Page 43 of Sweet Sin

“All right.”

Clearly I need to tread carefully. I’m twenty-two, and when I turned twenty-one, I gained access to my trust fund. Robin and Raven are both twenty-one, so they have access to theirs as well.

But already I know Eagle won’t go to either of our sisters with this issue.

This is a brother thing.

“How much do you need?”

“I can’t fucking believe this.”

“Just tell me how much money you need, Eagle. We’ll get you something to take the edge off, and then you’re going straight to rehab.”

“It’s not that simple, Falcon.”

“How is it not that simple?”

He sighs. “It’s a long fucking story.”

“Then you’d better start talking. Because if you want my help, I need every single detail.”

He stays silent for moment.

“Eagle…”

“All right, all right. You got anything to drink in here?”

“No. I don’t keep liquor in my bedroom. I need you to focus.”

“That’s just the reality of the situation, Falcon. I can’t focus. I need a hit.”

Jesus Christ. What the hell has my littlest brother gotten into?

“What are you doing? Meth?”

“These days, whatever I can get my fucking hands on.”

“For fuck’s…” I inhale, rub at my forehead. “You better start at the beginning.”

He clears his throat, rubs his hand over his face, his lips trembling. “Got in with some bad stuff. Some bad people at school this year.”

“And no one was home to take care of it.”

“Well… You speak the truth. You, Hawk, the girls. All at the university.”

Anger again… “You really want to blame this on us?”

“No. I mean…” His hands tremble as he rakes his fingers through his hair. “That’s not what I mean.”

I’m tempted to berate him further, but I need him to tell me what’s going on. I can’t help him otherwise. So all I say is, “Go on. Take your time.”

He closes his eyes and rubs his temples. Then he opens his eyes again. “It started innocently enough. Smoking a little dope. But then Rod and Marco—”

“Who the hell are Rod and Marco?”

“Rod Johnson and Mark Rodriguez. The guys I started hanging out with. Rod’s brother got some coke, and we tried that.”

“All right.” Anger wells within me for the third time, but I’m determined to stay calm. “So… coke.”

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