Fifty Ways to Love You - Emily Prentiss x OC

20. little sister

(trigger warning: drugs)

"Gas station. Pull in," she directed me.

"Emily, we have to get to Dover. We're barely out of DC," I said. I had little patience right then. I needed to help Mitya. I sniffled, I'd been weeping the whole drive.

"Love, you can't cry and do seventy on the highway. Let me drive. I can get us to Dover, then you give me directions where we're going, okay? Please, I can't let you drive like this, Lina, it's not safe." I sighed and pulled off the highway. We switched, so I could sit in the passenger seat as Emily drove us to Delaware.

Much of the drive was spent in silence or listening to the radio. I stared out the window or through the windshield, hoping to god my brother wouldn't overdose before we could get there.

I realized I hadn't told Emily much about the situation. "I'm sorry to make you come all the way out here," I said softly, still staring out the window. Knowing she had looked over at me, I turned to see her, keeping my head supported by my hand and my elbow against the wall of the car.

"I came with you by choice,"

"It's not your battle to fight, Em, this isn't gonna be fun. This happens sometimes. I've never heard him like this, not this paranoid, but...he's just high, Em, and I need to help him. Not 'just high', I don't mean to trivialize, I just mean that there's — there's nothing new. He's been battling his addiction for years. He has nobody except me. I have to be there for him, 'cause nobody else will be. He's my brother, Ems..." I bit my lip and cried. "I need to stop crying by the time we get there. It'll just make him feel guilty,"

"Sweetheart, I'm here with you. You're gonna help him." I nodded and looked back out the window at the dull glow of dawn.

"Yeah."

-

We got to Dover before dawn and I called Dmitri. "Мы здесь. Где ты, Митя, на каком этаже ты?"

"'Мы'? Кто 'мы'?" I sighed quietly enough so it wouldn't be picked up over the phone.

"My girlfriend and I. You talked to her earlier. Морозно, Дима, скажи мне, пожалуйста! Блять..."

"Galya." Emily put her hand on my shoulder. I shut my eyes.

"Dima, please,"

"Room 409." I smiled a little and turned to Emily so she could see my brief happiness. She squeezed my shoulder and returned my grin. "Please be quick, I think they followed me here,"

"I'll be up soon, Mitya. Я тебя люблю,"

"You too." He hung up and Emily and I went inside. She had her arm around me as the elevator ascended. We found room 409 and Emily squeezed my hand once before letting go. I knocked on Dmitri's door. "Кто это?" He'd looked through the peephole, he knew it was us, but asked anyway, likely in part because he didn't recognize Emily.

"Твоя сестра, идиот," I chuckled. Emily caught that sentence and hit me in a playful manner to get my attention. She was confused as to why I called my high-off-his-ass little brother an idiot with no remorse. He opened the door and had a huge smile. Dmitri looked around before pulling us inside.

"Сестрёнка, спасибо," he sighed, pulling me into a hug.

"Я не твоя 'сестрёнка'," I laughed, "Ты мой младший брат,"

"Боже," he chuckled. "Кто она?"

"My girlfriend," I explained.

"Your girlfriend? Damn, thought I was clean," he joked.

"No, I'm serious, Mitya. This is Emily Prentiss. My girlfriend." He raised his eyebrows and held out his hand, which she shook with a kind smile.

"Приятно познакомиться," she attempted. Dmitri fought a cringe. "It's okay. I know my Russian's bad," she chuckled.

"She tries," I added. "Dima, she's good. She loves me. I would never betray you, and Emily would never betray me. We've got your back, alright?"

He sized Emily up and said, "Okay," with a quick nod. "They probably followed me here, we gotta go." I could feel the breath held in my lungs.

"Dmitri...nobody is chasing you. Let me see your arm." I reached out and he hit my hand away. "Okay. Okay. It's fine. When's the last time you shot up?"

"Three weeks clean, Galya," he said proudly. I smiled a little and nodded. Was he lying to me?

"Who is chasing you, do you think?"

"The mob." My mind immediately went to The Godfather. "Russian mob. They followed me from Worcester. Worcester, Galya. You gotta help me,"

"Alright, I am. Let me buy you a coffee, and we can talk, okay?"

Over coffee, I told Dmitri he could stay with me in DC for a little while until he could get a job and an apartment. His promise was that he could not ever mention my relationship with Emily to anybody.