Page 11 of Fighter
9:30.
So much for that early escape.
With a sigh, I shoved away from the paperwork my accountant, Stella Marie, had requested from me. She lived up the canyon with her boyfriend Mark and had to finagle some final paperwork back together to get our payroll running. I'd put it off too long already to accommodate the new trainee.
My eyes were bleary as I rubbed them. Ava had fallen asleep a few hours ago, or else I would have left early. Seemed stupid to wake her up too soon because then she'd be awake for hours, singing in her bed, banging her feet against the wall. I could crash here. We had a few blankets in the back.
Or maybe I just didn't want to go back to that stupid, empty, still-dirty house. I hated that house. The ringing hollow of it. It felt like a lifeless tomb. It sucked my time, energy, and mental capacity after an already long day at work, and it never felt like home.
Frustrated, I shook my head and straightened up just as a littletap tap tapcame from the side doors. My head lifted, startled, to see a head of brown hair standing outside. Three seconds passed before I comprehended that it was Serafina. She'd come here in thedark.
In a few steps, I'd crossed the space and yanked the door open.
“Come in,” I said. “What are you doing here? It's late.”
She held another pan in her hands, and I realized, stupidly, that I hadn't even thought of cleaning and returning the other one. We'd finished it off for breakfast this morning.
“Hey.” She smiled wide, but there was a hesitant tint now that I'd barked at her. “I ended up with some leftovers. Thought I'd bring them by. They're a bit more kid-friendly than the other one.”
“Oh.”
Her vague non-mention of Ava startled me so that I just stared at her, holding out a dish, before my mind caught up. Had I mentioned Ava to her? No. Ava had been asleep last night. Hadn't she?
“Right,” she whispered and smiled wider. I realized I'd been standing there an awkward amount of time. Color swept the tops of her cheekbones. “I'll just . . . I'll just put this over there.”
My brain caught up with my mouth then. “Thank you. I'm sorry, it just took me by surprise. I . . .”
“It's good. No worries.” She set the dish down. “Spaghetti with little meatballs, and my secret is brown sugar in the marinara. Not much.” She held up a hand as if I'd protested. “I get that you 'fit' types are kind of above sugar, but you will thank me for this one.”
Her air quotations made me crack a pathetic smile. Totally lost, I ran a hand over my head and just said, “Thank you. Seriously. The chicken thing was delicious.”
“It's the carrots,” she said with a funny self-assurance. “And the peas. They're sweet veggies. See? Sugar. Transforms stuff, especially with kids. Anyway, I included some chocolate chip cookies. I'm not a heavy-on-the-chocolate-chips kind of girl because they take over the cookies, but whatever. They're cookies.”
As if I'd protested again.
“At any rate,” she continued, “both of you should love them and carb up tomorrow. Enjoy!”
Both of you should love themrang through my mind. How did she know? She turned around to leave, and I almost reached out for her but stopped at the last minute. A hint of something both feminine and heady wafted behind her that I couldn't place. Citrus? No. Coconut.
“How are things?” I asked instead. “Are they okay?”
Should I just ask who smacked her across the face and if they were going to do it again? I hated insinuations, but I also didn't know what to do with this woman. Like trying to capture moonlight in my hands. I felt this way with Ava all the time. Totally taken aback and equally tongue-tied. Put me on a mat and I could beat just about anyone. But these girls gave me twenty thumbs.
And those tight black pants she wore again weren't helping matters.
She paused at the door, pasted on a smile, and said over her shoulder, “Great! See you later!”
Just like that, she disappeared back outside. Before I could follow her out and offer her a ride home, Ava woke up crying. By the time I woke her from her bad dream and had her calmed down, Serafina had gone.
5
Serafina
“Y-your brother just called again,” Dagny said. “N-n-not sure what he w-wanted.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Thanks.”
