Return

Автор: Anastasia

"Bald headed?" Connor burst into laughter. "That’s how he shows his respect to a new Case Manager." But then he was again serious: "I don’t think that it’s a good idea to have Peter around. I wish no one should ever be on that damned plant."

"You’re right, it was horrible," I agreed. Then I heard AJ.

"Well, well, well, impatient just like her Mom," Connor teased.

"Really? Am I that bad?" and we again laughed. World was so much brighter when I was with Connor.

Walking through a dark building, my heart beating.

"Lindsay," I turn around but there is no one, only me alone, steps echoing on the floor. And then I see Connor, pale and drawn, pain written on his face.

"Connor," I run over to him, "honey, what’s wrong."

"Lindsay, I’m giving you an order. Leave now!" his voice echoes in the room and I see parasites approaching.

"Leave now!" the words ring in my ears. And then a blast, roaring inferno, taking him away from me.

"Connor, Connor, come back!"

"Lindsay, Lindsay, come on, what’s wrong?" someone put his arms round me, gently shaking. I opened my eyes and looked exactly into Connor’s worried face.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Oh, Connor," I hid my face on his chest and he gently kissed my hair.

"It was the nightmare, the night that used to haunt you, wasn’t it?" he wondered.

I merely nodded.

"I wish I knew what you’ve been through Lindsay, I wish I could wipe all your bad memories, you’d have never suffered," he murmured thoughtfully. "And it was me who made you suffer."

"No, Connor, it was you who made me happy," I protested. "You and AJ."

"I’m glad you’re happy," a faint smile touched his lips. "I hope you’ll always be happy."

And I believed him, closing my eyes at the fate.

We were flying for already three hours and there was still a long way in front of us. "It’s a pity there isn’t any Concorde starting from Russia," said Connor. He was trying to read a paper but obviously had problems concentrating. Of course he is nervous, I thought. Finally everyone saw him die in Archangelsk and I could understand his nervousness.

"It’s all right, besides AJ seems to like flying. Everyone keeps playing with her," I smiled, watching a girl of about fifteen bending over AJ. She was the only baby in the whole plane and everyone considered its duty to play with her.

Connor followed my glance: "Well, for me she seems to take after her mother. Just wait, she’ll grow to be a horror for the guys from all over US."

"Horror?" I chuckled. "It’s great to have some admirers I think."

"This is my wife speaking. I wonder whether you’ll ever stop making eyes," he laughed.

"I could of course, stop but then you stop be jealous and I like to have you jealous," I jumped from the chair because Connor bent over, laughing and trying to tickle me. The rest of the journey I’ve been trying my best to keep Connor laughing. I was also nervous but firstly I always managed to hide my feeling and secondly I never bent under the weight of responsibility, I just took everything easy. Finally we landed. It was a strange feeling: the same airport, the same building. Almost a year ago I fled, desperate and lonely, chased by Elsinger. Now I stood in the same hall but so much was different! There was AJ sleeping peacefully in my arms and there was Connor on my side. I didn’t want it different.

"Game started," was Connor’s comment.

I nodded: "And we’re ready to face the dragon."

In thirty minutes Connor bent into the parkway and turned off the ignition.

"Here we are, Lin, nothing’s changed," he said. I was already out of the car, taking out the key of my bag. The key I thought I’d never again use. However, it was all the same.

I took out the post out of the box and turned to Connor: "Oh, God they’re stupid! I wonder how I’ll ever be able to read this letters; they just threw the letters in until the latter’ve got jammed, wet with rain. I hope that at least no one broke in."

There were no traces of burglars in the rooms; everything was as quite as it used to be. It was our house now, Connor’s and mine. And of course AJ’s.

The next few days we spent cleaning and decorating the house. There were a lot of things to be done, a lot to be bought and both Connor and me enjoyed the fuss. AJ seemed to be quite content as well: she spent most of the time sleeping but when she was awake, she liked to play with the physical equipment I got at home. We laughed at her attempts and I wondered out loud whether AJ was going to be like Peter. And then I called him.

"Axon," Pete’s voice was the same.

"Peter, it’s me," I said. He recognized me immediately. Should it be different?

"Hi, great to hear from you! Still in Russia?" he asked.

"No," I replied.

There was a brief silence on the other side of the wire and then came the words I’ve been waiting for: "May I come along?"

I grinned: "Sure, any time you wish."

In fifteen minutes he was standing in front of my door. As I opened, we didn’t move for some time, just looking at each other. He almost didn’t change, just aged a bit and I could see sadness deep in his eyes, sadness that started to dissolve as he saw me.

"Is it really you?" he finally asked.

"You don’t believe in ghosts, Axon, do you?" I repeated the words once told me by Connor. He shook his head and in the next moment we were hugging each other.

"Lindsay, stupid, stupid little Lindsay! Why did you run away? Why didn’t you let me help?" he asked, holding me at arms’ length and smiling.

"I don’t know," I admitted. "Well, I hurt you and I thought you’d never forgive. You know there are a lot of reasons, there was a wall we built, you and me and it wasn’t that easy to break it..."

"Neither for you, nor for me," finished Peter. "Oh, Lin, I understood how important you were to me as you were gone and I found the letter."

We drew apart as Peter saw Connor. I watched the two men and I knew they both had to admit they were wrong that night on the plant. That was the only way for them to become friends again. Connor was the first to speak. Born leader, I thought again, faintly smiling.

"I’m sorry, Peter," he said.

Peter didn’t move, just waiting for him to continue. "I should have trusted you, I should have told you earlier what was on. So that Lindsay," for a while his glance, full of tenderness lingered on me," wouldn’t blame you for my death. It’s not you who was guilty, it was me. The whole affair had nothing to do with you; it was my business – Elsinger’s and mine. I’m sorry you suffered," he finished, his attentive blue – gray eyes watching Peter.

The latter still didn’t say a word.

Then he suddenly grinned: "At least, Frankie boy wasn’t bored." He thrust out his hand: "Friends?"

And both man laughed, as they shook each other’s hands. I was so happy, having both Peter and Connor here, laughing and joking.

And then I noticed a woman, standing in the doorway.

I walked up to her: "Lindsay Donner. May I help you?"

She smiled somehow self-consciously: "So that’s you Peter talked so much about."

I attentively eyed her. I knew that Pete had neither sisters nor cousins, perhaps that’s why we missed each other: we were some kind of siblings – Pete a brother I never had and me a sister for him, a sister he always dreamt of having. So she could be only a friend of his.

Возврат к списку