Chapter 5
Chapter five
Red Bull, Burritos, and Brothers
Jo
Afew hours after leaving Mario’s, I’m flying down the highway while sucking down my second Red Bull and a gas station burrito. I know it’ll be hell on my stomach, but damn, it tastes good.
My car makes a weird noise that I’m trying to ignore.
While I know some car maintenance thanks to my brother and brothers-in-law, I haven’t had the time or money to try to diagnose it.
Maybe I can have one of them look at it when I get back home—although I’m really not sure if it’s even worth it at this point.
Right now, it just needs to get me back home. After that, it can finally kick the bucket.
Not wanting to hear the noise, I crank up the music. My playlist is a chaotic jumble of everything under the sun. It goes from Rob Zombie to Taylor Swift to Tupac to the soundtrack from Wicked.
It’s all over the place—quite similar to who I am as a human being.
The highway signs speed by, but I’m still hours away from home.
Home.
That’s a word I haven’t used to describe my hometown of Lilly Leaf Falls in quite a while. It’s been years since I’ve lived there.
At eighteen, I was so excited to get away from it. I wanted to go have crazy adventures and never stay in one place for too long.
Well, I did it. And now, I’m over it. All I want is some normalcy with my family. Since I left, all four of my older siblings have coupled up, and I now have five nieces and nephews. I only had one when I left. I’m tired of missing out on all their big moments.
Also, while I did have some wild adventures, I’ve also gotten into trouble, dated some jerks, and never stayed in one place for too long.
Some time in my hometown sounds like exactly what I need. Family is what I need.
Speaking of family, I decide to call one of my sisters.
Ronnie may be seven years older than me, but as adults, we’ve become infinitely closer.
Like me, she also had the urge to get out and see the world.
Unlike me, she wasn’t such a hot mess while doing it.
She became a high-profile photographer while I partied my way up and down the Western seaboard.
The phone rings twice before I hear a cheerful, “Well, hello, my delightful baby sister.”
“Why are you in such a good mood?” I ask. “Did you just get laid or something?”
“Hey! I’m always in a good mood…but yes.”
That’s Ronnie. Always a little crazy and has zero filter.
She asks, “What are you up to? You sound like you’re in the car.”
“I am.”
“You on your way to work?”
“Uh, no. The whole waiting tables thing didn’t work out.”
“You got fired, didn’t you?” She asks.
“No!”
“Liar.” She giggles.
“Well, don’t bust my balls about it.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. So, where are you going?”
“I’m on my way home.”
“Oh, okay. Where were you?”
“No, I mean I’m on my way home. I’m headed to Lilly Leaf Falls.”
I can practically hear her jaw drop. “What’s the occasion? Is there some obscure holiday I’m unaware of? Or are you coming to tell us you joined a cult or something?”
I ignore her sarcasm. “I’m moving back for good.”
“No shit? What happened to Mario, the dickhead?” Ronnie was never a fan of my recent boyfriend.
“He’s history. It’s a long story. I’ll give you details when I get home.”
“Great. Dinner’s on me.”
Good because I’m broke.
I pull my cigarettes out of my bag to light one. The moment I do, Ronnie says, “Put that shit out right now.”
“How did you know?”
“Your metal lighter is loud.”
“Damn,” I mutter. “You have dog ears.”
She reiterates. “Put it out.”
“When did you become my mother?”
“I’m not your mother, but if you don’t knock it off, I’ll tell our mother. You know she’ll make your life hell when you get home.”
She has a point.
“Okay, okay,” I say, putting it out but knowing I’ll light it again when we hang up.
She says, “You know she’ll smell it on you if you’re staying there.”
“Well, that may have been true if I planned on staying there.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. I love our parents, but I’m almost thirty, and I really don’t want to live with them.”
“Fair enough. Okay, I know you have no money, so you’re going to stay with one of us.”
“That’s the plan,” I say.
“Okay, let’s do a Lawson roll call. First up, we’ve got Liz. She just turned their guest bedroom into a home office, so I doubt you could stay there.”
“Right,” I agree.
“Next, we have Michelle. She has her hands full with Eve who is now learning how to drive. When she’s not busy with her teenage daughter, she and her hunky boyfriend are doing it everywhere they can. I’m not sure you want to be around for that.”
“Ew, yeah. No thanks.”
“And I love you, but unless you want to bunk with my eight-year-old bonus son, I’m not an option.
It makes me smile hearing her say that. Ronnie has always been a free spirit, never wanting to settle down even a little. All of that changed when she met Drew and his son, Colton. it took some time, but now, she’s all in on her life with them. It’s really nice.
“Nope, not you,” I say.
“Oh, well, that only leaves one option.”
***
“Dylan!” I squeal as he opens his front door.
“Jo?”
“How’s my favorite brother?”
