Five
sadie
“Igot you some supplies while I was out with Theo this morning,” I said, handing a plastic bag over to Laura’s husband, Owen.
I’d dropped a similar goodie bag off to Tim and Varesh a few minutes ago, but they were expecting the delivery. Owen, not so much. He held it against his body and peeked inside, too curious about the contents to catch my mention of Theo. “What’s this for?”
I stood at the open doorway of his apartment wearing my mask, sticking with our rule of keeping them on in shared spaces for twenty-four hours after public outings. “Maybe nothing,” I said. “Hopefully nothing. It’s just in case.”
“Ah, you’re worried about the meeting, too?” Owen had dark hair cut in a wonky fade, courtesy of his twelve-year-old daughter, Willow. He ran a hand over his moustache, his deep brown eyes locking on mine. “You think it’s going to take a turn?”
I shrugged. I’d seen enough conflicting reports to know I was guessing just like everyone else. “I don’t know, but even if nothing happens, the payment terminal was down at the store this morning, and all the ATMs in the area are empty. We’re going to run out of ways to buy what we need soon.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve got a small amount of cash, but it’s getting harder to stay positive when it’s obvious which direction it’s heading,” he said. “Laura’s been on edge. She cracks jokes all the time to make life less stressful for the girls, but there’s an underlying—”
“Tension?”
His mouth curved on one side, revealing the dimple in his left cheek. “You’re not the only one who’s feeling it.”
I crossed my arms over my chest as a tremor moved through me. Part of me hoped he’d say I was overreacting, maybe hand the weapons back and say thanks, but no thanks. “Now I feel better and worse.”
“Sorry.” Owen reached inside the bag and pulled out a serrated, fixed-blade knife in a sheath. He held it up and examined it from different angles, whistling at its sheer size. “You picture it getting this bad?”
“Yes and no,” I said. “We saw some kids set a car on fire while we were out.” The smell of smoke still clung to my hair, a pungent reminder of how close we'd been to danger. “I haven’t seen anything like it before.”
“Me neither.” He pursed his lips and gave the knife another inspection. “I guess it’s better to have it and not need it than to wish we had it later.”
“Exactly.” Relief loosened my limbs, and I smiled under my mask. “I just don’t want to be blindsided by anything.”
“I get it. Might have to hide this from Laura, though,” he said. “She’s got some opinions about Kerger that lean toward violence. Hand her a weapon like this, and she might get stabby.”
I'd already heard those opinions straight from Laura. “Well, I wouldn’t be against it,” I said, glancing at the stairs and making sure he wasn’t on his way up here. “I always thought of him as more annoying than threatening, but now I’m on Laura’s side.”
Owen dropped the knife into the bag, leaning back through the doorway and setting it on the hall table. “What does that mean?” he asked, his tone casual, his eyes sharp.
“He accused me of sleeping with Theo.” My face heated, the embarrassment still fresh in my mind.
“What?” He swallowed a laugh. “You don’t even speak to him.”
“I do now,” I said. “Dustin was trying to humiliate Theo over his late rent, so I paid it on the sly. I guess Dustin came to his own conclusions about why I’d do something like that.”
His brows lifted, and he crossed his arms, pulling his charcoal shirt tighter at the shoulders. “Because you can’t be nice to someone unless there’s a chance of it leading to sex.”
“Not in Dustin’s world, apparently.” The reminder of his sudden shift in attitude turned the lingering warmth in my cheeks ice cold. “He called me a whore, too,” I said, rubbing the chill from my arms. “So, there’s that.”
Owen’s expression darkened. A muscle flexed in his jaw, and he gave me a once over. “Did he touch you?”
“No.” But I hadn’t imagined the tension vibrating from him. “I think he wanted to, but it never got that far.”
“Maybe I’ll give Laura that knife after all,” he said. “She’s been getting bored lately. Am I the first person you’ve told?”
Footsteps came from somewhere inside his apartment. I wanted to move on from the topic fast in case one of Owen’s daughters appeared. “Theo showed up before the whore part.”
“And what did he do?”
I drew a deep breath and released it quickly. “Threatened to get physical, but he said it so calmly, I think it scared Dustin.”
“Good.” Owen moved aside as his eighteen-year-old daughter Ellie came to the door. “Tell him to go with the urge next time. He won’t get any pushback from the rest of us.”
I’d spent no time considering what came after with Dustin. I checked the stairs again, thankful he lived on the ground floor—and even more thankful I wasn’t alone on my level.
