The next day, the wonderful, sunny weather came back to the city. Edward, Natalia, Helene, Peter, Raquelle, Terrence, Anna, and Daniel decided to spend time in nature, far from the city. But only Terrence and Raquelle, Peter, Helene, and Sammy have come here. However, they do not feel bored and are talking about something with pleasure, while the doggy is running on the territory, sniffing the green grass, and playing with a soft, colorful, and small ball that he bites with no regret and tries to tear apart with his claws.
“Brothers?” Helene rounds her eyes, sitting on the grass and stroking Peter’s hair, while his head is on her laps. “What brothers?”
“The ones, who are the brothers of Edward and me on the father,” Terrence replies quietly, while Raquelle is hugging him from behind, pressing him to her chest, and sometimes putting her nose in the top of his head. “We met them yesterday when we were waiting for George.”
“Jeremy and William?” Raquelle specifies.
“Yup. And I must confess that they’re cool guys. We quickly got on well with them.”
“Do they look similar to you and Edward?” Helene asks.
“Nope, those two are similar to their mother. But they have the same black hair as Edward, Father, and me. And some of their features are similar to ours.”
“But how do you know that they’re similar to their mother if you’ve never seen her?” Raquelle wonders.
“I saw a couple of photos of Isabella, but I barely memorized her. And I preferred to believe Edward, who said Jeremy and William were similar to our stepmother and didn’t take so much after Father.”
“Oh, who cares who they’re similar to?” Peter wonders, enjoying the feeling of calm and relaxation, while Helene strokes his blond hair and caresses his head. “They’re cool and funny guys, who we’ll never be bored with.”
“That’s right…” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “I’m even sorry about not speaking to them before and not trying to contact them. So much was missed.”
“Yeah, those two don’t also mind laughing at Edward and kicking his ass.”
“You always wanna laugh at each other,” Helene says with a quiet chuckle.
“C’mon, Helene, we hurt nobody!” Terrence smiles innocently. “We’re just having fun!”
“Be careful with jokes, lads,” Raquelle laughs shyly. “If you say something wrong, you’re gonna get great problems.”
“Don’t be afraid, Raquelle, nobody’s gonna be mad,” Peter replies confidently. “We know what we can say and what we can’t.”
“We hope,” Helene pronounces thoughtfully.
Peter and Terrence chuckle quietly, while Raquelle and Helene glance at Sammy running around, playing with the ball, barking loudly at times, jumping high, and rolling on the green grass.
“Hey, did you tell Jeremy and William how to meet their father?” Raquelle asks. “Mr. MacClife has said many times that he wants to meet them, but doesn’t believe it will happen.”
“Yeah, Edward and I gave them the address of the place where Father’s living and left our numbers,” Terrence replies. “But they didn’t say when they’d visit him.”
“Have you talked to your father?” Helene specifies.
“I haven’t done it, but I can’t say anything about Edward. But I think he did it.”
“Maybe, you should have found out where they lived?” Raquelle frowns slightly. “Your father could visit them and talk.”
“The guys said they were renting an apartment near the university where they were studying. But we didn’t find out where.”
“I believe your father has something to talk to them about,” Peter assumes.
“They’ll talk about everything soon.”
“Wait, how are they gonna meet Mrs. MacClife?” Helene expresses anxiety. “Do those guys have something against the mother of you and Edward?”
“No, Jeremy and William didn’t say bad words about Mother,” Terrence replies confidently. “I think they’ll meet her well. Edward and I treat Isabella well. So, they’ll get on well with their stepmother, too.”
“Why?” Raquelle throws her hands up. “Isabella did nothing bad to you and Edward, and Mrs. MacClife did nothing to William and Jeremy. I see no reason not to get along well. You four aren’t guilty of what happened.”
“Oh, c’mon, girls, it’s gonna be fine,” Peter replies cheerfully. “Jeremy and William are good guys and will accept Mrs. MacClife. They really have no reason to hate Edward and Terrence’s mother, who those guys treat really well.”
“It would be great if they all got on well…” Terrence says thoughtfully.
“Hey, will they visit the wedding?” Helene specifies. “Or didn’t you tell them?”
“Edward invited them. And they said they’d come. They expressed a wish to be groomsmen, but my bro got them upset by saying the places were already taken.”
“Do they know the story of Michael?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Very well. Thanks to the report about the trial, they saw Father, Edward, and me and memorized you and Natalia. They even memorized Daniel and Peter.”
“I guess only lazy people didn’t watch those reports,” Helene replies confidently.
“That’s right, many people discussed it for a long time,” Peter notices thoughtfully. “If you ask someone on the street about the trial, they’ll probably tell you everything.”
“Oh, no,” Terrence throws gloomily. “I don’t wanna remember that time.”
“You know, Terrence, this month was also tense,” Helene notices confidently.
“Right. We’re all tired. Morally.”
“But thank God, everything is over, and we came back to our normal life.”
“And we’re gonna renew our performances soon,” Peter replies cheerfully.
“Yeah, guys, what about your talk with George?” Raquelle asks with a slight smile. “When’s your first show after a long break?”
“We don’t know yet. George said our managers started to contact the organizations of the shows again. When they agree on something, Smith will contact us.”
“And how long do we wait?” Helene frowns slightly.
“I don’t think it will last for long,” Terrence assumes thoughtfully. “If it’s fine, we may come back on the stage in a week or two.”
“And the worldwide tour is getting closer…” Peter adds dreamily.
“But when do we expect the album?” Raquelle asks with impatience. “Having one song isn’t enough!”
“The album will be out at the end of this year or the beginning of next year,” Terrence replies confidently.
“What? So long?”
“Alas, it doesn’t depend on us. But I can surely say that there’s a high possibility of starting our first worldwide tour the next year.”
“Oh, finally, the lads told us just something!” Helene exclaims, raising her hands. “Every time we asked them, we always heard, ‘Soon! Soon! Soon!’”
“Gosh, they know everything!” Raquelle waves her hand. “They just wanna tease us! They probably know the day of their first show and when their tour starts…”
“No, girls, I swear we don’t know the day of the album release ‘cause it’s still in post-production,” Peter replies confidently. “But we’re assuring you that the album is gonna be out the next year.”
“I bet my arm!” Terrence adds confidently.
“Okay, okay, guys, we believe you,” Helene replies with a slight smile. “But we will remind you of it if we don’t hold your album in our hands in the summer of the next year.”
“If we lie, Edward will cut his hair, and I’ll dye my hair dark,” Peter says confidently. “And Terrence and Daniel will do something.”
“I’ll get very short hair or dye my hair an extreme color,” Terrence promises with his head proudly raised.
“Okay, deal,” Helene smiles slyly.
“We’ll remember it,” Raquelle threatens with her finger.
“Deal!” Peter replies confidently.
After sharing a slight smile, the friends fall into silence for two seconds. Then they pay attention to Sammy running by them as fast as a bullet and playing with the ball that jumps away further and further.
“Gosh, how does he get so much energy?” Raquelle asks with a slight smile. “He’s been running here for half an hour non-stop and hasn’t lied down yet.”
“I believe he just wanna deal with the ball,” Terrence chuckles quietly. “Look! Sammy is biting it from all sides with no regret.”
“Yeah, I feel that Sammy won’t run here for a long time ‘cause nothing is left from the ball,” Helene assumes.
“Yeah, he’ll deal with the ball and start to annoy us,” Peter chuckles quietly, still keeping his head rested on Helene’s laps and bending his legs slightly.
“But now he’s more interested in playing with that ball,” Terrence replies confidently. “He doesn’t care about your ass now.”
“He just follows the conditions of the settlement agreement. Sammy knows that I can deprive him of his treats if I don’t like something. So, he’s behaving well.”
“You deprive him of probably the best thing that he has in his life,” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
“It’s okay, it impacts him well,” Helene says confidently. “He lived without his treats for one week and became a better boy than before.”
“I mean the same!” Peter exclaims. “The result is clear!”
Helene smiles shyly and, stroking Peter’s hair, keeps watching Sammy having fun alongside the blond, Terrence, and Raquelle.
“Hey, guys…” Raquelle smiles mysteriously. “Do you know that we missed some birthdays?”
“Birthdays?” Peter frowns slightly.
“Yup. We forgot about Natalia and Anna, who celebrated their birthdays some time ago.”
“Oh, damn…” Terrence swears, sits up sharply, and looks at everybody surprisingly. “Guys… Did we forget about Natalia and Anna’s birthdays?”
“And we didn’t even congratulate any one of them?” Helene rounds her eyes, closing her mouth with her hand.
“Natalia reminded me of it yesterday,” Raquelle confesses shyly. “It started with a talk about Daniel and ended with a reminder about the forgotten birthday.”
“Listen, guys, Perkins is gonna have a birthday soon!” Peter notices cheerfully. “In one week!”
“We would’ve probably forgotten about his birthday if not for Raquelle…” Terrence assumes, scratching the back of his head.
“Gosh, guys, we did a bad thing to the girls!” Helene gets horrified, being a little shocked. “Nobody even said to them, ‘Happy birthday!’”
“Natalia said her family congratulated her, and they had a family dinner at home,” Raquelle replies quietly. “And Edward thought about it later, called her, and congratulated her verbally.”
“Great, and why did Edward tell us nothing?” Terrence resents. “Why didn’t the heck this kid say anything?”
“It’s okay, Natalia understands everything and isn’t mad at us.”
“And Anna!” Peter exclaims. “If I’m not mistaken, she had a birthday after she ended up in the hospital…”
“I believe she woke up on that day.”
“Yeah, being in the hospital on your birthday is terrible,” Helene shakes her head.
“And we were so busy with our wish to solve the problems that we didn’t even look at the calendar…” Raquelle says with sadness in her eyes, fixing her hair brushed up. “Honestly, I actually lost track of time on those days.”
“Do you think Anna’s parents wished her a happy birthday?” Terrence asks hesitantly.
“I’m not sure,” Peter shakes his head. “What happened to their daughter was more important to them. And she didn’t care about it.”
“We’ve gotta fix it, guys. We need to congratulate the girls with words and make a couple of toasts.”
“When the girls come, we’ll congratulate both of them,” Helene replies confidently. “And when everybody’s here, we can think about how to celebrate Daniel’s birthday.”
“Do you think he’ll wish to celebrate it?” Raquelle asks with sadness in her eyes. “He hardly has a wish to celebrate his birthday after everything that happened to him.”
“I dunno, Raquelle…” Peter smiles mysteriously. “I’d bet…”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s hardly as unhappy as we think.”
“Yeah, Daniel had a too good mood yesterday,” Terrence says with a mysterious smile. “He smiled a lot, joked, sang songs…”
“That’s correct!” Peter exclaims. “Perkins was kind of strange. In a good sense.”
“We didn’t see him so funny and cheerful for a long time. Besides, he definitely got enough sleep. And he doesn’t hide it.”
“And when Terrence called him at twelve o’clock, Daniel was still sleeping,” Peter adds.
“But what could happen to him?” Helene wonders.
“We don’t know, Helene,” Terrence throws his hands up. “But it’s definitely something good.”
“He didn’t say anything?”
“Alas. He’s as silent as a partisan.”
“But we’ll find out everything,” Peter says confidently. “Dan won’t get off us easily.”
“But what do you think could happen?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“We have an assumption that it has to do with Anna,” Peter replies thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Something very good. It’s the only thing that could make Daniel’s mood better.”
“Do you think she forgave him?” Helene wonders.
“Maybe,” Terrence assumes confidently. “But don’t worry. He’ll tell us everything when he comes here. Besides, there’s a chance that Perkins will also think about his birthday and decide to have a party. He had a wish to have some fun yesterday.”
“It would be great,” Helene says with a slight smile. “He’d relax, and we’d forget what we had to experience for one and a half months.”
“Yeah, but let’s wait for everybody to come, at last,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully. “Edward and Natalia haven’t shown up yet.”
“Right, our sentimental lovebirds literally forgot about us,” Helene laughs shyly.
“My bro even forgets his name next to Rochester,” Terrence chuckles.
“At least, they didn’t forget us,” Peter replies and raises himself a little, looking into the distance. “Here comes our fuzzy-haired horse. Riding his fiancée on his back.”
Everybody chuckles quietly and moves their eyes to where they can hear the rustling of grass that is getting closer. The friends listen to the sounds for a few seconds and then see Natalia and Edward coming to them. The man is really carrying his fiancée on his back, while she has her arms tightly wrapped around his neck and smiles widely with all of her twenty-two teeth.
“Hey, everybody!” Natalia exclaims funnily and cheerfully, raising her hand up.
“Hey, guys,” Edward pronounces little shyer with a slight smile.
“Hey,” everybody pronounces, while Edward comes closer to them with Natalia on his back.
“Hey, Prince Edward, did you decide to become a white horse because you didn’t manage to find it?” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“She jumped upon my back,” Edward smiles innocently. “And I rode her on my back with pleasure.”
Edward gets straight and lets Natalia stand carefully on her feet, and she holds him by the shoulders for two more seconds. Then both of them greet the others by hugging them tightly, while Sammy runs to the lovers, who have just come, with a loud bark.
“Hey, hi, Sammy,” Edward pronounces amicably.
Sammy barks two times, wagging his tail energetically, and allows Edward to scratch and pet him.
“Hey, Sammy,” Natalia says with a slight smile, getting down on her knees in front of Sammy and starting to scratch his hair. “Hi, my sweetheart. Hi.”
Sammy accepts the caress of Natalia and Edward with great pleasure, nuzzles their faces, and licks shyly the tips of their noses while the others watch them with slight smiles on their faces.
“Hey, stop being cute with Sammy,” Helene says cheerfully with a wide smile. “We want your attention, too.”
“He wanted attention – we gave it,” Natalia shrugs with an innocent smile, gets up, and sits next to the others. “It’s impossible to go by such a wonderful doggy.”
“That’s right,” Edward agrees cheerfully, petting Sammy’s head and sitting next to Natalia. “We love Sammy. As well as he loves us.”
“A little bit before we get jealous of the doggy and everyone,” Raquelle says funnily.
Sammy barks two times, coming closer to the friends.
“Hey, what had you been talking about before we came?” Natalia asks.
“About our birthdays,” Peter smiles mysteriously.
“Yeah, bro, why didn’t you remind us of Natalia’s birthday?” Terrence wonders. “We forgot about it, as well as Anna’s birthday.”
“I called the memories about it in the late evening!” Edward exclaims. “I briefly looked at the calendar and thought, ‘Damn, it’s Natalia’s birthday!’ So, I called her, apologized for forgetting it, and congratulated her.”
“I know that we all were busy and lost track of time, but still.”
“C’mon, guys, forget it,” Natalia waves her hand shyly.
“Listen, friend, we’re so sorry about not congratulating you and Anna,” Helene says guiltily.
“Don’t worry, guys. I understand it all and am mad at nobody.”
“Nevertheless, happy belated birthday. I wish you to make everything you dream about come true and get much happier.”
“Happy belated birthday!” the others repeat funnily.
Sammy barks loudly two times, as if he also wishes Natalia a happy belated birthday.
“We all love you so much,” Raquelle shrugs with a shy smile. “And we wanna wish you not to lose what’s so important to you.”
“Stay as funny and smiling as you are now,” Terrence adds amicably. “Make us happy with your good mood, and smile often.”
“Don’t make your family upset, and don’t disappoint your future hubby,” Peter says with a slight smile. “Do everything for your close people to be proud of you and not to doubt your wonderful features.”
“Oh, gosh, thank you so much, guys,” Natalia thanks shyly, putting her hands on her cheeks. “You’re the best!”
Everybody hugs Natalia tightly and kisses her amicably on the cheek. Then Edward presses her to himself with both arms and rubs his cheek against her cheek, while Sammy barks loudly multiple times to wish her something in his dog language.
“Thank you, Sammy,” Natalia says with a slight smile, bending over to Sammy and petting his head. “Thank you, my boy.”
Sammy licks Natalia’s nose shyly and keeps wagging his tail, while she pets his head with pleasure and yanks him softly by the ears.
“Maybe, it’s really too late to celebrate it, but there’s nothing bad in raising our glasses and making a couple of toasts in honor of our girls,” Terrence says cheerfully.
“But first, I suggest we wait for one more beauty,” Edward suggests. “Well… If she comes, of course…”
“Yeah, and then, Daniel will probably decide to come here,” Raquelle adds. “Though… I doubt it, of course.”
“Will he actually come?” Natalia frowns slightly, getting sharply straight.
“He said he would,” Peter shrugs. “But we don’t know how he’ll behave if Anna joins us, too.”
“Do they know about each other’s arrival?” Edward specifies.
“At least, Anna knows about Daniel,” Helene replies quietly. “The girls and I told her about it.”
“And Daniel knows about Anna from the men and me,” Peter says confidently.
“The girls and I had a talk on WhatsApp, and Anna was with us,” Natalia replies, checking out the pockets of her shorts. “We asked her if she’d come, and Seymour said she’d come with pleasure. I’ll show you…”
Natalia takes her golden smartphone, checks out something for a few seconds, and shows it to her friends, saying:
“Look, here’s her reply.”
The friends look at Natalia’s phone screen with interest and see a few messages sent by her, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna.
“Natalia: Oh, hey, Anna, the men texted us that they came up with an idea to come together in the country. Don’t ya wanna join us?”
“Helene: Join us, friend! Let’s talk, have fun, and play with Sammy… Maybe, the lads will take a guitar and play something for us…”
“Anna: Of course, I will! With pleasure! We haven’t spent time all together for ages! Though, I miss those times so badly.”
“Raquelle: Great! Then we’ll text the lads that you agreed. They asked if we should wait for you…”
“Anna: I’ll come, don’t worry. Just let me know where and when I should go.”
“Natalia: We’ll now ask our imitable gentlemen.”
“Helene: What if we go to the common chat and talk about the place and time there? Call the man there!”
The girls’ next messages are about some things that do not have to do with the meeting. However, the friends do not care about it, and Natalia is not going to let the men read the full chat, turning off her phone and putting it in her pocket.
“Oh, I’m a little worried about what’s gonna happen if Daniel and Anna come here,” Edward confesses, running his hand through his hair. “Yes, they talked well the last time, but we all may feel embarrassed because of them.”
“Yeah, they won’t surely be able to keep calm,” Peter assumes thoughtfully.
“Does someone know if they met after the Potters got arrested?” Terrence asks.
“Anna told us nothing about it,” Natalia shrugs.
“But she mentioned him a couple of times for a week and asked us for any advice about what to do,” Raquelle adds.
“The girls and I didn’t talk to her about him to not hurt her,” Helene confesses. “Anna started this talk by herself and said many times that she’d like to forgive Daniel.”
“The men and I didn’t also talk to Daniel about Anna ‘cause we didn’t want to step on his toes,” Peter replies. “And he didn’t aim to do it… He mentioned her name a couple of times, but no more.”
“But his yesterday’s behavior makes us suspicious…” Terrence says thoughtfully.
“But what was wrong about him?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“He was too funny,” Edward explains. “He sang songs, smiled a lot, and joked often… He actually looked super cheerful. It got us immediately suspicious, ‘cause he’d been gloomy and exhausted some time ago.”
“Listen, girls, didn’t you meet Anna yesterday?” Terrence asks.
“No, we didn’t,” Raquelle shakes her head. “But why? Do you think it all has to do with their relationship?”
“This is the only thing that could explain such a sudden change in Daniel’s behavior,” Peter notices. “There’s nothing else that would make him much happier than his reconciliation with Anna.”
“Why do we guess?” Natalia throws her hands up. “If something happened between him and Anna, the two will explain everything now.”
“Of course, they will!” Terrence smirks with his head proudly raised. “Daniel will. He has something to say.”
“If Perkins really said nothing about reconciling with Anna, I don’t know what I’m gonna do to him,” Edward promises. “Does he want to play a suffering man for a little bit longer to get much more attention from us?”
“But it would be a good reason to hang out not only in honor of Natalia and Anna’s past birthdays but also the reconciliation of Perkins and his red-haired beauty,” Peter notices with a mysterious smile.
Sammy sitting next to Helene and Peter, who is still lying comfortably on the grass and keeping his head rested on his sweetheart’s laps, barks loudly and happily.
“I can’t wait for these two to come…” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “Or at least one of them…”
“Don’t worry, Raquelle, they’ll tell us everything,” Edward replies confidently. “We’ll pin at least Perkins to the wall and make him confess everything. And Sammy will help us. Right, boy?”
Sammy barks confidently again, as if he says he will make Daniel speak in any way.
“I believe the fluffy is always for us,” Natalia laughs shyly, yanking Sammy by the ears softly.
“Right, he knows we always have his favorite treat,” Peter chuckles kindly.
“And he knows that we all adore petting and scratching him,” Raquelle adds with a slight smile, petting Sammy’s head.
Again, Sammy barks happily, looking at everybody amicably with his tongue out.
“I bet that William and Jeremy will surely like this fluffy guy,” Terrence assumes with a sly smile.
“So, tough guy, are you thinking about how to use him to mock me alongside those two fools?” Edward asks with a quiet chuckle.
“Did I say something like this?” Terrence throws his hands up with an innocent smile.
“Everything is written on your insolent face.”
“Here you go again…” Natalia moans tiredly.
“It’s okay, Natalia,” Peter smiles slyly. “Edward’s just nervous ‘cause William and Jeremy are gonna mock him as well as Terrence. He can’t deal with one, but here are two more.”
“Oh, yeah, Perkins, you, and these three idiots made a scapegoat!” Edward exclaims.
“I’m madly happy I’ve got so many aliases!” Terrence raises his head proudly. “So many people, who wanna make you a good boy.”
“How could you make someone good when you deserve one or two hundred hits with a whip?”
“Older people are always right and know what would be better for some non-educated rebels that pretend to be innocent angels.”
“Ah, if only some older people really gave a good example to younger folks…” Natalia sighs.
“Ha, you all must take an example from me!” Terrence exclaims confidently. “I am a perfect combination of innocence and awesomeness!”
“Oh, Terrence, shut up before I hit you with something…” Raquelle moans tiredly.
“Gosh, MacClife, we all know that you’re perfect and incredible, and we don’t dare to deny it,” Helene says confidently. “But you don’t need to remind us of it all the time.”
“Haven’t you understood that he’s just asking for compliments?” Peter wonders. “He craws them as much as Sammy craws caress and favorite food.”
Sammy barks two times, looking at everybody slowly.
“I wonder, is my brother gonna spend a lot of money on vitamins and some drugs that can slow the aging process when he’s old?” Edward asks with a quiet chuckle. “I think Terrence looks regularly in the mirror and prays that he doesn’t find white hair and wrinkles. If he finds at least one sign of aging, he’ll surely faint.”
“You’ll probably faint when you come to the mirror someday and see your bald head,” Terrence assumes with a slight smile.
“I look much better at the age of twenty-six than you do at the age of twenty-eight.”
“You were a little, annoying boy, and you will always be the one. And I will be getting hotter, sexier, and more mature. Age doesn’t make me worse at all.”
Sammy barks confidently two times, closely listening to the friends’ talk.
“Hey, the king of beauty chosen by anyone, stop working your tongue and tell us when the album of your band is finally out,” Natalia says confidently.
“At the end of the year, Natalia,” Edward replies with a slight smile. “Or at the beginning of the next year. Wait for a while. Soon, we will be listening to the album and deciding which songs will be our favorites.”
“Would you make an exclusion for us and play a short snippet of any of your songs?” Helene suggests with pity in her eyes.
“Sorry, sweetie, but the lads and I wanna keep an intrigue,” Peter gets upset quietly.
“You love torturing us…” Raquelle pours. “You wanna make us wait for a few more months.”
“C’mon, girls, we promised that if our words were a lie, Edward would cut his hair,” Terrence replies with a mysterious smile.
“What?” Edward resents. “Me? Cut my hair?”
“You told the lads and me that you’d be ready to sacrifice your hair if something got wrong.”
“It’s a lie! I didn’t say it!”
“You did, MacClife,” Peter smiles slyly.
“Don’t listen to them, girls! They’re just idiots!”
“Do we ask George to confirm it? You said yesterday with his pretense!”
“I will not cut off my hair and have a crew cut hair!” Edward says confidently.
“Calm down, bro, the lads and I will also do some experiments with our hair,” Terrence promises confidently. “Dye our hair some extreme colors.”
“Don’t dare to touch my hair, idiots!” Edward threatens with a finger. “If you cut off at least one millimeter, I’ll cut your heads off!”
“You’ve gotta keep your promises, buddy,” Peter says confidently. “Or at least watch your mouth and long tongue.”
“However, I won’t have to chop off my hair ‘cause we don’t lie about the album release,” Edward says confidently. “You can keep dreaming of seeing me bald or with crew-cut hair.”
“Jer and Will were right when they said you always cared about your hair. So much that you had the worst fringe ever until something hit you on your head, and you finally got rid of the shit that you had on your head.”
“Yeah, he probably drowned a whole hair salon with tears when hair stylists made him look pretty,” Terrence laughs. “Every single millimeter led to pain in his heart.”
When Terrence shows the face of a crying person, Edward takes the ball, which Sammy played with for a long time, and throws it strongly at his brother, who manages to turn around sharply.
“C’mon, stop it…” Raquelle says tiredly.
“Everybody hurts me…” Edward shows sadness on his face and sniffs falsely. “Always! Uh-h-h-h…”
“Aw, come to me, sweetheart…” Natalia pronounces softly. “Lemme comfort you…”
Natalia acting like a loving and caring mother hugs Edward tenderly, presses him to herself, caresses his head softly, and kisses the top of his head cutely. While he puts his head on her shoulder and keeps his arms wrapped around her waist with a cute smile.
“Ha, does nobody hurt me?” Terrence wonders. “Everyone annoys me!”
“Gosh, Terrence, why do you hurt Edward?” Natalia asks gloomily, caressing Edward’s cheek. “You can’t live a day without mocking him!”
“I’m mocking him?” Terrence points at himself with an innocent smile. “Come on, Natalia! How I would dare! I let this rutrag do much more than all of you!”
“Didn’t your parents tell you that you should take care of younger people?”
“Don’t I take care of him?”
“You’d be first in the line to throw a cake at him or push him into the water,” Helene says confidently.
“And Edward can hold me underwater, not letting me come up! While I suffer from a lack of air!”
“It’s one of the most innocent things that you can do to me,” Edward says.
“Oh, gosh…” Helene exhales sharply.
“Thank God, you didn’t grow up together!” Raquelle adds confidently. “Otherwise, one of you wouldn’t have lived until today.”
“Hey, stop thinking about me as if I’m a monster!” Terrence wonders. “Me mocking Edward, my beloved younger brother? Never! Terrence MacClife always dreamed of a brother, and he takes care of his gift with all his heart.”
“But Terrence MacClife wouldn’t be Terrence MacClife if he didn’t mock his younger brother,” Natalia replies confidently.
“And mentioned how handsome he is for the millionth time,” Edward adds with a quiet chuckle, stepping back from Natalia.
“You all know that it’s true and don’t dare to argue with me,” Terrence replies with his head proudly raised.
“We know it, MacClife, we know,” Raquelle says tiredly, clapping Terrence on the shoulder. “Settle down!”
“Guys, come on!” Terrence presses Edward to himself with one easy movement, hugs him amicably, and claps him on the head with a wide smile. “I cannot imagine my life without this brainless donkey! Without my best friend, whom I love more than all of you!”
“But…” Edward replies, getting choked because Terrence squeezes his neck at some moment. “Don’t strangle him from happiness… I know… You’ve got no brain. But I still wanna live.”
“Sorry, bro, sorry.” Terrence weakens his grip and caresses Edward’s head. “I didn’t want it.”
When Terrence ruffles Edward’s hair, the guy steps back and puts his hair in order quickly, while the girls look at each other and laugh quietly, and Sammy watches them with interest.
“Oh, God, guys…” Helene pronounces with a slight smile. “Being bored with you is impossible.”
“Yeah, the lads always know how to make our mood better,” Natalia notices shyly.
Sammy agrees with Peter and barks cheerfully, while the girls smile shyly.
“Oh, Sammy, you surely have no reason to be sad,” Raquelle notices cheerfully. “The important thing for you is that you get fed and petted and play with someone.”
Sammy barks two times again and starts showing off, rolling on the grass, running after his tail, or jumping funnily.
“Oh, Samuel…” Helene laughs shyly.
Sammy gets up, shakes the dirt off his hair, and barks again, making everybody laugh quietly and shake their heads.
“Oh, Sammy’s always ready to play and have fun,” Edward notices funnily. “And now he definitely doesn’t mind playing with us and torturing his ball.”
“Play with him, then,” Terrence suggests with a sly smile. “So, you shake up and lose the weight that you gained yesterday when you decided to order a lot of food at the café and ate a big piece of the cake cooked by Mother.”
“Maybe, you will get rid of your fat? Your cheeks became so big! And your hips got bigger!”
“Keep your mouth shut, little rag, or I will cut it.”
