Page 11 of Manacled Hearts

Home?

We have no home. My car has probably been towed by now. Social Services wouldn’t allow Maya to stay with a homeless person. What if the men who took us come looking for us?

“Eat, Evelyn.”

I attempt to shake all those thoughts away.

“But Maya.”

“She’s eaten already. Two bowls.”

I shouldn’t take her word for it. I should ask my sister myself. But this woman has done nothing but take care of us, of her, since she took us in.

Focusing on picking up the spoon, I take a whiff of the strange soup, and maybe it’s the heat, or the blend of flavors, but it seems to calm my mind. It smells delicious.

“What is it?” I ask, dipping my spoon in.

“Borscht. It’s like a sour soup. I made a leaner one, so as not to overload your stomach.”

Do I truly look so malnourished? I don’t remember the last time I looked at myself in a mirror from the bust down, when I wasn’t drowning in my old, tattered clothes.

“Borscht,” I repeat in a whisper.

The first sip of the borscht warms my whole soul in one swallow, and nothing can stop the moan vibrating in my chest. Either I’m really hungry, or this is one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. There are egg noodles in here, some finely sliced veg, potatoes, and delicious herbs that make me want to moan some more.

I dig in so hard, I don’t even notice a shadow has fallen close to me until I’ve swallowed the last of the sour soup. It takes a lot of force not to fall off my chair when I turn toward the gigantic man standing at the end of the island—Maddox.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” He lifts a hand to excuse himself.

My memories of the night are fuzzy at best, but his strong, scared face floats there. He rescued me that night. Or he was one of the ones who did; I’m not sure if he was alone.

The day after, I woke up and screamed the house down for my sister. I still remember the terror in her eyes. Not because she was in danger, but because my screams scared her. She was… fine. Sleeping soundly on the sofa next to my bed, her head on the lap of this bear of a man.

He didn’t quite know what to do with me apart from… being there. Quiet. Trying to make himself as nonthreatening as possible. After I calmed down slightly, he brought a doctor in. A female one, thankfully, and she checked us both over. I don’t remember much of that interaction, apart from that fact that I didn’t consent to more than a general checkup. He waited patiently outside until we were done, then came back in and asked me a bunch of questions about everything that happened.

There’s something about his presence, about the way he looks at me and Maya. It seems very similar to the way I see my sister. There’s comfort in that gaze, but I have questions, too. It’s not my place, though.

“Sorry, I’m just a bit…”

“No need to explain. A few days have gone by, and I thought I would check up on you. See if you need anything,” he says, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

He’s so tall, the bar stool looks like a normal chair for him.

“You too?” Katya asks.

He cocks his head and looks between us.

“Finnigan was here. Not even half an hour ago.” She answers the unasked question.

He nods but doesn’t add to that. For some reason, he doesn’t seem that surprised, like it makes sense to him. To Katya too.

“How are you doing?” He turns to me.

“We’re okay. Maya seems to be doing good, thanks to Eka—Katya,” I say, quirking a lip at her. “It’s strange, like she almost forgot what happened to her.”

“What about you?” he asks again, and I’m a bit confused by the question. I just answered it.

“Like I said, we’re okay.”

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