Chapter 21: Trying to help her.
Yesterday I called Elsa and asked her to meet me early today at a small coffee shop; I really think this is something I should better tell her in person, though I was dying to inform her about her mother being dead as soon as I found out. Since today is Saturday and we don't have classes, the only way to see her was to meet with her somewhere, that's why I'm here, already at the coffee shop and waiting for her to show up. It's a strange feeling, since she usually arrives way earlier than me no matter where we go.
Fifteen minutes after our appointed time I'm getting antsy. What if she's still mad at me and decided not to come without telling me? What if she figured out I want to talk about her mother and preferred to avoid the subject by not coming? What if…?
Before I have time to worry even more, the beautiful blonde enters through the doors and searches around with her eyes until she finally spots me and gives me a warm smile, which I automatically return as I watch her walk towards my table and sit in front of me.
"Sorry for being late." She apologizes. "I couldn't find the place."
"Hey, it's fine." I shrug it off. "What's important is that you're here."
"Why wouldn't I be?" She asks confused.
"Well… yesterday you were pretty mad…" I trail off, looking down at the table, since I was hoping to avoid the subject a little while longer.
"I wasn't mad." Elsa quickly replies. "Not at you, at least." She reassures me, taking my hand between hers. "I know you were just trying to help me, but…" She sighs. "I'm just not ready to talk about my mother."
"Oh." I say awkwardly, before coughing as little and pretending I wasn't just going to try and talk to her about that exact subject. "Uh… why don't I go get our coffees?" I get up. "Is mocha okay with you?"
"Yes, perfect." She smiles, but I can tell she's confused about why I had the sudden urge to get our coffees. I just hope drinking a hot beverage and eating some chocolate cake will warm her up a little... before I bring her mood down with the bad news.
So I order our coffees and a piece of chocolate cake, and stand there nervously fidgeting at the counter as I try to think on the best way to tell her that her mother died. It's difficult because I don't know how she'll react. I mean, she never met the woman, and I'm pretty sure she hated her guts ever since she found out she had abandoned her. On the other hand Elsa is not the kind of person who would be happy that someone died. But, would she be upset? Sad? Would she just get up and run away? Or something entirely different? Ugh, if only I had an idea of what she'd do!
"Excuse me." The barista pulls me out of my thoughts. "Your coffees are ready." At this she hands me two mochas and I thank her before returning to our table holding two coffees in one arm (somehow) and the cake in the other. I put it all in the table before taking a seat.
I try making little talk for a while, but to Elsa it must have been obvious that I was dodging around the issue, and not even a mere five minutes after I brought the beverages, she puts down her mug and stares at me expectantly.
"Okay, spill it." She prompts me.
"S-spill what?" I stammer nervously in a poor attempt to pretend I don't know what she's talking about. She raises an eyebrow at me and I sigh in defeat, knowing there's no way I'm hiding this from my girlfriend for even another three seconds. I pull out my cellphone and start searching for the article I saw yesterday as I speak. "Remember I asked you yesterday if I could search a picture of your mother just to see if you look like her? Well, I did and..."
"Anna." Elsa sighs interrupting me. "I told you I didn't want to see a picture of my mother, so..."
"That's not it." I quickly clarify. "It's just..." I bite my lip and pull my cellphone closer to my chest, doubting if I should tell her or not. It's a tough decision, since now that I know it, I shouldn't keep it from my girlfriend, but if she doesn't want to know...
"What is it?" She asks biting her lip too, obviously curious but also doubtful. "What did you find?" I sigh, knowing that now I have to tell her.
"I found this article." I answer handing her my phone. "It's in Norwegian, so I didn't understand a thing, but I translated the title and..."
