"Come on, Addy! You're going to be late!" I shouted up the stairs only to be met with silence.

"Addy?"

There was still no response.

I sighed and quickly ran up the stairs, avoiding looking to the right. I reached Addy's door and softly knocked and when she still didn't respond, I cracked the door. When I saw her sitting on her floor, surrounded by her notes, with her hands fisted in her hair as tears streamed down her face, I was at her side in an instant.

Wordlessly, I pulled her into me and cradled her as she sobbed into my shirt.

"Shhh, you are okay. I am right here. Breathe."

I slowly untangled her hands from her hair and when they were freed, she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her head into my chest. Her body shook with the intensity of her sobs, and I slowly rubbed my hands up and down her back, trying to relax and comfort her. At least she isn't hyperventilating right now.

"I am right here, Addy. Try to take a deep breath. Calm your body."

I know the best thing I can do for her is to just hold her until she is calm. When she is ready, she will put some space between us but until then, I will keep my arms wrapped around her. I know she said she had a test today and it's her time of the month so maybe the test combined with teenage hormones is why she is feeling so overwhelmed. She seemed fine last night but I guess not so much this morning.

After probably fifteen minutes or so, her sobs subsided enough for me to try to ask her what she is feeling.

"What's going on? Hmm?"

She sighed and removed her arms from my neck and slid herself off my lap but stayed pressed against my side. She opened her mouth to say something, but it just made the tears start again.

"Addy...what's going on? Talk to me."

In between her sniffles, she managed to croak out, "I'm gonna fail..."

Okay, it's just the test. I can deal with that.

"You're not gonna fail."

"Yes, I am!" she whined, with fresh tears springing to her eyes again.

I took a deep breath to calm myself so I could change tactics, "I am sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. What can I do to help?"

She dropped her head into her hands, and whined again, "I don't know! Can I just stay home today?"

"I know you are feeling upset. Take ten more minutes and then pack your backpack. You have to go to school."

"Eli!" she cried but I kept my voice gentle and firm, "You have to go to school. If you do fail your exam, we'll figure it out later. I'll write an excuse for the attendance office since you will be late, but you are going to school. You can't miss more days this week."

I stood up and reminded her, "Ten minutes, Addy and then you need to be downstairs. If you aren't, I will carry you to the truck and put you in there myself."

She already missed Monday because we were remembering dad, and I didn't feel like making her go to school when I called off work for it. And she missed two days last month because she was sick. The school year just started five weeks ago; she can't just skip school when she feels upset. But as I walked out of her room and closed her door behind me, I choked back my own tears.

These are the times I just wish I could just be her brother because as her brother, I vote we stay home and watch movies and eat junk food. But I am her parent too. And a parent makes their kid go to school; even when they don't want to go.

I sent a quick text to my boss, knowing he would give me a hard time for being late, but I am Addy's transportation to school. Addy has enough to deal with without having to deal with bullies on the bus too, so I drop her off and pick her up every day.

I changed out of the tear-soaked shirt and sat in the living room, waiting for her. Ten minutes later, I heard her footsteps come down the stairs and I sighed in relief. She didn't talk to me as she slipped on her shoes and walked out to the truck. I ran my hand through my hair and grabbed my keys off the hook, locking the front door.

She did not talk to me as I drove her to school, and she did not say bye after I walked her into the office and checked her in late.

The drive to work was shorter than I would have liked it to be so when I pulled into the driveway of the house we were renovating, I prepared myself for the inevitable lecture.

I threw my dusty ballcap on my head and climbed out of my truck, grabbing my bag of tools. My boss quickly met me in the driveway. He glanced at me, his face impassive and quickly gave me my instructions for the day.

"Elijah, Shawn's tearin' down the pony wall beside the kitchen. I'm puttin' you on demo with him. When you done, come find me."

"Yes, sir," I replied, slightly confused from his lack of confrontation but I wasn't going to question it. I would rather just be told where to go and what to do than be yelled at for being late.

