by Raven Scott
“May!” My harsh snap made the line go quiet, and I glanced over my shoulder to jut my chin at Frank. He was already getting up, and irritation drudged through my veins when he left me alone. “Stop talking to her, okay. Talk to me. What happened?”
“Everything was fine when I went home to get changed, but by the time I got back at five-thirty, there was three feet of shit and sewage everywhere. Sarah was out all day. The whole building had to be evacuated. She tried to use the garbage disposal on the bird she brought home, and when that didn’t work, she tried to flush it instead of putting it in a few bags and throwing it out.” Releasing a shaky sigh, May sounded on the verge of crying. I winced when that sharpness returned to her voice and practically cut my cheek. “At least I had a great cleaning service number, but the health guy who came by yesterday said it wasn’t enough. The whole building is unstable because of its age. The sewage gorged all the supports and—”
“May . . . May, just breathe. Where are you right now? Are you at your apartment right now?”
“Y-yeah. I’m packing up all the stuff I could save into a truck right now.” I wondered how much this girl could take before cracking. It was as impressive as it was disheartening. I grabbed my jacket to walk out of my office. Frank was chatting up Malory, and she arched a brow as I passed before I shook my head curtly. Punching the elevator button with my thumb as the line went quiet, I shuffled my phone to my other ear.
“May? Are you there?” She sniffled, and I ground my teeth together as my heart thundered against my ribs. “I’m coming to you, alright?”
“I appreciate it, Oran.” The elevator couldn’t come fast enough, and I stepped inside before the doors opened all the way. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have to foot the bill for the hotel room for the two other tenants and the house. I’m probably going to get fired even though I called out. I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t worry about any of that. Just wait for me, okay? I’m going to make some calls, alright? Don’t do anything rash, and I’ll be there in less than half an hour.” May gave a little whimper of acknowledgment, and reluctance slowed my movements as I hung up. Scrolling through my contacts, I leaned against the wall on my way down and held my phone to my ear. The line rang shrilly and a headache sprung behind my eyes as I reached to pinch the bridge of my nose hard. “Shit. Hey, is Luke available?”
“Who’s calling?” Prattling off my name, I was immediately transferred to a hold, and I tapped my foot impatiently. If May got mad at me for throwing my weight around, so be it.
“Mr. Santino, what can I do for you today?”
“I have a job. I’m going to text you an address. Get someone down there within the hour.” The line went dead just as quickly, and I followed up with Luke before the elevator stopped, the doors rolling open without so much as a squeak of protest. Striding through the lobby, I dialed another number as determination stiffened my legs. “Jerry, I’m texting you an address. Find out where the tenants are staying. And the landlord.”
“Uh, okay. Give me like twenty minutes. I’ll e-mail you.” Jerry was Carlyle’s best tech guy. I nodded before hanging up on the way onto the street. This is going to be one huge clusterfuck of a week.
22
May
“May!” My head whipped up as Oran jogged hastily down the street with worry creasing between his brows. “Hey, before you get mad, I know you don’t appreciate it when I throw my name out there, but I thought this was a special circumstance.”
“What did you do?” Exhaustion slurred my voice, and Oran came to a stop in front of me just as a work truck pulled up tight behind the moving truck. “Do I even want to know?”
“Ah, well . . . ” Reaching to rub the back of his neck, Oran developed a sheepish expression, and as much as I wanted to feel flattered and relieved, I was just tired. “Anyway, I took off work for the day. Where’s the owner of the place?”
“He’s been giving me nasty looks from halfway up the stairs all weekend. They just finished draining all the sewage out, but I had to keep my important dry stuff up on the landing . . . ” Gesturing behind me, I held my forehead in my palm as an ache threatened to pop my eyes from their sockets. “Sarah’s hiding somewhere to avoid the responsibility of carrying stuff down the stairs. I’m so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“Luke, I’m surprised you came yourself.” Glancing up as Oran shook hands with a guy I didn’t recognize, I rubbed down my face and arched my back sharply. They seemed pretty friendly, and I stood up as Oran gestured to me. “May, this is Luke, a contractor working for my brother. He’s the best in Washington.”
