Page 16 of Fighter
“My pleasure,” he said. His brow furrowed over his blue eyes. “He's in custody for the night, but call if you have any problems after that. Anytime, Sera. You’re sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
A small smile seemed to reassure him. “I’m fine. The paramedics looked me over. Really.”
With a quick nod, he was gone. I wondered what he thought of me. Did he judge me as dramatic and wild because of my brother? Did he know that my upbringing was as middle class and stable as anyone's had a right to be? That the only drugs we'd ever known as children were kid’s Tylenol? Our parents hadn't raised us to this. We were functional, emotionally healthy people from a normal family.
But my brother was still a monstrous mess anyway.
Tears bubbled up behind my eyes, but I sniffed them back. My side ached with every breath, sending spirals of lacy pain through my back and ribs. If I didn't breathe deep, and no one jostled me, I'd manage. Didn't need an x-ray to know my rib was broken. The skin over my left cheekbone was swollen and tender. With any luck, it wouldn't bruise too badly. Even my hair hurt. My neck a little, too.
Grief, but I looked like aLovelinemovie actress.
My mind skipped over the whole event again, the thoughts unstable and unsettled. I'd have to call Mom and Dad soon. Have to tell them what happened and explain it and let them know that I still didn't know if I'd press charges or not. Didn't know what Talmage would be like after this settled.
Would Mr. Hyde ever return?
Probably.
The four walls seemed especially close all of a sudden. I couldn't just sit here and think and stew andfeeland cry when my rib hurt so much. Even crying was too painful. Instead, I shoved my phone back into my pocket, carefully pulled on a jacket, and shoved the rest of the cash that I'd earned from tips today into my other pocket.
I still owed Benjamin dinner. If nothing else happened today, Ava would get a delicious meal.
I could do that much.
The sound of sniffling met my ears when I stepped into the MMA Center an hour later. I shuffled inside, two grocery bags hanging off my right arm, and set them on the counter. Moving that way sent another shot of irritation through my side, but I breathed through the yelp it almost caused.
No one else filled the strangely empty interior, especially considering it was 7:00 at night. Darkness ebbed in from outside, filling the space with quiet.
The sniffles continued.
“Hello?” I called.
A little girl came into view as I walked farther into the room. She sat with her back against the main counter on the left, her knees tucked into her chest. She wore a pair of jeans and a dirty baseball t-shirt. Her hair had come out of a braid in awkward lumps. Definitely the work of a desperate father. This had to be Ava.
Slowly, I approached.
“Hey. You okay?”
She peered up at me through reddened eyes. Adorable pink flip-flops clung to her feet. She stared morosely at me. Slowly, with poor attempts to hide my wince, I lowered onto the floor next to her.
“Hard day?” I asked.
She nodded with cherub cheeks. Probably six years old, if I could guess through the tear tracks on her face. She had adorable dark hair in curls, not unlike my own thanks to the braid. Her eyes were a gentle olive color, unlike Benjamin’s, which were a honey color. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, grateful to find someone whose day had been as crappy as mine. The gentle touch didn't seem to bother her.
“Want to talk about it?”
She shook her head, but a new round of tears started again. Wordless, I held out both arms. She climbed inside with another deep wail, threw her arms around my shoulders, and laid her cheek on my shoulder. I held my breath, my eyes scrunched shut, until the rocketing pain around my ribs calmed down several moments later. Then I managed to reach a hand up and rub her back.
“Let it out, honey,” I murmured, the way Mom did for me. Secretly, I hoped I'd get some sort of relief from my own pain by watching her let go of hers. “Just let it go.”
Her soft cries continued into my shoulder. Eventually, her tears seeped through the fabric of my shirt and tugged at my heart. What would Ben say if he found us like this? Where was he anyway? Why was she alone here? No girl should be alone with heartbreak like this.
But was I thinking about her or myself?
Several minutes later, she pulled away. Her hands remained on my shoulder as she peered at me. Then she reached up and a gentle finger touched my throbbing cheekbone. Likely, the bruise was even darker now.
“You have an ouchie.”
“I do.”
