Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves - K.A. Merikan Page 0,142

to ask for Mom’s location for him.

Room 221.

It was all the way at the end of the hallway, and Radek was glad that Mom would spend the observation period in the newly-renovated wing, which even had some posters put up on the walls to create an illusion of normalcy.

Still, as they approached the entrance, he stalled and only entered once Yev did.

Two beds stood along the wall, one occupied, one empty, both facing a television set that played some kind of family drama show with terrible acting.

Mom glanced their way, revealing a horrific bruise on her cheekbone and brow. It looked as if some wild beast had mangled her flesh.

“Mom… How are you?” he asked, walking up to her with the chocolates as she silently eyed Yev.

From up close, her skin seemed swollen, in shades ranging from magenta to blue, and her left hand was in a fresh cast, but her gaze remained perfectly sober. Radek hadn’t seen her without coiffed hair and elegant makeup for years, and now that her hair was damp from whatever treatment she’d gotten earlier, and her face washed, she seemed unguarded. Frail like a much older woman.

“You came,” she said. There was a hint of anger there, as if she wanted to point out the many things he had not come for, but Radek chose to ignore it for once.

“Of course.” He sat on a stool Yev had gotten from somewhere, and put the chocolates on Mom’s side table, tentatively holding his hand out for hers.

She hesitated for a full second but squeezed his fingers in the end. Her skin was smooth, as if she applied ointment every hour, and the realization how rarely he touched her hit him with insidious subtlety. Guilt was a long needle stuck in his heart, but he decided he’d keep his cool.

“I’m sorry you fell. Do you need anything?”

She licked her lips and cleared her throat, glancing at the chocolates. “I… don’t really like the cherry liquor ones. But it’s thoughtful of you.”

Radek counted to ten in his head instead of screaming nothing’s ever good enough! “I’m sorry about the last argument we had, I wasn’t in a good state of mind.”

Mom glanced at Yev, then back at Radek and exhaled. “I might have overreacted.”

That tiny acknowledgement that not everything was Radek’s fault made his heart so much lighter. “Sooo… This is Yevhen, my boyfriend,” he said, barely able to breathe in anticipation of what her reaction might be this time.

She watched him for the longest moment, and then her face twisted, and she let out a sob, hiding behind her cast.

Radek’s chest sank, but Yev’s hand was the support he needed. “I know it’s not what you wanted for me, but I can’t hide it forever.”

She sobbed with even more desperation and looked up. Yev might not have needed protection, but Radek was ready to deflect any mean words that might come out of Mom’s mouth next.

She bit her lip, trying to wipe her tears with the cast. “You will take c-care of him, right? He can be so useless sometimes…”

Radek sat straighter, not sure whether he should be relieved or offended, but he doubted his relationship with Mom could ever cease being complicated.

“Mom!”

He could sense Yev silently laughing behind his back, but the answer came back fast.

“Of course I will.”

Thanks, Yev. For nothing.

Then again, being the butt of the joke was better than Mom not accepting their relationship altogether.

“I won’t always be around, Radek. We all like to imagine ourselves as invincible, but as you must have realized,” she glanced at his stump with wet eyes, “death is always around the corner.”

Radek groaned. “Jesus, Mom…”

“It’s true. So… that’s why it’s good to have someone you can depend on,” she uttered and squeezed his hand.

Yev cleared his throat. “Do you want anything to drink, or a snack?”

“Coffee, please. And vanilla wafers,” Mom said as if she’d been waiting for that question.

Yev left, closing the door behind him, but the atmosphere had become less dense within a couple of minutes, so Radek didn’t feel deserted.

“I’ll try to be around more,” he said, deciding it was his time to make amends. “I’ve decided to sell the apartment in Cracow and move back, though I’ll probably stay with Yev permanently.”

Mom exhaled, her gaze wandering off to the TV. “Or you could both move in with me.”

Radek swallowed, his mind racing when he remembered all the arguments he’d had with her over the years, yet it felt as if he’d become