Literally, I did.
“Tell it next time it won’t get no gas money if it keeps acting up.”
I giggled and tapped the wheel. “You heard the man. You act up again, you’re getting parked and replaced with a bus pass.”
“Or a scooter,” Kyrin added, laughing.
The car rattled as we pulled off, but I didn’t care.
For now, it’s moving, and I still have a way to make it all work… even if I’m running on fumes right alongside it.
????
Our house was only six blocks from Lainey’s, but it felt like miles. The hallway light on our floor was out again, so I had to fumble with the keys in the dark. Vanessa wasn’t home yet—not that I expected her to be; late nights were her specialty, bustling with her own world of commitments and escapism.
The apartment was small, with just two cramped bedrooms that barely held our lives together. Despite the rough edges of our neighborhood, we probably had the nicest-looking spot on the block. Spotless floors, thrifted furniture polished to shine, and hand-me-down curtains we made look like décor. But that didn’t mean a damn thing when the rent was due, and you found yourself staring at a light bill, contemplating if this was themonth you'd have to make the gut-wrenching choice between heat or a home.
Kyrin and I shared the bigger bedroom, where twin beds were pushed up against opposite walls, each bed representing a world of its own. His side was a vibrant kaleidoscope of comic book posters and a vivid clash of superheroes in action plastered haphazardly across the walls, while mine was marked by the existence of towering stacks of well-worn textbooks.
I knelt beside his bed, tucking him in just like I always did, fluffing his pillow even though he never asked for it. I made sure the blanket was snugly pulled up to his chin, creating a little cocoon as if it would shield him from the worries of the world outside.
“Night, Jo,” he mumbled, eyelids drooping as he slipped further into slumber. But then his soft brown eyes blinked open again, a flicker of concern breaking through his drowsiness. “You okay?”
I froze.
That small question hit me harder than I expected.
He noticed.
I forced a smile and brushed my fingers through his hair. “Yeah, sport. I’m just tired from work. Don’t worry about little ol’ me.”
Kyrin stared a little longer than usual, those perceptive eyes searching for the truth beneath my words, like he didn’t fully believe the act I was putting on, then he nodded and rolled over.
I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I sat there for a moment, silently telling myself,Something’s gotta give.
I was tired of pretending “I’m fine” was the truth, and tired of holding the world together with one hand and wiping tears with the other.
Tonight, I’ll just pray again, whispering silent hopes into the dark. Tomorrow, though, I’d have to rise and do it all over again.