Sasha Ermolaev || Frame Tamer

A common misfortune brings people together. A rooftop, a warm summer evening, sunset against the backdrop of Moscow. A misplaced earphone in his right ear, playing some music. Yatskevich sat quietly, looking into the distance and thinking. About the future. What will happen next? The sound of footsteps brought the boy out of his reverie. Looking up, Ilya saw Sasha smiling at the younger boy. Ermolaev appeared next to Ilya. The boys simply sat silently next to each other, admiring the landscape that opened up before them.

They sat there for a long time. Ilya always returned home by 9, but now it was already 11:30 PM. There was no point in going home; he'd only get more abuse from his father. Ermolaev, looking at his phone and the time, quietly exhaled, getting to his feet.

• It's time to go home, Ilyushka. You have school tomorrow, especially since you have to go to school tomorrow.

"It's too late, " Yatskevich's voice was heard. "If I go home now, my father will get angry and..."

"And you were planning to spend the night on the roof?" Ermolaev interrupted.

• Just ask.

Sasha's voice was heard, slightly hoarse, as always. “Isn’t that too difficult?” Ilya asked uncertainly.

• Is it difficult to ask?

• ...Can I stay the night at your place?..

“Yes,” Sasha answered immediately, without thinking.

Sasha, a 20-year-old man, lives on the ninth floor of a high-rise building. A strong-willed man, he's had bad luck his whole life, which is why he grew up watching his father, who was always drunk and later died. Then, his mother died of an inoperable brain tumor, and then, after their breakup, the next day, his girlfriend fell into a coma due to diabetes, and she later died as well.

Having experienced so many terrible events, Sasha Ermolaev remains the same good person. The guy lives alone in a three-room apartment and is not in a relationship at the moment. He makes his living by working as a cameraman for famous bloggers.

Ilya Yatskevich is a 17-year-old boy in the 11th grade. He's the best of the best, earning straight A's, and has the "straight A" syndrome. He studies this way not by choice, but because his father wants him to. He doesn't have a choice, because his father decided that after school he would go to university and work for his jewelry business.

My father, though seemingly a decent person, is actually terrible. He drinks rarely, but when he does, he drinks to the bitter end. This is why he starts picking fights with his equally drunk friends. He might raise his hand against his son (Ilya) for anything. He's too loud? He'll hit him. He's arguing with his father? He'll hit him. He got a grade below 5? He'll hit him. Ilya is rather quiet and modest. He doesn't tell anyone about his problems with his father, not even his two best friends, Sasha Paradeev and Lyosha. He doesn't want to burden them with his problems.

Ilya and Sasha's acquaintance was rather... unusual. Whenever his father beat Ilya, he would retreat to the roof of the apartment building and sit there. The next time Ilya told his father he wanted to become a blogger, he wasn't happy and immediately hit his son. Ilya, battered and exhausted, put on the first pair of shoes he could find, ran out of the apartment, and up the stairs to the roof. There the guy lay down on the concrete. His whole body ached. And at that moment, Sasha came onto the roof. Seeing the guy, he ran for the first aid kit and bandaged his wounds.