Page 42 of Sinful as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #1)

SAWYER

After driving around town for a little while I finally decided to go home.

Dad would be there. He had been passed out when I left for school in the morning, and if I was lucky, he’d still be like that.

He’d be pissed at me for getting suspended.

Not because he gave a fuck about academics or me doing good in school.

No. He just liked having reasons to yell at me.

When I got home and swung open the trailer door, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. The TV was off, there was no one sitting on the lounge, and the smell of beer wasn’t in the air. Dad must have been out.

Dropping my bag to the floor, I made my way to my room, but my eyes narrowed when I saw what was in front of me.

My tin box… The one I kept under my bed with my stash of money, with the little notes and cards and photos I never wanted to forget…

Where I kept Holly’s article… It was sitting right there in front of my bed.

With the lid off.

I snatched it off the ground with a sharp “fuck”. It was empty. Mostly empty, anyway. All the cash was gone, but the photo of Mom and other little mementos were still there. Including Holly’s article about me. Thank fuck he didn’t touch it. I held the precious piece of paper tight.

All my hard-earned cash was gone. That art deal had been my first one ever, but I hadn’t even had a chance to spend the reward yet.

It would have gone towards rent or food or bills, but still.

Fuck. I hurled the tin box to the floor, stomping into my dad’s room.

Maybe he was passed out in his bed after an expensive trip to the bar.

When I shoved his door open, all I saw was an empty room.

Giving his door a harsh kick, I stormed back into the living room.

I didn’t just have the six hundred bucks from the dude who bought my art in there. It was my work money too. It wasn’t a lot, but besides the cash in my wallet, that was all I fucking had to my name.

“Fuck!” I snapped, kicking at the coffee table.

I needed to take my frustration out on something since my dad wasn’t home.

My prediction: he was gonna buy some beer, then he was gonna gamble, then he was gonna get some more beer.

He’d probably be out for a week, maybe two if he could stretch the cash out.

Asshole didn’t even have the decency to fight me for the money. He just stole it.

Digging my wallet out of my pocket, I counted just under thirty bucks.

I was supposed to be working every day after school.

That would cover the rent, but me and Brodie were fucked for food.

I could maybe get some extra shifts since my days were gonna be free…

Marve usually didn’t ask too many questions, but he would probably get pissed at me for working instead of doing any of the school shit I was still meant to be doing. He was responsible like that.

I opened up the fridge and sighed at how empty it was.

The cabinets were equally bare. My plan was to go grocery shopping after school.

I fucked up putting it off. I also fucked up keeping that money under my bed.

How did my dad find out? He must have been snooping or something. Either way, fuck him.

I could just steal food. Stealing was always an option. I’d have to cut back on the cigarettes too. They were harder to steal. Shit…

Everything just got so much harder.

***

I spent the rest of my day painting. Mainly because I was too pissed off to do anything else.

It was another landscape. The country side again.

I had ripped the photo out of some book Brodie had been reading in the library one day.

That was the only thing the library was good for.

I had managed to paint the entire canvas in a few hours.

Lush, green mountains. A soft, blue sky.

Just a few clouds in the sky – enough to provide that little bit of shade.

I imagined that the air smelled fresh, welcoming. And it would be quiet. So quiet.

Unlike the car I could hear outside the trailer. I stepped away from the still wet canvas and looked at the clock. A little after three. That was either Brodie getting home from school or my dad’s drunk ass being dragged home in a cop car.

Moving into the living room, my black T-shirt covered in a few splotches of paint, I peered out of the window to see Holly’s car.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

Was she coming in? Holly and Brodie seemed to be arguing back and forth before she finally rolled her eyes and got out of the car. The happy grin on his face told me that he had convinced her to get out. They both walked over, with Brodie pushing open the door with that smile still on his face.

“You look excited,” was my greeting to him. He was enjoying bringing Holly around. And while our little apology session during the day had been interesting to say the least, I still wasn’t ready to be her best friend.

“How’s your first day of suspension going?” asked Brodie.

I didn’t answer his question. I just watched Holly. She looked a little timid. And completely out of place, standing there in my cramped living room.

“Productive,” I answered Brodie.

“You did some work?”

