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He shrugged. “I’ve been so mixed up in the bullshit I haven’t seen Mom much.”
“Have you tried to call her?”
He nodded. “Yeah. No answer. She’s got her head so far up Will’s ass she can’t see anything anymore.”
I believed that. I still hadn’t gotten over being kicked out. She had chosen a guy she barely knew over her own child.
“Listen, I hate to ask, considering what a shitty brother I’ve been lately, but I need you to do me a favor.”
“What?”
“My car is parked at Brent’s place. Hopefully, it’s still there. I need you to go over and get it.”
“Okay, you want me to park it at Mom’s?”
He shook his head. “Hell no. Don’t leave it there. Shit’s crazy at Mom’s house. Just keep it with you. I trust you to take care of it until I’m out. The insurance is covered for the next few months. Drive it and keep it clean. Think you can do that for me?
He was doing me a big favor. As much as I hated driving, I hated walking to and from work and catching rides with Zada more.
“Yeah, I can do that, but what about your bike?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I lost it to Brent. He took it for some money I owed him.”
I shook my head. “What have you gotten yourself into, Erik?”
“I’m sorry, Ev. It’s the game, man. It wraps you up, and you can’t get out of it. Whatever you do, stay away from the Border Lords and the Sons of Sinister. They’re into deep shit.”
I didn’t tell him I was already eyeballs deep into things with a Son. He didn’t need to know how stupid I had been, as well. I wasn’t manufacturing drugs and selling them, but in a way, I was doing much worse. You could walk away from the drugs, but you couldn’t make your heart stop feeling.
I cried when I left him. It was hard to see my brother sitting at rock bottom, but strangely I felt like he was safer in jail than he was mixed in with The Border Lords and the illegal things they did. Perhaps some time behind bars would give him a chance to think about the way he had been living. Maybe he would come out better for it.
Zada took me to Brent’s place, which was just another rundown meth house. I could hardly believe my brother lived in such a situation. His Mustang was parked out front, and as he told me they would be, the keys were tucked away just behind the tire.
“You good to go?” Zada asked from the driver’s side window when I cranked his car.
“Yeah. I’m good. Thanks for the ride.”
She leaned and hugged me. “Things will get better soon.”
I hoped she was right. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I was exhausted—overworked and struggling with my classes more than I ever had before.
Instead of going back to Zada’s, I went to Mom’s place. Erik said things were crazy at Mom’s, and if that was the case, maybe it was best if I used his car to collect my things. I could at least store some stuff in the backseat and in his trunk. There wasn’t much I was concerned about when it came to the things I left behind, but I didn’t like the idea of Dad’s ashes being there and something happening to them.
I was relieved to see no one was there when I pulled up, and I was even more relieved to see my key still worked. I unlocked the front door and pushed it open. The house was a mess, and the stench of cigarettes reached my nose. I could hardly believe it was the same place. The once historical house looked more run-down than it did when we first moved in.
I wanted to be gone before anyone came home, so I sprinted up the stairs and began gathering some of my things and setting them beside the door to take down. I wasn’t there long but had gathered a good bit when I heard the front door open and close.
I paused, listening as the person who entered set their keys down and then started up the stairs to me. Closing my eyes, I said a quick prayer that it was my mom and not Will coming up the stairs. My prayers went unanswered when the door pushed open, and Will stepped into my room.
“Hey, I thought you were Erik. His car’s out front,” he said, acting like I hadn’t caught him jerking off over my bed.
“He’s in jail. If Mom answered her phone, she would know that. I’m keeping his car until he gets out.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
“Damn, that sucks. I figured it wouldn’t be long before he got popped. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with the wrong kinds of people.”
Like he had any room to talk. Will was the worst kind of people.