I found Shawn a few moments later, he was already working on the far side of the wall. He grunted in greeting, and I grabbed my supplies from my bag. When I secured the dust mask over my mouth and nose, placed the safety glasses over my eyes, and pushed the well-worn work gloves down over my hands, I picked up my sledgehammer and started on the side closer to me.

I swung the hammer, and it satisfyingly cracked the drywall, sending dust flying into the air. Within a few minutes, we had the drywall torn down off this side. Working in silence, we moved to the other side of the wall. After another quick few swings of my sledgehammer, we had the drywall torn down off that side too.

Then we started working knocking down the studs. I pulled my arm back and let the hammer swing, hitting its mark with a satisfying crack. I went to swing again when Shawn spoke up.

"You good, man?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The wall is innocent."

I shrugged my shoulders and knocked down another stud, "Hard morning."

"Addy?"

I sighed and wiped my dusty hands on my shirt, "Yeah."

He hummed in response and went back to knocking the last few studs out. Now all that was left of the pony wall was a pile of wood and drywall pieces. I gathered the studs into my arms and carried them out to the pile in front of the house while Shawn took the drywall pieces to the dumpster. With my hands now free, I pulled off my mask and shoved it into my pocket. I put the glasses up on my hat and sighing, went to go find my boss again.

It wasn't hard to find him, I just had to listen for the sound of yelling. I walked into the room, and he nodded to me in acknowledgement. When he finished giving his commands to the rest of the crew, he put a hand on my shoulder and walked me back outside. Letting go of my shoulder, he took off his safety helmet and tossed it onto the ground.

"Sir?" I questioned, meeting his eyes and he looked away from me, a sad smile on his face.

He brushed his hands on his thighs and sighed into the yard, "I miss him too."

The air left my lungs, and my heart twisted in my chest. Of all the things I thought he might say, I did not expect him to bring up dad.

He didn't wait for me to respond before he continued, "You doin' a good job by the way."

I swallowed my emotions and looked over at him. His face has been weathered from a lifetime of manual labor under the sun, but he has always held a soft spot for me in his heart. He smiled at me, and I felt my heart clench at the gesture.

"With your sister, I mean."

I ran a hand against the back of my neck, "I'm not so sure she would agree."

He chuckled, "Teenagers are hard like that. I raised four of 'em. I'd know."

"Yeah."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I felt my throat close up as the emotions I kept shoving down, tried to escape.

"I think you should take some time off."

I brushed his hand off me and faced him, shaking my head, "You know I can't do that. I need the money."

He smiled a smile full of pity and I hated it.

"You got too much on your plate. I can't keep havin' you show up late, Elijah. Take some time and get yourself sorted."

"I know, I'm sorry for being late. I just...Addy..." my voice broke, and I felt shame flood my body; I normally have my emotions under better control than this. I sharply inhaled and forced my tone to be even, "I need the money, Frank."

"And I'm tellin' you to take some time off."

"You're firing me?"

He laughed, "No, I ain't givin' your job away. Not after all these years. Benny might haunt me if I did that."

I half-laughed, half-cried at the absurdity of this conversation. This is not how I pictured my day going when I woke up this morning.

"And don't you worry 'bout the money. I'll still be payin' you. Just take some time and be there for Miss Adaline. She needs you more than I do right now."

"Frank...I don't want a handout."

"You're Benny's boy for sure. You sound just like your dad," He laughed and gestured to me, "And you're growin' up to look like him too."

Benny's boy.

It's been a long time since I heard someone call me that. Those two words have been tied to my identity my whole life and I hate the fact that the people I meet now will never know me as Benny's boy.

"You need some sleep and some time to breathe. Take two weeks. I'll pay you the whole time. You can leave your stuff here and I'll give it back when you come back to work after your break."

I tried to make words come out, but they got caught in my throat. Frank smiled knowingly and nodded with his head toward my truck, "Go home, Elijah."

I dipped my head in respect and silently walked to my truck. As I pulled out of the driveway, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved. I have been working so hard for so long and maybe a break would do me some good. Maybe I can switch my part-time shifts to the morning so I can be home with Addy in the evenings for these two weeks.

