The Criminal Diaries

      “My gosh, Raquelle, what are you talking about!” Helene horrifies and caresses Natalia’s head.       “Please, friend, don’t joke at me like this,” Natalia begs in despair. “I will not handle it… Please, tell me it was your bad joke. Please, don’t torture me!”       “I wish I could say it’s not the truth, but alas,” Raquelle replies with sadness in her eyes and glances at her hands for a second. “I can't…”       “He died… Did Edward die, yeah? I lost him?”       “No, no, thank God, the doctors managed to revive Edward quickly. He started to breathe, but now his heart is beating faintly.”       “But what happened to him?” Anna wonders with a heavy breath. “What happened to Edward? He's a tough and healthy guy! Why did he nearly die?”       “At first, nobody understood a thing. But they got the reason to believe someone tried to poison Edward.”       “Poison?” Helene wonders. “Who needed it? Who hates Edward so much?”       “Nobody knows anything yet,” Raquelle throws her hands up. “It’s based on what Blake saw.”       “What did he see?”       “A cleaning woman entering the dressing room of the lads quietly and adding something to the bottle of water.”       “No…” Natalia shakes her head sharply. “No, no, no way. I refuse to believe it! No!”       “But why did nobody stop that cleaning woman?” Anna wonders. “Why did nobody notice how she entered there and did her business?”       “I dunno, girls, I’m telling you what I learned from Terrence, Raquelle replies. “But he’s so scared now that he can barely speak, and his voice’s shaking. The thought of Edward’s death almost drove him crazy. He definitely applied a lot of effort to tell me what happened.”       “But are the guys okay?” Helene expresses anxiety.       “Yup, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter are okay. They’re gonna go to the hospital all together.”       “It must be a prank…” Natalia keeps assuring herself and laughs nervously. “These idiots just have nothing to do, and they decided to joke like this.”       “I’m very sorry, Natalia, but it’s not a joke. And they wouldn’t dare to do it.”       “I swear I will hang MacClife, Sr. by the balls if it’s the truth. And those idiots, who agreed to participate in it.”       “But what was Edward poisoned with?” Anna asks. “What did the cleaning woman add to the water?”       “Nobody knows yet, the bottle was taken by the doctors for examination,” Raquelle replies with sadness in her eyes. “As well as the bottle that the cleaning woman lost and Daniel found in the dressing room.”       “It had poison?”       “Most likely. Blake said she let it go sharply when he caught her in the crime. And after he threatened to call the police, she put her tail between her legs and got out. Before Edward became her victim, and the stadium staff closed all the exits and entrances to find her and question her.”       “My gosh, it’s awful…” Helene closes her mouth with a hand.       “Why?” Natalia wonders with tears in her eyes and sniffs loudly. “Why was it Edward? Why?”       “Quiet, quiet, Natalia, don’t cry,” Raquelle calms down softly, takes Natalia in her tight hug, and caresses her friend’s head. “Don’t cry, my sweetheart.”       “I can’t lose him. I don’t want.”       “Edward’s gonna be okay. He can get through it. I am sure about this.”       “Yes, friend, Edward is a tough guy,” Anna agrees, stroking Natalia’s back. “He’s gotten through so much, but he is still alive and healthy. He can overcome it again.”       “Did the doctors really bring him back to life?” Helene asks hesitantly, checking something on her phone.       “Yes, luckily, they came in time and supported his life. But the ambulance was on the way for too long. They arrived literally some time ago.”       “And how does he feel now?” Anna specifies.       “Hard condition. Weak pulse, high fever, low blood pressure, no response to what’s happening.”       “What?”       “He’s awake already, but he doesn’t react or answer questions. Terrence said the men and he tried to talk to him and say something, but Edward was just looking into the distance.”       “My gosh…” Anna puts her hand on her heart.       “They’ve written about it on the Internet!” Helene exclaims after she finds a recently released article.       “Come on?” Raquelle pronounces surprisingly.       “Here, read it!”       Helene shows her friends the content of the article she found on her phone, so they can read it.       “The rock band ‘Against The System’ cancelled their concert some time ago that was supposed to take place tonight at the stadium ‘Crystal Hall’ for almost fifty thousand people. The band’s fans bought all the tickets that were available and were impatiently waiting for their idols’ appearance on the scene. After the unscheduled delay, not all the members of the band showed up. The vocalist, Terrence MacClife, the bassist, Daniel Perkins, and the drummer, Peter Rose, saddened the people with the news about having to cancel their concert due to the bad condition of Edward MacClife, the lead guitarist and the youngest member of the band. As the musicians told, some time before the show, Edward suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.       Daniel, Peter, and Terrence apologized to everyone for not being able to perform and stated they thought they should have gotten on the stage and told them about the cancellation of the long-awaited show personally. As some fans that were there noticed, the men tried to smile and keep calm, but it was clear how tense all the three were. The one to be especially anxious was Terrence, whom Peter and Daniel calmed down somehow with words and hugs. At the moment, we do not have any information about Edward MacClife’s condition, and the band’s representatives have not commented on the situation yet. Nevertheless, some fans of the band have already started to send posts on their social networks and wish the guitarist of ‘Against The System’ to get well soon.       Updated: there are some witnesses, who saw the ambulance arrive at the stadium ‘Crystal Hall’, and Edward was put in it. As they said, he was awake, but he looked distant and did not react to the words and actions of Terrence, Daniel, and Peter, who were in the ambulance and were determined not to leave their colleague alone. The members of the band categorically refused to talk to the journalists, who had already arrived at the place, and just said they would tell all the news on their accounts on social networks.”       Also, the girls watch the video that is attached to the article and uploaded by a random social network user. They can clearly hear Daniel, Terrence, and Peter standing on the scene apologize to the people, tell them about the forced cancellation of the band, and ask them to pray that Edward gets well soon.       “Their voices are so shaking…” Anna notices with widely open eyes. “It’s clear they’re super excited. How hard they’re trying to hide it with smiles.”       “Terrence is really much more dumbfounded and can barely speak,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “Daniel and Peter don’t leave him alone and watch him all the time.”       “That’s good they didn’t tell everyone Edward could be poisoned,” Helene notices. “It hasn’t been proved yet.”       “Yeah, but Blake would hardly lie to the guys. You know how hard he’s trying to be good for them. Kinda apologize for his bad behavior in the past.”       “I must praise the guys: even if it’s madly hard for them, they found the strength to come to everyone, tell them about the show’s cancellation, and apologize,” Anna says confidently. “They didn’t tell their managers and the organizers to do it.”       “Agree, they held on pretty well,” Raquelle agrees. “Especially, Terrence. Yes, he feels bad – it’s absolutely clear. But he doesn’t show it. At least for his fans.”       “Looking at him, it’s clear how awful everything was,” Natalia says in a shaking voice with tears in her eyes. “It’s clear I could’ve lost Edward.”       “Natalia, honey…”       “My gosh… Edward… This sweet and innocent angel… My brave and determined lion… He became someone’s victim.” Natalia sobs loudly. “Someone wanted to take him away from me…”       “Quiet, quiet, my darling, don’t cry.”       “Why?” Natalia wonders, pressing herself as close to Raquelle as possible, hugging her tightly and snuggling her nose in her shoulder. “Why? Why do I have to take this?”       “We’re here, friend, it’s okay,” Anna says in a little shaking voice, taking Natalia’s hand and stroking it tenderly.       “That cleaning girl definitely agreed with someone,” Helene assumes confidently. “She couldn’t go to the dressing room and add poison to the water at her wish.”       “I even have an assumption that all the men could be on the hook. How could that girl know Edward would love to drink the poisoned water?”       “Terrence thinks so,” Raquelle replies. “If Blake hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve added poison to all the bottles she found there.”       “My gosh, couldn’t Edward seriously notice anything suspicious?” Natalia wonders and sniffs, squeezing Raquelle’s top tightly. “I dunno… The opened bottle, the taste, the smell… He could’ve assumed something wasn’t right.”       “Indeed, how couldn’t MacClife notice anything suspicious?” Helene surprises. “As I understand, the girl should’ve opened the bottle to add poison to it. Since it was open, it means someone drank from it, or someone did something to it. It’s obvious!”       “But if it’s all the truth, we’re gonna owe Blake,” Anna replies. “Yes, he couldn’t prevent the catastrophe, but this guy probably saved Daniel, Peter, and Terrence from the same thing.”       “Blake could’ve saved Edward,” Raquelle explains. “He wanted to take the poisoned bottle with him and give it to someone. But some girls ran into the dressing room, saying they broke something and needed his help. They took Connor away so quickly that the boy could do nothing.”       “Nevertheless, he’s a fine fellow,” Helene says confidently. “He wasn’t confused, he wasn’t scared. He scared that girl and didn’t let her bring the case to an end.”       “Aha, fine…” Natalia throws in a low voice as she is shaking strongly from tension. “If he had taken that bottle… Edward would’ve been okay now.”       “Edward didn’t die, Natalia. He is alive. Raquelle did say the doctors revived him.”       “Who the fuck cares?” Natalia breaks into a cry. “My fiancé’s been poisoned! He is in a critical condition! A critical!”       “Quiet, quiet, Natalia, don’t scream,” Anna pronounces softly.       “Whoever did this to him, I swear they will pay me a lot for this. I will not close my eyes to this.”       Natalia sobs loudly with a shake.       “I wish that fucking cleaning girl stood in my way. I swear I will cut her eyes! Kill her! Bury her!”       “We completely understand your feelings, Natalia,” Helene says confidently and presses herself much closer to Natalia, whom Raquelle is still hugging tightly.       “She will pay me for what she did to Edward. That bitch will ask for trouble. I shall destroy her. AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME!”       “We’d all be in the same condition as you if that bitch managed to harm our men,” Anna replies confidently.       “Yeah, remember how hurt I felt when Terrence could’ve died because of the shit that Wainwright injected him with,” Raquelle recalls.       “And how I was fretting and fuming when Helene and Peter called me and said Daniel was hit by the car,” Anna adds. “You know how bad I felt! And what happened in my soul when the doctor told us about his amnesia. I… I was ready to hang myself in despair!”       “I shall hang myself if Edward dies,” Natalia threatens. “I swear I will kill myself!”       “No, Rochester, don’t say that!” Raquelle horrifies loudly. “Get these thoughts out of my head!”       “I can’t do without him, girls. I don’t need anyone but him. I don’t want! I don’t!”       Snuggling her nose in Raquelle’s nose, Natalia shouts hysterically and sinks her nails into her friend’s shoulders tightly, literally to the point of pain. Although the brunette feels strong pain at this moment and winces slightly, she tolerates it bravely, thinking it may be easier for the poor girl to show her feelings.       “My God, Natalia, girl…” Helene pronounces in a shaking voice with pity in her eyes.       “Don’t break our hearts, friend,” Anna says, stroking Natalia’s hand. “We feel bad without it.”       “Helene, Anna, watch her, but I will give her some water,” Raquelle says.       “No need…” Natalia pronounces in despair, starting to press herself to Anna. “I want nothing. Nothing!”       But Raquelle ignores these words and goes quickly to the kitchen to get some water in a glass.       “Okay, okay, sweetie, calm down, please,” Helene says in a quiet, calm voice, caressing Natalia’s back. “Edward’s gonna be okay.”       “Yes, friend, he can get through it,” Anna encourages. “If such a tough and healthy guy doesn’t manage to survive, something is not right with this world.”       “Right, right! If Edward MacClife himself doesn’t get out of another hole… No, no, no way! That guy would even get out of the burning fire and remain safe and sound. He’d just shake something off, coughs, fixes his hair, and keeps moving on as if nothing happened.”       Natalia says nothing and keeps crying desperately in the arms of her friends, breaking the soul of both of them with her shouts and making their hearts squeeze.       “Natalia, please, stop,” Anna begs with her eyes getting wet from tears. “I can’t watch you feeling like this.”       “Hey, I’m gonna start crying now!” Helene exclaims. “Though my eyes hurt from tears anyway.”       But these words do not impact Natalia at all. To be clear, they do, but they give the opposite effect. Not the one that the girls aim to get. And when Raquelle comes back to the living room where her friends are, holding a glass of water in her hands, she sees the blonde doubling over and starts pulling her hair painfully with both hands as she suffers from a lack of air and choking on her own tears.       “Take it, Natalia, drink a little,” Raquelle says softly, giving the glass of water to Natalia.       Natalia takes the glass and, squeezing it tightly with shaking hands, brings it to her lips that she can barely move to take a couple of sips. At this moment, Raquelle squats down and strokes her friend’s knees with sadness in her eyes, while Helene and Anna keep embracing the blonde tightly and fixing her hair slightly.       “Alright, girls, stop sitting here!” Raquelle exclaims and gets up on her feet. “Get ready, we’re coming to the hospital right now.”       “Yes, sweeties, the guys are waiting for us there, but we’re sitting here!” Anna wakes up.       “C’mon, Natalia, drink water, take your bag, and get up,” Helene says softly, taking Natalia by the shoulders.       “We will now meet the lads, ask them about everything, and support them. The boys need our attention so badly. They don’t feel better.”       “Okay, okay, let’s go,” Raquelle orders, taking her bag from one of the sofas. “I’m ready.”       “Me too!” Anna exclaims, taking her bag from the same one. “We can go!”       “C’mon, c’mon, Rochester, get up!” Helene demands a little harsher, takes Natalia under her arm after she puts the half-filled glass on the table, gets her up, and takes her bag and her friend’s. “Let’s go, Natalia, you hear what I say? Get up!”       Still crying bitterly and not caring about her makeup running down, Natalia takes her bag and squeezes the handle with her fingers tightly. While she keeps standing in the same place with her head inclined, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna take their mobile phones from the table, put them in their bags, and unsuccessfully try to comfort their friends verbally. But no matter how hard the girls try to make Rochester feel better, she keeps choking on tears, shaking in fear and horror, and breathing heavily with a sense of slight dizziness as she repeats again and again that she does not want to live without Edward.       

