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Teenagers.
I hadn’t gotten the luxury of being an actual teenager since I had spent the years after my father was convicted being tossed from one foster home to another. Instead of going out and living any form of life, I sat up all night, worrying about my sister and guarding my body. You would think they would keep siblings together in those situations, but that wasn’t the case.
Once I was old enough, I worked my ass off, got my shitty apartment, and saved my sister from foster care. Keeping a roof over her head and clothes on her back wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it. So no, there was never any time for teenage angst and hormonal tantrums, and being twenty-three meant that time had long passed for me.
I sat down with my cup of coffee, hoping to wake myself for the night shift ahead of me, but Gracie came crashing back into the living room.
“I’ve made a decision,” she stated, her hand on her hip.
I sighed. I thought we were finished, but apparently not. “And what decision is that?”
“You’re only twenty-three, Tori, but you act like an old lady.”
I chuckled around the rim of my cup, sipping the potent brew and praying for the energy I needed to get through this. “Thanks.”
“I’m serious. If you don’t start living your life and going out to enjoy yourself on occasion, I’m going to work. There’s nothing you can do to stop me from working.”
Setting my coffee mug down, I ran my palms down my face and breathed deep through my nose.
“Gracie, we’ve already had this discussion. Can we please not right now?” I massaged my temples, my headache growing stronger.
“No, Tori. I’m done watching you work yourself to death. You never do anything for yourself. You eat, sleep, and work. It’s no way to live.”
I agreed, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I never wanted her to feel bad about our lives. I wanted her focused and happy, but I knew Gracie. She wasn’t going to let this go. My sister was a lot like me—hardheaded as hell. I had to give a little if I wanted her to drop it.
“Fine,” I agreed. I exhaled, tapping my finger against the throbbing in my temple. “Maybe I’ll go to a movie with Sadie some weekend.”
She crossed her arms with narrowed eyes. Her thick lips pinched, and her nostrils flared with her annoyed exhale. “A movie? Seriously?”
“What? There’s nothing wrong with going to a movie.”
Wasn’t that what people did? Movies. Dinner. Hanging out. That was the extent of having a life as far as I was concerned. It would be enough for me.
If I wanted Gracie to keep her head in the game and focus on her books, I would need to go out occasionally. I didn’t want to do it, but I would if it meant my sister would quit worrying about me. Maybe I would change clothes and tell her I was out while working. Although, I wasn’t sure that would work since I usually came in smelling like the fryers.
Either way, Gracie needed to think about college and her future, and no way would I drag her down or hold her back. So be it if I had to fib a little to make that happen.
“Fine,” I agreed. I waved my hand in her direction. “You win.”
Her eyes grew wide, and she grinned. “I do?”
I nodded. “Yeah. If it means you’ll stop worrying about my social life and keep your head in those books, I’ll do it.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I’m serious, Tori. Go out. Have a life. You deserve it.”
Maybe I did.
Maybe I didn’t.
Either way, I would do it for Gracie or lie about it.
I finished my coffee and got dressed for work. I left a couple of hours later, knowing Gracie must go to the apartment laundromat alone. It was a small brick building on the side of the two large apartment buildings. The place was falling apart. Out of the eight sets of washers and dryers, only two worked. There were cockroaches and the occasional squatter, but thankfully, nothing dangerous had ever happened there. More than likely, she would read while she did a quick load, but still, any time she had to leave our apartment alone, it worried me.
The bus was running late again, and I stepped into The Huddle just as my shift began, so I didn’t have time to collect myself before I was on the fryers. The place was packed with the Friday afternoon crowd, a precursor to the rowdy Friday night drunks who slurred their orders and fell asleep with their heads on the table.
I wasn’t looking forward to working, but drunkards meant better tips at the bar area behind the grill. The bar would be packed on busy nights, and I spent half of my night on the grill and half of my night tossing orders onto the bar, which meant I got tipped like a server. The drunk diners didn’t even bother to count their cash when they pulled it out of their pockets in crumpled wads. A good Friday night could cover half of a bill sometimes.
“Order up,” I called out and tapped the bell, signaling to Sadie that her order for table twelve was ready.
