Chapter Text
Amber pulled her black and silver superman t-shirt on. It was the only thing she had clean. Laundry had fallen behind because she’d been forced to spend her Saturday reading up on the laws surrounding probation and possible defenses in Kansas. She pulled on a pink hoodie she’d bought at the thrift store and walked out to the porch. She held her hand out from under the veranda letting the last rays the sun strike her palm. She adjusted her glasses and looked back as the door swung open.
She wasn’t sure why Sarah had chosen the costume she had for the Highschool Halloween dance, but she had decided to help her sister out. Sarah looked good in the old thing. The teenager was tugging on her bra under the strange black material.
“Where did you find this? It looks just like his, except cooler.”
Amber smiled.
“Just something I had hanging around.”
Sarah looked up at Amber.
“Do you think, do you think Supergirl is still out there, sis?”
Amber shrugged.
“Who knows, maybe she is, no one has seen any of them in years. Maybe they retired. Maybe they died doing God knows what, or maybe the Earth just doesn’t need them anymore. Maybe she has more important things to do.”
Sarah laughed.
“More important than being Supergirl?”
Amber leaned on the old white railing.
“Maybe she had kids. Nothing is more important to me then you and Martha, I am assuming aliens are the same with kids.”
She threw the truck keys at Sarah who caught them gingerly.
“Go on, you got your learners Friday. You can drive.”
Sarah looked at the keys like they might bite her.
“But… I… no, it’s getting dark and… and…”
Amber shook her head.
“Are you going to keep coming up with excuses or are you going to just do it, sis? You’re not mom. You haven’t been drinking, you won’t be checking your phone, and we’ll take the backroad to town.”
Sarah looked down at the keys. Amber wrapped her arm around Sarah’s shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.
“I trust you. Martha trusts you. You have to start some time.”
Sarah clutched the keys tightly. Martha came out of the house, she was wearing one of Sarah’s black lace dresses that the pair had used safety pins to size down. She had her hair dyed black and in two braided pigtails. She had dark eyeliner and had borrowed some of Sarah’s concealer. Amber smiled. Her baby sister had chosen to be her favorite fictional character for Halloween, Wednesday Addams. Amber knew why her baby sister seemed so fascinated by Wednesday, many autistic people said that the character had comforted them in some fashion.
They piled into the truck and Sarah drove into town. As Amber had predicted there were no accidents, and they didn’t run into another soul. They parked on the street near the high school. Amber looked at her Fitnow wristband, the only thing she ever wore that looked expensive in the least.
“Okay, we meet back here at ten pm on the dot.”
Sarah waved and walked towards the school. A year before she wouldn’t have been caught dead at a dance. Now that she was walking without assistance, she begged Amber to buy her a ticket. Amber looked down at Martha.
“Alright, let’s go trick or treating, I expect you to get me a lot of candy, my sweet tooth is depending on you here.”
Martha’s voice was its typical monotone.
“You never eat the candy you bring home. Why would Halloween candy be any different?”
Amber nudged Martha forward.
“Just go be an eleven year old and trick or treat.”
The pair walked up to the first residential street and Martha walked up to the door behind several other children. The woman who answered smiled at her and complimented her costume. Martha just held up her bag of fake piranha and said in her usual monotone voice.
“Trick or treat.”
The woman giggled.
“You did that so perfectly! Here take some extra.”
Martha said thank you in the same monotone voice, the sisters moved onto the next house and so they went for a large part of the evening. Martha had two bags of treats by the time they finished and looked up at Amber.
“I trust this is sufficient?”
Amber nodded.
“Yes, it should keep us going at least until thanksgiving. Shall we go to the Talon?”
Martha nodded. Amber helped her sister stash the candy haul in the rear seat of the pickup and motioned towards the indicated coffee shop. They had an hour before they needed to meet Sarah to head home. Martha ordered her usual hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun. Amber usually didn’t buy anything for herself, so she didn’t order anything. Martha looked up at her.
“You should get coffee. It is a late and you worked the early shift today.”
Amber shook her head.
“It’s okay, I don’t need anything.”
The young man working behind the counter slid to mugs across the counter and the cinnamon bun he called out Amber’s name. Amber looked at the mugs.
“I only ordered a hot chocolate.”
He smiled bashfully and shrugged. He was definitely her age, likely working here on weekends when he was home from college. He would be considered cute, if not outright attractive to most girls her age.
