My Four Last Hopes

Chapter 10: Phone Calls & Nudes

Khloe's P.O.V.

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The rest of breakfast went decently well. Kacper was the only one to join in on the conversation with Jan and me. Everyone else stayed silent. I'm not sure if it was due to the awkwardness still in the air from Jan getting angry, or if they were all secretly worried the same way I was.

I wanted to ask Jan about the blood I saw in the tissue, but I didn't get a chance. I hadn't even finished eating yet when Jan had to leave to attend to some business. I spent the rest of my breakfast trying to get to know Jan's men better.

They all seem.. normal honestly. I wasn't expecting it. Only a few of them speak English, so I had to have someone do a lot of translating for me. It was totally worth it though.

When I think of a mafia or gangs, I think of thugs. Huge guys covered in tattoos and piercings. People that you just know you should steer clear of. I expected them all to be quiet and intimidating. That they would probably be rude, and the chances of me being se.xually assaulted or beaten would be high.

It's nothing like that.

A lot of these men have their own families. Wives and children. Some bragged about how smart their kids are, or about how good of a cook their wives are. Most of the men were happy to talk to me, some didn't utter a word.

Not one of them intimidated me. I didn't get any kind of bad vibes. They all just seemed.. very loyal to my uncle.

Does that mean they'll be loyal to me as well when I take over? I'm sure some of them don't agree with me being in charge. Andrzej sure isn't.

I'll just have to figure out who I can and cannot trust.

What was up with that blood though? Jan said that he was getting older. I can understand that, but.. Is he sick? He must be to cough up blood. How serious is it? Should he even be traveling from country to country?

How long does he even have? What am I supposed to do if he dies before I can learn anything? Why.. do I have to lose him so soon?

My jaja was the only person that I felt ever truly cared for me in my family, aside from my siblings. He was the only reason I knew what having a family actually felt like. I thought that Jan was going to be like that too. He reminds me so much of my jaja.. I don't want to watch him die.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get the choice. I'll eventually watch Jan die. Whether it's today or two years from now. I should make the best of these moments. I should try my best to learn what I can for him.

"What are you thinking so hard about dziecko?" Kacper asked as he plopped on my bed with me.

"Just wondering if I should tell Jan that you lied to me last night just to see me naked." I muttered.

Andrzej's head snapped at us at that.

"Widzailes ja nago?!" He shouted.

(You saw her naked?!)

I raised a brow at him. I really need to learn the language, and fast. These stupid boys are always talking sh.it.

Kacper smirked at him.

"Oczywiscie zrobilem. Ona tez ma kolczki w sutkach." He said chuckling.

(I sure did. She has n****e piercings too.)

I looked between the two of them.

"Speak English or get out." I ordered.

Andrzej angry eyes snapped at me. I glared right back at him. What is this guy's issue?

"You just let anyone see you naked, huh? Peiprzona dziwka." He spat.

My eyebrows shot up.

"Now there's a phrase I know," I said.

"You know those words?" Kacper asked me.

"Fu.cking sl.ut?" I asked. "Yeah. After I grew boobs, my mother used to call me that every day." I said.

Then I looked back at Andrzej.

"If you're trying to hurt my feelings, you're going to have to try harder than that, dupek." I said.

Andrzej and Kacper shared a look. I ignored them as I looked down at my laptop.

By the time I was done eating breakfast, I found out that all of my belongings had been moved out of my apartment. Most of my clothes, and other things these people thought I'd want, were waiting for me in my room. Everything else was boxed up to be shipped to Poland.

I was extremely surprised. That was much faster than I thought it was going to be.

"What you working on, dziecko?" Kacper asked as he moved to sit next to me.

I moved my laptop so that he could see better. Not that it stopped him from getting as close to me as possible. I frowned up at Kacper as he ignored me and looked at my laptop.

"Here, I made this to calm your nerves," Szymon said.

I looked up to see him handing me a cup of tea. I gladly took it, and sipped. Szymon makes the best tea, and now he knows just how I like it.

"You're perfect," I told him.

"You're making me jealous here, dziecko," Kacper teased.

I ignored him, and patted the bed next to me.

"Sit, read over my book with Kacper." I told Szymon.

Szymon looked uncomfortable for a moment. I raised a brow at him, daring him to say no. After only a moment, he sat on my bed awkwardly. I smiled at him, and started pointing to my laptop.

