The Only Way (10 page)

Her whole family was home when Hart pushed through the door, crouched on the floor and picking through the day's takings off the heap. Finn had a screwdriver in hand and was fiddling with a small contraption–it looked like a toaster, but for all Hart knew, it played music or movies. She could never tell with some of the stuff the City threw away. Her mother was the only one seated in a chair, working with a small pair of pliers over a circuit board, stripping out the thin threads of metal. The girls mostly moved things from one pile to another, but they always wanted to be 'helping.'

"Hart!" Penny cried as she walked in.

"I brought dinner."

Vivien set down her work and came to help Hart with the bag. "Is that …?" she peered inside and then looked up again in surprise. "A chicken?"

"Yep," Hart said proudly.

Some people in the Gutter kept chickens, squawking and shitting in their homes. They sold the eggs but also occasionally slaughtered the birds. But even then, it was impossible to get a whole chicken. For the price they went for, Hart's family was lucky to get just a bit of the carcass, inexpertly carved up to sell by the owners.

Her mother grinned back. "I better set this roasting, or it'll be tomorrow before we can eat it."

"But I'm hungry now," Finn complained, setting down his work. Hart reached into the bag and lobbed a carrot at him, giggling. Instead of fighting back, Finn crunched down on the vegetable loudly and with a show of great satisfaction.

The whole family got swept up in the bustle of dinner preparation, heating water, cooking vegetables, slicing bread, all with the heavenly smell of cooking chicken filling the small house. Hart knew their neighbors would be able to smell it, and she swelled with pride at the idea that everyone around them would know how well she provided for her family.

They sat down at the table a few hours later. Before the kids could dive in, Vivien raised a hand. "I know things have been hard since your father …" she said with a small sniff. "And I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you all pulling together." She looked around at each of her children. "You've all done your part, and I couldn't be prouder of you."

Hart grinned to see the pleased flush that spread over Finn's face.

"Now, say 'thank you' to your sister," Vivien commanded.

A chorus of "Thank you, Hart!" rang out as everyone reached for the dishes at the center of the table.

As the meal was winding down, Hart reached under her chair for the bag she had hidden away. "I went to a store in the Alley today," she began conversationally.

"Yeah, we know," Finn mumbled, his mouth stuff full of chicken.

"Gross," Hart rolled her eyes. "And I didn't mean for the food." She put the bag on the table and reached inside, her hand closing around the soft fur of the cat toy.

"Penny. I got this for you." Her little sister's eyes widened as she saw the toy in Hart's hand and she let out a little squeal.

"A kitty!" she cried, delighted, clasping it to her chest. "It's so soft! I love it! Is it mine?"

Their mother laughed. "Hart said she got it for you."

"And Roe?"

Roe looked up hopefully. Hart passed the bag over to her sister and watched eagerly as she peeked inside.  Roe let out a wondering noise. "Oh. Oh, she's … beautiful." She pulled the doll of the bag with reverent hands, stroking over her silky hair and fine clothing. "Thank you."

Warmth bloomed in Hart's chest at the delight on her sisters' faces.

"Wait," Roe said with a frown. "There's something else in here." She reached to the bottom of the bag and unearthed a small model plane. Hart had to laugh at the expression on Finn's face, stoic dejection giving way to an eager childishness that she hadn't seen in years.

"I know you're all grown up," she told him, leaning over to ruffle his hair. "But I thought it looked cool."

"It's all right," Finn said, his nonchalance ruined by the way he let his fingers glide over the sleek body of the plane. He glanced down and then back up at her. "Thanks, Hart."

"You're welcome," she whispered, giving his hair another tweak before standing to clear the table.

She and her mother left the kids to play with their new toys as they cleaned up from dinner.

"That was a nice surprise," Vivien said as they scrubbed the dishes. "Can we really afford it?"

Hart smiled. "Yeah. Actually, we can."

"You know, I've been thinking."

"Hmm?"

"About school."

"School?" Hart parroted back. Her mother met her eyes, hope shining in her face.

"If you make enough, if we can save enough, maybe Roe could go to school."

