Page 48 of Drop Pass

“Is there anything I can do?”

Her eyebrows pulled together and I realized she might not speak English. I looked over to Nikolay but he was still lost in his own world.

“Mama.” Another, younger voice came from his mom’s side. I looked up to see a beautiful teen girl with Nikolay’s same coloring. She smiled sadly when she saw me. “Hello, I’m Tiana.”

I let out a breath, grateful she spoke English so I could find out how to help.

“Hi, I’m Elena.”

She nodded. “Nikolay’s new friend?”

I fought the urge to look at him. If that was what he told his family I’d go along with it. “Right. We live next door to each other. I just came home and he’s sitting out in the hall. Do you know what happened?”

Her eyes held pain and I knew whatever she was about to tell me was going to be tough to hear. I had to be strong for Nikolay though.

“We told him about our sister, Yula. She’s been sick.”

I nodded. “He told me she was in the hospital.”

“Yes, we thought she was getting better, but we had to take her back.” She inhaled deeply.

“Is she okay?” I already knew the answer but I had to know how bad things were.

“No, she’s very sick. The doctors don’t know what it is for sure. They think it might be cancer.”

Years of practice of shielding my reaction on live TV came in use. I kept my expression neutral. “Can the hospital help her?”

She simply shook her head. I looked to Nikolay and understood why he looked so despondent. His sister was halfway across the world, sick, and helpless. I could see in Tiana and his mom’s faces that things were grim.

“Well then, we’ll just have to get her here.”

Tiana nodded. I pulled my phone out of my purse and started searching for what they needed to get Visa’s.

“Do you have passports?”

Tiana nodded. “Yes, we all do.”

“Does Nikolay have access to all your information?”

“Yes, he did everything for us.”

“Okay, Tiana. I’m going to get Nikolay inside. We’re going to start calling people and as soon as I have an update, I’ll call you. Is that okay?”

“Yes.” Tears filled her eyes and I smiled, trying to be reassuring. She repeated what was happening to her mom and they both thanked me before I hung up. They looked hopeful. I knew Nikolay took care of them and they relied on him, but I realized now how much they needed him simply for his strength and reassurance. He couldn’t give that to them right now, but I could.

“Come on.” I stood and pulled on his elbow until he got to his feet. I picked up my bags and led him to his apartment. He had a clear enough mind to unlock the door and I followed him in. He went to the kitchen island and sat on a bar stool then crossed his arms on the counter and dropped his head.

Great. I was on my own. I went back outside and grabbed his duffle. I set his bag on the ground and put my purse on the counter with my forgotten lunch. I found his laptop on the sofa and opened it.

There was no request for a password, which I would talk to him about later, but for now I was grateful. I began searching the internet for information about next steps for his sisters. Yula could apply for a medical visa, but I wasn’t sure how quickly it would get processed.

We needed help.

“Nikolay, do you have any connections in Russia that could help?”

No reaction. I’d wanted to slap him at practice, but now I was ready to shake him. I couldn’t do everything. I needed him to snap out of it.

“Nikolay!”