“I did some painting.”

“Cool. I’ll check it out later. Holly brought some stuff for you.”

Clearing her throat, Holly pulled her bag off. She looked through it before handing me a neat stack of papers, all kept together with a little heart-shaped paper clip. Taking them from her cautiously, I gave them a quick flick through.

“I took some notes for you in class,” she said softly. “And I asked for this week’s work and assignments. Just so you can stay on top of things. Thought it’d be helpful.”

I coughed and tossed the stack to the coffee table. “Cool. Thanks…”

“Do you want something to drink, Holly?” Brodie asked politely. “It’s kinda warm today. I’ll get you soda.”

Ever the host. Except we didn’t have shit in the fridge. I prepared myself for embarrassment. For Holly’s judgmental eyes and words. But when Brodie pulled the fridge door open, none of that came. Holly stayed quiet.

“Huh, we gotta go shopping, dude.” Brodie looked over his shoulder at me. “Wait, I’ll be back in a minute.”

I let out a sharp breath, calling out to him as he dove down the hallway. He knew how shit things got, so I assumed he was going into his room to look for some money he couldn’t afford spending. “Yeah. I know.”

“Is… Is your dad home?” Holly asked quietly.

“No. He’s… out,” was the only explanation I could give her, because it was the only one that I had.

“Do you… I’m… I don’t want to be rude… Or… Intrusive… Or…”

“Just spit it out, princess.”

“Do you guys not have any food?” she asked softly and quickly, like she was embarrassed to be asking.

I rubbed at my forehead. “We have food. Don’t look so worried.”

She chewed at her plump, bottom lip. That was when I realized I had left all of the cabinets open.

I had been so mad after realizing what my dad had done that I had left them like that for the world to see – including Holly.

No food in there, no food in the fridge.

It was a fucked situation. One she had never seen.

“Dude!” Brodie dove back into the hallway. “My fucking money is gone.”

“Yeah, I figured,” I sighed loudly. This was not a conversation I wanted to have around Holly, but she was standing there looking horrified at what she was seeing. The girl had a front row seat to our shit show.

“Your dad stole it?” Brodie asked, sounding defeated as ever.

“Yeah…”

“And your money? ”

Brodie, holy shit, time and place. “Yeah, mine too.”

“All of it? The cash from your art deal too?”

I just nodded.

“Your… Your dad took your money?” Holly asked in a hushed whisper. She sounded scandalised. “Sawyer, that’s awful.”

I rubbed at my face, hoping that it would relieve some tension. It didn’t. “It’s fine. Really. I’m working tonight. And tomorrow. And the next day. We’ll be fine. I appreciate the concern.”

“That’s not fair. You worked so hard on your art. And then he goes and just…”

“My dad ruins shit. That’s what he does best.”

“Well, what are you gonna be eating for dinner tonight?”

“I dunno.” I rubbed at the back of my head. “I have cash on me. I’ll think of something.”

“What do you normally eat for dinner?”

“Whatever’s cheapest.” I shrugged. That look of concern on her face had yet to fade.

That frown, those big eyes. I swear to God it looked like she was about to cry right then and there.

“Holly, it’s okay. This isn’t the first time my dad’s taken off and left me all alone.

I lived that time, and the other time he did it, and the other time he did. I promise you I’ll live this time.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Holly sighed. “It’s not fair that you guys have to go through that. I know how hard you worked on that painting. And your job can’t be easy. Plus you have school. You have a lot going on, Sawyer.”

“That’s life, huh?” I mumbled.

She bit her lip, taking slow steps backwards “I… I gotta go. But I’ll see you guys in, like, forty minutes. What time do you start work, Sawyer?”

“Seven,” I told her suspiciously. “Why?”

“Great!” She clapped her hands together. “I’ll be back in time for you to get to work. Just… Just stay put, okay?”

Holly turned around before I could ask anymore questions.

There was a weird sense of excitement in her voice.

I heard her dart out the door and get into her car, and before I knew it, she was leaving Mills Mobile Home Park behind.

But according to her, she would be back.

I hummed, watching her through the window.

“What the hell are you up to, princess?” I muttered to myself, watching as her car soon became nothing but a dot that disappeared into the distance.