Schools were few and far between in the Gutter. Most kids had to work to help support the family from the time they were six or seven. They didn't have time for anything but survival. Hart's parents had made sure that she and the kids knew how to read:  struggling through the single book the family owned, brokenly sounding out the words. Hart had never so much as set foot in a school.

But Roe was only eight. She had her whole life ahead of her. If she went to school, she could maybe get a job in the Alley, one that didn't just chew up Gutter trash and spit them out, back-breaking work for little pay.

"Yeah," Hart said, sneaking a glance back at her siblings, playing sweetly on the floor, like the children they so rarely had the chance to be. "We'll do it. We'll send Roe to school."

*~*~*

Ruby wasn't in the gym when Hart ducked her head around the door, buzzing to tell her about the success of the presents. She peeked into the arena and the changing rooms and then paused as her name rang out down the hall.

She followed the sound to an open door; Leo sat behind a small desk that took up the whole of a tiny room. Hart figured it had been a closet originally, given the lack of windows and tight space, but now it seemed to serve as an office. A single lamp cast a sickly yellow over the room.

"Looking for Ruby?" He asked.

"Um." Hart shifted guiltily. Leo shot her an indulgent smile.

"I let her go for the day. She was just hanging around and insulting the fighters."

"She says she's building morale," Hart offered.

"Sure." Leo barked out a laugh. "You know as well as I do that she gets vicious when she's bored."

Hart chuckled dutifully. She knew she should head back to the gym and get in a workout; she'd see Ruby later. She always did.

"If I were a betting man, I'd say Ruby is probably in the park," Leo said, eyes twinkling.

Hart refused to blush. She was looking for her friend; that was all. "You run an arena," she objected. "You are a betting man!"

Leo grinned and Hart shook her head. "Go on, get out of here. Tell her she can come back when she learns to be nice to my fighters."

"So, never then?"

Leo gave Hart a pointed look. "She's nice to
you
."

"If that's nice, I don't want to know what mean is," Hart returned. She knew that wasn't true, though. Ruby still teased her, but she could hear the affection in the other girl's voice. The things Ruby said to the other fighters at the gym were cutting; no more than they deserved, given the way they talked to her. But she teased Hart to help her get better or to draw a smile out of her on bad days.

"Go on, go," Leo said, waving her away. Hart took his advice and headed out of the building. She retraced her way to the nearby park, trying to recall the turns Ruby had taken. She was rewarded by the sound of birds and the sight of green smeared across the gray horizon.

Hart headed for Ruby's favorite spot, and sure enough, there she was. Ruby leaned up against the big, gnarled tree, her eyes closed, her face tilted up to the sun. Hart froze, feeling like she was intruding, even as strangers strolled past, talking and laughing loudly. As she hesitated, wondering if she should just turn around and go back, Ruby cracked an eye open.

"Hart," she said, startled. Before Hart could stammer out an apology for interrupting, a grin spread over Ruby's face.

"Hi."

"Looking for me?" Ruby asked.

Hart stepped closer and Ruby patted the grass beside her. "I wanted to tell you how much the kids liked their presents," she said, dropping down to her knees in the grass. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything," Ruby said, shaking her head.

Hart knew that wasn't true. She wouldn't have bought the toys without encouragement. She had forgotten long before what it was like to have things that weren't essential; she had even forgotten what it was like to want them. Ruby seemed determined to remind her that there was more to life than just survival.

Things like sitting in a park in the middle of the afternoon, enjoying sun's warmth and the birds' songs.

She didn't know how to put that all into words, so she said instead, "I hear your dad kicked you out of the gym."

Ruby snorted rudely. "It's not my fault big men are always the most sensitive. Cry-babies."

Hart laughed and leaned back against the tree, getting comfortable. "They deserve it, anyway."

"Damn straight they do. For all their talk, you think they could throw an actual punch." Ruby shook her head. "And then they get upset when I point out a toddler could take them in a fight."

"A toddler, huh?"

"A small toddler. With a cold. Who's
blind
."

Hart choked on an incredulous giggle. "Those are some fighting words. Better watch out."

Ruby sighed. "I guess they're not all bad. There are ones like you …"

"Like me?" Hart parroted, the words catching in her throat, heat spreading across her cheeks.

