Adrik sank onto the couch beside Hans, still taking in how spotless the place looked. The room was warm and bathed in soft lamplight, offering a strange comfort after his tough morning. Hans watched him with an attentive focus that made Adrik feel both exposed and steadied.
“I should tell you something,” Adrik said, rubbing his palms together once before resting them on his knees.
Hans straightened a little. “Okay.”
“I found out about the man who has been pounding on my door when I’m out,” Adrik said. “Russian. My mother hired him to find me.”
Hans’ eyes widened.
Adrik continued, voice low. “She’s in Russia now. She left my father. She… she said she did it for me.”
Hans let out a slow breath, like he wasn’t sure what part to react to first. “Are you alright?”
“I think so,” Adrik said, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. “It’s just… a lot.”
Hans nodded, his hand brushing lightly against Adrik’s knee—a small gesture, but grounding. “I’m glad she’s safe. And that she reached out.”
Adrik swallowed, feeling that familiar mix of relief and confusion twist in his chest. “Yeah. Me too.”
“So, your parents are Russian?”
Adrik nodded, not wanting to expand any more.
There was a silent moment, the kind that wasn’t uncomfortable but definitely charged. Hans shifted slightly, studying him.
“Adrik,” Hans said cautiously, like he already knew he was stepping onto thin ice. “Can I ask you something else?”
Adrik felt his shoulders tense before he could stop himself. He nodded anyway. “Yeah. Sure.”
Hans hesitated. Just a beat too long. Long enough for Adrik to feel the question gathering weight before it fell.
“Your tutor,” Hans said. “The one who taught you German… who was he?”
Adrik’s breath hitched.Of course. Of all the things he could have asked.His thoughts scattered, grasping for something usable. The truth felt too sharp. A lie wouldn’t come. Nothing did.
He looked away, his fingers pressing into his thigh as if he needed the grounding. “I—” He stopped. Tried again. Failed. The memories rose faster than the words, heavy and uncooperative.
Hans didn’t rush him. He watched, attentive but patient, giving space without retreating.
Adrik let out a slow, uneven breath. “I don’t really know how to explain him.”
Hans stayed where he was. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t fill the silence. “Your father hired him, right?” he finally asked gently. “To tutor you?”
“Yeah,” Adrik said, nodding once. “He’s been with us since I was ten. He started teaching me Russian. Later…” He swallowed. “Later, I hired him myself to teach me German.”
Just thinking about the tutor made his chest feel tight, like the room had lost a little air.
Hans glanced at him, then asked straight out. “Were you in love with him?”
Adrik shook his head slowly, uncertain. “I don’t know if I’d call itin love.” He paused, searching for something more honest. “I love him like family. Or… something close to that.” He hesitated, then added, “Maybe more.”
The words hung there between them, heavy but finally spoken.
“You met my ex. I want nothing to do with him.”
“My tutor is not my ex. I don’t have any exes. You’re my first relationship.”
“Really? No girlfriends.”
