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"What the fuck?" Gabe huffs, realizing it won't budge.
"They locked it. Took the key and everything."
This stops Gabe in his tracks, turning to me and asking, "When the fuck did that happen?"
"Earlier, I think it's to stop you from sneaking out."
"This place is like a goddamn prison!" he rants, walking over to the bed and pulling something out of his backpack.
He pulls out a small metal tin, opens it, and retrieves one of his stinky cigarettes, puts it in his mouth, and lights it before flinging himself on the bed.
Thankfully, despite the fact we share a room, we no longer share the bed, as his bed always stinks.
"Oh, Gabe, you know I hate when you do that; it makes the whole room smell of weeds."
Gabe laughs loudly. "Weeds?" he teases. "I think you mean weed," he clarifies.
"Weed… weeds, same thing. Either way, it smells bad."
"It helps me relax, deal with this place, deal with the pressure."
"What pressure? It's easy here." He doesn't respond; just continues staring up at the ceiling as he smokes.
"I don’t understand why you argue with the Jacksons so much. They're good to us, Gabe," I say finally, bored by the deafening silence.
"Whatever," he snaps, rolling over and turning his back on me.
Just a few moments later, I hear snoring. Creeping out of the room, I make my way to the bathroom. As I'm returning, I hear the Jacksons talking in their bedroom. Careful to avoid the creaky floorboards, I move closer.
"What are we going to do with him, Sarah? I can't go on like this anymore. Something’s got to be done," Mr. Jackson says.
"Where did you find him this time?" Mrs. Jackson questions.
"Mark called me to pick him up from the station. He’d found him and his friends graffitiing a building while on patrol."
I inch closer, pressing my ear to the door. "I really think we need to talk to Debbie about finding somewhere more suitable for him. It's not working out here."
I gasp, throwing my hands over my mouth to stifle the sound.
"We can't do that to Nathaniel. He’s settled in so well, but he won't cope without his brother. Those two need each other."
At least Mrs. Jackson’s on our side.
"Something has to change, Sarah…" I hear Mr. Jackson's voice getting closer as he adds, "This family can’t cope much longer.
Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, I quickly run to our room and throw myself under the covers. I lay in silence, unable to sleep with the conversation I just heard playing in a loop in my head. Sure, Gabe can be hard work. He doesn't play by the rules. But surely, they can't honestly be talking about sending him away, can they?
It gets even worse over the following days when Gabe gets caught sneaking out of the house yet again. This time he’s caught doing some sort of shady business, selling the clothes and games the Jacksons buy us to save some money on the side. Personally, I think he's kind of always stuck in fight-or-flight mode. He's spent so many years protecting me, managing Dad's moods, and making sure the house runs smoothly that he doesn’t know how to just relax and be a kid again.Perhaps he feels like he always needs a plan B just in case something goes wrong again.
Things finally erupt when summer is over and the new school year starts. Due to my lack of schooling, the school, and the Jacksons think it's best to put me back a year, so I have a chance to catch up before I enter the second stage of high school in September. This means that Gabriel and I will go to different schools for a year. He doesn't take this news well at all. "What do you mean, you're sending us to different schools?" Gabe fumes, standing up from the table with such speed that it causes his chair to fall backwards and make a loud banging sound as it hits the ground.
"It’s just for one year, to give your brother a chance to catch up," Mrs. Jackson tries to soothe, but it doesn't work.
"It's not happening. He either stays with me or neither of us go to school," Gabe shouts, slamming his fist on the table.
"Now you listen here, young man, it’s happening whether you like it or not. I’m the adult, not you, which means it's my decision." Mr. Jackson replies, this time raising his voice.
"Let's see how much you all like it when I burn down your precious school, shall we '' Gabe bellows as he grabs my arms and virtually drags me off my chair. I turn back as I'm being dragged out the door, long enough to see the shock on both of the Jacksons’ faces. I know he'd never do that, but I don't think they know that.
