Page 31 of The Runaway
But the kitchen was the size of a shoebox because of all the people. My brothers, their wives, my sister and my parents— almost a dozen people crowded into such a small space was claustrophobic. The table itself was too small to hold all the food, so the turkey and ham hung out on the stove. People had brought their own folding chairs, so it was a game trying to find a place to sit.
My mom wasanalabout it, too. She didn’t want anyone in the living room— all eating had to be done in the kitchen. Plates got passed from the people up front to us that were too slow to beat the rush, and I grabbed two before handing them off to Roerich behind me.
“So, how are you liking it so far, Joci?” Roerich really tried, and I appreciated that as he caught her attention. Sandra was too drunk to eat, standing behind her husband just inside the living room and staring aimlessly at a crack in the hardwood. Joci’s brows rose a little in surprise, and she nodded mutely before my brother spoke up again. “I’m glad you came. It’s always nice to see a new face. I know my wife’s really drunk right now, but I think you two would get along really well. She almost never drinks except on holidays.”
“… It’s nice to see you, too.” I could hear it in her voice that Joci was trying to tone down her accent, and a small smile tilted my lips. “Do you have fun this time?”
“Uh— yeah. I like seeing everybody. It’s really nice for the kids.” A loud banging on the door pulled my attention, and I left Joci and Roerich for a second to answer it. Satisfaction wrapped around my ribs at how this night was going as I glanced over my shoulder. Sure, Joci looked incredibly uncomfortable, but she managed to hold a simple conversation with my brother. That was more than I’d expected when I stupidly invited her.
“Hey!” Carlreekedof pot, throwing himself at me as I pushed open the screen door, and I frowned. Shaking my head from the contact high, I blinked as the sharp smell burned my eyes. “I know I’m late, but I made it.”
“Dude— how can you even stand?” His girlfriend wore a cute sundress, seemingly unaffected by the cold— probably because she was higher than a skyrise. Shuffling out of the way, I held my breath as the pair walked past me, but Carl paused to punch my chest weekly.
“I brought my boss. His wife’s in a real bitchy mood— kicked him out.” My mouth dried in foreboding, and I glanced beyond Carl’s girlfriend as she breezed by. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I saw the guy from the pizza place standing on the sidewalk, hands in pockets, looking entirely unapproachable. Her jerked his head, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I stepped out into the cold.
“You’reCarl’s boss? I thought you were Joci’s boss?” My irritation shone in my voice, and I leaned on the wall to cross my arms as he plucked his cigarette from between his lips. “Who the Hell are you, then?”
“Carl is my personal driver. Joci’s superior is a potential business partner, but— no, I don’t want anything to do with those Russian pigs.” The way he talked fucking grated me something fierce, and he held out a hand as he blew smoke out of his nose. “Carlyle Santino.”
Reluctantly, I shook his hand, and Carlyle frowned under furrowed brows. Discomfort of my own gripped my spine in a vice, my body thrumming from tension as memories played behind my lids when I blinked.
“I know you think poorly of me after I ambushed you, but it was a one-time deal. Aleksander Makovich surprised me when hedemandedJoci stay in America. He’s not been very negotiable so far.”
“Iliterallycould not care less, okay? I don’t know what shady shit you’re all into, and I don’t wanna know. Joci told me enough that I know that much, at least.” As much as I wanted not to, I gestured Carlyle inside, and he flicked his cigarette into the street. “It’s Thanksgiving, but tomorrow, I’m gonna hate you again.”
“I appreciate it, Jacob. My wife and I don’t celebrate, but she’s not very happy I’ve been in New York City so long. She basically told me not to come home.” Arching a brow at that, I glanced back as Carlyle sighed sharply. His eyes practically melted out of their sockets from thinking about his wife, and a conflict began to wage in my chest. “This deal is taking a lot out of me.”
“Trouble in paradise?” Shutting the door, I peered around for Joci without really expecting an answer. This wasnoton my list of shit to expect. Throwing up— of course. That was a given. Someone falling down the stairs— totally. A kid getting bonked in the eye by an elbow— very likely… but the dude that threatened Joci and I not even a week ago showing up?Fuck no.
Waving her over, I was suddenly really fucking glad Joci was kinda clocked out. She held both the empty, ceramic plates to her chest, her eyes warily flickering between Carlyle and I, but she did walk over. Suspicion and fear flickered in her deep, brown eyes, and I wrapped an arm around her while Carlyle held up his hands to ease her worries.
“I promise I’m not here maliciously. I’ve actually just finished another pointless meeting with Aleksander a few hours ago. I don’t blame you for wanting to get away from him.”
“Are you okay with this, Joci?” Nodding curtly, she flexed her fingers around the plates and shot me an uncomfortable curl of her lip. Clearly, she didn’t believe him, but she wasn’t about to make it worse by opening her mouth.
“Do you mind if I ask you something, Joci?” Against my palm, Joci tensed, and Carlyle held her eyes as I switched to damage control.Gotta hand it to Carl to fuck up the night worse than it was.“Why do you want to live here? In America?”
“… Because I do not want to die.” They maintained eye contact for a second, her declaration ringing in my head at the absurdity of how serious she was. How insane was it that Joci lived under the constant fear of being murdered, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it? Even moving to America wasn’t a sure thing; if she was found to be an illegal immigrant, she’d be deported back to Russia anddefinitelykilled.
“Let’s go eat, yeah? I don’t care what my mom says. We can sit in the living room. There’s way too many people in the kitchen right now.” Clearing my throat roughly, I guided Joci back into the line that’d formed, and I leaned to whisper in her ear. “Are you okay?”
“Maybe.”Sorta.My lips thinned under tightly knit brows, but I didn’t try to probe deeper. We’d just have to suck it up and deal, and that was fine. It was two hours, tops, before we left, and then it’d be another year until the family got together again.
32
Joci
“Oh! I’m so glad you came!” Jacob’s mom practically screeched in my ear, and my smile froze on my face when all the talking suddenly quieted around us. “I was hoping to give you this.”
My heart stuttered when his mom popped open the refrigerator to pull something out, but the atmosphere immediately hung heavy with horror. Holding my breath, I watched in slow motion as Jacob’s mother produced what appeared to be a peanut butter sandwich on a paper plate. It was just two pieces of bread with peanut butter in between, not even cut in half.
Against my back, Jacob tensed, and the murmurs of his family went deathly quiet as his mom replaced the plate in my hands. My turkey and green beans disappeared onto the overflowing countertops, and it took a second to realize she’dthrown it in the sink. Admittedly, I hadn’t gotten too much; I didn’t know if I would like it, but I was going to try it.
Every eye was trained on me as I held this dinky paper plate with just a peanut butter sandwich on it. Jacob’s mom beamed at me like she hadn’t just thrown away my food. As if she thought giving me this was so great, she smiled, but her eyes glimmered with something darker. Blinking hard, I stood stupid as my brain tried to figure out what thefuckwas going on.
Did she blame me for Jacob kicking Caleb out? I just happened to be there; it wasn’t like Jacob hadn’t thought about it a lot before making a decision. Was this his mom’s way of telling me that I wasn’t welcome because of a dispute that had nothing to do with me? She went around telling all these lies, when I had never said a single word to her.
“O— oh…” My voice cracked harshly, snapping through the dense atmosphere like a whip, and my chest tightened. Everything got blurry and hot, and my throat closed as Jacob’s mom stared at me with this stupid expression on her face. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe through my nose, and blood drummed furiously in my ears. “Okay.”