Her face turned red, trembling with fury.
“And if you ever hurt my brother again,” I chuckled, letting menace curl in my tone, “I’ll ignore the fact that you’re twice my age.” I turned to Cole.
“Cole, let’s go.” I bent to gather our things, shoving them into the old suitcase with a rush of anger.
If my parents left, why was I becoming like them? I didn’t have to disappear when things turned ugly, while my brother looked up to me. I was supposed to push against heaven and drag the earth with me, bending every situation until we both lived long enough to look back on it.
Karen slammed the door hard enough to rattle the frame. If hatred had a face, it would be hers.
Once I finished packing, I turned to Cole. He was flipping through a stack of banknotes, checking them as if their authenticity mattered more than the situation. The sight pulled me back to reality. I crossed the space and grabbed the money, shoving it into the case before sense could abandon us both.
“Let’s go.”
He stood, brushing imaginary dust from his sweatpants as we headed for the gate. “We have money,” he said, more a confirmation than a question.
“I’ll get you food,” I said, moving faster. “We’re leaving this place first.”
“How much do you earn in one night shift?”
“Keep it down, Cole,” I whispered, still burning from everything that had happened.
What if I didn’t come back? Would he have stayed there, pressed against the door, hope fading with every minute? The thought made my chest tighten, and a few tears slipped free.
Cole was strong, always smiling and brushing everything off, but I could see the cracks in his armor. He didn’t deserve this childhood. I lost our parents too, but at least not when I was his age.
I shook my head, forcing the memory away. They were gone. It was just Cole and me now.
“Inna.” His voice pulled me back. I hadn’t realized how far we’d walked. “Will you buy me a hot dog?”
We stopped, and I scanned the empty street. Silence stretchedbetween the buildings, broken only by the faint hum of a bar across the road. Two girls stepped out, laughing, heading toward a parked car.
“Let’s find somewhere to eat. What else do you want?” I dragged the suitcase along the cracked pavement.
“Just a hot dog,” Cole said.
I stopped and crouched to his level. I fixed the hood on his head and smoothed the messy strands of hair from his forehead.
“Cole, I have money. You can eat whatever you want.”
“Is it yours?” he asked, and I was speechless.
Not long ago, I would have returned the money. But seeing him hungry and vulnerable, I knew it had to stay. He was too young to understand the cruelties of this world.
“Yes. So, what else do you want?” I asked, forcing my voice to sound casual.
His face brightened. “Okay. I have a list.” He held up his fingers to count. “The pizza Dad used to bring us. Ice cream. Remember those Christmas cookies we made? I think we can find them. Will there be a change for hot chocolate? I miss hot chocolate. And fries. With lots of sauce.” He paused, tapping a finger to his lips. “Maybe a burger… oh, and chicken wings. Will there be enough money?”
I laughed despite everything. “You know what? Write all that down,” I said, shaking my head.
“Okay. And I’m a boy. I eat a lot. Okay?” he asked.
I nodded, my gaze lingering on him. He was a boy, my brother. Leaving him would never be an option again. I would fight for him until there was nothing left in me.
“You’re my favorite person, you know that?” I asked, and he nodded faster. “Were you scared out there alone?”
He bit his lower lip and shrugged, a tiny movement that said more than words ever could.
“I knew you’d come,” he said, as if it were carved in stone.