Nate snakes his arm around my waist. “Dex has a surprise for us.”
Andy, despite his anger, perks up, brows rising. “What? A television?”
Guilt rushes through me. Since my brothers are in college, going to school full-time with their grant money they were awarded, they don’t have time to also work. It’s up to me to keep them fed and sheltered. There’s just not much extra.
“They’re distracting anyway,” Andy tells me, a smile tugging at his pink lips. “I’d probably just watch cooking shows and not do my homework. What is it?”
I drag my gaze from my brother, taking in the small space. When we first moved here, the man who rented the trailer to us, Vern, felt sorry for our lack of…well, anything. He brought us a couch from the Salvation Army, a rickety wooden kitchen table with four chairs, and three gently used air mattresses. The three twin-sized air mattresses are crammed next to each other in the small room and we share a plastic dresser purchased for ten bucks at Dollar General.
It’s not much better than what we had growing up, but it’s ours.
No one can hurt us here.
Unless you count me and my stupid decision to fuck Andy’s only friend.
“You remember back at our old house when we’d take turns sleeping on the bed?” I ask, unable to contain my grin.
“Nate always ended up on that bed,” Andy grumbles, but he’s not mad.
“Our house was cold,” Nate says. “You two are warm.”
Lies. Nate’s just a cuddler. And living in the south can get pretty hot sometimes. Not that either of us ever kicked him out. It was usually me and Andy taking turns sleeping on the floor because two were all that could fit on our dilapidated mattress.
I check my watch I’ve had for five years—only an hour until my surprise arrives. When my uncle came to see Mom before she died, he gave me the watch on his wrist, Andy the shoes on his feet, and Nate all the money in his wallet. He said goodbye to his sister and then was gone just hours before she left us too.
“Come on,” I say, offering Andy my hand. “Let’s make dinner. The surprise will be here in an hour. You’ll see.”
Andy slides his hand into mine and my heart squeezes in my chest. I’d thought, for a moment, that I’d fucked up royally. But, when Nate holds out his arm and Andy steps forward to hug us, I think maybe I dodged a bullet.
My eyes prickle with tears as I bury my face against Andy’s neck. He smells like soap and sunshine and hope.
“I don’t need friends like that anyway,” Andy says with a sigh. “Real friends don’t fuck your brother.”
Shame once again crawls all over me like spiders, invading every inch of my skin. I shudder, trying like hell to shake away the awful feeling.
“Still love you, Dex.” Andy pulls away and dazzles me with a grin. “Even when you do stupid shit to piss me off.” He drops a kiss to my forehead and then one to Nate’s. “I’m starving.”
And just like that, all is right in our world again.
2
Andrew
“Need help?” Nate asks, peeking at the hamburger meat I’m browning on the stove.
The fact he wants to help is progress. His depression was at an all-time low right before our eighteenth birthday. I was scared as hell I’d wake up one day and my brother would have taken his life. So fucking fragile.
The rest happened so quickly.
Birthday. Huge fight with Dad. And then we moved. Just took our meager belongings and hitchhiked our way to the community college one town over.
“You can set the table. It won’t be much longer.”
The dishes and cookware were given to us by Vern’s ex-wife, Lavinia. She also brought us a shower curtain, bathroom rug, and a couple of lamps. Apparently she’s been remodeling her house. She says anything we need, just ask. I hate asking people for shit, though. It always makes Dex feel bad. Like he’s responsible for everything. As if working sixty plus hours a week isn’t enough.
Nate moves around the kitchen gathering dishes while I drain the grease from the skillet. Once I open the can of sauce and stir it in, I check on the noodles. It’s smelling damn good in here. Reminds me of the days when Mom used to make us dinner. My heart aches, but it doesn’t do anything to wallow. She’s gone and we finally left our asshole father’s house.
“Oh my God,” Dex says as he enters the kitchen. “If I find out a way to get a TV so you can watch cooking shows, will you cook more?”
