Page 84 of Privilege

He’d decided that long ago. It was why he never drank anything stronger than a beer—and only on very few occasions—and the exact reason why he never put anything into his body stronger than cigarettes or weed, when he was feeling up to it. He sold drugs to make a living, all the while watching drugs kill his mother and take her away from them …. he didn’t need the hypocrisy or the irony of it all shoved back in his face about the whole thing.

He wouldn’t be the next one sucking on a pipe because his body wouldn’t survive without it. Drugs would not be the thing that took Diego away from him. That poison wasn’t going to be the one thing that made him fail for his sister, and anyone else who fucking counted on him. He was not like his mother.

Never would be.

Diego sniffled, and shuffled his foot along the pavement. “You promise you’ll come back?”

Jesus.

“Cross my heart,” Renzo murmured, leaning forward to give his brother a kiss to his forehead. “Now, you good?”

Diego let out a sigh that sounded anything but good or confident, but still said, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“All right, then.” Renzo stood, and offered his hand to Diego. “We better hurry up, or you’ll miss your spot today.”

Once the two of them were walking down the sidewalk again, Diego glanced up at him. “Do you think Lucia will be there today?”

He smirked a bit, meeting his brother’s eye and winking. Diego liked Lucia just as much as Renzo did, but not in the same kind of ways or for the same kind of reasons.

“I don’t know, maybe.”

Fact was, he knew Lucia would be there and she was working in the daycare today. At least, that’s what her text said when he messaged her earlier. Which meant that would make this day slightly better for Diego once he figured it out. He wouldn’t complain as much if Lucia was there to keep an eye on him, and distract him for a few hours.

How he reacted when Misty came to pick him up later would be anyone’s guess. Right now, Renzo wasn’t even thinking about that. He just needed to focus on getting through the next couple of days.

Soon, the daycare entrance was in view, and Diego walked a little lighter at Renzo’s side. He knew seeing the place would help the kid. Despite how nervous he was for Renzo to be gone, he couldn’t help but love this place. Smiling a bit, Renzo held his brother’s hand tighter just in case the kid decided to dart ahead of him.

Behind the colorful paint on the windows, Renzo was pretty sure he caught sight of a familiar face—Lucia—but he didn’t get the chance to think on it for long. They didn’t even make it to the door before Laurie pushed it open, and stood on the stoop. Renzo didn’t know what it was that put him on edge, but the woman’s posture sure as fuck didn’t help when she widened her stance and crossed her arms over her chest.

He cocked a brow. “Something wrong?”

“Morning,” she greeted to him, and then to Diego, “Hi, buddy.”

Diego beamed, and waved at the woman who ran the shelter. Renzo almost wanted to tug on his brother’s hand, a silent command to be quiet simply because something felt off. He didn’t have a reason to feel that way, really. Frankly … Laurie had given them a hand out more times than Renzo cared to count. He liked Laurie because she gave a shit about their community. She didn’t care for the whispers she heard about Renzo, and what he did for a living, but she cared enough about Diego and his well-being that she was willing to turn a blind eye to what she didn’t like about the rest.

There were times when shit would have been a lot worse had this woman not opened up a spot for Diego at this place. Not that it mattered when she spoke her next words.

“We won’t be able to take Diego at the daycare any longer, Ren,” Laurie said firmly.

Renzo blinked.

What?

Beside him, Diego just looked confused as he stared between his brother, and Laurie. “Why not? I be good when I come. Like Ren tells me to, right, Ren?”

His hand tightened around his brother’s again, but it felt like the heaviest weight had come to rest down upon his shoulders in that moment. “You’re always great, buddy.” His gaze cut to Laurie again when he asked, “I called yesterday and made sure there was still a spot open for him if I brought him in time, didn’t I?”

Laurie wouldn’t meet his stare. “Things changed, that’s all. I’m sure you under—”

“No, I really don’t fucking understand,” Renzo snapped.

“There’s no reason to get angry and use foul—”

“Oh, fuck off with that.”

Laurie stiffened on the steps, and her defensive posture was back in a blink. “The decision is final, Renzo. You’ll have to leave the property as soon as possible, and without making a scene, or I will have the front desk phone the police.”

Wow.