Chapter 109 - The Past Cannot Be Changed, But You Can Fight For A Better Future

Paulina Kowalczyk was Andrzej's friend from school years. They lived in the same district and graduated from the same high school. Although they never dated or even shared a kiss, when she got pregnant and her boyfriend turned out to be the last bastard, Andrzej offered her marriage.

The 19-year-old girl refused, but asked Nowicki to become her daughter's godfather and to participate in the girl's life. Andrzej took up the role willingly, and from then on, although they had no affiliation or relationship, he became part of their family. When he lost both his parents in college a year apart, the time has come for her to support him.

Andrzej could not imagine a warmer woman and a more dear friend. Sometimes he even wondered why nothing romantic ever developed between them, but he always found that he just couldn't love that way. As he approached his thirties, he was now resigned to the fact that love was a feeling he would never experience in his life. He was even used to women not being able to be with him for more than two months. He was handsome, so it was easy for him to find a girlfriend for a night or two, but there was something about his personality that made him completely inaccessible and sooner or later (usually sooner) women would withdraw from his life. They stayed friends, sometimes even had sex, but never got back together as a couple.

Nowicki knew that he would remain lonely for the rest of his life. It was just a fact, completely obvious and natural until Dominik confessed his love to him. It was then that everything in his life began to turn upside down.

It was Paulina who predicted this course of events.

It was then the last Sunday in August - a beautiful day, though not too hot. Dominik promised the newly met Martynka, Paulina's daughter, a trip to the zoo, so the four of them went there. When the actor and the girl were watching the kangaroos, Paulina noticed that if he and Dominik lived under the same roof, the sensitive homosexual actor after an unsuccessful relationship would surely fall in love with his handsome guardian-roommate. Andrzej did not believe it, he even laughed. For him, it was impossible for anyone to fall in love with him, especially a guy. He himself had never exhibited such inclinations - it was all the more absurd. And yet the reality showed something else, it proved that the woman was right. Śliwiński fell in love with Andrzej and his love also seduced him, and suddenly Nowicki realized that this feeling could exist for him.

Paulina was really his best and friendliest friend. It was to her, completely unconsciously, that he directed his steps after the first night together with Dominik in his arms. She did not triumph that she was right, she was just glad that Andrzej found love for himself.

Now, when Nowicki's heart was torn again by anxiety about Śliwiński, he saw only one person from whom he could seek advice and support.

Paulina ran a small but very nice family restaurant. Since she took over the managerial duties completely, she has doubled her profits. She worked like an ox, but the hard work paid off. Despite the constantly busy schedule, she was always able to find time for her friend and now, when she saw Andrzej, she smiled broadly at him.

"Hi Andrzej, it's been a long time!" She exclaimed. She exaggerated a bit, because only a few days had passed since their last meeting. "Today without Dominik?" She asked.

"Dissapointed?"

"A little, but more worried. How is she doing?"

"Find a minute for me, and I'll tell you."

"I will find it. Wait in my office."

It was more of a tiny closet than an office, but there was room for a desk, two chairs, and a small couch. It was hard to move inside, but the room was enough for the chef of the restaurant to receive a private guest or to check the books in peace and quiet.

Nowicki did not wait long. Paulina burst in almost immediately after he sat down.

"And?" She asked immediately. "What about Dominik?"

Andrzej really needed to talk to someone about Dominik, yet he hesitantly hesitated to raise this topic with Paulina. He trusted her like no one else, he trusted her good judgment, but some things were very delicate, especially since they concerned not only himself, but most of all Dominik. His beloved Dominik did not want people to know about his problems, to worry about him. He did not want to cause them unpleasantness and worry. He was so grateful to Andrzej that he kept the information about his kidnapping to himself!

But Andrzej could not cope with what was happening alone, and Paulina was the only person who knew everything about the previous events and kept them secret ... Who, apart from her, will be able to analyze the subject well and to find a solution? Maybe there were other people who could help, but that would mean that more people would be privy to Dominik's intimate secrets. The young actor was a public figure, so the more people knew about his personal life, the greater the risk was that someone would learn about him and start causing serious problems. Meanwhile, after these terrible experiences, Śliwiński should rest, regain balance, and not deal with some scandal.

Andrzej did not feel strong enough to deal with it all alone. He had to find help, otherwise he sensed something wrong. He had no choice. He had to initiate Paulina into everything, hoping that this strong woman, instead of helpless tears, would give him a solution or at least show him the right path.

"I don't know what to do with him," Nowicki confessed helplessly. "Absolutely no idea."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

Paulina had already guessed that something big had happened. After all, he would not come to seek help from her with something small.

"You know what happened to him recently?" Andrzej asked gloomily.

"He was in the hospital for pneumonia. But the last time I spoke to him, he said that it was okay and that he had left hospital. I wanted to visit you, but I still don't have enough time. But… Are there any complications?"

"It wasn't pneumonia. They suspected it might develop, but luckily it missed him. He was cold and exhausted, so he spent several days under an IV drip. Here, however, is not about what he was in the hospital for, but about why he ended up in him. Dominik has been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!!!"

Paulina's shock was genuine. Andrzej could see the terror in her eyes, but his more terrifying thought was that someone might hear what they were talking about.

"Don't yell!" he admonished her. "We're trying to keep it a secret."

"My God, how is that? Why? Who could have done it? For what? For the ransom?"

"For love," he sneered. Andrzej felt terrible saying these words. Someone who hurt someone so terribly had no right to say that they were doing it out of love.

"Oooooh… Marczak?"

"This time he was clean as a whistle. It's someone completely different. Dominik…" Amdrzej couldn't go on. The mere idea of ​​what was happening to his lover while he was held captive made him feel black despair.

What happened to Dominik was the negation of love. It was an abomination that had to be eradicated from this earth, burned with fire, but when punishing the perpetrator, it was impossible to forget not to harm the victim further.

Nowicki had no idea how much Paulina was imagining, but the woman was clearly pale, anxious.

"I can't even imagine it," Paulina shook her head. "Like some third-rate American movie. My God, I don't know what Dominik went through, but when I talked to him, he sounded so cheerful! It's okay now, isn't it? He sounded so natural on the phone ... He wasn't faking it, did he?"

The photographer sighed. He felt relieved that Paulina did not ask him about the details of what the kidnapped Dominik had gone through, but was worried about whether it was all right now. The past cannot be changed, but you can fight for a better future.

Andrzej knew that the woman was really worried. She recognized Dominik as a member of her family, allowed him to contact her greatest treasure, Martynka, and practically pushed Andrzej into his arms. She loved him like a little brother. That is why, together with Nowicki, she will fight for Dominik's future.

"If Dominik is pretending, he is doing it also from me" said Nowicki. "Maybe even from himself. He tries to deal with it all as best he can, but he has a hard time. And I don't know how to help him. I'm so helpless again."

He lowered his hands helplessly to his knees. Dominik was suffering, there was no doubt about it. It had to be. It would be unnatural to have another state. He suffered alone, because in his incompetence, Andrzej was not quite a good support for him.