Page 9 of Whirlwind
My mom carpooled me to every practice, every game, every camp. All while my little sister became my biggest cheerleader. My career became a family affair. I owe them everything.
When I spoke to my parents last night, they told me my sister, Lottie, needed to move. The occupants of the apartment above her flooded their unit, which caused Lottie’s ceiling to cave in.
I came up with a solution; I’ve just yet to let her know. On my drive back home after practice, I call her.
“Hi, Ty,” she greets.
“Hey, heard you had an interesting day yesterday.”
“Mother fucking idiots,” she mutters.
“Move into my house, it’s empty anyway.”
“I can’t do that, Ty.”
“Sure, you can, and you fucking will,” I tell her with my stern big brother voice. She nearly always ignores it with an eye roll, but it’s worth a shot. “You have the code to the door, take your pick of guest rooms. Dad will help you move anything out of the way so you can move stuff in.”
“I can’t afford your mortgage payment.”
“Who the hell asked for you to cover my mortgage?” I ask. Truth is, it’s paid off, anyway, but she doesn’t know that.
“I can’t live there for free,” she says, and I take that as a win because she’s no longer saying she can’t move in.
“Pay me whatever you were paying for your apartment. You get a bigger place, in a safer neighborhood, and I get someone to keep an eye on the place. It’s a win-win.” What I don’t say is that I’ll put whatever money she sends me into a low-risk investment account for her. She’d fight me on that, too. Lottie likes to be independent. She’s not very good at it yet, but she tries. At twenty-two, she’s still got time to learn.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. It’s empty, Lottie, take advantage of it. Besides, I know you don’t want to move back in with our parents.”
“Not while that demon still lives with them,” she says, referring to my mom’s cat. The animal hates Lottie. None of us know why; it’s amusing to all of us but my sister.
“It’s settled then,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“Fine. Now, tell me about your first day. Did you and Wylder have words?”
“Yes, but they were all good ones. He’s helping me see Sadie.”
“Oh, God, Ty,” she says, and I register the emotion in her voice. “That’s kinda fucking great.”
“It is,” I say, allowing some emotion of my own. My family knows how much I cared about Sadie. It’s been hard having to cut that tie. “Coach and I had a good chat, too.”
“I’m proud of you, Ty. Probably don’t say that enough.”
“I’m proud of you, too, kiddo. Now, go move into my house.”
“All right, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Love you,” I tell her.
“I love you, too. And I’ll be watching tomorrow.”
“You better be.”
We end the call as I pull into the driveway of my house, or Calvin’s house. Whatever. As I step out of my rig, wet paws land on my calf.
“What the fuck?” Looking down, I find the smallest ball of fur I’ve ever seen.
“Nightmare! Damn it, I’m so sorry,” a woman’s voice calls out from behind me. “He got out of his harness; it’s still too big.”
