• Mai-lynn sat alone on the couch in the living room. Her eyes stared blankly at her cell phone, which was placed on the old, rickety coffee table in front of her.
    Some time at the hospital, she could no longer remember when, she had put the phone on vibrate so it wouldn’t be ringing all night.
    It now seemed that every ten seconds the phone would light up and vibrate, causing the unsteady table to shake slightly. Everyone had heard by now. News traveled effortlessly through the city.
    She saw no point in answering, none of the names that flashed across the screen said, “Caleb”. He was the only person she wanted to talk to.
    Everyone else calling only had their sympathy to offer, which right now, she saw as meaningless. They didn’t understand what she felt like. They didn’t understand how much she needed her brother. Their sympathy was not what she wanted. And she knew no one could offer what she did want, her brother back.
    Even when Jamie’s name continued to appear on the screen, she could not bring herself to answer her. Her best friend could not offer her want she needed.
    A weak sigh escaped Mai-lynn’s lips. “He’s gone…” she whispered, trying to convince herself. She should have been in pain, upset, instead she really didn’t feel anything. It was as if her feelings had died with him.
    The glowing screen of her cell phone caught her attention. The screen said, “Dad”. A look of confusion crossed her face. She wasn’t expecting to hear from him, she never did. Mai-lynn reached for the phone and reluctantly opened it.
    “Hello?” she answered, her voice sounding dead and hollow.
    “-ey, I ah, sorry I ain’t around,” said the drunken voice of her father. Had he been there she would be able to smell the heavy amount of alcohol on his breath. Even over the phone she could almost smell it.
    She said nothing, so her father continued to talk. His sentences jumbled and his words slurred together.
    “Uh…I hearbout Caleb…It…shame…” Her father said. It truly sounded as if he was upset, through the drunkenness. As if he cared about his son. The son he frequently yelled at and hit around.
    She closed her eyes and tried to believe her father truly cared for them. She let out a sigh, just to let him know she was still listening.
    “Dunno when gunna home,” this didn’t shock Mai-lynn in the slightest. What he said next did though.
    “Baby girl, you okay?” He asked, trying to sound as sober as he could while his system was drenched in booze. His voice definitely showed concern for his daughter.
    Mai-lynn tried to fight the tears that welled up in her eyes. Her father hadn’t called her “baby girl" since, since their mother had been around.
    She swallowed the lump that was building in her throat. “Yeah, daddy, I’m fine.” She said trying to sound strong.
    “Daddy”, it had been so long since she called him that. It had been so long since she had felt the need to call him that.
    The memory of their last Christmas together, as a real family came back to her. That had been the last time she had felt like he was her daddy.
    His voice once again broke the silence on the phone line. “I promise I be soon home, love ya’,” he said, drunk or not it sounded to be the truth.
    Mai-lynn smiled weakly, “Love you too…daddy,” she replied, struggling with the foreign words.
    And then there was a click. He had hung up.
    She closed the phone and put it back on the table.
    A small hope flickered inside Mai-lynn. She closed her eyes as a tear slipped down her face.
    A tragedy had broken the family, maybe they just needed another to piece the remaining members back together.
    Despite having lost her brother, Mai-lynn felt slightly peaceful. The conversation with her father flared up the hope that he’d become “daddy” again.
    A soft sigh escaped her lips as exhaustion got the best of her. Mai-lynn drifted off to sleep, curled up on the couch, listening to the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.