"Recently divorced woman brutally murdered." She reads it out loud in English, her expression turning glum instantly, but she continues reading anyways. "Very early this morning, Idunn Olafrdottir, previously known as Idunn Frost, who recently got divorced from her now ex-husband Adgar Frost, CEO of North Mountain enterprises, was found dead in the living room of her new apartment. The police say that the neighbors reported having heard constant cries of a baby for about a day and, since the owner of the apartment wasn't answering her door, they thought something may have happened. And so the police forced the door opened and found the woman lying in a pool of blood and with multiple cuts in her body." Elsa pauses, swallowing and obviously trying hard to stay composed while reading the crude description, but it's obviously hard for her. I get up, pull my chair at her side and wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close for comfort. Surprisingly, once she's nested in my chest, she keeps reading with a trembling voice. "Her hands were tied up with a rope and she had been gaged; there were also... s-strangulation marks in her neck and a few bruises in her face. The forensic analysis points that she most probably died from strangulation." She pauses, obviously doubting if she should read the next part of the text, but at the end she keeps going even though it's obvious it's quite difficult to her. "The baby, on the other hand, was her three-month old daughter, Elsa Frost, who fortunately remained unharmed in her crib until the police found her. She will be given to her father, who will take care of her ..." At this she stops, but I can see her eyes are still scanning the last few lines of the article, and she has a surprised and horrified expression, like she doesn't want to believe what she's seeing.
"There's more?" I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. She sighs and continues reading.
"Some people think he was behind her ex-wife's murder. However, this hasn't been confirmed and the police will keep investigating." My eyes open wide in surprise.
Her father was suspected of killing Elsa's mother?! Damn, that something I couldn't have foreseen. I wonder how this will affect her.
"Elsa?" I ask carefully. "Are you okay?"
"No." She says softly as she puts my cellphone on the table and leans into me, closing her eyes with a distressed expression on her face.
"I'm sorry."
"No, that's not…" She sighs, snuggling more into me as she thinks how best to answer. "I mean… I'm glad you showed me this, because it makes me feel better about myself, now that I know my mother didn't abandon me, but…" She swallows, not wanting to continue, and I can see she's trying hard to keep herself from crying.
"You're sad that she's dead." I assume, looking at her to see if she denies my statement.
"Yeah…" She admits, almost whispering. "I mean, I don't miss her, because you can't miss someone you've never met, but… I have a similar feeling, like…"
"A sense of loss?" I suggest, noticing she stopped.
"Yes, I think that's what it is." She takes a deep breath, probably calming herself, before separating slightly from me and looking at my eyes.—Do you think that's strange?
"No, of course not." I quickly assure her. "Maybe you never met her, but she's your mother; she's an important part of who you are."
"I guess." She shrugs and looks down in a slightly distressed but also confused expression. "But it's just… I don't know what to do with this knowledge, you know?" I notice that she starts fidgeting with her hands. "It's not like I could just erase a lifetime of hating her, but I can't love her either because I never knew her… and if my father really k-…" She swallows, having difficulty pronouncing the word. I can't blame her; that sort of situation would give me nightmares for a year. "K-k-killed her, then… I still can do nothing about it; I can't prove it true, but I can't prove it false either." She turns to look at me with desperate and pleading eyes filled with tears. "How will I ever be able to talk to him… t-to even look at him, knowing he could've murdered my mother?"
"Elsa, calm down." I say taking her hands and caressing them, hoping to comfort her in this impossible situation. "No one is saying that you father killed your mother; that article is very old, and the culprit could've already been captured. There's no need to panic for nothing." I give her a tiny and (hopefully) comforting smile as I tighten my hold in her hands, glad when I feel her slightly squeezing mine. "And about what to do with the knowledge of your mother being dead… well, I think I have an idea." She raises an eyebrow, obviously confused, but also hopeful, silently prompting me with her stare to speak. "Look, you can't change what happened, but you can make the best out of this situation." I pause, remembering the speech I prepared yesterday after I found out, and hoping she will accept my idea; it for her own good. "Your mother was a divorced woman when she died, and as such, all of her possessions weren't left to her husband, but to whoever she left them in her will. However, if she didn't leave a will, then they'll be passed to her children, in this case you."
"Me?" Elsa asks surprised. "But… if that were true then by now I would have inherited everything."
