Her Only Hero

Chapter 37: Epilogue.

One Year Later...

"Well, where did you take them off yesterday?" I shout, while spreading the peanut butter onto to the buttered white bread.

"I don't know," she yells back from her bedroom.

"How do you not know?" I place the sandwich in a container and pop it into her lunch box.

"I don't know."

"How does a person loose their shoes?" I place an apple in next to the sandwich and look through the fridge for any snacks I can give her.

At the other end of the small house, I listen to the doors opening and closing, hearing her moving things around in search for her school shoes.

"Found them!" she exclaims, running down the hallway to sit at the dining table to put them on.

After filling her lunch box, I close it up and go in search for her school bag that I find beside the couch. "Where did you find them?"

"In the bathtub," she tells me as if it's a normal thing. In this house it is.

"Why on Earth would they be in there?"

"I don't know."

I can't help but smile. "Hurry up and finish getting ready," I say. "You don't want to be late for school. And I don't want to be late for work."

Four months after that fateful night, I ran into the barman that had told me about the mechanic shop where I found had Chris.

"Hey," he said, recognising me. "You're the one that came to me asking about the guy who took your sister, right?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Well, it's good to see you again, son. I was worried I might not get the chance to talk to you ever again." He pat me on the shoulder. "So, what happened? Is your sister alright?"

"Yeah," I replied. "She's good. I got her back with barely a scratch." On her, at least.

"That's fantastic," he smiled. "But I've heard some things that tell me it might not have been as easy as that."

I gave him the short version of everything that happened after I saw him last and by the time I had finished, he had his mouth hanging open.

"Shit, son!" he said. "How are you still standing here today?"

I laughed and told him, "By some miracle."

He laughed. "So, how are you doing now?"

"Surviving," I said, and explained our current situation.

We had lived in Jonah's house with him and his parents for two months before I found a place I could afford. His parents told me we were free to stay longer if I wanted but I already felt bad enough that I had stayed that long. They helped us move out and get on our feet and told me we were welcome back if we ever needed it.

At the time, we were living in a small, old apartment that barely fit the two of us, but I could afford the rent and that's what mattered.

It consisted of a tiny kitchen, a cramped bathroom, and one small bedroom that managed to fit one single-sized bed. I told Misty to take the bed and I would sleep on the floor beside her each night on an old thick blanket with a pillow.

Without a car, I had to walk her to her primary school, and walk myself to my high school and my work. Thankfully, both our schools were close to each other and were only a fifteen minute walk from our temporary home, and my job was a thirty minute walk. Fifteen if I left from school.