July 2045

Silas was sitting next to Lisa at the wall, processing what he just learned about her father. He was shocked and felt incredibly guilty. As he went abroad, he didn’t keep in touch with anyone from his family or friends. The only thing he was doing was sending postcards to his mother to her birthdays and Christmas. But he never mentioned where he was currently living or how to reach him. Knowing he wouldn’t meet Josh ever again, was hard to handle. 

„What is aneurysm?“ he finally asked. 

„It’s a bulge in a blood vessel cause by a weakness in the blood vessel wall.“ 

„And that caused a stroke, you said?“ he made sure, he understood her right. 

Lisa nodded. 

„The aneurysm suddenly leaked and caused a bleeding in his brain.“ 

„So it happened just like that without any warning?“ 

„No. Dad knew about his disease. Two years earlier out of the blue he couldn’t see clearly anymore and got a terrible headache. Mom was worried and brought him immediately into the clinic. They made a CT of his brain and found out, that he was having a light stroke, caused by a small aneurysm. Luckily this incident didn’t cause any serious damage to his brain. But at the same time they found another aneurysm, being concerningly big.“ Lisa explained. 

„I don’t understand,“ Silas replied. „If they knew, why they didn’t to something to get rid of it? Aren’t there any ways to do surgery or something?“

„Unfortunately not in his case. A surgery would have caused too much damage. The doctors made countless tests, but in the end they didn’t recommend doing surgery. The risks were too high falling into coma.“

„Are you saying they just let him leave with this ticking time bomb in his head?“ 

„He got meds to lower his blood pressure. This was all they could do for him to reduce the risk of leaking or rupture.“ 

Silas shook his head in disbelief. 

„It must be horrible living with the fact, you might die any second by a stroke.“

„Of course it was a shock for all of us. Mom was completely devastated. But once they processed the bad news, they started making plans how to enjoy their time together at its full extend. Dad stopped working and mom sold her firms shares to Mateo. They waited until I turned 18 and started my fashion design studies in New York. Then they begun traveling. At that time Jake was still busy with his music studies in Berklee. It was the perfect moment for touring the word and making unforgettable memories together.“

There was silence between them for a moment. Silas needed time to process. 

„Si… you’ve been gone so long. A lot of things changed.“ Lisa finally said.

He looked at her.

„Are you saying, you have someone?“ 

She bit her lips, feeling guilty. She just have sex with her boyfriend’s brother, without hesitating for a single second. It was a mystery for her, why Silas was still having this impact on her. She couldn’t resist him. It felt like no time has passed. 

„Yes,“ she almost whispered. 

„Do you love him?“ 

„I do.“

Silas scoffed. 

„We’ve just had sex, Liz. And you’re saying you love that guy?“ 

Lisa suddenly turned upset, not knowing exactly why. She jumped from the wall and stepped in front of him. 

„Don’t you dare judging me!“ she hissed. „It’s you who showed up without prior warning, knowing exactly what would happen!“ 

Silas didn’t want to fight. He grabbed her right hand and pulled her between his legs. Then he cupped her face again and kissed her forehead softly. Lisa immediately calmed down. Being close to him just felt amazing.

„Honestly, I didn’t expect this would happen. I thought you hate me for what I did to you. You can’t imagine how relieved I am that you don’t,“ he said.

She looked into his eyes.

„I could never hate you. You are the love of my life, Si.“ 

She grabbed his right hand, which was still cupping her face. Then she released herself carefully and looked at his inner wrist with his small tinkerbell tattoo on it. 

„I was afraid you removed it,“ she said.

„Why should I have removed it?“ 

„To forget me.“

He lifted her chin to make her look into his eyes again.

„I can’t forget you. No matter what I do. That’s why I came back.“ 

Lisa pressed his lips on his in the next second. They kissed each other for a moment. Then she broke their kiss. 

„I need to go back to my party.“

Silas kissed her lips once again. 

„Happy birthday, Tinkerbell.“ 

Justin was sitting at his sofa, with a bottle of beer in his hand. He was pretty tired, but as the series he was watching was kind of addictive, he decided starting another episode. In the same moment he heard the front door opening up. Being curious about the unexpected visitor in the middle of the night, he left the sofa and went into the hall. 

As he saw his son’s face, he couldn’t trust his own eyes. Silas stared back at him, holding a travel bag pack in his hand.

„Hey dad,“ he said emotionless, waiting for any kind of response. 

Justin didn’t react. He came few steps closer, still processing this completely unexpected situation. 

„I need a stay for the night,“ Silas added. 

Justin was still staring. 

„And you came here, first?“ 

„Mom isn’t home. I couldn’t find the spare key. She must have changed the hide-out.“ 

Justin came another step closer, taking a critical look at his son.  

„You have lipstick marks all over your face.“

Silas felt caught. Hastily he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He didn’t dare looking into his father’s eyes again. 

„Is my room still free?“ he asked to change the subject. 

Justin nodded.

„Don’t worry, I’ll be gone in the morning,“ Silas informed him. 

Then he turned away and went upstairs. 

„This is still your home,“ Justin replied. 

Silas gave him another quick look, being surprised about his reaction.

„Okay.“

Justin watched his son disappearing at the first floor. Then he took a deep breath, being concerned about the whole situation. He was sure those lipstick marks meant trouble. He went back into the living room to switch off the telly. Then he returned into the hall, put on his sneakers, grabbed his keys and left the house.