Chapter 9

Nine

Isla

I puttered around the house, painting for another ten minutes. I was angry that Damon had come out here. Angry that he’d brought pizza and gummy bears. Angry that I had told him I hadn’t forgiven him. That was stupid. It was a long time ago, and none of it was his fault. It was my fault. Hadn’t the therapist been telling me to take responsibility?

Frustrated, I finished up painting the last wall in the living room and moved to the front door. I had put a bucket full of water outside, and I needed to clean the brush.

When I opened the door to go to the water spigot, I noticed the two pizzas and the gummy bears resting on the porch. Annoyed, I put the paintbrush in the bucket, and then I picked up the pizzas and the gummy bears and moved into the house. I didn’t want hungry animals to start raiding the place.

I brought the food into the kitchen and looked at the pizzas. My annoyance grew when I saw that they were pepperoni and extra meat. I loved those kinds, and I knew Damon did too. Then I realized that he’d probably gotten the pizzas to feed his children. Why had he left them?

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to ignore all those questions. I put two pieces on a plate and then microwaved them. Then I said a prayer over the food and started eating.

As I enjoyed the meal, I thought about how I had told Damon I didn’t need charity. I’d told all of them that. Seeing him show up here had angered me and made me not want to do the dispatch job. Even the little bit that Mrs. Friendly had shown me made me want the job, though.

I thought about the night everything had happened with my father. I knew this job was the one for me because of that night. Because the voice on the line had talked me through what to do when my whole body was a bruised mass, all beaten up. The fear and the panic that had assaulted me had been made easier by the dispatcher’s voice.

I wanted to be that voice for other people. I wanted to help others. I hadn’t really felt called to anything until now. Right or wrong, even if it would be hard to go in and face Damon, I wanted that job. That’s the only thing I knew.