Alex abruptly pulled over to the side of the road when his attention was caught by Samantha, who was returning from her exams accompanied by a colleague. She laughed throatily, slapped him on the shoulder and incessantly interjected in his mind. It was clear that she was specifically teasing him.
At that moment, she looked pleased, as if she had completely forgotten that she had ended her relationship with Alex the day before. Although they were not in any relationship, she confessed to him that she had fallen in love with him. She decided that she didn't want to see him again because he was only making her tired.
He had to agree with this. The boy was unable to open up, and other people suffered because of it. How long could he blame it on the past? How much could he endure, suffocating all his feelings inside, without admitting that someone had finally managed to move his heart?
Through it all, he himself fought the pain that oppressed him in his chest.
Although he longed to have Samantha for himself and openly admit to her that she was the only girl he had fallen madly in love with, something still stopped him from taking the next step.
He was afraid of a relationship. He was afraid of being happy because he deluded himself that something would always disrupt that joy and then the pain would be unbearable. He told himself that being single was meant for him.
All this was going on in his mind and he couldn't fight it.
So far...
He turned the car around when he noticed that Samantha had stopped at the bus stop. A friend had accompanied her the whole time, but that didn't stop Alex from getting out of the vehicle and facing the girl.
The teenager was so surprised to see him that she blinked her eyelids several times to see that he was indeed not an illusion.
- Alex? - When he grabbed her hand, she only managed to glance at her friend. The older boy led her to the car and, paying no attention to her objections, put her in the passenger seat. - What is the meaning of this? - She asked as he buckled her in with a seat belt and then pulled out onto the road.
- I'm fixing what I broke through my stupidity.
- Repairing? In this way? - She raised her voice, without taking her eyes off his face. - After all, I made it clear to you that I want nothing to do with you anymore. I can't stand your company until you understand that you are hurting me.
- I am hurting myself," he announced, tightening his fingers on the steering wheel. - It hurts me that I can't be with you.
The girl repeated his words several times in her mind. It still did not reach her that Alex had just said it.
- I really don't understand you.
He stopped abruptly and fixed an intense gaze on her as she opened her mouth in astonishment.
- I'm in love with you too, but the past is still destroying my life and making me afraid to get close to you! - His breathing sped up as he didn't take his eyes off her for a long moment.
He put his hand in his hair and nervously rubbed it, shifting his gaze to the windshield. Samantha remained silent, unable to get any words out.
- I used to be a pleased child. I enjoyed literally everything. My parents were wonderful people, my brother.... I could not have been born into a better family. One night, all this was taken away from me. Since then, I've been afraid to be happy; I don't want a similar nightmare to happen to me again. I would hate to have another person I love taken away from me.
The 18-year-old stuck, her gaze full of sadness and concern as she touched his cheek with her hand.
- Alex, you can't tell yourself that because you will never be happy again if you don't try. Something happened in your past. I would rather not ask you what such a thing is since you don't want to talk about it, but at least let me try. I want to be by your side and help you forget the painful memories. Believe that if you let me do that, it will be the best therapy for you. - He looked at her, and then she noticed tears in his eyes. - Do you know why, despite years of treatment and pills, you are still suffering? Because you are alone with this. You don't have a person at your side who can take all this pain away from you and replace it with love.
With his hands, he wiped away the tears running down his cheeks and pulled his nose, turning his face in the opposite direction.
- I want to help you. I want to be by your side, but you have to let me do it. If you really want it and finally open your heart to me, I promise I will do everything to make you happy again. - She touched his shoulder, hearing him try to hold back his crying. - Think it over. I'll be on the phone. Even if you decide to call me in the middle of the night, I will answer.
She got out of the car, and only when she closed the door did Alex lower his face and burst out crying. He put his hand to his face, not wanting anyone to see him in such a state.
*
- Your father is somehow mentally unbalanced? - Mark lifted his face and fixed his puzzled eyes on the girl who was sitting across from him in the café. He told her everything, opened up to her and asked for advice, since she was the only person he could trust at the moment. - Somebody shows up out of the blue, claims to be your rich daddy, and forces you to accept the fortune? He must be really desperate to have an heir because his behavior is not normal. Who sends some powerful guy to abduct his child?
