23. Emory
EMORY
Marta sets a plate of eggs and toast in front of Batya, and he stares at it like he's forgotten what real food looks like.
His hands tremble when he picks up the fork, and the first bite takes him so long to chew I wonder if his jaw is worse than it looks.
Krispin stands near the kitchen doorway with his arms crossed, watching everything with a scowl on his face.
"Eat slower," I tell Batya. "You'll make yourself throw up." He doesn't look well at all. I'm not sure how dangerous it is for an alcoholic to go cold turkey, but I know Rashid didn't have any alcohol in the basement where they're keeping him. At least not any I could see.
He nods and puts the fork down, reaching for the tea Marta poured him, and holds the cup close to his chest, soaking up the warmth.
He looks sicker than I've ever seen him, dark sunken eyes with yellowish skin.
It scares me, but I have to remind myself that this is the same man who deliberately blew up Rashid's operation to force me into this house.
When I think about it I get angry, so I try not to think about it.
"I've been thinking, Em," he says quietly, glancing at Krispin before he continues. He's speaking so quietly that maybe Krispin can't hear him, but honestly I doubt it. Rashid's probably got this house bugged. "About how to get us out of here."
"Don't," I tell him harshly, stabbing the eggs on my plate. Lex babbles a little, covering the whispers, but if Rashid even thinks we're trying to escape, his softer side will vanish again.
"Just listen to me. If I can get word to someone on the outside?—"
"I said don't, Batya." I keep my voice low enough that Krispin can't hear the words, but firm enough that my father understands I'm not entertaining this conversation. "The last time you had a plan it was to get me kidnapped by a criminal." I don't mince words. He needs to know how upset I am.
He flinches at that, and I feel it in my chest, but I don't take it back. He engineered this entire situation and now he wants to engineer our way out of it, and I don't trust his judgment anymore. I'm not sure I ever should have.
"I know we can get out of here," Batya whispers, leaning forward over his plate. "I was scared before but there's a way. The longer we stay here the harder it becomes to leave."
Scowling, I turn to him and make my frustration known. He wanted me here, so now I'm here. I can't think of a good reason to try to leave when the Gusev family might still be hunting us. I doubt they'll be as forgiving as last time if they catch us again.
"We're not doing anything right now," I tell him. "We're going to eat breakfast and be grateful that we're sitting at a table instead of on a concrete floor."
He opens his mouth to argue when Anna walks into the kitchen in her robe, her reading glasses pushed up on her head and a cup of tea already in her hand.
She takes one look at me and at my father sitting across from each other with Krispin looming in the doorway, and she settles into the chair at the end without a word.
Batya shuts his mouth and picks up his fork again as Anna sips her tea and studies Lex, who sits in his high chair mashing a piece of banana into the tray. I drop my head and try to eat, but I've suddenly lost my appetite. How could he think of running? I thought this is what he wanted.
"Rashid used to do that," Anna says, nodding at the banana.
"Exactly that, with exactly that expression on his face.
He wouldn't eat anything without destroying it first. His father used to lose his mind over the mess.
" She shakes her head, but doesn't rush to clean it up.
I'm beginning to respect that she knows how to handle a child.
It makes me feel safer knowing she helps watch my boy.
"How old was he when he stopped?"
"He didn't stop. He just learned to use a fork.
" She chuckles as she takes another sip of her tea, watching Lex over the rim.
"He was a difficult child. Stubborn, loud, impossible to reason with.
His brother was easy but Rashid fought everything, every rule, every boundary.
He wanted to do things his own way from the day he could walk. "
"Sounds about right," I say. Anna catches the humor in my voice and smiles. The man is pigheaded and stubborn now, but it makes for a good leader, especially in his world. I can respect that about him.
"That man never asked permission for anything in his life either." She sets her cup down and reaches across to wipe the banana off Lex's cheek with her thumb. "But he loved his boys. Whatever else you hear about him, he loved them."
"This is very touching," Batya says sarcastically. I'm not sure what's gotten into him, but I'm not comfortable with the way he's speaking. "You're saying my grandson is going to turn into a monster like his father."
Anna turns her glare to my father and I swallow hard, avoiding eye contact. If looks could kill, this woman would be a murderer in cold blood right now. And my father has the nerve to open his mouth like he's going to say something else too.
"Batya," I say quietly. "Don't." My cheeks burn as the old woman turns to look at me, as if she doesn't have any interest in speaking to Batya.
"Your father stole from my son and betrayed his trust," Anna says, setting her teacup down. "He should be thankful he's sitting at this table at all."
"Thankful?" Batya leans forward. "Your son kidnapped my daughter and my grandson and you want me to be thankful?"
"I want you to show some respect in a house that is keeping you alive." Anna slaps her hand on the table so hard the forks rattle on the plates.
Batya opens his mouth again, and I can see where this is heading. Krispin sees it too and steps forward from the doorway, walking straight to my father.
"Alright, that's enough," Krispin says, placing a hand on Batya's shoulder. "Time to go back downstairs."
Batya shrugs the hand off, but Krispin takes his arm firmly and guides him up from the chair.
Batya fights him, jerking and shrugging him off, but it's no use.
He's old and frail, and he's sick enough that it's made him weak.
Krispin drags him away shouting as I duck my head and blink back tears. Batya did this to himself.
When they're gone, Anna picks up her tea again and sips it as though nothing happened. Then the room goes quiet. I can tell she's not interested in speaking with me right now. Whether due to Batya's outburst or her animosity toward me, she's quiet.
I push the eggs around my plate and listen to Lex babbling, wondering how I went from desperation to get out of here to denying of the man who helped give me life when he wants to plan an escape attempt.
Last night with Rashid was so wonderful. He made me feel alive and whole, and he comforted me when I was scared. How can I feel so different today than I did a week ago? And why does it feel like I'm falling for the man who kidnapped my child?
Could it be that fate knew long before I did that Rashid might just be the one who could make my heart feel safe? Maybe I've been blind to it this whole time.