"Okay, this is the book that I have to submit by the first of next month. I'm done with it, but I need to read through and edit or revise. Maybe you guys can actually be useful to me. Having a fresh pair of eyes is good," I said.

"We would love to dziecko," Kacper said.

I turned my head to give him a sweet smile.

"The only thing you're good for is pleasing me." I told him.

The smile fell from Kacper's face. I laughed when he rolled his eyes. Then my phone started to ring. I looked down to see that it was Claire.

Sh.it.. I still haven't told them anything. I was supposed to be back home today.

"You may take it on the patio. Andrzej can keep an eye on you from the living room." Szymon told me.

"I'll be right back," I said.

I crawled off of the bed, and rushed to the patio doors that I had never noticed before. Andrzej raised his head when I shuffled passed him. I ignored him, of course.

"Hey," I answered when I made it outside.

"Hey!" Claire shouted. "Where the hell are you? We waited at the airport for hours! Did you miss your flight or something? Why haven't you been picking up your phone? I've been worried sick!" she rushed out.

"Okay breathe." I said.

"I am breathing!" She shouted.

"Okay, okay." I said. "I'm sorry, but.. I.. I'm not coming home." I said.

"Uh, what?" She asked.

I sighed. I planned what I was going to say to her. I don't want anyone to know the truth. At least not yet.

So, I took a deep breath.

"I'm moving. To Poland." I blurted.

Silence.

"Claire?" I asked.

"I'm here." She answered. "Uh.. I just.. Uhm, what?" She ased.

I blew out a breath.

"I ran into my great uncle at my mom's funeral. We had a long chat, and he told me that he's.. dying." I swallowed hard. "He asked if I would come stay with him until his passing. He doesn't like any of our family either, so it was kind of perfect. He offered to help me with tying things up here, and I'm going to go live with him for a while." I told her.

"So you're.. just going to go to another country with a stranger?" Claire asked, confused.

"H-he's not a stranger. He's my family." I agrued.

"Khloe.. I've never heard you talk about anyone in your family that you can even stand. Now you're.. going away with some great uncle you've never talked about?" She asked.

I sighed again.

"I know that it's weird, but this is what I'm doing. It's already happening. I'm pretty sure we're leaving at the end of the week," I said.

"W-what? Y-you're not even going to come say goodbye to Tyler and me?" She asked.

Guilt gripped my throat when I heard the hurt in Claire's voice.

"There was no time.. My uncle wants to get back right away." I said.

Claire scoffed

"I can't believe you're doing this. Not even saying goodbye. How did this even happen?" She ranted.

I rubbed my temples.

"I don't know," I said softly. "I'm really sorry Claire."

Fu.ck! Am I going to cry?

"Hey, it's okay Khlo." Claire said.

She must be sensing my tears.

"It won't be forever, right? Plus, maybe we could come visit you. Poland could be totally fun." She said cheerfully.

I smiled.

"Thanks Claire." I said.

"Ugh, this is so unfair though! I'm going to miss you so much," She said.

"Me too." I agreed.

"Well, make sure you call me before you leave, and when you get there. Actually, video chat me when you get there. I want to see how beautiful Poland is." She said.

"You got it." I said, smiling.

"Get some rest boo. Love you." Claire said.

"Love you too." I replied.

I ended the call, and leaned the back of my head on the glass door. I blew out a breath as I stared up at the stars. I hate lying, but I might as well get used to it.

I walked back into the room to see that Andrzej was gone. I walked back to the bedroom to see all three of them there. Kacper is lounging back on my bed with a huge smirk on his face. Andrzej is standing up with my laptop in his hands. And Szymon is standing next to my bed awkwardly with a deep blush on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Andrzej's eyes snapped at me.

"What the fu.ck is this?" He asked as he turned my laptop around to me.

My boobs are plastered across the screen. They must have changed the settings, because it just started to go through naked pictures of me. All kinds of slutty pictures, and ones with me completely nude.

I glared up at Andrzej, and snatched my laptop from him.

"Do any of you stupid dupeks know what privacy means?!" I shouted. "Get out! All of you! Out!"

I kept shouting as I pushed them all out of the room. When they were gone, I marched into the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind me. My heart is racing so fast.

Was it just me, or did I see a spark of lust in Andrzej's blue eyes?