Page 2 of Destroying Everleigh

“Sit on the bed. I’ll be right back.”

She nodded, and I hurried down the hall into their room. It sucked that they had to share. Technically, it wasn’t even legal since they were different genders, but there was nowhere else for them to sleep. My bed wasn’t big enough, or I’d share with Emma. School was the only thing driving me forward most days. To make enough money to get my mom the medical help she needed, to be able to offer Emma and Tate a better life. Three years to go, and I’d have it all.

I swallowed thickly, rummaging through her closet to find a new outfit. Clothes were scattered all over the floor. Some of them belonged to my brother, and some were Em’s. I opted for a yellow sundress and made my way back to my room. To my relief, she was still on the bed, not getting into everything like I’d half expected.

“Why don’t you just ask your boyfriend for some money?” Briley asked from the doorway, making me jump.

“Because that’s weird. I have a job. We’re getting by just fine.”

That was the furthest thing from the truth. We weren’t getting by at all, and the last thing I wanted to do was ask my doting boyfriend, Lucas, for a handout. He was on a soccer scholarship, too, but his family was better off than mine. He didn’t have the pressures of taking care of younger siblings, either. He had an older sister, but she was already out of college. He had the luxury of getting to stay on campus.

“It’s not weird,” she argued. “If he loves you like he says he does, then it shouldn’t be an issue.”

My stomach bottomed out at that reminder. We haven’t even been dating a full year yet—in two weeks it would be a year—and he already dropped theLword. I knew there wasn’t a time limit on when you should say it; it had to do with how you felt. But I didn’t even know what love was, or if we even had a future beyond college. His plans were vastly different from mine. He wanted to get out of Colorado, travel, and work in engineering. My obligations were here with my family.

“It’s not happening.” I placed the dress on the edge of the bed and helped Emma out of the one she was wearing. “If you’re worried about finances so much, maybe you could get a job.”

“I plan to. I’m going job hunting after school today. Angie said she’d take me.”

I drew my lips into a tight line before nodding. It wasn’t the life I wanted for her, but she was eighteen. She was an adult, and if it made her feel better, I wouldn’t stop her. Not that she’d listen to me anyways. I did think Angie was a horrible influence on her, though. The girl was a wild card. As kids, they were always getting into trouble. Mom had to bust them out of a college party where they were drinking and people were hooking up out in the open when they were only fifteen.

I helped my youngest sister into her new dress and grabbed the hairbrush off my side table. “Turn your back to me,” I instructed. When she repositioned herself, I started working on her hair. It didn’t take too long since it was mostly still intact. I just had to stuff the extra strands back into her braids before securing them again. “Good as new.” I grinned. “Now let’s go.”

I dropped into my chemistry class with a minute to spare, my heart beating wildly in my chest at having to sprint here just to make it on time. Some of the professors weren’t lenient or understanding and would kick you out regardless of the reasoning behind it. To solidify my point, our professor scowled at me for cutting it so close, her lips pulled into a disapproving grimace. I shot her an apologetic smile and reached into my bag to pull out my laptop. I’ve had it for three years, but it was still in decent condition. I placed it on the table alongside my notebook with two pens inserted in the spirals.

Our professor took to the front of the room, standing before a massive projector as she glanced around the large space. “Since it’s your first day, I thought we could start by getting to know each other a little bit. Consider this your introduction.” She shot me a pointed look. “And remember. If you’re not ten minutes early, you are late.” Silence followed her warning and she folded her hands together in front of her before continuing. “I am Professor Whitlock. This is my seventh-year teaching at Northbrook University. I will be your chemistry teacher for the year.” She turned toward the far side of the room. “We’ll startwith you. Just state your name, major, and what you hope to accomplish within the next five years.”

The person she pointed to rambled off his name, stating that he was a biology major but wanting to get into forensic science. My mind short-circuited back to my family, my throat constricting at how hard things have been for the last three years. My mom was diagnosed with heart disease four years ago and it took its toll on her a year following that. Back then, we had money and could afford to get her seen by a doctor. What we knew for sure, was that she was going to die. We just didn’t know when, or what to look for to predict it. As the months ticked by, she got worse and worse. She wasn’t in a bad enough condition to be bedridden or on hospice, but sometimes it felt like she was headed that direction. The doctor had said that more than half of people live for at least five years after getting it; some lived even longer. She was supposed to have routine checkups, though, and without insurance, or money, we couldn’t afford it. Mom was too afraid to get government assistance, aside from the social security check she got every month. She was afraid that if we went to DHS for help, they’d put Emma and Tate in a foster home due to our living situation.