“That’s not good, Terrence, not good. If you don’t keep your shape, girls will lose interest in you and find another idol,” Edward smiles slyly. “Example, me. The one, who would be much hotter, sexier, and slimmer than you.”
“I’d like to look at the idiot, who called you like this.”
“I’d look at the idiot, who gave you the title of the sexiest man on the planet.”
“Listen, kid, shut up! I’m done with you.”
“Oh, no, I am done with you!”
“You annoy me like nobody else does.”
“You’ve got a talent for playing on my nerves by doing nothing.”
Edward notices that the keys from Terrence’s car get out of the pocket of his short pants. He chooses a good moment with a sly smile, takes them sharply, and shakes them in front of his brother’s face, deciding to tease him:
“Oops, what is that? Maybe, the keys from your iron horse?”
“Hey, give it to me!” Terrence exclaims and tries to take his keys from Edward. “Give me, I said!”
“Get off, pale-faced!” Edward throws, shaking the keys in front of Terrence with a wide, sly smile.
“Did you hear what I said? Give me the keys to my car now!”
“What if I go to drive your car?” Edward asks with a mysterious smile, wrapping the keyholder around his finger. “Borrow your horse for one day or two and drive it around the whole city. Ride with my friends and fiancée… M-m-m…”
“You have your own car and drive it. I will not give you mine.”
“Ah, yeah, right, I’ve got a new baby, with which your old iron horse can’t be compared. Which could only kick a low-power car that was made in the 90s.”
“Just like your previous old baby?”
“It was very old, but it was loyal to me for a long time.”
“Okay, kid, stop palavering me,” Terrence tries to take the keys from Edward again. “Give me the keys to my car now.”
“Hey, hey, not so fast, old man.” Edward sharply puts his hand with the keys behind his back. “You’re kind of too impatient…”
“I swear I will not be shy of the girl and grab my belt! Kick your ass, so that you can’t sit!”
“Try then…”
When Terrence unsuccessfully tries to take his keys again, Edward gets up sharply and runs aside.
“Hey, where are you going?” Terrence resents.
“I’ll get into your old baby,” Edward says thoughtfully, wrapping the keys around his finger. “I truly hope it will accept me in its hugs.”
“Hey, come here! Come here, idiot! You hear me! Where are you the fuck going?”
“Catch me if you can!” Edward chuckles loudly. “Warm up your legs while you can run!”
Terrence growling irritably has nothing but to get up and run after Edward. Sammy likes the idea of running and joins the brothers with pleasure, having a lot of fun and barking funnily, while one runs after another and vice versa.
“Oh, gosh, who am I gonna get married to?” Raquelle moans tiredly.
“And who I’m going to…” Natalia shakes her head.
“These two must not stay together,” Helene chuckles kindly. “They may start arguing about who’s the best, fight for the last piece of cake, or run after each other like children…”
“C’mon, girls, it’s funny…” Peter replies funnily. “I love watching them irritate each other!”
“There has been no day when the MacClifes communicated as adult men.”
“Oh, nope, they get sick of being good boys that get along well.”
“Whatever is done is for the best,” Raquelle says confidently. “If Edward and Terrence had lived together, they would’ve killed each other in childhood.”
“Edward tolerated the mockeries of his brothers on the father in childhood,” Natalia replies. “But if Terrence had also lived with them, he would've hated them.”
“Oh, they annoyed Edward and became Terrence’s friends yesterday,” Peter smiles slyly.
“What do you mean, ‘they annoyed?’”
“Edward didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. What should he have said?”
“Before we met George, the lads and I had met two more brothers of the MacClifes.”
“Really? Those, who are Jeremy and William?”
“They are. And yeah, they’re cool guys! We all laughed a lot with them.”
“Wow… But MacClife is silent like a partisan…”
“By the way, he also invited them to the wedding,” Helene confesses. “Edward said it. Besides, Terrence and he gave the address of his father, so they could visit him at any time.”
“Good,” Natalia smiles slightly. “Mr. MacClife would be very glad to see his youngest sons. He doesn’t hope that he’ll get a chance to meet them again.”
“Yeah, he’s gonna speak not only to his older children,” Raquelle nods with a slight smile.
Raquelle glances aside and sees Terrence catching Edward quickly enough, twisting his arms around the back, and trying to take the keys by force, while the guy tries to break free in any way and refuses to weaken his hand with the thing that his brother needs. At some moment, the men start a funny fight, during which they try to ruffle each other’s hair, share a clap on the head, and use a chokehold from behind or from the side, thrilling with loud laughter.
“Who went absolutely nuts…” Raquelle sighs heavily.
“C’mon, idiots, stop!” Natalia exclaims loudly. “Sit quietly for at least five minutes!”
“You’re adult men, but you act like children or teenagers,” Helene adds.
“Leave them, sweet girls,” Peter advises with a sly smile, hugging Helene and Natalia. “Let the boys have some fun.”
“Listen, Peter, maybe, you will go to calm them down?” Raquelle suggests. “Do something!”
“C’mon, they’re gonna calm down soon. Let them get a little tired.”
“Get tired?” Natalia wonders. “Those two would argue even if they barely crept on their knees!”
“Anyway, it’s their business. I don’t have to do with it.”
“So, aren’t you gonna end it?” Raquelle wonders.
“I feel good sitting here. With my beloved girlfriend and her charming friends.”
“Oh, Rose, you’re a hooligan!” Helene smiles mysteriously and tickles Peter’s hip, while he doubles over slightly. “You better calm them down! But instead, you’re sitting, watching them, and laughing.”
“Let Sammy calm them down. But I wanna lie here and warm myself under the sun. Surrounded by beauty.”
Peter puts his head on Helene’s laps with a slight smile and bends his legs slightly at his knees. While the girl looks at Raquelle and Natalia, along with whom she shakes her head and shrugs. Meanwhile, Terrence and Edward really get sick of fighting with each other at some moment. While Sammy is running around them and wagging his tail with a loud bark, the brothers try to catch their breath and put their hair in order somehow.
“Oh, I was sitting with the guys so well,” Terrence complains, getting his hair done. “Before you came…”
“Nothing will happen to you if you run a couple of miles,” Edward replies with a little heavy breath, fixing his t-shirt, and running his hand over his hair.
“Anyway, there’s one positive moment about you being so active. If you were sitting on the sofa and eating sweet food all the time, you’d have to leave your home in a truck.”
“A bus wouldn’t be enough for you!”
“Shut up, asshole!”
“Sorry, dude, but I say what I think about. Not everyone would find the courage to tell you these things so openly.”
“Okay. If you’re so honest, I will also say what I think. I mean, I will do something that will make you ashamed.”
“What do you the fuck want?”
“You know what I mean.”
Terrence turns around with a sly smile and wants to come to the others, but Edward grabs him tightly under his arm and stares at him gloomily.
“Hey, I hope you and Rose have brains not to tell the girls about my pink hair?” Edward asks with a threat in his voice.
“We barely held ourselves down,” Terrence smiles innocently. “Though, I madly wanna cheer them up. And show them the photo of the young, pretty boy, who looked so-o-o good with that gorgeous shade of pink.”
“Don’t dare to open your mouth!” Edward threatens with a finger. “Or you’re gonna regret it.”
“How? Will I get a couple of claps on my head? Or will you laugh at me again?”
“I am not kidding, pale-faced! Hearing that the girls mock me and call me a faggot would be too much. I am done with Rose, Perkins, you, and those two brainless idiots.”
“They will not mock you! They’ll just laugh with us! And appreciate the color Jer and Will picked up!”
“Did you get what I said? Or do I say it again? If your brain left the chat!”
“Okay, okay, as you want,” Terrence raises his hands. “We will say nothing! Why are you so wild?”
“I said everything, Terrence.” Edward puts his fist against Terrence’s nose. “If you tell the girls about the shame that still makes me want to die, you’ll have to pay a lot.”
“C’mon, pink-haired horse, relax,” Terrence says quietly, clapping Edward on his shoulders. “I promise the girls will not hear it. At least, from us.”
“My pan is ready to kiss your face. Don’t forget it, please.”
Sammy barks quietly, getting the attention of Edward and Terrence immediately. And two seconds later, MacClife, Sr., calls the memories about the keys and reaches out his hand when he says quietly:
“Okay, save jokes for later. Now, give me the keys.”
“Keys?” Edward rounds his eyes with an innocent smile. “What keys?”
“Which you stole from me insolently.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“If you don’t put the keys on my palm, your face will kiss the ground.”
“I don’t have your keys!” Edward exclaims with a kind chuckle. “The pockets on your pants are leaky!”
“Do I search you? Check all your pockets?”
“You better check yours often,” Edward slowly starts to go backward from Terrence.
“Don’t irritate me, kid,” Terrence throws gloomily, going on Edward. “Give me the keys now!”
“If you hurt me, I shall complain to our parents!”
“I shall do, too. Tell them what a mean piggy you are.”
“We’ll see whom they’re gonna believe.”
“I repeat for the last time, give me the keys!”
“Fuck, Terrence, why do you annoy me?”
“Alright, kid, I will get your feathers out now!”
Terrence gives a start sharply and runs to Edward, who runs aside immediately with a contagious laugh.
“Come here, rutrag! Who I the fuck said!”
“Get off me!” Edward throws funnily.
“Hey, little rag, haven’t you gotten your ass kicked for ages?” Terrence chuckles loudly.
“Help me! SOS!”
Edward runs quickly to where Peter, Helene, Raquelle, and Natalia are sitting. They have to stop their talk when MacClife, Jr., runs to them, hides behind Rochester and Cameron, and hugs both of them around the shoulders.
“Girls, save me!” Edward jabs with a kind chuckle. “He’s hurting me again! Help me, beauties! You’re my last hope!”
“Come here now!” Terrence exclaims after running here. “C’mon, bring your fat ass here! Stop hiding behind the girls!”
“Gosh, calm the hell down,” Natalia moans tiredly, while Edward standing behind her shows a funny and silly face to Terrence. “What got into your heads today? Did you get overheated under the sun?”
“Tell this rugrat to give me the keys that he stole from me!”
“The keys from your old baby?” Edward specifies funnily. “Maybe, you will buy a new car? Stop driving your old thing! You’re pretending to be sassy! So, be the one! Buy a new cool car!”
“Stop working your long tongue!” Terrence exclaims. “Give me the keys now!”
“Calm down, guys…” Raquelle says tiredly. “Why do you act like children?”
“I count to three, brother. If you don’t give me the keys after I say ‘three,’ you’ll regret it. One… Two… Th…”
“Okay, okay, calm down!” Edward jabs with both hands raised. “I’m giving your iron horse to you!”
Edward takes the keys from one of his pockets and throws them to Terrence, who catches them easily and smiles slightly, raising his head proudly.
“Much better,” Terrence says confidently, putting the keys in his pocket. “If your hands touch my stuff again, I will cut them.”
“If I see yours near my stuff, I will be slowly cutting your fingers,” Edward replies cheerfully.
While Helene, Natalia, and Raquelle shake their heads, put their hands on their foreheads, or close half of their faces with them, Sammy runs to the others and barks loudly two times.
“That’s right, Sammy,” Helene says thoughtfully. “These two are too excited today.”
“We can’t avoid it when we spend time all together,” Raquelle adds confidently.
“Anyway, I even missed these moments,” Natalia notices with a slight smile. “Of course, the lads act like idiots, but we never feel bored with them.”
Sammy barks confidently two times.
“Relax, girls, now we have no reason to worry,” Edward says funnily and sits next to Natalia, whom he hugs around the shoulders.
“One of the things we may worry about in the future is whether our band gets an award in a nomination,” Terrence adds confidently, sitting comfortably next to Raquelle.
“Oh, with such talents as yours, your competitors will get nothing,” Raquelle assumes with her head proudly raised.
“You’ll have to free a shelf for your many awards,” Natalia adds funnily. “Or maybe, two or three!”
“Or a whole room,” Helene laughs shyly.
Sammy barks loudly, while everybody laughs quietly and says nothing for two seconds as they just look around.
“Listen, Daniel and Anna are kind of late…” Raquelle notices thoughtfully.
“Maybe, one of them changed their mind?” Natalia assumes. “For example, Anna. She knows that Daniel is gonna be with us. But she doesn’t wanna see him.”
“She would’ve told us that she wouldn’t come,” Terrence notices confidently.
“Okay, but where’s Daniel handing around?” Edward wonders. “Did he sleep through everything, again? Hasn’t he closed his eyes?”
“Oh, he will come! That guy will have no choice.”
“Yeah, when he has someone to play babies with,” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
Sammy barks quietly, trying to say something to the others, while Edward frowns slightly and looks at everybody.
“Hey, guys, why did Rose become silent?” Edward asks thoughtfully. “We don’t hear or see him.”
“Indeed,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “Pete, are you okay?”
But Peter does not give an answer, getting warm under the sun, closing his eyes, and folding his hands on his stomach as he lies on Helene’s laps.
“Okay,” Terrence chuckles quietly. “The blond decided to fall asleep.”
“Yeah, the war with the cats and their owner takes a lot of energy,” Edward replies thoughtfully with a slight smile. “So, the guy got exhausted.”
“Yeah, he’d better sleep under the sun than deal with the brothers, who can’t live a day without funny fights and long arguments,” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“Rose! C’mon, wake up!”
“Hey, Sammy!” Terrence exclaims. “Put everything in order!”
Sammy barks confidently, comes to Peter, gets over him, and licks his nose shyly. He winces immediately and moans tiredly, turning his face aside.
“Sammy…” Peter pronounces slowly. “Sammy, get off… Get off, I said.”
“Stop sleeping, Rose!” Terrence orders. “We see you're warming under the sun on Helene’s laps.”
“I’m not sleeping! I just closed my eyes. To relax with the charming beauties while you and your brother were sorting out your relationship for the billionth time.”
“C’mon, blond, get up!” Edward says cheerfully, clapping Peter on the shoulder.
“You will sleep at home!” Terrence exclaims.
“Oh, get off me, boneheads,” Peter moans tiredly. “Lemme lie quietly.
Sammy licks Peter’s nose again and nuzzles it into his face much harder.
“Okay, okay, Sammy, okay,” Peter sighs disappointedly. “I’m awake! Okay, stop licking me. Sammy! Stop! No! Samuel, the fuck!”
Even if Peter is not really going to sleep, Sammy annoys him until the blond sits up, running his hands over his face.
“Okay, okay, I’m sitting,” Peter says confidently. “Are you happy now? Or do you want something else?”
Sammy barks confidently two times and leaves Peter alone, wagging his tail amicably.
“It’s much better,” Edward says with a slight smile as he pets Sammy’s head. “Thanks for helping, Sammy. You’re just a gem!”
Again, Sammy barks as if he says, “No problem, buddy! Ask me if you need something!”
“So what, MacClifes, did you finish it?” Peter asks.
“Yup, my bro gave my keys to me, after all,” Terrence nods confidently with a sly smile.
“Okay, I won’t steal his old lady today,” Edward says thoughtfully.
“We’ll see how long your conciliation agreement will last,” Raquelle chuckles shyly.
“Until the first piece of their mother’s cake,” Natalia laughs quietly.
“Until just one hit on the wish to be sassier,” Helene says confidently.
“We don’t have to argue,” Terrence replies with his head proudly raised. “It’s clear. I’m the sassiest, most attractive, hottest, and sexiest one. And I always get the best, most delicious, and biggest piece.”
“No, guys, you all know that older people should give up on younger ones,” Edward says confidently. “No matter what it is: the status of the most irresistible guy or a chance to eat a big piece of a chocolate cake.”
“Younger people get something only when they behave well. Some insolent and mean rutrags must get multiple kicks on the ass every day, so they don’t show off too much and pretend to be nobody the hell knows who.”
“Doesn't it have to do with older people?”
“It has to do with you, little bonehead.”
“Oh, God, take them far from each other,” Natalia moans tiredly. “Or it will never end.”
Sammy barks loudly and confidently, while everybody laughs quietly and smiles. And a little later, Peter stroking down his hair looks around quickly and frowns slightly.
“Hey, hasn’t Perkins shown up yet?” Peter wonders.
“Alas, no,” Raquelle throws her hands up.
“And Anna is not here…” Helene replies thoughtfully.
“Yeah…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully. “Are they really so afraid to be in the same place?”
“I think so…” Edward exhales sharply.
“Let’s wait for a while, and then we can call both of them,” Raquelle says quietly.
“Maybe, we should call now?” Terrence suggests.
“No, let’s really wait,” Helene replies confidently. “Warm ourselves up under the sun a little!”
Sammy barks quietly, grabs the ball that he played with some time ago with his teeth, and looks at everybody as if he says, “So, while we’re waiting for Daniel and Anna, you can play with me.”
“As I understand, Sammy suggests we play with him,” Natalia assumes with a slight smile.
“Then let the men play with him,” Helene smiles slyly. “While we, the girls, warm under the sun and watch them.”
“Great idea!” Raquelle agrees cheerfully. “Since they’re too excited today and full of energy, let them spend it on good things.”
“Erm, I don’t kind of wanna run…” Terrence says tiredly, doing the knuckle-cracking. “Let my bro and the blond run with Sammy. It won’t do bad things to your health.”
“Erm, you know, I’m also a little tired…” Edward says thoughtfully, turning his head on different sides and stretching himself out nicely. “My bro got me exhausted…”
“And I don’t wanna get up…” Peter says thoughtfully, stroking down his hair. “I’m sitting here so well…”
Sammy starts whining with pity in his eyes, as if he begs at least someone to play with him.
“Hey, play with the doggy!” Raquelle exclaims. “Look how much he wants it!”
“Yeah, instead of kicking each other’s asses, you better run with the doggy,” Natalia agrees confidently.
“C’mon, pretty boys, get up,” Helene encourages funnily. “Sammy’s waiting for you.”
“Maybe, we prefer sitting next to our girls and embracing them,” Terrence replies with a slight smile, pressing Raquelle close to himself and kissing her cutely on the top of her head. “Maybe, we don’t wanna leave you alone!”
“Yes, how can we leave such beautiful girls alone?” Edward wonders, embracing Natalia with both arms and a slight smile.
Sammy puts the ball on the ground and starts to whine with greater pity, looking at everybody as if he needs to play with someone so badly.
“Sammy, we have a whole day ahead,” Peter says confidently, hugging Helene tightly and caressing her head. “We’ll have time to play, run, and have fun thousands of times.”
But Sammy insists on his wish to play with someone right now and barks loudly multiple times.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll undoubtedly play with you,” Helene promises with a slight smile, petting Sammy’s head. “We won’t leave you without attention.”
A few seconds later, everybody hears some sounds, to which only Sammy reacts, turning his head to the source and listening to them closely. Then the dog starts barking loudly and wagging his tail energetically, as if he is madly happy with something.
“Sammy, these are cars that go by here,” Helene says quietly. “Don’t be afraid.”
Sammy barks happily two or three times, looking at everybody. Then he sees that one of Peter’s wristbands is barely fastened, comes to the blond quietly, pulls the wristband on himself with his teeth, and runs aside.
“My wristband!” Peter resents. “Sammy! Sammy, give me the wristband now! Do you want to tear one more?”
Sammy barks funnily, runs two meters aside, and turns on Peter.
“Where are you going?” Peter wonders. “Come back now! Sammy! Come to me! Did you come back to your old ways again? Hey! Come here! Come here, I said! Samuel!”
Because Sammy decides to run far away with the wristband in his teeth, Peter gets up sharply with an irritated growl and runs after him, often calling him by his name and asking him to stop. While the others watch the blond, look at each other with slight smiles, and start talking about something.
Meanwhile, Sammy runs far from them with the wristband in his teeth, stopping and looking back at times. But at some moment, the doggy throws it on the ground and loses interest in it because he sees Daniel and Anna coming here and holding each other’s hands. The retriever barks loudly multiple times and runs quickly to the lovers, who are shining with happiness and do not hide their shy smiles.
“Look, that’s Sammy!” Anna exclaims, pointing at Sammy.
When the happy Sammy wagging his tail amicably runs to Daniel and Anna, the girl squats down and pets the dog’s head.
“Sammy, hi!” Anna greets with a slight smile. “Hi, my sweetheart. Hey… It’s been a while since we met.”
“Hey, Sammy, hi!” Daniel greets with a wide smile, scratching Sammy’s hair. “Hey.”
“You’re so happy to see us,” Anna notices amicably. “Did you miss us?”
Sammy barks confidently, starting to wag his tail much more energetically.
“Hey, why doesn’t anyone meet us with loud applause?” Daniel asks. “I thought the guys would be glad to see us, but you’re alone.”
“Moreover, there’s a good piece of news that they’re gonna be happy with,” Anna adds with a slight smile.
Sammy looks questioningly at Anna and Daniel, turning his head to different sides.
“You can be the first one to be happy for us, fluffy,” Daniel says with a slight smile. “Anna and I are together again.”
“It’s true, Sammy,” Anna confirms with a wide smile. “We’ve reconciled!”
Acting like he understands something, Sammy starts to bark happily and jump from one side to another.
“So, are you gonna congratulate us?” Daniel throws his hands up. “Or let’s do it without tenderness?”
Sammy barks two times and nuzzles Anna’s cheek with his nose as if he is kissing her.
“Thank you, sweetie, thank you,” Anna smiles shyly, petting Sammy’s head and kissing him cutely on the nose. “We know you’re happy for us.”
Sammy stands on his hind paws and reaches for Daniel’s face to lick his nose shyly.
“Thanks, buddy, thanks,” Daniel thanks with a shy laugh, yanking Sammy softly by the ears. “I know you dreamed of it not less than my friends did.”
Sammy sits down and, looking at the lovers amicably, barks loudly to congratulate them on their reconciliation, while Anna gets up with Daniel’s help and presses herself cutely to him with a slight smile on her face.
“Aw, Sammy…” Anna shows tender feelings.
“It seems like you’re much happier with our reconciliation than everybody else,” Daniel laughs shyly. “While the guys are lying under the sun, you decided to meet us.”
Sammy stands on his paws and jumps multiple times from one side to another with a happy bark, making Anna and Daniel laugh shyly. Then they give the doggy a little bit of caress, while the dog wags his tail energetically and looks at them with shining eyes, not stopping to admire their – finally – happy looks and true smiles. And some time later, Peter runs here, making the lovers pay attention to him with his loud, unhappy voice:
“Sammy! Give me the wristband now!”
When Peter sees his wristband lying on the ground, he takes it and yanks Sammy by his ears when he says:
“Hey, how do you call it? Huh? How will you explain it?”
Sammy looks amicably at Peter with his tongue out, wagging his tail energetically. The blond exhales sharply, throws a gloomy look aside, and notices Daniel and Anna, not caring about them being close to each other.
“Oh, hey, guys,” Peter waves his hand with a slight smile. “This little monster almost tore my wristband apart. He’s torn one, and he wanna do this to another.”
Peter moves his eyes to Sammy and shakes the wristband in front of his nose when he says:
“Why the heck did you make me run after you so far? I was sitting under the sun along with the guys so well, but you began to feel kind of bored!” Peter chuckles quietly. “When you wanna play, you hang on necks. But when you’ve gotta go home, you pretend to be a dying lake and ask someone to take you in their arms like a baby. Though, I don’t feel comfortable carrying a thirty-kilogram pet!”
Sammy barks quietly, wagging his tail much more energetically.
“Samuel, who am I saying all of it to?” Peter resents. “Don’t pretend that you’re a soft, inanimate toy collecting dust on the sofa!”
“So, buddy, did your conciliation agreement with Sammy only last for two days?” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“I think so,” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “It’s like I’m talking to the wall!”
“Or Sammy decided that you were supposed to meet us,” Anna assumes with a slight smile.
“Oh, forget it! Oh… Hi again, by the way! Didn’t greet well.”
Still noticing nothing interesting, Peter hugs Anna and Daniel and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek with the girl and a clap on the shoulder with the man.
“You’re late, guys,” Peter notices funnily. “We wanted to call you and find out whether you’d come here.”
“As you see, we’ve come,” Daniel replies with a slight smile.
“Then the MacClifes and I would’ve annoyed you, and the girls would’ve annoyed Anna.”
“Hey, is everybody here?” Anna specifies. “Or hasn’t someone come yet?”
“Everybody’s here. We were waiting for you two.”
“Great!” Daniel exclaims. “Then let’s go to our gang!”
“Yeah, let’s go! The guys are waiting for ya. Sammy, follow me!”
Peter calls Sammy with a gesture and turns around, while Daniel and Anna look at each other and chuckle quietly. But two seconds later, the blond stops sharply and, rounding his eyes, shakes, and gets frozen like a column.
“Hey, stop!” Peter exclaims, turns on Daniel and Anna sharply, and, frowning slightly, looks closely at the two, their locked fingers, and their mysterious smiles. “I didn’t get it… You… Did you… Come here… Together? Holding each other’s hands?”
“Yes, Rose, bingo!” Daniel claps his hands with a quiet laugh. “Finally, you’ve noticed it! And you say I’m a slowpoke, who understands everything slowly.”
“Yeah, blond, you really surprise me,” Anna adds.
“Erm, but…” Peter stutters and glances at Sammy sitting next to him and looking at him happily. “I… Sammy… Do you… See what I see? Or is getting too much vitamin D bad for me?”
Sammy barks loudly two times.
“He doubts…” Daniel addresses Anna.
“Erm…” Peter stutters, not being able to connect words into a sentence for two seconds. “But…”
“Hey! Work your brains! The dog understood everything, but you decided to play a stupid blonde girl.”
“Damn, guys…” Peter pronounces hesitantly. “Are you… Together?”
“Yup, together,” Anna confirms with a slight smile.
“And I hope we will not break up anymore,” Daniel adds with a shy smile and hugs Anna around the waist, while she looks at him with a wide smile.
At first, Peter opens his mouth in surprise, but then he smiles widely and makes a quiet whoop.
“A-a-a-a, guys!” Peter yells with delight, closing his mouth with both hands for a second. “Did you really reconcile?”
“We did, buddy,” Daniel chuckles quietly. “And we’re ready to accept congratulations from our best friends.”
“But… When did you do it? When did you reconcile?”
“The day before yesterday,” Anna replies with a slight smile, pressing herself to Daniel cutely.
“The day before yesterday?”
“I just realized I couldn’t live without this man. And after thinking a lot, I found the courage to forgive him and give him one more chance.”
“Wait… I think I got it all…” Peter thinks for a second and points at Daniel with a sly smile. “That’s why you were so funny yesterday!”
“Yeah, I was,” Daniel throws his hands up with a mysterious smile. “It’s true.”
“Hey, why didn’t you the hell tell us anything?” Peter claps Daniel on the shoulder. “We asked you what was wrong, but you just smiled and were silent!”
“I wanted to tell you about it today!”
“You didn’t even say anything to me! Me, the man you’ve known for five years!”
“Sorry, Pete. Let’s think that I just wanted to keep an intrigue.”
“As I understand, don’t the girls also know about you yet? Right, Anna?”
“Right, I didn’t tell them,” Anna shakes her head with a mysterious smile.
“So, everything’s getting clear. Of course, we suspected that something happened between you, but now here’s the confirmation.”
“And now I can tell the whole world about it,” Daniel replies with a much wider smile. “Anna and I are together again!”
“Yeah!” Anna shrugs with a shy smile.
Sammy barks happily two times, wagging his tail amicably and looking at the three of them.
“What was the meaning of saying nothing?” Peter wonders, putting his hands on his hips. “We were worried that you were in a fight… But you reconcile secretly from us!”
“You better be happy for us, buddy,” Anna says shyly with a slight smile.
“I am happy!” Peter exclaims with a wide smile. “I’m really very happy for you! Happy that you’re together!”
“If you said you weren't, I wouldn’t believe you,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“I’m gonna be honest: I dreamed of your reconciliation and impatiently waited for the day it would happen. And it’s finally come!”
Sammy barks confidently two times.
“Sammy dreamed of it, too,” Peter adds.
“The dream of you and us has come true,” Daniel replies with a wide smile, hugging Anna around the shoulders. “Sadly, we can’t avoid the bad days. But the most important thing is that we’re together.”
“What did we tell you, stupid head?” Peter knocks at Daniel’s forehead with a fist. “Huh, Perkins? You’ve tried to find excuses so many times: we’ll see it, okay, let things happen as they want, don’t comfort yourself with hopes, and blah-blah-blah-blah.”
“I just wanted to accept any twist of events with dignity. As they say, hope for the best, but get ready for the worst.”
“Of course, it’s right, but everything is fine now.”
“It’s gonna be cool, blond! The happiness on my face will be real.”
“Oh, damn, you’re together again!” Peter exclaims happily, hugs Daniel tightly, and claps him on the back with a wide smile. “Congrats, Daniel! Congrats, buddy!”
“Thank you so much, Peter!” Daniel thanks. “Thanks for everything. You’re the best!”
“Nice to hear it.”
