Greg clearly felt a moment when Lana finally gave up. This connection was always a mystery to him. It seemed that he only imagined it many years ago. But that proven to be true, as soon as he touched Lana, he felt the echoes of her emotions in himself. That storm that raged in her passed by vibration through the tips of his fingers, reverberating by pain in his heart.
Lana cried, and it tore him up. She tried to say something, but could not find the words. Through her lips slipped only broken sobs. Greg couldn't stand it, he picked Lana up and carried her to the couch. Sitting first, he placed her on his lap, embracing her. She did not resist, on the contrary, she only pressed harder against him, seeking support. He began whispering all sorts of sweet nonsense to her, stroking her on the back, showering her face with tender kisses. He was almost ready to give up, not to torment her anymore, when she suddenly took a deep breath and, as if throwing herself head-on into the whirlpool, began.
"I was married before I met you ..." - Lana paused, apparently expecting Greg's reaction. But he didn't say anything, just hugged her tightly, intuitively sending her his support, his warmth. As if sensing this, Lana relaxed a little and continued.
" I was 16, 15 when we met. My family and I came to the annual ... festival. It's kind of a tradition. His father ... was the chief, the mayor in the city, which held the celebration. At that time, Ralph was in the spotlight. All the girls hovered around him as if spellbound. But among all this crowd of pretty women, he suddenly started to pay attention to me. He courted me, complimented me, and I, like a fool, gave in. My parents didn't mind, my father even organized everything himself in the shortest possible time. I didn't have time to look back, to think it through. In just a few days I already was his wife. And life seemed beautiful, suddenly from an ordinary girl, I became someone important. I finally broke free from the care of my family, I had my own house, where I was the hostess. I felt so grown-up. I didn't even notice that something was wrong. Or closed my eyes, ignoring it. Ralph was very ambitious, he was sure that his father would sooner or later appoint him ... an successor of his position. Like the whole life, he only waited for this. Even me he chose because I was ideally suited for the role of the wife of the future ... mayor. And then his father picked another and everything crumbled. All that beautiful picture just cracked and fell apart at once and with it - our family. From a worthy wife, I have become a burden and all of it, our life - a foul, aimless existence. At that time, I was already pregnant. Therefore I had to bite my tongue and live on, just exist. But every day, with every minute, it only got worse. He drank, could be absent from home for days, was endlessly irritated and ..."
Lana stopped, straining in his hands. Greg somehow knew what she was silent about. He just felt her fear and pain in himself. But he had to ask. Today they had to open all the cards, and nothing more should remain hidden.
"He beat you." - Greg continued for her, he heard his hoarse voice as if from the side. He was struggling to breathe and didn't want to listen to the answer.
" At first he just cursed, reproached, criticized. Could push me in a fit of rage. And then apparently got the taste of it."
"Why didn't you leave him?" - Greg almost whispered. The voice trembled, full of emotions.
"I did, once. I took the children and fled. And then I met you ..."
"So why did you returned to him? Why did you left me and returned to this monster?" - Lana flinched, tried to pull away, but Greg did not let her. Burying his fingers in Lana's hair, he slightly pulled, lifting her face. He wanted to look into her eyes and show her that his anger was not directed at her. Lana reached out and placed her palms on his chin. Her fingers began to trace every feature of his face as if trying to remember.
"Greg, I didn't have a choice. He attacked you in the alley. He promised to kill you if I didn't go back with him." - She finally said. Time seemed to stop for Greg. Her last words spun in his head again and again, but the meaning somehow escaped from him.
"Why didn't you tell me anything? You didn't trust me enough? " - Greg finally said, almost offended. He tried to turn away, but now Lana held his face, peering into his eyes.
" Greg, I went through a thousand options in my head. Escape again, run away with you, stay and fight. But when I entered the room and saw you, there were no more exits. I just couldn't do this to you. Ralph ... he doesn't have any restraints. If I hadn't gone with him, nothing would stop him from coming to your room and just cut your throat. I know what he's capable of."
