by Rye Hart
“So I guess that means you're going to call the cops, huh?” he asked.
I didn't want to call the cops. Getting Nolan in trouble with the police was the last thing I wanted to do. He'd lost enough already and starting him on that path with the cops – the path where he'd be labelled a troublemaker and constantly harassed – didn't seem fair.
“What if I called your brother instead?” I asked. “Would he come get you?”
Nolan nodded.
“Fine, give me his number then,” I said.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialled the number as he recited it for me. It rang a few times and went to voicemail. Probably because he didn't recognize the number. Not that I blamed him for not picking up – I never answered unknown numbers either.
So I left a message.
“Hey, Shane. So you won't believe who this I – it's Piper. Remember me from high school? Yeah, probably not,” I mumbled. “Anyway, funny story. I have your little brother here at C&S, the convenience store over on Willow and 10th? Yeah, well, he tried to steal some potato chips, and I don't want to call the cops, so I need you to come pick him up.”
I left my number, along with the store number, and hung up. I stared at Nolan whose eyes were wide and frightened. He licked his lips nervously, and I could see his hands trembling.
“If he doesn't call you back, then what?” he asked.
“Why don't you call him on your phone?” I said.
Nolan looked down at his hands. “I don't have a cell phone.”
“Oh,” was all I could think to say.
I felt stupid for assuming all teens had a cell phone of their own these days. It really put me in a tight spot though. I pondered what my next move might be if Shane didn't call me back since I couldn't keep the kid there forever. As I stood there deliberating, the bell on the door chimed as another customer entered the store and started looking around. I had to get back to the front.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I answered it.
“Piper? Is that really you? Did you think I wouldn't remember you?” Shane laughed.
A smile pulled at my lips at the sound of the familiar voice. “Well, you never know. It's been awhile,” I teased.
“How are you?” he asked.
The customer, an elderly woman, stood at the counter and scowled at me.
“I really can't talk right now, Shane,” I said. “But, if you wouldn't mind coming by to pick up your brother...”
“Tell that little punk I'll be right there,” he said.
His voice sounded tired and frustrated. With his parents gone, I had to think he was probably the one caring for his siblings – which couldn't be easy. Not that I knew what easy would be like myself. I was raising my own little monster, but luckily she was only four years old and not into shoplifting yet. Never would be, if I had my way.
“Will do. See you in a bit,” I said before hanging up.
With a stern look at Nolan, I told him, “Come with me,” I said, putting a growl into my voice. “Your brother is on his way down here to get you.”
Nolan dragged his feet, looking completely dejected, but followed me back around the counter where I rang up the elderly woman. She was a regular, knew me by name, and she gave me the kind of look that said she was going to have a stern talk with my boss about me being on the phone.
Luckily, my boss was a nice guy – and would understand about me trying to prevent shoplifters since they were a problem in our neighborhood – otherwise, I might be afraid of losing my job.
“Have a nice day!” I said to her.
The older woman shook her head, grabbing her bag of sunflower seeds and exited the store in a huff. I sighed and turned back to Nolan. He just stared at me, his eyes wide and lost expression on his face. I was glad I hadn't called the cops on him. That would be trouble he didn't need. He was just a dumb kid.
A few more customers came and went, and I glanced at the clock. My shift would be coming to an end before long, so I hoped Shane got there in time. I had to get home before my mom had to leave for work. We split our shifts – she worked at night, I went to school in the morning and worked in the evening. It's what we had to do to make ends meet and make sure someone was at home with Olivia at all times.
The front door jingled as it opened, and in walked a familiar face. My breath caught in my throat as my heart stopped for a moment, then started to ache in my chest as Shane, the love of my high school self's life, stepped into the convenience store.
He still looked sexy as hell too – although, a little rougher around the edges than I remembered him to be. He used to be Walter, Kansas's star quarterback, back in the day. He'd always had a pearly white smile that was made for the front page of every newspaper. His smile was still perfection, along with those kissable, plump lips and the dimple in his left cheek. Chestnut brown hair fell just past his ears that was shaggy and in need of a time but it only added to the natural sex appeal that oozed out of his every pore. His brown eyes matched Nolan's, and they had a boy-next-door quality to them, even nestled into the chiselled features of his face.
My gaze travelled down his body, which looked to still be in tip-top shape all these years later. He wore a black t-shirt that hugged his chest tightly, showing off the muscles in his biceps as he moved his arms. He'd gotten tatted up since I last saw him, having a full sleeve on one arm and a half sleeve on the other, begging to be finished out. The colours contrasted nicely with his naturally tanned complexion.
My jaw was on the floor, and I knew it. Not only knew it, but couldn't help it. I just couldn't stop staring. This was the Homecoming King to my Queen, the man on my arm for every dance our senior year. We parted ways on good terms, or as good of terms as one could expect when your dreamboy gets a full ride scholarship to some fancy tech school in California and had to leave you behind. I didn't blame him, though. I'd planned on going to Kansas University myself. But, well, things don't always work out like we'd planned them.
From the looks of it though, things didn't work out how Shane had planned them either.
“Hey, stranger,” I said once I managed to find my voice again. “I had no idea you were back in town.”
Yeah, the hurt in my voice came out a bit. I couldn't help it. We were a smaller community, and he had to have known I was still around – and yet he didn't come find me. Never stopped by to say hello. Then again, we'd only dated for a few months our senior year, and that was so long ago, I had no right to be hurt. Though, common sense didn't always win out when it came to matters of the heart.
