Page 35 of Erik

She friggen snorted, clamping a bare hand over her mouth and nose, and I smirked faintly. We shuffled out of the dining room and through the living room, and the paramedics were pulling up to the side of the house. Uniformed police officers started questioning, but the air in the backyard was solemn and frigidly cold.

Taking Natasha’s hand, I led her around the grill and onto the lawn, and my family gave us a wide berth. Mike, or Donald, or whoever he was, was checked out, but my aunt was nowhere to be seen, and neither were their children. I wouldn’t be surprised if she filed for divorce by the end of the day. She was probably drowning in shame.

“I take it you’re the one that popped the guy’s eye out?” An officer approached us wearily, sounding almost bored, and eying Natasha’s hand dubiously. “Wanna tell me what happened?”

“I had a few drinks, and he pissed me off. Not really much to tell.” The officer nodded, scribbling down in his little notepad, and a plume of nostalgia billowed in my chest. Just a couple weeks ago, I’d been like that, and it was a little awkward knowing that the vague description was going to be more than enough. There was a ton of beer and other alcoholic beverages flowing, this was private property, and God only knew that bastard wasn’t going to press charges.

“Right, and what were you arguing about?”

“He’s my dad, what do we not argue about?”Avoiding again.I really admired Natasha’s ability to answer well enough, and I glanced around the yard through narrowed eyes. I could tell everyone was getting their stories straight, just in case, but these kinds of fights weren’t uncommon. Everything Natasha said could be construed to the simplest explanation, anyway. There was no point to ask anyone else what happened.

Even then, the truth was probably ‘I only saw the aftermath’.

“Well, he’s not pressing charges, so maybe slow down on the sauce. The dude’s eye socket is broken clean in half. You don’t want that iron fist to get you in worse trouble.” This officer hadn’t even asked her name, and Natasha nodded before he strolled off to talk to Mike, or Donald, or whoever he was. Sitting in the ambulance at the lip to the side of the house, he looked so small and miserable, but the worst was yet to come, I thought.

“Natasha.” My mom came wandering over, her face pale but a small smile cresting her cheeks, and she held out her arms in silent offer. Natasha stiffened, but pride blossomed in my chest when she walked slowly into my mom’s embrace. The older woman hugged her tight, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets to rock back on my heels. Watching it was like seeing something I wasn’t supposed to, and I tore my eyes of them to stare at a particularly long blade of grass between my sneakers.

36

Natasha

“I’m sorry, again, ma’am.”

“Oh, I’m not gonna tell you again to call me Carol.” Waving me off, Carol sat back to sip her wine leisurely, and I heat crept up my neck. “I only get called ‘ma’am’ when I pick up my kids from the base. Today has been a rollercoaster for us all.”

“Carol . . . um, yeah. About that, I saw her, and she looksjust like mewhen I was twelve years old. It wasn’t right, the way I handled it wasn’t right.” She twisted to face me more from across the sofa, and I took a sip of my own wine to sigh heavily. “She shocked me, and it was wrong to do that in front of her.”

“My sister’s been wavering about her marriage recently. She said Mike has been controlling, trying too hard to be involved to the point of being overbearing. Now, she knows it wasn’t because he was hiding something as superficial and common as cheating. No one in my family has gotten a divorce, and Kathy is probably drowning right now. I told my sister he was fishy when she met him, when she fell in love so fast. She’s the youngest for a reason, I suppose.” Carol smiled faintly, serenely, almost, and I took a huge gulp of my wine as my chest tightened. “You may have been wrong, and you may feel bad for those kids, but your absolution doesn’t depend on the acceptance of others. You’re proof, Natasha, that children are malleable, and I suspect that Natalia is very, very much like you.”

