Page 94 of Drawn Together

How the hell had I gotten myself mixed up in this childish drama?

Liam walked away, and Marfil shot us a look that I didn’t know how to interpret, before turning around to continue organizing boxes.

“Thanks for defending me,” said a small voice behind me.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” I said, facing her and observing the way her blue eyes followed Liam across the room. “Tami, he likes you. You know that, right?”

Tami blinked and looked back at me. Then her cheeks went bright red, and she shook her head. “He doesn’t like me… He hates me. He can’t stand me… And I can’t stand him,” she stammered.

I nodded and went back to lifting boxes. My part in that drama was over.

When it finally came time to make our rounds—I had chosen our route myself to make sure it was as safe and as short as possible—I was amused to see that Marfil was still so angry and jealous over something so stupid. I couldn’t believe she really thought I liked her best friend.

We went out in a group of ten people, and when we got to our designated area, we divided into pairs to walk around and pass out coats and hot food to anyone who needed it.

The cold wind was so intense that it seemed to blow straight through the coat I had on. Marfil walked beside me, her red jacket and pink hat like a target, catching the attention of anyone passing by. I let her take the lead, watching as she talked to the people on the street, brightening their days with her smile, offering not only blankets and food, but her kindness, her warmth. Who wouldn’t be awestruck by her?

“Ma’am…” she said to an older woman who seemed to have already hunkered down for the storm, huddled onto a section of cardboard. When she opened her eyes and looked at us, I saw something in her expression… Hope?

My heart sank.

“We have blankets and some delicious hot soup a goodfriend of mine made,” she said to the woman, leaning over and offering her a hot thermos.

“Oh, child,” the woman said, accepting the blanket as if we were offering her a lifeline.

“Take some more warm stuff,” Marfil said, picking up another blanket, a hat, a scarf, and some thermal socks. “Here, it’s going to get even colder. This will help you get through the night.”

The woman accepted the items and slowly began to put on all the clothing Marfil had offered her.

“Are you warmer now?” Marfil’s voice shook, and I had the urge to comfort her.

“Yes, thank you so much, child. Thank you so much,” the woman said, taking Marfil’s gloved hands and smiling gratefully.

Marfil nodded and stood up. We said goodbye to the woman and continued on our way, but I noticed that Marfil was uncharacteristically quiet. It started to snow, and I pulled her into a doorway for a few seconds.

She was crying.

“Hey…” I said, leaning over to wipe her tears with the tips of my gloved fingers.

“It’s so unfair…” she said in a faltering voice.

“What’s unfair?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes to clear her vision. “I have so much, and she…”

“We don’t choose the life we’re born into, Marfil,” I said, understanding how she felt. “What you’re doing today is what makes the difference…”

She laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t matter what I do, how many blankets I pass out. What about all the people who won’t have anything tonight? What about everything else I could do?”

“You can’t save the world.”

“I’m selfish… and spoiled, you’re right about that. And I’m a bad person… I’m…”

“Stop,” I said, taking her chin in my hand. “Why would you say that?”

She looked up and fixed her eyes on mine.

I felt a chill run down my back. I knew it wasn’t the time, but she was just so mesmerizing, so beautiful…