After clapping each other on the back the last time, Daniel and Peter step away, while Anna watches them with a shy smile, sometimes glancing at Sammy sitting next to her with his tongue out.
“Remember, Perkins, you won’t have another chance,” Peter says confidently. “If you miss what you barely got back, you’ll lose it forever.”
“No, blond, c’mon!” Daniel raises his hands with a wide smile. “I’d bet my arm if I made the same mistake again.”
“We’re watching you, Perkins. Very closely. And we will not let you make more mistakes.”
“I got it, I got it! It’s gonna be okay.”
“Okay, okay, I believe you. Congrats again.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Daniel and Peter take each other in another strong hug again with wide smiles, share a clap on the back, and step away two seconds later. While Perkins scratches the hair of Sammy pressing himself to him, Rose moves his eyes to Anna and comes closer to her.
“I’m happy you’ve made the right choice,” Peter says amicably with a slight smile. “The choice you won’t be disappointed in.”
“If I’d known that this decision would disappoint me, I wouldn’t have let Daniel know that I wanted to be with him,” Anna smiles shyly. “I’m sure that he will not disappoint me and will always be by my side.”
“He will, don’t doubt it. If you have problems, you can always count on his help and support. Just like all of us. You can count on all of us.”
“Now I will not dare to doubt that I’m surrounded by those, whom I must appreciate.”
“We will not let anyone hurt you.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Anna looks aside for a second and looks at Peter guiltily. “Hey… Forgive me for trying to make you a liar. And make everybody sure that you lied when you said you saw me with Julian. It was a bad act of mine. Besides, we all know that you never lie and prefer to tell us the truth, no matter what it is.”
“It’s okay, Anna,” Peter replies softly with a slight smile, taking Anna by the shoulders and caressing them. “I didn’t even think of being mad at you.”
“Aren’t you really mad?”
“No, darling, don’t think about it. I understand you.”
“I’m really ashamed of slandering you.”
“Please, Anna, don’t be.”
“You’re my friend, and I shouldn't have done it to you. I didn’t wanna hurt you.”
“I’m not mad. And I hope you aren’t mad at me for not protecting you from that stinker.”
“I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if you’d suffered because of me,” Anna shakes her head.
“Let’s not think about it. Luckily, we’re all alive and healthy, and all our offenders got the punishment that they deserved.”
“You’re right. I hope I’ll forget everything with the help of my beloved man and best friends. As if nothing happened.”
“We’ll do our best to meet your expectations.”
Anna smiles much wider and accepts Peter’s tight hug and an amicable kiss on the cheek.
“Congratulations, friend,” Peter congratulates. “You deserve to be happy. And Daniel is the one you need.”
“Thanks a lot, Pete,” Anna thanks with a wide smile. “You’re an amazing friend.”
“It’s nice to be needed by someone.”
Anna laughs quietly, steps back from Peter two seconds later, and shares a slight smile with him, while Daniel watches them, scratching Sammy's hair.
“Okay, let’s go to the others now!” Peter exclaims cheerfully. “They’ll be terribly happy when they know about your reconciliation!”
“Oh, I can’t wait to tell the girls everything,” Anna claps her hands shyly.
“We better hurry up.” Peter calls Sammy with a gesture and goes to where he needs to, while the dog follows him obediently. “Or the MacClifes will start a funny fight and sort their relationship out again.”
“So, did they already argue with each other?” Daniel chuckles, taking Anna’s hand and following Peter.
“So true! They were running after each other, finding out who was sassier, and sharing a couple of slaps on the head.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Oh, you behave in the same way,” Anna chuckles kindly. “You should only get a reason.”
“The MacClife brothers are the only ones to be able to outstand themselves.”
“And the four of you can outstand the four of you!”
“C’mon, friend!” Peter throws funnily. “Why don’t you and the girls like it so much?”
“We don’t mind it! Sometimes you just go so far that the girls and I get ashamed of you.”
“Is playing fool with friends bad?” Daniel wonders. “I wouldn’t mind having fun.”
“It’s okay, buddy, it’s gonna happen now,” Peter smiles slyly. “The MacClifes and us will have fun and play with the girls.”
“We’ll see who’s gonna play,” Anna says confidently. “You’ll be running after the girls and me like crazy.”
“You better warn your friends that they will not hide from us.”
“Then, you tell the MacClifes that the girls and I have great plans for you.”
“We have a lot of them,” Daniel smiles slyly.
Sammy barks quietly, following the trio obediently. Peter, Daniel, and Anna go quietly to the place they need for some time, but then they return to the right place and see Helene, Natalia, and Raquelle sitting together and watching Terrence and Edward, who start a funny fight again and, thrilling with a loud laugh, beat each other with some things that they find near themselves. And while the girls whisper something to each other, Sammy runs to everybody first as fast as a bullet and gets their attention by barking loudly.
“Oh, Sammy is back!” Helene exclaims.
“So what, buddy, did you race Peter enough?” Natalia asks.
“Did you get him so exhausted that he barely walked?” Raquelle laughs shyly.
Sammy barks, wagging his tail amicably. And two seconds later, Peter comes to the friends, being cheerful, smiling, and funny.
“Guys, guys!” Peter jabs excitedly. “You will not believe it! You’re gonna be overwhelmed!”
“Hey, did Sammy find a girlfriend and almost run away to hang out?” Edward asks funnily.
“He will do it later. Much more interesting things are happening! You just look who’s come to us!”
Peter points at Daniel and Anna, who just come and smile shyly at everybody as they hold each other’s hands. Everybody gets immediately shocked and opens their mouths and eyes widely.
“Guys…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly.
“I didn’t get it…” Edward frowns slightly.
“Oh, my God…” Helene shakes her head.
“Someone, pinch me,” Terrence pronounces, not stopping to look at the people, who just came.
“Ta-da-a-am!” Daniel throws his hands up with an innocent smile. “Surprise!”
“Gosh, guys, you…” Helene pronounces with her mouth closed with her hand. “You’re holding each other’s hands…”
“Did you reconcile, after all?” Raquelle asks with a slight smile.
Before saying something, Anna and Daniel look at each other with a mysterious smile and, taking each other’s hand tighter, say confidently to their friends:
“Yes, we’re together.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, after which everybody makes happy whoops.
“Come on!” Terrence exclaims loudly.
“Are you kidding?” Edward asks. “Yeah, guys? Is this a joke? Did you prank us?”
“Would we hold each other’s hand if it wasn’t true?” Anna wonders.
Sammy barks loudly as if he wants to say, “You just look at them! What kind of jokes?”
“But, guys…” Natalia pronounces with a slight smile. “But… When? When did you do it?”
“Two days ago,” Daniel replies with a mysterious smile.
“And why did you the hell keep silent like two partisans?” Helene wonders.
“We just decided to wait for us to come together and tell you about it,” Anna confesses with a slight smile.
“But when you’re congratulating us, please, don’t make a crown,” Daniel says confidently. “By one. Or you may kill us from happiness.”
“Hey, guys, I think something’s getting clear…” Terrence says thoughtfully with a mysterious smile, throws a sly look at Daniel, and nods. “That’s why Perkins smiled a lot and joked constantly yesterday!”
“Just like we all guessed,” Peter throws his hands up with an innocent smile. “It was the only thing that could make him happier.”
“Oh, wow!” Edward resents, crossing his arms over his chest. “Perkins! What the heck?”
“I don’t have to tell you everything immediately!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully. “You got a little tortured, guessed, and finally found out why I felt so good.”
“Anna, why did you say nothing to the girls and me?” Natalia wonders, moving her eyes to Anna. “We were talking to you in the chat yesterday, but you said no word about this reconciliation.”
“I just decided to make a little surprise,” Anna smiles mysteriously. “And I think it was very good.”
“Do you know we’re mad at you two?” Helene resents with both arms crossed over her chest.
“C’mon, guys! Don’t be mad!”
“We kind of thought about how to make you feel comfortable if we had to spend time together. But as it turned out, we didn’t need it!”
“Yes, friends, you can forget about it,” Daniel replies with a shy smile, hugging Anna by the waist. “Now, everything will be the same. Or even much better.”
“Gosh, I can’t believe it,” Raquelle smiles widely.
After looking at each other, Raquelle, Helene, Natalia, Terrence, and Edward get up and come to Daniel and Anna, while Peter watches everybody with a slight smile and glances at Sammy being next to him and wagging his tail amicably.
“A-a-a-a, guys, you’re together again!” Natalia whoops happily. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Some time ago, you didn’t believe it was possible!” Raquelle adds confidently.
“Yeah, sometimes we have to confess some things,” Anna shrugs with a slight smile. “I didn’t agree with everything you said and didn’t believe that something was not what it seemed. But there are cases when it’s impossible to reject what means so much to you. What means almost the whole world to you.”
“We didn’t doubt that you’d come back to Daniel early or late,” Edward says with a wide smile. “You love him too much to leave him so easily.”
“And as we can see, our talks with you were worth it, and you made the right decision,” Terrence adds cheerfully. “Which you wouldn’t be disappointed in.”
“You all were right, guys,” Daniel replies amicably with a slight smile. “I didn’t believe you when you all told me that I had a chance to get everything back. But now I understand that I was an idiot, and I confess that I was deeply wrong.”
“There’s not only our merit in ending everything well but also yours,” Helene notices with a slight smile. “We just tried to support you and Anna, give you some pieces of advice, and give our opinion. But the fact that you’re together is the result of the efforts that you applied to fix your mistake.”
“You also played a major role in this story,” Anna replies with a shy smile. “You all helped me to overcome all of that and make, as Terrence noticed, the right decision.”
“And now I’ll surely listen to your words,” Daniel adds amicably. “When many people say the same thing, everything is not lost.”
“We’re happy you got it,” Raquelle says.
“Thanks, guys. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us two.”
“Yeah, we really appreciate it,” Anna adds shyly.
Sammy barks loudly two times, while the others keep smiling widely. But a few moments later, everybody comes in two groups: the men go to one side, and the girls go to another. While the doggy just watches everybody and runs to one or another.
“Anna, friend, I’m so happy for you!” Raquelle exclaims funnily.
“I can’t believe it finally happened!” Helene adds funnily.
“You made the absolutely right decision, in which you wouldn’t surely be disappointed.”
“I will not be disappointed,” Anna says confidently with a slight smile. “I’m sure about it.”
“Gosh, what happiness!” Natalia smiles widely. “Our little friend came back to her sweetheart!”
“Hey, some of you were right when saying that if you broke the barrier silently and let a person get closer to you, offenses would be gone soon. Yes, there’s still a bad feeling, but I ain’t mad at Daniel, and I understand why he did it. If not for those events, he wouldn’t have done it. No matter what was happening between us then.”
“Of course, you and Daniel need some time to establish your relationship,” Natalia replies confidently. “But a bigger part of the way is taken. By deciding to forgive Perkins, you did a lot of work.”
“And we’ll get through it. I’m ready to be with Daniel wherever we are and whatever happens between us.”
“But now, friend, you must be happy,” Helene says cheerfully.
“Could I be sad and think of bad things when I have my beloved man by my side?”
“You must forget everything that happened to you forever!” Helene shakes her index finger. “You got it, Seymour? From now on, you must only have positive emotions and good thoughts.”
“I can’t promise to be happy all the time, but I shall do everything I can.”
“We hope,” Natalia smiles slightly.
“Hey, girls…” Anna looks at Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene with a wider smile. “Thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You helped me overcome everything I experienced. Without your help, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“I think Daniel played a major role in it, not us,” Raquelle assumes with a slight smile. “Thanks to him, you started to smile and got much funnier again.”
“I don’t deny it. Now, after coming back to him, I feel like I was reborn. When I think of the wonderful moments that we’ve experienced together, my offenses go away by themselves.”
“Take care of such an amazing man like him, Anna,” Helene advises confidently. “The poor guy suffered so much because of his stupid mistake and couldn’t calm down. And when you were in the hospital, looking at him got us horrified.”
“Yeah, Seymour, look how he’s changed!” Natalia exclaims, looking at where the men are standing and talking with wide smiles on their faces. “Daniel really became different: much happier and more smiling. I would say that he wasn’t probably as cheerful and funny as he is now.”
“It was so hurtful for me to look at him on those terrible days…” Anna confesses with sadness in her eyes. “Maybe, I would’ve offered him my support… Maybe, I would’ve forgiven him much earlier. But my offense didn’t let me even touch him or say some nice words. I did wanna give him as much pain as possible.”
“And his readiness to help you and sacrifice himself for saving your life conquered you, and you eventually thanked him by kissing him on the cheek,” Helene smiles mysteriously.
“Yeah, the guys told us that Perkins was nicely dumbfounded when you kissed him,” Natalia confesses confidently. “Of course, he pretended that it meant nothing, but the men couldn’t be deceived. They understood everything quickly.”
“I just wanted to kiss him so badly,” Anna confesses with a shy smile. “And I let myself do it with the thought that it would make Daniel happy. And let him know that I appreciated his work.”
“Oh, it made him super happy!” Raquelle exclaims cheerfully. “Perkins was probably thinking about it for the whole evening.”
“And he annoyed his sister with it,” Helene assumes.
“Now, he’s gonna have a lot of kisses,” Anna says confidently. “Many of which Cassidy is gonna prevent as well as Sammy prevents your kisses with Peter.”
“Maybe,” Helene laughs shyly.
“Aw, friend, we’re so happy for you!” Raquelle exclaims happily.
Raquelle, Helene, and Natalia hug Anna tightly by one with happy whoops and share an amicable kiss on the cheek.
“Congrats, sweetie,” Natalia says with a wide smile. “You deserved happiness like nobody else.”
“Congrats, darling,” Helene says with delight. “We are all so happy for you.”
“Congrats, sweetheart,” Raquelle expresses happiness. “Take care of your treasure. If you lose it again, you may not get it back.”
“Thank you so much,” Anna thanks with a wide smile. “My sweet girls…”
“Feel free to say that Perkins does something bad to you,” Natalia says confidently. “We’ll quickly wash his brains and let him know that he’s gonna regret hurting our little girl.”
“Come to us for any kind of help,” Helene adds. “We’ll always come to help.”
“Undoubtedly!” Anna exclaims cheerfully. “I trust such wonderful friends like you at one hundred percent. And I know for sure that none of you will leave me at a hard moment.”
“We don’t leave our friends, Anna,” Raquelle replies confidently. “If someone had problems, we’d do our best to solve them. No matter how hard it would be.”
“I made sure about it after everything that happened to us.”
“Now, nobody will dare to hurt our little girl, Anna,” Natalia says confidently. “But if someone dares to do it, they’ll have to deal with us.”
“Aw, girls, I love you so much,” Anna smiles widely, not noticing that she gets a slight blush on her cheeks. “My sweet friends…”
Laughing shyly, Anna, Raquelle, Helene, and Natalia make a group hug that they accept with wide smiles on their faces. While Edward, Peter, and Terrence have a funny talk with Daniel, whom they finally see truly happy.
“Hey, Perkins, you’re a fucking pig!” Edward resents. “How did you dare to say nothing about reconciling with your girlfriend to us, your best friends, who are almost like brothers to you!”
“I am resentful!” Terrence exclaims.
“But you didn’t ask me directly about it,” Daniel excuses himself with a sly smile. “So, I thought, ‘Since you didn’t care about my relationship, it’s okay!’ I wasn’t gonna show off and say what you didn’t care about.”
“What do you mean we didn’t care?” Peter wonders, putting his hands on his hips. “A bigger part of our talks was about you and Anna! Yesterday, we all asked you what happened, but you pretended to be a girl trying to hint at the wish to get an expensive phone or brilliant necklace as a gift so hard!”
“Awesome!” Terence chuckles kindly, crossing his arms over his chest. “We thought about how to distract you and cheer you up, but you made peace with Anna.”
“You just wanted to play the one to suffer for a bit longer!” Edward assumes confidently. “So, we pity you, take care of you, and worry about you as much as a chicken cares about an egg!”
“Yeah, it was a pleasure to get such good care,” Daniel replies with a sly smile. “But I swear I didn’t mean to use the situation.”
“Edward said the right thing!” Terrence exclaims. “You are a pig! A sly piggy!”
“Oh, c’mon!” Daniel throws funnily, rolling his eyes. “I made you guess for just one day, but you started to crow as if I was hiding it for one year.”
“Oh, if you’d been silent for one year, we would’ve killed you,” Peter says confidently.
“C’mon, bros, don’t be mad! You know everything now!”
“Ha, what did we tell you, chocolate head?” Edward claps Daniel on the shoulder. “We said that everything wasn’t lost! And you blunted: no, no, everything is over, I’m trying to take it, it’s okay, dudes, and other things…”
“Maybe, I didn’t really believe that this miracle was possible! That the girl would find the courage to forgive me for cheating!”
“Of course, things reach for you as slowly as a giraffe,” Terrence notices confidently. “But it’s worth it! You’re so cheerful and funny now!”
“Aha, you look like a human now,” Peter adds. “You got your hair and face done, and put on better clothes… Got enough sleep…”
“Not getting enough sleep when you spend a night with your beloved girlfriend caressing you like a doggy would be a sin,” Daniel smiles mysteriously.
“Ah, everything’s clear!” Edward claps his hands with a wide smile. “You just spent a cool night and a wonderful morning with your sweetheart!”
“Oh, fuck, how smart you are! Don’t say that I was sleeping with Anna’s clothes in my arms!”
“So, were you sleeping with her clothes?” Peter laughs shyly.
“M-m-m, what a twist…” Edward smiles slyly.
“Damn, I’m an idiot…” Daniel sighs tiredly.
“Hey, don’t dare to miss this chance,” Terrence says confidently, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. “If you screw it up again, you’ll lose that girl forever. No heroism will help you get her back.”
“Eh, no, no, no, no!” Daniel shakes his head sharply. “Never! I’ll no longer make that mistake. Anna will not regret giving me a chance.”
“You’re on our hook, Perkins,” Edward threatens with a finger. “We’re watching you very closely! Don’t dare to hurt Anna. We will not let anyone hurt our little friend.”
“Hey, me hurting a girl?” Daniel points at himself with a finger. “Especially, Anna? If it happens, I’m not Daniel Perkins! Not the one, who always respects girls and never raises a hand on them!”
“We’re watching you with two eyes! I mean, six eyes!”
“Okay, okay, MacClife, I got it!”
“And you owe us!” Peter adds confidently and smiles innocently. “Because you lost our bet.”
“Bet?” Daniel wonders. “What kind of bet?”
“M-m-m, right!” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “Daniel owes us now.”
“Oh, you mean that… Fuck, it seems like I really lost…”
“But how sure you were that you’d make us make your wishes come true,” Edward chuckles with his head proudly raised.
“Aha, he probably decided what we’d do,” Peter assumes and claps his hands. “But boom – he lost!”
“Yeah…” Daniel replies thoughtfully with both arms crossed over his chest. “I dreamed of you cleaning up the pool at my home… You did such a good clean-up of the living room after the Potters destroyed it to the fuck. You’re excellent cleaners!”
“I’m sure you’re gonna be fucking hot with a mop and detergent in your hands,” Terrence chuckles.
“You’re rats! You know that I hate cleaning!”
“It’s okay, Perkins, we’ll kick your ass,” Peter promises confidently. “It’s gonna be enough for cleaning the whole house!”
“I wish you had a mouse in your underwear!”
“Don’t be nervous, Dan! You owe us anyway!”
“Okay! But please, choose good wishes. If you make me do something nasty, I swear I will hang your balls.”
“Relax, Daniel,” Terrence pronounces confidently. “We will come up with an awesome mission for you.”
“Should I hang you right now?”
“Okay, dude, we’ll talk about it later,” Peter says cheerfully. “Now let’s just be happy with the reconciliation between you and Anna.”
“That’s right!” Terrence exclaims. “Today we have a great day, lads! A great thing happened!”
“I’m ready to accept greetings from my dearest friends,” Daniel replies funnily, putting his hands aside.
“Although I’ve congratulated you, I congratulate you again,” Peter says amicably.
“But my bro and I haven’t,” Edward says cheerfully with a slight smile. “So, Daniel, I congratulate you with all my heart on such a long-awaited event.”
“My biggest greetings, tough guy,” Terrence congratulates happily. “Good luck with your relationship with your red-haired beauty.”
“Thank you so much, Edward, Terrence, Peter,” Daniel thanks amicably with a slight smile. “Thanks, guys.”
Daniel takes Terrence and Edward in amicable hugs and claps every one of them on the back, the shoulder, or the head with a wide smile.
“I will never get sick of saying you’re the best,” Daniel says confidently with a wide smile. “Best, bros!”
“You’re getting more sentimental, buddy,” Peter chuckles kindly, ruffling Daniel’s hair. “And generous for nice words.”
“Now I feel so good that I give a fuck about everything!”
“Okay, man,” Terrence replies cheerfully, hitting Daniel on the shoulder with a fist. “We’re sharing your happiness with you, and we’re proud of you. You acted like a real man.”
“Be proud of yourself, dude,” Edward adds confidently, clapping Daniel on another shoulder. “The fact that you fixed everything and made your dream come true is only your merit.”
“I know,” Daniel smiles shyly. “Anyway, thanks for everything, friends. I wouldn’t have done it without you.”
After sharing a slight smile, Edward, Peter, and Terrence hug Daniel amicably again. Then all of them make a group hug with a quiet laugh and stay in it for a few seconds. After stepping back, the men look at each other and come to Natalia, Helene, Raquelle, and Anna, who are playing with Sammy with pleasure.
“Congrats, Anna!” Edward exclaims with a slight smile, hugging Anna amicably and kissing her on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Congrats, sweetie!” Terrence congratulates as he hugs Anna amicably and kisses her on the cheek. “You’re a good fellow!”
“Thank you so much, guys,” Anna smiles shyly. “I don’t regret doing that.”
“You won’t regret it. Don’t doubt it.”
“We’ll do our best for your beloved man to be nice to you,” Edward adds confidently.
“Yes, friend, if Daniel disappoints you somehow, let us know it,” Peter says cheerfully after coming to everybody. “We’ll talk to him immediately.”
“The girls threatened to deal with him if he behaved badly,” Anna laughs shyly.
“Don’t be shy, friend!” Terrence exclaims. “We won’t let anyone hurt you. Even your boyfriend.”
“Aw, guys, you’re so nice to me…”
“Anyway, congrats on coming back to Daniel,” Terrence says with a slight smile. “All of us dreamed about it.”
“Thanks, Terrence, Edward, Peter,” Anna smiles shyly. “Don’t forget that I love you so much.”
“We love you, too, friend,” Edward, Peter, and Terrence say at a different time.
Anna smiles shyly and hugs Peter, Terrence, and Edward tightly again, while Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene congratulate Daniel with hugs, good words, and an amicable kiss on the cheek.
“Congrats, Daniel,” Helene pronounces amicably.
“Yeah, you did it, tough guy!” Natalia exclaims happily.
“Congrats, buddy!” Raquelle smiles widely. “The girls and I are madly happy that Anna is with you again.”
“Oh, girls, how happy I am!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully. “I never felt so happy.”
“You’re a good fellow, man! You behaved very worthily and did everything you could do.”
“Yeah, I had to work too hard… But as they say, it was worth it.”
“Remember, Daniel, we’re watching you,” Natalia warns. “Very closely. If Anna tells us that she suffers because of you, you’ll be in trouble.”
“Don’t dare to hurt our little girl, Perkins!” Helene threatens with her head proudly raised. “We are not the men and will not pity you!”
“Yeah, we’d tear anyone down for our friend,” Raquelle says confidently.
“No, girls, c’mon!” Daniel exclaims. “You’re hurting me by thinking I’d be able to hurt Anna.”
“Well, I dunno what you have on your mind.”
“I promise your friend is gonna be much happier than before. She’s gonna feel very good with me.”
“We hope,” Helene expresses hope. “Otherwise, none of you will let Anna come to you.”
“I got it, beauties!” Daniel raises his hands. “I’m assuring you that I will be doing my best to make Anna happy.”
“Okay, pretty boy, we believe you,” Natalia says with a shy smile, clapping Daniel on the shoulder.
“Congrats again, Daniel,” Raquelle says amicably with a slight smile. “You deserve it.”
“Thank you so much, Raquelle, Natalia, Helene. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”
“We’re happy to help, hazel-eyed,” Helene replies shyly.
“I can’t describe how much I love you. You’re the best, girls! The best friends in the world!”
“We love you, too,” Helene, Natalia, and Raquelle pronounce.
Daniel takes all the girls into amicable hugs with a wide smile on his face, feeling that he is literally tearing apart from the emotions that he should share with someone so badly. But at some moment, the men and the girls come together again and pay attention to Sammy pressing himself against one or another.
“So, guys, I believe a minute of sentimentality has lasted for too long,” Terrence notices cheerfully. “We kind of forgot why we came together for the first time in a while.”
“Why?” Daniel wonders. “To have fun and have a cool time? And we could also discuss my birthday.”
“Are ya gonna celebrate it?” Raquelle asks.
“Obviously, my darling. I don’t have a plan yet, but I’m planning to celebrate it in a big way.”
“That’s how…”
“Don’t pretend that you forgot it.”
“C’mon, buddy!” Natalia rounds her eyes. “We know you’re gonna have a birthday soon.”
“And we remember about Natalia and Anna, who had birthdays some time ago,” Raquelle adds.
“Wow…” Anna smiles shyly. “I forgot that I already had a birthday…”
“We all forgot about it,” Helene says a little hesitantly. “But we can make amends easily!”
“Listen, let’s drink for the girls’ past birthdays and Anna and Daniel’s reconciliation?” Edward asks cheerfully.
“And then the lads will sing a song for us,” Natalia says confidently.
“Yeah!” Raquelle exclaims. “Awesome idea!”
Sammy barks loudly two times.
“But let’s drink first,” Edward says confidently. “We have two cool reasons!”
“I’ll take my guitar and tune it on,” Terrence raises his hand.
“And I’ll open sparkling water and give you glasses,” Peter says cheerfully.
After quickly looking around, Peter comes to the packet with some stuff, singing a song quietly on the way. Sammy follows the blond and howls along with him, while the man looks for what he needs. Terrence comes to his car to take his guitar, and the others sit on the blanket placed on the grass next to their sweethearts. Later, MacClife, Sr., returns to them with the guitar that he took from home, and Rose gives plastic glasses to his friends, fills them with sweet water, and sits down next to Helene with a drink for himself.
“So, friends, I suggest we drink for the reconciliation of Daniel and Anna that we all have been waiting for a long time,” Edward suggests solemnly with a glass in his hand.
“As we’ve already congratulated them, we won’t repeat everything again and will just raise these glasses for our lovebirds,” Terrence says confidently.
“For your reconciliation, guys!” Peter exclaims, raising his glass.
“For Daniel and Anna!” Raquelle, Natalia, Edward, Terrence, and Peter say happily at a different time.
“Yeah!” Daniel exclaims, and then Anna does the same.
Everybody raises their glasses with a shy laugh, slaps slightly on every single one, and takes a few sips of the nice drink with pleasure. Sammy barks happily, making everybody look at him. Peter sitting next to him pushes his glass against his nose, and Helene pets the doggy’s head and tweaks his ears softly, while Daniel and Anna embracing each other share a wide smile with each other and rub their noses against each other’s.
“Okay, guys, now, let’s drink for these, whose birthdays we forgot about,” Helene suggests cheerfully. “Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to our beloved girls, Natalia and Anna.”
“Happy belated birthday, girls,” Peter says cheerfully with a slight smile. “Stay as beautiful, funny, and smiling as you are now, and make your family and your beloved men happy.”
“Happy belated birthday, girls,” Raquelle congratulates with a slight smile. “We wish you to make all your wishes come true.”
“Happy birthday, beauties!” Daniel smiles widely. “We all love you so much.”
“Next year, we will surely not forget about your birthdays,” Helene adds confidently. “And celebrate them in a big way!”
“Happy birthday, girls!” Terrence and Edward repeat funnily. “We love you!”
Sammy barks two times as if he also wishes a happy birthday to Anna and Natalia, while they blush from shyness and press themselves to Daniel and Edward respectively with wide smiles and put their noses on their shoulders.
“Gosh, it’s so sweet,” Anna gets tender feelings, closing her face with both hands for a second. “I’m gonna cry now… Thank you so much, guys.”
“Thank you, my dears,” Natalia thanks shyly. “You’re the best.”
“Most beloved.”
“We love you, guys,” Anna and Natalia say at the same time.
“For our birthday girls!” Daniel raises his glass.
“For Anna and Natalia!” Edward, Peter, Terrence, Raquelle, and Helene pronounce.
The friends clink their glasses with happy whoops and wide smiles and barely slap them against the nose of Sammy trying to get attention in all ways. Then they drink everything from their glasses, and the sweethearts of the two former birthday girls hug them and kiss them cutely on the temple or cheek.
“Don’t be mad for not having a gift for you,” Terrence shrugs. “We were so busy that we didn’t have time to think about it.”
