Page 12 of I Knew You Were Trouble

“You should head to Granite Park,” I tell her. “Might not be as busy.”

She shakes her head. “Went there first. With the Ultimate Board competition coming up, everyone’s trying to get practice in.”

“Too bad we’re in the dead of winter, right?” I joke, and her eyes go wide and she nods in agreement. “Maybe I can get you some private time while we close.”

She pushes her sweaty black hair from her face and blows out a sigh. “That’d be nice, but I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

I furrow my brow. She loves when I work Wheel Zone, especially during closing hours. We let her board until we’re absolutely ready to go home. It’s not exactly okay, but we’re rarely checked in on since Tanner knows what he’s doing. He’s sort of the unofficial boss of the skating rink and half pipes.

“Never stopped you before,” I say.

She frowns, her eyes meeting mine with a look like she needs to talk. A rock plummets into my stomach. What now?

Maddie and I have lived together for three years, both of us agreeing that living under the same roof is okay as long as it’s not with Mom and Dad. Being responsible for some of the bills was required of us when we first got jobs—me at sixteen and Maddie at eighteen. That was fine, but then we started payingallof them. Dad started blowing the majority of his income on opiates and booze while Mom refused to get a job because she simply “didn’t know how to work.”

When I graduated high school, Maddie proposed getting our own place to rent. We’d save more money splitting it between the two of us, and not to mention, it was cheaper than paying mortgage, phones, car payments, and all the other responsibilities that were on our shoulders and not our parents’. We hoped tough love would get Dad to budget better.

It’s worked out so far, with Mom and Dad asking for money only here and there. The only reason we help is because of Demi, our sister who’s still at home. She’s got a good five, six years before she’s forced to get a job and contribute. Maddie and I are hoping to talk our parents out of that if it happens, though.

“I’m gonna take my break now,” I say to Tanner. “You got this?”

“See you in fifteen.” He adjusts his Troublemakers cap and leans against the back of the sound booth, keeping watch on the skaters. Maddie offers a half smile at my awesome ESP, and I hook an arm around her shoulder and walk her to the break room.

She’s technically not allowed in here either, but Saturdays are so damn busy that the managers are off doing their own shit. And if she’s caught here, it’s more or less a slap on the wrist. I clock out, and she flumps into the well-used couch. I grab a fresh water and toss it her way.

“All right, what’s going on?” I flop onto the cushion opposite her.

She unhooks her helmet and drops it to her lap. Her black hair is matted and sticky, her ponytail low on her neck. She slides the elastic out and runs her fingers through the damp strands. “Dad called.”

“He need more money?”

“Of course. But it’s worse than that.”

My heart thumps heavy, and my spine straightens. “All right,” I say, bracing myself. “Just let me have it.”

She lets out a hollow laugh, knowing that I’m more of a rip off the band-aid type of person. She is, too. Must be from years of dealing with bad news.

“He lost his job. Didn’t pass a random drug test.”

A groan crackles up my throat, and I go face first into the middle cushion separating us. Her fingers pat my head reassuringly, like the thousands of times I’ve done that for her. I honestly didn’t think he’d lose the job; they’ve kept him around for years, and despite how horrible he is with money, he’s good at what he does.

I lift my head, her knee closer than I thought to my nose. “How’s Demi?”

“I don’t know yet. I got the call about five minutes ago.”

No wonder she was in a rush off the half-pipe. “I’ll talk to her.” I sit up, big brother mode trying hard to kick in. “They got any savings?”

It’s a stupid question; I knew it as the words come out of my mouth. I said it anyway. Hope is a funny thing.

She snorts. Yeah, I figured as much.

“How much are they asking?”

“They want to know if we can cover their mortgage this month.”

There goes Christmas money.

Ah, shit. “Will Demi have presents?”

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