Morozov

Chapter 54

I'll have to write a trigger warning here before the chapter starts. This is the night when Mallory's father killed her cat so if you're sensitive you might want to skip this.

I was sitting on my bed watching the Adam's family with Filip. I was lying on my side while he was leaning against the framing of my bed, playing with a strand of my blonde hair.

He was my safe space and since I had a shitty day already, he watched a movie with me and canceled his plans to go out.

"She looks pretty cute with those pink hair clippers" I muttered earning his attention. "Mal you say that every time we watch this god forsaken movie" he mocked me while slightly pulling on the strand of my hair causing me to grimace at him. He knew how much I hated it.

My cat jumped on my bed and lay down between us so I started petting her when a horrific scream echoed through our house.

Filip and I jolted up and even my cat flinched.

"Is that a prank?" Filip asked, looking nowhere in particular to listen closely and I mimicked him.

"No" I shook my head. "That sounded too real. That sounded like-" "Grandpa" Filip finished before we immediately jumped up and ran downstairs.

Niveen came running towards us already with the most terrified look on her face. "What happened?" I asked.

"I- We didn't want that to happen. He just collapsed" she said before we reached the room.

Grandpa was lying on the floor, unconscious and my grandma leaned over him, crying. "What happened?" I asked but I could sense it the second I saw a pile of white sheets on the floor.

"We just wanted to prank them. We didn't want to kill him" one of Niveen's friends cried.

"Call an ambulance" I instructed Filip who was checking the old man's pulse. "Is he alive?" "Yes" he nodded before taking out his phone.

I did the same and was more than relieved when the person on the other line answered the call.

"Mal?"

"Marvolo?" I said with my voice trembling.

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, the tone in my voice setting off every alarm in his head.

"It's grandpa he- I think he had a heart attack."

"I'm coming" he said before hanging up.

"How dare you allow that to happen?" my father yelled furious as I was standing in the kitchen after the ambulance drove off.

"I didn't kno-" "Spare me with your lies you unworthy little brat" he spat causing me to flinch and close my eyes at his words.

"Dad it wasn't her fault-" "No Niveen, it was her fault. She's the older sister. She should have kept an eye on you" he interrupted in a calm voice before turning back to me.

"But I'm the older brother of both of them" Filip said desperately. "But you're a boy. Boys are boys. But she as the oldest girl in the house should have seen that coming."

"That makes no sense, Gabriel" my mother intervened but it was no use. He made his decision already. And it was not in my favor.

"Father punish me, not her" "No one will get punished. That was a tragic accident but it happened and we can't return it" my mother interrupted Filip.

"Oh no I won't punish him or her" the angry man said, gesturing his head to Filip and then me in sync with his words.

"I'll punish the cat."