Thick As Blood - Nestor Oceteva

8. 2005

Memories making living hard.

"Are you going home for the holidays darling?"

Tahlia's mother and father were sitting opposite us in the posh restaurant. As they did every month, they flew from Novosibirsk to visit their daughter and take her to dinner. For the last six months they had been inviting me along too.

Tahlia and I had become friends the moment I arrived in London almost a year ago. We were assigned rooms together as 10 year olds at the boarding house and the other brats had picked on us both.

I was so jealous of her, she oozed a self confidence I hoped I could one day have. She had bright green hair when she arrived and now it was a deep purple. The colours changed like the wind and her mood swings but I loved her. She was like the family I never had.

"No, Mrs Sokolova. They sent me here so they didn't have to see me."

I shrugged my shoulders without a care but it actually hurt that I had been sent also as far away as possible. I still didn't know why Ma and Pa hated me so much. I could see the pity in Ivanka's eyes and so I busied myself with the menu.

I woke to a maid packing suitcases hastily, shoving my clothes into the bags without folding them. I asked what was happening but she wouldn't talk to me. The only person who talked to me was Luisa but even she left me. Every now and again she would send a cryptic postcard but I didn't have a way of contacting her back.

I saved some clothes to wear before they were shoved in the case too. I left my room and found ma and pa. I smiled widely thinking I was finally going to live with them. Instead they put me on a plane with Devante and he dropped me off at St Mary's School for Young Ladies.

It was Christmas 2006 that I first visited their house in Novosibirsk. It took another two years before I met KJ although it was only in polite passing. He spent most of his time at his University in Moscow. At 14, I had little interest in boys and at 21, he had no interested in little girls. It wasn't until a few years later that both of our perceptions changed.

It was as if a switch was flipped when our annual Christmas dinner party came around in 2009. I finally had curves and the dress I wore accentuated them all. Like every Christmas, Tahlia's parents enjoyed a bottle of vodka while we snuck shots when they weren't looking.

Kirill would eventually put an old record player on and tow Ivanka to the middle of the floor and dance for hours. They were so in love it was hard to watch sometimes. Tahlia had brought her latest boy toy, promising us that this one was the one. They had snuck off sometime during my time spent zoning out.

Left awkwardly sat on the love seat alone, KJ had saved me and pulled me up for a dance. We had twirled around the room, everyone else disappearing as we focused on each other. He had changed a lot in the last year. He had a short shaped beard that accentuated his strong cheek bones. His black hair was hanging longer than before and contrasted against his piercing blue eyes.

Eventually the grandfather clock chimed midnight and Kirill turned the gramophone off. We wished each other a merry Christmas before heading to bed. KJ had walked me to my own room Ivanka kept for me here and held mistletoe above my head. I could barely breath as he leant down to capture my lips.

It wasn't my first kiss but it may have well been as it was nothing like the pecks I had received on dates. This was felt all the way to my toes and left goosebumps running over my body. I ran my hands up his body, feeling the defined muscles beneath his dress shirt. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled away to smile down at me.

"Sweet dreams Lily."

He kissed me once more before making his way to his room across the hall. I closed my door and dove onto my bed. I touched my lips and could still feel the tingling that he left behind. I had never felt such feelings before and I couldn't get rid of the stupid smile on my face. I finally removed myself from the daydream I was caught in to get undressed for bed. I pulled the large Moscow Uni shirt that KJ had lent me for a gym session last year.

He and Kirill had found out I was trained in martial arts and they let me use the in-house gym whenever I stayed. Sometimes they even joined me for sparring sessions. It was KJ who introduced me to parkour since the city was so dense it made a urban jungle for us to play on. We would spend hours exploring the city from the rooftops.

I inhaled his scent that still clung to the shirt and wondered if he was asleep yet. While I still had liquid courage in my bloodstream I opened my door and slipped across the hallway. I knocked softly and wondered if he heard or if he was asleep. I thought about what a bad idea this was and turned around as the door opened.

"Lily?" He spoke quietly so that we didn't wake anyone.

"Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Go back to sleep."

I smiled shyly as I began to walk back to my room. I felt his hand gently take mine and pull me to a stop. His other hand held my neck and he thumbed my cheek softly. Without a word he turned back to his room still holding my hand and he closed the door quietly behind us.