Beneath the Surface by Amy McKinley

Author:Amy McKinley [McKinley, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arrowscope Press, LLC
Published: 2019-01-07T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Russia

Hannah—11 years old

Elsa was singing in our shared bathroom again. I don’t know how she found it within her to be happy. She always saw the glass as half full, while to me it was half empty. The loss we’d suffered hit me all over again as she breezed into our room and flashed me the kind of smile that made me think all was right in the world. It wasn’t.

“Don’t you miss them, El?”

Tears formed in my sister’s eyes, and I immediately felt guilty. But with our parents gone—dead—there were times when it was painful to make myself function.

“Of course I miss them. I’d give anything to have things go back to how it was when they were alive. I’d even do those blasted Lego games Dad was crazy about.”

A small grin spread across my mouth, the first real one since we’d attended our parents’ funeral. “He’d go crazy if it wasn’t exact. I don’t know why it mattered so much. We always had to dismantle them and put them away. It’s not like they were a school project.”

Elsa flopped on her bed in the small room we shared at our new home—school. “I even miss the sound of Mom and Dad yelling at each other. I just wish it hadn’t been because of me so much.” Her voice broke, and as her bottom lip trembled, a tear rolled down her cheek.

I jumped up at the sound of pain tearing my sister apart and moved to sit next to her. “It wasn’t. I was the catalyst of a lot of those fights. I don’t think it was really about anything we’d done. He was so insistent on getting us into the Academy. That’s what it was really about, El. He only yelled at Mom when we messed up at the puzzles or gymnastics.”

“I know. But it felt like I screwed up so much. I tried to be perfect. Mom worked harder with me, I know it. And now, we don’t have a coach anymore. We probably aren’t Olympic hopefuls either.”

“I think you’re right about the Olympics. I don’t really care about that with everything that’s happened.”

Elsa rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand why. It all came so easy to you. No matter what they asked, you could do it. Gymnastics, the puzzles, even learning new languages like English. It’s just easier for you. I have to work harder.”

“El, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re here. For good. Besides, we’re good at different things. We balance each other.”

Elsa huffed.

“Did you notice that when that lady showed us around the school, all we saw were classrooms?”

“Yeah, but there’s more to the school. Didn’t you catch the name? What our parents would argue about.”

A sense of dread filled me. “I did. The Academy. The place our parents fought over so much.”

“Dad got his wish. We’re here now.” Elsa sniffed as more tears ran down her face.

We were, but at a terrible price—our parents’ lives.

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