It was late afternoon, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I typically kept my apartment tidy, but it was obvious someone had cleaned while I was sleeping. The countertops were shiny, and there wasn’t a dust bunny or crumb in sight.
I took a longer shower than usual, taking the time to carefully wash my hair—something I hadn’t done since the accident. Itburned a bit, but was thankfully fine once I rinsed everything out. I exfoliated and shaved, spending a solid ten minutes under the hot water just getting lost in thought.
By the time I finished, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated. The bathroom had filled with steam, and the mirrors were fogged up, to my relief. The bruises on my neck had started changing color, and the blue and green stripes were jarring.
Taking a breath, I focused on moisturizing my face and combing my hair. By the time I got dressed in leggings and a hoodie, I felt almost human. I left my hair down to dry, yanking the strings of the hoodie together to try to cover the marks on my neck. I checked the fridge, which contained a multitude of unknown products I never would have purchased for myself.
Checking the clock, I realized I had some time before Charlie came by. She typically worked until 5:30 at Bash’s garage. Looking through my kitchen once again, I started pulling out ingredients to make lasagna and garlic bread. I didn’t often get to cook, typically preferring quick meals made from items that didn’t expire easily, but I had a few recipes I had worked very hard to master.
Using my phone to play music, I got prepped in the kitchen until I developed a rhythm. Soon, I got lost in the familiar tasks, the chopping of veggies and stirring of the different pots on the stove. The warmth from the oven was welcomed after my earlier shower, but I knew it was wreaking havoc on my hair.
Just before 5 p.m., everything was in the oven. Proud of my timing, the food would be good to go shortly after Charlie got there. I was both exhausted and exhilarated. At 5:45, there was a short knock on my door before Charlie let herself in. Sometime over the past week, I had gotten a whole new door installed, complete with a deadbolt and chain.
Apparently, it also came with a spare set of keys that Charlie had commandeered. I barely made it out of the kitchen beforeshe was in the apartment, Bash hot on her heels. He closed the door behind him, but not before I caught sight of another Brother heading down the stairs to post up outside. I wondered how long that would go on. I didn’t want to get used to it, only to have it ripped away.
It was why I was so thankful for the door. It was a gift that gave me the ability to feel confident on my own and ensured my safe space was safer. Before my thoughts could go further down that road, I was shocked to see Bash lock the door behind him before sinking onto my couch like he had been doing it all his life. As if reading my thoughts, Charlie whirled around to stare at her brother.
“What are you doing? It’s Friday. That means girls’ night,” she demanded, crossing her arms and staring Bash down.
“Yeah, well, Friday also means I’m on guard duty, and I’m not standing out in the hallway all night. Plus, it smells amazing in here, so stop trying to bogart Fiona’s attention,” he said, looking away from his sister and focusing on me. I tried to ignore the racing of my heart.
“Please, Fee? Take pity on me. Just let me sit down and have some of whatever you’re cooking.” He made a puppy-dog face, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Charlie made an annoyed sound, so I decided to set up some ground rules.
“Okay, kids, looks like we all need to get along. Bash, you can stay, BUT Charlie gets to pick the movie.” She cheered at that, and he hung his head.
“Keep in mind, I will kick both of you out if you eat too much food. I made it for the guys you’ve had standing guard outside. I’m sorry that I don’t know any of their names, but I wanted to thank them.” I stood there awkwardly as Charlie and Bash exchanged unreadable looks.
Saved by the timer going off, I hustled to the kitchen as fast as I could. Turning the oven off, I pulled out the lasagna and trayof garlic bread to cool on top of the stove. I could hear Bash and Charlie bickering in the other room, so to give them some time, I went about fixing a salad.
It was the first time I had really eaten at the small four-top table. With a grimace, I thought about how I ate my breakfast standing at the kitchen counter, and then, when dinner came around, I camped out on the couch in the living room.
Finally, the siblings entered the kitchen, still giving each other dirty looks.
“How can we help?” Bash asked, startling me. I looked around the kitchen and eyed the large pan of lasagna.
“Could you portion up the lasagna, please? The tray is still hot. There are oven mitts hanging next to the fridge.” He smiled at me before heading to that side of the kitchen.
Charlie was already digging through the fridge, pulling out drinks and salad dressing. Between the three of us, we had the table set and food dished out in under ten minutes. There was a collective moment of silence as we all dug in, only broken by both Charlie and Bash’s groans. The noise surprised me, and I looked up to see them both staring at the food reverently.
“Fiona, this is fucking amazing. Mom can’t cook for shit, so most meals at our house are things Dad can throw on the grill,” Charlie commented as she made quick work of her lasagna slice, her garlic bread mostly gone already.
“I’m telling Ma you said that,” Bash replied. I laughed.
“Oh, fuck off. Seriously, Fee, where did you learn to cook like this?” she asked as I pushed the salad bowl toward her, blocking her attempt at stealing more garlic bread. She frowned but put some salad on her plate.
“My scholarship only covered student housing my first two years of college. After that, I couldn’t afford to stay in the dorms. I couch-surfed for a bit or stayed in my car, which worked out for a while since I spent so much time driving between differentjobs and classes. Eventually, one of my coworkers invited me to stay at her place. She was living in a two-bedroom apartment with three other people. They weren’t thrilled to have another person in an already tight space, so I made sure to put in some extra work by cleaning and cooking for everyone. They let me stay on their couch, and were cool when I was running late on rent because I always made up for it with chores or food.”
“You lived in your car?” Charlie asked, and Bash shot her a look. I felt my face flaming, but I was also slightly annoyed. Not everyone had the luxury of a safe place to go home to, and my vehicle was the first thing to ever wholly belong to me.
“I was working three jobs, and I saved every penny for the car. It allowed me to quit one of them to become a delivery driver for a few different restaurants in town. I’m pretty sure I was safer in my car than anywhere else on that campus. Not to mention, as long as I was in Franklin, I knew he wasn’t getting damaged.”
“Franklin?” Bash asked. I smiled.
“Yeah, my car’s name was Franklin. It was an old station wagon in a beat-up mustard color with a stick shift, but I loved it. I was so sad when it died, but thankfully, I found a good dealership that let me trade it in for the car I drive now.”
“Well, if anything is going on with the new car, feel free to bring it by the shop. Will trade you repairs for more food. Gotta admit, I’m a little upset I have to share this with anyone else. I bet between Charlie and me, we could kill that whole pan right now.”
The mood was much lighter after that. We chatted a bit as we ate. I mostly listened as Bash and Charlie discussed the shop and the different Brothers who worked there. Once we were all stuffed, Bash carried the dishes to the sink and started washing them. I was shocked and was unsure how to respond, but Charlie swept in and dragged me into the living room.
