Page 10 of Mabilia

The moment I walk into the house, I want to walk back out again. I asked Tommy to drop me three blocks down, which he flat-out refused, saying something about how any guy who considered doing that wasn’t worth shit. And now my parents are arguing. About me.

“You should have told me! She’s my daughter!” Mom yells.

“She’s our daughter, Isabella.Ours. And she asked me not to. You want me to break her trust? I’m not ever going to do that, and you wouldn’t either,” Papa replies in a much calmer tone.

“Of course I don’t want you to break her trust. But I should know. You should have told her to tell me.” Mom is mad. I didn’t want anyone to know about last night. When we got home, I made Papa promise not to tell anyone.

I step into Papa’s office and start collecting the hidden weapons—well, the ones I know about anyway. There’s a gun tucked under a sofa cushion, one under the sideboard, and another attached to the coffee table. Then I grab the knife that’s hidden in the lampshade. When I turn around, both of my parents are looking at me.

“What are you doing?” Mom asks.

“Making sure you two can’t kill each other,” I explain as I continue to make my way around the room.

“Trust me, Mabilia, if I wanted your father dead, he would be. Besides, I don’t need any of that to do it.” She smiles.

“I don’t want you two arguing because of me. It’s my fault. I went out without telling anyone. I killed those Ukrainians. I did it. So don’t be mad at Papa,” I tell my mother.

“You could have been… hurt. You can’t just go wandering around the streets. What were you even doing there?” Mom asks.

Papa looks at me, waiting for my answer. “I was visiting a friend,” I say before changing the subject. “I have homework.”

I walk out, dumping all the collected weapons on the side table outside of Papa’s office. One of his soldiers looks at the pile and then up at me as he chuckles under his breath.

“Don’t let them kill each other,” I tell him.

“They won’t,” he says.

I know they won’t do it intentionally, but both of my parents are hot-headed and stubborn. How they ended up together, Ihave no idea. But it really is a miracle. They love each other. There is no doubt about that. They just have a hard time when it comes to agreeing.

About fifteen minutes later, my mom walks into my room and sits next to me on the bed. She pulls me into her arms and strokes my hair. “I didn’t ever want you to have to do what you did,” she whispers. “I wanted you to live in a bubble, one that no one could penetrate, where no one could hurt you.”

“I know,” I tell her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You did the right thing, baby. You’re a survivor.” She kisses the top of my head. “That doesn’t make it any easier. I remember my first time, you know. Like it was yesterday. It never goes away.”

She’s talking about killing. I’ve been trying to act indifferent, as if it doesn’t matter. I figure if I keep pretending I’m not bothered, everyone will believe it. I broke down with Papa last night, but I can’t do that with my mom. I don’t want her to carry my burden, and I know she will.

“I’m okay. It was them or me, right? I don’t feel bad, Mom. Promise. I’m okay,” I tell her.

“You know you can talk to me about anything,” she says.

“I know.” I sigh. “Actually… there is something.” I sit up while turning to face her. “How did you know that Papa was the one?”

Mom stares at me for a minute, appearing to consider my question. “I think I knew the night I met him. But I didn’t want to believe it. Then I found out I was pregnant and tried to kill him to protect you. After that, I knew I loved him.”

I’ve heard it all before. My parents didn’t exactly have a conventional start to their love story. But it was a love story nonetheless.

“I don’t think trying to kill a guy I like is going to work for me.” I laugh.

“No? It’s not for everyone. Who is he? Do I know him? Someone from school?” Mom asks.

“He’s not from school and you don’t know him.” I’m not stupid. No way am I giving up a name. Although, now that my mother knows I’m showing interest in a guy, she’ll have someone follow me around… if she doesn’t do it herself.

“Just be careful. With your heart and your body, Mabilia. Don’t make me a grandmother for at least another twenty years,” she says.

“Don’t worry, Ma. Lex will be the one to knock someone up… long before you have to worry about me or Neo.” I laugh.

“I’ll look into some all-boys schools for him.” She sighs at the same time the door to my room swings open, and Papa fills the space.Oh, he’s not happy.

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