Page 44 of Wait For Me
“Make a right up here at the light,” Robin said.
Tessa turned the wheel. “Listen, I’ve never been one to pry into someone else’s business but you look like you got in a fight with a bus. Are these jerks still around your apartment? Do you really think you’ll be safe here?”
“Turn left.” Robin pointed to the road up ahead. “They’re gone now. It was some kind of gang going door to door demanding food and it was my fault for putting up a fight.”
“What are you talking about?” Tessa’s foot hit the brake and Old Blue screeched to a stop in the middle of the intersection. Her nerves were shot and her voice was harsher than she intended. “How is this your fault?”
“Don’t worry about me.” Robin glanced at Tessa from the corner of her swollen eye that was partially obscured by the big sunglasses.
“I’m worried.” Tessa grit her teeth.
“Don’t be.”
Robin’s stubborn independence infuriated her and she was tired of wasting precious time away from her kids. The whole world was burning down around them and this woman was blaming herself for getting hit.
“I don’t care what you think,” she snapped. “It isn’t safe for you here. You’re coming home with me and that’s final.”
“My apartment is right over there.” Robin pointed to the painted high-rise luxury building across the street as she pressed herself against the door, shrinking under Tessa’s outburst.
She pressed on the gas, jumping over the median and driving through the open iron gate that swung on broken hinges. “Fine then. Let’s go get your things.”
The apartment complex, despite its manicured hedges and gazebo arched walkways, looked like something from a war-torn landscape. Dirty clothes hung draped from balconies and the pristine pool behind the cabanas was being emptied by a line of anxious tenants holding buckets. Faces were hardened in mistrust as the neighbors tried to not bump into each other and Robin wasn’t the only one who looked like she’d seen the wrong side of a fist.
“Who exactly were these jerks?” Tessa eased Old Blue into a parking space.
“Like I said, some gang or something. They didn’t exactly stick around and make introductions.” Robin nursed the cut on her lip, hesitating before she opened the door. “I don’t want to leave without my cat.”
“Then get your cat and hurry please.” Tessa scanned the parking lot, watching for anyone to get too close to the truck.
“She’s been missing for a few days,” Robin whispered. Seriously? Tessa whipped her head to the side to stare at the woman. Tears ran down Robin’s bruised cheek as she struggled to keep herself together.
Sighing, Tessa pocketed the keys. “I’ll help look for your cat while you throw a bag together, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Alright.” Robin drew in a shaky breath and glanced back at the broken gate, seeming to remember where she was. “She’ll be okay if we can’t find her. Minerva is tough.”
Tessa’s heart broke for the woman. “I’ll call for her. Maybe she’s hanging around outside. You go get your things and hurry.”
Robin sniffed and reached under her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Thank you, for everything.”
The overpowering scent of smoke in the air couldn’t cover up the smell of garbage that burned Tessa’s nose when she opened the truck door. She tried to breathe through her mouth, but the taste of it filled her throat. Robin raced ahead, immune to the putrid assault, as Tessa cupped her hands over her face. The walkways were littered with trash and the single dumpster in the parking lot was overflowing. Six days past a normal waste pickup in the Southern California heat had reduced the luxury apartments to this awful stench.
Tessa followed Robin through the open walkway, whistling for Minerva as if she were a dog. Every step away from the truck felt wrong, like she was abandoning her kids. It’d be dinnertime soon. Sally would feed them, but she’d owe her more food. Hopefully they weren’t worried. She prayed they were okay. What if something happens…
“Minerva, come here kitty kitty,” Tessa’s high-pitched voice echoed down the walkway. Robin pulled out a lanyard from her pocket and unlocked her floor level apartment.
Tessa turned to try again. “Come here, girl. Your mama wants you.” The sound of a couple arguing behind the thin walls next door was the only noise in return.
She stopped in front of Robin’s open door. Trash bags were neatly piled outside, leaning against the huge mattress propped against the stucco walls. She took a step back, wondering why Robin would have dragged it outside for a garbage man who was never coming, and the realization made her sick. She didn’t want to see it, but she had to know. Dark red and angry bloodspots stained the hidden side. Tessa let it fall back against the wall and put her hands over her mouth to stop from screaming. Is this what is coming? Will Emily be safe in a world like this?
“Robin,” her voice cracked as she stepped inside the apartment.
“Did you find Minerva?” Robin turned to look over her shoulder with a hopeful smile and a half packed duffle bag on the table beside her.
“Not yet.” Tessa wrang her hands.
The apartment was immaculate. Potted plants with wide green leaves sat on every windowsill. A modern couch with throw pillows that seemed as if they’d never been touched sat at perfectly squared angles on the cushions. A high fiber oriental rug without a single stain rested beneath the couch’s feet. This was the home of the woman with white heels. The mattress and Robin’s sweatpants and trench coat told a story that made Tessa hate the entire world.
She wanted to ask if Robin was okay, wanted to wrap her arms around her and absorb some of the hurt like she would with her kids, but Robin’s sunglasses were off and she stood proudly in her own home with a look of determination on her face.