"Yes, but you didn't know she was dead." I try to reason, hoping I'm right. "And as a minor, your father is the one who manages all of your possessions, probably one of the reasons he wanted you to think that your mother was alive and she had just abandoned you." At this Elsa blinks, as if everything suddenly made a lot of negative sense. I can almost see her fighting to deny the evidence, but from her devastated expression I can tell that she believes me. In that moment, a tear fells down her face, and she quickly tries to wipe it, but more follow and she soon is crying as I wrap her in my arms. I almost regret having told her my theory about her father not wanting her to know... But it makes so much sense that it has to be true; Elsa would have find out eventually anyways.
I lost count of long she cried, and my heart broke when I realized that I've seen her cry so many times before that now it's a familiar sight to me. Perhaps even more familiar than her smile, and I decided that I would have to change that, and I knew the first step in that direction was to help her get what was rightfully hers; her inheritance. I already had a plan to do that, and had talked to my parents about it. They had been more than happy to help, but I knew Elsa was proud and stubborn and wouldn't accept our help easily, so first I had to convince her somehow.
Fortunately, I was able to calm Elsa down and bring up her mood with comforting words, soft caresses and a little bit of chocolate, and then I asked her to go to the movies. At first she was hesitant, saying she wasn't feeling like going anywhere except back home, but I insisted until she gave up. It's kinda strange now that I think about it, because this is our official second date, and the first one as girlfriends, but the reason I asked her out couldn't be more unconventional.
Anyways, so here we are, about to buy our tickets and trying to decide if we're going to see it in 2D or 3D. I want to see it in 3D because, well, it's 3D! Who the fuck sees 2D movies now a days?! Well… maybe Rapunzel, she says she doesn't like how it looks and she gets dizzy, but Elsa doesn't have that excuse! Her reasons are just… exasperating.
"Anna, please, I don't want to watch it in 3D." She says with pleading eyes as she wraps her arms around her torso, something that she always does to appear more vulnerable and convince me, and though most days I'd relent, this time I argue.
"But it's earlier in 3D." I reply.
"And more expensive!" She counters.
"So?" I roll my eyes. "I'll pay, I told you."
"I-I don't want you to pay." She finally admits lowering her gaze. "I know I can't buy my own ticket because I don't have money, but I'm not going to take advantage of you and let you pay more than you should just to watch it in 3D." She sighs. "It wouldn't be right." Suddenly I understand the problem, and my anger relents a little, but I'm still not going to give up on this; Elsa has the right to watch a movie in 3D and I'm gonna pay for her ticket, whether she likes it or not.
"Elsa." I say as I put my hand on her shoulder. "Look, I understand that you don't want to take advantage of me, but you're not. I want to pay for you, alright? I want it, you're not forcing me to do anything that I can't or am not willing to do."
"But…" She tries to protest once more, but I silence her pressing a finger on her lips.
"Look, men do it for their girlfriends all the time, so I don't see why this is any different." She frowns and looks me like she still wants to argue, but I quickly continue. "But if you really are not okay with it… well, you'll pay next time." I finish with a wink.
"Anna." She sighs as she takes a step back, so now we're not touching. "You know I don't have any money." She says with a sad tone.
"Well, I never said anything about money, did I?" I say pretending to be ogling her body.
"Anna!" She almost shrieks, blushing and adorably trying to cover her face with her hands. I laugh at this and pull her into an embrace to which she answers burying her face in my neck to hide her embarrassment. After a few minutes, however, when I'm done laughing at her expense, I speak again in a serious tone.
"But seriously Elsa, you could pay next time; if only you put a demand on you father and forced him to give you your inheritance…"
"No." She cuts me off, separating herself from me. "That's out of question."
"But why?" I ask exasperated.
"I just don't want to confront my father, okay?" She lowers her gaze. "I don't think I have the strength to even face him."
"I understand." I say, trying to sound reassuring. "But you can't let your fear get in the way of your happiness, your freedom..."
"Money doesn't gives you freedom." She tries to counter, but she sounds hesitant.
"No." I agree. "But it sure helps, especially in your situation." She gives me a questioning look and I continue. "You have nothing, Elsa; if not for Kai and Gerda you'd live on the streets. Is that what you want? Isn't a better life worth fighting for? Isn't it worth facing your father?"
"I-I guess..." She says, clearly starting to consider my words. "But I can't pay for a lawyer... Actually I can't even buy my plane ticket to Norway!" She exclaims with frustration. "I don't even see the point of discussing this; it not happening!"