“Hey, I said everything is okay!” Natalia exclaims.
“I don’t care about it, either,” Anna adds confidently. “Attention is the best and most priceless gift that you can easily exchange for any expensive things that people may not give you with all their heart.”
“Well, I personally got a gift for my beloved girl a long time ago,” Daniel says thoughtfully, hugging Anna around the shoulders.
“For me?” Anna smiles shyly. “Gift?”
“Yup. I’m gonna be honest, I thought of giving it to some of the men due to what happened, so they gave it to you or one of the girls. But now I changed my mind and will give it to the one, for whom I bought it.”
“I wanna look at that,” Anna gets excited with a wide smile. “Right now!”
“Alas, I didn’t take it with me. But the gift is waiting for you at my home. So, when you wanna visit me, I’ll be happy to give it to you.”
“But what’s that?”
“I hope you’re gonna love it.”
“Would ya tell us?” Edward smiles slyly. “Secretly. Whisper it in the ear.”
“Only when I give it to my beauty.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Anna confesses.
“Soon, princess, soon,” Daniel smiles mysteriously. “I can’t say I’m good at picking up gifts, but I couldn’t go by that one.”
“When did you get it?” Peter wonders.
“A long time before this story began.”
“You’re a sly fox!” Terrence exclaims.
“I am also shocked!”
Sammy barks quietly, shakes something off himself, and lies down, still watching everybody with great interest.
“So, friends, life is getting better,” Natalia notices cheerfully and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I definitely feel much better.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna hang out on my birthday soon,” Daniel smiles shyly. “I’m gonna be twenty-seven.”
“Mine is getting closer, too,” Helene says thoughtfully. “September, 10th is getting closer and closer.”
“Oh, we have so many chances to have a good time,” Edward happily rubs his hands. “We only need to plan and discuss everything.”
“What do we discuss?” Daniel wonders. “We’ll come together at my home on my birthday and have a cool party. I’m planning to have a pool party and clean the pool especially for that event. If we have the strength and a wish, we can go somewhere.”
“What if the weather is bad?” Helene specifies.
“We must be lucky! Because it’s my birthday! So, girls, put on your most beautiful bikini. And you, men… Erm… Well… Find something, as well…”
“Oh, it would be cool to have fun in the pool,” Edward replies cheerfully.
“Aha, and play with the girls,” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “So, they whoop at the whole neighborhood!”
“We could also invite Chris, Ben, and Kevin. Maybe Jeremy and William will also agree to join us. And we could invite Helene and Peter’s friend…”
“Aha, and Sammy is gonna have a heart attack in fear,” Peter assumes funnily.
“Why?” Anna laughs shyly.
“Because Sammy’s afraid of Jessica,” Helene explains. “He runs from her as fast as a bullet and hides behind Pete or me when he’s got no place to run.”
“But she’s not ugly! Why does he run?”
“Our Samuel is just a very tender creature and doesn’t like when someone treats him too rudely,” Peter says thoughtfully. “But Jessica doesn’t have such a word as ‘tenderness’ in her vocabulary.”
“But yesterday, the long-eared allowed Jess to pet him and ate a treat from her hands,” Helene confesses. “I met her in the early morning when walking with Sammy. At first, he was hiding behind me, but he got out after hearing about treats, but he was very careful.”
“Everything is clear!” Daniel exclaims. “Sammy was bribed with a tasty treat. Again.”
“Anyway, there’s a chance that Sammy will not make us look for him in your neighborhood if Jessica comes to you for your birthday.”
“I shall invite everybody I know, and then we’ll see it.”
“And Cassidy is gonna be there,” Natalia smiles shyly. “She could meet someone.”
“No…” Daniel says nothing for a second and scratches his temple. “Cassidy will not celebrate my birthday with us.”
“She will not?” Raquelle wonders.
“I think I told the men that my sister went to the clinic to get therapy.”
“Wow, I didn’t know it!” Natalia exclaims.
“Yeah, I thought she still lived with you,” Helene adds.
“I drove her to the clinic two days after the arrest of the Potters,” Daniel explains.
“Hey, can we visit her?” Raquelle asks.
“Of course, you can. You can come to her at any time. Cassidy would be happy to see you all and says she missed you.”
“I shall often visit her,” Anna promises. “I will let her know that she can count on me.”
Sammy barks confidently two times.
“Sorry, Sammy, but you can see my sis only when she leaves the clinic,” Daniel says with sadness in his eyes. “Sadly, dogs aren’t allowed to enter there.”
Sammy whines quietly, inclining his head slightly.
“Alas, man, but I can do nothing. I know that you like Cassidy, but you’ve gotta wait.”
Sammy barks shyly, and Raquelle sitting next to him pets the dog’s head softly.
“Anyway, we will believe that Cassidy will get well,” Anna says quietly.
“I believe it’s gonna be okay,” Daniel smiles slightly. “It’s gonna be a hard way for her and me, but we can do this.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which everybody just smiles shyly. And then Natalia moves her eyes to the guitar placed not far from them.
“Okay, guys, let’s change the subject,” Natalia suggests. “We want the men to sing for the girls and me.”
“Yeah, gentlemen, be pleased to keep your promises,” Anna says confidently. “I haven’t heard you four for ages, and I madly missed you singing.”
“No problem, girls!” Peter exclaims cheerfully.
“Consider it a little gift for our former birthday girls,” Daniel adds with a slight smile.
“Did you decide who’s gonna play guitar this time?” Raquelle asks confidently with a mysterious smile.
The men get frozen and look at each other, as if they are waiting for a moment like an animal hunting a good victim. Then Edward creeps sharply to the guitar and wants to take it, but Terrence gives a start, as well. The men hold the instrument tightly and start pulling it on themselves.
“Move your paws off, little rat!” Terrence exclaims. “It’s my guitar!”
“I’m a lead guitarist!” Edward recalls. “So, I will play!”
“I’m a guitarist, too!”
“But you literally get a few-second play!”
“Not truth! I play guitar as much as everybody.”
“Your solos can be counted on fingers.”
“The achievements in your life can be counted on your fingers!”
“For them, I didn’t have to show my naked ass to everyone!”
“Stop palavering me!” Terrence pulls his guitar sharply against himself. “Give me my guitar now!”
“Learn to share things!” Edward pulls the guitar on himself.
“Not with you!”
“Lemme play it, idiot!”
“I said, get off my guitar!”
Terrence closes Edward’s face with his hand and pushes him aside, so that the guy falls to the ground. And while his brother sits down next to Raquelle with his guitar in his hands, MacClife, Jr., strokes his hair down quickly.
“Listen, have you actually lived at least one day without mocking each other?” Anna chuckles shyly.
“Why did he get stuck to my guitar?” Terrence resents, placing his guitar in front of him. “At first, he stole the keys from my baby. But now he wants my guitar. And I’m silent that he constantly steals my clothes and tries to own them.”
“I didn’t steal the keys,” Edward excuses himself. “They just fell off your pocket at a very good moment. I could keep them with me with pleasure, but you refused to keep your keys in a safe place.”
“Yeah, safe…”
“Though, who needs your old broken horse when you can buy a new baby?”
“One more word before I hit you!”
“Okay, guys, sort out your relationship later,” Daniel suggests cheerfully. “Now we should sing for our beauties.”
“I’m ready,” Edward throws his hands up with a slight smile. “We’re waiting only for this slowpoke that can’t tune his guitar.”
“Okay, okay, I’m ready!” Terrence jabs, checking the last string. “Ready!”
“I’d do this two times faster.”
“Shut up, smarty!”
“So, sweet girls, what you do wanna hear?” Peter asks cheerfully. “Your suggestions?”
“Of course, we’d be happy to hear one of the songs from your upcoming album…” Natalia replies dreamily, rolling her eyes. “But since you’re too stubborn and refuse to play them, we’d be satisfied if you played ‘The Story About Us.’”
“No problem,” Terrence pronounces confidently.
After counting to three, Terrence starts playing a familiar melody, along with which everybody starts shaking their heads immediately, and Edward, Daniel, and Peter click their fingers or clap their hands. Sammy listens closely to every single word when the men start singing their solo lines and solo together, howls quietly with the rhythm, and amuses the friends with his funny tricks, making everybody laugh shyly. Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia listen to their beloved men with wide smiles and start clapping their hands quietly and singing hesitantly along with them at some moment. They are truly admired by the fact that the men give their soul and heart to their performance, not forgetting to give caress to their sweet girls, hug them, or look at them with a warm, tender gaze.
Three or four minutes later, the song comes to an end. Daniel, Peter, and Edward sing their last lines, and Terrence performs a short solo and plucks all the strings. Then the girls start applauding, while Sammy is barking happily and loudly. While the men watch them with a slight smile, share a look, and give each other a five.
“Gosh, guys, I don’t know what to say!” Anna exclaims with a slight smile. “You were amazing! I’m delighted!”
“Does it seem to me that the men sounded much better than ever?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Indeed!” Helene exclaims. “It’s like the lads gained much more confidence.”
“The voices sound much clearer,” Anna notices. “The guys brilliantly took all the notes, even the high ones.”
“Good job, pretty boys!” Natalia encourages amicably. “Rehearsing at the garage for a whole week was worth it.”
“Our boys can surprise us,” Raquelle says confidently.
“And Sammy was a great addition to their band,” Helene notices shyly. “He worked not less hard than the men.”
Sammy barks two times with a proud look, and Helene pets his head with a slight smile.
“You know, I’m making much more sure that Sammy has a great talent for music,” Terrence notices cheerfully, pressing his guitar to himself. “He really sang along with us well. And it’s amazing that he caught the rhythm.”
“Yes, it really sounded cool,” Edward agrees with a slight smile.
“Okay, guys, it’s time to think about making him a back vocalist,” Helene replies funnily. “This talent must not be unnoticed.”
“We’ll surely talk about it and give Sammy a chance to be a superstar, at least for a while,” Daniel laughs quietly.
“Hey, imagine how many fans he’s gonna get!” Peter exclaims funnily. “The most handsome doggies are gonna stare at Sammy like charmed and dream of meeting him. And give birth to cute puppies from him.”
“Maybe, fame will finally help him find a girlfriend,” Raquelle assumes with a slight smile. “We’re all loved, but Sammy is single.”
Sammy whines quietly, inclining his head slightly.
“It’s okay, boy, don’t be upset,” Edward says cheerfully. “Soon, you’re gonna get sick of paying attention to all doggies and dream of running away from them.”
Sammy jumps funnily with a quiet bark, runs around himself two times, and barks in a jump again, making everybody laugh shyly and accepting the attention of Peter, who pets his head and tweaks his ears softly.
“Hey, guys…” Natalia pronounces with a mysterious smile. “There’s a rumor that your debut album is set to be released before the end of this year.”
“A little later, we’ll gonna officially announce the date for the album release,” Daniel promises. “They’ll get a chance to preorder the album and buy something from the band merch.”
“But will we hear at least a couple of more singles before Christmas?” Anna asks. “Or at least one?”
“Well…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully, rolling his eyes. “Maybe, you will… Maybe, you will not…”
“Speak out now!” Raquelle exclaims cheerfully, pushing Terrence on his forearm. “Stop making us guess!”
“It’s a secret yet, girls,” Edward says confidently. “We can’t say too much now.”
“Maybe, you will play a little snippet of any song?” Helene suggests with pity in her eyes. “Please, guys… Today’s such a great day! Forget about your secrets and make the girls and me happy!”
“Patience, girls, patience,” Peter replies quietly. “We know that you’re our biggest fans, who wanna hear our songs. But alas, you’re gonna know the information when it’s possible.”
“But at least say when the album is gonna be out,” Anna says shyly. “Fall? Winter?”
“Somewhere between…” Terrence says thoughtfully. “But we’ll give all the information a little later.”
“So… Let’s hope you will not lie to us. And it will not happen that the album is set to be released in two or three years.”
“It’s gonna be okay, sweet girls,” Edward promises confidently. “You won’t have to wait for two or three years.”
“But if something is wrong, and we have to postpone the album release, you’ll have to cut off your gorgeous hair,” Daniel says with a sly smile. “And have a bald head and crew-cut hair for six months.”
“Damn, why do you all care about my hair so much?” Edward resents loudly. “Everybody craves to cut it! Are you jealous of my gorgeous hair?”
“Actually, I like mine,” Terrence says confidently, running his hand over his hair.
“And I look pretty nice,” Peter says thoughtfully, fixing his hair a little. “I’m happy with my hairstyle and hair color. But as I’ve noticed, you have to keep your promises.”
“I did say I wouldn’t get a bald head!” Edward says confidently. “Especially for you three!”
“C’mon, buddy! Hair will grow fast. You’ll have a full head of hair in several months as if nothing happened.”
With these words, Peter ruffles the hair of Edward sitting next to him with a sly smile. But the guy shakes his head sharply and moves the blond’s hand off, throwing gloomily:
“Get off me, Rose! I’m done with my brother!”
“Okay, if you don’t wanna cut it, let us dye your hair,” Peter chuckles kindly. “Do you wanna be a blond? Just like I am! Or like your golden beauty? Or do you prefer fury red hair?”
“Oh, thanks for talking about normal colors,” Edward rolls his eyes with both arms crossed over his chest.
“Hey, don’t ya wanna green? Huh? Well, or maybe, red? Blue? Or… Pink? Super bright, excellent shade!”
Peter, Terrence, and Daniel start to laugh quietly, thinking of the photo of Edward’s pink hair shown by Jeremy and William. And MacClife, Jr., being gloomily claps Rose on the head, while the blond keeps thrilling with a laugh, and Raquelle, Helene, Anna, and Natalia chuckle shyly and shake their heads.
“Gosh, here you go again…” Anna moans tiredly.
“What?” Peter throws his hands up with widely open eyes. “Edward would look pretty good with pink hair!”
Daniel and Terrence laugh quietly again, and Peter gets two slaps on the back of his head from Edward.
“You will ask for trouble, talkative birdie!” Edward exclaims.
“Listen, girls, which color and which hairstyle are trending now?” Terrence asks. “Let’s make my brother a fashionista!”
“Hey, what if we dye his edges?” Daniel suggests funnily. “Multiple colors! Girls often dye their hair in two or more colors! It looks very cool, just saying!”
“No, no, guys, we’ll dye the full head!” Terrence protests confidently with a laugh. “As he refuses to cut off his hair, we’ll have to dye it. We’ll pick up one color, and I will make him a super pretty boy!”
“Oh, gosh…” Raquelle moans tiredly. “What happened to you today?”
“Nothing special,” Edward replies quietly and points at Peter, Terrence, and Daniel. “These three are just brainless idiots.”
“C’mon, MacClife!” Peter waves his hand. “You just need to wash your hair several times to become a black-haired one again. Your hair won’t be pink forever.”
“I did say I would not dye my hair and cut it off!”
“Hey, don’t you wanna change something about you? At least for a while! Huh, buddy?”
Edward says nothing and just throws a very gloomy, threatening look at Peter, who gets a little confused, falls into silence sharply, and starts creeping aside slowly when he says hesitantly:
“Erm, guys… I’ve… Gotta go aside for a sec… I’ll be back now! Back! Just don’t leave. Don’t leave!”
Peter gets up sharply and goes two meters away. When Edward runs to him as fast as a bullet, the blond runs away with a quiet shout, while Daniel and Terrence watch the youngest men from their gang and cannot stop laughing.
“Oh, damn…” Natalia moans tiredly, putting her hand on her forehead. “Here’s one more baby…”
“We have four babies, Natalia,” Helene replies confidently. “The two of them are running around, and the two more are sitting here and laughing at them loudly. There is also Sammy. The same naughty boy that only wanna play…”
A few seconds later, Sammy joins Edward and Peter running after each other and laughing with a happy bark. However, the men do not pay attention to the dog.
“That’s right,” Raquelle agrees. “You should give them a reason to start going crazy.”
“Listen, maybe, you will calm them down?” Anna suggests, looking gloomily at Terrence and Daniel. “Watch the order if you’re the oldest folks here!”
“C’mon, dolly!” Daniel laughs quietly. “The babies feel good. Running, playing, having fun…”
“We keep our babies under hard control,” Terrence adds funnily. “Warming ourselves under the sun with the charming girls.”
“I prefer sitting with my beauty.” Daniel puts his arms around Anna’s neck, presses the girl to himself, and kisses her cutely on the top of her head. “Instead of running after those idiots.”
“If you’re watching the youngest guys like this, you must not be allowed to watch children,” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
The friends pay attention to Sammy’s sonorous bark and the loud laugh of Peter and Edward playing catch and trying to ruffle each other’s hair.
“And especially, them…” Raquelle sighs quietly.
“Hey, babies, settle down!” Daniel demands loudly and funnily, seeing Edward and Peter try to use a chokehold on each other. “Come here now!”
A few seconds later, Peter runs to his laughing friends as fast as a bullet and hides behind them by one.
“Hey, guys, save me!” Peter jabs loudly. “Someone literally wanna kill me!”
“Come here, blond!” Edward demands after running here. “I haven’t dealt with you yet!”
“Terrence, you’re my only hope!” Peter claps Terrence on the shoulders. “Calm this restless guy down! I’m done with him to the hell!”
“Oh, bro, if only you knew how much he annoyed me…” Terrence sighs tiredly.
“So, MacClife should run thirty circles here,” Daniel replies confidently. “It’s good for the health, and he could spend his endless energy.”
“Good idea,” Terrence agrees thoughtfully. “Workouts have never done bad things!”
“Hey, shut up, you three, before I make you do two hundred push-ups!” Edward puts his hands on his hips.
“Oh, I think you should have a workout all together!” Natalia exclaims with a sly smile. “I know a good gym that is not far from here. We can agree with a trainer on sucking all your strength out of ya.”
“Yeah, and when our boys are exhausted, we’ll take them out and drive home,” Helene adds confidently. “Maybe, we will give them something delicious.”
“Hey, nice idea!” Anna chuckles kindly. “Let the guys use their energy for good things!”
“Oh, no, girls!” Terrence replies confidently. “I can drive these three enough.”
“Yeah, while we’re dying when trying to grab a heavy bar or working on our abs until the pain in the stomach, you’ll be sitting and eating a second or third big plate of a lot of food,” Edward assumes with both arms crossed over his chest.
“By the way, when a person is mad, their workouts are way better. They should let their emotions out, but working ‘till exhaustion can help them a lot.”
“Listen, bro, does it seem to me that you’ve lately gained too much weight?”
“What?” Terrence resents.
“You’ve got big cheeks! And a fat belly is hidden underneath your t-shirt. And your big, soft ass does want to get a strong kick.”
“You know, guys…” Terrence pronounces, moving his eyes to Daniel and Peter with a sly smile. “Pete’s idea of dying Ed’s hair is amazing… What if we talk about it? We’ve gotta do something for people to finally stop confusing me and this little rutrag.”
“I guess we’ve chosen the color…” Peter says thoughtfully. “Pink…”
“We should make it brighter, so it’s seen from afar!” Daniel replies cheerfully.
“And after dying his hair, we should take a photo, post it on the Internet, and wait for a reaction from the lovers of Edward’s cute face,” Terrence says confidently.
“Oh, it’s gonna be epic!” Peter exclaims funnily.
“I can already hear the loud whoops of girls from around the world!” Daniel chuckles kindly.
Daniel, Terrence, and Peter start laughing loudly as they grab their stomachs. Edward runs to them with a wish to give them a lot of kicks, but Perkins and MacClife, Sr., get up on their feet sharply and go aside alongside Rose.
“Come here!” Edward demands gloomily. “Now!”
“Oh, how frightful the kid is,” Terrence laughs quietly. “I’ve already peed my pants…”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen a frightful boy with pink hair,” Daniel chuckles.
Edward growls irritably, clenching his hands tightly into fists.
“Oh, oh…” Peter pronounces with widely open eyes.
“Run, guys!” Terrence orders.
Thrilling with loud laughter, Terrence, Peter, and Daniel run immediately to different sides.
“Stop, idiots!” Edward demands loudly. “Who I said! Ar-r-r!”
Edward starts running after Daniel, Peter, and Terrence and chasing them, while Sammy is running around along with them with a happy bark. Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene moan tiredly and run their hands over their faces, feeling blushed because of their men, who have funny fights, use a chokehold, and give hits in all possible places.
“Oh, gosh, girls, I’m so ashamed of them…” Anna confesses tiredly, putting her hand on her forehead.
“Thank God, they’re not always like this,” Natalia notices, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Otherwise, I’d be madly ashamed.”
“But our boys feel good!” Helene exclaims.
The girls glance at the men again and see that they are thrilling with loud laughter, running after each other, striking someone down, starting a funny fight, sharing mutual dirty tricks, and imitating each other.
“Oh, okay, let them do what they want,” Raquelle waves a hand. “So, they have some fun.”
“I think you’re right,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “Let our boys have some fun.”
“Don’t relax, girls,” Helene chuckles kindly. “Something tells me that they’re gonna make us run after them. And leave us no choice.”
“C’mon, friend, they feel very good without us,” Anna replies confidently with a slight smile and glances at the men, who are thrilling with a loud laugh and having fun with each other and Sammy. “Look how much fun they’re having! They may get so busy dealing with each other that they won’t even notice us leaving them.”
“I don’t think so,” Natalia smiles slyly. “If we dropped a hint at the wish to leave, they’d immediately run to us like good boys.”
“I dunno…” Raquelle replies thoughtfully, watching the men. “Everything’s too serious there.”
“Gosh, Cameron, I’m begging you!” Natalia puts her hand on her heart. “They’ll get sick of fighting with each other in two minutes. And they’ll run to us, telling us to entertain them.”
“If we leave now, when it’s the pick of their fun, they may not see us,” Anna assumes thoughtfully.
“Okay, girls, let’s make an experiment. I’ll now pretend that I wanna leave. And when Edward notices me, he is gonna – be sure – run to me shortly.”
“Watch out, Rochester, you won’t even notice how you’ll be running away from them,” Helene laughs shyly.
“We will see who’s gonna run.”
“Are you ready to fight with the four men?” Anna smiles slyly.
“No, my darling, they will have to fight with me.”
“Well, well,” Raquelle chuckles kindly. “You can’t bite these nuts through.”
“Watch and learn, cuties! Learn to behave toward bad boys.”
Natalia gets up on her feet, fixes her hair a little, and goes to another side slowly but confidently, spreading her shoulders, keeping her back straight, and starting to shake her thighs slightly.
“Hey, MacClife, look, your golden-haired beauty decided to get out,” Daniel says with a sly smile.
“It seems that she decided to tease you,” Terrence smiles mysteriously, clapping Edward on the shoulder. “Look how she’s shaking her thighs! How she’s fixing her hair! And how good she looks in that top and these shorts!”
“Damn, Rochester knows how to dress up!” Peter exclaims cheerfully, seeing Natalia fixing her dark blue crop top that perfectly fits her light blue denim high-waisted shorts. “I’ve never seen our blondie wearing what fits her poorly.”
“You know, guys…” Edward smiles slyly and widely and looks at the men. “I feel kind of bored… Bored from fighting only with you…”
“M-m-m, you’ve got cool ideas on your mind…” Daniel nods.
“So what, bros, let’s involve our cuties in the game?” Peter suggests confidently.
“It’s gonna be hard,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “You know how much they love showing off.”
“Let’s work on object number one,” Edward replies with his head proudly raised. “That cutie, who believes that we don’t see her.”
“You can work your brain better than I thought.”
“Thinking is not for you, brother.”
“Hey, c’mon, men!” Daniel exclaims, clapping Edward and Peter on the shoulders. “Let’s go before Rochester decides to get out.”
After sharing a sly smile, Daniel, Peter, Edward, and Terrence go to where Natalia is now with a quick step. While the girl looks at them secretly at times and pretends that she wants to leave but is actually walking on the whole territory. At some moment, Sammy runs to her with a loud bark, and then Perkins does it, putting his hand on her shoulder and asking:
“How far are ya gonna, blondie?”
“Are ya gonna leave?” Peter smiles slyly, putting his hand on Natalia’s other shoulder.
“And leave my little brother alone?” Terrence asks, hugging Natalia around the shoulders when Daniel and Peter move their hands off them.
“Oh, guys!” Natalia smiles innocently, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger. “You’re here… I’m… Walking here…”
“We saw you from afar and realized that we lacked something,” Peter confesses. “We lacked the beautiful girls.”
“C’mon, men, didn’t ya get anything?” Edward smiles slyly, presses Natalia to himself, and puts his arm around her neck. “It was a check. The girls decided to send Natalia here to find out whether we’d distract ourselves if she pretended that she wanted to leave.”
“What?” Natalia rounds her eyes and sharply moves Edward’s hand off her shoulders. “C’mon! We feel good without you! We’re warming ourselves under the sun and getting overwhelmed by how you’re going crazy.”
“M-m-m, are you pretending that you don’t care about us?” Terrence specifies with his head proudly raised.
“Gosh, I just wanted to look in the mirror of the car.” Natalia tucks thin strands of her hair behind her ears. “Fix my hair.”
“Your hair looks fabulous! And you’re a cutie!”
“You better call your friends!” Daniel encourages cheerfully. “Let’s have fun all together!”
“Oh, guys, why do you need us?” Natalia sighs with a slight smile. “You feel good! And Sammy runs along with you!”
“We want you to run with us,” Peter replies confidently.
“Thanks, but the girls and I will better sit aside and talk with a glass of sparkling water.”
“We’re bored without ya!” Edward exclaims. “Without our beauties, who think they wouldn’t be noticed.”
“Whatever you plan, the girls will hardly agree to tolerate your tricks.”
“Who said we’d give you a choice?”
“Maybe, you, pretty boys, will go on the pedestrian erotic journey?”
“C’mon, blonde, don’t pretend to be so humble,” Terrence smiles slyly.
“Can’t you and the girls become hooligans for a while?” Peter wonders.
“Nope,” Natalia smiles slyly.
“Please, friend…” Daniel pronounces with pity in his eyes. “The guys and I are bored.”
“You’re bored? You were running after each other and shouting loudly, ‘I will kill you, idiot!’ And how actively you talked about someone, whose hair you wanted to dye pink.”
“Damn it, baby!” Edward replies cheerfully. “It was a bad joke by the three brainless idiots.”
“Okay, guys, I will go to the girls.” Natalia turns on the men with her hip. “But you keep playing the fool, don’t be shy.”
“No, no, don’t go!” Terrence jabs, taking Natalia under her arm. “Stay, please.”
Sammy barks confidently two times, wagging his tail amicably.
“Sammy is calling the girls and you to join us,” Daniel says confidently.
“Let’s have fun!” Peter suggests funnily. “Today is such a cool day! But you’re pretending to be too educated and humble ladies.”
“You can't be called like this…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully.
“You’re like Raquelle: at first, she acts like the one to be hard to reach when I wanna give her some pleasure,” Terrence confesses with a sly smile. “But then she starts to beg me about it.”
“Do you think these focuses will work in the case of mine?”
“They work with Helene,” Peter replies confidently.
“And Anna,” Daniel adds.
“But you’ll lose this time!” Natalia exclaims. “You’ll get nothing!”
Natalia turns around sharply and, shaking her thighs with her head proudly raised, goes confidently to her friends while the men watch her and chuckle quietly.
“I guess we’re challenged, men,” Daniel frowns slightly.
“So, as she didn’t want to play nice, we’ve gotta be much more determined,” Terrence says confidently.
“And I have one idea,” Edward smiles slyly. “The blondie will have to play by our rules.”
“Let the party begin!” Peter rubs his hands happily.
“Follow me, guys, Sammy…” Edward makes a calling gesture. “That cutie asked for trouble.”
The men follow Natalia confidently, while Sammy catches them with a loud bark. When he finds a good moment, MacClife, Jr., quickens a step, gets closer to his fiancée from behind, and takes the massive bracelet off her hand so fast that she only has time to open her mouth.
“Hey!” Natalia resents loudly.
“Terrence, catch!” Edward exclaims and throws the bracelet to Terrence.
“Gotcha!” Terrence pronounces with a sly smile when Natalia’s jewelry gets into his hands.
“What the fuck?” Natalia puts her hands on her hips.
“Sorry, friend, but you won’t get off us easily,” Terrence says, wrapping Natalia’s bracelet on his finger.
“Hey, give it to me now!” Natalia runs to Terrence quickly and tries to take her bracelet away. “Give me, I said!”
“Quiet, Rochester, quiet,” Terrence pronounces quietly, walking in circles and hiding the bracelet behind his back. “It’s okay… Breathe deeper.”
“Don’t irritate me, MacClife! Give me the bracelet now!”
“Take it.” Terrence points the bracelet at Natalia and starts raising his hands higher and higher. “C’mon, blonde, take it!”
“Ar-r-r, hey, you, Eiffel Tower, I ain’t gonna play with you,” Natalia replies gloomily, starting to jump to try to reach for her bracelet. “Give me the bracelet while I am nice!”
