Page 10 of Manacled Hearts

I retch repeatedly, but there’s nothing to throw up. Only this foamy thing that burns too much.

Delicate hands pull my hair away from the toilet, and the blood freezes in my veins. I want to scream, but bile comes out instead, and a fierce tremor takes over my body. I manage to swat the hands away from my hair, and I fall on my ass, scrambling backward until my back hits the wall.

I know it’s Ekaterina. I am aware that it’s her squatting before me. Yet my brain, my heart, my lungs aren’t acknowledging it.

Her gaze softens—I’m not sure what she thinks she knows about my reaction, but she understands. Her eyes shift down, and I realize I’ve gathered all my hair to the side and I’m holding onto it like it’s made of threads of pure gold.

She doesn’t linger. Instead, she moves to wet a washcloth and approaches me slowly.

I let her.

She wipes my face gently and hands me something. When I look down, she holds a silk scrunchy. Funny how a silly hair tie has so much power in this moment.

I take it and wrap my hair into a low bun. It’s quick and messy, but it doesn’t matter. It’s out of the way and I’m… safe.

“Come. Let’s have some food. You need some meat on those bones.”

I smile at her. The idea of being able to eat enough to put meat on my bones is enticing, and I’m definitely going to take her up on it. Lord knows this privilege won’t last. I need to make sure Maya experiences it all before we have to move on.

“Thank you, Ekaterina.” I take her hand and rise, my body feeling more like it’s mine again. The shivers haven’t left me though.

“Please, call me Katya.”

Katya. Like Finnigan called her.

What does she call him, I wonder?

Boss? Friend? Business partner? Lover?

That last one sounds wrong. And I truly hate myself for even thinking it does.

I follow the stunning redhead through her apartment, back into the living area where Maya quietly sits and watches an oldie cartoon on TV. She seems oblivious to it all. To our situation. To my failures.

“We can’t stay here,” I say as I take a seat at the kitchen island, suppressing a wince when I put my weight on my bottom. At this point I’m not sure if it still hurts or if it’s the memory of my assault that does.

“Of course you can.”

“No. You have your own life, and my sister and I need to get on with ours.”

Katya quirks an eyebrow.

“It’s not my place to question this, but I have to. What life is that, Evelyn?”

I’m both surprised and insulted. I’m aware I’m doing a shitty job at caring for my sister, but this doesn’t mean I’m incompetent. We do have a life.

“You’re right—it’s not your place.”

She doesn’t react. Either she expected my reaction, or she simply doesn’t care. She’s not taking me seriously.

There’s no way I’m going to show my weakness to this woman, to anyone for that matter, but… lord, she is right. What life? My sister cannot return to her old school. They probably already reported her as missing. The police would arrive as soon as she stepped over the threshold. She’d be taken away from me.

Katya is oblivious to my erratic and panicked train of thought as she slides over a deep plate with a soup that doesn’t smell like any soup I’ve ever had.

I can’t even bring myself to lift the spoon.

What will I do? I’ll be eighteen soon. I’m not sure what date it is, but it must be a few weeks away. They can’t take Maya from me then, I’ll be a legal adult.

Yes. That’s it. We can return to our home.

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