"AT LEAST SHE'S EATING NOW," I said, peering through the trailer window as Mr. Choi sat patiently beside the girl. Every slow spoonful of canned chicken noodle soup was a victory. Her arms were merely bone and skin. "Has she said anything?"

"Not since we found her on the side of the road," Mr. Arnold sighed, smoke seeping from his nostrils. He tapped the end of his cigarette. 

Ben leaned against the side of the trailer, tearing open a new pack of Marlboros. "She said she's from Cape Elizabeth."

I gaped. "But that's three hours south."

"I know it."

"How did she get here?"

Mr. Arnold shrugged. "She didn't say. We know her name is Lauren and that she is from Cape Elizabeth. And that she is in the fifth grade."

Lauren stared bleary eyed into her bowl, her cheeks sunken and black hair ragged with dust and sweat. Her yellow Hello Kitty t-shirt was stained and torn. She pursed her pale lips and looked up towards me. I gave her a faint smile. She blinked then looked away.

"Does she have any family?"

The two men shifted uncomfortably.

"She mentioned something about a mother. Her father is dead. Fever last winter. Her mother was travelling with her, but they got separated somehow," Mr. Arnold explained.

"And she was just sitting on a bench outside a broken down rest stop?"

"Like she was waiting for someone. Or something."

The sharp recollection of my own desolation on Catherine's Hill reared it's head. I knew I couldn't talk about this anymore. Shifting uncomfortably and hugging myself, I met Ben's eyes.

"How's the ankle?"

He shrugged. Heavy bags swelled under his eyes and his mouth turned down in a frown. "I'll live."

I held out the pile of folded clothes to Mr. Arnold. "Here. I don't know if any of these will fit her, but it's what I was able to find in the other trailers at such short notice."

He thanked me with a gruff nod, scratching his bearded chin with a perplexed wrinkle over his nose. "This is Richard's deal. He's good with people, good with kids. I'm just... how do you start to help a kid that's been through all this? I don't know if I'm equipped."

"None of us are equipped for any of this," I admitted. "But we're in this together now."

Ben came alongside me. "My dad always told me that if anything were to happen, our biggest assets would be the people we surround ourselves with. I think you and Mr. Choi are in the right place."

Mr. Arnold adjusted his glasses. "Yeah. I think so too."

Ben didn't reach for my hand as we walked back to our trailer. He was chain smoking, his brow furrowed in deep thought. 

"Hey, wait. Check that out," he said, cutting towards an aluminum trailer like ours with a TV antenna dangling off the edge of the roof. He wheeled over a medium sized, pink bicycle. "What do you think?"

"A little small for you, honey."

He rolled his eyes, the cigarette hanging from the corner of his lips. "For the kid."

The back wheel was nearly deflated, but it wasn't too rusty after being left to the elements for three months. Tossing his cigarette to the ground, he limped towards our trailer, pushing the bike along.

"My dad got me a second hand mountain bike for Christmas when I was about nine. I ran that thing into the ground, trying to pop wheelies and drop into my friend's homemade half-pipe," he said. 

It was the most I had heard him talk about his childhood. I didn't dare breathe, afraid he would stop.  

"Every kid should have a bike," he murmured. "My dad used to say that. He always made sure it was in good condition for me. Even if it wasn't an expensive model. We never had much money. I grew up in a place like this. Way up north. Towards Aroostook county."

"Is that why you chose Silver Gardens when you moved into this area?"

He nodded. "Also it's a good location. Isolated, but close enough to main roads and larger areas, like Bar Harbor."

"I like it here too," I added as we stopped in front of our home.

Wetting his bottom lip, the corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a faint smile that didn't reach his bloodshot eyes. "You do?"

I nodded, resting my hand over his on the bike handle. "I do."

"...even after everything that happened last night?"

Of course, the thought of leaving him had crossed my mind. But I knew that I couldn't and not because I didn't have anywhere else to go. We were bound by something I couldn't name. Wherever I ran, I would carry him with me. There was no point. I would only be miserable if I left his side.

"I haven't left this place in three months. It was bad the last time I was out there in the world. I can only imagine it's gotten worse. And you've seen more of it than me."

"This place is a haven for now. I don't know why, but it's been untouched. Until last night. Maybe that's why when he stabbed me, I... I would give my life to protect it. I want... I guess want to build something here for people like the Arnold-Choi's and Lauren. For good people. For you. I want it to be kept safe."

"Even if you bear the brunt of that burden?"

He gave a wry chuckle and shook his head. "I sound like a prick."

Moving a step closer, I cupped his cheek with my palm. The lines etched into his forehead softened, jaw loosening. 

"You know what I think?" I said.

"What?"

"I think your father would have been proud of you." 