“Thanks for coming out to give me an estimate on how much they’re going to sue me for damages.” Luke got a funny look on his face as I stuck out my hand, and I frowned under furrowed brows as we shook hands. Suspicion gripped my chest and my lips thinned before I cast a shrewd glance at Oran.
“Uh-h, I’m gonna . . . go inside and find . . . other people.” Luke rushed into the three-family building and away from the tension. I turned to Oran fully with a sourness coating my tongue.
“I didn’t do anything stupid, I swear.” He held up his hands in surrender, and I exhaled sharply through my nose as he started to roll up his sleeves. “I’ll carry your stuff to the truck.”
“You don’t have to, Oran. Sarah did this, so she needs to carry it all. I’m just out-stubborning her at this point.” Oran frowned, and I frowned . . . we both just frowned at each other for a long, tense moment. He finished rolling up his sleeves, his tattoos on full display, and my eyelid twitched in agitation when he cocked a brow.
“Let me help you, May. You can be salty about it later, okay?” Brushing past me, Oran rubbed my crown gingerly and I huffed as I rested my chin on my knees. “Don’t worry about anything.”
“Oran . . . ” Groaning in foreboding, I couldn’t even think of something more to say, any questions to ask, and he stepped past me without replying. My hands shook as I raked them through my hair to clasp the back of my head, and I ground my forehead against my knees. Guilt clogged my throat, but exactly how guilty was I supposed to be? This wasn’t my burden. This wasn’t my responsibility.
My sister wasn’t my burden, and cleaning her messes wasn’t my responsibility.
Sarah was just . . . my sister. She couldn’t be anything else or our relationship would shrivel. If it hasn’t deteriorated beyond repair already.
I needed to take care of myself, and Sarah’s thoughtlessness was going to ruin my life. I had nowhere to live. I had school debt, and now, I’ll have suit debt I’ll probably never shake. If this cleanup takes any longer, I’ll be out of a job by Friday.
How could one impulsive decision completely destroy the last four years of my life? And it wasn’t even my decision!
“Watch your head.” Glancing up as Oran carefully skirted around me, a big box in his hands, I ducked my head when he took the short step to the walkway. His arms strained, lean, hard sinew working under inked skin, and he effortlessly carried the box to the truck and hoisted it into the bed.
“Do you think I’m making a mistake?” Posing the question, I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and icy prickles rippled up my sternum. “My mom threatened to put Sarah in a group home if I bought her back.”
“It’s only a threat until she does it, and let’s be honest, here— she probably knew you wouldn’t fight her. You’re still Sarah’s legal guardian, so you can do one of two things.” Wandering over to me and crouching down, Oran smiled a little viciously, and my breath caught at the bright glint in his eye. “Number one, you can suck it up and keep shouldering this. Number two, you’re your sister’s court appointed guardian and that authority supersedes your mother’s as her birth parent. Sue her for child support.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, Oran.” My bland tone earned me a frown, and I shook my head slightly as a weight threatened to crush my shoulders. “I’d get laughed out of the courtroom if I tried to s
ue my own mom for my sixteen-year-old sister’s child support.”
“You know, May, you’d be surprised how fucked up your situation truly is, and how quickly a particular strict judge I happen to be in good standing with will react in your defense. Not only that, but you have Sarah’s condition as a card to play, and the fact you have a younger brother still living at home with no problems.” Reaching to caress my cheek, Oran’s eyes hardened and narrowed, and my mouth dried in expectation. “A threat is always empty. If someone has to make the threat, chances are they’re not going to follow through with it. It’s your own feelings that give a threat substance.”
“I take it you don’t make many threats.” My lips quirked up, and Oran rocked back on his heels to hum softly. “Would you really do that for me? Bribe a judge?”
“I wouldn’t need to do anything but get you in front of him, but I would if I had to. Regardless, May, your life is suffering because of this. You’re not bad, you’re not selfish, and you’re not betraying anyone. You’re just . . . you. You can’t be more than that.” Cupping my cheek gingerly, Oran’s palm was warm and calloused, and I closed my eyes to soak it up. Turning into his hand, I took a deep breath thick with his smell, and he smiled tenderly when I cracked open my eyes.
