Page 6 of Ordinary Girl

“No, Sofia, you don’t. We help those we care about,that’swhat we do.”

“How can you care about me? You don’t evenknowme.”

“I know enough. I know I want to help you.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t need your help. I should go.”

“Sofia…”

“No!” She stands up and leans across the table, her eyes burning into mine. “You don’t follow me. You don’t look for me, you don’t come anywhere near me.”

I watch her walk away.

She thinks this is over?

She needs to think again…

Sofia

“You’re home early.” Ana stands in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, well, the evening took an unexpected turn. Do we have any wine?”

“There’s a bottle in the fridge. What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” But I’d wanted it to. Before I found out he was part of a biker gang, and even though I know very little about that world, I know it isn’t a good one. A safe one. It’s a dangerous world. Men like him,they’redangerous.

“Something must’ve happened or you wouldn’t be home this early, downing wine like it’s water–”

“Jesus, Ana, just leave it, please!”

“Okay. Okay, I’m sorry.”

She holds up her hands and backs away and I lean against the counter and bow my head; rub the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, sighing heavily. “No, baby, I’m the one who should be sorry. Skip – the man I was having dinner with, he just wasn’t the man I thought he was, that’s all.”

She frowns, but she doesn’t push it, doesn’t ask any more questions, she just comes over to me, gives me a hug, and I smile as I kiss her forehead.

“You deserve someone special, Mama.”

I give her another smile, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. “I’m okay as I am. I’ve got my beautiful girl, haven’t I? I don’t need a man.”

She raises an eyebrow, and I laugh. She makes me so happy, my Ana. And Idon’tneed a man, I’ve never needed a man. It justmight have been nice to have some company, that’s all. Every now and again.

“I’m gonna go grab a shower. Oh, and there’s some post on the table,” Ana shouts over her shoulder as she leaves the kitchen and bounds upstairs.

I take another sip of wine before I pick up the pile of envelopes and sift through them. Bills. Demands. A letter from my business advisor calling for an urgent meeting. I put them down on the table and throw back my head. I stare at the ceiling and I think about Skip. About the offer he made me. This man, who is he, really?Ishe dangerous? He plays games, I know that much, and I don’t know if I can trust someone who does that. He promised me safety, an end to my financial problems, but those are promises that seem too good to be true. And trusting a man again… I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for that.

I glance back down at the post scattered across the table. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning, like I’m never going to be able to pull us out of the shit we’ve been slowly sinking into for years.

I feel like I’m drowning.

Skip said he could save me.

He could save me…

Skip

“Get Ulrich in here, now.”

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