51 Chapter
Vladimir
“No, it can’t be! Tell me it’s not true!” Lina punches me in the chest with her fists, and Vlad tries to calm me down, but it’s all pointless. She’s hysterical. Of course to hear that! You wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even your worst enemy.
I just got a phone call ten minutes ago, and they told me that Kostya had had complications, and this morning he was gone. I do not quite understand why this happened, because everything was on the highest level, he was on the mend.
And all this was supposed to happen on the first of fucking January!
And we all three of us celebrated New Year’s Eve so well, that I actually began to think that I was beginning to like our union and it would be really boring without Vlad. As much as I hated him, he wasn’t superfluous here at all.
Lina told us that she didn’t want anything to do with us back when we caught her on the street and dragged her into the house to warm her up.
“That’s true. I’m very sorry. But…”
“Fuck you and your sympathy! You too! It’s all your fault! You kept me here while he needed me there! I’m sure he called for me while you… Oh, my God! You held me down by force! I didn’t even have time to say goodbye to him! Are you happy now, Vova? Now you should understand that you won’t see my gratitude the way you used to! Take me immediately to the hospital! I must be there! And don’t tell me about the snow and the snowfall! I don’t even care about that right now! Take me, goddamn it! And it’s beating again. Vlad’s gone, he understands how bad the situation is.”
Yeah, so do I.
“Good. Get dressed, we’ll all go together.”
“The three of us again? Aren’t you bored?! You’re not bored! How did this happen? You did everything, you paid so much money! How come he’s gone?! Explain!”
” I can’t answer that question. ”
“Yes, you can. You’re the spawn of hell. You know why evil happens in the world!”
“Lina, stop it. Go upstairs and get dressed.”
“What for? You like me naked, don’t you? I’m going to the hospital!”
“Don’t go crazy. Don’t blame Vova for all your sins. Yes, we’re all good, but he’s not to blame for what happened.”
Vlad was starting to feel bad about it too, so he decided to intervene.
“Or do you need help getting dressed?”
“I don’t need it. I can manage somehow without your help,” he freaked out, and went upstairs.
Vlad and I look at each other in silence for a few seconds.
“This is an unexpected turn.”
-“es, an unpleasant present under the Christmas tree.”
“The main thing is not to leave her alone in this state, Vova. You do realize that even though she is strong, but just like many others calmly survive the grief will not be able to. She loved him very much.”
“Now she won’t go anywhere for sure. I wanted her to stay, but not at this price. When she shouted then that she would leave everything and go to another country to start her life with a clean slate and without us… I was hurt, offended, but to…”
“We should pack too, Vova. It’s not the time for that. Let’s go,” Vlad reminded me.
***
Lina
It was hard for me to accept this loss. After all, he was the dearest, closest, native to me.
It’s painful, it’s very painful to lose your family, it’s very hard to accept this loss.
But it has been two weeks since Kostya’s death.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
The cause was cardiac arrest. But why? A young guy who was on the mend had his heart stopped? Were the wrong medications prescribed? Was the wrong blood transfused? Or was it all due to a previous illness? I have a lot of questions, but none of them I will ever get the truthful answers to.
Vlad didn’t leave, didn’t fly away. He tried to be there, and so did Vova, but on the day of the funeral it was the last time we saw each other. Of course Vova organized everything at the highest level. The most expensive agency, the best restaurant in town. But there weren’t that many people, we didn’t have many relatives. Ten people at the most.
It took my mother a long time to come to her senses, and so did my father. They had high hopes for Kostya.
“Lina, everything will be all right,” Vova was reassuring me. Vlad, on the other hand, was silent. He had a silent attitude. I understood that. I’ll keep silent, it’s better for everyone.
Now I understood clearly that there was nothing else holding me back, neither in the city, nor next to my former bosses. And everything that had happened between us would not happen again.
I didn’t trust Vova anymore. It was hard to believe, and to try to let into your heart the man who at any moment could do anything with your life.
Blackmail, betrayal, letting a third or third person into your bed. No, even hypothetically, if we were to have an alliance with him, nothing good would come of it.
Vlad’s a coward. He’s a coward, not a fighter. A traitor? Yes, in a way. He didn’t fight for me, he did what Vova suggested. And what am I to them? For each of them individually? I can’t find an answer. And I don’t need one.
“Daughter, have you made up your mind? You understand that Evelina Anatolievna is a complicated woman. And you should know that…”.
“Mom, I understand. But I’m not afraid of difficulties. But I’ll see the world.”
“I just lost Kostya, and now I’m losing you. I won’t survive it,” she cried, and she couldn’t be comforted.
Her good old friend has been living in Italy, in Rome, for twelve years. She recently started her own company there, and she needs a good economist to develop a business plan. My mother told me about this once on the phone, but I only clung to the idea now.
“I understand, but I can’t stay in town”
“You have a complicated love triangle? I understand sometimes it’s hard to choose one man. Especially when they’re both good. But I liked Vladimir better.”
“The fact that he organized and paid for everything?”
“He just made sure we didn’t have any problems. Is that a bad thing?”
“No, I guess not.”
“I guess you prefer Vlad, don’t you?”
“No, Mother. No one. Not anymore, believe me.”
“You can’t run away from yourself, Angelina. Remember that.”
“I know, but I have to try to make a fresh start. Vova won’t give me life, Vlad will never fight for me. And I don’t want to be caught between two fires.”
-“It’s your decision. I texted you Evelyn’s number and I told her you were coming in three days. She is glad.”
“Thank you for everything.”