“It’s good to be tail,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “I could play with shorties and tease them a little.”
“I ain’t a dog for you to tease me!”
“Hey, Blondie, look what I have…” Terrence shakes the bracelet with a sly smile, going away from Natalia backward. “The bracelet…”
“MacClife!” Natalia raises her voice.
“What? I’m doing nothing!”
“I swear I will kill you if you don’t give my bracelet back! I will grab the first thing I see and beat you so hard that you will regret it!”
“Hey, the bracelet is beautiful…” Terrence notices, stopping and starting to look at the bracelet with interest. “Very beautiful…”
“Did you hear what I said?” Natalia resents loudly. “Or are you fucking deaf?”
“Where did you get it if it’s not a secret? Maybe…” Terrence moves his eyes to Natalia and opens them wider. “Oh, mommy…”
Terrence gives a start sharply because Natalia begins chasing him everywhere along with the quiet chuckles of Edward, Daniel, and Peter, while Sammy runs after both of them with a loud bark.
“Stop!” Natalia demands loudly. “Stop, I said! I swear I shall do what I wanted to do to you when you imposed on me against my wish during our trip to London! When we were stuck at the airport for nobody the hell knows how long!”
“Hey, guys, accept the baton!” Terrence exclaims cheerfully, running by the men and throwing the bracelet at Peter.
After catching this thing, Peter starts running away from the gloomy Natalia and teasing her, so that the girl gets much madder.
“Stop, Rose!” Natalia demands loudly. “Stop if you don’t wanna get problems!”
“You’re taking everything too seriously,” Peter notices cheerfully, turning on Natalia for a second. “Make your face simpler, friend! And smile!”
“I shall smile! You will all smile now. So, that your jaw gets a cramp!”
“C’mon, athlete, focus! Why are you running so slowly? Did you forget how to run?”
Natalia growls irritably and keeps running after Peter around the whole large territory for some time, while the man constantly teases her with the bracelet.
“Hey!” Natalia resents with a heavy breath. “Do you actually get tired?”
“Hey, Perkins, are you accepting the challenge?” Peter asks with a sly smile and throws the bracelet at Daniel.
“With pleasure!” Daniel exclaims, catching the bracelet with both hands, and teases Natalia by shaking it slightly. “Hey, Rochester… I’ve got sparkles here!”
“Ar-r-r!” Natalia growls irritably. “Did you all the fuck agree?”
“C’mon, blondie, aport!”
Daniel drives Natalia around the whole territory for some time, making sharp twists and teasing her with the bracelet at times, while Sammy tries to take the thing that definitely seemed a good toy to him.
“I see you didn’t get enough hits on your head, Perkins,” Natalia says loudly. “You wanna get more?”
“Hey, MacClife, I’m tired, deal with your fiancée by yourself!” Daniel exclaims and throws the bracelet at Edward.
“Quiet, guys, I shall solve everything,” Edward says confidently with a sly smile. “Hey, cutie… Kitty, kitty, meow…”
Edward gives a start sharply and runs far away from Natalia, whose face gets a little red from anger.
“Hey, it’s not honest!” Natalia resents. “The girls and I must run after you!”
“Kitty, kitty, kitty!” Edward exclaims funnily.
“Children usually do these stupid things at school!”
“It seems like Rose was right when he said you forgot how to run. Even though you pronounce yourself a professional at sports!”
“Ar-r-r, don’t irritate me, MacClife! If you don’t give me my bracelet, you’re dead.” Natalia glances at Daniel, Terrence, and Peter, who are laughing shyly. “As well as these three laughing idiots!”
“C’mon, babe, work harder!”
Since Daniel is much closer on his way, Edward throws the bracelet at him. The man runs after Natalia for a few seconds before he throws the thing to Peter, who gives the baton to Terrence some time later. Understanding that running after them is a waste of time, the girl uses any moment to give a lot of strong hits to the men, while they try to catch her, tickle her, and twist her hands around.
“Okay, stop it!” Peter exclaims with a loud laugh when Natalia beats him on the arms as strongly as she can. “Hey! Stop!”
“Don’t tickle me!” Terrence makes a loud squeak, hiding his hips that Natalia is tickling so hard. “Don’t do it! I can’t stand tickling!”
“I did nothing!” Daniel exclaims, barely tolerating Natalia’s strong tickling and multiple strong hits on his arms. “No! Deal with these idiots!”
“So, boys, don’t ya like it?” Natalia smiles slyly. “Did you understand that you shouldn't get in touch with Natalia Rochester? Did you understand that she…”
Being too busy torturing the men, Natalia does not notice that Edward comes to her from behind and takes her, so that her arms are tightly pressed to her body.
“Hey!” Natalia resents, trying to get out of Edward’s grip so hard. “Let me go! Let me go, I said!”
“Oh, thanks, brother,” Terrence thanks, fixing his hair with a little heavy breath. “She’s gotten me exhausted.”
“Exhausted? Exhausted? I will kick your ass now…” Natalia tries to get out of Edward’s grip with an irritated growl.
“Quiet, quiet, blondie, quiet,” Edward pronounces with a sly smile, holding Natalia much more tightly. “It’s okay. Breathe deeper.”
“Indeed, friend, relax,” Daniel says confidently and pinches Natalia on the cheek. “Your beautiful face got kind of red.”
“And don’t open your eyes so widely,” Peter adds and ruffles Natalia’s hair a little.
“Ar-r-r, you, idiots, dare to mock me?” Natalia resents. “You stole my bracelet and made me run after you… And now MacClife pressed my arms to my body!”
“Don’t let her go, Edward!” Terrence insists excitedly. “Don’t let her go. Don’t do this!”
“One word from you before I make a cutlet out of you!”
“And how are ya gonna do this?” Terrence scoffs loudly. “The power of your mind!”
Natalia gets out of Edward’s grip in a magical way. The girl runs immediately to the squeaking Terrence and starts beating him strongly on everything she sees, while he puts his head on his shoulders and squeezes himself.
“A-a-a, Edward, take her away!” Terrence squeaks like a pig, trying to take Natalia by the shoulders and turn her on Edward. “I’m afraid of her!”
When Edward tries to catch her again, Natalia attacks him, making him squeak loudly. However, he easily twists her arms behind her back when she just starts to beat him. And after a few seconds of fighting with her hand in hand, the man places the excited girl above his shoulder with a sly smile.
“Hey, place me on the ground now!” Natalia demands loudly, starting to beat Edward on the back with her fists. “Hear me, idiot? Place me on my feet!”
“Here’s a bad girl!” Edward pronounces with a sly smile and slaps Natalia on the buttocks, not caring about her resistance. “Get it!”
“Let me go now!”
“No, MacClife, don’t place her!” Daniel jabs funnily. “Don’t dare!”
“If you don’t shut up, I will get all your feathers out!”
“Hey, why is the blonde the only one to play with us?” Peter wonders. “Where are the other girls?”
“Yes, call them right now!” Terrence orders funnily.
“Okay, beauty, stop resisting there,” Edward says with a sly smile, clapping Natalia on her buttocks. “Or I’m gonna get bruises on my back.”
“If you don’t place me on the ground, you will not be able to sit,” Natalia threatens.
“I will do it if you do the same thing to these idiots.”
“No!” Terrence, Daniel, and Peter jab.
“Okay, lads, call the girls!” Daniel exclaims. “We’ll have a lot of fun now!”
“Call, call,” Natalia smiles slyly with a heavy breath. “If you want your asses to be kicked.”
“Sammy, bring those silent beauties here,” Peter says and claps Sammy slightly on the back. “C’mon, c’mon! While we try to tame the blondie.”
Sammy barks loudly and runs to where the girls are now as fast as a bullet, while Edward keeps carrying Natalia on his shoulder, letting Terrence, Daniel, and Peter mock her without a threat to be punished. And when the dog ends up in the right place, he comes to Helene, grabs softly the bottom of her top made of light material, and pulls his owner on himself.
“Sammy, what are you doing?” Helene resents and pushes Sammy’s face off herself softly. “Let it go now! Let go, I said! Stop! No!”
“So, Sammy, did those idiots ask you to bring us to them?” Raquelle laughs shyly. “Is torturing Natalia not enough for them?”
Sammy lets Helene’s top go and barks two times.
“Yeah, Rochester couldn’t fight against four men,” Anna chuckles kindly.
“Oh, yeah!” Helene assumes. “The boys are mocking our friend in all possible ways.”
“And she’s kicking their asses,” Raquelle notices, seeing Edward place Natalia carefully on the ground and run aside with a loud laugh when she starts chasing him. “She’s now torturing Edward.”
“And those three are laughing loudly,” Anna laughs shyly, while Natalia grabs Edward by the edge of his t-shirt, pulls him sharply on herself along with the loud chuckles of Peter, Terrence, and Daniel, and starts to beat him strongly on his arms and chest.
“They’re also in trouble!” Helene chuckles kindly when Natalia does the same to Terrence, Peter, and Daniel.
“C’mon, Natalia, kick their asses!” Raquelle encourages loudly. “They went really loose!”
“She’s doing well.” Helene cracks a slight smile when Natalia ruffles the men’s hair with a loud laugh and a wide smile, tries to tickle their most vulnerable areas, or runs after them like crazy. “If she took a belt or a pan, she’d surely beat all of them enough.”
“Gosh, how it’s so funny to watch all of that,” Anna laughs shyly. “Watch Rochester kick the asses of all of them on her own.”
“They made a great mistake when they thought they could play games with her.”
While Natalia keeps beating Edward, Daniel, and Peter with pleasure, running after them, and trying to strike them down or jumping on their backs, Terrence leaves them alone and runs to Raquelle, Anna, and Helene sitting aside.
“Get up, girls!” Terrence exclaims funnily. “Stop sitting here!”
“So, pretty boy, are you tired of running after the blonde?” Raquelle chuckles kindly.
“She’s a hurricane! She got everybody exhausted! The men and I are literally howling!”
“Do you, naive guys, think that we’ll be by your side and help you?” Anna smiles slyly.
“You saw what your friend was doing to us! How much she was beating us!” Terrence looks at himself quickly and fixes his strongly disheveled hair. “Look how I look!”
“What?” Helene rounds her eyes. “Pretty good!”
“Please, beauties, help us. Your friend is threatening to make cutlets out of us!”
“My darling, if we join your game, you will howl much louder,” Raquelle says with her head proudly raised.
“Alright, get up!” Terrence pushes Raquelle and Helene softly in the back. “Girls! Get up! It’s an order!”
Sammy barks loudly two times and pushes Anna softly in the back with his nose.
“Hey, Sammy!” Anna laughs shyly.
“C’mon, c’mon,” Terrence jabs, shakes the girls by the shoulders, and pushes Anna softly in the back. “Raquelle, Anna, Helene… Go!”
“Oh, MacClife…” Anna chuckles kindly, getting up slowly. “Instead of calming that gang down, you play along with them.”
“I feel that if the men had children, these babies would be sitting aside quietly, and their daddies would be having fun like they’re two-year-old boys,” Helene gets up with a quiet sigh.
“I don’t know what about those idiots, but I’m gonna be the best daddy in the world!” Terrence says.
“You will,” Anna pronounces confidently. “If you pronounce yourself like this.”
“These things are absolutely clear.”
Raquelle also wants to follow the others, but the talk about children makes her recall the terrible day she lost her baby. And the day she told Terrence everything. About the moments that still give her a strong pain and make her shed a tear. That’s why she stays in the same place and starts to think about everything that has to do with it, while nobody notices it.
“M-m-m, here are the girls!” Daniel smiles widely.
“We’ll have a lot of fun now,” Peter rubs his hands happily.
“Don’t puff your tails, boys,” Anna says confidently.
“Yeah, we’re here to kick your asses,” Helene adds. “For hurting our friend.”
“I’d bet who’s hurting her!” Edward exclaims, fighting with Natalia hand in hand and trying to ruffle her hair, while she keeps beating him and tries to use a chokehold on him. “My whole back is covered with bruises!”
“Oh, you’re inseparable from them!” Terrence notices funnily. “You’re thick as thieves!”
“Wait, MacClife, I shall deal with you, too,” Natalia promises confidently, tickling Edward’s hips and stomach, while he shouts loudly and doubles over. “After I deal with your brother…”
“Erm, don’t be too cruel to him. Don’t choke him, hear me! Rochester! I will need him!”
“Natalia, deal with this peacock,” Edward says confidently, takes Natalia by the shoulders, and pushes her up softly. “C’mon, grab him! Go!”
“Erm, okay, friend, deal with these two pretty boys,” Anna says thoughtfully and smiles slyly. “But Marshall and I will decide on something with these two.”
“So, who hurts our friend?” Helene specifies and comes closer to Daniel and Peter, who go away from them backward, along with Anna. “Whose ass hasn’t met a belt for ages?”
“Quiet, girls, quiet,” Daniel pronounces quietly. “Don’t be nervous. Relax.”
“It’s okay, beauties, it’s okay…” Peter says confidently. “It’s okay… It’s o…”
Peter does not speak his mind because Helene and Anna make him and Daniel run and start chasing them. But some time later, they turn around sharply, catch the girls, and hold them for a few seconds while they whoop loudly and tell them to let them go. And after taking hair jewelry off the heads of both of them, they make the girls run after them, not paying attention to their claim to give their things back. The ladies do not notice how they start giving a hot to Rose, Perkins, Edward, and Terrence along with Natalia. While Sammy runs after everybody with pleasure and barks at those, who pay attention to him at times.
Anna, Natalia, and Helene no longer pretend to be good girls, letting themselves relax and have a good time with their friends, sweethearts, and the doggy. They are thrilling with a loud laugh, driving the men around the whole territory, beating them for fun, torturing them with a tickle, and ruffling their hair. A little later, Daniel and Peter return Anna and Helene’s things to them but start to joke at them much harder, trying to ruffle their hair, clap their sweethearts on the buttocks, carry them on the shoulder, and tolerate their strong enough hits on the back. However, the girls do not also let the men relax and jump on their backs at some moment. Though, the men ride them, each other, and Sammy, while some of them take a few photos and videos on their mobile phones.
But some time later, the friends get a little tired and decide to take a break and cough a little because they get a scratchy throat after laughing too loudly. And while they are coming to themselves, they start to realize that something is not right. As if they are missing something or someone…
“Listen, I can’t get rid of the feeling that we’re missing something,” Edward confesses with a heavy breath, leaning on his laps with both hands.
“Indeed,” Daniel agrees, placing Anna on the ground, whom he was carrying on his back. “Something is not right…”
“It seems like someone is missing…” Anna says thoughtfully.
“Wait, where’s Raquelle?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“Raquelle?” Helene specifies. “I dunno!”
“I thought she came with us,” Terrence adds.
“We got so busy with the game that we didn’t notice she wasn’t here…” Anna says thoughtfully.
While Sammy barks quietly, Peter looks around the whole territory and notices Raquelle sitting where they were before, thinking about something with sadness in her eyes, pressing her knees to her chest, and barely holding her tears down. Frowning slightly, the blond does not wait for his friends’ reaction quickly, goes to the girl quickly, squats down, and puts his hand softly on her shoulder when he asks:
“Raquelle, are you okay?”
Raquelle answers quietly and hesitantly two seconds later, moving her sad eyes to Peter:
“Yes, Peter… I’m fine…”
“But why are you sitting here alone?” Peter asks. “The guys are there, but you’re here!”
“I… I just thought about something…”
“Does it seem to me that you’re sad? You’re about to cry.”
“No… No… I…”
“Did you fight with the girls?”
“No!” Raquelle resents. “Why do you think so?”
“But why are you so sad?”
“I just thought… And I decided to sit here… To warm myself in the sun…”
“Hey, you were funny and talkative some time ago. What happened to you?”
“It’s okay, Peter,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile. “Don’t worry.”
“Don’t be afraid, Raquelle. If you wanna say something, do it bravely. Tell me, and I’ll try to help you.”
“N-no… I… Everything’s okay…”
“If you don’t want someone to know it, I won’t say a word. Just explain what’s happening to you.”
“No… I…”
While everybody is guessing where Raquelle could be and looking for her with their eyes, Daniel looks at where Peter is talking to her and leaves everybody to find out what they are doing there.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Daniel wonders, looking at Peter or Raquelle. “Why are you sitting here?”
“Nothing, it’s okay,” Raquelle pronounces quietly, shaking her head and looking aside.
“Something’s happening to her, but she doesn’t wanna say what,” Peter says quietly.
“Really?” Daniel frowns slightly, squats down, and caresses Raquelle’s shoulder softly. “Raquelle, what’s going on? Why are you literally crying?”
“I just…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly and swallows up nervously. “I just wanna sit here…”
“You’re kind of tense… As if something really bothers you.”
“Sorry, guys. I think I shall sit here. I don’t want to have fun…”
“But there must be a reason for it. Your friends are okay and having fun.”
“I’ll join you a little later…” Raquelle replies quietly, bending her legs at the knees. “Maybe… I… I ain’t sure…”
“What’s wrong, Raquelle? You were so funny some time ago, but now you've suddenly gotten so sad!”
“It’s okay, Daniel. Really.”
“Do you have problems?” Daniel specifies.
“I’m fine…” Raquelle lies hesitantly.
“We’re your friends. You can completely trust us and not be afraid of not getting support and help.”
“I know…”
Raquelle runs her hands through her hair and doubles over, making Daniel and Peter much more anxious for her. And two moments later, Anna comes to them and touches the shoulders of the men when she asks:
“Guys, why are you sitting here?” Anna moves her eyes to Raquelle. “Raquelle, we’ve been looking for you!”
“Listen, Anna, what if you try to talk to her?” Daniel asks quietly. “She doesn’t definitely wanna tell us something.”
“Really?” Anna wonders, looks closely at Raquelle, and squats down in front of her. “Raquelle, friend… C’mon?”
“It’s okay, I’ll come to you now,” Raquelle promises quietly. “I’ll just sit a little…”
“You have problems?” Anna puts her hand on Raquelle’s hand and caresses it softly. “Tell us. Don’t be afraid.”
“It’s okay, Anna… Nothing happened.”
“Listen, Anna, didn’t anything happen between you and the girls while the men and I were busy?” Peter frowns slightly. “Maybe, you fought over something?”
“Or Raquelle told you something?” Daniel asks.
“No, nothing like that,” Anna shakes her head. “We didn’t fight. And she told us nothing.”
“But what’s going on? I don’t understand anything.”
“Raquelle, darling…” Anna sits next to Raquelle and hugs her around the shoulders. “What’s up? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“Me crying?” Raquelle pronounces surprisingly and sniffs quietly. “No… I…”
“We’re your friends! Why don’t you wanna tell us what’s happening to you?”
“Don’t worry, guys…” Raquelle replies hesitantly, looking at her hands. “I… I was just thinking…”
“You’re hurting us if you wanna say nothing to us,” Peter says confidently. “We aren’t strangers to you. We aren’t your enemies.”
“No, guys, I…”
“Gosh, Raquelle, you’re shaking…” Anna gets horrified, rounding her eyes, and presses Raquelle closer to herself. “Friend, c’mon? Don’t scare us!”
“It’s okay… I’m fine… Fine…”
After pronouncing the last words in a low, shaking voice, Raquelle closes her face with her hands and starts crying quietly, making Anna, Daniel, and Peter think of some bad things.
“Damn, what’s happening to her?” Peter wonders, running his hands over the top of his head to the back of it.
“Call Terrence, lads,” Anna says, caressing Raquelle’s head. “He knows how to calm her down better.”
“If only we found him…” Daniel says thoughtfully, looks around, sees Terrence from afar, and raises his hand. “Hey, Terrence! Terrence! Damn, he doesn’t hear! Terrence!”
After hearing Daniel’s call first, Natalia claps Terrence on the shoulder, says something to him, and points to the side. The man moves his eyes there, and Daniel calls him with a gesture and points at Raquelle, who is crying quietly and bitterly, while Anna is hugging her shaking friend tightly and caressing her head. MacClife, Sr., comes to his friends shortly, and Edward, Natalia, and Helene follow him two seconds later.
“What’s wrong, guys?” Terrence asks quietly.
“Something’s not right with Raquelle,” Anna replies a little excitedly, moving her eyes to Terrence. “And she can’t calm down.”
“But what happened to her?”
“We don’t know,” Peter throws his hands up. “She suddenly started to cry for nothing, but she refuses to explain it all.”
“Oh, damn…” Terrence, guessing the possible reason for Raquelle’s tears, gets down on his knees in front of her, hugs the crying girl, and caresses her head softly, while Anna gets up and stands in front of her friend. “Raquelle, sweetie, why are you crying?”
Raquelle says nothing and just presses herself close to Terrence and hides her face in his chest, putting her hands on his back, while Edward, Natalia, and Helene join the others and look questioningly at Daniel, Anna, and Peter.
“Raquelle, darling, what’s wrong?” Natalia wonders, squatting down and caressing Raquelle’s hand. “Why are you crying?”
“She suddenly started to cry and refused to explain what happened to her,” Daniel explains.
“Oh, gosh…” Helene exhales sharply. “But why?”
“Maybe, you and the girls know something?”
“No, we know nothing!”
“We would tell you if we knew it,” Natalia adds confidently.
“Raquelle, sweetie…” Edward pronounces softly, squatting down in front of Raquelle and caressing her shaking hands with sadness in his eyes. “Tell us what’s happening to you. We can’t help you if we don’t know why you’re crying.”
Sammy comes to Raquelle crying quietly and puts his face on her laps, starting to whine with pity at times. Edward looks at Terrence and lets him know that he is aware of the possible reason for what’s happening. Then MacClife, Sr., nods slightly at him.
“Raquelle, why did you start crying?” Terrence asks softly, still caressing Raquelle’s head softly. “This morning, you were so happy that we’d come all together. But now you’re crying bitterly…”
“And now you joked and smiled a lot,” Edward adds.
“Listen, give her some water,” Peter says quietly. “If we don’t have it here, I will go to my car. I have a bottle of mineral water.”
“No, no, don’t go,” Natalia replies confidently, comes to the packet placed not far away, and starts to check it out, standing on her knees. “I’ll check this packet.”
“I don’t understand!” Daniel exclaims. “What could happen to her for five or ten minutes?”
“Don’t forget that she’s been weird for a long time,” Helene replies quietly.
“Do you think she recalled her secret again?”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“But what could happen?” Anna throws her hands up. “She has everything and is madly happy!”
“I dunno, but the problem is definitely her secret,” Peter assumes confidently. “Remember how she changes every time someone asks her about what happened! And look at her now!”
“Anyway, it’s all too weird,” Natalia says quietly, coming to everybody with a glass of water. “I’m starting to be worried about her seriously.”
Natalia bends over to Terrence, gives him the glass of water, and squats down, while he asks Raquelle to drink. Sniffing quietly, the girl takes multiple sips of water with wet eyes, while the man caresses her head and moves some hair off her face, and her friend is holding her hand with both hands and caressing it.
“Hey, you got better?” Natalia asks softly.
Raquelle nods, gives the half-empty glass to Natalia, closes her face with a hand, and runs it over her hair, sniffing all the time and still shaking slightly but not crying as bitterly as she did before.
“God, Raquelle, stop scaring us like this,” Helene says with sadness in her eyes, getting down on her knees and caressing Raquelle’s shoulder. “Tell us what happened to you.”
“We aren’t your enemies, friend,” Daniel adds confidently. “You can tell us anything.”
Meanwhile, Sammy does not leave Raquelle, whines constantly, nuzzles her face, and licks her nose shyly. At some moment, he suggests that she pet his head and tweak his ears. Although the girl does it, she does not get better.
“You scare us, Raquelle,” Peter says with sadness in his eyes. “We can’t help you if we don’t know the reason for your sadness. If we don’t know why you suddenly started to cry.”
“We’re friends, sweetie,” Anna says softly. “Share your grief with us and let us help you.”
“Darling, please, explain what’s wrong,” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes, holding Raquelle’s hands. “Did the girls or I say something wrong? Or did the men hurt you?”
Raquelle shakes her head slightly and barely pronounces, “No,” not stopping to look at her hands.
“You’re acting like you’re guilty of us, but you’re afraid to say it,” Daniel says. “Or we hurt you or said something wrong.”
“N-nope…” Raquelle pronounces very quietly in a shaking voice. “You didn’t hurt…”
“What’s wrong, then?” Helene wonders with sadness in her eyes. “We don’t understand you!”
“If you ask us, we’ll tell no one about it,” Anna promises confidently.
“Oh, bloody hell…” Peter exhales sharply, putting his hand on his forehead.
While Helene, Anna, Daniel, and Peter try to comfort and talk out Raquelle, and Sammy lets her pet him, Terrence and Edward standing in front of the crying girl watch what’s happening with sadness in their eyes and look at each other hesitantly at some moment.
“Do you think she’ll find the courage to say everything now?” Edward asks quietly.
“I wish she did it,” Terrence replies quietly. “We can’t keep hiding the fact that she had a miscarriage anymore.”
“Yeah… It’s time to end it.”
“I think Raquelle will reveal everything now. As you remember, she’d wanted to do it before Anna’s parents called Daniel and told him about the Potters.”
“We can really no longer be silent. The guys look at us badly and suspect that we know something.”
“I think she understands that they’ll get what they want this time. Raquelle will not avoid the answer.”
Meanwhile, Daniel and Peter pay attention to Edward and Terrence, being wrong when they think that they do not care about what’s happening to Raquelle.
“Hey, Terrence, are you the fuck crazy?” Daniel resents. “Your fiancée is about to get hysterical, but you’re talking to Edward!”
“You are heatless idiots if you decided to sort your relationship out at such a hard moment,” Peter adds gloomily with both arms crossed over his chest.
“As if I don’t think about how to help Raquelle!” Terrence throws a little irritably.
“We’re actually trying to find a way to help her,” Edward explains quietly.
“First, you’d better talk to her, not each other!” Peter exclaims.
“Go, go!” Daniel throws. “Move!”
Peter and Daniel push Terrence and Edward in the back, and then the brothers go by themselves and sit on both hands of Raquelle, while she keeps crying bitterly.
“Hey, idiots, you’re crazy if you wanna play a catch and laugh at such a hard moment,” Helene throws a little irritably.
“Terrence, you must be the first in the line with a wish to comfort her!” Anna adds gloomily. “But instead, you and Edward are talking some nonsense!”
“What?” Natalia looks questioningly at Terrence and Edward. “MacClife! Do you give a damn about your fiancée?”
Edward and Terrence say nothing and just try to comfort Raquelle, wishing to persuade the girl to tell everybody about her miscarriage.
“Raquelle, why did you break down?” Terrence asks softly, hugging Raquelle around the shoulders and caressing her head, while she looks into the distance with her wet eyes. “Please, sweetie, stop scaring us like this. Tell us what bothers you.”
“Don’t worry, Raquelle, we’ll be by your side anyway,” Edward promises, caressing Raquelle’s hand. “Please, darling, let us help you. We are all worried about you and wanna help.”
“I know…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “I know…”
“Calm down, Raquelle, calm down,” Terrence says quietly, caressing Raquelle’s cheek tenderly and moving a couple of strands of hair off her eyes. “It’s okay…”
Terrence keeps caressing Raquelle’s head, kissing her on the temple at some moment and trying to act like he knows nothing. But a little later, he winks secretly at Edward and glances at the girl. The guy nods immediately, moves closer to the girl, hugs her around the shoulders, and asks her in a whisper:
“Don’t you wanna tell about the baby?”
Raquelle says nothing and just sniffs, closing her mouth with a hand, but then she moves her wet eyes to Edward and Terrence.
“We can’t hide the truth anymore,” Terrence whispers, bending closer to Raquelle’s ear and pretending that he wants to kiss her cheek. “You’ve gotta tell everything. They won’t calm down ‘till they know what’s wrong.”
“I know…” Raquelle whispers in a shaking voice. “But I can’t talk about it quietly.”
“Do you want Terrence and me to do it?” Edward suggests. “We’ll explain everything, and the guys will understand you.”
“No, Edward… No… I must do it by myself…”
“Okay, do it now,” Terrence replies quietly. “And we’ll support you and help you to calm down.”
“I’m afraid…”
“Don’t be, Raquelle, it’s gonna be okay. The guys will understand for sure.”
“Nobody will think of judging you,” Edward adds confidently.
“You think I can do this?” Raquelle asks hesitantly.
“Of course, you can,” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “Just start to speak, and then it’s gonna be easier.”
Edward and Terrence caress Raquelle’s shoulders softly, and then the older of the MacClife brothers hugs her cutely and presses her close to himself. While Natalia, Anna, Helene, Daniel, and Peter watch them closely.
“They are kind of weird…” Peter notices thoughtfully. “Very weird…”
“So true,” Helene agrees. “Something gets me confused…”
“But don’t forget that something’s been happening between them for a long time,” Natalia adds.