    __


    Mai-lynn’s eyes fluttered open as someone entered the living room.
    “Daddy?” she mumbled, as her tired eyes studied the blurred figure.
    As he moved toward the couch she realized who it was.
    “No, Mai-lynn, it’s me, Joshua,” the figure’s voice said.
    She sat up and looked at Joshua. She had forgotten he said he was coming over. As she remembered why he was here the numbness returned.
    Joshua’s eyes caught hers and she noticed he looked horrible. A pang of guilt shot through her as she realized he obviously hadn’t had any chance to sleep.
    His eyes glanced around the small living room. A slightly disturbed look crossed his face. She took a look around and saw nothing had been cleaned up since the last fight. It was a normal arrangement for her, but it was clear his home didn’t look like this on a daily basis.
    There was a look of wonder on his face after he surveyed the room. After a moment, he took a seat beside her ton he couch. His expression turned to concern and sympathy.
    “How’re you?” he asked.
    Mai-lynn stared blankly at the wall and shrugged. A small feeling of comfort was creeping through the numbness.
    Silence lay between them for a little while as Joshua tenderly stroked her hair.
    His voice, which sounded obviously tired, broke the silence. “Are you expecting your dad to be home soon?” Joshua asked.
    She looked at him, confused for a moment. Then she realized why he asked. She had asked for “daddy” when she awoke.
    Mai-lynn’s eyes looked around the room while too many things went through her head. All the fights, his call, the times they were a family.
    Her hands went to her head and she shut her eyes. Her mother’s death. Her brother’s death. A suicide. A murder. Joshua’s protective arms wrapped around her, once again.
    He ran his hand through her hair as the other held her. “It’s okay, darling,” he soothed.
    The memories stopped and Mai-lynn was calm after a few minutes in his embrace. They sat in silence for sometime until Joshua spoke.
    “Do you not like your dad?” he asked.
    A sigh came from Mai-lynn. “No, I don’t,” she replied. Despite the phone call earlier she couldn’t say she liked her father. At the time, she thought maybe things would be okay, maybe he would come home and everything would be fixed. Now, as she looked around the room she realized it wasn’t that easy. He couldn’t just walk in the door and everything be all better. There was never going to be a happily ever after.
    Joshua looked around the room again and then looked back to her. “Did he do this?”
    She nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her father wasn’t that bad, but he had done more bad things than good, at least in her lifetime.
    He wiped away the tear and held her, at least twenty minutes passed, not that she could really process time.
    “Have you eaten today?” he asked.
    She shook her head and looked at the wall clock. It was around 1:30, in the afternoon, judging by the sunlight still outside. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday before she went to The Club.
    Hunger wasn’t something she could really feel at the moment but she knew she probably needed to eat.
    Joshua stood up and offered her a hand. They walked to the kitchen together. It was slightly cleaner than the living room, but not by much.
    Mai-lynn sat at the small table as he looked around the kitchen. There wasn’t a lot to choose from.
    He looked at her and leaned against the counter. “What would you like?”
    She shrugged. Nothing seemed appealing to her but she would eat whatever she was handed.
    He offered her a smile. “Chef Joshua at your service. I’ll see what I can whip up little lady,” he said in a cute accent, turning back to the cupboards.
    She watched him as he moved around getting food. His movements were slightly sluggish. It wasn’t hard to see he was exhausted.
    “There’s coffee in the cupboard by the fridge.” Mai-lynn instructed. She would much rather him sleep but she had a feeling he would be more resistant to that option.

    __


    After they had eaten, they returned to the living room. Joshua had his arms around Mai-lynn again.
    “Why did your dad do this to the room?” he asked. He sounded, worried.
    Mai-lynn wasn’t sure if the worry was for her or for himself, maybe a mixture of the two. “He was angry…”
    Joshua frowned, his eyes filled with concern as he read what the silence told. He asked her to tell him about her dad. So she did.
    She explained that it started as just a slight drinking problem. He sometimes got angry, and tried to take it out on her mother. She talked about the Christmas when she was nine, what happened not long after that.
    Joshua listened adding a comment every now and then. Each memory she explained she felt like she was reliving it, yet she couldn’t really feel the emotions that came with the memories.
    “Once my mother died-”
    “How did she die?” He asked hesitantly.
    She ran her fingers through her short hair. “She finally couldn’t take it and killed herself,” she said vacantly.
    She could feel each breath of his covered in sympathy as she continued to explain how her dad fell into drugs after and Caleb took care of her.
    “He called before you came…” She said in an emotionless tone. It felt like all the emotions were drained from her. She was explaining someone else’s life now, someone she didn’t care much for.
    “What did he say to you?” Joshua asked, sounding almost defensive.
    “He said he would try to be home soon, he said he loved me and it sounded like he meant it.” Mai-lynn said.
    All the missing emotions seemed to hit her when she said this. Hate, hurt, love. Every emotion flowed through her.
    She suddenly didn’t know what to think of her father. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, just hurt and confused.
    She broke into tears and Joshua comforted her. Though she knew it was for the wrong reason.
    He thought her tears were from every horrible thing her father had done to her. Really it was because she never really thought about how hurt her father was. He probably didn’t grow up with a good life, considering she had not once met her grandparents, and his life never really did get better.
    She sighed, for once feeling sorry for him, instead of herself and their broken family..
    Joshua wiped away her tears. “Are you alright?”
    She nodded, noticing his eyes. They were blood shot and had dark circles. She offered him a reassuring smile. “I’d feel better if you slept,” she told him.
    Joshua thought for a moment. It was easy to see he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
    “I’ll sleep if you do,” was his reply.
    Mai-lynn closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.
    “I promise to protect you,” he whispered in her ear, taking her hand in his.
    She smiled slightly and listened to his breathing until he was asleep. He truly did make her feel safe. And loved. He made some of that numbness fade while he numbed some of the hurt she felt inside.

