“With our jobs, we’ve seen a lot.”
Griz grunted. “A lot of bad shit.”
“How sick do you think her brother was?”
Griz shrugged. "She'll probably talk to Elowen. You know how women are. They'll bring stuff like that up when the guys aren't around."
“Yeah. I worry about her.”
Griz nodded. "Just be cautious. She doesn't know what she wants yet. She hasn't really lived. We'll provide her with space to figure things out, and if you're around, maybe you two will become close. But don't make it out to be more than it is. I don't want you getting hurt."
All the guys knew he'd crashed out with women after the accident. He'd been a real player, so maybe it was karma. Heck, they'd seen women turn their nose up when they figured out he wasn't in the Navy because he'd been hurt.
Maybe staying in San Diego had been a mistake. Brent may have done him a favor by burning down his house. He’d lost things, but this may open him up to new possibilities and fresh starts.
Calla feltthe rise of panic when Thario left Elowen’s car and got in his van. He brought peace to her. Maybe she was putting too much into the feelings she had for him.
“You good to go?” Elowen asked.
She nodded. “Yes. I think so.”
They took off with the van following them. It had been a long time since she’d been in a vehicle for any length of time. Brenttook her a few places with him, but only at night, and only when he could fully control her.
"My dog, Knuckles, is going to like you. She's smart like Frog, but is a little more gentle. Sometimes I worry that Frog is going to knock Thario over, but he never does."
Calla took her eyes off the side mirror where she was watching for the van behind them and turned to Elowen.
“I’m really thankful you two are allowing me to stay with you. I won’t lie. I’m a little scared.”
“That’s totally understandable.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to decide. You can spend time thinking, reading, watching TV or movies, or working in the garden. Really, the garden shouldn’t take too much work. There are also clusters of wild fruit trees and bushes. I like to go pick fruit and make pies or other treats.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun.”
"You just have to be careful of the snakes. There aren't too many, but they like the fruit because it brings mice, so they hang out near the bushes."
A shiver slid down her spine. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
"It really is a great place to live. And if Knuckles is with you, she'll alert you to snakes in the area. They don't come around the house much with her there." Elowen chuckled. "Gosh, I'm making it sound like it's a problem. In the years I've lived there, I've only found one snake near the house. They don't like humans, so they keep away. Griz goes out into the wilderness so he runs into more than I do, but most of those are not venomous."
Calla smiled. "You were making it sound scary. But I understand why you're warning me. I haven't been in nature in years. It's been a long while since I've been out of the city. I thinkthe last time was when I was fifteen. I guess I'm twenty-three now. That's so odd. I've missed so much just trying to survive."
Elowen reached over and squeezed her hand. “So what is something you really want to do?”
"I don't know. Movies maybe. I think one of the last movies I watched wasWonder Woman." She let go a heavy sigh, and Elowen glanced over at her.
“You okay?”
She shrugged. "Yeah. Just thinking about that movie. When I watched it, I thought, ‘Wow, women can do anything,’ and then Brent killed our parents, locked me in a room, and abused me. I lived in fear and have done nothing in the years since."
“Those were weird circumstances. You know, you can’t blame yourself for what happened and what you did or didn’t do.”
“A part of me feels like I could have tried harder to fight. I tried to escape, and I attacked him a few times, but he always won. I got the worst beating after my escape attempts.”
Elowen took an exit and navigated through the packed side road to get on another road. The landscape started to change as the roads started twisting through hills.
