Page 25 of Something New

"Yeah you did, Sadie, but then Mom woke up this morning and found you sleeping in your car with a note on your chest. She's going to start charging you rent for that apartment."

"Why?"

"Because you're obviously not saving your money like you say you are."

"Yes, I am. I spent no money last night, Salem. People paid for all my stuff."

"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better," he said sarcastically.

"What did the note say?"

"It was to you. It said that they would've brought you inside but they were worried about setting off alarms. It doesn't matter. The note has nothing to do with this. You were doing so good, Sadie. You had stopped all this crap for like a whole month."

"This is nothing, Salem. This isn't crap. It was late when I came home, and I fell asleep, that's all. Where's my, have you seen my, oh, never mind, there it is. My camera. I was looking for…" I said all of that, mumbling as I got out of my car and stood up. He had the door open, making me feel compelled to get out. My head was spinning. I knew I was out at 3am because we had been at Waffle House at that time. It was a bit hazy after that.

"I love you Salem, but I'm not going to work. I did that yesterday. I’m going to bed."

"Mom and Dad said you have to come with me or you have to start paying rent."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"I'll just move out of the apartment and take my old bedroom."

"That's not an option."

"They said that?"

"Yes. Mom has her craft stuff in there. You need to get dressed. You're going to be sanding."

"Are you serious right now, Salem?"

"Very serious," he said with a straight face. "You have five minutes. I'll be in the truck."

"I need a shower," I said.

He shrugged. "Whatever you can do in five minutes."

He was not budging on this, and I knew there was nothing I could do. He was upset beyond the point of reason.

I went inside and changed. My head was pounding and everything was pulsing like I was in a dream. I had forgotten my earplugs last night, and my ears were ringing. I had enough sense to secure my cameras in my apartment and grab my things. I put my hair in a ponytail and changed into shorts and a t-shirt before going back outside to meet my brother. I was mad at him for this, but I knew there was no getting around it.

I wore dark sunglasses and kept my eyes half open, going through the motions and quietly doing whatever my brother told me to do. I worked for four hours that morning before we left the jobsite to get something to eat.

"You're buying me lunch," he said in the truck.

It was the first thing he said to me besides bossing me around on the job site, and I let out a frustrated laugh.

"What's so funny? I wasn't joking. It's the least you can do."

"What's that supposed to mean? I didn't do anything to you, Salem."

"Yes, you did. You went out last night and got blitzed enough to end up in Mom's driveway with a note. Phillip and I bailed you out big time last month, Sadie, and this is our thanks? Just right back to where you used to be with those freak sunglasses?"

"What do you mean where I used to be? You say that like I have some kind of problem. I'm not a junkie, Salem. I just go out and party on the weekends. That's what everybody does. That's a normal thing for college students to do. You guys work to an insane level, and that's fine for you, but you don't need to expect me to be just like you. I work. I have a job. I go to school. I have a life. Who cares if I party on the weekends?"

"Mom cares. She's not having it. She said if it happens again you're paying rent. She doesn't even know all we got you out of last month. How can you go through all that and then end up sleeping in your car? It's thirty feet from your bed, and you couldn’t even get yourself there."

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