Page 71 of Always: A Legacy Novel

She belonged to no one.

“I’ve got to head out,” Michel said down the hall.

Catherine poked her head out of the bedroom doorway. She could see her brother standing just outside of their parents’ office. Catrina and Dante had been going over some sort of bid for an industrial building her father wanted to renovate into rental office space.

“The party in Brooklyn?” their father asked.

Michel nodded. “Some Academy seniors are throwing it. I got a call from Andino when he showed up—might as well make my way over.”

“Be careful,” Catrina said.

“I got to go, Ma.”

“Go, then.”

“Can I go?” Catherine asked from down the hall. “If it’s Academy kids, can I go, too?”

Michel stiffened, and his gaze darted down to Catherine’s spot, and then back inside the office to where their parents were. “Uh … I don’t think that’s a good idea, Catherine.”

“If you’re going, how come I can’t go?”

Their father and mother appeared out in the hallway, both staring down at Catherine.

“I want to go to a party,” she said. “Why can he go, but I can’t go? He’ll be there, right? How much trouble can I get in with him there?”

“Because I’m not going to party,” Michel said slowly.

Catherine didn’t know why her brother was going, but she also didn’t care. “Can I go?”

Her parents were not exactly strict on things like parties or going out with friends. Or rather, they had gotten less strict about it over the year. She didn’t understand what the problem was.

“It’s the weekend,” Catherine pointed out, “and I don’t have any homework. I’m not in trouble, and Michel is going to be there. Why can’t I go?”

“Listen, I’ll take her,” Michel told their parents, “but I’m going to be kind of busy while I’m there, that’s all.”

Catherine could plainly see the silent conversation happening between her parents, but she already knew their answer before her father even spoke.

“No drinking,” Dante warned.

“Or anything else,” Catrina added.

“And you check in with me on everything,” Michel said as he passed her by in the hall.

Catherine darted out of her bedroom after her brother. “I will, I promise.”

“Keep an eye on her, Michel!”

Her brother answered their mother’s yell with a single wave of his hand over his shoulder. Catherine was just happy to be doing something, instead of sitting alone in her room.

“Why are you going to the party if you don’t want to … well, party?” Catherine asked as they went down the stairs to the bottom level.

Michel didn’t slow in his stroll, simply opened the messenger bag he had slung over his shoulder. Catherine got a quick look at the contents inside before her brother closed the bag back up like nothing had happened.

Drugs.

Lots of them.

Mostly powder and tablets, though. “There’s a demand,” Michel said, “and I don’t mind supplying when I can.”