Page 3 of Vulnerate

When Tali comes in, I’ve forgotten that she’s supposed to be his friend and he doesn’t go in a mood about me talking to her. He just sits next to her helping her get passed all the zombies and shouting out the combos.

I don’t know who Dani is other than my brothers friend, but I know she’ll be mine.

Not my friend, something more and permanent.

Yeah, I’ll just make her mine and no one else’s.

Daniela Carvalho made a mistake by talking to me first and being pretty. Even though my brother narrows his eyes at me when he catches me looking at her, I don’t care.

She’s mine and I’m claiming her.

ONE

Daniela

Mom and Dad are away visiting a new doctor and I want to call them to come back so I’m not stuck with Carly. She’s twenty-one years old and she should be looking after me, but the man she’s sat on is taking up her time and her tongue. Dad will go crazy if he finds out her boyfriend is here, but Mom is sick again. I can’t let her know Carly isn’t the angel she thinks she is when she’s drunk or high every night instead of focusing on work like she should be. The accountant does everything Carly is supposed to, and she only goes to the office to sign so our cards don’t get cut off.

The longer I sit around her and Leno while they eat each other’s faces the more I want to sink into the sofa. The sounds are worse than the shadows flickering as they grope each other on the other sofa, and I know I shouldn’t have trusted her when she said it’s a movie night. They don’t even pause when I mumble goodnight and slip off the sofa to run up the stairs to my room.

I don’t sleep here when my parents aren’t home. Carly thinks I’m a dumb kid, but I know what the noises are, especially since I stupidly asked Tali to check if my house is haunted when I was younger. He was an idiot and made his older brother do it and if there’s one thing I never need it’s to have Valentin Vartanov, the star of my dreams, trying to go in my room. He’s beautiful and my crush wouldn’t survive the embarrassment of him seeing the stupid teddies tio1 sends me every year for my birthday.

Packing my pajamas into my backpack, I throw it out my window and pull Tali’s hoodie on before I leave. He’ll be pissed if I walk to his house without a jacket even though it’s warm.I like the other one better because it smelt like Val, but this just smells like my disgusting best friend, and I’m surprised there’s no snacks hidden in the pocket.

I’m already happier as I climb down the terrace. Vitali isn’t just my best friend, he is my only friend, and his house is always fun, there are games and whatever snacks anyone could want. Mine is a museum, pretty to look at if you only care about facts and everything has to be healthy. If the media get a picture of the Carvalho’s looking anything but amazing the world would stop spinning.

I tuck my braids into my t-shirt and pull the hood over my head, holding my backpack straps as I walk the short distance to the Vartanov’s. Ever since they moved closer to me, I spend as much time as I can at their house. The pathway has been cleared from any of the bushes since I cut my arm on them a year ago and I hold the straps of my bag tighter as I walk into the middle that’s fully dark between each of the large houses either side. I don’t know whose garden I’m walking through, but they’ve never complained.

The Vartanov’s house isn’t just huge, they have guards and I avoid the front gate to walk to the side entrance. Dima spots me and I never know how he does it. He says something in Russian to the guards and they walk to the front gate as though they’re soldiers. I don’t know what Vlad does, but he must be important if he needs the security. I’m about to keep walking until I can slip through the gate without being caught when the side gate opens and Dima stands at the threshold, holding it open for me.

He’s a miserable person but his husband isn’t with him, so I know it’s safe. He might not be married to Vlad legally, but they may as wellbe when they always act like they’re our parents and have secret conversations. He gestures for me to walk through with his head and doesn’t remove his eyes from watching the guards as he lowers his voice.

“He’s in his room and the front door is open, go in, they won’t say shit to you.”

I give him a smile and ignore every word he said as I walk around the back of the house to Tali’s bedroom window. The front door isn’t usable because I don’t know if Vlad’s home. I never use the front door unless it’s daylight like the sun can protect me because he’s the most frightening person I’ve ever met. It’s stupid when I don’t think he would hurt me, but the last time I was alone with him I nearly wet myself and he only helped me tie my laces. He has scars all over his hands making his tattoos break up and there’s just something that makes him not fully human whenever I look into his eyes.

The light is on in Tali’s room, and I tap my foot against the windowpane. It used to be harder to sneak in when his bedroom was next to Val’s but now it’s in the basement I never have to see anyone. The first thing I see is his smile as he jumps up to slide the window open and grab my bag. The wall has modified rock climbing studs in it, but I go headfirst so he has to catch me. The ass does it too late and lets my legs slam off the edge of window, making me hiss and there’s no sympathy as he hugs me to his side.

“You’re lucky I was here to catch you. Come through feet first next time.”

I know the rules and quickly close the window, locking it before he can get shouted at for leaving it open. He turns me around and holds his arms out showing the spread of snacks I won’t be eating.

“First day of break traditions, pick a movie.”

We have traditions for everything. First day of school, he has to pick me up and walk me in on his back. First day of any break, we watch one romantic movie and then a horror because Tali needs balance. Making it my mission to have him crying at one of them, I pick the saddest one I can find and queue it up before going to change into my pajamas.

If I change in front of him he’ll act grossed out and pretend to be put off his food for exactly two seconds before shoveling more into his mouth. Everyone thinks we’re seeing each other, or that we’re hiding a relationship, but it’s deeper than that, he’s my squish. A platonicsoulmate, the other half to balance me out and make me do things I’m afraid to, all while I listen to his theories and carry whatever snacks he wants in my bag.

His other brother, Valentin, is only a year older than us and he’s the one I can’t stop staring at when we’re in the same room. Whenever I’m around him, I sit closer or force myself to start a conversation just so I can have more. He’s a flirt and he’s already broken up and got back together with his girlfriend since we finished school yesterday.The chances of Val ever looking at me are non-existent when his type is the opposite of me.

Going back to the bed, I throw myself beside Tali making sure to jab my elbow into his ribs as I get under the covers. He turns the lights off and puts the movie on as he launches a pack of Passatempo’s at my head. He rips his own open and I use the noise as an excuse to ask what I want to know.

“Are your brothers home?”

I don’t care about Vlad. He’ll be beating someone up and I’d prefer it if he wasn’t here, so I don’t get caught. Tali sits up with his arm behind his head as he shrugs and he doesn’t read into my nosiness.

“They’re out, think Val’s staying in the woods. He went to the party Niko is throwing.”

I’ve never been to the parties in the woods, Carly has. She’s older but manages to get invited to any party in New York. I’m the soft, doesn’t speak or do anything wrong little artist, as Dad likes to describe me. For once in my life, I wish I could dress up, put on a costume, and walk into the middle of one of their parties and pretend to be someone different. The last time we tried to, it ended up being worse and all three Vartanovs left with blood on their hands after Vlad was called because of Valentin fighting with someone.

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