I Dare You To Meet Me
Chapter 13

Addressed to Natasha White Kozlov:

I hope that you are well, and that this time has been of profitable learning for you, as you are surely aware, we know that your 21st birthday is approaching, and as you may remember, it will be legally possible to open the rest of your mother’s will and be read properly. For this very reason, we request your presence at the offices of the center of your family’s law firm, (below is the address in case you have forgotten it), on November 2 of this year, one day after you are declared of legal age according to the laws of the world. We kindly ask for your discretion and punctuality. We will be waiting for you at noon.

At your service, Mr. Vladimir Petrov.

My heart was pounding in my chest with every word I read. F**k, I had forgotten that my f*****g birthday was coming up, and of course I had also forgotten what that meant.

When Megara, the woman in charge of the home I was staying in had called me into her office I thought it was to chastise me for coming home in the middle of the night. But the little piece of paper in my hands was the last thing I thought I would see.

Seeing the curiosity in the lady’s eyes, I folded the letter again and without thanking her I went to my room, sitting on the bed I had I read the letter again. I did the math mentally.

There was one month left to the date written.

I had a month to tell the others about my past, and why I had kept it from them for so long.

I would surely take a beating for not telling them.

I grimaced and rubbed my ribs remembering the last fight I had with them.

The sons of bitches hit hard, but so did I. I skipped dinner as usual.

I skipped dinner as usual, and waited for everyone to fall asleep before leaving the same way I always sneaked out with Nikolai.

Stupid Nikolai, you could be here and help me with this mess but no, you had to go with my family leaving me here.

I closed my coat as much as I could, hid my hands in my pockets and my face in my scarf, the streets of Russia were damn freezing at this time of year and more so at this hour.

My boots against the pavement echoed with every step I took, I went deeper into a not very safe neighborhood of the city, there were almost no people outside, only one fool was out of his bed on the street of his own free will. The few that were there were the same shits as always, they recognized me right away and none of them made any attempt to get in the way, months ago they had tried and months ago they had learned their lesson. They appreciated their miserable existence too much to try a second time.

I arrived safely at the building that served as an apartment complex where all the boys lived, except for Sabrina, who lived in her own house. I stood in front of the place as I watched my breath turn into a cloud of mist as it came out of my mouth. I looked up and down the worn walls full of graffiti and badly painted, the place had two floors, and there were only four windows in total, the four were blocked by pieces of way to prevent the passage of thieves. They were no longer necessary because of the fact that since we had taken revenge for Nikolai’s death no one had ever messed with us again. But I supposed it was a hard habit to leave behind.

I went forward after a few minutes and opened the door with the key I had, inside the cold was not much better, but at least I was no longer exposed to the cold blizzard that whipped hard and tousled my hair. I walked through the hall and crossed the living room, when I passed by the kitchen I took an apple from the plate that was in the center of the table, and I took a bite while I continued my way to the back door that led to a small fenced garden, on the other side there was a shed with access to the other side of the street but that opened only from the inside, We had put a refrigerator, loudspeakers and comfortable armchairs a few years ago to make it our meeting place for small parties like that one, and indeed, I could see how the light was filtering under the door. The closer I got, the more I could hear the music in the background and the murmur of voices talking.

I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me.

Unlike the house inside, I could feel the heat transmitted by the perspiration of the six human bodies that were lying on the couches while drinking beer and talking quietly.

-You’re late, Tasha,” Caleb complained to me.

-No one asked you,” I replied as I continued to eat my apple. I walked over and plopped down on another couch next to Reykon, our “leader”. The guy opened his mouth to reply but must have decided it wasn’t worth it as he just took a long drink of beer.

-How was your day Medusa,” the man next to me asked in a hoarse voice.

I shrugged my shoulders as I took another bite of fruit.

-Same old shit, King,” I answered without looking him in the eye.

If I looked him in the eyes he would know I was lying, Reykon always knew when someone was lying, he was worse than a f*****g polygraph.

-Are you sure? His question made me turn my head and look him in the eyes, f**k, he knew I was lying, how did he know, no f*****g idea, but he knew, and if I didn’t tell him the truth I was going to end up f****d.

I sighed deeply before answering, rolled my eyes and threw what was left of my apple at him.

-I f*****g hate that I can’t hide anything from you King. I mumbled in annoyance and his hoarse laughter was infectious to the point of putting a smile on my face.

-Neither you nor anyone else Tasha, don’t feel bad about it, now stop talking and tell me what happened.

The smile died on my lips and I cracked my knuckles in a way to release the nerves I felt.