“I guess I know where Erik gets his . . . flexibility . . . about experiences justifying horrific actions. I hope your sister knows I wasn’t trying to be malicious toward her. These are the things I have to deal with, and sometimes it gets out of control. I’m half-expecting someone to anonymously call me in for murder.” Carol gave a soft ‘ah’, nodding sagely, and I licked my lips heavily. “No offense, of course.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure you’ll find that here, in this house, details matter.” Humming softly, I stared at the edge of the coffee table to take a sip of my wine as Carol reached to pat my knee. “I’ll tell you something no one else knows, Natasha. I have seven children, and knowing that they’d marry and have kids of their own, knowing there’d be more. I can never have enough kids. I’m not even sixty years old, yet, and my oldest is thirty-eight. It’s never been enough for me. Seven turned into fourteen, and fourteen turned into twenty. But it’s not enough.”

“I’m lucky my crazy attracted your son. He’s a great guy.” Carol scoffed lightly, leaning over to refill her wine glass, and my lip twitched up. “What? You raised him. You know exactly how great he is.”

“You’re not gonna tell me you think he’s too good for you, right? Because that’s just someone wanting to get out, and you don’t want to get out. You’re opposite him, Natasha. You look deep, and you need someone that trusts you.” My brows rose as I bopped my head, and a small huff escaped me as Carol filled my glass almost to the top. “He certainly knows how to blindly trust.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t have a chance to continue when the front door opened, and I twisted as Natalia burst through the front door. She panted viciously, long, lean legs quivering and face burning red, and the air knocked from my lungs when bright brown eyes met mine. Tensing when she launched herself over the back of the sofa, I barely had a chance to not drench myself in wine as sweaty arms latched around my neck. “Uh . . . um . . . o-okay . . . d-do . . . uh . . . ”

Carol took my glass, settling back on the sofa, and I shot her a questioning look. My mind raced, and my arms ached from the tightness between my shoulders as Natalia slithered into my lap with dangerous sniffles against my neck.

“Where’d you come from, huh?” I didn’t know what else to say, and Natalia pulled back to stare at me from under dewy lashes. “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s on the way to the hospital to see Dad, but I couldn’t go. I always hated my name.” She spoke so calmly, and she scrunched up her nosejust like I didas my heart ached at her admission. Her stare was so, so, so level. “Do you wanna get some ice cream?”

“Oh . . . why?”

“You’re my sister. We should know about each other.”Shit, this girl. Natalia frowned, her slender brows furrowing, and I was kinda shocked how light she was— slim and slender, and she weighed nothing as she sat back with a huff. “I thought ice cream was pretty safe. We can go somewhere else, or stay here.”

“Um, I mean, it was your idea, so it’s up to you.” She popped up like a daisy in the snow, her hair fluffing around her shoulders, and uncertainty assaulted my chest. Grabbing my hand, her little palm was sweaty, and I frowned slightly. “Did you run back here?”

“It wasn’t far. Mom didn’t make it all the way down the road before she stopped the car. She’s probably still there. Maybe she didn’t know I left yet. It doesn’t matter. She said I wasn’t allowed to talk to you, but shealsosaid never to listen to someone who’s crying.” My brows shot up at that, and I barked an uncomfortable laugh as Natalia tugged my arm insistently. Hauling myself off the sofa, I took my glass with me ‘cause I was really gonna fucking need a drink if I was having a surreal conversation with my twelve-year-old self.

Of course, she might’ve been a lot like me, but she wasn’tme. Even though the resemblance was freaky. I mean, obviously, my dad was destined to pop out girls no matter who he was with, but to find someone who also had a predisposition to twins . . . was nuts.

Leading me through the house, Natalia tugged me into the backyard where the party was still going on, and Erik’s jaw damn near fell off his face when he saw us. Shooting him a pleading look to do his job and get me the Hell out of the situation, I scowled silently when he shook his head. A rash of mumbles swept over my head, but Natalia turned to me to hoist her long body onto the counter and cross her legs.

I guess we were just gonna talk right here? Taking a huge gulp of my wine, I inhaled a stabilizing breath before seating myself next to her.