The following morning, Allison went through the process of notifying the inattentive local security about her husband's premature death. The whole while, feeling elated from the realization that he would no longer pose a threat to the safety of her or their daughter. Still, she wore an aggrieved expression to not raise the suspicion of the local security.
When asked questions such as 'had you noticed anything out of the ordinary prior to going to bed' she lied though false tears. The only truthful information she provided was the time they had climbed into bed the evening before. She refused to share any information that could potentially lead them to Joe and stated she had slept through the entire ordeal only to find her husband dead that morning. When the officers finally left, she turned to preparing breakfast for her daughter that had remained upstairs the whole time. Before she had even begun, a soft knock came from the front door.
Fully expecting one of the officers to have remembered a question they had not asked, surprise exploded on her face when she saw who had knocked. Before her, stood the same boy from the previous night. The boy who had set her free from her abusive, cheating husband. Attempting to hide behind him was another child. A girl who appeared to be even younger than he was. While lost in the shock of seeing him again so soon after everything had happened, Joe's mildly embarrassed voice reached her ears and ripped her back to reality once more.
"Last night, you said I could come to you if I ever needed anything. If it's not too much trouble, could we have breakfast with you?"
To Allison, the boy before her was her savior. She had spent years being at the mercy of her husband. A man she regretted ever being involved with. If not for their daughter, she'd have left years ago. She noticed that this same boy, this savior, who had been calm and confident mere hours ago was now averting his eyes from looking anything more than in her general direction. This wasn't guilt. It was embarrassment.
As for the girl attempting to shrink herself behind him, she could see a hint of fear in those eyes. Their clothes more than hinted at a rough life. The dirt and grime would suggest years on the streets. Once she realized this, the fear made sense. In response, not only to the boy's question but also the fear, Allison simply smiled before answering in the gentlest tone she could manage.
"Go wash up. I'll make something quick so once you're done, have a seat at the table."
Immediately after, she turned back towards the kitchen. The children hesitantly entered the home and closed the door behind them. Having been here just the night before, Joe already knew where every room in the house was.
He took the girl's hand before gently leading her down the right-side hallway to the first door, the downstairs bathroom. It took nearly fifteen minutes before the two returned. What greeted them at the table was another girl roughly the same age as Joe was. The same chestnut hair as Allison but her eyes were unlike either of her parents. A radiant green stared back at them with curiosity.
Hiding his discomfort, Joe guided the girl beside him to the table before they both took seats opposite the mysterious new addition. Joe ended up seated directly across from her. Her eyes attempting to pierce his for answers to unasked questions. After finding none, she questioned her mother who was already placing food on the table between the three.
"Mom, who are they?"
A simple and typically harmless question. One that Joe had no clue how to answer. What was he supposed to say?
Hi, I'm Joe. I killed your father last night. This is my sister Sarah.
Seeing the expectant look on her daughter's face and the hesitation in Joe's eyes, only now did Allison realize she never even asked for his name. She quickly came up with an idea to break the growing tension between the four of them and took the seat beside her daughter.
"They're going to have breakfast with us. How about we all introduce ourselves before we start eating?"
Hearing this, Joe came to the same realization Allison had. He had left without ever giving her his name. He also recognized that she was offering a way out of the tension. Resolving himself, Joe spoke before any other questions could arise.
"My name is Joseph but only my mom would call me that. Just call me Joe. I turned fourteen at the beginning of the year. This is my sister, Sarah. She'll be twelve soon. She's been shy and quiet ever since my mom took her in, so she's not used to talking to new people."
After finishing his and Sarah's introduction, Joe's nerves crept up once more. Although he wasn't shy in the same way Sarah was, he was unused to interacting with others in this setting. He had grown used to the violent world he was thrown into once his mother was killed. The streets of Steelgate had conditioned him against kindness.
Following his lead, the brown-haired girl across from him chimed in with a smile plastered on her face. A series of rapid-fire questions caught Joe off guard.
"I'm Elaine! I turned fourteen last month. I don't think I've seen you in school. Which school do you go to? Is it far from here? Is your mom friends with my mom?"
Hearing the expectant questions and seeing the gaze almost piercing his soul, Joe could only turn his gaze to his lap. A tortured look ripped across his face as his previous confidence waned. Of all the questions she could have asked, Elaine had unknowingly dredged up the topic that tormented both him and Sarah the most, their mother.
"Our mom is gone. She died four years ago. It's still painful to talk about so how about we talk about something else?"
Forcing a smile, Joe returned his gaze to the radiant green across from him. The previous curiosity is now replaced with regret. In an attempt to break the awkwardness, Allison chimed back in with the biggest smile she could form at that moment, directed directly at Sarah.
"I'm Allison, Laine's mom. It's always nice to meet such an adorable girl like you Sarah. Now, let's dig in before the food gets cold. Then I have to get Laine out the door for school."
With that, the four began eating rather awkwardly. A tension that lasted no longer than the first bite. Both Sarah and Joe began to devour the eggs in front of them with passion before both reaching for more at the same time. Neither of them could remember the last time they had eaten anything other than week old stale bread. Although a simple meal, these eggs were like heaven when compared to the hell they had come to know.
Seeing the joy that now infected the faces of the two, Allison could only smile before turning back to her own plate. How long had it been since her home had been this lively? She honestly couldn't remember a single time she felt this way in the fourteen years she had been married. A stark reminder of everything she had lost and the hell she endured all from one stupid decision when she was sixteen.
When everybody had finished eating, Elaine returned to her room to change while Allison sat Sarah on the couch in front of the television. When she turned back towards the table, she was surprised to see all the empty plates already cleared. Gazing past, she saw Joe already stand in front of the sink with them. Before she could stop herself, she realized she was wondering how such a lively young boy could commit such a heinous act like taking a life. A wonder she quickly pushed out of her mind. It wasn't her place to ask, therefore she wouldn't.
Fifteen minutes is all it took for Joe to finish cleaning the dishes and for Allison to get Elaine out the door and off to school. With her daughter now out of the house, Allison sat in the chair closest to Joe while Sarah continued to watch whatever mindless show was on the screen. Curiosity clouded her gaze but there was something else Joe couldn't quite put his finger on. Determination, perhaps?
"Do you two not go to school?"
Allison's question triggered another fit of embarrassment in Joe. Once again, his gaze drifted down and settled on the floor. Worrying that his silence would come off wrong to the woman that had just fed not only him but also his sister, Joe answered as calmly as he could.
"We used to, before mom died. Even with the little money we had, she made it a point that we went regardless of the tuition. Since then, every day has been a focus on keeping us alive and finding the one responsible for her death."
Understanding the truth behind the last part of that statement, Allison finally understood at least the catalyst for what transpired last night. Although she didn't know all the details about their mother's death, she knew in an instant that her scum of the earth husband had been involved. Meaning it wouldn't have been a pleasant death. Rather than dredge up a clearly sensitive topic, she asked another question.
"How have the two of you been surviving since she passed?"
Instantly, Allison regretted asking. The faces of both children darkened before her eyes. Where Sarah's darkness was filled with sorrow, Joe's was radiating determination. She didn't need him to answer because she already understood. But still, he did.
Rage boiled just before the surface of his skin. His fist clenched tight enough his nails nearly broke skin. Taking a deep breath, Joe managed to control himself. Allison was not responsible for their torment. She had likely been living her own form of hell all this time as well. After all, she was stuck married to the piece of shit.
"Any means necessary. Stealing food. Fighting off any who attempted to force us out of our spot. Slitting the throats of all who attempted to put their hands on Sarah with the same knife your husband killed our mother with. The same knife that returned to him last night. That is how we survived."