Rain. He said it would only take a minute. More rain. And a distant thunder. Wind. I shiver, trying to hold myself with my own arms. I feel like a rag doll, pulled in every direction.
I'm so worried, I wouldn't go back to the car if my life depended on it. He didn't look good when he was going in, and I expect nothing good out of all that. He never told me who lived in the house, and didn't want to talk about why it was necessary for us to come over. Now, I regret the fact that I haven't pushed him to tell me anything at all. Even a small piece of information would make me have some sense of peace at this moment. But I didn't want to put pressure on him, if he wasn't ready. So I have to drink my own poison now.
Another distant thunder. I really, really want us to go home already. I don't like the fact that he's been in there for at least a quarter now, and I can't go in because I swore I wouldn't step into that house. He was so frantic when he asked that of me, I couldn't really say no. It seemed as though he was going to panic if I didn't agree.
God, why is he taking so long?
Suddenly, the door slam open, and Matt storms out, not even bothered enough to close them behind himself. He jumps straight into the streams of rain, then grabs my hand.
- Why in the world are you still standing here? You're gonna catch a cold.
Then, I notice. A red silhouette on his cheek. And the fact his shirt has been ripped above his shoulder.
- What happened to you?
He only stares me in the eye, with a totally indifferent face expression. - Matt? - I demand.
- I think we need to call 911 - he says instead of answering my question.
- Why? Are you going to faint? Do you need to sit down?
He looks a bit pale. Maybe that's shock, or something else he's not telling me about.
He shakes his head.
- Not for me. I think my father might be having a heart attack right now.
- What?! - I elevate my voice before even realizing I did.
So, this is his father's house. His father's, who tortured him as a child. Why did he want to come here? Eventually, I realize he didn't tell me because he knew I'd try to stop him. I get dizzy from sudden strike of fear that hits me in the head. - What were you thinking?!
I pull him back onto the porch, so we don't stand in that rain anymore.
I get my phone from my purse, and immediately dial 911.
- Hello, you've reached the emergency center. Please, state your emergency.
- Hi, we have an elderly man here who we think is experiencing a heart attack. We're in Mulasko, 75 Trooper Road.
- I understand, are you capable of determining what stage of an attack he's in right now?
Matt pokes me with his elbow and mouths "advanced".
- It's really bad.
- What are his symptoms?
- Let me check.
- Sure, no worries.
Without even glancing at Matt, I enter the house. I hear some moaning, coming from what appears to be the living room of the wooden cabin.
There's an older man, half laying on the couch, holding his hand pressed against his chest. He's struggling to breathe and his eyes are almost falling out of their sacks.
- Shortness of breath, chest pain, and very high blood pressure - I recite.
- Ok, we're sending an ambulance right this moment, it should arrive in ten-fifteen minutes.
- Thank you.
- Please, call us back if anything changes.
- Of course. Goodbye.
I hang up.
The man doesn't look at me, I don't even know if he's aware of my presence. But I definitely realize all the surroundings look like a tornado went through the room. Things knocked over, some of them shattered, covering the floor. A coffee table standing on its side, and a few pictures in wooden frames lay in a puddle of broken glass.
Matt comes in and grabs me by the shoulders.
- Let's go outside.
- We can't leave him alone, he may die if something happens while we're out - I remark.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
Then sits on the floor, next to the coffee table and a chair he patts for me to sit on it.
I take a sit. Silence falls, interrupted only by the man's moaning and panting.
- Why are we here, and what happened? - I finally ask, struggling not to loose my mind.
- I wanted to make peace with him, before we move away. And he pretty much threw himself at me while I was trying to explain that to him.
I look at the old man. He's pretty tall, and his shoulders are wide. He must weigh somewhat around one hundred and fifty pounds. He looks like someone who exercises regularly. Also, he must have gotten enraged enough to get himself into a heart attack. What kind of rage that even was? And, just because he saw Matt?
We sit in silence untill the paramedics show up and take him away. Then, we thank them, take one last look at Matt's father, and go back to our car.
- I need something hot to drink - he murmurs.
I nod.
- Let's go to a café.

Soon enough, we sit at a table at the nearest café. We ordered two big mugs of honey infused tea, nothing to eat. We're not really hungry. And don't really feel like talking. We only hold hands, for the first time without caring about what anybody thinks. We're moving away. There's no need to hide our relationship any longer.
- At least we're done with the bad stuff - he sums up, as if reading my mind.
- Done - I repeat.
I feel so drained from all the things we went through lately, that I don't even feel like it's over. My memory jumps back and forth between aunt Missy screaming at us in the corridor, standing in the rain, and the man on the couch. I'm still shivering, and part of me is seriously worried about the possibility of Matt's dad dying that night. I don't really understand why, I never knew the man, and from what I knew, it wouldn't have been a pleasure. It definitely wasn't obvious.
Matt rubbed my hand, as if reading my mind.
- If he dies, I'll be ok. I said everything I had to say.
- And, what was that? - I ask.
- "I forgive you".


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