“Listen, don’t you think that the MacClifes are behaving too weirdly?” Anna frowns slightly. “Maybe, it seems that they tell Raquelle comforting words at first sight. But I think they’re kind of agreed.”
“Definitely,” Helene nods. “At first, only Edward caused suspects, but now Terrence definitely knows everything, too.”
“And what do we do? How do we find out the truth?”
“I suggest we pin these two to the wall and strike everything they know outta them,” Daniel suggests confidently. “They surely have something to say.”
“If it’s true, it explains a lot,” Peter says thoughtfully. “If they didn’t know the truth, the MacClifes wouldn’t be so quiet. Terrence would go crazy from suspense.”
“Exactly! So… If they don’t wanna speak at their wish, we will talk to them in a bad way.”
“Leave it to me, guys!” Natalia replies confidently with her head proudly raised. “Now these two will speak immediately!”
Natalia comes to Edward, Terrence, and Raquelle confidently and quickly, gets down on her knees, and looks gloomily at the men, who stop talking to the girl immediately.
“Hey, you two!” Natalia exclaims. “You surely know something about this situation!”
“Pardon, what?” Terrence asks hesitantly.
“And don’t dare to say it’s not true!” Natalia raises her index finger. “Or I will strangle you with my own hands!”
Edward and Terrence look at each other hesitantly and glance at Natalia, Peter, Anna, Helene, and Daniel.
“Tell us what you know about Raquelle,” Natalia demands determinedly. “What did you tell her? And what did she answer?”
“We were just calming her down…” Edward replies hesitantly, throwing his hands up. “And… Saying something to her?”
“What?” Peter asks gloomily with both arms crossed over his chest. “Did you talk about how long you’d hide what has to do with Raquelle?”
“What? No… We don’t…”
“Do you think we don’t see that you two are too weird?” Daniel wonders, putting his hands on his hips. “Do you think we’re blind, stupid, and deaf?”
Sammy barks confidently two times.
“Did everything start on the day Terrence ended up in the hospital? Right? From that moment on, Edward started to behave very weirdly! And the fact that you two couldn’t explain why Raquelle didn’t come to the hospital to visit Anna causes much more suspicion! When you behaved much more weirdly: one didn’t come, and two others first distanced themselves from each other but then started to speak as if nothing happened.”
“Wait, guys…” Terrence pronounces quietly. “It’s not what you’re thinking about…”
“It really is, Terrence!” Anna says confidently. “We don’t doubt that you and Edward know what’s happening to Raquelle. But you two keep silent so hard.”
“At first, only Edward knew it, but now we have a reason to believe you’re aware of it, too,” Helene crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s why you reacted to Raquelle’s hysteria quietly. You weren’t surprised. You didn’t get confused. As if you were ready.”
“But now we’re demanding an answer from you,” Natalia demands confidently. “Yes, MacClifes, the game is over! It’s time to open your cards! As Cameron refuses to speak, you two will tell everything for her.”
Terrence and Edward look hesitantly at each other and glance at Raquelle, who is shaking slightly and doing her best to get ready to tell her secret by herself.
“Why are you silent?” Natalia frowns strongly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Huh? Edward? Terrence? Is someone’s gonna open their mouth?”
“I can’t believe it, guys…” Anna adds confidently. “You’re hiding something from us…”
“Yeah, I thought we were friends…” Helene shakes her head.
“Guys, don’t be mad, please,” Edward says quietly. “We understand you, but let’s keep calm.”
“Will you speak at your wish or force Daniel and me to press you to the wall?” Peter asks.
“No, no, lads,” Terrence shakes his head. “Don’t be mad, please… We just…”
“Listen, stop finding excuses and lying to us!” Daniel throws gloomily. “Stop! We’ll no longer believe your lie, and we finally want to hear the truth!”
“And until we hear it, nobody will leave you alone,” Anna adds confidently.
Sammy barks loudly two times, as if he wants to know how to help Raquelle calm down.
“So, guys, it seems like they refuse to speak,” Natalia says thoughtfully, looking at Daniel, Anna, Peter, and Helene. “I think we’ll have to press on them.”
“And we’ll do this now,” Peter replies.
When Daniel, Helene, Natalia, Peter, and Anna give a start, Raquelle gets up sharply and looks at everybody with pity in her wet eyes, saying in a loud voice full of despair:
“No! Stop it! Don’t hurt Terrence and Edward! They aren’t guilty of anything! These two kept silent at my plea. If you need explanations, make me give them to you. I started all of that… I asked them to say nothing.”
“And what did you tell them?” Natalia asks. “And what do you three hide from us?”
“I’ll explain everything, I promise. But please, don’t be mad.”
“Okay, we’ll listen to you,” Daniel says quietly. “But first, let’s sit down and calm down a little.”
Everybody sits on the blanket placed on the grass and drinks some water to relax a little. While Sammy presses himself close to Raquelle with the hope that it will help her calm down a little.
“You know, I wanted to say it much earlier,” Raquelle says hesitantly. “On the day, we were at Daniel and Cassidy’s home, and he received a call from Anna’s parents… To tell about the Potters…”
“We got it,” Daniel shrugs.
“I thought I would’ve finally told you everything, so Edward and Terrence stopped pretending that they knew nothing about my secret. But unfortunately… I… Had to delay this talk.”
“Gosh, friend, you’re grieving so much as if you killed someone accidentally,” Natalia notices thoughtfully.
“I really killed… Killed…”
“What?” everybody opens their eyes widely.
“What do you mean ‘killed?’” Peter frowns strongly. “You kinda… Killed… Someone?”
“I could say so…” Raquelle replies hesitantly. “What I did really can be called like this…”
Sammy whines quietly while Raquelle pets his head with sadness in her eyes, Terrence presses her to himself, and the others look at each other with horror in their eyes.
“What did you do, Raquelle?” Anna asks with sadness in her eyes. “What kind of bad thing did you do?”
A few seconds are gone before Raquelle finally confesses what has bothered her for a long time in a shaking voice:
“I lost my baby… I… Experienced a miscarriage. I was expecting a baby, but… He or she wasn’t born.”
These words make everybody deeply shocked. The friends get a little white and become speechless for some time, looking at each other with widely open eyes.
“What?” Natalia, Helene, Anna, Daniel, and Peter pronounce at a different time.
“Miscarriage?” Helene gets horrified.
“You could’ve met the baby of Terrence and me,” Raquelle replies in a shaking voice with wet eyes. “But it didn’t happen…”
“But why, Raquelle?” Peter asks hesitantly, shaking his head. “Why’d you lose your baby?”
“And when?” Daniel wonders. “We didn’t see any changes in you that pregnant women usually have.”
“Explain it,” Anna says with pity in her eyes.
“It happened during the trial of Michael MacClife,” Raquelle replies quietly. “I learned about my pregnancy at that time… My visit to a doctor confirmed it and explained the reason I had felt bad.”
“During the trial of Michael?” Natalia asks. “So, were you pregnant when attending those hearings?”
“Yup… A couple of weeks passed after the trial started. And on one of those free days, I found out that I was expecting a baby.”
“But we knew nothing about it!” Helene exclaims.
“I wanted to find a good moment and tell you about it…” Raquelle replies quietly.
“Wait… Is that what you were hiding?”
“Yup. That was my secret.”
“Second, did Terrence know about the baby?” Daniel frowns slightly. “And you, girls? Was some of you aware of it?”
“I told nobody. Even Terrence. He didn’t know that I went to a doctor. Nobody knew it… Everything happened accidentally! I didn’t think I would’ve been pregnant at such a hard time.”
“But Terrence was the father of that baby!” Peter throws his hands up. “He should’ve known the truth!”
“I swear, Peter, I wanted to tell him everything. But I was waiting for a good moment and trying to get him ready for that. I didn’t wanna get him shocked.”
“Okay, but why did you get a miscarriage?” Natalia asks. “You’re absolutely healthy!”
“Even healthy women have miscarriages… My miscarriage happened because I worried too much about the trial. When we were worried that Michael and his gang could be free. Or that Edward could be pronounced guilty…”
“And when did you lose the one?” Anna specifies.
“Two weeks after I visited a doctor.” Raquelle sighs heavily and sniffs, wiping tears from her eyes. “I was home when I got worse… Weakness, bleeding, wide pain in my stomach… It made me go to the hospital, where they told me about my miscarriage. The doctors insisted that I stay and tell my family about what happened. But I didn’t want to. And… Two or three hours later, I left against receipt about getting the responsibility for consequences.”
Raquelle sighs again and throws her hands up.
“Here it is… That’s what I was hiding for so long… What I was afraid to reveal even to my closest people. But now you know everything. I’ve got no more secrets…”
Being shocked by this confession, the friends say nothing for a few seconds, looking at each other with horror in their eyes and shaking their heads, while Sammy keeps whining quietly.
“Oh, my God, Raquelle…” Anna pronounces with pity in her eyes, caressing Raquelle’s hand. “Friend…”
“Gosh, were you silent about that all this time?” Helene opens her eyes widely. “The trial of Michael started at the end of last October, and August is gonna end soon…”
“I was,” Raquelle nods.
“But why, Raquelle?” Peter wonders. “What was the meaning of delaying it ‘till the end?”
“I’m very sorry, guys,” Raquelle looks at everybody with pity in her eyes. “I swear, I wanted to tell you about my miscarriage. But I wasn’t ready and was terribly afraid of my close people’s reactions.”
“But, Raquelle, we aren’t strangers to you,” Daniel notices. “We’re your friends. Did you really think we’d judge you for what happened not because of you?”
“But I’m really guilty! If I’d taken care of myself and hadn’t put myself under that stress, the baby would’ve been born.”
“No, it’s okay you said nothing to us,” Natalia says quietly. “But why were you torturing Terrence for so long? He must’ve been the first one to know about the baby. Because this man is your fiancé, who was the father of the baby.”
“I was afraid of Terrence’s reaction and thought he would’ve left me,” Raquelle confesses with despair. “And I was sure that it would happen when he heard about the child.”
“But why didn’t you tell us about it?” Peter wonders. “We aren’t really strangers to you! You’re our friend, and all of us love you so much. You mean a lot to us.”
“Because you could open my secret to Terrence accidentally or on purpose. Though, I wanted to confess everything by myself. It would’ve been much worse if he’d heard it from third faces.”
“But it’s stupid, friend!” Anna exclaims. “Saying nothing because you didn't trust your close friends was stupid!”
“I know, Anna, I know. I thought I’d get over that. I believed I’d forget everything and keep living. But the pain from losing my child still doesn’t leave me.”
“A trial wasn’t a reason to delay such an important talk. If you were pregnant, you should’ve come to Terrence and told him everything. You should’ve thought about you and your baby.”
“Yes, friend, the baby wasn’t guilty of deciding to let you know about them at such a wrong time,” Helene adds confidently.
“Wait, didn’t the servants know it?” Daniel frowns slightly. “Someone was supposed to be at home on the day you got a miscarriage.”
“No, Daniel, nobody knew anything,” Raquelle shakes her head. “On the day of my miscarriage, Terrence was spending time with you, Edward, and Peter at the studio, the girls were doing their business, and Blair, Christiana, and Violetta had a free day. I was alone. And when I came back home from the hospital, there was nobody at home. Terrence came back home late, and the servants went the next day.”
“Damn, but how could you go to the hospital alone?” Peter rounds his eyes. “You could've called an ambulance at home, and doctors would’ve come shortly!”
“I got stronger pain in the middle of my way. It had been more or less bearable. However, I thought I would pass out on the way. But luckily, I successfully went to the hospital.”
“Gosh, Cameron, you’re crazy!” Helene gets horrified, putting her hand on her forehead. “How could you drive when feeling like that? With bleeding and a strong pain!”
“I just didn’t want to wait. And I thought it would’ve been fine if I’d come to the hospital quickly. I know it was really madness, but I only wanted my child to be okay.”
“Oh, Raquelle…” Anna shakes her head.
“Okay, we got it,” Natalia says thoughtfully. “But now, as far as we understand, you told Terrence everything.”
“Right,” Raquelle confirms quietly.
“And as far as I understand, Terrence wasn’t the first one to know it?” Peter asks thoughtfully.
“Yes, me…” Edward replies a little hesitantly. “I was the first one to know about the child. I’m sorry for being silent all this time… I just did what Raquelle asked me about and couldn’t betray her. And I thought she should’ve told you everything by herself.”
“But how?” Natalia throws her hands up. “And when?”
“On the day Terrence ended up in the hospital, the doctor told us what happened to him, Raquelle left, and I went to find her.”
“When that scumbag Wainwright injected some shit into him, because of which he almost died?” Daniel specifies.
“Yup. I had been looking for her for a long time. And I found her in the quietest place in the hospital. She was sitting on the floor and crying bitterly. When I came to her, Raquelle started to say that she would’ve lost Terrence or something like that. So, I originally thought she was just too nervous and didn’t know what she said… Because she was too worried… But later, Raquelle said Terrence would’ve left her if he’d known that she lost his baby. I didn’t believe it at first. But she told me the story that you just heard. And… I had to believe…”
“Just like we thought,” Helene nods. “We suspected that you knew something.”
“I begged Edward not to tell anyone about it,” Raquelle explains quietly. “And he agreed to be silent. Then Natalia came to us but left to get water later. Then Mr. and Mrs. MacClife came and… I told them about my miscarriage and asked them to keep silent.”
“Wait, did Mr. and Mrs. MacClife know everything, too?” Natalia rounds her eyes. “My parents suspected that they knew something ‘cause they reacted to talks about Raquelle’s secrets too quietly.”
“My grandfather and aunt know everything, too.”
“What? Mr. Cameron and Alicia know it?”
“They gave me no choice. They threatened to find out everything from Edward and his parents. So, I was scared and told them everything, and… I asked them to be silent.”
“Did you tell them when Terrence was unconscious?” Daniel specifies.
“No, after he woke up. I was alone in his room when Anna came to us first, and then Grandpa, Auntie, and Amanda joined us. They found a reason to leave the room, took me with them, and made me tell everything. So, Terrence and Anna noticed nothing, ‘cause they were busy playing with Amanda.”
“But I remember you getting nervous when Alicia asked you about children,” Anna confesses thoughtfully. “We’d just suspected that you hid something, but your behavior made it clear.”
“Before you came, Terrence wanted to know everything. But I persuaded him to wait for him to leave the hospital. I was afraid to make him feel worse. And I delayed the moment of the confession. The moment when my relationship with him would’ve been over.”
“But after, you couldn’t avoid the answer anymore because Terrence pinned you to the wall,” Natalia assumes thoughtfully.
“And it didn’t definitely happen on the day of his release,” Helene adds.
“It happened two days after Anna got beaten,” Terrence confesses quietly. “I forced Raquelle to tell me the truth. But when I heard everything, I got terribly nuts. I really got wild and was ready to kill anyone to stand in my way… But I feel a terrible pain from realizing that my child is dead. I couldn’t accept it… And I can’t do it now…”
“Yeah…” Raquelle barely nods. “I was terribly scared, ‘cause he could easily kill me. Terrence had a very strong offense against me. He wanted to hear nothing.”
“Wow…” Peter pronounces thoughtfully.
“I’m gonna be honest, I sometimes wanted to run away somewhere, not waiting for him to leave me.”
“Oh, damn, Terrence, come on!” Daniel wonders. “How much did you scare Raquelle that she wanted to run away from you?”
“You all know well that I can’t control myself and always pay a high cost for that,” Terrence replies a little hesitantly.
“I ain’t kinda surprised,” Natalia confesses.
“I got excited so hard that I fought not only with Raquelle, but also with Edward and my parents. I was sure that they had betrayed me. So, I started a scandal and said so much that I feel ashamed now…”
“Yeah, our parents and I were really scared and barely calmed down,” Edward confesses hesitantly. “After that, we wanted to talk to Raquelle, but she called me, went to our home, and stayed with us ‘till the late evening. We had to do our best to calm her down… We even called Mr. Cameron and Alicia, and they came to us shortly. Those people wanted to start a scandal with Terrence, but Father barely persuaded them to wait for him to calm down. But the next day we solved the problem and reconciled.”
“Wait, you say, the next day?” Peter asks thoughtfully.
“Yeah.”
“Listen, Anna…” Peter, frowning slightly, glances at Anna. “Do you remember you and I talking about Edward and Terrence’s weird behavior? When Terrence went to your room, and Edward got out of there as fast as a bullet. And MacClife, Sr., got out after him.”
“Yes, yes, I remember!” Anna nods confidently. “And later, they returned to the room, pretended that everything was okay, and blamed each other’s stubbornness and dispute. And Raquelle didn’t come to the hospital on that day, even if we waited for her.”
“I just decided to keep myself far from Terrence and let him calm down,” Edward explains. “I was afraid that he could’ve done something worse than just insult, humiliate, or hit.”
“And I left the room to explain my behavior to Edward,” Terrence adds confidently. “It was hard, but I got forgiveness from him, Raquelle, and my parents. And the next day, I went to Alicia and Mr. Cameron, explained everything, and apologized for my psychoses. They said they were resentful, but they gave me one more chance. Though, they warned that they would no longer tolerate that behavior.”
“Wow…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully.
“So, here’s it, guys,” Raquelle shrugs. “I’m ready to be criticized for such an irresponsible act. Begin. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
Raquelle inclines her head guiltily and thinks silently about something with her sad eyes that are not so wet now. Then she sighs heavily, gets up slowly, and goes far from the others. The friends cannot say a word for some time. Everybody just looks at each other or Sammy whining in a heartbreaking way, trying to accept what they just heard. But then Natalia, Anna, and Helene look at each other, get up, and come to Raquelle, while Terrence steps aside with both arms crossed over his chest, thinking about something.
“Raquelle…” Natalia pronounces softly, putting her hand on Raquelle’s shoulder.
Raquelle looks at her friends with wet eyes, shakes her head, sniffs, and finds herself in the tight, amiable hug of Natalia, who also makes a couple of quiet sobs and caresses her friend’s head with the hope of comforting and supporting her.
“It’s okay, sweetie…” Natalia shows sympathy. “It’s okay… I’m with you…”
Some time later, Natalia steps back from Raquelle, who gets hugged by Anna wiping tears from her eyes.
“Raquelle, my sweetie…” Anna pronounces softly. “I’m so sorry… I’m madly sorry for your baby…”
Anna steps back from Raquelle and lets Helene hug her friend, while Sammy whines with pity.
“I’m so sorry, friend,” Helene says with pity in her eyes. “I can imagine what you felt and what you feel now.”
“Experiencing a miscarriage is terrible,” Anna adds with pity in her eyes. “Nobody should get through it.”
“I feel so bad, girls…” Raquelle pronounces in a shaking voice, stepping back from Helene. “I still can’t accept the fact that my child died because of my irresponsibility.”
“You aren’t the one to blame, honey,” Natalia replies softly, caressing Raquelle’s shoulder. “And your unborn baby was guilty of nothing. Nobody’s guilty of it to happen like that.”
“No, I was an idiot. I didn’t take care of myself and treated my baby so badly.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Raquelle, please,” Anna says with sadness in her eyes. “You’re not guilty of the fact that things may happen at the wrong time.”
“Why did it happen to me?” Raquelle wonders with tears and despair. “Why, girls? What did I do? Is this my punishment for the mistakes of my past? When I was an egoist and loved my job much more than my close people!”
Sammy nuzzles his nose in Raquelle’s hands and suggests she pet him or yank him by the ears. And she does it, moving her wet look to the doggy that completely understands how much she needs love and support.
“Please, darling, stop blaming yourself,” Helene begs with pity in her eyes, hugging Raquelle around the shoulders.
“I can’t…” Raquelle pronounces in a shaking voice. “I can’t… It’s too hard…”
“Sh-h-h, quiet, quiet, sweetie,” Natalia says softly. “Calm down… It’s okay… It’s okay…”
Natalia, Helene, and Anna hug Raquelle tightly at the same time, while Sammy is running around them and does not stop barking and whining quietly. Meanwhile, Edward also decides to go aside with a sense of relief and sadness, being happy that the fiancée of his brother finally did what she should have done a long time ago. The guy walks slowly in circles for some time, inclining his head and crossing his arms over his chest. But later he stops, closes his eyes for two moments, and just looks into the distance while a slight, warm wind blows up his face and hair. Edward would probably get busy with his dark thoughts. But Daniel and Peter come to him quietly and put their hands on his shoulders with sadness in their eyes, waking him up from a trance and making him turn to his friends slowly.
“We’re really sorry that your nibling wasn’t born,” Peter says with sadness in his eyes.
“I still can barely believe it,” Edward confesses quietly. “I can’t believe that the fucking trial of the curse of the MacClifes named Michael was the reason why the child became a victim. Another victim of him.”
“Who would’ve known that the child would’ve wanted to come into Raquelle and Terrence’s lives at such a hard moment?” Daniel shrugs. “And how could they know they would’ve been expecting a baby during the trial?”
“I would’ve loved my nibling like my own baby. I would’ve given him everything I could. Oh…” Edward exhales sharply. “I’d probably go crazy if it was my child…”
“If it’s hard for you to survive this tragedy, how bad do Terrence and Raquelle feel?” Peter asks.
“I know… It’s hard for both of them.”
Peter glances aside and sees Terence walking around in circles, looking much gloomier than before and inclining his head slightly. Daniel and Edward also watch him and look at each other and the blond. At some moment, the three men decide to come to him and support him somehow.
“Terrence…” Peter pronounces, touching Terrence’s shoulder.
Terrence turns to the men slowly and looks at them with sadness in his eyes.
“We’re very sorry, dude,” Daniel shows sympathy, clapping Terrence on the back. “We all know how much you wanted a child. How much you talked about your wish to become a dad.”
“I feel like I was deprived of something important,” Terrence confesses without emotions on his face. “It’s hard for me to accept the fact that my child is dead.”
“We completely understand you, brother,” Peter replies confidently. “It’s always hard to lose your close people. But it’s much harder to lose your child.”
“I didn’t even find out who I would’ve had: a girl or a boy… And I never will.”
“Whoever it was, you would’ve made him or her a decent person.”
“Who knows… Maybe it was a punishment for all the mistakes that I made in the past… I’ve been making mistakes all my life.”
“No, buddy, don’t say it,” Peter shakes his head.
“You’ll have children,” Daniel says confidently. “Raquelle isn’t sick and can give birth to many children.”
“Other children can’t replace the dead one and make your pain weaker,” Terrence replies without emotions.
“We know. Anyway, everything is not lost.”
“I would now be holding my child in my arms and raising him or her. That child was supposed to make everybody happy. My parents would’ve taken care of their grandchild… And Mr. Cameron and Alicia… They’ve been dreaming of it so much.”
“We know, buddy,” Peter replies quietly. “It would be bad to say something like, ‘Take it easy, the child is dead, and you can’t bring them back!’”
“But there’s a part of the truth about it,” Terrence says thoughtfully and looks at the men with a depressed look. “The child is dead and can’t be brought back.”
“At least, you still have a chance to become a father,” Edward notices quietly. “You have a chance to find out what fatherhood is.”
“I don’t know what I would do if Raquelle and I weren’t able to do it.”
Terrence throws a sad look aside and looks into the distance without emotions for two seconds. After watching him and looking at Peter and Edward, Daniel comes to his buddy, and claps him on the shoulder that he grips tightly.
“We’re with you, Terrence,” Daniel comforts. “You can always count on us.”
“I know,” Terrence pronounces quietly.
Daniel takes Terrence in an amiable hug for two seconds and claps him on the head. Peter and Edward also offer a tight hug that MacClife, Sr., does not refuse.
“You’re strong, man,” Peter cracks a slight smile.
“Hold on, bro,” Edward adds amicably.
“Thanks for the support, guys,” Terrence thanks.
A little later, Sammy comes to the men and barks quietly, looking at Terrence with pity in his eyes and starting to whine quietly. The man squats down and pets his head with pleasure, but at some moment, the dog licks his nose shyly and just nuzzles his nose into his face. While Edward, Daniel, and Peter watch Terrence with sadness in their eyes and look at each other, Natalia, Helene, and Anna leading Raquelle come to them. The men come to the girl immediately and hug her amicably by one.
“We’re very sorry, darling,” Daniel says softly.
“We’re all by your side,” Peter adds confidently.
“Good job, Raquelle,” Edward says amicably. “You did it.”
Meanwhile, Anna, Helene, and Natalia caress Terrence’s shoulder softly and hug him tightly when he gets up.
“I’m really sorry for your baby, who wasn’t born,” Helene says with sadness in her eyes.
“I’m shocked by what I heard,” Anna confesses.
“Remember that we’ll always be by the side of you and Raquelle,” Natalia adds confidently.
“Thanks for the sympathy, guys,” Raquelle thanks hesitantly. “And forgive me for saying nothing to you. I’m very sorry about doing such a bad thing to you.”
“Don’t apologize, Raquelle, we understand it,” Anna replies softly, caressing Raquelle’s shoulder. “Though, we’re very happy you finally made everything clear.”
“Yeah, we came up with a lot of things!” Peter exclaims, putting his hand on his heart. “Gosh, I don’t even wanna talk about it! It led us to the thought that you were barren, and Terrence didn’t know it.”
“No, no,” Raquelle shakes her head. “I’m not barren. I don’t have and didn’t have problems that wouldn’t let me get pregnant.”
“Gosh, we didn’t know whom to ask for help!” Helene confesses. “Nobody knew a thing, whoever we asked! Seriously, Raquelle, we started to worry about you after Terrence told us about your, seems like, reasonless tears.”
“I’m madly sorry… I swear, I didn’t want it. And I didn’t think it would’ve gone too far.”
“Stop, Raquelle,” Daniel replies softly, “It’s okay. It doesn’t make sense now.”
“The most important thing is that you finally told us the truth,” Peter adds.
“And give us no reason to worry about you.”
“But I’m personally a little hurt,” Natalia says thoughtfully, looking at Edward and Terrence gloomily as she walks slowly in front of them. “What the heck, pretty boys! Why did none of you want to tell me all the truth?”
“Sorry, Natalia, but I couldn’t break the promise,” Edward replies with sadness in his eyes. “Raquelle begged me to be silent so badly that I couldn’t refuse.”
“But I’m almost a part of your family! You could share your secret with me! I swear I would’ve said nothing if you’d needed it.”
“Indeed, Natalia, we’re sorry,” Terrence apologizes shyly. “We didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Don’t be mad at them, friend,” Raquelle replies softly, putting her hand on Natalia’s shoulder. “It was all me.”
“But you could surely tell me!” Natalia exclaims and shakes her head. “Gosh, we’ve known each other for a thousand years, but you didn’t tell me your secret.”
“You know everything now,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “No need to guess.”
“You know… As people say, better late than never.”
“I know…” Raquelle looks at everybody. “Forgive me for not trusting you again.”
“Stop, Raquelle, please…” Anna pronounces softly.
“Gosh… I…” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “I was so afraid that I would have the same life as my parents’… If everything had gotten worse, Terrence and I would’ve broken up. As it happened to my mother and father…”
“But, Raquelle…” Daniel pronounces amazingly. “Why do you think Terrence and you must’ve lived your parents’ lives?”
“The fact that my mother and I both had a miscarriage can’t be a coincidence.”
“What?” Edward opens his eyes widely. “Your mother? Miscarriage?”
“What miscarriage?” Terrence wonders.
“Your grandfather and aunt never said anything about it!” Anna exclaims.
“For the time being,” Raquelle says quietly. “On the day I told them everything, Grandpa Frederick told me that my mother was pregnant. But later, she lost her baby and fell into depression, which was a reason for her wish to divorce from Father.”
“Did her miscarriage ruin their relationship?” Natalia concludes.
“Grandfather and Aunt said it. Father tried to help Mother for a long time, but she gave a damn about everything and everybody and started to show aggression. So, they decided to file for divorce. But my parents reconciled some time before their death.”
Nobody says a word for a few seconds, while Sammy looks at them questioningly and makes some weird sounds.
“Wow,” Terrence pronounces surprisingly. “You’ve never told me about it!”
“So, could you have had a brother or sister?” Natalia wonders.
“Yup, if Mother hadn’t lost a baby, I would’ve been an older sister,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully.
“And what was your age?” Helene frowns slightly.
“About six or seven.”
“And you didn’t know it?” Daniel wonders. “I was eight when Mother found out that she was expecting Cassidy, and I knew it from the beginning.”
“No, I knew nothing. Grandfather Frederick said my parents were going to tell me about it. But they didn’t have to because Mother suddenly experienced a miscarriage. On the fourth month.”
“She was worried about something, too?” Peter frowns slightly.
“No, it happened to her by itself. There was no reason to be worried.”
“Gosh…” Helene shakes her head with horror in her eyes.
Sammy whining with great pity, comes to Raquelle and presses himself as close to her as possible, while she sighs heavily and pets the doggy’s head. Terrence hugs her with both arms tightly and kisses the girl on the top of her head, while the others are standing next to them and watching the two with sadness in their eyes.
