Page 6 of What I Should Have Known

The smile fell from his face as he picked at a seam on his jeans. “Yeah, I know. It’s just…” His brows pulled together. A gentle whistle of a breeze seeping through the cracked windows danced around the cab, the gray leather cooling despite the blazing sun high ahead.

“Just…what? Come on, Raiden, we talk about everything,” I urged.

My little brother tugged at the collar of his red T-shirt. “It’s just, with what happened, I didn’t want to make it seem like I was being inconsiderate.”

“Sometimes you’re way too mature for your age, you know that?” I gave him a smile. “I appreciate it. But it’s not your job to protect my feelings. I’m the older brother, and I’ve worked too damn hard to make sure I never seemed like your dad or some stranger to you for you to keep this from me.”

“So, you’ll help me convince Mom to let me take her to prom?” He raised a brow, looking away from the window.

“Shit, why won’t Mom let you go to prom? Are fifteen-year-olds not allowed anymore or something?”

“No, it’s because of you, dumbass,” Raiden replied with a snicker.

“First off, language. Second—”

“You swear at me all the time.”

“I’m an adult. Now, second, what do I have to do with you not going to prom?” I flipped the signal on and turned the wheel, steering off thebackroad and toward the main street running through the center of Cedar Ridge, Montana.

“Do you really not remember what you did at your prom?”

I stared forward. The old buildings of Main Street a faint blur on the horizon. “Which prom?”

“The one where you managed to blow open the skylight of the pool room and jump into the swimming pool from the roof? You know, the prom that landed yourself in detention for like two weeks and cost Mom and Dad a decent chunk of change to fix,” Raiden explained as if it was obvious.

I grimaced. “Right. I kinda forgot about that one. Wait, why does that matter, though? That was at a different high school, I eventually paid Mom and Dad back, and you’re not me.”

“Bernie, when have you ever not caused trouble?”

“Again, how does that relate to you not going to prom? You’re a straight-A student, a hard worker, you don’t go around blowing shit up like I did.” I lifted my foot off of the gas pedal, easing into town. There were still fewer cars parked along the edge of the road than what I had to weave through back in Chicago. The few we followed simply chugged down the street as if on a lazy casual Sunday drive.

“Turn here.” Raiden tossed a thumb to the right, and I spun the wheel, guiding the vehicle to a side street.

“Answer my damn question, boy,” I said, catching sight of the large white sign with black lettering that readCedar Ridge Humane Societyhanging out front of a weathered cabin-like building.

“Probably because she’s scared I’m going to do the same thing and we can’t afford to start over anywhere. Don’t tell Mom, but I heard her talking about how money is thin and she used the last of Dad’s inheritance to move us out here because that way we’d outright own a house even when the money ran dry,” Raiden explained as the 4Runner bumped over the curb and onto the gravel parking lot.

Rocks crunched beneath the tires as I eased it up to the side of the building. A few shrubs lined the wall, separating the siding and cement walkway that rounded to the front of the building.

“Shit,” I muttered. “So, that’s the real reason Mom moved out here. She couldn’t afford living back in Chicago.”

“You know she doesn’t cash a single one of the checks you send her, right?” Raiden continued as I put the vehicle in park.

“Yeah, I’ve been directly depositing some money lately, but I don’t know how long that’ll work until she notices that too.”

“Mom has a job in town, and I know it pays all right, but yeah…” Raiden’s voice trailed off as he ran his fingers through his hair. I stared out the driver’s window. Parked beside us was a white flatbed Ford with a smidge of rust around the wheel rims.

“Look, you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll figure something out, all right? Be a kid. Go to prom. Get drunk, maybe wait another year or two before you decide to lose your virginity behind the bleachers, but go do stupid shit.” I turned the key, cutting the engine.

“I don’t do stupid shit; that’s you,” my little brother retorted as he swung open the door and jumped down.

“I didn’t do stupid shit. Icausedstupid shit to happen,” I replied with a grin, my feet landing on the gravel. Raiden jogged around the nose of the 4Runner and met me on the sidewalk.

“When did you lose your virginity?” he asked.

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and ripped him to a halt. “First off, I will not be answering that question. Second, if I find out you bumped uglies with this chickafterI helped convince Mom to let you take her to prom, I will cut off your balls before Mom does. Understand?”

Raiden swallowed stiffly, his blue eyes rising to mine. “Yes, sir.”

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