…Chapter 7…
Toris stared for a moment before frantically grabbing onto his shirt, trying to hide, but it was too late.
"What are those?" she questioned, entering the room, closing the door softly behind her, making the Lithuanian even more flustered.
"Oh, um, just clothes, you know, they got a little torn up and I want to fix them before Mr. Branginski sees-"
"Do not play the fool with me," her voice was chilling cold, her ice blue eyes penetrating his soul, "Where are those marks from?"
His shoulders slumped and the shirt hung from a hand, though he was careful not to let the fine fabric touch the dirty floor.
A self-berating smile appeared on his face, "Before Mr. Branginski found us; I was out looking for food for the other two. I got on the wrong side of some middle-classmen who thought I was lower than scum and that it'd be funny to use their horse's crop on me," he laughed, but there was no humor there, "The funny thing is that they probably would've healed by now if I didn't dance so much. They're fragile enough that too much dancing about causes them to reopen, like you just saw tonight."
"Let me see."
"But, but it isn't decent…"
"That condition isn't decent. Now stay still and let me see."
She walked closer, circling around him, and the Lithuanian fought to remain still. He was reminded of predators, the way that they circle their prey, in a way. But for possibly the first time since he had met her, he didn't detect any murderous aura coming from her.
Was it too much to hope for that she might not hate him after all?
…
Ivan was feeling impatient for the time Toris would come. He wanted his little dancer near him; he wanted to see the boy. Smiling to himself, he busied himself with the paperwork he had to finish before arriving in America.
And then a thought struck him.
In America, Toris would leave him.
He clenched onto the pen. It snapped in two.
He couldn't let that happen.
Toris wasn't going to leave him. Not if Ivan Branginski had anything to say about it. If he wouldn't stay for himself, he would definitely stay for his little brothers. It wasn't blackmail, it was simply keeping possession of something that belongs to him.
Only to him.
Toris was his, and always would be. He'd kill him before he'd let him leave him.
...
Sorry for the uber short chapter! If it makes things any better, I should be upating again in a few days.
Hope you enjoyed, and please review!