Linna was about to go down from the presidential office to the company hall, where the real party was taking place. Actually she was nervous, nervous because there were European foreigners there keeping an eye on her business and because Robert is there. Inside that room. The reason was to ask about her son but she ended up getting a phone call and staying right there.The decision to invite the whole Scully family was the first step to make the two families not be at war every time they see each other, as Matt stayed with his nanny. Of course he doesn't like the idea of having a nanny, but on occasions like this Linna still doesn't think he is ready for parties like this. Totally tedious.She had already forgiven that man and his family, however in the last few days she seemed overthinking it. About what she herself had done to herself, to her family. Matthew had gotten used to not having a father who cared about him, but remembering all the times he asked about his father when he wa
With the importunate thoughts out of his mind Robert stared steadily at Linna, sitting on that yellow couch trying to disguise his gaze by staring at the buildings outside. It was certainly a beautiful sight, but it couldn't compare to it. It was getting harder and harder for him to see Linna so many times a week, I mean, everything seemed so different. And the way she looked charmed him, and it wasn't even her looks.His heart was racing every time their eyes met. Everywhere. Even though he knew that the look coming from those beautiful brown eyes to him had no feeling at all, there was no anger or hurt, but there was no brightness either. Understanding this is easy for him, because he knows the things he has done, and he also knows that for her it might still be unbearable to stay in the same room as him every moment.Closeness was difficult for both of them, as much as Robert was enjoying it more and more. Even though he avoided silly, silly smiles and of course unnecessary comment
It was late at night when Dylan called her for dinner. Linna was already sleepy, she was tired, she hadn't had dinner yet and so he proposed to go to her house to make dinner himself. He had never been to her house before, because she doesn't put someone she has known for such a short time inside her house, but he gives her so much trust that she gave in. It was a surprise to herself how much trust she was giving this man, but if she dares to close herself off to everyone who pulls up and likes her she will end up the famous single aunt of the family. It's not like it was a bad idea, although it's just a scurrilous and needless nickname that makes a person dull. However, she has always wanted to experience love.He had done the week's fair a day ago, so depending on what he was going to make, it was no problem because all the ingredients would be there. Unless it was too fancy an invention for this time of night. The doorbell rang and she answered the door dressed in a white satin hob
- Love, do you need help? - Robert clenched his eyes, and the other avoided the teasing smile. Linna stared at Dylan and laughed.- Love? Dylan is not that much. - That actually sounded like a joke, she knew he was trying to tease Robert. Dylan was annoyed and closed his face as soon as he noticed the smug grin on the other's face, which he disguised by looking at the paintings on the wall.- Are you another friend of my mother's? - He pulled Matthew over, already sensing that there was something there, much more than friendship.- Oh yes, it's good to finally see you, Matthew. - He smiled at the little boy. - I'm Dylan.- It's a pleasure, Dylan. - He smiled politely and went to his father's side. Dylan was upset, he was not happy so he went into the bathroom hallway and started fiddling with his cell phone, seriously thinking about leaving. Linna took the medicine and gave it to her son, and as requested by his father, she also handed over the prescription.- Shall we go, big boy? -
Linna lost count of how many times she rolled from side to side on her extremely comfortable double bed, which now felt more like a concrete bed. She felt like a teenager, or maybe a child, her body sweated like in a sauna because it was covered from head to toe with the blanket, and yet she kept her eyes wide open inside and closed to the world outside. As a child she had the silliest fear in the world.People always talked about the old man in the sack who carried stubborn children or those who didn't sleep early, or the bogeyman and the headless mule. But that wasn't his fear, his fear was of having snakes under his bed. His bed had plenty of space underneath, where many of his toys were kept, but in his head there was a space where this snake could hide and attack him during the night.After he grew up, he began to love snakes. Snakes are amazing animals. Starting with the fact that they have no legs and can't see straight, their vision is just a blur and that's how they identify
- No, she pushed him away. - It's not possible. I thought I could finally be happy and I just threw myself into the trap! I almost... almost had sex with that bastard. And the worst part is that I only found out about it because of that stupid slip of his for calling me love. When Dylan put the knife to my neck I thought I would die right there! Inside my own home! With someone I thought I could trust! I'm a fucking loser.Robert pulled her to his body, making him take a step back from the impact her body made, his large hand little on her head forcing her to stay there crying into his chest. Wetting him more and more, not that it mattered in any way.- You're not a failure. - He closed his eyes, placing his nose on the tip of her head and smelling the good shampoo. - It's okay, cry. It's all right. It's not your fault, we can fix this, he's the bad person, not you for believing he was good! - Robert felt stunned. - Did he threaten you with a knife?- He squeezed my throat and put the
