She stopped in front of a closed door and let out a long, deep sigh before pushing it open.
Son of a bitch.
This must be the equipment room. There were various machines that looked too heavy to move, a recliner that could sit a buffalo, wheelchairs, a bed. Where exactly would she move all of it? My eyes scanned the back of the room. That was full of crap too. She’d have to organize that part of the room first before she could move anything.
She was right. This was a two-person job.
I glanced at her and felt a squeeze in my chest. She leaned against the wall, her shoulders drooping, her face looking exhausted.
Without a word, I pushed my sleeves to my elbows and started arranging the equipment at the back.
“Don’t,” she said. Her voice was small, tired. “You’re not even supposed to be here. I’ll get in trouble if anyone sees you.”
“They won’t.”
And even if they did, I’d file a damn complaint against them for making her work by herself—especially that woman who was supposed to help her.
“Sometimes,” she started, “I just want to disappear. Do you ever feel like that?”
Yes.
We worked silently for a while. I told her to sit down and let me do the work, but she wouldn’t listen. All I could do was grab the heavier stuff from her.
“Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat?” she asked. She was so random with her questions. I really liked it.
“Street Fighter, hands down.”
She nodded. “Good choice. Superman or Batman?”
“Batman.”
“Everyone likes Batman,” she pouted.
“That’s because he’s real. He’s just a man, but he can do all these cool things without supernatural power. He gives hope to mortals that we could be amazing like him. Batman is the shit. Batman is cool.”
“You do know one finger flick from Superman and Batman is down for the count, right?”
“Not when—”
“Shh! Enough. Next question: Spider-Man or Venom?”
“Please.” I shot her an are you kidding look. “Venom.”
“Really.” She made a humming sound. “It makes sense you’d choose Venom.”
I suppressed my smile. She was trying to figure me out with her random questions. Like she wanted to know more about me. “Venom is a very misunderstood character. Sure, he’s portrayed as a villain, but you have to remember Venom hates bad guys too. He ju
st has a very…different way of expressing himself compared to Spider-Man. Sometimes it’s hard to see the truth when you only use your eyes.”
There was a clanging noise behind me. A pile of metal basins had fallen on the floor, and she was already picking them up.
“Sit down, Kara.”
But she wouldn’t listen.
“Stop,” I said. I grabbed a wheelchair. She had folded them neatly behind the bed, so I opened one and gently pushed her to sit down. When she opened her mouth to protest, I added, “Please.”
She stayed. I wished I could take her home. I bent on one knee and knelt in front of her.