Maxine’s story…
“We’re going to get through this, Marni,” Maxine said to her sister. She reached out, tightly grabbing onto Marni’s smaller, trembling hand as they hesitantly walked into their childhood home. “I’ll get both of us through this.”
Marni responded with a slight jerk of her head, but Maxine’s younger sister didn’t speak. Maxine wondered if she should say something to her sister, but the words of comfort wouldn’t come. The pain of losing their parents was too new. Too raw. And…she was terrified of what the future would hold! Having just turned eighteen, Maxine felt as if a massive weight had just been placed on her shoulders, weighing her down and making it hard to breathe.
But Maxine needed to step up! She needed to be the one in charge now that their parents had passed away. Marni would need help getting though the last few years of high school. After that, her younger sister would need help getting into college. Unfortunately, Maxine wasn’t sure how to do any of that. She barely knew how to take care of herself, much less an angry, wounded teenager!
Not to mention, how was she supposed to pay the mortgage on their house? What about the utilities? Maxine wasn’t exactly positive what all of the utilities were other than electricity. Was there money to pay for the house and the mysterious utilities? Would they have money leftover for food? How much money was still in the bank after their parents’ funeral?
Maxine sighed, bowing her head as she tried to work through all of the challenges facing her.
She watched sadly as Marni slowly made her way up the stairs to her bedroom which was a good thing. Maxine didn’t want Marni to know how overwhelmed, how frightened, she was.
A strange voice called out, “Are you going to be okay?”
Maxine jerked her head up and looked towards the door that they’d stupidly left open. Her neighbor, Mr. Huntington, stood in the foyer doorway, looking awkward and uncomfortable. Mr. Huntington had been at the funeral, which had been very nice, considering that he had been a constant thorn in her father’s life. “Yes. Thank you,” Maxine politely lied. “We’re going to be fine.”
Just saying those words out loud made Maxine feel better. Stronger.
Mr. Huntington didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?” he gently asked, taking a hesitant step closer, but stopping again.
Maxine pulled her shoulders back. She’d been able to experience the joy of her last few years of high school. She’d gone to prom and walked through the formal graduation ceremony to get her diploma. She’d been to all of the after-prom parties and the post-graduation parties. She’d experienced the elation of finishing high school.
Marni deserved that excitement as well. So yes, they were going to be fine. Somehow, Maxine would make it “fine”.
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Huntington. I appreciate your concern, but I think we’re going to be okay.” She would meet with the lawyers tomorrow. Maxine knew where her parents’ financial documents were. She’d just…figure it all out!
The man shuffled his feet, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his charcoal grey slacks. He must have taken the matching jacket and tie off before walking across their yards. “Okay, well, Edith put a casserole in the fridge for you.” Mr. Huntington nervously looked around, obviously uncomfortable. “I think several of the neighbors also brought over casseroles and food. Just…let me know if you need help with anything. Anything at all, okay?”
Maxine forced herself to smile and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” Would the man leave? Maxine wanted to go upstairs and bury her head underneath a pillow. She wanted to scream into her pillow, yell at the unfairness of a world that had taken away their parents in a stupid car accident. Or maybe she should go to Marni’s room and make sure that she was okay. Assure Marni that they would survive this.
Finally, the man walked out of the house, pulling the door closed softly. Maxine sighed with relief and looked around. She was in charge now. Somehow, she’d have to make this work. She’d have to ignore the debilitating sadness and make sure Marni finished high school, that they kept the house, that they had food and…and all of it, even though she had no idea what “all of it” entailed. But she could do this! Yes, she was smart and strong. She’d figure everything out.
Dash’s story…
He’d found him.
Dash Phillips looked up at the painfully bright sunshine, closing his eyes as he acknowledged that had finally found his half-brother. The only clue he’d had was that, after leaving their home several years ago, Tom had traveled to a place called “Springfield”. Unfortunately, Dash hadn’t realized until he’d started on this quest that there were thirty for states with a town called “Springfield”.
But Dash wasn’t one to give up. Memories of his step-father casually smacking him around reverberated through his mind and determination made him search harder and smarter until he’d found his brother. Finally, through a process of elimination and gritty determination, Dash had found the right town and, after an exhaustive search of tax records, had discovered this place.
With a sigh, Dash turned away from the simple grave marker and walked out of the cemetery.
“You okay?” Marco asked, leaning against the beat up old truck Dash had finally bought.
Dash looked over his shoulder at the grave marker. “Yeah. I didn’t really know him. My half-brother left the house when I was only about three years old.”
“Still, he’s your brother,” Callum came back.
Dash looked at the four of them standing by the truck. Kasim was in a suit this time. As a crown prince, the guy looked like a future world leader. But the others, they were all pretty rag-tag and proud of it.
“Nah,” Dash replied with a shake of his head. “You guys are my family. Have been for a while now.”
Marco lightly punched Dash on the arm and they both laughed. Angela pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack, handing it to him. “Here. Call this guy.”
Confused, Dash looked down at the card, then back at Angela. “Why?”
She sighed and pushed away from the truck. “Because he had a fire at his warehouse two days ago. He thinks it was arson but the fire department doesn’t want to investigate.” She shrugged and jerked her thumb towards the grave marker in the field of about a thousand other grave markers. “I told him that you’d found someone who didn’t want to be found. Said that you could probably figure out if someone had set the fire deliberately.”
Dash’s eyes immediately lit up with interest. He glanced down at the piece of torn paper, then at Angela. She was pretty but…she was his “sister”. He loved her like a sister.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at the woman who always looked as if she was ready to tackle someone. “A fire? What do I know about arson?”
Angela reached for the card, starting to snatch it out of his hand. “Fine. If you don’t want to take the case, then…”
Dash hastily pulled the card away from her, lifting it into the air. “I didn’t say I wasn’t interested. Just that I don’t know much about arson.”
Callum chuckled. “Luckily, you know how to read!”
Dash agreed and was intrigued at the idea of investigating something that the professionals had dismissed. It captivated him on a very basic level. Nodding, he tucked the card into his pocket.
