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“Maybe. We can always leave if it gets too late.”
I nod and push my hands into my pockets, looking around. I forgot how good of a place this is for kids. For an adult, it’s a little too noisy, but if you have a family to spend time with—
“Louis?” Misha tugs at my sleeve, and I immediately focus on him. What, did something happen? Does he want to pee? But he only looks at me for a moment and sighs with a serious frown. “I forgive you for killing Grandma.”
What?
“You seem nice, and to be honest, I don’t remember her that well anyway.”
What is he talking about? For a moment, I just stare at him with wide eyes and open mouth before I shake my head to come back to my senses. “What do you mean? I didn’t kill your Grandma!”
Perhaps it comes out a little too loud because the couple in front of us gives me quick looks over their shoulders. But I don’t care about that right now. I don’t even know who Misha’s grandmother is, and I know all of my victims by name. This must be a very bad fucking joke!
Misha seems to catch my shock because he studies me for a moment with a frown as if trying to decide if I’m genuine before shrugging. “Maybe you’re right, I don’t know. Grandpa told us you did it.”
Us? I blink. Oh, shit. That explains a lot.
In the end, we do get to ride the Centennial Wheel even if slightly later than I expected. But it’s all worth it when I hear Misha laugh andwowin awe for the first time when we reach the peak of the wheel. I try to focus on his excitement and not my own gloomy thoughts, but it’s almost impossible at this point.
How can Sasha think that Ikilledher mom? The thought itself makes everything inside of me boil from anger and indignation. I just can’t believe it! And she’s never even talked to me about it! But I breathe out all of my frustration and focus on keeping the air light between Misha and me. Right now, this is way more important. I can’t ruin the end of the day with my own sour mood.
When we get down on the ground, I have a fleeting thought of taking him somewhere to have dinner together, but it’s already getting too dark, and the possibility of being tracked and killed by Sasha grows with every passing second. So instead, we grab some takeout pizza and drive home.
“Misha!” Sasha runs out of the house as soon as we turn into the driveway. Misha himself jumps up in his seat, tightening his grip on the toy ship I bought him, and his eyes light up with excitement. He’s no less happy to see her, and I have to admit it’s very cute.
“Mom!” He jumps out of the car as soon as I stop it and runs into her open arms. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask for your permission, but Louis said he’d tell you, and look, he got me a ship! We had corn dogs and ice cream, and we got on the wheel and went very-very high. I could see the whole city from there!”
While Misha is talking about our trip, Sasha is frantically groping him, checking if he’s alright. She looks scared out of her mind, and for the first time, I genuinely feel bad for making her worried. I knew she wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t realize that she would lose her mind with worry, and…yeah, well, that was a shitty thing to do.
“What wheel? Where have you been?” Sasha cups Misha’s cheeks, holding his face with a look of concern.
“At Navy Pier! Louis said he’ll take me there again, and maybe you could come with us.”
“Ah, of course,Louistold you this.”
Finally, Sasha’s attention switches to me, and I can literally see her eyes light up with fury. She immediately gets up on her feet, protectively holding Misha closer, and points at me, seething with anger.
“Have you lost your goddamn mind, Louis Messina? He ismyson, and you haveno rightto take him away without my permission. I swear to god, if something like this happens again, I will kill you with my bare—”
“No, Mommy,” Misha says all of a sudden, tugging at the hem of her shirt with pleading eyes. “He’s good. We had so much fun!”
“I don’t care how much fun you had, you can’t just leave me like that!” Sasha bursts out, and I hear a distant hint of a frightened tremble in her voice. She probably catches it herself because she purses her lips and closes her eyes for a moment, cooling down.
Misha casts his gaze down, looking scolded, and I see the torment in Sasha’s eyes as she crouches down next to him. “Listen, teddy bear, I’m glad you had fun together, but I was losing my mind with worry. I was very very scared for you, baby.”
“I know, Mom. I’m sorry.” He nods and wraps his arms around her neck, but…ah, I can’t watch him take it on himself.
“It’s not his fault. I should’ve thought about it before taking him away.”
Sasha sharply turns to me with her jaw clenched and her eyes throwing daggers at me. “Yes, you should’ve.”
“Maybe next time, you could come with us?” Misha pulls back with hope in his voice, and Sasha and I exchange a quick glance before she sighs.
“Well, we’ll see. Now, go inside and change your clothes, we’re having dinner soon.”
“Oh, pizza?” Misha looks at me with excitement, and I look at Sasha with an awkward smile and shrug.
“Uh, we bought some, is that okay?”