Ellie’s blue eyes were bright with curiosity, her long blonde hair bunching in the curve of her neck as she rested her hand on her dad’s shoulder. “Hey,” she said, nodding at my mask. “Where have you been?”
I gave her a wave with my fingertips. “Out buying supplies with Theo.”
“What?” she asked, her face lighting up. “When did you start hanging out with him—and why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did. Just now.”
“Oh. It’s that new?”
I nodded. Why couldn’t I keep my big mouth shut? Ellie would tell Willow, Willow would tell Laura, and Laura would bring it up with Theo the second she got the chance. Before long, we’d be the talk of the building, and all for no good reason.
“All we did was go on an errand. No big deal.” I didn’t even need to downplay our time together.
We went out, bought some supplies, and came home again.
Sure, there were a few times when we locked eyes and something warm passed between us, but those were just innocent exchanges marking the beginning of a friendship.
The sparkle in Ellie’s eyes told me she didn’t believe a word of it. “If you say so.”
“Back to the original topic.” Owen patted the hand she’d rested on his shoulder. “Make sure you stay away from Dustin, please.”
She tilted her head and gave him a sweet, placating look. “I already do, Papa Bear.”
He sighed with the patience of a man who was used to her antics. “And keep an eye on your sister. If she isn’t with your mum or me, she’s with you.”
Ellie’s teasing expression disappeared, and she pushed off him. “Something happened,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t have the energy to go through this again. Dustin had taken up way more of my time than he deserved. “Your dad can fill you in on the details,” I said. “I’m going home to decontaminate.”
“We’ll talk inside as a family and make sure we’re on the same page,” Owen said, then he smiled at me. “Thanks for the info—and the gifts. Laura’s going to love them.”
With a laugh, I stepped back from the doorway. “I hope so. I’ll catch up with you when I can take my mask off again. See you on the rooftop tomorrow, Ellie?”
She paused, then straightened as if an idea had suddenly occurred to her. “How about Willow and I come over for a pamper session instead?” she suggested. “You do the best facials, and it’s been ages.”
The girls had been a source of light and entertainment during lockdown, and I never turned down an opportunity to spend time with them. “Sure,” I said, walking backwards. “Drop by my place this time tomorrow. I’ll be ready.”
“I’ve locked in a ticket home,” Ava said, her voice crackling with interference. “Your favourite sister’s coming back, yo.”
I pressed the phone so hard to my ear it ached. She was my only sister, but still. A guttural sound tore from my throat, and I paced the lounge room. “We’ve been talking for five minutes,” I said. “Why didn’t you lead with that information?”
“Because I was answering your other questions. Are you okay? Are you safe? What’s happening over there?”
“When’s the flight?” I asked, ignoring her poor imitation of my voice.
Ava had registered for the government supported charter flights months ago, but names were drawn in a raffle-like system, and I’d almost lost hope she’d get her turn.
“Sometime in the next two weeks,” she said, raising her voice to compete with the rattle of a lawn mower. “You don’t get a time and flight number until the day before—but don’t worry, I’m keeping my phone close, and you’ll be the first to know when I hear.”
Two weeks wasn’t long, but it felt like forever when we’d been separated for a year. “Where are they flying you out from?”
A door closed, and the noise on her end quietened. “Atlanta.”
I wandered over to the window and stared at the heavy clouds gathering, my heart racing at the thought of our reunion. “How far is the airport from where you’re staying?”
“A forty-five minute drive,” Ava said. “I gave up on hotels. I’m renting an Airbnb guesthouse on a property with a really nice family. The owner—Greg—offered to take me to the airport.”
Without knowing a single thing about him, I loved Greg. My throat burned, and tears flooded my eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” I flattened my hand against my chest. “You have no idea how much I’ve been worrying about you.”
“You won’t need to worry much longer,” she said. “We’ll be back together soon.”
“I hope so. Everything’s falling apart so fast, I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to keep in touch.”
“I’m banking on being back before it gets bad, but just in case—”
A knock sounded, and I turned away from the window. “Crap. Ellie and Willow are here." I'd left the door unlocked for them. "I’ll tell them to hang out for a bit while we talk.”
Ellie stepped into my apartment wearing a pale blue loungewear set, with Willow close behind in an oversized tee and flared yoga pants.
They both smiled, and Ellie mouthed hi when she saw me on the phone.
Their hair and features were so similar to mine, residents often used to comment we could be sisters.
Funny, since my actual sister didn’t resemble me.