Page 54 of Vulnerate

“You are the most beautiful lie I ever told myself.”

Every fucked up thing I’ve done is being repaid with how that sentence guts me. I’m not a lie, I gave her the best parts of myself. There weren’t many, but I curated them and made my cruelty with other people more potent, so she’d never experience it. The version of me Dani had was hers alone, it didn’t exist for anyone else.I didn’t fucking exist for anyone. She was my innocent wish.

She flinches before I can say anything and lets out an ear splitting scream. It’s not filled with pleasure as she hugs me and hides on the side furthest away from the door. The last fucking rat I would ever expect to see walking around is standing by the door, holding her dress up on his finger. “I thought you’d want your dress back,” Leno assesses the label, glassy eyes and fucking high as he smirks, “it looks expensive.”

I cover as much of Dani’s body as I can with my arms and hands, but rage fills me seeing his slimy fucking face.

I’m going to fucking kill him.

Reaching behind me for anything to cover my girl, he whistles and signs himself up for a more gruesome death as he asks, “Two sisters, which one’s better?”

The edge of my hoodie is on the back seat, and I work in order of priority as I pull it forward and wrap it around Dani like a towel. My knee knocks the kill switch as I sit her in the passenger seat, making sure none of the lights will come on when I open the door. I don’t give a fuck if the cunt sees my dick and tuck it in as I push out of the car.

He’s high as fuck. Normally it would stop me, but I’ll piss on the cunts grave every fucking day until I die. Grabbing his collar when he tries to retreat, I can’t hear anything but the historic bullshit as my fist meets his face. It’s long overdue, after everything he fucking did with Len, but then he dragged my son into his greed.

It's because of this motherfucker that the bastard got close enough to attempt to raise his fucking hand to my son. We kept Viktor’s identity a secret but Leno had to run his mouth to that bastard who turn himinto a prisoner in his own home when they remember that they have children and invade my fucking life.

My knuckles split as warmth wraps around my fist and he’s limp in my hold, but I can’t stop. He made me buy my son like he was something fucking bad or a possession anyone could own. He kept him in a shithole around drugs and uncivilized fucking pricks and forced Len into his life when we would have hidden him from my parents. I missed the small moments, seeing Viktor for the first time, being the first person to hold him, and being able to watch him grow with wonder instead of fear that I’m fucking him up. All the small moments before he actually existed in the world were taken from me because of this cunt.

Something pushes against my chest, forcing me to look down. Dani, my little artist, tries to make herself smaller as the slurring cunt gets closer to her. Dropping him to the floor, I move her behind me and Leno spits his filthy blood on the ground. He swipes the remnants away with the back of his hand as he looks up still dazed and slurs again, “Ah ah, can’t kill me or Vlad goes bye bye.”

Dani grabs my arm, pulling me back and her voice is strong despite the way she’s shaking. “Val, leave it.”

TWENTY-ONE

Valentin

Ineed to bleach my fucking skin. Leno’s blood is infecting the cells and Dani doesn’t utter a word as I race through the streets. Whatever the cunt has on my family needs taking away. You get one get out of jail free card not fucking infinite. She grabs my hand as I take a corner too fast, causing the tires to screech and the small voice has me slowing down.

“Val, you’re scaring me.”

Threading our fingers together, I kiss the back of her hand in apology and ask, “Truce? Just for tonight, Dani mine. I need you to not hate me for one night.”

There’s too much shit in my head to deal with her hate right now. If I have to argue with her I’ll go beyond what she deserves and regret it for the rest of my life. She nods and squeezes my hand, pushing away her anger.It doesn’t stop the questions but she’s mine again.

“Why are you so angry? And why did he threaten Vlad?”

Telling her the truth is done without meaning and I can’t stop myself from cursing her sister.

“He caused this shit, set it up with that bitch Carly just to get one over on Vlad. I don’t know why he hates him. but he would suck a fart out of Len’s ass so it’s probably to make him happy.”

The warm hand in mine turns cold and I hold it tighter. She can’t leave again; I’m still pissed about the last time.She doesn’t speak, she already knows we hate our parents, and they hate us in return. I never used to give a fuck when I was a kid, it was just a fact of life, but ever since I held Viktor I can’t understand it. He could murder the entire city or be a weird fuck who throws shit at people, and I’d never be able to turn my back on him.

Pulling up outside the house, I ignore my current state and make sure Dani’s covered. My hoodie goes down to her knees, but I still stay behind her to make sure no one can see what doesn’t belong to them. I’m impatient and pick her up as soon as we’re through the doors. She’s silent as I lift her and throw her over my shoulder to take the stairs two at a time. I hold the back of the hoodie, so her ass is covered and go up to my floor. Everything is being ruined because of that motherfucker, the first time I brought my girl home she was supposed to be in my arms not over my shoulder. Her breathing shallows not wanting to be heard and Viktor’s door is open, making me pause.

Remembering that he’s sleeping on Vlad’s floor after his movie marathon with Inessa, I set Dani on her feet and point to my room. “I need to go do something. Shower, use whatever you want. I’ll be back, khudozhnik moya.” Cupping her face in both hands I kiss her forehead, urging her to give me this one thing, just for tonight, before I turn and go in search of the asshole who has the secrets.

Viktor’s a heavy sleeper but I soften my steps, so I don’t wake my sister-in-law as I enter his floor. Vlad’s always been a weird fuck, no one sees him eat or sleep. It’s as though he’s one of the undead and doesn’t need the things a normal human being does to sustain life. I don’t bother going to his bedroom door and knock on the door for his private office. It’s the only door in the house that is never opened by anyone else. It doesn’t matter where we’ve lived, the private office he uses for whatever the fuck he does is more sacred than the bathroom considering he’s had a full blown conversation with me while pissing.Tali snuck in one year on the annual day Vlad disappears, but he said there was nothing inside.

The door opens and he scowls at me with his hair all fucked up. He’s only in his boxers and I step back definitely not wanting to know whatever fucked up shit he’s doing to get off. His scowl drops as I ask, “What does Leno have on you?”

The man wears his crimes openly there’s nothing that he wouldn’t do. Other groups have rules about not hurting women, but I’ve seen my brother beat the shit out of a woman. I’ve seen him kill and torture with no regard for gender. Whatever the fuck he’s done is bad if it’s stopping his bloody hands.

He lowers his voice not to wake his wife and holds his hand out, gesturing for me to leave. “Downstairs, Inessa’s asleep.”

I nod my head once, my feet dragging, not wanting to be brushed aside. If he tries to pull the bullshit about being Vor, I’ll kill the cunt myself to make sure my son is safe.He follows me down not bothering to get dressed and that’s not helping the situation. He never walks around shirtless, the fact he’s in his boxers and instead of a pair of fighting shorts and t-shirt or a suit has unease crawling up my spine.

He goes to the bar and pours two drinks. There’s no dumbass comment about a tantrum and he makes it weirder by handing me one. Taking a sip, he replays whatever memory is bad enough for the monster to show emotion.

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