For the Dream of 5 Years: Chapter Thirty-Five: A different person

Dan figured out that it was time he utilized his taekwondo-drill skills to persevere pain. He clenched his teeth and muscles when Michelle hit him between his legs as the sheer pain travelled to his brain. It was a bad move to scare Michelle; he deserved the pain and anything else Michelle did to him, as long as it did not involve her leaving. He had a policy of keeping his keys and remote to himself. He knew Michelle couldn't find them even if he were to play unconscious for a month. Michelle was terrified; she sweetly cuddled him while praying for his life. She was scared he would die. "This is the kind of woman I deserve, I have been a good man, a hard worker and a passionate lover. I deserve a prayerful and kind woman. I deserve a woman who can defend herself. Michelle is a tough woman; she knows what she wants. Michelle is mine," he told himself in his head and heart. His head hurt because he hit the table and bruised his scalp. He could tell that the cut was not deep, but the impact of the fall gave him a severe headache. He could fight it; he has been injured in the past; one time, he broke his leg in the gym when a 30 Kg weight-lifting bar fell on his leg. The headache was nothing compared to the pain he felt in the gym. Michelle's heart was beating so fast. He was tempted to quit the pretence, but he decided to see much Michelle could handle. "Oh my God, please stop the bleeding. I will be a good person. I will return to my husband; I will never cheat..." Michelle mumbled in her desperate prayer. Dan did not want her to go on that route, which involved returning to her family. He wanted her to nurse him until she developed genuine feelings for him. "Oh, my goodness, where am I? What happened to me? My head, my head," Dan said, so confused about his whereabouts. "Thank God you are awake! Oh! Thank God... we need to go to the hospi..." Michelle was saying before she was interrupted. "Who are you?" Asked Dan, standing up and making a staggering walk towards the bed. "Are you serious right now? Do you want to say that you don't know me? This small impact on your head has made you lose your memory, huh? Hey people, come and hear this joke!" Michelle said, laughing. "I'm sorry, I refuse to buy into that kind of lie. Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, but seriously Dan, where are the keys? She said authoritatively. "What happened to me?" Dan asked, ignoring all her sentiments. "Why am I bleeding? What happened to my head and my genitals? I am in excruciating pain," he said, gently lying on the bed and staining the beddings with blood from the cut. "You tried to force yourself on me, you twat!? She screamed, walking towards the wall and leaning against it. "Me? Tried to force myself onto you? It is hard to believe, but if I did anything close to that, I beg for your forgiveness," Dan said, humbling himself. "You are joking, right? I don't appreciate the way you take me for a stupid. Swear in the name of what you hold dear that you truly don't know anything that happened," she said, kneeling to level his face. "I just have excruciating pain in my head and genitals. You explained that you hit me because I wanted to force myself on you. I don't know what happened to my head," he said. "You fell and hit your head on that table," she said, pointing to the table where Dan had fallen, the carpet still having blood stains. "What do you mean? What made me fall?" He asked, puzzled. "I pushed you," she said, standing up and checking the state of his cut behind his head. "Ouch! That's painful, don't touch it. Is it still bleeding?" He asked, frowning his face in pain. "The bleeding has stopped. However, you need to be cleaned and bandaged up," she said. "So, are you admitting that you assaulted me?" "It was self-defence; you wanted to assault me first," she said. "But I didn't, right?" He asked. "No, you didn't, but you wanted to. You were removing your belt," she said, holding his unbuckled belt. "Come on, Michelle, do you think I can hurt you? You are the most special person to me, after my mom," he said. "Aha! Michelle! I thought you didn't know who I was. Come on! Where are the keys?" She said, throwing her hands in the air. "I need to be cleaned and bandaged up. If I get an infection, something may go wrong," he said, embarrassed for failing to keep up with his lie. "Yes, you will. At the hospital. Where are the damn keys? If you don't tell me, I will jump through the window and leave you alone," she said, frustrated. "Curvy girl, I wish I could remember where I kept them. How will you drive out of the woods without a car if you jump through the window? Remember, the Jeep is gone, and the Range keys are missing," he said, searching his pockets for the keys and opening his arms to show her they weren't there. "How come you remember everything, even about the Jeep, but not the keys?" She asked. "Well, curvy girl, I wish I could help. Go to the living room near the bar; you'll see a first aid kit. It has everything you need," he said. Michelle did not want to go, but she went anyway. She performed first aid on him and changed the bloodstained beddings. "Please, Dan, I need my phone," she said after laying him on the clean bed. "Big boy," he corrected her. "Somebody kill me, please! What is wrong with you? I need to go home; you are making it so hard to tolerate. I thought we could have something beautiful, but you are so unbelievable!" She screamed, moving away from the bed. "Michelle, what you don't understand, is that I want you for me. I want you to want to be with me. Is that too much to ask?" He asked, sitting up. "Please get it in your head; I won't be with you. I can't. I am a married woman," she said sternly. "Okay, let's see about that," he said, turning the other way to give the cut minimal pressure. Michelle went to try the windows when she suddenly saw Dan behind her. "Please, Michelle, stay with me just for tonight; I don't want you to go. Please, if you have ever felt something for me, stay for tonight. You can leave tomorrow if you want," he pleaded, kneeling and speaking with a rapid speech flow that Michelle had not heard from him. Nobody had ever begged Michelle for anything this much, not even her children. She was puzzled by Dan’s behaviour; one time, he had high energy, and other times depressive episodes. She wondered if he was okay. He constantly lost touch with reality. He looked distracted as if someone was coming, and she needed Michelle to say something so he could rise to his feet and attend to the distraction. Michelle had not encountered such behaviour before and wondered if he was behaving like that because of the injury. "Please, make love to me? I can't help the urge. Please, curvy girl. For this last night," he pleaded, walking on his knees towards her. He held onto her legs and started crying. "Stand up. Please don't cry," she said, helping him up. "Come, let's talk about this," she continued, directing him to sit on the bed. Immediately he sat on the bed, he reached for her breasts and kissed them over her clothes. She resisted him, but he pulled her close to him. "Stop it! What are you doing? I can't make love like that! Stop it!" She pushed him onto the bed and freed herself. "Please, Dan, stop it. Do you have a problem? Are you sick? Do you have a condition? Bipolar?" She asked after getting to a safe distance. "I will kill myself if you won't become my wife. I can't live without you; nobody wants to be with me; I will kill myself. I, I, I will kill myself...," he said, getting off the bed and pacing in the room. He talked as though he had flights of ideas or racing thoughts in his head. He looked disturbed, and this worried Michelle. If she had her phone, she could have searched the internet for 'the ways to calm a person portraying such traits.' She could have checked what was wrong with him and maybe called someone for help. She was terrified that he would hurt her if she resisted his advances. "Come, lie beside me. I will stay for the night, but we will have sex when you are well. You are not okay, Dan. You shouldn't shy away from seeking help. I know a friend in the medical sector that can help you," she said, getting on the bed, on top of the covers. Dan walked towards the bed, his hands in his pockets and looking sad. He didn't say a word, just like he had done some instances before. Like when Michelle was driving from her place when she was sent away. Dan felt helpless and couldn't do a thing for her; he was sad and helpless for being rejected. He kept quiet as if he was sick; fixed his eyes on the floor, ceiling, or walls. He was a different person. One that Michelle had not encountered in the past. She wanted to be as calm as possible so as not to evoke a reaction she couldn't handle. One night could not do much harm. She would look for a way to explain and cover her tracks to Dave. They were hungry, but food was not a priority at the time. She cuddled Dan and watched him fall into a deep sleep. "Dan needs help," she thought.