When We Were Young

Forty-seven:

Forty-seven:

"What were you thinking?" Baghra demanded.

"You told her that you needed her compromised to keep the Fjerdians from wanting her. I was simply doing what you told me too."

"You weren't supposed to date the little chit!" Baghra whacked him with his cane on his good shoulder, and Aleksander winced. "You've put yourself at risk, Aleksander. You have made yourself a threat to them. She can't be that good in bed."

Aleksander glared at his mother. "This isn't about sex, mom."

Baghra snorted and whacked him with his cane again.

Aleksander hissed. "Can you stop? I was shot."

"I'm aware," said Baghra, "you're lucky that I don't whack that skull in of yours, boy. You know how I got my injury. I pissed off the wrong client. You are in too deep. They will come after you if you don't stop. Walk away now, before the girl is hurt, and so are you."

"I'm not walking away, mom. I'm in love with her."

Baghra paled. "She'll be the end of you."

"I don't care. No one else gets to have her. She's mine."

"Do you know what you'll be asking her to give up?"

"She loves me. It won't matter. We'll be fine."

"I won't watch you do this. I won't support this madness. The Fjerdans won't stop until they get what they want. I'll make sure your schooling is paid for the rest of the semester, but after that there will be no more handouts from me as long as you keep up with this girl, Aleksander. You don't even know what happened to her parents."

"Of course, I do," said Aleksander, "I know everything. I found your files. I read them. I know about you paying my cousin to watch her and keep her safe. I know you paid him not to love her too, and that you arranged his adoption for him too. And did the money for her schooling come from Ravka, Fjerda, or Shu Han?"

Baghra froze. "You shouldn't know any of that."

"I do mom. I know all about the monster she's going to be married off to if she accepts her inheritance as well, and I am not going to let that happen. She deserves someone that loves her."

"You're making a mistake."

"No, I'm not. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Baghra shook her head. "When she leaves, you'll come crawling back."

"She's not going to leave."

"Fine," said Baghra, "well I won't watch you meet your demise. You like your fancy things, my boy. You won't be able to live without them, and she won't be able to live without them either. Everyone can be bought. It's just a matter of what their price is."

"She won't. We won't. We're going to be together."

Baghra shook her head. "I should beat you, boy, to make you see sense."

"That doesn't work anymore, mother. I'm not a child. You've forced me to do your bidding for years. The first relationship I had was me seducing Genya's Stepmom for you, and you didn't think that there was anything wrong with that."

"You volunteered. You made money."

"I was a teenager! You should have said no. You're the parent, Baghra."

"And we were paid handsomely for that job. How do you think you got your position on the football team here?"

Aleksander frowned. "I got in by pure talent."

"Of course." She rolled her eyes. "Call me when you are done with your fling. I have a professor from the University in Kerch that is interested in having you be his TA while you're in law school. It will be a good position. The pay is dismal, but it will be for the experience."

"I'm not going to be a lawyer, mother. I'm going to be a football player. I'm being scouted. I'm going to get what I want, and it's not going to involve you. Ever."

Baghra sneered at him. She left him alone in the hospital bed. When she was gone, Aleksander called Nikolai on his cell phone.

"Hey man!" Nikolai said. "Where are you? Alina's been frantic with worry. Are you okay? Please tell me they didn't amputate your arm. She's been rambling about that for the past two hours. Please tell me you're okay."

"I'm okay," Aleksander said, "it was barely a flesh wound. They stitched me up, and they say it might hurt to move, but I should be fine."

"Is that going to keep you from playing?"

"No," he lied, "it'll all be okay."

Nikolai sighed. "Good. Also, I'm glad you didn't die. But only if you're not going to hurt my cousin. Are you planning on hurting my cousin?"

Aleksander sighed. "She's my girl, Nikolai. I'm never going to hurt her. She's going to be mine. Always."

Nikolai was quiet for so long Aleksander was almost certain that Nikolai had hung up the phone. "Fuck. Fine. I'll come get you."

"Someone's got to get my car," said Aleksander.

"I'll bring Vasily. He'll take the car home for you."

"Hey, is she okay?" Aleksander asked. "Alina?"

Nikolai sighed. "Finally sobbed herself to sleep on the couch a little while ago. I tried to convince her to take a shower to wash the blood off, but she wouldn't. She wanted to be by the door when you came home."

"But she's still there?"

"Yeah, she's still here, man," said Nikolai, "I finally got permission to tell her some stuff. She doesn't seem interested in any of her family's money. Lantsov or otherwise. All she wants is you, Aleks. So if you hurt her---"

"You'll kill me. I know the drill. I'm not gonna hurt her, Nikolai. I'm in this for keeps. No one else gets her but me."

"Good," said Nikolai, "because I've met the Fjerdian they want her engaged to. He's an asshole. She's going to need all of the help she can get to keep him away from her. He's a bastard, Aleksander. I don't want him anywhere near her. I don't care what she stands to inherit if she does it."

"I know," said Aleksander, "I know all about him. Why do you think I've been trying to make her mine for so long? Alina deserves better than that. And she's got to know that there's better out there for her, yeah?"

"Yeah. Hang tight, man. I'll be there soon."