“You better be careful. Otherwise, I might think you’re into me.” He grumbled lowly at my rasp and I reached to wipe my eyes of their achy sting. “Thanks, Oran.”
“You’re welcome.” His eyes flickered away from me, above my head, and I twisted as Luke came bounding down the stairs before hiking up his jeans roughly. Straightening, Oran cleared his throat, and I followed suit before Luke leaned heavily on the door frame. Suddenly, the whole world didn’t reek of shit and dead animal.
“So, I talked to the owner. He’s going to bring by the information we need by the end of the week. I’ll let you know what I know when I know it, boss.” I didn’t even want to know what that meant right now. Luke walked to his truck to hop in and pull off the curb. For a moment, we stood in silence, and I sniffed a sharp inhale as I rubbed my face roughly. The truck I’d rented from Home Depot sat, half full of stuff in the bed I’d managed to save, but . . . I lost almost everything. Anything that wasn’t high enough off the ground was destroyed.
“I’m going to finish the last boxes and then I’ll drive you to your parents’ house, May. You should find Sarah. Maybe not yell at her this time, yeah?” Scowling darkly, I made no promises as I stalked into the house, but the guilt clogging my throat made it impossible to form a whisper, let alone yell. Sarah just didn’t think about this kind of shit, and it wasn’t her fault. Dead animals were biodegradable— there was no reason she would’ve thought through flushing the bird.
Taking the stairs sluggishly, I headed up to the top floor where I suspected her to be hiding. It wasn’t like my sister could go in her room and slam the door. The whole place reeked, but I didn’t have the brain power right now to process it. Sitting on the top step, in front of the landing to the third-floor apartment, Sarah hugged her knees when she saw me.
“Sarah . . . ” I sat down next to her, leaning back to roll my neck as I sighed heavily, and she sniffled as tears streamed down her face. “We’re gonna figure this out, okay? You just . . . you gotta learn from this, alright? You can’t just do something without really thinking it through, okay?”
She nodded and that forbidden thought popped into my head as I wrapped an arm around her.
23
Oran
“What if Mom and you get into a fight?” Glancing over as we cruised the highway out of Seattle and toward the outer boroughs, I flexed my grip on the wheel tightly. I couldn’t get between May and her mother. I could take care of everything else, but this was her fight. As much as I just wanted to use money to solve this issue, it wouldn’t work, and that was a damn big pill to swallow.
“Sarah, if we fight, then we fight. I’m beyond worrying about Mom’s opinion right now.” May was really starting to get bitter, resentful. I reached over the short distance between us to take her hand. Her fingers were cold and trembling, and she huffed a sigh. It’d take us another twenty minutes to drive to her parents’ place in Tacoma, and she was nervous, stuck between a rock and a hard place. “If Mom wants to go there, I’ll fucking go there. I love you, Sarah, but you’re my sister and I can’t keep this up anymore. I know you hate Seattle, anyway. So, we’re going to resolve this one way or another.”
“Do you think she’ll really make me leave?” Sarah sounded so uncertain and it reminded me of that night in Hansen’s so long ago. Pretty soon, it’d start getting chilly and the sun would start setting by four p.m. Normally, Sarah would be worrying about school, not whether she’d be sent to a juvenile facility because her mother is a heartless bitch.
“I don’t know much about guardianship or anything, May, but I just realized your mother can’t make that decision, can she? She gave up all her legal rights to you, so you’d be the one who has to sign everything and make the decision, right?” Sarah sat up a little straighter, hope blossoming in her face, and May frowned under deeply knit brows next to me. “I mean, she could get away with it for a few days until they found out, I’m sure, but . . . ”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” The atmosphere became a smidgen lighter in the truck, and I nodded firmly as my mind churned over this problem. Sarah was bored— she didn’t go to school, she didn’t have a job, she took online classes that made up maybe three hours of her week . . .
