. . .
Hedeon Kozlov
Dahlia drew a star on my hand. "Wash it off when you go out. I cannot deal with this 'Which one are you?' Shit anymore. Lucian, give me your hand, please."
Lucian, who was sitting beside me on the couch in the living room, gladly gave her his hand. She drew a star on his hard, too.
"Why do they get stars?" Andros complained as he carried two giant bows of popcorn into the living room. "Maybe, I wanted a star."
"I'm not giving you a star, that will defeat the whole purpose of this," she said dryly.
Andros took her hand and set his on it. "Draw anything then."
"Me, too." Alexandre walked into the living room, carrying more bowls. I was surprised at what he said.
Dahlia pretended to be annoyed, but her pretty eyes were sparkling. She drew a heart on Andros' and Alexandre's hands. "Happy now?"
"Very." Alexandre kisses her cheek.
"There has to be a noticeable difference," Dahlia said. "Will you sit next to Hedeon, Andros?"
Andros sat beside me. Dahlia stood in front of us, looking closely at our faces.
"It's uncanny," she muttered under her breath. I pulled her on my lap.
"Now you can look closely."
She smiled.
She looked all over us, and then the Monets'. If she spotted any difference, she didn't tell us.
. . .
I picked up Vaness, set her on my arm, and walked out of my bathroom. She always sneaked in while I showered. She meowed a complaint.
I rubbed a towel on my head and then stopped remembering Dahlia's eyes widening when I once did it in front of her. It's bad for your hair! She gasped and then gave me a towel she said was good for hair.
I set Vaness on my bed, giving her a look that made her stay where I put her and walked into my closet.
It had been a few days since we came here. We went out a little, but that was it.
We met up with Damien yesterday, just Alexandre and I. We did intend to kill Damien, too. But he proved to be useful. We didn't know what he was playing at, but it can't be anything good. If anyone at the organization found out that he was trying to keep Dahlia safe, or at least pretending to, he would immediately make too many enemies.
He told us Lorenzo was in New York, trying to find Emilia. He didn't know Emilia was here. He wanted to use her to draw Dahlia out.
We had sent a few men to New York already, but I knew they wouldn't be able to do much. Lorenzo was too skilled to get hunted. We'd have to do it ourselves.
We worked best where there were four of us, but all of us couldn't go to New York and leave Dahlia.
So, we could only wait.
I put on my clothes and walked out, extending my arm towards Vaness so that she could hop onto it.
I walked out of my room.
Pets had become a part of our lives now. I was getting too used to both, Bobby and Vaness.
I was already used to Dahlia.
Dahlia was sitting in the living room, staring at a wall. She had started doing that a lot - dissociation. We always gently snapped her back to reality, but it still worried the hell out of me.
I sat down beside her and gently took her hand into mine. I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her lightly. "Come back to me."
She blinked slowly and then looked up at me. "Oh, hi!"
"Hey." She still looked a bit...not there.
"Andros got you your coffee."
I gave her the cold cup.
She frowned. "This is too small."
"You're the one who said coffee fucks with your anxiety."
She grumbled something under her breath and took the cup with both of her hands. Touching something cold was one of the ways to snap people out of dissociation. The cold temperature caused an unavoidable sensation.
Her eyes cleared, and she set her head against my shoulder and sipped her coffee. "When will we be back on the ship?"
"Soon. Andros is working on a few things."
"Why didn't he work on those things when we were back home?"
"He was too distracted." By her. He couldn't concentrate. Now, he was making sure the ship couldn't be traced in any way. People may call us Modern Pirates (mostly my father, and now Dahlia, too after she found out about it) but we weren't eager to have to fight off someone in the middle of the ocean.
"Oh," she said. "I have a question."
"Hm?"
"Promise you won't be mad."
"I promise."
She looked at the scars on my neck. "Will you tell me about these?"
"Cynthia got one of her torturers to make identical scars on Andros and I. All of our scars are identical."
"She thought of everything."
"Yes. She was nothing if not thorough."
"What did she do to Lucian and Alexandre?"
"She..." I sighed. "Not my place to tell, Dahlia. But I can tell you this. Andros and I were subjected to our parents' cruelty since we were born. Lucian and Alexandre were in Cynthia's clutches for only two years. But, they went through...more forms of torture. You can ask them. I'm sure they'll tell you."
She blinked up at me. "Okay, I'll ask them...Hedeon?"
"Yes?"
She smiled a shy little smile that made my heart pause. "I'm glad I'm here with you. I know the circumstances are bad, but there is nowhere else I'd rather be."
It was out of character for Dahlia to say something like this. She just wanted to make me feel better.
I kissed her forehead, breathing her in. "You're fucking lethal to my heart, you know that?"
. . .
Alexandre Monet
Dahlia sat down beside me, looking closely at the watch I was working on. Bobby sat on the table, watching just as closely.
I set my tools down. "Do two of you need something?"
Bobby meowed, probably asking for food. Dahlia shook her head, eyes still on the watch.
"How do you not scratch your hair out while doing this?" She asked. "I'd lose my mind."
Bobby meowed as if agreeing. I petted his head, turning off the table light. "I used to find it frustrating, but it helped with patience."
Paintence I never lost, till it came to Dahlia, of course. I didn't even plan to fuck her with I did. But she looked too good, and I just had to drag her to my room and have my way with her.
And my Dahlia took everything like a good girl.
I pulled her onto my lap. I had fucked her just once after the first time, and it had been quick. I needed to have her again.
My phone buzzed. I groaned, setting my face against her neck. "Break my phone for me, please, Dahlia."
She picked up my phone. "It says 'Mom.'"
I took the phone from her. Ignoring mom's calls ended up with one of my dads calling and yelling.
I attended the call. "Hello, mom."
"Hello, Alex. How is my beautiful boy?"
She refused to accept the fact that I had grown up. I might as well be thirteen for her. She threatened to ground me, too, from time to time. I didn't know how grounding worked when she didn't live in the same house as me.
"I'm good." I pecked Dahlia's lips. She smiled a shy smile. I pressed a kiss on her cheek. "How are you, how are dads?"
"We are good. Your sister loves Minnie."
"So, she got over her fear?"
"Yes. She thought she wouldn't be able to care for Minnie, but she is thriving now. But..."
"But?"
"When Dahlia came here for the house visit, she accidentally left a handkerchief. Minnie keeps it with her and only sleeps on it. I think she misses Dahlia."
"She misses Minnie too."
Dahlia frowned. What are you talking about? She mouthed. I pecked her lips again.
"How is everything else? Your fathers won't tell me anything."
"It's not good for your heart, that's why."
"My heart is as strong as ever." She huffed.
"The doctors disagreed. We are okay, mom. And we will visit soon, as soon as we deal with the people we need to deal with."
"Will you bring Dahlia?"
"If she agrees, yes."
"Okay," she said, and then I heard voices in the background. "I have to go. Your sister can't find her pink sweater."
"Okay. I will talk to you later."
"Love you. Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up and set the phone away.
"Your sister was too scared to take Minnie when she came to the shelter."
"Yeah, she told me," I said. "But, she couldn't stop thinking about her. She asked one of my dads to adopt her."
"Three dads...does that mean your mom is with all of them?"
"Yes. It was first just one, but when she found out about the other two, she fell for them, too."
"How many people know about this?"
"The only one out of the family, and alive who knows is you," I said.
. . .
(1/3)