Without a ban

“I told you, I knew it, that bitch wouldn’t teach you any good. Here you are, admire him now. Vulgar and shameless,” my mother became indignant.

“Admire and enjoy. I’m glad I managed to get rid of your skirt, and get out from under your influence.”

“Not grateful,” she shouted into the tube.

“I love you too,” I answered her and turned off the phone.

I decided to go out and take a little walk, but I couldn’t find my keys. Immediately I had two questions. Where are my keys, and did I accidentally leave them at Alexa’s? If, after all, I left them in her apartment, I will not take them back. I don’t want to see her after yesterday. I’ll make a duplicate since Emma also has keys to my apartment. I should probably call her and make an appointment. I picked up my cell phone and started dialing her number.

“Hello, dear sister,” I greeted her when she picked up the phone.

“Hello, Arthur,” she answered sadly.

“What’s wrong with your voice?”I decided to ask her, as I didn’t like it at all.

“It’s all right, Arthur. Mother was complaining about you and your behavior again. But I don’t care anymore, because I realized that you’re not going to get better.”

“You’re the best, you finally made it. Emma, you have a spare key to my apartment, right?”

” Of course, because while you were away on your long trips, I was keeping it clean.”

“Great, I just lost mine somewhere, so I’ll come to you and you can give them back to me.”

“Whatever you say, Arthur. I’m always happy to have you over, but you haven’t been doing it much lately. Besides, Michael’s off to California again.”

“Why do you say that? Are you having problems?” Asked her, expecting to get a truthful answer.

” I’m having problems with my head. I don’t understand what’s happening to me. But I’m pathologically jealous of him lately.”

“It’s not like he’s ever given you a reason.”

“I just didn’t want to tell you about it. I didn’t want to,” she began to speak more softly, and I thought she was going to cry.

“All right, calm down, sis. I’ll come to you, and you’ll tell me all about it. We’ll have a cup of coffee, just like old times.”

“Okay, I’ll be very grateful to you, I’m alone with the baby, I’m going crazy here, and I’m turning stupid thoughts on myself.”

“Stop doing that, I’ll be there. Wait for me.”

“Okay.”

Alexa

I decided to clean my apartment today. Thoughts of Brazil were bothering me, but I tried to get away from them. When I decided to dust, I saw two pairs of keys on the nightstand, and one of them was definitely not mine. I guessed right away whose they were. But I’m not returning them. If he still hasn’t come back, then he’s fine with it.

Perhaps, nevertheless, I will agree with Mr. Holmes’s suggestion and will go on this extreme trip. I opened my laptop and began to read my novel with a view to

of editing and correcting it. After all, I want to provide Gilbert with a finished sample. I opened it and began flipping through pages one by one, marveling at my imagination and my sadism. Or rather, the sadism of Hartman’s father toward his victims.

The strangulation of Heather, an eighteen-year-old girl, with a belt, in an act of sexual and physical violence.

The drowning of a twenty-year-old girl, Marin, with an act of violence committed and vein cuts on two of her arms.

The strangulation of a twenty-three-year-old girl, Sylvia, with her own hair, in an act of physical and sexual violence.

The stitching of Elizabeth’s eyes and mouth with a needle, an act of sexual violence.

The branding of twenty-year-old Anabelle’s heart area with red-hot metal, with the inscription “I am a whore. Committing an act of physical and sexual violence.

And several other kinds of murders with an iron, a necktie, chains.

“What horror! ” I was outraged when I read all this. I don’t know what moved me when I wrote all this.

Okay, that’s enough for today, and anyway, let the people who get paid for it do the editing,” I thought, and shut my laptop.

I’ve got to see the things, which I’ll take to Rio de Janeiro, and I’ll start to pack my suitcase, but before that I’ll write Mr. Holmes about my decision. I opened my laptop again and began typing:

“Mr. Holmes, after thinking it over I’ve come to a consensus, I’ll fly to Brazil”, – and having pressed the button “send” I left my mail and closed the lid of my notebook.

Arthur

“Hi, Emma,” I greeted her as she opened the door for me.

” Come on in.”

“How are you? Are you okay?” I asked, and she immediately began to move her head away, covering her neck with her curly hair.

” I’m fine,” she said, and we sat down on the couch.

“How’s Rudy? Is he asleep yet?”

-“Arthur, little children sleep every three hours, and they wake up the same way. I’m so tired of it, you know. I could barely get him to sleep now, he’s been fussy for a long time, but I did it anyway.”

“You’re a good mother, Emma, and Michael is a great father. I have a hard time believing that you’re having problems.”

“You think Michael is so perfect, but he’s not. I too thought at first how lucky I was that my man wouldn’t look at another woman, would never cheat on me.”

” Emma, you don’t have proof.”

“No, but a woman’s intuition tells me that’s what it is. He disappears all the time, his constant photo sessions with beautiful girls.”

“It’s his job, you know,” I began to assure her.