The only thing she had was her passion for birds, so I understood how these issues could pop up.
“I should call my lawyer and have him come just so I have some back-up. I wish I thought of it a few days ago.” Squeezing her hand, I pursed my lips thinly at May’s grumble, and she sunk into her seat until her knees pressed against the dash. “I’m sorry, Oran.”
“It’s perfectly fine, May. If nothing else, you saved me from a day of back-to-back meetings.” Flicking on my blinker as we passed a Tacoma exit sign hanging above the highway, I merged into the right lane and touched the brakes before speaking up again. “We’re going to have to reschedule our date.”
“I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time when I get fired.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that, but I think we’ll get to it another time.” She cast me a dubious look, but I kept my eyes on the road as I pressed the brakes when the ramp became visible. The GPS on her phone spoke up, but I’d read the directions briefly beforehand, so I knew generally where I was supposed to go.
Honestly, I hadn’t been to Tacoma yet, but it was a very pretty city from the highway.
The closer we came to May’s parents’ house in Clyde Hill, the quieter the cab became, and I was thrown for a serious loop. These houses were borderline mansions, with expert lawn care, and no cracks anywhere in the sidewalks. Signs warned of kids at play, and every car we saw was shiny and new, parked in front of dual-capacity garages.
“Your parents live here?” Disbelief shone in my voice, and May nodded out of the corner of my eye as a scoff escaped me. “What the hell?”
“They’re very well off. I must’ve forgot to mention that.” Irritation flooded my veins, but not because May neglected to mention where she grew up. That didn’t matter.
What pissed me off was the fact Sarah got kicked out of a place like this and sent to Seattle. These houses were big enough that if they wanted, they didn’t have to ever see her, but they chose to kick her out on her ass. At sixteen.
“At least you don’t have any college debt, I guess. Honestly, I never got the appeal of having a huge house. There’s a thing as too much space.” The GPS spoke up and I turned into a short, wide driveway in front of an immaculate home wrapped in baby blue siding. “This the place?”
“Yeah.” I turned off the truck, but neither May nor Sarah made a move to get out, and I sat back to glance between them. How much this must’ve hurt, on so many different levels, I’d never understand. After a heavy, hesitant moment, May move
d to unbuckle, and I popped open the door to slide down onto the asphalt.
A woman who must’ve been her mother stepped out of the house, and I helped May down before Sarah came awkwardly scooting across the cabin. I didn’t know what to expect and anxiety buzzed behind my eyes as curiosity and dread burrowed in my gut. Shutting the truck door, I caught Sarah’s mother pause at the sight of her youngest daughter, and an ugly, black blotch spread across my chest.
“May, Sarah, what a surprise.” Blonde hair bounced as she walked down the pathway to the driveway, and I leaned on the truck to fold my arms over my chest. They had the same eyes, May and her mother, and they flashed a murky green when they landed on me. “Who’s this? Your boyfriend?”
“Yeah, but that’s not important. Mom, I need you to take Sarah for a few days. The sewage backed up in my apartment, and I need her out of my hair for, like, a week tops, just until I get everything settled with my landlord.” Fudging the truth, May spoke sternly, but her mother clearly didn’t hear anything she’d said after ‘yeah’. Turning to me, the older woman scanned me up and down, and I kinda liked the disapproval that flooded her eyes. My sleeves were still rolled up, and she frowned, deepening the wrinkles around her mouth.
“I guess you have to start somewhere to help your self-esteem, May.” Clenching my jaw at that, I frowned as May exhaled a horrified gasp and she planted herself right in front of her mom to prop her fists on her hips.
“That’s not what we’re here for. Did you hear anything I just said? My apartment is unlivable and I need your help, Mom.” My cell rang, so I rounded the front of the truck as May struggled to deal with her mother. Fishing the device out of my pocket, I shook my head wildly as Landry’s name flashed on the screen before taking the call.
“Did you contact the tenants yet?” Speaking low to avoid being overheard, I glanced over my shoulder to catch May throwing her hands up in frustration, but I hadn’t heard what she said.