Twilight Sins: Chapter 43

“This movie is kind of cool.” Mariya twirls a short licorice rope in the air like a lasso.

After a couple days of lounging by the pool and hanging around the house together, I finally convinced her she wouldn’t die of boredom if we did one thing that I like.

“I told you. This movie is amazing.”

She tears off a bite of licorice. “It’s hot in, like, an old-timey kind of way.”

No one has ever described Roman Holiday more succinctly. Leave it to teenagers to distill their wisdom down into easily-consumable, TikTok-friendly bites.

“Gregory Peck is sexy.”

“Zaddy vibes,” she agrees. “I’m into it.”

“Every woman is into it. Why do you think I named my cat Gregory?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Naming your cat after your Hollywood crush is high-key creepy, Luna. Don’t tell anyone else that.”

“Too late. I already told your brother.”

“And he’s still into you. It’s a miracle. Actually,” she sits up, “the real miracle is that he let a cat into this house. Do you have any idea how long I begged for a pet?”

“Years. Until you took matters into your own hands and adopted a wild squirrel.” I smile at the astonishment on her face. “Your brother told me.”

She grins. “He talked about me on your date?”

“I don’t know if he told me that on our first date. It was a little later. After I was already living here.” I shrug. “Maybe on our second date. If you can even call it that.”

I don’t realize I’m rambling until I look over and see Mariya staring at me, jaw open. “Hold on. Pause. You were living here before you’d even gone on two dates?”

Shit. I’m supposed to be hanging out with Mariya to get a better idea of what she’s going through, and yet here I am, blabbing about my own life with her. This is what happens when I don’t have a friendly outlet.

“It’s complicated.” I wave it off. “You probably know what that’s like. Any ex-boyfriends you want to talk about? Current boyfriends?”

It’s a lazy subject change and Mariya doesn’t fall for it. She swivels in her seat so she’s facing me. “What is the deal with you and Yakov, anyway? It’s so hard to read what’s happening with you two.”

You’re telling me. I’ve been on a nonstop roller coaster since Yakov and I met.

“I think it would be better if you talked to Yakov about this. I don’t want to overstep and⁠—”

“That will never happen. He doesn’t talk to me.” She slouches down in her seat, arms crossed. “Now, you won’t tell me anything, either. Cool.”

She has a point. I’ve been mining her for all the Kulikov family tea over the last couple days without giving her anything in return. If I want her to trust me, I need to trust her a little, too.

I wince. “Fine. I can tell you a little bit. Some of it.”

Mariya bounces back immediately, turning to face me, eyes wide and eager. “How did you meet?”

“It was a blind date.”

She gasps. “My brother was on a blind date?”

“Not exactly. I was there for a blind date and I thought he was the man I was there to meet. Yakov decided not to tell me that I’d made a mistake. I didn’t find out until about halfway through the dinner when my real date showed up.”

“Oh my God, this could be a movie.” She rocks back, cackling. Then she gets serious. “Also, you have to confirm that shit before you sit down next time, Luna. Blind dates are like rideshares. Get in the wrong car and you could end up limbless on a beach.”

“Ew.”

“The hard reality of being a woman these days.” She shrugs and leans closer. “So what happened next?”

I’m not sure how much I am or am not supposed to tell Mariya about the threat looming outside the house. I don’t even have the SparkNotes version of what’s going on myself.

“Well, Nik called and there was… something going on outside the restaurant, I guess. Yakov thought it might be dangerous.”

“Snipers?” Mariya asks it the same way someone might wonder if he kissed me goodnight.

“Er, no. I don’t think so.”

“You’re still living here, so whatever it was must have been bad.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s always something.”

Right. Mariya was born into this world. This is normal for her.

I can’t quite wrap my head around that. I don’t think the kind of life-and-death stakes Yakov lives with everyday could ever be normal for me.

I probably won’t be around long enough for them to become normal, anyway.

“Um… so, yeah. Then we left the restaurant and came here. For drinks.”

“Right. ‘Drinks.’” She gives me an over-the-top wink. “Got it.”

I blush, but carry on. “That’s really it. I’m still here, waiting for your brother to decide it’s safe for me to leave.”

“All of this because you made the mistake of sitting down at the wrong table.” She snorts. “It’s not quite limbless on a beach. But I bet you won’t do that again.”

“I don’t know… I mean, I’ll definitely be better about making sure I’m on a date with who I’m supposed to be with. But I don’t think sitting down at that table was a mistake.”

