Page 45 of Betraying Family Vows
Dimitri laughs. "Shit, don't make me laugh. I need the pills to kick in first."
"So you just talked about me. What about you? How are we the same?"
"My shadow is my family. I make sure the Kastaris vision is secured, whatever that may be. It's what defines me. Nothing else. And at seventeen I was sent for training, rebuilt in fire to be this way. To be the man you see."
"And what exactly do I see?"
"A living weapon. Someone whose life is meant for service. I do what is necessary to make sure my family stays on top. Always striving. Never finishing."
Something in my chest twists.
I shouldn't care.
I shouldn't feel anything but hate for him.
But I do.
"You deserve to be happy though. To be your own person, separate from the shadows of your family," I say and take another sip of water.
He shakes his head. "Says the woman trying to get out from under her mother's. Good advice though."
I give him back the water.
"I was sent away too. A lot younger than seventeen. To live up to my mom's standards. And somewhere along the way, her needs became mine. Her dreams became mine. It got so blurred, even I don't know what I really want anymore."
Dimitri nods. "Yeah."
Maybe it's the lack of sleep and delusion, but I start laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. It's a fucked-up world where the person you were after ends up saving you. Is able to relate to you. Even caring more about you than..." I pause. "Not that you care about me or anything, but like, you know... protects you from the men you thought were on your side."
I look around and the ruins seem so beautiful and the morning light appears. I also realize now we're literally out in the middle of nowhere.
"About being on your side... you can leave," Dimitri says, gesturing toward the entrance with his chin.
I blink, not understanding.
"I'm not keeping you prisoner anymore," he continues. "If you want to run—run."
My pulse quickens. Is he serious?
"What's the catch?"
"No catch." He winces as he shifts position. "I left the phone they were tracking us with back at the gas station. So I'm not going anywhere. At least for a few hours. I need to rest. After that, I'll find a way back to Athens. You can either stay or go."
I stare at him, searching for the trap. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Freedom is right in front of me. I could just walk away. Find my way to a road. Flag down a car. Disappear.
I should go. Every rational part of me screams to run. To be away from him, from this place, from everything.
But something holds me in place. The memory of him taking a beating because he turned to save me. The fact that without him, I'd be dead. There's no way I would have survived tonight.
And something about leaving now, leaving him like this, feels wrong.