Robert stared at Linna once more, his eyes calm as his eyelids seemed light and heavy in the same instant, in less than ten minutes she was asleep, she was exhausted, afraid, tired, it was no wonder that after feeling protected she slept so quickly. Even though he wished she would sleep with him in his bed, he was satisfied that she felt safe there, in his house, in his presence. He could be hypocritical enough to say that in a house that size there were only two bedrooms and one of them was Matt's, so technically she would have no other option, but it was remarkable how she was so fragile and vulnerable so he just put her to bed, covered her body with the comforter turning on the air conditioning and making sure she was nice and comfortable.It was like closing his eyes to fall asleep completely. Robert closed the door after turning off the light completely and made his way to his room taking his fingers to her mouth where he squeezed remembering the kiss minutes ago. Smiling like an
- I'm Detective William, nice to meet you. - He held out his hand, his face was pleasant and he seemed intelligent.- Pleasure, I'm Robert. Father of Linna's son. - He smiled weakly, shaking the other's hand out of politeness and respect. Everyone sat down, Robert next to his wife, who was wearing a very comfortable flowered dress.- Well, you must already know the situation, Robert. I just have to tell you a few things. First, Linna, yesterday at three o'clock in the morning he came back to your house. - Automatically she shivered, biting her lips, and at the same time she managed to think "how nice that I slept over at Robert's house. - He didn't go in, he just went around the house, as if to make sure you would be there, but I guess he noticed that you weren't. For some reason he didn't destroy any cameras either, and doesn't seem to have noticed much of them. So what can be done now, and the ideal thing to do, is for you not to be alone and preferably outside your house.- How can
- What do you say we take a trip this weekend Matt?Robert went to pick up his son from school after feeling guilty for not getting up early enough to take him. Matt was happy that his father had gone and recognized that he was also doing his best to do what his mother was doing on such short notice.- Where to? - Going to places away from home encouraged the pre-teen, fortunately. It was hard to get used to a routine without his mother around.- I thought we might go to Orlando, have you been to Disney?Robert didn't have any trips planned, but he knew that he needed to cool off and his son needed that too. When he thought of a trip to take with Matthew the first place that came to mind was Disney, because it was a totally childish place he wanted to make sure that both of them didn't stop to think about it that way.- Really Dad? I've never been there, Mom always said she would save up money for us to go, but we always ended up taking other trips. She seemed to want to go there more
Three days had passed since his burial, Robert remained lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling of his room. Absolutely nothing was funny. He hadn't slept for a day since he had seen her in that coffin. He had been through grief before, but this was much stronger than himself. The love he felt for her was not able to show even half as much as the illness took her away.At the funeral Robert sat beside her, in the white plastic chair that was not at all comfortable, every second from seven in the morning until three in the afternoon he stayed there. Without eating, without drinking. He stroked her loose curls down the side of her face, would it be too much to say that she looked beautiful? He loved her natural shape, no make-up, pink lips and messy hair. This is how she looked. Linna didn't have pale skin, her melanin glowed. Her outfit had been a flowered dress, she liked joy, she never had this kind of conversation with Robert but he felt she deserved the best. So she asked to be dr
- The methodology we use is the fastest, which has a four-day deadline. - he agreed, he was not interested in what it was but how long it would take. - The cross math is basically when we put together her serum samples with her cells, which would serve as a kind of simulation, what would occur in an organ transplant. If Linna has in her blood composition the antibodies against HLA antigens from the donor's cell membranes, she can almost totally reject the organ received through transplantation, which in this case would be hers. Already in this case, the compatibility test is considered positive, and the transplant is contraindicated. The crossmatch test can use only total lymphocytes, without separation of subtypes, and is called an Initial crossmatch test. So basically people who have the same blood type, for example, are not indicated to do it, because it would certainly snow the organ.- That's fine. - She understood almost nothing of what was said by the short, thin nurse. - In fo
