Fighting For What's Missing

2.

William

I feel like a complete idiot when the movie's done. I sat there and actually paid attention to everything that happened. I sat there and watched a fish turn into a human. It's a pretty good kids' movie.

"Where's the bathroom?" Agnes asks in her small voice. Again, I almost didn't hear her.

"That door right there," I point to the bathroom door. She gets up, walks over, and enters the bathroom. She closes the door the same time the bedroom door opens. Julia stumbles out of the room. "Hey, babe-"

"I missed you." She climbs onto my lap, gripping my shoulders, and kisses my neck.

"Whoa, babe, Agnes' here."

"I don't see her." She nibbles on my skin and begins to grind on me.

"Julia, what the hell are you doing? Get off!" I shove her off, placing her next to me on the couch. "Agnes is seven years old! She doesn't need to see that shit!" I hiss at her in a whisper.

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "I'm sure she's seen it before."

"Well, she ain't seeing it around here." I know Julia grew up in a bad home, hell, we both did, but this shit is unacceptable. We're not our freaking parents. "Go put on some pants too." She's still in her panties. She groans, getting up, and stomps back into the bedroom.

The bathroom door opens, I jump to my feet and Agnes steps out. "Can we watch the movie again?"

I nod then return to my seat and press restart. It's an okay movie and an easy way to pass time. Agnes sits next to me this time. Again, she's too trusting. The movie begins and she smiles at me. I was thrown off for a second then smile back at her. Is it my interest in the movie that made her smile?

Julia emerges from the bedroom again. "Hey," she smiles, flopping down on the armchair. "Wow, Agnes, you are beautiful. I knew you looked like your mum, but damn."

"Wait, what?" I ask confused. "Julia, tell me you've seen Agnes before."

"Nope."

Julia doesn't know Agnes? Wait...so, Agnes' parents left their child with someone Agnes barely knows? Do they even know Julia's still on drugs? This entire situation is making my head spin. I can't help but feel sorry for this poor kid, her parents just left her in the street-literally-waiting for two strangers to take her in.

I turn to the little girl sitting next to me. "Are you alright?" I whisper, and she nods. She seems fine, how often do her parents do this?

"Jesus, Willy, leave the fucking kid alone. She's been here for what? An hour? You're not her-"

"Watch it," I snap at Julia. "And watch your language."

She narrows her eyes at me but stays silent. After a few moments, I turn my attention to the movie. Agnes is relaxed, I don't think what Julia said bothered her, it wasn't a lot, but it was enough to piss me off. I lean back into my seat, folding my arms over my chest. The scene in the movie goes quiet and I hear Agnes' stomach growling.

"Okay," I pause the movie and stand up. "Let's get something to eat."

Agnes shakes her head.

"It's alright," I assure her. She puckers her lips then nods and stands up. Julia rolls her eyes as Agnes and I pass her. "I think we have cereal. Is that okay?" I look back to catch her nodding. She does not care if I'm watching. "You can sit down right here," I pull out a seat at the kitchen table. Our chairs are taller than usual so she has to jump onto the seat. On top of the fridge, there are two cereal boxes, Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops, I place them in front of her. She points to the Froot Loops.

"Froot Loops it is." I grab the Frosted Flaskes, but so does she. "Do you want both?"

She shakes her head.

Okay...? What does she want then? "Do you want me to leave the box?" I ask slowly, and she nods. She's not that hard to read. I put the box down and grab a bowl and spoon. "Milk?"

She shakes her head.

I can't help but smile as I pour her cereal. "Yeah, I'm the same way. I'm not the biggest fan of milk. Growing up, my daddy hated it, he said that we were wasting the cow's milk." She looks at me confused. "I grew up on a farm," I explain. Her smile grows, but I frown. Growing up on my daddy's farm isn't as glamorous as she would think.

She notices my mood change and frowns. Shit. Her eyelids flutter before she looks at the Tiger on the cereal box.

"Do you like tigers?"

She nods. Well, that explains why she wanted the Frosted Flakes. "But this tiger sucks," she whispers, and I chuckle. Another thing we have in common.

"I like tigers too. I wanted to get a tattoo of one, but I couldn't think of one or find a good one on google." Most of the shit I found on google were large as tattoos that were just too much. I like my tattoos small.

"Does she even talk?" Julia snarls, joining us in the kitchen. What the hell is her problem? I scowl her as she grabs a beer from the fridge. "What?" She questions my expression. I shake my head. I'm not gonna snap at her with Agnes here. "What do we do with her?"

"She's not a puppy," I growl. I knew Julia hated kids, but this is something else. Agnes leans back in her seat, frowning. "Babe, here," I hand Julia a twenty, "we need food."

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Go to the store and find out."

"Nope," she tosses the bill on the table then sits on my lap, wrapping her arm around my neck. Is fucking she serious? "Imma stay right here with you." She slams her lips on mine. I shove her off and wipe my lips as she giggles. My scowls deepen. "It's nothing she hasn't seen before, plus, in a few years, she'll be doing it herself."

My stomach painfully knots. How could she think of a little girl like that? "Go," I say through my teeth.

"Let me know when my boyfriend returns." She stands up, making a sad attempt to hurt me in the process, and snatches the twenty-dollar bill from the table.

"I'm...sorry," I say to Agnes as Julia storms into our bedroom. She shrugs and eats a Froot Loop. "Do you want to watch another movie or something?"

"A game?" Her voice is smaller now, emotionless.

"Games...like hide and go seek?"

She shakes her head. "Board."

"Oh, well, I don't have any board games, but...I think my neighbor might have some." She has triplets that are twelve or thirteen now, it may not a board game, but she might have something stored away that Agnes will like to play with. I hope so. "Do you want to come with me?" I'm not going to leave her here but it's nice to ask.

She nods.

"Finish your cereal first."

She nods again and leans forward in her seat, picking more Froot Loops than before. Julia leaves then, using every curse word in the book before slamming the front door behind her. I apologize to Agnes again.

When the bowl's half empty, she huffs out a breath of air and leans back into her seat.

"Had enough?" She doesn't answer. "Come on," I rise to my feet, "you can finish the rest later."

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

Why is she apologizing? "Kid, it's alright. If you're not hungry anymore then you're not hungry." I can't help but wonder how many people made her feel like shit for not finishing her food. She nods, sliding off the seat, then fixes her bangs. "Ready to go?"

She nods again. I turn and stroll to the front door. She follows.