“Oh, my mistake, might as well take it, I’ll just have to dump it.”
Amber took the flat-white and offered the hot chocolate to Martha. She heard the young man speaking whose name tag declared his name to be Connor speaking to his coworker, a local girl Amber knew well enough, Rose. They were speaking quietly but with Amber’s hearing that meant little. She felt bad for snooping but small towns being small towns, usually the only real entertainment was the local gossip. Connor was asking.
“Who’s that? I’ve don’t think I have seen her around before.”
Rose gave him a weird look and shook her head.
“You have, she works at the Value Fresh and at Xctasy as a bartender.”
He did a doubletake.
“No way, I would have noticed someone that hot. Is she seeing anyone?”
Rose shrugged.
“Don’t think so. Her mother died last year; She’s been taking care of her little sisters ever since, also taking care of their farm and working two, three jobs. She picks up a few shifts here sometimes when we’re in the busy season. Leave the poor girl be.”
He leaned on the counter and made googly eyes at Amber who didn’t look towards him after her single glance.
“A man can dream. I can’t believe she’s just hanging around here.”
Rose hit him with her towel.
“Hey, what was that for?”
Rose shook her head.
“Because you’re being a creeper.”
“Hey, I was just wondering. She seems, sad… alone.”
Rose rolled her eyes.
“Her mom died last year just after she woke up from a coma. She had some fancy fiancée and he’s nowhere to be found. Just ditched her when she got sick. She went into a coma with a mom, a dad, a brother, two sisters, a full ride scholarship to METU for sports and academics, had money, a wealthy fiancée and woke up in debt, with most of her family gone and no prospects, you tell me how you’d be feeling. I am glad you gave her a freebie though. Girl has been through the worst you can imagine; She sacrifices everything for her little sisters. She deserves a break now and then. I hear she barely eats; My brother is friends with her sister she was saying she’s worried about her sister because she barely eats and sleeps. Works fourteen-fifteen hours some days not including whatever that farm of theirs takes. Just leave her be, she’s got enough.”
Connor wiped up the glass display for their deserts.
“I’m going to ask her out.”
Rose glared at him.
“Did you not hear word I said? Leave her be.”
Connor turned around and leaned on the display with his arms crossed.
“You seem to know her, what’s the best way to ask?”
Rose rubbed her temples.
“Dude you’re hopeless. I don’t know her, know her, we say hi, we went to middle school together that’s it then she went off to some fancy school. I hear she does auto repair at her farm under the table. My friend Becky got her to fix her car up and she couldn’t afford a new one and the mechanics said her engine was shot. She dropped it off, and the next morning it ran like it was like it was brand new. Like she’d rebuilt the engine from scratch. Charged her two hundred plus parts. Need any work done?”
Connor grinned.
“She can work me anytime.”
Rose groaned.
“You’re disgusting.”
Connor tapped the glass counter.
“You know, I have racing brakes and a turbocharger for my Skyline. The shop in Metropolis that specializes in mods like that is like a two month wait, wants five thousand just to look at it! Does she do that sort of thing?”
Rose shook her head.
“Yeah, rumor has it she got arrested for street racing summer before her coma.”
Connor blinked a few times.
“No way, she races too. Shit, how is she still single?”
“Just keep it in your pants and take care of that customer, idiot.”
Amber shook her head and took another drink of her flat white. Whatever else Connor had going for him, he made good coffee she mused. Martha had been oblivious to the whole conversation about her sister. She was currently pulling the cinnamon bun apart in equal lengths before starting to eat it. Amber wished that one of her many talents was reading minds because she imagined Martha’s was a maze. What she did know was her sister was smart, smarter than even Amber was, and Amber was a certified genius according to her last IQ test. Though the tester played that off as her photographic memory making her seem smarter than she was. She scored perfect on her SAT. She imagined Martha would too.
“What are you thinking Martha?”
Martha looked up at Amber.
“I am trying to figure out how you get so much done in one day.”
Amber smiled.
“I’m just very efficient.”
Martha shook her head.
“No, I have narrowed it down to you never sleeping, a theory that would require me to stay up all night to the detriment of my health or place a camera to monitor you. However, you are very perceptive and would likely notice any surveillance. My other theory is that because you do not eat as much as is required you have more time to complete other tasks. Also, that mother’s murder is still unsolved.”
