17. Chapter 17
“I’ll get it,” Cassie yells as she races toward the door.
The kids were beyond ecstatic when I told them that they’d be meeting their προπαππο?δε? και γιαγι?δε? (great-grandparents) for the first time today. My heart clenches, wishing my πατ?ρα? (dad) could be here to meet them too, but that will never happen, thanks to my so-called family. I shake off my melancholy thoughts at the sound of γιαγι?? (grandmas) voice.
“Well, hello, precious. You must be Miss Cassandra,” γιαγι? (grandma) says, her voice floating down the hall, and I can just see her pinching Cassie’s cheeks. Her almost instant giggle confirms it.
“Uh-huh, but you can call me Cassie. That’s what Mama calls me.”
Wiping my hands off on a towel, I set it down on the counter and head toward the front door as I listen to the kids introduce themselves.
Almost instantly, I’m engulfed in γιαγι?? (grandmas) arms.
“ Λουλο?δι μου (My flower), I’ve missed you,” γιαγι? (grandma) whispers into my ear.
“Missed you, too, γιαγι? (grandma). So much.”
I tighten my arms around her and after a few moments, she steps back and then I’m wrapped in παππο? (grandpas) arms.
“ ?χουμε την πλ?τη σου, λουλο?δι μου (We’ve got your back, my flower),” παππο?? (grandpa) whispers in my ear, which brings tears to my eyes and I close them to keep Stephan from seeing them.
After the introductions are done, γιαγι? (grandma) whisks me into the kitchen. “ Λουλο?δι μου (My flower), what do you still need help with?”
Clearing my throat, I look around my kitchen, wishing we were back in hers instead. Ours is cramped with not nearly enough cabinet or counter space. “Well, I just pulled the roasted turkey out of the oven. The lamb and potatoes are tented on the stove. We’ve got mashed garlic potatoes, salad, fruit and veggies, and for dessert, I made some baklava and a pumpkin pie.”
Γιαγι?? (Grandmas) eyes turn misty, and she pulls me in for another hug. “ Λουλο?δι μου (My flower), you’ve done your roots proud. I can tell by the smells that this is going to be a delicious meal.”
Emotions bombard me, and I fight not to cry. “Thank you, γιαγι? . That means so much to me.”
“Now,” γιαγι? says as she pulls back and dabs at her eyes. “Let’s set everything out. I also brought baklava and bougatsa.”
My mouth waters as we pull all the food out and set everything out on the counters and island. While Stephan doesn’t like me cooking Greek food, I still do it and my kids absolutely love to eat anything Greek. Though, until today, I haven’t spoken any Greek since that first time a few months after I’d been kidnapped. That beating had resulted in my first ER visit. Hopefully, I won’t endure another beating tonight for speaking Greek, but if I don’t speak it, my παππο?? και γιαγι? (grandparents) will know right away that something’s wrong. I just hope Stephan will realize that.
Shaking my head, I refocus on the food. The roasted turkey has a rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest glaze. Thankfully, our kitchen has double ovens, the only upside to this kitchen in my opinion, so I was even able to make honey glazed roast lamb with potatoes at the same time. Lamb is a must for my family. Every single big family gathering I can remember had at least one lamb dish provided. Baklava and bougatsa are traditional Greek desserts and I can’t wait to dig into them. I haven’t had them in years since Stephan’s never allowed us to have a large gathering like this.
Over the years, I’ve learned to keep our holiday dinners small and not very complicated. It didn’t make sense to go all out when half the time the food ended up strewn across the kitchen because he’d find some fault in it. I pray he won’t say anything about the food today. I know my παππο?? και γιαγι? (grandparents) will counter anything he says with their own thoughts, which will end up with me being punished later. He hates it when anyone questions what he says or what he does. Especially in front of other men.
Ten minutes later, everything is set out, and I walk into the living room, pausing at what I see.
Despite turning seventy earlier this summer, παππο?? (grandpa) is sitting on the floor, playing with ponies and toy motorcycles and cars with all three of my kids. Smiling, I pull out my phone and snap a couple of pictures.
My throat tightens with emotion again as I hug my phone to my chest, hating that my kids had to wait so long to meet their προπαππο?δε? και γιαγι?δε? (great-grandparents). I also hate that πατ?ρα? (dad) was taken from me because he would have loved them all to pieces.
