Hatchetfield.

Flash, Bang

It isn't raining when Paul gets the news.

He doesn't know why he fixates on it so much, the juxtaposition of the beautiful weather and the all-consuming grief of his older sister's death, but he does.

Apparently, she snapped her neck falling down the stairs of the office building she worked at. Annie Lipschitz, née Matthews, gone in the blink of an eye.

It still isn't raining as Paul drives to the police station to pick up her child, Richelle Lipschitz, who he'll... be adopting.

The kid is nervous, tear tracks visible down her face. Her hair is short as a boy's, but the bangs fall into her eyes. An officer – Bailey, it looks like – has a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Paul takes a sharp breath. Fuck, that kid looks just like Annie.

He parks the car, gets out, and kneels down to eye level with her, awkwardly smiling. "Hey, Richelle. I'm your uncle, Paul Matthews. Do you have a nickname?"

"Richie," the kid mumbles, not looking him in the eye. She has a slight lisp. "Are you my mom's brother?"

"I am," Paul tells her, and tries not to get choked up. "She wrote– she said in her will that if anything happened to her, I was supposed to take care of you."

Richie nods hesitantly. "...Okay." She glances at the cop. "Bye, Officer Bailey."

Bailey tips his hat to the both of them, and disappears into the station.

Paul stands up, and offers a hand for Richie to take, but she shakes her head with a sniffle. Paul nods asnd drops his hand to his side, leading Richie to the car.

The ride to Paul's apartment is awkward and silent..

Paul stops the car. "Well, this is where I live."

Richie shakes the hair out of her eyes and surveys the place for a few moments. Then, quietly, "I like it."

Paul lets out a sigh of relief, and gets out of the car to let Richie out. "That's good. My– my apartment isn't much, but it has everything I need."

Richie nods, and pulls her backpack onto her shoulders. "Do you have Crunchyroll?"

"I... don't know what that is."

"Oh, it's a streaming service for anime, that's Japanese animation," Richie says and she's smiling for the first time, her eyes sparkling. "My favorite is Naruto and I want to watch Attack On Titan but Mom–" she falters. "Uh, Mom said that I'm not old enough yet."

Paul clears his throat. "Well, I can definitely get Crunchyroll, and... maybe we can watch that show together?"

Richie gasps. "You mean it?!"

"Of course," Paul laughs. Richie's enthusiasm is infectious."

Richie pumps her fist. "Yes!" She pauses and looks up at Paul. "Are we going to get my stuff from my old house? Officer Bailey told me to pack an overnight bag, so I did, but I couldn't pack everything, so..."

"Yeah, we're gonna do that tomorrow," Paul tells her. "Unless there's anything you need tonight?"

She shakes her head. "There isn't anything."

"Alright." Paul leads her into his apartment, and to her room. "Um, I... didn't have a lot of time to get ready for you, so this is just what used to be the guest room. We can decorate it, however you like. And maybe swap out the bed."

Richie sets her backpack down on the bed. "Mkay. Thanks, Uncle Paul."

Paul takes that as his cue to leave. "I'll let you get settled in," he says, and shuts the door behind him.