-I lied to them. As the words left my mouth I felt the six pairs of eyes on me.

-You lied to us, what the f**k did you lie to us about,” Sabrina asked angrily.

-I… I’m not just Natasha Kozlov. But before I could say anything Boris had already stood up furiously and was looking at me accusingly.

-What the f**k, who are you really then, is Natasha your name at least?

-Let her talk,” Reykon intervened and from his tone of voice I knew he had to give a very good explanation for this or I would be in a lot of trouble.

-I didn’t lie about that, nor about what I told you about me and my past, only that wasn’t all,” I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes and prepared to drop the bomb, I didn’t open them again, “I’m not just any teenager who was left without family, my mother and grandparents died three years ago and that’s when I became in charge of the government, but my family wasn’t an ordinary one, I belonged to the higher ups. I belonged to the upper class, okay? My grandparents and my mother were the Kozlovs. Not just any Kozlov, but the Kozlov family, owners of the Kozlov oil companies, one of the most powerful and wealthy families in Russia. When they died I was left with nothing because of a f*****g loophole in the wills, the useless lawyer did nothing to stop them from taking everything from me and since I was a minor there wasn’t much I could do, so I ended up going from one orphanage to another, until I met Nicolai and you-.

A few moments passed where silence reigned before I dared to open my eyes again. I was met with several looks of disbelief, suspicion, doubt and anger.

I snorted and crossed my arms.

-And before any of you morons think to say it, no, I’m not telling any lies. My full name is Natasha White Kozlov and I am the heiress of my family’s empire, I apologize for hiding it from you all these years, but I will not accept that you doubt my word. I finish firmly.

-I see,” Reykon says with a deceptively calm voice, “And what is it that made dear Tasha that after all these years of silence you finally told us the truth, because I guess there is a reason for all this?

Stupid Reykon, I hate that he is so smart.

For any answer I threw him the envelope with the lawyer’s letter. As he took it out and read it aloud to the others, I stood up and went to sit on my bike. I took a cigarette out of the compartment and lit it and then took a puff.

I grimaced, I didn’t like smoking but I did it once in a while to take the stress off.

When Reykon finished reading the letter there were a few minutes in which no one said anything, and I just kept smoking waiting for any reaction from him. I felt disappointment wash over me as I saw how they looked at me differently than when I had arrived.

F**k it was the same person who had walked through the door a few minutes ago, now that they knew I was also a millionaire didn’t make me suddenly sprout wings or anything like that.

-Can you stop seeing me as a f*****g stranger and say something goddamnit- I said angrily.

-What do you expect us to say,” Sabrina asked and I noticed anger and sadness in her tone.

-I don’t f*****g know, insult me, curse me, maybe a punch or two, but don’t you dare to see me like that, I’m still the same Tasha you’ve known for years.

Only Reykon and Sabrina kept looking me in the face, the others were running away from my gaze as they looked elsewhere. None of them said anything and I threw the cigarette to crush it with the heel of my boot.

-So, that’s the way things are going to be hum, well you can go f**k yourselves, yes, it was my mistake for not telling you before but no that doesn’t make me a different person, and if you are idiots enough to believe otherwise I must say I am very disappointed, if Nikolai was alive he would have beaten me up for not telling him but I’m pretty sure he would have forgiven me. Too bad I am no longer here to spit in their faces for being so stupid-.

I spat angrily, without waiting for a response from him I went to the place where the keys were and took the keys to my bike. I opened the door to get out and got back on it.

I gave them another look as I turned the key and made the engine roar. Reykon, Caleb, Boris and Anton watched me with doubt and suspicion. Sabrina took a step in my direction but a hand from the guys grabbed her arm and shook her head as they watched me. I gave them all a hard look, especially her and Reykon.

-Bye thanks for everything I guess, you know how to replace me if you stop being sons of bitches-.

And I slid my bike into the street, I always knew my only real friend was Nikolai, but f**k, it hurt to see how true it was.

I shook my head as I moved forward, I wasn’t going to cry, I hadn’t done it for a long time, and those useless people weren’t going to make me break that record.

I remembered that the letter had stayed in Reykon’s hands, and I grimaced at that.

Anyway, I still remembered where the offices were and I didn’t need the address.

I had enough problems to deal with without begging for forgiveness from a gang of criminals, no matter how much help they had given me in the past.

And with ice in my heart for the first time in a long time I returned home before the sun rose over the horizon again. Feeling as alone as I had been since that afternoon where I was left without family.

Alone.

I was still alone after all.