Spying Stephan enter the room out of the corner of my eye, I shake off my emotions and slip my phone into my pocket. “Time to eat, everyone,” I call out and Cassie jumps up in excitement.
“Yay! I’ve been hungry all day smelling everything as it was cooking. You’re going to love it, Grandpa. Mama’s a really good cook,” she says as she takes παππο? (grandpas) hand, eagerly leading him into the kitchen.
Not being able to resist it, I smile and chuckle at her excitement and adorable, smiling face as she beams up at παππο?? (grandpa).
Παππο?? (Grandpa) laughs. “ ?γγελοε (Angel), I’m sure everything is going to be delicious. She had a very good teacher,” he says with a smile as he winks at γιαγι? , who blushes despite their years together and smiles lovingly back at him.
Cassie pauses as she looks up at παππο?? (grandpa) in confusion. “What does that mean? ?- ?… γγε… λοv ?”
Παππο?? (Grandpa) smiles as he looks down at her. “ ?γγελοε ,” he repeats for her, but a bit slower. “It means ‘Angel’.”
The smile that lights up her face is one of pure happiness as she turns to me. “Mama! He calls me Angel, just like you do!”
My smile widens as I lean down, kissing the top of her head.
Stephan grunts, and my smile dims slightly as worry swirls in my gut. He makes a beeline for the plates, and γιαγι? goes to chide him, but I catch her eye, slightly shaking my head. She frowns, but says nothing as she steps back, letting him go first.
Normally, guests eat first otherwise we all eat together or the men eat first. But Stephan should have let παππο?? (grandpa) eat first. However, here, if Stephan’s home, he demands that he gets to eat first since he’s the one paying for everything.
Once he has his plate, I take Cassie’s hand, placing myself closest to Stephan, just in case he decides to lash out for some reason. Something passes over παππο? (grandpas) eyes when he sees me doing that, but it’s gone just as quickly. Clearing my throat, I try to keep things flowing as smoothly as possible.
“Let’s get you a plate, Angel.”
My παππο?? και γιαγι? (grandparents) help Isaiah and Ash get their plates, and then, when they are seated at the table with their glasses of water, we all load up our own plates and take a seat as well.
Everyone eats and after the first few bites of food, γιαγι? gives me a wink, and my shoulders relax slightly. I’m a little rusty with some of the dishes. I had to go off memory for the recipes since I don’t have my beloved cookbooks, and it’s a relief that she thinks my food tastes good.
“So, Mary, what have you been up to all these years?” παππο?? (grandpa) asks and my fork freezes halfway to my mouth. Partially because of his question, and the other that he called me by name instead of λουλο?δι μου (my flower) like he usually does.
Swallowing, I give him a small smile, hoping what I say won’t trigger an outburst from Stephan. I try not to look at him to gauge how he’s feeling, but it’s hard. It’s also hard that I’m going to have to lie to my παππο?? και γιαγι? (grandparents). I just hope they buy it.
“Well, I was blessed to be able to stay at home to raise my babies. Ash is in fourth grade, Isaiah is in second, and Cassie is now in pre-school.”
Γιαγι? (Grandma) gets a far-away look in her eye before reaching over and patting my arm, which is easy since she’s seated to my right and Stephan’s to my left.
“I remember those days. What will you do when our ?γγελου (angel) goes to kindergarten next year?”
I lick my lips, dreading that this question came up. “I don’t know, honestly, but I’ve got some time to think about it.”
Stephan frowns at that, and I silently beg my παππο?? και γιαγι? not to push on the topic any further. Thankfully, the conversation moves from me, and γιαγι? starts asking the kids questions about what they like to do and their interests.
“I love to color and watch my princess movies,” Cassie says around a mouth full of garlic mashed potatoes.
“Cassie, Angel, don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude,” I chide, and she gives me an apologetic look before quickly looking at Stephan and then back at me.
She finishes eating her food and swallows, though I can tell her little body has tensed up. “Sorry, Mama.”
I give her a nod that she’s okay and go to say something myself, but Isaiah speaks up first.
“I like playing with my cars and motorcycles. Mama sometimes lets me watch the car shows where they work on them and restore them.”
