Chasing

Chapter 2|funeral

MILENA
"...if you need anything just call me, dear, okay?"my second aunt, Roksana, from my mom's side gave me a warm hug. I gave her a nod and pulled back. Her teary eyes looked at me then at Alina who was holding my hand tightly, her tears not stopping.
Roksana gave one last pitying look at me and left to her husband. I took the handkerchief from my pocket and kneeled down in front of her.
"Don't cry, Alina. I'm with you. I'm gonna take care of you just like mom did."I said softly wiping her tears off.
"But what if I miss her? Why did she leave me? Did I do something wrong?"I waited until she finished saying everything she has been thinking off.
"You didn't do anything, Alina. Angles saw how our mom was a nice person and decided to take her with them to heaven. We all miss her too. But look, I'm with you. We are gonna stay strong for mom, right?"I smiled holding her hands. She nodded sniffing and looked up. Slightly confused I turned back and saw Marat. Even tho he was two years younger than me, he always acts like he is in charge of everything. It's almost ridiculous to be honest.
"I'm taking Adrian home. He fell asleep, and dad says he will stay back for a bit."he said looking everywhere but me. I knew he cried a lot. We all loved mom equally, but Marat's love for mom was in another level. Even his hair looked messy, which was something unusual, keeping in mind he never left the house without standing in front of a mirror for more than 30 minutes.
"Take Alina too. I'm gonna stay here a bit longer."he gave me a nod holding his hand for Alina to take. Alina hesitated for a moment but eventually gave up, since she was exhausted from this event. Even tho she was ten and third child in our family, she didn't get along with Marat and Adrian, who is two years younger than her. While me, as the oldest child, get along with three of them equally. Tho sometimes dealing with Marat and Alina when they fight is equal being taught by my maths teacher. Trust me she is everything but a good person.
I stood up and watched them walk to the car and get into it. I walked over to my mom's grave and saw father staring at it blankly. As if sensing my presence he stiffened a bit and turned to look at me.
"They left?"he asked.
"Who is that woman?"I asked him ignoring his question. He was caught off guard by my question so I continued, "We both know that I'm smart enough to understand how things work. Who is that woman?"I asked him again. My voice sounded fierce, not what I expected.
"It doesn't concern-"
"It does concern me, since it was the cause of mom's death."I cut him off.
"You are in no position to tell me what to do. I'm your father."he clenched his jaw looked at me with hurt and regret in his eyes. For a moment I remembered about times we used to spend time together, how he cheered me up by taking me to restaurants when I felt down and all the good memories started flowing in my mind.
"You are, father. But you are mistaken if you think I would let you off the hook after what you did."I didn't back down. I wasn't born to give up midway. Never.
"Do not challenge me, Milena."he warned me.
"Already did. Try to stop me, dad."I left without waiting for his response.
I may or may not do something that may put me and my siblings in danger or not. That's a possibility according to my calculations, but if that means giving my siblings a happy life I can go that far too.