- I don't know what he means," he replies, casting his gaze into the cup he is circling on the saucer.
- You said that he tried for many years with his wife to have a child, but she can't get pregnant. I think he went crazy with happiness when he found out he had a son, and he wants you on his side at all costs. He intends to compensate you for all those years of suffering.
The boy stuck his gaze in the window.
- What do you think I should do in this situation? My guess is that he will not give me a break.
- Meet with him and talk frankly.
The 18-year-old was surprised by her answer.
- Do you think this is the only solution?
- Mark, he must have a reason why he behaves this way. He intends to give you everything. There is something behind this and you should know the truth. - She puts her hand over his and smiles slightly. - You are his only child, and you should give him a chance to at least explain everything to you. If you don't.... later you may regret your decision.
Was Naomi right? Should he do that? Give him a chance to explain everything?
- I don't know if it's possible to have a normal conversation with him. He seems bossy and after one meeting with him, I got the impression that I didn't have much to talk about. - The girl crossed her arms over her chest, with her gaze letting him know to get a grip and start acting like a man. - But I have no choice. I have to do it.
- And I like it," she announced, pointing her finger at him. A sincere smile appeared on her face. - So now brag about how the exam went for you? Your future depends on it.
- I have no problems with studying. I'm sure it went well. At least there is something I don't have to worry about.
*
After finishing his work, Alex sat on the couch in the living room and leaned his elbows on his knees. He fixed his gaze on the gray wall, thinking over Samantha's words. She made it clear to him that he has a chance to regain his joy, he just has to let her. She can be at his side, yet he has to open his heart to her and let her get close to him.
Was he prepared for this?
He was afraid, but only now did he realize that he didn't want to lose the brunette. She is the first girl who managed to break through his iron wall. She was the one he thought about when the rainy nights came. He created an image in his mind of her smiling face, and then he didn't suffer so much. She was the best medicine for his wounds.
Tentatively, he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and went into his contacts to find her name. He pressed his lips together as his finger hovered over the green receiver.
- Was this a good decision?
In the end, he chickened out. He was in no position to make a phone call to her. Not yet, anyway. He wasn't ready to approach her. First, he had to overcome his fear so as not to inadvertently hurt her.
Somewhere in the distance, there was a thunderous sound, and he felt a strange grip around his heart. A storm was coming. He sensed that hard times awaited him that night as well.
10 years earlier.
Heavy rain pounded against the window panes, through which a 10-year-old boy looked out. With fascination in his eyes, he watched the lightning flashes in the sky; the trees whose branches bent under the strong wind, but the most beautiful sight for him at that moment was the lake in the storm.
He jumped away from the window when he got the impression that a black figure had run somewhere between the trees. He looked over his shoulder and stuck a frightened look at his older brother, who was playing an electronic game.
- John, I think someone is circling near our house.
- Stop. If I had known you were so fearful, I wouldn't have let you watch a horror movie with me.
- I'm serious. - Out of the corner of his eye he glanced toward the window, but with the appearance of lightning, this time he saw nothing. - I swear I saw something.
The older brother wasn't concerned about Alex's hysteria and continued to have a great time. The 10-year-old had a bad feeling, so he ran out of the room he shared with his brother and looked into the living room. The TV was on, but no one was in the room.
- Mom? Dad? - He asked, carefully looking around the dark interior. He sensed someone's presence behind him, but when he looked back, no one was there.
His heart went up to his throat and he ran back to the room where his brother remained.
- John? - He closed the door behind him as the older boy lifted his face. - Parents are not in the living room and I think someone is roaming around our house.
- Alex, come on. If I knew you would get so paranoid after watching this stupid movie, I wouldn't let you. It may be a blockbuster, but you're too young. I made a mistake.
- I don't lie. I am telling the truth. That's all... in our house currently is the same atmosphere as in this horror movie. Everywhere is dark, the TV is on in the living room, and the parents are nowhere to be found. There is a gusty storm outside, and we live in a cottage by the lake....
