Chapter 32
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Sage
I'm awoken by the sound of thunder in the pitch black. I startle upright as I turn on my night light. The faint glow shows me it's three in the morning. The storm is blocking out the light of the moon that usually keeps me company.
I clutch my belly, feeling like I've awoken from a bad dream with the ring of the thunder in my ears.
I feel sick about the state of my family.
I could never keep the nightmares at bay, but now I'm adding new ones.
Ones where Dad never adjusts to the new normal.
Ones where I find I have to prove myself over and over.
Ones where Dad figures out what I've done before I can tell him. Then never speaks to me again.
There's a new kind of fear pulsating in my peripherals.
Not just about keeping everybody alive, but keeping everybody together. Our two families have had enough conflict and scandal to fuel generations of hatred and fury. Why do I find myself wishing that we could find a way to come together again?
Sitting up in bed, I clutch the blanket closer to my chest to keep myself warm. Wondering how long Anton will be able to hold on to power over my dad. The second he lets it go everything will go back to the way it used to be. I never liked the way it used to be.
I gasp as a sharp blow of thunder and lightning blows my window open. My heartbeat picks up in my chest as rain starts to pool on the sill of the window.
I consider getting up to shut it when instead a tattooed hand clutches onto the sill, slipping at first. My eyes widen as the hand grips the window more forcefully and in a sharp movement there's a tattooed Rushkoff sliding through the open window and standing in my bedroom.
I hold a hand to my mouth, surprised to see Alexei here but unsure how to breathe just yet.
He stands with the storm raging behind him, drenched, when our eyes meet.
I dart a glance to my bedside table, wondering if I should be going for the knife that's there.
"Not here to kill you, princess," Alexei says as he turns around and shuts the window behind him, blocking out the cold and the storm. He runs a hand through his hair, shaking out the rain and sending droplets flying.
Without saying anything I stand and go to my bathroom, returning with a fresh towel. I hand it to him but his eyes narrow, looking suspiciously between me and it.
A small smile graces my lips. "You think I could kill you with a towel?"
With a grunt he takes the towel and dries off his hair as well as the rain from his arms. He looks funny standing there in his all black clothes with colorless tattoos and my pink towel around his shoulders.
"What are you here for?"
He throws the towel on my dresser. "I came to ask about your dad."
I nod, sitting down on the edge of my bed. Unsure why that answer is slightly disappointing.
"You wanna know if he's going to accept this truce or not?"
Alexei nods.
"I'd lean towards no," I continue. "He's not very happy with the way Anton is running things. For now, though, Anton is still running things."
"You have to make him come around." Alexei makes the request like it's simple and obvious. A scoff comes out of my mouth of its own accord. As if I haven't thought of that before? Just make him. Jeez.
"I can't make my dad do anything."
"As far as we've all been aware, the DeMarco princess has Dimitri wrapped around her finger," Alexei says, twirling his finger in the air as he approaches me.
I scoff even more at that. Everything I ever did was because I never had a say in anything. I didn't have freedom and control over my own life, let alone my father's. "Well, you were very wrong."
Alexei sits on the edge of the bed. Annoying me with his wet clothes touching my fresh bedsheets. "You can convince him that this truce is needed."
I want to say something, but I can't. The only time I've ever been able to break free of my chains was when Dad wasn't around.
"He doesn't listen to me," I say honestly. "He barely listens to Anton, and he still thinks all of this is far too delicate for me to understand."
Alexei's jaw tightens.
"I know it's not the answer you want to hear.
But you have to understand that only my uncle could bring him around.
And even then, he's not too inclined to listen to anyone.
He doesn't understand why Chet is a big enough threat to draw us all together.
When he was last awake, Chet was barely more than a nuisance that refused to come out of hiding. "
"Anton won't convince him," Alexei says, shaking his head.
"What makes you so sure of that?"
Alexei sighs, his eyes going dark and to somewhere that looks far away. "Because Victor would've never listened to me."
The air hangs heavy with that statement.
I stop myself before my stupid heart tries to feel any empathy for the psychotic Rushkoff.
He's right, and I know it's true. Nobody could convince my father to change his mind. Perhaps Anton was less than prepared when he took power because he'd never had a taste of it. Everyone under my father's care is used to being directed, decisions aside.
