HOME!” Natalia screams at the top of her lungs. “You have no right to come here and scream at me like crazy. But if you have mental problems, go to have therapy.”       “Stop turning this around me and finally confess you cheated on me,” Edward sharply grabs Natalia by the shoulders and shakes her strongly. “COME ON! CONFESS, BITCH! CONFESS THAT YOU ARE NOW HALF-NAKED FOR ONE OF YOUR LOVERS! FIND THE COURAGE TO RECOGNIZE YOUR BETRAYAL!”       “I’M GOING TO TELL YOU NOTHING! You got so busy finding a lie that you began to think up stupid things and believe in them!”       “STOP MAKING ME CRAZY! THESE PHOTOS ARE THE WONDERFUL PROOF OF THE FACT THAT YOU DON’T THINK OF ME WHEN I’M NOT WITH YOU!”       “YOU DID GET OBSESSED WITH SEX TALKS!” Natalia shouts hysterically. “Don’t you have enough? Are you acting like a hysterical girl because nobody wants to fuck you?”       “I’d rather live without sex than lie in a bed with the one that has been fucked many times. What if you are infected and would infect me. But I don’t want to spend months or even years trying to start living the life of a HEALTHY MAN again.”       “Instead of screaming here and talking about sex, you’d better go to find a job, start to earn money, and stop being jealous every time you visit rich houses. Or better give therapy to your nerves first. They are kind of weak.”       “CLOSE YOUR DIRTY MOUTH, SLUT!” Edward runs to Natalia sharply and squeezes her throat strongly, setting his widely open eyes full of hate on her, making her start choking and trying to move the hand of quite a strong man off. “Fate must’ve laughed at me! I avoided blondes all my life because I considered them total idiots, who were obsessed with themselves and had no great intellect. But eventually, I fell in love with the stupid blonde girl. Who is a false scumbag and prostitute that became very popular in some circles, as I understand.”       Edward squeezes Natalia’s throat much tighter.       “Bravo, Rochester! If you keep doing it, you will manage to leave your parents and buy an apartment. If you take one thousand dollars from your lovers for one night and kindly accept a good tip.”       “I could demand five thousand dollars from you as moral damage for insulting my honor and dignity,” Natalia blurts out in one breath. “But you will never see so much money. Even if you sell all your ripped pants, coats, and t-shirts and stay at a subway station and play your fucking guitar. You’ve been a beggar deadbeat and will always be!”       “We will see It, bitch!” Edward rudely pushes Natalia off himself and threatens her with a finger. “Maybe, by fucking men for money, you’d hold on. But if not for your parents, you wouldn’t be able to live as well as you do now. And if you thought you’d meet a handsome man, who would provide for you and give you millions of bucks every day, you can keep dreaming. A good man would never need such a disgusting slut like you.”       The insulted Natalia wants to give Edward a strong slap in the face and beat him well. But he immediately grabs her hands and holds them tightly, while she tries to get loose so hard, breathing heavily and getting literally red from anger.       “You can be enraged as much as you want, but it will not help you,” Edward says rudely. “I will never forgive you for cheating, lying, and using me as the backup player. NEVER! And after what you did to me, I do not wish to date you anymore and will do what I should do. You and I are breaking up! Once and forever! I’m leaving you with no regret and no longer wish to call myself your boyfriend.”       Natalia opens her eyes wider, feeling her heart misses a beat.       “YES, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED!” Edward shouts. “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUPLE!”       That’s what Natalia was afraid of more than anything. However, she knew it would happen if she did not confess a single thing. Nevertheless, Eugene’s rude voice sounds in her head every time she wants to tell Edward what happened to her before it is too late. Everything the poor Natalia can do now is cry, shake her head, and hate herself for ruining the happiness that she finally got after so many failures in love.       “Do not look at me with such big, uncomprehending eyes,” Edward throws coldly. “You heard everything – we broke up. And no excuses will help you. Whatever you say now or do in the future, I will not believe it. You had a chance to tell me everything earlier, but you preferred hiding it and insolently lying to me. If you wanted to keep our relationship, you wouldn’t sleep with everybody for three months and would be honest with me. So, as you don’t want it, it’s fine. I’m not going to make you.”       Edward goes a few steps back from Natalia.       “If you wanted to hurt me after everything I did to you, you, thankless pig, got it,” Edward says much quieter. “I don’t know how I’d overcome such a strong pain and forget about the disappointment that I never ran into before. All these wounds in my heart would be unfixable.”       Edward swallows up nervously.       “But remember, if I never make my personal life better and love a more decent girl, you will be the one to blame. I truly loved you and was doing my best for you to be happy. But you didn’t appreciate my effort and gave a fuck about it. So, it’s your choice.”       Edward steps further, while Natalia looks at him with wet eyes, closing her breasts with the edges of her robe and not stopping making quiet sobs.       “Farewell, Natalia Emily Rochester!” Edward throws coldly. “Stay happy with your lovers and forget me. From now on, I will not prevent you from fucking a few men at the same time. Since we aren’t in a relationship anymore, I do not care about what you do.”       The furious Edward instantly runs to the exit from the apartment, leaves it, and slams the door strongly. That’s why Natalia shakes and rounds her eyes. And when the man leaves, the girl takes her mask off, realizing that she lost her boyfriend because of her cowardice. The blonde’s heart is beating so fast that it’s about to jump out of her chest. It’s getting harder and harder to breathe, and tears are still coming out of her red, puffy eyes.       “God…” Natalia pronounces in a quiet, shaking voice, raising her head and closing her eyes tightly to hold down a flow of tears. “For what? For what? Why did You let me ruin my happiness? Why didn’t You get the voice that made me a coward out of my head? Why am I such an idiot? A stupid coward idiot that didn’t wanna fight for her happiness!”       Natalia makes a couple of loud sobs, slowly tying the bow on her robe and doing it so weakly that her big breasts show up out of the one.       “If I weren’t so cowardly, Edward wouldn't have insulted and left me,” Natalia continues to say. “Now he’s sure I slept with that stinker, who tried to rape me and sent him these fucking photos.”       Natalia sniffs loudly, choking with her own tears.       “Why? Why did Eugene do that? Why does he hate me so much that he decided to ruin my life and separate me from the man that I love? That man messed up everything! And I’m single now! Again! I’ll never get married!”       