A familiar voice rang out, slicing through my thoughts. “My name is Amber Davis. I’m majoring in microbiology. I chose this field because I’ve always enjoyed science.”

Amber was my best friend. Like Briley, we didn’t have a lot in common, but somehow, we became good friends practically as soon as I started school here. She was pretty, popular, cared about partying, but also made sure to take school as seriously as she could. I wasn’t in any position to have friends, or a boyfriend for that matter, but she and Lucas forced their way into my life, and they just stuck. Amber was the only person I’d bothered to confide in about my home life and about things that had happened in my past.

People continued to ramble off their introductions, and eventually, it was my turn. Professor Whitlock gave me an expectant look, holding her hands in front of her as she’d been doing since I slipped into my seat. I hated speaking with a lot of people watching but knew that if I wanted to be a nurse, there was no way out of it. My throat was thick with nervous energy, and I forced myself to swallow past the lump that had formed in the narrow passageway.

“My name is Everleigh Knight. I’m working on my undergraduate for my Bachelor of Science in Nursing.” I took a deep breath, trying to remember what else we were supposed to say about ourselves. “Within the next few years, I plan on graduating and getting my mom the medical treatment she needs.” They didn’t need to know that I also planned on taking care of my two younger siblings like they were my own, or that my mom was practically on her deathbed.

Professor Whitlock’s features softened at that, her weathered face holding sympathy instead of the scornful look she’d been sporting when I first walked in before class started.

When it was the next person’s turn, I slouched back in my seat, allowing my eyes to flutter closed. My mind was always spinning, overtaken with anxiety and the horrors of what the future held regarding my mother. Even if I got her around-the-clock care, she would still die. It was a terminal illness, and unfortunately, there was no cure or treatment for it. All they could do was try to keep her comfortable and as healthy as possible to prologue death from gripping her in its clutches.

We’d never been rich, but she always made sure we had what we needed. We didn’t have to worry about finances, money, or what we were lacking. My sperm donor split as soon as she was diagnosed, taking the majority of our income with him. He didn’t want to be stuck with raising four kids by himself. Said he didn’t sign up for that. He had been our entire world, andwe never saw it coming. He signed away his rights so that the court couldn’t force us on him when Mom passed, and then he kissed us goodbye with blurry eyes and bolted. He didn’t leave us any money. The house had been in his name, and we ended up having to move later that year to the gutter we lived in now.

The girl beside me glanced in my direction, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. It took me a minute to realize that I knew her.

“Rosalie?” I whispered. “I didn’t know you were in this class.”

She smiled slightly. “No? My introduction didn’t ring any bells?”

I huffed a laugh. “I might have zoned out.”

Rosalie was in our circle. We weren’t extremely close, but we ate meals together if we had the same lunch period, and sometimes she would go do things with us, but only if her boyfriend didn’t request her presence. They spent a lot of time together, so she was usually stuck up his ass—not that I could blame her. Alex was cute, just not my type. He usually ate with us, too. Then again, Lucas hadn’t really been my type either, but he was a nice reprieve from the guys I normally dated, not that I had a lot of experience in that department. I’d only had sex with three people, and only dated two of those people.

I cracked my eyes open after closing them again, not wanting our professor to think I was sleeping and call me out on it. I loathed attention. There was no purpose for it. Especially if the kind of attention was humiliating.

“Alex is on the soccer team this year,” Rosalie explained, even though I didn’t give a shit. I had so much on my plate lately that her boyfriend’s hobbies didn’t concern me.

“That’s awesome. What position?” I might not have cared that her boyfriend was on the team, but I could talk about the sport itself for hours. It was my solace. When I played, nothing else mattered. Nothing else was happening. It was just me,contact, and the ball. Even though the team was a co-ed team, the girls had to try out separately, so I had no idea what guys were joining this year.

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