Her shoulders slump. “It’s Star’s first day at her new school today, and I’m a wreck.”
“Is this her first time in a school setting or just her first time here?”
“First one here. I sent her to school when I went back home with my dad. It didn’t go well. She got overwhelmed fast. The kids made fun of her because she wouldn’t speak, and I could tell it frustrated the teachers, too. I ended up homeschooling her for a little while, but it was rough. I had too many holes in my own education, so I thought we’d try again.”
“And now you’re worried history will repeat itself?”
She shrugs, but I can see it’s weighing on her.
“Okay, here’s the plan. We eat some of this shit Delphi packed for us, then we’ll get on my bike and head back to the compound to collect the truck. Then we’ll go and wait outside the school gates until she’s done.”
“She still has a few hours to go yet,” she whispers, her eyes getting damp.
“So?”
She walks over and face-plants against my chest. I narrowly avoid getting the bags crushed against me.
I put the bags on the counter and wrap my arm around her. “Hey, what’s all this?”
“I’m being stupid. I know I am, but if it’s this hard on me? How the hell is Star coping?” She tips her head up to look at me.
“It’s been you and Star against the world for a long time. I know this shit is hard, but she’s strong like her mama.”
She lets out a small sob but manages to pull herself together quickly. “Sorry.”
“Hush now. I’m all about free hugs.”
She chuckles against me and lets me keep holding her, which I take for the win. I slide my hands up and down her back and smile against her hair when I feel her relax.
“Thanks, Ambros.” She pulls back and swipes her face. “Okay, what did you bring me?”
I move to the bags and start unpacking. “The flask is full of hot chocolate, and I have no idea what kind of pastries Delphi threw in, but I guarantee they’re all delicious. She also sent over some books for you and Star.
“Really?” She grabs the bag of books and starts digging around. “Oh wow, this was so nice of her.”
“You like reading, huh?”
I grab a dinner plate from the drainer and plate up the pastries as she explores.
“It was the only way.”
“Only way for what?”
She looks up at me and offers me a sad smile. “For us to escape, at least for a little while.”
I nod and swallow around the lump in my throat. “It was always fighting for me. I had so much energy to burn when I was a kid. I couldn’t sit still and found it hard to focus. I always had to be doing something, or I was causing chaos—that’s where fighting came in. My dad took me to the local gym, where they’d just started offering kids’ classes. I was hooked after the first one.”
“What kind of fighting did you do?”
It suddenly dawns on me that Citi only knows me as Ambros the biker, not Ambros the MMA fighter.
“I did a little bit of everything, but mixed martial arts was where my passion was.”
“Were you any good?”
I grin. “I was alright.”
“You were good.” She huffs out a laugh before reaching for a maple Danish and taking a bite. Her eyes widen comically before she moans. “What in the heavenly cloud of yumminess is this?”
