Chapter 9

Zoe was rubbing liniment into Brenna's leg when Trina showed up the next morning. She'd been afraid she'd end up grounded if the jackass was home, so she'd asked Trina to check on Brenna, just in case, and let her know what had happened if she wasn't there.

She frowned, disturbed. Trina looked like she hadn't gotten much, if any, sleep. "What happened?" she asked. "You get shit for being out so late?"

"Huh?" Trina blinked sleepily. "Oh. No. I had some stuff I had to do."She knelt down beside Brenna. "Hey, I brought you something."

The little girl looked at her, her face showing the strain of the cramping muscles from the previous day's therapy session. "Huh?"

Trina pulled a teddy bear out of the bag she was carrying. "Here. His name's Mikey. He'll help keep you safe." Zoe suspected she knew why Trina was so tired; the bear looked suspiciously hand-made.

Brenna's face brightened, and for a second she actually looked her age. "He can keep my allacorn company," she said, smiling as she tucked the bear in beside the little white winged unicorn already on the bed. "That way she won't be lonely when I go to the doctors."

She bit her lip, looking up at Zoe. "That's okay, isn't it, Zoe?"

Zoe nodded, rubbing more of the salve into the little mangled leg. "Of course it is, sweetheart."

Trina set a jar and a piece of paper down on the bed. "Here. This is for her leg. And these are the recipes."

Zoe wiped her hands on her jeans and tucked the paper into her pocket. Opening the jar, she sniffed it curiously. Whatever was in it obviously included mint, and, shrugging, she added it to what was already on the leg, rubbing it in in long, smooth, professional strokes. The tension in the muscles faded almost immediately, as if Brenna was hurting less, and Zoe shot Trina grateful smile.

Trina smiled back. "Hey, I've got to go. I just wanted to drop Mikey off for Brenna. I've got to stop by the hospital and then head home."

Zoe frowned again. "You safe to drive?"

"Yeah," Trina said. "Kinda tired, but I'll survive."

"You're sure everything is okay?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah," Trina said, nodding. "Like I said, I just had to do some stuff last night."

"Stuff?" Zoe asked. She looked down at Brenna. "Okay, sweety, you can get your pants back on. I'll be right back, okay?" She stood and motioned Trina to the door.

Out in the hall, she asked, in a whisper, "What stuff?"

"Just ... stuff," Trina said, looking embarrassed. "You know."

Zoe's face softened. "Look ... if you made the bear ... thanks. That's ... damned sweet. But if something else kept you up ... something bad ... tell me."

"No," Trina said, shaking her head. "Nothing bad. Nothing like what you're thinking. Just ... if you want to make sure you're getting it right, you have to take the time to do it right, you know?"

"If you don't want to tell me, I won't push."

Trina sighed, smiling. "It was the bear, okay? And some other stuff that I'm still working on."

"Okay," Zoe said, smiling back. "Try and drive careful for once, then, huh?"

Trina looked blank. "But then what's the point?"

"Living is often considered good."

"Point." Trina smiled. "Need a hug?"

Zoe laughed and gave her a quick squeeze, one Trina hadn't expected, from the look on her face. "Go on ... do what you have to do, then get home and sleep."

"Okay," Trina said. "See you later."

Sunday the jerk showed up at Zoe's foster home. In a bad mood. For once, Zoe couldn't blame him, though; he'd apparently fallen into a patch of poison ivy ... and gotten so tangled up that it took him five minutes to get out.

Needless to say, however, it wasn't a good night, and she was glad when she was able to leave for school the next morning.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. She couldn't bring herself to turn down Trina's invitations to lunch, though she didn't particularly socialize.

Thursday, as they were on the way to the House, Trina asked, "Hey, I wanted to ask ... my birthday's next week, and I'm having a party. Will you come?"

Zoe hesitated, at a loss as to how to answer, and Trina said, "Please?"