Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2)

by Dana Mansfield

  Back and forth Natalya went and although she could be, and had been, a royal pain in the ass, Millie felt for her. Natalya’s relationship with her mother was about the only normalcy she had considering all the limitations the FBI and Millie and Danny put on her. But over the last month, Crystal blew off Natalya each weekend. Usually, Crystal would pick Natalya up in the early afternoon and take her back to Atlantic City or into Philly or to the mall. They’d do whatever they did, Natalya would spend the night with Crystal, and she would bring her back in time for lunch on Sunday. Crystal insisted on staying for the meal so she could say she spent time with all the kids in case anyone asked. It was a tense meal and Danny and Millie breathed a sigh of relief when Crystal would leave. Millie and Danny were often exhausted at the end of Sundays as they worked hard to bring the children back to a better place after a visit from their mother.

  It had become routine for Danny and Millie, once Little Sofie was asleep, to sit in front of the fire and talk quietly over bowls of ice cream. It was their way to unwind from the week and stressful visit from Crystal and prepare for the coming week. They would go over the children’s schedules and meal plan and make sure all their bases were covered when it came to transporting the kids to where they needed to be. The hour or two with Danny, and a sleeping Little Sofie, made Millie feel closer to her missing brother and Penny. In the time between the car accident and the kidnapping, she often eavesdropped on Jack and Penny as they had their own quiet moments together talking about many of the same things.

  Millie’s cell phone vibrated.

  How is she doing? Danny texted.

  Not good, she replied. Natalya’s pacing was growing quicker and her hands were clenched. Even if Crystal showed up in a stretch limo, Millie knew Natalya would still blow her top. Millie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her anger at her sister-in-law could no longer be measured. She learned over the last six months to channel all her energies into taking care of her nieces and nephews instead of raging at Crystal every chance she could get. Crystal would never change, even in the kidnapping situation, and Millie finally realized it was more important to provide some sense of security for the kids than falling into a bad place and cursing Crystal.

  Little Sofie whimpered. Millie learned to interpret the few noises her niece made and that particular whimper meant she had wet herself. She whimpered again and Millie tightened her embrace on the little girl to reassure her it was okay. This behavior Millie blamed on Crystal. When she learned Little Sofie needed to use diapers, she really didn’t care but then one day Crystal showed up just as Little Sofie had a very runny bowel movement. It was during the adjustment period right after the feeding button was inserted and Little Sofie was having problems with the liquid nutrition Dr. Shelly put her on. When Crystal got a whiff of the messiness, she berated poor Little Sofie to make her feel bad for being a four-and-half-year-old still in diapers.

  Millie would have physically attacked Crystal for her words but Danny steered her upstairs to clean up Little Sofie. She didn’t know what Danny said to Crystal but since that horrible incident, she basically ignored her youngest daughter. The damage had been done, however. Even in her catatonic-like state, the message was clear to the poor girl. Now, whenever she soiled herself, she whimpered in shame. Nothing Millie said helped her understand it was okay. Danny, Millie, or Sasha just made sure to change her as quickly as possible and give her hugs, kisses, and lots of reassurances. It’s about all they could do.

  Can you come get LS? She needs changing but I don’t want to leave N, Millie texted to Danny.

  Be right there. Anything I can bring you two?

  Jack and Penny.

  . . .

  The yelling was brutal and one sided. As soon as it began, Millie ushered the children into the basement playroom and stayed with them to try to take their minds off of the fight. Danny stayed on the main floor, sitting on the front staircase, and waited. Crystal and Natalya were up in Natalya and Annie’s bedroom and Natalya was experiencing the full brunt of Crystal’s verbal viciousness. Danny had tried to intervene but Crystal threatened him again with a restraining order and again, he was too afraid she would follow through. He felt awful for not stopping the verbal fight but to be honest, he felt like his hands were tied. But things were changing and he and Millie started documenting some of the shit Crystal was pulling. With the fight currently raging, it just added more fuel to the fire that was burning between the siblings in regards to their sister-in-law.

  The last thing Millie said before closing the basement door was something he had been thinking also. Jack’s law firm was also Danny’s and the senior partner was a stand up fellow whenever he or Jack needed advice when it came to contracts and such. When the kidnapping occurred, Barry Miller offered himself personally for anything they might need. Within a minute of Crystal throwing him out of Natalya’s bedroom, Danny was on the phone with Barry.

  On Monday morning, Danny and Millie would meet with Barry to discuss filing for temporary guardianship of the children. The thought of going up against Crystal considering the circumstances scared him but they would quietly see what their rights were and go from there. And in all honesty, it had to be done. Crystal’s histrionics were harming the children and now the one child she had a halfway decent relationship with was on the receiving end of a tongue lashing.

  “You are grounded indefinitely!” Danny heard Crystal scream and then slam a door. She came stomping across the balcony that looked down on the family room and front foyer and Danny stood to see what words of wisdom she might have for him. It was nearly ten and she was dressed to go out. The black slithery number she wore was not exactly something someone whose husband had been missing for six months should wear. “She’s grounded,” she said to him although he already knew that. “Nothing for her at all.”

