Vasily tugged on his older brother's shirt sleeve and looked up at him. "Oregano, when will mama be home? She said she would be home before dark," he whispered, then looked out of the bedroom window. Oregano looked down at Vasily and gave him a reassuring smile. "Go lay down, Vasily. It's late," he replied. "Everything will be fine. Get some rest."
Vasily returned a smile and scrambled over to his bed. Jumping on the mattress, he yanked the covers over himself and laid down. "I'm in bed now, Oregano. Goodnight," he said, then flopped on his side.
Oregano gave another small smile and looked out of the window. Opening it up, he stuck his head out of it. It didn't bother him that their mother was late. She often came home after dark ever since she started working two jobs instead of one. What worried him was that their father was out. And when he usually left the house, he was most likely drunk.
Frowning, he looked down and around the front of their house. He couldn't see anyone from where he was on the third level, which meant their father hadn't ended up on the front lawn again.
At the sound of two gunshots, Oregano pulled his head quickly back inside and shut the window. Locking it, he leaned against the wall. Vasily had sat bolt upright in bed, and was staring wide eyed at Oregano.
"What was that?" He whispered in a low voice. Oregano walked over to Vasily's bed and sat down next to him. Wrapping his arm around his younger brother, he gave a sigh. "Nothing, Vasily. Everything will be fine. Just fine."
