Page 33 of You + Me – Against the World

“Damn it, what took you so long? Alma, come see this! And you, over there, stay where you are!”

My brother yanks me by the arm.

“Hey, take it easy. You’re going to hurt her!” Vadim thunders behind us.

He jumps up and follows us into my brother’s bedroom. Ten seconds later, all three of us are standing in front of Basile’s computer screen, looking at an email containing a photo that’s dark and a little blurry. Still, I can instantly see that it’s us. Him pressed against me as we stand, half-naked, in Vadim’s apartment.

My first time.

Under the photo, there’s a bold caption:

Keep an eye on your sister. Shame on the Lancaster family.

Turning around, I only have time catch a fleeting glimpse of Vadim’s pale face before Basile’s fist smashes into it. And yet, I’m the one who’s stunned.

12

“Vadim, are you okay? Basile, are you crazy or what?!”

“Alma, do you see what I see? Just look!” my brother yells. His finger shakes with rage as he points at his computer screen.

“You didn’t have to hit him, you psycho!”

“Someone just sent me a photo of him with my half-naked sister, and I shouldn’t hit the guy? You’re right, I should kill him! I’m gonna kill him!”

He lunges at Vadim again.

I try to wedge myself between their brawny bodies. Their muscles are taut with tension. My older brother is on the slender side, tall and lean, but his temper turns him into a bundle of nerves that’s hard to contain. Vadim is a few inches taller, with much thicker biceps and a broader build, but he seems paralyzed. Perhaps by the shock of the photo, by the blow he just received, or out of the respect he owes a Lancaster under their own roof. I don’t know, but I can clearly tell he’s holding back.

When he finally decides to grab Basile and restrain him, their voices blur into a loud, chaotic mess of insults and barely intelligible threats. I pull with all my might on Vadim’s T-shirt, which is bunched in my fist, while trying to press my other hand over my brother’s mouth to silence him. I keep using my body as a barrier, doing my best to separate them, but my efforts are useless. Laughably so.

My father rushes upstairs and bursts into the room, closely followed by an overexcited Lily and then my mother, out of breath.

“What’s all this yelling about?”

“It’s nothing, sir. Just a little disagreement between your son and me. We got a bit carried away discussing films…” Vadim says.

Having let go of my brother, he discreetly positions himself so that his body shields the glowing computer screen.

“Basile, you will respect our guest and get your point across using rational arguments, rather than the cries of a wild beast,” my father scolds.

“Honestly, boys, you’re too old for this kind of bickering!” chides my mother, gently mediating.

“Oh, come on! Finally, some action!” Lily exclaims, her eyes shining as she looks from her brother to Vadim and back again.

“Everything is fine. We’re all going to calm down now,” I say, stepping closer to Basile.

My eyes beg him to keep this revelation to himself. I try and fill my look with all the sisterly love I can muster, hoping that all the promises we made to each other as kids and all the childhood memories we share are enough to buy his silence.

My brother fixes his polo shirt collar, smooths his rumpled sweater, and eventually speaks.

My heart is about to burst out of my chest.

“It’s fine. I got carried away. It’s nothing serious.”

I’m pretty sure he didn’t say this to please me or protect me. He was just offended by my father’s reproaches and wanted to prove he could behave like an adult. Be a real man. That is, a real man according to the Lancaster code: an intellectual with good manners and precise eloquence, capable of self-control instead of sinking to the level of impulsive, brainless adversaries. Like Vadim Arcadi.

Vadim Arcadi, who has just saved my life. And who is now smiling broadly at my parents as they slip away. He adds one last little flourish, in the form of a friendly pat on Basile’s shoulder.