- What are the chances that you are a match? Of any of them being a match? I don't have any hope left. - Robert looked at her like a newborn baby that needed a lot of care. That was how he saw her at that moment. If he could take her into a glass bubble and keep her there until she recovered, he would do it. It would protect her from the world, from everything. Including his own body.- Baby, it's going to be all right! - He knew that this was his last hope. The compatibility test. If they all came back negative there was really nothing to be done, and Linna would just be waiting for the time to go out of their lives. Because she was weak, mellow, pale. When you meet someone radiant and see them like this your will is to give all your strength to that person.- Will you lie here with me? - she asked brazenly.- No. You're in pain and you can't move, not even think. If you want I can lower the arm of the bed and you can lie on my chest. - She rolled her eyes and agreed, in fact she at
Linna opened her eyes slowly, blinking countless times in a second feeling a huge pain in her back. Until her eyes got used to the dim lighting of the place and she could finally see everything around her, including the doctor who was waiting for her to wake up, slouched over the arm of the hospital bed. Her mouth was extremely dry, which made her cough before she could say anything.- My back... - Her voice was very low and hoarse, she tried to move, but Talia denied it with her head, touching her arm lightly. - They hurt a lot.- Don't move. - The doctor came a little closer.- How long have I been here? - The rain was falling hard outside, she was still unable to turn her head to look through the glass window.- Today is the fifth day. - Linna would be able to widen her eyes if her head didn't hurt so much. - You've had another alveolar hemorrhage, Linna. - she sighed. - This time much more intense. We had to put a blood bag of a few millimeters for you. Your body is being attacked
She touched her mother's face, it was impossible not to smile with all that innocence. As if it were easy.- Oh my son, I'd love to but you're a child, you can't. - Matthew hugged his mother's body, Linna hugged him back tightly, smelling the baby soap he has been using since birth because he has allergies to some kinds of soap.- Mom, I don't want to introduce you anymore. You can tell the school and then they'll write another paper! - I said, whispering in his ear, afraid that his father was going to make him go to the presentation because of his grade.- It's okay, Matt. If you don't want to, we won't force you to. - He pulled away and touched his even smaller hands. - See, your dad will call the school and explain what happened, and you'll stay here with me.- Are you sure? - Robert walked over and watched Matt's hair flip up and down like it had after the nasty thing he said. His son just nodded. - Matt, I'm sorry I talked like that, but you have to understand that sometimes it's
- I have a headache. This damn headache again! - He put his hand on his temple and snorted loudly.- Hey. It's okay, if you want you can stay home and I'll take Matt to the presentation, or I can ask my mom to take him.- No, we'll go. - Linna forced her eyes to turn to him and tried to look at him, but Robert noticed her distant eyes and held her fat face in his hands.- No. You're in no condition to go. I'm going to stay here with you and call my mother! - He said, already seeing Linna frown several times in a row, which indicated that she was going to cry very soon.- Go with Matthew, he wants his parents to watch him together at least once. - she whimpered in supplication.- I'm not leaving you alone, Linna. Don't be stubborn. What if something happens and you're here alone? That's no idea. - Matt entered the room and his smile vanished when he saw his mother with her head down and apparently sad.- Mom, is everything okay? - They both looked at him in a rush, she in particular sw
On the evening of that day Matthew had a presentation at school, a theater performance of The Wizard of Oz, where he would be the scarecrow. During the day there were preparations inside the school, he didn't even imagine that his parents were dressed as a bride and groom almost lost on a rented farm in the middle of nowhere. The two looked at each other like never before, if before their love could be exhaled, now it was able to shine like an angel. They got back to each other before nightfall, after they had played catch-up and finished with the bottle of wine.Matt was in the shower while Robert and Linna finished dinner, it wasn't even seven o'clock yet and the presentations would start at eight. There was silence, no cell phones, with a few glances exchanged in shy and sincere smiles. The cutlery banging against the plate, apart from all the cicadas, was the only noise.- How could she sleep for so long with those cicadas? - Linna cleaned her plate after the last bite, the cicada
- I love you, Robert. I've never known love before, I've had other boyfriends but they all become insignificant next to you. I've never felt anything like it. My heart is racing now, and it's racing every moment I think of you, think of being with you. - Linna took his hand and placed it on her chest, Robert felt the palpitations as if her heart were in his hands. - With you I've learned what real love is. I've accepted some things that I considered to be love and you were never even a hint of it. We started living together and even exchanging basic words I felt your concern for me, I felt that in the smallest gestures you cared and did things that showed this like leaving the coffee ready. Even if you dared to say it was for Matthew too. - She laughed weakly through her tears. - When we started to talk, to live closer to each other, I understood that there was already love there. There was already admiration, respect, regret. Repentance was crucial for both of us. We both did horribl