He ignores my question and looks from me to my car that is obviously crammed with stuff. “No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“You’re in my driveway at nine o’clock at night. I’m sure I can take a guess.” He stops for a moment as if something suddenly occurs to him. “Wait, are you okay?”
Man, I love Dylan. Even when he’s trying to be a dick, he can’t turn off the big brother, good guy instincts.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I say, putting his mind at ease.
“Alright, good. Now, back to what I was saying, no.”
“Come on, Dyl. At least hear me out,” I plead.
“Jo, I love you, but absolutely n—“
His wife, Leah, appears behind him. “Hey, Jo, come on in.”
“Thank you, Leah,” I say, staring smugly at my brother as I step past him to walk inside.
Once there, I take a seat on the couch as my sister-in-law joins me. Before she sits, she hands me a small glass of what smells like whiskey.
“What’s this for?” I ask.
“I figure if you show up at your brother’s house at night with all your shit in tow, you probably need it.”
“Thanks, Leah.” I give a small smile before taking a sip.
Oh, yeah. Definitely whiskey.
“Jo won’t be staying long,” Dylan tells her.
“Oh, hush,” his wife scolds. “What’s going on, Jo?”
Dyl goes to open his mouth, but one look from Leah has him snapping it shut again.
Leah turns back to me and waits for me to begin.
“Uhm,” I stammer. I had a hell of a long car ride. You’d think I would have rehearsed my pitch.
Nope.
That would have been too logical for me.
“I’m moving home to Lilly Leaf Falls.”
Before I can go any further, Dylan jumps in, “And you need a place to stay?”
“Well, yes, but—“
“What is wrong with staying with Mom and Dad?” He questions.
“Would you want to stay with Mom and Dad?” I counter.
Before he can answer, I keep going. “Look, I know it’s a huge imposition.
You’ve got a toddler and a baby, but I could help out.
I could babysit whenever you needed. I’m going to get a job, so I can pay rent and help out with things around here.
Please don’t make me stay with Mom and Dad.
you’re the only one with an extra bedroom. ”
That’s the excuse I give, but really, there’s way more to it than that.
When I was growing up, Dylan and Ronnie were the closest to me in age.
Seven years is still a pretty decent gap, and back then, Ronnie was always off doing her own thing while Dyl would let me hang out with him and his friends.
That’s probably why I turned out way more tomboy than anything else.
Because of that, my brother has always been a huge fixture in my life.
I wait for him to say something—anything. But he takes his sweet time.
Instead, Leah speaks. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“What?” Dylan and I ask in unison.
“Dyl, we have a toddler with more attitude than a freaking teenager and a five-month-old. You’ve been doing more hours at the auto shop, and I’d like to be able to take on more tattoo clients. It would be nice to have a little extra help.”
My brother’s strong features suddenly look very concerned. “Leah, why didn’t you tell me? You know I would have done anything to make it better.”
“I know you would have. I didn’t say anything because it’s not that big of a deal. Life is good, but when help shows up, literally on our doorstep, I’m not going to deny it.”
I watch them talk through this for a couple minutes. The way they communicate is so healthy. I’ve never had any relationship anywhere close to that. Despite my parents and all of my siblings being in committed, healthy relationships, mine have always been more closely related to a dumpster fire.
Honestly, Mario was just the tip of the iceberg.
I’m not sure how I became the bad apple.
Yes, I am. I’m impulsive, always craving a good time, ADHD, and honestly, a little crazy.
Dylan pulls me from my thoughts when he brings his attention back to me.
“Okay, Jo, you can stay here…for now.”
“Thank you both,” I say with a smile.
“No parties. No random guys coming over. And no smoking in the house. I’m serious.” He points his finger at me.
I hold up my hand. “Scout’s honor.”
“Come on. I’ll show you to your room. You can crash tonight, and I’ll help you bring everything inside in the morning.”
I stand up to follow him, figuring he and Leah probably want some alone time.
As we walk down the hall, I ask, “Where are the girls?”
“Sleeping. It’s almost ten o’clock, Jo.”
“Oh, right. I guess it’s past their bedtimes.”
We get to the door, and he opens it. before I walk through, he asks, “Jo, are you sure you’re okay? Are you running from something?”
“No.” I look up at him. “I’m not running from anything. I was just really ready to be home.”
He grabs me and pulls me in for a hug. Immediately and without warning, I start crying.
What the hell? Sometimes, girl emotions are obnoxious.
Thankfully, my brother doesn’t seem to care. He just hugs me while I let it all out.
When I finally pull away, I say, “Sorry. I got your shirt all snotty.”
“Jo, I have two daughters. I’m used to it. Get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
He shuts the door, and suddenly, I’m all alone in this very quiet room.
I don’t do well with quiet, so I turn on a podcast on my phone. Lying down, I prepare to listen to an unsolved mystery and play a mobile game.
But thirty seconds after my head hits the pillow, I’m out.