Chapter Two

Luke

My head still pounded from the hangover I had from the night before. Luckily, I only had one more class to get through, then an interview with someone from the school paper. Then I could be home for an hour or so before going to work, enough time to get a little homework done.

I rubbed the back of my neck. Some of last night was still a blur—well, other than the part where Jack, Brady, and I destroyed some of the statues in the park, which in hindsight probably wasn’t such a good idea. What would happen if someone found out it was us? My stomach tightened with nervousness. Damn it. What had I been thinking?

But it’d felt awesome to let loose. To forget about all the responsibility piled on my shoulders. About having to work to help my mom make rent or keep groceries in the house or whether I could find someone to watch my brother when my mom and I were gone. It was nice to pretend I was someone else for a while. Someone who wasn’t the man of the house or worried about having perfect grades or having a deadbeat dad.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I took it out. “Hey, Mom,” I answered. “What’s up?”

“Is there any way you can go get Landon? The nurse at the school called and said he’s throwing up. They’ve got him in the office right now.”

I sighed. “Well, I was heading to sixth hour…”

“I’m sorry, Luke, it’s just we have a big client coming in in a few minutes. My boss really needs me here. You know I’d leave if I could. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.” Mom sounded desperate.

And of course she knew I couldn’t say no. “Fine. Call the school and let them know I’m leaving early.” With a sigh, I went to my locker, grabbed my books, stopped into my sixth hour long enough to hand in one homework assignment and grab tomorrow’s, then I headed out.

When I got to the elementary school, Landon was waiting in the office for me, bucket in hand. His blond hair was sticking to his forehead. His eyes welled with tears, his cheeks paler than normal. Seeing him this way, it tore me up. I hated it when Landon cried or got sick. When I couldn’t fix things for him.

“Luke, I got sick.”

“I know, buddy. Let’s get you home, okay?” I signed him out, then grabbed his hand and led him to my rusted Gremlin—it was maroon with yellow, green, and blue stripes. Not the best-looking car, but Mom had gotten a really good deal on it. And since it got me where I needed to go, I drove it.

Once I got him home, he rushed into the bathroom. “Luke—I’m going to be si—”

I heard him puke and hurried in with him. He cried, and I rubbed his back. “It’s okay. I’m right here.” Unlike our parents, who were always absent. I loved him. He was the only thing that kept me going sometimes. I wanted him to have a better life. To not be a senior in high school and paying the household bills.

Or be like me, putting on a show for my friends to keep up the facade that we still had money when we were living in one of the shittiest neighborhoods in the city. The only one of my friends who even knew about our fall from grace after my parents’ divorce was Brady.

For the next hour, I sat on the bathroom floor working on homework while Landon vomited up everything but his guts. Some days I felt more like the parent. Always taking care of Landon, cooking dinner, working. Of course, Mom apologized profusely. But she worked two jobs trying to make ends meet, so I couldn’t exactly fault her. Except when she came home drunk after a bad day. The whole situation was so unfair. While my friends went to the mall or movies, I was always stuck here or at work. People I hung out with didn’t need to work—their parents were loaded. So when they questioned why I put in extra hours at the pizza place, I blamed it on my mom wanting me to learn responsibility, not on the fact that we needed the paycheck or that my dad didn’t pay child support. But I knew taking care of Landon was worth every hour I spent working my ass off.

My dad. I hated him. He hadn’t even seen us since the divorce. Rumor had it that he was living in Italy with a new wife. Living it up while I worried whether we’d be evicted or not and whether we’d have enough cereal to last the week. Another lie I kept from everyone. My friends, other than Brady, thought my dad worked out of the country and that was why he wasn’t around.

I clicked my phone to check the time. “Shit.” If my mom didn’t get home soon, I’d be late for work, which I couldn’t let happen again. So far my boss had been pretty understanding of my situation, but I knew if it happened too many times I’d get canned.

“Luke, are you mad at me?” Landon touched my arm, raising his head up from the seat of the toilet.

“No. Of course not. I could never be mad at you.” I ruffled his hair. “Look, why don’t we get you settled in on the couch. I can put your bucket right next to you.” I carried him into the living room. Then I went to get him a cup of water and a couple of crackers. “Do you want me to turn on some cartoons?”

“Yeah.” He snuggled under his blanket.

After he was bedded down, I rushed upstairs to put on my work uniform, then grabbed my phone to call Sammie. God, I hoped she was home. She picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, what’s up?” she said.

“Hey, I wondered if you might be able to come sit with my brother for a little bit? I have to leave for work, and my mom isn’t home yet.”

“Sure, I’ve got nothing going on. I’ll be there in a second.”

Sammie had been a lifesaver. Ever since she turned fourteen, she’d been able to fill in for me when I got busy or had to leave. And Landon loved her. Mainly because she did stuff with him. Not only did I pay her money out of my checks, but I also gave her a lift to school sometimes.

A knock sounded at the door, and I hurried to answer it. Sammie stood there, her blond ponytail swishing back and forth as she shifted from one foot to the other.

“Hey, come on in. Landon’s not feeling good, so he’s on the couch. I left some money on the counter for you. Super owe you one for coming over like this.”

“No biggie. I don’t have a life, not like some people.” She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Besides, Landon’s fun to hang out with.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you later.” I rushed out the door, carrying my school bag with me. Between customers, I planned to work on my math and science. Hopefully I could get enough done so I wouldn’t have to stay up too late again. As it was I wouldn’t be home until some time after eleven.

Last night’s break seemed so far away already. Maybe I shouldn’t have ruined the statues. It’d probably cost a ton to fix them or replace them. Guilt gnawed at me. But I didn’t forget how freaking awesome it felt to tear up my grandpa’s statue. To show the Presslers we didn’t need them. Besides, there was no taking it back now, even if I wanted to.

With a sigh, I put on my seat belt. It felt like all I ever did was run. To school. To pick up Landon. To work. To weight training for basketball. And when I wasn’t doing that, I had to fit in studying to keep up my grades. The last time I’d seen Mom had been three nights ago. She was either coming in after I’d already gone to bed, or she was in bed when I was getting in.

As I pulled out of the driveway, I blasted rock music. Pretending I was heading somewhere far away and not to work. Like I was on a road trip. It would be awesome to just keep driving. To not look back. To have no worries. Maybe hit the highway and go south. Hang out on the beach for several days. But that was just a dream. I could barely afford to drive my car back and forth to school.

I parked at Crusty’s Pizza. With a groan, I pasted a fake-ass smile on my face and climbed from my car. If I was lucky I’d make some good tips tonight. The one thing I learned working here was the nicer you were to people, the more you got. Say a few pretty words and boom. Tips. Only had to get through five hours.