  “I don’t think she deserved to be yelled at considering you were the one that was late,” he dared to say as she walked down the steps. “And dressed the way you’re dressed, you had no intention of spending time with her at all. She’s been waiting on the front porch since early this afternoon. You could have at least been considerate and called to tell her you wouldn’t be by instead of just showing up looking the way you do.”

  Crystal slapped him. There was fire in both her eyes and her voice.

  “Do not judge me,” she said slowly. “Do not question my parenting. Another word and you and that bitch will be out of their lives. Now, I’m going dancing and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  And with that, Crystal left.

  He didn’t get mad about the latest threat. All he did was go to his laptop and open the file where they were documenting what Crystal was doing. The door to the basement opened up and Millie appeared. She was by herself which meant Sasha must be holding Little Sofie.

  “Well?” she asked cautiously.

  “Monday morning can’t come soon enough,” he replied.

  . . .

  For an hour Millie and Danny worked on the file, documenting everything questionable they saw Crystal do since the kidnapping. They even added events from before then like Crystal leaving the hospital after giving birth to Freddy and not being there when he died or when the machines were turned off for Ellie. It was a long document. As Danny typed, Millie’s stomach ached from stress. Having to deal with Crystal should not even be something they devoted time to as all their time should be on the children.

  Millie had bittersweet feelings towards the thought of taking Crystal to court. She was worried, too. After all, she was a recovering drug and alcohol addict. The courts may not see that as a good thing but Danny thought since she was taking care of the kids and had stayed clean and sober for so long, compared to Crystal’s actions, it would not be a problem. Millie hoped so since they knew if they went up against t
heir sister-in-law and lost, they would also lose the kids. It was a terrible gamble and Millie agreed with Danny that Monday couldn’t come soon enough. They needed to talk to the lawyer to see where they did stand in the eyes of the law.

  “I’m going to go check on Natalya,” she said and put several of her niece’s favorite cookies on a plate and poured a glass of milk. She had not eaten since lunch and Millie figured she’d be hungry. Considering the lashing Danny said she took from her mother, cookies for dinner would be perfect. Actually, cookies, milk and ice cream would be better and she scooped two nearly perfect balls of chocolate mint ice cream into a bowl. Carefully climbing the stairs with a tray of the dinner Jack would have frowned at, she said a quick and silent prayer Natalya was in a calm mood.

  “Natalya?” Millie called after knocking on the closed bedroom door. “I’ve brought you something to eat. May I come in?” There was silence for several moments and then Millie heard Natalya’s voice. It was quiet.

  “Yes.”

  Millie opened the door to the bedroom Natalya shared with Annie. Although there were eight years between the two, Natalya got along better with Annie than Karie, Jack’s second oldest daughter. It was also the best bedroom for Annie as it was a little bit bigger than the other bedrooms – except for the master bedroom – which made it easier for Annie to get around in her upstairs wheelchair. She had been left with nerve damage to her legs from the car accident. Within the last month, however, Annie’s therapy had progressed to the point where she could leave her wheelchair outside the door and use her new crutches and braces to get around the bedroom.

  The girls had a set of bunk beds. The bottom bunk was a double bed while the top a twin. Natalya had thrown a hissy about having to take the top bunk even though it was obvious there was no way Annie could get up there. Natalya grumpily agreed to take the top bunk but only after Jack bought her an iPod. It was one of the rare times when he bestowed a pricy gift on one of the kids to make them happy. With Natalya, however, all the adults ended up treating her differently than the rest.

  Natalya was sitting up on her bunk. Her face was blotchy and swollen; it was obvious to Millie she had been crying. Although she could go round and round with her niece, Millie still loved her and she hated to see her hurt by Crystal.

  “If you promise not to tell Jack when he comes home, I’ve brought you quite the dinner,” she said, keeping her voice light. From the get go, Millie and Danny always talked in terms of Jack coming home for sure. It was better for the kids if they always believed he would be home even though the longer the kidnapping lasted, the more Danny and Millie worried they would never see him again. Millie sat down on Annie’s bed with the tray and waited. After a couple minutes, she felt the piece of furniture wiggle and then saw Natalya’s feet on the ladder. Millie’s eyebrows shot up when she saw Natalya was wearing a pair of Penny’s brightly colored socks. Millie finally got into a groove with the laundry and there was no need for Natalya to be wearing Penny’s socks but then she realized all of Penny’s things had been thrown out by Crystal. Natalya must have snatched the socks before then and Millie wondered why. She had not been having a good relationship with Penny prior to the kidnapping. Hmmm…

  Natalya sat down opposite Millie.

  “Papa would not be happy to know you fed me cookies and ice cream for dinner,” she said quietly.

  “He’ll never know because it’ll be our secret,” Millie replied as Natalya picked up a molasses cookie. They were her favorite. None of the other kids liked them but Penny always made sure to make a batch when she made cookies. She even bought a special cookie jar for them. A little flame of anger flashed inside of Millie. Penny bent over backwards to make Natalya feel special and Natalya never returned the favor with respect. But still, she was wearing Penny’s socks…

  “Mama grounded me,” Natalya said after her second cookie and a spoonful of ice cream. The combination of molasses and mint did not sound appetizing to Millie but Natalya was a unique girl, always had been.

