~~Daniil's POV~~
I stared at the still figure in front of me, the sight of its lifeless body pulsating a fulfilling energy through my body.
I did it.
I finally did.
"Daniil!" My name rang through the air, pulling my attention away to Roman closing in on me, nonplussed with bulging deep blue eyes. "What have you done?!" He exclaimed scoldingly, close enough and gaping at the dead dog.
"I strangled it to death," I boasted in excitement.
"You did what?!"
"Strangled it?" I answered with a bit of restraint in my tone. Why was he overreacting?
"But this isn't what we agreed, man. Weren't we supposed to burn it alive? I just came from setting up the wood!"
"My bad," I said, rolling my eyes and chuckling them away from his stare.
"Ahh… How I wanted to hear its yelp getting burnt alive," he mumbled to my hearing, going around while staring at the dog with feigned pity in his eyes. "I'm killing the next one," he raised his eyes to me.
"Which one? Lola? Austar?" I asked, listing the names of our puppies.
"Nah," he brushed off. "Cynthia."
My jaw dropped.
"That's your sister's favorite pet!" I exclaimed saucer-eyed.
"Says the same guy who just strangled his sister's puppy to death," he returned casually, walking to the swing to sit on it. I followed suit, my mouth still wide open.
"The case is different!"
"How?"
"I loathe my sister. You don't. Riley will definitely feel hurt. And you wouldn't like that!" I pointed.
He scoffed, wryly rolling his eyes at me as he stared through the strands falling over his forehead. "Are you speaking for me? Or for yourself."
I rolled my eyes away, and then a chuckle from him followed.
"I told her about you though. Since you wouldn't."
"You what?!!" I flipped my eyes to him, almost seizing him by the collar when he laughed and raised both hands to me.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't tell her anything about you." I calmed down and retreated to my seat reluctantly. "Yet," he added and ran away.
"Asshole!" I cussed.
A Few Minutes Later …
"When are you guys leaving Chicago?" he asked while we were reclining against the bark of a tree in the backyard.
Based in Russia, me, my mom and Birdie usually visited my maternal granny in the States during summer breaks. It was the same this time around.
We'd met Roman and Riley that one term we schooled over here in America when Roman was the only guy who cared to befriend me rather than stay off as others did. Ever since then, the bond only grew stronger as they came around whenever we returned for the break and would spend quality time with us.
"We'd be returning to Chicago in a few days," I said, the words leaving a pain in my throat. It never left a sweet aftertaste when we had to return to that hellhole – Russia. The four walls of that house felt like a prison. And who would want to go back there? Not like there was any better as my old man's shackles extended down here, but at least I was spared the horror of having to see his face every time.
He heaved a sigh but didn't say anything.
"What? Missing me already?" I teased and got him chuckling.
"You wish. I'll marry my sister off by the time you get your ass back here."
"Then just know that you'll be the one hanging on whatever you prepared to roast the dog earlier."
He laughed heartily for a solid ten seconds.
"Why don't you tell her though?"
"Mind your business," I deadpanned.
"I don't blame you though. My sister's a hottie," he bragged.
Silence ...
"What are you gonna say to them though?" he asked.
"How do you mean?"
"You just murdered your elder sister's puppy!" he accentuated. "You're gonna need an explanation, wouldn't you? You gon' tell them you ran over the dog?" He added sarcastically.
"There are no CCTVs," I stressed shruggingly. "How am I supposed to know what happened to it?"
Just then, the sound of grasses getting crushed beneath footfalls joined us and in a matter of seconds, Andrei was towering over us.
I rolled my eyes away snidely. I never liked him and funny enough, he was the pin stuck to my butthole. And guess what? My dad placed him there nicely.
"Young master, Lunch is served," he informed formally in his usual stoic tone.
I cringed, Roman's snicker ringing through my ears. When would he stop calling me that?!
I stood up reluctantly, raising my shoulders and glaring up at him in a bid to show him I could never be intimidated by our height difference. Unfortunately, he was older. But not once did I consider him my superior. He worked for my family after all.
"Ivy's dead." He was referring to the dog, and as usual, subtly telling me he knew what we were up to. As a matter of fact, he must've known of our shady deeds from the beginning.
