Page 22 of Out Of A Fix

“So, Griffin, where are these grandparents of yours?”

“Call me Griff, all right?”

“Okay. And you call me Nash.”

He nodded and then explained that his grandparents lived in Bangor, Maine, where his father was from.

“Now talk to me about Shelly.”

“She’s nice. But her mother’s been sick, and I think when Dad asked her to check in on us, he didn’t remember that.”

“So she wasn’t supposed to stay, just stop by.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s what Tatum said, but I wanted to be sure.”

“He figures I’m here, so we don’t need anyone else,” he said miserably, and his eyes filled quickly.

I took his chin in my hand, lifting his eyes to my face. “You are too young to be watching your brother and sister. There needs to be a grown-up. None of this is on you, you understand?”

He held my gaze.

“Are we gonna have a talk about your drinking? Oh, yes, sir,” I informed him. “Will there be any more pot? No, there will not. And finally, do you think you’re smarter than me and I will never find what you’ve squirreled away in your room? Probably you do. And that’s fine. But I swear to you, I will find everything.”

He sighed deeply, and I let him go.

“There’s no pot in my room,” he husked. “I got rid of it ’cause it makes me sick to smoke it. I can eat it no problem, but the smoking isn’t great.”

I was glad to hear it. Of course I would still look. I had to.

“Where does Shelly live?”

“She lives here, but she’s been staying in Seattle with her mother.”

“Okay,” I murmured as Tatum and Darwin returned with what appeared to be fruit punch and something blue. “What the hell?”

They both laughed at me.

“Everything good was sold out,” Darwin let me know.

“Ohmygod, we gotta get out of here before I die,” I moaned dramatically. “I’m so hungry, I’m getting nauseous.”

They were all smiling at me.

Griff took a deep breath. “I know you’re supposed to protect us from the men who might want to hurt us because of my mom, but will you protect me from other stuff too?”

“Like Chief Wilson?”

He nodded.

“Yes, I will,” I promised him. “And also, the chief of police in Newcastle is all over this and will be sending officers to check up on us. But me, by myself, I will protect you from everything and everybody. I do suspect, though, that with all the people who are gonna be crawling up Wilson’s ass, you’re gonna be the least of his problems.”

Both Tatum and Darwin laughed, because apparently, I was hysterical. Griff, who was older, kindly only smiled.

“What?”

“The ass thing was very descriptive,” Darwin complimented me.