“Yeah…” Natalia sighs quietly. “We wanted to have fun and forget the bad things, but it happened otherwise…”
“Agree…” Anna agrees thoughtfully.
“And it’s my fault…” Raquelle replies quietly, looking at everybody guiltily. “I made your mood worse…”
“No, Raquelle, don’t say it,” Daniel shakes his head.
“I should’ve found a better time to tell you about the child.”
“You would’ve had to do it early or late,” Edward notices confidently. “Terrence, you and I couldn’t hide it forever.”
“I know…” Raquelle cracks a slight smile. Still, I’m glad I’ve finally confessed everything. I definitely got better.”
“Always tell us about what bothers you,” Peter advises amicably. “You can tell us anything and ask for help at any time. We’d support you and try to help.”
“Thank you so much, guys. Thank you for listening and supporting me. I promise I’ll share everything that bothers me with you. As my close people, who I love very much.”
“We’re always ready to listen and help,” Helene replies with a slight smile.
Sammy barks loudly two times.
“Thanks, Sammy,” Raquelle thanks amicably.
“Listen, guys, let’s forget all the bad thoughts and just have a cool time,” Daniel suggests much more cheerfully. “Just like we wanted it originally!”
“You’re right, Daniel,” Raquelle agrees quietly. “I wouldn't like to talk about the miscarriage anymore.”
“Me too…” Terrence says thoughtfully, embracing Raquelle with both arms. “It’s too hard to talk about it…”
“Anyway, everything is not lost for you,” Natalia notices confidently with a slight smile. “You can have a baby at any time.”
“Yes, guys, someday, a little toddler will be running in your house and making you happy with their achievements,” Edward adds with a slight smile.
“Maybe, you will get more than one baby!” Peter assumes cheerfully. “Imagine yourself having two or three little toddlers that are similar to Mommy and Daddy. You play with them, love them, and tell your close people about their talents with pride. The first word, the first step, the first painting…”
“Such beautiful parents must have and will have lots of their little images,” Anna says confidently with a slight smile. “Such amazing genes that can make something wonderful.”
“Oh, guys, c’mon…” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“C’mon!” Daniel exclaims. “I already imagine Terrence as a proud daddy that is carrying his child in his arms and Raquelle walking next to him and not stopping to smile.”
“Someday it will really happen,” Terrence expresses hope with a slight smile.
Sammy barks cheerfully two times, making everybody smile slightly.
“Sammy knows what he says,” Helene smiles shyly.
“When it happens, you’ll know it first,” Raquelle promises.
“Of course, we will,” Natalia chuckles and shakes her index finger. “You won’t hide anything from us! Nothing!”
“Okay, okay, guys, we got it,” Terrence laughs shyly, raising his hands.
“Okay, guys, we need to stop being sad!” Peter exclaims cheerfully. “Let’s change the topic and talk about something nicer.”
“Yeah, for example, the band,” Anna says confidently. “About when the girls and I can see your performance… Or about how we’ll be celebrating the birthdays of Daniel and Helene.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Daniel replies confidently. “My birthday is gonna be unforgettable! We will have such a pool party that we’ve never had before.”
“The lads and I will be happy to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for you on the instruments in your garage,” Edward promises funnily. “And the girls will sing along with us.”
“Even if Perkins’ garage isn’t a stage, we’ll rock on and have an incredible show!” Terrence says cheerfully. “And we’ll not need a musical system to shake up!”
“It’s gonna be awesome, friends!” Daniel replies confidently. “You’ll remember the party in honor of my birthday for one year.”
“Did you come up with a wish that you’ll make when blowing out candles on your cake?” Natalia asks.
“Why do I wish for something when everything’s perfect?” Daniel hugs Anna around the waist and looks at his friends with a slight smile. “My beloved girlfriend and friends are by my side, and my sissy is gonna get well soon. My band is getting popular, and we’re gonna have a worldwide tour. Could I wish for more?”
“Yeah, we only have to be happy for you,” Raquelle shrugs with a slight smile. “This is the best birthday gift.”
Sammy shows his agreement by barking loudly and confidently.
“Oh, it’s much better,” Edward notices cheerfully. “We’re on the right track, friends!”
“That’s right!” Daniel exclaims. “When we started to talk about my birthday, everybody got funnier.”
“And don’t say you’re gonna make us run after you and steal something from us,” Helene says confidently, raising her hands.
“Why not?” Terrence smiles slyly. “I haven’t played enough and wanna run a little.”
“Oh, gosh…” Natalia exhales sharply.
“So what, lads, let’s start from where we stopped?”
“With pleasure!” Peter agrees funnily.
“Okay, girls, hide your jewelry and hair clips,” Anna replies confidently. “These idiots came up with something.”
“Ha, they’ll find something to take it off us,” Raquelle chuckles kindly. “They could even leave us naked!”
“Listen, girls, let’s steal something from them?” Natalia smiles slyly. “They steal our jewelry and hair clips! So, why can’t we take off their wristbands and collars?”
“I have nothing to steal!” Daniel says confidently, throwing his hands aside with an innocent smile. “I don’t have bracelets, wristbands, or any other collars.”
“Why nothing?”
“Nothing!” Daniel smiles slyly and puts his hands on his hips. “Or does someone want to look at the gorgeous, naked male body?”
“Why is it gorgeous?” Edward chuckles kindly. “To call it just good, you’ve gotta work hard at the gym class for several months.”
“It’s always been perfect without it.”
“Anyway, you will not hide from us,” Helene says confidently.
“Relax, beauties, the lads and I won’t give up without a fight. Don’t even think of striking us down super easily!”
“Don’t give up, then,” Anna smiles slyly, comes closer to Daniel, and starts walking in circles in front of him. “We’re gonna win anyway.”
“We will see it!” Peter exclaims.
“Besides, we can steal not only what’s seen, but also what you hide in your pockets.”
Daniel does not have time to realize how Anna gets the wallet out of the pocket of his short denim pants and starts shaking it in front of his nose.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Daniel resents.
“M-m-m, here’s the bank card…” Anna smiles slyly, examining what’s inside Daniel’s wallet. “What if I go to a store… Buy something for me… Girls, don’t ya wanna go with me?”
“Anna, please, give me my wallet back.”
When Daniel reaches his hand, Anna goes sharply two steps back from him.
“Hey, stop!” Anna exclaims.
“Please, princess…” Daniel says with pity in his eyes. “There are my money, documents, and card.”
“Girls, deal with these boneheads!” Anna orders. “I will deal with the hazel-eyed one. Let’s drive them a little! Our horses have been in a stable for too long.”
“Anna, stop! Wait! Whoa! Ugh! Stop, I said!”
While Anna starts running sharply, and Daniel has to run after her to get his wallet back, Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene easily steal something from Edward, Terrence, and Peter and run away.
“Hey, my bracelets!” Peter exclaims.
“My bandana!” Edward rounds his eyes.
“My watch!” Terrence resents.
The three men start running after the girls, while Sammy follows them with a loud bark, being happy with another chance to have some fun. And at some moment, the friends run into Daniel, who does not manage to catch Anna and take his wallet.
“Listen, guys, it seems like they’re challenging us!” Daniel exclaims with a little heavy breath.
“If they are, we’re accepting it!” Terrence replies confidently.
“They don’t know who they got in touch with,” Edward adds with his head proudly raised.
“Naive girls!” Peter chuckles kindly.
“It’s okay, guys, we will have a lot of fun now,” Terrence smiles slyly. “If they stole our things, we’ll steal something from their stuff.”
“Sammy, buddy, be a good boy…” Peter says amicably, petting Sammy’s head. “Help us deal with the girls. If you do it, we’ll feed you something tasty.”
“Anything you want!” Daniel exclaims. “Just be by our side.”
The words about something tasty immediately bribe Sammy that barks confidently two times.
“Hey, boys!” Natalia exclaims loudly from afar, shaking Edward’s bandana. “Did you lose something?”
“Don’t you wanna take it?” Raquelle smiles slyly, shaking Terrence’s watch.
“Let’s go, guys!” Edward exclaims. “Let’s show them who’s the boss here!”
When the men give a start, the girls start running as far as possible with a happy laugh. Sammy follows everybody, barking loudly at times, but he catches the girls and even leaves them behind some time later.
“Sammy, baby, be a good boy…” Helene pronounces with a sly smile, stopping along with the girls and petting Sammy’s head. “Help the girls and me. Distract the men and don’t let them catch us.”
“We’ll buy the biggest and most delicious bone,” Natalia promises confidently.
“A whole packet!” Raquelle exclaims. “A whole packet of delicious bones.”
“Please, boy…” Anna begs with pity in her eyes. “We’ve gotta tame those idiots, who think they’re the sassiest ones.”
Starting to wag his tail amicably, the happy Sammy barks loudly two times.
“Hey, cuties!” Terrence exclaims loudly from afar. “Do you think you’re the sliest?”
“And the fastest?” Daniel smiles slyly.
“You can’t fool us!” Edward says confidently.
“Give our stuff back!” Peter exclaims.
“Alarm, girls!” Raquelle jabs excitedly.
“Run!” Helene exclaims funnily.
“Try to catch us, pretty boys!” Natalia encourages loudly and shows a funny face and her tongue to the men.
The ladies run away as far as possible, so that the men start chasing them.
“Faster, lads!” Anna exclaims funnily, turning her head back on the run. “Why are you running as slowly as snails?”
“Your petrol is gone?” Helene adds with her head proudly raised. “Huh, boys?”
“Ha, these hooligans dare to mock us!” Terrence resents.
“It’s okay, bros…” Peter smiles slyly. “Okay… Let them think they can win over us. But when they relax, we’ll show them everything we can do.”
At some moment, the girls start throwing the things that they stole from the men at each other on the run and teasing the four with a greater passion.
“Hey, hey, we are here!” Natalia teases funnily, shaking Daniel’s wallet. “Here!”
“So, boys, you got exhausted?” Raquelle scoffs loudly, waving Edward’s bandana. “You can’t do much more?”
“It’s bad, guys, very bad!” Helene adds confidently, wrapping Terrence’s watch on her finger.
“Are you really gonna show off by doing this?” Anna wonders, throwing Peter’s bracelets.
A nice wind blows up their faces and hair, a comfortable temperature does not give them discomfort, and the territory is large enough for running and having fun. The friends get busier with the game and forget about bad things again, starting to laugh, smile, and joke at each other. While Sammy is running along with everybody with a loud bark, jumping and trying to reach for the things that the girls are teasing the men with. At some moment, Helene, Natalia, Anna, and Raquelle hide behind a high bush, using the moment when Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter look at different sides, and start laughing quietly when the men stop in the middle of the territory and look around questioningly.
“I didn’t get it…” Peter pronounces, breathing a little heavily. “Where are the girls? Where did they run?”
“I dunno…” Daniel replies, grabbing his hair with both hands. “But they surely used the moment when we didn’t see them.”
“Listen, guys, I feel some kind of trick…” Edward says thoughtfully, doubling over and leaning on his knees with both hands. “These sly girls definitely came up with something.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed out of somewhere with pans in their hands and hit us on the heads.”
“Girls, where are you?” Terrence asks loudly, looking around the whole territory. “Show up!”
“Where did those cuties take my wallet?” Daniel puts his hands on his hips. “With my bank card, driver’s license, and banknotes!”
“And my watch costs much more than all of their clothes!” Terrence adds.
“It would be okay if they stole one bracelet!” Peter resents. “But they took the fuck all of them!”
“Why do they need my fucking bandana?” Edward wonders.
“Hey, Sammy, I didn’t understand it,” Daniel frowns slightly, moving his eyes to Sammy that is just coming to them. “Whose side are you by: theirs or ours?”
“Yes, Samuel, are you kind of playing a double game?” Peter wonders. “Helping the girls and sucking up to us?”
Sammy barks two times, wagging his tail amicably and looking at all the men by one.
“So help us then!” Edward exclaims. “Look for the girls! Where are they?”
“C’mon, long-eared, go!” Terrence says confidently. “Sniff! Track! Track!”
“Where’s your owner, Sammy?” Peter asks. “I hope you still remember her smell?”
Sammy slowly looks around, while Helene, Raquelle, Natalia, and Anna hiding behind the bush watch what’s happening with a sly smile, silently begging that the dog does not let the men know where they are. And at some moment, they look at each other and decide to try to throw some rocks that are lying not far from them.
“It’s worthless!” Edward exhales sharply.
“Yeah, these sly foxes bribed him,” Daniel says confidently.
“Sammy, whatever the girls offered you, we’re gonna give you two times more if you help us,” Peter promises with a sly smile.
Sammy makes a weird sound, but he keeps wagging his tail amicably.
“Silly girls!” Terrence laughs shyly. “They believe they’ll get off us easily. When they just show up, we…”
Terrence does not speak his mind because a small rock suddenly gets into his temple, making him feel a strong pain.
“Hey!” Terrence shakes sharply, grabbing his head with a quiet squeak. “They started throwing something!”
“Hey, it was hurtful!” Daniel winces slightly, rubbing his forearm, into which another rock gets.
“Ah, shit!” Edward makes a quiet squeak when a third rock gets into the back of his head.
“From where are they throwing these fucking rocks?” Peter winces strongly, rubbing his hip, which a rock got into.
Sammy jumps aside with a quiet squeak after a rock falls not far from him and barks at it two times.
“Okay, bros, it’s time to deal with them seriously,” Daniel says confidently. “Before they come up with something!”
“That’s right!” Terrence exclaims. “No matter how sweet and fluffy we are, a man is a man.”
“Girls, show up!” Edward encourages cheerfully. “Let’s be friends! Girls! Where are you?”
“We will do nothing to you! We will only slap you on your butts for non-obedience!”
“Ladies…” Daniel pronounces funnily with a sly smile. “Beauties… Show up…”
Meanwhile, Peter looks around the whole territory and pays attention to the high bush, behind which the girls are hiding as they laugh shyly.
“Hey, guys, they’re there!” Peter exclaims loudly, pointing at the bush.
“Oh, I didn’t go crazy when I thought the bush was moving,” Edward smiles slyly.
“We’ll have fun now,” Terrence rubs his hands happily and starts confidently getting closer to the girls along with the men.
“It’s okay, girls…” Daniel says confidently. “We won’t hurt you.”
“Quiet…” Edward pronounces quietly. “Keep calm… It’s okay… Stay where you are…”
After waiting for the men to get close enough, Helene, Natalia, Anna, and Raquelle throw small rocks at Peter, Edward, Daniel, and Terrence at the same time and run away with a quiet laugh and their things in their hands. After they successfully avoid the attack, the four men run after them.
“Hey, stop!” Peter exclaims. “Give my bracelets back!”
“What did you do to my watch?” Terrence resents.
“Gimme my wallet!” Daniel demands.
“My bandana!” Edward exclaims.
“C’mon, boys, why are you trying so hard?” Helene laughs shyly. “Have a rest.”
“You can do nothing anyway,” Raquelle adds confidently. “We’re stronger than you.”
“I would bet!” Daniel throws funnily.
“You shouldn't fight with us, cuties!” Edward exclaims.
The girls just thrill with loud laughter, make funny faces, show their tongues to the men, and start to run much faster. While the male gang chases them with a strong wish to catch them, and Sammy runs along with the others, but distracts himself on a fly that passes by at times. However, Natalia, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna do not run for a too long time because Edward, Terrence, Peter, and Daniel catch them very quickly, grab them from behind, and press them to themselves, not caring about their resistance, loud squeaks, and shouts about letting them go. The men try to take their things from the girls, but the ladies tease them like dogs for some time, but a little later, they give up and give the things to their owners.
“Okay, beauties, we gave in to you for a while, but now it’s over,” Peter says confidently. “Your tricks won’t work anymore.”
“We will see it!” Helene throws funnily.
“You think you’re the sassiest?” Natalia wonders.
“Prove it, then!” Raquelle exclaims. “Actually!”
“Instead of working your tongue!” Anna throws.
“M-m-m, the girls are teasing us, men,” Daniel smiles slyly.
“Non-obedient and mean girls have always been freaking attractive,” Terrence adds confidently.
“Hey, my blonde-haired kitty, come here,” Edward smiles mysteriously, “I haven’t dealt with you yet!”
The girls run away from the men with loud whoops, while it makes the guy much funnier and awakens their wish to play with them a little. Sammy does not stop walking around them, barking loudly, and being a part of the funny game with his owner and her friends.
“Hey, let me go!” Helene demands loudly when Peter hugs her strongly from behind, so that her arms are tightly pressed to her body. “Rose! Can you the heck hear me?”
“Quiet, baby, quiet,” Peter says confidently with a sly smile. “And remember, fighting with a man is a waste of time. For a girl.”
“C’mon, Cameron, hold on!” Anna exclaims funnily, watching Raquelle beat Terrence on everything she sees with a special passion, while Daniel is holding her with both arms. “Kick his ass!”
“Don’t give up, MacClife!” Daniel encourages cheerfully. “Be like a man!”
“Help, SOS!” Terrence exclaims funnily, trying to cover himself from Raquelle’s hits. “Guys, don’t leave me! Don’t give me to this girl!”
“Hold on, brother!” Edward says confidently, fighting with Natalia hand in hand with mixed success. “I will now deal with the blondie and help you.”
“Wait, Raquelle, we’ll kick the ass of this peacock together,” Natalia promises with her head proudly raised. “Just let me deal with this pretty boy.”
“Hey, folks, who wanna help me kick MacClife?” Raquelle asks cheerfully.
“We will see who will kick!” Terrence smiles slyly and chooses a very good moment, placing Raquelle above his shoulder.
“Hey, place me on the ground!” Raquelle demands loudly, hitting Terrence on his back with her fists. “MacClife! Can you hear me?”
“This is for not obeying me!” Terrence slaps Raquelle on the buttocks several times. “For still being sassy to me.”
“Quiet, Perkins, quiet,” Anna pronounces quietly, going away from Daniel backward, who runs sharply to her at some moment and also places her above his shoulder, making her whoop and resist too hard. “No! No, don’t do it! Place me on the ground!”
“Ah, I didn’t have so much fun for ages!” Daniel exclaims with a wide smile and claps Anna on her buttocks, chuckling quietly when she grows irritably. “Quiet, quiet…”
“C’mon, faster!” Natalia exclaims funnily, while Edward is riding her on his back and competing with Terrence, Daniel, and Peter, who are riding Raquelle, Anna, and Helene respectively. “A little bit before we win!”
“Hey, we’re behind!” Anna whines.
“Go, MacClife!” Raquelle encourages funnily and, raising her hand, makes a loud whoop. “Come on!”
“Shake up, Pete!” Helene exclaims. “A little bit before we leave the MacClifes behind!”
Sammy encourages the men loudly when they run some distance with the girls on their backs. At the end of this race, everybody thrills with quiet laughter, shakes each other by the hand, or hugs each other amicably to confirm they agree to a draw. Daniel gets so busy with the game with his friends that he does not notice that his phone starts ringing. But the annoying vibration on his hip and the familiar melody make him stop and take his smartphone from the pocket of his denim short pants.
“Second, guys…” Daniel raises a hand with a heavy breath. “Someone’s calling me…”
Daniel runs his finger over the screen of his smartphone and puts his phone to his ear.
“Hello.”
“¡Hola, mi querida[1]!” the female's happy and loud voice pronounces. “¿Cóme estás[2]?”
“Erm, excuse me…” Daniel frowns slightly, not understanding a single word.
“I to miss you so much while you to be far away, mi gatito! You not to be imagine!”
After hearing quite a familiar, terribly disgusting accent, Daniel opens his eyes widely and gets sharply white with the feeling that his heart starts beating much faster.
“B-b-blanca?” Daniel pronounces hesitantly in a shaking voice. “I-is that you?”
“Yes, this is me, mi amor[3],” Blanca replies happily. “¡Soy yo, mi vida[4]!”
“Erm…” Daniel stutters, breathing heavily enough. “I… Erm…”
“I to be sorry that I not to call you for so long. I swear I not to forget you and to dream to find time to call.”
“I-it’s okay…” Daniel pronounces in a low, little shaking voice, running his hand through his hair and pulling it slightly. “It’s… Okay…”
Meanwhile, the friends look at each other and guess who called Daniel if he starts breathing heavily and gets kind of snow-white, and his widely open eyes are full of horror as if someone told him some tragic news.
“I to call your home number many times, but you not to answer my call,” Blanca confesses. “Why you not to answer, querida? I say you to must answer shortly! You not to love me anymore?”
“Erm, actually, I’m not at home now,” Daniel replies hesitantly.
“No? Where you to be?”
“Walking in the city… Erm… The doctor said… Said I’d better walk more…”
“I hope you not to meet another girl and choose her? And you not to meet the liars, who to pretend to be your friends?”
“No, I met nobody,” Daniel exhales sharply, closing his eyes for a second. “And those people… I don’t speak to them.”
“Right? You not to lie to me?”
“Nope.”
“But why you to speak to me so coldly? ¿Qué le pasó, mi amor[5]? Why you to be so rude?”
“I’m rude?” Daniel wonders in a low voice. “No, I am not! Why do you think so?”
“I not to feel the tenderness that you to have when we to talk the last time.”
“It seemed to you…” Daniel pronounces coldly, keeping his hand on his forehead. “It’s okay.”
“But I to feel it!”
“No, Blanca, it’s not the truth,” Daniel protests, clenching his free hand into a fist and barely struggling with the anger that he is obsessed with. “I…”
“You love another girl. You to meet la chica[6] and love her! You not to love me anymore!”
“Please, don’t start it all again…”
“I want to know who to be the arpia[7] that to wish to steal you! Who is she? Answer now!”
“Gosh, Blanca, please, calm down…” Daniel exhales slowly. “I have nobody. I’m waiting for you here and want to… See you as soon as possible… While you’re not here, I… I’m working on my therapy.”
“Really?” Blanca asks with mistrust.
“Really. When do… You and I… Meet? Finally…”
“I to come back to the USA in two days,” Blanca replies confidently. “With my parents and sister.”
“Two days? Oh… Okay…”
“Wait for a while, mi vida[8]. I to come back to you soon, and we start to get ready for our wedding.”
“Okay, I got it. So, in two days…”
“And I hope the most beautiful ring to wait for me when I to come back to you. I to die from the wish to say, ‘yes’ when you get down on your knee and propose to me.”
“Yes, sure…” Daniel swallows up nervously, feeling how everything is burning inside him. “Sure…”
“I want the most expensive ring. You remember? Your fiancée to have to get the best and most expensive things.”
“I remember… Remember well…”
When Blanca starts to jab something excitedly in the mix of the broken English and her native Spanish, Daniel thinks with evil:
“Reveal and a scandal are waiting for you, liar. Fuck! I can’t believe I almost lost my girlfriend and my friends because of you, bitch. I swear, you will pay me for that. I shall make you pay for coming into my life insolently and using my condition!”
“And then, we go to a store to make purchases,” Blanca says happily. “I want to change something at your house and get rid of something. And I to think the living room needs repair. I want to change the color of the walls.”
“Alright, we will,” Daniel pronounces without emotions, rolling his eyes. “We’ll do what you want.”
“And I personally make sure that you strike all the fake friends out of your life, phone, and laptop. I want to make sure that you to delete all the numbers and photos of those folks.”
“Yes, yes, I got it.”
“You not to have those people in your life anymore, Daniel. Only me, our children, and me – and nobody else!”
“Yeah, only you…”
Daniel looks into the distance without emotions, realizing that he is shaking slightly from excitement, and it’s hard for him to breathe because of something that is squeezing his chest.
“Oh, perdone, querida[9], but I have to say goodbye to you,” Blanca shows regret. “But we meet in two days. I have a ticket, honey! And mi padres y mi hermana[10]to take their things.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting,” Daniel pronounces without emotions. “Come back soon.”
“Only two days, mi amor. Time to fly very fast. You to have no time to realize how I come back, and we start to kiss and hug.”
“Yes, sure… I wish you a nice and safe trip.”
“¡Gracias, mi querida[11]! You to be so caring…” Blanca says nothing for two seconds and says something loudly to someone in Spanish. “Oh, okay! My mother to call me. I can’t talk to you anymore.”
“Okay, I get it.”
“¡Adiós, amor! ¡Adios! ¡Adios! ¡Te beso y un abrazo![12]” Blanca sends kisses to Daniel. “¡Mucho besos para tu, Daniel! ¡Te quiero, mi gatito! ¡Te amo![13]”
Blanca turns off the call, and the shocked Daniel moves his phone slowly off his ear and lowers his hand, looking literally much whiter than before and breathing heavily enough from great excitement, while the warm wind is blowing his hair and clothes. After not getting a word from Daniel for a few seconds, his friends come to the deathly pale – or even green – and dumbfounded man.
“What’s wrong, Daniel?” Anna asks anxiously and hugs Daniel around the shoulders, moving some of his hair off his eyes. “Who called you? What did they say?”
But Daniel does not answer and keeps looking into the distance with his widely open eyes, with which he stops blinking.
“Daniel, please, don’t scare us!” Anna gets much more excited. “Why are you silent?”
Meanwhile, Sammy nuzzles his nose in Daniel’s hand and whines quietly, and Edward, Peter, and Terrence try to get his attention, putting their hands on his shoulder or clapping him on it or his back.
“Oh, damn, dude, you’re kind of green!” Peter gets horrified, rounding his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Daniel?” Terrence wonders. “Who was it?”
“You look like you were told someone died,” Edward adds.
Again, Daniel says nothing, trying to calm himself down with the thought that it’s not true, and Blanca left his life a long time ago as if she had never existed.
“Please, Daniel, don’t be silent!” Anna begs with pity in her eyes, caressing Daniel’s shoulders. “Say just something!”
“Gosh, Daniel, what happened?” Natalia gets horrified. “Look how pale and scared you are!”
“For God’s sake, buddy, don’t scare us,” Helene begs with sadness in her eyes. “Tell us who called you?”
“And what do they need?” Raquelle asks. “Don’t be silent, Daniel, please!”
Just a few seconds later, Daniel finds the courage to say just something to his excited friends and girlfriend, who look at him with horror in their widely open eyes.
“I’m trouble, guys…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly in a quiet, shaking voice. “Trouble…”
“What do you mean?” Anna wonders. “What happened? Who called you? What did you hear?”
“That was her…”
“Who ‘her?’”
“Blanca…” Daniel looks at everybody hesitantly with scared eyes, breathing heavily enough. “That was her, guys! The foreigner, who lied to me and turned me against all of you.”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “That Blanca?”
“She left the USA for a while, but she’s gonna come back soon. And she’ll continue her game!”
“Wait, didn’t she leave you alone?” Natalia wonders. “I was sure that Blanca wouldn’t come into your life anymore.”
“Nope, she didn’t…” Daniel shakes his head. “Some time before what happened to Wainwright, she had said her family and she had to go to Spain and spend some time there. But now they are coming back to New York again.”
“And didn’t she call you even once after going to Spain?” Edward specifies.
“She didn’t… Blanca was kind of swallowed by the ground.”
Sammy whines very quietly, and Daniel turns sharply aside for two seconds and slaps himself on the forehead.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Daniel swears irritably. “Fuck! I forgot about her! I forgot to think of her a long time ago… I thought she had gone to Spain forever. But I was wrong… She is dreaming of chaining me.”
Daniel grabs his hair and pulls it slightly, starting to realize that it is really happening.
“Why are you so nervous, buddy?” Terrence wonders. “If that liar shows up on the doorstep of your home or calls you again, fuck her off and let her know that she won’t be able to have you wrapped around her finger anymore.”
“No, Terrence, she won’t get off me so easily,” Daniel replies confidently. “That gal is waiting for me to propose to her, give her a ring, and let her take control of me. She said, ‘When I’m back in the USA, you’ll give me the ring!’”
“Shouldn't you also transfer your house and car to her?” Helene crosses her arms over her chest. “Or give her access to your bank account?”
“It’s gonna happen.” Daniel rolls his eyes up and chuckles nervously, putting his hands on his hips. “Ha, she wants the most expensive ring, and she is gonna change my whole house! She said she wanted to change something in the living room. She is not the fuck happy with it!”
“What an insolent gal!” Raquelle resents. “A stranger that pretends to be the owner of someone’s house!”
“And she’s gonna have these fucking hysterics because of jealousy even for a column. She’s gonna scream like crazy because I just look at her sister and talk to her as a friend. Oh…” Daniel exhales sharply. “I imagine what would happen if Blanca knew about Cassidy. That hysterical lady would kill her.”
“Get cool, Perkins, don’t make a big deal out of it,” Peter says quietly. “Terrence said it right: fuck her off and let her know that you revealed her lies. And Blanca will get outta your life immediately. May she find another idiot, who would agree to give her everything at his wish and let her ruin his life.”
“If everything was so easily…” Daniel shakes his head. “That girl almost started a scandal because I just went to talk. Blanca suspects that I have another girl. She’s obsessed with the assumption that I’m cheating on her.”
