For a whole week, I took care of sick Lin and brought him all the college notes. In the first few days, he got worse and worse. I started to worry a lot and constantly begged to call an ambulance. However, the guy flatly refused, saying there was no way he would get in an ambulance and he would not let anyone touch him. Although I knew that he did not treat doctors well, I never guessed that it was so bad. It was painful just to look at his condition: terrible bruises under his eyes, weakness and constant shivering. He had a weak immune system from birth, but that never prevented him from leading a full life. Sometimes, it was necessary to undergo medical examinations, during which we usually didn't see each other, perhaps because of his experience with doctors as a child, he doesn't like them now.

Aaron was constantly writing while I was living a rhythm of home, study, home. Sometimes he offered to help, but I politely refused, not wanting to offend Lin. So he called and suggested taking me outside for a short walk, to which I replied "I can't, as you know the situation," and abruptly ended the call.

I started to get ready for a date with Aaron, but first, I texted him saying that I would arrive in an hour. To be honest, I thought I wouldn't be late, but after spending 20 minutes on my makeup and styling, I realized I was wrong. I wanted to look my best that evening, so I put on a skirt, a sweater, and a black trench coat instead of my usual jeans. Completely satisfied with how I looked and realizing I was running late for Aaron's, I left my apartment and headed for my car. It was slightly raining outside, and my mood was instantly spoiled by my weather dependency. The gray clouds from the sky heralded imminent cold weather, and it seemed like I needed to update my wardrobe soon. Although I used to dream of a car so I wouldn't have to bundle up warmly when going out, it seems I was a bit mistaken, because no one had canceled walking in the streets yet, or urgent trips anywhere.

By the time I got into my Camaro, it was already warm enough for me to go straight away. God bless the man who invented the autorun. I still didn't know the map of the city, so I turned on the navigator on my phone and hurried to meet the guy.

- Sorry, I'm late again... I looked down, but Aaron laughed loudly. - Yes, I just came up a few minutes ago, don't worry. Even if you waited half an hour, you wouldn't eat me. Your brain, yes, but yourself... - At that moment, he looked at me with a predatory look - Although I can't promise anything. From these words, a wave of butterflies raged in my stomach, although I didn't understand the meaning of his words immediately. - Come on, tell me how your time in captivity went. - Well, no one kept me there, but I couldn't leave. We've been together since childhood. - Here's a good topic, tell me about your childhood.

In fact, I didn't want to say anything as scary about my childhood as my father beat me and my brother often, and my mother mostly kept neutral and didn't get involved in our fights. But the rest of the time, she treated us well. She had a great sense of humor, and she worked hard, so we were left alone with our father more often at home. They could be punished for any offense, disobedience or bad grades. Sometimes, it seemed to me that my brother was loved more than I was, so there was a period when we didn't communicate at all for a year, even though we lived in the same apartment. Our apartment was small and had only two rooms. Raven and I shared one room, while my parents had the other. For some reason, their door was locked from the inside, but our door wasn't. Because of this, it was possible to hide from my father's anger only in the bathroom.

My older brother was allowed more than me, for example, he had a computer as his best friend, and he rarely showed any desire to leave the house. I had to do housework in order to earn his trust, and then there was a 50% chance that I would be allowed to use the computer after I had cleaned the whole apartment and done all the homework. Often, I was told that it was my responsibility to clean up after everyone else in the family. As a girl, I had to help my mother. We were not allowed to stay out past 7 pm and we were not allowed beyond the yard.

Even more often, my phone was taken away from me. My father, without any twinge of conscience, would often take my phone to read my correspondence. Unfortunately, I really enjoyed texting with my friends, because every time I found myself in dialogues with them, I would be punished and all those friends would be blacklisted against my will. After Esther's birth, the situation at home became even worse for both of us. Vincent would impose even more punishments on me and my brother. And if I was 14 at that time and had already decided that I would leave the house at the first opportunity, then my brother had nowhere to go.

The appearance of a new family member had a very negative effect on me. I involuntarily began to hate my younger sister, as I saw how much her father loved her. Every time I was forced to sacrifice something for her, it hurt me unbearably. In my whole life, I have never seen a really good birthday party, like my classmates did. But they absolutely everything for Esther, including animators and cakes that I could only dream about as a child. It made me feel like a stranger.

Only Lin saved me, but because of our age, we couldn't see each other when we wanted to. We didn't live that far from each other, but I was rarely allowed to visit them. That's why most of the time we just called each other. As we grew closer to adolescence, we were able to go out for walks together. We always had plenty to talk about. Every time I visited Lin, Aunt Yasmin baked and cooked something special. I was grateful for the fact that at least one person in the world really cared about me. We played Monopoly and watched movies. One day, we went for a walk around his neighborhood. On New Year's Eve, when my parents were away celebrating in another city and Raven had left for school, Lin was there for me. That night, I met a new friend online. Although we hadn't seen each other for months, I felt loved...

In all the time we were together, Aaron never interrupted me. He only occasionally asked clarifying questions. At the end of the story, I burst into tears and he began to calm me down. He kissed my tears rolling down my face along with raindrops, and we stood like that for a long time. When I came back, I felt cold and pain. But now he was drowning out that pain and I was getting better. His lips touched mine and I was taken aback because I had never been kissed before. Soft but rather domineering, his lips led me into our first kiss. With every second, the pain became quieter and I realized he was very dear to me. I decided I liked him when I first saw him.

His long fingers stayed on my waist, pressing me a little closer to him. At that moment, it was the most appropriate action because for a moment I forgot how to stand on my feet at all. When we pulled apart, I looked into his beautiful brown eyes, decorated with long, slightly curled lashes, and saw in them a look of love that they write about in books and talk about in movies. Aaron smiled and let me go. - "Of course, you're so short, you're just like a bedside table," his laughter echoed through the park and infected me, "In that case, you are a closet that has grown too big!"

We continued to walk and laugh, talking about everything in the world. I felt really happy, because I was finally able to share the story of my past with someone other than Lin. I returned home without makeup, which was washed away by the rain during the whole walk. My best friend was fast asleep. I touched his forehead, and finding no signs of fever, I went into the shower. The jets of hot water reminded me of Aaron's warm hands and lips. Flashbacks were hard on me, and I wanted to repeat everything that had happened to me a few hours ago. After getting out of the shower, I happily laid down to dream and fell asleep immediately.