Broken Keys

Chapter 1
I roll over in bed as my alarm begins to blare knocking my from the hazy realm of sleep. I reach over to turn off the alarm and realize that I’m not alone in my bed, I see a small blonde head poking out from underneath my blanket. Gently I lower my hand and brush her golden hair away from her face, she stirs slightly before pressing her face into the pillow.

“Time to get up Katerina.” I whisper and she shakes her head, preferring to sleep a little while longer in the nest we built up. I wish I could be like her and just burrow back into the bed. I begin to get dressed noisily hoping that she would grow tired of me and decide to get up on her own. Ater I slam the dresser drawer closed she finally sits up and rubs her eyes.

“Come on and get up Katia.” I tell her as I pull on the rough cotton pants and button up. In the other room I could hear my mother starting the day and I can smell breakfast heating up. Soon she would be off to the factory for another long shift.Katerina yawns but slides out of bed and proceeds to get dressed. Outside the summer sky was beginning to brighten promising another warm day.

“Are you gonna be a good girl at Auntie Nadia’s?” I ask her and she nods. My older sister Nadia lived across the city in one of the much nicer areas. Her husband was a doctor at the hospital, this allowed her to be able to stay at home with her new baby while he provided everything. In short she was embarrassed to be taking care of her younger sisters wedlock daughter, while said sister scrubbed toilets and did laundry for the well off few.

Out in the main living space I see my mother pulling on her worn shoes and tying her greying hair back into its usual bun.

“I’ll see you tonight Lara.” She tells me, right before she leaves Katerina runs out of the bedroom and wraps her arms around her waist. I see her shell break slightly and she gently pats Katrina's head.

“Be good today Katia.” She says and presses a kiss into her blonde hair.

I feel my stomach twist inside of me, remembering how she had acted when I first told her I was pregnant. She hadn’t acted nearly as loving to her potential grandchild than. She had been more focused on screaming at me for being a whore who shamed the family.

0000 I sometimes found it strange to be cleaning for the Malkins. I certainly hadn't thought that I would be the one to be scrubbing their floors. They didn’t seem to look down on me because of my situation, rather it seemed like I was still little Lara, Sasha’s baby sister to them. Ten years ago I was still a teen ready to break out of Magnitogorsk and my brother had been playing on the team with their two sons. But that was a decade ago, before I ruined my chances on moving up in the world, before the accident and before Evgeni was shipped off to America to play hockey.

I had spoken to Evgeni a few times since Katrina and I moved back here, he would give me a smile and a wave being his usual friendly self. We would chat for a few moments before I would quickly hurry away. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to see him, I longed for the days when we shared the same school room together. When I would watch his games with my mother and I would feel a strange tingling feeling whenever he scored.

It was just that those times were locked up and not to be remembered again. We couldn’t go back to them so it was easier to pretend I couldn’t remember them.

“Lara?” I jump and nearly knock down the mop bucket. I spin around and see Evgeni standing in the doorway. His face breaks into a smile and he walks across the room to me. “I’ve been waiting to see you again!” He exclaims and I grip the mop handle tightly.

“It’s nice to see you again too.” I reply feeling embarrassed in my maid’s uniform. He shifts awkwardly and stuffs his hands into his pockets.

“How’s Katerina?”He asks and I feel my face warm up.

“She’s doing well, she just turned 6.” I tell him in the same tone everyone got when they asked me about her. A slightly annoyed voice with the edge that told them to not press further about her.

“It’s just that I haven’t really seen you in…” He drawled off

“Since Katerina.” I answered for him helping him skirt around mentioning the last time he saw me. He removes his hands from his pockets and fiddles with the end of his belt, that pokes out from its loop. I glance across the room and see I only have ten minutes to catch the bus to go home.

“Evgeni I really have to get home.” I tell him and he seems to snap back into reality.

“I didn’t see a car .” He mentions, “Let me drive you back,It would get you home much quicker.”

“You really shouldn’t I’ve taken the bus every day.” I reply as I stash the mop back in its closet.

“You’ve had a long enough day from what my mother told me, just let me take you home and you can see your daughter faster.” Evgeni reasons and I sigh at him. I didn’t want him to see where we lived now, I didn’t want to admit that I was in that cramped two bedroom apartment with my mother.

Yet it was still light outside, I could still have time with Katerina before she went to bed. I sigh and nod to him and he smiles happy to win this argument.
00000 We pull up to our building a ten story Stalinist building, theirs some kids still milling around the outside enjoying the warm air.

“Thank you for the ride again.” I tell him as I unbuckle my seatbelt, I can see the kids looking over to us now surprised to see Evgeni’s nice car in this neighborhood.

“You better get away before they swarm.” I warn him as I open the door.

“It was nice seeing you again Lara.” He tells me and I feel my face heat up.

“You too Zhenya.” I reply softly and slide out of the car.

“Miss. Petrenko who was that?” One of the girls asks me as Evgeni pulls away from the building.

“Just a friend.” I answer shortly before shooing them away from following the car.

A friend, you aren’t even his friend Larissa. Evgeni wasn’t friends with girls like you.

Notes

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