L Akers - Fight Like a Man

Even funnier was that Elmer was doing it too, dressed in the same overalls and John Deere cap that he’d worn the night before, dragging his boots with his head down and back bent.

She laughed and he looked up. “’Bout time you got up, your sisters here are doing all the work.” He waved Olivia and Emma to him and together they walked toward Gabby, passing her to get to the four metal water bottles lined up on the stoop.

Emma and Olivia squatted down to untie their shammy towels and proudly held them out to Elmer, who wrung each one, squeezing and twisting the morning dew out over the open water bottles. With the water from his own towels, he was able to top them off.

“Wow.” Gabby nodded in approval, wondering how many passes that had taken. “Can we drink it just like that? It’s safe?”

He handed each of them a bottle and held onto the fourth. “Of course it’s safe. It’s dew . Straight from God.” He looked around. “Where’s your friend?”

“She’s not up yet. I’ll go in and roust her again,” Gabby answered.

“Your sisters’ told me where you found her.”

So her story was out too. Gabby was embarrassed for her. She looked to her sisters, who refused to meet her eyes. Gossipers.

Elmer clicked his tongue in sympathy. “That’s a sad thing. Y’all did good getting her away from those men. But that girl’s in bad shape. I could see that last night.” Elmer put one foot on the stoop and his hands on his hips. He chewed the inside of his mouth while he thought for a moment. “I’m not sure she’ll make it the rest of the way. I figure you girls have about another day—and maybe more—of walking before you’re scraping the welcome mat.”

Olivia shrugged. “I think she’ll feel better when she gets up. We were all tired and dehydrated last night. I feel a ton better.” She tapped her god-awful sneakers together. “See what Edith gave me?” she asked Gabby.

Gabby nodded. “Nice,” she lied.

Elmer sniffed loudly. “It’s not about being tired. That girl is a junkie. She’s was hurting last night and it’s only going to get worse. It’ll could take a month to get drugs out of her system. It looks like she’s only been without a few days.”

Olivia looked at him in confusion.

Gabby cocked her head. “Yeah? What makes you think so?”

Elmer chewed the side of his mouth again. Then he turned and gave them his back. The pause was so long, Gabby was beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer. Finally, he turned around. “I’ve seen it up close and personal, just like that. I lost my boy to that mess. She’s scratching, and muttering. Probably confused. Paranoid. And she’s still in bed, so she’s already feeling it suck her energy away. You can’t trust her. I learned that the hard way. She’ll beg, borrow and sell her own mother to get that stuff back into her system. Best y’all part ways soon… not here. But somewhere before you get home.”

“We can’t just leave her,” Olivia said indignantly. “She’s all alone, and she only has one hand . And she’s hurt. I told you, Elmer. They branded her like… like… a cow. We have to help her.”

Gabby looked from Olivia to Elmer, praying he’d have wise words to convince her sister otherwise. Mei had been setting off her alarms since they’d rescued her—if that was indeed a rescue—and Gabby agreed with Elmer; it was time to cut her loose. People on drugs brought nothing but trouble. Not my circus; not my monkeys.

Elmer squinted his eyes and gave Olivia his full attention. “This ain’t about her physical disabilities. It’s about her mental state. You can’t help people like that. They won’t listen to you. The demons in their heads talk louder. And if the power doesn’t come back on, they’ll be in the first wave.”

“What wave?” Olivia asked.

“The first wave of people to kick the bucket. Anyone on drugs, whether they have a doctor script or not, is going to be hurting.” He looked over his shoulder at Edith working in the kitchen and lowered his voice. “Elderly people and drug addicts both are going to die. When my heart and blood pressure pills are gone, I won’t last long myself. But I’ll go quick. People like your friend though, they’re going to suffer mighty badly. And there ain’t no clinics open to help them. They’ll be wishing for death within a week. Like I said, I watched it with my son. Me and Edith suffered along with him. And you’ll be suffering too, if she goes home with you.”

Elmer swiped at an eye and cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t wish that kind of suffering on anyone.” He turned suddenly and stepped into the house, leaving Gabby, Olivia and Emma alone.

Gabby and Emma both squeezed Olivia’s hands. She stood stone-still with watery eyes.

“I agree, Olivia. We should have seen the signs. They’re all there now that he mentioned it,” said Gabby. She looked to Emma for support.

“Me, too. I knew there was something wrong with that girl,” Emma said, nodding.

Olivia shook her head. “I’m not leaving her.”

Gabby knew there was no use trying to talk Olivia into it. Once she had broken free from her first husband who’d physically abused her, she’d dedicated her life to helping other woman in bad situations. Man problems, drug problems, job problems. Didn’t matter. Olivia wouldn’t turn one away. It was admirable, but sometimes Olivia needed to put herself and her family first. This was one of those times.

Gabby shrugged. “I know you want to help her, but I won’t let her put any of us in jeopardy. I think she’s trouble, and if she gives us a hassle, she’s gone. I’ve got one goal, and that’s to get us home safe and sound with no more drama on the way.”

Mei stood shaking beside the open bedroom window, with her back against the wall. She waited until the girls had stepped into the kitchen before quietly pulling the window down.

She’d known all along they were talking about her behind her back. Now, she’d caught them. She had barely slept a wink last night, and no one really cared, other than the one ditzy sister. She’d listened to their steady breathing all night, envying their peaceful slumber. Envying their lives. They had each other. And they had husbands .

Elmer and Edith had each other, too.

She had nobody.

And no one cared.

But by the time she was through, they’d all care. And in the end, maybe she’d finally get a good night’s sleep, too.

She awkwardly dug through Gabby’s bag. Frustrated, she cussed to herself. She couldn’t find what she was looking for. But that was okay. She’d find a way to make them pay…

BRIGHT LIGHT POURED through the window, waking Jake.

One eye squinted open.

He was home. Alone . Gabby still not here.

After his run-in with the thugs at the shop, Jake had changed his mind about coming home. He just wanted to get somewhere safe. Home was closer than Grayson’s so he’d made a bee-line back to the neighborhood, and shut off the 4-wheeler at the entrance, quietly pushing it down the street and into his garage.

He hadn’t wanted to deal with the neighbors again. He’d had enough stress.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed, his head and body aching. Time to get on the road before someone discovered he was home. Especially Tucker. He might want his four-wheeler back after all.

And for all Jake knew, his wife might be sitting at Grayson’s right now wondering where the heck he was. He’d actually hoped she was there. He’d gladly take a chewing-out from Gabby, if only he could see her today.