The Day Before You Came

Chapter Fifty-Four

After a couple of hours in the hospital, the Andersson family got finally home. Luckily Colin was quickly stabilized and the doctor sent him home with treatment, he came down with a cold but hopefully in a couple of days he would be completely fine. It was around twelve o'clock at night when they got home, the little boy was already sleeping peacefully in his parents' bed. Frida was drinking water in the kitchen already wrapped in her pajamas, ready to get into bed with her baby, she was extremely tired. Fortunately, her headache disappeared, but she was still in great emotional distress. She and Benny spoke only as strictly as was necessary regarding Colin, but nothing more. The most they got from each other was the hug they shared in the emergency room. Every passing minute felt heavier and worse.

Frida put the glass in the sink and took a deep breath as her shoulders were tense. She heard footsteps behind her; Benny. She turned to face him, he also looked extremely tired. "He's asleep, isn't he?"

Benny was already dressed in his pajamas too, even his hair a little messed up. He moved closer to her until they were only inches away. "Yeah, he is."

Frida nodded slowly and looked away. What's next? "We should do the same." She got no answer, which made her feel foolish. She made an attempt to walk towards the main bedroom but Benny took her hand.

"Hold on. We need to talk."

The closeness made her nervous. "It's midnight. We are tired."

"I know. But I can't let another night go by being away from you, without talking to you. It's killing me." His tired eyes implored her, she felt exactly the same.

"It was you who left," she began. She didn't want to argue, but it would be unavoidable.

"You pushed me away."

"You brought her here," she said through clenched teeth.

Benny shook his head. "Well, we won't spend the night blaming ourselves. Everything has an explanation, and it is not at all what you think."

"What do you want me to think?"

"I don't want you to think, I want you to know the truth."

"The truth?" She wanted to back away but collided with the bar. "I have told you what the truth is all this time, but you refuse to believe me and go after her."

"Greta is my friend," Benny said softly but still with determination. "She could be your friend too."

"Oh! that's the only thing left for you to ask me," she said bitterly.

"I would not do it. It's just a guess, but you'd know if you'd let me finish."

Frida crossed her arms, she hated that his friend was a topic of conversation between them. "Why didn't you tell me where you were going?"

"Because you would've get mad," he answered ruefully. "You did it anyway, but I couldn't waste any time."

"Why? And why didn't you answer my calls? I was worried, Benny."

"I know and I'm sorry," he put his hands against the bar, one on each side of her hips, trapping her. "But as I told you, what happened is not something I could tell you over the phone."

"What is so serious that you only leave us to run after your friend? I swear I'm trying to understand, but I always come to a silly conclusion, one that throws me off," her voice cracked.

"Love, no," Benny cupped her face and looked into her eyes intently. "Never, ever, not in a hundred years could I do something like that to you. It hurts me that you can even imagine it. I would never cheat on you."