New York, June 2013.
The day of the accident, 9:30 pm.
Danielle bursts into hysterical laughter as she and Jin stand on the side of the road, unable to believe all that has happened.
— This is my chance.... — She says, putting her hand to her heart. — I can free myself from my mother forever.
— Danielle, for God's sake! — yells the 18-year-old at her, overwhelmed by the whole situation. — Because of you, an innocent girl died! Your buddy is also dead, and you claim this is your chance? You hurt your sister! She hit her head and now lies in the hospital!
The blonde raises an eyebrow.
— She could have stayed on my side until the very end. Why the hell did she bring me out of balance? I wanted to trust her, and she tried to sell me out. — Danielle snorts under her breath. — Now she just needs your uncle's help. He likes me, he hates my mother, so when you tell him how unhappy I am, I'm sure he'll help me get free from my mother.
— I won't do that, Danielle. I'm not going to get him involved in this dirt! You're going home, and you're not going anywhere!
The girl grabs him by the collar of his blouse, looking at him with panic in her eyes.
— You must help me get away from this woman, I beg you! She will kill me!
Jin pushes her away, bubbling with anger.
— No way! You will go back to your mother!
— If I disappear, they will separate, after all, you said yourself that they have not been getting along lately. This is our chance, Jin.
— Danielle, no!
— But I'm pregnant with you, moron, and we'll both be dead if the truth comes out! — she screams unexpectedly, making his eyes open wider in horror. He looks at her, unable to get any words out. — This is the main reason why I wanted to get away from you and my mother! No one was supposed to know about it, but the bastard who threatened me showed up, so I had no choice but to ask you for help!
— Are you pregnant? — The blood drains from his face. He is frighteningly pale. — You're fooling me, aren't you, Danielle?
— And do I look like I have time to tell tales? I'm begging you, Jin. I have to get out of here, finally free myself from this woman.
— What do you want to do with the baby? — He says in a trembling voice.
— I'm a minor, I don't have money for an abortion, so I have to give birth to it. I'll go into hiding and give it to an orphanage, but you have to help me keep it all a secret. I beg you, Jin.
The 18-year-old rubs his face with his hand, being in a strange amok. All this has hit him too hard.
— You have to hide, Danielle. No one can know about this — he speaks after a long time. — I will help you.
She looks at him with gratitude in her eyes, then comes up to him and snuggles into his chest.
— Everything will be fine — she says in a whisper. — We'll get through this...
*
It's late at night when Danielle sneaks into the house. She hastily packs up the rest of her things, wanting to disappear from this place as soon as possible.
— I am bursting with pride. You are evil to the marrow of your bones, Danielle. — The phantom circles around the sixteen-year-old, looking pleased.
— This is why our paths diverge here. As agreed, you go to torment my sister. Now let her put up with you for the rest of her life.
The ghost bursts into laughter.
— This could be fun.
The teenager looks around the room, searching for the mascot she got from Jin for her fifteenth birthday.
— Nevertheless... — She points her finger at the apparition as she hides the teddy bear in her bag. — Remember that I am protected by you. This is our deal for life.
— You have it like in the bank, my favorite. Nothing bad will happen to you as long as I exist.
The girl leaves the room and creeps down the corridor as quietly as she can. She runs down the stairs and takes one last look around the house.
The walls of this building have seen many happy moments when she was at Jin's side.
— I'll be fine — she says into the space, then opens the door and hurriedly leaves the house. She runs up to the car where Jin is waiting for her. She throws her bag into the back seat and takes the seat next to him.
— Are you ready? — He asks, and she nods in response.
She watches him the whole way, wanting to remember his face. She doesn't know when she will see him. It pains her that she has to escape alone, that she has no choice.
Her mother must believe that she has died.
Jin needs to graduate from Horace Mann, go to college, so that in the future she can live seamlessly by his side.
— I know that you will never betray me, Jin. There is no other person like you. You will be faithful to me for the rest of your life.
The boy glances at her and takes her hand.
— You can always count on me. I will help you with everything.
Halfway passes in silence. She watches his face, feeling tears coming to her eyes. Although she enjoys her freedom, it pains her to think of being separated from her beloved. A few days have made her miss him madly, so how will she survive such a long time without him?
— In the morning, your mother will get a phone call announcing that you died in a car accident — Jin says, clasping her hands tighter on the steering wheel. — My uncle knows the whole situation. He promised to help us.
Danielle nods her head.
— What about the fake documents?
— Don't worry about it. They will be sent by courier.
— It will be fine, right?
The boy looks at her and forces a slight smile.
— It has to be. We have the right back. You will be safe.
— I trust you; therefore I have no reason to worry. — She looks at him with love in her eyes. — You are the best thing that has happened to me in my life, Jin.
*
It's a performance Jin won't forget for the rest of his life. Ragged by his mother Danielle, listening to curses at him, he didn't react, waiting for her hysteria to pass. His father tried to push her away from his son, yelling that it wasn't Jin's fault and that her daughter had always been a troublemaker, but eventually, it was him who got the brunt of it.
This was the first time Jin had seen the woman cry. She was weak, and yet she lashed out at them, judging them for the tragedy that took her daughter away.
— And weren't you waiting for the moment when Danielle would disappear from your life? — The other day, those words finally brought her out of her thoughts. She threw her arms around Jin, slapping him across the face. The boy's father couldn't look at it calmly and yelled at her to get a grip.
— Living here from the beginning was a curse! Her love for you killed her! — yelled the woman, piercing the eighteen-year-old with her eyes.
This woman saw the fault in other people, only not in herself, and she was the one who most caused Danielle to disappear from her life.
The boy smiles under his breath as he sits on the swing his girlfriend used to frequent and reads a message from her.
"Thank you for the money you transferred to me. Thanks to you, I can live a normal life, I don't lack anything."
"Make good use of them because it was my savings of many years. Is Aaron taking good care of you?"
"That moron often drives me crazy, but thanks to him, I have a roof over my head. Well, and he promised to make me a great driver."
"So I have a request... be nice to him, since he helps you so much."
"I will be, if he doesn't start hitting on me one day. He has found that pregnant women are cute."
"Then tell him that my fist is more adorable."
Jin lifts his face to the sky and watches the shifting clouds for a long time. His relationship with Danielle was tumultuous from the beginning, and it ended that way as well.
He cares about her and intends to protect her until the very end, but is their romance still going? Does it have a chance to survive at a distance? This is something he can no longer predict.
So much has happened that he now doesn't know what to expect tomorrow, and he's only eighteen.
One thing is for sure: Danielle is a little trouble.
— A spirit granting three wishes! — The boy looks over his shoulder and spots his friends. Tom is walking under the arm with Jimmy, and Joseph is trailing behind them.
— What took you so long? — he exclaims, rising from the swing. — You guys are moving like grandparents.
— Talk to the one at the back. He lazily shuffles his feet as he nonstop texts someone.
Joseph pierces Tom with his eyes.
— Shut up, or I'll shove this phone up your ass.
Jin shakes his head and walks over to them, looking with amusement in his eyes at the offended Tom.
— Don't get upset, Scott. Don't you know that he has his period all year round?
The brunet twists his lips in a smile.
— You should go to a cabaret for senior citizens.
The boy slaps his friend on the head, then puts his arm around him. The four of them walk along the sidewalk, intending to spend the day in each other's company.
After this vacation, they begin their senior year. Even then, they don't realize how much their lives will change when twin girl Danielle joins them in September.