Page 79 of Depraved Royals
The obstetrician keeps moving the transducer. “Give it a minute,” she says.
Dani and I stare at the screen. She’s muttering under her breath.
“Please. Please, not this, not after everything we’ve been through…”
A flare of light on the screen. The obstetrician freezes, pressing harder. A whitish patch appears on the screen.
Dani draws a sharp breath, her hand squeezing mine.
At the center of the bubble is a flicker of movement. With a twist of her wrist, the obstetrician brings the shape into sharper focus, and the movement stabilizes into a rapid flutter. She sighs and grins broadly.
“Oh,thereyou are, little one.”
I drop my head into my hand.
“Is everything okay?” Dani asks. “Does it seem alright?”
“It’s fine, as far as I can tell.”
The obstetrician is pointing at the screen, showing us all the incomprehensible arrangements of pixels. I’m half-listening, but I only have eyes for Dani. Her face is shiny from her tears, but her smile lights up the entire room.
The obstetrician is wiping the gel from Dani’s skin.
“Will you go and speak to my parents?” Dani asks. “I just want to talk a couple of things over with the doctor.”
* * *
When I open the door, I nearly walk straight into Fyodor, who is pacing up and down the landing. Marta is sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.
“Everything is fine,” I say. “Baby is doing well, and Dani’s stomach injury isn’t too bad. It bled a lot, but now that it’s patched up, it’s no big deal.”
Fyodor and Marta both look ready to pass out with relief, but they are smiling.
We go downstairs and into the lounge, where Mel is sitting with Vera. She’s gently trying to coax her into eating some toast.
In the couple of hours since it all went down, my sister has barely spoken a word because she’s stammering again. It breaks my heart to hear it after all these years.
All Vera wants is love, just like me. I haven’t explained a thing to the Pushkins, and yet they are being kind to her. They seem to understand, somehow, and I’m reminded of just how much of our trauma is shared.
“How are you feeling, sis?” I ask.
Vera looks up at me. “I-I’m coping. B-b-but I feel t-terrible. I should have s-s-stopped her.”
“Dani isn’t badly hurt. The baby is fine.”
Marta speaks. “And you can stay here with us for as long as you want, Vera. You need someone to take care of you.”
Vera squeezes her eyes closed, fat tears running down her cheeks.
“I’m so s-sorry. For everything. I d-don’t know why I let Idina d-do this to you.”
“She did it toyoufirst,” Mel says. “It’s not your fault you were raised by a narcissist. You’ve got a long way to go, but you’re family too, not just Kal. We’ll help you.”
I kneel down so I can see Vera’s face.
“You don’t have to be that frightened little girl from now on,” I say. “They grow jasmine here, Vera. You can be the person you really are, even if it takes a while to get there.”
Vera leans forwards and rests her forehead on my chest. I wrap my arms around her, and for the first time in many years, I’m hugging my sister. I’m so fucking glad.