Picky Eater

Ch 4: Let's be friends

"I was hungry."

"I understand," Ben whispered, and despite his trembling hand, he used his sleeves to wipe her face. "Or maybe I don't. I'm not a vampire. I don't know what your hunger feels like."

"It's—it's—" Evie's voice cracked, and her face twisted, more tears squeezing out of her eyes. Ben was weak to tears, especially kid tears. "It's like my throat's on fire."

Ben nodded. "That doesn't sound fun... can I ask? I mean I don't know if this is a rude question, but why didn't you tell me or your uncle that you were hungry?"

Sniffling again, Evie calmed down a little, letting Ben try to fix her hair and clean her face. She held onto him as Ben accidentally jostled her. "Uncle Nino is already so mad at me. I didn't... I um, didn't want to bother him more and..." She eyed Ben's stitches and grimaced. "I've already caused trouble. Does... does it hurt?"

Ben smiled a little. "It did, but not anymore. Thank you for asking."

"I'm sorry."

"You're just a sorry kid, aren't you?" Ben chuckled, trying to lighten the air. She still refused to meet his eyes, picking at her cuticles down and staring at the ground. Ben sighed. Any other kid would cry right now just because their mom wasn't around. Nino was all she had, and she didn't feel like she could go to him.

That meant Ben was all that was left for her.

He agreed to receive a house, to keep Nino for himself all summer, but more importantly, Ben realized he agreed to be this little girl's person for the season. "Hey," Ben said, and offered his hands. Now she looked at him. "I forgive you..."

Hesitantly, Evie gave him her hands, and he rubbed the tops of her cold, hard knuckles with a smile. "We're new to each other, so we have to get used to each other. I don't really want to start over, but I'd like to be friends. Can't hurt to make a new friend, right?"

She blinked. So still. So quiet.

"You see..." The door to the roof opened and Nino stopped, confused by the scene and Ben shook his head, so Nino wouldn't intervene. He put his focus back on Evie with the softest smile, the kindest voice he could muster. "When I was a little kid, I didn't really have any friends. I moved a lot, and no one wanted to waste time on the kid that was going to leave anyway, and I was too shy to start anything myself, which I regret because friends take care of each other and I needed somebody to take care of me."

Evie sucked in her lips, still a little nervous.

Ben explained, "So that means if you're my friend, I'll take care of you, which means you can tell me anything and everything."

"And I'll take care of you?" She asked.

"Exactly."

"Okay. Let's be friends."

Evie smiled a little, and Ben felt a strange urge to cry. A knock on the door made Ben jump. Nino motioned for them to move. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He walked up to Evie, and she looked back at her shoes until Nino opened his arms. A sparkle of excitement twinkled in the corner of her eyes. He picked her up, and she wrapped her arms tight around his neck. They headed for the door and Ben was still on the ground, watching them leave.

Friends were nice, but family was family.

***

The moment they walked through the front door, Nino pointed at Evie and motioned her upstairs. "You. Go take a shower. Put your clothes in a trash bag and leave it by the door. I'll handle the rest, okay?"

Evie nodded. She shifted, tugging at Ben's pants. He bent down so she could cup her hand over his ear and whisper, "Is it okay if I use your stuff? Like your shampoo."