Her eyes go moony. “Do you think it was fate?”

I do a double-take. I wouldn’t have pegged Princess Scathing Sarcasm here for a romantic at heart. You learn something new every day.

“Maybe not fate. But not a mistake, either.” I bite back a smile. “I’m glad I got to know all of you. I wouldn’t trade that.”

Mariya lets out a long “awwwww” and hands me a piece of licorice like a “Welcome to the Family” gift. “So while you’ve been here meeting all of us, where do the people in your life think you are?”

“My family is scattered. They probably don’t even realize I’m missing.”

“They haven’t called?”

I shrug. “I doubt it. They never do. But I’m not sure because Yakov took my phone as soon as I got here.”

“That bastard! What about your friends?”

My heart squeezes. “I talked to my best friend last week, but I haven’t talked to her since.”

“How did you talk to her with no phone?”

“I broke into your brother’s office and stole a burner.”

Mariya grins. “It’s giving rebellious. I love it.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” I say, wagging a finger at her. “Your brother would kill me if he thought I was a bad influence.”

“Please. I’m not influenced; I do the influencing. I don’t need you or Nik or Yakov telling me what to do.” She holds her phone to her chest. “Yakov can pry my phone out of my cold, dead hands.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m sure he would. He’ll try, anyway. As soon as I make him mad.” She rolls her eyes. “Yakov loves a power trip.”

Mariya is always taking little jabs at Yakov when he isn’t around. I’ve tried to keep my defense of him to a minimum. I can’t be a rebel sympathizer if I’m cozying up with the powers that be.

But I can’t quite swallow down this one.

“Yakov is trying to keep you safe. And me. Both of us,” I remind her. “He has a lot on his plate.”

“Don’t I know it. His plate is so full that he can’t squeeze me on it,” she mutters.

“You know, if there is anything you want to say, you can tell me. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“You sleep in Yakov’s room,” she snaps. “There are no secrets where pillow talk is involved.”

That’s a nice picture. But it’s so far from reality that my chest actually aches.

“Some things are sacred.” I press a hand to my heart. “Anything said during an Audrey Hepburn marathon, especially where it relates to you and your brothers, will never cross my lips.”

Mariya looks me up and down and snorts. “You’re so corny.”

“But a good listener.”

“Fine,” she groans. “It’s not exactly a secret, anyway. My dad died, which sucked. Then my brothers let my mom ship me halfway around the world, which sucked even more. I couldn’t do shit to bring my dad back, but I didn’t have to lose Yakov and Nik, too. Knowing they were alive and just uninterested in being around me was not fun.”

I reach out and squeeze her hand. “It’s not that they didn’t want to be around you. They were dealing with their own stuff, too.”

“Yeah, well, we could have dealt with it together.”

“You still can. It’s not too late to fix things with them if you want to. You just need to talk to them.”

She goes quiet. We sit there for a few seconds, me holding her hand, Mariya breathing.

Just as I let go and pull back, Mariya turns and slips something hard into my fingers.

“Call your friend and tell her you’re okay,” she says simply.

Her phone. Mariya pushed her phone into my hand.

A million thoughts rush through my mind at once. The main one being that Yakov told me not to talk to Kayla. He doesn’t think it’s safe for there to be a connection between her and me while I’m in his house.

But I miss her. Even more than that, Mariya trusted me with her phone. That’s huge for a teenager. I don’t want to look ungrateful.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I punch in Kayla’s number. Mariya pretends not to pay attention, though I’d bet my last dollar that she’s eavesdropping on every word I’m about to say.

Kay answers immediately. “Luna?”

“How did you know it was me?”

She sighs in obvious relief. “I’m getting used to you calling me from random numbers. Is this another burner phone?”

“No, it’s—it’s a long story. I just wanted to call and tell you that I’m okay.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks. “You disappeared on me again.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I hate this. I hate not being able to talk to you. I’m freaked out for you.”

“I’m good. Really. Everything is fine.”

“Are you sure?” Kayla asks again, placing extra emphasis on every word. “Do you really trust this guy?”

I look up and Mariya is watching me now. She’s smiling softly. I see so much of Yakov in her. They have the same full lower lip. The same nose. The same “no one can tell me what the fuck to do” spirit.

I smile back and squeeze the phone a little tighter. “I do, Kayla. I really do. I trust him with my life.”