    __


    It was about thirty minutes later when Mai-lynn heard a noise. She had been lying there with her eyes closed, listening to Joshua’s steady breathing.
    Her thoughts seemed to be wrapped around him, which was a nice distraction. She was thinking about how amazing he seemed to be. He was so nice and understanding. He had spent all this time with her, just to comfort her. He was trying the best he could to make her feel just a little better. And he was succeeding.
    Mai-lynn felt almost guilty about not being as upset, or at least as numb as she should be when he was around. Though she knew that Caleb would rather her feeling better and trying to find a way to carry on with her life then crying about his death. That’s the way he had been about their mother’s death. He did his best to show her that life keeps going even without someone. She knew she needed to keep going without her brother, but she really didn’t know how.
    Right now, it was easy, she had Joshua comforting her. But she knew he wouldn’t stick around forever and take care of her the way Caleb had. She would need to pick herself up after Joshua had enough. After he got whatever it was he wanted out of this.
    Everyone had a motive. A reason for doing something. What was his? She thought guys all had the same motive when it came to girls. Yet, it was odd that they had been alone so much and he had not laid a hand on her, at least not sexually.
    She was just beginning to think of how he had left for church when the front door opened.
    A light flicked on by the door and shone into the living room. The room was dark except for the tiny bit of light that had been turned on above the entrance.
    Mai-lynn sat up, she felt Joshua stir beside her. “Daddy?” she called out, for the second time that day.
    A man entered the dark living room. The smell of alcohol and smoke filled the room.
    “I’m home, baby girl,” her father said, in what seemed to be a loving tone.
    Another light came on and the room was now full of light. Mai-lynn got up off the couch and cautiously approached her father.
    His eyes locked on Joshua, who had awaken when Mai-lynn got up. The moment of kindness evaporated into the air.
    As Mai-lynn came to him, his blood shot eyes clouded with anger.
    “You ******** slut,” he growled.
    Mai-lynn’s face turned to a look of terror. She looked to Joshua, who seemed to be ready to pounce on her father.
    Her eyes returned back to the drunken man, who’s face showed pure rage and hatred towards his daughter. “No, it’s not what you think. Daddy, please, let me explain.” she stuttered in desperation to calm his temper.
    His eyes locked on hers. He stood a few feet from her. The smell of alcohol was strong from even here.
    “You don’t need to explain, I have eyes!” he yelled, punching the wall beside him.
    “Your brother just died, and since I wasn’t around you decided to sleep with the first guy there! I thought I raised you better than that, you goddamned whore!” her father yelled, his voice full of drunken anger.
    “You never raised me, you’re never around,” Mai-lynn growled, hate was filling her now.
    She heard Joshua get up but he wasn’t fast enough.
    Her father lunged at her, slamming her against the wall he had just punched. Pain surged through her while a picture fell to the ground with her.
    Joshua lunged at him but her father pushed him to the ground easily. He returned his attention back to his daughter.
    He hovered over her as he yelled hateful things with a pile of profanity. Mai-lynn climbed to her feet and tried to attack her father.
    Her hits seemed to do little to him. He gave her a hard blow in the jaw. Once again she crumpled to the ground. It was the first time he had ever hit her. Caleb had been around to take every single punch. Without him, she became the new punching bag,
    She lay there this time, and looked up at her father. Something else had caught his attention now.
    Joshua was again on his feet, holding something. Effortlessly he pushed the grown man against a wall opposite of her. He was holding a knife to her father’s throat.
    Mai-lynn lay there, too afraid to move. In her mouth she was beginning to taste blood from the punch her father had given her. She noticed the anger in her father’s eyes was now turning to fear.
    “That’s not how you treat a lady,” Joshua said angrily. He kicked her father in the shin and the man groaned.
    Her father said nothing. His eyes fell to Mai-lynn, who was still on the living room floor. It looked as if he was pleading with her for help. Her hand moved to her face, as she wiped away some blood with her sleeve.
    Joshua moved the knife closer to his throat. She saw his face wince as he brought his attention back to Joshua.
    “Now I will give you two options,” Joshua said sternly.
    Her father laughed right in his face. “You’re just a kid playing Superman,” he said.
    Mai-lynn glared at her father. Joshua seemed to be more of a man than him.
    A small yelp came from her father. The knife was now right at his skin.
    “Don’t kill me,” he pleaded.
    For someone who’s life was going nowhere, he seemed to fear his own death.
    Joshua didn’t move the knife. “You should be thrown in jail for being such a scumbag. Would you like that ‘daddy’?” he asked, hatred burning in his eyes.
    Her father slowly shook his head, trying not to move the knife into his skin.
    “Your second option, which you shouldn’t even have, is to leave. You’re not welcome back until you’re clean of drugs and booze. During that time I’d suggest seeing a few counsellors and getting a job. Then we’ll see if a jackass like you can become a proper daddy.”
    Her father’s eyes seemed to lighten up with a small bit of hope.
    Silence fell over the room for a minute. Mai-lynn crawled to her feet, pain throbbing through her. Her eyes met her father’s. “I’m sorry…I need to get better,” he said to her, sounding sincere.
    She simply nodded. Joshua moved the knife, but kept it out in case he needed it. He guided her father out the door.
    There was some talking in the hallway, none of which Mai-lynn really heard.
    Joshua returned to the living room about a minute later. His knife was back in his pocket. She was looking around the room, a dazed expression on her face.
    He came to her and gently wrapped his arms around her, not wanting to hurt her injuries.
    “It will be okay, love. Superman will protect you, I promise,” he whispered in her ear.
    She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, swallowing the blood in her mouth.
    It would be a while before she saw her father again. She had seen it in his eyes and heard it in his voice. He wanted to be better. She hoped this time he would get better so she could have a daddy again.
    Though she wouldn’t let the same hope she had felt after they spoke on the phone fill her again. Naïve hope like that had since died once she became his newest punching bag,