Chapter 21 #2
Alexei didn’t tell me where were going and I didn’t ask.
I don’t know if this is having trust in him or just my shutting down and not wanting to think about any of this any longer.
I feel exhausted suddenly. I hope wherever we’re going, the bed is soft and it’s fucking quiet.
I just want to lie down and sleep until morning.
There’s light talk between everyone in the car, but no one really bugs me or addresses me directly unless they have to. I guess they’re trying to be respectful. After all, my dad is in the hospital, even if he is the villain of this story.
We turn down a dirt road and travel for about a mile through dense forest before the lane opens up to a clearing.
The car comes to a stop in front of a beautiful cabin.
It looks like something out of a Hallmark movie with a big wraparound porch with a swing on one side of it.
The cushions are covered with tarps to protect them from the weather, but I can see it still functions. It sways in the wind a little.
There’s a second floor, I can see from the windows. I imagine that’s where the bedrooms are. And it has a chimney that looks like it’s made entirely from large rocks.
We get out of the car and I can’t help but wonder whose cabin this is. Was it solely Alexei’s? And if it is, is it really safe? I look around at the woods around us. The sun is starting to set and shadows are beginning to move through the trees.
“We’re going to need to get the water heater going,” said Dmitri, “open the windows for about an hour to air it out. Take the tarps and blankets off the furniture…”
“It’ll be fine,” Anya says. “We can do all that within the hour.”
I’m just standing here looking at the cabin. Is this going to be enough to keep us safe? The woods are so dark around us, even though it’s almost noon.
I feel Alexei’s arm wrap around my shoulder. “Go on inside with Anya,” he says. “Help her get the house together. Dmitri and I have to secure the perimeter.”
“Wh–Whose house is this?” I ask him. I need to know so that I know we’ll be safe.
He smirks at me and replies, “Mine. One of many properties I own… and most importantly, the only one that my father is unaware of. In fact, the only person who isn’t here who knows about it is my brother.”
I nod. “That’s reassuring.” I study his face, looking for the truth behind his eyes. He smiles at me and brushes a bit of my hair out of my eyes. Something inside me relaxes.
Anya takes my hand. “Come on, we’re burning daylight.”
She pulls me away from him and into the house.
As soon as we walk over the threshold, a rush of stale air hits me.
I can see dust particles floating in the air on the sunlight coming in from the windows.
Everything has been covered in white sheets.
All the furniture, anyway. Anya immediately goes over to the couch-shaped sheet and pulls it, and a flurry of dust rises into the air.
She waves it away and coughs. “Why don’t you open a window?
We’re probably inhaling a year’s worth of dust from these sheets. ”
I walk over to the nearest window and open it, then I go to the next one and do the same. I start helping her uncover all the furniture, and the movement and all the dust start to irritate my nose… and my stomach.
I’ve been queasy off and on for the entire trip, but I’ve been able to keep it down. I don’t know how long we’re going to be staying in this dusty wooden cage, but it sucks that I’ll probably be throwing up for at least the beginning of it.
I suddenly taste bile at the back of my throat, a telltale sign that I’m going to blow any second.
I drop the sheet I’m holding and cover my mouth, looking to Anya in desperation.
She sees me and it takes half a second for her to realize that if I don’t find a bathroom soon, whatever was left of my last meal will be on the floor.
She points to her left. “Downstairs bathroom is right down that hall.”
I rush off in that direction, finding the bathroom to the right of the hallway.
I push open the door and throw myself at the toilet just as another round of vomit comes hurtling up.
I heave what feels like an entire lifetime’s worth of regurgitated food into the toilet, going until my back starts to ache.
Then in exhaustion, I lean my head on the toilet seat, praying for the dry heaves to stop.
That was a pretty bad one. I hope there are crackers somewhere in this place or else I’m going to lose twenty pounds by tomorrow.
“Are you sick?”
I look up to see Anya at the doorway. I nod as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “Food poisoning, I think,” I tell her. I get up and go to the sink to wash my mouth out. “I don’t know. It suddenly came on this morning and… what?”
She’s giving me this strange look. It’s not disbelief or anything like that. Her eyes are just moving over my face as she bites her bottom lip. “Okay,” she says, “I’m going to ask you a delicate question. I’m hoping that we’re close enough for you not to be offended too much.”
That sounds cryptic as fuck. I stand up straight and regard her. She sighs.
“Your marriage… within the family—and when I say that, I mean the family. Alexei’s father, brother, me, Dmitri… Not the brotherhood. You understand?”
I nod.
“Okay. Within the family, we all know that your and Alexei’s marriage is one of convenience, business, whatever. To be completely honest, we were not even sure that Alexei would find you attractive when we first heard of your engagement.”
I scoff as I go back to rinsing out my mouth. Engagement. That’s a good one.
“In any event, knowing Alexei, he would insist that the two of you… consummate this marriage so that it can’t ever be challenged and—”
“Anya, are you asking if me and Alexei are fucking?”
Her face flushes slightly. “Not to be crass… but yes. I am asking just that.”
I just blink at her. What a weird question to ask right after I puke my guts out. “Don’t take this wrong or anything, but that’s really not anybody’s business.”
“Yes, well… it’s not as long as you are not pregnant… right?”
I reach for the hand towel as I scoff again. “Please. I’m not…”
My hand freezes in midair. Shit. When was my last period?
Oh… oh, no.
“Could it be possible,” she goes on. “I mean, on your wedding night, did you at least take precautions?”
I don’t have the words. I just stand there with hands dripping water on the side of the sink. It’s the last thing that I ever considered. The last thing…
“I can’t be pregnant,” I tell her, panic coming through in my voice. “Anya—”
“I know this isn’t exactly the most opportune time.” She sighs and runs a hand over her hair. “We will need supplies if we’re going to stay here indefinitely. I can make a run to the store before they return—”
“They won’t let you leave me alone,” I tell her.
“Okay, then I’ll go when they return. Listen, there’s no reason to panic until we know for sure.”
I nod and numbly grab the hand towel, drying my hands. She’s right. There’s no reason to think that this is anything other than a stomach bug. I can’t be pregnant. Not now. Now with all this going on.
I just… I just can’t be.