"We will be landing in thirty minutes!" The steward announced.
Only thirty minutes before Hector would find out that I didn't keep my promise. Though I was fuelled with motivation and power by Alexander and Nicolas, I was still scared.
What if things went bad? Like really bad? The thought of anybody getting hurt made me feel anxious. Hector was the biggest asshole ever but I didn't want him to get hurt. Everything had changed between us but I cannot find myself to stop caring about him.
Why did he have to be such a big idiot? I practically saw him as the embodiment of safety. I loved hugging him and I felt proud to be his favourite. That was gone now.
"Let's make a promise." Alexander grabbed my hand.
We were sitting next to each other. I've been sleeping on his shoulder for most of the ride. My heart was beating so fast with nerves and stress but calmed down every time I looked into his eyes.
"We're both going to get help, alright? I want us to be healthy both physically and mentally."
I hadn't told him about my dark thoughts and neither had Nicolas. Alexander probably noticed something was different about me or he realised how heavy this entire situation was weighing me down.
"Have you ever..." I couldn't finish my sentence.
He was already shaking his head.
"No, but I want to be a better version of myself." He admitted.
I haven't had a therapy session ever since Alexander and I became official. I felt like I didn't need it anymore. But I needed it now. I wanted to make sense out of whatever the fuck was happening. I wanted to work through my problems.
For now that was enough. Because realising you needed help was already a big step to take.
"We're going to be fine." I kissed his cheek.
We had to be. He was worth fighting for and I wasn't going to give up. I'll take the devil by both his horns and force him to accept our relationship.
////////////////////
My papa was the first one I spotted when I climbed out of the plane. He was dressed warmly because Januaries in New York City were cold. I froze and watched him carefully. Was this Hector's plan? He also set papa up against me?
"What's wrong?" Alexander placed his hand on my shoulder.
I searched for Hector but he was nowhere to be found. He didn't come? I'd expected him to be here but he wasn't. I don't know if that reassured me or not. What did it even mean that he wasn't here?
"Topolina." My papa called me.
He didn't look angry or disappointed but held his arms out for me. Alexander squeezed my shoulder in encouragement. I fell into my papa's arms as he tightly embrace me. I closed my eyes and focused on how nice his hug was. The last time I saw him was at the Christmas Party. He'd asked me for a dance but I said no.
"It'll be fine. Papa will take care of everything, alright?" He promised me.
I looked up at him in confusion but he just kissed my cheeks.
"You won't break us up?" I questioned.
Even if he wanted to, I wouldn't let him. Alexander and I were not going to break up again because of my family.
"No, Alexander is a good man. I trust him with you." He smiled warmly.
I laid my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He chuckled and caressed my hair but I was so happy that he supported me. That was all I wanted from him. I was scared that he'd react the same as Hector but he didn't.
"I talked to papa." Nicolas spoke up.
He stood with Leonardo who was greeting Nestor. I sent him a thankful smile. He'd promised me that he'll help me out and he was making sure that promise came true.
"You should head home. Especially, you Nico. It's time you introduce Nestor to the family." Papa insisted.
Nicolas nodded and got into the car with Leonardo and Nestor. We watched them drive off. Papa laid his arm around me and snuggled me against his side. His eyes fell on Alexander.
"I'll take her on a drive."
Alexander nodded and squeezed my hand softly.
"Come to me when you can, okay?"
I'd run over to him as soon as I can. I wanted to lay in his arms and see his pets again.
But there were things that I needed to sort out first.
//////////////
Papa drove us to a cemetery. I was confused but followed him out of the car. We walked for a while and I shivered sightly. That dark thought in my head was in the background now but it was still there. Being at a cemetery was like a slap in the face.
If I acted upon that thought, this is where I'd be.
That terrified me.
"Why are we here?" I asked impatiently.
I wanted to get out of here. It was cold and empty. I held tighter onto papa's arm. He patted my hand and continued to walk.
The cemetery was nice. There weren't any trees but a lot of greens and flowers. The ground was slightly covered with snow.
We walked a while until we reached the far part of the cemetery. I spotted a man sitting on a bench. He wore a nice coat and I could only see his broad shoulders and brown hair. I furrowed my brows because I immediately recognised who it was.
Hector.
"I don't want to talk to him." I muttered to papa.
I was in a good mood for once and I felt like a conversation with Hector would be emotionally draining. I was already drained enough but papa insisted that I walked further.
The closer we got, the more stress I felt. I wanted to confront Hector and put him in his place but a part of me was still scared. What if I make things worse? What if he looses his shit on me? What if he sent me away to Antarctica?
I know no one is allowed to go there but watch him make some calls and before you know it, I'm on Antarctica.
Hector turned his head towards us when we were a few feet removed from him. His eyes went to papa first before they settled on me. He scanned me carefully before looking away.
Something was off about him.