- One more word, and I swear I'll nail you. Go to bed! - shouted at his younger brother, who shook his head vigorously with tears in his eyes. - Alex, you are starting to annoy me. It's late, so your parents probably went to the bedroom and forgot to turn off the TV.
- But they always look in before they go to bed.... - At that moment, he seemed sharper than his older brother or simply John was afraid to take his words seriously.
Alex trembled when a noise sounded outside the door. He fixed his frightened eyes on his brother as he finally reacted. He went to the door, but the 10-year-old grabbed his hand and shook his head, letting him know to wait.
- Let's call the police first. If something starts to happen, then we won't be able to do it. We will be killed, John said.
The older boy fixed his eyes on the landline phone that was on the shelf. He took it in his hand and handed it to his brother.
- I'll go see what's going on, and if you hear anything disturbing call the police right away and hide well, got it? Do you know the number?
With tears in his eyes, he nodded, but he was still afraid to let John out of the room.
- I don't like it, do you know why? Because in this movie, the older sister acted similarly to you and left her younger brother in the room. He hid under the bed, where he was found by the murderer. Doesn't it follow this pattern? What if it's some psychopath who acts on the attitude of this film?
- Alex, please. Just do what I say.
The 10-year-old pressed the phone to his chest and, with fear in his eyes, watched his brother leave the room and, with a motion of his hand, ordered him to lock the door behind him.
He did so.
His heart was beating restlessly fast as he dialed the police without a second thought to save his family. He knew that every second counted.
- Help us... - he whispered in a trembling voice when a woman answered at the switchboard. - Someone wants to kill my family. I'm scared.
- What is your name?
- Alexander Cage," he answered, pressing the phone too tightly to his ear. With frightened eyes, he stared at the door, not hearing any screams or noise, but this worried him even more.
- Okay, Alex... tell me, where are you?
- I'm locked in my room. My brother came out to see what was going on. Earlier I saw someone hanging around in front of our house.
The woman didn't speak for a while, but he guessed that through the connection she traced the address from which he called her.
- Alex, is there a safe place where you could hide?
The child opened his eyes wide when someone banged their foot on the door.
- He is here... He is knocking on my door. I'm so scared," he said in a brittle voice.
- Help is already coming to you, but you have to cooperate with us, do you hear? Alex, look carefully around the room and find a place that would be suitable for you to be safe.
The boy suppressed a cry as he looked at the bed. He couldn't hide there because that was the first place that would catch the killer's attention. The closet was also out. His attention was drawn to the window. It was the only solution.
Someone banged on the door once again to break it open, and he jumped onto the bed. With tears in his eyes, he opened the window and climbed onto the windowsill. Their wooden bungalow was single-story, so he didn't have much trouble getting outside.
- Hello, Alex, can you hear me?
- I escaped through the window," he replied, squinting his eyes because the rain was so heavy that it made him see poorly. - There was no place in my room where I could hide.
Breathing heavily, he crouched under the window with his whole body clinging to the wall, when he noticed that a man dressed in black had entered his room.
He closed his eyelids, praying that this nightmare would come to an end.
His heart went up to his throat when he realized the man had looked out the window. Alex was a petite child, so he was hidden by the rather wide windowsill that adorned the window from the outside.
The murderer did not see him.
He retreated and left the room, and then the boy opened his eyes. He put the phone to his ear, thanking the heavens that the heavy rain had drowned out the speech of the woman who still hadn't hung up.
- Alex, are you there?
- He didn't see me," he replied, cowering against the wall. - I'm so scared. I don't know what is happening to my family.
- You can't give up. Listen to me, Alex. Run as far away from home as possible and hide well. Don't let him find you, do you understand?
The boy nodded. Out of nerves, he threw the phone on the ground and ran ahead as fast as he could. He hid behind a thick tree and, breathing loudly, looked out from behind it, watching as a man dressed in a black raincoat reappeared in his room. A hood was thrown over his head.
In the light of the bulbs, he could see his outline, even though the rain prevented him from seeing more clearly.