Greg removed her hands from his face and, put Lana on the couch, rising. There was too much information. Thoughts, feelings - his, her - everything was mixed in Greg's mind. Resentment, anger, powerlessness. He got it perfectly that at that time he was just a young student, and bound to a hospital bed too but. What could he do? But the realization of his helplessness, made him want to vomit.
"What about now? You left him again, right?" - Decided to leave the self-digging for later, Greg asked.
Lana looked away, starting to pick a hole in the armrest of the old sofa.
"He found out that we had met at the airport," - she whispered, pausing for a moment. Greg frowned, but she didn't give him a chance to ask any questions, started talking again, as if trying to get rid of these words as quickly as possible, splitting them abruptly, dryly, as if it were a report.
" He got mad, started to beat me. When Nicky and Vicky returned home, I was unconscious. They called for help. Ralph was arrested. Nicky insisted that we leave. We stayed with a friend until I fully recovered. Then we moved here. The rest you know."
Greg went to the window. Grabbing the sill, he tried to digest everything he just heard. Everything was wrong, so wrong. As if the pieces of the puzzle once perfect, were chewed by someone and threw out, and Greg now has to decide how to restore everything and whether it is worth trying at all.
"Look, Greg, it doesn't really matter anymore. All is in the past. Now we are all right. No one need to save anyone. Just leave it be. Forget it."
Greg turned. Lana still tormented the hole in the couch, without looking at him. She seemed so small on this huge ugly sofa. He wanted to take her in his arms again, to assure her that everything would be fine, that now she was safe and he would take care of everything. But the puzzle was still in disarray. He had already twice broken into her life and left behind the chaos. He won't repeat this mistake again.
" Lana, you're wrong, again. Even if then I couldn't help you in any way. Even if you did it to protect me. By making your choice, you took a right to choose from me. And now it's time for me to take this right from you. Now only I can decide what's it will be."
With these words, he turned and headed for the exit, leaving Lana utterly confused.
"And lock the f*cking door!" - he yelled from the hallway, disappearing into the entrance.
Only when his footsteps died down on the stairs did Lana rise to lock the door behind him. For some reason, a stupid smile appeared on her lips, and in her heart, a small flame was born making this gray day seem slightly less gloomy.
Greg clearly felt a moment when Lana finally gave up. This connection was always a mystery to him. It seemed that he only imagined it many years ago. But that proven to be true, as soon as he touched Lana, he felt the echoes of her emotions in himself. That storm that raged in her passed by vibration through the tips of his fingers, reverberating by pain in his heart.
Lana cried, and it tore him up. She tried to say something, but could not find the words. Through her lips slipped only broken sobs. Greg couldn't stand it, he picked Lana up and carried her to the couch. Sitting first, he placed her on his lap, embracing her. She did not resist, on the contrary, she only pressed harder against him, seeking support. He began whispering all sorts of sweet nonsense to her, stroking her on the back, showering her face with tender kisses. He was almost ready to give up, not to torment her anymore, when she suddenly took a deep breath and, as if throwing herself head-on into the whirlpool, began.
"I was married before I met you ..." - Lana paused, apparently expecting Greg's reaction. But he didn't say anything, just hugged her tightly, intuitively sending her his support, his warmth. As if sensing this, Lana relaxed a little and continued.
" I was 16, 15 when we met. My family and I came to the annual ... festival. It's kind of a tradition. His father ... was the chief, the mayor in the city, which held the celebration. At that time, Ralph was in the spotlight. All the girls hovered around him as if spellbound. But among all this crowd of pretty women, he suddenly started to pay attention to me. He courted me, complimented me, and I, like a fool, gave in. My parents didn't mind, my father even organized everything himself in the shortest possible time. I didn't have time to look back, to think it through. In just a few days I already was his wife. And life seemed beautiful, suddenly from an ordinary girl, I became someone important. I finally broke free from the care of my family, I had my own house, where I was the hostess. I felt so grown-up. I didn't even notice that something was wrong. Or closed my eyes, ignoring it. Ralph was very ambitious, he was sure that his father would sooner or later appoint him ... an successor of his position. Like the whole life, he only waited for this. Even me he chose because I was ideally suited for the role of the wife of the future ... mayor. And then his father picked another and everything crumbled. All that beautiful picture just cracked and fell apart at once and with it - our family. From a worthy wife, I have become a burden and all of it, our life - a foul, aimless existence. At that time, I was already pregnant. Therefore I had to bite my tongue and live on, just exist. But every day, with every minute, it only got worse. He drank, could be absent from home for days, was endlessly irritated and ..."