***

      However, it’s hard for Daniel and Peter because they are doing their best to comfort Terrence and help him hold on as they are in the hospital. Nevertheless, their efforts are worth it because the man finds the strength to keep his emotions under control and not to fall into hysteria. Though every single muscle of his is still squeezing painfully due to the strong tension, and the thoughts of the worst make him breathe heavily and catch the air greedily as he lacks it at times.       While the doctors are finding out the reasons for Edward’s critical condition and giving him necessary therapy, Peter, Terrence, and Daniel are in the waiting area on the third floor of the hospital, sitting on hard, uncomfortable, metallic chairs and waiting for any news excitedly. Every time people in white robes go by them, the men look at them with hope that some of them could tell them about their friend’s condition. But alas, they go to do their business that does not have to do with the member of “Against The System”.       “The girls haven’t come yet,” Peter notices thoughtfully, fingering nervously. “Though we called them a long time ago.”       “They’re probably calming Natalia down,” Daniel assumes. “She fell into hysteria after she found out what happened to Edward, and she can’t calm down now.”       “Anyway, they know what happened,” Terrence says quietly. “I had some details out of my head, but I told Raquelle the main things.”       “When we were on the way to the hospital, I checked the news on the Internet on my phone and found out that journalists had already published an article about our show’s cancellation.”       “Yeah, we haven’t barely come to ourselves, but they’ve already posted a long text,” Peter throws gloomily. “Quickly! Just like sending utility bills every month!”       “And my phone’s tearing from notifications on social networks,” Terrence confesses. “People are sending posts dedicated to Edward and wanna know what’s happening to him.”       “Oh, I think they’re now trying to trend the hashtag #GetWellSoonEdward. I’ve seen so many sweet posts with it. Some of them did make me deeply emotional.”       “The guys are worried,” Daniel flashes a slight smile. “And they’re 100% gonna be fucking overwhelmed if they know we almost lost him.”       “I’m still shaking at just one thought about it,” Terrence exhales sharply, running his hands over his pale face. “I could handle anything except the death of my close people.”       “We feel all the same, buddy,” Peter comforts, clapping Terrence sitting next to him on the shoulder.       “And I’m afraid to imagine what’s gonna happen to Natalia when Raquelle tells her Edward had his heart stopped.”       “I’m worried about her, too,” Daniel shakes his head. “It’s not a secret to us that Rochester is our super sensitive and vulnerable girl. She can barely take shocking things.”       “Let’s count on the girls,” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “Everything depends on whether they can brace themselves and help her hold on.”       “Since it’s hard for us to hold on, it’s gonna be much harder for them,” Terrence expresses anxiety and rubs his forehead with his hand. “It would be okay if Edward fainted due to starvation and came to himself quickly after eating a couple of baked chickens. But he almost the fuck died! Because of one bitch that tried to poison him!”       “Most likely, this faint caused by starvation made his condition much worse. Since MacClife has eaten nothing since the morning and been hungry all day long, he would feel bad anyway.”       “Yeah, the boy decided to start a diet, you know,” Daniel crosses his arms over his chest. “But why does he the fuck need it? He’s as slim as a sausage! If not for tons of muscles, he’d look like a bag of bones.”       “I’m more surprised that Mom and Dad told him nothing. They did see clearly that Edward didn’t eat the fuck anything. Mom was supposed to put one or two loaves in his mouth!”       “Is it all kinda weird, don’t ya think so?” Peter frowns slightly. “Yes, I know he wanna look good on his wedding day, but… Still…”       “And his intense workouts are doing their work,” Daniel notices. “Don’t ya think Edward has gained too much weight?”       “He’s done,” Terrence nods hesitantly. “He’s lately been much more restless than before. He goes to the gym class a few times per week and gives himself an extra load.”       “Of course, that’s good he spends his huge amount of energy, but I don’t kinda feel quiet,” Peter expresses anxiety.       “Yeah, of course, you’re also obsessed with sports and work your press and arms and jump rope at any good moment,” Daniel notices. “But at least, you know the limit. And your food schedule is good. You’re chowing everything down.”       “And don’t you think Edward’s had a sickly look for a long time?” Terrence asks, glancing at Peter and Daniel sitting on both sides of him.       “Agree, your brother hasn’t kinda been himself lately.”       “Yeah, he looks too tired,” Peter notices. “It’s like Edward barely sleeps and doesn’t get enough sleep all the time.”       “Right, right! I just wanted to say it!”       “I don’t like all of this, guys…” Terrence frowns slightly. “It’s all kinda too suspicious…”       “Yeah, but he’s never complained about anything!” Daniel throws his hands up. “And I wouldn’t say MacClife is now less talkative and less active.”       “Right, this boy still talks to everyone, jokes, pays on Terrence’s nerves with great pleasure…” Peter confirms. “And he is super responsible for his work. Edward has worked as much as you and I and never complained that he’s sick or told anyone to leave him alone.”       “Edward wouldn’t complain,” Terrence replies. “No matter how hard it is for him.”       “Even if he’s lately looked bad, it doesn’t impact his productivity at all,” Daniel notices. “Edward is still active. I would even say, too active.”       “This guy scares me for the reason,” Peter throws. “He’s like a hurricane: you don’t know where he turns and what shit we can expect from it today or tomorrow.”       “Isn’t that little rag hiding something from us?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest. “What if there’s something we don’t know?”       “What do ya mean?” Daniel frowns strongly.       “There must be an explanation of his condition! Edward looks so exhausted for the reason!”       “The reason for it is clear: he’s just gotta slow down, take a breath, and have a break,” Peter says confidently. “Who wouldn’t be fucking overwhelmed by the load your brother gave himself?”       “Fuck, how could I miss the moment?” Terrence swears. “How couldn’t I notice something wasn’t right with Edward? If I’d suspected something then, I would’ve solved this problem quickly.”       “You don’t have to be his nanny, Terrence. Edward is an adult guy, who’s responsible for what he does. Yes, he doesn’t always turn on his brain and may do impulsive things, but it’s only his responsibility.”       “I do have to, Peter. If nobody holds my brother by his pants and cools him down with strong slaps in the face, he may do so much shit that nobody will be able to help him.”       “Even now, this guy could’ve avoided what happened to him if he’d been much more careful. He could’ve guessed something wasn’t right if he’d seen the bottle had already been opened by someone. Edward did see it well, but it did not stop him, and he drank from it. Consciously. At his wish.”       “You see. He must be under someone's view. He must literally be fed with a spoon and have his mouth wiped.”       “You knew nothing. You didn’t even come to those bottles. Just like Daniel and me. But Edward ran to them shortly after we crossed the doorstep of the dressing room. We didn’t even change our clothes, but he already rushed to drink. And it’s not surprising ‘cause he always drinks a lot of water.”       “Anyway, it’s my responsibility to some extent.” Terrence moves his eyes to his hands folded in front of him. “My fault. I didn’t watch him. I weakened my attention and paid a high cost for this.”       “Stop, MacClife, stop suffering from the overprotective daddy syndrome and blaming yourself for what you don’t have to do with.”       “I do, Rose! I do have to do with everything that happens to my younger brother.”       “Terrence…”       “I’m responsible for him and must make sure he is alright.”       “We know, buddy. But you’re a fine fellow anyway. You took care of him when the doctors tried to do something. You calmed him down, you supported him, you didn’t leave him alone…”       “I could not stay aside. I could not succumb to the panic and cry quietly on the corner.”       “Listen, may it happen that Edward is ill with something but hiding it so hard?” Daniel meddles after thinking about something all this time.       “What may he be ill with?” Terrence asks without emotions.       “I dunno… But… What if the reason for his sickly look is something like this? What if Edward… Suffers from some illness? Maybe, even… Terminal?”       “Were you fucking silent all this time and thinking so hard to tell me THAT?”       “I get it, MacClife, but think yourself: since Edward hasn’t been himself for a long time, has looked bad and rushed all the time, it means he’s got a secret.”       “Hm, he’s always in a rush due to the fear of not finishing everything he wanna do…” Peter frowns slightly, putting his finger on his hips.       “No, boneheads, get these thoughts out of your mind now!” Terrence cuts off sharply, waving his hand. “I don’t even wanna think about it! No!”       “Sorry, Terrence, I didn’t wanna scare you,” Daniel replies quietly. “It’s just my assumption.”       “A stupid assumption from the brainless idiot.”       “What? Let’s think about the situation with Edward’s starvation! What if he’s been doing this for ages? Or, for example, he eats well with our pretense, but when he stays alone, he puts two fingers in his mouth and vomits everything.”       “Ar-r-r-r, don’t make me raged, Perkins!” Terrence hisses through his teeth. “I am too fucking excited now. And if you don’t shut up, I swear I will strangle you with my own hands. It has to do with you, too, Rose, if you keep agreeing with him.”       “Okay, okay, man, okay, calm down,” Daniel raises his hands. “Breathe deeper and think positively.”       “Fuck it! I shall pretend that I didn’t hear it.”       “Anyway, Edward surely has something to tell us.”       “And the guy, who already felt bad, made his condition much worse by drinking that poisoned water,” Peter adds.       “At first, I kinda doubted, but now there are no doubts about it. Connor didn’t lie to us.”       “Hey, what about your pain in your stomach? You feel better? You kinda look more or less good!”       “Yeah, I feel much better now,” Daniel nods confidently. “The doctor gave me some mixture and told me to take everything to the last drop. And the pain was gone a few minutes later. Not absolutely, of course, but I can take it now.”       “Don’t you feel dizzy?”       “Nope, it’s fine. Don’t worry.”       “Idiots are lucky,” Terrence snaps. “But everything could’ve been much worse if you’d drunk more than two sips.”       “Shut up, smarty! You almost killed the poor nurse in anger, but you’re now pretending to be good. The girl almost had a heart attack from fear!”       “Yeah, agree, I crossed the line!”       “Yeah, fucking little! You crossed it and broke it to the fuck!”       “Oh, c’mon, stop blunting! I do feel bad and don’t wanna listen to you!”       “I would bet who’s blunting here.”       “Hey, tough guy, shut the fuck up before you get a slap in your face!” Terrence explodes.       “Whoa, whoa, calm down, princess, calm down.”       “Asking for trouble?” Terrence clenches his hands tightly into fists. “You want problems? Huh? I can do this!”       “Hey, hey, men, hello, pull yourself together and calm down!” Peter meddles. “I know we’re all excited now, but we’re gonna make it worse by acting like psyches.”       “I am quiet, Peter,” Daniel replies. “Absolutely quiet. MacClife is showing off.”       “Oh, okay, okay, okay, sorry,” Terrence exhales sharply. “My blame, I crossed the line. Nerves do their work. I’m just fucking worried. And I won’t calm down ‘till the doctor tells me Edward is okay.”       “Edward won’t surely get better if we’re sitting here and having fights.”       “Okay, okay, inhale slowly, exhale slowly.”       Terrence pumps some air into his lungs with closed eyes, with no rush, and then exhales slowly to get rid of the tension that makes his whole body shake.       “Keep it together, Terrence, keep it together…” Terrence repeats under his nose like a mantra. “It’s gonna be okay… It’s gonna be okay…”       “Fuck, how do we find the girl if she had managed to get out before everything happened?” Peter wonders.       “She’s a fucking idiot…” Daniel sneers evilly. “She’d better think about her child! If she’s arrested for the murder attempt, the child’s gonna lose their mother!”       “She’d probably say she did it for her child,” Terrence throws gloomily. “For money that someone paid her, for sure.”       “No doubt that she agreed with someone. That girl wouldn’t do anything on her own.”       “It’s okay, since Blake memorized her face so well, the police will declare that madam on the wanted list. She will not hide and will pay for what she did.”       “I wonder if she tried to poison Edward on purpose? Or did she give a fuck about who would drink that poisoned water?”       “Who knows… But since she wanted to poison the second bottle… And she could’ve done it to the others… She was expecting that I would be a victim… Or you…”       “Or me…” Peter adds hesitantly.       “Huh?” Daniel and Terrence round their eyes and move their questioning glance to Peter sharply.       “What if that poison was supposed to poison me?”       Peter gets up sharply from the chair and turns on Terrence and Daniel.       “What if that girl thought I would collapse? But Edward drank the water in the end!”       “Do you think it was the work of the bastard, who decided to kill you?” Daniel frowns slightly.       “I don’t doubt it! It can’t just be a coincidence!”       “Fuck, how didn’t we guess who was guilty of all of this before?” Terrence claps on his forehead. “It was the bastard and his gang. He did convince that girl to poison the water!”       “Ar-r-r, it’s so bad we let her go!” Peter hits his lap with his hand. “We could’ve caught her in a crime and questioned her with a degree. That bitch would’ve quickly told us who she was working for and what the bastard, who started it all, needed.”       “But it’s gonna be much easier to find her since she’s a member of the staff of the stadium,” Daniel notices. “It means they have all of her data: her name, surname, birthdate, home address, number, and all the necessary documents.”       “While the police are questioning the staff members, that girl may easily take her stuff and go somewhere abroad,” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.       “How much did they pay her?” Peter wonders, putting his hands on his hips. “Is that man really some kind of rich folk that could bribe and get anyone off?”       “It seems like your mom got in real trouble since these bastards don’t give up,” Daniel notices.       “She should’ve dealt with him on her own! Without having me involved in it! Even if she’s alive and did something to that man, I don’t care about it. If she needs money, she can go to work. There are so many vacancies – choose whatever you like!”       “If she did that to you then, she should really solve it all by herself,” Terrence replies confidently. “It’s such a sly thing – she told that man about her sonny, who started to earn money from the band’s shows. And he was happy and reflected on it!”       “It’s okay he’s trying to harm me, but that assholes dares to harm my friends! Because of one bastard, Edward almost died! If Blake hadn’t meddled, we would’ve all ended up on the hospital bed. Or in a grave!”       “Living is getting dangerous, friends,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “This case proves that danger may be waiting for us anywhere.”       “And until this shit ends, I advise you not to even touch any drinks and food they buy without notifying us.”       “You’re right,” Terrence agrees. “From this moment on, we’ll be providing ourselves with food and drinks. And check everything closely – any little detail. We will stop and think better even if we have a super little suspicion.”       “Yeah, Edward wasn’t the target. All of us were the target.”       “Fuck, these assholes wanna deal with you for sure!” Peter swears, starting to walk nervously in circles. “Killing me isn’t enough for them – they need more victims, much more blood!”       “And I’m afraid they won’t stop after today’s incident,” Daniel assumes. “Today, Edward suffered, but tomorrow, it will be someone else.”       “Nevertheless, I’m starting to believe Connor isn’t the asshole that he seemed in the beginning,” Peter stops and crosses his arms over his chest. “Since he stopped that girl. Though he had a chance to give a fuck about this thing and go to do his business.”       “Maybe, that’s true,” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “But I’m mad at him for letting her poison just one bottle. He had a chance to enter the dressing room shortly, but instead, he just stood and stared for some time. He woke up when her hands reached the second bottle.”       “I agree with you in this case,” Daniel agrees. “But let’s be grateful to him for not going by. Anyway… If not for him, we would’ve all been on the hospital bed now under the droppers and dying. And the girls would’ve pulled their hair out and cried bitterly.”       “And now Natalia’s crying bitterly.”       “And when you almost died after the case with Wainwright, Raquelle was restless. She got herself so exhausted that we all were fucking worried about her.”       “I would sacrifice myself again to save him,” Terrence confesses in a low voice. “I’d sacrifice myself one hundred times just to know my brother’s okay.”       “Just like I would take the sufferings of my sister. Do anything for Cassidy to be healthy and happy.”       “And I would take all the sufferings to know you are alive and healthy,” Peter says confidently, sits down next to Terrence, and inclines his head. “The one you should blame for what happened to Edward is me.”       “No, Pete, don’t even dare to blame yourself for something,” Terrence protests.       “It’s my fault, Terrence. Edward is here because of me. You’re suffering because I’m your friend.”       “We don’t know what bastard is waiting for if he thinks we’ll leave you in trouble!” Daniel exclaims.       “Maybe, if you didn’t meddle in this and try to protect me at all, everything would be okay.”       “Aha, you would’ve been killed a lo-o-ong time ago if not for us.”       “I give a fuck! But you would’ve been okay. You would’ve lived quietly and done your business.”       “Real friends don’t leave a person in trouble, Peter. If we did nothing and watched some bastard try to kill you silently, it would be a mean act of ours. How could we be called friends after that?”       “It’s disgusting, Daniel! It’s disgusting that I can do nothing. There’s nothing that would help me solve this problem. I don’t know that asshole, but he’s using it so hard. He’s playing with me like a kitten. Giving me hits when I’m not ready for this.”       “That’s what he needs!” Terrence exclaims. “He needs to see you broken, exhausted, and lonely. By doing these tricks, that scum is trying to drive you crazy and make us get hatred for you with the thought you’re guilty of our trouble. Just like Simon wanted to do the same thing to Raquelle.”       “As if he knows a fear of loneliness makes me hysterical more than anything. He knows I’m afraid to stay alone and lose all my close people.”       “No, Peter, you will not lose us.” Terrence puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Whatever people say, we will not turn our backs on you and believe anyone, who wanna slander you.”       “All your problems are our problems,” Daniel adds. “We will solve them together. It will never change. Whatever happens, the men, the girls, and I will never stop taking care of you.”       “Aren’t you really blaming me for this bullshit?” Peter asks hesitantly.       “We do know well that you aren’t the type of those, who look for trouble. And you’d be happy just to live your life, create music, date the cool girl, and play with her dog.”       “And don’t you think Edward is here because of me?”       “Edward did a stupid thing, we’ve gotta admit,” Terrence notices quietly. “He did see clearly that something wasn’t right with the bottle, but he kept drinking from it. But if he’d turned his brains on in time, nothing would’ve happened.”       “Fuck, guys, I’m so ashamed of you…”       Peter runs his hands over his face with a quiet moan.       “I’m so sorry I had you involved in this shit. And the worst thing is that there’s no way back. Now we’ve gotta move forward.”       “The one, who started it all, must be sorry,” Daniel replies confidently. “That bastard… The leader… The girl, who had Edward poisoned… Their whole fucking gang…”       “I don’t know how, but I promise to do my best not to let anything like this happen to you. Yes, I didn't save Edward, but I’m gonna protect you as hard as possible.”       “First of all, we must protect you,” Terrence notices. “And we will get through it somehow.”       “As today proved, even brilliant skills of fighting may be worthless in some events. They would change nothing.”       “It’s okay, that asshole will pay a lot,” Daniel says determinedly. “Not today, but tomorrow. Not tomorrow but in the near time.”       “Thank you so much, guys,” Peter cracks a slight smile. “I have no idea what I would do without ya.”       “We all can’t do without each other!” Terrence exclaims and smiles shyly. “If you two weren’t here with me, I would go crazy for sure. Waiting for the news about Edward and falling into hysteria at the thought that he may die.”       “You think we aren’t worried about him?” Daniel surprises and squeezes Terrence’s shoulder. “No, bro, you’re wrong! Edward’s our close friend, too. Yes, of course, he’s got his own demons, but it doesn’t make him worse.”       “And we were also fucking dumbfounded when the doctors tried to bring him back to life,” Peter adds. “We were horrified at the thought we’d lose one of our best friends. We were horrified when he was coughing up blood and looking like he was about to go to his grandfathers and grandmothers.”       “Anyway, thank you so much, guys,” Terrence thanks truly and squeezes Peter and Daniel’s shoulders at the same time as he looks at them amicably. “Your support means a lot to me.”       “Don’t worry, Terrence, we will be here as long as it needs,” Daniel promises. “Until they tell us what happened to Edward.”       “And the girls will come soon,” Peter adds. “You’ll hug Raquelle tightly and feel much better when she shares a little bit of energy with you.”       “Having such cool people next to me is a true blessing,” Terrence smiles much wider.       Peter and Daniel say nothing and just smile shyly at Terrence, who feels much better, while his best friends are near and doing their best not to let him drown in his dark thoughts. At some moment, they see a short woman at the age of thirty, whose hair is gartered in a bun. At first, she looks around as if she is looking for someone, but then she sees the men and comes to them with the thought that she needs them.       “Excuse me, young man, is there Terrence MacClife among you?” the woman specifies.       “It’s me!” Terrence gets up sharply from the table and comes to the woman. “You have news about my brother Edward MacClife?”       “Yes, yes, I was looking for you.”       “How is he doing, doctor?” Daniel asks, coming to Terrence along with Peter at the same time. “How is everything serious?”       “We did everything we could…” the woman fixes her glasses slightly, making the men tense with a sense that their hearts stop. “But I can make you happy that the worst things are over.”       “Really?” Peter rounds his eyes. “Is Edward alright?”       “It’s really amazing, but Mr. MacClife is extremely lucky,” the woman notices. “Because if everything had been against him, that guy would have died.”       “But what happened to my brother?” Terrence asks. “Was he really tried to be poisoned? Or is the case about something different?”       “Yes, we really found a toxic substance in the organism of your brother. We cannot tell you what that is yet since our experts have not found it out yet. But we know surely that it had a negative influence on his stomach.”       “What about him coughing up blood?” Peter specifies.       “It’s all connected.”       “Do you really have no assumptions about what kind of poison it could be?” Daniel wonders.       “We have never run into something like this yet. But I can personally assume that it could be some kind of grass mixed with strong chemical components. Mr. MacClife’s symptoms are similar to those we may notice when it’s a poisoning with a foxglove. If the poisoner is pretty good at chemistry and biology, they are able to find the correct concentration.”       “This poison almost killed him!” Terrence exclaims. “It was so strong that Edward even had his heart stopped.”       “Yeah, right, but luckily, there is no threat to his life. We had his stomach pumped and removed the poison from his body.”       “And the other part of it left his body with vomit?”       “It’s correct. His organism helped itself a little and removed this thing from it.”       “So, what do we expect now?” Peter asks hesitantly.       “Don’t worry, young men, your life will live,” the woman replies with a slight smile. “But Mr. MacClife will be under our view for two or three days. And we will also prescribe him a special diet that he has to keep for some time after his release to have his stomach recovered.”       “And how does he feel now?” Terrence asks excitedly.       “In general, his condition is stable, but he still has a high fever and strong drowsiness. But I think it’s supposed to come back to normal tomorrow.”       “He is awake now?” Daniel specifies.       “Yes, yes, he is not awake, able to talk, and able to understand everything. And likely, he is going to be a little slow for some time and get exhausted quickly. Because… He had his heart stopped. Yes, he was lucky the doctors did resuscitation actions immediately. But even a few minutes are enough to have a negative influence on the organism.”       “Thank God…” Terrence exhales sharply, running his hands over his face. “I was so scared…”       “Excuse me, doctor, can we visit Edward now?” Peter asks.       “Yeah, sure, you can visit him without any limits,” the woman nods confidently. “He asked us about you and asked us to tell you he would be very happy if you came to him.”       “Will you tell us how to find his room?”       “It’s on this floor. Go down the hall straight, turn to the left, go down a little longer, turn to the left again, and then you can find room 253. Your friend is going to be moved there.”       “Thank you so much, doctor!” Terrence thanks with a wide smile. “Thank you for saving my brother! I am so grateful to you!”       “And yeah, Mr. MacClife…” the woman says thoughtfully. “I have a little favor for you.”       “What?”       “Tell your brother that he is not allowed to run anywhere and do anything. He is too weak now and must get some energy.”       “So, can’t he wait to come back home shortly?” Daniel laughs shyly.       “Oh, yeah! Mr. MacClife is rushing home so badly, and he says he must go on the stage and perform with his band. And when we told him he would have to stay here for a few days, that guy looked really unhappy.”       “That’s our Edward!” Peter exclaims. “A restless boy that can’t stay in the same place. And the perspective of being in the hospital and just lying for a long time is like a medieval torture.”       “I get it, but in order to be fully recovered, he needs complete rest,” the woman replies amicably. “Poisoning of the organism was too strong, it had too much poison added to it. Plus, his cardiac arrest was not good for him, either. A little bit before we would have been powerless. Mr. MacClife was really lucky the doctors brought him to the hospital in time and gave him the necessary therapy.”       “You said this poison had a negative influence on his stomach…” Terrence recalls.       “Yeah, it suffered much more. But the poison had a negative influence on his heart. However, if your brother follows all of our instructions, he will get well quickly. Moreover, this guy turned out to be really tough and enduring. And he is very young. A sports fan. He moves a lot, as I understand. This type of people struggles with some illnesses better and recover much sooner.”       “What about him choking?” Daniel asks hesitantly. “As if he lacked air…”       “Most likely, it was something like a panic attack. Just a psychosomatics. The guy felt too bad, and he panicked and started to think he was dying. Here’s why he had breathing issues, dizziness, and excessive sweating. Maybe you’ve ever gone through a similar thing, too. Or your familiars.”       “You are probably right…” Terrence agrees, crossing his arms over his chest. “Edward was scared that he would die. You should have seen his eyes when he was coughing up blood, and looking at his hand covered with blood.”       “It’s just a panic attack that made his condition much worse. I can surely tell you that his lungs are fine, they are absolutely clean. Does your brother not smoke, right?”       “No, no, he does not smoke.”       “Yeah! Everything is wonderful in this case.”       “Oh, doctor, you made us really happy!” Peter exhales with relief. “We almost went crazy.”       “Aha, everything was fine, but then the guy started to complain about dizziness, nausea, and pain in his stomach, fell to the floor unconscious, and had his breath and heart stopped.”       “Don’t worry, young men, Mr. MacClife is alright now,” the woman calms down. “The doctors did their best. And knowing his state of health, he will get well quickly.”       “Give me the list of all the recommendations that he must follow, please,” Terrence says. “I will personally make sure he follows them.”       “Yes, please, do it. But in his case, he should just have a lot of rest and keep to his diet to heal his stomach. And he will probably have to go for an examination after his release to make sure his recovery is going well.”       “Don’t worry, doctor, I will take care of everything.” Terrence flashes a slight smile. “I will keep doing what the older brother must do with all the responsibility.”       “Do you get along?”       “Come on!” Daniel exclaims. “They take care of each other like nobody else!”       “Wow…” the woman surprises nicely. “All brothers and sisters I know fight like cats and dogs all the time.”       “Well, our brothers actually fight a lot,” Peter notices. “But if someone dares to hurt them, there will be no mercy.”       “I see.”       “Does it mean we can go to his room now?” Peter specifies two seconds later, after the silence settles in the air.       “Of course, you can,” the woman smiles shyly. “If you have some questions, you can find me on this floor. I’m now checking on all my patients, but if something happens, I will help you with everything.”       “Thank you so much again!” Terrence thanks with all his heart. “You are an angel!”       Terrence, Daniel, and Peter shake the woman by the hand to thank her.       “Oh, alright, excuse me, I have to go,” the woman says amicably. “I have a lot of work.”       “Thanks…” Daniel pronounces and glances at the card attached to the chest of the woman’s medical robe. “Dr. Masterson.”       “Thank you.” The woman fixes her card shyly. “I’m leaving. Take care of you.”       The woman turns around and goes quietly to the side she needs, taking some paper from the folder she is holding and starting to examine it closely after moving her glasses to the edge of her nose. Standing in their places, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter exhale with relief as they smile widely, thanking silently everyone for letting this story end so well.       “Fuck, I'm so happy!” Terrence exclaims excitedly, grabbing his hair with both hands. “I was fucking scared!”       “But I did believe MacClife would get through it!” Daniel says with his head proudly raised. “I believed ‘til the very end! I couldn’t even imagine that such a living and stubborn guy would give up so easily.’       “Hey, buddy, what we told you!” Peter pronounces happily, taking Terrence under his arm and shaking him slightly. “It’s gonna be okay! He did it!”       “Fuck, it’s like I got rid of a heavy burden on my shoulders…” Terrence raises his head to the ceiling. “It’s even easier to breathe now…”       “Our Eddy is like a cat that has an infinite number of lives, not just ten. He could’ve died hundreds of times, but he came back from the dead again and again. To spite some Michael, Eugene Wainwright, and other assholes, who wanted to see him in the grave.”       “Hey, bro, relax, the danger is gone!” Peter encourages, clapping Terrence on the back. “Your brother will live! He did it!”       “Oh, men, you can’t imagine how happy I am now,” Terrence smiles widely. “Fucking happy!”       Terrence takes Peter and Daniel in a tight group hug, which they answer to, not hiding their smiles full of happiness. And two or three seconds later, they step away from each other, feeling excited from happiness and relief, not from fear or anxiety.       “Hey, what are we waiting for?” Daniel pronounces cheerfully, pulling Terrence and Peter after him when he takes them under their arms. “Let’s go to find Edward’s room!”       “Yeah, let’s go to kick the ass of this hooligan for scaring us so much,” Peter suggests.       “Right, this rag is gonna pay me a lot for all my sufferings,” Terrence threatens. “For growing gray hairs on my gorgeous head.”       “They grow ‘cause you’re getting older,” Daniel snaps.       “No! Because everyone loves playing on my nerves! Everyone loves making me nervous.”       “Oh, oh, shut the fuck up, peacock!” Peter exclaims. “How many times you've played on people’s nerves! Starting with your mother and ending with your fiancée!”       “Aha, we are those, whose hair must be all gray,” Daniel laughs. “To communicate with the creature like MacClife, you must have very strong mental health.”       “Hey, close your mouths up before you get a hit on your heads!” Terrence throws gloomily.       Peter and Daniel say nothing and just raise their hands in front of themselves with a quiet laugh as if they have given up. In reply to this, Terrence gives both of them a slight slap on the back of their heads and ruffles his hair a little as they are going to Edward’s room.       

***

      Following the doctor’s instructions, Daniel, Peter, and Terrence find the room with the number they need quickly enough. Now they look much more relaxed and start to smile and joke a lot, being happy with the news about the condition of Edward. MacClife, Sr., does not even try to hide his happiness, his tension has all gone, and something heavy on his chest that did not let him breathe no longer bothers him. That’s why he is now able to pump much air into his lungs again.       Not hesitating for a second, Peter opens the door and looks inside, noticing silently that the room is made of white shades and well-lighted thanks to the ceiling halogen lamps. And it’s so spacious that multiple people could be there at the same time. There is a stunning bird-eye view of the city from the panoramic wide windows. There is a dark blue long sofa to sit on and admire the bright lights that can be seen in the high buildings or streets full of people. It’s always possible to cover it with a thick blue curtain, and a wired phone hanging on the wall is here for contacting close people. And the button placed near the one-sided hospital bed can be used for calling a doctor in some critical situations.       And Edward is lying on this bed on his side, wearing hospital clothes and having his face turned to the window, in which he looks at something with absolutely dead eyes, putting his hands under his cheek. The guy looks too exhausted, and his thick, little disheveled hair stands out against his pale skin. At first, he does not react to the way the door opens and keeps thinking about something, not being happy with the perspective of spending a few days here. But when Peter, Daniel, and Terrence cross the doorstep and step on the light parquet with their shoes, making some quiet sounds, Edward turns his head toward them. Then, a slight smile shows up on his face, and his eyes get full of some gloss.       “Guys!” Edward pronounces happily and rolls onto his back immediately.       “Edward!” Daniel and Peter whoop at the same time with a wide smile. “Bro!”       Terrence does not even have time to say anything because Peter and Daniel run to the hospital bed shortly and take Edward in a tight hug at the same time with happy whoops, while the guy answers it with pleasure, not hiding how happy he is to see his close people.       “We’re fucking happy to see you alive!” Peter exhales with relief, clapping Edward on his head.       “Hey, piggy, what did you the fuck do?” Daniel wonders and ruffles Edward’s hair strongly.       “Yeah, do you know we were fucking scared? Aren’t you ashamed of doing this to us?”       “You scared all of us to death! We thought we lost you! Did you go fucking crazy, kid?”       “If only you knew how scared I was,” Edward confesses and leans on the pillow with his back after he moves it slightly. “I never felt so bad before.”       “Fuck, because of you, we almost turned into old men with gray hair!” Daniel resents.       “Yeah, how do you dare to scare people like this?” Peter adds. “We did almost die ourselves from fear? Do you think it’s actually fine and legal?”       “Honestly, I still can’t understand if I’m alive or dead,” Edward says thoughtfully. “I’ve got a mess in my head… I don’t understand anything.”       “Alive, buddy, you’re alive!” Peter, taking Edward by the forearms, shakes him slightly, hugs him tightly again, and claps him on his back. “Ali-i-i-ive!”       “You’re with us, dude!” Daniel adds, hugs Edward, and claps him on the back. “Everything’s okay now.”       “Hey, boneheads, step aside!” Terrence demands in a commanding order, grabbing Daniel and Peter by the collar and pulling them onto himself. “Why did you the fuck push me off and take this whole bed?”       “Oh, bro, I didn’t notice you,” Edward smiles innocently. “These tough guys closed you with themselves.”       “Let me ask you what you the fuck did?”       Terrence sits on the bed, gives Edward a hit on the back of his head, and ruffles his hair much more.       “Do you know how scared we were? You know what we felt when the doctors were trying to revive you?”       “My blame,” Edward pronounces shyly. “Sorry.”       “Is this everything you want to say to excuse yourself?”       “Ready to get the strictest punishment that you three think I deserve.”       “You’ve got no choice, my sweetheart! Get ready to have your ass kicked hard by me. I ain’t gonna close my eyes to this, hear me! You will pay me for playing on my nerves again, rutrag!”       “M-m-m, I see you’ve turned from a young and hot pretty boy to an old man with gorgeous gray hair,” Edward chuckles slyly. “You found your elixir of old age!”       “You have the strength to joke?”       “What? You look good! I think you’ve got a high chance of seducing a couple of old ladies when you turn seventy.”       “Well, since you’re mocking your brother with so much pleasure, everything ain’t so bad,” Daniel laughs shyly.       “Yeah, I feel much better now.” Edward rubs his forehead with a hand. “But my weakness hasn’t gone away yet. It’s still cold. And my stomach still ruts.”       “No wonder!” Peter exclaims. “Poison had a negative influence on it.”       “I know. The doctor told me everything.”       “She swore at you a little, bro,” Terrence says confidently. “She says you don’t listen. You wanna leave the hospital and run somewhere.”       “I am fucking overwhelmed that I have to spend a few days here! Doing the fuck nothing! I will go crazy if I’m just lying all day long!”       “Sorry, MacClife, but you have no choice,” Daniel says determinedly. “The doctor told you to lie, and it means you will lie.”       “And I will watch it personally!” Terrence raises his index finger. “I asked the doctor to give me the list of all the recommendations, and I will make sure you follow them strictly. Your diet will especially be under my control. You got it?”       “Excellent way to use me to train a little bit more before you have your own baby,” Edward snaps. “Whose nerves you can play on? Right, Edward’s!”       “Yeah, looking at you, I wouldn’t say we were fucking shocked at the thought we’d have to go to your funeral two hours ago,” Daniel crosses his arms over his chest.       “I am already sorry for all the doctors, who are gonna have to tolerate you in the nearest two or three days,” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “Because you’re gonna annoy everyone with your long tongue! Gonna play on everyone’s nerves!”       “For them, these days are gonna be a blessing ‘cause they’ve got a chance to admire such a work of art as me,” Edward says with his head proudly raised. “But I am gonna have to suffer and dream of getting out of here as soon as possible.”       “If I have to, I will personally tie you up to this fucking bed and put all the cures, food, drinks, and everything in your mouth,” Terrence threatens.       “Can’t wait to hang you by the balls and kick your ass for nothing.”       “Yeah, that’s a shame you can’t spend time with us now,” Peter smiles slyly, putting his arm around Daniel’s neck. “You ain’t able to walk with us. Roll on skates or bikes… Eat something fat and spicy…”       “Aha, the kid is now limited in food,” Daniel recalls. “The boy’s gonna have to choke on chicken broth or unleavened rice every day.”       “M-m-m, I have a whole container of baked chicken wings in my refrigerator…” Terrence pronounces with enjoyment. “With tons of spices, braised in its own juice… I think I will heat them and eat all of them tonight.”       “And I madly wanna eat a big pack of French fries and a big burger and drink sweet water,” Peter smiles mysteriously, running his hand over his stomach. “Oh… Should I get it on the way? Terrence, Daniel, what if we get it all together? It’s boring to do it alone!”       “There may be just one answer to this question,” Daniel says with his head proudly raised. “Oh, yay, my amazing burger, I’m coming for ya! Take me! Make your fucking slave! I’m all yours!”       And while Daniel, Peter, and Terrence laugh shyly, running their hands over their stomachs and slurping quietly as they imagine something delicious, Edward grows irritably and clenches his hands into fists tightly with his face that is now a little red from anger.       “I wish the burger stood across your throats,” Edward throws gloomily.       “And after this, we can drive in the city on bikes again,” Terrence suggests cheerfully. “To feel the wind in the face, to have our hair blowing, to have a pig’s whoop get out of our mouths.”       “Yeah, I’m sure we’re gonna have a super funny time all four,” Peter adds funnily and bites his lip slightly when he glances at Edward. “Oh, sorry, all three. Our Eddy must lie in the bed now. If he’s restless and breaking free, the lady doctor will swear a lot and inject a sedative into his butts.”       “What a pity!” Daniel puts his hand on his heart. “The boy feels like a horse that’s locked forcefully in a stall, not letting it run a little on a field and mountains.”       “Yeah, they don’t let our pegasus spread its wings,” Terrence laughs shyly.       “Don’t you wanna get a hit in the face with a hoof from the pegasus?” Edward snaps with an innocent smile.       “Don’t worry, bro, even if we’re spending time as a trio, we will not forget you,” Daniel promises. “We’ll send you a couple of photos from our hangout.”       “Yeah, so, you can see how good we feel, while you’re here,” Peter adds.       “Oh, do what you want!” Edward waves his hand. “I don’t fucking care about you! But remember, when I’m finally released from here, you’ll be in trouble.”       “Guys, are you scared?” Terrence smiles slyly, glancing at Daniel and Peter.       “Oh, my knees are shaking!” Daniel laughs, pointing at his knee that he shakes.       “And my heart’s beating as fast as a bunny’s one!” Peter agrees, putting his hand on his heart.       Edward growls loudly and irritably, leaning on the pillow with the back of his head, while Daniel, Terrence, and Peter keep thrilling with a laughter and give each other a five at some moment.       “Okay, everything ain’t so bad with the kid,” Terrence notices cheerfully. “The doctor was right when she said he’d recover quickly.”       “Aha, they only need to lower his body’s temperature, so he can feel like new!” Peter replies funnily. “Jump from the bed and run into the wind’s speed. Break the window with his head in passion.”       “How long are ya gonna mock me?” Edward resents. “I do feel fucking bad, but you are annoying me with your jokes!”       “Okay, okay, kid, don’t get excited,” Terrence raises his hands. “It’s actually, lovingly. Because it would be a sin to miss a chance to mock you ‘cause you ain’t able to run and jump.”       “It’s not a secret for me that you’re all idiots.”       “Indeed, MacClife, relax,” Daniel says cheerfully and sits on the bed against Edward. “It’s temporary. Soon, you’re gonna fly high like a butterfly and make everyone overwhelmed by how much energy you’ve got.”       “Yeah, buddy, wait for just three or three days,” Peter advises and sits next to Edward. “And do what the doctors tell you. If you aren’t a rebel, you’ll show Perkins and MacClife how hard they must work at sports. And rush on the stage to perform.”       “Aha, and you’ll be testing my nerves all the time by telling me about every single hangout of yours and sending me photos of delicious food,” Edward throws gloomily.       “Well, Natalia will send you her nude photos, so you don’t feel too bored here,” Terrence laughs. “Having no opportunity to caress your gorgeous cat.”       “Ar-r-r-r, you’re all fucking irritating me!” Edward moans, closing his face with the blanket for two seconds.       “The boy’s nervous, he is,” Daniel chuckles kindly.       “Okay, bros, let’s stop for now,” Peter waves his hand. “Of course, mocking him is fucking funny, but everything must have its limits.”       “You are assholes that use the fact that I can do nothing now,” Edward blunts. “Besides, I am sick and weak.”       “Okay, okay, little rag, relax,” Terrence jabs, clapping Edward on his head. “We won’t do this anymore.”       “Fuck yourself, boneheads!” Edward glances gloomily at the window. “You’re annoying me…”       “Hey, do you already know they’ve written about your illness on the Internet?” Peter asks, clapping Edward on the shoulder.       “Really?”       “Aha, it hasn’t even been one day, but journalists have already published an article about the band’s concert cancellation,” Daniel confirms.       “The band’s concert cancellation?” Edward rounds his eyes. “Did the organizers want it?”       “We wanted,” Terrence pronounces confidently. “We asked for permission to go on the stage and tell people we won’t be performing tonight personally.”       “What?”       “Did ya think we’d go on the stage without you?” Daniel asks surprisingly. “Oh, no, we can’t do without the sassiest guitarist in the world!”       “When we told everyone that you were rushed to the hospital, the people were overwhelmed,” Terrence adds. “Some girls in the first line even cried.”       “And how many people came when the doctors and we were waiting for the ambulance! Everyone was worried, whispering, asking if they could help…”       “I can barely remember that…” Edward replies thoughtfully. “Though I could barely realize something. Well… I remember someone was doing and saying something… But I wasn’t even sure if I wasn’t hallucinating.”       “Our heads were going round, too…” Peter confesses. “It was hard to believe everything was really happening.”       “Nevertheless, I know something for sure.” Edward looks at Peter, Terrence, and Daniel by one with a slight smile. “You were near. I saw it. I felt it. I heard it.”       “At that moment, all the thoughts about the show were put in the second place,” Daniel says. “We only cared about your health.”       “If only you knew how many efforts we applied to smile at the fans and pretend that everything wasn’t so serious,” Terrence adds. “We didn’t tell them all the details and just promised that you’d come back soon and rock on again.”       Edward smiles shyly, silently at first, but then he moves his sad eyes to his hands folded in front of him.       “Forgive me, guys…” Edward apologizes hesitantly.       “For what?” Daniel surprises.       “I let you down.” Edward glances at Daniel, Peter, and Terrence. “Not just you. Everyone. The show’s been cancelled because of me.”       “No, no, Edward, don’t even think about it!” Peter pronounces confidently, hugging Edward around the shoulders. “It’s okay.”       “I’m really very sorry about what happened. You all counted on me, but I…”       “It’s not your fault, brother,” Terrence calms down softly. “Please, don’t think about it.”       “I was ready to go on the stage even in such a bad condition and didn’t wanna tell you anything 'til the very end. I was ready to forget everything and jump there ‘til the last breath. For you. For our fans, who came to watch us.”       “The guys and I highly appreciate your responsibility,” Daniel says confidently. “You nicely surprised all of us by the way you treated your work when we suggested that you become our guitarist. You got it all and showed yourself as a true hard-working man, who was ready to work for hours and learn something new again and again.”       “Since you believed in me and gave me such a great responsibility, I just had no right to let you down.” Edward swallows nervously. “But alas, I didn’t meet your expectations today.”       “Stop, Edward, it’s okay,” Terrence says quietly. “Nobody’s mad at you. The show’s organizers saw everything clearly, the members of our team aren’t idiots, and George got kinda green when he saw you on the floor unconscious.”       “It’s all my fault,” Edward replies excitedly. “The show’s cancellation is all my fault.”       “Don’t worry, friend, we saw everything clearly,” Peter calms down. “We saw how bad you felt. It would be disgusting of us to push you on the scene and make you jump, play, and sing.”       “I could’ve avoided it if I’d been much more careful. The bottle I was drinking from had already been opened. I was surprised but didn’t care about it enough. And I suspected nothing when I took a couple of sips. The taste of water was fucking bitter, though it was super clean and transparent and smelled of nothing.”       “Yeah, you screwed it up in this case,” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.       “Yeah, I know… I should’ve stopped and opened another bottle. But… I was stupid… I kept drinking. I drank almost everything. And… I felt worse and worse after every sip. My stomach hurt, I felt nausea, I felt dizzy… Then I almost released my guts as I was coughing my blood out.”       “Be happy you’re fucking lucky!” Daniel exclaims. “A little bit before you were dead. Your doctor did say it – you ran literally two meters away from the grim reaper’s place.”       “I’m really very sorry, guys,” Edward replies with pity in his eyes. “It’s all my fault. I paid a high cost for my irresponsibility. And… If I’d died, it would’ve been fair.”       “Are you crazy to say this?” Terrence horrifies loudly, opening his eyes widely. “Are you insane?”       “Indeed, MacClife, think of what you say!” Peter agrees. “We almost the fuck died from horror when the doctors were trying to revive you being between life and death!”       “Exactly!” Daniel exclaims. “And your brother was a psycho again, for your information. Everyone, who was there, suffered: starting with Rose and me and ending with the doctors.”       “Aha, MacClife shouted at the nurse when she said resuscitation actions didn’t work.”       “The girl did squeeze in fear and started to cry. Though she was guilty of nothing and just doing her work.”       “Ar-r-r, I did say I was sorry…” Terrence rolls his eyes with an irritated growl. “I apologized to her and explained I was just too nervous.”       “Yeah, if you’d had a gun, you would’ve shot everyone down to the fuck,” Peter throws gloomily.       “Sorry…” Edward pronounces quietly as he inclines his head. “I am ashamed to look into your eyes after letting you down like this.”       “Stop, Edward, enough!” Daniel raises his hand. “Nobody’s blaming you for anything. Yes, you screwed it up, but now talking about it doesn’t make sense.”       “The important thing is that you’re alive and with us,” Peter adds. “Other things don’t matter.”       “If I can make amends for you, let me know,” Edward replies quietly.       “Okay, then, be nice to explain something to us,” Terrence raises his head. “Explain what’s lately been happening to you.”       “Erm, what do you mean what’s been happening to me?” Edward frowns slightly.       “Do you think we don’t see you’ve lately looked exhausted?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “Don’t you think that you put too much pressure on yourself?”       “Yeah, at first sight, it seems like everything was okay,” Peter adds. “You still worked a lot, joked, talked, and did something. But the guys and I think you’ve lately been too active.”       “Aha, of course, we’ve always been overwhelmed by how restless and active you are,” Terrence notices. “But it’s lately been some kind of maniacal obsession. You’re literally living in the gym glass, lifting the bars, running, jumping, and doing push-ups ‘til you pass out.”       “Yeah, you’re gonna have a wedding soon and wanna look good and make your golden-haired cutie get wet after just one look at you. We get it all. But fuck, dude, slow down! Relax, take a breath! Why do you have yourself fucking exhausted?”       “I just wanna make my body much better,” Edward shrugs.       “You’ve got an excellent body now!” Daniel protests. “And if you keep doing this, you’ll surely be added to the anorexic people.”       “Yeah, or bulimia’s victim,” Peter pronounces. “Don’t you lock yourself in a bathroom and embrace the toilet, trying to induce vomiting after a heavy meal?”       “Gosh, guys, you’re such fantasists!” Edward smiles shyly. “Me? Bulimia’s victim? Trying to induce vomiting?”       “But why did you the fuck lose some weight?” Terrence wonders. “You’re as slim as a sausage, but now you’re even slimmer! If you don’t stop, Natalia’s gonna look much fatter next to you. Though she is slim, too.”       “Guys, come on? I’m not doing these things! I’ve never done it! And why would I need it? I am happy with my body and don’t think I'm fat.”       “Since if you’re happy, we demand that you stop torturing yourself like this,” Daniel demands determinedly. “Workouts at the gym class are always good, but you must know the limit.”       “I like doing sports!” Edward protests. “You know that I hate sitting in the same place. And workouts help me release my energy so well.”       “Yeah, but getting yourself exhausted is fucking wrong!” Terrence raises his voice a little. “As well as having some fucking starvations!”       “Aha, your fainting due to starvation made the situation with poisoning much worse,” Daniel meddles. “We don’t know what you wanted to get.”       “It’s been many years since I began not to put food in my mouth by force,” Edward confesses. “If I want, I can easily skip any time of food. I can skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Not a big deal!”       “And today, you probably decided to skip a whole day!” Peter crosses his arms over his chest.       “Yeah, today, I didn’t really have an appetite. I ate just a couple of cookies and some clean water.”       “Oh, Edward, Edward…” Terrence sighs tiredly, running his hands over his face. “The more time goes by, the more overwhelmed you make me.”       “Yeah, now you seem much weirder than in the beginning,” Daniel agrees.       “Those, who are good at starving, are girls,” Edward replies. “Ask anyone what she has to reject to keep her waist slim and her belly flat. They’d be happy to tell how hard their stomachs grumble from starvation. And how happy they’d be to eat something forbidden.”       “Alright, kid, if we know about something like this again, we will be putting food in your mouth by force,” Terrence threatens with his finger. “We are warning you.”       “And if you keep torturing yourself with workouts at the gym class, we’ll actually lock you somewhere or tie you up to the bed,” Peter states. “We will not step away from you until you stop doing some bullshit.”       “Damn, the case is not about workouts…” Edward moans tiredly. “I really do a lot of sports ‘cause I wanna look good on my wedding day. But I’ve got so much to do anyway. And I try to finish it all, sacrificing my sleep.”       Edward starts looking at the lines on his palms.       “Maybe I really look tired. But it’s just because I don’t get enough sleep. Now I don’t let myself lie in my bed longer and get up too early to do everything.”       “There’s time before the wedding,” Terrence notices thoughtfully. “Why do you rush?”       “The problem is the wedding! I have no fucking time for anything! Natalia and I are about to become husband and wife, but I haven’t finished repairing our house. I haven’t done even half of what I’m planning. And I recently had some unplanned force majeure that’s the reason I literally had to start everything over again. So, I have to spend every free minute on it. And as you can understand, I don’t have too much time. Concerts, hangouts with my friends… My fiancée does need my attention. That’s why I have to tear myself apart. I have to sacrifice my healthy sleep.”       “It’s clear!” Peter throws gloomily. “How can you do everything when you’re working on a repair on your own?”       “Exactly!” Daniel agrees. “It’s been such a long time since you bought the house, but you’ve never asked us for help. And we’ve seen it a couple of times.”       “Yeah, but I wanted to do everything by myself,” Edward confesses. “I wanted to change every single thing in the house for myself. To make it the place of my dream.”       “You could tell us what you want, and we’d do everything!” Terrence exclaims. “Paint everything, plaster anything, hang paper, hang any little thing. It’s fine! Just call us!”       “I think I have no choice. Because I won’t be able to do anything by the wedding in this case. And even if you all help me, I won’t do this. I will have a lot of things undone.”       “Alright, when you’re released from the hospital and feel much better, we’ll talk about it,” Peter says determinedly. “You will no longer work on the repair alone. Otherwise, you will never end it and will ruin your health with this lack of sleep.”       “Damn, why do we only have twenty-four hours per day and spend some part of it sleeping?” Edward sighs disappointedly. “If I had a little more time, I could probably do everything.”       “And actually, why are you so worried about this repair?” Daniel wonders. “If you don’t finish it by the wedding, what’s wrong with it? You can do this later!”       “No, Daniel, I wanna bring Natalia to the place where everything’s ready.”       “Oh, I haven’t started repairing the living room that suffered after our epic fight with the Potters. And you know, I ain’t fucking care. I don’t worry about it at all. And Anna doesn’t play on my nerves.”       “And additionally, you say you and Rochester are gonna live temporarily at that house,” Terrence adds. “You’re planning to buy a larger house later.”       “I’m just saving money for it currently,” Edward replies. “I’ve got enough money now, but I need more. Because I wanna buy a large and beautiful house in a good neighborhood. I can’t let Natalia live in some kind of hut. She doesn’t deserve it.”       “C’mon, you’ll earn money, don’t worry!” Daniel waves his hand. “When we go on the tour, we’re gonna be earning a lot of money. I’m sure we’ll get as much as we’ve never had in my whole life. And we’re earning enough on all these shows, interviews, photoshoots, and other things related to the celebrity life.”       “Aha, I’ve already earned the amount I gave to buy a new house,” Peter confesses. “Yes, the previous owner lowered the price a little out of the goodness, but it’s much more than I gave for the place where I’m living now.”       “I believe people are right when they say I’m a walking catastrophe,” Edward jokes with a shy smile. “I give problems to other people and make my own life worse.”       “We don’t deny that you’re our headache and pain in our asses,” Terrence replies. “And sometimes you do so much bullshit that we wanna hit you on the face with a brick.”       “But at the same time, you can be a cool guy and a loyal friend,” Daniel adds amicably. “You never refuse to help people and leave them in trouble even if your pants are wet from fear.”       “And you aren’t arrogant and boring,” Peter says. “You keep all your promises, don’t talk to the wind, always know what to say to comfort… And being responsive makes you really good.”       “Sometimes you make me enraged, too,” Edward replies. “But I’m really lucky to have you. Thanks to you, I managed to leave my comfort zone and feel much more confident.”       “And choosing between you and some super, super important concert, we choose you, obviously,” Terrence adds. “Your well-being. And our fans would understand it and support us.”       “Thank you so much for being next to me when I felt bad,” Edward thanks with a slight smile. “Even if I was obsessed with a panic from fear of death, I felt much quieter next to you. You gave me a sense of safety. Hope that I would… That I would manage to survive.”       “If Edward MacClife himself gave up in another fight, I would definitely think something is wrong with this world,” Daniel says. “He’s gotten through so much. And he can’t give up even at the last breath.”       “And, Perkins, saw clearly what would’ve happened to you if you hadn’t had enough brain to stop in time and kept drinking the poisoned water,” Terrence adds confidently.       “What do you mean, Terrence?” Edward frowns strongly and glances at Daniel, “Daniel, what does he mean?”       “So, Edward, we got a volunteer that decided to kill himself and join you!” Peter throws gloomily. “He went to look for the poisoned bottle in the dressing room and drank water secretly. He drank so much that he eventually got a pain in his stomach. He felt dizzy when we were taking him to the doctor after we went on the scene and told everyone about the cancellation of tonight’s show.”       “I drank just a couple of sips!” Daniel raises his hands. “And yeah, I feel much better now because the doctor gave me a cure.”       “Ha, and you swear at me for my irresponsibility!” Edward chuckles quietly.       “But we made absolutely sure about what they did to you. We understood that Blake was right when he told us how he caught the girl, who poisoned the bottle.”       “Blake saw it?”       “Yup, and when she saw him, she got out shorty,” Peter confesses. “And now everyone’s looking for her. But it seems like it’s worthless ‘cause she’d already left the stadium before everyone found out what happened.”       “So, do you wanna say the girl tried to harm me and disrupt our concert?”       “She likely wanted to kill all of us,” Terrence assumes. “But Connor ‘kindly’ ruined all her plans. And… You were the only one to become a victim in the end. You did it foolishly.”       “It’s clear that bastard won't calm down and will be haunting my friends, too,” Peter says in a low voice. “And there’s no doubt that girl agreed with them.”       “And what do we do now?” Edward asks hesitantly.       “Who the fuck knows! Anyway, we’ve gotta be super careful and take a look at every suspicious detail.”       “Are you really okay? Didn’t you really drink that water?”       “Huh, I didn’t even touch it!” Terrence exclaims.       “And I wasn’t gonna drink,” Peter adds. “Maybe, after the performance.”       “And I’m really surprised you didn’t notice anything bad,” Daniel confesses. “When I took a sip, my stomach started to hurt. And after two more sips, it got much stronger. And the water was fucking bitter! With no smell, though.”       “It’s okay you got brains to stop in time! Otherwise, MacClife and you would be sitting on the floor together and pleasing the toilet with foreplay before throwing tons of shit in it.”       “Oh, c’mon, shut the fuck up! I will lie today and will be absolutely okay tomorrow.”       “We almost lost one of us today! And if we lost another, we would have such a strong hysteria that we’d 100% be taken to the mental hospital and injected a sedative into us.”       “Aha, and I almost strangled Perkins when he assumed that you had a terminal illness,” Terrence says.       “We could assume anything at that moment!” Daniel exclaims. “Because of the reason why Edward felt bad. The reason why he’s looked so exhausted and sick.”       “No, guys, I don’t have any illness,” Edward protests with a slight smile. “Nothing that would make me die slowly.”       “But I personally thought it could be the truth,” Peter confesses. “People usually fret and fume like this before death. Because they’re afraid not to do everything.”       “Remember, guys, even if I had something like this, I wouldn't hide it from you. I could hide it from Natalia, Mom, or Dad, but you would know everything. You’d know the bitter truth. Even if I had just one week to live, I would tell you that.”       “I dunno…” Terrence throws gloomily. “There’s so much shit in your head that I’m kinda scared.”       “I’d trust you three with all my biggest and most terrible secrets. No matter how much I wouldn’t like to hurt you, I would do this.”       “Huh, we’d get everything you’re hiding outta you anyway!” Daniel chuckles.       “Here’s one more reason why we just can’t hide anything from each other.”       “Look, man, we may really come up with nobody the fuck knows what due to your weird behavior.”       “You came up with it easily, you should get it all out of your head easily.”       “Okay, we will believe you this time,” Terrence promises. “But remember, we’re watching you. And if you don’t do at least something the doctor tells you, the consequences will be terrible.”       “I will do my best to recover soon.”       “When you feel better, we will be talking to the managers about the show’s reschedule,” Peter promises.       “If not for my high fever and weakness, I’d go to perform right now.”       “Oh, no, friend, first, you must get well and then jump like a goat on the scene,” Daniel says.       “Aha, your fans were crying so hard when they heard you ended up in the hospital,” Peter adds. “But if you’d passed out and died right on the scene, they would’ve gone crazy from grief.”       “By the way, we’ve gotta calm the people down and tell them everything is fine,” Terrence recalls. “And call George. He’s worried there.”       “Leave it to me,” Edward says. “I will tell them the news. I will record a short video on my phone to tell them I’m okay now. And I’ll do my best to come back to normal as soon as possible.”       “I think it’s a good decision,” Peter nods in approval. “May the one, who suffered, show up personally, without asking their representatives.”       “And we will make Smith happy, then,” Daniel promises. “Maybe, he will wanna go to the hospital tomorrow and visit you.”       “Give him my deepest apologies,” Edward expresses a wish. “Tell him I didn’t want all of this, and I’m worried ‘cause he has to agree with everyone.”       “Don’t worry, bro,” Terrence insists. “You should only think about how to come back to normal.”       “And again, I’m giving you my apologies for the disrupted concert. If I had to, I would’ve creeped on the stage and made myself play guitar perfectly and sing clearly. But… My organism let me down, sadly.”       “Stop, Edward, don’t apologize to us,” Daniel says confidently. “What’s done is done. We’ve gotta deal with what we have now.”       “I promise I will work as hard as I can next time. I promise to show such a fucking good play that even those, who don’t care about us, will open their mouths.”       “We’d be much happier if you never scared us like this anymore,” Peter replies and puts his arm around Edward’s neck. “There will be hundreds of shows, but there’s just one Edward MacClife. Inimitable.”       “Yeah, and when something exists in a single copy, we must take care of it like a brilliant,” Daniel adds.       “Just like everyone takes care of the only and inimitable Terrence MacClife, who will always be the only one,” Terrence adds with his head proudly raised.       “And we have only one ill person now. And it’s not you, buddy.”       “Ha, does it mean you will take care of me only when I’m sick? Will you consider me some kind of ball that you can kick when I am not sick?”       “Shut up and don’t be jealous, bro,” Edward smiles innocently. “It’s my time to be a king for some time.”       “Make sure the crown doesn’t squeeze your head.”       “Thanks, I think it looks perfect on my beautiful head, too.”       “I’d cut it off to the fuck.”       “You better cut off what you have between your legs.”       “Asshole…” Terrence smiles shyly.       “Oh, you’re even worse.”       Terrence, Edward, Peter, and Daniel look at each other and thrill with a quiet, shy laugh. To encourage his friend a little, Rose hugs MacClife, Jr. amicably. Then, MacClife, Sr., ruffles his younger brother’s hair and hugs both guys tightly, and then Perkins joins their group hug and claps everybody on their heads slightly. But a few seconds later, they have to step away because a loud melody starts playing in the room. And Daniel recognizes it since his phone lying in the pocket of his jacket is playing it.       “It’s mine!” Daniel exclaims, takes his smartphone, looks at the screen, and smiles shyly. “Oh, seems like the girls have shown up!”       While Edward looks questioningly at Terrence and Peter, Daniel runs his finger over the screen and puts his phone to his ear.       “Hello,” Daniel pronounces.       “Daniel, it’s Anna!” Anna exclaims.       “Anna, finally! Where are you and the girls? The guys and I have been waiting for you!”       “We’ve arrived at the hospital. But we can’t find you. We checked all the floors, but we couldn't see you.”       “Oh, we’re in the room now…”       “Room? Which number? Which floor?”       “Listen, where are you and the girls now?”       “We went to the first floor,” Anna replies quietly. “Standing near the reception. Decided to call you and the lads.”       “Okay, let’s do something: you stay there, but I will come to you now,” Daniel suggests confidently.       “Good idea! We agree!”       “I hope you’re okay there?”       “Yup, we’re okay, sweetie, don’t worry.”       “And Natalia? What about her?”       “Bad. Crying bitterly. Threatening to kill the girl that added poison to Edward’s bottle.”       “Oh, poor girl…”       “Hey, do you know something about Edward? Why do you say you’re in the room now?”       “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I will come to you and explain everything on the way,” Daniel promises. “But don’t go anywhere. I will come to the reception now.”       “Okay, deal. We’re waiting for you.”       “Okay. Love you.”       “Me too.”       Daniel finishes the call by pressing some buttons on the smartphone that he puts in the pocket of his jacket.       “What about Natalia?” Peter asks.       “Crying bitterly,” Daniel explains. “And threatening to kill that girl.”       “I shall kill her if she is found,” Terrence threatens. “That bitch almost killed my brother.”       “Okay, you sit here, but I will go to the first floor.” Daniel gets up from the bed. “The girls will be waiting for me near the reception. I will explain everything to them on the way and bring them here.”       “They’re all there?” Edward specifies.       “Raquelle had Helene, Anna, and Natalia at our home when I called her,” Terrence confesses. “I don’t know what they were doing there, but all the four are supposed to come here together.”       “Oh, listen, Dan, let’s come to them together?” Peter suggests cheerfully, getting up from the bed and pulling down his jacket. “So, our MacClife brothers can share a couple of jokes.”       “Oh, okay, Pete, good idea!” Daniel agrees and moves his eyes to Edward. “Hey, Edward, we’ve got an important mission for you.”       “What?” Edward frowns.       “Calm your brother down.”       “Yeah, dude, Daddy is still sitting here kinda overwhelmed and excited,” Peter notices. “You can comfort each other much better than both of us.”       “Okay, boneheads, get out of here,” Edward sighs with a slight smile. “I will watch our penguin a little and amuse him a little.”       “You can do this, we believe in you!” Daniel pronounces cheerfully, clenching his hand in a fist and raising it.       “Then I have a mission for you back: calm Natalia down and tell her I’m okay.”       “Deal, Mr. MacClife! Don’t worry!”       “Okay, get out!”       Daniel and Peter bow to Edward for fun, come to the exit, and close the door when they leave the room along with his quiet laugh. Edward himself watches them with a slight smile, glances at his hands and, running his fingers through his hair, pays attention to Terrence that looks sad and a little anxious.       “Hm, they’re right,” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “You’re really sitting here dumbfounded.”       “I’d look at you if your close person was dying before your eyes,” Terrence throws gloomily.       “But I’m alright now. There is no reason to worry now. So, you can relax and exhale.”       “The doctors don’t know what kind of poison was in the bottle. It means nobody can say which consequences your organism may run into later.”       “Yeah, I agree, my stomach still hurts. Fucking strong, gonna be honest. And I do feel my face is burning. Not talking about it, everything is great.”       “Oh, yeah, you look like you are really okay! You’re as pale as nobody the fuck knows what and exhausted.”       “Just you are! And your hands are shaking!”       “And itching to hit you strongly,” Terrence snaps in a low voice.       “I haven’t done or said anything yet.”       “Haven’t done? Haven’t done? Are you fucking SERIOUS now?”       “Calm down, Terrence, calm down! Don’t be so nervous.”       “Do you, little rag, know what I felt when you had your heart stopped?” Terrence raises his voice. “You know how crazy I went?”       “I imagine. Since Rose and Perkins complained about you and said you shouted at the innocent girl.”       “It’s fucking funny for you, but I wanted to die! From despair! At the thought that you were two fucking steps away from death.”       “I ain’t laughing! I completely understand it.”       “You’ve always loved playing on my nerves, and I am used to this. But what happened today is too much. It crosses all the lines!”       “You think I wanted it?” Edward opens his eyes widely. “You think I wanted to end up on a hospital bed and smile and joke by force, trying to forget about my stomach pain and nausea in my throat?”       “How could you, Edward? How could you screw it up? How couldn’t you work your brain and guess something wasn’t right with that bottle?”       “I said it was my fault! And I do recognize my mistake. Yes, I’m an idiot, and I screwed it up.”       “Fuck, you must be kept under control all the time! When I barely weakened the grip, you got into some shit! You drank almost one liter of poisoned water and were close to fucking death!”       “I’m not a child anymore, Terrence. All my mistakes are my personal responsibility. When I make mistakes, I have to pay for them.”       “You could have paid a too high cost this time.”       “It would’ve been my destiny, then.”       “Don’t dare to say it!” Terrence explodes. “Don’t dare to say your death is your destiny!”       “Oh, bro, why are you starting this again?” Edward sighs tiredly.       “Am I starting? AM I STARTING? I HAVE NOT EVEN STARTED ANYTHING YET!”       “Hey, hey, don’t shout here. All the members of the hospital staff will run here.”       “Don’t tell older people to shut up!”       “What do you wanna get by shouting?”       “KNOCK SOME SENSES INTO YOU! SINCE YOU’VE NEVER HAD BRAINS!”       “Listen, I feel fucking bad, but you’re making it worse with your hysterics. I have no wish or strength to deal with you.”       “I wouldn’t have them if you didn’t provoke me all the time! If you didn’t play on my nerves every fucking day!”       “Ah, so, am I guilty of your inability to control yourself and acting like a psycho for any little thing?”       “LITTLE THING?” Terrence gets red from the anger he is obsessed with. “Do you mean your death is a FUCKING LITTLE THING?”       “I know and believe you were worried. But please, let’s do it without all of this.”       “I thought Raquelle was the only one to irritate me to the fuck, but you’ve already overshadowed her in all cases. You’ve become the worst pain in my ass and headache for life since I met you.”       “Actually, I don’t make you watch me like a chicken watches its eggs,” Edward notices. “It’s your wish. Not mine, not Mom’s, not Dad’s, not someone else.” You did take this responsibility.”       “Because there is NOBODY else but me!”       “If you wanna live quietly, give a fuck about it. It would even be much better for me if you stopped controlling me.”       “Aha, and let you, asshole, die for sure? SO, WE ALL CRY BITTERLY AT YOUR FUNERALS?”       “Terrence!”       “If I didn’t hold you by your pants, you would’ve died a long time ago. You’ve been dragged into some shit so many times. AT YOUR FUCKING WISH!”       “Come on? We can’t do without you?”       “CANNOT!”       “But how did I live before we met? How? I also got in trouble, I had my ass kicked… But it’s fine, I stayed alive!”       “Because Father could kick you in time! THAT’S WHY YOU DID NOT DIE! BECAUSE HE CONTROLLED YOU!”       “When I lived with him! When I became homeless, NOBODY watched me. And I’m gonna be honest with you, it was the BEST time. I was able to do anything I wanted. And NOBODY read me lectures! Nobody taught me how to live!”       “The idiot was just lucky!”       “Don’t pretend to be holy,” Edward says confidently. “If luck wasn’t at your side, some stinkers would’ve sent you to another world for your dirty tongue and all your hysterics a long time ago.”       “Don’t turn all of this on me, brother!” Terrence throws coldly. “I wasn’t the one, who experienced a clinic death two hours ago and left everyone he owed!”       “Since you’re pretending to be a smart, adult, and wise man, be the one!”       “You must grow up! Stop being stuck in your teenage years and doing some bullshit.”       “And you must stop promising everyone you’ll learn to hold yourself down since you can’t do this!”       “I am an adult and know everything better!”       “I’m an adult, too!”       “No, you are a child! The stupid, irresponsible child that likes playing on everyone’s nerves.”       “I wonder whose nerves I’m playing on? And how?”       “YOU COULD’VE DIED FROM THAT POISON!”       “BUT I DID NOT DIE!”       “That’s good others don’t know yet what the lads and I got through. And weren’t witnesses to what we had to see. OTHERWISE, THEY WOULD’VE ALL HAD A HEART ATTACK! ESPECIALLY NATALIA, WHO IS NOW CRYING BITTERLY BECAUSE OF SUCH A BRAINLESS BASTARD LIKE YOU!”       “STOP SHOUTING, DRAMA QUEEN!” Edward breaks into a cry. “I AM DONE WITH YOU!”       “No, I am done with you! You have sucked as much blood out of me as NOBODY ELSE HAS SUCKED IN MY WHOLE LIFE!”       “Alright, enough!” Edward raises his palm. “I am done with your hysterics! If you can’t talk quietly, get out of here!”       “Stop giving orders, you, little kid! You will not dare to tell me what to do!”       “I don’t want to talk to you while you’re in a condition like this.” Edward starts kicking Terrence out with gestures. “C'mon, Terrence, get out! Wash your face with cold water, drink something, walk… Or better, run. Maybe, it can help get rid of your craziness.”       “I will decide when I leave,” Terrence says rudely. “If I want, I will spend a NIGHT here. So, you don’t do stupid things even when you’re lying motionlessly on the bed.”       “Are you irritating me on purpose? Provoking me on purpose? You want me to hit you? Huh? You want? I can do this! If you don’t shut the fuck up now!”       “I SHALL KILL YOU NOW!” Terrence shouts with widely open eyes.       “GO FOR IT!” Edward challenges. “COME ON, KILL ME! GO, TERRENCE! GO!”       “Hey, are ya cowardly? Or ya think I wouldn’t do this?”       “Show me you ain’t talk to the wind then!”       “It seems like your habits die hard.”       “So, ya peed your pants? Scared of what people may think of you? Afraid to become everyone’s number one enemy for harming one sweet and innocent guy. Who everyone loves much more than you.”       “I did say DO NOT MAKE ME ENRAGED!”       Terrence grabs Edward by the throat tightly and sets his eyes full of evil into his brother’s eyes with a heavy breath. Even if the guy lacks air, he keeps calm, and a sly chuckle shows up on his face.       “Whatcha staring at, idiot? You think I’m playing games with you? Everything is the fuck serious! It’s fucking serious!”       “Don’t be jealous, bro,” Edward says confidently. “The world still has a lot of girls, who are ready to suck you shortly and get an orgasm at the sight of your half-naked photos.”       “You’re walking on the tip of a blade, Eddy,” Terrence sneers evilly. “Your long tongue can’t do anything good for you.”       “You shouldn’t try to look horrible. Because I’m not scared at all.”       “I haven’t even started it. But if I start, your bed is gonna be wet from fear.”       “Now I understand why they don’t offer you roles of evil people. Because you are worthless at this type of role.”       “Don’t ask for trouble, little rag!” Terrence squeezes Edward’s throat with his fingers much more tightly. “Joking with me is bad.”       “Kill me then. Kill me if you’ve got the guts.”       “So, kid, are ya brave? Too sassy, I see? Looking for trouble again?”       “Hey, ya playing the coward?” Edward smirks evilly. “Showing off verbally only! But now you put your tail between your legs!”       “Do not underestimate me, Edward. I do keep my promises. When I say, I do!”       Terrence squeezes Edward’s throat much tighter after weakening the grip at some moment, forcing the guy to catch the air barely.       “You have always annoyed me to the bones. But now I hate you even more.”       “M-m-m, what a compatibility!” Edward smiles falsely. “We’re literally made for each other!”       “Hey, little kid, stop irritating me!”       “How do I irritate you? The way I’m breathing?”       “You irritated me even when you were lying here close to death. EVEN THEN.”       “You irritate me even when you aren’t around.”       “You irritated me when I didn’t know you at all!”       “You irritated me when you weren’t born yet!”       “Fuck, what a gift from destiny! It gave me a fucking ‘awesome’ gift!”       “You know, it also didn’t make me happy when it gave me one creature. That calls himself the sassiest, the best, and the smartest one.”       “I repeat, when I promise something, I always do it. If I want to kill you, nothing can stop me. Hear me, nothing and nobody!”       “Go, then!” Edward challenges boldly. “Kill me! Go, Terry! Let’s end this right here and now? Let’s solve each other’s problem!”       “You’re pretending to be sassy, but you’ve got a fear in your eyes,” Terrence notices. “You’re afraid to die. You are afraid. I see you are scared. I see you are afraid I will keep my promise.”       “But you are not afraid to become a killer, I see.”       “I am afraid of nothing.”       “Everyone’s got their fears. Fearing something is absolutely fine. Those, who fear nothing, are psyches. Potential patients of a mental hospital.”       “What are you hinting at?”       “You’re a smart boy, you should guess it.”       Terrence says nothing and squeezes his fingers on Edward’s neck tighter, while the guy winces slightly, not going to stop competition with him silently to find out who would be the first one to kill another with a cold, piercing look full of slyness.       “So, since it wasn’t enough just to kick your ass with a belt, let’s do something radical,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised.       “If it makes you feel better, let’s go,” Edward challenges. “Though, I’d bet anything you’re scared to do this.”       “I’m not playing with toys with you now. Everything is serious, bro. You have played on my nerves enough. So that you can’t imagine how much I hate you now, asshole.”       “And I am suggesting you end me seriously. And you can’t imagine how much I hate you now.”       “M-m-m, your voice is shaking and betraying you.”       “Come on, Terry, go! If you wanna kill me so badly, do it. While nobody can see. There’s nobody to change your mind.”       “I will kill.”       “Kill.”       “Kill!”       “Come on! Go! Attack!”       “Strangle you with my own hands!”       “Green light’s for ya!”       “Bald dog!”       “Fucking penguin!”       “Annoying kid!”       “Creeping reptile!”       “You are!”       “No, you!”       “I hate you, little rag!”       “We’ve got a ‘mutual’ love.”       “STOP CHUCKING!”       “STRANGLE ME! STOP BEING COWARDLY!”       Edward keeps remaining confident and absolutely quiet, while his gut tells him that Terrence will not go so far anyway and will not succumb to his provocations. Even if his older brother looks really true and is squeezing his throat tightly enough. The guy knows MacClife, Sr. is a wonderful actor with a great experience that would easily make anyone believe him.       Terrence keeps having an indifferent mask on his face for a few seconds, not even thinking about weakening the grip and laughing evilly at times. Maybe, he guesses that Edward has already bitten him through, but he keeps playing his role and trying unsuccessfully to make his brother feel fear and horror. And then the man, still looking into his younger brother’s eyes slowly, raises his head proudly and smiles with a greater kindness and warmth. At some moment, Terrence hugs Edward as tightly as it’s possible not to harm him with no words, with a sharp exhalation, and caresses his head with a shaking hand. MacClife, Jr. himself gets confused for a moment but then answers his brother’s act with the same heat and smiles slyly with the thought that he was absolutely right.       “I knew you’d be a coward for this,” Edward says proudly. “I bit you through and understood it all.”       But Edward stops smiling immediately when he understands that Terrence starts shaking slightly, breathing heavily, even sobbing quietly, and squeezing his brother much tighter in his arms.       “Whoa, ya going crazy,” Edward tries to joke. “Harder than girls.”       “Don’t scare me like this anymore, hear me,” Terrence begs in a shaking voice with a heavy breath. “Never make me go crazy.”       “Hey, Terrence, c’mon?” Edward claps Terrence on his back. “Hey… Bro… Hey, hello! It’s okay! Relax! Hey… Breathe deeply, hear me? Bro? Hey!”       “I thought I’d really go crazy when you really, nearly died. You weren’t two steps away from death, you really died. For some time.”       “Oh…” Edward exhales sharply. “As if I wasn’t scared. When I started to cough up blood, I thought I’d be dead. I was much more scared because of the thought I’d leave my close people than any dizziness, nausea, pain in my stomach, and weakness.”       “You’re an annoying little rag. But I can’t do without you. I need you. I will always need you. Even if you irritate me. Even if I sometimes hate you much more than anyone in the world.”       “I wanna upset you, buddy, you’re gonna have to carry this burden ‘til the end of your life.”       “It’s not a burden, it’s a blessing.”       Terrence steps away from Edward and takes him by the forearms tightly and then hands, looking at him with a wide smile with wet, red eyes.       “I swear, when we know what bitch tried to poison you, I shall kill them,” Terrence threatens excitedly. “I will turn this world upside down, but I will make all the assholes, who have to do with this, pay for it.”       “When you were instead of me, I wanted to do the same thing to Wainwright,” Edward confesses with a slight smile. “And I rejoined silently when we heard about his death. Because this is what we can call justice and fairness.”       “Please, Edward, promise me you’ll never make me so worried again. I got through it today, and I don’t want more. I don’t wanna lose you. I don’t wanna see your death. I don’t wanna stand in front of your grave. I don’t!”       “Don’t worry, bro, you won’t get away from me so easily.” Edward flicks Terrence on his nose with his fingers, making him wince slightly. “Since you asked Mom and Dad for a brother, you, asshole, must deal with him for the rest of your life.”       “I asked?” Terrence laughs nervously. “Ha, come on?! I was actually informed about it! I was just told, ‘Terrence, sonny, we’ve got some news for you! A wonderful baby is growing in your mom’s belly! And it means you’re gonna be an older brother soon.’ What could I do after this?”       “Oh, stop lying! I do know how impatiently you were waiting for my birth. You took care of Mom so much and didn’t leave her alone!”       “I thought you’d be a good and sweet boy. Not a fucking walking trouble that would get into some shit again and again and make others hysterical.”       “As it turned out, you are a sensitive guy”! Edward exclaims. “And you say I’m too sentimental and romantic.”       “I’ve got enough brains not to wish you to be instead of me. Though I do really want to do it.”       “Oh, okay, fuck it off…”       Edward exhales sharply and runs his hands over his face.       “Sorry about scaring you. I’m really very sorry. And I didn’t expect anything like this. I didn't think I’d… Die…”       “It’s okay, bro, I can’t be mad at you.” Terrence claps Edward on his cheek with a slight smile. “Because I am too happy to see you alive.”       “I’d get out of anything out of spite and principle. I don’t wanna make my enemies happy. And I don’t wanna leave you. Without a regular flogging.”       “Anyway, don’t take my hysterics too seriously. I was just too nervous. And calming down after that turned out to be a fucking hard mission.”       “Calm down, Terrence, the worst things are over.”       Edward takes Terrence in a tight hug, claps him on the back with one hand, and caresses his head with the other hand.       “Now you can relax. And I will do my best to recover as soon as possible.”       “I will help you with it,” Terrence promises. “You’re gonna recover under my close control.”       “Okay, tough guy, you won! If you wanna play a daddy, okay, I’m giving myself to you as a victim.”       “Shut up and don’t show off.”       “I love ya, too, bro.”       Terrence and Edward laugh shyly and squeeze each other much tighter in a tight hug, exhaling sharply with a wide smile on their faces, letting themselves relax and not hiding their happiness about being together now. And the older of the MacClife brothers is proud of his little brother deep inside since he showed a power of will and love for life again and managed to get out of the hole, in which he was supposed to stay forever.       

