There are little hints of Uri in her face. The sharp cheekbones, the straight line of her nose. But there’s a softness in her features that Uri has never had.
“I’m Alyssa,” I say, offering her my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lev looks frantic. His breathing is coming in short, sharp spurts, and he’s chewing at the inside of his cheek hard enough to ripple the texture of his jaw.
I’m forced to turn away from Polly. “Lev, hey—everything’s okay. Just breathe like I told you, remember?”
“Uri will be mad… Uri will be—”
“You let me deal with your brother,” I say firmly.
He glances at me curiously. “You’ll protect me?”
“Always.” The moment I say it, I regret it. I don’t plan on being here long enough to be a source of protection for Lev. As much as I care about him, I can’t be a part of his life long-term.
“Why don’t you go play some video games?” I suggest. “I’ll come over in a bit.”
He gives his sister a wary glance and heads over to his special spot on the carpet. The moment his headphones are on, I turn to Polly. Whatever I’m about to say shrivels on my tongue when I see the awestruck look on her face.
“How did you do that?” she whispers.
“Do… what?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder.
“You just stopped a meltdown in its tracks. You got him to listen to you. He never does anything I tell him to. Hell, I’m lucky if he so much as looks my way some days.”
“I just… I don’t know. I guess I bonded with him.”
Her expression ripples but she catches herself before her face falls completely. “So I guess everyone’s better with him than I am.” She eyes me cautiously. “Including the random stranger who’s squatting in the basement.”
I give her a sheepish smile. “I got lucky.”
“Now, the random stranger is trying to comfort me. This day just keeps getting better and better.” She sighs deeply. “So this is why Lev has been sleeping with Uri?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Lev sleeps with Uri?”
“Well, he has his own room upstairs if he wants it, but Lev has nightmares. So yeah, Uri tends to sleep with him most days.”
I wish I hadn’t heard that. I’d prefer to just stay on the whole he’s an asshole train. Anything else is too dangerous.
“Seriously, who are you?”
I sigh. “My name is Alyssa. I live next door.”
“But you sleep in my brother’s basement?”
“I don’t really have much of a choice.”
Polly’s eyes go wide with horror. “Oh my God, is he keeping you down here? Are you his prisoner?”
She looks genuinely upset by the thought. Which is why I hold up my hands and shake my head. Even though I’ve thrown that word around plenty myself. “I’m not… That’s not what…
It’s complicated.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Listen, I know that’s grownup speak for none of your business but I’m not a baby. I can handle the truth even if it fucking sucks.”
I glance towards Lev, but thankfully, those headphones of his are doing the job. “I opened the wrong package,” I blurt out.
“What?”
Sighing, I gesture for her to follow me into the kitchen, where I pour myself a strong cup of coffee. “Can I get you anything?”
“You got any Oreos?”
I pass her the bag and a carton of milk. Then we sit opposite each other and I grab an Oreo, too. “I mistook your brother’s package for mine and I made the mistake of opening it.”
She cringes. “What was inside?”
“Nothing good. Anyway, once your brother figured out I’d opened it, he brought me down here for my own protection. That was weeks ago.”
“Weeks?” she shrieks.
“He let me out at one point, but I was forced back down here on the weekends. Up until a week ago at least.”
Polly pales. “Oh, God, I think that’s my fault. I come back on the weekends. And now, I’m on summer vacation.”
I reach out and pat her hand. It’s way too familiar for someone I just met, but it feels natural, so I just roll with it. “This is not your fault, Polly. None of it is.”
Her eyes focus on me. They really are the most striking pair of hazel eyes I’ve seen in a while. “You don’t want to stay down here, do you?”
“No. It’s hard to believe there’s a threat when you can’t see it. Sometimes, I think your brother’s asking too much of me to trust him implicitly.”