Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Everybody loves him. He can be charming when he wants to be.
"If you don’t take your medication, you’re going to get sick," I say to my mom, wondering if that’s actually true. “Tell her again which one this is,” I ask the nurse.
"It’s her anti-seizure medication," she snaps at me. I grit my teeth.
"Mom, if you take it, I’ll bring you those cookies you like from Anya’s bakery," I say, like I do with Luka. Mom seems to be thinking this over.
"No."
Jesus.
I grit my teeth and shake my head. "If you don’t take your medication, I’m shutting off your Wi-Fi!" Oh god, now I’m fucking parenting a teen.
"I don’t use Wi-Fi!" she snaps back.
I shake my head. Of course she does; she just doesn’t realize she does. Great.
"I don’t know what to tell you," I tell the nurse. "I don’t have any more control over her than you do."
"Can you bring in your husband? He always talks to her. He was the only one who was able to convince her to visit her therapist last week."
My husband? Why does the universe hate me?
Wait. He was?
"He’s not my husband,” I say quietly. “He’s my brother-in-law.”
“Whatever, can he come in?”
I blow out a breath and feel like I could either cry or break something. “Yeah, I can ask him to come in."
"Okay, bye." The line goes dead.
"Auntie, I need help wiping."
Literally, fuck my life.
An hour later, the house is clean, laundry is tumbling in the dryer, dinner is thawing, and Luka is happily swinging his feet in the back of the car in his car seat. We’re heading for respite at the Kopolovs.
How do people do this full-time?
Vadka will probably be at work, but I know Zoya is on break.
We show up at lunchtime. As soon as the front door opens, my heart feels lighter. Zoya stands on the other side, her eyes twinkling. She gets to one knee and opens her arms up big for Luka.
"Oh my goodness, look how much taller you’ve gotten," she says, ruffling his hair. "Give Auntie Zoya a big hug."
They’re not related by blood, but they’re Vadka’s family, so they might as well be.
"Auntie Zoya, Aunt Ruthie gave me ten times as much whipped cream as Papa does," Luka says, grinning like the cat that ate the fucking canary. I tell him to hush in case someone’s going to rat me out.
"And my tummy hurts," Luka says.
Shit.
"I told you that would happen if you gave him too much," a deep voice comes from behind Zoya.
Well, great. Guess Vadka is not at the office.
"Hey, buddy." His eyes crinkle around the edges, and his face softens when he sees Luka.
"Papa!" Luka does a full run at Vadka and tackles him at the knees, but Vadka has the wherewithal to brace himself before impact. He catches him, swings him up into his arms, and kisses his cheek. Then he fixes me with a stern look.
"How much juice did he have?"
"Not too much," I lie, looking away. “You’re out. We’re just coming in for a quick visit before we go to the supermarket." And I give Vadka a sharp look. "And I don’t need a lecture about not buying cookies and sweets." As if I’m going to get through this without chocolate?
He runs a hand through his hair and nods. "Thanks for doing that. Do you want me to grill tonight when I get home?" I shrug.
"Do you have to go to work? What time do you have to be in?"
"It’s my night off."
It feels domestic and homey and… wrong.
Zoya takes Luka’s hand and leads him to the kitchen, so I’m in the empty foyer with Vadka. My god, why does the man wear a suit like that? It’s obscene. He looks so fucking hot all dressed up. He may have lost a little weight and looks a little gaunt around the eyes, but he definitely hasn’t skipped his gym routine. If anything… it kinda looks like he’s thrown himself into it harder, which tracks.
Fuck. I need to get laid. I can’t look at my brother-in-law like this. I need to go to the bar, find a sweet young guy who’s eager to please, and seduce the fuck out of him. I’d give him a good night to ease my conscience.
"How’d the morning go?" he asks, his hands in his pockets.
A lump rises in my throat. I want to tell him that Luka called me Mama. I want to tell him that I don’t like being in the place where my sister’s presence still lingers. I want to tell him my mother’s getting worse, and she doesn’t know me anymore.
I want to tell him everything and nothing.
"Fine. Luka’s a good boy. Mostly."
Vadka grows stern, his brow coming together. "He’s gotten more stubborn and defiant since Mariah’s been gone. Did he give you a hard time?" he asks.