The Secret Island
CHAPTER 22 Bang, Bang.

Celine must be confused to open the door to see him sitting in silence and stressed out alone. After hanging up the phone, he tried to read a book to relieve stress, but nothing made him feel better. "Martin..." She called out softly, and Martin looked up at the young woman who was like a light in a dark tunnel to him. In his dark world, that was what she was...hope. He hoped to be happy like everyone else. Martin forced a smile at her. His brain ordered out a smile, but his mind was too fatigued to follow through.

"I only went into the bedroom for a short while. Has anything happened while I was gone?" She asked with genuine concern, but he felt too miserable to reply.

Celine walked slowly towards him and hugged him.

"No, please don't do this. Is there anything I can do for you at all?" She hugged him and gently patted his back to comfort him.

Martin hugged her back. He buried his face against her thin shoulder and whispered softly.

"Just like this. Be everything that you are. This already helps...."

On the one hand, he didn't want to involve her in his world. He shouldn't mess with someone like her; he should leave her to enjoy her life. But on the other hand, he was so addicted to her brightness that it was hard to back down. She didn't ask any more questions. But she sat close to him, giving him moral support. Later, because they didn't know what to do, the two of them continued watching movies as initially planned.

He didn't want anyone to know the mental conditions he had. Martin thought he could continue to treat it day by day. It might suddenly disappear before he knew it. Only bad memories remained. Nothing should hurt him anymore. Celine rested her head on his shoulder. He held her hand tightly. And continue watching this romantic movie. After that event, Martin deliberately chose movies that didn't have scenes that would remind him of that event again. So, the romantic comedy has a low risk.

But something unexpected happened.

Bang!

There was a shooting scene that came out of the blue. And one of the side characters fell to the ground. The scene was familiar.

"Celine...turn off...help me turn the screen off." He said, his voice tremored.

"Why? It's getting intense."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

More gunshots were heard, and that was the last string of his self-control.

"Turn it off! I told you to turn it off!!"

He yelled with all the energy he had, and his body began to tremble. Not now, not now, not now... Stop thinking... Stop thinking...

The nightmare that kept repeating in his head almost every night started its replay. And this time, it was clear in his mind even when he opened his eyes.

The sound of people quarreling echoed in his conscience. Arguments resulting from a failed negotiation. And a single sound of gunfire that he knew too well who was behind it. He saw the devil's smile clearly once again. And an innocent man who fell to the ground countless times in his mind.

Martin was immersed in that dark memory and didn't know how to find a way out. Unbeknownst to him, he was crying out of reflection and once again apologized to the man who was drowning in blood.

He heard Celine calling out his name. But now, she seemed to be in a faraway place, a distant memory. Was she even real? The images and sounds in his memories were more present, more powerful, and more influential to his feelings than reality.

But the warmth from her embrace awoken him. The dark clouds began to dissipate. The pain began to weaken.

"It's alright. Everything will be fine. You can do this. Martin, you will be fine..."

He slowly opened his eyes again. Celine hugged him tightly as if she was afraid he might die. He found himself lying on the sofa. She consoled him over and over, even though her voice trembled.

Martin remained silent and listened to her calming voice, which sounded like a lullaby. His heaving breath began to return to a normal pace.

He raised his hand and stroked her hair. She must have been shocked. Celine looked at him, her face stained with tears. Just seeing her devastated made him wept inside.

In silence, we looked at each other. No words escaped. He caressed her cheeks tenderly. He knew that the following words spoken in explaining the situation were important. And she might be too good of a person to stay with him.

He gathered all his courage and said, "I understand you must have questions. And I can't provide any reasonable answer." He stopped and looked at her beautiful eyes closely. Her eyes flickered. He continued to caress her cheek and speak. "I have problems I can't fix. Although I really like spending time with you, now you can see that I'm not normal. I'm not good enough for you. Just the second date, and I already made you cry."

She cried again. And he slowly wiped away the tears. She could sense what he was about to say.

"I understand if you want to end this. This, whatever we are doing. If you don't feel comfortable staying with someone like me, I can book a hotel for you."

She cried even harder. And her tears weakened his heart. He hesitated to say the last sentence, but he did it anyway.

"Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry...." She silenced him with her lips. She kissed him softly and gradually more passionate once he responded. The kiss was an answer to his plea.

She will not go anywhere. No matter what happened to him, she will not go anywhere.

*****

"If you have nightmares all the time, you can just sleep right next to me. If anything happens at night, I will wake you up."

He explained only that there were complications in his work. An incident caused him to have a mental condition called PTSD. And she accepted the story as much as he could tell. She said she wanted to help and didn't fear his symptoms. She said he didn't do anything wrong and hugged him.

That evening, although Martin was back to his usual quiet self, Celine led the conversation. She talked about something else that he could take his mind off the stress. He discovered that Celine was a nurturing type, and he was impressed by that, although he was a little embarrassed to be taken care of.

Celine even ordered him to sleep in the bedroom with her. The order was laughable. His villa, his room, his bed, and she just ordered him to sleep where she thought was right.

"Martin, you know the bed is king-sized, isn't it? Why are you sleeping on the edge? Come closer and hug me." She liked ordering him around, it seemed. He did as she asked and hugged her from behind. He was smiling contentedly under the dim light.

"Good night, Celine." He whispered to her in the darkness of the night. Tonight was the night that he, too, would have a good dream.