“I do.”
“Then Monday. And in two weeks, the fun begins.”
I nod once and turn away.
Two weeks. I can push what just happened from my mind in two weeks. By the time I start this new job with Baptist, that little blip in the supply closet will be nothing but a vague memory, more like a half-remembered dream.
I can push him away. I have to.
This is going to work.
Chapter2
Blair
One Month Later
“Max! Get your ass up!”I shout over the gurgle of the coffee maker as I finish up making toast and eggs. It’s just after six, and Max has to leave for the bus in twenty minutes, and my little brother isn’t capable of getting dressed and out the door in anything less than an hour.
Which means I’ll be driving him to school. Again.
Max appears in the kitchen, groggy, his mop of brown hair spilling into his eyes and sticking up straight in the back. He grunts at me, which I think isMaxforgood morning dearest sister of mine who sacrifices so much for my well-being, I love you so much, you are the greatest sister of all time.
“Good morning,” I say in response.
My little brother is a senior at a private high school in the nicest part of the city. Unfortunately for us both, I don’t live in the nicest part of the city, on account of not taking any money from our worthless father. To make it even worse, I only have one bedroom, which means I sleep on the couch because I can’t imagine having a teenage boy set up permanently in my living room.
“Have you heard from Mom recently?” he asks as he fills a to-go mug of coffee.
“She FaceTimed with me last night. She looks good.”
“When’s she coming back?”
I don’t have the heart to tell himneverso I just shrug. “I don’t know. Soon, I guess.”
“Whenever her new boyfriend gets tired of her, right?”
I grimace. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true though. What’s Dad think of all this?”
“Dad’s too busy wallowing in self-pity and visiting his girlfriend to care.”
Max sighs and cracks a smile. “Our parents are gross.”
“Yes, Max, our parents are truly gross.”
We laugh together and eat in comfortable silence. Yes, my brother is a teenage boy, and yes, he’s sullen and moody and makes my life hard—but I love him to death.
And I’d never, ever leave him alone to live with our father.
Back when Mom was still in town and living in that big house out in Mt. Airy, Max was more or less taken care of. But now that she’s out in England having the time of her life (so she says, I don’t believe her at all), Max needs someone to keep him on a schedule. Someone to make sure he doesn’t drop out and get addicted to fentanyl or whatever the youths are doing these days.
That someone isn’t my narcissist father, which means that someone is me.
“Time to go,” I say, grabbing my bag.
“Are you seeing Baptist today?”