For him, for me

Chapter 2

Andrey slept bad. It took him a long time to get together yesterday, and he was waking up during the night. When he woke up at 5am, he didn't even bother trying to fall asleep again. 

He went into the living room and turned on the old television. He put on some low-budget movie but didn't watch it. He was staring at the screen, but his thoughts were somewhere else.He thought about the man he met yesterday. He didn't remember why he was so scared at that moment. It wasn't the appearance of the man that scared him. He did not appear strong. 

He quickly started thinking about "more important matter". It was important to come up with an excuse for not coming to work yesterday. As he was making plan for the day, someone knocked on the door. As he approached the door, he was overwhelmed by the fear he had felt only once in his life. The fear he felt yesterday. He walked to the door and unlocked it. He slowly opened them.

"Andrey!" Tom shouted, hugging the lower man.

"Tom, what are you doing here?" He said trying to sound happy. He introduced Tom to the living room. 

"I came to see an old friend, of course." That sounded strange. Tom was not type of person to visit because he missed his friend. No, Tom was a man whose friendships didn't mean much. He assembled them out of interest. He was always looking at what he could get from them. They were calculated. There were rich, respectable, highly educated people around him, so it was unusual for him to say that Andrey was his friend. He was educated but lived modestly and never aimed for a higher goal. He worked in office, in front of the computer.

"Just like that?" Andrey asked.

"Yes. I wanted to see you. I know what you think, but trust me, I consider you my best friend. Actually, Andrey, you're my only real friend. I flew to England all the way from Japan just to see you." he said in a gentle voice " I know it is not okay to come unannounced and I will have to ask you to spend the last few days at your apartment." 

Andrey knew something was wrong. Tom does not fit to sleep in this small, modest apartment. If he came for him, he would sleep in a fancy hotel. Tom came here unprepared. He wanted something, but as always he hesitated to say it. 

"Of course, Tom. You're always welcome. Unfortunately we won't have time to talk today, but maybe tomorrow we can have lunch at Sea delicacies." 

They talked for a while, and then Andrey left Tom and headed to the office. No one cared that he didn't show up yesterday. People he worked with were lifeless and depressed, especially the boss. 

He got his paperwork done so he could leave at 5pm. He decided to visit Annie at the hospital. He was scared of whether Annie would find him guilty since he didn't want to stop and wanted to get rid of her when she clearly needed help. 

When he came, he quietly entered the room where she lay. There were two other ladies in the room. One of about 30 and the other of about 50 years old. The younger one greeted him warmly as he walked in, and the older just stared at the wall in front of her. 

Annie noticed when Andrey walked in. She smiled, which automatically encouraged him.

"Good evening, Mrs. Karn. How do you feel? "He began.

"I'm fine." she replied.

"I'm sorry this happened. When you leave the hospital if you need anything, just tell me, I will be more than happy to help. And that reminded me, you wanted to ask me something yesterday."

She didn't respond for a while. Andrey thought she had forgotten what was quite possible when she was 73, but than he realized that she was thinking should she ask him for that favor. Obviously it was something bigger.

"Please, I'd be happy to help. After all, it's my fault you're here, " he said. That was his biggest problem. Whether he was guilty or wasn't, he wanted to make up to person so he could feel better without thinking if that person wanted his services.

"It's not your fault. In addition, I have already found a person to take care of it."she replied with a few pauses.

He talked to the old woman for a while, that is, she was talking about her garden, her cats, and he would sometimes nod, sometimes ask some questions, and then he left.

When he got out of the hospital he headed to his car, but as he approached, he could clearly see that some person was leaning against his kia. When he was 12 steps of the car he saw the person very clearly. The parking lot lamp lit up a motionless and unnatural face.

It was a man from yesterday. He had light blue eyes with large pupils. His lips were thin and his nose small, pointed, some would say without blemish. His face was completely symmetrical. It was as if someone had designed it.

Andrey couldn't move. He felt as if his feet were cemented with ground. He wanted to scream but no sound came from his mouth. He began to look around. There was not a single car in the parking lot. Then he looked into the red suitcase that was on the ground next to the man in a suit.

It was big, leather suitcase. One that can be locked with a code. It's a suitcase that would often appeared in his dreams. Now he had a chance to get a good look at it. A suitcase would always appear in nightmares. When he did something wrong and was hiding it, strange people would come and one would always carry a red suitcase with him.

Now the man began to move. He approached Andrey. He pulled a knife out of his jacket, an American tan. Andrey still couldn't move. It was as if he had been captured by a larger force. The feeling is similar to sleep paralysis, except that he knows with certainty that the person in front of him is real and wants to hurt him.

The killer was 3 steps to him when he suddenly collapsed lifelessly. He lay motionless on the ground in front of Andrey's legs. He was paralyzed.

Andrey stood in front of the monster for a while, and when he gathered his courage, he bypass him. He took the red suitcase, put it in the trunk of his car, and headed home faster than it was allowed.

When he entered the apartment, Tom slept on the couch, so he smuggled his suitcase into his room. He hid it in a place where nobody can take it.