“Sounds good to me.” Casen brushes past me on his way to the hall bathroom. “Can we get string cheese?” he yells as he turns on the water. “The kind that has the two colors twirled together?”
“Um…” My stomach tightens. “We’ll see if it’s in the budget. Okay?”
“Sure.” The sink cuts off with a squeak.
The kitchen is tucked into the back corner, separated from the rest of the first floor.
“Yellow, huh?” Quinn peeks into one of the pans I’ve already prepped.
“It was the best I could find on clearance.”
They blink at each other, doing the freaky silent twin talk thing for a moment. Then Casen says, “Ours weren’t on clearance. We would’ve been okay with clearance paint.”
I wave off his concern and pick up a roller, nodding at the tan wall I have a sneaky suspicion used to be white. “It’s fine. This will be a whole lot better than what’s here now. When money is less tight, maybe we can paint the cabinets white? What do you think?”
Quinn purses his lips, his head swaying from side to side. “That could look nice.”
“Very basic-bitch white.” Casen bobs his head. “I dig it.”
“Casen!” I scold, though I can’t stop the laughter that bubbles out of me.
“We can handle this since you got it all taped.” Quinn picks up a roller.
I bite my lip. “I guess. Then I could start on the living room.”
Another twin look.
Casen says, “Quinn can take care of the kitchen. I’ll help with the living room.”
“If you’re sure?” The living room isn’t huge, but it’s quite a bit larger than this small space.
“I know we’ve only been here, like, a day,” I ask Casen as we shuffle, single file, to the living room, “but what do you think so far?”
Casen picks up a roll of blue painter’s tape and drops to his knees in front of the nearest baseboard. “Eh. It’s a town, just like any other.”
“Right,” I sigh. “School doesn’t start for a month. Maybe you guys can make some friends before then. Were there kids your age at the arcade?”
Before I’m even done speaking, I internally groan. I shouldn’t have used the wordkids. Teenagers don’t like that kind of thing, do they? I can’t remember what I was like at that age. I had to grow up fast, so I pretty much skipped over that whole phase of life. I went from being a kid to being the adult almost overnight. When Casen and Quinn were born, I was the one getting up with them in the middle of the night, making sure they were fed and changed.
“Some,” he answers.
My shoulders slump. I really hate this one-word answer thing.
Too tired to force conversation, I get to work helping him tape so that we can get to the painting part. Already the smell of paint is stronger than the musty stench the house came with.
We’re almost done with the first wall when he speaks again. “Halle?”
“Yeah, Case?” I keep my eyes on the roller as I coat the wall with paint, eager to get the work done. Painting the main walls of the house is going to be time-consuming.
“Quinn and I were talking. What if we got jobs? Then we could help you with bills and stuff.”
Frozen in place, I squeeze my eyes shut. The heartbreak that his words triggers nearly brings me to my knees. Instantly, I’m transported back years. To when I was a girl, knowing we had no money for food or clothes, saying the same thing to my mom. She immediately jumped at the suggestion. And for a moment, it felt good. Knowing I could help her. Knowing I could make life better for my brothers. But I was way too young. Instead of just being a kid, I took on the brunt of responsibility for our entire family.
“No, Case.” I exhale, letting the pain out with my breath. “Maybe when you’re older. And only if you want to—a-and your money would be yours. I’m…” I don’t want to lie to him. He’s too smart for that. They both are. “Things are tight, but we’re not that bad off. You two don’t need to worry, I promise.”
His eyes drop to the stained carpet beneath him. “Are you sure?”
My rambunctious, spunky, downright annoying littlebrother looks like he’s on the verge of tears. I hate the idea of either of them having to carry the burdens I did at their age. That was the whole point of my fight to gain guardianship.
