“Call your family to come pick you up.” Brian Carter handed his phone to her.

She took the phone, hesitated for a moment, pressed a few buttons with her head down, then handed the phone back to him.

“What do you mean?” Brian Carter looked at the phone number that had been entered but not dialed. “Want me to call for you?”

She nodded.

“Shit,” Brian Carter frowned and pressed the call button. Listening to the dialing tone, he asked again, “Whose number is this in your family?”

Before Big Eyes could answer, someone picked up on the other end.

Of course, she probably wouldn’t have answered anyway. Brian Carter said “Hello” into the phone.

“Who is this?” A man’s voice came from the other end.

“Just a passerby,” Brian Carter didn’t even know how to explain, “I have a little girl here…”

“No.” The other side said.

Before Brian Carter could react, the call was hung up.

“Who was that?” Brian Carter spat out his cigarette, pointed at Big Eyes, “If you don’t talk, get lost. I’m out of patience.”

Big Eyes squatted down next to his leg, picked up a stone, and shakily wrote the character “哥” (brother) on the ground, then looked up at him.

“All right, got it.” Brian Carter felt this little girl might really be mute.

He dialed the same number again. This time, it rang only briefly before being picked up: “Who is this.”

Brian Carter glanced at Big Eyes: “Your sister is here with me…”

“Just kill her.” The other side replied, then hung up again.

“Fuck!” Brian Carter felt an urge to smash his phone, pointed at Big Eyes, “Your name!”

Big Eyes lowered her head and wrote her name with the stone.

Ashley Bennett.

Brian Carter didn’t call again, just sent a text message with a photo of Big Eyes attached.

-Ashley Bennett, mute, skateboard.

Thirty seconds later, the other side called back.

Brian Carter answered: “Too late, already killed her.”

“Sorry,” the other side said, “can you tell me where you are? I’ll come see if I can piece her back together.”

“…East Train Station, the really rundown one,” Brian Carter frowned, “She got lost. Hurry up, I’ve got things to do.”

“Thank you, really appreciate it,” the other side replied, “I’ll be right there. If you’re in a hurry, you can leave first. Just let her wait for me there.”

Brian Carter picked up the half-smoked cigarette he’d just thrown on the ground and flicked it into the nearby trash can, then lit a new one.

He had originally planned to just call a ride and leave, but then he felt like no one really cared whether he came or went, whether he was here or not, and he didn’t seem to have anything urgent anyway.

After sitting on her skateboard for a while, Ashley Bennett stood up and started skating back and forth on the sidewalk.

After watching for a bit, Brian Carter was a little surprised. He’d thought the little girl was just messing around, but she handled all kinds of slopes, steps, speeding up, sudden stops, and sharp turns with ease.

It was just that her hair looked like it had been chopped into grass clippings, and her dirty face and clothes were jarring.

After skating for over ten minutes, Ashley Bennett stopped next to him, hooked the skateboard up with her toe, caught it with her hand, then pointed behind Brian Carter.

“Pretty cool.” Brian Carter gave her a thumbs up and turned around, seeing a black motorcycle parked behind him.

The person on the bike was wearing a helmet, so their face couldn’t be seen, but the legs in fitted gray pants and short boots, propped on the sidewalk, were eye-catching.

Long, and straight.

“Your brother?” Brian Carter asked Ashley Bennett.

Ashley Bennett nodded.

“What happened to your head?” The person on the bike took off the helmet and got off, walking over and glaring at Ashley Bennett’s hair. “And your face and clothes… did you fall into a cesspit?”

Ashley Bennett shook her head.

“Bullied by classmates, right?” Brian Carter said.

“Thanks,” the person finally looked at Brian Carter, reached out a hand, “I’m Eric Bennett, her brother.”

Brian Carter stood up and shook his hand. “No problem.”

Eric Bennett looked about the same age as him. Just looking at the eyes, he didn’t really look like Ashley Bennett’s brother—not as big-eyed as Ashley Bennett… and his skin was pretty fair.

Brian Carter was feeling like a pile of rotten tomatoes, but Eric Bennett’s hairstyle was as striking as his legs, so he still sneaked a couple of glances through the rotten tomatoes.

A very short buzz cut, and when he turned his face, you could see musical staff patterns shaved into the stubble on both sides of his head—one side had a bass clef, the other a rest symbol, but Brian Carter didn’t catch how many dots there were.

“Just got off the train?” Eric Bennett glanced at his suitcase.

“Yeah.” Brian Carter picked up his phone, planning to open the ride-hailing app.

“Where are you going? I can give you a ride,” Eric Bennett said.

“No, thanks.” Brian Carter glanced at his bike. No matter how big a motorcycle is, it’s still a motorcycle.

“She doesn’t take up much space,” Eric Bennett added.

“No, thanks.” Brian Carter said.

“Say thank you to your brother,” Eric Bennett pointed at him and said to Ashley Bennett, “dung ball.”

Brian Carter turned to look at “dung ball,” wanting to hear her speak, but Ashley Bennett just hugged her skateboard and bowed to him at a ninety-degree angle.

Eric Bennett swung his leg over the bike and put on his helmet. Ashley Bennett nimbly climbed onto the back seat and wrapped her arms around his waist.