Παππο?? (Grandpa) leans forward, resting his forearms on the table, and his eyes twinkle as he looks at Isaiah. Oh, boy. I know where this conversation is heading, and γιαγι? and I share a knowing look.
“You know, I’ve got an old first-generation convertible Mustang sitting in my garage that I’ve been restoring over the years. It first came out when I was ten years old. My pops used to have one, and when I saw that same car for sale years later, I knew I had to have it. Even if I did need to restore almost the entire interior and the engine needed some work. There are a few body panels that need some fixing and when it’s all done, it’ll get a new paint job as well. Maybe you’d like to help me work on it sometime?”
Isaiah’s jaw drops as he stares at παππο?? . “Are you serious?” he whispers, his voice shaking slightly with excitement.
Παππο?? nods as he smiles at him. “Dead serious. In my opinion, it’s important to know how to fix at least the basics with cars. Same for things around the house.” He pauses as he nods his head toward Stephan and me. “As long as it’s okay with your parents, you can come and help me. My garage is heated, so we won’t be out there freezing or anything.”
I quickly look at Stephan. He’s watching παππο?? with a look I can’t decipher before his face hardens slightly.
My heart sinks. Shit.
“We’ll see,” he replies, and Isaiah’s shoulders and face fall.
We all know what ‘we’ll see’ means when Stephan says it.
It means it’ll never happen.
Γιαγι? (Grandma) clears her throat and I’m thankful for the break in charged silence. “Ash, what things do you like to do, dear?”
Ash looks at Stephan for a beat before looking down at his plate. “I like playing cars with Isaiah, drawing, and I like animals. Someday I want to be a veterinarian.”
Stephan scoffs at that and Ash’s little body tenses, not looking up from his plate. Slowly he takes a bite of food and I clear my throat, trying to get Stephan’s attention off the kids.
“What have you both been up to? The family?”
Thankfully, the redirection works, but I can tell from the tension rolling off Stephan that he’s reaching his limit. However, γιαγι? takes my question for what it is and the attention is off all of us. For now, at least.
I learned that θε?α (aunt) Catherine, who is the eldest of my παππο?? και γιαγι?’ (grandparents’) five kids, had her third baby, Rosa, earlier this summer, which was a complete shock to everyone since she’s in her early fifties. I had stared at γιαγι? in shock as well, but she just smiled, happy to have another grandbaby, and continued talking about the rest of our family. Then again, as long as Catherine and Rosa are okay and healthy, that’s all that matters in my opinion.
Θε?ο? (Uncle) Daniil, who is the second oldest, is now married and they have one child. I knew that he had joined the marines after high school. Apparently, when his current tour is up next summer, he’s decided not to reenlist and instead retire after thirty-four years of service, wanting to focus more on his family. The two youngest of my θε?ε? (aunts), Selena and Sofia, have decided to both stop at two kids each and they’ve been up at θε?α (aunt) Catherine’s house a lot after the birth to help her settle in.
Πατ?ρα? (Dad) had been the middle child. For years, I had wished for him to find someone that made him happy and maybe have another baby. I’d always wanted a sibling, but unfortunately, he never remarried. I know he’d seen a few women when I was a teenager, but nothing serious had ever happened with their relationships.
When everyone’s done eating, I get up and clear the plates away, telling my παππο?? και γιαγι? that I got it when they get up to help. Both of them eye Stephan for not getting up to help me, which has him clenching his jaw even harder than he was before. His fists curl under the table and ice slides down my spine.
My hands tremble when I set down both of the Baklava dishes, bougatsa, and the pumpkin pie, making sure the pie is near Stephan, as I know that’s the only thing he’ll touch. I hope no one notices my trembling hands, but when I look up, I know they all did. Even the kids. My παππο?? και γιαγι? share a quick, concerned look before it disappears.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Stephan intently staring at my hands. His lips tick up in one corner as he clocks that he’s knocked me off kilter, which has more ice sliding down my spine. Whenever he does that, it doesn’t bode well for me. I swallow down my panic as I retake my seat. However, when I take my first bite of the bougatsa, I can’t help but moan slightly at the taste, my shaky hands forgotten. I’ve greatly missed eating Greek food.
We continue chatting about my side of the family. Occasionally, the kids ask questions, but Stephan says nothing else through the remainder of the meal.