***

      Meanwhile, Peter and Daniel go down to the first floor, where Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene are supposed to wait for them. Walking by numerous doctors, patients, and other staff members, the guys talk about something to distract themselves not to go crazy over what’s happening. They pass some distance on stairs, but then they decide not to waste time and just to use the elevator, in which there are already several people. However, the friends do not pay attention to them, and these people keep being busy with their problems and cares.       When they are on the first floor, Daniel and Peter pass some distance before they come to the reception, where one girl and one man are working, answering calls, filling documents, or consulting some visitors. And at some moment, the men see Raquelle, Helene, Anna, and Natalia standing shyly aside among many people that go from one side to another. The blonde keeps crying bitterly and shaking from fear of what she may hear, and her friends are doing their best to calm the girl down.       “Oh, poor Natalia…” Daniel pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “The girl’s really crying bitterly and shaking there.”       “We need to tell her everything’s okay,” Peter says confidently. “This is the only thing that can help her calm down. The girls are powerless, sadly.”       When Daniel and Peter come closer to the girls, they do not pay attention to them at first. Helene, Anna, and Raquelle keep trying unsuccessfully to calm down Natalia, whose eyes are already puffy and red from tears, as she is crying bitterly.       “Girls!” Daniel exclaims, raising his hand.       Just then, Anna, Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene move their eyes to Daniel and Peter standing near and waving their hands shyly at them.       “Oh, finally, guys!” Raquelle exhales with relief. “We’ve been looking for you!”       “Sorry, we didn’t have time to send you a message with the room’s number,” Peter shrugs. “When they let us in, we rushed to go there.”       First, Raquelle greets Peter and Daniel with an amicable kiss on the cheek, and then Anna joins her. Helene greets Perkins, too, but she puts her head on her shoulders and looks down after she glances hesitantly at Rose, not knowing if he is mad at her or not. However, the man comes to his girlfriend with a slight smile and takes her in a tight hug, and she kisses him sweetly on the cheek, letting herself relax a little.       “Natalia, friend…” Daniel pronounces softly after he moves his eyes to Natalia, who has just come.       Natalia herself says nothing and just presses herself silently to Daniel with bitter tears when he hugs her tightly and caresses her head.       “Hey, hey, don’t cry. Don’t cry, hear me? It’s all over now. It’s okay.”       “Quiet, quiet, Natalia, it’s okay,” Peter says confidently, coming to Natalia and taking her in his tight hug when she steps away from Daniel. “Don’t cry, please. The worst things are over. My word, friend!”       Daniel and Peter try to comfort the crying Natalia for two seconds before the excited Raquelle, Anna, and Helene come to them.       “Hey, guys, do you have news about Edward?” Anna asks. “Why are you silent? Do you know something?”       “Please, don’t tell me he died,” Natalia begs desperately in a shaking voice with tears. “Please, guys, tell me Edward is alive. Please, tell me! Tell me!”       “Speak out, guys, did ya swallow your tongues?” Helene wonders.       “Please, girls, calm down,” Daniel says quietly, comes to Anna, and hugs her around the shoulders. “Luckily, Edward is okay.”       “Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “He's alive?”       “Yup, alive,” Peter nods confidently, still holding Natalia in his tight hug. “No threat to his life.”       “Aren’t you lying to me?” Natalia cannot believe it. “You just wanna calm me down! So, I stop crying and worrying!”       “No, Natalia, we aren’t lying to you,” Daniel replies quietly. “All the worst things are really over.”       “But what happened to him?” Anna wonders. “Was he really poisoned? Or was it something else? What did the doctor say?”       “He’s really been poisoned,” Peter confirms. “The doctors don’t know what, but the poison added in the bottle had a very bad influence on Edward’s stomach. As well as his heart. The doctor assumed it was a poisoning with a foxglove, but it’s not confirmed yet.”       “My God…” Raquelle puts her hand on her heart.       “Some part of it left his body with vomit, and the doctors cleaned his organism from another part.”       “And the doctors said he passed by literally one second before the red light,” Daniel adds. “It’s like, if there had been much more poison, Edward wouldn’t have survived. And if he’d been taken to the hospital later.”       “And what’s gonna happen to him?” Natalia asks in a shaking voice and sniffs loudly.       “And next, he’ll have to recover his stomach with a special diet. I don’t know what it’s gonna be like ‘cause I’ve never had such a strong stomach pain. But as I understand, MacClife will have to forget about much of his favorite food. And recover after a cardiac arrest. Though they managed to start his heart quickly.”       “And how does he feel now?” Raquelle asks.       “His condition is stable now,” Peter replies. “He’s still got a high fever. But the doctor assures us that it will be gone tomorrow if the situation is positive.”       “In short, he’s gonna lie motionlessly in the bed for two or three days,” Daniel adds. “They said they wanted to watch him.”       “So, is everything really okay?” Natalia opens her eyes full of tears widely. “Does nothing threaten Edward now?”       “Daniel and I didn’t kinda doubt he’d get through it,” Peter says confidently. “You all know our Edward well – he’d get out of any little hole and out of any pool.”       “And he didn’t let us down!” Daniel exclaims. “The guy took it! Yes, of course, the men and I were freaking scared when his heart didn’t beat. But this guy does surprise us with his love for life.”       “Aha, he was literally one step away from the grave, but he magically came back from the dead, and he’s now lying in the bed and joking so hard.”       “Thank God!” Natalia exhales with great relief, closing her face with her hands. “Thank God…”       Crying much more bitterly, Natalia squats down. But Daniel and Peter place her on her feet immediately and caress her shoulders and head, while Raquelle, Anna, and Helene fix her hair and wipe carefully mascara under her eyes.       “Hey, hey, quiet, quiet, sweetie, it’s okay,” Daniel says with a slight smile.       “C’mon, friend, wipe your tears and smile,” Peter adds cheerfully. “Your sweetheart will live. He didn’t leave us.”       “I’m crying from happiness,” Natalia says in a low, shaking voice, choking on tears. “Happiness…”       “We told you everything would be okay!” Raquelle recalls with a slight smile and caresses Natalia’s cheek sweetly. “We said Edward was a tough guy and would get through anything.”       “Be happy, Natalia!” Anna exclaims happily, embracing Daniel, who is comforting Natalia, and caressing her friend’s head. “It’s over!”       “My gosh, I’m so happy…” Natalia sobs. “So happy… My God…”       “Yeah, what about the girl, who poisoned Edward?” Helene asks. “They found her?”       “Nope, she ran away,” Peter shakes his head. “Connor told us she tried to poison all of us too late.”       “Ar-r-r-r, if I know who she is, I shall strangle that bitch with my own hands,” Natalia growls irritably. “I shall make her pay for having my man nearly dead.”       “It’s okay, the stadium’s staff members called the police, and George, Blake, and our team are helping them with the investigation,” Daniel replies confidently. “They will find the girl and find out who she agreed with.”       “Asshole, I wish she choked with that poison… I wish she had died of it! Bitch!”       “Calm down, Natalia, calm down,” Peter pronounces quietly, turning Natalia to himself and stroking her shoulders. “We completely understand you, but hold yourself down.”       “That’s a shame they let her go,” Raquelle crosses her arms over her chest. “If she agreed with the one, who’s trying to kill Peter, that girl would bring us to them.”       “No doubt! I am more than sure it’s not just a coincidence. I am sure Edward wasn’t the target, the men and I were the target. Killing me isn’t enough for that asshole – he’s attempting to kill my friends, too.”       “Yeah, if not for Blake, you would’ve been all fighting for your life,” Anna says thoughtfully.       “Despite the case of Edward, I’m starting to get trust for him and think he isn’t so bad,” Daniel replies thoughtfully.       “Oh, listen, what if you tell us everything on the way to the room?” Helene suggests.       “Indeed, why are we standing here? Let’s go to the room! The MacClifes are waiting for us!”       “Which room is Edward being in?” Natalia asks in a shaking voice. “Which number? Which floor?”       “253,” Peter pronounces. “The third floor.”       “I think I know where it is. I’m coming there!”       Not letting anyone understand and say something, Natalia turns around sharply and starts literally running to the elevator.       “Hey, Natalia, wait!” Raquelle exclaims. “Natalia!”       “She ran away in the wind’s speed,” Helene notices. “I didn't even understand a thing.”       “Okay, guys, I’ll go to catch her.” Raquelle goes two steps away from everyone. “Catch us! Don’t stay here!”       After turning to the side she needs and taking her mobile phone on the way from her bag, Raquelle runs after her friend as she cries, “Natalia, wait!”. While the blonde presses aggressively the button to call the elevator multiple times and is waiting for it to arrive, shaking her leg nervously and not being able to just stand quietly. Daniel, Anna, Helene, and Peter keep standing where they are, watching their friends surprisingly, and then look at each other questioningly.       “Although Blake didn’t save Edward, we’re grateful to him anyway,” Helene says thoughtfully.       “On the one hand, we’re also grateful for helping us sort everything out,” Peter confesses. “But on the other hand, he had a chance not to let Edward suffer.”       “Yeah, Connor said he decided to meddle when that girl wanted to poison the second bottle,” Daniel adds.       “But if Blake hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve added poison in all the bottles she saw there,” Anna notices. “And you would’ve been sharing one room all together, complaining, and telling us about how bad you feel.”       “This thought makes me feel really creepy.” Daniel wincing strongly runs his hand over his stomach. “What the guys and I had to see is enough.”       “Oh, yeah, Edward was probably scared to death, and it made his condition much worse,” Peter notices. “He was freaking overwhelmed because of his condition and believed he’d really die.”       “Ugh, it’s so creepy!” Anna winces, putting her arms around Daniel’s waist, while he caresses her head tenderly.       “And I hope at least you two are alright?” Helene expresses anxiety.       “Yes, yes, I’m okay,” Peter replies with a slight smile, hugging Helene around the shoulders.       “Me too,” Daniel assures.       “And Terrence?” Anna asks. “Is he okay, too?”       “Yup, Daddy feels good, too.”       “Not saying about a ve-e-e-e-e-ery little hysteria that he had,” Peter adds.       “Terrence?” Anna and Helene round their eyes.       “He did really go insane when we found out Edward wasn’t breathing!” Daniel exclaims excitedly. “And it’s okay he took it on Peter and me – we were ready for this.”       “But he did almost kill the girl, who worked as a nurse,” Peter adds. “When she said resuscitation actions didn’t work, MacClife was kinda green from anger.”       “The poor girl squeezed and started to cry. That’s good the second doctor ran to help her and tried to help Edward when she was in a stupor and shaking.”       “Nevertheless, we can understand him,” Helene notices quietly. “Terrence was really worried and couldn’t calm down.”       “We understand it completely, but that’s wrong.”       “Yeah, you remember what happened to Edward when Wainwright almost killed Terrence with a huge dose of a sedative!” Anna recalls. “He had a hysteria, too.”       “And if Terrence had had his heart stopped, that guy would’ve been fretting and fuming, too,” Helene adds.       “MacClife should stop promising us to learn to control himself ‘cause it will never happen,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest. “That guy has sworn that everything would change so many times. And he has made the same mistake again and again.”       “I think we should better stop hoping and just accept it,” Anna puts her finger to her lip. “Terrence can’t be changed. He is what he is. And we’ve gotta accept him the way he is.”       “It’s okay MacClife at least understands his problem,” Daniel notices thoughtfully. “But an adult person can’t be changed.”       “It’s just like Edward’s case: whatever happens, he’ll always be a restless guy that can’t stay in the same place,” Helene adds.       “Oh, you, sweetie, noticed it right!” Peter exclaims. “Edward is still too weak and has a fever, but he’s rushing to run somewhere and do something.”       “Right, right, the doctor did even swear at him and told us to calm this creature in feathers down!” Daniel agrees funnily. “And Edward is horrified that he’s gonna have to stay here for a few days and just lie all the time.”       “I think even the strictest diet doesn’t scare him as much as the perspective of being in the bed. He’d do anything to get a chance to run somewhere and keep breaking concrete walls with his head.”       “In short, one brother is worth another,” Anna exhales with a slight smile.       “Anyway, we’ve gotta praise Terrence for being a psycho for a reason only,” Helene notices. “That guy doesn’t attack anyone for nothing.”       “Yeah, but we have to apply a lot of effort to wake this guy up,” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “Literally much more than to wash Sammy.”       “But now Terrence can relax ‘cause, as you say, Edward is okay now,” Anna shrugs. “No reason to worry.”       “Don’t worry, girls, Dan and I already told Edward to solve it all with Terrence while we’re out. He’s still sitting here all tense and having his eyes widely open.”       “Oh, thank God it has ended well,” Helene exhales with a slight smile. “We were terribly excited when Raquelle came to us and said Edward was rushed to the hospital.”       “And watching the hysteria Natalia had, our hearts squeezed so hard that we had pain in the chest,” Anna adds. “She cried during the whole way and was afraid to hear that Edward would be dead.”       “Trust me, you would’ve all had hysteria if you’d seen everything the guys and I had to see,” Peter runs his hands over his hair.       “But we’re really surprised that Edward didn’t stop drinking the water even if he understood something wasn’t right,” Daniel notices. “The bottle had already been opened, and the water’s taste was terribly bitter! Disgusting as hell!”       “If it’s so, I’m surprised, too,” Helene crosses her arms over her chest.       “How do you know it was bitter?” Anna frowns strongly, glancing at Daniel.       “Well, erm…” Daniel stutters and bites his lip. “Edward said. He said he suspected something bad but decided to give a damn and kept drinking.”       “Listen, boys, didn’t you really drink that water?” Helene puts her hands on her hips, looking gloomily at Peter and Daniel. “Perkins, why do you keep your hand on your stomach all the time as if it hurts?”       “My God, Daniel…” Anna horrifies, getting a little pale and opening her eyes widely. “Come on? Do you really have something hurt? Tell me, feel free!”       “So what, buddy, would you tell ‘em everything or leave it to me?” Peter smiles slyly.       “What are you talking about, Peter?”       “Holy shit…” Helene swears. “Just don’t tell us you drank that water!”       “Just a couple of sips!” Daniel relaxes his shoulders and crosses his arms over his chest. “Decided to make sure Connor’s version was right.”       “Are you an idiot, Perkins?” Anna knocks at her temple with her finger. “What the hell? Why did you the fuck drink it? Why?”       “Yes, Anna, your sweetheart went to look for the bottle in the dressing room and decided to drink some water from it secretly,” Peter says. “And then he came to us with a squeezed face, grabbed his stomach, and whined, ‘Oh, guys, I’ve got a stomach pain!’ And he almost fell to the floor since he felt dizzy.”       “Fuck, what a chatter!” Daniel blunts under his nose.       “So, did you know there was poison in the water, but drink it anyway?” Helene concludes. “At your wish!”       “Calm down, girls, no panic,” Daniel tries to calm down. “I’m okay. Yes, my stomach hurts a little, but it’s okay. And I don’t feel dizzy anymore.”       “Did you go to the doctor?” Anna asks.       “Yes, yes, they gave me some cure that helped me a little and weakened my pain.”       “My gosh, Perkins, you’re crazy…” Helene shakes her head. “Just crazy!”       “Exactly!” Anna exclaims with horror in her eyes. “Did you wanna join Edward? Is your life too boring, I don’t understand? Having amnesia wasn’t enough for you?”       “I can’t even imagine how strong poison is if Perkins had a stomach pain shortly after a couple of sips,” Peter replies. “Unless he doesn’t lie to us, of course, and didn’t decide to get rid of thirst with this water.”       “No, no, guys, I swear I drank just a couple of sips!” Daniel raises his hands. “Yes, I could’ve drunk almost everything, but it was so disgusting that I was just done with it.”       “Excellent, I’ve got nothing to say!” Anna throws gloomily. “Just excellent! A nice tribute to you from me!”       “Think you were just madly lucky!” Helene exclaims. “Otherwise, you would’ve gotten through the same things that happened to Edward.”       “As Terrence said, idiots are lucky,” Peter replies with a quiet chuckle.       Anna moans quietly at this moment and closes her face for two seconds with her hands as she is breathing heavily.       “Hey, baby, come on?” Daniel smiles sweetly and takes Anna in a tight hug. “It’s okay. You see, I’m standing here with you.”       “You want me to be on needles because of you?” Anna asks in a shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “What if you’d died? What if I’d stayed alone? What were you thinking of?”       “I’m sorry, my princess, I’m really sorry.” Daniel caresses Anna’s head tenderly. “Please, don’t be mad at me.”       “Next time, turn on your brain when you do something,” Helene throws gloomily. “And think about those you may give pain.”       “Yeah, it seems like you forgot you have a girlfriend and a younger sister,” Peter adds, presses Helene to his chest with both arms, and runs his fingers through her hair, while she puts her head on his shoulder. “Who isn’t adapted to life and is getting therapy for drug dependence.”       “I know, I know, guys, I’m an idiot!” Daniel exhales sharply. “I’m asking you to understand me and forgive me. That was a really thoughtless act of mine.”       “Are you really okay?” Anna asks with tears in her eyes. “Aren’t you hiding anything from us?”       “Yes, yes, my sunshine, don’t worry, please.” Daniel kisses Anna on the top of her head. “It’s okay. My stomach still hurts a little, but I’m sure it will be better tomorrow after I go home and lie down.”       “You’ll keep a diet for two days.” Anna sniffs quietly. “Just in case. What if you harmed your stomach with this shit.”       “Alright, Anna, I’ll do what you want.”       “Oh, okay, guys, why are we standing here?” Helene sighs tiredly. “Let’s go to the room.”       “Indeed, the guys are probably asking where we are,” Peter agrees.       At this moment, Helene, Peter, Anna, and Daniel turn around and go to the elevator.       “Yeah, let’s go to amuse Edward,” Daniel says with a slight smile. “The doctor said we were allowed to visit him at any time without any limits.”       “Hey, what about the concert?” Anna asks as she keeps embracing Daniel tightly. “Before the girls and I got out, we had seen the recently published article that said you three went on the stage and told people personally about the concert’s cancellation.”       “It’s gonna depend on Edward,” Peter replies, taking Helene’s hand on the way. “When he feels much better and is released from the hospital, George will agree on a new day of the show.”       “But if you let him do it, he’d run on the stage right now,” Daniel adds.       “Aha, Edward didn’t wanna tell us that he felt bad ‘till the very end. Even when the fact that he was kinda silent, lying on the sofa all the time, and trying to sleep made us suspicious. But he had to admit it when he almost fell to the floor due to dizziness.”       “Edward acts like a real professional,” Helene notices. “He forgets about all the problems and any discomfort when the case is about his work. He does know he must do it.”       “He is really showing the best side of himself in this work,” Peter replies with a slight smile. “But each other’s health and well-being are more important to us. We couldn’t just let our friend go on the stage when he felt terribly bad and make him smile, sing, play, and jump on the scene to make our fans happy.”       “Yeah, the brainless bonehead turned out not to be a brainless bonehead,” Daniel jokes.       Helene, Anna, Daniel, and Peter laugh shyly and enter the well-lighted, spacious elevator that has just gone down and opened its doors. Helene standing much closer to the control panel presses the button with the number of the necessary floor. Her friends and she are waiting for some visitors and members of the hospital staff not paying attention to them to enter here. Waiting for the elevator to close its doors and start to get up smoothly.       

