I shuttered and stepped away from him. “You’re disgusting. How much does he owe you?”
Not caring about the rebuff, the boy grinned. “40 bucks. Course, I’d be willing to take it in trade.”
“I’m sure you would.” I pulled my wallet out of my bag and opened it. Closing my eyes in defeat, I pulled out the two twenties. It left me with only ten dollars. Thankfully, the game ticket would only cost me seven. I wouldn’t be able to go out and celebrate with Katia, but I could still be there for her big moment. I shoved the money into the brute’s hand, glaring at him with all my might.
“Paying for it is probably the only way you get any with that angry scowl on your face all the time. Take the money and leave him be. Your debt is settled.”
He counted the cash and winked at me. “Pleasure doing business with you. If you change your mind…”
“I won’t.” I cut him off as I turned to help Randy straighten up.
He had mostly made it back onto his feet and was now leaning against the tree, his lip bleeding and the black eye forming. With a sad sigh, I put an arm around his waist and helped him stand straighter.
The crowd had already dispersed since there was nothing of interest to watch anymore. I helped my big brother stumble over to the closest picnic table.
“What happened, Randy?”
“I bet on the school’s football team. I honestly didn’t think they would make it to the finals.” He chuckled, then groaned from the pain.
“Dad is going to be so ticked when he sees you.”
Randy snorted. “Please, he won’t even notice.”
Sadly, that was probably true. Ever since our mother died last year, our father had basically shut down.
“Why did you have to make a stupid bet?”
He shrugged. His nonchalant attitude worried me. What was he hiding?
There was only so much I could do when it came to trying to save my family. What little I had left of it. Before mom died, she made me promise to keep the family together. To not let the men of the family fall apart completely. Desperate to see her smile one last time, I agreed. Even though I often wished I hadn’t.
When Mom died, she took my childhood with her.
Every night, I made sure Dad drank at least some water and ate actual food. Every morning, I made sure he had coffee to help him get up and go to work on time (and somewhat sober). I cleaned the house and cooked dinner every day. I did the shopping, with whatever money my father remembered to put in the shopping jar when he got paid.
Randy seemed to be holding up fine. At least I thought he had. He was still wrestling, and he was passing all of his classes. When he was home, he was typically in his room. I usually only saw him in passing, both at school and at home. And when we carpooled in the car we shared.
“Do you want me to help you get to the nurse? That eye looks like it could use an ice pack.” I offered, knowing questioning him further about the bet would do no good. At one time Randy and I had been close, but as time moved on, he pushed me away.