When we’re all done with dessert, I put everything away and we move into the living room. Thankfully, the rest of the evening is mostly uneventful.
When nine o’clock rolls around, the kids are barely able to keep their eyes open after playing and eating so much. Normally I would have had them in bed earlier, but I made an exception tonight so that they could spend more time with my παππο?? και γιαγι? .
“We should go so that you can get the little ones to bed. Call me later this weekend and we can set up a time to come and see you and the kids again. One day isn’t enough to catch up on so much missed time,” γιαγι? says as she gives me a hug.
I wince internally, and Stephan gives her a hard look. “Because of the cases and divisions I was assigned to over the years, it was critical that we cut off ties with our families. We had wanted to wait to start our own family until after I was done with my assignments, but then we were surprised by Asher. Since we already had one, we decided not to fight nature, and the others soon followed after.”
Παππο?? stands, and I’m not able to decipher the look he gives Stephan. “All the same, we’d like to reconnect and get to know our great-grandchildren and our granddaughter again.” He pauses and turns to me, giving me his usual soft smile. “Maria is right. Too much time has passed and we miss you.”
Ignoring how tense Stephan is, I step forward and give παππο?? a hug. “I’ve missed both of you as well. Σε αγαπ? (I love you).”
He tightens his arms around me. “ Κι εγ? σ’ αγαπ? (I love you too), λουλο?δι μου (my flower).”
He lets me go and then kneels on the ground in front of the kids. “Come here,” he growls playfully and Cassie giggles as she leads the pack, racing into his arms. Ash steps to the right of Cassie and Isaiah to the left of her as all three of them hug him tightly.
Smiling down at them, I force myself to keep a happy smile on my face when, in fact, I’m anxious beyond belief and praying to every deity right now that this works.
The kids step back and hug γιαγι? as she smothers them with kisses. Παππο?? stands and puts both his hands in his slacks pockets. He smiles down at the kids and when he looks up at me; he gives me a slight nod.
Asher’s the first to break away, and he comes to my side, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I’m so happy Grandma ran into you at the store and that they’re here now,” he says quietly, and I ruffle his hair before resting my hand on his shoulder.
“Me too, Hawk, me too.”
He hugs me again, and as he pulls back, I feel his finger lightly tap three times against my back. That, along with the nod παππο?? gave me, means that he’s passed him the scan drive.
I’d fretted about doing it this way for weeks, afraid that by doing it like this, Stephan would hurt Ash if he was caught. But Ash made a good point when he told me about his idea. That Stephan’s focus would be mostly on me and making sure I didn’t do anything wrong. If I were to give the scan drive to him, I’d most likely be caught and then our chance for escape would be completely blown away. Not to mention Stephan would then have my proof of snooping around.
“Love you, munchkins. We’ll see you soon,” γιαγι? says as she waves before heading out the door. Παππο?? waves as well and then closes the door behind them.
Stephan walks to the window to watch them leave. I don’t miss the increased tension and anger wafting off him now that they’re gone. It’s even more intense than it was a minute ago. I need to get the kids to bed and out of sight before he snaps.
Quietly, I usher the kids down the hall and upstairs to the bathroom, where they all start brushing their teeth. Taking out Cassie’s hair ties, I run a comb through her hair. Their little bodies are all tense, their muscles tight, as they feel the same tension in the air that I do. My gut churns, worried that this time will be the time when Stephan fully snaps. When he does, I just hope the kids will be safe.
Ash gives me a worried look in the mirror before spitting out his toothpaste. I shake my head slightly when I catch his gaze again. I don’t want him saying anything and possibly triggering Stephan and I definitely don’t want his anger directed at them.
Within minutes, I’ve got them all tucked into bed, and I’m just closing Ash’s door when I’m suddenly yanked backwards.
I stumble and then find myself being flung into our room. Stephan shuts the door, but in his anger, he doesn’t realize that he’s left the door slightly ajar.
Oh, fuck.
With the crazy glint in his eyes, I know I’m about to be punished for something. Did he see Ash slipping παππο?? the scan drive? Or is it something else?
“Time for your punishments for tonight,” he sneers.
“W-What did I do wrong?” I swallow the bile that rises and try to calm my trembling body.
The look on his face turns even more menacing and dangerous. “You didn’t get them off our trail fast enough, and now your grandfather is suspicious of me.”
