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“I think Jake needs to be heading home,” I said. “It's late.”
Emily ignored me, slamming her bedroom door and clicking the lock into place.
Nolan flopped down on the couch and groaned. “Great. Now I'm stuck out here.”
Fuck. When did I ask to suddenly be the father of two teenagers? My head was pounding, and I paced the small living room. Nolan just watched me, closely, annoyed that his sister had locked him out of their shared bedroom to make out with her boyfriend. I had to do something, but I needed to calm down. I didn't want to come off like a raging lunatic, or worse, a controlling dad. I remembered being Emily's age and wanting to spend time with girls. It was only natural, sure.
But, now I was understanding how my parents had felt when I'd been a surly kid – if only just a little bit.
The EDM music started again, this time from inside her room. It was muffled, but still loud enough to shake the walls. The only good thing about it, was that I didn't have to hear the wet smacking of her and Jake munching on each other's faces.
“No way,” I growled, banging on the bedroom door. “Emily, if the neighbors call the cops on us again – ”
I pounded on the door again when she didn't answer.
“Emily!”
The door swung open, and the music stopped. I stood there, mostly in shock that it had worked and that my sister hadn't just continued to ignore me. She shoved Jake out of her room and toward the front door, mumbling something I couldn't make out. I watched as she kissed him goodbye and closed the door to the apartment behind him. She turned around, a red-hot fury burning in her eyes.
“Happy now, Shane?” she said, her arms crossed in front of her.
“Emily, you know I'm only trying to keep us together,” I said. “We don't need the cops coming around here – ”
She rolled her eyes, cutting me off, but I knew, deep down, she understood. She kicked Jake out herself and had turned the music off. Her little temper tantrum had only been temporary. She seemed to have come to her senses and remembered what was really at stake. It was something we'd been reminded of almost daily since our parents died.
“I know,” she huffed. “I sent him away, didn't I?”
“He wasn't the problem. Not really,” I stammered.
My head was spinning. First Nolan got caught stealing, then I come home to an apartment with music blaring loud enough that the neighbors down the street could have heard it. I didn't ask for any of this. But, even with my head pounding and my nerves shot, I would have done anything to keep us all together.
I was already doing everything I could, and it still didn't feel like enough.
I stared at my siblings. Emily had long, brown hair that was braided to the side. She had our mother's hazel eyes and most of her soft, delicate features. She was fifteen, but still looked a few years younger, and sometimes I forgot she was growing up. It was hard watching your baby sister grow up and discover boys enough on its own. It was ten times harder when you were the one who had to explain stuff like safe sex and birth control to her.
We'd had the very awkward talk already, but God, I prayed every day that she listened to me. The last thing we needed was for her to come home knocked up.
Nolan sat on the couch, head back against the cushion and stared up at the ceiling. No one said a word. We all knew how easy it would be for our lives to be ripped apart. Nolan was almost eighteen, but Emily still had a few years left to go. After spending a month in foster care, I knew she didn't want to go back. Even if she sometimes acted like she couldn't care less.
“Listen, you guys,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “I really hate to be an asshole, but we can't bring unwanted attention down on ourselves. All it takes is for the cops to call CPS, say I can't keep you under control, and you're gone. The last thing we need is for them to look deeper into our lives right now.”
They both grumbled in agreement.
Ever since we'd had to move from our single-family home to this crappy two-bedroom apartment, both of them had started acting up. I worked more than I did anything else just to bring in money to keep us afloat, so I couldn't be home with them every single day like mom had been. We needed money to pay the bills. To eat. Nolan couldn't handle a job along with school and football practice, and I wanted him to have the most normal life as possible. But, that meant they had to be home alone – a lot.
I sighed. “Time for bed.”
“We still haven't had dinner yet,” Emily said.
Fuck. That's right. I'd forgotten. I'd still been at work when Piper called me about Nolan and I'd had to leave early. Who knew if I was still going to have a job or not when I went in tomorrow, but I couldn't let her call the cops.
Usually Emily and Nolan were on their own for dinner, but the cabinets were empty. I reached into my pocket and handed them my debit card.
“Order a pizza,” I said. “Don't go overboard, there's only about thirty bucks on it.”
Nolan took my card.
I hadn't had dinner yet either, but I wasn't hungry. There was too much on my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about Piper, of all things. Seeing her again brought back so many memories. Memories I'd long since forgotten about – like the way her lips tasted when she kissed me, and the silky softness of her hair as it brushed against my face. Her body had filled out a bit, she was curvier than she'd been back in high school, but that only made her look better.