The time of year that surrounds dad's death always brings complicated emotions. Maybe Addy was just really feeling that this year? She was only eight when he died. Maybe she was just missing him more this time; I knew I was. I shook my head at myself and adjusted my hands on the wheel.

Actually, I think I miss him this much all the time.

I found myself driving to that little café where I met Summer last week. The doorbell chimed as I walked in and the lady who served us last time gave me a big smile. I nodded in acknowledgement toward her and went to go sit down in the corner by the window.

After she was finished with the customer she was ringing up, she came over to my table.

"I don't think I properly introduced myself last time. I'm Margaret," she said sweetly, extending her hand out for me to shake. I quickly stood up to shake her hand and matched her smile with one of my own.

"Elijah," I replied and sat back down.

"It's nice to meet you," she pushed her glasses up, "Officially this time."

"Likewise."

"So, what can I get for you today?"

"Just a water please."

She nodded and walked away, leaving me to wrestle with my thoughts alone. I rolled my neck and shoulders, trying to release some of the pent-up tension and sighing, dropped my head into my hands. The sound of someone shuffling into the seat across from me had me looking up.

Margaret smiled and pushed a glass of water along with a small chocolate pastry toward me. I tried to push the plate back toward her, but she interrupted me, "Don't even start. You look like you could use some company and some chocolate."

I sighed in defeat and picked up the pastry, the chocolate drizzle coating my fingertips. I admit, it was absolutely delicious. Margaret let me eat in silence but as soon as I swallowed the last bite, she asked, "So, what's going on that has my favorite customer's new 'friend' looking so sad?"

I avoided her question and asker her one of my own instead, "Do you have kids?"

She looked at me puzzled but nodded her head, "Yes. Three." And then with a voice full of pride and love, she added, "And five grandchildren now too."

"Did you ever worry you were going to mess them up?"

She laughed, the lines on her face crinkling, "All the time. I had no idea what I was doing. Even after the third one, I still worried."

And then as if she understood the reason for my question, her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, "You have a child?"

"Not exactly. I..."

She cut me off with a wave of her hand, "I won't have you dragging Summer into some custody mess with that girl you were in here with the other day."

"Girl?" I asked, and then realized who she was talking about, "Oh, yeah. Bailey. She's not my girl and I definitely do not have a kid with her. And I am not dragging Summer into anything; I haven't even really seen her again since then. I was asking because I'm my sister's guardian, and I think she hates me."

"Oh." She breathed out and settled back into her chair, "Well, why do you have custody of your sister? Where are your parents?"

"I have custody of her for a reason," I replied firmly, not wanting to tell a practical stranger all of my family's personal business.

Margaret waved her hand and pushed her glasses up her nose again, "I understand. How old is your sister?"

"Fifteen."

She laughed, "Well, then she definitely hates you. She loves you but she doesn't like you right now. My youngest went through that with me during her teenage years."

I frowned, "That does...not make me feel better."

"Just be there for her. If your parents are not around, she needs you. Just love her."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair for what felt like the hundredth time today, "I'm trying. It's just...hard to be her parent because I should just be her brother. But no, I have to be everything for her all the time. And I don't know...I just am..."

Margaret reached across the table and laid a gentle, slightly flour-dusted hand on my arm. I looked down at her hand, feeling emotions bubble up in my throat again at the simple contact.

"Elijah, the fact that you are upset that she is upset tells me you are doing a great job being her everything. If you ever need a place to get away from the stress of it, my door is always open."

I mumbled out a thank you and she removed her hand, leaving a trace of flour on my sleeve. She stood up to leave and brushed her hands on her apron.

"I have to go take care of my other customers but don't be a stranger, okay? If you need some more company or some more chocolate," she jerked a thumb toward herself, "I'm your woman."

I nodded and gave her a wink. I picked up the glass of water and turned my attention to the window as I took a sip.

She needs you. Just love her.

Addy is my whole world, and I refuse to let her push me away because frankly, I need her just as much as she needs me. As for loving her, that's easy; she is my sister. I will always love her, even when she hates me. I'm her brother; it's my job.