Well, that really isn’t my fault, I think to myself. If he wasn’t the type of man that he is, then he would have behaved like a normal husband. Instead, his inability to do anything but sit there and keep his mouth shut for almost the entire day and sending constant glares will always make people suspicious. Something in me snaps, and I find myself speaking up when I know I should have remained silent.
“That’s not my fault. You sat there all afternoon, not speaking and glaring at everyone. Of course, that would make them suspicious. It would make anyone suspicious.”
He backhands me and pain explodes around my eye.
“Your job is to make sure nobody suspects anything. I can do whatever the fuck I want. I’m the man of this house. Not only did you fail, but I had to sit through this stupid tradition, choke down your disgusting fucking food that you insisted we have, listen to you all speaking another fucking language, and having those fucking people in my house all fucking day,” he yells, and then backhands me again, but this time it’s so hard; I stumble, falling to the floor as black dots dance across my vision.
“I had to speak Greek to them. They would have been suspicious if I hadn’t,” I pant as I try to push up off the floor.
His hand latches around my throat as his face contorts in rage and he pins me back down on the floor. “You had better not told them anything when you were speaking in that fucking stupid language. If I find out you did, you’re fucking done.”
What little breath I have left in me explodes out of me as he lands a punch to my stomach while still squeezing my neck.
“And most importantly, don’t forget that I own you. I can do whatever the fuck I want with you. To you. You know better than to ask questions of me like that. To talk back to me like that. That little misstep is going to cost you big time, Mary. That and along with your punishments for everything else you’ve fucked up today.”
He squeezes harder and my vision starts to darken as I claw at his hands, desperate to breathe.
After a few moments, he lets me go, and I fall to the floor, gasping for air.
However, as soon as I get a good breath, it goes whooshing out of me as he kicks me, hard, in the stomach. The next second, his fists rain down on me as he spews threat after threat at me.
Every now and then, he’d stop before spewing more bullshit about how I messed up and then he would start beating me again.
I’m not sure how long the beating goes on for, but I’m barely hanging onto consciousness when I hear an alarm go off on his phone. This is by far the worst beating he’s ever given me.
Ever.
My entire body throbs. I swear I hurt from the tips of my hair all the way down to my toes. A metallic taste coats my tongue and I know it’s my blood. It’s not the first time I’ve tasted it.
My entire body is probably black and blue by now. Not to mention that at some point, he’d taken out his pocketknife. While I am beyond thankful that he didn’t stab me, I have a bunch of cuts all over my body, including one on my face, which surprises me. Then again, I know my face is swelling up, so I’m sure he didn’t care about adding another mark.
“Lucky for you, bitch, I have to get ready for my shift.”
He grabs a fistful of my hair, and a cry escapes when he yanks my head back, hard.
“You better still be here when I get back home. If I find out you went to the hospital, I’ll start killing those fucking leeches, starting with your bastard son. After you’ve watched all three of them die a horrible death, it’ll be your turn. Now, do as I say and stay the fuck inside. We’ll be finishing our little discussion tonight. Things will be different from here on out, or I’ll make sure no one will find you and those fucking pests.”
The menace in his voice sends a shiver of fear through me and he grins darkly when he sees the fear in my eyes. He slams my head against the floor a couple of times and my vision swims again. Instantly, I’m seeing double.
I try to stay conscious while he cleans himself up quickly and washes away my blood. My vision returns back to normal, and I hope that this means I don’t have a concussion. When he comes back in our room, he strips, throwing his bloody clothes in the hamper before putting on his uniform. Darkness rims my vision and I hope that παππο?? is able to get the scan drive to Luke and Sam, because I’m not so sure if I’ll survive this beating, let alone the next twelve hours until Stephan comes home again. And when he does return, I’m sure it’ll mean more pain.
The last thing I see of him is his dress shoes as he stalks out of our room without another word. Then my eyes focus on the boots he had on, which are now sitting by the dresser, the tips covered in blood. Next to that is our hamper and I can see the blood on his jeans from where he had wiped his pocket knife a few times.
My blood.
The slamming of the door leading into the garage tells me that Stephan has left and some of the tension in my muscles bleeds away. I pray the kids didn’t hear any of this and are still safely tucked in their beds.
With that thought, I finally give in and let the darkness surround me.