Page 71 of Fighter
Hope you feel better soon. Soup in the fridge. I'll stop by to pick Ava up for school in the morning.
With regret, I left the house to walk home when all I wanted to do was stay.
A bowl of half-eaten soup, some cracker crumbs, and a glass of tea dirtied the counter when I showed up the next morning to take Ava to school. Benjamin's door was closed, so I didn't venture into his room. Just quietly helped Ava get ready, grab a quick breakfast, then left out the back door. Thankfully, Dagny covered my early shift by herself at the Diner. I returned to work and felt like everything inside me waited on tenterhooks.
Would Benjamin be okay?
Would he text me?
My phone remained obnoxiously silent. I'd sent a message to Benjamin this morning after I dropped Ava off, asking him if he felt better. No response so far.
“Uh oh,” Dagny mumbled under her breath. “Here c-comes trouble.”
My head lifted. A rush of nerves followed when a familiar head of greasy, mousy blonde hair stepped into the Diner. Amber looked skeletal this morning, her face thrown into gaunt shadows, particularly around her eyes. For a moment, all I could do was blink at her in shock. Why had she comehere? I'd never seen her away from my brother's house.
“Call Hernandez quietly,” I murmured to Dagny. “Just let him know she's here. He wanted to talk to her. I'll deal with her.”
“G-got it.”
Dagny disappeared into the back as I advanced into the Diner with a falsely warm smile. Amber folded her arms across her middle and glared at me. Her gaze darted around the half-full tables.
“Hey, Amber. Table for one?”
“Where's Tal?”
“He's gone.”
She shifted uneasily. “He okay?”
“No.”
“He must be alive,” she snapped, a little too loudly, “or they wouldn't have released him from the hospital.”
“Oh.” I arched an eyebrow. “So you know that he needed a hospital stay?”
Her frown deepened, giving her an otherworldly, terrifying kind of look. The listless edge of her eyes was frightening enough. Taken with her contempt and desperation as a whole, I'd never met anyone that startled me this much. Not even when I'd backpacked through southeast Asia.
“When will he be back home?” she mumbled.
“Never.”
Her gaze jumped to mine. She had the audacity to gasp. “What?”
“My mom is taking him back to live with them and go into rehab for whatever disgusting filth you've been giving him. As soon as he approves, the plan is to put his house up for sale to resolve his debts.”
A derisive snort took over her face, twisting it grotesquely. “Of course. Mommy saves the day. Must be nice.”
Frustration welled up within me, warring for compassion. She was such a pathetic little creature. At one time, she was probably normal. Lovely. Full of chance and a bright future. But life had beaten her down. Circumstances beyond her control had probably nudged her onto this path, and she'd chosen to stay and invite others to it. She probably didn't have family that could, or would, swoop in to help out, which made me sad for her.
But I wasn't about to let her near my brother again.
Whatever her path, she'd made choices too. Now, I just wanted to never see her again and wish her luck on her path.
“We could get help for you too, if you wanted it,” I said quietly, although it was a promise I had no power to make.
Amber rolled her eyes. “Can I speak with him?” she asked. “I just . . . need to talk to him about something.”
“Money he owes you?”