***

      While her friends are standing near the reception and talking about the current situation, Natalia goes to the third floor in the elevator and literally runs down long and wide halls, looking at every single number of the room with widely open eyes with the hope of finding the one she needs. All this time, she sobs quietly at times, wipes tears off her face, and breathes a little heavily. Even if she has been informed Edward is alright now, she cannot calm down and refuses to believe her friends’ words until she sees her fiancé safe and sound personally.       But some time later, Natalia comes to another room, glances at the number on the door, and sees the number she needs. Not hesitating for a second, the girl knocks at it quickly, opens it determinedly, and looks inside. She sees Terrence sitting on the bed just steps away from Edward after a strong, tight hug. And when her eyes stop on her pale, little exhausted fiancé, the blonde literally feels dizzy from a sense of great relief, and her weak legs can barely hold her.       “Oh, my God, Edward!” Natalia pronounces excitedly in a shaking voice.       When Terrence barely gets up from the bed, Natalia almost strikes him down, literally pushing him to the bedside table, on which he manages to lean with his hands. Not noticing it, she sits in the place where he sat before and hugs Edward as tightly as possible, pressing herself closely to the male chest and putting her arms around his neck. While the man himself answers the hug of his fiancée with the same heat, putting his hands on her back, and exhales slowly with a blissful smile.       “Natalia, sweetheart…” Edward pronounces with tenderness and snuggles his nose in Natalia’s shoulder.       “I was so scared!” Natalia confesses in a shaking voice and sniffs loudly. “I almost lost you!”       “Don’t worry, my treasure, I’m okay now. There’s no threat to my life.”       “Everything went black before my eyes when Raquelle said you collapsed. When she said you had a cardiac arrest.”       “Did you think I’d leave my little girl alone?” Edward wonders, caresses Natalia’s head tenderly, and kisses her on her temple. “How would she do without me? Who would protect her from anything bad?”       “If you’d died, I would’ve gone after you,” Natalia says excitedly. “I don’t wanna live in the world without you! I don’t!”       “It’s okay, Natalia, it’s okay, calm down, please.”       “It’s madness… Just madness…”       Letting her emotions take control of her, Natalia starts crying bitterly on the shoulder of Edward, who does not let her go of his hug, feeling how the warmth is spreading through his whole body from the closeness with his deeply beloved fiancée.       “Quiet, quiet, sunshine, quiet, don’t cry, please,” Edward starts whispering and kisses Natalia on the cheek multiple times. “It’s okay. I’m here, alive, with you.”       “Please, Edward, don’t do this to me anymore,” Natalia begs in despair. “Please, don’t! I won’t take this! I can’t live without you! I need you!”       “Forgive me, please. I was also scared to death that I’d leave you. You know how horrified I was.”       “My gosh…” Natalia steps away from Edward with a heavy breath and grabs his face tenderly, setting her wet glance on his eyes. “You’re so hot… Your face is burning…”       “It’s okay, I’m gonna be fine tomorrow.”       “Doesn’t it seem to me? Are you really alive? Are you with me now?”       “Alive, my baby, alive.” Edward leans on Natalia’s forehead with his forehead with a wide smile and caresses her head. “I can’t leave you. And I will not.”       “My gosh, you’re so pale and exhausted,” Natalia horrifies. “I’m so horrified.”       “It’s alright now. My stomach just hurts a little, and my face is really burning. And I’m a little cold now.”       “Is the poison in the water the reason?”       “Yup, I got a stomach pain because of it.”       “I shall kill that fucking bitch, who dared to do this to you,” Natalia threatens with a shake in her whole body. “I swear I shall make her pay for this.”       “It’s okay, sweetie, quiet, quiet, quiet,” Edward says in a quiet, calming voice, hugging Natalia tightly again and starting to caress her back with both hands. “Relax, please.”       “She almost stole you from me! Because of her, I almost stayed all alone!’       “Yeah, but she didn’t tear us apart.” Edward kisses Natalia sweetly on her forehead. “Nobody can. Never.”       Natalia says nothing and keeps crying bitterly, pressing her ear to Edward’s chest at some moment to hear his fast heartbeat and make sure her beloved man is really alive. The man himself, on the one hand, feels great happiness from having his fiancée next to him and getting her energy that he needs so badly now. But on the other hand, her heartbreaking cry tears his soul and makes him barely hold down the wish to shed a tear. Excitement and tension make MacClife, Jr. shake slightly and breathe as heavily as the golden-haired beauty, who is pressing herself to him as if she considers him the source of her oxygen and strength.       All this time, Terrence is standing silently aside and watching what’s happening with a sad smile as he feels his heart squeeze at the sight of Natalia crying bitterly. Now he calmed down a little and felt a great life, knowing that Edward got much better and stopped being under the threat of dying. Though he still hates all those, who have to do with his younger brother’s poisoning. And he hopes he will no longer have to watch something like this again and see one of his close people is one step away from a grave. And while Natalia and Edward are busy with each other completely and literally forget everything in the world, Terrence moves his eyes sharply to the door of the room when it opens, and the excited Raquelle shows up on the doorstep.       “Natalia?!” Raquelle pronounces with a heavy breath, sees Natalia holding Edward tightly in her arms, and exhales quietly. “Oh, thank God…”       “Where have you all been?” Terrence wonders. “Where are the girls? Where are these two boneheads?”       “Don’t worry, they’ll come now. Natalia just ran here faster than all of us, and I told the guys to catch up and followed her.”       “Oh, I see…”       Raquelle comes to Terrence and takes the man in her tight hug, putting her arms around his neck, while he runs his hands over her back.       “Are you really okay?” Raquelle expresses anxiety and caresses Terrence’s cheeks with both hands. “Aren’t you hiding anything from me?”       “Don’t worry, my sweetheart, I’m alright,” Terrence replies with a slight smile, caressing Raquelle’s head.       “You’re so pale and tired.” Raquelle runs her fingers through Terrence’s hair. “Were you so excited?”       “That’s what I don’t wanna see never again in my life. I will not take the second time.”       “Oh, Terrence, my sweetie…”       After kissing Terrence on the cheek multiple times, Raquelle presses herself as closely to his chest as possible and puts her head on his shoulder. The man puts his arms around the girl’s waist with great pleasure and snuggles his nose in a curve of her neck, feeling much better with the pretense of his fiancée, whom he wanted to hug and kiss this whole time. And at some moment, Terrence steps away a little, kisses Raquelle tenderly on her cheek, and fixes her hair slightly, while she looks at him with eyes full of admiration with a wide smile on her face.       “Oh, sorry, Terrence…” Natalia’s voice pronounces quietly, while she is still pressing herself to Edward, who is hugging her around the shoulders and caressing her head. “I didn’t notice you first.”       “I didn’t even try to catch your attention at this moment,” Terrence shrugs.       “I’m sorry I almost struck you down as I came.”       When Terrence comes to the bed, Natalia answers his tight hug with pleasure and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek with him. While Raquelle decides to greet Edward in the same way.       “Are you okay, Edward?” Raquelle expresses anxiety.  “You feel better?”       “Yup, much,” Edward nods confidently. “Now I only have to count down ‘till the release from the hospital.”       “And follow all the instructions from the doctor!” Terrence exclaims. “Do what they say!”       “Leave it to me, buddy,” Natalia meddles, kisses Edward on the cheek, and takes his hand. “I will be watching it closely.”       “Don’t worry, darling, we’ll all be watching him,” Raquelle promises. “We’re all well aware of how careless Edward is. So, we’ve gotta take control of it.”       “Well, I think it’s gonna be easy for him to keep a special diet,” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest. “Even if the guys and I slurp as we eat something junk, fat, and tasty. But we’ll definitely need ropes and a straitjacket to make the kid comply with bed rest.”       “Ar-r-r-r, stop reminding me of this!” Edward growls irritably.       “M-m-m, the older of the MacClifes whined ‘cause he was allegedly fed badly in the hospital,” Raquelle puts her hands on her hips with a sly smile. “But the younger one is horrified by the perspective of spending several days in bed.”       “I could’ve done so much instead! I have so much to do that I need to do, but I have to be stuck here.”       “It’s alright, your business can wait, but you must take care of your health,” Natalia replies confidently. “You don’t get enough sleep, and you’ve had yourself exhausted lately.”       “You noticed it, too?” Terrence wonders.       “It can be seen with the naked eye, MacClife. It’s really strange you missed it.”       “Not at all! The guys and I noticed it a long time ago. And until Connor told us about the poison in the bottle, our suspicions were related to his extra load.”       “I did say I just wanted to finish all my business before the wedding,” Edward recalls. “Make my body much better and finish repairing the house.”       “What will happen if you don’t do it?” Raquelle asks. “The end of the world starts or something else?”       “I wanna bring my wife to the place that’s ready for living. The place where there is everything.”       “Even if you don’t finish the repair, it’s okay,” Natalia replies with a slight smile. “We will finish it together.”       “But you’ve never done this!” Edward exclaims.       “Who cares? I will learn! You’ll tell me what to do and show me everything, but I will do this. Besides, it’s gonna be our house. Which means we should work on it together.”       “Exactly, so, stop repairing it all alone,” Terrence adds. “The guys and I told you we’d be thinking about doing everything all together after your release.”       “It seems like I have no choice,” Edward sighs disappointedly. “Everything is much harder than I thought.”       “M-m-m, it all started with a wish to paint dark rooms to light,” Raquelle recalls thoughtfully.       “Yeah, something went wrong during this process! My blame. But I want that place to be perfect for Natalia and me.”       “I hope you at least agree on all the details with her,” Terrence expresses hope.       “Don’t worry, bro, I agree with everything,” Natalia smiles shyly. “I completely trust the taste of your bro and know our house is gonna be a real gem in the end.”       “Thanks, my little star, I love you,” Edward purrs with a wide smile and kisses Natalia on the cheek.       Terrence and Raquelle say nothing and just smile slightly as they watch Edward and Natalia’s sweet moments with each other. And when they look at each other, and the man hugs the girl around the shoulders, they all hear a quiet knock in the room. The door opens slowly, and then the anxious Helene and Anna show up on the doorstep first, while Daniel and Peter follow them.       “Edward, buddy!” Anna pronounces happily.       “Thank God, you’re alive!” Helene exclaims with a wide smile.       Not thinking a lot, Anna and Helene come to the bed and take Edward in a tight hug by one to greet him and show their happiness.       “It’s okay, girls, no need to worry,” Edward says with a slight smile after sharing an amicable kiss on the cheek with the girls. “I'm gonna be back to normal soon.”       “My God, you did scare everyone!” Anna puts her hand on her forehead. “Are you crazy?”       “Yeah, MacClife, what’s this?” Helene resents and slaps Edward strongly on his forearm. “It’s outrageous! Do you know Natalia almost went crazy from grief?”       “She’s our super sensitive and vulnerable girl, but you are doing this to her!” Anna gives Edward a slight hit on the back of his head. “Shame on you!”       “I promise it will never happen again,” Edward promises solemnly.       “Yeah, never happen!” Daniel throws gloomily as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re gonna be a super good boy after this.”       “Aha, you played and will play on everyone’s nerves,” Peter agrees.       “You say it like I wanted to get poisoned and hurt my stomach,” Edward rolls his eyes.       “But it’s such a good reason to get attention,” Terrence notices. “Make everyone worried and get tons of gray hair on the head.”       “I didn’t know the water was poisoned!”       “But you could’ve guessed it!”       “My gosh, guys, stop arguing!” Natalia meddles. “What’s done is done.”       “Be happy Edward is actually lucky to be so tough and enduring,” Helene adds. “Maybe, that’s what saved him.”       “And be happy you didn’t join him,” Anna says confidently. “Otherwise, we would’ve had a wonderful infirmary.”       “Yeah, after this case, we’ve gotta be much more careful,” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “Because that stinker and his gang have become much more determined.”       “I’m afraid to imagine what they’ll do next time,” Helene expresses anxiety. “It’s gonna be surely something worse than an attempt at poisoning.”       “And the problem is that we can’t know where danger is waiting for us,” Daniel notices. “Any little thing, any person – everything’s under suspicion.”       “The show of terrifying is still on!” Raquelle exclaims. “They use everything they can.”       “That man didn’t lie when he said the guys would be ended soon,” Helene says thoughtfully.       “What man?” Natalia frowns slightly.       “Ah, yeah, today, Grandma and I went somewhere to do our business and walked with Sammy.” Helene locks her fingers tightly. “And when she went to the pharmacy to buy some drugs for herself, one of those I’d met before came to me.”       “Again?” Anna rounds her eyes.       “And what did he need from you?” Peter gets suspicious. “He tried to harm you again?”       “No, no, thank God, that man did nothing to me,” Helene shakes her head. “We were where many people walked. He did say he didn’t need problems and did nothing for this reason. So, he just threatened me verbally.”       “And did that man tell you something about the poisoning?” Edward specifies.       “Nope, he didn’t say someone would be poisoned. He just said Peter and his friends would be dead soon. It’s like… His boss is planning to get rid of all of them at the same time. And… Nobody would even guess the reason.”       “But why were you silent?” Raquelle wonders. “Why didn’t you say a thing?”       “Indeed, Marshall, what if we could’ve prevented Edward’s poisoning if you’d warned us?” Terrence assumes.       “Sorry, guys…” Helene sniffs quietly and wipes tears carefully under her eyes. “I’m so sorry…”       “Damn, we should’ve guessed the concert was a wonderful reason to do something bad!” Natalia swears.       “Yeah, but how would we have known what would happen?” Daniel throws his hands up. “The security was really strengthened by the order of George and our team. Those, who attended the show, were checked closely – they were literally made to undress ‘till their underwear.  We thought everything was okay, and the situation was under control.”       “Aha, and the one, who everyone would hardly suspect if Blake hadn’t caught that girl in crime, poisoned Edward,” Peter notices.       “You better ask yourself what she was actually doing in your dressing room and how she could get into the one secretly,” Anna advises. “Why nobody assured that strangers didn’t enter it.”       “But now it’s clear that the girl didn't do this because of some personal hate for Edward,” Natalia notices. “She did really want to poison all of you. And that bitch knew one of you would drink water. Before or after the show – it doesn’t matter. You would drink it.”       “That’s good she is a member of the stadium’s staff ‘cause it’s gonna be easier for the police to find her thanks to the data in the personnel department,” Helene says thoughtfully.       “Hey, have you already talked to Mr. Johnson about it?” Raquelle specifies.       “No yet, but we’ll surely call him and tell him about that girl,” Terrence shakes his head. “We can even introduce him to Smith, so he can explain the situation.”       “You need to calm George down,” Natalia notices. “He’s probably worried and waiting for the news.”       “We’ll contact him, surely,” Peter promises. “We had a mess in our heads before. But now, when we know there’s no threat to Edward’s life, we can put everything in order. And explain everything to those, who should know it.”       “Hey, Helene, didn’t that man tell you anything else?” Edward asks. “Maybe, you caught some hint at what would be waiting for us?”       “Nothing special,” Helene shrugs. “Just the fact that the man is seriously determined to turn Peter against all of you. And you are against him. And getting rid of the men is their main mission at the moment. And they don’t like Sammy at all. Because he found Daniel to save Peter and found Peter to save me.”       “Ha, how are they gonna make me break our friendship with Pete?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest. “Will they tell us a lie that we won’t believe ‘cause we know the blond much better than those scums and will always believe him?”       “Seems like they’re just using my greatest weakness – a fear of loneliness,” Peter replies thoughtfully. “They know I'm afraid to lose all of you much more.”       “No, Pete, we’ve said many times that you’ll never lose us,” Anna replies with a slight smile. “We’re your friends and will be the ones, no matter what.”       “Yes, buddy, I don’t really understand what those people are waiting for, thinking we may wanna leave you,” Natalia adds.       “Besides, some things happening now remind me of what we experienced in the past,” Raquelle confesses. “Something is even repeating. And after all of that, we got a great experience. That, as I think, we can use to the fullest now.”       “Yeah, but now they’re having us wrapped around their fingers like some brainless idiots,” Peter shrugs.       “Early or late, they will be sick of this cat and mouse game,” Daniel assures. “And they’ll wanna show themselves and, so to speak, call us for the final battle.”       “That we will get a victory in, undoubtedly,” Edward says with his head proudly up.       “They won’t be able to resist the power of four!” Terrence clenches his hand into a fist.       “Power of four?” Raquelle smiles slyly, crossing her arms over her chest.       “Oops, sorry, beauties! The power of eight! Even the most stubborn and strongest enemies of ours won't be able to resist this power.”       “May the ground crash under their feet!” Natalia exclaims funnily, putting her arm around Edward’s neck, while he kisses her sweetly on the cheek.       Peter looks at all his friends with a thankfulness and a wide smile on his face and takes Helene standing near him in a tight hug. She caresses his cheek sweetly with the back of her hand, enjoying the moments while the man is nice to her and forgets about his suspicions about her secrets and unloyalty to him. The others follow their example with a blissful smile, hugging their second half tightly and kissing them sweetly.       At some moment, they all move their eyes to the door because they hear a quiet knock. It opens slowly, and a married couple of people at the age of fifty or fifty-five show up on the doorstep. The short, tear-stained woman with blue eyes and dark short hair is squeezing tightly her beige bag, in which she puts her white handkerchief. And the tall, excited man with luxurious enough black hair that, however, has gray hairs in some areas and gray eyes lets her go forward and holds her softly by the back. The spouses look at everybody quickly and feel how their hearts stop for a moment when they see Edward lying on the hospital bed.       “Edward, my sweetheart!” the woman pronounces excitedly.       “Edward, sonny!” the man exhales with relief.       “Mother?!” Edward and Terrence surprise at the same time. “Father?!”       “Mrs. MacClife?” Daniel and Peter surprise at the same time as the MacClife brothers. “Mr. MacClife?!”       “Finally, we’ve found you!” the man exclaims. “We’ve spent a lot of time checking the whole hospital to find this room.”       “Edward, my sweet boy…” Rebecca sobs quietly, looking at her son with pity in her eyes, while he looks a little confused since nobody told him about his parents’ visit. “Sonny…”       Rebecca comes quickly to the bed, sits on it, and takes Edward in a mother’s tight but tender hug with tears in her eyes.       “My gosh, I was so scared! I couldn’t calm down during the whole way!”       “I’m fine, Mom, don’t worry, please,” Edward replies softly with a slight smile.       “How did you do this, my boy?” Jamie wonders, coming to the bed and hugging Edward tightly when the guy steps away from Rebecca. “Everything was fine! What happened to you?”       “It’s okay, Dad, nothing serious.”       “Gosh, you’re so hot and pale!” Jamie horrifies, putting his hand on Edward’s forehead. “You’ve got a fever!”       “Indeed, sweetie, you’re hot!” Rebecca agrees, caressing Edward’s hand.       “Yeah, but I’m a little cold now,” Edward confesses. “And I feel too weak.”       “You’re sick, then…”       “I hope my body’s temperature will be normal tomorrow.”       “It’s summer outside, it’s hot, but you got sick!” Jamie exclaims. “What’s this? You’ve always been such a tough and healthy guy, but now you've ended up in the hospital.”       “It’s okay, sonny, it’s okay, wait for a while,” Rebecca says, caressing Edward’s cheeks with both hands. “You’re gonna get much better soon.”       “Wait, how did you know we were here?” Terrence wonders, coming to Jamie and Rebecca. “I didn’t tell you about what happened to Edward.”       “Raquelle told us,” Jamie confesses.       “Raquelle?”       “I called your home number, and Raquelle responded,” Rebecca confesses. “She said she couldn’t speak because she was going to the hospital with Natalia, Anna, and Helene. It was like Edward collapsed before the show and was rushed to the hospital.”       “And then Rebecca called at my work number and told me everything with tears,” Jamie adds. “When I found out Edward had collapsed, I left all my business, told my helper to work on it all, and left the company. I went home as soon as possible and took your mother out, and we went here together.”       “Yeah, and a few minutes ago, Raquelle sent us a message with the room’s number, and we rushed to look for it. We even had to go to the first floor and ask the girl at the reception how to find it.”       “It’s true,” Raquelle nods confidently. “The girls can confirm it. And it’s one of the reasons why we arrived at the hospital a little late.”       “What does the doctor say?” Jamie asks. “What happened to Edward?”       “Nothing serious, he just upset his stomach,” Daniel explains. “The doctor said he’d have to change his food plan for a while to recover.”       “Right, he must’ve eaten well!” Rebecca confesses. “Edward eats nobody the hell knows what and can be hungry all day long.”       “The case is not only about it, Mr. MacClife,” Peter meddles. “Starving is not the reason why Edward’s stomach is upset. He upset it because of the poison added to the water.”       “The water?” Rebecca opens her eyes widely.       “You told them nothing?” Terrence wonders, looking questioningly at Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene.       “Nope, we just said your brother suddenly collapsed,” Anna shrugs. “No details.”       “Alright, youth, speak out what’s happening to you now,” Jamie demands determinedly. “Which kind of trouble did you get into this time?”       “Oh, I wish we knew it…” Helene sighs tiredly.       “The guys and I were supposed to have a concert tonight,” Terrence explains. “But some time before, Edward complained about weakness, dizziness, and pain in his stomach.”       “He wanted to ignore it and go on the stage, but he wasn’t able to,” Peter continues. “So, we had to call an ambulance. The doctors said he must have been taken to the hospital.”       “And what did he poison him?” Rebecca wonders. “What was there in the water?”       “The doctors are trying to find it out,” Daniel replies. “That’s the thing they don’t know about, but it had a negative influence on the stomach. Though the doctor assumed it could be something like… A foxglove… If I memorized the title right. Or something like this…”       “Jesus Christ…”       “Luckily, Edward got therapy in time,” Terrence says quietly. “So, there’s no threat to his life now.”       “Yeah, they’re gonna have him here for two or three days, so he doesn’t run into any bad consequences, and then Edward will be recovering at home,” Raquelle adds.       “Who did this?” Jamie demands the answer. “What asshole did this to my son? I swear I will call out everyone and make all the guilty people pay for this!”       “We don’t know yet, Father,” Terrence replies, putting his hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “But it all definitely has to do with Peter’s situation.”       “Yeah, attempting him is not enough for those people!” Helene agrees. “They want to erase the men from this world. Because Peter is always under their protection.”       “Alright, did you tell Mr. Johnson about it?” Jamie asks.       “About Edward’s case, not yet,” Daniel shakes his head. “The girls knew it only. Well… Before you.”       “My gosh, what stinkers did get a grudge against the boy?” Rebecca wonders. “He’s done nothing bad to anyone, but someone hates him so much.”       “I wish I could answer your question, Mrs. MacClife,” Peter sighs tiredly. “There’s only one assumption – my mother got into trouble and harmed a certain rich man that decided to make me pay for it. He can’t take anything from her 'cause she’s an alcoholic to the bones.”       “You said she left home many years ago and went missing,” Jamie recalls.       “Yeah, it’s correct.”       “Mr. Johnson told us about the arrest of the woman named Cornelia Rose, who was caught in the crime during the robbery of the bank along with her accomplices,” Edward confesses. “And as far as we know, she was under some psychotropic substances. But then they found out that she ran away. And since then, nobody’s known where that woman is and what she’s doing.”       “So, do you want to say Peter’s mother may be alive if she harmed a certain rich man?” Rebecca guesses.       “It’s just a guess, Mom,” Terrence replies quietly. “We don’t know anything yet. It doesn’t mean the arrested Cornelia Rose is really Peter’s mother. It could be any other woman he didn’t know.”       “Alright, let us talk to Victory and explain the situation of Edward,” Jamie suggests. “And we will ask him about that woman.”       “Just in case, the police are working at the stadium where the guys were supposed to play,” Anna notices. “They started the investigation of Edward’s poisoning.”       “Yeah, the guys’ manager and their team are now working on it actively,” Helene confirms.       “Haven’t they told you anything yet?” Rebecca specifies.       “Nope, George hasn’t called us,” Peter shrugs. “And we haven’t contacted him yet. But we need to.”       “And why did you tell nobody about it?” Jamie frowns strongly, crossing his arms over his chest. “What the hell did you try to hide such horrible things from Rebecca and me?”       “I swear I wanted to call you and tell you everything,” Terrence excuses himself. “But I thought we should’ve waited for the doctor to announce the verdict. I didn’t wanna make you worried in advance and distract you from your business.”       “We were, and we will always care about everything related to our children, Terrence. And if you and Edward get into something, your mother and I must know it.”       “Forgive me, please…”       “Your father’s right, Terrence,” Rebecca says confidently. “If you were planning to hide it from you, it would have been really outrageous.”       “No, no, I wasn’t gonna hide anything from you! Really, I would’ve told you everything. And you would’ve guessed something wasn’t right if Edward hadn’t come back home and spent the night with you.”       “Indeed, Mom, Dad, don’t be so worried,” Edward says with a slight smile. “I’m fine. I just upset my stomach with some poison. The doctor said they would watch me for two or three days and then let me go home.”       “Oh, boys, boys, our walking trouble…” Jamie sighs tiredly, clapping Edward on his cheek. “One plays on our nerves, another makes us worried… The hearts of your mother and me do hurt for you, but you give us more reasons to pull our hair out. Rebecca and I aren’t robots! Take care of us! Please!”       “Trust me, Mr. MacClife, even if Edward and Terrence had wanted to hide this poisoning attempt from you, we wouldn’t have been silent,” Natalia says confidently. “Because you are their parents and should know the truth.”       “Thank God, the girls explained everything to us,” Rebecca replies. “They didn’t remain silent.”       “Yeah, unlike you, boneheads!” Jamie exclaims and ruffles the hair of Terrence and Edward. “Who are doing some dangerous things secretly.”       “Mr. MacClife…” Peter and Daniel pronounce at the same time.       “You two, it’s fine these bandits hide everything from us all the time. I understand they don’t wanna make their mother and me upset. But you could have contacted us and explained everything.”       “We are really sorry,” Daniel apologizes.       “We were so shocked that we forgot about everything and everyone,” Peter adds. “Everything happened suddenly. We didn’t expect Edward would twirl from a stomach pain and be unable to go on the stage.”       “Oh, come, forget it!” Rebecca waves her hand. “What’s done is done. Forget. The most important thing is that our son is alright.”       “Hey, boys, are you okay, too?’ Jamie expresses anxiety. “I hope you didn’t drink that shit?”       “We’re fine, don’t worry,” Peter replies confidently.       “Yeah, even Daniel is, after he drank some water,” Terrence adds.       “You drank that water, too?” Jamie opens his eyes widely.       “Just a couple of sips,” Daniel shrugs. “But don’t worry, I'm fine now. Well, my stomach hurts a little, of course, but I try not to think about it.”       “Did you go to the doctor?” Rebecca asks.       “Yeah, they gave me a cure. That’s what helped me feel a little better.”       “Don’t worry, Mrs. MacClife, I will cook something for Daniel tonight to treat his stomach a little,” Anna promises.       “And I asked the doctor to give me the list of everything Edward must do,” Terrence confesses. “A diet, a day schedule, and something like this. Will Father and you make sure he follows all of them?”       “Of course, sonny, don’t worry!” Rebecca nods confidently. “We will take care of Edward!”       “I will be watching him closely, too. But still, while I’m not near, I am giving this responsibility to you two.”       “Don’t worry, sonny, your brother is gonna be okay,” Jamie laughs amicably. “He will do anything the doctors tell him.”       “And just in case, get ropes ready.” Terrence smiles slyly. “To tie the kid tightly to the bed. He does wanna jump outta the bed and run somewhere so badly.”       “I will complain!” Edward says funnily. “Complain that you have me taken hostage! You don’t let me go! You keep me in a cage!”       “Sorry, my beautiful bird, but we can’t let you out of the cage now,” Natalia replies with an innocent smile, stroking Edward’s hair down a little. “The doctor is already swearing at you for being restless.”       “So, brother, you will have to do anything we tell you,” Raquelle says confidently.       “Help me, someone!” Edward raises his head with a quiet moan. “Save me… They’re holding me by force… I wanna get out… Uh-h-h-h…”       “Howl, Edward, or not, but you will be under our close view until you get well,” Rebecca sighs with a slight smile, caressing Edward’s cheek.       “I think all your friends will kindly agree to help us with this hard thing,” Jamie assumes and looks at Daniel, Peter, Helene, and Anna. “Right, young folks?”       “You can count on us, Mr. MacClife,” Anna inclines her head slightly. “We will do anything we should.”       “The superheroes’ team is coming to help!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully.       “The case is gonna be hard,” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “The client is capricious, restless, stubborn… But I think we can get through it when we’ve got twenty hands.”       “Anyway, we can always ask my doggy for help,” Helene notices with a slight smile. “Even a fly wouldn’t fly by Sammy and remain invisible.”       “I am protesting!” Edward says loudly. “This is a violation of the law! Illegal retention of the young and handsome guy full of strength and energy!”       “Hey, shut up and obey adults!” Terrence demands in a commanding order, hugging Raquelle and Natalia by the shoulders. “And actually, there are more of us. So, you can do nothing.”       “I will not! I will not! Uh-h-h-h! Uh-h-h!”       “Don’t worry, sonny, I promise I will eat for you the most delicious baking food from your mom,” Jamie promises funnily. “Of course, I’m sorry that we can’t eat it all together. But what can I do if you are on the diet now?”       “By the way, today, I ate a lot of chicken wings when the girls and I were watching movies,” Raquelle confesses. “They were so delicious.”       “Hey, these wings were mine!” Terrence resents. “Did you eat all of them!”       “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I left a couple of wings for you.”       “Thank you for at least this! I’m gonna need them later. To eat them with the pretense of Edward. I wanna watch him drool over them when I eat the super tenser meal covered with tons of spices.”       “And I think I will probably go to the shop and buy some candies that Raquelle offered me,” Natalia supports those, who tease. “They were super delicious. I didn’t notice how I ate all of them.”       “And today, I ate too much pizza with sausages and mushrooms!” Helene smiles mysteriously. “It was so delicious, tender, with an incredible smell… M-m-m!”       “And my chips were amazing today!” Anna confesses with enjoyment. “With sour cream and green onion… M-m-m… It’s unhealthy, but it’s so yummy!”       “Hey, are you all freaking kidding me now?” Edward resents loudly. “Stop talking about food with me!”       “Don’t growl, my love,” Rebecca pronounces with a tender smile. “I promise that when you feel much better, I will cook you the most delicious cake that you adore so much. And you will be able to eat as much as you want. It’s gonna be all yours. Your dad and I will not even touch it.”       “Maybe, just a little!” Jamie whispers.       “Uh-h-h, stop…” Edward howls with pity. “Please… Don’t mock me…”       Edward closes his face with his hands and starts pretending that he cries bitterly, making the others laugh shyly. Then Natalia and Rebecca hug the man tightly and kiss him on the cheek at the same time, then Raquelle, Anna, and Helene join them, and last, Jamie, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter join their group hug. While the men ruffle his hair, pinch him by the cheek, and clap him on the back, the women fix his hair and try to amuse him with some funny faces. That’s why MacClife, Jr. smiles shyly, feeling much better thanks to so much attention that he has dreamed about all his life. And at the bottom of his heart, the guy is really happy the men and the girls did not decide to tell his parents all the truth and tried to explain what happened softly because he would not like to make his father and mother overwhelmed by the news that he could have gone to another world due to the cardiac and respiratory arrest.