Journey To the Past [ Romanovs x Reader] 🇺🇸

Longing pt 2 - holding on

Third Person POV

" Um... Excuse me, ma'am...I have a problem with catching up..." Antoinette said bearly above whisper. She could write, but it took her a lot of time. Her hand was always trembling while she held the pen or a quil. Taking notes seemed to be quite difficult to her.
" Oh, my... That is some problem..." The woman pretended to be lost in thoughts for a moment. " You could use some assistance, yes?" She smiled. "Yevgieniy can help you with the notes. Isn't that right, dear?" She turned to the boy, who nodded." Of course..."

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As he observed Antoinette during the lesson, Yevgieniy noticed that she was doing very well with everything, except for writing and not exactly it, because she knew, how to spell each word. It was only a physical problem, generally writing with a quil or pen...
He was quite surprised.
In the hospital for the mentally disabled and disordered children, wich his mother established,there were also both, mentally and physically disabled. He was almost sure that when you are born with brain damage, you are always MENTALLY disabled. Appearently not. Or was she born like this?  Maybe she's after some accident?He couldn't be sure, until she tells so herself...

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The studying time passed faster than ever before. It was almost a half of an hour, before Monsieur Gilliard arrives to pick Antoinette up.
From what the brothers found out, he was a good friend of girl's father and her teacher, as well.
Aunt Sonia made some tea and the boys gladly joined to drink it, especially when it turned out, that it shall be served with cookies! The young student however, did not seem to be very pleased with the idea. She politely declined and asked if she could just wait nearby, what of course she was given permission to do...
Sonia glanced worriedly at the girl, as if she knew something...

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" You don't like tea, do you?" Yevgieniy asked standing next to the wheelchair.
" I like it." Antoinette answered with a sigh.
" Then, why won't you join us?"
" You will laugh at me, if I tell you..." She smiled sadly, but he shook his head, so she decided to answer his question. " I am not able to lift up a filled teacup." The boy didn't even chuckle at those words. Instead, he looked at her with a sad, slightly shocked frown on his face. " Really...?"
" Yes." She let out a bitter laugh. " And if I tried to eat a cookie, I assure you, half of it would be crumbled on my dress..."
" Why..?" He almost whispered.
" I cannot control my hands. I bearly feel, I have them..."
So that's why she had problems with writing and why her hand was trembling! It just took much more effort for her to write, than an ordinary person... Yevgieniy suddenly felt really stupid for thinking that she had to be mentally disabled. Didn't his mother always tell him not to judge a book by its cover? He was really embarrassed with himself.
" I'm completely healthy when it comes to intellectual development." She spoke up suddenly and he turned to her in confusion.
" You doubt it, don't you?" She asked calmly and he shook his head." No! I..."
" But you had." She cut him off. "Just like the 90% of people I met..." The boy lowered his head. " I'm sorry..." He mumbled.
" No need to be." She gave him a small smile. " Like I said, most of people I meet, think that way, too. Don't take it personally."
" But..."
" Yes, it is frustrating sometimes, but, well, c'est la vie..." She chuckled, but he was able to hear that dreadful sadness in her quiet voice. " I think that is the reason, why I have no friends..."
" What am I, then? A thin air?" Yevgieniy asked and she looked at him with eyes wided from shock. " You...?"
" Well... I thought... We could, be friends...?"
" You... would like to be a friend of mine...?" She uttered in geniue disbelief.
" I don't see, why not..." He smiled.
" I can't walk..."
" So what?"
" You're not bothered by this...?"
" No..." He began to say, but heard her sniffing." I didn't mean to make you cry...! Sorry!" He apologized quickly. She shook her head. " Don't... It's just that..." She blinked few tears away. " For my whole life, no one ever... Said something like this to me..."
" Really ?How old are you?
" 12, but I'll be 13 in September. And you?
" I am 13." He nodded with a smile, but inside he was heartbroken. He couldn't imagine how hard it all must have been to her... All alone, her whole life?"
" Um... Maybe you would like some cookies?" He decided to change the topic.
" I told you..."
" Don't mind the crumbles. You can always brush them off, right?"
" Actually, yes..."
" So?"
She took a deep breath and a bright smile appeared on her face. " OK, let's go!"