Chapter 2
Melina will never forget exchanging one child for another, feeling like she was abandoning Yelena as she sets the young girl down to turn to the child wailing in the doorway.
Not once had she ever seen Natasha break composure or cry and certainly not like this. She moves forward and pulls the young Widow close. Natasha collapses against her, begging Melina to tell her that Yelena will be okay.
Melina falls to her knees, enveloping Natasha in her arms as the girl breaks apart. She doesn’t even realize that tears are falling down her own cheeks quietly until Alexei kneels down next to them and reaches out to wipe it away.
Natasha cries until her voice is hoarse and her small body can’t produce any more tears. She’s drained dry, letting out hiccuping whimpers as she buries herself in Melina’s arms like the child she is.
They take the body home. Yelena’s wrapped up in a blanket and it reminds Melina of when she’d fall asleep watching a movie, cocooned in a blanket for warmth. Melina sets the body on Yelena’s bed and they discuss what they’re going to do next.
Alexei says he’s going to call the Red Room to get the body.
“No. They’ll burn her,” Melina shakes her head. She wants to be selfish for once in her life and keep what had been a little bit of happiness in her life to herself. Yelena had been her little bundle of sunshine and she deserved more than to be burned and dumped. She wanted to bury her.
“Dreykov will ensure she has a peaceful place to rest,” Alexei assured her but Melina shakes her head. Alexei was always blind when it came to his buddy Dreykov. He always denied the rumors that were true, claiming that Dreykov could never.
“He’ll cut her open and then dump her when he’s done,” Melina argues. “I want to bury her.”
It descends into an argument quickly from there. Alexei accuses Melina of saying he doesn’t care about the death of his fake child. Melina accuses him of never having cared about Yelena.
“I played my role of her father perfectly!” He bristles, drawing himself up to his full height. “The mission is still going, Melina. You cannot allow yourself to get attached.”
She doesn’t know how he didn’t. It didn’t take much for her to fall in love with these kids. They were perfect and she loved them. Somewhere along the way, the pretending faded, and Melina became their mama. She can’t fathom how Alexei doesn’t feel the same.
Melina and Alexei fight and it turns to yelling. Alexei tries to intimidate her with his size but Melina has killed men far bigger than him.
Melina makes him an apology drink that night, telling him that he was right and she was sorry. Watching as he knocks the drink back before telling her that it’s okay but that it’s not real, Melina nods her head obediently.
Alexei falls asleep on the couch and Melina tells Natasha to pack a bag as quickly as she can. Natasha doesn’t question her, doing so quickly. Melina packs herself a bag and can’t help but grab a few of Yelena’s things and photographs as well. She then carries Yelena’s body out to the car.
“Where are we going?” Natasha asked Melina, passing over the bag she had packed.
“Away.” Melina answered. “Put your shoes on.”
“Is… is Alexei coming?” Natasha questioned, pulling her shoes on. “What if he wakes up?”
“He’ll be out until morning,” Melina had ensured of that, mixing sedatives in his drink enough to take out a large horse. “Come on. Quickly, now.”
Natasha climbs into the passenger seat of the car, glancing at the back to see the blanket-wrapped body. “Mama--”
“I know,” Melina shushes her gently, sliding into the driver's seat. The Red Room would have to pry her children from her cold dead hands. They were not going to be desecrating the body of her daughter for their perverse experiments. Natasha pulls her knees to her chin and leans against the window as Melina drives.
The only sound in the car was the radio playing softly. Melina tries to focus on the road but every so often her eyes would flicker to peer up into the mirror and look at the pink blanket she had carefully wrapped around the four-year-old.
“A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile--”
Both girls freeze at the sound of Yelena’s favorite song starting on the radio. Melina reaches out to change it but Natasha grips her wrist. “No, don’t.” Came Natasha’s soft voice and Melina pulls her hand away.
The song seems much quieter now that there wasn’t an energetic toddler screeching the lyrics at the top of her lungs. Natasha always claimed to hate the song because of it, clamping her hands over her ears as a show while Yelena squirmed happily in her car seat.
But now…
“Bye, bye Miss American Pie,” Natasha whispers softly along to the song. “Drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye singing…” Her voice fades off.
“This’ll be the day that I die. This’ll be the day that I die…”
Tears spring to Melina’s eyes as her knuckles turn white with the grip that she holds on the steering wheel.
Natasha doesn’t sing along to the song anymore but she sways slightly to the rhythm, the same thing Yelena always did. They listen to the whole song, all eight and a half minutes. Natasha turns the radio up, as if Yelena would be able to hear it if it was loud enough.
Melina keeps driving until the tank is empty and they have to pull over for gas. By that point, Natasha was slumped against the window fast asleep, dried tear tracks on her face.
Melina has no plan. She doesn’t know where they’ll go or what they’ll do. She just wants someplace to bury her baby and stop her other one from meeting the same fate.
Melina can’t handle another dead child. She wouldn’t be able to take it.
She drives through the countryside and spots the flickering of fireflies in the thicket of the trees. Melina had so fondly called Yelena her Little Firefly because the girl had lit up her life. Everything the girl did, she did with passion and excitement. Her little toothy grin was contagious.
Melina has $1,514, a body, a sleeping child, and no plan.
That doesn’t stop her though. She’s been in a lot worse situations. She’ll come out of this alive.
Whether she comes out of this whole is a whole different story.
The grieving child fast asleep in the passenger seat of her car spurs her forward and Melina drives until morning, her fingers tapping the beat to Yelena’s favorite song onto the steering wheel.
But I knew I was outta luck the day the music died