Page 40 of Dirty Cops Next Door

“You two are just making a mess!” I laughed when I saw onion peels, bell pepper husks, and tomato seeds from freshly cut tomatoes all over the counter.

“It is a mess that shows how much I love you, sis!” Eric grinned at me, that cheeky little grin that brought to mind his little boy face once again.

I would always have him, no matter what. That helped a lot as I dealt with Grant’s rejection.

“That love better extend to cleaning up afterward!” I picked up a sponge and started to wipe everything down.

“You know the rules, Toni. The cook only cooks, the eater does the dishes!” Eric grinned at Mark this time, bringing him into the joke.

I raised an eyebrow at both of them. “Now look, if you two are just going to join forces against me we’re going to have to have a talk. I can’t win when it’s two on one!”

Eric burst out laughing and I glared at him.

“Get used to it!” I knew he was making a joke at my expense, even if Mark didn’t, and I wanted to box his ears. It was funny though!

“Ha, men! They’re all the same!”

“Not all of us, Toni.” Mark’s voice was quiet, as though afraid of overstepping his bounds.

“You’re right, Mark. You do all seem to have an affinity for avoiding dish washing though.” I gave him an easy grin, letting him know it was alright to join in on the fun.

I wanted him to feel included, loved, and like he had people he could come to. He’d had a much harder life than I realized and now I just wanted him to give him what all kids deserve. A family.

“You know Dad’s never going to get out, right? He almost killed a cop. And killed those two men. It’s all on tape.”

“Have you heard anything about the money? Maybe we can use some of that to help get your mom back.”

“Not yet, but the lawyer is trying. I don’t have a lot of hope for either. Mom was caught with a lot of drugs on her. I don’t think the money will be released either, not until they figure out what’s drug money and what isn’t.”

“We’ll take care of you, either way, Mark. Don’t worry.” I shouldn’t have brought that up, he was worried about money now.

“I’ll get a job, Toni, I won’t let you take care of me. You don’t deserve that. Not after what Dad put you both through.” He hung his head, standing beside my little brother, and my heart broke for him.

“You didn’t have anything to do with any of that, Mark. It’ll be good to have some help, but only if you want to. Worry about school first, yourself. We’ll find a way to make it all work.”

“Thanks, Toni.” He went back to chopping garlic, his face relieved.

“I’m going to get some work done in my room. Call me when it’s ready, fellas.” I left them, chatting away about some new music video they’d watched, and wished my own life were as easy to sort out.

* * *

David

“Grant,you can’t just keep rejecting her like this! What’s wrong with you, mate? You’re really hurting her and you know how vulnerable she is!”

Grant took his pain pills and turned back to the television screen, back to the zombie movie he was watching.

I’d been trying to get him to agree to go over and see her and Eric. Eric had texted me earlier, asked me if we wanted to come eat lunch with them, but Grant had flat out refused to even look at that chair unless he needed to go to the bathroom since we’d got home.

I left him in his room and went in to heat up some fried chicken in a box. I’d been given some time off to help Grant out in his first week home, even though a nurse had arranged to come and check on him once a day. Later, if he still wasn’t walking, he’d get a more permanent helper that would come in during the day and one in the evenings, if he wanted.

I went into the living room and poured myself some scotch. Settling into the couch, I couldn’t help but remember the one night we’d had with Toni. That night had changed everything, it had changed me. If I could just get Grant to remember that, we could move forward. He wasn’t going to be paralyzed forever, but I knew the problem went deeper than that.

He’d almost lost his life. It was changing him, making him afraid. I hated seeing that.

I slugged the scotch back and looked at the clock on the wall. I needed Toni. I needed to touch her, to smell her, to taste her, to make the world disappear.

I’d have to do it without Grant, and I wasn’t sure that was right. We were supposed to all be doing this together. Grant was the one bailing on us though, right?