"Yeah. You know, the ones with families. The ones with someone they're fighting
for
."

"Oh. Right," Hart dropped her eyes. Of course Ruby meant that. Not that Hart was special.

"It's the ones who are only fighting for themselves who can go die in a hole for all I care," Ruby said. "They're the ones who treat me like I'm just another prize they can claim at the end of a fight. I'd get my dad to throw them all out, but they're the ones I actually don't mind seeing get their faces kicked in." She sighed. "Unlike the rest of you."

Hart remembered overhearing Ruby fighting with her father after Gunnar broke his collarbone. At the time she had been shocked to hear Ruby criticize the idea of the fights. She had assumed that someone who grew up around them would just accept them as a part of life. Now that Hart knew her better, she realized that even though Ruby lived and worked in the ring, she didn't wholly buy into the ideology of the fights that the City and Alley spouted.

"Do you ever think about not working at the gym?" Hart asked after a moment. She wanted Ruby to stay right where she was, where Hart could see her every day, but she knew Ruby must have other options. She was strong and smart and, more importantly, beautiful. She could be a lady's maid in the City if she wanted. She could be one of those girls everyone heard about, who married their rich City bosses and went from scrubbing the bedrooms to sleeping in them.

Somehow, though, Hart thought Ruby would find that just as disgusting as she found the fighters' come-ons.

"I can't leave my dad," Ruby said, shaking her head. "I'm all he's got."

Hart looked over, curiosity flooding through her. Ruby never talked about her mother, about why it was just her and Leo.

"You don't have any other … family?"

Ruby snorted. "Subtle."

Hart held up her hands. "You don't have to tell me anything," she said quickly. She certainly knew what it was like to have things she never talked about. Couldn't talk about.

"No, it's okay." Ruby tipped her head back, staring up into the lush branches above. "There's not much to tell. She left."

The breeze ruffled the leaves above them, a soft sound that barely broke the silence.

"I was little," Ruby said after a moment, shrugging her slender shoulders. "I barely remember her. Dad says she was beautiful."

Hart figured that must be true; the woman had produced Ruby, after all.

"Do you know what happened? What made her leave?"

"She got a better offer," Ruby said shortly.

"Than her family?" Hart asked, eyebrows raised.

Ruby gave another shrug. "She got a job in the City. Working at a restaurant. Got hired as a cleaner but was promoted her first day. For her face, not her work. She started staying later and later. I remember that. Dad would stay up, waiting. He was always worried. He was fighting then; we didn't have the arena yet. On the nights he fought, she was supposed to be home. But she wasn't. So he had to leave me in the apartment by myself."

Ruby slunk further down against the tree, stretching her legs out in the grass. "And then one day she came home on time. To pack." Ruby met Hart's eyes. "She could make more without a family. Without a kid. So she left. We haven't heard from her since."

"That's—" Hart fumbled, unsure what to say. Terrible. Reprehensible. Disgusting.

"Practical. She was right. You know more than anyone. Life's easier without family tying you down."

"But I would never just leave them!" Hart said, appalled. It might be easier for her to live without a crippled mother and three kids to support, but what would be the point of living without them?

"And I won't leave my dad," Ruby said simply. "That's why we're here and people like my mother are in the City."

"I'd rather be here," Hart said firmly.

Ruby smiled. "Me too." She leaned over, knocking her shoulder against Hart's. "That was the night dad started saving for the gym. He took every fight they offered and put every cent away. So he could make a good life for me, even without her."

"He did a pretty good job," Hart offered.

"Yeah," Ruby smiled. "Even if he does throw me out of the gym every other day."

"You deserve it," Hart laughed.

"Yep," Ruby said proudly, leaning her head back. Hart tilted her face up, as well, feeling the sun on her skin.

Chapter Seven

Hart stepped confidently into the ring. The audience crowed her name, and she grinned at the sound. She was a winner, a champion, and they were screaming her name. It felt good. Across the ring, her opponent clambered between the ropes. Hart barely spared him a glance. He was big, but they all were. Their size didn't faze her anymore.