“Anyway, she’s gotta get therapy,” Raquelle frowns slightly. “A healthy person would hardly come up with the idea of pretending to be your relative or sweetheart, using the moment when you can do nothing and may trust them blindly.”
“Anyway, when she’s back in the USA, it’s gonna be the end of my quiet life. And…” Daniel shakes his head. “I won’t be able to work with my band… That crazy lady wants me to leave it. I don’t allegedly have a talent for music. I sing badly and play a guitar terribly.”
“Listen, Dan, maybe, you shouldn’t panic like this?” Helene asks quietly. “The men are right: when you say you remember everything and know who your real girlfriend is, that liar is gonna fade away immediately.”
“I dunno, Helene…” Daniel, exhaling slowly, comes to the blanket placed on the grass, sits down, and bends his legs at his knees. “Anyway, her return is gonna be a catastrophe!”
“Daniel…” Anna pronounces with sadness in her eyes.
“Fuck…” Daniel sharply hits the small basket with food, which immediately falls to the side. “Bitch… I curse her!”
“Calm down, honey, don’t be so nervous!”
“I thought I got rid of her…” Daniel pulls his hair strongly with both hands. “But no! Nothing is the fuck over!”
“We will find a solution. I promise.”
“Damn, I don’t want it… I don’t want to betray the lads, our team, or the organizers of the shows. I don’t wanna lose everything I barely got back… Everything that means so much to me…”
Sammy comes to Daniel with a quiet whine, nuzzles his nose in his shoulder, and puts his face on his laps, while the others sit on the blanket in a circle.
“Don’t worry, Daniel, it’s gonna be okay,” Edward says quietly.
“Serious?” Daniel opens his eyes widely. “That bitch sank her teeth into me! She won’t calm down until she’s married to me, gives birth to a child from me, and steals my house, my car, and my money.”
“Dude, who’s that girl to rule your house and control your life? She is not your girlfriend or wife! She has no right to act like that! Blanca is nobody! Nobody!”
“I know, but I won’t get away with her anyway…” Daniel sighs with despair.
“Don’t worry, buddy, we’ll find a solution,” Natalia says confidently.
“Oh…” Daniel exhales sharply. “It seems like, we thought that everything got better too early…”
Daniel runs his hands over his hair from the top of his head to the nape of his neck, while the others look at each other with sadness in their eyes, and Sammy still whines with pity, letting the man pet him and yank him by the ears.
“So, is she gonna ruin our relationship?” Anna asks hesitantly with horror in her eyes. “Am I gonna lose you again and stay alone again because of that sick liar?”
“No, Anna, it will not happen,” Daniel promises, hugging Anna around the shoulders, putting his hand on her cheek, and kissing her on the temple. “That bitch can do whatever she wants, but she will not make me leave you. She can even roll on the floor and scream at the whole neighborhood, but I will not let her ruin our relationship.”
“But you said you might lose your friends and me because of that cad!”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna fight. Fight for what’s much more important to me than anything.”
“We can expect anything from that girl. Blanca would do anything for you to be with her.”
“I’m not gonna reject you and my friend because of the insolent liar that I hadn’t known before all those things happened.”
“But what are you gonna do?” Anna throws her hands up. “How will you make that foreigner leave you alone?”
“I dunno, Anna…” Daniel shakes his head. “But I’m not gonna dance to the tune and be a marionette of hers. I will let that liar know that her lies are revealed.”
“I’m afraid that she can do terrible things. If only that girl didn’t decide to kill someone.”
“If she hurts one of you, she’ll have to pay a high cost for that.”
“Daniel…”
“I dunno… But if she doesn’t leave me alone, even if I say I remember everything and know about her lies, I’ll have to take some measures.”
“Hey, girls…” Raquelle pronounces quietly, calling Natalia and Helene with a gesture. “Let’s go aside for a minute…”
Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene get up, go aside, and start whispering with each other while the men look at them, frowning slightly, and Sammy still tries to comfort Daniel and Anna somehow.
“It’s gonna be fine, Dan, don’t be afraid!” Terrence says confidently. “Be sure, Blanca will fade away when she realizes that she can’t lie to you anymore!”
“It would be great,” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “I don’t have any other ideas.”
“Don’t worry, Daniel, we’ll help you get rid of her,” Peter says quietly. “There is always a way out. We just don’t know it yet.”
“Damn… I hope we won’t have a show in the next few days. I should deal with the foreigner before we’re back on stage.”
“If you aren’t able to explain everything to her, we’ll wash her brains,” Edward promises confidently. “Next time, that girl will think much better before she is stuck on someone’s men and uses their weaknesses.”
“It kind of reminds me of the situations when some crazy people chase celebrities and don’t let them live well,” Anna says thoughtfully.
“What if it’s true?” Peter assumes. “Our band has gotten popular enough and has the love of lots of people. And we’ve got enough haters.”
“She is probably one of them,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “Blanca is just a crazy fan. She made herself think that we should be together and was ready for anything for it.”
“Maybe, you should go to the police?” Anna suggests quietly. “Talk to Mr. Johnson! I’m sure that he’ll come up with something. But if the case is too hard, he will accept the application.”
“That’s what we wanna do!” Helene says confidently.
Everybody, including Sammy, looks questioningly at Helene, Natalia, and Raquelle, who sit down next to their men.
“Not everything is lost, Daniel,” Raquelle says confidently. “You can get rid of the foreigner once and forever.”
“What?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “But how?”
“Just go to the police,” Natalia replies quietly. “Make a police report about that girl chasing you. And later, you’ll get a document, according to which Blanca will be banned from getting closer to you.”
“Erm…”
“That’s a real persecution, Daniel,” Helene says confidently. “The foreigner is manically obsessed with you. She thought up a story, in which you and she live happily ever after, and wanna do her best to make it real. Blanca is sure that you’re made for each other. And she doesn’t care that you’ve got another girl.”
“I won’t be surprised if she’s been trying to reach you for a long time,” Raquelle adds. “Blanca obviously knew about you before the story of your amnesia.”
“But I can’t just make a report about her to the police,” Daniel throws his hands up. “I need real reasons to do it. At least, there must be a threat to my life and the lives of people surrounding me.”
“She will not leave you alone, Daniel,” Natalia replies confidently. “And the case is not only that the foreigner doesn’t want to be deported to Spain alongside her family. There are so many people in the USA like her that nobody cares about them.”
“She only needs you, Daniel, she’s obsessed with you,” Raquelle says quietly.
“I know, but…” Daniel replies a little hesitantly.
“Believe me, I know what that is. Because I experienced something like that.” Raquelle says nothing for two seconds. “I was eighteen. I lived in Kingston. I was chased by a middle-aged man. He wanted me to get married to him, and he told everyone that we were married. It was really crazy… That man even found out where my grandfather and I lived.”
“Really?”
“One day, he got into our home, but thank God, there was nobody, and our neighbors called the police. He got arrested, but he either got free or ran away. And he kept chasing me. I eventually had to go to the police to get protection. They got a restraining order, and they informed that man about it. They said if he got closer to me, he would go to prison. But it didn’t scare him, and he kept chasing me and even threatened to kill me. He said he would calm down if I became his wife and gave birth to a child from him.”
“Did he hurt your grandfather?”
“Thank God, no. Besides, I immediately let the police know that he went against the ban. Some time later, the police got that man arrested and put him in prison. And the judge gave him a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to a few years. And Grandfather and I decided to move immediately. It had to do not only with the fact that it was easier for me to work, but also for our best. And after getting busy with work, I forgot about it. But Grandpa was worried for a long time and insisted that I hire bodyguards. But I rejected this idea and hoped that it would not happen again.”
“You had reasons to report that man,” Daniel shrugs. “And what do I tell the police? The foreigner lied to me, pretended to be my fiancée, and almost made me fight with my real girlfriend and all my friends? They’d turn me around and tell me to go home to sleep!”
“Is the fact that the girl breaks into your privacy so insolently not a reason?” Terrence wonders.
“Yeah, but…”
“I know about it, too, buddy. I also experienced something like this. I was on the rise after the release of ‘American Love Affair’ when I reported one girl to the police. She was sickly obsessed with me and chased me everywhere. I tried to talk to her quietly, but it didn’t work, and she insisted that I marry her, take her everywhere, and say I loved her. She was kicked out of the set and ceremonies several times, but she managed to pass by security. But that’s good everything ended well. The police got a restraining order at first, but then they got her arrested after she violated the rules.”
“Well, I dunno…”
“Invasion of privacy is a real reason to get a restraining order.”
“But she didn’t threaten to kill me and stole nothing from me!” Daniel exclaims.
“Maybe, she did!” Peter exclaims. “She could accidentally say something like, ‘I’ll kill you’ or ‘You’ll regret it if you aren’t with me.’ But you could not notice it and missed it.”
“Erm…”
“Think, Daniel!” Edward advises. “Maybe, she really mentioned a threat. If the foreigner said those things, it’s a wonderful reason to go to the police and tell them to give you protection.”
“Yes, Dan, think,” Raquelle says softly. “Now, any little thing is important. And the more you remember, the higher the chance that we can put her in prison or at a clinic by force is.”
Sammy barks confidently two times, and Daniel decides to work his brain a little to try to recall the memories of Blanca threatening him somehow. And a few seconds later, it leads to some good things because the man calls the memories about a couple of cases.
“Wait…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully and looks at his friends. “Right! She threatened to kill me. A couple of times. It happened when she had attacks of reasonable jealousy. One day, Blanca started a show in the middle of the street just because I looked aside and didn’t listen to her. That crazy lady started to scream at the top of her lungs that she would’ve killed herself and me if I’d left her and found another girl. And I felt madly ashamed… I wanted to die from shame… I didn’t feel so lousy even when I failed our shows.”
“Excellent!” Anna exclaims. “You have a reason to report that sick bitch!”
“Talk to Mr. Johnson, buddy,” Terrence suggests confidently. “He will help you as much as he can. You can put your hopes on him.”
“Yes, he helped us deal with the Potters!” Peter recalls. “So, he will kick Blanca.”
“And he’ll also find out everything about the illegal life of her and her family in the USA,” Edward adds confidently. “Of course, there’s a little hope. But who knows, maybe, Mr. Johnson will do his best for that family to be sent to Spain.”
“I was told she got fired from the hospital because of that,” Natalia notices confidently. “They didn’t want problems and got rid of her quickly.”
“But they don’t check her because nobody cares about it seriously,” Raquelle says quietly. “However, if you report her family, they will quickly do this.”
“Blanca is surely gonna a damn about the order and get close to you,” Helene adds confidently. “So, she’ll have problems with the police and even be on trial.”
“It’s your chance, Daniel!” Peter exclaims. “When that girl is back, she’s gonna get a very ‘nice’ surprise! I mean a few surprises!”
“Do you think it will help me?” Daniel asks hesitantly.
Sammy barks loudly two times, as if he's saying it’s going to be the right decision. Daniel thinks for a few seconds, while his eyes run from one side to another, but then he exhales sharply and shakes his head, being a little tense.
“Alright, I agree,” Daniel says much more confidently. “If Mr. Johnson agrees to work on this case, I… I will be quiet. Because we can count on him.”
“He knows a bigger part of your story,” Edward recalls. “You won’t have to work your brain to tell him everything. You should just tell him about her threats and what she needs. And then he’ll tell you what to do.”
“No problem. But it’s hard for me to imagine how the police are gonna catch that girl.”
“Is it so hard?” Anna rounds her eyes. “Ask her for a meeting as if nothing happened! Then, you’ll reveal her… Next, the police will come, question her, and take her away. And to lull her, you can pretend that you still remember nothing and believe her blindly.”
“Hm… Actually, it’s a good idea…”
“Listen, Daniel…” Raquelle pronounces, putting her finger on her lips. “When is that foreigner gonna come back to the USA?”
“In two days. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back much earlier and went to my home without a warning.”
“We should know exactly when she’s back. So, we can plan everything.”
“What do you mean? What do you wanna do?”
“What you did when helping Anna and her parents get rid of the Potters,” Natalia smiles mysteriously.
“So, do you wanna bring the police to Daniel’s home when the foreigner is there?” Anna specifies.
“And you can participate in this operation,” Helene says with a sly smile. “The girls and I don’t think you’ll refuse a wonderful chance to give a hot to that girl and kick her ass enough.”
“Hey, it’s a cool idea, girls!” Edward smiles slightly. “If Daniel introduces Anna as his real girlfriend, Blanca will lose her jaw.”
“She’ll probably kill me in my own house,” Daniel scoffs ironically.
“She will not!” Natalia exclaims. “Let that girl know how seriously you treat Anna, and how much she means to you.”
“What if that sick bitch does something to her? Anna suffered enough! I can’t put her under this stress!”
“You know, girls…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully with a sly smile. “I like your idea! Very much!”
“What?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “No! No, Anna, I can’t! I will not let you get close to her!”
“I’ll give a couple of lessons to that bitch with pleasure and teach her not to get stuck on someone’s man. I’ve wanted to pull the hair of that fat cow for a long time.”
“Then make a surprise for that girl,” Terrence suggests confidently. “She’s gonna be ‘delighted,’ be sure!”
“Oh, yeah, the girls and I will give her a hot!” Raquelle rubs her hands with a sly smile. “Blanca is gonna remember what might happen if she wanted to steal a taken man.”
“M-m-m, she’s gonna run away from Daniel’s house after what we’re gonna do,” Natalia promises confidently with a mysterious smile.
“Yeah, we’ll show her where she belongs!” Helene promises confidently. “She will never dare to bother our friend and her man. She’ll be afraid to stand in our way!”
“As I understand, do y’all wanna go to my home and make a surprise for her?” Daniel specifies.
“And we will,” Anna smiles slyly.
“Are you sure you wanna see her?”
“I am. Agree with that girl about the meeting at your home. Pretend that you remember nothing, try to relax her, offer her tea or coffee, and talk to her as if nothing happened… In short, don’t betray yourself. And we’ll hide somewhere and show up when we need to kick that bitch.”
“You don’t have to stay with us,” Raquelle says confidently. “Helene, Natalia, and I can go to the police, and you and Daniel can play time and tell her everything you want.”
“Excellent plan, girls! I agree to do everything we need! With great pleasure!”
“So, Perkins, do you agree?” Natalia smiles slyly.
“I think I can get ready for the meeting well,” Daniel says with a mysterious smile. “We have two days. Enough time to get ready.”
“Great!” Helene clicks her fingers. “The girls and I will talk to Mr. Johnson today or tomorrow and say you wanna report her.”
“My intuition tells me that she won’t care about orders,” Peter says confidently. “So, they will only have to get her arrested. Then the story of the foreigner will be over, and you and Anna will keep living happily. With the agreement of the Seymours and Cassidy.”
Sammy barks cheerfully two times.
“But I wanna warn you that the girl may tell you many bad words,” Daniel warns. “She can start a fight. Just like it happened to her sister when I just talked to her amicably. Blanca may shoot, stab, or strangle someone in jealousy.”
“Don’t worry, Dan, we’ll tell her more words than she has in her lexicon,” Helene promises. “If she really speaks English so badly, that foreigner is gonna only blink her eyes.”
“So, she’ll be swearing at you in Spanish.”
“Leave everything about Spanish to me!” Natalia says confidently. “I will tell her so much that she’s gonna be overwhelmed. Después de nuestra la sorpresa, la chica española irá a España, se lo aseguro[14].”
“Although I understood nothing, I guess your last phrase was about Spain,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“I said, the foreigner would come back home after our surprise.”
“Ah, I got it!” Daniel smiles shyly.
“¡Estas acabado, Blanca Moreno[15]!” Edward exclaims.
“That’s right!” Natalia exclaims.
“So, let’s try to make our plan come true,” Daniel shrugs. “I will do everything I need. And I won’t let the foreigner hurt you.”
“It’s okay, Dan, she won’t be able to deal with the four girls,” Raquelle replies with her head proudly raised. “We can also stand up for ourselves and are gonna do such things to that Spanish chic that she will stop doing this.”
Sammy barks two times loudly as if he says, “We can do this, guys! That girl won’t ruin the lives of Daniel and Anna anymore!”
“Oh, we’re gonna give her a hot, guys!” Edward exclaims cheerfully with a wide, sly smile. “She’s gonna remember our surprise forever! Oh, I can’t wait to look at the face of that liar when Perkins reveals her lie, Anna shows herself and kicks her ass, and the police take that worthless creature away.”
Meanwhile, Natalia, frowning strongly, moves her disapproving look to Edward.
“The lads and I are also gonna tell her a couple of words,” Edward adds confidently. “So, she doesn’t say that she is kind of hated. That someone turns her ‘fiancé’ against her.”
Sammy barks quietly, looking amicably at everybody with his tongue out.
“Oh, guys, I can’t wait for that girl to come back to the USA!” Edward exclaims cheerfully, cracking his knuckles. “I wanna make her say everything she told us about us again, looking into our eyes. I already feel that…”
“What, what, what, what did you say?” Natalia resents, turns Edward’s face on herself, gripping his yawl slightly and looking at him very gloomily. “Where are you going?” Huh, MacClife?”
“Natalia, what’s wrong?” Edward throws his hands up with an innocent smile. “Why are you so gloomy?”
“Nothing!” Natalia throws a little louder. “Don’t even dare to get closer to Perkins’ house when that foreigner is there! I ban you from talking about any kind of help! Did you get it?”
“Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I am kidding?”
“But, sweetie…”
“I’m warning you: if you meddle in that case, you’re gonna have great problems. Not with the foreigner, but me!”
“Hey, are you jealous?”
“You’ll go nowhere, MacClife!” Natalia says loudly and confidently.
“Natalia…”
“Either you stay home or you can sell your engagement ring, which I will give back to you after our breakup!”
“Oh, gosh, Natalia…” Edward laughs shyly, hugs Natalia keeping her arms crossed over her chest, presses her to himself, and caresses her head. “You’re so silly! Why are you so nervous, my sweetheart?”
“Don’t suck up, black-haired head!” Natalia throws with the poured lips, stepping back from Edward sharply. “It will not help you this time! As well as your beautiful speeches, stunning eyes, and charming voice!”
“C’mon, beauty, don’t be mad,” Edward says softly and tries to embrace Natalia again. “You’re hurting me if you believe I may look at another girl.”
“I said, don’t dare to suck up!” Natalia steps back from Edward sharply and hits him in the arms multiple times. “Don’t even dare to think of getting closer to that crazy lady! Keep yourself far from Daniel’s house on the day of the operation. You got it, MacClife? You got it, I’m asking?”
“Okay, okay, I got it,” Edward raises his hands up. “Don’t beat me, please. I’ve gotten enough hits.”
“It will be much worse if I see you next to Blanca.”
The friends laugh quietly, and Sammy makes a quiet sound.
“M-m-m, guys, Natalia is jealous!” Terrence chuckles kindly. “Hey, bro, you haven’t gotten married yet, but my future sister-in-law I controlling you! I guess this is the first time your cute face didn’t help you get what you wanted. You didn’t manage to make your beauty’s heart melt.”
“You will also ask for trouble if you help him,” Natalia threatens with a finger.
“Bloody hell…” Edward exhales slowly.
“It’s okay, Edward, don’t worry,” Terrence says confidently. “The guys and I will do it without you. You will sit at home and do something while we work on a noble thing. Help our parents with homework or work on repairing your home.”
“Are you mocking me again?”
“But don’t worry. We’ll tell you everything when we deal with that. Nobody will forget our little hero. And everybody’s gonna be sorry that someone didn’t let him do one more noble act.”
“What?” Raquelle frowns strongly, feeling how a strong hurricane is waking up inside her.
“Okay, brother, I will work for two. It’s gonna be hard, but what I could do if one little rutrag isn’t allowed to do noble things. Finally.”
When Terrence starts laughing quietly, Raquelle gives him a slight slap on the back of his head two seconds later.
“Hey!” Terrence makes a quiet squeak, rubbing the back of his head. “For what? What did I do?”
“I see you want to join the harem of the Spaniard,” Raquelle says gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you want to be fooled as well as your friend?”
“Raquelle, you… Are you jealous, too?”
“Why did you the fuck plan? Do you think I’ll let you stand in the way of that girl?”
“Oh, shit…” Terrence laughs loudly. “You made me laugh!”
“I’m banning you from even thinking about helping to arrest the foreigner!” Raquelle yells, threatening Terrence with a finger. “Or I swear I’ll kill you! Hang your fucking balls!”
“Did you forget that I’m only loyal to you?” Terrence takes Raquelle’s hands. “Sweetheart, I don’t need anyone else!”
“Stop sucking up!” Raquelle gets her hands sharply out of Terrence’s grip. “And just because your name is Terrence MacClife doesn’t mean you can do anything.”
“Gosh, I wasn’t gonna look at that foreigner! I don’t care about her! Why do I look at Blanca when I have such a beautiful and caring girl by my side?”
“You. Will. Stay. Home.” Raquelle raises her head. “I hope I said it clearly, Mr. MacClife? Or are you deaf?”
“But, Raquelle…” Terrence hugs Raquelle tenderly and kisses her cutely on the top of her head. “Don’t be so mean…”
“Don’t even try!” Raquelle steps back sharply from Terrence. “Your charm and handsomeness will not impact me. My decision is out of the discussion. You’ll stay home. I am your fiancée and have the right to ban you from what I don’t like!”
While Terrence being confused looks at Raquelle surprisingly and shakes his head, Edward chuckles quietly with his mouth closed with a hand, and Peter cracks a slight smile.
“Ha, as if your heavenly beauty helped you agree with your beloved fiancée,” Edward chuckles with his head proudly raised. “You’ll also stay home and enjoy the sun behind the window. Well, if you want, I’ll come to you with pleasure. Be with my beloved older brother, who is tied up to a chair… Or a bed…”
“Okay, guys…” Peter exhales sharply. “I’ve gotta do everything on my own. But don’t worry. I swear solemnly that I will do everything instead of you two and join the salvation of our brother from the Spaniard’s persecution.”
Meanwhile, Helene looks at Peter very gloomily, and Sammy makes a quiet sound, which shows he is resentful.
“I will surely tell you how everything was,” Peter promises confidently. “But you will have to be bored at home. You can spend time with your parents, help them with something, and sort out your relationship… If you, two pretty boys, are banned from joining this mission, you have a chance to kick each other’s ass for a whole day.”
Peter laughs quietly, getting pleasure from mocking Edward and Terrence kindly. But when he glances at Helene looking gloomier than a cloud and crossing her arms over her chest, he gets much more serious, and his wide smile fades away slowly.
“And why are you laughing?” Helene asks gloomily. “Do you think I’ll let you go to that foreigner?”
“What?” Peter rounds his eyes. “But…”
“Don’t dare to talk about a wish to help. Otherwise, you will ask for trouble.”
“Hey, do you doubt my loyalty?” Peter wonders truly. “You forgot that I have the nickname ‘loyal dog?’”
“Time for heroic acts is over, Rose!” Helene says confidently, a little louder. “You will stay home!”
“Hey! I will not even dare to let her get close to me. Besides, Blanca hates me. She showered me with mud much more.”
“In the opposite case, you may choose her! And become a member of the Spanish harem.”
“What?” Peter rounds his eyes.
“And you may not even come back to me!”
“But, Helene…”
“Joking with me is bad, Rose! And you know it well!”
“Sweetie, why are you so nervous?” Peter embraces Helene tightly with both arms, presses her to himself, and kisses her cutely on the top of her head. “It’s okay, relax…”
“Don’t try to make me melt!” Helene steps back from Peter sharply. “Your tricks won’t work with me.”
“But…”
“You heard everything, Rose!” Helene yells and starts threatening Peter with a finger. “If I see you near Daniel’s house when the Spaniard is there, you’ll regret it.”
“Bloody hell…”
While Peter shakes his head and puts his hand on his forehead, exhaling slowly, Terrence and Edward laugh quietly.
“Yeah, Rose, you weren’t allowed to go, too,” Terrence says with a laugh.
“Welcome to our gang, dude!” Edward adds funnily.
“Be our guest!” Terrence and Edward pronounce funnily.
“Alright, men, stop playing heroes!” Raquelle says confidently.
“Yeah, now it’s our time to play heroines,” Natalia adds with her head proudly raised. “You dealt with Wainwright and the Potters, and we’ll deal with Blanca.”
“C’mon, girls!” Daniel says with a slight smile, keeping his arms wrapped around Anna’s neck. “You have no reason to be jealous of the lads and the foreigner. Blanca feels nothing good for them. She only needs me.”
“Sorry, Daniel, but we won’t let them be a part of our plan,” Natalia says confidently. “The girls and I will do everything.”
“Don’t worry, girls, these horses won’t run away from you,” Anna says funnily. “You tamed them a long time ago.”
“In order for these horses not to decide to join us, I have an idea,” Helene says with a mysterious smile and moves her eyes to Sammy, who pays attention to the flying fly. “Sammy! Sammy, come to me. C’mon, come to me.”
Sammy barks loudly and comes quickly to Helene, whose mouth he literally looks into.
“Sammy, my boy…” Helene pronounces softly, petting Sammy’s head. “The girls and I have a super responsible mission for you. You need to watch the lads when the girls and I help Daniel and Anna deal with the Spaniard. Don’t let these three go to Perkins’ home. If they say just something about a wish to go there, I allow you to bite their asses.”
“And don’t get bribed by their offers of treats,” Raquelle adds confidently. “No matter what they offer you, don’t give up on them and insist on what you want.”
Sammy sits down in front of the girls and barks two times loudly and confidently, letting them know that he will complete his mission successfully.
“And you have to be together until we call and come to you,” Natalia says confidently, addressing Edward, Terrence, and Peter.
“Come together wherever you want,” Raquelle says quietly with both arms crossed over her chest. “But we must know where to find you after everything is over.”
“Okay,” Terrence adds with both hands raised. “If you want it, we won’t be a part of it.”
“That’s perfect!” Helene smiles shyly. “I hope we understood each other well.”
“Honestly, I’m a little nervous…” Daniel confesses thoughtfully. “And when I imagine that hysterical lady wishing to kiss me, I feel bad.”
“Don’t worry, guys, it’s gonna be fine,” Helene promises confidently.
“I’d be really grateful to you if you helped me deal with that hysterical psycho,” Daniel promises.
“It’s gonna be okay, buddy, trust us,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Your birthday and the performances of the band won’t be ruined.”
“I’ll owe you, too, girls,” Anna says with a slight smile. “Until the end of my life.”
“We’ll do our best, darling,” Raquelle promises amicably.
“So…” Edward shrugs. “Then we only have to wish you luck.”
“The lads and I will be waiting for news with impatience,” Terrence adds with a slight smile. “And we’ll hope that the girl won’t come up with the idea of killing or stabbing someone.”
“I hope it won’t happen,” Daniel expresses hope. “But I will do my best for nobody to suffer.”
Sammy barks quietly, while everybody just looks at each other for a few seconds.
“Hey, girls, maybe, you’ll change your mind?” Peter smiles slyly.
“Hey, I shall kick your ass now!” Helene resents, giving Peter a slight clap on the head.
Sammy runs to Peter shortly, strikes him down on the ground along with the others’ chuckles, and nuzzles his nose into the man’s face, while the blond laughs quietly and tells the dog to let him go.
“That’s right, you made a great mistake!” Terrence agrees. “We have a rich experience of these things!”
Raquelle strikes Terrence down on the ground immediately and starts beating him passionately with a carton thing that she finds in the packet.
“And I can tell her a couple of ‘nice’ words in Spanish!” Edward says cheerfully.
Natalia takes the bottle of water from the packet placed next to her, opens it, and splashes a little bit over the head of Edward, who shakes slightly from the coldness and wipes his face quickly. Then the girl starts beating the man with both hands on everything she sees, while he tries to take her by the wrists with quiet chuckles.
“You can’t do this without us!” Peter says confidently after Sammy gets off him but keeps barking at him determinedly.75Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpFRS1qFb2
Helene gives Peter a couple of claps on the back of his head, puts an empty packet on his head, and starts torturing him with a tickling. While Anna slaps Daniel on the nose two times and, squeezing it slightly, turns it on different sides, while he tries to tickle her hips. After getting tired from fighting with their sweethearts, the friends start thrilling with loud laughter, trying to forget about having to solve one more problem at least for a while and having pleasure from playing with Sammy, who literally never gets upset and is always in a good mood.
[1] esp. Hi, my sweetheart!
[2] esp. How are you doing?
[3] esp. my love
[4] esp. It’s me, my life
[5] esp. What’s wrong, my love?
[6] esp. a girl
[7] esp. bitch
[8] esp. my life
[9] esp. I’m sorry, sweetheart
[10] esp. My parents and my sister
[11] esp. Thank you, my love
[12] esp. Bye, mi amor! Bye! Bye! I hug and kiss you!
[13] esp. A lot of kisses for you, Daniel! I love you, my kitten! I love you!
[14] esp. After our surprise, the Spaniard will go to Spain
[15] esp. You’re re in trouble, Blanc Moreno