  “Danny told me,” Millie replied. “She didn’t say for how long but Danny and I talked. He heard some of the disrespectful things you said to your mother but we also know you said those things out of frustration. We’ll police the grounding just through tomorrow and if your mother has a problem with that, let us handle it. Okay?”

  “Thank you,” Natalya said and finally looked up at Millie. It was hard to see her brown eyes; they reminded her so much of Jack. “I know I was rude to her but… but I am tired of her breaking promises to me and not coming to see me when she said she would.” Tears glinted in Natalya eyes. “She should be here for us.” Natalya’s chin quivered and Millie moved the tray out of the way and pulled Natalya into a hug. She broke down and cried hard in Millie’s embrace. The rest of the kids had their breakdowns over the last few months but Natalya was stubborn and kept in her pain of the kidnapping. The fight with her mother was the piece of straw and it was now time for Natalya to let her pain out.

  “I’m so sorry, Natalya,” Millie said soothingly after Natalya’s cries petered out. She wiped the tears from her niece’s cheeks with the napkin from the dinner tray. “Yes, your mother should be here. I wish I knew what was going on with her; maybe this is her way of dealing with the situation.” Millie was 100% certain that wasn’t the case since this behavior in Crystal had been going on for years. She was talking to Natalya, however, and not Danny. Although she didn’t want to, Millie was trying to make the situation a little easier for Natalya to handle.

  “She hasn’t been here for a long time,” Natalya said, her words sad. Millie was shocked by them. “When I think back to the car accident, she was kind of not here even before then.” Perhaps Natalya was wiser than Millie thought. She shouldn’t be surprised at this really. Danny was the same way and so was Sasha. Millie felt guilty suddenly. She had let Natalya’s poor behavior cloud her vision of her. She recognized she never took the extra time to really see her niece. Her guilt rose even more when she realized Crystal had done the same thing to her when she went through her years of troubling behavior because of her drug and alcohol abuse. Millie remembered how angry this made her but she had Jack and Penny supporting her even when she was a royal bitch. Natalya had no one now that she experienced Crystal’s true character. Millie could not allow her niece to be hurt any more by that woman.

  “Natalya, you are right. Your mother has not been as involved as she should have been with her children in several years. I do not know why and, to be honest, I think it is in your best interest not to tax your heart or emotions on trying to figure out what is going on with her.” Millie hoped her words were not too blunt but she saw this moment as a turning point in Natalya’s development and in her dealing with the serious situation of the kidnapping. One of the things Danny and Millie tried hard to do as caregivers was to make sure all the children made it through this situation in one piece both physically and emotionally. Little Sofie, for the moment, was a lost cause but there were five other children to support and reassure.

  Natalya adjusted her position and sat cross legged on Annie’s brightly colored comforter. Her hands touched the socks covering her feet. They were turquoise with multicolored bubbles scattered about them. A warm memory floated through Millie’s mind. At the scholarship luncheon, Penny wore boring beige nylons but the first time Millie saw Penny wear socks was a couple days later and they made her laugh. The socks were a combination of red, white, and blue stripes with gold stars and embroidered exploding firecrackers. Penny was always on the lookout for what she called happy socks. Anyone can wear just plain white socks but why be boring? Penny had once said. Although in general Penny was not a very exciting person, her socks always were. That’s what made Penny sometimes.

  “I’ve been acting like such a mudak because of how Mama has been and now I feel all alone,” admitted Natalya and a
few more tears spilled down her freckled face.

  “Natalya Ivanovna, I never want you to call yourself that again,” Millie said calmly but firmly. “I’m not going to ignore the fact you have had many not so great moments since the accident but you are young and your reaction was just that – yours. It was your way of dealing with your mother and the difficulties from the accident and then your papa going back to work and then the kidnapping. Your behavior was bad but at least you had a reaction. I honestly think it would have been worse if you kept in all your frustrations from the last three years. Could you have reacted a little more calmly and not so… mean? Yes, but let’s call that water under the bridge. This talk we’re having right now, Natalya, is kind of major. You are showing quite of bit of maturity by recognizing your mother is not acting appropriately and admitting the way you have been has been wrong. Natalya, I really am proud of you.” Natalya looked up with those words. It was a bit déjà vu for Millie. She had been on the receiving end of this type of conversation with Penny on several occasions. The last time coming just hours before everyone’s world imploded.

  “I’ve been horrible to the kids and to you and to Uncle Danny and even to Matty,” she said, her voice wavering and more tears flowing. Matty was the band’s drummer and Millie’s boyfriend. “I was bad to Papa but the way I treated Penny…” Natalya couldn’t continue as she was consumed again by her tears. Millie brought her in for another hug. This cry lasted much, much longer and Millie started crying also when Natalya spoke next. “If something happens to Penny and I never have the chance to apologize for hitting her and yelling at her and being so mean, I don’t know if I could live with myself.”