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14
Tessa
“Mommy!” The screen door slammed as Emily came barreling out of Sally’s house with Moose running behind her. Tessa caught the girl in her arms and buried her face against her soft red hair, inhaling her baby’s scent. It’d only been half a day, but she could count on one hand the number of times she’d been away that long in her life. Moose whined, thumping his tail against the dirt and sensing something was wrong.
“Where’s Dad?” Mason stood on the porch and stared past Tessa to see Robin. She hadn’t told them where she was going, but he was smart enough to figure it out.
“Let’s talk about that later.” Arthur rested a hand on Mason’s shoulder. Tessa gave him a grateful smile.
“And who’s this?” Sally pushed open the door, breathing heavily as she leaned on her cane. All eyes traveled to Robin and she seemed to shrink into herself.
“This is Gunny Fuimaono’s fiancé,” Tessa explained as she wrapped her arms tighter around Emily and stood up. “She’s going to be staying at the house for a while.”
“A soon to be Marine wife.” Sally nodded. “What are you waiting for, sweetheart? Come inside and get some dinner.” Robin looked to Tessa for reassurance and she motioned for her to go. One more mouth to feed. Tessa pushed the thought away as she snuggled against Emily in her arms. She’d figure it out.
“Did you decide that you’re staying then?” Arthur asked once the kids were inside with Sally and Robin.
Tessa leaned down to scratch Moose behind the ear. “No. I just haven’t told her that we are leaving yet. She’s been through too much already. I wanted to keep her safe and she can stay at the house if she doesn’t want to come with us.”
“I see.” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. “We had a little situation while you were gone.”
The weight of the day settled heavily onto her shoulders. “What happened? Did the kids break something?”
“Nothing like that. A man was snooping around your yard a few minutes after you took off. I had a conversation with him, but I think things are starting to get worse.”
Her cheeks grew hot with rage. “What did he say?”
“That he was coming to check on you. Neighborly concern and some other crap. I watched him walk down Turner Street and enter that house with the yellow trim.” Arthur pointed down the hill.
Tessa turned to look over the hedges. “He would have seen me drive away then. I’m already worried about neighbors telling my personal business to the cops. Am I going to have to worry about them stealing from us too?”
“Do you know any of them well enough that they’d feel bad for taking what you have to feed their starving families?”
“I don’t know anyone that well.” Tears filled her eyes as she thought of what she would do if Mason and Emily were ever truly hungry. “We need to go. San Diego is burning and there are thousands of people on the roads heading north. I ended up in Escondido when I picked up Robin and it’s bad. A gang ripped through her apartment complex and…” Her voice hitched. She couldn’t say the words out loud. “They took everything they wanted. We have to get somewhere safe to ride out the worst of this until they get the power turned back on.”
“If they ever get the power back on.” Arthur let out a heavy sigh.
“Come with us,” Tessa pleaded. “We’ll take it easy and keep Sally comfortable.”
“Sally is tougher than you think, but it isn’t about that. She’s not going to leave here without Anissa. I tried to reason with her already.” The words hung in the air between them and Tessa understood. She’d do anything for her kids, even leave her home without the man she loved in order to keep them safe. But she knew the pain Arthur must be feeling in knowing the truth and not being able to convince his wife of it. At least there was a chance with Landon already being on ship. Anissa was in Germany.
“We’ll talk about it later?” she offered. Arthur gave her a sad smile and nodded. They both knew later wouldn’t come. Time was running out.
“Why can’t she sleep with me?” Emily pouted as Robin and Tessa tucked the fitted sheet around the mattress in the guest room. Robin smiled, saying nothing. The girl had been on her lap all night.
“Because she doesn’t belong to you.” Tessa shoved the pillow into the case. “Now go get ready for bed.”
“She’s sweet.” Robin smoothed out the wrinkles on the comforter. “Thank you again for taking me in. I feel bad imposing on you like this, but it feels so much safer up here somehow.”
For now. Tessa shook her head. In the quiet of her house with the setting sun casting a warm glow through the window it would be easy to believe that nothing had changed that much. But she knew what was coming.
“Do you want to talk about what happened to you?”
Robin gently touched the bruising on her face and tried to smile. “Your son said it looks like I was in a gnarly fight. Gnarly. I haven’t heard that word since college.”
“He picks up the weirdest things from school. But I was wondering about the other stuff.” She clutched the pillow to her chest, unsure of how to word it but knowing it had to be said. “I saw the mattress. I know what they did. It isn’t your fault.”
Robin’s eyes glimmered with tears as she turned away. “It happens, you know. But no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
