Page 69 of Fighter
She glanced up with a smile.
“Hey. Just got everything ready for Ben and Ava. I found crayons with glitter in them for sweet Ava. Can you believe that? Where havetheybeen all my life?”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You bet.”
Her cheeks and eyes were slightly reddened and swollen, even though she didn't so much as sniffle now. Definitely had been crying. A bag of cookies lingered amongst all the goodies, and it smelled like another batch might be in the oven. Mom was stress baking. I leaned against the wall with a sigh. Only one person could cause that right now.
“News on T?” I asked quietly.
After she'd talked to the doctors last night, and briefly with Talmage, who said almost nothing, we'd come back to Pineville in her rental car and crashed. A measly four hours of sleep lay behind me, combined with a long day at work, but I was grateful for a routine to fall into.
A morose expression crossed her face. “I'm able to sign him out of jail in just a few hours. They took him back after the hospital cleared him.”
“And then?”
“We have flights home this evening.”
“He's going with you?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I'm getting him out of here. I spoke with him this morning. He's still not feeling great, but he's good enough to fly. Your father will pick us up at the airport.”
“And then?”
“Rehab, I hope. That kind of depends on what he decides. There's only so much help we can give. He has to do the rest.”
“Good. I'm relieved they'll let you take him.”
“For now, yes.”
“You seem . . . sad.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes, but she blinked them back. “I am. I'm very sad. Talmage deserves better than the choices he's made. But I'm working through that. We'll bring him back in six weeks for his court date, but Dad is already looking at rehab centers, and T has agreed.”
Relief expanded in my chest like a cloud.
“That's wonderful.”
A watery smile came next. “It is. Let's hope that we can get him out of his situation, sell his house, and help him start over again.”
There was such hope in her expression that I didn't have the heart to beg her to stay with me. To tell her that I needed her. She was such a light that I couldn't bear to have her leave. Not with things so uncertain around Benjamin and me. But I held back. No, Mom needed to conserve all her emotional energy to get back home with Talmage. I'd be fine here.
Now Talmage would be gone, and hopefully that rat Amber would disappear to destroy another hovel. My responsibility to my brother had been fulfilled, so I didn't have to stay. My thoughts ran to Benjamin. We desperately needed to talk and lay out where things sat so I didn't make assumptions and break my own heart before there was need. Ava and Benjamin were my only ties here now. I wanted them.
Did they still want me?
Although I didn't know for sure, the discussion about Sadie still hung over my head like a dark cloud. While I had no blame there, I had a feeling Ben was pulling away because of what happened. Sadie's ghost, or something. The same ghost that seemed to have him convinced he was a terrible father, when he wasn't. Had Sadie told him as much?
Until I spoke with him, I couldn't confirm any of my suspicions. Now that Mom had finished everything here with T, I could go over and check on Ben. I straightened up when my phone buzzed in my back pocket. My heart illuminated with a moment of hope, then fell when I didn't see his name.
Bethany:Serafina! Any chance you can stop by and check on Ava for me? I got tied up with something and can't get over there until tonight. She's home sick with Ben. He might be too.
Serafina:Already on my way with some soup! I got this, you take care of that.
Bethany:Text me updates. Thank you so much!
Mom pulled the apron off. “Well, at least we've started the process of getting T somewhere better. We'll see if it can stick.”
