Family Line // B. Wayne

eight

 "Good morning, Ernie," Lily greeted. Exhaustion coated her voice, but she still plastered a smile on her lips as she passed him a breakfast sandwich. He shot her a sympathetic look and accepted the sandwich with an easy grin.

"Saw the news this mornin'. You good? Nothin' happened to you and your place?"

"We're good, thanks for asking. A few bullets went through some windows on the first floor, but we patched them up this morning." Her fingers still burned from the plywood splinters she had yanked out while riding the subway into work this morning.

Even the familiar rocking of the train cars and the screeches they emitted every stop did little to soothe her mind. All she could think about was the first time she remembered riding the subway. How she pressed closer to Ma who cradled Nadia to her chest. Ma pointed out places around Gotham. The neighborhood farmer's market. The museum. The aquarium. The glistening, beaming beacon of Wayne Enterprises.

Lily looked up as her Ma pointed out landmark after landmark and studied her face. The gentle smile that graced Ma's lips, her dark and curly hair, the makeup that covered the bruises around her tan neck, and the black bruising that surrounded her warm brown eyes.

"You look like death warmed over, sweetheart," Ernie tutted. "Remember, if you ever need anything, Johnny and I would be glad to have you over."

"Thanks, Ernie. Tell Johnny I said hello, alright? And I hope he's been using that pozole recipe."

"Oh, he loves it."

Lily let her smile fall when she turned to head to the elevators. Exhaustion settled in her bones and her knees ached from the cramped position she had spent last night in. She had popped two aspirins after the breakfast run, but it wasn't enough to stop the deep-rooted ache in her bones.

The applied sciences floor was silent when she entered and she flipped on the lights with a sigh. The low, humming buzz of the lights streaked through the room and mingled with the sound of her heels tapping on the concrete. She turned on the radio and switched it to that old vintage station she had thought of the night before.

She had a few minutes before Mr. Fox was supposed to get in so Lily took that as a chance to sit down for the first time in what felt like hours. Without thinking, she dialed Nadia and waited but the call went straight to voicemail.

"Hey kiddo," Lily hummed. "Hope you're doing okay. I'm sure you're still sleeping or you're in class. Just...just calling to see how you are."

Another memory. The scared, wide eyes that stared up at her as Ma changed her clothes and dumped them in an alley. The feel of the small hand in hers as they ran.

"I'm sure you got some texts last night. We're all okay. No one was hurt and there were no break-ins. We're okay, kid."

How many times has she said those three words over the years? In the lines of the soup kitchens and the homeless shelters or when they huddled together under thin sheets of cardboard and tin while rain beat down on the city or when Nadia, with shaking hands, stitched up her sister on the floor of their shitty illegal apartment they paid for with cash under the table. Lily rested her elbow on the table and rested her head against her palm.

"I miss you, little bear," she murmured. "More than I expected. I know you're going to change the world, Nadia, but part of me selfishly wants to keep you as just my little sister forever. It used to be just you and me against the world. I guess I'm not used to being alone."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes. "I'll stop being sappy now. I'm...I'm gonna swing by and see her at lunch. Have a good day. Eat some fuckin' vegetables for once. Do not rely entirely on coffee or I'll come to Metropolis, beat your ass, and force water down your throat. You hear? I love you, Nini."