34 The Irony of Fate

Andrzej Nowicki was no longer an inexperienced minor who made decisions on impulse, so standing in front of his apartment and taking the keys to it out of his pocket, he wondered how it happened that he would move to another man?

It's not that the social situation forced him - Andrzej had an apartment in Praga, one of the districts of Warsaw, and he was absolutely not going to give it up. The guy he was moving to had no problems maintaining the house either, so materialistic considerations were not the cause either. The proposal to live together slipped from Andrzej's lips on the spur of the moment when he saw his new friend in a tragic emotional state. Although he was handsome, talented, rich and famous, the young actor Dominik Śliwiński had a toxic relationship with his manager and lover for years. Their parting was stormy, and for Dominik all the more painful, as Marek Marczak from the beginning of his career was the actor's only support and even his only friend. So when Marczak crushed his heart for the second time, Śliwiński had no one but the paparazzi he had met a few weeks ago, Andrzej Nowicki.

Andrzej knew that he was the main reason why Śliwiński decided to end his romance. On a commission from his editorial office, Nowicki watched the actor in his home for several days and witnessed an erotic scene with the participation of him and Marczak. After taking compromising photos of them, he did not go to the editorial office with them, but sold them to Śliwiński. The actor understood how dangerously close he was to reveal his scandalous relationship and asked his lover to stop dating for a while.

Marczak's reaction was disproportionate to the request, aggressive and inhuman. Only the intervention of Andrzej, who was her witness, saved Dominik from very serious consequences.

These events marked the beginning of the end of Śliwiński's relationship with Marczak and the first step towards forming a friendship between the famous actor and Nowicki.

The photographer was surprised how quickly he liked Dominik. Knowing him earlier only from the covers of magazines, he had no opinion about him. Andrzej has never been a fan of him or his work. Śliwiński, with his pretty face and enormous personal charm, was the idol of women of almost all ages and had his fan base among men, but for Nowicki he was as indifferent as last year's snow. During these few days of observation, however, he had the opportunity to see his real, different from what the media suggested: shy, sensitive and extremely lonely. His natural beauty and grace of a woman rather than a man made him nice to look at. Everyday Dominik at home was a hundred times more charming than the one created in the cinema. The brutal attack against him by the enraged lover triggered a protective instinct in Andrzej, which did not go silent until that day. After Marczak crushed Śliwiński's heart for the second time, he had no choice but to support him in any way he could. And so he ended up proposing that he would stay with Dominik as long as he wanted.

Andrzej was sure that their cohabitation would not last long, so he decided to take only a few of the most necessary things. Now Śliwiński's body was exhausted and he was consumed by a slight fever, so he actually needed someone's care, but in a few days he should recover and he would not need the help of Nowicki. They will remain buddies, but living under the same roof will start to become burdensome for the actor who values ​​his privacy and Andrzej will be able to easily return to his own flat. He was convinced of this.

The key finally hit the door, but the apartment was not locked. Strange, Andrzej perfectly remembered closing them. So what then ...

He pushed the door open and froze.

Andrzej thought that such scenes are seen in movies, not in real life.

He slowly crossed the threshold, not believing his eyes. His apartment looked like a tornado had passed over it, or someone had subjected it to a not-so-subtle search. Torn cardboard boxes with food were lying on the ground, clothes were taken out of the wardrobe and all its plates were broken.

Nowicki felt his heart beat faster. It wasn't a tornado or a robbery. His TV and players remained in place. Someone had to look for something, but Andrzej did not have any secret information or compromising materials ...

Stepping on one of the broken plates, Andrzej gritted his teeth. Yes, some compromising materials are in his hands. He still had photos of the erotic scene between Śliwiński and Marczak. He also had other, even more important ones, where the manager commits assaults against Dominik. He had left them as a security if Marczak tried to hurt his former lover again. Marek Marczak had been warned about this and, apart from him and Dominik, was the only person who knew about these materials. Nowicki had no doubts that his apartment looked so and no different precisely because of him.

"Fucking dung," he swore, feeling his fury rising.

He wasn't angry because a stranger had burst into his apartment and destroyed so many things. After all, these were just items that could be replaced by others. He was furious because Marczak did not understand his mistake, he felt no remorse towards Śliwiński and he wanted to remove his only ally from his path.

Andrzej was not, however, one of those people who would be easily intimidated. On the contrary, when pressed against the wall, he offered even more resistance. Marczak will regret starting with him.

Of course, Andrzej will have to play everything reasonably. After all, he couldn't risk Dominik getting a backlash when they exchanged fire.

Andrzej packed his clothes and toiletries. He took the flower pot with Benjamin's ficus from the window and left. Didn't bother with cleaning. If Marczak wanted to send him any message, he will leave him his own - fuck you, I don't care what you've done with my apartment.

He turned the key in the lock and slung two travel bags over his shoulder. One was his and he packed his clothes with it. The second was associated with a number of interesting, if a bit embarrassing memories - it was in it a few weeks ago the young actor Dominik Śliwiński provided him with money for compromising photos. After they became friends, Andrzej returned his ransom, but the bag was still tangled around his apartment. It's funny, Nowicki smiled sadly, how this little blackmail resulted in an unexpected turn. Andrzej Nowicki, the paparazzi working for one of the gossip magazines, became the only man who learned Śliwiński's secret and, over the course of events, his only ally. He got tangled up in something he shouldn't care about, and as a consequence was now standing in front of his dilapidated apartment with travel bags moving out to the other guy.

Andrzej sighed, recognizing the irony of fate.