Ben remained around Silver Gardens again the next day. He and Mr. Arnold were busy for most of the morning, fixing the motorcycle wheel. The damage was repairable. Lauren remained inside the trailer.

"She ate breakfast. I left it outside her door, she slept so late," Mr. Choi said when I brought them the new bike and a few Nancy Drew novels for her. "Do you want to try to talk to her?"

"She doesn't know me."

"Introduce yourself. I think having another young lady to talk to would be helpful."

I shifted my weight on my feet. Like Mr. Arnold, I had never been good with kids. I had opted to work at our neighborhood Dairy Queen instead of babysitting in high school. But she was eleven years old, almost in middle school. Or would have been in middle school. She would need someone to help further her education as well. At least I had a high school diploma and one semester of college under my belt.

"Okay, let me try."

Mr. Choi led me down the slim hallway to the smaller bedroom. He knocked on the door then cracked it open. "Lauren?"

"Yeah?"

She was sitting on the twin bed, the blankets patterned with Disney princesses. Her window was open. Arms propped on the sill, she was looking out towards the trees on the hilly landscape in the distance.

"Lauren, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Annabeth. She lives down the street."

Lauren didn't turn toward us. Mr. Choi pressed his lips together and nodded me towards the bed before leaving us alone. I took a hesitant step forward. The pink room was decorated with posters of unicorns and baby animals. The child that had lived here previously was obviously much younger than her.

"I- I brought you a few things. From Ben and I." 

I sat down on the edge of the bed. The light breeze ruffled Lauren's black hair. Mr. Choi said she had washed in their tub the previous night. She almost looked back to normal, except for the shadows under her dark eyes and turned down mouth. She looked like me when I had first arrived at Silver Gardens, when I had spent a whole week in tears. Ben hadn't known what to do with me either. But I had come around. I had to believe she would as well.

"I found these nearby, a couple Nancy Drew books. I read a bunch when I was your age. Things can be pretty quiet around here so they might give you something to do." I pushed the books towards her over the comforter and her eyes darted in their direction. "Also, Ben sent something else with me. A bike. It's all fixed up and ready to go, if you're interested."

She turned towards me, dull eyes widening with interest. "What kind of bike?"

"I think he said it was a mountain bike. Do you like to ride?"

She sniffed, her face growing stony. "I used to."

"... if you want to pick it up again, I think Mr. Choi is putting it in your shed for safekeeping."

Lauren blinked at me. "Who are you?"

I grinned. "Annabeth."

"Yeah, but who do you belong to?"

I almost laughed out loud. "Myself, I suppose. But I... I live with Ben." 

I wondered if I would ever find an appropriate way to explain our relationship. The term boyfriend didn't feel correct, not in our re-ordered world.

She nodded sagely. "You're young."

"So are you."

To my surprise, she almost smiled. With slim fingers, she touched the cover of one of the books. The remnants of glittery, purple nail polish stained her nail beds. "Thanks, Annabeth. I don't- I'm not up for much right now. But thanks."

It was more than enough. It was a step. That was all she needed to do today.

"You're welcome. Try and get some rest. If you ever want to talk or hang out, I'm right up the street."

Mr. Choi thanked me and appeared relieved. He already cared for the girl. If Lauren had to be watched over by anyone, I was glad it was Mr. Choi and Mr. Arnold. 

Heat simmered over the dirt road at the height of noon. Ben moved out into the avenue as I crested the hill before our home. He was cleaning a wrench with a rag, his white t-shirt grease stained. He limped towards me, though I noted that his gait had grown stronger. That meant he would be heading out again soon. I tried to smile, despite feeling deeply bothered by the notion for the first time.

"How is she?"

"Better," I said. "And she seemed genuinely interested in the bike. Good call."

Ben gave a small, satisfied smile, his eyes grazing the dusty ground. He readjusted his hat and moved towards me, grasping my wrist with his thumb and forefinger. "Mr. Arnold liked what I had to say about this place, about it being a sanctuary. He wants to help us."

"That's good."

"We are going out tomorrow with me. He even mentioned fortifying the place so we don't have another instance like the other night."

"I think that's a good idea."

Tucking the wrench and rag into his back pocket, he reached for my other hand and sought my eyes. "But you don't like that I'm leaving again."

With a breathy chuckle, I pulled my hands away and walked towards the trailer. "What gave you that idea?"

I sensed him follow me, even up into the sweltering kitchen. I busied my hands with the dishes on the drying rack as he grasped my hips and pressed his mouth to the back of my head.

"I'll be back in one piece. I promise," he muttered into my hair.

With a sigh, I turned towards him. "All of you?"

"All of me."

I didn't mention that I was thinking more about the state of his heart and soul than body.