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“Sure,” I say. “What kind of game is it?”
“It’s a racing game! You can design your own cars, give them custom paint jobs, and even buy extra parts to make them faster when you race with other people. This is the one I made.” He scrolls through the menus on the screen, displaying a very detailed racecar that has all the usual details that would appeal to a boy of ten.
“Wow, that looks really cool,” I say, occasionally looking up at the ceiling. Am I imagining it, or did I just hear something scraping across the floor? “Your dad lets you have whatever you want, huh?”
“Our dad, Galina.” Ruslan grins even wider as he inadvertently cuts me with his words. “And yeah, he always gets me the best things. It’s awesome.” He passes me a controller. “Here, you can pick the track we race on.”
“Thanks.” He’s much sweeter than I expected him to be. I guess he didn’t take on his dad’s awful personality. Grateful for a distraction, I sit down next to him, tapping my controller to view the different levels. “This is my first time, so I’m not as good as you. Please go easy on me.”
“Dad is really busy these days.” Ruslan’s smile fades for a second, but I catch it nonetheless. “He tries to play when he can, but it’s hard for him to make the time.”
“Oh,” I say gently. “It’s a bummer you have to play by yourself.”
“No, I play with others,” he corrects me.
“You do?” Glancing up at the ceiling again, I frown as I picture the gun-toting guards hunching over the video game. “Who?”
“Papa has lots of girlfriends. They’re really nice.” He taps some buttons, focusing on the screen intently. “None of them stay around very long, so they never get good enough to beat me. I think it’s because we move a bunch and they forget where we live. That’s why they don’t come around anymore. Pick a level, Galina, any level!”
Girlfriends ... lots of them... My heart jerks sideways. The only women I think someone like Yevgeniy knows are prostitutes. I remember Mila, her chained fox tattoo, and suddenly I taste acid on my tongue.
Yevgeniy’s been bringing the women who are forced to work for him around Ruslan.
His son doesn’t know the truth.
Looking at Ruslan with fresh eyes, I feel myself being crushed by the rush of pity. This poor boy has never had a real mother, probably never even a real friend. He mentioned moving a bunch. That makes sense. If they stayed in one spot, Arsen might find them. Does he go to school? Does he know anything beyond the lie that Yevgeniy has constructed around him?
Ruslan watches me eagerly, waiting for me to choose. Finally, I decide on a random level that looks like a tree-filled park.
“Oh!” Ruslan laughs. “Northwind Speedway! I’m really good at this one.”
He’s not boasting. Once the game starts, he loops me multiple times, winning every race. Even after he shows me all the buttons and some tricks, I still have no hope of beating him.
After my seventh loss in a row, Ruslan pats me on the back with a proud smile.
“It’s okay, Galina,” he says earnestly. “Maybe now that we aren’t going to be moving anymore, you can actually practice and get good enough to beat me.”
“What do you mean we aren’t going to be moving anymore?” I ask warily.
“Papa says that now that Mom is here, we can be a family again,” he replies. “Everything is going to get better because we’re not going to be running from the bad man anymore.”
Bad man ...
I don’t have to ask. I know he means Arsen.
“I’m so happy to have both of you here,” he rattles on. “I’ve always wanted to meet her. And you, of course! Isn’t it great to have a family?”
Gripping the controller harder, I bite down on my tongue.
I had a family already. A wonderful one. Things were perfect until your father came along and destroyed them.
It’s not rational to feel disdain for a child. But I can’t help myself. The resentment I have toward Yevgeniy pollutes this moment with Ruslan. If Ruslan didn’t exist, Yevgeniy would have no power over me or my mother.
He might even leave us alone.
But because of Ruslan, we’re here … forced to endure a facade of playing house.
Ruslan beams cheerfully at me. “I’m really glad you’re here. I always wanted a big sister. Well, okay, I wanted a little sister because then I’d get to be a big brother. But you’re still great!”