Somewhere in the distance, sirens could be heard. Alex clung with his whole body to the tree, hugging his face tightly to it when a powerful thunder sounded.
- Mom, Dad, John...
He saw the indistinct silhouette of a man run out of the house. He disappeared somewhere among the trees when the sound of sirens reached his ears.
They were almost there.
Alex was so terrified that at that moment he didn't think about what he was doing and ran back into the house. He looked over his shoulder as he stood in the doorway and froze as a man waited for him by one of the trees. Despite the darkness and heavy rain, he could see that he was watching him.
He backed away just as the police arrived.
Alex sank to his knees, his tears mixing with the rain, as the policemen ran toward him. One of them crouched down beside the boy, and then he pointed his finger at the spot where the murderer had stood moments earlier.
- I saw him running there.
The policeman shouted to the others to head that way, and then the boy sprang to his feet and ran into the house. The sight he found there was so shocking that he lost control of his body and fell to the floor. With his mouth open, he stared at his bloodied parents and his brother lying next to them, taking it as an image of illusion. He did not hear the policeman speaking to him. He completely turned off. He couldn't hear anything that was going on around him.
He only saw the dead bodies of the people he loved most in the world.
The present.
Alex spilled the pills on his trembling hand and swallowed them, tilting his head back. He was shaking all over from the inside, and another thud made him jump up on the couch. He had a strange feeling that someone was prowling around the living room, but it was just a figment of his imagination, as his mind again reminded him of what happened ten years ago. About how he selfishly let his parents and brother die, cowardly saving his ass. He still couldn't get over it. He did nothing, and only thought of himself at that moment. Remorse kept him awake and stirred in his mind, along with the cruel experience he had experienced that day.
His loved ones died because some mentally ill man, fascinated by a horror movie he watched, which was a hit at the time, decided to act it out in real life.
He hid his face in his hands as tears began to run down his cheeks. Why did it fall on his family in particular? Why did they live in that cursed house by the lake? Why did some idiot direct such a hopeless movie that became a model for psychos to follow!!!?
Pulling his nose, he ran his finger over the touch screen and went into contacts again, finding her name. This time he pressed the green handset.
- Hello?
- I don't think I can handle it anymore. I can't live with these memories anymore. Instead of getting better, it's my heart that suffers more and more every day. I am dying internally. I can't live with it anymore. I am giving up.
- Alex, I beg you, don't say that. Your words make my heart freeze as well. - He heard the terror in her voice. - Give me ten minutes and I will appear by your side and do everything to make you feel better.
- You can't. I don't want you to suffer because of me. I am the person who let my family die. I did nothing to help them. I ran away to save my ass. Do you understand, why can't I open my heart to another person? Because I am afraid that in a time of danger, when I am happy again, someone will suffer because of me.
- Right now you are making me suffer. Don't say that, I beg you. I am afraid for you. I don't like the words you say. Why do you sound even more depressed than you did during the last storm? - She asked, running out of the house.
- When you said that you fell in love with me.... do you know how I felt then? I was only happy for a moment because I found out that you reciprocated my feelings. You openly confessed it to me, and probably another guy in my place would have taken you in his arms and shouted in your face that he wanted to be with you, but I was scared at that moment. I let you go with the thought that it would be better that way.
- Now I know how you feel about me. I also understand what is involved in your fear, so I will not let you give up. I will do everything possible to make you come out of this and feel what happiness is again.
He closed his eyelids and pressed his lips together as he realized he was about to burst out crying.
- Samantha, I just wanted you to know that you are the best gift I received from God for the harm I did in the past. You must have been appointed for this by the heavens because you are the only woman I have been able to fall in love with.
The brunette opened her eyes wider when she unexpectedly heard the shrill sound of a broken connection.
- Alex? - She trembled as the darkest scenarios ran through her thoughts. - Alex!
She ran in a downpour, falling into puddles and soaking her best shoes, but at that moment she thought of nothing but him. She had to catch a cab as soon as possible and get to Alex's house because this time she had a bad feeling.