Page 94 of On the Line

In a defeated tone, he answers, “Huxley’s been arrested.”

At first, I’m not sure if I’ve heard him right, the words ringing louder and louder in my ear.

“Hux was—” I stop short of saying the word out loud. I shoot James a quick look over my shoulder, worried she’ll hear. Anxious adrenaline rushes through my veins, my mind already ten steps ahead knowing the responsibility of bailing Hux out will fall square on my shoulders. “I’ll be right there.”

I hang up and pocket my phone. Turning back around, I grab my shirt from the chair and pull it over my head before finally looking at James.

I keep my face blank, even though I’m having a hard time managing these chaotic feelings. One thing I'm sure of is that I don’t want to rope James into this. Especially not now, when we finally started dating.

The last thing I want to do is ruin it with my family bullshit.

I can manage this alone. I always have before.

James looks up from the bed as I walk up to her. “Everything okay?” The hint of worry in her voice pinches at my heart, but I dismiss it.

“Everything’s fine, baby,” I tell her, kissing her quickly on the forehead. “Just something I need to handle at home. I’ll call you later, okay?”

I barely wait for her response before turning around and running out the door.

Fifteen minutes later,I park my car in the driveway. Anxiety mixed with debilitating rage burns a hole in my stomach as I march up the half-rotten stairs to the porch. The front door leads directly into the living room, and I swing the screen door open, walking in to find Charlie, Sophia and my dad sitting on the couch watching a football game.

“Ozzy!” Charlie scrambles over the top of the couch, jumping down to come to greet me, barefoot and still wearing his Spider-Man PJs.

“Hey, buddy,” I say, giving him a hug, trying to keep my voice light. “Excited for the first day of school tomorrow?”

I catch Sophia’s morose expression from across the living room, her arms tucked tightly over her chest. She doesn’t even let Charlie respond before saying, “Huxley’s in jail, just like Mom.”

My veins turn to ice, my eyes swinging to my dad. “You fucking told them?”

Richard’s mouth opens, shuts, then opens again like a dying fish out of water. “Why wouldn’t I?” he finally says.

My first instinct is to verbally eviscerate him. Of course, he told the kids. He never did understand how parenting works. Never understood that children should be shielded from situations like these. They don’t need to be privy to every bad thing that happens. At least, not until we have the answers to the questions they’ll inevitably have.

Charlie struts back to the couch, flopping back besideSophia, looking unfazed by what’s going on. He clearly doesn’t understand the severity of the situation.

Or maybe having family members end up in jail is all he fucking knows.

After swallowing the venom-filled words down into the swirling pit in my stomach, I motion to my dad with my head to follow me out back.

The yard is a desolate-looking thing. Overgrown weeds and yellow grass cover most of it. The white-painted fence is crooked and chipped, while piles of old bikes rust near the back shed, kept for their parts but never actually serving any real purpose.

The yard is just another embarrassing facet of this fucking dump.

Pulling a cigarette out of my pack, I pop it between my lips.

“Can I have one?” my dad asks before the flame even hits the tip.

I let out another long, annoyed sigh and hand him one. He grunts in what I assume is a thank you because it’s impossible for him to say the actual words. After lighting both our cigarettes, I take a long drag, closing my eyes while I do so, desperately needing to calm down a few notches.

Not feeling even remotely settled, I blow the smoke out and turn to Richard. “So what the hell happened?

“Huxley didn’t say much,” he answers, eyes squinting, looking at the sky. “Something about robbing a liquor store.”

I blink, trying to process what he just told me.

“Something about robbing a liquor store?” I repeat back incredulously. “That’s all you know about your son being in jail?”

He shrugs, scuffing the tip of his shoe against a smallmound of dirt as he takes another drag. He’s been out of the hospital for two weeks but still moves as if his entire body hurts. “You know Hux, I couldn’t get a word out of him. Figured you’d have a talk with him tomorrow when you pick him up.”

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