© 2022 Phylicia Joannis
Penny tossed her keys in the catch all and face-planted into her couch. She’d taken a second shift at the grocery store. The fact that her brother never returned her car and she’d had to take the bus home hadn’t helped.
At least the store was right next to Abib’s coffee cart. While her coworkers took frequent smoke breaks, Penny took just as many coffee breaks. She had to in order to survive the long, grueling hours on her feet. She enjoyed interacting with people, but some days left her bone-tired.
Penny heard her phone buzz and turned over on the couch. She had a voicemail and a few missed calls. She pressed a button to listen to the message, and was startled by Charles’ voice on the other end. He sounded scared. Something about a fight. He begged her to get in contact with Simon. The line disconnected abruptly, cutting off the message.
She listened to the voicemail three more times. There was no mistaking the panic in Charles’ voice. She’d need to call Simon. He was a snake, as far as she was concerned. But he was also the one person she knew that could help him.
Penny scrolled through her contact list until she found his number. Her finger hovered over the call icon. Was this really her only option? Couldn’t Charles find other counsel? It wasn’t even her problem. He had no right to ask her to do anything for him. He was a liar and a horrible person.
Still, she couldn’t deny there was a soft spot in her heart, even now, for Charles Jameson. Penny bit her lip and pressed the button. The phone rang until she heard the familiar tone of Simon’s voicemail.
“This is Simon, leave a message.”
Penny sucked in her breath and waited for the beep. “Hey Simon, it’s Penny.”
Penny’s front door swung open. She gawked in horror as her brother ran in, ranting about finding a girl in the garbage. He ran back out, just as abruptly, then returned with the small body of a young girl slung over his shoulder.
“I’ll call you back.” Penny hung up the phone and helped Marcos place the girl on the couch.
“Marcos, who is this?” Penny asked as she stared at the young girl’s face. She looked familiar.
“This is Miracle. She’s the girl I was going out with today, and she had me drop her off somewhere. But she never came back, and I found her in the garbage, and I thought she was dead, but she’s not, and she needs help, and Penny, you gotta help her–”
“Whoa, Marcos, slow down.” Penny placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with her? What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Marcos ran a hand through his hair as he shut the front door. “I don’t know what to do, Penny. I think she’s sick or something.”
“Why didn’t you take her to the hospital?” Penny began checking Miracle’s pulse. “Miracle? Miracle?” Penny spoke in a loud voice.
“I think she’s in some kind of trouble. I didn’t know if she’d be safe at a hospital or not.”
Penny lifted Miracle’s eyelids. “I think she needs to go to the hospital, Marcos.”
“Can’t you do something for her here?” Marcos asked.
Penny shook her head. “Hospital is the best place for her. Come on, let’s go. You can explain everything in the car.”
Marcos nodded. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. Her pulse seems pretty weak, though, and she’s not responsive.” Marcos grabbed Miracle to take her back to the car, and Penny grabbed her house keys. “Give me my keys and I’ll drive, ok? You see if you can’t get her to respond to your voice.”
Marcos obeyed without question. That was a first. The lines of worry creasing his brow were new, too. Once Miracle and Marcos were in the car, Penny headed to the nearest hospital, hoping they weren’t too late.
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