32. Pandora #2
I manage to stem the flow by the time we finish. Asch towels me off with one of Blaze’s big, fluffy towels, and they give me one of their oversized shirts to wear.
“You like me in your clothes, huh,” I joke.
“I do,” Asch confirms, kissing me again. “Very much.”
“He did get you underwear though,” River says, handing me a pair of panties. “Here.”
I slip into them, noting that they’re basic boy-shorts and nothing sexy. I wonder where these even came from, but I’m not going to complain.
When we’re all in a semblance of clothes, I grab their hands and squeeze. “Okay. Um. I guess I’m a bit tired. But I need to check on my siblings. And Anastasia. And Blaze.”
Before either of them can answer, somebody knocks on the door.
We all freeze.
“Pandora?” Daddy’s voice calls out. “Please come downstairs.”
He walks away, his footsteps loud. Blaze’s bedroom door shuts.
“Oh, fuck,” River whispers. “We’re all dead.” He turns to face me, pushing a few wet strands of hair behind my ear before he kisses my forehead. “Well. It was a good run, I guess. I love you, Pandora.”
What?
My mouth drops open, and I stare at him.
He didn’t say those words.
I must have misheard.
Yeah, I misheard.
There’s no reason why my heart is going overtime, like it’s trying to make up for all those years it wasn’t sitting in my chest.
I nod and face the door. “It’s fine. Daddy wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
River snorts. “Yeah. Okay.”
Asch puts a hand on the small of my back. “We’ve got this,” he says, asserting more confidence than I think he actually has.
We make our way downstairs. Daddy and Uncle Slayer are both sitting on the couch, although “sitting” might be generous for how Uncle Slayer is hovering at the edge.
No sign of Papa, and I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
I go to sit next to Daddy and lay my head against his shoulder. “Hi, Daddy. You really didn’t have to come all the way here. I had it covered.”
“Had it covered?” Uncle Slayer repeats, his voice thick with disbelief. “That was not ‘having it covered,’ Pandora.”
The fact that he’s calling me Pandora instead of Panda does not bode well.
I sit up straighter and pout at him. “What? I’m alive, everyone important is alive, my enemies are rotting under six feet of debris… I’m not sure how much more covered I could have it.”
That’s right.
Don’t make excuses.
Own your experiences.
I didn’t fuck up. I meant to do all this.
“Did I or did I not tell you that your fucking family is there for you no matter what?” Uncle Slayer demands. “Or did River not deliver that particular message?”
River holds his hands out in front of him. “I told her,” he says. “I promise.”
“He did,” I verify. “I chose to ignore him, because I kind of wanted to take care of my own problems. Y’know, visceral revenge doesn’t mean much if I’m not the one doing the eviscerating.”
Daddy sighs and holds up his hand before Uncle Slayer argues back. “It’s done. But you understand that this could have gone extremely badly?”
I scoot away from Daddy and shoot him a glare. “Do you lecture Papa every time he does something that could go extremely badly?”
“He does,” Uncle Slayer mutters. “And your Papa listens about as well.”
Daddy nods. “I do.” He turns to look at River and Asch. “Thank you for… Well, you didn’t keep her out of trouble. But Mel told us that you helped get her out.”
I knew Mel was a snitch.
But I suppose it’s okay if it makes River and Asch look good in their eyes.
“We did everything we could to help,” Asch says, but his voice is subdued. “We didn’t think it would go off the rails the way it did. Ezio…” His voice catches again. “Well, the Romanos are all gone now.”
I didn’t even see Ezio at all. I hope his death was painful and gory.
“For what it’s worth,” I say, “I didn’t plan the explosions. That wasn’t my fault. Sometimes, explosions happen, though.”
Daddy and Uncle Slayer share a look.
“Explosions happen,” Uncle Slayer repeats. “Sometimes.”
I nod. “Come on. You know it’s true. You must’ve been in plenty of buildings that had a sudden leak or an old hand grenade or a really unfortunate combination of fire and natural gas…”
“No. No, I’ve never been in an explosion,” Uncle Slayer says. “And I don’t want you to ever be in one again!”
I turn to Daddy for support, but there’s a miniscule frown on his face.
“Explosions don’t happen,” Daddy says. “You won’t repeat it.” He turns his frown on River and Asch. “You’ll ensure it won’t be repeated.”
“It won’t be repeated,” Asch says immediately.
“Unless your papa gets involved,” River mutters.
Asch elbows him in the side.
Uncle Slayer glowers at them. “No. More. Explosions.”
I throw my arms up. “Why don’t you ban fires, too, while you’re at it!” I wink at Uncle Slayer to show that I’m joking, but for some reason, that doesn’t relieve the tension.
Uncle Slayer’s glare levels on me instead. “I should,” he says. “Ares and Kratos already have that covered. I don’t need you setting anyone on fire, too.”
I could set plenty of people on fire even without them.
Daddy gets up then, and wraps his arms around me. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he says.
I want to remain stoic, but I end up returning the awkward hug. “Yeah. Sorry I worried you. I swear, it was supposed to all go down quietly and without any explosions or anyone even hearing about it.”
“We still would’ve heard about it,” Uncle Slayer says. He stands as well, and he’s next in line to give me a fierce hug. “But at least you’re leaning on someone.” He glowers at Asch and River. “Even if those are two of the ones you’re leaning on. You could do better.”
“No way! They’re perfect!” I return Uncle Slayer’s hug.
When he pulls away, I ask, “So, um, where’s Papa?”
Daddy sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “He said he was going to have a talk with ‘Baby Bouchard.’ The hospital probably turned him away though.”
Asch’s hands clench into fists at his sides. “They’d better have,” he says darkly. “I’m going to get dressed and head that way. Pandora, do you want to come?”
Do I want to look at Blaze’s face, and see it marred because of me?
No.
But I can’t let him face Papa on his own, either.
These are the consequences of my actions. I have to live with them—though not as much as Blaze will.
“Yeah. Yeah, I need to kiss his face better,” I say with fake cheer. “He’s going to be so pissy about the eye thing.”
I rush upstairs before anyone can get on my case for making light of the situation. I find a pair of jeans in River’s bedroom.
Before we head out, I make sure to grab the business card Papa left me, too.
I might actually need it.