Shane's eyes moved over me, and he smiled brightly. He was clearly happy to see me.
“Hey, Piper. I had no idea you were around either,” he said.
I bit my lip and stared down at the counter, suddenly feeling foolish for assuming he knew. Walter was a small town, somewhat, but large enough that not everyone knew everyone's business. I guess I couldn't really blame him after all.
“Yeah, KU didn't work out too well for me,” I sighed.
“Oh yeah? Sorry to hear that?” he said.
“It's alright. I'm attending classes locally now,” I said. “What about you?”
“Nah, couldn't handle school right now,” he said.
His gaze moved toward Nolan, and the smile on his face wavered a bit. His eyes were filled with regret and a hint of frustration. Probably for opportunities lost, I would have imagined.
“Gotta take care of these knuckleheads,” he said. “And believe me, they're a handful.”
“Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your parents,” I said. “I hadn't heard the news until – well, just a little bit ago.”
His smile fell even more, and he looked down at the ground. He shrugged and wouldn't meet my gaze, almost like he was afraid of what I might see in his eyes.
“It's okay. I tried to keep it on the down low as much as possible,” he said. “Didn't want everyone in our business. You know how my dad was about his privacy.”
From the little I kne
w, his dad had been a very private man. I honestly couldn't remember much about him, except that he had Shane's brown eyes and chiselled features. He'd been the strong, silent type and hardly ever spoke the few times I was over at his house to see Shane. It seemed to stand to reason, based on what I knew that he'd want everything about him to be kept pretty private – including his death.
“How are you, Piper?” he asked, his face softening back up again. “I haven't seen you since I left for California.”
I ran a hand through my jet black hair, which fell loose and straight over my shoulders. Biting my lip, I tried to think of some way I could explain my life in a way that didn't make it sound entirely miserable.
“Good,” I settled on. “I mean, except when I have to crack down on would-be shoplifters. That takes a little fun out of the day, to be honest.”
Nolan groaned. “Can we go now?”
“Thank you for not calling the police. I appreciate it, Piper,” Shane said, then stared daggers through Nolan. “This could have been really bad, Nolan. You know that.”
“Sorry, I didn't expect to get caught,” he said.
“You're almost eighteen,” I said. “Do you know what will happen to you when you legally become an adult?”
Nolan shrugged. “But I'm not eighteen now, so why does it matter?”
“Because it does,” Shane said, his voice tightening and his jaw clenching as he spoke through suddenly gritted teeth. “We have a lot at stake here, kid. Do you really want to go back into the system until you're eighteen?”
Nolan shook his head, but he was no longer looking at Shane. I just stood there, an awkward bystander, with my arms crossed over my chest. A customer came in, grabbed a could of things and then walked to the counter. I rang them up, all the while listening to Shane scolding his baby brother.
I heard bits and pieces – about CPS, about putting their sister Emily at risk, all for a few bags of potato chips.
Then my heart broke when I heard Nolan say, “I was hungry, okay? So was Emily,” he said, his voice so painfully small. “There was no food in the house, and you were nowhere to be found, so I had to improvise.”
My breath caught in my throat, and it took way too long to count out the cash the customer had handed to me. Were they really that bad off? I gave the customer his change and tried to look busy, not wanting to intrude on their talk, but it was hard not to overhear it, especially as both of their voices started to rise.
“I'm sorry, Piper,” Shane said, at last, grabbing old of Nolan's arm and leading him away. “I wish we could have gotten together again under better circumstances, but I have to get going.”
“No, it's fine,” I said, brushing him off. “I'm just sorry again to hear about your parents.”
“Thanks,” he muttered, leading his brother out of the store.
I let out a breath. I looked at the clock and was grateful that my shift was over in five minutes because the butterflies in my stomach were getting restless.
“Freedom, at last,” Marcy spoke up as she walked over to the time clock. “Well, for you, I mean.”
I laughed, feeling like I could collapse. It had been a long day, as most days were, and I was ready to go home and get some sleep. That was if my daughter would let me.
CHAPTER TWO
SHANE
Music blared in the hallway as we approached our apartment, making me groan inwardly. I opened the door and came face-to-face with my baby sister sitting on some douchebag's lap, their mouths pressed to each other, devouring one other like they were starving to death. Obviously, neither one of them had heard us come in – whether it was because of the music, or the wet, sloppy sound of their kissing – so I walked over to my sister's iPod and hit the stop button. The silence was a nice reprieve from the EDM crap that had filled the room moments before, though the wet, smacking sound continued on for a second.
“Hey!” Emily shouted, finally detaching herself from the douchebag's face, her eyes boring holes through me. “We were listening to that.”
“Oh yeah? Looked like you were too busy eating each other's faces off to be listening to much of anything else,” I said.
Even as I spoke those words, I hated how it sounded. Emily peeled herself off her the guy, not even bothering to introduce him. I'd never seen him before in my life, which meant she must have broken things off with whoever she'd been dating before. This guy was scrawny with dyed black hair and pale skin. He looked like one of the emo kids I remember from my youth. Was emo really coming back in style? I didn't want to believe I was that old yet.
The kid waved at me. “Hey, I'm Jake.”
Emily took his hand and pulled him toward her room, grabbing her iPad on the way out.
“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 neighbours call the cops on us again – ”
I pounded on the door again when she didn't answer.
“Emily!”
The door swung open, 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. Deep down, I knew she got it. 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 the day 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 neighbours down the street could have heard it. I didn't ask for any of this. I wouldn't have asked for it. 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. I'd had to go.
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.