"Are you sure about that?" I say raising my eyebrow.
"Of course I'm sure Anna, why do you even ask?" She frowns at me, slightly upset, but I only smile at her.
"Because I can make that happen. I can help you, Elsa... Well, my parents can, but it's the same."
"Are you crazy?!" She almost screams in disbelief. "I'm not asking them such a favor! That just wouldn't be right!"
"Okay, first of, you saved their precious daughter from being raped, and second, you are said daughter's girlfriend. Of course they'll be happy to help you!"
"I-I don't know." She answers unsure.
"Look, we can talk about that later." I say once I notice it's almost time for the movie to start and that this conversation isn't taking us anywhere anytime soon. "Let's go see the movie and enjoy ourselves. It's our second date after all." I try giving her a little smile, but when she answers with one of her own it doesn't reach her eyes. I frown at this and kiss her lips before separating slightly and almost whispering into her mouth. "Please, I'm sorry about ruining the mood, you know I usually talk before thinking." I say apologetically, even though I thought about this all night.
"Alright." She relents, pulling away from me slightly so I can see her flushed cheeks and shy eyes. "Lets watch the movie." And this time when she smiles, I can tell that she's truly happy. Happy being with me. And that makes me happy too.
We spent most of the movie stealing glances at each other, holding hands and, eventually, kissing, so I can't really tell what it was about. Plus, I was anxiously planning what we'd be doing next; talk to my parents. Sure, I had already talked to them in the morning, bit I was sure convincing Elsa would be far from easy. I had to stay optimistic though, at least if I wanted to help Elsa.
So I somehow convinced her to go to my house after the movie ended, and to my surprise she accepted rather easily. I think she just needed to keep herself distracted to avoid thinking too much about her mother, and the easiest way to do that (at least to her) was to be with me. Of course I didn't tell her I had planned an ambush. I just kept repeating to myself that it was for her own good and that she'd thank me someday, even if she didn't seem so happy when she noticed my parents were waiting for her in our living room. It's a good thing that they didn't have to go to work.
"Elsa." My father greets her as he stands up and shakes her hand, my mother doing the same after him. "Please take a seat." He motions to the couch in front of him and Elsa reluctantly complies as I sit next to her and my parents across from us. My girlfriend turns towards me with a confused face and I only give her a reassuring smile that she answers with a death glare before going back to look at her in-laws.
"Elsa." My mother starts. "Our daughter told us about your… situation this morning." At this my girlfriend tenses up. I try taking her hand reassuringly, but she pulls it away and hides it in her lap. She must be really pissed. "And we'd like to help."
"I appreciate it." Elsa answers curtly, yet politely. "But I can't accept your help."
"Why not?" My father frowns.
"It wouldn't be right."
"Elsa, you saved our daughter from being raped. It's the least we can do."
"Please, I really don't want to argue." My girlfriend answers, with a tired tone, like it literally drains her to talk about it.
"Well, then accept our help and then you can go."
"I can't! I would never be able to pay back such a debt." Elsa insists stubbornly.
"You don't have to." Now my father is being just as stubborn. I know where this is going, but even though I'd like to interfere, I can't without making things worse; I'm even more stubborn than both of them.
"I said no, and my decision is final." Elsa says coldly as she gets up. "Goodbye." And without sparing me a second glance, she turns around and starts walking away. I sigh, thinking I'd already lost this battle, when my mother gets up and places her hand on Elsa's shoulder, keeping her from leaving.
"Elsa, I understand that you feel us helping you would be taking advantage of us." She starts, but the blonde still doesn't turn around to look at her. "But that couldn't be more far from the truth. We want to help you. Please, let us do this little thing for you." She pleads with a tender tone, and when I see Elsa's shoulders relaxing, I know she already has her in her hands. At last, my girlfriend turns to face her.
"I can't." She says with pleading eyes and a distressed expression. "And it's not only that I can't accept your help, it's…" She looks down. "I don't want to face my father."
The same words she said to me. She must be really scared of him.
