Emma was quiet at first, moving through the space like she was afraid to touch anything. But Victoria made sure there was food in the fridge and books on the table, and slowly the girl started to relax. One night, Victoria came back to the suite after a long day at the office and found Emma sitting on the couch with her homework spread out around her. The girl looked up, her face tight with frustration. "I don't understand this."
Emma said, shoving a math worksheet toward Victoria. It was algebra variables and equations that looked more complicated than they should have been for a sixth grader. Victoria sat down beside her and looked at the problems. She hadn't done algebra in 20 years, but the logic came back quickly. "Okay."
Victoria said. She picked up a pencil and pointed to the first equation. "You're trying to find X, right? So, you need to isolate it. What's the first step?"
Emma frowned, her pencil tapping against the paper. "Move the numbers to the other side." "Exactly." Victoria said. She watched Emma work through the problem, correcting her gently when she made a mistake, encouraging her when she got it right.
By the end of the hour, Emma had finished the worksheet and something had shifted. The girl leaned back against the couch, her shoulders less tense. "You're good at this." Emma said. Victoria smiled.
"I used to help my little brother with his homework." Victoria said. It was a memory she hadn't thought about in years. "He hated math, but he was good at it once he stopped being scared of it." Emma looked at her curious.
"Do you still talk to him?" Victoria's smile faded. "No." she said. "We lost touch a long time ago.
I got too busy and he moved across the country. I always thought I'd have time to fix it, but I never did." Emma didn't say anything, but her hand reached out and rested on Victoria's arm. It was a small gesture, but it hit Victoria harder than she expected. She looked at the girl beside her, this kid who'd lost her mother and was now watching her father fight to recover and she realized that Emma was braver than she'd ever been.
Jake was discharged from the hospital 3 weeks later. He still couldn't put weight on his leg without crutches and the physical therapy schedule was brutal, but he was alive and healing. Victoria drove him and Emma back to Millbrook. The three of them packed into her rental car with Jake's crutches wedged into the backseat. When they pulled up to the rental house, Jake stared at it for a long time before he spoke.
"I don't know if I can do this." Jake said. His voice was low defeated. "I can't work. I can't pay rent.