Counting Paths

Chapter 2.

The girl inhales the first two sandwiches I make her, and nibbles on a mango as I make her another one. Smith constantly insists she slow down, but the girl says she's hungry each time. It seems like someone was starving her, possibly the one who bruised her...?

In the better lighting of the kitchen, I see she has naturally tanned skin with dark brown, wavy hair that goes a few inches past her shoulders, and I was right before, I wasn't just seeing shit from lack of sleep, she does have two different eye colors. Her left eye is green and her right eye is light brown. It's kinda creepy.

"Here." I place the third sandwich on the plate in front of her just as she finishes her mango. "My name's Roland. What's your name?"

"Sterling," she answers before taking a large bite of her sandwich.

"Sterling?" I repeat.

She nods, chewing her food quickly. Then she swallows and points to the fridge. "Can I get some water?"

"I'll get it." Smith jumps up from her seat across from Sterling and grabs a water bottle from the fridge. Sterling rips off the tap and finishes the entire bottle in a few gulps. "Baby, you're going to throw up."

"Why haven't you yet?" I wonder. "Ryan told me you were drinking and you took a pill...but you look and seem fine."

She throws her head back, opens her mouth, and tries to get the last drops of water in the bottle. Smith rushes to grab another from the fridge. She thanks Smith and looks at me again. "I drank, yes, but clearly I'm a lightweight. I didn't drink much, but then Ryan shared his blunts with me. Then he gave me a pill. I threw up a couple of times before he put me in his car."

Pill... "What you said before..." I start and her face drops. "You want to die."

She lowers her gaze and picks up her sandwich. Smith whimpers into her hand and mutters what sounds like a prayer as she walks out of the kitchen.

I'm suddenly boiling with rage. I fold my arms over my chest and stuff my hands into my armpits to keep myself my punching something. "Let me get this straight." I move to the other side of the table, directly in front of her, and glare down at her. "You want to die, I get that, we've all been there, but going to Ryan? You actually agreed to be with him, agreed to let drug you up and rape you, so he would kill you?! Are you fucking stupid?!"

She jumps at the volume of my voice and settles her half-eaten sandwich on the plate again. "I didn't know he was going-"

"You're a little girl! Why else would a grown man give you drugs and alcohol?!"

"Stop yelling at me!" She fires back. She pushes her chair back as she stands. "Can't you see? There is absolutely nothing you can say to me right now that will make me feel worse. I am done. That's why I was with Ryan."

I avert my eyes from the weight of her gaze. I swallow the lump in my throat. "Where are your parents?"

She scoffs and I force myself to look at her again as she takes a seat. "Who do you think allowed this to happen?"

"Why don't you tell me what happened? Everything that happened." She shakes her head. It's strange, not that many people say no to me anymore. "Excuse you?" I unfold my arms and place my hands on the table, leaning into them. "You're lucky I'm asking. Tell me what happened."

"Why? It doesn't seem like you want me here."

"I-"

She tucks her hair behind her ears, folds her arms over her chest, and leans back in her chair. I don't remember kids being this annoying. "If I'm going to have to relive through that, I have to know it's not for nothing."