"She killed her own grandmother."
"You know that phrase, Chris, about blood being thicker than water?"
"Yeah."
"The funny thing is... everyone has that saying wrong. It is actually 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,' which is exactly opposite of what everyone thinks. Sharing blood, sharing DNA with someone... it doesn't mean anything. The bonds we form out of love we choose from the people we choose are the strongest bonds. I don't think Ferryn was looking at it quite so much like she was killing her grandmother, but more like she was killing someone who threatened her and someone she cared about."
"You mean me? She barely knew me."
"Maybe. But I know Ferryn. And she has a strong moral compass. She has a giant heart. She would never have let something happen to you because of her. Not if she could do anything in her power to stop it. So she did."
"I could have stopped her," Chris said, voice hollow. "When she grabbed me? I could have done something. I didn't."
"Look at me," I demanded, tone a little firm because she needed it. "Ferryn has had something like eleven years of training from experts in many fields. You, I would wager, are just a normal girl from a normal life. How could anyone expect you to know how to handle a situation like that?" She nodded a bit, swallowing hard. "If you want, I can teach you."
"Teach me?"
"How to react in a situation like that," I clarified. "I don't know if you know what Hailstorm is, but I run it. I also own a gym that teaches self-defense. I can teach you. We can teach you. If you want that," I added. "And, you know, if your parents would allow it," I finished, remembering what Cash had said.
"I don't have any family," she whispered as I turned to flick off the stove, pour the steaming water. I turned back at that, arm aloft with the teapot still. "My mom died. I was in the system when... when they took me."
"For a long time?" I asked, putting the pot down, then turning fully to her.
"Long enough to know it was not the same as a real family."
"Fair enough. I'm sorry about your mom, Chris. And I know everything is overwhelming now, but I need to ask you something."
"Okay?" she said, feet shuffling, thumb from one hand stroking across the surface of the one on the other.
"Where do you want to go from here?"
"I don't think I understand the question."
"You're a child still. Technically. There needs to be a plan for your future."
"I can't go back. In the system. Not after..."
"Okay," I agreed, nodding.
Her head turned away, looking out the back window at the streaks of dawn creeping across the sky in the distance.
"You said you could train me."
"Yes."
"Can you... can I just... stay here?" she asked, each word its own sentence, dragged down by her fear of rejection, her uncertain future if I said no. "Just until I can figure something else out," she added.
"I have a husband," I started.
"You'd need to ask him," she cut me off.
I chuckled a bit at that, never having quite gotten used to the idea of having to check with anyone. Not even after all these years. But then again, there had never really been any of those 'big decisions' for us. We didn't have kids. We didn't have pets because our schedules were so unpredictable. So what was there to really 'check with' him about? The color of the bedspread?
Well, okay.
I should have checked with him about the bedspread.
But when you found a floral one that spoke to your soul, you just had to buy it, right? To hell with the consequences.
At least they're not pink and purple. That was what he said when he came home to see it, throwing the blanket back, then breaking it in with me.
"I was thinking more that... I know men might be an issue for you right now," I said carefully.
"Not all men are bad," she said just as carefully.
"Look at me," I demanded, waiting for her to do so. "I can guarantee you that Cash would never lay a hand on you. I would bet my life on it."
She nodded a bit at that, swallowing hard.
"Okay," she agreed, making a tugging sensation start in my chest, in my heart. "His name is really Cash?"
"Legally," I agreed with a smile.
She waited a beat, nodding her head a little.
"He's too old for his haircut," she declared, catching me off-guard, making me throw my head back and laugh.
So that was how Cash and I became parents.
To a teenager.--CashGunner was able to find hints of her, traces of blood from cut feet, but they suddenly disappeared right next to a bus stop.
Hailstorm was on the bus situation.