Lana stopped, straining in his hands. Greg somehow knew what she was silent about. He just felt her fear and pain in himself. But he had to ask. Today they had to open all the cards, and nothing more should remain hidden.
"He beat you." - Greg continued for her, he heard his hoarse voice as if from the side. He was struggling to breathe and didn't want to listen to the answer.
" At first he just cursed, reproached, criticized. Could push me in a fit of rage. And then apparently got the taste of it."
"Why didn't you leave him?" - Greg almost whispered. The voice trembled, full of emotions.
"I did, once. I took the children and fled. And then I met you ..."
"So why did you returned to him? Why did you left me and returned to this monster?" - Lana flinched, tried to pull away, but Greg did not let her. Burying his fingers in Lana's hair, he slightly pulled, lifting her face. He wanted to look into her eyes and show her that his anger was not directed at her. Lana reached out and placed her palms on his chin. Her fingers began to trace every feature of his face as if trying to remember.
"Greg, I didn't have a choice. He attacked you in the alley. He promised to kill you if I didn't go back with him." - She finally said. Time seemed to stop for Greg. Her last words spun in his head again and again, but the meaning somehow escaped from him.
"Why didn't you tell me anything? You didn't trust me enough? " - Greg finally said, almost offended. He tried to turn away, but now Lana held his face, peering into his eyes.
" Greg, I went through a thousand options in my head. Escape again, run away with you, stay and fight. But when I entered the room and saw you, there were no more exits. I just couldn't do this to you. Ralph ... he doesn't have any restraints. If I hadn't gone with him, nothing would stop him from coming to your room and just cut your throat. I know what he's capable of."
Greg removed her hands from his face and, put Lana on the couch, rising. There was too much information. Thoughts, feelings - his, her - everything was mixed in Greg's mind. Resentment, anger, powerlessness. He got it perfectly that at that time he was just a young student, and bound to a hospital bed too but. What could he do? But the realization of his helplessness, made him want to vomit.
"What about now? You left him again, right?" - Decided to leave the self-digging for later, Greg asked.
Lana looked away, starting to pick a hole in the armrest of the old sofa.
"He found out that we had met at the airport," - she whispered, pausing for a moment. Greg frowned, but she didn't give him a chance to ask any questions, started talking again, as if trying to get rid of these words as quickly as possible, splitting them abruptly, dryly, as if it were a report.
" He got mad, started to beat me. When Nicky and Vicky returned home, I was unconscious. They called for help. Ralph was arrested. Nicky insisted that we leave. We stayed with a friend until I fully recovered. Then we moved here. The rest you know."
Greg went to the window. Grabbing the sill, he tried to digest everything he just heard. Everything was wrong, so wrong. As if the pieces of the puzzle once perfect, were chewed by someone and threw out, and Greg now has to decide how to restore everything and whether it is worth trying at all.
"Look, Greg, it doesn't really matter anymore. All is in the past. Now we are all right. No one need to save anyone. Just leave it be. Forget it."
Greg turned. Lana still tormented the hole in the couch, without looking at him. She seemed so small on this huge ugly sofa. He wanted to take her in his arms again, to assure her that everything would be fine, that now she was safe and he would take care of everything. But the puzzle was still in disarray. He had already twice broken into her life and left behind the chaos. He won't repeat this mistake again.
" Lana, you're wrong, again. Even if then I couldn't help you in any way. Even if you did it to protect me. By making your choice, you took a right to choose from me. And now it's time for me to take this right from you. Now only I can decide what's it will be."
With these words, he turned and headed for the exit, leaving Lana utterly confused.
"And lock the f*cking door!" - he yelled from the hallway, disappearing into the entrance.
Only when his footsteps died down on the stairs did Lana rise to lock the door behind him. For some reason, a stupid smile appeared on her lips, and in her heart, a small flame was born making this gray day seem slightly less gloomy.
