Page 23 of More Than Nothing
“Think it’s funny to make a joke out of me?” Frank’s face was as cold as concrete.
“I didn’t—” she began, not even knowing what she was saying.
“Did you think no one would see you chatting with a fuckin’ cop like you’re best fuckin’ buddies?” He pulled her off the floor—one hairy hand clamped around her wrist and the other gripping the sleeve of her t-shirt. Elenie heard it rip, felt it give. A pained cry forced its way through throbbing lips. “You’re a part of this family whether you like it or not. And we don’t like cops, we don’t talk to cops, we don’t fuckin’thinkabout cops!” She flinched when the spittle from his mouth landed on her face. “Get your goddamn act together and choose where your loyalties lie.”
Frank let go and she collapsed onto the floor, colliding with one of the kitchen chairs, which rocked on its legs then crashed over on its side. He stormed out of the kitchen and into the entryway. The screen door rattled when he slammed it behind him.
Shaking with shock in a pool of cooling liquid, Elenie gasped through swelling lips, too dazed to move, broken pieces of the mug scattered around her. There was dirt under the fridge and the corner of one sticky floor tile near her hand had lifted because the adhesive was old. A trip hazard, she thought randomly.
Dizzy and sick, she couldn’t even push herself up to a sitting position. The side of her face, where Frank’s knuckles had caught her mouth and cheekbone, felt hot, numb, strange for a moment or two. And then pain began to kick in like an absolute bitch, stealing her breath and pounding under her skin. Air wheezed in and out of her chest.
Breathe, she told herself.Just breathe. Moving could come later. Elenie closed her eyes and even that hurt. Helpless tears trickled into her hair. It was hard to tell how much time went by.
This was an awful, sickening first; Frank had never hit her before. Despite his bluster and threats, she’d never thought he would. She’d been an idiot to imagine the danger only radiated outward, away from the house.
Light footsteps paused in the doorway. Her mother’s feet were bare, toenails painted a delicate shade of coral. Elenie looked at them but couldn’t speak. Slowly, very slowly, she lifted her chin. Athena’s narrow face was a flicker book of expressions—confusion, shock, pity, denial, and, finally, weariness.
“Oh, Elenie,” she said eventually. And there was judgment in her tone. Not toward Frank. Never toward Frank.
Picking her way through smashed china and coffee, Athena stepped around the fallen chair, over Elenie’s ankles, and lifted a pack of cigarettes from the window ledge. She headed for the door, then paused. Elenie drew in a juddering breath as her mother turned back. But Athena just closed her fingers around the neck of a vodka bottle on the countertop and left the kitchen without saying another word.
Chapter 12
Roman
Roman needed food and he needed it fast. There was just time to drop in to Diner 43 for a quick takeout at the end of the Monday lunchtime rush.
Near the doorway, he sidestepped to let a woman pass him on the sidewalk. It was Josephine Alberty. Roman paused to speak to the librarian and they exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
“Will we see you back on the baseball field soon? I’ve heard impressive things but I’d like to see the proof.” She was a good deal more approachable out of the presence of her mother.
“That depends on the workload. I’ve hit the ground running, but once things quieten down I might get the chance.”
“At least you found time to take in the fair!” Josephine laughed.
“Wouldn’t have missed it.” He immediately thought of Elenie and her quicksilver mind and something occurred to him. “How are you doing for staff in the library?” he asked.
“Oh, we’re always short-staffed.” Josephine’s reply was rueful. “I’d like a day off here and there, if only the budget allowed.”
“Well, if you’re ever looking to hire, Elenie Dax would be a good candidate to consider. She’s smart and hard-working.”
The smile disappeared from Josephine’s face. “I’m not sure she’d be the right fit.”
“No? And why’s that?”
Josephine glanced away, up the street. She swapped her purse to the other shoulder. “The Daxes aren’t popular in town.”
“I get that. But we’re more than the sum of our parents, aren’t we?”
Listen to him, the hypocrite. As if he wasn’t keeping Elenie at arm’s length, just like everyone else. Roman rubbed at the scruff on his jaw.
“No, no, you’re quite right.” Josephine Alberty backed up a few steps. “But, as I said, our budgets are tight. We’re not hiring right now. And I’d better head off and open up again for the afternoon!”
She scurried away from him, practically jogging along Main Street toward the library.
Roman tugged at the door of the diner. His eyes scanned the tables as he crossed to the serving hatch, pulling his wallet from his pocket. “One fiesta wrap to go, please, Delia.”
The dumpy diner owner grunted an acknowledgment and turned from the hotplate.
