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Story: The Day Love Died

He groaned doubtfully, “Lena…”  “I don’t really trust the police’s plan for your safety. Isaac is dangerous, and you need to trust me now.”
There was silence between them for a minute after that, but then Lola spoke for the first time since leaving the hospital. “To protect Lena, you had to leave the hotel completely? It sounds like you’re going to move in with her.”
After another full minute of stillness, Lena held her breath until Kellen’s tense shoulders slumped in the driver’s seat in front of her. “I’m going to stay in a cheap motel.”
Back to now, Lena was still quite confused as she unlocked the door to her flat…  not wanting to trust what it sounded like it was going to be. She knew that Isaac had hit Kellen back hard and that his business was going down. But didn’t he have any money saved up for himself? She understood that practically every businessman had a backup plan, and even though they sometimes go bankrupt, they always find a way to get back on their feet.
It sounded so strange to her that Kellen might be dragged down to his knees like that. The second option, that he was only attempting to find a method to get into her house, looked better.
That night, dinner was short and quiet.
Lola sat next to Lena at her little, square kitchen table. Lena saw her picking at the food on her plate instead of eating. Kellen, on the other hand, was sitting across the table and completing the task of biting, chewing, and swallowing in a rather robotic way.
Lena let out a sigh. “Hey, I know the tuna fish sandwiches aren’t that great because I made them quickly, and the tuna was just cut out of the can. There’s some pasta in the cabinet, so I should probably cook it, but you guys need to wait a little while—”
Strong voices interrupted her at the same time.
“That’s not true!”
“Not a chance!”
Lola and Kellen looked at each other and tried again.
“This tuna is so good.”
“I love everything you cook.”
Both of them moaned in annoyance. Lena’s eyes got bigger.
“Damien’s arm is toast, and I’m still shocked.”
“I’m just worried about what Isaac might do next.”
Lola grumbled, and Kellen puffed.
“Stop it!”
“Talk to you later!”
Lola flung her arms up in anger, and Kellen crushed the sandwich in his hand.
Lena shook her head and smiled. “Okay, everyone, let’s just enjoy what we have on our plate right now,” Lena replied hurriedly before their tuned-up chatting started again.
Yes, they did. Again, quietly. And they thought this was better.
Kellen cleaned the dishes even though Lena didn’t want him to.
Instead, he had replied calmly, “Go, take your medicines, Lena,” and gently swatted her hands away as they reached for the sink. “Go to bed now and take your medicines. You’ve had a long day.”
Lena stood next to him and took a step back. It was easy to detect that he didn’t clean the dishes very often because she observed him do them. When they were together, they always had a maid. He had a maid come to his flat twice a week while he resided there.
She quickly exited the kitchen the next second after turning around. It was strange to see him do anything like wash the dishes. It felt so private like they were playing home again and not how it used to be.
Lena took off her bandana and went to bed, letting out a sigh of relief. She was sliding into the comforter when she heard Lola’s voice and stopped.
“People would comment, “You’re getting much too used to being bald.”
Lena’s mouth turned up at the corners. She put her palm on her head and felt the little hairs that were already breaking out from the velvety smoothness. “Well, I guess so. After the initial misery and shyness wear off, it feels strangely freeing not to have to deal with all that hair and the extra work of cleaning and caring for it.”
Lola moved around on the side of the bed where she had been sleeping. She had chosen to remain the night because Lena had asked her to.
“Because of you, Lena, I want to shave all my hair off.”
Lena merely smiled and sank into the warm pillows. For a time, her mind drifted to the couch that Kellen had claimed for the night.
“Lola—” Lena called a few minutes later when their breathing got too loud.
When we’re too weary or drowsy, we’re more likely to stay up for hours after going to bed, feeling angry that sleep won’t come. The brain is so cruel; it never shows pity for the body’s pain.
Lena had privately called it the “owl syndrome.”
“Hmmm…” Lola’s voice was muffled since the comforter was over her face, and the end of it was tucked snugly under her head. If you didn’t pay close attention to her breathing, you would be scared since her whole body was straight.
Lena laughed as she saw that her friend’s way of sleeping seemed more like a dead body lying peacefully. She had heard that how someone sleeps shows who they really are. So, what does Lola’s way of sleeping say about her?
Lena remarked, “I wanted to ask you something,” but she was a little apprehensive.
“Go ahead and ask,” Lola said. “Please don’t ask me to marry you.”
She inquired gently, “Do you like Damien?”
There was a lengthy gap, and it seemed like Lola had really stopped breathing.
Lena’s thoughts went back to the phone call she had with Ryan earlier. The guy was crazy out there in Brooklyn when he heard about the attacks on her. Lena had to work hard and for a long time to calm him down and talk him out of booking the next trip to Velden. But what was shocking was that he cleared his throat and questioned her about Lola at that point. Wondering how she was doing.
The question seemed common, but Lena remembered Ryan’s additional attempt to make it normal.
And then there was Lola. Lena had never seen the woman so upset, silent, and not like herself before.
Why can’t feelings ever be simple? And why do they have to be abandoned so often? Not wanted?
“Lola?” Lena screamed out again when her friend’s body was covered from head to toe and didn’t answer.
“Shh, Lena! I’m sleeping.”
Lena leaned back into the pillow with a sigh of laughter. She was too tired to start an argument by saying that a sleeping person couldn’t possibly answer.
Certain inquiries must go unanswered, and certain secrets must stay hidden.
Lena’s plans didn’t work out the way she hoped they would.
Damien did get out of the hospital the next day, but then his mother called him. She raced to Velden when she heard that her son had been shot. It was clear that Damien had to go back to his own apartment immediately. And he did it, but he looked like he didn’t want to.
Damien requested, “Come inside?” as she dropped him off. His eyes were a little fatigued, but he looked at her with the same kindness as always.
“I’ll definitely come by later to meet your mother. For now, let’s give her some time alone with her son. She must be stressed,” she remarked with a smile before getting back in the car and waving farewell.
Kellen chose to stay at Lena’s for a few more days because of what was going on.
“Once again, Kellen, I’m sure I can handle things on my own,” she said.
Kellen grumbled back. “I’m not going anywhere until Isaac is completely out of the picture.”
“But he’s in police custody and being questioned right now, isn’t he?” she said angrily.
Kellen just growled again and walked over to the restroom. He said over his shoulder, “But his hitmen aren’t, are they?”
Lena couldn’t say anything back to it.
Lola was back to her normal self since that morning, which was unexpected. And Damien never got to see how crazy she had been the day he was shot.
Lola didn’t even go with Lena when Damien left the hospital. She went to the boutique instead, saying that the business needed at least one top-notch, responsible individual.
Lena could practically feel the layers of skin and flesh on her body peeling off in the afternoon. That may be because Kellen was there, quietly brooding in her modest apartment. So, she even made the decision to go to the shop.
Of course, Kellen’s car was behind her, but it stayed a good distance away from the cab she was in.
What was he attempting to do? Being secretive? Well, then, he was doing a terrible job at it.
At least it wasn’t as unpleasant as when they were stuck in her little apartment with the aura of unresolved issues hanging around.