Chapter Text
Elena wakes up, gasping. A warm arm slips underneath her neck and props her up gently. A cold glass is held to her lips.
"Water," Teti whispers. "Drink."
She does and then suddenly remembers. She slaps the glass away with such force, it falls to the ground and shatters.
Elena sits up and her stomach rolls again, only this time, it's not just her stomach that is moving. She blinks and looks around. She's in the cabin of Papi's sailboat.
Teti is on his knees, carefully sweeping up the broken glass when she hauls herself out of bed.
"Elena!" he warns. "Be careful, the glass."
She ignores him and runs barefoot up the steps to the deck, throwing open the door and receiving a gust of sea air in her face. She blinks against the sunlight. Shaking her head, she opens them again and and slowly steps up onto the deck.
"Elena?"
She turns towards her Papi's voice. He is at the bow, staring at her, concerned. She is about to respond when she suddenly has the odd sensation of falling. She grasps the bench and sobs, suddenly understanding why she has that feeling. She cannot see land from any side of the boat.
They are alone.
"Elena," Papi repeats, and he is on his knees in front of her, her hands grasping hers. "It's alright, you're safe now."
"What happened?" she gasps wetly. "Where are we? What's going on?"
"We had to leave," Papi whispers gently.
"So you kidnapped me?"
"We're your parents, we couldn't leave you behind."
"Where are we?" she repeats, her voice getting shriller.
"On our way to the Caribbean," Teti replies, emerging from the cabin.
Elena yanks her hands out of Papi's and lurches away from them.
"You drugged me!" she shrieks at Teti, the same man who let her braid his long hair and who read to her at night. Who, she thought, had never lied to her.
"Just a mildly stronger dose of your usual antihistamine," he says gently as if that makes it okay.
"Take me home!" she screams. "I don't want this!"
"We can't go back," Papi sighs. "Elena, please..."
"What did you do?" she demands. "Why are you running? Who is chasing you?"
Both men are silent for a frighteningly long time. Then Papi takes her shaking hand and says, "The FBI."
For the third time in less than 24 hours, Elena's world goes upside down. She's not sure if she actually makes a sound but Papi continues, "The FBI is looking for us because I used to work for them. And then I killed Abigail's father and another man who tried to kill me. I did it for your Teti."
She stares at them and wonders if all of this is a dream. Or had her childhood been a dream?
"I don't understand," she moans.
"We don't expect you to," Teti says and kneels beside her. "Not yet, anyway. Elena." He reaches out his hand, the same hand she has taken countless times over. She stares at it and wonders idly if one's fortune can truly be read in a palm.
She sniffs and swallows before placing her hand in his.
"Someday," he continues in that calm, comforting voice, "all will be made clear to you. But you must at least understand one thing." She looks up and her red-rimmed eyes meet his levelly. "Everything we have done, all that we will ever do, was out of love and to protect our family."
Over his shoulder, Papi nods.
"You kidnapped me," she whispers.
"It was that or lose you forever," Papi sighs. "I can't lose you, Elena."
"But school, my friends, home..."
Teti gathers her up in his arms.
"I'm sorry," he whispers against her hair. "But we have to start over."
Elena shuts her eyes tightly and for the first time, is glad that they had to put Thanatos down last winter.
"Where's Carmen and Nova?" she asks.
"Carmen is at the helm," Papi says. "Nova is with the Durantes. They promised to look after her."
Elena pushes herself out of Teti's embrace and stares at these two men.
"How can I ever trust you again?" she whispers.
Teti quirks a smile at her and says, "You will learn."