Page 132 of Born into Chaos

He gives me a quick hug and then heads in the direction of Samantha’s happy squeals and baby talk. When she sees him, she smiles and starts kicking her legs like crazy. He laughs and unbuckles her from her seat so he can pick her up.

“How’s my favorite niece?” he asks while giving her a kiss and grabbing a handful of toys she can play with when he puts her on his lap.

“Stop avoiding me, Val.” I take the seat next to them and tuck my legs up under me while I turn to face him. Propping my arm against the back of the couch, I rest my head in my hand and wait. He’s quiet for a long time, but I refuse to budge. I wish Vitya was here to witness my patience, because I think he’d be amazed.

Val looks over at me, letting me see everything in his familiar blue eyes that he hasn’t yet put into words, and I quickly reach out a hand to grab his. I can tell he’s deeply worried about something, and I can’t help but ask, “Did someone find out about you and Yelena?”

“No, but they’re about to,” he sighs and squeezes my hand, knocking me on my ass with his next sentence. “She’s pregnant, Sveta.”

I’m too stunned to speak. I open my mouth and then close it only to immediately open it and try again. When it’s obvious nothing is going to come out, I give up and hug him instead. I squeeze my brother in a tight hug while Samantha plays with her toys, completely oblivious toeverything else. Val leans into me, letting me hug him until I’m finally able to speak again.

“Vitya and I will be with you every step of the way, Val. Everything is going to work out. You’re going to be a daddy, and I’m going to lose a cousin but gain a sister-in-law.”

My brother grips me tighter and kisses my cheek. “Best fucking twin ever,” he whispers so Samantha won’t hear him cuss.

“I’ve only been telling you that our entire lives.”

He gives a soft laugh, pulling back when Samantha starts fussing. Squeezing one of her toys so it plays music, he holds it out to her, and she’s back to being all smiles when she reaches for it.

“She’s so scared,” Val says. “Obviously we didn’t plan for this to happen, but I love her, and I’ve always known I was going to marry her one day and that we’d start a family. This changes nothing for me, but she’s so worried about how her mom and dad are going to react.”

“They’ll learn to accept it,” I say. “They all will.” I squeeze his hand, waiting for him to meet my eyes. “They’ll all learn to love it, Val. Uncle Matvey and Aunt Alina will be so lucky to have you as a son-in-law. No one will ever love and take care of Yelena like you do. They might not see that immediately, but theywillsee it. It’ll be a shock at first, but it’s going to be okay. You two aren’t alone in this.”

He sighs and leans his head back. “I know we aren’t. This just isn’t how I wanted it all to come out.” Scrubbing a hand through his dark hair, he leaves it disheveled and turns his head to the side to face me. “I need to go meet Yelena. I just didn’t want you hearing about this from anyone other than me.”

“Just say the word, and we’ll be there,” I remind him.

“Thanks, Sveta. Don’t say anything to anyone besides Vitya, though, yeah? I’m not sure when Yelena wants to tell everyone.”

“Of course,” I tell him. “I would never say anything.”

He gives Samantha another kiss before putting her in her saucer play seat before turning to give me another hug.

“It’s going to be okay, Val. I promise. Nothing is going to tear this family apart, not even a little bit of cousin love.”

“You’re such an ass,” he says with a laugh. “We’re not related, and you damn well know it.”

I look up and smile at him. “Exactly. Things could really be so much worse. I’ll be sure and remind everyone of that when you spill the news.”

He returns my smile, looking slightly better than when he’d first gotten here. “Please do, sis.”

After he’s left, it’s hard to focus on anything other than what he’s just told me, and despite what Vitya said about squeezing in a nap, I’m too wound up to try and take one. I spend the evening with Samantha, letting her smiles and infectious laughter take my mind off things. It works until it’s her bedtime and she falls asleep on me. Once she’s in her crib, I can’t sit still, so I pace the apartment until finally giving up and deciding to work on straightening up the mess we’d made in the living room, and that’s how Vitya finds me when he walks in an hour later.

“I’m all for you greeting me on your hands and knees, sweetheart, but not like this.” His eyes run over me as he says, “What the hell are you doing on the floor cleaning?” He quirks a brow at me. “You’re supposed to be resting for when I fuck you tonight, or did you forget? Shit, did you forget? God, that’s depressing.”

I laugh and sit up. “Of course I didn’t forget. I was just too antsy to sit still.”

He walks over and helps me up. Cupping my face, he looks me over. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Yelena’s pregnant,” I blurt out, not bothering to work up to it.

“Jesus.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “We’re not supposed to say anything. They’re going to tell everyone, but he’s not sure when Yelena wants to do that.”

“We’ll back them when it’s time,” Vitya says, not hesitating for even a second.

I smile up at him. “That’s what I said.” It takes me a second to notice the dried, red dots marking his skin. “Is that blood?”

---