"I understand." She pauses, taking a deep breath. "But you have to." Elsa eyes her with a scared and confused look and my mother continues. "It's not only about the mental peace it'd give you, which is really important by the way, but it's also about your independence, your freedom. "
"I-I… I don't know." She bits her lip, clearly thinking about it, considering her words.
"Think about this, Elsa: What do you think your mother would've wanted?"
"I didn't know her, how can I know that?" She says, distressed.
"Yes, you didn't know her, but you do know that she got divorced from your father before she died. Why do you think that was?"
"Because he's an asshole." I say like it's the most obvious thing of the world (because really, it is), earning a glare from my mother that instantly shuts my mouth.
"Because…" She pauses, thinking. "Because she wanted to be free from him?" She answers, but it sounds more like a question.
"I don't know." My mother shrugs. "I haven't met your father, so I don't know the type of man he is, even though my daughter has clearly expressed her opinion." She glares at me again and I sigh. "What I do know is that he didn't treat you all that well, and that may be the reason your mother got divorced; she wanted you to be free from him."
"Maybe…" Elsa says unsure, looking to the side, as if not wanting to reconsider it.
"Please, Elsa. Don't you want to finally get him out of your life?" My mother insists and, after a few tense moments Elsa sighs in resignation.
"Fine." She agrees, finally meeting her gaze. "But I'll pay you back someday."
"Of course, when you marry our daughter." My mom chuckles as Elsa's cheeks burn bright red and I let out a mortified groan. "Just kidding." She says, still giggling a little. "You're still too young to think about that."
"That's true." My father says, getting up from the couch. "But now if you excuse me, I have to go get some plane tickets to Norway."
"Wait… some?" Elsa asked in disbelief. "You're going too?"
"Of course, we can't just let you fly all the way to the other end of the world alone. You're a minor after all, what kind of person does that?" At this, my girlfriend's eyes well up with tears that she quickly wipes. At first my father and I are worried that he'd said something wrong, but then suddenly Elsa lunges forward and hugs him, surprising us all.
"I-I… thank you." She says in the most thankful tone I've ever heard. "For everything."
"No problem." My father says, hugging her back and gently patting her back as he always does with me. Then, after a few seconds he pulls away and we are all able to see Elsa's utterly grateful face. "Now I'm gonna go before it gets too late."
"I'll come with you." My mother says. "I have to make sure you don't end up buying tickets for one in the morning."
"Alright." My father chuckles, probably remembering that one time during their honeymoon he got wrong the tickets hour. Then he turns to me. "By the way, Anna, don't think that just because we're gone you and Elsa can do whatever you want. The servants are warned that, if they see your room door's closed, they have to open it."
"Okay, geez, it's not like we're going to have sex while you're gone." I say, rolling my eyes.
"Alright, you've been warned." He answers before heading to the door together with my mom. Soon, they're both gone.
"So… what do you wanna do?" I ask Elsa once we're alone.
"Kill you. I so want to kill you." She says, but I her tone is playful and relieved, like thanks to me she got a weight off her shoulders. I smile at this.
"Are you sure that's what you wanted to say? I think the right words in this situation would be: 'Thank you, Anna, you're the best girlfriend in the world.'"
"Right." She rolls her eyes. "And the most obnoxious too."
"Hey!" I pout. "But you still love me."
"Yes, I do." Her smiles softens, changing from mischievous to tender, and my heart melts at her words. "And right now I want to kiss you so badly." She says, leaning in and eyeing my lips.
"Go ahead." I encourage. "He did say 'no sex', but no one said kissing was forbidden.
"That's true." She hums before finally pulling me from my waist and pressing my lips with hers in a tender kiss that soon gets heated, until we're both forced to pull away to breathe.
"Let's go to my room." I say with half lidded eyes, licking my lips as I see Elsa's adoringly red cheeks.
"No sex." She reminds me, her breath ragged.
"I never said we were going to have sex, you perv." I tease before taking her hand and leading her upstairs, thinking that I'm lucky things turned out just fine; she didn't run away, my parents agreed to help her and soon we'll solve Elsa's monetary problems, and she will be able to stop thinking about her father. Finally, everything is just as it should be.