The Help

Lena was sitting on her sofa, it was still early for bed, it was still half past eight but it was too late for visitors as she heard her door bell rang.

She immediately stood in front of her monitor screen checking who it was. Surprisingly, she saw Kris. She hesitated, she did not know whether to let him in but seeing the look on his face, she knew he was not there with bad intentions.

Kris opened her door as soon as she let him in. “Lena” He said as he saw her standing waiting for him.

 She motioned for him to come in her living room. She walked to her kitchen and grabbed him an ice tea on a clear glass. As she walked back in her living room, she could see Kris clutching his face; clearly something was on his mind.

“Yi Fan?” She asked and immediately passed him the iced tea. “Are you okay?” She asks as he looks up towards her.

“No, oh Len, I don’t know what to do, I’m sorry” Kris immediately said, Lena was confused but had a rough idea on what’s bothering Kris.

“Hey, take it easy, take a deep breath” Lena sat opposite him.

“I couldn’t. I just can’t” Kris mumbled through his words, Lena felt sorry for him; she genuinely felt how Kris was in distress. “I tried telling them but that look on their faces” Kris continued.

“Hey, slowly, I’m not rushing you” Lena said to Kris, she could feel he was desperate; he wanted to explain but couldn’t find the right words.

“I don’t want to disappoint them, I really don’t” Kris said and took a deep breath, both his hands cupping his face “I knew it was wrong of me to lie to them in the first place but I just cannot deal with it anymore”

“Yi Fan, what’s going on?” Lena asked, she could how Kris was having difficulty with his words, his hands trembling.

“I couldn’t tell them, Len. I couldn’t tell them the truth. I panicked” Kris explains and looked towards Lena immediately.

Lena felt something from the way Kris looked at her, it wasn’t a lie, and it wasn’t just panic on his face. He was genuinely lost; there was even a hint of worry.

“I wanted to tell them you weren’t my girl friend that I lied to them. I wanted to let them know that their son does not have a girl friend but I don’t know, at that moment, I felt intimidated, maybe a little scared” Kris sighed, “I sound ridiculous, don’t I?” Kris asked and just sighed again.

“Don’t say that. You don’t” Lena tried to calm him down. “Maybe you weren’t ready, to tell them the truth” Lena tried to make him feel better.

“Will I ever be? Will I be ready to tell them the truth? I can’t even imagine” Kris was starting to feel upset with himself and Lena could see that, he looked as if he was ready to hit himself.

“Don’t” was the only thing Lena could say and Kris immediately looked up to her. “Don’t beat yourself up” Lena continued.

“I can’t do that Len, I was stupid. I lied to them, I’m making things harder, I’ll be putting you in a tough position” Kris explained and immediately put his face on his hands again. “I should have be braver, I should have” Kris continued.

“Is there any way I can help?” Lena rarely offer help, she was not the type to offer things. She was the kind to ignore everything. She was a closed book and when those words slip off , she was shocked herself.

“I can’t ask you for that Lena. I can’t make your life difficult. I don’t want to involve you in this” As Kris said those words, Lena felt that Kris was hiding things that this wasn’t just a matter of lying to his parents. He was genuinely scared, frustrated and blaming himself.

“But if I could be of any help, let me help you Yi Fan” Lena convinced him again and what she saw when he looked up towards her almost broke her barriers.

“I can’t do this to you Len” Kris had an awful look, it was like he was trying to stop himself from everything, from breaking down. “You don’t know what they are capable of” Kris exclaimed with a hint of urgency in his voice. “I can’t let you in this, I can’t involve you in this matter, I don’t want to hurt you, Len” He continued.

“But I can be a help, maybe I can make it easier for you. Maybe if I said something, your parents wouldn’t be mad?” Lena asked Kris and hoped that Kris would agree with the idea.

“My parents, they, they are intimidating. I don’t want to put you in a position where you feel pressured Len. It’s not a nice feeling” Kris explained and bits of his feelings were shown.

“Just let me help you Yi Fan, I’ll help you this once” Lena said and she knew she would regret those words later but she can’t let Kris go through this alone. She can’t.