He was moving his left leg up and down and his hands were clammed together as if they couldn't stop shaking. I've never seen him this on edge before.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked papa.
If he wanted me to talk to Hector, that could've happened anywhere but here. Why did he want to meet up at a cemetery? This was just fucking weird.
"Sit down." He carefully sat me down next to Hector.
I squirmed in my seat because I felt uncomfortable next to him. Little things like these showed me how much has changed between my brother and I. Not for the better and it honestly saddened me that we reached this point.
"This was a very special place to our family for fifteen years." Papa pointed at the grass.
It wasn't a grave but just a patch of ground.
"You were buried there." Hector muttered.
My stomach dropped and I stared up at papa in shock. I was supposedly dead for fifteen years. They had buried me or the baby they thought was me. I'd never thought that I would visit my own grave. Even if it was gone, it freaked me out.
"The grave is gone?" I asked quietly.
Who had the buried? Was it some poor other infant who had died? What about its parents? They never got their child.
This was all just so fucked up.
"I got rid of it the moment I met you." Hector spoke.
The first time I met him was at a piano competition. I'd been mouthy with him but even then I was taken aback by how much we looked alike. It had thrown me off but I didn't know that he was my brother.
How did he know for certain that I was his supposed dead sister?
"What if I didn't turn out to be your sister?" I questioned.
Then he would've messed up the grave.
Wait, where did he put the body?!
"It's as clear as day that you're my little sister. Besides, I had tuna DNA test on the corpse that we'd buried. It didn't come out as a match."
I turned to him and tugged on my sleeves so that they'd covered my hands. I was fucking freezing my ass off.
"What did you do with the body?" I furrowed my brows.
Hector can be fucked up. I've gotten to know that side of him very well recently.
"Tracked down the parents. Riley Truman has been given a new grave." He muttered.
"Who had they buried then?" I gasped.
Papa stepped closer and softly caressed my hair with a sad smile.
"They believed that their child had been kidnapped from the hospital. They'd been waiting all this time for her to show up, not knowing that she'd been dead."
My heart broke for those poor parents. Dimitri Petrov's plan did not only affect my family but a lot more people.
May the asshole burn in hell.
"That's horrible." I managed to get out.
They must've had so much hope for it to break down so easily. I wanted to know more about Riley. Did she die naturally or did Diana do something to her? I held onto my knees and closed my eyes for a long while.
That heavy feeling was back. How the fuck am I supposed to progress all this? I can't make any sense out of it and it just felt hopeless.
"Would you have rather that we didn't tell you at all?" Pap questioned after staring at me for a while.
Would I feel better never knowing this information? I'm not sure. I felt incredibly bad for those parents and baby Riley, but I needed this information. It was overwhelming and too much but I needed it. Especially with all the weird things that I've been feeling.
"I went back to my old home." I spoke up.
My grip on my knees tightened and I tried to gather all my courage. I want to be honest with them. Maybe that'll finally make Hector understand.
He noticed me shivering and suddenly pulled off his coat. I tried to stop him from putting it on me but he wouldn't take no.
Like usual.
I tried to ignore the kind act but the feeling of his warm coat around me felt nice.
But I'm separating the coat from the owner.
"It was the first real confrontation I had with all the good memories I have with Diana. I tried really hard to forget them but I can't forget them. Sometimes I think about something we did together and I'll smile, but then I feel incredibly guilty."
She was part of my life for fifteen years. I realise that I can't forget her. It hard for me because I really want to. She's a horrible human being who raised me. We had fun sometimes and other times she was so toxic.
"And I never dared to tell anyone because I thought that it might upset you. I tried really hard to be part of this family. I love you very much and I'm glad that I got to meet you. But I allowed you to do so much because of that guilt. I feel like I own you so much after missing me for fifteen years. I let you rule me around because I think it's because you love me. But that can't be a reason anymore."
That last part was especially directed towards Hector.
"You always so that you do things because you love me. But you don't hurt the people you love. You don't push them in a bad mental space. You don't make them feel like their life isn't even their own."
He was staring at where my old grave was. I almost started to scream at him for not paying attention to me but then he slowly nodded. He scratched the back of his neck before sighing deeply.
"I'm sorry for what I've done to you. I was out of line and I hurt you a lot."
Hector was apologising. I think I gaped at him for a good five minutes before papa spoke.
"I had a talk with Hector. I'm not telling you to forgive him, topolina, that's up to you. But I think you two should talk things through. Don't interrupt each other and don't get angry. Just listen."
I nodded in agreement. No matter how much I disliked Hector now and how big the gap between us was. We'll eventually have to talk it out. He's still family and I don't want to loose him forever.
We won't be how we used to be, but we can work on our relationship.
"I'll leave you now. Be understanding of each other." Papa told us both.
We nodded and watched how he walked away. He should've mediate between us sooner. Maybe we wouldn't be in so much pain.
But maybe we needed all this drama to get a definite change.