Page 4

“Oh no, no, no, no.” What would she tell Zoe?
“Mary?”
She blinked up at Hector. Judging by his frown, it wasn’t the first time he called her name.
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you get your friend some clothes? And some other stuff she’s gonna need.”
Right. She got up and busied herself by stuffing some underwear and clothes into a plastic bag she’d found underneath Britney’s bed.
The next few hours passed by in a blur. Britney was loaded into an ambulance and they followed suit. Then there were nurses and doctors to speak to. Nobody could tell her much, except that Britney was in really bad condition. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone; Hector didn’t leave her side once. He didn’t say much—the guy wasn’t a talker—but she drew strength from his presence.
Then, around three a.m., the news came: Britney didn’t make it. Just as Hector had predicted, it had been an overdose that had ended her life.
Mary felt numb while the doctor told her in a clean and medical way what had happened. All the comforting words in the world couldn’t drive away the pain. Britney had only been twenty-five, merely four years older than Mary, and now she was gone. Her life had hardly begun before it ended.
There were forms to be filled out. So many forms. Again, Hector was her rock. He kept her calm and even took care of funeral arrangements.
By the time they returned to her apartment, Mary was exhausted. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and think about tomorrow, well, tomorrow.
They were met with Zoe and Achilles sitting on the couch, watching TV. The big man dwarfed Zoe who was plastered to his side.
The little girl jumped up when she saw her.
“Mary! We are watchingWonder Woman.” Then she came to a halt, peeking past Mary. “You’re the Wolfman,” she whispered, looking up at Hector with eyes like saucers.
“I might have told her a tale or two about real heroes,” Achilles said, getting up. “The PG-rated version, of course.”
“It’s late, cupcake. You really have to get back to bed.” Tomorrow wasn’t a school night, but it was still well past her bedtime.
A pout followed. “But the movie’s not finished yet.”
Achilles tousled Zoe’s hair. “Listen to Mary, oh fierce Amazon.”
This earned him a chuckle. Not that the words had any effect. Zoe was practically bouncing on her feet.
Mary groaned when she spotted the crumbs and brown layer around Zoe’s mouth. “You gave her chocolate chip cookies.”
Achilles had the decency to look guilty. “Sorry about that. She woke up and looked frightened when she saw me, so I offered her snacks. It immediately broke the ice.”
Of course it had. Zoe was a cookie monster. “Thank you for watching her.”
She turned to Hector, who was still standing in the doorway. “I want to thank you as well, for—”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Let’s go, Achilles.”
And just like that, without him even letting her finish her sentence, Hector left.
Achilles gave her an apologetic smile. “Don’t mind him. Gratitude makes him uncomfortable. If you need a sitter again, give me a call. I was voted coolest uncle last month.” He sounded proud.
Then he was gone as well, leaving her alone with a little girl who, as of tonight, was practically alone in the world.
Mary crashed next to Zoe on the couch and pulled her close. Zoe was used to Britney being ‘sick’ all the time. Her sister had checked out mentally a long time ago. For the past year, Britney’s depression had gotten so bad, she rarely left the house anymore. Mary was the one to take Zoe to school and pick her up on the days Britney couldn’t leave her bed.
As she hugged Zoe closer, her brain hurt from thinking of the consequences of Britney’s death. There was one dark, prospect looming above all. With Britney out of the picture, Zoe had one living remaining family member left; her uncle. She remembered seeing the scars on Britney’s body, the small dots of cigarette burns covering her arms and chest.
Over her dead body was that monster getting anywhere near Zoe.