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“I hate the landing every time,” she says, glancing at the dirty laundry. “It fucking stinks.”
We all laugh at that, only to be cut off by Anita whistling at us. “Hurry. Everyone is already on the bus.”
The door at the back of the laundry room leads to an enclosed courtyard where the minibus is parked. Elias is leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. His nostrils flare the moment he sees Natalya. “Kept me waiting, Gurin,” he says, pushing off the bus and walking toward her. He wraps an arm around her and claws her against his side. “Never do it again,” he says, his tone menacing.
My brow furrows, and I’m about to say something when Camilla yanks me onto the bus. “What’s going on with those two?”
Camilla shakes her head. “I don’t know, but when I questioned her, she got all defensive.”
Adrianna leans forward. “If I’ve learned anything about Natalya, let her reveal things in her own time. If you push her, she’ll snap.”
I sit down next to Camilla and ask, “You once asked Natalya if she’d told me about what Elias did to her. What did he do?”
Camilla meets my gaze and then glances at Adrianna.
Adrianna shrugs. “It’s not exactly a secret.”
Camilla sighs. “Elias tormented Natalya for years. He would call her names, physically hurt her, belittle her in front of everyone, humiliate her.” She glances to the front of the van, where Elias has pulled Natalya onto his lap. “The bastard even stabbed her pretty badly a couple of times.”
I gasp at that. “What the fuck for?”
Adrianna cut in. “He said she needs teaching a lesson for being a teacher’s pet.”
Camilla nods. “He’s been a complete jerk to her from fourth grade until maybe a year ago when things became tamer.” Her brow furrows. “He even kind of left her alone at the end of last year.”
I watch as he messes with Natalya’s hair as she sits in his lap. “But we can’t work out why.” She shrugs. “But after you stood up to him, something changed, and he’s started messing with her again. Natalya gets all closed off about it any time we bring it up and won’t discuss it, but we have a feeling he has something over her.”
“Like what?” I ask.
Adrianna shakes her head. “We have no idea. We wish we did.”
“I think he has the hots for her,” I say, sort of to myself.
Camilla laughs, thinking I’m joking. When I give her a serious look, she shakes her head. “There’s no way Elias likes Nat like that. He’s been too fucking cruel over the years.”
“Just what I see as an outsider.” I shrug. “It was my first thought when he came up to us in the hallway that day.”
Adrianna contemplates me. “Fuck, maybe Eva’s right.” She shakes her head. “It sounds fucking crazy, but we’ve been too close to it all these years.”
I nod. “Not to mention when Elias attacked me in the corridor—”
“What? When did that happen?” Adrianna asks.
“Last week, I told Camilla.” I bite my lip as I remember how Oak came to my rescue, only to wrap his fingers around my throat. “But something he said was odd.”
“What was it?” Camilla asks.
I glanced around to ensure no one was listening. “He said, ‘Natalya is mine to torment and always has been. Mine, do you understand?’ He said it like a jealous boyfriend.”
“What the fuck?” Adrianna says, shaking her head. “If that boy likes Natalya, then he is fucked in the head for the ways he treated her all these years.”
I nod in agreement. “He clearly has issues.”
Dimitry Jakov, who I hadn’t even noticed, sits down in the seat in front of me, leaning toward me. “Who has issues?”
Adrianna and Camilla glare at him. “It’s called a private conversation, Dimitry,” Camilla says.
Dimitry smiles lazily, glancing at me. “Is that right?” He runs a hand through his dark, short hair. “It’s called a public bus, though.”
