Page 11 of In Spades

“Thought you were Chase,” he grumbled. “Where’s your car?”

I sighed and yanked my bag out of the back seat. I was grateful that Chase had a spare vehicle that could fit the five of us. It was tight, but it was better than nothing. “The car crapped out on me when I was leaving work to go to Maddie’s house. Chase picked me up and loaned me the truck until Steve can get my car running again.”

“The car’s a piece of shit,” Logan mumbled as he scuffed his toe against the door frame.

I locked the truck and walked inside before the mosquitoes ate me up. “Logan, I?—”

“I know, I know … you’re tired. You don’t have the capacity to put up with us tonight.” He dragged his feet through the combination living room, kitchen, and dining room.

It wasn’t big enough for one of those rooms, much less all three.

“I’m going to bed,” he grunted.

“Logan, I was going to say thank you for holding down the fort tonight.”

He stopped in his tracks.

Logan had more on his shoulders than any seventeen-year-old should. He and Kylie were twelve and ten when our parents were arrested. Back then, they had a pretty good grasp of what had happened. Now they knew every disgusting, dirty detail. Hunter was seven at the time, and we did our best to shield him from the ugliness.

Thanks to the small-town rumor mill, it didn’t take long before he caught up.

Sweet Zoey was the only one who remained untouched, but I knew it wouldn’t stay that way forever. It would actually surprise me if she learned how to read before she learned about drug trafficking.

Logan stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. They used to be Steve’s. Logan was growing through clothes faster than I could find them at the Goodwill. Thankfully, Erica had dropped off a box of Steve’s things that he couldn’t fit in anymore. I guess that’s what happened when he started working out like a maniac and went from looking like mild-mannered Bruce Banner to being built like The Hulk.

“Hunter did his homework. Kylie helped Zo brush her teeth, then Ky hid in her room all night.”

Sounded about right.

Hunter. That kid had a gentle spirit and a sharp mind. It would take him far in life. Unfortunately, it also meant that he got picked on at school.

Kylie was sixteen and lacked parental guidance. I tried. Dammit, I tried hard, but meaningless platitudes were the best I could offer. It’ll get better, and all boys are terrible at sixteen.

And then there was Logan. He flip-flopped between being a rebel without a cause and being the man of the house. I couldn’t blame him.

He should have been worrying about things like having a girlfriend, making the football team, or what colleges he was going to apply to. Instead, he spent his after-school hours with the door to his bedroom door shut, drowning out the chaos of life with heavy metal and video games.

That was all thanks to the poker club. They smothered the kids with presents for Christmas and birthdays.

“How was school?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I pulled my pillow and blanket out of the woven basket I kept beside the couch.

Logan shrugged. “Fine.”

I flipped open the trunk that tripled as a makeshift coffee table and my dresser, and pulled out a pair of pajamas. Really it was just an old shirt and gym shorts. “Did anything good happen?”

He huffed. “Nothing ever does.”

“You wanna talk about why I got a call from the school telling me I needed to come in for another meeting about your grades?”

“Nope.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Logan was a smart kid. Five years ago, he was getting awards in math and science. Now, he was failing across the board.

I sighed softly. I loved my siblings, but I hated being a parent to them. “We’ll discuss it this weekend. I’m giving you a week to come up with a plan and prove to me you can get your act together.”

He scoffed. “Or what?”

He had me there. We had nothing I could ground him from, and there wasn’t excess for me to use as a reward. I looked around our home. Most people wouldn’t consider a single-wide in a run-down trailer park a suitable house, but it was ours, and it had to be enough.

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