"Oh," I simply muttered, feigning ignorance. What else could he do apart from rat me out to my dad? As usual.
Silently, we exchanged glares and neither of us was willing to back down.
"I'm famished, Niil," Roman whined directly into my ear, with his hand around my shoulders. "What are we having for lunch today?" he asked jovially when I tilted my head, his deep blue eyes avidly close to mine. Those eyes only looked cute on his sister.
His creeped me out anytime they were so close, and so I brushed him off. "Fine. Get off me," I said, shrugging out of his hold. I knew he was only trying to get me to back down.
"You always called Riley cute because of her eyes," he stressed, mimicking a babyish whine. Which I knew was all a charade.
"Yours creep me out, Roman," I said blatantly.
"But we literally have the same eyes!" he emphasized through a hearty laughter.
"Boss!" Jason called through a pant, rushing in.
"What?" I asked, flinching, repelled by quite the entrance.
"Your …" he tried speaking but the pants took over. "Your … Your … " It happened again and again, making me grow impatient.
"What the hell is …"
"Your mom!" he finally managed to say.
My mom? I dashed out immediately.
A reasonable distance from the house, frightened wails visited my ears. I recognized them to be hers and doubled my pace. Even though I was already running at the speed of light.
"Mom?" I called, moon-eyed, when I dashed into the living room and found her on the floor.
*Cough*
*Cough*
God, there was so much smoke in here! I squinted to see as the whole place was engulfed in smoke. Impulsively, I swung my eyes in the kitchen's direction and confirmed its source. The kitchen was in flames!
"Aahh!" A yelp pulled me out of my observation to my mom wincing with her hand over her face. The next thing I saw was a pan flying to her from the direction I'd just looked in.
"Mom!" Immediately, I rushed to her.
"Stay back!" she yelled at me. Of course, she never wanted me to get ensnarled in the never-ending tussle between her and the middle-aged lady – still throwing things around the house – I simply preferred to call "deranged."
My dad was a monster but this one was just mad. And every fucking time, my mom suggested we came here, I wondered why. She was only ever going to return with bruises. Both emotionally and physically. And I still couldn't get it. She was my mom and sometimes I wondered whether or not I'd be able to tolerate this much from her if she was in this condition. But every time that thought breezed into my head, I always shrugged it off. I refused to understand why she was letting herself go through this misery all in the name of family ties.
"Go back, Daniil! I order you!"
Only if I was as deranged as granny would I heed that "order." I charged forward, using my forearms to block another attack when a pot came flying to us.
"They … they're …" Roman who just ran in tried to speak but kept coughing. "They went … Fuuuuckkkkkkk!!!" he yelled, an apparent thrill escaping his tone. "This looks like a fucking warzone!" he shouted excitedly, and that was when I realized the smoke didn't faze him in the first place. He was only trying to act "human."
"Shut your trap, you fucking psychopath, and help me get my mom to safety!" I growled from a crouched position, holding my mom who was already turning red from all the coughing.
~~ I opened my eyes slowly, already acknowledging that I just had a dream. That was one painful memory I always tried to suppress because our lives changed entirely after what happened on that day. I somehow got sucked into my thoughts trying to figure out why I just had a dream. Because that seldom ever happened. No matter what.
Casually rolling my eyes sideways, they met with another our perusing from the side. I flinched, shooting myself up only to find Jason sitting by my bedside. Alexa must have let him in.
My eyes then bounced to the door. Didn't I lock it? Alexa could only let certain people in when it was unlocked.
"Surprisingly, it was open," he said, probably noting my wonder.
"What are you doing here?" I asked instead, disgruntled.
"Are you calling in sick?"
Fuck!!! That inner voice in my head cried out when the realization that I'd overslept hit me.
"Are you okay?" He asked out of the blue while I got out of bed.
"Why?"
"First, your door was open. You overslept. On top of that, you kept stirring in your sleep like you were having a nightmare. And I know that rarely happens. So what could be the issue?"
I looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what more was left unsaid and he shrugged. How long had he been in here?
However, I didn't ask. "I'm fine. You can leave now. I'll be with you shortly," I told him solemnly.