The night rattle of cicadas was drowned out by the rustle of waves, two men were sitting on the sand not far from each other and silently looking into the dark distance of the ocean.
Armand looked at his brother, he wanted to talk about so many things with him, but at the moment he did not know where to start this conversation. Marcus seemed relaxed and calm as if such gatherings were a daily routine for them and not a unique accident.
"Despite everything that happened, I"m glad you and Polina are alive," Armand said after a long silence.
Marcus raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother, "Oh, I see your girlfriend revealed her little secret? Knowing your character, I"m sure it took her a lot of courage to do this."
"And what is so special about my character to cause such a thrill? If someone here is hot-tempered it is definitely not me," Armand muttered in response. He had no plans to run into a fight, but he was not going to endure caustic comments in his address either.
Marcus shook his head and sighed, this little brother, even in spite of his advanced age and life experience, has so far been an impa.s.sable fool in some matters.
Well, apparently, someone will have to teach him a lesson and who can do it better if not his older brother?
"I cross my heart that you were listening to her story with an indifferent look on your face as if it did not concern you. You have been like this since your childhood - you showed positive emotions willingly, so everyone was fascinated by your good behavior and goodwill. And you hid negative emotions in yourself, trying to put on a mask of indifference.
Even at our mother"s funeral, you didn"t utter a tear, because you closed yourself in so much that you didn"t even understand what was happening around. And our father took it as a strong side and reproached me for being too emotional."
Marcus"s words could be perceived as a rebuke, but Armand was so emotionally exhausted that evening that he had no desire to argue with his brother, especially when the latter was right.
Armand has long noticed that in himself that sometimes he preferred to ignore an unpleasant situation than to deal with it.
Either because he did not know how to behave correctly, or the amount of negative experience gained during his life was already sufficient for him.
"Why did you lie that you killed Polina?"
Marcus took a sip of beer and looked into the night sky, "Have I ever said to you that it was I who killed her?"
"Oh, you just save your little manipulative tricks, all right?! Even if you didn"t say that directly, you did everything possible so that I understood you that way!"
Marcus grinned and snapped his tongue, "Brother, if you got me wrong, is this my problem? It was you who decided so, who is to blame for the fact that this did not coincide with reality?"
Armand sighed, even now this cunning demon named Marcus Taubert tried to set everything up in such a way that he had completely nothing to do with it.
"It took me more than ten years to learn how to fall asleep again, but even after that, nightmares haunted me as soon as I closed my eyes. Every time I was falling asleep with the intention of killing you, and every night I heard your cries and the cries of Polina in my "dreams".
Can you even imagine how I felt when my closest people were brutally tortured to death before my eyes? You have no idea what it is!
Eighty years, Marcus, eighty f.u.c.king years, I have been living with this memory, as if it were only yesterday! And guess what I find out? Even after what we have been through you are making yourself look like the killer of my beloved woman just with the reason of protecting me?!
And have you ever asked me if I needed such protection?! You didn"t give a s.h.i.t! You took care of everything yourself and took everything upon yourself as during that d.a.m.ned experiment!
You think I"m grateful that you provoked our father and he dumped all his fury on you?! I have never been grateful for this, is it clear to you?! You had to escape when there was an opportunity! Then you... then you would not have to...," Armand bowed his head, the stifled sobs of a man were drowned out by the rustle of waves.
Marcus laid a hand on his brother"s shoulder and patted him encouragingly.
"I hate you so much now," Armand whispered a few minutes later, "I would have drowned you in the ocean, but I"m sure that over the years you have already learned to swim."
"Ahaha, oh yes, your elder brother is now so cool in swimming that he even once set a national record, thirty years ago or so," Marcus laughed, he was afraid of water from childhood, but since he wouldn"t die from drowning anyway, after long and tedious training, he was able to overcome this fear.
Armand wiped his face and took the last sip of beer, if he knew about this in advance, he would take with him four, or even six cans, "Amelia was right when she said that you are a stubborn idiot who is afraid to rely on others."
"Wha??? You know what? This woman herself was more obstinate than the most stubborn donkey! After her tricks, even my nerves refused to recover if only not to stand her next frenzy foolhardiness ever again! She had to be isolated in the bas.e.m.e.nt and kept there until the end of her days," Marcus growled. "This woman", as he called her, got into his plans even after death; how she did it, was beyond his comprehension.
And this caused the man great irritation and sincere admiration at the same time.
"By the way, Amelia left me a very interesting photograph. It depicts a little girl and her loving parents," Armand turned and looked at his brother with malice, "I"m wondering if I give this photo to Elena right now, it will greatly hinder your plans… or will it not?"
Marcus frowned for a moment, but the next second his face became indifferent again.
Of course, that woman with just birth confused all his goals and plans. Her unwavering character, her impulsive behavior, her unpredictable way of thinking - all caused the man to experience an uncontrollable storm of emotions, which he hardly restrained every time he heard her name.
Now, he was so close to his goal, closer than ever, and any small detail could ruin his plans like a breeze would destroy a fragile house of cards. Now, he experienced anxiety, sometimes the feeling was similar to fear, but the decision was made, and the man was not going to retreat from it.
Marcus drank his beer and squeezed an aluminum can in his hands, admitting that one old photograph could become critical for him was tantamount to demonstrating his weak spot.
He looked at Armand and answered in an indifferent tone, "Do what you want, it doesn"t concern me anyway."