Sem'ya means Family

Chapter 1 - Tovarin

   Sometimes you just don't get to choose. Sometimes things happen and they're out of your control. Sometimes your life seems to spiral into insanity. And sometimes you end up sitting in a police station because of it.

It doesn't even have to be your fault.

Mark's eyes flutter closed as he inhales deeply, leaning back against the brick wall of the station as he shifts uncomfortably on the wooden bench. His mind reverts back to the first time he ever had a need to come here, focussing on the reason behind it.

There was an accident about a month ago. Hit and run. Mark didn't see it, but he had to speak to the police about it anyway. They had to talk to him about what was to happen now that his mother was gone.

He never met his father. Actually, he never heard about him at all. Mark figured that his parents had a horrific falling out and that his mum just didn't want to live in the past. Or maybe his father passed away and it hurt her too much to talk about. Anastasia was the only family that Mark had – no siblings, no father and no extended family that he knew of. But some asshole managed to run her down with absolutely no eye-witnesses to the fact, leaving Mark completely alone and the killer still out there.

Mark's mother had been good friends with a few members of the police force before the accident. They jumped at the case as soon as it was presented to them, racing to try and track down Mark's father as quickly as possible. They found absolutely nothing on the father. However, they did determine that Mark wasn't entirely alone.

The police had been excited to break the news to Mark that they had tracked down a relative. His mother had changed her family name not long before Mark was born, and this gave the police a new identity to compare the files of – they could check the records against her birth name to look further back into her past. And it ended up being a breakthrough.

Anastasia had a brother.

Why she had never mentioned him is beyond Mark, but he supposes they just weren't close. Maybe he lived abroad and they lost contact over the years?

The important thing is that the police had found Mark's uncle. They instantly began working on getting in contact with him to tell him that his sister was gone and that he's entitled to be his nephew's guardian.

And that's why Mark is back here, in this police station once again.

His eyes flicker open as he feels a hand nudge his thigh, somewhat roughly. Mark turns his head to look at the eighteen-year-old boy beside him – Scott.

Scott has been Mark's best friend since they started school together when they were five, just over twelve years ago. Scott's mother, Tamara, didn't hesitate to offer Mark a place to stay until things were sorted out. Mark is incredibly grateful for it all – especially for the fact that he has never needed to hide who he is from either of them.

"Dude... Look," Scott murmurs, not even sparing Mark a glance. Rather, his gaze is locked on the two men that have just entered the police station. Mark does as he is told, peering through the window separating the front lobby from the room that the two boys are in, inspecting the man who appears to be leading.

The man's jaw is set, his focus on the reception desk of the station, as he walks purposefully towards it. He has on a navy, button-up dress shirt and a heavy, black suit over the top, with black dress shoes to finish it off. His shirt is tucked into his pants, showing a black-leather belt with a large, silver buckle. A hint of an expensive-looking gold watch is visible just beneath his sleeves. His black hair is styled in a buzz-cut and seems to be turning silver around the edges. Mark places him in his mid-forties as he takes in the no-nonsense expression that the man is sporting.