He never once came by to see me or even considered gracing me with his presence. Yeah, that’s some brotherly love right there.
The time before that, I only laid eyes on him by pure accident. I was driving past Miller’s Quick Stop and saw him cutting across the lot. His head was down, and his hood was up, like he was hiding from the whole damn world. He didn’t look up.
He had no idea I was there or that I’d seen him. Or maybe he did. Maybe he’d just pretended he didn’t. Either way, he was there and then, poof. He was gone. It was like he’d never been there at all.
I’m not gonna lie, that shit stung.
It was just another reminder that my big brother wanted nothing to do with me. And now, hearing that he’d asked about me made me wonder if something had changed.
A man can hope, right?
I exhaled, hard and long, and Memphis shot me another look. I didn’t give one back. I made up my mind right then and there that I was done being blindsided. I was done being the last to know he was in town. More than that, I was done being fucking ignored and treated like I didn’t fucking matter.
Screw that shit.
As soon as Prez wrapped up the meeting, I stood and started out of the room. A couple of the guys called out to me, but I ignored them and continued out to the parking lot. I had to see my dad.
It probably wasn’t the smartest move I could make.
The man had a talent for closing himself off from the real world, and it was doubtful that I’d get anything out of him. But I had to try.
I hit the cool air outside and went straight for my bike. I didn’t bother with gloves. I just slipped on my helmet and turned the key, letting the rumble of the engine drown out everything else. I eased through the gate, and once I was on the main road, I eased the throttle back and sped over to Dad’s place.
I felt a punch to the gut the second his house came into view. It wasn’t a disaster. There wasn’t trash everywhere or broken windows, but it looked tired, like the whole place had given up a long time ago. It was a far cry from what it used to be.
There was a time when it felt alive, warm and loud. Now, the paint was faded, the porch sagged just enough to make you wonder if it’d hold you, and the flowerbeds Mom used to fuss over were full of dried, dead weeds. The screen door groaned with neglect, and the front light burned out months ago.
The inside was even worse.
The lighting was dim, like a scary movie kind of dim, the curtains were always half-drawn, and the air was stale andfull of dust. It wasn’t exactly dirty, but it wasn’t clean either. Everything was worn and lifeless, just like Pop.
He sat in his beat-up recliner with his feet kicked up, a beer in hand, and even though the TV was always on, his eyes were glued to his phone. And like always, he didn’t even look up when I came in.
Of course, he didn’t.
The man could’ve cared less who’d just walked in.
I walked over to his chair and stood in front of his black socks as I said, “You didn’t answer.”
“Didn’t have one to give.”
“There has to be something.” He just shrugged. “So, you don’t have any idea why he was here?”
“Just stopped by.”
“For what?”
He glanced up and scratched his cheek before answering, “Didn’t say.”
“What did he want?”
“Nothing, I don’t guess.”
“You don’t guess.” Something was up, and it wasn’t good. I could feel it in my bones. I dragged my hand down my face. “He hasn’t been here in months, and he shows up last night for no reason?”
“I reckon.”
“He asked about me?”