Natalia runs her hands over her wet from tears face with a desperate shout and runs her hands through her hair, half of which is hanging in the air, while the other part is barely pinned on the top of her head with hairpins.       “I never cheated on Edward!” Natalia exclaims. “Never! I was framed! Again! Simon framed me and turned Raquelle against me, and that stinker made Edward sure I cheated on him and allegedly dated a few men at the same time. It’s never happened! I love only one man, who considers me a nasty whore and hates me for the lie. Yes, I lied to him, but it’s not what he thinks about…”       Natalia makes a sob, still keeping breathing heavily, and starts to walk nervously in the whole living room.       “God, why didn’t I tell him the truth?” Natalia asks herself. “Even if he didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t at least feel so lousy! I should’ve tried! I should've done it! I could’ve saved our relationship and proven that Eugene wasn’t my lover. He was my offender, who I still see in my nightmares.”       Natalia shouts loudly again, grabbing her hair and pulling it strongly.       “I don’t wanna believe it’s all over because of me! I don’t want it! I’m not guilty! I’m not a whore! NOT A WHORE!”       Natalia closes her face with her hands, lies on the sofa, and keeps crying from despair and the realization that she cannot get the love and trust of Edward back. He will never forgive her and will always call her a betrayer and a prostitute, who changes men like gloves. The poor girl needs someone’s support and a shoulder she can cry on. However, the girl is terribly afraid to confess everything to her ex-boyfriend, her friends, and even her parents. Who must not especially see her erotic photos that would easily show her naked breasts.       Besides, she is getting worse because Eugene’s voice keeps sounding in her head like a broken record, repeating she will die if someone knows what happened five months ago. That’s what makes Natalia stay silent and do her best for nobody to know what happened to her. However, on the contrary, she would not be surprised if her offender gave her a few more horrible surprises that would get her to fight with those, who do not even guess what she had to experience, and how she is still paying for her stupidity.       

***

      “On that day, I was crying for probably a few hours,” Natalia says quietly, sometimes wiping off tears under her eyes and keeping her fingers tightly locked. “I thought I wouldn’t take the breakup and the humiliation, to which I put myself by hiding the rape attempt. But I was partly saved by my parents, who called me and said they’d be home soon. Since I decided to keep silent about that man and the breakup with Edward, I should’ve put myself together and met my parents as if nothing happened. Well, while they were on the road, I put myself in order somehow. Holding myself down was madly hard, but the voice in my head ‘helped’ me do it.”       Natalia stops for a second to exhale slowly.       “Later, my parents came back home and told me they’d go to Mexico to help Grandmother with moving and paying for some procedures in two days,” Natalia says. “Then I realized it was a perfect chance to distract myself and forget what happened. I started begging my parents to take me with them, covering it with a wish to help them and visit Grandma Adriana. I mean, I really wanted to visit her, but I literally insisted that they take me with them. So, Father and Mother eventually agreed. And we three left two days later after Edward broke up with me.”       Natalia sighs heavily and glances aside.       “Grandma asked me a lot about Edward, and I lied to her with a heavy heart and said everything was fine,” Natalia says. “I tried to load myself up to have no time to think of my mistakes. And it partly helped me. I felt a little better and even wished to go out to the city some time later. I sometimes walked somewhere, bought something, met a couple of Mexicans… I kind of came to myself. But my mood got worse one day before my parents had to be back in the USA for a few days. Honestly, I didn’t wanna go anywhere, but thinking of my friends here, I bite the bullet and began to pack my bag.”       Natalia swallows up nervously, glancing at the slightly open window.       “And yeah, one day before my return to the USA, I got a message from Edward, in which he said that nobody should’ve known about our breakup,” Natalia confesses. “We should’ve kind of behaved as if nothing happened.”       Natalia falls into silence for two seconds, inclining her head slightly.       “I immediately sent him a message, in which I let him know I was gonna tell you everything after coming back,” Natalia says. “But later, I got a message, in which Lockhart started to threaten me. He’d kind of show my erotic photos with that man to all of you and my parents. But since I still have those photos and haven't thrown them off yet, I reminded him that he had nothing to show. Then, he began to think up something and try to scare me, and he eventually said that we needed to pretend to be a couple if I didn’t want anything to happen to me. After that, I no longer wanted to argue and agreed to let him humiliate me and make me feel much worse by lying to my own friends and close people.”       “So, were you acting on the day Terrence and I invited you to dinner?” Raquelle asks.       “Yup. We lied to you. I’m sorry about what happened… It was madly unpleasant for me to lie to you, but… I was afraid to make Edward much angrier. On that day, he was so wild! But by telling you the truth, I would’ve messed up the dinner. It would’ve been over the way our talk about Michael did. Edward would’ve gotten enraged and started blaming me for cheating and calling me a whore.”       The more Natalia speaks, the stronger Terrence and Raquelle are surprised. None of them assumed the situation would be so serious that the girl would become the victim, who has been slandered for the second time.       “Yeah, that bastard sucked much blood out of us…” Terrence says coldly, tightly clenching his hands into fists. “I swear if I meet Edward somewhere, I will beat him much stronger than I did now. What he got isn’t enough to pay for everything he’s done.”       “I’m guilty of making him leave me,” Natalia replies quietly. “If I’d told him the truth earlier, everything would’ve been otherwise.”       “But why did you succumb to that asshole and lie that you cheated on him when you were not guilty?”       “At least to make him mad and burn from anger. Edward got me so furious that I would’ve killed him by myself with pleasure.”       “Yes, I don’t deny he’s an asshole,” Raquelle agrees. “But, Natalia, why didn’t you tell him anything? You did say Edward gave you a chance to explain everything, and you could’ve proved that you never cheated on him. Why didn’t you let him know those photos were fake?”       “At first, I was afraid, but after all his insults, I realized he’d think the truth was a lie and would kill me.” Natalia inclines her head guiltily and presses the pillow against herself. “The voice of that man always sounded in my head after I saw the photos Edward gave me. I wanted to tell him everything at once, but that disgusting, rude and terribly horrible voice sounded in my mind like out of the blue. And Lockhart was so furious that making him sure about something seemed impossible. But now it doesn’t make sense. He’ll never know the truth.”       “Yeah, do you think it’d be better to be silent about being kissed, felt up, and undressed?” Raquelle throws her hands up. “You should’ve told your parents about that. They would’ve done everything for that maniac to be put in prison. Moreover, the police were supposed to see what happened and see what kind of condition you had when those men ran away.”       “I was terribly worried about my life and didn’t want to get ashamed of the whole world. My nude photos could’ve been spread on the Internet and seen by all my familiar people, friends, and important people my parents communicate with. You imagine what would’ve happened if someone had seen at least one shoot, in which they could see my breasts and my nipples?”       “I understand you, honey, but you shouldn’t have hidden that. You and I were so close and wouldn’t have refused if you’d come to Terrence or me and asked for help.”       “I’m so sorry…” Natalia says with pity in her eyes and sniffs quietly. “I know I acted like a total idiot. Everything would’ve been otherwise if I’d turned on my brains and hadn’t made so many mistakes, because of which I lost so much.”       “But why did you decide to tell us everything now? Doesn’t the voice of that man sound in your head now and make you silent?”       “It does,” Natalia raises her head slowly and moves her gaze full of pity to Raquelle. “But I realized I couldn’t hide it anymore. I got over my fear and told you what I was hiding for so long. What was slowly killing me… And what’s still killing me… The fight with Edward became my last drop. I broke down and thought that if I didn’t tell everything now, I’d destroy myself. I should’ve let all my emotions out… I’m sick of being silent and afraid of something… I’ve got nothing to lose.”       “Say, did you and Edward have a conflict on the day you came to Raquelle and me at the dinner?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “No, there was no conflict… I didn’t actually communicate with Edward after the fight because of the photos. Not saying about the messages.” Natalia sniffs quietly. “During the talk with Raquelle after coming back to New York, I sent a message to Edward to tell him about the dinner. Some time later, I got the reply, in which he let me know Terrence confirmed it and told me not to dare to decline it. He made me let you know you thought up everything if one of you saw we were strange. Also, he wanted us to come together, and I agreed with it. But I eventually came alone, but Lockhart left me and even turned off the phone. However, it was even better for me. I would’ve strangled this man on the way.”       “Wow!” Raquelle exhales sharply. “What a story!”       “Yeah, but I don’t know, why did you pretend?” Terrence wonders. “As if you followed the rule that if you made you think something, it would happen! Raquelle and I did notice something wasn’t right at once! And we started to suspect something bad a long time before the dinner.”       “I did say that stupid idea belonged to Lockhart,” Natalia says quietly. “If I were much braver, I would’ve pissed that asshole off and told you about the breakup and the rape attempt.”       “Even if you said everything was fine, you both were too tense and nervous. Edward tried to hide his emotions, but he didn’t look truly, and that man is a talentless actor. And you, Natalia, gave us lots of reasons to reflect.”       “You did it every time the talk was about Edward,” Raquelle specifies. “First, you were quite funny and ready to talk about anything, but when we had a talk about that man or your secret, the positive girl left.”       “Is that why you tried to avoid talking about my relationship with Edward and asked Anna to do the same?” Natalia asks hesitantly, frowning slightly. “I noticed that when we were about to start a talk about him, you found something to avoid what was hurtful for me.”       “It’s true.”       “We decided to pretend that we stopped caring about your problems, as you asked,” Terrence confesses. “But we watched you and made some conclusions. But when we got the letters from Michael, we forgot about you. We thought only of Edward when he was openly blamed for everything.”       “Did Anna know about those letters?”       “Yup, she and Daniel did.”       “But why didn’t you tell me?”       “Sorry, Natalia, I just didn’t wanna load you with my problems,” Raquelle says softly. “And Anna agreed with me and decided not to say it for the same reason.”       “Well… Okay…”       “Hey, do you remember I somehow sent you a message and suggested spending time together? I went to your home after I finished the shooting with that capricious photographer.”       “Yeah… I do…”       “So, Terrence and I agreed that I’d meet you, and he’d meet Edward. We wanted to find out something that would help us know what happened to you. But everything we heard from you is that you allegedly were in a fight, and we wouldn’t better care about you.”       “Yes, yes, it’s true,” Terrence nods confidently. “Edward also said he didn’t know what was happening to your relationship and complained that he kind of doubted you and felt uncomfortable. But I thought he said it for me to leave him alone.”       “You both knew what happened to your relationship, but were silent. You also told me you doubted Edward’s feelings and were sure he didn’t love you. But I could believe it somehow… Now we know we could expect anything from that guy.”       “I know…” Natalia guiltily inclines her head and looks at Terrence and Raquelle with pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry about hiding the truth from you. To some extent, I really behaved like an egoist. I didn’t think one event with the person, who couldn’t be connected with anyone from my surrounding, would love to ruin my life.”       Natalia sighs heavily.       “And now I messed up everything…” Natalia adds quietly and sniffs. “God, what an idiot I am… Why did I turn off my brain and do what I shouldn’t have done? Everything would’ve been otherwise if I’d been way smarter.”       “No, Natalia…” Raquelle pronounces softly, moves closer to Natalia, and embraces her around the shoulders. “Don’t blame yourself, please. You’re guilty of nothing! Do you think you’re the only one to make mistakes in anger and despair? Remember, how many mistakes I made, and how I could’ve lost my close people because of my stupidity and naivety. I did tell you that Simon tried to rape me somehow and almost left me in my underwear. Thinking he saw my mother. And because of him, I almost died after I fell off the roof.”       “I know… But now it’s too late to discuss it… I can’t pretend that I wasn’t almost raped, undressed in the cold weather, and pictured on video and photos,” Natalia sniffs quietly. “I’m even afraid to check the Internet ‘cause I could easily see a video with me. To know someone would publish it on a porn site. If it happens, I’d become a dirty slut for everyone!”       “But we can help you get better.”       “How?” Natalia throws her hands up. “I can’t turn time back upon! Nothing can be changed! I can’t come back to the past and tell Edward about the rape attempt and the threat of becoming famous as a porn star. I can’t find the courage to tell Father and Mother everything and tell them that someone took my bra off and literally started to get their penises into my ass.”       “Yes, you’re right, it’s impossible,” Terrence says softly. “But you have friends that will always support you and help you.”       “Exactly, darling!” Raquelle smiles slightly. “We’re always ready to give you our shoulder, so you can cry and speak out. Moreover, you can also rely on the support of Anna. And Daniel and Peter have always treated you very well.”       “Yes, yes, Perkins is also worried about you. He’s asked me many times what happened to you and talked to Anna about you. Daniel doesn’t wish you evil and wants you to be happy, as you deserve.”       “He didn’t probably like my appearance when Anna, Raquelle, and I were at his home,” Natalia shrugs and runs her hand through her hair. “He stared at me when he saw me sitting in the living room with the girls…”       “You know, nobody liked your appearance,” Raquelle notices. “We were horrified by how much you changed and what a horrible condition you brought yourself to.”       “Strong stress and eating much less food made their business,” Natalia chuckles quietly and slightly pulls her t-shirt. “My clothes do hang on me… I had the ‘S’ size, but now I ‘deflated’ to ‘XS’…”       “Eating much less food?” Raquelle frowns slightly, questioningly staring at Natalia, and shakes her head sharply with horror in her eyes. “Wait, don’t you eat almost anything?”       “Yes… I’ve lately felt sick when seeing food. And water… That’s why my eating schedule got uneven, and I can easily eat literally a piece of salad per day.”       “Gosh, Natalia…” Terrence gets horrified. “Do you understand it might end badly for you?”       “I know, but I could do nothing with it,” Natalia shrugs and glances down. “I swear, I tried to eat just something to have the energy to stand on my feet. But I could swallow nothing good but a little sandwich and a glass of water. But when I didn’t wanna eat and drink, I didn’t torture myself and preferred being hungry.”       “My gosh…” Raquelle closes her mouth with a hand and shakes her head. “Rochester, you’re crazy! How do you live without food and water? It did make your condition much worse!”       “Not surprised that you fainted,” Terrence adds. “But if you’d kept doing it, you could’ve ended up in the hospital with exhaustion and been forced to visit lots of doctors and psychologists.”       “But I didn’t reject the food, I just didn’t eat when feeling nausea,” Natalia excuses.       “Oh, Natalia, it doesn’t matter!” Raquelle asks tiredly. “To have the energy, you should feed up well. I also barely walked when I couldn’t look at food one day, worrying about the problems with Simon, the fight with you, and the breakup with Terrence. You know how bad I felt! I could be only lying on the bed and crying all day long! I think I needed a little bit to die.”       “What?” Natalia and Terrence get horrified, moving their eyes to Raquelle.       “Raquelle, did you really keep starvation?” Natalia asks with horror in her eyes.       “Hey, second!” Terrence exclaims. “So, as far as I understand, did you become the first one? Is that why you looked so horrible on the day we met?”       “I swear it happened only once!” Raquelle raises her hands. “With Grandfather and Aunt’s pretense, I made myself swallow up something. But when I was alone, I didn’t even touch food and drinks, though the refrigerator was always full of something delicious.”       “Now it’s clear,” Terrence exhales sharply. “It’s clear why you looked like a skeleton with skin and suffered from panic attacks. Why you fainted after Lynwood and I pulled you up on the roof.”       “If you had lived in my body, you would have known how hard it was for me. Who suffered much more? Raquelle! Who got much more kicks and became a victim of terrible events? Raquelle! If not for a wish to deal with Simon, I would’ve preferred hanging myself. I didn’t have the wish to live!”       “I’m well aware of what you felt. But I don’t like that you decided to torture yourself with starvation.”       “Ha, you would’ve hardly cared about it at that time. Ringer made you an idiot and made you think I regretted dating you allegedly under my family’s pressure.”       “I believed them because you gave me the reason to think so when you treated me like an empty place and forgot you had a boyfriend.”       “I doubt you thought of your girlfriend when starting to hang out with another slut!” Raquelle shows aggression, setting her gloomy gaze on Terrence. “That blonde-dyed mop that I would’ve strangled with pleasure right in the restroom!”       “Ar-r-r, holy shit…” Terrence rolls his eyes and runs his hands over his face with an irritated growl. “I’ve told you hundreds of times that I had nothing but friendship with that girl. And I pretended to be in love with her for my music career.”       “It’s just an excuse! You just wanted to feel needed and prove to me that you could seduce any gal, who would call you God and literally bow to you. But not everyone would agree to stand such an unbearable donkey like you.”       “Yeah, it’s one of the reasons why I started to hang out with Rachel. But you know I have never loved her.”       “Aha, sure!” Raquelle hums, crossing her arms over her chest. “I saw how you didn’t love her! You kissed and hugged her right before people’s eyes! First, you licked her from head to foot, but then you decided to play a hero after that otter came back to you in a ripped dress and a scar under her eyes and went to deal with me. You believed that I allegedly beat her to half-death, though that idiot insolently lied to turn you against me.”       “You thought I’d leave it unnoticed?” Terrence wonders. “Rachel was guilty of nothing! But you acted like a psycho and almost beat her!”       “I would have been happy to beat that nasty cow better, who insolently hanged on your neck and wanted to make you marry her. Or was she happy with the role of a lover? She was happy when you went to her home and fucked her?”       “Oh, Raquelle, here we go again…” Terrence moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “We did talk about it… Why did you the fuck go to the wrong side?”       “And after that chicken felt you up and licked you from head to feet, you came to me and almost dragged me into one of the restrooms. You felt me up, kissed me against my wish, and put your hands in my knickers… You didn't let me go and dreamed of me doing you a blowjob!”       “You didn’t mind it! No matter how much you resisted, pissed off, bite, beat, and lied, all my actions got you delighted. And you confirmed it!”       “Yeah, but at that moment, I should’ve hit your balls and given you lots of slaps,” Raquelle says rudely. “You thought you could come to me and force me to have sex with you, as that slut couldn’t do the full list of your high claims.”       “Do you want us to fight? Come on! Let’s fight again and remind each other of your past offenses. I’d recall how you gave a fuck about me after our first sex and loaded yourself with work not to see me. And you would reproach me for cheating and blaming you for not making gifts for you and giving a fuck about you because of you.”       “I’ve never forgotten it. I’ve always remembered you did a disgusting thing to me when I needed help so badly.”       “Well, you know, I also remember all of your sins. I can remind you that you are not holy.”       “Oh, come on!” Raquelle rolls her eyes. “What are you waiting for? Come on, tell me how many gals you fucked when we were close to a breakup! How many of them fit your high claims? Who didn’t ‘pass the test’? Huh, MacClife? Tell me! Come on!”       “What do you want now? WHAT? Why do you the fuck want to make me wild? You know that my nerves aren’t fine because of the fucking son of a bitch, Edward, and the nasty, greedy, and vindictive rat Michael! But you try to irritate me and make me insane!”       “Go to hell, scumbag!”       “Hey, stop, guys, stop!” Natalia meddles. “Calm down! Why did you start to fight? Started from Raquelle’s starvation and panic attacks that I know nothing about but finished with Terrence’s hangouts with Peter and Daniel’s friend!”       “I don’t know why she got insane again!” Terrence throws gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Your friend just loves finding a reason to fight! I need to say just something for her to get nuts and recall all my past sins.”       “Indeed, Raquelle…” Natalia moves her eyes to Raquelle. “Why did you decide to think about it?”       “I should’ve reminded him why I kept starving and suffered from panic attacks,” Raquelle throws coldly in a low voice, keeping her arms crossed over her chest.       “Is that true?”       “Yes, Natalia…” Raquelle slightly inclines her head, looking at her hands. “I really had a few panic attacks when I left Terrence’s home. Nevertheless, I managed to get rid of them by autosuggestion. Nobody knew I had something like that, even Aunt Alicia and Grandfather Frederick.”       “My gosh… But what about your starvation? Did you really have food issues?”       “I won’t deny. I felt so bad that I vomited at the sight of food. I got pain in my stomach, could sometimes feel nausea… I wanted to go nowhere… And I felt dizzy… I could only be lying on the bed and sleeping for hours… Because of the problems with Simon and Terrence, I became a real vegetable and, so to say, faded away slowly. While your sweet pal had fun with the whore and tried to build his musical career with her help.”       “Did you really fight with her in the restroom?”       “Yes. But not for too long. Though, I ripped her dress and left a couple of scars on her face, and she almost pulled all of my hair. Well, after putting myself in order, I decided to leave not to see that gal and her horndog. But MacClife found me, pressed to the wall, started to scream, and nearly took me to the restroom to fuck me.”       Raquelle sighs quietly and closes her eyes for a second, feeling her heart squeezes from the memories she got obsessed with. The girl cannot hold the tears down, closes her mouth with a hand, and inclines her head. Natalia tightly hugs and presses her friend to herself, while the brunette puts her nose in her shoulder at once and makes quiet sobs, hugging her friend and trying not to cry bitterly. At some moment, Natalia, caressing Raquelle’s head softly, stops her eyes on Terrence, who swallows up nervously, nervously fingering over with tension in every single muscle.       “Yeah, Terrence, you’re awesome…” Natalia says thoughtfully. “Did you really think you’d replace Raquelle with another girl?”       “At that moment, I thought I’d do it,” Terrence replies quietly. “I was lucky to meet her after a short talk with Benjamin. Rachel and I studied in the same class. She was always in love with me, chasing me like a dog with the hope that I’d love to be with her. But she was just my friend, and she knew it well. However, after she introduced me to Albert, her father, Daniel, Peter, and Marty, the vocalist of the band, I began to use her for my own goals. To make Raquelle mad and show her she lost very much… And to get into the musical world thanks to Albert.”       “And you got it?”       “Partly, yes. The band business got better shorty: Perkins and Rose accepted me, and Sanderson respected me for the love for his daughter, for whom he was easily ready for anything. And I found out my second goal was reached when Raquelle saw me and Rachel and got terribly jealous.”       “Weren’t you sorry for that girl, who you got involved in your business?”       “Of course, I was! I didn’t wanna hurt her and thought I’d pretend for a little time and could really get love for Rachel. But after meeting Raquelle and a burst of passion, I realized I didn’t wanna deceive people anymore. The next day, I confessed to Rachel that I had lied to her and left Albert’s band at my wish. She was insulted and humiliated, and she didn’t wanna talk to me anymore. At her wish and by her father’s order.”       “Oh…” Natalia exhales sharply, glancing aside for a second. “Yeah, MacClife, you did much… I understand you were insulted by Raquelle not wishing to give you enough attention. But do you understand that you gave her strong pain? The poor girl suffered because of that sick bastard, Simon, but you destroyed her much more!”       “I know, Natalia. But when Simon said Raquelle allegedly cheated on me, it was hard for me to think adequately. And as our relationship was close to the end, and your friend didn’t love me, I believed it easily and believed that she allegedly got so cold to me because of the other man.”       “Cameron always considered Hunter a friend. Yes, he never lost hope, but she honestly told him about her feelings.”       “I’m really very sorry for mocking her for so long. I would’ve probably behaved otherwise if our relationship had been better. Because when someone loves you, you see and feel it. But then I felt I was an empty place for Raquelle, who dated me to allegedly make her family stop asking her about her personal life.”       “I believe you, buddy…” Natalia, looking at Terrence with sympathy and still hugging Raquelle snuggling her nose in her shoulder, softly caresses his hand. “I kind of understand your feelings.”       “That fight became a strong push in my back, after which I realized I behaved disgustingly. I realized I shouldn’t have gone down to open insults and let myself raise a hand to the girl. Everything has limits… And I crossed the line… And I lied to myself that I never loved Raquelle and didn’t know why I dated her.” Terrence exhales sharply and runs his hand slowly over his hair. “But it was just what I wanted to think.”       “I told myself the same.” Raquelle slowly steps back from Natalia and wipes the rest of her tears off her face.” “We openly lied and made each other think there was no love between us.”       At this moment, Natalia unconsciously recalls herself telling Edward that she never loved him during one of the fights. That’s why she feels her heart squeezes slightly and gets a little sad. However, the girl says nothing and just looks at Raquelle and Terrence with sympathy.       “Guys, but it’s all in the past!” Natalia exclaims, softly putting one hand on Terrence’s hand and another hand on Raquelle’s one. “It’s been so long, but you decided to think about it. I understand you two feel really hurt. But you can’t live in the past forever. You barely saved your relationship and learned to be happy. Yes, it might be hard to be together, but when you’re apart, you feel worse. I’m sure no matter how hard the barriers in your way are, you will find a way to each other and overcome anything.”       “It’s just very hard for me to think about it,” Raquelle makes a quiet sob and looks around the whole room. “Although Terrence and I agreed not to think about it, I can’t do it… It’s too hard for me.”       “And much harder for me,” Terrence pronounces quietly. “You know how it’s hard not to think about being mainly guilty of ruining your relationship when the memories get into your head almost every day.”       “Don’t blame yourself, Terrence,” Raquelle glances down. “If I hadn’t treated our relationship so irresponsibly, everything would've been otherwise.”       “Don’t blame, you two!” Natalia exclaims. “It’s in the past! Yes, you both are guilty in the same way, but the most important thing is that every one of you realized it and now tries to be a wonderful partner for each other. You decided to marry. If you can’t learn to live in peace, is there a point in having a wedding?”       “We got a bad feeling after that case…” Terrence inclines his head and thinks for two seconds with sadness in his eyes. “And it’s hurtful to remember that I was a stinker for some time. And a betrayer when the media found out about my affair with Rachel.”       “I don’t deny it, I judged you. But you tried to be better and still keep doing great work on you. Words don’t matter. What you do to prove something does matter.”       “And thank you so much for not turning your back on me,” Terrence smiles shyly. “I’m lucky to have such an amazing friend like you.”       “No, thank you,” Natalia thanks with a true smile. “You, guys, literally saved me! Without you, I would’ve found a way to kill myself here, at home, or somewhere else.”       “We did what real friends should’ve done,” Raquelle replies amicably. “You’ve done so much for Terrence and me. Now it’s our time to thank you and do something good.”       “Thanks. I got much better… And… If you wanna make me happy, try not to fight for stupid things. Fights don’t give pleasure to anyone. Maybe, only some sick prevents…”       “We’re trying to,” Raquelle sighs heavily. “But as you see, we can’t always do it…”       “Hey, Raquelle…” Natalia frowns slightly. “Answer my question, please… I noticed you were upset yesterday. Nothing happened between you and Terrence? I thought Anna and you knew something but didn’t wanna say…”       “Erm…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly and says nothing for two seconds. “Actually, yes… Happened… I told Anna about it but didn’t tell you because I didn’t wanna load you with my problems.”       “Tell me now. Did you fight because of something?”       “Well… Actually, yes… But nothing serious happened…” Raquelle touches some parts of her face with her fingertips. “Just…”       “Our Raquelle was just a little headstrong and decided to go to Anna’s home,” Terrence meddles, crossing his arms over his chest. “Even though we almost died, trying to run away from the people of Michael, who Edward talked about. She believed I tried to hold her at home against her wish, though it was my wish to protect her from bad things.”       “I should have had fun!”       “Aha! You recently had fun! So much fun that I barely brought you to life because of your panic attack, by which you almost put me to a grave.”       “I am sorry, Mr. MacClife, I am not the one to blame!” Raquelle throws crossly, rolling her eyes.       “Ah, I’m guilty of everything again!”       “As if you don’t know! You thought of starting a race on the road! To show the fuck off!”       “You didn’t say these things yesterday!”       “As if it would’ve been better to die after crushing the truck!”       “Would it have been better to get stabbed with a knife?”       “Nobody would’ve attacked us in a popular place! Only a brainless moron could think of robbing, killing, or kidnapping in daylight!”       “If Michael told those bastards to kill us in any way, they would kill us, even at a shopping center. Before thousands of cameras and security! Nobody would get them caught!”       “Damn, how everything is easy for you!”       “Hey, stop!” Natalia exclaims loudly. “Stop the fuck fighting! What did you get into, while I was sitting at home and suffering from depression?”       “Nothing,” Raquelle throws coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Someone just wanted to show off a little and feel like a member of a race, reaching the speed of two hundred miles an hour to leave the pals of Michael behind. We were lucky this brainless peacock could drive well. Otherwise, we would’ve crushed the truck placed on the roadside. This scumbag was going on it on purpose to scare me to death!”       “Well, when everything ended, your friend started screaming at the top of her lungs and ran away somewhere,” Terrence says in a low voice. “I barely found this runaway girl, who got such a strong panic attack that she thought she was choking and dying. And then she decided to faint and scare me so that I almost got white hair.”       “You’re guilty!” Raquelle throws rudely. “You should’ve thought better before doing what would make my hair stand. And you’re the reason why I thought I’d die!”       “I did say I was the fuck sorry!” Terrence replies irritably, loudly. “Do I have to apologize to you for that event ‘till the end of my life?”       “Put your apologies in your ass…” Raquelle blunts, crossing her arms over her chest and moving her eyes aside.       “Hey, stop fighting,” Natalia says tiredly. “You must be together and support each other, not snap and find reasons to fight.”       “Yeah, here’s the day without conflicts…” Terrence mumbles under his nose. “I hoped for the best…”       “Why are you mumbling?” Raquelle asks gloomily.       “You’ve lately found tons of reasons to fight!”       “Ah, you don’t kind of have to do with it! You’re good and innocent! A fucking victim!”       “Oh, gosh…” Terrence moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “You’ve lately started to make me enraged by your actions.”       “And I want to hit your face with a skillet!”       “Yeah, guys…” Natalia shakes her head. “It seems like you’ll never learn to live quietly… To live happily, you need to live like a volcano. Otherwise, you’d feel bored. Cameron, you’ve lately, definitely loved getting a drive by fighting with your fiancé.”       “Agree,” Terrence agrees. “But after the reconciliation, she was a good girl and wanted love and tenderness for a few months. But now your friend wanna have some fun…”       “It’s impossible to be a good girl with you,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully with her arms crossed over her chest.       “Maybe…” Natalia agrees. “But I think a bigger part of your conflicts has to do with stress.”       “Yeah, you’re right… I think we’re too worried about all the current events.”       “At least, you have people, with whom you could talk. Fate didn’t deprive you of good friends, to whom you can complain about something.”       “You’re one of those, to whom we could say anything,” Terrence cracks a smile.       “I know,” Natalia smiles truly back. “I don’t doubt I’m surrounded by people, who will always help me get better.”       Terrence and Raquelle smile shyly and say nothing for a few seconds. Later, the girl takes Natalia in her amicable hug, which the blonde accepts with pleasure. And then the man joins them and hugs both of the girls.       “Still, I’m asking you, stop fighting,” Natalia says shyly a few seconds later. “Or you will bring everything to a breakup. The world will lose a beautiful couple, and you will lose your beloved person, without whom your life would have no meaning.”       “Nope…” Raquelle pronounces, slowly steps back from Natalia and Terrence, and inclines her head. “I won’t take it. And you’ll never see me with a smile on my face.”       “No…” Terrence steps back from Natalia and takes Raquelle’s hands. “No, I don’t want a smile to stop showing up on your wonderful face. Because I do adore it.”       “Never leave me, and you’ll see my smile almost every day,” Raquelle replies quietly with a shy smile.       “Even if I leave you, it will happen only in your nightmare,” Terrence says confidently, running his hand over Raquelle’s hair and moving some strands off her face. “I’d prefer dying than living without you. Yes, you’re an unbearable and hysterical girl that really irritates me, but I need you.”       “Aw, MacClife…” Raquelle laughs quietly, barely touching Terrence’s temple to slap him slightly. “If only you knew how much I ‘hate’ you…”       Terrence laughs shyly, and Raquelle tightly puts her arms around the man’s neck, snuggles her nose in its curve for two seconds, and puts her head on his shoulder. The man wraps the small of the girl’s back with his arm, puts a free hand on her back, and puts his chin on her shoulder, smiling slightly and blinking at Natalia watching her friends with a true, wide smile on her face.       “Aw, guys, it’s so nice to see you like this!” Natalia exclaims. “That’s what you should always be. Always!”       About ten or fifteen seconds are gone before Raquelle and Terrence decide to step away from each other. Then they move their eyes to Natalia, who smiles mysteriously at them.       “Erm, I can leave, and you keep doing it…” Natalia shrugs. “If you’re getting obsessed with passion…”       “Ah, we’d do it with pleasure,” Terrence replies, taking Raquelle’s hand. “But I need to go to the hospital.”       “Hospital?” Natalia opens her eyes widely. “But what happened to you? You’re sick?”       “Thank God, nope,” Raquelle replies. “Yesterday, Daniel, two friends of Peter, and me gave samples of blood to find out who might be a donor of the blond. And today we should know the results, and Terrence will go to get them.”       “My gosh… Is everything serious that Peter needs a transfusion?”       “Yes, Peter lost much blood,” Terrence nods with sadness in his eyes.       “But what if none of you four fits?”       “We will find someone else. I think there would be people, who would love to do the test. Either one of the friends, or a volunteer… We’ll see.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then Terrence looks at Raquelle and Natalia with a slight smile, saying:       “So, sweet girls, sadly, I have to leave you alone. I don’t know what time it is. So, I will go to check it and start to get ready. Change my clothes and cover the consequences of revealing one betrayal.”       “Oh, yeah, you better hurry up,” Natalia laughs shyly, slightly pushing Terrence on his forearm. “Or Daniel may be unhappy that His Highness is late and makes everybody wait.”       “If he does, he will regret it much,” Terrence smiles slyly.       “And he’ll revenge you for laughing at him, as he gave blood,” Raquelle chuckles, ruffling Terrence’s hair.       “Why?” Natalia asks.       “As it turned out, Daniel can barely take the sight of blood. And as he almost fainted, Terrence started to mock him.”       “Not mock, my sunshine, but make the atmosphere less tense,” Terrence protests.       “Hey, narcissistic peacock, go away from here!” Natalia exclaims. “And don’t be surprised if Perkins thinks of your great love for yourself and starts laughing at you the way all your friends and relatives do.”       “Okay, okay, okay, girls, I’m leaving! Have fun without me, but I must do my duty for my friend.”       “Yeah, and forget that I was actually here!” Natalia laughs shyly. “Oh, no! If nobody notices you, it will make your self-rating much worse. Because you do need permanent attention.”       “Oh, yeah, this creature does always need an auditory,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “He chose a public profession for a reason. Because the entire world praises you only in this way.”       “M-m-m, I’m recognizing the former Natalia Rochester,” Terrence notices with a sly smile. “You started to joke and smile… Keep doing the same, friend!”       “Just for you and Raquelle,” Natalia replies confidently.       “So, honey, it seems like we’re on the right track,” Raquelle notices cheerfully, blinking at Terrence.       “Undoubtedly, my darling,” Terrence replies and strokes Raquelle’s hair down. “So, okay, bye, girls! Don’t be bored without me!”       Terrence gets up quickly from the bed, kisses Raquelle cutely on the cheek, holding her by the back of her head, comes to Natalia, and hugs her amicably, clapping her on the back. Then the man leaves the room and closes the door, while the girls watch him with shy smiles on their faces.       “Communicating with Dan made your pretty boy less serious,” Natalia notices. “Don’t ya think?”       “I thought about it,” Raquelle confesses. “But Terrence doesn’t think Daniel influences him badly. Though, you and I are well aware of the fact that Daniel is a little idiot guy.”       “Who, nevertheless, perfectly fits our friend, Anna. And when he’s with her, that dude changes for the best.”       “The most important thing is that his conflict with Peter doesn’t impact his relationship with Anna.” Raquelle starts wrapping a strand of her hair around her finger. “I don’t exclude that Perkins might get mad at her assumption about him having to do with Rose’s suicide attempt.”       “He does know our friend isn’t gonna pretend it’s right, and honestly says his act is disgusting. And while we don’t know the true reasons, he should know we have the reason to suspect him for his involvement in this case.”       “I think he does. Of course, Daniel may be stupid at times, but he isn’t actually brainless and knows what is what.”       “Yeah… I don’t deny…”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then Natalia sighs quietly and tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, saying thoughtfully:       “So, I think I’d better go home and put myself in order. And I need to clean the apartment… My parents are gonna be shocked when they’re back and see what it has become.”       “Want me to help you?”       “I wouldn’t reject your help. Unless it doesn’t load you.”       “Don’t worry, I’m absolutely free today and can spend all day with you,” Raquelle gets up from the bed and goes to the exit. “Moreover, I don’t wanna leave you alone. What if you wanna do something to yourself again and fall into depression, which only doctors would get you out of.”       “No, no!” Natalia also gets up from the bed and leaves the room along with Raquelle, feeling mild weakness in her legs. “I got much better! When I told you what had been torturing me all this time, I felt relief. I get rid of the heavy burden that dragged me down.”       “I believe you, willingly. But promise that you will no longer scare us like this and bring yourself to another nervous breakdown.”       “I swear solemnly!” Natalia exclaims, putting her hand on her head. “And I promise I will often visit you and Terrence, so you’re sure I don’t withdraw into myself, and I am coming back to an active life.”       “Okay, we’d be happy with it,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “Even if only one of us is home, you can come here anyway.”       “What if nobody is here?” Natalia asks, starting to go downstairs along with Raquelle.       “Then you can wait for us. And talk to our servants. They love doing it.”       “They’re all so sweet,” Natalia notices. “Your servants visited me a couple of times, and we talked a little. And the one to wear glasses… Violetta, probably… She told me how much she missed her daughter.”       “She’s a single mother and has to work hard to buy everything for her daughter,” Raquelle says with sadness in her eyes. “The father of the child left her and doesn’t participate in education. So, that’s why Violetta works, and her mother watches the baby.”       “Yes, she said.”       When the friends end up in the living room, Raquelle thinks of something and puts a finger on her lips.       “Oh, my purse is up,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “Listen, wait for me here! I’ll quickly take it and put on something ‘cause it’s cold outside.”       “Yes, sure,” Natalia shrugs with a shy smile, takes her purse and phone that were not touched after she left the living room, and quickly checks something in them.       Raquelle goes upstairs with a slight smile and disappears somewhere on the second floor. Natalia stays in the living room, thinking about being very lucky to have such wonderful friends as Terrence and Raquelle. They did make her feel a little relief for the first time in a while, truly smile and start to try to joke about something. The girl can now breathe in and breathe out much easier, and she feels much better. As if she got rid of the heavy burden.       “I’ll never forget what Terrence and Raquelle have done to me,” Natalia thinks with a slight smile. “They literally saved me. Without them, I would’ve done something to myself a long time ago. I don’t regret finding the courage to tell them what happened. I should’ve done it a long time ago. I’ve got nothing to lose. Edward got the photos, and my silence didn’t save me from death. It almost destroyed me and ruined my relationship with my close people.”       One or one and a half minutes later, Raquelle goes downstairs to the first floor and returns to the living room with a purse in her hands and a light coat placed on her.       “It seems like Terrence left in his broken car,” Raquelle assumes, looking through the window and seeing her car is placed in the same place, but Terrence’s auto is not. “He didn’t use my baby.”       “Was he supposed to leave in yours?” Natalia asks, takes her coat from the sofa, and places it on her.       “He just asked me for permission to take my car, and I agreed. Though I warned that if he crushes it, I will give him no cent for repair, and he’ll have to pay his money.”       “Okay… But when is he gonna leave his car for repair? I went by and got shocked by what a broken thing MacClife’s car became, and I didn’t understand how it could happen.”       “It’s okay, when he leaves it for repair for a couple of weeks, it will be like new.” Raquelle opens her purse to find something in it. “Damn, I thought I put the keys from my car here. Do I have to go up again?”       “Erm, actually I came in mine,” Natalia replies, takes the keys from her car from her purse, and shows them to Raquelle.       “Do you wanna say you drove the car in this condition?” Raquelle frowns slightly and goes to the exit from the house.       “Yeah,” Natalia follows Raquelle, fixing her hair on the way. “I must confess that driving distracted me for a while. I turned myself to focusing on the road. And it helped me get all these terrible thoughts out of my head.”       “Oh, Rochester, sometimes you may be crazy,” Raquelle exhales slowly, leaving the house and closing the door. “Sometimes you don’t think of the aftermath.”       “Maybe…” Natalia shrugs, going to her car along with Raquelle. “But you’d be also afraid to open your mouth if you could die.”       “Do you think it'd better to bring yourself to such a horrible condition and suffer from the rape attempt and the disgusting behavior of your ex-boyfriend? If Terrence and I hadn’t helped you now, it would’ve been too late to save you next time.”       “Believe me, I didn’t want it to happen and to know that I was guilty of messing up everything,” Natalia sighs heavily, unlocking her car with the key and sitting in the passenger's seat. “And I don’t want you both to think I wanted to get attention and brought myself to such a horrible condition on purpose.”       “Don’t regret it, please.” Raquelle also gets into the car in the passenger seat, closes the door, and puts on the safety belt. “And don’t blame yourself. Those, who dare to hurt you, should regret it.”       “I doubt it’d happen,” Natalia assumes, starting a motor.       “It’s their problem. But you must brace yourself and find the strength to keep living.”       “It’s gonna be hard, but I promise to do my best. For my close people.” Natalia sighs heavily. “Many of whom it’s time to apologize to…”       “And tell them the truth about what happened to you.”       “Yeah, sure…”       Natalia sighs again, goes far from the house, and ends up on the road, on which she could reach the highway. She and Raquelle keep talking about everything and turn on the radio at some moment to listen to good music, trying not to think about everything that happened two hours ago.