Nobody has ever had to think for themselves, even my uncle if I really think about it. The clarity rings true and it's never made more sense why Anton struggled with the role.
"It has to be you," Alexei says.
My eyes clash with his as I snap to look at him. Sure that I've heard him wrong.
But I haven't.
"Me?" It sounds more like what the fuck when I reply, though.
"Only you."
I am unsure why he has so much faith in what I'll be able to do.
But he looks at me with such conviction.
At first it was annoying that he never took his eye off me, almost like he was convinced I was about to do something suspicious.
Now he's looking at me like I'm the only one who can do something great, and he believes that.
We break eye contact as I look down into my lap.
"I've never convinced anyone of anything. All I've ever done is pushed hard enough that they don't get a choice to disagree."
When I look up at Alexei, he smirks at me. Like that was what he was requesting of me the whole time.
A small smile slides over my face.
"Okay, get off the bed in the wet clothes," I say pushing him up and sighing when I see the patch he's left behind.
Alexei goes back for the towel, a small clunk hitting the floor when he does. He bends down to pick up the dropped object and I see he's got the locket from Chet's flower shop. He dangles it off his finger as he inspects it.
"Still no idea what this is?" he asks.
"It's a locket that belonged to someone named Iz. Whoever that is, I don't know," I say shrugging. "It won't open."
Alexei takes the locket between his fingers and there's a big crack as the clasp bends open easily in his hands.
"How?!" I say, jumping up and rushing over to see what's inside.
Alexei passes the open locket to me. There are two things on the inside: a photo, and a message.
My body chills as my eyes trace over the picture.
A woman holding her baby. Long dark hair, dark green eyes. Happier than I've ever seen them.
"Princess…" Alexei says, cringing as he gestures to the picture. "Isn't that you?"
It is me. And my mother. Holding me and smiling happily down on me like I am her whole world. I've never seen a photo of her where she smiled so big. In fact, Dad never liked to keep photos of her anywhere. My eyes glaze over the inscription.
"Yes… but," I say, more confused than ever. "Her name wasn't Isabelle."
Alexei frowns, looking closer and repeating the inscription aloud: "Isabelle, I will never forget."
The words are ominous and foreboding. I look up at Alexei who mirrors my concern. Chet made a vow to never forget.
How destructive are these promises we pledge to one another?
"You know an Isabelle?" I ask.
"No. But whoever she is, Chet made good on his word. He hasn't forgotten." He sighs, leaning against my dresser and folding his arms.
"Fuck, stop. You're dripping on everything," I say, shoving him up and wiping away the wet spot he's left on the dresser. When I stand up straight we are standing far too close. His eyes, also so intense, are breathing into my soul.
My breath is weak and my chest heavy. "You should… go now," I say. "You got what you came for."
I'm impressed that I manage to take steps away from him, but my unsteady feet slowly slip away back to my bed. I tuck myself under the covers and turn away from the window, unable to look but only wait to hear what happens next.
My heart beats fast as I listen to the sounds of the window opening, and then some seconds later, closing again.
He's gone, and my eyes shutter.
That's what I wanted him to do, but my stomach drops low with something that feels a lot like disappointment.
Only seconds have passed and I'm about to turn over when instead I gasp as I feel the covers lift and a body slide in behind me.
He's fully undressed now, his cold arms and bare skin wrapping around me.
"Fuck you're freezing!" I say, gasping at the temperature assault.
"Don't struggle," he says. His lip quivers and I realize the wet and the cold really were affecting him. I let his body melt into mine, stealing my warmth.
"Your father needs you to show him the only way forward."
I turn over my shoulder to look at him, greeted by soft eyes.
"You know it is the only way."
His walls are still down and I can see right into his soul. I am now sure he's always been able to see into mine. Maybe he's the only person who ever has. I never let him in, really, he just always had the key.
In his eyes he tells me he won't run. He won't steal or cheat.
He won't lie.
Perhaps there's only one lie Alexei Rushkoff will ever tell me, and only one lie I will ever tell him in return.
"I still hate you," he whispers, his breath warm on my cheek.
I gulp and take a deep breath, our mouths only inches apart. "I still hate you, too."