“Get in- I’ll push you.” Stopping the carriage just short of Ally, I grinned at the incredulous look that crossed her face. “Come on- no one is going to care. Everyone knows employees are dead until halfway through their shift.”

For a long moment she stared into the cart bed, and I almost started tapping my foot until she swayed forward. Tightening my grip on the carriage, I kept my eyes on the scene in front of me as my chest constricted. Ally slowly, unsteadily, climbed into the bed, and I glanced around as she got comfortable. The parking lot was full, with strangers heading in and out of the store, but I ignored it all to push off.

The carriage jerked, and I smothered a laugh when Ally squealed and tangled her fingers in the sides.

“You better be careful! This cart feels unsteady!” Waving off her concern on the way through the parking lot, I let out a chuckle when she glared.

“Relax. It’s just the concrete. You’ll be fine once we get in there. So, what do you want for breakfast?” Energy buzzed through my veins, gorging my muscles, as the final remnants of my hangover were completely forgotten. The day was sunny and arid, and I pushed Ally across a crosswalk with a smirk. She was pink, refusing to lessen her sharp eyes, and I shrugged carelessly before she huffed.

“I’m going to get you back for this. Don’t think I don’t know you would’ve put me in here if I said ‘no’, Roark.” God, Ally’s so cute when she’s embarrassed.

“Yeah- yeah. Fine, we can go up and down the aisles.” Passing the automatic doors, I reached to scratch my cheek absently as the produce section immediately came into view. “Do you even eat vegetables, Ally?”

“Roark!” Laughing loudly, I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle myself as a picture of Ally’s refrigerator flashed in my mind’s eye. Crawling towards the throng of people shuffling around the apples and broccoli, I scanned the area absently before glancing at Ally. She looked childlike, sitting cross-legged in a shopping cart with her arms across her chest and an impudent expressing souring her features.

“Don’t forget to look around in case you might want something.” Even as I spoke up, I had a mental list scrolling through my mind. Ally only had leftover pizza, some butter, half a loaf of bread, and a water purifier in her refrigerator; that wasn’t enough to guess what she would eat.

“Oh- oh- let’s get some of those.” Halting our trek through the produce section, I followed Ally’s finger to the asparagus before cocking my head. Still, I grabbed a thin, plastic bag and shook it open. “I love grilled asparagus. I can’t make it really well, but that doesn’t matter.”

“No one ever taught you to cook?” Surprise laced my question, and I set the filled bag in Ally’s lap as she shrugged.

“Well, I can cook, but nothing fancy. Despite everyone saying so, healthy food is actually pretty cheap. I grew up on it- we never had the money to eat out or even get a bag of chips. I didn’t eat an Oreo until high school.” My brows shot up, and I let out a grunt as I pushed the carriage forward. In the bed, Ally nodded, turning the bag of asparagus in her lap as she gazed at the line of vegetables across from her. “True story. We were dirt- dirt- dirt poor. My mom only made enough for the bills and food that would last. Every so often I indulge myself. So, then, where’d you learn to cook, Roark?”

“My mother. She burned water, but she asked our chef to teach me. I’m no hidden gem, either, but I’m not awful. I think she felt bad that she couldn’t do something every other mother could, and she wanted to make up for it. That started when I was 13 or so.” Smiling at the memory, I took a turn to head for the butcher section slowly to avoid hitting anyone I couldn’t see. People were everywhere, idling or pushing carts of varying capacity, but none of their conversations droned in my ears.

“My brother, Matt, was a chef before he went to jail. He had his own place and there’s even a tv special on the cooking channel. Our mom never cooked for us- she was always too tired. I don’t know why she had so many children when she couldn’t provide for them.” My chest tightened at that, and I got the sudden feeling we shouldn’t be having this conversation in the middle of a crowded grocery store. Turning down the curiously empty pasta aisle, I reached to rake my hand through my hair as I fought a frown.

“To tell you the truth… I have the same issue. My parents were fine with one kid, but then Julianne came into the equation… Things started to change. I was 15 when she was born- old enough to realize that our parents didn’t treat us the same.” Stopping the cart at the spaghetti, I examined the boxes only to ignore Ally’s intense gaze on my profile. “I don’t know if it’s because she’s a girl, or just because she was born in the first place. When I had my accident, my parents dropped everything for months, but they didn’t even acknowledge her. Then she gets enrolled in Wells, and now she’s being attacked from the outside, too… Maybe it’s not the same. Your mother did everything she could to the farthest extent, and mine just ignores and neglects.”

“Is that why you were so desperate to do something about the bullying?” Grabbing a random box with a rough nod, I pursed my lips together as I read the label. “If they don’t care, why are they sending her to Wells in the first place?”

“Before my accident I lived in California. They sent her here to ignore her. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’, right? But when I found out, I followed. It’s worse now because of my accident- my parents think that if I never followed JJ, I wouldn’t have gotten t-boned. They blame her. She used to be so different.” Tossing the gluten free box of pasta into the carriage seat, I gripped the handle tightly. “I’m not going to talk about it here.”

“You don’t have to, Roark.” Slender fingers covered the back of my palm, and I took a steadying breath before meeting Ally’s sympathetic eyes. “I won’t push you.”

“Thanks.” Continuing down the aisle, I let the silence grow as I tried to shirk the negativity that weighed down my shoulders. Julianne was my little sister, and it was my job to protect her.

But I couldn’t protect her from the two people that could do the most damage.

“Do you want to get some cookies?” The question came out of left field, and I refocused on Ally to look at the food piled around her. This was more than just breakfast shopping; I had suspected it would get to this point. Nodding, my lip twitched in a smirk as we reached the end of the aisle.

“I’m a fan of walnut chocolate chip myself. You’d like them, I think.” Sputtering an offended gasp, Ally tossed an empty produce bag at me, and my mouth curved into a full smile. That simple action broke through the dark cloud overhead, and I snatched the plastic to throw it back.

“I actually don’t, but I like chocolate chip. So, let me make the executive decision here and say that we get both.” Arching a brow at the haughtiness in Ally’s voice, I chuckled as the lightness above me spread down into my chest.

“If that’s what you want, boss. I’m just a grunt, after all.” The pressure on my heart eased, and Ally stuck out her tongue to pull an amused huff from me.

“Onward, faithful steed! To the cookies!”