3. Chapter Three #3
The firefighters get my mom out first and then finally Elena. Mom is alive and talking and complaining about the service of care as she’s wheeled to an ambulance. Elena isn’t talking… because she’s unconscious. The paramedics quickly take her into another ambulance.
“Is Elena all right?” Adriana asks, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Is she dead?” I ask the nearest firefighter. “Is my sister dead?”
He hesitates. “No. She had a pulse. Hopefully she’ll be fine.”
I watch the other firefighters get Ivan out… before they place him on a gurney and set a white cloth over him. That only means one thing. He’s dead.
Father comes over to me and Adriana. “Let’s go. We have to get to the hospital. Make sure your mother is all right.”
“And Elena too.”
“Yes. And Elena too.”
I glare at my father. Elena is his least favorite, though I’ve never understood why.
We’re given a ride to the hospital by the fire chief. My mother is in the ER, getting her leg looked at. Elena is nowhere to be seen.
“Where is my sister?” I ask a nurse passing by. “I need to know where she is.”
“Give me a name and I’ll find her for you.”
“Elena Karetov.”
The nurse walks over to a station and types something into a computer. “Elena Karetov. She was taken into surgery. Had internal bleeding. We won’t know anything for a while. But I’ll keep you updated. I promise.”
I sink to the floor. If Elena dies… the only one in my entire family whom I’m actually close to. Who I really love.
“Get up,” Father hisses. “Hold yourself with better composure. Now is not the time to crack.”
Using all the strength in my legs, I get to my feet. Adriana is a sobbing mess but Father doesn’t correct her. It’s only me who has to be perfect. Probably because he has no hope for Adriana at this point.
After an hour of standing, Father finally lets us take a seat in the waiting area. Adriana has not stopped crying. News of our mother comes through. She has a broken leg but is otherwise fine. Father leaves to see her, telling me and Adriana to wait here for news about Elena.
That’s when I see Nikolai.
He enters the waiting area and looks around the room before finding me. He doesn’t hesitate to come right to my side. “Are you all right? I heard about the accident.”
I get to my feet. For some reason, I can’t let Nikolai tower over me while I’m seated. He’s still a lot taller than me even when I’m standing though. “I’m fine. Me and my sister came away without any injuries. But my other sister is still in surgery.” I frown. “What are you doing here?”
“You’ll soon be my wife. It’s a husband’s duty to make sure his wife is all right.”
“Wife? Husband?” Adriana chokes. “What?”
“It’s nothing,” I mutter to her.
“It’s not nothing,” Nikolai responds. “You could have been hurt. I didn’t want that to happen.”
His word choice is… strange. But I can’t make sense of it before my father returns.
“What are you doing here?” he asks Nikolai.
Nikolai squares off against my father. “Gregory. How is your wife? I heard she was hurt in the accident.”
“She was.”
“And one of your daughters. A shame.”
“Yes. It is.”
“This could have been prevented,” Nikolai says. “Just remember that.”
My body stiffens. Is… was Nikolai behind this? He did threaten to kill my father and mother if he didn’t get me. Did he resort to this ‘accident’ just to force my father’s hand?
My father’s face contorts into pure fury. “I will decide on my own terms.”
“No, Gregory. You will decide on my terms. And it’s time. You can’t put it off forever. Allow me and Lana to be married. I don’t want another accident to happen. I don’t want Lana getting hurt.”
“Did you cause this?” I ask Nikolai.
He keeps his eyes on my father. “Well, Gregory?”
“I will give you my decision after I know about the state of my daughter. Now leave.”
Nikolai inclines his head. “All right. But you will tell me soon.” He starts walking away and I can’t help but follow after. I need answers.
“Did you cause this?” I ask him again.
“Lana, get back here,” my father orders. I ignore him and keep my eyes on Nikolai.
“Did you cause this?”
“You weren’t supposed to be hurt,” Nikolai says. “I don’t want that to happen. But your father is a stubborn man, Lana. Too stubborn. Something had to give.” There’s only coldness in Nikolai’s eyes.
I watch in horror as he walks away, knowing the man I’ll soon be married to – the man who is desperate enough for me to cause my family to be hurt – is the reason my sister is in surgery right now.
Nikolai said he gets what he wants.
My father glares at me as I walk back to him. “I told you to listen to me.”
“Marry me to him. Before Elena gets hurt again. Before Adriana gets hurt. I will not have my sisters killed because of your stubbornness. Because of your pride.”
“What is going on?” Adriana asks.
Both me and my father ignore her. “You don’t get to talk to me like this,” he threatens.
“I will do my duty, Father. If it means saving this family. Even if you don’t deserve it.”
His eye twitches but other than that, he gives no indication of how angry he is. I have only seen my father truly angry once before in my life. When I saw him smack my mother across the face during a heated argument. He has never hit her since then.
But I think I’ve always hated him after that.
A doctor approaches us and gently tells us that Elena made it out of surgery and should have a full recovery. I brush past my father and go straight to the room Elena is in, since I know he won’t come here. Elena needs someone to comfort her during her recovery.
I hold Elena’s hand as she sleeps. She looks more like a doll than a human right now. At peace.
My life is the opposite of peace right now. It’s all descending into chaos.
Elena has to stay in the hospital while my mother gets to come home. After Elena woke up, I promised I’d be back soon. I didn’t mention Nikolai or my impending marriage to him. She needs to focus on healing right now and doesn’t need the extra stress.
Waiting on our doorstep is a box with a bow on it and a note attached to it. Father opens the note and reads it silently to himself but the look of anger on his face is obvious.
“I’m tired,” Mother says as she grips her crutches. “I just want to lie down.”
I pick up the box before my father can and open it. The sight of white stares back at me. With a frown, I pull the white fabric out of the box… to reveal a wedding dress.
It’s obvious who the note is from.
Nikolai is staking his claim on me and there’s no fighting it.