“Maybe you should stop sticking up for him,” she got angry, and I didn’t realize that I was actually justifying and sticking up for Michael right now.

“Okay,” I agreed with her, just to calm her down.

“Arthur, can you help me check his loyalty to me?”

“Emma, how do you imagine that?” I was surprised at her request.

“Don’t you know girls who are sexy and attractive in appearance?”

“Lately, I’ve stopped making one-night stands, I’m sorry.”

“What should I do? How do I make sure?”

– Emma, what do you need this for?

“What’s it for? If he dares to cheat on me, I’ll divorce him. And he will be left with nothing. And I won’t let him see the baby. And I forgot to tell you that he used my money to open his studio. You’d think a loser photographer would have that kind of money.”

“Emma, I’m sure he’ll pay you back, and a lot more. You don’t have to regret it.”

“He’ll have to pay you back.”

“What do you mean?”

“I withdrew $50, 000 from your account, and I gave it to him. And Alexa, I called yours to scare her and discourage you from giving her money.”

I was dumbfounded by such a truth.

– Wow,” I said the only thing I could say, and buried my hand in my hair, thinking about what to do next.

” I’m sorry, I had no choice. I have two degrees – economics and computer science. In the banking environment, felt like a fish in water. It was easy to transfer money from your account to a fake one, using my hacking skills. You can despise and hate me. But it’s the truth. And after that, Michael was unrecognizable. The loving, caring, responsible husband and father evaporated in a flash.”

“Emma, I’m surprised, but I don’t despise you, if you asked me personally, I wouldn’t refuse you.”

“It is too late to talk about it.”

“Emma, but that doesn’t mean he’s cheating on you, it’s just that he does have a lot of work, and little free time.”

“But he does have it, and it’s me and Rudy he should be spending it with.”

” Emma, it’s going to be okay, don’t worry,” I reassured her and hugged her tightly, just like when she was a kid.

“I can’t, I can’t,” she said, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Believe me, you always have to make sacrifices.”

“He doesn’t have to do this, he doesn’t have to,” she cried even harder, and I was beginning to fear that her sobs might wake Rudi.

“Emma, wait a minute,” I addressed her, getting up from the sofa and heading into the kitchen to get her some water and some sleeping pills, which were always in the top cupboard, on the first shelf.

“Now, she’ll calm down and get some sleep,” I thought, poured some powder and carried it into the room.

-“She took it in her hands and without asking anything, drank a few sips, then finished it completely.”

” Did you calm down a little? ” I asked when I took the glass from her.

“That’s not all, Arthur. I haven’t told you everything. Two weeks ago, I also transferred another hundred thousand dollars from your account.”

“What? Are you out of your mind, Emmа? “I jumped up off the couch and started yelling at her like I couldn’t contain myself anymore.

“You wouldn’t have guessed anything, because I ran the electronic database incognito, and when you decided to cash out your account, that’s when it would only come up.”

“Where’s the money now, Emma?” I walked up to her and started shaking it.

“I don’t have it, Michael has it.”

“What does he need that kind of money for? Tell me. Are you in trouble, are you being threatened? Tell me the truth, Emma!”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” she began to cry and kneel down in front of me.

“I’m sorry, Arthur. I’m a stupid, in love idiot who wanted to make our marriage with him happy, and in the end, he just used me. You know what I mean?”

“That bastard. He’s going to answer for this, get off your knees,” I just now saw that on Emma’s left cheek, there was a blow mark.

“Did he do it? Did he do it?” I grabbed her arm, squeezing it painfully.

” Arthur, let me go, let me go,” she cried, crying.

” I’m sorry,” I apologized, and let her go, but I already knew the answer to my question. Michael had raised his hand against my sister, and he had to answer for it.

“Arthur, are you going to report me to the police?”

“How could you even think that, Emma? You’re the victim here, okay? Michael used you. When is he coming?”

“He’s in San Francisco for a week. I told you on the phone.”

-“Shit, all right, we’ll wait till he gets back. It’s not like he’s gone forever.”

“What if he doesn’t come back, takes the money and disappears?”

“Emma, it’s not a lot of money to live on all your life. Especially since he has a son. Emma, don’t think of anything bad, I don’t like the state of your health lately.”

“I’ll try to pull myself together, Arthur. I’m sorry again,” she apologized, and hugged me tightly.

“That’s it, that’s it, it wasn’t your fault. Where are the keys, Emma?” I asked her, for I had originally come for them.

“They were always in the nightstand, in the third drawer,” she answered, but when I opened it and looked in every drawer, I couldn’t find them.

“They’re gone, Emma.”

“Wait, maybe I moved them,” I remembered and went to look at the possible locations of their location.

“Here they are. I must have put them in the other drawer,” she said, and handed me the keys.

“Thank you for finding them,” I thanked her and started to walk out of her apartment.

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” she couldn’t stop apologizing, because she felt guilty.

“It’s not your fault, it’s Michael, I have to go,” I tried to convince her of her innocence, and after saying goodbye to her I left.