Ruin - By N.M. Martinez Page 0,34

understand her. She ignores the annoyed woman and carries on distracting Brandon so that he doesn't hear either. The woman sighs. The muscles in her face relax ever so slightly as if she might dare to smile while Brandon and the little girl are distracted, but then she sees me.

I haven't got much else to do other than to introduce myself. "Uh, I'm Paula. I'm his sister." The words are difficult to say and I hesitate as I say them, trying them on out loud for the first time.

The woman looks from Brandon to me before she introduces herself. "I'm Patrice, or Pat. That is Melissa."

At the mention of her name, the little girl stops and looks at us. Her skin is tanned, her hair a light brown almost blond from the sunlight, and her eyes are blue. A very pale blue that stands out against her skin and hair. She grins and I have the very distinct feeling that I've seen that grin before.

Brandon smiles and that seems to jog my memory. Side by side, the small bit of resemblance is uncanny. The eyes and the smile are bits of him in miniature, hints of what he might have looked like at the same age. But the rest of her face obviously belongs to the woman standing nearby.

"Can Brandon stay?" The little girl says, the words so practiced that they come out of her mouth perfectly.

Pat's eyes flitter up to Brandon. "I don't think so, honey, he has things he probably needs to do."

Melissa lets out a very long sigh of disappointment that makes Brandon laugh. It's awkward for me to stand here, and I'm not quite sure why Brandon brought me. Pat quietly moves close to Brandon without touching him as she tries to coax Melissa back into her arms but Melissa won't have any of it. She smiles as she refuses as if aware of her own charm. Then she wraps her arms around Brandon's shoulders and laughs. She hasn't called him "father" but maybe that's just a thing here because their relationship is clear. The little girl loves him, and he obviously loves her. He holds her protectively, close to his torso, his arms around her firmly the same way she holds onto him.

Pat puts her hands on her hips again with a shake of her head. "Trying to pull you two apart is impossible."

I have to look away, staring at a tree heavy with little blooming flowers covering every branch as I tell myself that this is an important time for Brandon with this girl. He couldn't miss it, even with me in tow, and that's the only reason I'm here now. This wasn't something he did intentionally to hurt me. Maybe he even intended to show me that I have more family.

The back door opens and the three of us turn to look as Maria pokes her head out. At all three of us staring at her, she grins widely and then looks at me. "So, hey, can I show her around the village?"

Brandon glances at me, his brow furrowed just a bit as if he worries that I won't feel comfortable alone with her. It is strange that she's come now to take me on a tour of the village when she only met me last night and I don't know what to make of it. But if she was up to anything, I doubt she'd talk to Brandon.

Brandon leaves the choice in my hands. "If she wants."

I wasn't fully expecting that. It probably comes partially from our talk this morning. If I think I'm ready to hear the truth, then I'm ready to make my own choices. And I do think about it.

"Sure."

Maria steps out and grabs me by the arm as Brandon warns her not to take me to The Edge because he wants to. Maria huffs, “Fine. We'll come back in a bit and we can go together.”

Eleven

Maria walks me to the outskirts of the village towards a meadow filled with blooming flowers. She plops down in the grass and says, "You can let it all out here."

I stay standing, looking down at her and completely unsure of what she means.

She brings up her legs as she leans back. "You were about ready to cry over there. I saw it," she says as she taps her own head.

But I still don't know exactly what she means, and I'm too exhausted to figure it out.

Maria gives a sigh. "I saw you