Amber blinked a few times; Her sister had said the last sentence with no emotion whatsoever.
“They caught him. He left his wallet. He was shot when he pulled a gun on them.”
Martha shook her head.
“No. He was the instrument. It was like they destroyed the gun but let the wielder get away. It makes no logical sense. Why pull a gun on police? Legally speaking the worst that they could have charged him with careless indifference. There was no proof he injected her. There was little proof he had anything to do without except he did not call for emergency services. I looked it up, likely the charges would have been dropped.”
Amber shook her head.
“Martha, he was a drug addict who knows what he was thinking. Logic doesn’t come into their thinking when they are high. Meth is a terrible drug. You need to just let this go. It will drive you crazy looking for meaning in a meaningless event.”
Martha shook her head.
“No. Mother was a lawyer for the Federal government before she went into private practice. She was involved in several investigations that could have uncovered a conspiracy. Grandfather would say it is too many coincidences.”
Amber narrowed her eyes.
“Well, I don’t see him here investigating her death, do you? Maybe take that as a hint.”
Martha took a sip of her hot chocolate.
“I have upset you. I am sorry. You asked me what I was thinking about.”
Amber sighed.
“Well, you should not be thinking about that sort of thing, you should be thinking about what you want for Christmas, or what video game you’re going to play or what boy is cute at school, not the already solved murder of our mother. You’re a kid.”
Martha nodded.
“As you say, Amber.”
Amber didn’t believe for a second her sister had stopped thinking about it. Martha had a one track mind and would dig until she hit a wall then smash the wall. She was afraid she’d run into something like this where it was an unsolvable problem. She shook her head and decided to fight the fight later. Sarah entered the store and smiled. Amber looked her up and down.
“Did you have fun at the dance, Goth Supergirl?”
Sarah nodded. Amber reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet and handed Sarah a ten dollar bill.
“Get whatever you want, sis.”
Sarah wandered off and came back with a hot chocolate and a brownie. She offered Amber back the change.
“You keep it.”
Sarah looked down at her costume.
“Where?”
Amber laughed. That was a problem with such costumes… she knew from experience.
“Fine, I’ll leave it on the counter at home for you.”
Amber took the change and slipped it into her hoodie pocket. Sarah blushed slightly when a couple of boys from the High School walked in. Then she looked at the counter then at Amber and whispered.
“Hey Amber, I think the boy behind the counter is into you!”
Amber waved her hand dismissively.
“Nah, he’s just perving on you because that costume shows everything.”
Sarah blushed a deep crimson. Amber giggled.
“You’re so easy.”
Sarah glared at Amber.
“You’re mean.”
Amber shrugged.
“I’m just doing my job as your legal guardian, ensuring you need years more therapy.”
Martha watched the banter between the two.
“That is illogical. Why would be a parental figure’s job to ensure their children require more therapy, should it not be the other way around?”
Amber shook her head. Martha always took things far too literally.
“It was a joke, Martha.”
Martha seemed to recognize the humor of the statement.
“Ah, yes, I see. Because so many children say they need therapy. I see.”
Sarah patted Martha’s head. Martha gave her a dirty look. Amber just shook her head. She had strange sisters, and she wouldn’t trade either of them for the world. She glanced at her watch.
“Well, we need to get you two home, school tomorrow. Finish up.”
She gathered up the dishes after her sisters finished and was taking them to the drop off area when she ‘bumped’ into Connor. He had made it a point to intercept her he offered to take the dishes.
“Hey, I can take those, so, I hear that you do some work on cars on the side, I have a Skyline I want to put a new set of brakes on and a turbocharger. Some LED and a vinyl wrap hear you can do that sort of thing… would you?”
Amber sighed and glanced back at Sarah who was laughing at something Martha said, she shrugged.
“Are you using the car in illegal street-racing?”
He blinked at her.
“No, no, just at the track. God my parents would murder me.”
Amber pushed some hair behind her ears.
“Fine, do you know where the Kent farm is?”
He nodded.
“Yeah, yellow farmhouse just off the interstate? I see it when I go to Metropolis.”
She glanced around before saying the rest.
“Fine, two thousand. Half up front, half afterwards. Drop it off at the Kent farm after six tomorrow and have a ride, I’m not a chauffeur. You give me all the parts. You pick it up the next night after six, or I’m charging you for storage.”
Amber motioned for her sisters to follow her and opened the door for them.